Dead and Damaged (The Endangered Series Book 2)

by S. L. Eaves

  “Good timing; we’re about ready,” he comments, eying me wearily. “You joining us?”

  I shake my head. “I’m going to hang back and follow up on that facility you two were surveying.”

  “You think you’ll learn something we didn’t?”

  “I got some information from the DIA on a place called EVO Genetics. I want to go inside, see if I can find anything useful.”

  “Yeah, well, best of luck.” Malik doesn’t even try to sound encouraging.

  Rex peers inside one of the weapons bags, adding, “I’m thinking if she and the others can stir things up down here, might serve as a distraction. If she can succeed in getting Trion’s attention and drawing Brixton’s men out this way, less we have to go up against at the compound.”

  Malik shrugs, “That’s assuming there’s anything left down here she cares about.”

  “He must be a hit at pep rallies,” I joke to Rex as we head into the house.

  “Evening, Lori.” Vega is polishing a small stiletto blade. “Rex bring you up to speed?”

  “Yeah, sorry about Javier, sounds like a handful.”

  “Normally I respect a man on a mission, but this is reckless and stupid. I didn’t want to go back so soon.”

  “Well, maybe you’ll catch a break. I mean, Brixton’s going to have to play nice in order to maintain her vampire-friendly front.”

  Vega scoffs, changes the subject.

  “Dade and Quinn aren’t here. There was a suspicious sea lion death last night; they went to investigate.” He slips the stiletto into his cloak and heads towards the door.

  “Sea lion? Seriously?”

  “Looks like it was killed by a pack of dogs,” he smiles.

  “Right…werewolf.”

  “I’m sure they won’t be long.”

  Malik sticks his head in the front door. “All packed up. Pilot says the plane will be ready within the hour. We should go.”

  Vega nods to him, then turns to me.

  “That bag of weapons you brought us will come in handy. I assume you already took what you needed from it? Or did you want to stock up?”

  I have a 9mm and the grappling gun I stole from Xan. It’s not much, but where they’re going they’ll need to be armed to the teeth.

  “I’m set, thanks. You got a number I can reach you at?”

  Rex comes down the hall, bag slung over shoulder. He hands me a card with his number scrawled on it.

  “One step ahead of you, here’s my cell.” He flashes me a smile. “You better use it.”

  “Will do. Hope you find Javier in one piece.”

  I wanted that to sound more positive that it did. I’m left standing in the doorway waving like a mother does to her kids the first day of school. I watch the taillights of the SUV disappear down the street and decide there’s no point in sitting around an empty house. Time to find a sea lion carcass.

  It’s nearing midnight and the piers are pretty quiet, all the shops are closed with most of the tourists having moved elsewhere in search of nightlife. The only locals to be found are the restaurant workers cleaning up after a busy night of serving local seafood and wine to the tourists. I walk past a bar and can count the patrons on one hand. It must be a weeknight. Weekdays and weekends lose all meaning in this world, but given the crowds that filled the streets the other night it’s hard not to notice sometimes. I often find myself wondering what people are up to, normal people with families and jobs.

  A peaceful night like this makes me wish I could play tourist myself, strolling city streets looking in windows with curious eyes. Sadly, tonight the tranquil streets and piers are just an illusion. I can’t let my guard down. Not only am I busy worrying about Brixton’s human mercenaries and members of my old clan hunting me, now I also have to deal with this werewolf nonsense. It is not a welcome distraction.

  A couple of police officers walk by, their body language alert and stance ridged. I zip up my hoodie and pull the hood down low over my head, shivering as I walk past so it doesn’t look conspicuous. I must be getting close.

  At the next pier I come across floating docks littered with blubbery bodies. I can hear soft barking and see flippers moving up and down on the dimly lit planks. The lions scuffle about, bumping each other as they take turns diving into the bay and clambering onto the marina. It’s mild for a winter night, but I can’t image the water is. They must like the cold, I think, watching them from the pier.

  A pebble hits my shoulder and I look up in the direction of its thrower. Dade and Quinn are perched on the roof of a building along the pier. I walk around to the unlit side and scale the two-story building to join them.

