Page 47 of Bloodhunter

I shrugged. “They’re all I have.” I sat down. “Rhys said youwant me to find your niece.”

“My niece is dead,” he said, flatly. “I want you to find herkiller. My family is offering a lot of cash for his head.”

“Okay.” I hesitated. “How do I…” I hated to admit I was soignorant of my own abilities, but there it was.

“I’ll give you something of his,” he said. “Something hetouched. Something he gave to my niece. Her name was Lucy, by the way.”

“So I really am like a bloodhound,” I realized. “I’ll take asniff of his belongings and then…”

He shrugged. “Latch onto his scent. You’ll know when ithappens, I expect.” He opened a drawer of his desk and pulled out a smallplastic bag. “This was his shirt. Lucy slept in it, my sister said. Neverlaundered it. Take it with you.”

“First,” I said, “I have three requests. You give me what Iwant and I’ll help take out the vampires killing the women. I’ll find thevampire who murdered your niece.” I met his stare. “And I will kill him. I’llkill them all.” I leaned toward him. “I’ll be the hunter this city needs,Captain.”

He clasped his fingers atop his desk and stared down at them,not shaken by my bloodthirsty hatred. “Can you bring him to me alive? We’ll payextra for that.”

“I can try. If Shane Copas will help me, I can try tocapture him for you.”

He nodded. “What do you want in return?”

“Release Angus Stark.”

He shook his head. “Ask for something else. He assaulted oneof my men.”

I shrugged. “His temper sometimes gets the best of him, buthe was worried about me. And I sincerely doubt your men are completelyblameless. I was manhandled by a couple of them myself. Release him.”

“Trinity—”

“Make it go away, Captain.”

He sighed. “All right. What else?”

“I want my…knife back.”

He nodded. “That’s easy enough. And number three?”

I grinned. “I want a badge.”

He tilted his head. “Pardon?”

“A badge, captain. And an ID designating me as an officialbloodhunter, employed by the RVPD. I want to be able to show the badge to copswho might get in my face, and civilians who might try to kick my ass.” I satback and crossed my legs. “I want to be a registered law enforcement agent, andI want a badge.”

He pursed his lips, then nodded slowly. “And how about agun, Trinity. Would you like me to issue you a gun, and maybe a car, as well?”He waved his hand around the room. “Perhaps an office would suit your needs.Oh, and by all means, let’s give you a title. How does, “Super SergeantSinclair sound?”

I lifted an eyebrow. “I can see that you don’t care for theidea.”

He glared at me. “How very astute of you. You’re a sharpone.”

“Captain—”

He stood and leaned forward, his palms on his desk. “I willrelease your friend, and when you bring me the target, I will cut you a check.Now get out of here before I change my mind.”

I practically ran from his office.

I’d wear him down, eventually. A badge was the leastimportant of my requests, but I sincerely did want to have some sort ofofficial standing behind my new job.

Besides, it would be cool to have a badge to flash.

Rhys was waiting for me by the elevators. “They’re bringingAngus,” he said. He leaned against the wall, his legs crossed at the ankle, hishands in his pockets. His smile was lazy, his eyes heavily-lidded, and helooked like he knew exactly how sexy he was.