Sid (The Protectors Series) Book #4 (3 page)

Chapter 3

The burning in his shoulder had Sid cursing.
Growling, he lifted himself off the soft woman beneath him. Rolling her over gently, he pushed her black silky hair from her pale face. Her clear blue eyes stared up at him.

“You okay?” His eyes searched hers when she didn’t answer right away.

“Yes, I think so,” she whispered, her voice shook with nervous energy.

Sid reached down
, taking her hand, which; it felt small and soft. He slowly pulled her up, but didn’t let go until he was sure she had her footing. “You sure?”

She nodded
, loosening her grip to stand on her own. “Yeah, thanks.”

Sid bowed his head
, and when he looked back up, his face was a mask of anger. His eyes left hers as he looked over his shoulder to make sure the bastard was contained. Seeing the odd angle of Vincent’s neck and Damon standing over him had Sid cursing again.

“Really
, Damon?” Sid spat. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

“His head
’s still attached.” Damon glanced down at the dead vampire, not looking one bit sorry.

“
Where the hell did the gun come from?” Seeing that there was no threat, Sid turned completely around to walk to where Vincent lay.

“You’ve been shot.”
Lana cried out, grabbing his arm and stopping him.

“You worried about me
?” A slow, sexy grin made another appearance on his handsome face.

“I may think you’re an asshole, but that doesn’t mean I want to see you hurt or dead
,” Lana frowned, lifting her hand off his forearm as if she was burned.

“I’m fine.
It wasn’t silver. I will live another day, which probably doesn’t make you very happy.” Sid’s eyes darkened, but the grin stayed firmly in place. She was a hot little number, and any other time he would be taking her further in the woods for some one-on-one time. However, at that moment, he had things to take care of, like one very dead vampire who had answers he needed. “Stay put.”

“I’m not a dog
,” Lana spat, her eyes narrowed at his command.

“No, you’re not, but you did blow my cover.” Sid leaned down by her ear. “And that needs to be dealt with. So don’t even think about moving that sweet ass of yours.”

“That’s very unprofessional for a VC Warrior,” Lana lashed out, but looked like she had been taken off her game a little.

Sid leaned away from her with a laugh. “Honey
, who told you we were professional?” He gave her a warning stare before walking away.

Jared was leaning over looking at Vincent. “Yea
h, he’s really dead this time. His damn head is hanging on by a thread.” He glanced up at Damon. “I really think we need to send you to anger management, big guy.”

“Don’t piss me off
, Jared,” Damon growled.

“God forbid.” Jared threw his hands out, his eyes wide.

“Did you get any names or information out of the son of a bitch?” Damon asked Sid who was staring down at Vincent.

“No.” Sid frowned
before slamming his hands together. “Shit! I was so close.”

“What the fuck happened?” Sloan came tromping through the woods with Slade behind him. Stopping over the dead vampire
, Sloan’s eyes shot to Damon. “Dammit to hell, Damon.”

Damon just stood
there taking the heat. “When my brothers are in danger, people die.”

“
Please tell me you got some information from him.” Sloan glanced around at all the Warriors, his eyes landing on Sid. “And from the pissed off look on your face, I take that as a no.”

“And his cover is blown.” Duncan nodded toward the two women who were standing close together.

“Yeah, VC is no more.” Jared shook his head sadly.

Sloan opened his mouth
, and then snapped it shut looking at Jared. “VC?”

“That was his undercover name.” Jared grinned when Sid flipped him off.
“Bet you can’t guess what his last name was.”

Slade
, who had been quiet until now, laughed, “You have got to be kidding me.” Glancing down at the dead vampire, Slade’s grin widened. “And he didn’t put two and two together?”

“Never ask
ed for my last name,” Sid stated with a nonchalant shrug. “Now, can we stop gabbing like a bunch of old women so Doc can get this damn bullet out of me?” Sid whipped off his ruined jacket, followed by his shirt, and found a downed tree to sit on.

