To whatever your name is, aka Lana Fitzpatrick.
555 Apple Lane. Take a right onto dirt road. Stop at the hill. I expect you in the next 15 minutes. Your time starts, now.
Sincerely, your boss,
Sid Sinclair
“Shit!” Lana looked at the time on her phone. There was no way she was going to be able to make it back home, change and get to this address in fifteen damn minutes. “What an asshole!”
“Excuse me?” Doug glanced around, giving a nervous smile to the older couple next to them.
Dammit, she’d forgotten where she was again. This date was a total failure. She was pretty sure this would be the last time Doug asked her out, and what she was about to ask him would surely make that a fact. “I need a favor.” She gave him her sexiest smile, hoping it would do the trick.
*****
Sid stood staring at the bodies of two young girls. He had always been able to separate his feelings when it came to cruelty, but this was a little too much. Flashes from the crime scene camera illuminated the woods. Sid looked away to the time on his phone. Glancing up the hill, he watched a car pull to a stop.
“Make sure you send a copy of those to me, Dana.” Sid turned and started up the hill, but stopped. A man he didn’t know got out, walking quickly around to the passenger side. Opening the door, he helped a woman in a tight, black short dress and ‘fuck me’ shoes out of the car. Her hair was silky black, smoothed back on one side and hanging loose to her breasts on the other. The V of her dress dipped low, exposing enough cleavage to make a man go to his knees. She turned sideways, and Sid’s eyes slid down her body then back up in a slow appreciative slide. Her voice made its way to his ears, and he immediately knew who it was. “Jesus.” Sid felt his body respond. A growl rumbled in his chest as the man slid his hand to her lower back as she looked around.
“Okay, got the shots. Pretty much finished, so when the coroner gets here, they can do their thing.” Dana said, walking up next to Sid. When Sid didn’t respond, he glanced up the hill. “Damn man, who is that nice piece of ass?”
Sid didn’t even look his way; he couldn’t pull his eye off her. “You like your job, Dana?”
“Ah, yeah.” Dana frowned, looking away from the woman.
“Then watch your fucking mouth.” Sid looked away long enough to shoot the skinny crime scene photographer a warning. It didn’t matter that he was thinking the same thing, but now that he knew who it was, he didn’t like anyone else thinking it, and didn’t that just surprise the shit out of him.
Dana didn’t say a word; he knew better, so he headed in the opposite direction.
Jared, who just finished walking the crime scene, passed Dana, who looked like he was ready to piss himself and stopped next to Sid. “They weren’t killed here?” When Sid didn’t respond, Jared glanced up the hill and laughed. Knowing right off who it was, Jared shook his head. “Oh, shit. Sid has left the wooded clearing.” Jared walked away, knowing Sid was on a mission to score with the hot little number up the hill.
Sid didn’t look his way, but continued to watch her. Finally, she spotted him, and then looked at the hill with a frown. Grabbing onto the man’s arm, she took off one shoe then started for the other. Sid cursed and climbed the hill quickly.
“Who the fuck are you?” Sid eyed the man who was busy looking at a nice display of shapely leg.
The man’s eyes shot from her legs to Sid, who stood intimidatingly close. “Doug Lawson.” The man looked Sid over from head to foot, a frown forming across his face. “Her date. Who are you?”
Sid cocked his eyebrow at that. “Her boss. Sorry to cut your night short,” Sid grinned, indicating he wasn’t sorry at all.
Lana just stood watching the men, not sure exactly what was going on, but the air crackled with testosterone.
“Take your time.” Doug smiled down at Lana, who was pulling his donated sweater over her breasts. “I’ll wait here for you unless you need me.”
“I think we got this, Dan.” Sid nodded, stepping over the railroad tie, holding his hand out to Lana.
“It’s Doug.” The man’s eyes narrowed.
“Whatever.” He helped her step over the railroad tie and decided to take it a bit further. “We’re going to be a while. I’ll make sure she gets home safe.” With that, Sid picked her up and headed down the hill.
“What are you doing?” Lana squirmed, wanting down. She looked over his shoulder at Doug, who was staring at them. “I’ll call you. I’m sorry about this. Thanks for a wonderful evening.”
