Jules (Golden Streak Series Book 5) (12 page)

“Of course he did. Did he also happen to mention that he was there when I was hurt?
Did he tell you that he and that fucking prick Peter stood over me while I bled out?” Brock glanced at Viktor, who still hadn’t moved.

“No, he didn’t mention that part to us.”
Brock looked back at her. “Had I known, I would have let you know sooner who was footing the bills. He’s not going to be happy once you put that gun down.”

Brock had a feeling she didn’t care.
He moved out of her line of sight, but he made no move to disarm her. He was quick, but he couldn’t outrun a bullet. And he was pretty sure if Viktor made a wrong move she’d shoot him just to get at the vampire.

“I know your mother, Lenore.
She’s the one that wants you dead.” Neither of them moved and Brock thought it might be a good idea to calm his mate, as she had felt his fear and shock. As soon as Lenny had pulled the gun, Em had been all over him to tell him what the fuck was going on.

Lenny is currently pointing a gun at Viktor. She is one pissed off woman.
Em snorted at him.
You will be happy to know that she’s not pissed at me but at him. Apparently, he and Peter were there when she was hurt.

Then if I was you
, I’d stay the hell out of it. She’s not going to be any happier with you than him if you interfere.
His mate was always full of sound advice
. I’m coming to you. I have a little more information on the bodies than we had before. Tell Lenny she was right when she told us that the male had been alive when his jewels were cut off.

H
e’d asked her several times not to tell him things like that. She’d done it on purpose, and he was going to have to think of ways to get back at her. Maybe he could tie her to the bed again. She’d enjoyed that a great deal and…well hell, so had he. When he started to tell Lenny what Em had found out, he realized that neither of them had moved since she’d gotten there. She had to be really tired of holding that position.

“Em said you were right on the
genitals. She said that they were removed before he was dead.” He sat in the chair he’d been in before she’d been brought there. “Are you going to have this going on all night? I have things to do, and sitting here watching the two of you stare at one another isn’t really what I had in mind.”

“Why is she trying to kill me?”
Brock wanted to know as well so waited. “You said you knew her; how?”

“I helped her once a very long time ago and she had a bit of my blood. She had learned that I had certain…powers that she
thought I should use for her. She said that she wanted your father released. I had taken him in and he was to serve a long sentence. But you were dying in your bedding. I don’t believe you’d had nutriment for several days.” The gun lowered, but Brock didn’t doubt that she could bring it up and fire it on a second’s notice. “She gave you to me. As part of the deal, I was to have your father released. And in return I took something from her.”

Brock couldn’t imagine giving up a child for any reason
, but to simply give her away was something he found to be sickening. He looked at Lenny when she holstered the weapon. She sat down on the edge of the seat and bounced her foot. He’d noticed today when they were working together that she did it when she was thinking.

“I did some digging and found that neither of them was human.
What were they? And don’t give me any bullshit answer that they were special. I don’t think of them as special unless you count the amount of times the Holders had them and then let them go.” Brock looked at Viktor, who appeared to be surprised by her knowing about the were’s council, too. “Why didn’t you just rid us of them then?”

“You know as well as I do that rules must be follow
ed to the letter or some things…I cannot remember the right wording, but ‘bite you in the ass,’ I believe it goes.” He smiled and Brock had a feeling he didn’t care for the rules either. “It is why we could not interfere with you at the house. Your mother would have claimed that I saved you so that she would lose her powers. As it was, when I gave you a few drops we were messing with things that were better left untouched.”

“You skirted around that pretty good
, giving me other information you think I want. When what I want to know is what the hell was I spawned from?” Viktor sat back, and Lenny stood up to pace.

“What did you find out? I cannot give you more than you have. I will be truthful to you on
every question that is not a fishing one. Asking me what they were will not give what you seek. And you were not spawned of anyone, but born of two beings that did the world a favor by breeding.” She stopped pacing long enough to stare. “You will have great power once you reach your maturity.”

“Power?
I don’t want any power. I have enough shit going on in my life without having something I can’t control or, for that matter, want. When is this supposed to happen? When some blood-drinking prick like you sinks his teeth into me?” Brock was surprised by the venom in her voice, but could understand why she was upset. They’d let her lay there and hurt without doing anything.

