Time of Death Series: Books 1-3: An Eternal Series Boxed Set

by Candy Crum

  “I’m glad you were the one to take that call. I really need to get this whole brain of mine under control. I don’t think very clearly.”

  He nodded. “Don’t worry; you’ll get there. You’re doing great. If you don’t watch it, with the work you’re doing and trying to do, you’re going to end up being a cop yourself.”

  Hmm… I wondered what that would be like… To be a cop. Especially if I could be out in the open with who I really was. The thought wasn’t entirely bad…

  Chapter Eight

  We finished packing everything up, and Andrews led me to the large garage. He wanted to take the ATVs, but I reminded him just how loud that would be. He’d lost his cool and began to freak out a bit. He was always so calm with intense situations, but when it came to his family, he easily lost his mind.

  “Do it. Do the thing,” he said. “I can’t go in there like this. I’m shaking. This isn’t like me, but I can’t seem to help it. She just lost her daughter, and now this. All because of me.”

  I shook my head. “No. Andrews, you know I love you to death, but this was not you. I’m sorry… But this was Michelle. She opened the door. They picked your sister because of her recent loss and because they knew you’d flip out exactly as you are.”

  “Don’t let me give that to them. Tristan calmed me down the day we found Michelle. You can, too. Please.”

  I sighed. I knew that I could. Not like Tristan could, and not nearly as effective, but I could do it. It was just a bit of compulsion, but unlike my father, I needed to establish a connection through touch. I stepped forward and placed my hand on the side of his face, his eyes closing as I did. His brows were furrowed, and I could feel the tension in him. The connection was immediate, his energy intertwining with my own. I drew from it a bit, taking some of the anxiety away. His posture relaxed, and his heartrate slowed.

  His eyes slowly opened as he looked down into mine. “Thank you.”

  I nodded. “Do you feel better now?”

  “Much. Succubi are amazing creatures,” he said.

  I winked. “Not so bad yourself. Now, forget the ATVs. Like I said—they’re too loud. We need to take the golf cart. It’ll be quicker than going on foot, and quieter than the ATVs.”

  We loaded up the sniper rifle, and the bag of goodies in the golf cart—hilarious as that was. Rolling up on ATVs would have been so much cooler than a damn golf cart. I felt even more ridiculous since I couldn’t drive said cart. Still, looking at the bigger picture, it wasn’t that big of a deal. Strategic was better than looking cool, depressing as that was.

  We’d gone about a mile and a half before he stopped. He knelt down and pulled the binoculars from the bag and handed them to me. He then removed the Ruger from the case and quickly reloaded the two magazines before loading one in the gun and chambering a bullet. That was handed to me as well.

  “It’s loaded. The safety is on. Take the other magazine and put it in your pocket. We are going to stay low and move toward the house.”

  “They had to have heard us out here shooting. They are fucking stupid to do something like this. I can’t believe they actually believed that you were in Jackson. They must not have a clue that your parents are right next door. What about them anyway? Are they home?” I asked.

  Andrews shrugged. “It’s possible the jackasses assumed it was a hunter somewhere. And no. They were supposed to be there, but Mom wanted to make us dinner, so she and Dad went out for some things. They’ll be back soon.”

  “Yeah… I’d send a text to make sure they stay gone,” I said. “You don’t want to take any chances.”

  He nodded. “Let’s go. Just remember what I taught you, okay? Stay focused and don’t shoot too soon. Try not to shoot at all.” He sighed, shaking his head. “I can’t lose her, too.”

  I nodded. “I know. It’ll be okay. We’ll get her out safely.”

  We made our way through the woods, getting off the path and staying low. My nerves were on edge. There was no way to know how everything would turn out, but I knew that we couldn’t let it go badly. Everything had to be okay—for Andrews and for Paula, his sister.

  Once we were only a few hundred yards out, we stopped, and Andrews set up the Remington 700 on a downed tree. I put the Ruger down and lifted the binoculars. There were a lot of trees in the way, but I managed to find a good spot that allowed me to see through to the house.

