Sabrina's Vampire Series Boxed Set

by A. K. Michaels

  Boyd started to laugh, “You and your technology. I assume you mean hack into SEB's files or some such?”

  “Maybe,” Kyle smirked. “So does that mean I can use it, your computer?”

  “Yes, I have some more work to do myself, but I should be finished by three at the latest, come and find me then. I must get back, got a conference call scheduled,” and with that Boyd stood up and left them alone.

  “Be careful, if you’re going into the SEB’s files, you don’t want to make an enemy of that group,” Sabrina had only ever heard of them, she’d never had cause to involve them in any of the work she did. But some of her friends had, though, and they were more than a little scared of the SEB and their employees.

  “I’ll be careful, anyway, if it’s traced, it’ll be Boyd they suspect,” Kyle gave her a cheeky grin, and she threw a breadstick at him.

  “Hey! Thought you didn’t like to waste food?”

  “Funny, you’re so funny. Come on, let’s go for that walk.” She stood up, pushing her chair back, she couldn’t help but notice all the food still left there.

  “Want to check out the orchards?” Kyle took her hand and led her to the front doors, opening one of them and going out.

  “Yeah, why not,” she replied, as she took in the magnificence of the front of the mansion. She wondered if it was like a ‘Historical Building,’ like they had in the UK, or whether they had that in Italy.

  It was certainly old, large and beautiful, but she could never envision living in such a place.

  They walked down the stone stairs and onto the gravel path, and made their way around the front of the building, in the general direction of the orchards. Kyle took her hand in his and they walked slowly, taking time to look around. The surrounding areas were lovely, green and lush, but there was a strange sense, as if they were on a different planet, no homes or people as far as the eye could see. It kinda freaked her out a bit, what would happen in an emergency, being so far from civilization?

  “What kind of emergency?” Kyle must’ve heard her thoughts and she shrugged.

  “I don’t know, what if the place caught fire? I know that Boyd wouldn’t need a doctor, but surely accidents happen. If a fire broke out, the place would be done for by the time any fire department got here. I guess I’m just a city girl at heart, all this...space...makes me a little uneasy.”

  Kyle laughed and pulled her closer, “A girl after my own heart. I’m not that keen on the countryside either. I like the bright lights and buzz in a city - Vegas, New York, London..."

  “Glasgow, Edinburgh!” she chimed in, and he inclined his head.

  “Yeah, those, too, but then in the cities you get far more crime, poverty, homelessness. There’s good and bad about every place, I suppose.”

  “I know, I guess if we really had to live like this, for whatever reason, I could put up with it, I would just rather not have to.”

  The smell of the fruit hit her nostrils and she could almost taste the citrus from the oranges growing all around them. She could see apples further over on one side and what looked like plums on the other. It must be a lot of work picking the ripe fruit, she thought.

  Stopping, she turned around and saw just how far they had wandered, they had just been meandering and were now nearing the end of the orchards, there was the grass, then the trees in front of them. A shiver ran through her body, and she wrapped both her arms around herself to try and stop it.

  That’s when all hell broke loose.

  Chapter 15

  She was still standing with her arms wrapped around her, when Kyle moved a few steps in front of her. He was peering into the trees, and she was sure he was frowning. What was up? Maybe he had seen some kind of wild animal in the forest. She had no idea what was running wild in the forests of Italy.

  “Kyle?” she asked, just as she heard him growl, more like a snarl, and his body tensed up so tight, she was certain it would be painful.

  “Run!” he shouted and pushed an arm in her direction, urging her to move.

  She looked at him in shock...what the hell was wrong? Then she saw a blur of movement come out of the trees and head straight for them. It was not an animal, well, not in that sense of the word, it was Raige, or that’s what she assumed.

  Her eyes couldn’t keep track, as it flew towards them and she stared wide-eyed, as it drew ever closer.

  “RUN!” Kyle roared at her, as he pulled his gun out from his waistband.

