Charger (The Protectors Series) Book #16

by Teresa Gabelman

  “That’s stretching it,” Kane murmured behind him.

  “I will kill you.” Charger murmured back, this threat a much clearer mumble.

  The back and forth between Kane and Charger confused her, but hell, what was new? They always had inside jokes and such that she never got. Raven opened her mouth to speak, but Sloan beat her to it. “She’s no longer a Guardian.”

  “And your point is?” Charger asked, crossing his arms over his chest. It was something he did when his stubborn side was making an appearance.

  “My point is I’m talking to one of my Warriors and do not need her ex-Guardian boss, or whatever in the fuck you were to her, here.” Sloan’s words were harsh; she cringed slightly. “I got your report of what happened, and now I’m getting hers.”

  “And I’m not stopping you,” Charger replied, and yep, stubborn Charger was definitely present. If Sloan thought Charger was going to turn and walk out, he’d be mistaken. Raven had seen this side of him so many times that it didn’t surprise her.

  Raven knew she was glaring at Charger because, dammit, she could handle this without his help or input. Honestly, she didn’t know what to think of him being here. For someone who acted like he didn’t give a shit about her most of the time, he sure was having her back an awful lot since she’d left the Guardians.

  “Has he always been an asshole?” Sloan’s voice broke into her thoughts.

  “Yes.” Raven’s eyes narrowed at Charger before she turned her attention back to Sloan. “With a capital A.”

  Before she looked back to Sloan, she didn’t miss that sexy, mischievous grin, which always made her stomach flip-flop, cross Charger’s full lips. Damn him and his lips.

  “Raven, you’re going to make a good Warrior and be a tremendous asset to the team.” Sloan seemed to decide to ignore Charger. She wished she had that ability. “But…”

  “Why is there always a but?” Raven sighed, rubbing her forehead.

  “There’s always a but where Sloan is concerned. He’s the king of fucking buts,” Jared added, still looking at his phone. He happened to glance up to see Sloan eyeing him with a narrowed glare. “Sorry. Shutting the fuck up.”

  “We do things differently.” Sloan finally stopped mean-mugging Jared and looked back at her. “We do not kill humans for human-on-human crimes. You’re very lucky I was able to work you out of that mess.”

  Knowing Charger as well as she knew the man, Raven threw up her hand in his direction to stop him from saying anything. Hearing him stop mid-word proved she was right and that he was getting ready to speak for her.

  “I appreciate that,” Raven acknowledged with respect. “But his death, though warranted in my eyes because he was a total piece of shit, was accidental. Believe me when I tell you his corpse would have been more fucked up if his death would have been intentional by my hand. I did not mean to kill him.”

  “Then you need to learn control,” Sloan added, but his lip seemed to be quivering as if he wanted to smile.

  “Possibly, or maybe there just needs to be fewer assholes in the world who tempt my control.” She shrugged with a cocked eyebrow. “But the Guardians do not condone the death of humans for human-on-human crimes. They also leave that up to the police. They may be a little rough around the edges, but they do have morals.”

  “Speak for yourself.” Kane’s voice made her grin.

  “Okay, some of us have morals, but even Kane, who has proven to be without morals, would not purposely kill a human… with witnesses,” Raven said, adding that little joke on the end. Then again, it wasn’t really a joke. If, for some reason, they needed to take out a human without vampire “issues,” then it was done without witnesses, and she knew damn well it was the same with the Warriors. She knew it, and now Sloan knew she knew it by the intentional smirk she threw his way. Raven was learning all their secrets.

  “Just be more careful next time,” Sloan warned her, then motioned toward Jared. “Dealing with these dumbasses, I’ve used up most of my favors.”

  “Hey now.” Jared looked offended, but followed up with a thoughtful expression before glancing at Raven. “He’s probably right.”

  “What, that you’re dumbasses?” Sloan broke in. “No. I’m absolutely right on that. No probably about it.”

  “Sloan, I think I’m rubbing off on you.” Jared stood and stretched. “That was actually a good comeback. Funny even. I think hell is freezing over.”

  Raven chuckled behind her hand at Sloan’s face as he glared at Jared.

