Bite (Bloodlines Book 1) (2 page)

Mountain Man growled and lunged at him. Kieran evaded his meaty hand and kicked out, catching his attacker in the knee. The big man went down. That was when the others came at him at the same time. Guess Puppy Dog had grown balls or at least enough to team up with Rat Man. Kieran’s training took over. He yelled for the couple to run while he blocked, punched and fought until he was the only one standing. Breathing heavily, he rested his hands on his knees as he stood over his three fallen foes.

That had been fun. He pulled out his phone and hit the pre-dialed number for dispatch. “Clean up on aisle two,” he said when the call connected.

“Damn it, Kieran,” Lettie Sanchez muttered in his ear. “You’re supposed to be on vacation.”

“I am on vacation,” he argued. “It’s not my fault this time.”

Lettie snorted. “Trouble just finds you? More like you go looking for it.”

It was scary how well Lettie and his other friends knew him. He didn’t respond since he really couldn’t deny her claim without lying, and he always tried to tell the truth no matter what the circumstances were. He had enough negative traits without adding being a liar as well.

“I’ve traced the GPS on your phone and am calling in the local agents. Are the suspects secured?” Lettie questioned.

Kieran nudged the ribs of Mountain Man with the toe of his black combat book. “I don’t think they’re going to be a problem.”

“They’re not dead, are they?”

He chuckled. “No, there’s too much paperwork for dead bodies.” And wasn’t that the truth. He could remember when the Organization hadn’t been so picky about how he took care of threats. But now, they’d gone all politically correct and shit. He suspected that the new views had something to do with the fact that the shifters had gone public and now everyone knew about them. That wasn’t something that he worried too much about, though. Above his pay grade.

“How many?” Lettie asked.

“Three,” he said with some pride. Kieran might be one of the oldest agents, even if he appeared to be in his early thirties, but he still had it. He could still throw down with the best of them.

Lettie sighed heavily. “When is Angel returning from her honeymoon? She’s the only one who can deal with your crazy ass.”

“Not for another two weeks,” Kieran answered. “Guess you’re stuck with me until then.”

“Where’s Remy?” Lettie questioned. “Sometimes he can be a good influence.” Which was sort of true. Mostly, though, Kieran ended up getting both him and Remy in trouble.

“We’re on vacation,” Kieran reminded her. “He’s home with his pack. I’m spending all my money at the tables.”

“If that was the case, you wouldn’t be calling me to clean up another one of your messes,” Lettie pointed out.

Kieran strolled away from the men, who were out cold and who would no doubt remain that way until others arrived. He jumped up and landed on the edge of a graffiti-painted concrete wall before he sat to wait. “You could come down and keep me company.”

“Oh, what a wonderful offer. Not,” Lettie teased. “I haven’t done anything to deserve that kind of punishment.”

The banter between them was familiar and finished out his night pretty well. Lettie had been around about half the time he had but they’d connected from the start. She loved electronics as much as he did and was always showing him new inventions she’d come up with. Kieran always took them out to the field and tested them for her. All without their boss knowing because he wouldn’t be happy.

“I hear a vehicle approaching,” he said. “I’ll catch you later, babe.” He hung up before she could respond but that was usual for him and he secretly thought Lettie enjoyed his antics.

Kieran stayed where he was, high on the fence, hidden in the dark. A black SUV with heavily tinted windows rolled into the alley. With the headlights bright into the small space, the bodies would be easily seen. Both doors opened, the driver male and passenger female exiting.

“Fuck,” the man cursed. When he moved away from the open door, he had his weapon drawn. He was staring at the three men laid out.

Kieran had to smile. He’d enjoy fucking with this agent.

The woman was more cautious. She slowly walked to the front of the vehicle but her eyes were darting around the alley. She wasn’t looking at the attackers but instead for who had taken them down. He respected that vigilance. It was what he would do.

He silently rose as he watched. They hadn’t spotted him yet. The man was human but the woman was a shifter. It was hard not to snarl at her but he managed. Kieran bent his knees before he leaped down. He landed between them with a loud thud. He ducked slightly when both weapons were pointed at his head. He held up his hands. “Don’t shoot,” he mocked.

