Chapter One
There’s nothing more dangerous than a bored vampire. The thought came to Ant out of nowhere as he watched Viktor leave the office with a willing Able by his side. Viktor had claimed that Able looked like he needed to go outside. Rather than try and protect Ant and keep him away from other people, Viktor was now chafing to go out at every opportunity. It was almost as though he was mentally willing some renegade gang members to try and abduct him or do something equally stupid.
Viktor was a centuries-old vampire who wasn’t going to be taken in by a few beings – human or paranormal - who thought they had a chance on cashing in the contract put on Viktor’s and Ant’s heads by Tony “The Hammer” Manzano, who was currently serving jail time, thanks to Ant and his mate.
Although after their last meeting held at the local police station, Ant did get a quiet form of revenge against Tony – just a little one. Letting the man know he was carrying a spirit trace and that the ghost of the man he’d killed for shits and giggles was haunting him was one of the more amusing things Ant had done recently.
Admittedly, Tony was now claiming insanity – he was apparently paranoid about spirits – but Ant made sure Bridget sent a letter through to the courts insisting that Tony definitely wasn’t insane at the time he committed the murder, but he was haunted. How that would play out in the courts when it came time for Tony to be sentenced was not up to Ant. That was a court decision.
In the meantime, Ant had a bored vampire to contend with. Viktor had enjoyed some relaxing and not-so-relaxing times with Ant, but as the days passed, and Ant really didn’t have a lot to do, he could tell Viktor’s mood was getting edgier.
“Is there something wrong with your mating?” Bridget asked, probably catching Ant’s sigh.
“I’m fairly sure nothing can go wrong, beyond minor settling in together issues, between two people who have a fated mate bond and who have claimed each other.” Ant tapped his chin. “I believe that’s the case, but I haven’t been mated for very long, so that is partial supposition on my part.”
He looked up at his sister. “Viktor is bored, not with me, but he’s looking for things to do. Able’s never been walked so often, but Viktor uses him as an excuse to go out, without me, walking around like bait. All he’s missing is a sign on his coat saying, ‘come and get me.’”
“He could do a lot worse with his time than taking some of the riffraff off the streets,” Bridget said. “Perhaps Viktor considers it a form of vampire exercise.”
Ant frowned at his sister. “I’m fairly sure that’s what got us into trouble with the police in the first place, although that’s probably not being fair to Viktor. He only did what he had to do in a stressful situation. But the police didn’t seem to appreciate his actions.”
He was still trying to work that out. When he’d been called into the captain’s office after he and Viktor had rescued Bridget, Ant couldn’t understand why anyone was concerned that Viktor would be with him while he was doing the work he’d been contracted to do with the police.
Ant couldn’t be held responsible that one of the police officers and a defense attorney were murderers. If they hadn’t abducted Bridget in an effort to get at him, they’d still be alive. Viktor had simply been protecting him and Bridget.
And yes, Viktor had been the right-hand man of Tony Manzano, ignoring his many criminal deeds when he was in that position.Past tense. When Ant and Viktor met, Viktor had a reason to make things right, and he did. It was Viktor who captured Tony, bringing him and the murder weapon to the police station like a special delivery package. Ant’s testimony would see to it that Tony would spend many years behind bars for the reckless and totally random murder of Mr. Fallows months before, among other charges.
However, anonymous persons had pressured the captain, who Ant had worked with for years, to separate him from his mate on any work Ant might do on the police’s behalf. A rule that was illegal under national mating laws and a slap in the face to Ant, who always valued the work he’d done.
Ant did the only thing he thought he could do at the time – he resigned as a consultant – and he didn’t regret his decision. Viktor and their mating were always going to come first in his consideration. But it still niggled him that Ant didn’t know who put the pressure on the captain in the first place.
“I have been investigating,” Bridget said, cutting through his thoughts. “I’ve gone through everything from the captain’s financials to anything else I can think of. But whatever this pressure is, it’s very subtle, and nobody is making a big deal about it. It’s highly possible this is being coordinated by more than one person.”
She flicked through some papers on her desk. “Don’t get me started on how many people want to see Viktor dead – members of the Manzano family, other criminal families, people that don’t like the way he dresses. I’ve had to add them to the equally sized pool of people who, because of the work you’ve done for the police, would also like to see harm come to you.
“Pinpointing one or two or half a dozen of those people who might have gotten together to put pressure on the captain,causing you to resign, is not an easy thing to do. Although, in truth, I don’t think these people anticipated your resignation. I do believe the purpose was to separate you two, perhaps so you could be picked off individually.”
“Viktor is a very sharp dresser. I can’t see anyone objecting to the way he dresses.” Ant hadn’t worried about people wanting to kill him since he first got shot at years before. He had more pressing issues, like how he was going to keep a bored vampire out of trouble.
“I appreciate all you’re doing,” Ant said, remembering that Bridget liked to feel she was appreciated, which she was. “But in the meantime, what are we supposed to do with our time? Viktor is happy to come to lectures with me, but the academy is still on summer break. Viktor’s used to having things to do every day, and I’m not quite sure what to do with him when we don’t have any appointments.”
Bridget laughed. “Oh, no. Don’t tell me the sex between you has become pedestrian already.”
Ant felt his face flush. “I’m not discussing that with you, but no, this has nothing to do with our intimate relationship. That’s fine,” he said quickly. “I didn’t realize how much of my time was spent on those police cases. Now we don’t have that, either. What do mates do with each other when they don’t have cases to work on?”
Bridget was still chuckling, although she did try to control herself. “You get private requests for consulting and scene readings every day. I thought you were going to pick up more of them to do?”
“But I’m not the police,” Ant insisted. “I don’t have any jurisdiction in cases anymore, and I don’t want Viktor getting into trouble when he helps me. You know how protective he is…”
“Viktor is wonderfully protective,” Bridget agreed. “And he manages to do it without messing up his smart clothes or breaking a sweat.”
Ant glanced down at his pants. They were clean - there were only two rips around the knees. His T-shirt was relatively new, and there weren’t any stains on it. It was office day. He’d dressed up as much as he was inclined to do.
“Yes, well, somebody is clearly keeping an eye on what we’re doing, but I’m getting nothing from my senses or the spirits who usually bombard me with information. It’s not like I can even keep in touch with someone I thought was a friend at the police station anymore, either, because it turned out he was a murderer, too.”
“You’re still struggling with that business with Mike?”
Ant nodded. “Among other things. I don’t understand how I could’ve been so wrong about him.” Officer Mike Casey had been one of the few people at the police station who was always willing to take notes when Ant had a vision, and he was the one who would normally take Ant out to crime scenes, as Ant didn’t drive.
