Sid (The Protectors Series) Book #4

by Gabelman, Teresa

  “So your mom knew what was going on?” Jill seemed to have forgotten her issues for a moment, which had been Lana’s plan.

  “Yeah, she did. My grandmother has the gift which was passed to my sister and me,” Lana replied.

  “Wow, that’s crazy that both you and your sister can do that,” Jill nodded looking wistful.

  “We’re twins,” Lana smiled. “Neither of us knew what the other was going through, and we didn’t know until the day at my grandfather’s funeral. Neither of us wanted to tell each other for fear of the other running and telling Mom and Dad.”

  “Well, at least you have someone who understands and you can talk to,” Jill sniffed. “I would love to have that right now.”

  “My sister is lost to us,” Lana cleared her throat.

  “I’m so sorry.” Jill’s eyes widened.

  “It should have been me. She didn’t really like using her gift, but in my line of work, I use it a lot.” Lana looked at Jill, realizing this was the first time she had really talked about her sister to anyone other than her parents. “My sister wasn’t prepared emotionally for the read. One of the officers on the scene thought she was under distress during the reading and broke her away from the girl who had been murdered.”

  “And that killed her?” Jill gasped, touching Lana’s arm, sorrow in her eyes.

  “It probably would have been better if it had.” Lana grabbed Jill’s hand squeezing it. “She is a resident at the Adult Psychiatric Unit at UC where she relives the last hours of the girl’s life before her death.”

  “Oh, my God.” Jill hugged Lana. “That’s horrible.”

  Lana hugged her back. “Even though it has only been a little over a month, I miss her so much.”

  “Aren’t you afraid that can happen to you?” Jill pulled back, looking at her. “You shouldn’t be doing it anymore.”

  “It’s my gift.” Lana shook her head, and then smiled. “I use it to help solve crimes and to help families find closure. I use it to help others, and that is how you need to look at your own gift.”

  “I didn’t use it to help anyone.” Jill’s face fell. “I plastered someone up against the wall and then sent her flying across the parking lot.”

  Lana thought for a minute. “If you think about it, you only did that when she was coming after me.” Walking over to the garbage can, she grabbed it and moved it to the middle of the bathroom. “Try to move it.”

  Jill looked at her like she was crazy, but finally lifted her hand. Nothing happened. She dropped her arm, sighed and then tried again. “It’s gone.” Jill looked confused. “I can’t do it.”

  “Maybe because you were trying to protect me.” Lana had no clue if that was the case, but it made sense. “And she was a nutty bitch.”

  Jill smiled with a chuckle. “Thank you.” She hugged Lana again.

  “You’re so welcome.” Lana hugged her. Pulling away, she continued, “Now, get out there and let them know you’re okay. You’re strong, Jill. I know being a half–breed, and now having this new power, is overwhelming for you, but use it to help others.”

  “You’re right.” Jill stood up straight. “I love what I’m doing and no one is going to stop me from doing it.”

  “You’re going to make a great Warrior,” Lana said proudly. “Even though you are in with all these alpha men, you’ve got the power to keep up with them. If not, just plaster their asses to the wall.”

  Jill laughed at the thought. “I can do this.”

  Lana smiled with a nod. “Now, go out there and do your thing. Girl power and all that crap.”

  After she left, Lana sighed, leaning against the wall, feeling a heavy weight slump her shoulders. Even though her sister was always in the front of her mind, she didn’t talk about it.

  “Girl power?” Sid walked in with a smile, but there was something else in his eyes.

  “Damn straight.” Lana gave a firm nod. “Nothing more powerful out there.”

  Sid leaned against the sink, staring down at her. “You are a special woman, Lana Fitzpatrick.”

  “No, I just understand. Nothing special about that.” She frowned, “How much did you hear?”

  “Ah, pretty much all of it.” Sid cocked his eyebrow at her. “Not only am I the cook, comedian, handsome, witty and charming Warrior, I also excel in eavesdropping.”

