"You'll probably still face some sanctions," Gavin pointed out. "Two of the wolves and one of the tigers you took out are high ranking enough we'll have some political problems from it, at least."

Kendra shrugged, unconcerned and unapologetic. "I don't want to share Eric's memory of the event, but if I have to, no one will fault me for my actions. I know there are some who'll be p.i.s.sed I put the life of a human over the lives of supernaturals, but he was officially under my protection and Abbott's when he was taken, so I was in my right to make a point."

She looked at Nathan and asked, "Are the two of us okay? Besides the tiger in question, I took out a number of other cats."

"You did," he answered, his voice dry and unemotional, giving nothing away. "And I've heard eyewitness accounts from some of the cats you let live, who were witness to the torture and slaughter. I don't take issue with the Tiger in question, but there is one Bobcat I need more information about. You and I can speak about it later."

She'd only killed one bobcat, and she wanted to clear the air now. "The bobcat f.u.c.ked Eric's throat. He wasn't terribly cruel, but he did e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.e into his stomach, knowing the human was bound and couldn't stop what was happening to him. I gave the bobcat the option of a painless death if he answered my questions. He did, and I snapped his neck."

Nathan was sitting in an armed, upholstered chair, totally looking his part as King of the Lions, and he leaned back and tilted his head. "The man had been married a year and a half, and they have a three month old baby."

"There are consequences for one's actions. If he didn't want to be taken from his family, he shouldn't have face-f.u.c.ked someone under the protection of The Abbott and his third."

Aaron looked back and forth between the two and said, "Nathan, Kendra's speaking with her emotions at the moment. I would advise either waiting a day or two to discuss an amenable response, or having this discussion with the Master Vampire who gave her permission to handle the situation in the way she felt appropriate."

Abbott stepped into the room and said, "An excellent suggestion." He looked to Nathan and said, "No public apology, but I will arrange for my insurance company to notify the widow with information about a twenty thousand dollar life insurance policy."

"Fifty," Nathan countered.

"Done." Abbott looked to Kendra and said, "This doesn't negate the point you made with his death, but it will help a widow and a fatherless child, and will keep things smooth between us and an important friend and ally."

She didn't like it, but wasn't prepared to argue the point, either. Three months from now she'd probably see it as the sensible solution, even if it p.i.s.sed her off now.

Aaron gave them all the information his tech people and hackers had been able to get him on Mitroff's people, and added, "I have a lone-wolf hacker friend digging for what he can find, as well. I believe the largest concentration of their people is in Charleston, Columbia, and Greenville. However, the Eagles seem to have congregated just over the state line from Augusta, GA, and then there's a lot of shapeshifters in the suburbs of Charlotte, also just over the state line. If possible, I'd like to put together five teams and hit every city simultaneously." He looked at Abbott. "If your people can handle two teams, Nathan will run the Drake Security team, and Sophia and I will run a team populated by lone wolves, swans, owls, and a couple of dragons. I've convinced the Master Vampire in Atlanta to take care of the enclave just over the line from Augusta, since the fact they're working in Georgia while living in South Carolina is a personal affront to him."

The group debated timing, struck a countdown for fifty-two hours from the current time, and split up to contact their people and plan their individual raids.

Aaron's lone-wolf hacker, Brain, came through with a lot more information over the next day, and by the time they were all suiting up for battle, Kendra was certain they were ready. She and Abbott were hitting Charleston, as she wanted a piece of Natalia, who'd been communicating to people from a hidden underground bunker. Mitroff had no idea they'd found it, but Brain had not only managed coordinates, but also high resolution aerial shots showing them exactly how to get into the bunker.

Chapter Nineteen.

Eric paced back and forth in the bas.e.m.e.nt of TBC. He'd learned the Master Vampire had put what he termed an impenetrable bunker below the club, and had ama.s.sed a number of people important to him who weren't fighting, so they'd be safe while a whole lot of Abbott's people and allies attacked a s.h.i.t ton of their South Carolina enemies.

