Magic Man

by Stone, Wendy

  “I wouldn’t call anyone who would do the things these people have done human, would you, Drake?” Lee asked. She was reading through one of the folders, grimacing at the contents. “The body that was found had been experimented upon in the most gruesome ways. They injected him with different drugs to see what worked and what didn’t. They took repeated samples of his flesh, his bone and his brain, not including what they did to his organs…which I hope occurred after death.”

  Lee angrily wiped at her eyes. This was one reason she’d joined ASP instead of going with her coven as expected. Human beings were not very forgiving, and if you were different in any way, you could expect harassment. In her life, she’d met very few “people” that she considered humane.

  Drake looked back at Lee in the rearview mirror, catching her movements. “Tell you what, Lee. I’ll capture one and you can go batshit on him, turn his testicles into peas and fill his dick with green pus or something. How’s that sound?”

  “Like something I’ve threatened to do to you before,” she said, laughing because she knew what he was trying to do.

  “You like my dick too much to hurt it now,” Drake said, seeing Lee’s cheeks grow pink.

  “Too much information, Drake,” Kit said softly. “Keep your eyes on the road. How long is the trip?”

  “Wolverine is about forty-five minutes south of the bridge,” Drake said. “It should take us about three hours.”

  “Good,” Kit sighed. “If you need someone to give you a break with driving, wake me up.” She swept the files into her briefcase and sank down into the thick leather seat, letting her head lean against the door. She closed her eyes.

  * * * *

  “Nashe?”

  “Molly! Are you all right?”

  “No,” she said, wiping the tears out of her eyes. “But I can’t give you any details, not now, not on the phone.”

  “Where are you? Molly, baby, we’ll come to you, okay?”

  “I’m in Michigan,” she breathed quietly. She heard footsteps outside the motel room door. She only started breathing again when they passed her door and continued on. “In a small town called Wolverine. They’ve got Brady and I know they’re looking for me. I don’t know what to do, Nashe.”

  “Brady who? How secure are you where you’re at?”

  More steps, these hesitating outside the door to the room before continuing on. Molly moved to the corner, taking the phone with her. She sank down, hiding behind the bed. “Not very secure,” she whispered. “I think they know I’m here, Nashe.”

  “Okay baby, you have to get out of there. Pack up your stuff. Do you have a car?”

  “No,” Molly said softly realizing there was no way for her to start the car without Brady.

  “Okay, okay,” Nashe said, trying to keep her from crying. “I want you to stay where you are. I’ll be there as quickly as I can. I’m going to call Dad, let him know where you are too. He might be able to get to you quicker. Someone will be there soon, sweetheart. I promise.”

  “Okay,” Molly said, the phone clutched between her hands like a life line. “Please hurry.”

  “Molly? Don’t forget who and what you are. Remember, you’re not helpless, okay? You can take care of yourself, too. You know what you have to do.”

  “Yeah, I know.” Molly’s answer was automatic. She did know who and what she was and where she came from--but it hadn’t seemed to work before, so how could she even hope that it would work now?

  “I’ll be sending someone to protect you until I can get there, honey. He’s going to use the phrase Dolphins swim by moonlight. If he doesn’t use those words, he’s not from me, okay?”

  “Yeah, just get here as soon as you can. I don’t know what they’re doing to him. Please, Nashe, please hurry.”

  With a few more comforting words, Nashe hung up the phone. He stared at his mate, Terry, who stood by looking worried, her hand on the rounded bulge of her stomach.

  “Who was that?”

  “My half-sister, Molly. She was kidnapped months ago and my father has been pulling out the stops trying to find her. She’s alone in a motel in some backwoods place in Michigan. I’ve got to go get her,” he said softly, his hand going to her cheek. “I don’t want to leave you now, though.”

  “You have to go,” Terry said, standing on her tip toes to lean over to kiss him. Her big belly was getting in the way of everything recently. It was a huge drain on her stamina and just today she’d begun to get pains in her lower back. “Me and the terrible triplets here will be just fine.”

  “Will you go stay with Luc and Marissa, please, just until I get back? I don’t want to think of you here alone baby, this close to your due date. Anything happens to you, it’ll kill me.”

