Gargoyle Sighted: The Vortex Series Read online

  Snick. Tim’s door shut.

  “What in God's name is going on here!”

  Right on time.

  The leader growled in irritation. Cassie edged to the left to keep Tim from seeing her. Tim flung his arms into the air as the leader forced his gun into Tim’s face. She could feel the fear coming off him and the others in the room. God, I hope this works.

  “Apparently you missed one, boys!”

  Tim whimpered as they dragged him to the floor.

  “If you move, you die, understand?”

  His words sent gooseflesh across her skin. This guy deserved to die. Cassie closed her eyes, taking a deep breath, then slowly raised herself up and waited for her cue. The security door was cracked open. Eyes peered out from the darkness. Any second now.

  “Is there anyone else in this damn bank I should know about?” the leader yelled, slamming his fist down on the countertop in rage.

  “Yeah, me!”

  Gregory threw open the security door just like he had in her vision. He shot off two rounds, aimed at the leader. The leader jumped behind the safety of the teller stands. Cassie bit her lip with trepidation. Labored breathing followed as the leader stood up, shaking himself. His dark eyes glared at the door.

  “What the hell are you waiting for, an invitation?” yelled the leader. “Shoot!”

  Her shoulders scrunched as gunshots filled the room. Even though she knew he was okay, Cassie couldn’t help but fear for Gregory. Silence followed. The leader motioned towards the red-haired man. He broke from the group and slid into the security room.

  Bang!

  Thud.

  Silence followed. No one left the security room. The leader's eyes darted right and left. His breathing became labored. The anticipation was killing him, and it was killing her, too. Now was the moment to act.

  “I’ve had enough of this shit!” the leader yelled out.

  Now! Cassie moved faster than she ever had in her life. His hand reached out to grab Tim. Cassie grabbed him by the wrist mid-swipe. He yelped out loud, wide eyed. She twisted his arm up around his back, snatching his gun. He grunted in pain.

  “Where the hell did you come from?” he growled between gritted teeth.

  The three remaining men looked in her direction. Cassie hid behind the leader, using him as a human shield.

  “Drop your weapons!”

  The men looked at each other. Something passed between their eyes. Then, to her surprise, and the leader’s, they all raised their guns and aimed directly at her hostage. I can’t believe they would kill one of their own. Panic filled her as she waited for the right moment to take cover.

  “Hey, you dumbasses, don’t you even think about shooting!”

  Cassie was hoping they would stand down, but she wasn’t so lucky.

  Bang!

  Bang!

  Bang!

  She dropped to the floor and rolled back behind the desk, leaving the leader to fend for himself. He fell to the floor with a gunshot wound on his right shoulder. The three men went to take cover, but Gregory jumped out at that exact moment, taking one man down.

  “Police! Hands in the air.”

  Cassie turned toward the hallway to see Max emerging from the shadows. He jumped behind the teller stands, using them for cover. The tallest of the men shot bullet after bullet at Max. Dammit, I will get my ass rung again if he gets hit. Without thinking, Cassie flung herself over the top of the desk.

  Bang!

  Bang!

  The man shooting at Max grabbed his chest and toppled over. Everything that happened afterwards was just a blur. Two men remained. One reached to grab the woman Cassie had recognized, but yelped in surprise as her husband jumped up and slammed his fist into the side of his head. He threw his body down on top of the man, pinning him to the floor.

  Bang!

  Thud!

  Cassie saw Max standing over the last man. Max had nailed him in the chest while the husband's antics distracted him. Gregory stepped out from behind the teller stalls, then made his way to Sally and the girls. Slowly, they took his hand and got off the floor. Tears fell freely from everyone in the room. I can’t believe we got out of this alive. Cassie glanced at Max, who looked her straight in the eye. Something dark flashed across his face.

  “It’s over,” Gregory said, comforting Sally.

  Sirens rang through the room. Police cars pulled up moments later, and the doors flew open. The sergeant stomped in, taking in the scene. Worry filled his eyes. And was that relief she saw when he looked at her?

