Kurtherian Gambit Boxed Set One: Books 1-7, Death Becomes Her, Queen Bitch, Love Lost, Bite This, Never Forsaken, Under My Heel, Kneel or Die (Kurtherian Gambit Boxed Sets)

by Michael Anderle

  Frank could feel Gerry wanting information, so he sighed and confirmed Gerry’s unasked question. “Yes, Michael is missing. As I said, Nathan was supposed to find and report on Michael and Bethany Anne. Apparently, he’s found Bethany Anne and god only knows what else he’s been up to. Except giving me an update, of course.”

  “He did, just not to your face. You tell me the next time you want to ignore a vampire and I’ll get ready for your funeral.”

  “OK, good point. So you guys are wanting what from me, exactly?”

  “I need to get Nathan’s input and your thoughts. What do you think will happen if we allow more werewolf sightings to occur?”

  Gerry knew very well what might happen, Frank thought. It wouldn’t be a pretty situation at all. If humans could confirm the existence of the supernatural, all sorts of problems would arise. He could think of a few that would be pretty negative and that didn’t even include what the major religions would say.

  Frank really wished Michael would show up. He hadn’t appreciated just how quiet everything was when the dreaded vampire patriarch was around to enforce his rulings. There must be a lot of pent up aggression just waiting to pop if anyone could confirm Michael was dead.

  He needed to get in contact with Bethany Anne.

  “Let me see if I can get in touch with Bethany Anne. I’m not sure what she can do to scare the young and dumb, as you put it, but she is a vampire that will probably talk to me. The rest of Michael’s kids only talk with Carl and he’s missing as well. If it goes completely in the can, I can see about contacting her dad. God, this is a mess.”

  Frank heard Gerry sigh again over the phone. “Yeah. If and when you talk with Nathan let him know I need him back here in the States. He’s got a bit of a reputation for not taking any shit from anyone, so maybe he can be the boogeyman for a while.

  “All right, let me see what assets I have in Romania that might be able to find them. Talk to you later, Gerry.”

  “Take care, Frank. Let me know if you hear anything. Bye.”

  Frank set his handset down and rubbed his face in frustration. Not only did he need help with the mayhem and destruction, but now the Weres were getting involved and causing friction. This whole pot was going to explode if someone didn’t put a lid back on it, and quickly.

  2

  Zurich, Switzerland

  Bethany Anne was feeling pretty good. She was able to find two sets of clothes to mix and match in Brasov, and then in Zurich she was able to pick up an additional two and another pair of shoes. The train ride over here wasn’t too bad either. She was still taking in etheric energy and TOM said that she could probably pull off two translocations before needing to ‘hit the vein’ as he called it. She had stayed in her sleeper compartment for the duration of the trip, resting up. She let Nathan know that he would need to give her a heads up if he felt they were in danger.

  Ecaterina had stayed behind in Brasov to take care of a few things. They would meet up in a couple of days, before Bethany Anne went to go wake up Stephen. Assuming no one else woke him and told him about Petre’s demise.

  While they had been in the shopping mall in Brasov, Nathan had recognized a perfume and then the face of a woman who had tracked him and bugged his clothes when he first got to Brasov. She was pretty hesitant when he approached her. Bethany Anne kept half an eye on the situation while she was trying on one of three pairs of shoes she liked.

  The two of them stepped out in the courtyard to talk. Bethany Anne noticed Nathan was discreetly looking around to see who else could be watching them.

  Bethany Anne decided to pay for the pair that suited and ask the clerk to hold the shoes. Fortunately, the lady’s English was good enough to understand Bethany Anne.

  Alexi, Ecaterina’s werebear uncle, had gone back to visit family before going home to live on his mountain. Bethany Anne knew where to find him should she need him and besides, Alexi wasn’t one who enjoyed company.

  Ecaterina had decided to come with Bethany Anne to the States, as expected. She was currently with her brother Ivan getting some business taken care of and setting up the discussion to tell their parents she was leaving. Well, leaving with a man who was unmarried and another woman they didn’t know. She wasn’t concerned about her dad, but she said her mom, would have, ‘how you say, a bunch of cows?’ It was kittens, but Bethany Anne wasn’t going to correct everything she got wrong. Idiomatic English was something best experienced.