“Dave is a douche,” Sid growled, setting her down as soon as he heard the car pull away.
“His name is Doug, and he’s not a douche.” Lana frowned, pulling her dress that had ridden up to her thighs down. “He’s a nice, successful lawyer.”
“Lawyer?” Sid snorted. “So he’s a successful douche who is an expert liar.”
“Did you do that to make him mad?”
“Yes.” Sid smiled, showing his sharp fangs. “But since you took off your ‘fuck me’ shoes….”
“My what?” Lana’s head snapped back.
“‘Fuck me’ shoes.” Sid grinned.
“That’s sexual harassment.” Lana eyed him, crossing her arms, which inadvertently pushed her breasts together. The sweater Doug had tried to cover them with had parted.
“So is that dress, but you don’t hear me complaining.” Sid looked her up and down, an appreciative gleam in his golden eyes.
Lana rolled her eyes. “I was on a date, and you didn’t give me time to get home and change into work clothes.” When he started to say something, she continued quickly, not giving him a chance to speak, which made him smile. “So what was so important that you needed me so quickly?”
“Two dead girls, which I believe are connected to all the missing reports.” Sid nodded down the hill. “I was hoping you could use your voodoo hoodoo stuff to see if you can get any information.”
Lana frowned up at him. “I don’t do voodoo or hoodoo. I’m a medium.”
“Whatever it is, we need you, but is it safe?” Sid glanced at her neck. She wore a pale red silky scarf as a choker around her bruised neck, and damn if that wasn’t sexy as hell. He wanted to tear it off with his fangs.
Lana stared at him for a long time. “I guess since I’m working with you, I need to be honest.”
“That would be a great start to our working relationship,” Sid agreed with a nod. “But if doing this is going to be a repeat of what happened before, we will find a different way to find out information.”
“I think it will be fine,” Lana replied. “Lead the way.”
Sid bent down, picking her up to carry her the rest of the way. “Next time, keep a change of clothes in your car with a pair of shoes.”
“Next time, don’t call me while I’m on a date, or at least give me enough time to change,” Lana shot back.
Sid frowned. “Until this is over, your dating life is being cut short.” At least, he was going to make sure she was too busy to date. When Sid saw something he wanted, he became territorial. He decided as soon as she stepped out of that car, that he wanted her. Hell, who was he kidding? When she had punched him in the face, he had wanted to grab her, throw her down and take her in so many ways it even shocked him. Okay, that wasn’t true; it didn’t shock him at all.
“You may be my boss now, but that doesn’t include my off time.” Lana frowned at the side of his face.
“Wanna bet?” Sid’s response was confident and final.
******
Lana wanted to respond to Sid’s cocky remark, but as he slid her body down his to put her down, her complaint disappeared. He had a wicked gleam in his eye that caused her heartbeat to pick up and her mouth to malfunction. Oh boy, she might be in a little trouble where this huge vampire was concerned; she wondered briefly if the trouble would be worth it. The heat in his eyes and the tingling between her legs told her it would be very worth it.
“What do you need me to do?�
�� Sid asked, his eyes never leaving hers.
And wasn’t that a loaded question. Getting naked would be a start. “About what?”
A sexy grin tipped his lips as if reading her mind. “As soon as we are finished here, I will be taking you somewhere that I can really answer that question, but right now, we need to focus on work.”
That snapped Lana out of her horny thoughts. It had been way too long since she had sex with a man and not her well-used vibrator, Thor. Yes, she named her vibrator. “That’s what I meant. I was talking about work. What do you mean what do I want you to do…about work?”
Sid chuckled. “I’m going to enjoy you.” Sid’s eyes crinkled at the corners, but the heat in his eyes burned her to her very soul.
Not knowing what the hell to say and afraid of opening her mouth for fear of what would come out of it, Lana looked around. Spotting the police tape a few yards away, she frowned, pushing thoughts of Sid naked to the back of her mind.
“Who found them?” Lana headed down a clean path, easier for her feet to take, toward the girls.