  The sight of the gun in his hands broke the spell and she turned and started to run towards the house, as quickly as her legs would carry her. All the while she was screaming at the top of her voice – “HELP - BOYD - HELP!”

  The ground she was running on was flat, so she took the chance to glimpse behind her. Her heart stopped, as she saw the Vampire reach her mate and land a knockout punch before he could fire a shot.

  She stopped, she couldn’t go on, seeing Kyle knocked flying took her breath from her lungs and her legs wouldn’t work. She tried to make them, she really did, but somewhere between her brain and the muscles in her legs, there was a short out. She stood silently, as Raige stepped over Kyle and walked towards her.

  She was very surprised that the emotion she felt was anger not fear. That fucker had hurt her man. She actually managed to get her legs moving again, but in the wrong direction. She took two steps towards Raige before her brain made her stop.

  She was getting a clearer view of his face, and she could see the madness in his eyes. This Vamp truly was insane. She could think of nothing more dangerous.

  She took a deep breath in and screamed for all she was worth “BOYD!” and in the next second Raige’s body jerked…once, twice, and three times before he turned and moved to the side so quickly, she wondered if she truly had seen him jerk.

  Raige took off at such a speed, she couldn’t keep up, she only saw the general direction he went, to the right, back into the trees. It was at that point she saw Kyle standing with his gun in hand, and she realized she hadn’t even registered the noise of the gun being fired. Those ‘jerks’ had been bullets hitting Raige’s body.

  She stood where she was, watching and waiting, in case he came back, as Kyle came quickly to her side. His hands were running all over her, and he was talking to her...she didn’t hear his words, her eyes were on the forest.

  “What the hell just happened?” Boyd was now beside them with Petre in tow, the large Romanian’s eyes searching for danger, as Boyd’s raked over her and Kyle.

  “Raige just paid us a visit,” Kyle’s voice was low and full of anger, as he looked between her and his Sire.

  “Sabrina, please talk to me. Are you okay?” The plea in his voice broke her silence, and she finally pulled her eyes away from the tree line.

  “I'm fine, what about you? He moved so fast, Kyle, and then you were on the ground and the gun was gone…and…and…”

  “I know, he took us by surprise, baby, it won’t happen again. I could sense him faintly, and then I thought I saw something in the woods, then he broke free and came at us so fucking fast. Boyd he can move really fast.” Kyle’s voice was tinged with shock and she heard it. He had been taken unaware at his speed, too, that was disturbing.

  “If he is as old as I am, then he will move quicker, though, I have not heard even a rumor of another as old as I. This is very unsettling. I don’t think you should stray too far from the house from now on, Kyle. Stay close, where I can get to you quicker. The other thing, well, I only felt a little tingle on the back of my neck, when really my senses should’ve been on overload with him so near. I’m going to phone that Witch, we need wards up as quickly as possible.”

  With that Boyd turned and disappeared. Petre, however, stayed close with his eyes scanning all around.

  “Sabrina, are you sure you’re okay?” Kyle’s hands had not left her body and his touch calmed her, the main thing coursing through her system was anger, n
ot fear.

  “I'm fine, really, he’s truly insane, Kyle. I saw him, his face, his eyes, I’ve seen that look before. He’s a psychopath and one with vast abilities. He needs to be stopped, the sooner the better.”

  Her cop instincts were in full flow, and she knew that maniac had inflicted terrible atrocities on others. If they didn’t stop him, he would continue to do so, and she wasn’t going to allow that. Whatever it took, she would do it. Raige had to be stopped.

  “I know, babe,” Kyle still held his gun in one hand, but placed the other around her shoulders.

  “Training starts now,” she said, as she looked at the gun.

  “I agree, Petre, will you come and keep watch?” Kyle turned to the man mountain that followed them, never taking his eyes off the tree line, as he walked.

