A Hunter Found: A Paranormal Vampire Romance (Hired Hunters Series Book 3)

by Kimberly Forrest

  Sophia would have liked to have stayed and helped put paid on that bitch, but Kane was her top priority. Seeing her chance, she lunged forward, and gripping the edge of the table he was secured to with her teeth, dragged him through the new opening she’d made, and out of the line of fire.

  Her brother let out three short blasts of approval before filling the space she’d exited. Sounds of the battle continued but the number of screams from Evangeline had noticeably increased. She was losing and she knew it, even if she refused to accept it.

  Far enough away where Kane wouldn’t accidentally be hit by stray gunfire, Sophia stopped and inspected his wounds with a mournful bellow. His torso was a roadmap of savage-looking bruises and welts that made her want to weep. He had to be in excruciating pain, yet he was smiling at her as he said, “My beautiful dragon. I’ve wanted to see you like this since I first laid eyes on you. And you are spectacular.” He grimaced, his head lifting to look down at his bindings. “I just wish I could touch you.”

  Lowering her snout to his neck, she closed her eyes and nuzzled him as he let out a happy sigh. Pulling away, Sophia let out a little growl of frustration. Her teeth weren’t designed for delicate work like cutting wire. She was more likely to take his hand off. She might possibly be able to pull the railroad spikes out of his shoulder, but if she miscalculated her bite, she could very well take a chunk of his chest with her.

  Looking around in frustration, she spotted Archer Langley’s truck, a construction vehicle with a large toolbox in the back, and quickly shifted back to her human form. Cupping Kane’s cheek, she kissed him softly on the lips and told him, “I’ll be right back.”

  She returned within moments with a pair of wire cutters and a large pair of plyers. She’d had to break the lock on the toolbox, and would apologize to Archer for the destruction to his property later, but right now she needed to get Kane free and did so in seemingly record time, though it hurt her heart to cause him more pain when she latched onto those rusty spikes with the pliers and pulled them free.

  Kane hadn’t been able to hold back his hiss of pain but despite the incredible agony he had to be in, and his no doubt weakened state, as soon as he could, he was sitting up and pulling Sophia into his arms, his fingers tangling in her hair as he whispered, “You saved me. You saved me.”

  The praise made her heart soar, but humility had her reminding him, “We all came as soon as we heard. No way would we let her have you.”

  Kane pulled back, his hand gripping the back of her neck. “No. You saved me. When she had me under her spell, trying to control my mind, it was thoughts of you that allowed me to break free. That’s why she was forced to nail me to a table.” Pulling her closer, he sealed his lips to hers in a hungry kiss. “I love you, Sophia,” he murmured against her mouth. “You’re my queen. Always.”

  Sophia pulled away to release the sob of joy that had risen in her throat. Her fingers touching his beloved face in wonder. “I love you, too, Kane. I’m so sorry I doubted you for even a second. I saw you,” she continued in a rush, tears hazing her vision. “Last night I saw you leave with her and I thought –”

  “Shh. Hey, don’t do that,” he said, brushing tenderly at the tears on her cheeks. “You have nothing to be sorry for.” He gave her another kiss, this one quick and firm. “And we’ll talk more later, but right now, we need to finish this.”

  “You need to drink first,” she insisted, shoving her wrist under his nose.

  Smiling fondly, he kissed the lines of veins on her wrist instead of biting. “Soon,” he promised. “We need to get back in there.”

  Sliding off the table with a wince of pain he attempted to hide, he turned and glanced around him with surprise. “Why aren’t there police sirens and helicopters and reporters? No way people aren’t hearing this.”

  Sophia lifted her arm and pointed before turning in a circle. Kane looked around in amazement as he finally spotted the people some distance away, their hands joined, faces lifted toward the sky as they chanted. Turning a slow circle he saw the sheer numbers and stood in awe as he realized that what looked like every witch in New Orleans had answered the call for help.

  “It’s an illusion,” Sophia told him. “From outside that perimeter, it looks like nothing is going on. Not even sound penetrates. Anybody walking or driving by would see nothing more than an empty warehouse with an empty parking lot.”

