Crisis Alert (Divine Justice, 3)

by Mary Abshire

  “I’ll call Gordon and let him know.”

  “I’m sure Zale’s informing his boss about the interrogation right now.”

  “I gave Gordon an idea of my plan and he bought into it. The UoJ is willing to follow our lead and stay back. I’m sure you know how important it is to make sure they don’t get near the warehouse while you are exorcising demons.”

  “I’ll have someone stand guard to make sure no one can get in or out.”

  “That should work.” He gave a slight grin. “Good work on this. If you exorcise a master, it will send many demons back to Hell. It won’t be the end to our problem, but it will make a difference.”

  A touch of elation sparked within her. If they could send a couple hundred demons back to Hell, it would reduce the bloodshed and help ease the concern of many vampires in the community. Their efforts would put them a step in the right direction.

  “Should we try to bring some back for interrogating?” she asked. “We might find a master at the gathering, but I doubt all of them will be there.”

  “I’ll let you make the call. Perhaps wait until you get inside the warehouse before you decide. You have the addresses for Reggie and Ronald, so you know where to find them.”

  “There could be others we don’t know about.”

  “I’m sure there are, but stay focused on what you have to deal with now.”

  She nodded. “Right.”

  The door clicked before Zale strode into the room.

  “I’ll start making calls,” Aziel said. “In an hour, I’ll brief the staff. Set it up for me.”

  “Will do,” she said.

  Aziel patted Zale’s shoulder on his way out. “Thank you for helping us.”

  “Sure thing,” Zale said.

  Once Aziel disappeared, Zale approached her. He shoved his phone into one of his back pockets. She couldn’t help staring at his sculpted torso. The werewolf had the most muscles she’d ever seen on a man. And his bulging biceps were bigger than her thighs. She’d enjoyed touching one earlier.

  “I updated my boss,” he said as he came to a halt in front of her.

  “Aziel has a plan and it should work.”

  “My boss said the UoJ is helping, but we have to stand down.” Brows tense, he crossed his arms. “How is that helping?”

  “The UoJ will help monitor the perimeter to make sure no one gets in or out. I’m leading a team of vampires into the warehouse. We will use gas to knock out as many as we can. I estimate three hundred will be inside, but not all will be demons. It could take a couple hours to exorcise demons. We don’t want any UoJ agents near the warehouse in the event a demon gets out. I plan to take precautions, but in my experience, something always goes awry. I would feel horrible if something happened to a UoJ agent.”

  His chest expanded as he took a deep breath. “It is a concern. I just don’t like it. And I’m not comfortable with you walking into a warehouse full of unknown demons and humans. What if there are five hundred or more at this gathering? What if it’s a trap to take out as many vampires as possible? Have you forgotten you were led into a trap last night?”

  She valued his opinion, but believed his trepidation was a bit much. The idea of the gathering being used as a way to destroy a large number of vampires seemed too clever for demons. From the memories she’d seen in Brandon and Leon’s minds, Fin explained to them the party would have plenty of women, booze, and drugs to please them. She’d gathered no hint of ploy to destroy vampires. The intel she had on Fin portrayed him as a demon gathering flock. Anna believed Fin had created a party as an excuse to acquire more humans for a master.

  “For one thing, I don’t think demons are smart enough to set up a trap like that. Demons have never done such a thing. They always come for us in groups,” she said.

  “There are firsts for everything. Remember?”

  “Still, from what I pulled from Brandon and Leon, I truly believe this is a way for demons to increase their numbers. It’s a good tactic.”

  “Okay, say you’re right. What if there are five hundred demons in the warehouse when you arrive?”

  “Aziel wants us armed. I have authority to kill, but of course I won’t unless I have to. We wound first. The goal is to save as many as we can. I’m sure once the gas takes effect, they’ll drop like flies.”

  He pressed his lips together and lowered his gaze. Judging from his downcast expression, he didn’t appear thrilled with the plan.

  She stepped closer to him. “This is the front line of battle. Sometimes lives are lost. I give you my word, I will save as many as I can. I don’t like killing. It haunts me.”

  He lowered his arms. “I trust you’ll make the right calls, but it’s you I worry about.”

  “Me?” Her brows rose. “I think you’ve seen how capable I am of handling demons.”

  “But you have no idea how many there will actually be and you can’t guarantee you’re not walking into some kind of trap.”

  The protective instincts of his genetic makeup were showing again. While she appreciated his efforts, she was immortal and could take care of herself. She’d survived an outbreak and knew what she was up against with demons.

  “We should rely on what we know and our experience. The demons are multiplying quickly. This could be one way of how they’re doing it. Demons haven’t been able to lure a group of us to destroy us,” she said.

  “Maybe because they haven’t tried.”

  She put her hand on his arm, or rather, his solid bicep. “I’m going to be armed. I’ll be fine.”

  “Will you have a microphone with you when you go in?”

  “Yes, I will wear one.”

  He took hold of her hand from his arm, lowered it, and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Can I ride with you and your unit? I’ll stay back, but I want to go as far as I can with you. And I mean that in multiple ways.”

