True North (Aurora Sky: Vampire Hunter, Vol. 6)

by Nikki Jefford

  “Maybe,” Fane said, inclining his head the slightest bit.

  I folded my arms. No matter the circumstances, Edwards’s death was on Agent Melcher. All this was on Melcher as far as I was concerned. The man was devoid of human emotion and didn’t care who got hurt or killed on his crusade to rid the world of “evil” as he called it. Vampires. The Almighty’s mistake.

  Horseshit.

  Mother Nature worked in remarkable ways. It wasn’t up to one zealot to “correct” this anomaly in human evolution. Nor did it give vampires the right to kill people for food or sport. Unfortunately, not all vampires saw it that way.

  “Did either of you see Melcher’s reaction to the news of Edwards’s death?” Fane asked, looking from Noel to Joss.

  Noel shook her head. “He was in his office and we were in here. Dante was the one who came and told us.”

  Fane straightened. “Where is Dante now?”

  Joss cleared his throat. “Training session. I’m headed home with Reinhardt and Gunter once they finish.” Joss unfolded his hands and scooped up some papers. He held the papers under his nose. It looked as if he’d gone back to reading.

  “I want to see him,” Fane said, heading for the door.

  “I’ll come with you.” I followed quickly after him, whispering into Fane’s ear as we strode down the hall.

  “Dante would sooner impale himself on his own hunting knife than do anything to compromise the agency’s efforts to round Jared up.”

  “I know that,” Fane said. “But maybe he can tell us more about Melcher’s reaction to the news.” Fane slowed his step and looked sideways at me. “Then again, he might have had his head shoved so far up his ass he didn’t notice anything at all.”

  Not this again. I pulled at my shirt collar. “Maybe I should be the one to talk to him.”

  “Yeah, I’m sure he’d find it much more preferable coming from your lips than mine,” Fane said, eyebrows jumping.

  I stared at Fane’s aforementioned lips. Lashes lowered, I swallowed and smiled. “Good thing, because your lips are all mine.”

  Fane stroked his arms and leaned closer. As his head neared mine, his tongue darted out and touched his upper lip. He grinned and looked up and down the hallway. Although we were alone, he lowered his voice.

  “Hmm. Maybe we should skip the inquisition and head straight home.”

  Shivers raced down my spine. I moved in closer, thrilled to hear his intake of breath.

  “Last night wasn’t enough?” I asked playfully.

  “It’s never enough.” Fane’s arms snaked around my waist. His lips blazed across mine, spreading heat through my body, igniting me with just a touch.

  I wrapped my hands around Fane’s neck and closed my eyes.

  A soft, girly chuckle from behind brought me back to my less pleasurable senses. When Fane and I broke apart, we were both breathing heavy. Our eyes locked a moment before we turned and faced Noel, who stood with one hand on her hip, a big grin on her face.

  “My, my. Things around here have certainly changed,” she said.

  “For the better,” I replied without missing a beat.

  “No argument there,” she answered back. Noel ran her hand through her long copper highlighted hair. “Well, I’m going to call it a day . . . and get a head start with my night. With Jared still on the loose, we’re all going to need our strength.”

  “Careful out there,” Fane said.

  Noel gave a little laugh, waving the comment away as though it were a joke. Noel no longer lived at the house we’d shared briefly by campus before I’d gone on the run, but she didn’t live on base either. She’d gotten Melcher to approve an apartment in midtown, not too far from the place she’d once shared with two human girls by West High School. Noel had her current place to herself and accepted the risks of living off base alone. It was her decision.

  “What do you want to bet she’s meeting up with Daren and Reece?” Fane said as she walked away. “I hardly hear from those two anymore. Then again, a she-vamp is likely more appealing to them.”

  “Maybe she’s after fresh blood to add to her harem,” I said. “Natural-born vampire.” I rolled my eyes.

  “She does make an excellent point, though,” Fane said. “Let’s check on Dante then get a head start with our night.” He smirked and stared at my lips.

  I rubbed them together in thought and anticipation. “I suppose we can’t let Jared stop us from living our lives.” Even while the evil bastard scampered off yet again.

