by T B Mann
Bull Protector
Copyright © 2019 TB Mann
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Published by M.T. Worlds Press, Inc.
Winter Springs, FL 32708
http://mtworldspress.com
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Cover Art & Formatting by Glowing Moon Designs
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All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
http://mtworldspress.com
Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Epilogue
Federal Paranormal Unit World
About the Author
Also by TB Mann
To my ORWA peeps who never fail in their encouragement and friendship.
Bull Protectors
Lifting up others can reveal things about yourself that you never knew.
Sarah, publicist and personal assistant to TV star Laguna Resita, received a series of disturbing letters in the star’s mail, but no one other than her and her office mate, Kailee, appears to take them seriously. When Kailee informs her cousin Kai about them, instead of being reassured that there is nothing scary about them, Sarah’s pulled into the case of a possible serial killer.
Kai, Dylan, and Zale, members of the ATTF, are assigned to find a kidnapped mermaid working as a ballerina. What was supposed to be a case of serial abductions turns into something much worse. And to add to it, they each find their mate. The problem: it’s the same woman.
What seems straight forward is anything but. And just when they think they can take a rest, that is when the killer strikes.
Kai glared across the large circular conference table at his teammates. Unease filled him. Team meetings like this were held out in the desk area, not the conference room. And usually everyone was involved, not just team leads. Zale and Dylan, his teammates, were also invited which added to his concern. What made this meeting so different?
The glare intensified as Dylan and Zale continued to discuss the team’s exploits from the previous night. The rest of the Aquaterrestrial Task Force, or ATTF, team leaders seated around the table laughed along with the two as they revealed the ass he’d made of himself.
Fuck. One hand fisted in his lap while the other rubbed his temple. The headache and the stories his best friends were repeating were from his own stupidity so he really had no one to blame but himself. He just hated being the centre of attention… especially when it didn’t show him in a good light. But that was what he got for deciding to finally blow off some steam and deal with the fact that his latest attempt at a relationship had blown up in his face.
A fist glanced across his shoulder. “You dog you. Didn’t know your stoic, bad-boy self swung that way.”
He lifted his head and found himself staring at the amused face of Director Jack Williams. Great. Now everyone knew that he’d been out on the dance floor at a drag bar getting his groove on with a harem of drag queens. He tossed another glare at his betrayers. After all their years together as SEAL teammates in the Navy—over thirty to be exact—he’d managed to keep his secret from all but his two best friends. He loved to dance and sing. A drag bar was forgiving and accepting of all. It was the only place he didn’t feel like he had to wear a mask and hide his true self. So whenever things became a little too rough and he needed to let off steam, he went, usually dragging Zale and Dylan along.
They returned his glare with a wink and blown kiss. Since they’d joined the ATTF six months ago, they’d discussed opening themselves up more, revealing the men they were instead of the men they were forced to be. With this conversation, he guessed that his so-called friends had gotten tired of him backing out and decided to out him instead. Maybe they were right? He needed to take the bull by the horns and reveal this little aspect of himself to this new group of co-workers, especially if they were to be the family that Jack preached about.
But before he could say anything, his boss continued. “It’s a great bar. I try to go at least once a month on open mike night to practice my stand-up comedy routine. Did you try their signature drink, Fiery Dragon?”
Chuckles filled the table as others threw out one-liners about other team members’ antics after drinking the potent drink. From the grins on Dylan and Zale’s faces, those assholes had known about the bar and the drink’s reputation. No wonder they’d suggested it. And fed him two of those blasted drinks.
Relief coursed through his system, filling him with a warmth he’d only experienced with either his family or Zale and Dylan. Even the shifter unit they’d been a part of in the Navy never felt this way. Possibly due to all the secrecy between themselves, other shifter teams, and the human units. No one outside their team was supposed to know exactly what they did. Nor were they to know if they were shifters or not. It meant they operated with brick walls surrounding them, isolating them from others. It was one of the reasons why they’d chosen to retire and join this Task Force. They wanted something different… companionship, even if they still operated in secrecy.
“Yes. The first drink went down smooth, and even the second, but…”
“Everything became fuzzy after that,” Jack finished.
His shoulders slumped. “Yes.”
“Been there, done that, and got the t-shirt.” Kai’s eyes narrowed when his boss pointed to a frame against the back of the wall. Holy shit! It’s a t-shirt saying, “I survived the Fiery Dragon - twice.”
Jack squeezed his shoulder. “Welcome to the club.” The director sat down at his seat while Kai glanced at the stunned, awe-filled looks on his colleagues’ faces.
