[06] Slade

by Teresa Gabelman

  “Neither have I,” Jill smiled sadly, as her eyes met Slade’s. “Slade, this is my brother, Trevor.”

  Slade reached out his hand. “Slade Buchanan.”

  They shook hands both eyeing each other, sizing each other up. “You were just protecting her when you stepped in front of her.”

  “Just making sure you were who I thought you were.” Slade nodded. “We had a little excitement with a shotgun just before you got here, so I’m a little on edge.”

  “What?” Trevor’s eyes widened. “Who in the hell had a shotgun?”

  “Janie’s fiancé.” Jill frowned, looking toward her sister and, hell, she still didn’t know his name. “Who is he?”

  “Anthony Bonner.” Rolling his eyes, he snorted. “He’s a douche who is anti-vampire; he came around right after I left. I don’t even know how they met, but he has Mom and Janie all stressed out about half-breeds and vampires.”

  Wanting to change the subject so not to upset her dad again, Jill glanced toward the house. “Hey, can you run up and get a couple of things from my room?”

  Trevor looked away from her, scratching his head. “Well, yeah I could, but…”

  “But, what?” Jill asked, not really wanting to know the answer. When he still didn’t answer, only shuffled his feet nervously, looking anywhere but at her, she sighed, “They got rid of my stuff.” It wasn’t a question.

  Always one to fidget when nervous, Trevor rubbed his eyes, then forehead. “Not exactly.” He finally looked at her, lowering his voice, “Dad found Mom and Janie going through your stuff, boxing it up and throwing stuff away. He literally had a heart attack.”

  Jill looked over at her dad who was playing with Seth, her mom close at his side and her eyes glaring right at her. “Why does she hate me so much?” Jill turned back to her brother, confusion and sadness on her face.

  “She doesn’t hate you, Sis.” Trevor clasped her shoulder. “She fears you.”

  “No, she hates me,” she pushed his arm away. “Do you fear me?” Her voice held a hint of challenge, but her gaze held a trace of plea hoping his answer would be no. That he still saw her the same way, his annoying older sister who he liked to mess with.

  Trevor snorted, rolling his eyes. “Fear you?” He pushed her, making her stumble into Slade who had been standing silently by her side. “That’s a joke, right?”

  “Careful, bro.” Jill crossed her arms, tilting her chin up. “I’ve got skills now.”

  “Skills?” Trevor’s laugh boomed across the yard, gaining everyone’s attention. He looked up at Slade. “You better watch out, big man. And just so you know, I won’t hurt her…too bad. Just don’t want you killing me or anything, but I need to make sure my sis remembers who’s the bigger badass.”

  “You mean the bigger ass,” Jill smirked. “Which would be….you.”

  Slade’s grin slowly spread across his face as he stepped back. “Go for it,” he nodded at Trevor.

  Trevor rubbed his hands together as he took two steps toward Jill. Just as he reached for her, she moved out of his way so fast his human eyes couldn’t track her. He frowned as his eyes found her. “Damn. Okay, I see. Not bad.” He nodded impressed, then frowned at something behind her. “Seth, don’t sneak up.”

  Turning, Jill cursed, realizing she fell for the oldest damn trick in the book and in front of Slade, her trainer. As soon as her brother’s arms made contact, she grabbed one arm, flipping him over her shoulder to the ground. With lightning speed, she straddled him, pinning him to the ground where he struggled to get the breath that was knocked out of him.

  Snapping her fangs playfully at him, she grinned, “You give?”

  “I give.” Her brother wheezed out a laugh even as he struggled once again to break away from her. “Damn, for a little thing, you weigh a ton.”

  “Hey! I do not!” Jill snapped at him again, feeling better than she had since becoming a half-breed. She never realized how much she missed her family, especially Trevor who she had always been close to. “Don’t make me bite you.”

  “Get off him!” Her mother’s shrill scream broke their play.

  Jill turned just in time to see Slade grab the stick that was coming toward her face. Jill jumped up just as Slade threw it with a fierce scowl. “She was not hurting him, Mrs. Nichols.” Slade glared down at her, a tick in his jaw plainly visible. “You need to calm down. You’re scaring your son.” Slade nodded toward Seth, who stood just behind her with fear on his face.

