Chapter 3
Nicole and Pam met up at Club Zero. It was Friday night and they both needed to drown in a beer or two. It was unwind time.
“How's it going with you and Kenny?” Nicole asked over the thumping music. Club Zero was packed for a Friday night. They sat toward the back away from the dance floor where the crowd merged into one solid mass of bumping and grinding bodies. It was quieter in the back; well at least they didn't have to yell to hear each other. Not even the bathroom stalls were quiet at the dance club.
“Okay I guess.” Pam shrugged, then her pink coated lips spread into a grin. “He doesn't like the fact that we're working with vampires. He threw a fit when he found out. I told him that it was safer for us in the long run since we're dealing with a lot of weird stuff now, but he still freaked. Can you imagine what he will do once he sees the guys we're working with?”
Nicole nodded in agreement, tipping her beer. She knew Pam had the hots for Jared. Damn, who wouldn’t? The three vampires they were working with looked like they belonged on a magazine cover or romance novel. Kind of sucked hanging around with dudes who had better looking hair than yours. “Yeah, well, he needs to get over it. I mean it's not like we are going to jump their bones and have mad sex while on the job.”
“Ha! Speak for yourself.” Pam snorted. “Damon is the hottest thing on two legs and you damn well know it.”
Nicole shrugged, glancing out over the dance floor as if the conversation bored her to tears. “He's okay I guess. Probably knows how hot he is and plays it to his full advantage on poor unsuspecting females.”
“You are such a liar, Nicole.” Pam shook her head. “I see you sneaking looks at him during workouts.”
“Shut up Pam.” Nicole chuckled at her friend. “I do not sneak looks at him. I'm probably trying to slack and just making sure I'm not getting busted.”
“Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.” Pam rolled her eyes. “Come on. I need to work this soreness out and I love this song.” Pam emptied her beer in one gulp then grabbed Nicole before she could say no.
Damon and Jared walked into the smoke filled club; music blaring, bodies smashed together and the smells of sweat and sex hung heavy in the air, making their highly sensitive sense of smell go into overdrive.
“Do you want to split up?” Jared grinned with a wink at the little red head who rubbed her barely clothed body against his as she brushed past him. Licking her lush red painted lips with invitation, she moved slowly away, her hips swaying seductively. “Or do you want me to follow that red head and see exactly what she can do with those lips?”
Damon ignored him as he scanned the area. They had been told that Jamison would be here tonight. He was an assassin who'd take out his own mother, not because of money, but because he got off on it. It was said that he had taken a new target and it was thought to come from someone high up in the blood trafficking business. The kill was to be made tonight. Their informant was hardly ever wrong so Damon was ready for anything tonight. They had been hunting this son of bitch for too long. Running his hands through his black hair he pulled it into a ponytail and tied it with a leather strip. Yeah too long, and tonight the bastard was going down. They would keep him alive to get information out of him, but that didn't mean they couldn't have a little fun with him.
“Get your head out of your ass and get focused.” Damon spotted the vampire at the edge of the dance floor. “We need to do this with as little notice as possible.” Even though they had the authority of the government, they still had to work within the guidelines of the law just like the human police. It wasn't the same as when they use to do it when no one knew they existed. 'Find the bad vamp...kill the bad vamp' was their motto and still was when no witnesses were around.
Jared spotted him and nodded, all remembrance of the red head gone. Jared may be a goof and loved the ladies, but he took his job seriously and was damn good at it. Just an inch shy of Damon's six-three Jared sided up next to his comrade ready to get the job done. “Let's get the bastard.”
“Wait a minute.” Damon grabbed his arm. “Unless he makes a sudden move let's try to see who the target is. I'll keep my eyes on him and you see if you can tell who it is.” Damon knew the minute Jamison found his target by the vamps body language and knew they couldn't wait any longer.
“Now!” Damon took off one way while Jared took off another. Not knowing what was coming his way, Jamison headed toward his target. The humans in the club had no clue what was about to come down, but the vampires did and scattered quickly out of the way.
