Dominating Victoria

by Kitty DuCane

  “You got a headache?”

  She nodded. She hated to admit it. Headaches were a weakness, and she didn't need to be weak right now.

  “You need anything? Like maybe something from your car, your purse, your house?”

  She smiled and shook her head no again.

  * * * * *

  Hayden smelled her pain. It had started out small but was increasing at a rapid rate. He didn't know why that bothered him, when she was the least cooperative person he'd ever interrogated. She was a cool one. Nothing ruffled her feathers. She struck him as being very confident of her abilities. Of course, that was very stupid. There was no way out of this mess.

  “You want some aspirin?” he asked.

  She shook her head and winced. “Aspirin's not going to help. You need to get your nine-one-one finger ready.”

  “You're kidding, right?”

  “Unfortunately, I'm not. I need an Imitrex, but it's probably too late for that. You'll have to take me to the ER.”

  “And what name do you want me to check you in under?”

  “Jane Doe.”

  “And if I decide not to give you medical attention?”

  She drew her fingers into claws on both hands as she narrowed her eyes from the pain. “I'll throw up first, and then I'll beat my head against this table until I become unconscious. You'll have to clean the mess up.”

  Surely she was shitting him. “Or?”

  “You can let me go, and I'll take myself to the ER.”

  At that moment, pain ricocheted around her skull, and her belly rolled. The next second, she was hurling beside her chair.

  “Damn,” Hayden muttered as he slid the trash can beside her. Her pain was real, the scent overpowering, and not from her spew. He couldn't take any chances. He flipped his phone open and dialed 9-1-1, just like she said he would.

  Twenty minutes later, he was in the back of the ambulance heading to the ER. Well, hell. She'd won that round.

  Chapter Three

  Hayden watched the ER doc push a needle into her arm. Because his beast recognized her as his, her pain was his own, and he wished he could take it all away from her. And that one thought pissed him off. She lay quietly, but her pain still screamed at him, raked claws through his soul.

  He rested with his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands. He didn't want this woman—not her or any other woman. He liked his women with no strings attached, and the woman lying in the hospital bed had an entire ball of yarn threaded around his soul. And how had she entwined him so fast? Fuck 'em and leave 'em, that was his motto, and he'd be damned if he'd change because his animal said so.

  Why? Why was “the one” for him and him alone a possible felon? He had to talk to his captain and ask—no, demand—removal from this case for personal reasons. Then he'd take all that vacation that he'd saved for some unknown reason and head to some island somewhere far away from her and let his body go through withdrawal. Hell. He silently laughed and cursed his beast. He didn't even know her name.

  He'd heard about the mating heat from some friends, but he'd vowed to avoid it at all cost. And then in a blink of an eye, she'd snared his wolf. The wolf didn't always take the rational path; it prowled on a primitive level. Damn. Sometimes being a werewolf was a bitch.

  An hour later, her pain was gone, but his mind was stuck in a swirling pool of shit. She slept peacefully, and he almost laughed. Peaceful was not what he'd use to describe her. No. She was restrained outwardly, at least when she was awake, but even in her sleep, he sensed that her inner being was not at peace.

  He didn't think she was stupid, but inviting the ire of a drug-cartel leader such as Manuel Corvas wasn't a smart move. She acted like she didn't give a shit, and that bothered him. Her life was in danger, and she didn't give a rat's ass. The DEA would have a hard time keeping her alive if she didn't want to cooperate. Hayden sighed. He'd worry about that while he was on that sunny beach on that faraway island. Yeah, right.

  The chatter on his comm and the sound of gunfire pulled him from his thoughts. He'd bet his life that Julio was here to take her out. He jumped up and snatched the curtain aside, cursing as he did so. He'd asked for a private room, and the head nurse informed him that the ER didn't have private rooms, only rooms with wall curtains. Kevin stood outside the curtain, his own gun drawn.

  Hayden motioned with his head toward the bed behind him. “Stay with her,” he commanded, before he snapped the curtain closed behind him.

