But he was also curious about what she was hiding. And she was definitely hiding something. He could have taken it from her mind easily. The lightest exploratory touch had already told him she was amazingly susceptible to his will, maybe more so than most humans. But it also told him she was both physically and emotionally exhausted from whatever secret she was keeping. A secret Raj would uncover before too long.

Of course, it didn't hurt that the secret came wrapped in a package he intended to unwrap slowly and with great relish. He wouldn't take her quickly, as he did the women he drank from usually, not like that woman in the bar earlier. Raj didn't pretend to be anything but what he was. He was a predator and humans were his prey. And he was very good at what he did. But for some reason he didn't want to trick Sarah Stratton into doing his bidding. He wanted her to go with him knowingly, to invite him into her home because she wanted him there, not because her mind was clouded with lust. Although, she did desire him already. She hadn't completely surrendered to it yet, but the subtle notes of her body told him she would soon. He smiled to himself. Oh, yes, he was going to enjoy unwrapping Sarah Stratton very much indeed.

Chapter Fourteen

"Fucking Commissioner's throwing a wild card at us, Dan.” Raj heard Scavetti's blustering from down the hall. “Captain says he didn't know about it until a few minutes ago, but he could be lying through his teeth, covering his own ass. They want in on the meeting."

"What meeting and who wants in on it?” Raj asked, strolling into the conference room.

Scavetti gave him a scathing look. “Just a quick bite, huh, Gregor?"

"You're a crude man, Scavetti,” Raj said, not even glancing at the detective as he dropped into a chair at the end of the table, leaving a wall at his back and his face to the open door. “But Felder here seems like a decent sort, so I'll assume that you're a good cop.” He leaned back into the chair, perfectly at ease. “Shall we continue?"

"You got somewhere else to be, vampire?"

Raj gave him a smug glance. “I do now."

"Son of a bitch,” Scavetti muttered. “What is it about vampires and women?” He shook his head in disgust, but his voice held an undercurrent of admiration that he couldn't disguise.

Raj permitted himself a slight smile, knowing it would irritate Scavetti. The burly detective responded on cue, giving him a final glare before turning his delightful personality on his partner. “Cowens and Blackwood are in on the meeting."

"Do they know—” Felder began.

"That we have one of the bloodsuckers here? Yeah, they know. No offense,” he added, giving Raj a look that made it clear offense was very much intended.

"Mr. Gregor—” Dan Felder started.

"Call me Raj."

"Raj?” Tony drawled, stretching out the single syllable.

"A nickname, Detective. We bloodsuckers are quite big on them."

Scavetti's eyes went flat as he tried to decide if he was being played, but Felder intervened once again. “Come on, Tony. Mr. Gregor . . . er, Raj is here to help us. We asked him to come down here, remember?"

Raj pitied Felder, having to work every day with such a noisome partner. But the truth was he did have an interest in getting this case solved quickly, so he tried to be more diplomatic. “Lord Krystof is very interested in resolving this matter, gentlemen. He's asked me to assist in any way I can."

"Lord Krystof, huh?” Scavetti sneered predictably. “Well, isn't that fucking sweet. I thought we were in America, Dan."

"Jesus Christ, Tony, what the hell is wrong with you?” Evidently even Dan Felder could only take so much.

Scavetti snapped his mouth shut, sucking back whatever he'd been about to say. He scowled at Raj, as if daring him to say anything. When Raj remained silent, Scavetti gave his partner an apologetic look. “I'm all right,” he muttered. He turned his back in an obvious attempt to keep his next words private. It didn't work. Raj could have heard him easily, even he'd been standing outside the room and down the hall. But Scavetti didn't know that.

"It just threw me off, that's all,” Scavetti said softly to Dan. “The Commissioner showing up at the last minute like this. This case is important to me; you know that."

"Which is why you should welcome help from the vamps,” Felder replied. “What do we know about their community? Nothing, that's what. So play nice for a change, you idiot."

"Yeah.” Tony gave a nervous laugh and steeled himself visibly before turning back to face Raj. “You okay with William Cowens and his fucking spiritual adviser being in the room?"

Raj shrugged easily. “I have no problem with that. The more information we have, the sooner we can solve this case and get back to our own lives. Believe me, Detective, I am no happier to be here than you are."

Disbelief flashed quickly in Tony's brown eyes, but he nodded in agreement. “Cowens and the Commissioner had a private meeting first.” He crooked his fingers in the air, giving the last two words air quotes for emphasis. “Blackwood's with them. They should be here any minute."