As soon as the song ended, Pam and Nicole headed off the dance floor as all hell broke loose. Hearing an inhuman roar behind them, Nicole turned to see a huge man barreling his way toward them pushing and throwing people out of his way as if they weighed no more than dolls. Knowing for certain she and Pam were next, instinct took over. With no thought to herself she pushed Pam out of the way at the same time she felt herself being grabbed in a bone bruising grip. Before she could be thrown like the other unfortunate club goers he was tackled to the ground. Unfortunately, she was tackled with him.
Nicole knew she was going to die and how sad was that in the middle of a screaming crowd on a sticky dance floor. The weight of two bodies forced any air in her lungs out of her mouth in a short scream as spots danced across her vision. The saddest part was her last vision on earth was going to be the black eyes rimmed with red and saliva drooling fangs of the ugliest vampire she'd ever seen, his fangs snapping trying to rip out her throat.
Damon straddled Jamison's back, grabbing him by the hair trying to yank him off the human woman. He almost lost his hold when he saw Nicole laying still and pale on the floor, her honey-colored hair spread out with a hint of blood near the crown. “Jared!” he roared over the crowds screams. As Jared ran up he stopped cold seeing Pam and Nicole. “Take this son of a bitch.” Damon tossed Jamison not taking his eyes off Nicole.
Pam had raced up leaning over Nicole. “Oh my God.” she panicked. “Nicole! Is she dead?”
“Move.” Damon demanded more calmly than he felt, pushing Pam away carefully. Tuning everyone out, he felt overwhelming relief hearing a steady heartbeat coming from Nicole's still body. Leaning down he touched her cheek. “Nicole honey, wake up.”
“I'm a nurse. Let me through.” A woman pushed her way through the crowd. Kneeling down, she grabbed Nicole's wrist. “What's her name?”
“Nicole.” Damon hadn't moved. Couldn't move. His eyes were riveted on Nicole's pale still face. He felt an overwhelming urge to push the woman away, but knew she was only trying to help. His hands shook as he picked up Nicole's cold hand, needing to touch her.
Carefully the woman crooked a hand under Nicole's neck and lifted her head slowly to check where the blood seemed to be coming from. It wasn't a lot of blood, but it was enough to have the vampires who stuck around licking their lips in frenzy anticipation. Damon was no exception.
Pam watched as a few vampires inched their way toward Nicole with an excited hungry glow in their black eyes. With a leap she shielded Nicole's body. “Oh my God.” Pam freaked. “Get away from her!”
Damon snapped back at Pam's scream. Seeing the hungry vampires advancing with predatory grace Damon put his body between them and Nicole without hesitation. “The first motherf*cker who even looks thirsty will die. You got me?” Damon eyed everyone, vampire or not. Most vampires had their shit together and didn't blood lust at the sight of human blood because of the blood banks now operating legally, but some blood called out to them and Nicole's was a spicy warm scent had even his mouth watering. All of them but one turned to leave the scene. “You got a death wish, pal?” Damon sneered. With one last longing glance at Nicole's blood, the vampire turned walking away.
Nicole slowly opened her eyes focusing them on Pam who sat beside her, head bent crying. “Hey.” She moaned, her hand automatically flying to her head. “Did you get the make and model of that vampire?”
“Nicole?” Pam scrambled to her knees. “Oh God, are you okay?”
“Do you know where you are?” A woman who Nicole didn't know leaned over her using her thumb and index finger to open one eye then the other.
“Yeah.” Nicole licked her dry lips. “I'm lying on the dirty dance floor of Club Zero.”
“She may have a concussion, but I don't think a bad one. Her pupils look good and the blood on the back of her head looks more like a scrape, nothing serious.” she told Pam before putting her hand under Nicole's upper back. “Can you sit up?”
With the woman and Pam's help she sat up. A wave of dizziness hit making everything around her spin, sending a jolt of queasiness to her stomach. Snapping her eyes shut, she swallowed hard. “Wow, head rush. Give me a minute.” Once it passed, she opened her eyes slowly to see Damon's gorgeous face in front of her, his black eyes peering into hers. “Hey, what are you doing here?”
“How are you feeling?” He answered her question with a question. She looked pale as hell to him and her eyes seemed a little unfocused. “Are you sure she's alright?” He asked the woman who had been helping her.
“I think she'll be fine.” The woman smiled. “She just had three hundred pounds of male land on top of her, so I think she deserves a minute or two to shake that off. It probably knocked the wind right out of her more than anything.”