  “Hey, what gives? The wolf smells a vampire walking around, he’s going to go hunting elsewhere,” Quinn voices her displeasure.

  “Sorry, didn’t know another way to contact you two.”

  I sit down next to them. Dade lowers his thermal binoculars. “Vega tell you why we’re here?”

  “No, I just felt like going for a stroll,” I joke. “He mentioned that wolves have been helping themselves to a sea lion buffet.”

  “They leave for Alaska?” Quinn inquires.

  I nod. “That Javier guy is a handful.”

  “Fucker took all my stuff. I loved that tablet. He better not mess with my settings.”

  “Vega turn him?”

  “Please.” Quinn waves her hand, dismissing the absurd question. “No way. I don’t know who sired him, but he doesn’t have Vega’s bloodline. He’s not strong.”

  “That’s unfortunate.”

  “No kidding. He’s a liability. But Vega knows that; Javier is just an excuse to rush back there. Marcus aligning with Brixton has changed the game considerably.”

  “Tell me about it.”

  “How’d you leave things with them?” Dade asks.

  “Not good,” I opt not to elaborate, “but I got a file from the DIA that points to suspicious activity at a lab in the city. Brixton’s financial backers happen to also be funding a place called EVO. I want to head over there, stir up trouble.”

  “Okay, let’s go inside see if there’s any jaws to break.” Quinn points to the lions. “But first we take care of this wolf problem.”

  “How sure are you that it was a werewolf?” I know it’s a dumb question, but I’m anxious to get over to the lab.

  “Sure,” Dade says bluntly.

  “News report failed to mention the giant claw marks the beast left on the dock. And given the quantity, we think it’s a pack.”

  A pack? Shit, just what we need right now. This could be a long night.

  “There’s a ton of piers; think we should spread out?” I ask.

  “Nope,” says Dade, “this is where he struck last night. Easy kill, tons of food. He’ll have no reason not to return tonight.”

  “Cops?”

  “Doesn’t seem to be any activity. City’s got more problems than a few stray canines; doubt they saw fit to waste the manpower.”

  “No kidding.”

  “We just don’t know when he’ll strike.” Quinn, who is anything but patient, shoots Dade a restive glance. I can tell they’ve been arguing about whether to wait it out and Dade has clearly won, so I don’t try to add to the unrest.

  Hours later I’ve started to nod off to the sound of barking and splashing from the bay.

  “Got ‘im,” Dade says softly, looking through the binoculars.

  I stir and stretch to wake my cold muscles. Quinn drops to her stomach and crawls to the edge of the roof. We follow her lead.

  The wolf slinks along the pier, sticking to the shadows. He’s on all fours, creeping cautiously towards the docks. His current trajectory will bring him right under us. We all seem to realize this at the same time, pointing to the walkway below leading to the poor unsuspecting prey.

  Quinn places a hand on Dade’s shoulder and her eyes tell him she’s going first. He simply nods.

  I crane my neck over the edge, gripping the gutter.

 
A blur of motion to my right tells me Quinn took the leap.

  She doesn’t miss.

  The wolf lets out a howl as she lands feet first onto his backside, knocking his hind legs out.

  He drops, spins, and throws her to the ground as he rolls to get free.

  Dade descends as the wolf rights himself.

  On their hind legs, werewolves stand nine, maybe ten feet. Ten feet of muscle covered in fur. It’s intimidating. When wolves meet Dade, a six-foot-eight anomaly of his race, almost as wide as he is tall, they often hesitate. I wonder if they are confused for a minute, mistaking Dade for one of their own. Dade has learned to take advantage of this momentary vacillation and he does so tonight.

  His fist connects with the wolf’s chest, second blow striking the head when he doubles over from the first and brings his snout within arm’s reach. Quinn is back on her feet and I jump down to join them.

  The wolf stumbles back and Quinn is there to kick his legs out yet again.

  It might not seem like a fair fight. And it’s not. But wolves are stronger than the average vampire. We have them beat on speed, yet when it comes to one-on-one combat, vampires do not often emerge victorious. We can’t all be built like Dade.

