I opened my eyes to find myself panting with blood dripping from my mouth and wrist. I became aware that I was fighting for every breath. Looking down, I found Grayson lying on top of me buried deep inside of me. Somehow through the haze, we had had sex and I hadn’t even realized that we had been doing it. He was drenched. I swiped my fingers through his damp hair, pulling it away from his face and still he didn’t move. I could feel his heartbeat so I knew he was fine, just passed out from exhaustion.

  I shifted him onto his back and saw he had blood dripping from his mouth and down his neck where I bit him. The wound was still open so I leaned over carefully licking it closed.

  Grayson began to stir. “I’m sorry. Did I black out?” he mumbled.

  “Yup.”

  He tried to sit up but fell back down against the bed with a groan, as he raised his palm to his forehead. “Shit! What the hell was that?”

  “I think that was us becoming mated.”

  Grayson shifted to his side to look at me. “Was it the same for you? Most intense pleasure before the best orgasm ever?”

  I nodded. “Did you know we were having sex?”

  His brow pulled together. “We had sex?” He looked down at the bed that was wet with more than just blood and sweat.

  “Well hell! I guess that explains this.” He gestured to the sheets that needed to be changed. “You were unaware too?”

  “Yeah. I woke up after my orgasm and you were inside me.”

  Concern filled his eyes. “Did I hurt you?”

  I shook my head, with a smile. “No. You were amazing.”

  “We need to shower before...” He was cut off by a knock at the door. “I thought you said we had an hour before the wolves showed.”

  “We do.” I looked at the clock sitting on Grayson’s nightstand. It showed the werewolves were fifteen minutes late. “We did.” I changed my comment.

  We jumped out of bed, scurrying to dress. I beat Grayson, cheating with my vampire speed. I opened the front door of the apartment to see Shawn standing there with three other Weres.

  Shawn smiled brilliantly at me. “Smells like someone got mated.” He tried to hug me but I stopped him.

  “I wouldn’t. I’m in desperate need of a shower.”

  Grayson made his way into the living room just as the last werewolf entered. “Gaby, Grayson, this is my little brother Chris.” Chris looked exactly like a younger version of Shawn. “And this is Mike and Fred.”

  Mike was a tall blond with dark brown eyes. He was overly masculine in a scary way. Fred looked like he could be Shawn and Chris’s relative. Dark hair. Dark complexion.

  “Guys, this is my best friend Gaby and her new mate Grayson.”

  “I don’t understand what we’re doing here Shawn. She’s a vampire and he’s human,” Mike said. Shawn glared at him.

  “We’re not asking for any favors. We’re hiring you as a bodyguard, which means payment.”

  Mike sneered at me. I didn’t know what his issue was, but if he didn’t have an open mind I didn’t want him to be protecting Grayson because when push came to shove, he wouldn’t do what would be necessary.

  “Shawn?” I asked sweetly. Shawn turned to acknowledge me, “I’m not sure Mike is the right material for this job. And whatever his issue is, I don’t need it affecting keeping Grayson safe.”

  “My issue is with bloodsuckers!” Mike snapped.

  I blurred in a blink of an eye, stepping up into Mike face. “Really? Because my mate isn’t a bloodsucker! He’s human! He has an evil vampire after him and I need a group to protect him because I can’t be with him twenty-four/seven and I’m not strong enough, even if I could be.”

  “And you’re probably the reason he’s in danger. You bloodsuckers bring nothing but trouble.” Mike’s hands balled into fists at his side. I knew my stance was domineering which is what I had been going for. I didn’t back down and I didn’t let it show that his comment had bothered me. Of course, he was right. He looked ready to hit me.

  “Go ahead!” I said through clenched teeth. “Try it. I dare you. I may look tiny but we all know that you’re no match for me without the full moon.”

  “I’m sure I could handle myself,” he whispered aggressively. “I’ve heard about you half-blood. You’re the day walker. A vampire masquerading as a human, but the sun can’t hide what you truly are. You think I can’t smell his blood on you? How often do you use him to feed from? You may pretend to be human, but I know you’re nothing more than a filthy, little, bloodsucker.”

