Butting Heads With A Gargoyle by Charlie Richards

Chapter Four

Vermidian exited the vehicle, immediately followed by Keefe. Draping his black wings around his shoulder, he passed the damaged side panel, wondering if the vehicle was still drivable. He could afford to have it fixed or replaced even if the coven couldn’t, although, judging by the high-end machine, he figured that wouldn’t be a problem for them.

Quickly crossing to Ridger’s side, Vermidian fell into step beside the vampire. As a combined front, they crossed to the man who appeared to be the defiant one. They stopped before him, and Ridger cocked his head as he stared down at him.

“Let’s start with something simple,” Ridger stated, crossing his arms over his chest. “Were you after me”—he tipped his head toward Vermidian—”or him?”

The man curled his lip, his eyes holding a malicious gleam. To Vermidian’s surprise, he answered. “I’m after all of you. Every single one.”

Ridger grinned widely, showing off his fangs. “Well, the easy way was worth a shot.”

As Vermidian watched, Ridger’s irises turned blood red.

The man snickered coldly, and his grin widened. “That won’t work on me, monster. I’m immune.”

“What about your friends?” Ridger countered, turning away from the belligerent human. “Are they immune, too?”

“I-Immune?” a man squeaked, glancing from Ridger to the leader and back again. He sucked in sharply as an eep escaped him. “I’m gonna die.”

“No, you won’t,” Ridger crooned, kneeling before the bound man. “You’ll be just fine. In fact, soon, your life will be even better.”

“Bradly, clear your mind,” the leader barked. “Think of nothing but marshmallows, remember?”

“M-Marshmallows?” the guy—Bradly—mumbled, his expression turning blank. “I-I like marshmallows.”

Ridger rested a crooked forefinger under Bradly’s chin, urging him to tip his head up a little. “I like marshmallows, too, Bradly,” the vampire crooned. “They’re soft and sweet. When they’re half-burnt and gooey, they’re perfect for s’mores.”

Bradly hummed, his features going a bit more vacant. “S’mores.”

“When was the last time you had s’mores?” Ridger asked softly. To Vermidian’s surprise, Bradly’s eyebrows flinched, and Ridger murmured, “Ahhh, I’m so sorry that happened to you, Bradly.” The vampire teased his thumb along the human’s jaw and questioned, “And your parents?”

While Bradly didn’t respond, his eyes dilated so far they nearly blocked out the green of his irises.

“Again, I’m sorry,” Ridger whispered. “Your sister didn’t deserve that. Once you’re calmer, I’ll explain restitution to you.”

“Fuck,” Vicon growled, shaking his head, obviously reading between the lines.

Vermidian wasn’t certain what Vicon was surmising. “What’s going on?”

Vicon grimaced as he shoved his hands into his pockets. “If I’m guessing right, a rogue took out his sister. Maybe his parents, too.” Staring at the leader, Vicon mused with a frown, “He was probably picked up by these guys while recovering, and they filled his head with their own bullshit agenda.”

The human just glared back at them.

“Tell me, Bradly.” Ridger’s soft voice drew Vermidian’s attention. “What’s your leader’s name?”

“Jus—”

“Shut up,” the man in question roared. Suddenly free of his bonds, he swung a knife toward where Ridger knelt on one knee before a clearly entranced Bradly.

Vermidian acted on instinct—his need to eliminate the threat to his mate. Jumping forward, he spun as he spread his wings. He slammed his appendage into the human’s legs, taking them out from under him. In the next instant, Vermidian leaped onto the sprawled human, grabbing the wrist holding the knife in one hand and wrapping the claws of his other hand around his throat. Vermidian quickly wrenched his hand, tearing out the bastard’s throat.

The human’s cry of anger ended in a gurgle.

As Vermidian dropped the human’s torn flesh onto the ground, he peered up at Ridger. His vampire’s red eyes stared in his direction. To his surprise, a smile teased around the corners of his mate’s full lips—lips he suddenly really wanted to taste.

“Thank you, my beloved,” Ridger murmured. Then, with a wink, he turned his attention back to Bradly, who hadn’t moved an inch. “How did you know to attack the SUV?”

