Blood Judgment (Judgment Series)

by Nickie Asher

  He pulled out her letter and skimmed it again. She wanted the increase in funds and she didn’t intend to be put off any longer. Pay up or she’d expose him. His fingers tightened on the letter. Bitch. If Alex became public knowledge, his expert status would be nuked to hell and his speaking engagements would cease to exist. Worse, he’d be a laughing stock.

  He picked up the photo of Alex again. As bad as he hated Framer, he needed the son of a bitch to help him. Framer would follow orders, no matter how loathsome they were. And he was almost positive Calilla and Alex were living in Seattle.

  Take care of Alex, and Calilla wouldn’t be able to prove squat. End of problem. He stroked a finger over the glossy image of his son. With any luck, the little fucker wouldn’t see his seventeenth birthday.

  Chapter Twenty-eight

  SID JABBED his elbow into Tommy’s ribs. “Look at that one. Got hair like a wild stallion’s mane. What a trophy he’d make for some lucky hunters.” He pointed to a juvenile male with black hair almost to his hips. The youngster shuffled along, head down. Vulnerable.

  “Nice one,” Tommy said.

  “We’ll get him easy,” Sid said.

  “Too bad it isn’t that son of a bitch, Julian.”

  Sid snorted. “He’s fucking with your head. Wants to scare you.” And by the way Tommy had been obsessing over it, the vampire was doing a pretty good job. “If he wanted to kill you, he would have by now.”

  “Thanks. I needed that.”

  “Suck it up or move. He’s playing games.”

  Tommy grunted, but dropped it.

  They loitered outside a club as if waiting to get inside. The juvenile passed them. When he pulled a half block ahead, Sid signaled for Tommy to follow.

  The juvenile cut into an alley and they broke into a jog, closing the distance. With Tommy staying tight on his ass, Sid followed their target into the shadow-draped passage.

  The youngster stopped and his head whipped around, fixing on them. He stood frozen, then sprang forward in a zigzagging sprint.

  Tommy raised his gun and fired in the same instant the juvenile swerved. “Shit.” He reloaded on the run.

  Sid had his own gun in hand as they charged after the vampire.

  He shot out of the alley and dodged across the street. A delivery truck swerved hard around him. The driver laid on the horn and gunned down the street. The juvenile cut into another alley.

  Sid and Tommy pounded after him, but skidded to a stop once they hit the mouth of the dead end alley. The young male had vanished.

  “What the hell?” Tommy sputtered.

  “Up.” Sid cocked his head.

  Four stories up, the youngster clung to the wall. He climbed fast, putting more distance between them. He would reach the roof in seconds.

  “Hit him,” Sid barked.

  Tommy aimed and fired.

  The juvenile froze.

  “Good shot.”

  The vampire lurched forward, scurrying across the bricks like a bug. But within moments, he faltered and clung to the wall, unmoving.

  “Want me to hit him again?” Tommy reached for another drug cartridge.

  “No. He’ll let go in a few minutes.”

  The vampire’s feet scrabbled on the bricks. He caught himself and clung close to the wall. His feet lost purchase again and though he clawed for a hold, he lost his balance and tumbled.

  He didn’t scream as he pawed the air for something to break his descent. He landed on his back with a dull thud. His left leg lay twisted at an odd angle.

  “Shit.” Sid went to the vampire and booted him in the side.

  The juvenile didn’t move, but he whimpered and looked at Sid with large, frightened, blue eyes. A thin trickle of blood snaked from the corner of his mouth. His hands clawed the asphalt, otherwise he lay still.

  A flash of light caught Sid’s attention. A silver raven glinted under the street lamp’s glare. He bent and grasped the necklace, yanking it from the youngster’s neck.

  “I’ll take this.” He stuffed the necklace in his pocket. He patted the juvenile down and fished a few slips of paper and a business card from his pockets.

  He turned the card over. It was from the falling-apart church run by that old vampire-loving coot who took them in like stray pets.

  The little bastard had been staying at the shelter. Vampires did some strange things, but hanging out in church wasn’t one of them. But this church was different. Way different. He shoved the card in his pocket.

