Caleb

by McCarty, Sarah

  “Caleb.”

  Her whisper reached out to him. He threaded his hands into her hair, his breath sawing in and out of his lungs. “Are you all right?”

  Her head dropped into the support of his hand. Her lids dipped over her eyes. She looked sleepy, sated, and hungry. “Very pleasantly bruised.”

  He’d hurt her. “Shit.”

  Soft hands on his wrists stopped his instinctive withdrawal. “Stay in me.”

  “I’m too much.”

  Now that passion had faded he could feel the intimate discomfort that edged on her satisfaction. He let her legs drop to the floor.

  “You’re perfect.” Her mouth grazed his chest. “I’m hungry.” His cock, which should have been spent, jerked in interest. Allie’s laugh breathed across his ultrasensitive skin, setting his cock to dancing within her again. Caleb pressed her face to his pectorals, trying to ignore his body’s renewed interest. “Feed.”

  “You don’t have enough.”

  She was his mate, she carried his child within her, he would always have enough. “I’ll feed later.”

  “You’re sure?”

  He’d never been more sure of anything. “Yes.”

  Her bite was a leisurely exploration. Her lingering feeding reflected the sated state of her body. Hot, slow, and as arousing as hell. His cock swelled and throbbed. Her hips rocked on his. “Jesus, Allie.”

  She withdrew her fangs from his chest long enough to whisper, “Like this.”

  She rocked her hips on his, massaging him gently, delivering pleasure with her body, inside and out. “Come for me like this, slow and sweet while I feed.”

  Her teeth sank back into his chest, and he sank into the sensuality of the moment, giving her control, letting her take them both over the edge with the tenderness that was so much a part of her, anchoring himself on the emotion pouring out of her, out of them. Coming on a sigh as she shuddered around him, filling her anew with his seed as she closed the wound on his chest with her tongue, giving her more when she cupped his face in her hands, giving her every last bit of him as her subconscious reached out to him in a delicate truth he knew she didn’t want him to know.

  I love you.

  23

  THE door to the kitchen swung open. Allie leapt off his lap with a screech, yanking at her skirt. He got to his feet more slowly, scanning with his senses for the only thing that would have had Derek breaking into the kitchen despite his orders to keep out. He didn’t find anything he didn’t expect. Derek’s gaze dropped to his open pants. The right side of his mouth quirked up. “Sorry.”

  Across the room Allie had her skirt down and her legs pressed tightly together, looking embarrassed and furious. With him, the were, or herself, he didn’t know. Derek pointed to the window with the end of his rifle. “We’ve got company.”

  Caleb finished buttoning his pants. “How many?”

  “At least forty.”

  “Have they breached the defenses?”

  “Like they were butter.”

  “Then they’re not were.”

  “No. I think it’s safe to say Vincent’s entourage has arrived.”

  “Shit.”

  Allie’s gasp drew his eyes. Her spine was straight and her hands were fisted at her side, chin up and ready to take on anything. She was going to need every bit of that spirit. They were badly outnumbered.

  “Least the battle will be short.”

  Caleb snorted. Derek did have a way with words. “It’s going to be hell between now and daylight.”

  But if they lasted until daylight they had surprises of their own they could throw into the mix.

  “How many men do we have?”

  Derek tipped his hat at Allie. “I think your buns are burning, ma’am.” As soon as Allie dove for the stove, he murmured, “Twenty-five,” too low for Allie to hear,

  He hid his surprise. Twenty-five meant Derek’s entire pack was fighting on the Johnson side, which meant a lot of weres were going to die tonight. He appreciated the thought, but it was a hell of a sacrifice for a pack leader to make. “This isn’t your fight.”

  “It became ours the minute Vincent’s gang chose to ignore pack protection.” Derek crossed to the window and pulled the shade back. “Pack protection is held very dear by my kind.”

  “Friendship is held dear by mine.”

  Derek smiled. “Maybe not your kind, but you and your brothers are damn near wolf in your devotion to friends. We’re thinking that line of belief should be preserved.”

  Caleb wished he could turn down the offer, but he couldn’t. A year ago the brothers would have welcomed a fight to the death, but times had changed. Life had changed. He glanced over at Allie who had her back to them, working on something at the counter. He had a future, and if he did, his brothers could, too. “We appreciate it.”

  “You can owe me.”

  “Anything you need. Any time.”

  Derek nodded. An explosion echoed in the distance.

  “Does Slade have any of those sun guns made up yet?” Caleb asked.

  “Ten.”

  Damn. He’d been hoping for more. “Pass them out to the weres.”

  He didn’t want any more of his friends to die.

  “Slade already handled that.”

  He should have expected it. The one thing the Johnsons knew was how to plan a battle. “Good.”

  He looked at the high-powered rifle in Derek’s hands and at the shotgun slung over his shoulder. “You didn’t take one?”

  “Nah. Sun guns are for sissies.”

  Allie turned from the counter, a tray of bear claws stacked two high, dripping with white icing. She walked toward them, her eyes unnaturally bright in her pale face. She walked straight up to Derek and shoved the bonanza at him. “They’re not burnt.”

  The were’s eyebrows rose.

  She licked her lips, glanced at the window and then his gun. “Thank you for staying.”

  He slung his rifle over his shoulder and took the offering. “Shoot, no need for thanks. It’s been decades since we’ve had a good fight.”

  Allie opened her mouth, glanced at Derek’s face, shook her head, and bit her lip. Derek’s face softened as he saw the stress on hers. “We won’t let them break up your marriage.”

  “We’re not married.”

  Derek’s dark gold gaze cut to Caleb. “Hate to be contrary—”

  “You live to be contrary,” Allie interrupted.

  Derek shrugged. “Be that as it may, there’s no one on this compound who considers you single, and seeing how easily you were caught, you probably ought to be grateful for it.”

  The wild rush of color over Allie’s face would have been amusing if not for the howling that commenced in the dark beyond the window.

  Derek set the tray on the table. “Looks like we’re on.”

  Caleb grabbed Allie’s arm. “Yup.”

  Derek ducked his left shoulder. The shotgun dropped to his hand. He tossed it to Caleb. Another quick shrug had a belt of shells coming right behind. Caleb caught both. “This should hold you until you get her settled.”

  “Thanks.” The gun felt good in his hands. Natural. He let the feeling spread, welcoming the cold, blank, calculating anger and internal stillness that always took him before a battle.

  “With any luck, I’ll be adding the cost of it to your bill.” Derek disappeared through the door, two bear claws in hand.

  They needed to get going, too. Caleb took Allie’s hand. “C’mon.”

  “Where are we going?”

  “To get you safe.” No matter what happened tonight, Allie and his child would be safe.

  He pulled Allie into the hall. To the left he saw Derek clearing the bottom of the stairs. Allie headed after him. “No. This way.”

  She frowned but didn’t argue, just followed. Slowly. Too slow. The sounds of battle grew stronger. Caleb dragged Allie in his wake. When she stumbled, he yanked her up against him, tucking her under his arm and racing down the stairs. Above
them, glass shattered. He spun, tossing Allie into the corner, hoping she had the reflexes to save herself. He cocked the shotgun, dropping onto his back as the creature screamed a bone-chilling war cry, landing on the stair above, jumping back as Caleb brought the barrel up.

  Allie’s scream blended with the attackers as he pulled the trigger. Blood sprayed in all directions. The creature flew back from the force of the blast and his own momentum. Caleb sprang after him, ripping his talons through the man’s neck, severing tendons and vertebrae as he went, decapitating him.

  “Oh, God.”

  Allie was staring at him, horror in her eyes. He knew he looked like the monster he was. Vampire and outlaw in one. He didn’t have time for soft words. He leapt over the broken glass, landing by her side. Pulling her hands away from her mouth, too late seeing the blood on his own. “We’ve got to go.”