  The room was utterly silent. A pin could have dropped and it would have sounded like a foghorn echoing throughout the room. I could feel all eyes in the room on me, waiting for my reaction. “Shawn,” I spoke not taking my eyes off of Mike. “Get this fleabag out of here before I handle it myself.” I surprised everyone. No one thought I’d ask for someone else to handle Mike. They all thought I’d handle it with my superior vampire strength.

  Shawn moved quickly, pushing Mike for the room.

  “Idiot,” Chris mumbled before the front door was even closed.

  I stifled a smile. “Either one of you got a problem? If so, let’s address it now.” Both Chris and Fred shook their heads no. “Good. Shawn, we’ll need another.”

  “I’ll get on it baby girl. Tonight. I’m making it top priority.”

  We discussed payment, which everyone involved seemed to agree to without reluctance. We also discussed that Grayson was trying to buy out a nightclub. He was having a meeting Tuesday to check out the scene. It wouldn’t be as crowded as the weekend, which would make watching him easier on the Weres. There was no changing it the time.

  “We’ll start Tuesday then,” Shawn stated.

  Once the werewolves left, Grayson and I headed to the bathroom, both of us in need of a hot shower. We took longer than normal, letting the water knead our aching muscles. Apparently, having earthshattering, can’t-remember sex does something to your muscles that regular sex can’t prepare you for.

  After a quick change of the sheets, Grayson and I fell in to bed. Cuddling to each other, we drifted off into a blissful sleep much earlier than we normally would.

  Chapter 18

  Events set into motion are almost impossible to stop. One event triggered another in a domino effect. The butterfly effect where one small splash in the water creates a ripple that grows larger as it moves away from the source. A friend being late causing you to meet the love of your life when you would, otherwise have passed right by being never the wiser.

  Monday, I arrived at work bright and early needing something to distract me from the fact that I was away from Grayson during a time where his life was being openly threatened.

  I wanted to stay with Grayson locked up in the apartment forever, but I knew he would never agree to it. Asking him to be home before dark was pushing it. He wanted his independence, not from me but from the situation and I understood that. No one wanted to be told how they had to live their life. And Grayson Alexander was not the type of person to be told what to do. No CEO who started their business from the ground up would.

  I rode the elevator up to my floor and headed straight to my desk. After dropping my purse off, I decided to head to the break room for coffee. Deciding I needed a little normalcy, I stopped off by Rachel’s desk to have her join me. Hearing about her human problems I hoped would distract me. I turned the corner to her cubby they called a cubicle, to find it empty. Great! On a day where I needed her babble, she was late. And Rachel was never late. It was just the universe’s way of trying to screw with me again.

  I headed to the break room, alone. I grabbed a mug and a single serve K-cup for the Keurig, loaded it up and waited. While I was finishing up the final touches on my coffee, Ralph busted in, startling me.

  “Have you seen Rachel?”

  I shook my head. “Not this morning. Maybe she’s running late?”

  Ralph shook his head this time. “She’s never late. I’m going to try calling her.” He spun around and left. Well, that was a little weird.

  Around lunchtime, Rachel was still a no show. “She wouldn’t just quit, would she and not tell anyone?” Ralph asked, jolting me in my seat. “Sorry,” he apologized when he saw I hadn’t been aware of his presence.

  “I don’t think so. Rachel is the type of person to tell you what’s on her mind. So if she was going to walk out, she would make it into a scene and if she found another job, she’d be damn sure to tell you why.”

  “Oddly, that doesn’t make me feel any better,” he shook his head.

  “You’re really worried about her, aren’t you?”

  He nodded. “It’s like you said, this is out of character for her. Have you tried calling her?”

  “Twice,” I confirmed.

  “Look, I hate to ask, but you and she seem like friends. I know your lunch is coming up, you think you can swing by and just check on her? See if anything is going on? Pick up what you want and you can eat it at your desk today. I’d go but it’s not appropriate for a male superior to show up at his subordinate’s home.”