  Chapter Five

  Max

  A body lay at his feet. The coppery scent of blood drifted up to his nose. Max gulped as his inner wolf paced in the back of his mind, itching to get out and fight. He did everything in his power to calm the beast. His eyes focused on the fair-haired man’s face. This should never have happened, he thought. His arms shook, still outstretched and holding his gun. Max couldn’t put it away. Something inside just wouldn’t let him. He imagined the guy jumping up and trying to spring on him, but he shook his head to get a grip on himself.

  Max glanced up at Cassie. She looked tired after everything that had happened. Blood was splattered across her front from the bullets hitting the leader. Her lips were parted in a frown while she took in people running every which way. There was chaos as far as she could see. Cassie’s eyes finally locked with Max’s and something inside him tried to digest that the danger was over. His wolf lunged forward to force him to shift. Stop! Stop it now! We can’t shift in public. He gritted his teeth—the smell of blood was fueling the beast deep within him. He closed his eyes and tried to push the creature back down. Footsteps clambered across the stone floor. His gun was still pointed at the man when a hand touched his. Max wanted to sink his teeth into the person who touched him, but he pushed down the impulse. Slowly, he opened his eyes. Cassie’s hand embraced him, bringing calm to the wolf within. He looked at her, allowing his hand to shake. She pushed his hand down and took the gun from his grip.

  “It’s over,” Cassie said in a soothing voice.

  Max breathed in deeply, then took in the surrounding scene. Over a dozen cops were in the room then. Three stood around the leader as he thrashed around on the floor. They worked together to cuff him and drag him to his feet. The leader yelled the entire time. God, you’d think he’d died or something. Such a boob—he couldn’t even take a gunshot wound without blubbering. EMTs ran to inspect and treat his wound. Max no longer cared—the guy got what he deserved. His wolf thought the leader rolling away from the EMT was funny and wagged his tail. Max rolled his eyes as he took in a hot blond cop walking by with a camera. She snapped pictures of the crime scene, bodies, and all the people involved. Max’s eyes trailed down her body as his mouth watered with excitement. Wow, I could just eat her up. His wolf barked in union with his thoughts, liking the idea.

  Cassie cleared her throat. “You, okay?”

  Turning his attention back to Cassie, he gulped. “Yeah, I am getting there.”

  She smiled. He looked out across the lobby, noticing how everyone seemed to blur together. His eyes jumped from person to person until they rested on Sergeant Murphy. Murphy barked orders right and left, pointing in each direction. The coroner came in moments later to view the bodies and remove them from the scene. Max still couldn’t believe they’d made it out of the situation alive, let alone uninjured. He looked back at Cassie once again. How in the world did she pull this off? It couldn’t have just been dumb luck, or intuition…could it? She was definitely someone, who was going to be hard to figure out.

  “Armel! Vincent! Get over here,” Murphy barked above the noise.

  Max couldn’t help but notice a hitch in Cassie’s shoulder. She must dread the backlash from the serge. As they walked together, Max finally felt his wolf recede to the back of his mind. About damn time you calmed down. Can’t take the chance of acting out because you get so wound up over the smell of blood. Standing before Murphy, Max waited to see what he was going to say. He hoped it was going to be good. But the way the serge’s eyes narrowed told him nothing but an ass chewing was coming their way.

  “Let’s step outside.”

  Max arched an eyebrow and opened his mouth. Murphy raised his hand to silence him and motioned to the front door. Cassie stepped away from them, leading the way outside. The sun was shining high in the midday sky. She couldn't believe how much time had passed since everything started several hours ago. Murphy pulled the door closed behind him, making sure no one else was in hearing range before letting out a big sigh.

  “How are you two holding up?” Murphy asked sincerely.

  Max was taken by surprise.

  “Close your mouth before bugs fly in, Vincent,” Murphy snapped. “I want to make sure you two are sound of mind before I chew you a new asshole.”

  Yep, should have figured, Max thought.

  “I’m good,” Cassie piped up.

