Claiming Their Cat (11 page)

Jose Alvarez watched
his men roll the
captain of
security into the plastic on the floor. He liked to see
people
when they knew they were going to die. The begging and pleading was boring, but the fear in their eyes made his dick hard.
His second in command stood ri
gid
and apprehensive
,
wondering how far
Alvarez
would go to make people pay for losing his heir. He’d fucked his way through countless women to find one who he could impregnate, only to have her slip away during the night.

Fucking a female was a burden. Women were too soft. He
enjoyed
the hard
,
grinding pain that only a man could give.
F
ucking the young boys wasn’t too bad either. He could almost come on their fear alone.

“Carlos, do you have any good news
?
”

The sudden intake of breath answered his question.

“No, Sir. The transmitter led us to a diner that was burned to the ground. Then to a desolate area beside the road where the transmitter was last recorded. There’s nothing there, boss.”

“So, this bitch found the transmitter, dug it out of her shoulder, and ditched it.”
I think not.
She’s a female, and females are not that smart.

“Well, I
believe
she had some help.
”

“Really? And who would that be?”

Carlos pulled a picture from a folder and laid it on the desk. “We’re currently searching for the diner’s owner. There was a body in the ash, but so far, there’s been
no
id. It was early morning, so it could have been a robber or something.
J
ust in case, we have his house staked out, but he hasn’t been seen.”

“Does this man have any relatives?” Family would only be effective if the man were alive.

Carlos shook his head. “His parents are dead, no siblings, never been married.”

Damn it. Relatives were such excellent tools. “Friends?”

“No, Sir.”

Another dead-end. “Have you found out anything from the staff about Mari?”

“Mari told everyone she didn’t have any
family
.”

He’d had one of the maids killed in front of the entire staff just to force anyone to be forthcoming with information, but no one uttered a word. A pregnant woman couldn’t disappear off the face of the earth. She’d had a
two-day’s
head start. They had tracked her on foot, but she’d made it to the road, hopped a ride, and apparently could move much faster than his well-trained men even with a transmitter inside
of
her.
What
fucking luck.

“The computer techs are checking all hospitals and clinics. The gangs are staking out women and homeless shelters.”

Alvarez refused to believe she was dead somewhere in the wilderness from starvation or rattler or some other predator. No, until he saw a body, he had hope. He didn’t actually care if Mari was brought back or not
,
he just needed
his
child.
I
f he did find her and she delivered a girl, he’d hold the child as collateral until she produced a boy.
Of course, he could have had artificial insemination done and saved himself all these problems
, but he didn’t want the heir to his fortune conceived in a petri dish and a turkey baster.

The plan was sound. He
only
required the bitch Mari.

Alvarez would bet his business she had help and that
person
would be an example.

Through a faint mist of himself, Draco watched the human, Lucy, close her door, and lock it. He was amazed at how much
they
trusted locks to keep out predators. Of course,
humans
didn’t believe in vampires, most of which could get into anywhere as long as the sun was down. Traversing, dissolving into smoke or mist, or taking on any shape were their greatest gifts along with reading
the minds of the weak
. He couldn’t read Rio’s, but Rio wasn’t human.

Wiping people’s minds came in handy. He’d promised Rio he wouldn’t feed
from her
or fuck her, but he didn’t promise a damn thing about having a little fun. Draco loved to toy with people, scare them a little bit, and then
erase
the incident from their minds.

Manipulation was a game, and he was the master.

She moved into the kitchen, pulled out a frozen dinner, and popped it in the microwave. Ugh! He wanted all humans to consume copious amounts of red meat, which was beneficial for the red blood cells, not some frozen thing with only a hint of chicken.

Preferring to drink from soft women, it was going to be a damn shame he couldn’t taste the morsel leaning against the counter reading the back of the carton. Women always tasted sweet, but their blood lacked the robustness that he needed, so he was forced to feed
from
men.

This female was cute with her short-cropped hair, intelligent blue eyes, and curvy figure. It was a shame he couldn’t have just one tiny sip.

He decided to get this over with so he could find a hot, slick pussy and a nice warm vein.
Materializing in front of her, he presented his best smile. She blinked several times, but recovered quickly and snatched a frying pan out of the sink.

“Who the hell are you and what are you doing in my house?”

Draco inhaled as his eyes narrowed. She smelled like roses and sin. Her voice was deep and sexy even though she was scared shitless.

Fucking-a.
This human was his mate?

That couldn’t be.
He was
over
nine hundred years old, and the
one time
he considered doing someone a favor
his mate
was handed to him?

He’d always thought his mate—if he had one at all—would be another vampire. Someone who understood the requirements to sustain life. Even werewolves and other shifters didn’t get it, so how could a human possibly comprehend?

