Blood & Tears (Jane #3)

  Blood

  &

  Tears

  (A Jane novella #3)

  By

  Samantha Warren

  © 2011 Samantha Warren

  Smashwords Edition

  The following story is a work of fiction and all names and characters are strictly the creation of the author.

  All rights reserved. This publication may not be reproduced or transmitted in any manner without expressed written consent from Samantha Warren.

  Cover Art © 2011 Samantha Warren

  Model courtesy of AshleyShyD on Deviantart.com

  Knife/Rose courtesy of DawnAllynnStock on Deviantart.com

  ONE

  "Ready?"

  "Baby, I'm always ready."

  "Getting cocky in your old age, I see."

  "No, I just had a magnificent teacher." I grinned at Felipe as the men behind us grumbled and rolled their eyes. No matter how much the men moaned, though, I knew they would do anything to protect me.

  Ronin, the vampire priest who lived in the sanctuary with Felipe and I, had taken up position at the back of the group. He was a lover by nature, not a fighter, always the first to lend a helping hand to those in need. He also refused to let his flock (aka: anyone with a beating heart) go into battle without proper spiritual protection. When I first arrived at the sanctuary, he'd simply been a priest preaching to the masses three nights a week at the cathedral located above the vampire enclave. But when Father Bellini put out the call six months ago for an elite team of vampire hunters, Ronin had stepped up without hesitation, and he became our steadfast rock, holding the rest of us psychotic killers together, both mentally and spiritually.

  The human male between us and Ronin was Jax, a six-foot blond mass of muscle. He had no qualms about being part of the trained killing force. Years before, he had been a professional American football player. Then his younger brother was turned into a vampire. Jax accepted his brother's new future—after nearly killing the boy in a fit of uncontrolled terror. Jax didn't like to talk about that night, but I heard from Felipe that Jax's brother handed him the very stake Jax almost thrust through his heart. Finally realizing his brother was no threat to him or his family, Jax embraced their new future and together they joined a very profitable security force. But Jax craved action and as he was so big, he most often was requested by extremely wealthy businessmen who really didn't need that much protection. So when word went around the security forces of a less lucrative, but more exciting position, he jumped on it.

  Guarding the back were Ado and Benton. Ado very nearly self-destructed after the death of his former partner, Victoria. Together, they were sent to the States to find the cause of a rash of freshly turned vampires. She had been kidnapped while he was asleep, which eventually led to her death by Felipe's hand. Ado, distraught and emotionally ruined, went AWOL. Such an act was intolerable in the vampire community and he would have been destroyed if not for the intervention by Felipe and Father Bellini. Together, they hunted Ado down and brought him back from the brink of oblivion. The defeated vampire found a new purpose on the team—hunting down Victoria's kidnappers.

  Benton was the other human of the six-person group. His introduction into vampire society was less pleasant than the rest of us, though none of us on the team had a happy-go-lucky life to begin with. Losing Steven definitely isn't my idea of a fun time, but my heart goes out to Benton. He was fifteen when he met his first vampire, a scrawny, pale runaway. Having spent a week away from home, Benton was wandering an alley behind some restaurants well after dark, hoping to find some edible food that had been tossed away. The young goth wannabe, clothed in a ripped and stained black shirt and too-tight black pants, was buried halfway in a trashcan when he heard a throat clearing behind him. He stood up, terrified, thinking he'd been caught by a police officer. Instead, he gazed upon a pale man dressed in a dark suit. The man advanced on him, knocking him into unconsciousness, and Benton spent the next two years chained in the rogue vampire's basement with two other boys as unwilling food. When the man was destroyed, Benton and his companions were given their freedom and Benton pledged his life to his savior—Ado. He'd been forced to remain behind when Ado and Victoria went to the U.S. and he was convinced he could have helped to save Victoria from her horrid fate had he been allowed to go.

