A/N- I'm so sorry it's been so long since I've last updated the story. Life has been crazy. I hope y'all enjoy! Let me know what you think!
Chapter 4
Chloe's POV
"Did you tell Gail?" Stacie nods and I sigh. "Well, what did she say?"
"All she said was that there was this agent coming by that might be able to help."
"Why would there be a- Oh." The news of John's death flashes through my mind, making me feel sick. John was like a father to all of us. Strict but warm and loving at the same time. He was older than any of us and had so much wisdom to share.
"What can a fucking agent do?" Aubrey's sharp voice slices through the air, making me cringe.
"Aubrey, they might be able to help. Even if they are from the NLSH. I'm sure they're not all bad."
"No, but the majority of them are. All of their agents are human. HUMAN! They don't fucking care about us or our fucking lives."
"You're wrong," I whisper, wrapping my arms around my waist, not really believing what I say. "They just don't understand. That's all and we can't blame them for that."
"Chloe's right. So maybe this agent can help us figure out what to do with the kid." Stacie helps.
"Did you find out his name?" I ask and turn my attention to the young boy playing video games in the corner.
"No. He shut down pretty quick when we brought him here. He's just scared." Silence descends on us like a mist, coating the air. Voices travel up from downstairs.
"Guess the agent is here," Aubrey mutters. I ignore her and walk over to the boy.
"Hey." He looks up at me before looking back down at the gameboy. "Someone is going to come up later and talk to you. Is that okay?" He just shrugs.
"This is what I'm talking about," Stacie says when I walk back over. "For some reason, he shut down. I'm afraid we brought up some bad memories or he's just not used to people caring for him."
"He told me that his mom kicked him out so he's probably really upset about that." Stacie nods understandably. Looking at the time, I usher the girls out of the room. Time for dinner.
"You guys hear about the agent?" Emily whispers, coming up next to me. I just give her a small smile and nod. All the girls come out of their rooms and rush down the stairs, anxious to see if the agent is still here. Though I don't act like it, I'm excited too. It's not often that they send other agents to us. Most people hate vampires and refuse to work with us. For some reason, vampires are one of the most hated of the supernatural. Must be the lack of a soul thing.
Gail's voice gets closer as I reach the kitchen. She's introducing the girls to the agent. Her voice is the only sound as the girls seem to all have gone quiet. I peek around the crowd and gasp a little. It's the girl from the club. The one I flirted with and the one I felt a connection to. That job she was talking about? She must've been looking for a vampire. That club is notorious for us vampires because they serve blood drinks illegally. I force myself to push away the mixed emotions I feel and focus on Gail introducing me.
"This is Chloe Beale," Gail says as I step forward. I can see recognition in the girl's eyes as she looks at me. "Chloe is one of the best agents here. Top of the class."
"Hi," I hold out my hand and the girl takes it. Her skin is softer than I would've expected and warm. Dark, grey eyes stare into mine, like she's seeing right through me. Brown hair flows over her shoulders in mesmerizing waves. I stand over her, the top of her head only coming up to my chin.
"Nice to meet you. Name's Beca." We go silent, holding hands far longer than appropriate.
"I'm Aubrey," Aubrey butts in and Beca's eyes widen. "So you're the agent everyone is talking about." A flash of discomfort shows in Beca's eyes, but it's gone quickly, replaced by a neutral look.
"Beca will be joining us for dinner." Everyone starts chattering and heads to their spots at the table. Gail grabs Beca's arm and leads her to the seat across from mine.
"So how does this work?" Beca's question makes us laugh and she squirms in her seat, obviously uncomfortable.
"We can eat regular food if we want to. Makes us feel normal and gives us a chance to be together and just talk." Gail smiles and goes into the kitchen to retrieve the food. She brings back several dishes and sets them on the table. Immediately, hands start grabbing them, passing stuff around. I just sit back and watch, loving the normality of it all. Feeling eyes on me, I look ahead and catch Beca watching me. There's a curious expression to her face as she studies me. Impulsively, I wink, making her blush and look away.
"So what do you do exactly?" Emily is first to talk to Beca after things have calmed down.
"Well, that depends. I do patrols around the city, to make sure no criminal activity is going on. Any case that deals with the supernatural goes through me. That's it really."
"So you're like a badass?" Amy asks and Gail playfully glares at her. Beca laughs, a musical sound.
"Some people might say so," she draws out, her accent thick and glances at me.
"Are you here about John?" Cynthia Rose speaks up, more quiet than usual. John's death is hitting her really hard.
"Yes. My boss sent me to ask for some help on the case."