  Bethany Anne found it hilarious when Ecaterina didn’t give any of Nathan’s money back for the trip that he had contracted with her. She said it was to make sure that Ivan learned that it didn’t matter how ‘nice a man is, or good looking.’ She had earned her pay and then some. Ivan should learn from her example and make sure the cute women didn’t take him for more money. Especially now that she wasn’t going to be there to protect him from the dimples.

  Once Bethany Anne left the store, the pretty woman Nathan was talking to left. She raised an eyebrow.

  “Local pack representative. They’ve tracked their problems back to me and ‘forces unknown.’ They didn’t agree with how Algerian was getting them involved with Petre, and now that everyone who was ‘pro-vampire’ is dead, they wanted to make sure I wasn’t gunning for them.” He smiled and his face lit up. “One problem taken care of!”

  Bethany Anne watched the woman walk across the courtyard. Just before she got to the other side, about thirty yards away, two men joined her and they all walked around the corner.

  “How can we be sure they’re telling the truth?”

  Nathan looked back to where Bethany Anne was looking. “Pack politics. She says that it wasn’t just the Brasov pack that wanted the situation stopped, but that the pack contacted the EPC and got a directive from the Council. Without Algerian here, they don’t have any way to argue the ruling should they want to. I can’t call Gerry back in the States and ask him to confirm the ruling.”

  Bethany Anne looked back at Nathan. “You can’t call?”

  He shook his head. “No. Well, I could but it would be breaking a few rules of decorum around here. If someone was from Europe and did the same thing in America it wouldn’t raise too many eyebrows. Here in Europe they’d get their boxers in a twist if I did it.” He watched Bethany Anne’s eyebrows start to draw together.

  “Is that sooo…?”

  Nathan was accustomed to Bethany Anne’s careless disregard for proper channels of communication. He wouldn’t be too surprised if she decided to make the call herself. He just resigned himself to whatever she wanted to do; it wasn’t as if he would be able to change her mind if she decided to call.

  Bethany Anne, in a fashionable dark grey suit and Nathan in a casual sport coat over jeans entered the Swiss bank. It was a monument to the use of stone as a building material. The beautiful entryway towered up over forty feet and their shoes clicked and clacked over the stone that had to have been in place for centuries.

  There were two security guards flanking the entrance into the main banking area. There was a row of tellers on the left side, while a group of cubicle offices were on the right and a waiting area with four couches in a square on a carpet in the middle. A receptionist sat at a desk in front of the waiting area. There were large televisions in all of the corners tuned to finance stations. Only one showed CNN.

  The two of them walked over to the desk and the lady was quick to smile at them. Bethany Anne chuckled to herself when she seemed to take a little longer to greet Nathan. His easy smile and warm handshake seemed to sweep her off of her feet.

  Bethany Anne rolled her eyes, “Excuse me?”

  The receptionist quickly looked back over at Bethany Anne, blushing faintly. “Yes madam, how can we help you?”

  “Yes. I have had accounts opened for me and I require access to those accounts and an explanation of the details of the accounts. Who can help me with this?”

  The receptionist looked down at her phone, different lines blinking and off. “You would nee
d to speak to Mr. Berger. Unfortunately, he’s on the phone at the moment. May I get your name and let him know you are waiting?”

  “My name is Bethany Anne. Please let him know I am not terribly patient.”

  The receptionist coolly took her information and picked up the phone to make a call. Bethany Anne and Nathan went around the desk to sit on a couch.

  Nathan spoke up, his voice low so it wouldn’t carry very far. “Why didn’t you give your last name? Will he be able to find you?”

