Free Vampire Dating Agency III by Rosette Bolter Page A

they
didn’t want anyone to know. Just blame it all on me, and then bury the whole
division. But I’m out now. For how long, I have no idea. I’ve got to make the
most of it though. I’ve got to turn things around this time.”
    Tears fell
from Nadine’s eyes.
    Jason had
trouble looking at her.
    “If we do
this,” he said softly. “If I choose to help you, then … there can’t be any
doubts. We can’t just go off and assume who the killer is. Who the traitor is.
Until we know for sure, we have to keep an open mind. About everything.”
    Nadine
thought on what he’d said. “Alright. Agreed.”
    “We need to
go back. Right to the start of this whole thing. Just look at everything that
happened. Piece by piece. See if there’s something we missed. Something that
could bring everything together.”
    “Do you
really not think it’s the Count then?”
    “I don’t know
who it is,” Jason said. “And that’s the problem. Because I’m not sure. I
remember how it was on the night. It’s Brock, it’s the Count – hang on its
Cyrus. No, Cyrus is dead. It’s Brock again. Then it’s the Count. I just … I
don’t want to go through that again. It should be obvious who this is. If
they’re still out there. God. I wonder if – I wonder –”
    “What?”
    “I wonder if
they know you were getting out today. I wonder if they know –”
    Jason cut
himself short.
    He looked up
into the rearview mirror again. And saw the soccer field was empty.
    “You wonder
if he knows we’re coming?” Nadine finished for him.
    “Yeah,” Jason
said. “Something like that.”
    He pulled his
phone out from his pocket.
    And was
relieved to see there were no new messages.

 
    CHAPTER
THIRTY-FIVE
     
     
    Five pm. The shadow ticks over.
    All the
walls, barriers, gates and guards had been dissolved in the moving of time.
Jason and Nadine sat in the car, now parked outside their former workplace –
the Department of Paranormal Investigation. Grey walls had been painted blue.
Gardens had been planted. There was nothing secretive about this place anymore.
Because it no longer was what it used to be.
    “I told you,”
Jason said. “It’s just another government building now. Look. You can get your
taxes done in here.”
    “I’m going to
step out,” Nadine replied. “Look around. You coming?”
    “I thought I
might call home. Tell Amelia I’m going to be late.”
    “Well. When
you’re ready.”
    Nadine pushed
open her door and stepped out onto the road.
    Glancing back
before she made her way across, she could see Jason already had the phone to
his ear. Looking perplexed. Uncomfortable. His demeanor was almost alien to
her. For years she had dreamed of this place – of coming back here to see if it
still remained. Of course the place hadn’t been torn down, but as Jason spelled
out it no longer served the purpose they needed it to. If there was a
Paranormal Division still operating within the state, they would never find its
location. Unless it wanted them to.
    Nadine took
her time as she approached the building, her bony arms wrapped around her
fragile centre. She knew she was weak. She knew that the only thing carrying
her forward was her own mind – her inner will and determination. She felt
fierce. Angry, almost. Even in the presence of this empty shell of a memory,
she could feel fragments of her old self returning. Between the seconds it was
as if no time had passed at all.
    Except it
had.
    Bright colors
and sunshine reigned over her as she entered the calm and inviting reception
area. Posters and signs on the walls indicated the building was multipurpose –
as in many different practices were operating independently within. She took a
few paces down the area passed the reception desk, breathing in the plant life,
trying to recall where everything should have been, as opposed to where it was
now.
    “Can I help
you?” the receptionist called out behind her.
    Nadine tilted
her head slightly.