Nicole (The Mate Series) Book #1

by Teresa Gabelman

  “I want a full report.” Mitch stared down at Ben. “And then I want your resignation. Both on my desk tomorrow morning.”

  Chapter 5

  Nicole watched the color leave Ben’s face as Damon walked up standing silently beside her. He always seemed to know when she needed his support. She reached over touching his hand but didn’t take it in hers.

  “Yes, sir.” Ben swallowed hard with a nod, then started to walk away.

  “He’s new, Mitch,” Nicole spoke, stopping Ben from leaving. “You said so yourself.”

  “I know what I said, Callahan,” Mitch grumbled with narrowed eyes.

  “Okay, so let me mentor him.” Nicole glanced at Ben. “I’m sure he didn’t have much training before getting thrown into the fray. Actually, even if he did, the agency training sucks.”

  “Nicole,” Mitch warned, but Nicole wasn’t listening as usual.

  “If you want me back, then this is the only way.” Nicole stepped next to Ben. “Fire him, and I walk. Let me mentor and train him, I stay. The choice is yours, Mitch.”

  “You don’t have—” Ben started to say, but Nicole stopped him.

  “Shut up, Ben.” She didn’t even look his way, just kept staring at Mitch. “So what’s it going to be?”

  “You’re the one that came begging for your job back,” Mitch countered, with a shake of his head. “So don’t be giving me ultimatums.”

  “I don’t beg for anything,” Nicole shot back, then added with a humorless grin, “And I just did. Both of us or I walk.”

  “You think very highly of your worth.” Mitch snorted, crossing his arms across his chest. “How in the hell do you live with her?” he asked Damon, who just cocked his eyebrow.

  “For your agency, yes, I do think very highly of my worth, and you know why I think that?” Nicole didn’t give him time to answer. “Because I would give my life for any of those kids. Now, what’s your decision? Keep Ben and keep us both, or fire Ben and see me walk?”

  Mitch leaned close to Nicole, even when Damon growled a warning. “I hate you sometimes, you know that.”

  A large smile bloomed across her face knowing he wasn’t really asking her if she knew, but instead, making one of his assholish statements, but she felt inclined to answer. “No, you don’t.” She leaned even closer toward him. “You secretly love me and hope someday I’ll call you Daddy.”

  Sid who was just walking by stopped immediately and stared at their group. He looked directly at Nicole with a sexy smile. “You can call me Daddy.”

  “Really, Sid?” Nicole huffed, rolling her eyes. “You had to make it sound dirty?”

  “That’s my job.” Sid gave her a nod as he went on his way.

  “Kill him, please,” Nicole said to Damon before looking at Mitch who was still scowling at her.

  Damon turned and walked away, heading toward Sid. “Ah, I think he’s really going to kill him.” Ben’s voice was a little shaken as he watched Damon.

  “Nah, he might maim him a little, but it will be a well-deserved beating.” Nicole glanced their way to double-check. With a small shrug, she returned her attention to Mitch.

  “One more fuckup, and he’s gone.” Mitch finally made his decision. “I don’t care who fucks up. He’s gone, with you following his ass out the door.”

  “Yeah, okay.” Nicole grabbed Ben’s arm. “Come on, let’s talk to Vanessa.”

  “Oh, you’re fucking welcome,” Mitch called after them, then cleared his throat loudly. “Hey, dipshit, you forgot the file.”

  Both Ben and Nicole stopped. Nicole gave Ben a nudge. “He’s talking to you. That’s not my loving nickname.”

  Nicole watched Ben hurry and take the file from Mitch. Her eyes met Mitch’s, and Nicole gave him only a nod of thanks. He returned it, then narrowed his eyes at her. “You have too many nicknames, Callahan, but the main one is hemorrhoid ’cause you’re a pain in my ass.”

  “You love me and are ecstatic to have me back,” Nicole hollered over her shoulder as they headed toward Sloan. “Have you found a place for them?”

  He nodded as he texted something on his phone. “Yes, Jax, Blaze, and Katrina are coming to help.”

  “Will they be taken care of?” Nicole persisted, knowing that Sloan was busy, but she didn’t care how busy he was.

