She tugged against him. “Wait. No. Aiden, please, I need to get that sample. I need-” His senses tingled with warning and in one swift movement he drew his knife, whirled around to face the incoming attack, and slammed the blade into the chest of a vampire. The body dropped and it didn’t explode into ash. This vampire was free of bloodlust and that was bad, very bad. This drug ring that was going on was well plotted, and well organized.
He turned to find Kelly wide eyed. “You just…you…”
The backdoor burst open and Troy shouted behind him. “Incoming trouble! Move, move, move!” Anything that got Tory, Mr. Bad Ass himself, this riled up was big and Aiden knew it. He sent Kelly a mental compulsion and put her to sleep. He had her in his arms, stepping over the dead vampire, before her lashes fully closed. He exited the club to find Troy’s truck parked at the doorway. Troy was driving the instant Aiden shut himself and Kelly in the back.
Aiden sunk against the seat, cradling Kelly in his arms when he knew he should set her down. He didn’t.
“Talk to me,” Aiden ordered to Troy.
“Six against one. I wasted four of them. Two got away. The detective was one of the two and he’s no good guy. He’s a part of this. I heard the orders he was barking at those bloodsuckers.” Aiden cursed, for all kinds of reasons, but the most important was lying in his arms. Kelly was in the line of fire. “He could have been undercover.”
“He was trying to kill me,” Troy said. “If that’s undercover, it’s too damn deep undercover to suit me.
Mark my word, I saw enough to know that vamp is as high up in the mess as it goes – and that’s a direct path to Andres.”
Aiden went colder inside than he’d been anytime in the last hundred and thirty-two years. He knew his brother and Troy was too certain to be wrong. Kelly was a target of a vampire that was somehow wrapped up in the murder of six girls. And that vampire, was deeply entrenched in her world, which ensured she would stay on his radar. There was no wiping her memories and sending her back to her life, without putting her in harm’s way. Kelly was now in for a wild, bumpy ride and he had a feeling she was going to take him for one too.
Chapter Five
“He’s coming for her all right,” Troy said, as Aiden settled Kelly on the black leather sofa they’d rented at the same time as the downtown Victorian style house, they now stood inside. “You’re one hundred percent right about that. Either she’s too close to figuring out the secret behind his little blood cocktail, or he’s simply got his sights set on her.”
Aiden’s gaze lingered on Kelly a moment, drinking in the pale perfect skin, her pretty heart shaped face, before he glanced up at his brother. “Then we kill him now, tonight, before I ever wake her up.” Troy plopped down in a leather chair. “Hey man, I’m always down with killing a few bloodsuckers gone bad, but this dude has been playing mafia and getting away with it. He’s working as a human detective, employing an army of vampires, and he’s now working a drug scheme with a werewolf. We can’t kill him, until he leads us to his minions, and to Andres, or Andres will just move on, and replace him with someone else.”
Aiden’s teeth ground together. “You let him go intentionally.”
“Hell yeah I did,” Troy agreed. “We have to get Andres.”
“We don’t put innocents in the line of fire.”
“Every ‘innocent’ that crossed Andres’s path gets their throat ripped out.” He sat up, his elbows on his knees. “What’s up with you Aiden? You know the big picture.”
“Since when, is revenge against the werewolf population the big picture?”
“This isn’t about fucking revenge,” Troy spat between his teeth. “This is about saving lives, many lives, not one woman’s.” Troy narrowed his gaze, glancing at Kelly and then Aiden. ”Don’t do it brother. Don’t go and get attached to a woman. You and me, we aren’t Evan. We don’t get the happily-ever-after. For us, it always, always ends badly.”
“You think I don’t know that?”
“Then act like it,” Troy said. “Wake her up and let’s talk to her. She’s the only link we have to Detective Wright and he’s the link to Andres.”
He was right again. Personal feelings got in the way of duty, they got people killed. Aiden pressed his hand to Kelly’s head, finding the memory of the man he’d killed in the bar, and wiping it. He didn’t need her morals, or her fear, getting in the way of keeping her safe. He’d learned his lesson. He followed the memory cleanse with a command to wake up. The instant she blinked, he stood up and walked to the opposite side of the coffee table, putting distance between himself and her, for good measure.
***
Kelly came awake suddenly, disoriented, and cold. There was a ceiling fan above her and for several seconds she watched it rotate, trying to get her bearings. Slowly, a memory of Detective Wright dragging her to a hallway came to her, then biting her – no – that was crazy. He couldn’t have bitten her. Her fingers went to her neck, but there was nothing there. A flash of Aiden pressed close to her, his mouth on her neck…She jerked to a sitting position, her gaze traveling wildly around what seemed like a living room.
“Aiden,” she said, realizing that he stood directly across from her, dressed in leather that hugged every one of his many muscles. Another man, with long blonde hair, and equally as leather clad, sat in a chair to her left. “Where am I? What happened?”
