Vampire: A Dark Protectors/Rebels Novella

by Rebecca Zanetti

  Her shiver wasn’t all about fear. Maybe not much about fear. “Tell me once and for all,” she murmured.

  “I’m not your damn stalker.” He rolled his eyes. “Give me a break, Doc. You know I’m not.”

  Every instinct in her body told her he wasn’t the stalker from Dallas. “You might not be the main stalker, but here you are, breaking and entering.” Thank goodness she’d gotten dressed after her shower. She’d lived alone for so long that walking around in a towel wasn’t a big deal.

  “I didn’t break, but I did enter.” He rolled his neck, finally moving. “The window lock is flimsy in your guest room, and it didn’t take much to jimmy it open. I’ll fix that for you later today.”

  She put her hands on her hips. “That lock was fine, and I had a wedge in the sill.”

  His eyebrows rose. “No wedge. Interesting. I thought you said the guy came in from the garage.”

  “He did.” The memory of the kidnapping would haunt her until they caught this guy or his team. “The wedge is really gone?”

  “Yeah,” Raine said softly. “Somebody removed that wedge from the sill—and the only reason would be so they could return and get inside easily. Look around the house and make sure nothing else is missing.”

  This wasn’t making any sense. The kidnapper had thrown her in a trunk and driven away. Had his partner gone through her house? Bile spiraled through her stomach. “The stalker went through my home,” she whispered. After his buddy had taken her, he’d spent time in her house? She rubbed her arms, suddenly chilled. Definitely violated.

  “It’s okay.” Raine stretched to his feet, looking formidable and dangerous. “I meant what I said. We’re going to figure out who this guy is, I’m going to take care of him, and you’re going to be fine.”

  Her mouth went dry. Bone dry. “Take care of him? You mean you’re going to turn him in to the police, right?” Hopefully Evan O’Connell would be sheriff by then.

  “Right,” Raine said, a veil over his eyes again. “Here’s the plan. I’m going to take a quick shower and change clothes. While I’m doing that, you search your house and see if he took anything. If you need me, yell and I’ll be right by your side. Then we’ll make breakfast and come up with a plan.”

  A naked Raine Maxwell in her shower? Yeah, those chills dissipated quickly. “Why don’t you go home to shower?”

  “I don’t have a place in Indiana,” he admitted. “I gave up my lease on the condo when I left town.”

  Her chin lifted. This was all too much—and so was he. He was sexy and dangerous and unfathomable. She didn’t know him, and she shouldn’t trust him. Not yet, anyway. “Then go to a hotel.”

  “No.” He turned and prowled into her guest room, walking right to the small adjoining bathroom, where he shut the door.

  She gaped at the empty doorway. No? He couldn’t just say ‘no.’ Oh, she should call the sheriff and have him arrested for trespassing, but the sheriff was a dolt. Kind of. He’d impressed her with some of his questions and reasoning, but right now, she was on her own.

  Well, on her own with Raine Maxwell. She’d never admit it to him, but she felt much safer with him around. Of course, right now he was naked in her guest bathroom.

  Her body did a whole tremble top to bottom at the thought.

  Oh, this was a disaster.

  * * * *

  After a long shower where he figured Mariana could come to the conclusion that she wanted him around for now, Raine pulled on a fresh pair of faded jeans and a black sweater he’d stolen from his brother a year ago. It fit him better, anyway. Finger combing his hair, he padded barefoot out of the room and into the living room, where he caught sight of a small gathering in the kitchen. “What the heck?”

  Evan McConnell looked up from the table, his cop eyes appraising. “Heard you got darted.”

  His mate and fiancée, Tabi Rusko, snorted in delicate laughter. “That’s hilarious.” Tabi was a full demoness who’d mated Evan just a couple of months before, and so far, Evan seemed to be doing okay with going from human to immortal. The situation was incredibly rare when the human was male, and often they were too volatile or dangerous.

  Raine didn’t want him around Mariana at the moment, just in case. “How are you feeling, Evan?” he drawled.

  “Stronger than ever.” The cop’s brown eyes sparkled. “If you know what I mean.”