Kendra had told him a huge black man named Isaac was in charge, and as long as he followed Isaac's instructions, Eric would be safe.

"You're going to wear the carpet out," a cute redhead told him. "Come sit with us and talk. I'm Bethany, this is Gen."

He smiled and sat at their table. "I'm Eric. Can I ask how you're connected to all of this?"

"I'm married to someone who's fighting, and Bethany here's my best friend, so she's also under his protection. Usually, that keeps us safe, but apparently tonight and the next couple of days, it could put us in danger. Who're you connected to?"

"I've been seeing Kendra, and I've done some contract work for Abbott, which puts me under his protection." He shrugged. "Like you said, it usually keeps me safe, not so much tonight."

He talked to the girls a while, and Isaac sat with them and cut up a little, too. Eventually, they all moseyed off to a room with cots, and Eric worried about Kendra instead of sleeping. He knew the vampires would be going somewhere else to bed down for the day, but Kendra had promised she'd contact him telepathically when she got back.

So, when he heard Abbott's voice in his head instead of Kendra's, his heart went into his stomach.

Eric?

Yes, are you okay? Is Kendra?

I'm fine, though I won't be coming back to Chattanooga this night. Kendra had made emergency preparations for a daytime resting place outside of Charleston, and she's going to have to make use of them. I understand you and Ranger have plans for tomorrow. Aaron will brief Ranger on safety and security protocols, and they'll be sure you stay safe.

Is Kendra okay? Eric demanded.

She will be. I'm sorry to cut you off short, but I have others to contact, and much to do before dawn takes me. Please stay with Ranger tomorrow. We'll speak again tomorrow night.

Eric slept a few hours, and when he awakened, discovered Isaac had arranged for a large buffet breakfast to be served upstairs off the main bar of The Billiard Club. He was happy to see Gen in the arms of a big, burly, barrel-chested guy in a motorcycle club vest, and he walked to them when Bethany waved him over.

"Eric, this is Duke. Duke, Eric." She looked at Duke and said, "Eric didn't seem to know anyone last night so we invited him to sit with us. He's dating Kendra. One of Abbott's people." She gave Eric a questioning look and asked, "Did she make it back okay?"

Eric shook his head. "No. Abbott let me know she'd made emergency arrangements for a place to stay, and had to make use of them. I couldn't get anything else out of him."

Another guy in a motorcycle vest walked over, this one tall and thin. "Kendra is Abbott's third in command," he told Duke, before looking at Eric. "The Charleston battle went off the original plan, but if Kendra made it to a safe place to bed down for the night, she should be fine." He took a breath, looked as if he were considering his next words carefully, and said, "Rumor has it, someone who's intent on sending a message wanted to draw the message out over days, not over a single night."

Eric looked down, realizing this man was trying to tell him Kendra had Natalia and planned to torture her for days before she killed her.

"You stuck here for the day?" Duke asked. "If so, we're planning a bike ride up to Fall Creek Falls today, got a couple dozen people going. You can follow us in your car, or we have some bikes in the shop we can rent you for the day, if you know how to ride."

Eric smiled in thanks, but shook his head. "Thanks for the offer, but my uncle works for Drake Security, and he'll be here to get me in about an hour. I actually have a BMW S1000RR, though I'm not sure if you'd allow it on the road with ya'll. You just do U.S. made bikes, right?"

"Yeah, for members, but we occasionally give the okay for someone to ride with us on a crotch rocket. Good to know you'll be taken care of today. Will you be back tonight?"

Eric shook his head. "I don't know. Abbott's cryptic message was to tell me my uncle had been briefed and would have instructions."

A few minutes into the conversation, Brain used a phrase that caught Eric's attention, and he asked, "You're in IT?"

Brain hesitated, and Gen said, "Yeah, he is. Why?"

Eric shrugged. "I write computer games."

Ten minutes later Eric and Brain exchanged contact information with each other when the rest of the table complained they had no idea what the two were talking about.

Eric waved goodbye as they left, told them to be safe on their ride, and found an empty corner where he could open his laptop and work until Ranger arrived to pick him up.

