Protected by the Damned BoxedSet 2

by Michael Todd

  I see the power of family, and the power of friendships getting us through every part of life. I also notice the bond you and Stephanie have. It’s subtle, but everyone sees it. You guys really care about each other. You can try to hide it all day long, but that won’t make it go away.

  One thing I’ve learned in this career or life or whatever you want to call it, is that tomorrow is not promised to us.

  Hell, I guess no one really does, but it’s a crap shoot if we will wake up tomorrow morning.

  You have a chance that not all of us will be given, and that is the chance to love again; to feel that bond between two people. I keep asking myself why the hell you wouldn’t take it.

  You have to realize something: behind all the smiles, all the laughter, all the jokes, are individuals who are all missing something or someone in their lives.

  Whether it is a past relationship or a congregation, we are all lonely in one way or another. Sure, we have each other; we have that family bond, but you know as well as I do that it is not the same as that deep-rooted intimacy you get from being in love with someone.

  Stephanie will never push you or force you to open your eyes, but I love you both and I can’t keep my mouth shut.

  Just ask Pandora.

  I envy the two of you, having the opportunity to be in each other’s lives. To feel that connection with someone; that bond. I am jealous, because I am missing that in my own life.

  Don’t let her get away, don’t wake up one day and wish you had loved her while you had the chance, because you may not have tomorrow.

  Love,

  Katie

  Korbin sighed and set the letter down on his desk, rubbing his hand over his chin. He knew people had noticed the chemistry between him and Stephanie, but he hadn’t thought about it the way Katie had explained it.

  He knew—maybe better than most—that tomorrow wasn’t promised to anyone, and at first that had been exactly the reason he hadn’t pursued anything with Stephanie.

  He didn’t want to get close to someone he could lose at any moment. However, as time passed he had formed that bond; that connection with her that he had told himself not to. If she died tomorrow he would be just as broken-hearted as if his significant other had passed.

  He cared about her, but things were complicated. They were stressful and political, and he didn’t know if it would be right for him to pull her into that world.

  He had noticed Stephanie long before she had changed back into her true self. Even as Mamacita, she’d had a spark that had pulled Korbin in like a magnet. She was loud and funny, and when she cared about something the passion was so strong you couldn’t hold it back. Still, taking the next step was terrifying.

  And he wasn’t sure if he could do it.

  Chapter Seventeen

  The Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base was located just a handful of miles from the French Quarter in New Orleans. The base, which bustled twenty-four hours a day, housed several different branches of the military including the Army, the Marines, and of course the Navy.

  On that day there were some third-class petty officers on deck, washing down the runways. They were gathered around the smoke deck taking a small break, watching the planes run in and out of the hangars. They all stared as the G5 jet touched down on the runway and slowly approached the building.

  One of the petty officers whistled. “Would you look at that beauty? I’ve been here three years and two months, and all I’ve ever seen coming and going were military planes. This is definitely a first. I wonder who’s in that thing.”

  “Probably some high-ranking captain’s wife and their snot-nosed teenage kids,” another guy offered with a chuckle. “They always get the VIP treatment around here; like this base is so fucking prestigious.”

  “You’re just a booter,” the first guy replied with a laugh. “When’d you get out of basic? Like six months ago?”

  “So?” he shot back. “I have my crow, don’t I? Same rank as you, and you have almost four years in the service.”

  “We can’t all be fancy FCs put on light duty for a swollen wrist. I mean, how difficult is your job, anyway?”

  The other guys laughed for a moment, then went silent. The jet’s stairs had been deployed and out walked Damian, dressed in his normal long coat, shirt, tie, and dress pants, hat tilted to the side. He walked down the stairs and waited for Katie, who stepped out dressed in all black, her pants tight, her shirt tight, and her body flowing with every step. She just about stunned every man who saw her. When she got to the bottom she gave a little hop, making all the guys clear their throats.