  Yeah. He certainly did. Raine rocked back on his heels and noticed a place set for him next to Mariana. She dished him a plate of scrambled eggs and bacon.

  “I couldn’t wait,” she murmured. “After calling in these two, I made breakfast.”

  Tabi tipped back her mimosa. “I vouched for you, so stop looking so grumpy. There’s no way you’re a stalker or that you kidnapped anybody.” Her white-blond hair was in a ponytail, and her black eyes danced with amusement. The few pure-bred demonesses alive had similar coloring and were notoriously petite…and slightly nuts.

  Even so, Raine’s spirits lifted. “Thank you.” He should’ve thought of calling in Tabi for a character reference. While they hadn’t known each other long, she was a sweetheart and from his world—and Mariana seemed to like and trust her.

  “Sure.” Tabi snagged a piece of bacon from her mate’s plate. “I’m sure Abby and Noah would vouch for you, but they’re still in the Caribbean.”

  Evan munched happily on a bagel. “They needed the vacation but will return to help with the final week of the campaign in a few days.”

  Oh, they’d definitely needed a vacation. Noah was a hybrid who’d mated Abby and defended her from a psycho ex by killing him. “Has the sheriff still been harassing them about her ex’s death?” The sheriff had tried to pin the death on Abby, considering her scumbag ex had been a friend.

  Evan’s mouth flattened out. “Yeah. We have to get him out of office.”

  It was difficult not talking about real life, but Mariana couldn’t know about immortals. So Raine took his seat and dug into the eggs. They were delicious.

  Evan leaned back. “Mariana told us about the kidnapping, and I’m so sorry I missed her call about the roses being left on her porch. What’s your take on it, Raine?”

  Raine chewed thoughtfully. “I don’t know. The sedative was a strong one.” In other words, it had taken down a four-hundred-year-old hybrid, so it was possible the enemy was immortal and knew exactly who he was.

  Tabi reached for the champagne bottle to refill her glass. “There are several horse tranquilizers that could’ve been used. Strong ones.”

  If that was the situation, then maybe the jerk was human and had just gotten lucky with the drug. “If that’s the case, they didn’t care if they killed me,” Raine mused. The quantity probably would’ve killed a human.

  Mariana jolted. “How can you sound so casual about that? You could’ve died.” She reached out and planted her small hand on his.

  The soft touch wound right through his body to the beast at his core, and the damn creature roared. Raine forced a smile. “I didn’t die, so let’s not worry about that.” It took every ounce of his control not to flip his hand over and capture hers.

  Evan watched him. “Do you have any enemies we need to know about?”

  Mariana jumped. “Don’t be silly. This was about me and that stupid stalker I can’t get rid of. He took the safety wedge out of my guest window so he can come back. Nothing else is missing, though.” She looked down at her still full champagne glass and removed her hand.

  “We’ll get a new lock and wedge for the window.” Raine said, the hair rising on the back of his neck.

  She paled. “I know, but it’s driving me crazy that I can’t figure out who this guy is.”

  Raine caught an expletive before it emerged. Anger tornadoed through him, and he took another bite of eggs, but now they tasted like dust. He hid his expression until he could clear it. “We will find him.”

  Evan drank some water. “Raine, I agree, but is there anybody in your life who might think you’re desti
ned and have gone after her?”

  Mariana choked and reached for water to drink. She set the glass back down. “Destined? Evan, that’s crazy.”

  Except it wasn’t. Not at all. Raine sighed and reached for the champagne. Why not? “No. None of my enemies would think I have a destiny or would seek out Mariana.”

  She looked at him like he was nuts. “You guys are missing the boat here about the stalker. He would think that he’s my destiny.”

  Tabi chuckled and drank more champagne. Oh, the demoness loved seeing other people in difficult situations. There was no doubt if they all voted, she’d choose to just tell Mariana everything, which would break the most important law of every species and coalition. “That’s such a good point, Mariana,” she drawled in her husky voice. “But some of us do believe in fate. What about you, Raine?”

