by Alice Brown
Up in a Blaze by Alice Brown
Up in a Blaze
Texas Vampire Rangers
Book Three
by Alice Brown
© Copyright May 2015 JK Publishing, Inc.
ISBN#978-1-311-9-48823
All cover art and logo © Copyright May 2015 by JK Publishing, Inc.
All rights reserved.
Cover by Jess Buffett
Published by JK Publishing, Inc.
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Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Epilogue
Books by Alice Brown
Excerpt from Sapphamire
Excerpt from Fae Awakening
JK Publishing, Inc.
Prologue
Walter needed a couple of days off. It seemed the entire team had been going nonstop since Eddie and his goons arrived in town a few months ago. Now that the case had been wrapped up, he was looking through the calendar to mark off a couple of days to relax, knowing several of the team members would be putting in for a few days off as well. A knock at his door brought Walter out of his musings.
“Hey, Walter, do you have a moment?” His sister-in-law, Betty, stood in the doorway, wringing her hands. The quiver in her voice jerked his head upward to look at her. Whatever was on her mind had her almost trembling. A full grown vampire trembling? WTH? Her face looked unusually pale, and her bottom lip looked ready to bleed from chewing on it, a sure sign of her distress. What in the world had happened to upset her so badly?
She was currently filling in temporarily for Nathaniel’s mate, Susan, who was out on maternity leave. When he’d asked her to take the position, she had agreed only because Walter promised her it would be for a short time only, and that he was actively looking for a permanent replacement. Still, had another one of the rangers said something to upset her? He’d knock them into next week if that was the case. This young woman, now turned vampire, had been through enough in her young life.
Less than three months ago he had received a call stating his sister-in-law had been in a horrific domestic violence situation, and both she and her young son, Timmy, were in the hospital. Both he and his wife, Sissy, had rushed out only to find Betty near death’s door. With the help of the friendly local vampires, Sissy had changed Betty over to a vampire and they had brought her back with them to live in Texas. Sissy and Betty’s father had also come in from Atlanta, and had requested to take Timmy home with him for a little while to get to know his grandson. Since Betty was a newly turned vampire, something her father or son knew nothing about, she had agreed it might be for the best until she’d had time to adjust.
Giving her a warm smile, he nodded. “Of course. Come on in.”
He watched as she shut the door tightly behind her and sunk into one of the two chairs sitting in front of his desk.
“Walter, I don’t know where to begin. I hate coming to you with yet another personal problem…”
He sat up in his chair as he watched her breath hitch. If she had still been human he would have bet good money he’d be watching tears pour down her cheeks by now. “Betty, we’re family. Just tell me what’s wrong. You know if it’s in my power, I will fix it.”
“I had a friend back in California. She lived a couple of doors down from me. Her name is Cassandra, Cassie for short. Anyways, I just got a call from the authorities in California. She’s been attacked, Walter. Somehow, Gregory escaped from prison. They said he was being transferred and he managed to kill the driver before quickly disappearing. He went straight to her house looking for me. He beat her pretty badly before a neighbor heard her screaming and called for help.”
Walter stood quickly and rounded his desk. There was absolutely nothing in this world he hated worse than men who hit and beat women. He would love nothing better than to round up all those that did and lock them all up, then set fire to the building they were locked in. Nothing in the world to him would be better than to see the world eradicated of men who preyed on helpless women.
He brought the empty chair closer to her and sat down. Pulling her over to his shoulder, he tried to calm her down, her fear a very tangible thing. “Okay, you let me worry about Gregory, because if that asshole dares to step foot in this state, he is mine!” He reached up and stroked her hair, hoping the gesture would soothe her, comfort her. “Hey, we’re going to help your friend, okay? Do you think she would be willing to come out here while she heals? It would give the authorities in California time to catch up with him, and if he’s stupid enough to try to come here, we will be ready.”
Betty looked up at her brother-in-law with affection. “I don’t know, but I do appreciate the offer to bring her here. Ho-how do we go about doing anything?” She was still wringing her hands together in front of her. “I don’t know where to start, she was a good friend and I hate to see her hurt because of me.”
