Top Secret Vampire (Monsters, PI #4)

6. Wolfram

Chapter 6

Wolfram

R eese rose and jogged around the SUV. “All four tires are slashed. Who’d do something like this?”

I pulled my phone out and called Detective Carter, the local law enforcement officer. Since he was close by, he said he’d be here within minutes.

“I’m terribly sorry.” I joined her beside her vehicle.

A siren rang out and the detective’s car pulled into the lot, stopping nearby. Detective Carter got out and came over, frowning as he studied the tires.

“Any idea when this happened?” he asked Reese.

“Sometime between me arriving at Monsters, PI about half an hour ago and now.”

He scanned the lot, but no one appeared to be paying any attention to us. “I’ll fill out a report. Could’ve been kids.”

I mentioned Tracy who’d recently quit and had appeared quite angry with Reese, and he noted that on his phone.

“I’ll talk to her,” he said. “Any others who might want to inconvenience you?” he asked Reese.

“This feels like more than an inconvenience.” She reminded him about the seagull, the blender incident, plus the written threats, but the detective didn’t appear concerned about them.

“Could mean nothing or everything,” he said after writing it all down. “As I said, appliances malfunction all the time.”

“Someone messed with it. I’m sure,” she said.

He nodded. “Birds can be unpredictable. As for the writing . . .”

Her chin lifted. “I told you it was there.”

“I wish you’d called me then rather than tell me later, after you’d wiped it off.”

“Yup.” The worry in her gaze sparked anger inside me. “I’m not making this up. Something’s going on, and I think it’s escalating.”

The detective nodded and tucked his phone into his back pocket. “Never dispose of evidence.” He grunted. “Let me know if anything else unusual happens. Do you want me to call a wrecker for your vehicle?”

“I’ll handle it.” I bit back my growl. This was all connected; I was convinced of it. A stalker? Possible. Whoever was trying to hurt Reese would pay dearly.

The detective left, and I called for someone to come collect her vehicle and take it to a garage where the tires could be replaced.

“I guess I’m flying with you now,” she said, gnawing on her lower lip. “I really need to make sure Tracy isn’t sabotaging my business accounts.”

“I’ll be glad to assist.”

It didn’t take long for the wrecker to arrive and load her vehicle on the back. He took down her information and told her that the garage would be in touch when her SUV was ready to be picked up. We watched as he drove the wrecker out of the lot.

“How will we fly?” she asked. “Are you hiding wings beneath your cape?” She looked up at me with so much sadness it gutted me. She must feel as if she’d been violated today, and that would make her uncertain about everything.

“Wings, Reese?” I said, a teasing grin tugging at my lips, hoping it would cheer her up. “I’m not your average bat boy.”

“You said you couldn’t turn into a bat.” She laughed, the sound brightening the unsettling moment. “If you could, you'd be tiny and unable to lift me, let alone take me to my house.”

“Nothing about me is tiny.”

“So say all the men.” Her eyebrows lifted as she scanned my frame.

My cock kicked into action, though it was going to have to back off. We'd just met. There was no way it would come close to this precious woman soon.

“Even if you were a big bat, I doubt you could fly us to my home.”

“Which is why I'll mistify us.”

She frowned. “You said you can't mistify luggage, so Cancun's out for a vacation destination. I assumed you could only mistify yourself.”

Myself and my true mate, though I wasn't going to mention that. There were many things I could extend to her as my mate, but now was also not the time to bring them up. I wanted this chance to know her better, to help her. Anything personal could come later.

“I can extend my mist to you,” I said.

Her gaze sharpened. “You can? Really?”

“Indeed.”

“Cool.”

I stepped closer and held out my hand. “Shall we?”

“You promise not to let go? I'm worried about getting my bits scattered.”

“Your bits are completely safe with me.” Not necessarily from me, but that, also, would have to wait.

“Let’s do it.” Her breath caught as I wrapped my arms around her, drawing her against my chest. She gave me her address, and I locked it in my mind.

At my command, shadows crept around us, light and insistent. A hint of sweet chocolate engulfed us, wrapping us up like a living blanket. That was the secret to mistification. To everyone else, it would appear as if our bodies had turned to steam, when in reality, the mist encircled us, and we could then travel anywhere within it.

Holding her felt wonderful, and I savored the moment. The mist flowed and coiled around us, drawing us tighter and, I swear, reinforcing the bond growing between us.

She gasped, gripping me with enough pressure to stir longing deep inside my chest. I enjoyed how she clung to me, how she made my heart thud with a delicious rhythm.