  “Jesus, Mary, and Joseph,” one guy exclaimed, his cigarette barely hanging onto his lip.

  “Who the hell are Father Scary-as-Fuck and his daughter, Hotter-than-Hell?” another wondered.

  “I doubt that’s his daughter,” the first petty officer argued. “I don’t think priests are allowed to get anyone pregnant.”

  “Like it's never happened.” The youngest petty officer stared, then shook his head. “I have to say, I’d love to be stuck in a confessional booth with her.”

  “I’d say my Hail Marys every night,” another guy commented.

  “You boys are pathetic,” the female petty officer as she pushed to the front. “All right, let me see who this chick is. Holy shit, she’s hot…and I like dick.”

  “Fucking told you,” the younger guy said smugly. “Hot as hell.”

  Pandora chuckled, since she could hear the conversation from the plane. They obviously appreciated the fine work she had put into her human; she was proud to say she had sculpted her perfectly. She purred to herself, barely audible to Katie.

  My minor modifications have definitely done the trick. She snickered. The men are falling all over themselves.

  What? Katie asked. What are you talking about?

  Oh, nothing. Just your fan club over there in that gazebo.

  Where? she asked, looking at the guys and watching them turn quickly away, acting like they weren’t staring at her tits and ass. You did this, didn’t you?

  Don’t know what you’re talking about, Pandora replied, playing innocent.

  I heard you. You said “minor modifications,” Katie growled. Two cup sizes almost overnight are not ‘minor modifications.’ You’ve made them so big and bouncy I can barely pull my shirt over them. I am going to have to start getting clothes specially made for me. I’m going to fucking look like Dolly Parton if you keep this shit up.

  I don’t know who that is, but if this Parton lady has nice tits, then hell why not?

  She’s like ninety years old and still has the tits of a twenty-something, Katie snapped. And she is respected in her community for her talent. Still, I don’t want to be known as “Tits McGee” for the rest of my life. You have got to stop it with the boobs.

  May I remind you that you haven’t had to wear a bra in months unless you wanted to? Pandora scoffed. Even then, you could drape a tissue over them and it would do the same thing. At least I tried to make it so your nipples aren’t hard all the time. I know how much you’d love that.

  I would murder you with my colon, Katie snarled. I’d explode my appendix so you would feel terrible.

  Don’t act all high and mighty. I saw you checking yourself out in that little t-shirt dress we bought.

  All right, Katie snapped. I admit it. Your augmentation of my breasts has actually been worth it. No more restricting bras, no more lines across my back, no more wires jabbing into my armpit from the bra coming undone. It has been a refreshing bit of freedom. I had to get used to it, but now that I have I enjoy it. They look good all the time.

  See? I know what I am talking about.

  No one believes I’m not wearing a bra, though. Katie chuckled. That lady last week at the store asked me if I was wearing one of those stick-em-on bra things. She couldn’t fathom that my breasts were just like that.

  Then she asked where you got your implants done. Pandora laughed. She didn’t believe they we
re natural. She like argued with you for twenty minutes, ending with that lecture on being proud of who you are and the choices you made for your body. You should have just lied and given her the name of a doctor. Or better yet, given her my name and your cell so we could have caught her trying to book an appointment.

  If you could do this to other women’s bodies from mine we would be billionaires. Katie snorted. We could call it “Mystic Boob Jobs.”

  “Magic Tits.” Pandora laughed. Thank you for calling Magic Tits. Sorry we can’t get to the phone right now, but our boobs are too big.

  Katie had to hold back her snickers as she hurried to catch up with Damian.

  Dr. Handsy and the Bewitching Boob Job. Pandora laughed. I crack myself up.

  “I’m Colonel Adams.” The man shook Katie’s and Damian’s hand before leading them past a building.

  Katie jogged to keep up with him. She looked down the path they were walking and watched as a Blackhawk landed, keeping its engines running. She didn’t realize they would be taken somewhere so quickly, but she also had no idea where the general was.

