Her Midnight Wedding (Keeper's Kin Book 2)

by Beth Alvarez

  “What, didn’t bring any of your camo to hide your face?” Felicity teased.

  “Not for a job in a city, I didn’t. Starting to think Colton might be on to something with that hat.”

  Scrubbing her eyes again, Felicity stifled a yawn. “Did you guys come up with a plan while I was out?”

  “I think we’re going to have to wing it,” Justine said. “We’ve got the directions, but we don’t know what the place is going to be like.”

  “Comforting,” Felicity said.

  The city loomed ahead, buildings creating tall silhouettes against the night sky.

  “Not much of a skyline,” Cole said. “Compared to Dallas, anyway.”

  Justine shrugged. “Smaller city, fewer places to hide. Works to our advantage.”

  Felicity worked her fingers through the tangles at the nape of her neck. “I’d prefer not to have any big city adventures, anyway.”

  “Really?” Cole raised a brow. “I would have thought you’d enjoy getting out of that tiny town, once in a while.”

  “I can’t imagine you see a lot of adventure there,” Justine added, though she smirked. “Just the one, right? How’s this one stacking up?”

  Felicity couldn’t resist a laugh. “Honestly, it’s a lot more straightforward. But I’ve got more people on my side this time.”

  “Sometimes more bodies makes all the difference.” Cole checked the GPS on the dash as they passed through the heart of the city, weaving their way into a more questionable area.

  Felicity slid down in her seat, peering out the window. “What kind of club is this?”

  Justine chuckled. “With a name like ’The Dairy’, I could make a guess.”

  “There it is.” Cole took them past the parking lot, opting for a more secluded hiding place for the SUV. “Bouncers are still out front, they must just now be closing up.”

  His Keeper nodded, preparing her gun. “Going in the back?”

  “Probably best. The guy said they’d be in a room in the back, anyway.” He parked and retrieved his weapons from under the seat.

  “Hopefully not in the middle of a lap dance,” Felicity muttered.

  He shrugged. “They can’t be that naughty. Most of the clubs around here don’t even permit the girls to be topless. It’s against city ordinances.”

  Justine rolled her eyes. “I’m not even going to ask how you know that.”

  Cole only grinned.

  They slid out of the SUV, the sound of gravel crunching underfoot harsh in the still of night. The city noise seemed distant, the sound of cars on the Interstate little more than a whisper in the background.

  Cole moved ahead of them, scouting out the alleyway behind the row of buildings. It was darker, dirty, and just peering down it gave Felicity chills.

  “Keep walking, princess.” Justine caught her arm, tugging her along.

  Somewhere ahead, a figure turned, a cloud of cigarette smoke pooling in the alley between them. “Entrance is on the other side.”

  Cole shrugged. “Problem number one.” He surged forward, catching the man with an uppercut, sending the cigarette flying in a shower of embers.

  Justine ran to join him, suit tails flying, but Cole already had the guy in a choke hold by the time she got there. He jerked his head toward the door and she nodded, testing the handle. “Locked.”

  Felicity hurried forward, rapping firmly on the door.

  The smoker struggled for only a moment before Cole’s grip got the better of him. He wilted, his eyes rolling back in his head. The hunter dropped him to the pavement.

  The door opened a crack and Justine caught it with her foot, flinging it wide and snagging the girl on the other side before she could scream.

  The other women in the back room froze, then panicked shrieks filled the air. Cole swept in, slamming the door shut and raising his gun overhead. “Shut it!”

  The protests faded beneath the throbbing bass of the music in the front, the club girls clinging to each other. Felicity avoided looking at them. Cole was right; technically, none of them were naked. Even so, that much body glitter over so much bare skin was sure to burn itself into her memory, and that was one vision she preferred her soon-to-be-husband didn’t pick out of her head. Instead, she skimmed the back room, trying not to let the sequins and metallic spandex distract her. She didn’t know where to look. She’d never been somewhere like this.

