The Virgin Shifter

by Melanie Thompson

A Ravenous Romance® Original Publication

A Ravenous Romance® Original Publication

www.ravenousromance.com

Copyright © 2011 by Melanie Thompson

Ravenous Romance®
100 Cummings Center
Suite 123A
Beverly, MA 01915

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in whole or in part
without written permission from the publisher, except by reviewers who may
quote brief excerpts in connection with a review.

ISBN-13: 978-1-60777-400-6

This book is a work of fiction, and any resemblance to persons living or dead
is purely coincidental.

Contents

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Four

Epilogue

Prologue

“How many did you kill, Argento?” Vincent Sequeros

asked his brother member of the vampire-killing cult Sangue
Cacadore.

“I found twenty in a cave, deep beneath Jerusalem. They

were asleep. I dispatched them with great zeal. There were
five more under a church in Istanbul. But we are overrun here.
I saw at least a hundred in the marketplace at dusk.”.

Vincent gazed at his surroundings. They stood on a hill

overlooking Bethlehem. It was the most holy night to all
Christians: Christmas Eve, 1985. “We can take them.”

“No, sir, they will overrun us. We have nowhere to go. The

city is filled with the evil creatures and we are but three, the
last three. When we are gone, there will be no more
members of the sacred cult. Vampires will take over the
Earth.”

High overhead the full moon blazed, lighting the desert

around them in eerie blue light. Vincent saw the desert as
clear as though it were day, his vision enhanced by his inner
beast. The members of the Sangue Cacadore were shifters;
they all could move in and out of their black-panther bodies at
will. “How many did you kill today, Miguel?”

“I found a secret tunnel leading into the sewers from a wadi

outside the city limits. There were twelve sleeping in coffins. I

killed them all.”

Vincent feared what was coming. They were trapped here.

They would shift and race across the desert, but the leader of
the vampires was unbelievably old. He would catch them.
Vincent had never seen one as old as the one gathering the
horde for the kill. “We are not the last three,” he said. “There
is one more.”

Argento, who was sixty-three, tilted his head. “What are

you saying? Where is this member we know nothing about?”

Vincent squared his shoulders. “My son shifted during the

last full moon.”

“But he is only five,” Miguel said. “I shifted for the first time

when I was ten.”

“I shifted when I was twelve for the first time,” Argento said.
“And I when I turned eight. The blood is strong in him. He

has the green eyes of the true black panther. I showed him
my tattoo and I explained our history. Even though he cannot
read, he has the journals containing our history. He knows to
keep our secrets.”

“But how can one small boy carry on against the horde of

bloodsuckers invading our world?”

“I imbued in him the need to breed up successors. He will

create a new generation of the Sangue Cacadore and
continue our traditions.”

“They come, Vincent.”
The air around the three men shimmered in the moonlight.

In seconds, three huge black panthers prowled the hilltop.
Vincent stared at the mass of vampires racing toward them,
then turned and sped into the darkness.

Chapter One

“What’ve we got?” Jax Sequeros massaged his temples

as he stood on the sidewalk examining the club. It was only
three in the morning. He’d had to drop Emily off with the
neighbor. Mrs. Gorsky had opened her door in a nightgown,
wearing spongy-pink curlers and a frown. She’d taken Emmy
in without smiling. “I can’t keep doing this for you, Jax,” she’d
told him. “You need to set up some kind of nanny—a live-in,
so you can run around the city doing your job.”

“We got two dead inside.” Jax’s partner, Detective Martha

Merriweather, read from a report on a clipboard. “Both killed
with a crossbow bolt, believe it or not. Both vics bled out.
There’s some other weird shit, too.”

Jax looked up. “What?”
“I said, weird shit. Where’s your head at?”
Martha always spoke her mind. Her full mouth, liberally

coated with what she called Pink Parfait lipstick, spouted
more profanity than any sailor. “Sorry, I had to leave Emmy
with Mrs. Gorsky,” Jax said. “She’s eighty if she’s a day.
What kind of weird shit?”

Martha waved her hand at the club, then ran slender fingers

through her spiked blond hair. “Well, for starters, the club’s
name is The Black Countess.”

“Never heard of it.”

“It’s a bondage club. S & M, whips and chains.”
Jax’s eyes widened. “In Mill Creek?” He took the clipboard

and scanned the report. “Hard to believe.”

Martha lifted one sculpted eyebrow, pierced with a dainty

gold ring. Her chocolate-brown eyes sparkled. “Ready to go
in?”

Jax tossed the clipboard to a uniformed officer. “As ready

as I’ll ever be.”

The door to the club was black. It opened into a long

hallway. Red light issuing from the sconces revealed scarlet
wallpaper with gold stripes. It was like walking through blood.
“Who owns the place?”

“Some Russian weirdo named Vladimir Tsarov. A real

creep show.”

“Did he scare you, darling?”
She smacked his shoulder hard. “Nothing scares me, you

fuck. You know that.”

He stopped at the end of the hall in front of another black

door. “Yes, you are the original bitch, Martha. Next to my
mother, you’re the meanest woman I know.”

“Did she call you again?”
“Every day. She loves to rub it in that my brother’s running

for the city council and my sister is a nurse practitioner. She
thinks police work is beneath me. The fact I’m a detective on
one of the best police forces in the country means nothing to
her.”

Martha snorted. “Well, it must have been tough on her,

losing your father in an airplane crash. It was in Istanbul,
wasn’t it?”

Jax nodded. “She told me he worked for the CIA. Maybe

that’s why she thinks a regular job in law enforcement is so
lame.”

His mother had remarried. Both his siblings were the

product of that second marriage. His stepfather had always
treated him the same as his blood children. Harold was a
nice guy, but the memories of his father haunted Jax. The
things his father had shown him, the secrets he’d been asked
to keep, made him feel different.

Well, he was different. He was a shifter.
The door at the end of the hall opened to an office. The

walls were red and the carpet was thick black shag. The
desk was an antique monstrosity and the winged chairs
crimson and gold brocade. Prints of what looked like
illustrations from

Dante’s Inferno

hung on the walls. Demons

cavorted through flames while flogging the poor residents of
hell. Jax stopped in front of one depicting a black panther
and stared at it for a minute before he moved to the desk.

So, they had panthers in hell.

The door behind the massive piece of furniture opened

and a tall bald man stepped through. “May I be of
assistance? I am Vladimir Tsarov.”

He was as tall as Jax, over six-three, and he spoke thickly

accented English. His eyes were icy gray and his skin hard
and white like ivory. Alarms went off inside Jax’s head. He
smelled the faintest aroma of death on Tsarov. A strange
odor like rotting meat lingered around the Russian, overlaid
by the man’s cologne which was a musky blend of spices
and citrus. The hair on the back of Jax’s neck slowly rose. He
closed his eyes and concentrated on silencing his inner
demons. He recognized the smell. His father had trained him
at an early age to know and hate it.

Jax held out his hand for Tsarov to shake and the tall

Russian just stared. “All righty, then,” Jax said. “We’re here to
set up a crime scene. In a few minutes the techs will arrive to
take it apart. We want to get a quick look-see before they get
here. Could you take us to the bodies …please?”

Tsarov had a tattoo running up the back of his neck and

onto his head. Jax examined it as he and Martha followed
him through a maze of corridors. A vividly colored snake
coiled out of the stiff white collar of his shirt, and the head,
with mouth open and fangs dripping venom, spread across
Tsarov’s naked skull. Every room they passed held restraints,
tables with restraints, and walls filled with whips, crops,
paddles, and chains.

Tsarov opened a door and ducked under the yellow crime

scene tape. A uniformed cop sat on a folding chair paring his
nails with a pocket knife. He stood up when he saw Jax.

“Sequeros, ain’t seen you around for a while.” Officer Ray

Connors tipped his hat to Martha and leered. “Madam.”

She snorted. “Fuck you.”
Connors’s leer widened into a grin. “I’d love to.”
Martha made a gagging noise. “I’d rather put out a fire with

my face.”

Martha’s way of dealing with being hit on by every man she

met was to put them down. Hard. Jax was used to it and
Martha’s short, compact, eighty-five-pound body and large,
artificially enhanced boobs had never appealed to him. He
liked women tall and lean, with a tiny waist and big ass.

Jax slipped latex gloves on as he examined the scene: a

room filled with trunks, three chairs, a large armoire, two
padded tables, and two dead men close together. One man
was face down, the other spread-eagle on his back. Chains
hung from the ceiling with leather straps attached. A brazier
filled with hot coals sat smoldering in the corner. Two
branding irons lay among the coals, their handles sticking out
over the edge. The bright red letter on one was a Z; the other
was a D.

The smell of burning flesh lingered in the room. Jax looked

down. No carpet here, just tiles and a drain. A thin trickle of
blood ran from one of the bodies into the drain. Jax’s nostrils
flared as his heightened senses picked up the coppery odor.
It seemed fitting the vics were killed by a medieval weapon.
The entire place was medieval.

Martha made a face as she examined the room. “Hard to

believe this is in Mill Creek.”

“Hard to believe this is anywhere.”
She snorted. “All men are animals.”
Jax looked away from her piercing gaze. Little did she

know how accurate her statement was, at least in his case.

Martha bent over to examine the body closest to the door.

The man lying on his back was naked. A short arrow stuck
out of his forehead, right between his eyes. Martha touched
the arrow. It was metal with three feathers. “What kind of bow
shoots arrows like this?”

Jax squatted next to Martha doing his best to refrain from

any contact with the body. When the dead man’s penis
accidentally brushed his hand, he snatched it back and
wiped it on his pants. “Shit!”

“It doesn’t bite.” Martha laughed.
“Look at this place. You never know where that thing’s

been.”

“So true, so true.”
He stared at the dead man’s forehead. “It’s not an arrow.

It’s a bolt.” He glanced at the other dead man. He lay on his
belly, his head turned to the side. An identical bolt protruded
from the center of his forehead. “It looks like they were shot
from a pistol crossbow.”

“This guy’s got a red ass,” she said as she stood up and

searched the room. She pulled a wooden paddle out from
under a table. “It’s not red from lividity. He’s on his face. I bet

this is the culprit.”

Tsarov glanced at his watch. “If you don’t mind, I have work

to finish.”

“Are any clients left in the club?”
He shook his head. “I had them all leave when we

discovered the incident.”

“Did any of them see or hear anything?”
Tsarov shrugged.
“We’ll need a list.”
“My clients prefer to remain anonymous.”
Jax laughed. “I can just imagine. However, the murder

kinda kicks that in the ass. Like I said, we need a list.” He
glanced at the ceiling and spotted holes with shiny lenses—
cameras. “You got tapes for this evening?”

“We have cameras in every room. We run a very clean and

cautious operation. One cannot be too careful when dealing
with sadomasochists. Everything is digital.”

“Then you got digital?”
“Of course. All will be made available to your agency.”
“Make sure you include the list of clients in attendance

when the murders occurred.” Jax checked his watch. It was
almost five. Dawn was around six fifteen on an average
summer day in Washington State. He stared at the Russian
hard, checking every detail of his posture, his body, and his
face. “I think you should hang out for a while to, you know,
answer any questions we might have.” He grinned. “Got a

problem with that?”

Tsarov frowned. “I must go. I will send my partner down to

take care of your needs.”

Jax grabbed Tsarov’s arm as he moved toward the room’s

exit and pushed him through the door. In the hall, he leaned
over and whispered in a voice that would not be audible to
any human ears. “I know what you are, vampire. Did you have
anything to do with these deaths? I haven’t checked for bite
marks or cuts, but believe me, I will.”

Tsarov jerked his arm away. “Never touch me again,

beast-man. I also recognize you for what you are. This is my
business. I would never shit where I eat, understand?”

Jax growled and closed his fists to hide emerging claws.

“Then send us your human rep so we can access those
digital files. And make sure we get that list.”

The crime scene techs arrived, pushing past Jax and

Tsarov as they carried their gear into the room and began
unloading equipment so they could process the scene. Jax
went back in and started wandering around. He discovered
the walls were padded and covered with fake leather. He
opened a cabinet and backed away, whistling. He had no
idea what half of the strange devices hanging in the
cupboard and lying on the shelves were for. He reached in
and picked up a small leather collar with studs.

“That’s a cock ring,” a low husky voice said from

somewhere behind him. “I could show you how it works if you

like.”

Startled, he turned around. A tall, starkly beautiful blonde

dressed in skintight black leather, her breasts barely
concealed beneath a vest, the folds of her crotch clearly
outlined by the leather pants, stared at him through narrowed
pale-blue eyes. Jax jumped and dropped the ring as Connors
stood up and stared.

“My, aren’t you the handsome one?” She circled him and

began a slow verbal inventory. “Tall, huge shoulders, flat
stomach, coffee-colored skin that looks like it’s perpetually
tan, shaved skull, sculpted jaw line, great eyebrows and
those eyes—like emeralds. You a model?”

“I’m a cop. And you are?”
She circled him, examining every inch of his body through

icy eyes. “I am Lady Daphne.”

“You the mistress of this dungeon?” She looked like she’d

love to whip and torture someone. She was certainly dressed
for it.

“You could say that, though this is no dungeon. I am here to

render you any assistance you may require.”

“Well, Lady, my name’s Detective Sequeros. What’s this

room used for?”

“This is Play Room Number Two. It is used for whatever the

clients desire. We but provide the equipment.”

“You don’t participate?”
“I can if the client wishes.”

Jax wandered around the room. He noticed a huge trunk

against one wall. It was latched. “What’s in here?”

She shrugged, an eloquent gesture that involved her

eyebrows. “I have no clue.”

He kicked it and with his enhanced hearing picked up the

subtlest moan. “There’s someone in there.”

He ripped the latch free and threw the lid up. A figure

crouched inside, completely covered from head to toe in a
black-latex-rubber suit.

Jax lifted the man up by his arm. When he was out of the

trunk, Jax shook his head. “Who put him in there?”

Daphne performed another shrug and rolled her

expressive eyes. “I have no idea. Why don’t you ask him?”

Chapter Two

The figure struggled to stand. His legs kept collapsing

under him. Jax led him to a chair, stripped off the latex head
piece and the blindfold, and removed the ball gag.

The small weeping man emerged from his shiny-latex

cocoon. He fell off the chair, landing on his knees, and
grasped Jax’s legs. “Thank you,” he sobbed. “They tortured
me, then locked me in there. It was horrible.”

Jax lifted the man under his arms and supported him. The

latex bodysuit hung around his waist, his lower half still
encased. His huge brown eyes reminded Jax of a puppy he
once owned. “Who are you?” Jax asked.

The man took one look at Lady Daphne and began crying

hysterically.

“Go away,” Jax waved his free arm at Lady Daphne. “You

must have had a hand in putting him in there. He’s clearly
terrified of you.”

She rolled her eyes. “He’s a gimp. He’s afraid of

everything.”

“I am not. I was a teacher until

they

captured me and

forced me to become their slave.”

“Who the hell are you talking about?” Jax asked the small

man.

He immediately began sobbing again.

Jax swallowed his rising irritation. Someone needed to

give him a straight answer. “Come on, man, tell me who you
are. We have two dead bodies here.”

When the man pulled free of Jax’s supporting arm and fell

to his knees crying again, Lady Daphne slapped him hard
across the face with the back of her hand. “Tell them who you
are, slave.”

Jax stepped between Lady Daphne and the young man.

“Take a hike. We’ll handle the questioning.”

“He’s a pathetic worm,” she snarled. “Look at him. He

probably wet himself.”

The look the young man gave her was filled with terror.

When he spoke, his voice quavered, but he straightened his
back. Jax nodded. At least one thing he’d said was true. The
young man was no gimp. “My name is Michelle Chopiak. I’m
Michelle.”

He spoke with a very slight lisp and a Russian-sounding

accent not quite as thick as Tsarov’s. He must have come
from Russia with the rest of them, apparently as a slave. Jax
fought a sudden urge to comfort the poor guy. He’d been
through a lot. But Martha was in the room, along with the
techs, and he had his macho rep to maintain. “So, who put
you in the box?”

Michelle bent over and buried his head as he held his

knees and rocked back and forth crying silently. He wore his
thick brown hair pulled back from a widow’s peak. His lips

were full and his eyes huge and brown like Dusty’s—the
puppy Jax had received for Christmas a million years ago.

“Do you know the victims?”
Jax patted Michelle’s latex-covered back awkwardly as he

gently guided him back into the chair. “Did they put you in the
box?”

“You’re not going to get anything else out of him,” Daphne

said. “He’s a gimp. He likes to get beat up. He comes here
all the time with them.” She indicated the two stiffs with her
chin.

Michelle shook his head and wiped his nose and eyes with

his hands. “I am not a gimp. They made me.”

“Hey,” Jax said. “I don’t care which one of you gives me the

information I need. I just want to know who the dead guys
are.”

“Rocko and Danny,” Lady Daphne said. “Those are the

only names I know. They come here once or twice a week
and always bring the gimp. Rocko is the one with the eagle
tattooed on his chest. Danny is the skinny one.”

Jax wrote the two names down in a small notebook he took

out of his shirt pocket. “Got any records?”

“Yes … but Vladimir has to give them to you.”
Jax made a face. “Vladimir isn’t available.”
The look she shot him spoke volumes. She knew what he

was. But he still hadn’t figured out what she was. Her scent
was strange: whispers of the undead coupled with a heavy

cologne. “I’ll get him to send them over with the digital
recordings this evening.”

Jax glanced at Michelle, who had returned to rocking back

and forth while holding onto his knees. “He got a home?”

She rolled her eyes and did the shrugging thing. “He lives

with them.”

“I’ll need that address.”
“Get it from him.”
Jax was pretty fed up with Lady Daphne. He grabbed

Martha. “Martha, my favorite person in the entire world, best
partner a cop could ever have, can you spread some
motherly attention on latex-man? He won’t talk to me and we
need to find out where he lives. She”—he pointed at Daphne
—“says he lives with the vics. We’ll need to get into their
residence to look for some reason why they got whacked. All
three live together, according to the Duchess.”

Martha laughed and punched him in the shoulder. “You

really know how to make a girl feel appreciated, but you know
I ain’t the motherly type.”

“No, darling partner, you’re the cursing-like-a-sailor type.

But you are a woman, so I was hoping you could reach deep,

really

deep, and find some maternal instincts. Go lavish them

on the poor dude I pulled out of the box. I think he was
kidnapped in Russia and brought here by the same slavers
we busted running the prostitution ring.”

“I’ll do my best,” she said. “But don’t fucking count on it

working.” She knelt next to Michelle and threw an arm over
his shoulder. The guy immediately turned to her and began
sobbing on her chest. When she looked over at Jax with
those arched eyebrows lifted, he grinned.

“Did you hear anything, Michelle?” she asked him. “We

need to discover who did this.”

Jax turned and stared at Lady Daphne. “This place got

some kind of a locker room where the clients can stash their
clothes?”

She nodded.
“Then please lead the way.”
She took him down the hall that led to the office, opened

one of the doors, and went inside. Banks of lockers, three
high, rose from the gray-tile floor. Benches sat in front of the
lockers. Under one bench, three pairs of shoes were neatly
lined up. “I’m guessing our vic’s stuff is there.”

She lifted her shoulders, tilted her head and rolled her

eyes.

What a bitch.
He opened all the lockers in that area, finally finding one

filled with three sets of clothes. He rifled through the
belongings. He found wallets in a pair of jeans and a pair of
khakis and pulled them out to examine. Rocko was
apparently Carmine Santina. He had an ID card for
Providence Regional. The other wallet held credit cards, a
license for Daniel Tomlinson, and parking stubs for King

County Court House.

There was nothing else of interest in the lockers. He found

their address on Rocko’s license—they lived in South Everett
—and one set of car keys. He looked up at Daphne and
grinned. “This is a good start.”

He held his finds in his hands and stared at her. She knew

he needed to get past her to get to the door, but she didn’t
move. Shrugging, he pushed by her. Closer, her scent
became clearer. He smelled leather, patchouli, crushed
gardenias, body odor, and that elusive whiff of the undead,
likely from associating with vampires. He glanced back at her
once as he left the locker room. She did not smile as she
stared down her thin nose into his eyes. There was
something odd about Lady Daphne and it had nothing to do
with her vocation.

He catalogued what he knew so far as he headed back to

the playroom. He’d made an ID of the vics, and he had a
home address and a car to search. He had digital recordings
of the night’s activities and a list of clients coming from the
club’s management. That seemed like a good start. He’d
unload the stuff he’d found in the lockers on Martha and the
techs and go home. He was worried about Mrs. Gorsky and
Emily. She just wasn’t up to taking care of a three-year-old.
When he got the time, he was going to have to find a nanny.

When he walked into the playroom, the man from the box

was back on the floor. His tears had dried, leaving stains on

his hollow cheeks. “Come on,” Jax said, extending his hand
to Michelle. “Come sit in the chair.”

After he helped Michelle into a well-padded black

leatherette armchair, he picked up the shiny black latex hood
and fiddled with the zipper over the mouth.

Martha laid a hand on the young man’s shoulder. “Did you

hear anything, Michelle?”

As he looked at Martha, his big brown eyes filled with

tears. “I don’t hear well with this thing on. But I might have
heard something, someone yelling. It could have been
Rocko. Danny was supposed to brand him.”

Jax patted his arm. “I know you’re upset, but you’re the only

one who was here. We need you to remember every detail
you can. Were you guys in here alone when they stuffed you
into the box?”

Michelle gulped, wiped his nose on the back of his hand

and nodded.

“What time was that?”
“Around nine, I guess. We fooled around a little before they

made me get in the box.”

Jax swallowed hard. He’d seen Michelle’s suit when he got

out of the box. It had five zippers for crotch and rear access.

“Do you have any ideas who might have done this to your

…uh, friends?”

Michelle’s eyes widened and a flood of fresh tears

cascaded down his cheeks. “They weren’t my friends. I told

yo u,

they

sent me to them. They had some reason for

wanting them to come to this club. They told me to get them
here, no matter what I had to do. They can be very
persuasive.”

“Who sent you, Michelle? Who are you so afraid of?”
Michelle suddenly dropped his head into his hands as he

shook his head. Jax looked at the door and saw Countess
Daphne enter the room. Michelle’s crying quickly turned into
full-blown hysterics. His whole body shook as floods of tears
poured down his face, and he sobbed loudly.

The sight of Michelle crying as though his heart was

breaking made Jax’s throat tighten and his shoulders tense.
He’d been fighting the urge to shift ever since he entered the
club. It was his heritage. He’d been bred to fight vampires
and they were here. He wanted desperately to allow the shift
and tear the place apart with his teeth and claws. But he
couldn’t. This was the twenty-first century; his ancestors had
possessed more power and freedom to act. It seemed like
all he did was exert control over his alter-ego.

“Stay here,” Jax told him through clenched teeth, then got

up and went to watch the coroner and the crime-scene techs
handling the DBs.

When they rolled the one Daphne had indicated as Rocko

over, Jax knelt down to examine his throat. No bite marks.
Without touching the naked dead guy, he checked the upper
thighs for bites. He saw two tiny red dots on Rocko’s inner

thigh. So Tsarov or another vampire dined on Rocko,
probably during a sex act. But when he checked Danny, he
couldn’t find any marks. They could be in a more intimate
location. Jax wasn’t looking.

He pointed out the bite marks to the coroner’s assistant,

Ken Ishimoto. “You might want to check for more.”

“Why?”
Jax sighed. What could he say? “Because if there is one

set, there could be more. Maybe they were some vampire
wannabes here. Just check.”

Ishimoto pursed his lips, tilted his head and nodded.

“You’re right. I’ll make a note.”

Jax stood up and crossed his arms over his chest. The

bites meant Michelle was lying when he indicated there were
only three of them in here when he went into the box. Unless,
of course, the vampire joined the party after Michelle was
locked up.

“Time of death?” he asked Ishimoto.
“Around two, two thirty. Liver temp’s around ninety-two-

point-four.”

“The owner called us at two forty-five so that seems about

right. You guys ever seen anyone shot with a bolt before?”

Ishimoto shook his head. “I once saw a guy shot with a

regular arrow. Crossbow bolts are a lot more powerful. These
appear to have been shot from close range. The point’s
sticking out the back of his skull. Whoever did it was in the

room and probably standing over by that box. Or at least over
by the big table, but the techs will check that out and come up
with more conclusive data.”

“Was one of them wearing a brand-new brand?”
“A what?”
Jax pointed to the brazier with the branding irons. “Brand—

get it?”

“Oh, a brand.” Ishimoto pointed at the guy on the left.

“Yeah, him—looks like a Z.”

“He the one with the eagle tattoo?”
Ishimoto nodded.
Jax felt the familiar anxiety rising inside him. He was

always thinking about Emily. Even when he needed to be
concentrating on his job, concern over her care crept into his
subconscious. He needed to go rescue her from Mrs.
Gorsky. She could go to day care later. Mrs. Gorsky was only
a short-term option. She ran out of gas quickly.

“Hey,” he said to Martha, who was talking to the lead

crime-scene tech. “I need to go get Emmy.” He handed her
the wallets and the keys. “I found these in a locker. We got
names now and an address. It looks like they all lived
together.”

Martha glanced at Michelle. “I just got a call from the DA. I

have to testify this morning. I can’t do much more until that’s
over.” She pointed at Michelle with her chin. “He’s not gonna
tell us any more until we get him out of here. He’s terrified of

the empress.”

Jax grinned. “Countess—Countess Daphne. What do we

do with him?”

She lifted her shoulders. “I have no idea.”
Jax felt his parental anxiety grabbing him even harder.

Ever since Joyce had dumped him and their daughter to run
off with her personal trainer, each day had been a juggling
act between his job and child care. He’d have to take
Michelle with him. At least until he got Emily settled at day
care.

“I’ll take him with me for the moment. He can hang out.

Maybe he’ll relax when he gets out of here, and open up. I’ll
question him, fill out the reports, and drop him wherever he
wants to go later.”

She nodded and slapped him on the back. “That works.

You’re the best, Jax.”

Jax crooked his finger at Michelle. “Come on, you’re going

with me.”

Michelle stood up, still half dressed in the latex suit. “I can’t

go anywhere like this.”

Daphne slunk over to Michelle and hovered above him.

She said something so low even Jax had trouble
understanding each word. It sounded like she said, “You
belong to us. Remember.”

Michelle lost all control over his legs immediately and

collapsed. Jax shoved the countess aside. “Take a hike.

You’d scare a Marine. You’re terrifying him.”

She laughed. “But I don’t scare you, do I?”
He growled and moved so close to her he could see how

clear and white her skin was. He bent his head and licked his
lips. “I don’t know what you are, but I do know I want to kill
you. I can barely control myself. So—maybe you should leave
Michelle alone.”

Her scornful laugh was a little shaky. “What kind of animal

do you morph into? A dog?”

The air shimmered around him and his true face

appeared.

“Jaguar!”
His face shifted back. “Black panther.”
She backed away with her eyes wide. He grinned and

picked Michelle up by lifting him under his arms. As soon as
he had the poor guy upright, he wailed, threw his arms in the
air, and collapsed again.

Jax growled, then hissed. He needed to get out of here

before he completely lost control. “Come on, Michelle. There
are worse things in the world than Daphne. If I don’t get out of
here soon and pick up my kid, you’re gonna see one of those
things. I have a very bad temper.”

Michelle allowed Jax to hoist him to his feet. His legs

wobbled like rubber, but he was up and Jax got him moving.
He put his arm around the smaller man and supported him as
they headed out of Play Room Number Two.

“Let’s go to the locker room and get your clothes.”
When they were out of the room and out from under the

harsh gaze of Lady Daphne, Michelle brightened, his legs
regained some strength, and he walked on his own. His tears
dried and he stood upright instead of hunching over like he
expected a beating at any moment. Jax hoped he’d start
talking soon and tell him what had happened.

Chapter Three

Dressed in street clothes, Michelle knew he looked like

any normal gay guy in Seattle. He’d always been skinny, he
was only five-four, and his chin was nonexistent. He was
aware of all this and he knew his best features were his
expressive brown eyes, his thick brown hair, and his lips.

As he climbed into Jax’s black Camaro, he glanced at the

detective and sighed. He was so gorgeous. He shivered. The
guy could do ads. His skin was the color of a mocha latte, his
eyes emerald-green, and his body taut. His biceps bulged
against the fabric of his tan golf shirt. The way his jeans fit his
ass was a crime, and he had no waist and zero body fat.
Zero.

“So, Michelle, where’s this house you share with Rocko

and Danny?”

Michelle hunched down in the seat and looked out the

window, ignoring Jax’s questions. He didn’t know what and
what not to tell him. He was scared shitless of Tsarov and his
horrible partner, Siegfried Rusakov. They’d brought Michelle
into the country illegally. His papers were worthless fakes.

In Russia, he’d taught reading to five-year-olds. He’d love

to go back to teaching, but not in his home country. The only
advantage of being captured by vampires and made a sex
slave was the free trip to America. Even when being forced

to commit depraved acts for Tsarov, he’d held hope in his
heart for getting a teaching certificate here and working with
small children again. But now that would never happen. This
macho cop would no doubt get him deported for the part he’d
inadvertently played in the deaths of Rocko and Danny.

The depressing ruminations started him crying. He couldn’t

seem to stop.

“Come on, man, talk to me,” Jax said. “I have the address. I

just want to know more about the place before I have to
search it.”

“Bothell. Lady Daphne and Tsarov told me to figure out a

way to get into their home and get close to them. They live in
one of those new condos close to the highway.” He
swallowed a huge lump in his throat and wiped the tears off
his face with the tail of his shirt. “So I did. I’ve been living with
them for a month. Or, at least, I did.”

“You won’t be able to go home until they clear the scene.

They’ll be all over that apartment looking for clues for weeks.
You got anyone else you can bunk with for a few days?”

“Nobody.” More tears welled in Michelle’s eyes and

dropped one by one. He was virtually homeless. He could go
back to the club and beg Lady Daphne to give him a room.
He shuddered. The thought alone was terrifying. He
swallowed his fear and stared out the window at the passing
scenery. Washington State had a lot of trees, much like his
homeland.

Well, he wouldn’t have to worry about not having a place to

sleep when they discovered his status in the country. He’d be
on a plane to Moscow before he knew it—and that was if
Rusakov didn’t get him first.

Jax pulled up in front of an older apartment complex in

South Everett and climbed out. “I gotta pick up my daughter.
You might as well come in.”

Michelle brightened as he leaped out of the car. “You have

a daughter. That’s marvelous. How old is she?”

“Three, almost four.”
“I bet she’s adorable. Does her mother work at night, too?”
Jax turned and glared at him. His green eyes sparkled with

rage and one sculpted black eyebrow had soared to his
hairline—if he’d had hair. Michelle gulped and held his hands
in front of his face. “Did I say something wrong?”

Jax’s harsh expression softened. “Hey, I’d never strike you.

You’re cool. I’m just a little sensitive about it, still. My wife
abandoned us. I have Emily.”

“That’s tough. I am so sorry.”
“I love her,” Jax said. “Emily, I mean. The wife’s … well, the

wife’s something I can’t talk about. It’s hard to get day care
for my daughter, especially when I have to go out at all hours.”

Michelle nodded. “Many single mothers I knew back in

Russia had similar problems. The school I taught at had an
after-care program where many children stayed until their
parents could pick them up.”

They climbed to the second floor and Jax pounded on one

of the four doors. “She’s a little deaf.”

“Who?”
“The babysitter.”
A round old woman with a small blond girl hanging onto her

house dress answered the door “I’m so glad to see you, Jax.
Emmy gets worried when you’re gone too long. She’s afraid
you might disappear like that no-good-bitch-who-done-you-
wrong Joyce.”

Jax paid her while Michelle made faces at the little girl.

She laughed over Jax’s shoulder. “She’s beautiful,” he said to
Jax as they went down the stairs to a ground-floor apartment.
When he opened the door, a small white dog erupted from
the opening and danced around his feet.

“Down, Stubby,” Jax ordered as he set Emmy on the floor.

They walked in and Michelle knelt down to look into Emily’s
blue-green eyes. “Hello, my name is Michelle.”

She smiled shyly.
“How old are you?”
She held up three fingers and when Michelle laughed, she

chuckled along with him.

Jax threw his keys on the counter and sat on the couch.

“Have a seat. I need to ask a few questions.”

Michelle sat in an armchair and Emily climbed in beside

him. He was so small, she easily fit.

“So, tell me about Rocko and Danny. How do you know

them?”

Michelle said nothing. Emmy had been a lovely distraction,

but he remembered again that he had no one. Rocko and
Danny were dead. He’d been used by the vampires to bring
them to the club, so it was his fault they were dead. Fresh
sobs tore from his throat and he covered his face with his
hands.

Emmy grabbed his hands and pulled them away from his

face. “Shelly, you okay? You all right? Daddy, is Shelly sad?”

Jax scooped her out of the chair. “Emmy’s worried about

you. Are you gonna live?”

”Let’s hug him,” Emmy suggested.
Jax looked uncomfortable, but Emmy’s hopeful face was

apparently enough to make up his mind. “Fine, we’ll hug him.”
He pulled Michelle to his feet and enveloped him in a huge
embrace. Jax was so tall and so large. Michelle disappeared
into the embrace beside Emmy. Jax’s body was solid like
rock. He felt every sharply defined muscle pressing against
his body. He shivered. What would it be like to have this man
as a lover?

Heavenly.

“There,” Jax said as he gently shoved Michelle back into

the chair. “Feel better now?”

Just like a man to think one good hug would wipe away all

the pain.

But in this case, he was right. He did feel better.

“Thanks, I needed that. My nerves are destroyed, just

destroyed. One more bad surprise and I’ll keel over dead.”

Jax glanced at the ceiling and took a deep breath. “So,

can you talk about them now? I can’t find who killed them if I
don’t know anything about them.”

Michelle eyed Emmy, who’d tucked her hand in his and

snuggled closer. She was singing a little song to herself, her
gaze darting around the room, so he was satisfied she
wasn’t paying close attention to the grim discussion.
“Rocko’s real name is Carmine Santina. He works in the ER
at Providence Regional. Tsarov found out and broke my arm
so I could meet him.”

“You gotta be kidding. They broke your arm just to get you

close to them?”

Michelle nodded. “I was nothing to them—just a pawn, a

slave to be used for whatever purpose they desired.”

