The Complete Protected by the Damned Series

by Michael Todd

  Chapter 15

  After the workout Katie went up to her room, showered, changed, and came back out. She didn’t see sleeping anytime soon with Pandora breathing down her neck.

  She curled up on the sofa and turned on the television, going back through the DVR list to find the episodes they had recorded. She settled in and pressed Play, laughing to herself as Pandora hummed along enthusiastically with the intro music.

  She had made Katie suffer during training earlier that night, and was definitely happy to be watching the shows now. As the opening credits ended, Derek wandered in and sat down on the couch next to her.

  “Hey there.” He nodded toward the TV. “Whatcha watching?”

  “Days of Long Since Past,” Katie replied. “It’s a new soap opera that I find myself slightly obsessed with.”

  “Okay,” he said. “Did you watch these before you were Damned?”

  “No.” Katie laughed. “I started watching them when I first came here, and haven’t been able to stop.”

  “Okay,” he said. “What’s going on?”

  “Well,” Katie sat up excitedly and pointed to the blond male actor on the left side of the screen, “John’s best friend Alex was killed in a tragic boating accident, and they suspect foul play. John bolted, unable to handle it, which made him the primary suspect. John is in love with his best friend’s now-widowed wife, but he has this crazy love affair going with another woman he can’t seem to tell no. We are going to find out in this episode whether he just took off and is long gone, or if he is hiding out with his steamy lover. I personally think it’s neither. I think he is with the widow.”

  “Oh,” Derek said, lifting his eyebrows. “That sounds…dramatic.”

  “Hey,” Eric said, dropping down in the chair. “Oh, nice…you’re watching Days of Long Since Past. Has John come out of hiding yet?”

  “No,” Katie said, shaking her head and chewing on a nail. “He is supposed to in this episode.”

  “I think he’s just a man-slut.” Eric leaned forward. “Seriously, he is perusing his way through every woman in town. First it was the doctor, Linda, then his best friend’s wife, and then that other whore. I don’t understand why any woman would take him seriously.”

  Derek slowly turned his head toward Eric, mouth wide open and eyes staring straight at this big bad Spec Ops guy who was completely oblivious to how he had just sounded. At first Eric ignored him and watched the first dramatic scene, shaking his head.

  When the commercial hit, he finally turned and looked at Derek.

  “What?” he asked Derek. “Dude, in the Sandpit you have no idea what the hell to do with your time. We got like two channels at the leisure hall. It’s just stories. Don’t go asking me to turn in my man-card anytime soon.”

  Eric shrugged and turned back to the television, giving zero shits what Derek thought about it. He was obviously secure in his manhood and his love of soap operas, or at least this one. Katie just chuckled to herself and turned back to the show as it came back on.

  There was no reason for her to worry about whether Derek thought Eric was a pussy for liking the show. She was just happy to not have to deal with Pandora the whole time. The demon had gotten to the point of ridiculous about the whole show.

  Derek shrugged and turned his attention to the TV. They watched quietly until a woman in black came on the screen. She was clutching a tissue and crying as she looked out of a window.

  “What is wrong with her?” Derek asked.

  “That’s the best friend’s widow,” Katie whispered.

  “Oh, so she’s sad about her husband,” Derek said.

  “No,” Katie replied, clutching her hands to her chest. “She misses John, and wishes he would come back. She doesn’t believe for a second that he killed her husband, but she doesn’t care either way. She loves him.”

  “Wait,” Eric yelled, scooting to the edge of his chair. “No fucking way!”

  “I knew it.” Katie smiled, bouncing up and down.

  “What?” Derek stared at them, then back at the television.

  She pointed. “The guy behind her in the trench coat and hat…that’s John,” Katie told him. “I knew he would come back for her. Shhh, shhh he’s going to say something.”

  “I told you I loved you,” John said. “I even killed your husband so we could be together.”

