In-Between Work and Play (The Jocelyn Frost Series Book 1) (7 page)

 If I hadn’t
been running to save our lives, I would have laughed at her griping.  How she
managed to run and hum at the same time was beyond my comprehension.   Although
thinking about the Wicked Witch of the West, she gave me the idea to look for a
nearby source of water.

“Almost there!” 
I felt like picking her up again when I saw her grabbing her abdomen.  One more
block.

My fingers were
ripped away from Jocelyn’s before my body was forcibly propelled into a nearby
oak.  My eyes lost focus for a moment.  The next thing I saw was an
oily-looking vamp that seemed to have stepped off the set of
Grease
, clutching Jocelyn to his body.

“RIVERS!” My
lips kissed the sidewalk.  A cracking sound followed by a piercing pain crippled
my side.  Less than a second later, my air supply was cut off as icy fingers
squeezed my throat. 

I gasped for air
while my feet dangled several feet off the ground.

The vampire’s
grip tightened, causing white spots to dance across my eyes.  Two additional
vampires leaned against the tree I encountered earlier.  The third one pulled a
bare-footed Jocelyn into the nearby alley.  A ball of dread dropped into my
stomach.  All I could see was their mouths moving.  I promised if I got out of
this alive, I’d do everything in my power to help her.  No woman should ever
have been subjected to being alone with a vampire in a dark alley.

Their leader
hissed at me before slamming my back into the building. “Declan Rivers, we
finally meet,” he growled, leering at my neck.

I tried to
swallow, but the pain was so intense, my nerves felt like they were on fire. 
“Do… do I know you?” A groan escaped my lips as the window cracked. 

The vampire
smirked. “I should drain you, you sorry excuse of a demigod.”

My palm itched
to pull out my quarter staff from its hiding place, strapped to my forearm, but
first, I had to find out what this corpse wanted. 

“No, I think I
will take payment instead.”   If vampires could salivate, this guy would have
been drooling.

I fell several
feet on the pavement. “Payment?” My voice cracked. “Payment for what?”

Faster than the
blink of an eye, the two vamps, who were just lounging against the tree,
flashed by my side.  Their stony fingers dug into my biceps.  Henchman one
gripped my face with his free hand.  I tried not to look at their leader. It
was never a good idea to make eye contact with a vamp, but at this point, I had
no choice. 

The leader was
the tallest of the group.  Dressed in a black-and-grey, pinstriped suit with a
matching fedora, his blood-red eyes bore into mine. “For services rendered,” he
said before his fist collided with my stomach.

“I don’t
understand.” I tried not to wince.  What type of services could I have received
from this rodent?  Most of my time was spent at the Archive. 

“I thought you
were supposed to be some kind of intellectual!”  He waved his hand toward my
face. “Can you believe it, Vinnie?”

The raven-haired
greaser molesting Jocelyn took a few steps back onto the sidewalk.  He shook
his head like I was trying to convince him that chocolate milk was an excellent
substitute for blood.  “Unbelievable, boss.”

The boss pointed
his finger in my face. “You fucked one of my girls, moron.”  He rammed his fist
into my stomach again.  Bile climbed up throat and filled my mouth.

I fucked one of
his girls?  I’d only slept with a handful of women.  Mostly dark elves, but
there was that vamp a couple of months ago.  “The platinum-blonde?”

Clapping, he
announced, “Oh, lookie here, he remembers!”

“She said…”  I
closed my eyes, trying to remember word-for-word what she told me. “She said
that she tracked me down because she liked the taste of my blood.” I narrowed
my eyes. “It was her idea to feed while we fucked, and she said it made the
experience so much more satisfying.” 

The vampire
shook his head, “Bullshit, you skipped out on paying her normal fee.”  He
turned back toward Vinnie. “What do you think?”

“He’s obviously
lying, Al.  I say we take this,” his canines elongated, “swan home with us
after draining the tool.  She can pay off the fifteen hundred dollars he owes
you.”

“Good idea.” The
leader’s fangs popped out as he leaned into my neck. 

I tried to kick
him in the stomach, but he dashed out of the way.

“Aww, now that’s
going to cost you.”  He waved Vinnie over. “I want him to hear her scream.”

This guy was
unbelievable. 

The leader rubbed
his hands together as he appraised Jocelyn’s quivering body. 