  “I’m not the one rushing head first into danger without looking,” she teased, trying to make him feel better. She followed him from the living room, black and grey with bright splashes of red, into the bedroom. She’d refined it a bit since she moved in with him, but it still held its chaotic charm.

  “Pack a bag, baby. I’ll take you to Luc’s on my way to the airport.”

  “Nashe, I’ll be perfectly fine here. Besides, with you gone, I’m going to have to go in and run Abstracts.”

  “Oh no you won’t. You’ll call Sam. She can handle everything from the books down to the scheduling. I’m hoping I’ll only be gone overnight. She had a friend helping her and he seems to have gotten caught up in whatever mess Molly and Tallie are in.”

  “I don’t know if Sam will be too happy about that. She just got back from her honeymoon. You remember how you were,” Terry sighed, running her hand over her mate’s whiskery cheek and staring into his wickedly sharp green eyes. “I’m going to miss you,” she said, coming on tiptoe to kiss him again. “So you’d better go before I decide I don’t want you to.”

  He tossed the small knapsack across his shoulder and gathered her in his arms. “I love you,” he whispered against her lips.

  “I love you,” Terry answered, sighing once more as the twinge in her back made the position he was holding her in uncomfortable. “Go. I’ll call Marissa and if I need anything, I’m sure Luc can come to me. I’ll call Sam too. You just get to your sister and make sure she’s okay.” She dug his cellphone out of a pile of chef magazines and handed it to him. “Call me when you have her, okay?”

  “I will, baby.” He bent quickly and kissed her belly, his fingers moving over the terrible trio, as Terry liked to call them. “You guys be good for your mom. I’m depending on you.” Then he kissed her once more and was gone.

  Terry heard him on his cell phone before the front door even closed. The apartment immediately seemed so empty. Maybe she should call Luc and go stay with them. She moved slowly through the quiet rooms and into the kitchen, stirring the dinner that Nashe had been making for them. It had sounded so good when he’d told her about the dish, but now, with him gone, she suddenly had no appetite. Turning off the stove, she set the pans to the side to cool.

  She went to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water. A foot kicked her. Then another and she grunted a bit at a shot to the kidney. Settling her big body on the couch, she grabbed the remote and flipped through the channels, finally finding something she could watch.

  Two hours later, she sipped the last of the water and went to stand, ready for bed. A sudden wave of dizziness hit her and she grabbed for the back of the couch. “Uh oh,” she whispered as a slow trickle slid down her thigh, drenching her underwear and the loose, shapeless trousers she’d been wearing. “Not now, guys. Can’t you wait until Daddy gets home?”

  Chapter Eleven

  Terry moaned as the pain hit her again, low and fierce across her lower back. She rolled on the bed, grabbing hold of Marissa’s hand and squeezing hard. “I never thought it would hurt my back,” she cried.

  Marissa held a cold cloth, using it to wipe at the sweat that beaded Terry’s forehead. “Back labor,” she said softly. “We’ve got to get you off your back. Lu
c!” she called. Her handsome husband’s head poked into the room. “I need your help.”

  “I don’t know nothing bout birthin’ no babies, Miss Scarlett,” he said in a high falsetto voice. Marissa narrowed her eyes at him and he stepped into the room, holding his hands up in surrender. “I’m sorry. Bad joke, baby,” he apologized.

  “You’re lucky I love you so much,” she said, waving her fist under his nose. “Did you get a hold of the midwife?”

  “Yeah, she’s on her way, with a helper. I haven’t been able to get hold of Nashe though. I called the airport. His plane landed on schedule and he was on it, but he’s not answering his phone.”

  “Has something happened to him?” Terry moaned, a low growl in her voice.

  “No, Nashe can handle himself, sweetie. You just stay calm for those babies of yours.” Marissa squeezed her hand. “Luc and I are going to help you get on your hands and knees, sweetie. That’ll take the pressure off of your back and should make you feel better.”

  “How do you know this stuff?” Luc asked her, impressed.

  “I watch Animal Planet,” Marissa joked.

  “Hey,” Terry groused. “Not funny.”

