The time read two o'clock when Leanna's cell phone rang. She threw of Nicholas's arm and pick it up, leaving the room for him to sleep.
"Sully? It's Coleman."
"Hey," she said, her voice losing its sleepy accent. "What's going on?"
"Tell me Nick's with you tonight."
Pushing a strand of blonde hair behind her ear, Leanna sat on one of the bar stools. "He's here. Why? What happened?"
Coleman sighed and that made Leanna more alert than any glance given to her by a vampire. "It looks like the killer's after him."
"Tell me."
Coleman went into a semi-detailed explanation that the autopsy had gone awry. The body had been torn apart and the room destroyed. Next, Nick's alarm system went off not an hour later and when he arrived, the place was completely sacked. Not a thing left untouched and if Nick had been home, his body would have joined the fray.
"You wanna tell me what's going on?"
Leanna rubbed her face and told Coleman she'd call him in the morning. Hanging up on his irate words, she ran back into the room and shook Nick awake, demanding him to name the people he allowed in his house the past two weeks.
"What are you talking about? Lee, its two in the morning."
"Coleman just called me saying the body's destroyed and so's your apartment. Who did you let through the doorway?" She sat on her knees in plaid pajama pants and his black shirt, but he could see she was without a bra. That thought didn't help him figure out what the hell was happening.
"I don't know. We had an after work party a few weeks back."
"How far back?"
Nick shrugged, falling back onto the bed. "Coleman arranged it for Steinbach's birthday."
Leanna remembered Steinbach's birthday was August 28th, exactly one month ago. The vampire had entered then and could have done so numerous times since. She calculated the amount of belongings she had left there and found nothing of importance. She could always buy more clothes and toothbrush.
Sliding her laptop in front of her, she began going over the cases she'd been called to in the past month. They all came and went so quickly, she never took real notice. There had been three cases the week of Steinbach's party and then another three the week after. Two the following week and one so far this week. Only one case had brought in a suspect, but he had been cleared.
Leanna clicked on the suspect, skimming over the name and down to the arresting officer. Her stomach sank at the name. Nicholas Littleman.
"Idiot," she murmured and continued to view the facts of the case. The suspect had been a young man named Kol Mikaelson. Attractive, mysterious, and definitely one of the undead. He had posted bail, though no money had been received nor a name given as to who released Kol.
"Vampire compulsion," she muttered, determined to find out who had tried to skirt the law. A few more clicks and Leanna had the security cameras of the police station up and running the date Kol had come in. She watched faces pass by and only one man in particular made sure the camera didn't catch him, though it did catch him signing in.
"All right, asshole. Let's see who you are." Leanna zoomed in on the sign in sheet, pausing and rewinding until she could make out the entire name. "Klaus Mik-ael-son. All right, Mr. Mikaelson, let's see where you live."
Another few clicks and she'd gotten the address of the man who bailed out her suspect. She wrote it down, pleased to see it was a location within Mystic Falls. She snuck back into her bed, where Nick pulled her tight against him, and fell asleep quickly.
The time was four o'clock.
Leanna awoke at noon, her body missing the warmth Nick had given her throughout the night. He'd left at nine, giving her a quick kiss before she went back to bed. Coleman would fill him in on everything, she reasoned, and continued to sleep quite happily. After swallowing down a quick breakfast and showering, she grabbed the address she'd written down last night and locked her door before setting out the skirts of the town.
The old mansion was quite a drive from her inner Mystic Falls apartment and a hike from the street where she had no choice but to park. She marveled at the property from the sprawling lawn to the newly built mansion. She double checked the address before making her way up one of the sloping hills. It was a sunny day and she breathed in the crisp, early fall air. It was her favorite time of year. So many colors and scents and sounds.
It was at that moment she heard the growl. A deep, guttural growl that only unnatural beasts had. Slowly, she looked behind her and gulped when she saw a snarling man coming her way. Werewolf, she instantly categorized and cursed herself for not bringing proper protection. The only vervain she had was coating her necklace.
She ran. She'd been raised not to run. To face them calmly and with strength, but she had neither right now. So she ran. Right into the mansion door, which she pounded on and demanded to be let in, as the werewolf chased after her. She had her back against the door, ready to fight the beast off, when the door finally, and rather suddenly, opened.
Leanna managed to stop herself from falling back at the last moment and felt a small burst of triumph at that. She watched in awe as the werewolf eased into a docile demeanor at the voice of her, for a lack of better word, savior.
"Forgive me. I was not expecting visitors today." He smiled at her, a mischievous sort of smile. Stubble coated his jaw and his short curly hair
Leanna breathed in, regaining her composure, and returned the smile. "I'm looking for a man named Klaus Mikaelson. Is he here?"
He leaned against the doorway, crossing his arms in a relaxed and guarded manner. He wore a loose fitting V-neck, a few layered necklaces, and dark jeans. With the curly blond hair and hooded blue eyes, this man screamed attraction. His smirks didn't help.
"You're speaking to him, sweetheart."
She let out a laugh. With a name like Klaus, she expected worse. As in older, hairier, and less seductive. "My name's Leanna O'Sullivan and I'm here on police work. Roughly three weeks ago, you posted bail for your relative, Kol, yet we received no payment as of last night."
He smirked, but she noticed his eyes darkened at her mention of Kol. "I believe you're quite mistaken, Miss O'Sullivan."
"I have video footage, Mr. Mikaelson," she shot back, trying to ignore the sudden tension that was part sexual and part dangerous. "Your brother was a suspect in a murder investigation and if the bail is not paid, then we have every right to take him in again as our prime suspect."
"Once again, Miss O'Sullivan-"
She held up her hand the moment she saw his eyes dilate. "Compulsion won't work on me, sir, but I can use it as evidence in bringing Kol into custody."
Klaus studied this creature. She was small, maybe an inch or two above five feet, and thin. Dressed in tight black slacks and a purple button down, she had tied her bright blonde hair into a ponytail. Nothing of her exterior appearance gave him a clue to her stubborn confidence. He didn't take well to threats.
"Drop the subject, Miss O'Sullivan. It's the least you can do. I did save your life." He watched her process his threat, anger, frustration, and inability to concede playing across her petite face. It was amusing and he couldn't help but chuckle.
"I know you're a vampire," she said, not a hint of fear in her voice. "You should know I've been dealing with your kind my entire life. This will not be the last time you see me, so I suggest thinking of some other way to placate me, preferably with the truth."
He reined in the desire to break her neck. The insufferable girl! if he did see her again, he'd be sure to give her a proper punishment for the audacity to speak to him like a petulant human boy.
Comments? Bring 'em on! Hope you enjoyed. There's more to come.