“Kieran Smith.” The man lowered his weapon. “I’ve heard about you, been warned really.”

Kieran grinned then glanced at the woman since she hadn’t lowered her weapon. “Gonna shoot me?”

“I haven’t decided, like my partner said, we’ve heard about you,” she said.

He couldn’t really argue with her logic. “Just don’t aim for my face. It’s too pretty to be shot off.”

It was slight but he saw her lips twitch in amusement. And what lips they were—full, plump and red.
Shit!
Where had that thought come from? There was no way in hell that he’d ever find a shifter attractive. Even if the shifter in question had a curvy body, long brown hair streaked with red, and gorgeous bright gold eyes. He’d never seen that color before, but no matter what, Kieran would not think she was hot. No, no way would he ever find a shifter sexy.

“So what happened here?” the male agent asked.

“These three assholes had a couple up against the wall.” He waved his hand back as he spoke. “I came along and showed them the error of their ways.”

“You took on three shifters all by yourself?” she questioned in disbelief as she strolled closer to the men on the floor. She bent and sniffed.

Kieran grinned. “I thought you’d heard of me?” Lettie had either warned the two agents about him or his reputation was growing. Kieran wasn’t sure which he preferred.

“Okay, on that note, I’m Dean Westbridge and this is my partner, Dakota Reese, and we’ll be taking over here.”

“Dean and Dakota, that’s so cute!” Kieran couldn’t help but say. Did the Organization chapter here put agents together alphabetically?

Dean snorted. “You really are an asshole.”

“Well, Dean Westbridge…” Kieran stopped.
Westbridge?
“Ah fuck!”

“Maybe you’re not as slow as you seem,” Dakota commented as she rolled the Mountain Man over and secured his hands behind his back with plastic cuffs.

Kieran peered back at Dean, unsure of his next action.
Things just got real interesting.

The Organization ran off bloodlines. That was how agents were chosen and why they were able to remain secret. The first born, male or female, were sent into service, and very rarely was anyone else ever allowed to even know about their existence. The Westbridges were one of the original families who had formed the Organization. It was also the bloodline that Caspar had been born into. Part of an agreement the founders had made centuries ago. So Dean was related to Kieran’s boss—the man he loved like a father. This wasn’t good. He’d been hoping to avoid being on Caspar’s radar while he was supposed to be taking time off.

“By the look on your face, I’m guessing you’ve figured out who my uncle is,” Dean said. “And if I’m remembering the last conversation I had with him, Caspar told me that you would be in town and to keep an eye on you.”

Like he needed a fucking babysitter? Kieran scowled. “Then you haven’t been doing a very good job,” he taunted. “I’ve been in town for several days and haven’t seen you until tonight.”

“But that doesn’t mean I haven’t seen you. Or how you drink way too much at the hotel bar before dropping several hundred dollars at blackjack?”

“I’m a gambler at heart,” he quipped. How hadn’t he seen this man watching him? Well actually, Kieran knew. He didn’t give humans a second look. They were no threat to him. Kieran was untouchable. Or at least he’d always believed he was. This human male might be a challenge. Kieran turned his back to Dean, showing him that he didn’t find him any danger. Dakota had bound the mountain man, the rat guy, and was now bending over the young puppy-dog-eyed kid.

Kieran strolled over to her with his hands in the pockets of his dark jeans. “That one’s not much more than a kid. He couldn’t fight off a tick. Do shifters get fleas and ticks?” he baited her.

Dakota glanced up at him. “Could you be any more obvious?” she asked.

He lifted an eyebrow.

“Fine.” She finished securing the attacker then stood. “You can continue to play your games and push away everyone you meet. If that’s the way you want to play it, we can’t stop you. But maybe you should ask yourself why Caspar suggested you take the rest of your vacation here?”

“He likes to screw with my head,” he replied with a shrug.

“Sure.” She patted his chest before resting her palm over his heart.

The heat from her hand seeped through his cotton T-shirt and he froze. For the first time in many years, his instinct was not to rip off the head of the shifter who touched him. Instead he ached to pull her close. He shook his head to gather control of himself.

“I can see you’ve got this under control,” he murmured. Then he sped off. Kieran put every ounce of his energy in getting away from Dakota.

He had a hotel to check out of and another lodging to find. Dean might have been given the task of watching out for him but Kieran wouldn’t make it easy for him.

So let the games begin.

Dakota grinned as Kieran disappeared almost right before her eyes. “Damn, he’s fast.”

“And you need to be careful. Caspar specifically told us that Kieran hates shifters and that he’d like nothing more than to kill you,” Dean told her. “You shouldn’t have touched him.”

Probably, but she hadn’t been able to help herself. It was so obvious that Kieran used his sharp tongue to push others away. He didn’t want people close to him but there was also a longing for connection deep inside him that she could sense. It was her job to read people—what she’d specialized in during training. Kieran Smith was so much more than what he appeared.

“Maybe you should stay away from him. I can have Gabe help me follow him,” Dean said.

“No.” While Kieran might have issues, it hadn’t been hate that she’d seen in his eyes. The spark of attraction had been unmistakable. He wasn’t exactly what she’d been expecting either so she’d paid attention to every detail. “I’m not backing off.”

When she’d touched him, he’d been shocked. Kieran’s body had been hard and cool but his eyes had been full of heat.

“Shit,” Dean muttered. “You have that look on your face.”

“What look?” she asked with fake innocence.

“The one that says you’ve found a lost puppy to bring home,” he said.

She’d laugh, but he wasn’t too far off. Kieran needed to know that someone cared for him. He was lost in his own world and very alone. It wasn’t in Dakota to leave someone to flounder about. The fact that she was attracted to him just added to her need to care for him. Whether he liked it or not.

A groan sounded from behind as she whirled around. The biggest of the shifters was waking up. “Let’s get these guys processed so we can get back to your secret mission,” she said.

“I can’t believe I let Caspar talk me into watching him,” Dean bitched.

“Like you’d ever say no to Caspar,” she said. Caspar was better to Dean than Dean’s own father. Because of the respect Dean had for his uncle, there was no doubt that he’d do anything Caspar asked. “You know he’ll be gone by the time we get done here and back to his hotel.”

“Yeah,” Dean agreed. “Let’s get these three loaded and I’ll call Gabe to stake him out. He won’t leave town so we’ll find him.”

“Maybe,” Dakota said, not really agreeing. Now that Kieran knew they were watching him, there was no telling what he would do. She didn’t think he’d just disappear, though. His personality made her think he’d try to make it really hard to keep their promise to watch him. Kieran would probably do his best to show them up.

“I’ll get the little guy,” Dean said as he walked to the youngest of their prisoners.

“Thanks,” she grumbled as she strode to the largest man, and the only one who was awake. “Hey.” She lightly kicked his side. “Get up.”

The man scowled at her. “Who the fuck are you?”

Dakota dropped to her knees in front of him. She let her jaguar come close to the surface. She had a powerful animal inside her, and the way the guy’s eyes widened, she knew he hadn’t been prepared for the wave of dominance that she released. “Any more questions?” she growled.

He shook his head.

As she climbed to her feet, she grabbed his arm and hauled him up. Dean had already carried the smallest to the back of their SUV and was now headed in her direction. She pushed her detainee toward Dean before turning to the last guy. He was scrawny and damn ugly. No wonder he’d turned to a life of crime. Dakota bent to lift him up and threw him over her shoulder.

Dean just shook his head at her. It was an ongoing joke between them that she did most of the heavy lifting and that he was the brains in their partnership. Sure, it had something to do with her shifter strength, but really Dakota enjoyed showing off her muscles and Dean was really smart. They worked well together.

She carried the last suspect to the SUV, then Dean helped her get him inside.

“You drive,” Dean said as he circled around the back of the vehicle. “I’ll make the phone calls to track down our wayward Walker.” It was the first time Dean had brought up what Kieran was.

“Have you ever met a Walker before now?” she asked as she slammed the back door shut. She climbed into the driver’s seat and started the SUV.

“No,” Dean said as he joined her. “There are just so few of them. My dad, and of course Caspar, talks about some of the older ones but I’ve never come face to face with anyone like Kieran before.”

She hadn’t either. “I’ve read a lot of reports involving Day Walkers,” she said. “I wonder how much is true and how much they put into the reports to keep their secrets.”