  “What’s wrong with him?” Tommy poked at the juvenile with the toe of his boot.

  “Back’s broken. Leg’s broken. He’s worthless. Not even a lab will take him.”

  “Want me to overdose him?” Tommy reached for his dart gun.

  The juvenile whimpered.

  “Nope. Don’t waste the drugs. He’ll die when the sun hits him in the morning. If another vampire doesn’t kill him first.”

  “Finish me.” His pain-filled eyes loomed up at them. Blood stained his teeth and leaked from the corner of his mouth.

  Sid booted him in the ribs. “I don’t give a rat’s-ass how long you lay there or how you meet your maker.”

  The juvenile moaned.

  “Come on, Tommy. We still need to catch one more of these bastards before we call it a night.”

  “Please … don’t leave me like this.” The young vampire’s voice trembled and he clawed at the asphalt.

  “Come on,” Sid said. “Let’s get to work.”

  “Please… Don’t…”

  They walked away.

  Chapter Twenty-nine

  SARANNA WALKED beside her brother, though she hadn’t forgiven him for fighting with Julian and forcing them into becoming mates.

  “Slade, can we talk?”

  “No. I asked you along expecting you to stay quiet and in your place.”

  “You shit.” He’d asked her along because he couldn’t stand her anger. Maybe he even regretted what he’d done, though he would never admit it. The last week had been hard for all of them, not just Slade.

  “Look, sis, we can talk about whatever you want. But if you’re going to try to soften me up about Julian, you might as well not bother. I can’t help how I feel any more than you can.”

  “Why can’t you leave Julian alone?”

  “He’s a liar. That’s all I know for sure. But I guarantee I’m going to find out why.”

  “Oh, for Christ sake, Slade. Foster kicked Julian’s ass in violin competitions. Music was everything to Julian. There is nothing else.”

  Slade’s head jerked up. ”Music was everything to Julian, wasn’t it?”

  She stopped and put her hands on her hips. “What’s that supposed to mean? Foster beat him at the one thing he excelled at. The one thing he loved.”

  Slade shook his head. “You’re naïve if you believe that’s all it was. I know there’s more to this than he’s telling. And I’m going to get to the bottom of it. You can count on it.”

  Her throat tightened. Why did he have to be so pigheaded?

  A horn blared.

  A female staggered onto the curb. She reeled, almost fell, and stumbled forward.

  “Something’s wrong with her. Come on.” She didn’t wait for Slade. As they drew closer, Saranna caught her breath. The female’s clothes were covered with blood.

  Slade drew alongside her. The female veered away from him.

  “Miss, do you need help?” he asked.

  “What the hell, Slade? Of course she needs help.”

  The female stopped and looked right through them.

  “Miss?” Slade said.

  “They… They murdered my baby.” It came out in a choked sob.

  “What?” Slade said.

  “Oh, my God.” Saranna’s gut lurched.

  “Oh.” Comprehension dawned in Slade’s eyes. “Where do you live? Do you need a doctor?”

  She haltingly gave them the address.

  “She’s a long way from there,” Saranna said.
“We need to get her home.” She touched the girl’s arm. “We’ll help you. You can’t walk that far.” Not in her present condition.

  “Where’s your mate?” Slade asked. “We should call him.”

  “He left me.”

  “Bastard,” Slade said.

  “I live alone. They dropped me in the wrong neighborhood. Been walking for… I don’t know how long. I don’t even know where I am or how to get home.” She burst into great wracking sobs.

  She touched her stomach. “My baby… He was due in two … two months.” Tears leaked down her face. “They murdered him. They threw him in a garbage can.” Her legs buckled.

  Slade caught her and held her up until she was able to stand on her own. He touched her elbow. “I’ll get a cab. We’ll take you to a doctor to make sure you’re okay. Then we’ll take you home.”

  “I can’t pay a doctor.”

  “Don’t worry about it. What’s your name?”

  “Alyssa. My name’s Alyssa.”