  He hesitated; leaving her with Kevin made his wolf antsy. Too fucking bad. He had a job to do. He raced down the corridor, and for the first time in his life, he knew fear.

  * * * * *

  The sound of gunfire had her rolling off the bed and flattening herself against the floor. Victoria reached for her gun. “What the hell?”

  Damn. She had on a fucking hospital gown. That explained the draft up her backside. She noticed black cargo pants and booted feet outside her room curtain, and somehow, she knew it wasn't him, and that was a good thing. She quickly searched the room for her clothes, but they were gone too. What in the hell did he do with her clothes? If he thought she wouldn't escape because she was bare-assed, he was in for a big surprise.

  She dropped to the floor and looked to her right. Only two beds that way. She looked to her left. Many beds that way. Going left.

  She crawled under the curtains and around the end of the beds, searching for clothes as she went. Several patients and their families gave her the evil eye, but she smiled and kept crawling. She was mooning them, but she couldn't do anything about it. She'd been trained to make the most of every opportunity she had, and if that meant flashing her ass, it meant flashing her ass.

  She finally snatched an ugly green jogging suit that smelled like her grandmother, and managed to put it on as she crawled. When she reached the last cubicle, she came face-to-face with an elderly patient and two of her elderly friends.

  “Sorry, but my ex is here,” she said.

  “Oh, I understand perfectly, dear. James was a mean SOB after I left him. He couldn't take no for an answer,” said one of the blue-haired ladies.

  Victoria grinned. “Exactly. You won't tell on me, will you?”

  “Of course not, dear. Your secret is safe with us, isn't that right, ladies?”

  The other lady nodded, and the patient grunted, which Victoria took for a yes. Victoria dropped back down and scanned the hallway. All clear.

  Victoria stood. “Thanks, ladies,” she said before she slipped out the door. She followed the signs that led into the hospital and away from the ER doors. She grinned. She could visit anybody on any floor, and no one would be the wiser.

  * * * * *

  When Hayden returned, Kevin was right where he left him, but Hayden knew she was gone; his nose told him so. But just for good measure, he jerked back the curtain, glanced at the empty bed, gave Kevin some shit about losing her, and then sent Kevin the wrong way to search. He headed the other way.

  His beast raged within him, raged at him for letting her get away.

  Everybody had seen her, crawling like an animal on the floor, they said. The vision of her on all fours sent his wolf pacing. One man even commented on her fine ass, and Hayden resisted killing the man right there.

  Her scent was strongest in the last exam room.

  “Excuse me, ladies. Did you happen to see a young lady come through here?”

  All three glared at him like he'd committed a crime. One of the ladies replied, “No. We haven't seen anybody.”

  Hayden's nostrils flared at her lie. “Are you positive about that?”

  All three nodded.

  “It's important that we find her. She's…in danger.”

  “I just bet she is,” said one lady.

  He gave the ladies his meanest stare, but they ignored him. “You really need to tell me what you know. I have to find her.”

  “Maybe she doesn't want to be found. You'd just abuse her again.”

  “Abuse her.
Oh, I'm going to abuse her all right. I'm going to paddle her ass.”

  The three ladies gasped. “My word,” one of them said. “No wonder she's running from you.”

  Hayden knew when he was out of good options. He could haul all their decrepit asses to jail and question them, or he could find his fugitive himself. “Good day, ladies. And…thanks for…everything.” Or nothing.

  Hayden followed his nose and her scent through the hospital, into the elevator, and up to the second floor, where she'd visited a man who was in la-la land because he'd just gotten out of surgery three hours earlier. Then she'd taken the stairs up two floors and the elevator back down to the main lobby.

  Hayden pulled the hospital video, got the name of the cab company whose cab she'd climbed into, and gave them a call. He found out that the cab had dropped her off at the damn mall. He about snapped the pencil he was holding. Hell, she could be anywhere.

  He should be relieved. She was no longer his problem. If she wanted to run loose and get herself killed, that was her business.

