Kade's Dark Embrace (Immortals of New Orleans) (6 page)

Sydney felt a glimmer of hope getting a lead on this case.  It looked like they’d be taking a trip uptown. “Thanks, Pinky. Kade, let’s get out of here. We can take my car. Your limo is going to look a tad out of place up there, and I would like to try not to get shot at before we even get out of the car.”

Kade didn’t know much about Philadelphia, but he didn’t like the idea of Sydney going into some shithole trying to battle an unknown supernatural. He knew this case was not just about some sick human who jerked off in an alley. “Listen, Sydney, if we do this, we do it my way. I get this is your city, but I will not allow you to put yourself in danger. I see that you are strong, but you are not strong enough to go against a vampire, my love.”

All thoughts of how sexy he was rushed out of her mind and were quickly replaced by anger. Did he see her as some kind of damsel in distress? She was a fucking cop; what didn’t he get about that? “Kade dear, you may be a bad-ass vamp and all, but this is my city, this is my job. I am going. There will be no more discussion. If you need to enlighten me about the various ways you folks suck the lifeblood out of others, I’ll be happy to listen on the way up Broad Street. But let’s get this straight, it’s not my first time at the rodeo. I have studied supernaturals and even sparred a few times with a werewolf. I know how to kill a vampire as well as I know how to kill a human, so let’s go. We're taking my car. If Luca wants to follow in the limo, that’s his funeral, but I'm outta here.” She stood with her hands on her hips, tilting her head in defiance.

Kade shot her a look of irritation. “You do not seem to understand what I told you down in the morgue. I lead this case, and you bloody well do not. You will go with me, because I allow it to be so. Do not make the mistake of thinking otherwise, Miss Willows.”

Kade was starting to think it was a mistake to have even allowed this human detective on his case. She obviously did not understand what she was getting into, and he was getting damn tired of arguing with her.

Sydney was having none of his macho bullshit. “Yeah, yeah, vampire. Keep talking but I’m the one who got us this address, and I’m the one driving. So sit your butt down in the car and let’s go.” She jumped in the car and started it, watching as he silently sat down next to her, looking as if he was about to explode. Working this case with him was going to be a lot of fun, just a laugh riot. She rolled her eyes and started off toward north Philly.

As the wind whipped Sydney’s hair forward, she pushed it behind her ears. She loved this car especially when she rode around on the open highway. The lights of the city were all around, and at two in the morning, the city was finally starting to quiet down. Aside from a few transients sleeping on the sidewalk, and the police, not many people were on the streets.

She looked over to see Kade staring at her, and she couldn’t help wondering what he thought of this place. She knew that vampires could be very old, and suspected Kade was an elder of some kind. Aside from his arrogant presence, he also seemed well spoken, well traveled, and knowledgeable. She could only imagine how many things he knew about women: how to please them, make them scream. She wanted him to make her scream, but she knew getting involved with him would not be a good idea.

No matter how hard she tried, Sydney couldn’t deny her attraction to him. She couldn’t pinpoint exactly what was driving her lust for the man. He was dangerous, hot, and sexy. And he would probably shatter her heart in a thousand pieces if she let him get close. No, she knew it wasn’t a good idea. He was a supernatural who could have any woman he wanted, and on top of that, he didn’t even live here. She knew practically nothing about him except the fact that she wanted to fuck his brains out, not exactly enough to start a relationship.

And then there was the little fact about his lying. Kade was not a run-of-the mill detective. He was not telling the truth, and she damn well knew it. She had enough of the lies. They were about to go into a fucked up situation that could get her ass killed, and she had a right to know what the hell was going on with him.
Enough of the games.
She kept driving and yelled over the rush of wind, “So Kade, what’s your deal? I can tell by your pretty shoes and overall style that you are
so
not a P-CAP detective. We are about to go into some shit, and I want to know what the hell is really going on.”

Kade knew the time was coming when she would confront him. She was not about to let him go on forever with the detective routine. He had to come clean, at least tell her part of the truth. “Ah, you're quick Detective Willows. Sorry to lie to you, love. You are correct that I'm not a detective, but I am in a position of authority in my world. So for the sake of argument, let’s just say that I'm a third party who is very interested in seeing this case come to an end expediently. As you know, Tristan is a close friend, and we have mutual interests. He requested my assistance, and I'm here to put a rest to this situation.”

