David moved to stand at Jaces side and slapped a hand on his friends shoulder. Why dont you call Trent tonight and see if hell check it out? Maybe its some other kind of shifter. Hed know. We can talk to him and Ash when they get back from helping the Brooklyn division catch that ghost shifter. Theyll be at the meeting tomorrow morning.
Jace gritted his teeth together and kept his jaw clamped shut. He thought of the female wolf out in his car. What the hell was he going to do with her? He pulled at his sleeve and hoped to hell that the blood from his wound wasnt seeping through his trench coat. At least the wound was starting to knit itself back together. He could feel it.
While were at it, why not have Shane take a look, too? Maybe this has to do with the voodoo stuff he likes so much, David said. Ill go with you, Shane.
Shane smiled from ear to ear. He didnt get to do much out in the field, and Jace could tell he was stoked. I can examine the scene for any possible evidence of occult ritual activities. But you know, rarely is there actually a
Jace let out a low growl. The cops have probably stumbled across her by now. Though even the beat cops avoid those back alleys, so who knows, maybe youll get lucky and find her the way I didlegs spread, heart missing and organs thrown around like fucking confetti over the asphalt. So once youve all taken a good long look and made a spectacle of this poor girls corpse, why dont you give me a holler so I can say I told you so?
Damon glared at Jace, his high cheekbones casting shadows across his features, hollowing him out like a dead man. If this is a werewolf, you have one week from tomorrow before HQ takes over the investigation and I have to replace you on grounds of incompetence. Theyre breathing down my neck as it is, and theyre not going to sit back and do nothing if civilians keep dying,
That isnt gonna happen. Im the best damn werewolf hunter on the East Coast, and you know it, Damon. Dont give me that shit.
Please, Jace, no reason to use so much humility. Damon wrenched open a drawer and pulled out a large stack of papers. This meeting is over. He turned away from Jace and glued his gaze to the pages. All of you fill out your damn paperwork so HQ can have their damn signatures, then scan it into the computers and go home. David, I need the updated report on that Vetis demon possession, and someone call Trent and tell him to get his shit together and give me some notes on the influx of shifters. I want to know why the hell, on a regular basis, were being overrun with freaks who shift into alley cats. And while youre at it, tell Ash I need a report from him on the haunting in that old psych ward.
Jace fought hard not to put his fist through one of the computer screens. Why the hell did we have a damn meeting if its only going to last ten minutes? You couldve picked up a phone if all you wanted was to verbally ream my ass.
Damon didnt look up. Perhaps it would have lasted longer if you hadnt pissed me off.
Without another word, Jace strode out the door, and back up the stairs.
David called after him. J., Im
The large metal entrance to their haven slammed in its frame, cutting him off. The cold air of the unheated warehouse hit Jace hard. He exhaled and watched his breath swirl in the overhead light, like steam from his anger. His thoughts flashed through the nights events, and he frowned.
Mutilated dead girls, a pissed-off werewolf hunter and a naked vixen. Not a good combination.
DAVID SAT DOWN at his desk and stared at the back of Damons head after Jace stormed out. Another meeting, another my dick is bigger than yours contest between Jace and Damon. They might as well pull their cocks out for everyone to see so they could settle the battle once and for all. Damons constant harping on Jaces every move was getting old.
David crossed his arms over his chest. Why do you have to bust his balls like that? You know it only makes him want to challenge you more.
Setting down his pen, Damon looked up from his paperwork. David, it would serve you best to keep your mouth shut.
David threw up his hands in surrender. Man, was Damon good at overreacting. Look, Im just trying to promote some camaraderie here.
Damon turned and glared at him with his piercing, ice-blue eyes, then returned to his reports. When I want your input, Ill let you know.
David frowned. He swore Damon lived with a permanent stick shoved up his ass. It would explain the pissed-off attitude 24/7. But pissed off or not, there was no way he was about to let Damon dismiss him that easily. HQ encourages all hunters to form alliances with each other. Were an international network, not a bunch of loosely affiliated individuals. Their words, not mine.
Damon threw his pen onto his desk, his jaw clenched tight. He turned to David again. His eyes narrowed with a look of sheer annoyance. I suggest that unless you want to join Jace on the fast track to losing your job, you shut the hell up while youre ahead.
