Marked by the Vampire Read Online Free Page A

at the strong smell of bleach in that room.
    “We got all the blood out for you,” Case said as he propped his shoulders against the back wall and watched her. “Thought you’d prefer it that way.”
    She didn’t flinch.  “Kind of you.” Just how much blood had been in the place?
    His head cocked as he studied her. “Have we met before, Dr. Maddox? Because you sure seem familiar to me.”
    “I don’t think we have.”  She made her way around the table.  Organized her files.
    “Are you quite certain?” A darker note had entered his voice.
    “We haven’t.”  She would have remembered him.
    “Um…” The guy didn’t sound convinced. Too bad for him. The warden wasn’t exactly making a stellar impression on her. There was something about him that unnerved her.  And after spending so much time with killers, her nerves were usually much stronger.
    Footsteps approached her little room. She knew those steps belonged to the guards. No doubt they were bringing in her first research inmate. She’d been given the list of interview subjects right after she’d gone to her temporary quarters, and unless she was very wrong about one of the names on that list—
    “Hello, again, love.”
    He’s here.
    Shane stood in the doorway.  He was smiling, flashing his fangs.
    Shane Morgan. She’d read through his file. Actually, she’d read it four times.  Maybe five. Shane Morgan was a vampire who’d been found guilty of killing four men in a Chicago bar. According to the notes she’d reviewed, he’d never shown any remorse for his crime.
    And the prosecutor had strongly suspected that Shane had killed many, many other times before he’d been caught that dark and deadly Chicago night.
    “I was hoping to see you again,” he said as his stare seemed to stroke right over her.  There was definitely a sensual edge to those words.
    Olivia’s hands flattened on the table. Sunlight streamed into the room,
onto
Shane, but he didn’t appear at all affected.  “I’m here to ask you some questions.”
    The guards pushed him into the room. Shoved him into the chair across from her, and locked manacles around his wrists. The manacles were attached to the heavy stone in the floor.
    “Love, you can ask me any damn thing you want.”
    Case stiffened and shot away from the wall. “Watch it, vampire.”
    “Ah…Warden Killian, isn’t it?  What a fucking unpleasure it is to meet you.”
    Case’s expression darkened. “Vamp, you need to—”
    “Warden, I need you to leave the room while I talk with the subject,” Olivia said quickly.  The last thing she wanted right then was a confrontation between those two.
No more blood on the floor!
Now she was realizing why the place had been bleached.
    She didn’t want a brawl right in front of her. And if Shane felt threatened, hell, he definitely wouldn’t open up to her. She
had
to get him to talk. Olivia cleared her throat and told Case, “I’ve found that I can get individuals to talk more freely when—”
    “You want me to leave you alone with a vampire?” Case stared at her as if Olivia were totally insane.
    I’m not.
  “The sun’s up. He’s chained. He’s no threat.”
    Shane laughed softly.
    “And the cameras are on.”  She didn’t like them, but there they were, watching and recording their every move. “If anything happens, I’m sure a guard could be in here in less than a minute.” Because she knew there were guards watching those video feeds.
    Case’s hands had fisted. “You could be dead in less than a minute’s time.
Before
the guards had a chance to get in this room.”
    That was not an ending she was particularly planning for right then. “I’ve been alone with killers before. I assure you, I can handle this.”
    A muscle flexed in Case’s jaw, but after a moment, he gave a rough nod. “Have it your way.”  But he didn’t head for the door. Instead, he stalked toward Shane and stopped when he was less than a foot away from the