Page 1 of Fanged Secrets
Chapter 1
Dylan
“No, absolutely not!” I folded my arms and scowled at the redheaded woman standing before me. “I won’t do it.”
Jordan, the redhead in question, and lighting rod to my thunderous outburst, pinched the bridge of her nose. “It’s a temporary arrangement, Dylan, it won’t be forever.”
“Why me, though? You have plenty of hopeless romantics in your corner – all of whom would be able to manage the job much better than I could.” I bared my fangs, drawing the evening shadows in Jordan’s office over me like a veil.
Shadow manipulation wasn’t enough to wipe the pleading look off the other woman’s face, so I dropped into the leather armchair behind me, crossing my legs and hissing to further emphasize just how opposed I was to her ludicrous proposition.
“Come on, Dylan, it has to be you.” Jordan sat herself down across from me, collapsing into an armchair and running a hand through her fiery locks. “Don Leone isn’t done scheming yet, and there’s no one else I can trust with this job.”
I wrinkled my nose, snorting my disdain at the name. Don Leone had proved to be a rather large thorn in my side and it was the Leyore Coven’s rules on protecting humans in the city that kept me from killing him on-site. The gang leader and his goons had been stirring up a lot of trouble for the Leyore vampires over the past few months; raiding our clubs, infiltrating our institutions, and even going so far as to attack Jordans’ delivery vans.
Keeping an entire coven of vampires from going hungrywithoutkilling any humans is a full-time job. A job that requires a constant supply of fresh blood from under-the-table deals with blood banks, secure clubs where contract-bound humans and thirsty vamps go to get their fix, and plenty of other shady activities that occur right under the nose of the average Manhattan citizen. And the perfect cover for this job? A ruthless drug syndicate.
While Don Leone thought his crew was hindering the moving of narcotics, what they were actually doing was throwing a wrench in the moving and selling of animal and human blood for our vampire brethren – something that also affected Jordan’s flavored blood business directly.
The notorious gang leader believed he was up against a rival group and hoped to make moves on Leyore “turf”. He had even managed to raid our weapons facility, plundering millions of dollars’ worth of weaponry the Leyore coven had been stocking up on since the war with Jordan’s cousin. Aside from the very real threat of Don discovering the true nature of the Leyore clan, he and his men were once a nuisance, and now a growing problem that had been neglected for far too long.
In an attempt to make peace with the relentless gang leader, Jordan arranged to meet him personally, and Don proposed a solution. All of these factors resulted in this meeting betweenJordan and me, and my furious vow to murder Don Leone with my bare hands.
I bunched said bare hands into fists, refusing to meet Jordan’s earnest gaze. “We have to keep tabs on Don and whatever else he’s planning, I get that.” My boot hit the carpeted floor with a loudwhump, “But Jordan, marriage?!”
“Temporary marriage!” Jordan countered, leaning her elbows on her knees to plead with me.
She got a raised brow and a curled lip in response.
With a deep sigh, Jordan leaned back in her chair again, long red hair spilling over her shoulders like waterfalls.
“Look, Don has offered us an olive branch here – and yes! It’s probably a ploy of some kind,” she added when I opened my mouth to state just that. “But it will secure peace between us for the time being, at least until we can figure out what else he’s planning and come up with a better solution.”
When I kept up a tight-lipped silence, Jordan continued, “Don has offered his daughter’s hand in marriage to a trusted, high-ranking member of the Leyore clan. This union would mean all dangerous antics from his group would cease, and the Leone gang would stay on their own turf. They don’t bother us, we don’t bother them.”
Jordan caught my eye. “No doubt Don does not intend to stick to this bargain, so we can assume he’s either offering his daughter up as a distraction or planting her as a spy. Or both. That’s why I need you specifically, Dylan. Only a spy knows how to root out another spy.”
“I’m flattered,” I drawled. “But this is more than just some spy versus spy shenanigans. How am I supposed to keep an eye on Don and his crew, uncover this woman’s loyalties,andkeep the Leyore vampires a secret from her? She’s going to have to live with me, Jordan, you’re literally asking me to take work home.”
On any other occasion, I would be happy to take work home. Head of Leyore security and intelligence was no easy job, but blending into the shadows was what I did best. The Leyore coven was never short on enemies and the sprawling New York City was always brewing trouble of some kind.
Rogue vampires I could handle. Misbehaving werewolves I welcomed with open arms – and a few weapons. Stalking overconfident gang leaders and their swarm of loyal thugs was right up my alley. But what Jordan was asking was far beyond my capabilities. Welcoming a stranger into my home, a stranger I would be wed to – that was out of the question.
Unfortunately, the Leyore Coven Queen is nothing if not persistent.
“Please Dylan, you’re the only one I can trust with this.” Jordan pouted, crossing her arms and subtly pressing them together to highlight her breasts beneath her fitted blouse. “Do it for me?”
“I can’t believe you!” I couldn’t help the smirk cracking my stony expression. “Does your wife know you’ve been wielding your jugs for evil?”
Jordan gave me an exaggerated pout and dropped her chin to her chest. “Hmm, that method usually works on Sky.”
“Well, I’m not your wife, and I sure as hell wouldn’t want to be you when Sky finds out you’ve been flirting your poor subjects into submission.”
“Oh please,” Jordan cackled, flicking a strand of flaming hair over her shoulder. “Sky suggested it.”
“That tactic won't work on me.” I rolled my eyes. “Besides, you’re not my type.”
Jordan grinned at me, flashing a set of fangs under painted red lips. “I know who might be.”
