Renegade: Volume 2 (3 page)

As
I drove toward the warehouse my mind drifted back to Aubrey. I didn’t know why
I let myself get so close to him. Vampires couldn’t be trusted, I knew better,
and I was still trying to go against my better judgment.

I
parked outside the warehouse and walked inside. There was a lot of people
hanging around like usual. Most of them were training or sitting around
talking. I walked directly to the back office. Colin and Drake were in the
office talking. They seemed to go quiet when I walked in the room.

“There
were just two humans killed by vampires last night. The FBI is investigating
because of the circumstances surrounding the deaths,” Colin said watching me.

“This
concerns us how? The FBI won’t know vampires did it.” I said as I took a seat.
I started to wonder if Nick, the agent I met earlier was involved in the case.

“It
involves us because someone is trying to fuck up the treaty. Not only that we
tend to look into unnecessary human deaths,” Colin said sounding slightly
annoyed.

I
sighed and looked up at him. “What do you want me to do about it?”

Colin
scowled like I was being difficult. “We need to ask around. I don’t think it is
Aubrey’s group. I think maybe it is someone new. You could talk to Aubrey since
you are seeing him or whatever.”

“I’m
not seeing Aubrey,” I countered. I was a little annoyed by the accusation. “Why
don’t you and Drake go talk to him,” I said keeping my tone even. I wasn’t
going to tell him why. The more I thought about it the more I felt like an
idiot. I should have never went to the club. I chickened out because I couldn’t
trust myself.

Before
either of them could speak there was yelling. Colin darted from the room
followed by Drake. I cussed and hurried after them. I hesitated when I saw what
caused the commotion. It was Nick, the FBI agent. He was spinning around
pointing his gun at everyone. He must have followed me and started snooping.

“Who
the hell are you?” Colin asked angrily.

“You
let me ask the questions,” Nick barked as he aimed the gun at Colin.

This
was a bad situation and I could see it only getting worse. Colin knocked the
gun sideways and punched Nick across the face. Nick crumpled to the floor in a
heap.

“Wait!
Damn it! It’s my fault he is here. He followed me. I will handle him,” I said
quickly as I blocked Colin from advancing on him.

“Who
the hell is he?” Drake asked watching me.

“He’s
FBI. He cornered a vampire and I helped him out. He’s a little skittish right
now. He kind of saw me turn the vampire to dust,” I said slightly amused.

“Damn
it Rayne, do you know how much trouble he could cause us?” Colin asked angrily.

“I’ll
get him not to talk. Besides he may be able to help us with the case. He may be
the one working on the case you were talking about,” I said as picked up Nick’s
gun.

“Get
him to the office,” Colin ordered two other vampires. “You better fix this
Rayne.” He was angry at me now. It wasn’t hard for me to annoy people that was
for sure.

I
nodded. “Don’t worry, just go see what you can find out about the murder from
the vampires. I’ll take care of him,” I said firmly.

Colin
turned and stormed off, and Drake smiled at me then followed Colin out. I
followed the two vampires that were carrying Nick. They laid him on the couch
in the office, then left me alone with him. I walked into the bathroom and wet
a rag; then walked back out and placed it on his forehead. He was probably
going to have one hell of a headache when he woke up.

He
slowly opened his eyes. He saw me looking down at him and he quickly sat up and
looked around. His hand instinctively went to where he normally kept his gun. I
smiled because he reminded me of what I did when I would wake up after being
knocked out. “What the hell?” he muttered as he put his head in his hands.

“That
would be Colin you can thank for that. He was the vampire you were aiming your
gun at,” I said amused as I handed him a glass of water.

He
scowled. “Now you have vampire friends? I thought you were a hunter?”

“I
am, it is complicated. I thought you didn’t want to know anymore?” I said
amused.

“I
didn’t, but I decided to follow you to see what you were about. I was kind of
hoping you were crazy,” he grumbled as he looked around.

“Well
I’m not. There are vampires, and werewolves and all other manner of creatures
that go bump in the night,” I said as I watched him.

“I
got to thinking after meeting you in the alley. There is a case…” he started.

 I
cut him off already knowing where he was heading with it. “The two humans that
were killed by vampires, ya we are looking into that.”