The emotions I harbored for her already could be dangerous, especially with her a human and me, a vampire. We were predators—and humans were our prey.

Shoving the thought aside, I steeled myself and focused, channeling the energy needed to travel. The pull of her essence surged through me and became a part of the dark mist, brightening its hues to gold.

“Hold on,” I said, both to comfort her and make sure she gripped me firmly.

With a rush, we plummeted into the void.

An instant later, the mist swirled away from us, and we stood on the beach at the base of a cliff.

“Whoa.” She clung to my chest, looking up at me with wide eyes. “That was . . .”

“Stunning?” I quipped.

The salty tang of the ocean air mingled with the rich scent of her hair—a blend that deepened my connection to her. Flowers danced around us, planted in flowerbeds framing the path. Sunlight glittered on the bay like diamonds sparkling as brightly as the feelings with my chest.

Her lips curled up on one side. “Disconcerting but sure, let's call it stunning.”

“I didn't frighten you, did I?”

She shook her head. “It was almost fun.”

“Almost?” I teased, tugging on a strand of her hair. I wanted to stroke it. Slide my fingers down her back. Draw her back into my arms.

Too soon.

I'd waited multiple lifetimes to find my fated one. You'd think I could bear waiting a little longer before claiming her fully.

There was something sweetly endearing about her that tugged on my newly awakened heart, and I wasn’t sure how to deal with the feelings threatening to overwhelm me. I’d lived a stark, somewhat cold life, the usual for a born vampire.

Now I not only possessed a heart that beat only for her but emotions unlike any I’d experienced before in my life. They would destroy me or set me free.

“That’s my home,” she said proudly, gesturing to the house above us, a sentinel overlooking the sea. Perched partway up the rugged cliff, it was a Victorian masterpiece with gray, weathered cedar shingles, white shutters, and a copper roof. Stained glass windows glistened in the sunlight. “It was vacant for years and was in rough shape when I bought it, but I fixed it up. Not me specifically.” She shot me a sweet smile. “I hired out some of the work. But I painted, refinished floors and woodwork, plus ordered all the fixtures myself.”

“It's lovely,” I said.

She smiled up at me. “Isn't it? It cost way more than I wanted to pay, but I fell in love with it when I saw it. I've worked hard and saved as much as I could, and I made a tidy profit on my apartment in New York City, so I could swing the price. I had to finance some of it, but I have a solid fanbase and my books sell well. I plan to pay it off as soon as I can.”

“I congratulate you on your success.” Would she welcome me reading her books or would she see that as an intrusion into her mind? I'd ask her one day.

“Follow me.” she waved toward the cliff. “I'll show you around the house after I've made sure everything's okay online.”

As we walked along the sandy path toward the base of the cliff with a long stairway ahead to reach the top, I studied our surroundings for threats. Leaves rustled in the wind. Seagulls called in the distance. And waves lapped on the shore. Reese walked beside me, her focus miles away, absorbed in her thoughts about online accounts and her former assistant. I took in her beautiful profile. Her furrowed brow revealed the stress weighing on her mind.

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught movement near the second-floor window of her home, a shadow flitting past. My instincts screamed.

“Reese,” I whispered, reaching out to grab her wrist. “Someone's . . .” I squinted into the sunlight but didn’t see anything. Was I mistaken or—

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“Just . . . let’s proceed cautiously.” I kept my voice low. I had to keep her safe.

The shadow shifted again, this time on the first floor, and I sped up, pushing down the fear coiling in my gut. Before we reached the base of the stairs leading up the cliff, I spied someone climbing out a window on the left side of the building, tumbling to the ground between tall hedges.

“Reese.” I tightened my grip on her wrist. “Someone was inside your house.”

Her brow creased. “What do you mean?”

“Wait here.” I slipped into mist, letting the shadows wrap around me like a cloak. It felt exhilarating to transform, to be free to glide across the ground without anything holding me back. I flowed away from her, darting up the cliffs and around the left side of the house. The scent of salt air mingled with the earthy aroma of plants.

Leaving the mist near the building, I sharpened my senses. I scanned the perimeter, noting every sound, every rustle that could point me to the intruder. My heart raced, though not from fear but from the instinct to protect Reese. A flash of movement caught my eye, and I spotted the figure slipping down the driveway and onto the road.

They hesitated, perhaps sensing I was nearby, before bolting to a vehicle and climbing inside.

Before I could mistify and reform at their side, the air twisted around them. The vehicle shimmered and disappeared.

A chill coursed through me. This was no ordinary trespasser. Whoever they were, they could wield magic much like my own.

Growling, I turned back toward the house, my fists clenched in frustration.