by V J Lee
“I don’t want you with anyone else,” he almost yelled.
“I don’t think you have a say in that,” came the brisk reply from Jock. Trevor had forgotten he was even there.
Rissa raised her brows. “He’s right. You don’t.”
“Well, will you come to the party?”
“No. I don’t want things to be any harder on Jacob, than they are going to be, after all of this. Plus, someone needs to be here to watch this place.”
“About that …” Jock stepped up closer to them. “We need to have the party here now, so Rissa, you can have the night off.”
“Why here?” She looked from Jock, then back to Trevor.
Trevor looked into her inquisitive eyes. “We had another threat. This time, it was against only Jacob.”
Rissa’s horror-stricken face sent chills through him. He wanted to embrace her, but knew she wouldn’t reciprocate.
“We are going to convert the gym into the super-fun place he wants, with bouncy houses, games and a giant ball pit. There will be magicians and clowns. The kids won’t know the difference.”
“What was the threat?”
Jock apparently couldn’t take it any longer, and pulled Rissa into his chest. “They said they would get him, no matter where we try to hide him, or who we have guarding him.”
“Any idea who it is … any ideas at all? Because if ….” She shook her head, brown waves swishing around her shoulders. “No, when I find out who it is, I will make them wish they were dead. Death is too good for these people, it’s too quick.”
“I wish you would just take these next four days off. Go see your parents, or take some girlfriends and go to a spa. Forget about everything.” Jock physically jerked back at the look on Rissa’s face at his words. He chuckled at her, then tweaked her on the chin. “Sorry, sorry … just thought it might be easier on you … you know, with all the preparations for Jacob’s party and what happened here today.”
Trevor didn’t miss the scathing look Jock sent his way.
“No, I need work right now. I’ll stay away from the gym, unless you guys need my help. But I’ll make sure I come in long after the first shift has gone for the day.
“Okay. Why don’t you put all your energy into the missing women,” Jock told her, more than asked her.
“Yeah, I’ll do that. As a matter of fact, I have some beings I need to talk to.”
Trevor watched as she picked up her things from the table, then took a step back. Lowering his lips to her ear, he whispered, “What about our dinner?”
She shot him a look that said, “Go to hell,” but her words were a little nicer. “Yeah … that’s not gonna happen. Goodnight, boys.” She stalked out of the room.
Trevor turned to Jock. “So we’re on the same page about keeping the rest of the message we got secret?”
“You and I are the only two who know what was in that message, and that’s the way it stays.”
“Just keep her safe, please. I don’t know what I’d do without her.”
“I told the Washington brothers to stick to her like glue. Trust me, those two badasses won’t let anything happen to her on their watch. If something happened to her, none of us around here would be the same.”
Chapter 13
Four hours later, Rissa stood in the alley, pressed against the peeling beige building of Da Vinci’s Italian Restaurant. The scent of roasted garlic and fresh-baked bread wafted up to her nose. Man, that smells like heaven. Why was she always sent to places near amazing, fattening food? A feast was in order after this mission was over … she deserved it.
The cool spring breeze brushed against her exposed skin, causing goosebumps to rise. She stood against the building with one booted foot against it, going through her phone. Dressed in a super short, super tight, black latex micro mini dress with sky-high, thigh-high boots, Rissa looked the part of the street walker she was supposed to be. As long as she didn’t have to walk in the boots, that is. She had to carry them into the alley and put them on there, so she wouldn’t have to walk too much and give up her cover.
Keeping her head down, as if looking at her phone, as she moved only her eyes. She couldn’t see her guys up on the roofs and hiding in the alley, but she could feel them. Rissa looked down the dirty alley for her John.
A small smile tugged at her lips, as she was thinking about what her parents would think of her as a common hooker. Then, out of the dark, a large male body appeared in front of her, seemingly out of nowhere. The only contact she had with her guys was their surveillance of her. She couldn’t use a “com,” or this hulking male would be able to hear it. That was the thing about Vampires—they had exceptional hearing.
