Glacier

by Laurann Dohner

He leaned close, pinning her body aloft with his much bigger one, and let go of her arms. He fisted her hair with one hand to keep her head in place and drew back his other fist, revealing long, lethal-looking claws gleaming in the dim light.

  Her voice finally worked, and she managed to get out one word. “Ice?”

  He stilled, frowning.

  She stared into his eyes, certain it was him. “You’re a Werewolf? I thought you were human.”

  “What’s going on, Glacier?” The girl came closer, her shoes scuffing on the alley floor.

  “Back up, Teenie.” Ice’s eyes searched Mandy’s. “How do you know me?”

  “I’m Mandy. From Bucket.”

  His hold on her hair loosened and the mask of anger faded from his face. He stared hard at her, taking in her features, before leaning in again. His leery expression seemed to imply he didn’t believe her.

  “The new wave club in the late eighties. We worked together. Remember me? My hair was dyed black with blue stripes. I’m actually a blonde. Also, not wearing layers of makeup anymore. You’re a Werewolf?” She tried to smell him but the rancid stench of rotten food from the dumpsters had her instantly regretting that idea.

  “You quit the club.”

  “I got snatched by Vampires,” she corrected.

  “Kill it!” the girl encouraged. “I lured it into the alley just like we planned.”

  Bloodthirsty little mongrel. Mandy didn’t spare the girl a glance though since the threat stood in front of her, nearly crushing her against a wall with his bulky body. It sank in that the Werewolf kid had been the hunter’s bait to catch his prey. Only he’d caught her instead.

  “I wasn’t going to hurt the girl, and that Vamp was not my buddy. I killed him because he was a twisted jerk who targeted a kid. Can we talk before you behead me? For old times’ sake?”

  He growled low and didn’t ease his hold on her. If anything, he looked even more furious. “You bloodsuckers are done stealing Lycan children and killing them!”

  She felt her body go lax, his words making horrible sense. That would piss off a pack enough to send their enforcers after Vampires. No wonder the local Vamps were being killed off. “That’s what the nest is doing?”

  “As if you didn’t know.”

  “I didn’t. I’m not a part of the nest. They’re murdering the pack kids? Why? Are they trying to make the pack flee the area?”

  “Don’t act stupid. They’re forcing them to fight each other to the death for their bloodthirsty amusement.”

  It turned her stomach, but she couldn’t say it shocked her. “You hate Vampires. I understand. Not a huge fan of them myself, but the council sent us here to take out whoever has been killing off the nest. I get why you’re doing it. I take it you’re stopping them?”

  He didn’t answer.

  “Well…good. Watch your ass, okay? The council will send more than just two assassins after you. We didn’t know about the Werewolf kids. The nest master is named Marco, and he must have a friend or two in high places. Otherwise, we’d have been ordered to take out the nest if that shit is really going down here. We’re supposed to police our own. The fact that we were sent after you instead, says it all.”

  He kept his claws up, prepared to rip her head from her shoulders. She glanced at the deadly tips, then back to him. Rage still showed on his features. Any hope of him setting her free because they used to know each other died a quick death. Vamps had attacked his pack by going after their kids. It would mean he would perceive her as the enemy.

  “You’re warning me?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why? What’s your angle?”

  “None. If you feel you must kill me, I understand. You look good, Ice. Still the protector you always were. I’m glad that never changed.” She offered a small smile and then closed her eyes. “Make it fast, okay? And watch out for my partner. Her name is Olivia. She’s not bad, but the council doesn’t take no for an answer on following their orders. They will kill her if she doesn’t bring them your head. Don’t take it personal when she attacks.”

  The strike didn’t come.

  She waited long seconds. Nothing happened.

  She opened her eyes to find him staring at her, claws still raised at the ready to punch through her throat.

  “Fuck. You’re going to torture me? Really? What else do you want to know? There were originally twelve in the nest. You’ve taken out four and I got the fifth. That means seven more remain. The council just sent Olivia and I to deal with Marco’s problem. They train us to kill and take out threats. We’re indentured servants. It sucks, but it beats being in the nest that changed me. That master was a nightmare who collected pretty women to create his own harem of sex slaves.”