  The hound moves to snap at her as he drops to all fours. Dade intercepts, pouncing on top of him. As the two wrestle, the wooden planks of the pier snap under their weight.

  I draw my gun. It doesn’t have silver bullets, but it’s equipped with a silencer and it’ll slow him down.

  Quinn places her hand out and motions for me to lower it.

  “I’m not going to shoot Dade,” I insist.

  “I know, but we want him alive.”

  Alive?

  “Regular bullets.”

  “Oh. Well in that case, shoot for the legs.”

  I fire a shot into his ankle.

  The wolf bucks and tosses Dade sideways. The banister breaks and he goes into the water. Sea lions, disturbed from the commotion, bark in protest from the safety of their floating beds.

  The wolf, knowing he’s outnumbered, makes a run for it; adrenaline compensating for the limp.

  Quinn reaches over the pier to pull Dade out of the water. I go after the mongrel.

  There is an outdoor market at this pier spanning two levels. I follow the wolf into it, but lose sight of him once inside. I look for a trail of blood, but can’t discern much on the discolored wood, stained from years of tourists dropping food and spilling drinks. A series of bangs erupts, from what I’m guessing are displays being knocked over, followed by glass breaking on the second floor.

  Bull in a china shop.

  I run towards the commotion and find a trail of destruction spanning through several shops. I start to wonder if this wolf wasn’t sent as a message like the one in London. Or as a diversion, because it is certainly serving as one. I consider the irony as I move through what used to be a souvenir shop.

  Quinn and a soaked Dade join me.

  “Where is he?”

  I shrug, “Lost him in these shops. I think he’s hiding. Noise stopped abruptly.”

  There is a carousel on the far end of the mall. I spot a shadow move and it’s not a part of the ride.

  “Carousel.” I gesture from inside the store to the carousel roughly thirty yards away.

  The ride is off and Quinn points to the bank of switches to our right.

  “Let’s take him for a ride, then,” she smirks.

  “That sounds very dirty.” Dade shakes his head and followers her to the control panel.

  Seconds later the ride comes to life. Dozens of little round lights shine down on pastel-colored horses. The wolf is standing amidst the bobbing horses as the floor rotates beneath him, a panicked expression on his face.

  “Is it wrong that I kinda want to take a picture of this?” I joke to Quinn as Dade charges past us, directly at the disoriented wolf. Connecting with him right as he’s about to dismount the carousel.

  “You’d be a hit on Instagram.” Quinn flicks a switch to turn off the music, though I doubt it matters at this point if anyone hears it. She jumps onto the roof of the ride, then peers over to get a glimpse of the action. She and Dade have clearly got some sort of tag-team fighting style going on, and I find it bizarrely cute. Their dynamic, rather, not the actual act of them taking turns beating something to death. But I’m sentimental like that.

  I’ve also seen enough movies to know you never try to chase someone on a moving carousel. It’s a futile exercise and it rarely ends well. So I wait, gun drawn. I am not going to fire into the carousel, but I know it won’t take long for Dade and Quinn to throw him off.

  And it doesn’t.

  The wolf flips backwards, ripping out a pole as he flies off the ride, horse and all. They hit the ground and Quinn sprints across the roof and lands on top of the beast.

  I rush over, pick up the broken pole, and drive it into his already wounded leg. He lets out a howl. Quinn manages to get him in a chokehold as Dade jumps off the ride and walks over.

  “Tell us where to find your pack!” Dade orders.

  The wolf squirms, grunts. I press down on the heavy, solid-wood horse and feel the pole snap his tibia. His cries come out as muffled gulps as Quinn tightens her hold.

  “There was too much blood on those docks to come from one sea lion. We know you’re with a pack,” Quinn persists, arm holding fast against the creature’s jugular.

  Slowly he begins to return to human form.

  “An abandoned church in Oakland off of Grand Ave. We’re not foolish enough to stay in the city.” Now in human form, he coughs and moans as he tries to get the words out.

  “No, you’re just foolish enough to hunt here,” Dade glowers down at him, fangs bared. “How many?”

