Bless The Beauty (3 page)

“Nasty as it comes.” Ralph gave Mike’s hand a firm shake. “Glad to have you aboard on this one.

The entire city is in a panic.”

I laughed softly. “Wonder why? Some psycho offed seven young women and made them look like Barbie. Now, two more are hidden somewhere with no answers as to where they are.”

Mike shot an annoyed glance my way. Ralph squinted his eyes at me, a move that nearly made them vanish from sight. The warmness I’d witnessed before was now gone.

Yikes!
Then as if I said nothing at all, they completely ignored me, swiftly heading off down the hall.

“Not funny then, I take it?” I whispered to Chase.

He just laughed and shook his head.

“No one has a sense of humor anymore.” This was how I dealt with the bad. It might seem cruel at times but if I took it all too serious, getting through the emotional part of this would devour me. I may be a vampire, but it wasn’t how fantasy declared—I did have a soul.

Only a few steps down the hall, we stepped into a meeting room. I cringed the second I cleared the doors and saw the photos that hung on the walls. Seeing what the woman looked like before and what remained of them after was a bit much to take.

Pushing away the unhappiness that rose within me, I took a seat at the table beside Nick and placed my briefcase on the floor as Ralph said, “We’ve given up this workspace for you and your team.”

He pointed down the hall. “We’ve set up our group over there.”

Mike nodded respectfully. “You keep going at the investigation and we’ll start fresh.

Having both teams working independently can only help here.”

That statement almost made me laugh, yet I restrained myself to not get any more stare downs.

Mike was only saying that to keep the peace. He’d never let any other officer into our investigation, nor would he listen to what any of them had to say. He always made it appear as if he cared. I never knew why he bothered with such niceties.

Ralph grabbed the door handle and swung it open wider. “If we find anything new I’ll let you know.”

“Much appreciated,” Mike responded.

The moment Ralph closed the door behind him, Nick laughed. “Why do you placate them?”

Mike grinned with no shame. “Keeps them out of our hair.” We all laughed at the truth in that statement as Mike took a seat at the table. Once he sat, he hushed us with a wave of his hand. “All right, team. Let’s get to work.”

I took the file out of my briefcase and opened it. A picture of the blonde woman appeared before me. I let my mind drift away with thoughts as I tried to get an idea of who this Chad McKinney was. There wasn’t any hatred in these murders. He made them pretty, peaceful even. That scratched the idea that he was a sexual sadist. He appeared to love these women. However, I doubted he could really have known all nine.

“What are you thinking?” Mike asked.

As I glanced away from the photo to him, I saw that the question was directed at me.

I shrugged. “It’s the position of them. It keeps sticking out to me. Why is he doing this?

What compels a man to make his victims look…”

“Angelic,” Chase offered. When my confused gaze hit his, he looked down at the picture then those deep blue eyes met mine again. “When I first looked at the photos, that’s what came to my mind.

They look angelic in the poses he leaves them. So beautiful, almost perfect.”

I knew what he was saying was important and something I should focus on, but I found myself a little lost in those eyes. He was mine—every last little bit of him. There was nothing in Chase I didn’t love. More than once, I found myself acting like a lovesick puppy dog when he was around. Which apparently was what I was doing right now.

“I agree with Chase,” Mike said, breaking the love song playing in my head. I gave my head a good shake to find some sort of sense and focused on what Mike was saying.

“This is what stuck out to me too. From what I know, the police here haven’t ventured along this line. They have just pushed him to answer. I believe if we find out why he is doing this, figure out the meaning behind it all, it might be the way to break him. Get inside his head.”

I was about to voice just how much I wasn’t looking forward to getting into the messy mind of Chad McKinney when the door swung open. Heavy heels clicked against the floor.

I gasped as a shiver went straight through me. My entire body froze as my eyes stayed glued to the file in front of me.

No, this could not be happening. Not now. Not here.

“So, glad to see you could make it.” Mike’s chair scraped against the floor as he stood.

“The pleasure is all mine,” a man replied.

There was no need for me to look up. The man’s deep, smooth voice was enough to tell me who had just walked through the door. The energy that surrounded me was a dead giveaway.