  “That’s a pretty long, conceited list.” Lana rolled her eyes with a laugh. If she wasn’t careful, she could easily fall for this man, and not just in bed, which she knew was going to happen. Why fight the inevitable? She’d already made peace with that, but that didn’t mean she had to lose her heart in the process.

  “Just stating the truth,” Sid replied with a confident grin, but then his teasing look changed. “I’m sorry about your sister, Lana.”

  “Yeah, so am I.” Lana frowned, “It should have been me. I was supposed to be the one, but I was in the middle of a deal and couldn’t make it. I called her to step in for me.”

  “I don’t see how that could have been your fault, Lana.” He tipped her chin up. “You didn’t know what was going to happen.”

  “She was a school teacher, Sid. She wasn’t a cop and had no business there, but because I asked, she dropped everything and went.” Lana pulled away, shaking her head. “Today’s her birthday, so I have to quit a little early.”

  Sid nodded, noticing she didn’t mention that it was also her birthday, but let it go for the time being. “Not a problem.” He glanced at her neck. “Someone attacked you during your read, didn’t they?”

  “Yes, and it’s never happened before,” Lana replied with a frown. “It was the man Jill drew. I have no idea how he did it, but he’s strong.” Subconsciously, she began to stroke her neck.

  Sid cursed as his eyes were drawn to her bruises, “You need to be more careful.”

  “I know,” she agreed as they both stood deep in thought.

  Lana’s phone interrupted the silence. “Yeah?” she answered. After a second, her eyes met Sid’s. “We’ll be right there.”

  “They found Ben Foster.” Sid knew before she even had time to hang up.

  “They found Ben Foster,” Lana repeated, a frown on her face. “Dead.”

  “Shit.” Sid pushed away from the sink. “Where’d they find him?”

  Lana looked puzzled. “The same place the two girls were found.”

  Chapter 14

  Adam sat staring at his phone. Fifteen more minutes until he called Jill. Even though Steve was keeping him updated on Tessa, he wanted to hear her voice. He loved his sister and never meant to hurt her. Running through his contacts, it landed on Tessa’s number.

  “Fuck it.” He pressed her number, putting the phone to his ear.

  “Where the fuck are you?” Jared answered after the third ring.

  Adam cursed, hearing Jared’s voice. “Let me talk to Tessa,” he demanded.

  “You’re pressing your luck demanding shit from me,” Jared hissed over the phone. “If it wasn’t for your sister, I’d be out hunting your ass right now.”

  “I didn’t mean to hurt her, Jared,” Adam sighed, exhaustion overcoming him.

  “You’re damn lucky she’s going to be okay,” Jared growled in the phone. “Though she is more worried about you than herself right now. That’s what really pisses me off. You fucking left her laying on the floor hurt; that is something I will never be able to forgive.”

  “How can I expect you to forgive me when I can’t even forgive myself?” Adam hung up. He knew they thought he was going rogue, but they were wrong. Looking around the dingy motel room, Adam felt more alone than he had in his entire life. He prayed to God, whom he hadn’t prayed to since he’d been turned, that they were wrong.

  ******

  Jill walked out of the back and straight up to Sloan. “I tried to leave, but Alice came after me.” She purposely didn’t look at Slade, who stood right to the side of Sloan. “I also refuse to be treated like that by anyone. That may make me look like I’m sta
rting trouble, but I’m not. I just refuse to be treated like a piece of garbage. I hope to stay on here and I did follow your orders.”

  “Alice has been let go,” Sloan replied, and before Jill could say anything, he lifted his hand to stop her. “She should have been let go a long time ago, but I will warn you to watch your back. She won’t take this lightly.”

  “Thanks for the warning.” She glanced at the time on her phone. Any minute Adam was going to call her.

  “Now about this new power you seem to have.” Sloan shook his head with a rare grin. “Which took us all by surprise, I might add. Slade is going to work with you on controlling it.”

  “That’s okay.” Jill absolutely was not going to work with Slade. “I couldn’t even do it again in the bathroom, so it might have been a one-time thing.”

  “It’s not a one-time thing.” Slade frowned down at her.

