by Tina Folsom
Everything was working perfectly.
Everything, except for one thing: she had yet to convince herself that she didn’t want him and would indeed toss him out to deliver the ultimate humiliation when she was done with him. It shouldn’t be so hard. Haven had plenty of strikes against him: he’d kidnapped her and her charge, he was a witch, and on top of it he was an arrogant jerk, who believed she was a heartless creature. Why wasn’t that enough to hate him?
But with his words in her ear and his body and scent so close, so tempting, she couldn’t concentrate on his bad attributes. She could only think of how good it had felt to touch him and pleasure him.
“Tell me what you felt,” he whispered like a sorcerer trying to draw her in with his enchanted spell. And maybe that was what he was doing: using his witch powers on her. She hadn’t considered it up till now. But it was the only explanation: by being together with his siblings, he was drawing on his powers. It had to be, or she would never feel herself become so weak and pathetically compliant in his presence.
“Your blood tastes of bergamot, rich and thick.” She couldn’t stop her words from spilling from her lips. “And your cum is salty, and mingled with your blood, it’s better than anything I’ve ever tasted.”
Her body was hot just thinking of it. It heated even more when his warm breath ghosted along her neck.
“Fuck, Yvette. I’m hard just thinking of what we did.” Haven exhaled several times as if he was trying to calm himself. “When this is over, you and I, we need some time together. Just you and me and a bed.”
She couldn’t argue with that. He was playing right into her hands. Like a lovesick puppy, he begged her for more. “I thought you hated vampires.”
Haven raked a lusty look over her. “Oh, I hate you. Don’t get me wrong. I hate you enough to wanna fuck you until you collapse.”
She could deal with that kind of hate. “You, me—” She paused to catch her breath. “—and a flat surface.”
But right now, she needed distance from him; otherwise, she’d maul him right in front of his brother and sister.
Twenty
“What guarantee do we have that she’s not going to double-cross us?” Zane hissed into Gabriel’s ear. They stood in the hallway of Samson’s house while the rest of the Scanguards crew and Francine were in the living room. “And how do we know that she really scried for this Haven Montgomery and didn’t just give us a bogus location?”
Gabriel shook his head. “We don’t know. We’ll just have to take a leap of faith.”
“That’s not good enough.”
“Zane, one day you’ll have to learn to trust somebody.”
Zane narrowed his eyes at his boss. “Today’s not that day.”
“Where I stand, we don’t really have a choice. I know we’re up against a possibly very powerful witch—let’s assume it’s Haven since all evidence points to him—but I trust Francine. If she says she’ll help us trap him as long as we don’t kill him, I believe her.”
“I don’t like the ‘no- killing’ part of that arrangement.”
“Careful, Zane. If you go against her wishes on that, be prepared for retribution. Francine might not look it, but she has a great deal of power. And she’s smart. We either play it her way and accept her helping us with immobilizing him, or we go in guns blazing. And you know what that means.”
Casualties. That’s what it meant. Yvette could be hurt, the actress Kimberly killed. It was a risk. “We’re still going in guns blazing.”
“Sure, but only with Francine’s witch power can we disable him before he can cast anymore spells. Then, we go in guns blazing.”
“Still don’t like it.” An uncomfortable tingling on the back of his neck told him they weren’t alone anymore. Zane turned to face the witch. “Has nobody ever told you it’s impolite to listen in on people’s conversations?”
She smiled. “Same as nobody’s taught you not to talk bad about other people behind their back.”
“You’re not people. You’re a witch.”
“Witches are human.”
Like Zane cared either way. He gave Gabriel an exasperated look. “You’re the boss.”
Gabriel nodded. “We have two hours until sunset.” He gestured toward the living room, and the three of them rejoined the others.
There wasn’t a seat left in the house. Everybody who could be of any use was assembled: Amaury, Thomas, Eddie, Maya, Nina, Samson, Oliver. Even Delilah sat on the couch, her big belly prominently sticking out. Not that she would get anywhere near the fighting, but Samson always included her in all discussions.
Could six vampires, two humans (one of which was a woman) and a witch defeat one powerful witch and free Yvette and Kimberly without anybody getting killed? Hell yeah! And he bet they could do it without the witch. If Yvette got hurt, they could heal her quickly—that’s why they’d take Oliver with them. He’d been an emergency blood donor on other occasions and could act as such again. And if Kimberly was injured, any of the vampires could heal her with his vampire blood. It carried healing properties more powerful than any antibiotic. As long as Kimberly received no fatal wound in the scuffle, she would come out in one piece at the end.
Zane for one would keep a close eye on Francine. One wrong move and he’d have her by the throat.
***
Darkness finally surrounded the large warehouse in the industrial area of South San Francisco. Zane had chosen to ride in the blackout van that carried Gabriel and the witch. He wouldn’t leave her out of his sight no matter what his boss said.
With suspicion, he eyed the little potion bottle Francine clutched to her chest. He’d demanded to be the one to carry it, but she’d refused stoically.
Zane slid the van door open and stepped out into the cool night. Rain was in the air. He could almost taste it. Around him, more shadows appeared. The vampires were all clad in their usual dark clothes to be able to easily blend into the night. Thomas wore his customary biker gear and looked the part.
