Chapter 11
Well, crap, she hadn’t expected to be asked what she would do. So why in the hell did she open her big mouth? It was only her second day, for shit’s sake. Her eyes shot to Sloan’s, but all he did was give her a nod like, “go for it.” Everyone was staring at her and all she could do was stare back.
“Well, ah….” She cleared her throat. “I mean, I don’t know exactly what to do, but I know being a woman and if I had peers thinking I was… you know… whoring around, I would be very uncomfortable going back into that situation.”
“Well, that’s kind of a no-brainer, Becky,” Sid replied with a snort.
“Ah, did I hurt your feelings with the eight-year-old little girl comment, Sid?” Becky’s attitude turned from helpful to sarcastic in a flash. Taking a deep breath, she calmed herself. “Sorry, I was voted most outspoken smartass in high school.”
Jared snorted and Sid actually laughed. “Well, welcome to the family.” Jared grinned.
“She’s right.” Jared glanced at Blaze. “Forcing Katrina to come back after something like that isn’t going to do her any good. We need a plan of action.”
Becky stood, feeling a little more confident with Jared on her side. “So what makes them think she’s getting special attention?”
“She lives here at the compound for one,” Adam replied. “I know me, Jill, and Steve got some shit about that from other trainees, but we just shut them up. Katrina hasn’t reached that point to be able to do that yet, and there were three of us.”
“Then maybe you guys need to show up some to keep the other trainees busy so they can’t think of anything other than picking their asses off the floor.” Becky was getting into this; maybe she had missed her calling. She should have been an advisor to a bunch of hot warriors. “That way whoever is doing the training doesn’t look like they are standing up for her all the time. Plus, having another girl in there may help. I’ve heard Jill is a badass.”
“That’s actually not a bad idea.” Jax cocked his brow. “Can we clear their schedules for a few weeks? Katrina does need some extra help.”
“Consider it done,” Sloan replied, his focus on Becky.
Becky tried to hide how pleased she was that he’d not only considered her idea, but “considered it done.” Ugh, there she went again, being happy she’d pleased a man. It had to stop, but she knew it wouldn’t. She was a pleaser, always had been.
“I don’t think there is anything we can do about her living arrangements though,” Adam added. “Steve said she was homeless before coming here.”
Becky thought about it for a second. “She could stay with me.”
“That’s not your responsibility.” Sloan shook his head.
“No, but it’s a solution,” Becky added, then shrugged. “I mean, you saw my place. I don’t have a lot of room, but it could work okay.”
“Whoa, what?” Sid sat up straight, showing more interest. “The boss man has been to your place?”
Becky looked at Sid, confused, then saw Sloan’s subtle cringe. “Oh, wait.” Becky rolled her eyes. “I forgot. We’re not all adults here.”
“Ouch.” Jared snapped his head back, but grinned.
“We’ll figure it out later.” Blaze turned to Adam. “Is she still there or has she moved to another state during all the bullshit?”
“So much hate.” Sid stood and stretched. “Just curious about why the boss man was at the secretary's place already. Seems a little soon to be—”
Sloan was around his desk and had Sid against the wall so fast Becky almost fell over moving out of the way. “I don’t care how big of a badass you think you are, if you disrespect her again, you will regret ever meeting me. Her name is Becky, not secretary or babe, and there is nothing going on between us.”
“Jesus, Sid.” Jared was ready to pull them apart. “Learn to shut your fucking mouth before you get killed.”
Sid ignored Jared, his eyes black as night. “Funny how the tables turn.” Sid grinned, but then nodded. “Okay. Okay, can you let me go so I can apologize?”
“Watch your step, Sinclair,” Sloan warned before letting him go.
“I hear you loud and clear, boss man.” Sid straightened his shirt after Sloan let him go.
“Get used to this shit,” Jax whispered to her as she stood staring at Sloan and Sid wide-eyed. “I’d say twice, maybe three times a week you’ll see somebody slamming somebody in this office. Just stay in your corner and you’ll be safe.”
