Night Games by Crystal Jordan Read Free Book Online Page B

met Jack’s gaze. “I can tell you he also used rounds made of the metal she was allergic to.” She indicated the flesh around the bullet holes. “See how it’s blackened at the edges with some blistering? Regular Magickal bullets wouldn’t do that. They have a shell casing that looks like a normal bullet. They’re explosive and armor-piercing rounds with fragments of all the allergen metals, as well as loaded with a sunbeam spell to fry the vampires when they explode. So Magickal ammunition wouldn’t have caused an allergic reaction until it burst inside of her. This bullet was made of iron.” The redhead shrugged. “That’s all I’ve got for you for now. I’ll be able to tell you more once I get her body back to my lab.”
    “Good.” He rose to his feet and stepped aside. “Let me get out of your way so you can work.”
    “Appreciate it, thanks.” Tess dug through her kit and turned away, her mind already on the task at hand. “I’ll let you know if I find anything worth mentioning. Check back with me later this afternoon.”
    “Thanks.” He jerked his chin to indicate Cavalli follow him out into the living room.
    Faint amusement showed on the vampire’s face, but other than a last glance at Tess, he did as Jack wanted. “Afraid I’ll distract her?”
    “If by ‘distract’ you mean ‘irritate, annoy, and/or piss off,’ then, yes, that’s what I’m afraid of.” Jack gave him a pointed look, which only seemed to amuse him more.
    “Fair enough.” Luca nodded, his face falling in to more somber lines. “I brought Kingston in first to read the scene, and he’s just finishing up.”
    Disbelief wound through Jack. His boss was kidding, right? “Merek is on his honeymoon.”
    “Not for another couple of hours, he’s not.” Luca rolled his shoulders in an expressive shrug.
    The man was a machine, that was all Jack could think. Even for a vampire, that was cold-blooded. He shook his head. “That’s fucked up.”
    “That’s the job.” Not an ounce of remorse showed on his boss’s face. “It’s not as if I’m having him cancel anything. He’ll make his flight.”
    “Chloe might kill you if you dicked with her honeymoon. If she didn’t, her aunt definitely would.” He might not know either woman that well personally, but they were Standish witches. Enough said.
    Cavalli snorted, but he didn’t argue the point. “It’s your case when Kingston leaves, so I’d suggest getting everything you can from his reading before he goes.” Cocking his wrist, he looked at his Rolex. “I have another case to check in on. One that’s going to have the media crawling all over it. I would imagine there’s a press conference in my very near future.”
    “Have fun with that.” Jack folded his arms over his chest. “What makes the case a media magnet?” People died every day, and it might make the paper, but it hardly called for a press conference. Or involvement from the FBI. Most murders fell under the jurisdiction of the police.
    “That Karsen actor guy was murdered at a sex club last night. Naked and doing some things that most humans find a little disturbing. The police asked us to step in and provide them with a little extra manpower considering the media frenzy shit storm that’s coming.”
    “You going to be okay out there? The sun’s bright today.” The Pacific Northwest was probably one of the more hospitable environments for vampires on the planet. The amount of fog and cloud cover they had annually made it more likely vamps could go out during the day. Today was not one of those days.
    “My car is in the garage here, and the club has underground parking.” Luca shrugged and didn’t mention the heavily tinted windows on his vehicle. “I’ll do the press conference indoors.” He nodded toward a door off the living room. “And here’s Kingston.”
    The door swung open, and Luca flinched as the light flooded in from the backyard. He took a quick step back when a shaft of