Invisible Warrior (The Protectors Series) Book #11

by Teresa Gabelman

  “Slade said we should be good to go.” Mira beamed at him as she spoke. “But I have to go back to the compound to answer some questions. After that, I need to find a place to stay. I have a little money, but I don’t know if I have enough for an apartment. Do you know of any good women’s shelters in the area? At least until I can get on my feet.”

  Steve was still on his guilt trip, but he heard every word she said. He glanced at Drew and knew without a doubt he didn’t want either one of them staying at a women’s shelter. His next thought absolutely terrified him. He didn’t want either of them away from him. What the fuck!

  “Let’s, ah, just see what happens tomorrow,” Steve said, walking deeper into the room, his phone feeling hot in his hand. He needed to see Leda, the sooner the better.

  “Okay.” She frowned, but agreed. “Are you okay?” Mira put a sleeping Drew in the crib then turned toward him.

  “Yeah, I’m good.” He lied. He wasn’t good. He was confused as hell. Then a thought occurred to him. “You know I’m a vampire, right?”

  Mira’s head snapped back a little in surprise. “Well, the fangs are kind of a giveaway, so yes, I know.”

  “Shit,” Steve said under his breath, feeling like an idiot. What was he thinking? He was an idiot. “Some vampires, such as myself, have powers and mine is invisibility. But you saw me. How is that?”

  Mira looked quickly away from him as she turned and moved slowly toward the bed. She sat, then put her legs up, still not looking directly at Steve. “Are you sure you were invisible? I mean maybe it… your power wasn’t working or something.”

  “No.” Steve shook his head taking a step closer. “It was working because the asshole who tried to grab you out of the car didn’t see me and my ass, literally, was pretty much in his face.”

  Steve watched as she reached for the dragonfly choker at her neck. When she noticed he was observing her closely, she snatched her hand away, placing it on her lap.

  “Who are you, Mira, and who was after you?” Steve’s eyes narrowed slightly, sure she was hiding something. “Trust me.”

  Her hand once again rose but rested against her chest as her eyes rose to his. “It’s just better that you forget you ever met me, Steve.” Mira dropped her eyes again. “I will only bring you trouble.”

  He couldn’t help it. He laughed. “Yeah, you have a lot to learn about me because that’s all my life is, a bunch of trouble. If I’m not causing it, I’m falling knee deep into it. Actually, you could say I’m an expert in trouble.”

  A small hint of a smile played on her lips but then disappeared. “Not this kind of trouble.”

  “Listen, you need a friend, and well, here I am.” Steve didn’t know exactly what was going on, but he needed to make sure she knew he was there for her. “I’ll make sure you and Drew Boo are safe, but you have to trust me. And I promise you can trust me. You’re going to have to answer questions sooner or later, and believe me when I tell you I’m much more understanding than the boss man.”

  “Boss man?” Mira frowned, a nervous edge lifting her voice.

  “Yeah, the grumpy older vampire walking around, wanting to kick ass and take names,” Steve replied, then realized Mira probably was too busy giving birth to remember Sloan. “Never mind, but if I knew what was going on then— What in the fuck is that?”

  Steve had been talking, but something caught the corner of his eye, gaining his full attention. A thick black and green swirl hovered at the ceiling over Drew’s crib. It began to drip and hang low as if oozing toward the baby. With speed not seen by the human eye, Steve reached and gently grabbed Drew out of harm’s way, his eyes never leaving the hue of mist, which looked angry, if that were at all possible. The fucking thing didn’t have a face, but it now pulsed.

  Mira had jumped off the bed to stand just below the hanging pulsing mass. “Begone all wicked energy. Begone all evil spirits unclean. Begone all negativity by leaving my sight unseen!” she chanted with force, her stance ready for a fight.

  Pulling her back behind him, Steve watched as the mass gave one huge pulse that seemed to shake the room before completely disappearing. Holy shit!

  Mira turned toward him, her face a mask of fear and uncertainty. “I guess you know who I am now.”

  Looking down from the ceiling, Steve searched her face and knew his next words would determine her trust with him. “The next Harry Potter.”

