The Necklace Thief and Benjamin

Chapter 1

In the parking garage underneath Scanguards’ headquarters in the Mission neighborhood of San Francisco, Benjamin LeSang got out of his black Porsche Carrera and walked to the elevator.

He had to wait for only a few seconds before the doors opened.

When he entered, he realized that the elevator wasn’t empty.

“Hey, Zane,” he greeted the over a hundred-year-old pure-blooded vampire with the bald head and the stoic expression that seemed to be chiseled into his face, rarely allowing for a smile or any emotion, for that matter. “Since when are you working the day shift?”

“I’m not.”

Zane was as taciturn as ever, and normally, he wouldn’t have forced a conversation on him, but after spending ten days on a boring out-of-town assignment protecting a neurotic businessman, he missed the camaraderie that reigned among his extended Scanguards family.

However, seeing Zane or any other pure-blooded vampire at HQ during daylight hours was rare, because most vampires slept during the day and worked at night.

“Anything going on? Are we gearing up for something important?”

Zane turned his head, giving him a sideways look. “Guess you’re not in the loop.”

“That’s why I’m asking.”

Zane tapped the gun on his holster, making him aware that he was armed, which in itself was unusual.

The bald vampire was known for being one of the most ferocious hand-to-hand combatants Scanguards had on its payroll, and he didn’t need a gun to be lethal.

It was common knowledge that he’d once torn the beating heart out of a rapist with his bare hands.

“The hybrids challenged the old-timers to a little sharpshooting competition. It’ll be held next week.”

Benjamin raised an eyebrow. “Are you saying you’re coming to practice? I thought you were a natural.”

After all, Zane had taught Eddie, Benjamin’s uncle, to shoot, and thanks to Zane imparting his skills, Eddie had been able to save Thomas’s life over thirty-five years ago by shooting and killing his opponent.

The elevator stopped.

Zane grimaced, looking insulted. “I’m not the one who needs practice.”

The doors opened, and he caught sight of Samson, who stood there, waiting.

Zane tipped his chin toward the owner and founder of Scanguards. “Samson.”

“Hey, Zane. Was just about to look for you.” Then his gaze swept to Benjamin. “What are you doing here? Didn’t you just come off a ten-day assignment in San Diego? You’re supposed to be on leave for a few days.”

Benjamin exited the elevator. “Yeah, and that was boring enough. Another day without anything real to do, and I’m climbing up the walls.”

“Ah, the young ones. Always ready for another adventure.” Samson exchanged a look with Zane, whose lips twitched as if he was about to smile.

“It’s not the youth that drives this one,” Zane replied, motioning in Benjamin’s direction. “It’s the fact that he’s got nobody to warm his bed.”

Samson chuckled. “Very true. Now let’s get on with the lesson, so I can go back to my bed. After all, I’ve got an insatiable wife to satisfy.”

Benjamin rolled his eyes while Samson entered the elevator. “Blood-bonded vampires—truly, you’re all cut out of the same cloth. Trust me, I’m not going to let a woman wrap me around her little finger like you guys, or like Damian.”

His twin brother had become decidedly domesticated, preferring to be alone with his blood-bonded mate, Naomi, to wild nights partying.

“Famous last words,” Zane said.

“And if you need something to do, go see Cooper. We just got a couple of new contracts in.”

The elevator doors closed on Samson’s last words. Benjamin went off to search for his fellow hybrid vampire Cooper. They were only a year apart in age, but Cooper had already joined the ranks of the blood-bonded vampires and vampire hybrids working for Scanguards.

It appeared that whenever he blinked, somebody else had found true love.

He wasn’t envious of what they had. In fact, he enjoyed his single life and wasn’t in a hurry to give it up.

He couldn’t imagine being blood-bonded and having sex with only one woman for the rest of his life.

How did the attraction not wane after a while?

How could sexual desire remain alive between a couple like Samson and Delilah who’d been together for nearly forty years?

And he knew it was still alive. Whenever he saw Samson together with his mate, he could see it in the way they looked at each other and touched one another.

And Samson and Delilah weren’t the only ones who behaved like that. His own parents, Amaury and Nina, were like newlyweds, sneaking away to be alone whenever they could.

They and his friends all had fallen for their respective mates within a few days, if not hours.

For a vampire, all emotions were amplified, and despite a vampire’s immortality, none of them had wanted to wait even a week before entering into an unbreakable blood-bond.

Sure, he wanted the same—one day, but today wasn’t that day.

He had time, even though he was celebrating his 37th birthday later this week.

His body didn’t age, and his face would retain the same youthfulness it had shown when he’d turned twenty-one.

The only part of him that kept maturing was his mind.

He’d been gaining lots of experience in all facets of life in his twenties and thirties.