  “Charger. Kane.” Jared glanced their way. “We’re accepting applications, if in fact, Sloan’s comedic tendencies do freeze hell, since you’ll be out of work.”

  Before anyone could respond, Sloan ordered, “Get the hell out of my office,” and shoved a file toward Jared, who took it. He left, giving Raven a wink on his way out. “Fucking idiot.” Sloan sighed, shaking his head.

  Raven glanced at her phone to see the time and frowned. “Um, am I done here? I promise I’ve learned my lesson on killing asshole humans. But I really need to be somewhere.”

  “Where?” three male voices asked at the same time. Surprised, Raven looked up from her phone to Sloan, then turned to glance at Kane before her eyes stopped on Charger.

  “Excuse me?” She frowned, putting her phone back in her pocket. “In what universe did I ever make you believe you needed to know my whereabouts when off the job?” She directed that question toward Sloan.

  Sloan shook his head. “Sorry. Habit. You’ll have to excuse us Warriors for being a little overprotective.” Sloan smiled, something he rarely did, and Raven realized just how handsome her new boss was. Becky was a very lucky lady. “Even though you fight as well as any of my male Warriors, you’re still female, and we hold our women above all else.”

  “Ah, how sweet, but unnecessary.” Raven smirked. “I turned in my girl card a long time ago. Just treat me like one of the guys and we’ll get along just fine.”

  “Noted.” Sloan cocked his eyebrow, then nodded toward the door. “Get the fuck out.”

  “Nice.” With a chuckle, Raven headed toward the door, giving Kane and Charger a finger wave. “Peace out.”

  Kane followed her out, as did Charger. “You going to the wedding tomorrow night?”

  Pushing her way out the door, she nodded. “Yeah, I cleared my schedule so I could go.” Raven stopped with a half-smile. “I’m more afraid of Tracy’s wrath than I am of Sloan’s. If I don’t show, she’ll have that big-ass husband-to-be of hers hunting me down. You guys going?”

  “Do we look fucking stupid?” Kane said, then gave Raven a shove at her cocked eyebrow. “Jake is the least of my worries. I could take him without breaking a sweat. Tracy would have our balls if we didn’t show and ruined her big day. How in the hell did you get out of being part of the wedding? I thought you and Tracy were tight.”

  Tracy was, in fact, the one person on earth that knew all of her secrets, every single, embarrassing one. Raven had actually saved Tracy’s life when another vampire in a club became aggressive with the beautiful redheaded vamp. Long story short, he wanted Tracy, but Tracy wanted nothing to do with the jerk. Raven stepped in, kicked his ass in short time, earning a friendship that had lasted for decades. They were tight, but since Jake came into the picture, Tracy’s attentions were spent elsewhere, and Raven was okay with that.

  She loved their relationship; it inspired her for a “maybe one-day scenario” for her, though she would cut out her own tongue before she would admit that. A Guardian who had been transferred to the area, Jake, proved to be a good addition, as well as a perfect match for her bestie.

  “We still are,” Raven answered, not really wanting to answer the real reason she got out of being part of one of her dearest friends’ wedding. “But Raven doesn’t do dresses and the bride-to-be said no to this.” Raven twirled, showing her usual attire, and when she stopped, she noticed Charger’s eyes slowly taking in her body. She gulped and reached for the handle of her car
to make a quick escape before she jumped on Charger and begged him to take her. His smoldering gaze made her crazy and think things that she would definitely regret.

  Kane snorted. “You’re a liar.”

  “Ah, no, ask her. I refused the dress, so we compromised. I would be there in something other than my regular work clothes, but no dress.” Raven slid in the car, but Kane stopped her from closing the door. Charger wasn’t saying a word, just staring at her. “Come on, dude. I’m already late and I need to pick up my keys.”

  “Keys?” Charger frowned, his eyes now looking at her car. “You get a new ride?”

  Raven wanted to smack herself for the slip. She really didn’t want anyone to know she was moving out of the compound. She was a private person, and honestly, she didn’t think anyone would notice her room was empty. And what was the big deal anyway? She was an adult and was finally stepping out on her own but was still stuck with a bunch of men trying to tell her what to do and what not to do. “No.” She shook her head. “To my apartment.”

