by Michael Todd
“Hi there,” she gushed as he set her down. “How was England? I heard it was quite the party.”
“Oh yeah.” Calvin laughed. “Me and about a thousand of my closest friends. We had some real good conversations. Did the electric slide a couple times, got drunk. You know, the normal…”
Sofia laughed. “Well, you are back, and I am still in one piece.”
“I see that, and I am really glad. The whole you is much easier to handle then if I had to lug around pieces.”
She giggled and kissed him again, looking back at Korbin and Stephanie. Calvin looked up at them and smiled, walking over and putting his hand out.
“Thank you again for watching out for her.”
“Easiest assignment of our lives.” Korbin laughed. “We got to chill on the beach and didn’t have to fight a single person.”
“And Stephanie came and had sleepovers to make sure I was safe at night.”
“Uh oh, watch out. She will steal your girl.”
“Not quite.” Stephanie laughed, putting her arm around Korbin. “I already got a stubborn one to call my own.”
Calvin chuckled. “You noticed she was stubborn.”
“Hey, I’m just strong-minded,” Sofia bit back. “You coming inside, or do I have to drag you?”
“I’m coming.” Calvin laughed, looking at Korbin and Stephanie. “You guys coming in?”
Stephanie shook her head. “Just give us a couple of minutes, and we will be right there.”
Calvin winked and nodded, seeing Katie walking down the steps of the airplane. “We’ll see you inside.”
Katie walked over to the luggage area and hooked her bag onto her shoulder.
Uh oh, looks like the gang’s all here. Do you want to take bets on whether you will get punched or hugged?
Even when Korbin was my hard-headed boss, he wouldn’t have punched me.
I’m talking about the Madam, Miss Stephanie.
Katie chuckled to herself. She’s too good for that.
She started toward Korbin and Stephanie, butterflies fluttering around in her stomach. She stopped in front of them and looked each of them in the eyes, first Korbin, then Stephanie. She could feel the tears welling up in her eyes, and she dropped her bag and ran forward to hug them both tightly.
They hugged her back, not a bit of animosity in their hearts. They didn’t remember Katie, that was true, but they could feel the love between them and they could sense the familiarity, something that didn’t happen very often.
“I suppose you both need to catch up on the soaps?”
“What, you mean the angels and demons one?” Stephanie asked. “I watch that every day. Was so strange—I woke up one morning in my new house with my new husband sleeping beside me, and I just couldn’t get them out of my mind. I binge-watched the first half of the season and then pulled Korbin into it.”
“You would be surprised to know he used to watch them with us.”
“I’m actually not surprised at all. He gives that face, but I know deep down he really enjoys them.”
Korbin rolled his eyes and looked at the two of them, Stephanie’s arm around Katie’s waist. “Were you two like this when we were here with you?”
“Of course.” Katie smiled. “Besties to the end. We kicked some major demon ass together, made a bunch of money, and worried the hell out of you at every turn.”
“Why does that not surprise me? I can see the two of you getting into trouble that would make my eyes rattle.”
“That was why we didn’t tell you. Only the good parts.”
Stephanie grinned at Korbin, and he looked at her fondly. “You too? Am I going to have to separate the two of you?”
“I think Timothy will be trying to do that before you can. He is really your biggest competition.”
Korbin sighed. “Come on, show me this base I designed. I need to see how amazing I really am.”
They laughed, and Katie slung her bag over her shoulder again, put her arms around both of them, and walked them all toward the elevator. The sun was setting in the background, cascading oranges and reds across the sky. Everything was exactly how it was supposed to be, and the base never felt more familiar to Katie. She was home, and she had most of her family by her side. Now all she had to do was figure out how to get her badass armor back without killing Pandora.
Hey, don’t get too wild, Pandora teased. I don’t know if I like that angel warrior look on you. I’m sure there’s something else out there that would suit our personality just a little better.
Are you already trying to change my new gear? It makes me look like a Roman goddess. You should like the idea of looking like a goddess.
Hey, gold is out, and badass is totally in.
Author Notes - Michael Anderle
August 2, 2018
First, THANK YOU for not only reading this story, but our Author Notes as well!
If you are part of the Protected by the Damned Facebook group, you probably already know this. If not, why not join us? You get to see lots of Dessert Porn (the fun to eat stuff, not the sandy place.)
With that kind of marketing, how could you not join? It’s right here:
http://www.facebook.com/groups/320172985053521/
I put the cover from this book into the group to get a couple of opinions, and #@@%#% did we get a few opinions! However, the results that I found out included:
1)Awesome!
2)Don’t you dare be telling us someone major died.
3)Where is the staff?
4)We need some smudges!
All of these (and others) were read and reviewed. We did change it up some (see staff, smudges) but the main question I wanted to resolve was, “Did it look right?”
Did we have a powerful cover to convey the series, when most of our stuff has been “focus on looking badass… Not beaten.”