Because witches were essentially humans, the weapons they had brought this time were meant to harm humans only. The guns were loaded with regular bullets, not silver bullets like they normally were. Nobody wanted to risk injuring Yvette. Instead of silver knives, each vampire was carrying at least one knife with a metal blade and a few throwing stars. They’d left their stakes at home, not wanting to risk their opponent to get their hands on the deadly weapon.
They were ready to do battle. And had it been his call, Zane would have stormed into the place and razed it. But Gabriel and the witch had other ideas.
Zane watched closely as Francine stepped out of the van and approached the building. She was dressed in equally dark clothes as his, and without his superior night vision he wouldn’t have been able to make her out, because all street lights on the block were out. Thomas had hacked into the city’s power grid and made sure no electricity was being fed into the block on which the warehouse stood. Since only taking out the power on this block might have alerted the witch, Thomas had made the decision to widen the radius to several blocks. If Haven looked out the window he’d simply assume that a whole section of the city had lost power and would write it off to the usual problems PG&E was experiencing and not associate it with an imminent attack. They still had to be quick, though. The energy-less residents wouldn’t just sit and wait indefinitely for the power to come back on; someone would call and their gig would be up.
“You should have let me go with her. What if she betrays us?” he whispered to Gabriel who stood by his side, his eyes glued toward Francine, who approached the front entrance of the warehouse.
“If she does, I know it’ll take you about one second to reach her. Don’t worry; I haven’t forgotten how fast you are.” There was an almost mocking tone in Gabriel’s voice, and Zane didn’t appreciate it.
He cursed under his breath. “Why am I even your second-in-command when you never consider any of my suggestions?”
“I always consider all
your suggestions,” Gabriel disagreed.
Zane tossed him a disbelieving look. “You never adopt any of them.”
“Really?” Gabriel gave a crooked smirk, his scar nearly jumping off his face. He pulled out his cell and pressed speed dial before he held it to his ear.
“Gabriel?”
Zane could hear both sides of the short conversation.
“We’re in position.” Then Gabriel flipped his phone shut and pocketed it.
“What was that?”
“Insurance.”
Before Zane could ask what he meant by that, he noticed more figures emerging from behind another building. Others yet came out of an alley. Reinforcements.
Zane raised an eyebrow in inquiry.
“They’re all Scanguards,” Gabriel replied without taking his eyes off Francine and the warehouse. “You didn’t think I was going to leave Yvette’s life in the hands of one witch and just the six of us?” He tsked, then chuckled to himself.
“I’m glad you find that funny,” Zane snapped. The humor of the situation was lost on him.
Gabriel shrugged. “Francine only knows about the six of us. So if she is trying to communicate with Haven and warn him, he’ll think it’s just six and prepare accordingly. But if we come at him with a force of another dozen, he’ll be overwhelmed. They’ll be surrounding the building as soon as Francine is inside.”
“And what if she can’t get inside?”
“She has sufficient powers to open a door. So, have a little faith.”
“And may I ask why you’re letting her go in the first place?”
“Haven might recognize her. Since she was friends with his mother and knew him as a child, he might not perceive her as a threat. She’s the only one who’ll be able to get close enough to him to use the potion to disable him.”
Zane hated to admit it, but the theory made sense. But he kept his mouth shut. He wasn’t one to praise others. Besides, it was too early to tell if the ploy worked. He closed his eyes for a moment and took in his surroundings with his remaining senses. Over a dozen vampires were in the vicinity as well as one human, Oliver. He recognized several of the other Scanguards vampires, all well-trained bodyguards who would do anything for their colleagues.
While the inner core—Samson, Amaury, Gabriel, Thomas, Eddie, Yvette, and Zane himself—were like a close-knit family, the other dozens of vampires who worked for Scanguards were the relatives who surrounded them. When push came to shove, they could be relied upon.
The sound of a door closing made Zane look back at the building. The witch was gone. She was inside. At Gabriel’s signal, everybody moved closer, stealthily gliding through the night. They approached their target without a sound, slowing their breaths, quieting their steps. It was like an army of shadows descended upon the dilapidated warehouse which looked like it had been abandoned and slated for demolition years ago and then forgotten.
They waited for several minutes, giving Francine enough time to do what she needed to— immobilize Haven with the potion. Once he was out of commission, they could storm in and get Yvette and Kimberly out. But instead of going in after Francine, the entrance door suddenly opened—and Francine stepped out!
“What happened?” Zane hissed, startling her.
“Shit, you scared me,” she huffed out.
He spotted the potion vial in her hand—it was still full and unbroken. “What the fuck happened?” he growled. Had she ratted them out to their enemy?
“Wards.”
“What?”
“He’s put wards around several rooms. I can’t get in any further. I could sense he was there, but I’m not sure where. I went as far as some sort of living room, but it was empty. But I could feel the witchcraft in the building. It was all around.” She paused and took in a breath. “We need a dog or a cat.”
“A what?”
“I thought you had superior hearing, so why do you keep asking me to repeat myself?” she bit out through clenched teeth. It appeared he was getting on her nerves, as she was on his.