“You’re at a safe house,” Aiden said, his gaze sliding to the ample leg she was showing. She tugged at her skirt, suddenly all too aware of her too short skirt riding high on her thighs, and her cleavage that was riding way too low. “And you need that safe house,” he continued, “because you clearly went out looking for trouble and you found it.” Anger rolled off of him. “You’re lucky you weren’t victim number seven.
Had we arrived seconds later, you might not be here right now.” Defensiveness rose inside her and she tried to explain. “Detective Wright told me that-”
“Detective Wright is dirty,” the blonde man said.
Her attention shifted to him. “Are you FBI too, I assume?”
“I’m his brother, Troy,” he said, not exactly answering the question. “And I’m also the guy who the detective, and a band of drug dealers, tried to kill while Aiden was inside that bar saving your pretty little ass.”
“Pretty little ass?” she asked indignantly. “Did you really just say ‘pretty little ass’ to me?”
“If you’re willing to flaunt it to get a killers attention, then don’t expect me not to notice.”
“Enough Troy,” Aiden said sharply, drawing Kelly’s attention, only to hit her with a challenge, “What the hell were you thinking making yourself a target?”
Her eyes flashed angrily at him. “Who the hell are you to ask me what the hell I was doing in the first place?”
“The man who saved your life and I can’t change the fact that you put yourself in the line of fire, but you’re there now, and there isn’t an easy way out.”
“I was trying to get a sample of the drug so I could save lives,” she said although she felt nerves fluttering in her stomach. “Any consequence that comes from trying to save lives, I’ll live with. And for your information, Detective Wright said he was undercover. I might not like the man, but I don’t know that isn’t true. I won’t judge him without facts.”
“Not only was Detective Wright not working undercover tonight,” Aiden assured her. “He’s the leader of what amounts to a date rape drug ring and he’s using a position inside law enforcement as a cover.” The nerves of moments before turned to nausea, as a bad realization started to wash over her, she wasn’t quite ready to voice. “How sure are you of this?”
“Absolute,” Aiden said.
She inhaled and let it out, staring at the hardwood floor, feeling a rare moment of panic.
Aiden’s voice softened. “What is it, Kelly?”
She swallowed against the sudden dryness in her throat, willing herself to use the same methodical thinking that
got her through her often gruesome job. “He’s the one who told me about the bar,” she said, her gaze lifting to his. “He’s…Oh God Aiden. I think he knew I’d show up because, well, I tend to get involved with my cases, and he knew how badly I wanted a sample of the drug.”
“I told you, Aiden,” Troy said. “She’s the perfect bait. She can give us Wright, and Wright can give us Andres.”
She didn’t look at Troy. She watched Aiden’s unchanging face., trying not to think about the implications of the word ‘bait’. “Who’s Andres?”
“Wright’s supplier,” Aiden said. “Without him, there is no drug.”
“There’s always another source,” she said.
“This is a unique situation,” he explained, sitting down on the arm of a leather chair that matched the one his brother was sitting in, his gaze now closer to level with hers. “We have reasons to believe that this particular cocktail has limited distribution and it doesn’t reach beyond Andres.”
“How can you know that?” she asked, still watching him closely. “When you came to my lab you acted like you didn’t even know what the drug was.”
“New information from reliable sources,” Aiden said.
“What this drug is doesn’t matter at this point,” Troy added. “Destroying the supply, by way of the supplier, is. And tonight you made yourself the bait that can bring him down.”
“Look. I want to help,” she said, looking between them. “I do. I went to the club tonight because I don’t want anyone else to die, but I’m not sure I understand exactly how I’ve become the target. He called me there tonight. He told me he was undercover. If I go back to work and pretend that I believe that, then he’ll think I believe that.”
“Kelly,” Aiden said gently. “I don’t believe he meant to let you leave tonight.”
“You can’t know that,” she said, feeling a little desperate. Somehow putting herself in danger by choice, and being there without option felt very different.
“No,” Aiden agreed, his eyes capturing hers, gentle and soothing. “But based on what I saw tonight, it’s what I believe, and the only way to keep you safe, is to assume the worst.” He was right. She knew he was right. “How?”
“We set a trap for him,” Troy said, “And we kill him before he ever gets to you.” There was none of the gentleness of Aiden’s words in his brothers, just cold hearted business, and anger, she thought.
Kelly cut her gaze to Troy, curious at the tone. His face was strong and sculpted like Aiden’s, but his eyes were different, missing the gentleness she’d read in Aiden’s. Troy’s were cold as ice, hard as steel, and she read between the lines. “This is personal to you. Why?” Shock slid across Troy’s face and he laughed without humor. “Nothing is personal to me, sweetheart. So are you in or out? Make a decision.”
“I have a right to know what is motivating you when my life is on the line,” she pushed.
He stood up, towering over her, his blue eyes glinting with warning. “You’re life isn’t on the line because we don’t have any intention of letting you die.”
“Even the best plans sometimes go wrong,” she said, “Especially, when personal agendas are involved.” He stared at her for several terse moments and then glanced at his brother. “I’ll be outside when you’re ready to leave.” He turned and strode away.
“I’m sorry,” she said to Aiden. “I just…I need to know what I’m dealing with.”
“You didn’t say anything I haven’t said to him myself. The amazing part is that you read his story without knowing it. But one thing I can promise you is that Troy is damn good at his job. He’ll protect you with his life.” His voice softened. “As will I.”
She believed him. She trusted him. She barely knew him but she wanted to. “Tell me what you need me to do.”
Chapter Six
An hour after waking up in Aiden’s safe house, Kelly had, at his direction, gotten into a cab and had it drop her at her car at the bar. Now, after a short drive just west of downtown to her quaint little Tarrytown house, she could barely keep her hand from shaking as she unlocked her front door. She wondered at the sanity of her agreement with this plan to act like she believed Detective Wright was undercover as he’d claimed. Going back to her normal life and waiting for him, or some of his followers to attack her. Aiden and his brother would be there when it happened and they were sure it would. The plan had seemed easy enough, until she actually put it into action. Now, not so much.
She stepped inside the foyer of her house and flipped on the light, not sure what she wanted more – to dart inside before someone grabbed her, or run back to her car. She inhaled and reminded herself she trusted Aiden, she believed he could keep her safe. And she clearly, believed she was in danger, and in need of his protection, or she wouldn’t be this freaked out.
The wind gusted, a storm passing by, and it unnerved her. Kelly darted inside and shoved the door shut, leaning against the wooden surface. She then gasped when she realized that Aiden had been behind the door, perched in the corner.
“Damn it,” she said, turning to face him, ready to hit him. “Don’t do that. You scared the crap out of me.” He pulled her against him, until her thighs were aligned with his now jean clad legs, his leather discarded back at the other house. “Easy sweetheart,” he murmured, his strong arms surrounding her. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“You had to have known sneaking up on me would scare me.”
“I was trying to let you know the house is secure. And since I’m here and Troy is covering the exterior, that isn’t going to change.”
“A text message telling me you were here before jumping out of the darkness at me, would have been pretty effective.”
“I didn’t jump out at you.”
“No,” she said. “You hid and I jumped.”
“I’m sorry,” he said softly, his hand stroking down her hair, the apology rolling off his tongue with the ease of a man without ego. “I really didn’t mean to scare you.” She melted with both the touch and the words, never before having quite the reaction to a man that she was to this one. Inside the warmth though was a memory far less appealing, a memory of Detective Wright pressing her against the wall – of the piercing pain in her neck, she didn’t understand. Had he bitten her?
“I’m sorry too,” she said, shaking off the odd thought. “It’s not every day a girl becomes the focus of a killer. I’m not my usual calm self. I’m pretty on edge.”
“With good reason,” he assured her. “And stay that way. On edge means you’re alert, and alert will help you stay alive.”
“Help me stay alive,” she repeated. “You really aren’t batting a good score here.” He opened his mouth to apologize again, she was sure, and she flattened her palm on his hard – make that really hard – chest. “It’s okay. Just tell me what comes next? What do I need to do?”
“Assume you’re being watched, and do what you would normally do. I’ve checked for monitoring equipment and your place is clean but that doesn’t mean your routines haven’t been studied, especially with Wright’s obvious interest in you. I’ll be here, but I’ll stay away from the windows, and Troy isn’t going anywhere either.”
Her fingers curled around his light blue t-shirt. She didn’t want to let him get away. A sexy bodyguard was really darn appealing right now. “What about when Troy sleeps?”
“Neither of us need much sleep. You’ve been by the door too long. You need to get moving - turn some lights on and off, and get some normal activity going on.”
“Okay.” But she didn’t move. “You think Detective Wright will come for me tonight, don’t you?” He’d said he didn’t think so earlier, but his actions said differently. “You think he wants to kill me because I know too much about him.”
“I think exactly what I’ve already told you. I think he’ll be trying to find out if I was there to help you, or hunt him. And he’ll worry we’re doing just what we are – using you to get to him, which is against everyth
ing I believe in doing and if there was another answer, I’d take it. But no matter what I think he’ll do, I’m going to treat every second like the moment before he comes for you.” She stared at his chest, recognizing the certainty in his statement. The moment before he comes for you.
As in when he comes for her, not if he did.
His finger slid under her chin, lifting her gaze to his. “I won’t let anything happen to you. I meant it when I said I’d die to save your life.”
“Don’t,” she said. “Don’t die to save me and don’t get hurt. I don’t want that. I couldn’t live with that. No one needs to get hurt for me.”
His eyes poured into her, black as a starless night, as intense as a stormy night. “You leave this to me and the only people who’ll be getting hurt will be the bad guys.” He turned her towards the living room, his mouth lowering near her ear, breath warm on her neck. “I’ll be here if you need me.” She inhaled and resisted the urge to sink back against him. She could do this. She wanted to save lives, and that was a risk worth a little discomfort, and in the end, if everything worked out, that was all this was.
Kelly forced her feet to move down the hardwood hall, past the cozy living room to her left where she often read books, often favoring true crime stories in hopes of stimulating ideas to solve cases at work.
She thought that maybe it was time for a romance without the mystery, maybe a small town family one at that, with the promise of a happy ending.