  “I’m your pilot,” he told them loudly as they got closer to the chopper.

  “Where are we going?” Katie asked.

  “We are going to an operation about twenty miles out of town. It started about an hour ago, and the team has already surrounded the place. The general is waiting there for you.”

  Katie nodded and climbed into the back of the Blackhawk. After she buckled in she put on the headphones, and they lifted off the pad. When they had reached the correct altitude, they zoomed toward the incursion.

  “Just relax,” the pilot suggested. “We will be there before you can write your name on a paper…legibly, that is.”

  Katie grabbed her backpack and glanced at Damian, who nodded. They had their weapons on them, and both had their one bag. She wasn’t quite ready for an incursion, but at that point she didn’t have a choice. The general apparently didn’t play games. He was waiting for her there, and he would want to test the weapons right away. This was her life though; unexpected, always dangerous, and now political in nature.

  “If you look ahead, you can see the plume of smoke,” the co-pilot told them. “That is where we are headed. One of the boiler rooms caught fire at the beginning of the incursion, but they report that the sprinkler system put out the blaze. We don’t think it had anything to do with the demons.”

  Katie nodded and leaned back, holding onto the handle next to her head. As the helicopter reached the target they slowed and dropped onto a grassy area about five hundred feet from the building.

  Damian slid the door open and jumped out. Katie folded the piece of paper in her hand and leaned forward to drop it into the pilot’s lap.

  She smiled and winked at him before jumping out of the chopper and running after Damian.

  “Oh, shit!” the co-pilot exclaimed. “She gave you her fucking number. Seriously, man, I have no idea how you do that. You said two words to her.”

  “I guess I just got it that way.” He smirked.

  “Are you gonna call her?”

  “Hell, no! she’s one of those possessed fighter chicks. But shit does she have a nice pair of tits on her. It might be worth letting out the inner demon for that.”

  “I would,” the co-pilot replied. “Fuck, I’d let anything she wanted out.”

  “She’s probably a one-and-done, too,” the pilot mused. “You know, one of those girls who knows what she wants, takes it by the…dick in this case and gets hers, then no drama. Wipe your hands clean and walk off.”

  “I’m already in love.” The co-pilot laughed.

  They both looked out the window to where she was talking to one of the soldiers. They pointed toward the building and she nodded before glancing back at the helicopter. She smiled and her eyes flashed red as she blew them both a kiss before scurrying after Damian and the soldier.

  “Be still my, motherfucking heart,” the co-pilot moaned. “I think I just came in my fucking pants.”

  “That’s why you’re still single.” The pilot laughed. “You gotta finesse a woman; show her who’s boss. A girl like that secretly wants to be dominated. She doesn’t want to always be in charge. I would definitely do my best to show her who’s boss.”

  “Open the note, man! See if she said anything,” the co-pilot demanded.

  The pilot unfolded the note and laughed before looking down, then his face dropped and he tilted his head. The co-pilot looked confused, unsure why he was having that reaction. Finally, the pilot held up the paper—and on it was her name, neatly written five times in perfect cursive.

  “Fucking hell!” the pilot spluttered. “How did she do that?”

  “Thanks for letting me come down here and work with you for the day, man,” Calvin said as he looked around Joshua’s area. “And I have to say, you decorated this thing like a fucking pro. It’s like the Bruce Wayne man cave.”

  “You like it?” Joshua asked. “A lot of this stuff is my family’s. I never had a place big enough to put it, so I kept it in storage. I have one of those brains that can remember details after seeing them just once, so I laid this out just like my father’s den was arranged when I was a kid.”

  “You grew up playing next to a suit of armor?” Calvin laughed. “I grew up in the ghetto wishing I had a suit of armor—though I can’t really imagine myself strapping this baby on and heading to school. I would definitely have gotten beat up for that shit.”

