Charger (The Protectors Series) Book #16

by Teresa Gabelman

  Chapter 12

  Charger fought the darkness and pain. Panic and anxiety hit him like a shot of adrenaline, and his eyes popped open. Something heavy crushed him, pinning him to the floor. Sounds of moans and cries reached him, sending fear to his soul. With every ounce of strength he possessed, he positioned his arms against the weight crushing him and pushed. Within seconds, he was free.

  Not sure what to expect, he ignored his pain as he flipped to his feet, staying in a crouched position, his eyes searching. What he saw would stay with him for a lifetime. Total destruction and carnage surrounded him. He knew any humans present could not have survived, because even for the vampires, survival from such a blast was fifty-fifty. That thought had him panicked, his eyes frantically searching for Raven.

  Dust hung heavily, obstructing clear sight; fires burned in scattered areas. There was movement around him, and yet he didn’t see her. Without hesitation, he headed toward the last area he had seen her, which was hard to pinpoint.

  “Charger!” Kane stomped over debris; blood covered most of his face. “You okay, man? What the fuck?”

  Charger stopped as he glanced Kane’s way, hoping to see Raven following, but Kane was alone. “Raven?” was all Charger could say, and he saw the same fear he felt flash in Kane’s eyes.

  “Dammit!” Kane began to search as they both lifted up large pieces of debris but found nothing.

  “Come on, Raven,” Charger hissed as he searched, tossing heavy pieces of plaster, helping free others. But there was no sign of Raven anywhere. Panic and fear set in, making him frantic as he combed the wreckage. The more he searched, the more he found others. Guardians were pulling people from the rumble, and in the distance, he heard sirens as well as people calling different names. It was pure chaos.

  Seeing Wyatt tossing metal and plaster as he dug quickly, Charger rushed toward him. That was when he saw the lavender material sticking out from the bottom. As a team, they worked to free whoever was underneath. There was so much on top of the person buried beneath that a part of Charger prayed it wasn’t Raven. The ceiling looked to have caved directly on top of her.

  As Charger moved another large piece of plaster, he saw the dark dust-covered hair and knew instantly it was her. The dread he felt almost took him to his knees. “Fuck!”

  Wyatt lifted the last piece, exposing Raven’s battered body. Her eyes were closed as if she was sleeping peacefully, but the plaster dust mixed with blood, bruises, and cuts that covered her body revealed the trauma she had taken.

  “Raven!” Charger hissed loudly, hearing the catch in his own voice. When she didn’t respond, the despair was so overwhelming, he couldn’t think straight. He started to reach for her, shake her awake, but a loud voice stopped him.

  “Don’t move her!” Slade’s voice cut through his fear, giving him some relief.

  Charger looked up in surprise to see Warriors combing through the rubble. His eyes found Daniel, who peered around as if in shock. Their eyes met briefly, and something passed between them before Daniel turned away to begin helping with the search. The kid had seen this coming, had tried to warn him.

  His focus went back to Raven as he anxiously watched Slade attend to her. He knew he should be helping others, but nothing short of his own death would make him leave her side.

  “Raven.” Slade moved her head slightly, so her cheek was off the floor. “Come on, Raven. I know you hear me. Wake up.”

  It took every ounce of willpower not to pick her up and shake her just to see her beautiful golden eyes glaring at him, but he would never chance hurting her. “Is she going to be all right?”

  Slade didn’t look at him as he continued to study Raven, tapping her lightly on the cheek. “There are no broken bones, which is a miracle, so in that aspect, I believe she is fine.”

  “But…?” Now Charger wanted to shake the fuck out of Slade for not just spitting it out.

  “I’m worried about what kind of hit she took on the head.” Slade glanced around him, then to Charger. “The ceiling looks like it collapsed right on top of her. You try to get her to wake up. Maybe if she hears your voice, it will pull her out. The quicker I can wake her, the better.”

