Treasure Tides (The Coins)

by Greene, Deniece

  “That feels soooo good. If you keep that up for the next twenty minutes, I’ll be your slave for a day,” Becki bargained, feeling her muscles practically melt at his touch.

  “Oh, sugar,” Trevor leaned down to whisper in her ear, “you don’t know what I expect of my slaves.”

  Becki’s shoulders shook with laughter, “Whatever, Trev, you are all talk.”

  He gently squeezed her shoulders one more time and then moved into his seat.

  “I have you figured out,” she bragged as he sat down pulling his chair closer to hers.

  Becki picked up the shot glass she had carried with her from the bar and tossed it back like a pro. Her cell phone rang as she finished the shot. Her lips tightened as she glanced at the screen and then turned it off completely. She was not thinking about anything tonight. The only thing on her agenda was consuming enough alcohol to guarantee a good night’s sleep.

  “Trev, there are a hundred girls who would love to be sitting here with you tonight. Why is it that you’re here by yourself?” Becki asked, signaling the waitress to bring her another shot.

  “In case it has escaped your attention, I’m not by myself, doll,” he said with a playful leer. “I’m with a sinfully--” Trevor began only to be interrupted as their server appeared.

  “Thanks,” Becki said as the drink was deposited in front of her. “Keep ‘em coming, Mel. It’s been a rough day,” Becki said. She downed the second shot and proudly deposited the empty shot glass on Mel’s serving tray. “Hon, could you bring me another -- a double this time, and a beer too.” Becki pulled a stack of bills out of her bra and slapped them on Mel’s tray before adding, “Please, and thank you, darling.”

  “Becki, are you ok?” Mel asked with frown wrinkling her brow.

  Becki knew Mel would call Landon if she suspected something was wrong.

  “I’m fine, Mel,” Becki promised with a bright smile. “Can’t a girl let go and get drunk once in a while?”

  “I’ll take care of her, Mel. I’ll make sure she gets home safely,” Trevor promised.

  “Ok, then. One double shot, coming right up,” Mel said with a wink.

  With that settled, Becki turned her attention back to Trevor. Batting her eyes playfully, she prompted, “You were saying?”

  Taking a drink of his own beer, he shook his head and said, “I was saying that I’m not alone. I’m with a sinfully sexy woman who, if I’m lucky, will take a moonlight stroll on the beach with me tonight. But judging by what I’m seeing, I guess I’ll just wait around to take advantage of you in that drunken state you seem to be headed for.” He gave her a sexy wink and saluted her with his beer bottle before taking another long swallow.

  “I know you better than that,” Becki countered, flashing a quick smile at Mel as she placed a new shot of Crown the table.

  As soon as Mel moved away, Becki continued, “You’ve had numerous opportunities to take advantage of me, Trev. But, you’ve never crossed the line… never.” She lifted her shot glass and saluted him in return before killing the double-shot with a large gulp.

  Trevor had never seen her throw back shots one right after the other. He watched her intently, waiting until she was numb enough to tell him what was bothering her.

  “Do you know what I love about you, Trev?” Becki asked, turning to signal Mel for another shot. “I can trust you- really trust you-- and I can count on you not to hurt me.”

  “I would never hurt you,” Trevor agreed. And…I’ll make sure no one else does either. He vowed not to let Becki get hurt. He would make sure she came out of this unharmed, even if it meant his own life in exchange for hers.

  The fact that such a thought would enter his mind surprised him somewhat. He had never in his entire life considered anyone else’s welfare before his own.

  “You don’t make any secret of the fact that you’re just out to get laid, right?” Becki asked bluntly.

  “What?” Trevor croaked, dumfounded. Her question had certainly caught him off guard.

  “With other girls,” she explained. “You don’t make girls think you want anything other than sex, right? Well, maybe a whole lot of sex,” she added with a giggle, “but you make it known that it’s all about sex and only sex.”

  Oh shit, it’s going to be a long night and not in a good way. Trevor shifted uncomfortably. All this talk of sex was hard on a guy. He almost grinned at the unintended pun. Regardless, he would not take advantage of Becki. Since he had agreed to be her safety net tonight, he might as well get over it.

