A Warrior Christmas (The Protectors Series) Book #14

by Teresa Gabelman

  Chapter 12

  After the bombshell in Sloan’s office about Raven wanting to transfer from the Dark Guardians to the VC, Steve rushed to find Mira. Adam’s talk with him woke him up, showed him that he could fight this chip he seemed to be carrying on his shoulder since being held by Orjyll. Now he needed to act on it, use it to empower himself and…. Steve stopped right before opening the door. “Holy shit, I sound like Oprah,” he said to himself, then opened the door.

  Mira, who was on the bed, sat up quickly, her eyes tired and red. “You’re back.”

  Closing the door, Steve felt like the biggest asshole. “Of course I’m back.” Steve glanced around. Not seeing Drew, he frowned. “Where’s Drew?”

  “Kira took her for a little bit.” Mira scooted toward the end of the bed. “I’m sorry, Steve. I shouldn’t have—”

  Steve pulled her up from the bed and wrapped his arms around her waist. “Never be sorry for me being a bastard.” Steve tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “I’m the one who’s sorry. I’ve been having a hard time, but I’m working through it. I shouldn’t have taken it out on you.”

  “But I want to help you.” Mira frowned up at him. “Don’t shut me out.”

  Putting his chin on the top of her head, he sighed. “I never thought of myself as having much pride, but I guess I do. Being so vulnerable wakes a man up, especially one who’s surrounded by Warriors who are the most pretentious species on the planet. I was embarrassed to be captured, tortured, and then having my peers carry me in front of my mate.”

  “Steve—”

  Steve cut her off. “The pity I see, or think I see, has been hard to swallow.” Steve pulled away from her so he could look at her face. “I’m done with those days. I don’t need anyone’s pity. I’m Steve, a damn good Warrior, who has the most beautiful and caring mate. I’m not someone to pity and I will get my revenge, but that revenge will no longer rule who I am.”

  “You are my Warrior, and pity is something I have never felt for you. Worry, yes. Love, absolutely. Pity, never.” Mira hugged him tight as their lips met in a passionate kiss. “Steve,” Mira mumbled against his lips.

  “Hmmm?” Steve continued to kiss her, making his way down her neck.

  “Someone’s knocking on the door.” Mira sighed, angling her neck to give him plenty of access.

  “I know.” He nipped at her. “I’m ignoring it.”

  The banging grew louder, and then Adam called out to him. “Come on before we leave without you, and I swear if you get out of this and I don’t, I’ll kick your ass.”

  Looking down at Mira, his eyes roaming her body, he groaned. “An ass-kicking would be totally worth it.” Steve winked at her, then glared over his shoulder at the door. “I’m rethinking this brother shit,” he yelled, and grinned when Adam laughed.

  “Come on, dammit,” Adam called. “I have rounds tonight and want to get this over with.”

  Steve gave Mira one more kiss, then opened the door. “Not very nice of you since this is for the kids.” Steve cocked his eyebrow, then smiled at Angelina. “Hey, Angelina.”

  “He’s excited. He just doesn’t want to admit it.” Angelina pinched Adam, who tugged her close to him.

  “Okay, we just have to get Drew and we’ll be ready.” Steve went to grab the diaper bag, but Mira stopped him.

  “Kira and Ronan are staying here with Drew,” Mira said, collecting her coat. “She’s getting ready to work with Bonnie and wanted to rest.”

  “I don’t think watching Drew is going to give her much time to rest.” Steve snorted, then frowned. “And I really need to apologize to her.”

  “For what?” Mira walked past him out the door to follow Adam and Angelina.

  “Well, Ronan about took his whip to me for raising my voice at her,” Steve replied, not pleased with himself.

  “She never said anything to me about it,” Mira assured him, walking to the entryway where everyone was gathered. “I’m sure it’s fine.”

  “Yeah, she’s probably already put some kind of spell on you anyway,” Adam added with a grim look. “You’re probably too late for apologies.”

  Steve laughed, but then it died quickly as he looked down at Mira. “You think she’d do that?”

  “She would definitely do that, but I don’t think you have anything to worry about.” Mira kept a straight face, and he narrowed his eyes at her teasing. “We already would have known by now if she had.”

