Blood and Revenge: Under the Skin Serial Part 4

by K. B. Ladnier

  I slid the dagger into my boot and stood, walking over to one of the floor length mirrors. I was a little surprised how badass I looked. This uniform hugged me in all the right places. I grabbed my clothes and stuffed them in a locker, keeping my leather jacket out. As I took one last look at myself, my gut twisted. The time to fight was getting closer and my nerves were finally coming back to bite me in the ass. I’d managed to keep a cool head the last couple of days, high on life with my three lovers and just enjoying them. But now, standing here in the uniform and picturing all the others in the next room over loaded up with an assortment of killing machines, I felt frozen.

  I could die tonight. My men could die tonight.

  The weight of that suddenly become constricting. I started to hyperventilate and had to sit down. I rested my elbows on my knees and held my head in my hands, counting backwards from ten to calm down my racing heart.

  “You can do this, Luce. Get your shit together,” I mumbled to myself.

  I couldn’t let myself lose it right now. I needed to concentrate on making that son of a bitch pay for what he’d done. Not only to me or Vex, but to all those vampires he took that probably wanted anything to do with this. They would die tonight for being forced into this and not of their own volition.

  The longer I sat there and thought about all those vampires and of the way Vex looked when he tried to kill me in his drugged state, the more I became pissed off and wanted to make the asshole suffer.

  When I stepped back into the weapons room, I had a clearer head and an unwavering determination to win this. I would keep my cool and not back down or let my fear of the possible rule me.

  Two whistles came from my right. I looked to over and saw Vex and Sloan watching me walk with appreciative smiles lighting their faces. I laughed and did a little spin, trying to keep everything as light as possible with them until I had to put my game face on.

  They both were wearing the STF uniforms, yet Vex looked extremely uncomfortable in his by the way he kept shifting while he sat.

  Sloan jumped from his seated position and pulled my face to his, giving me a deep and passionate kiss. When he let me go I looked around the room with flushed cheeks, only to see no one was paying any attention. I was all for PDA, but this room was way too intimidating for that.

  Vex decided on a lighter approach, kissing my temple and grabbing my hand to make me turn again. “Now this is a look I could get used to on you, pet. I may have to convince Hollis to let you keep it.”

  “I second that,” Sloan added, giving me some serious elevator eyes.

  “Okay, you two. Focus,” I halfheartedly chastised them.

  “Oohhh, I am.” Responded Sloan.

  “Listen up, everyone!” Agent Bentley shouted over the room. “At 1700 we are to be getting into position surrounding Central Park on all sides. The attack will most likely come around 1730, so I want all of you to be on alert at all times. There will be fourteen teams of six. Your team and location will be given to you upon departure. I will be with Agent Grey, Miss Bryant, Mr. Jenkins, Vex and Abraham. You are not to leave your location unless given a direct order by either myself or Agent Grey. So, get your weapons, fill your ammo, and get your ass to the hummers. Let’s move out!”

  “Sir, yes, sir!” Everyone but me, Sloan and Vex yelled. They all scattered like cockroaches, making last minute load ups on everything they need.

  Hollis came out of the crowd holding a few extra guns, his agent face fully in place. When he got to us he strapped on my holster and slipped in some clips of ammo into some pouches along the belt. “This is a Glock 22,” he explained, holding up the gun for me to see. It was a lot bigger than the one I’d used in the range. He showed me where the safety was then started explaining the clips. “Do not lose your ammo. They’re in there tight, but accidents happen. There are three magazines here and there are fifteen rounds per cartridge. So, keep count, because knowing how many bullets you have or don’t have is vital. The bullets are wood with a silver core, so just aim for the head or heart and they’ll die. Do you understand me?”

  “I think so,” I replied, replaying all the steps in my head on how to do everything.

  “Alright, you three. Let’s head out,” Hollis said to us.

  “I got you, vampy babe. You may not even need to use your gun,” Sloan said, slinging an arm around my shoulders as we walked.