  “You’re an assassin for the council?”

  “I thought I made the clear. Yes.”

  “How did you become an assassin for them?”

  “They sometimes save newly turned Vamps from psycho masters slated for execution. The council figures we haven’t been tainted yet, and they cull us from the nest before destroying it. We’re often young enough to have family and friends still alive, too. They use them against us.” She shrugged. “I didn’t have many friends. You know what I think of my family. Fuck ’em if the council wants to take them out to teach me a lesson. I only regret that I’m not allowed to kill my father and brothers myself.

  “I went along with doing the job because I’m a survivor. I didn’t want to die. Plus, they said I could take out bad Vamps. I was kind of angry about my life being taken from me. Payback sounded great.”

  “What about your mom?”

  “The council keeps me far from my family, but I keep tabs on her via the Internet. She’s living in a nursing home suffering the final stages of dementia. It would probably be a blessing at this point if they did end her life. Mom didn’t recognize me, talk, or even seem aware of what was going on around her the one time I got to visit her. I was tempted to end it for her but…she’s my mom. I couldn’t do it. Olivia covered for me so I could slip away to see her by putting my tracker in a human, then babysitting him. And don’t feel bad for the jerk who didn’t survive when she put the tracker back into my body. He was a serial rapist we caught in the act.”

  “Tracker?”

  “All council assassins have them. It’s how they know we’re where we’re supposed to be. An alarm goes off if they aren’t embedded in a living body, to prevent us from removing them. They go off after a minute if they’re not inside living flesh. Olivia figured out a way to transfer it fast into another person if we were both submerged in warm water. They also put them where it’s impossible for one of us to get out on our own. Olivia and I are a rare team because we trust each other. She did me a solid by letting me see my mom one final time.”

  “What happens if the alarm goes off?”

  “They call us on our phones, which also have trackers. Both better be in the same location. If we don’t answer with a damn good reason why the tracker went off, they assume we’ve gone rogue. Then we’re moved to the top of every council assassin’s hit list. They’ll contact all nests, packs, and even the VampLycans with a tracking kit. They usually say we’re radicals or something, who want to expose our kind to humans, to make certain we’re taken out on sight. Nobody runs from the council.”

  “Tracking kit?” He backed off and let her drop to her feet. He kept her trapped against the wall with his body blocking any escape. The claws remained out too, his hand still raised to strike.

  “Photos of us, body description, a piece of our clothes for scent, and blood samples. It makes it easier for us to be tracked down and found, even if we’re able to change our appearance enough to fool someone on sight.”

  “Why would they involve others?”

  “It gets the results the council wants. Also assures no one will give us sanctuary. Assassins who run don’t survive long. They put a large bounty on our heads too, just in case someone doesn’t trust what they’re told. Doubl
e measures.”

  He took another step back but stayed in front of her. “No one would give a Vamp sanctuary anyway except a nest.”

  “Wrong. It’s rare, but some less-than-stellar pack alphas will protect rogue Vamps for our ability to mind-manage humans. I’ve had to go after a few hiding with packs before.”

  “Why aren’t you trying to flee, Mandy?”

  She stared up at him. He seemed taller than she remembered, with only a few feet of space between them. She wasn’t wearing four-inch heels anymore though, either. “I’m dead anyway if I don’t kill you. I already used my one fuckup when I helped a human family escape council judgment. There’s never a second one given. And I won’t fight you. You’re protecting kids. That’s noble.

  “It’s okay, Ice. They’d torture me first, probably drawing it out for weeks just to make an example out of me for the others. You’re doing me a solid this way, as long as you make it fast. My life has sucked since that night I was kidnapped from the club. Pun intended.” She forced a tight smile. “But be careful. Olivia is good. She could show up at any time. Like I said…watch your back.” She closed her eyes again. “Just do it.”

