Treasure Tides (The Coins) (14 page)

“Put me downnn. We are dancing!
And, and then--” she paused
before continuing in what she
thought
was a whisper, “then we’re going to
have dirty-- rough
sex
on the beach.”
Time stopped.
Royce froze mid-stride.
Change of plan...he was
going to kill this piece of shit after all.
Royce placed Becki gently on her feet, banking the rage pouring
through his body. He pushed her into the closest chair and bent to look
her in the eye as he said quietly, “Don’t move. Not one inch.”
The moment he grabbed Trevor by the shirt collar and drew his fist
back, Royce realized that he had forgotten one small, but important,
detail. Trevor Simmons was pure warlock.
Royce struggled against Trevor’s magic. “Fight me like a man, you
cowardly son-of-a-bitch,” Royce demanded.
Trevor used magic to keep Royce in place while he said, “What Becki
just said is not true. Not that she didn’t offer, and not that I wouldn’t
love to; but she’s a little drunk right now, and I wouldn’t take advantage
of her that way.”
“Joanna! Even things out for me,” Royce gritted, rage and hatred
pouring through him.
“You don’t want to do that, Joanna,” Trevor cautioned narrowing his
eyes at Royce. “I’m telling you, St. John, don’t bring her into this. It’s
not what you think, and things could go
very
wrong,
very
quickly.”
“No, I’m telling
you
,” Royce returned quietly. “Don’t forget. I know
how to deal with your kind.”
“If you want to go at it, I’ll be more-than-happy to oblige.
I have a
feeling you
need
a good ass whipping, and I can do it with or without
magic. Whatever it is she’s hurting about, I’m not responsible for it.
However, I’m betting you can’t say the same. Just so you know, I love
and respect that girl, or
I
would
be
on the beach with her
tonight…making her forget all about
you
.”
As they stood contemplating battle, Trevor felt a tingle run through
his body.
Vamps were near.
“
Go! Now, Royce!
Time is up!” Joanna all but screamed.
Trevor spotted Rouel strolling into the bar with Eric.
They were
visually scanning the crowd, looking for
him
. They only had a moment
before the Vamps spotted him.
Trevor released Royce and stepped left, placing his body between
Becki and the two Vampires. He spoke to Royce in a whisper, “If you
care about her, and I think you do, you will get her the hell out of here.
Now!
”
As Royce started to move toward Becki, Trevor suddenly realized that
Becki’s scent was all over him, and his covered her. “Get my scent off
her.”
With those words, he grabbed a bar fly who had been shimmying her
way past them, and proceeded to grind all over her as he continued to
watch the Vamps.
Royce knew immediately what Trevor was doing; he was trying to
dilute Becki’s sent with that of the other girl, so the Vamps wouldn’t
connect Becki to him. Royce grabbed Becki, who surprisingly had stayed
where he put her and began trying to rid her of Trevor’s scent.
“What the hell,” she muttered as she tried to pull out of Royce’s
grasp. “Oh! I don’t want to dance with you, Mr. Dark Lord himself.”
Becki was sick of this he-man routine. She had been jerked, pulled,
and flung around just about as much as she was going to stand.
“Go away! Go play with your new toy,” she said as she attempted to
walk off the dance floor and leave Royce standing alone.
He refused to let her leave. He kept groping her, and she was starting
to get a headache.
“Get your hands off me, you jerk. Seriously Roy--,”
He wrapped his arms tightly around her, and smothered her protest
with his mouth firmly on hers.
They could talk later; right now he
needed to get Becki out of here, as soon as he got Trevor’s scent off her.
He ran his hands all over her body; making sure he touched every square
inch that Trevor could have possibly touched. Although, if Trevor had
dared to touch some of the areas where Royce’s hands were roaming
right now, there would be a fight between the two of them after all.
During their kiss, he steadily backed Becki to the rear exit of the
building. As soon as they cleared the doorway, he ripped his mouth
from hers, threw her over his shoulder for the second time that night,
and ran for the car.
What the hell?
One minute he was feeling her up and was kissing her
like she had dreamed about. The next minute he was hoisting her over
his shoulder like a sack of potatoes?
She started pounding on his back
with her fists.
“Put me down, you imbecile. You Dark Lord! I’m staying with Trev.
He’s going to do a belly shot, and then we’re going to the beach,” she
yelled hoping to goad him into putting her down.
She got more than she bargained for when she felt a stinging swat
land firmly on her ass.
Becki gasped in shock.
