Kevin growled low. “Let’s get back to planning the attack.”
Glacier was ready to let it go. He checked over the weapons they had, made a call to Graves to verify everything was in order, and then took the time to eat.
His mind kept returning to Mandy. He hoped she wouldn’t run. There was no guarantee she wouldn’t flee to her friend, since he hadn’t taken out the other assassin. The pack was on lockdown, which meant they weren’t out there hunting Vamps. Olivia wouldn’t have any targets to kill.
What if the other Vampire assassin was like Mandy? He believed they hadn’t had a choice to work for the council. It might be a lie, but he had become a good judge of character at his age. He sighed and placed another call when he was alone.
“If it isn’t my brother from the same mother.”
He chuckled at Pest’s version of hello. “I need some advice.”
“Shit. What kind of mess are you in now? Did the alpha try to compare dicks with you and you lost? I guess I could show him mine to save our family honor.”
“Fuck you.” He laughed though. Pest definitely earned his nickname. His humor faded. “I captured myself a Vamp.”
“Okay. And that’s like saying it’s Monday.”
“It’s one I used to know when she was human, and the thing is…” He peered around to make certain no one was in earshot. “She kept her humanity.”
“This isn’t sounding good. Were you ordered to kill her? I see the problem already. I’d have a hard time with that too, if it was someone I once knew and they seemed decent. What kind of crime did she commit?”
“It’s not like that. I mean, the alpha ordered me to take her out but you know how that goes. He believes all Vamps are better off dead right now.”
“Who gives a shit what he wants? He’s not our boss. What did Kelzeb say?”
“I can’t bring her to the Cliffs and I’m responsible for her actions. He made it clear he wasn’t going to order me to put her down.”
Pest said nothing.
“You there?”
“Um, yeah. You’re banging her, aren’t you? What the hell are you thinking? I mean, they aren’t fragile like a human but you still have to be damn careful with one in bed. They bite, bro. Huge no on that shit. What do you do? Muzzle her? Just take her from behind and watch her fangs?”
“I haven’t slept with her.”
“I hear a ‘yet’ in there.”
He couldn’t deny he wanted Mandy. “You dated a Vamp once.”
“For like a week, and she kept trying to bite me. It’s why it didn’t last. The sex was hot but it’s like surfing a landslide. It’s just a matter of time before it turns into disaster and you end up burying your own ass. You want my advice? Fuck her until she’s out of your system and then run.”
He closed his eyes and sighed.
“She needs to feed, and you can’t be the meal.” Pest’s voice dropped low, sympathy coming through. “That’s the one law we can’t ever break. Too much is at risk.”
“I know.”
“It’s doomed. Think about it. What happens if you get too possessive of her, or worst case, fall in love? How are you going to feel, watching her feed off others? It would drive you insane. It’s against the law for us to give blood to Vamps. You’ll be signing her death warrant if you ever slip in bed, Glacier. You care about her? Get the hell away.”
“It’s fucking complicated.”
“How do you feel about this Vampire?”
He sighed. “Highly attracted; always was and still am.”
“Then run, bro. For her sake as well as your own. Sometimes caring means saying goodbye. This is a prime example.”
“The Vampire Council will be after her. Hell, according to her, everyone will be. I set her free and she’ll be on her own. She won’t last long. They’ll kill her.”
“That is complicated.” He paused. “I have some days free. I’m coming to you.”
“No need.”
“I’m your brother. You called me. You wouldn’t do that unless you’re in over your head and thinking about doing something stupid. We’ll sit down together, have some beers, and talk all this out. I’m packing a bag now and will hit the air. I should be there by morning. I know where you are.”
“Mandy is at the shop I’m staying in. Don’t scare her.”
“I won’t hurt your Vampire.”
“Mandy.”
“Damn. You have it bad, don’t you?”
“I used to, and she hasn’t changed, besides the Vampire thing.”
“It’s a big fucking thing, bro.”
“See you in the morning, Pest. I’ll be there after the sun is up. Oh, and um, she can move around after dawn. Heads-up. Don’t flip out on her.”
“How old is she? I didn’t know you were into cougars.”
He chuckled. “Long story. I’ll share it with you tomorrow.”
“See you soon.”
Glacier ended the call and sighed, getting up and returning to the war room inside the pack house. The Lycans were too hyped up to sleep. He knew they would be.
Chapter Six
Mandy heard a knock on the door at around five in the morning. She frowned, grabbing a hammer.
“Hello? Mandy? Don’t attack. I’m coming in.”
“I just fixed that door. Don’t break it. Who are you?”
“Glacier sent me. I’m his brother.”
Curiosity immediately got the best of her and she unlocked the door, opening it up. There was no doubt the big man who stood in the alley was related to Glacier. They had the same handsome facial features, black hair, and sheer body size. She backed up fast, keeping her distance.
He entered, closed the door behind him, and smiled.
“Damn, you’re short. No wonder you have my brother in overdrive on the protective instincts.” He put a backpack on the floor then crossed his arms over a T-shirt stretched across his wide chest. “I’m Pest.”
She gawked at him a bit, perplexed by the name.
