Sloan (The Protectors Series) Book #9

by Teresa Gabelman

  Katrina let herself in Becky’s house. She didn’t know when or if she would be home tonight. Blaze had walked in with her.

  “Thanks for bringing me,” Katrina said as she put her bag on the floor next to the door.

  “What time is Becky coming home?” Blaze leaned against the wall.

  “Not sure.” Katrina frowned, her hand going to her stomach. “She may not even come home tonight, but if she doesn’t, I can always catch a cab to training.”

  The bar across the street was busy. People stood outside talking loudly. Their drunken chatter rose above the music playing inside.

  “Do you need to feed?” His eyes were on her hand that sat on her stomach.

  “No,” she lied, but when his eyes rose to meet hers, she sighed. “I can’t keep taking your blood. I’m fine.”

  “You’re newly turned, Katrina.” Blaze closed the door, shutting out some of the noise. “You’re going to need to feed more frequently than anyone else at least for another month.”

  “Then let me feed you.” Katrina immediately wanted to crawl in a hole and die. Why in the hell had she said that?

  Blaze actually smiled. “Now that would be defeating the purpose of me feeding you, wouldn’t it?”

  Katrina nodded. “I just feel bad.”

  “Well, don’t.” Blaze took his shirt off and tossed it on the couch. He walked into the kitchen. “Come on, hop on the counter.”

  Doing as he said, she hopped up, which gave her the perfect height. Staring at his neck, she licked her lips. His blood was addictive. She craved it, and that scared her. His was the only blood she’d tasted and she wondered if anyone else’s would taste as good. She didn’t know the answer to that and wanted to ask, but didn’t dare.

  It was always awkward at first. She wanted to touch him, but always hesitated. Blaze moved between her legs. He leaned into her and tilted his head, giving her easy access to the vein in his neck. Slowly, she lowered her mouth, making sure her fangs were over the vein before she gently sank her teeth into his skin.

  Her tongue pressed against his neck as she tugged at the vein, taking his spicy blood into her mouth. Her nipples hardened and her private area tingled. She wasn’t totally naïve. She knew all about sex between a man and a woman. She knew she wanted him and every time she took his blood, she wanted more. Katrina had also seen his reaction after. She had seen the hard bulge in his jeans as he’d walk away from her; she had even seen him adjust himself, which made her tingle and throb even more.

  As she took more of his blood, she wondered if she offered herself to him, would he take her or reject her. Taking a chance, she put her hand on the other side of his neck, her touch gentle, letting it run along his jaw.

  Abruptly, he grabbed her hand and moved it away. She pulled her mouth from his neck, licking the wound closed. With downcast eyes, she felt embarrassment heat her cheeks; her touch had been rejected. She should have known.

  “I’m sorry,” Katrina said, her voice low as she wiped her mouth.

  Blaze lifted her face to his. “You did nothing wrong,” he responded, his eyes black as they stared into hers. “When taking blood, sometimes feelings get involved. It’s normal.”

  “It is?” She knew she sounded relieved, and she was.

  “Yeah.” He smiled, but his smiles always looked so sad.

  “Thank you for….” Katrina stopped what she was about to say and hopped down off the counter.

  “For what?” Blaze walked over to get his shirt and put it back on.

  “For being nice to me,” she replied, crossing her arms and leaning against the refrigerator.

  Staring out of the window, Blaze didn’t respond. “Are you afraid to stay here alone?”

  “No, I’m fine.” Katrina shrugged, but he couldn’t see her. “I’m used to it.”

  That did make him turn around. “What happened with you, Katrina?”

  It was her turn to give a sad smile and a shake of her head. “That’s not something I’ll discuss with anyone.”

  “We’ll see about that,” Blaze said, then headed toward the door. “Everyone needs someone to talk to.”

  “Yes, I guess we do,” Katrina called him out. “Guess we’re both two lost souls.”

  “I know exactly where I am,” he replied, before walking out. “Make sure you lock this door.”

  “Thank you again, Blaze.” But he was already on his bike and riding out.