“I asked you a fucking question.”

Her idle threat pulled him from his disbelief. Suddenly, she was more than cute. She was a fucking voluptuous bombshell.
Her breasts heaved against her smock, and his cock went ballistic.
So she was in the medical field and a
good
friend of Rio’s. That thought rubbed against the grain. Had Rio been intimate with his mate? Rage roared through Draco. Rio should
be
glad he had a mate of his own, so Draco wouldn’t have to kill him.

“Are you deaf and dumb? What the fuck are you doing in my house?”

The smell of her fear was quickly replaced by agitation.
She didn’t like being ignored, but what woman did?
He pushed against her mind, needing to get inside, but the barrier was firm. Her closed mind confirmed them as mates. Vamps could only read their mate’s thoughts when the mate let them in. That was to level the playing field.

“My name is … Draco.”

“What in the hell kind of name is that?
Sounds like a character from a video.”

He
grinned
closed mouth to hide his fangs, no need to scare his little
human
yet. He had forgotten his birth name long ago. He’d gone by many names, but Draco was the one he preferred.

“Well, what can I do for you Mr.
Draco?”

Take your clothes off.

He
sensed
the threat before he opened his mind to the men outside. Three of them were slinking through the moonless night. They were here to rob the rich doctor and no apparent connection with Alvarez. Perhaps this would work to his advantage.

“Rio sent me.”

Her face softened causing hate to ripple through him. “Your life is in danger.”

“Yeah. Right.”

“There are three men outside who mean to harm you.
I will take care of them, and then you will come with me.”

“First of all, buster, I can take care of myself, and going anywhere with you is out of the question.”

A hard thud sounded as the robbers kicked at her front door. There was no way he’d allow them
to breathe
the same air as his Lucy. “Can I trust you to stay in here while I handle those bastards?”

Lucy tilted her head and raised a brow.

“I didn’t think so. Damn, you
’
re stubborn.”

“Thank you.”

In desperation, he tried to put her in a trance, but it didn’t work. Whoever decided a male vamp shouldn’t have control over his mate was full of shit. The front door gave way with a boom against the
interior
wall. Maybe he could reason with them, instead of killing them. Oh, he wanted to kill them, but Lucy may not like the mess.

Draco turned and met them in the living room. Three stupid teens pointed guns at him, but he didn’t give a rat’s ass
.
He could move before they pulled the trigger. Perhaps compulsion would be the best choice.

“My name is Draco, and you are trespassing.
If you walk out now, you get to live.”

The three laughed, and he heard a soft, feminine giggle behind him, which he totally tried to ignore.
He would have to
spank
her ass for that.

“Hey man, you look like something out of a comic book,” said
one of the vermin
.

What was it about his clothes? At least he had some on. Most of the time he preferred to go commando wearing only a black robe and a hard-on.

“I think I like those leather pants and that
cool
jacket. Take them off, or I’ll put a hole in them before I take them off myself.”

Over my cold, dead body.

He pushed against the so-called leader’s mind compelling him to leave. The thug shook his head as if to dislodge the thought.
Draco pushed harder, but his nose told him the man was under the influence of cocaine and not susceptible to compulsion.
Shit!
The
ir drug induced crime spree
was only going to get them dead tonight.

Their minds were a jumble of images, but need
drove them
, a compulsion of its own. He tried freeze frame, but that didn’t work either. Draco hated drugs.
They fucked with people’s minds,
s
o he couldn’t.

And drug addicts tasted like fresh shit.

“I’m warning you. I don’t want to kill you.”
I do, but my mate probably wouldn’t like it.

They laughed
at his words
. His mate muttered an ‘o
h
brother.’ He smiled at her in his mind.
He was going to have to
turn her over his knee
.

He snarled before transforming his face to a hideous creature with red glowing eyes, and a long snout complete with fangs. Draco reveled in their fear. He extended his claws so only they could see them, then he quickly transformed back. “Your eyes are not deceiving you. Leave now before I kill you.”

Their bodies shook with fear, but not enough for them to heed the warning.

The leader raised his gun. “I don’t think so, comic book man.”

Lucy waited for
the words. ‘Cut. That’s a wrap.’

Where was the camera crew? They had to be around here somewhere.
The three hoodlums, which was what her daddy would have called them, had guns that looked real, and she knew that I’m-stoned-out-of-my-mind look anywhere.
But the guy in front her was another thing all together.

D
ressed in
all
black, he carried himself as if the guns weren’t real.

Or he was insane
?

