Hunting Evil (2 page)

“Forget that one, buddy,” Mac warned. “She’s an undercover cop.”

When the woman tossed back her hair and laughed, the light hit her face, giving Vince a better look. The woman’s nose was crooked, and she had the slightest space between her two front teeth.

Who the fuck was he kidding? The bitch looked nothing like Lauren. “Not my type anyway.” Vince tipped up his bottle and gulped it down in one go. He slapped a ten dollar bill on the counter and nodded at the bartender. “See ya around, Mac.”

Vince left Morgan’s more frustrated than he’d been when he’d gone in. Not only did his dick not get sucked, but he’d come to the realization that Lauren was the only woman he wanted.

“Shit.”

* * * *

Lauren’s phone started to ring as she entered her hotel room. She dropped her bag on the floor and dug the cell out of her pocket. “Hang on a minute.”

She kicked off her shoes and flopped onto the hard, hotel mattress. “What’s up?”

York, her oldest and dearest friend, was laughing. “Are you indisposed?”

Lauren rolled her eyes. To York, downtime was for having sex, so of course he assumed she was in the middle of getting laid. She thought about her attraction to Vince and sighed. “I wish. Instead, I’m riding around the streets of San Diego with an asshole more infuriating than you.”

York laughed harder. “So, you’re attracted to the cop.”

“Stop it.” She chuckled as she lowered the zipper on her jeans. “Are Drone and Benson with you?”

“Benson is, but Drone’s in Portugal on a job.”

Lauren turned on the TV and set it to mute. “And Benson, what’s he up to?”

“We just finished a case,” York said by way of explanation.

“In other words, he’s sucking your cock,” Lauren surmised, channel surfing.

“You got it.” York moaned. “So tell me about your cop?”

Lauren closed her eyes. She wasn’t ready to discuss Vince with York. “Maybe another time. Right now, I’m so tired I can’t see straight.”

“Liar, you’re stalling, which worries me. Tell me what’s going on?”

“No. I’m not talking to you about this, so forget it.” Since the first time York had saved her life, Lauren had rarely told him no, so she held her breath, wondering how he’d react.

“I won’t let you go without a fight,” York said.

Lauren rolled to her side and curled into a ball. After her fucked up childhood, she’d learned to cut herself off from her emotions. It was easier to feel nothing than to be betrayed again. York had always accepted what she could give without asking for more, which usually consisted of sex when they were together.

Their unique relationship had started nine years earlier when she’d taken a contract position with the BVA. Given her combat experience and martial arts training, Lauren had been hired to be a decoy for the Rogue Hunters, an elite arm of the BVA military unit. The job was to help them catch a vampire who’d been kidnapping human women and selling them as sex slaves to overseas clients. The mission had lasted longer than any of them had anticipated, and by the time they’d caught their man, Lauren had formed an unspoken bond with York, Benson, and Drone.

“Lauren?” York’s voice sounded gruffer than usual.

“I’m here. I’ll always be here for you.” Lauren decided to be honest. “There’s something about Vince that I can’t put my finger on, but I’m drawn to him, and I hate it.”

“Hmmm, sounds to me like he’s melting some of that ice you’ve been building up over the years.”

“Screw you.” Lauren couldn’t help but chuckle. “No one’s melting my shit.”

“Right.”

“Tell Benson to get your dick out of his mouth so he can say hi,” she told York.

“Benson, Lauren says hi and to keep doing what you’re doing,” York replied. “I’ll have him call you later.”

“Stingy bastard.” Lauren turned off the TV. “Okay, I’m going to sleep now.”

“You want me to come down there?” York asked.

“No, not yet. Believe me, I’ll call if I need you.”

“Be careful.”

“Always am,” Lauren said before ending the call. She reached over the side of the bed and plugged her phone into the charger before climbing under the covers with her clothes still on. Closing her eyes, she willed herself to stop thinking about Vince and just go to sleep.

Two hours later, she gave up and jumped in the shower. It was going to be a long day.

* * * *

Lauren fastened her seatbelt and studied Vince out of the corner of her eye. When had she started to think of him as a man and not just a cop? Few men made her comfortable enough to call them by their first names, well, except for Armand, but referring to him as Asshole Bastard was beneath her.