  Oh, he was going to smack the demoness. Except that he kind of liked her, even though she was a pain. “No, but I do believe in action.” He finished his drink. “Mariana? Do you have copies of the case files from Dallas? We need to find this guy before he goes for you again.”

  She nodded. “I have everything in the desk in the guest room. The Dallas police did everything they could to find him, but he stayed under the radar.”

  Raine sat back. “Good. I have a brother who’s an expert technical analyst. We’ll have him take a look.” Cade could find anybody.

  Tabi sat up. “Ohhh. The mysterious Maxwell clan starts to take shape.”

  Mariana looked at her. “Huh?”

  Raine placed his hand over hers this time, partially to distract her and mostly to appease his own need. “Also, I need to bring the rest of my stuff in from the truck.”

  She blinked. “Why?”

  “Because I’m moving in until this guy is caught.” Raine pointedly ignored Evan’s narrowing of eyes, Tabi’s smile of delight, and Mariana’s look of pure argument.

  Why hadn’t he just stayed in Montana? Oh yeah. He was dying. Until now that he was next to Mariana. He sighed.

  Tabi laughed.

  Chapter 5

  Mariana stared at the murder board Raine had created across the wall of the guest room. Dates, times, theories—all of them from the Dallas Police Department.

  “We really don’t have much,” Raine said, leaning back against the wall. “I’ve sent everything to my brother, and maybe he’ll be able to come up with something the cops couldn’t. If anybody can retrieve the video from your cameras, it’d be Cade.” He rolled his neck, and the muscles bunched in his upper arms.

  Mariana tried to swallow and wet her suddenly dry throat. Having him near was too much for her libido, and if the guy had any idea of the dreams he’d starred in lately, he’d probably blush. Well, maybe. Something told her that Raine didn’t blush. “Why did you leave town?” she asked.

  One of his brows arched. How could a freakin' eyebrow look sexy? “The job was done.”

  Ouch. Okay. Well, then. He’d only been there for the job of watching Ivar and Noah. “Then why did you come back?” She looked away from him.

  His sigh was long-suffering and didn’t tell her a thing. “That’s a long story, and I can’t go into it.”

  “Seriously?” She whipped around to face him. “Are you kidding me? You show up on my porch, get kidnapped, admit you were in my group under false pretenses, take off for Montana, and then return without being able to explain why? Oh, I don’t think so. Either you start talking right now or you get the heck out of my house.” The place already seemed smaller and somehow safer with him in it, but she knew better than to start depending on him. He’d be gone again soon.

  His eyes flared in a way that didn’t even look human. “I’m out of here the second we find this guy.”

  Yikes. Okay. That hurt a little bit. She’d thought she’d gotten an interested vibe from him a couple of times, but maybe she’d misread him? He was the sexiest man she’d ever been this close to in real life, so maybe he went for perfection like Tabi Rusko? Mariana was fine with her curves and looks, but maybe she’d overestimated Raine’s interest when he’d thrown Johnny Baker up against the wall after the kid had insulted her. “I think you should leave.”

  “No.”

  Heat flashed up her spine to tingle at her nape. “No? Are you joking?”

  “No.” He cocked his head, watching her.

  She had the strongest urge to punch him again, but her wrist still ached from last time. The guy had abs of solid rock. “I don’t think you’re understanding me,” she gritted out.

  He moved toward her without warning, pivoting and putting her back against the wall. “You’re not understanding me.” His big body loomed over her, and an unexpected heat rolled off him.

  She cleared her throat, forcing herself to stare him right in the eyes. “I don’t go for the alpha-male act, dickhead.”

  His smile was slow and held enough warning that she stopped breathing. “Oh, sweetheart. Don’t play games with me, and don’t lie to either one of us. You’re as aroused right now as I am, and you should definitely understand that this isn’t an act.”

  What was happening? He’d gone from distant to right in her space without a hint. Confusion and desire clouded through her, mixing into a potent blend that sprang her nerves wide awake and alive. “Back up.”

  “No,” he said, even softer this time.

  Her head jerked. “You can’t say ‘no.’”