“I’ve heard enough of that shit so drop it,” Royce advised. “You are
not-- I repeat
not
-- going to have
sex
with Trevor Simmons.
Not
tonight…not tomorrow night…not
any
night. Do you understand me?”
“Oh- My
God
,” Becki sputtered in shock. “You just
struck
me!
I
can’t believe you did that!
Nobody
hits me, you two-timing jackass. I’m
going to
kill
you Royce St. John,” Becki threatened. “Just as soon as
things stop spinning,” she said more quietly.
He dumped a still-protesting Becki into the passenger’s seat of his
vehicle.
“Stay put,” he warned before starting to walk around the car toward
the drivers’ side. He changed his mind about the time he reached the
front bumper, and walked back to her side of the car. He wrenched the
door open, and bent low to put himself at eye-level with Becki.
When
she looked at him with wide eyes, he spoke to her slowly and quite
clearly, “For the record, I did
not strike you
. I swatted your ass because
you deserved it. And, if I
ever
hear you utter that bullshit again, that
won’t be the
last
time I swat your ass. Hear me when I say-- you will
never
have sex with that bastard.” He slammed the door firmly closing
the subject.
Royce saw Landon pulling into the parking lot as he stalked around
the car, once again. Unfortunately, Becki saw him, too.
“Landon is here!” she exclaimed, fumbling with the seatbelt as she
tried to unbuckle it.
Problem solved!
She would ask Landon to give her a
ride home.
Trevor had been dancing with a blond the last time she saw him, so
evidently leaving with him was no longer an option. Whatever the case
may be, she was not spending one more second with this bossy, pushy,
lying, two-timing ass.
“Help me get out of this car,” she demanded, “I’m staying with
Landon.”
“No,” Royce corrected, “you’re going home with me.”
“I don’t want to go with you! I don’t want to see you,
ever
again,
please
,” she whispered brokenly as her eyes filled with tears and spilled
over for the third time that night.
“Becki, I don’t understand what’s wrong,” Royce said in frustration.
“That cocky jackass in there thinks I’ve done something to upset you.
I’ve wracked my brain to figure what it could be. I have to tell you, I’ve
come up with
nothing
. I think there has been some sort of mix-up--”
“Humph, I’ll just bet you do…the only mix-up was
yours
,” Becki
hissed at him viciously.
“Sweetheart, I’m not following you,” Royce insisted.
“Don’t
sweetheart
me! Of course, you didn’t follow me. You were too
busy!
I
followed
you
!
“You followed me? When did you follow me?” He would know if
he were being followed. He’d been trained for that sort of thing.
“You didn’t think I would be downtown, did you? Guess what? I
was
downtown, and I
saw
you!”
“You saw me downtown?” Royce repeated as he struggled to wrap his
head around what she was trying to say.
“Yes!”
“Why didn’t you say something to me?”
“What-- so you could introduce me to that bitch you were--” she
couldn’t bring herself to put it into words.
“What
bitch
? I wasn’t with any--?”
“That bitch was me, you idiot,” Joanna interjected.
Royce was speechless.
All this? Over his sister
?
“She doesn’t know I’m your sister,” Joanna reminded him drearily.
As tears continued to run down her cheeks, all Becki could say
was, “Damn it!”
She couldn’t get the seat belt off.
She pulled and pulled, but it wouldn’t
budge.
She had to get the seat belt off!
She had to get away from him!
She
couldn’t breathe.
She kept trying to suck air into her lungs, but she
couldn’t. Her heart was about to explode!
“Becki,” Royce spoke calmly trying to stop her panic attack. She
was gasping for breath, and he could see that she was terrified.
“Get this thing
off
me!
Royce!
Get it
off
!” She was sobbing again,
beating on the seat-belt fastener with her fist.
If she got that seat belt off, God knew what she would do next.
Actually, Royce knew exactly what she would do next.
She would
huff right back into the bar where a battle between Vampires and
Werewolves could erupt at any moment.
“Joanna,” Royce conceded defeat. “I could use some help here.”
No sooner were the words were uttered, than Becki stopped
fighting and started snoring.
Landon had noticed that Royce and Becki seemed to be in a
heated discussion when he parked his vehicle.
He had intended to
take care of the Vampire problem, and then check on Becki.
His
Wolf had other ideas, however, and had insisted that they check on
Becki
first
.
Landon had argued that she was with Royce and would
be safe until they had their business taken care of.
realized
that
it
would be
impossible
to
deal
with
peacefully if his Wolf was pacified.