  Murphy’s eyes narrowed in on him, waiting. Max shrugged.

  “Dandy, I guess.”

  Murphy snorted, letting a smirk play across his smug face.

  “Wouldn’t believe that considering how long you took to walk away from your perp, kid.”

  Crap. Damn wolf, now the serge will think I’m soft.

  “Doesn’t matter, anyway. I want to know why the hell you were inside this damn bank to begin with.”

  Max replied, but Murphy silenced him with a hand gesture. His eyes were on Cassie. She looked him directly in the eye. Max couldn’t help but notice she was struggling—like there was something she didn’t want to share with the rest of the group. What the hell happened there before I showed up? He sniffed the air, smelling fear mixed in with her scent. Her eyes showed the gears turning while the silence drew out l
onger.

  “Well, Armel, are you going to answer or stand there staring?”

  “It was just a case of being in the wrong place at the right time, Serge,” she said, panicked.

  Hmm…seems like more than luck to me. It could be something else, but what?

  Murphy glared at the duo, then crossed his arms over his chest. He stood in thought for what felt like an eternity to Max, even though it was really only a few seconds. The silence was too much to bear. He felt his wolf pacing in the back of his mind. I’m thinking you’re going to be a pain in the ass when it comes to obeying the orders of the sergeant. The wolf howled in laughter. Max shook his head to get back to reality.

  “You two are off the streets for the next two days. I want you back at the office to write up your reports and then go home. You two were put through enough for one day.”

  Max stood in shock. If getting involved in a bank robbery gets me a few days off from work, then I should do it more often. But Max had the feeling Murphy was thinking more about Cassie. There was something in his eyes as he looked at her. This guy was hard to read. Something tells me he has feelings for Cassie, but I wonder if they are romantically inclined.

  Without another word, they got dismissed. Cassie turned back to the bank entrance, muttering about having to get her shirt. Max turned around and saw Murphy watching Cassie’s every move with dark, lingering eyes. The look on his face made Max’s skin crawl like something sinister was on the guy's mind. Murphy’s eyes darted to Max, looking him up and down. He frowned, then turned and headed toward the street where his black SUV sat. Max didn’t know what to think, but there was something the sergeant wasn’t saying, and he was going to figure it out.

  Moments after Murphy got into the vehicle, Cassie stepped up beside Max. She was clasping the last button on her uniform shirt. A sigh escaped her lips as she looked him in the eye.

  “Well, let’s go get started on that dreaded paperwork.”

  She turned away from Max, making her way down the stairs before banking right to head toward the hidden parking lot around back. He lagged for a second. As her scent hit his nose, it seemed familiar to him. It almost reminded him of the lavender scent witches had. But Cassie wasn’t a witch as far as he knew. Besides, he’d never seen a witch become a police officer before. They kept to their secluded side of the city, playing with their potions and herbs. He couldn’t put his finger on why her scent would smell similar, yet different, at the same time. Max was contemplating the possibilities when he heard her yell at him.

  “You coming or what?” Jerking back to reality, he ran down the stairs. Max caught up to her in a few long strides, and they walked in silence down the alley. When they reached the police vehicle, she threw the keys at him. Without another word, she slid into the passenger seat, leaving him standing there dumbfounded. She is letting me drive? Huh. Guess she trusts me now after I had her back in there. A smile spread over his face as he climbed into the vehicle and put it into drive. Cassie crossed her arms, hiding a smirk from him as she looked out the window. Perhaps this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship, he thought. Turning onto Main Street, he headed back towards the precinct, happy with the way things were progressing.

  ***

  Murphy

  He watched Cassie and Max walk down the stairs to and around the building to where they parked. Murphy rubbed his eyes. He couldn’t stop thinking about all the blood on the floor of the bank. How close it came to being hers instead of theirs. The idea of her getting hurt killed him. And Murphy knew the wolf sensed his unease the entire time.