  “You don’t lie to them, right?” she asked, her eyes shining a bit. “Never,” he answered solemnly. Were those tears gathering in her eyes?

  “You don’t make them feel special…like they’re special to you. You just tell them up front that you want to fu--”

  “Becki!” Trevor interrupted before the conversation could digress further. “Darlin’, tell me what’s wrong.”

  “Nothing,” she assured him. “Nothing at all is wrong, Trev.”

  He watched as a glint of determination replaced the sheen of tears in her eyes. He breathed a sigh of relief, assuming that she had come to a resolution of sorts. Perhaps she had even found closure to whatever had been bothering her.

  “I think we should have sex tonight, Trev,” Becki suggested without warning.

  Trevor almost fell out of his chair as she dropped this verbal bombshell. Whatever he had expected, that was not it. “Dollface, as much as I--”

  “Take me to the beach. You promised me a walk on the beach with moonlight and stars. Take me to the beach, Trev. Take me to the beach, and let’s do it right there on the sand under the stars,” she begged.

  As another shot appeared, Trevor caught Mel’s attention. He mouthed the words, “Water it down.”

  Mel nodded in agreement. She studied Becki for a moment, as if reconsidering her decision not to call Landon.

  “I’ve got this, Mel,” Trevor reassured Becki’s friend.

  Becki didn’t even notice their exchange, as she drained the shot glass a little more slowly this time.

  Mel snatched one of the ink pens still protruding from Becki’s hairbun and wrote her phone number on a napkin and stuffed it in Trevor’s hand.

  Trevor looked at her, his eyebrows shooting skyward. Mel made no secret of the fact that she was madly in love with her husband of fifteen years.

  Mel chuckled, “Not for you, Casanova. For her,” she nodded toward Becki. “Call me if you need my help. My shift will be ending soon.”

  Trevor grinned wickedly, “You’ve broken my heart.”

  “Sorry,” Mel grinned. She wasn’t really sorry at all, “mine’s spoken for. Seriously, Trev; call me if you need me.”

  “Thanks, Mel.”

  “Whew,” Becki said, slamming the empty shot glass on the table. “That is goooood shit. Now, back to what I was saying, you give me bullshit all the time, lllots of bullshit. I don’t want bullshit tonight, Trev. I just want you to show me a good time,” she said leaning into him. “I can show you a good time. Think about it. Sex on the beach. Hot, intense, grinding, dirty sex…with me. Kiss me, Trev.”

  “Doll, you need to take it easy. What is going on in that beautiful head of yours?” he murmured as he gently cupped her face in one hand. Giving into temptation momentarily, he slid his thumb across her full lower lip and then quickly released her.

  “I’m not going to do anything that you and I both know you would regret in the morning,” he gently refused.

  “I’m tired of White Knights,” Becki complained. “White Knights who then turn out to be Dark Lords,” she pouted.

  “Kiss me, Trevvv. Be my White Knight, just for tonight,” Becki pleaded.

  Trevor sighed regretfully. There is no way this Dark Lord could ever be your White Knight, Doll.

  “Come on, Trev. Be my White Knight-- or maybe my Dark Lord,” she said, suddenly changing her mind. “Dark Lords are probably better in the sack right?”

  His life was full
of danger; he had done things that no man could be proud of. He had never cared about anyone he used or hurt-- never cared until he met Becki. Still, he could only be what he was, and that was a Dark Lord-- a Dark Lord with a job to do.

  The coin collector in Savanna had gotten in their way and had to be eliminated. While he didn’t soil his hands with that murder, he didn’t stop it either. Trevor knew the coin would surface again soon. There were too many ART members in town including their team leader Royce St. John and his Witchy sister for it to be much longer.

  Trevor’s reinforcements should be arriving soon. More Vamps had been called in, even a few shifters. He felt a slight shiver down the back of his spine. He was in charge of this operation, but some of those idiots were hard to keep reined in.

  “Kiss me, Trev. Please, just kiss me,” Becki whispered softly with tears shimmering in her eyes.

  As Trevor leaned forward, Becki closed her eyes.

  “Doll,” she felt him whisper at her temple, “if there was anyone who could turn me into a White Knight, it would be you.”