“You drank two of them?” Carson leaned back against the chair with his mouth hanging open.
“Yeah.”
“Holy shit. Only the boss has done that, hence the t-shirt. I’m surprised you’re actually sitting here at the table. Just one gives me a headache for the weekend, and I can’t leave the bed for a day.”
“Lightweight.” Willow punched Carson’s shoulder before returning her gaze to Kai. “Seriously though, go see Stacy in medical if you’re feeling ill; she made a serum to help deal with the leftover side effects.”
The warmth spread from his chest outwards. From the corner of his eye, he caught the satisfied grins on his friends’ faces. Their eyes clear and happy for a change, having lost all the weariness that filled them prior to their career change. “Thanks. I’ll do that if the headache gets worse, but so far I’m surviving.”
The director cleared his throat. “I’d like to start off this meeting apologizing to Kai, Dylan, and Zale for pulling them off their leave, but we’ve received a new case from the FPU that necessitates their early return. Five women with either a dancing or acting background have disappeared in the past few months. The local police never shared th
eir information outside their local detachments until this latest disappearance. Each woman received letters of a stalking nature for weeks to months prior. An analysis of the notes suggests that they all come from the same person or group of people working together.”
Whoosh! His breath left his body in a rush. Not all the other teams were actively involved in cases, so having them pulled from leave and including Dylan and Zale in a strictly team leaders meeting didn’t make sense. Not that he would turn down this case. Kai glanced across the table and saw a matching fury in the eyes of his teammates. If there was one thing the three of them hated more than anything, it was the kidnapping and abuse of women or children. His hands gripped the edge of the table, his headache forgotten.
Zale leaned forward. His forearms rested on the table in a relaxed pose, but the tendons that popped out along his muscles told Kai that Zale wasn’t as relaxed as he seemed. “Why are we being called in? So far you haven’t mentioned anything about water which is why the FPU usually calls us in.”
Jack nodded, and despite the gravity of the topic at hand, a smile of respect spread across his face. His eyes met Kai’s and gave him a quick chin nod. Kai accepted the praise, but it wasn’t deserved. While he was the team lead, the three of them had been a team since they met during shifter SEAL training. Both Dylan and Zale could have easily taken his place as leader, but each had gravitated to a specific specialty, weapons and technology, allowing them to form a well-respected, well-rounded unit.
“In this case, we’re being called in because the last woman taken, a dancer with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, was a mermaid and her father owns Daucina Shipping.”
A collective gasp encircled the table. “Holy shit, someone has big brass ones.”
“Or is incredibly stupid.”
Kai agreed with both the leaders of the other teams. Kidnapping the daughter and heir of Daucina Shipping was both bold and stupid. The man protected her with everything money could buy. Since she’d become a principal dancer with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, every person attending a performance was screened and searched as if they were dining with heads of state. To believe that someone had actually managed to kidnap her was unthinkable.
“An inside job?” It was the only thing that made sense.
Jack nodded at him. “That was the initial thought since two members from her security detachment disappeared at the same time. They were FPU’s main focus. Both were found dead late last night from apparent shark bites. So even if they were instrumental in her kidnapping, they were working for someone else.”
Dylan’s fingers tapped against the wooden tabletop as if it were a keyboard. From the glazed over look, Kai knew his friend was reviewing every piece of information he’d ever read about Daucina Shipping, their security firm, the family, and cross referencing it with any crime families known to use sharks. The guy was a freakin’ genius with an eidetic memory, although Dylan preferred to use a computer to perform the task. Not that they’d thought to bring one in with them for an unscheduled surprise meeting in the midst of their leave.
But Dylan wasn’t the only one with an eidetic memory. While his wasn’t at the standard of his friend’s, he wasn’t far behind. Nothing he pulled up from his memory could explain why they were called off leave. Surely the boss wasn’t giving them this case? Of all the teams at his disposal, they were the newest one, even if they’d been a team outside the Task Force for over twenty-five years. There was something else the boss wasn’t saying. Not that he’d assigned them the case, but it only made sense. Why else had they been pulled in? He crossed his arms over his chest and stared at the boss. “Why us?”
Eyebrows rose around the table. No one tended to question the boss’ motives for assigning a specific case to a team outside of the normal rotation. Yet, there was only one reason that he could think of for the assignment, and he wanted confirmation.
“I think you know.”
A grin tugged at the corner of his lips, and he could see the sparkle in the Director William’s eyes. So, he wants to play that game, huh? He raised his own eyebrow. “I do, but I want to hear you say it.”
“Don’t think that you’re the best for the job?”
