Drake the Defender

by Rhiannon Neeley

  “You agreed. Not me.” She tried to pull from him.

  “Grace. No.”

  Fire flushed through her. “I may enjoy being submissive to you in certain situations, Drake,” she gave her arm one final jerk, breaking his hold, “but this is not one of them.”

  “Argh!” Drake growled, burying both of his hands in her hair. “And I thought Barack was going to be hard to handle.”

  Grace smiled sweetly up at him. “Are you coming with me, or not?”

  * * * *

  Rogue pulled up beside the dark sedan with the Ohio license plates and cut the engine. When he had driven past the gate at the head of the old mine road and saw that it was demolished with yellow police tape straggling from it, something told him to follow the signs. Good thing, because here was the car that Grace had supposedly left in with that prisoner.

  What the hell were they doing up here? He wondered, getting out and looking over the car. He felt the hood, laying his hand on it. Barely warm. They had been here for a while. He looked toward the entrance of the abandoned coal mine. He was going to need a flashlight.

  Going back to his car, he reached underneath the front seat. He touched metal but it wasn’t a flashlight. Didn’t matter. It was going with him anyway. Rogue pulled the tire iron from underneath the seat. He stuck his hand under again, finding the flashlight this time.

  He shut the car door, locked up, lit a smoke and with the tire iron hanging from one of the belt loops of his jeans, he started for the entrance to the mine.

  If Grace was here, she’d better not be hurt.

  Or there would be hell to pay.

  * * * *

  Barack was tired of waiting. After going through the house, touching the things that Grace touched, he wanted her now more than ever. He had lain in her bed where she slept, wallowing in her scent, dreaming of the things he would do to bring her pleasure once she was his. Now that her fragrance filled him, permeated every pore of his body, he would have no trouble tracking her even in his human form.

  He burst out the door of the small house and raised his head. Turning a slow circle, he sampled the light breeze until he caught just a whiff of her essence.

  Toward the mine.

  His heart pounding, he stalked into the woods at the back of the property, not racing but at a good human pace. He had her in his sights.

  She would not escape.

  * * * *

  Drake gathered up the weapons he had managed to find, cursing under his breath. Grace was determined to leave the mine and nothing was going to stop her. He would not let her go alone. Perhaps by them going out into the open, it would draw Barack to them sooner. The waiting was getting to him a bit also and they couldn’t spend every moment making love, no matter how pleasant that prospect may be. He had to be able to act as soon as Barack showed himself. If he was engaged in play with Grace, he wouldn’t be able to attack so quickly. It could be his death. The only reason he had seduced her at first when they came here was because he was sure that they had time. Now time was beginning to run out.

  He stood, a tin of coal oil in one hand. “Alright. Let’s go.”

  Grace smiled at him and disappeared into the tunnel. Drake followed.

  She raced ahead quickly through the tunnel, barely making a misstep. “I pretty much remember my way now,” she said over her shoulder. “I’ve been through here hundreds of times but it’s been years since I’ve been back to this place.” She turned a corner and headed down another tunnel.

  Drake lost sight of her for only a moment, but in that moment, he felt true fear lance through his heart. He turned the corner and she was there in front of him again. His pulse slowed at the sight of her.

  “Funny how your childhood comes back to haunt you,” Grace was saying. “I never thought I would ever have a reason to come back into this place.”

  The sound of her voice soothed him somewhat as he tried to keep up with her, but he’d never known a woman who could aggravate him so easily. She was stubborn, had a mind of her own and a quick tongue to match, and she damn sure wasn’t afraid to voice her opinion to him whether she agreed with him or not.

  Drake knew that he had met his match in Sheriff Grace Shanley. Wait until his brother Holt and his cousins met her. Shoot, they’d fall over in a faint as soon as he told them that he was ready to quell his wild ways.

  Well—not all of his wild ways.

  He still had a few things in mind for him and Grace to try.

  And her openness to his sexual suggestions was another delectable surprise. She was willing to let him lead the way. It was exhilarating to say the least.