Apparently,
Vinnie was too slow.  Al flashed over toward Jocelyn.  I couldn’t hear what he
said to her, but her expression turned from fear to anger.  He took her wrist
in his hand and bit down.

Jocelyn’s eyes
rolled back into her skull as a scream erupted from her mouth.  Bright, white
sunlight seared my retinas.  I fell forward onto my hands and knees since they
were no longer being held by my captors. All around us, the vampires shrieked before
disintegrating into ashes.  I guessed they were the type that shunned the
light, not water.

I crawled
forward in the direction I knew Vinnie held Jocelyn.  Relief filled my chest as
silky, lavender-scented strands threaded through my fingers.  “Joce?  Are you
all right?”

No response.  I
traced my fingers along her body until I was able to lift her into my arms. 
Although I could not see at that moment, my other senses were still working and
my sense of direction was spot on.  I knew my city and could navigate it
blind. 

We needed to get
out of there.  I did not want to wait around for anyone to investigate the
light bomb Jocelyn just dropped. 

Adrenaline
dulled the pain tearing across my stomach. I protected the unconscious
demigoddess by cradling her to my chest.  Not knowing which apartment building
she lived in, I decided to carry her back to my place.

My dress shoes
slammed the pavement until I was through my front gate and up the steps that
led to the wraparound porch.  The front door was unlocked.  No surprise there.
Hamish and Finley rarely remembered their keys and often left it open.

I kicked the
door closed behind me.  Gasping for air, I placed Jocelyn down on the bench
next to the stairs.

As I reached for
the lock, a moan vibrated through the wall.  Shit!  If those vamps hurt my
housemates, I’d never forgive myself.  Forget about making them greet the sun,
Jocelyn did a good job of that, but still…

Tears ran down
my cheeks.  My eyes were still scorched.  I had to make my way toward the sound
of the moan more than half-blind. 

Walking like a
Hollywood mummy, I finally found the TV parlor door.

“Yeah, yeah, oh
yeah!”  A raspy voice moaned, “Suck it, Hamish, suck it harder!”

The door banged
into the wall before I could stop it.

My eyes adjusted
barely enough to see my housemate, Hamish Fields, pulling down his girlfriend’s
skirt over her legs.  “Damn it, Dex, I thought you would be in bed by now!”

I turned away.
“That was my original plan.”  I cleared my throat. “Everything good here?  No,
crazy vamps banging on the door looking for me?”

“Vamps bangin’
on the door?”  Hamish’s Gaelic brogue thickened in his apparent confusion. 

“Are you trying
to tell us that you were attacked by vampires?”  The ghost spoke.  Not that she
was an actual ghost, far from it, but she reminded me of one. 

“Gwen, right?” 
I squinted as I strove to improve my vision.

“Yes, that’s
right.”  She giggled, “Have you been talking about me, Hammy?  I don’t think
I’ve met your friend before.”

“Bragging is
more like it.” I blew some sunshine her way.  Hey, she was the first girl that
I ever saw him take an interest in for more than a week.

“Really?” Her
voice lowered, but I could still hear her. “That will get you some deep throat
action later.”

“Vampires, you
two, we were talking about vampires.”  I blinked hard as my vision continued to
improve.  “And yes, we were attacked by vampires, so if anyone comes to the
door, don’t answer it.”

“Hmm? No
answerin’ the door, right…”  Ham’s lilt became extra thick when he had sex on
the brain. “Night, Dex!” 

“I’m…”

“NIGHT, DEX!”

I took two steps
backward into the foyer.  I really didn’t care about closing the door.  Hence,
if they wanted privacy, they should have thought about that before taking over
the TV parlor. 

My vision
returned while I checked out the exits on the ground floor.  Most of the
windows were open.  It sucked having to close them, but our safety came first.

 The moans and
groans continued to echo into the foyer.  Maybe leaving the door open wasn’t
such a good idea.  Averting my eyes, I closed the door, blocking out the
sucking sounds.  As much as I normally got turned on by any form of sex, right
now, my ribs ached, and my bruises had bruises. 

A healing spell
was in order, but before I could begin making one, I needed to take care of
Sleeping Beauty.