  Eric and Katie gasped and looked at each other in shock. Derek just sat there looking back and forth at them, unsure what to say. Katie looked like she was going to cry, and Eric had clapped his hand to his forehead.

  “It was kind of obvious,” Derek said, shrugging.

  “Nooo,” Katie hissed. “John was not a killer. I can’t believe it.” She grabbed her cup of tea and lifted it to her mouth as her eyes stayed on the TV.

  “Shit, he could have just thrown him overboard instead of burning the boat,” Pandora grouched. “Now the bitch has one boat less on that last will and testament. He could have gone fucking sailing.”

  Katie covered her mouth and laughed loudly, snorting tea out of her nose. Both guys looked at her like she was crazy.

  She grabbed a napkin and wiped her mouth and chin, still giggling at Pandora. She couldn’t tell them she was having a conversation with her demon about soap operas. They would think she had lost her mind. At the same time, she had just burst out laughing and squirted Earl Grey all over the front of her.

  “What in God’s name?” Derek chuckled as he watched her.

  “I just thought of something and couldn’t help but laugh.” She chuckled. “I didn’t want to be that bitch, though, and say it out loud.”

  “No, please!” Eric smiled. “Let us in on this little secret.”

  “I was just thinking how it was a shame he burnt the boat, since that shit would have been his at that point.” Katie giggled. “He totally could have gone sailing instead of sitting there in the funeral home.”

  Derek looked at Eric and then back at Katie for a minute, and both men burst into laughter. Katie eased her shoulders and let out a sigh, thankful they found it as funny as she did.

  That was the last thing she wanted to have to do—explain her relationship with her demon.

  “That comment is both morbid and disgusting. I love it.” Eric chuckled.

  “This is why we keep you around. You are inappropriate, which fits this team perfectly.” Derek shook his head.

  “I try.” She smirked.

  Nice coverup, Pandora said. And that did not feel good, by the way. I think you have a deviated septum.

  No more from you, Katie chided the demon.

  When the soap ended, Eric clapped and excused himself to get some rest. None of them seemed to be able to sleep, but with the dawn approaching they were all starting to drag. Katie was okay, and Pandora was not going to let her forget about the game shows also saved on the DVR.

  I want to get caught up before tomorrow’s episode comes on, Pandora said.

  You know you can watch them out of order, Katie said. They aren’t like a show where one depends on the other.

  “Katie?” Damian yelled from down the hall.

  Oh, great, Pandora said. It’s Holy Water Guy.

  “I’m in the living room,” Katie yelled back, turning around in her chair to see what Damian wanted.

  “Oh, hey,” he said, coming around the corner. “I brought you someone.”

  Damian stepped to the side and Joshua waved awkwardly. There were two suitcases at his feet, and he carried his coat over his arm.

  He was dressed just like he had been when she’d first met him: flawlessly-pressed brown pants, his short-sleeved button-up shirt tucked perfectly straight into his pants, and his hair parted to the side. Katie jumped up from the chair and ran across the room to pull him into a tight hug. She could feel his body stiffen in her arms and she chuckled slightly, slowly letting go and stepping back.

  She patted him on the arm. “I’m so excited that you’re here.” She gave him another smile, but didn’t go
for a follow-up hug.

  One uncomfortable hug was enough for Joshua.

  “I-I-I am too,” he stuttered, looking up and then back down and pointing a finger behind him. “I parked my van outside. I hope you don’t mind.”

  “That’s perfect.” Katie nodded. “I have been waiting impatiently for you to get here. I tried out the knives last night, and they are perfect.”

  “G-g-good,” he said, rubbing his hands together.

  “Well, come on.” She smiled, grabbing his hand. “There’s something I want to show you.”

  You keep this up and you’re going to break him.

  Katie pulled Joshua back through the hall and to the elevator. When they got outside Katie slowed down, realizing she was startling Joshua a bit. It seemed he was more afraid of the demon inside her than she had thought.

  They walked over to the big gates and she pushed them open, then stepped aside and let him enter first.