“Holy shit,” Becky croaked before she looked up at Jax. “Guess it won’t be boring.”
Jax laughed in agreement. “Never.”
She watched Sid head her way. “Please accept my apology, my lady.” Sid grinned down at her. “I meant nothing by it.”
Becky narrowed her eyes at him before she smiled. She couldn’t help it. “Yes, you did.” She shook her head. “You’re a handful, aren’t you?”
“You have no idea.” He winked at her before putting on a straight face and walking out of the office.
She watched everyone else leave behind Sid, except for Blaze, who must have left during the excitement. Sloan was still standing, but he was glaring at her.
“I guess I should have kept my mouth shut.” Becky bit her lip. He didn’t look very happy. “I seem to have a problem with my mouth.” Okay, that sounded… weird.
Sloan’s eyes darkened as they traveled to her mouth, but then he looked away and headed for his desk. “You’re fine,” he responded, grabbing his phone and a set of keys. “After you finish the payroll, you can leave.”
“Okay.” Becky frowned when he walked out, slamming the door behind him. “Well, shit. You really need to learn how to keep your mouth shut, Spencer. Day two on the job and you’re already showing your ass,” she told herself as she went to finish the payroll. She glanced at her phone to see the time. It looked like she was going to take her time, since it wasn’t even noon yet.
With a sigh she sat down, her eyes going to Sloan’s desk. Suddenly the room felt very empty, and that was not good at all. She was missing her boss.
******
Sloan slammed out of his office. “Jax!” Sloan growled, then took a breath to calm down.
“Yeah.” Jax stopped, turning toward him.
“I want all the trainees at the warehouse in an hour, as well as any Warrior that’s available.”
“Yes, sir.” Jax nodded, pulling out his phone as he disappeared down the hall.
Sloan headed out to his bike, climbed on, and took off toward the warehouse. He needed to work out. He had too much energy and he was pissed at himself. After a short a three-minute ride, he was inside at his locker changing into sweats. Looking around, he couldn’t find a shirt.
“Fuck it.” He walked out of the locker room, not bothering to find gloves or wraps as he headed for one of the many heavy bags hanging throughout the warehouse. Doing some warm-up on the bag, he cursed some more.
What in the fuck was wrong with him? He’d almost killed Sid for no apparent reason. The fucker had pissed him off with worse shit than what he’d just done in his office, yet Sloan had been ready to pull a Damon and snap his fucking head off.
The more he thought, the harder he hit the bag with everything he had. Elbows, fists, knees, kicks, and once that bag ripped, he went to the next. He knew exactly what was going on, yet he fought it. He didn’t have time for this shit. The first time he had seen Becky Spencer, the day of Jill’s big interview fiasco, he’d been drawn to her and hadn’t been able to stop thinking of her. Even as busy as he was, his thoughts would regularly drift to her.
Another bag busted and he moved on to the next. He pounded the bags nonstop. When Caroline had suggested her for the job, he had fought it, even though the thought of having Becky near soothed him. What the fuck! He spun and kicked the bag so hard it hit the wall and stuck. And on to the next he went.
She was a beautiful woman, but that wasn’t it. He was drawn to her like no other woman, and he'd had ple
nty of women. None of them had ever made him think twice about them, sad as that was. He hadn’t even touched her sexually, yet he couldn’t get enough.
“Motherfucker,” Sloan roared, pounding the bag in frustration. As much shit as he had given his mated Warriors, it was going to bite him in the ass if he wasn’t careful. He had no room in his life for a mate, a human mate at that. He was not mate material. He knew that. Though deep down, he wanted it even knowing he couldn’t have it.
With another roar, he struck out with a spinning back fist. The bag broke from the chain and landed a few feet away. Glancing at the destruction, Sloan cracked his neck back and forth before turning to find all the trainees staring at him in awe and the Warriors grinning like idiots.
“What the fuck you doing just standing there?” Sloan took a step toward them. “Get out here and take a knee.”
