Blaze (The Protectors Series) Book #10

by Teresa Gabelman

  “We’ll keep a close eye on her.” Slade spoke as if sensing his thoughts. “She’ll be fine.”

  Blaze headed toward the center of the mat. “She better fucking be.”

  Chapter 14

  After showering, Katrina walked back out onto the mats. Her backpack was slung over her sore shoulder, so she switched. She had fallen pretty hard during a takedown, and her shoulder was killing her. Hearing Blaze’s raised voice had her looking toward the door.

  Jax, Caroline, and Blaze were in a heated conversation. She slowed, not wanting to walk up on them but really needing to pass them to leave.

  “Hey, we’re going out to get pizza.” Steve stepped up beside her. “Slade’s got something to do, so I asked Jill too. Want to come?”

  Pizza was better than sitting alone in her room the rest of the night. She had hoped that maybe Blaze would ask her to do something, but she needed to stop that. Blaze never promised her anything, so it was best if she just went along with her boring life, and if it happened, it happened. Plus, she’d never had a normal life with friends so she welcomed the invite.

  “Ah, hello.” Steve snapped his fingers in front of her face. “Steve to Katrina. Come in, Katrina.”

  “Sure.” Katrina nodded with a genuine smile. “Sounds good.”

  “Well, come on.” Steve headed toward Blaze, Jax, and Caroline. “Let’s make like ducks and get the flock out of here. Or something like that.”

  Katrina chuckled, shaking her head. Steve was always up; there was never a down moment with him, and he also said whatever came to his mind. It was nice because she never had to wonder about Steve. What you saw was what you got with him.

  “Blaze, please do this.” Caroline’s voice was urgent.

  Trying not to pry, Katrina hurried behind Steve, but wondered what was going on. Both Jax and Blaze looked pissed while Caroline looked upset.

  “There’s nothing good that can come out of this,” Blaze growled, his voice low with a definite edge.

  “You need to take care of your fucking business.” Jax sneered at Blaze.

  “You need to stay out of my fucking business,” Blaze shot back, his voice growing louder as he leaned in toward Jax.

  “She is my goddamn business and is suffering because of you.”

  Both men were almost nose to nose. Caroline shoved her way between them. “This is not settling anything and if anything, it’s stressing me out more.”

  Katrina watched Jax relax slightly, but his glare was still deadly and directed straight at Blaze.

  “Come on,” Steve whispered, grabbing her elbow. Katrina let him lead her toward the door.

  “Where the fuck are you going?” Blaze’s voice stopped both Steve and Katrina in their tracks.

  “Getting pizza,” Steve squeaked.

  “I’m talking to her.” Blaze was staring straight at Katrina.

  “Getting pizza,” Katrina repeated Steve’s reply without the squeak, but her voice was barely above a whisper. He was so damn intimidating.

  “No, you’re not.” Blaze’s eyes narrowed. “You’re going to Slade’s office, immediately.”

  “Why?” Katrina frowned.

  “Because I said so,” Blaze snapped with a frown of his own. “He said you’ve missed your follow-up. I told him you would be there after training.”

  Katrina felt like she was being chastised like a five-year-old. Embarrassment, as well as a little resentment, washed over her. With a short nod, she turned and walked out of the building.

  “Ah, man. I’m sorry.” Steve walked with her, staring over at her. “We’ll bring you back some.”

  Katrina saw Jill standing next to a car and headed her way. “No need.” Katrina opened the door, tossing her backpack in. “I’m going with you.”

  Steve slapped his hand over his face and gave a big sigh. “I see an ass kicking in my future.”

  “What’s going on?” Jill asked Steve over the hood of the car.

  “Well, Blaze forbid her to go get pizza and instead to get to Slade’s office for the checkup she obviously purposely missed.” Steve removed his hand, then sighed again and got in the car. “That’s the appointment you had me cancel, wasn’t it?”

  Katrina didn’t answer.

  “Forbid?” Jill snorted, also getting in, and started the car. “Seems the Warriors like that word.”

  Again Katrina didn’t say anything, but her eyes met Jill’s in the rearview mirror and saw respect.

  “You sick?” Jill asked, her eyes still fixed on Katrina.

