CREAM (On the Hunt) (3 page)

Teaghan came back to her. “What the fuck, woman?”

“Shut it. I’m helping you like I’m supposed to.” She holstered her gun and then reached out to him. “Give me your hand.”

“Why?”

“Hurry up, vampire. You’re the one bitching about a payday. Now give me your hand.” She knew why he was hesitating. Necro-metal hurt vampires—directed at them or not. But it was supposed to be equal to getting burned by a match—painful but not lasting. Well, not lasting so long as the contact was brief. If she held him too long, he would lose use of his arm as the magic of the necromes negated the magic that animated him.

Teaghan slapped his hand against hers and grimaced. She placed her other hand on top of his, concentrated her energy to cast a spell she’d only read about and then said, “Ghost Status.”

The two white dots stopped advancing. Teaghan had dropped off their radar. The spell had worked. She’d masked Teaghan’s marker—the magical beacon that denoted he was a hunter to other necromancers so they didn’t attack him.

Satisfied with her achievement and a little winded, she released him. “You’ve got a few minutes of anonymity. Make them count.”

He pulled his hand back and shook it. “Nice trick. Didn’t know you necromancers could do that.”

“Most can’t. It takes too much energy.” She would leave her explanation at that since most necromancers couldn’t because Ghost Status wasn’t taught. She bent over and rested her palms on her knees, breathing hard as though she’d just run a one-minute mile. She’d done the magical equivalent. “I’m good for a Shield, maybe a Stun, for the next few hours but that’s about it. The rest is on you.”

“I can deal.” He swept her into his arms and took off running at vampire speed, which had to be close to forty miles per hour. Maybe slower because of the trees.

“What the hell?” Jeliyah had no choice but to hang on to him. If he dropped her now, the fall would break something if not kill her outright.

“They can’t see me but you can still see them. Keep reporting their positions. And where’s the rogue?”

She closed her eyes and focused on the dots. The two other enforcers were on the move again, faster this time. The rogue had left the perimeter and was heading straight for the house. Like she’d thought, ballsy. Maybe the rogue had been waiting around to see if someone would come meet him.

She said, “The rogue is moving toward eleven. Cautious speed. I’d say a little above human. The enforcers are moving to intercept, still human speed.”

“We’ll get there first.” His hold on her tightened and he ran faster. The hand on her rib cage moved up so it nestled under her breast.

Jeliyah would smack him if he was using this position to cop a feel. The lecherous grin sitting on his face was a good indication he might be. This rogue better be worth it.

She would find out in a second. Teaghan stopped long enough to put her down and pull the sword he had strapped to his back—something that was at odds with his gangsta image.

Enforcers preferred swords and other edged weapons. Most vampires could move faster than a bullet, though that wasn’t enough incentive for her to give up her gun. Plus, guns weren’t great for close combat, which was always what these skirmishes turned into if prolonged.

Resting against the tree Teaghan had left her by, Jeliyah tried to make sense of the battle so she could jump in when needed. Teaghan and the rogue were moving too fast to track. All she caught were the sparks when their swords clashed.

There was one way to slow the rogue but that meant removing Ghost Status on Teaghan’s marker. Other necromancers couldn’t see him but she couldn’t either. She could aim at the red dot, which was the rogue, but her spell would hit any other vampire in the vicinity as well. Her magic wouldn’t target Teaghan so long as she knew where he was. Maintaining Ghost Status was taking a lot of energy. If she was going to take it down, she needed to do it now.

She glanced at the two marker dots. They were closer but still far enough away that they shouldn’t cause Teaghan any trouble. She would chance it.

Clasping her hands, she said, “Cancel.” As she thought, the two markers paused for a second before speeding up their approach. She spread her hands in the direction of the clashing swords and pushed her power through the necromes toward the red dot. “Halt.”

