SEDUCTIVE SUPERNATURALS: 12 Tales of Shapeshifters, Vampires & Sexy Spirits (172 page)

“Do you need backup, Commander?” the ops controller asked.

“Negative. No backup. I said we’re fine.”

Evelyn turned, her eyes wide, and seemed to clue in to the fact that he was talking to the controller in his earpiece. Jesse tapped the screen on his radio, selected his favorite playlist and hit play. Then the controller’s voice came over his earpiece again. “Commander…is that ‘La Grange’ playing in the background?”

“Affirmative,” he answered.

“Ah, shit,” said the man, and the line went silent.

Evelyn’s back came flush with his side. “No backup? Backup might be nice. And stop playing with that ridiculous radio! We’re in a crisis here.”

Jesse laughed. He couldn’t help it. What would the guys in his unit say if he called for help because of a few common thugs? “Wait in the car. And stay away from the window.” He shut off the engine and handed her the keys but let the music play. “Guard these with your life, Doc. You hear me?”

Her answer was an appalled,
yeah-right
gasp, but her fist tightened around the keys so hard he figured it would leave marks. Now to take care of these ass-wipes before they left finger prints on his car.

With a barely veiled smile, Jesse opened his door, locked it, and shut it behind him. “Can I help you gentlemen?”

“Yeah, you can help. Give me the keys to that car,” the first one said, letting his crow bar swing in his grip. His buddies snickered, coming around to circle Jesse. Jesse didn’t pull his gun. It wouldn’t be sporting. He’d let them choose how this went down. Luckily, the teens were hanging back, watching just like the others milling around the streets. Jesse couldn’t stomach hurting kids, even juvenile delinquents like these.

“I can’t give you the keys, but I can give you advice: you don’t want to fuck with me. Turn around now, I’ll get back in my car, and you won’t need to be carried out of here.”

Static buzzed in his ear. “Commander? Dr. Vale’s heart rate is elevated to one hundred forty-two beats per minute and rising. I repeat, do I need to send a crew?”

“Who is this? Doug?”

“Uh…yes, sir.”

“You’ll need a crew for yourself, Doug, if you ring me again in the next ten minutes. Are we clear?”

“Yes, sir. Out.”

Jesse glanced to the passenger seat as the men closed in. What had Vale so scared? Did she think he’d let these shitheads get within an arm’s reach of her?

Just then, two of the thugs jumped at him. Jesse ducked to avoid the arc of the aluminum bat, then dropped low and kicked his foot out, sending the man to his ass. The man’s head hit the asphalt with a satisfying thud, and Jesse grabbed the bat from his hands. Just as the second man was swinging the crowbar at Jesse’s back, Jesse blocked with the bat, feeling the ring of metal against metal reverberate through his arms.

He jumped to his feet, easily blocking the second blow, then bringing the bat flush with the side of the man’s head. He didn’t use too much force. If Evelyn was already disturbed, he didn’t want her to watch him brain the man on their first night together. Still, the asshole went down hard, eyes rolling back in his head as his crow bar clanged to the ground.

Man number three assessed him, and Jesse could see the thoughts going through his head. It was the moment of decision. Did he have a better chance than his friends? That’s when Jesse saw him drop his bat and reach his hand into the back of his pants. Oh, hell no. Guns weren’t invited to this party.

Jesse leaped forward, slamming the bat into the man’s wrist as he brought the gun up. His shriek was so loud—louder even than the cracking of the bones in his forearm—that the rest of the street went quiet. He fell to his knees, cradling his wrist, and Jesse kicked the gun away so it slid under the car and out of the reach of the teens, should they consider helping out.

The fourth man scanned the shapes on the ground—two out cold and one writhing in pain—and took off down the alley. The teens followed on his heels.

Smiling, Jesse dropped the bat and turned to the Mustang. Evelyn had fogged the windows in her panic. No, not fog. What the—

He trotted to the passenger side of the car and tried the door. Of course, it was locked. And she had the keys…

“Vale? Doc? What’s the matter?”

Her eyes were rolling around in her head and her face was strained. Sweat dripped down the sides of her pixie face.

He tapped the window with his knuckles. “Evelyn. Open the damn door.”

