PS03 - Tall, Dark & Heartless (15 page)

didn't want to take a chance hurting her or because he didn't think she was up to the challenge she didn't know and didn't care.

Not only was she curious to see how much she could take, but she also wanted to keep her skills up. If they were going to

escape then they needed to do it soon and she needed to be ready. The only way to do that was to practice with him and the

only way to make him do that was to provoke him. She tried not to smile as she did just that.

"Did I mention that I like your tattoo? It's very cute and let's not forget the piercing. Did you do that for someone special or

were you just bored?" she asked innocently, knowing she was on the right track when he clenched his jaw tightly and glared at

her, so of course she kept going.

"I especially like the way the tattoo looped around the base before it-"

She was forced to stop talking. It was either that or get her ass kicked, which was probably going to happen anyway, but

not this soon. When he swung and she easily ducked the move, she knew he was still holding back. The next weak punch

confirmed it. With a bored sigh she ducked out of the way again, dropped to her knees and grabbed him by the goods. It was a

very large handful, but she managed to fit the important bits in her hand. She gave him a squeeze of warning that caused him to

instantly go still. Sure, he was a Pyte and would heal, but no man wanted his junk damaged.

"Oh, good," she said brightly. "I have your attention."

Of course she ignored his growl of warning. "Next time you hold back I won't," she said, giving him another squeeze that

had him sucking in a breath. "Understood?"

She released him after he gave her a firm nod. Once her hand was off his boys she moved the hell out of the way, but not

fast enough. He had her by the throat and pinned against the wall before she could take her next breath. He leaned in close until

his warm breath fanned her neck and ear.

"Is this what you want?" he demanded, tightening his hold on her neck.

"Yes," she gasped even as her elbow shot up to dislodge his hand. When his hand didn't move she tried it again and again

until she was left with no choice but to shove him away. When he moved back and dropped his hand away, it was clear that it

was only because he allowed it.

"It doesn't matter how many hours you train or how hard you push your body, Danni, you're still human,” he said coldly.

"You don't belong here and you sure as hell don't have the skill to stay in the game, Danni."

"Bullshit!" she snapped, getting in his face. "I've survived this long," she pointed out. She knew he was faster and stronger

than her and against him she wouldn't stand a chance, but she'd held her own against vampires, demons and shifters over the

years and knew she that had what it took to do this job. It didn't matter that she was a human. She was more than-

"Because you've always been surrounded by Sentinels, other demons, vampires, and shifters. You never would have

survived this job if you were on your own, Danni."

"Really?" she asked mockingly. "That's kind of funny since I've been patrolling on my own every night for the past eight

years," she announced, pleased by the stunned expression on his face.

"What the hell are you talking about?" he asked weakly, looking slightly surprised at her announcement and for good

reason. All humans working for the Sentinels were prohibited from patrolling alone, but she didn't care. The worst they could

do was fire her and kick her out of the compound and if they did that she'd just go and do this somewhere else.

"I patrol every single night on my own. I hit the bars, clubs, alleyways and every place I know the Sentinels don't have

time to hit. I may not be able to hold my own against a Pyte, but I sure as hell can hold my own against the others," she spat out,

moving to walk away from him only to find herself once again shoved up against the wall.

"
You little fool
," he snapped, his hands tightening on her shoulders as he gave her a little shake. "Why the hell would you

do something so stupid?"

"Because it's my job!" she yelled back.

A vicious growl tore through his throat as he shoved her further against the wall and walked away from her. He began to

pace in front of her in clipped movements. She forced herself to stand there as his fangs dropped and it became more than

obvious that he was having a hell of a time staying in control. As much as she wanted to get in his face and tell him off once

and for all, she couldn't. He was on the verge of bloodlust and she knew all too well what could happen if he lost control.

She'd been fourteen the one and only time she'd seen him go into bloodlust. That memory was more than enough to keep

her ass against the wall and her mouth shut. If he could calm down, he would have a chance to reign it back in and if he couldn't

she'd better pray, because there was nowhere to run and hide this time.

The other time he lost it had been all her fault. He'd told her that she was too young to go patrolling and she hadn't

listened. She thought she was ready, more than ready because he had trained her. It never occurred to her that he'd been holding

back. So when he went off with a group of Sentinels to patrol she snuck out of the compound, ran to the subway and went to the

area she overheard one of the Sentinels say there was a nest of vampires.

Her plan had been simple, stupid, but simple. While everyone else was fighting, she was hunting down the nest's Master

and planning to take him down in front of everyone so they could see just how good she really was. Once she brought down the

Master, she knew they'd allow her to quit school, more like insist that she quit, so that she could train fulltime with them and

patrol.

When she managed to sneak past the Sentinel stationed at the front of the abandoned building where the nest was, she

knew that her skills were more than good enough. By the time she found Caine and the others fighting the large group of

vampires and a few minions, she'd been mentally patting herself on the back for a job well done.

Somehow she managed to sneak into the large room and hide behind an overturned vending machine. At the time she'd

assumed it was her incredible skills that allowed her to hide, but now she realized that she'd only managed to get in

unobserved because everyone had been too busy to notice her. While they fought, she scanned the room looking for the biggest,

toughest vampire that she could find, figuring that one would be the Master.

