Force of Nature Series Boxed Set (Books 1 - 4) (49 page)

The door slid to a silent stop and Phil whistled beside her. “Christ. You planning the next war, or do you just like guns?”

She pulled out the Mossberg five-ninety pump action shotgun and handed it to him. “The shells are specially made with silver balls and liquid chaser. I have used this thing a few times in combat and it’ll be a good gun to use on a vampire.” He laid it on the floor and picked up a pair of Glocks. “Those have the same ammo design, as does everything here. I have them made for me or I make them myself.”

He put both of them on the floor and reached for a double harness, which she helped him into. He put both guns in the holsters, and she pulled out a duffle bag.

“How much of this are you taking with you?” She started to open drawers and stack boxes of ammo into the bag. “Once we get this thing taken care of with the girl we can move all this to our house and set up the same sort of locking system if you want.”

This time she said something. She didn’t know how this whole mate thing worked just yet, but she wasn’t going to be doing everything he said. She thought maybe now would be a good time to set up some ground rules. “What if I don’t want to live in your house?” She put enough emphasis on the word “your” that she knew he’d understand. Apparently, he had.

He shrugged. “If you don’t like that house, then there are any number that I ow…we own that we can choose from, or we can buy or build whatever you want. It matters little to me where our address is, Holly, so long as it’s one we share.”

She felt petty and small. “I’d like to live near my family. And the pack. Not too close, mind you, but…I’m sorry, Phil. I was just trying to assert myself and I went about it the wrong way.”

“No you didn’t. You’re right. We have a lot of decisions to make. And the important word there is ‘we.’ I shouldn’t have assumed anything.
We
can decide where
we
live, and
we
can decide what you take to the house from here.” He pulled her up. “I’m sorry too. I love you, Holly, and I only want what’s best for you.”

She kissed him. The kiss was meant to be quick, but when he groaned she let him deepen it. The wall behind her was suddenly pressed against her back and she tried to lift her leg up to wrap herself around his hips. He pulled back from her and held her there when she tried to go after him again.

“We don’t have a lot of time.” He let go of her one shoulder to adjust his cock. “As much as I hate to say this, we can’t do this right now. The others are waiting for us and we have to go.” He took two steps back, letting her go completely. “But know this. As soon as we get to a place where we can, I’m going to fuck you until you can’t walk for a week.”

“Promise?”

They were both laughing when they started loading up her dark blue SUV. He told her he was happy to see that it really wasn’t a bright color and was completely impressed with how much stuff she had in it for an emergency.

“I have to be ready all the time. You should see what I have at other points across this state.”

Chapter 9

At dusk, Theresa woke. It took her several minutes to remember where she was and how she’d gotten there. Before she could move out of the dark area where she was, she noticed that she was covered in blood. Hurrying out into the moonlight, she could see that not only was it on her hands, but her clothes as well. Scared now, she looked over her entire body for cuts or something that would tell her what she’d done. She was pulling her pants down to get a look at her belly when she remembered. Gregory.

He’d made her upset and she’d turned. She really didn’t know what it was called when she went nuts like she did, but that’s more or less what she did—turned nuts. Sitting down on the dry pavement, she wondered if he’d been found yet and knew that he had. That girl, the one he’d kept telling her not to hurt—Mary Kathleen he’d called her—had been screaming her head off when she’d left. 

She’d wanted him to suffer. When he’d not given her the answers she wanted, even though she was sure he’d been telling her the truth, she’d started biting him. First, she’d bitten his face, tore into his soft, fleshy cheek until she’d simply torn it away, and had spit it into his lap. When he continued to tell her she’d posed for the picture all those years ago, she’d bitten his left ear off, then the other. By the time he was begging her to finish him, she realized that he’d not once called out or made any other noise other than a small sound. He’d not screamed as she’d hoped, but only whimpered, something that made her incredibly more angry. And by now he lay in pieces all over his bed.

He was near death when she’d taken his throat. His blood was tainted with something…medications she supposed, because of the bottles on the bedside. But she wanted to teach him a lesson, and even though she’d forgotten what her purpose had been by then, she just wanted him to beg. And he had…not for himself, but for the girl.

When he lay dying she thought about going to find the girl, bringing her to his room, and killing her too, but there’d been no more time. She’d had to leave. Picking up the letter opener on the desk on the other side of the room, she’d plunged it into both his eyes.

“Never will you see me again, old man.” Laughing, she stabbed the opener straight into his sputtering heart and watched him struggle to take his last breaths. “You are a pitiful excuse for a human being and I will enjoy killing the cop that you talked to.”

