Bold Mercy by Laken Cane

Chapter Four

My mother called me when I was on my way back home. “Why aren’t you asleep?”

“I tried to stay in bed, Mom. Ash woke me up. There’s no ignoring that dog when he gets going.”

“What got him riled up?”

I hesitated. I really didn’t know how to explain to my mother that I had a “handler” who was sending me protective vests to guard against the fangs of a bloodsucker who wanted revenge. “He thought he heard someone at the door,” I said. “Last night was good.”

She let me change the subject and when she answered, her voice was soft. “I’m so happy for you, honey. There’s nothing like your first full moon shift.”

“And I’m sure the ones that follow won’t be so bad either.” I was still giddy from the experience, and already looking forward to the next time the full moon came. Funny how different things were now. It wasn’t long ago that the looming full moon scared the shit out of me and filled me with dread. But those days were over, thanks to Jared Walker.

My alpha. My wolf’s alpha.

“I met someone last night,” my mother said, interrupting my thoughts before they could venture too far into sexy alpha territory.

“Met someone,” I said. “Like a guy?”

“Definitely like a guy,” she said. “He is tall, muscular, and has long hair. And if the bulge in his—”

“Mom! For God’s sake!”

She snickered. “Fine. I’ll just say he’s all that and a—”

“Mom.”

“—bag of chips. Like one of those party packs of chips, if you know what I mean.”

“Ew.”

She laughed. “Bye, Kaity.”

I pulled into my driveway and sat there for a few minutes frowning at my house, unsettled. The demon had been handled. I’d trapped him in a spell jar. And then Remy Simon had stolen it from me, the bastard. I was disappointed that the hunter I’d been in awe of for years had turned out to be a common thief. I wasn’t afraid he’d free the demon. Remy hated the supernatural. He wasn’t going to give one of them its freedom.

So yes, the demon had been handled. But now I had to worry about Axton’s vicious human servant and a serial killer who was going to try to hurt Lucy. I had to wonder how she’d gotten on his radar. Had he seen her out somewhere and followed her home? Maybe he’d been watching Detective Moreno and had seen her with him.

Serial killer during the day and twisted vampire psycho during the night. I was going to have my hands full.

Before I could leave my car, Max pulled in behind me, Zach riding shotgun. Relieved, I went to meet them, trying to appear casual. I didn’t want Zach to think I was suspicious of him, and I wasn’t, not really. I just didn’t completely trust him. I didn’t know him well enough to trust him. I was afraid that even though his master—his tormentor—was dead, he’d crack beneath the awful magic and dark addiction inside him.

Apparently Max trusted him, though, and that should have been good enough for me. Max could find out anything about anybody, and I knew he would have already investigated Zach. Still, I was nervous. Max was just so…tender.

And Zach had lived in hell for a very long time. It would have changed him. Warped him, even.

“Hey,” I greeted. “Where were you two at the crack of dawn on a Sunday?” I was genuinely curious. Okay, yes. Nosy.

“Finding you a house,” Max said.

I raised an eyebrow. “Pardon?”

“Um, you said you needed a bigger place?” He grinned. “We were house hunting.”

I crossed my arms. “And did you find anything?”

“Several things. I sent them to your phone.”

“It wouldn’t be a bad idea to live somewhere without neighbors calling the cops every time Lucy wakes up screaming,” I admitted. “I’ll have a look at what you sent.”

“But?”

I looked at him. “How’d you know there was a but?”

“A hunch,” he said dryly.

Zach laughed. It was just a chuckle, really, but it was the first time I’d heard him make such a sound. It was good to hear. “At times you’re easy to read,” he told me.

“Fine,” I huffed. “But I need you to find me something else, Max. I can’t concentrate on houses right now.”

“You do realize,” Max said, “that it’s perfectly acceptable to think about two things at once?”

I ignored that. “I need you to find out everything you can about a woman named Avis Vine.”