The rogue stopped mid-swing as if he’d run into a wall. He looked her way, an expression of rage contorting his features. Teaghan lopped his head off with a single, quick slice and then caught the head while the body fell.

Teaghan looked at the head and then at Jeliyah. “What the fuck, woman? How the hell did you cast that without hitting me?”

Jeliyah slid down the tree to the ground, breathing hard again. She’d overestimated her ability to cast Halt so soon after Ghost Status, which meant Shield and Stun would have also been too much. She should have gone for Disarm or possibly Trip instead. She said in a breathy voice, “Your previous necromancers must have been weak if that impressed you.”

If Teaghan had a reply, she didn’t catch it as the world faded.

Teaghan sighed. Jeliyah’s head dropped forward and she sagged to the side. She’d fainted. He’d never had a partner do that. She’d overexerted herself, which meant she would be out of it for a few hours. This hunt was over so it didn’t bother him. If she pulled this shit in the middle of a hunt, he would beat her ass.

A grin curved his lips at the idea of yanking down her pants to reveal her round ass so he could smack it. He wouldn’t stop until her skin glowed with the heat and blood rushing to the surface and she was begging for more. Jeliyah seemed like the type who liked a good spanking. But he would have to find that out later.

He pulled a plastic bag out of his back pocket, stuffed the head inside, looped the handles over his wrist and then picked up Jeliyah. She draped over his arms with her neck bared. If he had been any other type of vampire, that would have been a nice invitation.

The electric shocks of pain slicing up his arms and his incoming company curbed the thought. Most necromes went inactive when the user lost consciousness. Not so with Jeliyah’s. Hers were shielding her like stinging nettles. He’d gotten himself quite a powerful partner this time around.

Ignoring the pain and hugging her close so her head rested on his shoulder, Teaghan ran at top speed back to his car. He didn’t have time or the inclination to deal with the other two enforcers. His marker had tagged the head as his kill—something those in charge had come up with quick to curtail infighting—so they wouldn’t try to take it. But he didn’t feel like dealing with the posturing and warnings to stay off their turf…as if it belonged to them.

That territorial crap was for the head families. Enforcers went where the money was. A few enforcers tried to stake claim on an area but they spent more time fighting with other enforcers than bringing in bounties. Teaghan and the rest of the majority believed in the snooze-and-lose way of doing things.

Jeliyah sighed in her sleep and then spoke soundless words. Her lips brushed his neck in light caresses that made Teaghan’s dick jump to attention. He stumbled at the instant reaction but regained his footing before he hit a tree.

Less than a day with this woman and she already had him reacting to her briefest touch. That made up Teaghan’s mind. Jeliyah was going to be in his bed sooner rather than later. He just had to convince her of that fact…and get her to ditch the necromes.

The tingling had lessened since she started speaking. Whatever she dreamed about, she must feel safe. He hoped it stayed that way, at least while he was holding her. The last thing he needed was her activating these stupid things because of a nightmare. He’d been on the wrong end of a necrome before, back in his rebellious days. He didn’t feel like repeating the experience.

The car came in sight and he slowed his speed. On the passenger side, he shuffled Jeliyah’s weight to one arm so he could grab her duffel bag and toss it out of the way. He lowered her to the seat and then fastened her seat belt. After retrieving her duffel bag, he shoved it and the severed head in the trunk. It was a tight fit with his bag also stashed in the back, but there was no other place for it. The trunk closed and that’s all he cared about.

He hopped into the driver’s seat and glanced at Jeliyah. She was smiling about something. His dick twitched. She looked better with a smile. He would bet she looked fantastic with those plump lips open and moaning her pleasure.

Teaghan started the car and peeled out of the lot, headed for the nearest hotel. The first sign he saw that said cable TV, laundry service and free breakfast was where he stopped to get a room.

His cell played a hip-hop beat just as he was laying Jeliyah on one of the two double beds. She frowned in her sleep and her necromes glowed, forming a shield around her that crackled with the energy powering it.

