Blood Secrets-Valorian 1 by Vivi Anna

the receiving end of that.”
    “There’s a cot in a separate room off the staff area if you don’t want to go to your hotel.
    You can get some sleep.”
    She nodded. “I don’t know if I can sleep, but maybe I could have some reading materials to pass the time?”
    He stood up, swiveled around to his bookcase, and proceeded to slide out three thick volumes of Otherworld lore. He walked around the desk and set them on her outstretched arms. “Here’s a little light reading for you, then.”
    She smiled at him over the top of the books. “Thank you.”
    “Don’t mention it.” Caine returned her smile. “If anything happens I’ll find you. If not, I’ll see you in a few hours.”
    She turned and headed for the door.

    “Oh, and, Eve, stay out of Jace’s way. He’s a little…sensitive right now.”
    Glancing over her shoulder, she said, “Yeah, I kind of figured that out for myself.”
    He watched her leave, and then let out the breath he was holding. He hoped it wasn’t a huge mistake having her on the case. The baron was risking more than he knew by demanding it. Eve was out of her element and it could prove to be hazardous not only to the case but to her own well-being.
    Some Others preyed on the weaker races. And humans were at the bottom of the food chain. If it weren’t for the fact that humans outnumbered the Otherworld community one thousand to one, some of the Others would take advantage of the human vulnerability.
    At one time, long ago, he held that sentiment in a tight bloody fist. Vampire politics were difficult to unlearn.
    Grabbing the phone off his desk, Caine dialed Mahina’s number. She would need to meet them at the Red Express to hunt down their suspects and get to the truth.
    A truth, Caine was starting to suspect, that no one, Otherworlder or human, was going to expect or like.

Chapter 12
    E ve gulped down half her coffee as Caine maneuvered the SUV around the downtown Necropolis streets. The sultry night had settled in, and the gaudy neon signs of all-night diners and various nightclubs flashed at her as they sped by. There seemed to be no end to the oppressive heat.
    Struggling with fatigue, she rubbed at her stinging eyes. She had managed to get in a few hours of sleep despite her earlier claims of not being able to. After two hours of poring through the three thick volumes that Caine had given her, exhaustion had overcome her and she had gladly succumbed to it.
    She had processed a lot of information, and even now was still contemplating what she had read. She had learned more than anyone hoped to imagine about the Otherworld community and the races that made it up. We had it all wrong.
    Eve chastised the humans that gathered the information on the various races. They had obviously taken their cue from bad horror films and cleverly written genre fiction.
    Nowhere had anyone mentioned the hierarchy and streamlined political system of the vampire. Nothing she had read in the primer dossiers had truly prepared her for the reality of it or of Necropolis.
    “We’re just about there.”

    Caine’s voice broke into Eve’s thoughts and she glanced out the window as they turned the corner onto Fallen Road. The Red Express was in a particularly seedy part of downtown. She thought Fallen Road was aptly named, given all the dilapidated buildings lined up on either side. Some of them looked like they would collapse if a sudden gust of wind blew by.
    Caine pulled up in front of an unassuming brick building with a black door. There was a small sign right above the door, painted in dark red, The Red Express. After turning off the engine, he swiveled in his seat toward her, a stern expression on his face.
    “You need to be really careful in here. I won’t let what happened in the hotel occur here, but you need to be on your guard. Even in a place like this, vampire politics are at play.”
    “I know. Don’t make eye contact with anyone, stay by your side, and let Captain Garner or you ask