Jocelyn

Mmmm bacon... 
My mouth watered and my stomach growled. 
Where
am I?  What am I doing here?
  Then my stomach knotted as my heart
rate increased. 
Deep breath in, deep breath
out.
  I forced my eyes open.  An unfamiliar, wood-planked, cedar
ceiling stretched out above me. 

Sitting up, I
swallowed my panic.  My hands were free and I was still dressed in the same
skirt and halter top I wore yesterday.  The only things that were missing were
my shoes.

Masculine
bedroom furniture overpowered the small space.  The four poster bed I slept in
had to be at least king-sized.  A concave shape dented the pillow next to
mine. 

I swung my legs
off the side of the bed before tiptoeing toward the bedroom door.  Because it
was slightly ajar, I peeked out into the adjacent hallway. 

“GRRRR!”

Stumbling
backwards, I fell flat on my ass.  Dark eyes stared down from the black bill of
a bird.  It wasn’t very large, only about two feet high, but it sure did scare
me.  Ebony legs carried it into the bedroom.  It glared at me as if accusing me
of invading its space.

“Lone Starr! 
What are you doing scaring our guest?”  Dex stood in the door with a spatula in
his hand.  Even dressed in a loose, navy-blue t-shirt and plaid pajama pants,
he looked hot.

The
black-and-white bird flapped its shiny wings in protest.  It looked back at me,
then up at him.

“I know you were
just checking on her.  I don’t think she meant to startle you.”  He crossed his
muscular arms in front of his chest.  Damn, he must lift a lot of heavy books.

The bird tucked
its wings back into place before waddling out the door.

Dex extended his
hand toward me.  A sudden rush of tingles spread through my body as our skin
touched.  “Thank you.” My cheeks flushed as I stood.  “What’s with the bird?”

“Lone Starr? 
He’s not used to strangers.”  His thumb ran across my knuckles as he spoke.
“Are you hungry?  I made breakfast.”  His brows scrunched together as if he
were worried I would say no.

My stomach
rumbled in response. “I don’t think I could pass up an offer like that.”  Being
as he went to all that trouble, how could I refuse?  I really needed to go home
and get ready for work, but luckily, I didn’t have to meet Inez until
ten-thirty.

Taking a deep
breath, he nodded.  “Good, because that gives us a chance to go over my
findings.” We stepped into a rectangular hall. 

I chewed on my
lip.  His findings must have been really bad for him to give me
that
kind of look.  I promised myself I
would find a way to make it up to him. 

Intricate wood
carvings decorated the wainscoting panels of the hallway.  My heart hammered in
my chest as I took in all the splendid Victorian décor.  Just the woodwork
alone reminded me of the bed and breakfasts my mom and I used to stay in when
we visited Cape May in the summer. “I love your home.”

Dex glanced back
at me. “Thanks, it’s still kind of a work in progress.”

I ran my fingers
down the smooth banister. “I would never have been able to tell.”

“The third floor
is a mess.  It’s been completely gutted.”  Another bird flapped its wings,
landing on the banister in front of me.  “Good morning, Vespa.”  It bobbed its
head toward Dex before glaring at me. 

I gave it a
slight nod and said to the bird, “Good morning, Princess.”  My bare feet sunk
into a cushiony, navy-blue runner at the bottom of the steps.  “I take it you
can communicate telepathically with the birds?”  I racked my brain, trying to
remember the type of bird that represented Thoth.

“Yes.” He nodded
to several more that were waddling toward what I assumed was the parlor.  “The
rest of their flock was targeted by hunters about a year ago.  I had a dream
about a nest filled with ibis eggs, so naturally, I knew I needed to find its
location.”

“I guess your
father had something to do with that dream,” I suggested.

“I’m not sure
about that, but it does seem likely,” he said.

The ibises
stopped in order to stare at me. “Good morning, umm… Barf, Yogurt, Helmet, and
Dot?”  Apparently, I passed their test, because they continued on their way
without giving me a second glance.

“I knew there
was something I liked about you.” Dex flashed me one of his sexy smiles that
made my heart drop into the pit of my stomach.

A gilded mirror
hung on the wall next to the dining room.  Ugh, raccoon eyes… My eyeliner and
mascara looked like a runny mess.  Served me right for falling asleep in a
book. I quickly tried to rub off the excess with the sides of my index fingers.
“So Dex, how exactly did I get here last night?”

He was about to
answer when someone’s fist began pounding on the front door. 