“Jesse… I can’t…” she said, meeting his eyes just before something in her gaze flashed. She went from head-lolling misery to her eyes narrowing, her posture shifting forward. The evil gleam in her eyes and her hungry smile made his heart skip a beat. Oh shit.

She got possessed on their very first night? No fucking way. Jesse had always enjoyed background music while he worked, but as the radio skipped to the next song in his playlist, “Hard to Handle” had never sounded like such a bad omen.

Immortal Possession: Chapter Four

“Evelyn, snap out of it! Open this door.” If she fired up the Mustang and left him standing here, he’d probably get suspended. Why had he even brought her out tonight without Sasha or Luna or one of the other supernatural specialists who enjoyed dealing with this shit?

To his surprise, his partner granted his request and opened the car door. She might have been only a wisp over five feet, but whatever was inside her made her look like fucking Goliath was stuffed into that little package. He put his hands up. “Hey there. You all right? Evelyn?”

She flew at him, almost literally, and knocked him to the pavement, not three feet from one of the unconscious thugs. The man with the broken wrist hunched in the opening to the alley, like he was too surprised to move. Jesse’s head hit the asphalt, the pebbles burrowing into his scalp. He grabbed Evelyn’s hands, her fingers hooked like claws descending toward his face. “Vale! Knock this shit off! Get control of yourself.”

She was so strong, he could hardly believe it. It wasn’t that he hadn’t battled some wicked-possessed kids before and thought the same, but this was his new partner. He could hardly punch her in her face, and he couldn’t use a plasma gun to dispatch the spirit when it was already in Evelyn’s body.

Her nails scratched over his cheeks, not quite sinking in, but she was gaining ground on him. “Sentinel,” she hissed. “Your people sent my lover back to Abaddon. I would like nothing more than to send your spirit there tonight.”

His blood ran cold. Who the hell had taken over Evelyn’s body, and why did he have to get a spirit with a grudge on tonight of all nights? Taking a deep breath, he shoved with all his might. Evelyn flew back, hitting the headlight of the car. She snarled, shaking her head and opening her mouth as though she had fangs. The little shit was going to take a chunk out of him. He just knew it.

Like a charging bull pawing the ground, she dragged the nails of her hand across the pavement and then launched herself at him.

Jesse whipped his taser from his hip, moving faster than he knew he could. He got her midair, the hooks of the taser burying in her chest, just above the neckline of her blouse, but it didn’t stop her momentum. She landed square on his chest, her body still shaking from the electricity that had short-circuited her enraged escort.

He held her immobile body, feeling her twitches on his skin when her mind started coming back on line. He smoothed her hair back and felt a lump forming where she’d hit her head.

“What the hell just happened, Commander?” the controller asked in Jesse’s ear. “That’s it. I’m calling in backup. You can talk to the steward if you don’t like it.”

Jesse glanced around, surveying the scene. The people out for the night were watching like they’d never seen anything so entertaining, but they weren’t coming any closer. Jesse chuckled. He had the bad habit of doing it at all the wrong times. But seriously, how had he gotten paired with a partner like this one? What was Clark thinking? She was gonna get someone killed. Hell, seeing what he saw tonight, she might even kill Jesse herself. “Doug. We’re fine. We’re heading back now. I promise.”

Evelyn’s long brown hair tickled his nose. Her hand shifted on his pecs and she blinked up at him, then down at the wires protruding from her chest. “Hayes…did you just taser me?”

His fingers dug gently into her hips. How could such a string bean be so soft? “Yep.”

“Okay.” Her lashes flicked up and down. “And my head…it hurts.”

He nodded. “I imagine it does.”

She felt around on the back of her head, found the bump, and grimaced. “Huh.”

“And Vale? Remember how I said we could come back in a few days to get your stuff?”

“Yes?”

“I think I’d rather take you shopping.”

“Commander?” Doug’s voice had changed, more formal now.

Jesse sighed, lifting Evelyn to her feet and taking the liberty of disengaging the hooks from the smooth skin below her collarbone. Shocked as she was, she let him. “Yeah, Doug?”

“When you get back, show Dr. Vale to her quarters. Then the steward would like to see you.”

“Sure thing.”

Yeah, even shopping was sounding better than this.

* * *

He’d done what he’d had to do. No one could blame him. Tasing wasn’t recommended because some higher level entities could actually absorb the electricity and grow stronger from it, but he’d had no other choice. He’d disrupted the spirit’s hold over his partner the only way he could. So why did passing through security with Evelyn at his side with those tiny taser marks on her chest made him feel like shit?