“Why don’t you call your friend and explain that your brother-in-law is head of the Texas Rangers. Tell her it simply isn’t safe for you to go to her, because it isn’t, Betty. You know as well as I do the asshole is just waiting for you to show up.” He waited until she glanced up and gave him a s
hort nod. “But, I can have someone else go, another ranger, to accompany her here. He will make sure she arrives safely.”
“You can do that? You would send one of the guys to go get her?” The hopeful look on her face let him know he was doing the right thing. She’d had a rough road in life, and in a lot of ways was still trying to become accustomed to having family around to help.
“Of course I will. Besides, a number of the guys need a short break anyways. A few days in California should do the trick!” He winked at her when she gave him a small smile.
Chapter One
Donte Chaverez tried to concentrate on the book in his hands. Though there wasn’t much the big, tall vampire was afraid of, but flying was on the top of his list of things he wished was never invented because as a vampire, most things in life were easily within his control, so he had never understood the human’s fascination with flying.
To him, it was like turning over your life to some unknown man or woman who sat in the pilot seat. Why would so many people put their lives in the hands of one or two people? Their reasoning eluded him. Yes, the fact he could go from Texas to California in three hours was nice. He was old enough to remember the horse and wagon days when it would have taken literally weeks to travel what he was now able to do in a few short hours.
Still, there was just something about being so far up in the air, knowing that if the plane went down there was very little he or any other passenger on the plane could do to save their lives, which totally creeped him out.
He reached into his briefcase and took out a folder. Inside held everything he and his team had been able to come up with on one Cassandra Vicors. She resided in what looked to be a rundown neighborhood. The images they had pulled off google maps of her house left little to be desired. According to her friend, Betty, Ms. Vicors lived by herself, was a bit of a recluse, and held a full time job at a local Cash & Go.
But then he opened the folder yet again to gaze at the stunning beauty before him. Brown hair halfway down her shoulders, chocolate eyes, she was a beauty to behold. How could a pretty young woman like herself be single and alone in this world? Didn’t human men give a damn anymore about the fairer sex? He stared at the photo in his hand. An innocence showed in her eyes he didn’t understand. It had been his experience that young, single, pretty women no longer held an innocence to them. Hell, it was one of the main reasons he’d given up on dating years ago.
He closed the folder and leaned his head back, sighing deeply as he closed his eyes. He had come close to asking his boss’s brother’s mate, Susan, out before she had mated with Nathaniel. Walter had brought her into the ranger family after her security guard husband had turned over secrets of the Rangers to the enemy. Her husband had been killed, and she, along with Walter’s wife and sister-in-law, had been kidnapped and held hostage before they had been able to take down the rogue vampire and his group.
Susan had come to work for the Rangers shortly after. She already knew about vampires at that point, but Donte had left her alone to allow her time to mourn her dead husband. He’d been almost ready to ask her out when Walter’s brother had walked in the door to report for duty his first day and discovered his mate sitting at the front desk. Now they were happily expecting a baby, and Donte honestly couldn’t be happier for them, even though there was a twinge of jealousy in his heart.
As the pilot announced over the intercom they would be landing within the next ten minutes, he reminded himself that having a mate just wasn’t in the cards for him. He’d lived a long time, and felt sure that if he had a mate, she would have shown up by now. No, having a mate just wasn’t for him.
He stepped off the plane and quickly made his way through the airport. He traveled light, only bringing one duffel bag and a small brief case, which he’d been able to carry on the plane. He made his way outside and cursed the bright sunshine of the afternoon.
Yes, he was accustomed to the sun living in Texas, but the fact remained that sunlight and vampires never mixed well. While he could be out in the bright sunlight without turning to ash or anything of the sort, he was forced to go home every evening and spend the night rejuvenating. He had his choices on how to accomplish this. The easiest and fastest way was just to spend the night in his walk-in deep freezer. He’d had it special built when he bought his house ten years ago. He’d since set up a cot to sleep on, as well as built in shelves that housed his blood supply. He’d taken great pains to assure, that to the naked eye, a human would never even realize the deep freeze existed, it blended into the wall that well. His other choice was to crank up the two window air conditioning units in his bedroom to full blast, and sleep in his own bed.