  Instead, his beast snarled.

  Chapter Four

  Victoria stood within the trees, deep in the shadows, and waited for the guards to make their next rounds. They were so stupid, so predictable, that a bunch of kindergartners could slip in and steal all the candy. She frowned and shook her head. No. Julio would only have nose candy. Kindergartners beware.

  While she waited, her thoughts drifted to the DEA agent from earlier in the day. Hayden, someone had called him. She hated that she hadn't been a fly on the wall when he found out she'd given him the slip. She'd won that round, and adding that to the interrogation round, the score was two-zip. By the end of the night, Julio would be dead, and the score would be three-zip.

  * * * * *

  The night wind carried her scent to him. He was downwind of her, but it didn't matter; her scent would have found him and ensnared him anyway.

  Hayden cursed. He was here without a backup team because he wanted to stop her without the DEA knowing she was crazy enough to try to assassinate Julio. Again. Julio had gone free that morning because the snitch who'd led the DEA to him was dead, his tongue missing. No doubt the tongue would arrive at the DEA headquarters at some point, just like the last one did. Julio, more so than Manuel, always made his statements with body parts.

  Hayden sniffed again. Damn. Damn it to hell. She smelled like sin, sweet sin, wild sin. His loins stirred, and his animal pushed to escape, to hunt, to mate. Hell. She wasn't even a wolf, but his wolf recognized her as his. He should fuck her, get it over with, and as long as he didn't mark her, they'd remain unbound. Then he could go away, far, far away.

  That was it. After he prevented her from being stupid, he would fly to Tahiti and hope that was far enough away. He didn't want to want her. He did, however, want to talk some sense into that pretty little head of hers.

  Hayden stiffened. The wind brought her scent to him more strongly this time, and her body was pumping adrenaline. He took off in her direction, resisting the urge to shift. He maneuvered around fallen logs and eye-poking sticks with ease, aided by his excellent eyesight, especially his night vision. He slowed as he approached her, and stayed well within the shadows. He found her fighting with a guard.

  His wolf pushed to save her, but Hayden, the man, resisted. This woman, his woman, wasn't the maiden on the train tracks waiting for a rescue. There was a big difference between rescuing her from herself and rescuing her from this threat. The latter would be easy. Both would piss her off.

  He had to admit, her hand to hand with a guy twice her size was impressive to watch. She knew all the weak points—eyes, nose, ears, sternum, gonads—and she attacked every one of them repeatedly. And in spite of her agility, the oaf still managed to get a hand on her and shove her to the ground. In a flash, she rocked back on her shoulders, springboarded to a standing position, and landed a kick right to the center of his chest, sending him on his ass.

  She stood with fists ready to land another blow. The man rolled to his side, and a knife appeared in his hand, which she sent flying with a quick kick.

  “Listen, buddy. I don't have a beef with you. I only want Julio. So here's the deal. You walk away and don't look back, and I won't have to kill you. Otherwise, I'll kill you and Julio too. And anybody else who tries to stop me.”

  “Does that include me too, sugar?”

  Hayden stepped into the clearing.

  “That's your choice, Mr. DEA. I don't care one way or the other.”

  “You can't kill this man, sugar. You don't want that black stain on your soul.”

  She gave him a brief glance but quickly returned her focus to the oaf in front of her. “The black stain can join the other black stains. I don't really care. I'm giving him a chance to walk away. It's his choice.”

  Hayden turned to the man. “Man, if I were you, I'd walk away and don't look back, because if you hurt her, I'll have to kill you. Now I don't want that black stain on my soul, but I'll get over it.”

  Hayden didn't need the light from the three-quarter moon to know that the man's gaze darted between them. “Don't be SOS and think you can take us both.”

  Hayden paused. “Do you know what SOS stands for?”

  The fool shook his head.

  “Stuck on Stupid. Do the smart thing and walk.”

  The man hesitated, as if weighing getting his ass kicked or escaping to sound the alarm. “All right. All right,” said the man as he lifted his hands in surrender. “I'm leaving.”

