Night Calls - Nyx Slaughter Book 1 (18 page)

I get dressed in my usual black
pants, but just to mix things up I wear the red version of my black
top. I don’t see myself having to go into stealth mode tonight, so
a little color is nice. I put on my holster and throwing knives,
then add a boot knife and my sawed off shotgun that I wear on my
back.

I know supposedly I am this weird
hybrid and shouldn’t need to hide behind my weapons, but until I
have verified extra strength and speed, you are going to find me
armed to the teeth. Plus, I don’t really know how good my
bodyguards are. Yes, they are huge and could probably juggle cars,
but can they fight? Until that is verified, I feel I have to
protect them as well.

“Ready,” I say emerging from
bedroom. Sebastian is obviously a real deep sleeper because he
still hasn’t moved.

“Good, so are we,” Jake says
looking up. “Your car or ours?”

“Mine is loaded with my gear, so I
prefer it,” I explain.

“Fine, but I am driving,” Jonas
says.

“Umm. No. I am the only one allowed
to drive the Suburban,” I tell him.

“I rode with you yesterday and you
drive like a human grandma. We would like to get to your place of
business sometime tonight, so hand the keys over,” Jonas
replies.

“If I drive like a grandma, I am
terrified to see how you drive. I was going over the speed limit
the whole time,” I counter.

“Then there is something wrong with
your speedometer, because you were going probably ten under. If you
promise to go at least ten over, I will allow you to drive. I like
to have my arms free, just in case,” he states.

“Fine. Sebastian never mentioned
this and he has ridden with me a few times,” I state twirling my
car keys around my finger.

“Sebastian is probably the person
that adjusted it for you, so you were forced to go slow. Fang face,
evidently, has been overprotective without you knowing for a while
now. He even had operatives in the Collective to ensure your safety
there,” Jonas claims.

“I don’t think we were supposed to
tell her that,” Jake says.

I shrug. “He has himself to worry
about. Anything happens to me he feels it and I am guessing he
didn’t want to run in the Collective personally to make sure I was
protected. I haven’t had an issue fighting my own fight for about
three years, so I am hoping those operatives were able to gather
other information.”

I walk towards the door to indicate
we are done standing around. The boys follow in line and we quickly
make it to the Suburban. They stop me from getting in while they
survey the vehicle.

“Looks clean,” Jake reports and
opens the door for me.

“Thank you,” I say as I get in. The
guys situate themselves with Jonas in back and Jake riding
shotgun.

The few minute ride is over without
a word between us. I park in front of the new building and admire
the new signage. In a script that matches my business card, it says
Nyx Slaughter big and bold on the left window. Underneath it, in
block letters, it says Private Investigator. I like the sound of
that.

I pull out the key Sebastian gave
me and enter the building. Since it is still light out, I don’t
need to flip on the lights, but I do anyway. The Cujo twins take
seats in the waiting area and I leave them to look over the space
again. Nothing looks to have changed overnight, so I make my way
back to the office. On the corner of the desk is a vase filled with
roses. I pick up the card to read it, expecting it to be a cute
note from Sebastian, but am surprised to see it is from
Alex.

The guys reported in
things were moving fast for your new venture. I hope you have a
great first day and don’t forget to knock them dead ~
Alex

I cannot say that I am particularly
fond of flowers, but the thought is nice. I put the card back in
its holder and sit down in my plush leather chair. I have had my
new phone on me, so I know no calls have come through. I decide to
start up the computer to see what all is installed on
it.

Once it boots, an email client auto
starts. Not one to miss anything, Sebastian seems to have set me up
my own work account. I see an email from him dated a few months ago
and am forced to ignore it because the most recent email has urgent
please read in capital letters. I imagine it is spam, but it is
always best to be safe and it doesn’t indicate there are any
attachments, so I open it.

Ms.
Slaughter,

I have heard about your
new business venture and am in desperate need of your help. I don’t
know what your hours are or when you will officially be open for
business, so I will show up today at 5:30 p.m. in hopes you are
available. If you get this before then and are available, please
call me at 499-304-2234.

M

I may get a client quicker than I
expected. I look at the clock and see it is five now, so I will
just let the person come in when they are ready. I open the desk
drawers while I wait to see if there is anything interesting. The
top one is loaded with a handgun. I pick it up and take a look at
the ammo. My vampire beau has armed me with UV bullets. I cannot
help but laugh.

The middle drawer contains
electronic devices like trackers and bugs. I hadn’t immediately
thought about needing those. I am so used to just tracking people
down and killing them, I didn’t think that I might need to follow
someone around.

The third drawer is locked. I look
around, but do not find a key. Sebastian is going to have some
explaining to do about locking drawers in my office. The search for
the key unveils a crossbow under my desk with an arrow already
loaded. I would have to say the arrowhead itself is silver and
points directly at the seat in front of me.

I start to take a closer look at
the office for other interesting finds, but I immediately notice a
red light flashing above my office door. I stand up to get a closer
look and notice that Jake and Jonas are in the waiting area with a
visitor. They seem to be giving the woman a tough time and she is
already crying, so I decide to intervene.

“What’s going on out here?” I ask
making my presence known.

“This lady says she is here to see
you and has an appointment. We are just checking her out to make
sure she is legit,” Jake informs me.

“M?” I ask the woman. Her
strawberry blond hair looks like it has seen better days and if she
hasn’t been on a beer diet, it is clear she is very pregnant. She
is carrying a large bag that I am sure my guards aren’t too happy
to see.

