Vindicta (The Liquidator Wars Book 1)

by Kindra Sowder

  “Yes, I guess you could say that,” he looked over at her and frowned. “There’s something we have to do before we get there. It’s right down the block underneath Exchange LA.”

  “Underneath?” Brynn asked with a note of skepticism in her voice.

  “Yes, Brynn, underneath. The owner of Exchange is one of us and has managed to keep the Underground a secret since business started.”

  Brynn nodded in understanding. “And what is it we have to do before we get there?”

  Without warning, Creed’s massive hand wrapped around her wrist and pulled her to the side toward a dank and dark alley, deep within the shadows so they couldn't be seen. He pushed her against the building’s exterior, the brick rough on her exposed shoulders, and pressed his body against hers.

  “Creed?” she yelped. “What the fuck?”

  She felt his erection press up against her belly and had to force herself not to look away from his beautiful eyes. She had grown to trust him, but not completely and this sudden action surprised her. Her mind went instantly to where her weapons were as her body responded to him in the only way she couldn’t control.

  “You do not have to fear me, Daughter of Electi.” He took a deep breath in like he smelled her as they stood in such proximity and then sighed. “You are known for being the beauty of the vampire world, Brynn. That and those crimson eyes the color of blood. I am confident they will not recognize your face, but with those red beauties you can bet that someone will notice.”

  “Oh,” she muttered, “what do you suggest we do? It’s a little too late to do anything about it now. And the Sapphire Eye isn’t exactly helpful even if I could control it.”

  “Oh how right you are, but I believe I can be of some assistance. Now, close your eyes.”

  She stared up at him incredulously, studying him as his body reacted to her closeness against her. Her eyes narrowed to slits under his stare, causing him to sigh in frustration and shake his head.

  “Goddammit, Brynn. Just do it. Haven’t I proven I won’t harm you in any way?”

  As she stared up at him, she knew it to be true, but he was part Liquidator. A chimera mixed with vampire and angel as well. But the darkness of the Liquidator part of him still lingered inside of him. The look in his eyes and the way his body pressed hers to the exterior of the building in all the right places, caused her to drop her guard slightly, her shoulders sagging in submission.

  “I guess you’re right.” She slowly closed her eyes.

  “That’s my girl,” Creed said.

  Then she felt the tips of his fingers rest just over her eyelids with just enough pressure that she could barely sense his touch. Her eyes tingled slightly right around her pupils and then his touch vanished along with the sensation. She opened her eyes, and he smiled down at her, pleased with himself it seemed.

  “There she is, and with a new pair of eyes. Now,” he pulled away from her and reached his hand out to her, “how about we go dancing?”

  Brynn beamed at the silly request and took his hand.

  ***

  Creed’s body still reacted to being so close to Brynn as they walked the rest of the way to the Liquidator’s club, their haven within the city. As soon as the man at the door recognized who he was, it was as easy as ever to gain entry into the dance club above ground, and then through to the Underground below the loud music and grinding bodies on the dance floor. Of course, it couldn’t rival the sexual tension within the Liquidator’s lair just beneath. You wouldn’t only see dancing, but even intercourse took place out in the open. Nothing to hide and no one could care less.

  The music upstairs was stupid, pop music remixed to dubstep, but downstairs they at least had good taste. Once they were down the stairs, Brynn following just as he had instructed her to while there, Panic! At the Disco’s Miss Jackson pumped through the speakers as a bottle of Grey Goose vodka made its rounds on the dance floor.

  Creed turned and looked to Brynn and cringed when he saw her, never wanting to see her in a subservient manner. She was beautiful and strong and courageous, not this weak little thing that let men tower over her. His heart ached even though he knew it was necessary. He leaned down to her so she could hear him, pressing his lips to her ear.

  “Stay close to me, alright? Liquidator males are known to just snatch a pretty little thing like you up without a care as to who she belongs to. There are vampire servants in the place, but they will not help you even if they recognize you. Do you understand?”

  Her eyes, now a vibrant violet in color, flicked up to his face and back down to the floor.

  “Yes, I understand.”

  He nodded in response, “Good.”

  Creed pushed through the crowd and felt Brynn sticking close to his back as he moved, pushing through anyone that got in his way. A few had realized whom he was and parted like the Red Sea, but a few weren’t even paying attention, already drunk beyond comprehension. He knew who he was looking for and, as soon as he approached the bar, he leaned over it and placed his elbows on the counter top lit up with blue LED lights. The bartender came to him right away with a white rag in his hands.

  “I need to speak to Kade.” When the bartender barely moved, he put more force into his voice. “Now!”

  “Yes, Commander,” the slight man said as he moved out from behind the bar.

  Creed looked back at Brynn as he began to follow and jerked his head toward their destination, a back room within the Underground where Kade remained and watched those in his sights to stop any trouble that may start quickly. She followed without having to be asked. Creed had to admit she was a great actress, and even more beautiful than those that already graced the silver screen.

  In what felt like seconds they were standing in front of the reinforced steel door that led to Kade’s office, and the bartender moved out of the way so Creed could enter his credentials. As the son of their leader, he was allowed access anywhere he desired. Kade’s office was no exception.

