Sloan (The Protectors Series) Book #9

by Teresa Gabelman

  Once upstairs, Becky gave him a kiss, then disappeared on the balcony. He knew she was still missing her son. He felt the same way when she wasn’t in his presence.

  Heading into his bedroom, he unlocked his safe in his closet and removed a small box. Walking back out, he paused and watched her as she gazed at the river. The view he had on the top floor was magnificent, but with her standing there as part of the view, it was spectacular. She must have sensed him because she turned her head to look at him over her shoulder. Her smile was enough to drop him to his knees.

  Instead, he walked toward her, the box clasped in his hand. Reaching out, Sloan turned her around and then dropped to one knee. Opening the box, he turned it toward her. He had bought the ring after their first night together; that was how sure he had been she was his.

  “I have never loved before like I love you.” Sloan stared into her eyes, which were open wide in shock. “I know this is soon, but I have never been more sure of anything in my life. If you agree to be my wife, I would also ask for you to be my mate in the vampire way. I will never let you down, will love you forever, and I promise I will never break your heart. I’m an asshole, work too much and have some shitty habits, but know I love you and want you by my side for life.”

  Becky didn’t even look at the ring. She just threw herself at him, toppling them over. He broke her fall with his body.

  “Will you marry me, Becky Spencer?” Sloan said from his back, the box still in his hand.

  “I will marry you, Sloan, and you’re not an asshole.” She kissed his face all over. “And I’m your secretary, so when I think you’re working too hard, I will make you take a break. There’re things I’ve wanted to try in that office and chair and as for your shitty habits, I’ve a few of my own.”

  Sloan didn’t know how long they lay there, but it was long enough that he was ready to strip her clothes off. “Do you want your ring?” He laughed when she straddled him and gazed at the box.

  “Of course, but I’ve got all I need right here.” She finally glanced at the ring and gasped. It was a single rose diamond with a gold band. “It’s beautiful, Sloan.”

  “No, you’re beautiful.” He placed the ring on her finger, then rose to his feet, carrying her all the way. “Now, I’d like to make you my mate before we start the wedding planning.”

  “I’m all yours.” Becky sighed, hugging his neck.

  “Bet your sweet ass you are.” He gave her a whack as he carried her to his bed, closing the door with his foot.

  ******

  Blaze pulled into the compound and parked. Heading up the steps to the front door, he looked down and spotted blood splattered all the way up the steps, which then pooled at the door. His senses alert, he stepped over the blood, used his key, and slipped inside.

  His eyes followed the trail, but he hesitated and listened. Jill ran from Sloan’s office and almost passed him before she realized he was there. Her face was panicked and pinched in rage.

  “Oh, God, Blaze.” Jill grabbed his arm, pulling him. “It’s Katrina.”

  Blaze didn’t say a word, but pushed her to wherever Katrina was. His eyes followed the trail of blood as they ran, his worry for her overwhelming. Jill was heading toward Slade’s office. He passed the other Warriors, who were waiting outside in the hallway. Following Jill inside, his eyes landed on Katrina who lay lifelessly on the table. Cuts, bruises, and blood covered her. She was almost unrecognizable.

  “She’s sedated,” Slade said, his voice worried. “I’ve done all I can do for now. It doesn’t look good.”

  “What the fuck do you mean it doesn’t look good?” Blaze’s voice was low and deadly. “Why isn’t she in the hospital? Anyone else you would have taken, why not her?”

  “She can’t be moved, Blaze.” Slade remained calm. “She’s lost too much blood. If I move her now, there’s a chance she won’t make it. Give it until tonight. If she shows improvement, I’ll get her to the hospital.”

  Blaze couldn’t take his eyes off her prone form. Who in the fuck could do something like that to this girl, this sweet woman who would never hurt anyone? “Who did this?” Blaze asked.

  “We don’t know, yet.” Slade’s eyes darkened.

  “She told me she was going to the vet.” Jill sniffed, holding Katrina’s hand. “I asked her if she wanted a ride and she said no as she’d be a while because they were allowing her to work off that damn dog’s bill so she could take him. She was going to walk some of the dogs and clean kennels. She hoped to work enough today to pay them off and I couldn’t break her heart because I knew it would take more than just today. I offered her some money, but she refused and said she was looking forward to it.”

