The Complete Protected by the Damned Series

by Michael Todd

  “All right,” Katie said, “talk to me. Tell me about this car.”

  “Well, it comes in at just under two hundred and fifteen thousand, depending on what you include with it,” he began. “It has five hundred and two horses under the hood.”

  Damn, Pandora said. That’s even more horses than I’d care to have between my legs.

  Holy shit, Pandora! That is so fucking gross.

  I’m kidding, for fuck’s sake, Pandora replied. Don’t slide on your prude panties! Lighten the hell up.

  When you talk about screwing horses, it’s hard to lighten up, Katie argued, taking a right and enjoying the feel of the acceleration.

  Well? Pandora asked.

  Well what? Katie replied.

  What do you think about this car? she asked. I have to admit, it is way cooler than I thought it would be. It also fits your style perfectly. How does it drive?

  Like you are navigating through the clouds, Katie replied. I am pretty much in love with this car.

  Yessss, Pandora hissed. I knew you would be, the moment you got into the thing. It’s no Spyder, but it’s definitely hot enough for me.

  Katie drove down the Strip and back to the dealership, pulling the car up in front. The salesman showed her a couple of cool things on the inside, then took the keys and helped her from the car. She stood back and looked it over, knowing that it was definitely the car for her.

  “So,” he asked. “What do you think?”

  “I think I am in love with the thing,” She laughed, and the sales guy glanced at her.

  “Everyone has that response after driving it.” He chuckled. “When people think Ferrari they think race cars, so they are expecting a loud hard-to-control car, but these California T’s are made for the customer who just wants a car to drive. They are built to be a daily part of your routine. The convertible gives it that California feel, which I love since I am from there.”

  “Nice,” Katie replied. “I love Cali. I was actually just in San Diego and LA for business.”

  “Were you there when the cemetery was vandalized?” he asked, just making conversation.

  “I was, but not real close,” she said, feeling a twinge of fear in her belly.

  Liar, liar, pants on fire… Wait, that’s what I’m supposed to be working on. Keep up the good work!

  “Well, that’s a good thing. From what people are telling me, whatever did it was something they had never seen before, and a lot of people died.”

  “That’s what I heard too,” Katie said, wanting to change the subject.

  “Anyway, we are safe here in Vegas. Do you have any questions that I can answer?” the salesman asked, clapping his hands together—or rather damn near rubbing them together in glee, already counting his commission in his head.

  “I can’t really think of any,” she responded.

  “If you were to buy the car, would you be financing with us?” he continued down his path of closing, closing, closing.

  “No,” she answered. “I will be paying in cash.”

  “Well, that makes everything a lot less complicated.” He pointed out the closer entrance to the building. “It will be just as easy as you sitting down with me and designing the car, signing a couple of papers, and coming back to pick it up when it is ready.”

  Katie smiled. “I guess we should get started, then.”

  “Excellent!” he exclaimed. “Let’s go to my office, and you can start looking over the options.”

  Katie nodded and followed him inside and around the corner to his office in the back. The walls were glass, but the room was large. Katie wondered if every salesman had an office like his.

  When they walked in he pulled out a chair in front of his desk, motioning for her to have a seat.

  “I’m sorry,” he said. “What is your name?”

  “Ka—Elizabeth,” she said. Damn fake identities!

  “Nice to meet you, Elizabeth.” He pushed her chair in. “My name is Brian.”

  “Nice to meet, you, Brian,” She laid her purse on the desk.

  “Okay,” he said, sitting down behind his desk and turning one of two screens toward her. “We’ll go over all the different options you have for the car. I can explain anything you don’t understand, and we can get the order sent off to the manufacturer so they can customize your car.”

  “All right,” she said, sitting up straight and looking at the screen.

  “First things first: what color do you want the exterior to be?” he asked.

  Katie had thought she would choose black, but when she looked through the swatches and California Blue came up, she changed her mind. It was almost the perfect mixture of grey and aquamarine.

