Dark Desire (8 page)

The
feral jerked back, barely missing the blade.
He hissed,
showing fangs dripping with green poison, eyes glowing with red fire. “Don’t
think so, youngling. You’re barely into your fangs, and you think you are a
match for me?”

Cody snarled at
the feral, letting his own fangs lengthen. “I’m so going to kick your fucking
ass.”

“You can try,”
he taunted, swinging his own sword toward Cody’s throat. “Older ones than you
have died in the attempt.”

Ducking under
the blade, Cody rolled to his feet gripping the sword tightly he swung with all
his strength, only to have his blade blocked by the
feral’s
weapon. With a grunt of effort Cody shoved the vampire away from him, wrinkling
his nose in distaste at the stench of rot coming off the feral.

“Dude, haven’t
you ever heard oral hygiene? You smell as foul as you look.”

The feral
sneered, enhancing the hollows and sharp angles of his pasty face. Greasy
clumps of dark, lank hair hung to his narrow shoulders. His t-shirt, stained
with what could only be blood, matched the spots on his threadbare jeans. His
boots, strangely enough, were the only thing that could be considered clean,
and the sickening odor of rancid meat clung to him like a second skin.

With a guttural
growl the feral leapt toward Cody, madness glinting in his burning gaze, his
sword raised for a downward strike aimed for his neck. With lethal grace Cody
leapt out of the way, turning with lightning speed, sword arcing out in front
of him as he connected with the
feral’s
torso,
cutting though flesh, bone, and muscle with little effort.

Surprise
registered in the
feral’s
eyes as he fell to his
knees, his weapon clattering to the ground by him as he clutched at his stomach
in a desperate attempt to keep his intestines from spilling out. Black blood
coated his hands, dribbling from his mouth to land on the ground with a sizzle
as it ate holes into the asphalt from his acidic blood.

“Guess this
youngling
got the best of you eh,
mon
ami
?” Cody
taunted. Pulling his blade free, he swung once again cutting cleanly through
the
feral’s
neck separating his head neatly from his
body.

He wiped the
tainted blood off his sword using the dead
feral’s
t-shirt, then stepped back, lip curling into a snarl of disgust at the swiftly
decomposing corpse. Seemed the older they were the worse they smelled.
Sheathing his weapon, Cody climbed over the fence, dropping softly onto the
sidewalk and pulled out his cell, hitting speed dial as he made his way back
toward the lights and sounds of Fremont.

“Hey,
Christophe, finished taking out an old fucker by the stench of him. Meet me at
The Asp in ten minutes.”

Ending the call
he slipped it back into his pocket, feeling pretty damn good about his night
hunting. Being an Enforcer was no different from his old profession as a Metro
cop. Only now he took out the bad guy, no easy outs on technicalities,
no
picking up the pieces left by the
perp
who kept destroying innocent lives. Quick, clean, and final, the ultimate
judge, jury, and executioner all in one, and for the first time in his life he
felt a sense of purpose.
A reason to get up every night.

Christophe had
made it all possible, becoming his sire that fateful night a little over a year
ago when Cody had taken a bullet in the heart meant for
Tambra
,
his partner and best friend. Out of all the Enforcers Christophe was the only
person who got him, understood the demons that drove Cody.

His humble
beginnings in the bayou, the men his mama took into her bed to make a living.
His papa, the sperm donor, skipped out on them before his was born, so she did
what she needed to for them. As he grew though, she couldn’t hide the bruises,
her beatings becoming more frequent, her clientele rougher the older she got.
In the end Cody didn’t know if he could have stopped what happened to his mom,
but it didn’t stop him from feeling guilty, like there could have been
something he could have done to prevent her murder.

He shook the
images off, shoving them in the dark, dank corner of his soul and locking them
down tight. He couldn’t change the past, so what good would it do to dwell?
Right now, here, was where he could make the difference.

A scraping sound
came from behind and to his right. Turning he caught sight of a dark figure
standing in the shadows. “Well, what have we here?”

The shadowy form
moved with purpose to stand beneath a beam of light overhead. Blond hair shaved
close, dark eyes set into sharp angular
planes,
he stood
at least an inch taller than Cody. His body was layered in heavy muscle beneath
a grey hoodie and jeans.
“Been watching you, blood sucker.”
The man spat.

“That
so?
I didn’t know I had a secret admirer. Sorry to disappoint you, but I don’t
swing that way. Perhaps you will have better luck at one of the gay bars down
the road,” Cody taunted, focused on what the man’s next move would be.

The man just
smiled, eyes glittering with malice. The back of Cody’s neck tingled in warning
just before a heavy body slammed into him from behind, taking him to the
ground. His cheek scraped painfully against the concrete as the weight held him
pinned. He felt the sharp sting at the back of his neck and gritted his teeth
as he struggled against the body holding him down.

Merde
.
Wouldn’t you
know the Preservation Society would pull something just when he least expected
it. The stinging in his neck ignited, searing a path through his veins leaving
white hot agony in its wake, scorching him from the inside out. He writhed against
the onslaught, a groan escaping his clenched teeth as he burned alive.

A pair of heavy
work boots came into his hazy view. “That was just a minute dose of silver
nitrate, blood sucker.
Not enough to kill your ass, just
enough to make you wish for death.”

Cody’s fangs
lengthened in mindless fury, snapping at anything he could get close to as his
body weakened under the dose of poison flowing through his system with alarming
speed. “Why not just kill me now?” Cody gasped out of his collapsing lungs.

“What and miss
all the fun of experimenting on you? Welcome to hell.” The man mocked Cody.