  “Oh, she’ll use it. Knowing Bellamy, he will have more vampires than we have team members. This is going to be a blood bath,” Vex said beside me excitedly. It was really kind of scary how Vex switched from kind of a normal dude, to completely off his rocker faster than the road runner gets away from the coyote.

  Sloan reached around and cuffed him on the back of the head. “Dude! Really? Blood bath? Bad! Calm Lucy? Good!”

  “Lucy is calm. Sloan needs to stop being a bully,” I replied to him, poking his side.

  “Hurry up you three. They’ll leave without us if we don’t,” Hollis called over his shoulder ahead of us.

  “Yes, dad!” Sloan and Vex responded simultaneously.

  It really amazed me that those two really didn’t notice how alike they really were.

  Chapter 27

  It took a good thirty minutes to make the drive to where we would be set up at. We would be in the actual park itself, looking out and signaling to the others scattered around the massive park when they made their appearance.

  The NYPD had subtly as they could, removed the humans from the park, hoping if any vampire was watching they wouldn’t notice anything. The police were told to block off all streets that lead to the park, leaving the main fighting to the STF and only intervening if they were to get past us.

  Agent Bentley parked the hummer we were piled in a couple blocks down from the park, keeping it well out of sight. We all pile out, the men all grabbing their bigger guns from the trunk of the vehicle, before we all began walking.

  We were an interesting looking group. Agent Bentley and Hollis lead the way with Vex and Sloan on either side of me and Abraham bringing up the rear. Abraham had foregone any sort of weapon that involved firing and stuck with a blade not much longer than my forearm. The sun was still up, but it was low enough behind all the buildings that we were shrouded in twilight shadow. All the joking around was out of our system now, so it was completely silent as we walked.

  Cars were still driving by and humans were still on the sidewalks, slowly making their way home as the police diverted traffic away from the park.

  “Do you really think he will stick to his original plan?” Sloan asked Vex over me.

  “I do. But I’m also getting a weird feeling in my stomach that he will somehow get one over on us. That’s how he works.”

  Hollis slowed his step to fall back with us. “You think he has something else planned as well?” He asked him.

  “I don’t know for sure. But Bellamy has mastered the art of manipulation. I could’ve easily been given wrong information. He knew Lucy was with me the whole time she was at the compound, but he was waiting to use her against me. He played me like a fiddle then turned the tables on everything. He knew she was in the city before I even took her away. It’s very well bloody possible he fed me false information. Well, maybe not false, but possibly only a half truth.”

  “Guess we’ll find out, won’t we?”

  “Less talking, more walking,” Agent Bentley grumbled ahead of us, instantly silencing us all.

  We stayed this way, especially once we hit a block that was completely dead silent, the humans having been cleared out or told to stay in their homes if they lived here. We walked silently, Central Park just around the corner from the street we were on. Out of the silence, a shrilling ring startled all of us. Well, all of us except for Agent Bentley who stopped and sent a glare over his shoulder.

  “Shit!” Sloan whisper shouted, his hand fumbling around in his pocket for his phone.

  “Seriously?” Hollis asked, his brow arched in utter disbelief.


  “It’s Sawyer. She never calls me,” Sloan said in surprise when he saw the caller ID.

  “Your sister Sawyer?” I asked, having not heard him say her name in a long time.

  Pack life was a hard road to go down. Sloan left the moment he turned eighteen, shunned from his pack and family for life. But Sawyer was his twin sister and had run away at sixteen. From what he told me, she had almost as much violence in her blood as the pack they came from, letting her beast take over far more than her human side. She lived and breathed her wolf. Sloan only had minor setbacks when something made him truly angry, but Sawyer was pretty much angry all the time. Think the Hulk, but female and not green. At least, that was Sloan’s description for her. We never talked about her again.

  “You have a sister? How come I didn’t know that?” Hollis asked after Sloan turned off his phone and pocketed it.