“Tonight a
t midnight.” Brock stood when she swayed a little, and when the door crashed against the wall behind him, he wasn’t surprised to see Jules coming through it as his tiger. Brock’s own beast was trying to get free and he was barely holding him when Viktor stood and raised his hand. Everything froze, including his brother in mid-leap.

“Stop this at once.” Viktor’s voice echoed in the room.
“You will sit and listen to me. I have a great deal to tell you all, and this bantering back and forth as if we are parlaying with swords is getting us nowhere.”

Jules settled to the floor
near Lenny, but he didn’t shift once Viktor sat down again. Brock wasn’t sure if it was because he’d be naked or that he still wanted to tear the vampire’s throat out. The beast inside of him was doing a number on his insides, and he wasn’t any happier than Viktor looked right now. The man nearly glowed with ill-suppressed anger.

“Now. I will tell you what you need to know for this night.
The rest will come later when there is more time. I swear to you, Lenore, that it was not my intention to have her try and murder you when I struck the deal with her.” Lenny nodded at Viktor. “Her name was Divinity when I last knew her, but recently I found out her name is Naomi. She is coming for you because if you do not reach your twenty-fifth birthday, she will not lose all her powers. She has it in her head that killing you will make a difference.”

“Will it?”
Brock waited for an answer as Lenny and Viktor stared at one another. When he finally turned to him, he knew the answer immediately.

“It will make no difference
concerning her powers, no, but it will make a difference to what the Holders of the Realm do to her if she succeeds in killing Lenore. But I’m hoping that she doesn’t get that far. I believe that with this family behind her and what she has gained by mating with Jules that there will be no chance of Naomi beating her.”

“But you
won’t help me again.” Viktor shook his head at Lenny. “So once again you’re leaving me to the wolves to die.”

“I leave you with everything you need
, my dear child. It is up to you to figure out how best to use what you have.”

Chapter 12

Sam
watched the house of the tiger. There had been no movement since he’d arrived and he could smell that there were people inside. When a woman had arrived a little over an hour ago, he had nearly come out from his hiding place to grab her, but she’d turned and looked right where he was. He knew she couldn’t see him, but he had a feeling she knew he was out there somewhere. Stepping back into the woods, he watched her remove a car seat from the back of the vehicle and take it into the house. A few minutes later, she and the car seat left. He could only assume that a child was in it both times, but wasn’t sure.

He turned in the drive as another large SUV pulled up in front of the house.
He’d been concentrating on the house and wondering how best to get inside, and didn’t hear the vehicle until it was going past him. He tried to see how many people were inside as the thing simply sat in the drive with the engine running. He was ready to move closer when he felt something touch the back of his head.

“Move and I will gladly put a bullet through your head.”
His gun in his hand was suddenly gone. “We’re going to move slowly out of the woods here and you’re going to walk ahead of me. And just so you know, there are five tigers surrounding your fucking ass right now, and any of them would gladly tear you apart.”

“I’m not alone.”
He was but thought if he could get at least two of the big cats he could now see to leave, he could maybe take on the one behind him and the others. The laughter made him think the guy knew he was lying.

“My wife says you work alone and prefer it that way. She also said to tell you that you smell of vampire and that she personally wants to give you a hose down.
My wife is a little on the pissed side right now. She doesn’t like to be spied on.” The gun hit him hard enough to make him move forward. “Who sent you? As if we don’t already know.”

Sam
tried to think. The gun was full of silver and the cats were on full alert and pissed. He thought he’d stand at least a small chance to get free, which to him was better than what they had in store for him, when the big bear stood in front of him. And right next to him was the biggest fucking tiger Sam had ever seen. The thing was at least a head taller than the others, and his muscle mass alone had to be more than his as a human.

When the gun hit him again
, he realized he’d stopped moving. Before he could take another step, the big tiger roared at him.

“This is my brother.
Brock is mad because you’re still alive. He had hoped that one of us would have killed you. But as the male, I thought maybe I’d hold off on that for a few minutes.” The bone-chilling laughter again. “I thought maybe you’d like to meet Lenny.”

The girl.
He didn’t move when she stepped from behind the tiger. They stared at one another for several seconds before she spoke, and when she did, he felt fear, more than he’d ever experienced before, run over his skin like a flame.

