Wicked After Dark: 20 Steamy Paranormal Tales of Dragons, Vampires, Werewolves, Shifters, Witches, Angels, Demons, Fey, and More

by Mina Carter

  Frankie, Olivia, and Red rose to charge him, but Devon stood in front of the ghost and told them he was under PBI’s protection. The ladies didn’t look happy about the development, but they followed orders.

  “When this is over, I’m going to personally see to it you’re on the fast bus to hell where you belong,” Frankie promised.

  Devon couldn’t blame her. Thanks to Davis and Craig’s last visit, Fang was in the intensive care unit at the base facility. The depth of his injuries from the sword, and the silver from the blade, was making it hard to heal. Her mate was literally at death’s door, knocking, and there was little she could do but wait out the process. Devon had faith that he was strong and would pull through, and nudged Frankie to spend more time with him to hurry along the process. She had spent the last two days at Fang’s bedside, and was only here because Devon needed all the help he could get to bring down this telepath.

  “Now that everyone has met, and the trap has been set, it’s only a matter of time before Craig makes his next move.”

  “What trap?” DeLuca asked.

  “I’m glad you asked.” Devon grinned. “Last night, Davis and I paid a visit to Lane Gaming to pick up this virtual reality headset.” He showed them a headset with large, goggle-like sunglasses connected to the helmet.

  “And to find evidence of dirty deeds on my father.”

  “Who has been arrested by the FBI and taken into custody. He was the one directing Craig and Davis with who to kill.”

  “Why?” Red asked.

  “Because my father was convinced there were too many supernatural beings, and their numbers needed to be reduced in order for the human psychics to pave the way to a new future.”

  “Your father is a sick man.” Olivia snapped, arms crossed over her chest.

  “And you’re just as disgusting as he is for going along with the plan,” Red added.

  Davis held up his hands in defense. “I don’t expect you to believe me, but I didn’t know what was happening. Craig and I were kicked out of the Psy Project, and Craig contacted me to help him get vengeance. I thought we were just going to scare the target, I had no idea he was going to kill anyone until he shoved her under the water and forced her to drown. I tried to get out, but he used my father against me and coerced me into continuing. I thought, stupidly thought, I could keep him from doing it again, but after he made the friend kill the wolf, I knew I wasn’t going to be able to stop him. It was too late. No matter what I did, I couldn’t get out, and even when I tried to hide details about future marks, he probed my mind until he got through. It was hopeless.”

  Everyone stared at him. No one spoke. But their faces held all the answers. Disbelief. Distrust. Disgust.

  “So how does any of this insure Craig will comply with the trap?” Tucker asked Devon.

  “The FBI had Davis’s father, Lionel, call Craig and order a hit on Sebastian.”

  “And then Karma picked me up and brought me here.” A young man with curly, red hair and green eyes entered the room. He wore Bermuda shorts and a blue Hawaiian shirt. Red and Olivia rushed to him and pulled him into a group hug.

  Devon couldn’t help but wonder if he’d ever get that close to his own team. It didn’t matter… or maybe it did. For centuries, he’d done what he could to distance himself from others. It was too painful watching those he cared about die. The simple answer was to stop caring. He did that, until he met Sarah. Now the idea of keeping people at arm’s length was foreign to him. He wanted to let others in.

  “Where have you been? We’ve been looking for you everywhere.” Olivia smiled softly as she rubbed her knuckles into his red curls.

  He grinned, blushed, and scuffed his flip-flops on the cement floor. “I was on my family’s island in the Pacific. It’s impossible to get cell service there.”

  “We emailed, left voice mails, sent a letter to your last known address, and even reached out to your mother.” Red crossed her arms over her chest and tapped her foot.

  He shrugged. “I was off the grid.”

  “Do you know about Libby and Jerrell?” Olivia asked, sadness creeping into her voice and eyes.

  “I just found out.” He turned back toward Karma who came up behind him. She was in her darker persona. “Karma filled me in on all the details. It’s terrible.”