  My eyes widened as I stared at the man that I’d met in the warehouse. I fucking knew that I’d recognized that voice. He’d killed Will… He’d killed Andrews, too. And I’d let him go. I’d let him go to warn Jay that I was coming for them.

  “What’s that look? Why are you silent?” Andrews asked.

  “The man that I compelled to return to Jay and warn him that I was coming for him… He’s here.”

  “What?” Andrews asked, kneeling behind the rifle to look through the scope.

  “You can take him. He’s in the kitchen. You have him. Just set the sights on him.”

  “That’s not how it works. Not at this distance. Trees, wind. There are things to take into account.”

  “Yeah, well… You didn’t teach me how to shoot it, now did you? So, how the hell would I know? Look—I see them. There are four of them.”

  He was stock still as he adjusted the scope. “I see them. We can only see four. That doesn’t mean there are only four. They’re—I’d say at least two hundred and fifty yards. I’d love to be able to take him, Mia, but I’m a cop. I can’t do that.”

  I growled as I focused, staring the man in the eye, though he had no idea I was even there. “Is that so? Well, tell me then, Andrews—Why the hell is he here? Do you think he is here by accident? Do you think he just stumbled through here, accidentally broke in, and then made a booboo by holding your sister at gunpoint?”

  There was a shift in Andrews’ energy. He was angry. “We have to get her out of there,” Andrews said. “I need to call someone. I can’t do it like this. I’m a cop.”

  “No. We need to kill those men and send them back in body bags. After what they caused? Do I need to remind you of what they’ve done? Your niece? The three children they killed a few days ago in a horrific fire? The four teachers? The many other kids and faculty that were injured? You. You seem to forget, Andrews. These men—that bastard in the black jacket specifically—killed you, too. Are you really going to just go in and have a chat with them? You damn well know that if the podunky excuse for a hillbilly SWAT team they have here in Mount Vernon shows up, they won’t be your men. You will have no jurisdiction. They will run you over without listening to you and Jay’s men will kill her as soon as they hear them coming.”

  He sighed, shifting his weight from one knee to the other. “That may be true. But if I take that shot, then I will kill your only lead to Jay. He’s the one you sent back to Jay. He’s the one you compelled to warn him. He’s the one that will know where Jay went.”

  Damn! He was right. That bastard would know exactly where Jay was.

  “What do we do?” I asked.

  “We need to split up,” he said.

  “Uh… Qué? Yeah, hot stuff, I think that’s gonna be a big no-go. First—I have no idea what I’m doing. I’ll give us away. Second—I’m kind of immortal. So, if bullets do fly, I can take a few for you.”

  “We still have plenty of time. We just have to make sure we make the right moves. Do you trust me?”

  I sighed, then nodded. I did trust him. “Yes. Unfortunately.”

  He smiled. “Good. How good is your hearing?”

  I shrugged. “Not as good as Cass’, but a hell of a lot better than yours.”

  “Good. I’m going to put my Bluetooth headphones on and call you. Since you didn’t bring any, just lock your phone and keep it in your pocket. You should be able to hear me okay. You won’t be able to talk to me, but that’s okay. You shouldn’t need to. Just do what I tell you and use hand signals if need be. Just wing it. If you absolutely need to say anything, just take the pho
ne out of your pocket and tell me.”

  “This is going great so far,” I said with a roll of my eyes as I muted the ringer on my phone. “Call me. This is ridiculous. You realize that, right?”

  “Without any tactical gear or wireless communication shit, we kind of have to improvise,” he said.

  He called me then, and I answered, placing it in my left pocket. I growled in frustration. I was getting better at it, and I kind of liked doing it.

  “Just tell me what to do,” I said.

  “Can you be stealthy? I mean absolutely no noise. Nothing.” I sighed in response before nodding. “Then I’m going to stay here and cover you. You’re going to go and sneak around the house to see if there are any others.”