Raj sighed, thinking every extra minute spent in Scavetti's company had to be taking at least an hour off his immortal life. But he waited, letting thoughts of the lovely Sarah Stratton, and what he had planned for her, make those minutes pass more pleasantly.

He jerked his thoughts away from Sarah and fixed his sight on the door moments before a big man in a dark suit walked into the room. He recognized Police Commissioner Thornton from his picture in the lobby behind the bulletproof glass. With him were William Cowens, his bodyguard, and Edward Blackwood. Commissioner Thornton took a look around, his gaze lighting briefly on Raj before moving on to Scavetti. “Have you begun the briefing yet?"

"No, sir,” Scavetti said. “Captain said to wait for you and Mr. Cowens."

"Then let's get this started. William,” he said, addressing Cowens, “these are Detectives Scavetti and Felder.” He indicated each man in turn. “They're heading up Patricia's case and I have every confidence in their abilities. He pulled out two chairs, offered one to Cowens and sat in the other. “Edward Blackwood,” he continued, with a nod toward the HR founder, “is Mr. Cowens's advisor in this matter and will be serving as his press spokesman unless we decide a more personal statement is warranted.” He didn't bother to introduce the bodyguard, of course. It wasn't appropriate and no one took offense. The man eyed the room carefully, his gaze lingering on Raj before he moved to take up a position between his client and the door, while still having a clear view of everyone in the room.

"And you, sir,” Thornton said, addressing Raj directly, “must be the representative from our local vampire community.” He all but choked on the words, which Raj found amusing. That most humans preferred to believe vampires didn't exist was understandable, even preferable, to the vampire community. As he'd told Krystof, vampires survived largely by living below the radar, so to speak. If the humans thought too much about what walked among them, they might be prodded into doing something about it. And as powerful as vampires were, they were few in number, especially compared to the billions of humans now walking the Earth.

But it always surprised him when the human authorities permitted themselves to remain equally ignorant. Thornton was the Police Commissioner of a major American city—a city which was controlled by a vampire lord, no less; a city that hosted the most powerful vampires on the continent at the Vampire Council meeting every eighth year—and the man couldn't even say the word vampire without choking on it. But Raj kept these thoughts private. He rose slightly, just enough to extend his hand halfway across the table, establishing the pecking order by forcing the Commissioner to do likewise.

"Raymond Gregor,” he said. He noticed the Commissioner avoided looking at him directly and once again had to stifle the urge to laugh out loud. Television and movies had spread many myths about vampires, most of them utter foolishness, although some played into the vampires’ hands quite nicely. The need for eye contact was one of them. It helped sometimes to focus the target's attention, but if Raj wanted to seize control of a human's mind, he certainly didn't need to waste time staring into his eyes to do so.

"Always an honor to meet some of our fine men in blue, Detectives.” Blackwood's voice broke the sudden tension. “Even if you wear a suit,” he added, with his patented charming smile. He shook hands with the two detectives. “And Mr. Gregor,” he enthused, shaking Raj's hand in turn. “This is indeed a pleasure. My institute would love to open a dialogue with your people. I believe we have much in common."

Raj accepted the handshake without comment. Humanity Realized had been after the vampire community for years, trying to “open a dialogue.” Vampires were all but immortal, and HR wanted to know why so they could sell the secret to wealthy humans and thus fulfill their mission of realizing what they considered to be the full human potential. Since the last thing the people of Earth—or vampires either, for that matter—needed was a competing bunch of rich, immortal assholes running around, every vampire council on the planet had issued a firm edict. There was to be no cooperation of any sort with humans when it came to researching vampire physiology. It was the one thing, possibly the only thing, every council member agreed upon wholeheartedly, and they enforced that edict absolutely. The penalty was death—permanent and instant death—for any vampire caught breaking the edict. No trial, no appeal. Vampire justice had its own code, and it was uncompromising.

"I'd like to make something clear right now,” Cowens said, his tone suggesting he was accustomed to having strict attention paid to everything he said. And indeed, silence fell as everyone in the room turned to look at him. “My daughter is missing.” He breathed deeply in and out through his nose, his jaw clenched, visibly struggling to bring his emotions under control. “I know how this works,” he said bluntly. “I know you all think she's dead already.” His eyes grew hard and he stared at Felder and Scavetti. “I don't believe that. I won't believe that until I have a body to take home. I want a full investigation, do you understand me? I don't care if you resent me talking to you this way. You can complain to your Union, to the Commissioner, to God himself. I don't care. I want my daughter found. Dead . . .” He closed his eyes against the pain. “Dead or alive,” he continued hoarsely. “Or heads will roll. Do you understand me?"