Dark and Damaged: Eight Tortured Heroes of Paranormal Romance: Paranormal Romance Boxed Set

by Colleen Gleason

  “What happened?” she asked. “That was Big Nuts’s club, right?”

  He nodded. “Yep. And apparently, they’re all dead. But I can’t help but think it’s no coincidence we were in Rotten Row the night before.”

  Iris frowned. “Do you really think this vampire, the one who’s after us, did this?”

  “My instincts are shouting at me that this is our guy. I just don’t know how he could have pulled it off by himself.”

  “Maybe he wasn’t alone.”

  “That’s my thought, too.” He pulled out his cell. “I’m going to call one of my fellow officers who works Rotten Row and get some facts.”

  When he made the call, he put the phone on speaker then set it on the table between them.

  “Crescent Border Patrol. How may I direct your call?”

  “Lily Hansen.”

  “One moment.”

  A woman’s voice came on the line. “Dispatch. Lily Hansen.”

  “Lily, Connor here.”

  “Connor, thank God you’re okay.”

  “I’m fine.”

  “But Sentinel … and you didn’t call in.” She sounded worried.

  “I know, and I’m sorry about that. Got a lot going on. But right now I need to speak with Vaughn. I just heard about Rotten Row and I may have information for him. Have him call me.”

  “I’ll get on it right now.”

  When Lily ended the call, Iris asked, “Don’t you have his cell number?”

  “It doesn’t work that way in Crescent when we’re on duty. We can place outgoing calls, but all other communication goes directly through Lily and her gang. We tried it the other way, but the numbers got out and our phones got jammed up quick.”

  “Understood. And who’s Vaughn?”

  “A good friend. He’s worked Border Patrol almost as long as I have. He’s also been assigned to Rotten Row for the past two years.”

  Iris didn’t know Officer Vaughn, but if he was a good friend, she knew Connor trusted him.

  When the commercials ended, Connor unmuted the TV. The female anchor shared the gruesome stats. “More than forty dead so far, but the count isn’t final. The owner of the club, Gary Smith, was not found among the bodies. Wait a minute. I have Jose on location with a live feed from the canal near Amado Bridge in Crescent Territory. Go ahead Jose.”

  Amado again.

  The Hispanic reporter was standing with a finger up to his earpiece. Behind him a body lay on the ground covered in a white sheet. “Thanks, Evelyn. We’ve just had confirmation that this is the body of Gary Smith, owner of the House of Big Sex. And apparently, he’s missing the part of his anatomy that gave him his famous nickname.”

  “Jesus,” Connor murmured.

  “No kidding.” Iris felt a chill go straight through her. The reporter spoke for another thirty seconds but had nothing to add to the basic info. There were no suspects, no one saw anything.

  Typical of Five Bridges.

  ***

  Connor stared at the body on the ground behind the reporter. Big Nuts had been alive a few hours ago. Now he was dead.

  He tried to picture what kind of force could have overcome Gary’s powerful security entourage and his gaze slid to Iris. As a witch, she’d been able to incapacitate them. If either he or Iris had been motivated, they could have done some killing. But that’s not who either of them were.

  But what about the vampire he’d seen in Gary’s club? If he’d used a witch’s spell to disguise his identity, maybe he’d employed a dark witch’s talent for a lot more than that.

  His phone rang, breaking his train of thought. Vaughn’s name came up on the screen. “This is him.”

  Iris nodded. She had her arms crossed tight over her chest and her lips were pinched together. He could relate.

  He tapped the front of the phone to answer, but kept it flat on the table, on speaker. “Vaughn. Thanks for getting back to me.”

  “Connor, good to hear your voice. We’ve got a mess out at Big Nuts’s place. They’re all dead.”

  “I’ve seen the footage. That’s some rough stuff you’ve got over there. But how did they die?”

  “Looks like it was a witch, using her killing power.”

  “A witch?” And there it was. The missing piece.

  “Yeah, and a damn powerful one. She somehow got into the place and had a field day. She also employed a blade, or had someone with her who did. She even killed the sex workers as well as their clients.”

