Kade's Dark Embrace (Immortals of New Orleans) (5 page)

After eating her food, she padded into the elevator, ready to get some clues from the coroner. As the elevator doors opened on the basement floor, Sydney and Tony walked down the long, gray corridor that led to the morgue. The overhead lights flickered, providing a dim path to their destination. She had walked this hallway more times than she cared to count, but every time she did, the gray walls reminded her that she was there to face death. No amount of fresh paint could make it seem like just another hallway in the building.

She pushed ahead of Tony through the black, double doors that led into the autopsy room. The smell of death hit her as the air wafted into her nose. It was something she never got used to, but it reminded her of why she became a cop. Someone’s life was stolen. The girl was dead, and she would catch the bastard who did it. Glancing around for a mask and gloves, she leaned over the body looking at the girl’s wrists. “Hey there, Ada. So, what ya got?”

Ada looked up through her plastic mask. “It’s a damn shame. This city is filled with some sick fucking bastards, but this one...he just...well, come see.” She gestured down to the girl’s torso.

Sydney peered over the now naked body. The translucent skin seemed to float over the young woman’s muscles. Her body was littered with small cuts and marks, but none appeared to be deep. Sydney gritted her teeth and took a deep breath, “She was tortured, wasn’t she?”

Ada kept taking samples from the body as she spoke, “Tortured? That would be a yes. Not sure what made all the cuts, but looks like she was possibly whipped with something. Maybe cut with a small knife of some sort. And these...,” she pointed to the girls wrists. “Looks like she was bound with rope. I found some fibers embedded in her skin, still waiting on trace. As for the cause of death, we are looking at exsanguination. How she lost the blood? Not sure yet, but there is no blood left in this poor girl’s body.”

Tony spoke up, “So we have a tortured girl who is drained of all her blood? Sounds like a vampire, which would mean we have to turn this case over to P-CAP. But, there are no bite marks on her, so that means it could still be ours. What's the deal with the tattoos on her body...on her face?”

Ada pointed to the girl’s breasts. “Well it looks like he not only tattooed her face, but tattooed something here. This poor girl suffered before she died. I’m estimating that she’s been dead for a day or so but the water sped up decomp.”

Sydney pointed to the tattoo on the girl’s breast. “The tat...it looks like a sun, but the face, it’s strange. It's possible she got the tattoos on her own.”

Tony looked at the girl’s sallow face. “Maybe, hard to tell with the decomp. There's something going on here that makes my skin crawl. What if the tats are ritualistic?”

Sydney was about to comment when she felt him around her. Kade.
What the hell is going on? It is him, and how do I know it is him?
She spun around to find Kade’s ice blue eyes staring at her.

He looked over at the body and started walking toward them. “Very observant. The tattoo is the Sun god Huitzilopochtli. He symbolizes a belief in the afterlife. Could be a ritual, or could be nothing.”

Sydney looked over at Ada, seeking her input. Ada shrugged. She could not believe this fucking shit. Kade had already been down here and talked to Ada first.
Goddammit.
“So, I take it you have been down here already? And if you have, you’ve ascertained that this is our case, not yours. It was great meeting you, detective Kade, or whoever you really are, but we’ve got this. It would really make me happy if we could just get to work now. So...ugh...you can go,” she ordered, as if that would really make Kade leave.

Kade was losing patience with this human. He glared over at Sydney. “Well as much as I would like to make you happy, and trust me Miss Willows, I would, but I have already talked to your superior, and it looks like you and I will be working together from now on. As you well know, when there is even the slightest chance of paranormal activity on a case, P-CAP has a right to request a co-investigation. I requested. Your department has agreed.”

Sydney’s face reddened. She was thinking of how good it would feel to scream every curse word in the book at him, but professionalism was important on these so-called 'co-investigations', and she would not let this man shake her. She took a deep breath and exhaled, “Okay then. This is how it's going to be; this is my city and my ass on the line. I don’t expect much from the people I work with, but I do expect honesty. I'm telling you right now that I'm not putting up with your P-CAP secret shit. If you know something, you share it and vice versa.” She wasn’t going to bring up the fact he was lying to her, or question him about how he really knew Tristan.

