Storm Guardian: Viking Soul Book 3

by Rachel Medhurst

  The wet lick made me look down at him. It was weird seeing him after so long. My heart had shut him out the moment I got on the plane in London. He was a stranger, really. Yet, his eyes, so deep and brown, looked straight into mine. The wag of his tail was evidence that he had missed me.

  “Aw, ain’t that cute?” Jack’s irritating voice made me growl in my throat.

  “What plan? If you don’t hurry up and tell me, I’m going to go and rescue Chloe.”

  Trust the pair of them to fuck up my own plans. How the hell did they even know where I was?

  Jack pulled on my arm, encouraging me to move back to the side of the building. “Listen,” he started, fiddling with his perfectly coifed light hair. “Chloe is going to try and meet with the Fallen One.”

  What?

  “Don’t panic, it’s all sorted.”

  Shoving my hand into Jack’s throat, I propelled him against the wall. He croaked as the brick met with his back.

  “Why the fuck are you all here? You should have stayed in fucking London, where I left you.” My veins heated as his eyes pleaded with me.

  His breath huffed in through his mouth. The shock in his expression made me drop him. He gasped, rubbing his throat. The smart dark suit he wore was ruffled, his black patent shoes covered in mud.

  “Who are you and what have you done with my friend?” Jack managed to rasp as I went back to the front of the house.

  Before I turned the corner, I looked at my former informant. “Your friend has gone, Jack, you might as well go home.”

  Turning away from Jack, I approached the professor. He stood at the bottom of the steps, watching the back of the van as it disappeared. “Ah, Trygger, nice to meet you at last.”

  Holding out his hand, he smiled up at me. I recoiled, unsure of how to react to the friendly greeting. He acted as if nothing had happened a moment ago.

  “You know me?” My head spun. “Actually, that doesn’t matter. Tell me where they’re taking her.”

  Pointing to where the van had disappeared, I grabbed my gun from out of my jacket pocket and held it low, waiting to see if I would need to use it.

  “The underworld police headquarters, of course. As was the plan. Now, I know I’ve been putting you off, but I’m ready to speak to you now.”

  “Fuck you,” I bit out between my teeth before I strode down the path, leaving the man with his mouth hanging open.

  “Trygger,” Jack called. “She knows what she’s doing.”

  Holding my middle finger up as I walked, I resisted the urge to smile when Jack shouted. “There he is, my lover boy! You can’t fool me, pretending you’re not the Trygger I know and love.”

  I had escaped London without my entourage so I could get on with my mission. And, here they were, catching up with me six months later.

  Stopping, I turned and reluctantly waved for Jack to follow me, Rusty trotting behind him. Anger boiled inside me. Why couldn’t they have just left me to do my job?

  “You need to get back to London. As soon as I’ve got Chloe out of the…”

  “You won’t.” His matter of fact reply made me frown.

  Putting his hands on his hips, Jack stared me down. I kept still, except for my foot, which tapped on the ground. My insides burned all of a sudden, alerting me to a Dark Crawler nearby.

  “Told you.” The voice of the man who I had been speaking to during the party travelled from where he now stood on the steps with David. “They always get what they’re coming for,” he called.

  The smell reached me, but I ignored it. It had been a while since I had faced a Crawler, let alone spoken to one without killing it.

  “Why is he still alive?” Jack asked.

  Shrugging, I kept my gaze on the man as he spoke to David comfortably. “I’m not quite sure. He assures me he’s in no position to fight. Which I can smell, but…these creatures are changing. I’ve noticed this for some time now.”

  Coming closer to me, Jack placed his hand on my shoulder. “It really is good to see you, mate.”

  “I can’t say the same,” I replied as we turned towards the road, Rusty following us. “I left you both for a reason.”

  “I know, I know, you felt responsible for Senior’s death. You’d had enough of us, I get you.”

  A taxi stood waiting on the side of the street, the driver stepping out as soon as we were on the pavement. Jack waved at him. It was obviously his ride.