  He closed his eyes absorbing her goodness for just a moment. Then he stood and pulled her toward the dance floor.

  As they approached the dance floor, the song ended to be replaced by a slow ballad. Becki snuggled as close to Trevor as she could without being intimately joined. She wrapped her arms around him and dropped her head on his shoulder. She was currently breathing into the hollow of his neck.

  Trevor suddenly realized this might not have been one of his better ideas. He was trying to do the right thing for once in his life, and she was not making it easy.

  # Royce checked his cell phone again. Why the hell wasn’t Becki responding? He had been trying to reach her since early this afternoon.

  Sean and Joanna were busy at their respective computers and had been for hours. The clicking keyboards echoing throughout the living room were about to drive Royce up the wall.

  “Boss, you are going to want to see this,” Sean said. His computer had begun emitting an incessant beep.

  “What?” Royce responded absently. He was trying to figure out why a strange chirp was coming from his phone.

  “Trevor Simmons just walked into the pub,” Sean said more urgently.

  “What pub?” Royce asked, pressing random buttons on his phone. How do you turn this damn thing off?

  “Becki’s pub…and she’s still at work.”

  Royce vaulted over the back of the couch where he had been lounging. As he tucked a weapon into the waistband of his pants near his lower back, he yelled, “Keys!”

  “Shit! The Vamps are moving too,” Sean declared.

  “Turn this damn noise off,” Royce bellowed, “I can’t think!”

  Typing furiously Sean questioned, “Joanna, do you have a reading on their direction yet?”

  “Working on it!” Joanna responded, pounding the keys on her own computer.

  The noise stopped as a set of keys magically sailed through the air. Royce snagged the set of keys, shoved his blessedly silent phone into his pocket, and flew out the door.

  As he exited the parking garage, his cell phone began to ring. Since his car’s built in Bluetooth was set to auto-answer, the call connected immediately.

  “The pub, Royce,” Sean announced urgently. “They’re headed to the pub!”

  “Find Landon! Find him and tell him to meet me there,” Royce directed Sean.

  The Moultrie Werewolf Pack-- Landon’s pack-had claimed Charleston as their territory centuries ago. A treaty between Moultrie Pack and Vampire Nation protected Charleston from actively feeding Vampires. The treaty specifically forbade the consumption of human blood within Moultrie Pack Territory. The terms extended to prohibit feeding from “donors” as well.

  V-Scan, a high tech, infrared type device, could pick up even the smallest traces of fresh human blood in a Vampire’s system. Sean had placed V-Scan transmitters strategically throughout the City. So far, the Vamps were still abiding by the terms of the treaty.

  However, the treaty was tenuous at best. Royce’s gut told him the Vamps were getting hungry. If they were indeed headed to a rendezvous with Trevor Simmons, Royce needed to make damn sure Becki was not within a mile of that warlock.

  He was glad he had dumped the SUV for something with a little more power under the hood. Joanna worked the traffic lights to ensure a clear shot as he blew past anything in his way. She had also cloaked him temporarily, making both he and the car invisible for the journey.

  His phone sounded again.

  “Vamps are en-route to the pub, Royce. Landon is on his way with some friends to help keep things in check,” Sean reported.

  “Son-of -a-bitch!” Royce felt sweat bead on his forehead. “Slow them down!”

  “Who do you think you’re dealing with, big brother?” Joanna interjected sarcastically.

  “They’ve already run into a little traffic problem along the way,” Sean assured him quickly. “You should be able to get Becki out of there before they arrive.”

  Royce smiled. “Good work, Brat,” he said as he affectionately acknowledged Joanna’s brilliance prior to disconnecting.

  Neon lights greeted him in the distance announcing “Jim’s Pub.”

  “Lifting the cloak now,” Joanna’s voice moved through him. Telepathy-- one of the ‘perks’ associated with having a Witch in the family…NOT!

  “If Landon is not there soon,” she added, “I’m joining the party myself.”

  “The hell you are,” Royce responded verbally as he whipped into the parking lot at top speed. He and Joanna could communicate without actually speaking, but it freaked him out a little. If he spoke the words, it was more like a phone call.