  ******

  Blaze went around the block, then stopped far enough away from Becky’s to keep an eye on the place and the bar. He wasn’t comfortable leaving Katrina there alone and until the bar closed or Becky came home, he was keeping an eye out. He should be patrolling, but that could wait.

  Katrina was a vampire, but she was a kind soul. The word soul made him think of what she’d said before he’d left. She was right, but no way in hell would he admit it, at least to her. She was coming around slowly and would make a good warrior. He smiled at the thought of her with Steve today. Now that was hilarious, but she’d been ready to stand up for Steve. He'd known what it would take for her to come out of her shell: helping someone she cared about or an animal from danger, or even supporting someone who needed help.

  With a sigh, Blaze crossed his arms as he straddled his bike. His feelings for Katrina were complicated and he hoped to hell they got straightened out and soon. He wasn’t there for a half an hour before some drunk ass started stumbling out of the bar and toward the road. A stray dog he had noticed earlier was snooping around and went to sniff the man’s shoes. The drunk asshole kicked out toward the dog.

  “Shit!” Blaze started his bike as soon as he saw Becky’s door fly open. Katrina flew down the steps.

  She yelled at the man while the dog limped toward her. The man yelled back at her, his arms waving all around. As Katrina leaned down to grab the dog, she took her eyes off the man and didn’t notice he had raised his foot to kick again, this time hitting Katrina in the side of the head. She fell backwards onto the concrete, smacking her head hard. Blaze’s loud growl of rage and the sound of his bike alerted the drunk, but it was too late. As Blaze rode between him and Katrina, Blaze kicked his foot out, hitting the man in the chest, sending him flying.

  Turning, he parked his bike quickly and ran to Katrina, who sat up and searched for the dog, who was sitting on Becky’s front porch.

  “Are you okay?” Blaze helped her up.

  “Yeah,” Katrina replied, looking around. “Where is he?”

  “He’s on the porch, Katrina.” Blaze snapped, then rolled his eyes when she took off toward the dog.

  “What the hell?” a man yelled, running to the drunk. “What did you do to Bob?”

  Blaze turned to see the bar emptying out onto the street. “Katrina, lock the door and get on my bike, now!”

  A man headed toward his bike, but Blaze sneered at him, showing his fangs. “Big mistake, asshole.”

  “Holy shit,” one man said, backing up. “He’s a fucking vampire.”

  “He kicked me for no reason.” Bob was up on his feet now, actually sounding a little more sober as he pointed toward Blaze.

  “That’s a lie!” Katrina shouted, heading toward Blaze’s bike. “You kicked this poor dog, asshole.” Katrina climbed on Blaze’s bike, holding the dog close.

  “Katrina,” Blaze warned, his eyes tracking everyone before he addressed them. “You have two choices, one good and one bad. The good choice is to turn away and walk back into that bar.”

  “What’s the bad choice,” the man who had found Bob first shouted.

  Blaze smiled, his eyes swirling fire. “Not picking the good one.”

  “He’s only one,” another guy, whose whiskey was talking for him, shouted. “We can take one vampire.”

  Blaze looked his way and smiled. “You want to bet your life on that?”

  That shut whiskey boy up real quick.

  “So any takers, or are we just going to stand here all night and talk about it?” Blaze eyed the
crowd. He could take them, he knew, but Katrina sat unprotected holding a fucking dog.

  “I say we don’t mess with this fucker,” another drunk who was closer said. “Look at his eyes. Something’s not right with him.”

  “That’s the smartest thing I’ve heard any of you say since this shit started.” Blaze backed toward his bike.

  “Call the cops!” Bob yelled as he staggered. “I’m pressing charges.”

  “And I’m pressing charges against you for animal cruelty.” Katrina once again threatened.

  Keeping an eye on the crowd, he gave them a smile. “The name’s Blaze.” He nodded to Bob, then started his bike, revved it up, and took off.

  Blaze was glad he’d left without having to tackle twenty or so men on his own. Not that it would have been a problem, but his concern was Katrina.

  “I think he needs to go to a vet,” Katrina hollered over the sound of the engine.

  “Are you fucking serious?” Blaze slowed to a stop.

  “Yeah, there’s an emergency vet on Vine.” He heard the dog whimpering. “Please, Blaze.”