Lauren returned her attention to the road in front of her as Vince pulled out of the lot. They had been out together on three separate occasions, and they were still no closer to tracking Armand. To top it off, she was ashamed of herself for thinking about the six-foot-three vampire all day.

After two hours of roaming the back streets of the city, Vince seemed to drive down the darkest alleys he could find. What was he trying to do? Scare her? He evidently had no idea what kind of woman he was riding with.

“You won’t find him here,” she finally said in exasperation.

One black eyebrow lifted as Vince finally acknowledged someone else was in the car with him. “And you know this how?”

Lauren shrugged. “Just stands to reason. He rapes and mutilates girls from middle-income families between the ages of fourteen and seventeen.” She looked around the dark street. “It may just be me, but this doesn’t look like a middle-class neighborhood.”

Vince stepped on the brake and put the car into park. Turning his body, he leaned forward until he was almost nose-to-nose with her. “Who gave you a copy of the file?”

“I’m damn good at what I do, and what I’ve done is to gather every bit of information on Armand that I could find. You’ve been tracking Armand Dubois for eight months. In that time, he’s killed eight girls, one per month, and if my calendar is correct, he’s due to strike again.”

She heard a low growl rumble through Vince’s chest.
Too bad
. “You may not like me, and you might think BVA had no business ordering you to work with a woman, but you’re stuck with me. And unless you want to continue wasting time by trying to scare me, I’d suggest you head east to the more affluent section of town.”

Lauren couldn’t help but notice the way Vince’s dark eyes zeroed in on her lips as she spoke. When she finished, he leaned a hair closer.

“Lady, you have no idea what you’re getting into.”

“I might surprise you.” She smoothed her hair behind her ear. “I’m a third-degree black belt in two different forms of martial arts. I was a United States Marine for six years, and I could probably kick your ass. Now drive.”

With a half-smile, Vince leaned back and reached for the thick file beside him. Turning on the overhead light, he handed the red folder to Lauren. “You may have seen the official file, but look at mine and tell me you’re still prepared to follow me into the mind of a monster.”

Accepting the folder, Lauren took a deep breath. Inside were pictures of the deceased girls, close-ups of crime scene photos and morgue shots, one after another. She fought to keep her breathing under control as she carefully looked at each picture. Her arousal that had resulted from her heated exchange with Vince vanished. Armand was getting bolder and more skilled, his cuts more precise. She closed the file and handed it back.

“Seen enough?” he asked. “Ready for me to take you back to your car?”

Lauren shrugged. “I’ve seen worse.”

Vince released a sharp bark of laughter. “Yeah, right. Where, at the movies?”

Tired of dealing with the gorgeous Neanderthal in front of her, Lauren pulled the bottom of her black T-shirt up to her neck. “No, I see worse every time I look in the mirror. Now, put the car in drive, and let’s get busy.”

Vince looked at the roadmap of jagged scars spread across Lauren’s torso and chest. Instinctively, he reached out to trace one of the raised areas of puckered skin that disappeared under the lace of her bra. They were old, at least twenty years old, but still seemed to pulse with pain. He looked up into the beautiful face in front of him. “Lauren? That’s your real name, right?”

“Yes,” she said and removed his hand before pulling her shirt back down.

“Can I ask?” He gestured toward her chest.

“Armand Dubois, eighteen years, eight months, twenty-two days ago. And my full name is April Lauren Dubois.”

Vince felt as if he’d been kicked in the gut.
No way
. He closed his eyes and fought the urge to turn, barely keeping his feral side dormant. He’d read everything about Armand he could get his hands on. He remembered reading about April Dubois, although there was little information about her. He always wondered what had happened to the girl, but after she’d turned eighteen, April had seemed to disappear off the face of the earth.

“You’re his daughter,” he whispered.

“No. I
was
his daughter. I’m
now
his hunter.”

Chapter Two

Looking out the passenger window, Lauren bit her bottom lip. She’d told Vince more in a ten-minute conversation than she’d ever told anyone. Well, with the exception of York. What was it about Vince that made her feel she could trust him?

