A Conquest Like No Other (5 page)

Chapter
Six

“How are we doing today, Emily?”
Nikki asked her last patient for the day.

“Good, the doctors say I can go
home tomorrow,” the excited girl replied, clapping her hands. This was a
different girl from the one Nikki had met only a few days ago. Eyes that had
been dull and grey, now shone bright blue. Gone was the lackluster,
frail-looking Emily. Today she was behaving like a normal six-year-old.

“That’s wonderful news. My
favorite patient is escaping just in time for me to enjoy a couple of days off.
Hopefully it’s for good this time.”

“Have you got anything specific
planned?” Charli asked from beside the bed.

“Just hanging out with my
friends,” she replied, thinking about her promise to visit Gabby and maybe meet
Jewel.

“I see,” Charli said with a
knowing smile.

Even though Nikki made a point of
only sharing a limited amount of information about herself with her patients,
Charli came across as someone who knew more about Nikki’s life than she had
shared. Each time she thought about the conversations she and Charli had over
the course of Emily’s stay, Nikki expected a feeling of unease to overcome her.
That maybe Charli was more than what she seemed. It never did, which left her
believing that even her mind was rolling its figurative eyes at her overactive
imagination. Her mind was about to be proven wrong.

“Well, ladies, it was lovely to
have met you, but this woman needs to get home,” Nikki said as she finished
writing on Emily’s chart. “Now don’t take this the wrong way, but I hope I
don’t see either of you here again anytime soon. I will keep my fingers crossed
that the medication will do its job and minimize the seizures so they won’t
result in a hospital visit after each one.”

Again, Charli’s eyes glazed over.
Nikki knew, no matter how desperately she wanted out of the hospital, she
couldn’t leave Charli until she was conscious of her surroundings once again.
It wasn’t long before she noticed the change in Charli’s demeanor again, only
this time, panic resided in her eyes.

“Nikki, you can’t go home,” the
woman said, standing from her chair.

“What? What do you mean, Charli?”

“There’s a man at your house. Not
the one who was there last week. This one is evil,” came Charli’s cryptic
response.

 
Putting down Emily’s chart, Nikki attempted to
find the right words to share her concerns with the woman. “Charli, I think you
might be still suffering from epilepsy. Nothing as bad as Emily’s, but I think
you might need to see a doctor yourself.”

“No, Nikki, you don’t understand.
I never had epilepsy, and neither does Emily.”

“Excuse me?” she asked, shocked
at that revelation. Her gaze passed between Emily, who had gone back to
watching television, and Charli. The woman was currently staring intently at
her hands.

“Look, could you please shut the
door, and I’ll explain it all to you,” Charli requested, her violet gaze now
turned back onto Nikki. Her eyes begged for understanding. “But I’m trusting
you with this information. If the word gets out about us, both Emily and I will
be in danger from our father.”

“Hold on a minute,
your father
, but I thought Emily was
your daughter,” Nikki challenged.

For the first time since meeting
them both she examined their features more closely. Emily’s blonde, curly hair
seemed to oppose Charli’s black, straight strands. They both had large eyes but
of differing color. Their differences were obvious, though not enough to
challenge either Nikki’s previous belief or Charli’s latest claims. Nikki
conceded that both her curiosity and her fondness of both Charli and Emily had
her desiring more information.

“Please, just shut the door, and
I’ll explain.”

She took a quick glance at her
watch before saying, “Look, I have to go and do hand over now, but I promise
you I’ll return before heading home.”

“Please, remember what I said
about the danger you would be placing us in if you tell anyone. And if you
choose not to return, I’ll understand, but please remember what I said about
the man in your house before you think about going home. He means you harm.”

Less than twenty minutes later,
Nikki returned to Emily’s tiny hospital room. The size felt almost oppressive
as she entered. Emily had been placed in a single room to protect the other
children from the sight of her seizures. Now it would seem that it would also
be protecting Emily and Charli’s secret. Something told her that what was about
to be shared with her was larger than the tiny room would be able to handle.

Shutting the door, she moved to
sit in the other chair provided and asked, “So what’s going on, Charli?”

“I’m psychic. A clairvoyant, if
you were.”

“What’s that got to do with your
father or the danger he poses?” Nikki asked, not surprised that such people
really existed.

