******
Lana, Sid and Jared stood outside the rundown motel, which only totaled one floor of six rooms. The white paint peeled from days of harsh weather and neglect.
“This place looks shut down,” Jared frowned, looking around.
“It is.” Lana moved to the last room on the end, staring at it. “You have a flashlight?”
“No.” Sid passed her, walking up to the door. “We see perfectly at night and don’t need them. Is this the room?”
“Are you sure this is right?” Jared walked up behind them. “It doesn’t look like this place has been used in years.”
Lana smiled. “I’m sure.” She nudged Sid out of the way. Leaning down, she reached behind a thin, leafless bush, pushing a large rock out of the way.
Sid backed up, watching her tight dress slide up her thick, firm thighs. “Damn,” he mumbled, his eyes heating as they moved down her legs and back to her ass again. Adjusting himself, he tried to stay focused.
“I can’t believe it’s here.” Lana turned around with a huge smile and a key. She caught Sid’s eyes roaming her lower half while Jared stood silently laughing. “What?”
Jared just shook his head, grabbing the key and unlocking the door.
Sid stopped Lana before she could go inside. “Do not wear that dress again when on duty,” Sid growled, the heat in his words searing her to the spot.
A feeling of power over the gorgeous vampire set Lana on fire as she watched him move past her, following Jared inside the room. “Then give me more time to dress appropriately for work,” she shot back, and then followed them inside.
“What the hell is this place?” Jared frowned.
“It’s a place teenagers come to do…” Lana lit a candle that was on a small damaged table, “things.”
“Such as?”
“Make out; drink, you know, teenage stuff.” Lana held the candle up, looking around. She found more candles and began lighting them so she could see. Finally, the room was aglow with candle light.
“Did you do teenage stuff here?” Sid glanced at her.
“Oh, yeah,” she grinned. She had actually lost her virginity here with Mason Barton, but she kept that piece of information to herself.
“By the look on your face, I’d say you did more than make out here,” Jared chuckled.
“I’ll never tell,” Lana chuckled. “I can’t believe kids still come here.” By the look of the place, they still took care of this room just like they did when she was young and foolish, looking for a place to experiment the joys of growing up.
Going over beside the bed, she picked up a small trashcan, pouring the contents out. Rubber wrappers and beer cans scattered across the bed.
“Find anything?” Sid asked walking over.
“No, not really.” Lana took off her shoe, using the heel to poke around in the trash.
“They weren’t killed here,” Sid observed. “It’s too clean, and I don’t think whoever killed them would stay around and tidy the place.”
“No, they weren’t killed here, though I wasn’t sure from her memories. I haven’t been in this room for over ten years, but I know they were here.” Lana used her shoe to push the trash back in the can. “As soon as I connected with Megan, they were walking out of here. I was just hoping we would find something here. I did get a look of the guy they were here with. Maybe Jill can do a profile pic.”
“Did it seem like they were forced from here?” Jared asked.
“No, not at all.” Lana frowned. “When I do a reading, sometimes I see events as they happen and sometimes it’s scattered in no certain timeline. When I read Vincent, it was a total replay of his hours before death. With this girl Megan, things came in flashes. I saw the outside of this motel and knew they had been here, but wasn’t sure if this is where they were killed. It can get very confusing and sometimes none of it makes sense. Before they take their last breath is when I’m released.”
“Did you see this room just as it is?” Sid asked, leaning against the wall.
“Yes. They were laughing and having a good time. There was another guy here, a little older than them, but they seemed comfortable with him. I know they left this room alive because of this.” Lana walked over and pointed at a carved initial in the doorframe by the lock.
Sid watched her running her finger over the initial when she turned quickly. “What?” He pushed himself from the wall.
