New York City, Thirty Years Later
The phone rang, pulling me away from the computer monitor I’d been staring at for the past hour. I pressed the speaker button and rubbed my eyes.
“Go ahead Olexa.”
“Hey boss. You should probably get going for your 9:30 meeting in the city.”
“Right. Thanks for the reminder. What’s the name of the coffee shop again?”
“Thanks-A-Latte.” She laughed, and the sound brought a smile to my face. “What a great name for a café, and the person you’re meeting with is Camellia by the way.”
I pulled up the calendar in my cellphone with all the details. “Right, got it.”
“Do you want me to have someone pull the Lambo up to the front of the building?”
“No, thanks I think I’ll fly today.”
I got to my feet and stretched, looking forward to a little fresh air. That was the one thing I hated about headquarters—it was underground. No windows and no views. I walked over to the corner of my office and glanced up at the narrow round shaft in the ceiling. Excitement hummed through my veins. I closed my eyes and focused on the sound of my heart pumping my mystical blood. Every cell in my body vibrated and warmth ignited in my chest, spreading outward. The air around me blurred, and my entire body trembled and contracted.
I let out a screech as I flapped my leathery wings and darted up the slender chute. My heightened bat eyesight guided me through the darkness until I reached the opening on the roof. I stretched out my wings to their full length and soared high into the cloudless sky. I flew over the East River, its murky brown waters lapping in the slight breeze. It was a quick trip to midtown where I would meet with my newest client.
I didn’t often take freelance cases anymore. My day job kept me too busy as it was, but there was something about this woman when she called. The concern in her voice resonated with me, and I couldn’t find the words to say no.
About half a mile before the café, I began my descent. I narrowed my beady eyes looking for a vacant alley. In the city, it was always challenging to find a quiet enough spot to transform back to human form. New Yorkers were always in a hurry, but they weren’t distracted enough not to notice that.
I spotted a narrow alley barely big enough for a person to walk through a few blocks away from Thank-A-Latte. I chuckled. Olexa had been right; it was a pretty funny name. I angled my wings downward and alighted on a piece of cardboard after a few short minutes. Popping back into my human form, I adjusted my shirt collar and ran my hand through my hair. Every time I transformed, I thanked my lucky stars I wasn’t a shifter. Emerging into human form naked was a terrible curse they had to bear. Fortunately for me, vampires kept their clothes.
Taking a quick left out of the alley, I walked the short distance to the café. A line of half a dozen people stood under the green awning waiting to order. I decided to forgo the coffee and went straight inside. A girl’s voice bellowed, “Welcome to Thanks-A-Latte,” as I strolled in. I glanced up; something about the voice sent a shiver up my spine.
A petite blonde girl manned the register. Her blue apron fit snugly around a full chest and wispy waist and for some reason I couldn’t tear my gaze away from her. My skin tingled. There was something about her I couldn’t quite figure out. All supernaturals had what I called sup-radar to be able to recognize others of our kind. I just couldn’t decipher the vibes this girl was giving off.
She rolled her deep blue eyes at the customer in front of her, and I couldn’t help but smile.
“Excuse me?”
I turned toward the voice, finally tearing my gaze away from the girl.
“Are you Damian Spiros?”
“Yes. I am.” I held out my hand to the woman sitting at the table next to me. With one look at the platinum beehive she sported, I knew this was my client. “You must be Camellia.”
She nodded. “Please sit down.”
I pulled out the chair, sitting at the edge of my seat. It was poor form of me not to have spotted her first. I would have, had I not been so preoccupied with that girl. I glanced up at the coffee bar, but she was gone. A tall Latino-looking guy stood in her place.
“Thank you for meeting with me today, Mr. Spiros.”
“Please just call me Damian.”
“Very well, Damian.” Her gaze flicked to the line at the register. “I’m glad you’ve already taken an interest in my case.”
I arched a brow. “Excuse me?”
She turned toward the coffee bar where customers were picking up their orders. “Aria. The young woman behind the counter is whom I need you to keep an eye on. I couldn’t help but notice she caught your attention when you arrived.”
Heat rushed to my cheeks, and I hoped my olive complexion would hide the flush. “She’s not like you,” I finally muttered.
“No. She’s human, and she needs to be protected.”
“Human?” My nose was telling me one thing, but my vampire senses were confused.
“The details aren’t important right now, Damian. What is important is that her life is in great danger. I need you to protect her. As I mentioned on our phone call, money is no object. I don’t know how long this task may last so I need someone that can commit to an indefinite time period.”
I looked up at the girl behind the counter tinkering with the industrial coffee machine. She bit down on her lower lip appearing deep in concentration.
“Damian? Can you do it?”
“Yes,” I breathed out.
She slid over a manila envelope with a few pages sticking out. “This is all the information you’ll need about her. In addition, you’ll receive your payments weekly via wire transfer direct to your bank account.””
“Fine.” I flipped through the small file. “This isn’t a lot to go on. Can you be more specific about the sort of danger she’s in?”
She shook her head. “No, not at this time. I can, however, tell you that there are both supernatural and human threats.”
Great.
She abruptly stood. “Please take care of her, Damian. I am entrusting you with her life.”
I nodded, my brows pulling together. “I promise I won’t let anything happen to her.”
She squeezed my hand and rushed out of the crowded café.