  THREE HOURS later, Saranna anxiously waited for Julian to come home. She rubbed her arms against a chill that had nothing to do with the storm raging outside. Rain slashed against the window, pelting the glass in a vicious downpour. Thunder crashed and she jumped at the percussion.

  She’d made no progress with Slade, but that was far from surprising. He was as stubborn as Julian. They were more alike than either would ever admit.

  She shivered. The events of the night had brought it home to her how important it was to help their kind. She had no doubts Alyssa would have been in serious trouble if they hadn’t intervened. All her self-doubt had vanished. What she was doing was important.

  She needed to focus less on her own problems and more on helping those in need. She had to do more and nothing could get in the way. Not even her mate.

  “TAKE CARE how you handle Saranna,” Ashton said as he pulled the car to the curb. “She isn’t going to be happy with you.

  “I know,” Julian said, “but I don’t care.” He had the right to exert some control over her. He knew that much about vampire relationships.

  By taking him for her mate, she’d given up her rights and put herself under his guardianship. Still, she would probably fight him and he wasn’t looking forward to a confrontation.”

  “Okay, I’ll see you later.”

  Julian stepped out into the driving rain and sprinted for home. Minutes later, he let himself in the apartment and braced himself for their first fight.

  Shit.

  She lit up the apartment like a ray of sunshine, lighting his world with glowing warmth.

  Vali dozed on the sofa.

  “We have to talk.” Julian pulled off his wet jacket and headed for the bedroom.

  “What’s wrong?” She followed him and shut the door.

  “I was out with Ashton. We met one of his contacts. He said they think the traders are watching the shelter.”

  “What—”

  “That isn’t the worst of it. Ashton talked to Cadell. Raven’s gone.”

  “He left?”

  “He’s dead, Saranna. Two boys from the shelter stumbled over his body in an alley. Looked like he took a fall that busted him up too bad to be viable merchandise and the traders left him. Sometime later, a rogue must have killed him.” He didn’t add that whoever had killed Raven had slashed him countless times before ending his life. Raven had been tortured to death by one of his own kind.

  “No. Not Raven. Not poor little Raven.” A gloss of tears made her eyes shiny. “How do you know traders were involved?”

  “They found a dart under his body.”

  Her lip quivered and tears ran down her cheeks.

  He dropped the hammer on her. “I don’t want you going back to the shelter. It’s too dangerous.”

  Hurt and anger, clouds shutting out the sun, rolled across her face. “And going out with Ashton and Slade isn’t?”

  “That’s different.” Shit. He’d eaten a mouthful of foot.

  Thunderheads rolled in. “Oh. Why is that?” She crossed her arms.

  “Because… I’m more able to take care of myself.” He waited for it. Saw it building in the darkening of her eyes.

  “How dare you?” Her arms dropped to her sides and her hands bunched into tight fists.

  He suspected she’d like to haul off and hit him. “How dare I? Easy, because I can’t let you get hurt.”

  “You … bastard. Which one of us was on the streets, half-starved, without of fucking clue? Huh? Wasn’t me. Which one of us has to take a knife and do a little carving on himself when he can’t cope with shit? Yeah, Julian. I know you still cut yourself.”

  She’d struck hard. He pulled a cool façade over the hurt. “Say whatever you like, but you took me as your mate and no matter how much you look down on me, I have the right to make demands on you. And I’m exercising that right. Even though I’m not well-bred, I’m still your mate.” His chest hurt. “I demand you stay away from the shelter.” He tried to swallow.

  Anger and her feelings for him warred on her face, overshadowed by hurt. Her eyes narrowed and her lips pressed into a thin line. “You don’t own me.”

  “As long as I’m your mate, yes I do.”

  “Fine. Now leave me alone. Go hang out with Ashton and Slade and do your macho shit together because, right now, I don’t want to be around you. And you can sleep in the living room today. Maybe you can go carve on yourself while you’re at it.” She turned her back on him and folded her arms across her chest.

  Anger and hurt stirred his guts. “You heed my words. You’re mine and I’ll not have you putting your life at risk for strangers.”

  “It’s okay for you, though.”

