Force of Nature Series Boxed Set (Books 1 - 4) (46 page)

When they stopped suddenly he reached for Holly. He knew she’d be sick. He had been the first time he’d traveled this way. But she wasn’t. If anything, she looked more beautiful than he’d ever seen her, and she was pissed. He didn’t even try to hold her back knowing that as his mate, they would never dare to harm her.

“You take us back right fucking now. My brother and my best friend just had their first cubs and you pulling this shit on us before I get the chance to hold either of them is bullshit.” She put her hands on her hips and started to tap her foot. “Well, I don’t see any of you rushing to do what I said. I can only conclude that you’re either incredibly stupid, deaf, or you want to make me get all medieval on your asses.”

Phil couldn’t help it; he threw back his head and laughed. He’d never seen anyone with more confused looks on their faces than the men and women assembled before them. He took Holly’s hand and kissed the back of it before he addressed them formally.

“Council, My Lady, I’d like to present my mate to you, Holly Force Campbell. Holly, this is Anye Sabalz and the High Trustees of Vampires. Anye is the head of this smaller group of council members and the one who decides everything.” He bowed before them and was happy to see Holly do the same. “Council.”

“We have a rogue. She is…we believe that she may catch your scent and will now follow you back to your home. There will be trouble for all those that you have taken to your heart if she succeeds in finding you,” Anye said without any preamble. “If she makes it to the area, she will need to be taken down. We ask you for your help once again, Knight Campbell.”

He bowed again. “And would her name be Theresa Sykes?”

Chapter 6

Holly was still thinking about the fact that Phil was a knight when they were brought back to their realm. She didn’t know what to say to him and wasn’t sure what she wanted to ask him either. They were buying nearly every toy in the gift shop when she suddenly sat down on the floor.

“Holly, are you all right?” She didn’t know how to answer that, so she didn’t. “Holly, you’re scaring the nice people in here. Is this after effects of the trip? I assure you that when we have to travel like that again, you won’t even feel it. The first time is always the hardest.”

“We
will
be traveling that way again?” she asked him incredulously. It was suddenly too much and she needed some air. “I’ll be back. Don’t follow me.”

She threw everything she had in her arms at the startled girl at the counter and was out the door and into the hot afternoon sun. Looking up at the sky, she took several deep breaths when she felt him stirring in her mind.

I won’t follow you if you please tell me what’s wrong. Is it because I have to go and find this woman? I assure you, if I had a choice, I’d rather stay home with you and make love all night.

Sighing heavily, she sat down on the bench before answering him the same way.
No. It’s just that…were you going to tell me about your knighthood? I mean, that seems like a really big deal. And the fact that they nearly fell all over themselves trying to please you was sort of disconcerting. Especially since I kind of thought you worked for them.

I do, work for them I mean. And, yes, they want to please me. Very badly. They can’t make me do what they want and if I say no, they have no one else.
She felt his distraction and knew he was paying for the gifts and talking to the girl about all of it.
Remind me never to take you shopping again. I think spending three thousand dollars on two infants that can’t even play with these things is a little extravagant, don’t you?

There are things in there for the other children too, and also CJ. And don’t change the subject. When were you going to tell me about being a knight?
She felt his laughter and knew that he was laughing at her.
Behave or I’ll sleep on the couch tonight.

Highly doubtful, love, since I can feel your arousal.
She felt him move over her body almost as if he were standing right next to her, and her nipples pebbled in her bra.
Hum, I can almost taste you on my tongue still. I love lapping at your cream while you ride my face.

Stop that and answer me
. She had to shift on the bench twice before she thought she could breathe correctly.
If I have to hunt you down you’re not going to be a very happy vamp.

I was knighted just after I hit my one hundredth year. I was…working for them at the time and they decided to reward me for something I did.
He paused before continuing.
Are you coming back inside to help me carry this stuff up to CJ’s room?

She knew that as far as he was concerned the subject was closed. She stood up and grinned.
Far from it
, she thought, as she made her way back to the hospital entrance. Very far from it.

By the time she caught up with him, he was standing in front of the elevators. She took the large, stuffed pink bear and left him with the large blue dog. There were still several bags in his hands and she took two of them.

