ROMANCE: SHAPESHIFTER ROMANCE: Dragon Baller's Bride (Dragon Shifter Alpha Male Romance) (Paranormal Romantic Suspense) (50 page)

A
ll she ever wanted was to
sing...

Leliana has wanted to be a singer ever since she was a little girl, entertaining people on stage to help them forget their worries while she basked in the glow of the stage lights. Though that never happened, she settled for the next best thing: living out her dreams as a private eye.

The reality is far less glamorous than the radio shows used to make it, but the pay is good, so she can't complain too much. Typically, her cases involve someone running out on their spouse, or someone missing an item that was stolen. Tonight, however, she's in for the case of a lifetime.

When a wealthy man's daughter goes missing, it's up to her to track her down. She expects it to be just another case in her cap, until the trail leads her into a den of vampires. As if that didn't complicate things enough, one of them takes a shine to her, and soon she's caught up in a broiling underworld conflict that she should have no part of for his sake.

All in a day's work for Leliana Tornbeau, really.

“
S
o you're telling me
,” Leliana said as she leaned back in her chair, “That your daughter has gone missing,” she folded her hands in front of her and kicked up her feet on the edge of her desk as she stared down her most recent prospective client. He was a wealthy man, if naïve, and it didn't take much for her to see that he had been out of his depth long before he had made it to her doorstep. The man, one Mister James Cooper was seated opposite her, in one of the wooden chairs set up for clients to take a seat at while they told her of their woes. He fidgeted, clearly uncomfortable with her light scrutiny of his disposition before clearing his throat and sitting up a little straighter in his seat.

“Err, yes, that's right,” he said with a cough of embarrassment. “Succinctly put, Miss Tornbeau.” He fidgeted in his seat again. “I fear that she has been kidnapped, but the police won't do anything about it! They assume that because she's been a trouble maker in the past that she's just run off! I feel like I have nowhere else to turn to!” Leliana wondered if it burned him that he had to walk through Harlem to get to her, or even that it was her that he had to turn to. She smoothed out the sleeves of her peacoat, the heather gray fabric stark against her deep umber skin. Normally, it wasn't an issue for anyone who came here; almost all of the people that found their way here were the kindest people that she could have hoped to work with, no matter where they came from. But this man was clearly not used to venturing far out of his gilded community, and the streets of Harlem might have been quite the shock to his sensitivities.

Still, a contract was a contract, she thought to herself as she observed him.

“And you want me to go and find her, and, preferably, bring her home?” He nodded mutely. She sighed and rubbed at the bridge of her nose. “Do you have any evidence indicating that that isn't the case? That she hasn't run off, I mean,” she said before realizing how that sounded. “Not that I want to come across as insensitive – whatever the case may be, I'll find your daughter,” she vowed as she straightened in her chair, pulling her feet down and tucking them back under the desk.

“Oh!” He evidently hadn't anticipated that line of questioning – perhaps he hadn't thought that she would consider his offer this seriously, or perhaps he was just used to being turned away by the police. Either way, he seemed to recover fairly quickly. “Yes! Yes, just a moment,” he fumbled in his briefcase beside his chair for a moment before producing a photograph and a piece of paper. “Here,” he handed the items over to her for her inspection. “I found them to be quite curious, as I'd never seen anything like it in my life!”

She gave the paper a once over first, curious as to what it could contain. It was a letter, a farewell letter, it seemed, written in deep red ink and told her father that she was running away to get away from his tyranny. It wouldn't have struck her as odd, but for the ink color and the hand writing – she could have sworn that she'd seen it somewhere before, but she couldn't put her finger on where.

“I'm guessing this isn't her handwriting,” she said as she inspected the paper closer. She could faintly smell the scent of copper off of the paper, confirming her suspicions that the ink was, in fact, blood. So, she thought grimly as she set the paper aside. At least one vampire was involved. That complicated matters.

Vampires, amongst other things that went bump in the night, weren't uncommon, and were usually not a problem – they all contributed to society, and there were ways for vampires in particular to find ways to feed without needing to harvest people. All in all, it was usually a non-issue when you ran into one. But there were outliers, ones that didn't like to obey the rules, and those were the ones that were hard as hell to deal with. Nobody liked them, not even their own kin, and it never took long for them to be caught with whatever it was that they were doing.

She would have to cast her net of contacts wider, she realized.

