Nicole (The Mate Series) Book #1

by Teresa Gabelman

  “Nicole.”

  Nicole heard the warning in Damon’s tone, but ignored it. Seriously, were they buying this crap? She had a dead girl who was placed by her agency and here they were talking about demons. What-the-hell-ever.

  “I guess this ‘demon’ had fangs too.” She snorted, then frowned when Pike’s eyes narrowed in on her.

  “I speak the truth.” He growled as he leaned over Vanessa toward her. “And this has nothing to do with our blood. Rosenstein never took a drop of my blood or anyone else’s.”

  With that knowledge, belief rushed through her, and wasn’t that a punch in the gut, yet a small part of her wanted to not believe. A quick flash of her church upbringing slammed into her memory, making her shiver. “Then what did he want from you?”

  “Souls.” Pike didn’t take his eyes off her, but the blackness was diminishing and what looked like pity replaced what had been a narrowed-eyed glare. “But not mine.”

  “That’s enough.” Damon stepped forward, but Nicole stopped him from blocking her vision of Pike.

  “Whose?” she asked.

  Pike’s eyes lowered to the top of Vanessa’s head, then back up to hers. “Anyone who has one, I guess.”

  “But how can a vampire take someone’s soul?” Nicole frowned confused.

  “Not a vampire.” Pike’s eyes shifted away from her when Damon growled low in his throat.

  “Nicole, take Vanessa to the compound for some food,” Sloan instructed after hanging up his phone.

  “But—” Nicole attempted, but Sloan wasn’t in the mood.

  “Don’t make me say it again, Nicole.” Sloan’s eyes darkened as he glared at her. “Take Vanessa to the compound.”

  “No.” Nicole stood, then pushed Damon’s hand away before he could grasp her elbow. “I have every right to be here and know what the hell is going on. I’m not going anywhere.”

  Pike had already escorted Vanessa out the door and stood waiting for Nicole to exit, but she wasn’t having it.

  “Damon.” Sloan nodded toward the door.

  “This is bullshit.” Nicole once again pulled away from Damon as he tried to grab her arm and gently guide her outside of the room. “I’m training to be a Warrior, but that obviously doesn’t mean shit, does it? This is my case!”

  Damon finally managed to get her out in the hallway where he took her away from Pike, Vanessa, Ben, and Mitch, who had all listened and stood outside of the conference room. Yeah, well, good for them, but she wasn’t going to be pushed aside.

  “Nicole!” Damon hissed down at her. “Calm down.”

  Slapping his hands away, she looked up at Damon knowing that hurt as well as confusion radiated from her eyes. “Don’t tell me to calm down. This is wrong, and I’m sick and tired of working my ass off for the VC Council and to be treated like this.”

  “Dammit, if this is what we are thinking, believe me when I tell you that no one is going to want to be involved.” Damon stared down at her, his words a whispered hiss. “Do you hear me? Let us question Pike and then….”

  Some of the fight went out of her as she realized what her real role would always be with the Warriors, and a mate to one of them. “You’ll decide if it’s safe enough for me to know.” She took a step back from him. “All this time you were behind me being a Warrior, yet that isn’t really the truth, is it?”

  His hesitation was all the answer she needed, and that was fine. Nicole had been doing her job before Damon walked into her life, and she sure as hell could do it now. Giving him one last glare, she stepped around him and walked away without saying a word.

  “Nicole,” Damon called, but she kept going until she reached Vanessa.

  “I’ll get Vanessa settled and then head back to Rosenstein’s place,” Nicole said to Mitch as she passed. “Have they started looking for Carly yet?”

  “In about an hour,” Mitch replied, then started walking with them as Ben followed.

  “Just make sure they know I’m coming,” she replied without stopping as she and Vanessa headed for the door. “Meet us there, Ben.”

  She turned to make sure Ben heard her, but her eyes connected with Damon, who still stood outside the doorway to the conference room. Quickly looking away, she focused on Ben who nodded.

