Damon (The Protectors Series) Book #1 (5 page)

her, so I think she deserves a minute or two to shake that off. It probably knocked the wind right out

of her more than anything.”

Slowly turning her head toward the woman since any fast movements seemed to cause her dizziness to

worsen, Nicole frowned. “I'm sorry, but who are you?”

The woman chuckled. “I'm Debbie and I watched you get tackled by the man that was escorted out of

here along with this huge fellow. Being a nurse I figured I would see if I could help out.” Debbie stood

brushing off her pants. “It might not be a bad idea to have her checked out at the hospital, but I really

think she'll be okay as long as she isn't left alone tonight. Also, if you begin to feel nauseated, start

vomiting or have a severe headache like you want to chop your own head off, you need to get to the

emergency room right away.”

“Thank you.” Damon nodded as he stood, not taking his eyes off Nicole.

“You're welcome.” The woman replied, then blushed as if just noticing how hot he was. “Ah, well you

take care and stay out of the way of anymore running males.” she told Nicole, then with one last look

at Damon she walked away.

Nicole snorted. “No problem there and thanks.”

Jared ran in as soon as Debbie walked away. “Good God Nicole, are you okay?” Jared knelt down. “I

saw you take that hit.”

“Yeah I'm okay.” She replied, but wasn't really sure if she was or not since she hadn't tried to stand up

yet.

“If we ever play football you're on my team.” Jared chuckled shaking his head amazed. “Damn,

woman.”

“Unfortunately, I think I would be a one hit player.” she grinned. Putting her hands down she tried to

push herself to her knees. Once there she waited to see if the dizziness would make another

appearance. When it didn't she put one foot on the floor and tried to stand. Her body protested and her

eyes closed as pain shot up her back. Easing herself back down, she moaned. “Maybe I'll just stay here

tonight. I don't really mind the stickiness and smell.”

Damon was there in a flash picking her up then carefully setting her on her feet without letting go. “Go

slow, honey.” He watched her carefully.

Jared stepped back, looking at Damon shocked, as did Pam. Jared looked at Pam with raised eyebrows

asking a silent, 'Did he just call her honey?' Pam's eyebrows raised in answer.

Nicole let Damon lead her to a bar stool. Once seated, she took a deep breath and winced at the sharp

pain throbbing in her ribs. Grabbing her side she bent slightly to see if that would ease the pain. “Who

was that guy?”

Damon watched her closely, ready to catch her if she started to fall. “Are you sure you're okay?”

“Yeah, I'm sure. Just working the kinks out” Nicole frowned. “Now would you please stop answering

my questions with questions. What's going on?”

“What the hell are you doing here Nicole?” Damon frowned hearing how harsh he sounded, but

dammit, seeing her like this was killing him and he didn't know why. He hardly knew the woman and

yet her pain was his pain. And it pissed him off that he had been the cause of her pain.

“I was having a beer and dancing with Pam. We come here to unwind sometimes on Fridays.” Nicole

couldn't take her eyes off his face. He was so handsome. His eyes were getting lighter, but still hinted at

the blackness she seen earlier. His features were strong and harsh with his midnight black hair framing

his high cheekbones and square chin. “What are you doing here?”

Jared walked up at that point not seeming to notice the tension hovering over the two or he didn't

really care. “That guy that landed on you was an assassin looking to take out a target. We were here to

stop him.”

“Are you serious?” Nicole's mouth dropped open as she absorbed what Jared had revealed and what

she and Pam had been in the middle of. “Who was he after? Did you find out?”

Jared shook his head. “We have no idea, before we could figure it out he made his move so we had to

make ours. We think he was hired by a higher up in the...”

Damon slapped Jared in the chest and pushed him back. “I think you need to go and make sure

everything is getting taken care of.”

“Duncan has already taken him to headquarters.” Jared allowed Damon to push him toward the door.

“What the hell is your problem?”

“Your mouth.” Damon growled. “Go on, I'll be there later.”

