by Gail Koger
“Little? That was the Godzilla of spiders.”
He plucked a banana peel off my shoulder. “You stink.”
“You’re such a romantic, honey bun.”
His warriors snickered.
Ian shot them a glare and cocked an arrogant eyebrow at me. “Honey bun?”
Okay I’m a sarcastic bitch.
“Let go of me! There are villains to slay.”
I turned and saw Ajax striding towards us with Isobel slung over one massive shoulder. I had to admit the guy was the poster boy for damn scary Vikings.
Isobel kicked and punched him repeatedly. “Put me down, you beast.”
Ajax smacked her bottom hard. “Behave.”
With a pretty inventive curse, Isobel sank her fangs into the Viking’s neck. Snarling, Ajax retaliated by throwing her in a reeking dumpster.
The pain in my head abruptly got worse. Great. More fiends. I scanned for them. I’ll be damned. They had an underground lair.
Trying to ignore Isobel furious shouts, I started down the alley.
McGregor’s hand clamped down on my shoulder. “Going somewhere, sweetling?”
“More fiends.”
“My warriors and I will deal with them. Not you.”
“Fine. Do you know where they are?”
“Aye, I took the information from your mind.”
“That’s an invasion of my privacy.”
“I do what I must to keep you alive and unharmed.”
Insulted, I snapped, “I can take care of myself.”
“How many times have you been shot or assaulted in the last week?”
Crap. He had me there. “A couple,” I mumbled.
“Exactly. You and Isobel will wait for us here.”
“Yes, master, anything you say, master.”
Ian held out his hand. “Let me have a Bertha.”
“Yes’um boss.” Digging in my pocket, I took out my super Bertha and placed it gingerly on his palm. “Be careful, this sucker will turn you and your men into crispy critters.”
“Your concern for our welfare is appreciated, my lady.”
Was he being a smart ass?
With a regal bow, McGregor and his warriors vanished.
Maybe chivalry wasn’t dead.
Isobel climbed out of the dumpster, covered in disgusting pieces of rotting food and God knows what else. “That horrible beast is going to pay for this.”
My stomach heaved as several maggots crawled across Isobel’s hair. “Uh, mom, there are critters in your hair.”
She went completely berserk, jumping around like a wild woman while brushing frantically at her hair. “Get them off. Get them off.”
“Hold still.” I carefully examined my twitchy mom’s head. Oh ick, maggot guts now decorated her thick black hair. “They’re gone.”
“You’re sure?”
“Absolutely.” I was such a liar and a horrible friend but there was no way in hell I was touching maggot guts.
A squad car squealed to a stop behind us. Dan bailed out and stormed up with his handcuffs out. “You’re under arrest.”
Isobel flashed her fangs at him. “I think I’ll just eat you.”
Dan pulled his gun. “Try it.”
“Oh for God’s sake knock it off.”
Dan gagged and backed up a step. “Geezus, what is that smell?”
“Dumpster gunk,” I informed him with a glare.
More squad cars pulled up and out spilled Hennessy and his camera crew.
Could this night get any worse?
Hennessy bellowed, “What the hell is going on Officer Vega?”
Isobel burst into tears. “He wants to arrest me.”
Hennessy placed a comforting arm around my sneaky mom. “That’s not going to happen.” His face paled abruptly and he took a hasty step back. “Geezus.”
“Your officer threw me in the dumpster,” Isobel cried.
Hennessy dry heaved. “He what?”
Dan’s face tightened with rage. “What a load of crap. Like I could beat up a vampire? She assaulted me, sir.”
“I would never harm a police officer,” Isobel sniffed, flicking a piece of rotted lettuce off her shirt.
Dan pointed to his jaw. “Then how did I get these bruises?”
“You tripped and fell against a fire hydrant,” Isobel snapped.
“She’s lying, sir.”
Still pissed at Dan for ratting me out, I said, “No, she isn’t. You tripped over that poor little rabbit and smacked face first into a fire hydrant.”
“Rabbit? What rabbit!?”
“The one we had stopped to render first aid to when you swooped in with lights and sirens blaring. Didn’t make your quota this week?”
“You were doing eighty in a school zone.”
“It’s one o’clock in the morning and the only one in danger was that poor little rabbit you stomped on.”