  Felipe flipped a switch on a hand-held transceiver attached to his belt. An answering burst of static came back a second later and he nodded to the group. He began counting down from three on his fingers and I hefted my M249 light machine gun, leveling it at the door. As his last finger ticked down, Felipe stepped in front of the metal door and kicked it, blowing it clean off its hinges and into the dark interior of the building.

  I stepped just inside, standing in the small circle of light afforded by the entrance, and laid down a pattern of fire, covering the entire room from left to right, top to bottom. When my weapon clicked empty, Felipe yanked me out of the door and Jax stepped in, wielding a grenade launcher. It thunked three times as he pointed at the other three corners of the building, then he ducked back outside the door. We waited along the walls for the fire to clear before stepping into the interior.

  Felipe lit two flares and tossed them at opposite ends of the room. He entered first, shotgun raised and ready, and I followed him in. Half a dozen bodies lay strewn about the space, tossed from the cots they had been sleeping on. I felt a slight twinge of guilt as I saw them, some blown into pieces, some still squirming as their bodies burned, struggling to hang on to the last bits of life. Then flashes of Victoria's writhing body and the body-wracking sobs of her sister Donna, my best female friend, flitted through my mind and I moved in with purpose, slitting the throats of those still alive, ending their suffering.

  We heard the quiet pops of a weapon and an angry howl echoed from a door on the opposite side of the room. It burst open and two vampires, one bleeding profusely and spitting obscenities, stumbled into the room, where the wounded one collapsed. Ado and Benton were right on their tail, Ado with a stake in hand as he advanced on the uninjured vampire. The rogue turned on my teammate and I moved toward them. A hand on my arm stopped my advance. I looked up at Felipe and he shook his head gently. For a moment, I was confused. Ado needed our help. I looked over at the grappling vampires and only then did I see the look in Ado's eye—a fierce, burning hatred that threatened to consume everything in the room. It had not been there in training.

  I took an unconscious step back, searching for Felipe's strength. He held me close as Ado battled his opponent. The evil vampire tore at Ado, trying to tear the stake from his attacker's grasp. But Ado had been a vampire for many centuries and he had a lot of practice at taking out newly-converted rogue vampires. Within moments, he had the doomed man pinned, knees on his arms as the creature howled in anger and despair. The sneer that crept across Ado's face made me gasp and I turned away, unable to watch him deal the death blow that I knew would not satiate his lust for blood. As the rogue vampire's curses turned to screams of pain, I buried my face in Felipe's chest. He covered my ears with his hands and leaned down to kiss my forehead. Through his arms, I could see Ronin praying over the wounded vampire as he removed its head with a swift swipe of his deadly sword of justice.

  When we were sure all the bodies had stopped twitching, I headed outside with Ronin, Jax, and Benton. Six humans were dead, along with two vampires—the exact count our informer had promised. I climbed in the back seat of one of our SUVs, taking several deep breaths. Jax opened the door to toss his gear in beside me as we felt the explosions shake the vehicle. I turned, looking out the thickly tinted windows at the smoke billowing up behind us. Felipe and Ado made quite the pair, striding confidently from the flaming structure, weapon
s over the shoulders, looking very much like extremely sexy actors on a movie screen. I let my eyes linger on the duo before turning around in my seat. Jax gave me a knowing grin and took his place in the front on the passenger side.

  Felipe climbed into the driver's seat and looked at us. "You guys good?"

  I nodded, looking out the window at the building. It had been completely engulfed in fire and was quickly burning to the ground. We had disabled the fire alarm and it was far enough away from other buildings that hours would pass before anyone called the fire department, if they ever did. We would be settled comfortably back in the vampire sanctuary beneath the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore by then, all evidence of our involvement reduced to mere ashes. As the vehicle began to move, I settled into the seat, trying not to think too much about what had just happened. The gentle rocking of the SUV soothed me and I dozed as we made the trek back to our home.

