The Invisible Warrior
BY
Teresa Gabelman
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I want to thank everyone for having the confidence in me to write Steve’s story. I hope I have done his book justice. Thank you to everyone who had a hand in bringing this series to life and for sticking with me. You will never know how much that has meant to me, and there is much more to come!
Ron Gabelman, Gran, Cody Gabelman, Cassie Byrd, Donna Bossert, Becky Johnson, Donna Pemberton, the Hot Tree Editing Team, the Warriorettes, Teresa’s Arc Team, Twinsie Talk girls, and anyone who shares my books with friends, etc., I couldn’t do this without you, nor would I want to.
To all the readers, whether you hated or loved the series, you’ve made me a better writer and I can never thank you enough for that.
You are the reason I do what I do.
The Protectors Series
The Invisible Warrior
Copyright 2017 Teresa Gabelman
All rights reserved. The right of Teresa Gabelman to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. This is a work of fiction and any resemblance between the characters and persons living or dead is purely coincidental.
Gabelman, Teresa (2017-9-19). The Invisible Warrior (The Protectors Series)
Kindle Edition.
Editor: Hot Tree Editing
Photo: iStock
Chapter 1
On a mission, Steve walked into the full kitchen. He gave a nod to Jax and Jared, who sat stuffing their faces with Sid’s ten-course breakfast. Damn, it looked fucking good. But yeah, he was on a mission, and it wasn’t to fill his body with all that grease and fat crap, even though it smelled like heaven.
He went to the fridge and pulled out the low-fat yogurt and skim milk and then went to a cabinet grabbing the peanut butter, chia seeds, and cinnamon. Setting all that down by the blender, he also snatched up a banana. Tossing in all his ingredients, he turned on the blender. Steve glanced around as it mixed to see everyone staring at him, all wearing matching disgusted faces.
“What?” he said over the noise of the blender.
Jared looked at Sid, who had just sat down with a plate of his own. “You go first.”
Sid nodded, setting his fork down. “Damn, I don’t know what to ask first.”
“I got it.” Jared held up his hand toward Sid before looking back at Steve. “When in the hell are you going to get rid of that thing under your nose you call a mustache?”
“Dude, do you know how long it took me to grow this?” Steve smoothed down his mustache.
“Yeah, and it would only take you a minute to whack that shit off.” Jared eyed him.
“You’re just jealous I can still grow hair. Haven’t we had this conversation before?” Steve snorted. Both he and Adam had continued to grow facial hair after they’d been turned. When they’d spoken to Slade looking for answers, he hadn’t had any other than suggesting they may have been given something when they’d been turned into half-breeds. Since being full-blooded vampires, they shouldn’t be able to grow hair, gain weight or muscle, but they were. “I mean, look at Jill? She’s gained a little weight, and I bet she has stubble on her legs. Why aren’t you giving her shit?”
“Hey!” Jill glared at him. “I just shaved, thank you very much, and as for the weight, well, screw you. At least I don’t have a porn stash.”
“Okay, I’m next.” Sid chuckled at Jill, then leaned back in his chair. “What in the fuck are you wearing?”
Steve frowned, looking down at himself. “A T-shirt and pants.”
“I think they mean your camo pants.” Jill rolled her eyes as she poured a pound of sugar in her coffee.
“Oh, yeah.” Steve smiled proudly. “I’m branding myself.”
Steve turned off the blender, grabbed the largest glass he could find, and poured his shake. Taking a huge gulp, his eyes landed on Sid’s plate and wished to hell…. No, this shake was fucking amazing.
“As what, an eighties porn star.” Jared cocked his eyebrow.
“Really?” Steve thought about that for a moment then grinned. “Is that a bad thing?”
“Jesus.” Jax chuckled, shaking his head.
“I thought that since my power is invisibility, the camo kinda, you know.” Steve took another grimacing drink of his shake.
“Actually no, we don’t fucking know,” Jared replied, taking a huge fork filled with dripping egg yolk to his mouth.
Steve watched the egg disappear with a sigh, then shook his head before taking another drink to finish off his shake. Son of a bitch, this shit was nasty as fuck. “Well, once word gets around about me, then when they see me wearing camo, they will say—”
“Isn’t that the porn star from the eighties?” Sid interrupted with a crooked grin.
“No,” Steve said slowly, his brows wrinkling into a frown. “They will say, ‘Isn’t that the badass known as the Invisible Warrior?’ You know… camo as in camouflage.”
“Ignore them, Steve.” Katrina walked up, setting her dish in the sink. “I think it’s a wonderful idea, but you really don’t need to brand yourself. Just be you. The mustache isn’t that bad.”
“She wasn’t alive in the eighties,” Jared told Sid, who nodded.
“What is it with you guys and the eighties?” Katrina glared at them. “Better yet, how in the hell do you know so much about porn stars? Male porn stars?”
“I’ll have you know…” Jared stood up with an empty plate. “I was once considering the porn industry because the pay is way fucking better than this Warrior gig.”