  Sloan’s eyes rose from his phone, his eyes narrowed just like Mitch’s. “No.” He frowned. “We are going to take time out of our busy schedule to take them to another compound so they can be tortured before killing each and every one of them.”

  “What the hell?” Jared walked up with Vanessa and the other vampire, Pike. “Why let them have all the fun? We can do that shit here.”

  Nicole glanced at Ben, who was staring wide-eyed at Jared. Yeah, the first point of business was toughening this guy up. She then turned her attention to Vanessa. “What about you? Do you have a place to stay?”

  “Probably not anymore. I’m sure my landlord has sold my stuff off by now,” Vanessa replied without preamble.

  “Are you ready to talk?” Sloan waved Mitch over, then looked down at Vanessa.

  “Yes,” she replied, “but not without Pike.”

  Nicole looked at the tall vampire who wore a too tight T-shirt and old jeans that hung low on his hips. Even knowing he hadn’t been feeding properly, she could see the strength behind his eyes. He was mentally strong, no doubt about that, and very protective over Vanessa, who barely came to his chest.

  Sloan looked toward Mitch rather than answer Vanessa. “We can either do this at your office or mine.”

  “Probably more room at my office,” Mitch replied, then glanced at the house. “Are your men done here? I need to have the PD go in next since this is a possible murder case involving one of my adoptees, Carly.”

  “Not possibly,” Vanessa broke in, glancing toward the house. “She was murdered.”

  Cursing filled the air, but Nicole remained silent, mourning the loss of a girl that the agency obviously failed. She took that personally, very personally, even though she was not working there at the time. It was still a failure for all of them.

  “I want everyone who is free to meet at Mitch’s office.” Sloan glanced at Vanessa and Pike. “You two come with me.”

  Nicole started to follow them, but Damon stopped her. “You’re coming with me.”

  “But—” Nicole started to argue, but the look on Damon’s face stopped her. He took her hand, leading her toward his bike.

  “I will get you to the office.” Damon’s voice indicated that was the end of discussion. She let him win this little battle since she knew he would be true to his word and get her where she needed to be. He understood that this was important to her, but she had a feeling she was about to get her ass chewed by her handsome mate.

  Nicole got on the back of Damon’s bike and wrapped her arms tightly around him. One thing for sure, she loved riding on the back of his motorcycle. She leaned against him, resting her head against his back, letting him take her wherever he wanted for just this moment. Her soul hurt for the girl who’d never had a chance, and she swore the bastard responsible would pay dearly.

  Closing her eyes, she took just a second to enjoy her mate, the ride, and the fresh air. Feeling them slow, she opened her eyes, realizing they were already at the office, but instead of pulling up next to everyone else, he rode to the furthest part of the parking lot and stopped. Once they were off the bike, she stared up at him in question.

  “When were you going to tell me about you switching jobs?” Damon asked, his voice level without anger.

  “Tonight, after some amazing lovemaking.” She stepped closer to him with a half grin. “Or maybe in the morning after some breakfast and a quickie.”

  “I don’t do quickies,” Damon responded without a teasing tone. It was very true. When it came to sex, there was nothing quick about Damon DeMasters.

  “Sometimes those are quite fun.” She laid her palm on his chest, taking in his scent. Her body responded.


  “No, they aren’t.” He shook his head.

  Eyeing the little wooded area by the parking lot, she glanced back up at him. “I could prove you wrong, right now.”

  Damon’s laugh rumbled from his chest. “Nicole, stop trying to get out of answering my question.”

  “I’m not.” She pouted, then narrowed her eyes at him. “I did answer. I said after some amazing sex….”

  He shook his head with a sigh. “You don’t have to have sex with me to talk to me, though I’m fine with it.” He gave her a wink. “When I got that call today from a complete stranger screaming in the phone that you were fighting a man, hearing his play-by-play crying and not knowing exactly where you were pissed me the fuck off.”

  “I know and I’m sorry.” Nicole frowned. “I hadn’t planned on starting today, but—”

  “That doesn’t matter.” Damon cut her off. “You should have talked to me, told me this is what you wanted. I’ve supported you in everything you’ve ever wanted to do, even the dumb shit.”

  “Dumb shit?” Nicole gasped, her eyes narrowing as she backed away from him.

