Reluctant Storm

by P. A. Warren

  “Okay, okay it’s inside my mattress,” she bursts out.

  “Thank you,” I snap, dropping her hair and instantly backing up.

  I move to her bedroom and throw off her covers. I lift the mattress and look it over, finding a hole someone cut out, and reach in it. Once my hand reaches the phone, I open it and notice there are around ten missed calls, all from the same number. Pulling out my phone, I compare numbers and verify it's Griffin. I dial the number back and put it on speaker and listen as Anya repeats exactly what Claire told her to say, word for word. I hang up once she’s finished and look over at Claire and a flash of foreboding comes over me. I’m suddenly having a vision of Griffin not taking the bait and coming to this house, attacking Claire and killing her.

  “Claire can’t come, he’s not stupid. He’s going to bring his bodyguards, and he’ll do anything to get her,” I say, not alluding to my vision. Riley nods his head in agreement.

  “Guys, that’s not fair. This whole thing started because of me, and I am going to be there to finish it,” Claire cries in protest.

  Grabbing her shoulders, I look her in the eye. “Damn it, just stay here for your safety, Claire. Just do as you’re told.” The way she glare at me makes me realize ordering her to do something may have been the wrong thing to do. I wish I could just compel her, but she’s immune to it.

  “Damn it, just do as you’re told,” Jason pipes in mockingly. “I’ll stay with you. Riley or Mikail can go by themselves.”

  As if sensing defeat, her shoulders slump, and it takes everything in me not to go over there and make everything right. Only I can’t do that because she’s bonded to Riley and he has no clue what happened last night. I force myself not to follow her as she walks away. Now isn’t the time. We have three hours to get everything ready for the fight of our lives. Pulling Riley toward me, I lean close to his ear and whisper, “Distract Claire. I’m implementing part one and two of the plan, and I don’t need her in the way.”

  “What plan?” He looks at me startled.

  “This one.”

  Spinning around, I look over at Anya and grab the chains off of her without a second thought and throw her backpack at her, along with her phone.

  “You’ve done your job. Leave. Now,” I snarled at her, pointing toward the door.

  I know exactly what she’s going to do; she’s going to call Griffin and tell him about us and our exact location. She’s power hungry, and hates Claire. She’ll do it. I have no doubt in my mind that Griffin will listen to Anya.

  Plan one is in action as I watch her walk out the door. I grin as Jason walks toward me with a dumbfounded look on his face as Anya runs away. Grabbing him from behind, I bite into his neck and quickly drain him of blood. I pull my wrist to my mouth and bite it and put it to his mouth. I force my blood into his mouth, and once he’s had enough, I drop him on the floor and wait for him to wake up.

  I run out of the house and don’t see Anya anywhere. Pulling out my phone, I open up the app and already see data from it and know my plan is working. I attached a chip in her phone that will tell me her location and record her outgoing calls. Bringing it up on my cell phone, I grin as I see she’s already called Griffin. Thank you for being such a faithful liar, Anya. Running inside the house, I grab the stakes and guns and hide them in the woods, so they will be within arm’s reach. I head back in the house and check the time and see that an hour has passed. I sit down on the couch and impatiently wait for Jason to wake up.

  Listening for Riley and Claire, I hear him ask if she has the Maji and Riley telling her she needs to find it. Fisting my hand, I want to punch the shit out of him right now. I tap the Maji that is in my pants pocket, and smile smugly. I clamp down on the jealousy that rears its ugly head as I see them huddled close together; she was with me last night, buddy, not you.

  Leaning closer, I hear him whispering to her, but I can’t make out what they’re saying. That bothers the crap out of me and letting my emotions take control of me is something I’m not used to. I move closer to the door to hear what they are saying. I’m at a disadvantage when my ankle’s grabbed from behind, and I’m brought down to the floor. Fucking Jason.

  Jason gets up and looms over me. Then he punches me in the eye. “Don’t you ever kill me and change me into a vampire without my permission.”