  “A dozen.”

  Quinn squeezes his throat.

  “Okay, okay, five.”

  “Alpha?”

  “Me, I guess. We lost our alpha recently. Got attacked by some army-looking types. That’s when we moved out of the city.”

  “Yeah, we’re going after those guys, too.” Quinn nods at me, which I take to mean “shoot him” since I’m the only one holding a gun. I fire a shot into his head. Wolves are a lot more vulnerable in human form and I don’t need silver to finish him off.

  “I’m going to find something to weigh him down with, then toss him into the river.” Dade disappears back into the shops.

  Quinn gets up and wipes dirt off her pants. I stare at the body; it doesn’t even faze me anymore. I can barely remember when it did.

  “Damn. I was hoping we were wrong about him being with a pack.” Quinn props the busted house against the carousel.

  “So was I,” I mutter.

  Dade returns, balancing a barrel on one shoulder and a big bag of sand on the other.

  “Keep an eye out for cops, okay?” He sets the barrel down next to the body.

  Sirens are faint, but growing louder by the minute.

  We walk out of the shopping center to get a view of the roads leading up to the pier. All clear, just us and the sea lions. You owe us one.

  “It’s going to be dawn soon. I don’t know where Oakland is, but I doubt we can take out the pack tonight.” I look out over the water; the night sky threatens to release its hold on the day.

  “Oakland is across the river.” Quinn sighs, “We’ll have to wait till tomorrow.”

  ***

  Brixton knocks on Marcus’s door.

  “Come in.”

  Marcus looks up from the book he’s reading as Brixton enters.

  “I was expecting one of your assistants.” Marcus puts the book down as Brixton hands him her tablet.

  “I wanted to deliver this myself and apologize for the lackluster accommodations.”

  “Anything beats an actual crypt,” Marcus smiles, gesturing to the uninviting hardback chair in the corner. “Pull up a chair.”

  Brixton picks up the chair and sets it facing him. Marcus, now sitting upright, eyes the tablet’s s
creen curiously.

  “What’s this?”

  “The formula for the synthetic blood. Trion owns the patent, but I have the power to give it to you—or whatever human name you wish it to be under. Should anything happen to me, it diverts to my investors.” Brixton gives Marcus a hard stare. “I want a long and prosperous business relationship, Marcus, so I’m not only handing over the formula, but also the resources to produce more, including the man who developed it.”

  “That’s very generous of you, Brixton, but why would I concern myself with a patent? And you shouldn’t worry about needing to protect yourself. If I wanted you dead, I certainly wouldn’t be sitting here right now.”

  Brixton raises an eyebrow skeptically.

  “Because without the patent, Trion or whoever else possesses it will have the power to make it very difficult for your kind to get a hold of the blood. Think blood banks with ten times the security. And you may ask: ‘Who cares if they are making it? You’ve got the formula.’ But as it stands, Trion has all the ingredients. The patent gets you everything on a silver platter.”

  “I don’t mean to challenge your ways, or question your logic, but our kind rarely has issues getting past red tape of the human variety.”

  “Even pluripotent stem cells?” Brixton tilts her head, brushing her short hair behind her ear as she points to the tablet’s screen. “These aren’t the type of ingredients you can steal from a warehouse.”

  Marcus eyes the display, looks up at her. “I see your point. And I don’t see any reason why things shouldn’t go as planned. As we’ve planned. I have no intention of reneging on our deal.”

  “Can you blame a human for wanting to protect herself?” She smiles and places a hand on his knee.

  “You said you deployed men to bring back this scientist. Did Xan and Crina go with? I sent them to track down Lori, but if you need—”

  Brixton waves her hand dismissively. “Crina went with my retrieval team. I’m going to try to extract the scientist before sending in Crina and my men to draw out Lori. But if she’s already onto us, it could get a little hostile over at my lab…” She flashes him a sinister grin. “Which would be perfectly acceptable.”

  “Lori falling into our laps? I would agree with that, though if she brings her government allies, things could get…unpleasant.” Marcus rubs his goatee.