  “Son of a bitch!” Blaze cursed as he turned his bike around and headed toward Vine. “Well, this night just keeps getting better and better.”

  Chapter 30

  Sloan couldn’t keep his mind on what he was doing. Every few seconds he looked at Becky, who was busy at her desk. They had spent the whole morning in and out of bed deciding to come in to work at around noon. It was almost one. He had called a meeting with all the Warriors about Evan Nico.

  At five till one, they all started filing into his office. He had already let Becky know about the bet, so she wouldn’t be shocked or upset. He was more pissed than she was about the whole betting issue. She just laughed it off with a shrug. He continued to look busy, but the silent Warriors drew his attention because a silent Warrior in this group spelled trouble.

  Lifting his head, his eyes met a grinning Jared’s. Sid sat in front of him, his feet for once not on his desk. Leaning back in his chair, Sloan continued his observation, and every single one of them was staring at him expectantly. Finally, his eyes met Becky’s. She also stared at him over her computer screen and a fucking grin just popped out on his face. Fuck!

  “I knew it!” Sid sat up in his chair and pointed at Sloan. “I fucking knew it.”

  “Sid, you don’t know shit.” Sloan growled, his eyes narrowing dangerously.

  “Oh, yeah.” Jared rubbed his hands together. “The boss man got laid.”

  “Watch yourself, Jared.” Sloan edged forward in warning.

  “Sorry, Becky,” Jared called back to Becky. The huge grin on his face stayed in place.

  Becky glanced up from her computer and smirked. “It’s fine, Jared.”

  “See, she can take it without getting all pissed off.” Jared gave her a nod.

  “You’re right, you know.” Becky glanced at Sloan, who winked at her. “The boss man got laid, got laid real good.”

  Everyone turned to look at her with various stages of shock registering on their faces.

  “I was out with your mates the other day.” Becky stood, walking toward them. “And I think maybe, just maybe, you might want to pay more attention to, well you know, than you do your boss’s… you know.”

  A few chuckles filled the silence and it wasn’t Jared or Sid who were chuckling.

  “No, I don’t fucking know.” Jared narrowed his eyes on her as she passed him and walked around Sloan’s desk.

  “And that’s the problem.” Becky gave him a sad look. She was sure everyone could see her poor attempt at hiding a grin.

  Sloan wrapped his arm around her waist as she bent down to kiss him, then whispered something to him and walked toward the door.

  “Good thing she wasn’t talking to me,” Sid mumbled, not throwing jokes around.

  “Oh, but I was.” She gave him a smile. Before Becky closed the door, she peeked back in. “Don’t fuck with a redhead.” She gave them both a wink before shutting the door.

  Laughter filled the room, Sloan’s the loudest. “You should have seen your face.” Sloan grinned. “How does it feel, assholes?”

  “My woman is well satisfied,” Jared announced, rolling his shoulders.

  “She’s a good fit for you.” Damon, who didn’t say much ever, had a huge grin on his face. “Because that was some good shit.”

  “So are you mated?” Sid also grinned, indicating Becky had impressed him with her sass.

  Sloan looked around at everyone. They were his men, his team, and they deserved to know. As much as he closed his personal shit from anyone, Becky was something he didn’t want to hide. She deserved better than that. He couldn’t quite believe how strong his feelings were for her, but they was there and he couldn’t deny it. Didn’t want to deny it.

  “Not yet,” Sloan replied, still feeling strange sharing his feelings.

  “You better hurry before someone snatches her up,” Jill warned with everyone agreeing.

  “No one will touch her.” Sloan growled, his protective instinct in overdrive. He quickly calmed himself, aware he was overreacting. “I want to meet and talk to her son first.”

  “Awww.” Jill sighed. “How sweet.”

  Rolling his eyes, Sloan was done with the conversation, and he was far from fucking sweet. He was a prick. “Shut it, Jill,” Sloan warned before handing her photographs to hand out to everyone. “We have more important shit to deal with right now. Where in the fuck is Steve?” Sloan asked, looking around.

  “It’s about damn time someone noticed I was missing.” Steve’s voice echoed in the room as a picture was snatched out of Jill’s hand and floated around the room.