  “No one’s going to hurt you, ladies,” Cole announced. “We’re looking for someone. Young man, about five eleven, hazel eyes-”

  “That could be a million people,” Justine interrupted. The Keeper looked wildly out of place in her suit, and she played it up in the authoritative way she approached the girls. “Who uses your building for regular meetings?”

  “Some cowboys,” one woman began, watching Cole. Felicity thought it a wonder the hunter kept his eyes on the women’s faces. Even she couldn’t do that. She crossed her arms over her less-endowed chest, stifling an uncharacteristic and inappropriate hint of envy.

  “What’s going on?” A large man in a plain white shirt all but burst around the corner, freezing when Cole turned with his gun. Before either of the men could act, Justine spun and opened the front of her suit jacket. Felicity caught nothing more than a flash of something metallic, but it was enough that the bouncer froze.

  “Where?” Justine asked.

  The woman pointed, her hand shaking. “Third room. I’ll show you.”

  When Felicity looked, the bouncer had disappeared.

  “Police will be here soon,” Cole whispered, lowering his gun and whisking Felicity along behind Justine and the woman. He watched the doors and the people crowding in them to see what was going on, shielding her from prying eyes.

  Felicity had never felt more out of place in her life. The dance music thumped in time with the bouncing backside of the woman in front of them, her metallic booty shorts flashing with every step. Glitter and gaudy colors vied for her attention, gawking strangers making her more aware of her worn jeans and black tee. She didn’t wear dark colors and she didn’t wear jeans all that often, either, but it was the most stealth-friendly thing she owned.

  Never mind that she walked between two vampires, both armed and confident, strolling through the club as if they owned the place. Felicity wasn’t sure she could use her firearm if she had to. She didn’t belong here. Not in the club, not in the situation, not with a team of undead. Swallowing hard, she put her head down and followed.

  The woman stopped outside a numbered door and hesitated.

  Justine slipped forward, holding her gun ready. “Go. The police are coming. It sounds like you’re still open. Better be ready or they’ll come through the front door.”

  Blanching, the woman hurried around the corner and out of sight.

  Not waiting for any orders, Cole kicked the door so hard the frame splintered. The door banged against the wall and Justine burst in behind him, spitting a most unladylike curse as a glass shattered right next to her head.

  A trio of men around a card table sprang to their feet. Cole posted himself in front of Felicity so fast she almost didn’t see one of them pull a gun.

  He didn’t have time to fire. Justine moved fast, kicking the edge of the table upward, flipping it toward the men.

  “Right!” the Keeper shouted, veering to the man on the left. Cole rushed right, slamming the butt of his pistol into his target’s arm. The man’s hand struck the wall, his gun bouncing out of his grasp.

  Felicity darted for it, snatching the weapon off the ground. The third man tried to dodge around the overturned table, ducking with his head in his hands.

  Nick.

  Slender as he was, he was still close to twice her size. Opting for surprise, she cut him off, whipping her claimed weapon up to strike his face.

  She missed by a hair. Nick caught her arm and tried to fling her aside. She spun around him instead, swinging the end of her pistol’s grip forcefully against the back of his head. He went down hard,
taking her with him.

  A bone-crunching crack from Justine’s adversary came with a scream of pain. Felicity struggled beneath Nick’s weight, but he wasn’t trying to hold her down. He shoved against her, extricating his arms and legs from the tangle. She grabbed after him, catching one of his boots as he tried to escape. “Cole!”

  The hunter caught his opponent in a choke hold, squeezing until the man’s face turned red, then blue. He dropped him and lunged after Nick.

  They crashed into the wall and Felicity scrambled out from under their feet.

  Justine looked over her shoulder for a split second and the man she grappled with tried to overpower her. He got two swift kicks to the stomach and dropped to his knees. Her hand lashed against the side of his neck and he collapsed.

  “Hang tight,” the Keeper said. “That won’t buy us long.”

  The man Cole had dropped was already groaning, holding a hand to his head.

  The hunter thrust Nick against the wall and held him fast.

  Felicity got to her feet, waving Justine away when she offered help.

  “If you’re looking for Kade,” Nick said, puffing for breath, “I don’t know where he is. Probably turned chicken and ran.”

