Passion Ignited (4 page)

Raine shook her head at her husband. “I’m well
enough to train along with everyone else; and your wounds are still
healing. I’ll not have my mate fighting and reinjuring himself. I’m
going in whether you like it or not.”

Ferox’s jaw tightened, but he gave one quick
nod.

Raine jogged over and took her place among the
other warriors. She, Raider, Thrash, and Blaze faced off against
the other four. With Ferox watching from the sidelines, their
battle began.

Chapter Three

Raider roamed the halls of the Guardians’
mansion. He’d only gotten a few hours rest after their full night
of training. It had been so thorough that afterward they’d broken
for dinner and headed straight for bed just before dawn. Since many
of them were going out on patrol tonight, they needed to make sure
they were rested up.

But that didn’t mean Raider had much success
at it.

He’d lain in bed forever before he’d finally
fallen asleep, and even then he’d slept for maybe two hours. The
truth was, he still didn’t know who Nitro, Ash, or Garrick really
were. For all anyone knew, they could be the enemy. He couldn’t
leave it to chance.

Raider finished his security scan of the top
floor. Everything was quiet, which was to be expected. Especially
since everyone in the house—except for him—seemed to be catching
some z’s. He headed down the main staircase and started his scan of
the main floor. As he expected, the house was quiet. The Guardians,
as well as their guests, were fast asleep. He made his way down to
the basement and stalked the basement hallway. After reaching the
observation room—otherwise known as “the deck”—he brought the
computer out of its hibernation and checked the security system.
Everything seemed to be okay other than one blinking
light.

One of the upstairs windows was open. Raider
leaned forward, eyeing the bright red flashing light. It was in
Nitro’s room.

****

Nitro sat on the roof of the house as the sun
beat down on her. The air was cold, but the roof under her remained
warm. She willed heat to warm her body as she looked out over the
snow-covered town. The trees were wrapped in snow and ice, the
branches sagging under the weight. And through the leafless trees,
she watched humans live their lives. Children played in the snow,
lobbing snowballs at each other the same way she threw fire. Only,
when one got hit with a ball, they laughed hysterically rather than
combusting. She watched as they tackled each other to the ground or
pulled each other in sleds. They were likely on their Christmas
break, distracted by the white powder that blanketed the ground as
their parents hastily wrapped their presents, plastering a
fictional “Ho-Ho-Hoing” bastard’s name on the tags. Gods, that
Santa at the front gate still pissed her off…

She heard footsteps approach as she looked out
over the neighboring houses. Turning, she looked up and saw Ash
walking across the roof toward her.

“I knew I’d find you up here,” he said as he
sat down next to her. “What are you thinking about?”

Nitro cocked an eyebrow at him. “What makes
you think I’m thinking about anything?”

“I know you. You like the sun when something’s
on your mind.”

She looked forward again. It was silent on the
roof as she thought of her response. “The Guardians aren’t what I
expected.”

“Me either.”

“They fight well. I mean, that was a given,
they are
the Guardians
. I just didn’t realize how well
they’d fight as a team.”

“They are good,” Ash agreed. “But they
practice all the time. Anyone would be good if they trained as much
as these guys do. They’re the elite.”

Nitro looked at her brother and rested her
elbows on her knees. “It’s not just the men. It’s Raine. I’ve never
met another female who could fight as well as I can. Then again,
we’ve never met a Valkyrie before.”

He snorted. “I thought they were a
myth.”

“I did too, until last night. My point is,
she’s powerful. She had moves I’ve never seen before and she made
them look easy. At least, until she got sick,” she added as an
afterthought. Nitro had never been a slouch in the fighting
department, but she’d always depended on her gifts to get her
through any sticky situations. Watching Raine had shown her just
how much she needed to up her game.

“Learn a few things?” Ash teased.

She glared at him, but her expression faded
into a slight grin. “What I’m saying is…the Guardians aren’t
completely
unlikable. We could hang here for a
bit.”

“I’m up for it. I’ll stay as long as you do.
But what about—”

“You don’t need to remind me,” she
interrupted. “I know we’re not here to make friends. We’ve got a
job to do.”

****

Raider remained in the deck, keeping an eye on
the cameras and security system. He’d kept a tight watch on all
entry and exit points for the mansion, and had even kept the
security cameras in a continuous sweep of the perimeter. The fact
was, Nitro was on the roof, and her brother had joined her there as
well. There had been only one camera that showed exactly where
they’d been—a security flaw Raider was now determined to correct.
The Guardians had never needed cameras in such strange places
around their home. At least, not until these new recruits had shown
up.

“Tea, sir?”

He turned toward the glass doorway and spotted
Gregory standing just inside. The old man carried a tray with
teacups, a carafe, and some Fig Newtons.

“Gregory,” Raider smiled. “How did you know I
was up?”

“I’ve lived here a long time.” Gregory smiled
as he stepped forward and set the tray on the desk. “Would you care
for any blood? I’m sure Master Draven wouldn’t mind sharing his
stash.”

“No, thank you. I think I’m good for a few
more days.”

“Very well.” Gregory bowed. He started toward
the door only to stop and turn around again. “May I ask you a
question?”

“Shoot. Why don’t you sit down?”

Gregory smiled again before he took one of the
chairs near the desk. “Master Ferox hasn’t been well lately, and I
haven’t wanted to bother him.”

He nodded. None of them wanted to bother their
leader when he wasn’t quite right yet.

“It’s just that I spoke with my sister a few
days ago about her oldest boy coming out here to be of service to
the Guardians. He’s quite interested and would like to come to the
States to learn how to best serve you before I should move
on.”

Raider nodded again, not liking the fact that
Gregory was mortal. The man was too precious to the Guardians to
ever think that he’d “move on.”

