Here is a new chapter and thanks to everyone who has been reading and/or reviewing. I appreciate you all. Up next, the DA meets Josef …

Chapter 8

After Robert Hemmings left their office, Beth commented, "Well, that was a surprise."

Mick asked, "Do you trust him?"

"I think so. After all, who would believe him?"

Mick locked the door of his office and the couple moved into the comfort of the loft. The crystal fire was burning, and he poured them more scotch, mixing it with some fresh blood. He handed her a glass and sat down in front of the fire. Beth joined him, sitting on his lap. Just her scent calmed him, and they were silent for a few minutes, sipping their drinks.

Beth cuddled up to Mick and sighed in contentment. He felt her love and wondered how lucky he was to have her in his life as his wife and partner. She was still a trouble magnet but he was less anxious about her safety now that she was immortal.

"I think it will be all right," she said, shifting to look at him. She tried not to be distracted by his gorgeous eyes, and watched them flash silver as she wiggled a little in his lap.

"Hmmm," he mumbled and held her tighter. Much as he wanted to continue this upstairs, they had to decide what to do. "I suppose I should call Josef," Mick sighed.

"Can't we just wait until Saturday night and show up with Hemmings?"

"What if he does something in the meantime? We'd be responsible."

Beth got up to pour them some more scotch. "Mick, quite a few humans know about us and keep our secret. How many freshies has Josef had in the last 400 years? What about Sarah Whitley's cousin in New York? I don't think waiting one day is going to be a problem."

"Josef will be pissed," Mick mused.

"Well, let him. You know his first reaction will be to head for the tarpits."

"Yeah. I don't think that'll be needed in this case," Mick said.

"He should trust your judgment." Beth knew Josef relied on Mick to handle threats to the community and was very efficient at it. But, Mick also knew when to wait, and this was one of those times.

"C'mon, let's go for a drive. It's a nice night and we haven't been to the beach for a while," Mick smiled.

Beth grinned back, "You have the nicest ideas, Mr. St. John."

On Saturday evening, Mick, Beth and DA Hemmings entered the lavish offices of Kostan Industries. Rob looked around taking in the décor. He'd had a couple of days to do more research on Josef Kostan, and found that he was a multi-millionaire and quite influential in the political circles of Los Angeles. He read that someone firebombed his offices a few years ago, but Kostan miraculously escaped harm. It made sense now that Rob knew he was a vampire. Otherwise, there was no scandal attached to Kostan, except for the death of Dominic Michaels at the dedication of the athletic facility at Hearst College. If Kostan was the head vampire of the area, he'd kept his hands and reputation clean. Mr. and Mrs. St. John, his guardians as he'd come to think of them, left him sitting in an office after getting through security in the lobby. Rob presumed they went to speak to Kostan, and he felt a little nervous.

The St. Johns hadn't said very much, just that he had to see Kostan and the drive over had been subdued. He had the impression that the couple wasn't very happy to be taking him to their vampire leader and that increased Rob's disquiet. Fortunately, during the day he'd had a lot of time to think and he felt he could defend his life to this vampire. After all, he was a lawyer and made his living convincing juries to see things his way.

Leaving the human in Josef's outer office, Mick and Beth entered to find their friend behind his desk. Mick noted Josef seemed relaxed, but there was a tension around his mouth that indicated trouble.

"Mick, how nice to see you," Josef said, with sarcasm. He fixed the younger vampire with a stare and ignored Beth. Not liking his attitude, she frowned and said, "Hello Josef."

He glanced at her and said, "Ah, Beth so glad you're here."

Josef's words stung her a little. Ever since she'd gotten them both away from the mad doctor in Geneva, he'd treated her like an equal. Before Mick could respond to the implied insult to his wife, she said, "Josef we have to talk to you, so whatever is upsetting you can wait."

Josef stood and leaned forward, his hands flat on his desk. "You're here to tell me that Robert Hemmings, District Attorney for Los Angeles visited your loft two nights ago. He then returned to his home and went to work the next day. You picked him up an hour ago and now he's here in my office."

Mick glared, "You've been having him followed."

"Of course I have," Josef growled back. "I'm not about to let the welfare of my region rest on what a human might do to endanger us. It's a good thing, since you didn't bother to tell me he'd spoken to you."

"If I thought he was trouble I would have taken care of it," Mick insisted.

Beth could see that both men were ready to go head-to-head and they didn't need that right now. She stepped in front of Mick, and scowled at Josef. "Stop it! We brought him here to talk to you. Mick and I don't think he's a threat, but you're the Elder and you need to decide. Impartially," she finished with a stern glance.

The two men backed off at her outburst and Josef had the good grace to look a little shamefaced.