“There’s a tracker on the undercarriage,” Bradley answered, his tone vacant. “Justin received an alert when it left the hotel. We’ve been waiting for it to leave the mansion, and set up a trap on the road where we knew it would have to travel.”

“How the hell could a tracking device be put on one of our SUVs?” Donny whispered, scratching his scalp. “Do we have a traitor in the coven?”

Vicon’s expression darkened. “If there is, we’ll ferret him or her out.”

“It’s possible that it was installed while it was parked somewhere off property,” Phineas pointed out. “Do you take it out to eat or other public parking places?”

Donny hummed, nodding. “Of course.”

“That still means the hotel is being watched, and we didn’t notice,” Vicon pointed out on a growl. “We’ll need to check every property as well as all cameras near us.”

“Agreed,” Ridger stated, joining them. He stopped beside Vermidian and rested his hand on his upper arm. “I’m sorry that our oversight put you in danger, my beloved.”

Vermidian wiped the half-dried blood from his hand onto his loincloth before reaching for Ridger. Resting his dirty hand on his vampire’s hip, he cradled the male’s nape with his other hand. Vermidian gave in to what he’d wanted from the second he’d recognized what Ridger was to him.

Bending a bit at the waist to compensate for the several inches he had on his vampire, Vermidian sealed his lips over Ridger’s. He nipped the male’s bottom lip with his sharp teeth before probing his way inside with his tongue. As Vermidian swirled his appendage around Ridger’s mouth, his vampire’s taste exploded across his taste buds, drawing a groan from his throat.

“That’s revolting.”

Vermidian ignored the softly hissed words spoken by the female. In truth, he’d completely forgotten about her. Taking his time, he continued to tease Ridger’s tongue with his own until breathing became a necessity.

As Vermidian drew the kiss to an end, he skimmed his slender appendage along Ridger’s fang. He tasted the metallic flavor of his own blood even as Ridger’s appreciative groan rent the air.

“Fucking faggots.”

Humming softly, Vermidian brought the kiss to an end, pausing an instant to allow Ridger to suckle his tongue. He felt goose bumps erupt on the thick hide of his neck. His erection throbbed behind his loincloth, which probably did nothing to hide his state of arousal.

Oh, well.

“Mind your manners before I shut your mouth for you,” Vicon hissed from Vermidian’s right. “I won’t hesitate to smack you upside the head just because you’re a woman.”

“That’s because you’re a monster,” the woman snapped back. “No manners and no morals, and your deviant ways will ruin our world.”

“She’s a homophobe,” Bradly murmured, his voice still sounding a little vacant.

When Vermidian lifted his head, Ridger grinned up at him. “Very nice, Vermidian.” Then he chuckled softly. “And I’m going to have to come up with a pet name for you.” Ridger winked. “Vermidian is just too damn long to cry out in the throes of passion.”

Vermidian took his cue from Ridger and completely ignored everything to do with the hateful woman.

“Incoming vehicles,” Keefe stated.

That, Vermidian didn’t ignore. Tightening his hold on Ridger, he lifted his wings, ready to spring into the air. He could zip between the nearby trees and have disappeared in seconds.

“Relax,” Ridger urged, rubbing up and down his forearm. “I recognize the sound of the engine. It’s one of ours.”

“You sure?” Vermidian would prefer to avoid another open fight.

“It’s ours,” Vicon confirmed. “Clean-up crew and transportation.”

A few seconds later, two SUVs and a van came to a stop before them. Men and women began exiting the vehicles.

“That’s Enforcer Basques,” Ridger told him, indicating a huge, black-haired vampire. “There’s also Enforcer Pierce, Tracker Felistria, Tracker Merlick, and Doctor Ward.”

As Ridger spoke, he discreetly pointed to each person.

Vermidian nodded a tiny bit, indicating that he understood.

“Hey, Ridger,” Basques greeted, a worried frown furrowing his thick brows. “Everyone all right?”

Ridger nodded. “We’re all good.”

“Is anyone injured?” the brown-haired vampire introduced as Doctor Ward asked, holding a satchel in his left hand.