  “Oh, my God. That’s perfect.” Kane threw back his head with a shout of laughter and then took Sophia’s hand and raised it to his lips for a kiss. “Dragon up, my love. We have a battle to finish.”

  He watched her transformation with amazement and a smug part of him preened. She had brilliant, greenish-gold iridescent scales, massive spike-tipped wings, and a barbed tail that could probably take out a building with a single swat. His woman was a beautiful, fire-breathing badass. And while he would have liked to stand there all night and admire her, he couldn’t risk Evangeline somehow getting the upper hand once more.

  Entering the warehouse through the hole Sophia had made earlier, Kane was forced to shield his eyes from the unnatural wind that was kicking up dust and debris. Evangeline was in the center of the storm, her feet a good foot off the ground as she hung suspended, her body oddly contorted, while wolves surrounded her, snapping their teeth and growling.

  The vampires were no longer firing, though they stood with guns at the ready as Destin Jourdain, his arms outstretched, muscles bulging with the effort to contain one of his own, shouted, “Surrender, Evangeline. Let us help you. Let me help you.”

  She was struggling, Kane could see, her expression, a rictus of pain as she tried to fight the prison that Jourdain had created around her. Yet she still managed to spit out one single word laced with vitriol, “Never.”

  Her body spasmed and her back arched at what seemed an impossible angle, her lips moved in a call for more power. Those black, bulging veins began to glow with an eerie inner light, her skin cracked open like alligatored asphalt, revealing more of that same glow and Evangeline released a pain-filled scream.

  “Stop, Evangeline!” Jourdain shouted. “Enough. You’re overloading! You’re killing yourself!” He immediately dropped his arms and rushed forward, his aunt’s name, a cry on his lips as the wind dissipated, but he was too late. A second later, with a shrill screech, Evangeline Duvalier burst apart, leaving nothing behind but a shower of gray, glittering dust.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  In the aftermath of the battle, there was a whole lot of naked going on as shifters retook their human forms, though Travis did manage to find a tarp he had quickly thrown over Sophia before going to check on Morgan. A good thing, that, considering Kane was loathed to let her go from where she was cuddled to his side, but nor did he want so many eyes on her gorgeous form. She was his.

  One of the vampires had grabbed a fire extinguisher and was tending to any remaining flames from the dragons’ fire – luckily, there hadn’t been an abundance of consumables in the warehouse – while the ever-efficient Edward was distributing bags of blood from a cooler he must have fetched from a vehicle outside. He handed two to Kane as his worried eyes took stock of an abundance of injuries marring Kane’s body. “Sir, I have a bit of medical training if you’d allow me to look at your injuries.”

  That had Kane’s brow shooting up practically to his hairline. “By a bit you mean you once applied a Band-Aid or…” he trailed off, his hand making a circular motion as he waited for Edward to complete the sentence.

  “I was a trained field medic before I became an accountant.” The man hesitated. “Though I feel I must warn you that that was some time ago.”

  Kane didn’t have too many options. It wasn’t like he could just pop into the ER at the nearest hospital and the pack healer would be busy with her own people. “Think you can manage to dig the bullet out of my thigh?”

  Sophia let out a clicking growl that had Edward stepping back with wide, fearful eyes as she screeched, “You were shot?”
She glanced down at the blood-soaked bandage on his thigh. “That’s from a bullet? Why didn’t you say so?” and then half dragging him to the floor, she demanded, “Sit down!”

  Kane grinned, he couldn’t hold it back, her concern for his well-being touching him more than he could say. Raising the bags of blood so she could see, he gave them a little shake. “This will help, we just need to get the bullet out so I don’t heal over it.”

  Catching sight of Jourdain, who was kneeling on the floor next to Jamie and Archer over the turbaned witch who was either still unconscious or possibly dead, Kane sobered. Levering himself up, despite Sophia’s protests, he said, “I have to talk to Jourdain. The bullet can wait.”