  “He does look a little green.” Angelina studied Steve closely. “Can she really do a spell to turn people into frogs?”

  “Oh, ha ha. Very funny.” Steve rolled his eyes. “Kira’s magic doesn’t work on vampires.”

  “Actually, that’s not entirely true,” Bonnie said as she walked past. “Kira is the most powerful witch in the land now. Her powers are undeniable, even to vampires. Plus weren’t you a half-breed, so that doesn’t apply to you anyway.”

  “Well, shit.” Steve pulled out his phone. He hadn’t thought about that. “Thanks for being the bearer of such good news.”

  “No problemo.” Bonnie grinned as she continued on her way.

  “What are you doing?” Adam chuckled, shaking his head.

  “I’m texting Kira an apology,” Steve muttered as he texted like a wild man. No way did he want a hex or some shit on him.

  Adam made a noise in the back of his throat then whistled.

  “What?” Steve stopped texting to glare at him.

  “Texting an apology… doesn’t seem too sincere.” Adam shrugged. “That’s just me, though.”

  “I’d be pissed if someone texted me an apology,” Jill said as she leaned in to look at his phone. “Who you apologizing to now? What in the hell did you do, Steve?”

  “How in the hell do you just pop up out of nowhere?” Steve hissed at Jill. “And I’m texting Kira. I may have raised my voice to her and pissed the cowboy off.”

  Jill made a face clearly indicating that wasn’t a good plan. “Yeah, I’m with Adam on this one.”

  “Well, fuck!” Steve frowned, looking at his reflection in his phone. Holy shit. “I am a little green.”

  Adam laughed loudly. “It’s your phone, dumbass.”

  Not taking any chances and knowing he didn’t have time to run to their room, he dialed her number.

  “Hello.” Kira’s voice sounded on the other end.

  “Kira, it’s Steve.”

  “Yes, I know.”

  Steve frowned, trying to decide if Kira sounded mad. He had put it on speakerphone so Mira could hear, and he looked at her. She just shrugged, then motioned him to continue.

  “I, ah, I’m sorry I yelled at you,” Steve said, hoping he sounded as sorry as he felt. “I really am.”

  “It’s fine, Steve,” Kira replied, her voice softening a bit. Mira gave him a thumbs up.

  “The hell it is.” Ronan’s voice shouted over the speaker. “Next time he does it, I’m going to shove my boot so far up his ass—”

  “Ronan says, hi.” Kira cut Ronan’s tirade off.

  Steve looked up from his phone to see everyone staring at him while Jill, Adam, and Angelina laughed their asses off. Bonnie had a big grin on her face as well as a cocked eyebrow.

  “Tell him I said, hello.” Steve cleared his throat, then punched out at Adam, who wheezed with laughter.

  “Kira, that’s not what I said.” Ronan’s voice sounded like it was getting closer to the phone. “Give me that—”

  “See you when you get back. Take care of my sister,” Kira said quickly, then the phone went dead.

  “Damn, man, you should have seen your face.” Adam wiped his eyes. “That was fucking classic.”

  “I think Kira is the least of your worries, buddy,” Jill teased before walking away.

  “Tell me about it.” Steve rolled his eyes, putting his phone in his back pocket. Glancing around, he frowned. “Are we doing this shit or not?”

  Nicole walked out of Sloan’s office with Becky. They started han
ding out papers. “This is the list the kids made out. Each paper had a child with age, gender, and needs. All of them will get clothes of some sort, but of course, toys are what they really want.”

  Chuckles filled the room as Nicole looked around at all of them. She blinked quickly with a sniff. Damon walked up beside her, putting his arm around her shoulder.

  “Thank you all for doing this. I know most of you would rather be out killing something.” She looked directly at Sid and Jared. “But what you are doing tonight means so much to these kids who have nothing and no one. To me, that’s being more of a badass than anything.”

  “Hey, we can kill something later,” Jared called out, and Tessa rolled her eyes. “No worries.”

  “Then again, with these holiday shoppers, we may find a target among them to get our quota for the night,” Sid added with a serious nod. “I mean, have you seen the news? People out there are nuts.”

  “I’d honestly rather face down a rogue than an angry Christmas shopper.” Damon sneered, getting agreement from the rest of the Warriors.

