Free Destined for Time by Stacie Simpson

think it’s more likely some lone psycho that wants to be a vampire
or it’s one of those religious fanatics that would like to see the resort
closed down for good.”
    Tony and I sat in our chairs; backs ramrod straight and
waited while she contemplated my opinion.
    After a moment she shook her head and stopped pacing. “No,
my gut tells me someone at that resort is involved.” She leveled her gaze on
me. “We need to find a serious lead and fast. People are starting to panic as
far as three counties away. We should be using every resource available to find
the maniac that’s killing these young girls. Why haven’t you spoken to Mr.
Delaney about this recently? He’s normally very forthcoming when you turn on
the charm.”
    Inside I groaned; I’d known it would only be a matter of
time before this came up. “Mr. Delaney has made it very clear that he’s tired
of asking me to go out with him only to be turned down. I’ve tried to speak to
him about these murders, but for the last month he’s been conveniently
unavailable whenever I go to the resort. We actually had an appointment to
speak with him today, but he was supposedly called away on an emergency just
before we arrived.”
    She tapped her toe while she mulled that over, then she
looked at me with an almost evil grin that gave me chills. “Then perhaps it’s
time you went on a date with Mr. Delaney.”
    It felt like my jaw hit the floor and I clamped my mouth
shut hard. Lieutenant Taggert was looking at me expectantly. “You want me to
date Devin Delaney?” This could not be happening.
    “I don’t want you to date him for real, think of it as an
undercover assignment. We’ll be watching your back the entire time.”
    And it just kept getting better. “Let me get this straight.
You want me to go out on a date with Devin Delaney to try and get him to talk
about these murders while my fellow police officers watch our every move from a
nearby vantage point.”
    “Yes. Do you have a problem with that?” Her tone was getting
sharper as her eyes narrowed on me.
    I looked her in the eyes and hoped I appeared confident
while inside I was screaming - Why me? “No Ma’am. I’m only concerned
that he might notice if I bring backup on a date with him. He’s a very
perceptive individual and security is his field of expertise.”
    She relaxed a bit and sat back down in her chair. “Nonsense.
Our people are good at what they do, and he’s too dangerous to send you out
with him alone. Call Mr. Delaney and set this up as soon as possible. If there’s
anything he can tell us that will help break this case then we needed to know
it yesterday.”
    The meeting ended on that note and I left to make my call to
Rook. When I reached the front desk of the resort they tried to give me the
runaround but I told them to tell Rook this was a personal call. Within
moments he was suddenly available and on the other end of the line. He seemed
genuinely surprised and pleased to hear from me making it that much harder to
go through with the charade. Hearing his voice brought so many memories to the
surface. He’d never been anything but honest with me unless he was protecting
supernatural secrets and now I was going to betray his trust like he meant
nothing at all.
    Knowing the backup Lieutenant Taggert sent wouldn’t be able
to hide in the resort I asked him to meet me somewhere away from the casino. He
chose a place called Mike’s that was outside the immediate area but I was
familiar with it. We agreed to meet at nine o’clock and hung up, then I gave
the specifics to my backup crew. I didn’t want to go through with this, but
refusing would raise too many suspicions. With no other choice I headed home to
prepare for my first date with Rook. Too bad it would most likely be our last
since I was sure there wasn’t a human alive who could evade his detection.
    * * * * *

Chapter Seven
    The call from Angela surprised me and I was curious to know
why she wanted to meet