Viper (Nighthawks MC Book 1)

by C. J. Pinard

  I turned to look at him, my brow furrowed. “Are you serious?”

  He glanced at me briefly before staring back at the ceiling. “Serious as cancer.”

  I looked at the way his huge body barely fit the bed. At six-foot-one, I was no small dude, but Shadow had me beat by inches, his feet almost dangling over the edge of the queen-sized bed.

  “Get some fuckin’ sleep, you asshole,” I said with a humorless chuckle. “We ride at sunset.”

  “I’ll be there, boss,” he replied before passing out.

  Chapter 27

  Mood Swings

  Present Day

  This was the part of being a club leader I hated. I wanted to be out in the field, kicking ass and taking names. Not here in the office doing the books.

  Shadow, Phoenix, and Venom checked in via text periodically, but it wasn’t the same. I wanted to get out there and be in the trenches with my men. To fight side by side and protect them, if need be. But I knew deep down I had to give up some modicum of control. They had to learn how to fight and kick ass to keep the peace in the supernatural world themselves. Just as Cobra had taught me.

  Leaned back in my chair, I clicked on the icon that took me to the cameras set up in my apartment. I plugged in the password that only I knew and waited for the screen to load. Soon, I was looking at my place. MyAnna sat on the sofa with the red and blue Los Angeles Dodgers blanket wrapped around her. My soul calmed a little as I realized she was warm and content. And I was glad someone was using the blanket. It had been a nice gesture from Shadow last Christmas, but he knew as well as I did that while I loved baseball, I never got cold enough to need a blanket. It was just a decorative prop at this point.

  Until now.

  I stared at the screen to see her switch channels from the sports network to something else entirely. I had no idea what it was, but she seemed content when she snuggled down into the blanket and smiled at the television program.

  I briefly contemplated calling Face in here to cancel her lease on that apartment and to transfer the ten thousand from her account back to mine, but then changed my mind. Even if she stayed with me, she could keep it for spending money. And if she decided to leave me, she’d need it to live on. As far as the apartment, since it was in our LLC’s name, I decided to keep it as a backup in case we needed a safe house of sorts. Or… if MyAnna wised up and decided she really was better off without my sorry ass.

  Why did I care so much about this girl? This human? I wasn’t sure, but I did know that I cared enough to make sure she’d be taken care of, even if she didn’t want to be with me for the long haul. She’d claimed she loved me and I was it for her. But this odd feeling of putting the needs of someone else above your own was a strange emotion. One I had never felt.

  Was this what love felt like? I’d told her I loved her last night. Words I’d never uttered to anyone since before my parents died. And certainly not to a woman.

  Memories of the night before flooded my mind, and my cock sprang to attention.

  Down, boy!

  The last thing I needed was a damn erection distracting me from real-world problems. My cell phone rang with Shadow’s name on the screen.

  “What’s up?” I answered.

  “We caught one, but the other two ran off,” Shadow said.

  I blew out a breath. “He cooperating?”

  I heard a growl before Shadow chuckled a little and said, “Oh, hell no.”

  Grinning, I said, “Sweet. Bring him here. I’m itching for a little fun. Doing the books is so fucking dull.”

  Hearing the smile in his voice, Shadow said, “You got it, man,” before hanging up.

  I cracked my knuckles and wandered into the main warehouse area of the club to ensure the cages—the prison cells—were still in good working order.

  I heard the hissing and screaming before the guys even killed the engine to the cargo van. Knowing they might have to bring back prisoners, the guys took the van instead of their bikes to scope out the Quarter and see if any humans had fallen victim to this vampire who was leaving a trail of bodies in his or her wake.

  I stood with my arms behind my back as Shadow and Phoenix held a man between the two of them. I inclined my head at the cells to indicate they lock him up. Venom quickly unlocked a cell door with a key he kept attached to a chain on his belt. Shadow and Phoenix threw him into the cage and Venom swiftly locked the door.

  “Let me outta here!” the inmate yelled, gripping the bars.

