Page 39 of The Huntress

“You saw nothing?” Metcalfe flicked her fingers, sending a few vehicles on their way.

Callie tried not to relax her tense shoulders. Any outward sign would tip off Metcalfe. The woman had instincts a beast would’ve been proud of.

“There were a couple of cars filled with stupid women. I could’ve shot them to improve the gene pool, but when nothing was happening…” The lie tumbled out of her with ease. With Metcalfe, some deception kept everyone’s sanity intact.

Her colleagues shuffled their feet, their impatience to leave adding to the tension of the vehicles pulling out. Callie smothered a snort. They all wanted this over with.

“Good. A few women not drained will have to appease the mayor.” Metcalfe twisted her lips in distaste.

“The jackass is on your ass again?” Callie asked, knowing he was. She couldn’t count on all her appendages the number of times her captain had cursed out Mayor Duhamel. Not within his hearing, of course.

“When isn’t he? Regardless, good job, you two,” she said to Barrows, who acknowledged her praise with a wink.

Lazy bastard.

Callie strode to where her partner waited for her. The last police vehicles pulled out, leaving the two of them stranded in the dark.

“Okay, out with it.” Mike raised his face to the starlit sky and folded his beefy arms across his massive chest. His stance was clear—he wasn’t going anywhere until she spilled the proverbial beans.

She took the time to admire the sky. This far out of the city had the stars shining their brilliance with no light pollution to interfere. The kaleidoscope of stars twinkling mesmerized her. It always had her wondering what was out there. All those planets? There had to be intelligent life because there sure as shit wasn’t any on Earth. Then again, if aliens arrived, between the humans, suckbloods, and beasts, this planet would be so fucked.

“Val got converted,” she said, the finality of it solidifying in her mind.

Feelings bombarded her, sharp and painful yet hopeful. The hope was the strange part. It had to do with Gabe more than anything else. She debated telling Mike she’d managed to land face down in a pile of manure. Married, claimed, the Rite of something? None of that made sense to her, never mind how to explain it to Mike. Perhaps easing him into the idea was better…after a few shots of whisky.

She shuffled her feet, drawing unseen patterns in the dirt with the toe of her sneaker. “I also met the tuxedoed man from last night.”

“Shit and shit.” Mike pushed himself off the hood.

She nodded, but Syl wasn’t what she wanted to discuss. “I might have to quit the force over this, Barrows.” Her voice hitched, and she swallowed the lump forming in her throat. “I can’t be on the force and hunt suckbloods. What if she crosses my path, and I have to—”

Mike’s head shot up. His face was visible, but she couldn’t make out the expressions crossing it.

“You’re not quitting the force, Callie, and Val isn’t a criminal.” He clasped her shoulders, to shake or comfort her, she didn’t know.

She cringed. When he crowded her and dipped his head to maintain eye contact, it meant he had a few words to say to her, and she didn’t have all night to be his good little partner. She wanted to head home, sort through everything that had happened today, and try and understand why she felt this pull to return to Gabe. The need was bordering on obsession.

“We gotta find out what’s so important about that damn canister. Now that Val’s converted, I’m pretty sure they’re going to keep her busy for a while.” He sighed. “She’s not gonna die anymore, Devereaux.”

She sucked in a sharp breath, struggling to escape from Mike, but he held firm. Damn Neanderthal using his strength against her. “Because she’s dead already?” Her voice squeaked, and she cleared her throat. “Not much consolation there, Barrows. How do we explain her miraculous healing when no doctor has survived examining a suckblood? What about family meetings or dinners? Am I on the menu?”

Giving up on freeing herself from his grasp, she cupped his elbows instead.

“Not with Val, Callie. I don’t see her changing who she is just because she has to survive on blood now.”

Damn, she hated it when he was right. Barrows being right shifted her axis.

“Find anything out about Carter?” Mike released her and shifted away, granting her a little breathing room.

“When was I supposed to do that, Mike? While dodging suckbloods and leaping tall trees in a single bound? Or fighting feeders for their sugar daddies?”

He huffed. “That sass of yours is going to get you into trouble one day, my girl.”

“It did, today.” She lowered her chin to her chest as she pondered the cluster-fuck she’d triggered.

None of it pertained to the case which she was no closer to solving. She threw her hands up as she paced out her frustrations. “Carter’sdistastefor suckbloods is recent. Something personal must’ve happened because there are no media records of him snubbing suckbloods or a deal gone sour.”

Pausing to rub the back of her neck, she mentally reviewed her files. What stone had she left unturned?

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