“Damn, I almost forgot.” She hurried past Sid, heading toward the small bathroom. Across from it was a small closet. Throwing the door open, she took the candle from the table, holding it up to the wall. Hundreds of names were scribbled across the walls of the closet. Looking for the area that had free space, she began to search and found what she was looking for. Touching the name Megan Cooper, she smiled when underneath was yesterday’s date. Next to it was the name Ben Foster with the same date. And underneath those was Amanda Turner. “They were here yesterday. I would say. The other girl’s name is Amanda Turner, and it looked like they were here with a Ben Foster.”
“What is this?” Sid looked at the wall of the small closet.
“Whenever you used the room, you signed in.” Lana shook her head. “And it looks like the tradition stuck.”
“Is your name on the wall?” Jared teased.
Lana looked around and found it. “Right there.” She pointed to her name with a large smile. It had been so long since she went down memory lane. “And that was my boyfriend at the time, Mason Barton.”
“Mason?” Sid grunted with a frown. “What kind of name is Mason?”
Putting the candle on the shelf, Lana grinned at Jared. “He was the quarterback on the football team. Took the team to state as a matter of fact.”
“Yeah, he’s probably gay,” Sid snorted.
She made a purring sound. “Oh, he was far from gay.” Lana bent over, looking at more names, her ass sticking in the air.
“Damn, man, I’m wanting to tap that.” An unknown voice filled the room.
Sid, Jared and Lana all turned, aiming their guns at the voice.
“Whoa, shit!” The guy’s hands went straight up in the air.
“Don’t move a fucking muscle, asshole,” Jared growled as he made his way toward the guy, gun still aimed.
Once Jared had him up against the wall and patted down, Sid and Lana relaxed.
“Where in the hell did that come from?” Sid stared at her gun, putting his own gun in the waist of his jeans.
Lana put her foot up on the bed, lifting her tight skirt high. Strapped to her firm thigh was a holster. Looking over her shoulder at Sid, she grinned as she re-holstered her gun. “I never go anywhere without my gun.”
Sid watched as she put her foot back on the ground before she shimmied her skirt back down. “Son of a bitch.” Sid shook his head, trying to clear the image of that holster strapped to her thigh. “It’s a damn good thing we aren’t alone in this room.”
Seeing the heated look in his golden eyes had Lana swallowing hard, and it wasn’t her stomach tingling this time. Her whole body tingled as her nipples hardened under his stare. “Why is that?” Oh, Lana, you did not go there, she mentally scolded herself.
His eyes moved from her body to her face in a slow, mind-blowing glance. “I’ll show you later.” His voice was deep and serious, but the sexy smile that spread across his perfect lips promised things that made women weak in the knees. “That’s a promise.”
Before Lana could comment, which was not the easiest thing in the world for her to do at the moment, Jared’s voice broke her thoughts of hot, dirty images floating around in her mind.
“Hey!” Jared had the guy by the neck. “We gotta go. Damon called and said we need to get back now.”
“Why?” Sid eyes stayed on Lana as she started blowing out candles. “What’s up?
“He wouldn’t say, so I know it’s not good.” Jared frowned, pushing the guy to Sid. “I’ll drive, but let’s go. Something’s wrong.”
“You g
ot any handcuffs up that dress?” Sid glanced at Lana, who was coming up behind him.
“Nope, no room,” Lana smiled sweetly. “Sorry.”
“Looks like you’re going for a ride,” Sid told the guy as he led him out the door. “So don’t try anything stupid.”
“Who are you?” he asked, looking at each of them, fear evident in his shaking body and voice. “Where you taking me?”
“To VC Headquarters.” Sid opened the door, putting him in the back seat, and climbed in beside him. “We just need to ask you a few questions, and if things check out, you can be on your way.”
“I need to call my parents,” he said, looking terrified.
“How old are you?” Lana turned as she spoke from the passenger’s seat.
“Seventeen.”
“Is he who you saw?” Sid asked.
“No,” Lana replied and looked back to the kid. “What’s your name?”
“Chris Feldman,” he answered without hesitation.
“Do you know Megan Cooper or Amanda Turner?”
“Megan’s my girlfriend.” Chris frowned, looking between Sid and Lana. “Please don’t tell Megan what I said about wanting to…you know?”
