Dead Man Running: Book Two - Supernatural Bounty Hunter Romance Novellas (7 page)

Chapter Ten

The doorbell rang.  Viktor impatiently leapt to his feet.  “It’s open,” he called.

Yes, finally.

He growled lustfully as the ambrosial scent of roses assaulted his senses.
Oh, no. 
Her heels clicked on the floor, and soon enough his beautiful mate was stood before him, hands on hips and a smirk on her face.

Viktor shook his head, ignoring her fragrance.  “What… what are you doing here?”

Alma gave him a fake huff.  “Charmed I’m sure.”

Viktor bit his tongue before he actually started yelling.  “Not that I’m not pleased to see you, my darling…”

“Oooh, your house is so nice.”  Alma ignored him and started idling round the house, fingering furniture, and inspecting various pieces of artwork.

He ground his teeth.  “But, I was hoping…”

“It’s weird that I’ve never been to your house in the last four years.  Not once!”  She nodded approvingly.  “You have nice taste.”

“I have spectacular taste, but that’s beside the point…”

Alma stalked toward him and gave him a lip-smacking kiss.  She smothered her hands over his hard chest, and he sighed pleasurably.  “So?  What’s first?” she asked eagerly.

Viktor frowned, before a look of horror swept over his face.  “What do you mean?”

She hung her arms round his neck and giggled girlishly.  Warning bells started ringing for Viktor.  “I’m here to help you catch Julian.”

Oh, hell no!
  Viktor placed his hands on her shoulders firmly.  His eyes pinned her with a stony look.  “Not happening.”

Alma knocked his hands away and stamped her foot.  “Yes, it is Viktor.  You want help, and here I am.”

Viktor folded his arms resolutely.  “It’s too dangerous.”

The hell it is!
  “Ugh!  I’m not a child Viktor…”

He snorted.  “Yes, obviously, I can tell by the way you’re pouting and stamping your feet.”

“I can take care of myself.  I took care of myself for, umm, 25 years before I met you.”  Her eyes darted around; she had a bit of trouble remembering how old she said she was when they met.

Viktor would chuckle if he weren’t so certain it would hurt her feelings.  She’d been lying about her age since the day they met. 
He could care less about her age
.

“Look, Alma…”

“Look, Viktor, no one else is available.  It’s me or nothing.”  She watched him through narrowed eyes,
so help him god if he chose nothing
.

“No one?”  His first choice would be Marcus, but the snake shifter already said he was busy.  “What about Logan?  Or Zara?  Or Adam?”

Alma shook her head.  “All out on jobs.”

“How about that polar bear you use now and again?”

“In Norway visiting family.”

Viktor chewed his cheek.  “Don’t you have a rhino on the books?”

“In jail for horse rustling.”

His eyes widened, horse rustling? 
No, now wasn’t the time
.  “How about that new fox?  Ummm, Noah!  Or even that vixen Jackson was fondling?  Or Jackson?  Is he available?” 
God, he really was desperate.

“Nope, I’m all you’ve got,” she told him triumphantly.

Viktor tensed unhappily.  He desperately didn’t want to drag his mate into this, but he also didn’t want to hurt her feelings.  “Does Marcus know you’re here?”

“Of course!” she lied, confidently.  “Who do you think sent me here?”

Viktor eyed her narrowly,
impressed at what an accomplished liar she was
.  She wasn’t twitching, or sweating and her heartbeat barely even flickered.  There was no way that Marcus would send Alma out to catch anyone.

Alma called his bluff.  “If you don’t believe me, why don’t you call Marcus?”

Judging by the jut of her chin, she wasn’t going to back down.  His own resolve wavered.  Every instinct he had told him she was lying. 
Yet, she was insistent and even dared him to call her bluff
. 

He could just imagine how angry she would be if he did call Marcus.  She’d say he didn’t trust her, and he doubted her word.  Even if she were a dirty, rotten liar, she’d still manage to wangle the moral high ground. 
Twisty, turny witch
.

Viktor scrubbed a hand over his face and groaned testily.  “Fine!  You can come with me.”

Alma almost gave a victory dance.  “Oh, this is going to be great!  You’ll see; we’re going to have so much fun!”

“No, no
we won’t.  We’re hunting down a vampire who probably doesn’t want to be found, and then we’re going to have to drag him back, kicking and screaming.  Nothing about this will be fun.”

She nodded solemnly, hiding her inner glee. 
Potentially murderous vampire aside; she was going to spend time with her mate, and prove to him just how capable and brave she could be.

“Absolutely, I promise not to have fun.”

“Stop smiling!” he snapped.

“I’m sorry; I'm just pleased to be spending time with my mate.”  She sniffed delicately and pursed her pretty lips.  “We get so little time together, and I’m so grateful for this opportunity.”

Oh crap, he was screwed!
  He softened and drew her into his arms, kissing the tip of her pretty nose.  “You’re an evil manipulator, you know that right?”

Alma snaked her arms round his waist.  “Hmmm, I’m told it’s one of my better qualities.”