  “It is, but now we’re going to catch the bastard that did this and bring him to justice.” Karma patted him on the back as she entered the room. “Are we ready to get this party started?”

  Everyone nodded.

  “Well then, let’s get you set up in a room, and make sure we have full surveillance on all rooms.” Devon clapped his hands together and started giving out orders.

  Chapter Twenty Three

  It took three days before Craig struck. Trevor, Layla, and Gregorios felt his presence first. As they suspected, he came while Sebastian was sleeping. Layla was keeping him company in his dreams while Gregorios and Trevor monitored their vitals, and Devon called in the rest of the team.

  Frankie wasn’t enthusiastic about leaving Fang’s side. He’d just made it out of the woods and had woken up for a brief moment. She wanted to be there when he woke up next so he knew she was there for him, but duty called. She made her way to Sebastian’s room, armed and ready for battle. The sooner this freak was captured, the faster she could get back to her mate. Geez, just thinking the word mate in her mind made her cringe, and delighted her at the same time.

  By the time she reached the room, Devon, Tucker, DeLuca, Jasmine, and Karma were already in place. Better late than never, she supposed. They waited outside the room for the signal from Gregorios to charge in. Trevor arrived a minute or so after Frankie. Everyone was ready to take the killer down. They all knew surprise was their best chance.

  “Now!” Gregorios told Devon through his ear piece.

  They threw open the door, and everyone stared in horror for a moment as Sebastian finished tying the bed sheet into a hangman’s noose. “Hi, everyone!” He said cheerily as he put the noose around his neck and jumped.

  Tucker rushed over and pushed up Sebastian’s feet. He supported the man from hanging. Jasmine jumped on top of the bed, flew through the air and sliced the sheet in half causing both Tucker and Sebastian to fall to the ground in a heap. Sebastian started gasping for air which told everyone he was okay.

  Frankie turned her attention to Devon and Trevor who were fighting against the dark-haired, dark eyed man they all recognized as Craig. De Luca and Karma already had the second intruder, a woman, in custody thanks to Davis’s help on the astral plane. They couldn’t let the blonde stranger go otherwise she would take Craig with her.

  While Davis was necessary to detain the astral walker, Craig was theirs to take down. Layla and Gregorios, dream weavers with the ability to walk on the astral plane, arrived moments later. Gregorios was armed with the headset.

  They morphed into their astral bodies and the human shells fell to the ground. Frankie pulled out her sword, and she and Jasmine headed toward Craig while he was busy restraining Trevor and Devon. Devon couldn’t fight, but he could reduce Craig’s strength with compulsion, and Trevor was able to blanket the warriors in the room with protection to keep them from falling under Craig’s telepathic strength.

  Frankie felt the push, but it was minor and had no effect on her. She continued to force Craig into a corner while Gregorios put the headset on his head. Instantly, the resistance she felt was gone and the enemy had no fight left in him at all. It was over. They’d eventually have to find his body and detain it, but according to Davis, the man’s body would be in a vegetative state until Craig’s astral form returned, and that would never happen. The man’s mind was trapped in a horrendous prison. It was hell on the virtual Earth, and he’d never escape.

  Chapter Twenty Four

  One week after they captured Craig and detained his human body, Frankie found herself standing in front of Fang’s place with a six pack of beer. The smell of an amazing roast greeted her at
the door. Roast, and the masculine scent of her mate, Fang. She’d promised to give things a try when he recovered, and tonight was officially their first date. Her palms were sweating, and she rubbed them against her jeans before she knocked on the door.

  The moment she did, she considered running. This was dangerous territory. Was she really going to do this?