“Two hunters.” Sid watched the ground, making sure the path was clear. “Be careful, there’s some thorns.”
Lana avoided the prickly thorns, totally surprised by his consideration. Taking a glance at his strong profile, her stomach did that weird jittery jump indicating that she was in deep trouble. Inches from the tape, Lana stopped and grabbed onto Sid’s arm, her eyes going blank and staring straight ahead. “They’re here,” Lana whispered.
“Who’s here?” Sid’s body went on guard as he looked around, his body ready to protect. “Who the fuck is here, Lana?”
“Them. The girls.” Her eyes cleared as she looked over at the bodies. “The brown-haired girl is Megan Cooper.”
Sid’s eyes widened slightly. “She told you that?”
Lana shushed him, but didn’t let go of his arm. “Dammit.” Lana’s body tensed.
“What?” Sid looked around for a threat.
“Someone is trying to block me from connecting with them.” Lana’s face was pinched. “Come on, girls, fight. Tell me more,” she demanded.
“I seriously don’t know if I like this.” Sid, still in warrior-mode, looked around, ready for anything that came their way.
Jared had made his way next to them, hearing the conversation. “Honestly, it creeps me the fuck out.”
Lana ignored them both. Letting go of Sid’s arm, she rushed to the girls. Saying a prayer to keep her safe, she calmed herself with a few deep breaths as she knelt next to their bodies, taking a real close look at each of them.
“My God, they can’t be any older than eighteen.” Lana frowned, looking at the girls, trying to be professional and keeping her emotions out of it. Forcing her emotions aside, Lana really looked as a cop would look at the crime scene. “I don’t think they’ve been raped.”
“What makes you think that?” Sid knelt down next to her.
“No marks. Their clothes are perfectly fine. Not a rip on them. Has everything been processed?” Lana frowned, looking over the girls carefully.
“Yes,” Jared answered, also looking them over.
Lana reached out, lifting one of the girl’s short skirts up slightly. “No bruising.” Looking around the area with a cop’s eye, she spoke to Sid. “They weren’t killed here.”
“No, they weren’t,” Jared answered with respect. He was impressed that this woman, who had just arrived, knew that with one sweep of her eyes.
“Don’t break me away once I touch them,” Lana warned both men.
“If what happened last time happens, I’m not going to sit here and watch you get attacked or whatever the hell happened.” Sid’s tone implied he wasn’t going to budge on that.
“Just please, try not to do that.” Lana looked away. “I really don’t want to get stuck in their last memories of life.”
“Then don’t do this.” Sid shook his head. “If it’s not safe for you, we will think of something else.”
“Nothing we do in our line of work is safe, but I have an opportunity to find out information we could never learn otherwise. It’s worth the risk,” Lana argued. “Just don’t break me away.”
Sid started to say something else, but Lana quickly grabbed onto Megan’s cold, lifeless hand. She was now reliving Megan’s last hours of life.
“Shit!” Sid cursed, his eyes on Lana, ready for whatever was to come.
Both men watched as Lana’s spine straightened; her head flipped to the sky with eyes wide open. A slow smile spread across her wide red lips and stayed for a few minutes until it started to fade into a frown. Her body jerked once, her hand raised slowly out in front of her in a gesture of confusion and fear. Sid could feel the emotions radiating off her.
“Is she okay?” Jared asked. His stance was firm as he stood over her, watching with concern.
“I don’t fucking know, but I don’t like this shit,” Sid hissed, ready to pounce. “I can’t tell if she is in trouble or not.”
Suddenly, Lana let go, falling back, but Sid stopped her from landing on her ass. A loud gasp escaped her throat as she blinked her eyes, quickly trying to focus.
“Are you okay?” Sid brought her face to his. “Hey!”
Lana finally focused on him and nodded, “I’m good.” A small smile of triumph reached her eyes. “They were last at a motel in Alexandria. I know the place.”
“Let’s go!” Jared was already leaving the area, barking orders to uniformed officers who were left guarding the area until the coroner came.
Sid helped Lana up as a uniformed officer walked over. “You get something, Lana?”
Lana turned, glancing at the officer. “Yeah, Fred,” she nodded. “Finally.”