  Charger nodded, then leaned close to Raven. “Raven, wake up.” His gut twisted painfully when she remained silent and still, not even a flutter of her eyelashes. Anger and rage began to burn through him. How fucking ironic that he was finally ready to admit his true feelings only to have the possibility of losing her face him. Yeah, fuck that. “Dammit, Raven. Wake up. We need you to wake up now.”

  Both Charger and Slade watched her, and Charger swore he saw her eyelashes flutter, or maybe it was just his wishful thinking.

  “We need you to help us, Raven.” Charger decided to play dirty in order to get her to open her eyes. He knew her well and knew how she was programmed. “People are hurt. You need to stop sleeping on the fucking job.”

  Her hand moved, as did her head, which made her face scrunch in pain or just from fighting the darkness like he’d had to. He continued to watch her closely in the chaos surrounding them. Suddenly, just like him earlier, her eyes shot open, and she began to struggle, as if fighting against an invisible force.

  “Raven, stop.” Charger took control, placing his hands gently on her arms. Finally, her eyes focused on him, and she went still. She stared at him for a second in confusion before her eyes went to Slade.

  Opening her mouth to speak, Raven coughed, then groaned as her hands went toward her head. “What happened?” she managed to say, and Charger had never heard anything more beautiful than the sound of her voice.

  “Looks like a building fell on top of you.” Jared rushed over, kneeling down, his face a mask of concern. “Is she okay?” Jared asked Slade.

  “I’m fine.” Raven sat up with Jared and Charger’s help. They all watched her closely.

  “How’s your vision, Raven?” Slade asked, his voice doctor-like and very serious. “Any double vision?”

  “No.” Raven shook her head, then winced and started to move to stand. Three pairs of hands reached out to help her up. “I’m good. Stop hovering over me. I’m fine.”

  Charger stood close, his gaze meeting Jared’s concerned one, but neither of them said a word. They just waited, letting her get her bearings. She slowly looked around in shock.

  “What happened?” she whispered, still glancing around at all the carnage before peering back at Charger. “The last thing I remember was walking away from you. Are you okay?”

  “Yeah, I’m fine,” Charger answered, and almost added “now that you’re okay,” but he kept that to himself. “And we don’t know yet what happened. I haven’t smelled any gas, which would have caused an explosion.”

  “That’s because gas didn’t cause the explosion.” Creed walked over to them with Duncan and Sloan. “We found explosives. A lot of explosives, some that didn’t detonate, which is a good thing because if they had, none of us would be standing here right now. The Warriors and first responders would be shifting through debris and body parts.”

  Before Charger could say anything, an inhuman roar had him spinning toward the sound, ready for anything. It wasn’t until he saw Jake being controlled by Kane, Wyatt, and Blaze that he, unfortunately, knew what was happening. His eyes went toward where Jake was trying to go, only to see Tracy laying in a broken heap with a metal rebar stake through her throat. Not even a vampire could survive that. His heart sank as his body shook with rage.

  Raven tried to get her bearings as she looked around at what had been a huge room. Now she stood in piles of rubble, some of which she’d been buried under. She was fine, other than her body feeling as if it had been hit by a train, and her head was a little foggy. She was damn lucky. Realizing that there were still people who needed help, she turned toward Charger to find out where she was needed but stopped when she heard a scream that would haunt her for the rest of her life. It was a scream of absolute devastation.

  Turning, she saw Wyatt,
Kane, and Blaze holding back Jake. Fear like she never felt before nearly knocked her off her feet as she took a step forward. “No!” Her eyes switched from Jake to the first responders bent over something or someone blocking her view.

  “Don’t.” Charger grabbed her arm, but she shrugged him off and began to stumble over the rubble.

  Seeing a bare foot, she went faster until she saw a hand that wore the shiny wedding ring that Tracy couldn’t stop showing to everyone after the wedding. Slade was there bent, kneeling down. A police officer stepped into her view.

  “Stop,” he ordered, but Raven ignored him by grabbing his vest and tossing him aside without a second thought.

  Pushing her way past a fireman, she stopped suddenly. Tracy lay on her back, her right arm laid out in an odd angle, as was her right leg. Her hand went across her mouth as her eyes rose to see the metal rebar stake sticking out of her neck.

