.Chapter Sixteen .

Diving across the narrow alley, Deven tackled Tess and together they crashed to the ground behind the dumpster.

"Ugh. Gross." She sounded annoyed but not hurt.

He checked on the vamp's location. He stood at the end of the alley, duffel over one shoulder and the AK 47 in his hands. "Don"t you mean, thanks?"

She was upright again. "Right. Of course, I meant to say, "Thanks Deven. You"re my hero!" but even saying it makes me want to throw up after what you just tossed me into."

He chuckled but with another flurry of bullets the seriousness of their situation stole the humor away. Why wasn't the vampire trying to escape? Despite being a slippery SOB for the better part of a week, now he was suddenly willing to wage war on a public street. It didn't make sense.

He pulled out his second gun, but the vamp leapt to the side and took cover between two buildings. All three shots missed.

Adjusting his position to the other side of the dumpster he tried again. This time taking a couple chunks of wall next to the vamp.

Again and again, they tagged at each other and maneuvered around trying to find a better line of sight. But they were getting nowhere, and it was clear Soldier Boy had brought a bag full of bullets with him.

Tess sank down beside him. "So, what now? I"m about out of ammo."

"Me too." He'd been studying the vamp's movements and was starting to think he was half mad already from feeding too much. A healthy vampire didn't need to drink all that much blood to survive. Even Quinn only drank bagged blood a couple times a week. This guy had killed and drained several people, at least one kill a day.

"Think there is any chance we can call time out and get more?"

"Not likely." Maybe he was hungry for the blood of something more than human. That might be what was keeping him here in the fight. If that was the case, did he already know that werewolf blood was more powerful? "Don't count on him reacting sensibly."

"You're telling me. Whoever heard of a vamp that hunts with a gun anyhow? Doesn"t he have any vampire pride at all?" She peeked around the dumpster and was met with more rounds. "Seriously ridiculous. Didn"t Quinn say he was made by an old one?"

"He did."

"Just imagine if he hadn't ditched his maker all the badass shit he would have learned. Instead, he"s standing there shooting at us like some high as hell gangster punk?"

"Yeah, he's a dumbass. But calling him names won't solve the current problem."

"No, guess not."

The fight had been going on too long. With this much gunfire the cops were sure to show up soon. "Let's take him out before any civilians get drawn into danger."

"It seems to be college break or something. The storm isn't bad enough to keep people in and yet the streets are still empty."

She was right. There was supposed to be a worse storm moving in but for now it was just light rain. In fact, it was light enough that he hadn't even been bothered by it yet.

Tess looked to him for a plan, but he was coming up empty. They couldn"t keep up with the shootout. With only a few bullets left, they had to make every one count.

"Exactly how many rounds do you have left?"

She popped the clip. "Three rounds."

"I only have two." And there weren"t too many options available that could take out Soldier Boy with five rounds. "Pinned down here we can"t do anything. One of us needs to get a clear shot at him."

"You have a plan."

"It"s not really good enough to be called a plan. The dumpster is on wheels. If we shove it to mid alley, you can use it as a shield and draw his fire, while I use that sheltered fire escape to get above him."

"Not bad." She caught his arm. Her fingers tightened. "I can do better. You stay on the ground where a wolf should be. I can make it to the roof more quickly. Also, my ass won"t hang out from the alcove, like some oversized dog I know. And if needed, I have a better chance of escaping by air than you."

"I don"t like it."

She grinned at him. "But you know I"m not wrong."

"You"re not wrong.

"You still don"t like it?" She caught his face between both her hands.

"No."

She was still smiling at him, as if they weren't soaked to the skin and losing a gunfight. "Because you love me?"

"Yeah." He pulled her into his arms, tight and hard against his chest. Claiming her mouth, he poured every bit of his emotion into one hard, deep, demanding kiss. It wasn"t enough, but for now in this moment, it was all he could offer. "I love you. I absolutely won"t forgive you if you do anything reckless."

"Me, reckless? Never."

"Never again."

"After we finish this assignment, I want another tattoo. This time I want your mark on me. Anything you want, anywhere you want it. Permanent. Yours forever."

His wolf side growled, and it was a happy sound. "I--"

"Yeah, I know you don"t like the plan. Just do your part and think about what you want to mark me with."

She was one hell of a woman. He didn't have time to worry about the storm or about her being in danger. It took everything he had just to keep up with her speed. Shoving the dumpster out into the center of the alley, he fired off one of their precious rounds to keep the vamp's attention.

Tess raced from his side and leapt up the wall, using a drainpipe to stay close to the wall and her amazing wings to propel her upward. In just a couple seconds she was on the roof darting along the edge. Moving the dumpster again, he used it to charge toward the vamp and hold his attention.

It was working. The vamp's focus stayed on him. All that was left was Tess getting the drop on him from above. All she'd need to do is make sure she could cut off his escape.

The smell of ash burned his nose. Darker, stronger… deadly. Far more dangerous than Soldier Boy had any hope of being.

"Tess! Watch out."He couldn't be sure she would hear him or even be able to sense the new danger.

"Hang on. Think I've got him."

The wind changed, like something wild and unstoppable. It tore at the vamp's clothing, coming from between the buildings, crossing the alley. Then it wasn't just wind. The air turned black and thick. Sand or something similar.

He squinted into the rising darkness. The place where the vampire had stood was now filled with that black tide. Within the shadows were forms, blacker than black, fluttering… butterflies, carried almost gently inside the maelstrom.

Then between one moment and the next, all that black dissipated to nothing but clear cool night air.

"He's gone." Tessa's shout only confirmed what he already knew.

Not only was Soldier Boy gone from sight, but the spicy scent of vampire was nearly gone too.