  “Oh, and what makes you so sure of that?” Jill was trying to keep the hurt and anger out of her voice. She had to separate her feelings for this man, but in truth, she wanted to smack the crap out of his handsome face for screwing that hoe and then talking to the bitch about her afterwards.

  “Because I have the same powers.” Slade’s tone or facial expression didn’t change, but his eyes burned into hers.

  And that’s when Adam decided to call. As her phone played ‘Blurred Lines’ over and over, Jill continued to look at Slade.

  “You going to answer that?” Slade didn’t take his eye off her.

  “Hey, I have to call you back,” Jill answered, knowing it was Adam. “No, I’m not…Okay…Yeah, soon. You good?...Bye.” Jill clicked the phone off.

  “He okay?” Slade crossed his arms, standing in a relaxed position.

  Jill’s eyes flicked to Sloan, who had walked away and was talking to Sid and Lana who had come out of the back. “Who?”

  “Adam.”

  “That’s wasn’t Adam.” Jill, who couldn’t lie to save her life, lied.

  “You need to tell him to get back, Jill,” Slade warned. “He’s out of control.”

  “He’s not out of control,” Jill defended him. “And he’s not going rogue. He wants to find Angelina, and the only way he could do that was to leave here. He didn’t mean to hurt Tessa.”

  “And you know all of this, but you haven’t talked to him?” Slade frowned. “You’re going to find yourself in trouble.”

  “What’s new?” Jill snorted. “It seems like that’s all I can do right around here is get into trouble. The harder I try, the more it gets thrown back in my face.”

  Sid and Lana walked over before Slade could comment. “Heard you got some Carrie powers also.” Sid eyed Slade with a grin.

  “Carrie powers?” Jill frowned, confused.

  Lana laughed. “You did remind me of the movie Carrie when you were tossing that chick all over the place.”

  Jill moaned. “That’s kind of creepy.”

  “No, it’s not creepy. It’s a gift,” Lana reminded her with a wink, and then glanced at Slade. “And now you don’t have to be alone. You have someone who shares your gift.”

  “You can do what I just did?” Jill frowned, wanting to make sure she heard right. She also realized this was just another reason for him to reject her, just what she needed.

  Slade didn’t say a word, just gave a nod.

  “We might have something tonight, Slade, so keep open,” Sid turned from teasing to serious. “Jill, we might be needing you also. You ready?”

  “I’m ready.” Jill’s excitement at taking her training to a whole different level was hard to miss in her wide eyes and growing smile. “I am so ready.”

  “Good.” Sid tugged her short hair. “We’ll be back at the compound soon and go over everything.”

  As Sid continued to go over a few things with Slade, Lana leaned over. “He’s cute.” Lana grinned with a wink. “And that look he gives you, well, girl, your panties should be on fire.”

  Jill gasped, looking at Lana surprised.

  “On…fire,” Lana emphasized, and then smiled. “Lucky girl.”

  Jill watched Sid and Lana walk away before peeking at Slade, who was staring at her with his usual intense emotionless stare. Lana was crazy. If anything, his look was like someone dropping ice cubes in her panties.

  Right then and there, she decided he wasn’t worth her losing her position here. She would treat him like a brother just as she did with the others. Thoughts of having sex with any of them made her gag. She tried to convince herself that’s what she was going to do. Dammit, she could do this.

  “I think your type of power may have developed because you fed from me,” Slade’s deep voice rumbled in the now empty warehouse. “But I’m not a hundred-percent sure about that. So the first thing we need to do is to find out what exactly you can do.”

  The reminder of feeding from him sent tingles throughout her body. Jill tightened her body, willing the tingles away, and reminded herself that he was like a brother, and having tingles was wrong and totally gross.

  “Is that okay, or do you have to call Adam back right away?” Slade cocked his eyebrow.

  “No, I don’t have to call Adam back because that wasn’t Adam.” Jill’s eyes narrowed as she lied. She hated to lie because she sucked at it and always got caught. But dammit, she did have to call Adam back.

  Slade took a step closer, leaning down and bringing himself face-to-face with her. “You can’t lie worth a shit, Jill.”