  Drake bet that knowing Grace Shanley was going to be the best thing he had ever experienced in his life.

  * * * *

  Barack was almost to the mine and her scent was getting stronger. He picked up his pace, the animal in him rearing its head.

  There were other scents in the wooded mountainside, mingling with the rain-washed air.

  Other humans.

  Barack wasn’t sure how many there were. He was too focused on Grace’s female aroma. But he did sense that the humans seemed to be moving in a searching pattern. They were far down the mountainside for the moment, but were working their way up.

  No bother. As soon as Barack caught sight of his prey, he would take her and retreat into the dark recesses in the maze of tunnels inside the mine. They would not find him. Or Grace. And he would waste no time.

  Grace would be his before the next sunrise.

  Chapter Nine

  Drake hadn’t realized just how deep into the mine they had been. “Are you sure we’re going the right way?” he asked just before Grace cut around another corner and disappeared from his sight.

  “Just keep up!”

  Keep up? Drake shook his head. Grace was moving through the corridors of the mine like a caffeine freak on a sugar binge. How was he supposed to keep up with that? He turned into the tunnel she had disappeared into.

  His heart skipped a beat. “Grace?”

  She was gone.

  * * * *

  Grace was loaded with memories as she moved through the labyrinth of the coal mine that at one time had been her sanctuary. So many times she had come here and sat pondering about why God had chosen to make her a girl instead of a boy. She had always tried to please her father, forever striving to out-do her brother Chase. It had never been enough.

  Until she had been elected Sheriff.

  Even then, her election had been overshadowed by Chase’s death. Even though he never seemed to be able to find the words to tell her, she could feel it in the way her father looked at her when she came home, dressed in her uniform. He still missed his son. Grace could understand. She missed Chase too. Grace had the feeling that her father kept hoping to find a shred of Chase in Rogue, but Rogue had a wild streak a mile wide. Grace remembered her puzzlement when Rogue had been born and Chase had named his son such an odd name. Chase must have seen something in the boy because the name suited Rogue perfectly.

  And Rogue had been a constant bone of contention between Grace and her father. Dillon wanted Rogue to be given free rein, to let him just be a man. Grace wanted him to straighten up and fly right. He’d been running on the edge of trouble since he was fifteen and Grace was honestly amazed that he hadn’t ended up in a jail cell somewhere by now. Or worse.

  Rogue aside, Grace knew that the mess she was in right now was going to be the last straw between herself and her father. With the murders hanging over her head, she had already been walking a fine line. Once Dillon got a look at Drake, he’d blow his stack. But the main thing was going to be what Harry had seen.

  Grace knew that she too had a wild streak, but she had always strived to keep it buried deep inside. Drake had brought it out into the open. With a vengeance. Whenever he was near, it was instant heat. Drake was able to connect with her most basic instincts, bring out the wantonness in her that she had always wanted to set free but was afraid to. With him—it fel
t right. It felt good. Hell, it felt more than good. It was perfect.

  Only thing was—her career was in shreds. How was she going to manage to defend herself after Harry got done running his mouth, was a puzzle she hadn’t yet solved. Hopefully she didn’t end up being charged with something herself. Technically, she’d had inappropriate contact with a prisoner twice. Once when she was searching him—and what had come over her then, she had no idea other than the desire to indulge the wild woman locked inside her, which she had successfully tamped down before going any further. The second time her armor had completely fallen away and she had given in, unlocking the cage that had held her true self inside for so long.

  There was just no way she was going to get out of this looking like a lady.

  But it really didn’t break her heart. She wanted to be with Drake more than she wanted to keep her job and her reputation.

  Funny, she thought, hesitating before she ducked into yet another tunnel. I haven’t heard him for a few minutes. Grace turned and looked back the way she had come.

  Drake was nowhere in sight.

  * * * *

  Barack entered the mine and stopped.

