Bad Mouth

chapter Three


Graham hadn’t spoken a word to Val the entire cab ride to the Akkadian Towers, and that suited her fine. He’d spent the last twenty-four hours hammering at her opinions regarding vampires, and she’d had enough. One close contact with a sexy vampire and he got all goo-goo-eyed and only too happy to jump on their bandwagon.

If not for these coldhearted vampires, she wouldn’t have been dragged into this mess. She was supposed to be an administrator, only directing the case, but the gridlock with the Immortalis forced her to dig out her old, rusty criminal justice degree and play cop, whether she liked it or not. Her detectives had gotten nowhere on their investigation since the first murder several weeks earlier. The vampires, whether Dominorum or Legion, refused to interview with humans. A few human witnesses had come forward with descriptions confirming vampires were the murderers, but offered nothing the VLO hadn’t already known. Meanwhile, the trail was getting cold.

Her ex-husband was still missing. The images of his victim’s photos flashed in her mind—severed limbs, exposed organs, and blood. So much blood. If she hadn’t seen it herself, she wouldn’t have believed it. The derangement had twisted him into a vampire of the worst sort.

Interrogating the Immortalis had eroded what little patience she’d had with them, and the situation had only been amplified after her encounter with the Ancients. The vampires were abominations, freaks of nature. Murderers. One of them had murdered Will as surely as her ex had murdered his recent victim.

Her stomach churned. She couldn’t believe she’d been pushed to meet with the very object of what sickened her, pretending they were working together toward a common goal. The VLO was mistaken to believe an adjuvant would be keen on hunting down another.

“You still think the adjuvant’s a roadblock?” Graham’s voice came out soft, almost apologetic.

“Oh, you’re talking to me now?”

He looked sheepish but didn’t say anything more. Good. His defection to the dark side left a lonely ache under her ribs. She’d pulled away from Graham, put distance between her heart and their friendship, unwilling to ever again experience the nightmare Will put her through. She struggled with that nightmare even two years after the divorce.

Her phone rang as the cab pulled up to the semicircle driveway at the front of the Towers. It was Alice. The call meant she’d found something on Rollins. Val motioned for Graham to wait.

“Oh my God, Val, do not go in to see this guy. He’s dangerous as all hell.”

She’d never heard Alice so shaken. The deep command had Val pausing with her hand on the door. “I have to.”

A sigh came over the line. “Did you at least bring a weapon?”

“I’m not a cop. Why would I carry?” A beat of silence passed. “Okay, next time I’ll put my lady’s little helper in there, and I always carry pepper spray, thanks to you. Happy?”

“No. Rollins is bad news. He does things to the subjugates he transforms.”

“What things?”

“He mutilates them. I can’t even describe it. I’m sending pictures.”

“I’m not sure I want to see them. We’re about to go in.”

“We? So you at least have Graham with you. As if a lawyer would do any good.”

“I’ll be fine.”

“Sure. Say that again after you see the photos.” Alice’s multiple phone lines rang in the background. “You have media crawling all over each other to talk to you.”

“Send them to Glenn.” The VLO director, her boss, would be too happy to be in the spotlight.

“I hate to say this, but you should leave this to the detectives. You’re a paper-pusher, Val.”

“The Immortalis weren’t talking to them. There hasn’t been a vampire-on-human murder in nearly two decades and people are scared. I had to do something.”

“If you say so,” Alice replied. Val pictured her assistant’s reluctant shrug. “You should be scared to meet this guy. Just be careful.”

Val stared at the phone after the unusual call. If Alice the Unshakeable was upset over what she’d learned, Val would need to use extreme caution with the Dominorum’s pet desk jockey. Only, from what Alice described, he didn’t sound like some desk jockey. Now she knew why Olen had sounded so pleased with himself.

Val took a quick look at the first few photos Alice sent but couldn’t stomach any more. Her assistant hadn’t exaggerated. She flipped her phone shut and took a minute before sliding out of the cab with Graham trailing close behind. Ignoring his confused frown, she smoothed her sleek pencil skirt and inspected herself.

She’d opted for a more casual look than usual, a little bit of professional but a little bit of laid back. The dark navy skirt fell an inch shy of her knees, all business except for the deep slit up the back and the rear-hugging fit.

“Let’s go,” she said, not waiting to see if Graham followed. She walked briskly from the curved drop-off lane and crossed the narrow, minimally landscaped plaza in front of the Akkadian Towers. Forty-five floors of sleek, black skyscraper to rival Columbia Center in all but height loomed over them. There weren’t really two separate towers, but the design intended such an appearance. In contrast with the Ancients’ stone mansion, the Towers were tastefully elegant.

A subjugate in an impeccably tailored suit held the doors open as they approached. He led them to an elevator beyond the security desk and swiped a keycard under a small, wall-mounted scanner. At the sound of a beep and blink of a light, he left them to wait unescorted. Val fidgeted in the blatant silence until Graham broke the tension.

“How long are you going to be mad at me?” he asked as they waited for Rollins’s private elevator.

“I’m not mad, Graham. I’m disappointed.”

“I’m sorry. Can you forgive me?”

“No.”

She didn’t look at him as she answered without hesitation. His change of heart about the vampires cut deep. Maybe it wouldn’t have felt like such a betrayal if he’d kept it to himself. Instead he’d proceeded to beat his newfound vampire-hugging view into her.

They entered the elevator and rode to the top in silence. Val avoided Graham’s reflection in the mirrored doors, staring instead at a point past her right shoulder because if she took one look at his puppy-dog eyes and angel face, she might soften.

