From the Ashes (Force of Nature Book 1) (2 page)

Their lives weren't all that complicated, really. They drank (booze, not just blood), they partied (hard), they scammed on women (supernaturals and humans alike), and, when necessary, they brought a little punishment down on deserving parties (euphemism of the century). They, and the other enforcers, were a policing body for the vampires and, for a price, the other breeds of otherworldlies that inhabited the Earth. In plain English, they were a force to be reckoned with.

They, these party-loving bringers of pain, were my family.

“You'll catch on eventually, kid. Promise.”

“It's been months...almost a year. I don't think it's looking too good for me.”

His smile widened.

“Well, look on the bright side. If you're not a quick study, at least you're really hot.”

My eyes did another loop of their sockets.

“And out of your league,” I retorted, pushing past him to grab some food—the only food—out of the refrigerator. Vampires didn't need to eat solids, so I had become the queen of takeout, a crown that I wore with pride.

The truth was, I wasn't out of Jase's league at all. Dean's either. They were out of mine.

I was petite, thin—weak. My pale skin was harshly contrasted by my straight black hair, making me look more dead than the vampires I lived with, an accomplishment in and of itself. The boys, however, were practically carbon copies of one another. Tall. Thick. Strong. And painfully good-looking. Their short, dark hair framed their angular features perfectly, and their brown, almost black eyes looked at you like they were staring into your soul. Women, human and otherwise, were putty in their hands. I seemed to be one of the only beings that could withstand the power of their good looks. I think they found me amusing solely because of that fact. Amused or not, I wasn't messing up our relationship by sleeping with either of them. I'd seen others in the house do that.

It always ended badly.

“We're going out tonight,” he continued, not acknowledging my dig.

“Wait...isn't it night now?”

“Yes, technically. I meant YOUR night. So you'd better go nap or whatever it is you need to do to stay out with the big dogs. We're going out hard...”

“Don't you always?”

“Yes, but tonight we're going out harder than usual.”

“What's the occasion?” I asked, popping out of the fridge with a leftover Chinese food container in hand. An arm snaked around my shoulder from behind me, startling me for a second until I turned to find Dean smiling down at me, just as his brother was.

“Merc is back in town.”

“Merc?”

“Mercenary, a.k.a Merc. It's our pet name for him.”

“Sounds charming.”

“You have no idea.”

“So where's he back from?” I asked. It seemed an innocent enough question. But judging by the quick devolution of their expressions, I guessed I'd hit a nerve.

“That's a bit of a touchy subject,” Jase started, always the more diplomatic of the two boys.

“And don't you dare fucking ask him about it,” Dean chimed in. “He'll go postal. You do NOT want Merc to go postal, understand?”

“Yeah. I got it. Don't poke around at the new guy's past. No problem.”

“It shouldn't really be an issue anyway,” Jase added. “He's not much of a talker.”

“More of the strong silent type?” I deadpanned.

“Something like that.”

The two males exchanged looks before heading toward the swinging door leading out of the kitchen.

“So where are we going exactly? I need to know what I'm wearing.”

“You know where we're going...”

“Didn't we practically get kicked out of there last time?” I groused.

“Yep. But that's all been smoothed over now,” Jase said with a grin.

“We'll find you later,” Dean added, following his brother out of the room.

They disappeared, leaving me to my takeout and contemplations. Did I want to partake in their night of debauchery, which would end as it always did: with them finding a light snack (should read “human to feast on”) and me waiting for them to finish up? And then there was the mysterious return of Merc. Was I going to be stuck entertaining him while the boys did their thing? From what they’d told me, he sounded like the perfect companion to ensure a horrible night. I didn't need another moody vampire in my life, or one with a short fuse for that matter. I was all set with hair-trigger vamps. I lived in a house full of them.

One way or another, I needed to duck out of Jase's planned festivities.

* * *

Another difficult part of living with vampires was trying to evade them. It was virtually impossible once the sun went down. And unfortunately for me, that was when they (and fun-loving humans) went out. My plan to avoid going clubbing with them was dead in the water. Jase and Dean tracked me down without even trying.

“Did you really think hiding in the pantry was going to get you out of this?” Jase asked, clearly entertained by my antics.

“Hoped would have been the word I'd have chosen, but yes. I did.”

“Aw, don't you love us anymore, P?” Dean asked, draping his arm over my shoulders as we walked out to the parking lot.

“I do. I just don't love your harebrained antics when you're drunk off your ass,” I retorted. “And so help me, if you two leave me alone with this Merc character, I will never forgive you. Understand?”

“Yeah, that will
never
happen,” Jase replied, all joviality gone from his tone. “Merc is fine if we're around, but you are not to go anywhere near him if we aren't. Got it?”

“Seriously?”

“Very serious...ly.”

“Does he live at the mansion?” I asked.

“He does now.”

“Then what the hell am I supposed to do if I'm walking down the hall and he just happens to be there? Clearly I can't just avoid him indefinitely…”

“You can and you will,” Jase countered. “Turn around slowly and go the other way. That's what you do.”

“Holy shit!” I exclaimed. “You guys aren't kidding? You really want me to avoid him!”

“That is what Jase said,” Dean pointed out unhelpfully.

“Who is this guy exactly? Some fucking vampire serial killer?” Silence. “You two are so comforting.”

“Realistic would have been the word I'd have chosen,” Jase corrected, throwing my words back at me. “But I mean it, Piper. Merc is volatile at best, and it doesn't take much to set him off.”

“Is that why he's been gone?”

Again, Jase and Dean exchanged looks before answering.

