Nicole (The Mate Series) Book #1

by Teresa Gabelman

  Nicole had been in a few fights in her life, but nothing compared to this. This man was enraged and combined with the Crimson Rush, it gave him even more strength. She hadn’t needed to worry about him trying to get away. Nope, he seemed hell-bent on killing her.

  “How dare you come into my house.” Rosenstein foamed at the mouth as he stalked toward her, knocking furniture out of his way to get to her.

  “Actually, you pulled me into your house, asshole,” Nicole sneered, looking around for a weapon, but not finding one. She crouched, ready for him to make a move. While she had the upper hand because the high he was on was going to wear off, she needed to make sure she stayed alive long enough for that to occur. Yeah, she was a vampire and hard to kill, but she wasn’t stupid and knew it could happen. But today wasn’t going to be that day, especially by some sick sociopath who wasn’t even a vampire.

  He picked up a chair and threw it at her with a speed and force that surprised her. She was quick enough to block it, sending it crashing into the wall. Before she could think any more about what was happening, he flew across the room at her. She grabbed him, hoping to throw him to the side, but taking all his weight took her off her feet. They crashed through the wall and went tumbling into the front yard.

  As they hit the ground hard, it separated them. She heard Ben yelp, screaming, “Hurry!” Her mistake was looking his way to see him still on her phone. The fist that connected to the side of her face sent her at least five feet across the yard. Shaking her head to try to get her focus, she cursed at the pain, which was fucked up. She may be immortal, but shit still hurt like a bitch.

  Picking herself up, she prepared herself for more attacks. With a glance, she saw Rosenstein heading toward Ben, who was cowering against the door still screaming into the phone. Anger like nothing she ever felt before hit her hard, spurring her into motion. With a leap, she clotheslined the bastard off the porch. Landing on top of him, she let loose with a volley of punches, adding nail claw marks for the hell of it.

  Nicole felt the strength from his blocks fading and knew the high was wearing off, thank God. She slowed her attack but remained aware of the beast beneath her. “Go check the house!” she ordered and then wished she hadn’t. Her words seemed to ignite the man’s strength once again as she went flying with one mighty shove from him.

  As she slid across the grass on her back, she cursed. Seeing a large piece of wood, she grabbed it as she passed. Thick and heavy, it was enough to do some damage. Jumping to her feet, she swung the club at his head, sending shattered pieces of wood and bark across the yard and forcing the big bastard to his knees. He shook his head only once, then fell flat on his face.

  Chapter 3

  Dropping what was left of the wood, she fell onto her ass with a loud grunt. That’s when she heard the squeals of tires. Looking up, she saw Damon rushing toward her, his eyes black as night and roaming over her before coming back to her face. His eyes turned even darker at what he saw. Picking herself up, Nicole stood tall, ready to face his anger. Fully prepared to battle her next fight with her mate, she was shocked when he reached down and picked up the big, knocked-out bastard from the ground and began shaking him.

  “What are you doing?” Nicole rushed toward him.

  “Waking him up so I can kill him,” Damon growled as he continued to shake the bastard.

  “Stop it.” Nicole grabbed at Damon’s huge arms, but he continued his assault. “Damon, stop!”

  “He’s out, dude,” Jared said as he rushed by, heading toward Ben.

  “Yeah, you’re already on probation with Sloan, so make sure if you kill him, do it without… you know.” Sid made a slicing motion across his throat, indicating decapitation was out of the question.

  With a look of disgust and a growl of rage, Damon dropped the man like a lifeless doll. “Are you okay?” His voice was edged with anger she actually felt.

  “I’m fine,” Nicole replied, her voice a little shaky. The whole attack was pretty freaking terrifying, but she was, in fact, fine. Clearing her throat, she stood taller. “I’m fine, Damon. I didn’t need you coming in to save me. I had it under control. I had Ben call for backup because I heard women screaming from the house. I also knew the guy was high on Rush, and this wasn’t a human cop issue.”

  Damon once again gave her a look over, then glanced around, his eyes landing on the huge hole in the side of the house. “I will always be near to save you, Nicole.”