  Luc chuckled. “It was kind of funny,” he said.

  “Oh,” Terry moaned as another contraction caught her by surprise. She stiffened in their hands even as they brought her up and around so she was off of her back and on her elbows and knees. Marissa put pressure on her lower back, using the balls of her hands to knead the tightening muscles.

  “Is that any better?” she asked Terry when the contraction ended.

  “Oh yes,” Terry moaned, accepting a small spoonful of ice from her friend. “I’ll never forget this, Ris. When you have your babies, I’ll be here for you.”

  Marissa brushed her hair off her face, watching as Luc slipped from the room, phone to his ear. “I know you will, sweetie. Don’t worry about that now, though. We’ve got to get these guys born.”

  Terry rode out four more contractions before a grunt suddenly came from her mouth. “Oh God, Marissa, I’ve got to push.”

  “No, Terry! Breathe, just breathe through it. Pant if the need to push gets too great. The midwife should be here soon. Please,” she whispered low enough to keep Terry from hearing. “Please let her get here soon.”

  * * * *

  Molly watched the shadows go across the drapes, shadows that seemed more menacing as each one passed by the window outside. She sat in the corner of the room she’d been so happy to share with Brady, her eyes wide, her heart racing, unable to stop thinking of what they might be doing to him. Tears slid unnoticed down her cheeks.

  When one of those shadows stopped in front of her door, she held her breath. “Please keep going,” she whispered.

  It didn’t. Instead, a loud pounding knock sounded. Molly bit back the scream that wanted to erupt, her hands squeezing around the only thing she’d found handy enough to use as a weapon.

  “Molly?” the voice called, and she scuttled harder into the corner. “Molly, Nashe sent me. Open up.”

  “W-What’s the phrase?” she managed loud enough for him to hear.

  “Dolphins swim at midnight,” the stranger said.

  Molly flew from the corner, tearing off the chain and flipping the lock to open the door and drag the strange inside.

  He was good looking, tall with golden hair that curled around his shoulders. He wore a black leather jacket over a gray tee shirt. His eyes were an incredibly deep blue. A whiskery growth graced his cheeks and strong jaw, giving him a slightly scruffy look that was almost impossibly attractive. A pair of old jeans hugged his lean hips, cupping an impressive bulge.

  “Who are you?” she asked as she shut the door behind him and locked it. Turning, she held the weapon in her hand, not trusting him completely even though he had known the phrase.

  The stranger glanced down at the toilet brush Molly held, a small smile touching his full, masculine lips as she waved it threateningly under his nose. “My name is Tynan Stavaros, Miss Wolfe. I am a friend of your brother’s from a long time ago. We toured Europe together during the 1800’s.”

  “You’re a Were?” she asked.

  “Not exactly,” Tynan said. “But it’s good enough of an explanation for now. Are you ready to go?”

  “Go? Where are we going? I’m not leaving without Brady.” She waved the brush again at him. Tynan reached out and plucked it easily out of her hand.

  “That isn’t necessary,” he said, watching her eyes as he tossed her weapon on the dresser. “If you want to be armed,” he reached into his boot and pulled out a wicked looking dagger, “here. This will do more damage.”

  “W-what about you?” Molly asked, accepting the dagger. She lightly touched her thumb to the blade and found it lethally sharp.

  “Don’t worry about me, Miss Wolfe. I’m more than well enough armed.” He smiled, and for the first time she saw his fangs. They were impressive, amazingly sharp and almost blindingly white. But the most startling fact was he hadn’t changed at all and he still had fangs.

  “Stavaros,” Molly said suddenly, her eyes widening. “Your mother was Lilly Alexandros, wasn’t she?”

  “Yes. She still is, the last I looked.”

  “T-then your father...”

  “...is Nicholas Stavaros, a vampire.” He chuckled at the look in her eyes. “Don’t fear, Molly. I’ve fed today. You’re perfectly safe. But we do need to get out of this motel. They haven’t found you yet, but they are starting to close in. My bike is outside. Nashe is meeting us at a cabin we both know of and then we are going to see about rescuing your sister and your friend.”

