Damon (The Protectors Series) Book #1

by Teresa Gabelman

  “What happened?” The chief walked to her. “Where is he?”

  “Damon is with him.” Nicole turned to Mitch. “He said that he didn't kill them, that someone else was in the house and I believe him.” She continued to explain everything that Steve had told her and Damon.

  “We still have to bring him in, Mitch. He did hold a nurse hostage and if she wants to press charges there is nothing I can do about that.” The chief stated, but raised his hand before Nicole could blast him. “But he will be well taken care of.”

  “Damn straight he will.” Nicole replied hotly. “I want him transferred under me, Mitch.”

  “Now wait a damn minute.” Chad piped in pushing his way toward them. “I am not going to release this case over.”

  “He is not a case.” Nicole growled, sounding like Damon. “He is a boy who could not get hold of you when he needed to.”

  “Now you listen here you little.....” Chad got in her face grabbing her shirt in his fist before Mitch could stop him.

  “Didn't I warn you about this?” Damon stepped between her and Chad knocking his hand away from Nicole. “Steve is no longer anyone's. He is a part of the VC Warriors.”

  “What?” Nicole sucked in a strangling breath choking herself. Seeing Steve's beaming smile, she saw that he was happy at the new development. “Serious?”

  He turned to the chief. “One of my partners is going to be coming by the station. You may ask Steve any questions you have to ask and do your process, but as soon as you are finished we will take him back to our headquarters.”

  The chief nodded his head then looked at Mitch. “Can he do that?”

  “Looks like he just did.” Mitch patted Damon on the back. “This is a good thing you're doing my friend.”

  Damon looked uncomfortable at Mitch's praise. Turning to the boy he put his hand on his shoulder. “You are under our protection now, son. You go with the chief and answer anything they ask. You have nothing to hide. Duncan will be there soon. You'll know him. He's a big, ugly son of a bitch. You can tell him I said that.” Damon grinned down at the boy.

  “This is total bullshit.” Chad ranted. “How can you let this happen Mitch?” I'm really getting sick and tired of that bitch interfering in my cases.” He pointed in Nicole's face.

  “I have given you fair warning human.” Damon advanced toward Chad his fist clinched. “If you ever touch her again you will regret it.”

  Mitch somehow stopped Damon from reaching Chad. “You are on report, Chad.” Mitch felt his feet sliding as the huge vampire continued his advancement toward Chad. “You better get the hell out of here before I let him loose on you. I want you in my office first thing in the morning.”

  “You can kiss my ass, Mitch. I quit. I don't need your shit anymore.” Chad leaned toward Nicole. “You better watch that sweet ass of yours Callahan. You have no clue what you've done.”

  They all watched Chad stomp out the door throwing his ID badge on the floor.

  “You know, I can't say I'm sorry to see him go.” Mitch turned his attention back to Damon. “You okay my man?”

  “No.” Damon answered his eyes wicked black. “I want to kill the son of a bitch.”

  “He isn't worth it.” Nicole looked at her watch. This had been the longest night of her life. It seemed like weeks had passed since she had gotten tackled on the dance floor at Sub Zero.

  As if reading her mind Damon turned back toward Mitch. “Can you take care of the kid until Duncan gets there? Nicole had a rough night before this even started and I would like to get her home.”

  “What the hell happened before this?” Mitch looked Nicole over with a frown.

  “Nothing really, just got tackled by Damon and some other dude on the dance floor at Sub Zero.” Nicole waved her hand around as if it wasn't a big deal.

  “Yeah...riiight.” Mitch replied rolling his eyes. “Yeah, I got him. Take her home.”

  Nicole waved to Steve, who was listening to one of the officers, but his eyes were fixed on the door Chad had walked out of. Seeing Nicole waving, his smile filled with gratitude as he waved back.

  Yawning for the hundredth time since leaving the hospital, Nicole covered her mouth. “Man, I am getting too old for this staying up late stuff.” Walking up to her apartment, she fit her key into the door, hoping that her nosy neighbor was snug in her bed, fast asleep. With a sigh of relief, she walked in to see Pam sleeping on the couch, lightly snoring. She had sent a text to Pam on the way to the hospital to tell her what was going on, but Pam had still wanted to come and said she would just wait. Dropping her bag by the door, she turned to Damon.

  “Make sure you lock up when I leave.” His golden gaze searched hers. “You were great tonight. I have never seen a human so determined to save one of ours.”

  Nicole nodded, looking away embarrassed because she didn't feel like she did anything special. She did what was right. “Thanks.” She walked up to him. “You did pretty good yourself. What you're doing for Steve is wonderful and so much more than I could have ever done for him.”

  “Goodnight Nicole.”

