by Jackie May
The numbers of the car’s license plate are on the tip of my tongue, but all thought flies from my head when I look into his deep blue eyes. He’s holding me in his arms, and our faces are just inches apart. I shudder, shocked by the closeness, and the sudden desire that sweeps though me. His pupils dilate, and he sucks in a sharp breath, as if he can feel my desire. He probably can. Dammit. This can’t happen. I refuse to be attracted to a vampire, even if he is looking at me with smoldering eyes that are warming parts of me that have no business being warm right now.
“Nora…” His voice, thick and husky, sounds agonized. “Are you okay?”
“Fine,” I rasp. Shit. I even sound like I want him. What the hell is wrong with me?
Henry’s growl as he rips me from Parker’s arms could match Wulf’s. The violent jostling of being pulled from one man’s arms into another’s makes my vision blur and my stomach roll. My head pounds so hard that I can’t even fight Henry as he slams me against his chest. “She is mine. You’re pushing my limits tonight, Parker.”
“Forgive me, Sire. I was only worried about her. She looks as if she’s about to pass out.”
Henry’s eyes snap to my face, and his brow furrows. “You do look unwell. Come, let’s find you a place to rest for a bit.”
Henry carries me out of the hallway into the main dance hall. Parker rights an overturned couch. After he brushes it off, Henry lays me down as if I’m Sleeping Beauty and pushes my hair off my forehead. I glare at him, but I can’t hold it because my head hurts too bad. I close my eyes with a groan and throw an arm over my face.
“It’s going to be all right, love,” Henry says. “Terrance, could you please get Nora a glass of water? We need to have her feeling better if she’s to continue.”
Gee. How thoughtful of him.
“No need to continue,” I say, swatting his hand away from me. “I got the license plate. Michigan. 4BX 36K.”
When silence follows my statement, I move my arm from my face to find everyone gaping at me. “The kidnapper’s license plate?” Wulf asks. He and Terrance are wide-eyed and slack-jawed. Parker and Henry are only slightly less surprised. I feel like I should be insulted. Did none of them have any faith in me?
“Yeah. 4BX 36K. Someone write it down. Once I soak up an imprint, it’s gone for good.”
Terrance finds a pen and paper behind the bar, and after he writes down the number, he pulls out his phone. “I’ll call it in to Gorgeous.”
Whatever the hell that means, Henry doesn’t seem thrilled about it. He dashes over to the bar to stop Terrance from making his call. “No. I will have Parker look into it.”
“But Gorgeous is already working the case.”
“No!” Henry snaps. “I don’t want the FUA to know about Nora. They’re power hungry. They will ask too many questions.”
Terrance’s face flushes red, and he takes a menacing stance. “The FUA is our best chance at finding Shandra and the others. I won’t ignore that just because you want to break a few rules.”
Henry sputters at the accusation. “Nora is human. I have broken no underworld laws.”
“Then you won’t mind if I call Gorgeous and let him run the plates.”
Henry and Terrance fall into a heated argument that has Parker and Wulf trying to voice their own opinions and play peacekeepers.
I’m not quite sure what they’re talking about. I’ve never heard of the FUA. It almost sounds like they mean the cops. But there’s no way underworlders would work with the human police.
Whatever they’re arguing about, they’re getting really riled up over it and aren’t paying the least bit of attention to me. Now could be the chance for escape I’ve been waiting for. It’s a long way from my couch to the exit, but it’s my only chance. I have to try.
There’s nothing for me to do but stand up and walk away, so I take a deep breath and get up. When no one notices anything, I casually head for the door, trying to be as quiet as possible. It’s slow going because it’s difficult to step quietly with all of the debris on the floor. As I weave my way around what used to be some stools and a bar table, I notice one of the chair legs has been splintered off and has a rather pointy end. I can’t help thinking it looks like a great wooden stake. It’s in my hands before I can even debate whether the wooden stake myth is true or not.
“Fine, ask him to run the plates!” Henry shouts. “But leave Nora out of it!”
Shit. I’m out of time, so I make a mad dash for the door. Henry’s on me before I get two steps, grabbing me from behind. His hands clamp around my arms, and he hisses in my ear, “Are you trying to leave me?”