  She fought a grin and lost. “Yes, you can ride with me. And I’d like to see how far we can go once this is all over.”

  Still holding her hand, his lips curled on one side. “Let’s get to work.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Zale stood next to Anna, holding her leather jacket at his side. He watched in awe as she strapped a sheathed dagger to her thigh. The other vampires, male and female, were busy gathering arms from the cabinets too. The large room contained enough firepower to level a city. They’d come straight from the meeting to gear up. Everyone seemed in good spirits and ready to exorcise demons. In ten minutes, they had to be out the door and heading to the gathering.

  The meeting informing staff of their operation had gone well. Aziel had explained the mission in good detail before he announced Anna would be in charge. She’d stepped in front of the group of close to thirty agents and shared her findings from her interrogations and research. Many had questions. She’d answered them and then had given directives. It astounded him to see so many vampires hanging on her every word. They looked up to her with respect. When the meeting ended, she led everyone in a group prayer.

  The woman continued to amaze him. She held qualities of a great leader. She was commanding, determined, and brave. Above all, she was fearless and courageous. She’d made it clear during the meeting they were to exorcise as many as they could. She’d stated the risk to their immortality seemed low, but they needed to be on guard at all times. Humanity depended on them. If they had to fight, they were to wound. Killing was reserved as a last ditch effort for survival.

  She reached into the cabinet and then removed a shoulder holster for a gun. After she slid her arms through the openings, the straps fit too loose and the empty holster tipped too much to hold any weapon.

  “Let me tighten that,” Zale said as he handed her jacket to her.

  She took it from him and he unfastened the strap near the side of one of her breasts. His fingers yearned to graze her tit, but he behaved.

  “You should carry weapons too, just in case,” she said.
/>
  He tightened the strap so the holster could hold a gun upright. “Thanks, but I’ll pass. If five hundred demons show up, a gun isn’t going to help me.” He unfastened the loose belt above her chest. He couldn’t help staring at her breasts.

  Her experience and the information she’d gathered from human minds gave her confidence. But no matter how much familiarity she had, Zale feared for her. Demons had managed to kidnap and destroy vampires. They’d tortured vamps too. She’d admitted she hadn’t heard of the demons using such tactics. So how could she not think even the tiniest amount that the demons might have something in store for them at the gathering?

  His instinct warned him something could go wrong with the mission. He didn’t believe it was his werewolf DNA alerting him, but rather the odd methods demons had used to reduce the vampire population and locate certain ones. He couldn’t discount the fact they’d found her house somehow. She’d also admitted one demon had said the master liked her. Brandon had even said his master was looking for a female vamp. Zale couldn’t ignore such details. While she overlooked them, he wouldn’t. The demons wanted the vamps wiped off the Earth and they’d never stop trying to accomplish their goal.

  Strap tight across her chest, he smiled and took her jacket from her hand. “You’re good now. Not that you were bad before.”

  Her lips curved. “Thank you.”

  She took a gun and clip from the cabinet. After she inserted the clip into the chamber, she secured the weapon in the holster. “Are you sure you don’t want a knife at least?”

  “If anything goes wrong, I’m better off shifting.” He had more strength and agility in his wolf form. Should demons outnumber Anna and her team, he wouldn’t hesitate to change and try to help her.

  She took a device as small as a dime from the cabinet before she reached for her jacket. “Do you need anything before we leave? Water or something?”

  “No, I’m good. I ate before I left my house.”

  “That was several hours ago.”

  “I’m fine. Really.” He craved a snack, but given they were about to start their mission he didn’t want to look like an idiot and ask to stop at McDonalds. Besides, his high level of nervousness might cause any food to upset his stomach.

  She slid her arms into the sleeves of her jacket and then dropped the device in an inner pocket. “All right. Let’s go.”

  Much like ants returning to their nest, a single line of vampires left the armory, cut through the office, and then headed for the garage. Zale followed Anna and enjoyed the time to marvel at her ass. A row of black vans waited for them in the garage. While many piled into the ones close by, Anna proceeded to the front.

  Reaching the back of the vehicle, Zale was surprised to find it full. Anna climbed in and took the small space on the bench to the left. Men on the right scooted inward to allow Zale to join them.

  “Have you ever done anything like this before?” Anna asked.

  “No. Usually it’s just me and a partner when we go after…” He paused and scanned the faces of the other vamps. All of them were looking at him. Swallowing hard, he decided not to go into much detail about his job with the UoJ.

  A vampire slammed the doors of the van, sealing him in with nine vamps. He clasped his hands together.

  “Kurt,” Anna said.

  A vampire with short blonde hair, sitting near the front, bent forward.

  “Did you bring the gas?” she asked.

  “Yes, and I made sure Donavan brought some too since we’re not sure on numbers in the warehouse,” Kurt said.

  “Great. Thank you,” she said.

  “Have you used gas before?” Zale asked.

  “No,” she said.

  “How do you know it won’t affect you?” Zale asked.

  “We’re immune to everything,” she said.

  “I served in several wars including Vietnam,” a vamp sitting two men away from her said. “I was exposed to all kinds of gases and none of them bothered me. Well, they stunk worse than a skunk and I wanted to puke, but otherwise they had no effect.”

