“Back off, you son of a bitch!” Her voice was tinged in pain, but held an unwavering strength.
“Lana, it’s me,” Adam hissed, not liking that this was the third time a gun had been aimed at his head in less than thirty damn minutes. “Put the damn gun down before you take my head off.”
Lana moaned, dropping the gun to her side. “What the hell happened?”
“Looks like you took a trip down the steps.” Adam looked up as more heavy footsteps pounded above them. “Come on. We have got to get you out of here.”
“I’m fine.” She tried to stand, but wobbled. “I can’t see a damn thing.”
The door to the basement squealed open. Adam moved quickly, pulling Lana behind him backing up, his eyes searching for a way to get Lana out. He didn’t give a shit if she was a cop or not. She was his responsibility and he was going to make damn sure she lived. He tried not to think of Angelina upstairs with the other women, helpless and waiting for him. Where in the hell was his back up? Oh, that’s right. He was a dumb ass and didn’t tell anyone where he was going. Shit!
Lana stepped back around him, aiming her gun toward the stairs. “I thought you said you couldn’t see anything,” Adam whispered, still watching the steps.
“I can’t,” she whispered back. “Just tell me when to start shooting.”
Adam grinned; he couldn’t help it. Even though he was damn worried about her and the women upstairs, he was pumped and ready for whoever came down the steps. He actually loved this shit. “Stay here. Don’t move and please don’t shoot me,” Adam whispered as he silently headed for the steps. Plastering his back against the wall, he checked Lana who stood steady and determined with her gun aimed surprisingly accurately toward the steps. He just hoped to God she had control and didn’t shoot him.
As the person coming down the steps was about to the turn the corner to the last three steps, Adam readied himself. Glancing down, he waited. As soon as he saw a foot, he was going in for the takedown. In the next second, a shoe appeared and Adam reached around grabbing the front of the man’s shirt, but to Adam’s surprise, he was the one being flipped to the ground, his face pounded by heavy fists.
“Adam!” Lana screamed. “Stop or I’ll shoot.”
The pounding stopped at Lana’s voice, and Adam was able to see Sid sitting on top of him, whose eyes were focused on Lana.
“How in the hell can you shoot if you can’t see a fucking thing,” Sid growled, pushing himself off Adam to go to Lana.
Rolling over and up onto his knees, Adam sighed while wiping the blood leaking from his nose. The basement lights flared on making Adam flinch at their brightness. “It’s about fucking time.”
Sid ignored him while he looked over Lana. “Who the fuck did that to your face?” His voice was deadly low.
Lana still squinted from the bright lights. “I was chasing someone and didn’t realize anyone else was here. He hit me from the side, and then threw me down here.” Lana frowned. “Rookie mistake.”
“And where the fuck were you?” Sid turned on Adam, his face furious.
Adam grimaced, getting the first real look at her face. It was bloodied and battered; her eye almost swelled shut. “I was…ah…”
“Obviously not with her where you should have been,” Sid roared, pointing his finger at Adam.
“Sid, it’s not his fault.” Lana put her gun back in the waist of her jeans. “I sent him upstairs while I went on the chase.”
Sid ignored her, his eyes still glaring hot at Adam. “Never leave your partner’s back unprotected.” Sid stopped Lana when she tried to walk past him, but his eyes stayed on Adam.
“I know.” Adam nodded, knowing Sid was right. It was one of the first lessons taught to him. “I fucked up. I’m sorry, Lana.”
Lana pulled her arm away from Sid. “You have nothing to be sorry for, Adam. I was in charge and you followed my orders.” She turned to look at Sid. “So be pissed at me.”
“Oh, I am more than pissed at you,” Sid’s tone was low, his eyes blacker than midnight as he glared down at her.
“Good, cause I’m still pissed at you.” She pushed past him. “Now get the hell out of my way. I’ve got work to finish here. Come on, Adam. What did you find upstairs?”
