by Abby Blake
“She’s proven to be a tough cookie to convince,” Benjamin said with a laugh in his voice. “I even showed her my fangs, and she still thinks we’re overgrown teenagers playing a fantasy game.”
“But what about the undercover stuff? The whole ‘keep the secret from humans’ thing?” Skye asked.
“Occasionally, we make an exception,” Benjamin said with a shrug.
“You did that for me?”
“Of course,” Benjamin said, glancing at Samuel as he spoke. “We were going to wait until the mission was completed, but since the trail has taken us almost back to your hometown, we figured now was as good a time as any.”
“We? You both did this?”
“Technically we all agreed. If Jennifer decided to break our confidence, it would put the whole squad in danger.”
“The squad?” Jennifer asked with genuine confusion. “Don’t you call a group of vampires a coven?”
“We do,” Benjamin said with a laugh, “but in this particular case we do mean squad.”
Jennifer looked to Skye. She wore her “what the hell?” face. “They’re part of a Paranormal Undercover Protection squad,” Skye volunteered. “Kind of like a Navy SEAL team but with fangs and claws.”
“Claws?” Jennifer asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Yeah,” she said, glancing at Benjamin to check if she was spilling some beans she wasn’t supposed to. He nodded for her to continue. “Some of them are werewolves. Some of them are…other paranormals.”
“Oh,” her sister said, obviously trying very hard to appear diplomatic.
“It’s okay if you don’t believe us just yet, but we do ask that you keep the information to yourself,” Benjamin said quietly.
“Of course,” she said in a tone of voice that suggested she was starting to think she might be the crazy one. She jumped nearly half a foot into the air when Thomas opened the connecting door between the rooms.
Thomas sniffed the air, his gaze landing on Jennifer. A wide smile graced his face before he seemed to shake himself and get back to the matter at hand. “We just got a call from the owner of the club where Skye was attacked. He says he’s got three unknown vampires on the premises. One of them fits the description Skye gave us. West, Adam, and Alex are on their way there now, but if this is our guy, they could use some vampire backup.”
Samuel looked concerned, but he didn’t object when Benjamin ordered Thomas to stay with Skye and Jennifer. After a brief kiss Benjamin left the room at preternatural speed. Samuel seemed to hesitate just a moment before he, too, kissed her and left the motel.
“Wh–What just happened?” Jennifer asked as her knees wobbled and she dropped into the chair behind her. “How did they disappear? I mean, they…they were standing there and…and now…”
Skye moved to her sister’s side, grabbed her hand, and held on tight. “Breathe, sis,” she said in what she hoped was a reassuring voice. “You’ll get used to it.”
Jennifer’s half laugh, half guffaw suggested that it might be a long time coming. She turned her attention to Thomas, looked him up and down, and asked in a tone more rude than Skye had ever heard her sister use, “So what are you?”
Thomas gave her that charming smile Skye had come to associate with the man, lifted Jennifer’s free hand to his mouth, and kissed the back of it in a gallant flourish that somehow seemed perfectly natural and not the corny move it could have been. “I’m a werewolf, but my friends call me Thomas.”
“Uh-huh,” Jennifer said skeptically, “and when am I going to see you turn into a wolf? Do I need to wait for a full moon?”
“Nope, I can show you right now, if you’d like.”
Jennifer’s eyes widened as Thomas started to undo his shirt. Whether her reaction was out of fear or curiosity Skye wasn’t sure, but it was probably time to put a stop to Thomas’s teasing. He was considered the ladies’ man of the squad, and the last thing Jennifer needed right now was a playboy wolf hitting on her.
“Maybe later,” Skye said, taking the seat beside her sister.
Thomas groaned in obvious disappointment, but he did refasten the buttons. “How abou—” He cut off his words, his relaxed demeanor morphing straight into full alert. “Call your makers.”
“What? I don’t have their cell numbers.”
Thomas looked like he wanted to roll his eyes, but he turned his back on them, placing himself squarely between the two women and the front door. “Call them with your mind,” he ordered in an agitated voice. “Shit, do it. Do it now!”