  Before he could leave she walked up to him, reaching up on tiptoe she grabbed the front of his shirt pulling him closer to her and kissed him lightly on the cheek. “For a badass dude you really are a sweet guy.”

  His eyes dropped to her lips and he lowered his head slowly. “And for a badass chick you're pretty sweet yourself. I won't tell if you don't.”

  She chuckled softly her eyes glued to his lips. “Deal.”

  “Deal.” He whispered back then dropped his head lower and caught her lips with his as his tongue licked its way inside, meeting hers. With one hand on her lower back, he pulled her up his body and deepened the kiss. Before her hands could make it up his broad shoulders to his hair, he set her down and walked out the door closing it firmly behind him. “Lock it.” he demanded behind the closed door, his voice sounding much deeper.

  Nicole jumped and did as he said, staring at the door, her hands at her lips. “Whoa.” She whispered, touching her still tingling lips.

  “Whoa is right.” Pam chuckled from the couch, making Nicole jump and squeal. “That was damn hot. Girlfriend, I thought he was going to take you right there.”

  Nicole's face turned ten shades of red. “Shut up, Pam.” Walking to the bathroom, she slammed the door on Pam's loud laughter, a huge grin spreading across her flushed face.

  Chapter 5

  Damon slammed his way into headquarters, pissed at himself. What the hell was he doing kissing Nicole like that? This was not good. Well, the kiss had been more than good. It had been soul shattering good. Hell, he had to sit in the parking lot of headquarters to get himself under control before walking in with his cock waving hidey-ho to everyone. That would have gone over real swell with the guys. God, her scent and sweet taste was enough to....he broke that thought off. No need to go down that road again or he'd be back in his car waiting out another hard-on. Nothing could come of it and he knew it. She was human and he wasn't, that was the bottom line. Thoughts of changing her scattered through his mind, but he closed that off. No way was that happening and she wasn't a woman who would be happy with a wham bam thank you ma'am moment.

  “What the hell is wrong with you?” Jared stomped down the steps from the upstairs living area. All the warriors had places of their own, but headquarters also housed each of them for late nights and emergency situations.

  “Nothing!” Damon snapped. “Where's the kid?”

  Jared tossed a nod up the steps. “Checking out his new room.” Jared headed toward the kitchen area. “Good kid.”

  “Yeah.” Damon grabbed a beer out of the fridge. They drank and ate just like anyone else, but the need for blood set them apart among a few other things, like living forever. Warriors could actually go weeks before needing to feed and they had females who were hired for that purpose. “So what did you find out from Jamison?”

  Jared placed a whole baked chicken in front of him, along with h
is beer. “Nothing yet. Phillip is working on him now.”

  Damon shook his head when Jared offered him some chicken. Damn, the vamp could eat. “Think I'll go down and help.” He needed something to take his mind off the beautiful human who was turning his world inside out.

  “Need to get blondie out of your system?” Jared chuckled when Damon flipped him off as he walked out the door. “Stay out of my head, Jared.”

  “Don't have to read your mind bro.” Jared called out after him. “It's written all over your face.”

  Stepping into the room with a two-way mirror, he stopped next to Duncan. “Any luck finding out who the slime was after?” Damon watched Phillip walk up behind Jamison who was tied to a chair with silver chains.

  “Not yet.” Duncan sighed. “He's a tough one to crack. Those damn silver chains have got to be killing the son of a bitch.”

  Damon nodded, staring at Jamison's wrist. Silver wouldn't kill them unless it was shot into their bodies, but it burned like a bitch and kept them immobile. “Care if I take a turn?”

  “Hell, you might as well. So far none of us have had any luck.” Duncan buzzed the door.

  “Well...well. Look who we have here, boys and girls.” Jamison shot Phillip a smug look when he said girls. “The one and only Damon DeMasters, the warrior of all warriors.”

  Phillip growled, but turned and walked out leaving Damon and Jamison alone.

  Damon's smile was cold. “Jealous much?”

  Jamison snorted. “So what do you want to know, warrior?” Jamison's eyes gleamed under the fluorescent lights. “What I have been doing since we last met, maybe, or how about, oh I don't know, how I plan on fucking that cute little human you were so worried about at the club?”

  Damon felt his body tense as anger tried to override his common sense. His cold smile stayed in place. He would not...could not... give Jamison any hint of weakness on his part. It could be deadly for Nicole. “What makes you think I want to know about your disgusting love life Jamison?”

  “Oh, okay we gonna play that way, huh?” Jamison grinned like he knew a secret. “Okay, I'll play.”

  Damon walked around the table and leaned against it, arms crossed. “Who was your target?”

  “Well, you see, I just told you.” Jamison watched him closely, his keen killer eyes not missing a beat.

