Dark Protector

by Katie Reus

  Tension rolled off her, but as he predicted, she didn’t try to shove in front of him, instead letting him move out with Niko into…an empty warehouse.

  * * *

  Ferguson opened his palm and handed Jayce a flash drive. “All the files you require. We don’t have feeds in any of the rooms, but there are recordings in the main areas for the time you want. Now get the fuck out of my club.” He didn’t move from his position against the desk as he stared at Jayce, his expression dark.

  Jayce took the flash drive, not surprised the male had it ready for him despite his bullshit about patrons valuing their privacy. “Who was Arthur meeting with the night he was here?”

  “None of your fucking business.”

  Jayce’s canines descended. Some beings only respected raw strength. He hadn’t wanted to resort to violence tonight, but Ferguson was apparently in the mood to make things difficult. Before Jayce could think about making a move, Kat said, “Tell my mate what he wants to know, or I’ll make your life difficult.”

  Damn it, Kat. He knew where she was going with this, had told her that would be a last resort. Because Jayce could handle this fucker. Sure, it would get bloody, but that was just part of the job.

  As she spoke, she sat on one of the velour tufted chairs in front of the desk. She crossed her long, lean legs and gave him a haughty look.

  Ferguson looked at Kat for the first time with what could be considered amusement. “I’d heard you’d gotten mated. Tell me, child, how will you make my life difficult?” That same amusement in his gaze was mirrored in his voice as he looked at Kat, not with lust—as most males tended to do—but disdain. He was definitely stronger than Kat, though probably not as strong as he thought.

  Her scent was that of a young wolf, but he’d been training with her. People would always underestimate her because of her age and that was a good thing. But Kat wasn’t going to attack Ferguson physically—not that Jayce would let that happen regardless. She was going for the metaphorical jugular. Jayce gritted his teeth, knowing he couldn’t stop her now that she’d started.

  “I’ll disrupt some of your weapons supply lines. Most of them, actually.” The haughty look was gone, replaced by an icy, pure lupine stare. “Even if you give Jayce what he wants, I still might do it for the child comment.”

  Ferguson laughed with raw amusement as he looked at Jayce. “Your mate’s a fucking comedian.”

  Kat’s voice sliced through the room like a whip. “Before I became Katarina Kazan, I was Katarina Saburova. And my father will be very angry at the disrespect you’ve shown us tonight.” Even before she’d become a shifter, Kat had always understood that you had to show fearlessness in the face of some people, that they only understood strength. She wasn’t lying either. She’d do exactly what she said. And Ferguson would smell the truth on her.

  All amusement fled Ferguson’s pale face. It took him two seconds to figure out who she was. Kat’s father was one of the most brutal arms dealers on the planet. He was not a good man, but he’d protected his daughter. So much so that most people didn’t even realize he had one. It didn’t matter that he was human—supernaturals feared him because of the power he wielded. And Ferguson used Saburova for some of his weapons dealing. The vampire wasn’t just a sex club owner. No, he had his fingers in many pots—many illegal ones.

  Ferguson cleared his throat and spoke to Jayce. “He wasn’t meeting anyone here. He wanted use of one of my rooms because…” He gritted his teeth as he visibly had to shove back his anger. “There’s a hidden exit. He wanted to make sure he wasn’t followed to a meeting. I have no idea where he was going after he left. I swear on my honor.”

  Jayce didn’t scent a lie, and Ferguson swearing on his honor was a big deal for vampires and shifters alike.

  “Is there anything else relevant about Arthur we need to know? Anything at all? I don’t want to come back here.” Jayce’s voice was low. Because if this male held something back, the next time Jayce returned, he’d make good on his promise to burn the place down. As the enforcer for his region, he could never appear weak, always had to back up his words with action. He didn’t utter threats. He delivered promises.

  “No, but I will show you to the room so you can see the exit. I believe it’s currently occupied but I can have my staff relocate whoever is in there.” His voice was butter-smooth politeness now as he looked at both Jayce and Kat.