  Fang opened the door. His blond waves hung loose around his shoulders, and his blue eyes crinkled when the smiled spread across his lips. He didn’t speak. He pulled her close and crushed his lips to hers. His tongue slid across the crease of her lips and then plunged into her mouth. His actions took her breath away and made her weak in the knees. The beer fell from her hands and she wrapped them around his neck. Giving herself fully to the feelings invading her body. Every inch of her wanted him. They’d been playing this game for months, and now, she was about to reach home plate. Every last bit of resistance faded away when he growled, pulled her up, and she wrapped her legs around his waist. The motion allowed them to deepen the kiss.

  He broke the lip lock long enough to slam the door shut. “Mine.” He braced her back against the wall and waited for a response.

  “Yes.” Her voice barely audible to human ears, but his weren’t completely human.

  He nibbled on her lower lip and took possession of her once more. She felt desire and need awaken in her body. A moan escaped her lips as his teeth scraped the sensitive hollow of her neck.

  Smoke came from the kitchen. “Fire.” She mumbled.

  “Yes, I’m on fire. I want you now.” His chest rumbled with another possessive growl.

  “No! Fire!” She yelled.

  He shook his head and sniffed the air. “Shit.” Then he released her and ran to the kitchen just as the smoke detector went off.

  Frankie’s fingers touched her swollen lips, and she fought off a giggle. No man had ever been more into her than his own house being on fire. It was nice to feel wanted. She headed toward the kitchen as her cell phone rang. She thought about declining the call, but reconsidered when she saw the caller ID read ‘unknown’.

  It was getting late. Who would be calling now? It had to be someone from the agency. On the third ring she glanced into the kitchen. Fang had taken off his shirt and was working on getting the smoky mess cleaned up.

  Gods, he was sexy. She bit her lower lip and answered on the fifth ring. One more, and it would’ve gone to voicemail. “Hello?”

  Fang stopped what he was doing and turned toward her.

  She shrugged. No answer. “Hello?” Still no answer. She pulled the phone from her ear and checked to make sure there was still a connection. The line was live. She tuned in her super hearing and heard breathing on the other end. “Whoever this is…”

  “Frankie, it’s me.” The voice was hushed and hurried, but she knew it like she knew her own.

  “Sarah! Oh, my Gods! You’re alive. We’ve been searching all over for you. Where are you? Are you okay?”

  “Listen very closely, I don’t have much time. The testing period is over, and there was a very small percentage of human casualties so they’ve decided to mass release the vampire drug to the humans. It’s going to be airborne in the next few weeks. It will kill hundreds, if not thousands of humans, but the vampires will all be infected eventually.”

  “They can’t do that!”

  “They can, and they will unless we stop …” the line went dead.

  “Sarah? Sarah?” Frankie stared at the phone screen which read ‘call disconnected’. She considered calling the number back, but decided against it. If Sarah was being watched or in danger, the call could make her situation far more treacherous. She’d have to wait for her to call back, but in the meantime, she needed to inform Karma.

  Note from Jami

  Thank you for reading the fifth adventure in the PBI Case Files. I hope you’re enjoying the series.

  This is a paranormal mystery serial with romantic suspense, and each story is written like a television series episode. There are plenty more awesome adventures to come. I usually release a new one every couple of months. Join my reader group here to get updates, chat about this, and other series I’m working on, and even have a chance to win copies of my books and audiobooks. Please take a moment and pop over to Amazon to review the episode. To keep up to date on everything that is going on with releases, giveaways and author news subscribe to my newsletter here and blog here. Thank you for reading, and have a wonderful day!

  DARK LOVE

  BY

  CLAUDY CONN

  COPYRIGHT © 2011 by Claudette Conn

  Dedication

  To my daughter, Dawn, a joy and a treasure for too many reasons to list.

  There is a charm about the forbidden that makes it unspeakably desirable,

  Mark Twain

  Chapter One

  DARKNESS ENVELOPED HER. She strained to peer through the murky night sky. Something was wrong, so wrong. Gloom overshadowed her, she knew it was because of her surroundings. It must be night. And yet, it didn’t have the feel of nighttime.

  He was larger than any man had a right to be. It wasn’t just his size, but his aura. He seemed to fill all voids. Who was he?