He
didn’t look surprised. He had obviously already been expecting the worst. “I
thought the case was odd. It just seemed more like an animal attack then human.
Their throats were ripped out,” he said softly.

“Most
of the time they only do that to prove a point. They are probably angry over
current events, and this is how they lash out,” I said as I stood and walked
over to the small bar. I needed a drink. It was only a little after eleven and
the night had already been long.

“Rayne,
I need to know what is going on. How the hell am I going to go to my superiors
and tell them vampires killed these people?” He sounded both confused and angry
as he spoke. I could understand how he felt. It was like waking up in an
unfamiliar place. Everything he thought and believed was true for so many years
no longer made sense. I remembered feeling that way after my parents died. The
feeling never goes away. I just found ways to try to ignore it.

“You
don’t. Let me handle the vampire part. You treat it like you would any other
case. Follow the leads until they dead end, then eventually put the case as
unsolvable like many of the other cases in this world.” I didn’t mean to sound
so heartless like it was simple to just look the other way because I knew it
wasn’t. I just didn’t know any other way to handle it as a human.

He
ran his hand through his hair. I could tell it was probably something he did
when he had no clue what to do next. “I want to help you,” he said looking at
me. I could see the determination in his dark brown eyes, and I knew telling
him no wasn’t an option.

I
sat down across from him and looked at my drink. “People you care about could
die if you get too involved in this. It isn’t a road you should go down
lightly.”

“Well
lucky for me I don’t have anyone I care about,” he said firmly. I knew by the
look in his eyes I wasn’t going to sway him.

I
sighed and took his gun out of my waist band and handed it back to him. “This
isn’t going to do anything unless you get silver bullets and those are
expensive and hard to come by. You should get yourself one of these,” I said as
I produced my favorite wooden stake.

He
took it and examined it. “This is insane,” he said quietly as he played with
the stake.

“Ya
well, it’s the world we live in. Knives are also good, but make sure they are
silver,” I said; then I tossed my drink back then set the glass on the table
beside me.

“So
how do you know which ones are good and which are bad?” he asked watching me.

I
shrugged. “You don’t. You mostly just follow your instincts and kill the ones
that attack first. I need to go look into these murders. I am currently being
harassed by a vampire and werewolf who think I am some sort of leader.”

He
stood and offered me my stake back. I shook my head. “You keep it, you’re going
to need it if you stick around long enough,” I said amused.

I
walked out of the office and he followed. I was going to start by having Nick
take me to the place where the crime occurred. That would give me a better idea
of the area, and possibly what I was up against.

“We
can take my car,” he said as we exited the warehouse.

I
nodded and followed him. He parked his car a few warehouses over out of sight.
I climbed in and he set off back toward town. “Take me to the crime scene,” I
said quietly as I watched out the window.

He
nodded and glanced at me. “What does the tattoo mean?”

“Why?”
I asked not really sure if I wanted to explain.

He
shrugged. “I just saw a couple of the other people with the same tattoo. I just
thought maybe it was a symbol for some secret organization.” The way he said it
suggested he was poking fun at me.

“It
is, we are called the renegades. The hunter and vampire councils don’t take
kindly to us. I would also appreciate it if you didn’t mention that, or the
location of the warehouse to anyone,” I said quietly.

He
did a motion like he was zipping his lips shut. “My lips are sealed. There is
no way I’m going to the wacky house for this.”

I
smiled. He was kind of amusing. He seemed to be taking everything a lot better than
most people would. “How long have you been an FBI agent?” I asked trying to
make conversation.

“About
ten years. I started this job when I got out of the army. I have seen some
shit, but I think this tops it,” he said amused.

“You’ll
get used to it, I promise,” I said as he pulled into the driveway of a house
surrounded with crime scene tape.

He
climbed out and I followed him up to the house. It appeared like everything was
normal once we entered the house, but I could smell the dried blood. I followed
him through the hall and into a bedroom. All the linens had been taken from the
place. There was a huge blood stain on the mattress and on the carpet. There
was blood splatter on the walls and even some on the ceiling. Whatever happened
here was done by an extremely violent vampire. I was a little breathless because
it was almost like déjá vu. I remember walking into my parent’s bedroom and
seeing all the blood.

“You
ok?” Nick asked as he watched me.

