“So I’m really going to have to drink blood?” Anne’s face cringed the words. “I really don’t think I’m going to be able to do that.”
Jill smiled. “I thought the same.” That was until she latched her lips on a sexy Warrior, but she decided to keep that tidbit of info to herself. “Totally gross, right? But it’s like eating or drinking something you don’t like. You have to do it so you get used to it because your body is going to crave it. And if you don’t drink when you need to, then you become a danger to those around you.”
“I don’t think I’m going to be able to do this.” The woman cried silent tears. “My husband isn’t going to want me near him or Brandon.”
“Has anyone contacted your husband yet?” Jill asked, still kneeling in front of Anne and Angelina. When she nodded, Jill stood and walked toward a window that was covered with paper. Ripping a small portion away, she peered out the window and spotted what she was looking for. “Is your son a cute little redhead?” She watched the man holding the child, both staring up at the house.
“Yes,” the woman cried as she tried to get up. Slade helped her up and half-carried her to the window. Peering out, the woman put her hand against the window and cried.
“I don’t think you have to worry about them not wanting you, because to me, that sure looks like two handsome men waiting for their loved one.” Jill took the woman in her arms and hugged her. “As soon as we finish, I will take you down to them so you can see them, but I think you are going to have to wait to be near them for just a little while longer.”
The woman squeezed Jill tightly. “Thank you.”
Jill held on, and then whispered to the woman, “If I could do it, you can. You have something to fight for down there.” She pulled slightly away from the woman. “You hear me, Anne? You fight for that down there. Family is everything.”
Slade helped the woman sit back down. Jill pulled him away. “I don’t know if her husband knows what is going on, but please go down there and warn him,” Jill whispered her plea. “Because if he denies her in front of me, I may kill him.”
Nodding, Slade smiled down at her. “I had planned on it.” He turned to leave, but stopped. “You are something else, Jillian.”
For a moment, she was speechless, but then snorted. “That’s what they say. And no one calls me Jillian unless I’m in trouble.”
“I’ll remember that.” He winked, then turned and left.
She wanted to throw something at the back of his damn head. He was hot one minute, then cold and then hot again. Damn it, he was going to cause her to lose her mind changing back and forth like that. Rolling her eyes, she turned back to the women, glancing over to see Steve talking to another woman who had been turned. Only Anne, Angelina and the other woman Steve was talking to were left.
Angelina was staring at her, sadness fresh in her eyes. “So are you really married to that man?” Jill asked, not being able to hold it in any longer.
“No, I’m not,” Angelina replied, a hint of anger edging her voice.
“Yeah, I didn’t think so.” Jill nodded. Taking the paper and pen, she started asking questions they had been taught to ask during investigations. Even though her dyslexia hampered her spelling, she had a system that she understood. Later that night, she would take her time to write it out legibly for anyone else to read it. So far, it had been working for her.
“Have you caught all the men?” Anne’s voice was weak with fatigue, fear still evident in her face.
“Three that I know of,” Jill replied, looking between the two women. “How many were there?”
“We believe five.” Angelina glanced at Anne. “That’s all I’ve seen, but I’ve heard different voices so I don’t know.”
“I need to tell you something,” Anne whispered, looking around nervously. “But they said if I told anyone they would kill my family. Only the ones turned know.”
Anger, hot and strong hit Jill, but she curbed it. “Know what, Anne?” Jill scooted closer, hoping to put the woman at ease; any information could only help them. When the woman still looked around in fear, Jill put herself in her line of vision. “Anne, the Warriors will not let anything happen to you. You’re safe.”
Anne’s head snapped to Jill, searching her eyes for the truth. She looked up at the ceiling seeming to have found what she was looking for. Slowly, Jill’s eyes followed suit. “What’s up there Anne?”
“A nightmare,” was all she said as her eyes lowered to meet Jill’s.
Chapter 11
Adam stood inside the main hallway trying not to think of Angelina or kill the bastard sitting handcuffed next to two other human-trafficking bastards two feet away from him.