A noise on the stairs made her jump back, and when the door opened, she could see the light beginning to fill the sky. Rushing by the woman in her robe and slippers, she knocked her over and was out the door before the first scream echoed through the house. Theresa laughed all the way to the house just down the street and climbed into the basement from the crawlspace just as the sun crested.

The house was surrounded by red and blue lights when she ventured back. Most of them hurt her eyes, but she stayed. She wanted to see who would come by and who would figure out that it was her. She smiled when a policeman came out of the house holding his belly. She was disappointed that he didn’t puke like she’d seen them do before.

There were so many people around that she didn’t need to hide this time. Theresa walked up to the house and stood by the ambulance that was opened up. She wanted to tell them it was too late for this thing, but didn’t think it would be a smart move this close to the killing. She’d started for the house when she got a scent.

He was there. Phil Campbell, the vampire from the hotel, was there. She looked around, wondering what he looked like, when she saw the woman. The woman that she’d wished for days now that she’d taken out instead of the wimpy one in the back room. Moving closer to the smell, she could almost touch him when she saw him stiffen. She’d only just managed to step behind the big man beside her when the vampire turned.

Good golly, he was handsome. Much prettier than her beau Mr. Richardson, and so much taller and more muscular. She watched him as he reached out for the woman, and that’s when Theresa realized that they were together. She had taken two steps forward to tear her apart when he looked right at her.

You should know that I have your scent now. And as soon as I can, I will cut your head from your shoulders and watch you incinerate.
Theresa put her hands over her ears to block him out, and his laughter was still there deep inside of her head.
You can’t hide from me. I will hunt you down like the insignificant scum that you are.

“No,” she said aloud. “No, you can’t do this to me. I’m…I’m only a kid. I…what makes you think I did this anyhow?”

Speak with your mind,
he commanded.
You did this and more. I have a long record of your crimes against humans. The list is now noticed by the Trustees, and I’ve been sent to hunt you down. And so that you know, I will take great pleasure in killing you.

He moved forward and would have caught her if the woman hadn’t said something to him. She looked at Theresa too, and she could see the hatred in the other woman’s eyes.

What is that person, that woman, next to you about?
Theresa said, speaking with her head this time. She’d never done that before and might have found it fun if the vampire she’d wanted for the past weeks hadn’t threatened her with it. Well, two could play that game.

She is my mate,
he growled at her.
And you’d do well to keep your distance from her as well.

Theresa laughed heartily. Several people turned to stare at her, but she didn’t care, this was between her and her newest enemy. She had no clue what a “mate” was, but she figured it had to be something like a girlfriend or something. She thought about biting the woman and draining her, and her fangs dropped down. Letting the two of them see them, she stepped back when he did the same. His were not only bigger than hers, but they looked sharper too.