“Didn’t you tell me you were a teacher in Russia? How’d

you get drawn into this nightmare?”

Michelle pulled Emmy close and suggested she go into the

next room and play. When she danced away, he closed his
eyes and thought. What could he tell Jax? What should he
keep to himself? He still didn’t know him. It was hard for
Michelle to trust anyone, and the truth was so bizarre. Who
would believe it? “They kidnapped me off the street and
brought me to America to be a sex slave.”

“Do you have family back home looking for you?”
Tears spilled down Michelle’s cheeks and he shook his

head. “Dead, they are all dead.”

Jax knelt beside his chair and took his hand. “I’m so sorry,

Michelle. I know you’ve been through a lot. Can you tell me
how long you lived with them?”

“Only two months.” He held up his arm. “The break has

healed.”

“Okay, so Rocko was a nurse. What about the other one?

Danny, right?”

“Daniel Tomlinson. He’s an assistant DA for King County.”
Jax stood up. “No kidding? Does he talk about any of his

cases?”

Michelle’s heart rate accelerated as he took a deep

breath. They’d kill him if they knew he was talking to Jax.
“He’s involved in the Ulianov case. Heard of it?”

Jax got up and began pacing. “That’s the case involving

the strip clubs, right?”

“That’s just the beginning. They found a lot of illegal

immigrant women and some young men working for Ulianov
as prostitutes. Danny said the case had grown to include a
bunch more clubs in Seattle. That’s how I came here, with
those women. They made me into a prostitute.”

Michelle closely watched Jax’s reaction to this

announcement. Would he be disgusted, knowing Michelle
had been used by many men? But he seemed not to care.
His expressive face and those beautiful eyebrows did not
reflect revulsion. Michelle sighed with relief. He wanted so
badly for Jax to like him.

“Is Tsarov involved in some way with the importation of the

prostitutes?”

Michelle closed his eyes. He might as well tell Jax

everything and get it over with. He’d probably be arrested.
“It’s my fault they’re dead,” he said and sobbed. “I as good as
killed them.”

“Why do you say that?” Jax’s voice sounded hard.
“Because I lured them to the club. If I’d ignored my orders

from Lady Daphne and Tsarov, both Rocko and Danny would
still be alive. I didn’t know. I didn’t know.”

Jax’s harsh expression softened. “Hey, you had to do what

they said. It’s pretty easy to see they controlled your every
move. I understand, Michelle. Did they want to go when you
suggested it?”

“They couldn’t wait.”
“Was this the first time they went?”
Michelle shook his head. “No. We’d partied there a couple

of times.”

“Then why did Tsarov decide to kill them last night?

Because it was Tsarov that killed them, wasn’t it?”

Michelle shrugged, and before he could answer, Emmy

skipped back into the room. “Have you eaten, little one?” he
asked her.

“No, I’m hungry. Mrs. Gorsky tried to feed me prunes and

bran flakes.” She smiled. “But I know better. Daddy says they
make me poop too much.”

Suddenly enervated, he climbed got out of the chair and

led her toward the kitchen. He always felt better when he was
taking care of someone. “Do you like eggs and toast?”

She smiled and nodded.
“Hey, Jax, your little girl is starving. Mind if I fix some

breakfast? I’m a little hungry, too.”

“Sure, go ahead. Fix some for me, too. Talk to me while

you cook. Did you see anything? Do you know who did it?”

Michelle’s face flamed. “I couldn’t see or hear anything.

They laughed when they shoved me into that suit. Then they
used me. I couldn’t see who was in the room. I couldn’t tell
who was taking me. It seemed to last forever, then they put
me into the box and locked it.”

Jax’s mouth hung open. Michelle easily read horror and

shock on his features. “Can we please talk about something
else?”

Jax nodded. “I didn’t mean to upset you. You’ve been

through a lot.” He glanced at his daughter, once again
oblivious to the adults as she carried paper and crayons to
the table and set about making placemats. “What was your
position in the house? Were you just a slave?”

“I’ve been keeping house for Rocko and Danny. You know,

cleaned, cooked, did the shopping, stuff like that. They paid
me a little and let me stay in the spare room.”

“So you now have no job and nowhere to go.”
Tears filled his eyes again as he cracked an egg into a

small frying pan. He tried to keep moving, calmly. But he
admitted, “You’re right. I’m homeless. Oh God, I know they’re
going to deport me.”

He looked up from the eggs. “What’ll I do?”

Chapter Four

“You’re sure you’ll be all right?” Jax asked as he stood at

the door of his apartment. He couldn’t believe he was doing
this, but Michelle seemed so honest and sincere, and he had
been a teacher. He seemed to know exactly what to do for
Emily to make her happy and to care for her, even before Jax
did.

And it solved two problems at once. Jax had found his

nanny, and there was no way he could kick Michelle out on
the street.

Michelle, or Shelly as Emily called him, smiled. “Hey, I told

you I taught six-year-olds back home in Russia. I graduated
from St. Petersburg State University, second-best university
in Russia. I specialized in education for the very young. I
teach reading skills.”

“I believe you, Michelle. It’s just she’s so little and well …

you’re a guy. It’s strange leaving her with a man. Most
elementary school teachers in America are women.”

“Not so in Russia. Many men teach. I love children, Jax.

They were my life before I was kidnapped. And you should
know I am no danger to Emily. I’d die to protect her.”

Jax sighed and shook his head, but he knew deep down

he could trust his instincts. The instincts of a cop—and of a
shifter. “I’ll check back often. Stay close to the phone.”

Michelle nodded solemnly. “You can trust me, Jax.”
“She gets peanut butter and jelly with the crusts cut off for

lunch, and a nap around one,” Jax said. “Don’t let her sleep
for more than an hour or she’ll never go to sleep tonight.”

“Don’t worry, Jax. I will take care of everything. Thank you

very much from the bottom of my heart for letting me stay. Do
you mind if I do a little cleaning while I’m here? And I might
walk Emmy down to the park for a while with the dear little
doggy.”

“Sure, but if you walk, don’t stay out too long. If I call and

you’re not here, I’ll probably lose my mind. I should be back
by five. Just gotta make a run up to Mt. Vernon and talk to this
Fairfeather dude. He’s supposed to be an expert on
medieval weapons and warfare.”

“Don’t worry about one single thing.”
“And hey, listen for the phone. I’ll call every once in a while

to make sure you’re okay.”

He picked Emily up and she hugged him once. “I’ll be fine,

Daddy. Shelly’s gonna take me for a walk.”

Jax backed slowly away from the door, waved once more

and climbed into the Camaro. His mind continued to argue
with his rock-solid instincts. Being a single parent was hell.

The drive up I-5 to Mt. Vernon passed quickly. While he

was covering this angle, Martha was working the apartment
and watching the digital recordings. He shuddered. Better
her than him. She’d even offered to do it. Her actual words

had been, “You never know, I might learn something.” And
he’d said something like, “About what?” And she’d said,
“Maybe you don’t know me as well as you think you do.”

So what was that supposed to mean? They’d been

partners for three years. They did everything but shower
together. Maybe she was right and he didn’t know her at all.

He parked in front of several old wooden storefronts

across from the Co-Op on First. A sign over one store read

Fairfeather Studios

. He opened the faded blue door and

went in. A bell over the door rang, announcing him.

The front of the building held some old kitchen chairs and a

counter built across one corner. A curtain blocked the
doorway into the back. Jax waited and in a minute he heard
footsteps. Then a man ducked to get through the doorway,
pushing the red-silk curtain aside.

It was hard for Jax to think of a man as beautiful, but this

guy definitely qualified.

As tall as Jax, the man had long, straight blond hair that

flowed like silk over his broad shoulders. His eyes were
green like Jax’s, but light green, like the inside of a lime. His
thin, sculpted eyebrows were black and so were his lashes.
His nose was aquiline and his mouth full above a classic
chin. Jax felt a strange stirring inside him, as if drawn to him.
It made him uneasy. When he stood up and extended his
hand, it was as though he was in a strange fog.

“You Al Fairfeather? I’m Lt. Sequeros, Washington State

Patrol.”

“Sure, I’m Fairfeather,” he said and smiled. Jax was struck

again by his beauty. Fairfeather’s good looks were
supernatural. What kind of supernatural, Jax could not read.
He shook his head to clear thoughts he felt might be leaning
toward the unhealthy. Was hanging around Michelle turning
him gay?

As they shook hands, Jax became aware of a different

kind of smell surrounding Fairfeather. He smelled like flowers
and springtime. Jax pummeled his brain as he tried to think
of what kind of supernatural Fairfeather could be.

“Don’t stress yourself out, beast man. I’m an elf. You can

smell it, can’t you?”

Jax nodded. “I didn’t know elves existed.”
Fairfeather laughed. “Oh, we exist, all right. There’s not too

many of us and we tend to hang out in the woods, but we’ve
been on this planet a long time. You’re a shifter, right?”

Stunned, Jax nodded.
“What kind?”
“Huh?”
When Al Fairfeather laughed, he threw his head back and

showed perfect white teeth. Jax couldn’t take his eyes off
him. “I mean, what do you shift into?” He enunciated each
word as though Jax was a moron.

“Panther, black panther.”
Al looked him up and down. “I see it now. Green eyes, dark

skin, lean and lithe like a panther. I should have known.”

Jax shook his head again to remove the urge to touch Al

Fairfeather’s perfect skin. He wasn’t gay.

Anyone

would want

to touch what looked like ivory silk just to see if it felt like as
good as it appeared. “Well, hey, you’re an elf and I’m a
shifter. Now that we have everything out in the open, could we
get down to business, please? I’m up here to show you some
pictures and an arrow. I heard you make crossbows.”

Al nodded. “Step into my studio.”
Jax’s head came up. The invitation was open and honest

but when Jax heard it, he interpreted it as seductive. “I’m
straight.”

Al turned and walked through the curtain. “I’m not.”
Jax hesitated. The elf’s open admission had shocked him.

But it made perfect sense. The reason he felt a strong
attraction to Fairfeather must have been because the guy put
out vibes like he was a woman. Easy to make the mistake,
surely. Jax’s naturally predatory nature had sensed
Fairfeather’s sexual siren call. It must be an animal thing. He
was always dealing with his beast nature. Male animals
mounted each other all of the time.

He shook his head and followed Fairfeather through the

red silk. “What did you say?”

“I said, I’m not straight, as in I’m gay. Well, actually, I like

sex with men and women. I’m very old, almost two thousand
years old. I’ve seen a lot and experienced a lot.” He stopped

and stepped so close to Jax the flowery scent surrounded
him.

Jax’s nostrils opened and his nipples hardened. Inside his

pants, his penis stirred and slowly began to fill with blood.
What was happening to him? It had to be the animal inside
him, because he also felt his teeth elongating and his claws
emerging. He stretched and flexed his back muscles and
willed his panther persona into hiding.

“Relax, straight guy. I don’t bite.”
Jax snapped out of the strange euphoric state induced by

close proximity to the elf and put some space between them.
“I’ve heard that a lot lately. So, what kind of weapons do you
make?”

For the next hour, Jax followed Al through his studio and

workshop, picking up bizarre medieval weapons and
examining one crossbow after another. He took the bolt from
Rocko’s head out of his briefcase and handed it to Al in a
plastic bag.

“This was shot from a handheld, probably a Jackal.

Twenty-inch, carbon fiber with a one-hundred-grain
broadhead. The Jackal’s a good enough hunting bow.
Nothing as good as I make, but good enough.”

Al held up a wicked-looking crossbow made from wood. “I

use rock maple and brass hardware. It’s exactly like one I
possessed in the thirteenth century.”

Jax reached out to take it from Al and their hands brushed.

Electricity shot straight into Jax’s genitals. What was wrong
with him? It had to be fear. He was terrified Al was going to
make a move on him. But the thought, while disturbing, was
also strangely exciting. It

had

to be the animal inside him, he

thought again. Animals had no sense of morality. They gave
in to primitive urges. That’s what this was—a ridiculous
primal urge.

As he accepted his rationalization, he turned the bow over

and examined the carving. A snake ran the length of the
bottom of the bow’s wooden structure; or maybe it was a
dragon. The snake’s open mouth was where you notched the
bolt. The trigger was easy to pull and the entire weapon light.
He held it up and dry-fired it. The mechanism moved like it
was greased. “This is beautiful. You had one like it in the
thirteenth century?”

“I told you I was old.”
He stepped close to Jax. His presence was powerful. He

lifted Jax’s chin. “You’re a very handsome man. I find myself
drawn to you.”

Inside Jax, the beast stirred. Half of him felt like he was

having a dream, a bad dream, while his inner animal urged
him to shove Al Fairfeather down and take him. He’d never
felt anything like this before. He was trapped inside a sexual
fog so thick he couldn’t move. Al, combined with his own dual
nature, had mesmerized him. When Al dropped his mouth to
his, he stood there and accepted the kiss like he’d been

doing it all his life.

Al tasted like flowers and wine. His lips were hard and his

tongue demanding. Jax opened his mouth and allowed Al’s
probing tongue to enter. When their tongues touched, Jax
growled, grabbed the back of Al’s head and kissed him so
hard he forced Al’s head back.

His cock was like a rock running down the leg of his pants.

Al reached down and stroked it. “My, you are hung.”

Jax pulled away, turned, and shoved his knuckles into his

mouth. Suddenly back in control, he was ashamed of his
behavior. “I shouldn’t have responded like that. It was the
panther inside me. I was out of control. Listen, Al, this is all a
mistake. I can’t.”

Al took his hand and pulled him through another curtain into

a back room. “Yes, you can. It’s not wrong. Listen to your
inner beast, Jax. I know your panther side. I’ve known lots of
shifters. In your heart, you are the beast and the beast has no
conscience or moral code. Animals know sex is to be
enjoyed in whatever form it presents itself. Come with me. It’s
easy. I’ll do everything. You just lean back and enjoy.”

Jax tried to hang back. He tried to muster the strength to

pull his hand out of Al’s. But he was helpless, caught in the
passion flowing through his veins. He desired Al and could
not find the place inside him where he knew having sex with
another man was wrong. When he tried to tell this to himself,
he was overridden by his animal nature and by some deep

instinct that said it was

right

.

He followed Al into a room filled with comfortable furniture,

potted plants, and a huge skylight. The whole effect of the
room was tropical paradise. When Al pushed Jax onto a
couch covered in tropical-printed fabric, he did not resist.

Al kissed him, and Jax allowed himself to sink into the

passion of their tongues and their lips touching. He’d thought
a man’s lips would be hard and surrounded by rough
whiskers. Al’s lips were firm, but his skin was smooth and his
tongue long and pointed. Jax reached up and touched Al’s
cheek. His first tentative touch was gentle, then he slid his
hand around to the back of Al’s head and stroked his silky
hair. Al groaned and covered Jax’s hand with his own. They
stared into each other’s eyes for a long moment. Then Al
grinned and dropped to his knees in front of Jax.

When Al knelt in front of him and unzipped his jeans, Jax’s

cock sprang out of his pants, the head red and throbbing. Al
took it into his mouth while his hands gently worked Jax’s
balls.

He groaned. Being handled by another man was so

different. Women had no idea what a blow job should feel like
or what a man really wanted them to do. Al knew exactly what
to do. The way he touched Jax, the way he sucked and licked
the head of his dick. It was all so different and so—so right.
Jax groaned and arched his back, thrusting his hips up and
down as Al’s mouth worked the head and shaft of his cock.

It was all over in seconds. Jax hadn’t had sex in months.

He spewed into Al’s hot mouth as the elf sucked every last
drop out of his body like a vacuum.

Jax lay there like he’d been murdered. But before he had

time for regrets or recriminations, Al was yanking his pants
down and stripping off his shirt.

“No, stop. That’s enough.”
“Maybe for you, but I’m just getting started.” Al flipped Jax

onto his stomach as easily as though he were a child, which
he was not.

Fear of what Al planned to do weakened his knees.

“Please, I never wanted this.”

Al allowed Jax to turn over and sit on the couch. He stood

in front of Jax and stripped off his jeans and shirt. Naked, Al
was a god. His body was completely hairless, his shoulders
broad, his stomach a perfect six-pack. His penis was
uncircumcised and erect. Jax gulped and looked away. “This
is all perfectly normal,” Al said. “We’re not weird or perverts.
We’re men participating in an act that is pleasurable for both
of us. Relax, Jax, I won’t hurt you.”

He sat down next to Jax, put his arm across his shoulders

and began to slowly massage the muscles of Jax’s neck. He
was a talented masseuse, his fingers strong. Jax started to
relax and allow his fear of this kind of intimacy to fade. It had
all happened so fast. Al leaned forward and they kissed
again. The kiss was soft and searching. Jax moaned into Al’s

mouth.

“Trust me. I’ll give you only pleasure.”
Jax was caught in a swirling vortex of emotion and

passion. Al was unbelievably seductive. While one hand
massaged away all of Jax’s fear and concerns, Al’s other
hand stroked his cock, creating an aching emptiness in his
belly.

“I want you,” Al said. “Let me take you.”
Fear fluttered in Jax’s stomach; fear and excitement. What

would it be like to be taken by Al, easily the most sexually
exciting creature Jax had ever encountered?

Al stood up, displaying his fantastic body. He took Jax’s

hand. “Let’s go into my bedroom.”

Helpless to resist, Jax followed Al through a set of fine

beaded curtains. The gold strings of tiny beads flowed
across his naked body like water. Al’s bedroom was bathed
in golden light passing through a faceted gold skylight. His
huge bed was covered in a shimmering gold spread and the
room reeked of Al’s special scent, flowers and sunshine. He
led Jax to the bed and pushed him backwards. Jax fell onto
the bed and Al went with him.

The spread was soft as silk beneath his body. Al took him

into his arms and they kissed again. “Now?” Al asked.

Jax gulped. Somewhere deep inside, his animal self

growled. His arousal went further than his dick. He was
captivated by Al’s passion and his own need. The setting

was magical, just like Al. He was under a spell. “I don’t know
what to do.”

Al ran his hands down Jax’s body, caressing his buttocks,

squeezing them and pulling them gently apart. “Trust me.”

Jax nodded and shivered.
Al flipped him over and pulled a pillow under his crotch,

and Jax allowed it.

When Jax felt something slippery in his asshole he was hit

by a spurt of panic. “Oh God, that’s an exit only.”

Al laughed. “Not today, my friend. This is only the

beginning.”

Al’s finger ran in and out of Jax, massaging his prostate

expertly until Jax’s organ once again throbbed against his
belly. Al reached between him and the pillow pinched the
head. He felt Al’s organ poke into the mouth of his anus and
cried out. “No, it hurts. Stop.”

“Relax.” Al breathed against his ear as he kissed his neck

and sucked his earlobes. “Your fear is making you too tight.”

Jax sobbed into the couch cushions as Al began stroking

his erection, squeezing it in the just the right places and
pulling the skin down hard. He was soon lost in the exquisite
sensations and relaxed enough for Al to penetrate him. When
Al’s long cock was all the way in, he grabbed Jax’s ass
cheeks and began plunging in and out.

Jax’s anus felt stretched to the max. The pressure on his

prostrate and his bowels was strange but exciting. His cock

swelled even more as Al pounded into him, grunting with the
effort. When Al pressed his lips against Jax’s neck and bit
down, Jax arched his back and grabbed his own cock,
jerking it furiously. Al shoved his penis in hard and froze just
as Jax’s dick erupted in his hand. Al pulled out and fell onto
the bed as Jax collapsed with his face in the pillows,
moaning.

They said nothing for an entire minute, just lay there

recovering. Guilt and remorse immediately washed over Jax.
He suddenly felt used and violated and horribly dirty. He
leaped to his feet and began searching for his clothes. His
anus felt open and sore.

“I need to use the bathroom,” he croaked.
“Over there.” Al pointed.
Jax rushed into the tiny closet, slammed the door, and fell

onto the commode. What had just happened?

He dressed, then washed his face and stared into the

mirror. He still looked the same. Why did he feel so different?
His whole life had just taken a bizarre turn to the left. What did
this mean?

When he left the restroom, Al was sitting behind his

workbench, sanding a piece of wood just as though nothing
had happened. “You gonna be okay?”

Jax shook his head. “I don’t think I’m ever gonna be okay

again.”

Al laughed and dropped the sandpaper and the wood. He

stepped out from behind the bench and walked over to Jax.
Jax saw him coming and backpedaled through the curtain
and into the other room. Al followed him and grabbed his
hand.

Jax snarled and fangs appeared. He stretched his hands

as claws popped into view.

Al backed up. “Hey, this isn’t the end of the world. We

made love. I desired you and you responded to me. That
doesn’t make you gay.”

“What are you?”
“I told you, I’m an elf.”
Jax started to relax. After all, the worst thing that could

happen was already over. “What kind of powers do you
have?”

They walked toward the front of the store. “We’re close to

the land. The woods and the forests speak to us. We live
forever unless someone kills us. I have the ability to heal and I
can often communicate with animals. Maybe that’s our
special connection. You’re very close to your separate
nature. The full moon is in five days.”

Jax nodded. “I could feel you in my mind. For some reason,

I was unable to resist your need. It was like it was suddenly
my desire, too. I actually experienced your dick getting hard.”
Jax whispered this as he pointed to his own crotch. “I felt it
down here.”

The silence stretched out for what felt like minutes. “I’m

going to want to see the victims,” Al finally said. “It’s the only
way I can tell from what distance the crossbow was fired. I’m
pretty sure it’s a handheld Jackal. I just need to see how far
the bolts penetrated to make an accurate identification and I
would also like to examine the scene. I might be able to
pinpoint the spot where the shooter stood.”

Jax headed for the front door. He wanted to put as much

distance between himself and Al, quickly. “Come down
tomorrow and I’ll set it up. I think they’re performing the
autopsies today. One of the bolts is already out of the vic’s
head. I’ll call and tell them not to remove the other one until
you see it.”

Al grabbed his arm as he was leaving. The feel of the elf’s

hand on his skin sent electricity through Jax and he shivered.
“What?”

“I just wanted to kiss you goodbye.”
Jax pulled his arm free and rushed through the door. “No

fucking way.”

Chapter Five

Back on I-5, Jax called Martha using his Bluetooth. He was

very conscious of cell phone safety because of Emily. She
answered after two rings.

“Hey, Martha, how’d the testifying thing go?”
“It was easy. I just had to wait my turn. You know how those

things go.”

“Yeah, been there, done that.”
She laughed and Jax laughed with her. It felt good to talk to

Martha. She was so normal. Her earthy qualities made him
feel grounded again. “What’d you find out at the vic’s
apartment?”

“Not much. Daniel Tomlinson is an assistant DA working

on the Ulianov case. That’s the only factor I can figure into the
murders.”

“I got the same info from Michelle. He seems to be terrified

of the Russians. All I have to do to send him into a catatonic
state is mention them. But he told me he was sent to
Tomlinson’s by the Russians to lure Rocko and Danny to the
club so they could kill Tomlinson. He’s so scared of them I
know he’d do anything they told him to. Did you get the digital
recordings and the client list from Tsarov?”

“Hell, no. I’m on my way over there right now. What’d you

find out in Mt. Vernon?”

Jax’s face flamed.

I discovered I liked sex with guys … or

at least one guy.

How does one explain this to one’s female

partner? “I … uh, I have the guy coming down to check out the
bolt that’s still in the vic’s head. Call over to the coroner’s
office and make sure they don’t pull it, will you?”

“Sure, I’ll do it right now. You okay? You sound a little

shook up.”

“It’s the road. It’s under construction. I’m all over the place

up here. I’ll call you later.”

* * * *

Martha hung up and stared at her iPhone. Jax sounded

almost in tears. Must have been the rough road making his
voice quiver.

She pulled into the parking lot of The Black Countess and

parked her Honda. A police cruiser pulled in beside her and
a uniformed officer and a crime scene techie climbed out.
They were armed with a warrant for the club’s computer. The
techie was along to make sure it wasn’t erased.

Packing her Smith & Wesson nine mil in a holster at her

back, Martha headed into the club to confront Tsarov. They
needed those tapes. Lady Daphne was sitting behind the
desk when they walked into the office.

“Where’s your boss?” Martha asked.
Daphne stood up and stretched. She was wearing a red-

satin bustier under a tightly laced black corset. The bustier

was part of a bodysuit that barely covered her fleshy butt.
Black stockings and four-inch heels completed an outfit
designed to tempt. The tech goggled at her breasts, which
threatened to spill over the top of the bustier.

Martha did her best to ignore Daphne’s swelling breasts

even though she ached to touch them. Her sex life was one
thing she kept from her partner. Jax had no idea she was
gay. They told each other everything—but that. Jax was so
completely hetero. He’d never understand. “Hi, uh, Lady
Daphne, right?”

The dominatrix smiled. “You remembered me. How

delightful. What can I do for the Washington State Patrol?”

“Is Mr. Tsarov available? We’re here for the tapes he

promised and the client list.”

“I am so sorry, but Mr. Tsarov had to leave town suddenly

on business.”

Martha’s eyes narrowed. She held out her hand to the

uniform and he slapped a document into it. “I have a warrant
for the club’s computer.”

When Daphne smiled, Martha felt its effect from her

breasts to her sex. The woman exuded sensuality as she
extended her hand toward the computer. “Take it.”

The uniform and the tech unhooked all the wires,

surrounded the box in a cocoon of bubble wrap and hauled it
out, leaving Martha with Daphne. Suddenly, Martha felt short
and vulnerable. The taller woman must have felt it. She

opened the door behind her and stepped back. “Would you
like me to give you a guided tour?”

Martha swallowed hard. “Sure.”
Daphne stepped aside so Martha could go through the

door in front of her. When she passed within inches of the red
bustier, Daphne made a small move which inadvertently, or
maybe purposefully, pressed her naked flesh against
Martha’s arm.

Martha sucked in a quick breath as her face flamed. Lady

Daphne knew.

They walked side by side down a long hallway. Daphne

opened the first door. “This is a wet room. That means
there’s nothing in here that can be damaged by water, oil, or
bodily fluids.”

The room was filled with three beds, two strangely shaped

couches, and three huge pillows, all covered in plastic.
Shelves lining the walls held assorted bottles of oils and
lotions. The room reeked of exotic scents.

“We use Liberator furniture,” Daphne said. “That brand of

sex-furniture seems to last longer. The clients we refer to this
room like to grease themselves up and fuck their brains out.”

Unable to speak, her tongue glued to the roof of her mouth,

Martha nodded.

The next room was filled with swings dangling from the

ceiling, each with different seat configurations. The floor was
padded and there were wrist restraints attached to the wall.

Daphne waved a hand to indicate one of the swings. “I don’t
believe any explanations for this room are necessary.”

The next three rooms were all small. Each had one bed,

mattress covered in plastic, with a large frame from which
restraints dangled. The walls were covered with hanging
paddles, whips, feather gizmos, gags, muzzles, and
harnesses. The overwhelming odor in all of the rooms was
antiseptic cleaners and bleach. Each room had a different
color scheme, relying heavily on red and black as the basic
color components.

“These smaller rooms are for couples, or maybe a

threesome at most.”

“How many people can fit in the big rooms?”
“As many as care to share the space. Really, probably up

to twelve or fourteen comfortably.” She winked at Martha as
she opened a door on the other side of the hall. The room
behind the door was large and carpeted in black. Benches,
wooden tables, footstools, and metal-padded pieces of
furniture filled the room. A desk sat in the corner. The room
was paneled in dark wood. Some of the small tables held
lamps. There were several armchairs. Martha scented the
subtle odor of lemon oil under the stronger smell of
disinfectant. “What’s this room for?”

Daphne grinned and ran her hand lightly over Martha’s butt.

“Spanking.”

Martha stifled a moan. Daphne’s hand had ignited a fire.

The last room on the hallway contained machinery. “This is

the fuck-machine room.”

Martha wandered into the room in a daze. Daphne took

her elbow and led her to a large saddle-shaped chair. “This
is a monkey rocker.” She pointed to a big pink dildo sticking
up out of the chair. “You can angle the dildo for either anal or
vaginal penetration.”

Martha just stared. Her face felt hot, her breasts ached,

and her breathing was erratic. Daphne took her elbow and
said, “I think I know the perfect room to show you.”

Daphne’s hand remained locked to her elbow as she

urged her down the hallway through the door at the end to a
room on the left. She opened the door without taking her
hand off Martha’s arm, then pushed her inside and shut it
behind them. From somewhere far away, Martha heard her
lock the door.

The room was small and contained one of those strangely

shaped couches, this one covered in a rough fabric. Daphne
pulled her into an embrace and kissed her. Helpless to stop
something she wanted with every fiber of her body, Martha
opened her mouth to Daphne’s ravaging tongue.

Daphne plundered her mouth until Martha was too weak to

stand, then she backed up, opened a cupboard, and
removed a short riding crop with a fat, flat-leather end. She
stood in front of Martha, slapping it rhythmically in her open
palm. “Remove all your clothing immediately.”

Martha stripped off her khaki cargo pants and her button-

down shirt. She took off her holster and pistol and laid them
on the clothes. When she was in her bra and panties,
Daphne tapped her with the whip. “Everything.”

“Only if you take off everything.”
Daphne smiled. “I will remove the corset and the bodysuit.

Is that sufficient?”

Martha grinned and nodded as she stripped off her bra

and panties and sat on the strange piece of furniture to watch
Daphne. She gasped when the corset came off. Daphne
wore black thigh-high stockings that she left on as she
stripped off the bodysuit. Her mound was shaved clean, the
lips opened by a large gold ring through her clit. A snake
tattoo slithered from her coccyx up her backbone, to the nape
of her neck. When her breasts sprang free of the bustier,
Martha saw the nipples were long, pink, and pierced with
small gold rings.

She put her lands on her hips which she thrust forward

opening her sex wider. “Like what you see?”

Martha nodded. She knew her own body was in top shape.

She worked out four times a week. But even if she worked
out every day she’d never have the legs and body Daphne
possessed.

Daphne picked up the crop and ran it between Martha’s

thighs. “Lie back and open yourself.”

The strange piece of furniture dropped her head lower than

her body, displaying her pelvic area. Her legs hung over onto
flat supports. The fabric under her butt was prickly and
weirdly exciting.

Daphne grabbed one of her legs, caressing the calf as she

strapped it to the support. When she was finished, Martha’s
sex was vulnerable and she was unable to close her legs.

“Now, I have you where I’ve wanted you ever since I first

saw you.” Daphne straddled the couch and shoved her sex
against Martha’s face. “Eat.”

Martha thrust her tongue into Daphne’s quivering flesh.

She tasted of licorice and smelled like an aroused woman.
The ring in Daphne’s clit made it impossible to suck it.
Martha had to be satisfied with sucking on parts of the fleshy
organ which made Daphne moan with pleasure and grind her
mound against Martha’s face.

“Enough,” Daphne said. “You failed to bring me to

completion in the allotted time. You will now be punished.”

Martha moaned with fear and anticipation. Her entire body

was shaking with desire. Daphne straddled her facing her
lower body. Martha had an unobstructed view of Daphne’s
asshole, which revealed yet another piercing, this one a small
silver bar through the tiny lips of her anus.

The first smack to her open sex brought a scream to

Martha’s lips. She stifled it. Daphne was slapping her
exposed clit with the flat end of the crop. It hurt, it burned, and
it excited. Martha squirmed and moaned as Daphne

smacked faster and faster. Unbelievably, Martha felt an
orgasm rising quickly. The continued slapping to her clit had
the organ swollen and throbbing.

Martha grabbed Daphne’s buttocks and squeezed as her

legs tensed and she panted. When the spasm hit her, its
intensity ripped a shriek from her throat. Daphne immediately
stopped the slapping and stood up, lifting one long leg
across Martha’s body as she did. When Martha glanced at
her sex, she sucked in her breath and groaned. Her clitoris
was hugely swollen and red. She felt like a freak. But she was
still strapped to the couch and unable to close her legs.

“Look at you,” Daphne crooned. “I knew you would like my

brand of punishment. You must now eat me again.”

Daphne was excited. Martha read her arousal in her

narrowed eyes, expanded nostrils, and erratic breathing.
When she closed her lips on Daphne’s sex, she was
rewarded with moans. It took only seconds to being Daphne
to completion. The dominatrix ground her sex on Martha’s
face as her legs began to quiver and shake. When she
climaxed, she froze and made funny little whimpers that
excited Martha. A flood of juice ran out of her pussy onto
Martha’s face. She lapped up what she could and laughed.

Daphne rose and touched herself. “Good job, slave. I will

now reward you.”

She went to a cupboard and took out a strap-on dildo.

When it was in place, she mounted Martha and shoved the

huge fake dick into Martha’s burning opening. Daphne
fucked her like a man, plunging the cock into her and drawing
it out rapidly. Martha’s swollen clit and labia were super-
sensitive to the ribbed dildo. She lifted her hips to meet each
thrust, whimpering with excitement until another huge orgasm
shook her.

Daphne pulled out the dildo, wet with her juice, then

unfastened the buckle and tossed it on the floor. “There, my
darling, spanked and fucked.”

She unfastened Martha’s restraints and they embraced.

Daphne kissed her softly. “Now, why is it you’re here again?”

Martha laughed. “I can’t remember.”

Chapter Six

Jax called his apartment twice on the way home and got no

answer. His level of anxiety was heightened by a sense of
guilt. He should never have left Emmy with a stranger, even if
he said he was a schoolteacher. Even if Jax’s animal
instincts allowed it.

He parked and raced into the apartment. Of course, his

anxiety was wasted. Michelle was in the kitchen making food
that smelled wonderful while Emmy sat on the couch,
watching cartoons with Stubby in her lap. The house smelled
of pine cleaner and bleach. The kitchen was spotless and the
marks of the vacuum cleaner still showed on the carpet.

Jax let out a long sigh of relief. “I tried to call twice. Where

were you?”

“Out walking. The little dog needed to go out.”
Jax felt stupid and relieved at the same time. “Right. I was

just worried when no one answered.”

Michelle placed a hand on Jax’s arm. “I understand your

concern. Your daughter is most precious to you.”

Jax smiled and closed his eyes. “Yes, she is.”
“Dinner will be ready shortly. How was your day?”
Jax stood frozen in the foyer, staring at the scene of

domestic tranquility, a scene he’d never experienced with
Joyce. It was like a dream come true—only there was no

woman. “I’ll be back in a second,” he said as he bent to kiss
Emily. “I need a shower.”