  His dragon sputtered, but she didn’t hold him back. Kane limped forward. Jamie, he could see, was using tissues to wipe the blood from the prone witch’s face, while Archer stroked his mate’s back in an attempt to comfort her. “Is she all right?” Kane asked.

  It was Jourdain who answered, pushing up to his full, intimidating height. “She will be,” he said. “She over-exerted herself, but she’ll recover with rest.”

  “I’m glad to hear it,” Kane responded with a nod before adding, “Thank you for coming.” Extending his hand, he waited for the other man to grip it with his own.

  For the first time, Destin Jourdain didn’t hesitate, clasping Kane’s hand firmly and holding it for a moment between his two large palms before he shook it. “I believe your idea of an alliance, cooperation between us,” Jourdain said in his deep bass rumble, “has merit, Mister Fletcher. Tonight, we came together, unified. One could argue that, had Archer Langley and his wolves not been here, I would never have obtained the upper hand over Evangeline. One could also argue, that had your vampires not provided the level of firepower used to keep her distracted and focusing her power on holding back their bullets, Langley wouldn’t have been given an opportunity to attack.”

  “And one could argue,” Kane added, “that had your witches not come and provided an illusion spell, this place would be crawling with law enforcement and reporters. Not only would we most likely all be spending at least a night in jail, but the information leak would have been a nightmare.”

  Jourdain nodded, glancing around the warehouse. When his eyes settled on the starburst of glittering dust that had once been his aunt, Jourdain’s face became a mask of grief, loss, and Kane legitimately felt bad for the man. “I’m sorry you weren’t able to help her. I know you wanted to.”

  Another nod of that head before Jourdain grimaced. “I think I was dreaming when I thought I might be able to bring Evangeline back into the fold. Even if I had managed to siphon off the dark powers, I don’t think I’d be able to keep her from trying to obtain them again. Her lust for power…” he trailed off, leaving the statement unfinished. “I would have been forced to imprison her again, and that’s no life for her.”

  Kane nodded, not sure what to say to that.

  Jourdain turned, facing him fully, and with a sharp nod, held out his own hand. “You have my support,” and then with only a slight hesitation, he added, “and my friendship.”

  Kane shook the proffered hand with a grin and saw a smile spread across Jourdain’s hawk-like features as the man added, “Kane,” instead of his usual Mister Fletcher.

  ∞∞∞

  They decided to wait until they were back in pack territory before removing the bullet in Kane’s thigh. Well, they might be an exaggeration since it was Sophia that had insisted, while Kane and Edward had both merely declined to argue with her logic that should something go wrong, the pack healer should be close by, just in case.

  Archer hadn’t balked too badly at having Edward on pack lands once he’d learned the man had some medical training. Marguerite, the pack healer, could only do so much, and while miraculously there weren’t any truly life-threatening injuries, there were quite a few nasty cuts and some broken bones to set. Enough where a second set of hands – even vampire hands – was more than welcome.

  Edward, to give him credit, did a stellar job, held up remarkably well under the pressure, and beamed at the praise coming his way from both the healer and the patients to whom he had tended. Sophia, on the other hand, had been a nervous wreck. Full-on, nail-biting worry, and anyone who had come to check on Kane had quickly retreated with one look at her face.

  Okay, so yeah, she might have snarled at a few people, and she was pretty sure her eyes had stayed shifted the entire time, and if the lingering smell of sulfur in the air was any indication, her nostrils had most likely been smoking, so it was no wonder those would-be visitors had taken off as fast as their feet could carry them. She’d more than proved in the last several weeks that she was prone to destruction when she got riled. She really needed to work harder on that before they declared her a public menace.

  It was only once she was with Kane again, able to see for herself that he was fine, sitting up in bed, even smiling as he raised a mug – most likely filled with blood – in a toast to her as she entered the room where he and Edward had closeted themselves earlier to remove the bullet in Kane’s thigh.

  “How are you feeling?” she asked, nervously biting her lip and shifting her weight from one foot to the other as she hovered over him, afraid to touch him in case she accidentally hurt him.