  His words melted her heart. “I know that.” She touched his arm, taking a deep breath. “But obviously I can take care of myself.”

  Rosenstein moaned and started rolling around, holding his head. “Bitch!” He hissed as he tried to stand up, but Damon used his boot to knock him back out.

  “Sloan would be proud.” Nicole grinned up at him, then cursed when she heard Mitch’s voice.

  “First day back on the fucking job.” Mitch bellowed as he made his way across the yard eyeing the large gaping hole in the house. “Seriously, Callahan. What in the actual fuck!”

  “Job?” Damon frowned down at her.

  Shit! This wasn’t how she wanted to explain her new job status to her mate. Actually, she had it all planned out. After a full night of extremely hot sex, she would then feed him a wonderful breakfast, then maybe have another quickie before diving into this conversation. “Ah—”

  “Hey, you better get in here,” Jared, who Nicole wanted to hug at that very moment, called out.

  “I gotta get in there.” Nicole pointed over her shoulder, trying not to cringe at the narrowing of Damon’s eyes.

  “This conversation isn’t over, Nicole.” Damon followed her up the steps and into the house while Duncan took care of the piece of shit still knocked out on the front lawn.

  Nicole didn’t respond as she walked inside, afraid of what she might find. She followed Jared through the house, passing the stairway up. “I saw a girl upstairs. Has anyone checked?”

  “Sid’s up there now.” Jared stopped in front of a doorway, turning toward Nicole. “How did you find out about this place?”

  Ugh, she really didn’t want to answer that question right now, but knew she had to. “I was at the office talking to Mitch. He had a new guy, Ben, doing visits. I volunteered to come with him.”

  “Has this guy been here before?” Jared frowned, still not making a move to go down the steps leading into what she assumed was the basement.

  “Yes.” Nicole nodded, knowing from the screams she’d heard it was bad. Jared, who always had some wise-ass remark to make, kept quiet as he shook his head. Following him down the steps, she heard whimpering and strange hissing noises. Turning the corner, she stumbled on the last two steps, running into Jared. Damon reached out to steady her, but Nicole rushed to the middle of the room, shocked and horrified at what she was seeing. “Oh my God.”

  Cages were scattered throughout the long basement with chains draped across the top and hanging down all sides. Bending slowly, she peered inside one of the cages between the chains and gasped. Round eyes stared at her between strands of matted hair. Without thought to her own safety, she rushed toward the cage before anyone could stop her, grabbing one of the chains.

  “Dammit, Nicole!” Damon pulled her back, but it was too late. The silver on the chains burned her hand, making her hiss in pain.

  Turning, she looked at Ben and Mitch. “Take off those chains!” she ordered, her hand throbbing uncontrollably, but she ignored it.

  Before they could reach the cages, another voice stopped them. “No!”

  Nicole turned to see the girl from the window at the bottom of the steps. Sid stood behind her. “How long have they been down here?”

  The girl’s eyes shot from the cages to her. “Some longer than others” was her only reply. “They’ll attack if you let them out.”

  “What do you mean attack?” Damon frowned, his voice deep and stern, making the girl shrink back toward Sid. “They’re thirsty. Jim didn’t let them feed much, only enough th
at he could get their blood.”

  Nicole shook her head in disgust. “And how did he feed them.”

  The girl’s eyes shifted away from Nicole, but only for a second. Slowly, she lifted one of her long sleeves, revealing scars and fresh bite marks. They littered her arm. She repeated the action on her other side, and it was the same. Finally, she lifted her shirt up to her breasts and turned in a slow circle. “It’s the same everywhere my clothes hide skin.”

  Fierce anger swarmed Nicole’s body and mind; her body shook as she battled the emotion. “Carly?” Nicole asked, wanting to be sure because this person looked older than fifteen. Then again, kids these days often looked older than they really were.

  When the beautiful girl didn’t respond other than to just stare at Nicole with blank eyes, Nicole frowned. Finally, the girl nodded then glanced away. Something wasn’t right with her; something definitely wasn’t adding up.

  Nicole’s head snapped toward Ben, and she knew her eyes were wicked black; the sight of them always freaked her out a little. “Did you ever come inside this house?” she asked, wanting to know if this was Carly or not. When Ben didn’t answer and just continued to stare at the girl as if in shock, Nicole took a step toward him. Damon stopped her before she could reach him. “Answer me!”

  Ben’s gaze quickly jerked to Nicole as he shook his head. “No,” he whispered, his voice filled with what seemed like true guilt. “I’m so sorry. But he wouldn’t let me in. I tried, but he refused me, and I… I didn’t want to get in trouble and lose my job so I—”

  “Lied.” Nicole finished for him, then cursed. “Your lie kept all of them in danger. Your lie didn’t save them.”

  “Nicole,” Mitch warned with a shake of his head. “He’s new.”

  Giving Mitch a hard look, she wondered what the hell was going on—Mitch standing up for someone, but before she could make a smartass remark, Ben broke the silence of her moment of “what the hell?”

  “I swear, if I ever thought anything like this was going on, I would have reported it immediately,” Ben rushed to add. He looked toward Carly. “I’m sorry.”

  “I can talk to them. They trust me,” Carly said emotionlessly and ignoring Ben’s half-assed apology.

  “No.” Jared shook his head. His arms crossed as he glanced around at the cages where the women continued to hiss and whimper, some crying. “It’s too dangerous.”

  “For you maybe.” Carly walked further into the room. “Not for me.”

  Chapter 4

  In the silence that followed the girl’s statement, Nicole watched as Carly made her way toward the cages. Sid followed close behind with Jared and Damon also surrounding the girl. “I called Slade. He’s on his way,” Sid said as he positioned himself next to the cage Carly went to first.

  “Who’s that?” Carly asked as she started to pull the chains away since none of the vampires could remove them without causing themselves harm.

  “He’s a doctor who can help them,” Sid replied, watching her closely.

  Once the chains were removed, Carly turned toward Mitch and Ben. “You should leave.”

  Nicole watched as Mitch nodded, then led Ben across the floor and up the steps. Carly then bent, peering into the cage. “Rosenstein’s gone, Jackie,” she said, her voice low and calm. “There’s no threat to you.”

  Surprised that Carly knew their names, Nicole stepped closer to get a better look. Shock flickered through her. These women had been treated like animals, actually, worse than animals. The tautness of their faces, the fear in their eyes, and their hunger were palpable.

  “These people are here to help us.” Carly put her hand up to the cage then grasped the lock. The Warriors tensed. “They’re like you, so the only one you can really hurt is me.”

  Amazed when the woman shook her head, Nicole stepped even closer.

  “I won’t hurt you.” The woman’s raspy voice was hard to understand.

  “I know.” Carly unlatched the cage. Without any fear, she reached in to help the female vampire out.

  Looking around, Nicole spotted what looked like sheets and blankets on a shelf, and rushed toward them. Once she grabbed the stack, she placed them on a chair, took one, and slowly made her way toward the naked woman. Opening it up, Nicole waited to gain the trust of the woman who, with Carly’s help, stumbled toward her. When Damon reached out to steady her, the woman shied away with a hiss.

  “He won’t hurt you,” Carly whispered, taking the blanket from Nicole and wrapping it around the woman.

  And so it went. Cage after cage, the process was repeated. Slade had arrived with Jill and Steve. Sloan was also on his way. They were finally at the last cage when Carly hesitated.

  After she removed the chains from the last cage, Carly didn’t bend down as she had done before. Instead, she stood there. Nicole heard Jared curse as all the Warriors closed in.

  “Pike?” Carly’s voice changed from a whisper to a stronger tone. “I want to let you out, but you have to promise not to try and hurt anyone here.”

  Silence was her only answer. Nicole moved closer, but stopped at Damon’s warning glare and shake of his head.

  “Please, Pike.” Carly’s voice softened slightly. “Promise me.”

  “Promise,” a weak male voice rumbled from the cage.

  Nicole watched as Sid tried to move Carly to open the cage himself, but stopped when an inhuman growl shook the cage. “Don’t touch her!” The man’s voice became enraged.