That was an understatement. He stood in the hot water,

allowing it to run over his body until it started to turn cold. He
was clean on the outside, but he still felt dirty—dirty and
violated, even though he’d been a more-than-willing
participant. And he’d

enjoyed

it. His face burned and he felt

ashamed. He’d enjoyed it way too much.

Dinner was spaghetti and meatballs with a green salad

and crusty French bread. “Where did all this food come
from? I know it didn’t come out of my fridge,” he said as he
sat down to a table set with silverware and napkins.

“We swapped some stuff with Mrs. Gorsky,” Emmy said.

“She likes Lucky Charms.”

Michelle served him a plate filled with noodles, sauce, and

meatballs, and sat down. “You had ten boxes of sugary
cereal. I traded two for crushed tomatoes, bread, and lettuce.
The rest of the food you had in the freezer and pantry.”

Jax nodded around a mouthful of tender, tasty meatball.

“This is delicious.”

After the meal, he sat on the couch and read a story to

Emmy, then headed for the Camaro. He’d decided to head
into the warehouse district and some of the clubs owned by
the Ulianovs. On the way, he told his Bluetooth to dial
Dianne’s number.

Dianne was a criminal lawyer. She was single; they had a

relationship based solely on sex. He hadn’t seen her in
months, but needed her now—badly. She answered after two
rings. “Hey.”

“Hey, yourself.”
“Where have you been?”
“Working and taking care of the kid. Don’t have time for

much else. Want to meet somewhere later for drinks?”

She didn’t answer for a couple of seconds, during which

Jax’s heart about stopped. He needed to get straight,
literally.

“Sure,” Dianne said. “Where?”
“The Baltic Room work for you about eleven?”
“It’s kind of loud. How about Highway 99? I love blues.”
The date was made and Jax sighed with relief. He’d make

love to Dianne and erase all memories of the disastrous trip
to Mt. Vernon.

When he reached the first of the Ulianov clubs, he was

stunned to see it open. He’d read some of the files and
thought all the strip joints had been shut down. The parking lot
was full, the lights blazing, and patrons, mostly men, were
making their way through the lot to the back door.

He parked and put in a call to Martha. “Hey, how’d the raid

on The Black Countess go?”

Martha’s voice sounded strange to Jax, shaky and kind of

breathless. “It went great. We got the computer tower and the
techs already have a client list out of it. But the surveillance

tapes were erased.”

“Damn! Well, there went the easy solve. Now we’re gonna

have to bust some pavement on this thing. Who do you think
killed them?”

“Russians,” Martha said. “I have no doubt whatsoever.

Where you at?”

“I’m parked behind the Sassy Showgirl on Eightieth. It’s not

closed down, Martha. It’s open and doing a booming
business.”

“What? I thought that was one of Ulianov’s clubs.”
“It is. I’m going in.”
“Hey, I’m whipped,” she said, sounding as if she was

stifling a giggle. “I gotta go home and get some sleep.”

“You drunk?”
“Fuck, no. You know I don’t drink. Call me if you need

backup.”

“I will,” Jax said and hung up. He shook his head as he

took his Smith & Wesson .44-mag out of the locked box
under his seat and crammed it into his back holster. He’d
loaded it with 320-grain SSK bullets and knew for a fact there
was no more powerful handgun on the street. After the vest-
buster big boomers came out and appeared on the scene in
Seattle, Jax bought the .44. It made him feel safer. There was
no such thing as too much gun.

When he walked into the back door of the club, the first

thing he noticed was the smell. It reeked of cheap perfume,

spilled alcohol, and sex. His heightened senses picked up
movement in the dark hallway. A woman wearing only high
heels was performing fellatio on a man leaning against the
wall. Jax pretended he didn’t notice as he walked by.

Inside, the stage filled most of the dark room. A tall woman

was grinding on the pole. The music thumped from powerful
speakers as he made his way toward the bar, which was
packed. He passed the bar and began snooping. It was so
dark, no one saw him slide past a small barrier into a
restricted area of the club. It was just as dark in the corridor
as the club, but his night vision was excellent.

He sensed movement at the end of the hall and the hair on

the back of his neck rose. He growled low in the back of his
throat. A lit exit sign hung over a heavy door. Jax pulled his
big gun and started running. A man was on top of a woman
and she was whimpering with pain, her moans too low for
human ears to hear.

When he reached them, he grabbed the man’s shoulder

and snatched him off the woman. The man who turned and
stared at Jax had lightning reflexes. The angry white face of
Vladimir Tsarov, fangs dripping blood, glared at Jax.

The vampire hissed and launched himself, hands

outstretched, teeth bared. Without thinking, Jax immediately
shifted, dropping the gun.

For Jax, shifting was as easy as walking for most people.

He could do it faster than the human eye could see. His

clothes ripped as his body morphed into a huge black
panther. When the power of the huge animal filled him, he
screamed; it was an animal sound loud enough to bring the
crowd around the stage running. He turned once and roared
at the crowd. They backed away, their faces showing shock,
fear, and horror as he reveled in the strength of his rippling
muscles and attacked the vampire.

Tsarov was strong, but Jax was bigger. He grabbed Jax by

his neck and threw him all the way to the other end of the
narrow corridor. Jax flipped in the air and landed on his feet,
immediately leaping the eight feet back to the vampire in one
bound, grabbing Tsarov’s neck in his jaws. The crowd
shrieked and ran for the exit as Jax shook Tsarov like a
terrier with a rat.

Tsarov got a grip on Jax’s thick fur as blood from the

vampire’s throat sprayed the walls. They fell to the floor rolling
and fighting as Jax clamped down harder on the vampire’s
neck and blood filled his mouth. In the panther form, Jax often
lost his humanity, and his instincts for killing the ancient foe of
his people remained. His jaws locked on Tsarov’s throat as
he tried to rip off the vampire’s head.

Tsarov wrapped his hands around Jax’s neck and

squeezed. They both snarled and hissed in the confined area
as Jax brought his hind legs up and clawed at the vampire’s
belly while he tried to tear off Tsarov’s head.

But the vampire was old and his strength phenomenal. He

tore Jax’s jaws off his neck, releasing a huge gush of blood.
Ignoring his injuries, Tsarov slammed Jax to the floor.
Stunned, all the air in his lungs knocked out by the powerful
body slam, Jax lay on his side trying to breathe. For a minute
he was completely helpless, with the vampire standing over
him clutching his bleeding wound. “Change back, shifter. I
won’t kill you, though I easily am able. You merely surprised
me.”

Jax morphed into a man, reluctantly. He sat up gasping as

he tried to catch his breath. The woman was on her feet,
staring at Jax from behind Tsarov. “What are you?”

“He’s a shapeshifter, my love. He’s also a member of the

Sangue Cacadore—an ancient Brazilian cult of black
panthers devoted to hunting bloodsuckers like me.”

Jax struggled to his feet. “How did you know?”
“I recognized the tattoo.” He pointed to the black panther

with green eyes tattooed across Jax’s shoulders. “Kind of
hard to see against your dark skin, but the green eyes gave it
away. I thought we’d killed the last of you twenty-five years
ago.”

“Join the club. I thought we’d killed all of you. I’m honestly

shocked to find vampires in Seattle.”

Tsarov snorted as he handed Jax his ripped clothing.

“There are more vampires in Seattle than you can imagine.
Your pathetic little cult has done little to diminish our numbers.
Come into my office and I’ll get you something to wear.”

Jax followed Tsarov, rubbing his throat. “Why are you

helping me?”

The vampire spun in the blink of an eye and hissed. “I just

got this club reopened. I can’t afford a killing here, especially
of a cop, or you’d be fish food.”

Jax took the silk shirt and dress pants Tsarov offered and

pulled them on. He and the vampire were about the same
size. When he was dressed, the vampire pointed to the door.
“You’re not welcome here. Get out.”

“I’ll leave now, but we’re not finished. You know I’ll be

back.”

“And you’ll die.”
Jax retrieved the .44 and stumbled back to his car. His

checked his cell phone. It was ten thirty. He remembered he
had a date with Dianne and climbed into the car. At least he
was well dressed.

His thoughts were in turmoil as he drove into town and

down to Pike Street. To say he’d had a rough day would have
been an understatement, but an evening in Dianne’s arms
would straighten him out.

The tall blond lawyer was sitting at the bar. A black man sat

on the stage by himself singing blues and playing guitar. Jax
dropped onto a seat next to her.

“You’re late.” She touched a drop of blood on his cheek.

“Been fighting?”

He nodded. “I’ve had a hell of a day.”

“Well, I won’t ask. It might lead to a conflict of interest.” She

pushed a full glass of Crown Royal on the rocks toward him.
“Drink this and we’ll go home.”

He slammed the drink and she unwrapped her long legs

from the stool and stood up. “Let’s go. You are the hottest
thing I’ve seen all day.”

He grinned. “The hottest?”
She laughed. “The men I work with are like grub worms.

Pale, white, and flabby. Compared to them, you’re a primitive
god.”

Jax was no dummy. He knew she only slept with him for his

body. She liked hard, rough sex and he’d always been able
to provide. She wanted nothing more from him, and that
suited them both perfectly.

He followed her black BMW to her condo. She lived in a

posh downtown high-rise. Once inside her condo, she
slammed the door and jumped him. He wrapped his arms
around her and lifted her. They kissed like animals as he
carried her into the bedroom. He dumped her on the bed and
stripped off his clothes. She lay there watching him through
narrowed eyes.

But instead of feeling aroused by her aggressive posture,

he was suddenly conscious of doubt. His dick was not hard.
What the fuck?

It must be the long day. Thinking about his day made him

think about Al. The minute he recalled Al’s face and body, his

dick sprang to attention. He refused to question the results,
just rolled on a condom, shoved Dianne’s tight skirt up over
her ass and tore off her black lace thong. Without taking a
breath, he spun her around, shoved his cock into her, and
groaned. She was so tight and so ready for him.

He rucked up her blouse and pulled her small breasts out

of the lacy bra. With one nipple in his mouth and one in his
hand, he pumped in and out like he was possessed. But his
erection began to flag. What the hell?

He closed his eyes and without stopping began to run the

images of his sex with Al across the movie screen of his
mind. Once again it worked. His erection swelled twice as
big as ever. Dianne began panting and moaning beneath
him as he worked his dick in and around in the way he knew
she liked. She grabbed his ass and squeezed, pulling him
hard against her. He felt her vaginal spasms grab his cock
and pulse as she arched her back and screamed.

He flipped her over on her stomach and plowed into her

from behind. She had a tiny little muscular ass. He liked it. He
grabbed the cheeks, opened them, and stared at her anus.
The sight aroused him more than anything else she’d
presented. He didn’t care that she was beautiful or fit. Her
breasts had done nothing for him at all. But the sight of her
tiny asshole blew his dick up. He imagined it was Al’s butt
and his asshole and rode Diane like he’d never fucked her
before.

When he felt her swelling and heard her panting begin, he

knew she was going to get off again. He opened his eyes
and deliberately dropped his gaze from her butt to her sex.
The sight of her fully swollen and aroused vulva was vaguely
disturbing. His erection flagged just enough for him to wait for
her to climax one more time. When he felt her go, he shoved
a finger into her anus and pounded into her as hard as he
could. When his orgasm hit, he groaned and rode the swells
until they receded, then fell onto the bed.

Diane fell into his arms and he held her, wishing like never

before to be able to teleport himself home to his own bed—
or to anywhere where she was not. He cuddled with her until
she began to yawn, then he lifted his head and looked at his
watch. “Oh crap! I gotta get home to Emmy.”

Dianne knew all about his daughter. She shoved him

toward the edge of the bed and levered herself to her feet.
“I’m beat. Let yourself out, will you? I’m gonna shower.”

Dianne did have her good points. He grinned. “Love you …

not.”

She waved. “Ditto and thanks for the fuck, you black

animal.”

When he was back in the car and headed home, his crazy

thoughts took over. What had just happened? Dianne used to
be the epitome of his every wet dream. He’d had to
remember having sex with a guy to get excited. The whole
thing had him close to freaking out. But then he remembered

two other times he’d had trouble getting excited when he was
with a woman. Both times, he regained interest when he
rolled them onto their stomachs and took them from the rear.
Maybe he was a latent homosexual. The thought made him
want to cry. Why couldn’t he be normal?

When he got home, Emmy was asleep, but Michelle was

up watching

Dancing with the Stars,

drinking a glass of white

wine. Jax grabbed a glass, poured himself some out of the
open bottle chilling in the fridge, and flopped on the couch
next to Michelle. Stubby jumped up next to him. Jax leaned
back and idly scratched the dog’s head.

“Did you record this?”
Michelle nodded. “I love that blond dancer. Talk about hot.”
“You’re talking about the guy, aren’t you?”
Laughing, Michelle said, “Duh!”
“How’s Emmy?”
“She’s such a love. You are so lucky.”
Jax had to think about that for a minute. He loved his

daughter but before Michelle, all he did was hunt for
babysitting and worry about her. “You’re right, I am lucky. And
I’m lucky to have you here to look after her. Thanks … and,
uh, the room looks pretty good.”

Some of the furniture had been rearranged while he was

gone. The new configurations of the sofa, the loveseat, and
the big TV made watching it easier on the neck. The room
was cozier; Michelle had discovered some tables Jax had

stashed in the storage room and put a table lamp and a
couple of candles on one.

“Oh, it’s nothing. I got bored so after we walked the dog,

Emmy and I moved furniture.”

Jax drank his wine and watched the show for a minute,

debating whether to ask Michelle’s advice. The guy was gay,
openly so, maybe he could shed some light on Jax’s
problems. He stifled the urge to confide. What if Michelle
took it as a come-on? He needed that complication like he
needed a hole in the head.

When he finished his wine, he carried the empty glass to

the kitchen. “I’m beat, Michelle. I’m going to bed.”

“Hey, call me Shelly. Emmy does and I like it better. It

seems more American.”

“Okay, Shelly, see you in the morning.”

Chapter Seven

Martha lay in a post-coital stupor while Lady Daphne

slipped her bodysuit on and shoved both her breasts into the
tiny bustier. She pulled the corset on over the bodysuit. The
super-tight garment pushed her breasts out of the top of the
bustier.

Over the last three hours, Martha had been spanked, tied

up, and had her nipples clamped and her clit pierced. It now
sported a small gold ring. She forgot how many times she’d
climaxed. They’d moved from the spanking room to a private
room and continued the orgy with new devices and lots of
interesting toys.

“I must go down to the office and check for messages from

the owners,” Daphne said to Martha. “When I return, you will
pleasure me again.”

Martha groaned and sat up. “Oh, no, I have to get dressed

and go back to the office. I shouldn’t have stayed so long.”

Daphne strode to the fur-covered bed, placed a hand on

her chest, and pushed. “You will tell them you were here
looking for clues to who murdered those men.” She grabbed
Martha’s clothes and stepped to the door. “See, I have your
clothing. You must stay with me now.”

Martha watched her leave as apprehension slowly filled her

chest and made her stomach ache. Or maybe it was

because she was so hungry. She needed to go to the office,
check her messages, and start going over the list of clients.
Jax would be so pissed if she didn’t have something to tell
him in the morning. She’d spent way too much time here. Her
phone, her watch, and her service pistol were in her clothes.
She didn’t even know what time it was.

There was no sheet on the bed, only the fur spread. She

grabbed it and wrapped it around her body. She’d find
Daphne, make her give her clothes back, and leave.
Dragging the huge spread, she trotted down the dark
hallways, searching for the office. It was obviously late. The
empty rooms and the endless maze of corridors made her
nervous. A feeling of dread had her breathing shallowly. She
shook it off. Ridiculous; she’d get her clothes and leave.
Daphne wouldn’t stop her.

The feeling of being in danger escalated when she got

close enough to the office to hear voices. A man was
berating Daphne. She heard a growl and a sharp slap.
Daphne drew in her breath so loudly, Martha heard it clearly.
She stopped and leaned against the wainscoted wall of the
corridor.

“We must leave immediately. Ulianov is waiting aboard a

private jet at the airport. Rusakov has ordered us all back to
Russia. He plans to move his operation to a more receptive
location in Paris or New York.”

“I can’t go, Vladimir. I have two cats. Who will look after

Pookie and Snuffles?” Daphne’s voice was low and shaky.

“You will go,” Vladimir Tsarov said. “You have no choice. If

you do not, I will pin the murders on you.”

All Martha could think was that she was screwed. Her heart

pounded. Did this place have a back door? So far, Daphne
hadn’t said anything about her. Maybe she could just hide.

“I smell sex on you.” Martha heard loud sniffing. “There is a

woman here. Where is she?”

Daphne stuttered and Tsarov slapped her again. “Who is

she?”

Whimpering, Daphne gasped. “The cop, the black man’s

partner, Martha Merri-something. I left her in one of the
private rooms.”

Martha’s heart rate roared into high gear. She had to hide,

and quickly, but she was frozen to her spot against the wall,
partly from fear and partly from the need to keep listening.

“Well done, my dear,” he said. “Well done. You have

provided me with a meal and eliminated one of the
oppressive Washington State police, all in one sly move.”

Daphne cried out. “Don’t kill her, Vladimir. Please, I’m

begging.”

“What? The Ice Queen has a heart?”
“Just don’t kill her. For me.”
Martha heard that final whimper, dropped the fur blanket,

and took off down the hall. The noise of her bare feet
slapping on the wood floors sounded loud as drumbeats.

She raced past the room where she and Daphne had played,
past the room where the two men had died, and sped into the
locker room. She had to find a place to hide.

She leaped into the shower and stood there, naked and

shaking. Her nose was running. She wiped it on the back of
her hand, refusing to sniffle and alert anyone out in the hall to
her presence.

When the door suddenly flew open, she almost peed

herself. She didn’t have to pull the shower curtain back to
know it was Tsarov. He possessed an odd odor: dead
leaves and rotten meat. It was impossible to miss.

“She heard us, Daphne. Now she must die.”
“No, Vladimir, take her with us … for me. I’ve been a loyal

member of your entourage for many years. Remember, I am
the master’s child. Do this for me.”

Martha swallowed her terror and pushed the shower

curtain aside. She stepped out and stood tall and proud.
“You’ll never get away with this. I’m a cop. If you kill me, they’ll
hunt you down like a dog. Let me go. Daphne didn’t tell me
anything I could use to prosecute you.”

Tsarov held up the fur blanket. “I’m afraid you were

eavesdropping, my dear.” He held his hand out and Martha
looked into his blue eyes. “Come to me.”

She felt him in her head urging her to walk to him and was

unable to resist. She moved across the tile floor like she was
in a bad dream. He took her hand, drew her close, and sank

long fangs into her neck. The last thing she heard before
darkness claimed her was Daphne saying, “Damn you. Don’t
kill her, Vladimir, please.”

* * * *

Jax pushed his chair back and stared for the tenth time at

Martha’s empty desk. His partner was never late. She was
one of the most reliable people he knew. Where was she?
He flipped his cell phone open and hit the green button. The
phone immediately dialed Martha. The same thing happened
as the last twenty times he’d called: the call went right to
voice mail. Either her phone was dead or it was turned off
and Martha never turned off her phone. She even used it as
an alarm, sleeping with it beside her on the spare pillow.

A uniformed patrolman walked into the large room

containing all of the desks of the WSP, the special crime
prevention agency of the Washington State Patrol. Jax
worked for the state of Washington in its most important
branch of crime prevention.

“There’s some weird dude out here asking for you, Jax,”

Officer Mike Chandler said. He leaned closer to Jax’s head.
“He’s dressed like Robin Hood.”

Jax laughed. “Show him in. His name’s Al, Al Fairfeather.

He’s a specialist in ancient weapons.”

Al strode in tall and handsome in a forest-green, long-

sleeved shirt, leather vest, and tight jeans. His long blond hair

and blond goatee added to the medieval look. Not exactly
Robin Hood, but close enough. He even had a leather wrist-
guard over the sleeve of his shirt. The sight of the elf did
something weird to Jax’s stomach. He swallowed, suddenly
feeling like a girl on prom night, stood up, and held out his
hand. “Al, it’s great to see you.”

“You asked me to come. Did you think I would not?”
When their hands touched, Jax’s face flamed and he had

to look away. Inside, his panther-self rumbled and he flexed
the muscles in his shoulders. “Let’s head over to the
coroner’s office. They saved the body with the bolt still intact
just for you.”

He picked up his keys and his cell phone off the desk,

awareness of Al’s every move filling his mind. The elf moved
like a panther, like one of Jax’s brethren. He was only slightly
taller than Jax, maybe six-foot-five. And under his loose
green shirt, Jax knew his body was as hard as steel.

They drove over to the coroner’s office in Jax’s Camaro. At

first, Jax thought he would be embarrassed in Al’s company,
but the elf’s vibes were neutral. There was no feeling of
possession on Al’s part, no overtures or advances, no sly
winks or insinuations. He was just like any other guy and Jax
began to relax.

Inside the huge walk-in refrigeration unit of King County’s

morgue, Ishimoto, the coroner’s assistant, pulled one
covered gurney out of a line of six and removed the draped

sheet. Jax checked the toe tag. “Carmine Santina.” The tech
fingered the bolt. “Uh, in case you were wondering, this was
the cause of death.”

Jax raised one eyebrow. “Thanks, Ken, I’ll make a note.”
“Just doing my job.”
The bolt was still sticking out of the vic’s waxy forehead. It

had penetrated the skin right between his eyes and partly
exited the back of his skull. Al stepped forward and
measured the amount sticking through Rocko’s head with a
tiny set of calipers.

“Two centimeters,” he said. “This was definitely shot from a

Jackal, probably a hundred-fifty-pound handheld. The three-
bladed broadhead points have more penetrating power than
a single-point.”

“How far away was the killer standing?”
Al measured the length of the points sticking out the back

of Rocko’s head once more. “Less than fifteen feet away …
hmm, probably more like eleven feet away.”

“You can tell that from looking at the point?”
“You have to take the kind of point, which is really sharp

and has great penetrating ability, into consideration, along
with the kind of bow, the strength of a man’s skull, and how
far into the skull it went. This bolt went all the way through. The
skull is very hard. The killer had to be pretty close.”

Jax pulled the sheet over the dead man’s head and turned

to Ishimoto. “You can take it out now. We have what we

need.”

Ishimoto grabbed the bolt and yanked it free. “Wanna take

it with you?” He pushed the gurney behind Jax as they left the
cooler. “Guess I’ll finish the autopsy on this one. Waste of my
time.” He brightened. “But you never know.”

“Bag it,” Jax said.
Ishimoto dropped the bolt into a plastic bag, sealed it,

labeled it, and handed it to Jax. “Feel free to come back and
visit any time.”

Jax glanced at Ishimoto as he walked out the big swinging

doors of the morgue. The coroner’s assistant waved.

Weirdo.

He and Al climbed back into the Camaro. “The dead men

probably knew their killer,” Al said.

“Why do you say that?”
“Well, he must have been in hiding. If that were the case

and they didn’t know him, he would have time to shoot only
one in the forehead. The other shot would have been in a
shoulder or maybe some other part of the head or the killer
might have missed altogether because the victims would be
moving. No, they were staring right at him when they were hit.
He must have had two bows, one in each hand. He stepped
out of hiding, they saw him and for a minute stood perfectly
still, long enough for the killer to lift the bows and pull both
triggers. Whoever killed them was incredibly strong. The
Jackal is a two-handed weapon.”

“I think it was one of Vladimir Tsarov’s vampire minions,”

Jax said. “If it wasn’t Tsarov himself.”

“A vampire would have the required strength. But one

wonders why the weapon. Vampires like to do their killing
manually. They’re very hands-on about death. Teeth and
strength are their two main weapons. In our world, vampires
are the ultimate killing machines.”

“Maybe there’s one who remembers the joy of shooting

someone in the head. Who knows? Ride over to the club with
me. I want to look at the room where they died one more
time. Now that I know how far away the killer stood, maybe I
can get a better idea of what happened.”

Al leaned back in the bucket seat and crossed one long

leg over the other. Jax’s face burned and suddenly his cock
stirred. He felt hair on the back of his neck lifting and his
head was shaved. His panther nature seemed to surface
every time he got near Al. Maybe this homosexual-thing was
more about one animal dominating another than about his
sexual orientation. In the wild, male animals mounted each
other to show dominance. On the inside, Jax was an animal.
His panther-nature was always right there where he could
touch it and feel it.

He remembered shifting for the first time. He’d been five.

His father had been there, helping him through the shock and
teaching him about his new body. Together, they’d run
through the woods of a nearby park. His father had just
enough time before he died to explain the purpose of the

Sangre Cacidore, show Jax his own tattoo, and tell him of its
importance. Jax had had his tattoo done when he turned
sixteen. His mother had known almost nothing about the cult
and to this day did nothing but berate him for his choice of
occupations. He deliberately avoided looking at Al for the
entire drive to the club and after he parked he vaulted out of
the car and walked briskly toward the front entrance without
looking back to see if Al was following.

His senses were on overload. He didn’t need to look to

know Al was right behind him. He could smell the elf’s floral
scent and feel his presence. Deep inside, his panther-self
stirred. Jax closed his eyes and forced it to recede into the
dark corners of his mind and body, where it lay waiting for
him to call upon it.

He stopped at the door and Al laid his hand on Jax’s

shoulder.

“I don’t bite.”
“God, I wish people would quit saying that to me.”
Jax knew something bad had happened the minute he

entered the long corridor leading to the front office. He held
out his hand to stop Al. “Something’s wrong.”

Al lifted his head and sniffed. “Vampires. The place is

crawling with them.”

“It’s light outside. Don’t they sleep during the day?”
Al nodded. “Some of the really old ones can walk abroad

in the light, and any who might have a special gem in their

possession called a bloodstone. But the rest have to avoid
daylight at all costs. They ignite, burn like a torch.”

They slowed their pace and crept up to the office door. Jax

drew his .44 and indicated Al should stay behind him.

“I should have brought my bow.”
“I had no idea you’d need a weapon. I still don’t think so. I

just have a bad feeling.”

Al made a rude noise.
Jax burst into the office with his pistol held in front of him.

The place was in a shambles. The file cabinet drawers were
pulled out. Empty file folders lay scattered across the black
carpet. The desk was shattered into a million pieces.

He walked slowly through the office and into the long

corridor leading to the playrooms. Al followed. The place was
empty. They searched each room, finding much of the
equipment missing. They stopped in Playroom Number Two,
the room where the two men had died.

“They died right here,” Jax said, pointing to the red stains

on the tile.

Al walked backward eleven paces. “The killer must have

stood near this spot.”

“What angle do you think the bolts took?”
“I think the killer must have stood next to this wall.”
A crimson tapestry covered with chubby cavorting women

in all manner of sexual positions hung from the ceiling to the
floor. Jax pushed it aside. The paneling behind the tapestry

had a crack running down the length between two fake
boards. Jax felt around and found a switch behind the big
cupboard. When he hit it, a door opened in the paneling. A
circular stairway leading down was hidden inside the small
declivity. Jax stood over it and stared into blackness. Little by
little, his cat eyesight cleared the way so he could see the
bottom of the steps.

“It looks like it goes twenty or thirty feet down. You game?”

he asked Al.

“Lead on.”

Chapter Eight

The temperature dropped rapidly as they spiraled down

into the depths beneath the street. The stairway had to lead
to the nest, and Al said as much. “I really need to go back
and get my bow. Wooden arrows and swords are the best
weapons to use against a bloodsucker.”

Jax sniffed the cold air. “Could be, but I don’t think there’s

anybody home.”

“It’s broad daylight outside. If they’re here, they’re in their

coffins or whatever they sleep in.”

Jax sniffed again. “They stink, bro. I don’t smell that dead

meat smell.”

“I’m sure your nose is better than mine, beast boy.”
Jax held the big gun out in front of him as he stepped off

the metal stairs. The gun would blow a fair-sized hole in a
vampire but it wouldn’t kill it. Might slow it down. Jax was
really falling down on the job. He’d been only five when his
father had explained the importance of his heritage and how
to kill vampires. It was his family business. But his father had
died soon after in an airplane crash in Istanbul. His mother
had taken them and moved to Montana, a cold, clean place
where Jax could shift into his animal form and run for miles as
a panther. He’d loved the freedom of the hills and mountains.

After college he’d moved to Seattle to get away from his

non-shifter family and his overbearing mother. He got caught
up in his marriage, his kid, and his job and forgot the old
ways of his people. In his heart, he decided most of their
teachings were garbage. He had yet to run into another
member of the cult and had never seen or scented a
vampire. He reasoned that if vampires didn’t exist, he’d
never have to kill one.

Boy, was he wrong. He wished he had some silver or his

sword. Long ago, his father told him not to try to kill a vampire
in his panther body. He’d told him how hard it was to resist
the urge to shift, but you had to because the best way to kill a
vampire was to cut off its head.

The dark hole they’d descended into opened into a huge

room. When Jax exhaled, he could see his breath. It was like
a refrigerator down here. Al came down the stairs behind him
and started circling the room. It was empty. Al found a light
switch and turned it on.

“Look,” he said to Jax as he pointed to rectangular marks

on the concrete floor. “Used to be coffins down here. Lots of
them.”

“They’re gone. They’ve booked.” Jax looked up at Al. “So

where the hell is Martha? You smell her down here? I don’t.
God, I hope nothing bad has happened to her.”

Al lifted his head. “All I smell is old blood, must, and

mildew.”

They climbed back up the staircase. “This tells us it was a

vampire that killed the two men. Exactly how do I put that into
my report?”

“The real question is, where did they go?”
“For you, maybe. I just wanna find Martha.”
“I think they took her with them, Jax. We find them, we find

your partner.”

“I can’t accept that. Why would they take her?”
“Don’t know, my friend, but if they didn’t take her, they killed

her because she was here when they were and now they’re
gone and so is she.”

The thought of Martha being kidnapped or killed by

vampires shook Jax. He never really thought about their
relationship, but Martha was a great partner. He cared for her
—cared a lot. “I know. I’m trying to figure out what all this
means. If they have Martha, I’ll kill them all.”

The muscles of Jax’s shoulders rippled as the shift tried to

come on. He lost a lot of his control during the full moon and
that was only three days away. When he was younger, he
couldn’t control the shift at all during the full moon. As a
teenager, the rising hormones of puberty combined with the
cycles of the moon, making it impossible to resist the urge.
He’d climb into the mountains and let it take over, running
wild for days under the blue Montana sky. As an adult, he
could stifle it, but it took an effort.

They climbed out of the secret cellar and started moving

methodically through the club, searching each room. In one of

the more private rooms, Jax stopped Al. “Martha was here.
So was Lady Daphne. She’s got her own peculiar smell.”

“I smell vampires, man.”
Jax nodded as he walked to the bed and touched the

plastic cover. “I smell sex.” His nostrils opened as he sniffed
the tantalizing odors of arousal. Al pressed close behind him
and squeezed his ass. Blood rushed into Jax’s head and his
dick. He opened his hands and his claws briefly appeared.
He took a deep breath and stifled the urge to submit to his
carnal desires.

“I feel it, too,” Al said. “The energy in this room is filled with

sexual vibrations … recent ones.”

Al turned him and took him in his arms. His kiss was

ferocious. He devoured Jax’s mouth with his own. For a
moment, Jax responded. His desire rose so swiftly, he
couldn’t think straight. His animal nature had full control. Then
he remembered and pushed Al away. “We need to find
Martha. This has to wait. She’s my partner. I have to find her.”

Al grinned and backed away. “Whatever you say. The

sexual vibes in this room are so strong, I couldn’t resist. And
face it, you’re just so buff, Jax. You’ve got the tightest ass I’ve
ever had in my hands.”

They searched the small room and found a long sewing

needle with blood on it. Jax sniffed. “Looks like Martha got
something pierced.”

The next room that had traces of his partner was the locker

room. “Something huge went down here,” Jax said as he
bent over to examine spots of blood on the floor. He rubbed
his finger in a small drop and sniffed. “Martha. One of the
vampires bit her.”

Al started opening and shutting lockers. He pulled folded

clothes out of one. “This her stuff?”

Jax went through the neat pile and found Martha’s purse,

phone, and service pistol. A knot formed in his throat and he
swallowed. “She’d never go anywhere voluntarily without this
shit. She’s either dead or kidnapped.”

Jax stood up and stared around the room. His stomach

flipped when he saw the open shower curtain. “She hid in
there and they found her. I’m gonna call for backup. This is
bad, bro, really bad. They’ve kidnapped my partner … or they
killed her and dropped her body where we’ll never find it.”

* * * *

Martha moaned, tried to sit up, and whacked her head on

something. She was restrained; her hands tied behind her
and it was dark. When she rolled to the right, she came up
hard against a flat surface. She was in a box.

Vibrations beneath her indicated she was traveling. It felt

like a jet. She’d been kidnapped. When she closed her eyes
she could see Tsarov pulling her toward him with his mind.
The Russian had fangs. She felt trapped in a dark nightmare.

Vampires were mythological creatures. They didn’t exist.

The lid of her box suddenly opened and faint artificial light

illuminated Daphne. Martha started to speak but Daphne
covered her mouth with one finger. “Shhhh.”

She reached down and touched one of Martha’s breasts,

stroking it lightly before pulling on the nipple. Martha was
naked. Daphne stroked her bare thigh and pressed a finger
into her sex. Martha let her thighs fall open and lifted her hips.

The caresses excited her even though she was helpless

and bound. Maybe being restrained even added to her
arousal. Martha liked being dominated. Never in her life
would she have imagined herself as a submissive. Maybe it
was just because she had so much chemistry with Daphne.
They were truly drawn to each other. Or maybe it was
because Martha was drawn to kinky sex—the kinkier, the
better.

Daphne echoed her thoughts when she leaned close to

Martha’s ear and whispered. “I can’t keep my hands off of
you.”

“Where are we going?” Martha hissed into Daphne’s ear.
Daphne’s mouth touched the side of her face. “Russia.”
“I don’t have my passport. What about my job? Jax will

freak out.”

“You’re in a coffin, my darling. Dead people don’t need

passports. And it’s too late to worry about the life you are
leaving behind. Look ahead to your new life, your life with
me.”

Martha looked at her box and realized what Daphne said

was true. The sides were dark wood with strange carvings of
demons and flames etched into them. Her head rested on a
satin pillow. The smell of the coffin was spicy, with an
undertone of rotting meat. “This belongs to that vampire,
doesn’t it?”