  “You will stay put--I mean it. This is non-negotiable. I don’t want you near those blood suckers. Do you hear me, Jo?” Witches’ blood used to be extremely poisonous to Vampires. Thanks to another not-sopleasing-advancement in technology, the blood suckers could now be vaccinated against the previously ill-effects of Witches’ blood.

  “I hear, but that doesn’t mean I agree,” Joanna argued.

  “I don’t need to worry about you, too. Landon will be here soon and we’ll handle it. One more thing…stay out of my head. It’s distracting.”

  The vehicle had hardly come to rest before Royce was on the move. He assumed that Becki was still working and quickly moved in the direction of the bar. Automatically, Royce scanned the crowd as he walked looking for signs of danger. His gaze briefly touched each table and then skimmed those sitting at the bar. Satisfied that everything was safe for the time being, he turned to take in the dancers entwined on the dance floor.

  What he saw there caused him to stop mid-stride. “What the fu--”

  Royce felt something slam into his back. As glass shattered and patrons nearby gasped in surprise, Royce reached for the weapon still tucked at his waist. He quickly spun around prepared for the worst. Thankfully, he stopped short of actually drawing his weapon as he took in the scene before him. A waitress in a low-cut blouse was soaked to the skin and surrounded by broken glass. To make matters worse, she was pulling pieces of ice from her more-than-ample cleavage.

  “What the hell were you thinking?” she screeched in a high tone of voice. “You can’t just stop all of a sudden!”

  He guessed that she had been following him, carrying a full tray of drinks. When he had stopped so abruptly, she must have run into him with the tray. She had spilled the entire tray of drinks all over herself and the floor.

  “I’m sorry,” Royce mumbled. After grabbing a stack of napkins from a nearby table, he stood helplessly staring at her wet cleavage. He was unsure how he could help her without touching her inappropriately.

  Fortunately, the dance floor was far enough away that Becki had not witnessed the incident. That would have escalated the situation from slightly funny but embarrassing to downright humiliating.

  “What’s going on Becki?” Trevor had started pressing for answers the moment the
y hit the dance floor. “Come on-- you can talk to me, doll.”

  “I don’t want to talk about it,” Becki refused belligerently.

  “How can I fix it, if I don’t know what’s wrong?” he prodded softly.

  Becki sniffed and blinked several times. Despite her best efforts, those darn tears just would not be contained any longer.

  “I thought he was different,” she whispered brokenly. “I thought he seemed like a truly nice guy-- the White Knight kind of guy.” A fat tear escaped and rolled down her cheek.

  “It turns out he is just like the rest. One girl isn’t enough. At least, I’m not enough!”

  She lifted her head looking straight into Trevor’s eyes, “That’s it-- it’s me! I’m the problem. I’m just not lovable, Trev.”

  He shook his head, cupping her cheek to thumb the tears away. “Not a chance, doll,” he said with a half-smile. “Everyone I know loves you.”

  “Seriously, maybe I’m defffectivve,” she slurred slightly feeling the effects of numerous shots.

  “Doll, I promise there’s nothing ‘defective’ about you. And for the record…I’ve never met anyone more lovable than you,” Trevor said as he rubbed his cheek softly against hers.

  “Helllloooo!! Vamps closing in,” Joanna reminded Royce sarcastically.

  Royce gritted his teeth. Joanna’s ability to insert herself into his thoughts was quite irritating.

  Royce reached for his wallet and peeled off several large bills. He grabbed the soaked waitress’s hand and closed her fingers around the money as well as the napkins. “I’m really sorry,” he apologized again and turned his attention back to the dance floor.

  Trevor Simmons was like a ticking time bomb-dangerous to everyone around him. Typical Becki…did she stay away from danger? No! She was holding on to him like a damn life line.

  “You have about two seconds to get your shit straight, and then I’m on my way,” Joanna threatened, intruding into Royce’s thoughts once again.

  “Back off,” Royce snapped. He made his way toward the couple whose fascination with each other had caused him to stop so abruptly to begin with. Becki, still wrapped tightly in Trevor’s arms, was now gazing into his eyes while they danced and whispered to each other. This shit was going to stop!