  He glanced at Iris frowning, who in turn offered a bemused shrug.

  Connor glanced at the TV, which had switched from Big Nuts back to Rotten Row. “Vaughn, I’m looking at a live copter feed of Gary’s place. Are you okay out there?” He knew what the local businesses could get like when their clientele got disrupted.

  “We’re okay for now. We’ve got the scene contained and enough officers to keep the locals from rioting. But I won’t mind getting the hell out of here. You know this area. The owners only care about one thing and for that the traffic needs to move and keep moving. But before I answer any more of your questions, you have to tell me what happened out at Sentinel Bridge. How the hell did you survive the blast?”

  Connor held out his hand to Iris. She immediately unfolded her arms and settled her hand in his. “The witch I was with, a TPS officer, had a premonition and I took her at her word. Maybe a second after I headed into the air with her, the bridge blew. It was a close call.”

  “When we learned you’d survived, believe me, there was celebrating down at the station. But why didn’t you call in, let us know you were okay?”

  Connor glanced at Iris once more.

  She nodded. “Tell him everything.”

  “Wait. Is the witch there with you?”

  “Yes. We were both set-up and we’re trying to get to the bottom of it. But Gary was involved. He confessed that someone had paid him a lot of money to make sure I was sent out to Amado Bridge and later, Sentinel. The TPS officer was given the same orders, to both places.”

  “Both of you? That doesn’t make sense.”

  “Believe me, we can’t find the connection either.”

  “So, we’ve got a dangerous rogue witch on our hands and what else?”

  “One of ours. A vampire.”

  There was silence for a moment, then, “You’re saying a vampire and a witch are working together? That’s insane.”

  He glanced down at his hand holding Iris’s. “I know.”

  Iris drew a little closer and covered their joined hands with one of her own. He met her worried gaze.

  Connor continued, “In my opinion, the massacre confirms it. The vampire who paid off Big Nuts was in the club, I saw him. But he was be-spelled so I couldn’t get a decent visual. Another indication he was probably working with a witch. In fact, it explains a lot.” He told Vaughn the essentials of their visit to the club then asked, “Have you seen any of the security footage? Gary had an excellent system in place and Officer Meldeere and I are probably on it, as well as the vampire, maybe even the witch.”

  “It’s been trashed.”

  Connor blew the air from his cheeks. “This guy is good.”

  “Yeah, but who is he and what witch has he joined forces with over in Elegance?”

  Iris released his hand and moved away. Connor watched her start to pace again, a frown between her brows.

  “I have no idea. But he’s well-connected. Easton sent me specifically out to the first bridge as well as Sentinel and Donaldson at the Trib sent Iris, that is, Officer Meldeere to both places as well.”

  Vaughn snorted, but lowered his voice. “And you’ve just named two of the most corrupt bureaucrats Five Bridges has on its payroll. You’re right. This vampire has clout of some kind, maybe the backing of one of the cartels. But listen, I’ve got to go. Easton is out here and he’s about to go ballistic because I’m on the phone. I’m here if you need me. You know that, right?”

  “I do.”

  “And when all this
is over, we’ll grab a beer. In the meantime, stay alive for fuck’s sake. Crescent needs you.”

  Connor ended the call, a pit between his brows. “A witch. Jesus.”

  Iris moved close to him once more. “What do you think an attack on Gary and his club means because for the life of me, I don’t get it. Why would our enemy kill off everyone in a sex club including the owner? If Big Nuts was to be believed, the same man paid him to set us up? Why would he then turn on Gary like this?”

  Connor shook his head. “That’s the question, isn’t it? But then why did he bother torturing Jason and Sadie? He could have killed them outright. No, we’re looking at a sadist, probably a pair of them.”

  He watched a shudder pass through Iris. “You’re probably right and if any place is designed to breed the criminally insane, Five Bridges is that place.”

  Connor nodded. “But why you and me? We’d never even met until last night.”

  Iris tilted her head. “I think we need to start back at the top, at Sentinel. We know those two were romantically involved, but what else do we know about them?”

