The present
“Do you ever come to the conclusion that our lives suck ass?” Mandy looked over at Olivia.
Olivia sighed, shifting her body a little on the roof where they lay side by side. “Twelve more years. Then we are done with this shit. It’s not so bad.”
“Bullshit.”
“I see the bright side. We weren’t trapped in Cain’s harem of horrors until he grew bored enough to kill us. You got lucky when the council came for that prick the night after you were turned. He was waiting for you to completely transform before he introduced himself to you. He had me for almost a week before we were rescued.”
The sadness in her friend’s voice prompted Mandy to reach out and place her hand on her arm. “I’m sorry. You’ve told me how bad it was.”
“The worst part was coming out of bloodlust and remembering everything he’d done to me. I didn’t even try to fight him off because once he drew blood, I lost my mind. My body actually wanted that sick son of a bitch to degrade me. The council taught us control and gave us blood without doing that, Mandy. We owe them everything. You just don’t realize it since you never woke up naked and covered in blood, then had to live with the things that were done to you while you were feeding.”
“I’m sorry,” Mandy repeated, averting her gaze but keeping her hand in place. “I just don’t like killing on command.”
“It’s better to be an assassin than some sick bastard’s sex toy.”
“Give me details on our target. That usually helps.”
Olivia sighed. “Those morals of yours aren’t your friend. The council doesn’t like to be questioned and disobedience means torture before death. Don’t forget that.”
“Just tell me something about our target that’s going to help me day sleep, okay?”
“He’s a Were who started eliminating the local nest one by one.”
“And?”
Olivia turned her head, peering at her. She arched one eyebrow.
“Oh, come on. Some of these pricks need taken out. I can only tolerate about one out of every ten Vamps I’ve ever met. The other nine, I wouldn’t feel an ounce of pity for if someone shoved them into the sun to fry.”
“Vampires have the right to live, Mandy. Duh. We’re Vampires. This hunter doesn’t see it that way. Four Vamps in the local nest have been killed in the past week.”
“If the local alpha has one of his enforcers targeting our kind, you know it’s got to be for a damn good reason. No alpha would want the council coming down on them otherwise. The pack would take out a rogue on their own.”
Olivia hesitated. “I agree, but you know policy. An investigation was done. The local pack is involved. It’s not our job to question orders. We just do what we’re told. That’s to kill this enforcer to send a message to the pack to stop killing our kind.”
“I have a brain, and I use it, Olivia. Maybe the investigator was lazy, or an asshole with something against Werewolves. I just can’t see them going after a nest without cause. Before we kill this enforcer, let me reach out to the alpha to talk to him.”
“No way! For fuck’s sake, Mandy. Don’t make this another nightmare mission. We’re here to take out the target. That’s it.”
“Hey, that human family was justified in killing that Vamp. He was tormenting them and keeping them prisoner! I would have taken him out too. It’s called self-defense. Their only crime was the prick hadn’t wiped their minds, so they went to the police when they escaped his lair, rambling about Vampires being real. Yeah, it was a mess to clean up, but the council ordering us to butcher those humans was wrong. And yes, that would have been murder. I’m willing to take the blame all over again.”
“Was it worth the month you spent locked up for allowing the humans to escape?”
“Absolutely. That family is still alive, and now they have a new set of memories that aren’t going to draw the council back to them. I removed the problem when I went into their heads, before I convinced that nice FBI agent they needed to be added to the witness relocation program.”
“You’d better hope the mind work you did stays in place and they never remember what was done to them by that sicko. They pop up on the council’s radar again, ranting about Vamps being real, and you’re going to lose your head. The council will have someone digging into their memories to find out what you did. That was a huge risk.”
“They were innocents.”
“It’s not our job to make those decisions. We do what the council orders, damn it! You’re like a sister to me. My partner. We have a dozen years to go and then we’re out of service. That nest in L.A. we picked out is perfect for us, and Master Michael already said we could join. Don’t fuck it up.”
“I’m not a monster, Olivia. I couldn’t live with myself if I killed someone without a good reason. What if this enforcer we’ve been sent to take out is protecting his pack from a predator? I couldn’t find out shit about this Master Marco who reported the killings. I asked some of the other assassins who’ve worked this area before. They told me they weren’t allowed to speak about him. What does that tell you?”
“He’s probably a pure dick protected by someone on the council. Not our problem. We kill the target and get out. I want to go home.”
Home. Mandy flinched. She wouldn’t exactly call the council house they lived in a friendly, safe place. Or warm. Ten assassins shared it. Olivia was the only one she trusted or liked. The other eight were nutjobs with major hard-ons for killing. Cold, brutal, and about as feeling as a stack of bricks. They loved it so much, all of them had stayed past their obligation time with the council. That proved they were nuts. She couldn’t wait to leave her job.
Her friend’s arm tensed under her palm and Mandy was jerked from her thoughts, seeing movement on a lower roof across the street. It was a Vampire male. He leapt from one building to the next, easily making the eight- to ten-foot distances. He paused and cocked his head, listening. He crouched down, watching the humans on the street below.
Mandy clenched her teeth. It was obvious he wasn’t just patrolling but instead looking for a meal. Bastard. No wonder someone’s been hunting and taking out your nest.
It wasn’t illegal for Vamps to feed from humans but the excited expression on his face may as well have been an admission that he enjoyed it a bit too much. There were smart ways to get blood and stupid ones. This guy seemed to randomly pick his donors. He ran the risk of finding someone immune to mind control. Not many humans had immunity, but he might have to kill if he ran across one.
She glanced over at Olivia, seeing her friend’s distaste in the way her lip curled up. She wasn’t impressed either with the bastard.
Movement drew her attention and the Vamp froze, his gaze trailing something on the street. He leapt to another building, watching someone below, until Mandy was able to figure out which human he’d chosen.
Fury filled her.
It was a kid. The girl couldn’t have been more than fourteen, maybe. The fact that her parents let her wander around alone at nine at night also made her mad. Didn’t humans know someone might hurt their child? She lifted up and backed away from the edge.
“Damn it, Mandy.” Olivia rolled and sat up. “Don’t do it.”
“Hey, he’s bait, right? Master Marco said he’d send out one of his nest to this location to see if the enforcer came after him. I’m just doing my job.”
“You’re going to kill that jerk if he touches that little girl.”
She didn’t bother to deny it. “Stay here. You can’t report what you don’t witness. Damn, is that Werewolf good—and fast. Too bad he killed another Vamp before we could get there. Such a shame.”
“Mandy! We’re supposed to take out the enforcer. Not set him up for another death!”
She was done listening. That girl would disappear as soon as she could be snatched. Vamps weren’t the most patient of hunters.
She walked to the back of the building and dropped twenty feet, landed on a balcony, and then another until she reached the alley below. She rounded the building, hurried down the alley, and stepped out onto the sidewalk. It was just in time to see the girl turn a corner ahead. They’d be having a talk about using common sense once she took care of the asshole. The kid was dumb to go into an alley, and someone needed to give her some survival tips. Mandy appointed herself for that task.
Some human jerk grinned as she walked down the sidewalk, blocking her way. “Hello, gorgeous. Want to go to my place?”
“Screw off.” She shoved his body to the side, not willing to spare a moment to deal with him.
He stumbled, tripped, and cursed as she kept going. She ignored him. The long alley the kid had gone into was dark, moving cars from a block down the only light source. Her vision adjusted to help her see better and she paused, listening.
“I’m going to have a lot of fun with you.” It was the Vamp, judging from his hissy tone. “I hope you put up a fight.”
Mandy rolled her eyes, moving forward silently. She hated the dramatic types. He didn’t just want to feed, but intended to terrorize and play with the kid first.
She saw them when she reached a set of dumpsters. The kid had been backed against the wall, trapped between the two large trash containers. The Vamp stood with his arms open to snatch her if she tried to rush past.
“Hey!”
He spun, staring at Mandy. His eyes glowed and his fangs were out. He sniffed but then grimaced. She didn’t blame him, since the trash stench in the alley was strong enough to almost taste. No way was she going to breathe through her nose with her hyper sense of smell.
“A kid? Really? What is wrong with you?” She let her own fangs slide out. “I hate perverts. You give us all a bad name. Why can’t you find some homeless person to help? Did that ever cross your mind? Give them some money so they can eat hot meals in exchange for a little blood. It’s not rocket science. Win for both of you. They get fed. You get fed. But no.” She stepped closer. “You went after a kid. Big mistake, asshole.”
“Who the fuck are you?”
“You can call me pissed.” She gave a little curtsy. “I’ll call you Dusty. I’m about to dust your ass. It was so nice to meet you.”
She lunged forward.
He tried to rush past her but she grabbed his jacket and threw him at a wall. He hit it hard, grunting in pain, then glanced around for an escape route. She had a runner on her hands.
“Admitting that girls over fourteen scare you is the first step to facing that you have a problem. Are you really going to run? You’ve got to outweigh me by forty or so pounds. I guess I should call you pussy instead, since you’re acting like one.” She snorted. “Does your master know you’re a coward who runs from grown women? I bet Marco would ash you himself if he saw your reaction to me. Pathetic.”
Rage twisted his features when he glared at her. “How dare you!”
She put her hands on her hips, slipping her fingers under the shirt that hung loose past her waist. Her fingers curled around the handle of the blade she kept sheathed tightly across her flat belly, and gripped it firmly.
She lifted her other hand and waved him to come at her. “I have super-low expectations from you but you could at least try to give it your best to kick my ass.”
He clawed his hands and stormed at her. She held still until he got three feet away. Then she reached out, grabbed him by the front of his jacket again and braced her arm, withdrawing the blade. The bastard went for her with his fangs.
She tucked her chin to protect her throat, slamming her forehead into the underside of his jaw. He roared in pain and she shoved him hard. He hit the wall again before bouncing off and landing on his stomach. Blood ran down his chin.
“Did you bite your tongue? Ouch.” She grabbed him by his hair before he could get up, stood against his spine, and swiftly moved to take his head.
He threw an elbow, catching her in the thigh. Pain shot up her leg but she didn’t let him go. He hit her again in the same spot with every ounce of strength he possessed. Agony came next but she didn’t release him. She pressed the blade against his throat.
He stopped slamming his elbow into her thigh, put his hands on the ground, and managed to flip onto his back in an attempt to keep his head. It tipped her off balance enough that it might have worked, but she twisted around, threw her leg over his body and just dropped onto his chest to straddle him. Her blade sliced until it hit his neck bone, and she began to saw. Blood sprayed her shirt. It soaked through to her stomach, breasts, and down the front of her pants. He bucked under her, trying to toss her off, but she squeezed her knees tightly along his sides until she managed to cut off his head.
He went still under her.
“Fuck!” She released his hair and got off as the crumbling body turned to ash. One glance down made her thankful she wore all black, but she could see the wet stains as well as feel them. “I’ve got bad guy grossness all over me. I think it’s in my underwear too.” Then she remembered she wasn’t alone. “Shit.” She looked between the dumpsters.
The girl’s head jerked up from what remained of the Vamp’s ashes and she gaped at Mandy.
Mandy lifted her shirt, sliding the razor-sharp blade back into the sheath. “Easy there, kid. You’re safe. We’re going to have a little heart to heart though about stupid decisions teenagers make. You should be at home watching something age inappropriate on the internet and texting your friends words your parents would ground you over. I’m going to have to wipe your memories, but be assured that you won’t be strolling around at night by your lonesome anymore or taking detours down alleys. That’s dangerous and dumb. I want you to grow up and hopefully live a long life. I’m going to implant some basic safety rules to follow while I’m in your head. It won’t hurt.”
The “kid” started sprouting fur, fangs, and claws.
Mandy’s mouth fell open. “Oh.”
The girl snarled at her.
“Stay.” Mandy opened her hands and backed off a bit. “Don’t attack me. I didn’t know you were a Werewolf.”
There was a soft thud as something dropped from the building behind her. She didn’t want to take her gaze off the Were girl. “I got this, Olivia. She’s just scared.”
She bit her lip and sighed. “Look, kid. You might think you’re a badass since that’s a Were mentality for the most part, but there’s a nest in this town. Vampires are bad. I’m probably the only nice one you’ll ever meet. I don’t want to bite or hurt you. I just want you to take some advice. Don’t leave home at night without pack mates. There’s safety in numbers. You can’t judge by looking at Vamps how strong we are, or how fast. That jerk I turned into ash was considered a baby in Vamp years. It was pathetic how easily I took him down, but the next Vamp who comes after you could be like me. I’m ten times more dangerous than that pile of ashes was. Do you understand? Never underestimate your enemy and stick with your pack. Two rules to never forget. Now go home.” She pointed toward the street. “I’m no threat.”
“I am.”
The deep male voice had her whirling around.
