CHAPTER 2

Dan refused to stay in my old apartment. I was fond of that place, since it was across from a police station and close to the tattoo shop. He didn’t feel comfortable living there, surrounded by so many unsavory types. I tried my best, even pointing out I lived there for months with no incidents, but he was having none of it. As much as it irritated me, I couldn’t be overly mad since it was my safety he was concerned with. How’s a girl going to be upset when he’s just worried about keeping her safe? You can’t.

So now I live about ten minutes away from the shop, and he’s twenty minutes from the station he’s working out of setting up their supernatural unit. It’s not a fancy place like Zeke wanted us to rent, but a modest two-bedroom apartment with furniture from Walmart and Ikea. With one exception. Papa outright dared me to steal his comfy couch. When I actually tried, he sighed and bought me an identical one. It’s the one piece of expensive furniture we own. I don’t want to know how much that thing cost because I might hyperventilate. It’s just easier to say thank you and remain ignorant.

Here’s the thing. Zeke tries to throw his money at me, but I don’t want that. Papa grew up with money. I didn’t. I only need enough money to pay my bills and splurge a little on food and a movie here or there. Dan wasn’t raised in the wealth the Cranes were, but his father is a very good attorney. His parents were wealthy, and he and his brother pretty much had anything they wanted. But Earl Richards taught both his boys not to take money for granted and that you have to work for it. It’s not something he just handed to them willy nilly.

And Rachel Maddox’s bank account has millions in it. Dan doesn’t want to touch it because he knows I got that money from all the heists I went on with my friend and partner in crime, Evan Pierce. We are probably the best thieves in Chicago, whether it’s a supernatural item or a piece of art or jewelry. I’m very good at it because I grew up stealing the things I needed to just survive. Dan doesn’t say much even though he’s a cop. I guess he knows I am who I am, and he loves me anyway.

If it came down to it, I could buy whatever I wanted with the money I made, but I don’t need anything, really, except for my family. We get by very comfortably on Dan’s salary and what I make at the shop, plus what I earn from my commissions for designs. We’re both fine with the mid-level apartment and the big box store furniture. It’s all we need.

Chicago is a city I’ve grown to love. I think Dan’s starting to as well. I never thought I’d want to be somewhere cold, considering I’m mostly ghost energy, and as such, my body temperature is always freezing. There’s just something about this city that calls to me. It feels more like home than anywhere else I’ve lived. Maybe it’s the ability to get lost in the crowd or just being able to be myself without worrying about others.

Not that I don’t worry. Mary is my biggest worry. My sister and I rely on each other to get through our nightmares. I tried my best to get her to come with us, but she’s passionate about the Hathaway Foundation, and she wouldn’t abandon it. Or Eric and Ethan either. She said someone had to keep them out of trouble. When Dan’s working nights, my nightmares are out in full force, and I wake up screaming. Police have come knocking a few times because the screams have been so loud. I’ve had to explain to them I’m a survivor of torture. They’ve gone and looked up the police reports from North Carolina.

Mary agreed to stay with Zeke, but he doesn’t get what she’s been through. I do. I call her every day. And she’s the reason I’ll go back to Louisiana even though I’d rather stay here.

Unless she finds another way of coping. Dan is my blanket, and I’m hoping she finds her own Dan. My not being there might push her to seek out someone who can comfort her the way Dan does me. She and I are each other’s crutches. We know it, own up to it, and do our best to not be, but it doesn’t always work.

If Dan and I do want to stay here, maybe I can convince her to open a chapter of the Hathaway Foundation here in the city. Papa will be livid if I don’t come back to New Orleans, though.

And there’s Eric. He wants to be a professional football player. He could get drafted anywhere, and the truth is, we’ll all probably pack up and move to whatever city he has to relocate to. Do I doubt he’ll not only get drafted but be a first-round draft pick? Nope. Eric is good. But Jake was good at football. Eric loved basketball, but he rolled with the skills he inherited and improved on them to the point he’s amazing to watch on the field, whereas Jake was just good. Average, really. Eric is a powerhouse.

The lock turns just as I’m setting out our food. Dan comes in, yawning. His brown hair is sticking up like he’s run his hands through it all day, and his eyes are bloodshot. He’s been at work for the last forty-eight hours helping to track a missing kid. It’s rare those cases turn out well, and I know for a fact this one didn’t. They found the kid’s body earlier in the day, and he stuck around to help with the initial on-scene investigation. He’s free for three days. I’m free tomorrow, but I might be able to sweet talk RJ into giving me one more day off.

“Hey, Squirt.” He tosses his keys next to mine in the bowl sitting on the small table by the door. “You got my favorite!”

I scrunch up my nose. It’s not my favorite.

“One day I’m going to try to make Mom’s recipe for you. She made the best meatloaf. Not as good as Mrs. B’s, but still good.” He comes over and sits at the island, yawning even more. “This will do.”

“I think you need a nap or you’re going to fall face first into your dinner, Officer Dan.”

“I can’t even argue with you, but I’m starving. I think the last thing I ate was a granola bar sometime yesterday.”

“I could have brought you food.”

“We were out scouring the city. I wouldn’t have had time.”

There’s a knock at the door, and we both look up, frowning.

“You expecting someone?”

“Nope.”

He gets up and goes to the door, looking through the peephole. I put a ward up that would stop a bullet should anyone try to shoot through the door. It’s one I learned from Evan when I first moved to the city.

“Who is it?” I ask when he doesn’t open the door.