  His acquiescence was slightly nauseating. Jayce’s wolf had been all geared up for a fight.

  He kept his expression neutral. It was occupied, all right. He wouldn’t reveal to Arthur that he knew the occupants of the room. If he needed someone to infiltrate the club again, Niko, Natalia and Aldric could return undetected.

  Kat stood, even as Jayce moved to put his body between hers and Ferguson’s. He didn’t think the vampire was foolish enough to try to attack her, but Jayce’s wolf was agitated right now. He didn’t like that she’d given away who she was.

  His aura is all muddy. A mix of reds and brown.

  Jayce gritted his teeth, didn’t respond along their telepathic link. Kat saw auras when she looked at people. It was part of her seer gift. Red was often anger and brown could represent fear. The two colors made sense.

  “Lead the way,” he ordered the male.

  Why did you do that? Anger growled in his telepathic link to Kat as they followed the vampire.

  Kat linked her hand through his arm, her grip possessive. Because I know you don’t like hurting people in front of me. And that guy was about to get his face bashed in. It doesn’t bother me, even if you think it does. But I hurt when you’re in distress. If I can save you even a minute’s worth of pain, I’ll do it. I’m your mate. I get to take care of you. So don’t argue with me.

  His throat tightened so much he couldn’t even respond telepathically for a moment. Until her, he hadn’t known this kind of love was possible. It had changed him. You make it hard to be angry at you.

  He felt her pleasure along their link, like the sweetest, softest caress against his senses. He couldn’t wait to get her back to the B&B, to show her exactly what she meant to him.

  Chapter 11

  Natalia tried not to fidget as they waited for Kat and Jayce in the SUV. Aldric had texted Jayce to tell him they’d found a secret exit, and it turned out he and Kat were heading out that same way.

  After exiting through the tunnel, they’d found nothing in that warehouse. Not even a lone homeless person. If Natalia had to guess, it was because the owner of the sex club monitored it, at least occasionally. They hadn’t discovered any security cameras in the building but that didn’t mean they weren’t there.

  “I see them,” Aldric murmured from the driver’s seat, starting the SUV’s engine. She was sitting in the front with him only to let Kat and Jayce sit together—and because Niko hadn’t wanted to sit in front with Aldric.

  Moments later the two of them slid into the backseat after Aldric stopped beside them on the sidewalk. He was moving again before they’d settled in.

  “What did that dick say?” Aldric asked, steering smoothly down the street.

  Natalia tried not to notice the flex of his arm muscles or his intoxicating scent. If she let her emotions get away from her, she’d get all turned on by him and everyone in the vehicle would know it. That was beyond embarrassing. She’d already had to keep herself in check in the club. All those sights and scents had been overwhelming. She wasn’t used to being around that many new people or in such an enclosed space. She’d seen her share of naked bodies, considering she was a shifter, but…she’d never witnessed people doing so many different things to each other. Seeing all that had been erotic. Combined with the feel of Aldric’s hand on her back, she’d been ready to turn into his arms and rub up against him.

  Her wolf wasn’t happy with her right now.

  But she was still keeping an emotional distance from him. Even if she could be professional for this job, it didn’t mean she had to let him back into her life.r />
  “He gave me the video footage we need, but aside from that, he doesn’t know anything other than Arthur wanted to use his club as a way to leave undetected on the way to a meeting. Ferguson didn’t seem to think Arthur was particularly worried he was being followed. He was just being cautious. Dickhead doesn’t know who he was meeting with, either.”

  “I got some names from Ursula. Potential enemies of both Arthur and Darius. Combined with the list of people we already have who’re most likely to want an alliance between the Kinley pack and Clifton coven to fail, there are overlapping names. I’ve also got some new names from Ursula, vampires who know about Constance and Darius. Names that weren’t on Constance’s list.”

  “You think Constance left names off intentionally?” Natalia asked. She hadn’t met the shifter female and had no way to gauge if she was trustworthy.