  She swallowed hard, and nodded, either unable or unwilling to take her eyes off the dead vamp.

  “He was so young.”

  “He was trying to kill us.”

  She nodded again. One foot moving in the direction he wanted, still looking over her shoulder. “You took off his head.”

  “Just guaranteeing he doesn’t get up again.”

  Another hard swallow followed by another of those nods indicating an understanding he knew didn’t exist. Her free hand went to her stomach. “If you’re going to get sick, you’ll have to do it on the run.”

  Her chin came up under the lash of his tone. “I won’t get sick.”

  “Good.” He opened the bedroom door at the end of the hall and pulled her through before closing it behind him. Outside, howls blended with preternatural war cries and above it all, the Johnson brothers’ battle cry. The house shook as something exploded nearby again. A scuff of feet on the wood floor in the hall said they had company.

  Get in the closet, get down, and shield yourself, he hissed in a mental sotto voice.

  Allie’s confusion was palpable. Caleb didn’t have time to explain. He just opened the door and shoved her in before closing it quietly and turning to face what came through the door.

  These weren’t like the young, too-eager vamps that first attacked. Experienced, they slammed the door against the wall with nothing but a lethal spray of bullets. Caleb dove to the side an instant before they punctured the wall where he had been standing. He rolled and came to his feet. A split second later, three intruders hurtled into the room.

  He caught the first by the sleeve, sending him into the wall, kicking out with his boot, into the midsection of the second, missing as the man flipped, following the kick through on a low spin that took him under the other’s counterattack, loading a chamber in the shotgun as he came down in a crouch. The enemy were just as fast, finding their feet and flanking him. They spread out in a deliberate threat. One blond, one brunette. Both butt ugly. He waited, shotgun primed. He just needed an opportunity.

  “Where’s the woman?”

  “Go to hell.”

  “You, my friend, are the one who’ll be going there. There’s a new day dawning for vampires, and you and your kind won’t be part of it.”

  “Then neither will my mate.”

  “Oh, she will. She’s the key. Whoever holds her holds the power.”

  “For what?”

  “To rule, my ignorant hick. To rule.”

  “Who the hell would find a thrill in ruling a bunch of jackasses like you?” He slid to the right. The second vamp moved with him, stepping in front of the closet door.

  Stay quiet, Allie.

  “Just because you and those like you—”

  “There are more like me?”

  The blond vamp didn’t appear to appreciate the interruption. His thin lip curled in a sneer, revealing his fangs and the traces of blood on them. Blood from one of Caleb’s people. Ice-cold rage filled Caleb. The son of a bitch was going to die twice as nasty for that.

  “As in any society, there’s wheat and chaff.”

  “Naturally, you’re the wheat.”

  “Of course.”

  The man’s smugness begged a set down. “But not the leader.”

  “Not yet.”

  Naturally, he had aspirations. “Not ever. The way I see it, if they sent you after me, they must see you as expendable.”

  Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the second man move. He swiveled the muzzle in his direction. He really hoped the asshole figured his reflexes could outmatch a bullet. The blond’s eyes flicked over his shoulder. The other man inclined his head. The slight hiss was the only warning he had.

  Caleb dropped as an arrow imbedded in the wall across the room. He blocked the brown-haired vamp’s attack with his arm, going down under the force of the hit. Claws dug into his ribs. Fangs slashed for his throat. A shadow deeper than the twilight of the room flashed overhead. He jerked to the side. Talons embedded in the floor by his ear.

  “Shit!”

  He planted his boot in the stomach of the guy on top of him, and heaved just as the blond vamp cried, “Stand back!”

  The two vamps leapt away. The hammer of a gun cocked. He had one second to make a decision. He didn’t even need half that. He gathered all his energy and sent a private message to Allie, imprinting in her mind the secret passage, and the path to the safe cave a second before the gun went off.