Daphne shook her head. “It’s a spare, but vampires have

slept in it. I have to shut the lid now. We’re getting ready to
land in Japan for refueling.”

“Please let me out,” Martha begged. “Please let me go

home.”

“I can’t, my darling. Vladimir would kill me if I allowed you to

escape, and it’s the only way we can transport you through
customs. You know too much, my darling. You can never go
home.”

“Are all the vampires on the plane?”
Daphne shook her head. “Tsarov left several behind to

wrap up some loose ends.”

“What loose ends?” Martha hissed.
Daphne shrugged. “I have no idea, and I am not going to

ask.”

As the lid slowly closed over her head, Martha started to

weep. Daphne leaned close. “If you make any noise, I will be
forced to gag you. Dead people do not cry.” She held up a
ball gag and smiled. Her eyes narrowed and she inhaled
sharply. “Maybe I’ll gag you anyway.”

Martha’s sex throbbed as Daphne ran one long finger over

her lips and thrust it into her mouth to pry it open. What was

wrong

with her? It was as though anything, either gentle or

rough, that Daphne did to her made her hot. When Daphne
shoved the red rubber ball into her mouth, strapped the gag
over her hair, and kissed her forehead, Martha whimpered
quietly—not with fear or dread, but with excitement.

Martha followed Daphne with her eyes as the dominatrix

dropped the lid of the coffin, effectively sending Martha into
stygian darkness once again. Her heart pounded. With
Daphne gone, all she had left was her thoughts. Jax would be
worried. They were close. Maybe he would come after her. It
was her only hope.

Chapter Nine

When the crime-scene unit arrived at the club, Jax was still

in the room where the two victims had died. He pressed the
button and the secret door opened. “Down there,” he said to
the lead tech. “The killer came from the room below. See if
you can get any trace. I checked every corner and it looks
pretty cleaned out to me.”

The tech nodded and entered the small space above the

spiral staircase. He glanced down into the dark, then at Jax.
“Maybe you should send a uniform with me.”

Jax sighed. “I’ll get one.”
He grabbed Al by the shoulder. “Let’s check the office and

see if there’s any clue to where they went. If they took Martha,
I’m going after them. She’d do the same for me.”

Two uniformed cops stood around in the office, drinking

coffee out of Styrofoam cups. Jax sent one to accompany the
scared tech into the subterranean chamber and started
picking up some of the paper strewn around the trashed
office. After twenty minutes of sorting paper, much of which
was in Cyrillic, he flopped on the broken desk chair and
sighed again. “Can you read any of this shit?”

Al nodded. “It’s nothing. I imagine Russian is their first

language and they kept their books in it. Most of these
documents are printouts for orders. Orders for what, I can’t

say. They must be trafficking in illegal immigrants or goods
because they talk a lot about dogs and I don’t see any around
here.”

“What kind of dogs?”
“Wolfhounds,” Al said and laughed. “If they had even one,

we’d know it. Those dogs are huge.”

“You see anything that might have a city of origin? You

know, someplace where they came from and might go back
to?”

“I see a lot of stuff that talks about

Khram Spasa na Krovi.

”

“And what the fuck is that?”
“The Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood.”
“Where is that? Sounds just right for a vampire nest.”
“It’s in St. Petersburg on the Griboedova Canal. But the

blood it refers to is Tsar Alexander II’s. He was wounded
while viewing construction of the church, bled copiously at the
site, and died later. And while it was constructed in the
1800s, it’s built more like a medieval Russian church: onion-
top towers, lots of mosaics, you know.”

“I’m thinking catacombs and underground chambers where

a nest could survive.”

Al shrugged. “Hey, I’ve been to St. Petersburg. I was there

when the tsar was killed. I watched them build it. But I have no
idea what’s under it.”

Jax stood up. “I might be going. If that’s where they took

Martha, I’m going after her. It’s partly my fault she was

kidnapped. If I hadn’t spent so much time in Mt. Vernon, I
would have been here with her. I

should

have been here with

her.” He grabbed his head and squeezed. “I should have
been with her. I should never have allowed you to seduce
me.”

“You’re jumping to conclusions, man. You don’t know for

sure she’s even been kidnapped. She might be at home
sleeping off a drunk … or she might be at the bottom of the
bay.”

“Oh yeah, that’s a comforting thought.” Jax held up

Martha’s service revolver. “I know one thing. She’d never
leave her pistol behind.”

“Good point. So, what’s your plan?”
“I don’t have one. You know any vampire hangouts? Maybe

we could scout around and see if we can uncover some
clues. You know, like where these guys are from and where
they’ll go back to and if they heard anything about Martha.”

Al scratched his goatee. “I might know of one. It’s a fetish

bar downtown. A lot of vampire wannabes hang out there and
I heard some of them are actually vampires.”

“What’s it called? I might have heard about it.”
“The Buveur de Sang.”
Jax made a face. “I’ve heard of it. Talk about weirdoes.

We’ve busted up some pretty strange gatherings at de Sang.
It’s regularly frequented by the plushie crowd.”

“What’s a plushie?”

Jax picked up Martha’s stuff and headed for the door. “I

can’t believe there is something perverted you haven’t heard
of.”

Al followed him down the hallway toward the door

protesting. “I’m not a pervert.”

Jax raised one eyebrow. “Plushies are people who dress

up in fur suits and have sex.”

Al snorted. “That’s just fucking wrong.”

* * * *

While they were waiting for the club to open, they drove

around to Martha’s apartment. She lived on 8th Avenue in
Seattle in a high-priced building. They got the key from the
manager and let themselves into her studio.

“She spends a fortune every month to live here and it’s a

closet.”

Al opened the curtains to the tiny balcony. “I know, but what

a view.”

Jax examined the tiny space, finding no evidence that

Martha had been there recently. “This is a bust. I can’t scent
her. She hasn’t been here in at least a day.”

“Where’s her car?”
Jax slapped himself in the forehead. “It has to be at the

station. She was supposed to ride over there with the geek
squad. We find them and the car and this whole story might
start to unravel.”

Time for dinner arrived and Jax stopped at his apartment.

He took Al to the door and stopped him. “This is my home.
My daughter is here. Mind your manners and your hands.”

Al laughed and held his hands up in front of him. “Best

behavior, I swear.”

Michelle was in the kitchen stirring a pot with an apron

wrapped around his thin torso.

“I didn’t know I owned an apron.” Jax sniffed. “Smells good.

What’s cooking?”

Michelle smiled and Emily popped up from the couch like a

prairie dog. “He’s making mac and cheese for me and
Stubby.”

Michelle opened the oven and the origins of the great smell

wafted into the kitchen. “Ribs?”

“Believe it or not, they were buried in the freezer.”
Al stepped out of the hall and Michelle and the dog spotted

him. “Oh my God,” Michelle said as the dog ran to Al’s feet
and jumped against his legs.

Jax was weirdly aware of a sniggle of jealousy. He stifled it

while assuring himself he didn’t give a crap who Al liked or
who liked Al. “Michelle, this is Al Fairfeather. He’s working as
a consultant on one of my cases.”

Michelle’s smile lit up his huge brown eyes. Jax suddenly

realized his little new nanny was not a bad-looking guy.

“Call me Shelly. It’s more American.”
“I hear a hint of a Russian accent in your voice,” Al said as

he gave Jax a glance and patted the dog. “Animals always
like me,” he said and winked as he took a seat at the table.

Jax frowned and went to sit next to his daughter. “What

kind of day did you have, sweetheart?”

“Shelly took me and Stubby for a walk to the park. I slid

down the big slide all by myself, and then he pushed me on
the swings.”

They ate ribs and mac and cheese and salad together at

the table like a big family. Shelly, still wearing his apron,
served them and sat at the head of the table where he could
help Emmy. Jax felt ridiculously confused by the entire
experience. There were no women in this picture and he
wasn’t finding that as weird as maybe he should. But for
once, Emily was getting the care she deserved, and in her
own home where she was comfortable. And she had no idea
this was strange. To her, everything was normal.

Maybe in the end, that was all that mattered?
After dinner, Jax read her a story while Al, who’d

consumed only salad and macaroni, helped Shelly wash
dishes. At nine, Jax tucked Emmy in and slipped out the front
door with Al.

“Didn’t know you had a live-in boy toy, you sly dog. I could

have sworn you were a virgin.”

Jax slammed the door of the Camaro and glared at Al. “I

saved him from the club. Shelly is only helping me out with
Emily on a temporary basis, and he is not my boy toy.”

Al pushed his long blond hair out of his eyes and tilted his

head. “Don’t fight it so hard, Jax. Your true nature is just
starting to emerge. You’re a caterpillar, my friend. Soon,
you’ll turn into a beautiful butterfly.”

“I’m not a fricking butterfly, Al.” He growled. “I’m a

dangerous animal and you better not forget it. So just stop it
right now.”

Al smiled and leaned back in his leather seat. “Whatever

you say, my friend.”

They stopped at the station on the way to the Buveur de

Sang. Jax searched the lot but could not find Martha’s
Honda. “I’m gonna call Elmer Coventry. He’s head of the
computer division. Maybe he knows where in the hell
Martha’s car is.”

“Could be she drove it somewhere and is perfectly fine,” Al

said.

Jax pointed to the back seat and Martha’s pile of

belongings with his chin. “I told you she’d never go anywhere
without that phone or that pistol.”

“Then where is her car?”
Elmer soon cleared that up. Jax spoke to him for two

minutes using his Bluetooth and clicked off. Al heard every
word. “She drove herself to the Black Countess.”

Jax took the next exit off the 405 and hooked back toward

Mill Creek. “We’ll do a drive-by and see if it’s still there.”

It was parked in back. Jax used the keys he’d found in the

locker room and opened the door. The car was filthy. Water
bottles and food wrappers flowed out the passenger-side
door. He stood there staring at the disgusting interior of a
perfectly good car with his mouth open.

“Wow, what a mess,” Al commented.
Jax snarled. “How could we know if anything was out of

place in this disaster?”

Al shook his head. “There’s no way.”
Jax scooped a pile of paperwork off the seat and started

leafing through it. “Nothing in here.” He tossed the heap into
the back seat and slid into the car. He found some notes
from the night before. She’d drawn the name Daphne on a
notepad. Doodled loopy hearts and flowers surrounded the
name. He showed it to Al.

“Is Martha gay?”
Jax felt like crying. He’d been her partner for three years

and really had no idea what her sexual orientation was. He
shook his head. “I don’t know. I never saw her with a guy. I
guess she could be.”

“Who’s Daphne?”
Jax inclined his head toward the club. “She’s at The Black

Countess.”

“Remember the odor of sex we picked up and the needle

with Martha’s blood? Sounds like this Daphne might have
been here, lured her into a sexual encounter, and offered her
to the vamps. The evidence trail kind of points to it.”

Jax nodded with his heart aching. He felt responsible. He

should have been here. But Al was right, the evidence
pointing toward Martha being killed by Tsarov or one of his
minions was there to read. “So what do you think they did
with her after they lunched her?”

“That is indeed the question.”

Chapter Ten

They drove to the Buveur de Sang in silence. The club was

small, on a corner and completely without windows. A sign
hung over a blood-red door. The letters of the club’s name
were red on black with droplets of blood dripping from the G.

“Do you speak French as well?”
Al nodded. “It means blood-drinkers.”
“Great. Of course it does.”
There was a line outside waiting to get in. The door would

open and a tall figure wearing a black cape would allow one
or two in. Many of the waiting patrons were dressed in fuzzy-
animal suits. Some wore masks with makeup and fake
whiskers; some wore animal heads. Al and Jax strode by a
raccoon, a huge pink bunny, two cats, a horse, an elephant, a
sheep, and a dog with floppy ears.

Jax flashed his badge at Dracula the bouncer and they

walked in. The lighting was red and the odors heavy.

“I smell civet oil,” Al said. “Animal musk.”
“Me, too. Some of the plushies wear it because they think

it’s a turn on.”

Al made a gagging noise. “I guess they never saw a civet

cat—otherwise known as a skunk.”

They moved through a packed crowd to the music of a

small rock band on a raised stage in one corner. The

bartender was a small man with dark hair, huge dark eyes
with long lashes and lush lips. Al headed straight for him and
they kissed over the top of the bar. Al reached his hand back
and grabbed Jax by the shirt, drawing him onto a bar stool.
“This is Corey. Corey, this is Jax.”

“I take it you know him? Did you know he worked here?”
Al shook his head. “No, we lost contact a couple of months

ago.” He leaned over the bar and grabbed Corey’s hand.
“Set us up with a couple of beers.”

Corey slapped Al’s hand and batted his thick eyelashes.

“You can’t expect to just walk in here and have me any way
you want. Not after the way you left me.”

Al grinned and ducked his head. “Hey, I can’t live in the

city. You know that.”

Corey rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I know.” He slapped his

hands on his hips and eyed Jax. “Who’s this? He smells like
an animal.”

“And you stink of vampire, bloodsucker.” Inside, Jax’s

panther-self swelled. He felt the change trying to come on. He
was becoming more and more sensitive to the odor of
vampires. He wanted to kill this one for no other reason than
he was one of the undead.

Corey leaned close to Jax. “Yes, I’m a vampire. Not by

choice, but it’s worked out rather well. What are you?” He
glanced at Al. “He’s an elf, or did he neglect to tell you?
That’s why he can’t take the city. He won’t eat any meat

either.”

“I’m a shifter … a black panther,” Jax said as he glanced at

Al. “And I’m a cop. He told me what he is. He’s helping me
with a case.”

Corey brought them two beers and Jax sipped some of the

cold brew. It’d been a long day. He rotated on his stool and
watched the crowd. There were a couple of rooms to the
place. The plushies seemed to be congregating in the one
farthest from the bar. Three waitresses cruised through the
crowd delivering drinks, dressed in fishnet stockings, short
black skirts, and red low-cut blouses.

Corey waited on several patrons and drifted back to their

end of the bar. “Seen any Russian vampires around?” Al
asked.

Corey glanced at the back room. Jax followed his look. “A

vampire is here dressed as a plushie?”

The bartender grinned. “Hard to believe, ain’t it?”
Jax finished the beer and stood up. “What is he?”
“Pussycat. Female pussycat.”
“Full head or just whiskers and makeup?”
Corey shrugged. “I have no idea.”
Al waved to Corey. “We’ll be back. Hey, when do you get

off?”

Corey checked his watch. “Midnight.”
Jax grabbed Al’s elbow. “Come on. We’re looking for a

female cat that smells like death.”

Jax elbowed his way through the crowd of fur-covered

patrons as he searched the room for one female cat whose
smell he’d recognize. He located Miss Kitty in a corner
rubbing her fluffy self all over a large raccoon. The raccoon
was male, obviously so, and Miss Kitty was playing the
female role to the hilt. From his position, Jax heard Miss Kitty
suggest a trip to the bathrooms to Rocky Raccoon and
trailed behind them as they drifted in that general direction.

Al bumped into him from behind and caressed his ass.

“That him?”

“Smells right.”
They trapped Miss Kitty and the raccoon in the men’s

room. Al moved in behind Jax and blocked the door. The two
plushies were in a stall growling, hissing and grunting. Jax
pushed and the door opened. Apparently it hadn’t been
latched. Miss Kitty was bent over the commode while Rocky
vigorously humped the cat’s big fluffy black rear end.

Jax grabbed the raccoon’s shoulder and Rocky jumped up.

“What the fuck?”

“I hope you’re aware you’re screwing a guy,” Jax said to

the raccoon.

“We’re just doing a little yiffing,” the cat said in a high

falsetto.

Jax dropped his gaze to the raccoon’s rapidly flagging

erection, which jutted from a hole in the furry costume. “I don’t
know what you were doing, cat. Rocky here was screwing.”

He shoved the plushie out of the stall. “Beat it.”

The cat snarled and tore off his ridiculous fake head. He

came out of the costume with his fangs bared and launched
himself at Jax’s throat. Jax was seconds from shifting when
Al joined him and handed him a silver chain. Together they
subdued the vampire.

When Miss Kitty was tied up in silver, Jax bent over him. “I

heard you’re Russian.”

Cat guy shook his head. “Not me. I’m from San Francisco.”
Jax glanced at Al who lifted one eyebrow. “Is there another

vampire plushie or are you the only one?”

The vampire sulked. “I will not speak to either of you until

you get this silver off of my body.”

Al pulled a long, thin blade out of an ankle scabbard and

stuck the wickedly sharp tip into the vampire’s Adams’s
apple. “We don’t have all night.”

The vampire rolled his eyes. “You’re looking for Yuri. He’s

wearing a Garfield suit.”

Al stuffed the knife into his scabbard and Jax took the

chain off the vampire. They shot out of the men’s room,
marching back into the crowd of plushies. Jax spotted
Garfield heading out the back door with a pink rabbit. They
closed in on him. He looked over his shoulder, saw them, and
started running. They bolted after him.

Garfield ran down the alley behind the club. He was fast,

faster than Jax or Al, but his suit and his big, flapping, fuzzy

cat feet hampered his flight. When he reached a six-foot-high
chain-link fence, he leaped over it and the bottom half of the
suit got caught on a loose piece of wire and ripped. The
struggling plushie shrugged out of the bottom of the suit,
opting to retain his Garfield head. Jax would have laughed at
the sight of a naked vampire hanging over a fence wearing a
big orange cat head, but he was out of breath.

He leaped from ten feet away and grabbed a foot as

Garfield tried to scramble over the fence. Al snagged the
other foot. They pulled the plushie down, wrapped him in the
silver chain, and Jax sat on his back huffing while he tried to
catch his breath. “Good thing you brought the chain,” he
gasped.

“Always carry some silver,” Al advised.
“I’ll remember that.”
While Jax recovered, Al yanked the head off Garfield. “Yuri,

I presume.”

The vampire’s blond hair was buzz-cut, his eyes pale blue,

and his cheeks hollow. He had a starved look. His eyes
flicked from Jax back to Al. “Dah,” he said.

Jax smiled. They’d found him. “Where’d the other Russian

vamps go?”

The vampire spouted off a long stream of Russian.
“Al?”
“He said a lot of very uncomplimentary things about you

and your ancestry.”

“Tighten the chain.”
Al wrapped it around the vampire’s neck and pulled. Yuri’s

skin sizzled and his scream was cut off.

“Ask him about the Russians from the club.”
Al and Yuri conversed for several minutes and Al loosened

the chain. They talked some more.

“What’s he saying?”
“They had to leave the country. Something about the

Ulianov case.”

“What’s he know about that? And ask him about Martha.”
The two spoke for several minutes and Al pushed Jax

away. “I think we got everything we’re gonna get out of him.”

The vampire picked up his Garfield head and slapped it on

without the rest of the suit. Jax stifled a laugh and Al just
stared, his light-green eyes hard as Yuri picked up the torn
bottom half of the suit and stalked off mostly naked.

“I guess he thinks as long as his head is on he’s a big

orange cat.”

Al shrugged. “He’s a newly made vampire. I’m guessing he

was made by one of the Russians at the club.”

“What’d he say about Martha?”
“He said he was supposed to leave with them but didn’t

make the plane. He didn’t want to go anyway. He’s pretty
locked into the plushie scene.”

“Did all of them leave? Is he the only one left here?”
“I got the impression a small contingency was left behind to

close down the clubs and dispose of their assets?”

“What assets?”
“He didn’t say. I’m assuming he meant the clubs. Maybe

they own other property in the area.”

“Martha, man. What about her?”
“He said all the coffins they took were filled and the

Daphne chick was their half-human caretaker. He said if all of
them were occupied, there could have been a human in his.
That’s all he knows.”

Jax groaned. “That’s almost entirely useless information. I

need to know for sure.” He growled. “If they took Martha, I’m
gonna kill all of them.”

“The only way to know is to talk to them. Go to Russia.” Al

wrapped his arm around Jax. “If she’s not in the spare coffin,
she’s gone, Jax. You have to accept that.”

Jax shrugged off the arm. “Well, I can’t. I owe her. She’s my

partner

, dammit. She’d find me if I was missing. And I should

have been there with her. This is all my fault. Did Garfield
know anything about the Ulianov case?”

“He said it was too hot for them in Seattle. They were

going somewhere more conducive to their business. Ulianov
went with them, so there is no more Ulianov case.”

“I’ve gotta save Martha. I have to find her.”
“Then you have to go to Russia. The only people who know

what happened to her are there.”

They trudged through the club and took a seat at the bar.

Jax dropped his head into his hands and rubbed his slick
skull. His heart felt like a brick. All he could think about was
Martha—and the paperwork. How was he going to fill out his
report? Paperwork was Martha’s forte. And exactly how did
one incorporate vampires into a police report?

Corey set two fresh beers down in front of them and Jax

sipped despondently. “The department’s never gonna okay
the expense of a trip to Russia. There’s no one I can call. I’m
screwed and Martha’s double-screwed. If they took her, she’s
gone for good. I can just see me asking Captain Martin for
the money to go looking for Martha in Russia. He’ll want to
find her, but I’ll end up hearing a twenty-minute lecture on
budget cuts.”

Al put his arm around Jax again and this time he didn’t

shrug it off. “I can finance your trip to St. Petersburg if you
really want to go.”

“How? You rich?”
Al pressed a kiss on Jax’s cheek and the bartender got

interested and came over. “What’s wrong with him?”

“He’s a cop and his partner got snatched by the Russians.”
“That sucks.” Corey stroked Al’s hand and lightly touched

Jax’s cheek. “I get off in five minutes. Why don’t you guys
come home with me?”

“I’m not gay,” Jax snarled.
Corey grinned. “Who said anything about sex? Al and I are

old friends. It would be nice to talk over some coffee and

catch up.”

“We could discuss taking a trip to Russia,” Al said.
Jax looked at both of them and discovered he felt the need

for company. They seemed so sympathetic and maybe going
to Russia was the answer to his problem because he didn’t
think he was going to be able to just let Martha disappear
without making an effort to find her. Martha would turn the
Earth upside down looking for him. It’s what partners did for
each other. She had his back and now it was his turn to do
the same. He had to find out what happened.

“Why not? Coffee sounds good.”

Chapter Eleven

Corey lived in a nice townhouse on the side of a mountain

overlooking the city. Jax had second thoughts as he parked.
It was midnight, and he really should go home to his
daughter. He parked the Camaro behind Corey’s Mini
Cooper and turned off the engine.

“I can’t stay long,” he said to Al.
Al nodded. “I know … Emily.”
“I trust Michelle, but she’s still my responsibility. I don’t want

to lay too much on him.”

“Have you asked him if he knows where the vampires

might have taken Martha?”

Jax pursed his lips. “Good idea. It hadn’t occurred to me.

Michelle might be more a part of this than he’s letting on. He
told me they made him lure the two dead guys to the club.”

“Well, we know he’s not a vampire,” Al said as he climbed

the steps to Corey’s front door. “But he’s Russian. He might
have lived with the vampires in Russia. He might know where
they would take Martha. He must know where they live.”

Corey’s townhouse was opulent, with stainless steel

appliances, parquet flooring, thick area rugs, and a balcony
that stared right at the Space Needle. “How does a bartender
afford something like this?” Jax asked as he sat on the red
leather couch. He touched the leather. It was like butter.

“He didn’t buy it,” Al said. “I did.”
“You are rich?”
“I’m old, Jax. I told you, almost two thousand years old. I

spent a large part of my life acquiring wealth. Now, I make
medieval weapons because I like to and I live in the woods
close to the Canadian border because I need the trees in
order to stay sane.”

Corey brought a silver tea tray loaded with coffee mugs

and creamer from the kitchen. He set it on the burl-wood
coffee table and they all grabbed a mug.

Jax drank his black. He blew on the scalding liquid, then

took a sip. “If I decide to go to Russia, you really can pay for
it?”

Al nodded. “I’ll charter a jet. It’s easier to get into Russia

that way. Commercial airlines are pretty stuffy. There’s visas
and paperwork up the ass.”

The coffee mellowed Jax. He leaned back against the

leather and closed his eyes. He’d have to run following
Martha to Russia by his boss, Captain Jeremy Martin,
tomorrow. If Martin freaked, he’d consider taking Al up on his
offer. He knew Martin would want Jax to find Martha, but
doubted if the funds for such a trip existed. “Thanks for saying
you’ll help me find Martha. Can I let you know tomorrow?”

“Take as long as you want.”
Corey sat at Al’s feet and caressed the elf’s thigh. Al

leaned forward, put his hand behind Corey’s head and drew

the bartender into a deep kiss. Jax squirmed in his seat. The
sight of the two of them kissing, Corey’s eyes closed, Al’s
eyes open, stirred him more than he would ever admit.

Al sensed his arousal, pulled away from Corey and pulled

Jax into his arms. “Don’t fight it so hard. Being with a man is
just as natural as being with a woman. It’s society that says
it’s wrong. Let your inhibitions slide away. Enjoy the moment.”

Al’s voice was hypnotic. Jax was too tired to fight the

desire rising inside his body like hot lava. Corey threw
several pillows on the alpaca rug and lay back on one as Al
drew Jax onto the floor. He gently removed Jax’s shirt and
jeans. When he stripped off his boxers, Corey groaned.
“That’s one huge uncircumcised penis.”

Jax looked down at himself. His erection was enormous. Al

fell on it, taking his cock in his mouth as Corey knelt behind
Al pulling off his clothes. Jax’s eyes narrowed as he watched
Corey undress. Al’s lips and tongue on his dick had him
close to blowing in seconds. Al felt how close Jax was to
spewing and backed away. He held Jax’s cock around the
base, his hand white against Jax’s dark skin. Corey pushed
Al aside. “Let me wrap my mouth around that bad boy.”

Corey took over sucking Jax’s dick while Al stripped off his

clothes. When he was naked, he straddled Jax’s chest and
thrust his cock into his mouth. Jax had never sucked a dick
before. He expected to be disgusted, but found himself
fascinated by Al’s long cock. He held it around the base and

tilted it so he could suck the velvety head. Al moaned and Jax
felt his climax rapidly approaching. “I’m gonna shoot,” he
groaned.

Corey laughed. “Not yet, tiger.”
“Panther, I’m a panther.”
“You’re a big, black cat, that’s for sure.”
Al slithered down Jax’s body and took Corey’s place. He

lifted his buttocks and Corey knelt behind Al, parted the white
globes of his ass, slid a condom over his erection, and
entered Al, while Al, grunting, sucked Jax’s cock. Corey
plunged in and out of Al while Al sucked. Jax lifted his hips
and thrust in and out of Al’s mouth while he held the back of
Al’s head.

He was in a fog of lust like he’d never experienced before.

He felt Corey’s escalating passion as well as Al’s. It was all
so honest and open. He knew they were excited and close to
orgasm. It wasn’t like when you were with a woman and you
had to either guess or ask them. He knew Corey was close
to spewing and he knew Al was enjoying sucking his cock.

When he ejaculated, he held Al’s head still and pumped in

and out of his mouth. Corey thrust into Al one last time and
bucked as he emptied his load. He withdrew and fell on Al.
They turned into each other’s arms, kissing deeply. Al’s cock
was huge and rock-hard. He got on his hands and knees,
presenting his white ass to Jax. The sight of his open anus
stirred Jax. His dick was erect so fast, Jax’s head whirled.

“Fuck me, Jax,” Al whispered.
Corey lay on his back and Al crawled over him until his

cock hung over Corey’s mouth, his ass still presented to Jax.
Jax hesitated. He’d never imagined sticking his dick in
another man’s ass. The thought should be grossing him out.
But the sight of Al’s round butt, asshole gaping open from
Corey’s fucking, had him hard and ready.

Corey took Al’s cock in his mouth as Jax knelt behind Al.

He opened a condom package and slid the prophylactic on.
Then he placed the head of his dick in the reddened opening
and pushed. It was tight and scratchy and he was hooked. He
grabbed the cheeks of Al’s ass and pushed all the way in
until his balls were rubbing Al’s balls. He heard Corey
slurping as he sucked Al’s cock from far away. He closed his
eyes and pounded in and out of that tight hole until the head
of his dick was so sensitive, he felt like screaming. Every
stroke was ecstasy. He slowed his pace, enjoying and
drawing out the pleasure. Al yelled as he unloaded into
Corey’s mouth. When Jax heard Al erupt, his own cock
exploded. His orgasm was so intense, he doubled over Al’s
ass, groaning and moving spastically.

For several moments the three of them lay on the alpaca

area rug on their backs, staring at the ceiling. All Jax heard
was the rasping of their breath. He felt some of the same
revulsion for himself as the last time he’d given in to lust with
Al, but he couldn’t hate himself for something that was

becoming more and more obvious. He was gay. He’d always
been gay, just hiding it from the world and from himself.

If he honestly examined his life and how he’d been as a

child, he could see where this all came from and when it
really started. He remembered feeling different when he was
as young as five and first going to school. He lived in Sao
Paolo in a very macho society. He remembered coming
home from kindergarten and having his mother ask how
many girlfriends he had. He’d been confused because he
didn’t have any. But from then on, he’d been hyper-aware of
the need to always portray himself as a super-male guy. It
was expected.

He struggled to his feet and began searching for his

clothes. They were everywhere. When he was dressed he
looked down at the two men. Minutes ago, he’d been locked
in passion with both of them. It seemed like a dream.

“I gotta get home. You staying here, Al?”
Al nodded. “Come pick me up in the morning and we’ll

figure out whether we’re going to Russia or not.”

“I’m gonna stop at the station and run this whole thing by

the captain first and make a stab at filling out some reports.”
He shook his head. “I have no idea how to write all this down.
There’s no way Captain Martin is gonna buy any of it.”

* * * *

Daphne wrapped her arm around Martha’s shoulder as

they stared down at the city of St. Petersburg from the small
window of the chartered jet. The sun, rising behind the plane,
blazed off the river and the Gulf of Finland, illuminating the
gold dome of St. Isaac’s Cathedral. Daphne pointed out
each landmark as they flew over, headed for a private airport
on the outskirts of town.

“Russia has a lot of vampires,” Daphne said. “Some of

them are very old.” She looked over at the coffins. “Nights last
forever this far north. Many of Europe’s vampires migrated
here because of that. We will land north of the town of Uglovo.
Trucks will take the coffins into the city to the Church of the
Savior on Blood. Beneath the church in the catacombs, there
is a huge nest of vampires.”

“I don’t want to go there,” Martha cried. “They’ll kill me.”
Daphne grabbed her by the shoulders and stared into her

eyes. Martha tried to regain control. She was close to
hysterics.

“I will not allow that.” Daphne pulled Martha into a tight

embrace. They hugged like that for several moments. “I love
you.”

Martha pulled away, turned her back on Daphne and

covered her eyes with her hands. “How?” she sobbed. “We
just met.”

“We were meant to be together. I felt it the first time I saw

you.”

“You’ll never be able to keep them off me. They’re

monsters.”

“I’ve been their caretaker for many years. I’m not entirely

human, you know. My father lives down there. He’s a
vampire. They feed the half-vampire their blood so we can
stay young. They need me—and I need you.”

Martha couldn’t stop sobbing. She was a million miles from

home and under the control of demons from her worst
nightmares. “I can’t love you,” she said in a quavering voice.
“I’m too afraid of what they’re going to do to me.”

Daphne touched her face, brushing off the tears. “Leave it

to me. I’ve been dealing with them for a long time.”

“How long?”
“I was born into this. My mother took care of them before

me. My father is the oldest and most evil of all the vampires.”

“They can breed?”
“If they want to. They control the emission of their seed.

They bred me eight hundred years ago in the catacombs
under this church. I have never felt love before, Martha. I
loathe men. I will make them accept you. I’ve served them
faithfully for many years and they trust me. I would be virtually
impossible to replace. And besides, I know all their secrets.”

When the plane was on the ground, Daphne wrapped

Martha in a black velvet cloak, fastening the frogs at the neck.
Then she strode off the plane and began directing the
unloading of the coffins. The bright morning sunlight was
blinding after hours on the dark plane. Martha emerged into

the chilly Russian morning and climbed into the back seat of
a stretch limo with Daphne.

The ride through the countryside took them past old

villages and newer more modern tract housing as the limo
cruised down the A-128. It looked different from the
northwest, the land was lowland and there was lots of water,
but not as different as Martha had imagined. The smaller
villages were quaint and unlike anything seen in the U.S., but
as they grew close to the city and the limo driver picked up
speed and turned down a wide avenue bordered by trees,
the buildings looked more and more like any city. The avenue
took them across a wide river and Daphne leaned close.
“We’re almost to the church.”

The driver hooked a right, then crossed a canal and took a

left. The church was like something out of a fairy tale, tall and
brightly painted with ornate towers topped with onion-shaped
globes painted in blue and gold with crosses on top of each
tower.

“I thought vampires couldn’t enter holy ground.”
“This is actually true, but there is very little ground left in this

world that is holy. Just because humans build a church does
not make it holy ground. Vampires often attend church. Their
belief in God is what keeps many of them sane. Imagine
living as long as they do and the things they must do to
survive without some hope of redemption. But this church
was deconsecrated when the communists were in power. It

doesn’t matter to us, but we know one day the Russian
Orthodox Church will recognize it again.”

“Will it be holy ground then?”
Daphne laughed. “This piece of land will never be holy.

Much blood has been spilled under it and so much evil has
lived on the site, it will be a thorn in God’s side for
millennium.”

When they parked, Martha stared out the window at the

sparkling water of the canal. It was night, but the lights
twinkled off the smooth surface of the water. “It’s right on the
canal.”

“We will enter in a door that is hidden in the canal wall.

You’ll see.”

The limo and the trucks stopped outside the gates of the

church. Even at this early hour, tourists wandered around the
grounds, taking pictures of the mosaics and the domed
towers. Martha climbed out and followed Daphne down a
narrow flight of iron stairs set into the yellowed walls of the
canal. At the bottom of the steps, she stopped and inserted
an enormous brass key into the lock of a black iron door. It
swung open with a creak and she motioned for Martha to
follow. Below the metal landing, dark-green water lapped at
algae-covered canal walls.

Daphne waved her hand and torches lit all along a narrow

tunnel leading down at a sharp angle. It smelled damp and
musty. Behind them, the two huge men who had driven the

trucks grunted as they manhandled a coffin down the
corridor. The tunnel opened into a large space. When
Daphne lit more torches, Martha gasped. The walls were
made of bones stacked thirty feet high. A shelf along the top
of the wall held the skulls. Their hollow eye sockets stared
down at Martha accusingly.

