Bad Vampire by Lauren Dawes (read aloud books txt) 📕

do it,” I replied, not meeting his eyes. “I refuse. You can shove me behind a desk, or make me work reception. I’d even consider being your personal coffee bitch for all eternity, but not PIG.”

His brows rose. “Coffee bitch, huh”

“It doesn’t even have to be just coffee. I’d be your multi-purpose gopher. Need a gift for the little lady? I’ll get it. Need a babysitter?” I thumbed my chest. “I’m your girl. I’ll do whatever you want for however long you want, as long as I don’t have to work with PIG.”

“The little lady?” he asked. “I don’t know whether to be insulted or amused. I know my wife wouldn’t take too kindly to the moniker…but it’s non-negotiable. You either accept you’re working with PIG, or you’ll be suspended without pay for six months in addition to mandatory therapy three times a week and a desk job when you return.”

“You can’t do that!”

“Oh, you think I’m bluffing?” Wolfe asked smugly, folding his arms over his chest. “Are you sure you want to find out?” When I stayed quiet, he added, “They’re expecting you tomorrow morning at eight-thirty.” He jabbed his finger at me. “Don’t be late. Don’t be an asshole, and for fuck’s sake, don’t get yourself killed.”

“Myself? Not my partner?”

He snorted. “McKenzie, you’ll be playing with the big boys, so if anyone is going to get themselves hurt, it’s going to be you.”

I opened my mouth, then closed it, and Wolfe’s expression softened.

“It’s a good deal, kid.”

I tried not to let that ‘kid’ comment rankle, but it was really fucking hard.

“No one else in your department wants to work with you. They don’t trust you to have their back. If you’re serious about being a cop and keeping your job, this is your only option.”

I looked him directly in the eyes, holding in check the shiver I felt tracking up my spine. “How long is this punishment?”

“At least twelve months.”

Twelve months? How in the hell was I supposed to work with a group of people who I wouldn’t trust at my back?

I swallowed, realization slamming into me like a bus. I was railing against something that everyone else in the department was railing about too, because that was exactly how my colleagues here felt about me. I’d let my partner get killed when I was supposed to have their back, and I’d done it all without lifting a goddamn finger. Fuck!

Why was life such a shitfight sometimes?

Peeling my back away from the chair, I stood up and waited as Wolfe slid my side arm and badge across the desk.

“Take the rest of the day off, but I’ll be getting regular updates from Detective Taylor about your conduct once you start with PIG.”

“Great,” I deadpanned. There was nothing I liked more than micro-management. Sliding my side arm back into the underarm holster I wore under my jacket, I clipped it in, then put my badge back into its cover.

As I turned to leave, Wolfe added, “You’re going to be a great cop, McKenzie.”

I glanced over my shoulder. “And you know this, how?”

He touched the side of his nose. I rolled my eyes before pushing out of the office and into the din of ringing phones and the low hum of computer monitors that rarely got turned off. Navigating to my cubicle, I slumped down into my seat and stared at the workspace that had been mine for all of twenty-four hours.

I pulled open a drawer and reached inside, picking up the stray paperclip at the bottom. I sighed. I hadn’t even gotten around to stealing office supplies yet. Leaning back, I let my gaze drift across the room, glaring defiantly at anyone who had the balls to stare. I already knew I was unpopular. Them staring would just put me in an even shittier mood.

Shouldering my bag, I stood up and walked out of the office, the noise of whispered conversations following me.

They didn’t want me here? Well, fuck them. I didn’t want to be here either.

Two

“So, how are you feeling today, Cat?”

I studied Joanna Wong’s face, wondering where to start. I’d been seeing my therapist for the better half of five years, not necessarily talking through the real issues, but rather skirting around them.

Her dark, almond-shaped eyes softened—the only feature she got from her Korean mother. Her dad was Caucasian with blond hair and blue eyes. I knew this because I snooped and saw a photograph of her and her parents on her desk. “Cat?”

“Can I say terrible?”

Joanna pursed her lips and recrossed her legs, her pressed pantsuit unwrinkled and obedient. “You can, yes, if that’s how you’re feeling.”

Folding my legs up beneath me, I snuggled into the brown leather couch. “I went into work today.”

“And how was that for you?”

“It sucked,” I replied, letting out a sigh. Being back at work only reminded me that I’d fucked up. I’d done the worst thing any rookie could do, and now I was paying for it. “I spoke to my boss.”

“Is he letting you keep your job?” At my nod, Joanna added, “You don’t appear to be too happy about that.”

“I am happy…I think.” I grimaced. Shit, speaking about my feelings had never been easy. I blamed it on my fucked-up childhood, where death seemed to just follow me around. I sat forward in my seat. “They want me to work with PIG.”

“The paranormal department?”

I bobbed my head. “Yeah, because yay. You know how much I love the supes.”

“Would you like to talk about your feelings when it comes to the supernatural world?”

“Not particularly.”

She scratched down something on the notepad balanced on the arm of her chair, her two-caret wedding band winking in the light. “Alright, so what would you like to talk about today?”

I shrugged. The truth was I didn’t want to return to my empty apartment with my empty fridge and empty bed just yet.

Annnnd cue the violins. Fuck, I hadn’t felt this sorry for myself in a long time.

“They want me to be the