  “I’m not trying to hurt her.” Sid leaned toward the cage, his voice hard. “I’m keeping her safe because I don’t know who the fuck you are, and I will not put her in danger. Either you want out of that fucking cage, or you don’t, but she will not be harmed in the process.”

  “I won’t hurt her,” the man hissed from the cage. “I swear it. I would have already done so if I wanted her harmed.”

  Carly shrugged off Sid’s grip but didn’t reach for the lock. “He’s only trying to help, Pike. They don’t understand.” She finally touched the lock. “Remember, you promised.”

  Once again, every Warrior in the room was ready to pounce as Carly unlocked the cage. She turned toward Nicole with her hand out. Nicole handed her a blanket, but her eyes stayed glued on the cage.

  Nicole gasped when a man almost as tall as the Warriors made his way slowly out of the larger cage and stood straight up. She knew without a doubt, even as he stood tall in front of everyone, he was in pain from being bunched up as he had been, but it didn’t show. He was handsome as he stood there, naked and proud. His black eyes landing on each and every one of them. Carly didn’t attempt to wrap the blanket around him as she had done with the women. Instead, she held it out. Finally, his eyes fell to Carly’s as he reached for the blanket then wrapped it around himself.

  Carly turned and walked straight up to Nicole. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome, Carly,” Nicole replied, with a frown. “I’m sorry this—”

  “My name is Vanessa,” the girl replied, her voice hard.

  “What happened to her, Vanessa?” Nicole asked, realizing her instincts about the girl had been right.

  “Dead,” Vanessa replied, matter-of-factly.

  “What happened to Carly, Vanessa?” Nicole wasn’t happy with that short answer so she repeated her question.

  Vanessa looked around the room. All eyes were on her. “I think you know what happened to Carly.” Her eyes found Nicole. “I’ll explain everything to you, but not here. Where’s Rosenstein?”

  “Don’t worry about him,” Sid assured her. “He’s being taken care of.”

  “They’re the VC Warriors,” Nicole added, seeing the wariness on Vanessa’s face. “You’re safe. You’re all safe.”

  “I know who they are,” Vanessa answered, and turned to walk toward the stairs with the male vampire following her. “No one’s safe.”

  Vanessa’s strange whispered words, which everyone heard, sent chills throughout her entire body. Her eyes met Damon�
�s, then shifted away. What in the hell had they walked into?

  As they stood outside of Rosenstein’s residence, Nicole kept a close watch on Vanessa. Steve and Jill had gone to get clothes for the caged vampires while Sloan tried to find compounds that would take them in until it was safe to release them. They needed nourishment and help before the Warriors felt it safe to let them go. Duncan had already taken Rosenstein to secure holdings; he would face the Vampire Council.

  Mitch was on the phone while Ben leaned against a tree, staring at the house. Nicole made her way toward him, ignoring the stares of bystanders who were trying to get the scoop of what happened in their neighborhood.

  Ben glanced at her, his eyes shifting away quickly. “I tried to tell Mitch today that something wasn’t right,” Ben said, his voice full of guilt. “He didn’t want to hear it. Said I needed to grow some balls and do my job.”

  Remembering the conversation she’d heard in the office this morning, she knew that to be true. With a sigh, she also leaned against the tree. “Listen, Ben.” Nicole glanced toward Mitch, who was rubbing his forehead in frustration while still on the phone. “This job is hard. No doubt about it, but unless you’re willing to do whatever it takes to make sure these kids are safe, you need to walk away. Find something more suited to what you want to do.”

  He was silent for a long while, deep in thought. “This is all I’ve ever wanted to do.” Ben finally broke the silence. “I was one of these kids. I’ve grown up in shitty homes, taken out of those and put in with great families to only find myself once again hoping someone would want me.”

  Surprised, Nicole looked over at Ben. She knew this story all too well. It was her story too. “Were you ever adopted?”

  He shook his head. “No. I turned eighteen and out I went.” Ben pushed himself away from the tree as Mitch made his way toward them.