  “Nope,” Katrina replied, her eyes not wavering.

  “You getting pizza?” Jill asked, putting the car in gear.

  Katrina nodded with a smile. “With extra cheese.”

  “That’s my girl.” Jill focused on pulling out of the parking space and then the parking lot. “Forbid, our ass. They need to wipe that word out of their vocabulary.”

  “Speaking of asses.” Steve groaned. “Is there any way, any way at all, I won’t be blamed for this.”

  Katrina didn’t reply; instead, she watched Blaze walk out of the warehouse as they passed. He didn’t even look their way as he headed to his bike. What had she expected, words of love from the Warrior? A sign of respect? Nope, just the same shit she’d run from. She had lived this life, being ordered around by men, disrespected. Yeah, not happening anymore. She wasn’t a five-year-old, and she refused to be talked to as if she didn’t matter.

  “The blame is on me,” Katrina assured Steve as soon as Blaze was out of sight.

  “Not if I’m around.” Steve snorted.

  “If you want to drop me off, you can.” Katrina hadn’t considered that maybe Steve and Jill would get in trouble. She didn’t want that; this was her decision. She told them as much.

  Jill and Steve looked at each other before Steve turned to stare at her over the seat. “My middle name is Dangerous.”

  A loud snort from Jill filled the car.

  “Hey, it is, or will be as soon as I change it legally, which I’m planning on doing,” Steve said seriously. “And Jill just doesn’t give a crap because no one is going to give her shit unless they want the Slade Train making a stop on their ass.”

  “I’m glad you came,” Jill said, pulling into a parking lot. “One can only take so much of Steve.”

  “That’s because there’s so much awesome in this body.” Steve hopped out of the car and shifted into a weightlifter pose.

  Katrina laughed as she followed them inside. Once they found a table toward the back, she decided she wasn’t going to worry about the consequences she would probably face for disobeying Blaze’s orders. She was just probably one of the many women he had screwed in his life. Okay, where had that thought come from?

  “She’s been doing that a lot lately.”

  Hearing Steve, she realized the waitress was waiting to take her order. “Oh, just a small pizza with extra cheese,” Katrina said, handing her the menu. “And a sweet tea, please.”

  “A small pizza?” Steve frowned at her. “Really?”

  “Why? What did you guys get?” Katrina looked at Jill.

  “He got a large and I got a medium.” Jill grinned. “Honey, we don’t gain weight anymore. I eat a lot of everything now.”

  Katrina smiled at the waitress, who waited. “I’m good with my order, thanks.”

  “Hey, do you know what’s up with Jax and Blaze?” Steve asked, turning serious as soon as the waitress left to put in their order. “I thought they were going to come to blows before we left. Caroline was there too.”

  “I think someone in Blaze’s past has been haunting Caroline.” Jill thanked the waitress who brought their drinks. “And I don’t think Blaze wants to hear about it.”

  “Caroline talks to dead people,” Steve informed Katrina.

  “I know,” Katrina replied, more curious than ever. “Why wouldn’t he want to take care of it if it’s hurting Caroline?”

  “You got me, but it must be some pretty bad shit.” S
teve cocked his eyebrow. “I mean, I can’t really blame Blaze. Who the fuck wants to hear from dead people? Caroline and Lana are strong-ass women to be able to handle that stuff. I’d be pissing myself if some dead dude came waltzing up to me.”

  “I doubt they waltz.” Jill rolled her eyes.

  “And how would you know?” Steve narrowed his eyes at her. “Have you seen a dead person?”

  “Actually, yes.” Jill cocked her eyebrow at him. “Aren’t we technically dead?”

  “Ah, good point.” Steve thought for a moment. “But I mean dead, dead. Like in ghost floating around dead.”

  “Then no, I haven’t.”

  He pointed in Jill’s face. “Then you don’t know if they waltz.”

  Soon their pizzas arrived, and talk turned to eating. Katrina couldn’t stop thinking about Blaze. Why had he talked to her that way and why was he acting like that toward Jax and Caroline? She couldn’t even imagine what Caroline went through with dead people coming to her and her sister, wanting to deliver messages to people, especially when those people didn’t want to hear it. She had noticed the dark circles under Caroline’s eyes and understood Jax’s concern. Maybe Blaze wasn’t who she thought he was. The thought made her heart hurt.

