Her Vampire Ward Read online

  Her Vampire Ward

  Ballard Protective Services

  Copyright 2013 Britten Thorne

  All Romance eBooks Edition

  All Rights Reserved

  This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to persons living or dead, places, events, or locales, is purely coincidental.

  Warning: contains adult content

  I stood by with my brother as the black van sped into the parking lot, tires spinning and spraying dust and dirt as it came to an abrupt stop in front of us. We were far from the main road - we could only hear crickets and frogs and other nocturnal animals in the area. The run-down motel behind us looked abandoned from the outside; at least to untrained eyes.

  The van's side door slid open, and two of our men escorted our newest client between them.

  A vampire. Hence the cover of night.

  "I'm Daniel Ballard," my brother said, "This is my sister, Eve. We'll be keeping you safe while you're in transition here." The vampire opened his mouth to talk, but my brother cut him off. "Your new name is Alek Yerzov. We'll fill you in on the rest later, but you need to settle into that immediately."

  "I understand." His voice sounded raspy. He must have had a hell of a time before we got to him. His button-down shirt was dingy and rumpled, his straight black hair hung limp and greasy around his head, and he kept his eyes on the ground. Poor guy. The report had said that he'd been on the run for a long while.

  It had also detailed the sort of magic he’d been casting to keep ahead of his pursuers. Blood magic. Dark, scary stuff. Nothing anyone in our agency would ever dabble in. It was a miracle the vampire had survived using as much as he had.

  "You can relax, now, Alek. You're safe with us," I said.

  He turned towards me, and I got a glimpse of a dark green eye before he stared at his feet again. "If it's all the same to you, Ms. Ballard, I'll relax when the sun rises."

  "Fair enough," said Daniel, "Follow me."

  I brought up the rear as we entered the old motel down a flight of stairs through a basement entrance. I set the electronic lock and flipped the mechanical one on the door behind us. I opened the nearby filing cabinet and pulled out a tiny bowl of dried and blessed herbs and a packet of matches. I lit the bowl and placed it on the floor. That would activate the magical lock.

  "All clear," I called, and Daniel switched on his flashlight. He led us into a stairwell and up to the second story. The long hallway had its old carpeting still, and smelled like mildew. The other two men nodded to us and broke away, heading for the office at the end. Daniel unlocked a room midway down and allowed Alek and I to enter ahead of him.

  I flicked on the lights. The two-bed room had no phone or television, but otherwise nothing was out of the ordinary. The room was clean, the furniture new.

  Alek sat on the edge of the nearest bed with a heavy sigh. "I'm sure you guys are aware of everything already, but I need to re-state the threat, here. I wouldn't feel right if I didn't. The warlock they've got working with them... " He shuddered.

  "We know," I said. "Now that you're here, I can tell you. We've encountered him before."

  "And your client?" He looked up at me, finally revealing his face. Despite the dark circles, his green eyes were striking. He might have been handsome, but he just looked exhausted. And afraid.

  "Hey," I said, dropping into a crouch to meet him at eye-level, putting a hand on his knee, "You're safe here. And as long as you follow our instructions to the letter, you'll be safe back out there."

  "The client, Ms. Ballard?"

  I maintained eye contact. "Gone. He reconnected with his old life and was found before he could testify. The whole case fell apart, and he's probably dead."

  Alek looked away. "Thank you for your honesty."

  "It won't happen to you. Just do what we say." He nodded. "Daniel and I will both be with you here until your new identity is ready."

  "My sister... "

  "Don't," my brother and I both said, and I continued, "It's best for both of you if you don't contact her."

  He looked away.

  "I'm very serious," I said, "We'll talk more after you've had some rest, but you will have no access to phones until we're satisfied that you understand."

  He met my eyes again and nodded. So weary, so sad. And trusting. None of the vampiric arrogance I was so used to. I was struck with a need to protect this one. But he had the look of someone who wouldn’t follow that first, most important rule. The natural impulse to look out for his sister would be a problem. This wasn't going to be one of our easier jobs.