  “Don’t you dare tell me what to do on my own property, you filthy…thing,” Jill’s mom spat in anger and fear. She didn’t even try to hide the disgust shining brightly from her eyes.

  Jill stepped between Slade and her mom. “Don’t you talk to him like that!” Jill hissed. She had never talked to her parents with disrespect, but she’d be damned if her mom would treat Slade like this. Not happening. “He, along with the other VC Warriors, have done nothing but help me, your daughter. A daughter you discarded when I needed you most and why? Because of fear? Do you realize how afraid I have been going through this alone, without my family? Why? Why do you hate me so much?”

  Her mother didn’t say anything, didn’t even look a tiny bit remorseful.

  Looking around at everyone staring at her, she purposely avoided Slade’s eyes. “You have always been embarrassed of me.” Jill felt her emotions bubbling up and knew she had to get the hell out of there, but the words just kept flowing out of her mouth. Things she had wanted to say for years clogged her throat with a bitter taste. “God forbid, anyone find out not only is your youngest daughter illiterate, but she’s a half-breed vampire. I was never good enough.” She had always thought her mother was beautiful, but at that moment, she was seeing a totally different person in her mother and there was nothing beautiful about either.

  Her mom’s face showed she didn’t like being called out; a sneer thinned her lips. “You’re the reason he had his heart attack.” Her mother’s voice grew low enough that only Jill, Trevor and Slade could hear her. “So, if you love him, stay away.”

  “Mom!” Trevor stared at his mom with shock, and then went to grab Jill’s arm as she turned to walk away. “Jill, stop!”

  “Don’t!” she warned, not trusting herself. But she stopped suddenly, not knowing when she would see her brother again. Turning, she hugged him tightly without saying a word.

  “She needed to hear the truth.” Jill heard her mom saying as she headed toward her dad, totally ignoring Janie and her fiancé.

  The sadness in her dad’s eyes almost did her in, but she had to hold it back. Hell would fly if she started crying blood; her mom would probably want to stake her. Reaching down, she slowly wrapped her arms around her dad, praying he didn’t flinch away. He didn’t. “I love you, Dad, and I will be back to see you if that’s okay?” Her heart flipped when he hugged her back just as tightly. “I don’t want to cause problems for you with Mom.”

  “You let me take care of your mother, Jelly Bean.” He kissed her cheek. “I’m sorry. I should have—”

  Jill shook her head, smiling sadly as she pulled away, newly loving the nickname she had hated in the past. “No, things are the way they should be. All you need to do is take care of yourself.” She straightened and forced a smile on her face. Her gaze found Seth. “That little guy over there needs you. We all need you.”

  Clearing her throat when he squeezed her hand, she reluctantly pulled away and went toward Seth, but stopped when her mom grabbed his little arm, pulling him behind her. His face peeked around her leg, his eyes sad and confused. Jill smiled, hiding her fangs the best she could and waved. His lips curved into a small smile as he gave a little wave with his free hand.

  Sable and Bebe followed her and Slade to the bike. Without a word to them, she hugged both dogs tightly before hopping on the back of the bike behind Slade, wishing with everything she had she could wrap him in her arms and disappear, but she couldn’t. She was alone. Looking back at what used to be her family, she rea
lized she would probably be alone for the rest of her life. If her family didn’t love her, what made her think anyone else would? Taking a deep breath, she looked away. Never one to throw a pity party for herself, she lifted her chin, straightened her spine and looked straight ahead.

  Chapter 3

  Slade could feel Jill’s anxiety radiate into his body as they hit the road. What he witnessed didn’t surprise him. He’d seen it before. Families torn apart from fear of the unknown, fear of a loved one who had been turned. Though, he felt Jill’s mother was taking it to extremes. He felt bad for her dad who was caught in the middle of his love for his daughter and wife, not a good place for a man to be, especially as his health had suffered for it. Slade knew better than to show any pity toward Jill. She would, without a doubt, throw the pity back in his face, which set her apart from most women he’d known. She wasn’t dependent on anyone, yet he knew she desperately wanted to be loved and cared for. He also knew she would cut out her tongue before saying so.

