Page 13 of Patrick’s Seduction (Scanguards Vampires #19)

13

P atrick walked into the command center, where Sebastian, the twenty-eight-year-old half-Asian son of Oliver and his blood-bonded mate Ursula, was on duty. But he wasn’t alone. Thomas was already waiting, as were Buffy, Benjamin, and Nicholas.

“Sorry for the delay. My new client was attacked last night,” he explained, even though he owed nobody an explanation. But he didn’t want anybody to think that he was slacking off.

“Anything you need help with?” Sebastian asked. “Not that we have a lot of staff that’s not already on other assignments.”

“I’ve got it under control. Thanks, Sebastian,” Patrick said and looked at the assembled. “So, what’s the latest on the Presidio murder?”

Thomas motioned to a monitor on the wall. It showed a map of the Bay Area with several red dots on it.

“Eddie and I went through reports of suspected animal attacks, and found quite a few.” With the mouse he indicated the area. “Almost all of them occurred in Marin County. Since that’s not within Chief Donnelly’s jurisdiction, we weren’t made aware of them. But from the information in the Marin County police reports we were able to piece things together, and we determined that there were similarities with our murder case.”

“Thomas is correct,” Buffy confirmed. “I went through the autopsies, and in two of the three cases of supposed mountain lion attacks, the heart was missing in the victims.”

“Fuck,” Patrick cursed.

“I looked at the photos,” Buffy continued. “And the bite marks look very similar to those our victim has. The coroner and the detectives on those cases in Marin County determined that these were mountain lion attacks and closed the cases.”

Patrick rubbed his neck. “Did the coroner in the Marin County cases note that they found animal hair on the vics?”

Buffy nodded. “Yeah, that’s why they determined that those were animal attacks. Though they didn’t specify that the hair found was that of a mountain lion. Just that it was animal hair.”

“And were other organs missing too? Or just the heart?”

“Just the heart.”

Patrick exhaled, digesting the information, when he remembered something. He looked at Buffy again. “How about the hair you found under our vic’s fingernails? Were you able to determine—”

Buffy’s nod cut off his question. “It was from a wolf.”

His heartbeat spiked. “A wolf? In the middle of San Francisco? That can’t be.”

“Has to,” Buffy insisted. “I double-checked. At first, I didn’t think I got it right, but I compared the hair I found with several different strands of wolf hair—or rather fur—and the result was always the same: it was a wolf. A black one. And a pretty big one. Standing on its hind legs, it’s probably as tall as you.”

“How did you determine that?” Patrick asked, surprised.

“By the size of the bitemarks, and—” She gestured to Nicholas. “Nicky?”

It looked like Nicholas wanted to protest at Buffy using his childhood nickname but seemed to think of it otherwise. “The pawprints I took around the crime scene. When Buffy told me that it was a wolf, I called a contact in Yellowstone who’s working with the park service protecting the wolves there. She helped me calculate the size of the wolf using the pawprints and the bite marks.”

“You trust her assessment?”

Nicholas nodded. “She was confident in the data, though she was surprised that a wolf had shown up in the city. They avoid people, and her best guess was that it wasn’t a wild wolf, but one bred in captivity.”

“Like in a zoo?” Patrick asked.

“That’s possible,” Nicholas said, then added, “but not necessarily in a public zoo. Some rich people like to keep their own little zoos, you know.”

“Then we’d better check them all to see if anyone is missing a wolf,” Patrick suggested. “Benjamin, Nicholas, the two of you can do that.”

“How far out do you want us to check the zoos?” Benjamin asked.

Patrick turned to Thomas. “How long ago were the attacks in Marin County?”

“They both happened between eight to ten weeks ago. Nothing since then. So, we can assume that the wolf migrated from the north down into San Francisco.”

Patrick furrowed his forehead. “Yes, and no. I don’t see a wolf crossing the Golden Gate Bridge on foot, do you?” He looked at his four colleagues.

“You mean he hitched a ride?” Benjamin asked.

“Or was brought over,” Patrick mused. “Because even if it was a wolf attacking those people in Marin County and our victim in the Presidio, I still think that somebody else was involved. Maybe an animal trainer who’s using a trained wolf to kill people.”

He addressed Nicholas, “Can you talk to your contact in Yellowstone again?”