“
Let them kill him.” He felt the gun press harder into his skull, and Sam knew that the male would let them kill him and it would be a slow and very painful death. Without a second thought as a matter of fact.

“I’ll tell you whatever you want to know.
I don’t know where she’s staying right now, but I know it’s close.” The girl started to turn her back, and he was knocked to his knees. “She is planning another family to be murdered tonight in hopes that you’ll go to the scene again. Once you’re there, she will have the rogues snatch you up and bring you to her. She has this huge ceremony planned out where she removes your head after she tears you apart.”

“Where?”
He told her he didn’t know. “Then you’re not a great deal of use to me, are you?”

“I know I can find the rogues. I have their scent.
I can take you to the lair.” He looked at the tiger at her right, smaller than the beast but no less willing to tear him apart. “They are both at the cemetery. She wouldn’t let them stay in her home because she can’t stand them. She’s not their maker.”

“And this information is helpful to me how?”
Sam glanced at the man behind him, then back at her when she continued. “You have five seconds before I release them. You say something fucking helpful and I won’t let him kill you. Otherwise, you’re going to be lunch for them, and I will gladly watch you die.”

“She
won’t know when you kill them. Once they’re dead, nobody has to die. The family will be safe. You’ll be safe from them, as will the cops that would be working the scene with you.” The girl looked to her right, and he saw a man standing there. Sam swallowed twice. He knew this man, Viktor Ravengric. He was with the Holders of the Realm, and was someone really high on the food chain, too, if he remembered correctly.

“What he says is true. She will not feel their passing.”
Viktor looked at him. “You should have said no to this contract, Samuel Lamb.”

No shit
, he thought. The girl watched him closely, and he wondered what was going through her mind. When she nodded, he was suddenly being jerked to a standing position and set back on his feet when he stumbled. A pair of silver handcuffs was put at his wrists and a pair of shackles at his legs. He couldn’t run now if his life depended on it, which he was pretty sure it was going to come to. He watched her walk toward him with a tiger on either side of her. The bear was ambling toward him as well. The man with the gun still had it pointed at his head, but it was no longer feeling as if he were trying to insert it into his skull.

“Where are they resting?”
He shook his head. He wasn’t stupid enough to just give up his only bargaining tool. If he told her, she’d simply have the guy with the gun shoot him.

“I want assurances that you
won’t kill me or have this ambush kill me.” She looked over his shoulder, and he knew she was looking at the male. “He can tell me all he wants, but it’s you I’m going to trust.”

The gun banged him in the head.
“She doesn’t know what an ambush is, as we go by streak. And I won’t lie to you either, you fucking moron. I want this finished now so I can move on with my fucking life. An ambush is just another name for a streak. I prefer streak over ambush myself, as it is kinder sounding and much less harsh sounding when you say it. Ambush implies that I’m going to attack you, which, under normal circumstances, I won’t. But this idiot….” He hit him again. “I would gladly ambush him anytime.”

“
Thanks, Ryland.” She looked at Sam and her entire face changed from a sweet smile to hatred in less time than it did for his heart to beat. “I won’t kill you, and I won’t allow the streak to kill you either, unless you’re lying to me or you try something stupid like getting away. Or you simply piss me off again. I’m sick to fucking death of being chased, lied to, and generally forced into a bad mood. Deal?”

He nodded. Christ
, she was hard. He wondered if any of the cats were her mate and hoped to Christ not. They were going to be really fucking pissed off when they found out that the lair that he was taking them to was full of vampires, not just the two they were after.

H
e told her the name of the cemetery as well as the mausoleum they were inside of. He watched as three of the tigers suddenly disappeared, along with the girl. When the gun disappeared as well, he knew the male had gone, too. Sam started to stand when Viktor was jerking him to his feet.

“They run into trouble
, young pup, and I will personally feed you to the pits of hell on my own.” Sam felt his body being lifted up and he was tossed against a tree. Bones broke as he landed hard against it and then fell to the ground. When he was lifted again, he tried to speak but nothing was working. But Viktor had no such problems.

“You made a deal with the wrong person
, cub. Lenore has no authority at all when it comes to what becomes of you. You belong to me and the Realm now.” He was slammed against another tree and held there this time. “When I take you in me, I must be assured that no harm will come to the others on the governing group. I am rendering you unable to harm anyone you might encounter.”