Jared walked up next to him and sighed. “You got that killing urge yet?” he said loud enough for the three men to hear.
“Yep.” His eyes never left the bastard Robert.
“It’s pretty strong, isn’t it?” Jared crossed his arms and looked at the three men who were trying to look anywhere other than at him. “I mean look at those three loser assholes. Oh, they’re bad asses with women, but when it comes to men, well, they’re just pussies.”
Adam growled his agreement.
“You know back in the day, we didn’t handcuff them or sit them on a nice comfy couch.” Jared looked over at Adam. “No, we didn’t. We pretty much just took care of them, depending on their crime.”
Knowing what Jared was doing, Adam went along. “So let’s say it’s back in the day. What would happen to these assholes?”
Two uniformed cops stood close, listening with grins.
Jared had a grin of his own; except his grin flashed sharp fangs, which he let grow on purpose. “Rape against a woman is a slow death. First, we beat the shit out of them, and then we take anything dull and cut their dicks off, shove it down their throats and let them bleed out. Of course, the first guy doesn’t know what the hell is going to happen, but the other two, well, they get to watch and know what their punishment is going to be.”
“So that’s it?” Adam frowned, even though hearing about cutting a dick off with a dull instrument made him shift uncomfortably.
“Damn, man.” One of the uniformed officers grimaced. “Isn’t that enough?”
“No,” Adam growled, glaring at Robert.
“Good thing for you guys it’s not back in the day.” The other officer snorted, looking at the three men.
“Yeah, now we just take them back to our compound and do it all human like and legal, before shipping them off to prison.” Jared walked closer to the men, and with a sinister grin, he leaned down and looked at each one of them, making sure they saw his fangs as he sneered, his eyes going black in an instant as he lowered his voice. “Just so you know, you pieces of shit, once you get to the compound, it’s going to be back in the day, you got me?”
Robert cringed back, the man in the middle began to whimper in fear and the third on the end pissed his pants. Jared straightened up with a huge smile when he heard the officers cursing. “Dammit, Kincaid, I lose more damn money to you.”
“I can make them piss themselves every time.” Jared took the money from each officer before walking past Adam, his face turning serious. “We will make them pay, Adam. Mark my words, they will pay.” He gave him a serious nod as he walked away.
As Jared walked away, Adam looked back at Robert and wanted nothing more than to walk over and slam his fist in his face over and over again. Actually, he was surprised at the self-control he was maintaining by not doing that or running upstairs to be with Angelina, but he was waiting for further orders. He felt Jared putting him in charge of watching the bastard was a test, a test he wasn’t going to fail.
Hearing a commotion near the front door, Adam turned. The man in the paper, supposedly the new Mayor, walked in and following closely was Alice. Adam instantly didn’t like the man. He wore a tux as he stood using his authority over an officer by the door to make his way into the house. Alice was in an evening gown; it sparkled and b
arely covered her, and what it did cover, it was so tight she might as well have been naked. Nothing was left to the imagination in that dress.
“What are you looking at, breed?” the man asked as he stopped in front of him.
“Oh, leave him alone, Tom.” Alice put her hand on the man’s arm smiling at Adam with a familiar smile. “How are you, Adam?”
“Fine.” Adam’s eyes narrowed as Alice ran her tongue over her lips as her eyes roamed up and down Adam’s body, her eyes lingering between his legs. At that moment, he wondered how he had ever thought her beautiful. She was so ugly on the inside; it made her very unattractive on the outside.
“Who’s in charge here?” The Mayor looked away from Adam to one of the uniformed officers.
“Lana Fitzpatrick called in the distress,” the officer replied. “She was first on the scene.”
“Get her now,” Tom Ferguson, newly appointed Mayor, demanded. After the officer rushed off, Tom turned and looked at the three men handcuffed on the couch. “Who are they?”
Adam didn’t answer. He didn’t need to answer. This man, Mayor or not, was not his authority and he didn’t like the son of a bitch.
“I ask you a question, breed?” He turned with a sneer on his face.