  Sloan looked around as everyone watched. Jared and Sid shook their heads. Suddenly Steve appeared in front of his desk.

  “Ta-fucking-da!” Steve had his arms outstretched like he had just done the best magic trick in the world. “So? What do you think? It’s my power. I become invisible.”

  “No shit.” Sloan sighed, leaning back in his chair staring at the kid. It was going to be a fucking mess. Steve with such a power was scary at best, and he knew for a fact someone in this room was going to kick the kid’s ass for fucking with them, and he was going to make damn sure it wasn’t him. “I’m going to tell you this right now. You listening?”

  Steve’s smile faded slightly, his arms dropped. “Yes, I’m listening.”

  “Although this power you have acquired is probably one of the best so far because of the shit we can do with it, if you ever and I mean ever try to fuck with me, I will kill you.” Sloan held up his hand before Steve’s mouth opened. “No. Think about this, Steve. I know you very well, probably better than yourself. This power can get you killed by your peers. Us. Do not and I repeat, do not fuck with me ever. Understood.”

  “Ah, so did this time count?” Steve looked a little afraid, his voice shaky.

  “You got a free pass this time.” Seeing the disappointed look on his face, Sloan actually felt bad for being so hard on the kid. Fuck, he was getting soft. “And be ready on a moment’s notice because this power is going to come in very handy and be used a lot.”

  “Sweet!” Steve did a tame version of the fist pump, then passed Jill. “My power’s better than yours, biotch,” he whispered, but everyone heard.

  Jill used her power to slide a chair in front of Steve as he passed, making him trip. “Might want to rethink that, asshole.” Jill smiled as she continued handing out the photos.

  Sloan seriously wondered how in the hell they ever got anything done. These guys fucked off more than they…. No, that wasn’t true. He had the best team and he knew it, but he’d never let them know that. He’d never live that shit down with his crew.

  “This is Evan Nico, who I happened to meet last night.” Sloan decided to let the shit pass and concentrate on what needed to be done.

  Everyone stared down at the image Jill had handed out.

  “He’s the new DA,” Sloan continued. “We
all know that the main name that came out during the interrogation was Evan Nico.”

  “What happened to Lance?” Damon asked, his eyes rising from the photo.

  “Busted for heroin,” Duncan answered, handing out the police report.

  “That’s bullshit.” Damon stared down at the paper. “I’ve known Lance for years. He didn’t do heroin and he sure as hell didn’t sell the shit.”

  “He was framed.” Sloan nodded in agreement. “And in steps Evan Nico. Too coincidental. Nico is a slick player. He isn’t too happy that we have seven of his thugs in our custody. He wanted me to turn them over.”

  “We got everything out of them that we can anyway.” Duncan eyed Sloan. “Let him have them. Save us money on feeding the fuckers.”

  “How in the hell did he get into the DA position?” Sid frowned, totally focused and serious.

  “Governor appointed him,” Duncan replied, his eyes narrowed. “After Sloan called me last night, I did some checking and it seems this asshole has a lot of connections with some important people. This isn’t going to go away overnight, unless a pile of evidence pointing directly at Evan Nico falls in our laps.”

  “What do you think his purpose is?” Jared asked, looking first to Duncan and then Sloan.

  The front door buzzer sounded and they all looked up at the monitor. “Ah, looks like we’re about to find out.” Sloan’s grin spread across his face, but didn’t quite reach his eyes. Evan Nico stood on their doorstep with three uniformed police officers. “This should be entertaining. Let them in, Damon.”

  ******

  Becky headed into the kitchen with a smile. Jared and Sid totally deserved some of what they were dishing out. Pouring a cup of coffee, she hoped to hell it was strong. She was dead on her feet, but it was totally worth it. With a satisfied sigh, she walked out of the kitchen with her much-needed coffee.

  With Sloan on her mind, it took her a minute to realize who was following Damon to Sloan’s office.

  “Ms. Spencer.” Evan Nico smiled at her. “How nice to see you again. Actually, I didn’t expect to see you here at all.”

  Okay, she definitely didn’t like this guy. He tried way too hard to be nice and that triggered warning bells. This man was far from nice.