“Catacombs,” Daphne said. “Monks and priests have been

buried down here for centuries before the church was even
built. We’ve added a few bones of our own to it.”

The coffins were taken further into the catacombs. When all

fourteen were unloaded and stashed away, Daphne led
Martha through a small door into a well-appointed chamber.
“This is my room. I must go now and speak to Gothor. He will
be furious.”

Martha grabbed her hand. “Don’t leave me.”
Daphne placed her hands on the sides of Martha’s face.

Her light-blue eyes were filled with love and concern. “Gothor
Rusakov is my father. He needs to know of the failure in
Seattle and I am the one who will speak to him first. When
Ulianov and Tsarov talk to him, they will lie and try to deceive
him. I have never lied to Gothor. It’s not a healthy thing to do. I
will plead for your safety. Stay here. Things will get very ugly
when the rest of the nest awakens.”

Martha nodded and sat down on the plush red-velvet cover

of the bed. “Okay.” She was too scared to say or do anything
anyway. She had landed herself in a mess no one could get

her out of. Jax couldn’t follow her here even if he knew where
she was. The department would never pay for it and he had
his daughter to take care of. Tears flowed down her face and
she angrily brushed them away. She was not going to cry.
She was a cop. She’d get out of this frigging mess herself.

Chapter Twelve

Jax pulled into the parking lot of his apartment and climbed

out. He ached in some really weird places. He adjusted his
cock and winced. It was sore. He’d had a lot of sex lately,
way more than he was used to.

It was two in the morning when he entered the apartment.

Everything was quiet. He opened the fridge and grabbed a
beer from behind plastic tubs filled with leftovers. A plate of
cupcakes sat on the counter. He picked one up. It was
chocolate and covered with sprinkles. Emmy probably loved
them and Jax had no doubt as to who baked them.

He had to sit and unwind for a few minutes before he went

to bed. Michelle was sleeping on the couch with the dog.
When he sat at the table to drink his beer and eat one of the
cupcakes, Michelle stirred and slowly sat up. He rubbed the
sleep out of his eyes and saw Jax.

“You’re home.”
“I had a rough night.”
“Beer and chocolate?”
Jax laughed. “Yeah, weird but pretty good. How’s Emmy?”
“She’s doing great. I got her to poop on the potty. So I

made the cupcakes.”

“Hey, Michelle—I mean, Shelly—you’re from Russia. I need

to ask you a few questions.”

He turned his face away from Jax and when he looked

back his eyes were hooded. “What kinds of questions?”

“We jacked up this vampire we found at a club downtown.

You know about vampires, don’t you?”

It was a weird thing for Jax to say. Two days ago he’d

never seen a vampire or imagined them in Seattle. His family
had dedicated their lives to killing them, but he’d never
actually seen one. Now they seemed like they were
everywhere, like it was time to take up his heritage and start
using the tools and talents he was gifted with as a child.

“Dah, I know about vampires. We have many in Russia.”
“What part of Russia are you from?”
“I was raised in the town of Tallinn in a small apartment on

Kalarranna Street. The town is a port city just south of St.
Petersburg. From the docks, you could see Helsinki across
the Baltic. My mother died when I was six and my father went
to sea when I was eight and never came back. I lived in the
streets, but I went to school every day. When I graduated from
university, I decided I wanted to help children. They are my
passion. Children are so vulnerable. They need protecting. I
would give my life to protect Emmy. You know this?”

Jax nodded. “I really think you would.”
“One day when I was walking home from school, I was

attacked by a vampire. He was gay and he liked me, so he
took me to his home in St. Petersburg. He lived in a nest
under the Church of the Savior on Blood. This was right after

communism fell in Russia. People were beginning to return to
church.

“I worked for the vampires. They beat me, they fed off me,

and they used my body. I forgot about my job, my life before
they took me. I stopped caring about anything but the sex.
Sex with a vampire is like nothing you can imagine. I knew
they were kidnapping young girls and young men and taking
them to America to sell as prostitutes. I figured I was ruined
forever as a teacher of small children, so I decided I wanted
to come to America more than anything. I begged Arturo, my
master, to allow me to come with them. I didn’t know they
would use me to lure Rocko and Danny to their deaths. It
hurts me … in here.” He tapped his chest over his heart.

“Who runs the vampires?”
Shelly shuddered. “A horrible monster named Gothor

Rusakov. He’s very old and powerful. He can walk in daylight.
He has an amulet.”

“You know a vampire named Ulianov?”
“Of course. Godfrey is Rusakov’s right hand. He is the one

who travels and who takes care of all of Rusakov’s dirty work.
He locates the women and is in charge of the other vampires.
But they are all wild and crazy and listen to Ulianov only
because of Rusakov. He made many of them. Russia is
overrun with the undead. The nights are long and there is
plenty of food.”

Jax yawned and stood up. “I’m probably going to Russia,

Shelly. The vamps left town and took my partner with them. At
least, I think that’s where she is. It’s my fault she’s gone. I
have to go after her. When the vampires who live in Seattle
kill someone, accidentally or otherwise, where do they
dispose of the bodies?”

Shelly’s eyes flew open. “I … I can’t say. If they find out I

told a cop, they’ll kill me.”

Jax walked to the couch and sat down next to Shelly. He

took the smaller man’s hands in his. “I have to know so I can
make sure they didn’t kill Martha and dump her body. What
do they do with them, Shelly? I promise it won’t come back to
you.”

Shelly burst into sobbing hysterics and Jax felt completely

helpless. But he had to keep pushing. He hated to think of
Martha dead, but if he found her body, then he wouldn’t need
to go to Russia. He had to find some kind of closure.
Whether here or in Russia, he had to know what had
happened to her. Martha was worth any effort. “Tell me,
Shelly, and you can stay here with me and Emily as long as
you want. You’ll be safe here.”

The Russian threw himself into Jax’s arms and clung to

him, crying loudly on Jax’s shirt. He wrapped his arms around
Shelly and hugged him. “It’s okay,” he crooned into Shelly’s
thick brown hair. “I’ll keep you safe.”

The smaller man stopped weeping and looked into Jax’s

eyes. “There’s an abandoned mine in King County called the

Apex Mine. It’s located near a little town called Skyomish.
There’s an airport there. They fly the dead bodies in and
drive them out to the mine and they dump them down one of
the old shafts.”

“That’s a lot of trouble.”
“Not for them. And none of them gets discovered, ever.”
Jax sighed and turned toward his bedroom. “I guess I know

where I’m going tomorrow.”

“You’ll never find them, Jax.”
“Not finding them is not an option. I can and I will. How

many do you think are down there?”

Shelly shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe hundreds.”

* * * *

“But, Captain, the lead I have is solid and I trust the

informant. Martha has been missing for more than a day. I’ve
been to her apartment, I’ve backtracked her steps, and I have
these.” He put Martha’s weapon, cell phone, and shield on
the captain’s desk. “She’d never go anywhere without them.
She’s either dead and dumped in this location I told you
about, or she’s been kidnapped and hauled off to Russia.”

“This is a major deal, Sequeros. If Martha has been

kidnapped, we need to get the FBI in on this and maybe even
Interpol.”

“But the thing is, I’m not sure. She could be in this dump

site I just found out about. Apparently the group of Russians

we’ve been chasing dumped all their DBs in this mine.”

“I think we should mount some kind of task force to

investigate her disappearance first. I mean, she’s only been
missing one day. She could turn up. You know she could.”

Jax leaned forward and rubbed his eyes. The stress was

getting to him. “Captain … Jeremy, I’ve gotta find her.
Something bad has happened to her. She’s my partner. We
know each other pretty well. At the very least we need to go
up to this mine and hunt for the bodies. It’s in King County.
This is your jurisdiction. Aren’t you obliged to send someone
to check it out? My source says there could be as many as a
hundred bodies dumped in that old mine.”

Captain Martin was in his late forties, putting on a few

pounds around the middle and losing most of his hair. His
cheeks had turned into jowls. He had huge circles around his
eyes and deep bags under them. The capillaries in his fleshy
nose were blown. Captain Martin liked to drink.

“If your information is true, and I seriously doubt that, it

sounds like this could turn out to be a huge operation. But
that’s only if your information is accurate. And we still don’t
know for sure something has happened to Martha. We need
to follow the rules and protocols for missing persons. I’ll have
to report her missing to the NCIC. Because she’s a police
officer they’ll hustle, but this is all going to take time. Let me
send a team of detectives over to the club to look into this.
You’re too close to Martha. Your judgment might be off

because of your emotional response to her”—he held two
fingers up on each hand in quote marks—“disappearance.”

“Fine, send whoever you want over to the club. Just let me

go up to that mine with a couple of men. I’ll check it out and if
it turns out to be true, you can have all the credit.”

The captain smiled and scratched his bald head. “Take

Russell and Griffith. One day. I’m giving you one day. And I’ll
shoot a team into that club in the morning to check for more
clues. If their report concurs with yours, we’ll go haul balls on
this. We owe it to her.”

* * * *

The odor is what led them to the right shaft. Jax and his two

men spent five hours hiking up to the mine. Rusting
equipment, a tram station, and abandoned shacks around
the base of the mine were slowly being overgrown by verdant
Washington blackberries and trees. They found several
shafts leading to deeper shafts. The mine was dangerous
and creepy. Jax kept looking over his shoulder. He felt as
though he was being watched.

“Hey, Jax,” Kevin Russell called from the top of a pile of

loose rock and mining debris. “I got a path here.”

Jax wiped sweat out of his eyes and signaled to Robbie

Griffith. They hiked down a narrow path at the base of the pile
of debris and slowly climbed the loose rock. The smell hit him
like a brick when he reached the top. It was overpowering

and the two men with him smelled nothing.

“I think we should look this way,” he said. The men followed

him down a narrow trail between boulders, across a small
stream, and up the side of an overgrown cliff. At the top, they
found the shaft. Flies buzzed lazily in the afternoon sun.

Kevin covered his nose with his shirt. “Wow! That’s some

smell.”

Robbie’s face turned gray.
Jax walked to the opening, a dark slit in the side of the

mountain, and shined his flashlight into the tunnel. “I’m going
in.”

“Better you than me,” Robbie said.
He inched his way into the tunnel. The roof slanted and he

had to duck, but it didn’t go far. The beam of his light located
a shaft leading into the earth. He stood on the edge and
shined the light down. The sight illuminated by the beam was
grisly. The stark-white face of a male corpse stared up at him
out of clouded eyes from only ten feet below.

“I got bodies,” he called back to his two companions.
“We believe you.”
Jax strode out of the tunnel and snatched both of them by

the collar. “I need you to actually see the bodies so you can
give the captain an accurate description, filled with wonderful
details.”

They complained as he dragged them through the tunnel to

the edge of the burial shaft. Kevin looked over and gagged.

Robbie just stared, his face growing paler and paler. “I know
him,” he whispered. “That’s Paul Kurzinowsky. He lives … I
mean, he lived in my building.”

After staggering back down the tunnel and out into the

fresh air, Kevin yakked in the bushes and Robbie flopped
onto a big rock and just stared.

Jax was feeling optimistic. The top two bodies had been

males. If they dumped Martha up here, she’d be right on top
of the pile. His shoulders slumped. But that meant he had to
go to Russia. So who was going to look after Emmy?

It took them until eight that evening to get back into town.

Jax contacted Captain Martin immediately. The pile of
bodies looked deep. There could be more than a hundred,
like Shelly guessed. Now maybe the captain would allow him
to go to Russia after Martha.

He and his two companions met the captain at the station.

After Robbie and Kevin filled the captain in on the details, the
big man sat back in his chair and rubbed his eyes. “This is
going to make every paper and news station in the country.
We need to handle it right.”

Jax leaned forward. As far as he was concerned, the pile

of DBs could stay in the mine forever, all he wanted to do
was go after Martha. “Captain, uh … Martha’s body wasn’t in
the mine shaft. That means the Russians took her with them.
Tell me I can go, please.”

The Captain was staring blankly at the wall loaded with

plaques proclaiming him a great baseball coach and civic
leader. He cleared his throat. “I hate to do this to you,
Sequeros, but I’m gonna need every swinging dick at that
mine. I’ll call the FBI about the bodies and Martha, but you
ain’t going nowhere. Let them handle it. They’ll probably call
Interpol in on it. We’ll have to notify the authorities in Russia,
too. This is a monster problem.” He sighed and his voice
shook a bit. “Poor Martha. If they did take her, she’s probably
dead. Martha would make a terrible prostitute and she’d
never be anybody’s slave.”

Jax sighed, balled up his fists and surged to his feet. “You

can report all this to any organization you feel you need to. I’m
going after my partner. I got seven weeks of vacation time
built up. I’m taking it. Dammit, Captain, somebody’s gotta
find Martha. She’s one of us. We all know her. I mean, she is
a bitch, but she’s also a hell of a good cop. We can’t just
blow her off.”

He cleared his throat. “I’m not blowing her off. I have to

follow protocols, Sequeros. It’s an international matter. We’re
just the Washington State Patrol. We can’t go traipsing off to
frigging Russia, for Christ’s sake. Think about it. We have no
jurisdiction there. You’d be alone with no backup, no
organization to stand behind you. It could create an
international incident. The United States’s relationship with
Russia isn’t all that great right now. I mean, the cold war is
over, but they still have nukes, and I think they don’t like us

very much.”

“I can’t just forget about her or dump the problem on the

FBI.” Jax leaned over the desk and rested his hands on the
wooden surface. “She’s my partner. And there’s something
else I have to say.”

He took a deep breath. This was gonna suck so bad.

“These Russians are all vampires.”

The stunned look on the captain’s face would have been

funny if Jax wasn’t so stressed out. “You’ve finally gone over
the edge, Sequeros. You’re nuts. Take your seven weeks.”

Martin opened his bottom desk drawer and pulled a

cigarette out of a crumpled pack. He waved it at Jax. “Out.
Get out.”

Jax stopped in the door. “I’m going to Russia. You still

gonna give the FBI a heads-up?”

“Do you mean am I gonna tell them there’s vampires in

Seattle?”

Jax shook his head. This was way worse than he’d

imagined. “No, but can you please tell them Martha was
kidnapped and taken to Russia and the two vics at the club
were killed by vampires who went to Russia to escape
prosecution? You can take that to the bank.”

“There’s no fucking way I’m gonna tell the FBI anything

about vampires, understand?” The captain lit his cigarette
and sucked down a lungful of tar and nicotine. “Where you
going in Russia? It’s a pretty big country.”

“Tell them she might be in St. Petersburg.”
“I’ll tell them that much.”
“You’ll see,” Jax said as he opened the captain’s office

door and prepared to leave. “When you bring the bodies out
of that mine, you’re gonna find all of them are drained of
blood and have multiple bite marks. I can’t wait to hear how
you explain that.”

“Out, Jax. I think the loss of your partner is scrambling your

brains. I truly hope and pray you find Martha safe and sound
in Russia, but I don’t have the authority to help you and now I
have a mine shaft filled with bodies to deal with. I tell you
what, if you find her and you need my assistance to rescue
her, I’ll do what I can. But you know as well as I do, this trip
you’re planning is a long shot. Call me if you find her.
Otherwise, we’ll talk when you get back.”

Chapter Thirteen

“You need to take me with you,” Shelly said as he followed

Jax across the carpeted living room toward the small kitchen,
Stubby trailing behind.

Jax opened the fridge and snagged a beer. “I can’t. You

have to stay here and look after Emmy and the dog. There’s
no one else. She can’t stay with Mrs. Gorsky. She’ll never
survive.”

Shelly grabbed his arm. His huge brown eyes were filled

with concern. “You know I love Emmy. Who wouldn’t? She’s
the best little kid ever. But you need me, Jax. I’m the only one
who’s been in the nest. I’m the only one who can take you into
it. Without me, you’ll just drive around St. Petersburg lost.”

“So give me directions.”
“They’ll kill you before you get through the door. They have

half-vampires that guard the place. Lady Daphne is one.
They’re strong and deadly.”

“So why would going with you make any difference?”
“They know me. I’ve been their slave for a year. I can get

you inside.”

“Al has a vampire friend and I—well, I have skills you know

nothing about. We’re taking the vampire with us. Just give me
the damn directions.”

“It doesn’t matter who you’re taking. They’ll kill both of

them, too. How do you think they’ve stayed secret and strong
all these years? No outsiders get into the nest. No one does.”

Jax rubbed the cold bottle of beer across his forehead. Al

had the plane waiting at SeaTac. He’d just come home to set
Shelly up with money and his car. But if what he said was
right, they needed him to find Martha and get her out safely—
if that was even possible.

“Are you and Al lovers?”
Shelly’s question couldn’t have shocked Jax more. “What

are you talking about?”

Shelly shrugged. “Just a feeling. I’m pretty good at picking

up on things like that. It might have been the way he looked at
you.”

Jax had no idea what to say to Shelly. Never in his life had

he imagined he would be thinking of telling someone he’d
had a homosexual relationship.

Shelly grabbed his arm and looked up at him with a

pleading expression in his dark eyes. “Please take me with
you, Jax.” Shelly stepped close, wrapped his arms around
Jax’s waist, laid his head on his chest and held him tightly.
“It’s my fault Rocko and Danny are dead. Give me a chance
to redeem myself.” He dropped his gaze. “And besides, I
love you.”

Once again, Shelly had floored Jax. He disengaged the

smaller man’s arms and held him out where he could look
into his face. “You can’t. We just met and I’m … I’m a guy. I’m

not gay.” All he could think of was his father’s last words. His
urgent desire and need for Jax to breed more shifters to
restore the Sangue Cacadore. Gay guys didn’t breed.

Tears filled Shelly’s soft brown eyes. “I’ve known you long

enough to understand you are a good man who’s been
struggling to take care of his daughter and doing the best he
can every day. You took me in, Jax. You trusted me with
Emily. No one’s given me so much in my whole life. You
trusted me. You just don’t know how much that means to me.
Please take me with you. I’d die for you, Jax. I’ll help you find
Martha.”

“What about Emmy? She loves you.”
Shelly waved his arm toward Emmy’s bedroom. “Take her

with us. There’s gotta be room on that jet for one little girl.”

Jax shook his head. “I couldn’t. I could never take her into

danger.”

A strange noise outside in the parking lot drew Jax’s

attention. It sounded like two car doors being slammed at the
same time.

“I’ll be there. I’ll watch over her night and day. I’d give my

life for her, too.”

“Shhhhh,” Jax hissed. He lifted his head and sniffed.

Vampires. “I smell them.”

Shelly gasped and put his hand over his mouth. His eyes

were huge in a face gone completely white.

“We need to get out of here. Grab Emmy. We might have

to go over the balcony.”

Shelly shot out of the kitchen while Jax pressed his head

against the front door and listened. There were at least ten
vampires coming toward the front door. He heard their
individual footsteps, smelled each scent. One he recognized:
Yuri the Garfield plushie.

He ran into his bedroom and pulled a trunk out from under

the bed. After tossing it over the balcony, he went for Shelly.

As Shelly rushed into the room with a bag over his

shoulder, carrying Emmy bundled in a blanket, Jax stopped
in the middle of the living room. Shelly’s eyes were huge, his
breaths rasping. Jax felt his fear and wished he could give
him good news, but all he had to give was directions. “Out,
we’re going over the balcony,” he said directly into Shelly’s
ear. “They can hear me saying this. They know we’re in here.
Hurry.”

Jax tore off his clothes and handed them to Shelly. Then he

shifted and leaped over the balcony in one smooth bound.
Below in the dark, he shifted back and held up his arms.
“Emily first.”

Shelly leaned over the rail, closed his eyes, and let Emmy

fall. Jax easily caught her and set her on the ground. She was
awake. “Stand here, darling, while I catch Shelly.”

She nodded and clutched her blanket as Shelly tossed the

bag over the rail. Jax put it beside her and held his arms up.
“Jump,” he whispered.

Shelly climbed over the rail and dropped. It was sixteen

feet. Jax fell backwards when Shelly’s weight hit him. They
landed on the ground in a heap. Jax rebounded, helped
Shelly up, then grabbed his daughter and his trunk while
Shelly found his clothes and the bag. The entire escape had
taken only two minutes but Jax feared it was too long. He
heard the door of his apartment shatter as they bolted into
the woods behind his building.

On the other side of the strip of thick brush and fir trees

was another building. They ran through the brambles, thorns
tearing into Jax’s naked flesh. Out of the bushes, they ran
around the building into a parking lot. Jax kicked picked up a
rock and smashed the driver’s side window of a lifted Ford
pickup with mud tires. He opened the door and tossed
Emmy, the trunk, and Shelly inside. Shelly handed him his
jeans and he pulled them on.

It took another wasted minute to hotwire the truck. He

heard the vampires coming around the building as the truck’s
big engine roared to life. He jammed it into reverse as the
first vampire hit the hood. Tires squealed as he did a rooster
tail, spinning the truck around in the lot. The vampire flew off
and another took its place. Emmy screamed as the vampire
clawed its way up the hood to the windshield, leaving deep
scrapes in the paint.

Shelly put Emmy beneath his body, sheltering her as Jax

took off into the trees. Two more vampires landed on the roof

of the truck as Jax drove into the woods, dodging trees,
aiming for the thickest brambles and lowest branches. One of
the vampires screamed and exploded, spraying the hood
with gore as a tree limb staked it through the heart. The
branches scraped off the other two as Jax drove the truck
into a creek, huge tires spending up waves of cold water.

Breathing hard, his heart hammering with fear for Emmy,

Jax drove out of the creek and up a hill. They popped out in
another apartment complex and hit the road going thirty. The
big truck skidded into a turn as Jax pushed the speed to fifty,
shot out of the parking lot into a main artery, and headed for
the airport.

“I guess you and Emmy get to come,” he said as his heart

rate returned to normal.

Shelly turned around in the seat and carefully buckled

Emmy into the middle of the truck’s bench seat, then
fastened his own seatbelt. “Buckle up,” was all he said.

Chapter Fourteen

“You can’t help me find Martha and take care of Emmy at

the same time,” Jax said. “We have to figure out a way to
make sure she’s safe.”

Jax felt like tearing his hair out. This trip was too

dangerous for Emmy. As he piloted the huge vehicle onto the
interstate and headed for the airport, he closed his eyes and
took deep breaths. He’d never been this stressed out or
terrified for his daughter in his life.

“Ask Al. He’ll know of a way.”
Jax snorted. “Al’s not going to find a way to take care of

Emily. He’s gonna tell me I’m nuts for bringing her. He’ll never
allow me to bring a three-year-old girl with us to Russia on his
chartered jet.”

“We have a pack of vampires on our tail, Jax. You can’t

leave us here. They’ll find us and kill us both.”

Jax knew this was the truth but couldn’t accept it. His job

and his heritage had just put his most precious possession,
his daughter, in mortal danger. But this was what his father
had told him their life would be like. He’d told him about the
danger to his family. He’d explained that was the reason he
was always leaving home. He’d never wanted to bring this
kind of ugliness down on his family. And Jax had done that
very thing. Because of him, Emily was in danger. He wanted

to scream.

“She could stay on the jet with the pilot,” Shelly said. “She’d

never have to leave.”

“You think the pilot’s gonna babysit? I sincerely doubt it.”
“Ask Al. Please, Jax. You know as well as I, Emmy and I

can’t stay here. They’ll kill us before the wheels of your jet are
off the ground.”

He pulled out his cell phone and dialed Al.
“All right, I will. I know you’ll be a big help and as things

stand, you’ll be safer with me and Al than here. You know
he’s bringing his vampire friend Corey with us.”

Shelly shrugged. “I never heard of him.”
Jax got Al on the phone. “Hey,” Al said. “Where are you?

We’re waiting.”

Jax told Al about the attack at the apartment and that he

was on his way to the airport in a stolen truck. “I have to bring
them, Al,” he said. “They can’t stay here. Got any ideas about
keeping Emily safe?”

“You are one hell of a complicated person,” Al said. “But

this changes everything. With the remaining vampires on to
you, there’s no way you can leave your daughter here. They’ll
surely kill her. Man, your life’s a mess.”

“I’m a single dad. What can I say? Complications come

with the territory. One way or another, my chief concern is my
daughter and it always will be. Got any ideas how we can
take care of her and hunt vampires at the same time?”

“I have a lady friend who might come with us and watch

Emily. I’ll give her a call.”

Jax snapped his phone closed. “I need to call Mrs. Gorsky

and ask her to go get the dog and tell the landlord about the
front door. At least she can remember to feed Stubby and he
likes her. By the time we get back, he’ll be so fat he’ll look
like a barrel with legs.”

Shelly leaned back in the seat and sighed deeply. A

sudden look of fear passed across his expressive features
and he bolted upright. “Oh my God. Rusakov.”

“Who’s he?”
“The most evil creature on the planet. He runs the nest.

He’s the oldest vampire on Earth and the most dangerous.”

“Great, just great. This gets better and better.”
The trunk Jax had thrown into the back of the truck was

hundreds of years old, carved with images of panthers and
men killing vampires. Inside were the weapons of a vampire
hunter, a cross bow, a sword, and silver chains, along with
two silver daggers shaped like crosses. It looked like he was
finally going to need them.

He was never going to be unprepared again. He was a

vampire killer. Discovering this nest in Russia was no
coincidence. This is what he was born to do. God had
pointed him in this direction and he would now take up the
duties of a true member of the Sangue Cacadore.

* * * *

Al met them at the door of the chartered jet. He eyed Shelly

and backed up so they could squeeze in. The interior of the
plane was luxurious. The seats were leather. There were
beds in the back and a completely stocked kitchen.

Jax put Emily, who was sleeping soundly, into one of the

beds and covered her up. A tiny woman popped out of the
kitchen and fluttered up to Jax. She grabbed his arm and
glowed at him. “Is this your darling baby?”

Al slapped him on the back. “Shut your mouth. You’re

collecting flies. This is Lorelei. She’s a fairy. Lorelei, this is
Jax. I’m sure you already know he’s a were-panther.” Then he
whispered so low only Jax could have heard him. “Watch out
for her. She’s got a thing for shifters.”

Lorelei sat on the edge of Emmy’s bed and ran her hands

over the child. Golden dust rained down on Emmy’s sleeping
body. The fairy, a tiny woman with a mass of curling reddish-
blond hair, sparkling violet eyes shaded by thick black
lashes, a snub nose, freckles, and a pink bow of a mouth,
winked at him. “I’ll protect her. Don’t you worry about that.
Fairies have been watching over children since the dawn of
man.”

“She’s perfect for the job, isn’t she?” Al said, throwing back

his shoulders, clearly proud of what he’d done.

Jax laughed. “She’s perfect, all right. I’m sorry about having

to bring her. The vampires Tsarov left behind attacked my

apartment. They must have been after Shelly. He’s one hell of
a loose end and we were told some were left here to wrap
up.”

Al nodded and patted him on the back. “Don’t worry about

it. You couldn’t leave her behind. They’d kill her for sure.”

Jax felt tears welling in his eyes. Losing his daughter would

be the worst thing that could happen to him. Nothing else in
the world meant anything to him—just Emily.

They all buckled in and the plane took off, heading west

into the sun. Al sat next to him. “What’d you find out from the
gimp?”

Jax stifled a pang of irritation. “Don’t call him that. Ever.

He’s a person. His name is Michelle,. He told me there is a
very dangerous old vampire in charge of this nest. His name
is Rusakov. Ever heard of him?”

Al shook his head. “Is he old enough to day walk?”
Jax nodded. “Yeah, and he can fly from what I understand.

They live under that church we were talking about, the Church
of the Savior on Blood.”

“I’ve heard the sewer system in St. Petersburg is old and

vast. If there are catacombs and passages beneath the
church that connect to the sewers, the nest could be truly
immense.”

Shelly sat opposite them. “There are catacombs under the

church. They’ve been there longer than the building. They
date back to the beginnings of the city when the first Russian

Orthodox Church was built. The tombs contain the bones of
many monks and the vampires’ victims. It is even suspected,
but never proven, that one of the vampires actually killed Tsar
Alexander to stop the construction of the church. There is a
shrine on the spot where he was wounded and bled heavily.”

“How many bloodsuckers live in the catacombs?”
Shelly shrugged. “I don’t know. Many, I can tell you that.

Rusakov made most of them and fathered all of the half-
vamps.”

Jax settled back in his seat. “I didn’t know they could

breed.”

“They can if they want to. Their natures are not exactly

nurturing. The females rarely breed. They aren’t motherly. But
Rusakov bred his to watch over the nest. They live a long
time, are incredibly strong, and can day walk. They make
loyal servants and Rusakov feeds them his blood
occasionally, which makes them stronger. Lady Daphne is
one and you know her capabilities.”

Chapter Fifteen

Daphne closed the door to her chamber and locked it. The

many members of the underground community would respect
the locked door—unless they scented Martha and were
under the influence of a great hunger. But most of the
vampires that lived under the Church of the Savior on Blood
were well fed. Martha should be safe while Daphne reported
to Rusakov.

The corridor was as bright as day for Daphne. Her vampire

blood gave her enhanced vision. When the tunnel ended, she
climbed further into the bowels of a vast underground system
that connected to the ancient sewers beneath St. Petersburg.

The vaulted ceiling of the wide tunnel was coated with

crumbling mortar and the walls constructed of six-hundred-
year-old brick coated with a film of green algae. She turned a
corner and began walking a narrow brick ledge along a
steady flow of greasy brown water. When the water fell
through an iron grating, dropping ten feet to a canal below,
Daphne opened a hatch in the wall and climbed a ladder.

The ladder led to a more conventional corridor with a slate

floor and tapestry-covered walls. She spotted two vampires
she knew walking through a domed entry into a palatial room,
and followed them. Rusakov sat on a fur-covered divan with
his eyes closed. When she entered, he opened them. The

red glow in his light eyes and his red lips told her he’d
recently fed. Tsarov and two of Ulianov’s vampires stood
behind him. The atmosphere around Rusakov was as tense
as it always was, but the air in the chamber was frigid. The
tiny hairs on the back of Daphne’s neck rose.

“Daphne,” Rusakov said. “Come closer. Siegfried and

Godfrey are blaming the failure of their operation on the
intense scrutiny of United States law enforcement. They wish
to move it to some other country. Do you concur?”

Daphne’s accelerated breathing slowed. She wasn’t in

danger. “The police in Seattle are fairly astute. I think we
made several critical mistakes, and when they were
discovered we didn’t react appropriately. Humans died and
the law came down on us even heavier.” She inclined her
head toward Vladimir and Godfrey. “I know they need to feed,
but things got out of hand. Bodies were discovered and
linked to the entire operation. America is the golden fruit.
That’s where all the money is. You can run this anywhere but
if you want to make a good profit, it’s got to be in the U.S.”

Rusakov grinned. His fangs had grown throughout his long

life. When extended, they were two inches long and needle-
sharp. His skin was like fine porcelain china, white and hard,
and his hair long and white, swept back from a sharp
widow’s peak. The only color in his face was his red eyes
and lips. Sometimes, he could read her mind.

“You brought a woman with you … a human woman?”

Daphne nodded and the hair on her neck slowly rose

again.

“She is your lover?”
Daphne gulped and nodded again.
Rusakov waved one long-fingered hand languidly. “It is

allowed. Keep her close to your room. Some of the younger
ones have no control.”

Daphne breathed a sigh of relief.
“I agree with you. We need to suckle at the teat of the great

beast that is America. We have many more women and
plenty of manpower. We will open new clubs and brothels in
the city of angels.” He smiled. “I like that. Los Angeles, the
angels.”

Rusakov reached beside him, clamped his long white

fingers around Vladimir’s wrist, and pulled him forward.
“Vladimir, you and Godfrey will leave tomorrow for this city
and scout some locations.”

Vladimir snarled at Daphne and his fangs appeared. “She

is to blame for our failure. The woman she brought with her is
a cop. We could have the FBI and Interpol breathing down
our necks at any minute.”

Daphne stood her ground and hissed. “You were the one

who killed the lawyer. You forced the gimp to lure him to the
club.”

Godfrey Ulianov lifted his hands. “He was in charge of

prosecuting us for prostitution and bringing illegal women into

the country for use as sex slaves. I figured if he died, the case
would die as well.”

Siegfried grabbed Godfrey’s arm. “Why didn’t you dispose

of the bodies in the usual place?”

Godfrey narrowed his eyes. “I was distracted.”
Vladimir hissed at Godfrey. “You were too busy fucking

your little whore in one of the rooms. You did not take care of
business first. And there was a witness. The gimp got away.
The cop took him. He was locked in a box in the room and
saw everything … or at least heard most of it. We had no
choice. One of the other clients saw the bodies and called
the cops. The whole disaster can be laid at Ulianov’s feet.”

Rusakov grabbed Godfrey so fast that even Daphne, with

her enhanced vision did not actually see his movements. All
she saw was Godfrey suddenly beneath Rusakov with blood
spraying everywhere. As she backed slowly away, Rusakov
stood up, pointed his finger at Godfrey, and the vampire
exploded.

Such was the power of Siegfried Rusakov.
“Now there will be no more mistakes.”
The vampires and halflings surrounding Rusakov backed

slowly away from the bloodbath. Daphne, cleared to keep
Martha by the king himself, slipped out of the chamber and
ran back to her own room. Martha was asleep on the huge
bed.

Daphne, unbearably excited by the violence and the blood,

grabbed Martha’s foot. Her lover’s eyes flew open and she
rolled onto her back. “Open the robe,” Daphne whispered.

Martha opened the black cape, baring her naked body.

Her eyes were languid with desire, half opened and
sparkling.

“Show me your piercing, slave.”
Martha spread her legs so Daphne could see her swollen,

pierced clitoris.

“Open yourself with your fingers, slave. Show me.”
Martha obeyed instantly, pulling her labia apart to display

her inner self. Daphne crept onto the bed and up Martha’s
legs. “Keep holding it open,” she ordered.

Daphne wore tight leather pants with no underwear. The

interior of the pants was now slick with her excitement. She
writhed to stimulate herself as she took Martha’s clit in her
mouth and tongued the new ring. Martha gasped and made
small animal noises as she lifted her hips and opened them
further so Daphne could get a better grip on the most
sensitive part of her anatomy.