  “Because we aren’t close. Not like twins should be, at least. She’s not a very nice person and I’ll leave it at that.” Sloan’s usual happy facade was gone. He continued walking, positioning himself behind Agent Bentley, but ahead of the rest of us.

  This was the reason I never asked about her. He was still hurt by her abandonment and would close up instantly when something reminded him of her. Her calling in the middle of us getting ready to fight could only just make Sloan’s mood worse.

  We finally made it to the edge of the park, but Agent Bentley halted us with a hand in the air and motioned for us to rest up against the wall of the building. His hand reached around and grasped the large gun he had strapped across his shoulders, bringing it up with his finger rested near the trigger.

  Turning to us, he said, “We could be early or they could already be above ground, either way, we can’t be sure. I want all of you to get your weapons out and ready. Do not fire unless I or Hollis tell you to. You got it?”

  We all agreed, pulled our weapons out.

  My stomach tightened as I clutched my gun, placing my finger above the trigger at the ready. Agent Bentley waved us forward, urging us to go as fast and quiet as we could across the street. It was eerie that not a single sound other than our footsteps along the asphalt and distant sirens could be heard. Otherwise, it was vacant of anything else. Deserted and quiet.

  When we got to a large set of bushes at one of the entrance walkways into the park, he stopped and crouched low. Hollis pulled his radio from his belt and tapped the button on the side.

  “Check in. We are in position at the entrance. Everyone stays hidden until further command is given,” he said. Someone from each of the fourteen teams replied with the usual acknowledgement.

  “We stay low, we stay quiet.” Commanded Agent Bentley. “And for the love of god, turn off your fucking phones,” he added, giving a pointed look to Sloan.

  I felt like I was in a James Bond movie as we bobbed and weaved throughout the park, making our way to the center point of the entire area where the main exit from the sewers below was hidden. The only source of light we had was from the old-fashioned lamp posts along the sidewalks that led through the park. It was lucky we had such amazing night vision, otherwise when we ventured into the darker parts of the park, we’d be screwed.

  When we came to another stop behind one of the sidewalk walls, a loud bang was heard from the direction we were headed just before a fire ball billowed into the air. We all took cover as the explosion ignited the edges of some of the surrounding trees with fire and the aftershock of the bomb blew passed us. Someone landed on top of me, covering me with their body. It only took me two seconds to realize it was Vex protecting me.

  “Everybody stay down and get your weapons ready! They’re coming!” Hollis shouted at us.

  Vex quickly pulled himself off me and reached behind his back, only to pull out none other than Betty.

  “Seriously?” Sloan and Abraham asked him in tandem.

  “You brought the damn hammer and not a gun?” Sloan added.

  “You are about to learn just why I call this beauty Betty, my friends,” Vex replied.

  Suddenly, the sound of loud screeches and hissing filled the air, signaling the beginning of the fight.

  “Teams one, two, eight and ten, move in!” Hollis ordered into his radio before he and Agent Bentley stood and began opening fire. The rest of us stood and held up our guns. Abraham and Sloan immediately firing.

  There was a horde of at least thirty vampires heading in all directions, most of them changing course when the guys started firing at them. Just as we expected, every one of them were dosed with BloodLust. I shivered in fear at the sight of some of them. While most looked like Vex had with just the eyes and excessive saliva, several looked half-starved and like their faces and bodies were caving in on them. They looked more like zombies with fangs than vampires.

  “Let’s kill some vamps!” Vex shouted with glee, jumping over the wall.

  “Vex!” all of us shouted as he ran into the fray, his hammer immediately connecting with the closest vampires.

  “Lucy! Now would be a good time to start shooting! Vex will be fine!” Sloan shouted at me.

  I dragged my eyes away from Vex fighting. “You’re right, sorry.” I took a deep breath in, steadied my hand.

  Then fired.

  Left and right vampires blew up in clouds of ash and dust. I wasn’t sure which I was taking out and which Sloan and Brahm were. Agent Bentley and Hollis were now facing behind us as the vampires must have gotten around without us noticing. One came at Sloan from the side in his blind spot, but I saw him just in time to shoot just over his shoulder.

