Dead Shifter Walking (17 page)

I sighed, looking up at him, shrugging. “That’s
your decision.”

He gave me a long look before leaving. I didn’t
understand what was happening beneath his gaze, and I didn’t
care.

“So, wanna go on a goose chase today?” I asked
with false excitement rubbing my hands together.

Blake raised an eyebrow, still smiling. “Why
not?”

Making our way back to the living room, I found
Tate alone sitting at the same sofa where we had left him. “What’s
wrong?” I asked unnerved by his stillness and sheer lack of
emotion.

Tate leaned back, staring at something off in
the distance. “The Vampire Council has been alerted to what is
occurring here,” he said, bringing his attention to me before
standing. “Since we are the test subjects on our coming out, they
find our…” he hesitated, trying to find the right word,
“developments very entertaining.”

I cringed. Politics were annoying; vampire
politics tempted me to an already earlier grave. Tate must be the
master of the Centennial house, and from the sounds of it, their
revealing themselves was not on his to-do list, but the Vampire
Council ran all the houses across the world, no matter Tate’s
disapproval of their decision.

I blew out a breath, forcing a confidence I
didn’t really feel. “No worries; we’ll figure this out.”

Tate nodded, his attention back to his own
thoughts. Blake tugged my hand, pulling me away from his dismal
master. He kept my hand, pulling me close in the hallway, his slow
smile showing just the tips of his fangs. My eyes were consumed by
that view.

Gently, he pushed a gun into the back of my
pants, his fingers running over the delicate flesh, before slipping
my favorite throwing dagger into my back pocket, letting his hands
graze my panty line.

“How did you get those?” I asked huskily.

“You were out of it for a while. I had to get
your affairs in order,” he said, moving away, leading me to the
garage and his own version of a beast.

I laughed as he clicked the garage door open;
boys and their toys.

“So, my fair lady, where are we headed?” Blake
asked, sliding behind the wheel.

Nestling my head against the plush leather, I
exhaled verbally, organizing a to-do list. “Well, my dear driver, I
need to head to Thurgood High School and interview the teachers and
nurse. I also need to follow up with Kass to be sure everything is
going smoothly. And I need to catch up with Mercer on the
investigation. Oh, and I probably need to figure out if this
connection with the undead goes both ways.”

Blake tapped the steering wheel, backing out of
the garage. “How about we hit up Mercer at the police station
first?”

I nodded, organizing all the things I needed to
ask him.

Chapter 10

The police station was silent as we parked and
headed in. This time, I had the forethought to stop for coffee for
myself and Mercer.

Finding Mercer’s desk empty, Blake and I perched
on the edge, trying not to scare the other occupants of the police
station. At least, I was trying not to scare them; Blake may have
been smiling so widely they all got a shot at his extended canines.
Giving him a playful shove, I raised an eyebrow as I leaned towards
him. “Quit it,” I whispered.

Blake feigned innocence, moving his attention to
something behind me. Turning, I offered Mercer his coffee, which he
ignored. Standing up, I turned to face him, setting his coffee on
an empty space on his cluttered desk. Mercer was angry. Aside from
the hot scent I was picking up, he had yet to make eye contact with
me.

“Mercer?” I tried softly as he sat down
forcefully in his chair.

He finally raised his light eyes to my own.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, gently leaning toward him as Blake twisted
around to watch him.

His lips pulled away from his teeth in a snarl,
slamming his hands on the desk as he catapulted towards me. “What’s
wrong?” he hissed, looking disgustedly at Blake then at me.

“Did you think you could manipulate me that
easily?” he hissed, pressing his finger just under my collarbone.
“I know what you are, demon; you’re not welcome here anymore.”

I felt my heart constrict and a cold frost
gripped my heart. Closing my eyes, I turned away from him, walking
out of the police station. Blake stayed to growl something nasty at
Mercer, I’m sure, but I didn’t even bother. I had defended myself
until I was blue in the face; once they called me demon, they never
came back around, but more importantly, I didn’t want or need him.
I sighed, shoving my hands in my pockets as Blake unlocked the SUV,
grumbling.