  “I’ve got twenty-four left in the mag, I’m going to just let you get a feel for the gun, its weight, how it feels in your hand, and the grip you feel is most comfortable. It’s not the lightest weapon, but that wasn’t something I was concerned about when I got it. Anyway, we’ll start off with that, and only when you’re comfortable holding it will you pull the trigger.”

  “Fine,” she answered in a clipped tone, her anger still was boiling just beneath the surface.

  Petre stood guard, as Kyle talked her through the basic mechanics of operating the gun. He showed her how to load it, hold it, the safety procedures…everything he could think of, he had her do multiple times. More than two hours had passed before he nodded his head that she was ready.

  “Okay, you are going to learn to fire in short bursts of six. You will learn to bunch the six together before moving to a different target area and doing the same. So the first thing is to figure out which is your dominant eye, you’re right handed, so it should be your right. Don’t ever close the other eye or squint, there are reasons for that rule, but we don't have time to go into it, so just take my word for it. Let’s get your stance correct, hold the gun in both hands, as we’ve been practicing, that’s it, a two-handed standing position is the most common and will allow you better control of the weapon. Keep your knees and elbows loose, don’t tense up, it can increase recoil and gun movement, that’s it, hold your shoulders a bit forward of your hips and don’t go onto the back of your feet. Remember what I told you about holding the gun and trigger control, every gun is different, but you only need to know this one, get a feel for how much or how little pressure you need to fire each shot. After today, I’m going to get a couple of Boyd’s guns and have them on me while we’re out here. That way we can have you dry firing until you are absolutely perfect, that will save a hell of a lot of bullets, but for today you will fire eighteen rounds. That still leaves some in the mag, just in case.”

  She was listening to every single word he said, taking it all in, filing things away for later, and doing her damnedest to get things right. She was surprised to discover she liked the feel of the weapon in her hands. Yes it was a bit heavy, but if she got to the point that the weight was an issue then she was in big trouble, so it wouldn’t matter anyway.

  Kyle had talked her through how to sight the gun, which she had found unusual, but she knew bugger all about guns or shooting them, so she bowed to his greater experience and knowledge.

  She went over in her head everything he had said, making sure she wasn’t tensed up, had the correct stance, was holding it properly, sighting it, as he had told her and gently but firmly moving her trigger finger, as the first bullet flew from the gun, she jumped and stopped.

  “That’s okay, it’s natural, just take a few deep breaths and start again,” Kyle’s tone was soft and coaxing, and she did as he told her.

  Once more, ready, she moved her trigger finger from outside and onto the trigger, taking up the slack and firing again. This time she managed three shots before she stopped.

  “Again,” was all Kyle said.

  So she did it - again, and again, and again, until he said –“Stop.”

  “That’s enough for today, we’ll start again tomorrow. Not bad for your first lesson, some even hit the target, though, most went into the hay. You have to remember to relax and don’t anticipate the gun firing, the noise, ignore it. Your only focus is aiming and pulling the trigger. Come on, I’ll give your hands a massage.”

  His words confused her, a hand massage? He hadn’t done that before, however, as he took the gun from her grip she groaned, because her hands were locked in that gripped position. She had been holding far too tight and her hands were now pretty sore.

  “Everyone does that at first, you’ll get used to the weapon and soon you’ll be firing like a pro.”

  Kyle’s words boosted her confidence and she hoped he was right. If Raige ever gave her the opportunity, she wanted to empty the whole magazine of bullets into him - silver ones.

  Kyle checked the gun before placing it in his waistband once more and leading her back towards the house, where they met Boyd, who was waiting on them.

  “The Witch will be here in an hour, the wards will be done before dark, so we should at least get a warning next time.”

  Boyd looked angry, and she wondered if it was because Raige had got under his radar, or because Kyle and she were nearly hurt. She didn’t really care, so long as that anger was focused on Raige.

  They continued on into the house with Boyd going back to his office ‘To sort some things out,’ Kyle led her back to their room, where he gave her hands a gentle massage before he led her to the shower.

