Page 1 of Saving Her Vampire

Chapter One

Marie

Men are assholes. I know this because I’m watching yet another one cheat on his wife. He’s been married for five years with two beautiful children. The wife is at home caring for them while he is at a hotel with a woman he met online two months ago. He started by chatting her up, sharing their pasts and hopes for the future. He then graduated to having dinner with her, wooing her into believing he was single. This is the first time they have gone to a hotel.

I wonder what excuse he gave her for why they couldn’t go to his place. He brought her to a shitty hotel where half the sign was dark. It was easier for me to get pictures here than somewhere fancy. I even got a shot of them through the window. The dick didn’t even have the decency to shut the blinds.

A few months ago, I worked at Club West as a waitress. A panther, Jax, was the club owner, as were his two brothers. I got tangled up with a man, a shifter, that worked there. I was hoping I would be his mate, but I was lying to myself. He broke it off and made me even more cynical about men, no matter their species.

I quit the club and found myself working for an investigator, after a few random jobs in between. I was not cut out for waitressing. I didn’t like to socialize often. Plus, quitting allowed me to escape the memories of my failed attempt at a relationship.

No one but my boss Quinn knows of my new career path. My few friends haven’t asked, and I’ve avoided mentioning it. It’s not that I am ashamed of it; more like I’m ashamed of the people I follow. We do more than cheating cases. We have helped women escape abusive men, put away stalkers, and found missing people.

When I walked into the office to apply, my boss took one look at me and jumped to conclusions. He doubted me. People usually do. I’m around five-four, slim, and look younger than my twenty-eight years. I wear baggy jeans, an oversized black hoodie, and combat boots. I don’t show my skin to many people, but not for the reasons they think. Everyone judges me when they have no clue about the real me.

My boss gave me a chance. My photographic memory helped him justify his choice. I had to prove it to him; once he was satisfied, he gave me the job. The only way to prove my skill was on the job. No doctor had confirmed it; most don’t even believe it’s a thing. I know I can look at pictures, events, or any moment in time and remember every detail.

That’s what makes me good at this job. I can recall every person I followed, every person they talked to, saw, kissed, or ate for breakfast a week ago. I didn’t need to take notes. I had to take pictures because our clients wouldn’t take my word for it.

In this case, the wife didn’t hire us; she was in deep denial. Her sister reached out to us, concerned about her brother-in-law's change in routine. A good father and husband who had always been home from his boring office job by five at night suddenly had meetings until eleven. The wife believed everything he said. The sister was looking out for her. I now had plenty of proof to show her. I wasn’t looking forward to sitting with them and breaking the news. Inevitably, there would be tears, denial, anger, and hurt. I don’t blame them. When your trust is betrayed, it’s devastating. I could see nothing special about these two in the hotel room. He was an average man with an average job, cheating on his lovely wife with an average woman.

Why fuck up a perfectly nice life? Maybe it’s boring, but people put too much importance on excitement.

When I started my job at the club, I had no idea that the world was full of shifters, vampires, witches, and dragons. Jax didn’t tell me; he barely talked to me. I am observant of my environment, and the things I saw didn’t add up. When I started a relationship with Tyler, a wolf shifter, the truth came out. It didn’t scare me. It would be silly to believe humans were the only ones out there. I have always believed there was more—I just didn’t know what thatmorewas.. Tyler broke up with me before we really got started. He knew I wasn’t his mate. At the time I was sad, but as I look back, he was right. If he would have found his mate when we were together, it would have been so much harder to come back from. It was better to break it off before I was in love with him.

I see movement in the room and bring up my camera. I’m sitting in my car on the street. No one has noticed me; they’re too busy doing their own seedy things. The happy couple walks out the door, touching and laughing. The woman digs in her purse, and the cheater guides her. I get a few more shots of them touching and kissing, making sure his face is visible. I had a woman who did not believe it was her husband because she couldn’t see his face clearly. People believe what they want instead of looking at facts.

I store my camera and head back to the office. My boss will be waiting. I don’t think he ever sleeps. Quinn is a bear shifter. He admitted that he was after my first week. I have enough experience with their tendencies that I figured it out. Shifters move differently than humans. There is an awareness and caution in their eyes as they watch their surroundings. Bears are usually large, whether in their human or shifter form.

Shifters are protective of those under their care. Bears are sometimes labeled as lazy and less agile because of their measured movements. But they tend to be even more watchful and use their bodies as a weapon if a threat is near.

It was a more relaxed environment after he told me. He’s a nice guy, treats me with respect, and has never hit on me. He’s a good-looking guy, but neither of us is interested. He treats me like a little sister.

These days, with social media, you would think it would be hard to get away with anything. Somehow the assholes find a way. There are simple cases, like the guy I was following tonight, where they don’t bother to hide his actions. Anything you do on the internet can be traced. He didn’t try to cover his tracks.

Quinn is good with computers. He does the research, and I do the watching. It works out well for us. He hopes to hire another investigator, but we are a small company right now. Our office is a little four-room building. We have a girl that comes in to answer the phones a few days a week, but she will probably quit soon, just like the last two. They develop a thing for Quinn, bat their eyes and stare at him longingly more than doing their job.

I have heard the stories about lazy bears, but Quinn is the opposite. He works too much. Sure, he likes to eat like most bears, but he works out when he’s not at the office and not much else. I’m sure he has his reasons, but we don’t share out pasts. We take each other at face value.

I lug my camera case and purse into the office. The lights are still on, and I hear Quinn in his office.

“I’m back,” I yell. I sit down my things at the front desk before sticking my head in his door.

“Did you get it?” Quinn grumbles. He’s not grouchy; it’s just his way of speaking.

“Sure. Did you expect anything less?” I ask.

“Nope,” he replies.

“He’s a cheater, which isn’t surprising anymore,” I sigh. I slide into the chair in front of his desk.

“I’ll reach out to the sister and set up a meeting for tomorrow.” He writes on a sticky note and puts it on his computer. His desk is littered with them.

“Sounds good. Are you going home?” I ask.

“Not yet. I have a few calls to make. We have a few women reaching out for help,” he says.

“Alright. I’m heading out. The camera is on the desk. Do you want me to lock it up before I go?” We are careful with the evidence we gather. I wouldn't put it past an angry man to break in to steal it.