Taken aback by Thomas’s barely leashed aggression, Skye mentally called to Benjamin and Samuel. She had no idea if she was doing it right, but she practically screamed their names in her mind. Fear pounded through her even harder when a soft knock sounded on the motel room door. Skye grabbed her sister, holding her behind Thomas, ready to do whatever it might take to protect her family.
“Stay here,” Thomas ordered over his shoulder as he stepped toward the door.
Skye nodded, not willing to put her sister at risk for any reason.
But as Thomas got closer to the door, the tension drained from his shoulders. He turned to give them a reassuring smile. “It’s my boss,” he said. “Benjamin thought Higgins might drop by once he learned Benjamin and Samuel made a vampire on company time.” He winked, letting them know it wasn’t really that big a deal, and then turned back to the door. He unlocked the dead bolt and twisted the handle.
The door seemed to open too slowly, the fear in Skye’s mind growing worse even despite Thomas’s reassurance. The empty doorway just made her more jumpy, the horror-movie atmosphere growing more creepy. But then he was there, the vampire who’d killed an innocent woman, standing right in front of her. He’d moved faster than even Skye’s new vampire-enhanced vision could follow. Thomas stepped forward, obviously confused by the man’s behavior but still willing to risk his own life to protect them.
“Oh, such a brave puppy,” the vampire said. He lunged at Thomas, aiming for the man’s throat, but Thomas dropped to all fours, changing to a wolf as the sound of tearing fabric filled the room. The wolf also went for the throat, his sharp teeth gnashing at the intruder’s shoulders as he caught Thomas around the middle, squeezing his ribcage tightly. The wolf clawed and bit, trying to free itself, but yelped in distress as the sound of cracking bones reached Skye’s ears.
“Sorry, Tommy,” the vampire said as he dropped the severely injured wolf to the ground, “but you always were one for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.” He laughed and then kicked the wolf hard in the gut. “Now watch while I show you what happens when you can’t tell friend from foe.” He smiled maliciously as the wolf whined in pain. “Don’t worry, puppy, I’ll finish you off once I’ve dealt with these two. It’s just that I’ve always found torture far more fun when I have someone to watch.” He turned his attention to Skye for a moment before his gaze slid to Jennifer. “Well, would you look at that. Another pretty redhead for me to tear apart. How kind of you to bring her right to me. Come here, lovely.”
Chapter Six
“Something’s wrong,” Samuel said as soon as they stepped into the crowded club.
Benjamin nodded in agreement. Something was definitely off. Alex spotted them, pushed his way through the crowd, and stopped close enough to give his situation report. “The club’s empty of vampires. Not even the owner or any members of his coven are in the building. Adam is tracking a scent trail of blood, but it’s turning us in circles. It feels like a deliberate setup.”
“But why? For what purpose? The club owner surely knows not to—” Samuel’s words cut off at the same moment Benjamin heard Skye’s voice in his head.
“Skye,” he managed to say as he ignored all protocols and used his preternatural speed to leave the club. It felt like the trip back to the motel took twice as long as it should have, Skye’s terrified telepathic voice in his head spurring him to faster speeds.
Sense kicked in a moment before he burst into the
motel room. Samuel did the same, a look of incredulity gracing his face as they both realized who was in the room.
“Come here, lovely,” their supervisor said to one of the women inside.
* * * *
Jennifer began to move toward him, her outward calm eerily familiar. Skye held her tight, stopping her forward movement, but it took way more effort than it should have to stop a human. Apparently being compelled by a vampire also gave the victim an inhuman strength.
“Why are you doing this?” Skye asked, hoping only to stall the man long enough for Samuel and Benjamin to get back to the motel.
“Because you have caused me way more aggravation than you should have. If those idiots had just drained you properly, there wouldn’t have been enough of you left to save, and I wouldn’t have had to go cleaning up their mess.”