  “Ah, shit!” Steve hissed, then looked at Katrina. “You’re busted, babe.”

  Katrina looked up at Steve, then over her shoulder to see Damon walking toward them looking pissed.

  Damon picked up a chair, turned it backward and straddled it, then his eyes met hers. “Decided to disobey orders, did you?”

  “I tried to tell her,” Steve said with a shake of his head, then mouthed “sorry” to Katrina. “She should listen to her superiors.”

  Jill snorted. “Seriously, Steve.”

  Damon’s eyes remained fixed on Katrina, but his eyebrow cocked at Steve’s words.

  “Guess Adam told you where we were.” Jill took another bite of pizza.

  “Seems someone was supposed to go to Slade’s office straight from training but didn’t show.” Damon glanced around the small restaurant then back at Katrina. “Not a smart move. You have a price on your head, if you’ve forgotten.”

  “Kind of hard to forget,” Katrina replied, knowing exactly what kind of a price she would pay if she were caught by the Iron Drakes.

  “We got her,” Jill said, tossing a big piece of crust on her plate. She then wiped her mouth. “Nobody would have—”

  “Slade’s on his way.” Damon turned to look at Jill. “We figured that you all would know the danger, but obviously we were wrong. This isn’t a game. This is serious.”

  Steve nodded as if agreeing with everything Damon said. “Very serious.”

  “It was your idea to get pizza, asshole, so stop acting like you’re Mr. Innocent,” Jill snapped at Steve. “Plus, we’re in a public place. No way would anything happen. They aren’t that stupid.”

  Katrina glanced at Damon, seeing he knew exactly what she knew.

  “Tell them, Katrina.” Damon tilted his head. “Tell them how serious this is.”

  Katrina cleared her throat as her past once again overwhelmed her. “He’s right.” Katrina hated this and wondered if she would ever be free from the MC. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think, and I know better than anyone how they operate. Us being in a public place wouldn’t matter.”

  Damon looked toward the door then stood. “Let’s go.” He threw down a fifty on the table.

  Katrina stood to follow Steve and Jill, but stopped when she spotted Blaze, his eyes narrowed as he stared at her. He looked damn sexy when he glared like that. Seriously, her life was a mess, and all she could think about was how sexy Blaze looked when he freaking glared.

  “If you’re thinking about running, don’t,” Damon leaned down and whispered. “I’m pretty fast.”

  With those words, her feet began to move, and she finally looked away from Blaze only to see Slade glaring at Jill, but Jill was glaring back. Maybe that was what she needed to do. So taking Jill’s lead, Katrina gave Blaze her meanest glare, which only earned her a smirk from that sexy mouth. God, she was pathetic.

  Chapter 15

  Blaze had left the warehouse to meet up with Katrina at Slade’s office. Once there, to say he was shocked and pissed that she didn’t show was an understatement. At first he feared she had been picked up by the Iron Drakes, but when Steve and Jill were not anywhere in the compound, he found Adam to confirm what he already knew. She had gone against his orders.

  Now standing inside the pizza place staring at her, relief that she was safe was swift. A call had gone out and Damon had been the closest, but that hadn’t stopped Blaze from breaking every speed law known to man to get there. He knew it was only a matter of time before the Drakes struck, and he didn’t want Katrina left unguarded. Period.

  Her miserable attempt at glaring at him actually had him grinning. She had spunk, which he respected, but she would learn to listen to him, especially now with the danger hanging over her beautiful head.

  Slade was already giving Jill hell as they walked out the door. Katrina tried to ease past him with Damon following her, but Blaze pulled her out of the way to let Damon pass.

  “Thanks, my man.” Blaze nodded to Damon as he passed.

  “We watch out for our own, so no problem.” Damon gave Katrina a pointed look before disappearing.

  “You got something to say for yourself?” Blaze looked down at her as they stepped out the door.

  Katrina pulled her arm out of his grasp. “Yes, I do.” She met his gaze. “I’m not a five-year-old who needs to be ordered around.”