“Master Ferox hasn’t mentioned anything
lately, so I wasn’t sure if my nephew was welcome.”

“He’s welcome.” Not only had they met Chester
a few years ago, but he’d also handled the news of vampires,
wolves, and other nighttime nightmares relatively well. Of course,
they’d scrubbed his memory before he’d left to make sure he didn’t
recall any of what they’d shown him and blab it to the world. “I
know that Ferox is excited about Chester coming to work with you.
He wouldn’t mind in the least if your nephew came out.”

“Very good.” Gregory beamed. “I’ll call my
sister straight away to get the details worked out.” He stood from
his chair and pushed it back under the desk. “Is there anything I
can get for you, sir?”

“No thanks, Gregory. Why don’t you go get some
rest until the others wake up?”

The old man nodded and made his way out of the
room. Raider turned and looked at the monitors again. First, he
checked the camera that had shown Nitro and Ash on the roof; they
were no longer there. Next, he checked the security system. The
blinking light in Nitro’s room had finally quieted.

It looked like the twins had finally come back
inside.

****

“Holy crap! Grandpa, come help!” Kyle leaned
over the guy he’d just tripped over. He hadn’t even seen him lying
under the tree until it was too late. Bending over the beaten body,
he placed his hand on his shoulder. “Dude, are you
alright?”

His grandfather walked over, and as soon as
he’d spotted the body on the ground, he rushed to his
side.

“I think he’s been in an accident,” Kyle
said.

“It looks like he’s been beaten,” his grandpa
corrected.

Kyle doubted it was the latter. The guy was
huge. Even without his shirt being in tatters, he’d have been able
to tell that the guy was built. He had corded muscle after corded
muscle making up his bulk.

The stranger finally opened his eyes, but even
before he was able to blink, he slid them shut again. “Hungry,” he
moaned.

Kyle slid his backpack off his shoulders.
Grabbing an apple and a protein bar, he placed them in the guy’s
hand. It took both him and his grandpa to help the stranger into a
sitting position. He hissed, clearly wanting to moan at the pain,
but he held in whatever curse he’d been struggling to keep in. They
watched as he inhaled the apple and bar.

“Slow down, son,” his grandpa said. “We don’t
have much to go around.”

The stranger swallowed. “Sorry. I’m just
really hungry.”

“That’s okay, it happens,” his grandpa
replied. “Where did you come from?”

The guy stared blankly, looking between Kyle
and his grandpa. He blinked a few times without saying a word, his
brows lowering. “I don’t know.”

Grandpa’s eyes fixed on Kyle, giving him a
tight nod before he focused on the guy again. “Do you remember
anything? Were you in an accident? In a fight? How about your
name?”

He focused hard, really trying to come up with
answers, but he was drawing a complete blank. It was clear on his
face.

Kyle felt sorry for the guy and handed him
another protein bar. “Don’t know your name?”

“No.”

“Tell you what. Why don’t you come with us?
You can stay with us until you’re on your feet again,” Grandpa
suggested.

The stranger gave a nearly invisible nod
before he gingerly rolled and pushed to his feet. It clearly hurt,
and he wobbled when he stood. Kyle and his grandfather both reached
out, steadying him. Not that they could have caught him. He was
even bigger standing up. Kyle was gangly as it was already, but now
he just felt like a yardstick compared to the guy. “I’ll call you
Bob,” he said. “You know, until you remember who you
are.”

Bob looked down at him. “’Kay.”

The three men walked slowly over the grass,
making their way over to the sidewalk. They had to keep a slow pace
since Bob was injured so badly. Kyle couldn’t believe the shape he
was in. Dried blood was caked all over him: on his face, hands and
clothes, even in his hair. He could only imagine what happened to
him, but he had a feeling that if he were in that kind of shape
himself, he wouldn’t be up walking around. He’d likely be begging
for death.

“So how did you end up in Washington Park?” he
asked, peering up at Bob’s face.

“I woke up somewhere just off of Broad Street,
so I picked a direction and walked.”

“Do you know where it was?”

“I could find my way back there, if that’s
what you’re asking.”

The rest of the walk home was mostly quiet. A
few comments here and there, but it was hard talking to a guy who
couldn’t remember anything. Grandpa put in a good comment on the
weather, which Bob was able to respond to, but that had pretty much
been the extent of it. They reached Market Street and hung a left.
Usually Kyle felt invisible as he wandered the streets, but Bob was
drawing a lot of attention. First, from people who saw how big he
was, then even more stares came when they saw all the blood. Kyle
had never felt more visible. Each time anyone asked him if he
needed to get to the hospital, Bob just shook his head.

They passed shop after shop as they made their
way home. The different smells of hot, freshly cooked food caused
all of their stomachs to growl in response. Especially
Bob’s—although that could have been because Kyle’s ear was so close
to it as he walked beside him.

They turned off Market Street and headed down
a small alley. It was really dark this time of night, but he could
have made his way through it blindfolded. The alley was full of
boxes that lined both sides of the narrow street.

“Home sweet home,” Grandpa said. He pointed to
the shelter where Kyle and he had been staying for the last year.
“Course, I didn’t think you were as big as you are. It might be a
tight fit, but we’ll make do.”

Bob’s eyebrows shot up as he took in the sight
of the little community. “You’re—”

“Homeless? Yep,” Kyle said. “This is as close
to a home as we’ve got.”

“Sorry it’s not more,” Grandpa
added.

Bob shook his head. “It’s perfect. I’m just
grateful you’re giving me a place to stay.”

Kyle smiled as he looked away from both men.
It wasn’t often that they met someone who didn’t look down on them
for not having a home. In fact, Kyle had lost all of his friends
because of it. Maybe it was fate that he’d tripped over the guy
tonight.