Jared eyed him then looked over Damon's shoulder at Nicole and Pam. “I'll see you two tomorrow.”

He told the women, then with one last WTF look at Damon, Jared turned and left.

Damon walked back to the two women. “Come on.” He took Nicole's elbow. “Let's get you checked

out and then home.”

“I'm fine. Just get me home.” Nicole straightened up slowly.

“I think you should get checked out Nicole.” Pam grabbed their stuff and followed them out.

“I have to feed Ren and Stimpy.” Nicole really didn't want to go to the hospital. Hospitals gave her the

creeps and she didn't want them to keep her. “I'll be fine.”

“Can you stay with her tonight?” Damon ask Pam. “And who the hell are Ren and Stimpy?”

“They're her turtles.” Pam chuckled. “Of course I will. I'll just swing by my place and pick up a few

things.”

“I'll get her home and wait until you get there.” Damon slipped his arm around Nicole when she

wobbled a little.

“I'm right here guys.” Nicole grumbled. “Stop talking about me like I'm not.”

“Will you let someone take care of you for once?” Damon scolded gently. Opening the car door he

helped her in. He watched to make sure Pam made it to her car okay before getting in the driver seat.

Man his nerves were shot to hell.

The purr of Damon's sleek Mustang GT was the only thing that broke the silence. Nicole kept her head

away from the seat not wanting to get blood on the leather interior. Sneaking a look, the dashboard

lights shadowed Damon's smooth chiseled face, his eyes straight ahead as he maneuvered the

downtown streets of Cincinnati. His black hair lay against his shoulders in a uneven cut and was pulled

away from his face by the many times he ran his hand through brushing the long stands from his eyes.

He was handsome in a hard way, not GQ pretty. His head practically hit the roof and his seat was, from

what she could tell, pushed all the way back. Yeah he was a big man, strong and fit, but it was his

hands that gave her pause. They were large, the nails clipped and blunt. Small white scars crisscrossed

his knuckles, blaring white against the back of each dark hand. Those hands could cause pain, those

hands could kill, but those hands could also protect and give pleasure. A warm feeling tingled through

her body. As her eyes drifted back to his face, she was shocked to see him staring at her, the light from

the dashboard making his eyes glow. Okaaay....this is awkward.

“You gonna answer that?”

“Huh...” Frowning into his eyes, she jumped when her cell phone rang by her feet. Feeling like the

biggest idiot, going all gooey eyed over a hot guy, she grabbed her bag rummaging through it. Flipping

the phone open she peeked over relieved that Damon's eyes were focused back on the road. “Hello.”

Damon stopped at a red light trying to get it together. He had felt her gaze on him and turned to see if

she was okay and what he saw in her eyes was enough to flame his blood to the point he almost pulled

the car over. He knew the first time he saw her running into the warehouse that she was different and

every protective instinct he possessed jumped out and bit him on the ass. The sight of her black eye

that first night sent a killing rage through him. He had almost killed that dumbass human, Chad, for

just being disrespectful. He had seen enough mated males of his species to know the signs, but he

didn't want to be mated and sure as hell not to a human.

“That was Mitch.” Nicole broke through his thoughts as did the asswipe behind them blowing their

horn since the light had turned green. “I need to go to Children's Hospital. There's a sixteen year old

who has been put into our care.”

“You need to rest Nicole.” Damon zoomed through the light. “Call Mitch back and tell him you can't

make it. He can get someone else.”

“Ah...no.”

“Did you tell Mitch what happened tonight?” Damon persisted.

“Nope.” Nicole flipped her phone open again undoing her seatbelt. “Yeah I need a cab at....the corner

of......” Nicole practically had her face pressed to the windshield trying to see a street sign.

“Hang up the phone.” When Nicole ignored him while reading the street sign to the cab dispatcher he

reached over and grabbed the phone.

“Hey.” She tried to grab it back.

“Disregard that. She will not need your services.” He snapped the phone closed and tossed it into her

lap. “Put your seatbelt back on.”