“Sort of.”

“Fine. I won't poke the bear with a short stick and I'll retreat if I see him coming. Happy?”

“Yep.”

“So where is he, anyway? If he's coming to the club with us, why isn't he out here?”

“He is.”

“What? Where?” I blurted out, looking around the various vehicles for this loose cannon brother-in-arms of theirs.

“Right on cue,” Dean said under his breath, looking back at the mansion. I turned to follow his gaze. What I found approaching was a veritable wall of brooding darkness. Clad in all black, he stalked toward us like a midnight assassin. Merc was easily as tall as the boys and equally built, but he had an edge that they lacked. An arrogance that permeated the air around him. His black, shaggy hair was partially pulled back, letting the moonlight highlight the sharp angles of his face. I expected his eyes to be almost as dark as his hair, but as he grew nearer, I saw that they had a surprising hue. Pale gray-blue eyes fell on me, staring me down as though I were an alien—a being like nothing he'd ever seen before.

“Merc,” Jase said, edging himself strategically between the new guy and me. “This is Piper, the one we mentioned earlier. She's coming with us tonight.”

Merc continued to stare silently at me before walking past us toward the SUV. He opened the passenger door and got in, leaving the boys and me standing in his wake. I looked up at the brothers incredulously, trying to give them my very best “what the fuck?” face.

“You didn't tell her?” Dean asked his brother, mimicking the expression I wore.

“I thought you did!”

“Well, I didn't.”

“Tell me what?” I asked, not wanting to bear witness to one of their epic verbal battles. Those things had been known to drag on for hours.

“So, there's one other little catch with Merc,” Jase started, ushering me toward the vehicle. “Like I alluded to before, he's not really a talker.”

Dean scoffed.

“Like he's quiet?” I asked.

“No. Like he never talks.
Ever
,” Dean clarified.

“You've got to be kidding me...”

“Sorry, P. Wish I was.”

“Well, I guess it's a good thing you hadn't planned on leaving us alone then,” I mumbled to myself.

The boys grinned simultaneously before replying in unison.

“This should be a fun night for sure.”

* * *

I'd never been so happy to escape a confined space in all my life. Jase and Dean did their best to make the ride to the club tolerable, but their efforts were in vain. The second we were parked, I bolted from the SUV toward the line stretched around the outside of the three-story red brick building. We had an easy time getting in, which meant that Jase really had smoothed things over with the owners. The vamps were a bit like the mob. They practically ran parts of NYC (the non-supernatural parts). And because of that, we had ins at nearly every place worth going to in the city.

Bruno, the bouncer working the door, patted me down, being extremely careful not to linger too long near any of my valued areas. He had done that once. After that night, his fingers had never quite looked right, remnants of the anatomically impossible angles they'd been bent into still present.

Dean was a little sensitive when it came to me and my virtue.

Once we entered the main room of the club, the boys made their way back to their usual spot in the VIP section above while I hit the ladies room. I needed a break from Merc's intense glare. Since the place was run by the vamps, I didn't have to worry about any unfriendly supernaturals showing up there. It was a safe haven of sorts for me. Even though I bitched about the boys and their all-night partying, I secretly did love going there.

The line to the ladies room ran the length of the hall, but I eventually got to use it before I peed my pants. I then made a pit stop at the bar to talk to Kat, the werewolf who bartended there a couple nights a week. Even after “marrying” one of the enforcers, she insisted on maintaining an air of normalcy, as well as income of her own. The sad reality of which she was all too aware was, in the event that her mate, Jensen, was killed, the vampires would kick her out of the mansion to find a pack to take up with. Most supernaturals tolerated mixing, but it wasn't their favorite practice, especially in the vampire community. Kat was by far and away an exception to the rule, but it wasn't hard to see why. She was five-foot-eleven and built like a swimsuit model with the looks to match. Her clear blue eyes were almost too large for her face, but the almond shape of them gave her a mysterious beauty that boys of any species had a hard time ignoring. Hell, I’d checked her out when I’d first met her. Nobody should be that good-looking.

Nobody.

“The usual?” she asked, leaning over the bar so that her breasts rested on top of it. The guy next to me was mesmerized.

“Please,” I replied and watched as she fixed me a vodka cran the size of Texas. I saw no point in ordering drinks all night long. I preferred to get mine Big Gulp size so I wouldn't have to make a return trip.

She plopped it down on the bar in front of me and waved me off when I reached for my wallet.

“You know your money is no good here,” she said with a smile before her eyes lifted toward the VIP section. “You keeping the boys company tonight?”

“Ugh...you know it isn't like that, Kat,” I sighed. She'd always hoped I would hook up with one or the other. She adored Jase and Dean, though she would never directly admit it when asked. “Besides, I think they have their hands full enough.”

Before she could interrogate me about my remark, some rowdy guys at the other end of the bar started to razz her about slow service. She rolled her eyes at me, then turned to give them a wink. As soon as they laid eyes on her, their expressions lightened. Werewolves really did have an animal appeal that couldn't be ignored. Or maybe it was Kat's amazing boobs. It was hard to tell.

“I'll catch you later, Piper,” she called over her shoulder, running her hand through her short auburn hair as she made her way over to take their order.

With drink in hand, I wove my way up to the VIP section, a growing sense of dread accompanying me. By the time I made it to the table, I was ready to place it down and retreat to the dance floor immediately. The boys, however, had other plans for me.

“No you don't,” Jase said, grabbing my arm when he figured out my plan to escape. “You're hanging out tonight. No more of this drink and ditch bullshit. You've been playing that game for the last two weeks.”