Standing his ground, Kade steeled himself. “Agreed. Now, how about we get out of here and walk through the case? For the record, I know there are no bite marks, but I still suspect the perp is a vampire. We certainly prefer to bite our donors to satisfy our nutritional needs and our sexual appetites, but there are other ways to drain a body to get the blood. Our saliva could heal the wounds even as death occurs, so you might not see bites on the victim. I intend to ask my vampire contacts to see if there has been any strange activity in town.”

Sexual appetite?
Sydney did not think she could look any redder, but Kade mentioning sex made her flush. She thought for a moment about what it would be like to have Kade’s lips on her neck, his teeth grazing her tanned skin, biting her, drinking as he thrust into her. She felt warmth pooling downward, desire flowing through her blood. She shook her head trying to think of something else, wanting to shake the lust she was feeling.

Sydney pulled her eyes off Kade and glanced back to the girl on the table. “Well, we better get going. You may know some vampires, but I got some sources in this city. I think we ought to take a trip to a tat shop I know. Ada, are those the tat pictures over there?” She walked over to the desk and picked up a stack of photos. “If this girl got these tats here in the city, we'll find out who did it. And maybe get an ID on her. Ada, thanks for the update. Let me know if you get anything else.” Sydney started to walk out the door when she brushed by Kade, a chill ran up her arm. There was something about this man, this vampire. She didn’t know why he was making her so crazy but she’d have to get it together if she was going to work with him.

Kade smiled to himself, smelling her arousal. She may not like him but she lusted for him. He would take that for now. In the meantime, he would play nice so she didn’t end up staking him first.

Immediately after leaving the station, Sydney agreed to meet Kade over at a local tattoo shop. Sydney drove her old, Mercedes convertible down South Street. She knew that she shouldn’t have a nice car in this city, so she decided to get a used car. Soft beige, leather seats and a convertible top that worked, Sydney loved to feel the wind in her hair on warm nights in the city. Feeling slightly more relaxed than she did in the morgue, she parked her car. The captain had put Tony on another murder case just as they left, so she had to go alone to the tattoo shop. Normally, she always stayed with her partner out on the streets. Instead of Tony, her new partner, Kade, would be with her. She didn’t trust him, but the captain was crystal clear that she was to work with him on the Death Doll case...that’s what the press was calling it.

She hated the political crap she had to put up with about the human-paranormal relations. She was good at her job, but not exactly the most tactful person. She would work with Kade, solve the case, and then he’d go back to New Orleans to bite necks and suck blood, or whatever else vampires did with their time. She told Kade she’d meet him at Pink’s Ink Tattoo shop where the best tats in the city were done. She stood outside waiting in front of Pink’s Ink when a black limo pulled up and beeped at her. It had to be Kade.
Detective, my fucking ass.
A door opened and a large, good-looking man with long, dark hair got out of the car. She recognized him as the man with Kade at Tristan’s club.

He walked around the car and opened the door. Kade exited the car with grace, as if he was going to a movie premiere. He was almost beautiful, if one could use that word to describe a man, but there was no mistaking the predator he was. Dangerous, no one would mess with this guy...even on the cold streets of Philly. Sydney caught her breath noticing how handsome he was in khaki pants and a blue, linen shirt with rolled up sleeves that hugged against his broad, muscled chest. He smiled at her as he caught up with his vamp friend she’d seen him with at Eden. “Hope you weren’t waiting long, love. Sydney, meet Luca. Luca, this is Sydney.”

As Sydney extended her hand to Luca, he gently took it and kissed the top. She was captivated by his green eyes that seemed to draw you in...she was lost in thought. With an Aussie accent, Luca whispered, “Nice to meet you, Sydney. So, it is you who has Kade out of sorts.” He let her hand go and chuckled to himself.

For the first time since he met her, Kade saw Sydney smile. He felt a stir of jealousy knowing it was Luca who brought the smile to her lips...so soft and full. He couldn’t help but wonder how it would feel to have those lips on his cock. He sucked a breath. His lustful thoughts shook off any feelings of jealousy. He could smell her...like Asiatic lilies, delicious. He wanted a taste. He couldn’t wait much longer. Damn, he almost forgot why the hell he was even here. What was it about her that seemed to distract him from any rational thought?