“I don’t understand,” Skye said, playing her dumb-blonde card for all it was worth. “What mess?” Blonde jokes had been the bane of her existence her entire life—it was even why Jennifer dyed her hair red—but maybe this time Skye could make the common assumption that hair color somehow affected her intelligence work for her. “You know, like, I’m just, you know, confused is all. I mean, why are you such a meanie?”
She almost gagged on the out-of-character words, but judging by the guy’s derogatory laugh he was buying the act. Skye somehow sensed Benjamin and Samuel were close. She wasn’t sure if the other vampire could sense them also, so she tried to keep his focus elsewhere while her men came up with a rescue plan. At least that’s what she hoped they were doing.
“Why redheads? Is that, like, you know, your favorite color or something?”
Jennifer had stopped trying to walk out of her embrace, so Skye hoped that meant she was distracting the guy enough to disrupt his ability to compel humans. But then the vampire turned sharply toward the door, obviously sensing Skye’s makers on the other side. He lunged for her, but she was ready for it, ducking out of the way, practically throwing her sister across the room as the front door and the bathroom door opened simultaneously. Two loud gunshots reverberated through the room, but it was the explosion of the bullets on impact that tore a gaping hole in the vampire’s chest.
Skye pushed her sister into the corner, covering Jennifer with her own body as blood and guts flew through the air and covered almost everything in the room.
They were both shaking violently when Samuel touched her lightly on the back a few moments later. “Are you okay?” Skye wanted to throw herself into his arms, but Jennifer was shuddering in reaction, tears streaming down her face, her understanding of the world around her obviously turned on its head, and Skye didn’t want to leave her.
“We’re fine,” Skye said, trying to convey how glad she was that they’d arrived when they did. “Is Thomas still alive?”
“Thomas!” Jennifer said as she tried to scramble out of Skye’s embrace. Skye went with her, fear for the werewolf who’d risked his life to save theirs overriding all other concerns. She did manage to at least shield Jennifer from the gory sight of the dead vampire though.
“He’s going to be fine,” Adam said with a small smile as they crouched down near the wolf’s head. “Looks like the bastard broke every bone in Thomas’s ribcage, but nothing that can’t heal on its own. He’ll hurt for a while, but he’ll be good as new in a couple hours.”
“Really?” Jennifer asked in a soft voice. She leaned over and gently stroked the wolf’s muzzle. Skye’s sister had always had a kind heart, but it was unusual for her to get so close to a dog of any kind. Having been bitten as a child, Jennifer’s avoidance of man’s best friend was almost legendary. Of course, none of the furry critters they’d met before now had been werewolves or had been a man who’d saved their lives.
Surprisingly, Adam put his arm around Jennifer, holding her close as she sat caressing the wolf’s fur. Skye was a little taken aback to see her sister lean her head on Adam’s chest. They hadn’t even actually met, but he held her closer, and Skye realized that, for the moment at least, her sister was in good hands. She squeezed Jennifer’s fingers slightly and then let go so that she could move to where Samuel and Benjamin were standing with the rest of the team.
Benjamin saw her approach, and when she stopped a few feet away, uncertain of her welcome, he leaned over and dragged her into the space between him and Samuel. Benjamin kept his arm around her shoulder, but he pressed her against Samuel’s side at the same time. Samuel put his arm around her middle, his hesitation only momentary before he held on tight.
“Skye, is this the vampire who killed the woman the night you were attacked?” Wilson sounded so formal, and for a moment she worried what that meant.
“Yes,” she said with a brief glance at the corpse lying in the middle of the room with a massive hole in its chest. She stiffened as images of that horrific first night replayed in her head. There was absolutely no doubt in her mind that they had the right vampire.
“Good,” Wilson said with a kind smile. “That will make it far easier to explain to the Judiciaries why we just killed our boss.”
“Although,” Alex said with a tight smile, “the fact that he lied about his age, and tried to kill a PUP squad member should be plenty of explanation even without eyewitness testimony.”
“His age?” Skye asked, trying to figure out what his age had to do with anything.