"Most of this is my fault," Mick said. "Hemmings came to my office on Thursday night and confronted me. He said he knew we were vampires and killers and accused us of murdering Dominic Michaels and Emma. I'm afraid I lost it and he saw more than he should."

Josef felt Mick's regret and sighed, sitting down. His friend wasn't even a century old and his emotions sometimes caused difficulties. On the other hand, Beth St. John née Turner had excellent control even at her young age. The thought amused him and he answered the waiting couple. "All right, tell me the rest."

Mick related what transpired at his office and how they decided to bring him to meet Josef.

"He was determined to find out what happened to Emma and once he did, he let it go. Now he seems more interested in us and our culture." Mick finished.

"Still, I have to make sure he won't say anything," Josef said, thoughtfully.

"You're going to scare the hell out of him, aren't you?" Beth asked.

"Probably," Josef smirked, then became serious. "I have to know he won't cause any problems."

Mick checked his watch. "We've left him out there for 30 minutes. He's most likely nervous enough now to listen."

Nodding, Josef called his assistant. "Deb, send in the District Attorney."

In a few moments, the door opened and Rob Hemmings entered the office, barely noticing the expensive furnishings and paintings. His eyes were fixed on the person sitting behind a massive desk. He recognized the vampire, and looked with interest at the blond, youngish-looking man. Perhaps vampires chose the most powerful to be the leader? Kostan was certainly rich enough. Rob felt at a disadvantage by not knowing more about them.

He acknowledged Mick and Beth before turning to Kostan. "I'm Robert Hemmings."

Josef returned the human's appraisal and said, "Please sit down. Mick, I'll see that Mr. Hemmings gets home after our talk."

Mick and Beth stood reluctantly, and behind Rob's head he frowned at Josef. "Don't hurt him, we don't need the hassle," he said in the vampire undertone.

The older vampire just waved, dismissing them. With a final glance back, the couple exited the office.

Rob could feel the vampire looking at him and met his gaze with a stoic expression. Growing tired of the examination, Rob gave a slight nod and asked pleasantly, "Do I pass your inspection?"

Somewhat impressed with the DA's boldness, Josef said, "I don't know yet. I understand you were chasing down the Monahans and found us."

"Yes."

"You were looking for an escaped criminal and vampires were your first thought?" Josef asked, with a raised eyebrow.

"Not quite." Rob detailed how he found the street video and the guard's identification.

Josef leaned forward. "Still, why would you think vampires?"

"Because I'd heard of you before," Rob stated. He told of the witness in Atlanta who saw the vampire kill. It reminded him how dangerous these beings could be. Perhaps he shouldn't have spoken of it, since Kostan went quiet, but his curiosity pushed him on.

"Who were the people in black?" Rob asked.

Josef frowned, "You don't need to know."

"Why not? I already know you exist and I realize you can kill me at any time."

"Yes, I can," Josef snarled, leaning forward, letting his vampire out with crystal eyes and fangs.

Rob was only slightly taken aback, having seen Mick do the same thing. "You don't need to kill me."

"Why not?" Josef said, in turn.

"Because I can do you and your people some good," Rob replied with more confidence than he felt. He was a little relieved when Josef resumed his human visage and nodded for him to continue.

"I presume there are quite a few vampires in the Los Angeles area. It seems like you try to keep a low profile and as long as you don't break any of our laws, I'll be glad to help you." Rob had thought of this after his meeting with the St. Johns. He didn't think it would violate his sense of ethics and he had a suspicion the vampires were very good at covering their tracks. In any case, he wanted Kostan to feel a live DA would be more valuable than a dead one.

Josef leaned back in his chair. He thought a moment and changed his mind about eliminating the DA. The human had made a good point. It might be advantageous to have someone like him on their side, especially as they had lost the vampire State Senator, which had diminished their clout in local politics. "When you were investigating, did you tell anyone else about us?"

"No, I gathered information from several sources, but I never mentioned vampires."

"Very well. You would be willing to work with us?"

"Yes, as long as your people stay off our radar. I won't break the law to cover up your crimes."

"Understood, but if you betray us, there won't be anywhere you can hide—your body would never be found," Josef said with cold certainty.

Rob was sure of that, and gave a solemn nod.

"Of course, we're glad to help our friends if the need arises," Josef said.

Feeling the shift in the room, Rob replied, "I'll keep that in mind."

"Now to your question about the vampires in black that your witness saw. They are the Cleaners. They take care of any problems that might reveal our existence to humans and handle discipline. They are very good at their job."

"Oh. If vampires kill all the time, why haven't we found out about you sooner?"

Josef rolled his eyes. "That's because we don't often kill for food. We have willing providers or use donated blood. That vampire was violating our rules and could have caused trouble. I'm sure the Cleaners took care of the situation afterwards."