  Glancing down at his watch, he knew they were late. Duncan had rented out the large shooting range a few blocks down from the compound. They didn’t have much time to get the half-breeds trained, so it was pretty much around-the-clock work and training, which didn’t bother him at all. He needed to stay busy, busy keeping his mind and hands off the woman whose hot little body fit perfectly around him as she sat on the back of his bike.

  Parking next to Adam’s car, Slade turned off the bike, waiting for Jill to hop off first. Sliding off in one fluid motion, Slade turned, only to see Jill already heading toward the building. Her spine straight, head tilted in her own arrogant way. Cursing himself for being ready to ask her if she was okay, Slade followed her, keeping his eyes up and not on the sexy sway of her hips, a natural sway not intended to attract male attention, and that turned him on more than anything. She had no clue how much her innocent sex appeal attracted him and that made her even more dangerous.

  “Fuck!” Slade mumbled loud enough for her to stop and look back at him. At her questioning stare, he shook his head, motioning with his hand for her to continue. Once she turned, he adjusted his jeans; his dick didn’t get the memo from his brain about not being interested. He stood outside the closed door Jill had walked through and cursed. Feeling more in control after a deep breath, Slade grabbed the door handle, swinging the door open so hard the top door hinge broke away from the frame. “Son of a bitch!”

  “Having a little trouble?” Jax walked around the corner, eyeing the door without stopping.

  Slade cursed again, wedging the door so it stayed upright. “If you only knew,” Slade mumbled, not really caring if Jax heard him or not.

  “You’re late.” Jax pushed open a door to one of the rooms with ten shooting lanes.

  Walking in behind Jax, Slade kept his mouth shut. He took in everyone, finding Jill standing back with her arms crossed, her stare blank. He knew she was reliving what happened with her family.

  “I said you’re late.” Jax stood in his line of vision. “If we are going to get these guys ready, you need to get your ass and that sweet little ass of our only female—”

  Slade took one step in Jax’s personal space; his eye narrowed. “I know my fucking job.” Slade stood slightly taller than Jax, but Jax didn’t step back; instead, they leaned in toward each other.

  “Then get your head straight and start doing it,” Jax warned before turning away.

  Fists clenching tightly, Slade wanted nothing more than to knock Jax through the wall, but glancing at everyone looking at them, he knew his need at the moment wasn’t the issue. These guys were counting on him. Jax was right. He needed to get his shit straight; something he usually prided himself on. His shit was always straight.

  Everyone had picked a gun except Jill, who still stood back. Before Slade could make it to her, Jax stepped in.

  “Get your ass in gear, Jill.” Jax picked up a small gun with a pink handle. “I got this just for you.”

  “Awww…how cute is that,” Steve snickered, holding his gun, attempting to look like a badass.

  Jill ignored the gun Jax held out, grabbing a different one. “I prefer the GLOCK-21 because of its accuracy and stopping power, which would probably even put a full-blooded vamp on his ass.” Jill snapped the already loaded clip into the gun, grabbed a target, and then headed to the lane ignoring the open mouths gaping after her.

  Slade’s grin spread as he watched the scene. Not many people could put Jax in his place, but Jill just did and he fucking loved it.

  “What the hell you smiling at?” Jax walked up, grabbing a pair of earmuffs and safety glasses. Without waiting for Slade to answer, Jax turned away and headed toward Jill. “Here! Don’t shoot that gun until you have these on.”

  After setting her target, she put the safety glasses on and placed the earmuffs around her neck waiting for instructions, as did Steve and Adam.

  Stepping away from the table he had been leaning on, Slade looked at each of them. “Set your targets at a comfortable level. We aren’t looking for distance shooting yet. We just want to see how accurate you are with a firearm.” He nodded toward the lanes. “As soon as you unload the clip, bring in your target.”

  Jax and Slade watched closely to see how comfortable they were. Soon the sounds of firing filled the room. Slade’s eyes kept returning to Jill, who looked the most comfortable in her stance and hold. He stepped sideways to get a full visual and realized how attractive he found a woman who was comfortable with a firearm. Feeling Jax staring at him, he turned his attention back to Steve and Adam.