  “No!” she mumbled behind her hand. This couldn’t be. She was just dancing with Tracy; she remembered it now. They were laughing and dancing just before a loud noise blasted into the room, followed by complete darkness. Her unbelieving gaze watched as Slade took his large hand and ran it over Tracy’s opened eyes that stared silently toward the ceiling, closing them forever. She began shaking her head violently, not wanting to believe the reality of what she was seeing. “Uh-uh. No! Don’t do that. She’s fine. Get away from her.”

  Slade stood, and the look of regret he sent her for the loss of her friend, her best friend, hit her so hard she lost her shit. She hated that look from people as she knew what it meant. She once again had lost someone close to her. Without thought, she rushed Slade and pushed him as hard as she could. Slade took it, didn’t retaliate with action or words. He just stood there and let her take it out on him. With another shake of her head in denial, she dropped down next to Tracy, taking her hand in her own.

  “Oh God,” Raven whispered as she stared at her friend. This wasn’t supposed to happen. Tracy had plans, great plans for her life. She was so happy, happier than Raven had ever seen anyone. Why? Why did this shit happen to good people? “I’m so sorry, Tracy. It should have been me, not you.”

  “Ma’am, we need to move her,” a fireman said after clearing his throat.

  “Touch her and die,” Raven hissed as she glared up at the fireman, knowing her eyes were black as night with emotion, so many emotions. She looked over at Kane, who still held Jake. “Let him go.”

  Jake rushed over as soon as Kane reluctantly let him go. Jake grabbed Tracy’s hand, then laid his head on her chest and lost it. His body shook. Raven put her own hand on his head, in some way trying to comfort him, but she knew nothing would ever comfort this man again. He had lost his mate forever. For vampires, that was almost a death sentence because of how long they lived. Surviving the loss of a mate meant you would possibly spend a very long and lonely life of grief.

  She had no idea how long they stayed like that as bodies of the dead and living were pulled from the debris. Raven didn’t really care. The only thing at this moment she cared about was her friend and her friend’s mate. Glancing up, she noticed that Charger stood by her side. Their eyes met.

  “I don’t want anyone else touching her,” Raven told him as he knelt down and touched Raven’s cheek.

  “And no one will,” he replied, then looked up over her head with a nod.

  Raven turned to see Kane, Creed, and Slade walk toward them. She then glanced down at Jake, who was now speaking into Tracy’s ear with whispered words. A lump formed in the back of her throat, but she swallowed it. She would be strong for Tracy in this moment. Her friend deserved nothing less. Jake straightened, his tortured gaze searching hers.

  “Thank you,” he said, then glanced back down at his wife. Squeezing his eyes shut, Jake grasped Tracy’s prone form under the shoulder. Charger, Slade, Creed, and Kane took a position, and as one and under Charger’s direction, they carefully lifted Tracy’s lifeless body off the floor, the rebar slowly disappearing as they moved her. Slade had advised that this was the best way instead of pulling the rebar out because the force of the rebar into the floor would cause more damage to Tracy than lifting her off of it.

  Raven continued to hold both of Tracy’s hands against Tracy’s now dirty wedding dress. She kept her eyes on her friend’s face as the men lifted her lifeless body upward. Once she was free, Jake pulled Tracy out of their arms and into his, holding her close as he buried his face into her neck. The sight totally broke Raven’s soul, and she knew that she would never be the same again. Still, she refused to let the tears fall.

  They watched as Jake silently carried Tracy away from the site of her death. Turning back toward the men who also watched Jake disappear, she reached down and ripped off the bottom of her dress that kept tripping her up.

  “You said someone planted a bomb?” she asked Creed when she straightened back up and noticed they were all staring at her. Creed didn’t answer. “Are you going to make me ask again and piss me off?”

  “Yes, I did, but not just one,” Creed replied, then nodded toward Sloan, who was talking with the owner of the estate. “Sloan’s getting information on all workers and crews that came in and set up for the party.”

  “We’re going to find out who did this, Raven,” Kane said, his voice shaking with rage.