  I hated the idea of wasting my break, but Ralph was worried and he didn’t worry easily, plus he was willing to let me eat lunch at my desk, which was a big no-no in his book.

  “Alright. I’ll head over now.”

  He nodded in relief.

  I hailed a taxi and rode it over to Rachel’s apartment. I had been over a few times to hang out after a hard day’s work. Rachel’s solution for a hard day was a hard drink. I went over to the intercom and buzzed her apartment. After a few moments, the only sound was coming from the city around me, so I buzzed her again. Nothing. So I decided to call Ralph.

  “Hey I’m here and I’m buzzing her but there’s no answer.”

  He sighed heavily. “I’m going to try calling her again. Something about this just doesn’t seem right.”

  “I know. I’m going to try to get in the building. I mean she could have slipped or something, right. I mean that could happen and maybe she can’t reach her phone.”

  “True. You get in. I’m going to call her repeatedly. If she’s scanning her calls, I’m going to annoy her into picking up.”

  “Will do. I’ll call you back on your office phone since your cell is going to be tied up, if I find anything.”

  “Okay. I’ll talk to you soon.”

  With that we disconnected. I looked around to make sure the building had no security cameras. My eyes caught nothing so I used my ears. To a vampire’s super sensitive hearing, everything had a noise, including electronic that were silent the human ear. Imagine laying your head on your old fashioned watch. Normally you wouldn’t hear it, but press it to your ear and it sounds like the second hand is pounding down to the minute. It worked the same for our hearing, only nothing had to be pressed to our ear.

  There was no hum of electronic. I walked steadily toward the door like nothing was unusual I reached for the door. Putting just the right amount of strength, I pulled it snapping the latch. The manger would be getting an anonymous call about the broken lock. I’d hate to see the building on the news because I broke the latch and they were robbed or worse. I took the stairs climbing them faster than a human but not at vampire speed in case someone stepped out of their apartment and saw me. They’d just think I was in shape.

  I came to Rachel’s floor swiftly. I was walking to her door at human speed when something hit me. I stopped, jolted in place like I ran into a wall and in a way I did. There was a strong odor that was blanketing the hallway. I wrinkled my nose in disgust while using my arm as best I could to shield myself from the smell. What the hell could smell that bad in an apartment building? It was horrid with a stench of… “Death,” I whispered. Forgetting the disgust I felt towards the odor, I ran to Rachel’s apartment. I could hear the sound of her phone vibrating through the door. I wasn’t sure what to do. If I busted down the door, everyone would want to know what my reasoning was behind it. What if I was wrong and she was fine. Or what if she was lying in there still alive. “Damn it!” I banged my fist on the door. No answer.

  I heard the phone stop and restart its buzzing again. Without thinking, my hand went for the doorknob. I guess instinctively I was thinking of my safety, because I wrapped my hand in my skirt first so I didn’t leave behind any fingerprints.

  As the door swung open, a gulf of the same repulsive odor hit me in the face, swarming around me, only now it was stronger. The hallway stench couldn’t compare to the smell in the apartment and I knew then what I was going to find. But knowing didn’t prepare me. I couldn’t stop myself from moving into the room, needing to see it for myself. Needing it confirmed with my eyes, not just with my nose.

  My stomach churned as I saw Rachel. She was lying face up with a look of fear frozen to her face. It was like my mind couldn’t make sense of what I was seeing and part of me didn’t want it to. Something cut through the air now that I was closer to her. The scent I would normally describe as delicious, but when surrounded by decomposition, it was just familiar. Blood. I looked around but saw none on the ground. To the contrary, the entire apartment looked spotless. Everything was in its place. There was no sign of struggle. Everything looked as you would expect, with the exception of Rachel’s dead, lifeless corpse lying on the floor. A glimmer of a thought flashed in my head. As I focused on it, it grew and soon I had to be sure.

