Detective Valentina Kureyev had been assigned to one of the worst cases of the century. A serial killer haunted the streets, depositing bloodless corpses throughout the section of town known as Little Europe. She hadn’t a clue to the identity of the culprit, as the appearance of more bodies had begun to cause terror and panic.
The case was hopeless.
The terror was real.
As real as Demetri Petronov.
The Professor of Russian Antiquities had been targeted with the murderer’s special form of a calling card. Val couldn’t turn away from his offer of aide in the bizarre case, even though he whispered tales of the beast feeding on human blood.
He was the primary suspect.

It was Monday evening around six o’clock when Mike pulled into the office complex. Hope hadn’t seen him since their disagreement, if you could call it a disagreement. When he pulled in she was just about to stick the keys in her ignition and head inland with some real estate signs. He looked good enough to eat right there in the parking lot.
“Hiya sexy.” His relaxed attitude told her that he was over her infidelity. Even though they had talked on the phone a few times throughout the weekend, there had been a definite strain placed between them.
“Hiya, yourself,” Hope didn’t see Mark pull into the parking lot as she practically ran to meet Mike. Even though she was dressed in a business suit with a short skirt, she wasted no time jumping into his arms. She even wrapped her legs around him to tease him for a minute.
Mark saw the opportunity as he got out of his car and took it. “I don’t know about you buddy, but that’s about my favorite position with her.”

 Thinking back later, Hope wasn’t sure if she was dropped or if she had already set her feet back on the ground but what happened next was unforgettable.

 Mike lunged at Mark and held him up against an SUV by his collar. “Listen you arrogant piece of shit, if you ever lay one hand on her again, I will kill you.” Mark and Mike stood there for a moment. Long enough, Hope guessed, for Mark to see that Mike meant business. She eyed them both and decided she was really turned on by Mike’s show of emotion for her. Jealousy could be delicious when a woman used it to her advantage .When he finally let go of him; she turned to see the fury in Mark’s eyes too. He winked at her behind her lover’s back and she knew if Mike had seen the gesture, war would’ve paled in comparison.