“Can I help you?” he asked, looking back and forth between the two huge Warriors.
“Buzz them through,” Officer Pete Rosen ordered before Damon could answer.
Damon and Jared passed through the door. “Where are they, Pete?”
Frowning, Pete tilted his head for them to follow him. Stepping into a room, he closed the door. Pete Rosen had been on the Cincinnati police force since he was twenty-one years old. He was six months from retiring at the age of fifty-five. He had seen a lot of shit during his years on the force, but nothing had prepared him for working with vampires. To his surprise, he had enjoyed his short time working with the Warriors and respected them deeply. So when he saw Nicole come in handcuffed with another woman he didn’t know, he had called Damon right away. Nicole was well known around the police station, and he always had a soft spot for her; she was the best when it came to the kids she worked with. She was always hitting up the police department for charities.
Pete leaned against the closed door and sighed. “Detective Ferguson is interrogating them.”
“Who the fuck is that, and why is he interrogating my wife?” Damon growled taking a step toward the door.
“What the hell did they do?” Jared crossed his arms, not sure he wanted to hear the answer to that question. The only thing that Pete had told them over the phone was that they had Nicole and another woman in custody, which Jared assumed was Tessa.
“They broke into Pam Braxton’s apartment,” Pete replied. “And Tom Ferguson is lead detective on Sheriff Bowman’s murder.”
“Dammit!” Jared rubbed his hand up and down his face.
“Dammit is right.” Pete frowned. “Ferguson is an asshole and will do anything to close a case. Rumor has it, he plans on running for mayor, so the more bad guys he puts away, the more votes go in his pocket.”
“So in other words, he’d make a deal with the devil.” Jared knew the type all too well.
“If he hasn’t already.” Pete opened the door and headed down the hall to another room where two men sat watching a monitor.
Jared and Damon both looked at the screen, seeing Nicole and Tessa seated at a small table that was attached to the wall. A tall balding man in a suit stood in the middle of the room, his hands clasped behind his back.
Damon noticed Nicole wincing. The man moved, and he saw why. Her hands were in front of her on her lap, handcuffed. “Those better not be silver handcuffs.”
One of the men sitting at the monitor snorted. “She’s a fucking vampire, of course it’s silver.” His laugh died a quick death when he turned and met the black eyes of Damon DeMasters.
Jared stepped in front of Damon. “Well, since she is a vampire, as dumbass over there has pointed out, we have authority.” He nodded toward Pete and the door. “Lead the way, Pete.”
Damon growled, flashing his large fangs at the man who was visibly trembling in fear. His partner quickly pushed his own chair out of harm’s way, clearly stating his partner was on his own.
“Come on, bro.” Jared pushed Damon toward the door. “You can decapitate the asshole later. Let’s try to get the women out of trouble.”
Two doors down, Pete gave a one-knuckle knock before opening the door. The older officer headed toward Nicole and unlocked her handcuffs. Damon and Jared followed, filling the tiny room.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Detective Ferguson stepped in front of Pete before he could unlock Tessa’s handcuffs.
“The VC Warriors are here, so there is no need to handcuff these women.” Pete stood his ground with a half grin on a weathered face that had seen too much. “I’m sure they’ll protect you.”
“I wouldn’t bet on it,” Jared mumbled, his eyes leaving Tessa’s handcuffed hands to shoot a nasty glare at the detective.
“You have no right coming in here, Officer Rosen.” Detective Ferguson looked quickly away from Jared’s intense glare, putting his focus back on Officer Pete. “I could have your badge for this.”
“The Sargent is in his office.” Pete nodded toward the door. “Be my guest.”
With one last hard glare at everyone in the room, Detective Ferguson stormed out, slamming the door behind him.
“You have ten minutes tops before he’s back.” Pete headed toward the door.
“Thanks, my man.” Jared slapped him on the shoulder.
“Yeah, well, you owe me one.” Pete grinned closing the door behind him.
Once the four of them were alone, Jared turned toward Tessa and Nicole. “So who’s going to start?”
“Don’t need an audience.” Damon nodded up toward where the camera was hidden behind a fake smoke detector.
Walking over, Jared gave a hard glare into the smoke detector that held the camera before taking the face-front off. With a twist of a wire, the red recording light went dark. “Secure.” Jared turned back around.
Both women sat staring at the Warriors. “What?” Nicole broke the silent staring contest they were having.