Viper's Defiant Mate (10 page)

“So, what do you think?” Pearl asked later that evening.

Tina rubbed her forehead and scowled at her grandmother. Between the conversation that had taken most of the afternoon, the strain of the last week, and her realization that she was attracted to an alien, she had the beginnings of a migraine coming on. Their grilling of Viper about his world had only added to her stress as she tried to figure out how to deal with the information he had shared. The idea of leaving the bar to go to Righteous, New Mexico had been difficult enough for her to deal with. The idea of traveling to another star system was beyond mind-boggling.

Now, on top of that, she was feeling guilty about not giving Viper a stronger warning about eating too many jelly beans. She was suddenly overcome with frustration at her confused feelings for the entire mess that had suddenly become her life. Considering her family, she didn’t know why she was surprised. If anyone could be kidnapped by aliens, it would be Riley.

She glanced at the sad-looking glass of weeds on her desk and sighed. “I don’t know,” she admitted to her grandmother. “I need to get caught up on some paperwork. I’ll think about it more once I’ve got the quarterly taxes done.”

Pearl glanced behind her when she heard a crash, followed by loud laughter. Turning back, she looked down at her youngest granddaughter. She worried about her. Tina had always been the quiet one of the family. Hell, she didn’t have much choice with a sister like Riley and a grandmother like her. Still, she had changed her last year of high school after the…

“You can’t hide out here the rest of your life,” Pearl said, ignoring the sounds from the bar. This was more important. This was Tina and Riley’s life. “Hell, you don’t go anywhere, but upstairs to your apartment or to the grocery store. I don’t want you to end up alone like… Well, hell, like me,” she added in frustration.

“I don’t hide out,” Tina said in a tone that warned her grandmother that she was about to tread on dangerous ground. “I went to see Toni for a couple of days,” she fibbed. “And, I’m not alone. I have you and Tiny and… and Ruby.”

Pearl released a deep sigh and shook her head. “I’m not going to be around forever, Tiny doesn’t count as he is already married, and I’m not even going to address the fact that you included a damn chicken in the conversation. You know what I mean, hun. I want you to have a life. A real life with a husband and kids and a damn pet chicken, if you want. I just don’t want you, or Riley, to be alone.”

Tina’s throat closed and she looked down at the desk. She understood her grandmother’s concern. She didn’t want to be alone either, which is why she wanted to find Riley.

The last thing she wanted her grandmother to know was that she had gone to Righteous, New Mexico to try to find out information about Riley. A silent groan escaped her as she remembered the knapsack she had taken and had thrown in her bedroom closet upon her return. She had forgotten all about it! The image of the papers she had taken from the desk danced in front of her eyes, making her throbbing head hurt even more.

“Listen, I need to get back out there. I think Tiny has his hands full tonight,” Pearl muttered with a wince as more loud laughter echoed down the hallway. “Why don’t you call it a night? We’ll talk about this in the morning after we’ve had a chance to look at those papers Viper says Riley wants us to see.”

Tina glanced up and gave Pearl a tired smile. “I’ll finish this and then head up. I
am
tired. I could use an early night,” she reluctantly agreed. She watched as Pearl gave her a smile and turned for the door. “Grandma,” Tina called out as Pearl stepped out of the room.

“Yes, hun?” Pearl asked.

“I love you,” Tina whispered.

Pearl’s expression softened as she studied Tina’s tired, pale face. “I love you, too, Tina,” she said. “I have since the day I held you in my arms.”

“Thank you for keeping us,” Tina replied in a soft tone.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way, Tina girl. You and Riley keep me feeling young,” Pearl softly laughed. “It also gives me a good excuse to wear leather. I loved pissing off the moms when you girls were in school. Suited them right for their stuck-up, holier-than-thou righteousness.”

Tina shook her head and laughed. “Good night,” she said. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Night, hun,” Pearl said before she disappeared down the corridor. “Tiny, do I need to get my shotgun?”

Tina chuckled again as she listened to her grandmother. Pearl was right. The other mom’s either loved Pearl or hated her during her school years. Pearl didn’t give a damn what the women thought of her. If she wanted to wear leather and drop her granddaughters off at school by driving a Harley, she did it. The damn bike had a sidecar and Pearl always made them wear a helmet.

She shook her head and tried to focus on the numbers on the screen in front of her. Her fingers absently massaged her temple as she double checked the figures and made sure she had placed all of them on the correct lines of the form she was filling out.

She was so engrossed in what she was doing that she jerked when she heard the click of her office door shutting. A frown creased her brow and a wave of unease ran through her when she saw that a man had entered the room and closed the door that Tiny had fixed yesterday afternoon.

Standing, she rested her hand on the edge of her desk near the alarm. Staring at the man, she hoped that it was just someone taking the wrong turn to the bathroom. She raised her chin when he looked around the room without saying anything.

“I’m sorry, but this is a restricted area,” she said in a cool voice. “If you are looking for the restrooms, you need to return to the bar area and take the corridor on the far side near the jukebox.”

“I’m not looking for the bathroom,” the man replied in a rough voice. “I’m looking for you.”

Tina’s finger slid along the lip of the desk, searching for the button. She had never had to use it before, but both she and Pearl thought it might be a good idea to install it based on some of their previous experiences. She froze when the man raised his hand and pointed a pistol at her.

“I wouldn’t, Miss St. Claire,” the man said with a small smile.

“What do you want?” Tina had to force the words past her frozen vocal cords.

“My client wants the papers you took,” the man replied, stepping closer to the desk and waving the gun at her to move back a step. “He also wants to know where your sister is.”

Tina took a cautious step back. All her internal alarms were telling her that this wasn’t your typical bad ass. This guy reminded her of some of the men Toni used to tell her about; the ones her father and brothers used. These were men that knew how to kill and enjoyed it.