Slowly turning her head toward the woman since any fast movements seemed to cause her dizziness to worsen, Nicole frowned. “I'm sorry, but who are you?”
The woman chuckled. “I'm Debbie and I watched you get tackled by the man that was escorted out of here along with this huge fellow. Being a nurse I figured I would see if I could help out.” Debbie stood brushing off her pants. “It might not be a bad idea to have her checked out at the hospital, but I really think she'll be okay as long as she isn't left alone tonight. Also, if you begin to feel nauseated, start vomiting or have a severe headache like you want to chop your own head off, you need to get to the emergency room right away.”
“Thank you.” Damon nodded as he stood, not taking his eyes off Nicole.
“You're welcome.” The woman replied, then blushed as if just noticing how hot he was. “Ah, well you take care and stay out of the way of anymore running males.” she told Nicole, then with one last look at Damon she walked away.
Nicole snorted. “No problem there and thanks.”
Jared ran in as soon as Debbie walked away. “Good God Nicole, are you okay?” Jared knelt down. “I saw you take that hit.”
“Yeah I'm okay.” She replied, but wasn't really sure if she was or not since she hadn't tried to stand up yet.
“If we ever play football you're on my team.” Jared chuckled shaking his head amazed. “Damn, woman.”
“Unfortunately, I think I would be a one hit player.” she grinned. Putting her hands down she tried to push herself to her knees. Once there she waited to see if the dizziness would make another appearance. When it didn't she put one foot on the floor and tried to stand. Her body protested and her eyes closed as pain shot up her back. Easing herself back down, she moaned. “Maybe I'll just stay here tonight. I don't really mind the stickiness and smell.”
Damon was there in a flash picking her up then carefully setting her on her feet without letting go. “Go slow, honey.” He watched her carefully.
Jared stepped back, looking at Damon shocked, as did Pam. Jared looked at Pam with raised eyebrows asking a silent, 'Did he just call her honey?' Pam's eyebrows raised in answer.
Nicole let Damon lead her to a bar stool. Once seated, she took a deep breath and winced at the sharp pain throbbing in her ribs. Grabbing her side she bent slightly to see if that would ease the pain. “Who was that guy?”
Damon watched her closely, ready to catch her if she started to fall. “Are you sure you're okay?”
“Yeah, I'm sure. Just working the kinks out” Nicole frowned. “Now would you please stop answering my questions with questions. What's going on?”
“What the hell are you doing here Nicole?” Damon frowned hearing how harsh he sounded, but dammit, seeing her like this was killing him and he didn't know why. He hardly knew the woman and yet her pain was his pain. And it pissed him off that he had been the cause of her pain.
“I was having a beer and dancing with Pam. We come here to unwind sometimes on Fridays.” Nicole couldn't take her eyes off his face. He was so handsome. His eyes were getting lighter, but still hinted at the blackness she seen earlier. His features were strong and harsh with his midnight black hair framing his high cheekbones and square chin. “What are you doing here?”
Jared walked up at that point not seeming to notice the tension hovering over the two or he didn't really care. “That guy that landed on you was an assassin looking to take out a target. We were here to stop him.”
“Are you serious?” Nicole's mouth dropped open as she absorbed what Jared had revealed and what she and Pam had been in the middle of. “Who was he after? Did you find out?”
Jared shook his head. “We have no idea, before we could figure it out he made his move so we had to make ours. We think he was hired by a higher up in the...”
Damon slapped Jared in the chest and pushed him back. “I think you need to go and make sure everything is getting taken care of.”
“Duncan has already taken him to headquarters.” Jared allowed Damon to push him toward the door. “What the hell is your problem?”
“Your mouth.” Damon growled. “Go on, I'll be there later.”
Jared eyed him then looked over Damon's shoulder at Nicole and Pam. “I'll see you two tomorrow.” He told the women, then with one last WTF look at Damon, Jared turned and left.
Damon walked back to the two women. “Come on.” He took Nicole's elbow. “Let's get you checked out and then home.”
“I'm fine. Just get me home.” Nicole straightened up slowly.
“I think you should get checked out Nicole.” Pam grabbed their stuff and followed them out.