  Bethany Anne took a breath and looked over at Nathan. “Oh yes, he’ll know who I am. This bank does business with vampires. I can smell their scent. Faint, but there. Plus, vampires don’t have last names, Mr. Lowell. I gave up Reynolds when I changed. At least for the foreseeable future. You know how you’ve had to deal with money issues because you live so long? Well, compound that by ten. Michael set up a group in this bank and a couple of ancillaries to handle the situation without having to create new personas every thirty years or so. If Mr. Berger isn’t part of the ‘in’ group, I imagine my name will be flagged and we’ll get a different contact.”

  “How will you know if he knows anything?”

  Bethany Anne smiled at Nathan. “Why, Mr. Lowell, I’ll see him sweat.”

  Kevin Berger was having a fine day. He had just gotten off the phone with a small business that had decided to move their accounts to his bank. While not something that would get him a raise, enough of these little victories and he would be on track to receive a great quarterly review.

  His message waiting light was on so he picked up the phone and called the receptionist. She explained that an ‘impatient American’ was waiting for him in the lobby. He got the American lady’s name and hung up.

  Not even an impatient American was going to ruin the triumph he was feeling right now. He ran the name in the system to see if anything was pending for her yet.

  Not only was something pending, there was a flag next to her name. The blood drained from his face. Here was a way to ruin his feel good moment.

  He opened the necessary files and reviewed. There were eight accounts that this… lady… was to have access to. He quickly hit the keys to review the accounts and had he any blood in his face to drain, it would have drained away a second time.

  There was enough money in these accounts to float a small to medium nation. Not only was she Nacht, she had to be high up for this kind of money. He, literally, couldn’t afford to upset her or his quarterly review was going to be unnecessary. He would either be out of a job, or possibly if he upset her enough, then he would hope for a quick death.

  Kevin was on the inside, as it was called in the bank. This was his first meeting with a real Nacht. Since he worked days only, he had never considered that he would be called to interact with any of them.

  He quickly grabbed all of the paperwork he would need, stuffed it into folders and closed and locked his computer. There was only one way that Nacht were allowed to confirm their… uniqueness. He really hoped she wasn’t hungry.

  Putting on his coat, hopefully hiding the perspiration under his arms, he went out to meet his newest client. Unfortunately, the receptionist had it all wrong. Everything he knew about Nacht suggested to him that this lady was being incredibly patient. He tried not to jog out onto the floor.

  3

  Zurich, Switzerland

  Nathan looked around the bank, but mostly watched the large television that had CNN running. He heard quick footsteps approaching so he pivoted his head to find out what was happening. He didn’t expect anything bad, but he wasn’t a fool, either.

  A younger man, probably mid thirties in a three-piece dark blue suit with red pinstriping was headed in their direction at the fastest walk he could possibly accomplish without jogging. Nathan realized this man must be ‘in the know,’ he was sweating and his eyes kept shifting to Bethany Anne and away again.

  Nathan watched as the receptionist realized the director was stressed and slid her hand under her desk. The guy saw this and surreptitiously shook his head no. The receptionist removed her hand.

  Beside him, Bethany Anne stood up. If he could get past the vampire thing, she was an incredibly beautiful woman. Her gracefulness led one to believe she must have been a ballerina. Her looks even caused the bank representative to do a double take. It was obvious that who he expected to meet and who he was actually meeting didn’t coincide.

  “Ms. Bethany Anne? I’m Kevin Berger, the bank representative, and I can help complete your account, um, set up so that you may access the funds. Would you walk with me?”

  Bethany Anne graciously took his hand and shook it. “Certainly, Mr. Berger. Please lead on. My compatriot Mr. Lowell will be joining us.” She didn’t ask for Mr. Berger’s permission for Nathan to go but he wasn’t about to refuse this woman anything.

  He led off across the foyer and went to a wall clad in wood. There was a small, hard to see catch that he pushed which opened a door. When it was open he stood aside. Nathan went in first, followed by Bethany Anne who smiled sweetly at Berger.

  He gulped and closed the door behind them.

  Inside was a small hallway with a coffee bar, refrigerator and snacks all laid out on the left, and on the right, opening into a larger room about twelve by fifteen was a couch on the near wall with a gorgeous rug and a coffee table. Towards the other end was a table with three chairs around it. When the door shut behind them, you could feel the pressure. This room was soundproof.

