Tall, Dark & Heartless: A Pyte/Sentinel Series Novel

by R. L. Mathewson

  If they kept their damn squabbling amongst themselves it would be fine, but they weren't. They were attacking the Sentinels and some of them were uniting for the first time in centuries, to get the job done. Worse, the humans were getting caught in the middle. If they didn't end this shit soon, the humans were going to start questioning a lot of shit they never should have seen.

  He wished the war was his only problem, but it wasn't. About three months ago his younger brother Joshua had been shot while protecting their little brother, Marc. By jumping in front of him, Joshua had also saved the life of a rogue Alpha as well as Marc's life. Kale, the shifter they couldn't seem to get rid of now, who came and went from the compound as he pleased and spent way too much time with his little Munchkin, gave Joshua blood and shoved him and Marc into a tunnel before a group of demons, intent on getting their hands on little Marc, could stop him.

  Ephraim heard Marc's screams for help and found Joshua on the verge of dying and did something he still beat himself up for today, he gave Joshua his blood. It normally wouldn't have been a problem, but his father hadn't known that Joshua already ingested shifter blood. If Ephraim had been a vampire, Joshua would have died the instant the blood mixed with the shifter's blood, but he wasn't.

  His father was a Pyte, a true immortal born of a vampire father who was incapable of dying. As a Pyte his blood was potent enough to only change one person into a Pyte and he'd used that turn on Madison, his wife and Chris' best friend. Joshua would have turned into a slightly stronger vampire, but thanks to the mixture of the blood his brother was......

  Hell, they had no idea what the hell Joshua was now besides bitter and quiet. He drank blood, but he could also eat food and digest it, something his father couldn't do. He could tolerate light, which he wouldn't have been able to do with only his father's blood. During the full moon he became agitated, but didn't shift and he had fangs. The damn things were slightly longer than human canines most of the time, but when he got hungry or agitated the damn things came out.

  They didn't know what the hell they should do with him, but it was clear that he couldn't be allowed to leave the cell he currently occupied in the fourth sublevel of the compound. As long as no one came near him, he was calm. He'd sit on his cot quietly, but if anyone tried to come into the cell he went insane.

  If they couldn't figure out what the hell to do with him soon he'd have no choice but to chain his brother and drag his ass out of here and find a way to keep him locked up at their new estate in upper New York. If his wife, and daughter as well as Madison, his little brother and the twins Madison was due to deliver soon didn't need to get the hell out of here so they could actually leave their home without worry he'd stay. He loved working at the compound and he loved his job as a trainer, but their needs were more important than his and he wanted them happy and safe.

  His precious baby girl's cries thankfully broke through his rather depressing thoughts. He watched as his father stood up, cradling Jessica against his chest as he tried to soothe her.

  "I think it's time for lunch," Ephraim said, chuckling softly. As relieved as he was to see his father smile, he knew it wouldn't last. The moment Ephraim was alone or they were on patrol, he'd go back to beating himself up for what happened to Joshua. It killed him to see his father in pain and he did his best to distract him, but there was only so much he could do. Hell, they needed to figure out how to deal with Joshua or he would never be able to forgive himself.

  "Medic?" the Sentinel croaked weakly from the mat, making Chris and Ephraim roll their eyes. What a pussy.

  Chris was reaching for his precious baby girl when his Sentinel phone chimed. With a sigh he pressed a little kiss to her rosy cheek and pulled out his new phone, a smart phone which Izzy demanded everyone switch over to even though most of them didn't have a clue how to use them. He was still learning how to use the damn thing. Thankfully the basics were pretty much the same. He pressed his thumb in the middle of the large screen and didn't have to wait long before the phone's screen unlocked with a message from his little Munchkin.

  Need you now.

  Even though common sense was arguing that she wasn't demanding sex because she wouldn't send that message via the Sentinel network, his mind still went there. It had been way too long since he slid between his little Munchkin's legs.

  His father tried to hide his chuckle behind a cough, no doubt he could smell the lust pouring off of him, but he didn't care. He needed his Munchkin and as soon as he got his precious baby girl down for a nap and handled Izzy's needs, she was going to handle his.

  "Why don't I take Jessica and feed her?" his father suggested and he could have kissed the man.

  "She gets tired after her afternoon bottle," he reminded his father.

  "I know the drill. Four scoops of formula," he'd rather give his baby girl breast milk, but since Izzy was pregnant again she couldn't breast feed much to his dismay, "warm it, rub her back, walk around with her and make sure she has her pink princess blanket or she won't go to sleep," his father said, pressing kisses to Jessica's nose, making his little girl giggle.

  "Thanks, Dad. I owe you one," he said, giving his little girl another kiss before heading out the door.

  "I plan on collecting when your brothers are born so Madison can get some sleep," Ephraim called after him. Since he'd already planned on doing that, he nodded as he headed out of the training room.

  Five minutes later he opened the door to the IT suite and strolled inside. He ignored the men and women who were busy typing away at computer terminals and the few having heated discussions about which Star Trek was the best. Thankfully they ignored him as well. They'd only tried to pull him into one of their sad little discussions once and that's all it took for them to realize they should never come between him and his mate.

  He paused at the small kitchenette and grabbed a bottle of orange juice from the fridge, ignoring the insane amount of caffeinated beverages that his mate would probably kill for, but wasn't allowed while she was pregnant. Not while she carried his precious baby boy. With a sigh he grabbed a box of Twinkies and bag of peanut butter cups then headed for the door covered with The X-Files posters.

  "You're lucky you're pregnant, woman, or you and I would be coming to blows!" he heard Kale bite out as he opened the door.

  If any other shifter had spoken to his little Munchkin like that he'd already be dead, but his mate had a soft spot for the bastard which meant he had to behave. Then again, he actually liked the guy, not that he would admit that to anyone. He really enjoyed busting the shifter's balls.

  He walked into the room and sighed heavily as he took in the scene before him. Izzy sat in front of the wall of monitors that she somehow kept track of while she made a huge show of finishing off a bite of what appeared to be fudge cake while Kale glared down at her, growling softly.

  "That was my cake, woman," Kale snapped.

  "You left it on the counter for ten seconds," Izzy pointed out with a careless shrug. "You know the rules."

  Yeah, it was sad. These two junk food addicts actually had rules. They came up with their rules three months ago when Kale swung by to visit her and check on Joshua. As far as he could tell, the two of them came up with this idea after Helga, the chef who ran the compound's cafeteria, made the mistake of not baking enough chocolate chip cookies for the two addicts. After that, the two came together and created "The List." They made everyone's life a living hell if anyone got between them and their junk food.

  He was actually surprised to see the shifter. Last he heard the man was in Germany hunting down a rogue Alpha who'd stolen from a Master. Of course he only knew that because the damn man called or texted Izzy at least once a day. If he didn't know the man thought of her as his sister he probably would have said the hell with it and killed the shifter by now.

  "It was only nine seconds and you damn well know it!" Kale sneered. While most women would have probably run screaming, his little Munchkin rolled her eyes and called the man, "A
big baby."

  "Mind if I interrupt?" he asked since he knew from experience that the two of them could keep this up for hours.

  "Fine. I was just heading downstairs to my room anyway," Kale said, throwing Izzy one last glare, but the fact that he bent down and planted a loud kiss on her cheek killed the effect.

  "You don't have a room," Chris reminded him.

  "Of course I do. It's the room with the large flat screen and endless supply of Coke," Kale said, stealing the box of Twinkies and bag of peanut butter cups out of Chris' hand as he headed for the door.

  It didn't really surprise him that the man considered the lockup suite's recroom his, considering the man spent all of his time there when he was supposed to be a prisoner. Now the bastard snuck in and out of the compound anytime he wanted. If he didn't think his little mate had something to do with that he'd be a little nervous about the lapse in security.

  He shoved his worries aside and leaned down to kiss his beautiful mate. She returned the kiss briefly before she pulled back. It was then that he noticed the tension around her eyes. He placed the orange juice on the long counter that served as her desk and kneeled in front of her.

  "Is he okay?" he asked, placing his hands on the large swell of her belly.

  "He's fine. We have another problem though," she said, worrying her bottom lip.

  "What?"

  "Tattletale found a video stream being transmitted twenty minutes ago."

  "What did it find?" he asked, already wondering what her program that learned on its own and could break into anything, found now.

  "This," she said quietly, reaching over to type something. Seconds later a video popped onto the large flat screen that had his stomach dropping.

  "Fuck me......."

  Chapter 10

  Why in the hell had he reacted?

  He should have stayed the hell out of it. A few more seconds and she would have been dead and he would have been freed from this damn hold she had over him. He could have escaped without having to worry about what would happen to her. Right now he could be starting over somewhere and making damn sure never to allow another human into his heart ever again, but he just had to open his fucking eyes, hadn't he?

  When he saw the twisted smile on that sick fuck's face as he shoved Danni down in the water and started pressing the green button down, something in him snapped. In that moment he knew he couldn't allow Danni to die that way. He owed it to that little girl who used to make him smile to make sure that she died as a very old woman in the safety of her bed and surrounded by her family.

  In a matter of seconds he tore the arm that kept shoving her down off and took her in his arms, ready to kill anyone that got in his way. Instead of taking the time to gently lay her on the mattress he should have finished the job and killed the bastard when he had the chance. A mistake he would not make again.

  He kept an eye on the vampire as he stepped into the room. When Greg didn't appear he scented the air, but couldn't detect him so he shifted his attention back on the man as he stepped in front of Danni.

  "If you have a moment, I would like to speak with both of you," he said, watching them with open curiosity. Caine watched as the man's eyes shifted to the tank that was already filling the room with a vile scent.

  "What do you want?" Caine demanded, never taking his eyes off the man. He already noted that the man wasn't holding a remote. After a quick scan of the man's attire, a simple pale blue dress shirt and slacks he didn't believe the man carried one either. The man was either cocky or he wasn't a coward like Greg. Then again, he didn't need a remote as long as the person watching the monitors had one.

  "First," he said, gesturing to the tank, "let's get rid of this."

  While Caine watched, the vampire signaled to the camera. A minute later several vampires cautiously entered the room. When their eyes lingered too long on Danni he growled in warning. That was all it took for them to look away. While two men rolled the tank out another two men made quick work of cleaning the floor with orange scented cleaner. Once it was clean the men left as quickly as they came.

  "I'd like to apologize for Gregory. It seems he has a little anger management issue that we were unaware of," the vampire said, placing his hands in his front pockets as he leaned casually against the wall.

  Caine doubted very much that they were unaware of Greg's hatred of Danni. He also knew why they were receiving the "good cop" routine. When he'd protected Danni he'd proven that she meant something to him and as much as he'd love to deny it, he couldn't. He couldn't lie to himself anymore. He cared too damn much for her and that was going to cost them, but he'd do his damndest to protect her.

  If he managed to get her out of here he planned on getting her the hell away from all of this and setting her up with the life that she deserved. It was the least he could do for the little girl she once was. He'd get her settled so she'd never want for another thing as long as she lived and he would hire extra men to watch out for her. Then he'd leave her to live her life and he'd be free.

  "What do you want?" Danni demanded weakly from behind him.

  The man looked at Danni and frowned. "I'm very sorry for what occurred to you, Danni. I'm afraid Greg went too far. That will not happen again," the vampire promised.

  "Uh huh," Danni said, not sounding like she believed him at all. Smart girl.

  There was no doubt in his mind that they'd go after her again when they realized Caine would not be doing as they asked. He might have decided to protect her, but he would not change her and he sure as hell wouldn't fuck her, but he didn't inform the vampire in front of them about that because he needed to buy them some time to figure out how they were going to get the hell out of here.

  "You have the Master's word on that," the vampire said solemnly.

  He didn't have to look back to know that Danni was rolling her eyes at that little announcement. He knew her well enough to know that she wouldn't believe any of the bullshit this vampire was sprouting. Then again, she had fallen for that little prick's bullshit so maybe he didn't know her as well as he thought he did.

  "If you would allow me," he said, gesturing to the door where Caine could scent several vampires and minions waiting nervously, "I would like to make amends for what Greg did."

  Caine scented the air deeply and slowly nodded. He didn't know what their game was now, but he'd play along. If it meant that he could get Danni back to fighting condition then he'd do whatever the hell he needed short of fucking or turning her.

  He would never turn anyone, never give them the life he had to endure. She had a choice, he hadn't. He'd been born this way to a servant, who'd died giving birth to him. When he'd been human he'd been told that his mother had lain with her employer and that the man he'd known as his father was just her bitter husband. It wasn't until much later that he discovered that his mother's master had been a vampire. The bastard could have saved her life if he'd simply changed her just before he was born.

  After he went through his transformation he went back to the city where his mother had worked, but no one had seen the Lord since his mother passed away. He searched for a few more years, but it had been pointless. The man had vanished into thin air and Caine had grown tired of looking for him. In the end it hadn't mattered anyway. He'd gotten his answers and even discovered there were others like him. If rumor was true, there were some that even worked for the Sentinels like him and from what he heard, were happy.

  It didn't matter to him that other Pytes learned to accept what they were since he knew exactly how quickly happiness could end. He also wasn't stupid enough to change someone who was already a prisoner. They'd keep her weak, but make sure that she was fed just enough to do as they asked. Then again this was Danni and he knew the stubborn woman would fight them every inch of the way and develop memories that would haunt her centuries later. He'd been there and done that and didn't want that for her.

  If he couldn't get her the hell out of here then he'd have no choice, but to sit bac
k and watch her die. It was better than having no escape and being trapped in a never ending hell.

  "This should make you feel better, Danni," the vampire said as men walked into the room, keeping as far away from him as possible, as they carried in fresh towels, soaps, a first aid kit, a small red cooler, a clean shirt, a blanket and what appeared to be a small plastic crate overfilled with prepackaged food and bottled water.

  "If you need anything else, please don't hesitate to ask," the vampire said, sounding more like a concierge than a captor. "You may ask for me if you need anything else. My name is Lucan."

  "Lucan?" he said.

  "Yes?" Lucan said, arching a brow.