Astonishment slammed into her hard at the sight of the big man standing so close she could have reached out to touch him. He definitely wasn’t Olivia. His hair had grown longer but that face was one she had never forgotten.
He lunged at her, and the instinct to protect herself should have kicked in, but it didn’t. She remained frozen as he gripped her arms, jerked her off her feet, and the air whooshed from her lungs as he slammed her against the wall a few feet away from where she’d just killed the Vamp.
“What kind of mind game are you trying to play, bloodsucker? Did your fang buddy go after your entertainment for the night, so you killed him? That’s fucking cold. Are you trying to give Teenie a nice sense of security, just so you can attack her once she feels safe? Does that flip your on-switch? You are all sick in your heads.”
He leaned close, pinning her body aloft with his much bigger one, and let go of her arms. He fisted her hair with one hand to keep her head in place and drew back his other fist, revealing long, lethal-looking claws gleaming in the dim light.
Her voice finally worked, and she managed to get out one word. “Ice?”
He stilled, frowning.
She stared into his eyes, certain it was him. “You’re a Werewolf? I thought you were human.”
“What’s going on, Glacier?” The girl came closer, her shoes scuffing on the alley floor.
“Back up, Teenie.” Ice’s eyes searched Mandy’s. “How do you know me?”
“I’m Mandy. From Bucket.”
His hold on her hair loosened and the mask of anger faded from his face. He stared hard at her, taking in her features, before leaning in again. His leery expression seemed to imply he didn’t believe her.
“The new wave club in the late eighties. We worked together. Remember me? My hair was dyed black with blue stripes. I’m actually a blonde. Also, not wearing layers of makeup anymore. You’re a Werewolf?” She tried to smell him but the rancid stench of rotten food from the dumpsters had her instantly regretting that idea.
“You quit the club.”
“I got snatched by Vampires,” she corrected.
“Kill it!” the girl encouraged. “I lured it into the alley just like we planned.”
Bloodthirsty little mongrel. Mandy didn’t spare the girl a glance though since the threat stood in front of her, nearly crushing her against a wall with his bulky body. It sank in that the Werewolf kid had been the hunter’s bait to catch his prey. Only he’d caught her instead.
“I wasn’t going to hurt the girl, and that Vamp was not my buddy. I killed him because he was a twisted jerk who targeted a kid. Can we talk before you behead me? For old times’ sake?”
He growled low and didn’t ease his hold on her. If anything, he looked even more furious. “You bloodsuckers are done stealing Lycan children and killing them!”
She felt her body go lax, his words making horrible sense. That would piss off a pack enough to send their enforcers after Vampires. No wonder the local Vamps were being killed off. “That’s what the nest is doing?”
“As if you didn’t know.”
“I didn’t. I’m not a part of the nest. They’re murdering the pack kids? Why? Are they trying to make the pack flee the area?”
“Don’t act stupid. They’re forcing them to fight each other to the death for their bloodthirsty amusement.”
It turned her stomach, but she couldn’t say it shocked her. “You hate Vampires. I understand. Not a huge fan of them myself, but the council sent us here to take out whoever has been killing off the nest. I get why you’re doing it. I take it you’re stopping them?”
He didn’t answer.
“Well…good. Watch your ass, okay? The council will send more than just two assassins after you. We didn’t know about the Werewolf kids. The nest master is named Marco, and he must have a friend or two in high places. Otherwise, we’d have been ordered to take out the nest if that shit is really going down here. We’re supposed to police our own. The fact that we were sent after you instead, says it all.”
He kept his claws up, prepared to rip her head from her shoulders. She glanced at the deadly tips, then back to him. Rage still showed on his features. Any hope of him setting her free because they used to know each other died a quick death. Vamps had attacked his pack by going after their kids. It would mean he would perceive her as the enemy.
“You’re warning me?”
“Yes.”
“Why? What’s your angle?”
“None. If you feel you must kill me, I understand. You look good, Ice. Still the protector you always were. I’m glad that never changed.” She offered a small smile and then closed her eyes. “Make it fast, okay? And watch out for my partner. Her name is Olivia. She’s not bad, but the council doesn’t take no for an answer on following their orders. They will kill her if she doesn’t bring them your head. Don’t take it personal when she attacks.”
The strike didn’t come.
She waited long seconds. Nothing happened.
She opened her eyes to find him staring at her, claws still raised at the ready to punch through her throat.