So, I want to THANK the fans who are in the group for giving me my answer so quickly, and then continuing (not everyone was “hooray!” – but there was a good discussion amongst many. In the end, I have to choose as I think best, but the input was considered.)
In this book, we have accomplished what MANY (mainly the ladies) wanted. Katie was able to open her heart a bit again.
I won’t even go into what Pandora thought of it.
Next book, Katie has to fight a ‘new’ player…and no one, not even ancient historians, thought she was real.
See you next book!
Ad Aeternitatem,
Michael Anderle
Author Notes - Laurie Starkey
August 2, 2018
Hey there! Thanks so much for picking up another Damned book. That’s just a little too fun to say. It’s like a running joke around here. Everything feels Damned, but in a good way.
You don’t hear that often, do you?
This series is just getting better and better. I love that we’ve taken something with a negative connotation and given it a different spin within the realm of fiction. That’s what a good book does, though. It gives us a safe place to visit, to play, to retreat to.
Hopefully, you’re finding that in this series. I know Michael and I are.
In other news… We’ve been to Minnesota, Chicago, Lake Michigan, St. Louis, Toronto, and finally we’re in New York state now. We did a few days here, a week there, a day trip here, and now a month in NY.
I’m wishing like hell it was a little cooler, but it’s beautiful up here. We’re looking forward to a month of downtime. It’s been a crazy few years, and not that this month won’t be nutty, but I promised myself and hubs that I would try to step back and relax some this month.
We’re in a small town with a few shops, a shitty little grocery store, and too many houses for one block. It’s ninety minutes to the big city, which we plan on visiting a few times, but I’m thrilled to be tucked away.
I’m going to read some good books, write a few myself, and try to figure out this meditation thing. My brain revolts the minute I get in downward dog or sit
Indian-style. Go figure…
I hope your summer has been full of memories. I feel like June and July raced by without even blinking an eye, but so have the last forty years. Anyone else? Ha!
Enjoy the series. There’s more to come, and we’re moving deeper and deeper into our side stories that are coming your way this fall. I appreciate you picking this book up. My hope is that it gave you a Damned good ride for your dollar.
What? I couldn’t help it…
Slave to Many Stories,
Laurie Starkey
Waking The Leviathan
War of the Damned Book Five
Chapter One
Three Weeks Earlier
Katie was nervous as hell.
They had come to the end of Korbin’s and Stephanie’s tour of the base, and now it was time to have the talk she’d been anticipating and dreading in equal amounts. Katie led them into the conference room across from her office. Her two old friends took their seats at the expansive oak table and looked at Katie, their expressions patient but curious.
Katie didn’t know where to begin. She still hadn’t come to terms with her feelings about taking their demons in the first place. She’d done it for them, but it had been a huge personal sacrifice to lose them both. She felt halfway guilty for bringing them back in and all-the-way guilty for being so happy they were back.
Pandora cut in on her thoughts. You are overthinking this. You heard Stephanie, they were going to volunteer. At least now you get to protect them.
True. I just couldn’t bear it if they were killed because I took their protection.
Did you ever think you would class demons as “protection?”
No. Except for you. I have to keep Korbin and Stephanie safe, P. They’re too important to me. To the whole team.
Stephanie smiled, sensing Katie’s discomfort. “This place is amazing. Whoever put it together did a fantastic job.”
Katie smirked. It was just like Stephanie to put her at ease. “The designers were some of my closest friends.” She winked at Stephanie.
Korbin chuckled and took Stephanie’s hand. “Sounds like we were involved, sweetheart.”
“That really doesn’t surprise me,” Stephanie replied. “When we were on the tour, I saw my style and taste everywhere I looked.”
Katie nodded and smiled warmly. “This entire base was designed by the two of you after we had to leave our last base. You guys knew that it was hard for the team to lose the only home we had. You put your money, your time, and your hearts into making this not only a fortified base but a home for us all.”
Korbin shook his head in wonder. “This is just all so strange. I don’t remember any of it.” He gave Stephanie a questioning look. She shook her head. She didn’t remember any of it, either.
Katie sighed. “I wish I could give you back your memories.” Korbin looked at her sharply. Katie raised her hands defensively and shook her head. “As far as I know, I can’t. But maybe I can shine some light on all of this? It’s the least I can do after… Well, everything.”
Korbin gave her a comforting smile. “Calvin told us what you did, and why.”
Stephanie nodded emphatically. “We don’t hold it against you, Katie. You did it out of love.”
Katie swallowed the emotion that welled in her throat at Stephanie’s sincerity. “You have no idea how relieved I am to hear that. Calvin told you some things, but there’s a lot that I wanted to say and didn’t get the chance to. You two are more than like family to me, you are family. Letting the two of you go was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. Bringing you both back in was another.” She looked down at her hands on the table. “You took me into the group, and you gave me something I didn’t think I would ever have again after becoming Damned. You didn’t just train us, you took care of us while we took care of the demons. When you two fell in love, it broke my heart to see you both hold back in case one of you didn’t make it through a mission. But neither of you voiced a word of complaint because that was the life we lived.”