The anger in his voice sends a chill up my spine. I clutch the broken table leg close to my chest as Henry pulls my back against him. “Can you blame me?” I ask.
Henry’s hands tighten around my arms enough to make me cry out in pain. “I am tired of this game, Nora,” he growls. “You. Are. Mine.”
“The hell I am. I’d rather die.” My words may be brave, but my entire body is shaking.
“So be it.”
The tingling of my intuition kicks in. The hairs on my arms and neck stick up, and pure dread washes over me. For the first time since I met him, Henry means to do me harm.
Henry releases one of my arms to sweep my hair away from my skin and runs his nose along the side of my neck. “In death you will adore me,” he murmurs. “With a proper sire bond, you will want me as desperately as I want you.”
I shiver, and not from the breath blanketing my neck. He’s going to turn me—make me one of his vampires. “Don’t you dare!”
I thrash in his grip. I don’t have a chance in hell to escape him, but I can’t help my body’s natural fight or flight instincts. I can’t become a vampire. I just can’t turn into one of the monsters that killed my mom. I couldn’t live with myself if I did.
My only option is the piece of wood I’m holding. It’s not much, but I’m not going to just stand here and let him make me a vampire without a fight. “Turn me around,” I say, gripping the makeshift weapon. “Look me in the eye when you take my life.”
Henry can’t resist the challenge. He whirls me around, never realizing I have something in my hands. I don’t think. I just shove the wood into him with every ounce of strength I have. I half expect him to be impervious to it, but the stake pierces his skin and sinks a good six inches deep into his chest.
Henry lets out an anguished scream and backhands me across the face so hard I fly back a few feet. I crash to the floor with a cry of pain. Terrance releases a mighty roar as I go down. The sound is guttural, and makes everyone in the room stop and gasp. I try to sit up, to see what’s going on, but I can’t manage it. My face is on fire, and my head is still spinning. Henry hit me hard enough to nearly snap my neck. I definitely have a concussion, and I wouldn’t be surprised if my cheekbone is broken.
A gurgling cough catches my attention. I turn my head just in time to watch Henry fall to the ground. Parker rushes to his side and yanks the bloody stake from his chest. He clamps a hand over the gushing wound. “Bring Nora to me,” Henry rasps.
I staked the bastard, and he can still talk? He’s like a damn cockroach. “Bring Nora to me!” he demands again, his voice already growing stronger. Damn him and his vampiric healing.
Terrance and Wulf sure as hell aren’t going to obey Henry, so Parker reluctantly removes his hands from Henry’s chest and rises to his feet. The second he turns my direction, Terrance snarls. I can’t see his face because he’s crouching protectively in front of me as if guarding me from everyone in the room, but whatever scowl he’s sporting, it’s enough to make Parker freeze.
The silence stretches out so long I start to wonder what’s going on.
“Impossible,” Wulf mutters, gaping with wide eyes at Terrance.
Parker is still frozen with shock and looks paler than normal.
“What’s going on?” I ask. My words come out in a slurred moan.
Terrance whirls around when I
speak, and I nearly shriek at what I see. His eyes are black—all black—as if a demon has taken possession of his body. They look soulless.
“Terrance?” I whisper. I can’t help the fear in my voice.
He lifts his big, meaty hand to my face with a touch so soft I wouldn’t have thought him capable of it. The gentleness he’s showing doesn’t match the rage he seems locked in. I’ve heard of trolls losing their temper and going crazy on everyone and everything in sight, but this is different.
“Easy, Nora,” Parker whispers. “Don’t make any sudden movements. Terrance won’t hurt you, but if you startle him, he might come after the rest of us.”
“What’s going on?” Henry demands.
He sits up slowly. The gaping wound in his chest is already starting to heal. The second he moves, Terrance growls. The sound comes from deep in his belly, sending a shock of fear into me. I’ve never heard anything more menacing. Combine that with those eyes, and Terrance is the most frightening thing I’ve ever seen.
Wulf immediately lifts his hands up. “Easy, big guy. You’ve got Nora. She’s safe. We won’t let Henry near her.”