“I guess we did go a little overboard. But CJ is my friend as well as my sister-in-law.” He kissed her quickly on the mouth as she tried to explain to him. “Well, you did buy some of this.”

“So I did. And frankly, I don’t care how much we spend on everyone. I’m in too good a mood to let a little money bother me. I have far more than I need or will ever spend, and I’m going to have a little fun with it.” He set down the blue dog and reached into his pocket. “I bought this for you. It’s temporary. We’ll get us a better one when we can get somewhere to pick it out.”

She opened the small bag and squealed in delight at the little ring inside. It was perfect. A small band was surrounded in wolves chasing each other round and round it. She was about to slip it on her finger when he told her to wait. Going down on one knee, he took the ring from her and kissed her finger before sliding it over the first knuckle.

“I love you with all my heart and will always do so. There is nothing I’d like more than to spend all eternity with you at my side. Holly Force, will you be my vampire bride?” He wiggled his brows at her and made her giggle. “I love you, will you marry me?”

The doors slid open just as she answered him. Dallas, of course, had to hold the door open while he pulled nearly every person he saw into the tiny space to meet his sister, who was getting married. By the time they made it back to CJ’s room they’d been hugged, congratulated, and kissed by everyone. She was still wiping her cheeks from all the kisses when she entered the room.

“Let me see it,” CJ said from her perch on the bed. Holly ran over and let her look at the ring while Austin and the rest of her brothers threatened Phil with every kind of injury if he hurt her. He told them he was more afraid of her hurting him than the other way around. By the time they left the room and all the gifts had been ahhed over, CJ was dozing and Austin looked ready to drop.

“I’d like to set up a meeting with you and Austin tomorrow,” Phil told Dallas when they walked to the parking garage. “There are some things that have happened that you and the pack need to be made aware of.”

“And I have something to tell you as well. Something that I should have told you a long time ago.” She could tell that Connor wanted to make a joke, but a small shake of her head had him stopping. “It’s really important that we all are there with this.”

Dallas looked concerned, but he agreed. “They are going to let CJ come home tomorrow. The pups are fine and the doctor knows we’ll be taking care of her well enough. I don’t suppose you can give me a hint, something that I can think about rather than all the horrible things that are currently running through my head right now?”

Holly looked at Phil and waited. She had expected this and so, apparently, had Phil. He handed a file to Dallas, part of the one he’d been given by Anye, asking that he keep this between the two of them until they all talked. He agreed.

“But I’ll need to tell Austin what I know. He’s not only my brother, but my alpha as well. I can’t…no, I won’t keep secrets from him. Especially if it concerns my entire family.”

Holly felt her pride in her brother go up another notch. He was the best man for a job like this. Keeping a secret like this could and would get a few people killed if the wrong information got out. Then there was her whole sordid tale. They all agreed to meet at the pack house for dinner.

They were driving back when she thought of something else. “How did you know who the woman was when Anye said she had a rogue? You seemed to already have a really good idea about her before we were summoned.”

“Summoned. I suppose that’s as good a word for what they did as any other.” He parked the car alongside of the road and turned to her in the seat. “How much do you know about my kind? Other than what you’ve read in books that have never gotten it right.”

“Not much, I suppose. I did look up a bit after I…after I figured out what you were to me. But it was less than helpful. Some of the information was so screwed up that I ended up tossing it away.” She looked at him and frowned. “Why? What is it I need to know?”

“I would like to say everything, but I know that would only frustrate you and me too. But you should know a few things. Firstly, I’m not a full-blooded vampire. My mother is, but my dad isn’t. He was converted when they fell in love. I should also point out that I have…powers, or magic that most vampires, full or not, don’t ever achieve.”

She waited for him to continue, but he sat there staring at her. She reached for his hand and he held it. “What else should I know? You don’t want to tell me, but I’d really like to know.”

“One of my powers is the gift of longevity. It doesn’t make you immortal, not until I convert you, but you can live a lot longer than the average person, or wolf in this case.” She knew she wasn’t going to like where this was going, but he continued before she could tell him to stop. “I’ve given it to your family, all but your mom. She wouldn’t let me.”

“Why? Wait, don’t tell me. She said she wanted to join Dad, didn’t she? I can see her doing that.” Holly nodded. “Yes, I can see that. She really misses him a great deal.”