“Tempest, but don’t call me that. And I wasn’t named after a girl. Our mother had a thing for weird-ass names. I was born during a violent windstorm. Glacier got stuck with his name because he was born during a bad winter with big-ass ice chunks as far as the eye could see. My friends call me Tem, but my family calls me Pest. I hate being teased about my name…and we don’t want to start off on the wrong foot, do we?”
She shook her head. “Is Glacier okay?”
“He was fine, last I spoke to him.”
“Did he send you here to keep me safe from the pack in case another enforcer tries to attack me?”
“Sure. We’ll go with that.”
She frowned.
“He didn’t say much. Fill me in on this enforcer.”
She replayed what happened with Ted. Anger grew on Pest’s face as she spoke, making him look a lot more like Glacier. He made a low rumble sound when she finished.
“That explains the patchwork on the door. I’m glad my brother killed the bastard. I would have done it too. Point me to the basement and I’ll clean up the blood. I hate leaving evidence behind.”
“I already did that,” she admitted.
“You’re handy. So, what’s your story? How’d you become a Vamp?”
“I was grabbed in a parking lot. The Vampire Council had already decided to cleanse the nest responsible, and they kept me alive since I was brand new in Vamp land. I had just barely finished transforming when they stormed in. The council figured I hadn’t been mentally fucked up yet by the master.”
“Cleanse?”
“Let’s just say Cain was a shit master who ran a dangerous nest. He liked to send out male Vamps to find women to add to his harem. But he drew too much attention from humans, since he didn’t care if we’d be missed or not. His males didn’t exactly ask if the women were married, had kids or families. They grabbed anyone they thought Cain would like, regardless of the fallout with their loved ones filing missing persons reports and raising hel
l on local media outlets for the women to be found. The council wiped out the nest.”
“Glacier said something about you working for the council. What do you do?”
She moved over to a counter and hopped up, taking a seat. “I’m an assassin.”
He laughed deeply, obviously thinking she was joking.
“I’m serious.”
He grinned. “Sure you are, short stack.”
“I really am an assassin for the council. At least, I was. Now they hopefully think I’m dead, since your brother removed the tracker from my body and left it with an ashed Vamp that I killed.”
He moved over to another counter and leaned against it, crossing his arms again. His blue eyes glinted with some emotion she couldn’t identify but he stopped smiling. “You lure men into fucking you and take them out while their guard is down?”
“Never.”
He rumbled again, a low growl coming from his chest. “That’s the only damn way someone your size would be able to kill, unless they send you after humans only.”
“I’m a lot stronger and faster than you can imagine, Pest.” She was starting to see why his family called him that.
“How old are you?”
“Just under three decades in Vamp years.”
“I call bullshit. My brother said you aren’t a full snoozer when the sun comes up. That means you’re way older.”
“The council feeds us their blood to wean out some weaknesses and to boost our strength. We’d be shitty assassins otherwise. Newbies are too easy to kill and full day sleepers would be at risk on assignment. Any Vamp could hire a human to take us out while we were down.”
“Unbelievable.”
“It’s the truth.”
“Why are you lying to me and my brother about your age?”
She shrugged. “I’m not. Glacier knows. He knew me in nineteen eighty-nine before I was turned into a Vamp. We worked together in a dance club.”
“Dance club?” He frowned. “The cult leader assignment Glacier had?”
“I guess so.”
He paled a little.
“What? Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. You’re that Mandy? Shit.”
“He mentioned me to you?”
“Yeah. We had a job together a week after he took out that cult master, and he got shitfaced drunk. That wasn’t like him. I asked what was wrong and he told me about a Mandy. You’d asked him out on a date but he’d had to turn you down, since relationships aren’t something we do in our line of work. Then you quit your job. He felt guilty as hell that he’d hurt your feelings that much.”
“I didn’t quit. I was taken by a nest that same night.”
“He didn’t know. Otherwise, he would have gone hunting. He believed he was the reason you’d quit the club, to avoid him, and not knowing he was leaving town anyway since the job was over.”
Questions floated in her head but she didn’t dare ask who they worked for. He might have the same reaction Glacier had, suspecting she was some kind of spy or something. “He said it was him, not me.”
“That’s the truth. We go from one job to the next. Sometimes we’re in a place for one night, to…hell. It could be weeks, months, or even years. It depends on our preferences. I like short-term assignments. Glacier is more patient. He’s stuck it out for months at times in the same place. Our youngest brother probably won’t ever change locations, since he’s protecting his mate’s pack. Creed is their guardian. We’re talking decades in the same job.”
“Guardian?”
He cocked his head. “You don’t know what a guardian is for a Lycan pack?”
“I’m assuming it’s a position like an enforcer. I can’t keep up with the Werewolf pack titles or their pecking order. I know they have one alpha, a bunch of elders, and I’ve met an advisor from a pack once.” She shrugged again.
He threw back his head and laughed. “You think Glacier and I are Lycans, don’t you?”
She sniffed the air. “You smell like one.” She was confused. “Are you half-breeds?”
“Oh yeah.” He grinned.
