Bad Blood (Aurora Sky: Vampire Hunter, Vol. 3) (13 page)

Valerie’s elbows were bent, palms pressed against the chair’s armrests as though preparing to launch herself at Melcher.

“Do you know what Fane thought the first time he bit me?” she demanded. “He thought I was a vampire!”

Dante snorted and leaned away from the wall. “Sounds real bright, this vamp you dated. Love the name. Totally inconspicuous.”

I pulled on the edge of my shirt collar, frowning. Was it getting hot in here?

Valerie glared at Dante. “Fane would crush you, grind you, and drink you for breakfast, little boy. He’s not trying to be inconspicuous. That’s how big his balls are.”

Definitely too hot.

Melcher slapped his desk suddenly, startling us all. “Enough of that! Need I remind all of you that you work for an elite division of the United States government?” His back straightened, stiff as a pole, expression as grave as a flag at half-mast. “The work we do here is of the highest importance, and I expect you to take it seriously.”

Valerie slouched in her seat. Dante leaned back against the wall. The room quieted.

“Yes, Miss Ward,” Melcher continued. “We were aware of the possibility that vampires might detect your blood type.”

“Thanks for the heads up,” Valerie said under her breath, grumbling.

“Most of the infected know little about their condition. Those who have managed to piece together the connection between blood type and vampirism likely know it requires a deadly disease to complete the process.”

I wondered what would happen if I didn’t have the antidote. Would I experience a sudden change? Cravings for blood… Well, already had those, but maybe it would be worse. It wasn’t as if I’d have super strength or be able to fly. Vampirism was overrated, except maybe the part about eternal life. Not much of a super power if you asked me.

“Ours is an ever-evolving battle,” Melcher said. “We do everything in our power to stay one step ahead of the enemy, but we cannot prevent them from figuring things out as time passes. Statistically, most vampires will have never tasted AB negative or positive blood since less than one percent of the population has this type. Others who have been around long enough, unfortunately, are aware that a person with this blood type is either a vampire or has the potential to turn into a vampire.”

“Why not kill these vampires if they know so much?” Dante asked.

My heart dropped. No matter what happened, I’d sooner stop breathing than let Fane die.

“No,” Melcher said, surprising me. “They’re far more valuable to me alive. We’ve already lost track of dozens of vampires since Marcus’ departure.”

Well, excuse me! Why did everyone act like I’d taken down the pope?

“Diederick has vast connections to the underworld. For now, we need him to coax his underlings out of the shadows.”

King of the underworld. I doubted Diederick would be very happy if he knew our agency kept tabs on him in the interest of offing his so-called underlings.

“But we are getting off topic,” Melcher said. “Dante secured a place on Diederick’s VIP list when he attended one of these parties in Fairbanks last winter. We have paid his ticket for an all rooms access pass. He will be going undercover as a vampire.”

Dante smiled and lifted his brows. He so did not look like a vampire.

From the frown on Valerie’s face, I’d say she was thinking the same thing.

“Wait a minute,” she said. “If Dante’s going in as a vampire, will he be tasting these wine bimbos?”

“Dante will do what’s necessary to maintain his cover,” Melcher said.

Dante’s grin widened. “The things I do for my country.”

Shouldn’t I be jealous that Dante would be sucking blood from an unspecified number of women? My anger at seeing Fane bite one woman had been enough to supercharge a rocket into space.

I hated to admit my first reaction to Dante’s assignment was more around the lines of
:
No fair, how come he gets to drink blood?

“Oh, wow,” Valerie said, smirking at Dante. “You just landed yourself the dream mission, Don Juan.”

Dante’s chest puffed up. “I’m not complaining.”

Valerie lifted her chin.  “What are Aurora and I supposed to do while Casanova samples the merchandise?”

“Valerie will gather names and start profiles of all the guests,” Melcher said. “I want to know who goes inside the private rooms and who stays in the central area. Find out who works for Diederick—vampires and human. I want to know everything that happens at these events.”