“It’s rude not to acknowledge your buyer’s presence,” the deep, slightly accented voice boomed around her, reverberating off the wall.
Rissa looked up into a strong, handsome, Viking-style face with blue eyes and a strong cleft chin. With blond hair cut short. He looked like a wet dream, but she could see under the mask.
Vampires don’t normally have to mask their appearance. They tend to stay very good-looking, unless they turn bad. Most Vampire women turn evil at around one-hundred years of age, because the passage of time turns them fucking psycho. They crave more power, more money, more men. The men only turn bad once they get bloodlust, which happens when they drink their victims to death. Then, that’s all they want to do—they care about nothing else. That’s when the good Vampires come in and take care of things, if Rissa and her crew don’t take them out first.
This Vampire was bad. Under his gorgeous Viking-like mask, was pure decay. His teeth were jagged and sharp—all of them, not just the canines. Parts of his face were green-black and starting to peel off in chunks. Large patches of hair and scalp were missing, and he smelled like rotting death. It took all of her training, not gasp out loud, or recoil at the sight.
She looked up from her phone and smiled, the way a woman would smile if she couldn’t see through his mask. It was a smile that said, “Oh my God, I just hit the John lottery!” She slipped her phone into her boot, right next to her UV stun gun. The small device wouldn’t kill the Vamp, but it would knock him on his ass for a solid two hours, and the UV light would burn a little.
Reaching out to him, she ran her hand down the lapel of his long leather duster. “Mmm … you are a hottie. I would almost do you for free. Almost.”
He leaned down, sniffing in her scent. “You don’t smell like the others. You smell fresh, clean … you smell like heaven. I need to converse with my fellow associates over there,” he said, nodding in the direction of three other large men.
Rissa was not expecting him to bring company. Good thing her men were in place. She tried to make sure her voice wasn’t shaking. “We didn’t agree on more than one.”
He leaned down again, inhaling her once more like he couldn’t get enough. “I promise, if they like you—and they will—you will be compensated better than anything in your wildest dreams.”
Making her voice sultry, she said, “Oh, my … If they look anything like you, this may be the best night of my life.”
He stalked over to his fellow Vamps. They huddled in the shadows of the alley, whispering, then looking over at Rissa. The Viking stalked back toward her.
“We have had a change of plans. We all want you, but we want you to come to our place.”
Fuck, this was not good. Now she had to warn them of her pimp, whose name she could not remember to save her life. The hooker she got her tips from called him … Johnny? Jimmy? Joey? Fuck. She couldn’t remember, so she went with a term of endearment. “My Boo won’t be happy. I can’t afford to take a couple of days off, because I get the shit beat out of me again.”
The Vamp grinned, letting his mask show a set of straight white teeth and a gorgeous smile. But what she witnessed was something from someone’s worst nightmare.
“Trust me, little one. No one will beat you ever again.” The words were ominous. She knew if she went wi
th them, she would not return.
Rissa thought, by agreeing to do this, she could get some information out of them about her case, but now she had a feeling these Vamps were not the kind to waste time trying to make it look like the women they took weren’t missing. She couldn’t imagine them trying to implant memories into the brains of the women’s loved ones. No, these guys killed violently, and without remorse. With her, however, she somehow felt as though they would take their sweet time. Rissa wondered where her backup was, because right now would be the perfect time to show up.
She felt a rush of air pass her right ear, accompanied by a searing pain. There was a deafening thwack, as something smacked into the wall next to her.
The Vampire pulled back, yelling, “What the fuck is this?!” as he pulled a large dart out of the building. “If this is a setup, I will kill you!” She was immediately surrounded by the rest of his group.
Looking up into those now blood-red eyes, she knew they saw genuine fear. “I think we all need to get the fuck out of here.”