  ******

  Mira didn’t say anything. She just stared at Steve not knowing whether to laugh or cry. He looked young, but the way he carried himself when things were dour made him a man in her eyes, but she could see the boy in him when he made his jokes and interacted with Drew.

  “I don’t use a wand,” Mira whispered, realizing for once she was telling someone about herself without fear or embarrassment, and it was so refreshing.

  “Which is way cooler,” Steve replied, glancing back at the ceiling before looking at her. “Wands can be stolen. And you definitely don’t look like Harry Potter. That you can take my word on.”

  Mira chuckled before taking Drew when Steve handed her over. “Thanks, I think.” She didn’t know how he did it, but Steve made her feel comfortable… protected, and right now, she should be scared for not only her own life, but the life of her precious Drew.

  “I need to call Sloan.” Steve took out his phone but rushed in front of Mira when the door to her hospital room opened.

  Mira peeked around Steve to see a large man walk into the room, who looked a little familiar, and then her sister nudged him out of the way as she hurried inside. Another huge man wearing a cowboy hat closed the door behind them.

  “Mira!” her sister cried out as she rushed her and carefully embraced Mira before looking down at the baby. “Oh my God!”

  “Kira, what are you doing here?” Mira couldn’t believe her sister was before her. The excitement she felt at seeing her sister was dashed quickly with fear. “It’s not safe for you to be here or anywhere.”

  “It’s fine,” Kira said, then reached for Drew. “Now hush and give me my niece.”

  “Her name is Drew.” Mira handed over the tiny bundle, her eyes going back to the ceiling before looking quickly away. “He knows, Kira.”

  “Of course he does,” Kira replied, cooing down at the baby. “And I’ll kill him before he ever lays a hand on her.”

  Mira glanced around Kira to see all three, well, now four Warriors, since Slade had walked in staring at them with questioning eyes. “I think we’ve got some explaining to do.”

  Kira looked over her shoulder, then back down at Drew. “Yeah, but first things first. Here, take her.”

  Mira took her daughter, her eyes meeting Steve’s briefly before glancing away. Her sister rummaged through her bag and then took out a pouch. Opening it, she brought out a tiny little anklet with a dragonfly pendant like their own. Saying a few words under her breath, Kira kissed the pendant then held it for Mira, who did the same. She then placed the anklet on Drew’s little ankle.

  “You didn’t cast when you arrived here?” Kira looked up at Mira, taking her niece once again.

  “I was a little busy trying not to bleed to death, so no,” Mira said with a sarcastic edge. Her bigger sister always made her feel like, well… a little sister.

  Kira turned toward Sloan. “It’s not safe here.” She glanced at the ceiling. “How long ago?”

  “How did you know?” Steve asked with a frown.

  “I still see the remnants.” Kira glanced at him, then looked him up and down before glaring at Mira, who wouldn’t meet her sister’s eye. “And he is?”

  “Steve,” he answered her question himself, his frown still in place. “Are you the reason these people are after your sister?”

  Kira’s eyebrow shot up, but before she could open her mouth, Sloan stepped in. “We held up to our end of the bargain. Now it’s your turn to tell us what the fuck is going on.”

  “Told you,” Steve whispered to Mira with raised eyebrows, which m
ade her chuckle, but she swallowed that chuckle real quick when Sloan glared at her.

  “The only reason I’m not walking out of this room right now and leaving you both to your own devices is because I want whoever is responsible for putting not only my mate but all of the Warriors’ mates in harm’s way.” Sloan glared between both Mira and Kira. “We do not deal with witch issues, but I have a suspicion this is deeper than that.”

  “Such a gentleman.” Kira flipped her long black hair behind her shoulder, then smiled down at Drew. “Actually, it’s probably best if we just part ways now because you can’t offer us the protection we need.”

  “Oh, shit,” Steve grumbled, and Mira noticed he stepped away from Sloan.

  “Excuse me?” Sloan growled, then glanced at Ronan, who also wore a deep frown. “Did she just say we can’t offer her the protection she needs?”

  “Yep, pretty sure that’s what she said.” Ronan’s deep Texan drawl filled the room. “I’d say that’s not a real hospitable way to say thank you for saving your sister and niece.”