Everyone was quiet as Slade began working on getting the bullet out of Sid’s shoulder before it healed over
.

“To
o bad dead men can’t talk,” Sloan mumbled. “This is the closest we’ve been to retrieving information.”

One by one
, each Warrior looked toward Lana, who was watching in stunned surprise as Slade removed the bullet from Sid.

“This dead man just might
,” Jared grinned. “Seems we got us a bona fide talker of dead things in our midst.” Jared wagged his eyebrows at her.

“Listen, I really…” Lana stopped when Sid’s eyes shot from the ground to her.

“Don’t tell me you believe she can really talk to the dead
, Jared?” Sid snorted as his eyes ran up and down her body. By the way, she refused to be used by Vincent, even with a gun pointed to her friend’s head, Sid knew she needed a little pushing, and well, he was brilliant at that. He pushed everybody.

“But
—” Again, she was interrupted.

“What
? You don’t think she can?” Jared frowned at Sid then looked down at the very dead Vincent. “He sure thought she could, and her friend said she could.”

“I don’t believe in people like her
,” Sid shot back, trying his best to be serious, but the outraged look on her face had him smelling victory, and damn, wasn’t that sweet, almost as sweet as her female scent that wouldn’t leave him. “Smoke and mirrors, my friend. Just smoke and mirrors.”

“And I didn’t believe in vampires, but oh
, look…” she threw her hand up like Vanna White showing the next puzzle on the lit board, “here you are.”

“No, she really can.” Amy took a step toward Lana. “I saw her do it once.”

“Shut up, Amy,” Lana hissed at her loud-mouthed friend as she glared at Sid.

Amusement
curved Sid’s lips even as Slade plucked the bullet from his shoulder. He didn’t even flinch. “It’s just a way to make money off grieving individuals. Isn’t that right, lovely Lana?”
Oh yeah, that should do it
, Sid thought to himself trying not to laugh at the different expressions of rage playing across her beautiful face.

“Screw you
, fang boy.” Lana pointed at him. “You know nothing about me.”

“Fang boy?” Sid
faked a frown, grabbed his shirt and pulled it on. “I don’t believe for a minute a human can talk, read or whatever with a dead person. It’s bullshit, so much so that I’m calling bullshit. No, actually, I call
total
bullshit.” His eyes dared her to continue.

“Let me tell you something
, you oversized blood-sucking Thor-looking wannabe.” Once Lana’s temper took over, there was no going back.

Sid was actually impressed at her comeback. She was a beautiful woman
who had mastered the art of controlling her facial expressions, but when she was angry, she was absolutely stunning. He couldn’t take his eyes off her. Her long raven hair had come loose from the braid she had tried to contain it in. A strand teased the corner of her mouth, and his hand itched to caress it away.

“Thor?” Duncan, who was standing next to Amy, finally spoke up. “What is a Thor?”

“It’s a guy in her favorite movie,” Amy whispered out of the side of her mouth. “I actually think he looks more like Brad Pitt, but…” Amy clamped her mouth shut when Lana’s head snapped around toward her, making Amy take a huge step back.

Having a sudden urge to touch her, he walked up
, grasping her chin in a strong enough grip that she couldn’t pull away, but gentle enough not to hurt her. With his thumb, he brushed a strand of hair away that was caught in the corner of her mouth driving him absolutely fucking crazy. “Honey, if you want to insult me, come up with something new,” Sid’s voice took on a husky vibration. “Although, the Thor thing is a new one, the rest is just unoriginal.”

“Who the hell do you think you are?” Lana
glared at him, finally able to pull away from his touch. “I’ve been through total hell that you could have stopped, because, well, that’s your damn job. As a matter of fact, I’m going to report you.”

“You’re going to report me?” Sid
laughed, looking at Jared. “She’s going to report me. Get in line, babe,” She definitely had fire, and he wondered briefly how high that fire flamed behind closed doors.