Timing. Teaghan stepped back from the bed and answered his phone. “What?”

“Yo, Big T. It’s Rick. You busy?”

“Not so much. What you got for me?”

“The usual. Three large for the night plus tips. You in?”

“Where?”

“Kent’s.”

Teaghan shook his head. “Five plus tips and free drinks.”

“Come on, man. You’re killing me.”

“Take it or leave it. I just came off a hunt so I’m happy to take my ass to bed. And for putting up with Kent’s bullshit, I should charge you an extra three instead of two. I’m giving you a discount on account of me being in a good mood.”

“Fine. Fine. Five, tips and drinks. When can you get here?”

“Give me an hour. I’ve got to cash out.” He ended the call and clipped the phone back in its holster.

He perused Jeliyah’s body, lingering at her breasts. “Damn shame.”

He would have liked to stay and see how far he could get with his little partner but her necromes activating had stalled that idea. The woman must have a real hate on for hip-hop to react in her sleep like that to a little music. If he tried to touch her now, the shield surrounding her would send enough voltage through him to make a lightning rod jealous.

Since he wasn’t a masochist or the suicidal type, he decided to leave his exploration for another night, preferably one where she wasn’t wearing those damn necromes. He would be limited to exploring until she gave him permission to do more.

He grinned at the thought of how he would get that permission. Her breasts would be his first stop. He wanted to spend time getting to know those twin mounds until Jeliyah was pleading for him to do more. And she would. Teaghan hadn’t met a woman yet who didn’t ask for more once he got started.

His phone went off again. Jeliyah’s barrier intensified, casting the entire room in blue light. He shook his head as he answered the call. “What?”

“You free, Teag?”

Speaking of begging. “Not tonight. I’m at Kent’s.”

“Shit. I knew that bastard would get to you first. Fine. I want you for the rest of the week.”

“You got me, Lee. Hunts take precedence.”

“Always. I know the deal. Three, tips, drinks?”

“Three, tips, drinks and a guest.”

“You’re bringing a guest? That’s a first. Never thought you would get serious about someone.”

“She’s my partner.”

“I thought you hated your partners.”

“This one is fast changing my mind.”

“Got you down for a guest. Tomorrow then.” The phone clicked as the call ended.

Teaghan decided his phone going off was a good thing. Jeliyah’s shield meant he could leave and not worry about her being attacked. Not that he had been too worried about it when he took the first job. No one would have tracked him that fast and the report had said there was only one rogue in the area.

He hung the Do Not Disturb sign on the knob on his way out the door. Jeliyah probably wouldn’t wake before he got back. If she did, she would figure out the deal without needing an explanation. Not that he expected her to miss him, not yet. Once he got her addicted to all the pleasure he could give her, that’s when the missing would start. That’s when he would get rid of her.

He hopped into his car and checked the surrounding area for anything suspicious. Everything appeared normal. He started the car, gunned the engine a few times and then peeled out of the parking lot. His thoughts went to the many women who had helped him hone his bedroom skills over the centuries. Each relationship had ended on bad terms since Teaghan had cut the women lose when they started getting clingy.

Needy women turned nosy and nagging, which graduated to interfering with his business. But that was a few months away, at least. Jeliyah would take time to come around. He knew that already. Once she got to the becoming-a-pain-in-the-ass stage, Teaghan should be close to retiring her.

He didn’t know what necromancers did after they ended their partnerships with him. They called it retirement and he hadn’t bothered to ask. He did know no able-bodied necromancer would be allowed to take the money and go off to some tropical island somewhere. Necromancers were too rare for that. Retirement was code for something else. Something desirable that cost a lot money. Money Teaghan was on his way to get.

He parked the car at the curb outside a three-story red-brick building with a wrought-iron gate for a door. The two enforcers standing on either side of that door nodded to Teaghan as he neared them. He returned the nod before pulling the door open and entering the building.