Meet Bright. Carly Bright…

My human author has attempted to blackmail me into introducing you to Carly Bright. Personally, I think it’s a terrible idea, but I am proud of her for the attempt. I could easily erase her memory and be done with this nonsense, but I am finding this most entertaining. I do love humans with a backbone…

The best way to introduce you is to let you read part of her story. You will find my name mentioned, don’t believe a word of it unless it portrays my ruthless qualities. *giving toothy grin*

   Just as I slapped the cuffs on Eric, another scumbag I had to interview in the illegal deaths of six vampires, he muttered the one word that made me lose my temper. I was deserving of a lot of names, but not fang-banger. I rammed my fist into his side, and let him fall to the ground.
   “That’s police brutality.” He curled into a fetal position while spitting blood.
   “I’m not a cop.” I kicked him in the gut. “I’m SSA.”
   SSA was short for Special Supernatural Agency, and we played by a different set of rules. Actually, it’s more like, no rules. We were at liberty to do whatever we deemed necessary to get the job done, even if it meant sacrificing a scumbag or two along the way. I loved my job.
   “Now, tell me what I want to know and I’ll think about letting you go.” I pulled a cigarette from my pack and lit it.
   “Are you crazy?” he yelled. “They’ll kill me.”
   I knelt next to him and took a long, deep drag then exhaled the smoke into his face. “Well…you talk to me or I turn you over to the Enforcer.”
   “She’ll kill me!”
   Eric was human. No doubt about it, but my gut told me he was somehow involved with the murder of the vamps. Usually, that in itself, wasn’t a big deal, but this time it threatened war between two rivaling clans and vamp wars always had human casualties.
   I snickered. “Then it looks like you’re going to die either way, but the Enforcer will take her time killing you. I can promise you that.” I took another long drag, giving Eric a few seconds to contemplate his slow grueling death.
   Exhaling the smoke, I flicked the cigarette down the alley. “Time’s up, Eric. Looks like it’s the Enforcer for you.” I pulled out my cell phone and hit the speed dial. I kept important numbers programmed. My mom had the number one spot. The Enforcer took number two and Gareth, my boss had the number three slot.
   “Talk to me.” That was the Enforcers usual greeting when I called lately. No hello. No, how are you. Tamara Hightower was all business in these volatile times. As Matriarch and Enforcer of the Hightower Clan, she gave her word to postpone the impending war while I investigated the deaths of her fledglings.
   “I have someone for you.”
   “Wait!” Eric called out as he scooted away from me. I watched him put five feet of distance between us. I pulled out my trusted 9mm Sig from my shoulder holster and calmly approached him.
   “Hang on,” I said into the phone. I shook my head, giving him a disapproving look and then shot him in the thigh, careful not to hit an artery. Now, I wouldn’t have to worry about chasing him.
   “You fucking bitch!” he yelled through gritted teeth as his khakis turned red.
   “Someone will be there in five,” Tamara said and hung up.

   Welcome to my life. I’m Bright, Carly Bright. SSA agent and an all around good person when I’m not on the clock. I graduated Summa Cum Laude from Langley along with a handful of other “Supernatural” profilers. I had a partner once, Calvin Anderson. He aimed his 40 caliber at the Hightower Matriarch and Enforcer. He lost. That was three months ago and until my boss could find someone to partner up with me, I flew solo. Not a good thing for an SSA agent.
   I’m the type of girl who feels just as comfortable throwing on a Vuitton as I do a baggy pair of sweats, as long as, I can feel the cold, hard, steel of my P-239 Compact 9mm Sig pressed against my skin. I’m not gay, straight or bi. I’m sexual. Well, when I’ve got the time to be.
   I call my mom on a regular basis and I’ll take the shirt off my back for a friend, but I’ll pump a dirt bag full of lead without a second thought. Oh yeah, I’m also marked. Tamara Hightower, the same vamp that killed my partner Calvin, had put the first of three marks on me that claimed me as hers, even after my human death. It’s a long story and I’m still figuring out the particulars of how that works, but apparently, now she can find me no matter where I am.
   Lately, this case had taken all my free time. The Hightower's had held a claim to the East Coast for nearly two hundred years and now some old, big shot vampire wanted in on their territory.
   The SSA would have been happy to look the other way, if they had kept humans out if it. For every vampire killed, their human partner soon followed. Officially, we were investigating the reality of possible war and since the six human and vampire deaths went hand in hand, we got jurisdiction on those, too.
   I was exhausted and that puts me in a really bad mood. Unfortunately, poor Eric got the brunt of my misgivings. I found him in a local bar drowning his sorrows in Tequila. I flashed my shiny badge at the bartender. He took a whiff of me, crinkled his nose and gave me his full attention. Vampires had told me I smell like the Hightower Matriarch. At least the mark was working in my favor.