  “Would either of you care for refreshments?” He hoped he wasn’t just supposed to offer his neck. Kevin grimaced. He was glad they didn’t see him roll his eyes at his own stupidity.

  “No, we’re both good, Mr. Berger.”

  “Very good, Ms. Bethany Anne. Would you care to join me at the table? This is a soundproof room and there are no electronic recording devices allowed. I have the bank’s full confidence. Since the Nacht set up the requirements for verification, nothing is allowed to be recorded.”

  Bethany Anne looked over at Nathan. He took out a small box from his jacket and retrieved a little rectangular device he plugged into his phone. In a minute, he shook his head at Bethany Anne.

  “Very good, Mr. Berger. How is it that you want me to confirm, or verify, my identity?”

  “You don’t know?” Kevin wanted to slap himself. His surprise that the lady in front of him didn’t already know the method of verification slipped past his mouth at a most inopportune time.

  “No, Mr. Berger. Would you care to enlighten me? Or do I have to play twenty questions? I can guarantee that after the first two I will get very annoyed.”

  Bethany Anne was getting a little worried. She thought she’d just have to give some DNA or something. That was what Carl expected. Maybe he didn’t understand the true method?

  The sweat beaded on Kevin’s forehead. “Um, my lady, you don’t have to prove who you are. Rather, you have to verify that you are, in fact, a vampire, Ms. Bethany Anne.”

  Bethany Anne wanted to laugh out loud. The bank representative went from concerned to deathly afraid in a second when he had to say vampire out loud.

  Did every person think the only thing vampires did was drink blood? Whilst tempting to see what he would do if she did bring her fangs out, she decided that she might try other ideas first.

  “Mr. Berger, are there specifically ‘approved’ ways to prove my, unnaturalness? I presume that you really don’t want me to bite you, right?” She had a difficult time not adding a lip-smacking sound while glancing at his neck. She didn’t really need to smell him urinate right here.

  “Well, to be honest it wasn’t ever expected that I would have to actually perform one of these introductions. I, uh, I believe just showing me your fangs might work?”

  He sounded so hopeful. She almost did as he asked. However, she could think of a few ways that you could try to trick someone. She needed him for future work and didn’t want him ignorant.

  “How about we do this, Mr. Berger. I will slap
your head off of your shoulders. If I fail, then you know for sure I am not a vampire. However, if I succeed… No, I guess that will just make a significant mess.”

  Kevin was rapidly nodding his head up and down at this point.

  Seriously? Bethany Anne was almost pissed that she was going to have to do something as prosaic as show her fangs. She wanted to do something with class. It was then that Nathan cocked his head and turned it back towards the entrance.

  Bethany Anne cocked an ear and heard the noise from outside as well. It seemed the bank was being robbed.

  In a calm yet annoyed voice, Bethany Anne spoke. “Those fucktards are messing up my day. I swear to god if I get any blood on my suit I will shove their guns up their asses.” Bethany Anne assumed anything she did that might show up on video would be erased before anyone could see it. What was the worst that could happen, Michael show up to spank her? If only he would show up so she could give him a piece of her mind.

  She took off her pumps and set them on the table, turned around, walked toward the door and disappeared.

  Kevin’s mouth dropped open. He looked over at Nathan, who was still staring back out towards the door. It was soundproof, what did he think he was listening to?

  Kevin started to the door.

  Nathan put out his arm to stop him. “You need to go back to where you were standing a minute ago. She’ll be right back and if she doesn’t come through the door, you don’t want to be where she might end up. I’m sure it would absolutely ruin your day.”

  Kevin stepped back into his original space. She reappeared, but this time with two pistols and an AR-15. She handed the rifle and one of the pistols to Nathan and slid one into her waistband. She looked over her shoulder. “Remind me to get a shoulder holster, would you Nathan?”

  Nathan just nodded, checked out the AR-15, and put the safety on both guns before moving over to the hallway. He faced it as if he expected someone might come in.