  Fane opened his mouth to say something more, but was cut off by a war cry.

  “Die, sucker! Go for the jugular. A knee to the groin. Kick your target’s legs out from under him and go for the kill.”

  The door of the gymnasium was open. Dante’s booming voice carried out to the hallway before we entered. Inside, the floors were covered in thick mats. Dante stood in front of five recruits. Joss’s roommates, Reinhardt and Gunter, watched Dante eagerly, mimicking one of the defensive maneuvers he demonstrated. The other three recruits were young women. Two stood together whispering, and a blond woman stood apart, arms folded tight across her chest. It was Ashley Scott, the informant Dante and I had ambushed at the end of our illicit tour of the Last Frontier. Surprisingly, she’d opted to stay with the agency and had stuck around for more training until it was safe to be reassigned. She lived on base like the rest of us. According to Noel, Ashley had nowhere else to go. No family or relatives to save her from a life of servitude. I really ought to count myself lucky I wasn’t in her shoes.

  Ashley glared at Dante. For someone who’d chosen to be here, she sure looked as if she’d rather be anywhere else.

  Dante’s focus didn’t leave his students as Fane and I entered and leaned against the wall. He straightened and spoke at top volume.

  “Whether you’re an informant or a hunter, you need to be able to defend yourself, and you need to be able to kill vampires.”

  Gunter raised his hand.

  Dante lifted his head. “Question?”

  “But we’re vampires,” he said.

  Dante’s jaw tightened. He stared at the teen long enough for the room to go silent. Once it had, he approached with deliberate steps. When Dante stopped in front of him, Gunter swallowed.

  “I’m referring to bad vampires,” Dante intoned. “The kind who kill.” Dante swung his arm around and locked Gunter in a chokehold. When the boy gasped in surprise, Dante smiled. “The kind that bite and suck.” Dante glanced at Fane when he said the last words. He released the boy with a leer directed at Fane.

  Fane scratched his chin with his middle finger and smirked back. He leaned beside my ear and whispered, “I’ll be in the parlor looking things over with Joss. Let me know if you get anything useful out of that numbnut.” Fane pivoted and walked out of the room.

  Dante’s eyes gleamed as though he’d just scored a triumph over the Italian vampire.

  “Now, who wants to try and take me?” Dante asked, raising his voice. “You?” he asked Gunter, who promptly shook his head. “You?” he asked Reinhardt, who looked down and stared at his toes. Dante’s eyes slid over the two girls huddled together and landed on Ashley. “Agent Scott.”

  “Pass,” Ashley said.

  Dante folded his arms across his chest and widened his stance. “I wasn’t asking, Agent Scott. Do you think a killer vamp cares whether or not you’re in the mood to tussle? There are no passes out in the field, and there sure as shit aren’t any in my training classes. Get your ass over here.”

  So, yeah, we weren’t the most PC vampire-hunting agency on the planet, but at least Ashley was here by choice. Sort of.

  Ashley walked across the mats, stopping five feet in front of Dante. Her back was now to me, but I could imagine the scowl on her face if her rigid posture was anything to go by.

  “Now, in this scenario a hostile has wrestled Agent Scott to the ground.” Dante nodded at the floor. “Go ahead and get on the ground.”

  Ashley took
her sweet time lowering herself gently to the mat. She sat on her knees, fingers tightening to fists. Dante circled her, addressing the four standing recruits.

  “If the hostile gets the upper hand, it’s up to you to turn the tables and regain control.”

  Dante stared at Gunter until the teen nodded. An instant later, Dante shoved Ashley onto her back and launched himself on top of the startled blond. Her eyes widened. There wasn’t time for her to scowl, let alone land a punch before Dante pinned her to the ground.

  I was startled too. I’d known what was coming, but I’d thought there’d be some kind of warning before Dante jumped the poor girl like a bull at a rodeo. If bulls were female, that is. Ashley did a noteworthy job of bucking at any rate. Then again, Dante was determined to keep his seat. His thighs squeezed Ashley’s, freeing his hands to deflect the punches that came at him. Ashley’s fists only seemed to bounce off Dante’s abs, but his face heated and jaw tightened. He grabbed her wrists and pinned them by her sides. Ashley tried to wriggle free, but it looked more like they were dry humping than scuffling.