A low growl rumbled deep in Adam’s throat, and he knew without a doubt, if someone didn’t get out there and soon, he was going to be ass deep in trouble. This guy was an asshole. “I only answer to my superior.” Adam calmed his voice enough to respond. “And that isn’t you.”
“No, it’s me.” Sloan walked up, stopping next to Adam. “What’s the problem?”
“I’m the Mayor,” he responded, seeming to lose his bluster as Sloan stared down at him.
“I asked, what’s the problem?” Sloan looked irritated as hell. “Not who you were.”
“Hello Sloan.” Alice stepped forward, a fake smile on her face. “It’s nice to see you again.”
Sloan didn’t even acknowledge her, his eyes stayed on Tom Ferguson, who was trying to appear more outraged rather than scared. It wasn’t working too well. Adam could tell the man bit off more than he could chew and was now having a hell of a time trying to swallow.
“If you have any questions, you come to me, not my men,” Sloan demanded, taking a card out of his pocket shoving it in the Mayor’s tux pocket. “Now, I’ll ask you one more time; what’s the problem?”
If Adam was to ever have a man-crush, it would be on Sloan, because at that moment, he loved this son of a bitch. He was a total badass.
“I am trying to find out who is in charge here,” he blustered, and then spotted the officer with a woman following him. “Are you in charge of this mess?” He looked down at her badge clipped onto the front of her jeans clearly visible.
“It’s a team effort, Mayor.” Her eyes shot to Alice who had stepped up beside him to make herself seen. “And I wouldn’t say it’s a mess since six missing women have been located. I’d call that a success.”
“You getting smart with me?” he sneered as he loomed over her.
“No, sir,” Lana replied. “Just being honest. Now if that’s all, I would like to get this wrapped up.”
Adam cringed for Lana because obviously dismissing the new Mayor was the wrong thing to do.
“Are you going to let her talk to you like that, Tom?” Alice added with her own agenda, her smirk telling everyone what she was up to and she clearly didn’t care who knew it.
“I could have your badge, officer.” The Mayor seemed to puff up as Alice wrapped her arm through his.
“For what?” Lana responded, clearly not one to kiss ass, even political ass. “Answering your questions?”
“Insubordination.” Alice threw the word out with evil intent.
“So the vamp bimbo knows big words,” Lana sneered, her eyes raking over Alice’s dress. “I’m impressed.”
“How dare you talk to my fiancée like that.” The Mayor’s head shot back in shock. “Who do you think you are?”
“I’m a police officer trying to do her job, but instead, I’m getting asked questions that I shouldn’t be,” Lana replied. “Now if we are finished, I need to get back to what’s important.” When nothing else was said, Lana turned to go back the way she came.
Adam noted when Sid came into the room; surprisingly, he stood back, allowing Lana to handle her business. However, he could tell Sid was cocked and ready if she needed him. Glancing at the three men who were still handcuffed on the couch and looking relieved, pissed Adam off. It was as if they figured they had been forgotten. Taking a step in their direction, Adam growled and showed his fangs just to put them on edge again. Yeah, the Warriors taught him well.
“Oh, I’m far from finished.” The Mayor’s face was red with anger, his nostrils flared. “You can hand in your badge now. You are fired.”
Lana stopped turning slowly. “I’m fired for doing my job?”
“No, for insubordination. I’m saving myself a call to your Chief and taking care of the problem now.” The Mayor took a threatening step closer to Lana after pulling away from Alice. He stopped when Sid suddenly appeared at Lana’s back, his face furious.
“Can he do that?” Adam asked Sloan, who stood surprisingly silent.
“Yes, unfortunately, he can.” Sloan replied, his tone dead serious.
“Officer, take her badge and gun.” The Mayor ordered, snapping his fingers at him and pointing toward Lana.
Lana looked at the reluctant officer and shook her head before looking back at Mayor Tom Ferguson. Reaching behind her, she removed her gun from the waist of her jeans, making sure the safety was on.