The poison
flowed unrelenting and vicious through his body, driving him out of his mind
with pain as he finally bucked the weight of his buddy off of him. Cody rose to
his feet, a snarling animal bloodlust pounding through him as he went for the
blond man, wanting nothing more than to rip the
asswipe’s
throat out. Unfortunately
blondie
expected him to do
something and whipped out a
taser
, shooting the
probes deep in his chest.

Cody’s body
jerked like a mannequin on strings, the electricity adding to the searing
torment. A scream rose up this throat choking off his air as it fought its way
out past his lips. His roar echoed off the buildings as his brain finally shut
down, taking him into the back depths of nothingness.

Chapter Eight

“Your wife can be found at Golden Gulch.”

Zeke read over
the crumpled note carefully for a third time, and his jaw tightened as his
molars ground together. Anger surged through him with white hot intensity,
testing his control. Since the night he nearly died, his control seemed to be
tested on a regular basis. He knew his fellow Enforcers watched him
closely,
concern for him a constant irritant.

He rubbed at his
chest still remembering the sharp debilitating pain as the dagger plunged into
his chest. He was still haunted by the memory of
Laris
,
staring down at him, her beautiful face twisted into a mask of rage.
Stormy eyes glittering with hate …
for him
.

He knew how
close he had come to dying that night. Hell if not for Tegan and his panther’s
sensitive nose he wouldn’t be here now. Fortunately, Tegan and Kyra were being
led to their quarters when he scented the blood coming from his rooms.
Unfortunately, there was no sign of
Laris
when Tegan
busted the door down, finding Zeke with a dagger buried to the hilt in his
chest.

He shook the
memory away, concentrating on the paper in his hand. Seven fucking months, he’d
scoured the world looking for the traitorous bitch he married. Put his best
trackers on her trail and nothing. Not a hint of her whereabouts could be
found, until now.

Then suddenly he
gets a note stuffed into his leather duster with the first solid lead he had.
The scrawled lettering was short and to the point. He knew it could be a trap.
Didn’t matter.
If she was at the strip club he would exact
his revenge. If not, then he would ease some of his pent up aggression.

A
win-win for him.

“You are not
going in without backup, are we clear?” Marcus’s voice lowered, a note of
threat hard to dismiss.

“Then they
better get their ass in gear because I’m not waiting around.”

Marcus let out a
string of curses as he palmed his cell, jabbing his fingers on the buttons.
Zeke heard the call connect, and then his leader put the phone to his ear. “Get
your ass up here. Yeah, the command center, Zeke just got a lead.”
Disconnecting the call he glared at Zeke. “Tegan is going with you.”

Irritation
turned to anger as he glared at Marcus. Even if Marcus couldn’t see it through
Zeke’s shades, his voice held the sharp edge of his anger. “I don’t need
backup, and I certainly don’t want a fucking babysitter. What the hell, Marcus?
Do you think I’m going to commit cold blooded murder?”

“The thought did
cross my mind.”Zeke’s jaw tightened, barely holding back a snarl as he ground
out, “I’m not about to start an all-out war between my people and the
Mers
just for a moment of gratification. I will take her to
Atlantis where she will stand trial for her crime.”

Marcus raised
his hands in the air in surrender.
“Very well, but I still
want you with someone, and Tegan is the only one not out on patrol tonight.
And that, my friend, is the final word from
your
leader.”

“Great, that
means I’m interrupting his night off with Kyra?”

“Kyra doesn’t
mind.” A husky feminine voice carried to them. “You’re like a brother to me, so
that makes you family. And family looks after each other, got it?”

“Even when that
family member happens to be a grumpy pain in the ass lately,” Tegan chimed in,
stepping into the room after his mate. His framed filled the doorway of the
command room. Flat screen TVs ran constantly, tracking any and all feral
activity beyond their own territory. Maps of the world filled every available
wall space between the flat screens. Here was where strategies were made, much
like a war room.
Which was not too far from the truth.

They were at war
and losing ground with every passing day.

****

There was
something in the air tonight.

Lori could feel
it crawling up her spine, raising the fine hairs on the back of her neck. The
feeling of impending chaos only intensified as she made her way down the steps
of her small studio apartment above the strip club and down to the back
entrance where the dressing rooms were located. The normalcy of her nightly
routine held a menace that caused her hands to shake as she tried to apply her
eyeliner. After the third attempt she gave up. After all, who did she want to
impress?

Not a single
soul. Yet, a twinge of …
something
tightened her chest.

The heavy pall
in the air seemed to be affecting everyone in the place. Even the girls were
quiet and sullen, and the male voices coming from the open door leading to the
stage held a sharp edge of impending violence. It would take very little to
ignite into a full-blown ugly scene.

“This would be a
good day to call in sick, child.”
Cici’s
firm tone
reminded her of a mother hen ordering her chicks about. “Something bad is
brewing, and you don’t need to be caught in the middle of it.”

Lori smiled in
the mirror, catching the older woman’s gaze. “And how do you know this?”

“Now you know I
have the touch. I felt something off and pulled out my cards.”
Cici
shook her dark head as she grabbed Lori’s shoulders
and turned her around, her dark brown gaze filled with unease. “I pulled the
cards. Tower showed
and
Death. Their
placement in the here and now is very bad. A warning someone is going to die
amidst a great upheaval. Lori, your life is about to change, and there is a
whole fuck load of trouble heading your way. There’s some good, real good, but
it will come at a price.”

“
Cici
, you know I don’t believe in any of that,” Lori gently
reminded her.