by Susan Hayes
He was still three meters away when the officer rolled down the window. “Something I can do for you?”
“Maybe, I’ve got some weird directions with this order. Says one of the pizzas gets delivered to room 210, but that the other one goes to a guy sitting in a brown car in the parking lot.” Gareth shrugged and looked puzzled. “You’re the only guy out here, this yours?” He held up one of the pizza boxes to the window so the smell of the still-hot pizza wafted into the car.
“From room 210?” The cop glanced up at Kyra’s room and then grinned. “Yeah, that’s for me. When you deliver the other box tell her thanks for me, okay?”
“Sure thing.” Gareth handed him the box and waited until the other man’s attention and hands were on the food. He had the CO2-powered hypo injector against the cop’s neck before the other man could react, and within seconds Kyra’s protection detail was slumped in his seat, unconscious. Not missing a beat, Gareth checked the man’s breathing and then took back the second pizza box, stacking it on top of the other as he headed for Kyra’s motel room.
His eyes scanned for movement at the window. If she’d been watching, it would mean trouble. Luckily the curtains to her room hung straight and still, and he relaxed a half a notch. She hadn’t been looking outside. It had been a calculated risk, but if he’d left the officer alone outside he’d never have made it to Kyra.
As Gareth knocked on the motel room door his eyes slid to his watch and he cursed. Sunset was in six minutes. She was going to be vulnerable very soon. He saw the curtains twitch and turned to flash the pizza boxes so she could see them, part of him pleased to note she hadn’t blindly opened the door without checking. She was showing signs of intelligence, something not all his assignments had been able to lay claim to.
He heard the door unlock and forced himself to appear relaxed, which was no easy task given that his nerves were singing and his high-powered senses were in overdrive. He filtered out the overload of information flooding his brain and pasted a smile on his face. He needed her to trust him, to let him into her room with any screams, fuss, or ruckus. Let this go smoothly. He offered up the hope to the powers that be as the doorknob turned and he came face-to-face with Kyra Robinson.
Blue. Her eyes are blue, was the next thought to spark in his head as he stood there for several long seconds staring, his stomach suddenly gathering into knots as a surge of pure heat coursed through his veins. Finally, he remembered what he was doing there and hefted the pizza boxes in his arms. “Hi, got your pizzas here.”
The images on the security camera, his glimpses of her from across the street had only hinted at how beautiful she was. She looked like a fae creature, delicate features and large eyes watching from beneath a chaotically styled crown of red-gold waves. She was curvy despite her small stature, and his hands itched to touch her.
“Great! I’m starving.” She smiled up at him and Gareth felt his mouth go dry as the scent of cinnamon tickled his nose and his heart did a triple beat. Her.
“Just let me get my wallet, I left it on the bed.”
The moment she turned her back he moved, using his unnaturally quick reflexes to get inside and close the door before she could even turn around. He dropped the boxes and drinks onto the desk and planted himself between her and the only exit. “Kyra Robinson, I need you to come with me, now.”
He was prepared for arguments or protests, anger or fear. What he wasn’t prepared for was the sight of his beautiful assignment turning to face him with a gun in her hands and a look of determination on her pretty face.
“I don’t think so,” she informed him in tones that could have given frostbite to a Yeti.
Gareth’s pulse raced and he felt another surge of heat course through his veins. Not now! He gritted his teeth in frustration at his body’s reaction to her presence and tried to remember what he was here to do when all he really wanted to do was kiss her. Vampire. Sunset. Protect her. The words flashed through his brain and he reined his desire back hard.
“You’re not really going to shoot me, are you?” He let his mouth slide into a grin and hoped to hell she couldn’t see the sudden bulge in his jeans.
“That depends on why you’re impersonating a pizza delivery guy,” she shot back, her mouth drawn down into a stubborn line and her eyes locked on his.