“I really don’t think I can let you shoot him, babe,” Sid said loud enough for everyone to hear. A few snickers erupted, but was smothered out real quick when the Mayor eyeballed the room, looking for who was laughing.
“How dare you threaten me!” he sputtered in outrage.
“Calm down before you have a stroke. I wouldn’t waste a bullet on you,” Lana hissed, unsnapping her badge. Passing the officer who waited for her to hand him her stuff, she walked right up to the Mayor shoving her gun and badge into his chest. “Oh, and just for the record, I never voted for you.”
“You will never work as an officer of the law again,” he growled in her face.
Even though Adam’s mind was filled with Angelina, hot anger boiled his blood for Lana. He wanted nothing more than to knock the Mayor on his ass. He could tell she was upset, but by damn, she hid it well. Actually, Sid looked more upset than Lana at that moment. He felt Sloan prime himself just in case Sid needed to be stopped from killing the asshole. Adam followed suit.
“You’re doing me a favor,” Lana replied, her face blank of any emotion. “I don’t want to be a part of ruining this town and that’s exactly what you are going to do.”
“I’m going to make this town better,” he preached, as if he was politicking for votes. “Mark my words.”
“And what’s your first step?” Lana spat out, her eyes narrowing dangerously. “Rounding up all half-breeds and putting them in concentration camps.”
Adam’s head snapped back at that. He had seen the papers, but he had no idea any of that was coming down. His eyes shot to the Mayor who was busy sputtering in outrage.
“And who are you getting your information from?” He looked nervously around the room at the Warriors present. “You have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Is that so?” Lana sneered, her eyes going to Alice. “Well, my information came from a very reliable source, who heard your, whatever she is, bragging. Not very politically correct, Mayor.”
“Get out of here!” he ordered, pointing toward the door. “You’ve been fired and I want you out before I have you arrested.”
“Yeah, about that.” Sloan finally stepped forward. He looked down at Lana. “You’re a hell of a cop Lana and the VC Warriors would be proud to offer you a position.”
A slow smile spread across Lana’s face before she frowned. “Wh
o would be my boss?” She glanced behind her and looked at Sid whose grin slipped as he narrowed his eyes at her.
“Me.” Sloan didn’t smile or frown; he looked pissed.
“Deal.” Lana stuck out her hand. “So what do you need me to do, boss?”
Sloan shook her hand and nodded toward the direction she came. “Finish what you were doing.”
“Yes, sir.” Lana couldn’t help shooting a parting grin at Tom Ferguson and then Alice who looked ready to spit nails. “And I will fill you in about what I’ve heard these two are planning and trying to get passed into law.”
“You are going to pay for this,” Alice growled, her eyes glowing.
“Oh, looking forward to it, bitch.” Lana turned, glaring at her. “I’ve got my gun permit and will be packin’ at all times with plenty of silver bullets. This whole room just heard your threat. So you come near me, I will do the fashion world a favor.” Lana’s eyes again raked over Alice’s dress in disgust.
Adam laughed along with a few officers who stood watching the show. Sid grabbed Lana’s arm and led her out of the room, his chuckle loud enough for everyone to hear.
“How dare you let her threaten me?” Alice pushed toward Sloan, her eyes firing so much hate and anger.
“They won’t get away with this.” The Mayor tried to calm her, patting her hand. “You are on report.” The Mayor turned his attention to Sloan.
Sloan walked straight up to the Mayor, their faces inches apart. “You have no power over me or my men.” Sloan’s tone was seriously point blank. “You need to turn around and leave, taking your trash with you. I am not and never will be under what power you may think you have.”
Before the Mayor could respond, though he did take a step back, a loud crash sounded from upstairs. Every head looked up at the ceiling. Adam and Sloan’s eyes met as they both took off, Sloan shouting for a uniformed officer to watch the three men on the couch.
Chapter 12
Jill stood still, looking at the ceiling. “What kind of nightmare is up there, Anne?” When Anne didn’t answer, Jill looked down to witness the fear on the woman’s face. “Angelina, do you know what’s up there?”
Adam (The Protectors Series) Book #5 Page 9