Viktor felt his resolve totally float away.  He kissed her neck and nipped her skin playfully.  “I think you have some much better qualities, which I’d like to explore, but…”

Damnit
, he had to find Julian
.

“
Mmmm, later baby.  Now, let’s go catch us a dead man!”

Chapter Eleven

Viktor growled at the heavily tattooed, and obscenely muscled, gorilla shifter bartender. They were in Plasma, a bar that catered to vampires, and one of Julian’s many favorite haunts.

Alma was studying the drinks menu, emitting outraged sounds at the prices. The bartender was leering at her, with unadulterated lust.
Viktor wanted to murder him
.

He swallowed his fury and forced himself to act civilly.  They’d been to five other bars already, all to no avail. 
No one had seen, or heard anything from Julian
.

Viktor cleared his throat, and reluctantly the bartender dragged his eyes away from the luscious witch.  Viktor slung an arm around Alma; the gorilla wasn’t taking his subtle hints.

Viktor opened his mouth to speak, only to be elbowed sharply in the stomach.  He gave Alma a light growl before plastering a smile on his face.

They’d already tried numerous hotels,
the high-end hotels that Julian would go to anyway
, and after making no progress they moved onto places Julian frequented.  After the third bar they visited, it soon became clear that men responded much more positively to Alma than they did to Viktor.  After a terse argument, it was decided that Alma would do the talking.

Viktor was all for beating the hell out of them to get information, rather than have to endure them flirting with his mate, but Alma pointed out that they were trying to stealthy
. Broken bones and bruised faces were not stealthy.

Alma giggled inanely whilst unobtrusively pushing her breasts together.  Viktor scented the gorilla’s arousal and quivered trying to hold himself back.

Alma sensed his discomfort and slid a hand down his back, cupping his ass.  Viktor bit his tongue and dug his claws into his palms, somewhat mollified with the suggestive touch of his mate.

Alma put on her squeakiest voice. “I heard the vampire who killed those two girls, drinks here.”

The gorilla smirked.  “He sure does; he comes in here all the time.”

Viktor almost barked with laughter;
the gorilla was actually trying to impress her with that tidbit of information.

Alma’s eyes lit up in mock excitement.  “Is he here right now?” She whipped her head around the bar, searching.

The gorilla’s smile faltered a little.  “Not right now… but he might be in later. You could wait here at the bar, with me.”

Viktor growled furiously.  The
gorilla could see Alma was with him, and yet he was almost propositioning her.  It was downright disrespectful. 
He should teach this shifter some damn manners!

The
gorilla sneered at Viktor and drew himself up to his full height. Viktor snorted; the shifter was delusional if he thought he was any match for a vampire.

Alma quickly diffused the situation.  She said goodbye to the
gorilla and told him she might come back later, whilst tugging Viktor out of there.

Finally ensconced in his car, Viktor roared in fury. 
The insolence of the shifter was unbelievable
.

Alma ignored him and inspected her make-up in the flip-down mirror.  She applied a fresh coat of lipstick and made a kissing motion.  “If you’ve finished with your hissy fit, where to now?”

Viktor huffed.  He had to keep reminding himself what they were actually trying to do. 
Alma was proving to be more of a distraction than he ever would have guessed.

If he wasn’t aroused by her nearness, and desperate to push her against a wall and take her, he was furious, and raged at any man who had the nerve to ogle her. He kept forgetting that their main objective was to find Julian.

“I don’t know,” he said quietly.  “Can you try scrying for him again?”

“I could, but it didn’t work the last three times, so I doubt it will work this time either.”

Alma’s magic wasn’t strong enough to find the powerful vampire.

Alma slipped out of her seat and climbed over his lap. Viktor rested his hands on her hips.

She ran her hands up and down his chest. “So, what can we do?”

“Well, no one I can ask has seen him; he hasn’t been near his favorite places; he hasn’t checked into a hotel, and we can’t use magic to find him.”

Alma laid her head on his shoulder.  “Sooooo?”

“So, I have no fucking clue.”

Alma snuggled into his chest.  True, they had no idea where Julian actually was, but this was really nice.  Spending time together outside of her apartment was pleasant,
although time together in her apartment was awfully nice too.

“Maybe we could set a trap for him? We could make him come out of hiding.”

Viktor snickered. “I doubt a pine cone slathered in peanut butter is going to do it.”

Alma
huffed.  “And you call yourself a bounty hunter?”

“No, generally I call myself Viktor, although I would answer to love machine.”

“Spoken like someone who can remember the ‘70’s.  No, we just need to think of something that would entice him out.  I mean, we’re okay, at the moment.  His court date hasn’t passed yet, so he’s not technically on the run, but when it does… it’s going to be bad.  What does Julian want, more than anything in the world?”

Viktor pondered that.  Julian was 1000 years plus in age; there wasn’t much he hadn’t done or seen. Julian enjoyed life’s pleasures, but he had become jaded in a way that Viktor prayed he never
would. 
What on earth did Julian want?

Viktor’s eyes flashed, and he grinned. 
Of course, it was the same thing Viktor wanted
.