When she wobbled on her heels and the suitcase tilted in her grip, Jesse took her arm to steady her and picked up the suitcase. “You gonna be able to sleep?”

She yawned into her hand. “I think so. Who knew getting tased is better than a sleep-aid? I swear I’ve never been so tired.”

“Good,” he said, but he hoped she wasn’t feeling the aftereffects of a mild concussion. God, he was an asshole.

She looked up at him with sleepy eyes. “And you?”

“Me what?”

“Are you heading to bed?”

A group of non-campus staff members were leaving for the night, and one particular redhead gave him a wave. “Goodnight, Commander,” she all but purred, and it got a volley of giggles from her friends.

“Night, Sharon. See you tomorrow.” He looked down at his partner and saw her watching with interest. “I have to check in with the steward and file a report first, then I’ll call it a night.”

“Do you need help? I probably need to learn how to write reports, especially if I’m going to be an investigator.” Her dreamy smiled morphed into another cute little yawn. A kitten. Yes, that’s what she reminded him of when she wasn’t out-of-her-mind-crazy-possessed.

“Tomorrow, Vale. We’ll start training tomorrow.”

She followed him down another long hallway, and with every step he felt worse. They were all shitheads, everyone involved in exploiting this woman. He pushed the door open to barracks two-fourteen. Someone had already made the bottom bunk for her and fired up the lamp and the mini-fridge, but that didn’t hide the ten other empty bunks in the room or make it homier. “Well, here we are.”

She frowned, then realization dawned. “Oh…the apartment comes after the probation period, I guess?”

He shrugged. Why did he have to be the one to show her to her new shithole? “Exactly.”

“So where is everyone? Those bunks don’t even have mattresses.”

“We aren’t really using this wing right now. This is the off season for new recruits.”

She bit her lip. “I see.”

“Hey look, I’m—” He’d been about to tell her he was sorry, but she smiled and fell into her bed. “What’s that look for?”

“I’m just happy, is all. I’m here, at Immortal Bounty. And they aren’t even officially hiring right now, but they needed me.
Me.
That feels pretty amazing.”

He would have returned her smile, but she was killing him. If he were one of those empathetic types, he might even lose sleep over this woman’s role in their upcoming mission. “So you’re okay here by yourself? ’Cause I’d better get going.”

“Are you kidding me? I’m in one of the biggest havens in California. I’m going to be able to sleep tonight without worrying about waking up with someone else in my body. This is heaven.” She stretched out and turned her face into the pillow, still dressed in her work clothes.

Jesse slipped her high heels from her feet and placed them under her bunk then covered her with a blanket. Jeez, if she really had a concussion, the medical unit would be able to tell from her vitals scanner, right? “Bathroom’s down the hall to your right, Doc. It’s marked. I’ll see you in the morning, okay?”

“Kay. Night, Jesse. Thank you.” Her lids fell closed before he passed the threshold.

And now for the steward, who Jesse didn’t think was going to be quite so easy to please.

Clark was in the Terrace at this time of night. He had an office in the main building, but he lived in his own wing of the old Roseview Terrace Sanatorium. It would take a prick like Tanner Clark to be able to stomach sleeping in a place that used to house, and maybe even torture, the criminally insane.

But keeping tabs on old Roseview Terrace was one of the main reasons the Governing Body of Greater America had given Immortal Bounty this land and the funding they needed to keep the campus vibrant, apart from the millions IB brought in every month on bounties. After all, the living coexisting with spirits was bad enough. Living with the spirits of the criminally insane was something altogether worse.

Jesse left the u-shaped campus that made up the bulk of Immortal Bounty Central California operations and walked across the damp, yellowing grass toward the old psychiatric hospital. Armed sentries were posted outside the double doors to the antiquated three-story building.

A sentry dipped his chin as Jesse passed. “Commander Hayes.” Jesse nodded in response.

The steward lived on the third floor, and employees weren’t allowed into this part of Tanner Clark’s world very often. He was ever-present and yet fiercely private, ruling IB Central with an iron fist and a watchful eye. Jesse wasn’t sure he could count himself lucky that Clark had called him to his private quarters after hours.