Free Firestorm: Heart of a Vampire #5 by Amber Kallyn

woken him from his dreams.
    It was driving her as nuts as being stuck in this house. He’d left. Oh yeah. Escaping every chance he got to “go interview such-and-such” with Blake.
    He turned back to his papers without a word.
    Sighing in frustration, she left the room to check on Irish yet again.
    An hour later, a knock came at the door. She raced to answer it, desperate for any distraction.
    Blake stood outside. The worry lines around his eyes and mouth were deeper since the last time he’d been there.
    It wasn’t good news.

 
    Chapter Nine
     
    “T here’s been another murder,” Blake stated as he strode inside.
    “Who?” Cat demanded.
    “Jenny Bacchus.”
    Sorrow filled her. Her frustration boiled nearly out of control.
    Eric stepped into the foyer. “Any known cause?”
    “No. Same as the others.” Blake slapped his thigh, pacing. “The Judge is back in town though. One of my men saw him at the hotel.”
    “Good.” She headed to the table by the door and grabbed her keys. “He’s going to give some answers this time, no matter what.”
    “You’re not going without me,” Eric replied. “And I’m not sitting in that toy you call a car.”
    He tossed her his keys.
    “Blake, you’ll stay and keep an eye on Irish?”
    “Yeah.” The man looked exhausted.
    Cat moved outside, climbing in the driver’s seat of Eric’s SUV. She seriously considered leaving without him, after his dismissive attitude lately...
    He got in before she could make up her mind. Silently, she headed down the drive and into the city.
    * * *
    As Cat pulled into the hotel parking lot, her shoulders tense, Eric felt pangs of guilt over the way he’d tried to ignore her. And he wondered if this lust, these feeling for her that he couldn’t push back or ignore, were part of his insanity. If he was around her much longer, he was going to grow to like her. Though he feared that was already happening.
    They walked into the hotel and she told him, “Let me do the talking.”
    “How may I help you?” the concierge asked politely, if a bit disinterested.
    Cat slid one of her cards to him. He glanced over her name, his expression immediately perking up. “Lady Bienville. My manager left a message for you. The guest you wish to speak with is in.”
    “So I heard,” she replied wryly. “We’d like to see him now.”
    This was definitely faster than when he’d tried to get information.
    “Yes, ma’am.” The concierge nodded, and waved to a young woman in a colorful uniform. “Jackie will show you the way.”
    She hurried over, smiling sweetly but with blank eyes, as she said in a monotone, “Follow me to your floor.”
    In the elevator, Cat stood as far from him as she could, tall and stiff. She didn’t fidget at all.
    Neither did the girl. Turning his attention to Jackie, Eric watched her closely. No expression, no movement. She barely breathed. He leaned towards the girl, inhaling deeply.
    Human. Mortal. But her scent was off. He couldn’t pinpoint what it was though.
    The elevator dinged and the doors opened. He followed Cat out and to the right. As the elevator doors began to close, he glanced back at Jackie.
    The girl stared straight ahead, her eyes still blank, as if she saw nothing.
    * * *
    At room 413, Cat raised her hand to knock, but Eric beat her to it, thumping on the wood loud enough to be heard a few floors down.
    The Judge’s deep, growly voice came through. “You don’t have an appointment, and I didn’t order room service. Go away.”
    Eric crossed his arms over his massive chest. “Open up, or I’ll do it for you.”
    After a moment of silence, the door swung open. The Judge looked to be in his mid-twenties, but one could never be sure. Though mortal, wolf shifters didn’t age like humans. He was average everything—short and stocky, with close cropped brown hair, dull brown eyes and non-descript features.
    “Vampire.” The man scowled, putting on a poor show of bravado as he had to look higher