  “Uh oh.” This was from Mira, who stepped closer to Steve. Her sister could get pretty nasty when tested.

  “Oh, I’m sorry.” Kira tilted her head, looking up from Drew to glare straight at him. “Did I hurt your little cowboy pickin’ heart?”

  Ronan’s growl was louder and more forceful than Sloan’s as he stepped closer to Kira. “Do not try me, witch.”

  “Enchantress.” She narrowed her eyes as she hissed at him.

  His eyes roamed over her with a smirk. “Witch.”

  “Ooookaaay.” Steve stepped in, and Mira tried to stop him, but she wasn’t quick enough. “Listen, this isn’t about witches or cowboys or who thanked who. This is about that baby right there. I took an oath to protect all innocents, and that includes them. You all took the same oath.”

  Mira bit her lip as she watched her sister closely, ready to stop her if she tried to cast a spell on the vampires. Then again, their spells were usually useless against the vampire race, but her sister was a pretty strong witch. She didn’t know where in the hell her sister got “enchantress” from, but in all honesty, any way you looked at it she was a witch.

  “So, everyone needs to calm the fuck down, take a chill pill, and get over yourselves so we can figure out who and what could bring little Drew Boo harm.” Steve’s voice was harsh until he spoke about Drew. Then he changed.

  “Look at you being all levelheaded,” Slade said, his eyes wide with surprise. “You even made sense.”

  Steve nodded proudly. “Yeah, I did, didn’t I?” He then glanced at Slade. “Scary shit, right?”

  “Scariest.” A small smile played on Slade’s lips, but he walked past them all and took Drew from Kira. “While you guys get this settled, I’m going to go ahead and release Mira so we can do this at the compound. I have a bad feeling, and I think she’s right. It’s not safe here for them.”

  Mira watched Kira reluctantly give up Drew to Slade and was amazed that she looked a little embarrassed. She loved her sister unconditionally, but sometimes Kira was a little… out there and people didn’t know how to take her. But her sister had a heart of gold.

  “Well, why are we just standing here?” Kira started putting the stuff back in her bag that she had pulled out. “Let’s get this over with, that is if you still want to protect little ol’ us?”

  Mira sighed, then gave Sloan and Ronan an apologetic look. Her sister may have a heart of gold, but she could drive the most rational person insane.

  Chapter 8

  When they got back to the compound, all the Warriors met in the game room instead of Sloan’s office. Steve leaned against the wall opposite Mira. She sat on the couch feeding Drew with a little bottle. He felt so bad for her because she had tried to breastfeed and became so upset when Drew wouldn’t take to it. Slade told her to keep trying, because Drew still may take it, but having to use a bottle was not a failure. Mira agreed totally with Slade but had just wanted to breastfeed. Steve didn’t get it. He figured as long as little Drew got to eat, all was good. Yeah, what did he know?

  It seemed that Jill and Mira had become fast friends when she had brought them some clothes to the hospital. Jill sat next to Mira talking quietly while she fed Drew. Steve’s phone started vibrating in his pocket. Because everyone he knew was in this room, his stomach dropped. Without looking, he bet Leda was trying to call him again. Sloan walked into the room, so Steve let it go to voice mail. He needed to make a quick trip out of town, and soon.

  “Before we start, I’m letting you all know that I have a crew coming to build a wall around the compound. Even though Duncan is the best at security, we are too busy for me to pull him to install the type of security I want.” Sloan paused, looking around at everyone. “What happened will not happen again. Everyone will have a different code to get inside, and anyone without a code will have to wait at the gate until a Warrior can let them in… if we want them in. Unfortunately, the days of our open-door policy are done. Anyone have a problem with that?”

  Steve glanced around, knowing no one would have a problem with protecting their own as that was what this measure was. He shivered at the thought of what could have happened if little Daniel had been downstairs in the line of fire. Yeah, the added protection was needed. There was always someone looking to take them down, and those attackers didn’t care who got in the way. His eyes dropped to Drew, who sucked wildly on the bottle. Anger bled into his veins thinking of something happening to her.

  Knowing he had to get a grip, he caught sight of Ronan staring at Kira. Hmmm, interesting.

