Sid (The Protectors Series) Book #4 (6 page)

An inhuman roar rattled the walls, or what was left of them. Damon, Jared and Duncan dropped the guys they were beating the hell out of
, and as one, they grabbed Slade, taking him to the ground.

“I didn’t know it was her.” The guy who hit her watched wide
-eyed as Slade tossed the three Warriors off him, making his way toward him.

Damon scrambled back to his feet
, grabbing Slade in a bear hug while Jared dove for Slade’s legs, taking him down again. Duncan ran to the guy, who looked scared enough to piss himself, pushing him out the door. “Get the fuck out of here. We were just going to give you an ass beating, but if he gets ahold of you, you’re dead.” He looked behind him to see the others rushing toward the door looking back at Slade, who once again was tossing Jared and Damon off him.

“Go!” The one in leather pushed the others
who were in front of him toward the door. They stumbled over each other in their haste to get away from Slade. “Jesus! Go!”

Once they were gone
, Duncan stepped in front of Slade, stopping him, barely. “They’re gone.” Duncan gave him a shove. Slade simply growled, trying to push his way past. “Stand down, Slade. I said they were gone, and if I have to knock you the fuck out, I will.”

Slade’
s head snapped to Duncan, his eyes black with murderous rage. “Get out of my way.”

“He didn’t know it was her
.” Duncan pushed him hard. “Now, stand down.”

“Is she okay?” Slade asked through clenched teeth.

“Yeah, she’s fine.” Duncan glanced around Slade and winced when he spotted a large lump on the side of her face, which was already bruising. “She’s good, Slade. Just calm down, bro.”

Slade nodded
, and then turned without looking at anyone, disappearing toward his office.

Jill stood
stone-still, the side of her face throbbing horribly, but she knew it would be gone in the next day or two. She healed fast, not as fast as a full-blood, but faster than a human, and it wasn’t that bad. Jared walked toward her, staring at the side of her face with a pained expression. Maybe it was worse than she thought.

“Way to take a hit
, kid.” Jared nodded his respect, but then frowned. “What the hell were you thinking?”

“The guy was coming up on you from behind.” Jill frowned back. “It’s what I’m supposed to do
, isn’t it? Have your back. It’s what you have taught me, so I did my job. I had your back.”

Jared was silent for a long time
, just staring at her before he clasped her shoulder. “You’re going to make a good Warrior, Jill,” Jared finally broke the silence.

“Wish everyone felt that way.” Her eyes moved to where Slade disappeared.

“Yeah, well, it’s hard for us to see a woman take a hit. Warrior or not, you are a woman, and it’s going to take some getting used to,” Jared replied honestly.

Jill nodded
and then looked around at the mess. “Yeah, well, after Sloan sees this place, I may not be with the program any longer.”

Jared shook his head. “Sid is responsible for this mess.”

“Yes, he is,” Damon added. “And I’m going to kick his ass.”

“Get in line.” Duncan replied
, putting his arm around Jill, and leading her over chunks of drywall that was scattered all over the place. “Now, I think we all deserve a beer. You did good, Jill.”

“Thanks
,” Jill nodded, a sadness creeping through her heart as her eyes once again sought out the one person who she wished would be proud of her.

Chapter 6

Lana reluctantly followed Sid up the steps to a huge door. She had s
at in the back as Amy handed over her keys and sat in front talking to Sid like he was an old friend. Sid hit a code on the keypad; the door buzzed then clicked. He held the door open for Amy and then let her walk inside. Amy thanked him; Lana didn’t.

Once inside
, both women stopped at the sight they walked in on. What Lana would have once called a large entryway, was a mess of broken drywall scattered all over the floor. Holes in the walls, pictures hanging crooked and the railing on the stairs broken in half.

Sid pushed both Lana and Amy behind him
, pulling out his gun. “Stay here,” Sid ordered. “Don’t move.”

Jared walked out from
behind the wall with the large hole and stopped. “Good, you got your gun,” Jared glared at him. “You’re going to need it.”

Putting his gun away
, Sid looked around, confused. “What the hell happened?”