He'd lost track of the people around him, and looked up with pleased surprise when his uncle sat at his table. Ranger shook his head told him, "Sometimes it's hard to believe you're related to your father and me. You're in a room full of supernaturals and the people connected to them, and you had no idea of your surroundings."

"This is supposed to be a safe place, right? That's why I'm here?"

Ranger sighed. "Yeah. What do you want to do today? If you have work to do I can set you up somewhere quiet, but I was kind of hoping you could show me some climbing spots. My fingers are itching for a good cliff face, and the weather is beautiful."

Eric saved his work, watched it upload to his cloud server, and closed his laptop. "I don't have any equipment with me, is it safe to run by the yacht and pick it up?"

"I have equipment. The only thing you'll need is shoes, and I have enough cash to stop and buy some on the way."

Getting out in the sunshine, pushing his body to the limit, and the adrenaline rush of being so high, and going even higher, was exactly what Eric needed. His muscles were sore from being forced into the same position for so long during his torture, and his a.s.s, thighs, calves, and upper back were bruised from being beaten... but getting his blood flowing through the muscles, pushing them, taking them to the edge of their endurance, reminded him he was alive and his tormentors were dead, and life was good.

He was debating whether he should feel joy the a.s.sholes were dead, when Ranger asked, "What's bothering you?"

"f.u.c.k, Ranger... that's how you've been able to read me so well all my life? Your sense of smell?"

"Partly. You've been into the climb, your mind focused only on where your hands and feet were going next, but your scent just changed. Something you wanna talk about?"

Ranger adjusted his ropes so he could turn sideways, a single toe in a crevice balancing him, and it made Eric remember Jonathan's description of how Kendra had cut fingers and toes off, and where she'd put them.

Eric adjusted his ropes and harnesses as well, but he had a few inches of a ledge he could put the ball of his foot on. "You know what she did to the people who hurt me. You probably know more than me, because I know you're friends with some of the people in the rescue party."

"You know the highlights. I don't think you want or need to know the gory details."

He both wanted and didn't want to know the details, but for now, he needed to stay on topic. "I'm happy they're dead, and I'm not sure I should feel so smug about the fact I'm alive and they aren't. I mean... of course I'm happy I'm alive, I'm just not sure I should be so full of joy at the loss of life. Especially since they died such horrific deaths."

"I can understand the sadness at the loss of life, but I have to admit I'm happy they're dead, and I'm pleased Kendra killed them in such a grisly, painful, horrific, fashion. No one's gonna hurt you again, and if they do so accidently, they'll go down on their knees and beg forgiveness, and do everything they can to make it right."

"Abbott said you were briefed about safety protocols." He looked around. "How is this safe?"

"It isn't part of your regular routine. No one will know to look for us here. We haven't mentioned it on any electronic means, and we bought the shoes with cash. No one followed us, and I'm in a Drake Security vehicle with no GPS. You have a choice of going back to TBC tonight, or I have camping equipment with me, and I was thinking maybe we'd head to Lost Creek tonight, if you want to stay away from others. Just the two of us in the wilderness."

Eric brushed a hand over his bald head. "I think some of the people at TBC were nice to me because they thought I had cancer or something."

Ranger closed his eyes a second, looked away, and looked back, his eyes dark. "Part of me wishes Kendra had left someone alive, so I could personally kill them. I know it's just hair, and it'll grow back, but it's a reminder you had to go through... s.h.i.t, Eric. I've been in enemy hands - I know what it's like and I never wanted you to have to experience anything like it. I'd gone through training for it, before I was held captive... you were totally unprepared."

Eric turned back towards the rock face, adjusted the ropes, and started climbing again. "That helps a little, actually. Knowing you've been in a similar situation and you're okay now. I feel like part of my core being has been altered, like life can never be the same, and yet here we are, conquering this cliff as if nothing's changed, when it feels as if everything has. I don't know, I guess I didn't realize I had innocence still to lose, and I've found out I did. They could've done worse to me, had Kendra not scheduled the hearing and made it so they weren't supposed to permanently alter me. I'm grateful I only have to deal with bruises and no hair, and yet... it feels as if part of me died, a part of me I can never get back."