“Fuck. You’re going to torture me? Really? What else do you want to know? There were originally twelve in the nest. You’ve taken out four and I got the fifth. That means seven more remain. The council just sent Olivia and I to deal with Marco’s problem. They train us to kill and take out threats. We’re indentured servants. It sucks, but it beats being in the nest that changed me. That master was a nightmare who collected pretty women to create his own harem of sex slaves.”
“You’re an assassin for the council?”
“I thought I made the clear. Yes.”
“How did you become an assassin for them?”
“They sometimes save newly turned Vamps from psycho masters slated for execution. The council figures we haven’t been tainted yet, and they cull us from the nest before destroying it. We’re often young enough to have family and friends still alive, too. They use them against us.” She shrugged. “I didn’t have many friends. You know what I think of my family. Fuck ’em if the council wants to take them out to teach me a lesson. I only regret that I’m not allowed to kill my father and brothers myself.
“I went along with doing the job because I’m a survivor. I didn’t want to die. Plus, they said I could take out bad Vamps. I was kind of angry about my life being taken from me. Payback sounded great.”
“What about your mom?”
“The council keeps me far from my family, but I keep tabs on her via the Internet. She’s living in a nursing home suffering the final stages of dementia. It would probably be a blessing at this point if they did end her life. Mom didn’t recognize me, talk, or even seem aware of what was going on around her the one time I got to visit her. I was tempted to end it for her but…she’s my mom. I couldn’t do it. Olivia covered for me so I could slip away to see her by putting my tracker in a human, then babysitting him. And don’t feel bad for the jerk who didn’t survive when she put the tracker back into my body. He was a serial rapist we caught in the act.”
“Tracker?”
“All council assassins have them. It’s how they know we’re where we’re supposed to be. An alarm goes off if they aren’t embedded in a living body, to prevent us from removing them. They go off after a minute if they’re not inside living flesh. Olivia figured out a way to transfer it fast into another person if we were both submerged in warm water. They also put them where it’s impossible for one of us to get out on our own. Olivia and I are a rare team because we trust each other. She did me a solid by letting me see my mom one final time.”
“What happens if the alarm goes off?”
“They call us on our phones, which also have trackers. Both better be in the same location. If we don’t answer with a damn good reason why the tracker went off, they assume we’ve gone rogue. Then we’re moved to the top of every council assassin’s hit list. They’ll contact all nests, packs, and even the VampLycans with a tracking kit. They usually say we’re radicals or something, who want to expose our kind to humans, to make certain we’re taken out on sight. Nobody runs from the council.”
“Tracking kit?” He backed off and let her drop to her feet. He kept her trapped against the wall with his body blocking any escape. The claws remained out too, his hand still raised to strike.
“Photos of us, body description, a piece of our clothes for scent, and blood samples. It makes it easier for us to be tracked down and found, even if we’re able to change our appearance enough to fool someone on sight.”
“Why would they involve others?”
“It gets the results the council wants. Also assures no one will give us sanctuary. Assassins who run don’t survive long. They put a large bounty on our heads too, just in case someone doesn’t trust what they’re told. Double measures.”
He took another step back but stayed in front of her. “No one would give a Vamp sanctuary anyway except a nest.”
“Wrong. It’s rare, but some less-than-stellar pack alphas will protect rogue Vamps for our ability to mind-manage humans. I’ve had to go after a few hiding with packs before.”
“Why aren’t you trying to flee, Mandy?”
She stared up at him. He seemed taller than she remembered, with only a few feet of space between them. She wasn’t wearing four-inch heels anymore though, either. “I’m dead anyway if I don’t kill you. I already used my one fuckup when I helped a human family escape council judgment. There’s never a second one given. And I won’t fight you. You’re protecting kids. That’s noble.
“It’s okay, Ice. They’d torture me first, probably drawing it out for weeks just to make an example out of me for the others. You’re doing me a solid this way, as long as you make it fast. My life has sucked since that night I was kidnapped from the club. Pun intended.” She forced a tight smile. “But be careful. Olivia is good. She could show up at any time. Like I said…watch your back.” She closed her eyes again. “Just do it.”
She tensed when his fingers slid into her hair, holding her head in place. It was going to hurt but she trusted him to be a quick, efficient killer.
She’d always wondered what happened to Ice. Now she knew. He wasn’t human after all, but instead an enforcer for a pack. It made sense to her now, looking back. There was always something about him that screamed alpha male.