  “Shit!” Sloan yelled when the bullet whizzed past him. “Good shot!”

  “Thanks!” I shouted back.

  Over Hollis’ radio, men shouted that they were being attacked from behind and losing ground fast. It made tonight feel like the night I was taken, threatening to bring back that same panic I felt.

  “Alright! Fuck this!” Agent Bentley yelled. He threw his gun down and let out a sound that was far more terrifying than any growl I’d ever heard from Sloan. His body began to vibrate and grow, ripping his uniform shirt to shreds. His skin began to darken and grow tiny follicles of jet black hair. His face elongated and knees bent unnaturally backwards. His shoes exploded from around his feet and massive horns protruded from his head.

  In an instant, a beast that was half man and half bull towered over us; he was at least eight feet high, his twisted horns adding and extra foot and a half. Cloven hooves now were in place of his feet and thick, black claws tipped Agent Bentley’s massive hands. His physique still mirrored a man, but his face was all beast. The only surviving material of clothing were his pants, which thankfully looked expandable. In my wildest dreams, I never thought I’d see such a creature standing before my eyes.

  “Oh, my god...” Sloan said wide-eyed next to me.

  The bull shifter jumped clear over the wall we sat behind and began to charge at the closing in crowd of drugged vamps, which only seemed to have grown in number from just the thirty that originally came up from the sewer.

  Vex suddenly appeared at my side, his clothes, face and trust hammer Betty, all coated in blood and ash.

  “Let’s play follow the leader. We’re getting overrun here and he seems to be clearing a path for us out,” Vex said cheerfully.

  We didn’t need telling twice. The five of us jumped the wall and followed Agent Bentley as he pummeled his way through the horde, clawing, stomping and ramming them along the way. It was almost as if it took him little to no effort to take out five at a time, each hit an instant kill. I fired two rounds before the gun clicked, letting me know I was out of ammo. I quickly grabbed my extra magazine from my pouch as I ran, ejecting the spent one and sliding the new one in.

  Unfortunately, as I changed it, my foot caught a tree root. I tumbled down hard, landing on the palms of my hands and on my knees. Everyone but Agent Bentley stopped, Hollis grabbing my arm to lift me.

  “You okay, Lucy?” He asked, the others pushing their backs t
o us as they continued shooting.

  “Yeah. I’m good.”

  We were about to start running again, but we got too cut off from Agent Bentley. He was now a couple hundred yards ahead of us fighting an even bigger horde of vampires with at least fifty of the team members. We continued to fire, but I ended up running out of bullets.

  “Damn it!” I yelled. “I’m out!” I holstered my gun and crouched tightly behind Hollis and Sloan, Vex and Abraham taking up residence behind us to shoot and hit any vamps coming at our backs. With how fast we were all losing ammo, our chances of winning this fight were looking grim.

  And for the first time that night, I felt terrified we wouldn’t…

  Chapter 28

  We slowly picked our way through the crowd, making our way through at a snail’s pace and watching in horror as more of our allies fell. Sloan finally threw his gun down and pulled out one of his own, finally out of ammunition as well.

  “Black Betty bam a lam! Ooh Black Betty!” I heard Vex singing beside me as we moved.

  I noticed he sang that part specifically as his hammer connected with a vampire, suddenly making the namesake of Betty dawn on me. “That’s how you named her?” I shouted at him.

  He laughed and winked, continuing with his singing.

  We finally reached the others, but the fight was looking grim. What was once us and eighty men, now looked more like us and thirty. I only hoped that the others were just fighting elsewhere and not dead.

  A group of ten vampires suddenly rushed through the crowd, all of them bigger and stronger looking than the rest in the horde. They carried massive chains over their backs and were headed straight for Agent Bentley. I shouted over the noise at him, but it was useless.

  The vampires threw the chains at him, entangling him in a vice-like grip and pulled him down hard, gaining a loud, pain filled grunt from the bull shifter.