He stationed his three buddies at
the bar to keep an eye on things and promised to return as quickly as
possible.
Royce sighed and rubbed his temples.
Becki must have been
serious about getting drunk tonight.
He hoped he never had to deal
with her in that state again.
Landon scented high levels of adrenalin as he approached Royce’s
vehicle.
He knocked on the hood, to alert Royce of his presence as
he made his way to Royce’s side of the vehicle.
“Everything ok here?” Landon asked as Royce lowered his
window.
Royce didn’t bother to deny the tension radiating from his body.
He knew Landon had already scented Becki’s distress. And,
truthfully, he was too mentally exhausted to be anything but honest.
Landon soon
the
Vampires
“Not now, but it will be,” Royce assured him. “As soon as she is
sober enough to understand that the ‘bitch’ she saw me with
downtown was not another woman I’m involved with, but my
sister
.”
“Ah,” Landon nodded, “that explains it. She’s pissed?”
“Crazy pissed,” Royce answered. “The fact that she tried to drown
her sorrows in a gallon of Crown didn’t help the situation.”
Landon patted the hood of Royce’s car, “You better get her out of
here. I’m not sure how things will go down in there.”
“She will be at the condo with me, if anyone is looking for her,” he
said with a look in his eyes that dared Landon to protest.
London stared intently for a moment, nodded once, and turned
toward the bar. Before he had taken more than a few steps, he turned
back with a warning for Royce, “Make sure you know what you are
doing. She is very precious to me.”
Royce acknowledged Landon’s words with a nod, “Understood. Just
so you know… she’s very precious to me as well.”
Landon spun on his heel and disappeared into the Pub.
Royce heard a soft Witchy chuckle. “Jo, when I get back to the
condo, we are going to have a talk about respecting each other’s
privacy,” he threatened.
Like that would work
.
She really needed some kids of
her own so she could meddle in their lives and leave his alone.

Landon strolled casually back into the bar.
Chance, Bradley, and
Devon were leaning against the bar seemingly uninterested in the Vamps
at a nearby table. They were in deep conversation with the guy Sean had
described as Trevor Simmons.

He casually grabbed the beer waiting for him and headed over to join
the party at Trevor’s table. As Landon and his friends approached, the
Vampires rose swiftly to their feet, fangs flashing.

“Sit down,” Landon warned quietly. “We aren’t looking for trouble
here tonight. This is a public place. We just want to talk.”
Because he was flanked by three massive bodies with yellow eyes and
fangs of their own, the Vamps heeded his advice and sank warily into
their seats.
Trevor inclined his head toward the remaining chair at their table,
indicating that Landon should join them.
Borrowing chairs from nearby tables, his three companions created
a protective semi-circle behind Landon.
“Why are you in town?” Landon asked the Vampires directly.
“Doing a little treasure hunt--” Rouel began.
“These are friends of mine,” Trevor interrupted, shooting a
meaningful glance to Rouel. “Eric and Rouel are just passing
through. Don’t worry. They aren’t here to sample the local flavor,
right guys?”
“Right,” they agreed. Eric’s response was a little more convincing
than Rouel’s.
Leaning forward, Landon made eye contact first with Eric and
finally Rouel. “You do realize this is Moultrie Pack territory?” At
their
nod,
Landon continued, “Make no mistake; treaty
notwithstanding, we
will
be watching both of you closely. If you make
one wrong move, heads will roll… literally,” Landon promised.
With that being said, he rose to his feet, swung his gaze to Trevor,
and advised, “You really should be choosier when it comes to picking
friends. These guys could be seriously hazardous to your health.”
As the group took their leave of the Vampire’s table, Landon called
over his shoulder, “Watch your step
gentlemen
, and I use that term
loosely, because we will be.”
Since they were already at a bar, Landon decided they might as well
blow off some steam.
He chose a corner table because he preferred
to sit with his back to the wall.
“What do you anticipate their life expectancy to be?” Chance asked
nodding to the table they had just abandoned.
“Pretty damn short,” Bradley responded with a snort.
“Can I bring you boys something? Anything at all?” a scantily clad
waitress asked with a twinkle in her eye.
Landon had caught her scent as soon as he crossed the threshold
of the bar.
His hand snaked out to encircle her wrist.
He gave a
slight tug and she plopped into his lap.
“Hi, Rach,” Landon greeted her by nuzzling her neck and resting
his hand on her slightly protruding stomach.
“I’m headed to the dance floor,” Chance announced as he stood.
“I need to find me some action.”
Two more chairs were vacated as Bradley and Devon followed.
