THE PROTECTORS.
SLADE.
Teresa Gabelman.
As I"ve said many times, an author never writes a story alone.
I would like to thank all the readers for their loyalty, understanding and patience. I wish I could thank each one of you personally, but know that you are all in my heart.
There are so many I would like to thank, but I"m always afraid of leaving someone out. To everyone who has read, blogged, shared or just friended me in the book world, I thank you. I do have to thank two people who during this book helped me tremendously. Donna Bossert, your honesty and friendship means so much to me. Thank you for your endless hours of looking for the perfect alpha hottie to go on the cover of this book. I know it was much to ask from you and the work was tiresome looking through countless pictures of s.e.xy men. I would also like to thank Becky Johnson, who I know screams, and not in a good way, when she begins her edits on my books. You were the first to actually believe in me, other than my friend, Kelly Perkins, and my family. Thank you for that, Becky. It will never be forgotten and I promise to ease up on my comma killing ways, and I really mean it this time.
Chapter 1.
Slade Buchanan shuffled through his small office doing his best not to trip over boxes scattered across the floor. Finally making it to his desk, he stood glaring at more boxes piled on top of it. It took every ounce of will power he had not to swipe his large hand across, knocking the clutter from his desk. Inside any one of these boxes could lay the key to halt the turning of humans into half-breeds; that in itself stopped him from knocking stuff out of his way in an attempt to find his d.a.m.n desk.
Things were getting more complicated by the day and the heavy burden weighed on his shoulders. He knew everyone was looking to him for answers, answers he didn"t have and that p.i.s.sed him off. He never failed; he refused to fail at anything.
Grabbing his keys that lay among the mess, he made one giant leap to the door instead of carefully maneuvering his way around the boxes. Once out of the room, he slammed the door, locking it behind him. He had to get the h.e.l.l out of here. The death of the male half-breed who had attacked Jill had him stumped, as did everything else since he had come to Cincinnati.
Once outside, he headed toward his bike, but the sound of a female cursing caught his attention. Making his way past Adam"s car, he was not surprised to see Jill"s jean-clad legs sticking out of the driver"s side door as she lay half in and half out under Adam"s dashboard.
Slade stared for a few seconds then looked toward his bike. Rubbing his large hand down his face, he sighed, wondering if he really wanted to know what she was doing. Since meeting this fascinating woman, he knew the answer to that. He did want to know, and wasn"t that just a b.i.t.c.h. With one last longing glance at his bike, he shook his head.
"Dammit!" Jill"s voice, low and m.u.f.fled, made it to his ears clear as if she was standing right in front of him.
He watched as she scooted further under the dashboard of Adam"s car, her shoes digging into the gravel to give her leverage as her shirt rose, showing more of her stomach than he wanted to see. Okay, that was a f.u.c.king lie. He"d give his left nut to see her before him completely naked. He"d seen that body once and once was definitely not enough.
"Come on, you piece of c.r.a.p...start!" she cursed again, bringing him out of his hot fantasy of unsnapping those tight jeans and taking her right there, which sent urgent warnings to his brain to walk the f.u.c.k away.
"What the h.e.l.l are you doing?" There it was. He couldn"t pull the words back into his mouth. His mouth and brain were on totally different levels.
Her whole body went still as a few seconds of silence pa.s.sed. "Nothing," she finally replied, her tone clearly indicating she knew she was busted.
Slade walked closer, putting his forearm on the roof of the car and leaning down slightly so their eyes could meet. "Looks to me like you"re trying to hot-wire Adam"s car, again." When she sucked her bottom lip between her teeth, he knew she knew he had her. He watched as she wiggled her way from under the dashboard. He tried to keep his eyes on her face, but his eyes said f.u.c.k you" as they traveled the length of her slender, toned body, which was wrapped in a pair of old faded blue jeans and a black sleeveless tee that fit snugly against her.
"Okay, you caught me." She stood, brushing her jeans off before slamming the car door. "Stupid piece of junk."
A small grin tipped his lips. "He probably disabled the ignition coil boot to keep you from stealing his car."
Jill glanced toward the hood of the car with a frown. "That a.s.shole," she mumbled before looking back at Slade. "And I wasn"t stealing it. I was borrowing it."
"It"s easier to ask for the keys when borrowing someone"s car." Slade didn"t know what it was, but goading her seemed to be something he couldn"t stop himself from doing and goading women wasn"t something he normally did.