The doors slid open to reveal a single wooden door carved with symbols at the far end of a softly lit lobby. The walls were a warm rust color, undecorated other than the recessed lighting. A small half-moon table sat flush against the wall midway between the door and the private elevator. Nothing in the hallway indicated a wild beast lived nearby.

The tremors began in her hands and slowly made their way toward the center of her body. This wasn’t supposed to happen until after she left a vampire’s presence. If only she hadn’t seen those pictures of his atrocities.

Val stopped short of the door and tensed. She balled her fists at her sides and tried desperately to get her shit together. She couldn’t meet Rollins in such a state. He’d eat her alive. Get it together, Val.

“I won’t let him hurt you, V.”

She shot Graham a measure of wide-eyed disbelief. He obviously had no clue what kind of monster they would soon face. Still, his preposterous yet valiant statement swept the impending panic attack away. Her smile might have been a little shaky as she answered. “I know. Thank you, Graham.”

She buzzed the doorbell. It made no sound, but there was a faint click of the lock before the door cracked open. Seconds passed before she realized no one would answer, and they had to let themselves in. She glanced at Graham, but his brow furrowed as much as hers.

Where were the subjugates? Servants? Slaves? Groupies? There were always subordinate beings to feed and cater to the vampires. Her body urged her to flee as she stared at the dark space at the open edge of the door. With shaking hands, she pushed it open the rest of the way.

Val stepped in and surveyed the penthouse. The ceilings were high, but unlike the Ancients’ mansion, the extravagance of the penthouse was understated in simple, clean lines, uncluttered. Other than a touch of red here and there, it echoed all blacks, dark and light grays, charcoals. What wasn’t smooth marble or granite was another chilly sort of construction—glass and crystal and pewter-colored metals.

There were no dividers in the main living area, just one spacious room all the way to the plate glass wall with a stunning view of the Sound. A sparse sitting area with long, low couches spread between Val and the floor-to-ceiling sliding door to the balcony. Elegant but unused fireplaces sat at each end of the sitting area. Who required two fireplaces in the same room? Like a vampire would need the heat.

She needed it now, however.

Crisp, salty air wafted in from the open door to the balcony. She drew in a lungful; the freshness revived her and drew her toward the balcony. Her three-inch heels made no sound on the thick, iron-gray carpet. She glanced back at Graham, but he’d headed toward the wet bar and poured himself a liberal drink.

She turned away to focus on the horizon and calm her nerves and her rising anger. Alice had set this meeting up personally, so the useless desk-jockey vampire had known damn well to expect them. Rollins was playing with them already, but she refused to be intimidated by his lack of attendance.

Val heard nothing, not even a hint of sound, but a heavy awareness swept through her. Her muscles tensed with a fight-or-flight burst of adrenaline. A charge of energy whispered along her nerves, causing her skin to tingle and raising goose bumps on her arms that had nothing to do with the frigid room. A ticklish sensation brushed at her nape, as if someone stood a hairsbreadth away. Though she tried for nonchalance as she turned, the movement was too fast and jerky to fool a vampire.

She drew a sharp breath when she saw Rollins. He wasn’t right behind her but at least ten feet away. Lord, if he had that much presence at ten feet, he would overwhelm up close and in full contact. Before she could examine the thought further, he made a slow approach like a predator stalking his prey.

She had to remind herself to breathe. The man was devastating. The top of her head barely made it to his shoulders, and he was nearly twice as wide as her, his broad shoulders straining the white fabric of his T-shirt. His denim jeans were dark but faded in the area snug around his strong, thick thighs.

Where Graham had the soft features of an angel, this man was all solid, firm angles, his jaw a determined square, cheekbones high, and nose perfectly straight and proportioned, like Olen’s. His lean cheeks gave him a harsh aspect. His hair was shiny and black, but cut military-short in the back and slightly longer in the front. He wasn’t GQ pretty, but raw and wickedly handsome, so ruggedly sexy the sight of him made her inner muscles clench. The sensual being that had slumbered for too long inside of her unfurled and sat up at attention.

Those seductive, kiss-you-senseless lips moved up into a humorless curve. Then his eyes registered through her daze. They were colder than the room, the deep bloodred of them reminding her just what he was and what he liked to do to humans. No matter how handsome his appearance, animosity hardened his face. It didn’t take a genius to figure out how he felt about the VLO’s investigation.

“Mr. Rollins?” Her voice came out more like a whisper. She knew she must look like a deer in the headlights, and she would swear she’d tried to make her words into a statement, not a question. So much for appearing nonchalant. Despite the chill in the room, heat shot straight down to her core.

“Valerie.” His voice fed dark chocolate to her senses, rich and decadent. The vampire was a hot, enticing male, and she was a healthy female in the midst of a sexual dry spell, so her attraction made perfect sense. It made her want to heave. Her body might respond to him, but her mind reeled at the idea.

He was evil and cruel and as guilty of Will’s derangement as whatever vampire had done it.

Somehow she worked her demeanor down to the temperature of the room, her tone dropping to subzero. “You kept us waiting.” Her temper flared when his smile widened.

“I apologize.” He looked as if he wanted to bite into those words and kill them where they sat on his tongue. “I was on my cell when you arrived.”

His gaze dropped slowly down the length of her body. It felt like a touch, and her skin heated along the path he took. Oh, man. He could melt an iceberg. Then she met his gaze again. No, he could make an iceberg with those. She’d encountered angry and prejudiced vampires before, but this man seemed absolutely hateful.

This arrangement was never going to work.