  I stared at the man—the vampire—and could tell he was not right. His eyes looked a little wild and untamed, and his rage was out of control. He didn’t look unkempt or dirty. He wore a clean polo shirt and khakis. If he hadn’t been acting a fool with had his fangs out, I would think he was just a college kid. He looked to be in his early twenties.

  Shadow told me they hadn’t even questioned him yet, just caught him stalking some female tourists and brought him in.

  With my arms folded across my cut, I went to the bars but stayed out of his reach. “What’s your name?”

  “Let me out of here and I’ll tell you,” he replied, speaking awkwardly through his fangs.

  “Put your fuckin’ teeth away, you don’t scare me. Plus you sound like an idiot.” I stared into his blue eyes.

  Surprisingly, he did what I told him.

  “Sit down, we’re going to have a chat.” I indicated the metal bench bolted to the wall at the back of the cell.

  He turned around and did as I asked. I looked at the guys, who were also surprised.

  “What’s your name?” I asked him.

  He looked at the other three, then back to me. “Henry.”

  “What were you doing stalking young ladies in the Quarter, Henry?”

  Henry glanced at the three again, then back to me. “I wasn’t stalking them.”

  “But you did kill some other girls a few weeks ago, didn’t you?”

  “What? No,” he replied. “I swear.”

  It was bizarre how he’d looked mentally unstable and wild and now he just looked like a sad little nerd sitting in a huge prison cell.

  I turned to look at Shadow. “What exactly was he doing?”

  Shadow replied, “He was following a group of four women who were bar-hopping. We watched him for hours. Every bar they went into, he would go in and stare at them from a dark corner. Then when they’d leave, he would also follow.”

  I looked back at the cell. “Sounds like stalking to me, Henry.” I made a tsking sound while shaking my head.

  “I… it’s, ah, not what it looks like,” he replied.

  “Just tell us what the fuck’s going on, I’m losing my patience,” Phoenix said, small flames dancing on the fingertips of his right hand.

  Henry’s eyes went wide, and he looked at me. “My ex-girlfriend… I just miss her.”

  “Still stalking,” I reminded him.

  “I had to break up with her when I got turned. They made me.”

  “Who is ‘they’?” I asked.

  Henry was quiet and looked down at the ground, his hands resting on his knees.

  “Answer the fuckin’ question, douchebag,” Shadow said.

  He looked up. “I’m not a douchebag.”

  I stayed quiet, waiting for him to answer. Henry continued to look at the ground.

  “You belong to a clan or something around here? Who turned you?” I asked.

  “I can’t say. Please just let me go, I promise I’ll stay away from my ex and out of the Quarter entirely.”

  “No,” I replied, narrowing my eyes at him.

  “Please, I can’t talk about it,” he whined.

  I looked at Face and jutted my chin at Henry. “Do that face-recognition shit and a fingerprint. Oh, and take blood too, get some DNA. Find out who this guy is.” I wasn’t sure if Face had that kind of technology or pull, but it had the desired effect on our inmate.

  Face pulled his phone from his pocket and headed toward the cage. Shadow unlocked it and Henry put
his hands up.

  Face snapped pictures of him on his phone anyway.

  “Stop that.” Henry scowled at him.

  “I’mma blast your pic all over the internet. ‘Have you seen this man?’” Face said with a chuckle as he left the cage. Shadow closed and locked it back up.

  “Please don’t. I’m Henry Granger. I was turned a year ago. I live in the Garden District with, yes, a clan.”

  “They have a name, this clan?” I asked.

  “Garden,” he replied sheepishly.

  “The Garden Clan?” Shadow chuckled while wiggling his fingers. “Sounds like a frightening bunch.”

  Henry threw him a dirty look and then put his attention back to me. “Can I go now?”

  “No. Who turned you and why?”

  “Drunk at a frat party, thought it would be fun,” he replied.

  “Don’t bullshit me, boy,” I snapped, rushing the bars and grabbing him by the collar. He didn’t look as frightened as I’d intended. Just defiant.

  “It’s the truth,” he said. “I was tricked into it. I thought we were doing Ouija board and séances and bloodletting crap. I don’t even know the name of the guy who turned me. First and last time I saw him.”