Adam went to follow Lana, but Sid pushed him out of the way and followed her up the stairs. “There are two guys upstairs in one of the rooms,” Adam called around Sid to Lana.
They stopped in the kitchen, Sid still looked pissed and worried, but his Warrior instincts kicked in. Jared walked into the room. “Found two guys knocked out upstairs. The one married to Angelina is coming around and there is one door locked, but the rest have been checked.”
Adam frowned, heading out of the kitchen. “The door that’s locked has about six women, both human and half-breeds.”
Climbing the steps, he found Slade and Damon in front of the door. “Angelina?” Adam called out, making his way between the two Warriors. “Open the door.”
“I can’t.” Her voice filtered through the door. “The lock is jammed where you broke the key.”
“Angelina, get everyone away from the door.” Adam waited for a few minutes, hearing footsteps scurrying away. Slade and Damon moved to give him room. With one swift kick, he smashed the door open.
Some of the women sat huddled against each other, while others stood. Every pair of eyes was on Adam and the Warriors, mistrust evident in their gaze. Angelina was the first to move, walking to Adam. She stood, staring up at him as he looked down at her. Slade and Damon moved past them, slowly approaching the women.
“I’m sorry,” Angelina spoke as they stood somewhat alone, her voice breaking at the end. “I had no choice.”
“You could have warned me somehow.” Adam didn’t know exactly how to feel. He wanted to just say screw it, grab her and never let go, but he remembered the hurt standing on the doorstep as he met her husband. “But instead, you introduced me to your husband.”
Angelina didn’t look away, but the anger in her eyes surprised him. “I had no choice,” she repeated. “And he’s not my husband.”
Damon walked up beside them. “We need you, Adam.” He looked from Adam to Angelina. “We also need a statement from you. Have you been hurt?”
Angelina looked away from Adam to stare up at Damon, and then back at Adam. “Yes.” With that, she walked away to stand with the other women.
Adam frowned at her retreating back, but snapped out of it when Damon stepped in his line of vision.
“Do I need to send you back to the compound or are you up for the task?” Damon’s tone was strict and to the point.
“No, I’m fine,” Adam replied, knowing this wasn’t the time to talk to Angelina. He needed to do his job. “What needs to be done?”
“We have Jill and Steve on the way to interview some of the women since it doesn’t look like you’re up for that task,” Damon’s voice was harsh. “You did good, Adam, but right now, you need to focus on the job at hand and it involves more than Angelina. Take care of personal stuff afterwards. Now, are you up for the task or not?”
Adam’s eyes snapped away from Angelina. Dammit. “I said I’m fine.” Adam forced his eyes to stay on Damon. “I can interview or whatever you need me to do.”
“We need to do a search of the house. Look for anything unusual like vials and stuff like that. Shit, what a fucking mess.” Damon turned to look at the women and Slade who was calming them down. “Head back down and see what Jared needs you to do. We have it up here for now until Jill and Steve get here.”
Adam nodded, and as soon as Damon’s back turned, he looked to Angelina who was staring at him. In that moment, he made a decision, and without words, he let her know. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the blue hairband and placed it on his wrist. Turning, he walked out the door, but not before he saw the surprised relief flashing across her pale face.
Chapter 10
Jill walked up to the house, not surprised at the turn of events. Co
p cars, ambulances and even a fire truck took up most of the street in front of the house. Sloan led the way.
“This looks like it’s going to go over well.” Sarcasm dripped from each word as Sloan surveyed the chaos taking place around the house.
“Well, if Adam would have listened to me in the first place, we may have avoided all of this.” Jill almost ran into Sloan when he stopped suddenly.
Sloan turned to glare down at her. “Listen to you about what?”
“Ah, well…” Sloan’s glare made Jill’s tongue thick and her brain thicker. He was a very intimidating man.
Steve, who had been quiet until this point and probably should have stayed that way, decided to explain. “Jill told Adam from the start she thought Angelina was lying about being happily married to that man.” Steve didn’t seem too intimidated as he continued, “She wanted to come here with him earlier to prove it to him, but he said no. I guess he changed his mind.” Steve glanced around at all the craziness surrounding them.