I sucked in a deep breath, not wanting to look up, but compelled to do so. When I did, my maker—my vampire husband—Kellen Boyd stood before me.

Thirty years had passed since I’d seen him last. His look had changed slightly. Being an immortal, it wouldn’t be drastic, but there were subtle changes. Once long, his soft dark brown hair was now cut stylishly. I skipped his face for a moment, not wanting to meet his gaze. He was clad in a proper black suit and tie. As much as that all looked good, it was his marvellous body that I had enjoyed so many times that created this funny feeling in the pit of my stomach.

I shook my head to snap out of such thoughts. Then, that feeling that captured me washed away to annoyance. Before I could stop myself, I jumped to my feet and glared at him. “What are you doing here?” Part of me never wanted this day to come. The other part of me had anticipated this reunion. I was conflicted to say the least.

Kellen slowly looked away from Mike and glanced at me. His penetrating charcoal gaze was amused as well as delighted and his angular face quirked up at the side as a half grin spread across his lips.

Damn him for enjoying the situation he presently put me in. How was I going to explain this? To my team? To Chase? My mind reeled as I tried to figure out a way to put this. I kept coming up short of a good explanation that would leave me in a positive light.

A long silence filled the room until Mike finally cleared his throat. “You know each other?” His tone and expression was well beyond inquisitive.

Kellen’s grin spread to a full smile. The one that had, on every occasion and even now, stolen my breath. “We have been long acquainted.”

Chase immediately stood, glared at Kellen. His words came harsh through gritted teeth. “Is there a problem here, Hadley?”

Then, those accusing eyes left Kellen and closed in on me. I needed to ease the tension here.

Not just because I was being entirely obvious that Kellen and I had history together, but because Chase was ready to explode.

Chase…

My stomach gripped with sadness. Kellen had returned. My secret was about to explode out in the open and the pressure of guilt struck me like a sudden wave of motion sickness.

No!

Nothing would be the same. The life that I had grown to love for the last thirty years was about to be erased in a flash. And the very worst part, Chase was going to get hurt. I didn’t doubt for a single second that Kellen would be unable to hide his adoration for me.

As if to prove me right, he began to approach me. I was frozen in place and was sure my eyes were wide. But I couldn’t deny the excited energy that coursed through me. His gaze, his grin—it was all home to me. I might love Chase now, but Kellen, I would love forever. No amount of time would ever wash that away.

Kellen’s grin shifted to a sweet smile before he grabbed me by the arms and took me into a passionate kiss. As much as I wanted to fight against it, the moment his lips touched mine, I couldn’t deny myself. I sank into him as he parted my lips and let his tongue swipe across mine in a statement that said I was back where I belonged.

The kiss only lasted seconds. To me, it felt like hours. It lingered in every part of my body right down to my wobbly knees.

Slowly, but surely, Kellen drew away from my mouth. I met his gaze and assumed I looked as passionate as I felt since his expression screamed pride. My eyes felt droopy and my mouth still hadn’t closed from his kiss.

Before I had a chance to recover, Kellen was hammered to the ground. I snapped my head up to Chase who had just knocked him a good one in the shoulder.

“Get the fuck up,” Chase roared as he held his fists near his face, ready to kick some serious ass.

Kellen jumped to his feet, completely at ease. “She is mine to kiss.” His voice was steady and lacked any hint of guilt.

“Fuck you she is.” Chase pounced forward to deliver another round of punches. Nick immediately lunged from his chair, wrapped his arms around Chase and held him back.

I glanced between the men without a clue what to do here. I was still recovering from the effects of Kellen’s mouth against mine after so many years. I had wondered when the day would come that he would return for me and I felt out of control now that it was upon me.

What would happen now? Would my job be over? Would Kellen make me return with him to wherever he lived now? Would I go back to being by his side? Would he force me to be the woman I used to be—voiceless and submissive to his wants and needs?

Mike cleared his throat again, louder this time. “I take it you know him then, Hadley?”

It took me a moment to gather myself to look at him. When I did, I slowly nodded.