He laughed. “And you’re all right with this? I thought you’d demand that I give it to her anyway. I thought for sure you’d say, ‘to hell with Dad,’ or some other bullshit like that.”

“No. I know how much Mom loved Dad. I think she always will. She has told us all on many occasions that she only stayed for all of us. That she loved us all, but she really missed him.” Holly looked at Phil and wondered if she and he could have that sort of love. “What else did you need for me to know?”

“I can make people believe what I need them to. Such as the two men who were discussing the murders in the hotel bar. I had them believe they were the only two people in that room, even though I sat next to them the entire time. The older man, Gregory Hooper, has had dealings with the murderer before.” He pulled another envelope out of his jacket pocket. “Gregory told the cop, a homicide detective named Myles Kramer, that he had some information on the woman, the murderer in his room. I went up before the cop did and looked around. I even managed to make a few copies of some of the stuff he had.”

She took the envelope and opened it. The picture of the woman didn’t look familiar. She was a pretty little thing and Holly thought her too young and much too small to have done the damage that she’d done to the people in the bar. She looked up at Phil suddenly.

“She’s the rogue.” He nodded as she looked back down at the other pictures. “You said this guy—Hooper—you said he had had dealings with her before. How?”

“He was a runner for the cops at one time. When the call came in, he’d go for the experience and for the extra cash. He would pound the pavement or knock on doors to gather information then take it back to the cop in charge. He was young the first time he happened on the crime scene with his fellow officers.” She didn’t care for the way he’d said young.

“Are you telling me he’s not young now? How long…Christ, how long has it been? Years, decades? What?”

“Yes,” he said. “Decades. He had been gathering information for nearly sixty years.” Phil took out a sheet of paper from the envelope and handed it to her. “I found this on the back of one of his sheets of notes. I think it’s her. I think she has been making sure he’s been there for each of her killings to…I don’t know, taunt him.”

“‘Next time where the gren tye. Its prety on your eyes. TES’”

Holly read it three times before she looked at Phil. “She isn’t educated. And her printing tells me that she didn’t finish a grade that would have let her learn cursive. From the picture, I’d say she has had some training in hygiene but very little. And I would bet she cuts her own hair.” She looked up at him when he laughed. “What?”

“Nothing. What else do you see there? There is much more if you look at it. And by the way, I’d not caught the hair cutting. Thank you for that.”

She felt both stupid and prideful at his words. She looked down at the sheet again. “Is this the original?”

“No. I couldn’t take that. It might have held clues that I can’t glean from it. But it is a very good copy of his notes about her and her note to him.” She flipped the paper over as he continued. “See the name of the hotel? That’s where she committed the murders, I’m betting, and he used the hotel stationary to make notes at the scene. The second sheet,”—he handed her this one too—“it has a crude drawing on it. See where he has it marked with the body parts?”

She nodded, and when he told her to buckle up, he was taking them to the house, she did so without putting the notes away. She knew they were missing something and knew that it was staring right at them. She turned the paper over to her note again.

“You called her Theresa, but she signed her name ‘Tes.’ Why is that? Tes isn’t short for Theresa is it?”

“I don’t know,” he answered with a frown. “Maybe she couldn’t spell her name and that was the best she could do.”

“No, that’s not right. Every child can spell his or her name. It’s one of the first things our mom taught us.” She kept looking at it even as Phil unloaded the car and took their things into his house. It never occurred to her to protest. They were mates and this was where she belonged.

“Maybe it’s not her name at all. Maybe it’s her initials. See? It says ‘TES,’ not Tess with two Ss.” He took the paper from her and handed it back without saying anything. She wasn’t hurt, she knew he was thinking. She went to the refrigerator and starting taking out the stuff to make dinner. There were two thick steaks on a platter with plastic over it. She held them out to him with a cocked brow.

“I had the cook put them out. I wasn’t sure you’d be hungry, but I wanted to have something that you could…I wanted you to be able to….”

“Replenish my blood? Good thinking.” She turned away before he could see her smile. “I don’t want to get sick before I have to move all my things back to my apartment in a few hours.”

His low growl was all the warning she had before he had her sitting on the counter and him between her legs. She smiled at him as she wrapped her arms around his neck.