Sydney laughed as Luca released her hand. “I'm sorry, but I'm just not used to the hand kissing. In my business, I usually have guys either running away from me as I'm trying to cuff ‘em or trying to grab my ass. I know I should appreciate the chivalry, but it took me by surprise. Nice to meet you Luca, you coming in with us?”

Kade shot a look over to Luca and stepped between them. “Luca, you stay out here and keep watch. Let’s go, Sydney.” Kade held the door for Sydney. She walked past him pretending that she did not just notice that he effectively blocked Luca from touching her any further; tingles flashed through her body as her shoulder brushed his chest.

The tattoo shop was filled with teenagers and young adults. They were looking at pictures  on the wall of their potential tattoos and discussing where they would put them on their young, canvass bodies. Holding up her badge, Sydney pushed through the patrons as if she was parting the Red Sea. It was crowded, so Kade was forced to stand up behind her, against her. She could feel the hardness of his chest on her back as they stood waiting at the counter. While it drove her insane with lust, she could hardly ask him to move back, since there was no room. Sydney scanned the room looking for her source. Finally, her eyes lit up as she saw her, and she yelled over the buzz, “Pinky! Hey Pinky! Over here.”

Pinky was the owner of Pink’s Ink. She was a petite girl with black, cropped pixie hair with just a wisp of hot pink flowing through her bangs. She was more cute than beautiful, and she ran her shop with an iron fist in a velvet glove. Pinky turned around to yell at a potential customer who was peeling a drawing off the wall. “Get the hell off the art or get the hell out!” She turned around to grab a pen; her bright pink halter-top showed off her back that was adorned with two large butterfly wings in various shades of pink and indigo. When she turned to face Sydney, her large, voluptuous breasts almost spilled out of the tiny top, which complemented her short, black latex skirt.

She turned up a corner of her mouth slightly smiling, not sure of what was going on with the large, hunk of man behind Sydney. “Hey, girl, what ya doin’ down here? Finally come to let me put on that tat we talked about? And who is mister tall, dark and lick-able behind you? Yummy.” She ran her tongue across her lips.

While Sydney was used to Pinky and her flair for the English language, she could not help but feel slightly embarrassed. She could feel the hard heat of Kade up against her back.
Damn it all to hell with this crowd.
For a second, she found herself wishing they were alone, naked, Kade thrusting up into her and...
Get back in the game girl! Focus!

Sydney coughed trying to act nonchalantly. “Hey Pink, this is Kade. Listen, I need a favor.” She held out the photo of the girl’s sun tattoo. “Before you ask, don’t. It's a case I’m working.” She looked over her shoulder at Kade. “Ugh, a case
we
are working. All you need to do is ID this tat, okay? Is there anything about it that looks familiar? Do you recognize the artist’s work? Maybe a customer who got a tat like this recently?”

Pinky stared at the photo and turned white. She peered over her shoulder to make sure no one was listening. “Syd, this ink...the lines, points and turns...it looks like the work of a guy who used to work in here. Fired him six months ago. I caught him wanking off in the alley. I was so incredibly grossed out, what a loser. Seriously, who can’t keep it in their pants at work?”

Sydney glanced at Kade and back to Pinky. “So, what did he say when you eighty-sixed him?”

“Well, that’s the thing. He just looked up at me and kind of just...well, he just kept going, ya know? He finished.” Pinky was visibly disgusted. “I told him that if I ever saw him near the shop again, I was calling the cops.”

“And you never thought to mention this to me over drinks?”

“Listen, this city is filled with sickos. No offense, Syd, but I can’t call the cops every time some asshole is out there waxing the bishop. I know it isn’t pretty but look around here. Cops got murders to solve. They don’t have time to arrest assholes who worship their dicks.”

“Okay, Pink. What’s his name? Address? You’ve got to have something on him.”

Pinky started going through a candy-red, glittered address box on the counter and pulled out a dingy index card. “His name was Jennings, Drew Jennings. This address might be old, but here you are...it’s on the card. Looks like he was staying in North Philly...a few blocks off Broad Street. Syd, I know you're a cop, but watch your ass. You and I both know it isn’t the greatest area.”