“I don’t know, but I don’t think we should open it.”

My hackles rise. “Why?”

He beckons me over and then lifts me slightly so I can look out the peephole. Yes, I’m that short. Sue me.

There’s a man standing there, his blue eyes slightly yellow, like he’s got jaundice or something. And the stink is one I know all too well. I’ve smelled it before. It’s a ghoul. Vampires create them by feeding them their blood. They’re not dead, but they’re not exactly alive either.

“Yeah, no. That’s a ghoul.”

Dan’s entire being stiffens. I’ve told him about Ralph, the insane vampire’s ghoul, who held me hostage and nearly destroyed me. Kristof is the reason I ran away and became Rachel Maddox to begin with. Dan’s got every right to be on guard.

“I can hear you,” the ghoul rumbles, laughter in his voice. “I’m not here to harm you, Rachel Maddox. Simply to extend an invitation.”

“If this is about the guy who hit me up earlier, I’ll tell you the same thing I told him. I don’t go anywhere with strangers. If your boss wants a meeting, she can come see me in a public area.”

“That wouldn’t make it safer for anyone involved.”

“Then my wife won’t be speaking with anyone. Especially not a vampire.”

“We were informed you both were well versed in the supernatural. What gave me away?”

“Your eyes,” I tell him. “I’ve met a ghoul before.”

“Hmm, not sure what I can do about that.”

“Stop drinking vampire blood?” I suggest.

He laughs. He doesn’t feel as evil as Ralph did, but I’m not judging a book by its cover. He could be hiding his psychotic tendencies.

“I’m here on behalf of my master, Gloria Monroe. She is the Master of the City of Chicago. We have a problem we are hoping you can help us with, Mrs. Richards-Crane.”

Dan’s face turns to stone.

“Yes, we know who you are. It’s hard not to when your husband didn’t use an alias here. Most people who want to know can easily find this information.”

I knew Dan not using the last name Maddox would be an issue, but the department didn’t want to allow him to do that. Stupid police. Now they’ve gone and put him in even more danger. Maybe I won’t be staying in the Windy City.

“Kristoff does not represent the majority of vampires.”

Dan and I both snort at this. I’ve only ever met one vampire who was decent. The rest have all tried to kill me.

“They are deadly, but they can control themselves as well. Gloria has a job for you, and she’s been told you and your husband might be able to help.”

“Dan?”

“He is setting up the city’s Supernatural Crime Unit, yes?”

“Why would that matter to a vampire?”

“Because people are dying. There may be no humanity left in my master, but she hasn’t survived for a thousand years by being stupid. She understands if this issue doesn’t get resolved, it will be bad for humans, vampires, and all other supernatural beings. All she asks for is a meeting.”

“Conditions remain the same,” Dan says, a bite in his voice. “If this meeting is to take place, it will be a location and time of our choosing.”

“Very well, Detective Richards. I will inform my master, and you’ll have a reply before dawn breaks across the sky.”

Dan remains stoically at the door for a good ten minutes, neither of us moving, waiting to see if the ghoul comes back.

“Explain,” he says when he’s sure it’s safe.

I walk back over to where our food is cooling and sit down to eat. My stomach has been grumbling for a good hour. The bottomless pit must be fed. When he sees I’m not going to abandon my supper, he joins me, grabbing a fork out of the dish drainer to eat his nasty meatloaf.

As we eat, I tell him about the guy who sat down at the diner. “He was human. I just figured it was someone wanting me to steal something. I’d planned to turn them down and refer them to Evan. I don’t need the money. I have a lot of custom designs to do for customers at the shop.”

“A master vampire.” Dan sighs heavily. “They are the oldest vampires alive and hold the most power in the city or area they claim as their territory. Think Kristoff on steroids times a million.”

Just the thought gives me hives.

“If we refuse the meeting, then they’ll force the issue, won’t they?”

“They have the power to do it, Squirt, so yes. They’ll take you. I’ll tear the city apart, but with the amount of mind control they can exert on those around them, you could be dead and buried before I find you.”

“Then we set up a time and a place to meet her. We hear her out. Is there anything weird happening at work that might be related?”

“Not that I’m aware of. I’ll call my boss and ask him.”

“I don’t know if informing the police is the…”

He’s shaking his head before I can get the sentence out. “You heard him as well as I did. He knew I was part of the new unit and hinted at my being involved.”

“You’d involve yourself anyway.” I don’t want him anywhere near a vampire, especially one as powerful as he’s saying this one is. The ghoul did say she was a thousand years old, so she has to be powerful.

But so am I.

I dare her to attempt to lay a finger on Dan.

I’ll take her apart molecule by molecule.

“Easy, there.” He lays a hand over mine. “Your eyes are going black. That hasn’t happened in months.”

“No one’s going to hurt you.”

He smiles. “Eat your burger and calm down. Then we’ll both go shower and nap. Nothing we can do about anything tonight. We’ll wait for the ghoul’s response and deal with it tomorrow. Sound good?”

He’s right. I need to calm down. No sense in showing our hand too early. If the thing suspects what I can do to it, then it might go elsewhere for help. And if the ghoul is right, there might actually be a problem. Dan’s unit will most likely get involved down the line one way or another if the deaths are linked to the supernatural side of the city.

I’ll call Evan later and ask him about Gloria Monroe. He might be able to shed some light on the city’s master vampire since he’s lived here his entire life. I’ll do that tomorrow, though.

But for now? Eat. Shower. Bed.

Until we know more, those three things are all I’m going to focus on.