Never Forsaken (The Kurtherian Gambit Book 5) Read online

  “You are going stir crazy.”

  “What is this? You mean my crazy is getting stirred up?”

  Bethany Anne cocked a head, “Not exactly, it means you are cooped up too long. You need to get out. If you were back in Romania, it would mean you had been too long in your house and need to go to the mountains for a little while.”

  Ecaterina slowly nodded her head. “Yes, this is what I would do.”

  Bethany Anne thought about the woman who had tended bar and went out to hunt, trap and live on the mountain. She was a free spirit and the people on the ships probably needed a little R&R themselves. “Tell you what; we need a little down time from the ops. You aren’t the only one who is probably feeling the need to stretch their legs. Let’s figure out where we can anchor that has a good beach and is hopefully secluded. We will tie both ships up and have a day or two of fun. Make sure we have a guard about, but we all need to stretch our legs. Good idea. Also, if you want to move to operations, you are going to have to train harder, be better and generally get your ass back in gear. I haven’t thought about you for ops because you don’t train like you want to be on ops. Got it?”

  Ecaterina shook her head, “I understand, yes. Just do, don’t whine.” She opened her laptop back up and started jotting tasks she would need to get organized so she and others could enjoy some time off of the ships. It was one of the most beautiful and expensive prisons in the world if you loved to be on the land as much as she did.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Miami, FL - USA

  Nathan and Pete waited with Frank by one of William’s armor-protected SUV’s. Fortunately, there was a set of keys easily available as William had left that morning on a three-day stay-cation. He had met a woman at one of the clubs over the holidays and wined and dined her. Now, they were going to go clubbing and prouncing around town for the next couple of days.

  Three men waited for the Gulfstream to land and taxi over to them. Frank wanted to get the flavor of the new recruits, he said. Nathan assumed he just wanted to add another chapter to his book in process.

  Lt. Cmdr Paul Jameson was bringing the plane in for a slow stop in front of the men. Nathan could see Paul wink over at Frank and wondered what that was about. Anyway, the door to the plane started opening and the steps descended to the tarmac. Next to him, Pete stood at casual attention, his time with John’s group was now ingrained in his posture and he was damn near a poster boy for Bethany Anne’s guards. He wore his uniform, with his patch on his shoulder. Nathan smiled as he remembered Pete’s conversation with the asshat back in New York. Pete had pointed to the same patch and informed the trouble-maker he wasn’t getting in the group since Pete had a vote and just voted him off the island, so to speak.

  According to Ecaterina, there were five in this plane. A few others who had wanted to join decided to wait until this first group went through the paces and word got back to the pack and was disseminated on what they could expect.

  On board the aircraft, Tim “Rocky” Kinley was grabbing his duffle. All of the group on the plane had been told to bring the minimum as anything not allowed would be summarily dumped overboard. While he wasn’t too keen on having his stuff thrown away, he figured it would be a small price to pay to get the hell out from under the pack council’s laws. He had a temper. He wasn’t one to just randomly hurt people, but he had trouble controlling his temper. With him being as large as he was, randomly punching people who pissed him off for fairly innocuous problems had caused a black cloud above his head. He had issues ever since he was fourteen and went through an impressive growth spurt. Now, at six foot two and 220 lbs, there were few people he really respected in life.

  The other four in the group didn’t fit into the pack life for their own reasons and so far, no one had asked ‘why’ they wanted out. It was understood that all of them would meet the vampire before too long. While Tim hadn’t met her back in New York, he was too far away to join that group; he had been at the meet-up in New York with Gerry and Nathan. Tim wasn’t a screw off, he worked hard and maybe he wasn’t a super smart guy, but he wasn’t a meat head either. He needed to be able to fit in with a group and the only way to accomplish this, he felt, was joining a group of people so badass they would be able to put him in his place if he got out of control.

  This vampire, by all accounts, would be able to make this happen. Now, whether any of the humans could was another matter. Hopefully, his anger wouldn’t get him in trouble like it had in the past. May God forgive him if it did.

  The co-pilot on the plane had unbuckled and started opening the door for the guys. When the door was completely open, the man stepped back and Tim stepped down the steps and looked to see Nathan Lowell, the Queen Bitch Guard Pete Silvers and a middle-aged man with a grin and a notebook in his hand waiting for them. There was a black SUV behind them.

  Nathan Lowell was one man Tim’s emotions stayed in check around. He hadn’t personally dealt with Nathan himself, but enough of the Wechselbalg community told stories that even his aggressive personality was careful around him. He had watched Pete calmly shoot Terry in the kneecap from a distance and then toss him out on his ass at the meeting. He respected Pete’s accomplishment, but Terry was just a fucking whiner. His inner wolf wasn’t satisfied yet with Pete’s martial abilities. The older man was a human. That he was in on this meant he must be either a helper, maybe a librarian, or someone up the chain. Either way, he wasn’t a physical threat and he was dismissed.