  Once outside, she glanced at her car and then her eyes fell on Damon’s motorcycle. Without a second thought, she headed that way. She had learned how to ride one after practically begging to be taught. Yeah, well those days of begging were over. She was sick and tired of being treated like she couldn’t handle situations and needed to have the Warriors make her decisions for her.

  “Hope you like to ride,” Nicole said as they made their way toward the bike.

  “Hope you know how to ride,” Vanessa replied, gaining a smile from Nicole. “But if I can survive this past month or so, I’m sure I’ll survive this.”

  Nicole chuckled, liking her attitude. Once they were on the bike and it was started, Nicole took off, making sure she went past the entrance to the agency, revving the bike and knowing for a fact Damon’s flawless hearing would pick up the sound, and she couldn’t care less if he did. She was too pissed off to care one way or another.

  Chapter 7

  After making sure Vanessa ate enough, with Sid looming over them, Nicole and Vanessa then took off from the compound to head back and help look for Carly’s and Mrs. Rosenstein’s bodies. While Sid questioned where they were going, she lied, and also texted Lana to meet them there. She didn’t want any interference from the Warriors at this point. While she’d had Ben call them for backup, that was before they’d pissed her off. She wanted Vanessa just in case she had more questions that only she could answer. Plus, the poor girl seemed lost with nowhere to go. Nicole understood that feeling a little too well.

  She decided to leave Damon’s bike and take one of the cars. Once they were on the road, Nicole glanced at Vanessa, who sat silently watching the scenery out the window. “You doing okay?”

  Vanessa shrugged, then sighed. “Yeah. Just trying to figure out my next step.”

  “So let me hear from your mouth what happened since we don’t have any overbearing men around.” Nicole didn’t hide the fact she was irritated.

  “Don’t really have much to add. My purpose was to feed them. I tried to escape, but soon I stopped doing that as I came to care for Pike and the women. No one deserves to be treated like that, and I knew if I left, they would die, or someone would take my place. Rosenstein never really left us alone, but he was usually high, so I was able to talk to them quietly without much notice.”

  “Was he getting high on their blood?” Nicole had heard what Pike had said, but she wanted to hear it from Vanessa.

  “No, Pike was telling the truth. While I was there, I never once saw Rosenstein take their blood.” Vanessa glanced her way. “And I would hear him arguing with someone who came almost weekly. This man I never saw, but he spoke Latin.”

  “Latin?” Nicole frowned.

  Vanessa nodded. “But it wasn’t really that. Rosenstein was afraid of this man. You could hear it in his voice and, usually after he left, Rosenstein was so high he could hardly function. I honestly could have escaped, but Pike was afraid Rosenstein would kill me if I tried. I almost freed Pike a few times, but something always seemed to happen to stop me.”

  Pulling into the property, Nicole spotted Lana, who was already there talking to one of the police officers. Even though Lana didn’t do police work, instead working for the Warriors, she still used her status to gain information. Almost all the local police departments knew her or of her. Glancing over at Vanessa, who was staring at the house with a haunted look, Nicole frowned. “Did you ever hear Rosenstein talk about a demon?”

  For a long time, Nicole didn’t think Vanessa was going to answer as she remained staring at the house. Then she looked her way. Her eyes were clear, yet something dark shadowed them. “I never heard the word demon, but I felt the evil every single time it was in the house.”

/>   “It?” Nicole knew exactly what she was talking about, but still had to ask.

  “The one who spoke Latin.” Vanessa finally looked away and stepped out of the car.

  Waves of chills shook her body as Nicole cursed and got out of the car. Before she could question Vanessa any further, Lana spotted them and headed their way. Nicole had already told Lana what had happened, and introduced the two women. “Vanessa, this is Sid’s mate, Lana.”

  “It’s nice to meet you, Vanessa.” Lana took the woman’s hand. “I’m so sorry for what you’ve been through.”

  Vanessa smiled with a nod, but she didn’t reply. Instead, she watched as police and dog handlers walked the property. “He wouldn’t have put them this close to the house.”