He grabbed a taxi and gave the driver the address to the hospital as he reached into his briefcase for his extra dark sunglasses. He frowned as he loosened the top button on his dress shirt. The air conditioner in the cab didn’t even feel like it was putting out cool air.
“How much longer?” he asked the driver.
“Oh, with a little luck we will be there in about fifteen minutes. Thankfully, it’s not rush hour, or else it would take five times longer.” The driver chuckled as he glanced in his rearview mirror.
Donte nodded his head and stared out the window, his mind once again going to the young woman he was there to meet.
When he arrived at the hospital, he paid the driver and got out, his mind automatically switching to work mode. He was here to do a job. He was to escort Ms. Vicors safely back to Texas, delivering her to his boss, Walter’s, house. Walter’s sister-in-law was still staying with his boss, and probably would remain there until the threat her ex posed had been completely removed.
Donte had brushed up on that case also. A few short months ago, his boss’s sister-in-law had been beaten to within an inch of her life. Her asshat of a boyfriend had then turned his drunken temper toward Betty’s young son, Timmy. It had been a miracle help had arrived when it did, saving both of them. By the time Walter and Sissy had arrived from Texas, Betty had taken a turn for the worse and her life was slipping away. Sissy had made the quick decision to change her sister over so she could live.
Her son ended up going home with his grandfather, who had arrived from Atlanta, and Betty had come back to Texas with her sister and Walter. Her ex had already made it loud and clear that just as soon as he got out of jail, he would find her. The only picture they had of Betty’s ex was a grainy, very out of focus mug shot, but just looking at the deranged individual in the photo, Donte had little doubt the man would not stop until he had his revenge.
Over the years Donte had run into a lot of men like Betty’s ex. As far as he was concerned, they needed to be locked up for life, or their life forfeited. There was only so much you could do with people like him, and the world would be a much safer place without them in it.
He strolled down the hall to the room his charge was staying in. She hadn’t been released from the hospital yet, but was due out tomorrow. He noticed a man standing right outside her room, and for some unknown reason, his protective instincts came roaring to life. He picked up his speed, if his charge was in danger…
As he reached the stranger standing in front of her door, out of habit he gave a quick whiff. A vampire. He reached into his back pocket and quickly produced his Texas Ranger badge. The stranger gave a quick nod of his head, then moved to the side allowing him into the room. Hmm, the local vampires must have assigned a guard over her until he arrived. That didn’t surprise him. Most large towns had enough vampires that had banded together years ago not only to police their own kind, but also to help one another out and keep their existence a secret. The last thing humans needed to get ahold of was proof of vampires being real. Besides, the local vampires had originally been the ones that saved Betty and her son a few months back, as well as help Sissy convert her sister. Walter and Sissy had both told him how friendly this group of vampires were, and how they had been impressed with their general setup. It seemed the California group had done so well, ma
ny other large cities teaming with vampires had adopted their by-laws.
He walked into the room and stopped. Whatever he had been expecting, this was surely not it. Although Donte had seen a picture of Cassandra Vicors, seeing this young woman for the first time was a far different experience than he had ever dreamed.
After a moment of not moving, he realized her eyes were glaring at him as she frowned, and he was openly staring at her. He dropped his gaze to the floor immediately, in an effort to make her more comfortable, because holy moly, Cassandra Vicors was his mate.
He slowly made his way to the side of her bed, avoiding eye contact. “Umm, I am very sorry about that. You caught me off guard. I’m Donte Chaverez from the Texas Rangers. I’m here to escort you back to Texas for your friend, Betty.” He whipped his ID out of his back pocket again and held it out in front of him.
Her voice a moment later left little doubt that he had managed to piss her off. “Well, Mr. Chaverez, I am sorry if I was not what you were anticipating. I realize I don’t look the greatest, but you don’t have to be so rude about it.”
He jerked his head up so fast he heard his neck pop. “What? Wait, I don’t think you understand.”
She cut him off from continuing. “Oh, I think I understand very well. I am sorry I’m a disappointment to you, but for your information, I have been through hell in the last forty-eight hours. The bruises that obviously disgust you, were not by choice! I have been beaten trying to protect a friend, hospitalized, and now I am supposed to accompany a stranger to Texas who obviously can’t stand the sight of me, all because some psychotic a-hole won’t leave me alone…”