“What’s my cover?” Valerie asked.

“You will be attending as Dante’s girlfriend.”

My jaw clenched. The green eyed monster reared her head on that one. Sucking off random working girls was one thing, but pretending to be a couple with Valerie Ward made me see red, and I didn’t mean the vixen’s hair. If they kissed… so help me.

“Why can’t I bring my real girlfriend?” Dante asked, walking behind my chair. He leaned forward, arms stretching over my shoulders, his hands on my armrests.

I’d seen a lot of frowns from Melcher this morning, but the one on his face now took the prize. I swore I saw pure malice in his eyes.

“Dante, Aurora,” he said slowly. “Is there something I should be aware of?”

Valerie shot up in her seat, smiling deviously. “Yeah, is there something we should all be aware of?”

“Miss Ward,” Melcher said in a warning tone.

Valerie pressed her lips together.

Melcher zoomed his questioning glare over to me. Why was this so awkward? Why did Dante have to go open his big mouth? Number one, I wasn’t Dante’s girlfriend. Number two, Melcher didn’t need to know about our personal lives.

“As a matter of fact…” Dante began.

When I heard Dante’s voice I suddenly found my own. “No,” I said firmly. “Dante was just joking around.”

I whipped my head around and glared at Dante. If he said otherwise I was going to smack him upside the head first chance I got.

Our eyes met. Dante’s smile slowly neutralized. He retracted his arms and stepped aside. My expression must have conveyed my wishes loud and clear.

Melcher cleared his throat. “While I encourage teamwork in my department, I don’t advise fraternizing outside of assignments. You can’t let emotion cloud your judgment in the field. It could end up getting you or your partner killed.” Melcher looked pointedly at Dante. “I don’t need to remind you of what happened to Janine.”

Dante resumed his position against the wall and folded his arms over his chest.

“As I was saying, Dante will attend the tasting part of the event and provide me with a full report on everything that happens in the private rooms. Meanwhile, Miss Ward, undercover as your female companion, will gather intel on every guest that goes in and out of the party.”

That just left me. What part would Melcher make me play in Mission Tastings? I stared at him until he looked back. Out with it already.

“Agent Sky, I’ve saved the most important assignment for you.”

Why didn’t that reassure me?

Melcher’s fingers formed a steeple. He smiled, which was more unnerving than his frown.

“I want you to get close to Diederick.”

Of course Melcher wanted me to get close to Diederick. I’d taken down Marcus and now Melcher had me pigeon holed as the hunter who went after the king of the castle. Extra credit for doing so well the last time. Freakin’ great.

Valerie lifted her brows and smirked at me. Not a good sign. None of this was good. Valerie undercover as Dante’s girlfriend, me getting cozy with Mr. Head Honcho—vamp in charge. Was it possible to call in sick? That one wouldn’t work on Melcher. He knew illness, like pregnancy, was impossible. I ought to sue his organization for malpractice. Oh right, couldn’t do that either.

“What do you mean by ‘get close’ to him?” I asked Melcher. That sounded like a job for an informant not a hunter.

He looked up as though reaching for the right wording. From the corner of my eye, Valerie made a fist and moved it back and forth in front of her mouth. Melcher missed it, looking skywards and all. So did Dante, who looked as intent as I felt, waiting for Melcher’s answer.

“I mean keep an eye on him.” All that thinking to say “Keep an eye on him”? Come on, Melcher, you can do better than that.

“I’m not asking you to do anything you’re uncomfortable with, Aurora. I simply want you to befriend the man.”

Not asking me to do anything I wasn’t comfortable with? That was a laugh. Everything I did for Melcher made me uncomfortable. Even talking to Melcher made me uncomfortable.

“What if he wants to suck my blood?”

Seriously? He was putting the wrong person on this task. This job had Valerie’s name written all over it in red ink.