  “I’ve already told you my connection to Jason. He was with me at that tragic shooting. And you knew Sadie at the Tribunal. But did you work on any cases with her?”

  “Let me think.” She closed her eyes and he let her be. When she opened them, her eyes were narrowed. “Only one time that I can recall. Donaldson had asked me to close a file on a missing woman and I’d been in pretty close contact with the husband, Evan Pierce. His wife, Heather, had been abducted at a Christmas Party. This was nine years ago, maybe longer. Anyway, I was able to make excellent progress then suddenly I was shut down. Sadie was the one who delivered Donaldson’s orders. But that’s the only encounter I had with her.”

  “Was she working for Donaldson back then as his assistant?”

  “You know, I think she was a temp at the time. She’d been filling in that night because Donaldson’s assistant was out sick. And he’s had the same one from the time I came on board.”

  Connor thought this through. “And what about this man, Evan, who lost his wife. Did you ever speak with him again?”

  “I went to see him in Phoenix to tell him that the case had been shut down. He’d been very accepting at that point. He knew enough about Five Bridges to understand the chances of getting his wife out alive and unharmed were slim. But are you thinking he’s involved somehow?”

  Connor shook his head. “Just trying to piece things together.”

  “Well, Evan is human, not altered. He wouldn’t be any kind of threat here in our world.”

  “No, he wouldn’t.”

  Iris shook her head slowly. “I hated that case. Evan was so in love with his wife. It reminded me of all that I’d lost.”

  “Did you ever find out what happened to his wife?”

  Her phone rang and she lifted finger. “I should take this.” With the phone still on speaker, she answered the call. “Meldeere.”

  A woman’s voice came on the line. “Iris?”

  Iris’s lips curved. “That’s me.”

  “Oh, thank God, you’re okay.”

  “Hi, Faith. I am. Thanks.”

  “How you holdin’ up, sweetheart? We all saw the news footage that a Crescent BP officer got you off the bridge before it blew.”

  “He did.”

  “I wish you’d called in to let us know you were all right, but I’m sure you were pretty shaken up.”

  “Horribly. But is that why you’ve called? I mean if it is, that’s fine and it really is wonderful to hear your voice.”

  “Actually,” Connor heard Faith sigh. “Donaldson came down here a couple of minutes ago. He scowled the whole time. He said he didn’t care that you almost died, he needed you on another assignment. Pronto.”

  Another set-up. Shit. Adrenaline flooded Connor’s heart and veins. He moved close to Iris, sliding his arm around her waist. Now that he knew it was possible they were dealing with a pair of homicidal maniacs, Connor didn’t want Iris anywhere near them.

  Faith continued, “We’ve got an incident in Crescent that Donaldson wants you to check out. It’s in the central section and pretty far from that mess down in Rotten Row. Have you been following those killings?”

  “I have.”

  “Brutal.”

  “Yeah, they are. So what’s the incident?”

  “Right. Four or more vampires out near Tonopah Bridge. Looks like a drug deal gone bad, or something. But that’s all the info I have. I don’t know if they’re dead, or hopped up on flame, or what. FYI, the canal over there has been breached and there’s water flowing beneath the bridge on the ditch side, not sure how much though.”

  Iris’s brown eyes were wide and he could see her pulse beating fast in her throat. “Got it. I’ll head out there in the next few minutes. Was there anything else?”

  “No, but call me when you’ve assessed the situation.”

  “Donaldson’s orders?”

  “No. Those are mine.” She lowered her voice. “I just don’t want you getting killed because our prick-of-a-boss has taken some kind of pay-off. But that’s all I’m going to say.”

  Iris smiled and Connor could feel some of the tension leave her body. “You’re the best, Faith. Later.”

  Tonopah Bridge.

  The moment she ended the call, Connor dropped down in the nearest chair. Their enemy was bringing them back full circle in a way, to one of the crimes that had wrecked him as a man. He hadn’t been out to Tonopah Bridge in a long time.

  Iris moved close. “What’s going on?”

  “That bastard is fucking with me. He knows too damn much about my life.”