“I am,” the female called. “That asshole over there smacked me, and that guy there tied these ropes too tight.” A whine entered her tone. “My wrists are beginning to chafe.”

Casting a scathing look in her direction, Ward returned his attention to their group. “Someone important,” he grumbled with a sneer.

Vermidian noticed Ridger fighting back a smirk.

Phineas stepped closer. “I got this bullet graze,” he claimed, looking at his thigh. “Huh, it’s almost healed now, though.”

“I’ll take a look, just in case,” Ward claimed, beckoning him closer. “Come into the light of the headlights.”

Enforcer Basques began ordering people about, and Second Ridger seemed fine to stay in his arms and let him take over.

Vermidian appreciated that.

Within five minutes, the two conscious prisoners were loaded into the back of the second SUV. Enforcer Pierce sat guarding them while Donny climbed behind the wheel. Their taillights were soon out of sight.

The bodies of six humans were tossed in the back of the van, as were two unconscious—and trussed—humans. Vicon guarded them with Tracker Merlick driving. Soon, they were gone, too. As all that happened, Tracker Felistria headed into the woods with Tracker Kraymer. They returned shortly with an SUV that matched the one that had run them off the road.

Before long, they were gone again with both vehicles.

Vermidian had to admit, he was surprised the one that had run them off the road still ran.

Then Vermidian was shocked even further when Ridger finally pulled out of his hold and returned to his own vehicle. With two kicks, he knocked out the windshield before settling behind the wheel. With a roguish grin, Ridger held up one hand, crossing his fingers.

In the next instant, the SUV roared to life. He even rolled it forward a few feet before reversing and doing the same.

“Excellent,” Ridger crowed, clearly pleased. “We should get going before anyone stumbles across us.”

“What about the tracker?” Keefe asked, ever the practical one.

“Right.” Ridger hopped back out of his vehicle and dropped to his knees to peer underneath it.

Basques approached, frowning at them. “A tracker? Is that how they found you?”

Vermidian nodded.

“Oh, nice to meet you, by the way.” Basques held out his hand. “Sorry it had to be like this.”

Shaking Basques’s hand, Vermidian shrugged. “I’ll take my mate any way I can get him.”

Chuckling, Basques nodded. “I hear that.” Then he turned and lowered beside Ridger. “How the hell did we end up with a damn tracker on this thing, and how did you find out about it?”

Ridger pointed. “That must be it, and I tranced Bradly.” Meeting Basques’s gaze, he claimed, “He’s actually a nice guy. Just fell in with the wrong crowd after a rogue vampire raped and drained his sister. Someone did a shitty job covering it up. His parents found out the truth, so they were silenced.”

“What the fuck?” Basques snarled. “A coven did that?”

Reaching under the vehicle, Ridger grunted. “Yup. Some assholes up near Vancouver, Washington.” He jerked back, coming up with a metal and plastic box in hand. Sneering, Ridger focused on Basques. “That’s where he and his family were vacationing, anyway. I’m going to track those bastards down.”

Basques growled as he took the device. “I’ll be right there tryin’ to help you,” he vowed.

“I have images from Bradly’s memories as well as a couple of first names,” Ridger revealed, a low growl entering his tone. “If we can get pictures of vampires living in or around Vancouver, I can match them up.”

Nodding, Basques patted Ridger on the shoulder. “Any way I can help.”

Ridger nodded.

Vermidian held out his hand, needing to touch and soothe his clearly upset mate. To his relief, Ridger accepted his hand, allowing him to pull his vampire to his feet. Vermidian wrapped his arms and wings around him, trilling softly as he nuzzled the top of his head.

To Vermidian’s pleasure, Ridger sagged into his hold. “Thanks, beloved,” his vampire murmured. “Hate what I saw in Bradly’s memories.”

“I know you’ll do your best to make things right.” Vermidian had every faith in the vampire Fate had deemed his.

Ridger scoffed. “Not unless you have a time machine.”

Vermidian skimmed his lips over Ridger’s temple as he teased, “I’m sorry, my vampire. I accidently left that at home in my closet.”

Barking a laugh, Ridger lifted his head and met his gaze. “Well, don’t forget it next time.”

“Of course.”