"We can all help, but I would like to assign someone specifically," Gial informs. "Chloe here is the most experienced. I have other things to do so I'll have her show you around, help you with anything you need."
"Sounds good," Beca glances at me again, heat in her eyes, directed toward me. She opens her mouth to speak, but a phone goes off, interrupting her. Annoyance covers her face as she pulls out her phone.
"The boss," she excuses herself and leaves the room, but quickly comes back in. "He wants to talk to you." She hands the phone to Gail.
"Uh huh. Of course. We would be delighted to have her. Alright. Will do." She snaps the phone closed and hands it back to Beca. "Mr. Mitchell would like you to stay here for the time being. Just until the case is closed. He is aware of our training area and told me to let you know to continue just as you would there. Your things will be dropped off shortly."
Gaping, Beca plops down in her seat. The room is silent, nobody is sure whether it's okay to breathe or not. We're all waiting for Beca to freak out at having to stay with vampires for who knows how long. Nobody ever wants to stay with a household of vampires.
"Alright. Are you okay with that?" Beca turns to Gail who nods at her question. "Y'all okay with it too?" Speechless, we all nod. Satisfied, Beca goes back to eating.
"So girls. Who is willing to share their room? Chloe? She'll be partnering with you anyway." Gail asks but I know that it's more of a command than a question.
"Of course. She's welcome to stay with me." I smile at Beca, feeling my heart skip a beat when she smiles back.
"So Beca, before we get into John's case, could we talk to you about something else first?" Stacie speaks to Beca for the first time. When Beca gives Stacie her full attention, jealousy rages through me like wildfire, but I quickly tame it. I have no right to be jealous. Just because Stacie is gorgeous and if she decided to go for Beca, I wouldn't stand a chance, doesn't mean I can be jealous. I have no doubt that Beca likes girls because of the way her gaze lingered down my dress at the club, but it doesn't mean she'll go for a vampire.
"What do you need?"
"Earlier, Chloe and Aubrey ran into a kid who used up all of his blood bags for a month and almost caused a bit of a scene. They figured out that he's a new vampire which is weird since there haven't been new vampires for years. So we figured you might know what to do about him." Beca thinks for a second, then turns away from Stacie and makes eye contact with me.
"Do you know how old?"
"He said he was turned about a month ago. Not by choice either." Venom coats my voice at having personal experience of having my free will exploited. "A man asked him if he wanted to live forever. When the kid told him no, he was pushed in front of a vehicle and left to die. The man turned him before he could and left him to become a vampire alone."
"Hmm," Beca looks down, contemplating. "I'll talk to him. See what I can find out."
"Alright. That's enough of that for now." Gail laughs nervously. "Dinner is a time for nice chit chat, not business discussion."
"How old are you?" Emily blurts out at Beca who answers "18" without flinching. "How long have you done this job?"
"Well," a sad tone comes into Beca's voice, making me wonder what put it there, "technically my whole life. We're all trained from minute one for this job. Only a small number of us actually make it out into the field. The rest instruct the next group or get some other job like private security."
"How'd you get to your position?" Aubrey actually sounds interested, though she has a scowl on her face. She doesn't trust easily, especially when it comes to the NLSH.
"I graduated top of my class in all areas. Well, most of them. History was definitely one of the hardest for me. I just always hated how we separate everybody based on it. Things that species used to do hundreds of years ago still affect them today. It's ridiculous and is a really jacked up system in my mind." Beca pauses, catching her breath. When she realizes that everybody is staring at her, she blushes. What do you say to something that you've been hoping to hear for years? No one thinks that way, not anymore.
"So what do you do in your free time?" Amy breaks the silence.
"Not much. Workout, do training simulators, read over cases, ect."
"No, I meant for fun. Like after your work is over." Beca just looks at Amy, confused.
"All I do is work. Not much time for anything else."
"There's always time for a break," I say and Beca looks at me. Our eyes meet, making my heart beat faster and leaving me breathless. She makes more eye contact with me than anybody else I know.
"Speaking of breaks," Gail interrupts, "I think this one has gone on long enough. Beca, go talk to the boy upstairs and then we'll call it a night."
"Yes ma'am." Beca stands up and starts grabbing dishes. I put a hand on her arm, stopping her.
"Why don't you let them do that? We'll go talk to the kid." Beca nods and we leave the kitchen. When we reach the room, she pauses.
"You were at the club?" I nod. "So you're a vampire?"
"Yeah. What did you think I was?" Isn't it her job to figure out who's a vampire and who's not?
"Nothing. Just… nothing." Without another word, she goes into the room. What the hell was that about?