  “You have the floor,” Sloan told Kira. He stayed rooted to his spot with his arms crossed over his chest.

  Kira slowly stood where she had been sitting alone and quiet. “Exactly what do you want to know?”

  Steve sucked in a wheezing breath because he knew Sloan well, knew his moods and well, his mood on Sloan’s mood scale of one—being you get to live, but still getting bitched out—to ten—you are going to die the most painful death on the face of the earth—Sloan was at an eleven. Yeah, a fucking eleven and it didn’t look pretty.

  “Son of a bitch!” Sloan exploded. Warriors shook their head at her, and Steve wanted to jump to her defense, but he wasn’t even sure he liked Mira’s sister yet, so he hesitated. Yes, he was that cautious to Sloan’s moods. He actually had a scale for all the Warriors, and Sloan was the only one who went past a ten. That level was so terrifying Steve hadn’t even labeled level eleven yet. Actually, he didn’t know if there was any description capable of that level.

  “What my sister means is—” Mira handed Drew to Jill and stood.

  “I can explain myself, Mira.” Her sister frowned.

  “Obviously not very well,” Mira countered, then ignored her. “This is really complicated and goes way back. So do you just want to know the bits of when I came onto the scene, or do you want to know from the beginning?”

  Sloan rubbed his forehead with his hand before answering, and Steve was happy as hell because it seemed like he was trying to control his anger. “The beginning.” Sloan took his hand away from his forehead.

  “Oh, okay.” Mira frowned, then glanced at Kira. “Well, ah, you see, there is, ah—”

  “For the love of newt! Mira, sit down and take care of Drew.” Kira huffed with a shake of her head. “A very distant cousin and by distant, I mean… well, let’s just say she’s older than dirt, but looks terrific. Anyway, she was in love with a warlock, Orjyll, who ended up breaking her heart—”

  “Wait a minute.” Jared held up his hand for her to stop. “Did you say Orajel, like in toothache Orajel?”

  “Well, not exactly, but close.” Kira eyed him with a sideways glance. “Oh, wait. You’re one of the funny guys who makes fun of everyone’s name.”

  “She knows me well already.” Jared smiled proudly giving Sid a nod. “Though I’m not the only one. Sid here is always an expert at making fun of names. Sid, would you like to contin
ue, or should I?”

  “Why thank you, Jared. I believe I will.” Sid gave him a nod back.

  “No, you fucking won’t!” Sloan bellowed, making everyone not Warrior material jump. Admittedly, Steve jumped, but he knew what level Sloan was on.

  Drew began to cry loudly, and when Mira or Kira couldn’t comfort her, Steve walked over and took her from Kira. “I’ve got her. Go on before he blows.” Steve discretely nodded toward Sloan. To everyone’s surprise, Drew stopped crying almost immediately. Looking up to see everyone staring at him, he shrugged. “What can I say? I’ve got that magical touch. Pun totally intended.”

  Mira chuckled while everyone else groaned, but he didn’t care. He made the person he wanted laugh, so his job was done, for the moment.

  “Okay, I’m sorry. Continue with Orajel.” Jared flipped his hand up for her to continue.

  “Our cousin put a binding spell on Orjyll and then disappeared,” Kira said as if that explained everything. “And now he is seeking revenge on all Grail women and has been for centuries. By putting the binding spell on a very powerful warlock, our cousin sealed the fate of every Grail female in the Dragonfly Coven. For if he kills us all, the binding spell will be broken. Mira and I were the last of the Dragonfly Coven until Drew.” Every eye went to the baby in Steve’s arms. “Someone must have put a shield over the sex of the baby, Mira. I never get the sex of a baby wrong.”

  “But who?” Mira walked over to give Steve the half-finished bottle when Drew became restless again.

  “Someone who wanted to protect her and you.” Kira frowned, then looked toward Sloan. “Listen, I have been searching for Orjyll and know I’m close to finding him. Someone is helping him with magic, or he has regained some of his power after such a long time, and the spell has weakened. He was the most powerful warlock—”

  “Not as powerful as Wyrick,” Sloan replied, looking thoughtful.