A Pack For Christmas (Kansas City Vampires Book 7) (5 page)

Rafir’s hips bucked in response. He cried out as he came.

Alex drank him down, throwing his head back when the tightness in his groin exploded. He shuddered, his hips jerking beneath Rafir for several seconds until his orgasm subsided.

Rafir leaned forward, still straddling Alex’s hips. He kissed him. “That was… unexpected.”

Alex agreed. “Totally.” The whole experience had made what he had to do even harder. Knowing what he would be giving up made leaving an even deeper wound.

Rafir had lost control. He’d been powerless to stop the transformation. His wolf had taken one whiff of Alex, and the need to establish claim on the young vampire had taken over. The anger and jealousy had held him, forcing him to act. He hadn’t felt so out of control since he was eighteen. It’s why he’d left home and joined the army in the first place. He’d brutalized Alex, and just because Alex was a vampire didn’t mean he couldn’t hurt him. And what about Julia? She’d been right to leave. Rafir couldn’t blame her for wanting to get as far away from him as possible. After all, he’d more than proved he was as terrible as any monster.

He hadn’t known Alex’s history. Hell, he hadn’t asked. To find out he’d been forcibly taken stabbed a pain deep in Rafir’s chest. He’d kill anyone who hurt Alex now.

Maybe you should kill yourself then
, an inner voice mocked. While Alex lay in the next room, dead for the day, Rafir stared at the twinkling lights strewn across the living room window trying not to choke on the ugly misery crowding his thoughts.

He had to protect Julia and Alex, and the only way he knew how was to bargain with Bernard. If Julia left the city, it might at least solve one problem -- she’d be safe. A burst of panic and loss formed at the idea of Julia leaving for good. He’d never imagined life without her -- not ever.

Mid-afternoon and he still hadn’t heard from her. He’d continuously checked his cell phone just in case he’d accidentally turned off the ringer, or if reception was bad, but nothing. Surely Julia knew he would never hurt her -- never attack her. She would never push him the way Alex had…

God, he sounded like the abusers Julia had to deal with every day as a social worker. He couldn’t blame her for leaving, but he had to figure out a way to make it right.

Rafir left the apartment a little after one o’clock to track down Julia’s parents. She would be with them, and he had to try to win her back.

* * *

Julia woke up in a daze. Her head pounded, and her body ached. It took a moment for her thoughts to clear before reality set in. She’d been caged.

Again.

She pushed herself up off the cold cement floor and scrambled backward until her back pressed against the two-inch thick bars. “No, no, no,” she murmured. She’d been kidnapped and caged like an animal, and worse, a slave.

Julia looked around trying to find landmarks or anything that would help her figure out where her captors had taken her. The room was damp and dark with cement gray walls and no windows. A basement. She felt the fear rise in her gut like sudden madness. She gripped and yanked on the smooth bars before screaming her frustration. The darkness closed in. She felt disoriented. She had to pull it together. Think. What was the last thing she remembered?

She’d left the apartment and caught a cab to the Crown Plaza where her parents were staying. She couldn’t remember anything else. The cab driver had been a blond, middle-aged man, but Julia couldn’t remember anything distinctive about him.

He’d stopped for gas. Yes. She remembered now. He’d stopped at a gas station on Main. She’d pulled out her compact to see how bad she looked -- her mother was always so critical -- and she remembered seeing a flash of something in the mirror. Nothing else.

How had she ended up here? Was it a coincidence her parents showing up and this happening? Could they be responsible? Some crazy tactic to try and bring her home? And why now? No. She wouldn’t believe it of them. Her father was a powerful man in business, and if he’d wanted to pull something like this he would have done it ten years earlier. But if not them, then it had to be the vampires? Maybe Rafir hadn’t killed them all. Could this be revenge?

The cold fear rose again, quickening her breath.
Please, God, not vampires
.

A door creaked open, and Julia could see light drifting down a flight of stairs. A hulking figure lingered in the doorway before descending. Julia crab walked to the far end of the cage. She slid up the bars to a stand, ready to defend herself. Ten years with a ranger had not been for nothing. She would fight this time.

A large, shabby man wearing coveralls with the name Hank embroidered on the pocket stood at the door. He had blue eyes peeking through tufts of wildly unkempt brows and a beard with growth to the top of his cheeks. This didn’t look like any vampire Julia had ever seen. Possibly a Renfield, but even then, the vampires liked their human servants to be clean and well-groomed.

“Why am I here?” she asked with more courage than she felt.

“That’s above my pay grade, sweetheart.” He rattled the keys in the door and swung it open.

Julia noticed he was wearing gloves. Never a good sign. “Stay away from me.” She balanced on the balls of her feet.

The man held up his hands. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

“I bet that’s what all the serial killers say.”

The man chuckled. “You’re funny.”

“What do you want?” She wasn’t going to be anyone’s dinner theater.

“You’d have to ask Bernard.” He gestured for her to come forward.

“Who’s Bernard?”

Hank cocked his head sideways as if he couldn’t believe she didn’t know the answer. “Your man doesn’t tell you jack-shit, does he?” He shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. We need to go to the medic room. Doc is waiting.”

“Why?” She felt cold and frightened and alone. What had Rafir known? Why had he kept it from her? Oh, God. Bernard had to have been a vampire from her past. Maybe Monte, only he’d changed his name for whatever reason vampires did anything. He’d been a sadistic fuck. Was Rafir trying to handle it on his own? Adrenaline started her hands shaking. She would not be taken to him alive.

“No,” she yelled while launching herself at the shabby man.

Julia slid to her knees and punched him in the groin before sweeping his legs with her feet. His bare forearm sizzled when it came in contact with the bars. He bellowed as he landed on the ground with a dull thud. He was warm. Human. She rolled up onto her feet before dropping a knee into his chest and landing a palmed blow to his nose.

The man recovered quickly, roaring as he threw her across the cage. Julia crashed into the bars with enough force to knock the air from her lungs. Pain blossomed in her chest and head.

The man stalked forward his eyes shifting from blue to gold. He unzipped his coveralls and dropped them to the floor.

Julia shook her head. “Just kill me. I won’t be a blood slave again. Not again.”

He dropped to all fours, his muscles shifting and squirming under his skin like baby snakes trying to wriggle free. Fur sprouted thick and black along his skin. His face changed, his features more pronounced and exaggerated, while his ears moved toward the top of his head, and his teeth grew sharp and feral. He stopped in front of Julia, who was too stunned to speak, and roared. Hot breath and saliva hit her in the face.

Not vampires.

“Okay,” Julia said, after catching her breath. “I guess we’re going to the medic.”

Rafir had been all over the city, including the hotel where Julia’s parents were staying. Julia was missing. Her parents hadn’t seen or heard from her since they’d left the apartment, and she hadn’t called to check in with Rafir. She could still be mad at him, but he didn’t think she would disappear without a word to anyone. She hadn’t even called work.

Could she really be so pissed she’d just leave? Possible.

He remembered the shell of a person she’d been when he’d found her in the Saudi palace. She’d recovered from so much pain and abuse, and had in turn worked for a degree in social work so she could help other victims.

No. They might not be a proper pack, but Rafir could feel Julia was in trouble. The sensation sat like a cold stone in his stomach. He wished Alex were awake. Rafir needed the closeness of his pack. The thought made him feel weak. Pathetic. As long as the sun was up, he was on his own. He considered calling someone from his old unit, but it would take too long for any of them to show up in time to be helpful. He’d isolated himself when he’d moved to Kansas City. He’d done it on purpose. He’d wanted to make a safe place for Julia.

He snorted derisively. He’d wanted to keep Julia safe.

The deadline had passed for Bernard’s twenty-four hour ultimatum, and if he’d taken Julia, she would be alone, frightened, and vulnerable to whatever atrocities he had in mind for her. A dozen scenarios fired through Rafir’s imagination. His resolve hardened. One problem would be trying to find Bernard’s headquarters. Wolves were secretive and hard to track for obvious reasons. He’d never been invited into the pack’s confidences, nor had he wanted to be a part of their world. Now, he wished he’d been a little more curious. He would get the answers in one place and one place only.

