Sure enough, the vampire turns into the alley. He looks around for me and then up.
I leap from my perch onto him.
I don’t waste any time in dispatching him, ripping him limb from limb. It’s like I’m possessed as I leave his body in shreds. He barely even had a chance to fight back. Now that I’m stronger, I’m nearly unstoppable. I always knew I was stronger than most, but this proves it. He seemed like an older vampire, not one of only a few decades with lesser strength. He would’ve had a fighting chance against anyone but me.
But I refuse to be taken back to that place.
Held prisoner and experimented on.
Tortured and tormented every second of every day.
And I certainly won’t be taken from my mate.
Not now. Not ever.
“Yes,” I admit as we step onto the elevator. “They are.”
She gasps a tiny intake of breath, her eyes widening. Her bottom lip wobbles. “Oh, Valen,” she breathes. “We need to talk to Zav and Celine.”
“Why?” I ask, curious.
“Because”—she sighs, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear—“we need to get to the bottom of why they wanted you. That should tell us why they need you back. We’ve been … brushing things under the rug, living in ignorant bliss, but that’s not going to help us in the long run.”
The elevator doors open, and after I drop off our helmets and scoop up Pom Pom for emotional support, we stand outside Zav and Celine’s door.
Before Ava can knock, the door opens and Zavier leans against it. “Well, if it isn’t my favorite bodice ripper–loving vampire and his pink sidekick. Come in, come in.” He steps aside, motioning us inside.
“What’s up?” Celine asks, standing from the couch.
Midnight looks around, sees Pom Pom in my arms, and huffs. He leaps off the kitchen counter and swishes his way between Zav’s legs before the vampire scoops him up and drapes him around his neck. Midnight closes his eyes and begins to snore softly.
Ava pulls out a stool and twists it around to face all of us before she plops into it.
“Captain Barnes closed the Vex case today, so there will be no more police presence there. I don’t know what will come of it going forward. I think…” She hesitates, eyeing me and then Celine. “I think we need to check out what’s going on underground. See if we can figure out why they held Valen there. There has to be more to all this, and I know…” She pauses again, eyeing her lap. “I know we all want to move on with our lives and pretend none of this is happening, but it is, and Valen said he’s been followed, so I think it’s better if we try to get ahead of this.”
Celine shivers. “I don’t like this, but you’re right.”
“Schnookums,” Zav croons, pulling his mate into his arms. “Don’t worry. I’ll keep you safe.”
Ava reluctantly brings her eyes to mine. “Are you going to be okay with this?”
Well, I’m certainly not letting her investigate it alone, even if Zav is there. She’s my mate. It’s my responsibility to keep her safe.
“I’ll be okay.”
It sounds like a lie, even to me.
CHAPTER 35
AVA
“Why doI need to wear this to investigate?” Valen asks, picking up the orange ascot tied around his neck. He eyes it with disdain.
“It’ll help us lock in and channel our inner detectives,” Zav reasons as he drives us all downtown.
Celine snorts from the passenger seat and adjusts her rounded black glasses. “I was an actual detective. What channeling could I possibly need to do?”
Truth be told, I have no idea how we let Zav convince us to dress up as the Mystery Inc. Gang. Zav dons a green shirt, brown pants, and fake soul patch as Shaggy. His reasoning was he’s always hungry, but in this instance, for Celine.