Why did all the good-looking ones have to be crazy? She had to admit, she’d never seen anyone quite as handsome as the dark one, well, except for Rio, but he was like a brother, so he didn’t count. This man’s face was chiseled sharp, with high cheekbones and a sexy
dimple in his
chin. God, that hair was to die for—full, long, and black hitting just below his shoulders. Why couldn’t she have hair like that instead of the baby fine,
curly
mess?

Her assessment was cut short when the dark one spoke. If these three were real, and she hadn’t bought into that yet, his talking was only going to aggravate the situation. One could not reason with people under the influence of
meth
, cocaine or heaven knew what else.

Of course, she had no idea what mental disease this Draco suffered from. Either way, this was not going to work out well for her unless someone yelled ‘cut.’

Time to call for help.

Removing the phone from her pocket, she dialed 911 and waited for the dispatcher to pick up.
“Please send help to 1415 Huntington Lane.
Break-in in progress.”

“What’s the situation? Do you need EMT or just officers?”

She considered the three druggies and the loon. “Both. I’ve got to run.”

Lucy heard the dispatcher say ‘wait,’ but she
could
n’t. The leader lifted his gun at the crazy man,
and
said something she couldn’t hear. She knew talking wasn’t going to work. Before she could get her brain in gear or do anything else, a deafening boom echoed in her living room.

Her body jumped. She blinked. When she opened her eyes, three men lay dead on her floor, large gashes slicing them from ear to ear
, a
nd the dark one was holding the bullet in his hand, smiling.

Oh. My. God. I’ve gone crazy too.

“What…what have you
done
?”

He frowned as if offended. “I eliminated the threat to you?”

“How?”

“That’s going to take a bit of explaining.”

“You killed them?” It was a stupid question because she could see they were dead.

“They fired first.”

The doctor part of her kicked in.
She checked for a pulse on all three of them. Nothing. “I didn’t see you move.”

“No, you didn’t.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“It means I’m different from you with a very specialized skillset.”

“For
killing
?”

He shrugged giving her the impression that was just one of many skills she didn’t want to know about. She sig
h
ed with relief as she heard the sirens. “I suggest you leave, now. Before the cops get here.”

“I’m not worried about the cops. I can handle them.”

She raised her frying pan. “You will not kill them.”

“No, I will not.
But I can make it so they can’t see me or the bodies on your floor.
The best thing you can do is tell
them that you
scared the burglars away. Otherwise, they might decide to commit you.”

She wanted to say
‘you
are so full of shit. What hospital did you escape from?’ but knew that wasn’t the way to handle mentally deranged people. “I’m a doctor. I can get you the help you need.”

She heard, “it’s the police.”

“Don’t worry;
I won’t let them commit you
,
”
he said.

“Thank you, but I’m afraid I’m going to have to let them commit you.”

He smiled, showing brilliant white teeth. Did he whiten? She moved toward the open door, clearly expecting him to stop her, but when he didn’t
,
she let out the breath she’d been holding and placed her heavy weapon on the table. “Yes, please. Come in.”

“You reported you needed help.”

Were these two just out of training? She looked at them and then at the bodies who were leaking blood on her parquet floor.
Lucy
stole a glance at the crazy one. He smiled like the cat that ate the canary. She moved toward the bodies and the officers followed.
Any closer and they’d slip.

“Did they actually get inside ma’am?”
The youngest asked.

Maybe these two were with the film crew. “Ah, can you see…”

Suddenly, the officer she was speaking to…froze. “What the hell?” She immediately spun towards the first crazy one, because she was now becoming crazy number two.

“They’re in a trance. Rio likes to call it freeze-frame.”

“How…did you do that?”

“I’m a vampire. I can do lots of things.”

Of course, he’s a vampire.
She dragged her hands down her face. She couldn’t explain how these cops were in a trance, couldn’t explain how he moved without her even seeing it, but she would not indulge this lunatic.

“Handy little trick. Why did Rio send you?” She wanted a reason to kick Rio’s ass.

“Ah, I wondered when you’d get back to that. Rio’s mate gave you a letter and Rio wants to know who it’s addressed to.”

“Mate. That sounds so archaic.”

“I agree, but it’s on a deeper level, much stronger than your human marriage. A mate will do anything to protect its
other half
; hence, Rio needs to know
to
whom she wrote the letter.
I
f it w
as
her family, he’ll send someone to protect them from Alvarez, and if it w
as
a lover, he’ll probably kill him.”

Lucy didn’t know if she believed that or not, but it did explained Rio’s crazy behavior over Cat. She certainly couldn’t see Rio killing anyone. He
did
so much charitable work. “Rio’s a vampire too?”

“God no. He’s a werewolf.”

Okay. Approaching level two on the
insane-
o
-
meter
.