  He reached out, pulling her to him, his arms wrapping around her as he tilted her face up to his. “Don’t keep things from me, Nicole. I find out about them, always.” He leaned down, kissing her softly. “But I will warn you now that if you do it again, I will blister your ass in front of everyone.”

  Spankings from Damon in the past had always turned out quite pleasurable, but she didn’t think that’s what he was talking about at this moment. “I’m sorry.” She gave in, but in truth, anyone who knew her and knew her well realized she wasn’t really. “I will be a good little mate from here on out.”

  Again, Damon laughed. She was the only person who could evoke that emotion from him, at least had the best track record of making the brooding Warrior laugh. “I seriously doubt that.” He then kissed her, harder this time with more passion and warning. “Do not put yourself in danger without backup ever again. Swear it.”

  Hearing the worry in his voice made her feel bad. She nodded against his lips and kissed him back. “I’m sorry.” This time she meant it.

  “You’ll be forgiven after that amazing sex tonight.” Damon pulled her tighter against him so she could feel his hardness.

  “And a quickie?” she teased, running her fingers along the waistline of his jeans.

  “Honey, that word isn’t in my vocabulary,” Damon said with a growl, sending sensual vibrations throughout her body.

  Quickie or not, it didn’t matter when you had Damon DeMasters in your bed. Either way, she would be satisfied. And by the throbbing between her legs, it was clear she was more than ready for that satisfaction.

  Chapter 6

  Nicole walked into the larger of the conference rooms with Damon following. Her eyes immediately fell on Vanessa, who sat in one of the chairs with Pike standing behind her. Mitch, Sloan, Jared, and Sid all stood. Taking one of the chairs directly across from Vanessa, she sat down.

  “Do you need to be seen by a doctor?” Nicole asked, knowing she should have done that earlier and figured none of the men thought to ask.

  “No, I’m fine.” Vanessa glanced around at all the men before looking at Nicole. “Though I’m a little shaky. I haven’t had much to eat since they last fed from me.”

  Pike’s curse rumbled through the room and Vanessa visibly flinched, but not in fear. Nicole realized quickly that Vanessa didn’t want to worry Pike with the fact she was weak from blood loss.

  “I’ll get you something.” Sid pushed away from the wall. “What do you want?”

  “Get her meat. She’s weak from blood loss.” Nicole continued to stare at the pair, and yep, she was right. The pained look on Pike’s face was hard to miss.

  “Guess you don’t have a kitchen here,” Sid grumbled as he headed out the door, not waiting for an answer. “I’ll be back.”

  Once Sid left, Nicole glanced at Mitch who was staring at Vanessa. “What happened to Carly Madison?”

  “Rosenstein was using her to feed us.” Pike began while Vanessa just sat quietly. “She was too young and too small. It took a toll. Even though myself and the others that you helped today didn’t take much, just enough to survive, Dixon took more than he should have.”

  “Who is Dixon?” Damon asked from behind Nicole.

  “He’s not a problem anymore,” Pike answered without adding anything further.

  “That’s not what I asked.” Damon’s voice deepened, indicating he didn’t like the answer Pike had given.

  “He was a piece of shit. He’s dead. I killed him.” Pike’s eyes narrowed at Damon. “Better?”

  “Do I hear a hint of smartass?” Jared cocked his eyebrow toward Pike.

  Nicole frowned, her heart breaking for Carly, a young girl who never had a chance. Even though Nicole hadn’t been working for the agency and it wasn’t her case, she felt that it was her failure in some way, and it pissed her off. Her eyes met Vanessa’s.

  “I never met Carly. After she was killed by Dixon, Rosenstein needed another to feed them. I worked for a law office downtown. Helping on a big case, I worked late one night. Rosenstein ambushed me in the parking lot. The last thing I remember was putting case files in the back of my car. I woke in his basement with the cages.” Vanessa’s voice faded.

  “Where’s her body?” The question came from Mitch.

  Vanessa cleared her throat, then shook her head. “I’m not sure, but I would start looking on the property. After Pike killed Dixon, I heard Rosenstein complaining he was going to run out of room for bodies.”

  “Who in the actual fuck placed Carly with this man?” Nicole couldn’t hold her anger in any longer as her eyes shot to Mitch. She may be overstepping her role here, but she didn’t care.

