“Is there anyone angry with either of you? Who might have taken your daughter to hurt you?”
Mr. Richards shook his head again, but his wife looked up, fury replacing the tears in her eyes. “Are you suggesting this is somehow our fault? That we’re to blame for Cassie’s disappearance?” Despite the anger radiating from her, her voice cracked when she said the girl’s name.
Jeremiah stepped up beside Juliana, ready to protect her, even if it was only from venomous words. She placed a hand on his arm to let him know she could handle it. “I’m not suggesting anything, Mrs. Richards.” She kept her voice level, calm. “I am merely trying to get all the information possible so I can find the person responsible for this.”
The woman stood and wrung her hands together. Juliana resisted the urge to take another step back. She distrusted people in general and it was difficult to allow them within touching distance. Especially when they were angry with her.
“You mean so you can find my Cassie, Walker Norris.” The mother’s eyes bored into Juliana’s looking for something, making her wish she’d kept her sunglasses on. She hated talking to the families. Give her a rabid troll any day of the week over a grieving parent. So much easier to deal with.
“I’ll do my best to find your daughter, Mrs. Richards.” She meant the words, but didn’t have much faith in her ability to deliver. Not the way the woman meant anyway.
“Cassie.”
“I’m sorry?”
“Her name is Cassie. Say it.”
Juliana clenched her teeth and worked the muscle in her jaw.
“Say it,” the woman yelled and the buzz of activity around them fell silent as people stopped to listen.
“Marsha,” her husband said, pulling on her arm. “Leave her alone. She’s only doing her job.”
Her eyes never strayed from Juliana. “That’s exactly the problem. Everyone here is just doing their job. My daughter is not a job. She’s a little girl who is somewhere alone, frightened and crying for me and I can’t get to her.” She broke on the last part and took a deep breath before continuing. “Now, Walker Norris, I want to hear you say my daughter’s name.”
Juliana slid her sunglasses back on, not caring if it gave the woman a victory or not. “I will do my very best to bring Cassie back to you, Mrs. Richards. To both of you. Now, if you’ll excuse me.” She walked away without waiting for a response.
“You okay?” Jeremiah asked when they got to the fence. He kept his voice low so they wouldn’t be overheard.
She hooked the fingers of one hand into it and kept her face turned away. “Next time the parents are all yours,” she told him. “I’m done.”
Chapter Two
An hour later, Juliana sat at a pitted, scarred table at her favorite watering hole. Papers lay scattered across the table in front of her and a half-f pot of coffee rested near her elbow. Ordinarily she wouldn’t bring her work to a bar, but with the Den of Iniquity closed indefinitely, no one was around to complain. Thomas Kendrick, master vampire, Council member and all around pain in the ass, happened to own it. Since they were also United, she came and went as she pleased.
Not that he was around to notice. At the moment, her mate wasn’t speaking to her. She assumed he wasn’t, anyway. She hadn’t seen him once since he dropped her off at home after she saved him from a demon. While he could still be dealing with the fallout of everything that occurred while he was demon-ridden, it was just as likely he was mad at her. Whether that was because she stabbed him or because he thought she’d slept with his best friend she had no idea.
Miguel popped his head out of the back room. “Are you doing okay, Jules? You need anything?”
She glanced at the coffee and shook her head. “I’m good. Thanks.” He nodded once and disappeared behind the door. Miguel was the reason she came here. He left her mostly undisturbed when she came in, but at least he was there. It was better than sitting at home alone or holing up in her office at the Agency. Working in the office made her feel like a specimen that people came by occasionally to observe. In fact, she was so rarely there that she wouldn’t be surprised if she had to ask directions just to find her desk.
Miguel’s mothering reminded her of Tony and a knife of grief pierced her heart. Her last case had been brutal and his wasn’t the only life lost, but he was the one closest to her. They’d been friends for years. The demon in Thomas methodically tortured Tony simply because it could and when it was done with him, it slit his throat in the middle of the dance floor of the Den right in front of her. She might have saved him if she’d been willing to kill Thomas, but it wasn’t a trade she’d been willing to make. Miguel hadn’t gotten away unscathed, but he’d recovered from the torment. Now, he’d taken over Tony’s job as manager. Not that there was anything to manage.
Thomas had spent an exorbitant amount of money to erase all signs of the brutality from the premises, even going so far as to completely replace the flooring and some of the furnishings. Somehow, he’d managed to maintain the hole-in-the-wall atmosphere despite the smell of fresh wood and flooring adhesive that still permeated the air. She wondered if he was ever going to reopen. The realization she was moping came with a flare of annoyance. Curse the man. She’d have to talk him into opening a new bar if he gave up on this one. Every other place in town sucked.