  “Looks like she’s shot before,” Jax commented, nodding toward Jill.

  “Yeah,” Slade remarked, trying not to show too much interest in anything Jill did.

  “Steve looks like he’s having a damn seizure every time the gun recoils.” Jax frowned, then rolled his eyes when Steve turned the gun sideways like a gangster. “What the fuck is he doing?”

  As Jax left to chew Steve’s ass out, Slade glanced back at Jill, who was already bringing her target in. She had pulled her empty clip out of the gun. When she glanced back, he waved her over. Adam had also finished and was bringing his target to the table. Slade took both targets, laying them side by side. Steve quickly brought his over.

  “Damn, Adam.” Steve stared at one of the targets that had every shot straight to the heart, each bullet hole easily spaced so you could count them. “You’re freaking Rambo.”

  “That’s not my target.” Adam glanced at Jill, surprised.

  Jax picked up the target, staring at it, then looked at Jill. “Where’d you learn to shoot like that?”

  “My dad made sure his kids knew how to protect themselves,” Jill replied with a proud tilt of her head.

  “Yeah, well, let’s see how well you do this next go around.” Jax shoved a new target at her, and then picked up Adam’s target. “Good job, Adam, but you need to relax your stance more. All of your shots are left of center. Adjust your stance. Keep it at the same distance.”

  “Yes, sir,” Adam replied, taking the new target.

  Slade kept his mouth shut as he watched Jill frown at Jax’s treatment of Adam compared to her. Grabbing Steve’s target before Jax could, Slade looked at it. Only three of Steve’s shots hit a vital part in the target. “You need to control the recoil of the gun, Steve, and definitely stop the gangster hold shit you have going on. Keep it at the same distance.”

  Steve nodded, grabbing his new target, but kept looking at Jill’s. “Didn’t know girls could shoot like that,” he said low to Adam as they headed toward their lane. “Remind me not to piss her off when she’s got a loaded gun anywhere near her.”

  “How far do you want my target?” Jill asked Slade, but Jax stepped in and went toward her.

  Nudging her out of the way, he pushed the button sending her target down the lane; he kept going and going. Finally, he stopped the target. “Let’s see how good a shot you are at a distance.”

  Jill stared at him for a s
econd with her brows furrowed in confusion before slipping her earmuffs on. Snapping in a loaded clip, she positioned her body, her head turned slightly to glance over her shoulder at Jax. Slade was surprised at the hurt look in her eyes. He was even more surprised that Jax’s treatment of her pissed him off more than anything had in a long time.

  Once again, the room erupted in gunfire. Jax turned, catching Slade glaring at him. “What’s your problem?”

  Before Slade could answer, Jill stopped shooting, brought her target in, popped out her empty clip and calmly walked over, putting her target on the table. Each shot placed with strategic accuracy, but this time to the head.

  Neither Jax nor Slade said a word as they stared at the target. Adam followed, laying his target down as did Steve.

  “What the hell?” Steve reached over, putting his finger in one of the eye holes made by Jill’s bullet.

  “I’m better with a shotgun,” Jill shrugged, staring at her target. “We did turkey shoots all the time. We never had to buy a turkey because one of us always won.”

  “She’s better with a shotgun,” Steve snorted, rolling his eyes.

  “Can shoot the balls off an ant at one-hundred paces.” Jill grinned at Steve’s expression.

  “Wait a minute.” Steve’s eyes went from impressed to narrowed. “An ant doesn’t have balls.”

  Jill cocked her eyebrow at him before grabbing a clean target. “Really?”

  Steve took a target. “No, I mean I’ve never seen an ant with balls.”

  “And you’ve looked?” Adam frowned at Steve, following him to the lane.

  “No, I haven’t looked for ant balls, but I’m sure if an ant had balls, you’d see them hanging and I’ve never seen hanging balls from an ant.”

  “If you guys are done talking about fucking ant balls…” Jax started, but stopped when Jill laughed then shut up real quick at his glare. “I want you to set your targets a few yards further than the last time. Slade is going to call out what shot to make. You will have only four shots this round.”