  “Apartment?” Charger frowned. “I thought you were staying here at the compound.”

  “Will you look at that, Charger? Our girl is growing up.” Kane sighed, even threw in a fake sniff before giving her a stern look. “I expect an invite to dinner.”

  “Then you expect too much.” Raven snorted, ignoring Charger’s frown and glare of disapproval. Or at least, she tried to ignore it, but her thoughts went to why Charger would disapprove of her getting her own apartment. Why in the hell would he even care? Shaking those thoughts aside, she jerked on her door. “Now, let go of my car door so I can go. The guy is waiting for me. I’ll see you guys tomorrow night.”

  Kane did let go and gave her a salute. She backed out, her eyes betraying her as they glanced in Charger’s direction. Kane was talking to him, but Charger wasn’t looking at him. He was watching her closely. A little too closely. Forcing her eyes away, she quickly got the car pointed in the opposite direction, and when her gaze went to the rearview, she smacked the mirror with her hand so she couldn’t see Charger’s reflection in it. It was way too much Charger for one day.

  Turning onto the main road, she tried to drum up excitement for her new adventure of getting her keys and planning her life living alone, but her excitement was dimmed by the feeling of loneliness that always hit her after leaving Charger. Reaching up, she adjusted the mirror to see herself. Glaring into the mirror, she hissed. “You’re an idiot.” She spat the words at her reflection before looking back at the road and forcing her mind to think of anything other than the Guardian who held her hostage in heart, mind, and soul.

  Chapter 7

  Freshly showered, Charger refused to put on the suffocating tux that hung from the door, taunting him, until the last minute. Grabbing a beer out of the fridge, he used his thumb to flip the top off and drank it halfway down. He leaned against the counter as his eyes roamed the house he rented with Kane. It was dirty as fuck, with clutter everywhere. Kane was a slob. He, himself, was just busy. That thought made him grin, but the grin faded slowly as his eyes continued to look around.

  Memories of the time Raven lived there still remained. Charger’s gaze stopped on a picture of a sunflower, the only thing of brightness in the dull room. It hung crooked on the wall. She had been proud the day she hung it, stating the place needed a woman’s touch. Kane and Val had laughed, saying she had torn and burned her woman card a long time ago. He had seen the hurt in her eyes. As fleeting as it was, it had been there. Never once had he ever heard her say those same words before that day, but yesterday in front of Sloan, she’d repeated them as she always did when her gender was brought up. They were the same exact words he knew had hurt her that day she’d hung that very picture. But had he said anything, kicked Kane or Val’s ass for their carelessness of her feelings? Nope, he sure the fuck hadn’t.

  A growl escaped his chest as he finished off the rest of the beer, slamming the empty bottle on the counter. A knock on the door sounded, making him curse under his breath as he headed that way, but first, he went straight toward the picture and straightened it.

  Walking to the door, he cocked his head and listened, making himself aware of his surroundings before opening it. Even though it would be stupid for evil to be knocking on the Guardian’s door, stupid seemed to be in excess where they were concerned.

  “Hey,” Daniel said when Charger opened the door. “You got a minute?”

  “Sure.” Charger stepped back, letting him. He glanced out the door. “You here alone?”

  “Yeah,” Daniel replied, looking around the house. “Got my driver’s license. You should have seen the lady when I gave her my birthdate.”

  Charger chuckled. “I bet. Congrats, man. How’s your mom taking you driving?”

  “She cried.” Daniel rolled his eyes, but the affection he held for his mom was present. “She’s a sap when it comes to stuff like that. I get it. I’m supposed to be having birthday parties with goofy hats and shit, not getting my driver’s license and learning to kill bad guys.”

  Daniel was definitely a gift. His growth was mind-blowing, not to mention his insights that shocked Charger. And that was saying something because not much shocked him. Charger had pretty much seen it all, and nothing had ever compared to this man-child. “You been training a lot?”