  “This is going to be a fuckfest,” Sloan said from his office door. “I swear, the only killing that will be happening is if I have to bail one of your asses out of jail. Be on your best behavior.”

  “What? You aren’t going?” Jared frowned, throwing his arms out. “Well, why in the hell do we have to go if he doesn’t?”

  “Because I’m a bigger badass than you, and I’m the fucking boss,” Sloan challenged. “You got a problem with that?”

  Steve watched Jared and knew he was on the verge of saying something, but he also knew Jared was smart enough to know when to keep his mouth shut. Steve needed to learn that skill.

  “Okay, Jill is passing out the Santa hats,” Nicole said after they all were given papers with a child’s name on it.

  “Fuck no” burst free collectively. At the same time, Steve glanced to see Sloan shaking his head in disgust. Jill tossed one to Mira and Angelina but skipped Adam, who shook his head. She glanced at him, waiting, then grinned when he grinned.

  “Hell yes, I want a hat.” Steve grabbed it and put it on his head. “Ho fucking ho, assholes! May the Christmas spirit goose ya in the ass.”

  “Jesus.” Sloan moaned loudly before going into his office and slamming the door.

  Steve smiled so big it hurt his face. Damn, it felt good to be back. He glanced over at Adam and tugged him up in a hug.

  “What the fuck are you doing, man?” Adam tried to push him away, but Steve held on for a second longer.

  “Thanks, Adam,” he said, so low that only Adam could hear him.

  “Glad to have you back, dumbass.” Adam grinned, then rolled his eyes at the hat. “Now get the fuck off me.”

  Steve deepened his voice. “So, what can Santa bring you this year, Adam?” Steve asked in his best Santa voice. “A pair of balls, perhaps? Ho fucking ho!”

  “Get away from me, weird-ass.” Adam pushed at him, but his grin really did say he was happy to have his brother back, really back.

  Chapter 13

  Katrina wandered around pushing the cart. She had two kids she was shopping for. Matthew and Sarah. Each was eight years old. She decided to start with the clothes as everyone else made a beeline for the toys. Blaze made sure she had enough money since he had to work tonight and couldn’t make it. She missed him. Sadness filled her, but she pushed it down. This wasn’t about her. It was about these kids, and she was going to make sure they had the best Christmas ever.

  Finally finishing with the clothes, she headed for the shoes. Picking out a cute pair of tennis shoes for Sarah, she then went to look at the boys’ shoes. A mother with her son was in the aisle and spotted her. The woman took her son’s hand and quickly left after seeing her eyes. The little boy waved at her. Katrina waved back.

  “Kat?” The name from her past came from a familiar voice. She turned, not sure she was ready to once again confront that past.

  “Jenny?” Katrina’s eyes opened wide. The woman standing behind her didn’t look like the Jenny who, when she last saw her, was naked and being raped while passed out. She was beautiful, with a youthful smile and her eyes were clear of drugs.

  “It’s me. Clean, sober, and out of the MC.” Jenny spread her arms out, then dropped them as her smile faded. “Because of you.”

  “Actually, because of the VC.” Katrina brushed her thanks off to who deserved it. “They’re the ones who really helped you.”

  “No.” Jenny shook her head. “It’s because of you. Have you seen any of the old gang?”

  Shaking her head, Katrina frowned. “You?”

  “Yeah, unfortunately.” She shuddered. “But I look so different now, they don’t even recognize me. I did see Marcy. Do you remember her?”

  Marcy was an older woman who spent her life in one MC or another. She ended up with them when Katrina had been young. When her mother wasn’t around, Marcy did her best to take care of the girls. “Of course I remember Marcy. How is she?”

  “Married a lawyer ten years her junior. And a looker too.” Jenny chuckled, but then sobered immediately as her eyes took on a haunted look. “She says they’re trying to form the Iron Drakes again.”

  A terrifying thought crossed her mind. “Who?”

  “Not sure, but it’s not Craig,” Jenny assured her. “I heard he’s doing well for himself. Trying to clean up his act.”

  “Good for him.” Katrina felt her stomach dip slightly at the mention of her brother. She really didn’t want to hear or speak about the Iron Drakes. Not tonight. Not ever. Hoping to change the subject, she smiled at Jenny. “It’s so good to see you, Jenny. Keep in touch. You know where I’m at.”