Then there was the whizzing sound of more darts. The darts were not from her team, and they went straight into the wall of muscle in front of her. Rissa was just about to grab the stun gun out of her boot, when the Viking began to hover about five inches off the ground. The others remained on the ground, but with booted feet at their necks. She looked up in awe at Ethan, the Vampire King. He was breathtaking without a mask. His long, lean muscular body and golden waves of hair, which fell to the middle of his back, were enhanced by rose-colored eyes and strong European facial features that made him look like the royalty he was.
The King was holding the other Vampire off the ground with one hand. “Johan, you failed to announce your presence in my city! I must say, I find that rather disrespectful, in addition to being against the strict codes of our species. Then, I find the four of you surrounding a human, about to devour her in my kingdom …” He chuckled menacingly. “I don’t think so.”
The Viking—Johan—gurgled and flayed about, trying to speak.
“Pardon me, let me loosen my grip just a bit. But if you so much as act like you are trying to escape me, it will be your last move.”
“She is just a human whore … why do you care what we do with her?” Johan’s voice was barely audible to Rissa’s human ears.
“This ‘human whore,’ as you call her, happens to be one of the few humans I not only admire, but am in debt to.” He was in debt, because of all the missions Rissa had personally helped solve for Ethan, without the Agency knowing.
“So, this was a setup.” Johan would have screamed at her, had his larynx not been crushed.
“If you mean you set yourself up for failure, then yes. We have been on your tail since you first decided to step your filthy, decaying foot into this city. Cody and the rest of my men will take you back to the palace.” More like an underground kingdom, Rissa thought.
Another good-looking Vamp stepped up, taking hold of the now-struggling Johan. Cody reached up and pressed down on a spot on the other Vamp’s neck, and Johan went limp. She had no idea Vamps could do that to each other, but each one had a special talent that was all their own. In seconds, all Vamps, except Ethan, had vanished.
Ethan walked up to her, running a knuckle over her ear where the dart had zinged it. He brought his bloody knuckle up to his nose, inhaling deeply. He looked at her, holding the bloody knuckle up to her face. “May I?” He was asking her permission to taste her blood.
She knew if she said no, he wouldn’t put the bloody finger to his lips. “Be my guest.”
Ethan placed the knuckle to his lips and sucked off her blood, then brought the finger out of his mouth and licked his lips clean.
The way he did it sent shivers down Rissa’s spine, then warmed her nether regions.
“I must say, Rissa, you do have the finest blood I have tasted in a long time. But I also must tell you, that dart had a very potent tranquilizer in it. It may have just skimmed your ear, but the effects, even with that small amount, will soon put you out cold.”
“But, why would the Vamps need to tranq me? Wait. No, it wasn’t them. They got hit, too. Why didn’t the darts take them out?” she asked, as she began to feel the effects of the dart start to take hold.
“The people firing those darts had no idea they would not work on a Vampire. Your men were not so lucky—they are all down for the count. I summoned Jock to come pick you all up.” She swayed in her heels. “Don’t worry, little one. I will stay until they get here for you,” e said, as he helped her slide down the wall to the ground.
“What happened to the people shooting the darts?” Were those her slurred words?
Ethan chuckled, a deep rumbling sound. “I’m afraid they didn’t make it. I do regret not being able to hold myself or my men back, but they were trying to hurt you, and I just can’t stand for that. They have disappeared.” He snapped his fingers. “Just like that.”
There was no remorse in that deep, sexy voice. Then, darkness descended on her.
Chapter 14
Rissa awoke on her couch, to find Jock pacing back and forth in front of her window. He sensed she was waking up, but kept up his pacing while he started in on her.
“You do realize that now I am putting you on leave, right?” Not really a question. When she sat up to protest, he held up his hand. “You took a team out to hunt down rogue Vampires, without my authorization. You put yourself, and your team, in extreme danger. I have four of my best night agents out for two days, after receiving a full dose of the same shit that barely nicked you.”