“An alpha in the making,” Rachel observed with a grin.
“Yes, but there is still some work to do first,” Landon added.
Landon gave Rachel a smacking kiss on the cheek before helping
her to her feet.
“You boys stay out of trouble tonight. I’m heading home in another
ten minutes. Do you need anything before I go?”
Landon shook his head but flashed a grin as he said, “Just tell your
old man, that I kissed his wife and felt his baby kick tonight.”
Rachel laughed and said, “You’re a foolish man Landon Smith to risk
the wrath of my Jay. But rest assured, I’ll be sure and tell him.” She
turned and blew him a kiss as she walked away.
Landon chuckled. Jay was like a brother to him. They had been raised
together as pups.
Jay and Rach had been married forever, and she was
expecting their third child.
She was still as beautiful as ever and still
thought the sun rose and set in her husband. They both knew Jay would
take a bullet for Landon, but it tended to stir his Wolf if Rach bore even
the slightest scent of another man. Landon knew the next time he saw Jay,
he would have to listen to him bitch about the sleepless night he would
have tonight.
There were times when Landon envied Jay. And other times, like when
he was talking to him on the phone and the kids were screaming, he
wondered if he would ever be ready for a commitment like that.
Shaking off the seriousness of his thoughts, Landon stood to join the
party currently in progress on the dance floor.
Women had started crawling all over the boys within a matter of
minutes.
Their bulky bodies were like magnets to all females in the
vicinity.
Soon the dance floor was rowdy and full. The drinks and the
women just kept showing up.
Due to their metabolism and body mass,
alcohol had little effect on Were. In Landon’s experience, that had proved
to
be
a
handy
advantage
when
it
came
to
womanizing
and
pool
tournaments.
Rouel watched the Were with distain.
His hatred overruled his fear,
but tonight he kept both restrained. He would bide his time until the coin
was found.
Trevor slid another drink in front of him, his favorite-Bloody Mary. As Trevor reached across him, he picked up an underlying
scent. He leaned toward Trevor, inhaling deeply.
“Mmmm, delicious. Who is she?”
Trevor, struggling for nonchalance, responded, “Who knows, I’ve been
trying to score all evening.” He had hoped to cover Becki’s scent with
that of the blond, but he had not had enough time to do an adequate job.
Sniffing again, Rouel said, “Yes, but one is stronger than the others.”
With an evil leer, and flash of fang, he taunted Trevor, “Do you smell
that Eric? Isn’t it divine?”
Trevor forced a grin and said to Rouel, “Sure wish I knew which one
she was.”
“Eric? Are you ready for a refill?” Trevor asked, signaling the
waitress to stop by their table when she had a moment. Vamps were less
susceptible to the effects of alcohol than humans but not immune to it.
Trevor, with a small bit of magic, could simply nullify the alcohol
content in his own drinks.
It was not exactly fair, but only a fool
concerns himself with ‘fairness’ when working with Vamps.
Trevor, Rouel, and Eric left shortly before midnight. As the three
left, Rouel leaned close to Trevor and inhaled deeply one more time.
“Back the hell off me, Vamp,” Trevor warned as anger began to sizzle
beneath the surface of his skin.
Rouel smiled sardonically, “Backing off.”
Trevor didn’t trust the slimy blood-sucker any further than he could
throw him. He realized that he would have to stay away from Becki
from here on out. He mourned the loss of his only true friend.
Landon and his band of ‘Werey’ men left soon after Trevor and his
Vamps cleared out.
“Chance and Devon, you’re on watch tonight,” Landon said as they
pulled in the driveway. “I scented Becki all over Trevor, so I’m sure his
friends did too. That classifies her as a high-risk probability in this mess.
Unfortunately, she is closely linked to Kurt and the girls, so they are now
high-risk as well.” Vamps made Landon edgy. Vamps with an agenda
made him downright paranoid. Obviously, they were here for the coin,
but why?
The Were/Vamp treaty specifically prohibited running the Vamps out
of town unless their behavior became
problematic
.
Without a doubt,
problematic was fast approaching.
Chance and Devon would patrol
tonight, and he would have a talk with Royce and Kurt first thing in the
morning.
Tomorrow promised to be a long day on the water, and Landon
needed to be ready for trouble. With Vamps in town, trouble was
sure
to
follow.
Stifling a yawn, he closed his bedroom door and stripped before
climbing
into bed.
The
body temperature of
Were increased
substantially at night. The least amount of clothes they had to wear after
dark, the more comfortable they were.