  Once he entered the eight-digit passcode into the keys on the outside of the door, it sprung open and allowed them entry into Kade’s office. Both of them stepped through and the door swung closed at Brynn’s back, and she clung to Creed as instructed.

  Creed was the first to spot Kade, the man dressed in an expensive gray pin-stripe suit and dress shirt open at the collar, his shining dress shoes reflecting the lights coming through the large pane of the two-way mirror as he stood in front of it and watched those on the dance floor. He turned, his black hair slicked back, and his bright green eyes studied them before he smiled.

  “Creed, son of our King, what brings you to the Underground?” He peered around Creed and noticed Brynn there, eyes averted to the floor with her back straight. “And who is this beauty?”

  Creed glanced over his shoulder at Brynn who hadn’t moved an inch since they entered the room.

  “She is not why I am here, Kade.” Creed looked back to the man in front of him. “I need your help.”

  Kade’s eyebrows raised in interest as he moved away from the glass to sit down in a plush, round chair five feet away. A lit cigar smoked in the ashtray on the glass table beside him along with a glass of what Creed could tell was scotch. Kade picked up the cigar and placed it between his lips, taking a drag. A ring of smoke left from between those same lips as he pulled it away.

  “You? Need my help, Creed? And since when did you take a slave?”

  Creed shook his head and ignored the second question.

  “Yes, I need your help. Do you know of someone by the name of Ryder Perkins? A vampire working for my father within the Electi ranks.”

  Kade’s head bobbed as he took another drag from the cigar, blowing out beautifully fragrant smoke. “Yes, I do. What has he done?”

  “This stays in this room, Kade, do you understand?”

  “I do, my liege. I do.”

  Creed relaxed enough to move to the massive leather couch positioned across from where Kade sat, taking a seat. He patted the cu
shion next to him, and Brynn followed blindly, taking her place beside him as a slave would. He had to fight the urge to tell her to stop. Kade’s eyes never left Brynn as she moved and he had to fight the streak of urgent jealously that struck through him.

  Clearing his throat, he began.

  “The Electi took me prisoner and, instead of doing his job, he got what he came for and left me to die. I want revenge. That’s where you come in.”

  Kade glanced at Creed for a second and studied Brynn again.

  “And how can I help you?”

  “I want you to tell me where he is headed. I know you know or, if you don’t, you are aware of someone who does.”

  Creed’s heart pounded rapidly as the question hung in the air between them, making him anxious as he waited. Uncomfortably, Brynn shifted under Kade’s gaze and moved closer to Creed, so her thigh brushed his. Kade continued to scan her as if he was undressing her with his eyes which filled Creed with rage, but he swallowed it down long enough to wait for his reply.

  “He is going to the only place he can at this point with what he was drafted to take from the Electi, Creed. You know full well where that is.”

  Brynn’s breathing picked up a beat, but he did his best to ignore it. Kade just continued to stare.

  “Shit, Kade. Then it looks like I’m going to my father’s, and you know how much he hates even having to look at me,” Creed said as he stood from the couch.

  What he said wasn’t a lie. His father hated having to look him in the eye because he reminded him so much of his deceased mother and he understood it on some level, but so desperately needed the love of his father and the acknowledgment of his presence. Creed snapped his fingers and Brynn was at his side in an instant and Kade came to stand before them, strolling in their direction as he stared even more intensely at Brynn. This made Creed even more nervous. Kade stuffed one hand into his pocket and puffed on the cigar again.

  They were about to make their way out as soon as Creed swung the door open, but Kade took Brynn’s wrist in his free hand and spoke with the cigar placed between his lips.

  “You seem to have gotten yourself an Electi slave, haven’t you dear Prince,” he said in more of a statement than a question. “An exquisite one at that.”

  Brynn flinched and attempted to jerk her hand away from him, but failed as he pulled her closer to him and he looked her directly in the eye, taking in the violet hue. There was nothing Creed could do to stop him except one thing.

  “She is not your property, Kade. She is mine, and you’d do better to remember that.”

  A wave of energy passed over the entire club and Brynn stumbled a step and shook her head as if ridding herself of horrible images, her eyes closed. When they popped open, they were bright crimson and flashed the bright Sapphire blue under Kade’s magic.

  “Oh, this one is the property of no one,” Kade snarled.

  ***

  Brynn’s breath caught in her throat as the words left the man’s mouth, alarm bells going off inside of her mind as the man opened his mouth and yelled above the music.

  “Electi!” he shouted, reaching around to his back and pulling out a large pistol.

  Everyone outside of the office scattered, screams and shrieks coming from all directions. Brynn kicked out at the man, causing him to fall to one knee and when she punched him he dropped the gun to the floor. It skittered across the ground, and she turned to find Creed there, standing in the threshold of the office with his hand out to her.

  “Let’s get the fuck out of here,” he yelled above the chaos.

  She took it without question, and they ran through the Underground together, able to make it past everyone and up into the human club, which was the only exit. Gunshots rang out from the stairs that led down to the Underground. A bullet whizzed past Brynn and barely missed her outstretched arm as Creed ran with her behind him.