  “They could have tried.” Joshua laughed. “But I don’t think you would have suffered too much.”

  “True.” Calvin chuckled. “But yeah…like I said, thanks. I really didn’t want to end up in the IT room again. Don’t get me wrong…Derek is my boy, but those computer servers and wires and boxes were driving me fucking mad.”

  “At least we have the space now to do things like that,” Joshua replied. “I mean, I was really nervous to move. I am not very good with change. But when we got here and started to set the place up, I realized just how much room I was going to have. After we moved my dad’s stuff in and I started working—and still having space to move around—I realized how lucky I was to get to come to this place.”

  “Agreed.” Calvin nodded. “The old place was great, but mostly because it felt like home. We needed to get bigger, and this was our chance. It was the right move to make, that’s for sure.”

  “I have people helping me now too; people on the payroll,” Joshua told him. “They like working for me, and I like having them there. It’s a win-win for everyone. I wish things could have happened for a different reason, but I’m glad nonetheless.”

  “Are you doing stuff?” Calvin asked. “Are you getting out of the man cave and enjoying your free time? It’s important that you enjoy life, not just slave away down here making bullets and putting blades on sticks.”

  Calvin noticed something that looked like Katie’s quarterstaff. He picked it up and twisted the end, jumping slightly as blades shot out of the sides. Joshua smiled kindly and carefully took it from him, pressing a button and retracting the knives. Calvin nodded in appreciation and walked away from the tools, not wanting to screw anything up.

  “That is for Katie; it’s a specialty piece,” Joshua explained. “And yeah, I actually have friends and a life for the first time. Tonight we are going into town to gamble and eat at a cheap buffet until we explode.”

  “Nice,” Calvin said. “You and the girls?”

  “Yeah,” Joshua replied, stacking the finished weapons into the cabinet and pressing the button to lower it into the ground. “We figure it’s time to let loose a little.”

  “Why don’t I tag along? You know, as backup,” Calvin asked. “Because I’m a standup guy like that.”

  Joshua smirked and eyed him, having a feeling that the buffet wasn’t what he was concerned about. The girls were beautiful, but they were like sisters to Joshua. To Calvin, though, they were available. Joshua looked down at the papers on his drawing table. He
thought it was funny how Calvin was; it was the first time he had really spent any time with him.

  “All right.” Joshua smiled. “I think it would probably be safest if you came along—just as backup, of course.”

  “Sweet,” Calvin exclaimed, clapping his hands together. “Vegas nights, baby.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  Katie blew a kiss at the helicopter pilot, laughing the whole time at the play by play Pandora was giving her about what they were saying.

  She couldn’t believe how much of a douchebag the guy was, thinking she would ever give a man like him her number. She could smell the cockiness on him from half a mile away.

  She caught up with Damian and the soldier, who were walking toward a small area with a table. The general and the colonel were standing there next to the guy who had led the charge in Virginia.

  “General.” Katie shook his hand.

  “Katie.” He nodded. “And this is Colonel Jehovivich.”

  “Nice to meet you,” Jehovivich offered, noticing the red ring in her eyes. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

  “Hopefully all good.” Katie laughed nervously.

  “So far,” the colonel replied with a fake chuckle.

  She glanced at the soldier who was standing next to them. He had lost a couple of stripes since the last time she’d seen him, when he was leading their team to ‘the level boss’ who had kicked his ass.

  He was no longer commanding the troops; he was strictly support. In fact, it didn’t even look like he would be in the fight. She held back a smirk, remembering how they had thrown him back into the room half-conscious.

  He was lucky to be alive, but from the look on his face, he wasn’t too thrilled to be standing in front of her.

  “This is a pretty big event,” the general began. “Not huge—not like the last—but bigger than most we’ve seen out here. It’s a tire factory and only half the workers were here today, so we were able to get all but one to safety. None of the demons have been touched. They are stuck inside, since we barricaded the doors from the outside.”