Jill glared up at him with a frown. "Yeah, well, he wouldn"t give me his keys if I begged him." Sticking her hands in her back pockets, she glanced down at the ground. "He doesn"t think I"m a good driver, which he"s totally wrong about. I"m a good driver, but he"s so a.n.a.l about his precious piece of junk."
"Most guys are," Slade replied, then grinned when she made a snorting noise. He turned to walk toward his bike. "Stop hot-wiring cars, Jill. Sid never should have shown you how to do that."
"Yeah, whatever."
Slade"s steps slowed at the defeated tone in her reply. "Just keep walking, Buchanan," he mumbled to himself, but his legs stopped and his body turned toward her as his mind laughed...dumba.s.s. He watched as she stood, staring at the car as if still trying to figure out how to get it to start. She wasn"t going to give up getting to where she needed to go.
"What"s an ignition coil boot?" She turned toward him, surprise shining from her eyes when she realized he had stopped and was staring at her.
Slade cursed at the question. If anything, she was d.a.m.n persistent and he wouldn"t put it past her to steal it off someone else"s car to put on Adam"s just to spite Adam. "Where do you need to go?"
Before she could answer, Adam burst out the door heading toward his car. "Oh, h.e.l.l no! Get away from my car!" He stopped in front of Jill, hands on his hips.
"I"m not touching your piece of junk," Jill hissed, throwing her hands on her hips, mocking him, before she looked down at his hand. "Is that the ignition coil....thing?"
"Ah ha!" Adam shouted, pointing the ignition coil in her face. "I knew it. I told you to stay away from my car. You don"t have a license, which is a favor to mankind since you can"t drive worth a d.a.m.n."
"You don"t have a license?" Slade walked closer, watching the exchange, his eyes focusing intently on Jill.
"No, she doesn"t," Adam answered for her. "And that is one of the big reasons she is to stay away from my car."
Slade watched embarra.s.sment color her cheeks and he knew exactly the reason why she didn"t have her driver"s license. She couldn"t pa.s.s the test because of her dyslexia. "Come on." Their eyes met before he turned to walk away.
"Where we going?" Jill caught up to him, stopping when they reached his bike.
Swinging his leg over his bike, he sat staring straight ahead with a fierce scowl, wondering when the h.e.l.l he became so f.u.c.king nice. "To get a study book for your driving test and then wherever you needed to go in a stolen car."
"I"ve got one." She looked away, shifting uncomfortably. "And I can do what I needed to do another day. It"s no big deal."
Slade knew she was lying. She was determined to go somewhere. He was the biggest dumba.s.s in the history of dumba.s.ses to want to know where she was going. Jesus, he needed to f.u.c.k someone and soon because this little slip of a girl was going to drive him insane. For a split second his mind played out him f.u.c.king Jill, and he almost ripped the handlebars clean off his bike.
"Get on the d.a.m.n bike." His demand was sneered with clenched teeth, his eyes narrowed.
Looking as if she wanted to argue, Jill did the safe thing and climbed on the back of the bike. "Since you asked so nicely," she responded sarcastically as she shifted herself behind him.
Her body wiggling against him caused a growl low in his throat. His eyes closed tightly in an attempt to control himself. "Where?" When she didn"t answer, Slade opened his eyes, tilting his head toward her. "Jill," he warned, his voice indicating he was not in the mood.
"My dad had a heart attack. I need to see him." She didn"t say anything more, but without looking at her, he knew the conflict she was feeling. He could actually feel it radiating off her.
"Why didn"t you tell me?" He started the bike, waiting for her answer.
"I just found out," she finally replied and he felt her shrug. "Even though I know I won"t be welcomed there, I need to make sure he"s okay. I haven"t seen him since..."
She didn"t finished. She didn"t have to. He knew. She hadn"t seen her family since she"d been turned and kicked out of her home. He was the one who sat in the hospital when she had been shot, filling out her paperwork because her family refused to have anything to do with her. And for her to want to see a father, who pretty much wrote her off, told him more than anything could about who Jillian Robin Nichols really was.
Instead of finishing her sentence, she directed him which way to drive from the compound. He tried not to respond as her hands grasped him tighter to keep herself steady behind him. Trying to block her out, he let loose and pushed his bike. With the added speed, he felt her excitement behind him as if it was his own. Jesus, he was in trouble. Pulling to a stop at a red light, he felt her shift behind him as a car pulled up beside them.
"Hey, good-looking," a woman"s voice flirted over the rumble of his bike. Slade tilted his head slightly looking at the blonde through his dark sungla.s.ses. She was pretty, but he knew her type and didn"t have time, plus blondes suddenly didn"t appeal to him as much. With a short nod, he turned to look straight ahead.