  “How did she get here?” Blaze still stared at Katrina and the more he stared, the angrier he became.

  “I found her on the steps.” Jared stood in the open doorway. “Sid checked the monitors and said she walked until she reached the steps, where she crawled the rest of the way.”

  His eyes shifted to the ground, his fists tightening at his sides. Someone was going to die an ugly death.

  “This was pinned to her shirt.” Slade handed him a piece of paper.

  Blaze took the bloodied paper. Looking down he read the note. WHO WILL BE NEXT? THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING. was written in bold black letters. Any control Blaze had went straight to hell.

  “Get him the fuck out of here,” Slade roared as heat came off Blaze in waves.

  He felt himself being tackled out of the room, down the hall and outside.

  “Jesus!” a voice shouted. “Burned the fuck out of my hand.”

  “Get away from me!” Blaze roared, his head falling back. He took deep, calming breaths that weren’t working worth a shit. He was ready to tear shit up. Fuck!

  Everyone listened and stayed the fuck back. Sloan and Becky pulled in, Sloan parking his bike and getting off.

  “Keep Becky back!” Jared shouted, running to block her.

  “I’m fine!” Blaze dropped his head, but his eyes were swirling and deep red.

  “Duncan called me.” Sloan reached out, taking Becky’s hand. “Where is she?”

  “With Slade,” Jared answered, but his eyes were still on Blaze.

  “We’ll find who did this,” Sloan said, his eyes on Blaze.

  Blaze finally talked himself down. It wasn’t easy, but he did it. He turned to Sloan. “Yes, I will.” He then headed for his bike. “Stay with her. I’ll be back.”

  “Blaze!” Sloan warned. He handed off Becky to Jared before he stepped in front of Blaze.

  “I’m fucking fine,” Blaze growled, his eyes going to Sloan’s. “I need to do something for her. Now get the fuck out of my way.”

  “Don’t make me regret stepping down,” Sloan replied. He then edged away to let Blaze pass.

  “Stay with her” was all he said as he jumped on his bike and headed out. As Blaze retraced the steps she would have taken, he kept his eyes out for anything odd that would clue him in on what the fuck happened. Reaching his destination, he walked inside to the counter.

  “Can I help you?” the girl asked, staring at his eyes and looking a little afraid.

  “We brought a dog in a few nights ago.” Blaze glanced around for a familiar face. “I wanted to pay the bill and take the dog.”

  “Do you have a name?” she asked with a frown.

  Fuck! “Ah, Katrina,” he said, wishing she would hurry.

  “Oh, yes.” She tapped something on the computer. “She was supposed to come in today to help. Dr. Reader said she could do that to pay the bill.”

  “Well, I’m here to pay it in full.” Blaze pulled out his wallet. “How much?”

  “Five hundred and sixty-five dollars,” she replied, then counted the money Blaze put on the counter and printed him a receipt.

  “I’ll go get him.” She took off toward the back and disappeared.

  Blaze’s anxiety gave him energy that he needed to get rid of, but no bastards who did that to Katrin
a were around. He swore when he found them, he would kill them in the most painful way he knew how. He paced the waiting room, making everyone inside nervous, but he didn’t give a shit.

  “Here he is.” The girl came out and so did the damn dog, with a white bandage wrapped around its torso.

  Blaze wasn’t a dog person. He didn’t know much about them, but when the dog spotted him his tail began to wag.

  “These are his pain meds.” She gave him a bottle and handed him the leash. “He needs them every twelve hours with food. And I think that’s it. You’re good to go.”

  She knelt down and petted the dog’s head. “See you later, Sager.”

  “Sager?” Blaze frowned, looking at the small dog.

  “Yeah, that’s the name Katrina gave him. She didn’t want him to be in here nameless. He even comes to the name as if he’s had it for years.”

  Blaze actually grinned. “What kind of dog is it?”