  “Every chance I get.” Daniel nodded without a smile, which was not normal. The kid was the most upbeat person Charger had ever met. Even when shit was real, Daniel stayed positive when no one else did. Though at this moment, Charger felt something was off with him. “I’m hoping to go through initiation with Raven.” He frowned, looking at Charger.

  “What’s going on, Daniel?” Charger knew something was on the kid’s mind with the way he was looking at him. This wasn’t a social call.

  “Not sure.” Daniel pulled out a stool from the kitchen counter and sat down, his knee bobbing up and down in an irritated manner. “I do want to give you a heads-up about one thing. There’s talk among some of the new trainees that they’re going to try to set Raven up for failure. I haven’t mentioned it to Jared, Jax, or Sloan. Actually, you’re the first person I’ve told. Raven is already going to have to prove herself because of being female, but because of these jealous dicks, she’s going to have to watch her back. That’s the main reason I’m speeding up my training so I can help be her eyes during the initiation. If I fail this time, no big deal. If she fails, then they win, and I’ll be damned if that happens. I can’t really tell the Warriors because I know Raven will think they’ll step in, and well, I don’t have to tell you how that will go over with her.”

  No, he didn’t. Charger knew exactly how Raven would feel being singled out because of pricks whose dicks weren’t big enough to go against a bad-ass female fairly. Anger seethed inside him. “Who are they?” Charger growled, aware his fangs grew slightly with the anger racing through him.

  “Yeah, not giving that information to you either. That’s almost as bad as giving it to the Warriors, if not worse.” Daniel snorted and shook his head. “That’s not what I’m here for. She doesn’t need a knight in shining armor riding to her rescue.”

  “I’m no fucking knight.” Charger narrowed his eyes at Daniel, who grinned. “So, if you don’t want my help, why in the fuck are you here telling me this shit?”

  “You know Raven,” Daniel said without hesitation. “Better than anyone. I need to know how to approach this with her. I don’t want to fuck up her game. I have to tell her, but I’m not sure how.”

  Understanding what Daniel was saying, Charger cursed. Daniel was right again. Fuck, this kid was something else. Raven would probably walk away if any Warrior or Guardian went in and tried to save the day for her. Even though this was a totally unfair advantage for her, she needed to handle it on her own, but with someone at her back, and that looked to be Daniel.

  “With this information, it’s best to be straight with her. Tell her what you’ve heard, who it is, and let her know you have her b
ack,” Charger finally said after thinking about it. Raven was the type of person who would proudly go to her death after doing a job, unless there was someone she needed to prove wrong. If that was the case, then death would have to wait. “If she feels she needs more, she will make the decision to let Sloan or someone else know.”

  “Good.” Daniel nodded. “That’s what I thought but wanted to run it by you first.”

  “I appreciate that,” Charger admitted. “I want to see her do well in this initiation.”

  “Because it would reflect badly on you if she didn’t?” Daniel quizzed with a cocked eyebrow.

  “No, because she deserves it,” Charger replied without hesitation. “I don’t need any recognition when I know the person is worth their weight in gold, no matter what the circumstances are.”

  Daniel nodded. “I knew I liked you for a reason.” He grinned, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes, and his knee was still going a mile a minute, bobbing up and down in agitation.

  “What else is bothering you?” Charger questioned, glancing at his watch. He was cutting it close, putting on that ugly-ass tux, but he knew whatever was on Daniel’s mind was important, and he needed to listen to the kid.

  Daniel sighed and ran his hand through his hair. “I don’t know, but there’s something big coming.”

  “Something big?” Charger frowned, then thought what’s new, but kept that to himself. “Hell, that could be anything. Could you narrow it down a bit?”

  “It involves a bunch of people. I have no clue who they are. I just see a glimpse of chaos.” Daniel stood and began to pace. “I actually started seeing it a while ago, just flashes, but last night I couldn’t relax my mind. It happened again… the vision or whatever in the hell you want to call it. This time I felt shaken from the inside out, and for a few hours afterward, my vision was strange, and my hearing compromised. I’ve never had a vision that I actually had physical disabilities. But that wasn’t the only difference.” Daniel’s swirling eyes pinned him to the spot, and Charger knew he wasn’t going to like what the kid had to say next.