  Leaning my head back, I watch him upside down as he walks to the fridge and grabs a bag of blood, tossing me one as he walks back towards me. He gives me a hand to get up. Holding the cold blood bag to my eye, I look at him carefully, not really believing it worked as fast as it did.

  “Look, Jason,” I spoke softly so Claire wouldn’t hear. “You need to pretend you’re still human. You can’t let Claire know you’ve become a vampire again. Riley and I have a plan that’s going to involve ambushing Griffin here and not at the warehouse. I let Anya go for a reason.”

  She told Griffin we were heading to the warehouse earlier, and then she gave him this exact location telling him Claire was not going with us. I want to confuse him. I know he will be sending most of his men to the warehouse and only bringing himself and two bodyguards he travels with here. He has this thought process of being above everyone else. I want to ambush him as he comes for Claire. I’m sure he’s thinking he can take out Claire without a second thought. He did it once, and I’m sure he thinks he can do it again.

  Turning around, I see Riley and Claire walking into the room and catch Riley’s eye, and he nods at me. It’s like every time I see him I have my hand gripped in a fist, ready to shove it in his face.

  I run to my bedroom and grab my black pants and long sleeved shirt from my bag. I pull them on quickly and grab my black beanie, pulling it over my hair before looking in the mirror. Fear rises in my stomach, and I tame it down. Now is not the time to fear, now is the time to kick ass, take names, and ask questions later. Adjusting my hat as I walk into the living room, I notice Riley’s gone all 007 on me and has weapons strapped to his chest and is also in full black.

  “Grab your stuff, and let’s go, Riley,” I say, turning to him, holding my stakes in my hand, my gloves preventing me from being burned. We need to get our gear in order and get in position.

  “Oh, and Jason,” I say seriously, “Do whatever you have to do to keep Claire distracted. I’m serious. I might punch you for it later, but I need her safe. If she walks out of the house, do whatever you have to to get her in, and if that fails tie her up.” Slamming the door, we hide in the woods to wait, hoping our bait worked.

  Chapter 38

  Griffin

  Driving along the winding highway, I hang up the phone and tap on the center glass which is promptly rolled down.

  “Take us to this address,” I order, handing the driver a piece of paper.

  I stare out the window and call the car behind me. “You go to the warehouse. I just received some intel that has me going elsewhere. Javier and I will be able to handle it. Take care of Mikail and Riley when you get there. I want them dead, and I want their heads as proof.”

  Grinning, I lean forward, pulling open the small cooler door open and grabbing a glass of bourbon. I pour the liquid into the glass and some splashes onto my fingers. I smile and bring them to my mouth. Soon they will be dealt with and I will be the sole owner of Claire. Oh, the plans I have for her. Feelings of lust and power invade my senses. I tip my glass back, drinking the entire contents in one sip. Anya came in handier then I thought she would.

  “Hit the gas, Javier. I have an itch that needs scratching!” Tilting my head back, I laugh and my evil laughter fills the car as I rub my hands together. Tonight’s the night I become the one and only King.

  Chapter 39

  Claire

  Sitting on the couch, I silently stare as the door closes behind Riley and Mikail. I’m filled with agitation as my eyes follow them from the window, longing to go with them. I may never see either one of them again, if things go wrong. Jason walks up to me, asking if I can give him a hand with something
in his room. Nodding, I look over at him and notice that something’s different with him.

  “Are you okay?” I reach up and feel forehead. “Something’s changed with you, but I can’t put my finger on it.”

  “Um, the fact that you changed me into human isn’t a big enough change?”

  I shake my head, scrunching my brow. “It’s not that.” I stare at his chest and realize that’s what I’m not hearing, his heartbeat. Moving quickly, I ignore his weird look and put my head on his chest, and suddenly he lifts my head up and kisses me. It’s so unexpected that I try to pull away, disgusted. Pushing against his chest is no use; he refuses to let go, gripping my head closer. He holds my head, tangling his hands in my hair, and pushes his tongue into my mouth through my tight lips. The feeling of his tongue invading my mouth makes me gag. He lifts his head and looks thoroughly pleased with himself. The way he is looking at me pisses me off, so, on impulse, I lift my knee quickly to meet his groin.