  “Full-blooded German Shepherd. He’s going to be huge. He’s only a puppy.” She stood, then headed back to the counter. “Good luck. Give us a call if anything happens.”

  Blaze nodded and headed out the door, the damn dog followed right by his side. Once at the bike, he wondered how in the hell he was going to pull this off. Carefully picking the damn dog up, he stuffed him safely under his shirt, then tucked it in. He pulled his collar down so the dog could peek out. It wasn’t the most comfortable thing, but it worked and he only had a short way to go.

  “Come, Sager,” Blaze said, then chuckled at the name. “Katrina needs you.”

  Once at the compound, Blaze didn’t even take him out of his shirt. He rushed inside and down the hallway to Slade’s office. Everyone was still there, even Sloan and Becky. Stepping inside, his eyes went directly to Katrina and then back to Slade.

  “She’s starting to heal, but it’s too soon to tell yet,” Slade answered his unasked question.

  “Why can’t she take my blood?” Blaze finally asked something he should have asked in the first place.

  “Because I can’t have her healing too fast.” Slade frowned down at Katrina. “As far as I can tell, she has nothing broken, but without X-rays, that’s not a certainty. We just wait.”

  Blaze paced toward the table, pulled out his shirt, and lifted the puppy out. He carefully set the puppy down next to Katrina, but was ready to pull him away if he started to get excited. That didn’t happen. Everyone watched amazed as the puppy, himself still wounded, carefully leaned over and sniffed Katrina’s cheek. He looked toward Blaze, then Katrina, and licked her cheek before curling up and snuggling his head in her neck.

  Sitting down in the chair, Blaze put his hand close to Katrina’s and wanted to touch her so badly, but didn’t. Too many eyes were on them. He looked back to the dog. Something touched his fingers. He turned to see her hand touching his.

  Jill began to cry again and left the room. Slade followed, shutting the door and everyone else out.

  Taking her hand in his, Blaze rubbed his thumb across a fading bruise on her wrist. “I swear to you I will find who did this.” Blaze looked up to her face. “Just don’t die on me. You will be revenged.”

  The damn dog lifted its head, its eyes on his as it growled low in its throat, as if agreeing with him. At that moment, Katrina applied pressure to his hand. A tiny flicker of hope filled Blaze and for the first time that he could remember, he prayed.

  Chapter 33

  Sloan sat at his desk going through papers. His eyes kept going to Becky, who sat at her computer. He could tell something was wrong and it was driving him crazy. Ever since Katrina had been found beaten and broken on the steps of the compound, Becky had been very quiet, not like herself at all. Actually, the mood around the compound was anything but good. One of their own had been violated, and that they took very seriously.

  Again, he glanced up to see her staring at him over her computer. “Becky, are you okay?”

  She glanced down for a second before looking back up, her eyes sparkling with tears. “No, not really.”

  Sloan stood and headed toward her. Gently reaching for her, he pulled her into his arms.

  “Is she going to be okay?” Becky said against his chest.

  “Slade is taking good care of her.” He rested his chin on her head.

  Becky was silent for a few seconds. “What you guys do is very dangerous, isn’t it?”

  Sloan sighed. “Yes, it is.” He knew he should have had this conversation with her before things got this far between them, but selfishly he hadn’t. “Sometimes things like this happen, but I swear to you, no one will ever touch you,” he vowed, his arms tightening around her.

  “Sloan, that’s not what I’m worried about.” Becky stared up at him. “I’m worried about you. Something like that could happen to you.”

  “Well, they can try,” he teased, tilting her chin up higher to look directly into her eyes. “But know that I have something in my life very important to me. I’m going to be one hard son of a bitch to take out.”

  “Uh, that doesn’t make me feel better.” She sniffed, but a twitch of her lips made him smile.

  “Becky, I promise you nothing will happen to me.” Sloan assured her, then kissed her softly. Rising from her lips, he still saw shadows in her eyes. “What else is bothering you?”

  Becky hesitated, biting her lip. “I don’t know how this is going to work.”

  This time Sloan pulled back away from her, his face going completely blank of any emotion. “How what is going to work?” His voice was even, his eyes narrowing. He had a feeling he was not going to like what she said next.