  “This whole building is for the new business,” Katie said, walking up to the front doors. “I will get to work on the branding and stuff soon.”

  They headed into the big area and Katie flipped on the lights, then turned and smiled at Joshua. He had his fingers laced together and mouth open as he took in the space.

  She thought he was sweet, but she could feel the loneliness and fear inside him and it made her a little sad.

  She wondered if he would ever get to the point where he trusted her.

  “So, this area I’m not sure what we will do with first,” Katie told him, leading him to the door on the other side of the room. “Down here is where we will store our production, though. We are going to get it all cleaned up and ready for you so that you are comfortable.”

  She led him down the stairwell and into the open space. He blinked wildly as the lights flickered on and then wandered around, examining all the corners and crevasses. She couldn’t tell if he liked it, so she just stood and waited.

  A few minutes later they went back upstairs, and he started going through the main floor with even more focus.

  “Hey,” Derek called, leading Eric into the room. Both were still dressed as they had been while watching the TV. “We wanted to see the space.”

  She nodded to the guys. “Good. When Joshua gets comfortable, we can start talking about what we need to do to get this going.”

  “So, is this the guy who made the weapons?” Eric whispered.

  “Yeah.” Derek turned to him. “But no one knows this, okay?”

  “Uh.” Eric narrowed his eyes. “First of all, who would I tell? Secondly, who would believe me?” He nodded toward Joshua. “This guy seems a little more than strange.”

  “I think he has Asperger’s Syndrome,” Derek whispered. “But that isn’t the issue we are talking about here.”

  “Can you stop talking in code?” Eric asked, irritated.

  “Ix-nay elling-tay overnment-gay olks-fay,” Derek whispered, slicing his thumb across his neck and clenching his teeth.

  Eric sighed in exasperation and stared at Derek. “I’m sorry, I don’t speak Crazy. This is a legit business, right?”

  “Yes,” Derek answered, only partially rolling his eyes. “But for right now we have to keep it under wraps. We have to be careful who knows about what we are doing, because the product is so important. We don’t want the government just coming in and taking it from us, including taking the guy in the brown pants and pocket protector.”

  “So you want me to not tell anyone from the government, or anyone who is close to the government,” Eric said.

  “That is what I said,” Derek replied, this time completely rolling his eyes. “Didn’t you ever speak in Pig Latin in school?”

  “No,” Eric said with a straight face. “And you shouldn’t as an adult.”

  “Gotta be stealthy.” Derek shrugged.

  “My grandma is stealthier, and she is deaf, talks really loud, and smells like coconuts,” Eric replied, still with a straight face.

  Katie whirled and sighed, staring at them both. She had heard the whole conversation, and while she found it mildly amusing, she knew she had to make sure she could trust Eric.

  He was new and a human, and seemed to like to buck the system a bit. It was vital that everything stayed between them.

  “Look,” Katie whispered, glancing back at Joshua, who was still wandering around the room. “What Derek said came straight from Korbin. Korbin has been at this longer than anyone else on our team, and he knows when it’s important to keep a secret. He doesn’t keep many, having been loyal to the higher-ups his whole career. However, he knows this could bring us one hell of a headache. Not only that, it could put Joshua’s life in jeopardy. It’s obvious that he doesn’t have a lot of friends.”

  “You think?” Eric said, looking over at Joshua, who was now scraping paint from the wall with his fingernail.

  “He is brilliant,” Katie answered, following Eric’s eyes to see what Joshua was doing before returning her focus to Eric. “And you will show him a modicum of respect when you are here in my building and in my business.”

  “All right.” Eric put his hands up. “I won’t say anything to anyone, and I’ll be nice to the Weapons Master.”

  “I like that.” Katie turned. “’Weapons Master.’ Hey, Joshua!”

  “Yeah?” he said, looking at her.

  “I think we’ve come up with a title for you,” she called to him.

  “What?”

  “’Weapons Master,’” Katie said enthusiastically.