  -

  I left my brother with the vampire. He would take the first shift, making sure the creature got enough rest before going through all the rules for the first time. Number one being, do not contact family, friends, coworkers, acquaintances. It was the hardest rule to follow, harder than answering to a new name and discarding the old. Harder than abandoning all possessions. Harder than leaving bank accounts behind.

  I glanced over his report for the twentieth time. Not so unusual. Vampire, witnessed other vampires murdering one of their own. Some scientist. He wanted to testify, do the right thing, and the murderers brought in a real monster of a warlock to silence him. That was what made this stand out. Why the warlock? It raised the issue, why the scientist?

  Not my business. My job was just too keep Alek safe.

  I entered the control room at the end of the hall, where Alek’s escorts waited. The modified hotel room was practically lined with computer monitors and television screens.

  I left my weapons on pegs on the back of the door. "The spells are active," Ian said. He and the other man, Joel, sat with cups of coffee at a long desk in front of a smaller set of monitors. I stepped up behind their chairs - they were watching the camera feeds from our few occupied rooms, including Alek’s.

  “Where’s Carolyn?” I asked. Another regular, she manned the control room when most of us were in the field or dealing with the clients.

  “Sent her on a coffee and smoke break,” Joel said, sipping his own, “She’ll be back in ten.” I spotted Daniel on one of the little monitors, sitting on the end of one of the hotel beds and reading something on his phone. Alek slept on his back on the other, shoes discarded. At least I assumed he was asleep - one hand was draped across his eyes.

  I always felt sympathy for our clients, but something about Alek bothered me. Maybe it was just seeing such a powerful creature brought so low. He wasn't as large as Daniel - few were - but he was a big guy, and strong, and a damn vampire. He should not be so afraid. He shouldn’t have had to resort to the type of magic he had. I wished he’d hired us earlier.

  “Any updates from the field?” I asked.

  “The identity is good to go,” Ian said, “They’re still working on the spells at the residence, though.”

  I sighed. “Okay. Wake me up if anything changes.” I walked through another door, into the adjoining room. Clothes littered the desk and chairs. I flopped onto one of the two beds on my stomach and hoped the pillows were at least vaguely clean as I shut my eyes. I already knew I wouldn’t sleep. I was way too wound up. Daniel and I had spent half the night driving a second van around the pick-up location. The vampires had found Alek before we’d arrived, which meant the warlock would have been on his way. We were finally able to block their vehicle coming up a one-way street, buying Alek enough time to get in the other van. I was a good driver, but we weren’t the only cars on the road. My adrenaline was still running.

  I heard the door open and shut again, but I didn’t lift my head.

  “You okay?” Ian asked.

  “Yeah. Long night is all. Still can’t believe it took us so long to pick him up.” The bed sank as he sat next to me.

&n
bsp; “He almost bolted once we did locate him. That warlock is a real piece of work.” Strong fingers pressed into the back of my neck, massaged away some of the tension. I groaned in appreciation.

  “I'm afraid we’re going to lose this one, too,” I said.

  “Think so?”

  “He had the look when he brought up his sister.”

  Ian sighed. “I hate it when you’re right.” He kissed my neck. “Want to fool around a little?”

  I contemplated it. Ian and I had been sort of involved on and off for almost as long as we’d worked with each other. We weren’t really compatible and we both knew it, but kept waking up together. I guess we should have taken it as a sign that we were both working way too much.

  “All right,” I said, rolling onto my back. It wasn’t as if I was going to get any sleep either way. “Let’s get complicated.”

  Ian chuckled. His dusty blonde hair stood in all directions - he looked the way I felt. “Let’s try to avoid that.” He kissed my neck, placed a hand on my breast and gently squeezed. I ran my fingers through his hair with a sigh. He was warm, familiar, and I finally started to relax as his lips worked their way up to my jaw, and then my mouth. He tasted like peppermint candies, as always. I kissed him back, taking in the sweet flavor.