I
nodded shaking the feeling off. “They were trying to make a point that was for
sure. Who were the people?”

He
reached in his coat pocket and pulled out a little notepad. “Names were Alan
and Brianna Marshal. Young couple, no criminal history. They seemed pretty
normal; although I am now a little unsure of what normal is anymore,” he said
dryly.

I
smiled and shook my head. “Everything is still the same, there are just new
variables to the equation.”

He
scoffed. “Ya ok, if you want to call a freaking vampire and a hunter princess a
variable.”

“I’m
not a princess, although I am from one of the most prestigious families among
the hunters,” I said as I walked out of the room and down the hall. The place
looked so ordinary. There didn’t appear to be anything out of place. It was
obvious that they invited their killer in. “There was no fighting so they let
whoever the killer was in. I am sure the vampire had them in a trance. They
probably didn’t even scream when he killed them.”

“This
is just so fucked up,” he muttered as he looked at a picture on the mantle.

“You
have no idea,” I said softly. Looking around the place made me want answers
even more now, than I did before. I was going to have to talk to Aubrey even
though I didn’t want to. I needed to know who killed these people. “Come on I
know someone we can talk to,” I said and walked toward the exit.

“Oh
goody, more ‘people’ this should be fun,” he said sounding less than
enthusiastic as he followed me back to his car. 

I
had him park near the opening of the alley that led to Luminescence. As the
night wore on traffic outside the clubs was picking up. I climbed out and he
followed looking around nervously.

“You
know it doesn’t seem very safe walking down dark alleys,” he said as he
followed me.

I
smiled as I approached the door of Aubrey’s bar. “Believe me if I didn’t think
we could get some answers here I wouldn’t be here,” I said amused.

I
stepped into the bar and he followed staying close on my heels. I spotted
Aubrey sitting at a table surrounded by women. I put my emotions away before
walking in the door. I was on a mission, and that didn’t involve worrying about
my relationship with Aubrey.

“Why
do I feel like the main course?” Nick muttered as he followed me deeper into the
bar.

I
smiled. “I am sure you made your way to the top of some of the menus,” I said
amused.

Aubrey
looked Nick over with a disapproving glare. “Who is he and why are you bringing
him in my bar?” he growled.

“He’s
a friend and we are looking into a murder that happened last night. Do you know
anything about it?” I asked keeping my tone cool and calm.

He
smiled, but it was an annoyed smile. “Come on Lillian, you should at least say
hi before you start sounding all accusing.”

“It’s
Rayne, and I am not accusing I am asking,” I said firmly.

He
looked amused as his gaze went back to Nick. “What does he have to do with
anything?”

“He’s
the FBI agent investigating the crime,” I said as I glanced around. I noticed
we had attracted a lot of attention. I wasn’t so sure we were safe anymore.
Aubrey seemed like he was in a mood.

“You
brought an FBI agent into my bar.” The anger in his voice was clear. He wasn’t
happy with me at all, but I didn’t care.

“Yes,
you can trust him not to say anything,” I said watching him. I was daring him
to do something stupid. I wouldn’t have minded an excuse to knock him around.
My feelings for him made me angry. I wouldn’t have minded venting.

Aubrey
scoffed. “I find it interesting that you are vouch for him, but you have known
me longer and you wouldn’t trust me enough to turn your back to me.”

“You’re
right, but you are a vampire, he isn’t.” I could see my remark angered him, but
I didn’t care.

He
stood suddenly and he was incredibly close to me. I could see Nick shift
nervously as his hand went under his coat more than likely to the stake. “I
will not help you, leave now,” he growled then disappeared.

I
sighed. I was hoping he would give me something to go on, but it was obvious he
was going to be difficult. I turned and faced Nick. “Come on Nick, we aren’t
going to get anything out of him.” Nick followed me to the exit. I could tell
he was relieved to be out of the bar. If you weren’t under a vampires trance
the bars were unnerving, almost like being in a bad dream.

“So
you and that vampire got something going on?” Nick asked as we climbed back in
the car.

“No,
we are at a dead end. We might as well go home and regroup. Take me back to my
car.” I didn’t want to talk about Aubrey and I didn’t know what else to do from
here. I would have to think about my next move.