"Her world changes with a knock on her door."
Reviewed by Annetta Sweetko
Posted December 31, 2013
Romance Paranormal | Fantasy Urban
Beatrice Davis is on leave from her job as a psychometrist
for the Otherworlder Enforcement Agency, the paranormal
equivalent of the F.B.I. She doesn't like to be inactive so
when an early visitor arrives at her door she is ready to
play VAMPIRE GAMES.
Claude Desmarais is a vampire and a detective for the
Chicago Paranormal Unit, but for right now he is working on
something on his own. In his possession is a branding iron
that he believes is evidence belonging to a serial killer.
He needs Beatrice to touch the item and give him a vision
imprinted on it. When she does ... it isn't exactly what he
wants to hear. Her vision implicates the Magister, the
vampire leader for Illinois, Wisconsin and Iowa and
Claude's friend.
With that vision an old nightmare of her brother's
disappearance when she was a child comes back with a
vengeance. Also with the past that she and Claude share,
though he at the time called it an affair, she can't let
him go at this alone. Is she trying to help him or find
answers for herself?
VAMPIRE GAMES grabs you from the first word and holds you
with the dialogue, action and intrigue to the last. I loved
the tough persona that Beatrice shows the world but as the
reader turns the pages they find that she is very much a
woman with deep feelings. Claude's regret of how they ended
years before is visible from the beginning and it is fun to
watch how he works to convince her that he was wrong to
walk away. The romantic moments he does manage to entice
her into adds quite a bit of steam to this investigative
storyline. I have read author Tiffany Allee's OEWA books
before and really hope she continues them because each one
gets better and better. Her ability to bring to life a
world that mixes cops with vampires and magic is a fun read
and this one is going in my read again list.
SUMMARY
She’s seen the past… OWEA Agent Beatrice Davis is haunted by the death visions
that help her solve crimes. When Detective Claude Desmairis,
her vampire ex-lover, asks for her assistance on a case,
she’d rather help him than take the mandated leave to stave
off her burn-out. The truth won’t stay buried… Pressed to solve a series of crimes before the perpetrator
blows the vampire world apart, Claude turns to a woman he
thought he’d been able to leave behind. But he was wrong,
and his feelings for her will only bring trouble in an
investigation this dangerous. As their passions reignite, they see a possible future
together. Until her visions show her the face of the
murderer—a man Claude can never betray.
ExcerptChapter OneFor once, it wasn’t a nightmare that woke me. The booming
knock at my door sounded again and I dragged myself out of
bed. I held my gun at my side, out of view, and opened the
door a few inches. “Yes?” The man didn’t appear to be armed, I’d give him that. But I
was, even if it was my personal sidearm, and knocking so
loudly before my alarm went off was almost enough to make me
shoot him. But I was a professional. An agent with the
Otherworlder Enforcement Agency. And shooting a man for
waking me up before dawn would result in a heck of a lot of
paperwork. I hated paperwork. By the looks of his expensive suit, obviously tailored to
his lean frame, he wasn’t delivering a package. But he had
the slightly pale pallor of a vampire, which meant a
standard-issue bullet would probably just piss him off
unless I got in a really lucky shot. My bleary gaze sharpened. Shock hit me as I studied the line
of his jaw, and the paleness of his blue eyes. What the hell
was he doing here? “Beatrice?” His gaze slid down my oversized flannel pajamas
as if my outfit wasn’t quite what he was expecting. “Long time.” “Yeah.” I fought the heat flushing my face but lost. What
did I care what the bloodsucker thought of my pj’s? It was
five o’clock in the damn morning. What was I supposed to be
wearing? Even agents got cold in St. Louis in March. “Why
are you here, Claude?” The Chicago detective ran a hand through his hair, and for a
split second I could feel its softness sliding between my
fingers. “I need your services.” He flashed me a grin, and I frowned
at his flirting tone. Once upon a time I might have flirted
back—okay, I definitely would have flirted back. But it had
been a rough couple of weeks. A rough year. Ever since my
former partner and I had worked a big case involving succubi
being kidnapped and sold to the highest bidder, I’d
struggled against dark emotions. I had seen too many
horrible experiences, and I hadn’t been able to let up or
take a break from work for far too long. Lives had been on
the line, succubi kidnapped and murdered. It wasn’t unusual for us to go through this kind of thing,
hit a breaking point and need to slow down and take some
time away. But I didn’t like it. I was at my best when I was
working, and there was always another criminal to take down. “What kind of services?” “Your services as a psychometrist, of course. I have an
object that I believe may carry a psychic imprint,” he
clarified, but his flirtatious grin didn’t falter. “No shit. Here I was figuring you’d stopped by to chat.” “Well, aren’t you charming before your first cup of coffee?” I didn’t grin at his joke, but it was a near thing. Of
course he was looking for my services as a psychometrist.
Investigators didn’t show up at my door at this time of
night looking to chat. My ability to read the psychic
imprints left on objects was at a premium these days. Not
that my interpretations could clinch a case. Fact was, half
the time my powers didn’t work. True emotional trauma had to
have occurred near the object for a psychic imprint—unless I
was able to read something physically connected to a person,
like their hair. “You’re a long way from Chicago.” The vampire was something of a legend among cops. As a
member of the Chicago Paranormal Unit, he’d solved several
high-profile crimes that had made the national news. And
more than that, he was rumored to be high up in whatever
private echelon vampires used out of the public eye. “You’re worth the trip,” he said.
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