Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own the Vampire Diaries. I'm just borrowing.

Note: Thank you to everyone who sent me feedback for Chapter 2. I'm going to update "Cat and Mouse." The idea for this chapter came to me in a dream (I know, weird, huh?) and I wanted to use it. No spoilers, just follow along.

Office of Dr. Anna Char – Next Evening

Elena went straight to Anna's office, eager to know what her findings were on the victim she found last night. No sooner did she enter than she saw Anna waiting for her. She smiled at the detective, knowing why she was here.

"I was just about to call you," she said. "I found something while I was doing the autopsy on our young victim, something that I think you'll be interested to know."

"That's good," said Elena. "The more information I get, the better."

Anna smiled and walked toward the autopsy room. Elena followed close behind her and when they entered, she saw the customary Y-shaped incision, as well as the now blue skin of the victim, whose name hadn't been traced yet and was for now being referred to as Jane Doe.

"Now, to cut right to the chase, I discovered some semen while examining her genitals."

"Semen?" said Elena. "You mean, she was raped before she was strangled?"

Anna nodded. "Yes."

Elena scowled at the other woman's explanation. "I guess Damon has now added rapist to his repertoire."

"Not necessarily," said Anna. "I ran some tests on the semen, and it's not Damon's. It belongs to another man, which leads me to believe that he's not working alone. Someone raped this girl and when he was through with her, Damon administered the final blow."

Elena blinked. Damon had an accomplice? She was quite sure he worked alone. Whoever his accomplice was, he certainly knew how to make that poor girl on the autopsy table suffer. He was most definitely a pro, because she doubted Damon would pick an amateur to aid him in his rash of crimes throughout the city.

Clearing her throat, she added, "Were you able to ID our vic?"

"I checked her dental records just before you came in," said Anna. "Her name was Erika Strauss."

Elena nodded. So, their victim had a name. It certainly didn't make telling the parents seem any less difficult, but at least they knew who the girl was. Suddenly, Elena heard her cell phone going off and excusing herself from Anna, she checked the ID and saw it was from her boss, Captain Liz Forbes, Caroline's mother. Pressing "Send," Elena answered the call.

"Gilbert."

"I think you should get downtown immediately," her boss replied. "CSU found another body. A young girl, like the one in Anna's morgue. "

Shit, that meant Damon and his mysterious accomplice have struck again. "I'll be right there. Don't do anything until I get there." She hung up and looked at Anna. "There's been another murder. Another young girl."

"I guess the madness never ceases," said Anna. "Go on. I'll be there in a few minutes."

Elena nodded and headed out of the morgue. She only hoped that this was the moment she had been hoping for, the moment where she would meet Damon face to face and arrest him for murder. The son of a bitch deserved to go down for the shit he had put his victims' families through.

Downtown – Shortly After the Call...

Elena arrived on the scene and saw that Captain Forbes was telling the truth. There, covered by a white sheet, was the latest victim. Pulling it back, Elena saw that unlike Erika Strauss, who had red hair, this girl had jet black hair. A Goth, perhaps? A closer look told her that she had no black eyeliner on her eyes or black nail polish on finger nails. But, she was strangled, just like Erika had been. Elena hated to guess if she had also been raped before dying, mostly because it left a bitter taste in her mouth to even consider it.

As she was looking at the body, Elena thought she saw movement in the alley and slowly stepped inside, arming herself with her gun in case she needed it. Ignoring her pounding heart, Elena stepped further into the alley. Suddenly, a hand clamped itself over her mouth, along with a cloth soaked in chloroform. Elena struggled, but it was no use and after a few minutes, she fell limp in the arms of whoever grabbed her.

Damon's HQ – 1 Hour Later...

The first thing Elena felt when she came to was having a pounding headache. As her vision cleared, she saw that she was in a bedroom and on a neatly made bed. Not sure what to make of it, she sat up, and the throbbing pain in her head was slightly worse than it was before. How the hell did she get here? The last place she remembered being was the crime scene she was called to.

"Hello, Detective. I was wondering when you were going to wake up. For a minute there, I was worried that my colleague used too much chloroform."

