Tatiana stood her ground, making eye contact with a boldness that belied the nerves rocking her core. “Yes, I do. You gave her to me to raise and I let you down. I want to prove to you that I am not a failure. That I am worthy of the power you’ve bestowed upon me.”

Samael was quiet a moment, his gleaming red eyes piercing her in a way that almost made her feel like he pitied her. “You take responsibility for her?”

“Of course.” She straightened. “That is a mother’s duty. That is the duty I accepted when you gave her to me.”

Something like relief flickered over his face. He stepped aside and the being behind him moved forward.

The shadows surrounding the creature were actually a dark cloak. Slender hands reached up and pushed the hood back, revealing a young woman of such cruel beauty that Tatiana instantly felt lacking. Her eyes were the same blood red as Samael’s, her skin so pale that blue veins etched the surface. She smiled at Tatiana, showing off a set of double fangs as wicked as the aura surrounding her. “Hello, Mother.”

Chapter Ten

Creek hung back at the scene of the murder, hiding in the cover of the small crowd drawn by the flashing lights and yellow tape cordoning off the area. From his spot against the wall, he listened with one ear to the detectives, his KM-enhanced hearing making eavesdropping simple. In his other ear was a wireless bud with the running feed from the police scanner app on his phone. Both told him that, as suspected, the police were going on the assumption the killer was a vampire.

He couldn’t imagine the mayor wouldn’t respond to this in some way, but how would the population take it now that they were being led by a vampire? The careful peace that had followed the curfew was in danger of being disrupted.

One of the detectives scribbled something on an e-tablet, then tapped the stylus on the edge as he spoke to his partner. “Could be retaliation for the mayor killing that vampire.”

His partner nodded. “Let’s hope that’s all it is, one and done. City’ll get ugly if we have a killer vampire on the loose.” He glanced at one of the uniformed officers working crowd control. “They’re all over the place now. You know Janokoski in evidence is a vamp?” He shook his head. “Always thought that one was a little strange.”

The other detective laughed. “Explains why he’s so pale.”

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Creek had heard enough. He walked back to where he’d parked his motorcycle. He climbed on and fired it up. The mayor wouldn’t welcome his visit, but it was his job as Paradise City’s assigned Kubai Mata to question all known vampires. Might as well start with the newest one.

He hadn’t expected to be let through the gates at her estate, but they opened for him after he showed his face to the security camera. He parked his bike outside the entrance of the house and walked up to the guard on duty. Fringe vampire, but not one Creek had met before.

The guard looked him up and down, probably assessing Creek’s tattoos and Mohawk with the same impression most did. Trouble. Which wasn’t far off if the guard didn’t let him in. “The mayor wants to know if you’ve come to make amends.”

“Sure, that’s what I’m here for.” If it got him in, who cared what she thought.

The guard went back to the intercom and relayed the message. There was no response, but a few minutes later, a maid opened the door. “Follow me.”

He did and the woman led him to the mayor’s office. Lola sat at her desk. Hector sat on the far couch, playing some kind of holographic handheld game. Creek nodded. “Mayor. This will be quick.”

“Take all the time you like. I enjoy listening to apologies.”

“I’m not here to apologize.”

She frowned. “Then you’d better be here because you’ve finally brought me the information on Chief Vernadetto that I asked for.” Nothing about her demeanor was friendly. She didn’t even bother putting on her human face.

“No.” He’d gotten a file from the KM, but he had no intention of handing anything over to Lola. He’d hoped she’d forgotten about it actually. The chief had never been a problem for him or the KM and the way Creek saw it, the man already had enough trouble with Lola as the mayor. “You may have already heard, but there was a murder this evening.”

He watched her closely. If she had a pulse, it would have been much easier to use that as a gauge. “Victim was male, thirty-six years old. Died from puncture wounds on his neck and the lack of blood in his system.”

No reaction out of her. Hector muttered something in Spanish, but Creek was pretty sure it was directed at his game since his eyes had never left the action. Finally, she pursed her mouth. “A vampire. I get it. What do you want from me? I’m sure the police are doing everything they can.”

He leaned on her desk, closing the gap between them to a slim twelve inches. “Did you kill that man?”

“Now you have two things to apologize for.” Her eyes went hard silver. “Get the hell out of my office.”

He didn’t move. “Is that a no on the murder then?”

“Yes, that’s a no. Now get out.” She got up and he backed away. “Tell your people I’m done dealing with the Kubai Mata, you understand? They’ve brought nothing good to this city. Nothing.”

With a wave over his shoulder, he walked out. “You won’t have to see me again.” She wouldn’t need to. Not with Octavian in place.

Fi slipped into nice jeans, a funky off-the-shoulder sweater, and heels. Casual, but not the grungy casual she preferred. She left a message with Isaiah to let Doc know where she was, then took the elevator to the VIP level of Bar Nine.




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