The trainees tripped over themselves and each other trying to get out on the floor quickly enough, each kneeling. Wide eyed, they stared up at one huge, pissed off Sloan Murphy.
“I’m going to say this one time and if I have to repeat myself, someone is going to die.” Sloan actually took time to look each trainee in the eye. “We are a unit. I may want to beat the shit out of one of my Warriors on a daily basis, but I’ve got their back and they’ve got mine. We have a problem with each other, we talk it out or fight it out and then it’s done. What we do not do is go around like little bitches talking about each other or making assumptions that we don’t fucking know.”
“Yes, sir.” The trainees spoke in unison.
“None of you are warrior material in my eyes, so you’re damn lucky I don’t make many appearances here, but if shit don’t change and change immediately, you are going to see me here on a daily basis and that, you assholes, will not be pleasant for you.”
“Yes, sir.” Their response was louder, echoing around the building.
“Who is the one who started the rumor about Katrina?” No one answered, but a few glanced toward one trainee. “This rumor is going to stop. Is that understood?”
“Yes, sir.”
“You have questioned not only my Warriors, but my integrity that we would take advantage of a woman who would whore herself to get special treatment.” Sloan growled, his eyes narrowed. “I’m so fucking close to kicking all your asses out of here and getting real men who know when to keep their fucking mouths closed and how to respect a woman and each other.”
“Yes, sir.” This time there was doubt in their tone.
“Now, I’m going to ask one more fucking time who started this shit about Katrina.” Sloan once again looked at all the trainees, but saved the one he knew was guilty for last. “Are you going to be a man and own up to this, because if not, get the fuck out of my warehouse.”
“I suggested it but everyone agreed.” Ben’s voice shook as he stood, his eyes not meeting Sloan’s. “I didn’t mean anything by it.”
“No one gets special treatment,” Sloan announced loudly. “Just ask Jill.” He nodded behind them.
They turned to look at Jill who stood, her face pinched in anger.
“As a matter of fact, she, along with the new Warriors who just finished this program, will be here to teach you pussies what’s really important.” Sloan’s tone turned cold. “So if you don’t think you can handle training and you’re only good at talking about another teammate, then I suggest you not come back tonight.”
“Yes, sir.”
Sloan’s eyes slammed into Ben. “And as for you.” Sloan took three steps to stand directly in front of him. “Katrina will be the one deciding your fate in this program.”
Ben nodded. “Yes, sir.”
Sloan looked at the Warriors present. “I want them too fucking tired to even talk and any problems, I want to know ASAP.”
The Warriors nodded, each looking pissed, but ready to teach a hard lesson.
Once again after looking at each trainee in the eye, Sloan growled, “Get the fuck out of here.”
They didn’t hesitate. In a second flat, the only ones remaining were the Warriors. Sloan didn’t say a word to any of them. He turned and headed for the locker room. He’d said his piece and he really didn’t need to hear any shit about the heavy bags he had killed.
Chapter 12
Katrina walked down the wet, slippery hill through the wooded area behind the store. The building of the Dollar General came into view. The reason she had picked this place when she first had nowhere to go was because of the wooded area. It was easy to stay hidden from view during the store’s busy hours. She had been spotted earlier by one of the workers so she had taken off.
Walking toward the tarp she had found and used as a makeshift shelter, she tossed her bag containing all her belongings under it and then sat down. Her stomach tightened painfully. She needed to feed, and soon. It was bad enough that she was hungry for blood, but she still needed other nourishment. A pizza sounded awesome and she moaned, lying back in the wet leaves. She stared up at the tarp, through the hole and through the trees that were losing their leaves to the sky. It was a typical fall sky. The clouds were billowy, some white, some dark, and behind the clouds the sky was a beautiful dark blue.
Feeling something tickle her fingers, she moved her head to see a rabbit sniffing her. She loved animals, always had since she was a little girl. She had been drawn to them and they to her, but after she was changed, she’d developed an understanding that had terrified her and still did a little. She hadn’t understood it until she was with the Warriors and she’d heard them talk about powers. She guessed her power was with animals. Then again, she didn’t really know if that was true. She had been afraid to say anything. What if it wasn’t a power and she was just strange? She had enough going against her without adding more to it.
