“Don’t worry, I know how to keep my emotions in check.”
“That’s what all you idiots say, and yet here I am, the laughingstock of Sapphic Security. My colleagues all think I’m running a damned vampire dating service.”
“I’m only half vampire,” I reminded her.
“Great, well don’t half fall in love, got it?”
“Don’t worry. I have no interest in getting a mate any time soon.”
Despite seeing so many of my friends and colleagues find their mates and falling in love, I’d always assumed I wouldn’t have a mate. I couldn’t say why, I just didn’t see that as an option for me.
Lois rolled her eyes. “Christ on a cracker, Martin! Don’t you know better than to jinx us?”
Lois dismissed me and I headed back to my desk to read the file. I was supposed to pick up the client, Hazel Bryant, at SeaTac Airport in three hours. That gave me just enough time to review the file, go home and pack a bag, and get to the airport. But something was weird about the file.
“Do you have a minute?”
I rapped my knuckles on Wanda’s door. She was our resident hacker and tech expert. She was one of the team members who, much to Lois’s annoyance, found their fated mate while on the job. In Wanda’s case she’d fallen for music superstar TashaBlue. They seemed like total opposites, but they were somehow perfect for each other. That’s why every supe knew you couldn’t question fate.
“What’s up, Marilee?”
Wanda always said my name like “Mary Lee” instead of “Mara Lee” like most people.
“This new client, her background report is weird. It’s like she’s only existed for a few years.”
“Hmm, let me get her information and I’ll run some checks and get back to you.”
“Thanks.”
I didn’t want to go on a job without all the information. Something was odd about my client, and not knowing all the relevant information was a good way to get yourself killed.
Satisfied that Wanda would figure out what was going on, I went home to pack and then headed to the airport. At Lois’s suggestion I was driving one of the Sapphic Security SUVs. The agency vehicles were kitted out with armored sides and bullet proof glass. Not that I’d need all that for a simple babysitting job, but it was still nice to have.
I parked near the back of the garage, an old habit in case we needed to make an easy escape, and went to wait for the client.I stood to the side just by the door where arriving international passengers exited, holding a sign that saidHazel Bryant.There hadn’t been a picture of my new client in the file, something else that was unusual.
The doors opened, letting some people out of the secure area of the airport, and I felt the strangest feeling. There was a growl from deep inside me, followed by the sensation of my inner vampire being pushed to the side. I realized what was happening in an instant – my wolf had just woken up for the first time in my life.
Mine! Mine!
The sound reverberated through my brain. I looked around, trying to figure out what was going on. Then I saw her. A woman was walking towards me. She had long, straight hair cascading down past her shoulders, dark red and parted on the side. Her skin was pale other than a constellation of freckles across her nose and cheeks. Her eyes were green, something I knew was unusual, and her lips were full and painted a dark red. I looked down, taking in her full breasts, trim waist, and round hips.
This woman was my fated mate and she was perfect.
“Are you here for me?” she asked, stopping in front of me.
Her voice was husky, like she’d just woken up from a nap.
“I’m yours,” I said, finding it hard to think between the vision in front of me and the unsettling feeling of my vamp and my wolf fighting inside me.
She gave me a strange look. “You’re my ride, right? You’re here for Hazel Bryant?”
I looked down at the sign I’d dropped on the floor when I first saw the woman.
“Uh yeah, you’re Hazel?” I asked, stopping to pick up the paper.
“Yeah that’s me.”
I just stared at her, flummoxed that this woman was my mate. When she raised one eyebrow in question, I finally remembered my manners. And my job.
