to think or plan or be in charge.
But he was in charge, and he was going to make the most of it. If it helped Olivia in the process, so much the better.
He picked up his cell phone and dialed the number he always dialed when he needed to know what was going on down in the dregs of vampire society.
“Yo,” came the Italian-accented male voice on the other end of the line.
“Rico.”
“Oh, man, you have the worst timing in the world. I’m in the middle of something.” Rico Bovari was always in the middle of something. That was what made him such a valuable confidential informant.
“Then wrap it up.”
Rico cursed and by the sound of things, what he’d been preoccupied with was decidedly female. After a few moments and one door slam, Rico came back on the line. “Man, you so owe me.”
“I repay you every day by not arresting you.”
“For what?”
“I’m sure I could find something.”
“Hey, hey. I’m one of the good guys, remember? I have a soul and everything.”
“Just because you have a soul doesn’t mean you’re perfect. Just means you’re not evil to the core.”
“Glad to hear you think so highly of me.”
“You’ll do in a pinch.” Truth was Campbell actually sort of liked the guy. Despite having been active with the Mob prior to growing a conscience, he didn’t really seem like a bad sort. At least not Mob-level bad. More of an opportunist who liked living on the edge a little. Of course, that living on the edge had been what had gotten him turned. The walk home after an illegal game of poker had been his last with a heartbeat. Why he hadn’t been drained instead, Campbell didn’t know and Rico wasn’t telling.
“Have you heard anything about the Nefari enlisting humans to work for them during daylight hours?”
“Humans? What kind of crazy person would do that?”
“Maybe ones who like the looks of the money involved, no matter where it’s coming from.”
“No, haven’t heard anything. Sounds like just a rumor to me.”
“Rico, you paint yourself as a man in the know. I can’t believe you’ve heard nothing.”
“I’ve been a little busy with other things.”
“The female I heard.”
“Used to be a yoga instructor. Very limber.”
“Classy.”
“Don’t get me wrong, man. I love her. I just appreciate her abilities, too.”
“Love? Did you cross someone one too many times and they dropped you on your head?”
“Now who’s being classy? Man, forever’s a long damn time to be alone, don’t ya think?”
What the hell was going on? First he couldn’t stop thinking about a human woman who was off-limits to him. Now his informant was going all lovey-dovey. The world was surely coming to a vile and bitter end.
“Listen, just keep your ear to the ground, okay? It’s very important we know immediately if you hear anything, anything at all, about the Nefari using humans to abduct other humans.”
“You think they’re doing that to get past the only two defenses humans have?”
“I hope not, but there’s chatter. And if it’s true, daylight and buildings will no longer help humans.”
“They’ll be sitting ducks.” Rico drew in a deep breath he didn’t need. He could no longer be part of the living crime families, and the Nefari wouldn’t accept him because he had a soul. The only reason he hadn’t been taken out was because he’d saved the life of one of the Nefari’s big bosses. They allowed him to coexist in the same section of Little Italy because they didn’t consider him a threat. Little did they know he’d been an informant even when he’d been alive.
He’d reached out to the NYPD, to Campbell, after seeing his higher-ups wipe out an innocent family because the father refused to pay protection money. Because of Rico, who was never going to be the guy you suspected of ratting you out, the NYPD had put away half a dozen mobsters for all manner of crimes. By tapping him in this instance, Campbell hoped that good fortune would continue and they could wipe up this using-humans-as-fetchers mess before it got out of hand.
“I’ll let you know if I hear anything,” Rico finally said.
“Thanks.”
Just as Campbell disconnected the call, someone knocked loudly on his door.
“Hey, man,” Travis said through the door. “Got something you’re gonna want to look at.”
Campbell stood, determined to flood his mind with work so he’d stop imagining greasy humans snatching Olivia and dragging her off where he’d never see her again.
He shook his head and tried to convince himself that it didn’t matter if he never saw her again as long as she was safe, from vampires and her own kind alike.
“Be right there.” He made the mistake of closing his eyes for a moment, and a vision of Olivia immediately materialized against his eyelids, her hair dancing in the breeze and sunlight glinting off those golden waves. He had to forcibly yank himself from that daydream and head out into the work area.
“Find something new?” he asked, in command.
Travis slid behind his desk. It was loaded with two computers and four monitors and all kinds of other high- tech gizmos Campbell couldn’t even begin to name. Travis had garnered the nickname Wizard not because he looked a thing like Gandalf or Harry Potter but rather because the dude could do magic with computers. It was hard to believe he’d been a stockbroker instead of some tech wonder boy out in Silicon Valley.
“I was checking security cameras around the city and spotted this from a couple of hours ago.” Travis pulled up a video recording and pointed at the screen. “Watch this building here.”
It looked like the back entrance to a high-rise apartment building. After a few seconds a van with Dan’s Carpets written on the side pulled into the parking lot close to the large garbage bin. Travis hit a button to skip ahead a couple of minutes to when a woman carrying a garbage bag stepped out the door.
Campbell realized whoever was in the carpet van hadn’t gotten out. Just as the woman tossed her garbage into the bin, the van’s sliding side door opened behind her. Before she could scream, a masked man clamped his hand over her mouth and dragged her backward into the van. The door slid closed before a total of five seconds had elapsed.
“Think that’s our guys?” Colin asked from where he stood with his arm propped on top of one of Travis’s four-drawer filing cabinets.
“I’d be willing to bet a week’s supply of blood on it. The abductee is Jennifer Watson.” Travis looked up at Campbell. “She’s on the list and type AB negative. They all are. We hadn’t been able to reach her to tell her about the danger.”
The muscles in Campbell’s crossed arms bunched. “They’ve taken her for a blood slave.”
Travis nodded. “She’ll bring top dollar. All of them will if the slavers get their hands on them.”
What happened to the days when picking up the odd human who wandered out at night had satisfied the blood slavers?
Campbell pointed at the computer monitor. “Find out everything you can about Dan’s Carpets and Jennifer Watson. I want these guys stopped, and stopped yesterday.”
He had to put an end to this newest threat before the trail to AB-negative humans led them to Olivia’s front door. And if they even attempted to touch her, he would rip them apart limb by limb and not be the least bit sorry about it.
Olivia tied the garbage bag as she glanced toward where Mindy was adding up the receipts for the day and reconciling it with the cash and credit card slips. “Go on home,” she said. “I can finish that up.”
Mindy gave her a suspicious look. “I do this every day.”
“After everything that’s happened, I’m a little jumpy. I want to make sure you get home before sunset.”
