Treasure Tides (The Coins) (13 page)

Trevor suddenly realized this might not have been one of his better
ideas. He was trying to do the right thing
for once in his life,
and she was
not making it easy.

Royce checked his cell phone again.
Why the hell wasn’t Becki responding?
He had been trying to reach her since early this afternoon.
Sean and Joanna were busy at their respective computers and had
been for hours. The clicking keyboards echoing throughout the living
room were about to drive Royce up the wall.
“Boss, you are going to want to see this,” Sean said. His computer
had begun emitting an incessant
beep
.
“What?” Royce responded absently. He was trying to figure out why
a strange
chirp
was coming from his phone.
“Trevor Simmons just walked into the pub,” Sean said more urgently.
“What pub?” Royce asked, pressing random buttons on his phone.
How do you turn this damn thing off?
“Becki’s pub…and she’s still at work.”
Royce vaulted over the back of the couch where he had been
lounging. As he tucked a weapon into the waistband of his pants near
his lower back, he yelled, “Keys!”
“
Shit
! The Vamps are moving too,” Sean declared.
“Turn this damn noise off,” Royce bellowed, “I can’t think!”
Typing furiously Sean questioned, “Joanna, do you have a reading on
their direction yet?”
“
Working on it!
” Joanna responded, pounding the keys on her own
computer.
The noise stopped as a set of keys magically sailed through the air.
Royce snagged the set of keys, shoved his blessedly silent phone into his
pocket, and flew out the door.
As he exited the parking garage, his cell phone began to ring.
Since
his car’s built in Bluetooth was set to auto-answer, the call connected
immediately.
“The pub, Royce,” Sean announced urgently. “They’re headed to the
pub!”
“Find Landon! Find him and tell him to meet me there,” Royce
directed Sean.
The
Moultrie
Werewolf
Pack-- Landon’s pack-had
claimed
Charleston as their territory centuries ago.
A treaty between Moultrie
Pack and Vampire Nation protected Charleston from actively feeding
Vampires.
The treaty specifically forbade the consumption of human
blood
within
Moultrie
Pack
Territory.
The
terms
extended
to
prohibit feeding from “donors” as well.
V-Scan, a high tech, infrared type device, could pick up even the
smallest traces of fresh human blood in a Vampire’s system. Sean had
placed V-Scan transmitters strategically throughout the City.
So far,
the Vamps were still abiding by the terms of the treaty.
However, the treaty was tenuous at best. Royce’s gut told him the
Vamps
were
getting
hungry.
If
they
were
indeed
headed
to
a
rendezvous with Trevor Simmons, Royce needed to make damn sure
Becki was not within a mile of that warlock.
He was glad he had dumped the SUV for something with a little
more power under the hood.
Joanna worked the traffic lights to
ensure a clear shot as he blew past anything in his way.
She had also
cloaked him temporarily, making both he and the car invisible for the
journey.
His phone sounded again.
“Vamps
are
en-route to the pub, Royce. Landon is on his way with
some friends to help keep things in check,” Sean reported.
“Son-of -a-bitch!”
Royce felt sweat bead on his forehead.
“Slow them
down!”
“Who do you think you’re dealing with, big brother?” Joanna
interjected sarcastically.
“They’ve already run into a little
traffic problem
along the way,” Sean
assured him quickly. “You should be able to get Becki out of there
before they arrive.”
Royce smiled. “Good work,
Brat
,” he said as he affectionately
acknowledged Joanna’s brilliance prior to disconnecting.
Neon lights greeted him in the distance announcing “Jim’s Pub.”
“Lifting the cloak now,” Joanna’s voice moved through him.
Telepathy-- one of the ‘perks’ associated with having a Witch in the
family…NOT!
“If Landon is not there soon,” she added, “I’m joining the party
myself.”
“The hell you are,” Royce responded verbally as he whipped into the
parking lot at top speed.
He and Joanna could communicate without
actually speaking, but it freaked him out a little. If he spoke the words, it
was more like a phone call.
“You will stay put--I mean it. This is non-negotiable. I don’t want
you
near
those blood suckers. Do you hear me, Jo?” Witches’ blood
used to be extremely poisonous to Vampires. Thanks to another not-sopleasing-advancement in technology, the blood suckers could now be
vaccinated against the previously ill-effects of Witches’ blood.
“I hear, but that doesn’t mean I agree,” Joanna argued.
“I don’t need to worry about you, too. Landon will be here soon and
we’ll handle it. One more thing…stay out of my
head.
It’s distracting.”
The vehicle had hardly come to rest before Royce was on the move. He
assumed that Becki was still working and quickly moved in the direction of
the bar. Automatically, Royce scanned the crowd as he walked looking for
signs of danger.
His gaze briefly touched each table and then skimmed
those sitting at the bar. Satisfied that everything was safe for the time being,
he turned to take in the dancers entwined on the dance floor.
What he saw there caused him to stop mid-stride. “What the fu--”
Royce felt something
slam
into his back. As glass shattered and patrons
nearby gasped in surprise, Royce reached for the weapon still tucked at his
waist.
He quickly spun around
prepared for the worst.
Thankfully, he
stopped short of actually drawing his weapon as he took in the scene before
him. A waitress in a low-cut blouse was soaked to the skin and surrounded
by broken glass. To make matters worse, she was pulling pieces of
ice
from
her more-than-ample cleavage.
“What the
hell
were you thinking?” she screeched in a high tone of voice.
“You can’t just
stop
all of a sudden!”
He guessed that she had been following him, carrying a full tray of
drinks. When he had stopped so abruptly, she must have run into him with
the tray.
She had spilled the entire tray of drinks all over herself and the
floor.
“I’m sorry,” Royce mumbled. After grabbing a stack of napkins from a
nearby table, he stood helplessly staring at her wet cleavage. He was unsure
how he could help her without touching her inappropriately.
Fortunately, the dance floor was far enough away that Becki had not
witnessed the incident. That would have escalated the situation from
slightly
funny but embarrassing
to
downright humiliating
.
“What’s going on Becki?” Trevor had started pressing for answers
the moment they hit the dance floor. “Come on-- you can talk to me,
doll.”
“I don’t
want
to talk about it,” Becki refused belligerently.
“How can I fix it, if I don’t know what’s wrong?” he prodded softly.
Becki sniffed and blinked several times.
Despite her best efforts,
those darn tears just would not be contained any longer.
“I thought he was different,” she whispered brokenly. “I thought he
seemed like a truly nice guy-- the
White Knight
kind of guy.” A fat tear
escaped and rolled down her cheek.
“It turns out he is just like the rest.
One
girl isn’t enough. At least,
I’m
not enough!”
She lifted her head looking straight into Trevor’s eyes, “That’s it-- it’s
me! I’m the problem. I’m just not lovable, Trev.”
He shook his head, cupping her cheek to thumb the tears away. “Not
a chance, doll,” he said with a half-smile. “Everyone I know loves you.”
“Seriously, maybe I’m
defffectivve
,” she slurred slightly feeling the
effects of numerous shots.
“Doll, I promise there’s nothing ‘defective’ about you. And for the
record…I’ve never met
anyone
more lovable than you,” Trevor said as he
rubbed his cheek softly against hers.
“Helllloooo!! Vamps closing in,” Joanna reminded Royce
sarcastically.
Royce gritted his teeth. Joanna’s ability to insert herself into his
thoughts was quite irritating.
Royce reached for his wallet and peeled off several large bills. He
grabbed the soaked waitress’s hand and closed her fingers around the
money as well as the napkins. “I’m really sorry,” he apologized again and
turned his attention back to the dance floor.
Trevor Simmons
was
like
a
ticking time bomb-dangerous
to
everyone around him. Typical Becki…did she stay away from danger?
No! She was holding on to him like a damn life line.
“You have about two seconds to get your shit straight, and then I’m
on my way,” Joanna threatened, intruding into Royce’s thoughts once
again.
“Back off,” Royce snapped. He made his way toward the couple
whose fascination with each other had caused him to stop so abruptly to
begin with. Becki, still wrapped tightly in Trevor’s arms, was now gazing
into his eyes while they danced and whispered to each other.
This shit was
going to stop!
“You’ve
never
met anyone more lovable than me?” Becki questioned,
looking at him with wide-eyes.
“Never,” he whispered.
She smiled crookedly, and another tear rolled silently down her face.
“You’re killing me here,” Trevor groaned. “Why not-- I’m going to
hell anyway,” he murmured as he lowered his lips slowly toward hers.
“What the
bloody hell
do you think you’re doing?” Royce roared as he
ripped Becki out of Trevor’s arms.
Becki wiggled in his grasp, “God! Why do
youuu
have to k-keep
bothering me?
Would you just go
away
and lllleave me
alone?
” Becki
protested as she yanked her arm away from Royce.
He stood for a moment evaluating his options. Option A--beat the
shit out of Trevor for touching Becki.
Option B--toss her ass over his
shoulder and get the hell out of there before trouble arrived.
“Option
B
, Royce. Option
B
,” Joanna advised.
You are starting to piss me off!
Royce mentally pushed the words at
Joanna, knowing she would get the message.
“Go awayyy,” Becki said as she looked around in search of Trevor.
Royce spun Becki around to face him and wrapped his arms around
her tightly. “What’s this about Becki? I’ve tried to reach you all
afternoon. I thought we were together, a couple.
And then I walk in
here tonight to find you drunk and hanging all over a war--”
“Royce!”
Joanna interjected before he could mess things up even further.
Honestly, men in love were so damn stupid!
Royce closed his eyes in frustration and then continued, “We need to
go, Becki. We’ll talk on the way home; or maybe tomorrow after you’ve
sobered up.”
Trevor stood silently listening intently to the exchange.
He would not
hesitate to jump to Becki’s defense the moment she needed him. However,
it appeared St. John was as tied up in as many knots as Becki was.
“RRRoyce. Leave me alone! I don’t
lllike
you anymore.
Besides,
Trevor and I were
daancing
,” she insisted as she struggled to escape his
embrace.
“Actually, we were getting ready to make out,” Trevor taunted pushing
the envelope a little… testing St. Johns’ reaction.
“Over my dead and decaying body,” Royce snarled as he weighed those
options one more time.
“You will have
company
in a few minutes. You need to get the hell out
of there!” Joanna insisted.
Royce tightened his arms around Becki, “You’re going to feel like shit in
the morning. We are going home, Becki. The easy way, or the hard way,
it’s up to you,” he said softly in her ear.
‘Home’ Royce had said. Becki stopped struggling immediately.
Finally!
Royce breathed a sigh of relief.
Royce loosed his grip around
her waist and grabbed her hand to tug her toward the door.
Becki stopped suddenly and jerked her hand away from him. He looked
at her for the first time since she had stopped struggling to escape him a
few moments ago. He was shocked to see tears streaming down her face
as she cried silently.
“You listen ttto-- lllisten to m-me--,” she began in a drunken, yet
heart-broken growl, “and lllisten good-- you--you-- t
two-timing
, piece of-of
shhhit
scum-bag.
I- I’mmm-- not going h-hoome with youu. I’mm
not g-going
annnywhhere
with y-you.” She was sobbing now, big gulping
sobs in between bouts of swearing at him. Tears were streaming nonstop down her face. Fortunately, the loud music helped to prevent her
speech from being overheard by most of the patrons. But Royce heard it
loud and clear.
“That’s it!” His patience was at an end. They would have to sort this
out later.
Suddenly, Becki was lifted off her feet and hanging up-side-down
over Royce’s shoulder. She began to scream as she kicked her feet and
pounded him on the back with her fists.
Trevor suddenly appeared in front of Royce, blocking his exit.
Cocky son-of-a-bitch.
“Stay out of this,” Royce cautioned.
Trevor merely raised one eyebrow, “If you hurt her St. John, you’ll
answer to me,” he promised.
After a moment, he stepped aside to let them pass.
Royce hesitated. He wanted nothing more than to kick Trevor’s
pompous ass.
This was not the time, nor the place.
With a sigh, he began moving
again.
They were almost at the back door.
Becki had been mysteriously
quiet during the exchange with Trevor.
Maybe she had passed out
.
As they passed Trevor, Becki suddenly realized Royce was actually
going to walk out the back door with her slung over his shoulder. Even
in her drunkest state, that was
not
going to happen!
She had started to
lose her buzz anyway.
Becki spied Trevor and decided to enlist
his
help, “Trevor, make him
stop. Trev-- tell him I’m
not
g-going with himm.” Ok, so maybe she
was
still buzzed, but she was not leaving with that two-timing slug, especially
not hoisted over his shoulder! It was making her diiiizzzzyy.