Blake drove in silence for a few minutes before
saying anything. “He’s wrong, Olivia,”

Resting the back of my head against his leather
headrest, I answered, “It doesn’t matter, Blake. He has made his
decision.” I shrugged. Mercer was meaningless, but it was an
important lesson, I was letting others too close. My guards had
been fractured; where, I couldn’t recall, but now, more than ever,
I needed to bolster them.

I needed to keep anyone and everyone away from
my emotions; they were dangerous to me. I had learned how to
control mine long ago, but the damage others could wreck on me,
that was where the real danger lay.

“You are not a demon,” he said as if it were
important I believed that.

I gave him a small smile, reaching out to pat
his forearm. “It doesn’t matter, Blake. This isn’t new; it never
will be.” I sighed, turning my attention back to the road; I just
wished it wouldn’t sting so badly, but that’s what happens when I
let my guard down. Foolish, foolish me.

The simple truth was that I didn’t know if being
a succubus was being a demon. All the lore I had ever encountered
claimed we were soul suckers that could twist and take the soul of
a human. Thus far, with all the horrible things I had seen and
done, that had not made my list of abilities. If this case was
teaching me anything, it was that to take a soul of another being
took a hatred and evilness that I had yet to acquire. Give it time,
though; a few more people turning on me, and I might change my
tune.

Blake blew out a breath he didn’t need before
asking, “Where to now?”

I squinted at the midday sun exhaling my own
breath, “You wouldn’t happen to know where Thurgood Marshall is
located?”

Blake pulled over, shifting the SUV into park
before using the large touch-screen console. “I do not; however, I
can find it.”

I smiled. “Well, ain’t you fresh and modern for
an old fella,” I said, trying my best Southern accent on.

His look was priceless, and I couldn’t help but
throw my head back, laughing, which seemed to make him happy as he
sported his own smile, selecting the correct settings before
pulling back onto the road, his GPS system guiding us.

Chapter 11

Two hours later, we pulled into the elite,
private, and difficult-to-get-into Thurgood Marshall High School.
Without Blake’s ability to glamour the guards, I would have had to
hog-tie them just to make it past the first set of gates. Having a
partner was turning out to be handy—my mood soured when I thought
of Mercer’s anger and dismissal—handy but dangerous for my
underworked emotions.

Walking up the stone steps of the castle-like
structure, I tried to organize a plan of attack here. “Principal
first?” I asked with a half shrug.

Blake shook his head. “Who do you want to talk
with first? The principal will probably shut us down and have us
escorted out forcefully.”

I thought about that as we continued up the
stairs to the large ornately carved wooden doors. Blake held the
door open for me as I answered. “The nurse, I am hoping, will have
information regarding their medical history. Speaking of which, did
Gunner find anything from the samples?” I asked, as we headed down
the long hallway lined with lockers.

Blake shook his head. “I’m not sure.”

The nurse’s office was thankfully vacant of
students, and Blake didn’t need to glamour her long in order to
gain her cooperation.

Probably due to Blake’s gorgeous smile, this
plump, middle-aged nurse was willing to divulge all sorts of
private and personal information with a gentle nudge. Apparently
HIPPA didn’t apply to supernaturals; I’d have to remember that for
future reference.

“You didn’t notice anything strange or out of
the ordinary about the students in question?” Blake asked, leaning
forward in his seat, batting those brilliant baby blue eyes.

I kept back, trying to be invisible, as Blake
continued the seduction of information.

She tilted her head, tapping a finger against
her chin. “The only thing they all had in common, to my knowledge,
was that they all needed blood work and physicals for a new program
Mr. Davis was organizing.”

“Is Mr. Davis available this afternoon?” Blake
asked seamlessly.

She twisted her fingers hesitantly. “Lauren?”
Blake prompted temptingly as her shoulders relaxed, tilting her
head to the side dreamily.

She smiled. He hadn’t used glamour more than
once. Amazing, I had seriously underestimated his skills.

She peeked up at him through lowered lashes,
blushing at his suave smile.

“He took some time off, but I might know his
home address,” Lauren said, biting on her bottom lip.