  “Look, come back to our place with me. Let me fill you in.”

  Every muscle in my body wanted to resist but how could I? Chloe was now in a place where she could be arrested or worse. They were never kind to underworld creatures in Prague. Ever.

  Sighing, I climbed into the back of the cab, Rusty quickly joining me as Jack got into the front. The dog laid down, resting his head in my lap. My skin itched where I held back from stroking his head. I wasn’t ready for that.

  “We still don’t know where you’re living, but we’re not far from here.”

  I ignored Jack, trying my best to hold on to my temper. My insides shivered as I thought about what they had done today. Interfered. My first chance to speak to the professor had gone tits up. And, now, I had to break out Freya’s descendant from the police station. When I should be focusing on finding the Fallen One.

  “See, not far,” Jack piped cheerfully as we pulled up outside a hotel ten minutes later.

  It was as if the man was excited about seeing me again. Which was stupid and in no way mutual.

  Following him, I scratched Rusty’s ear unconsciously as he stuck by my legs. The hotel lobby was plush, expensive. The boy had splashed out, it seemed. Unless they were using the money I had left behind.

  “Come on,” Jack said, trotting up the stairs, instead of using the lift.

  Going along like a good little man, I did as I was told. My silence was evidence that if I spoke too soon, I would lose it. And, Jack may not survive if that happened.

  The steps helped to release some of the pent up energy. My breath huffed in and out as I overtook Jack to get to the top. They were at least five floors up. Which was a good thing.

  “Okay, lovely, we’re here.” Leading us into a corridor, Jack let himself into a suite of rooms.

  I glanced around at the living area. The décor was golds and reds, not really my type. A desk and coffee table was littered with paperwork.

  Drawing near, I studied it, my mouth opening when my gaze landed on a document.

  “Chloe has been researching all this time?” Picking up the paperwork, I held my fingers straight, instead of scrunching it up in my hands like I wanted to.

  It was a photocopy of a passport. The name was that of the police official that I had been investigating from Chloe’s earlier research. I hadn’t long found the copy myself. Focusing on the stamps, I had clocked his visits in and out of the country. Chloe’s suspicions about him being a Fallen One had been based on people going missing after the private parties.

  “Yes. She thinks it’s him.” Holding up a hand drawn picture, Jack approached me. “Freya came to her in a dream and showed her what he looked like.”

  Why the fuck didn’t the goddess come to me in a dream? Fucking bitch.

  Dropping the paper back on the desk, I clenched my hands into fists. The sudden interruption from my plans made the skin on the back of my neck burn. Chloe, as well meaning as she thought she was being, had fucked up everything.

  “I told her we should just leave you alone, but she insisted, and you know what it’s like when she does that.”

  Lowering himself onto a soft cream sofa, Jack put his ankle on his knee. Gesturing for me to sit opposite him, he frowned when I shook my head.

  No amount of pandering would make me any less pissed off. The pair had intruded. Big time.

  “Let’s have a drink.” Leaning forward, Jack grabbed a bottle of whiskey out from under the table in front of him.

  A couple of glasses followed before he filled them to the brim. “You’ve got to
trust her to get the information you need.”

  “I trust myself to get the info I need, thank you very much. Why the fuck didn’t you try harder to stop her?”

  Snatching the glass from his hand when he offered it, I paced the carpet behind the other sofa. Rusty laid down near Jack’s feet, watching my every move.

  Holding his arms out, Jack stifled a laugh. “Aw, come on, mate, ain’t you a little bit glad we’re here? You must have missed our threesomes. I know I missed that handsome face.”

  “Well, I didn’t miss your ugly arse.”

  My snapped retort was genuine. I hadn’t missed either of them. My emotions had shut down as soon as I had decided to switch them off. It had helped not having Chloe around to poke at them.

  “Devon has been training Chloe.”

  That caught my attention. My step faltered as I glared at my old friend. “What?”