  The explosion was deafening in the small room. Caleb jumped to the side, knowing it was too late even as he emptied the shotgun in the direction of the shot. The agony never came. The expected bullet never hit. The man to his left went down in a gurgling scream. He stood there trying to figure out how he was still standing. And then he looked up. The closet door was open. On the other side of it, Allie stood, terror and anger twin companions in her expression. Her fingers gripped the doorknob like it was the last train out of hell. On the other side, the blond vamp got up from where she’d knocked him with the heavy door, swearing as he brought his gun around.

  “Close the door!”

  Allie didn’t move. Caleb was on the vamp before he could fire, driving his talons straight into the blond’s stomach. The soft tissue offered no more resistance than the vamp’s throat as Caleb bit deep, tearing hard, trapping his scream there for all time. Blood filled his mouth, his vision.

  The other men came at him like hell on fire. There was no time for finesse. Only survival. He went down between their combined weights, the gun sliding across the floor. He didn’t go quietly. He slashed and bit, putting all his muscle and determination into buying Allie the precious time she needed to escape.

  Run.

  Again, he sent her the image of the passage and the safe home. Again, he felt her resistance.

  Go!

  A blow to his chest drove the air from his lungs. Blood spewed in a red arc. Allie’s angry scream sent fresh adrenaline pumping through his body. He threw the men off, snarling as he found his feet, placing himself between the closet and the bleeding vampires. They snarled, baring their fangs, but they didn’t charge. The likely reason why didn’t give him a snuggly feeling. More must be coming.

  He backed into the door, closing it with his weight as he gathered his reserves. He hit resistance before it clicked shut.

  “Caleb?”

  “Damn it, Allie. Get our baby to safety.”

  “I can’t leave you like this.” Her hand pressed into his back.

  “You will or we all die.”

  “I want better choices.”

  There weren’t any. “Go, baby.”

  “Promise me you won’t die.”

  Even she had to know he couldn’t promise that.

  “Allie . . .”

  “Promise me, damn it, or I’m going to stage a sit-in right here in this pool of blood.”

  Son of a bitch, she would. “I promise.”

  A brief squeeze of her fingers, a softly whispered “I’m holding you to that,” and the closet door closed. The locking mechanism whirred and settled with a satisfying thunk. Too late, the vamps realized the closet
wasn’t a trap, but an escape. He smiled as the two men snarled their fury.

  “Looks like it’s just you and me, gentlemen.”

  ALLIE touched the cool wood as the door closed. On the other side, Caleb, wounded and bloody, battled to buy her time. Her other hand went to her stomach. He wanted her and their baby to live. She wanted him to live. Somehow, that all had to work out. She absolutely refused to go through this much hell to end up with nothing on the other side.

  Behind her, the passage stretched dark and threatening. Nothing but stale air and gloom barred her path to freedom. There was no telling what was on the other side. According to the information Caleb sent her, the tunnel dropped her off in the middle of D’Nally territory. She shuddered. The D’Nallys were not the people she wanted to meet up with today.

  So little light illuminated the space, her night vision was almost useless. She bit her lip and stared a second at the gray void. It felt so wrong to leave Caleb there. So wrong to run.

  If you love me, run.

  There had been a mental emphasis on “if” as he’d glanced over her shoulder. Morphed, and bloody, standing big and strong, fighting because it was the right thing. Because his vamp side needed her. But not because of any admitted love for her.

  How dare he have doubts when she couldn’t do anything about them. She turned from the door, keeping her fingers on the wood for as long as possible, maintaining that fragile connection until the last second, and then she ran. As fast as she could into the darkness, grateful for the extra speed being a vampire gave her, keeping one hand on the wall for balance, following the tunnel down and then up, her breath straining to keep up with the demands she put on her muscles. Even with her enhanced endurance, she didn’t like up. Too taxing. By the time she came to the rock that blocked the entrance, she was winded. She pressed her nose against the crevice and breathed the cool night air deeply.