“Do not call me babe
,” Lana growled standing her ground. She was too pissed to be scared at the moment. “You’re a poor excuse for a Warrior.”

“Oh
, shit.” Those words were harmonized by every Warrior present.

“Honey, I’m the only reason you’re able to stand here and insult me right now. If it wasn’t for me
, you and your friend would be on display to the highest bidder, and once bought, raped repeatedly until you became pregnant with a half-breed.” Sid’s whole attitude changed as he leaned back down toward her, making eye contact. If there was one thing he took seriously, it was his job, not even a gorgeous little lady with a body made for him, and him alone would insult his abilities. Not only that, but the thought of what could have happened if he hadn’t been there, had his blood boiling.

Lana stood toe
-to-toe with him. His breath was hot on her face, his dark golden eyes seared into hers as he towered over her.

“And if you fail to become a breeder
, you are whored out or bled out to anyone with a fat wallet.” Sid searched her face before leaning even closer to her, so close their faces almost touched. “You’re welcome.”

******

Lana watched him walk away before her eyes landed on Vincent. He was right. He did save her life in the end. She and Amy could have ended up in a far worse position, but she wouldn’t admit that to the arrogant ass, no matter how much he looked like Thor.

“You going to do it?” Amy whispered
, stepping closer. “Or are we going to get the hell out of here?”

“Yeah, I’m definitely doing this
,” Lana nodded, pulling off her jacket. The Warriors were involved in their own thing and not paying much attention to them. Once again, her eyes went to Vincent, who was lying still on the cold mucky ground.

“Just be careful.” Amy bit her lip anxiously.

“Don’t let them pull me away until I’m finished
,” she instructed Amy as she hurried to Vincent, tossing her never-to-wear-again jacket over his half decapitated head.

“I won’t.” Amy stood behind her
, taking a quick glance around.

“Oh and Amy
,” Lana turned giving her a hard glare, “never ask me to go on a double date with you again,” Lana said loudly, glancing at the Warriors.

“Never.” Amy looked at her oddly,
and then glanced over to see one of the Warriors watching them. “I just have a man problem. I think my ‘asshole’ radar is broken.”

“You’ve never had a radar
,” Lana hissed. “You have the worst taste in men.”

“True.”
Amy frowned, crossed her arms and then whispered, “Hurry the hell up.”

Rolling her eyes
, Lana knelt down. Cold wetness seeped through her jeans. Breathing in deeply, she reached out to grab Vincent’s wrist but stopped. Saying a quick prayer, she grasped the cross hanging from her neck in a tight grip before grasping his wrist with her other hand which was shaking uncontrollably. Within seconds of making contact, she knew she had made a horrible mistake.

Flashes of cruelty hit Lana like a brick wall. She wanted to let go, get away from it all, but knew she couldn’t. She had to see it through to the end
, or she could be lost in the mind of this madman. She was reliving the last day of this man’s life in flashes, and it made her horribly sick. All of her senses worked except for hearing. Smells, sights and emotions were all intact. She could feel his emotions, which could only be described as cruel excitement.

At the end of the dingy hallway
was a large room; the smell of urine and fear overwhelmed her senses. Small cages lined the wall and inside were women in different states of emotion. Some were reaching through the bars in anger and fear, others were curled on the floor, their faces hidden as their bodies shook in pure terror. Men and women both went from cage to cage, being careful of the grasping hands reaching out begging to be saved.

Even though
Lana couldn’t hear a sound, she felt vibrations and could tell by the actions of the screaming women that they did so in outrage or pure terror. She felt each emotion as if it were her own. She also felt the sickening satisfaction the monster she was touching had felt at that time. She wanted to break from this nightmare, but knew she couldn’t. When she saw a large man at the back of the room wearing a red hooded cape, which covered him from head to toe, she knew by Vincent’s emotions, this was the man responsible.