“Good, these people need to be stopped.” He nodded to Lana then Sid before turning his sad gaze to the girls.
Sid watched Lana give the officer the information to pass on to the coroner. She had at least obtained one name, so it shouldn’t be hard for them to find out who the second girl was so their families could be contacted. Once she was finished, he picked her up and headed up the hill, a new respect for this woman filling him along with the need to possess her.
Chapter 10
Slade ran to Adam’s room, practically running Damon down in the process. He heard heavy boots behind him. He was sure with the urgency on his face he didn’t have to explain anything to Damon.
He passed Jill, who had opened up her door, sticking her head out at the noise of them running down the hall. He practically busted the door off its hinges as he flew into Adam’s room.
Damon followed, spotting Tessa on the floor. “Dammit!”
Jill stepped into the room and gasped. “Tessa.” She ran over, but Slade stopped her.
“Don’t touch her,” Slade ordered, going down to the ground. He put his fingers to her neck, feeling for a pulse. Relief shadowed his face as he checked each eye. “Tessa!”
A sigh of relief filled the room when her eyes fluttered; a low moan escaped her lips.
“What the hell happened?” Damon asked, looking around trying to figure it out.
“I’m not sure, but I got a text from Adam saying she was in his room unconscious.” Slade glanced at Jill. “Get me a cold rag.”
Jill scrambled to her feet, running to do as ordered. Rushing back, she handed him a cool, wet washcloth. “Here.”
“Tessa, open your eyes. Come on. Open them for me. I know you hear me,” Slade urged her.
“Where’s Jared?” Jill asked, watching Tessa trying to focus once her eyes were open.
“He’s with Sid.” Damon walked away. “I’ll call him.”
“Don’t tell him anything other than he needs to get back right away.” Slade leaned down in Tessa’s vision and held the cool washcloth against her neck.
“I’m not going to have to say anything.” Damon frowned walking out of the room. “He’s going to know.”
Tessa finally became aware and tried to sit up. “Whoa, Tessa.” Slade stop
ped her. “Not so fast.”
“Listen to him, Tessa,” Jill urged when she continued to struggle. “We need to make sure you’re okay.”
“Do you have any pain?” Slade watched her closely. “Can you move your fingers?”
“Yeah.” She squeezed her eyes shut, moving her fingers. “My head hurts.”
“I’m going to try to sit you up, okay? Tell me right away if anything hurts.” Slade leaned down, wedging his arm under her shoulders. Slowly, he set her up against the wall. “You okay?”
Tessa nodded slightly, but winced. Her shaking hand went to her head. After a minute, her eyes popped open, still slightly unfocused, and searched the room. “Where’s Adam?”
“Did he do this?” Slade asked, anger edging his words.
“He didn’t mean to.” Tessa’s eyes filled with tears. “He’s messed up right now. He didn’t mean to hurt me.”
Slade cursed under his breath as his eyes met Jill’s. Picking her up carefully, Slade stood. “I’m going to take you to my office for a little while so I can keep an eye on you, okay?”
Tessa didn’t say anything as tears flowed down her cheeks.
“Can I do anything?” Jill asked, following them out of Adam’s room.
Slade turned meeting her stare. “Try to get in contact with Adam.” He frowned. “But stay away from him.”
Jill nodded, pulling her phone out of her back pocket.
“I mean it, Jill,” Slade warned. “Don’t go near him. Just try to find out where he is.”
Slade waited until Jill nodded her understanding, before he walked out the door, meeting Damon. “Did you get Jared?”
Damon was staring at Tessa who had stopped crying; she had her eyes closed against Slade’s chest. “Yeah, he’s on his way.”
“Good. I’m taking her to my office.” Slade moved past him. “I’m pretty sure she has a concussion, but and I want to keep an eye on her.”
“I’ll tell him as soon as he gets here.” Damon’s eyes flared. “Did Adam do this?”
Slade’s eyes darkened as he nodded. “He needs to be found.” The words and warning in Slade’s eyes were enough for Damon to understand they may have a rogue on the loose.
Sid (The Protectors Series) Book #4 Page 8