  “That’s right.” He stalked to the door and slammed it behind him.

  SARANNA PICKED up a little trinket he’d given her and hurled it across the room. The figurine crashed against the wall and shattered into fragments.

  Why did he have to be so pigheaded? She wasn’t going to ignore someone in dire need when they had nowhere else to go. Pastor Cadell provided the only shelter in the city.

  She wouldn’t stop. No way. Not even for Julian. And he should understand. Hadn’t he been in the position of desperately needing help himself?

  He thought he owned her, like a piece of property. And in actuality, he did. It wasn’t fair. The moment she’d allowed him to mount her after the ceremony, she’d given him authority over her. It was the thing she’d feared all along. And as much as she loved him, it had made her reluctant to take him as her mate, bonded or not.

  She should’ve known better, but she’d hoped he wouldn’t strong arm her with a mate’s rights. Males were all the same, love didn’t change basic biology. And he’d never said he loved her. Not once. He didn’t mind screwing the hell out of her, though.

  She bit her lip. Despite her anger, she regretted some of the things she’d said to him. It was all true, but she shouldn’t have said it. She’d hurt him. “Damn you, Julian.”

  She didn’t want to feel bad for him. She had every right to be angry and resentful. But she kept seeing the hurt in his eyes.

  Maybe she should tell him she loved him. Maybe he didn’t know. No. He didn’t love her. Opening herself to that kind of hurt was stupid. She didn’t need him to spell out what she already knew.

  She rubbed her temple. It didn’t matter who said what, because they had other issues to work out. She’d allowed the bonding ceremony to go forward because, as long as the bond existed, she hadn’t had a choice. She needed him. But she wasn’t a piece of property, and she wasn’t going to be treated like one. Especially when he hadn’t bonded in return.

  She refused to explore that phenomenon. Males and females typically bonded together. That he hadn’t bonded wasn’t just an anomaly, it hurt to her core and fueled her determination to retain her independence. If she didn’t get her needs across right now, he would never stop trying to be the boss of the relationship. She already had a boss at Dangles. She didn’t
need another.

  She could play the power game as well as him. She wasn’t stopping and she wasn’t letting Julian between her legs either. At least, not until he gave in.

  Chapter Thirty

  RELIEF COURSED through Vali when Julian let himself in the apartment just before dawn. “What the hell did you do to piss Saranna off so bad?”

  “Told her to stay away from the shelter.”

  “Holy fuck. Why?” Vali shifted on the sofa.

  “The traders are watching it.”

  “Don’t blame you. She left blankets and a pillow for you.” He pointed to the recliner.

  “Shit.”

  “You have her best interest at heart. Stick to your guns. She’ll try to wear you down.”

  “I’m not giving in.” He grabbed the blankets and arranged them on the floor, stripped off his damp clothes, and crawled under the covers.

  “Julian?”

  “What bro?”

  “I think something’s wrong with me. I’m scared.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I think … I’m losing my mind.” Vali twisted his blanket with trembling fingers.

  “You’ve been through a lot. Give yourself time to heal.”

  “No. You don’t understand. They did something to me at the Security Center. I’m not right. I … I want to do things.”

  “Maybe you should talk to Jason. I mean … he would help you work it out. Or what about that counselor he wanted me to go to? Maybe she could help you.”

  “Maybe. Maybe you’re right.” No way in hell was he telling Jason or some counselor about his deteriorating mind.

  “I am. Trust me. Talk to Jason.”

  “Yeah, sure. Don’t tell the others. They’d worry for nothing.” Vali pushed himself onto his side, facing away from Julian. He squeezed his eyes shut. Julian didn’t know the horrors that had made a home in his mind. Didn’t know panic seized him with no apparent trigger. And didn’t know that sometimes he wanted to do horrible, violent things … to the people he loved.

  He didn’t want to lose his mind. He didn’t want to lose himself. If he went crazy, would they turn him away, send him back to the streets? Whoring himself was out of the question. Not that anyone except the most depraved would want a cripple. Dying would be better. Much better. Heat suffused his cheeks at the memories of the degradations he’d been subjected to.