  “That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever fucking heard,” Phoenix replied, shaking his head and stroking a hand over his auburn face stubble.

  “These kids are stupid,” Kovah said, entering the warehouse from the kitchen area. “No common sense anymore.”

  Henry scowled at Kovah. “‘Kids?’ You’re obviously a lot older than you look. A cranky old goat.”

  Whipping off his sunglasses, Kovah rushed the bars, which had the desired effect, as Henry gasped at Kovah’s white eyes.

  “What the hell?” Henry asked, squirming under my grasp.

  I chuckled and let him go.

  Kovah replaced his sunglasses and grinned. He pulled a granola bar from his pocket and began eating it. “Yep, and for the record, I am the G.O.A.T.”

  The eating obviously confused Henry. “What the hell?” he repeated.

  Kovah sniggered and chewed his food slowly.

  “Tell me your clan leader’s name,” I said.

  He took his attention off Kovah and looked at me. “Tell me how that vampire can eat real food.”

  “He’s a hybrid,” I replied quickly. “Your turn.”

  Henry sighed and said, “His name is Dog, that’s all I know.”

  I pinched the bridge of my nose. “You’re on my last damn nerve.”

  “You asked, I answered, now let me out of here!” Henry snapped. “I’m hungry.”

  I looked at Kovah and jutted my chin toward the kitchen. He nodded and wandered in that direction.

  “Who killed those girls in the Quarter?” Shadow asked. “And don’t say you don’t fuckin’ know.”

  Henry glared at Shadow and didn’t speak.

  “I’m gonna fuck you up,” Shadow said, stalking toward the cage.

  “You told me not to say I didn’t know, and that’s the only answer I have. Just let me go, you assholes!” Henry snapped.

  Kovah came over and threw a blood bag through the bars.

  “Drink up.” I pointed at it.

  He ripped the nozzle open and began to slurp it down and made a face. “Gah, cold.”

  “I’ll get you a warm one if you tell us the truth,” I said.

  Henry stared defiantly at us as he emptied the bag, but remained close-lipped.

  I shrugged. “Torture, it is, then.”

  Chapter 28

  Don’t Threaten Me With A Good Time

  MyAnna

  It seemed the vampire monsters were too busy interrogating the guy in the cage to notice me in the corner of the warehouse. Well, it was more like I was hiding against the doorway to the kitchen, but I could still hear and see everything clearly. Viper had let me have free rein of the clubhouse as long as I stayed away from his secret room of weapons. I’d quickly agreed.

  “Torture it is, then,” Viper said, almost a little too gleefully.

  I didn’t even have to question myself as to why that bothered me. But then again, I still knew very little about him except that he was gorgeous, good in bed, and a vampire. He’d told me he was born in the 1950s, which was mind-numbing to me because my mother had been born in the late 1950s and Viper didn’t look older than thirty, if that. His explanation of immortality had gone right over my head, and I’d tucked that knowledge away to analyze another day.

  I watched as Shadow, Phoenix, and Viper pulled the guy from the cell and dragged him to a chair I just now noticed that was set in the middle of the warehouse. He protested, his eyes going black like Viper’s did when he was fucking me, right before he bit me.

  I suppressed a full-body shudder at the memory. What kind of sick individual was I, that I got off on that type of fetish? Being bitten? I wouldn’t let James get his fangs anywhere near me when that asshole had held me captive. But when Viper bit me, it induced the most addictive, euphoric feeling in the world. I had never had so many orgasms in my life. And the guy’s stamina was incredible. I tired out way before he did, and that had never been the case with me, ever. Not that I had many to compare to, but still.

  “I told you, I don’t know!” the guy, whose name apparently was Henry (and he looked like a Henry, too) whined as they tied his arms and legs to the chair.

  “Yeah, well, we don’t believe you,” Shadow said, kicking him in the knee.

  Henry screamed in pain and then lobbed a string of curses at Shadow, who laughed in return.

  Blood began to bloom against his khakis at his knee and I hissed in a breath. That looked like it hurt.