A voice in the room snapped her to attention and when Elena looked, she came face to face with Damon Salvatore himself. Her heart pounding, she went to scream, but he placed his hand over her mouth to muffle any sound she might make. "Ah, ah, ah, no screaming. Unless, of course, it was my name during sex."

Elena grabbed his wrist and pulled his hand away from her mouth and stared at him, trying not to be captivated by his obviously gorgeous blue eyes, his silky black hair, or his equally gorgeous body, which was practically being hugged by the gray shirt and black pants he was wearing.

"What do you want?" she said. "Why did you kill those girls?"

Damon smirked at her. "Isn't it obvious, Detective? I wanted to get your attention and it would seem that I succeeded, because it sparked something within you that I find irresistible about you, and not just your body."

Elena didn't like where this was going. "Go to hell."

She quickly got up off the bed and tried to run out of the room, but Damon was too quick for her and caught her before she even reached the door, grabbing her wrist and twisting it behind her back, after which he removed some hair from her neck with his free hand, kissing her neck and causing her to shiver underneath him.

"You're a feisty little one, aren't you?" he whispered against her neck. "I like that. Makes the pursuit more interesting for me."

Elena felt sick as she felt his lips on her neck. "If you're going to kill me, just get it over with."

Damon chuckled against her neck. "Kill you? My dear, I didn't start our little game just so I could kill you. I started this little game because I want to make you mine. I've been watching you carefully these past several weeks."

Elena felt her heart hammer. He was watching her? "H...How much did you see?"

Damon kissed her neck again and then moved up to her ear, whispering into it, "Everything."

His whispered words made Elena even sicker. He saw everything? That explained the eerie feeling she had last night. "You're sick."

"Flattery will get you everywhere, Elena," said Damon, nibbling on her ear. "I must say, you're beautiful, like a goddess. A man would have to be blind and stupid not to notice you. Fortunately for you, I'm neither blind nor stupid. I know true beauty when I see it."

Elena gulped and a shiver went up her spine at what he said. Oh God, why was he tormenting her like this? She felt just as violated as the girls he killed. Maybe this was a dream and she would wake up safe in her bed. However, it didn't feel like a dream, it was all too real and she instantly felt lightheaded, fainting a second later. Damon caught her as she fell backward, carrying her over to the bed and laying her down gently. Klaus came in that at moment and Damon gave the other man a glare.

"Everything go according to plan?"

Damon rolled his blue eyes at his stupid question. "Of course it did. However, the impact of our first meeting has taken quite a toll on Detective Gilbert, because the poor dear seems to have fainted." He sighed before placing what looked like a locket around her neck, only the charm had a sort of tracking device implanted in it. "Pity, though. She's quite a beauty." He shook his head. "I'll take her back to her apartment so she can get some rest."

Klaus blinked. "You're not going to keep her here?"

"So you can have your way with her like you do with the girls we bring back here?" said Damon. "You may be my partner, Klaus, but when it comes to Detective Gilbert, I have to draw the line. I will not have you harming her, is that clear? Only I get to touch her."

"Very well, Damon," said Klaus. "You can have her."

"That's better," said Damon. "Now, go play with Rose. I'm sure she's excited to service you again."

Klaus smirked and walked out of the room. Damon watched his accomplice go before looking at Elena's unconscious body, watching as her chest slowly moved up and down. He wanted to keep her here, but he didn't trust Klaus with her, so the best course of action would be to take her back to her apartment.

Gently brushing her face with his finger, he said, "Soon, my dark-haired beauty, it will be safe for us to be together. I don't trust Klaus, even though we work together. He can't keep his hands to himself, the bastard. But, I promise you, Elena, I'll make it so he never bothers you, even if I have to kill him."

Note: Chapter 3 of "Cat and Mouse" is complete. And in case you're wondering, this is how the dream that inspired the chapter actually went. It's amazing that I remembered it, word for word, image by image. Anyway, don't you just love the fact that although Damon is a ruthless serial killer, he'll do anything to protect Elena?

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