  “He checked out, Nicole.” Mitch handed her the file, which she had already looked over multiple times and knew that everything had, in fact, checked out.

  A thought came to her as her eyes shot to Pike’s. “Where’s Mrs. Rosenstein?”

  “I don’t know. I’ve never seen her,” Vanessa replied, then looked up at Pike who stared at Nicole. “Did you ever see her?”

  “You’ll find her with Carly,” Pike replied, and before Nicole could scream at him to elaborate he continued, “From what Carly had told us, everything was fine. She was happy with her new family, but then something changed. They were fighting a lot over money. Rosenstein didn’t come home from work until late in the night.”

  Nicole sat still, listening to his every word and knew what his next words were going to be. It was always the same where Rush was concerned.

  “After a few months, Rosenstein came home from work and put a lock on the basement door warning them both to never go downstairs.” Pike’s voice grew more and more angry as he continued. “Carly noticed that Rosenstein had stopped going to work and stayed down in the basement a lot. He would park his van at the basement steps outside carrying cages and other things. Carly started spying on him. She watched as he struggled with something wrapped in a tarp. Once he got it to the steps, she saw a foot sticking out of the bottom, my foot. She went to Mrs. Rosenstein and convinced her that something wasn’t right. When he left again, they broke into the basement and found us. When Mrs. Rosenstein confronted him, he killed her.”

  “And Carly told you all of this?” Jared asked, his eyebrow cocked at Pike.

  “We aren’t evil.” Pike’s eyes narrowed as they shot to Jared. “We were taken from our lives and placed in cages because of someone’s greed. Carly was a sweet soul who did everything she could to help us. At her young age, she put her life on the line for us repeatedly and paid the ultimate sacrifice.”

  “How did Rosenstein ambush someone of your size?” Nicole asked as her eyes roamed over Pike. He was big, even in his malnourished state. She didn’t want to add that he was vampire and Rosenstein was human, that was obvious, and yet, the question burned in her gut.

  “I’m wondering the same thing,�
� Jared added, his voice doubtful. “He’s big, but human.”

  Nicole nodded, glad Jared spoke. She hadn’t wanted to insinuate that Pike was a pussy, but she’d managed to outmaneuver Rosenstein, so why hadn’t Pike or the others for that matter?

  “He wasn’t working alone,” Pike answered without sounding offended. “I work… worked for Cincy Security Systems. I was coming down the ladder after putting up my last camera. Rosenstein was standing there with a man. Because this was a large company I was installing for, I thought they may have been someone from the company. I asked if I could help them, but neither spoke until the other man began speaking some kind of gibberish language.”

  “It was Latin, Old Latin,” Vanessa added.

  “I told her the one word I could remember,” Pike replied as all eyes came back to him. “Daemonium.”

  “Demon,” Sloan cursed, his eyes shooting first to Damon then Jared.

  Nicole saw, not fear, but a different type of look in Sloan’s eyes that she had never seen before. Her stomach clinched painfully. “Demon?” she repeated, then glanced up to look at Damon who also had a peculiar look in his eyes, and dammit, it was freaking her out. Whatever was happening at this very moment was not good.

  “Once he started talking, I couldn’t move or speak. All I could do was stare as if having an out-of-body experience.” Pike ended by saying, “Never have I been so completely helpless.”

  Jared now stood straight and alert as he stared at Pike. “Are you sure that’s the word you heard?”

  “Hundred percent,” Pike replied without blinking. “I’ll never forget it. Once he said that word, I swore I saw the depths of hell in his soulless eyes.”

  The Warriors began cursing in earnest. Sloan was on his phone walking out the door. Jared and Damon glared at each other, and she could feel their tension.

  Shaking her head in confusion, Nicole tried to think this one through before she spoke, which wasn’t the case most of the time, but a demon. Come on. “I’m sorry,” Nicole said, looking at Pike. “Listen, I’m a church girl and believe in heaven and hell, but a demon spoke words to you in Latin then suddenly you’re incapacitated? Are you sure you weren’t just taken by Rosenstein and don’t want to admit it? This seems to me like a case of using you for blood so that bastard Rosenstein can make some extra cash. There isn’t a need to make stuff up because you’re embarrassed. What did he do, throw some chains on you so you couldn’t move? Maybe knock you out to get you in the cage to take your blood?”