Gareth sighed, started to shrug, and then and moved faster than the human eye could follow, yanking the gun out of her hand and spinning her into his arms so that her back was up against his chest and her arms were pinned to her sides. “I don’t like having guns aimed at me,” he murmured against her ear. Her spicy scent tickled at his nose for a brief moment before he had to jerk his head to one side as she attempted to break his nose with the back of her head. “Hey!” He growled and shook her lightly. “Stop that!”
She growled back and stomped her booted heel into his instep. “Let go of me and I’ll think about it!”
He winced and lifted her off her feet, knowing his shins were about to take a beating from the wildcat he was holding. So much for itty bitty and harmless. More like a vicious little hellcat. His thoughts were full of amusement as he felt a rain of kicks come crashing down on his shins, and somewhere in the back of his mind he remembered reading that she had taken classes in a number of self-defense techniques.
“That’s enough of that.” He growled as her boot connected with his shin for the fourth time. Keeping his arms wrapped around her, he carried Kyra’s squirming body to the nearest bed and lowered her to it face-first. Deftly and with as much care as he could, he straddled her hips and drew her arms together over her head, so he could hold her wrists, keeping control without hurting her.
Kyra turned her head and glowered up at him as best she could from the awkward angle. “Let. Me. Go!”
She thrashed beneath him in time to every angry word. Equal parts amused and aroused now, Gareth took in several long, slow breaths and tried to redirect the blood currently stiffening his cock. Now was not the time for this. He felt her buck beneath him, and a dozen lurid images crowded his mind again.
“You really, really need to stop squirming, Kyra.” He winced as he heard the low, gravelly tone of his voice.
“Fine,” she bit out and stopped moving. “So, are you going to explain what the hell is going on and introduce yourself? Or shall I just assume you’re the homicidal maniac who sent me the roses this morning and I should just start screaming for help? There are cops in the parking lot, you know. They’ll be here any second.”
Gareth shook his head in the negative. “The officer in the unmarked car is having a nap and will not be coming to your rescue. Luckily for you, I’m not the one he’s supposed to be protecting you from.” He relaxed his grip on her wrists slightly. “I’m the only one who can protect you, Kyra.”
“You’re doing a bang-up job so far.” She tugged at her arm and he released it completely. “So far all you’ve managed to do is manhandle me, oh mighty protector.” Her voice dripped sarcasm and not a hint of fear, he noted with approval. “So who is it you’re supposed to be protecting me from exactly? And who the hell are you anyway? I don’t normally let guys pin me to the bed without at least getting a first name.”
A river of fire roared through Gareth’s body as he released her other wrist and tried to squelch the image of the two of them in bed together doing things that had nothing to do with keeping her safe from harm. “My name is Gareth Harkness. I can’t tell you the name of the creature hunting you because I don’t know it yet, but I can tell you what he is.” He paused and settled his weight more firmly on her ass, expecting her to react badly to his next words. “You’re being hunted by a vampire.”
Instead of the expected arguments or denial, Gareth felt her shudder and then go limp beneath him.
“Wonderful,” she muttered and closed her eyes, some of the colour fading from her cheeks. “It couldn’t be just an ordinary serial killer could it? That would be too simple. Trust the universe to send me my own personal, bloodth
irsty myth.” Kyra drew in a deep breath and opened her eyes to look up at him again. “Now that we’ve got that detail out of the way, will you please get your ass off of me?”
Concern and amazement struck him at the same time, and instead of moving off of her, Gareth reached down to touch her cheek. “Are you all right? Most people tend to react to that sort of news very differently.” Beneath his fingers her skin was soft, and a tingle of electricity seemed to arc across his hand as he touched her, letting his fingers trace her cheek down to her jaw before moving his hand away.
Beneath him she thrashed once in annoyance and then said, “I’ve spent the last three nights experiencing horrifying nightmares filled with blood and screams and death. In that same time frame, two men I had contact with have died, and another woman bled to death in the alley behind my work. She was a short-ass redhead, just like me. I’m pretty sure my dreams were of their murders. This morning someone broke into my apartment and left me a box of white roses soaked in blood. Roses I saw in my nightmares last night. So, if you say that a vampire is to blame? I’m good with that. It makes more sense than a psychic psychopath.” She flashed him a bittersweet smile. “The other option is that I’ve lost my mind. I’d rather it was a vampire.”