  The mine was dark but not empty. He took a deep breath, letting the odors fill him. She was here, her scent strong and alluring. But she was not alone. There was another here with her. A male human, but his scent was different. There was a hint of something not quite human mixed in, overshadowing his odor.

  Barack let out his breath, his body tensed.

  Overlying everything, was the musk of sex.

  He growled, the sound coming from deep in his chest, the alpha-male wolf clawing at him to be freed. The male human had already had her. The beast in Barack awoke fully.

  Tracking her by her sultry perfume, Barack entered into a tunnel.

  * * * *

  Rogue had seen a flash of something moving quickly out of the corner of his eye as he took the last rise before the entrance to the coal mine. Whatever it was, it had passed through his line of sight as almost a blur. Rogue wasn’t sure if it was animal or human, but it was large. And it moved too fast to be a man. The thing was also headed in the direction of the coal mine.

  Damn, he thought, working the tire iron out of his belt loop. Some animal has probably made a den in the mine.

  That’s all he needed. He didn’t want to have to fight something off just to get in the mine.

  Rogue stopped, switching the tire iron to his hand that also held the flashlight. He pulled his pack of cigarettes out of his back pocket and shook one out, placing it between his lips. If he had a shot of Jack, he’d knock it back, he thought, lighting a smoke.

  A bit of fortification never hurt anyone.

  Especially before a fight.

  * * * *

  Colin was glad he had been working out for most of his adult life, but even that hadn’t fully prepared him for hiking up a Kentucky mountain in the dark. Vines grabbed at his ankles, rocks tried to trip him and once, and owl swooped so low in front of him, that he almost pulled his gun to shoot before checking himself. He was jumpy, but he was thrilled at the same time. This was definitely more interesting than plowing through legal papers while listening to the stereo and having a glass of Merlot.

  Colin couldn’t believe it when John had asked him to join in their quest and become a true working member of the Unkindness just a few days ago. He liked John—truly respected him as he did all of the other Ravens—but actually working “with” them instead of behind the scenes, had been a long time dream.

  He just hoped his dream didn’t turn out to be a nightmare. And maybe his last one at that.

  Almost to the mine, Colin caught a whiff of cigarette smoke. He slowed his pace, taking care that he didn’t make any more noise than need be made. He had passed some police cruisers that were parked along the road on the way up here, no officers in them, but figured they were doing a search of some kind. Colin did not want to run into one of them and have to come up with some explanation for his presence here.

  Moving in a northerly direction, Colin skirted around the place where he assumed the person who was smoking the cigarette may be, and continued toward the coal mine.

  Anxious to do battle.

  * * * *

  Drake called out her name again. “Grace!” The only answer was an echo that grew faint then died away. He began to move through the passage faster, searching the rocky floor for any sign of her footsteps, hoping desperately that she had not had a mishap and fallen down some abandoned shaft. Damn it, he couldn’t lose her now. Not before they had really even begun.

  Drake focused, concentrating on Grace’s unconscious, searching for her thought pattern. If he could only pick up her thoughts, they may just lead him in the right direction.

  * * * *

  Grace came to an intersection of tunnels. One went to the right, one to the left in a “y” shape. She bit her lip. Of all things, she couldn’t believe it … but she was lost.

  And alone.

  Why had she been so hell-bent on showing Drake just how well she knew this place and raced off, never paying attention to whether he was keeping up or not?

  Stupid, stupid, stupid, she told herself, her eyes moving from one tunnel to the other. Which way?

  Hoping she was making the right choice, Grace took the right hand side and ducked inside the murky blackness. Her candle was burning down, getting harder to hold due to its length. The flame barely pushed back the darkness. Grace had to slow her pace. They had closed this mine for a reason. And she didn’t want to become a victim of a cave in or fall down some hidden shaft that she didn’t see in time to avoid. Paying close attention to her footing, she didn’t see who had reached out in the dark to grab her until she was locked in his arms, unable to move. Grace let out a scream, struggling to get loose. She could tell from his touch that it wasn’t Drake who held her. She had dropped the candle and the tin of coal oil when she had been attacked. The candle lay flickering on the uneven floor of the tunnel.