  One of the girls snickered. I glared at her and she covered her mouth.

  Ashley groaned in frustration as she tried to twist onto her side, but it was no good. Dante’s weight anchored her down. There was probably a pretty good indent of Ashley’s butt in the mat below.

  Ashley continued to struggle, barely managing to move an inch in either direction.

  “All you’re doing is tiring yourself out,” Dante said.

  Ashley’s ankles rose several inches off the floor as though she were trying to kick Dante. Flushed and breathing deep, she stopped suddenly. Ashley sucked air in between clenched teeth.

  Dante’s nose came within inches of hers. “Is that all you’ve got, Agent Scott?”

  “You’re a guy, you’re heavier than me. Of course you’re able to keep me down when you’re on top of me.”

  Dante’s eyes lifted and found mine.

  “Got any pointers for Ashley, Agent Sky?”

  I walked over, stopping near Ashley’s head. Individual blond hairs stuck out in multiple directions from the friction and static of the mat.

  “He is heavier, but you can knock him off balance,” I said. “You don’t need your hands . . . yet,” I added with a grin. “Once a guy gets on top of you, there’s little chance of twisting away or fighting him off while he’s smothering you with his weight.” I moved to Ashley’s and Dante’s side and crouched down. “Bump your knees into him. Force him to fall forward. He’ll release your wrists to catch himself instinctively. Once he’s taken a nosedive, he’ll be right where you want him.”

  Ashley didn’t need to be told twice. She rammed her knees into Dante, who fell forward, arms splayed over her head to catch himself. I’d used the same maneuver on a vampire named Arlo when Dante and I paid him a house call during our stint on the lam.

  “Good,” I said. “Now hook your arm around his neck. I know you want to get away from him, but first you have to get in close. You need to make him want to get away from you. Like Dante said earlier, turn the tables.”

  Oh, how I loved turning the tables.

  After a moment’s hesitation, Ashley grabbed Dante around the neck.

  “Yes! Like that,” I said. “Pull him to you. Good. Now scratch him. Bite him. Make him want nothing to do with you.”

  “Did she say bite him?” I heard one of the girls ask.

  “Are we allowed to bite?”

  “Probably only under special circumstances,” Reinhardt said.

  “Ouch!” Dante yelped.

  One of the girls sniggered. “Oh my god, she totally bit him.”

  “Do the rest of us get to bite or only Ashley?”

  Their giggles faded away as Dante reared back.

  “Hold on!” I found myself cheering on the informant.

  Ashley held tight as Dante pulled away, freeing her from his weight and the floor. He got to his feet, bringing Ashley right along with him. The maneuver was beautifully executed. It gave me a boost of pride to see my coaching in action. Perhaps I should pop by the training room more often. Super Sky to the rescue.

  Back on her feet, Ashley released Dante and backed away, eyes alert to another advance, but Dante held his ground . . . and his neck.

  “Good work, Ashley,” I said. “If this was a real attack you could follow up with a knee to the groin.”

  A smile flickered over Ashley’s lips. She took a step toward Dante. He caught the movement lightning quick and jumped back, dropping his free hand between his legs. I had to bite my tongue from joining the giggle twins in their tittering. I had to admit, Dante looked pretty comical cupping his neck with one hand while covering his dick with the other.

  “That’s enough for today,” he announced. “Make sure to rest up. Tomorrow we begin weapons training.”

  “Sweet!” Gunter said, high-fiving Reinhardt. The teen boys were the first to leave, their animated chatter following them out the gymnasium.

  “Good night, Dante,” the two young women called out sweetly before leaving the room.

  Ashley stormed out behind them. Dante glanced over to watch Ashley just before she disappeared. Once she was gone, he retrieved a white towel folded on top of his duffel bag against the far wall. I nudged the mat with the toe of my tennis shoe while Dante dabbed at his neck.