She thought about Glacier’s strength. “That’s amazing.”
“What is?”
“Your brother’s very strong for being half human.”
Now he roared with laughter. “Fucking priceless!”
Mandy frowned. “What am I missing?”
He pushed away from the counter and winked. “I’m so glad I’m here. I can’t wait to watch this go down.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Nothing. Is there a spare bedroom?”
“No. There’s just one.” She pointed up. “It’s where your brother told me to stay.”
“I’m good with the floor. I’ll find a spot when I’m ready to sleep. It wouldn’t be the first time. At least this place has a roof. I’m going out to grab some food. I’ll be back before the sun rises. You going to be okay on your own for twenty minutes?”
“Yes.”
“Lock up after me. You’ll hear me when I get back.” He left then, just strolling out. She heard him chuckling though, and it made her wonder what he found so funny.
He came back with fast food, grabbed his backpack and went up the stairs. She followed. He stretched out in the hallway to eat his burger and fries.
“The sun’s coming. I noticed you boarded up the windows in there. Go ahead and sleep. Nothing will get past me but Glacier when he arrives. You’re safe.”
“Thank you. I can stay up though. I get a bit weaker after daybreak but it doesn’t put me in a coma.” She leaned against the wall. “What was so funny before?”
“Ask my brother your questions, little Mandy.”
“Are you half human?”
He grinned.
“You’re not going to answer me, are you?”
“Nope.” He finished his burger and used his pack for a pillow, stretching out flat on the floor. “Go rest. I know Glacier was going to take out a nest this morning.” He removed his cell phone, tapping the screen. “I’m going to read until he gets back.”
“What are you reading?” She was curious. He didn’t appear to be the book type.
“End of the world shit. It always amuses me, reading about zombie apocalypses and how humans think that would go down.”
“You’re a weird man, Pest.”
She walked into the bedroom and lay down on the bed. Glacier’s scent filled her nose. The sun began to rise and her body relaxed. She closed her eyes to let sleep come. It was possible that Pest might hurt her but she trusted Glacier. He’d sent for his brother to protect her from the pack. He’d have killed her himself if he wanted her dead. She’d given him plenty of chances.
She dozed—until someone touched her shoulder.
Her body tensed and she came up fast, ready to defend herself. Instinct had her hands fisted, prepared to fight.
Pest leapt back, grinning wide.
“Sorry. Just checking to see if you really could wake up. Go back to sleep.”
“Forget Pest…you should be called asshole.”
He laughed again, leaving the room. “I’ve heard that before. Night, short stack.”
She lay back down, closed her eyes, and let sleep take her before her worries about Glacier took hold.
* * * * *
Glacier motioned to the Lycans to stay behind him. The gas company uniform Graves had acquired for him and the team didn’t fit well. The building had been cleared and the teams covering the escape tunnels hadn’t reported any problems. Nor had he heard any guns going off. The basement was hidden but he located it quickly, pulling a handgun as he took the lead down the stairs.
It was a storage room full of things from the restaurant. Another door led to more of the basement. That one was locked. He lifted a leg, kicking it in.
Five Vampires slumbered on the floors. None of them moved. He walked in with Kevin on his heels.
“Shit.”
“What?” Kevin inched closer. “This ha
s gone down better than we planned.”
“The master isn’t here.”
“How do you know?”
“You see any of these bastards stirring? Attacking us? The fucker left his nest here undefended, too. No human guards. There should be seven of them, not five.”
“Let’s kill them,” one of the enforcers snarled.
“Hang on.” Glacier pulled out his cell phone.
Kevin got in his face. “They killed our children!”
“I didn’t say you can’t kill the bastards. I just want to take photos of them and show their faces to the council Vampire. She’s met them. She’ll be able to tell me if these are part of the original nest or just newly turned ones the master left here for us to find.” Glacier allowed his irritation to show. “This is too damn easy.”
He ignored the growls from the pissed-off Lycans and snapped pics of each sleeping face. “Done. Go head. Get your revenge.”
He left them in the room, hunting the storage area for any other hidden doors or spaces a Vampire could hide. He even jogged upstairs to check out the restaurant. The master and last remaining nest member were still missing.
Kevin returned to him. “Blow it up.”
“There’s no need. Have your men sweep up the ash and check for cameras. I was going to blow up the building when I expected a bloodbath. This is an easy cleanup job.”
“The humans who own this restaurant helped the Vampires. Blow it up!”
Glacier had the urge to deck the demanding prick. “You mean the humans who were probably mind controlled against their damn will? Those humans? I’m not blowing it up. Have your enforcers clean up any ash, make sure there’re no security cameras, and if there are, take them, along with the recording equipment. I’m out of here.”
He walked toward the door.
“I’ll burn it down,” Keven snarled.
Glacier swung around. “You still have a master and at least one nest member in your town. You do that, and I’m fucking out of here. A fire could spread to other buildings, hurting innocents. Stop being a dick. You’ve killed five Vamps today. There’s no reason to destroy the place where they slept.”
He stormed out and climbed into the driver’s seat of one of the vans, starting it. The Lycans could pile into the second one. He drove away.
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