  “Better now that you’re with me,” was his cheery reply. Pulling the covers back, he patted the space next to him on the bed. “But I could use some cuddles.”

  Sophia practically pounced on the invitation, hurriedly toeing off her shoes so she could join him under the covers. She hesitated half-way in. “Your leg?”

  Kane pulled back the covers even more so she could see the pristine white bandage wrapped around his thigh, though it took her a moment to focus once she spotted the sexy lines of his naked hip. “The bullet’s out, the hole stitched,” he raised the mug again, “and healing is underway.”

  “Are you in pain?”

  He shrugged. “A little sore but nothing major.” And then, obviously tired of her procrastination, he grabbed her around the waist and tumbled her onto the bed with a laugh. “I need me some loving from my lady,” he told her with an amusing wiggle of his eyebrows.

  Grinning, Sophia felt herself relax as she cuddled against him, her fingers tracing the tape edge of one of the bandages on his shoulder. Pressing her ear against his chest, she heard the reassuringly strong and steady beat of his heart. Sighing, she indulged in the feeling of his embrace for several minutes before she propped herself up on an elbow to look into his eyes. Taking a deep breath, she said, “The other night, I saw you leave with that woman and I was so angry and hurt –”

  Kane opened his mouth to interrupt her, perhaps to apologize, perhaps to reassure her, but Sophia stilled him by placing her fingers over his lips. “Please. Just let me get this out.”

  When he nodded, she pulled her hand back. “I was so angry and hurt instead of questioning why a model-beautiful woman would be coming out of an alley, and just walk right up to some guy and kiss him. I was too focused on the fact that you let her kiss you to even think about how odd that was, or anything else. I should have put it together, should have known, but it was Jamie who figured it out, and only after I was forced to admit what happened because Edward reported you missing.” She expelled a hard breath. “I’m sorry, Kane. If I had questioned things sooner, said something sooner, you never would have been held for so long or injured so badly.”

  Kane’s hand cupped the back of her head, his fingers combing through her hair. “First,” he said, “I’m the one who’s sorry you had to see that, and if the roles were reversed, if I’d seen you being kissed by some random guy, I wouldn’t have been thinking logically either. I’d have been looking to kill something.” He stopped for a moment to kiss her forehead before he added, “Second, you haven’t known me long enough to put your absolute faith in me. You saw some woman kissing me, you didn’t see me push her away, and you saw me leave with her instead of meeting you like I was suppo
sed to. Hell, yeah. You should have been pissed. I would have been.” Another kiss, this one on her cheek. “As for Jamie figuring it out, she’s been around me for over twenty years, you’ve known me for a handful of days.” He punctuated that statement with a kiss to her other cheek and then one on the tip of her nose. “You have nothing to be sorry for.”

  His hand cupped her face, his thumb stroking over her cheek. “It’s amazing when you think about it. We’ve known each other for such a short amount of time, yet I already know that I want to spend forever with you,” he said looking deeply into her eyes so that she could see the honesty of his statement. “I think I fell in love with you that very first day when I saw you pulling snacks out of your bag.”

  “I thought you were the most gorgeous man I’d ever seen. Even my dragon was impressed.”

  Kane’s smile was positively smug as he teased, “Kane Fletcher, dragon whisperer. I’m adding that to my resumé.”

  Sophia’s bark of laughter was embarrassingly loud and she covered her mouth with her hand before burying her face in Kane’s neck. The sight of the artery running down the length of his throat had her head popping back up. “My blood’s stronger than bagged blood, right?”

  “Oh, hell yeah,” he told her. “Much stronger, but I’m good, don’t you worry about me.”

  Sophia’s tongue flicked out to moisten her lips. Just thinking about Kane drinking from her again had her lower abdomen clenching and her sex pulsing with need. “But, if my blood heals you faster,” she said, her voice breathy and suggestive. “You’d be up for some vigorous exercise that much sooner.”

  Kane let out a growl. “Ah, love. I’m already up,” and with that said, he sealed his lips to hers in a kiss that curled her toes.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven