First Hunt [Diablo Falls]

by Alexis Calder

  Chapter 3

  Jackson

  Does she even know how hot she is when she blushes? I've never picked up a stranger on the side of the road before but I'm a gentleman. How could I leave this petite, gorgeous brunette on the side of the road alone? Alright, it's not just altruism driving this gesture. It's also the fact that with just a smile she made want to rip her clothes off.

  There's also the fact that I can smell her arousal. I know she's just as into me. It's taking all my willpower not to pull over the truck right now. I know I shouldn't have asked her to stay at my place but it was like I had no choice. It just came out. Now, I had to figure out how I was going to explain this to my brothers. We'd gotten lazy. Used to shifting into wolf form whenever we felt the need. Now, we'd have to reign it in. There was no way I'd be able to explain that to a human.

  "How about your brothers?" she asked. "Did they move away and come back?"

  "No," he said. "They both stayed. Took care of our dad and the ranch. They're actually pretty pissed that I'm considering selling."

  "Why sell then? Why not just leave them with it?"

  "I tried, trust me," I said. "There's no way it'll last more than a few years the way it's hemorrhaging money."

  "That's so sad," she said.

  "Know any tricks for keeping a ranch going? What did your family do?" I asked.

  "We had outside investors. And twenty families working it," she said.

  "Who knew there was a market for llama farm investors?"

  "Didn't you know? Llamas are very in right now." She said the words with deadpan seriousness.

  I glanced over and caught her smirk. I was going to have to watch out for her. Her sarcastic streak was strong. And it only made me want her more. "Hey, we've got about an hour drive left. You hungry? There's a great bar-b-que place on the way."

  "I could eat."

  We were quiet for a while and I realized that I'd never sat in this truck with anyone else that I didn't feel the need to fill the silence. The radio wasn't even on. There was just something comfortable about her. She seems to radiate peace. Maybe it was all those years of being around llamas.

  So many of the shifters I ran with in the city were thugs. They worked as security guards to get out their angst or jumped out of airplanes in their free time. They lived fast and vibrated with an intense, almost violent energy. Of course, not all shifters were like that but that was the crew I'd been running with. I wasn't proud of my job in the city, working for the local vampire gang, but it was a good paycheck and it worked well with my skillset. I thought I'd miss the chase, but coming home had mellowed me. Violet felt like another layer to that.

  "I'm guessing your days start pretty early," she said, breaking the silence.

  "Five usually."

  "Nice, I'll get to sleep in," she said.

  My mind installs filled with the thought of her laying in bed. Preferably my bed. My cock twitched and I cleared my throat, trying to make myself think of anything else. It wasn't time for that yet. "Things start early for llamas?"

  "Yeah, usually around four. But we got a two hour break at noon where I'd try to squeeze in a nap."

  "I can't even imagine the look on my brothers' faces if I told them we were going to start that early. By five, I mean, we're getting up then."

  "No wonder your ranch is going under."

  I glanced over to catch her smile. She looked comfortable, at ease. I wasn't sure what I expected from her, but I didn't think a woman in the truck with a stranger would be so at ease.

  I turned off the highway, taking the exit. It was a surprising place to find the best Bar-b-que, but here it was. A shack of a building right next to the massive cement block of a truck stop. Rows of semis were parked nearby, their drivers either sleeping or filling the tiny dive restaurant. Suddenly, I wondered if I should be taking Violet here. It was likely to be filled with lots of supernaturals and lots of lonely men. While I was confident in my ability to ward off unwanted advances toward her, I wasn't sure if their staring would make her uncomfortable. I might have to get a little more territorial than I expected.

  "This is the place with the great food?" She sounded skeptical.

  "Trust me."

  She shrugged. "Alright. I trust you."

  Shifters, a handful of demons, and a few unknowing human truck drivers all turned to stare at us as we walked through the doors. I protectively placed my hands on either side of Violet's upper arms as I guided us through the crowd.

  I could feel their eyes on us as we walked through. One especially nasty incubus licked his lips as we passed him. I bared my teeth and let out a low growl. The incubus took a step back. This really was a bad idea.

  "Maybe we should just head out," I said.

  "Why?" she asked. "Cause a few assholes don't know how to hide their leers?"

  "I'm not sure the food is worth the wait," I said.

  "Liar." She placed her hand on top of one of mine. "I might be named for a flower, but I'm no shrinking violet."

  Between her badass attitude and the way her single touch made me feel, I was going to have a very hard time keeping it in my pants over the next few days.

  "Jackson!" Mike, the owner pushed his way through the crowd. "Hey buddy!"

  I shifted to the side, keeping an arm around Violet while I stepped out from behind her. "Hey, man."

  I grabbed Mike's offered hand. "Business looks good."

  Mike's eyes traveled down Violet's body, then back up before he returned his gaze to me. "Please tell me this is the investor who is going to buy that godforsaken ranch of yours."

  "No, just ..." I started.

  Violet stretched out her hand. "I'm Violet. I'll be working with Jackson for a bit."

  Mike lifted a surprised eyebrow, then extended his hand to meet Violet's. "Nice to meet you."

  "She's a llama farmer. Going to help us get things ready."

  Mike shook his head. "I still can't believe you're selling that place. Your great-grandpa should climb out of the dirt and smack some sense into you. I told him his good for nothing kids were going to disappoint him."

  I cleared my throat. "Mike thinks he can talk to ghosts."

  Mike's brow furrowed slightly, then he realized what he'd said. "Yeah, whole place is haunted. All the regulars just can't stop showing up."

  "I've got a few friends who swear they can talk to ghosts, too," Violet said. "I've never seen one. Maybe you can introduce me sometime?"

  "This one's a keeper, Jackson. Come on, I'll get you two to a table." Mike grabbed a couple of rolls of silverware and led us to a table in the back of the tiny restaurant. It was the most private table in the place. Which made me think that even Mike was picking up on the sexual tension between the two of us.

  In a way, it made me feel better to know that an incubus was giving me his blessing. While I still wasn't sure it was a great idea to hop into bed with a human, I knew there wasn't much I could do to stop it.

  Chapter 4

  Violet

  I took a deep breath in and inhaled the spicy sweet scent of sauces mixed with the smokiness of cooking meat. My mouth started to water. If this place was half as good as it smelled, it might be the best food I'd ever eaten. Not that that would be too difficult. I grew up on a steady diet of lean protein and vegetables. Flavor wasn't necessary for nutrition.

  The customers waiting in line didn't seem thrilled to see me. My body tensed as an especially lanky man with nearly gray skin and pointed teeth stared at me. He didn't look human and every nerve in my body was firing at once. Part of me wanted to grab him and take him down as I'd been taught but I'd given all that up. He wasn't hurting me even if he was creepy as hell.

  Jackson's hands pressed into my upper arms and my whole body relaxed. I turned away from the weirdo who was staring at me and focused on the calm that the large, warm hands brought on.

  Jackson was so different than the guys I'd grown up around. He was polite but forward. If anyone else had put their hands o
n my arms like this, I would have thrown them across the room. From him, it was comfortable. I felt safe. Which made zero sense. I didn't need anyone to protect me. I was a weapon myself. But he didn't know that. Was this what it felt like for girls that grew up in normal houses?

  I slid into the booth in the back corner of the restaurant. Which, let's be honest, barely qualified as a restaurant. Six tables, four booths, and an exposed kitchen made up the entire room. Every table was packed and there was a line waiting to grab a seat. A steady stream of people walked up to the host stand and grabbed plastic bags of take out food.

  A leggy blonde in shorts that let her butt cheeks hang out the back walked toward our table. She wore a low cut v-neck tee shirt that was probably at least a size too small. Her breasts spilled up into the opening leaving very little to the imagination. Her tips were probably enormous.

  "Hey Jackson," she said with a slight drawl. "Welcome back, handsome."

  The girl ignored me, her gaze completely fixated on my host. Jealousy flared in my gut, rising up so quickly it took me by surprise. I swallowed it down, reminding myself that I'd only know this guy for a short time. For all I knew, this was his girlfriend. We'd never actually talked about his relationship status.

  "Hey, darling," Jackson said.

  Suddenly, I felt stupid. He knew my whole sad backstory and had every chance to offer the important tidbit of whether or not he was attached. He'd likely skipped it to spare my feelings. I wanted to crawl into a hole.

  "Y'all on your way to the ranch?" she asked.

  I looked up at her, realizing that she was now referring to both of us.

  "Yep. Violet here is my new ranch hand," he said.

  "Lucky girl," she said, winking at me.

  My brow furrowed and I quickly plastered a smile on my face. What the hell was going on here?

  "You want your usual?" she asked.

  "We'll both have the special," Jackson said. "And a couple of beers."

  I looked back at Jackson, cocking my head to the side as I watched him order for both of us. He didn't know what I liked but he took charge anyway.

  "Fried pickles?" she asked.

  "Fuck no," he said.

  "Just thought I'd make sure you were still you," she said.

  Macy spun on her heels and walked away, exaggerating the swing of her hips, making her long blonde hair swish back and forth as she walked. That woman was the definition of sex on a stick. I'd never seen anyone so blatantly in tune with their own sexuality. It was hard to look away from her.

  "Hope it's okay that I ordered for you," Jackson said.

  I broke my gaze from the leggy blonde. "Oh, um, yeah."

  "Macy's something else isn't she?" he said.

  "She's gorgeous," I said. "Is she your - I mean, are you two a couple?"

  He laughed. "No way. I don't think anyone can tame that one. She's wild."

  Just then, a crash sounded from the opposite side of the room. I turned to see a table overturned on the ground, broken glasses and food strewn all over the ground. People gasped and cried out and moved out of the way.

  "Horace, what the fuck are you doing?" Macy threw a tray she was holding down on the ground. "Get yourself together."

  A man twice the width of Jackson and just as tall stood from the chair behind the turned table. The nostrils on his wide nose flared and he flexed his arms in front of him, showing biceps the size of my head.

  "Horace, back down," Macy said again.

  "Stay here," Jackson said, not looking at me. He stood and walked toward the mountain of a man.

  "I told you if there was any more shit you'd be out of here," Mike called as he walked toward the mess.

  "Back up, Mike. I got this," Macy said.

  "Fuck you, tramp," Horace said. "I know you took it when you walked by."

  "Whoa." Jackson walked in between Horace and Macy. "We all need to calm down."

  I stood, pushing my chair out of the way. If Horace attacked my escort, I was going to have to step in.

  "I told you I didn't take any you piece of shit," Macy said.

  Horace's face turned pink.

  I blinked a few times to make sure I was seeing things correctly. His face wasn't turning pink, it was turning red. And he was getting bigger. I mean, he was inhumanly big to begin with but now he seemed to be even larger. And redder. His shirt split and his shoulders expanded. Two large horns grew from his skull.

  The mountain of a man was not a man at all. He was a fucking monster. A supernatural creature. The kind I'd been taught to hunt and kill.

  Oh shit.

  The monster swung at Macy with the back of his frying pan hands. She flew across the room and landed on one of the booths against the wall. The people sitting there screamed.

  Then, Horace turned his attention on Jackson. In his defense, Jackson didn't look like he was going to back down. Surprisingly, he was handling the whole monster appearing out of nowhere thing quite well.

  For a split second, I wondered if he was a hunter but I didn't have time to dwell.

  Horace charged Jackson, ramming his massive shoulder into Jackson's gut. Jackson cried out, a sound that was more growl than scream. Then, he hit the ground. Horace hovered over him, staring down at the injured man on the ground.

  I knew I had seconds before he attacked again and I couldn't let that happen. I took a few steps closer to the creature and stood with my hands on my hips. "Hey Hellboy."

  The creature turned, upper lip raised and teeth bared. It growled at me and saliva dripped down its chin. Ew.

  My lips quivered as I considered my next move. I'd bought Jackson a few seconds but I needed to do more. All of these people were in danger. I had to help them.

  "You like hurting innocent girls?" I asked. "Why don't you come over here?"

  "Don't you dare." Jackson was on his feet now. He grabbed Horace's arm and tugged. The creature pushed him aside.

  "You offering yourself to me?" the monster asked.

  "That depends," I said. "What do you have in mind?"

  The creature turned to Jackson. "You brought a kinky one."

  "Leave her alone," Jackson said. "Your problem is with me."

  "Actually it's with Macy, but I don't see her defending herself."

  I looked back to the table where the waitress had landed. She was gone. The patrons who'd been sitting there were gone too. Good. I hoped they were taking her for emergency care. Regular humans had no business taking on demons. At least I was guessing this was a demon.

  Keeping my hands on my hips, I let my fingers touch the edge of hilt of the blade I kept tucked in at my hip. Just because I didn't want to fight monsters didn't mean I wasn't willing to defend myself.

  "Walk away, Violet. I'll take care of this," Jackson said.

  "Let the girl choose her own destiny," Horace said.

  Moving faster than I thought possible for a creature of his size, Horace fell to all fours and ran toward me like a wild animal.

  Without hesitating, I pulled the blade out from its hiding place and crouched low. As Horace reached me, I sliced the blade across his throat, stopping him in his tracks.

  The monster fell on top of me, grabbing at its torn neck as blood poured out over the massive red clawed hands.

  I struggled to breathe under the weight of the creature, fighting to pull myself out from under him. As my attention was focused on getting away, the beast's hand made contact with my head. My head snapped to the side and I heard a gurgling sounds somewhere far away as everything went black.

  Chapter 5

  Jackson

  "Help me," I yelled as I tugged Horace's massive body off of Violet. Mike and a few others rushed to my side and we managed to pull the huge demon from on top of her.

  I knelt down next to Violet and pressed my fingers to her neck. Her pulse was strong and her chest was rising and falling gently. I looked up at Mike. "She's out cold."

  "Where'd she get this?" Mike asked holding up a knife.

&n
bsp; I grabbed the knife from him and slid it into my belt. "Doesn't matter. I gotta get her out of here."

  Sliding my arms under her, I grabbed hold and lifted her. Violet's head lolled back as I held her. I looked down at her face and saw the first signs of what was going to be a massive black eye. Her cheek was swelling and I worried she might have broken bones in her face.

  "Jackson, why the hell does she have a demon slaying knife?" Mike asked.

  I turned to look at him. "Why the hell are you letting demons like that piece of shit in here in the first place?"

  "You know I don't discriminate, it's not in my nature," Mike said.

  I shook my head. "Don't give me that fallen angel bullshit. You're just as corrupt as anyone else. Human or supe."

  My foot slipped as I stepped and I had to strain to regain my balance. I glanced down at the massive puddle of blood under my shoes. Between the blood and the scent of death filling the air I had to fight against gagging. There was something especially disgusting about demon blood. It was thicker than most blood. Syrupy. And it smelled like rotting meat.

  "I got to get her out of here," I said.

  "You better check with her on that knife," Mike said. "She's bad news, that girl."

  "That's not what you said before," I said.

  "I was thinking with my cock before," he said.

  "Bye, Mike." I didn't turn back to look at him as I walked through the gaping onlookers to the front door. He had a point. Demon slaying knives were rare. Fae metal, magically bound, spelled to send demons back to where the came from. They were expensive, too. Not the typical thing you'd see on a broke girl from a hippie compound.

  I couldn't think about that right now, though. Violet's eyes were were turning purple and the swelling had spread to her mouth, making her lips enormous. She needed medical attention. Fast.

  As I raced down the freeway, I tried to talk myself out the most logical reason for her having the knife that was now sitting on the bench seat between us. Maybe she stole it. Maybe she'd inherited it from someone. There were other ways to get a knife like this. Besides, if she was a hunter it didn't matter did it? She had saved my life.