Now, he was a lot wiser and less impulsive.

He enjoyed his life fully and with few boundaries.

He loved the excitement of his job as a bodyguard and criminal investigator.

He found Cooper in Quinn’s office. During nighttime hours, Quinn, a pure-blooded vampire, was responsible for assigning jobs to everybody who worked for Scanguards. During the daytime, one of the vampire hybrids covered for him.

Benjamin entered the office and closed the door behind him.

“Hey, Coop.”

“Hey, Bro. You’re back. How was it?”

“Piece of cake. The guy was just paranoid and definitely not in danger of being attacked or kidnapped.”

“Well, at least you got a little sunshine down in SoCal. It’s been dreary up here.”

“Nothing wrong with a bit of fog,” Benjamin replied. He motioned to the papers on the desk. “Samson said we’ve got some new contracts in. Anything good?”

Cooper smirked. “And by good you mean exciting and dangerous, right?”

Benjamin shrugged. “Anything that’s a little challenging.”

“So not the babysitting job then.” Cooper tapped on a thin file and pushed it aside. “That leaves the Preston party.”

“What’s that about?”

“Providing security for their party on Friday night. There’ll be a lot of people and even more valuables: jewelry, paintings, sculptures, and the like. It’s benefiting some charity.”

Benjamin made a grimace. “A rich people’s party? Sounds boring. Nothing is gonna happen there.”

“That’s why they’re hiring us: so that nothing does happen. After last year’s incident, they wanna be on the safe side.”

Benjamin furrowed his forehead. “What incident?”

“Didn’t you hear about that jewelry theft? It was all over the news. Some super-expensive necklace with totally rare precious stones. Worth several million dollars.”

Now he remembered.

“Oh, those Prestons! That was quite a spectacle when they got the guy.”

“Yep. That’s why they want three highly trained people for this event.”

“I guess it’s better than twiddling my thumbs. Who else is free?”

Cooper looked into the computer monitor and used the mouse to scroll.

“Ethan and Lydia. They’re in the V-Lounge, if you want to grab them and do an initial assessment. You’ve got seniority, so you’ll run point.”

Cooper handed him a thin file. “You should find everything you need in here. I’ll send a message to the Prestons to tell them whom we’ve assigned.”

“Good. I’ll get right on it.”

He left the office and made his way down to the V-Lounge on the first floor. This was the place where only vampires, vampire hybrids, and their families were allowed. The reason for this was the fact that the bar served human blood on tap—the same way other bars served beer.

It wasn’t busy, since most vampires only came to headquarters after sunset. Ethan and Lydia waved to him from a comfortable seating area, both of them with a half-full glass of blood on the coffee table in front of them.

“Welcome home.” Lydia greeted him with a smile.

She was Cooper’s older sister, although they weren’t related by blood.

Lydia was adopted. She’d originally had long red hair inherited from her birth parents, but just before her twenty-first birthday she’d bleached and dyed it blond.

When her body had set into its final form, it had retained the blond hair.

Together with her beautiful singing voice, Lydia was stunning.

Many a man had made advances, but despite the fact that she’d been with many men, she never dated anyone for long.

So far, nobody had met her high standards for a blood-bonded mate.

“It’s good to be home,” Benjamin said, while he motioned to the bartender. “O-neg please.”

The bartender nodded, and Benjamin sat down opposite his two friends.

“Cooper just texted about the assignment,” Ethan said. “I’m surprised you’re not taking a couple of days off.”

Benjamin chuckled. “I feel like I had ten days off already.”

“That eventful, huh?” Ethan asked.

“Yep.”

The bartender brought him a glass of blood.

“Thanks, buddy!”

While he took a sip, he looked back at Ethan.

After his twin, Damian, had moved out, he and Ethan had gotten closer, frequenting the bars and nightclubs together, just like he’d done with Damian.

Ethan, too, was the last in his family who wasn’t blood-bonded, and therefore took advantage of the plentiful nightlife in San Francisco.

“Did Cooper give you all the details on the Preston job?” Lydia asked.

Benjamin lifted the file in his hand. “I’m up to speed. We should go and do our assessment today.”

“Yeah, after the drink,” Ethan agreed.

Lydia jerked her thumb in Ethan’s direction. “It’s his second one. So we can leave anytime you want.”

“Drink up, guys,” Benjamin said and gulped down the viscous liquid until his glass was empty.

He loved the way the blood coated his parched throat and ignited all cells in his body.

With it, the vampire inside him awoke, and awareness of his surroundings infused his body.

He loved the feeling of heightened senses that made everything around him more vivid: the colors, the sounds, the tastes, the smells.

Yes, particularly the smells. It was the sense he relied on the most. But he couldn’t linger for another glass of blood.

“Time to get to work.”