  Grace looked up, fear lancing through her, into a pair of glowing yellow eyes.

  Barack.

  * * * *

  Drake’s heart stuttered when he heard a faint scream. The sound was echoing through the maze of tunnels, seeming to come from every direction. He raced forward, hoping that Grace would scream again, hoping that she wouldn’t. As he moved, he strained to focus on her thoughts. Then he had her.

  She was scared.

  He continued to move, careening through the dark, bouncing against unseen outcroppings and stumbling over hunks of coal, but nothing slowed him. Drake had to get to her. His mind honed in on her fear as if it were a beacon. He felt no pain, nor chill of the coal mine’s air.

  All Drake could feel was the desperate need to get to her before it was too late because through her frenzied thoughts, he knew that she was in the arms of the vampire—Anthony Barack.

  Drake burst from the tunnel and found himself back at the entrance chamber of the mine. To his surprise, it was not unoccupied.

  A tall blond man stood in a fighting stance, a tire iron in one hand, a large metal flashlight in the other. “Where is she?” the young man asked, his voice dripping venom.

  Drake sighed. He didn’t know who this guy was and he didn’t have time to get acquainted. “Look buddy, there’s someone in here and I need to find her,” Drake said, cutting to the left. He had taken note of a tunnel that led off from the back of the entrance chamber when he was in here before. That was the direction he needed to go.

  The young man sidestepped, keeping himself in line with Drake. He raised the tire iron and pointed the flashlight directly in Drake’s eyes, blinding him. “Yeah, I need to find someone too. Where the hell is Grace?” he said.

  Drake raised a hand to shade his eyes from the bright light. “I said, I don’t have time for this. I’m looking for Grace too and I’m pretty sure she’s in trouble.” Drake caught movement off on his right. Someone else had just entered the chamber.

&
nbsp; “Drake,” Colin said, “everything okay?”

  He was glad to see Colin. At least now he would have a better light and some decent tools. Sighing, Drake turned his attention back to 180 pounds of raging testosterone. “Buddy, I don’t know how you’re connected to Grace but…”

  “I’m her nephew, Rogue Shanley,” he said taking a step toward Drake. “I heard a scream. If you’ve done something to her…” He gripped the tire iron, biceps flexing.

  Drake eyed him. Rogue Shanley. Grace’s nephew. He did look a bit like her and he did look like he could do some major damage with that tire iron. Drake felt Colin move up beside him but he didn’t dare take his eyes off Rogue. “I haven’t done anything to your Aunt,” Drake said, speaking slowly. “Right now, she is in the hands of a killer that is more dangerous than you’ll ever know. You can help us save her, or you can use up all that adrenaline fighting us. Which is it?” Drake raised a finger. “But, I’ll warn you right now—you decide to take me on—you won’t win.”

  Drake watched different emotions flicker over Rogue’s face before he finally answered. “Alright,” he said, lowering the tire iron, “I’m with you. But you’d better pray that you’re not lying to me.”

  Drake looked at Colin. “Tools? Light?”

  “Both,” Colin nodded, handing Drake a flashlight.,

  Drake checked it, making sure it worked. “Alright. Let’s go.”

  Drake entered the tunnel at the back of the entrance chamber, Colin behind him and Rogue bringing up the rear.

  He only hoped they weren’t too late.

  * * * *

  Barack stopped Grace from screaming a second time with a kiss. She fought his advance, trying to turn her head away. Barack spun around and pinned her to the wall with his body. His hands now free, he cupped her chin with one while the other stroked her silken hair. He was hard, so hard that he didn’t think he could wait for her to succumb before tearing the clothes from her luscious body and burying his solid member deep inside her warmth and his fangs into her slender neck.

  Grace made a ‘mmnn’ sound beneath his mouth, trying to give voice to her protest. Her hands pulled at the shirt he wore.