  That caught both Lana and Nicole’s attention. “Why don’t you lead the way where you think he may have, and we’ll follow you?” Lana said, taking over and stepping into the cop role.

  As they walked further from the house, looking for any type of clue of what happened to Carly and Mrs. Rosenstein, Nicole wondered more about Vanessa. “Vanessa, how old are you?”

  “Twenty-four,” she responded without any more elaboration.

  Lana stumbled, coming to a stop. Her eyes closed and Nicole knew that look well. “This girl isn’t the only one here.” Lana’s voice had a distance to it.

  Opening her eyes, Lana’s head snapped to the right, and she started that way. The women walked through weeds, trees, and high grass, coming to a stop. The ground had clearly been disturbed, and Nicole was certain this was where Carly lay underneath the cold, unforgiving ground.

  “I’ll go tell them we found her,” Lana said, but didn’t move. Instead, she looked up at Nicole and then Vanessa. “She is so lost and confused.”

  Nicole watched as Lana disappeared the way they came. Then her eyes fell to the crude grave of a young girl who hadn’t even had a chance. Her eyes watered, but she swiped the wetness away.

  “How did she find her?” Vanessa whispered, also staring down at the unmarked grave.

  “Lana and her sister can communicate with the dead,” Nicole replied, as if that was the most normal thing in the world. In her world it was. Vanessa’s hand reached out, touching Nicole’s arm.

  “I’m sorry for your loss,” Vanessa whispered, offering comfort that Nicole appreciated.

  Nicole just nodded, because what could she say other than she was sorry too. Most wouldn’t look at Carly’s death as her failure, but she did. If she hadn’t quit her job, maybe she would have caught this situation before this precious girl lost her life. A small voice whispered inside her head, You can’t save them all. It pissed her off. She would damn sure die trying.

  A rainy mist fell as men with shovels began digging in the area Lana said Carly lay. It was silent, as earth was moved. Nicole’s eyes fell on something white sticking out of the dirt. She bent, then pointed, making sure the men knew they were close. “Please be careful,” Nicole warned them, her voice cracking as a dirty tennis shoe was exposed.

  The men laid their shovels down and used their hands, which Nicole could have hugged each and every one of them for. It wasn’t long before Carly lay exposed to the light rain that still fell. Deep anger hit Nicole, almost bringing her to her knees, but she remained upright.

  The coroner began taking evidence as the men picked up their shovels and moved away. Lana stood beside Nicole and reached out, taking her hand in a squeeze before letting go. It was Lana’s way of saying without words that she was there for her.

  Walking closer, Nicole stared into the mud-smeared face of an innocent girl who would never grow up and know love, life, or a true family. Taking her cold hand, Nicole knelt, not caring if she was contaminating the scene. She knew who had killed this girl. Unfortunately, she knew more than she wanted to know. Lana actually stopped a cop who was heading her way to pull her from Carly. Yeah, good luck with that. Nicole wasn’t going anywhere.

  Not knowing how long she knelt beside Carly’s cold, lifeless body, Nicole felt him. She always sensed him when she needed him. Her mate. Her rock. And she was comforted. It didn’t matter that hours before she wanted to throat punch him. She would resume her inner bitch tomorrow. But for right now, she needed Damon more than she needed anything.

  Slowly, she took her eyes off Carly, meeting the darkened eyes of Damon. Red tears mixed with the rain, but she didn’t care. She would cry for Carly, mourn for her as she had done for others who had no one to miss them. If this wasn’t clarity of where she really belonged in this world—vampire or human—then nothing was.

  “Who’s responsible for the girl?” A man’s voice broke her stare from Damon.

  “What?” Nicole glanced toward the medical examiner with a frown.

  “The body?” He pointed down at Carly as if she didn’t matter. Okay, maybe that wasn’t fair, but in Nicole’s state of mind, it pissed her off.

  “Her name is Carly,” Nicole hissed, knowing her eyes were turning black. She could feel her fangs growing slightly.

  “Yeah, well, I need to know who’s responsible and where to take her for burying.”

  “The state is responsible.” Mitch’s voice saved the man from being tackled by Nicole, who was coming up from her knees.