“What do you need a dog or cat for?”
She glanced first at him then at Gabriel, who’d sidled up to them. “Animals are unaffected by magic. They can get through wards.”
Twenty-One
“And where are we gonna find a Lassie, who’s smart enough to deliver your potion to Yvette with instructions on what to do?” Gabriel ran his hands through his thick, full hair, tearing his pony tail apart before pulling it back into its rubber band.
“Didn’t you say she owned a dog that followed commands?” Francine asked.
Zane, Gabriel and Francine stood back near the vans where their voices wouldn’t carry to the building.
“Sure, but we can’t find the beast. Looks like it ran away. And we won’t have time to search for it now. It doesn’t even have a tag or a collar.”
Francine frowned. “Well, any dog or cat then. Just make it quick before he realizes that he’s surrounded by vampires. Witches can smell vampires, you know. Particularly if there’s over a dozen.” She gave them both a pointed look.
Busted! So much for trying to get something past a witch.
“You have to understand my position, Francine—” Gabriel was rudely interrupted by the hand she abruptly raised in front of her.
“No explanation necessary. I would have been disappointed in you if you hadn’t kept it from me. So how many do we have?”
“Eighteen vampires, one human, plus you.”
Zane scoffed at Gabriel’s word. If he’d been the boss, she wouldn’t have gotten that kind of frank information.
“Well, then get a dog or a cat. Preferably a dog. They follow commands more easily.”
It took over twenty minutes for one of the vampires to find a suitable dog that ran around the neighborhood and was docile enough to follow the man’s coaxing.
Francine tied a ribbon around the vial’s neck and affixed it around the poodle’s collar.
“And how are you making sure Yvette gets it, and even if she does, how will she know what to do with it?” Zane was still skeptical whether the whole idea had any merit. “And besides, I don’t know any dogs that open doors by themselves.”
***
Yvette didn’t mind the darkness in the room. All lights had gone out over half an hour ago. And she knew what it meant: her friends were coming to get her. A peek outside through the window told her that the entire block was blacked out. Surely, that was Thomas’ work.
“Do you see anything?” Haven asked from behind her. Ever since the light had gone out he’d stayed close to her, close enough to touch. Now his hand settled on her waist as he brought his head close to hers to peer out into the black night.
Trying to shake off the sensations his touch ignited in her, she made herself sound all businesslike. “My friends are here.”
“Ah, shit,” Wesley sniped.
“Isn’t that a good thing?” Kimberly’s voice sounded nervous.
“Yes, that’s a good thing,” Yvette confirmed, not wanting to alarm the girl.
“Not for us. They’ll see us as the enemy.”
Unfortunately, Wesley’s assumption wasn’t without merit.
“Just stay close to me at all times, and I’ll make sure they won’t hurt you guys.”
Her breath hitched when she felt Haven press himself against her back and slide his arm fully across her waist, holding her to him. “How close?” he whispered into her ear only for her to hear. Then he took her earlobe between his lips and sucked it into his mouth.
Yvette’s knees would have buckled had he not held her so tightly. “Stop that,” she ordered under her breath, hoping neither Wesley nor Kimberly would hear her.
“I’ll stop, but just to be clear: when all this is over, you and I have a date. And if you try to run out on me, I’ll find you.”
While his words were a warning, his hands were pure seduction. One tunneled under her halter-neck and found her naked breast to toy with under cover of darkness, th
e other slid lower to cover her throbbing sex.
“Don’t tell me you’re kissing her again,” Wesley asked, a disgusted tone in his voice.
Yvette pushed free of Haven’s hold. “Of course not!”
“No!” Haven protested just as vehemently.
“It’s okay if you are,” Kimberly said.
“No, it’s not!” Wesley made his opinion known.
“But they look cute together.”
Cute? Yvette was glad not to have to suppress her grin. Luckily, she was the only one of the four who could see in the dark. Cute wasn’t what she would have called her tryst with Haven, and by the frown on his face, he didn’t agree with it either.
“You can’t be serious, Katie!” Wesley chastised.
“It’s Kimberly, and I am serious. Yvette’s very nice, and so is Haven—when he’s not kidnapping people.”
“We’re still in the room,” Haven said with a smirk on his lips.
Yvette used the cover of darkness to watch him without his knowledge. The memory of his words and his hands still made her shiver. No, she wouldn’t run this time. She’d keep her date with him.
“Sorry, Haven,” Kimberly apologized. “But I really don’t know why Wesley is so against your and Yvette’s relationship.”
“We don’t have a relationship!” Yvette protested instantly and noticed Haven flinch. Had he flinched at Kimberly’s words or Yvette’s protestation? She couldn’t tell. And it shouldn’t even matter. The truth was, they had no relationship. They would fuck and then go their separate ways.
“Gee, you guys are touchy. I’ll just shut up then.”
Yvette could clearly see the pout on Kimberly’s lips and wanted to comfort her. But what would she have said? Sure, I’ll go out with your brother if that makes you feel better? This wasn’t high school.
She turned her attention back to the window, trying to discern the number of shadows she saw moving in the dark. “There are at least a dozen.”
