Keri Arthur - Bound to Shadows

And later, when I could think again, I realized that for me, it would never be just about the bite. It was this—the hot and sweaty aftermath, lying replete and exhausted in his arms—that was the most addicting moment.

The blood whores had no idea just how much they were truly missing.

"Where the hell is your report?" Jack bellowed, the minute I walked through the door of the day division's rather cramped Directorate quarters.

Of course, calling ourselves the day division was something of a misnomer, given we seemed to work all hours of the clock, not just the daylight ones.

"I sent it in before I left home," I said, plucking a coffee from the cardboard tray I was holding and handing it to him.

He sniffed the coffee and looked somewhat mollified. I'd learned some time ago that while Jack could drink any sort of coffee—good or bad—it paid to get the good stuff from Beans when I was in his bad books.

"You were supposed to send it in by five," he said, slightly less loudly. "This one could get nasty, Riley. We need to keep on top of it."

"I know." I gave Kade a grin of greeting as I handed him his coffee, then plucked my own free and tossed the cardboard tray in the trash. "Did Cole come up with anything unusual in the autopsy?"

"No. The body and the saw are clean."

I frowned as I walked around my desk and sat down. "That almost suggests a professional hit."

"If we have three men beheaded in the same way, then yes, I do think we are dealing with professionals."

"So Henry Gateway's death is connected to Haven's?"

"You know, you could read the report and find out for yourself," Jack noted dryly. "But yes, Gateway was killed by the same method as Haven, although it wasn't the same saw, and we haven't yet found the one that was used on Gateway."

"It's a particularly brutal way to murder someone," Kade commented. "It seems to me that the killers are intent on attracting attention more than merely killing."

I glanced at him. The harsh fluorescent lighting gave his normally warm red-brown skin a sallow look, and there were dark shadows under his eyes. Amusement bubbled through me. Several more mares from his herd had given birth recently—meaning he now had a grand total of nine kids—but it looked as if having that many youngsters in the one household was beginning to take its toll.

"If we're dealing with a gang intent on stirring up trouble between the vampires and the humans," I said, "then it's highly likely they do want attention."

"Which is why I've put a lock on the press for the moment." Jack took a sip of his coffee, then added, "And why I want this murder solved as soon as possible."

"Hard to track down a killer who leaves no clues," I muttered, logging onto the computer and leaning forward for the system to scan my retina. "I don't suppose you'd know if there's a connection between the three murdered men?"

I glanced at him as I said it, and saw the slight hesitation. Meaning there was a connection all right, but he wasn't revealing it. Which made me wonder if the vampire council was somehow involved. Jack might answer to his sister, but she answered to the council. She was on it.

"We're still checking into that possibility," he said eventually. Meaning he was still getting clearance to discuss it with the plebs.

"The sooner we know the better."

If only because, if we knew the connection, we had a chance of stopping the next murder. But Jack knew all that—he'd been at this game a lot longer than me.

Jack grunted. "Did you get anything useful from the witness?"

I restrained the urge to point out that it was in my report, and said, "Well, she wasn't really a witness, more a relayer of information. And the man who paid her to call was apparently disguised, so that's not much help."

"Did you check the security recordings?" Kade asked. "They might show something."

"Starke said he didn't use electronic security."

"Then the bastard is lying," Jack said. "Clubs like that must have full scale security by law. Requisition the tapes."

"Requisitioning them might not be wise," Kade said. "If he wanted the Directorate to see them, he would have mentioned them. Asking for them through official channels merely gives him time to dispose of them."

I gave Kade a somewhat filthy look, which only made him raise his eyebrows and look amused. I suppose he wasn't to know that confronting Starke—or rather, confronting his overt sexuality—was not something I wanted right now. Not after barely escaping his presence the first time with my dignity intact.

"That's certainly possible. Go view those tapes, Riley," Jack ordered. "And if Starke tries to deny their existence, tell him I'm ready and willing to conduct a little interview with him."

"That makes it sound like there's a whole lot of history between you and Starke, boss."

"Let's just say we've had a few run-ins over the years, and leave it at that." He pushed away from the desk he'd been leaning against, and added, "But before you talk to Starke, I want you and Kade to head over to Keilor. A woman named Renatta Bailey was found dead in her home a couple of days ago, and the police have called us in."

"So they suspect non-human involvement?" Kade asked, suddenly looking far more interested in the proceedings. Maybe it was the office work that was getting him down—something I totally understood, and the reason I tended to avoid it where ever possible.

"They have no idea what to suspect," Jack said. "They fast-tracked the autopsy and found no external or internal causes. She just died."

"People don't usually just up and die," I said. "There has to be a reason, even if it's as simple as old age."

"She was twenty and in good health, so old age and organ failure are out, as are drugs or other substances. As I said, there was no obvious reason for her death."

"So why has it been fast-tracked to us?" I asked. "And why has it suddenly got priority over the beheadings? If the autopsy couldn't find a cause of death, and the police couldn't find anything suspicious, why do they think we can solve the case?"

"It's been fast-tracked to us because the woman who died is the niece of the governor, and he wants us on it."

"Political clout is a wonderful thing when it's abused," Kade muttered, echoing my sentiments exactly.

"Abuse or not, we'll look into it. And you, dear Riley, are on the case because you're the only one who can see souls. If she's hanging about and feeling talkative, it might be a quick way to solve this one and get back to the important crimes."

As if things were ever that simple. I glanced at Kade as Jack walked out of the room. "You got time to head over there now?"

"Hell yeah," he said, standing and stretching. "Some fresh air would be good."

My gaze traveled up the long length of him, pausing briefly on the washboard abs his hiked-up shirt revealed before moving on past his broad shoulders and muscular arms. Arms that could hold a girl just right, although they hadn't held me for quite a while now. Jack's no fraternizing rule and my own commitment to my relationship with Quinn had seen to that.

"What case has Jack got you working on right now?" I pulled my gaze away from his magnificent form and called up Cole's autopsy report. I didn't bother looking at it, just redirected to my car's onboard so I could check it out later.

"Some stupid vamp is feeding on kids at Luna Park." Which was one of the local amusement parks. Kade walked around the desk and offered me his arm. "Jack wants him stopped before it goes too far. I've spent the whole fucking day going through witness reports."

I smiled and hooked my arm through his, letting him escort me to the elevator. His scent spun around me, rich and fresh, reminding me of sunshine and freshly cut grass. "Like the new aftershave," I said, then added, "So why aren't you out there talking to the witnesses yourself?"