Blake balanced an elbow on her desk mirroring
her enamored expression. “What would it take to get said address?”
he whispered.

Blushing again, she sent a gaze my way, her face
falling, remembering I was still there. Standing up quickly, I
pulled my phone out. “Call,” I said abruptly, fleeing the room to
give him privacy.

I sighed against the closed door, moving away
from it once the soft moaning began; I didn’t want to hear any of
that.

I was sitting in the waiting room, as far as I
could get from the closed door, when Blake emerged, wiping his
mouth. Cringing, I stood and headed to the door when his hand
turned me towards him. “What?” I asked briskly.

“I didn’t sleep with her,” he said, breathless,
his blue eyes boring into my own.

I blinked; a few choice responses flooding my
brain. “It’s none of my business,” I said, turning to open the
door, he turned me towards him again.

My irritation spiked, and I let it flow into his
hand. “Shit,” he said, pulling back and staring at his hand.

I crossed my arms across my chest. “Why is it so
important that I know this?” I asked.

He glanced at his hand then back to me, stepping
closer. “It is,” he said with heavy emphasis on both words.

I shook my head, exiting the nurse’s waiting
room and got into the SUV. I left it at that, but he didn’t. “What
was that?” he asked, sparing a glance my way.

“You mean what you felt?” I asked to his nod.
“My emotions, I didn’t bother to hold them in.” I shrugged. “It
usually doesn’t hurt.”

He shook his head. “It didn’t; it was just
different.” He flexed his large hand against the steering wheel
before asking, “Can you do that with all your emotions?”

“Yes,” I answered, regarding him warily. I had a
sinking feeling where this was going.

“Man, sex with you must be amazing,” he said,
giving me a boyish grin.

I rolled my eyes. Yep, that’s exactly where I
thought it was going.

“What?” he asked as I turned to look out my
window.

“Nothing, Blake,” I said sadly.

“Shit, Olivia, I didn’t mean—” he started before
I interrupted him.

“You didn’t mean to imply that the only reason
anyone ever sleeps with me is due to enhanced sensations?” I asked
coldly.

“Shit,” he said again, going silent.

Yep, right. I sighed, attempting to lighten my
mood. “Being the Kitten makes me a trophy fuck as well,” I said,
trying for a smile, but thinking it was more of a grimace.

Blake huffed a response, and I shut up.

I was staring out at the landscape, hunched into
myself, when Blake’s cell phone went off. He cast me a look before
hitting a button on his steering wheel, sending Mallory’s angry
voice into the SUV’s speakers.

“Get your ass over here now, Blake. If I have to
deal with these malicious, sick, and demented protestors any
longer, I am going to kill them all.” She over pronounced each
word, making it drip with venom.

Blake rested his head against the headrest as we
moved onto the freeway. “Mallory, I am with Olivia attempting to
hunt down the beast responsible for the killings; can this
wait?”

“No,” she hissed and hung up.

Blake exited the highway and got back on going
the other direction pounding the steering wheel with an intensity
that had me taking a peek at the muscles in his clenching jaw.

I reached over and tapped his hand. “Do you want
some help with you anger?” I asked softly.

“No,” he growled at me, “I am not the
out-of-control shifter.”

I smiled, running my eyes over the flexing
muscle in his bicep. “No, you are not,” I said quietly.

An hour later, we were at the Centennial
Compound. I meant that in the exact definition of the word
"compound." It was an old castle they had restored on the outskirts
of town, complete with a moat, and exterior guard wall. We parked
in the modern and out-of-place parking garage walking to the
elaborately carved wooden gates.

Blake stalked quickly down stairwells into the
basement and I jogged to keep up with his long strides. The
security let me pass since I was with the head of security, but I
did receive a few looks. Barreling into a steel door, I bumped into
his back, squeaking slightly. He kept blocking the door with his
massive frame as Mallory started yelling at him.

“DO you have any idea what I have been putting
up with all fucking day?” she yelled. “Those fucking religious
fanatics have been throwing holy water on our people! Attacking
them with silver! Where the fuck have you been?”