Guilt started eating at her instantly. “Jock …” He didn’t let her finish.
“You will be put on administrative leave for one full week. You dressed up like a fucking hooker, for God’s sake.” His anger built visibly, and he turned to her. “Do you realize those Vampires knew the instant they smelled you that you were not a hooker? Streetwalkers have so many drugs, and have had so many different sexual partners, in them … they could smell how clean you were. Ethan said he didn’t even want to think about what they had planned to do to you. I try my best to keep my entire team alive and well, but you, I think of as family. This hits too close to home, and I can’t take the chance of you going back out there. Had you informed me of your plan, we could have put our heads together. Hell, Rissa, I don’t know if it’s all the shit going on with Trevor or what, but you just weren’t thinking. Take this time to think about what’s important, and not putting your team in danger is one of them. I will let you do computer research and document searches. That’s it. Do you understand me?”
Rissa hung her head. “Yes, sir. I’m sorry, Jock. I never meant to put anyone in danger. I feel horrible.”
Jock walked over to her and kissed her on the head, then gave her a hug that she felt all the way in her bones. He didn’t need to say anything more. She knew he loved and cared for her. As he walked out, she had a feeling he had the same unshed tears in his eyes she had, because she let him down.
* * *
Trevor had just finished inflating the last bounce house. Standing back, he took a look at the finished outcome of the last four days’ worth of transforming the gym into a super fun, Minion-themed birthday party. Four enormous bounce houses were shaped into a big yellow Minion, a spaceship, a cave and a castle, and set up alongside a ball pit filled with bright yellow Minion balls. They had to rewire most of the gym, adding extra circuit breakers, so they wouldn’t blow power to the whole building.
It inflated his heart that everyone took their own time to do this for Jacob. They were so much more than colleagues—they were family—and these people proved that with all their hard work and love.
He had to hand it to Petra. She decorated the place with child-sized paper Minions everywhere, a huge Minion cake, a pin-the-goggles-on-the-Minion game and Minion piñatas. There was an entire Minion lab to do edible experiments, and an area designated to hold more candy than Willy Wonka’s factory. He paid out the ass for it,
but he would gladly spend every last cent on his son.
He smiled at everyone working on the finishing touches to get the place ready. Jock consenting to have it here for Jacob’s protection was a huge favor for Trevor.
People and their children had started showing up about a half hour ago. The gift table was starting to fill with brightly-wrapped presents, and kids had started running and screaming.
Jock came up to him, smiling. Trevor didn’t think he had ever seen the man in jeans and a T-shirt. The gray of the shirt brought out the color in his eyes. “I can’t believe we pulled this shit off. It looks like freaking Minionland.”
Trevor laughed. “Well, if this Agency thing doesn’t work out, we have a killer new business venture: Jock and Trevor’s Minionland, Incorporated.”
* * *
Everything was right with the world. Tomorrow, he could be with Rissa, if she would have him. Petra only tried seducing him once in four days, and just as he expected, he felt nothing more for the woman. Resisting her had been a piece of Minion cake. The morning after she climbed into his bed, naked, he had installed a deadbolt lock on his bedroom door.
Even with the perfection that was this party and his wonderful son, getting to be with the love of his life soon was the greatest feeling of all. It was strange, though, how something didn’t feel quite right in his gut. Somehow, an eerie, ominous, lurking feeling found a way to cut through his happiness and nag at him. He wondered if they were missing something important relating to their recent casework, by participating in all this merriment instead.
The thought no sooner crossed his mind, then all three exit doors flew open, slamming back against the walls, causing the alarms to blare and lights to flash. The frightened kids screamed in unison, then everything went deathly quiet. Trevor looked toward one of the open doors, wondering how long it had been dark outside. Within seconds, his brain registered that he needed to find his son. He was about to take off running, shouting out his name, when the little boy found him first and ran into his arms.