“And what made you think she was lying?” Sloan’s attention went back to Jill, but before she could say a word, Steve continued.
“You know how women are.” Steve rolled his eyes and actually elbowed Sloan in the ribs, missing the shocked look on Jill’s face and the killing glare from Sloan. “They think the grass is greener on the other side and…”
Jill finally found her brain and tongue as well as her fist that wanted to punch Steve in the face. “That’s not the reason I thought she was lying.” Jill looked at him as if he’d lost his mind. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
“Well you were doing a lot of…ah…huh…well…ah…so I thought I would help you out.” Steve frowned.
“Do me a favor and don’t…help.” Jill tossed him a glare, and then looked up at Sloan who seemed to be on the edge of losing his short temper. “I just felt she was lying because I’ve known her for a long time and she has always been in love with Adam. So for her to just fall for some random guy years older than her just didn’t feel right to me, so I told Adam. Of course, being a typical male who thinks he knows it all, he didn’t listen, or at least, I didn’t think he listened.”
“Instincts are usually not wrong. Most of us are alive today because of them.” Sloan nodded at her. “Good job, Jill, but next time, don’t go to the person who is closely involved like Adam in this type of situation. Go to someone neutral to check it out first.”
“Yes, sir,” Jill replied, and then smirked at Steve when Sloan turned his back.
“And Steve,” Sloan said without turning around as he continued to the house. “Don’t answer for other people when you don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.”
“Yes, sir,” Steve replied, and then flipped Jill off when she silently laughed at him.
Jill simply shook her head as they made their way up the steps to the front door. No one tried to stop them; actually, they were stepping out of Sloan’s way. It was quite impressive.
As soon as they made it into the house, Jared pointed at her and Steve. “You’re needed upstairs. Third door on the right.”
Without question, both Jill and Steve headed upstairs and were met by Adam and Slade.
Adam stopped, holding up his hand. “Don’t even say it.”
“Oh, you don’t get off that easy, bud.” Jill smirked, liking being right.
“She did tell you so,” Steve added with a smirk of his own. “She was pretty dead on.”
Noticing the stress on Adam’s face, her smirk disappeared quickly. “Is she okay?” Jill asked, her teasing tone gone, replaced with concern.
He nodded. “Yeah, she is.”
“Good. I’ll give you more shit later.” Jill couldn’t help but put the dig in at Adam before she glanced at Slade. “Jared told us to come up here.”
“We need you to interview some of the women before we release them to their families.” Slade turned, heading down the hallway.
Jill watched Adam go in the opposite direction, wondering what the hell was going on. Sloan didn’t tell them much on the way over, other than get their asses to his office pronto, and then they blindly followed him to his car.
Slade stopped in front of a door before he turned toward them. “Most of the women’s families have been contacted, but ask them to make sure. If they haven’t, then contact their families before interviewing them.”
“What are we interviewing them for?” Steve asked, peering around Slade to see into the room.
Jill also looked into the room and was shocked as she stared into the frightened eyes of some of the women, some who had eyes like hers. “Who are those women?” Jill’s eyes shot back to the women and then down the hall as Jared and Duncan disappeared into a room, only to return ushering out two men, one who claimed to be Angelina’s husband.
“They are a part of the trafficking ring,” Slade replied without further explanation, since the expression on Jill’s face said she’d worked it out already.
“But I thought we stopped that.” Jill’s eyes filled with anger.
“Unfortunately, it’s never going to stop,” Slade replied, his voice softening. “We only put a small dent in it that night.”
“So what I did was for nothing,” Jill hissed, anger clinching her stomach, making her feel sick.
“No, it stopped some of it, so I don’t think it was for nothing, Jill,” Steve added, touching her arm as he passed her.
“Well, it needs to stop,” she replied, before spotting Angelina. “And I’m going to do everything in my power to see no more women suffer at the hands of men like this.” She went to push past Slade, but he stopped her.
