Books 1 & 2 of Connor and Sami: Operation Underworld Trilogy

by Carly Fall

  A moment later, Pedro faked left, then swung his leg out, his foot connecting with the side of Connor’s head.

  The lamp sailed through the air and broke into pieces as it hit the wall. Connor’s neck snapped to the side and he plowed into the nightstand, his head crashing into the wall and actually leaving an indentation. Pedro loomed over him, his breath coming out in rushed huffs. Connor tried to stand, but fell against the table again.

  At that moment, Sami’s whole world seemed to stop. Blood trickled down the side of Connor’s face as he shook his head. He leaned against the nightstand, and she could see he’d become disoriented. Even if she could walk right up to him and place the knife in his palm, he wouldn’t be able to hit the side of a building, let alone Pedro.

  Her right hand, the one where she held the knife, began to tingle. She looked down and saw her Ko brightly glowing. Waves of energy emanated from the hilt up her arm, landing squarely in her chest, causing her heart to thunder against her sternum.

  “Come on, tough guy, let’s go,” Pedro yelled as Connor struggled to get to his feet.

  Ending Pedro would be up to her, or she’d lose Connor. If he was killed and she didn’t act now while Pedro stood with his back to her, she may not make it through the night either.

  All the sadness and anger at her parents’ death seemed to come to the surface at that very moment. In her eyes, not only had Pedro killed her father, but her mother, too. Because of her father’s death, her mother had not wanted to live. She could avenge both of them right here and now, and save both herself and Connor.

  A silent calm overcame her as she walked toward Pedro. She no longer heard his heavy breathing, or his taunting of Connor. The whole room seemed to disappear as she focused on his back. Connor vanished from her sight behind the width of Pedro’s shoulders while the knife hilt radiated heat, causing her whole body to warm. It did not burn her, but seemed to physically drive her toward her target.

  She raised the weapon above her head as images of her mother and father passed before her eyes. The pain and fury swirling within her erupted into a gush of tears, and a primal scream ripped from her soul as she gripped the knife with both hands. Using every ounce of force and energy she could find within, she plunged the blade into Pedro’s back.

  The shriek emanating from him overrode her own as his body bowed and he reached behind him for the weapon. She stepped away as a low hissing sound met her ears, and she watched in fascination as blood seeped against his shirt, which seemed to be disintegrating before her eyes.

  Pedro continued to yell, the noise like nothing she had heard before. She imagined it could resemble a wounded animal out in the wild as it fought for its life.

  The shirt disappeared quickly, the arms, neck, and the front of it the only thing left. Pedro spun around in a circle like a dog chasing its tail, blood flying all over the walls, carpet, bed, and Connor. She’d buried the knife right between his shoulder blades, so he couldn’t reach it. Dry heaves wrenched her throat as she realized his skin melted away from his bones, the smell of burning flesh permeating the air.

  She’d now almost backed out of the room. Connor seemed to finally get his wits about him, and moved to his feet. They both watched as Pedro yelled and twisted. Each time the knife buried in his back came into view, it seemed to her more of his flesh had been eaten away.

  After a few moments, he sank to his knees, and Connor moved behind him and removed the blade with quick efficiency. His Ko lit up like a beacon in the dark night. He stood behind Pedro, yanking his hair and exposing his throat. With a fast movement, he sliced the knife across Pedro’s jugular.

  Blood spurted from his artery all over the already crimson room.

  With Pedro finally silenced, the only sounds in the room were the hissing of disintegrating flesh and her and Connor’s heavy breathing. When Pedro’s head detached from the body, she placed her hands on her knees and vomited all over the floor.

  “Sami,” Connor said as he limped over to her. “Let’s get you out of here.”

  She allowed him to lead her into the kitchen, where she threw up again in the sink. The smell of burning flesh seemed to grow thicker and clogged her throat.

  “Have some water,” Connor murmured from her side as he handed her a glass.

  She glanced over at his crimson face, and she realized she had no idea whose blood covered him, and she supposed it was a mixture of his own and Pedro’s.