  “Well, seems like you're not SOS.” Hayden slightly nodded his head. “Now beat it.”

  The man backed slowly to the edge of the clearing and then disappeared into the woods. No doubt he would try to gain some brownie points and alert Julio as to their visitors.

  “What about you, sugar? Are you SOS?”

  “No, Hayden, I'm not. Now how are we going to settle this? I meant what I said. If you get in my way, I'll kill you.”

  He frowned. “You know my name?”

  “Yeah, I heard someone call you that.”

  “Well, I think it's only fair that I know your name.”

  “That's not going to happen. Now either fight me or go the hell away.”

  Hayden looped his thumbs into the waist of his cargo pants. “And if I win, what do I get?”

  “What? You get to arrest me, of course.”

  Hayden slowly shook his head. “No, sugar. I have something else in mind if I win.”

  “Well, don't worry about it, because I've never been beaten in hand to hand.”

  “Neither have I.”

  “Then I suppose it will be your first tonight.”

  “No, sugar. It's going to be your first, and I'm not talking about losing a fight.”

  She rolled her eyes. “You're talking with your dick. I'm threatening to kill you, and all you can think about is sex.”

  “Not sex, sugar. It will be much more than sex.”

  She wanted to wipe that arrogant look off his face. To insinuate that sex with him would be great, earth-shattering even, was stepping over the line. He sounded like every other male she'd ever met.

  “For you, maybe.”

  “We could skip the fighting part and go straight to the…”

  “No,” she said.

  “No?”

  “No. Now attack me.”

  He laughed. “I'm not attacking you.”

  “Then leave.”

  “No.”

  * * * * *

  Damn, she almost hated him. He was an infuriating, obnoxious, loathsome, insufferable…DEA agent. She knew in her heart that he could take her, and she didn't know if she could live with that humiliation. Her dad had pitted her against many of his agents, and no one had ever bested her, not one. She'd even bested her dad a time or two, but that was rare and precious. Her dad was the best, and then herself. And she'd be damned if she'd stick Hayden whatever-his-name-was in between her and her dad.

  In a split second, her answer to this
mess was clear. She turned and ran.

  * * * * *

  Hayden watched her run. Fast little thing, but not fast enough. His wolf wanted out. Out to run. Out to hunt. And Hayden was almost tempted to let him free. The problem was that once he caught up with her, he'd have to change back before he captured her, and that might be hard to do. And of course, there was always the damn “clothes” thing, always needing something to wear after he changed back again.

  Hayden took off after her. Her scent was strong, not with fear but with confidence. She thought she could outrun him. Her confidence would turn to piss when he caught her; he knew that much for a fact.

  His plan was simple. He'd let her run a mile or two before he took her down. He could take her down anytime, but he'd let her tire first. Maybe that would take some of the fight out of her.

  He tracked her as she led them away from the compound, and that was fine with him. His hearing was excellent, and he knew when she had stopped running. He stopped and waited. He smelled blood. Hers. Why was she bleeding? His wolf roared within. What was she planning? Did she think she had lost him? Ambush maybe? He smiled. Only one way to find out.

  He moved silently to his left, where her scent was the strongest. His gaze scanned the night, missing nothing. Her breathing, which was good for someone who had just run a mile, gave her away. She crouched in a thicket of thorns. He couldn't pull her out without tearing more of that delectable skin. He could order her out, but she'd either stay where she was or shoot him.

  “I know where you are, sugar. Come out and let's talk.”

  * * * * *

  Victoria froze. How did he find her? No one had ever found her before. She was the best; her dad had said so. Impossible!

  “Come out, sugar, and let's go get something to eat.”

  Eat? The man wanted to eat?

  “Those thorns have got to hurt. So crawl your beautiful little behind out here, and let's talk.”

  Hell. Where was he? She'd scanned the area but couldn't locate him. He was either that good, or she was losing her touch. Damn it, Victoria. Think. What would Dad do?