"Why don"t you let your little brother off at the next light so you and me can grab a drink." She smiled innocently, her friend in the driver"s seat laughing loudly.
Slade didn"t have to turn to look at Jill to feel the anger and tension trembling through her body. He continued to ignore the woman and wondered if the d.a.m.n light was stuck on red. Before he could do anything, he caught a glimpse of Jill"s hand raise in his side mirror. Just as the light turned green, the woman"s head smashed into the dashboard. Jill"s snort reached his ears.
The woman"s hand flew up to her forehead, then away checking for blood. Jill laughed louder. "Seatbelts save lives, Blondie."
Slade had slipped his sungla.s.ses up and was glaring at Jill in the side mirror, yet he couldn"t help the curve of his lips at how quick her triumphant face turned innocent. "Been practicing?" He c.o.c.ked one eyebrow.
She shrugged, trying to hide her grin. "A little." She glanced away, then back. "The light"s green."
With one last long look at Jill, he slipped his sungla.s.ses back into position and took off. As they pa.s.sed the blonde woman, he glimpsed at her looking in the mirror at her forehead, an expression of horror and embarra.s.sment coloring her face. His deep laugh was drowned out by the roar of his bike speeding onto the interstate.
Within minutes, Slade was pulling behind an old blue Chevy truck. Turning off the bike, he sat waiting for Jill to make a move. When she continued to sit still as stone behind him, he removed his sungla.s.ses, hanging them on the handlebars. His eyes met hers in the side mirror, and at that moment, he wanted nothing more than to turn and comfort her. She looked terrified of what he figured was the rejection she may suffer again at the hands of her family. Jesus, these feelings were not good. Not good for him and definitely not good for her.
"We going to get off the bike or sit here all day?" His question was harsh even to his own ears.
Jill swallowed nervously, looking away from his reflection. "Sorry, just been a while since I"ve been here." She slipped off the back of the bike, looking around. "Not much has changed. I mean, I know it hasn"t been that long, but it seems like it."
"We can leave now, Jill." Slade stayed on the bike, watching her closely. He felt like an a.s.s for snapping at her because he knew d.a.m.n good and well she was nervous. It wasn"t her fault; well, it was mostly her fault that he had these f.u.c.ked-up feelings. It had to be her fault because no other woman had affected him so strongly, strong enough for him to want to throw her sweet body down in the driveway and....s.h.i.t! "I can check on your dad later," he snapped at her again.
"No," she snapped back with a glare. "I just want to see him for a second, then I"m gone."
A deep bark grabbed their attention. "Sable!" Jill turned toward the sound. A large black German Shepherd stood just around the corner of the house. "Sable, it"s me." The excitement in her voice echoed across the yard.
Slade dismounted his bike, his eyes never leaving the huge animal. "Jill, hold on," Slade warned, his grip tight on her arm stopping her.
Another bark sounded, this one not as deep or aggressive, but excited. A smaller dog, which looked like a mini-me of the German Shepherd ran past Sable. Jill knelt in time to catch the smaller dog in her arms, receiving excited licks and nips. "You remember me, don"t you, Bebe?" Jill laughed, rubbing the dog"s head roughly before putting her forehead against Bebe"s. "I"ve missed you so much, girl," Jill whispered, grabbing her by the neck and hugging her closely.
Slade watched the reunion with a better understanding of this woman who had his mind in shambles. She had been dealt a hard blow in life, a life she had abruptly been pushed away from by no fault of her own. Even with his eyes on the black German Shepherd, who was edging closer to Jill, Slade couldn"t help shifting his eyes back to watch Jill savor the moment with her missed pet. He tensed as her attention went back to the large black dog.
Jill raised her hand slowly. "It"s me, Sable," she repeated in a whisper. "Please remember me."
Her words. .h.i.t Slade like a sledgehammer. The love she wanted so badly, even from an animal, was clear in the tone of her words. The dog sniffed her hand, its eyes never leaving hers before a large tongue snaked out, licking Jill. Slade couldn"t help the smile that slid across his face in relief when both dogs overwhelmed Jill, fighting for her attention. He was glad because he really didn"t want to have to kill her pet to protect her. As he watched, he wondered briefly if it was normal to feel jealousy toward a dog. He also couldn"t help thinking how f.u.c.ked-up that was.
Chapter 2.