“What you did that night was not nothing, Jill,” Slade reassured, still holding onto her arm. “Never doubt what you did.”
The skin on her arm where he touched tingled, feeling nothing like when Steve touched her or anyone else for that matter. “It’s hard not to doubt when I see this.” She turned her head toward the women. “Why do people do this to other people?”
“Greed.” Slade’s voice was strong, his eyes seeing through her like no other.
Jill frowned with a shiver. “I remember how some of those men looked at me and greed had nothing to do with it.”
“You were safe.” Slade’s tone took on a protective, hard edge as he pulled her closer. “No one would have hurt you.”
Jill felt herself leaning toward him, everything around her disappearing. She was so drawn to this man, and even though he was sexy as sin, she knew it wasn’t that or at least not all of it anyway. She never was a visual type of girl going crazy over the cutest guy in school, one who her friends always went nuts over. No, it was something else entirely, and she felt it deeply, so deep it scared her.
“Some of the families are down on the street waiting,” Damon informed them as he came up behind Jill.
Slade dropped Jill’s arm like she was diseased, taking a step back. “Find out who has been interviewed and let them go to their families, unless they’ve been turned. In that case, they are either going with us or to another Warrior compound in the area,” Slade ordered her, his protectiveness turned to bossiness. “Make sure we have their contact information.”
“Yes, sir.” Sarcasm dripped from her voice. “Anything else, sir?”
Warning her with his eyes and a frown, he shook his head. “That’s enough, for now.”
Jill nodded without the sneer she wanted to shoot his way. Turning around, she headed into the room, wanting to kick her own ass for acting like a girl. This gooey, stomach tingling bullshit she felt whenever he was around needed to go away. Stopping, she turned to glance his way as he stood talking to Damon. Maybe she should just show up in his room…naked, screw his brains out and then leave. That should cure her of these stupid feelings. Her eyes traveled his body. Yeah, like that would happen. Plus, it wasn’t her style. She wasn’t a hoe, never been a hoe and wasn’t about to start being a hoe. She’d probably make an ass out of herself anyway. He was probably used to hoes wh
o knew what the hell they were doing. Her eyes traveled to his face just as he slowly turned his head; their eyes met and the heat coming from his made her wonder if he knew exactly what she had been thinking. She turned and ran smack into Steve.
“What the hell are you doing?” Steve frowned at her, handing her a pad of paper and pen. “Come on, man. These women want to get out of here and to their families they haven’t seen in months.”
Jill felt her face flush and cursed herself again for thinking about screwing the hot-ass vampire behind her rather than helping these poor women. Mad at herself, she jerked the paper and pen out of his hand. Spotting Angelina sitting with another woman, she headed her way.
“Angelina?” Jill knelt down in front of her, and when Angelina looked over, Jill frowned. “Are you okay?”
Angelina gave her a sad smile. “I’m okay, but Anne is having a lot of pain.”
Jill looked over at Anne, knowing without even having to ask, she had just been turned. “Are you having stomach cramps that feel like your insides are on fire?”
Biting her lip, Anne nodded her head, holding her stomach. “And my head feels real foggy, like I’m in a dream.”
“This is going to last for a couple of days.” Jill touched her arm in comfort. “I know exactly what you’re going through, and I promise you, after it’s over, you are going to feel like a million bucks.”
“Really?” The young woman’s face brightened, but then saddened. “I’ve got a six-year-old son. Am I going to be able to go near him again?”
Feeling a presence at her back, she knew by the woman’s fearful expression, Slade had walked up to listen to their conversation. “Of course you are going to be able to go near your son.” Jill prayed she was telling this woman the right thing, but if it were her, nothing would keep her away from her child.
“You may have to wait for a few weeks until you get your hunger under control.” Slade’s voice cut into the conversation. “But, yes, you will be with your son again.”
Adam (The Protectors Series) Book #5 Page 8