  “I just did.” He waited patiently, danger stamped hard on his face. “Are you done with the nonsense?”

  Who the hell did this jackass think he was? Yeah, he was sexy and somehow turning her on, but enough was enough. “I think you’re stuck in the dark ages, buddy,” she gritted out, acutely aware that tingles were still spreading throughout her body.

  “You have no idea,” he agreed, humor lighting his eyes to a seafoam green to mix with the desire glittering there. “Whoever kidnapped us is now my enemy, and your safety is my utmost concern anyway. So I stay here until you’re safe. Period.”

  She wanted to be safe. She also wanted to be in control of this situation, and he’d grabbed it with both hands. “I don’t like being bossed around.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind,” he said quietly. “Are we good now?”

  “No.” She crossed her arms, so warm from his near body that she wanted to slide right against him. “Why am I your utmost concern?”

  He stepped back, taking his warmth with him. “That’s a good question and a fair one.”

  She rubbed her now chilling arms. “Then answer it.”

  For a moment, he looked like he really wanted to tell her something. Then that darn veil dropped over his eyes. “It’s better if you don’t know.”

  “That’s stupid,” she exploded. “And confusing and it doesn’t make sense.”

  “I know,” he said, crossing his arms. His very cut, ripped, and muscled arms.

  She couldn’t stop looking at those muscles. “Right when you got back, you seemed pale and, well, smaller.” His two weeks away had somehow seemed to make him ill. How had that happened? “But you look fine now and right back to full strength. Are you on medication that you stopped taking when you went to Montana?” It was the only thing that made an iota of sense.

  “Kind of,” he allowed.

  “Why would you stop taking your meds?” What was wrong with him? She hated secrets.

  He sighed. “Because taking my meds leads to danger and complications.”

  Oh. She took a deep breath. The changes in him had been physical, so what could that be? “I’m not saying you can stay here, because I haven’t decided. But if you do, you have to level with me about your condition. I need to know what it is, what I can do, and what the side effects are for the medication you seem to be taking again. Start talking, please.”

  He sighed. “No.”

  * * * *

  The woman socked him right in the abs again and then looked stricken. “Oh, God. I’m sorry. Are you okay?” she whispered. “I forgot you have
an illness.”

  “I do not have an illness.” He frowned. “I didn’t even feel your punch. Is your hand injured?”

  She shook it out. “You’re driving me crazy.”

  “Now you know how I feel,” he returned, grasping her hand and turning it over to see her knuckles already bruising. “You are a delicate one, now aren’t you?”

  She pulled away. “No. Tell me what’s wrong with you, or I’m going to take my chances with the sheriff. I don’t want to go that route, and I’m sure you agree, so start talking.”

  Right. If he told her he was an immortal vampire with a hint of demon in his lineage, she’d call the sheriff in two hot seconds to have him committed. Oh, he could prove it to her, but what then? He sighed and ran a rough hand through his thick hair. “Can’t you just trust me?”

  She frowned and reached for his hand. “When did you get a tattoo?”

  The second he’d met her, actually. He looked down at the M marking on his right palm—M for his last name, Maxwell. The Maxwell crest was jagged and rough—showing both Celtic and Nordic ancestry and the dangers of having both. The barbs extending from the brutal ‘M’ showed his strength…and his curse. After finding out about her, he’d instantly headed to Dallas for just one look. Then he’d stood close to her in a silly coffee shop, and the branding mark had instantly appeared. “It’s a long story,” he murmured.

  “Isn’t everything with you?” She leaned over for a better look at his brand, and the damn thing started to heat to a temperature that drummed energy through his veins.

  Oh, he’d watched her and fallen hard. She had a sharp wit and a kind heart to go with an obvious beauty that hit him square center. The muscles bunched down his back with the hunger to take her to the floor. The female had no idea what she was unleashing by just touching him. “Mariana? That’s just a family crest and nothing else.” He nearly choked on the lie. The brand darkened before his eyes, so near to her flesh. To her soft, silky skin that he could possess with the rest of her. The vampire, or maybe demon, strength in his body soared to the surface, let free once again. For now.