  The rocking motion changed ever so slightly and I started awake. My sudden twitching nearly had me falling to the ground and I had to wrap my arms tightly around Felipe's neck to steady myself. We were back at the enclave and he was lifting me from the SUV. I'd slept the entire way home. He set me down and slipped an arm around my waist.

  "You ok?" His gentle smile was infectious and I felt the corners of my lips reaching skyward.

  "I didn't think I'd sleep that hard.”

  “You haven't been sleeping well lately. You needed the rest.”

  I nodded, resting my head on his chest. “When's the debriefing?" Debriefings were a requirement after any action taken by those trained at the sanctuary.

  "In an hour. We have time to get cleaned up."

  I nodded, my brain still slightly fuzzy from the unexpected sleep. Felipe left me at the door to my room—my deceased husband's room—and headed to get himself straightened up. I shut the door behind me and walked to the bed. Taking off my combat boots, the boots I'd bought during my first couple days here, I settled onto the bed, sinking into the mattress. I needed a shower badly, but for a few minutes, I just wanted to relax and forget about everything that had just happened. My eyes wandered to my nightstand—the black digital clock that Annie had gotten me, a lamp that wasn't switched on, and Steven's journal. It'd been more six months since I lost Steven, but every now and then, the pain seemed as fresh as the first time I opened my eyes without him. I brushed my fingers over the leather. The journal held a ton of information, and Steven's last words to me.

  I sighed, leaning back on the bed. Steven was my love, my life. He'd been the first one who I knew really, truly cared about me. Losing him hurt, and it was hard for me to move on. Felipe wasn't Steven, but he was special in his own right. Since the first time I met him, we had a connection. I was thankful much of our time was taken up with training and information sessions. I still wasn't ready to focus on our relationship and figure out where I wanted it to go, or didn't want it to go. He was being patient with me, more patient than almost anyone else would be, but I knew that wouldn't last long, and I also knew I didn't want to lose him.

  Groaning, I rolled to a sitting position. The physical aches I'd experienced my first weeks of intense training were not there, but my soul cried out nonetheless. Taking a life is never easy. It never should be easy. Felipe said it would get easier, but I knew what he meant was that dealing with it would get easier. I would find a way to lock it down and bury it deep like he had. But for now, my only solution was a nice, hot shower. I picked out some clean clothes—a black t-shirt and a pair of jeans, my usual attire—and trudged to the shower.

  I could hear the water running in the bathroom next door and a small smile crept across my lips, thinking of Felipe's perfectly toned muscles glistening beneath the soap. I laughed at myself and turned on the shower. Shedding my grimy, sweaty, blood-stained clothing, I stepped into the warmth, letting it wash over me and heal the mental hurts of the day. I spent much longer than I should have getting clean and I was still getting ready when Felipe knocked on my door.

  "Come in."

  I watched his trademark smirk twist his face as he saw me brushing my hair. "Women. Is it biologically impossible for your gender to be on time?"

  I chucked the brush at him and he snatched it from the air, laughing. I threw my wet locks into a ponytail and grabbed my keys from the dresser. "Shut up. Let's go."

  TWO

  Felipe waited while I locked the door, then we headed to the debriefing room. My skin tingled whenever he placed his hand in the small of my back, guiding me around a corner or through a door. I found myself moving closer to him the further we walked, our bodies drawn to each other like opposite poles of a magnet. When we reached the room, he cleared his throat and stepped away from me a good foot or so before opening the door and ushering me through.

  Seated around the big oak table already were Father Bellini, Ronin, and Jax. I took a seat next to Jax, in front of one of the seven yellow legal pads provided, and he grinned at me. "Hey Jane."

  "Heya Jax."

  Felipe slid into the chair beside me, unconsciously scooting it at a diagonal as he pulled it in. This moved him several inches closer to me and I could feel the heat from his leg through our jeans. The door opened, admitting Ado and Benton. Once they'd seated themselves, Father Bellini turned from his conversation with Ronin.