“Oh really?” Jill snorted, rolling her eyes. “And what was your porn name going to be? Fang Cock?”
“Good one.” Sid pointed his fork at her with a proud nod.
“Thank you.” Jill tossed him a large smile.
“Actually no, and what is it with you and the word cock?” Jared set his empty plate in the sink. “I never got that far because after taking one look at this magnificent package, the cameraman said that there was no way he could fit all of me into one camera shot.”
Jill snorted coffee out her nose while Sid laughed so hard he banged his hand on the table, and Steve looked at Jared thoughtfully. “So how much exactly does porn pay?”
That made everyone laugh harder. Katrina actually snorted. “Oh, Steve. Stop.”
“Seriously.” Steve put his empty glass down. “I want to get a car and could use some extra cash.”
“You know, Steve could probably be huge.” Sid looked thoughtful. “I mean with his power, they could really write a story around that.”
“P
orn has stories?” Katrina frowned.
Blaze walked in at the tail end of Katrina’s comment. “What the fuck are you talking about?”
“Steve wants to be a porn star.” Jill grinned, watching Blaze.
“I got it!” Jared said excitedly. “Instead of Debbie Does Dallas, which was a hit back in the day, it could be The Invisible Warrior Does Debbie, and his porn name could be the Invisible…”
“Cock!” Jill shouted, then bent over laughing.
“You guys suck.” Steve threw his banana peel at Jill, smacking her in the head.
Tessa, who had walked in during Jared and Sid’s messing with Steve, poured her coffee and stopped next to him. “Actually, I think you would really look more handsome without the mustache, Steve.”
“You do?” Steve frowned. He really loved his mustache, and it seemed so did the ladies. At least he thought they did. “I don’t know. I get a lot of looks from the ladies now.”
“Bet he does.” Jared snorted.
“You, hush.” Tessa’s golden eyes glared at her mate before turning her attention back to Steve. “I don’t think it’s the mustache at all.”
“It’s the pants.” Sid snickered and then knuckle bumped Jared.
Tessa turned to glare at them both. “No, actually, it’s not that either, smartass.”
“Then what is it?” Steve asked, about ready to shit his camo pants when Tessa touched his arm, running her hand up and down his bare skin. His eyes shot to Jared, who wasn’t grinning anymore.
“I would have to say it’s how you are filling out those pants.” Tessa sighed, looking at his arms. “I mean really, Steve, you’ve been working out a lot, and it’s really showing.”
Steve smiled proudly, his chest puffing out as he tightened his arm so his muscles flexed. “Well, you know, I have been working pretty hard and—”
“What the fuck!” Jared stood up, his chair shooting back and hitting the wall.
Steve jumped when Jared stood, realizing that Jared’s mate was touching him… a lot. Jared’s anger snapped him back to reality. “You trying to get me killed?” he whispered, his eyes shooting back to Tessa.
Katrina walked up and touched his other arm. “I’ve noticed also.”
Steve knew he was close to death. It was coming, and he was sweating like fucking crazy. He looked toward Blaze, whose eyes swirled as he looked at Katrina’s hand on his arm. Holy shit, he was going to fry. Blaze was going to set his ass on fire, and Jared was going to watch him burn with a smile on his face while kicking the shit out of him.
“Katrina!” Blaze warned. “Step away from Steve so I can set his ass on fire.”
“Whoa, now let’s calm down a minute.” Steve tried to step away from Tessa and Katrina, but they weren’t having it. Jesus, he couldn’t win. Seeing Jared and Blaze glaring at him, Jill grinning and Sid, as well as Jax, slowly standing to possibly save his ass, Steve panicked. As gently as he could, he pushed both Katrina and Tessa away from him.
Tessa put her hands on her hips and turned toward Jared. “That’s what you get for being a bully.” She frowned at Jared. “You boys need to leave Steve alone.”
“Boys?” Jared growled, his eyes darkening.
“Yes, when you’re being a bully, you’re acting more like a boy than a man.” Tessa then turned toward Blaze. “And that goes for you too, fire boy.”
“Yeah, you both should be ashamed of yourselves,” Sid added, his arms crossed over his chest.
“I didn’t say a fucking thing to Steve until Katrina started slobbering all over him,” Blaze growled, his eyes still swirling.
“Slobbering?” Katrina’s eyes narrowed as she frowned at Blaze.
“Let’s all calm down.” Steve tried to step in to stop a wicked fight between the mates.
“Shut up, Steve!” was shouted by all of them.
“Yes, slobbering.” Blaze’s eyes narrowed, then shot to Steve. “If I ever see you touch him again, I will—”
“Do nothing.” Katrina walked up to Blaze and poked him in the chest with her small finger. “Steve did nothing. If you are going to do anything to anyone, do it to me. I was doing nothing wrong except trying to make Steve feel better because these two assholes—”
“Assholes?” Sid frowned with a cocked eyebrow.
“Yes, assholes.” Katrina didn’t look his way. “…were picking on Steve.”