  “Why did you do that?” I shrieked at him. “You can’t just kiss me whenever you feel like it!”

  Lying on the floor grasping himself, he curls into a ball. “It was a spur of the moment thing. It’ll never happen again, I promise.”

  Feeling disgusted with Jason, I push the door open and walk out, leaning on the railing. The object of my disgust walks out like my shadow yet again. He’s being really weird. I know we kissed that one time. It feels like years ago, even though it was only a week ago, but you shouldn’t force yourself on someone like that and not expect to be hurt.

  “Okay, seriously, I just came out here to get away from you. Why are you following me?”

  I watch his Adam's apple bob up and down. “I just,” he looks away from me toward the tree line. His eyes widen as he looks out toward the yard. Without warning, he grabs me, turning me away from the trees. “I am so attracted to you right now that I can’t help myself.” He clasps my head to his chest, and I hear him inhaling.

  “Are you sniffing my hair?”

  “Look, let’s just go in and you can cook me something.”

  “Did you hit your head or something? I’m not your maid. Seriously Jason, you’re acting really strange.” I look at him and skirt around him before walking down the steps. I can’t even get down the steps, before I find myself over Jason’s shoulder and into the house. He carries me into my room and pulls out handcuffs from his back pocket and frowns down at me.

  “Look, you weren’t listening, and it’s very important that you stay in here for now, until Mikail or Riley says it’s okay.”

  Sitting up, I take a swing at him, and he grabs my wrist right before I hit his head and snaps the cuff on it, attaching it to the bed rail. He easily grabs the other one and locks it into place as well so that my arms are spread out on either side of the headboard. I don’t like feeling trapped and immediately try pulling against the cuffs.

  “What the hell, Jason!” I pull at my hands locked in the cuffs and start feeling panicky, bringing me back to when I was kidnapped. Fear knocks into me as he reaches over to caress my face, bringing his head down, he presses his face into the crook of my neck, breathing deeply. It makes me feel dirty and it pisses me off. Lashing out at him with one of my legs of course does nothing as I hit only air. He just stands there with an indescribable look on his face. Something in the back of my mind clicks when I realize what he’s just done.

  “You’ve been changed back into a vampire, haven’t you? That’s how you were able to overpower me.”

  He reaches for his phone and hits the call button. “Hey dad, long time no talk.” I listen as he calls Griffin. The traitor. How could he do this to me? My thoughts are racing. I can’t go back to Griffin. I’d rather die. Pulling against the cuffs, I groan as they don’t give an inch. I feel tears running down my face. Now is not the time to cry, but my emotions say otherwise. Gritting my teeth, I look out the window with my hands clenched into fist as they stay stretched out over my head.

  “I’ve got Claire.”

  “Please don’t do this, Jason,” I whimper pleadingly.

  He looks over at me shooting daggers my way with his eyes. Twisting my head away from his stare, I close my eyes in disbelief.

  “Yes, come to the house, and I have her practically gift wrapped for you. Bring reinforcements.”

  Opening my eyes, I feel him sit down on the bed as he continues to talk to Griffin. “Yeah, Riley and Mikail wanted you to think they were at the warehouse so you’re going to need a few more men.” Glancing at me, he holds his finger up to silence me. “No more than five.”

  I flip him the bird with my cuffed hand. Hearing him mention this pisses me off, and I mean it really pisses me off. It’s one thing to hurt me but an entirely other thing to hurt Riley or Mikail.

  “I can’t believe I ever trusted you,” I spit out at him as he gets right in my face, smirking at me.

  “I did this for you, you’ll see Claire. It will work out for the best, and once it’s done you’re going to be apologizing to me a lot.”

  “I will never apologize to you,” I spit out.

  He looks at me, rolling his eyes before leaving the room to continue his conversation. Trying one more time, I center all of my energy in my wrists and yank one time, and the handcuffs fly off. Leaping off the bed, I hit the floor feet first and take off running out of the house, trying to get as far away from Jason as I can.

