The Alpha Killer

Talia’s POV

Werewolf Council Headquarters

The week since I had returned to the Council Headquarters had been hell for me. I finally gave up after four days, begging Jacque and Denise to come save me from administrative hell. My secretary and staff were competent, but there was so much that had to be done. I was working eighteen-hour days, almost too busy to miss my mate.

Almost.

We Skyped every night, and he was just as busy.

Randall Meechum’s POV

Miami FBI Field Office

I arrived in Miami an hour before Homeland Security got a scrambled satellite phone call from the Coast Guard Cutter Dauntless, a 210-foot long medium-endurance cutter. They had been hailed by a Colombian fishing vessel and had a story to tell. They had taken on nineteen girls ranging between ten and eighteen years of age, all of whom had been held captive on Sex Island. When they were transferred, the crew of the fishing boat also handed over two bags filled with computers, paper records and surveillance video.

I was in the conference room with by boss Rosalie and the FBI teams from Chicago, Miami and New York. The conference call included the Captain of the Dauntless, Coast Guard headquarters, Homeland Security and Justice.

It had taken almost an hour for the Captain of the fishing vessel to get his point across. The vessel was Colombian, the island was run by the Cartel. He wouldn’t allow a search, and he wouldn’t give his name or that of his fishing boat. He was hired to wait off the island until he was signaled, then go to the dock. People in black outfits with hoods loaded the women on board. They gave him the bags and told him to not to look inside them. His instructions were to bring the girls north and hand them and the bags over to the Americans. Everything was done in cash, and he knew nothing else about who had done what on the island.

“Look, he did us a favor by getting the girls out of there. He has to go back to Colombia without getting killed,” I finally said. “He’s an Uber ride, he can’t tell us anything. We need to look at what they took from the island and what the girls have to say.”

“They won’t even tell us the name of their vessel, how do we know they weren’t involved? They covered up the name with a tarp!” The US Attorney didn’t like loose ends, they could be challenged in court.

“Look, you have the girls on board. Ask them if the men on the fishing boat did anything other than bring them north, and let’s move on! The longer you have this boat tied up to the cutter, the more dangerous it is for them. If the Cartel finds out they helped, they are DEAD. Their families will be killed in front of them before they are tortured and killed. Damn it, they did us a solid, so let them go!”

It took five minutes to get them to agree with me, after which the crew of the fishing vessel was allowed to depart.

The cutter had an embarked helicopter, but it could only hold a half-dozen people. It was agreed that the ship's helicopter would fly the recovered bags and the girls in need of medical attention first, while two other helicopters out of Key West would fly out to get the others.

“Let’s go,” Rosalie said after the call ended. “We’re meeting them at Coast Guard Station Key West.”

When the first helicopter landed, I saw the faces of the girls and knew how bad it had been for them. They looked around nervously, like they were convincing themselves it was over. Rosalie and other female agents interviewed them after they were fed and given quick medical checkups. Their stories here heartbreaking and similar; all had been kidnapped or sold into the life. All had come through the slave training facility in Miami. All had been used by rich men.

The bags of evidence were a gold mine. The computer guys were still trying to track the encryption on the hard drives, but the customer profiles were in a book. Each person’s picture, along with their visit dates, girls used, likes and dislikes were kept in great detail so the next visit could be tailored properly. My stomach rolled as I read through some of the entries, and my eyes opened wide as I read the names. It was a great start to taking down the people who made this disgusting business profitable. The visit dates would allow us to check Custom records and bank accounts, and certainly was enough to get warrants.

There were going to be fireworks.

We returned to Miami a day later to continue the work. The US Attorneys were on the ball, working in secrecy with a Federal judge to get the warrants we needed. One hundred and sixty-two rich and powerful men would wake up in the morning to FBI agents raiding their homes and placing them in handcuffs. The girls were being housed on base for their protection, and to make sure the customers and Cartel were not tipped off.

“It’s time to go,” Rosalie said after a marathon meeting with the lawyers and the Task Force. “There are fourteen men in Texas, and our team is going to pick some of them up.”

We checked out of the hotel and caught a ride to the airport; while waiting for the flight, I called Talia. “How are things going, baby?”

“Good but still busy,” she said. “This election has to get over so I can get away from the paperwork!”

“You’ll survive. How is the election process going?”