  Nodding, Jack pointed at the sofa again. He really was determined to get me to sit. “Yeah. Kalic came to the club, said that she wanted to help. Apparently, she believes that she owes you her life. So, Chloe accepted her help and they’re pretty close now.”

  Moving, I slunk onto the sofa, my butt hitting the comfortable material. “I don’t care.”

  Whoopy do for Chloe. I was glad she had found someone to train her. Without me going on at her, she could have gone so many ways. At least she had stayed on top of it.

  “So, she got caught on purpose? But, why would the police official…”

  “Frederik Jensen.”

  Ignoring him, I went on. “…want to know who Chloe is?”

  Jack sat forward, leaning his arms on his thighs. “Well, if you had all the info you needed, you would know that he is the head of all underworld investigations. He likes to meet every single creature that goes through the system. Which is a little odd in itself, isn’t it?”

  Okay, so maybe I had to admit that Chloe had more intel than me. I had been focusing on another suspect at the same time as Frederik. A pretty woman who often held masquerade balls in Prague castle. In fact, Frederik often attended.

  “There is one thing that you might want to know,” Jack said when I didn’t reply.

  Raising my eyebrows, I waited patiently, while he tried to build the tension. A smile crossed his face at the same time as it did mine. He knew me well. He was doing it just to wind me up.

  “Martin has a hit out on you and Chloe. And, even I was tempted when I saw the amount of the reward.”

  Chapter 12

  Rescuing Her

  “Who the hell can Martin hire to kill me? I’m untouchable,” I said as I slammed my way into the police station. “And, what happened to Hannah?”

  Jack skipped by my heels, struggling to keep up. “I set her free, she went into hiding. Trygger, this probably isn’t a good idea.”

  Tapping my back, he tried to draw my attention away from the people who had stopped what they were doing and stared.

  I had gone home and changed into my black jeans and leather jacket. Snatching another dagger, and a gun, I had completely armoured up. Just in case there was a fight. My sword remained in my safe at the apartment. I had grudgingly let Jack and Rusty come with me, revealing where I lived.

  Bringing my attention back to the matter in hand, I walked over to the front desk, where a beautiful police woman manned the phones.

  “Hello, there,” I started, ready to charm my way in. “I was…”

  “You’ll have to wait your turn.” The woman’s lips moved, but I couldn’t quite understand what she said.

  Had she just dismissed me?

  The man in front of me smirked as she turned to him. Well, that was a first. No woman had ever resisted me before.

  “Sorry to interrupt.” I tried again. “But, you need to…”

  “I said you’ll have to wait your turn.” Her accent made her even sexier. Or, was it the total indifference?

  Looking at Jack, I snarled. He stood a few feet away, giggling to himself. The people in the queue were grinning, pleased by my complete embarrassment. I didn’t have time for any of it.

  “Okay, I’ll go find her myself.” Marching away to the sound of the woman backtracking, I smiled to myself.

  A policeman ran towards me when she called for security. I laughed, knocking him out of the way with a swipe of my arm. He propelled across the floor.

  “Trygger, stop it.” Jack’s tone made me look at him over my shoulder.

  The woman rushed towards us, her gun aimed at Jack. “I’ll shoot.”

  Man, I wanted that bitch. She would know how to use the gun confidently, too. Such a turn on. I had avoided most women since I had been in Prague, but I might not be able to resist her if she carried on.

  “Will you talk to me?” I asked her, stepping close enough to force her to bend her neck back to look at me.

  She sucked her bottom lip into her mouth when our eyes made contact. “Yes. Please come back to the line.”

  “I’ll do anything you ask me to,” I replied, licking my own lips.

  Jack’s guffaw made me extend my fist to the right to shut him up. It worked. He went silent as he rubbed his arm.

  Lowering the gun, the policewoman turned and walked back to her desk, knowing full well I would follow. I admired her behind, encased in snug navy trousers as she slunk back to her place.

  The policeman I had floored staggered to his feet, rubbing himself down. A handful of others came over to us, their angry expressions making me weary. I could placate the woman, but the others wouldn’t be as easy.