“He’s…” I hesitated a moment, searching for the right word then said the only thing I could think of, “…an old boyfriend.”

“I’d say it is a little more official than that,” Kellen said, dismayed. Instantly, I shot him a look to shut it, but he just grinned happily and continued. “I am her husband.”

Chase’s anger immediately washed away as he pulled himself free of Nick then turned an accusing gaze on me. “An ex-husband, right?”

Kellen chuckled deeply, wrapped an arm around me. “Unlikely, bloke.”

Chase stared at me, betrayal hard in his eyes. Finally, after a long lingering moment, he whispered, “You’re married?”

All I could do was nod, ashamed and horrified at the betrayal that passed across his features. I had wanted to explain this to him so many times, but I doubted he’d understand. It was complicated.

But now, I wished I had to courage to tell him, then I wouldn’t be standing here watching Chase’s heart break into a million pieces.

Mike cleared the stifling air by saying, “Chase, I know you are protective of a team member, but what Hadley does with her personal life is her own business.” Then, he turned a speculative gaze on me.

“Why she never told us she was married is within her rights.” He waved out, clearly done with this whole conversation. “Let’s get back to what matters here please.”

I felt sick as I took my seat. With Kellen’s arm draped over my shoulder, he wasn’t helping any.

Chase’s anger oozed off him beside me, but he also knew better than to continue to make a scene. His job was important to him. He wouldn’t risk losing his job over this. Instead, he said nothing and sat simmering in fury. That was almost worse than being ripped apart for my betrayal.

Mike took his seat, let out a long deep breath before he began. “I’ve brought Kellen in here to assist in the interrogation of McKinney.”

I snapped my gaze to Kellen’s in outrage. “What?” There was no way I heard that right!

Kellen brushed his fingers across my cheek in a slow, gentle caress. “I was curious about your fascination with the FBI, so I joined the bureau.”

I held back a roll of my eyes. I’d worked my way to the top, just like your average mortal. I suspected Kellen wouldn’t degrade himself by such behaviour and probably just mind warped his way in.

“They’ve got McKinney set up down the hall, continuing their interrogation on him,”

Mike said, ignoring my shock again to keep us on the right track. “I think it’s about time we go and take a look at him. See what we’re up against here.”

This didn’t surprise me. It was protocol to sit in and watch the interrogation of the current men handling the case. To look for flaws in their work and see minute details they couldn’t. But right now, I could care less about this McKinney—my thoughts were too selfish to think of others.

The chairs all slid out and snapped me away from my internal hell. One chair however, remained frozen.

Chase sat head bowed to the table. I reached out to touch his arm as tenderly as I could.

“Chase.”

My hand was only inches from his arm when he pulled away and stood. When he met my gaze, my stomach clenched with dread. I never wanted to see that hatred burn in his eyes. I was the enemy and his rage for me was clear. Without a word, he walked past me.

At the same moment, Kellen took my hand. Instantly, I yanked it away. “Don’t touch me.” Seeing that look in Chase’s eyes pulled me into a hole of despair. When Kellen touched me, all I felt was anger.

If he hadn’t come, Chase wouldn’t be feeling the way he was. This was all Kellen’s fault.

Kellen grinned, calm and collected as he always was. “Is that any way to speak to your husband?”

I couldn’t do a thing, say anything—all I could do was swim in my own sadness. I controlled nothing and my mind wouldn’t allow me the right to make sense out of anything. My only thought was the look in Chase’s eyes, the raw pain there. I was a bitch. A cold, hard and nasty bitch. Shame engulfed my mind.

Mike opened the door to the meeting room and glanced back at me. “Go take a ride with Kellen, Hadley. Cool off and sort this out. I need your mind focused.”

“No—I—” I sputtered.

He raised his hand, stopping my jumbled speech, and my mouth closed accordingly.

“We don’t need distractions now. Sort this out so you can get your mind back in the game. Don’t return until you have. That is an order.”

Dammit, an order was an order. What could I say? No? Not likely. Resolved, I did the only thing I could and nodded. I didn’t really have a choice here. But this went so much deeper than Mike assumed.