Page 8 of Isabelle’s Forbidden Love

Isabelle picked up one of the photos and stared at it. Again, she shivered even though hybrids didn’t feel the cold the way a human did. “I hate to think that somebody capable of this kind of violence is somewhere out there.”

“We’ll find him, don’t worry,” Cooper said confidently. “We always do.”

5

Isabelle parked her baby-blue Thunderbird half a block away from the Mezzanine’s back entrance and got out. She’d read the file on Wayne Hong, which Nelson had put together, twice to make sure she didn’t miss anything. He’d made copious notes in neat handwriting in addition to printing everything the police department had collected on the victim’s background, giving her a good feel for the victim. Since there wasn’t much else she could do tonight, she’d decided to wind down by going to the Mezzanine, the South of Market nightclub co-owned by her father, and co-managed by her brother Patrick. The popular nightspot employed a number of pureblooded vampires and was frequented by Scanguards employees—humans, vampires, and witches alike.

Instead of entering via the back entrance of the club using her Scanguards ID, Isabelle walked around the building to the front entrance, which was staffed by a bouncer. His back was turned to her as she approached, but she recognized him nevertheless. Orlando was the largest vampire she’d ever met, taller and broader than her father, and even more massive than Amaury, her father’s best friend and co-owner of Scanguards and the Mezzanine.

She could have easily avoided Orlando by entering via the back entrance, but she wanted to see him, wanted to roam her eyes over him, even if it was only for a short moment. She felt like a junkie in need of her next fix. Was it only four months ago that he’d been injured and she’d tended to his wounds, not only by giving him human blood to heal but also by licking the deep gashes on his abdomen and sealing them with her saliva? It felt like it had been only yesterday that she’d tasted his blood. Since then, she’d dreamed of a repeat every time she slept.

Isabelle wiped her sweaty hands on her tight jeans and took a steadying breath. Whenever she knew she would be face-to-face with Orlando she became as nervous as a teenager being dragged to the principal’s office expecting the worst. Orlando had never once mentioned the incident again, but she still remembered the way he’d looked at her when she’d licked him: furious and ready to kill her as if she’d done something that caused him unimaginable physical pain.

Isabelle was only a few feet away from the entrance door to the club, when Orlando suddenly turned his head as if a hornet had stung him—even though there were no hornets flying around in the middle of the night. His eyes widened and his nostrils flared like those of a beast having caught the scent of a predator. What did that make him? The prey?

Her heart began to pound so fast and loud that she could have sworn that everybody in San Francisco would be awakened by the sound. But she knew it wasn’t possible. It was only her perception, because she alone knew what the sight of Orlando did to her. Her body seemed to detach from her mind, guided by its own rules now. Her pulse drummed underneath the skin, her body heated, her senses became hyperaware, and farther below where her thighs met, liquid heat pooled to prepare for the possibility that this time Orlando would touch her the way he touched her in her dreams.

“Isabelle.” Her name rolled off his lips like a cool trickle that rolled off a green leaf in the rainforest. There was an echo of a rumble in it, as if a thunderstorm was approaching to drench them.

Two more yards separated them, but she didn’t break her stride, knowing she couldn’t allow herself to get weak. Orlando had no interest in her. Besides, he was clearly still pissed about the incident four months earlier. She had to pretend that it didn’t affect her, that he didn’t affect her.

“Orlando, hi. Busy night?” she asked to say something and not sound like a monosyllabic starstruck groupie. Was this how shy women felt when they talked to the man of their dreams? But she wasn’t shy, never had been. Her parents had raised her to be confident in her abilities and in herself.

“Same as always.”

Mr. Chatty reached for the door and held it open for her. The conversation was over, and she had no choice but to enter the club. Maybe on the way out she would have more courage and draw him into a longer conversation. Or perhaps it was better if she picked up some stranger so she could curtail her inexplicable attraction to the vampire who barely noticed her.

The club was still full, despite the late hour and closing time approaching. She glanced around. She spotted Damian, Benjamin’s twin brother and the other co-manager of the club, on the dance floor dancing rather provocatively with his wife and mate, Naomi, a buxom blonde who’d stolen his heart less than two years earlier. An involuntary sigh rolled over her lips. The couple looked madly in love, and she wondered what it would be like if she had somebody who looked at her the way Damian looked at Naomi. Not just anybody, of course. No, she wanted Orlando! How stupid! Orlando was older than her own father, and had probably had more beautiful and more experienced women than her. Not that she was sexually inexperienced. She’d had her share of men until four months ago. Then her dry streak had begun. She’d become too choosy, and had found fault with practically every man she’d met. It was time to end this now. She needed to prove to herself that Orlando was just a temporary infatuation and nothing more.

At the bar, Isabelle waved at Tanja to take her drink order. Tanja was a vampire, as were all the bartenders at the Mezzanine. Samson and all of Scanguards had made it their mission to provide employment opportunities for vampires to help them lead a more normal life. Scanguards even provided its vampire employees with free bottled blood to minimize the need for biting humans to survive. First, Scanguards had sold the human blood, which was procured via a medical supply shell company, at cost, but since Scanguards was doing very well financially, all employees received the blood for free. They only had to ask.

“Hey, Isa, what can I get you?” Tanja asked.

“A Negroni please.”

While Tanja started mixing her drink, Isabelle glanced around. “Anybody interesting here tonight?”

Tanja chuckled. “You mean not just a nice face and body, but a brain to go with it?”

“That about sums it up.”

Tanja placed the drink in front of her. “Then, you’re out of luck. The good ones have already left with their conquests in tow. You should have come earlier.”

“I couldn’t. I had to go into the office.”

Tanja lifted her eyebrows. “I thought tonight was your free night.”

“So did I. But I got called in for something important.”

Tanja shook her head. “No need to say anything else. I know you probably can’t tell me what it’s about.”

“Sorry.”

A murder case where a vampire was the most likely culprit had to be treated confidentially. It wouldn’t help their investigation if the rumors spread like wildfire. However, Isabelle was sure some people in their tight-knit vampire community already knew about the murder. It wouldn’t take long until everybody knew about it. But she didn’t want to hasten that process.

Isabelle lifted her glass. “Can you please put that on my tab?”

Tanja nodded. “Done.” Then another guest called her away.