  Jenny gave her a hug. “Thank you again, Katrina. I’ll never forget what you did for me.”

  Katrina’s smile faded as Jenny turned and walked away with a backward wave. Suddenly, she felt so alone she needed to get out of this aisle and find everyone else. Quickly, she found a pair of shoes, tossed them in the cart, and then took off.

  Seeing Adam, Sid, and Steve having a lightsaber fight by the toys, her heart lightened. She rolled her eyes and smiled. If Sloan could see them now. Her gaze found everyone else who had teamed up with each other, and frowned. A loner she had been and a loner, it seemed, she would always be. Angry at her thoughts, she continued to the toys, her eyes downcast on the paper.

  Maybe if she tried harder, she would fit in better. She knew everyone liked her, but in her old world, it was always best to not be seen. Be invisible, her mother always told her. Don’t stand out. She had learned that lesson so well, she didn’t know how to reverse it. Turning down an aisle, she started looking at the toys. Glancing up, she frowned when she spotted one of the items on Matthew’s list on the top shelf. Walking that way, she reached up but was too short.

  Trying once again, she stretched but still couldn’t quite reach it. Suddenly, a large hand appeared over her head and grabbed the toy. A hard body pressed against her back. She knew that hand and body. Turning, she peered into Blaze’s smiling face. So happy to see him, she grabbed him so hard, they fell back against the cart.

  “Hey.” He chuckled, tossing the toy in with the other stuff.

  “You made it.” She sniffed, her tears threatening to break free.

  He lifted her face up to his. “What’s wrong?”

  “Just missed you, that’s all.” She shrugged, pressing her head back on his chest. Someone cleared their throat behind them. “Oh, I’m sorry.”

  “That’s okay, dear.” An older woman smiled as she passed. “If my Howard looked like him, I’d be blocking the aisle too.”

  “I heard that.” A man, who must have been Howard, walked up behind her, giving Katrina a wink. Then he smacked his wife on the butt. “And you look just as good as the beautiful girl he’s holding onto.”

  “You old flirt.” The woman chuckled and shook her head. “Come on, and get your grandson something before I leave you here for the night.”

  Bl
aze grinned as he watched the older couple disappear around the corner as Katrina giggled. “So, why aren’t you out there betting on the sword fight between Sid, Jared, Adam, and Steve?”

  Katrina looked away, then shrugged. “Wanted to make sure I got my kids here everything they asked for.”

  “Is someone treating you bad?” Blaze had picked up on her sadness; he read her so well.

  “No!” Katrina said a little too quickly, and his frown grew as his eyes darkened. “Really, Blaze. No one is treating me badly. What in the world made you ask me that?”

  He stared at her for a long minute. “I see you, Katrina. I watch you.”

  “Okay, good thing I know you since that’s a little creepy,” she teased, but he didn’t smile. She sighed. “I’m invisible, Blaze. I’ve been taught from a young age to be invisible, and now that I don’t need to do that… like I had to in the past, it’s still just a part of me.”

  “You’re not as invisible as you think, babe.” He touched her cheek. “Who were you talking to?”

  Her eyes widened in surprise. “Ah, who told you I was talking to someone?”

  “Jill.” He cocked an eyebrow at her.

  “It was Jenny… from the MC. She actually looks great. Her life has turned completely around because of the VC.” Her brows furrowed. “Seriously, I didn’t even see Jill. How did she know?”

  Blaze ignored her question. “Bishop called me and told me that if I didn’t get here and put a smile on your face, he would.” His tone hardened in anger. “After threats of what I would do to him if he even thought about it, he laughed and told me he was taking my shift so I could be here with you.”

  A trembling smile tipped her lips. “That was sweet.”

  “Yeah. For an asshole, that was pretty sweet.” Blaze snorted, then lifted her face toward his. “You are loved here by everyone. I know you’re working through things, and that’s fine, but to even think you are sad or upset tears me up. You don’t have to be invisible anymore, not that you have ever been invisible to me, Katrina. You are my light in a dark world. If you open yourself up, your light will be blinding to those around you.”