Jill laughed, trying to get up off the ground. Once Sable warmed up to her again, she couldn"t get the large dog off her. Slade"s hand appeared and she grabbed it while he grabbed Sable"s collar, gently pulling the dog back.
"Thanks." Jill brushed off her jeans, then touched her cheek with the back of her hand, surprised to feel wetness. She wondered if it was tears or dog kisses that made it wet.
"Jilly!" A young voice froze her hand, the wetness forgotten. Turning, she saw her six-year-old brother on the porch. "Jilly!" His excitement had him jumping two steps at a time, tumbling to his knees before scrambling back up and running at breakneck speed, skidding to a stop right before her, his eyes wide.
"Whoa, Seth." Jill put her hands out to steady him, but frowned and pulled away when he jumped back.
"You look different." His young eyes stared curiously at her mismatched eyes. "Your eye is bleeding."
With both hands she wiped the wetness away, cursing when she looked down at her hand, seeing red smeared with the wetness. Looking back at her younger brother, whom she loved more than anything in the world, made her want to scream at the unfairness. Her mother wouldn"t let her see Seth the day they kicked her out. She had begged, but her mother refused and her father had stood by and let it happen. Clearing the large lump in her throat, she knelt down to Seth"s level, but didn"t move closer, not wanting to scare him.
"I"m the same Jilly, Seth," Jill smiled, then remembered her fangs and closed her mouth quickly before covering it with her hand.
Seth stood still, his face expressionless as his eyes searched hers. Finally, he reached up to move her hand away from her mouth. His small hand touched her lip, pushing it up to reveal one fang. Jill allowed him to do it, his eyes darting back and forth between her eyes and fang.
"Are you going to eat me?" he whispered as he pulled his hand back, his tone serious for a six-year-old.
"Are you a chocolate candy bar?" Jill whispered back, mocking his serious tone.
"Nooo," he giggled, rolling his eyes.
"Then I"m not going to eat you, silly," Jill chuckled, a large grin spreading across her face. "Why would you think I"d eat you?"
"Seth, get away from her!" A shout and sounds of running came from the front door.
Jill stood and felt Slade step up beside her. Her older sister, Janie, came running almost as quickly as Seth had. "Did you tell him I would eat him?" Jill growled at her sister, who picked Seth up, turning him in a protective manner.
"What are you doing here?" Janie ignored Jill"s question, looking nervously between Jill and Slade. "You need to leave, Jill. You"re not welcome here."
Jill looked up at the house and saw her mother looking out the living room window. Her hand automatically went up to wave, but the curtains shut and her mother disappeared. Anger and hurt made her want to strike out, but when her eyes went back to her sister, all she could see was Seth looking at her confused.
"Where"s Dad?" Jill tried to keep her voice void of any emotion, but she wasn"t successful with keeping the anger out of her gaze.
"Why?" Janie took a step back. "He"s in no shape to see you. You"ll only upset him and his heart can"t handle that."
"He"s cutting firewood," Seth spoke with the innocence of a child.
"He just had a heart attack and he"s out cutting wood?" Jill"s eyes popped open. "Where in the h.e.l.l is Trevor?"
"Oh, Jilly, you said a bad word." Seth covered his eyes, instead of his ears.
"Sorry, buddy," Jill replied, but her eyes never left Janie. "I asked you a question. Actually, I"ve asked you several which you haven"t answered. As soon as I"m finished with Dad, you and I are going to have a long conversation." Jill turned to head in the opposite direction of the house toward the woods.
"My fiance is going to be here any minute," Janie warned, her voice shaking. "You better leave. He"s very protective of us. He doesn"t like your kind."
Jill stopped suddenly, but didn"t turn around. "Then he"ll get along fine with this family, won"t he," Jill hissed. Seth called out to her, but she kept going because she didn"t trust herself not to plaster her sister against a wall.
"You okay?" Slade"s deep voice in the quiet woods just beyond her house startled her.
"No, not really," she replied. Her head down, she let her feet carry her to where her dad was. She had played in these woods as soon as she could walk. It had been her escape. She knew every tree, rock and trail for miles. "Just doing everything in my power not to kill my sister and...eat her," she spat in disgust. She still couldn"t believe her sister, who she had been pretty close to, could tell their little brother she would eat him. Feeling anger burning up through her body from her toes to the top of her head, she lifted her hand, aiming it toward a small tree without stopping. The tree uprooted in one fluid motion, and as she flicked her hand, it flew a few feet before smashing into another one, then to the ground with a large crash.
"Nice." Slade raised his eyebrows impressed.