  She couldn’t see his face, she didn’t recognize his voice, but she felt they belonged to each other. How could she feel that way? She didn’t even know him.

  He had wrapped her in his arms. It was where she wanted to be. More than anything she wanted this. His magic and his touch were all consuming. He bent her to meet his lips.

  Without warning she was wrenched away. Mist rose around her legs as she crouched in the forest. Fear infiltrated every pore. Danger hunted her…him. Run! Her instincts screamed run!—her inner self whispered something else, something so much more efficient and faster. She didn’t want to think about that because doing that something else would make her feel not quite human.

  Shaking off her trance, she chose human and ran. Her lungs labored with her pace. She ran hard, as though her life depended on reaching her goal. Her toes caught on a knotted root. Windmilling her arms out for balance, she fell with a force that knocked the breath out of her.

  Gasping, her mouth opened and closed as she tried to force air into her lungs. Her palms stung, wet and raw from the collision with the damp earth. There wasn’t time to consider the pain in her twisted leg. She lurched up and took off again, fear taking over and numbing the pain. For a split second she almost did what she had forbidden herself so many years ago: she almost slipped out of human.

  She had to get to the manor. He was there—and in danger. She had to get back to him. She had to see him. She had to know…

  Something pulled at her, taking her away. A voice called. Her eyes flew open as she twitched in her seat and attempted to make sense of where she was.

  On the plane. I’m on the plane.

  Chazma Donnelly’s eyes flashed open and she sat up with a start. She grasped the arm of her aisle seat and a choking, gasping sound escaped her throat and made its way to her lips. She put her hand to her mouth, and hoped she wasn’t drooling.

  “Sorry, miss, you were having a nightmare.” The elderly gentleman seated beside her smiled apologetically. “I thought I should wake you.”

  “What?” Chaz looked at him and managed a feeble smile as she shook herself awake. “Oh—yes—thanks.” She focused on him a moment. His white hair fell over his round, pinkish face and he reminded her of a sweet grandfatherly figure. “I am so sorry and embarrassed. You must think me a spaz.” She straightened up in the chair and smoothed her clothing.

  A grandfatherly smile accompanied his touch as he patted her arm. She heard him say something about never getting used to these long trips. He spoke softly and continuously in an effort to set her at ease. She only half-listened as she dispensed with what she had begun to think of as her re-run nightmare. She nodded gratefully as she ran her fingers through her blond hair. Get a grip, Chaz. This miserable, terrifying nightly dream wouldn’t let go. It had now followe
d her into the skies.

  Always the same nightmare. Lack of sleep exhausted her. Where was this dark, shadowy manor? She had this feeling that she was running in the dream to find someone important in her life.

  Chazma straightened in her seat and looked around. Yup, still in the air and headed for Ireland. She closed her eyes and asked herself for the hundredth time if she was doing the right thing. She had a list of very excellent reasons why she shouldn’t have taken this job.

  Top on that list was the fact that her grandmother had urged her to do so. What is up with that? Since when had her grams ever urged her to do anything that would take her away from home? Duh. Never.

  She rubbed her eyes, heedless of her eyeliner, and grimaced as she realized she must have smudged what little makeup she wore. Her body still shook.

  “Feeling better?” Her elderly neighbor moved in his seat and bent to look her over for visual confirmation.

  “Thanks…yes.” Smiling, she touched his arm. “You woke me just in time.”

  “Why, what was about to happen?”

  “I don’t know, but nothing good.” She tried making light of it with an uneasy laugh as she got up and made her way to the lavatory. She always took an aisle seat when she flew. Easy in and out.

  In the lavatory she looked at herself in the mirror. Ugh. Makeup smudged, her long blond hair a tangled mess. And her mouth, oddly swollen—as though she had actually been kissing someone.

  Dreams—vivid dreams—had always been a part of her life, but this...this foreboding nightmare was altogether different. It seemed to foreshadow things to come. And now it occurred every time she closed her eyes.