Lana ignored his plea. “Do you know a Ben Foster?”
“Yeah, he’s Amanda’s boyfriend.” Chris looked nervous again. When Sid and Lana looked at each other, he paled slightly. “What’s going on?”
Before they could ask any more questions, Jared pulled into the compound and was out the door at a run.
“They’re dead, aren’t they?” Chris started to shake uncontrollably now. “I told them it wouldn’t work. I told them.” His eyes searched around frantically as he tried to pull away from Sid, who was leading him inside.
Chapter 11
Slade stood over Tessa as she lay on the table. The only light in the office was a small desk lamp. The overhead light was off because of Tessa’s sensitivity to light. Jill had found a pillow for her and was also standing on the side of the table. Their eyes had only met briefly, and there was an uncomfortable tension in the air.
Hearing boot heels pounding the floor, Slade slipped out the door, stopping Jared before he could bust inside.
“She’s going to be fine.” Slade stood before the door like a brick wall. “You need to take a deep breath and calm down before you go inside.”
“Get the fuck out of my way, Doc.” Jared’s eyes were black with rage and worry.
“She’s already upset, and if she sees you like this, it’s not going to help her.” Slade understood Jared’s rage, but his concern was for Tessa. “She needs to stay calm. She has a concussion and is very sensitive to noise and light.”
“What the hell happened?” Jared kept his voice as low as he could.
“I got a text from Adam.” Slade pulled out of his phone, bringing up the text, and then handed it to Jared.
Please get to my room. Tessa is hurt. I didn’t mean it. I’m so sorry. Make sure she is okay.
Jared cursed, handing the phone back to Slade. “Okay, I’m calm,” Jared sighed, but his eyes were still black as night. “Now get the fuck out of my way.”
“Don’t upset her,” Slade warned before stepping to the side, following Jared.
Tessa had her head turned toward Jill. When the door opened, she turned, spotting Jared. She tried to raise her head, but groaned.
“Stay still, babe.” Jared was at her side, brushing her hair from her forehead. “I’m here.”
“He didn’t mean to hurt me, Jared,” Tessa whispered, a tear escaping the corner of her eye. “You know how he doesn’t know his own strength. Please don’t hurt him.”
Jared glanced up at Slade, who was giving him a look of warning. Looking back down at Tessa, he kissed her forehead. “Don’t worry about anything, Tessa.” Jared rubbed her cheek with his thumb and wiped away a stray tear.
Slade glanced at Jill, nodding toward the door. “I want her to stay here for a while longer before we move her. I’ll be back.”
Jill followed Slade out the door, but kept on going. “Wait.” Slade grabbed her arm. “We have some unfinished business.”
“No, we really don’t.” Jill tried to pull her arm away, but he wouldn’t let go. “I heard Sloan loud and clear. I am going to feed off one of the blood donors and everyone will be happy.”
“But you won’t.” Slade frowned.
“I’m not disobeying Sloan’s orders,” Jill snorted, looking at him like he was crazy.
“No, I meant you won’t be happy,” Slade corrected her, watching her closely.
“Oh,” Jill replied, a little shocked, before shrugging her shoulder. “I’ll live.”
“Come on.” Slade held out his hand.
Jill looked at his hand like it was a disfigured alien ready to take a bite out of her. “What?”
“You’re going to feed.” Slade kept his hand out, waiting for her to take it. “It’s been a while and I know you’re ready.”
Her eyes shot from his hand to his face in disbelief. “From who? You?” Jill shook her head. “No thanks.”
“Why the hell not?” He dropped his hand, taking a step toward her.
“Why the hell would I?” she countered. “The time I did feed from you, you acted like you’d rather have your head decapitated by Damon than have my lips anywhere near you. I’d rather take my chances with the blood bimbos.”
Slade didn’t say a word, just stared at her.
“Listen, Doc, you’re off the hook,” Jill assured him. “I’ve got this. You can go on and take care of whatever it is you take care of. I don’t want different treatment. I shouldn’t have even brought the blood stuff up in the first place.”