  The four other guys followed him out. Every one of them had alpha issues and couldn’t adjust to being within the pack as it was, but none of them decided to push Tim around. Enough stories had circulated that Tim was a hot-head. He didn’t look for trouble, but sure as hell didn’t back down from it, either. If they wanted a fight, a sneeze in the wrong direction could grant them an audience immediately. No one figured fighting on the Queen Bitch’s personal plane was a good way to introduce themselves.

  Each had their own duffle, provided at the New York La Guardia airport terminal. It was black with a blue patch, similar to the Queen Bitch’s Guard, but instead of hair, the vampire skull had ears like wolves. As a symbol, it wasn’t very subtle, maybe that was the point?

  They lined up in a rough line in front of Nathan who had just stood there and shook his head to each as they arrived. He was wearing a green long sleeve shirt and hadn’t shaved in a couple of days. His grey-blue eyes just watching them appearing both at ease and yet ready to pounce if necessary. Pete next to him just looked at ease.

  Behind them, the plane’s engines cycled back up and it started to taxi away, moving a short distance.

  Nathan waited for the noise to settle down. “Gentleman, and I use that term very loosely because if ‘gentle’ is anywhere in your personality, I suggest you request a flight back to New York right now.” Everyone enjoyed a small chuckle , there were rarely truly gentle Wechselbalg.

  Nathan continued, “I’m here to officially pass you over from Pack to Bethany Anne’s group. Right now, the aircraft is refueling. When you get back on that plane, you have officially renounced the pack bonds you enjoy at this time.”

  Nathan smiled a little, “Well, maybe ‘enjoy’ is not the right word to use right now, but you were under their protection such as it was. When you step on Bethany Anne’s plane one more time, you are officially under her protection and her control. Don’t mistake that last part. If any of Bethany Anne’s group makes a decision to toss your ass out, it will be tossed out. Until you make the team, there is no reason for Bethany Anne to believe your word over someone she has taken into the dark and come through the other side, usually by killing the problems between point A and B. Don’t make the mistake of judging any of her team as anything less than professionals who have been through the dark and made it to the other side. They have probably seen and killed beings that will turn you human.” There were laughs with that comment.

  Nathan finished, “Welcome to the team, I hope to see all of you at the end of your
training.” With that he stepped back and Pete stepped up.

  Pete looked all of them in the eyes, making sure he had their attention. “I doubt anyone of you will be turned human, God forbid.” He got another small chuckle, “But I will tell you that you had better leave your ‘B’ game here in Miami. When you get on that plane, Bethany Anne will own your ass. Since I am in charge of this group through the training, I will own your ass. Everyone know what this patch means?” Pete pointed to the patch on his left arm. He got nods from everyone, “Good, then you know I won’t hesitate to throw your asses on to the nearest helicopter, plane or rowboat if necessary if you embarrass this group. I don’t care if you make a mistake, we all do. But you had better be running full steam when you make that mistake, do you understand?” He got five nods. “I’ll get your names on the plane; I see it coming back over here. Grab your duffle’s and let’s make history.”

  Tim was impressed; maybe this Pete was at least someone to get to know, hopefully before Tim did something stupid.

  Anton’s residence, Buenos Aires Argentina

  Anton grabbed one of his throw away phones, looked back at the computer screen which was on a well used social board for hookups and dialed the number that started in the girl’s measurements. Not a valid number, that was for sure. The female would have to have a forklift to carry those around if they were real.

  The phone rang twice before it was picked up, “George is a dick…”

  Anton replied, “Costanza was, but must you always be so crass?” Anton wasn’t fond of the TV show, but he could appreciate the acting to some degree. The pass phrase complete, he got down to business. “Have you figured out where the team is that ruined San Jose for me?”

  The man, an operative for the American government, who had been in South America too long. The agent succumbed to the temptation that money was more important than his honor, his allegiance to his country replied to the question. “Not exactly. We know it was a Black Hawk that came in from the east. The pilot was good, he stayed as close to the floor as he could most of the way. Our first positive blip was within ten miles of the coast, so either they came in from a shore base or off a ship. My vote is from a ship, it’s a cleaner solution than a base on land. However, I don’t have any information about any US assets in that area.”

  “Trust me, it isn’t a US ship. There isn’t anything the US has which could have handled the fight as it went down.” Anton heard a gruff grump on the phone. Anton decided to placate the American agent, “Stop beating your American chest; I’m not saying you don’t have deadly people, but until you meet and beat a Nosferatu, you’re nothing but a virgin. If you weren’t a virgin, you would be dead. I want more intelligence, I need to know more about their operations group. Get some people who can deal with this. Earn your keep and your retirement only gets closer, fail me and your retirement becomes irrelevant. Make this happen, understand?”