  Aldric shook his head. “I don’t think the shifter princess left the names off her own list. I don’t think she realizes these vamps know of her relationship.”

  “You want to start with the vampires who are privy to their relationship?” Jayce asked.

  Aldric nodded. “Combined with what I’ve already got, the list isn’t long. I can knock out most of it tonight.”

  “Natalia, you want to go with Aldric? You two work well together and you put people at ease,” Jayce said.

  Natalia’s instinct was to say hell no, but she nodded. This job was important to her. She was an adult and could work with Aldric, at least right now. Finding out who had taken the two vampires, and stopping a powerful coven and pack from going to war was important to all their people. She wouldn’t let her personal feelings get in the way of that. “Of course.”

  Jayce nodded and turned to Niko and Kat, talking about the way they would divide up the other names. She tuned them out even as she tried to squash the annoying thrill of her wolf that she’d get to spend time alone with Aldric.

  Traitorous bitch, she grumbled to herself. We are not happy with him right now. From the time she was a cub, her wolf and human side had always been as one, in agreement on everything.

  Until now.

  Her wolf wanted to jump Aldric, to completely lose control with the male, with skin-on-skin contact. And Natalia mainly wanted to punch him in the face.

  * * *

  “Niko is so different than the last few vampires we talked to. All the vampires I’ve met, actually—except Larissa. Do you know why?” she asked Aldric a couple hours later. She didn’t know much about vampires. Even in college she hadn’t met any.

  It was just her and Aldric now, and though she was angry at him, she wasn’t going to drive around in silence. They’d already visited three of the twelve vampires on his list so far. They were making good progress. It helped that the coven members lived in the same exclusive neighborhood.

  “That’s…a complex answer. One on one, vamps are just as different as shifters or humans. If a vamp was an asshole when they were turned, they’re simply an asshole vampire instead of an asshole human. This isn’t scientific, but many vampires view humans as food. I think it skews the way they look at the world, compared to the way shifters do. Humans aren’t prey to us.”

  “I never thought about it like that.”

  He shrugged. “Another theory is that vamps tend to attract like-minded people to them.”

  “So assholes are going to create assholes? Is that what you mean?” Most vampires were turned, though the most powerful were bloodborn. For vampires to procreate was incredibly rare and those who were born vampires were powerful beyond measure.

  “More or less.”

  “Larissa’s not like that though.”

  “I’ve met many vampires and I can say that she and Niko are anomalies. Her especially, given her power level.”

  Natalia liked the powerful vampire who’d mated with one of her packmates. Though she could admit the female’s powers were a little terrifying. As the daughter of Vlad the Impaler, it was to be expected though. “Did you know the Brethren asked her to join them again?” They’d asked once before almost six months ago and Larissa had said no.

  Aldric rolled his eyes. “No, but I’m not surprised. They’ll keep asking until they think she really means no.”

  “You don’t think she does?”

  “I think…she’d be a good addition to the group. And it would create a link between The Council and the Brethren since she’s mated to a shifter. A connection like that will only be good for our kind. And for your pack.”

  “That’s not exactly an answer, but yeah, I don’t see a downside to her joining them. I think she might actually consider it in a few years. But she’s just been reunited with her mate. I don’t blame her for not wanting to take on a bunch of political bullshit.” The woman had been in a virtual coma for decades, separated from her mate. She had a right to live her life.

  “This is the next place on the list,” Aldric said, pulling into a driveway of another huge home. He put the vehicle in park.

  She wasn’t sure why vampires needed so much damn space when they didn’t tend to mate and have cubs like shifters did. “Their homes are ridiculous.”

  He snorted. “It’s a vampire thing. I don’t get it either.”

  Being with him like this, and talking like they used to, was a slap of icy water in her face. She didn’t want to fall into the trap of relaxing with him, of letting him in any more than she already had. She would be professional, but that didn’t mean she could let her guard down with him. She had to remember that.