“There was no fucking rabbit.”
I quivered in offended outrage. “Are you calling me a liar?”
“Yeah, I am,” Dan shouted.
“That’s enough Officer Vega, you will apologize to the ladies,” Captain Hennessy snapped.
Dan gaped at him. “Apologize? But sir…”
Isobel cried harder. “He killed that poor little rabbit.”
The Captain handed Isobel his handkerchief. “Now officer!”
“I apologize for upsetting you,” Dan said through gritted teeth.
“And killing that poor little bunny,” I added struggling not to laugh.
His gaze promising retribution, Dan hissed, “And killing the poor bunny.”
I turned to Isobel. “I think we should go back and bury it.”
“Not a chance,” Ben growled in my ear.
Oh hell.
My Alpha bent down until we were eyeball to eyeball. “Where’s my bike?”
I pointed to the crumpled remains. “Sorry.”
“Goddamnit Ann, this is the third one you’ve destroyed this week.”
“It wasn’t…”
“Your fault,” My Alpha growled then wrinkled his nose. “What the fuck is that smell?”
“Dan threw Isobel in the dumpster.”
Ben bared his really awesome fangs. “He what!?”
Dan took a hasty step back. “I never laid a hand on her, sir.”
The earth shuddered under our feet and with a loud cracking boom the warehouse exploded, shooting a rippling fireball hundreds of feet into the air.
“Whoa!”
“I think you used way too much C-4 again,” Isobel yelped ducking a burning door.
“Nope, it’s just right. Dominic would have been shaking hands with the Devil.”
Hennessy stared at me in horrified disbelief. “You were going after the Wizard? Alone?”
“Yep.”
A huge chunk of flaming metal hit the windshield on Dan’s patrol car, shattering it. An instant later the interior burst into a rather awesome fire.
Dan turned on me. “How many of my cars are you going to destroy?”
“You can’t blame me for that.”
“I sure as hell can.”
Isobel added, “You do have a knack for wrecking vehicles.”
“Do not.”
A menacing growl sounded from Ben. “Yeah, you do.”
Hennessy hurriedly popped the trunk on his squad car, grabbed the fire extinguisher and tossed it to Dan. “Put it out.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Keep an eye on the ladies,” Hennessey added, heading to the crime scene.
Dan snorted. “Ladies?”
Another explosion rocked the area and more burning debris plunked down around us. A fire erupted in the dumpster. Okay, maybe I had used a bit too much C-4.
Hennessey bolted down the alley with his crew hot on his heels.
“Stay here,” Ben commanded and sprinted after the officers.
Isobel wiped at the bits of goop decorating her pants. “Bossy jerks, aren’t they?”
> “And then some.”
Dan sprayed foam over his patrol car in a futile effort to save it. “Hell, it’s like pissing on a bonfire.”
A series of loud cracking pops had Isobel and me backing away nervously.
“I think it’s gonna blow, Dan.”
He kept on spraying. “I’m not losing another car.”
“Ah, Dan, the tires are melting.” I tugged on his arm. “You need to move back.”
The patrol car windows suddenly blew out sending sparks flying in every direction. A pile of garbage caught on fire.
“Shit! Goddamnit,” Dan yelled and hurled the fire extinguisher at the inferno.
The hair on the back of my neck abruptly stood up. An instant later a thick cloud of white smoke suddenly roiled down the alley, reducing visibility to a few feet.
Dan snarled, “What kind of fucking moron uses a smoke bomb at a fire?”
“Someone who doesn’t want to be seen,” I answered as the smoke billowed around my feet.
“Three slayers are approaching,” Isobel warned.
Dan’s hand dropped to his gun. “What the hell is going on?”
“Good question.” I opened my senses. Enforcers!? What the hell had Bambi told Aunt Tessa?
The smoke cleared briefly and I watched in horror as an arrow slammed into Isobel’s chest, hurling her against the wall. She slid slowly to the ground.
“Nooooo!”
A big man dressed in a black tactical uniform stepped out of a doorway and raised his crossbow again.
“Die you murdering sonofabitch!” I emptied my Glock into his chest.
The Enforcer staggered and went down on one knee.
Shit! Their damned body armor made them almost invincible.
Ian’s menacing growl sounded in my head. Who are you attacking now?