  Felicity fought the urge to slap him. “Actually, I was looking for you. I’m surprised you’d be somewhere like this, but if you’re running with rustlers, I guess I shouldn’t be.”

  He lurched forward and Cole pressed the muzzle of his gun against Nick’s chest.

  “What are you gonna do? Kill me?” Nick almost laughed. “My father would find out. He’d-”

  The end of Cole’s gun cracked across his face, cutting him short.

  “Watch it,” Felicity snapped.

  The hunter averted his eyes, but didn’t apologize.

  Inching forward, she grasped Nick’s chin, turning his bloodied face toward her. “Nobody wants to kill you, Nick. Right now, I just want to know why you did it.”

  “Why I did what?” He almost laughed. “You make it sound like I’m the bad guy, here!”

  Part of her wanted to grab him by the shirt and shake him. He was the bad guy! After everything he’d done, how could he consider himself anything else? “You tried to blackmail Kade.” She sounded calmer than she felt.

  “He deserves it.” Nick leaned forward, spitting blood at her shoes. “I tried to lure him out. I did everything I could. I don’t know what he’s done to make you want to protect him. He’s a monster, Felicity.”

  “He’s a hero,” she snapped back. “He did everything he could to protect Holly Hill and everybody in it from your last employer. Or did you think you could keep people from finding out about that?”

  His eyes darkened.

  She twisted her foot, wiping her shoe against the hot pink shag carpet. “Your dad is going to hear all about how you got yourself in trouble, working for Drake du Coudray. He knew there had to be a mole somewhere, tipping off the rustlers.” Felicity shook her head. “I never would have imagined it was you.”

  “It was just a few cows!” Nick protested.

  Justine paced closer. “The du Coudray case was not just a few cows. Du Coudray was connected to multiple murders. Why do you think Kade was sent to kill him?”

  Nick’s eyes widened. “He... Kade did that?”

  “And saved my life in the process,” Felicity added. “Like she said, it was never about cows. Don’t forget du Coudray’s men tried to kill Kade on the ranch.”

  “But I’m sure if you’d known that, you wouldn’t have tried to blackmail him. Right?” Cole gave him a little jostle.

  Nick shut his eyes and swallowed hard. “I just... I didn’t see any other way, okay? I thought it was small. Nobody was supposed to get hurt. A couple cows, in and out, then I’d be done. Then-”

  “Then that escalated into assault and blackmail?” Justine raised a brow. “Yeah, sounds real small to me.”

  “But-” he started, stopping when she raised a hand.

  Shouts echoed in the front room, the music gone. Booted footsteps marched toward them, yielding a sigh from the Keeper. “Miss Hammond, in the corner. Cole, keep him still. I’ll handle this.”

  Felicity gave Nick one last long, hard look, then tore herself away. She trudged to the corner of the room, sidestepping one of the half-conscious rustlers.

  Police appeared in the doorway, their rifles locking onto Cole. “Drop the weapon!”

  Justine turned to face them, and this time Felicity got a clear look at the badge pinned to the inside of her suit jacket. “Guns down, officers. Justine Jones, K.O.T.U., Investigations. This is Enforcer Cole Richter. We’re glad you’re here.”

  Enforcer. Felicity shivered at the word. Justine had used it to describe the job before. So far as she’d known, aside from Keepers, nobody had real titles. With Kade in mind, she preferred the term hunter.

  The officers slid into the room, one of them stalking toward Justine and reaching for her badge. “Let me see that,” he grumbled.

  Another crept toward Cole and Nick. “You, on the floor. You, drop the gun.”

  “You drop yours,” Cole replied, standing firm.

  The officer scoffed. “You wanna get shot?”

  Cole smirked back at him. “Try me.”

  “Enough,” Justine barked. “One of you keep hold of Foster. Someone else needs to cuff those two.” She passed her badge to the man beside her. “Are you in charge of this outfit?”

  He nodded, hand-signaling his men to act. A few more officers pushed past him, surrounding the waking rustlers.

  “Who’s this?” an officer asked, pointing a rifle toward Felicity.

  She froze.