“Better. We’ve got seven nominations for the Chair; all the regional elections wait until after that in case their guy doesn’t make it. The first round of voting is tomorrow, and Dad was the first nominee.” Election as Chairman required a majority of Alphas to vote for you and was done using the videoconferencing software poll function. Each round the lowest vote getter was eliminated until someone got a majority. “Today the nominees got to speak for five minutes on why they should be the next chair. It was interesting, to say the least. Your father was very convincing when he talked about the need to make peace with the Vampires and why he was the one who could do it.”

“He’d be a great choice. What were the other Alphas like?”

“Two were opposed to any alliance with the Vampires, both men have a bad history with them. The rest are more wait and see.” She paused for a minute. “I got a call from Master Nikolai, the head of the Vampire Council. The Council wants to interview the people in the lab and see the evidence themselves of the experimentation tonight. The Doctor who has been looking things over for them is ready to make his report and wants to deliver it in person. They want no secrets, and we have promised cooperation.”

The Vampire Council meeting directly with the Werewolf Council was a big thing. “You agreed?”

“There is no other way. I did remind them I was a temporary Chair and we could have a new Council seated in a few days. Master Nikolai said he preferred to do this now; he doesn’t want to take chances the new Council will have a change of heart. He, Mistress Daniela and Master Leonardo are driving down from Syracuse now. They will arrive just after sunset, and I’ve got a ton of stuff to do.”

“You’ll be fine, you know Leonardo and Nikolai is a fair man. Just be careful with Daniela, she doesn’t like our kind. I wish I could be there, but I’m heading back to Dallas now.”

“Miami went well?”

“Very well. Watch the news.” I heard the boarding call for my flight. “I have to go, love. When all this is done, you and I are going to take some time to be alone.”

“I can’t wait,” she said. “Bye love.”

“Goodbye.” I ended the call and found Rosalie, we had been bumped to first class on the half-empty flight.

I couldn’t escape the feeling that something was wrong.

Erica’s POV

Pittsburgh-Butler Regional Airport

As soon as Jarrod heard the Vampire Council was going to the Werewolf Council Headquarters to meet with Talia, he started making arrangements. We would have to fly during the day to make it before the Council arrived just after sundown, which made things more difficult.

It was the one time the vampires used coffins for transport. We used one of our closed-back transport vans to get to the airfield, where the contract pilot was waiting. I secured Jarrod in his, then went to Eduardo’s coffin as he lay back. “At least we can talk mentally during the trip,” I said as I leaned down.

“I love you, Erica,” he said before we kissed. I secured the lid in place. There were no holes for breathing, vampires didn’t have to have oxygen, it wasn’t like it would kill them.

I rode with Malcolm to the airport and into the hangar where the plane waited. The pilot and copilot were outside, waiting with the cargo door open in their twin-engine plane. I opened the door, stepping out in my black dress with veil. “I’m sorry for your loss, Miss.”

“Thank you,” I said as we went to the back. They had a rolling cart they used to move the coffins to the plane, strapping them in place. The copilot led me up the stairs, seating me in a comfortable leather seat as the Captain secured the door. “We’ll be taking off in a few minutes. Let us know if you need anything, there are drinks and snacks in the cooler here.”

“Thank you,” I said. They went into the cockpit and I relaxed into the seat. “I wish you could be up here with me,” I sent.

“Mile high club for sure,” Eduardo answered. We talked the whole trip, me describing the landscape under us. “I miss the sun,” he said after a while. “I’m still new enough to clearly remember life before the change.”

“Do you regret it?”

“It brought me to you, how could I?”

I thought about it for a while. My life had been difficult; orphaned, exiled, branded and hidden. Without all that, I never would have met Eduardo. “You are right, love. Everything I went through was worth it to have you.”

We arrived in the late afternoon at Pittsburgh-Butler Regional Airport. Talia had sent an Omega down with a cargo van, and the two coffins were quickly loaded. Angie drove us out of the airport and onto the highway. We stopped at a Steak n Shake off Highway 28 for drive-thru then back on the road.

I was taking a drink of my banana-flavored shake when I saw movement out of the corner of my eye, then the squealing of brakes and the too-late reaction of Angie. The impact knocked me into the window as the van shuddered then rolled onto its passenger side. We skidded to a halt, our seatbelts saving us from serious harm. “Are you all right,” I asked Angie.

“I think so,” she said. I unbuckled my belt, standing up on the broken window then freed her. I looked back at the cargo area in horror; the back door had popped open, and the lid of Eduardo’s coffin was broken.

He was lying next to it, the sunlight on his face, and he wasn’t moving.