“You happened.” Jared
pointed at him then glanced at Lana and Amy. “What are they doing here?”

“Sloan wants them here.” Sid said
, still looking around at all the damage. “Why is this any of my fault?”

“Seems Jill has become a hot item
, thanks to you.” Jared crossed his arms.

Understanding flashed across his face. “Man, I forgot about that.” Sid looked behind Jared trying to look into the room. “Who did she pick?”

“Look at this place!” Jared threw his arms wide. “Does it look like it went well?”

“Slade?” Sid’s eyes widened as a large grin spread across his face. “I knew that big bastard had a thing for her.”

Lana stood beside Amy watching, but not understanding what was going on. One thing she did notice was that she kept taking deep breaths through her nose. She still wore this man’s, Sid’s, jacket and it smelled so damn good. She could smack herself; she was up to her ass in problems, and all she could think about was how this man’s jacket smelled. Movement from across the room stopped her in mid-smell. A young woman walked out with both hands on her flared hips. Her short dark hair was tipped in darker blue. She also had large black and purple bruising on the side of her face from her temple to below her cheek. Her bruised face was pinched with anger, which was directed toward Sid Sinclair. Lana liked her instantly.

“Are you crazy?” Jill walked over broken drywall
, kicking bigger pieces out of her way. “What were you thinking?”

Sid open
ed his mouth to respond, his eyes snapping to the side of her face. “What happened to your face?”

She ignored his question. “You humiliated me
, Sid,” Jill hissed.

“How in the hell did I humiliate you?” Sid frowned
, clearly indicating he didn’t like that thought. “I was trying to help you. Now, tell me what happened to your face.” His voice didn’t rise, but his tone had turned deadly.

“
How in the hell are you helping me by inviting strange men here for me to feed from?” Jill’s lip quivered. She cursed, looking away from him. “Just stay out of my business, okay? I got this and don’t need help from any of you.”

Everyone was silent as Jill stomped out of the room. Lana looked back at Sid and was surprise
d at the real remorse shadowing his features, but as fast as it was there, it was gone, replaced with a rage that actually had her and Amy stepping back.

“Did you even check these guys out?” Jared glared at Sid.

“Yeah, I checked them out.” Sid looked away from where Jill disappeared and back to Jared, his eyes darkening. “What happened to her face?”

Jared glanced at Lana and Amy before looking back at Sid.
“Things got a little out of control, obviously. While I was pounding one guy, another was coming at my back. Jill took him down before he could get to me.” Jared grabbed Sid’s arm before he could turn to head out the door. “The guy struck without knowing who took him down. He didn’t know it was her.”

“I don’t give a fuck.” Sid snapped his arm away. “Which one
was it?”

“It’s taken care of
,” Jared responded, but Sid continued to glare at him. “I’m not telling you, Sid. It’s over and done with.”

“
The hell it is.” Sid turned, walking past Lana and Amy. “I’ll find all six of them.”

“She’s going to be a Warrior.” Jared shook his head. “I wanted to kill the son of a bitch
myself. Slade almost did. The guy really didn’t know, but we’re going to have to stop looking at her as a woman. We have to start looking at her as a Warrior.”

Sid
stopped, knowing Jared was right, but it still didn’t help the rage he felt.

“Why don’t you take care of your business
, and then help us clean up this mess.” Jared looked around and sighed. “After that, you can talk to Jill, but I’d give her a minute to calm down.”

“That girl is a Warrior?” Lana couldn’t help but ask.

“She’s in training.” Jared grinned at their surprise. “She’s going to make a good one. You would have been proud of her.” He glanced at Sid.

A slow smile spread across his face. “She had your back
, huh?”

“She was all over it
, bro.” Jared’s voice was full of pride.

“What in the hell happened there?” Sid walked over to the large hole in the wall.

“The Slade train,” Jared shook his head.

Lana had no clue what that meant, but when Sid leaned his head back letting loose a genuine laugh
, she had never seen a more handsome man in her life. His strong features softened when he let down his guard. She liked this side of him and found herself smiling.

“Wow…” Amy sighed, her eyes on Sid.