“And just how were you supposed to get this letter from me?
Flash freeze me and snoop around?” She didn’t know whose ass to kick, Rio’s or the insane one.

“Maybe, but I probably would have used compulsion to force you to show me where the letter was. And when I was done with my mission, I’d wipe your mind of the incident.”

Another neat little trick, one she could see this Draco using to his advantage. “And why didn’t you do that.”

“I’ll answer that question after we get rid of our audience. Are you ready to send them on their way?”

She sig
h
ed.
“Yes.” What choice did she have? “Where were we?”

“Just tell
them that you
scared the intruders away.”

She watched Draco wave his hand. Turning her head to the officer in front of her, he blinked. “I…apparently scared them away.”
Yeah, that sounded plausible.
“They must not have known I was home.”

“Were they driving a vehicle?”

“I…didn’t see one.” The officer jotted that down. Boy, she felt like a fool.
Calling the cops and lying to them, having them actually suspended in animation like some cartoon. She was certainly going to kick Rio’s ass.

“Do you mind if we look around.”

“Lord no. Help yourself.”

The officers spread out and miraculously stepped around the bodies. She looked at Draco. He gave her that winning smile and twirled his fingers in a woo-woo sign. Too
bad
he was a vampire.
Too bad she was going mad.

After an eternity, the officers finally left, and she’d resigned to checking herself into a mental facility.
She’d call a
good
friend and have him cover the clinic for her.

Glancing at the bodies, she prayed she’d wake up, or they’d just disappear.

“Don’t worry about the bodies.
I’ll take care of them?”

“How? Wait a second. Do I even want to know?”

“I will…transport them to a back alley, and everyone will think they were victims of a drug deal gone bad. Why don’t you get something to drink, and I’ll take care of this real fast.
And then you can ask away.”

Wine. That’s what she needed, because where she was going tomorrow, there would be no wine for a while.
She knew for a fact
that
they didn’t serve libations to mental patients.
In the kitchen, she poured herself her most expensive wine and sat at the table to wait for the crazy one.
Savoring the wine, she tried to figure out if she had a delusional disorder or straight up schizophrenia. Maybe she had a brain tumor. That would cause hallucinations. With another swallow, she wondered what antipsychotic med they would prescribe.

Lucy heard a soft knock behind her. Glancing over her shoulder, Draco stood in the doorway with concern on his face. “Are you okay?”

“For a mentally insane person, I’m okay.”

He moved to the table, pulled out a chair, and lowered his
big
frame into it.

“Don’t you have someone else to bother besides me? Someone to…
bite
?”

“No, I fed while I was out.”

Yuck
. She leaned forward. “Let me see your fangs.”

He opened his mouth, and sure enough right before her eyes, the canines elongated into wicked fangs. She drained her glass.

“You think you’re losing your mind.”

“No…I’m sure I’ve already done that.”

“Just think of us as
a
new species that
has
just been discovered.”

“You mean like a parasite.”

His smile was beautiful. “Yes, but we’ve been around forever, but look at it from our point of view. We have to consume blood to live. We’re not some crazed beings that kill our prey, like wolves.”

“Rio’s a werewolf, and you’re telling
me that he
kills his prey?

“No. I shouldn’t have said that. Rio would never kill anyone unless they were a threat.”

“And Cat is his mate, a werewolf’s mate?”

Draco nodded.

If she asked Rio if he were a werewolf and he said yes, would she believe him?
Probably not.
Vampires and werewolves only existed in a delusional mind like hers.

“So Rio wants the letter. Why didn’t you freeze frame me and take it?”

“I can’t do that to you.”

She
was
game and asked, “Why not?”

He shook his head, his long hair dancing around his shoulders. “I suggest you come with me.”

“Come with you where?”

“To my home.”

“Not on your life, buddy.
I want to wake up tomorrow and forget all about tonight.”
And
I have
blood in my house to cleanup.

“Those guys may have friends that will come looking for them. I can’t leave you unprotected.”

He sounded sincere, if that was possible from an insane person.
“Listen, this is the first time I’ve
ever
been burglarized. I’ll have a security system installed. I’m sure I’ll be
fine
.”

“I must insist.”

“For God’s sake, why?”

His hesitation made her wary. “Because you’re
my
mate.”

Her brain tilted to the side. Or maybe it was her head. Lord, she hadn’t
consumed
enough wine for that insane news. “You need to leave. I need to eat.”
One more microwave meal before clinical food.
“And go to bed.”
Last time in my own bed.

His enormous hand engulfed hers. She tried to pull away, but he wouldn’t let her. His thumb
swirled over the back of her hand in a slow, soothing motion.

“I’m sorry, but you leave me no choice.”