“It isn't in her hand, no,” James said, hands resting on his dome of a midsection. “That's what had me worried.” Leliana nodded, setting the letter to the side and picking up the photograph, turning it over to see what the camera had captured. She immediately set the photo down to hide the fact that her hands were trembling. Depicted in the photo, was a bedroom, decorated the way a young teenager might want, with books and a school bag, and clothes strewn about. On the window, etched into the glass, was a symbol that would stick out in any ordinary setting: a circle, with the letter, 'X' carved in the middle of it, with a line slicing the symbol in half vertically.

Even to supernatural creatures, that symbol wasn't to be taken lightly; it was a notorious gang of vampires that often took their prey from wherever they wanted, whenever they wanted, and damn the consequences. They took people of all kinds – werewolf, human, vampire, even some ghouls if they were feeling particularly emboldened. The Excavators, as they came to call themselves, always left this calling card behind whenever they took someone. The police rarely believed that they were involved, as they usually left no other evidence at the scene, it came to be assumed that it was an urban legend that people bought into.

How do you tell someone that their daughter might be a thrall to a vampire?

“I've got some contacts to get in touch with,” Leliana said as she tucked the photo away. “But rest assured, I'll do everything I can to bring your daughter home safely.”

“Oh, thank you! Thank you!” The portly man said tearfully, as though he had finally found his salvation in her. She grimaced, and hoped that he didn't think of her that way; the case had only just started, and she was sure as shit no miracle worker, she thought with a frown. “I'll reward you handsomely for your efforts!” As they worked out the payment arrangements, she began to tick off in her head who she could reach out to in order to get info from the Underground, the haven for most supernaturals that didn't want to fully conform to modern day society, and those that wanted to get away for a while and appreciate the old society that most of them hailed from.

It was quite a nice place, if she were being honest, she thought as she bade farewell to Mr. Cooper. It was beneath the subway tunnels, accessed by vault doors left behind by those that built the tunnels in the first place. The Underground was a cavernous, well-lit area with its own natural resources and Victorian style buildings. She often frequented the area after a case, as humans were welcome as well, so long as they minded themselves, and accepted that if they started trouble, they were on their own, and would likely never be heard from again. They had the best little tavern to drink away her sorrows, she recalled wistfully, practically tasting the last glass of old fashioned whiskey she had down in those depths the last time that she was there.

With a sigh, she tugged her peacoat tighter around her and stepped out of her office, heading down the alley beside her building to try and reach out to some of her contacts. Well, one in particular she knew she could get a hold of. Provided, of course, he was dealing right now...

Sure enough, as she rounded the corner, she saw one of her more reliable contacts, Harvey, doling out blood pills to a vampire. Typically saved for prescription for vampires that needed blood but couldn't get it, the medicine was an ideal quick fix for an urge to feed, as opposed to purchasing packaged blood that needed drinking.

Damn, the worst possible time for her to run into Harvey, of course. She didn't think either of them saw her yet, so she ducked behind the dumpster and held her breath against the stench. She craned her neck toward them, straining to hear what was being said.

“I think I just saw some movement over there,” she heard a smooth, unfamiliar voice say hesitantly, interrupting whatever conversation they had been having before.

“I'm sure it's nothing – cops ain't the type to be sneaky, you know?” There was Harvey's voice, as nasally as ever.

“Yeah, yeah,” she tried to stifle a gasp as she realized that the new voice was coming closer to her. Shit, she thought as she frantically tried to find a better hiding spot that wouldn't blow her cover. Sadly, an alleyway doesn't really afford many places to crawl off and hide when one is in a pinch. “Just let me check and see. For my own personal peace of mind.” She sucked in a breath and rose to her feet, knowing that she had nowhere else to run, and it was better not to startle the vampire too much; you never know what could happen in a dark alleyway.

“I didn't mean to disturb you,” Leliana said easily as she stepped into the open. The vampire had been far enough away that she didn't outright spook him, but he clearly still looked ill at ease, as though he was suspicious of her arrival. She couldn't say that she blamed him, per se. “I came by to see if Harvey was available, that's all.” She took in the vampire's appearance, and found that it was hard to look away.

He stood tall, about a head taller than she was, and was incredibly lean in build. With black hair, streaked with silver and eyes as cold as ice, she had to admit, the vampire was a sight to take in, but she still kept her guard up; this was still a stranger that she was dealing with, in a dark alley with no real witnesses no less.

“You don't say,” the vampire said. He took a step closer to her and sniffed the air. “You're no vampire,” he said, aqua eyes narrowing at her. “What business could you have with him?”

“He deals in more than blood pills, sir,” she said easily with a casual shrug. If she didn't make herself appear as a threat, then things would go over smoother. “I just want information.”