“All right then.” Gareth moved off of her, his body protesting the lack of contact between them. He kept her gun, flipping the safety back on before tucking it into his pocket. “You can have this back after I’m sure you’re not going to shoot me.”
“I’ll let you know when I’ve made up my mind on that front,” she quipped. “And how the hell did you get it away from me in the first place? I never even saw you move.”
“I know you have a great many questions, and I would like to answer them. But the sun is setting, and in a few minutes he’s going to wake up. You need to come with me, Kyra.” He grabbed her suitcase from the far bed and offered her his hand. “Trust me.”
“Says the guy who took out the police officer assigned to protect me,” she grumbled, not moving at all. “He is going to be all right, isn’t he?”
“He’ll be fine, I promise. I don’t hurt innocents.” He extended his hand to her again.
Kyra’s head was spinning as she got up off the bed and got her first good look at her self-proclaimed protector. Dark-brown hair cut almost military short, a strong jaw and set of shoulders that any linebacker would have been proud of. She wouldn’t call him handsome, but rugged, and most definitely attractive. He towered over her, and every part of him she could see was clad in black, heavily muscled, and screaming of danger. She amended that thought, every part of him but his eyes. His eyes were hazel, strangely gentle and filled with concern and worry. Worry for her.
She took a deep breath and took his hand, trusting her instincts. Much as she hated to admit it, she had to trust someone, and the police obviously couldn’t keep her safe. As his fingers closed around hers she tried to ignore the sizzle of sparks that raced through her at that simple touch.
“Where are we going?” she asked as he tugged her gently toward the door. “And how do you know the vampire is a he?”
“We’re going somewhere safe. Bring the pizza. I’ll explain while you eat.” He smiled down at her and she felt her toes curl in response.
Damn, he’s gorgeous. Her thoughts wandered as she stepped into the twilight outside and watched him move, graceful despite his size.
“To answer your other question, it is most likely a male that’s hunting you. He’s acting possessively about you and that’s not a female trait.” Gareth shot her a sidelong look. “It’s a sex thing.”
“Oh fantastic,” Kyra groaned. “A vampire has a crush on me?”
“Something like that.” Gareth broke eye contact and Kyra wondered what he wasn’t telling her.
Before she could ask, a wave of cold and darkness washed over her and the voice out of her nightmares roared in fury.
“Brotherhood!” The single word reverberated inside Kyra’s head and she cried out as she stumbled. She felt Gareth’s hand tighten on hers, tugging her back to her feet, and then she could feel herself being lifted and cradled against a solid, warm mass of muscle.
“I’ve got you, Kyra, hang on.” She heard Gareth’s voice faintly, as if he were a long way away. She reached out, her arms tangling around his neck as she clung to him, needing his warmth in the darkness that filled her mind.
“So cold,” she whispered as she fought against the strange feelings that sapped her strength and filled her head with angry words she couldn’t understand.
She felt herself being lowered and then Gareth was gone, his warmth fading quickly as the ice-cold darkness claimed more of her mind. “Gareth?” She called his name, one hand reaching blindly for him as she fought to open her eyes and failed.
“It’s all right, Kyra. I’m right here.” His voice was low and comforting. She felt his hands on hers, pressing something cool and smooth between her fingers. “Hold this. It’ll help.” His arm reached around her, his chest pressing against hers as he belted her into her seat. “I need to close the car door, all right? I’ll be back in a moment, then we’ll get you out of here and somewhere he can’t reach you.”
The door closed and she heard an odd scraping sound on the roof, then the sound of the trunk being opened and then shut again. Slowly the darkness lifted, and she felt her strength return.