Laying a hand against the side of the coffeepot, she wove a thread of fire through the cold beverage, then topped off her mug with the now-steaming liquid. The
click
of the front door echoed in the empty bar. A tendril of warm comfort brushed the back of her neck, caressed her cheek and wrapped itself around her. A tremor ran through her that had nothing to do with the chill in the air. Her mate had arrived. Doubtless, Miguel called and told him she was here. She kept her eyes on the table in front of her. She’d face a drunken ogre before she gave Thomas the pleasure of acknowledging his arrival after she’d spent weeks with no contact from him.
She stared at the papers in front of her, not really seeing them. She’d read every file front to back at least a dozen times. All the information in them had long since been cataloged into her brain. But she kept looking, hoping to find something she’d missed. So far, nothing. Not even a period out of place. Somewhere was the answer that would help her find those kids and she would be the one to find it.
The chair on the opposite side of the table scraped across the floor. Thomas dropped into the seat and thumped his heavy black boots onto the tabletop. Leaning back in her chair, she ran her gaze over the long line of dark denim and black cotton that encased his lean body. The skin around his topaz eyes stretched tight with worry.
She gave him a half smile and anxiety thrashed in her belly like pixies trapped in a jar. Still unsure of her status with him, she didn’t know how to act. Friend. Lover. United. All those words described her, or had at some point. Whether they still did, she had no idea. Except United. They would always be United, even if they came to despise each other. Unions were for life, however many miserable centuries that might be.
* * *
Thomas Kendrick watched emotions flit over his bride’s face and wondered what she was thinking. He hadn’t seen her in weeks though he always knew where she was, what she was doing. It was his duty to protect her, and he was never going to fail in that again. The distance of the past several weeks had been necessary. After she rescued him from that cursed demon, he had much to process and recover from. Both the atrocities he committed and the horrors he discovered while demon-ridden.
Several people under his protection had been killed by the sadistic demon bent on his mate’s destruction. The brutality Juliana had undergone when he left her seven years ago, however, was all on him. He never should have left her unprotected, regardless of the purity of his intentions. Never should he have strayed so far from her side.
She’d asked for time after they’d United and he took the opportunity to give her a chance to experience life without him. He’d had centuries to taste life. She’d had two decades. The only thing his decision had brought either of them was an extended period of misery and grief. Sometimes he wasn’t the brightest vampire. He should have known, should have seen that she didn’t want to live without him. But he’d taken too long to come home and he’d been fighting for her and with her ever since he returned.
“Are you okay?” he asked finally, his voice low, rough with emotion.
She arched a brow. “Any reason I shouldn’t be?”
A muscle in his jaw twitched as he resisted the urge to say something biting. It was himself he was angry with, not her. “You are investigating the disappearances, are you not?” It was the reason he’d finally sought her out. The case would eat at her; it’s just how she was.
He hated that she’d been saddled with the responsibility, but the parents couldn’t ask for a better crusader for their children. Juliana would be relentless until she found them. Her face fell with his words and he instantly wished he could snatch them back. He preferred her annoyance to the defeat he saw now.
She sighed and ran a hand down her face. “Yeah. Lucky me. I don’t know why. I’m not any good at this stuff.”
His mate always underestimated her abilities. “What stuff?” he said, the word filled with distaste. He’d always found it remarkably unspecific. He searched her eyes, trying to determine if she kept anything from him.
“The wait and see. The investigation. I’m much better at the hunting part. Give me something to stab and I’m all over it.”
His lips twitched as he tried not to smile. No point in antagonizing her. “Yes. Patience has never been your strongest virtue.”
“Thanks for that. Very helpful.” She paused before adding, “Does this mean you’re talking to me again?”
He stilled. All she had to do was call and he would have told her anything she desired. Been at her side in an instant. It never occurred to him his silence would be perceived as a punishment. “Who said I wasn’t talking to you?”
She blinked at him.
Gods, he loved seeing her off-kilter, at least when it came to him.
* * *
Curse him if his smile didn’t make her warm in all the right places. He was so cocky, so sure of himself. The bastard. She hated that she couldn’t hold onto her irritation when he was around. All he had to do was flash that smile or turn a sweet phrase and she melted. Damned if she’d let him know it though.
“Hungry?” he asked as he dropped his feet to the floor.
She frowned at the sudden change in topic but took a mental inventory of when she’d last consumed a meal. “Yeah, I could eat.”
His phone played a morose melody and he stood to pull it out of his pocket. “I’ve got to take this.” He moved over to the bar, leaving her to frown at his back. The problem with Thomas was he had too many secrets. Considering the rather large amount of her own she’d been known to carry around, she supposed she should be more forgiving. Besides, for all she knew, he was ordering supplies for the bar. On the other side of the room. In a whisper.