  “California Blue,” she said definitely. “Hands down. No contest whatsoever.”

  “An excellent choice,” he agreed, typing it in. “Let’s move down to your wheels and calipers. You have several choices for the rims, some in silver and a couple in black. You can press the different options on your screen to see how they look.”

  Katie went through each rim, and the matte-black Grigio wheels caught her eye. They were a good contrast to the shiny blue. After that she picked out a caliper that was the same color as the car, and opted for a replacement wheel kit for the trunk. That ensured that if anything were to happen, she had a spare tire in the back specially made for the California T.

  “That is looking really nice,” Brian said. “Okay, next we have the body components. The shield option is completely cosmetic. It puts the Ferrari shield of honor right next to your mirrors.”

  Katie nodded. “I like how that looks.”

  Yummmm…

  “Good, and from there we have the sport exhaust system, which I highly recommend since the car is so powerful,” he continued, watching her click on it. “We will skip the black pillars and move on to the front grill. Now, you can have the whole thing chrome, the whole thing black, or you can do chrome-tipped so it’s not overly shiny but has an air of luxury to it.”

  “I like the chrome-tipped,” Katie decided, selecting that option.

  “The special handling package changes the look,” he warned.

  “Yeah, I don’t like that. I’m going to keep it how it was,” she replied. “I’m going to go with dual suspension and the Anti-stone chipping, but what is ‘AFS?’”

  “AFS is a system we’re pretty proud of.” He looked at her. “What it does is change your nighttime driving headlights to whatever brightness and angle you need, depending on your location, speed, and handling. It also engages the lights anytime you park, to avoid running up on curbs in the dark.”

  “That’s cool,” she said, clicking it. “And the high emotion-low emission is…”

  “This is also a nice feature,” he said, watching her choose on the heated windows and the front and rear parking cameras. “It creates a system where the car will run optimally, and therefore it uses less power than if it were running without the system.”

  “All right,” she said, clicking on the option, along with electric mirrors inside and out.

  “Now comes the fun part—the interior.” He laughed.

  “Oh, that’s easy.” She smiled. “I would like all black, with the black gear shift, diamond back design, and black leather on the doors.”

  “Those are excellent and very sleek choices,” he agreed. “Just a couple more things. Do you want a CD player, or are you okay with USB plugin for music?”

  “I don’t need a CD slot as long as I have plenty of places to plug things in,” Katie replied.

  “There will definitely be plenty of places,” he told her. “Now, last question…do you want this delivered here or to your house?”

  “Oh, here, please.”

  He smiled. “Okay, then we are all set. Once you pay, I can send in the order.”

  “Sure.” She pulled out an envelope of cash, looked at the final number, and pointed to the screen. “Everything is in this final price, including tax and title fees?”

 
“Yes,” he told her.

  Katie started counting. He tried to keep his face still, making his best effort to not look surprised by the money stacking up on his desk. He printed out some paperwork, made a deposit slip for the safe, and handed her a pen.

  She took the pen from him and smiled.

  “Okay, once you sign these we are good to go,” he said. “I will have to check if there is a model that is similarly equipped in the US, that we can customize to your specs. If so, your car will be here in a week or ten days. If not, it will be eight or more weeks coming from Italy. I’ll let you know as soon as I do some research.”

  NOW we’ll have us some fun, Pandora cooed.

  Chapter 5

  “Do you like this?” Korbin asked, holding up a swatch of cloth.

  “Are we picking out curtains together?” Calvin teased.

  “No, you idiot.” he chuckled. “It’s for the shop. As much as possible, we want to try to make it look like a house.”

  “Oh, well, then yeah, I like that,” he said. “It’s masculine with the dark blue and gold. No man wants to walk into a brothel and be surrounded by pink and fluffy.”

  “A brothel?” Korbin asked nonchalantly. “What makes you say that?”