  He pulled away to kick his shoes off, then laid on his side next to me. He wedged a knee between my legs and planted his mouth back on mine. We’d tried to make more of this than it was in the past, but we were at the point where we could finally accept that this was nothing more than a comfort. A winding-down after intensely stressful days.

  His hand found its way under my shirt and bra to knead my breast. It was a clumsy move beneath all the layers of clothing, especially with the harness I was wearing to hold my knives. But we couldn’t start stripping while on call. It was enough to get me going, though the adrenaline still helped. Warmth bloomed between my legs, and I moved closer to press myself against his thigh.

  God, was I worn out. It was such a relief to let myself fall into his kiss. Sucking on his tongue, grinding against his leg, it awakened a very simple need in me and put the day’s complications far in the background.

  The lights dimmed, and the first alarm sounded. It was a low hum through the building, meant to alert us without alarming the clients. Ian and I both sprung into action, neither of us hesitating or saying a word. He stamped his feet back inside his shoes as I left the room.

  “Report?” I asked as I burst through the door. I retrieved my weapons and checked them - gun with the silver bullets, loaded. Gun with the wooden bullets, loaded. I strapped the holster across my waist. Sword, loosened in its sheath, slung over my back. I didn’t bother strapping it on just yet. I peered over Joel’s shoulder. Daniel was on his feet in the room, but Alek was still asleep.

  “Just a probe,” he said. He indicated a different monitor. The hotel was a bright green dot in a sea of darkness. A very dim cloud, also green, appeared from one end of the screen and slid across, passing right over us. “Coming from far away,” he continued, “It’s got to be the warlock. He isn’t getting a lock on us or anything. Yet. But the dude’s got quite a range.”

  “I'm back!” Carolyn burst into the room. The short blonde woman entered behind me and squinted at the green monitor. “Gimme my seat, Joel. You and Ian go patrol outside. Keep the fires lit. I’ve got the room from here.” The two men left. Carolyn flipped a switch on a small panel below the monitors and spoke into a tiny microphone, “Can you hear me, Daniel?”

  I watched him on the monitor as he spoke. He kept his voice low. “I can. Report?”

  “Magical probes, from a pretty good distance. Nothing to get alarmed about just yet.”

  He was silent for a moment. “No. We remember this guy. I’d rather be proactive now. Is Eve there?”

  I leaned over Carolyn’s shoulder. “I’m here.”

  “I want to set off the decoy wards. Come take my place in here.”

  “I can just go deal with them.”

  “Let me,” he said, “You did all the driving tonight so far. Chill out here, it won’t take me long.”

  “Okay. Be right down.” He was right; after the adventures earlier in the evening, I was probably a little too tired to drive around for another couple hours.

  He waited with his head out the door as I approached the room. “He still sleeping?” I asked.

  “Yeah. I’ll be in touch.”

  “Be safe.” I watched him go before shutting myself into the room. The alarm was still humming. I pulled my walkie from my belt. It was small, no bigger than a flip phone. “Updates, Carolyn?”

  “None yet,” her voice crackled through the tiny speaker. “Ian and Joel hit the road already. I’ll let you know when they’re heading back.”

  “Thanks.” I sank to the second bed, put the walkie and the sword down next to me. The vampire was still sleeping, arm draped over his eyes. I got comfortable sitting up with my back against the wall. Walkie and phone both close at hand, guns ready, sword nearby, and there wasn’t a single thing I could do but watch and wait. I closed my eyes.

  -

  I was dozing off a little when the second alarm startled me upright. The hum became a low, pulsing tone. I called over the walkie, “Update?”

  “Decoys were detected,” Carolyn replied, “They haven’t found our location, but it’s a concern. We’re to stand by for now.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Are we in danger?” The vampire sat up, rubbing his eyes. The dark circles remained. If anything, he looked paler.