Daphne sucked until Martha’s breathing was a constant

pant, then shoved her long tongue into Martha’s opening,
mimicking the movements of a cock. When she felt Martha
getting close to orgasm, she stood up. Martha lay open and
exposed; her sex swollen, red and wet with want.

Daphne’s laugh was low and husky. She quickly stripped

off her clothes. Naked, she lifted her full breasts and tugged

at each nipple, pulling on the gold rings. Then she rubbed her
own aching sex while Martha watched. In a drawer beside the
bed she kept a double-sided dildo made of slick silicone
rubber with ribs along its entire length. She lubed it up and
slowly inserted it into her slick passage. When she felt it slide
inside, stretching her opening, she moaned.

Martha’s eyes widened as Daphne knelt between her legs

and shoved the other end into her. Daphne lifted Martha into
her arms and they embraced, locked together through the
dildo. They kissed as Daphne rocked her back and forth in
her arms, the dildo moving in and out. Their breasts rubbed
together, the nipples tense and erect. The rings in her nipples
rubbed Martha’s. Daphne felt Martha stiffening as she
strained toward orgasm. Martha threw her head back, arched
her spine, and clawed Daphne’s shoulders as she neared
completion.

Daphne controlled her rising desire and waited until

Martha screamed. Then she pushed Martha onto her back
and pounded the dildo in and out, with her legs tightly closed
around the slick phallus to maximally stimulate herself. When
she climaxed, it was so strong she froze, shuddering with the
strength of her spasms, then collapsed on top of Martha.

They lay like that for several moments until their breathing

returned to normal. “Am I safe here?” Martha finally asked.

Daphne lifted Martha’s chin and kissed her swollen lips. “I

have permission from Rusakov himself to keep you. You are

now under his protection. But he did tell me to keep you in
this room and away from the younger vampires. They have
less control.”

“But what’s going to happen to me? Am I just your sex toy?

Is that my life?”

Daphne growled. “You belong to me. You’re my slave. I will

decide your fate. If you are not happy, I will whip you.” She
smiled at the thought of Martha hanging on the whipping wall,
her wrists shackled, squirming to avoid the lash and
exposing her charms to Daphne’s hot gaze. Or maybe she
could manacle Martha to the bed where she would twist and
turn while Daphne applied the appropriate punishment. “A
good whipping cures many problems.”

Tears filled Martha’s eyes and Daphne kissed each drop

that fell. “Do not worry so. Your future is here with me, or
wherever I go.” She ran her hand between Martha’s legs and
slowly drew the dildo out. As she did, she brushed the ring in
Martha’s clit and she cried out.

“Is it sore, my dove?”
Martha nodded.
Daphne put the dildo away, striding around the room,

proud of her body. After she rubbed some ointment on
Martha’s sore clit, she dressed in clean leather pants, a
warm sweater, and a fur coat. “I must go out and fetch you
sustenance. There is little to eat in the nest. The vampires
don’t eat and the halflings usually eat out. I will bring you

food.”

She kissed Martha and wrapped the black velvet cape

around her naked body. “Don’t leave the room. It is very
dangerous for you.”

Martha grasped Daphne’s hand before she could move

away. “I’ve heard if you kill a vampire’s maker, all of his
children die. Is it true or just a rumor? If Rusakov died, would
you die, too?”

Daphne laughed. “Yes, it is true to a certain extent. His

made vampires will die, but I am only half-vampire so you
have no worries, my treasure. I will always be here to care for
you. And besides, who could kill Rusakov? He is invincible.”

Chapter Sixteen

Jax pushed into the hotel room at the Grand Hotel Europa

with Emmy in his arms. Al, the fairy Lorelei, Shelly, and Corey
the vampire followed him in. Corey was the last one into the
room. He shut the door. There were two king-sized beds in
this suite and one in an adjoining room. The furniture was all
antique, period pieces, the spreads on the bed gold and
white satin and brocade, the décor opulent. Heavy brocade
drapes hung over the French doors, connecting their room to
the balcony. The view was indescribable.

He laid Emmy on one of the beds and sat next to her as he

examined the group and shook his head. In his wildest
imagination, he’d never thought he find himself in Russia with
the strangest collection of supernatural creatures every
assembled—and all of them gay but him and the fairy. He
shook his head. Weird, weird, weird.

They were ensconced in two junior suites in the Grand

Hotel. It was close enough to the church to see the spires
from their terrace. He walked to the French doors and
opened the gold and cream drapes. There it was. Blue and
gold onion towers—The Church of the Savior on Blood;
Khram Spasa lit up like a Christmas tree. Martha was there,
he knew, somewhere under it in a vast underground network
of tunnels Shelly said included the ancient sewer system of

St. Petersburg.

Jax had to save her. He’d endangered his daughter and all

he cared about for Martha. This mission had to be a success.

Al slid behind him. Jax sensed his presence. “You can’t go

out there. It’s night. They’ll find us.”

Jax shoved him away. “I’m going out with Shelly. He’s

gonna show me the main entrance and one side door he
knows of. As soon as it’s daylight, I’m going in. Martha’s
been in their hands for five days. I’ll be lucky to find her alive
as it is.”

“Then Corey and I will go with you.”
“Do you think Emmy will be safe here alone with Lorelei?”
Al shrugged. “It’s night. None of us is safe.”
“I have to go.” Jax could feel the panther inside him closer

and closer to the surface. Danger was all around him and the
moon was still in the full phase. He opened the trunk and Al
leaned over his shoulder. Under a black velvet robe stained
with blood were the tools of his trade. Al spotted the
crossbow.

“This is beautiful.” He turned it over and held its weight in

his hands, lifting it and sighting it.

“It’s been in my family for centuries. My father told me it’s

killed many vampires.”

“Mind if I carry it?”
Jax shrugged. “Help yourself.”
He pulled a custom, double-knife scabbard on over his

black body armor shirt and shoved the blades into it. He
could reach each knife by putting his hands over his
shoulders. The hilts rested on his shoulder blades. “You want
the sword or should I give it to Corey?”

“Let him carry it.”
Jax nodded and handed Corey the sword. “This has killed

many of your kind.”

Corey shrugged, took the sword and scabbard, and

strapped it around his waist. He shrugged into a long black
coat that hid the blade. “Al’s enemies are my enemies.”

Armed as well as they could be for the foe they faced, Jax

took Shelly’s arm. “Are you ready for this?”

Shelly’s eyes were huge and he trembled with fear.
“You’re scared, aren’t you?”
“Oh God,” Shelly moaned. “I’m so scared I’m about to piss

myself.”

“Can you do this?”
Shelly wrapped both arms around his shaking body. “I have

to—for you and for Emmy.”

With Lorelei staying behind to watch Emmy, Jax felt

moderately comforted. From what Al had said, no one was
safe in St. Petersburg at night. They trooped into the elevator
and headed down to the lobby. The lobby bar was crowded
with an eclectic mixture of Europeans. Corey lifted his nose,
sniffed, and nudged Al. Jax looked around and felt a frisson
of unease creep up his backbone. His claws briefly

appeared and he closed his fists to hide them.

Al leaned close to Jax as they left the hotel through the front

entrance onto Nevesky Prospect, the main road winding
through the city. “Corey says there are vampires in the bar.”

Jax nodded. “They’re everywhere. The frigging place is

crawling with them.”

Corey pointed to a couple on the corner. “They’re hunting.”
As if they’d heard Corey, the two on the corner turned and

stared.

“Come on,” Jax said. “They saw us and they know we saw

them.”

They jogged along the road, cutting through a back alley

behind the hotel, then walked briskly toward the canal through
crowds of tourists, couples out strolling through the evening,
and the night people. It might be close to eleven at night, but
the city was alive and bustling.

They passed a theater, lights blazing, people exiting.

Shelly led them behind the theater into the shadows. A small
wooden door set deeply into the north wall of the theater
opened when Shelly turned the handle.

“This is it,” he whispered.
Jax stuck his head through the door and shook it. “Can’t

be. The steps lead up, not down.”

“I know,” Shelly said. “It goes up to a landing. There’s a

door that goes into the theater. It pops out behind the stage
where there’s a stairwell going down under the theater into an

ancient basement. Props from a century ago are stored
down there. In one of the bins, there’s an entrance into the
sewers and Rusakov’s nest.”

* * * *

Rusakov lifted his head from the divan, shoved the soon-

to-be-dead naked woman to the carpeted floor and closed
his eyes. He pushed long white hair out of his eyes and
bared his fangs. He’d just scented something he hadn’t
smelled in many years: an ancient foe. Somewhere in his city
there was a member of the Sangue Cacadore shifters—
black-panther vampire killers.

Moving swiftly, he shot through the tunnels with his head

lifted. He found Vladimir Tsarov in a small room, ravaging a
young man. His nostrils expanded as he watched Tsarov
shove his engorged cock into the young man’s bleeding anus
over and over while his fangs were buried in his victim’s
neck. The young man grunted and moaned with passion and
pain while he stroked his own fully erect penis.

The primitive sight excited Rusakov. His own cock filled

and he pulled it out of his leather pants. He shoved it into the
face of Tsarov’s lover, who obediently opened his mouth and
took Rusakov’s organ into it. When he neared completion, he
pulled his cock out and buried his fangs in the victim’s neck.
His long fangs penetrated the jugular vein and he drained him
dry in seconds.

Tsarov released the dead man’s neck and disengaged his

penis. “Just because you no longer desire pleasures of the
flesh does not give you the right to kill my lover,” Tsarov
whined. “Especially before I was finished.”

“I made you,” Rusakov said as he fastened the buttons of

his fly. “I do as I please when and where I please.”

Tsarov pulled a silk robe on and Rusakov grabbed his

arm. “Dress. There is a vampire hunter in the city. We must
find him and kill him.”

Tsarov narrowed his pale blue eyes. “What kind of hunter

are you talking about?”

“A member of an ancient tribe of shifters called the Sangue

Cacadore. They originated in Portugal and moved to the
jungles of Brazil a hundred years ago. They change into
panthers, black jaguars, and they are resistant to mental
coercion. They cannot be glamoured.”

“Why would one of these hunters be here?”
Rusakov snarled. “I don’t know. Why don’t you tell me?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I think you do.” Rusakov raised his finger and pointed it at

Tsarov. “Tell me the truth immediately, Vladimir, or I will blow
your carcass all over this room.”

Tsarov pulled on a pair of jeans, a shirt, and a heavy

jacket. “I did see one of the hunters you speak of in Seattle.
He came into my club. He’s a cop. I saw the tattoo on his
back and shoulders and recognized it. Sangue Cacadore.”

“Why would he follow us here?”
“Daphne’s whore. They were partners. Of course, it makes

sense. But they’ll never find the nest. Not without help.”

Rusakov growled. “They have help. Remember the

schoolteacher. He’s been here before.”

“I’m quite sure he is dead. I left ten men to deal with him.

I’m sure they handled that one little loose end as instructed.”

“What if they didn’t and it is he who has brought the shifter

into our city?”

“Then we must kill both of them immediately before they

expose us all.”

Rusakov grabbed Tsarov by the throat. “This entire

situation is your fault. You made a mess of the Seattle
operation and put the nest in danger. I should send you to
your real death immediately.”

He shook Tsarov slightly. Tsarov was his child. He felt a

connection to him. Killing him was the right thing to do,
Rusakov knew, but he relented. One did not make friends
when one was a vampire as old as he. He’d created Tsarov
many years ago and they’d been together a long time. He
relented. “I will allow you to live. But we must work together to
find this hunter and kill him.”

* * * *

“We can’t go in there now. The place will be overrun with

vampires,” Shelly said.

Jax stood in the open doorway. He could smell vamps—

death and flowers. He knew Martha was under his feet
somewhere in a maze of tunnels. But Shelly was right. The
only safe time to enter the nest, if there ever was a safe time,
would be in daylight.

“Show me the main entrance, then we’ll go back to the

room and grab some shuteye.”

They walked down the alley and crossed the main road

where they cut over to the walkway along the Griboedova
Canal. Up ahead, Jax spotted the huge turrets of the church
and the platform jutting into the canal where they’d built the
memorial to an ancient tsar’s death.

They passed the memorial and Shelly moved to the edge

of the canal. He walked with his head down, clearly
searching. Suddenly he pointed. “Here.”

A metal circular stairway spiraled down to a small wooden

ledge. Jax leaped down the rusty rungs and spotted the door
set into the wall only a foot above the water line. “That goes
straight into the nest?”

Shelly was shaking. He nodded. “Yes. I’ve been through it

many times. But it’s locked.”

Jax climbed back to the sidewalk and stood staring at the

church. “The lock will present no problems. Is there a way into
the nest from the church?”

Shelly shrugged. “I heard there was but I never saw it.”
“Let’s go back to the room. I’m worried about Emmy.”

Chapter Seventeen

Rusakov entered the big lobby of the Grand Hotel and

sauntered over to the bar. Two of his minions sat on bar
stools watching American baseball. The stench of the
vampire hunter was strong here, but he didn’t know which
room they were in and there were more than three hundred.
He would need access to the hotel’s computer.

“What is the shifter’s name?” he asked Tsarov.
“The room is not registered to him so this will not help you,”

a female voice said.

Rusakov knew the voice. “Which room, Daphne?”
“He’s in a junior suite on the fourth floor. He has a

wonderful view of the Khram Spasa.”

“They came here to kill us.”
“No,” Daphne said. “They came here to get my woman.”
“How do you know this?”
“Come with me and I will show you.”
Rusakov and Tsarov followed her out the front entrance.

Two of Rusakov’s halfling minions held an unconscious child
and a struggling woman. Rusakov picked up the woman’s
hand and stared deeply into her violet eyes. “Well, I’ll be
damned. A fairy.”

“Let the child go immediately or you will pay, bloodsucker.

You’ll be on my shitlist and there’s no worse list to be on. I’ll

get you.”

Rusakov laughed. “Oh, I’m so scared. You fairies always

did take yourself too seriously. You have little power and no
strength over the vampire.”

“If I wasn’t sworn to look after this child, I would show you

just how badass a fairy can be.”

Rusakov grabbed Daphne’s arm. “Is this the hunter’s

child?”

She nodded. “He thought she’d be safe with the fairy.”
Rusakov laughed again, the sound rolling out of his mouth

like silvery bells. “I haven’t been so amused in centuries. This
is my town. No one is safe here but me and mine. Bring them
both.”

He threw his arm around Tsarov’s shoulders. “You dodged

death this day, Vladimir. I was ready to send you to the true
death for this fresh disaster—you and Daphne as well, even
though she is also my child. You’ve redeemed yourself,
Daphne. You’ll live to fuck another day.” He chuckled at this
piece of gross humor. “And you may keep your little piece of
ass. You found the key to the hunter. When he discovers his
child is missing, he will come to us. There is no more need to
hunt him.”

* * * *

Jax knew something was wrong the minute he stepped out

of the elevator on the fourth floor. He could not sense his

daughter. One day Emily might inherit the ability to shift. They
had a mental connection and Jax had always been able to
sense her presence. He started running, glancing over his
shoulder at Al. “Something’s wrong. I can’t feel Emmy.”

He crashed through the door of the suite and saw the fairy

had put up a struggle. The room was destroyed. Bedding
was scattered across the floor, the chairs were overturned,
and the small marquetry writing desk shattered into a
thousand pieces. A cloud of feathers flew into the air with
every step he took.

“Daphne has her,” Shelly said and promptly burst into

tears. “I can smell her perfume,” he sobbed.

“But why?”
“Rusakov might know we’re here,” Al said. “But I don’t

smell vampires in the room. Daphne must have come alone. I
was praying Lorelei could protect Emily.”

Jax growled and the air around him shimmered.
“Don’t shift,” Al said. “They’ll feel the energy and know

where to find us.”

Jax struggled to control his dark nature. “I’m going after

her.”

Al grabbed his arm. “Wait until daylight.”
Jax looked at his watch. “That’s six more hours. She could

be dead by then.”

“Rusakov won’t kill her … yet,” Shelly said. “He’ll need her

to get to you.”

“But how does he know about me?” Jax stopped and

thought. Tsarov—he’d met Tsarov at his club and the vampire
had commented on his tattoo.

Al began picking furniture up and straightening the room.

“I’m sure he can sense you, Jax. If he’s as old as Shelly says,
he may have had run-ins with your ancestors. He’ll want you.
He’ll want you badly.”

“I’m not waiting. I’m just as comfortable at night as I am in

daylight.”

Shelly grabbed his arm. “Take me with you. I want to be

there for Emmy.”

Jax disengage his grip. “I’m not going into that nest as a

human. I can’t take you.”

“If you go in as a panther, you won’t be able to take or use

your weapons,” Al said calmly. “Wait until morning, Jax. Use
your head.”

* * * *

When the door opened, Martha turned in bed and looked

to see who’d entered. She’d been lying on the bed thinking
and finally come up with a plan to escape.

Daphne entered the room positively glowing. That could

only mean one thing: the half-vampire woman had done
something evil.

She fell on the bed next to Martha, opened her black robe,

and began fondling her naked breasts. Martha fought the

rising tide of excitement engendered by Daphne’s clever
hands but failed. She closed her eyes and moaned when
Daphne pinched each rosy nipple hard and pulled, stretching
the flesh. Martha arched her back and opened her legs. She
couldn’t help herself.

Daphne laughed from deep inside her chest. “Little slut.”
“Where have you been?” Martha gasped.
“I’ve been out securing my place in the nest … and yours.”
Daphne let go of Martha’s nipples and stroked her sex.

“You need a shave, darling. Tomorrow I’ll have one of the
human slaves bathe you and remove all your hair.”

She pushed her fingers into Martha’s swelling flesh.

Daphne had done something horrible. Martha wanted to
know what. She tried to ignore Daphne’s fondling, but her
body responded to the woman whether she wished it or not.
She rolled along on the rising tide of excitement but
managed to retain her senses so she could implement her
plan.

She pushed Daphne’s hand off her and kissed her

tormentor’s lips. Their tongues danced. When she pulled
away, they were both breathing heavily. “Why don’t we try
something different?” Martha said in a husky voice.

“What?” Daphne propped herself up on one elbow.
Martha opened Daphne’s leather vest and pulled her

breasts free. She sucked first one, then the other, biting the
tender tips gently while she tugged on the gold rings. “Why

don’t you let me tie you up and have my way with you?” She
pointed to the dresser. “I’d love to fuck you while you were
tied to the bed. Let me wear the strap-on.”

Daphne’s eyes narrowed and Martha held her breath.

Would she take the bait?

She couldn’t resist. “I’ll get it.”
Martha followed her across the slate floor. “Take off your

clothes, darling.”

She helped Daphne slide out of the skintight leather pants.

She wore nothing under them. Martha could smell her
arousal. She pushed close and cupped Daphne’s heavy
labia. She pinched each one and was rewarded by a groan
from Daphne and moisture filling her hand.

Daphne opened the drawer and drew out the harness and

huge glass dildo. She helped strap it on Martha and coat it
with lubricant. When the dildo was in the harness, Martha
held it like she’d seen many men. When she looked at the
grotesquely huge organ with its clearly defined head thrusting
out from her groin, she felt a rush of excitement such as she’d
never felt before. She wanted to push Daphne down, stick
this in her, and fuck her until she screamed for mercy. She
swallowed the lump of desire in her throat. “Get on the bed,
bitch.”

Daphne laughed and strode to the bed like a man. When

she was splayed out across it, Martha locked her wrists in the
manacles conveniently hanging from the wall above the

headboard. Then she knelt between Daphne’s open legs and
pushed them wider. She could see Daphne’s open sex
pulsing with want. Her juice glistened in the low light of the
one lamp on the dresser. Martha was overcome with desire.
She had a plan, but it could wait a few more minutes. She
lifted Daphne’s ass in her hands and shoved the head of the
giant dildo into the red opening of her sex.

It was like nothing she’d ever done before. She’d thought it

would slide right in, but there was resistance. She had to
push. The feeling of thrusting the huge organ into Daphne
was so exciting, Martha shook with passion and desire. She
watched Daphne’s opening stretch around the slick cock.

Daphne gasped. “Oh my God. That’s so good, Martha.

Fuck me, bitch.”

Daphne arched her back and lifted her hips. She was

doing her best to get the entire dildo into her. Martha slapped
her belly. “Stop it. I’m fucking you. You only get as much as I
say.”

She drew the dildo out all the way. Daphne’s opening was

wet and red. Her pierced clit was huge and swollen. Daphne
begged. “Please fuck me.”

Martha was slowly gaining control over her desire and her

emotions. She grabbed a black silk stocking, wadded it up,
and gagged Daphne with it. Then she used two more
stockings to tie her feet to the bedposts. “I know you did
something horrible today. I don’t know what, but I’m gonna

find out.”

She stripped off the strap-on and threw it on the floor.

“There must be something to wear in this fucking room.”

After several minutes of searching, during which Daphne

struggled like a madwoman to get free, Martha found nothing
but Daphne’s soiled leather pants, bras with holes in them for
the nipple to poke through, corsets, garters, silk stockings,
spike-heeled shoes, and leather vests. Grumbling, she pulled
the tight leather pants on. They were wet inside. “This is
disgusting.”

Then she laced her generous breasts into Daphne’s vest.

Most of her hung out the top and her nipples were clearly
visible where the laces stretched across her naked flesh. She
longed to remove Daphne’s gag, ask her where she’d put the
sweater she left in earlier, and question her about what evil
thing she’d done, but Martha was terrified the half-vampire
would scream or call for help and someone would hear. This
was her one and only chance. Daphne would never fall for
this twice.

She searched the drawers and cupboards one more time,

looking for a weapon. Daphne had to have something here
besides whips, dildos, and lube. In the bedside table, she
found a small pistol. The thing was probably useless against
half-vampires and even worse than useless on vampires.
More like an irritant than a weapon. But she checked the
chamber, found it loaded, and pocketed it anyway.

Half dressed, barefoot, and shivering with cold—but armed

—Martha slid out of the room into the long dark corridor. She
glanced to the right and found the exit. The sudden scream of
a small child froze her in place. There was a girl in the nest. A
child. She looked toward the exit and freedom once more,
then made her choice. It didn’t matter where she was; she
would always be a cop. She headed away from the exit into
the dark toward the sound of the screams.

Chapter Eighteen

Dawn was only an hour away. Jax pulled the daggers and

their harness out of his luggage. He strapped the harness on
over his body armor and secured the knives.

“Take this,” Al said and handed Jax a huge pistol. “Shelly

has friends. While you were sleeping, he called an arms
dealer and we amped up our resources.”

Corey was up and pacing. “I can’t go with you,” he said to

Al. “God, it’s killing me. But I can’t go out in the day. I’m too
young.” They embraced and Jax felt a flood of confused
emotions rush through him. Just because a man was gay
didn’t make him any less of a man. Corey had Al’s back and
was clearly upset about not being able to go along on this
foray to protect him.

Al showed Jax what they’d collected. They had two sawed-

off shotguns, a Smith & Wesson 500, and a Desert Eagle.
“Large-caliber weapons are better against vamps,” Al said.
“They blow bigger holes in them and it takes them longer to
recover. We also have these. Some of Shelly’s friends know
of and believe in the local vampire population. They loaded
these shotgun shells with silver pellets. They will slow a vamp
down. But the best way to make sure one is dead is still by
cutting off its head.” He held up the sword Jax had brought
with him. Al belted on the leather scabbard, sheathed the

weapon, and picked up the crossbow.

“What have we here?” Jax asked, holding up a small bottle

of spray filled with a clear liquid containing floating silvery
particles, the components separate. When Jax shook the
bottle, the components blended into a silvery liquid.

“Colloidal silver is supposed to cure everything, from

wounds to cancer. It actually doesn’t cure much of anything,
but it does burn a vampire. Spray it in their eyes. It will blind
them for several minutes, which might be the difference
between life and death.”

“Cool,” Jax said. “We ready?”
“I’m going too,” Shelly said. “Give me a weapon.”
Jax tilted his head and looked Shelly over. He was shaking

with fear but determined. “Take one of the shotguns,” he said
as he holstered the huge S&W Magnum. It weighed more
than five pounds and the barrel was eighteen inches long. He
hung a belt filled with fifty-caliber bullets over one shoulder.
“Let’s roll.”

Al threw Jax the other shotgun. “Take this. I’ve got the

crossbow.” He pulled a quiver filled with bolts over his
shoulder and kissed Corey goodbye. Jax ignored the display
of affection and headed into the hallway. He saw the sky over
the eastern horizon behind the Church of the Savior on
Blood. It showed the faintest glimmer of light. Dawn was on
its way.

Outside the hotel, they jogged down the alley toward the

theater. “We’ll go in through Shelly’s secret door and maybe
we’ll catch them by surprise,” Jax said with his mouth pulled
into a flat line. His heart was cold and his head clear. He was
going for his daughter and no one had better get in his way.

“The half-vampires are harder to kill than humans, but the

large-caliber weapons will take them out and anything with
silver in it totally destroys them,” Shelly said.

Jax threw his arm over Shelly’s shoulders. “Hey man, I’m

proud of you.”

Shelly grinned. It was lopsided and his eyes were sad. “I

am a man. I want to prove it to you. And I want to save Emmy.
What they could do to her …” Shelly’s voice cracked. “I can’t
think about it.”

Jax took a deep breath and forced his fear for his daughter

deep inside. He had to have his emotions clear so he could
concentrate and take care of business.

They went into the theater, climbed the steps to the

landing, then descended into the basement. Shelly found the
secret entrance in one of the storage bins. Jax stepped
forward and peered into the dark through a door only three
feet high and two feet wide. A variety of odors wafted up from
below: death, rotting meat, sewage, and mildew. There were
definitely vampires down there.

“You ready for this?” he asked Al.
The tall, handsome elf smiled. “This is an adventure I have

yet to experience. One must always embrace new

adventures. When one lives to be very old, ennui becomes
the enemy.”

“Then let’s rock.” Jax climbed through the opening and

onto a small landing. A hole led to a metal ladder. When Jax
peered through the hole, he couldn’t see the bottom. He
turned around and backed through the opening and down the
ladder, followed by Shelly, with Al the rear guard. The ladder
plunged deep under the city. It seemed to Jax as though they
descended forever.

When he hit bottom, he saw three tunnels leading out of a

small chamber. “Do you know which one to take?” he asked
Shelly.

While Shelly was thinking this over, Jax walked to each

entrance and sniffed. “This way,” he said. He smelled Emily
and the fairy and lots of vampires.

“Be ready for anything,” he shot over his shoulder.
Al knocked a bolt into the crossbow and held it ready at his

side. Jax cocked the shotgun and Shelly did the same.

“How many humans and halflings are down here?” Jax

whispered to Shelly.

“I’ve seen as many as a hundred human slaves but there’re

only six half-vampires: two men, Adolph and Ricardo, and
four women, including Daphne, Zoe, Svetlana, and Margot.”

Jax nodded. There were lights up ahead. “I smell pizza.”
“The halfs love pizza.”
“Delivery?”

Shelly smiled. “Takeout.”
“Get ready, Al.”
The elf nodded.
They reached an open doorway. Jax stopped and peered

around the corner of the door. He saw slaves in the corner
huddling together and three tall half-vampires—the two guys
Shelly spoke of and an incredibly gorgeous redheaded
woman. Their skin glowed. It was easy to tell them from
humans.

Jax sucked in his breath and stepped into the open,

holding the cocked and locked shotgun in front of him.
“Where’s my daughter?”

The three turned as one and attacked. Al shot a bolt into

the forehead of the woman, Jax blasted one of the men, and
Shelly shot the wall. The second man was on Jax before he
could get off another round. As he went down, he pulled one
of the knives, stabbed his attacker in the throat, and threw
him off.

Al drew the sword and sliced off its head. The woman rose

slowly to her feet, pulled the bolt out of her forehead, and
looked at it. She growled, revealing short fangs. Jax was on
her in a heartbeat. He stabbed her in the throat with the knife,
pulled back her head by her hair, and sliced off her head.

The other male, the one with a grossly bloody hole in his

chest, rose off the floor and launched himself at Shelly. Poor
Shelly froze. But Al was there, neatly slicing off the half-

vampire’s head with one stroke of his sword.

The slaves were on their feet, cheering. “Be quiet.

Shhhhh!” Shelly hissed. “You’ll bring Rusakov.”

They all shut their mouths. At the very mention of Rusakov’s

name, their faces went gray with fear. Jax counted five: four
women and one boy who looked barely eighteen. He leaned
over to speak to the boy. “They took my little girl. She’s only
three. Have you seen her?”

The boy shook his head. One of the women, a starved

blonde with her ribcage and cheekbones sharply defined,
spoke up. She had multiple bite marks on her neck and
breasts and wore only a thin cotton slip that concealed
nothing. “I saw her. I was servicing Yorge.” She shivered.
“Rusakov came in with one of the halfs. She was carrying a
little girl. They had another prisoner. This one was fighting
and they laughed at her. But it was weird. They untied her
hands, probably to torment her, and suddenly she was gone
… pfffft, nothing.”

“The fairy made herself small,” Al said. “She could be

anywhere.”

* * * *

Martha slipped down the corridor until she reached a dead

end. A ladder led up. She climbed it without hesitating. At the
top, she pulled herself onto a landing hovering above running
sewage. The stench was gross. A walkway ran beside shit

river. She trotted along it until the river of sewage dropped
into a bigger canal, ten feet down. Another ladder led up the
ancient brick wall. Green slime over an inch thick coated the
bricks. The rungs of the old iron ladder were slippery and her
bare feet were stiff and cold. She slipped several times, once
almost tumbling into the sewage below.

At the top of the ladder, an open corridor showed signs of

habitation. The floor was slate tile and there were strange old
tapestries hanging on the stone walls. Up ahead, she saw
open doorways with lights. She leaned against one of the
tapestries, a red one depicting a castle and men being
impaled on a field of green.

She took several deep breaths. What the hell was she

doing here? All she had was a five-shot pistol, not much use
against vampires, and she hadn’t heard the crying child
again. This was a Martha special, a wild goose chase.
Maybe she should haul ass out of here.

She glanced back the way she’d come and saw another

ladder leading up. This one might go to the surface. She
could escape. She was just about to try it when the child
began crying. She heard a sharp reprimand and more wails.
Closing her eyes, she leaned against the wall. If there was a
small girl down here, she was going to have to try to save her.
It just wasn’t in her nature to abandon anything helpless.

With the pistol in her hand, she slid along the wall, making

no noise. As she grew closer, she heard sniffling and

whimpering. Suddenly, a tiny light appeared right in front of
her. It looked like a firefly flitting around her head. When it
actually landed on her nose, she made a move to swat it and
a tiny voice stopped her.

“Don’t hit me! I’m a fairy.”
“What the fuck?”
Sparks flew and the tiny creature stood in front of her as a

full-grown human woman—or at least a full-grown fairy, with
curly reddish-blond hair and bunches of freckles spread
across a snub nose. “Who are you?”

“Shhhh! I’m the child’s caretaker.”
Martha snorted. “Good job.”
The fairy’s head drooped. “I know, I know. I couldn’t stop

them. They took poor little Emmy.”

“Emmy? Not Jax’s Emmy? Is he here?”
The fairy brightened. “You know him? Boy, he is one hot

shifter.”

“He’s a what?”
“Shifter. Don’t you hear well? He’s a shape-changer.”
Martha closed her eyes and leaned against the wall. “Jax

is a werewolf? What next?”

The fairy leaned against the wall with her. “They’re using

the child to lure Jax here and kill him. And he’s not a
werewolf, he changes into a panther.”

“Of course he does. What’s your name, um, fairy?”
She pushed a heavy lock of curling hair out of her eyes.

“I’m Lorelei. Who are you?”

“Jax’s partner, Martha. Nice to meet you. Now let’s go get

Emmy.”

Lorelei put her hand on Martha’s arm. “Do you have a

plan?”

Martha lifted the pistol. Lorelei’s tinkling laughter rang out

and all noise in the room stopped. Martha rolled her eyes.
“Congratulations. They now know we’re here.”

Lorelei immediately disappeared in the midst of more

sparkles as she turned back into a firefly-sized fairy. The
strangest-looking creature Martha had ever seen rounded the
corner and raced toward her in a blur of motion. He grabbed
Martha by the back of her vest and held her in the air. Martha
shook with fear as the creature sniffed her.

“You are Daphne’s woman. What are you doing here?”
It was time for Martha to do some creative lying. “Uh,

Daphne is a little tied up.” Totally true. “She sent me looking
for something to eat. I told her I was hungry and she just never
feeds me. I have to have food. I’m a human. I need
sustenance. You can’t starve me. I’ll die. Then what use will I
be to you, I ask? Got any grub around here? I thought I
smelled pizza.”

The creature holding her narrowed his pale eyes. His skin

was like porcelain: white, shiny, and hard. His hair was about
the same color as his skin. He opened his mouth and long
fangs dropped into view when he hissed. “You lie, human. I

can read the fabrication in your every gesture.”

He carried her into the room and Martha spotted Emmy in

a corner, holding a small blanket, shaking with terror.
Martha’s heart ached at the sight. Her predicament meant
nothing compared to what poor little Emily was enduring. But
she had no way of escaping, no way of helping Emmy.

Tsarov was in a corner of the room, partially shielded from

sight by a Japanese paper screen. But he didn’t notice them
because he was butt-fucking a guy with dark hair and a tight
ass. His snake tattoo apparently went all the way down his
body, from his bald head, across his rear and down his legs.

Rusakov shook her so hard, her eyeballs rattled in her

head. “My name is Siegfried Rusakov. Heard of me?”

Martha nodded. “I heard you were an old pervert.”
Rusakov roared and threw Martha against the wall. “Who

told you that?”

When she could move, she rolled upright and sat with her

back against the wall. “Nobody. I just saw the child and
assumed that’s why she was here.”

She had no idea why she was pissing this evil creature off.

But it was her nature. Martha was a bitch. The tiny flickering
light of the fairy hovered over Emmy’s head. Martha saw it
and a plan popped into her brain. A crazy, suicidal idea, but
what the hell? If she could distract him, maybe Lorelei could
save Emily.

When Rusakov leaned over her, his fangs out and his

death-breath hissing into her face, she pulled the pistol and
fired it into his mouth.

His head snapped back as thick, black blood spewed over

Martha. It hit her in the face, her open mouth, and her eyes
and nose. She tasted it and gagged. Rusakov rebounded
and grabbed her by the throat. Over his shoulder, she saw a
fully reconstituted Lorelei grab Emily and run out the door with
her while Tsarov, oblivious to anything but his own pleasure,
continued rutting.