“Is that so?” He said as he took another step closer. She held her ground, showing that she wasn't afraid of this vampire, who felt like he needed to assert dominance over her. It wasn't going to work on her, she thought firmly.

“Finish your business with him, so I can conduct mine,” she said in a no nonsense tone. She was on the clock, and had no time to stand around comparing dicks with this man – a girl's life was at stake!

“And who's to say you wouldn't arrest me?”

“Because I'm not the fuzz,” she said, refraining from rolling her eyes. Really, she should be used to this sort of thing by now; though she was a thicker woman, she otherwise looked the part of an off duty officer, that was for sure. “I'm a private investigator, hired to find someone who's gone missing. Nothing more.”

“Fascinating,” he said, his lips pulling up slowly into a smirk, one fang peeking out from the parting in his lips. She ignored how sexy that looked to her and waited with bated breath for his response. “Very well, I'll leave you be, dearie.” He smirked, baring his fangs with the toothy grin. “For now, at the very least. But I have a feeling that you and I will meet again, my dear.” He licked his lips. “And I'm looking forward to it.”

“Ah, just wait out on the sidewalk for me, alright, doll?” She heard Harvey say from somewhere behind the vampire, but she still didn't take her eyes off of the strange man to check where.

“Sure thing, Harvey,” she said with a nod. “I can respect your privacy.” She spun on her heel and walked back out by the door to her office to wait. Sure, what they were doing was technically illegal, but it was for a good cause, and really, it wasn't worth losing one of her best contacts.

After a few moments, she saw the telltale signs of a vampire taking his leave – a shadowed bat fluttering out of the alleyway and into the night. As she tugged her peacoat tighter around her, she walked back into the alleyway, where, sure enough, Harvey was waiting for her, hands stuffed into his pinstriped pockets and a sleazy smile on his lips.

“
H
ey
, Leli,” he greeted her quietly. “You sure are getting' good at all that sneakin' you've been doing,” he laughed. “That's the closest I've seen a human sneak up to a vampire without them noticing! You been practicing?”

“Something like that,” she said, struggling not to roll her eyes. That was evidently going to be the trial of the evening: not being a sarcastic bitch to everyone who states the obvious or says something incredibly stupid to her. “Anyway, I think we both know why I'm here, Harvey.”

“Information,” he said like it wasn't the most obvious thing in the world. She tried not to growl in frustration, but judging by the way that he flinched and backed away, she didn't quite succeed. Her patience was wearing thin, and he was clearly doing his best to be difficult with her. Fine, she thought as she cracked her neck. She could work with that.

“I'm not in the mood for games here, Harvey,” she said through clenched teeth. “A girl's life is at stake, and you'd do well to help me out before I start counting the hours that she's been missing by how many of your teeth I can knock out with my fists.” To emphasize the point, she clenched a fist and brandished it at him, sealing the deal and causing him to actually cower against her threats. Harvey might like to talk big game, but threaten him with the slightest bit of violence, and suddenly he's a whimpering fool willing to say anything if it means bodily harm won't come to him.

“Alright, alright, I'll talk, just don't hurt me!” He said as he flailed his arms. She sighed heavily and lowered her arm, but still kept a fist formed just in case she needed to remind him of who was in charge of this conversation again – he tended to be so
forgetful
of those sorts of things, after all.

“Talk,” she demanded. “What do you know about it beyond the fact that the Excavators are involved in her kidnapping?”

“Shit,” Harvey said, eyes wide as saucers. “You know that the Excavators are involved?” He lowered his voice as his gaze darted around them, as though one of the vampiric gangsters would appear out of thin air and whisk them away, too. Maybe they could, Leliana thought with a barely suppressed shudder. “Maybe don't say that so loud, yeah? Who knows what's creepin' around listening, yeah?” His fidgeting grew worse, and she could visibly see his paranoia grow steadily worse as his fears took hold. She pinched the bridge of her nose and took a deep breath to keep from shaking some sense into him.

“Yes,” she ground out. “I know that they're involved in the kidnapping. And don't try to call it anything else, because we both know that's what it is: a kidnapping.” She glared particularly hard at him to drive home the point that she wasn't here to be pulled around, and that she certainly wasn't leaving without answers. Now spill it. I'm nearly out of patience, Harvey.”

“Right, right, right,” he said hurriedly. “Listen, there's more than just the Excavators involved, and they're being protected by a group of vampires and humans called the Syndicate. I'm sure you've heard of them.” She nodded, and knew instantly who he was referring to. Although the Excavators were practically a myth in the human world, the Syndicate was well known as an old school mafia that had a 'family' consisting of vampires and humans, that liked to hire other groups to do their dirty work. No wonder they had the Excavators working for them, she thought. If the police didn't believe in them to begin with, their trail would go cold anyway.