  She tensed when his fingers slid into her hair, holding her head in place. It was going to hurt but she trusted him to be a quick, efficient killer.

  She’d always wondered what happened to Ice. Now she knew. He wasn’t human after all, but instead an enforcer for a pack. It made sense to her now, looking back. There was always something about him that screamed alpha male.

  Pain slammed into her face instead of her throat. It was the last thing she remembered.

  Teenie growled. “Why’d you just knock her out, Glacier?”

  He ignored the young-looking Lycan and lifted the Vamp, tossing her over his shoulder. Mandy didn’t weigh shit. He ran his hands over her body to locate her phone and pocketed it. “Go home and tell Kevin there’s one less threat.”

  “You’re supposed to kill all the Vamps. Just because you know that one makes no exception.”

  “I don’t take orders from your alpha or you. I want to talk to this one more.”

  Excitement lit her features. “You’re going to find out where they hid the nest by torturing the info out of her? I want to watch.”

  “I don’t need you around anymore.” He turned and strode down the alley to almost the end, where he stopped at an abandoned repair shop. He’d picked this location for a reason.

  Teenie followed him but he spun on her when he unlocked the door to shoot her a glare. “Goodbye.”

  “Kevin would want me to stay with you until dawn. More Vamps could be out hunting.”

  He snorted. “You might look like a child, with your breasts wrapped tight to your chest and your size, but we both know you’re not helpless. Your car is on the street fifty feet down. Go.”

  “I want to watch you torture that bitch.”

  He didn’t have any plans to make Mandy suffer, but he refused to admit that to the pack enforcer. “I’m going in alone, without you. I’ll stay here until you make it to your car. Go.”

  “Goddamn it, Glacier! We’re a team.”

  “I’m only working with you because the nest has been kidnapping your children. There’s one less, just the way we planned. Leave now so I can watch you get to your car.”

  “No. I’m staying.”

  “You’re not. Last chance, or I’m leaving you out here alone.” He watched her, but Teenie didn’t budge. He sighed. “I’ll see you tomorrow night.”

  He stepped inside, closed and bolted the door. He adjusted Mandy in his arms and laid her on one of the shop counters, thinking about what she’d said to him. The weapons strapped to her body were easy to locate and remove. Not only did she hide a seven-inch blade across the front of her lower stomach, she also had a gun strapped to her rib cage.

  He placed both on the floor before rolling her over, and then shoved her shirt up to expose her skin. She’d said the tracker was embedded somewhere difficult for a person to reach. He flexed his fingers and began searching at the back of her head and then downward.

  She had very soft skin, and he couldn’t find any signs of scars or bumps. Vamps healed better than he could though. He gave up once he explored her from the back of her neck down to her spine.

  Next, he slid his hand under her hips, unfastening her pants. It was easy to tug them down to expose the lacy black panties. The fact that she had a nice ass made him growl. He gripped her cheeks with both hands, squeezing. He felt a slight imperfection under the skin in a meaty part near the center of one rounded globe, and released her, reaching for the dagger he kept in his boot.

  “Fuck.” He hated to cut into her, but the tracker needed to go.

  He stared at her creamy white skin and knew she might wake soon. It would be best if he did this while she remained out. He hesitated only a second longer before slicing the skin where he’d felt something. The scent and sight of her blood distracted him but he found the tracker. It was the size of a horse pill, smaller than he suspected it would be. He carefully got it out. The device had a tiny red light in the center; it began to blink as he studied the gadget.

  He left her there, marched to the door, and unlocked it.

  Mandy’s phone in his pocket vibrated just as he stepped outside. Apparently, she hadn’t been lying to him.

  Teenie and her car were gone. He wiped the blood off the tracker onto his clothing, returned to where the ashed Vamp remains were spread across the alley, and dropped the tracker in the middle of them. The phone he also wiped down before throwing it under the dumpster. It stopped vibrating but then started up again.