“My grandmother was also psychic.
But it seemed to have skipped my father. When I started showing signs of
inheriting the family gift, my mother moved us away from him. It turned out
that he wanted to use my gift to help his boss, a local bookie and cousin to a
mafia boss. He planned on using my ability to alter the odds according to what
I saw or felt,” Charli explained. “Anyway, when Mum died, I was placed in his
care, and immediately he forced me to use my gift. He was a very abusive man. I
was just lucky to have a teacher who believed in my ability with computers. He
helped me get a scholarship to college on the other side of the country, away
from my father. Unfortunately, by that time he met another woman and it wasn’t
long before he knocked her up. When Emily started to show the same signs as me,
my father became interested in her. Emily’s mother fought to protect her but
ended up losing her life. I had known something bad was about to happen, but I
was snowed in at the airport. Anyway to make a long story short, my father was
found guilty of Emily’s mother’s murder, and I was granted full custody of
Emily. We have been moving around ever since, trying to stay one step ahead of
my father’s associates.”

“What does this all have to do
with your seizures?”

“The best answer I have come up
with is that the seizures I experienced as a child and Emily is now suffering
are the brain’s way of dealing with the excess of information that we are
bombarded with. As a nurse you would know that our brains continue to develop
up until adulthood. I think our abilities overload our immature brains, causing
them to shut down,” Charli explained. “By twenty-one, my seizures had stopped
completely. But even before that, as my sense of knowing, seeing and feeling
strengthened, my bouts of seizures decreased accordingly.”

“What do you mean
sense of knowing, seeing and feeling
?”
Nikki asked, having forgotten about what prompted this conversation. She was
completely intrigued by what she was hearing.

“Psychics could have any number
of abilities. I’m nothing like those circus acts that take your money after
reading your body language. Sometimes I just know things without being able to
explain how I came by that knowledge. Other times I see things, and usually the
feelings accompany what I’m seeing. I don’t know how it works, but the best way
I could explain it is when you mentioned you were heading home, I got a feeling
of dread. That feeling had me exploring the situation further,” Charli said, looking
down at her hands. “I have managed to strengthen my ability over the years,
allowing me to have some form of control over it. Once I got the bad feeling
about you going home, I opened my mind up, pushing it for a vision. A man came
to me, one who I feared. Evil seemed to surround him. I couldn’t make out too
much about him, except he has a scar down the right-hand side of his face. And
he’s pissed at you for some reason.”

Not once during Charli’s story
had Nikki considered that the woman was lying. She had always kept her mind
open to the possibility that the existence of extrasensory perception was more
than a myth. And after seeing what she’d seen the last couple of months, with
Devil and Judge being living proof that other beings walked the earth, beside
humans, she welcomed the knowledge with open arms.

Then with the mention of the
scar, further, more unwelcome knowledge was gifted. Nikki immediately knew who
this man was, though it was impossible because he was meant to still be in
jail. While Paul had been waiting in jail to stand trial for what he had done
to her, he pissed the wrong person off and ended up getting a warning at the
pointy end of a prison-sculpted knife. It would also explain the man she had
seen the day before at the hospital reception desk. She had only seen his
profile from the left, effectively cutting her view off of his scar.

“You know who he is,” Charli
stated, rather than questioned.

“He’s my ex, but he’s meant to be
in jail still.”

“He attacked you. That’s why he
was incarcerated,” Charli said after a moment’s silence. Again it was a
statement.

“Yes.”

“Then I don’t think I need to
tell you to steer clear of him. Go to that other guy. The one who’s not human.”

“How do you know that?” Though
she had yet to confirm exactly what Viper was, she had her suspicions. In
truth, she’d been questioning why a vampire, mountain lion shifter, and warlock
would encourage Viper to accompany them while they saved Gabby and herself, if
he were only human. He had brought some skill to that warehouse. Her fuzzy
memory was adamant about that.

“The same way I know you need to
avoid going home,” Charli replied on a smile. “Why do you think I knew I could
trust you with my secret? You’re not new to people who are different.”

“Thank you, Charli.” Nikki pulled
out a piece of paper and pen. “This is my number. If you or Emily need
anything, please ring me.”

Taking the offered paper from the
now standing Nikki, Charli replied, “Thank you. Take care and be safe.”

“You too,” Nikki said over her
shoulder as she headed toward the only safe place she could think of.

At the hospital’s front doors,
she caught the attention of one of the security guards. He walked her out to
her car. Once she was safely ensconced in her vehicle, she called upon a person
she hadn’t spoken to in three years.

“Hello,” came the gruff words
down the phone line.

“It’s Nikki Greene. You were the
lead detective on my assault case three years ago.”