  Molly grabbed her jacket, tucking the dagger into one of the pockets. She left everything else in the room, taking only the key with her. “I’m ready,” she said.

  “I’m going to go first. You stay just inside the door, where you can see me. When I nod, you come out and take the helmet I give you.” He reached out, pretending not to notice the way she flinched from his touch and took her beautiful hair in his hands, tucking the stuff under her coat. “I want to have this disguised as soon as possible. So get the helmet on and buckled quick. Climb aboard my bike and then hang on. Okay?” he asked, staring down into her pretty green eyes.

  “Yeah,” Molly said. She followed him to the door, cringing a little as he pulled it open. She could see his bike parked a couple places down from where Brady had parked the car. No one was around that she could see, but she didn’t really trust her eyes when her instincts were screaming she wasn’t safe.

  Tynan walked out of the room without looking back. She couldn’t help but admire the way his jeans fit. He pulled on leather gloves as he walked, eyes searching the area for any sign of them being found. Going to the back of his bike, he unstrapped his other helmet, turning slowly to scan the lot before nodding. She was at his side quickly and he helped her put on the helmet, grabbing his own as she climbed on the back of his bike.

  Getting on, he turned the key, listening to the rumbling purr of the powerful bike. “Hang on to me,” he said. Her hands came to his waist and grabbed his jacket. He reached around, taking her hand and pulling it so that it rested against his stomach, grabbing the other one as well. “Hang on tight,” he said before he took off.

  They flew out of the parking lot, Tynan gunning it around cars and weaving through traffic. Turning onto the main road, he hit the brakes for just a moment, watching as a plain white van, pulled into the parking lot of the motel. “Phew,” he said to himself. “That was close.”

  They headed out of town, Tynan keeping the powerful motorcycle at an easy ninety miles per hour.

  * * * *

  Drake stumbled his way up the hill, eyes wide as he finally came to the top. He fell to his stomach, noticing the guards that patrolled the outer perimeter as well as the dogs they had. Dogs didn’t scare him much. As a Metal man, they more broke their teeth on him then hurt him; but he had the rest of the team to look out for as well. Lee’s tender
flesh would tear easily under the massive jaws of the huge German Shepherds and Rottweillers that were being used.

  He jumped as his communicator beeped at him. “What do you see?” Kit’s voice came from the speaker.

  “We’ve got a huge compound, six, no…seven buildings. Surrounded by a twelve foot fence with razor wire around the top. Ten guards with dogs, a large gate with a gate house. I hope you brought your Houdini hat, boss. This isn’t going to be easy.”

  “Get some pictures, Drake and then get your ass back down here. The last thing we need is for you to end up a guest in one of those buildings.”

  “You got that right,” he said, slipping his camera out of its pocket and turning it on. He used it to get some close ups, focusing on the gate and the gate house as well as the guards. Twenty minutes later, he was skidding to a stop at the bottom of the hill and brushing off the back of his uniform. Small hands joined his and he grinned when Lee gave his ass a squeeze.

  “Can’t resist me can you?” he teased, grabbing a lock of her hair and tugging on it.

  “You wish, Tinman,” she said, pulling her hair free and starting to walk away. A metal arm snaked around her waist and drew her back against him. She didn’t shriek, but it was close.

  “You two were supposed to have that out of your system by the time you came back,” Kit said, zipping up her uniform.

  “What can I say, Kit? I’m irresistible.”

  “That’s incorrigible,” Lee said, laughing.

  “I’ll agree with that assessment.” She held her hand out and Drake dropped the camera into it. Walking behind the Hummer, she opened the back and pulled out her laptop. She plugged the camera in and downloaded the pictures.

  “Here’s our entrance,” she said, pointing at a place near the center of the fence on the far side of the encampment. “This building will be our cover. If we are discovered, you are to get yourself out, understand? Don’t go back for anyone. Get out and get in contact with ASP. We’ll have to go in full force then.” She flipped through the pictures until she came upon a certain building. It was long, one story with both a garage door and a pedestrian entrance. “I’m betting they are keeping their captives in here. They’d need something with a big door and there are bars in the windows. This is our target.”