Melcher looked me in the eyes.

“Tell him you’re a vampire.”

“What?” Valerie cried. “How come Aurora and Dante get to be vampires? The only thing those two know about vampires is how to kill them. I’ve made a career out of getting to know our subjects… intimately. Who better to pull off a she-vamp?”

Melcher cocked a brow. “Are you saying you’re not up to your assignment, Miss Ward? Perhaps I should reassign the job to Miss Harper.”

No! I sat straight up, gripping the chair’s armrests. There’s no way Noel Harper was playing boyfriend/girlfriend with Dante. Not again. Never again.

Valerie scowled. “You think that little ninny could do better than me? Fine, I’ll go in as Dante’s girlfriend and work the room. Strawberry cake walk.”

“Excellent,” Melcher said. “Now that that’s settled I’d like to speak more with Aurora and Valerie. Dante, you’re free to go.”

“I’m Aurora’s ride.”

“I’m sure Miss Ward wouldn’t mind taking Aurora home, would you, Miss Ward?” Melcher asked.

Valerie shrugged. “Not a problem.”

Dante glanced from Melcher to me.

“It’s fine,” I said. “I’ll see you later.”

Dante frowned and lingered a moment longer before nodding stiffly and leaving Melcher’s office.

“I’ll call you,” he said as he left.

Once Dante had gone, Melcher looked me in the eye. “It’s easy to get close to the people we work with, but we have to keep our distance.”

Is that why he acted so detached all the time? Melcher spoke from personal experience. He’d lost his partner, Agent Crist. Why would he put up with Jared if the vampire killed his partner? Did he really believe employing a vampire was for the greater good? How many recruits had he lost? What were my odds? Rather than asking, I simply nodded.

“Now that I have the two of you alone, I want to give you something.”

Melcher pulled open a drawer behind his desk and lifted a metal cash box out, setting it on his desktop. Valerie stilled in her seat, eyes lighting up.

Now what?

Melcher unlocked the box with a key, making what felt like a slow show of pulling the lid back. With deliberate care, he counted out a stack of hundred dollar bills into two piles, five hundred dollars in each. He closed, locked, and set the cash box back in his desk drawer before giving it a slight slam shut.

It was almost comical the way Valerie’s eyes latched onto the bills. Melcher pushed the stacks across his desk until they reached the edge.

“Here’s five hundred dollars for each of you to buy several dresses. This isn’t your typical house party. You’ll need to dress up to blend in.”

Valerie snatched the money, did a quick recount, picked her purse off the floor and dropped the bills inside.

“Unless you have something nice you can wear tonight, I suggest you two go shopping the moment we finish here. No more Goth wear, Miss Ward. I need you looking glamorous.”

Valerie tossed her hair over her shoulder. “Now we’re talking. Glamor is my middle name.”

Someone looked a lot peppier. Nothing like a stack of Ben Franklins to motivate a woman. I took the money reluctantly, folded the bills in half, and stuffed the wad inside my jean pocket. Personally, I didn’t like it
.
Get close to Diederick, take this cash, buy a dress
…
it all made me feel more like a hooker than an assassin.

“For now I want you to blend in and have Diederick get used to your presence,” Melcher said. “As the intel comes in, I will instruct you on how to proceed. This is a nasty business we’ve stumbled upon, and I intend to shut down Diederick’s operation before the year is out.”

“What about the guests?” I asked. Sure, we could pull the plug on Tastings, but that wouldn’t stop the vamps from seeking out alternative amusements.

Melcher placed his hands on his desk. “They will all have to die.”

My stomach did a summersault.

“How do you propose we do that? They’re going to notice if guests start dropping one by one.”

“Don’t worry about that for now. As I said, we need to gather information first. I want to know how many infected we’re dealing with. Any more questions?”

“Nope,” Valerie said, clutching her purse.

“Then you two are dismissed.”

Valerie hopped out of her seat and headed for the door.