“Oh, I know we are.”
Groans and sounds of indignation rose from the various leaders along with a few chuckles. If anyone was listening to their conversation, they would have been horrified by what sounded like disrespect for such a serious issue, but levity helped to ground them and allowed them to do the work they did without breakdowns.
Their eyes held. Neither of them blinked.
The table held its collective breath.
And then the boss blinked slowly. The corners of Kai’s mouth lifted at the win from their show of dominance, although he knew the boss had let him win.
“Your cousin,” the boss confirmed. “We’re hoping that she, through her job, will be able to get you into the performing arts circles.”
His grin faltered. He didn’t want to use his family for a cover even though his sister was also an undercover informant for their intelligence unit. The idea didn’t sit well with him.
“But you three were also requested. The head of the security firm Daucina Shipping uses is a former boss of yours. He personally requested your help since neither of the two guards gave any indication of this behaviour. He wants your help to ferret out how they were turned.”
He opened his mouth, but Zale beat him to it. “You mean, No Bull Security had the contract?” The director nodded. “Fuuuuck. This is some serious shit if the two guards managed to hide their deception from Admiral Morrissey and his security protocols.”
The last piece of the puzzle of their selection clicked into place. Part of the reason they’d joined this unit was on the advice of Admiral Morrissey. He’d wanted a group within the ATTF that would be able to liaise seamlessly with his security firm on joint investigations.
“All the information has been forwarded to the secure phones locked in your desk safes.” He met each of their eyes before dismissing them. “Kai, if you can stay behind for a moment?”
He remained seated as the rest filed out. He didn’t need to tell Dylan or Zale what he wanted them to do nor did he have to ask them what their plans were.
Once the door closed behind Zale, the director sat in the chair next to him. “I’m really sorry about pulling you off your leave, but your team is the best for this one.”
“I understand.” And he really did. Sure, the leave would have been nice, but it wasn’t as if they had any plans. By tomorrow, the three of them would have been pulling out their hair—which would have been a feat considering they all continued to wear short brush cuts left over from their days in the military.
The director pushed up from his chair, and he followed suit. “Keep in touch and good luck. And I’ll have another t-shirt printed up and waiting for your return.”
He choked on a laugh. The director shook his hand before striding out. While he wanted to remain in the quiet room to think and plan, he knew he needed to get the mission brief from his team and find out how they were getting to Winnipeg since he suspected that time was of the essence.
Sarah shoved the long strands of her hair out of her face. It was too long but yet not long enough. That annoying length where every time she bent her head to read a document on her desk, it slowly fell into her eyes, messing up her vision. The smart thing to do would be to grow it out longer—something she’d always wanted but couldn’t.
“Argh.” She pulled the barrette from her hair, yanked the offending hair back, and re-clipped it. Maybe now, she’d be able to finish reading the proposed contract in front of her. She wasn’t a lawyer, but the publicist and personal assistant to Laguna Resita, one of the hottest TV starlets. It was her job to read over any possible contracts for timing conflicts or for any harm to the carefully constructed public persona they’d developed.
The words swam before her eyes as she stared at her mousy brown hair, to be replaced with visions of
that final night with her mother. She’d been seven at the time. Her waist length, raven hair damp from the bath. Seated on the bed behind her, her mother had finished brushing her hair and was in the midst of braiding it. As her mother worked, she spoke, imparting words of wisdom, that except for a brief rebellious period when she was a teenager, she’d followed every day since.
“Beauty can be both on the inside and the outside. Some are only beautiful in one and not the other. But a truly beautiful woman is one who allows the other women around her to shine. Always strive to be that woman. The one who downplays her own beauty in order to make those around her beautiful.”
The next night, she was gone. Disappeared from her bedroom after Sarah had gone to sleep and before her father returned from his bowling night. Months later, her brutalized body was found on a beach on the other side of the country—a place she avoided even once she became an adult. Days later, at her request, her father took her to her mother’s hairdresser and she cut off all her hair, leaving a short bob in place. Over the years, for the most part, she’d kept the same hairstyle, only dying her hair to a non-descript mousy brown colour that she now sported instead of keeping her raven locks.
“Sarah!” She jumped as fingers snapped in her face. “Where was your mind? I’ve been calling you for ages.”
Her gaze rose and landed on the overly eager and energetic face of her office mate, Kailee. Riotous red hair sprang from her head. The spiral curls, almost corkscrew-like would have looked crazy on anyone else, but Kailee carried them off with ease. Maybe because they matched the large grin, the infectious laugh, or the large, merry green eyes that stood prominently on her face.