Martha swallowed to clear her mouth of the nasty-tasting

blood. She could feel it go down her throat and into her
stomach. Warmth spread throughout her body, along with
strength. Vampire blood must be potent stuff. Her sex
swelled and her nipples hardened. The blood was making
her horny. She looked up at Rusakov and smiled.

Rusakov still hadn’t noticed the child was missing. Lorelei

had accomplished the snatch in complete silence. With Emily
safe, all Martha had to do was distract the vampire long
enough to give Lorelei the time to get away. She looked at
Rusakov and remembered the passion and excitement she’d
experienced only moments before with Daphne. She’d been
fully aroused and remnants of that desire still swirling in her
subconscious blended with potent, vampire blood-induced
arousal. The vampire immediately noticed the rush of blood
into her face and breasts. She closed her eyes and
visualized the dildo plunging into Daphne’s engorged flesh.

He tore off Martha’s tight vest. Her breasts sprang free and

Rusakov buried his face in her flesh. Martha stared into his
pale eyes and touched his face. He was so powerful. She felt
the sharp prick of his fangs and a strange euphoria engulfed
her. He mauled her boobs as he fed, squeezing them hard
and pinching the nipples with his sharp nails.

She prayed the fairy had the child in a safe place as she

allowed the strange excitement building inside her lower
body to flood her senses. She hugged Rusakov’s shoulders
as he lifted her in unbelievably strong arms and carried her
toward a divan. She felt him inside her head. His need for her
flesh filled her with even more hunger. Her sex was on fire.
She wanted him. It was no longer a ruse.

He stripped off her leather drawers and opened his black

robe. His organ was frighteningly enormous, with strange
ridges along the top edge leading back to a nest of white
pubic hair. The head was the only thing with color on his
body. It was a bright, angry red. The sight of the phallus, the
embodiment of male sexuality, filled Martha with a new kind
of want. She felt empty, her sex open and in need of
something to fill it.

He held her legs wide and shoved the huge thing into her.

She screamed as it stretched her opening to the max—
screams of pure ecstasy. She tossed her head back and
forth, unable to contain her excitement. The ridge on top of
his penis caught her clit with each inch Rusakov penetrated

her. He used her breasts as handles as he shoved his entire
length into her and began pummeling her, moving it in and
out like he planned to pound her into the ground.

It was the strangest and most exciting experience of her

life. Rusakov’s desire and passion ran over into her head
and body. He emanated raw sexuality. She moaned and
humped him back, meeting his every thrust by lifting her hips.
It was the best fuck by a man she’d ever had. When she
climaxed she shrieked and Rusakov grunted and released a
huge load into her.

He leaned his ugly head close to hers and whispered. “I

just impregnated you, bitch. You will bear me a son, half-
vampire and all mean. Damn, but you are a hell of a woman.
What a child we will create.”

Martha didn’t believe a word he said. It was impossible.
Tsarov finished fucking his butt buddy and pulled a scarlet

robe around his shoulders. “This is the shifter’s partner. I saw
her once in the club.”

Rusakov nodded. “I have the child. The Sangue Cacadore

should show up to collect her.”

Martha couldn’t help it. She snorted. Rusakov glanced at

the corner where Emily had previously huddled.

“Bitch!” He slapped Martha so hard her teeth clashed

together and she bit her tongue.

Martha giggled hysterically. She couldn’t help that either.
“Where is the child?”

Martha crawled to the divan and pulled herself onto it. Her

head rang, her lips were bleeding, and her sex ached—a
satisfied throbbing. “How should I know? You kept me pretty
busy there, what with fucking my brains out and all.”

Rusakov flew out of the room—literally. His feet did not

touch the floor and his black robe billowed behind him.
Tsarov shot her an ugly look. “You know what happened. This
is all your fault.”

Martha shook her head. “No, really, I didn’t see a thing.”
“Martha!”
She looked up as Jax launched himself into the room,

followed by a beautiful blond man and the gimp from the club.
Tsarov met him and they fought hand to hand. The blond guy
grabbed Martha’s arm and lifted her off the couch. “Where is
the child?”

“You’re probably not going to believe this, but she was

saved by a fairy.”

“Lorelei.”
“You know her?”
“I’m Al. I’m an elf. I brought Lorelei with us to care for her.

Where’d they go?”

Martha leaned around Al to watch Jax fighting with Tsarov.

Suddenly, her partner pulled a knife out of a sheath on his
back and sank the point into Tsarov’s throat. It didn’t even
slow the vampire down.

Al knocked a bolt in a primitive-looking crossbow and

began tracking them, trying to get an open shot. But it was
impossible. The two were entwined too closely. When Jax
abruptly morphed into a huge black panther, Martha didn’t
even bat an eyelash. Her partner shifting into a huge black
cat fit right into the weird shit she’d seen today.

In a shocking move, the gimp ran to the struggling pair and

whacked the vampire on the head with his shotgun. Tsarov
snarled and pulled bloody lips away from the panther’s throat.
“You!”

“Get away from him,” the gimp shrieked in a high voice,

then lifted his shotgun and fired it point-blank into Tsarov’s
face. “Die, you motherfucker!” he screamed, fired again,
jacked another shell into the chamber before Tsarov could
recover, and fired once more.

Al stepped in, shoved the limp panther aside with his foot

and fired the crossbow bolt into Tsarov’s black heart. The
vampire immediately exploded. Black blood and gross
chunks of flesh covered with red slime coated Martha, as well
everyone and everything else in the room.

When Tsarov was dead, Martha ran to the unconscious

black panther and crouched over it. Al was right there with
her. “Is he dead?”

Al lifted the panther’s head. “He’s lost a lot of blood, but I’m

a healer. I can cure him if there’s still a spark of life.”

“Then do it. Hurry. He’s my partner and he came all this

way to save me. Please don’t let him die.” Martha stood up,

her heart aching for Jax. He’d put so much on the line for her,
even his child. Suddenly aware of her nudity, she tracked
down the leather pants, pulled them on, and shrugged into the
super-tight vest. “Rusakov will be back soon. We need to kill
him. If he dies, then all his made vamps will croak, too.”

Al tilted his head and stared at her out of narrowed eyes.

“This is true. But many of these vampires are not of his get.
There is another maker here. I can sense his presence. And
this nest has drawn from all over Europe. There are a vast
number sleeping below us in the catacombs. Killing Rusakov
is probably beyond even Jax’s abilities.”

The gimp still stood in the middle of the room with a look of

shock and horror on his face. He suddenly seemed to realize
Jax was dying, burst into tears, and fell on the panther,
sobbing.

Al pushed him away. “Shelly, go find Emmy. I’ll take care of

Jax.”

“I love him, Al. don’t let him die.”
Martha grabbed the man’s shoulder. “You’re Shelly, right?”
He nodded.
“Come with me, Shelly. Let’s go get Emmy.”
Shelly nodded and allowed Martha to pull him toward the

door. “I can’t go on living if anything happens to Jax. But he’d
want me to find Emmy. He’d want me to … wouldn’t he?”

“Of course, Shelly. Come on. The fairy will have her

stashed somewhere, but that Rusakov, he’ll probably find

her.”

Shelly looked up, his eyes wide with horror. “Rusakov?”
“Yeah, the bastard went looking for her and we need to find

her first.”

Chapter Nineteen

Shelly’s heart was breaking. He wanted to stay with Jax,

but knew he had to find little Emmy. She’d be so scared. The
thought of her fear brought tears to his eyes and infused him
with new determination. He had to find her.

“I have no idea where the fairy would hide,” Martha said.

“You’ve been here before, Shelly. You know the nest. Where
should we look?”

Shelly stopped. “Let me think. The fairy should know the

deeper you go, the more danger there is. All the vampires
are sleeping on the lower levels. If they wake up, they can
attack. It’s dark underground and they’re safe from burning in
the sunlight. I think she would try to get out. Let’s go up.”

Martha nodded. “Your reasoning makes sense. I can’t see

a fairy heading any deeper into the sewers. It’s pretty nasty
down there.”

“I know. I’ve been as deep as you can go in this place.”
“Do you have any weapons besides the shotgun?”
Shelly searched his pockets and came out with a spray

bottle. “Colloidal silver. It’s supposed to blind vampires if you
spray it in their eyes.”

“I was hoping for something more like a knife or a sword.”
Shelly shook his head. “We could go back and get Al’s

sword.”

“No time. This shit will have to do. Isn’t there a church of

some kind over our heads?”

“Khram Spasa, The Church of the Savior on Blood.”
“Gross, but it’s still a church. I think the fairy might try to get

into it, don’t you? I mean, I would if I was trying to get away
from vampires.”

“It’s not consecrated, but there’re a ton of holy artifacts and

crosses and priests. It seems like a much safer place than
down here.”

“Lead on, then,” Martha said.
“I know there’s a way out of here through the church, but

I’ve never been taken that way. I’ll just be guessing.”

Martha grabbed Shelly’s shoulders and stared into his

eyes. Shelly was struck by how clear her brown eyes were,
and how honest. “You can do this, Shelly. Deep inside, you’re
a very brave man.”

Shelly squared his shoulders. “You think so?”
“You’ve lived in this hell hole and survived. I’m telling you

right now, I’d go nuts in a week.”

“No kidding?”
“You’re brave. You got it right here.” She tapped his chest.

“You’re the man, Shelly. Now, let’s go save Emmy.”

Shelly turned in a circle. They were in the long corridor with

the living quarters of the nest members. They had private
rooms on this hallway for sex, a big one for watching TV and
for lying around with the slaves. He knew of two exits. One

went down to the sewers and even deeper to the sleeping
areas, where vast numbers of coffins and the bones of the
dead were kept.

The other exit also went down to another passage through

the sewer but there was a ladder that he’d seen there and
never climbed. Maybe it went up to the church.

Martha was studying the slate tiles. “Look,” she said.
Shelly bent over, and there on the tile was a small dusting

of golden powder. “Lorelei left us a trail.”

Martha got down on her hands and knees and crawled.

“There’s more here.” She got up and started walking faster.
“Is this the way you were thinking? The way up?”

Shelly ran after her. “This way leads out through the

catacombs. But it also goes by the half-vampire’s chambers.”

Martha stopped. “But you said there might be a way up to

the church this way.”

“You have to go down instead of up when you get to the

sewers.”

Martha sighed. “We really don’t have a choice. We have to

follow the fairy dust.”

* * * *

Jax woke with Al hovering over him. The elf was chanting

and they were inside a huge blue light being radiated by Al.
He felt safe and warm from the inside out.

“Where’s Emmy?”

Al sat back on his heels. “Martha and Shelly went looking

for her.”

“Rusakov?”
“I don’t know.”
Jax struggled to his feet and groaned. He was naked, so

he’d shifted to fight the vampire. But he couldn’t remember
anything. “Where are my clothes?”

“Ripped to shreds.”
Jax hauled himself upright. His head swam. “What

happened?”

“Rusakov drained you, man. You’re lucky to be alive.”
“I gotta find Emmy.”
“Lorelei’s got her. She’ll find a way to get Emmy out of

here.”

“Can’t leave it to the fairy, man. I gotta kill Rusakov.”
Al pushed him onto one of the divans. “He’s a powerful

vampire, Jax. It may be beyond our capabilities. Sit here for a
minute until your head’s clearer. I’ll hunt for clothes.”

Jax slumped on the divan with his head in his hands. He

felt like shit. When Al came back, he was carrying a baggy
pair of jeans and a sweater. Jax was thankful for the sweater.
The temperature in this giant tomb had him shivering.

Dressed, he stretched and cracked his back. He found his

sneakers and socks and put them on. When his feet became
paws, his shoes usually survived. “Come on,” he said to Al.
“Let’s go after them.”

Out in the long corridor, Jax stopped. The hall was more of

a tunnel with brick sides and a slate floor. It was lit
haphazardly by yellow lights in small metal cages to keep the
bulbs from being broken. But Jax didn’t need any light to see
the trail of gold dust along the dark-blue slate.

Al saw it too. “She left us a bread-crumb trail.”
Jax grabbed his skull and squeezed. “If we can see it, so

can Rusakov.”

They ran through the tunnel, then vaulted down the ladder

and rushed along a brick pathway beside the river of slow-
moving sewage. When the trail of golden dust ended, Jax
froze. “Where’d it go?”

Al bent over and searched the bricks while Jax started

examining the slime-covered walls. He found small
indentations in the bricks and looked up. Above his head, a
circular manhole cover glowed with three tiny specks of dust.
“She went this way.”

“How?”
“Can she fly?”
“When she’s little.”
“Then she must have used these indentations. I can’t

imagine how she carried Emmy.”

“Maybe on her back.”
Al was able to clamber up to the manhole cover and push it

aside. Jax leaped high and grabbed the rim to pull himself up
to the next level, and then dropped the cover back in place.

They were in a narrow tunnel only about three feet high.

“There’s no way Shelly and Martha found this.”

“No, probably not,” Al said. “But Rusakov did. I smell him.”
“Me, too.” Rusakov’s scent was unmistakable.

Chapter Twenty

Lorelei held Emmy tightly while she ran. The three-year-old

was heavier than she’d expected. Her thoughts for escape
and her hopes were centered on the church somewhere
above them. Every tunnel and ladder that headed up seemed
to dead end, and her enhanced senses told her a vampire
was breathing down their necks. A very old vampire. The
older the creatures got, the more they smelled like the inside
of a tomb.

“I’m so tired,” Emmy moaned.
Lorelei pushed a lock of Emmy’s blond hair out of her

eyes. “Hush, darling, or the bad man will find us.”

Emmy’s huge aqua eyes filled with fear. “No, no more bad

man.”

“I’m doing my best, poppet.”
Lorelei dropped onto her knees and pushed Emmy into a

cold, narrow tunnel. “Crawl, sweetie.”

Emmy hightailed it down the small tunnel. It looked too

narrow for Rusakov, but Lorelei didn’t know the extent of the
vampire’s power. It was possible he could shift into
something smaller or contort his body to fit the space.

“Aha!” she crowed when they reached the end of the long

tunnel. A skinny metal ladder led up through a pipe going up.

She put Emmy on the ladder and urged her up, one rung at

a time. No one had been this way for many years. The dust
on each rusty rung was an inch thick. At the top, she found a
round cover much like those in the street over sewer outlets.
Lorelei closed her eyes and prayed to the queen of the
fairies that it would lead her to a safe refuge. She could not
allow the child to fall into Rusakov’s slimy hands again.

When it opened, she was momentarily blinded by a blaze

of candles. She’d found the church. The tunnel opened into a
small corner of the south transept where prayer candles were
lit. Joy filled her heart. This was the child’s salvation. Lorelei
knew she could easily escape Rusakov. She could turn
minuscule and hide anywhere, but the child could not. She
turned to look into the tunnel below and shook her hand.
Minute particles of fairy dust floated down, catching on the
rungs and drifting to the bottom.

The trail was her real hope of being found by the vampire

hunter. She knew all about the Sangue Cacadore, the
Brotherhood of the Blood. They all shifted into black panthers
and were descended directly from a branch of Portuguese
royalty that moved to Brazil in the sixteenth century.

She kicked the lid of the tube back into place and carried

Emmy into the church, which reeked of incense and burning
beeswax candles. The interior sparkled with bright lights and
mosaics. The dome overhead was covered with pictures of
the saints done in tiny ceramic tiles. The columns, the arched
doorways, and the wall mosaics pictured saints, each with a

bright golden halo. Even the chandeliers glittered with gilding.
Morning light spilled into the interior through the high-arched
eastern windows.

She lifted Emmy into her arms, stepped over the barrier for

tourists, and walked down the aisle toward the splendor of
the gilded altar, across more mosaics on the floor, stopping
under one of the great turrets. When she looked up, she saw
a mosaic of Jesus with his hands spread in blessing. She
had to be safe here—at least for a moment.

Glancing around the church, she looked for the closest exit.

The most important thing now was to get out and into the
streets, where the strong sunshine of a beautiful spring
morning in St. Petersburg should keep all vampires
underground.

She spotted the huge front entrance and ran lightly across

the mosaics. A white hand with bloody fingernails suddenly
grabbed her by the throat from behind. She squeaked and
turned into a tiny being. But she had to drop Emmy to do it
and Rusakov scooped the child off the floor.

Lorelei threw handfuls of golden dust into Rusakov’s eyes.

He shrieked and dropped the little girl. “Run, Emmy!” Lorelei
screamed directly into the child’s ear.

Emily took off for the altar and Lorelei made herself

human-size. “You cannot have the child,” she hissed into
Rusakov’s face. “This is a church. How can you be here?”

“Not consecrated,” he snarled. “You should know we can

go into churches. We’ve always been able to if the ground’s
not sacred, and every year the amount of holy ground
diminishes. One day there will be none at all. Where did the
little rat go?”

Lorelei flew into his face and beat him with her wings.

Rusakov smashed her with a fist and she crumpled to the tile.
She made herself small with the last of her energy and
followed him as he ran for the altar. But Emmy had
disappeared.

A clang and a clunk from behind the altar drew both of their

attention. Rusakov took off searching for the source of the
clang while Lorelei, still tiny, flitted around the altar hunting for
Emmy. The clang was the sound of someone pushing the lid
of the tunnel off. Help might be on the way. She sent another
prayer to the fairy queen that whoever was coming up from
below ground was on her side and knew what to do to kill
Rusakov.

* * * *

“Come on, Shelly, push.” Martha exhorted the gimp above

her on the ladder to shove the huge metal lid closing the tube
away from the exit.

With one final grunt, Shelly hit it with both shoulders and it

slid open with a huge clang.

“Fuck!” Martha cursed. “Everyone for three square miles

probably heard that. Climb out quickly. Move it!”

Shelly leaped out of the tube and took a protective stance,

holding his shotgun hip high. He jacked a shell into the
chamber as Martha pulled herself into a tiny closet of the
church filled with a thousand lit candles. “Don’t knock them
over. You’ll burn down one of Russia’s most famous
landmarks.”

Shelly turned in circles with his mouth open. “I don’t think

this place’ll burn. The whole thing’s covered with tile.”

“You’ve never been in here?”
He shook his head.
“So it’s you two. The dyke and the gimp.”
“Shelly, look out!” Martha yelled.
Shelly fired the shotgun. It blasted a hole in Rusakov’s

face. The ancient vampire healed in seconds. Shelly
screamed, “Die, you motherfucker!” and unloaded all seven
shotgun shells into Rusakov. “Run, Martha!” he shrieked.

Martha took the colloidal silver and sprayed the rapidly

healing holes in Rusakov’s face and torso. The healing
stopped and black blood began dripping onto the floor.

Another head popped out of the tunnel—Jax. He leaped

out and onto Rusakov. The elf followed, carrying his bow.

“Kill Rusakov,” Martha screamed. “He’s the maker. All the

rest will die.”

* * * *

Rusakov must be weak from something Shelly and Martha

had done. When Jax knocked him backwards, the vampire
landed hard on mosaic-covered steps leading to the altar
and didn’t move. It was long enough for Jax to pull one of his
knives and bury it in Rusakov’s heart. But the vampire did not
die.

“Stake him!” Al shouted. “It must be wood to kill him.”
“I know,” Jax snarled as he tried to keep Rusakov down.

“Hand me a crossbow bolt.”

“I’ll do better than that,” Al said as he fired one of the bolts

at Rusakov’s heart. But Rusakov was no longer there. He’d
leaped to his feet and was flying through the church.

“Find Emmy,” Jax shouted to Al as he raced after Rusakov.
He found the vampire locked in a deadly fight with poor

Shelly. He must need blood. His fangs were out and he was
trying to sink them into Shelly’s neck while Shelly furiously
pumped colloidal silver spray into his face. The sight of
someone Jax had come to consider a friend in the hands of
that monster filled Jax with so much rage, he shifted and
changed into a panther in mid-stride.

When he reached Rusakov, he leaped onto the vampire’s

back and sank his teeth into his neck. Shelly slithered out of
Rusakov’s grip and dropped to the floor. When Jax leaped
on Rusakov, Shelly wriggled free and ran for the altar. The
fairy materialized right in front of him. “Where’s Emmy?”
Shelly gasped.

“She’s hiding here somewhere. I can smell her and sense

her presence. She must have found a really good hidey hole.”

Martha joined them on the ornate altar to search for the

little girl. There were small nooks and cupboards everywhere.

Lorelei suddenly froze. “Someone else is coming.”
“Oh no,” Shelly whimpered. “It’s her.”
“Who?” Martha asked.
“Me,” Daphne snarled. “Did you think I would stay strapped

to the bed forever? You’re going to pay, bitch.”

Daphne launched herself at Martha with her hands

outstretched. Martha closed her eyes and waited for the
killing blow. It never came. Shelly jacked two shells into the
shotgun and fired into Daphne’s face. The half-vampire
woman exploded. It wasn’t as disgusting or volatile as the
death of a true vampire, but it sprayed half-human parts all
over the altar.

“Die, you bitch!” Shelly screamed and fired another shell

into the quivering remains.

Martha grabbed his arm. “Stop, Shelly, she’s fucking dead

already.”

* * * *

Jax tore into Rusakov. The vampire tasted like rotting

meat. He ripped huge hunks of flesh out of Rusakov’s
shoulder and neck with his powerful jaws. The silver spray
had so weakened the vampire, the creature struggled to
gather his forces while Jax continued to tear into him.

But Jax knew he could not kill Rusakov in his animal body.

He had to shift back, find a stake, and finish him off. When he
shifted, he was crouched over Rusakov. He leaped to his feet
and grabbed the first wooden thing he saw: an ornate filigree
cross held in the hands of a statue of Mary. He ripped it out of
Mary’s hands, cracked a sliver off the base, and formed it
into an improvised stake.

Rusakov had pulled himself upright, but he weaved back

and forth clearly in the weakest state Jax had seen. Rusakov
could quickly recover, especially now that he was standing,
so Jax leaped and drove the broken base of the cross deep
into Rusakov’s chest.

This time the vampire died in a terrible and grotesque

manner. He exploded, then burst into flames. Flaming
vampire parts splattered across the mosaics, the columns,
the statues of saints. Some even reached the interior of the
domes.

Chapter Twenty-One

“We did it. We killed him,” Martha said. “The rest of the

vamps will die, too. Daphne said so. All his progeny will die
when he does.” She stopped and looked him up and down.
“Hey, Jax. You’re naked, bro.”

Shelly grabbed Jax and hugged him. “You’re a hero. You

staked the vampire. All of the day-walkers are dead. You did
it.”

Jax grabbed Al. “Is Martha right? Will the ones in the

coffins below die as well?”

Al shrugged. “If he made them.”
“Where’s Emmy?” Jax said as he fought to catch his

breath. He gently set Shelly aside and bent over with his
hands on his knees deep breathing.

Lorelei fluttered up. “I don’t know, Jax. I’ve looked

everywhere. She just disappeared.”

“Have to find her. I’ll look. I can sense her.”
He rose to his feet and walked unsteadily across the

mosaics toward the altar. He was exhausted emotionally and
physically, but terror for his child filled him with renewed
energy. He had to find her.

The priest materialized out of nowhere. One minute there

was no one behind him, the next a cold hand fell on his
shoulder. Jax froze and whirled around.

“Here my son, cover yourself.”
The priest was dressed in ornate gold and white robes

with a tall mitered hat and a heavy cross around his neck. He
held a scarlet-velvet robe open and slid it around Jax’s
shoulders. When he did, the sunlight sparkled off a huge
blood-red stone set in gold on his white forefinger. His hands
on Jax’s flesh were icy.

“That is a truly interesting tattoo on your back. It’s old, isn’t

it? Like something out of a long-past era.”

Jax nodded. “It’s a family deal. All the men in my family

have one.”

“Come with me to my office and I shall find you clothes to

wear. You must be freezing. It’s quite chilly in here.”

“Where’d you come from?” Jax glanced at Al, Shelly,

Martha, and Lorelei. They stood together under one of the
domes with sunlight illuminating them, unmoving, frozen in the
act of speaking and walking.

That’s when Jax knew. And he was unarmed. He had no

way to kill this creature. He’d completely fooled Jax for a few
moments. He was so ancient he had no odor at all. He’d
frozen his friends in place. They were under his dark spell
and couldn’t move. The only part of any of them moving was
one of Al’s eyelids. Its twitch told Jax everything.

His brain scrambled for a way out. “Where’s my daughter?”
“She’s quite safe, my son. You must come with me now.”
“Who the fuck are you?”

“

Tsk, tsk, tsk

, such language and in the house of God. I am

Afanasii. I am older than this country, older than this religion. I
have been around since the beginning of time. You, my
friend, are a member of a very old organization. I knew your
ancestors and through them, I know you.”

Jax’s heart hammered in his chest while he tried to

maintain his cool. This vampire had one of the magic stones.
He could day-walk and had incredible power. He was one of
the ones his father had told him about, one who could kill with
his voice or a single finger.

He walked in front of Afanasii, whose feet did not touch the

floor. They went behind the altar and through an arched door
made of intricately carved rose wood. A long dark corridor
led into the depths of the church. When Jax saw the hallway,
he tried to shift. His body rippled and the vampire placed a
cold hand on his shoulder. “You will not be able to morph into
your animal self anymore this day, shifter.”

Jax tried to shrug off the vampire’s hand and turn on him.

But as strong as Jax was, he couldn’t move the creature’s
hand. “What have you done with my daughter?”

“She will soon be with your God, as will you.” Afanasii

clapped his hand on Jax’s shoulder and shoved him down
the dark hallway.

At the end of the corridor, the vampire placed his hands on

a carved image of Christ on the cross. A panel opened in the
wall, revealing a stairway circling down into the darkness.

Jax’s stomach knotted. Not down again. But they held poor
Emmy somewhere at the bottom of this hole.

The stairway circled down through a brick tube. The bricks

were faded and covered with an ashy substance. Afanasii
laughed. “Yes, what you are thinking is correct. This is a
smokestack for an incinerator. Bodies have been burned
below us for centuries. The bricks are covered with their
ashes.”

At some point in their descent, the bricks began turning

black and greasy. Afanasii reached one white finger out and
rubbed the walls. “Humans contain a lot of fat. Even the
skinny ones.”

Jax shuddered. When they reached the bottom, he glanced

up. Far above his head, a small crescent of light glowed. He
quickly looked away. Maybe Al would follow him. He prayed
they would, even though he’d already led them into so much
danger on his behalf. How could he ask them to follow him
back into hell?

They exited the incinerator through an arched iron door set

deep into the brick of the oven, then left the small chamber
through a doorway so short Jax had to stoop to get through it.
Afanasii just walked through the wall, which freaked Jax out
more than a little.

The incinerator room opened into a huge vaulted chamber

filled with row after row of closed coffins. Shelves against the
walls held old wooden coffins from ages long past. The walls

were made of human bones stacked to the domed ceiling.

Afanasii clapped his hands and the lids of every coffin flew

open. He slowly walked down the rows, touching foreheads.
Jax followed. Some of the coffins held nothing but ashes.

“What happened to them?”
“These were of Rusakov’s or maybe even Tsarov’s

making. They died with them.”

Jax mentally tried to tabulate the numbers of remaining

vampires. When he reached one hundred, he gave it up.
Afanasii was the true maker here. Rusakov and Tsarov had
nothing on him.

“Where’s Emmy?”
“I keep telling you to be patient. She is young. The blood of

an innocent tastes like nothing you can imagine. When I
devour her, as I surely will, it will be at my leisure. You, on the
other hand, will feed those of my get. You are my gift. And
soon we will create more. Your job and that of your brethren
is hopeless and without end. And so I told your father.”

“My father died in an airplane crash.”
“Istanbul—right?” Afanasii laughed. “It was Bethlehem, and

he did not die alone. The last of the Sangue Cacadore, or at
least I thought they were the last, died in the desert.”

Jax could feel his heart rate escalating. He was terrified,

but another emotion was building in his heart replacing the
fear: deep, grinding anger and a desperate thirst for revenge.
This hideous creature had just told him he was going to kill

his daughter and that he had murdered his father.
Determination ran through Jax’s veins instead of blood. He
followed Afanasii to the middle of the chamber. There in one
of the coffins lay his daughter. Tears ran unchecked down
Jax’s face. There had to be an answer. It couldn’t end like
this.

Vampires rose from their coffins and closed in on Jax as

Afanasii scooped Emmy from the coffin and spoke. “Awake.
Know you are about to die.”

Little Emily opened her eyes and looked at Jax. “Daddy!”

she screamed.

All around them, the vampires closed in.
Jax had no weapons. His heart grew cold at the

inevitability of death. He could accept it for himself, but not for
his daughter. She was everything to him: his heart, his
promise to his father for the future, everything. His mind
scrambled for a solution. His friends would not follow him
down into this hell. He could not look for them to save him.

“Jax!”
He heard the call and almost disregarded it, thinking it was

a figment of his imagination, thinking he’d only heard his
name because he desperately needed help. But he looked.
Shelly stood in front of the open doorway to the incinerator
room, holding the broken cross Jax had slammed into
Rusakov’s chest.

Shelly threw the cross toward Jax.

The vampires turned as one and ran for Shelly as Afanasii

lifted his hand to kill Shelly and stop the flight of the cross. But
something incredible happened.

Emmy shifted.
His daughter’s small body rippled the air around her, which

sparkled with golden dust. Lorelei was here. Emmy changed
into a panther cub, spotted and small, but still equipped with
dangerous, sharp claws. She wrapped her body around
Afanasii’s face, clawing and scratching.

The vampires ran for Shelly as Jax leaped high, snagged

the broken cross out of the air, and rammed it deep into the
ancient monster’s chest. When the stake was driven home,
he grabbed Emmy off its face. Lorelei materialized beside
him and he handed his daughter to her. “Run!”

Then he shifted into his panther form as Afanasii’s high-

pitched shriek was cut off and he exploded.

Jax bounded across the chamber, dodging exploding

vampires as he went. The room was filled with flying bloody
hunks of stinking, flaming gore.

Shelly was down under the only three remaining vampires.

Afanasii must have created the rest of them. Martha and Al
erupted from the incinerator room. Al fired two bolts in rapid
succession, taking down two of the creatures. The only one
left rose off Shelly, blood dripping from his fangs, and backed
towards the rows of coffins. He held his hands out in a
gesture of supplication. “No, please. I’m really not like them.

I’m a good vampire. I rarely eat human blood. I live off rats, I
swear.”

Martha held a sword in her hands. “Oh, I believe you,” she

said, moving toward him with the sword lifted over her head.

Al knocked another bolt into the crossbow and aimed it at

the vampire’s heart.

“But you see, he’s an elf and they hate vampires. Always

have.”

The vampire, a young man with curly gold hair began to cry

bloody tears. Martha laughed as she sliced off his head.
“Die, you ugly motherfucker.”

His body and head exploded as Jax morphed back into a

man, landing in a crouched position right behind the gloppy
puddle of guts.

Martha rolled her eyes. “Really, Jax. You’re a hunk and

you’re hung like a stud horse, but I’m pretty sick of seeing you
butt-assed naked.”

Jax fell to the floor, ignoring Martha’s cutting remarks. After

all, her remarks were always cutting. Shelly lay, near dead,
drained almost dry by the last vampire standing. Jax lifted his
friend’s head as Al knelt beside them.

“Shelly, can you hear me, man?” Jax leaned close to his

friend’s ear.

Shelly lifted one hand and touched Jax’s face. “You’re so

beautiful when you’re a panther. Sleek and lithe with shiny
black fur. God, how I love you.”

Tears ran down Jax’s face. “Don’t talk. Save your strength.”

He grabbed Al’s collar. “I know you’re a healer. Can you save
him? Please.”

“Go to your daughter. I’ll do the best I can.”
Jax stood up and Martha handed him a jacket. “Put

something on, will you?”

He shoved his arms into the long raincoat and belted it. He

had no idea where it came from and was not going to ask.
“Now I’m dressed like a flasher.”

It was a smart-ass comment, but Jax didn’t feel like joking.

Shelly was dying and it broke his heart. The little man had
wormed his way into his affections with his love and his
devotion not only to Jax, but to Emmy. Jax looked back once
as he wove through the coffins toward Lorelei. Al had created
a blue-green haze around Shelly. The elf’s hands ran up and
down Shelly’s body while he concentrated with his eyes half
opened. He had to heal him. He just had to.

If Al couldn’t save him, Shelly would die. The thought of

losing his friend was unbelievably painful for Jax. He reached
Lorelei and swept Emmy into his arms. His daughter hugged
him once, then pointed. “Shelly, Daddy, is he hurt? Why
doesn’t he get up?”

Jax buried his face in her soft hair. If Shelly died, Emmy

would suffer even more. “Al’s gonna fix him, sweetie. Are you
okay? Did they hurt you?”

She grabbed him by the ears and pulled his face up so she

could look into his eyes. “No, Daddy. Lorry saveded me. We
sprinkled dust behind us for you to follow.”

The fairy giggled a tinkling sound. “I soothed her pain,” she

said. “She’s not going to remember any bad shit.”

The epithet out of the fairy’s mouth shocked Jax, but he

laughed. “You’re one bad-assed fairy, Lorelei. Thanks for
everything you did for Emmy. She would have died if it
weren’t for you.”

Lorelei’s bright smile dimmed slightly. “This was a nest of

evil, Jax. Eliminating it was a huge thing for all of Earth and
its creatures. You are a true vampire hunter and it showed
this day. I’m just glad I could be here to see it and add what
little help I could.”

Chapter Twenty-Two

Jax knew the minute Shelly turned the corner and walked

away from death. He felt it in his heart. He handed Emmy
back to Lorelei. “Shelly’s gonna be fine, little girl. Let’s go talk
to him.”

As Jax walked through the rows of coffins, he slammed the

lids one at a time. Closing them made him feel like he’d
accomplished something real. Every time he shut a lid, it
banged and the echo reverberated through the vaulted
chamber. When he reached Shelly, the smaller man was on
his feet with Al’s hand under his arm. Jax did the most natural
thing and never thought twice about it. He opened his arms
and Shelly stepped into his embrace.

“You gave it your all, Shelly,” he breathed into the man’s

thick brown hair. “You’re the bravest man I’ve ever known.”