  Max’s eyes didn’t leave him for a second as he spoke to Cassie, making everything uncomfortable. The dog was lucky they were on the same task force, or he would be a dead wolf walking. But it wasn't Max's fault. He didn't know why I care so much about Cassie. And he can never find out, so Murphy vowed to be more careful about his emotions getting the best of him. His identity couldn’t be revealed, no matter what. Not until the right time. And it was going to be hard working with the wolf in secret as it was.

  “I need to get a hold of myself. Yes, she is my daughter. But I can’t let anyone know I’m connected to her,” he said to himself.

  He gripped his steering wheel as the two officers left his sightlines. Then Murphy put on his sunglasses, picked up his phone, and blasted out a text to wolf-boy. He was going to need a meet-up before the night ended.

  Chapter Six

  Cassie

  These long autumn days were for the birds. Cassie glanced down at the clock on her screen and grumbled to herself. It was already pushing past 6 p.m., and she was just putting the final touches on her report. She rubbed her eyes, trying to clear her vision, when Max yawned to her left. He was leaning back in his chair, swaying back and forth. At least I’m not the only one miserable for once. His eyes glanced her way and that smile of his spread across his face.

  “Paperwork sucks, right?”

  She nodded in agreement. Cassie moved the cursor and clicked print. She stood up, walked to the printer, and waited for several dead trees’ worth of paper to spit out with her long-winded report. I don’t know why we have to print these damn things out when we have computers; she mused. Probably because Murphy couldn’t work on a computer if his life depended on it. He was always yelling at the damn thing and cursing it. Lucy, the receptionist, practically lived in his office helping him figure things out.

  Cassie snatched up her papers and grabbed a manila folder. She placed them inside with the required information printed out across the top, then walked to the file box and dropped it in. Then she stood there and reflected on her notes from the day, wondering if she’d left anything out. She laughed. Of course, you left stuff out, you dummy. Like anyone would believe, you had a premonition of what was going to happen. Still, she had to make it believable, so she made up stuff to fill in the holes. Cassie didn’t enjoy lying on her report, but she had little choice. After all, that wasn’t her first rodeo.

  “So, what are your plans for tonight?” Max asked with a big, toothy grin as he dropped his file on top of hers.

  “Going to grab something to eat on my way home. Then I’m going to take a long, hot bath and try to forget today ever happened. You?”

  Max grinned devilishly.

  “Think I’m going to the ice cream parlor to get some delightful treats.”

  A laugh escaped her lips before she could stop it. She was expecting Max to say something about hitting up a local bar the cops liked to frequent after shift. Cassie was finding it harder and harder not to like the guy, especially when he would bat his big blue eyes at her. He was a character all right.

  “What’s so funny?” he asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

  “Nothing,” she said, stifling a grin. “Just took you for a beer guy, not an ice cream nut job.”

  “Hey, don’t dis my rocky road. I’ll kill ya over that stuff.”

  Cassie shook her head, pushing him away playfully. The first time in forever, she had let her guard down, and it felt good. She found it easy to do with him. It was like something inside her had connected with him, but she couldn’t put her finger on what. Perhaps working with Max will be easier than I thought. He walked back to his desk and snatched up his backpack.

  “You sure you don’t want to join me?”

  “No, I’m good.”

  Max smiled, then walked through the doors, leaving her alone in the office. Night shift would come in shortly, but they had their own office section. She sighed, grabbing her coat and placing her gun in her holster. Once she was satisfied everything was in order, she turned off the lights and made her way into the grand hall. It was dark outside, and the streetlights had come on. When Cassie had walked to work that morning, she hadn’t expected to get off so late. But she didn’t think anyone would mess with her as long as she was in her police uniform.

  Halfway out of the room, she heard a bang and turned rapidly around to see what it was. Lucy popped up from behind her desk. She was wrapping her purse around her arm when she spotted Cassie looking at her.

  “Oh, sorry, didn’t mean to scare you, Cassie.”

  Cassie blinked, then realized her hand was resting over her gun, ready to pull it out at a moment's notice. She sighed, trying to calm her nerves. The noise had practically sent her into orbit.