“Okay, so you're telling me I'm about to go into a potentially deadly situation with an amateur?”
Just fucking great.

“My dearest, Sydney. I may be many things, love, but an amateur is not one of them. I have lived many centuries, fought many wars. I will protect you with my life,” Kade replied. “You must know that while I respect your desire to apprehend the perpetrators of this girl’s death, I have every reason to believe a vampire is responsible, and I will bring him to justice. That is all you need to know for now; this is the truth.”

Truth? Yeah right, mister sexy vampire. Whatever.
Sydney just kept on driving. Maybe he was telling the truth, maybe not. At this point, she had already made the decision to find Jennings and wasn’t about to turn around.

They pulled around the block noticing that the street was deserted, as if they were in a ghost town. The street was lined with row homes. Many were either boarded up or covered in graffiti. Sydney pulled her car into a parking space, which was not hard to find. She cased the street. At the end of the block, there were teenagers sitting on a porch, no one else. She shrugged, pretty normal given the neighborhood. “Okay, here’s the deal. I go around the front and you hit the back. See the house over there with the boarded up windows and red door? That’s it.”

Kade held up a hand in protest. “Sydney, there is no way you are going into that house alone.”

“Kade, I'm the detective, remember? We need an element of surprise. I’ll go in the front and you can come in from behind, scope out the house while I distract him. As you keep saying, I am a human, so Jennings will only see me and perhaps think I'm alone. He'll be surprised as long as he only sees me, not you.”

Kade raised a questioning eyebrow at Sydney. “What if Jennings doesn’t answer? What if a vampire answers? What then?”

“You vampires have some kind of preternatural senses, right? I promise I'll yell for you if I get even a hint that something is wrong. And then you can take him by surprise.”

Kade looked at the house and then back to Sydney. “Do you have weapons? Human or vampires, you need to be ready to defend yourself.”

Sydney quickly checked her ankle holster where she kept her secondary Sig Sauer. Before she left the station, she loaded it with wooden bullets in case she needed it for vamps. Her primary Sig Sauer in her shoulder holster was loaded with silver. If you shot a human or were with a silver bullet, the perp was going down either way. Sydney also kept a silver knife in a secret compartment in her sleeve and another one in the tip of her right boot. She looked over and said, “I’m good. I’ve got silver in this gun here, so at the very least, I can slow a vamp down.”

Kade reached for the door handle. Looking directly at Sydney, his eyes narrowed and his mouth tightened. “Look at me Sydney. If you sense anything off, call for me immediately. I will go around back and sneak in quietly so he doesn’t hear me, and search the back of the house while you distract him. I still don’t like this, but we’ll do this your way. If there is a vampire, stay out of the way and let me handle it. Do you understand?”

Sydney nodded. “Let’s roll.”

Before she could even get out of the car, Kade was gone.
Damn vamp speed.
Sydney approached the front door and knocked once. “Police. We’re just here to talk.” Nothing. She knocked again and yelled, “Police! Open up!” Again silence.
Fuck me. Here we go.
Sydney sucked a breath and kicked the door open, with her gun drawn and pointed. The house looked empty, but she knew that things weren’t always as they seemed. As she entered the building, the smell of urine and vomit hit her.
What the fuck?
She yelled into the darkness, “Who’s there? This is the police, just here to ask questions. Come out with your hands up and we'll talk. Let’s do this nice.”

While she heard nothing, she sensed she wasn’t alone. She reached into her vest and pulled out her flashlight. Flicking it on, she steadied her gun and proceeded into the darkness. As her eyes adjusted to the lack of light, she noticed movement across the room. It didn’t look like a person, more like a shadow. Slowly, she crept across the floor her eyes darting from side to side. When she approached the area where she’d seen the shadow, she shone the light on the floor: blood. Her skin pricked up the back of her neck. She knew she wasn’t alone but the person would not show themselves. Swiveling with the flashlight, she attempted to see who was in the room. In an instant, she jolted in pain as the thud of something hard hit her on her upper back. Sydney fell to the floor struggling to breathe as her face hit the bloodstained floor.