“Sure.”

“Ask her if it’s possible to train a wolf to the point where a person could be directing a wolf to follow specific commands.”

“It sounds a little far-fetched, don’t you think?”

“It’s the only thing that makes sense. Otherwise, a wolf wouldn’t just rip out the heart, leaving the rest of the person untouched.”

“Alright, I’ll get right on it,” Nicholas agreed.

“And ask your contact if they have a list of animal trainers that are working with wolves.”

Nicholas nodded.

“Benjamin, you get started on checking on all the public zoos, if they’re missing a wolf. Start in Marin County.”

“I’ll research who in the area might have a private zoo or animal sanctuary,” Thomas offered. “Benjamin, I’ll send you the details as soon as I have them.”

“Do you need anything else from me?” Buffy asked.

“No, thanks. Good work.”

Buffy nodded and left, Benjamin and Nicholas followed her.

“And update the command center as soon as you have any leads,” he called after them.

His two colleagues looked over their shoulder, nodding in agreement, before leaving and shutting the door behind them.

“Sebastian, you’re responsible for making sure everybody is kept up to date on this case. Once they call in with any news, send everything directly to me and Thomas. Alright?”

“No problem,” Sebastian said firmly.

He was glad that Sebastian was on duty in the command center. He was detail-oriented, and super smart, as well as very practical.

“Okay, thanks guys,” Patrick said. “I’ve got a few things to do. I’ll be in my office for a while.”

“I’ll walk with you,” Thomas suggested. “I need to go back to my office anyway.”

As they left the command center, and walked to the elevators, Thomas let out a breath.

“So, who’s the new client who got attacked?”

Patrick gave him a sideways glance, while he pressed the button for the elevator. “A young doctor who’s being stalked by her ex.”

“And we’re involved why?”

The elevator doors opened, and they both entered.

“There’s a chance that her ex is a vampire or rather a vampire hybrid.”

And that was all he’d tell Thomas. While he liked Thomas and respected him immensely, he didn’t feel comfortable telling him more about Fallon, worried that the more he spoke of her, the more likely it was that Thomas would discover that his interest in Fallon was more personal in nature than was appropriate. Thomas was far too perceptive to be fooled for very long.

“Need any help checking out the guy?” Thomas asked, his voice just as casual as before.

“You’ve got plenty on your plate. I have it under control.”

If only he had his emotions under control as well. But having touched Fallon so intimately, having made her climax, was causing turmoil inside him. His vampire side was trying to emerge, and it was harder to keep it beneath the surface and pretend he was a civilized man, when he knew all too well that in Fallon’s presence, he was anything but civilized. He was wild, untamed, without restraints. It was something he had to hide from Thomas, because above everything, Thomas was fiercely loyal to Samson. If he felt that Patrick was slipping up, he’d step in to intervene. He wouldn’t even blame Thomas, because they all knew that his intent was to keep everybody at Scanguards safe.

They all had to look out for each other, because at any time, their vampire side could take over, making them act irrationally. It was more likely to happen to himself or one of his vampire hybrid brethren who hadn’t found their mate yet. Once blood-bonded to their soulmate, a different side of the vampire emerged: that of the protector. While fierce, that side of their nature was more predictable.

It was as if the blood-bonded mate tamed the vampire. In a way, it was like that. He’d seen it in many of his friends, even in his own brother, Grayson, who’d turned into a rather love-struck man who treated others with more respect, was less aggressive, and less contentious. Monique, his blood-bonded mate, had truly tamed him, and it was rather sickening to watch the lovey-dovey looks they exchanged. Luckily, they lived in New Orleans now, running the Scanguards branch there.

“You coming?” Thomas suddenly asked.

Patrick blinked, and realized that the elevator doors stood open, and they’d arrived on the top floor, where all executive offices were located. It was the floor where only vampires, vampire hybrids, their blood-bonded mates, and other supernatural creatures were allowed—no humans. However, that rule had been broken more often than it had been adhered to. Why it still existed was anybody’s guess.

He exited the elevator. “It’s all good. I just have a lot of things on my mind.” He walked toward his office. “Thanks for your help, Thomas. Keep me posted.”

“Sure thing.”

In his office, Patrick let himself fall into his chair. He logged into his computer. It was time to find out more about Cameron Gallagher.