“The Syndicate” she said to herself with a scoff. “I can't say I'm terribly surprised. What else do you know?” She asked, watching as Harvey tried to get his breathing in check.

“I don't know much more,” Harvey said shakily. “Just that there's supposed to be a meeting in The Underground tomorrow night, at the Red Baron Inn, in the ballroom. Something supposed to go down, but I don't know what.” Leliana nodded.

“I feel like asking much more would just endanger us both, so I won't,” she reassured him. She may not consider him a
friend
per se, but that didn't mean she wished him dead, by any stretch of the imagination. “It's a lead, and that's more than I could have hoped for. Thank you, Harvey. Now, go home for the night.”

“You don't gotta tell me twice, sister!” Harvey said as he scurried off into the shadows opposite from the way she came. Stuffing her hands into the pockets of her peacoat, she turned and made her way home, checking the skies for any bats following her.

Later that evening, as she unlocked the door to her apartment and slipped inside, Leliana sighed and hung her coat on the coat hanger beside the door. She was tired, and all but threw herself down on her plush couch with a heavy sigh. The night had been long even before Mr. Cooper had come into her office with his job, to say nothing of her standoff with a vampire that she had never met before. It was hard not to practically sob when her phone started to ring; she had just gotten comfortable, after all.

But, a private eye's work is never done, she knew, and so she rose and walked over to where the phone was resting on its little table and answered on the third ring.

“Hello, Tornbeau P.I., how can I help you?” She answered and hoped that she didn't sound too tired in doing so. A formal way to answer the phone, but it was necessary for her job. Clients would call all around the clock, and so it was imperative that she ensure professionalism at all times. What friends she had understood that, but still never ceased to tease her about it. It was what she was expecting to greet her ears at this hour, if she was being completely honest.

“Leliana,” she froze at the deep voice on the other end of the line. It was the vampire from the alley, she was sure of it. But how did he get her number? And how did he learn her name?

“You have me at a disadvantage,” she said, trying to keep her calm. Her mind whirred with the possibilities, and most of them related to her newest case. “You know my name, but we weren't properly introduced in that alleyway.” She wasn't one to crack under pressure, and worked best on her feet. Picking up her rotary dial phone, she paced its cord's length in her living room; if someone were watching, a moving target was harder to hit.

“You're a smart one, Miss Tornbeau,” he said smoothly. “However, I would much rather make your acquaintanceship in a more formal setting.”

“I don't do dinner dates with strangers,” flirtation was her default defense mechanism, and usually the one that got her out of tight spaces. A chuckle rumbled through the speaker of the phone.

“Oh, but I insist! After all, how else are you going to get into the ballroom at the Red Baron Inn tomorrow in the Underground? It is invitation only!” She felt a chill go up her spine. How did he know about that? Was he part of the Syndicate? Or the Excavators? She had to know.

“I'm guessing you have a way in?”

“But of course,” came the easy reply.

“Now my only question is,” she said as she came to a standstill in her living room. “Are you with the Syndicate, or the Excavators?”

“Now
that
is an interesting question,” he said with a husky laugh. “I would be happy to disclose that information to you when we meet. I eagerly await our formal introduction.” She grimaced, wondering just what this vampire had up his sleeve, and what he had to gain from bringing her into the lion's den. Was it a trap, or was he an independent party with his own agenda? She could only guess at what his motivations for getting involved could possibly be.

“Where are we meeting?” She asked finally, deciding that it was better to go accompanied than to try and infiltrate the meeting alone. Maybe this was her ticket through the front door? It was hard to say.

“Meet me at Gia's at four thirty, it's a lovely little coffee shop on Tenth Street. Wear a dress – it's a formal meeting, after all!” With that, the call ended. Leliana sighed and set the phone back down on its little table before hanging up the handle on its receiver.

With a sigh, she went into the bathroom and flicked the light on. Turning on the sink, she cupped her hands under the running faucet and splashed her face with some cold water, as though it would wake her from this bizarre dream that she was having. She was vaguely disappointed that it didn't, but had known better than to hope that it would anyway. Knowing that she wasn't going to get much sleep at this point, she went back to her phone and dialed up her good friend John, who she knew would be up at this hour.

He
was
a vampire, after all.

“Hello?” He said brightly, as though he was positively bursting with energy. He must have already eaten today. Not surprising; he was, after all, a blood clinic night security guard. It was the perk of the job; make sure our shit doesn't get stolen, you get to have some of our back stock that's about to go bad.