She could hear tapping at a
keyboard before the man replied, “Yes, yes, I remember you now. What can I do
for you, Miss Greene?”

“I thought Paul Watson was given
six years.”

“He was.”

“Then how did I see him walking
free around my place of work?” she asked, choosing to keep the fact that she
suspected he was currently lying in wait at her house.

“Hang on a minute,” the man said
before more tapping could be heard. That was followed by an expletive that she
assumed she wasn’t meant to hear. “Miss Greene, it looks like he was released
early for exemplary behavior in jail. I’m surprised no one contacted you.”

“Trust me, Detective, if I had
known he was up for parole, I would have fought tooth and nail to oppose it.”

“It worries me that you saw him.
His conditions of parole are to remain clear of you. But then again you’re a
nurse at the hospital, correct?”

“Yes,” she replied, knowing where
this line of questioning was heading but immediately dismissing the validity of
it.

“Then maybe he needed help. We
can’t deny him medical attention if he requires it.” The man said the words she
had been expecting. “Let me have a word with his parole officer. Maybe he can
shed some light on the situation. And I’m sorry you weren’t contacted with
regards to this matter. It’s unacceptable.”

“Thank you, Detective,” she said,
ending the call.

The dark road stretched out ahead
of her, feeding her already foreboding thoughts. Shadows moved, making
themselves known. Her only light drove two cars behind hers, promising that she
wasn’t alone. A little glimmer of hope shone, slowly penetrating her blackened
mood. After what seemed like forever, bright neon signs filled her car,
informing her that her destination was close. Finally the Celestial Desert
Paradise Hotel and Casino came into view. A sigh
whooshed
past her lips
as she pulled into the front of the hotel.

Her next goal was trying to
figure out how she was going to get up to Gabby and Devil’s quarters. They were
currently spending a couple of days at Gabby’s cabin, but she knew they
wouldn’t object to her hiding out at their place. Luckily she ran into her
answer as soon as she walked into the foyer.

Chapter
Seven

“Your job in the accounting
department will be waiting for you when you return from your holiday, Squirt,”
Viper said to his sister. “As requested, no one will know of our relationship,
though I don’t see what the problem is.”

“Because, Viper, I want people to
respect me for my work, not whose little sister I am,” Jewel explained with her
hands on her hips. “Now are you sure I can use your hotel room for the next
couple of days? I don’t want to cramp your style.”

“I think I’ve already told you,
I’ve found my mate.”

“I know, but I still can’t
believe it. You and Devil were the last two guys I envisioned settling down,”
came the teasing response.

“I plan on introducing you to
Nikki before you leave on your holiday. But be aware, she knows nothing about
our being mates yet.”

“What? The great Conquest hasn’t
gone forth and conquered yet? You’re losing your touch, old man,” Jewel teased,
like very few could.

“Her past has restricted me. But
have no fear, Squirt, I will conquer her and then I’ll have her exactly where I
want her—permanently in my life and bed,” he replied, looking forward to the
day that would happen.

“Where are the other guys?”

“Devil has taken Gabby away for a
couple of days, but they should be back tomorrow in time to see you. Chaos,
well you know him. He takes off at a whim. And Judge is currently trying to
trace a woman who has somehow managed to cheat the casino out of money. He just
can’t work out how she’s doing it,” Viper explained.

“Then how does he know she’s
cheating?”

“She’s been coming here at least
once a week and walking away with nothing under two grand. According to Judge
her winning streak is too perfect. On the roulette wheel, she either bets big
on the correct number, or bets low on the right color. Blackjack, she wins more
than she loses and again only bets high on the winning hands.”

“Wow, that’s good! At least she’s
only walking away with two grand. Imagine what she could really do if she was
greedy.”

Trust Jewel to see the best in
people. As a former street kid, she, like Viper and his brothers, had seen the
worst in human beings. But still here she was, seeing the silver lining in
situations. Judge, on the other hand, wasn’t so forgiving.

“You know Judge, he’s not as
lenient as you. This person has bettered him, and he doesn’t like it one bit,”
Viper said, laughing at his brother’s expense. “Now talking about money, do you
have enough spending money for your holiday?”

Jewel rolled her eyes. “Yes,
Viper. You four seemed to forget that I had a job while I was at college. But
still you all kept sending me money. It was more than I knew what to do with,
so I just left it in the account. If it’s all right with you, I’ll use some of
it as spending money and give the rest back when I start work.”

“That money’s yours to do with as
you please,” Viper said.