Henry’s mouth falls slack. “No,” he whispers, shaking his head in disbelief. “She’s human. It’s not possible.”
“She’s not a normal human, though, is she?” Parker says.
“She’s not a troll!” Henry shouts. “Trolls’ instincts only kick in for their family and their mates! She’s neither!”
Terrance roars again, and Wulf scrambles over next to Parker to try and block Henry from his view. Nobody moves after that. I don’t even think they breathe. Everyone looks a combination of completely shocked and terrified enough to piss themselves. I guess pushing a troll to his breaking point is serious business and doesn’t happen often.
We all stay frozen in silence, waiting to see what Terrance does. Terrance is not acting like himself. He’s clearly protecting me, but I think he’s lost his sanity. He seems like a caged animal about to break loose.
The stillness is shattered when the sound of a motorcycle cuts through the air and purrs to a stop outside. Moments later, the front door bursts open and in strolls—and I do mean strolls—a tall, black-haired, chocolate-eyed, dimple-faced, mocha-skinned stranger dressed in cowboy boots, tight jeans, and a tight gray Nirvana T-shirt under a black leather jacket.
The stranger stops walking when Terrance snarls a warning at him. He takes one look at the troll, and his mouth pops open and his eyebrows climb his forehead. His eyes rake curiously over me, stopping on my face. I’m sure it’s bruised and swollen all to hell and a trickle of blood is streaking from my nose.
The man looks at Terrance again and smirks. “Interesting.”
I snort a laugh at the casual understatement and then curse when my face explodes in more pain.
The stranger’s lips twitch, and his eyes spark with humor. I’m torn between laughing again and flipping the man off. I settle for giving him the finger because it hurts less. The man bursts into laughter and heads for the bar. “I like her, Terrance.”
The endless pools of nothingness that used to be Terrance’s eyes track the new guy’s movement across the room. The troll growls again and hovers on his toes as if readying to pounce. Terrance is on the brink of ripping the stranger apart limb by limb, but the guy does nothing more than grin at him and grab one of the few bottles still in tact behind the bar. No one else has dared to move yet.
I stare, bewildered, as the man pours himself a shot of something with a bluish glow, and kicks it back in one gulp. I can’t look away. I mean, a scary-looking black cowboy-rock star with a baby face and dimples? Really? Strangely enough, it works for him. Though, with the amount of confidence he’s radiating, I’d bet anything would work for him. But who the hell is this guy that he can walk in like he owns the place and pour himself a drink while Henry’s a bloody mess on the floor and Terrance is…whatever he is.
The man scans the room again, taking in every detail this time, and cocks his eyebrow when he notices Henry. He reaches for the bloody stake and looks at me. “I take it this was your handiwork?”
I slowly pull myself into a sit. If this guy can move around without Terrance going berserk, then so can I. Once I’m upright and the room has stopped spinning, I shrug at the new guy. “He was going to turn me.”
The stranger grins. “Nice aim, but a word to the wise. Next time use an ash-wood stake. It’s the only kind that’ll get the job done. That, or cut off his head. Fire works with vamps, too. That’s about it.”
I smirk, even though it hurts my face. “Good to know.”
The man winks at me, then turns his playful smile on Terrance. “How you doing, buddy? Calming down yet? Your little charge there looks like she’s not feeling too good. Enzo’s on call right now. You rein it in a bit, and we can meet him over at the Agency and get her all patched up.”
“Stay out of this, Gorgeous,” Henry snaps suddenly. Parker helps him sit up and Terrance growls again, but it’s not quite as menacing as before. He must be calming down a little.
“Nora is my responsibility. I’ll take her to my own healer—”
Henry’s cut off by another vicious snarl, and I’m scooped up into Terrance’s arms so fast I lose my breath.
“Yeah…” Gorgeous says to Henry. “Doesn’t look to me like that’s happening.” If his smugness wasn’t directed at Henry, I might find his arrogance annoying. Instead, the guy is my hero.
“She’s still mine. I’ve claimed her for a mate.”
Gorgeous chews on this new bit of information. He holds up the blood-soaked stake to examine it in the light and then points the tip at Henry. “Seems to me she’s not too interested in becoming your mate.”