Shelly sniffed. “I couldn’t let that evil son of a bitch kill you

and Emmy. You’re everything to me, Jax. You gave me a
home, you trusted me with your child. I’ll love you with all my
heart forever.”

Jax stroked Shelly’s hair, then lifted his chin and stared into

his eyes. He looked deeply into the brown depths. They were
clear and well opened. Then he dipped his head and kissed
him. When their lips touched, it was like coming home for
Jax. This was meant to be. He’d found his perfect mate.

Maybe the many people in the world didn’t buy that men
could truly love each other. But they were wrong.

He pulled away before he created an embarrassing scene.

Martha was standing beside Al with her mouth hanging open.
“Am I losing it, Jax, or did you just kiss a guy?”

Jax put his arm around Shelly’s shoulders and pulled him

close. “You’re not losing it. Shelly and I are in love.”

“Congratulations, Jax,” Al said and shook his hand. “Now

let’s get out of here. This place gives me the creeps.”

Jax and Lorelei swapped off carrying Emmy as they

climbed ladders and crawled through narrow passages on
their way back to the surface. The nest was strangely quiet.
They saw nothing alive but rats and cockroaches.

When they reached the main level, they stopped. “Should

we go back up through the church or go out through the main
entrance?” Jax asked.

“I never want to go into that church again,” Shelly said and

shuddered. “Today, I saw a whole new side of religion.”

“Okay, then, main entrance it is.”
They had to go down to the sewers, walk along the river of

shit, then climb back into the section of the nest housing the
half vampires. Jax saw Martha eyeing the rooms with fear.
She’d spent time in one of them with Daphne. It must have
scarred her. She looked frightened and Martha didn’t scare
easily.

The stairwell to the surface loomed ahead as they walked

by two closed doors. They had almost reached it when a
feminine voice rang out behind them. “Did you think you could
come in here and destroy the entire nest without suffering any
consequences?”

Jax whirled around. Two women stood in the corridor

behind them.

“Svetlana and Zoe,” Shelly whispered. “They’re alive.”
The two half-vampire women began walking toward them

slowly. They looked wary, scanning them as though
assessing their weaknesses. “Shelly,” said the tallest one, a
Norwegian-blond type. “Come to me, Shelly. Crawl on your
knees like the filthy little weakling you are.”

Jax handed Emmy to Lorelei. “Take her and get out of

here. Shelly, you go with her.”

Al knocked a bolt into the crossbow.
“You go, Lorelei,” Shelly said. “I’m staying here.”
The two vampire women were only thirty feet away when

Martha ran forward, waving the sword. “Die, you fucking
bitches. You’re all that’s left. You’re alone.”

“Martha!” Jax screamed and ran after her.
“Damn!” Al said and fired the crossbow at the shorter

woman, the mocha-skinned Latina named Zoe. But his arm
was jostled as Shelly ran by him after Jax. The bolt went wide
and missed.

Martha swung the sword, but the tall blonde grabbed the

blade in her bare hand and yanked the weapon away from

Martha. She flipped it in one easy motion and grasped it by
the hilt as she prepared to dismember Martha. But then
Svetlana stopped. “No!” she screamed to her comrade and
grabbed Zoe’s arm.

“She carries the master’s child.”
“No, I fucking don’t,” Martha screamed and grabbed for the

sword.

Jax didn’t think. He shifted and the air around him

shimmered as he shed the raincoat, morphed into a panther,
and leaped on the shorter halfling. She turned out to be easy
to kill. He ripped out her throat and stood over her dead
body, panting. The half-vampire woman slowly melted under
him. He got some of the stinking goo on his paw and shook
it.

Al was right behind him. The elf tossed his bow aside, took

the last bolt, and leaped on the big blonde. They fought hand
to hand. Al was a strong and clever fighter. Jax shifted back
into a human and circled the struggling pair looking for a way
to help.

The blonde grabbed Al in a bear hug and tried to rip into

his neck with her short fangs. He avoided death by ducking
out of her grip and diving on her, knocking her backwards to
the concrete block floor. She twisted beneath him, screaming
and flinging saliva as she whipped her head back and forth.
Al gripped her throat in one hand and drove a bolt into
Svetlana’s heart with the other.

The big blond half-vamp blew up as she died. Slimy parts

caught fire and splattered the ancient brick walls. Al rolled
over and sat up, breathing hard. “Shelly, are there any more?”

Shelly shook his head. “No, those are the last two. We

killed one in the eating room, both men, these two, and
Daphne died in the church. That’s it, as far as I know.”

Jax shrugged back into his raincoat. He raised his

eyebrows and shot Martha a look filled with curiosity and
sarcasm. “The master’s child? What’s with that?”

She rolled her eyes. “It’s nothing. We had sex.”
“You did

what

?”

Martha’s white skin reddened. In all the time they’d been

together, Jax had never seen Martha blush.

“You just had to be there. Vampire sex is like no other

experience. It’s … it’s fantastic.” She paused. “And when we
were done, he said he’d impregnated me. He’s full of shit. I
can’t have children. I have really bad endometriosis.” She
shrugged. “You know I PMS every month like a bitch. That’s
one of the reasons.”

Jax nodded. “Yeah, I’m aware that you’re a bitch, but not

that you have PMS. In my experience, you’re the same all the
time. But I love you, anyway. You know, those women were
going to lunch you and they stopped because they thought
you were knocked up. You might want to get that checked out
when you get back to the states.”

“Fuck you, asshole,” Martha snapped.

Jax grinned. “Now, that’s the Martha I know. Mean and

nasty all the time.”

The small group climbed out of the nest by way of the metal

stairs on the wall of the canal. When they reached the
walkway along the canal, the sun was in the western sky over
St. Petersburg. They’d been under the city for hours.

He took Emmy from Lorelei and hugged her close as they

walked back to the Grand Hotel. Shelly hung back and
Martha stayed close to Jax’s side.

“You really gay?” she asked as they turned into the alley

behind the theater. “I mean, you told that guy Shelly you love
him.”

Jax shook his head. “I don’t know. I really don’t. Why?”
“Just wondering. The guys back in the office are gonna

freak.”

Jax shuttered his eyes and took a deep breath. Was he

gay? And if he was, was he ready to tell the entire world,
including the guys at the office? Maybe he was just going
through a strange stage engendered by being viciously
dumped by his wife. Maybe he just didn’t like women right
now. Maybe he would change back into a cock hound next
week.

And there was his heritage to consider. He’d promised his

father he’d rebuild the Sangue Cacadore. How could he do
that if he were gay? His heart warmed. Emily had shifted.
Part of his promise to his father had been kept. But would

Emily be enough? If he could train her to be a vampire hunter
and she could breed up a new generation, would he have
fulfilled his promise? “Martha, don’t ask, okay? I’m a little
confused right now.”

Martha snorted. “I’ll say.”
Jax stopped walking and Shelly and Al bumped into him.

“Leave it alone, Martha. You have some gay issues of your
own to deal with, if I’m not very much mistaken.”

“What’s gay, Daddy?” Emily lifted her head from his

shoulder and asked.

“Gay is happy, pumpkin head,” Jax said. “Deliriously, crazy

happy. Like right now. I’m crazy happy I have you safe and
sound in my arms. Love you.”

“Love you back, Daddy.” She grabbed both of his ears and

kissed his nose.

When they were all back in their hotel rooms, Jax put

Emmy down for a nap. She was already half asleep. Lorelei
disappeared in a puff of gold dust and Al headed for the
door. “I need to check on Corey and the plane.”

Martha held up her hand “Wait a minute, Al. I need to get

into my own clothes, and I’ll go with you.”

When they were gone, Shelly and Jax were alone. Jax felt

weird, to say the least. But Shelly knew what he wanted. He
threw himself on Jax. “You’re the most incredible man I’ve
ever known.”

Jax felt himself stirring with desire. Shelly was warm and

vibrant in his arms. His compact body was hard and
muscular. Without thinking—he didn’t want to think—Jax bent
his head and kissed Shelly.

The kiss was intense. Their tongues entwined and Jax

pulled Shelly close. His raincoat opened and Shelly pressed
his body against Jax’s nakedness, dropping one hand to
caress his growing erection.

Shelly weighed little. Jax picked him up and carried him

toward the connecting room and an empty bed while they
kept kissing. He was hard and ready.

“Daddy? Where are you?” Emmy began screaming.

“Daddy! Daddy!”

The red haze of lust slowly dissipated. Jax put Shelly down

and growled, his voice low and husky. “This is wrong.”

He ran back into the room and scooped Emily into his

arms as she sobbed hysterically. “I thought the bad mans had
me again. Don’t leave me, Daddy.”

He hugged her close and pressed his face into her hair.

Confusion filled his mind and his heart. He’d wanted Shelly—
wanted him in a way he’d never wanted a woman. “I’ll never
leave you again, darling.”

He held her tight to his chest with his mind in turmoil.

Emmy was the most important thing now. She’d been through
a lot. She needed normalcy.

As he laid her back on the bed and drew the covers over

her, he made a vow to go straight and forget about the lure of

sex with men. Somehow, he’d gotten on the wrong track. This
was all wrong for him and for Emily.

Chapter Twenty-Three

When the plane took off for Washington State from Tokyo

after refueling, Jax found a seat where he could relax. Emmy
was asleep in one of the bunks and he needed time to be
alone and think about all the things that had happened over
the last few weeks. He had his arm thrown over his eyes and
his feet up when someone sat in the seat next to his. It was
Shelly.

“Have I done something wrong?”
“No,” Jax mumbled. “It’s me. I need some time to get my

head straight. So much has happened. I can’t seem to
absorb it all. I mean, the whole nest thing and killing the
vampires, I should feel weird, shouldn’t I? But I feel nothing.
It’s like it’s the most natural thing I’ve ever done. It makes the
rest of my life seem weird instead. I don’t know.” He shook
his head and ran his fingers over his skull. “I feel like I finally
discovered my true purpose in life.”

“You don’t hate me?”
Jax lifted his head and stared into Shelly’s deep brown

eyes. “How could I? You saved all of us. You saved Emily.”

Tears seeped down Shelly’s cheeks. “No, I didn’t do

anything. I’m a coward, you know. I always have been. I was
terrified.”

Jax gripped the armrests of his leather seat so hard his

knuckles turned white. He wanted to take Shelly in his arms
and comfort him, but refused to give in to the impulse. He had
to control this crazy attraction he felt for the guy. He wasn’t
gay. He wasn’t. “We were all terrified. I don’t believe you’re a
coward. You stood up to Daphne and you killed her. You
saved us. You fired all those shots into Rusakov and came
back into the nest, down there where all the coffins were and
you threw me the cross. We never would have killed Afanasii
without you. If Al hadn’t saved you, you would have died. You
sacrificed yourself for us, Shelly. You did more to get us out
of that hell hole alive than anyone else.”

“Then why are you avoiding me?” Shelly grabbed his hand

and held it.

Jax turned his head to stare out the window. He didn’t want

Shelly to see the love in his eyes. “I told you. I need some
time to think.”

“Can I still stay with you while I try to get on my feet? I’ll take

care of the house and Emmy. I love her. I want to look into
earning a teaching certificate in the U.S.”

“Of course you can. You’ll always be welcome in my home.”
Martha flopped down in one of the seats facing theirs. She

kicked Shelly with one booted foot. “Hey, gimp, thanks for
saving all of us back there. We’d be bloodless husks by now
if you hadn’t tossed Jax the fucking cross.”

“I didn’t do anything anyone else wouldn’t do. It was the

moment, you know. I was just caught up in the moment. All I

could think about was saving Jax and Emmy.”

“Did you see her shift? Emmy, I mean.”
Shelly laughed. “She was an adorable spotted cub with

huge claws.”

Martha kicked Jax’s knee. “You and Shelly gonna get

married?”

Jax felt like the iron jaws of a bear trap were closing

around his neck. “He’s gonna live with me.”

She leaned forward and laid a hand on his leg. “You told

the man you loved him. I heard you.”

Jax closed his eyes. This had all become like some

terrible nightmare. “I do love him. He saved Emily. He
overcame all of his fears and stood up to the most frightening
thing in the entire world, a nest of vampires.”

When he opened his eyes, Shelly was staring into them.

“Thank you.”

Jax had no idea what to say to that. He was saved by

Emily. She’d woken up and was calling for him. “Daddy!”

“Gotta get her up,” he mumbled and bolted for the back of

the plane.

* * * *

“I’m gonna get Emmy out of bed and take her to day care

today,” Jax told Shelly. “I’ve gotta go to work and start filling
out my reports.”

They’d been back two days and an uncomfortable

atmosphere had settled in the apartment. Shelly went about
his business, Jax went about his, neither spoke unless they
had to, and Jax avoided touching him in any way.

“I can take care of her. I want to.”
Jax stopped dead in the middle of the living room.
Shelly was making coffee. He put the bag of whole beans

down.

“I know you can take care of her,” Jax said. “I was just

thinking maybe you’d want some time to, you know, get your
shit together. Think about what you want to do with your life,
where you want to go.”

Shelly grabbed his hand. “I know what I want. I want to be

with you. I love you, Jax. You’re everything I’ve always
dreamed of. You’re beautiful and strong and brave. We have
a family. I worship Emmy. Please don’t take her away from
me.”

Jax felt his heart melting. Deep inside, he knew he loved

this man. But what about real life? What about his friends and
the guys he worked with? He could just imagine what they’d
say when they found out he was gay. He didn’t want to be that
guy.

Shelly moved closer. Their bodies touched and Jax felt the

attraction and desire stirring. He lifted Shelly’s chin and
gently kissed him. The kiss grew deeper. Their tongues
touched and Jax groaned. He lifted Shelly by holding the
cheeks of his ass. Shelly wrapped his legs around Jax’s

waist.

Jax couldn’t control his desire any more. He’d wanted this

for days. Every time he’d looked at Shelly, he’d imagined him
naked and under him, moaning with passion. The thought
had him hard as a rock.

He carried the smaller man into his room and slammed the

door behind him. They fell on the bed together, tearing at
each other’s clothing. Jax ripped off Shelly’s jeans and his
white T-shirt while Shelly unbuttoned Jax’s shirt and slid it off
his shoulders. He dropped his hand to the zipper of Jax’s
jeans and closed his eyes. “You’re huge.”

Jax let his hands fall to his sides and allowed Shelly to pull

his jeans and boxers off. When he was naked, his erection
jutting out of its neatly trimmed nest of hair, Shelly fell on it.

Shelly made love to his cock while they knelt in the middle

of the king-sized bed, stroking it, licking it, and gently tickling
the tip with his tongue. His dick was coffee colored, the
swollen head a deep red. Shelly shoved the length into his
mouth and worked it, sucking and licking it until Jax was
ready to spew.

He touched Shelly’s thick brown hair. “Come here.”
Shelly slowly rose to Jax’s level. They stared into each

other’s eyes. Jax dropped his gaze to Shelly’s crotch and
saw his lover’s dick for the first time. It was long and slender
and hard, bobbing rhythmically against his belly. He was
uncircumcised, the pink head peeping out of the foreskin.

Jax’s dick grew even harder. In his entire life, he never
dreamed he’d actually want to touch another man’s unit. Now
he couldn’t stop himself. He grabbed Shelly’s cock and
squeezed it, then stripped the foreskin all the way down.

Shelly threw back his head and whimpered. “Squeeze

harder. Hurt me.”

“I would never hurt you. I couldn’t.”
Shelly’s mouth twisted into a crooked grin. “But I like it

rough.”

Jax growled. “Rough, I can do.”
He picked Shelly up and threw him on his face, grabbed

his hips and jerked them toward his body. “Open your ass.”

Moaning with excitement, Shelly pulled the cheeks of his

butt apart and exposed the pink mouth of his anus. The sight
of the quivering opening sent a thrill through Jax. He had no
lubricant and his dick was huge. “I don’t want to hurt you. Let
me get a condom.”

“Put it in,” Shelly groaned. “I want you to.”
Jax grabbed a condom out of the bedside table, opened

the package, and slid it over his cock. Then he spit on his
hand and moistened the head of his dick with saliva. He
stroked himself several times as he stared at Shelly’s
asshole. There was something incredibly exciting about a
man’s ass. He could see Shelly’s balls tight to his scrotum
and the muscular globes of his butt. He reached around
Shelly and grabbed his lover’s cock. The feel of it in his hand

and the sight of the waiting orifice had him trembling with
desire.

Holding his dick in his right hand, he pressed the swollen

head against the tight hole. Shelly relaxed, and Jax shoved
his cock three inches in. Then Shelly did something with his
passage and Jax’s organ was drawn all the way in.

“Fuck me,” Shelly groaned. “Fuck me hard.”
Jax held Shelly’s hips as he pounded in and out of the tight

passage. The inside was rougher than a woman’s vagina. He
found the feel stimulated him even more. Wanting to make it
last as long as possible, he pulled all the way out and stared
at Shelly’s butt. The opening was red and gaping. The sight
was incredibly arousing. He bent down and licked it. The sour
taste was surprisingly inoffensive and sticking his tongue in
and out of the hole lifted his passions.

Shelly cried out and wiggled his ass. “You’re driving me

insane. Fuck me!”

Jax reached around Shelly, grabbed his erection, and

stroked as he stabbed his own dick deep into his lover’s ass.
He stroked Shelly in the same rhythm as he plunged in and
out with his dick. They rocked back and forth until Jax felt his
semen rising. He pulled out and flipped Shelly onto his back.
The smaller man was as light as a woman. He could lift him
and turn him at will.

Shelly lay on his back with his legs lifted high. He stared at

Jax. “Your face. You’re shifting.”

Jax growled. He could feel the shift. His dick was

elongating and claws had appeared on his hands. This had
never happened before. Was it the level of excitement? He’d
turned into some kind of half panther, half human with a huge
aching cock. His tail slashed back and forth as he shoved his
cock back into Shelly.

“This is so hot,” Shelly moaned. “You’re like an animal but

not. Oh God, fuck me, Jax.”

Jax was happy to oblige. He fell on Shelly, pounding in and

out of him, grunting and panting and growling. The bed shook
and rocked until Jax exploded. He looked down and Shelly’s
cock was spewing thick, white semen across his flat
stomach.

When he climaxed, he shifted back into a total human and

fell onto the bed. He threw his arm over his head and lay still,
panting slightly. “Well, that was weird.”

Shelly got up and went into the bathroom. Jax closed his

eyes and fell into a deep sleep. When he woke up, Shelly
was nowhere to be found. Jax searched the entire apartment.
Emmy was just waking up, but Shelly was gone. He went into
Emmy’s room and sat on the bed, his heart heavy, and his
head in his hands. Why had Shelly left? Was it something
he’d said? Had their sex not been fulfilling enough? Had he
been too rough? All he could remember before he fell asleep
was a feeling of contentment. Shelly must not have felt the
same way.

Chapter Twenty-Four

While Jax slept, Shelly had gathered his few belongings

and vacated the apartment. There were no clothes; none of
Shelly’s small pile of possessions remained. The man had
cleared out completely. As he walked through the apartment,
searching for some sign Shelly intended to return, he fought
the overwhelming sense of loss Shelly’s disappearance
engendered. He missed him terribly and hated the feeling.
He

didn’t

love Shelly. He refused to love another man.

Jax got Emmy up and dressed. It was only nine in the

morning. He could drop her off at day care and go to work.
While he dressed her and fed her breakfast, his mind
scrambled for a reason Shelly had bolted. What had he said
to instigate such a reaction? He went over and over their
lovemaking in his mind, searching for a reason and trying to
remember every word they’d exchanged.

The sex had been incredible for him. Maybe Shelly hadn’t

liked it. When he started to morph into a panther, Shelly could
have freaked out. Or maybe he’d been too rough. They’d
about torn the bedding to pieces.

“Daddy, where’s Shelly?” Emmy asked as he tucked her

into her car seat.

“I don’t know, sweet pea. He just left.”
“He didn’t tell you goodbye?”

“No, no, he didn’t.”
“Well, you must have said something mean. I love Shelly.

You find him, Daddy. You make him come back.”

Jax started the car. “I’ll try, little girl, I will.”
With Emmy safe in the hands of Mrs. Joiner’s day care,

Jax headed to the office. He hadn’t been in since he got back
to Seattle with Martha. It would be interesting to see how the
captain was dealing with the mountain of dead bodies Jax
knew had been sucked dry by the vampires.

He saw Martha’s Honda in the lot as he parked the

Camaro and smiled. She’d climbed right back on the horse.
Martha was a trouper. Then his heart sank. She knew Shelly
lived with him and suspected he was gay. Hell, she knew he
was gay. Would she blab? He didn’t think he could face an
office filled with dudes staring at him wondering if he was
going to hit on them or watch their asses while they walked.

When he entered the office, the first thing he saw was

Martha deep in conversation with Kevin Russell. He took a
deep breath. “Merriweather! What in the hell are you doing
here? You should be getting a psych-eval and resting.”

Martha shrugged her shoulders and grinned. “I needed to

get back to work. I gotta keep busy or I’ll see things behind
my eyes I don’t want to.”

He lowered his voice. “What are you telling them?”
“Russian slavers stole me, Jax. That’s my story and I’m

sticking to it. Get lost, Russell,” she said to the officer. “I gotta

talk to Jax privately.”

Russell stood up and stretched. “You two must have had

quite a time. Let me know when you’re ready to spill the real
story.”

“Fuck off, Russell,” Martha said as she shot him the finger.

“You can read the report.”

Jax fell into the chair Russell had vacated. “What did you

tell them about … me?”

Martha’s mouth quirked up at the corner and her eyes

twinkled. “I ain’t told them dick about you or anything else. I’m
still working on my story and personally, I think we should get
together and come up with a load of bullshit these assholes
will buy.”

Jax grinned. “That oughta be fun. So, what’s your plan?”
“I’m thinking I was kidnapped by Russian slavers and taken

to St. Petersburg. Use all the rest of the story as it happened
—just leave out anything about vampires, exploding bodies,
and bloodsucking.” She shuddered. “I don’t want to
remember anyway and no one is gonna buy it. We’ll both be
in the psych ward getting our heads shrunk for the rest of our
lives.”

“What did Russell say about the bodies they found in the

mine shaft?”

“That’s got everyone pretty freaked out. They’ve

discovered all the bodies were drained of blood with multiple
bite marks. Many in, uh, intimate areas.”

“I told Captain Martin that’s what they’d find. They come up

with an explanation they can accept?”

“Vampire wannabes. They’re looking for a cult of them and

wouldn’t you know, they actually found one operating out of
the industrial district on the south side of Seattle. They plan to
set up a sting in the near future. Wanna take part?”

Jax lifted his eyebrows. “Uh, no. I’m here to fill out my

reports and take a few more days of vacation. Hey, you seen
Shelly?”

Martha examined the bottom of her man-boot. “I have to

clean these. Mud. I will never get used to all the rain.”

Jax rolled his eyes. “Come on, Martha, have you seen

him?”

“Today?”
“Fuck, Martha. Yes, today.”
She leaned forward and grabbed the front of his shirt. “I’m

your partner and your friend. We’ve been through a lot
together and I think I know you pretty well—well, I thought I
did. The shifting into a panther part of you is definitely new
and pretty fucking freaky. But after all these years, I never
would have figured you were gay. You’ve been lying to
yourself, hiding in a big dark closet. You need to accept who
you are and get on with your life.”

“I asked if you’d seen Shelly, not for a lecture on dealing

with my secret nature.” He pulled his shirt out of her hand,
pursed his lips, and stared off into the distance at nothing in

particular. “I think I might have said something to piss him off.
Or maybe I hurt his feelings. I just don’t know. He left this
morning and I have no idea where he’d go. He’s all alone,
Martha. I’m worried about him.”

“Why? Is it maybe because you care?”
Jax closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead. Why did this

all have to be so complicated? Why did people have to be so
judgmental? “What if I do care? What’s that mean for me and
Emmy?”

“It means, dumbass, that you don’t have to live a lie. You

can come out and be who you are and the people who
accept it are your friends. The people that don’t can go screw
themselves. Emmy is always gonna love you no matter who
or what you are. I mean, she turned into a panther, too. You’re
both shifters. How is it that you find being gay so much harder
to deal with than turning into a huge black beast whenever
you get pissed off? Personally, I find gay is pretty normal. The
were-panther thing is way beyond weird.”

Jax grinned and stood up. He slapped her on the shoulder.

“You have such a way with words. Only you could explain it
like that.”

“I’m just calling it like I see it. Go fill out your reports, then

take me to lunch. We need to talk in private.”

“We’re straight on our stories, right? No vampire shit in any

reports, just Russian mafia and slavers.”

“We have names and details,” she said. “I’m gonna have to

put some of the bondage club shit in my report. Tsarov killed
the two in the club. We’ll tie all those strip clubs into the story
and wrap up everything in one neat and tidy package. The
only thing I’m worried about is the huge pile of DBs the feds
are looking into. What about the bodies in the mine? Are we
responsible for coming up with an answer to that?”

“I got that lead from Shelly. I’ll have to think of a way to

divorce it from the slaver deal, or maybe we could say the
slavers were using the fake vampires to do their dirty work.”

Martha shook her head and dug into her hair with the end

of her pen. “I like that. It could work. What do we say? It was
your tip. Did you ever tell the captain where you got it?”

“No, all I said was my source was reliable.” He grinned. “I

think we can make this happen. The dead in the mine may
turn out to be some of the Russian slaves. If that’s the case,
then the slavers did it with the help of a group who liked to
drink blood. That’s all we have to say. You know, point it
towards the captain’s theory of wannabes.”

“He’ll love that. The captain always likes it when his idea is

the right idea.”

He went to his desk and started to fill out the mountain of

paperwork required of all police officers. The biggest parts of
the job were complying with the paperwork regulations and
keeping the captain happy.

When he had a small pile of forms filled out and a detailed

load of bullshit written, he grabbed them and headed for the

captain’s office. Martin’s door was open so he stepped
inside. His boss was on the phone when he entered, so Jax
sat down and tossed the report on the desk.

When Martin hung up the phone, he stood up and stuck out

his hand. “Congratulations, Sequeros. I never thought you’d
do it.”

Jax grinned. “Thanks, boss. It was worth all the effort.

Martha is something else.”

Captain Martin sat down, leaned back in his chair and

laughed out loud. “You can say that again. You know, I don’t
know whether to commend you or rip off your head. This
whole thing with the DBs and the bloodsucking gives me the
creeps. The Feds are all over it and I’ve been working my
ass off trying to come up with a theory that does not include
vampires.”

He picked up Jax’s report and scanned it. “Russian

slavers, huh? Figures, and not a word in here about the
undead. Good job. You know, ever since the communists lost
control, the Russian mafia has been growing. We got more
than our share here. They’re a ruthless bunch. Seen
everything and they don’t give a rat’s ass about anything but
money. No morals, no scruples, no conscience or religious
principals to get in their way.”

Jax nodded. “They’re ruthless, all right. The ones we dealt

with were a nasty bunch.”

“You step on any toes in Russia?”

Jax shrugged and shook his head. “Don’t think so. St.

Petersburg is a pretty open place with lots of tourists and
Europeans. This group of slavers controlled everything.”

He looked at the report again. “Worked out of a church,

huh? Guess that killed your cockamamie vampire theory.”

Jax nodded. “Killed it dead, sir. Report’s done, so if it’s

okay with you I’m taking a few more days off.”

Martin raised one eyebrow. “We got a line on a bunch of

vampire wannabes we like for the DBs in the mine. The sting
is set up for tonight. I could use you.”

Jax scratched his head and rubbed his eyes. What should

he do? He needed to find Shelly. But he’d enjoy busting a
bunch of weirdoes. He liked his job. “You know I’d love to,
Captain. But I have some personal shit I need to take care of
and my babysitter is out of town. I don’t have anyone to take
care of Emmy.”

Martin nodded. “I understand. You’ve been through a lot.

Martha told me the slavers took your kid. I got appointments
for the pair of you with the police psychiatrist. Take all the
time you need to recover. But if you change your mind, send
me a text and I’ll zap you the details. I can always use you.
You’re a good man, Sequeros.”

As Jax left Martin’s office, he thought about his boss’s last

words. The captain had said he was a good man. But Martin
didn’t know the truth. He wasn’t really a man. He was gay.

On his way out, Jax stopped at Martha’s desk. “You ready

for that lunch?”

She jumped up and grabbed her jacket. “Yep. Hey, I got

this weird idea. Let’s go to my place and eat.”

“You have food?”
“We can grab some takeout Thai. I’m in the mood for

something spicy.”

“I’d really rather have pho,” Jax said. “You want spicy, you

can fill yours with seracha.”

She laughed as they walked out the front doors and

headed for the Camaro. “Vietnamese works for me.”

They took the hot soup to her apartment. While Jax waited

for her to open the door, he wondered why she’d bought
enough pho to feed a small army. Maybe she was going to
eat on it for the rest of the week. But the minute the door to
her small place was open, he knew why.

“Jax!”
Shelly got up off the couch and stared at him with his huge

brown eyes wide open. Then he turned on Martha. “Why’d
you bring him here? I told you he didn’t want me.”

His last word was more of a sob. Jax’s heart ached. He’d

never intended to hurt Shelly.

Martha tossed her bags onto the kitchen table. “I think

you’re wrong, Shelly,” she said. “And since this is my place, I
decided to bring him over for lunch. We have pho. I know you
like it. I was hoping for some Thai, but Jax wanted this.”

Jax couldn’t take his eyes off Shelly. Seeing him here in

Martha’s apartment was a shock. But as the surprise slowly
dissipated, his heart leapt. He moved swiftly towards Shelly
and grabbed him into a close embrace. Shelly struggled for a
second, then relaxed and hugged him back.

“I thought I’d never see you again. I was blown away.”
Shelly whispered into his chest. “You said our lovemaking

was weird. I thought you didn’t want me. I know you hate
homosexuality. You don’t want to be gay. I figured you’d throw
me out and find a woman one day. I couldn’t take it. I love you
so much.”

Jax stroked Shelly’s hair and lifted his chin with one finger.

They stared into each other’s eyes and Jax dropped his head
to kiss Shelly’s full lips. He closed his eyes and allowed the
kiss to take him away. As their tongues entwined, he realized
this was what he wanted, and to hell with everybody else.

“I’d never hurt you,” he breathed into Shelly’s ear after their

long kiss. “I … I love you and I uh, I want you to come back.
Emmy told me to make sure you came home. She said I was
stupid.”

“She’d never say her papa is stupid.”
“No, really, she did. And I was. I can’t fight it any more. It’s

too strong. I’m gay. I love another man. It’s time I accepted
that.”

“You’ll lose some friends.”
“Then they aren’t real friends, are they?”
“Hey,” Martha called from the kitchen. “You two gonna stop

smooching and come eat or what?”

Epilogue

Jax went on the raid. Shelly came home and moved into

Jax’s bedroom. They were a family. Jax kept their
relationship a secret through summer and into autumn.

His cell phone rang. He smiled as he answered it. “Martha,

how you feeling?”

Martha

had

turned out to be pregnant. She decided to

keep the baby, a difficult decision Jax helped her make. She
was seven months along, bitching and moaning and still
working every day. Jax dreaded the birth. He and Shelly were
signed up as birth coaches.

“I’m fine. The baby is doing a dance on my bladder and I

doubt if I’ll make it all the way to the station without stopping
twice to pee. You still planning to come out tonight?”

“We’ll be there, Martha. We’ll all be there.”
“Drive safe, then. It’s still snowing.”
It was Christmas Eve, and he’d made his decision. Shelly

had decorated the apartment with a tree and lights. Jax had
never bothered before. Emmy was entranced. She kept
picking up the presents under the tree and pointing out who
they were for.

“Emmy, leave them alone. It’s almost time to go.”
“This one is for you, Daddy. It’s from Shelly. I helped him

wrap it.”

Jax smiled. “There’s a couple for you, too. But tonight,

Santa is coming.”

“I know,” she said. “Shelly told me all about Christmas

where he came from. He calls the tree a

yolka.

” She giggled.

“And he put a white cloth on the table and some hay and a
white candle. He said he’s gonna cook us a turkey tomorrow
and potatoes with parsley and some honey biscuits.”

He hugged her. “You love Shelly, sweetheart?”
“Yes, Daddy. He’s the best present you ever gave me.”
Jax went into the bedroom, hunting for his partner. Shelly

was still in the bathroom. “You ready?” he called.

Shelly emerged from the bathroom wearing a new black

turtleneck shirt and a black silk jacket. His long hair was
swept back from his widow’s peak and his eyes sparkled.
He’d put on a small amount of weight. Jax thought he’d filled
out in all the right places.

“How do I look?”
“You look like a new man,” he said.
“You look very nice, too. I especially love that shirt.”
He grabbed Jax’s arm. “You sure you want to do this?”
Jax smiled and patted Shelly’s hand. “It’s time. I’ve thought

about this and thought about this until I’m tired of worrying
about someone finding out and wondering what will happen if
they do. We’re a couple. I want everyone at work to know and
understand. This is who I am. I want to be free of worrying
about being discovered. It’s time to come clean and let the

chips fall where they may.”

They loaded Emmy into the car and drove to the office.

There was a huge Christmas party planned. Every man and
woman on the force was going to be there. The snow was still
falling, not that common an occurrence in Seattle. Jax drove
slowly and carefully. He didn’t want anything to happen to
Emily or to Shelly. They were dear to him. This was his family.

Emmy marveled at all the Christmas lights. Shelly pointed

out every decorated house. He seemed as excited as she
did by the pageantry of the season. When they got to the
station house, he parked and they stepped out into a winter
wonderland.

Shelly stood beside him as they watched Emmy scooping

up handfuls of fresh snow to make snowballs. “She’s so cute.
I can’t wait until she sees her presents Christmas morning.”

“She told me

you

were the best present I ever gave her.”

Shelly grabbed his hand. “Is that what you think?”
Jax put an arm around Shelly. “Yup, you’re the best thing

that ever happened to both of us. Come on, Emily,” he yelled.
“Time for cookies and punch.”

She walked between them, each of them holding a hand

as they entered the offices of the Washington State Patrol.
Christmas lights blinked throughout the foyer. A white
Christmas tree glowed in the center of the open space.

Shelly stopped him before they entered the office. “You

sure you want to do this?”

Jax pressed a kiss on the top of Shelly’s head. “I never

thought I’d say this, but I want everyone to know you belong to
me.”

THE END

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