Free When Darkness Hungers: A Shadow Keepers Novel (Shadow Keepers 5) by J.K. Beck Page B

hadn’t gone that far. It was too hard to believe. Too terrifying.
    But he believed it now, even though he hoped to hell he was mistaken.
    He didn’t think he was, though. And he feared that his beautiful, supposedly eccentric bride had been right on the money.
    Vampires existed. They’d eased their way into the human world. They were poised for an attack.
    And if what Sanders said was true, they were neck-deep in Homeland Security.

 
    Edgar slid the car to a stop, shifted to park, and kept his hands tight on the steering wheel.
    “Say it if you have to,” Alexis said. She knew what he was going to say. That she shouldn’t have come. Hell, if she was in his position, she’d probably say the same thing.
    “You shouldn’t have come. What? Why are you smiling?”
    “No reason.” She grabbed the handle and pushed open her door. “Come on. Near the duck pond, right?”
    He gave a miserable nod, then cut the engine, killing the headlights. After a moment he got out of the car and met her by the hood, his footsteps making a squelching sound as he moved over the soaked grass.
    “There,” she said, pointing to an area about five hundred yards away that glowed with eerie illumination. “Homeland’s forensics team must’ve set up lights.”
    “You should let me handle this on my own.”
    “Not a chance,” she said. “You said the time of first assault was estimated to be sometime early this morning, right? Well, that would have been not long after that vamp I wounded got away. And you know as well as I do that he was looking for a meal. I’m thinking he found one in Penny Martinez.” She kept her voice detached and professional, but inside she was twisted in knots. “And if what you heard from the responding officer is true, he found her, fed off her, and kept her alivefor hours. Time of death was just a few hours ago, just around nightfall, right?” She shuddered. The vamp must’ve had a tarp or something to keep him out of the sun during the long hours of torture. Somehow the fact that he tormented the poor girl in broad daylight made the heinous act even more vile.
    “He might not be the killer. And even if he is, it’s not your fault.”
    Like hell
. She shrugged off his words. “My fault or not, I’m working the scene.” She picked up her pace.
    He was breathing hard when he caught up to her. “What if someone at the scene knows you?”
    “I was FBI, not Homeland. And you said yourself it’s not a task force matter. Who would I know?”
    He didn’t answer, but he looked so unhappy that she stopped walking.
    “Come on, Edgar, no one will know who I am.” He made a snorting noise. “Fine. If someone figures it out, then we’ll say that
you
didn’t know the truth, either. As far as you know, I’m FBI all the way, and I’ve just pulled a huge scam on you.”
    “Sometimes I wish that was true. I’m just not sure I’m—”
    “What?”
    “I’m not sure I’m comfortable with the whole thing. You pretending to be something you’re not.”
    She let his words slide off her. She’d made peace with her decision to leave the FBI. She had a mission, after all, and pretending to believe that a cult was bleeding victims dry wasn’t helping that purpose. It was a waste of time, and she didn’t miss it. The only downside was the fact that an FBI badge did open certain doors. But the interesting thing was that you really only needed thebadge and the attitude. She already had the ’tude. And fortunately, she’d had plenty of money to acquire a new badge once her official one had been turned over to headquarters.
    “Are you ‘comfortable’ with what’s going on, then?” she asked. “With what killed Penny Martinez? People are dying, Edgar, and there aren’t enough of us fighting. We need whatever advantage we can snag. This isn’t a random crime we’re talking about. It’s evil. Pure and simple.”
    “You think I don’t know that?”
    “I think you’re scared,” she said.
    “Damn