Guillermo Perez surprised Rafir. It was the boss’s office at
Corazon de la Muerte
, but at a little after three in the afternoon -- a couple of hours until sunset -- it was too early for a normal vampire to rise. Rafir supposed the vampire had learned his fair share of tricks over his half a millennium, but he was sure it was a trick Guillermo didn’t want the world to know about. He hadn’t expected to run into anyone in Perez’s office. He’d planned a quick in and out. Just a peek at Bernard’s file. The master had a file on all supes in his city.

“Rafir,” the vampire said. He leaned forward in his chair, elbows on the desk with his fingers steepled together. “Can I help you?”

“Gui,” Rafir replied. “You’re up early.”

The dark vampire with his hypnotic brown eyes leaned back in his chair and placed his bare feet on the desk. “Is that why you’ve come? You are interested in my sleep schedule.”

Rafir debated a lie. Guillermo Perez and Bernard Peat had an alliance. And while Gui might like and respect Rafir, alliances went deeper than friendship. Guillermo and his husband, Nathan Greer, had saved Rafir’s life more than once. But he wasn’t sure Gui would risk a war with the wolves for the sake of a human.

Clenching his fists, Rafir readied himself to fight Guillermo if necessary for the information. Most likely, Guillermo would kill him if it came to blows. Werewolves were strong and lightning-fast, and the army had trained Rafir well, but Guillermo was awake at three twenty in the afternoon. The power it took to do something so miraculous deserved a great deal of respect and a healthy dose of terror.

Guillermo canted his head. Curiosity plain in his expression. “I can see you have a lot on your mind,
mi amigo
. We are friends,
si
?”

Rafir forced his body to relax even as his mind raced. “Yes.” He licked his lips, and decided to chance the truth. “My Julia --” He forced down the tightness in his throat. “She’s missing. I think Bernard has her.”

A barely perceptible twitch in Guillermo’s cheek was enough to convey his surprise. “Tell me.”

Rafir laid the situation with Bernard out for Gui, but skipped the part where he’d been the one who had driven Julia from their home. He winced with a pang of guilt.

“Can you be certain Bernard has her?”

“No.” Panic stirred in Rafir. Guillermo wouldn’t help him. And why should he? Rafir had no proof Bernard did anything more than invite him into the pack. Guillermo hadn’t survived this long by taking stupid chances.

Guillermo dropped his feet back to the floor and grabbed a piece of notepaper, scribbled down an address, and handed it to Rafir. “Be careful, my friend. I can be of no help to you until after dark, and even then, my position is precarious. You may have to fight Bernard if he really has your Julia and you wish to save her.”

“Thank you,” Rafir said. “I wouldn’t expect you to get involved. You have your own family to consider.”

“Is Alex safe?”

The question hit Rafir like a kick to the gut. Alex had been fine when Rafir had left to find Julia, but he had no idea now whether the young vampire was safe or not. He’d been so focused on Julia, Alex’s welfare hadn’t even crossed his mind.

Guillermo raised a questioning brow.

Rafir didn’t have an answer. Did Guillermo know something he didn’t? Oh, shit. Alex. “I’ve got to go. Thanks for the help.”

“Don’t mention it, Rafir.” The r’s rolled off Guillermo’s tongue. He phrased his next words as a command. “Seriously,
chico
. Don’t mention it.”

Rafir raced back to the apartment, nearly hitting an elderly woman who had stepped out into the street in front of him.

In the hallway he saw the door to the apartment cracked open. Anxiety welled like pressure in his chest. He’d left Alex alone and vulnerable, and with a broken door. He hadn’t even considered the possibility they would come after him. But Alex’s day state made him no better than a corpse -- easy to move, easy to damage, and easy to kill. Rafir roared and charged into the apartment. He smelled wolves, at least two. The bedroom was empty. He felt a mild sense of relief when he didn’t find Alex’s headless body on the bed. The top blanket was gone. Which meant they’d probably wrapped him up like a present and carried him right out. If they took him, then Bernard meant to keep him alive, at least long enough to get what he wanted from Rafir.

His fingers formed into clawed weapons as he fought his transformation. Wolfing out would have to wait. He had a pack master to find and kill.