  I rolled my eyes again. “Nice plan. This is going to go south, FYI. We just need to light the bitches up.”

  “If this works, you’ll be feeling pretty good about yourself. You’ll have successfully taken them down without killing anyone, and we can arrest and question them. For phase two, you’ll need to lure them out. If you can get them alone, try to do that succubus touch thing. Compel them if you can. Force them to submit and go for the next one.”

  I nodded and took the Ruger off the tree before crouching and making my way toward the house. It was a bit surprising that my legs held out as long as they did with running in that position. That’s not to say, however, that they didn’t burn like the fires of Hades were somehow trying to consume me from the inside out. As I got closer, I looked around the area and listened for any footsteps that might fall outside.

  “Do you see anything? Just nod or shake your head,” Andrews said.

  I shook my head, both because I didn’t see anything and also because I found the whole thing ridiculous. But—he was right. It wasn’t like we had the proper equipment with us to do it the right way, or the cool way, I guess I should say. If I was going to do sneaky cop shit, I wanted the stuff to do it like the movies! Though, I don’t think it really worked that way...

  Slowly, I began to make my way out of the tree line, making sure to steer clear of any windows as I did. I didn’t make it far before I saw a man on the East side of the house with an assault rifle. He had his back turned toward me, looking at something in the flowers, but that wouldn’t be for long. They clearly weren’t fucking around if they had assault rifles. I looked back in Andrew’s direction.

  I heard a faint, “I see him,” come from my pocket. “I don’t have a clear shot,” Andrews said.

  Fuck…

  Looking around, I saw no easy way to approach other than run up, right out in the open. My steps would have to be light. I heard Andrews say something, but I didn’t make it out. I was too lost in my mind to hear anything. After a deep breath, I ran. I stayed on my toes and carefully watched my path to make sure that I stepped in the quietest places possible.

  I was only a few steps away when he turned. His eyes widened as he struggled to lift what appeared to be an AR15 in time to kill me, but he was too slow. I smashed into the man that I now realized was more than twice my size, taking him down to the ground. He struggled for a moment, but I grabbed his wrist, letting my aura flare. He gave in to me and loosened the grip on his rifle. I took it from him and hit him in the face with the stock, effectively rendering him unconscious.

  I pulled my phone from my pocket. I kept my voice as low as possible. “Andrews, they have assault rifles. I don’t know how to use this, and I don’t want to leave it on the ground for someone else to pick up and use on me.”

  “I’ll walk you through it. Just relax. First thing, check to see if one’s in the chamber. There’s a bolt catch on the left side. It looks like a little mini-ping-pong paddle.”

  It kind of did, oddly enough. “Okay. Got it.”

  “Press the bottom of it…”

  I spent the next few seconds listening to his instructions and fumbling with the rifle. It was, in fact, fully loaded with a bullet already in the chamber. Glad we established that the murderous coke dealers knew what they were doing.

  “Look for the safety switch. Make sure it’s not set to burst. You want semi.”

  “Got it,” I said. “What do I do now? I am completely lost out here.”

  “Shh,” Andrews said. “You have company on the south side.”

  After shoving my phone back in my pocket, I quietly—and painfully—duckwalked to the southeast corner of the house. Without a doubt, I needed to get back in the gym. I’d have to make sure Cass trained me. Peeking around, I saw two men moving around. Each one had assault rifles. There was no way in hell I’d be able to stand up to assault rifles, even with one of my own. My compulsion wasn’t that good, and I sure as shit wasn’t good with a gun—even the little Ruger I’d stuffed in the back of my pants.

  “Mia,” Andrews whispered. “I’m taking the shot. They are both armed. I’ll only have time to take one. They’re too close together. The other will see the direction it came from and start shooting out this way. Be ready.”

  I held up my hand in his direction, praying he would see it. That sounded like a terrible plan.

  “What?”

  I held up a single finger, and I could hear him sigh. I looked back over my shoulder and saw the guy that I’d knocked out. There was no way for me to know if it would work or not, but it was worth a try. If Andrews took that shot, it would alert everyone inside and out that they weren’t alone. It would risk his sister.