  “Obviously, you do.” He let her walk away, his eyes going directly to her ass. “But definitely not a five-year-old.” He cocked his eyebrow, watching her sway before catching up to her. When she opened the car door, he removed her hand and slammed it shut. Jill was already on Slade’s bike after tossing Steve her keys.

  “Take the car back,” he told Steve as he led Katrina toward his bike.

  “Always leaving alone from the party.” Steve sighed dramatically as he disappeared inside the car.

  “My bag.” Katrina tried to go back to the car, but Blaze stopped her.

  “Will be at the compound. You can get it later.” Blaze pulled her with him, then stopped when he heard her gasp. He loosened his grip but didn’t let her go. “What?”

  “Nothing,” she replied without looking at him.

  “I know a gasp of pain when I hear it.” Blaze’s voice reflected his anger. “What’s hurt?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Katrina?” His voice hardened.

  “Blaze?” Katrina’s voice was sarcastic.

  “Woman, you are going to drive me insane.” Blaze sneered down at her.

  “Yeah, well see you there.”

  Blaze cursed as he continued to his bike, but was easier with her. His eyes kept scanning the area; his senses were buzzing, alert for danger. He got on, then turned his head to look at her. “Do I need to physically put you on the bike?”

  “No,” she hissed, but still didn’t slide on the bike.

  When it looked like she was going to argue, he growled loudly. It seemed to do the trick because she hopped on behind him. He started the bike and waited for her to wrap her arms around him, but when she obviously refused to touch him, he reached behind him and did it for her.

  “Hold on and don’t fucking let go,” he ordered. Rolling out of the parking lot, he headed in the opposite direction of the compound.

  ******

  She wanted to be mad. She really, really wanted to be mad, but feeling her body against his as the motorcycle roared beneath them made it hard. She found herself pressed up against him as she watched the scenery pass by and wished with everything she had that her life was perfect and the man in front of her was hers.

  The motorcycle slowed, and she squeezed her eyes shut, praying the ride wasn’t over so soon, but it was. Finally, she lifted her head from his back and looked around, not knowing where th
ey were. Reluctantly, she unwrapped her arms from around him and slid off the bike.

  “Where are we?” she asked as he climbed off the bike.

  “My place.” Blaze put his hand on the small of her back and led her toward the front door.

  Katrina was surprised as she took in the small house that had seen better days. The once white paint was peeling off, giving the house a haunted look. The shutters that weren’t missing were hanging askew, and dead weeds had taken over the whole yard. With care, it could be a really cute house. Though she seriously doubted Blaze would appreciate living in a cute house.

  “But I thought you lived at the compound.” Katrina waited while he unlocked the door.

  “I mostly do, but I have to get away from those assholes sometimes. When I saw this place, I bought it.” Blaze opened the door, then stepped aside so she could enter.

  Katrina walked in and sighed. It was an empty shell of a house. Only a kitchen table with two chairs that had seen better days filled the space. No curtains hung from the windows, only shades that were pulled down. No other furniture littered the room. There were no pictures, no life whatsoever.

  “It serves my purpose.” Blaze responded to her silence as if he knew exactly what she was thinking.

  “It’s nice, but empty.” Katrina looked up at him with a frown.

  “As I said, it serves my purpose.” He shifted uncomfortably.

  Okay, she was supposed to be mad at him, but all she wanted to do was take him in her arms to ease the loneliness she knew all too well. At least she felt that way for a short second until he went and ruined it.

  “What possessed you to disobey me?” Blaze went from looking uncomfortable to stern, which in turn switched her emotions of feeling bad for the big vamp to seething at the arrogant ass.

  “And what possessed you to think you could forbid me to do anything?” She shot back, then wished she hadn’t emphasized the word because his eyes darkened menacingly.

  “The word forbid never left my lips.” Blaze took a step toward her.

  Okay, if he was trying to intimidate her, it was working, but she was going to stand strong. “Pretty much the same thing in my book,” she countered, proud her voice didn’t break. “I promised myself when I ran from the Iron Drakes, I would never let anyone dictate my life, no matter what. It’s a very hard habit to break, and one I could easily fall back into. Do you know how many times I got to go out with friends to get a pizza?”