David gripped the edge of his chair. He was willing to put up with a lot of bullshit, but leader or not, no one talked to him like that, and no one threatened his job.
Standing, he pointed at Damon. Dont think that just because Im not as rebellious as Jace that means Im gonna sit here and take your shit. If thats the game you wanna play, then so be it. But my ass is covered. Ive never stepped a foot out of line, and you know it. Can you say the same?
Are you implying that I dont follow protocol? Damon asked.
David shook his head. Im not implying anything. Im saying that a hunter who does everything by the book is a good hunter. A hunter who throws the book at others like its the damn Torah is covering up his own mistakes by pointing out others.
David walked toward the door and paused, then glanced back. He couldnt let Damons threats go any further. Hed taken it one step too far this time. Im calling your bluff, Damon. You cant and wont fire Jace, because he really is the best damn werewolf hunter on the East Coast. We all know hes not exaggerating when he says that. Its pure fact, and if you take him off the case just to prove your own stupid point, youre a fool and those girls blood is on your hands. And you wont fire me, either, because where are you going to find another demon hunter with my kind of experience? When you find someone who has known how to summon demons and sense demonic possession since they were five, you let me know. Then Ill start being afraid of your threats.
David turned to Shane and nodded for him to follow. Come on. Well go examine the crime scene again, since our leader here cant trust the judgment of his expert hunters.
Shanes eyes widened. Without a word, he snatched his messenger bag off the back of his chair and hurried after David.
Damon didnt bother to say a word.
FRANKIE THREW ALL her body weight against the H3s window. Her shoulder hit the glass and sent pain surging through her torso. She maneuvered her hands onto the handle one more time and pulled. Nothing.
Damn it, she said into the silence.
She rested against the seat, the leather sticking to her naked skin despite the cold temperature. She let out a loud huff. Locked up in a hunters car, and every escape route shed tried thus far hadnt worked.
To think, this morning shed been bitching about how quickly her hair and nails grew during her estrus. Normally she loved going to the salon for a mani-pedi, but having to do it every couple of days got old fast. She was eternally ungrateful to her werewolf ancestry for saddling her with the problem. That had been her worst concern during the day. Well, that and the whole Alpha-mating thing. Boy, had that come back to bite her in the ass.
To think, this morning shed been bitching about how quickly her hair and nails grew during her estrus. Normally she loved going to the salon for a mani-pedi, but having to do it every couple of days got old fast. She was eternally ungrateful to her werewolf ancestry for saddling her with the problem. That had been her worst concern during the day. Well, that and the whole Alpha-mating thing. Boy, had that come back to bite her in the ass.
A small pang hit her chest. Alejandro would never forgive her for skipping out on their arranged mating ceremony. It wasnt his fault hed been chosen to be her mate. He hadnt chosen it any more than she had, but she knew he was a stickler for tradition, and leaving him at the altar had shamed him in front of the pack. She hated to think of such a strong warrior, her closest confidante, being hurt by her betrayal. She and Alejandro had grown up together. She felt she owed him more than that. But how could she take him as a mate, a husband, when she loved him only as a friend?
Pushing the thoughts from her mind, she willed her body to change. In her wolf form, these shackles would slide from her wrists, and she could launch herself at his throat with three-inch canines the moment he opened the door. Unfortunately, that opportunity had passed some time ago, quite literally, with the clock ticking past midnight. Changing now was nearly impossible with her bodys yearly estrus period, her mating cycle, kicking into gear. Not that she would have been likely to manage it anyway, not with the silver cuffs on her wrists.
But damn, she had to try something.
Think, Frankie. Think.
Trying every handle and unlock buttonno easy feat while handcuffedhadnt yielded any luck, either. The hunter hadnt liedthere was no way in hell she could get out of this gas-guzzler unless he allowed it.
She kicked the window out of sheer annoyance. Though it had proved impossible to break earlier, she had to keep trying. Her foot slammed into the glass. The release of tension calmed her, and she side-kicked harder, finally leaving a solid crack, but the window refused to shatter. It had to be bulletproof.
Tomorrow. She would escape tomorrow. When the mating call had passed and she was back to her full power, she would take the bastard down. She would be in top shape. Already the knife wound and her scrapes had healed, despite the weakness associated with her mating cycle. But until then, she was stuck. Damn.