Page 22 of Vampire Kings Box Set

Polite words slipped out of his mouth as they were expected to, but did he mean them? The dancing mischief in Lorien’s green gaze could not be trusted.

“Lorien,” Maddox said, getting up and walking around his desk to stand face to face with the much younger vampire. “I want you to understand my meaning. I have Will to train, and he is my focus, but do not think for a second that I am not paying very close attention to you.”

“So kind,” Lorien replied. “I think I’ll take my leave, now it is safe. I don’t want to interfere in your training. Will needs so very much attention, doesn't he.”

“I want you under my roof for the moment.”

“You do? Why?” Lorien seemed surprised.

“Call it a probationary period.”

“Or you don’t trust the assurances you received from Bert and Ernie?”

“I don’t trust you,” Maddox clarified. “You are what the humans would call a brat.”

“Uh huh,” Lorien cocked his head. “Something else is going on. Isn’t it?”

“Something else is always going on. At any rate, your continued presence under my roof during the hours of daylight would be gratefully appreciated.”

"You want a babysitter for your puppy, make sure he doesn’t pee on the rugs, that’s what this is, isn’t it.”

That was more or less precisely it. Maddox did not exactly trust Lorien with Will, but he trusted him more than he trusted anybody else. He could not always be vigilant with the human. He had business to attend to and responsibilities to meet.

A knock at the front door cut their conversation short.

"Get that, would you?” Maddox waved Lorien away.

“Were you talking about me?” Maddox heard Will ask the question of Lorien as Lorien went to answer it.

“Why would we talk about you, tedious brat,” Lorien projected.

“Were you talking to him about me?” Will entered Maddox’s office. “Why are there words in your mouth about me to him?”

Before Maddox could correct Will on the proper way to address such concerns, Lorien called out.

“MAD! There’s an officer at the door!”

Will scuttled away at high speed, clearly imagining himself to be on the verge of re-arrest. He needn’t have bothered panicking. It was one of Mads’ people, not an officer coming to return him to prison.

Captain Lora Candy was the commanding officer of the NYPD division which officially did not exist. She’d come ready for action, wearing a black bite-proof vest which rose all the way up to her chin, and a bold identification stripe across the chest and back.

SUCU.

Most of the force thought it Serious Unexplained Crimes unit. In truth, the acronym stood for Serious Undead Crimes Unit. Some pronounced it Suck-u. Maddox did not approve of that even a little bit. If he heard it, his human subordinates would be for it.

“Detective Candy,” he greeted the severe-looking blonde woman. Lora Candy was a forty-year-old, hard as nails, no-nonsense career cop with scars inside and out. She was one of Maddox’s favorite humans by a very long margin, Will excepted.

She got to the point without bothering with a greeting. “There’s been a crime, sir. A particularly nasty one. The vampires are out for blood.”

“Enough with the puns, Candy.”

“Sorry, sir. It’s just… accurate,” she said. “There’s been a spate of feral attacks tonight. Something’s stirring them. We staked five on our way here and there’s been two deaths so far, with twenty serious injuries.”

“Excellent work,” Mads praised, watching the way her eyes lit up. Candy, like most officers who joined his police unit, was a hard-ass seasoned cop hiding an eternal teenage girl who just thought vampires were super cool, and was absolutely thrilled to be let in on the conspiracy that they were real. Common humans were allowed to keep the delusion of vampires being mythical. It suited the vampires, and it suited the human powers that be who knew better too.

“Word on the street is Bertram and Ernie have been slain, sir.”

Maddox’s brows rose. “One hopes that remains a rumor.”