  Looking away, she concentrated on taking some deep breaths and drinking a few sips of water. She had to get it together.

  Had she ever seen anything so gruesome? She recalled Connor using the knife on a vampire in Los Angeles, but she hadn’t witnessed the end result. As a vampire, she would think the blood and gore wouldn’t bother her, but it obviously did. Bracing her hands on the counter and shutting her eyes, she tried to block out all the images of the past few moments, and failed miserably.

  She startled as Connor laid a hand on her back. “Are you okay?”

  At the moment, no, but she didn’t feel like she would upchuck her spleen any longer.

  “I’m getting there.”

  He chuckled, and she wondered why his reaction seemed so calm.

  “Why aren’t you disgusted by all this?” she asked, turning to him.

  He shrugged as he tore off a paper towel and turned on the sink. He ran it under the water, then scrubbed his face and hands.

  “Marine. I’ve seen gore before.”

  She shook her head. “That was just awful.”

  “I know,” he said softly. “But you finally have that vengeance for your parents’ death you wanted so badly.”

  She did. How many times had she imagined herself killing the vampires in Los Angeles? Hundreds. She’d swoop in like Dracula and eviscerate them all.

  Now that she’d practically done that, she couldn’t stop her stomach from flipping and flopping.

  “Hey,” Connor said, turning her to face him. He cupped her cheeks with both hands and grinned. “I’m going to take a shower, then I want you to. We need to call Harper and get a cleaning crew in here.”

  “Then what?” she asked, staring into his eyes, one of them bruising and swelling. They seemed to be a little dilated, and she wondered if he had a concussion.

  “Then, we get the fuck out of here.”

  She nodded, glad someone was able to think clearly.

  He dropped his hands and turned, walking into his bedroom.

  Alone in the kitchen, she stared at the door leading to the pretty princess room that now looked like a scene from a horror movie. Panic gathered in her chest as she imagined Pedro somehow coming back to life and walking into the kitchen, his head hanging off his shoulders by its spine.

  She backed away until she reached the fridge, unable to tear away her gaze from the doorway.

  Connor had left the knife on the counter, its glint catching her attention out of the corner of her eye. She reached over and grabbed it, holding the bloody blade to her chest. Glancing down, she looked for her Ko to glow, but it didn’t. She recalled Connor telling her at the Gad that it would only glow when she fought a vampire. Hopefully, it was a sign that Pedro had truly met his demise, and she wouldn’t need to stab him again.

  Her gaze darted from the front foyer to her bedroom. What if Pedro had reinforcements? What if they showed up at any moment?

  Slowly padding over to the front door, she studied the lock. She’d been so stupid to leave it open, but Connor had flipped the deadbolt when he got in.

  She moved back to the kitchen, where she could keep an eye on her bedroom and the foyer. At this point, she’d give just about anything to get out of this apartment. What had once been an oasis of comfort had turned into a house of horrors. She tried to breathe quietly so she could hear every sound around her; the hum of the refrigerator, the far-away sound of the shower spray hitting the porcelain, the click of the water heater as it turned on, but then that damn rain started pelting against the windows and it drown
ed out almost everything.

  Sinking to the floor, she held the knife out in front of her and shut her eyes. She’d never been so terrified in her life. Pedro was dead. He wouldn’t be coming back to life, but his ghost seemed to be slowly permeating every space of the penthouse. She smelled his burning skin and felt his foul presence surrounding her.

  “Sami?”

  She nearly stabbed Connor as he crouched next to her.

  “Hey,” he said, holding up both hands. “Relax.”

  As the knife clanked on the floor, her throat now tightened with tears.

  “I’m sorry,” she whispered as sobs wracked her body.

  “It’s okay, Sami,” he murmured as he sat next to her and wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

  She didn’t know how long she cried as she buried her head in his chest, but Connor’s strong grasp on her, his fresh, out-of-the-shower scent, and his soothing voice helped her regain control. Gripping his shirt, she replayed over and over again how she thought she would lose him as Pedro overpowered him.