  God, he smelled so good. The power that radiated off him sent a slow burn through her body and panties. Dammit. Tightening her legs together, Jill winced when the burn became a raging fire from the friction hitting her groin. Swallowing hard, she tried to get it together. She watched as he lifted his head slightly as if smelling the air. His eyes went to instant black as they slammed into hers. His slow knowing smile sent her over the edge, and she knew right then and there, he could smell her desire.

  “Are we going to stand here staring at each other all day or are we going to get some work in…bro.” The more she looked at him that way, the easier it was going to be to ignore her growing attraction and move on. Damn him.

  Slade’s eyes widened before he burst out laughing. “You are too much.” He turned and headed for the door. “Come on. We’ll start outside.”

  Jill frowned then did something a sister would do to a brother who laughed at her; she flipped him off with not one, but two hands.

  ******

  Sid and Lana pulled up to the same spot where they had found the two dead girls. Activity was in full force. Sid walked around to open the door for Lana before she could.

  “Who taught you such impeccable manners, Mr. Sinclair?” Lana teased. “Even though I appreciate the gesture, I’m not used to it and can open the door myself.”

  “Shut up and get out,” Sid grinned down at her. “There is that better? Now, am I more like the losers you’ve dated?”

  “Oh, I didn’t know this was considered a date,” Lana teased back, actually holding onto Sid as they made their way down the steep hill. “I’m going to have to step up my game.”

  “Honey, if you step up your game much more, I’ll be putty in your hands,” Sid replied in a serious tone, but the sexy grin was anything but serious.

  “Oh, good to know,” Lana grinned, but stopped, her whole body going tense.

  “What’s wrong?” Sid was on alert, his eyes leaving her to scan the area.

  “He’s here.” Lana also scanned the area, before letting go of his arm. Reaching under her jacket, she pulled out her gun.

  “Who are we looking for, Lana?” Sid was calm, but alert and ready.

  “The man in the drawing, the General.” Lana took a step, her eyes sweeping over Ben Foster’s dead body. “Ben is telling me he’s here and he goes by the General.”

  Sid glanced at the dead body in the same exact place the girls had been found. He then searched back around the area. “That’s creepy as shit, but ask him where?”

  A
t the same time, they spotted a tall man move out from behind a tree leading into the woods. Sid was down the hill so fast he was nothing but a blur. Lana slid and ran down the hill cursing all the way. Finally making it to the tree, both Sid and the man were gone.

  “Shit!” Lana moved deeper into the woods trying to find any clue to where they went. They were long gone. No evidence, nothing. “Shit!”

  Hearing a stick crack behind her, Lana turned with gun ready. With a speed she didn’t even see, her gun was knocked out of her hand and she was grabbed by the throat; her body was lifted off the ground, not by the man in her vision, but it was the man in the red cape. Sid was chasing the man in the drawing.

  Knowing she was going to die, Lana fought with everything she had. Kicking, punching and then trying to pry the man’s hands off her throat. Her eyes watered as her airflow was slowly being cut off. With one last effort to survive, she beat at the man’s arm then kicked out, making contact with his stomach. Her foot got caught in the cape, pulling it down off his head.

  She now knew what horror the woman in her vision had seen, the woman he was going to rape. Lana’s mouth opened wide in a silent scream, her eyes staying on the gruesomeness of the man’s scarred face, which looked to have been melted.

  “Put her down,” Sid’s voice was hard and loud, the authority ringing through the woods.

  The man’s hand loosened as his one eye opened wide in surprise, but a snarled smile lifted the less-scarred side of his mouth.

  “Put her the fuck down or die, motherfucker.” The sound of Sid’s guns cocking in the silence of the woods echoed throughout the leafless trees. “I won’t ask again.”

  Lana could feel the man’s fury radiate off him as he turned his head to the side. His grip had loosened enough for her to get air. As soon as he turned to look back at her, she knew what was about to happen, but couldn’t yell out a warning fast enough. Gripping both hands around the arm and hand that were gripping her throat, she held on so her neck wouldn’t be broken.

  “Fuck you, Warrior!” The man’s gravelly voice hissed as he swung Lana around toward Sid and let go.