“If you don't stop this car I am going to get out the first chance I get.” she warned, her hand easing to

the handle. “I'm fine, Damon. You need to let me do my job.”

“I said put your seatbelt on.” He stopped at another light. Before she could escape he reached over and

slammed her door shut, firmly snapping her seatbelt back in place. Without moving back his breath

fanned across her face moving wisps of hair. “I'll take you.”

“Thank you.” Her breath mingled with his, their eyes held for a second. When he moved back to his

seat and pulled a U-turn she relaxed. Ah yeah, this was getting really awkward. How was she suppose

to work with the guy when all she wanted to do was leap across and straddle him? Good Lord, she had

to get a grip. Her job was too important to her to mess up with a bunch of hot meaningless sex...... and

knowing what sat across from her, she knew it would be hotter than hell.

Damon pulled into an empty spot in the emergency room parking lot at Children's Hospital. Grabbing

her bag, Nicole headed toward the door noticing all the police cruisers. Glancing at Damon, she saw

his expression was as confused and concerned as hers. The doors slid open and they were hit with a

blast of cold air as they entered the emergency room. It was packed with anxious parents with crying

kids, all waiting to be seen. Seeing Mitch, she headed his way.

“Excuse me.” A blonde woman behind the sign-in desk spoke loudly trying to stop her and Damon.

“I'm with them.” Nicole kept walking and pointed over her shoulder. “And he's with me.”

The woman threw up her hands. “I need to see some ID.” The woman shouted after them.

Ignoring the woman, Nicole walked up to Mitch, nodding at a few of the police officers she knew.

“What's going on Mitch?”

“We have a hell of a mess is what's going on.” Mitch ran his hand down his face, the shadows under

his puffy eyes making him look older and more tired than she'd ever seen him. “We have a 16 year old

vampire in there who killed both of his foster parents, human parents.”

“Oh God.” Nicole tried to peek around him to see if she could see the kid.

“It took ten officers to bring him down and he got a little roughed up so they brought him here. Now

he has a nurse and is threatening to kill her if they don't let him go. They're going to take him out.”

Mitch stepped back getting out of way of the hospital staff pulling Nicole with him.

“Who is it Mitch?” God, if it was one of her cases she was going to freak out right here and now.

“It's Stevie Richardson.” Mitch glared at the floor. “It's Chad's case and I can't get a hold of him so I

called you. I want you to try to talk him down Nicole.”

“No!” Damon had kept quiet up to this point. No way was he going to let Nicole get anywhere near

this kid. He knew how unstable a cornered vampire could be and he had no doubt that this kid would

kill. Hell, he already had. “I'll take care of this.”

Nicole grabbed his arm. “How Damon, by going in there and turning all bad warrior vamp on the kid?

Stevie was one of my cases until Chad threw a fit because he wanted to work with him and place him.

I gave up the case. Now I wish I wouldn't have. Stevie is a good kid. Something isn't right about this

whole situation and if you go in there we may never find out what it is.”

“Do you have a death wish?” Damon glared at her, jaw clinched. “You are human. What don't you

understand about that Nicole? You have no power over our kind.”

“You're right.” Nicole nodded. “Not with violence I don't, but I can get through to these kids and I am

not going to let him get hurt. Something triggered this and we need to find out what it is before it's too

late.”

Damon understood, he really did, but he didn't want Nicole going anywhere near this kid who had

already killed. He already had a taste of blood lust and he'll be damned if he tasted any of Nicole's.

Nicole stopped listening as her mind began to work. She could do this without violence. She knew she

could. She had done it before. Seeing a teenager walking down the hall toward them drinking a Dew

she headed toward him. “Hey.” She approached with a smile and cash she dug out of her pocket in her

hand. “I'll buy that t-shirt off you for twenty-five bucks.”

“Seriously?” The kid eyed the money she flashed in her hand.

“About as serious as that Dew rotting out every tooth in your head.” Glancing down at her feet, then