She stood and stacked her files, slipping them back into her satchel. Her phone vibrated in her pocket as she finished.
“Norris,” she answered.
“It’s me.” Jeremiah’s voice held none of its usual cool edge. Something was wrong.
“What is it?” she asked, afraid she already knew the answer.
“The Hunter twins.” Three simple words that confirmed all her fears. Made her chest ache as she struggled to breathe.
She dropped her head and closed her eyes. The twins were the first children reported missing, the first ones they knew were the victims of the Thief. “Where?”
“The overlook.”
“Give me fifteen.” She snapped the phone shut and slipped it back into her pocket.
“What’s wrong?” Thomas asked from his spot by the bar.
She shook her head, clenched her teeth in irritation. Deep down she’d known they wouldn’t get all the children back alive, but until now, she’d had hope. Their parents had hope. Juliana snatched up her bag and walked over to stand in front of her mate. “That was Jeremiah. I’ve got to go.”
“Anything I can help with?”
Technically, she could say yes and take him with her. She’d recently learned Thomas was a Warden of the High Order. The Wardens had existed since Stonehenge. Then, their purpose had been to keep the Altered from discovery. Now, it was to keep them in line. Among the Altered, the Order’s word was the ultimate law. The Agency still superseded them when it came to anything in public view, however. It wouldn’t do to let the government know they weren’t in complete control of the situation.
As the Wardens often stepped in to offer their aid, no one would think anything of him accompanying her to the crime scene. But if he went with her, it would be to comfort her, not because she thought he’d actually be any help. Despite his earlier teasing, he was better at the hunting part of the job, too. Of course, he
was
a predator.
“They found two of the kids up at the overlook.”
He slumped against the bar behind him. “The media will go into a feeding frenzy over this.”
She shook her head. “I know.” The media already fueled the public furor at every available opportunity. Once it came out that two of the children had been killed there would be no controlling it. Not that she blamed anyone for being cautious. She’d already told Thomas’s sister Sara to keep her daughter inside as much as possible. But there was a difference between caution and mind-numbing fear. Unfortunately, it seemed to be the latter that the media tried to cultivate.
“Call me when you’re finished.” It was more of a question than a statement. He was keeping track of her, watching over her. Her independent side bristled, but the rest of her liked it very much. She nodded, headed up the stairs and out the door.
* * *
Thomas watched her leave, fighting the urge to follow. She wouldn’t appreciate the interference. Besides, he had other matters to attend to. He ran his thumb along the side of his phone as he replayed the call in his head. Two days ago, they’d gotten a tip that Raoul DeSoto was in South America. Thomas had sent his second, Michael Bishop, to follow up. The phone call had been Michael confirming their prey was hiding in Brazil.
Thomas’s need to stay near Juliana and protect her warred with his need to dispose of the bastard who raped her and left her for dead. A growl escaped him before he could stop it. The act may have happened seven years ago, but he’d only recently found out about it so the grief and anger were fresh. If he had known, Raoul would have been taken care of long ago. Or perhaps not. There was a certain pleasure to be had in extending the death of one’s enemies.
Thomas hadn’t yet decided if he was going to see to the matter himself or not, but if he did, everything needed to be in place for Juliana’s protection. With the push of a button, he called one of his oldest associates. “I need you to do something for me.”
* * *
Yellow crime-scene tape snapped in the wind at the bottom of the hill. Juliana parked her silver Ducati alongside it and ignored the cacophony of shouted questions from the mass of reporters. She tried not to flinch as flashbulbs went off and cameras filmed her arrival. She really hated the media. She nodded to the officer standing guard, and he lifted the tape for her to duck under it. She stood there taking in the sight before her.
The normal commotion was evident but it was subdued. That was typical when a child was involved. As hardened as they all were, as many of these scenes as they’d all been to, the kids got to them. When they didn’t, it was time to find a new line of work.
The activity centered at the top of the hill, which she supposed was a blessing. It would make it almost impossible for the cameras to get a shot of what was happening. With a sigh, she made her way up. The group at the top separated to make room for her in their little circle. The sight that greeted her stole her breath, made her heart ache. She closed her eyes for a moment and just breathed, reminded herself to stay separate from the victims. To not sympathize too deeply.
She opened her eyes and looked at Jeremiah. “Where’s our lead?”
He gestured across the clearing with a jerk of his chin toward two men at the perimeter. “Next to the photographer. He’s been waiting for you to get here.”
Surprise shot through her, but she hid it. Usually the head detective gave her the hardest time over the jurisdictional shit. “Name?”
“Detective Warren Taft.”
Juliana made her way to the man in question, looking him over as she went. He was about her age with blond hair and green eyes. She supposed he was attractive in a pretty kind of way, but she preferred her men dark and rugged. Like a certain vampire she knew.