Before he could tell Jewel how
proud he was of her, his office door opened. Judge walked in with a surprise
guest. His pleasure at Nikki’s presence was quickly replaced by anger. If her aura
hadn’t already spoken to him of her fear, her face would have. Moving to stand
in front of her, he set about getting the information he required on the person
who would soon be dying by his hand.

“What is it, sweetheart?” he
asked, sending Judge a querying look.

He shrugged, and said, “I ran
into her in the lobby. She asked me to take her up to Devil and Gabby’s
quarters. I thought it would be best to bring her to you, considering the state
she’s in.”

Once again he was reminded about
how much trust he still needed to build in his mate. She was obviously scared
of something and went looking for protection from Gabby rather than him. His
anger rose at the situation, but he refused to direct it at Nikki. The man from
her past was solely to blame for her trust issues. What he wouldn’t give to
have a few minutes with that poor excuse of a man.

Forcing his growing anger to
remain hidden, he turned his focus back to the one who needed him, his mate.
Giving her hair a gentle tug, he tried to get her to look at him. As soon as
she did, her red eyes had his heart hurting and his anger rising further.

“Sweetheart, what’s upset you
so?” he asked firmly. He needed her to find the words before she became a
hysterical mess.

“He’s after me,” she said on a
sob.

“Who is?” he demanded. His whole
body stiffened at the thought of another man being near his mate.

“My ex.”

“The man who hurt you?” She
responded with a nod. “I thought he was in jail.”

“He’s out and after me.”

Rage consumed him. The man who’d
previously harmed Nikki was once again trying to terrorize his sweet, beautiful
mate. This man didn’t deserve to inhabit the same planet as Nikki, let alone
pollute her world.

“Nikki, honey, I think you need
to try and calm down so you can tell us what’s happened. You’re safe here,”
Judge said in his most soothing voice. His aura, however, also spoke of his
feelings about this situation. He was one pissed off mountain lion shifter.
“Maybe you should start at the beginning.”

Viper guided Nikki toward the
leather sofa, sitting under the large expansive window. As soon as she took her
seat, he placed himself beside her. Jewel and Judge sat on the coffee table,
trying to provide as much reassurance to her as they could without overstepping
the boundaries. Viper was angered enough; he didn’t need another man
accidentally touching his mate, even his own brother.

Nikki’s back straightened. Her
gaze turned to him. Then she began her story. “A little over three years ago, I
broke up with my boyfriend at the time. It was never serious, and we spent more
time broken up than we did together. This time was different, though. I planned
on us staying broken up. He didn’t agree. Two days after we split, he broke
into the apartment I shared with Gabby. She was at work. He had a knife,” she
said as another sob escaped. Her eyes grew vacant as she continued her story.
“He kept hitting me and cutting me over and over. I was barely conscious when
he raped me and have no recollection of it. By the time my next door neighbor
arrived I had lost so much blood that the doctors didn’t seem to hold out too
much hope for me living.”

Throwing his arm around her
shoulders, he pulled Nikki into his body. Her breaths were coming out short and
hard. He held her tight, offering her every ounce of strength he had. A quick
glimpse at Jewel and Judge told him that they too were affected by Nikki’s
story. His tough little sister had tears rolling down her face, while Judge was
physically shaking, barely containing his animal who obviously wanted out.

With her breathing once again
under control, Nikki sat up, pulled away from him and continued her story.
“Gabby told the police that we had just broken up. When they questioned him he
still had scratches down his face. That was what got him locked up. His DNA
matched the epithelial they scraped from under my fingernails. Plus the DA
lucked out when a sympathetic judge was assigned to the trial. Paul’s bail was
set at half a million dollars, which he had no way of raising. From what I was
told, Paul sneered when the DA highlighted the severity of my injuries. That
supposedly didn’t sit well with the judge, which is why his bail was set so
high. Anyway he was found guilty, thanks to my testimony, and given six years.”

“If that was only three years
ago, how do you know he’s out?” Judge asked.

“And why do you think he’s coming
after you?” Viper added another question.

This time, Nikki concentrated on
her hands when speaking. “When he was attacking me with the knife, with each
slice he would say ‘you’re mine, and I’m marking you as such.’ I still have the
scars as a reminder, and his words echo through my nightmares.”

The arm that had been around her
shoulder was now grabbing her clutched hands. With his other hand, he gently
guided her head up so she was looking at him. When she finally complied, he
spoke. “Nikki, sweetheart, those are your war wounds, proving that you’re a
survivor. Don’t let him control your life like this. He’s in jail. He can’t
hurt you.”