  “Tell us who’s killing tourists in the Quarter. We’ll let you go back to your little Garden Clan once you do,” Phoenix said, igniting a fireball on his palm.

  I gasped at the sight. How did he create fire?

  “Cool, right?”

  I jumped at the voice behind me and turned around to see Kovah standing next to me, eating an apple.

  “You scared me,” I whispered. “Don’t do that again.”

  He chuckled. “Okay.”

  I shook my head and turned my attention back to Vane and his friends. Kovah was my least favorite of all of Viper’s friends. He never took off those sunglasses, which made him seem untrustworthy, and he had some very questionable tattoos. Like a redheaded devil woman on his forearm. She had huge tits, fangs, and a pointed tail, and was dressed like a stripper. What was up with that?

  “He’s gonna sing like a canary before they’re done with him,” Kovah said.

  I shook my head. “I don’t think he knows anything, honestly. Wouldn’t he have talked by now?”

  He bit into the apple and shook his head. After chewing and swallowing his bite, he said, “It depends. If his so-called clan is more ruthless than our little group, it’s worth it for him to lie. Their punishment may be greater than ours.”

  “And what is your punishment?” I asked, afraid of the answer.

  “Death, of course. But he can choose whether he wants it fast or slow.”

  “That’s terrible,” I said with a scoff.

  Kovah chuckled again. “If you say so. We need to find who’s killing tourists. It’s for sure a vampire, and this dickhead knows something. I can feel it.”

  I turned to look at him now. Well, I should say look up at him. He was maybe even taller than Viper. I looked at my reflection in his sunglasses and asked, “What makes you say that?”

  He shrugged, the apple paused at his mouth. “Not sure. Just a hunch.”

  “Well, that’s scientific,” I replied dryly.

  “You’re a woman, don’t you know anything about intuition? That’s what this is.” He pounded his chest before biting into the apple.

  I rolled my eyes and paid attention to what was going on with Henry.

  “You broke my leg, you asshole,” Henry spat at Shadow.

  Shadow laughed. “And? It’ll heal. Start talking. You have
two hundred and five other bones I can get started on.”

  Yikes.

  “Listen, just get on with it. I can’t tell you shit, and it’s obvious you’re just going to kill me, regardless. So get it over with,” Henry said, looking half angry, half defeated.

  “It’s up to you if you want to die fast or slow, though,” Viper said as he paced in front of the vampire.

  Movement in my peripheral caught my attention, and both Kovah and I watched as Face raced from the office with an iPad in his hand. He spoke to Viper in tones too low for me to hear. Face swiped the screen and all three Nighthawks looked on as he explained what they were looking at.

  Viper’s face looked murderous as he faced Henry once again. “It seems you’ve been fucking lying to us.”

  Henry looked up at them, scared. “What? No, I haven’t.”

  “You have no ‘ex-girlfriend’ here in town because you’re not from here.” Viper punched him in the face. Henry’s head rocked to the side as blood splattered onto the concrete floor of the warehouse.

  “Yes!” Kovah whispered beside me.

  I scowled up at him. “Don’t you have a wife to get home to?”

  He grinned down at me. “Nope. She’s on an overnight stakeout. I got nothin’ else to do.”

  “Then go make yourself useful.” I pointed toward the group.

  He tossed the apple core into the trash and walked toward the group.

  Huh, that was easy.

  “Yes, I told you…” Henry feigned innocence as he seemed to be scrambling for excuses.

  “No,” Face said. “You just got here three months ago.” He pulled the iPad up and read from it. “Henry Cook from Orlando, Florida. Arrested four times for stalking, six times for assault on women, and two counts of rape.” Face’s expression was angry. But he still looked annoyingly pretty. “Ring any bells, you dick?”

  Henry began to violently thrash in his chair, trying to get out of the bindings. His eyes turned black, and his fangs were out. He hissed and growled at Viper and his friends.

  “He’s definitely our guy. Wolf in sheep’s clothing,” Shadow spat, pointing to his clothes. “He looks like a college kid, but is actually a stalking, raping, homicidal asshole.”