  “Take Carly to Fredrick’s Funeral Home,” Damon’s voice broke in before Nicole could speak. Their eyes met once again. “We are responsible for Carly.”

  “Sure, but she needs to go to my office first for—”

  “Actually, she doesn’t,” Lana spoke up when Damon just growled at the squirrely looking man. “She is under Vampire Council jurisdiction.”

  “Lana, you’ve left the force and have no say on this. She’s human. This is definitely a crime scene, and it’s protocol to do an autopsy.” The medical examiner pushed his glasses back up his nose, which kept sliding down from the wetness of the rain.

  “Dale, don’t piss me off. I may not be on the force anymore, but I do have authority under the Vampire Council. And she was killed by a vampire, and we both know what that means.” Lana cocked an eyebrow. “If need be, I can call in Sloan Murphy, but I think you would rather me not do that.”

  The man looked between Lana and Damon, then sighed. “Fine.” He wrote something on his clipboard and then held it out to Damon. “But I need you to sign off. It’s not going to be my ass.”

  Damon snatched the board away and signed, then shoved it back a little harder than necessary, sending the man stumbling back a few steps.

  “Dale, we got another body,” someone called, sending the medical examiner running.

  “I’ll go call Fredrick’s,” Lana said, then turned and walked away.

  Nicole watched her go, then noticed Vanessa and Pike followed beside Lana, leaving her alone with Damon. Letting go of Carly’s cold, lifeless hand, she stood. Damon took off his jacket and gently laid it over Carly before straightening.

  “Thank you,” she whispered, walking into his arms as more tears fell. She hated to show weakness. Nicole definitely wasn’t a crier, but this was just too much.

  Damon didn’t say anything, but he held her tightly. They stood there, not leaving Carly alone while they waited for the funeral home to come and pick her up. No one approached as work went on around them.

  “Will this ever stop?” Anger blossomed in Nicole’s chest. She tried her best to remain calm, yet her mind and heart screamed at the unfairness of it all.

  “We are trying,” Damon answered against the top of her head, holding her tighter against him.

  And she knew they were, but it was if the world had gone crazy. No care of life, only greed and hate. “Can we just leave? Go somewhere that no one knows us and live? Just live.”

  Damon pulled away from Nicole and stared down at her. “If that is what I thought you really wanted, I would pick you up right now and carry you away, but it’s not. We both know it.”

  Looking up into his eyes she gave him a small smile. “You know me well.”

  “Better than I
know myself.” Damon kissed her forehead. “You will never have to deal with anything alone Nicole. I’m here.”

  Mitch walked up, his eyes on Carly before shooting them both a look. “Fredrick’s is here,” Mitch said as Damon reached down to pick up his jacket. “This is a good thing you’re doing.” Mitch stuck his hand out to Damon, who took it in a shake.

  Refusing to leave, Nicole stayed as they took care of Carly, and followed as they put her into the back of the unmarked van. She continued to stand and stare as they closed the door and Damon talked to the director.

  “She is to have the best of everything.” When Damon’s voice carried toward her, her eyes welled up again at his kindness, something a lot of people didn’t know about the big Warrior. But she knew, and loved him even more for it.

  As the van pulled away, Damon took her hand in his. “Let’s go home.”

  Nicole finally blinked. “I can’t.” She shook her head. “I have to do a report, and Vanessa doesn’t have anywhere to stay.”

  “Vanessa and Pike are taken care of.” Damon gently pulled her along. “And the report can wait.”

  “But—”

  “Where’s my motorcycle?” Damon cut her off as he headed toward her car.

  Okay, that caught her off guard. “Ah, I, ah….”

  “Thought I’d forget about that stunt, did you?” Damon gave her a half grin with narrowed eyes, wrapping his arms around her.

  “Did you hear me rev it?” Nicole grinned for the first time since this all started.

  “Yes, I did. And when will you learn there are consequences for your actions, Nicole?” Damon opened the car door for her, but she only put one foot in. “We’ll talk when we get home.”