  “I thought you were going to die,” she whispered.

  He remained silent for a moment before speaking. “Nah. I got my sexy vampire watching my back.”

  Raising her gaze to his, she noted the large gash in on his forehead that had stopped bleeding, and also that one pupil continued to look bigger than the other.

  She furrowed her brow as his lids began to flutter.

  “Connor?”

  His grasp on her loosened as his head slowly tilted to the left, and he fell away from her, his head hitting the tile.

  She got to her knees and crawled over to him, shaking his shoulders. “Connor?”

  She hoped he played a trick on her, but there wasn’t a response.

  “Connor!”

  Nothing.

  She stood and almost fell face first into the counter when her feet became tangled up in her robe. That would have been perfect—both her and Connor out cold on the kitchen floor.

  Finally getting upright, she reached for his cell phone that he’d thrown on the counter. Hers was in the bedroom with Pedro, and she wouldn’t go in there unless she absolutely needed.

  Fumbling with it, she realized he had access protected with his thumbprint. She glanced over at the bedroom where her phone was, and her stomach curled thinking about going in there. Enough of dead bodies and blood already.

  Falling to her knees next to Connor, she reached for his hand and placed his thumb over the indicated mark.

  It immediately opened, and she dialed Harper.

  “Hey, sexy man. How can I be of service?” Harper purred.

  “It’ Sami, Harper.”

  A beat of silence ensued, then Harper said, “I told you I’d call you back.”

  She heard the irritation in the woman’s voice.

  “I know, but there’s been some … issues.”

  Harper sighed. “Oh, no. I hate issues. Tell me.”

  Sami glanced over at Connor. She didn’t want to upset Harper with his current state because she still doubted Connor had read the situation right. It could be one of those ‘man’ things where they don’t even realize the girl is madly in love with him. “Maybe I should speak to Dedou.”

  “Then I can run down two flights of stairs and get her in a few hours. You’ve never seen that woman after being woken up before nine a.m. It’s not a pretty sight, and one I won’t endure again.”

  A standoff.

  She shut her eyes and pinched bridge of her nose.

  Finally, she spoke, her words coming out in a rush. “I have a dead vampire in my bedroom, the walls are covered in blood, and Connor is passed out on the kitchen floor.”

  For the first time, Harper didn’t have anything to say for a moment.

  “Got it. I’ll go wake up Dedou, get directions on what you should do, and call you back.”

  Sami placed the phone on the floor, then lifted Connor’s head and rested it on her lap.

  His breathing seemed to be strong as she watched his chest rise and fall. She ran her hand gently over his head, hoping she didn’t hurt him by doing so.

  It seemed like a small eternity passed by while she sat with Connor in the kitchen, yet all her senses tuned to her bedroom. She couldn’t get past the feeling that Pedro might come back to life, although, if she thought about it logically, she knew it wouldn’t happen. The man’s head was barely connected to his body.

  Finally, the phone rang.

  “Here’s what you need to do. Are you ready to move?”

  Sami shook her head, as if Harper could see her. “No. I’m covered in blood. I’m wearing a robe.”

  “Okay. I won’t ask how you got in that situation. You need to be ready to go in ten minutes. A medical team should be there in the next minute or two to get Connor. They’ll take him out of there, and you will go with them. Now, go get cleaned up.”

  She hesitated, not liking the idea of being separated from Connor.

  “I’ll wait until everyone gets here, then I’ll get in the shower.”

  “Fine,” Harper said with a sigh.

  They waited in silence for a moment, then Harper asked, “How’s tall, dark, and handsome doing?”

  Sami placed her palm on his cheek. “He’s out cold. He got hit in the head pretty hard. I’m hoping it’s nothing serious.”

  “He’s got a head that resembles a concrete wall. He’ll be fine.”

  Just then, a knock sounded at the front door, causing her to gasp.

  “Relax. It’s medical. Go let them in.”