  Her mate could find so many erotic things to do in a shower, she was sure some of it was illegal, but when they were getting dressed to go back downstairs, she felt calm, satiated, and loved.

  Chapter 16

  As they got to the top of the stairs, they saw Boyd standing in the entranceway with a woman. The woman looked to be in her late fifties, but if she was a Supernatural, she could be any age, that fact still amazed Sabrina, and she looked closer for any tell-tale signs.

  As they moved down the stairs, Boyd turned and motioned for them to join him, which they did, all the while she watched the woman, trying to figure out who or what she was.

  “This is the Witch I was telling you about, she’s here to cast the spell that will alert us, if Raige comes near again. She is going to cast it, so that myself, Petre and you, Kyle, are included in the alert.”

  Kyle took a deep breath and let it out slowly, he wasn’t keen on magic, never had been, but if it would help to keep Sabrina safe, then he would do it. “Hi,” was all he said in return.

  “Hello, my name’s Kathleen, I will need all three of you with me, when I cast the spell. Where would you like to do this?” The woman asked with a tinge of Irish brogue in her voice, and Sabrina wondered if she lived here in Italy or had come from afar.

  “My office, Petre is already there waiting on us,” Boyd moved off towards his office, and the Witch followed, as Kyle turned and smiled at Sabrina, letting her know she wouldn’t be included.

  “Shouldn’t be too long, why don’t you go find Cook, see what she’s making you for dinner?”

  She nodded silently and watched, as he followed behind Boyd and the Witch before turning and going in search of Cook. She found her in the kitchen bustling about, seemingly doing a dozen different things at once.

  “Hi, Kyle and Boyd are with a Witch, so I came to see if I can help.”

  Cook stopped and looked at her for a moment, “Help? I don't really need help, Miss, but you’re welcome to sit and watch, there’s coffee made, if you want a cup, or there’s wine in the small fridge.”

  “After today, I think I need wine.” Sabrina walked towards the fridge, noting it was like the wine coolers she saw in some restaurants, she opened it and found some white and rose wine, for a change she picked a white, medium sweet, and lifted the bottle out.

  “Here let me open that for you,” Cook took the bottle from her hands and expertly used the corkscrew to open the b
ottle, she poured some into a glass that appeared on the table.

  “There, you sit down and relax, I’m making you a speciality of mine, it’s beef in a whisky sauce with polenta, I hope you like it.” Cook bustled about, and Sabrina realised that the kitchen was full of the smells of the food being prepared and cooked.

  “It smells divine, if I like it, which I'm sure I will,” she added hastily, not wanting to offend the woman. “Would you teach me how to make it? I am pretty much lacking in culinary skills, so any tips and recipes would be welcome.”

  “Teach you? Miss Sabrina, I would love to teach you. I miss cooking so much, so it will be a pleasure.” Cook’s face lit up and she saw that the woman missed being human.

  “Good, we'll sort something out and you can teach me some of your recipes. The chicken at lunch, with the two sauces, was delicious, so you can teach me those as well. I’ll get a notebook and write them all down, so I don’t forget how to make them.” Sabrina sipped her wine, as she watched the woman work away, moving far too fast and agile for a woman of her years.

  “Do you know how long you’ll be here? I’m not trying to pry, Miss, it’s just that we could make a standing appointment for me to teach you, like for an hour or so at a time?”

  “No, it will depend on this Vampire that is hell bent on hurting me, the sooner that’s over the better, but I think we could do an hour each evening. I could come down about this time and we could go over what you’re making, if that’s not too much trouble?”

  Sabrina watched, as the woman’s face flushed and her smile got even wider, “I would like that, Miss.”

  She thought Cook missed more than being human, it looked like she missed some company, too. She couldn’t see Boyd spending time chatting or Petre either. She looked so pleased that she was going to be spending time with her.

  “Good, I look forward to it, first lesson starts tomorrow,” Sabrina sipped her wine, as she watched the woman whiz about.