“That,” Benjamin said, pointing a thumb over his shoulder but not turning around, “is not the corpse of a seven-hundred-year-old vampire.”
“How can you tell?” Call it morbid curiosity, but she really wanted to know.
“When a vampire dies the body tends to decay very rapidly. The older we are the faster it happens. At seven hundred years of age the corpse and all of its bodily fluids should have decayed to dust practically before it hit the ground. As you can see by the mess, that didn’t happen. He was probably closer to seventy or eighty years old, give or take a few years.”
“So he wasn’t who he said he was?”
“No, baby girl, he wasn’t,” Benjamin said as he pressed a kiss to her forehead. But then another thought occurred to her and she looked around the room frantically.
“What about the noise? Shouldn’t we be preparing a story for the police? Surely someone heard the bullets.”
“Relax, sweetheart, we used silencers. The sound would only have seemed loud because of your vampire hearing. We’ll call a pixie cleanup crew to take care of the mess.”
“Pixie?” she asked in a small, squeaky voice.
Samuel must have heard how overwhelmed she was feeling just by the tone of her voice. “We’ll leave the explanation of that for another day.”
“Let’s get the paperwork done,” Benjamin said as he squeezed her gently and then turned to check on Thomas. “I think we should all plan on taking some time off. Samuel and I have been considering a long holiday anyway, but with the mission turning out the way it has, we’re probably all liable to be stood down from active duty while the Judiciaries review the mission briefs.”
“True,” Adam said with a happy smile. “It’s probably about time I took Thomas home to his mama. That mean old lady’s liable to rip me a new one if I don’t get him home for Thanksgiving this year.” The wolf that was Thomas growled low in its throat, but by Adam’s happy smile it seemed that it was probably a long-running joke. “And besides, I’d rather be on leave than have to face a desk job while the Judiciaries take their sweet time dottin’ eyes and crossin’ tees.”
The others all murmured in agreement.
* * * *
Skye woke to her sister’s smiling face.
“Wow, when that sun comes up you really go down for the count. They weren’t kidding.”
Skye glanced around her and finally realized that she was in her sister’s guest room. “So you believe me now?” she asked unsteadily.
Jennifer smiled and shrugged. “Seeing a man morph into a wolf in front of my eyes kind of squashed my skepticism.”
“
Is Thomas okay?” Skye asked. She remembered Adam’s reassurance from earlier, but a lot could have changed in the eight hours that she’d slept like the dead.
“He’s going to be fine. Adam called a few hours ago to let Benjamin know they’d arrived home safe and sound.”
“Where’s home?” Skye asked. There was just something about the way her sister’s smile softened and her eyes glistened when she spoke about the two wolves that made Skye wonder if she’d missed much more than just their departure.
“Their families live in a gated community at the top of some mountain about an eight-hour drive from here,” Jennifer said quickly, as if it were no big deal.
“You like them,” Skye said with a smile on her lips.
Jennifer gave her a lopsided grin, but then released a breathy laugh and shook her head. “What’s not to like? They’re gallant, protective, arrogant, good-looking sweethearts who are way out of my league.” Skye opened her mouth to correct her. Jennifer was an amazing woman who deserved to be happy, but she held up a hand to stop Skye’s words. “And they are werewolves who live a long way from here and spend most of their time traveling around the country on one mission or another.”
Skye smiled sadly. Her sister had a point. Even if she could accept and overcome the paranormal aspect, there was still the fact that she’d barely see them anyway. A fact that suddenly hammered home to Skye the possibly bleak future she herself faced. It didn’t matter where the initial attraction had come from. She was irrevocably in love with both her men, but without a shadow of a doubt Benjamin and Samuel’s lives were far easier without her hanging around.
“Where are they?” she asked her sister with a heavy heart. Maybe they’d already left. They’d taught her what she needed to know to be a good little vampire. Her hometown had more than a few of her kind so she wouldn’t be without assistance if she needed it, and the mission was complete so she was no longer in danger. Despite what they’d said about taking time off, it was quite possible they’d gone onto their next mission without a backward glance.