“Yes, that is me,” she responds
shakily.

“Boys let her through. She was
expected and is obviously upset,” I walk towards her and lead her
back to my office. After I get her situated, I ask, “Can I get you
anything? I don’t believe I have anything here, but I would love to
send one of the boys out to get you something.”

“I am fine and I am afraid I don’t
have a lot of time. They took my mate last night. They just came
right into our house and ripped him away from me. I know they
haven’t killed him yet because I am still alive, but you must help.
There are three lives at stake and I know it is just a matter of
time before they do worse than just beat him a little,” she
says.

“Okay first things first, who took
him?” I ask.

“The Collective. I don’t know what
your ties are with them, but as a woman I was hoping you would have
mercy on my child and help us,” she explains.

Babies don’t exactly make me feel
all warm and fuzzy, so it doesn’t really appeal to my maternal
instincts. I do, however, have no problem going against the
Collective, so I give her a warm smile.

“I am under the assumption that my
ties are totally severed with the Collective. I do know the layout
of the main building pretty well, though, so I think I could get
in. It won’t be an easy job though and will cost a pretty penny in
hazard pay,” I tell her. “I don’t think I could do it for less than
a 100K.”

“I understand. I am willing and
able to pay that amount. I was expecting it to be more, but, of
course, I value my mate's life differently,” she
replies.

“Since I am just starting out, I
don’t have contracts or anything for you to sign. I will go in
tonight and get him; I will expect payment by end of day tomorrow.
If I don’t receive that payment, you will not like the outcome,” I
explain.

“Thank you. Here is a picture of
Greg,” she says digging around in her bag. I don’t see anything
really special about the guy. Brown hair, muted green eyes, and
olive skin. I should be able to pick him out.

“Got it,” I say sliding the picture
back to her. “Why don’t you go home and wait for your husband’s
return. I have some preparation work to do and then I will be
heading out.”

“Thank you again. I was afraid to
come here, but didn’t know where else to turn. My neighbor told me
about your new venture and I was hoping it wasn’t something
Collective organized,” she says standing up to leave. “We have only
been with the group against the Collective for a short time. I
don't know how they found out.”

“No worries there, you are looking
at the newest member of the resistance,” I say after her as she
hurries from the room.

“So boys, can I talk you into
waiting here while I run a quick errand?” I ask sweetly as I make
my way out to the waiting area.

“This is a stupid idea,” Jonas
says. “It is way too dangerous for you to try to break in there. If
you are caught, the resistance will suffer greatly.”

“That is why I don’t plan on
getting caught. I need to get supplies from the Suburban. Are one
of you going to escort me?” I query not pausing for them to answer
as I exit the building.

Chapter 19

Getting down to business

After grabbing my gear, I return to
the office and close the door before either guard can
enter.

“I am changing clothes, so give me
a second,” I say as I take off my shotgun and start stripping out
of my top. The pants are fine for my disguise, but the top would be
a very big clue that I am not who I claim to be. I hurry into a
plain black top. “You can come in now.”

I sit down and take out my case of
contacts. I select the hazel color ones and plop them
in.

“There are not many females in the
Collective. In fact, if you didn’t know, there are only three and
that number included me. Any of the males that have mates, keep
them away from the Collective proper. Out of the two other females,
one of them has my general build. I am a bit thinner than she, but
with a wig, people might confuse the two of us from the
back.

“I know of an entry point just big
enough for someone of my size to squeeze through. It isn’t guarded
or alarmed because it is literally a twelve-inch wide by five-inch
tall exhaust vent. No one besides me or a small child would be able
to get through. This is one of the few times I am thrilled to not
have big lady mounds on my chest.

“Once in, I will make my way
through the ventilation system towards the holding cells. I have
been there many times and am pretty good with directions, so I
don’t see finding them to be an issue,” I say as I finish rolling
my long hair up and securing it. I put on my light brown shoulder
length wig and give my head a shake to get used to the
weight.

“You make that sound easy enough,
but how are you expecting to get out? You aren’t recovering a small
child that can follow you back the way you came,” Jake says showing
a bit of grumpiness that is new for him.

“There are a few less guarded
exits. I have a badge that says I am Julie Richards, who happens to
be a real person and as long as they don’t know her and don’t look
too closely I am good to go.” I explain.

“I don’t like this at all. There
are too many ifs involved,” Jonas states shaking his
head.

“These people joined your group
under the assumption there would be some level of protection. So
far, you have failed and now they are asking me to correct the
issue. Think of me as your new fixer. It is night now, so Smitty
and Marcus should be able to join us. All I need is for you guys to
keep a lookout. I will do the really dangerous part,” I
say.

“I believe that is the issue I am
having, you doing the dangerous part. Call Sebastian. He should be
up by now, see what he says since Alex isn’t here,” Jake
suggests.

“Neither of those men run my life,
I shouldn’t have to ask them if I can take a case,” I
reply.

“No, Princess, they don’t run your
life, but their lives sure depend on you not doing something
stupid, so at least make the courtesy call to let your fanged
boyfriend know you are doing something idiotic,” Jonas
growls.

“I guess I would like to see how
his day has gone so far,” I say pulling out my new cell and dialing
his number.

“Love, you weren’t here when I woke
up,” Sebastian responds immediately.

“Sorry Sebby, I wanted to get a
jump on things. How has your day been?” I ask.