  The humans inside of the club upstairs screamed and ran toward the exit, and there was no way Brynn and Creed could blend into that crowd. That much she knew. The flashing lights around her only caused her eyes to flicker from red to blue only to settle on the glowing blue she was known for because of her gift that allowed her to see the Quaji. A gift everyone, even the Liquidators, knew was exclusive to her and her alone. Brynn pulled on Creed’s arm, and he turned to her as they froze in the middle of the dance floor, the humans running around them until there were only a few stragglers, gunfire erupting into the club as the Liquidators moved in.

  “They want a war, let’s give them what they’re looking for,” Brynn shouted over the thump of the music around them that moved through her entire body.

  Creed nodded.

  Brynn reached down into her right boot and gripped the pistol she had placed there, bringing it out, raising it up, and turning off the safety in one swift move as Creed reached into the folds of his long coat and removed two larger handguns from within. She pulled the trigger, the recoil barely registering in her vibrant muscles as the bullet passed through the air and hit the first Liquidator in between the eyes.

  She reached into the other bootleg and pulled out a switchblade, revealing its silver blade with a flourish. At least six large men came to surround them and, when she spotted Creed, he had his pistols out and aimed out to the sides to hit any that came at them from either direction. She looked back at him and him at her and nodded.

  The Liquidators, all dressed in expensive black suits, descended on them at that moment. And Brynn only had one clip with six rounds in it, so she knew she had to make sure every shot counted or not use it at all. She opted for hand to hand with the blade unless the pistol was necessary.

  She slashed out at the first man to greet her blade, slicing down. The blade glided through flesh, and a straight line appeared down the center of the man’s face, black blood seeping out of it as rage boiled inside of the Liquidator’s muscles. He came back at her, and she aimed the gun dead center, taking him out with one shot. He fell to the ground at her feet, the entry wound smoking slightly from the close-range kill.

  Creed used his guns to the fullest extent. His were much larger and carried more rounds because he had a better place to hide them. As she exchanged blows and swipes with a Liquidator who was as pale as she was, she caught his movements out of the corner of her eye. Creed was lithe, sleek, and deadly, taking no time at all to dispatch the three that had come in his direction. The coat billowed around him beautifully, and she could not deny her attraction to him then. Not even from those she knew.

  A punch landed at her temple, causing her ears to ring as she fell to the ground. She jumped up quickly and twirled her blade in her hand, throwing it toward the Liquidator’s head. Her aim was perfect, the blade catching him in the center of his forehead. Black blood oozed out around the silver blade as he slumped to a heap on the ground.

  The war cry of one last Liquidator rang out over the thumping music as Brynn noticed not a single human being was left in the building. She turned, raised her gun and aimed it at the Liquidator that was now only a couple of feet from her. She saw Creed just past him do the same. They both took aim at the Liquidator’s head and fired. As soon as the body dropped to the floor, Creed shoved his guns back into the folds of his coat and the pockets within them, and was on her, his lips crashing down on hers in an embrace of passion and adrenaline. Lust so intense it caused her to ache ran through her in an instant.

  Shouts came as more Liquidators moved up the stairs from the Underground and they poured into Exchange.

  Creed pulled away from her, took her hand and said, “Let’s get the fuck out of here.”

  “Absolutely.”

  They ran out of Exchange, dodging startled bystanders outside of the building as gunshots rang out and missed them each and every time. Once they were confident they had lost them, Creed’s hand took hold of her wrist, and he pulled her deep into an alley, pushing her up against the wall again. He kissed her feverishly and, even though she was still a virgin, lust ran through her. Whi
te hot and inescapable. And she sure as Hell didn’t mind losing her purity to him in that instant.

  She kissed him back, her hands moving underneath his shirt and raking down his chest. He growled against her lips and reached beneath her short skirt. His fingers grazed the wet fabric, and he growled again, nibbling at her neck as he pulled the thong she wore, tearing it from her body.

  Brynn reached down and unzipped his pants as his erection pushed seemingly painfully against his fly. It sprang free, and she gripped him, moving her hand up and down to pleasure him. She writhed against him, her body doing what it knew it needed to. She had no experience with men, but her instincts drove her. Her body was alight with excitement and she breathed heavily, Creed alternating from groaning kissing and bites. She licked his earlobe and placed her lips next to his ear.

  “Take me, Creed. Claim me. Right here. Right now,” she whispered.

  He pulled back slightly and looked her in the eyes, happiness, lust, and worry crossing over his features.

  “It will be painful, are you certain?” he asked, panting as she continued to pleasure him with her hand.

  Without taking her gaze away from him, she replied, “Yes, I am certain.”

  And she loved that he didn’t have to be told twice. He gripped her thighs just below her ass and hoisted her up and, without wasting a single second, thrust into her. Pain assaulted her sense at first and caused her to cry out, but was replaced quickly with pleasure as he moved inside of her. Their bodies flooded with ecstasy as they rode the waves together, each moan and sighed causing them to ride even higher with each stroke.