  He glanced around, his senses on alert, but didn’t get the sensation of being watched. Only humans seemed to be walking in the streets at each end of the alley. He hurried back inside the shop and locked the door. Mandy remained unconscious on the counter, her ass exposed.

  He sheathed the dagger in his boot and pulled up her pants before hoisting her over his shoulder again. The room he had been sleeping in was above the shop but he carried her down a set of stairs into the basement storage instead. The only window down there had been bricked off at some point in the past, probably to prevent robbers from getting inside. He flipped on the harsh lights and strode over to another counter. This one had a metallic top and legs, covered in old computers that had been abandoned. He used his arm to clear it. They crashed to the floor and he laid her out on her back.

  Memories filled his head from the past. Mandy had been human then…and a temptation. He’d resisted fucking her, despite wanting to. She’d made him feel a longing to get to know her a lot better but that couldn’t happen. Not in his line of work. He bedded humans often but she’d seemed too fragile with her smaller size, and she hadn’t been some club honey.

  Those were his type. Easy sex, no strings, and an absolute lack of emotional ties. Bed them once and never think of them twice. That wouldn’t have been the case with Mandy. He’d actually wanted to take her to his place and keep her there, where she’d be safe. She’d tugged at his protective instincts. The thought of climbing into bed with her each morning when he got off work had often crossed his mind. She’d just been so goddamn sweet and cuddly.

  He growled low. Now she’s a fucking Vamp.

  He ran up to his current sleeping room and returned to the basement quickly to restrain her to the sturdy table. He always carried chains and cuffs in case he needed to torture information from his targets. He thought about gagging her but the damage to her face already made him wince. He’d tagged her hard with his fist to knock her out. A bruise had already formed but it would fade completely once she’d fed. He dragged a rusted chair over and took a seat to watch her.

  His phone beeped in his pocket and he withdrew it, glancing at the screen. Surprise hit when he saw the caller, and he answered. “Hey, Kelzeb.”

  “Do you want to explain what part of ‘play nice with the Lycans’ you don’t understand? I just got a call from the alpha that yo
u refused to allow his enforcer to be a part of information gathering. I hung up on him bitching at me, but if I have to hear that shit, so do you. Two words for you: joint effort.”

  “I ran into a snag.”

  “What kind?”

  He sighed and rolled his shoulders. “The Vamp Council sent two assassins to come after me for taking out this nest.”

  “They have assassins?”

  “Guess so.”

  “Since when?”

  “No fucking clue.”

  Kelzeb chuckled. “You grabbed one of the assholes to gain intel? Smart. I’m glad you cut the pack out of this one. We’re the ones who deal with their Vamp issues when it’s too much for them to handle. Give me updates and I’ll share them with Aveoth. He can let the VampLycan clans know what you learn.”

  “I know this Vamp,” Glacier admitted. “Remember that job back in the late eighties? The master’s name was Byron? You sent me there after a lot of missing persons reports were filed and we tracked the disappearances to a dance club. He’s the one who was trying to start up a cult of human followers and kept them under his mind control.”

  “It’s one of Byron’s Vamps? I thought you took them all out.”

  “I did. She used to be human, worked at the club I was using as a cover, and she mentioned being turned by a master who wanted women for sex slaves. That wasn’t Byron. He only went after human men, and all his Vamps were also male.”

  “The assassin is a woman?”

  “A tiny one. It’s fucking brilliant. Talk about underestimating an opponent and using it as an advantage. She looks about as threatening as a cute fanged garden gnome.”

  Kelzeb laughed.

  “It’s not funny, man. I liked her. I still do. And I didn’t kill the Vampire who went after Teenie. The Vamp I’m watching sleep right now took his ass out before I could. Then she warned me about the council and offered up her damn throat without a fight. I just couldn’t kill her. She’s not coldblooded.”

  Kelzeb’s tone wasn’t amused anymore. “Bullshit. Did she recognize you?”

  “Yes.”

  “She’s going to try to fuck with your head and then kill you once you let your guard down. It’s a game to Vamps.”