“Are you
expecting anyone?”  I followed him back through the hall and into the foyer. 

Dex unlocked the
door before cautiously opening it.

A massively
built man, with short, chopped, sandy-blonde hair, filled out the door frame. 
I swallowed hard, recognizing his black-and-grey uniform.  He was an Enforcer,
the equivalent of a policeman on Earth.  What in the world was he doing here?

“Are you Declan
Rivers?” the man practically grunted.

“Yes, Officer,
what is this about?”  I heard the uncertainty in Dex’s voice. 

The man’s sharp,
gunmetal eyes darted past Dex into the foyer.  “Mind if I have a look around?” 
Moving past Dex, he crossed the threshold. The man towered several inches over
him.

“Yes, I do
actually.”  Dex’s voice grew stern.  “I demand an explanation.”  He might not
have been as tall or as muscular as the Enforcer, but at least, he was not
willing to let the guy walk all over him.

At that moment,
my eyes locked with the Enforcer’s.  I could sense his anxiety leveling out.
“Are you Jocelyn Frost, ma’am?”  He shifted his weight on his feet, spreading
his legs apart with his pelvis facing me.  His thumbs hooked into his belt.  I
held his full attention.

I joined Dex at
the door.  “Yes, I am.”  That was the thing about the Enforcers.  Most
possessed either empathetic or telepathic abilities.  So, in other words, if
they failed to sense your feelings, they could always glean your thoughts.  It
was generally a good idea to avoid them.  One stray, nasty emotion could cause
an inquiry into an innocent person’s life.  So unethical, but hey, I couldn’t
complain.  I’d been pretty unethical asking Dex for help with my mess.

The officer
tipped his cap. “It’s good to hear that.”  His eyes shifted toward the printout
he just pulled out of his pants pocket.  “A concerned citizen reported that an
unconscious woman fitting your description was carried into this building.  I
came here to verify if the story were true.”

Swallowing, I
crossed my arms defensively in front of my chest.  “I passed out on Dex last
night while he was helping me do some research at the Archive.  He was kind
enough to let me stay here.”

The officer
nodded as an unfamiliar look crossed his face.  Was it concern or resentment? 
And whom was it directed toward? 

“Very well, you
folks have a good morning.”  He turned to walk out the door. “Just be advised
that an incident report will be sent out for you to sign.”

“Thank you,
Officer. I appreciate that you were looking out for my wellbeing.”

“Just doing my
job, ma’am.” With that, he stepped off the porch. 

Dex’s gaze
stayed glued on the Enforcer until he rounded the corner.  Pressing the door
firmly shut, his shoulders slumped.  “Some nerve, right?”

I shrugged while
tilting my head to look up at him. “At least, we know they’re doing something. 
The cops in my mom’s town back on Earth pretty much just sit in their patrol
cars all day.”

“That’s not what
I mean.  Joce, I brought you back here around four.  It’s almost seven.  If I
were one of those predators who kidnaps unsuspecting women, I could have easily
done any number of things to you by now.”  His lips became rigid as his jaw
tensed. 

I didn’t want to
think about that, but my mind played several scenarios at once anyway.  Three
hours was a long time.  I could have been raped, drained, and tossed in a
dumpster.

“Look,” his jaw
relaxed, “I didn’t mean to upset you.”  His fingertips gently stroked my
yellowing, bruised bicep.

I mustered a
tiny smile. “I’m not upset.  I’m just a little bit embarrassed, that’s all. I
know it’s nearly impossible to wake me after I’ve fallen asleep.  I even slept
through a bomb once.  It’s a long story, but yeah, I’m glad you didn’t leave me
face-planted in that book.”

Dex’s jaw
dropped open.

“I know, crazy,
right?”  He continued to stare at me.  “The, uh… explosion was so huge, it
broke a ton of windows and cracked a few foundations.”  Why was he looking at
me like that?  For the love of Odin, he must have thought I was one French fry
short of a Happy Meal.

“Crazy doesn’t
begin to describe last night.”  His brows knitted together. “You don’t remember
me trying to wake you or anything after that?”

I thought about
it, but the last thing I could recall was reading some passage about the
fundamentals of the female reproductive system in Norse Runes.  “Nope.  Sorry,
I must have been in full zombie mode.  Sometimes, I sleepwalk with my eyes
open, too.”