  Several in the van chuckled at his comment.

  “Thanks, Jack,” she said. “I’d almost forgotten you served in wars on foreign soil.”

  “The gas we’re using is light. I obtained it through connections in the government. It won’t harm humans. It’s strictly used to put them to sleep,” Jack said.

  Zack nodded. “Good to know.”

  The door next to Anna opened.

  “Well, well…” said the tall vampire with shoulder length light-brown hair. Dressed in black pants and a long-sleeved black shirt, he surveyed the inside of the van. “Nice to see you again, Zale.”

  “Victor, how are you?” Zale asked.

  “We’re full,” Anna said. “And you’re late.”

  “Jack, would you mind?” Victor asked.

  Jack kept his head low as he strode to the open door. He jumped from the van and then Victor climbed inside. Jack shut the door behind him.

  “What have I missed?” Victor asked after he sat in Jack’s vacated spot.

  “Everything,” Anna said. “Where were you? Aziel put the office on high alert.”

  “I was indisposed and missed the memo,” Victor said.

  Anna rolled her eyes.

  “If you must know, I was talking to people at the department where Robert Galloway worked.” Victor’s gaze met Zale.

  “He’s the vampire my partner and I had to go after for killing a human,” Zale said.

  Victor gave a nod. “Aziel sent me to meet the manager and check to see if he had access to addresses for agents. While their database contained names and locations for vampires throughout the state, it did not reveal any for DS agents. I ran a quick query using several names.”

  “So, we still don’t know how the demons obtained my address,” Anna said.

  “I guess not, but at least every DS agent sleep better knowing their locations are safe,” Victor said, smiling as he glanced around at the others.

  The door on the driver’s side slammed. Seconds later, the engine hummed with life. Zale took a deep breath once the van began moving.

  “Not much longer now,” she said with a smile directed at him.

  Victor leaned forward and placed his elbows on his knees. “Someone care to tell me the plan?”

  Kurt unzipped his backpack and then withdrew several papers. He handed them to Victor. “The building has three floors. There are two ways in and out from the main floor. The satellite images shown during the meeting revealed streets on each side, but two were alleys. The perimeter has been set at three blocks. Most of the businesses within two blocks are abandoned. Anna has instructed agents to guard each entrance after a team enters the building. Agents will enter from the roof too.”

  “Thank you, Kurt,” Anna said.

  “How many of us are going in?” Victor asked while he scanned over the papers in the dim light sneaking in through the window. Vampires could see as well as werewolves in the dark.

  “My team consists of twenty-five agents since three will have stay with the vans at the perimeter. Two will need to watch the exits, leaving twenty-three to enter with me,” she said.

  “And how many are you expecting at this gathering?” Victor asked.

  “I have no real figures, so I estimated three hundred. But not all will be possessed,” she said.

  Victor handed the papers back to Kurt. “Thank you.” He leaned back against the wall of the van. “Sounds like we’re going to be busy for the next several hours.”

  “Did you bring a gun?” she asked.

  He lifted his shirt on one side and revealed the holstered weapon near his hip. “I have some blades strapped to my calves too. Don’t worry, Anna, I’ll watch your back.” He winked at her.

  Zale glared at the vampire. He started to growl until he noticed her shaking her head and rolling her eyes again.

  Her gaze met Zale’s. �
��I’d rather have you watching my back any night of the week.”

  Zale gave her a smile while his heart gained a beat.

  “Well, well…” Victor crossed his arms. “I have missed a few things.” He grinned as he bounced his attention between Zale and Anna.

  “Shut up, Victor,” she said, rubbing her palms over her thighs.

  “Nervous?” Zale asked softly.

  “Anxious. Ready to get this over,” she said.

  He was too. Getting rid of demons and any masters brought him one step closer to spending more time with her in a nonworking relationship.

  Several of the men chatted during the short drive to their destination. When the van stopped, Zale’s pulse sped. He looked forward to completing the mission, but he dreaded having to watch her walk away and head into a building with an unknown amount of demons.

  The back doors opened. Anna jumped out first. Zale hopped out next. He followed her to the sidewalk. Behind them, vampires emerged from the other two vans.

  Zale gripped her arm and pulled her aside. “Please be careful.” The words sounded silly considering he’d seen how tough of a fighter she was. Yet, he felt the need to say them.

  “I will.” She grinned and gently smacked his arm.

  “I know you’re strong and can fight. But have you ever dealt three hundred people wanting to chop off your head?” he asked.

  The cheerful expression on her face ended. “No, but I doubt all of them will want to destroy me. Plus, I have twenty-three others going in with me. I won’t be alone.”

  He brought his fingers up to her forehead and then glided them down the side of her face. She was beauty and a beast with the latter directed toward evil. He revered her courage and devotion and would show her how much if he ever got the chance.

  She flattened his palm to her cool cheek. “You’re always so warm.”

  Smiling, he said, “Feel free to indulge. I’ll keep you heated.”

  A strong desire to claim her lips overwhelmed him as he stared at them. His heart thudded while his blood rushed south. He couldn’t resist the chance to kiss her.