“Not at all,” I clarify cheerfully. “He’s holding me against my will.”
Henry glares at me, then scowls so hard at Gorgeous his eyes start to turn red again. Whether he doesn’t like what Gorgeous said or he simply doesn’t like the man himself, I can’t tell. But it’s clear Mr. Gorgeous loves to irk Henry.
“She’s human,” Henry says indignantly. “Claiming her is my right. I don’t care if she triggered Terrance’s protective instincts. He can’t just take what is mine.”
“Well, I’m sure as hell not going to argue with him while he’s in that state, so why don’t we all head down to the Agency, get the pretty human all healed up, and sort this mess out with the director?”
“What agency?” I ask. “Director of what? Who are you? And…is your name seriously Gorgeous?”
Gorgeous grins at me like I’ve just made his entire day. “Can you think of a more appropriate name?”
I snort again and then wince. The guy needs to stop making me laugh. “Conceited much?”
“And proud of it.” He pulls a leather ID wallet from his pocket and tosses it to me. I’m still cradled like a baby in Terrance’s arms, but I manage to catch the ID.
“Nick Gorgeous, at your service. I work for the Federal Underworld Agency. The F U Agency for short.”
I roll my eyes at his stupid acronym—though it’s admittedly more entertaining than S.H.I.E.L.D.—and focus on the more important fact. This guy’s a cop. An underworld cop. Like an FBI agent or something. I didn’t even know that existed.
And, I’ll be damned, his name really is Nick Gorgeous.
“And you are?” he asks when I toss his badge back to him.
“Nora Jacobs. Psychic human kidnapped by that asshole”—I point to Henry—“and now a major witness in your missing underworlders case. Get me out of here, and I’ll tell you everything I know.”
The cool and calm federal agent raises his eyebrows in surprise again. “A witness, you say? In my missing persons investigation?”
“A strong eyewitness,” I tell him. “I saw Shandra get abducted. I can describe the men involved and the car, and I’m the one who got the license plate.”
Slowly, a shit-eating grin spreads across his face. “Well, well, well. It sounds like I need to ta
ke you in for questioning.”
I can’t help matching his grin. “Definitely.”
“And maybe some protective custody is in order, too.”
“Sounds fabulous.”
“Well then, Miss Jacobs, follow me.”
“Gorgeous!” Henry snaps. “You can’t just take her!”
Nick—I refuse to call him Gorgeous—whirls on Henry, and for the first time tonight I understand how he might not be afraid of a pissed off troll. He pulls his shoulders back, and when he stands up straight, something about him changes. It’s almost as if the air around him somehow shifts. The man radiates a frightening power. It’s like he has an aura made of fear and anyone in its radius will be brought to their knees. The pupils of his eyes transform into long, thin slits and a wave of heat sweeps through the room. When he speaks, it’s terrifying. “Try and stop me, Henry. I would love an excuse to end you.”
Henry glowers but wisely shuts up. Parker places a hand on Henry’s shoulder and softly says, “We’ll follow you to the Agency.”
What in the world is Nick Gorgeous? I’ve never seen anything like that. Never even heard of anything like that. I don’t really know what just happened. Whatever it is, I do know one thing. You do not mess with that man.
The Detroit Division of the FUA is right downtown on the riverfront a few blocks East of the Ren Center. It sits directly across the street from a plaza that was renovated a few years back. Over the last decade or two, the city of Detroit has done a lot to try and revitalize its life, but the results on that have been bleak at best. I’m rooting for the turnaround, but I don’t really have any faith that it’ll succeed. The city as a whole is a big cesspit that sucks away your soul if you stay long enough. A few pockets of cleaned up landscape isn’t going to change enough.
As I climb out of Terrance’s beautiful fully-loaded candy-apple red Cadillac, I glance across the street toward the park. I can hear the river and see the dark outline of the Cullen Family Carousel. It makes me shudder. In the day, the plaza is a little sad—a city revitalization project that just doesn’t get a lot of traffic, because as much as you pretty up an area, if you have to travel through a war zone to get to it, you’re not going to bother. This time of night, the empty park with the carousel down on the water’s edge is downright creepy.