“What are you doing here? You are desecrating the ritual area, bitch! He will like you though. Yes, he will enjoy hearing you scream as he whips your flesh.”

Sydney pushed onto her side and looked up to see a dirty, apparently human, man. He was holding a fourteen inch, wooden baton, which she recognized as a martial arts tonfa. Overweight and bald, he could not be more than five-eight. His eyes were empty and cold as he held the baton above her. Sydney took a breath, gritted her teeth, turned all the way over so she was sitting on her bottom. Facing the guy straight on, she scooted backward into the corner using her hands and feet. She wanted to stand up and run, but was still reeling from the pain. She scanned the room looking for her gun that was somewhere on the floor out in the darkness. He did not know she had another gun, a surprise.
Just keep him talking.
“Jennings, is it?” He loomed above her refusing to reply. “Yeah, okay, don’t bother answering. Listen, I'm not going to hurt you. I just need to sit up.”

He laughed eerily, “You are going to suffer more than you ever thought possible. I don’t even care why you are here. Let’s just call it a fortunate circumstance. I will give you to my master. He will be happy with my gift. He will take everything from you while you bleed.”

Sydney knew this guy was a few cards short of a deck. She reached for her secondary gun.
Slowly.
He won’t know if you make him think you’re hurt.
“Jennings, I hurt my ankle. I just need to check it.” She continued reaching.
Almost there.
“I think I might have broken it in the fall. It hurts so badly.”

He pulled out a roll of duct tape. “Listen, this will go easier if you just put out your hands. If you can’t do it, I have no problem bashing your head in until you give up the fight. What’s it gonna be?”

Sydney saw the baton, the tape.
Shit, where the fuck was Kade?
As she reached her hand around the gun grip, a blur jetted across her vision, Jennings flew across the room. At the same time, she drew the Sig Sauer and fired. She coughed as dust scattered throughout the air. As the cloud settled, Sydney could make out a dead body slumped against the wall, Jennings was dead.

Sydney screamed out loud realizing the blur could have been Kade. Did she hit him? She knew that even a wooden bullet probably wouldn’t kill him but what if she had injured him?

Kade rushed to her side, lowering her gun. “Sydney, love, look at me. Are you okay? You are hurt. Let me see.” He could smell her sweet blood in the air.

While he was out back staking a rogue vamp, he heard a loud noise, immediately regretting his decision to allow her to go in alone. He should have been with her. Whoever was behind this was going to easily kill humans, and he knew it.

Flying into the room, Kade grabbed Jennings by the shoulders and thrust him hard against the brick wall. In an instant, Sydney had fired off a round landing the shot in Jennings’s chest. Kade heard his last heartbeat. And even though he was disappointed he didn’t get a chance to interrogate him, Sydney was okay. Bleeding yes, but she was alive.

Kade lifted Sydney’s hair noticing swelling on her upper back from the baton. Surprised at his touch, Sydney spun around out of Kade’s reach. She was scared and shaking. “Don’t touch me. I’m fine. It’s just a little blood. I’ll be fine.” Looking down at her hands, she saw the scrapes on her palms, the red blood streaking down her fingertips. Rubbing the blood off onto her pants, she stopped the flow.
Damn blood.
She knew he could smell it. “Please let’s just call this into the station so they can scrub the site for trace.” She didn’t want to appear vulnerable, weak. She wanted a shower, and a glass of wine. It wasn’t her first tussle with a fucked-up human, wouldn’t be her last.

“Sydney, you are hurt. Please let me help you.” He reached toward her again. This time, instead of recoiling, she let him embrace her in his strong arms. “Just because I can smell your blood that does not mean I am going to bite you. You are safe with me. Let’s get you home.” He could smell the lily fragrance in her hair. She was his responsibility. He wanted to take her to her home and tie her to the bed so she would stay the hell away from the vampire who was killing these girls. He didn’t care that she was a cop. Sure, she was strong and capable, but human nonetheless.

She shook her head no. “I’m fine Kade. It's just a bruise.” Although the pain was starting to subside, she wasn’t ready to get up.