He grunted. “I’d like to go to the park and set up a stakeout in the trees. I have a feeling he spots his victims there before following them. If he stays true to his pattern, he should be selecting his next target soon.”

Lauren nodded. “Girls are traveling in groups these days, but Armand won’t be deterred by that. He’ll pick one out and follow her. Learn everything there is to know about her before he strikes. He could’ve already found his next victim, which would make this whole thing a waste of time, but I agree, it’s the best chance we have.” She looked around the busy park. “It’s always been a hangout for high school kids.”

Vince turned the corner and parked the nondescript car on a side street. “Do you have a bottle of water or anything? It could be a long night.”

“I’ll be fine.” She slung her purse-like backpack over her shoulder and looked at Vince. “Do you have something to drink, or are you just planning to take a sip of me when you get thirsty?” She didn’t know why she said it. It was a cruel and prejudiced thing to say. “I’m sorry.”

“No problem. I’m used to it.” Vince walked in front of her and headed for the trees.

There were several groups of teens hanging out around the large, brightly lit gazebo. One of them had an iPod hooked to speakers and several of the kids were dancing. The music was loud enough that she and Vince wouldn’t have to be silent in their vigil.

Lauren sat in the spot Vince indicated. She wondered if she’d hurt his feelings with her flip comment. For some reason, it mattered to her. “I really am sorry.”

Vince turned his head to look at her. “I said it wasn’t a problem.” He exhaled and looked down at the patchy grass. “I’m sorry, too.”

“For?”

“Being an ass earlier. I feel guilty that I haven’t caught Armand. I know my time is ticking away, and I’m pissed.”

Lauren looked at the large man beside her. Vince was definitely taking his job personally. She lived among a species of man that she basically knew nothing about. Jeez, her best friends were vampires, but she didn’t dare get close enough to see what made them tick. For York, Drone, and Benson, living was fighting and winning the war. They dropped their walls long enough to invite her into bed with them, but that was as far as she let things go. At least, she thought that was all to their relationship. After the phone conversation with York, she wasn’t so sure anymore.

For years, Lauren told herself sex with them was enough, but she’d begun to wonder. After their last encounter, she’d decided to make a change and open herself to the possibility of a relationship. Maybe, she should stop daydreaming about Vince and hightail it back to York.
Fuck.
She needed to keep her head together. Catching Armand was the most important thing.

Reaching out, she covered Vince’s hand with hers. “It’s not your fault you haven’t caught him. He’s devious. You should be as angry as I am that your system let him out of prison in the first place.”

She felt a slight tremor running through his hand as she tried to soothe him.

“He did his time,” Vince said with a shrug.

“No he didn’t,” Lauren countered. “He was released early on probation. The review board thought he was reformed. Boy, did he have them fooled.”

Vince seemed to study her for a few moments. “Did you speak against him at the review hearing?”

“I didn’t know anything about it until it was over.”

The look he gave her was typical. Lauren hated explaining herself, but if she had to work with Vince, she would have to do just that. “I was in Seattle on assignment at the time, but to be honest, I don’t stay in one place for long, so maybe the review board didn’t know how to contact me. I was working a job in Northern California when I read an article in the newspaper about a string of killings here in San Diego. I knew at that moment Armand wouldn’t stop until I came back home. So here I am.”

Vince looked from the teenagers back to Lauren. “What are you saying? You came back to offer yourself up as a sacrifice? Does the BVA know that? And how did you get them to go to bat for you with the Police Commissioner?”

“I’ve done some work for the BVA in the past. Toughest bunch of men I’ve ever known, most of them are ex-military. They owed me a few favors, and I cashed them in once I read about the deaths of those girls. Besides, I’m used to playing decoy, and I’m actually very good at it.” She didn’t mention the fact that she regularly slept with the BVA’s top military team.

Lauren thought about the men she’d considered friends for the past nine years and realized she probably knew nothing about them outside the bedroom. Vampires could fuck better than any human she’d come across, but that was as far as her knowledge of the species went. “Are you a typical vampire?”