Tessa leapt off the roof and glided back down into his arms. "Could you make out what that black thing was?"

"No, but I do have a suspect in mind."

She nodded and burrowed a little deeper into his embrace. "That was Father Time, wasn't it?"

"Probably."

"Shit."

"Yeah." Because he recognized the strength of the old vampire even if he didn't have a name or face for him yet. And that son of a bitch was way out of their league.

She pulled out of his arms and slid one hand into his. "Come on." She tugged him back down the alley toward the place they'd left her car. "Maybe it won't matter, maybe it's the wrong call, but I think we should head down to find the wife."

"Now that he's with Father Time he might not go after her."

"Maybe not, but he's a stubborn guy and thinks he's in control of his new life. I have a feeling he's not going to accept following his maker around like some meek puppy."

She was right. If he was in that vamp's position, nothing anyone said would keep him from returning home to his loved ones. If they were right about that being his driving motivation, then having his maker giving orders wouldn't stop him.

He pulled her to a stop. "I know what I want."

Her gaze met his in surprise. "Do you?"

"Your tattoo. I want to put my mark over your heart. The symbol of the Rattlesnake Clan. I want to claim you not just for me, but for my clan, for the future of our clan."

"I have always wanted a big family."

He kept an eye on their surroundings, but nothing had changed. No sign of the vampires and the rain continued to fall. "I can"t promise big. There aren"t very many of us."

She let go of his hand long enough to peel off her jacket and toss it into the back seat. Then she settled behind the steering wheel. "You, me, Zeven and Harley. And don"t forget the new twins. What did they name the girls?"

He did the same and climbed back into the passenger seat. "Zena and Lena."

The moment they were seated beside each other again, she reclaimed his hand. "That"s six of us. It"s not a bad start."

"And Quinn. I"ve always considered him family."

"Obviously Quinn. Eight if Joseph decides to stay with us. With some luck maybe we can add a couple pups to those numbers soon too."

He raised her hand to his lips and kissed the back. Instead of her skin, his lips brushed over her wedding ring. The band was just painted steel, a prop for their fake wedding. What it represented was priceless. "We could rely on more than just luck. How about we increase those odds with extra exercise and lots of practice."

"Practice? Do we still need that?"

"They say it makes perfect."

"I think we"ve already hit perfect, but if you want to aim higher, I"m game." She giggled a little. Then pulled her hand free to search her pockets. Taking the key out she inserted and turned it. Instead of the happy engine sound all they heard was a grinding noise followed by a hiss. "That's not good."

"Hang on, I'll go check." He jumped out and by the time he reached the front, she'd popped the hood open. The problem was obvious. The car had taken several rounds resulting in fatal damage. He circled to the driver's door and opened it for her. "I'm afraid it was a casualty of the battle. We'll have to take my car."

* * *

Deven drove the second rental car through the rain. It wasn"t that bad yet, but according to the weather announcement, the storm would be fairly strong even if it hadn"t made it to hurricane levels. It was a little surprising that it wasn"t bothering him more.

Even the fight in the alley, the rain had taken a backseat to watching over Tessa. It just wasn"t as important as it once was. Almost as if just being with her made him stronger. Which was kind of funny. She hadn"t picked on him or helped him avoid the fear. Instead, she sympathized and stayed by his side while they got the job done.

And if he had been in trouble because of his fears, he fully trusted that she would cover for him, protect him if needed. Because she was one hell of a woman.

How could he have ever thought of her as just the hot nerd? She was without any doubt a completely capable field agent and a damn near perfect partner.

She caught his hand and tugged it down to her lap and wrapped it up in both of hers.

"You know where we"re going?" He kept his gaze on the road.

Her fingers stroked over his hand, a sweet distraction. "Yeah. I"ve got the address and a general idea of where we can pick up the street."

"You said it"s right on the ocean?"

"Almost." She glanced down at her little notepad. "It"s near the naval base on Oso Bay. Technically not on the ocean at all. Just stay on route 37 all the way to 358. That should take us almost to their door."

"Assuming we"ll be able to see their door."

"True. Are you doing okay with all this weather? I can drive for a while if it would help."

"Funny, but if Zeven had offered, I would have bluffed through no matter how bad I felt. But with you, just knowing the option is there, I don"t feel much stress about it at all. I'm lucky to have you."

She chuckled. "You know it. Just call me your lucky clover. I"ll drive away all your bad luck."

"Aren"t you more of a guardian angel?"

She snorted as if the idea was offensive. "No way, I"m sure they have regulations against doing what we seem to be so good at."

He grinned. "But you might earn yourself a halo?"

She pulled up her blouse sleeve to show off the knife design. "Do you think it will match my tattoos?"

"I don"t see why not. I think they'd both fit you perfectly."

"And that"s why I love you."

He sucked in his breath at how easily she could say the words. He was still struggling with that kind of honesty. "That"s why, huh? So, it"s not my big... bad wolf?" He wagged his eyebrows at her suggestively.

"You do have a very nice big.... wolf. Or are you fishing for compliments? Because I"d be happy to share my list if you"re feeling needy."

"No thank you. I figure as long as you don"t find my scars a turn off, we"re fine."

"I don"t really even see them. I mean the one on your face is noticeable or at least it was when I first met you. But now all I see is your beautiful golden eyes. Or the soft way your hair is a little curly when wet. Or how you always put your left shoe on first even though you"re right-handed. Or how you look at me with that fire in your eyes that tells me I should have taken time to stretch because we are about to have one hell of a workout. Or..."

"Okay, okay. You"d better stop there, or I"ll have to pull over and see if we are flexible enough to do it in a car."

"I know what my bet would be. And once we"re done with this stupid blood sucker, I say we give it a go before heading home."

"Damn woman, I think I love you."