  Joshua just stood for a moment, thinking. “Oh, yes. Yes, I like that very much,” he said. “Very much.”

  “Good,” Katie said, dropping her hands to her sides. “Now, Joshua, I would like you to meet Derek. He owns part of the company.” She pointed to Derek’s left. “And this is Eric. He is on the team.”

  “Hey.” Joshua waved, keeping his distance. “Do you have demons too?”

  “I don’t.” Eric pointed to Derek. “But he does.”

  “I see,” Joshua said, looking down.

  Katie waved for the guys to follow her and took them downstairs.

  “Um, so Korbin said we will build a tunnel from our building to here, and that will become the main access point,” Katie said. “From there I think we should sweep and mop really well, put some bright lighting in, and get whatever equipment Joshua needs. He can decide where it all goes, and where it will work best for him.”

  “We can also give this room a fresh coat of paint, so it isn’t so gray and dungeon-like for him,” Derek commented. “Make it look like a work or living space instead of a cell.”

  “Good idea,” Katie said.

  “I could build some shelves along these walls so he has places for everything,” Eric said.

  “I like that,” Katie replied. “Organization is important, and I think along that wall,” she pointed, “will be the case with all the finished weapons. We can secure it somehow with a locking cabinet, or whatever we can afford. Korbin talked about it being easily rolled out of here. Maybe multiple cases with wheels.”

  “I like that.” Joshua had come downstairs. “I have some contacts for those kinds of safes.”

  “Perfect.” Katie nodded. “I’ll go upstairs and start doing a blueprint of what we want the finished place to look like. Will you do me a favor, Joshua?”

  “Sure.” He looked at her.

  “Will you come up with a budget for everything you want to get started?” she asked. “You can come and go from here as you please, but don’t bring anyone back with you without running it by us first, okay?”

  “Y-yes, okay. Sure,” he said, shrugging.

  “This, gentleman, is the site of our new company,” Katie said, smiling widely at Derek.

  Chapter 16

  When Katie got back upstairs she walked past the chapel on her way to her room, pausing in the doorway for a moment.

  Damian was inside praying, but to the left hung a picture of Armani. He had his normal frat-boy smile, his
hair was ruffled, and his five o’clock shadow created a darker face than she remembered.

  She smiled, though, thinking about him and what Damian had showed her.

  She shook her head and continued to her room, where she pulled open a drawer and took a chunk of cash out. She counted out three grand and put the rest back before she headed out to the garage. She needed to visit the prostitutes Armani had been helping.

  She didn’t want to forget his legacy.

  She drove to the edge of town and parked the SUV, figuring it was best for her to walk the rest of the way. She shoved her hands in her pockets as she strode along. She had almost forgotten how rundown the neighborhood surrounding the estate was.

  As she passed by an abandoned building she glanced up at two guys who were staring at her. She put her head down and kept moving.

  “Hey, girl,” one of them cat-called. “Where you goin’ so fast?”

  “Hey, come back here and give me some sugar.” The other laughed.

  Katie kept walking, ignoring their jibes.

  She was not in the mood to deal with idiots on a street corner, and they had no idea who they were messing with. She clutched the money in her pocket, just trying to get to the house at the end of the street.

  “You are a pretty little thing with that tight ass,” one yelled. “Maybe you can come back over here and sit on my face.”

  Katie raised her hand and flipped them off over her shoulder.

  “Bitch,” he called.

  Katie’s feet stopped, and without even a thought she turned around and stared back at them.

  She could feel her rage mix with Pandora’s, which would make a seriously ugly combination. Carefully she stepped forward, narrowing her eyes. The taller of the two guys stepped forward and pulled out a knife.

  “Or maybe you can give me some cash, or some slit.” He eyed her. “And if you ain’t got none of that, I can just take my frustration out on you in blood.”

  Oh, fuck no, Pandora spat. Let me have them.

  Katie looked around. We can’t go around beating up assholes in broad daylight, Katie said.