  I had watched enough CSI to know not to disturb the crime scene and if you walked in it, make sure to follow your steps back out. So I did. I took long steady strides forward. I looked over her exposed skin, which wasn’t much, when I saw them. Two tiny puncture marks on the side of her neck.

  “Oh God.” My hand flew to my mouth to stifle a sob. It couldn’t be. A vampire couldn’t have killed Rachel. It just didn’t make sense. I had been standing there staring at her that I hadn’t realized her phone stopped its buzzing until mine blared to life. On instinct, I answered it.

  “Hel…Hello?”

  “Gaby! Where the hell are you? Why haven’t you called me back?” Ralph began bombarding me with questions. It took him a moment to realize I hadn’t responded. “Gaby? Gaby, what is it? What’s wrong?”

  I sniffled loudly. “Ralph…” I spoke not even recognizing my voice. “Can you please call 911 on your other line? I don’t want to be… I can’t… I…” I began to sob.

  “Oh God, no.”

  The police were fast on the scene. They held off examining the scene in any great detail until after the medical examiner declared what I already knew. Rachel was dead and there was nothing the paramedics could do.

  An officer ushered me from the apartment after I was asked if I had disturbed the body. I wanted to shout at them that it wasn’t a body. It was Rachel, but I just told them no. I told them I did approach her but I retraced my steps away.

  “Well that’s good miss, but I’m afraid we’re gonna need your shoes as evidence.”

  I didn’t argue. I slipped them off and handed them to the officer who slipped them into an evidence bag. He then gave me some paper slippers to put on, the kind you expect to see doctors wear at the hospital.

  After they took my shoes, they moved me to the stairwell and began asking their questions. Why was I there? How did I know the victim? How did I get in? Why did I go in?

  The more questions they asked, the angrier I became. None of this was going to help Rachel. They would never find her killer. Vampires didn’t get caught. How could they, in an unsuspecting world? Suddenly, my world shifted. Anger was replaced by love. A warmth filled me that only happened when I was around Grayson. I looked around at the other officers to see if they felt it too. But they all seemed to carry on with their jobs. I spun facing the door and was on my feet before it ever opened. Grayson swung open the heavy door and came into view looking like perfection. I didn’t care why he was there or how he knew where I was, I only cared that he was there.

  “Grayson,” I cried as I fell into his arms.

  “I’m so sorry, Gaby.” He held me as I cried and I let go of everything I felt since discovering Rachel. “Come on baby. I’m taking you home.”

  “We just have a few more questions to ask before Miss Carmichael is free to go.”

  “Free to go? Are you charging her with something?” Grayson’s voice filled instantly with hostility.

  “No sir. Not yet.” The young officer’s eyes widened as he realized his mistake. “I mean…uh…”

  “Randy shut up!” His fellow officer chimed in. “That will be all Miss Carmichael. If we have any other questions we’ll contact you to arrange a time. The address on your driver’s license, is that still current?”

  I shook my head, but Grayson was the one who answered. “No she lives with me now.” He spouted off his address. As we turned to leave, the sound of my paper shoes rustling drew Grayson’s attention. “Where are your shoes?” he asked.

  “They took them,” I sobbed like a child who had scraped their knee.

  “Her shoes, officers?”

  “Sorry Mr. Alexander, but she walked into the crime scene. They’re evidence now. You can file for a release with the DA.”

  Grayson nodded. “Come on baby.” He didn’t try to take me to the floor where Rachel’s apartment was on, instead he took me down to the next level before we exited and called for the elevator.

  He didn’t ask me questions and I didn’t speak until we got home. “It was a vampire,” I stated.

  Grayson spun like I’d slapped him. “Anton?”

  I shrugged. “Everything was too perfect. I’ve been a vampire for twenty-three years Grayson and I still haven’t mastered compulsion. It would have had to been someone with age and skill.”

  “What about this Ava who showed up here?”

  I shook my head. “She only feeds from males.”

  “You don’t think it’s random? I mean what is the likelihood that someone you know gets killed by a vampire as soon as you’re exiled and I’m threatened.”