"Katie!"

Liam's voice filled the precinct, his brows furrowed as he hurried from behind the glass doors of his department to where Katie stood beside Sam, the two going over the latest intel on the Darven Group since their run-in at the warehouse.

Sam shot Katie a knowing look as she turned away, hurrying back to her desk while continuing to watch the two in the corner of her eye.

Katie chewed on the inside of her cheek at the look in her partner's eye, shooting Sam a warning look in response as Liam hurried up to her, a look of concern still etched into his expression.

"Don't yell at me." Katie hissed, trying to hide her smile.

The two of them had technically been dating for a few months, but they had kept it under wraps, with most of their coworkers unaware of their secret relationship.

The romance had blossomed from Katie's hyperfixation on the Darven Group's dealings, often researching their history and past criminal history late into the night. Liam had volunteered to stay with her, being a great help with her late-night research... until the nights he became less helpful.

Still, they had managed to keep it all hidden in the cameraless corners, the after-hours, or the drives home.

However, ever since she had stepped through the doors that morning, there had been a lingering murmur spread among her office mates... that the hulk from the crime analytics department didn't seem to leave the side of a certain injured lead investigator.

"Katie," He whispered teasingly, coming up closer to her with a worried smile on his face. "You shouldn't be here, you aren't fully healed yet—"

"Every day I am stuck in bed is another day that the Darven Group goes without justice," Katie replied firmly, giving him a warning look. They had already had this argument over the phone earlier that morning, and she was under the impression that she had already won this discussion.

She swiftly turned on her heels and made her way back to her overrun desk, with papers and files messily stacked on top of each other. Her laptop was barely visible under all the paperwork.

Katie let out a huff at the sight, pushing the mess aside to place more files on top of it.

"Well, I think it would be best if you let another investigator handle this case from now on—" Liam responded nervously. "After all, they know your face now, they will have a target on your back...."

"Bold of you to assume they hadn't had a target on me already," Katie grumbled, pushing a few loose strands of hair behind her ears before swiftly tying her hair up and seating herself in her seat, excited to get back into the case she was building against the Darven Group.

She had targeted the sources they used to distribute the blood, and now knew that they were using their warehouses to store it. All she needed to do was track down evidence of their dealings with corrupt hospitals and black market blood traders.

Her arms tingled with excitement as she sat at her desk, lifting open her laptop with vigor.

The movement caused a sharp pain to spasm through her body, and Katie quickly flinched as she took a deep breath.

"See, I told you," Liam grumbled, "I'll go talk to Officer Henderson—"

"No, Liam, don't worry about me. Okay?" She said, giving him a sincere smile, stopping herself from grabbing his hand as she turned back to her work. "Typing up a report won't risk my wounds opening... well, if I am careful. So don't worry about me, and hurry back to your department. People are already staring."

Liam glanced around, rolling his eyes as he caught others' curious eyes on him.

"Fine," he huffed, laying a gentle hand on her back for a moment before making his way back to the other side of the precinct to his department.

Katie held back a cheeky smile as she logged into her work computer, trying to get her head back into her work after her week of rest in the hospital.

"So, a little office romance, huh?" Sam hummed, leaning against Katie's desk, her eyes watching Liam across the room as a cheeky grin climbed up her face. "You are gonna make a lot of the women around here mad. Including me. It's sinful to be lusting after my superior's lover."

Katie just shot the younger woman a glare while trying to suppress the grin threatening to reveal the truth. She must have done a bad job, however, as Sam was teasingly sticking her tongue out at Katie with a laugh.

Sam was three years Katie's junior, the same age Katie's brother, Gavin, would have been if he had still been alive. And in many ways, Sam reminded Katie of Gavin. If he hadn't passed five years ago, Katie would have set the two up without a moment's hesitation.

Her brother had been in a bad car accident, losing a lot of blood on the way to the hospital. He could have lived if he had gotten a blood transfusion, but the blood that Katie had donated to save his life had "gone missing", causing her brother to pass away.

However, she knew that her blood hadn't just "gone missing"... It had been sold out without her consent.

Stolen.

And the vampires were behind it.

These vampires were monstrous men who lived below the law, who stole blood and used it to feed their appetites. Drinking blood made them essentially immortal in every way except aging, as they could stay alive despite normal bullet wounds, cuts, or even illness. A few methods were exceptions: a stake through the heart, or silver bullets, but the most common ways vampires died were either old age... or blood starvation.

Katie unconsciously scratched at the bandaid on her neck, hiding her mark, which, to those well-versed in vampire culture, would reveal that she, too, was now a vampire.

Liam was the only one who knew, and Katie considered herself very lucky that he had taken the information so well, especially since she was now not only a vampire...

...but a marked one.

The only way for one to become a vampire was if one of them feeds directly, as it is said that their saliva mixing with a human's bloodstream was what caused someone to become a vampire. However, the science behind it was a bit uncertain, as most vampires didn't like to expose themselves.

The Vampire Kings, those who lead the vampire mafias around the globe, had the special ability to mark others, essentially labeling them as protected by the Vampire King, a warning to all others not to harm the one with the mark, or face the wrath of the King.

Most said it was a sign of a Vampire King's lover.

It had been a miracle that she had survived a shot to the heart, the doctors had said.

And now she knew why.

It was because, for some reason, a Vampire King had been present at the ambush, had turned her....

and not just that....

had marked her as his own.

A shiver ran down Katie's spine as she glanced at Liam's form beyond the glass doors, the tall man speaking jovily with one of his coworkers in the analytics department.

Liam assured her that the mark probably didn't mean anything, that she shouldn't worry about it, but Katie really liked Liam, and she didn't like the idea of having a physical label that said she was someone else's.

Especially not a member of the Darven Group.

"Listen, I won't lock you up for lusting after him," Katie sighed, watching as her boyfriend pushed his large glasses up his nose, a warm smile on his face as he laughed at something. "Just keep anything you see between us on the down low. Okay? I don't need any more near-death experiences for a bit."

"Deal," Sam said with a wink. "All the things that are now making sense have officially been wiped from my mind."

"Thanks, Sam," Katie chuckled. "But... That being said, I need to speak with the current head of the Darven Group. Will you come with me tomorrow to—"

"What?" Sam exclaimed, her eyes wide as she looked at Katie as if she had grown a second head. "You just got out of the hospital, and you want to go back to—"

"Shh!" Katie hushed, slapping her partner on the arm, and lowering her voice, "Listen, promise me you won't tell Liam, okay? I just... I have some questions for that man that I need answered."

"Oh yeah? Like how fast he will blow your head off?" Sam scoffed.

"He won't do that."

Sam gave her a disbelieving glare.

"Because he is scheduled to give a speech at a charity event," Katie clarified with a shrug, "he won't be able to harm us there."

"Katie, I really don't think—"

"Please, Sam." Katie begged, her voice low as she grabbed her junior partner's arm, "You can wait in the car, okay? You don't even have to go in, but I know I can get the answers I need out of him."

Sam hesitated, chewing on the inside of her cheek as her eyes briefly flickered to Liam, letting out a dramatic sigh before she reluctantly nodded slowly.

"Fine. But I get to drive."