Steve’s eyes met Jill’s, who was still grinning at him. How in the fuck did he end up in these messes all the damn time? All he wanted to do was make himself a nasty-ass shake to choke down and mind his own business. Instead, he almost died and was apparently to blame for Tessa and Katrina fighting with their men.
Tessa turned to smile at Steve. “Shave the mustache, Steve, and you’ll have more women than you ever imagined knocking on your door.” She headed out of the kitchen but pointed at Jared. “Be nice!”
“Nice my ass,” Jared growled and followed Tessa out, which sent swift relief through Steve.
Next, Katrina walked up to him and gave him a tight hug. “Shave the mustache,” she whispered, then turned and walked back to Blaze, who was still giving Steve the “death by fire” stare. Katrina took Blaze’s hand and led him out of the kitchen.
“That escalated quickly.” Jax chuckled, taking his plate to the sink.
Steve sighed in relief then ignored Sid, Jax, and Jill as he headed toward the door. That was a fucking close call.
“Where you going, Steve?” Jill asked as he passed.
“To shave and change my pants,” Steve replied without looking at any of them.
“Ah, man.” Sid started to follow him. “We were just messing with you. You don’t need to change.”
“It’s not that. I have more camo.” Steve pushed open the door. “I’m pretty sure I shit myself.”
Sid stepped back, bursting out laughing. “Goddamn, Steve. You are one goofy-ass motherfucker.”
Steve grinned as he headed down the hallway to his room. It must be his calling in life to make people laugh because that’s when he felt his best, even if they were laughing at his expense.
Chapter 2
Ronan was heading toward Sloan’s office when pounding and a woman’s frantic scream came from the front door of the compound. Ronan was on the run when Duncan, followed by Sloan and Damon, came rushing out of Sloan’s office.
Making it to the door first, Ronan slammed it opened, his eyes searching for danger as a woman fell through the door and into his arms. Jesus, he may be the new Warrior on the block, but these guys had more shit land on their doorstep than they could handle.
“Please, you have to help us!”
When gunshots were fired, she cried out. Wood splintered next to Ronan’s face as a bullet lodged into the doorframe. With no thought for his own safety, he grabbed the woman, pulling her into his body as he turned to take any other bullet aimed their way. One hit his shoulder just as he was pulled further into the compound by the other Warriors.
“Go!” Sloan shouted, and Warriors scattered.
Ronan had fallen on top of the woman, who was fighting underneath him. “She’s in the car,” the woman screamed. “You have to help her.”
“Where?” Ronan helped her up and escorted her deeper into the compound, away from bullets splattering the outside walls, some coming in through windows. His shoulder burned like a bitch, but he knew he would live. It wasn’t silver. He would be fine. His main concern was finding out who this woman was and who else was outside in danger.
“In the parking lot.” She pointed over his shoulder.
Ronan looked that way at a listening Sloan, who then barked orders to Jax and Adam. Both had just run downstairs. Steve also came around the corner at a run.
“What the hell is going on?” Steve shouted, then ducked when bullets exploded around them. “Holy shit.”
“Steve, get to the car in the parking lot.” Ronan knew Steve would be their only chance of helping whoever was out there, at least until the Warriors got shi
t under control and found who the hell was shooting.
“Dude, you’re bleeding all over the place.” Steve was looking at his back, then focused on the woman. “Who’s in the car?”
“Mira.” The woman’s eyes were wide with fear. “She’s pregnant. Please hurry.”
Steve nodded before disappearing from sight.
Ronan turned to see Nicole run down the steps and then bounce back on her ass as if hitting a wall, an invisible wall.
“Dammit, Steve.” Nicole picked herself back up.
“Sorry!” Steve’s voice called out as he forced the front door open then slammed it shut as gunfire ensued.
“Piper?” Nicole ran over, her head low as she slid next to Ronan. “What are you doing here?”
“You know her?” Ronan frowned, looking at the small woman with dark skin and huge green eyes filled with fear.
“Yeah, she works with Social Services, where I used to work.” Nicole gasped. “Ronan, you’re bleeding.”
“I’m fine.” Ronan cursed when more shots were fired. “You got her. I’m going to help the guys find these bastards.”
“Go.” Nicole nodded taking his place.
Ronan stopped then peered back at the woman called Piper. “Do you happen to know how many are out there, ma’am?”
She shook her head. “No, but Mira might.” Her eyes welled up with tears. “Please help her.”
With a nod, Ronan took off. His shoulder hurt like a bitch, and someone was going to pay for his pain.
******
Steve rushed out the door then dove to the ground doing a couple of rolls when a round of shots were fired. He knew he couldn’t be seen, but he’d slammed the door, which was probably what set off that volley of shots. The Warriors were on the hunt, and he wondered exactly how many assholes with guns there were.
He army crawled toward the car he hoped the woman was in. Once there, he leaned against the metal frame then scooted up with his back plastered against it. He was glad the window was down so he didn’t have to open the door and draw attention to himself. The gunshots had stopped. He heard voices shouting in the distance, but that wasn’t really what drew his attention. Moaning from inside the car had him diving in through the open window.
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