Crystal Jordan - Embrace the Night

“Agent Rogers, thank you so much for looking in on this case for me, but I think my team can handle things from here.”

An ugly flush mottled the little man’s face, and his mouth moved stiffly when he spoke. “Of course, sir.

Good luck.”

Merek turned back to the interrogation room to hide his smirk. The bureaucrat didn’t like when someone else pul ed rank on him, did he? Served him right. Merek slid his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels as Caval i shut the door behind the other agent. “So . . . care to share? Off the record, of course.”

“Of course.” The vampire grinned, and a bit of fang showed. “The murder was only the start of something we think is much bigger.”

If it wasn’t personal issues that motivated the murder, then it was professional. “Something about the werewolf project both of them are working on.”

“Yes.” Caval i sighed and copied Merek’s pose, hands in pockets, half his attention on Chloe’s questioning and half on the conversation at hand. “I just got back from Desmodus Industries. The third lead in their project—Ivan Nemov—didn’t show up to work today. He hasn’t missed a single day for the entire length of the project—no vacation, not even a sick day.”

Obsessed, just as Chloe had said. “That’s more information than they gave us about anything.”

“I’m a vampire.” That elegant wave again. “They’re owned by the Conclave.”

Merek grunted. “What else?”

With a tired sigh, Caval i shrugged. “Maybe nothing. Someone tried to hack your little scientist’s project files . . . unsuccessful y, but that’s apparently not unusual when a company is involved in multi-bil ion dol ar research. My tech geniuses are impressed with Desmodus’s encryption and security.”

Which also fit with the information Chloe had revealed in her interview. “Why kil Dr. Raines if they’re just wanting access to the research?”

“Hel if I know,” Caval i’s voice roughened, showing a hint of the Italian accent of the vampire’s homeland.

“What I do know is that this is involved with Leonard Smith and his network.”

The blood froze in Merek’s veins, and the hair rose on the back of his neck. No one in Magickal law enforcement hadn’t heard that name. The werewolf terrorist had been trying to start a revolution in pack politics—hell, all Magickal politics—for the better part of a century. Rumor was he had people planted in every Magickal branch of every government agency. With the number of times he’d slipped between their fingers, Merek wouldn’t be surprised if that rumor were true.

And somehow, someway, Chloe was now involved with one of the most wanted men alive.

Merek’s stomach did a slow pitch and rol . “Shit.”

“Yeah, that was my thought, too.” The fangs were ful y bared this time, and pure predatory hunter flashed in the vampire’s eyes.

“How does she figure into this?” Merek didn’t want to ask the question, didn’t want the answer. He’d thought of her too often in the last couple of months, and his mind absolutely rebel ed at thinking she might be the only person left standing on the project’s R & D team for a reason. A cop couldn’t help but be a cynic, and while he knew the possibility was there, he damn wel didn’t want to consider it, which wasn’t like him.

He didn’t like his knee-jerk reactions to this woman.

The vampire cast a glance in his direction, but he avoided it. “We don’t think she has any ties with Smith, if that’s what you’re asking. The woman is squeaky clean, and a Standish witch on top of that. More likely the connection is this missing Nemov werewolf. He’s fanatical, spent every waking moment since his wife died trying to find a way to manage lycanthropy. His coworkers say he’s constantly pushing things faster than their regulations can go, gets irate about red tape.” Caval i nodded toward Chloe. “As far as we know, she just happens to be working on a project that Smith wants to control.”

“If they haven’t found a treatment yet . . . shit. ” They’d found a treatment or were close enough to it that someone—maybe Nemov—jumped the gun. Gods, but a treatment for lycanthropy. What werewolf wouldn’t give damn near anything to be rid of the life-threatening aspects of the disease? And that was why Smith had to want it. With that drug, he could trump every leader of every pack on the planet, create total revolution or anarchy, if he wanted. The idea of rampaging werewolves unchecked by the packs and the Al -Magickal Council sent a shudder through Merek. Smith could be more powerful than any one person should ever be.

“My techs have confirmed the company files were not accessed. Because Smith couldn’t get the files, he appears to have gone the human route. So. We have to assume Smith got the information he wanted, what with Nemov unaccounted for and Raines dead.... Dr. Standish is the only thing standing between Smith and the lycanthropy treatment.”

A hot burst of relief ran through Merek that he hadn’t been fixating on someone who’d sel out to a terrorist cel , but the thought that she was the only one between Leonard Smith and what he wanted turned that hot burst to a frigid chil .

“We’re putting her in protective custody, of course. The last thing we want is Smith getting his hands on her, but the fact that we know he wants her so badly could prove very useful to us. I’l exploit any advantage I can get.” Caval i ran a finger down his little soul patch. “One of my men—Peyton—is handling arrangements for her now.”

“Good.” But Merek didn’t like it. He didn’t like that this woman was disappearing from his life again, and especial y when he knew she was in danger. Peyton he knew only by reputation, but Caval i was good at his job, the best. Merek had crossed paths with him before, had been assigned to him once or twice when his precog skil s came in handy to the FBI, and nothing he’d ever seen or heard had ever made him doubt the other man’s abilities. He was legend.

And Merek stil didn’t want to let Chloe out of his sight.

The cel phone on Caval i’s belt vibrated, and he checked it. “That’l be Peyton. Keep an eye on her for twenty, maybe thirty minutes, and we’l get her out of your hair.”

“She’l be in my office.”

“Thanks. And don’t tel her anything. That’s my job.” Caval i waved over his shoulder, the phone already pressed to his ear as he spoke quietly to the person on the other end.

Merek heard muffled feminine conversation as Selina left Chloe at his office door and told her to go in and wait. His partner hadn’t asked him why he’d wanted her to do so, and he was damn grateful. He didn’t have an explanation. Caval i could just as easily have picked Chloe up from the interrogation room, but Merek wanted a few minutes alone with her before she was gone again.

She came in, shut the door behind her, leaned back against it, closed her eyes, and sighed. Intense relief crossed her expression, and he felt the tiniest twinge of guilt that he was going to upset her, but he had some questions he wanted answered that had nothing to do with work. Starting with why she’d cast a deep sleep spel on him in order to sneak out of his bed. Anger he didn’t want to feel burned in his gut at that, along with worry and . . . fear . . . for what she was about to be thrown into. A terrorist was after her, and there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it.

His jaw clenched, and he growled, “Hel o again, Chloe.”

She startled, her eyes flying open, and her gaze snapped to his face. The color fled her face in a quick rush. “Oh, fuck me.”

“I tried that once, remember?” Steel edged his voice, and he realized exactly how pissed he’d been that she’d bailed on him. Denial. He didn’t like that either. He was brutal y honest with himself about everything.