the silence and shut his file with a loud bang against the table. “How many kills?” he asked Mike.
I glanced up from the file and smiled when I took a good look at Chase. He wore his usual ‘think tank’ expression—brows furrowed, lips pursed and eyes focused. He might be serious, but all I felt like doing was littering his face with kisses. Inappropriate, but I could never ignore just how sexy he looked when he was all focused like.
Mike took a sip of his coffee, then answered, “Seven in a week.”
Chase raised his brows and whistled. “Busy boy.” His gaze turned curious. “If they have the suspect what’s the problem here?”
“Before his capture, he abducted two other women, Kelly Lewis and Sabrina Stopforth. Both women are presumed to be alive. The problem? The suspect won’t give up where they are located. He has indicated enough that he has them hidden.”
“Ahh…I see.” Chase drummed his fingers on the table.
Mike closed his file folder and let out a long deep breath. “We need to get down there and investigate him. Learn more so that when Hadley interrogates him she has enough to go on.”
I sighed quietly to myself, not loud enough for mortal ears to hear it. This was the annoying part of the job. I could just walk right in there and make him spill his guts. But if the team had been called in, it meant the police working the case were at a dead end.
Meaning, if I sauntered in and got the information, I would set off warning bells. That I couldn’t allow.
Vampires had rules. Ones made by our leaders known as Mistress Vampires, each of whom run a region in the United States. The rule above all else was clear cut—keep your identity a secret. It kept vampires safe from being hunted and destroyed. Anyone who broke that rule, paid for it with their life.
I liked living too much to make that mistake. Each and every time there was a case, I followed the same protocol. Gather information and history about the suspect’s past, while the men headed off to do the investigative part. Then, when we all had enough, I took what I had and made it appear that I had gained a one-up on the police force.
Annoying, but rules were rules.
Mike finished off his coffee in a few deep gulps then glanced at the clock. “Flight leaves at nine, which is in an hour.” He nodded to the door. “Go get your shit from your lockers and meet at the airstrip in twenty.”
Nick jumped up, eager as he always was before we were knee deep in a mystery.
And the shit-eating grin on his face only confirmed his enthusiasm. “And let the games begin.”
Chapter Two
An hour and half later, the plane touched down and we were immediately en route to the Milwaukee Police Department, District Seven. Now, as we proceeded to step through the front doors of headquarters we weren’t given a very warm welcome. Every police officer that greeted us appeared less than happy of our arrival, as most of them scowled as we walked by.
“Tough crowd,” Chase grumbled.
I wasn’t surprised to receive this kind of reaction. It was understandable, so I tried not to let it affect me. First off, it was close to eleven now. All the cops here were running on empty and probably had been for days since they were in the deep of the investigation.
Second, the crimes happened in their city. They weren’t looking for help in finding these missing women. They wanted to be the heroes and I respected that.
However, the choice wasn’t theirs any longer. Seven young women had lost their lives and two more remained missing—the need for pride within this police force had left. I could handle the grumpy men if it meant these two women were found alive.
It wasn’t often we were brought in on a case where the victims were still missing.
Usually, they were already dead and we were hunting a killer. To say this was a unusual situation would be very accurate.
Just as the door slammed behind me, a kind voice called out, “Mike.”
I glanced toward the voice on my right. The man’s tone matched his look with equal softness.
His sandy hair with hints of grey around his face was cut almost to his scalp.
His brown eyes squinted from the smile that crossed his lips. I could only assume that this was the the Chief of Police since he was the one greeting