  Iris pulled a chair close. “Is Tonopah where that pregnant woman died? The one with a gun strapped to her wrist?”

  “Yes.”

  Connor leaned forward, clasping his hands between his knees, his forearms on his thighs. He didn’t want to talk about it again. But the memory rose up like a dragon, blasting him once more. He would never forget her lovely green eyes, watching him as he approached. They’d been panicked at first, then resolution had come over her face.

  Iris spoke quietly. “Tell me what happened.”

  He decided to launch in. “About nine, nine-and-a-half years ago, I’d been on the job awhile, but it had been a hellish night. Two of the officers I worked with had been shot and killed. We’d had so many runners out, so many gun battles, that when I took this call about a runner not far from Tonopah Bridge, I was in a bad way. One of the men we lost was a good friend.

  “When I saw the runner, I was pissed. She was heading up the wash, loaded with drugs. Worse, I could see she had a gun in her hand. I yelled for her to stop or I’d shoot. She did stop and sat in the dirt waiting. She looked resigned, then she said to me, ‘The baby stopped moving.’

  “I saw then she was pregnant. The next thing I knew she was lifting her arm and the pistol flashed in front of me. On instinct, I fired, shot her in the chest.”

  “Did she get a shot off? Were you hurt?”

  He shook his head. “She couldn’t. It wasn’t a real gun and they’d taped it to her wrist.”

  “Oh, God. She’d wanted to die.”

  He nodded. “She was so thin.” He touched his neck. “She had the blood flame rash on her neck. She was emaciated, strung out, bruised all to hell. She was un-altered, one of the reasons she was so weak. She’d been badly used.”

  “And she was sure her baby had died.”

  “Yes.”

  He hadn’t spoken of the incident in years. The pain came rushing back, the horror that he’d killed a woman enslaved in his world through no fault of her own.

  “Did you ever find out who she was?”

  He shook his head. “I did what investigation I could, but it always ended a level or two up the food chain, then got canned. I knew not to push. Besides, this woman was one of thousands I’d seen from the time I started working Border Patrol. But she was the only one I killed because of a s
et-up and a death wish.”

  Iris had gotten very quiet. He glanced up at her. “What?”

  “All the flame drugs are hard on fetuses.”

  Back in his human life, he remembered the fuss women would pay to either expectant mothers or infants. It seemed to hurt Iris deeply that the woman had lost her child in utero. But then, he’d come to know Iris as a sensitive, caring woman.

  When his phone rang, he wasn’t surprised. He reached across the table and drew it close. It was the station.

  He kept it on speaker. “Connor.”

  “You in one piece?” Lily’s voice again.

  “I am, but let me spare you. Easton needs me out at Tonopah Bridge, right?

  “How the hell did you know that?”

  “I’m becoming clairvoyant.” He heard her laugh, but before she could say anything else, he asked. “What are the details?”

  “A bunch of vampires are out there, partying with some flame. Easton wants you to check it out, subdue them if you can.”

  “Is the canal water still flowing down there?”

  “So you knew that as well, huh? But, yeah. They blew enough of a hole to set the water flowing beneath the bridge. That’s all I know. Did Vaughn reach you?”

  “Yep. But listen, Lily, would you tell Easton something for me?”

  “Sure.”

  “Tell him to go fuck himself.”

  Lily didn’t say anything for a moment. “You sure that’s what you want me to do?”

  “Oh, yeah. Tell him to go fuck himself and that after I take this call, I’m turning in my badge.”

  “It’s about time. I’m hanging up now because I intend to deliver this message personally.”

  ***

  Iris dressed slowly and with great care. She put her hair in a ponytail, donned a pair of black jeans, a reinforced belt, and a hot pink t-shirt because she was pissed. Both their bosses were happy to sell them down the river.

  Fine. Whatever.

  And Connor had been right to resign. She was thinking about doing the same.

  She checked her Sig then clipped on her holster. Her nerves were jumping by the time she met Connor in the dining area.

  Damn, but he looked good. The size of his muscles stood out along with his tattoos. He was in full warrior mode with his fighting energy pulsing through the room.