"If you need someone to talk to, I have someone to recommend, but so far I think you're dealing with it okay. And, you know you can always talk to me. Life will go on. All of our experiences change us, some more than others. This was a big one."

"Do you know why Kendra didn't come back last night?"

He sighed. "Some. Things went sideways, and all of the people with Abbott got out, but it was touch and go for a while. Kendra's trademark is apparently her joy in ripping people apart. She tore Natalia's arms and legs off, and stuffed one of her arms - hand first - up Natalia's a.s.s, and then stuffed her leg - foot first - up her c.u.n.t. She left with her, and no one knows for sure where she took her, or what she's doing to her, but the consensus is she's likely going to spend a few days torturing the b.i.t.c.h before she finally kills her."

"I haven't heard from her at all, since she left."

"I'm not surprised, Eric. She's likely still in enemy territory, and Mitroff is still at large and in control of the state. Sending out telepathic threads can give away your position, if the right vampire happens to be looking for them. It's a rare skill, but I doubt Kendra will chance it."

"I thought the goal was to take the state from him?"

"It is, and our side won three of the five battles, with the other two probably being close to a draw, but we're far from winning the war."

"We? You make it sound like you're part of the war."

"I didn't fight last night, but only because I was on a plane coming home - officially, so my pa.s.sport was stamped when I returned. It looks like I'll be your a.s.signed bodyguard for the next couple of days, which is fine with me because I've been wanting to spend time with you, anyway. If there's another battle, though, you'll likely be back in a safe place while I'm off fighting."

Chapter Twenty.

Kendra's last acts before going home were to use Natalia's credit card to FedEx a few pieces of her back to Mitroff: one eyeball, an ear, her lips - cut with enough of the skin around them so they still held their shape, sort of - and a good portion of her l.a.b.i.a and c.l.i.t.

So, both sets of lips, more or less.

Natalia had suffered greatly, but Kendra hadn't really had it in her to torture the woman for three nights. She needed Mitroff to think she had, though, so even though she killed the b.i.t.c.h halfway through the second night, Kendra didn't ship the box to Mitroff until near the end of the third night.

She took a taxi far enough out of town she could fly with no one seeing her, and contacted Abbott near the edge of the South Carolina border.

Abbott?

Yes, Kendra. It's good to hear from you. Where are you?

On my way back. There's plenty of cloud cover, and if I'm fast I should be able to get away with landing on the western side of Lookout Mountain. Do you mind if I stay at your house tonight? I need blood fresh from the source. He'd be happy to see her, glad she was safe, and would want the details of what happened. Plus, she needed to feed, and while she was uncomfortable asking, she'd learned to take advantage of the rules when she returned from battle.

Of course. Ted is here tonight, if you'd prefer to feed from a male. Eric is camping with his uncle, so I won't be able to retrieve him for you.

I'll contact him in a minute, let him know I'm okay, and make arrangements to see him tomorrow. I wouldn't expect to feed from him tonight, even if he was close. How is he holding up?

Ranger is checking in with Aaron, who tells me Eric is processing his feelings, and the two are doing well together. They've been mountain climbing, kayaking, hiking, and zip-lining, which apparently involves riding a cable down a mountain as you hold onto something around the cable.

Okay, I'll see you within the hour. Thanks, Abbott.

Anytime.

Kendra took note of her position and direction, made a slight adjustment, and reached out to Eric.

Eric?

Kendra? Are you okay? His mental voice was sleepy, and she wished she could be there, in person to hold him, smell him, hear the sound of his voice. G.o.d, she missed him.

Yes. I'm on my way to Abbott's, and will bed down there for the day. Abbott tells me you're with Ranger and have been in the woods having adventures. How are you holding up?

I was worried about you.

I'm sorry. Natalia will never bother you again.

Am I supposed to thank you for torturing and killing her?

Kendra took a second to consider the tone of his telepathic words, and taste the flavor of his mood before answering.