Dangerous Retaliation
By Morgan Kelley
© Copyright © 2015 Morgan Kelley LLC
All rights reserved. Without limiting rights under the copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored, introduced into a retrieval system, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, including without limitation photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. The scanning, uploading, and/or distribution of this document via the internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and is punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized editions and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrightable materials.
For permission requests, email [email protected]
©Copyright 2015 cover photo Cover art Rachel Zellers
Content Advisory: This book is intended for mature audiences and contains graphic violence, explicit sexual activity and disturbing imagery
Other works by Morgan Kelley:
FBI standalone Thrillers
The Junction
Serial Sins
The Blood Betrayal
FBI Thriller Series
The Killing Times (Book 1)
Sacred Burial Grounds (Book 2)
True Love Lost (Book 3)
Deep Dark Mire (Book 4)
Fire Burns Hot (Book 5)
Darkness of Truth (Book 6)
Devil Hath Come (Book 7)
Consumed by Wrath (Book 8)
Redemption is Here (Book 9)
Dead Shall Speak (Book 10)
Pledging to Die (Book 11)
Croft & Croft Romance Adventure Series
Celestia is Falling (1)
Vegas is Dying (2)
Christmas is Killing (3)
Love is Bleeding (4)
Heaven is Weeping (5)
Littlemoon Investigations
Blood Red Rage (Book 1)
Lost & Broken (Book 2)
Unthinkable Games (Book 3)
The Carter Chronicles Trilogy
Sinner Repent (Book 1)
Sinner Realized (Book 2)
Sinner Reborn (Book 3)
The Harcourte Vampyre Society Series
Dangerous Revelations (Book 1)
Dangerous Choices (Book 2)
Dangerous Misery (Book 3)
Dangerous Retaliation (Book 4)
Behind Closed Doors Anthology
Illegal Fantasies ~ Behind Closed Doors (1)
Romance Under Arrest~ Behind Closed Doors (2)
∞∞∞∞ About the Author ∞∞∞∞
Morgan Kelley lives in the beautiful Pocono Mountains with her husband and two children. After attending college at Penn State University and studying Criminal Justice, Morgan knew her only true passion in life would be murder and books. She put them both together and began her career as a writer. Other than books and writing, you can find Morgan hanging out in her garden and digging in the dirt.
Her other works include: The Junction, Serial Sins, The Blood Betrayal, The Killing Times (1), Sacred Burial Grounds (2), True Love Lost (3), Deep Dark Mire (4), Fire Burns Hot (5), Darkness of Truth (6), Devil Hath Come (7), Consumed by Wrath (8), Redemption is Here (9), Dead Shall Speak (10), Blood Red Rage (1) Lost & Broken (2), Unthinkable Games (3), Celestia is Falling (1), Vegas is Dying (2), Christmas is Killing (3), Love is Bleeding (4), Heaven is Weeping (5), Sinner Repent (1), Sinner Realized (2), Sinner Reborn (3), Dangerous Revelations (1), Dangerous Choices (2), Dangerous Misery (3), Dangerous Retaliation (4), Illegal Fantasies (Anthology 1), and Romance Under Arrest (Anthology 2)
Please feel free to visit Morgan at her website: www.morgankelley.com, email her [email protected], or visit her blog at www.morgankelley.blogspot.com.
You can’t live between two worlds. Instead, you have to choose the side you’re on…
∞ Prologue ∞
Starting his SUV, Detective Tommy Gress could finally call it a day and retire to his place. He’d been on shift for almost eighteen hours straight, thanks to a new string of serial killings occurring in the city. In all his years as a cop, he’d never seen anything quite like it before. It was like the perp was trying to make them chase their tails.
It had him confused.
It had worn him down.
He’d waded through enough blood, gore, and death to last him a lifetime, and when he finally cleared his present workload, he was going to take a vacation--a long one.
In fact, he might go visit his best buddy, and previous partner, Detective Flynn Brogan, for a couple of days down south.
That was a damn fine idea.
It might be nice to take in the sights and relax, all the while ogling his old partner’s sexy babe.
Now…that was what he called a vacation.
It brought the first honest smile to his face in hours. He truly missed Flynn, but how could he fault the man for packing up his life to follow Jolie Harcourte?
She was sexy.
She was smart.
Oh, did he mention she was sexy?
Had it been him, he would have followed the beauty into hell and back. There was something so damn hot about the woman. He just couldn’t put his finger on it. Maybe it was her long black hair, the sweet lavender eyes, or her super fine body. Honestly, everything was perfect, and he wouldn’t mind finding a woman just like that too.