  “Alek,” I said, “No. We’re fine. This alarm is because some decoy locations were detected. But they’ll move on. They can’t find us here."

  He blinked for a second, thrown off by my using the new name. He’d have to get used to it, though. "I thought your brother was here."

  "He's in the field. Listen, you won’t get much sleep with this thing going off, so if you want something to drink, or if you want to use the shower, feel free. We’ll be here for a while, still.”

  He looked down at himself. “A shower sounds like a good idea.”

  “Towels are above the toilet. There’s some clean clothes in the drawers, should be about your size.”

  He shuffled into the bathroom and shut the door. I picked up my cell and called Daniel.

  “Yeah?” he asked, his voice distant through the earpiece.

  “Where are you?”

  “Twenty miles out, now. We’re just going to keep on going, I think. Even if they know they’re just finding fake locations, we’re leading them away.”

  “I don’t like you guys being so far,” I said, “I guess Ian and Joel aren’t much closer?”

  “No.”

  I sighed. “Okay.”

  “How’s Alek?”

  “I think he was starving when you picked him up. If we need to run, it’s going to be a problem.”

  “That’s not going to happen. But you or Carolyn or one of the other agents could, you know...”

  “Ugh.” I shuddered. “I’ll think about it.” I hated feeding vamps. It always felt so violating.

  “Gotta go,” Daniel said, “Call in another half hour?”

  “Yeah. Drive careful.” I hung up and tossed the phone down next to the walkie.

  Alek emerged from the bathroom, towel this around his waist. He was incredibly pale but, annoyed at myself for noticing, incredibly sculpted. He was a lean man, and all tight, hard muscle.

  And crossed with scars, mostly healed but red around the edges. Vampires almost never scarred - it was evidence of the severity of the magic he’d been using.

  "Sorry," he said, eyes downcast, "I was in such a rush to get clean, I forgot to grab the clothes." He rummaged quickly through one of the drawers.

  “You should have called us before you did that,” I said, referring to the scars. It was an unprofessional thing to say. It was none of my business. But it hurt just to see them.

  “No,” he said, “I didn’t wan
t to drag anyone else into this. That warlock is too powerful. I’m only here now because it became... too painful. But I need to be at that trial.”

  I didn’t know very much about blood magic. I knew it had something to do with summoning some beings, some creatures, some vicious little... things. They’d attack for you. To create them, though, to birth them - it was a painful and violent process.

  "I heard you on the phone," he said, "We are in danger, aren't we?"

  "Not yet, Alek," I said, "We are... concerned. But there's still no reason to believe that they'll find us."

  "I should leave." He spoke in nearly a whisper. "I didn't want endanger anyone else."

  "This is our job. This is what we do. Get dressed. There's some cow's blood in the fridge. I know it won't help much, but it's better than nothing."

  "And then?"

  "We wait."

  -

  The third alarm went off while Alek was flipping through one of the few magazines we kept in the room's drawers. I was scanning through the security camera feeds on my phone and braiding and re-braiding my hair to work off my nerves, though the pulsing tone was wearing on my brain. I realized I was breathing in time with it.

  "Are you and Daniel twins?" he asked suddenly. I hadn't realized that he was watching me mess with my hair. I knotted it quickly and let the messy braid hang over my shoulder.

  "No. He's two years older. We get that a lot, though." We both strongly resembled our father, with our black hair, deep blue eyes, strong jawlines. I'd inherited my mother's full lips, but that was the only resemblance either of us had.

  "What is that thing you do?" he asked, a half-smile on his lips. It was surprisingly charming. I imagined he must be quite handsome once fed and rested, and quickly pushed the image away. "Good cop, bad cop?"

  I chuckled. "No. We didn't arrest you. More like compassionate cop, business cop. He tells you what you need to know, I keep you calm."