  “It’s okay,” the woman told them as they neared, their stance ready for a fight. “I’ll deal with him.”

  They didn’t look happy, but they backed away to a safe distance. It was a good job they did, I was in the mood for a fight.

  “What do you want?” My policewoman wasn’t being too nice, even though I could feel her attraction to me.

  “Apart from the obvious,” I said, the corner of my lip lifting into my cheek when her face flushed. “I’m here about my friend, Chloe...” I had never known her surname, which was odd considering she had been a big part of my life for a while.

  “Marshal,” Jack butted in. I frowned at him. That wasn’t a very Viking name. But then, she had probably adopted Loki’s family name and they had changed theirs all the time. To hide from me.

  “Sorry, Chloe Marshal. She was brought in a while ago.”

  The policewoman tapped on her computer keyboard before looking straight into my eyes. Picking up the phone, she dialled someone and waited. “What’s your name?”

  “Tr…oy Oden.” I quickly changed my mind about giving my real name.

  Not that anyone would know me in the city, but it was worth keeping a low profile. The woman nodded and spoke into the phone, too quiet for me to hear what she said.

  Hanging up, the lovely lady got up from her chair. “Please, follow me.”

  “Hang around outside for a bit. If I don’t come out soon, get out of here,” I hissed at Jack before I pushed my way past the others who were waiting. They glared at me, pulsing anger into the room. Not only had I got my own way, I had taken away the woman they needed to speak to.

  “What’s your name?” I asked the policewoman as we entered the main corridor through a door. “And, where are you taking me?”

  I didn’t add that I hoped she was taking me somewhere so we could do naughty things. I needed to sort out Chloe before I even thought about what I would do to the police lady.

  “I’m taking you to see your friend.”

  She kept her gaze forward, avoiding eye contact. I didn’t blame her, the attraction was distracting.

  Moving along beside her, I noted the rooms leading off the corridor. A metal door at the end had a hand sensor for access. As soon as we reached it, the lovely lady, who had refused to tell me her name, placed her palm on it.

  “My colleague will take you from here.”

  The door opened, revealing another corridor with doors leadi
ng to cells. I stepped through, my gaze landing on a small older man as he came to greet me.

  “Right this way, sir. There’s a visitors’ room down the end here.”

  Really? They hadn’t checked who I was, yet, they were leading me straight to Chloe. Great, I had just stepped into a trap. Never mind, maybe it would get me closer to the Fallen One. Although, without my sword, I wouldn’t be able to do much damage. I had expected a fight to see Chloe, not an open invitation. This could get very interesting.

  “In here,” the man said, opening the door.

  Glancing into the room before I stepped inside, I took in every aspect of what was there. Chloe sat at a table, her back to me. No handcuffs, no nothing. There was just the one door that I stood at and no two-way mirror. Interesting.

  Nodding to the man, I went in. When the door closed behind me, Chloe looked up from staring at the table.

  “Trygger! I wasn’t expecting you.” Getting to her feet, she came closer.

  Seeing her up close for the first time in six months made my stomach churn. When our gaze met, her dark brown eyes screwed up. Oh, great, she was going to get all…

  Her fist flew out without warning. I didn’t dodge it. The tight ball of her hand smacked into my jaw, knocking my head to the side. Pain radiated through me as a fizzing sensation ran over my body. She had used magic in her punch. Smart move.

  That wasn’t exactly the welcome I thought I would get, but it didn’t surprise me. I had abandoned them, after all.

  “What are you doing here? Are you stupid?” She slumped back into her seat, her energy drained from her.

  Why was she so tired? She hadn’t used that much magic on me. Or, had she? I found it hard to tell, considering my body was so dull to pain and emotion.

  “I’m here to make sure you’re okay.”

  Lowering myself onto the seat opposite her, I looked anywhere but directly into her eyes. I could already feel the resentment rolling off her vulnerable body.

  “Why bother now? You didn’t care before.” Her smart mouth was nothing new. It bought a smile to my face, which I failed to hide.