  “Us,” she whispered as a tear fell.

  Never had a word gutted him like the word she’d just spoken. For once in his life, he was speechless. He just didn’t want to question what she meant, afraid to hear the answer. Sloan Murphy wasn’t afraid of a fucking thing. At least, that was the case until she walked into his life.

  “I know nothing about you, or your life. I’m human, you aren’t.” Her voice caught, but she cleared it and went on, “What happens when I start getting older, Sloan? What happens then, when you no longer find me attractive?”

  “You will take my blood, Becky. It will keep you young.” Sloan felt a little better hearing her problem was just that and not because her feelings had changed for him.

  “I have a son, Sloan.” Becky’s chin wobbled and her eyes filled again. “How is that going to work? A mother’s worst fear, my worst fear is losing my son before I die. A mother is supposed to die before her children. I never even took the time to think of this until Katrina. How different we are. How different I am from you.”

  Her words hit him and he honestly didn’t have a solution. For fuck’s sake, he stood there like a complete fucking idiot as his life slipped out of his hands. And there was not a fucking thing he could do about it, except stare at her.

  “I have to go. I have to think.” Becky stepped further away from him, snatching her bag off the table. “I’m so sorry.”

  “Becky, wait!” Sloan called out, but she was gone and he let her go, for the moment. He would give her only a moment to think and then he would find her.

  ******

  Becky drove in the drizzling rain, happy that Frankie was still in town having dinner with his father before he headed back to school. He agreed to meet with her outside of the restaurant. She had to talk to him. She was confused and needed to talk to her son.

  What happened between her and Sloan was fast and furious. One minute she was his secretary and the next she was in his bed, his mate and future wife. All that was fine, other than the fact that she hadn’t thought things through. Didn’t understand what it meant to be in love with a vampire. Who in the hell would have thought she would have had to consider that one day?

  Katrina’s condition had sent all sorts of thoughts through her mind and they wouldn’t stop. With her feelings for Sloan growing every second, she needed to understand exactly what…. Hell, she didn’t know w
hat she needed to understand. She did know she needed to see Frankie.

  Pulling up to the restaurant, she got out and texted Frankie. Within minutes he was outside, and she was holding on to her son.

  “Mom, you’re freaking me out.” Frankie hugged her close. “What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

  Becky told him about Katrina. “I never realized what being in a relationship with a vampire, a Warrior vampire would entail.”

  “Mom, come on.” Frankie frowned at her. “You’re tougher than this. What’s really going on?”

  “I can’t stay with him.” She shook her head, a few tears escaping, her heart totally breaking. “He will stay the same while I get old. How in the hell can I even think that’s okay?”

  Frankie laughed, actually chuckled. “Then have him change you into a vampire, Mom.”

  “Have you lost your mind?” Becky gasped, looking up at him in horror.

  “Ah, no, but I think you have.” Frankie snorted, then shook his head. “Do you love him, Mom? Actually, let me answer that. Yes, you do. I have never seen you this happy before, ever, and I’ve known you for a pretty long time. Every single time I’ve called you, I’ve wanted to gag because you’re disgustingly happy.”

  “Gag?” Becky frowned at him.

  “Yes, gag.” Frankie snorted again. “Oh, Sloan did this and Sloan said that.” He changed his voice to sound like her.

  Becky slapped her hands on her cheeks and stared at her son. “If I change, then I will watch you grow old as I stay the same. I can’t do that, Frankie.”

  “And why not?” Frankie frowned, his eyes narrowing. “Do not use me like this.”

  “Like what?” Becky gasped, not liking his tone.

  “You stayed with Dad for me and you were miserable.” Frankie glared at her. “Do not leave a man you love because of me.”

  Becky fell against her car, her head sinking to her chest. “I never meant to….”

  “Knowing how much you love me is enough, Mom.” Frankie touched her shoulder before wrapping his arm around her and leaning next to her. “It’s time to live your life and let me live mine. Actually, I think it would be awesome to have a vampire for a mom and who knows, I may find a vampire of my own one day. Living forever sounds pretty awesome.”