“No, he’s not in jail, Viper.
He’s out!”

“Did he threaten you?” Viper
asked, his back straightened and muscles coiled, ready to attack this monster
from her past. “I’ll kill him!”

“No, I haven’t spoken to him.
Though I think I saw him yesterday at the hospital.”

“Are you sure it was him?”

“At the time, no, but then this
afternoon I was in seeing my last patient, you know the little girl with
epilepsy I told you about?” Viper nodded, knowing immediately who she spoke of.
“Well it turns out that her seizures aren’t caused by epilepsy. Both Charli and
her are psychics. Emily’s visions are causing her episodes. When I mentioned I
was heading home Charli blanked out, then began to panic. She had a vision
about a man in my house. An evil one who had a scar down the right-hand side of
his face. Paul got cut up by an inmate while he was waiting for trial. As I
drove over here, I spoke to the lead detective, and he confirmed it. Paul got
early release for good fucking behavior!”

Usually, Viper would have
reprimanded his mate. Such harsh words should never pass her lips. But in this
instance he believed they were just. He had a few choice words he would have
loved to have said in that moment, but instead he held his tongue. His mate
needed his strength, not his ire.

“Okay, sweetheart, here’s what
we’re going to do,” he said as calmly as he could. He knew his anger had still
infiltrated every word. His need to hunt was overwhelming. “Give me your keys.
Judge and I’ll go over to your place, check it out and grab some of your
things. You won’t be going back there. Before I go, you need to go upstairs to
my quarters. Jewel will go with you.”

Thankfully, Nikki followed his
instructions without delay. With her keys in hand, Viper headed toward the
lift. His purpose in that moment was to confront the person who had upset his
mate. He was torn between hoping it was the man from Nikki’s past and praying
he would leave her alone. The man needed to pay for his actions and if what
Nikki had been told by Charli was true, then it would seem he hadn’t learned
his lesson in jail. As for Charli’s claims, he was still unconvinced.

“What do you think this guy is
really after? Revenge for his time in jail, or to finish the job he failed to
complete three years ago?” Judge asked as they made their way through the
underground car park toward Viper’s Mercedes.

“I care little of what his
motivations are, only to see him exit my mate’s life permanently,” Viper
responded, his voice void of emotion.

“Okay, what about this so-called
psychic?”

“I will explore the woman further
once I have dealt with Paul Watson. Nikki did voice her concern about the woman
a few nights ago. What Nikki had previously witnessed of her seems to now make
sense with the explanation offered,” Viper replied. “You and I have both met
true psychics, as well as the charlatans who are out for a quick buck. I can’t
see what this woman would gain from any of this. If Watson is in fact at
Nikki’s home, and Charli is a fake, then she would have had to join forces with
Watson. The partnership seems to lack any mutual benefit with Watson wanting
Nikki, and the woman warning her away. I think we need to see if what the woman
said is in fact true before considering this woman’s motivations.”

The answer came as soon as Viper
pulled up to Nikki’s house. On the verge sat many police vehicles, and the
front yard had been cordoned off. It didn’t sit well with Viper at all. This
danger had now become very real. He’d already been pissed off at the possible
threat. Now his anger surpassed anything he had felt before.

“Shit, it’s
Tweedle
Dum and
Tweedle
Dumber!” Judge said from beside him.

“Who?”

“Remember those two dirty
detectives who were investigating Gabby’s brother’s murder?” Viper remembered
Devil mentioning the two detectives who’d been affiliated with the man who had
murdered Gabby’s
half brother
. They had also been the
lead detectives in the case.

“Sure.”

“That’s them, over there in the
suits,” Judge stated, lifting his chin slightly, pointing it through the
windscreen toward the two men who appeared to be in charge of the scene.

“What the fuck are they doing
here?” he demanded, not liking their involvement or their interest in this
situation.

“Let’s go and find out,” Judge
said, getting out of the car. Immediately the two detectives walked toward
them, their attention on Viper. “Detective Morris and
Redburn
,
what are you doing here?”

“I could ask the same of you.”

“Our friend lives here, Detective
Morris,” Judge replied, offering Viper a name to put to the face of the man who
had spoken.

“Yes, as does the sister of a
victim in a murder case we are still investigating,” Detective Morris replied.
“We had flagged this house due to its significance. The case is unsolved and
the main suspect has now turned up dead.”