  “Oh, I got something for you.” He opened the center console to reveal a bag of cheddar popcorn. One of her favorites.

  “Thank you.” The words came out stilted, awkward. Maybe she couldn’t do this, couldn’t work with him. Yeah, she was an adult, but she wasn’t a robot. The Aldric who’d been her friend had always plied her with her favorite snacks on their stakeouts, had teased her about her love of Lifetime movies. “Aldric, I…” Trailing off, she wasn’t sure how to continue. She didn’t want to argue with him, but she was still hurting deep inside.

  “I’m so fucking sorry for everything, Natalia.” His words were raspy and when she met his gray-green eyes she could see raw pain there.

  It wasn’t the time or place but… “What exactly are you sorry for?” she demanded, the thin grasp on her emotions shredding.

  “I’m sorry for cutting you out of my life.” His voice was ragged, his expression miserable. “That last morning at your house, I…” He cleared his throat. “I’m sorry for hurting you.”

  Truth was in every word, but she needed real answers. “Why did you do it?” Tears stung her eyes and even though she hated the show of weakness, she couldn’t pretend to be unaffected. He’d shredded her apart. She’d recently lost her parents, cousins and other packmates to a mass murderer. Then her own sister had almost been killed by a psychopathic vampire. Aldric’s leaving had been like pouring acid on her already bruised heart. On a completely different level. Deeper, because it had been from Aldric, because he’d made the damn choice to leave her.

  “I got scared.”

  She laughed at the ludicrousness of his words. She couldn’t imagine him afraid of anything. “Of what?”

  “You.” He scrubbed a hand over the back of his neck but held her gaze. “I wanted to take you right up against the front door,” he growled out.

  His words ignited a firestorm inside her. He said it like it was a bad thing. But the thought of him losing control, taking her the way her body craved… Nope. She ruthlessly shoved back all those thoughts. Even letting her mind travel down that path meant she was going to get way too turned on. And he’d scent it. Her throat was too tight to respond but luckily he continued.

  “I acted like a fucking coward. I’ve been roaming for centuries and you’re one of the first people I let into my life. You’re one of the sweetest females I’ve ever known. I…I don’t deserve your friendship, but I’m asking for a second chance. And I’m asking for your forgiveness.”r />
  Friendship? Her tears dried at that word. Swallowing hard, she didn’t respond right away as she tried to get her thoughts together. When it came down to it, she had a feeling he’d never get over his dead mate. He hadn’t come out and said it, but all he was asking for right now was friendship—after he’d admitted his sexual attraction to her. He’d never be free of his past and she simply couldn’t wait and hope for anything more. It wasn’t like he ever talked about his dead mate either. So she had no idea what was going on in his head.

  Pining after someone who could never give her what she needed was too painful, and fuck that—she deserved to come first in her mate’s life. Now it was glaringly clear that Aldric didn’t want to want her sexually, he just wanted what they’d had before. Simple, platonic friendship. The knowledge made her stomach tighten. And the truth was, she didn’t freaking trust him anymore. What if he panicked again and decided she wasn’t important to him anymore? Nope.

  “I do forgive you.” Because he was sincere and she simply couldn’t hold a grudge. Not when it was clear he was hurting. “But I don’t know if we can ever go back to what we had. It comes down to trust, you know? After this job, I think maybe… I think I don’t want to work with you again. And…I can’t be friends with you.” The words came out raspy, but they needed to be said.

  It hurt too much.

  He nodded, his jaw tight. His eyes went wolf, making it impossible for her to read him.

  Multiple lights in front of the house flicked on, drawing their attention to it. Yeah, sitting out in a vampire’s driveway and having this conversation was probably not the best timing.

  “You ready?” she asked, opening her door. She was desperate to escape the confining vehicle, and the way his scent wrapped around her made her crazy.

  Wordlessly he followed suit and they headed up the stone walkway to the ornate front door.

  Locking all of her emotions up tight, Natalia mentally prepared for another vampire meeting. It was time to work, not feel sorry for herself.