Pain slammed into her face instead of her throat. It was the last thing she remembered.
Teenie growled. “Why’d you just knock her out, Glacier?”
He ignored the young-looking Lycan and lifted the Vamp, tossing her over his shoulder. Mandy didn’t weigh shit. He ran his hands over her body to locate her phone and pocketed it. “Go home and tell Kevin there’s one less threat.”
“You’re supposed to kill all the Vamps. Just because you know that one makes no exception.”
“I don’t take orders from your alpha or you. I want to talk to this one more.”
Excitement lit her features. “You’re going to find out where they hid the nest by torturing the info out of her? I want to watch.”
“I don’t need you around anymore.” He turned and strode down the alley to almost the end, where he stopped at an abandoned repair shop. He’d picked this location for a reason.
Teenie followed him but he spun on her when he unlocked the door to shoot her a glare. “Goodbye.”
“Kevin would want me to stay with you until dawn. More Vamps could be out hunting.”
He snorted. “You might look like a child, with your breasts wrapped tight to your chest and your size, but we both know you’re not helpless. Your car is on the street fifty feet down. Go.”
“I want to watch you torture that bitch.”
He didn’t have any plans to make Mandy suffer, but he refused to admit that to the pack enforcer. “I’m going in alone, without you. I’ll stay here until you make it to your car. Go.”
“Goddamn it, Glacier! We’re a team.”
“I’m only working with you because the nest has been kidnapping your children. There’s one less, just the way we planned. Leave now so I can watch you get to your car.”
“No. I’m staying.”
“You’re not. Last chance, or I’m leaving you out here alone.” He watched her, but Teenie didn’t budge. He sighed. “I’ll see you tomorrow night.”
He stepped inside, closed and bolted the door. He adjusted Mandy in his arms and laid her on one of the shop counters, thinking about what she’d said to him. The weapons strapped to her body were easy to locate and remove. Not only did she hide a seven-inch blade across the front of her lower stomach, she also had a gun strapped to her rib cage.
He placed both on the floor before rolling her over, and then shoved her shirt up to expose her skin. She’d said the tracker was embedded somewhere difficult for a person to reach. He flexed his fingers and began searching at the back of her head and then downward.
She had very soft skin, and he couldn’t find any signs of scars or bumps. Vamps healed better than he could though. He gave up once he explored her from the back of her neck down to her spine.
Next, he slid his hand under her hips, unfastening her pants. It was easy to tug them down to expose the lacy black panties. The fact that she had a nice ass made him growl. He gripped her cheeks with both hands, squeezing. He felt a slight imperfection under the skin in a meaty part near the center of one rounded globe, and released her, reaching for the dagger he kept in his boot.
“Fuck.” He hated to cut into her, but the tracker needed to go.
He stared at her creamy white skin and knew she might wake soon. It would be best if he did this while she remained out. He hesitated only a second longer before slicing the skin where he’d felt something. The scent and sight of her blood distracted him but he found the tracker. It was the size of a horse pill, smaller than he suspected it would be. He carefully got it out. The device had a tiny red light in the center; it began to blink as he studied the gadget.
He left her there, marched to the door, and unlocked it.
Mandy’s phone in his pocket vibrated just as he stepped outside. Apparently, she hadn’t been lying to him.
Teenie and her car were gone. He wiped the blood off the tracker onto his clothing, returned to where the ashed Vamp remains were spread across the alley, and dropped the tracker in the middle of them. The phone he also wiped down before throwing it under the dumpster. It stopped vibrating but then started up again.
He glanced around, his senses on alert, but didn’t get the sensation of being watched. Only humans seemed to be walking in the streets at each end of the alley. He hurried back inside the shop and locked the door. Mandy remained unconscious on the counter, her ass exposed.
He sheathed the dagger in his boot and pulled up her pants before hoisting her over his shoulder again. The room he had been sleeping in was above the shop but he carried her down a set of stairs into the basement storage instead. The only window down there had been bricked off at some point in the past, probably to prevent robbers from getting inside. He flipped on the harsh lights and strode over to another counter. This one had a metallic top and legs, covered in old computers that had been abandoned. He used his arm to clear it. They crashed to the floor and he laid her out on her back.