“I said I didn’t hate you.” Slade’s voice held a hint of frustration.
“Good to know.” Jill’s phone buzzed, and she looked too happy to grab it out of her pocket to read her text. “Gotta go. See ya, Doc.”
Slade watched her walk away, his eyes sliding down her tight body. She was thin and firm, but rounded in all the right spots. Her words said one thing, but he could tell by the slump of her shoulders he had hurt her deeper than she was willing to admit, and dammit, he didn’t know what to do about it.
“Fuck!” He went to punch the wall, but stopped. Jared was right; he needed to get his temper under control. He turned, stomped down the hall and out the door for some fresh air, slamming the door behind him. If she knew his real feelings for her, she’d probably run screaming. She was too young for his appetites, and what he wanted to do to her. “Fuck!” he roared his frustration, sending a stray cat running for its life.
******
“Okay, Chris, we need to ask you some questions,” Lana said after finally calming the kid down. “When was the last time you saw Megan?”
Chris sat at the table in the interrogation room, staring at her with wide-scared eyes. “Last night.”
“At the motel room?” Lana sat down; her feet were officially killing her. She was going to burn her shoes as soon as she got home.
“No, my house,” Chris frowned. “We had a big fight.”
“About what?”
“We had been trying to get money together to go to Florida for spring break. Ben said he knew how we could make enough money to go.” Chris fidgeted in his chair. “It was a bad idea, and I told them so. I didn’t want any part of it. I just started dating Megan, even though we’ve been friends for a long time.”
“How was Ben going to get the money?” Lana pressed. She had a bad feeling she knew.
“He said some guy approached him during a football game. Said if he could bring him a couple of girls, he would give him five hundred apiece for them.” Chris shook his head. “Am I in trouble?”
Lana glanced at Sid, who was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. “No, Chris, but we need to know where Ben is.”
“He wasn’t really going to do it. He was going to take Megan and Amanda, but then once the money exchanged hands, they were going to take off.”
“You haven’t heard from them since then?” When the kid shook his head, Lana sighed. “Have you tried to contact any of them?”
“They aren’t texting me back. At first, I thought they were just mad because I didn’t go along with them, but now, I don’t know.” Chris put his hand to his head, looking like he was about to freak out again.
Sid grabbed a pad of paper and a pen from a small table and put it front of Chris. “Give us their cell phone numbers.”
Chris took the paper and scribbled their numbers down.
“Why did you come to the motel tonight?” Sid took the numbers looking at them.
“I was hoping they were there.” Chris took a drink of water Lana had gotten him. “That’s where they met up before they were to meet that guy.”
“Did Ben tell you this guy’s name or where they were to meet him?” Sid frowned down at the kid, knowing they weren’t going to get that lucky.
“No, and I don’t even think Ben knew his name. I know they were going to Metropolis because Megan was mad I wasn’t going with her, but I’m not sure that is where they were meeting the guy.” Chris looked at his phone that lay on the table. “She’s dead, isn’t she?”
Lana knew she couldn’t give that information out until the family was notified and was glad when Damon opened the door.
“His parents are here,” Damon informed them before leaving quickly.
“Thanks.” Sid headed toward the door. “I’ll go talk to them. Bring him out in a few minutes.”
“Are you four in high school still?” Lana made a few notes.
“Yeah, except for Ben. He graduated last year.”
“Campbell County High School?” Lana asked, trying to get as much information before the kid left.
“Yeah.”
“Do you have Ben’s address?”
“He lives on Washington in Alexandria. I don’t know the number or anything, but it was right by the church in the small white house.” Chris rubbed his eyes as tears formed. “You don’t want Megan or Amanda’s?”
Lana sighed, knowing they would get that information soon enough. “No, that’s it for now. Just make sure if you remember anything at all to call Sid or me. And definitely let us know if you hear from Ben. You have both our numbers.”
Sid (The Protectors Series) Book #4 Page 9