“Put your tongue back in.” Lana elbowed her.

Amy made a little growling noise. “I know where I’d like to put my tongue.”

A sudden urge to claw her friend’s eyes out hit Lana, surprising the crap out of her. She didn’t even know this man, yet she was ready to mangle her friend over him.
What the hell
?

“Son of a bitch
, what the fuck have you guys done now?” Sloan’s voice boomed through the room, making Lana and Amy jump.

Sid and Jared both looked at each other and smiled. “The Slade train.”

******

Sid leaned against the wall watching as Lana answered Sloan’s questions. He was actually impressed with her explan
ation of the details she had seen. Pretty damn impressed. If he wasn’t mistaken, her explanation of detail seemed professional, as if she’d been trained. Interesting. Beauty, body and brains, what more could a man ask for? Sid frowned, wondering where that thought came from.

“So how far back in a person
’s memory can you go?” Sloan sat back in his chair watching her closely.

“It depends
,” Lana replied sitting up in her chair, looking very uncomfortable with the question. “I have no control over where I go in their memories, but for me, it has always been, from what I can tell, hours before their death.”

“What do you mean
‘for you’?” Sid asked. “There are others that can do this?”

“I’m sure there are
.” Her vague answer amused him.

“Anyone close to you?”
he pushed. She was hiding something, and he wanted to know what.

“Yes.” She didn’t elaborate
as she finally looked his way with a glare.

Sid had to give her credit. She didn’t crack under pressure.

“I don’t see what that has to do with anything.” She turned back to Sloan. “There was also a man, other than the one with the long cape and hood. I got a good look at his face. I know a guy who can draw up a sketch from my description. He is usually dead-on what I describe.”

“Jill can do it.” Sid looked at Sloan who nodded
, grabbing his phone.

“Can you estimate how many women were there?” Sid asked, his tone turning dangerously low.

Lana closed her eyes, trying hard to recreate the scene she had witnessed. “At least fifteen from what I could see.”

“Is there anything that could give us a location?” Sid knew it was a long shot, but had to ask.

“No,” Lana shook her head. “I’m sorry.”

“Jill said she could do it.” Sloan tossed his phone on the desk. “She’s on her way.”

Sid turned his attention back to Lana, whom he caught staring at him. When he gave her a knowing smile, her face flushed a sexy shade of red as she straightened, looking away. “So while we wait for Jill, why don’t you explain how those bruises appeared on your neck?”

Lana sighed
, “We’ve been through this.”

“No, you’ve avoided answering the question
, and I’ve been continuing to ask.” Sid tilted his head, his eyes moving from her neck to her eyes. “I’m a born pain in the ass. I can keep this up forever.”

“That is very true.” Sloan rolled his eyes. “So damn true.”

The only sign that Sid heard Sloan was a half-grin.

A knock sounded on the door before Jill walked in carrying her sketchpad. She walked straight past Sid without looking his way. Taking a seat
, she flipped to a page and held her pencil ready to go.

“Hello
, Jill.” Sloan glanced at her, eyes filled with question.

“Hi,
Sir,” Jill responded business-like.

Sloan glanced at Sid who
simply shook his head. “Okay, well, this is Lana Fitzpatrick.” Sloan introduced them, and both women nodded their greeting. “She is going to describe a man, who we are hoping you can capture in a profile pic.”

“I will do my best
, Sir,” Jill nodded to Sloan. Her eyes met Sid’s for a split second before looking down at her paper.

“Are you okay?” Sloan frowned, not bringing up her bruised and swollen face
, since the others had already briefed him.

“Dandy.” She
gave her best fake smile, shifting her position before looking at Lana. “Ready when you are.”

“Amy
, why don’t you come outside with me?” Sid walked over, holding out his hand. “It might help if we aren’t here to distract them.”

Sid watched both women closely as they shared a look. Something was definitely not right. “Ah, okay.” She gave him a half
-smile, taking his hand.

Sloan’s
cell phone rang; he answered, walking out ahead of Sid and Amy.

Before closing the door
, Sid turned and tossed Lana a slow wink along with a sexy grin filled with promise.