I’m going to kill your girlfriend, then I’m going to have all kinds of sex with you before I kill you too.
Brave words, she knew, but she didn’t think he’d move on her with all those people around. She grabbed the first person who walked by her, pulled him to her mouth, and bit. “Fuck you,” she said aloud when she dropped the bleeding man to the ground and ran.

~~~

Holly watched the paramedics work on the young policeman. He was going to make it, they said, but weren’t sure what had happened. It looked like he’d been cut. She knew that he had. Phil had pulled his own knife out of his pocket and had cut across the two puncture marks before calling for help. Smart man, her mate.

“They’re going to take him to the hospital now. They all believe that he fell against some glass and was lucky someone found him when they did.” She grinned at him. “Well, that’s what they’re saying anyway.”

They walked into the house, Holly showing her badge, one she’d taken from one of the many ID’s that she had stashed in the vehicle. Phil had one too, but his picture identification had been stolen, he’d told the on-duty cop.

Everyone cleared out when they went into Gregory’s room. Holly walked over to the man lying prostate on the bed and looked down at him. The rogue had done a great deal of damage before she’d killed him. Holly looked at the letter opener still in his chest.

“Why do they think that it’s an animal killing? I’ve never known of any species that uses letter openers, do you? And the preciseness of the stabs to the eyes is just too perfect. I don’t understand this at all.” She walked to the other side of the bed and schematized each thing she saw. “There’s a picture here. I think it’s like the one you showed me. It’s all bloodied, but still, you can see her face.”

“There are some notes here too. I think he was putting together a file or something for someone, probably the other cop, Myles. These are very neatly done.” She glanced over as he moved the papers into a neat stack. “I’m going to make copies and then give them back to the granddaughter. We might be able to—”

“Where is she?” a man asked as he slid into the room. “Oh my God. She killed him, didn’t she?”

They both turned to the man in the doorway. She could tell that Phil was shocked. So was she. The man had gotten past five or so cops that were supposed to be keeping the room off limits to all personnel. Before she could speak, Phil did.

“It’s the cop, Myles Kramer. The other man from the meeting in the hotel.” He walked toward him, speaking to him softly. “Yes. Do you know who she is? Where she can be found?”

“How did you know about…have…? Did Gregory tell you his tale too?” The man looked ready to collapse, and she was glad when he sat in the room’s only chair. “I didn’t want to believe him. I even went up to his hotel room that night thinking I’d destroy everything in it so that no one would ever know. But I got there and started reading his notes and realized that there was just too much information there that sounded like something I’d heard before.”

“So you investigated. What did you find? Other than he’d been telling the truth, what did you find out?” Holly moved away from the bed as she spoke. The man wouldn’t look toward her while she stood near the body. “We know it was her here tonight. We both can smell her.”

“How did you get past the police?” Phil asked before the man answered her question. “There must be fifty cops out there and you came right through them.”

Anye stepped forward and Phil bowed before he could think not to. Holly simply growled low in her throat at her. When Phil looked over at Myles, he was surprised to see that the man wasn’t freaking out. Phil figured most humans would be startled at someone just simply appearing, but he stared at her as if he’d seen her before.

“I let him in. He’s going to need to work with the two of you, or….” She looked over at Myles then back at him. “Or he can’t be allowed to remain.”

Phil wanted to protest, but Holly beat him to it. “Can’t remain? What the fuck…you mean he has to be turned? Into which of us? Because if I have to change him, there will be hell—”

“No, not change him.” Phil nodded, understanding. Holly looked shocked, then sat down on the floor.

“You mean kill him,” she said softly. “Just like that, you’ll kill him as if he means nothing at all to someone.”

“I’m sitting right here. And if I get a vote, I’d prefer that we listen to the young lady here. I might be a tad used up, but I don’t think I’m ready to be murdered just yet.” Phil noticed that he’d not even pulled his weapon, something he was sure the man had on him.

“Noted. But you must be trusted with all their secrets, as well as this man’s here.” Anye pointed to the body on the bed. “You’ve learned much too much now to be left as you are. Phil?” He looked at her when she said his name. “Do you wish to trust this human, or do we destroy a means to our end?”

“You are not killing him. I mean it, bitch. If you so much as lay one finger on him, I will hunt you down and rip your fucking ass apart.” Phil stood up just as Holly began to let her beast go after threatening who was essentially his boss.

“Enough,” Myles shouted. “I don’t know what the fuck is going on here, but I’m reasonably sure we can settle this without killing me or doing whatever you were about to do with this…person.” Everyone quieted and Phil had to hide his grin. Myles might prove to be a worthy human. “Okay. First and foremost, I want to know what the hell you are. And don’t even try to bullshit me. I may be…human, but I’m not stupid. Now, someone fess up.”

Phil laughed as he pointed to Holly. “She’s a werewolf…she-bitch they call them in her pack. That woman there is a vampire, as am I. She is my boss of sorts, and the wolf is my mate.”

They all watched Myles, who looked from one of them to the other. Then he nodded. “The woman who killed those people, she’s which one of you?”

“Vampire, though she’s what we would call a rogue. A vampire that has gone bad and must be—”

Myles cut Anye off. “I’m well aware of what a rogue is, ma’am. So you knew about her and are just now trying to bring her down. Not terribly smart of you to wait until she’s been killing this long, is it?”

“I’ll have you know we have a set of rules we are governed by. They keep all of mankind safe and out of—”

“Yeah, you’ve done a bang up job of that so far, haven’t you? Look, lady, why don’t you bring it down a couple of degrees and let these two talk? You want to make sure I know you’re not at fault when clearly you are, and these two want to get to the issue.” Myles turned his back to Anye and addressed him and Holly. “I got an email from Gregory last night. I was coming here to see him when I drove up and saw the circus out there.”

Phil nodded, feeling at ease with the human because of his ability to adapt and frankly, to keep Anye sputtering. He glanced at Holly, who stepped to the man. Myles stood when she reached out her hand.

“I’m Holly Force and this is Phil Campbell. We’ve been assigned to find her and bring her down. They claim that she’s unredeemable.” Holly winked at him before continuing with Myles. “She might be, but that’s not my decision to make.”

“What did Gregory tell you in his—?”

“How did you know who I was? You said earlier that I was the man from the meeting. How did you know that? I don’t remember…is it a vamp thing that I couldn’t see you?” Myles grinned. “You didn’t follow me up to my room later, did you?”

“Most certainly not.” Phil laughed when he realized the man was poking fun at him. His respect for the cop was rising by the minute. “I was there and you didn’t see me because I chose for you not to. I made you think I wasn’t there. Gregory had a great deal of the story right, but not all.”