  Placing a hand on my sleeping assailant’s shoulder, I shook him. Slowly, he came around. He jumped, but I leaned forward and pressed my lips to his before he had a chance to make a move. I felt his energy seal with mine. I had him exactly where I wanted him.

  Pulling away, I looked into his eyes. I could see my reflection in his pupils and knew my irises were glowing blood red. “Listen carefully,” I said.

  He nodded. “Yes, Mistress.”

  “You’re going to walk around this building and greet your friends. I don’t care what you have to do, but knock their asses out. Quietly.”

  He nodded again. “Yes. I can do that for you.”

  He stood and walked around the house. He had blood all over his face, but even in his compulsion-induced stupor, he was smart enough to wipe it clean. After duckwalking my way back to the corner of the house, I listened. It was impressive just how well he obeyed. I couldn’t look, or I might be seen, but it didn’t take long for the grunting and thumps of two bodies hitting the ground to ring through my ears.

  “What the hell did you do?” Andrews asked.

  My big dumb puppy returned with a smile on his face. “I did what you asked.”

  “Shh! Keep your voice down. We don’t want to get caught. Now… I need you to go in there and lure one of your friends out. Only one if you can.”

  After a few moments, I heard the door open and close. He was inside. I pulled my phone from my pocket. “I’m not sure, but I think this might work. It’s going well so far.”

  “Nope. Two coming out the south door. They’re moving fast, so they know something’s up. You take them. If they know something’s gone bad, then I have to take out the guy inside to save my sister. He’s the only one I see in there.”

  I could hear the guys moving through the back yard. Any second now they’d make their way around the corner and see me. I heard a single shot fire. It was Andrews.

  “It came from the woods!” one of the guys shouted.

  Their steps picked up, and they ran right by me, not even seeing me crouching on the eastern wall as they headed toward Andrews. I put the assault rifle on the ground—knowing that I’d never be able to shoot it accurately anyway—and ran toward the two men.

  They turned, and I jumped, mule-kicking one in the chest and sending him flying back as I landed hard on the ground. The other lifted his rifle, but was stopped with a bullet through the thigh. He screamed as he fell to his knees, the AR15 dropping to the ground. The one that I’d kicked down started to sit up, and I rolled to my side, pulling the Ruger from my wai
stband.

  Now, unfortunately for me, I was a bit slow with the safety on the Ruger, so I took a bullet to the shoulder. The good news, however, was that pain and rage really made me a good shot, and he took a nine-millimeter bullet to the face.

  “Nice shot!” Andrews said.

  My shoulder hurt like hell, but that wasn’t important. Looking at the man in front of me, I didn’t plan for that discomfort to last long. Pointing my gun at the man that Andrews had shot, I said, “Don’t fucking move.” I then made my way over and grabbed him by the throat before kissing him. It was so easy to let the anger flow through me so I could draw from him. The swell of energy surrounded him, and I didn’t hold back. Within moments, I dropped him down to the ground, presumably dead, and the bullet in my shoulder pushed its way out.

  I climbed to my feet and ran for the house. By the time I got there, Andrews was moving out of the woods. Once I was inside, I saw the guy that Andrews had killed by the large windows, his blood having painted the kitchen. The guy that I had compelled was dead on the floor with a slit throat, which explained why I didn’t hear any gunfire inside. I would have felt bad for him if he hadn’t murdered innocent people before. The bond made me feel some kind of remorse because I felt “responsible” for him. I shook it off.

  He wasn’t my focus.

  No, no. My focus was the man that was now standing behind Paula, who was bound and gagged and sitting in the kitchen. He stood there, holding a gun to the back of her head. I’d compelled him to never hurt anyone else. I’d never compelled him not to tell other people to hurt someone else, however. So, he had exploited a loophole with the others. That made sense. But not the gun pointed at Paula.

  “Fuck,” I heard Andrews say as he made his way in behind us.