Memories filled his head from the past. Mandy had been human then…and a temptation. He’d resisted fucking her, despite wanting to. She’d made him feel a longing to get to know her a lot better but that couldn’t happen. Not in his line of work. He bedded humans often but she’d seemed too fragile with her smaller size, and she hadn’t been some club honey.
Those were his type. Easy sex, no strings, and an absolute lack of emotional ties. Bed them once and never think of them twice. That wouldn’t have been the case with Mandy. He’d actually wanted to take her to his place and keep her there, where she’d be safe. She’d tugged at his protective instincts. The thought of climbing into bed with her each morning when he got off work had often crossed his mind. She’d just been so goddamn sweet and cuddly.
He growled low. Now she’s a fucking Vamp.
He ran up to his current sleeping room and returned to the basement quickly to restrain her to the sturdy table. He always carried chains and cuffs in case he needed to torture information from his targets. He thought about gagging her but the damage to her face already made him wince. He’d tagged her hard with his fist to knock her out. A bruise had already formed but it would fade completely once she’d fed. He dragged a rusted chair over and took a seat to watch her.
His phone beeped in his pocket and he withdrew it, glancing at the screen. Surprise hit when he saw the caller, and he answered. “Hey, Kelzeb.”
“Do you want to explain what part of ‘play nice with the Lycans’ you don’t understand? I just got a call from the alpha that you refused to allow his enforcer to be a part of information gathering. I hung up on him bitching at me, but if I have to hear that shit, so do you. Two words for you: joint effort.”
“I ran into a snag.”
“What kind?”
He sighed and rolled his shoulders. “The Vamp Council sent two assassins to come after me for taking out this nest.”
“They have assassins?”
“Guess so.”
“Since when?”
“No fucking clue.”
Kelzeb chuckled. “You grabbed one of the assholes to gain intel? Smart. I’m glad you cut the pack out of this one. We’re the ones who deal with their Vamp issues when it’s too much for them to handle. Give me updates and I’ll share them with Aveoth. He can let the VampLycan clans know what you learn.”
“I know this Vamp,” Glacier admitted. “Remember that job back in the late eighties? The master’s name was Byron? You sent me there after a lot of missing persons reports were filed and we tracked the disappearances to a dance club. He’s the one who was trying to start up a cult of human followers and kept them under his mind control.”
“It’s one of Byron’s Vamps? I thought you took them all out.”
“I did. She used to be human, worked at the club I was using as a cover, and she mentioned being turned by a master who wanted women for sex slaves. That wasn’t Byron. He only went after human men, and all his Vamps were also male.”
“The assassin is a woman?”
“A tiny one. It’s fucking brilliant. Talk about underestimating an opponent and using it as an advantage. She looks about as threatening as a cute fanged garden gnome.”
Kelzeb laughed.
“It’s not funny, man. I liked her. I still do. And I didn’t kill the Vampire who went after Teenie. The Vamp I’m watching sleep right now took his ass out before I could. Then she warned me about the council and offered up her damn throat without a fight. I just couldn’t kill her. She’s not coldblooded.”
Kelzeb’s tone wasn’t amused anymore. “Bullshit. Did she recognize you?”
“Yes.”
“She’s going to try to fuck with your head and then kill you once you let your guard down. It’s a game to Vamps.”
“That’s why she’s presently chained down.”
“Get information and eliminate her.”
“Easier said than done, Kelzeb. She was a fucking sweetheart as a human. What if some part of her still exists? It sure seemed that way to me.”
“She works for the council. Was she sent to take out the nest killing the pups?”
“No. They sent her after me.”
“That says it all. The council is fucked up. They would have destroyed what humanity she had left after the turn. She kills for them, Glacier. For all you know, they sacrificed the Vamp she killed to gain your trust. They’re probably wondering why we got involved and how many of our clan are there. Don’t fall for that bullshit. I actually like you and want you to keep your head.”
“I hear you.”
“Should I send one of your brothers as backup?”
“No. I’ve got this.”
“The council will probably send more assholes after you.”
“I look forward to it. She’s waking up. I need to go.”
“Ask her questions and get rid of her, Glacier. That’s an order.”
He disconnected the call and slid his phone back into his pocket.
Mandy remained still, her chest rising and falling rhythmically. It was possible she’d be out until the next night after she day slept. He just hadn’t wanted to listen to Kelzeb anymore. He knew his job but currently didn’t like it much. The idea of killing Mandy twisted up his guts.