Babe selection had been a little scarce. True, he was seeing someone, but it was all off. Tommy’s gut was screaming. There was something…wrong.
Letting it go, he pulled out a pack of smokes and got ready to light one up. Like his long day, his nicotine cravings were ungodly. This would be his first cigarette all day. He couldn’t even steal away a minute to smoke, or pee.
Yeah, the day had been that bad.
As the Zippo lit up, unfortunately, so did his phone. Without even looking down, Tommy knew that his well-deserved break from death was officially over.
“Shit,” he mumbled, as he reached for his cell. “Detective Gress,” he snapped, trying to remember that he was a civil servant, and despite how exhausted he was, this was his job.
There was a BIG emphasis on the word ‘servant’ as of late.
“Detective? My name is Zola Saran, and I think I saw something that might help you on your case,” she offered softly.
That cheered him up.
“Really? What have you seen, ma’am? We could use some information or a credible witness to help this case along.”
“I believe I saw an individual walking out of the alley where that man was found dead last night.”
She could hear his breathing pick up in excitement.
Zola couldn’t help but smile.
This was too easy.
The humans were quite stupid when it came to trust. In fact, lambs to the slaughter were harder to kill. Excitedly, her plan began to fall into place.
“Can you meet me at the police station, so you can give your statement?”
“No, I can’t, Detective. Is there any way that you could meet me at my home? I have a sick child and no one to watch her.”
Gress sighed, dropping his cigarettes back onto the seat.
What choice did he have?
It appeared that smoking, along with sleep, were luxuries that he couldn’t afford.
“Sure. Give me your address,” he stated, scribbling on a pad as he pulled out of the parking lot. “I’ll be there i
n five minutes.”
“Thank you, Detective. I really appreciate all the hard work you do to keep our city safe,” she added sarcastically, unbeknownst to him.
Gress closed his phone and cursed.
He was so damn close to getting home and getting a few hours of sleep that he could almost feel the warm sheets wrapped around his bone weary body.
This day just sucked all around.
“Son of a bitch,” he muttered, picking up his phone again to dial his new partner. When it was dumped into voicemail, he realized she must have been smart enough to shut off her cell.
Lucky her.
Leaving a message, Tommy explained the situation and where he was heading. Hopefully, this would be a big break for them, and they could shut this mess of a case down.
He prayed that was the truth.
Heading toward the address that the woman gave him, his gut knotted.
This house was in the middle of nowhere.
It felt…off.
Yet, he was so damn tired, he opted to push his instincts back down. For now, he’d go, get the interview done, and head home.
That’s all he wanted.
To sleep.
He was a desperate man, and he’d give anything to have some down time.
* * * H a r c o u r t e * * *
Standing in the shadows of the abandoned house, Zola Saran waited for the Detective to arrive. Once he did, she’d have her prisoner to lure Jolie and her two mates back into the city.
Then the games would begin.
Granted, this was the hardest part of her plan. It took her a few weeks to find worthy bait to draw them in.
Jolie wasn’t a fool. She would expect this, but that didn't mean that Zola shouldn’t try. All it would take is someone so important that they’d come running.
Since Jolie was a heartless bitch, that meant Zola needed to focus on someone important to her mate.
How she doted over her vile human was disgusting. The man was nothing more than meat on bones, and yet she revered him.
It was nauseating.
It made Zola want to scream in a rage. Detective Flynn Brogan was the reason her heart was ripped from her chest, and Zola wanted her revenge.
She had to avenge her mate.
Devin had died because of him.
Now payback would be theirs.
There was no doubt in her mind that once they found that the worthless human friend was missing, they would come running. That was just like them.
Save the humans!
It made her sick.
When they arrived, and they most certainly would, she’d begin her retaliation and avenge her mate. That cruel, cruel bitch, Jolie, had stolen his life simply because he’d allowed Jolie’s enemy into their home.
Who cared if her pathetic human mate was taken and almost killed?
It would have been for the better as Jolie was too soft toward the humans anyway.
It infuriated Zola to no end. She didn't understand it. How could Jolie sacrifice one of her own family for the sake of a human?
It was incomprehensible.
Now she would avenge her one true love by luring them all back to Philadelphia to kill Jolie and her mates, one by one.
Zola couldn’t wait.
She’d enjoy bleeding the human, little by little, as Jolie had done to Devin.
She began laughing.
The kicker was--what she couldn’t complete in her plan, the council, which had banned the family, would.
It was her greatest hope that Jacques and Jolie would return to the city and be executed for their previous crimes.
She’d let them handle her.
But the human? No, he was hers to kill.
Detective Flynn Brogan would suffer more than he ever had in his entire life, and she’d enjoy every second of it. If they believed that Flynn had felt pain by Genevieve’s hand, they were wrong. That was going to be a walk in the park.
