Gunnar gave him a final scowl before stomping back to his desk, muttering under his breath. He was sorely tempted to be late but one look at the mountain of paperwork on his desk changed his mind. He checked the address, put the piece of paper in the shredder then retraced his steps to the parking lot.
Marlborough Street was in the heart of the upscale Back Bay area and when Gunnar reached the address he found himself outside a well-kept but unremarkable townhouse. There was nothing outside to indicate that it was anything other than a residential property but as he approached the door, it swung open. The bespectacled woman standing on the step gave him a condescending look.
“You may put your machine around back. Left, left again. Look for the number on the gate in the alley.” She shut the door in his face.
“Nice to meet you too.” Gunnar took a slow ride around the block to the back yard, wheeled his bike inside then rested it on the kickstand. An older man with short silvering hair stood at the back door to the property.
“Detective Ericson, thank you for being prompt. I’m Warden.”
“Mr. Warden… are you gonna tell me what I’m doing here?”Look at me being polite.
“It’s just Warden, and yes, I am. Please come inside and I can introduce you to your new partner.”
This is some seriously weird shit.Gunnar trailed the man along a thickly carpeted hallway then into an office. Its furnishings were surprisingly utilitarian considering the plush feel of the property. Metal filing cabinets ran along one wall and a desk sat in front of the barred window. In one corner was a low table encircled by three leather chairs. There were three glasses on the table, along with a bottle of water.
“Take a seat please, Detective. Help yourself to a drink. I’ll be back shortly.”
Gunnar poured himself a glass of water more for something to do than anything. He didn’t do well with sitting still so wandered across to the filing cabinets. He tested a couple of drawers but they were locked. The only view out of the window was of a brick wall and the top of the desk was clear. There were no clues in the room to its occupant or the organization he worked for.
The sound of low voices reached his sharp ears a while before the office door opened. Warden was first to come inside, followed by a striking young man. He was dressed entirely in black, had black hair and pale skin. He also had on very dark sunglasses, which was peculiar considering it wasn’t that bright in the room.Gunnar stared at him with blatant curiosity.Doesn’t smell like a vamp, but there’s something about him…
“Detective Gunnar Ericson, I’d like you to meet Bryn Ashton, your new partner,” Warden stated.
“Hi, I guess,” Gunnar said, holding out his hand.
“Hi, yourself.” It wasn’t until Bryn shook his hand that Gunnar noticed he was wearing tightfitting leather gloves.
Warden looked at Bryn then at Gunnar. “Sit down, gentlemen.”
Gunnar had to admit that his curiosity needed satisfying. He took a seat. Warden joined him then, after a moment’s hesitation, so did Bryn.
He’s young, can’t be more than early twenties. But what the fuck is he?
“I can see you have questions, Detective, and they will be answered, but first I have to ask you to sign a statement agreeing to keep everything you learn here completely confidential. Will that be a problem?” Warden extracted an envelope from his inside jacket pocket. He took out a single sheet of paper and put it on the table in front of Gunnar along with a silver pen. Gunnar took his time reading it, but it was fairly standard. He’d seen similar before working cases that involved other government agencies. He signed at the bottom then pushed the piece of paper back to Warden.
“Not a problem.”
“Thank you. Very well, I would imagine that your wolf senses have detected that Bryn is neither wolf nor vampire. That’s because he is an augur.”
“Fucking hell.” Gunnar had not seen that coming.
“Quite.” Warden was too polite to roll his eyes, but Gunnar sensed he wanted to.
“Are you sure this was the best Boston PD had to offer?” Bryn’s tone had a sharp edge. “Because I’m not seeing it so far.”
“Be nice, Bryn. You’re going to be working and living with the detective, so I suggest you curb your tone.”
“Wait, what?” Gunnar thought he must’ve misheard. “What do you meanliving with?”
“I understand that this is all something of a shock to you, Detective, but hear me out. As I said, Bryn is an augur. An extremely gifted one. He’s rare and as such highly valuable. His…abilitiesmatch well with police work, and I’ll explain more about that shortly, but the partner he works with also has to keep him safe. Once his existence becomes known in criminal circles, he’ll be in constant danger.”
“So why not keep him hidden? Keep him safe?”
“Because the law does not allow us to keep him prisoner, Detective. Legislation gave us three years to train him, which we have done. We also have the right to secure his services for the government. But, we have to allow him a life. Living together isn’t compulsory but it would be easier for you. Bryn has been given a secure apartment at the top of this building, which will also be at your disposal. You will escort him at all times when you are at work. He is never, and I can’t emphasize this enough, never to be left alone outside of this building or a secure premises. Do you understand?”
“I get it, but I didn’t sign up for this. I was told I was joining a specialist unit attached to Boston PD.”
“Yes…we had to have a reasonable story to give your superiors. You’ll be working with a range of law enforcement agencies including Boston PD.”