Sam had never been one to pray
, but he did now; first, for the girl and her group that nothing woke while they were there; and, secondly, for his own death. He was pretty sure that dying by the tigers would have been faster than what this man and the others he worked with were going to do to him. More than likely it would be much worse.

~~~

“Wait.” Lenny didn’t know why but she had a feeling they were walking into a trap. She looked at the cats, not really sure who they were but for Brock, who was a fucking monster, and Jules. He rubbed his head against her leg, and she felt a sort of calmness roll over her.

What is it
?
You think he lied about them being here
?
It’s daylight…they won’t be able to hurt us, right
? She shook her head at Neal and looked back at the large brick building.

“They
won’t be able to hurt us unless we wake them. And we’d have to kill them both at the same time or the one that was last could kill us.” She looked back at the cats. “One of you is Bronwyn, right?”

The cat moved toward her
, as did a second one. Ryland pointed out which one was his mate and said the other was Rayne. He said they could help.

“I want you to ask them if there
are more than two vampires inside. I don’t trust the bastard, and for all we know this place could be crawling with the creepy things.” She shivered and glared at Ryland when he laughed. “I don’t know about you, big boy, but the thought of going into a den of vampires is not on my list of top ten things to do today.”

“
Mine either, but Rayne said you were smart and she admired you.” She didn’t know why he thought that was funny and told him. “Well, Bronwyn said you are smarter than she is. And she’s impressed. She doesn’t say that of too many people.”

Nodding
, Lenny turned back to the den. She was embarrassed by the praise and didn’t want any of them to see it. When Rayne and Bronwyn stepped to the building and stood against it, she realized how fucking big they were.

You’ll be that beautiful, more so I think.
She felt Jules rub her leg again.
I want nothing more than to take you back to our bed and show you just how much you mean to me. I want to take you against the shower wall again. I want to lick you until you come screaming my name. Then when you can shift, I’m going to let my tiger run you down and bury his cock deep inside of you and fill you with our seed.

Jules growled low
, and she felt it as if he’d actually touched her with it. When his head was under her hand, she buried her fingers into his thick fur and felt his purr beneath them. She was nearly to the point where she wanted to beg him to shift and take her when the two female cats pulled away from the wall. Ryland cleared his throat.

“There are twenty-three vampires in the den. All of them young
, and one who hasn’t killed a human, because he’s only been a vamp since last night. He’s not had his first rising yet.” She looked at the den, then back at the two cats. “They have more information if you want it.”

“No. No
, I think that’s enough.” Now what? They couldn’t enter now without one or more of them getting hurt. She looked at the place and then at the cats. She smiled.

“What do you think about lifting the roof off this sucker?”
Ryland walked around it and looked at the cats. Peter was suddenly there, too. He looked like he’d just won the lottery.

“I may be of assistance with this one.”
He dropped several small duffels. “There are clothes there enough for each of you. I believe that as humans you would have more luck with this than as cats.”

They all walked behind the big brick building and shifted. As they each came around it
, she realized just how close they were. When they were all standing there, Peter said he could help her again. She watched as he lifted each man to the top. She had no idea how this was going to work, or even if it would, but they had to do something. Ally came and stood next to her and smiled.

“I would have blown the building.
Then we’d have all been blown to bits because of it. I asked Rayne what she would have done, and she said that setting it on fire was her way of killing them. Messy, though, I think. Em said that she would have gone in with guns blazing, but again, not very smart. As you said, when one woke, they all would have.” Lenny looked at her, wanting to know what Bronwyn would have done. “She said she would have waited for you to come up with a brilliant plan that none of them would have gotten bitten or killed from. She’s a major suck up, by the way.”

Lenny
didn’t understand what she’d have to suck up about. She was nothing compared to any of these women. And she was a little afraid they weren’t going to be as accepting come midnight. She watched as the men were ready to do their thing. It seemed that Peter had gone and gotten them all sledgehammers and they were going to break it in. The door to the front had been secured by silver dust that Viktor had sent along with Peter as well.

“Viktor told me he was taking Sam, the wolf
, to the Holders. He said that the man would be begging before they were finished with him. He has a great many crimes to pay for.” Ally nodded at her as she continued. “He wants me to trust him.”