Stephanie hesitated for a moment. She looked at Korbin, and something passed between them. After Korbin nodded slightly, Stephanie asked, “Will you tell us about it?”
Katie smiled. This was exactly why she had taken their demons. Seeing their love made it a bit easier for her to tell the story. Only by a little, though.
She closed her eyes and steadied herself. “Our last battle together was really fucking bad. They’ve gotten worse since, but that one...that one made me take action to protect you both. So many people died. So many. We lost some of our own. Too many in a small family like ours.” The faces of the fallen flashed through her mind. She let them run and took a moment to appreciate that Korbin and Stephanie were not among them. She opened her eyes and smiled at the two of them. “After the fight, you were sitting together under a blanket, sharing a meal and just appreciating a quiet moment together. I walked over and asked you if you wanted a future together, something better for the rest of your lives than just war and death. I think I already knew what the answer would be. When you told me that you did, my demon and I pulled your demons out of you. With that, all the memories from your time as Damned were taken too.”
Stephanie frowned and scrutinized Katie. “I definitely remember you, just not the way that you are now.”
Katie grinned as she recalled some of the happier memories of their past. “I met you before you were Damned, but you didn’t fully understand what we were or what we did until you were Damned yourself. With all those memories gone, that would leave you, what? Your brother and a few short memories of me…and Joshua, maybe?”
Stephanie’s eyes lit up at the name, but she held her questions for the moment.
Korbin took a deep breath and glanced at Stephanie with a smile. “It sounds like you gave us back our lives. You gifted us an opportunity to spend some very quality time together. For that, we thank you. It’s just so strange to not be able to remember anything.”
Stephanie flashed Korbin an excited look. “Especially since we were fighting and kicking demon butt. Perhaps that’s why we felt so strongly about finding out how we could help after Incursion Day?”
“It wouldn’t surprise me at all, Stephanie. You two have the biggest hearts.” Katie reached over to the seat next to her and grabbed the box that was waiting, then opened it and took out a file. She slid it across the table to Korbin with a nod. “This is just a drop in the ocean. Notes and files you kept while you were the leader of Korbin’s Killers. I thought maybe having some of the facts in your own hand would help you feel more connected.”
Korbin opened the file and skimmed the first page. The brief overview of his career as a Damned mercenary was unfamiliar. He turned the page and was confronted by the bios of the Korbin’s Killers team members. He wished he could remember them, especially the ones who were marked as KIA on his watch. The fact that he couldn’t didn’t sit well with him.
Stephanie sensed Korbin’s pain and leaned into him. She linked her arm through his and read along with him. Katie waited patiently as they flipped through the pages. They both were surprised when they came to the information on themselves, Calvin, Katie, and Damien.
Korbin couldn’t deny what he was seeing. He had handwritten the notes on the bios. He shook his head as he recognized the sheer scale of this operation. He let out a long breath as it hit home that he had not just been a part of that one operation, but had been an integral asset in the war against the demons.
Katie patted Korbin’s hand. “Look, I know this is a lot to take in. I’m going to give you some time to go through the files. The boxes lined up along the wall are all yours; I had them pulled from storage. Maybe something in them will help jog your memories.”
Korbin and Stephanie smiled and thanked Katie, and she stood up and made her way out of the room. Before she closed the door, she took another look back over her shoulder at the two of them. She felt guilty for disturbing their peaceful lives, but it was safer to keep them clo
se. Not that their safety had been her only reason for bringing them in. They needed all hands on deck in this war, and the loving couple at that table had a level of badassery all of their own.
She closed the door and set off down the long empty corridor. The base deep beneath the Nevada desert was quiet. Almost too quiet.
Katie hated that she was responsible for Korbin and Stephanie losing their memories. When she had exorcised them she’d thought that the new memories they would make together would make up for the pain and hurt of the past. Now that they were back, though, she realized those lost memories were an important part of who they were.
Katie couldn’t stop thinking about it. Pandora had to have something to tell her. There’s got to be a way. There is something we can do to get their memories back.
Pandora spoke more kindly than usual. I wish I had a magic cure for it. Pulling demons out wasn’t a demonic creation, we just know how to do it. As you might imagine, we don’t really like being pulled from our bodies.
One thing I’ve learned through all this is that if there’s a way to do something, there’s a way to undo something. Even if there’s only one person that knows how to do it. Katie plopped down in the nearest chair. What a fucking day.
Pandora scoffed. Yeah, you’d have to talk to that stick-up-his-ass, Gabriel. I can just see it now. “Excuse me, but can you go find my friends’ memories and put them back in? I know it’s, like, against all the rules and everything, but I’m Katie Golden Tits, and I want it to happen.”
Katie snickered. You would think that after all this time, I would get something out of this deal, aside from angels and demons plaguing me.