“How has your day been so far, Bugs?” She grinned at the name she’d given the rabbit.
Bugs looked up from her fingers, tilting its furry head.
“Ma’am,” a male voice called out.
The rabbit scurried away as Katrina sat straight up. Two police officers stood a few feet away. Her eyes scanned to find the quickest escape, but one of the officers held up his hand.
“Please don’t run.” He frowned. “We were called by the manager. He said he can’t have you living behind the store.” His eyes took in the surroundings. “Are you living back here?” he asked, his eyes and voice kind.
Fear thrummed through Katrina; she didn’t want to go to jail, but knew she was breaking the law. “No,” she lied, not knowing what else to do.
“Come on, ma’am.” The other police officer took a step forward, causing Katrina to jump to her feet.
“I’ll leave.” Katrina slowly reached down to grab her bag. “I’ll leave,” she repeated a little more frantically. Seeing movement out of the corner of her eye, she saw the huge deer camouflaged, watching, waiting. Slowly she shook her head, then looked back toward the officers.
“We can take you somewhere to get something to eat.” He reached out his hand, waving her toward him. “We can also call the VC Warriors and see if they can help you.”
“No!” At the mention of the Warriors, Katrina was ready to bolt.
“No need,” a familiar voice came from behind the officers. “We’re already here.”
******
Blaze had left the compound and headed straight toward where Adam said Katrina was. Pulling into the parking lot, he looked around but saw no sign of her. Parking, he climbed off the bike and started to head inside, until he’d heard voices. Following the sound, he’d continued until he saw two uniformed police officers and Katrina.
She stood next to a tarp she must have set up to try to stay out of the rain the previous night. Fuck, why hadn’t he thought of Adam sooner? Glancing at her surroundings, he was pissed that she’d felt this was better than being at the compound. Nothing about this was safe for a woman, even a full-blooded vampire. She would be no match against a male vampire and there were plenty running around this part o
f town. It was the reason it was heavily patrolled by Warriors.
He watched as her eyes moved from the officers to something in the trees. His eyes followed. A large buck stood hidden, but its eyes were on her. He looked back to see her shake her head discreetly before looking back at the officers. The large buck took a step back as if following her orders. Interesting.
Turning his attention back to Katrina, he heard the officers say they were going to call in the Warriors to help her.
“No need.” He stepped forward, his eyes on Katrina. “We’re already here.”
When Katrina’s eyes popped wide staring at him, he cocked his eyebrow at her. As the officers came his way, he reached out and shook their hands, glancing at their name tags.
“I will be sure to let Sloan know how helpful you were to one of our own.” Blaze nodded.
“There’s no way we could keep a handle on all this without you guys,” one of them replied. “If there isn’t anything else we can do, I’ll let the manger know it’s been taken care of.”
Blaze nodded, watching them go before turning toward Katrina. “So where should we start?” Blaze asked. When Katrina remained silent, he continued, “Why you ran or your Dr. Doolittle moment with the large buck who is glaring at me?”
As her eyes darted for escape, he knew she was ready to run, yet he stood there.
“I will catch you,” he warned, but stayed relaxed and at ease.
“Why are you here?” she asked, her shoulders slumping in defeat.
And wasn’t that the question of the day. Blaze had asked himself that same exact question the previous night as he’d hunted for her nonstop. Why? He didn’t have the answer, or at least the answer he wanted to hear.
“You’re going to make us late for training,” Blaze responded, not answering her question. “Now let’s go.”
“I’m not going back.” Katrina shook her head, her mouth set in a stubborn line.
“Should I call the officers back?” Blaze threw out, cocking his eyebrow. He knew he wouldn’t do that, but she didn’t.
“Why?” Katrina frowned, throwing her arms out. “Why do you even care? I can take care of myself and have been doing it for a long time.”
Sloan (The Protectors Series) Book #9 Page 7