  Calvin looked up at him and raised one eyebrow. Korbin sighed and nodded, tired of thinking about stupid details like fabric for the fucking windows.

  He put the swatch down and leaned back in his chair, rubbing his face.

  He was about done with everything to do with the cover up. He just wanted the business—that was it, no sparkles or vanity. Just simple, unlike most things in his damn life. Before he could go back to work, though, the phone rang.

  “Hello?” he answered.

  “Hey, it’s Charlotte,” the reporter said.

  “Hi there,” Korbin replied. “Hold on, let me put you on speaker. Calvin’s here too.”

  Korbin looked at Calvin and mouthed Charlotte’s name, watching him knowingly nod his head. He clicked on the speaker and pulled out a pad of paper and a pen. He was a note taker, especially with so much on his mind.

  “Hey there, Charlotte,” Calvin greeted her.

  “Hey, Calvin,” she replied. “So, I have an update for you guys. I’ve been checking up on the politician, but he hasn’t done anything strange…yet. Currently I am working his background, but it’s going to come up with his human record, not anything demon-related.”

  “You need to be careful,” Korbin warned her. “He is willing to kill anyone who stands in his way.”

  “I know. I’m inquisitive,” she replied, “not suicidal.”

  “I need to get out of this place,” Eric told them. He was sitting across from Jeremy and Katie in the living room. “I need to feel normal again. You know, walk the streets like a normal person.”

  “Whatcha got in mind?” Jeremy asked.

  “I was thinking we go to downtown Las Vegas and play around for a while,” Eric replied. “You know, do as the tourists do.”

  “I’m up for it,” Katie agreed.

  “Me too,” Jeremy replied.

  “Awesome!” Eric exclaimed. “Okay, we gotta make ourselves look different. There are bound to be a lot of people down there, and none of us want to get caught by someone we know.”

  “Sounds smart.” Katie stood up. “Give me twenty, and we’ll meet back out here?”

  “Yeah,” Eric said.

  “I mean, don’t go too crazy trying to change things up,” Jeremy offered. “Most of downtown is tourists, and most locals avoid it like the plague. Just make sure you look different than you did in your prior life.”

  “That won’t be a problem.” Katie laughed. “Much of me has changed since everything happened. I’m pretty sure my own mother wouldn’t recognize me at this point.”

  “Better to be safe than sorry, though,” Eric replied. “It would be just our luck if we didn’t do something. We would definitely run into someone we knew, and then there would be mind-erasing and a scene. That is just not what I’m looking for tonight.”

  “I mean, there are so many tourists,” Jeremy said. “There are bound to be some of them who look like us. We should be able to blend right in, with the right hair and civilian clothes.”

  “You would think so.” Katie sighed, thinking back to her review of the social websites over the last year when she couldn’t be strong. “But like Eric said, it’s better to be safe than sorry. My ‘death’ has already put my family and friends through enough. The last thing I want is to have to erase their memories because of me.”

  “You are absolutely right,” Jeremy agreed. “We all lost people when we switched to Korbin’s Killers, and I wouldn’t want to put my family and friends through anything else either.”

  “All right.” Katie waved to the guys. “I’m going to go get ready. I’ll meet you guys back out here shortly, and we can inspect each other’s disguises.”

  “You should wear a beard.” Jeremy laughed. “You can be the Bearded Lady.”

  “Uh, I don’t think so.” Katie laughed and walked toward her room.

  Katie made it to her room and closed the door, then rummaged through her closet. She wasn’t sure what the guys had in mind for the evening. She didn’t want to be too fancy, but at the same time she didn’t want to be left out of going into places on the Strip because she wore jeans shorts and a tank top.

  She pulled out a pair of wide-leg black dress pants and a sexy black top and changed her clothes. When she was done, she walked into the bathroom and arranged her hair differently than she had done it before. She pulled it back in a ponytail, but created “the bump” in front.