  “Damn straight we will.” Raven turned away from them to head toward Sloan, but Charger grasped her arm and pulled her slightly away from everyone. “I’m fine.”

  “Kane’s right. We will find out who did this and make them pay.” Charger’s voice was firm with conviction. “I’m sorry, Raven.”

  Raven could take a lot, but sympathy above anything else was her downfall, especially coming from this man. All she could do was nod before she cleared the growing lump in her throat. “Thank you.” She finally looked up at him, then realized she needed to be alone. This was all too much. “I, ah, really need to go see Sloan to let him know what happened and what I remember.”

  Charger’s eyes narrowed slightly, but he nodded. “I understand.”

  The way he looked at her made her wonder if he really did understand or if he was just now realizing she was not part of the Guardians anymore. Without another word, she turned and walked away.

  Slowly, she headed toward Sloan, who was still busy talking, but her eye caught sight of Jake holding Tracy in his arms his shoulders shaking as he stood alone, and that was all she could handle. Passing Sloan, she walked through the rubble, past the limousine with its blown-out windows, past police cars and ambulances as well as the coroner’s hearse, across the yard, and disappeared into the darkness, vowing with every step she took that whoever was responsible would pay, and pay dearly.

  Chapter 13

  Charger sat in front of Raven’s apartment. It was a damn good thing he was good at finding people because Raven made it hard for him to locate where her new apartment was. Within an hour, he had her address. If she thought to keep it from him, she obviously didn’t know him as well as she thought. Glancing around, he was reassured Raven had chosen wisely with a quiet neighborhood. Her apartment was on the bottom floor with views of the front and side of the property. He would have chosen the same.

  It had been close to two hours since the blast. He had watched her walk toward Sloan, only to pass him and continue to head out into the night. Charger gave her the respect she deserved by not following and instead gave her time. That wasn’t easy to do, but he held himself back from trailing after her. He had wrongly thought she would be back; she’d never returned.

  After a long hard talk with Jake, then making sure Kane would be Jake’s shadow, Charger was briefed along with Sloan, Creed, and the other Warriors by Duncan, who was an expert on explosives. Duncan’s words were chilling. Whoever had planted them was trying to make damn sure no one walked out of the blast alive, and if half the explosives that hadn’t detonated had gone off when timed, Duncan was a hundred percent certain no one would have survived.

  Now it wa
s time for him to collect Raven, make sure she was okay, and then go have a serious talk with Daniel, who refused to say anything until Raven was with him. The kid was definitely one of a kind. While Charger had done his best to intimidate Daniel into answering his questions, the kid had refused. Honestly, it pissed him off because Raven never knew about Daniel’s vision, he didn’t think.

  Tired of having more questions than answers, Charger dismounted off his bike, walked down the cracked sidewalk, and then knocked loudly on the door.

  Within seconds, the door was opened by… Ryker. Thankfully, his many years of training taught him how to hide his instant anger at seeing a man who didn’t belong inside Raven’s apartment standing in the doorway as if he had every right to be there. At least in Charger’s mind, he did not.

  “Charger.” Ryker nodded but didn’t move out of the doorway, and that more than anything sent rage strumming through his body.

  “Ryker,” Charger replied, then stepped forward, using his shoulder to forcibly move right past Ryker into Raven’s very empty apartment. His eyes searched for her, but she was nowhere to be seen. His gaze went directly to a shut door. His temper boiled just below the surface until Ryker spoke.

  “She’s in the shower,” Ryker said, then shut the door. Charger turned around to face him. “I was heading to the estate when I saw her walking on the side of the road. Picked her up and brought her here.”

  The door behind him opened, and Charger turned his head to see Raven dressed in her regular work clothes, barefoot with a wet head. Their eyes met.

  “Anything?” she asked, walking to another closed door. She opened it and bent down. Charger’s eyes went directly to her ass until she straightened with a pair of boots in her hands. Sitting on the floor, she pulled on socks and her boots, all the while looking straight at him. “Wait a minute. How did you know where I live? I didn’t give you my address.”