Zola would show him hell.
“Oh, Mistress, we’ll have so much fun finishing up the game. You should have ended my life when you stole my mate’s. Now that you let me walk free, I have no choice but to teach you a lesson. Softness only gets you one thing--DEATH.”
Flickering lights alerted her to the approaching SUV. Here came the bait needed to start her payback.
It was time.
Zola prepared herself to make the first move in her game of revenge. This plan had taken weeks, and she knew there was going to only be one shot.
If she failed, it would mean a more frontal approach. With Jolie’s command of Death, she’d never have a chance.
As the SUV moved closer, her eyes bled black.
Fangs slipped into her mouth, and she had to stop them. While she wanted to pounce, ripping the man apart, she knew the truth.
It was time to play human.
It was time to be weak.
* * * H a r c o u r t e * * *
Exiting his vehicle, he looked around.
This didn't feel right at all. The house looked abandoned. In fact, it looked like it should be condemned. The vines from the vegetation were working their way through the wood. After this visit, there might need to be a call to CPS.
This was no place to live.
Heading toward the door, Gress carefully inspected his surroundings.
Did he get the address wrong?
Maybe he was tired and screwed up.
He peeked inside a window, and it was too blackened with grit and grime to see anything.
There was that niggling voice again, telling him to stop. His gut instinct was screaming a warning, and rarely were his first impressions wrong about a situation.
After being a cop for over eight years, and a detective with the homicide division for over five, he knew to trust his inner voice.
He had to get out of there.
Immediately, Tommy began backing away from the house and toward the safety of his SUV. His hand went to the butt of his firearm at his hip. As his heart raced, he began scanning the area for potential danger.
Damn it!
He wished that he had backup.
Going there alone was going to be a huge mistake.
Tommy could feel it.
Zola watched in anger as the man began cautiously retreating to his vehicle. She knew that she needed to do something to keep from losing her prey. Walking from the shadows, so the man could see her, Zola only hoped it would be enough and her plan wasn’t foiled. “Detective?”
Gress stopped moving to focus on the woman calling to him from across the yard. “Did you call me, Ms. Saran?”
“Yes, Detective, I’m sorry if I frightened you. I just put my child down for bed and was around back getting a few things taken care of in the yard. At first, I didn't hear your car. By the time I did, I simply assumed you’d head back there for me. I apologize for keeping you waiting.”
Gress relaxed marginally at the woman’s explanation. While it seemed plausible, that still didn't explain the run down conditions of the home. Surely, she was well aware that calling the cops to your home when it was in this condition was a bad idea. If there were kids, he had no choice but to report her.
“Maybe we should take care of your statement,” he offered, keeping his distance. Something still felt off.
He couldn’t put his finger on it, but it was there.
“Oh yes, certainly, Detective.” Zola moved toward him, trying to look as harmless as possible. As a predator, she could smell his fear and distrust. His heart was rapidly beating, and he looked just about ready to shoot her.
It made her want to laugh.
“Okay then, Ms. Saran, please tell me what you saw.” At that moment, he wanted her statement and to get the hell out of there. That dilapidated home was freaking him out.
As she approached, he swore her eyes reflected the light from his SUV.
Tommy blinked, trying to rationalize it.
Yeah, he was exhausted. That was the only excuse for it. Now his eyes were p
laying tricks on him.
Zola started toward the man, purposely forcing herself to be clumsy. When she slid on the wet grass, landing in a lump, she knew he’d check on her.
Here was another stupid, do-gooder human.
“Are you all right?” asked Gress, as he moved toward the woman lying prone on the ground. He crouched beside her to check her vitals.
He could feel her heart beating, yet she wasn’t moving.
Leaning over her, he brought his face close enough to feel for her breath.
That was the biggest mistake he could have ever made.
Zola immediately struck, slamming her fangs deep into his throat. It amused her when he fought to escape from her grasp.
Silly human.
Her strength and power were far greater than his as a mere mortal. As she drank from him, he began going limp.
“Please stop,” he begged, as the fear and confusion rolled through his body. He didn't understand the pain or sensation of her mouth working frenetically on his throat.
In fact, he thought he’d been the one who fell. Maybe he hit his head and this was a dream.
Everything around him began going gray.
“Who are you?” he slurred, his words no longer making sense to even him.
There was silence, and then that voice in his head.
“Oh God,” he whispered, as the world tilted and the word ‘vampyre’ rolled sickly through his mind before everything went black.
Only when the fight was gone from his body did she stop.
Dangerous Retaliation (The Harcourte Vampyre Society Book 4) Page 1