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They entered one of the modern skyscrapers Seattle was known for. Agent Reeves backed off, giving her room. Salem placed her back against the wall in the lobby and dialed Dani.
“Salem? Are you okay?”
“I’m not sure. I just met Special Agent Reeves.”
“Oh shit. I was afraid that was going to happen. You have got to know…”
“That you wanted to tell me but couldn’t, and that doing so probably meant treason and if this shit with vampires is real—and I met a couple tonight…”
“God, are you all right? Where are you? Warrick and I…”
Nothing Dani could have said would have made her feel better. “You and Warrick can go back to fucking like bunnies.” She pointed her phone’s camera toward Reeves and zoomed in, taking his picture, sending it to Dani. “Is that him?”
“Yep. That’s Chris. He’s a good guy. Try not to give him too hard of a time. I owe you breakfast.”
“Oh hell, you owe me brunch at the Snoqualmie Falls Lodge, and Warrick can pick up the bill.”
Dani laughed, obviously relieved. “Done deal. We love you.”
Salem could hear Dani’s phone being taken away from her. “Are we good? Do you need anything? Can I go back to fucking my mate?”
“Yeah, that ‘mate’ thing. You and I are going to have a long talk.”
“One that is long overdue,” he said.
“Don’t fuck her so hard she can’t walk in the morning, okay?”
“No promises,” Warrick laughed before he hung up.
The truth was that the man had done just that on more than one occasion. Salem crossed the lobby to Reeves. “Lead on.”
Kenai, Alaska
Two Weeks Later
Salem looked around the one bedroom, one and a half bath cabin she was renting just outside Kenai. Her talk with Reeves and his boss, Charlie Kent, had turned into a job opportunity and promotion she couldn’t resist. For one thing it was more money, but for another, she’d be in charge of the State of Alaska. Granted she was the only member of the SPU in the state, but still, to not have to answer to anyone but Charlie, who would remain in Seattle, sounded like a dream come true.
Salem had decided to keep her loft in Seattle and use an agency to maintain and rent it out as a vacation spot. It was in the perfect location and the rental would more than cover her mortgage and other expenses. Part of her compensation package for the Alaska job was a living allowance that included food, rent, an SUV, a boat, and incidentals.
Dani stood in the cavernous great room with twenty-foot ceilings, having put away the last of Salem’s new dishware. “This is going to be so great. It really is an amazing opportunity, but I’m going to miss you so much.”
“That’s what planes and video calls were made for. So, Warrick is a dragon. Good god, who’d have known?”
“Certainly not me, not until I saw him chained in that terrible place. Are you okay with the Bureau not knowing everything?”
Salem laughed. “I think they’re handling about all the paranormal they can—dragons and vampires is more than enough for them. They have no idea who the Shadow League really is, do they?”
“No, they don’t. They know the League is evil, but they have no clue about shapeshifters. I think even the idea would freak them out. Knowing you can spot a vampire will be a huge help to them.”
Once Salem had accepted the position with the SPU, Dani and Warrick had brought her in on the existence of all the other paranormal creatures—different species that had ‘purebreds’ who were completely animal as well as hybrid creatures that could shift from man to beast and back again. Warrick was one of those hybrids; he was a dragon-shifter.
The biggest problem, according to both the SPU and Warrick, was the Shadow League and their recent collusion with vampires. Warrick had said he didn’t think it would last as neither side trusted the other and, in his opinion, vampires were scum.
“I still don’t understand why vampires would choose to live in Alaska. They have almost endless sun from April to August.”
Dani nodded. “True enough, but that’s temporary. Parts of Alaska get sixty to ninety days of endless night. If you’re a vampire, that’s got to be like all kinds of heaven.”
“Interestingly, Chris told me that some older vampires can tolerate sunlight fairly well and most others can as long as they wear protective clothing.”