She wasn't sure if the vampire she decided on was actually the Master, but she went for him just the same. As quietly and

quickly as she could, she moved out from behind the vending machine and went after her prey. Unfortunately she never got near

the man. Before she knew what was happening, another vampire grabbed her and yanked her back against his chest. She didn't

get a chance to put up a fight before he struck.

Just the thought of those fangs slicing through her skin still had the power to make her ill. She let out a blood curdling

scream, not sure if she screamed Caine's name or not, but within seconds she was falling to the ground. She landed hard and

tried to crawl away only to find herself kicked and stepped on as the fighting shifted closer.

Somehow she managed to crawl to one of the cracked and decaying walls. She huddled against it as she watched in

horrified fascination as Caine made the vampire scream and beg for his life before Caine ripped out his throat. Most vampires

and Sentinels didn't know that Pytes could drink the blood of vampires, demons, shifters as well as humans. It was something

Caine had told her, but up until that moment she'd never seen him drink anything more than bagged blood heated up in the

microwave.

She knew the minute his glowing red eyes landed on her and by the way he tilted his head back and sniffed the air that

there was something off about him. When he started attacking anything in his path, not caring whether it was a vampire or a

Sentinel she thought he was worried about her and wanted to check on her. It wasn't until he went to lunge for her and several

Sentinels and the shifters in his group grabbed him and held him back that she realized he meant to finish what the vampire had

started.

When she slapped a hand to her wound he went wild in their arms, snarling and growling as he fought to get to her. The

survivors of the nest took advantage of the situation and ran, leaving the Sentinels to deal with Caine. She stood up on

trembling legs and moved to go to him only to get a good look at the monster he truly was. The moment she looked into his eyes

she knew that her friend Caine wasn't there. She also knew that it wouldn't be long before he freed himself and came after her.

She sent him one last look, hoping to see her friend, but he wasn't there. Mumbling an apology she took off running, hoping

he'd calm down if she wasn't in the room. She heard some of the men yell after her to run faster and she did the best she could.

She ran out of the building, down the street and down the stairs to the subway, praying the entire way that the scents of the

trains, dirt and humans would confuse him and that she made it to a train before he found her.

Just as she made it to the bottom step she heard the unholy roar that caused her heart to skip a beat and sent her running

even faster. She jumped the token gate, ignored the booth worker demanding that she come back, and kept running until she

made it down to the tracks just in time to see a train pull away. Not knowing what else to do, she jumped the tracks and took off

running into the pitch black tunnel, praying he'd just assumed that she jumped on the train and left.

When she heard the growl echo in the tunnel she knew that he was still following her. Seconds later she tripped on the

tracks and went flying, landing hard on the tracks. Remembering the small space that she usually watched mice run out of, she

crawled towards her right, praying that she fit in there. She did, but it was a tight fit.

She moved until her shoulder came up against the rough cement wall and was forced to turn her head all the way to the

side to fit. She prayed that she'd be able to go deep enough so that he couldn't reach her. When she saw the small bright red

lights she bit her lip hard enough to keep from screaming. It was stupid, but she didn't want him to think that she was a coward.

She knew that if he got his hands on her that she'd fight him until the end.

As his hand closed tightly around her arm she knew it would all be over soon even as she fought desperately to free her

arm and grab onto something to keep herself from being dragged out. It was only thanks to one of the Sentinels that managed to

follow him that she was still alive today. When she heard the gunshot and felt his hand go lax on her arm she sighed with relief

and crawled out to check on Caine and to face her punishment.

Thankfully they shot him in the heart instead of the head. She wasn't sure she'd be able to handle seeing that. She wasn't

worried that he'd die. He'd explained all of that years ago. So while several Sentinels yelled at her and threatened to take her

over their knees and give her the ass whooping that she deserved she sat by Caine's side and held his hand.

Thanks to her he had to recover that night in one of the cells with bagged blood practically shoved down his throat and she

was put under in-house arrest for three months. After they released him he hunted her down, but he didn't say anything to her.

He just watched her for a moment before he turned around and walked away.

For the entire three month punishment he refused to speak to her, but he was never far away. He walked her to school.

Was there waiting for her at the curb when school let out. He walked her home and straight to her bedroom where she was

expected to stay all night. Before he went out on patrol he brought her dinner from the cafeteria, no dessert, and sat with her.

She also knew that he checked on her while she slept, but never once spoke to her during those three months.

The day her confinement ended he picked her up from school like any other day, but this time instead of walking with her

to her room, he led her to one of the workout rooms and had one of the Sentinels who'd been injured that day, thanks to her,

spar with her. When he was done wiping the floor with her, which sadly hadn't taken more than a minute, she realized that she

had no business going on patrol.

As she lay on the ground, hugging her arm to her chest and panting, she nodded in understanding. Caine let out a little grunt

of acceptance as he reached down and picked her up and of course called her a "Dumbass" for good measure.

"You're done," Caine said, grabbing her attention back to the present "You are so fucking done," he said in that guttural

voice that she knew so well from the nightmares that still plagued her from that night. "That life is over for you," he snarled.

Reluctantly she nodded, knowing that it was true. The life she'd known was over, but not for the reason he thought. The

reason why her life was over chose that moment to make an appearance.

Chapter 13

Her gasp of pain drew him out of the beginning stages of bloodlust faster than should have been possible. Up until a few