  She lifted Connor’s head, then moved over, gently placing his ear on the tile. Feeling a little better with Harper on the phone, she went to the door.

  Flinging it open, she found two men with CMS on the front of their shirts. Unable to believe how fast they’d arrived, she simply stared at them.

  “Charlie’s Medical Services,” the one on the right said.

  She nodded, recalling Charlie being involved in Operation Underworld.

  “He’s in the kitchen.”

  They moved past her into the apartment, and she sighed in relief as she brought the phone back up to her ear.

  “Get your ass in the shower, Vampy Vamp,” Harper said. “They don’t like to wait around.”

  “What about my other … problem?” she asked, thinking of the body in her bedroom.

  “Don’t worry about that. The sun will rise, and he’ll turn into ash. After that, a clean up crew will be there, and no one will ever know what truly happened.”

  “Thanks, Harper.”

  “Yup.”

  The line went dead, and Sami trailed the medical team into the kitchen.

  One of them looked her over from head to toe, giving her a squeamish feeling and making her think of Pedro’s threats.

  “I’m not even going to ask what happened to you,” he said. “But once we get him on the gurney and take his vitals, we’re out of here. Fifteen minutes, tops.”

  She nodded and rushed into her bedroom, keeping her focus on her task. Getting clothes. Although she saw Pedro’s body out of the corner of her eye, she fought to ignore it. She opened a couple of dresser drawers and pulled out some jeans, a T-shirt, underwear and bra, grabbed her boots, then ran through the living room into Connor’s bedroom.

  She showered quickly and didn’t bother to even try to comb her hair. After slipping on her boots in the kitchen, she followed the medical team as they wheeled Connor out. She had no idea where they were going, but wherever it was had to be better than the destroyed and bloody apartment with the decapitated vampire.

  19

  The medical facility turned out to be a hangar at the airport. To her relief, Connor had woken up halfway through the ambulance ride. At first, he’d seemed a little confused and panicked, which she understood. Once she’d explained where they were and where they were going, he’d relaxed and had seemed to remember everything that happened with Pedro and beforehand. This only reassured her that he had a light concussion
and not something terrible serious.

  Just to be on the safe side, they wanted to give him an MRI. A few hours later, a private plane flew in with a portable MRI machine. Operation Underworld meant business when it came to taking care of its employees.

  When the medical team deemed his concussion as light, they left just as they had come—quickly and efficiently. The plane crew had stayed, and they helped Connor and Sami board. Connor seemed to be fine, but concussions didn’t often show their symptoms, and she worried about him. Once they received clearance for take off, the small engines lifted them into the air, and she finally began to relax. When the flight attendant, Beth, offered her a glass of wine, she greedily accepted it. Connor tried to con a beer from her, but both Sami and Beth shut him down.

  They arrived back at Dedou’s house as exhaustion rolled through Sami. No one greeted them, which she found odd, but not strange enough to investigate. All she wanted was to sleep. With the time zone changes, they’d been up more hours than she cared to count.

  As she and Connor made their way up the stairs to their rooms, she wondered what would happen now. Did they sleep together, or pretend as if nothing had happened? What would Dedou and Charlie think about two of their employees becoming entangled in a relationship? Did they care about mixing business with pleasure?

  Connor stopped at his bedroom door.

  She smiled, feeling as though walking to her own bedroom put miles between them. “I’ll see you later.”

  His brow furrowed, and he reached for her hand. “Where are you going?”

  “To bed,” she answered as he pulled her close.

  His lips met hers for a long, sweet kiss.

  “I’m supposed to be watched for the next twenty-four hours. How are you going to do that if you’re in your own bed?”

  She sighed, her knees wobbling at the kiss. If he wanted her with him, she wouldn’t argue.

  Without another word, he opened the door and led her inside, and she smiled as the feeling of arriving home overcame her.

  She realized for her, home didn’t consist of a place where she kept all her stuff. It was a place where she felt loved, and that was exactly how she felt in Connor’s arms.