  "Alright. Most of you know the drill, but this is Jane's first debriefing. Jane, you're going to write down everything you remember, from the time you arrived at the warehouse to the moment you arrived back at the sanctuary. Don't leave out any details, please. Any questions?"

  "Everything?"

  "Everything."

  The guys started writing furiously. I watched them for a minute, trying to think of where to begin. I liked to write when I was younger, but I hadn't done so in years. I stared at the yellow sheet filled with empty blue lines and fiddled with my pen. A nudge at my elbow drew my attention. Felipe's dark eyes were watching me, amused. He nodded at the paper, the faint echo of a smirk pulling at the corner of his lips. I glared at him and pressed the pen to the pad.

  We pulled into the empty parking lot as the sun sank behind the trees. I proceeded to tell the story of how we entered the building, annihilating everything inside. In great detail, I described how I burst through the door, mowing down unprepared, unarmed humans sleeping peacefully in what they thought was safety. I told of the charred smell of burning flesh as I slit the throats of two young men, men who may not have had a choice in their situation. Or had they? Had they decided to become blood slaves? Were they enticed with promises of eternal life? Or had they been captured, forced into the awful circumstances as Benton had been? I noted the two new vampires and Ado's expression—the same expression that had me seeking the comfort of Felipe's arms. I described the explosions and the inexplicable beauty of the flaming building.

  When I finished, I set down my pen and looked through my notes. I'd used more than half the pad. It was covered in my scrawling chicken scratch. Frowning, I wondered if anyone would be able to read it well enough to transcribe it. Felipe cleared his throat and I looked up. Everyone had been waiting for me, though I didn't know for how long. Pinching my lips together, I pushed away the pad and looked to Father Bellini. He had a small smile on his lips. Was it genuine? Or was he trying to cover up his irritation? One look at his eyes told me his smile was genuine. He nodded at me and I passed my pad over. He already had a stack before him. Turning to the rest of the group, he said, "Now tell me what happened."

  As a unit, we described the attack. I didn't understand why he had us write it all out if he was just going to make us tell him until about halfway through the meeting. It was interesting to hear the different perspectives of what took place and it was clear that everyone experienced something different. While my focus was on the humans and their purpose, Ado and Felipe had been focused on the new vampires, assessing their age, their abilities, their purpose. Somehow, without my knowledge, Benton and Ronin had searched the building, retrieving all potentially
useful evidence. I was a bit surprised as Ronin retrieved a metal chest from the corner and placed it on the table in front of Bellini.

  Bellini popped it open, pulling out the contents. There were several pale yellow files containing stacks of paper, a red book, a laptop, a cell phone, and two unused stakes. The priest flipped through some of the files, examined the book, and put everything back, shutting and latching the lid before standing up.

  "Alright, I think we're good here."

  He placed the legal pads on top of the box and picked it up, walking out. The others stood up. Some began chatting while others headed for the door. Thoroughly confused, I sat there for a full minute, dumbfounded. Felipe was talking with Ronin near the door, so after I gathered myself together, I went to join them.

  Ronin looked at his watch. "I need to get going. I'm giving the sermon tonight and I need to get ready. You two should come."

  Felipe's eyebrows crawled up his forehead, causing Ronin to raise his hands defensively. "Alright, alright. But really, you should think about it sometime. It might do you a bit of good."

  Felipe turned away as Ronin left, shaking his head. He was hiding his irritation well, but it showed in his slightly flaring nostrils. When his eyes met mine, though, his expression lifted noticeably. "You hungry?"

  I nodded and he slipped his arm around my waist, steering me from the room. We headed toward the dining room. I waited until I was sure we were alone—mostly because I was afraid of sounding stupid than any real fear of being overheard.

  "Why didn't we go over what was in the chest?"

  "That's not our job," he said.

  "What do you mean? We went in there and cleared that place out. We killed everyone."

  "I know, but it's not our job to figure out what the evidence means. There's another team for that. They have access to a lot more information than we do. They figure out the next target using the information we collect and then we go take care of it."