  “Half of my undercover unit,” Justine said. “You want to help or not? Get these guys cuffed.”

  The lead officer grunted. “Care to explain why we’re here, Officer Jones?”

  “These men are connected to the William’s West rustling ring. This one is one of their major informants.” The Keeper flicked her fingers at Cole and Nick in some sort of signal. Seeming to understand, the hunter lowered his gun and pushed Nick toward the officer in front of him. Then he retreated, joining Felicity in the corner.

  The officer handed Justine her badge. “The what, now?”

  Justine returned it to the inside of her jacket and planted her hands on her hips. “I’ve been on this case for seven months. You mean you haven’t heard anything about it?”

  Felicity sighed, closing her eyes as the Keeper launched into a tirade.

  “You okay?” Cole asked in a murmur, resting a hand on her shoulder.

  “I’d feel better if I’d done much of anything,” she whispered back. “When I helped take down du Coudray, I spent days being shot at. Doesn’t this seem too easy?”

  He pulled her back a step as officers moved one of the rustlers. “Not every job we get is hard. First job I accompanied your sweetheart on, all he had to do was shoot a dog.”

  “It just seems too simple. Bust in, arrest the bad guy, let the Keepers and the police handle the paperwork.” She waved a hand toward Justine. “Is that really it?”

  “Wasn’t that all you had to do on your last hunt?” Nudging her side, he chuckled. “I think we got lucky, but I also have a feeling we’re not out of the woods just yet. Don’t get cocky, that’s when you get burned.”

  Felicity nodded, watching as one of the officers snapped cuffs onto Nick’s wrists. It paled in comparison to the gunfights she’d seen while helping Kade hunt the chupacabra and then Drake himself, but there was something else—some undercurrent she hadn’t identified yet—that made her suspect Cole was right. “One question. What does K.O.T.U. stand for? I didn’t realize Justine was an officer.”

  “Oh. They only whip that out when they’re trying to intimidate people.” Cole smirked. “The badges are mostly for show. Always works well with police, though.”

  “But what does it mean?”

  He shrugged. “Keepers Of The Undead. Weird how nobody ever asks.”


  “Take them out.” Justine raised her voice, pulling a cell phone from her pocket. “I’m sure these fine people want us out of their establishment. Richter, Hammond, I’ll meet you outside.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Cole replied.

  The Keeper strode out, pressing her phone to her ear. Behind her, the officers pushed their captives to the door. The two strangers ignored them, but Nick turned his head.

  “It’s not over just because you try to get me locked up,” he said. “I can still talk to my family. How long do you think you can hide? How long have you got before everyone else finds out?”

  Felicity turned away.

  “Don’t listen to him,” Cole murmured. “He’s the only one who needs to worry. Soon as he’s behind bars, his word won’t be worth too much.”

  “I know,” Felicity said. It wasn’t Nick’s threat that bothered her. It was that the same concern had run through her head a thousand times without him.

  Cole patted her shoulder, gently ushering her through the front of the club. Shot girls in lingerie and dancers pulling oversized tees on over their costumes watched with expressions ranging from mild curiosity to deep distress. Cole flashed them a wink and a grin on the way out.

  Police lights still flashed blinding blue outside, where the officers clustered around the backs of squad cars and SUVs. Radios crackled with loud, treble-heavy messages Felicity couldn’t make out.

  Justine materialized from somewhere in the mess, pacing toward them with just enough urgency to be unsettling. “I just got off the phone with Nashville’s headquarters,” she called over the noise. “We’ve got a problem.”

  TWENTY-TWO

  * * *

  FELICITY COULDN’T HAVE slept if she wanted to. Her stomach rolled over and over again, bringing constant waves of nausea. Her hands trembled against the steering wheel. She hadn’t been able to make herself let go of it, even though they’d parked some time ago.

  Cole didn’t seem to share her nerves, lounging in the back seat, still rubbing sleep from his eyes. “Take it easy,” he murmured, as if he’d detected her silent bitterness at his lack of concern. “The organization’s fast, but they aren’t that fast. It hasn’t even been a full day.”