  “What do you want with the woman?” Damon was fucking A proud of himself, his voice didn't even deepen with the rage he felt.

  Jamison chuckled. “Damn warrior, you're good. Some might think you didn't care for the little human.” He laughed more, sounding like a deranged little girl. “But we both know different don't we, DeMaster’s? God, this is just too much.”

  “Cut the shit and answer the question.” Damon turned cold eyes on him.

  “I told you that too.” Jamison rolled his eyes. “I want to fuck her and then do what I do best, kill the little bitch and collect my money. Seems she is a little too good at her job and people are taking notice.”

  “Who hired you?” Damon should get an Academy Award for this performance. He wanted nothing more than to lean back and beat the living hell out of the bastard.

  “Ah, now that I can't tell you. You know, assassin and client confidentiality, and all that shit. Gotta follow the rules or I don't get paid. Have you ever had a human, warrior?”

  Damon ignored him. “You know you won't be getting shit since you'll be locked up here, so you might as well come clean.”

  Jamison followed suit and ignored Damon, something he would probably later regret. “Have you ever had a human, warrior? Ahhh... let me tell you, it is sweet. Their smells and softness is something that draws you in.” He sniffed the air. “And I can tell you nothing smells as sweet as your Nicole.”

  Damon lost all control at the sound of her name on the bastard’s lips. Jamming his hand around his throat, he snarled. “Who put the hit out?”

  Jamison struggled against the hold, but Damon's hand and the chains kept him in place. “Fuck you, warrior.” He wheezed. “Go ahead and kill me. It won't stop until she's dead. Someone will replace me. Better me screwing her than someone else. I would at least make sure she enjoyed it before I kill her.”

  Damon didn't hesitate. He snapped the bastards head off with his bare hands. “Wrong answer.”

  Duncan, Phillip and Jared burst into the room. “Holy shit, Damon.” Jared skid to a stop as Jamison's bald head bounced past his shitkickers.

  “What the hell did you do that for?” Duncan demanded.

  “It's the best way to kill a vampire.” Damon answered with a dead calm he didn't feel. “And he had to die.”

  All three turned and watched Damon stroll out the door not looking back. “Remind me of this the next time I piss him off.” Jared glanced back at the headless vamp. “Have you ever seen anyone snap someone's head off like that?”

  “No.” Both Duncan and Phillip answered in unison, eyeing the head under Jared's foot.

  One of Jamison's hands twitched. “Okay, now that is creepy.” Jared shivered then kicked Jamison's head under the chair his body still occupied. “And I have seen some creepy shit.”

  Chapter 6

  Nicole was nervous as she headed inside the warehouse. She hoped her sleepless night didn't show on her face. This would be the first time she had seen Damon since their kiss and she really didn't know what to think. Confidence, where men were concerned, was not a strong point for her. Buddies she could do, but once it crossed the buddy line she was doomed. Yep, this was not going to be fun. Her stomach fluttered so bad she thought she was going to throw up. Wow, she was such a wuss. She needed to grow a pair and stop freaking out. It was just a kiss...get a grip. Slapping her hand against the door, she pushed her way in.

  “Hey.” Pam smiled, seeing Nicole walk in the door.

  “Why didn't you wake me before you left this morning?” Nicole set her bag down and followed Pam out onto the mat. “I would have made us some of my famous chocolate chip pancakes.”

  “You were sleeping so good I didn't want to wake you.” She rubbed her flat stomach. “And I'm getting a little pudgy.”

  “Ha! There isn't an ounce of fat on you.” Nicole snorted. “Witch.”

  Pam laughed, then nudged her. “I haven't seen Romeo, so stop straining them eyeballs.”

  “What? I was just seeing if Mitch was here yet.” She lied. They sat on the mat, facing each other, stretching and talking. “Did you buy your dress yet for the charity dance?”

  “No. I figured we could go together sometime this week?” Pam was lounging more than stretching.

  “Bet my dress from last year still fits.” Nicole bent one knee and stretched over the other leg.

  “Ohhh no you don't!” Pam shook her head. “Over my dead body will you wear a repeat dress, especially accepting an award.”

  “Ugh, I forgot about that.” Wrinkling her nose she frowned. “I don't need an award. This is my job. If I didn't have to pay bills, I would do it for free.”

  “Yeah, well speak for yourself, Mother Teresa.” Pam chuckled. She never knew anyone so devoted to their job.

  Nicole laughed. Getting up, she turned and the laughter stuck in her throat. Walking out of the back was Damon with the most beautiful woman she had ever seen fixing his shirt collar. It was like staring at a car wreck, she couldn't look away. His eyes lifted from the woman and looked straight at her. Nicole knew then and there she was in deep trouble. The fluttering in her stomach fell quiet, replaced with a hard knot.