“I don’t know where my sister is,” Tina replied.

The man glanced down at the desk. She swallowed when he leaned over it and picked up Riley’s invitation. Turning it in his hand, he read it before looking back at her.

“You shouldn’t lie to me,” the man commented, pocketing the invitation.

Tina swallowed as she backed up. The laughter in the bar area seemed louder than normal. She gasped when she hit the wall behind her. The man stepped around the corner of her desk and paused. He ran his hand along the edge of the desk until he found the silent alarm. A low cry escaped her when he bent just far enough to rip the wires from it.

Straightening, he took a step closer to her. His eyes gleamed with determination as he stared back at her. She cried out when he suddenly backhanded her across the face. The scream that had been about to explode from her throat was silenced by his hand covering her mouth and the cold press of the barrel against her temple. He breathed close to her ear for several long seconds before he spoke again.

“Now, let’s try this again,” he whispered against her ear. “Only this time, when I ask a question, you answer me with the truth.”

Tina pulled in a deep breath when he released her mouth. The fear and trembling melted away with the blow to her cheek. Instead, a low, burning rage had ignited. All their lives, they had dealt with predators that preyed on those that were weaker. In high school, she had come to a young girl’s aid. A girl that was marked for death because of her family ties. A girl that fought like a lioness against the mass of bodies that had surrounded her.

Tina had gone in swinging, kicking, and punching just like Pearl had shown her. Her screams had caught the attention of one of the few patrol cars that tried to monitor the area. They had come in time to chase the group off. The young girl had been taken to the hospital. Three days later, four of the boys that had attacked the girl were killed in a drive-by shooting and Pearl discovered an envelope containing fifty-thousand dollars tucked under their door.

Rodney, Pearl’s boyfriend, had wanted Pearl to keep the money, but Pearl had known that it had blood on it and had dropped it in the charity box at the neighborhood church. Rodney wanted it to help him pay off the bar that he had purchased in San Diego so that she could move down sooner. Instead, Pearl had donated the money and waited for Tina to finish the school year before moving.

Two weeks after the killings, Tina was jumped by three of the remaining boys. They had accused her of being a part of the Di Stefano family and blamed her for their friends’ deaths. They planned to rape her and leave her bleeding to death in the streets. Pearl had come looking for her when she didn’t show up at the library.

Memories choked Tina and the burning rage flared like a Roman Candle during a fireworks show. She turned to look at the man. Fear would not control her. While Riley had learned to use her mouth as a weapon, Tina had learned to use her fists.

“What do you want to know?” Tina whispered. “I was telling the truth when I said I didn’t know where Riley is. I don’t. I received that invitation today.”

*.*.*

Jarred Sanchez frowned. The woman that he had been sent after was staring him straight in the eye as she spoke. There was no wavering, no telltale twitches, no movement of trying to look away when she was talking.

He stepped back, pulling the gun away from her temple and motioning for her to stay where she was. Stepping backwards, he stopped when he felt the edge of her desk press against the back of his thighs.

“Where are the papers you took?” He demanded, scanning the top of the desk.

“Upstairs in my apartment,” she replied. “You work for Knockletter.”

A small smile curved his lips. There was a slightly defiant tilt of her head. Curious, he ran his eyes over the front of her. She wasn’t bad to look at. The dark hair offset her pale, creamy complexion. Her eyes were a rich dark brown framed by thick, black lashes. High, rounded cheeks, a long narrow nose, and full lips finished out her facial features. There was nothing special about her that he hadn’t seen before in his native Columbia.

His eyes moved down over her figure. She was wearing a navy blue sweater that hung down over her black jeans. She wore sensible, low heeled black ankle boots. He could tell she had full, large breasts, but he also had to admit that she did a damn good job of hiding them.

“Who gave you the invitation?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you and I don’t have any desire to be hit again, so why don’t you ask me another question?” She retorted in a quiet voice.

Jarred’s eyes narrowed at her answer. Raising the weapon, he fired it. The silencer muffled the discharge. Flakes of drywall, plaster, and paint exploded near Tina’s left ear. He expected her to scream or at least flinch, but she did neither.

“You missed,” she commented dryly.

Jarred started to fire again, but pulled up at the last second and pulled his finger away from the trigger. His mouth tightened into a straight line as he reached into his pocket to withdraw the invitation he had picked up. His eyes flickered back and forth between the invitation and Tina as he re-read the message, this time at a slower pace.

“Who is Vox d’Rojah?” He demanded.

“You’d have to ask my sister, I’ve never met the guy,” Tina said, folding her arms across her chest. “Then, again, I’d like to ask her that question myself.”

An ugly smirk pulled at his lips. “You are one cool bitch,” he observed.

*.*.*

Tina just stared back at him without saying anything. Instead, her mind raced in a million different directions. She needed a distraction. There were dozens of people in the bar, but from the noise tonight, they wouldn’t be much help. Her grandmother thought she was heading to bed and wouldn’t be back again. Tiny normally came to get a fix for his sweet tooth from the container of Jelly Beans on her desk, but probably wouldn’t have time until things calmed down.

“You said the papers are upstairs?” The man asked.

“Yes,” she replied in a blunt tone.

The cold look in the man’s eyes sent a shiver through her. The stairs leading up to her apartment were narrow. The upper floor was divided into two apartments, one for her and one for Pearl. It had originally been four small apartments, but Pearl had renovated it when she was eighteen.

“I’m tired of dealing with renters,” Pearl had muttered. “You need your space and the bar is paid for and making money, I don’t need the money bad enough to put up with the headaches of dealing with wondering if someone is going to trash the place or worse.”