Zach stopped walking. “Axton’s human servant.”

I nodded. “She’s got a grudge.”

“How much trouble can she cause?” Max asked, unconcerned. “She’s human.”

“Axton and Kaloni warped her,” Zach said, and his eyes were full of nightmares. “She’s not human. Not anymore.”

Max shivered. “You two need to associate with nicer people.” He turned back to his car. “I’ll go home and dive in. I’ll let you know what I find out.”

“Thanks, Max. Be careful.”

He stopped walking and squinted at me. “And why should I be careful, exactly?”

I was still trying to figure out how to delicately let Max know that the angry Avis might go after those I cared about when Zach took care of that for me. “Because Avis will come for everyone Kait loves. Her goal is to take everything from her. Possessions, money, family.” He gave Max a long look. “Friends. You won’t want to end up in Avis Vine’s hands. So be careful.”

“Damn you both,” Max muttered. “I don’t get paid enough for this.” But there was eagerness in his voice, too. Max liked to dig. He liked to find things. And he was damn good at it.

“Why didn’t she die when Axton died?” I asked as I watched Max hurry away.

“Magic was strong in that clan,” Zach said. “Bad magic. Blood magic, death magic. You need to get some wards up to keep her out of your house, at least. She won’t need permission to enter like a vampire would.”

I nodded. “My house may be small, but we can make it mighty. Maybe I can get a spell to muffle Lucy’s screams, as well.” It was good that it was a small building. The magic protecting it would be stronger if it weren’t diluted over a huge area. I got a few steps in before I noticed that Zach wasn’t beside me. I walked back to him. “Zach? You okay?”

“I wish the thought of Avis didn’t scare me,” he said. “Before the vampires took me, I wasn’t afraid of anything.”

“It’s good to be a little afraid,” I told him, anger surprising me with its intensity. I hated what they’d done to him. “Fear will keep you safe.”

I hadn’t known him long, but already I could see the changes his freedom had created. He’d put on a couple of pounds, his hollow cheeks were beginning to fill out, and he no longer walked just a little hunched over, darting his eyes at the threatening world around him. His long hair was beginning to lose the brittle dullness, as were his eyes. The man who had mastered him was dead and the awful, debilitating magic forced inside him was fading. He could allow himself to heal and to regain some confidence.

I’d seen him fight. I’d seen him use a blade. He was crazy good—but the vampires had ways of getting around crazy good. They could shade a man. They could use magic a man couldn’t stand against. They were fast, strong, and nearly unbeatable.

And if a man were human, no matter how awesome he was, he was not going to be stronger than a vampire. Unless that man was Remy Simon, maybe. The bastard. Remy could have been good for Zach, I believed, if he hadn’t stolen my demon and disappeared.

“She won’t get to you,” I told him. “I won’t let her get near you.”

“You need to be careful, too. She wants to fuck with you. She wants to see your agony.”

“But she won’t want to kill me,” I said.

He looked at me with empty eyes. “There are worse things than death.”

And I averted my stare, because his darkness was unbearable. “I won’t let her get near you,” I said again, stubborn and determined. “You need to believe me.”

“I have a kill pill hidden on my body,” he told me. “I won’t be taken alive.”

My heart stuttered. “Zach…”

“As I said.” He looked at me then and smiled grimly. “There are worse things than death.”

“You have to fight,” I said. “You’re amazing. You can’t just swallow a pill and die. You have to fight them.”

“I plan to fight. But if they manage to take me, then I’ll go out my way.”

“Bastien is now the county master.” I took my phone from my pocket as we walked through the front door. I’d leave the vampire a message and he’d return my call when he awakened tonight. “He’ll control her. You just need time to regain your strength. You fought a wolf after I took you from the council. And you defeated him. Vampires aren’t stronger than wolves, Zach. You just need your confidence and a blade.”

But as I left him and went to my bedroom to call the new Clinton County vampire master, I wasn’t sure either one of us believed my words.