“I have to feed Ren and Stimpy.” Nicole really didn't want to go to the hospital. Hospitals gave her the creeps and she didn't want them to keep her. “I'll be fine.”
“Can you stay with her tonight?” Damon ask Pam. “And who the hell are Ren and Stimpy?”
“They're her turtles.” Pam chuckled. “Of course I will. I'll just swing by my place and pick up a few things.”
“I'll get her home and wait until you get there.” Damon slipped his arm around Nicole when she wobbled a little.
“I'm right here guys.” Nicole grumbled. “Stop talking about me like I'm not.”
“Will you let someone take care of you for once?” Damon scolded gently. Opening the car door he helped her in. He watched to make sure Pam made it to her car okay before getting in the driver seat. Man his nerves were shot to hell.
The purr of Damon's sleek Mustang GT was the only thing that broke the silence. Nicole kept her head away from the seat not wanting to get blood on the leather interior. Sneaking a look, the dashboard lights shadowed Damon's smooth chiseled face, his eyes straight ahead as he maneuvered the downtown streets of Cincinnati. His black hair lay against his shoulders in a uneven cut and was pulled away from his face by the many times he ran his hand through brushing the long stands from his eyes. He was handsome in a hard way, not GQ pretty. His head practically hit the roof and his seat was, from what she could tell, pushed all the way back. Yeah he was a big man, strong and fit, but it was his hands that gave her pause. They were large, the nails clipped and blunt. Small white scars crisscrossed his knuckles, blaring white against the back of each dark hand. Those hands could cause pain, those hands could kill, but those hands could also protect and give pleasure. A warm feeling tingled through her body. As her eyes drifted back to his face, she was shocked to see him staring at her, the light from the dashboard making his eyes glow. Okaaay....this is awkward.
“You gonna answer that?”
“Huh...” Frowning into his eyes, she jumped when her cell phone rang by her feet. Feeling like the biggest idiot, going all gooey eyed over a hot guy, she grabbed her bag rummaging through it. Flipping the phone open she peeked over relieved that Damon's eyes were focused back on the road. “Hello.”
Damon stopped at a red light trying to get it together. He had felt her gaze on him and turned to see if she was okay and what he saw in her eyes was enough to flame his blood to the point he almost pulled the car over. He knew the first time he saw her running into the warehouse that she was different and every protective instinct he possessed jumped out and bit him on the ass. The sight of her black eye that first night sent a killing rage through him. He had almost killed that dumbass human, Chad, for just being disrespectful. He had seen enough mated males of his species to know the signs, but he didn't want to be mated and sure as hell not to a human.
“That was Mitch.” Nicole broke through his thoughts as did the asswipe behind them blowing their horn since the light had turned green. “I need to go to Children's Hospital. There's a sixteen year old who has been put into our care.”
“You need to rest Nicole.” Damon zoomed through the light. “Call Mitch back and tell him you can't make it. He can get someone else.”
“Ah...no.”
“Did you tell Mitch what happened tonight?” Damon persisted.
“Nope.” Nicole flipped her phone open again undoing her seatbelt. “Yeah I need a cab at....the corner of......” Nicole practically had her face pressed to the windshield trying to see a street sign.
“Hang up the phone.” When Nicole ignored him while reading the street sign to the cab dispatcher he reached over and grabbed the phone.
“Hey.” She tried to grab it back.
“Disregard that. She will not need your services.” He snapped the phone closed and tossed it into her lap. “Put your seatbelt back on.”
“If you don't stop this car I am going to get out the first chance I get.” she warned, her hand easing to the handle. “I'm fine, Damon. You need to let me do my job.”
“I said put your seatbelt on.” He stopped at another light. Before she could escape he reached over and slammed her door shut, firmly snapping her seatbelt back in place. Without moving back his breath fanned across her face moving wisps of hair. “I'll take you.”
“Thank you.” Her breath mingled with his, their eyes held for a second. When he moved back to his seat and pulled a U-turn she relaxed. Ah yeah, this was getting really awkward. How was she suppose to work with the guy when all she wanted to do was leap across and straddle him? Good Lord, she had to get a grip. Her job was too important to her to mess up with a bunch of hot meaningless sex...... and knowing what sat across from her, she knew it would be hotter than hell.