Alma nibbled his earlobe. “That was a light-bulb moment if ever I saw one.  What’s the plan, dead man?”

He picked at an imaginary piece of lint on Alma’s skirt. “Nothing much, we just need to get the charges dropped against Julian and…”

“What
?!”  Alma sat up so quickly she banged her head on the car’s low ceiling. 

She scowled at Viktor as she rubbed her head,
indicating she thought that was totally his fault
.  “You’re not serious?”  

Viktor tried to inspect her bump, but his hand was irritably slapped away.  “I’m very serious. If the charges were dropped, Julian could come back, and reclaim his position on the Council. I’m fairly sure that’s the only thing that would tempt him back.”

Alma frowned at him doubtfully.  “I’m not sure…”

Viktor became animated on the topic.  “I know Julian didn’t do this, and he knows he didn’t do this.  If we can prove it, then I’m sure he’ll stop running.”

“We’re not exactly detectives…”

Viktor harrumphed.  “If Detective
Leeman can do it, anyone can.”

Alma groaned theatrically;
Viktor sure could hold a grudge
.  “For heaven’s sake, Viktor!  We went on one date, and it was before I even met you!”

“I could care less about that,” he lied, blatantly.

“Yeah, right.”  She bopped him on the nose.

“What was that for?”

Her lips twitched.  “Just making sure your nose isn’t growing too much.”

“Oh ha, ha, ha!  Come on!  I’m telling you; the only way to get Julian back is to clear his name.”

Viktor traced his finger in circles over her hip.  “Unless you want Marcus to get stuck paying that million dollar bond?”

Alma looked at him sourly. 
No way did she want that
.  Both she and Marcus had spent years building up that business; a million dollar loss wouldn’t be easy to recover.  She just wasn’t sure about running around trying to solve a murder. 
Chasing people was one thing; solving crime was a whole other ballpark.

“No,” she admitted reluctantly.  “I don’t want that.”

“Then it’s settled!”

“Aren’t you concerned about people seeing us together?” she asked him, archly.  “I am your dirty little secret after all.”

Viktor let his fangs drop, and he licked his tongue over the razor sharp points suggestively.  “My darling, you can be very dirty with me, but in this instance we should be okay.  Although maybe we shouldn’t touch each other in public.”

“Says the vamp who just openly groped me in every single bar and hotel we’ve visited.”  Alma clambered off his lap into the passenger seat, he almost whined at the loss of her warm flesh against his.  “It’ll be sunrise soon; we should get going.”

Viktor grumbled as they set off.  Alma stared out of the tinted windows, arms folded.  She blinked when they arrived at his house.

“Aren’t you taking me home?”

Viktor groaned.  “I’m sorry; I wasn’t thinking.  I can…”

Alma beamed at him.  “No, no, no, let’s not be too hasty.  I’ve never spent the night at your place before…”

“And tonight will be no exception,” snapped Viktor, rapidly pulling away and zooming toward Alma’s apartment.

Alma sulked and threw him disagreeable looks the whole journey.  On arriving, she bounded out of the car and slammed the door shut, making the frame shake ferociously.  She stomped up to her apartment without a backward glance.

Unlocking the door it was to find Viktor already hovering. 
Damn, speedy vampire
.  Alma swept past him haughtily.

Viktor squared his shoulders defiantly.  “My darling, I’m not going to apologize for keeping you safe.  I’m sorry, but that’s just the way I am.”

She groaned and muttered the word ‘idiot.’  She marched into the bedroom and slipped out of her dress. 

Viktor followed, with a puppy dog look on his face.  He almost panted as she uncovered her lithe, sumptuous body.  He clenched his jaw as his hard manhood strained against his pants.

“It won’t be like this forever…”

“It just feels like it,” she groused.

Alma disappeared into the bathroom, wiping away her make-up and brushing her teeth.  Viktor slumped on the edge of her bed, leaning his elbows on his knees.

“I don’t think I’ve ever said it, but thank you.”

Alma leaned on the door jam, wearing an oversized t-shirt.  “For what?”

Viktor leapt toward her and kneeled in front of her.  “For putting up with me, for being patient with me and for loving me.  These last four years have been… hard, I won’t deny that, but they were nothing compared to the hundreds of years I spent before them, waiting to meet you.  I love you Alma Beulah Flores, and I thank the stars every day that you came into my life.”

Alma rubbed her lips together and blinked back tears. 
She gave herself a mental slap, and told herself to stop being so soppy.
  “I really regret telling you my middle name.”

He chuckled and ran his hands up and down her smooth legs.  “And thank you, for agreeing to help me with Julian.  That was a good idea, about the trap I mean.”

She preened and wiggled her hips saucily.  “Thanks, I got the idea from Detective Leeman.  He really is such a clever young man.” 

She sniggered as Viktor growled and swiftly lifted her up and threw her on the bed. 
Infuriating witch.

Alma licked her lips expectantly as Viktor stripped, exposing his hard, muscled body.  “My darling, when I’m finished with you, you will barely even remember your own name, never mind the name of that mangy lion.”

“Promises, promises, vampy.”