“John,” she said tiredly. The events of the day had worn on her, and she knew she had no hope of matching his enthusiasm, however glad she was that he was there to answer the phone.

“Leli!” He said excitedly. “Up working on a case, and need some company?” He offered, knowing that she was normally only up at this hour because of a difficult case and usually bounced ideas off of him.

“Something like that. It's a long story, but would you mind coming over? I could sure use a friend right now. I'll explain everything when you get here, I promise.”

“Sure thing, Leli,” he said reassuringly. “I should be there in a few minutes.”

“I'll keep my window open,” she said with a soft chuckle before hanging up the phone. With the phone once more secured on its receiver, she walked over to her wide front living room window and opened it, letting in the chilly night air. She was half tempted to put her coat back on, but knew that she would get no end of teasing from John about how she was always a detective, even when she was at home. He loved to remind her that she needed to separate work and home life, and that she should leave her work at the door more often.

Easy to say that when it doesn't call you up every hour of the day.

She instead sat back on her sofa, legs outstretched so that her feet were lightly touching her coffee table. Grabbing the blanket that was folded up on the side of the couch, she draped it over herself to keep warm as she waited. She needn't have bothered, evidently, as only a few moments later, not even long enough for her toes to thaw, she heard the familiar screech of a bat signifying its arrival. It fluttered into her home and vanished in a puff of smoke. In its place, was her friend John. A tall, thin, pale man with bright green eyes, short brown hair, and a teasing smile already playing on his lips.

“Cold?” He asked, already going to the window to shut it. She nodded and rose, wrapping the blanket around herself as she did so. “Here, I'll make us some coffee, and you'll tell me all about your latest case, how's that sound?” She nodded tiredly, greatly looking forward to the caffeine intake that she hadn't had all day. She sat back down at his urging that she needed to relax as he popped into the kitchen to make them coffee. And he
literally
popped in with a puff of smoke; he did so love to use his teleportation abilities rather than just walking; for a vampire, he was incredibly lazy.

“You wouldn't believe the day that I've had, John,” she said as he flitted back into the living room, appearing on the couch next to her in another puff of smoke. She didn't even flinch, she was so accustomed to him doing that, and so kept going with her complaint. “The contract is good money, don't get me wrong, but still. It's...ugh,” she flailed her arms when the frustration and the feeling of being trapped got caught in her throat.

“Complicated?” He offered when she struggled to find words. She nodded. “Tell me about it. Surely it's something that you, of all people, can figure a way out of.” He smiled encouragingly. “Here, let me get some coffee for us, and you can tell me all about it.” He rose and grabbed two mugs from her cupboard, filling them with the dark liquid. Taking one of the mugs gratefully, she sipped at it before adding some sugar. Setting her mug down, she noted that he had taken his black, and shook her head, wondering how he could stand the bitterness of it that way. She took a deep breath, nodded, and began.

“One Mister Cooper is looking for his missing daughter.” She started with a sigh.

“Serious case,” John nodded. “But not your first disappearance case, for sure.” She shook her head.

“No, far from it. Still, the thing that complicates things is that the Excavators are definitely involved in the kidnapping.” John's already pale face lost what little color it had.

“The Excavators,” he repeated slowly, as if his mind couldn't fully wrap around the danger that she potentially now faced if she didn't play her cards right. She nodded.

“Worse, I have it on fairly reliable authority that they're working either with or for the Syndicate-”

“I'm sorry,” John said with a wave of his hands in front of him. “But maybe I'm hopped up on too much caffeine.” He blinked owlishly at her. “You're telling me that a girl got
kidnapped
, and not only are the Excavators involved, but so are the
Syndicate
?! And you're not scared off yet?!” He asked as he set his coffee down on her coffee table.

“I'm only more intrigued, and I want answers,” she nodded. “And, if things pan out tomorrow, I'll have a ticket to their next meeting.”

“How on earth did you manage that one?” John gasped.

“I was contacted by a vampire that I ran into in the alley next to my office. Evidently, he wants to meet up and escort me to the meeting that I was hoping to infiltrate.”

“Sounds like a trap.”

“It probably is,” she agreed with a nod. “But I still need answers, and a girl is missing. I need to know where she is, if she's safe, and whether or not I'll be able to get her home.” They took their mugs into the kitchen to refill, their cups having been depleted of their liquid.

“Well,” John said as he sipped on his fresh coffee. He nodded to himself like he had settled on something. “You're not going alone. I'm going to tail you to the meeting, and if things go south, I can at least get you out of there quickly. You know I can.” Her eyes widened.