he’s cute.”
Her choice of adjectives made him blink, but that was his only reaction. Disappointed, she pulled out a chair and sat. “You were about to tell me why you needed to hire me?”
“Not until I know for certain that you’re not recording,” he countered, stoned-faced. “At least put your phone on the table.”
“Are you serious?” she asked, even though she knew he was. With a sigh, she retrieved her phone from the depths of her Prada bag and placed it on the table.
“May I?” he asked, as he reached for it.
“You can look at it,” she replied. “But I want it back on the table once you’re done.” Though she had no idea what she’d do if he decided to drop it into his pocket. By virtue of being a Vampire, she had the elements of superspeed and strength on her side, but he was some kind of Shape-shifter, which made him a much more even match than, say, a human would have been.
Finally, he finished checking out her phone and placed it back on the table.
“My name is Rick Fallin,” he said. “I’m a member of a covert intelligence agency within the FBI. Our country is being threatened by terrorists and we need the help of someone with your credentials.”
“My credentials?”
“Yes. You are one of the top biowarfare scientists.”
She nodded. “True. But you could have approached me at the lab. Why here? Why ask for help from The Shadow Agency?”
“Because we need you for one other reason. You’re a Vampire. And as such, you’d be immune to a deadly, human-created virus.”
“You’re a Shape-shifter,” she shot back. “And if you’re full-blooded, you’re also immune.”
“We’re not sure about that,” he replied. “Let me explain. This is a completely new virus. We’re not completely sure of the effects it will have on the paranormal population.”
“Now I’m really intrigued,” she drawled. “I can’t wait to get a look at this thing.”
* * *
Though several of his colleagues had warned him that he’d take an immediate dislike to the Vampire woman, Rick Fallin discovered they were all wrong. Instead of the usual revulsion his kind normally felt around those of her ilk, he got a jolt of attraction every time he looked at Carmen Vargas instead. Which he struggled mightily to do as seldom as possible, aware he needed to focus on the job and only the job. This was far too important to mess up.
“A terrorist group has developed a new disease,” he said, once he had her full attention. “Not a known group, either. They call themselves Sons of Darkness. This one appears to be newly formed. We’re not even sure what kind of ideology they possess.”
“Sons of Darkness,” she mused, a flash of interest in her eyes. “Sounds like possible Satanists. Do you have proof of this disease?”
“Yes. I don’t know if you heard about that junior senator who died so mysteriously a couple days ago?”
“I rarely watch the news anymore.” She gave a delicate shrug. “Unless it pertains to my work or my friends, I’m content to keep my world knowledge as compact as possible.”
Made sense. While he had no idea of her actual age, he’d always heard Vampires lived centuries. He imagined anyone would get a bit jaded after watching so many humans come and go.
“Let me fill you in then. Samuel Jansson was infected with this virus. We’re not sure how or when, but most likely it was in a bar on the hill where he frequently stopped for a drink after work. He died a horrible death at home in his bed less than twelve hours later.”
She whistled. “That’s a fast-acting virus. But how do you know that’s what killed him?”
“The terrorist group contacted us shortly before his body was discovered. But even then, we had the same doubts. We rushed an autopsy.”
“And?”
“What killed him was a virus never before seen. We have no antidote.”
Another flash of interest lit up her face. “What do they want in exchange? I’m assuming it must be something big, right?”
“Oh, it is. It is.” He’d been instructed not to tell her if at all possible, to gain her assistance without doing so. Once he’d completed a full read-through of her dossier, he’d wondered what his boss had been thinking. A rational, intelligent, professional scientist like Carmen Vargas would want to know everything. If they needed the best, they’d have to give her 100 percent of the info.
“They want our country to go to war,” he said slowly. “Unless we obliterate the entire country of West Latvia, they’ll unleash this virus on our general population. It spreads through the air and kills fast.”
“West Latvia?” She frowned. “Why?”
“They trade heavily with Russia. Whoever these terrorists are, they want something Russia gets instead. They haven’t specified what exactly. We have people working on finding that out.”
“You say this senator was found dead?” she asked. “What about the people who found his body? Have they been placed in isolation to avoid contamination?”
“Yes. The terrorists claim it’s only active while the body is alive. We’ve got people working around the clock to verify this.”
She nodded. “As you know, I’m a damn good scientist. I assume you want me to join one of your research teams?”
“Possibly. Though that’s not the entire reason we need your Shadow Agency—and you. Many on my task force are full-blooded Shifters, too. As you know, only a silver bullet or fire can kill us. Normally.”
Tucking away one wayward blond strand of hair behind her ear, she eyed him. “You aren’t sure if this virus might be another thing that can take your kind out, are you?”
“Exactly.”
“Since I’m already dead...” Her slow smile made his heart skip a beat.
To cover his unwanted reaction, he looked down, pretending to be lost in thought.
“Hey, it’s okay.” When she reached out and covered his hands with hers, he felt a jolt straight in his groin. His inner wolf, startled awake, sat up and took notice.
“I enjoy being useful,” she continued. “What I need to do is get you a full printout of our rates. We charge by the hour, plus expenses. There’s a flat fee—a retainer—that’s payable up front and is nonrefundable.”
Slowly he slid his hand out from under hers. “None of that matters. You’re dealing with a well-funded covert government operation. If you agree to assist us, we can pay you this.” Though doing so felt a bit melodramatic, he opened his briefcase to get a better look at the neat stacks of bills inside. “Twenty-five thousand dollars cash, up front. Another twenty-five once the mission is successfully completed.”
If