She felt rather than saw him get back into the car, her gaze fixated on the object he’d placed in her hands. It was a small, clear glass vial containing something that looked suspiciously like water.
“What is this?” she asked, lifting the item slightly.
“Holy water,” he informed her as he started the car and started driving, his eyes on the road ahead as he gunned the engine.
“Seriously? I’m not exactly a churchgoing type of girl. I thought you had to believe to have it protect you.”
“You did believe.” She glanced over at him just in time to catch his lips twitch upward into a brief smile. “I told you it would help, and it did. The belief doesn’t have to reside in the deity, but it does have to reside in the object.”
Kyra burst out laughing and tried to ignore the hysterical edge she could hear in her own voice. “So the placebo effect works on vampires, too? Great! Then I don’t believe in them. Is he gone now?”
“Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way.” Gareth changed gears and accelerated as they hit an empty stretch of road. He left his hand on the gearstick, his fingers less than a hand’s breadth away from her thigh. “You didn’t believe in vampires before this happened, and he still came for you, right?”
“Until three nights ago I would have said the only vampires in the world were lawyers, leeches, and misunderstood Goth kids,” she agreed as she slowly got her emotions back under control. “Not you, though, you believe in this stuff.” She paused and then corrected herself as something became clear to her. “No, you live this stuff. If you didn’t, you wouldn’t be carrying around vials of holy water.”
He nodded. “Every day of my life.”
“That must make for one hell of a screwed-up childhood,” she muttered and gave into the temptation to reach for his hand, her fingers brushing his, needing the comfort of another person’s touch.
“Different, yes. But I wouldn’t say my childhood was screwed up. My parents loved me, I had lots of family around, and even more people that have been like a family to me.” His hand turned over and captured hers, their fingers interweaving. “They gave me what I needed to survive the life we lead.”
“You’re Brotherhood.” She made the statement quietly, suddenly understanding what the voice in her head had been raging about.
Gareth’s fingers tightened sharply around hers and he accelerated the engine until they were nearly flying down the street toward downtown. “Where did you hear that word?”
“In my head.” She eyed the speedometer and then looked away as the needle hit triple digits. “I heard a voice in my head screaming that word
when it all went wonky and dark back there in the parking lot. What the hell was that anyway? And why are you driving like we’re trying out for the next Fast and Furious movie?”
“Then he knows one of us is here, with you.” Gareth began weaving between cars as traffic started to get heavier. “And that means I have to get you someplace safe, quickly. Somewhere he can’t find you or reach you again.” He shot her a concerned look. “He’s in your head, Kyra, that’s what happened back there. I’ll explain in detail later, but right now I need you to answer my questions. Have you invited anyone inside your apartment in the last few days, and have you slept anywhere else?”
“You cannot seriously be asking me about my sex life right now.” Kyra tugged her hand until he released it and crossed her arms over her chest.
He snorted with laughter. “No, I’m not. I meant literally sleeping. And by inviting, I mean did you let anyone in? Police? A plumber? Boyfriend? Cable guy?”
“And there you go with the boyfriend thing again!” Kyra rolled her eyes. “No one has been over to my apartment for months until today when half the Vancouver police department was there. And the only place I’ve even tried to sleep in the last few days was my own bed.” She paused. “And I don’t have a boyfriend.”
“Good,” Gareth answered, though she couldn’t be sure what part of her statement he seemed to be most pleased about. “Whatever happens from now on, you don’t sleep anywhere I don’t tell you is safe.” His eyes met hers. “Promise me.”
“I promise.” She hugged her arms tighter to her body. What the hell kind of nightmare have I fallen into this time?
7
Kyra felt a little unsteady as Gareth helped her out of his car, but she bit her tongue and fought to keep her legs from shaking as she stood up. He’d driven at speeds that had made her queasy, lane hopping through spaces so narrow she’d expected to hear the scream of scraping metal or the crunch of impact at any minute. “You’re insane,” she had complained more than once on the hellish drive, and his answering chuckle had done nothing to convince her otherwise.