  Chapter 40

  Riley

  “So, sitting in the woods sucks,” Mikail says, brushing the leaves off his black jacket.

  “It does.” I look over at him just as he’s pulling a leaf out of his hair.

  We’ve been sitting in the woods for at least thirty minutes. From what I can tell, it looks like Jason’s doing a good job of keeping Claire occupied. That is, until she comes barreling out to the porch, and he walks up behind her doing this weird thing with his hands, almost like he’s trying to explain himself. Peering through the bushes to get a better view, I watch her face changed into a shocked expression, and then she takes off down the steps. Jason blows the human cover and is in front of her in a flash, throwing her over his shoulder.

  Staring out into the darkness with only Mikail nearby, I can’t help but wish that was me throwing her over my shoulder and taking her into the bedroom. My phone buzzes, interrupting my thoughts, and I look down to read the text.

  Jason: Took care of Claire.

  Me: Roger

  Jason: Claire’s pretty pissed, just FYI.

  Jason: Shit, she got away.

  Got away? Squinting at the phone, I read it again to make sure I read it correctly. What does he mean, got away? Just as I’m re-reading the text, the door slams open as a car pulls up the long driveway.

  Fuck.

  I watch Claire zero in on that car, look back towards the house, and make a beeline towards the trees. Son of a— this isn’t what we need right now.

  “Go get Claire,” I whisper to Mikail.

  He looks at me with a smirk. “She can take care of herself for a few, and you have no idea how powerful she is. You’re going to need my help more than she is,” he says, nodding to the second car that pulled up and the third car. Looking over to where he’s looking, I watch five heavily armed men jump out of the second car, heading for the house.

  “Shit! What the fuck? It was just supposed to be Griffin. Who fucking tipped him off that we’d be here?” There’s only one person who knew the entire plan. Jason. Feelings of betrayal run through me, creating a fire that is running deep into my veins. Why would he do this? He was supposed to be the good brother, and I was the bad brother.

  Looking around thoughtfully, Mikail says, watching the guys get out of the car, “It had to have been Jason. There’s no one else.”

  Turning to him, I say, “I don’t understand. He hates Griffin and always has.”

  “Sometimes there’s no need for answers. Just knowing he did it is answer enough.”

  Hanging my head, I grip my stake tighter and make sure my
backups are secured. Arming my weapon, I glance at Mikail and notice he is doing the same and giving it a once over. Nodding at him, I take a deep breath and watch as the men stand outside of the house. It takes everything in me not to run deeper into the woods to try and locate Claire. Everything. In. Me.

  Mikail turns his head to me. “Dude, I promise Claire is okay. She can and will take care of herself for now.”

  Nodding at him, I pull another stake from my belt. “Let’s do this.”

  We take a path at the woods edge and ambush the men standing guard, staking them in the chest and pulling it out before they even realize they’re dead. Working in unison, we grab the bodies and pull them quickly into the woods. I kneel down and take out the remaining men. I spot three more along the east perimeter and two more guarding the car, which Griffin most likely sits in.

  “Did you see anyone go into the house?” I whisper to Mikail, only I don’t get a response. I spin around and all that’s there is air. I glance around but there is no trace of him. Where did he go? Hearing the snapping of a neck in the forest behind me, my stomach drops, and I slowly turn around to find Claire standing there over the dead body of one of Griffin’s men. If I had a heart it would have jumped out of my chest at seeing her out here like this. Grabbing her, I pull her down next to me, looking her over and making sure she’s okay. That’s when I see cuffs attached to her hands.

  “I’m guessing your plans changed? Where’s Mikail?” she asks, peering through the branches at the guys in front of us.

  “Right here,” he says, leaning down next to her.

  “What the fuck are these?” I hiss, looking at her bleeding wrists.

  “When I ran out to get away from Jason, he threw me over his shoulder and handcuffed me to the bed,” she says angrily, looking down at her wrists before peering through the brush.