The bastard that killed Isobel.
McGregor’s roar of fury echoed down the alley. Who!?
“Look out,” Dan shouted then grunted in pain.
I spun around. Electrodes from a Taser gun protruded from Dan’s back. He jerked convulsively and toppled to the ground.
A shadow moved in the smoke. A scant second later a massive fist landed a hard right to my chin, rocking my head back. The alley danced around me, my vision misted over and I could taste blood.
The shadowy Enforcer swung at me again and I thought fuzzily of ducking but it was too late. His fist slammed into my jaw and everything went black.
Chapter Nine
Wake up Ann. McGregor’s enraged bellow rattled my brains.
Ouch! Quit yelling. The throbbing in my head was relentless. Got any aspirin?
Ian caressed my mind and the pain faded away. Better?
Yeah, what… I sucked in a horrified breath as everything came roaring back. Isobel!
Still lives. The vest stopped the arrow from penetrating her heart.
Relief flooded me. Thank God for body armor.
Where are you?
Dunno. Can’t you sense me?
They’re using a camouflage spell, Ian responded, more than a bit pissed off. Look around you.
Obediently, I opened my eyes and surveyed the area. Just friggin’ terrific. Not only was I was hanging over an Enforcer’s bulky shoulder but I was trussed up like a Christmas turkey. We’re going west in the alley behind the Deuce Lounge.
There was the promise of brutal retaliation in Ian’s voice. Your aunt’s hunters are dead men.
While part of me agreed with his plan, another part of me still considered them part of my slayer brotherhood. Okay, brothers I had tried to kill. Did that make me a hypocrite? Probably. Couldn’t you just beat the crap out of them instead?
I was suddenly tossed into the back of black Enforcer transport van with enough force that I slammed face first into the back wall. Pain exploded in my nose and I could feel blood gushing down my face. “You asshole!”
The asshole shut the doors and growled into his radio, “Go.”
The van roared to life and accelerated rapidly.
Twisting around, I managed to pull myself into a sitting position and frowned at the muscle bound jerk. What the hell? He wasn’t one of our guys. I glanced at the patch on his arm. Phoenix? Why was Aunt Tessa pulling in outside help? Had she finally realized we had a traitor in our midst? Or was it Bambi’s little payback? “Do you have any idea who I am?”
The Phoenix asshole pulled a paper from his vest pocket and threw it at me. “Yeah, a fucking traitor.”
I glanced down at the arrest warrant. With my right eye almost swollen shut it was a bit difficult to read. Well hell, Aunt Tessa had signed it. Bambi was definitely out for blood. “What exactly am I being accused of?”
“You’re a fucking blood fiend.”
“Me? A blood fiend? Does it look like I’m using glamour? Am I faster than a speeding bullet? Was I able to take you out with a single punch? Are my body parts rotting off? The answer, you moron, is no.”
He shifted uncomfortably. “We have our orders.”
“I’m going to kick Bambi’s ass and when I’m done, I’m coming after you.”
The back doors to the van were abruptly ripped away. A triumphant grin curled my mouth. The cavalry had arrived.
My jubilation turned to horror when a big black vampire with dreadlocks swung into the van. Holy hell, Seth! What was Bodine’s deadly henchman doing here? He couldn’t be here to rescue me, could he? The Crime Lord’s debt to me had been paid.
The Phoenix Enforcer grabbed a crossbow off the wall armory and shot him in the chest.
Seth didn’t even flinch as the arrow struck him. Baring his fangs in a rather terrifying smile, he grabbed the Enforcer in a crushing grip. “Did you think you’re the only ones wearing body armor?”
The moron spat in Seth’s face. “Go to hell.”
“Been there and it’s not for the faint of heart. Cheerio.” The vampire hurled him out of the speeding van.
McGregor! Where are you? I need help now!
Seth’s onyx gaze focused on me. “Really luv there’s no need to yell. You’ve got me to protect you.”
“Who’s going to protect me from you?”
“Good point.” He plucked me off the floor and began licking the blood off my face. “Yum. O negative. My favorite.”
I wiggled frantically. “I am not a freaking lollipop. What do you want?”
Burying his hand in my hair, he yanked my head back and ran his tongue down my neck. “You.”