Rob listened and was relieved. It made sense that vampires would have something like a police force. A thought occurred to him. "Why didn't they help Emma Monahan to escape?"

Giving the DA points for his perception, Josef said, "They were there, but Mick was the first to get to Emma."

Rob was silent again for a moment. "I think we can work together, Mr. Kostan, but I still need more information to make sure I have a good understanding of your kind."

Josef stood and Rob followed, a bit disappointed at the obvious ending of their meeting. Josef said, "I believe we have a deal. I'll have Mick and Beth fill you in what you need to know. But remember, we'll be watching."

With a slight smile, Rob said, "I have no doubt."

Rob left the office, taking the elevator to the lobby feeling slightly light-headed. He didn't expect to come through the meeting unscathed. He went through the doors into the night and saw a long black car.

"Mr. Hemmings?" The driver asked.

He nodded, and the door was opened and he got in. The ride to his house was uneventful. He was glad to be home and that it was the weekend so he could reflect on what happened. It seemed so unbelievable and he needed to sort out this thoughts.

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Josef looked out the window in his office at the lights of the buildings in LA. It was nearing midnight and he held off calling Mick to tell him the outcome of his talk with the human. It was cruel of him, because he knew Mick would be worried. Smirking a little, he dialed his friend's number.

"Josef?"

"Well Mick, your human was quite surprising."

"What did you do?" Mick asked with alarm.

"We had a nice discussion. He agreed to assist us and I refrained from killing him."

Mick let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. "That's good."

"I'm still going to have his home and office bugged, but I think he may come to be an asset to us."

Mick smiled, pulling Beth close to hear the conversation. "Good idea. After all, most of Ben's contacts have moved on and it would be helpful to have someone on the spot."

"Yes, and you can make that clear when you talk with him."

"What do you mean?" Mick asked.

"The quid pro quo was that your DA wants to know about vampires. He has questions and you need to give him answers. Within reason, of course," Josef replied.

"I think we can work with that."

"Good. I'll leave it to you. Why don't you and Beth come up to the house tomorrow night for a swim and some drinks?"

Mick looked at Beth and she nodded. "All right. We'll see you about eleven." Mick hung up, and Beth flopped back on the couch in relief.

"It sounded like Josef wasn't too upset by Hemmings," she said.

He sat down and put his arm around her. "We still have to decide how much we tell him." Giving his wife a sidelong glance, he said, "If he's anything like you, he won't be satisfied until he knows all our secrets."

"That might be a good thing. If he's dealing with vamps he needs to know what he's up against."

"I suppose so," Mick said. His close proximity made her aware of his desire which was returned by her own.

"Is there anywhere else we need to be tonight?" she asked, running her hand over his shirt.

"Nowhere but here," he said, moving to kiss her neck. "Or upstairs," he amended.

"What a good idea," Beth agreed.

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Coraline got out of the splendid cold of her freezer in her lavish apartment in Paris and stretched. After an icy shower and a meal of fresh blood, she picked up her mobile phone. Pressing in the number, there was a click.

Luc said, "Oui, Madam?"

"Are you alone?" she asked.

"Oui, my lady, how can I serve you?"

Coraline's erstwhile servant had redeemed himself with the family and Henri had returned Luc to her service. Since she had moved to an apartment, he still stayed at the Duvall mansion in the outskirts of Paris.

"I would like to see you tonight. I have a commission for you."

"Oui, my lady, I will be at your door within the hour."

"Bon, I will see you then," Coraline said, disconnecting the call with a malicious smile.

She had consulted her accountant a few days ago and was pleased that her finances were growing. Their sun-blocking formula was still selling well among vampires, especially in the sunny southern climes. Her profits counted in the millions.

Right on time there was a knock on her door. The large vampire entered and bowed to Coraline. "How may I serve you, Madam?"

"Sit down, Luc. We have much to discuss."

He sat carefully on an antique chair, looking quite out of place in the feminine room.

Coraline smiled, putting her subordinate at ease. "I need you to use all your skills and contacts to find people to help me."

"To do what, Madam?"

"To visit some of our enemies in Los Angeles," she said with a sneer.

Luc started to panic. His attack on the vampire from America almost cost him his head. The family wouldn't like this.

Coraline felt his fear and said, "Calm yourself, mon ami, this time we will have a careful plan and neither of us will be directly involved."

She moved to the buffet and poured Luc a liberal amount of whiskey. Giving it to him, she smiled cruelly. "I want them to pay, and this is what we will do …"

TBC

We knew Coraline wasn't going to give up, but what's she going to do? The DA escaped and is going to learn more about vampires. Thanks for sticking with the story, your support keeps me writing!