  She put on some makeup, and stood back to stare at her reflection in the mirror. She looked at herself from all angles, surprised at how toned her entire body was. She had known she would be in shape from all the training, but dang! She had “guns.”

  You look hot, Pandora told her. I’m proud of you for picking this outfit.

  “Thanks.” Katie sighed. “You know, I think I could go out on the Strip with no makeup, in jeans, and anyone who might or did know me would pass right by without another thought. No one is going to think I’m that girl anymore. I’m taller, more muscular, and have tits the size of Texas. They will notice my boobs before they ever look at my face.

  Bahaha, Pandora howled. “Tits the size of Texas!”

  Yeah, Katie bitched, adjusting her shirt. My tops and bras don’t fit right anymore. I told you to leave the boobs alone.

  Honey, Pandora explained, Texas is as big as France. You’re no bigger than Arkansas, at the most.

  I was exaggerating, Katie snapped. They seem huge to me, because I have always been just average in the breast department. Now I can’t even see my fucking toes, and not only are they enormous, but they are perky—like I need steel plates to hide my nipples, even with a bra and a tank top underneath what I am wearing.

  I know what we could do for a disguise, Pandora offered.

  This should be interesting, Katie replied, adjusting her boobs in the mirror.

  We could cut your hair, she suggested. Give you some kind of cute and trendy haircut. That would be the icing on the cake. No one would recognize you.

  That’s an interesting suggestion, Katie agreed. I have one for you, too. Why don’t you try to be celibate for a thousand years? I’m sure your body would thank me.

  Wow, Pandora said with a sniff. A simple “no” would have been sufficient. You didn’t have to be so ugly with me about it. I mean, there is a huge difference between a thousand years without any dick and cutting some of that hair off. Besides, you are a different person now, and not just on the outside. Maybe it would be good for you to lose some of it.

  No, Katie told her firmly. I am not cutting my hair. We’ll just have to make do with what I’ve got.

  Fine, fine, Pandora grumped. Don’t take my advice! God knows I failed the other times…except I didn’t!

  Katie frowned into the mirror. As much as I love your help on ev
erything else, this one is non-negotiable, I’m afraid. My hair is pretty much the only thing I have left from my former life, and I’m not ready to give it up.

  Okay. Pandora sighed. It was just a suggestion.

  “This is really good,” Joshua said, taking a bite of his casserole.

  “Thank you,” one of the girls said. “I made it myself.”

  “It’s nn-nnn-nice to have a home-cooked meal,” he told them.

  “So, Joshua,” Eliza, the older girl began. “Why are these knives you make so important?”

  “Yeah, how did you start making these things, anyway?” Tabby, another of the girls, asked.

  “I’ll be honest with you,” Joshua replied. “I can’t tell you everything. There are some secrets about this place and what I am doing that can’t be revealed. I wish I could tell you ladies everything, though, especially since you have gone out of your way to come out here and help me.”

  “Gosh, it sounds like these weapons are super-secret?” Tabby exclaimed. “Why is that? I mean, can’t you buy swords and knives everywhere nowadays?”

  Joshua dug his fork through the casserole. He didn’t know what to say, or how much he was allowed to tell them.

  They worked there, but they didn’t get paid for it.

  He assumed that if Katie had wanted them to know the whole truth, she would have told them herself. Still, he couldn’t just push them off when they were coming here every day to help out with the business. If he were them he would have a lot more questions, including what went on next door at all hours, why they snuck out all of the time, and why the building was under high security. He figured the girls didn’t really think about those things or notice them.

  “Well, they are made differently than the ones you can just buy at the store,” he explained.

  “How?” Eliza asked.

  “Well, it’s a bit complicated,” Joshua replied. “My family has been making them, or has known how to make them, for centuries, apparently. When my father died, I was given the tools and books and told it was of dire importance that I continue the family business. Most everything has been passed down from generation to generation in books and diaries. Normally a father would explain everything to the next generation, but he died so suddenly that it was impossible.”