Chapter One
‡
M oses Brown poured a cup of coffee, grimacing at the black tar slurping into his mug. Still, it might give him a jolt, and after the night he’d had, he could sure use it. He wrinkled his nose, smacked his lips, and took a sip.
A hand slapped his shoulder, and he took a bigger gulp than he’d intended, choking down the bitter brew. He aimed a glare over his shoulder.
Finny Boone, his partner, grinned. “That pot’s been brewin’ most of the night. You really must be desperate. Just get back?”
Moses grunted and lifted his cup again. “You get the statement from the liquor store owner?”
“All wrapped up. The DA’s got everything she needs for a B&E charge. No thanks to you.” Finny’s green eyes narrowed, studying his expression. “Better I don’t ask?”
Moses hated being cagey with Finny, but some things were best kept on the down low. “Yeah. One of those nights.” The less Finny knew about his other, unsanctioned activities, the better. The last time he’d let a partner enter the dark world, he’d lost him to a vampire’s bite. “Does it look like we’ll get outta here on time?”
“Huh, are you kidding?” Finny waved a folder. “Tonight’s a goddamn full moon.”
Moses groaned inwardly. “What happened?”
“Don’t know exactly, but the victim’s pretty rattled. I put her in interrogation room one. Saved her just for you.” Finny’s red eyebrows waggled.
Which meant that not only was this a full-moon case, but the woman was pretty. Finny had been trying to set him up with a girlfriend ever since Sidney Coffey, his former “friend with benefits”, left Seattle with her new lover.
Finny didn’t get the fact that Moses was okay now. Sure, he’d had a thing for Sidney for a long time, but she was happy with the vampire master Navarro. And Navarro was cool, even if he was a bloodsucker.
The truth was, not until after Sidney had been seduced away had Moses realized he didn’t really love her. Sidney was smart and funny, and a Molotov-fucking-cocktail in the sack, but he’d recovered way too fast for their relationship to be the real thing. He wished Finny would stop trying to cheer him up. Despite what his buddy thought, Moses’s dick wasn’t going to shrivel up and fall off just because he wasn’t getting any ass.
Eyeing the file, Moses blew out a breath. “The other guys hear any of the woman’s story?”
Finny winked. “Like always, I cut her off as soon as it got crazy. They were pretty damn disappointed when I herded her away. You know how much they get a good laugh every time one of your special cases walks in.”
Special cases. Nutjobs was what they really thought. Every one of them, including Finny, wondered what higher up he’d pissed off to get the full-moon cases. However, there were a few well-placed people inside the force who knew what was really going on in Seattle after dark.
Moses had been handpicked—after his former partner was turned in front of his eyes. Stifling a sigh, Moses took another shot of high-octane sludge. The sooner he figured out if there was anything to the woman’s story, the sooner he could get some shuteye.
“Need any help?” Finny asked, his eyes alight with curiosity.
Moses shook his head. “Just make sure no one comes in to watch from the other side of the mirror, buddy.”
Finny shrugged. “One of these days…”
“Believe me, Finn. You really don’t wanna know.”
Finny slapped the file folder against his chest and walked away.
Moses flipped it open, noted the woman’s name and not much more before he ambled down the hall to the room beside interrogation room one. He let himself inside and stood in the dark, gazing through the glass at the brunette with the chalky face, wanting to take her measure before he joined her, wanting to see whether she looked crazy, bored, or like an attention-seeker.
Eyeing her through the glass, Moses decided she didn’t need to create an elaborate story to get
‡
M oses Brown poured a cup of coffee, grimacing at the black tar slurping into his mug. Still, it might give him a jolt, and after the night he’d had, he could sure use it. He wrinkled his nose, smacked his lips, and took a sip.
A hand slapped his shoulder, and he took a bigger gulp than he’d intended, choking down the bitter brew. He aimed a glare over his shoulder.
Finny Boone, his partner, grinned. “That pot’s been brewin’ most of the night. You really must be desperate. Just get back?”
Moses grunted and lifted his cup again. “You get the statement from the liquor store owner?”
“All wrapped up. The DA’s got everything she needs for a B&E charge. No thanks to you.” Finny’s green eyes narrowed, studying his expression. “Better I don’t ask?”
Moses hated being cagey with Finny, but some things were best kept on the down low. “Yeah. One of those nights.” The less Finny knew about his other, unsanctioned activities, the better. The last time he’d let a partner enter the dark world, he’d lost him to a vampire’s bite. “Does it look like we’ll get outta here on time?”
“Huh, are you kidding?” Finny waved a folder. “Tonight’s a goddamn full moon.”
Moses groaned inwardly. “What happened?”
“Don’t know exactly, but the victim’s pretty rattled. I put her in interrogation room one. Saved her just for you.” Finny’s red eyebrows waggled.
Which meant that not only was this a full-moon case, but the woman was pretty. Finny had been trying to set him up with a girlfriend ever since Sidney Coffey, his former “friend with benefits”, left Seattle with her new lover.
Finny didn’t get the fact that Moses was okay now. Sure, he’d had a thing for Sidney for a long time, but she was happy with the vampire master Navarro. And Navarro was cool, even if he was a bloodsucker.
The truth was, not until after Sidney had been seduced away had Moses realized he didn’t really love her. Sidney was smart and funny, and a Molotov-fucking-cocktail in the sack, but he’d recovered way too fast for their relationship to be the real thing. He wished Finny would stop trying to cheer him up. Despite what his buddy thought, Moses’s dick wasn’t going to shrivel up and fall off just because he wasn’t getting any ass.
Eyeing the file, Moses blew out a breath. “The other guys hear any of the woman’s story?”
Finny winked. “Like always, I cut her off as soon as it got crazy. They were pretty damn disappointed when I herded her away. You know how much they get a good laugh every time one of your special cases walks in.”
Special cases. Nutjobs was what they really thought. Every one of them, including Finny, wondered what higher up he’d pissed off to get the full-moon cases. However, there were a few well-placed people inside the force who knew what was really going on in Seattle after dark.
Moses had been handpicked—after his former partner was turned in front of his eyes. Stifling a sigh, Moses took another shot of high-octane sludge. The sooner he figured out if there was anything to the woman’s story, the sooner he could get some shuteye.
“Need any help?” Finny asked, his eyes alight with curiosity.
Moses shook his head. “Just make sure no one comes in to watch from the other side of the mirror, buddy.”
Finny shrugged. “One of these days…”
“Believe me, Finn. You really don’t wanna know.”
Finny slapped the file folder against his chest and walked away.
Moses flipped it open, noted the woman’s name and not much more before he ambled down the hall to the room beside interrogation room one. He let himself inside and stood in the dark, gazing through the glass at the brunette with the chalky face, wanting to take her measure before he joined her, wanting to see whether she looked crazy, bored, or like an attention-seeker.
Eyeing her through the glass, Moses decided she didn’t need to create an elaborate story to get
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