  This room reminded me of high school gym class, but it was a hell of a lot better than the initiation room. Fane had promised me that no recruit would ever have to go into a room like that again, nor would anyone ever have to work for the agency against their will. One of the tasks Lieutenant Pearlman was working on was a plan for how to recruit volunteer agents. The problem was how to tell them what they were being recruited for—without really telling them. The agency couldn’t have people running around sharing crazy stories about the living dead walking among them.

  Face still flushed, Dante tossed the towel down and grabbed the three mats closest to him. I scooped up the one I’d been nudging, then grabbed the last two, and followed him to the supply room in the far corner of the gymnasium. Dante dumped the mats onto a pile. I tapped my foot against the floor waiting for him to leave the small supply room and give me room to get in and add to the pileup.

  Once my hands were free, I flicked off the light and walked across the gym.

  Dante stuffed his towel inside his duffel bag then slung the bag over one shoulder and walked up to me. He pressed two fingers against his neck. “Been a while since a vamp’s bit me.”

  It still sounded strange calling our fellow agents and recruits vampires.

  “We’ll see how well Agent Scott does tomorrow without you to guide her through.”

  My eyes slanted. “You shouldn’t take your anger out on her.”

  “I’m not angry,” Dante was quick to deny.

  “Sure. You’re totally chill. Joe Fucking Cool.”

  Dante laughed. It made his shoulders relax. Too bad this wasn’t a social call.

  I dug my fingernails into my jeans and ran them over the rough denim like a cat clawing a post. “You heard about Edwards?”

  “It should have been me in the field instead of Pearlman’s spy,” Dante said.

  “So you could die instead of Edwards? No, thanks. Can you imagine Melcher’s reaction?” I asked, working up to the topic of Melcher.

  Dante snorted. “It probably wouldn’t be any different than his reaction to Edwards’s death. We’re disposable if it means meeting his end goal.” He shrugged. “Guess you’ll have to postpone your Italian getaway with Spaghetti Boy a bit longer.”

  I sighed. “Not that again. He has a name, you know.”

  “To me he’ll always be Spaghetti Boy. Mr. Marinara maybe.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Remind me how old you are again.”

  Dante puffed out his chest. “I’m not old. Forever young, thank you very much. AB blood or bust, baby.”

  “Glad that’s working out for you,” I said with thinly condensed sarc
asm.

  Dante frowned. “At the moment it’s not. I feel like we’ve all been rounded up and caged in on base. I’m committed to the agency, but not this committed.”

  “At least you’re preparing the recruits for active duty once Jared’s taken care of.”

  Dante let the strap slide off his shoulder. His duffel bag hit the ground with a whump. “I’m not the only one getting restless. I can sense it in the recruits as well. They’re here by choice, at least for now. But they’re going to get stir crazy real quick. They need a change of scenery. They need field training. They need a mission.”

  I folded my arms. “They need to stay safe and so do you.”

  Dante’s eyebrows lifted in challenge. “What about you running off to Palmer for the takedown?”

  “I waited behind in the car. Danger-free zone.”

  “At least you got off base.”

  “Well, I’m back now and meanwhile Jared roams free.”

  Dante studied me a moment. “How did he find out about Edwards?”

  “Beats me,” I said. “I was hoping you could shed some light on the matter.”

  Dante shook his head. “It doesn’t make any sense. No one knew about him besides you, me, Melcher, Pearlman, Noel, Joss, and Mr. Spaghetti Marinara.”

  Now Dante sounded like Fane, except for the bit about spaghetti marinara.

  I sighed and walked out. Dante grabbed his duffel and hurried to catch up.

  “Hey, are you going to wait for me?” he asked, shouldering the bag.

  “That depends. Are you capable of having an adult conversation?”

  “I am an adult.” Dante sniffed.

  In my book, men never stopped being children. Forever young, whether or not their bodies aged. A youthful spirit was one thing. Being a dipshit was another.

  “So, no signs of Jared or Valerie? No clues?” Dante asked, switching into mature agent mode.

  “Agent Sparks radioed us on the drive home. They didn’t find anything more than Edwards’s body.”

  “Poor guy,” Dante said, shaking his head. “At this rate we’re going to have to start recruiting the old way.”

  I stopped and glared at Dante. He lifted his arms and hands in the air.