  The operative agreed and they hung up. Anton went through the process of destroying the phone, thinking about where this Bethany Anne could be, and what she could have with her. That she was flying in a military helicopter suggested she had military contacts already. This was a disturbing precedent. Maybe he needed to go back to his research group and see about pushing through the latest two serum trials.

  He stood up from behind his desk and grabbed his coat. It was a balmy 75 outside, but he used the special lining as protection from the sun. Always be prepared, it helped him stay alive for centuries.

  When he finally took over the world, he would slap those little boy-scout bastards who used his phrase and make them pay tribute.

  Miami, Fl - USA

  Lance read the number on his cell phone. He was sitting on a couch in Bethany Anne’s home in Key Biscayne. Frank was on the other couch. He clicked the accept button.

  “Hey Bethany Anne, what do you have for me this time daughter dear?”

  Bethany Anne snorted on the other side of the line, “Can’t I just be a concerned daughter looking out for her dear loving dad?”

  It was Lance’s turn to snort.

  He could hear her grin coming over the line, “Ok, you got me there. I wanted to call you about Patricia.”

  “Oh? Really! That’s interesting as I don’t recall us talking about Patricia such that you might need to talk with me about her.” Lance looked over at Frank, who studiously ignored the byplay on the phone and kept writing in that strange language into his notebook. Great, now this was going to be part of the story.

  Bethany Anne ignored his effort to put off the conversation. “Can it, dad. Get your dander up another time. How well do you know Patricia, really know her?”

  Lance considered the question. They weren’t playing for a small local win here, but for all the worldwide marbles. His daughter had a point, dammit!

  He said, “Well, not well enough to have a shotgun wedding, but well enough to know she would have my back in a pinch.”

  “Dad, this is going to be considerably more than a pinch. Every one of my ex-military people has sworn their honor to what we are accomplishing. You will be forced to have this same talk with Patricia and if she doesn’t join in, I’m going to have to remove this information. Are you willing to make sure this happens, dad? Because I’m not going to risk every one of my crew’s future because you have a good friend who can make your life easier.”

  “No need for theatrics Bethany Anne, I get your point. I’m comfortable she is the right person and I do need her for more than just making my life easier. However, I think she needs to have a chat with you to finish this out before she gets pulled in. Can you catch a flight up here when she arrives to have a chat? I need her inside as quick as possible.”

  “Probably, just call me or Ecaterina when you have had your discussion. Who knows, I might be in the area.”

  Lance wasn’t sure what she meant by that comment. He wasn’t aware that she was planning on coming up to Miami from the Polarus. He would have to ask Frank about that; or maybe Nathan later.

  “Alright, she arrives in a couple of days. I’ll let you know when it should happen…. pretty soon I think.” He told her good-bye and hung up.

  He knew Bethany Anne wouldn’t hurt Patricia, but he did have to consider that Patricia might not see Lance as the same man she respected for his effort to protect his nation when she worked for him. If Patricia disapproved of what he was working on now with Bethany Anne, that might hurt more than he had thought.

  He wasn’t sure how bad it would hurt Patricia if Bethany Anne did have to erase some of her memory. Unfortunately, whatever Patricia would say to Lance before that happened would stay with him the rest of his, now longer, life.

  CHAPTER THREE

  The Queen Bitch’s Ship Polarus

  Gabrielle was walking down the hallway to Bethany Anne’s room. She had just left Darryl and Scott moaning and groaning on the practice mats after throwing them around. Darryl had asked if something was bothering her when she got more and more aggressive during the session.

  Gathering her thoughts, she was ashamed to realize that she had in fact allowed worry to invade her emotions while working with her team. Nothing too bad, but it needed to be addressed and there was only one person who was even remotely able to understand Gabrielle’s unique position.

  She was a vampire who could have children.

  She told the guys to slap some duct tape on their boo boo’s and swallow some Ben-Gay; they were being a couple of babies. Scott had just lain on the mat and slowly raised one arm and then gave her the middle tent pole answer to that statement. She laughed it off and tossed them each a towel. She had worked out with John and Eric earlier. They were as ready for a show down with the Were group as she could make them.

  She nodded to John as she came into Bethany Anne’s quarters. Eric was walking around up top and Killian, she knew, was up in a sniper position. She hadn’t seen Dan yet today.

  She knocked on Bethany Anne’s door and it opened a couple of seconds later. Ecaterina
stood aside to let Gabrielle in as she walked out and then proceeded to leave the room herself. Ecaterina called over her shoulder, “Sorry, got to run and get ready for a party!” Gabrielle stopped to look at the smiling Romanian. She realized she hadn’t really seen the woman smile in a couple of weeks. Party?

  Gabrielle shook her head and closed the door. Bethany Anne was sitting on her bed, her legs crossed and just raised an eyebrow in her direction. Her direct and often simple modes of communication was one of the traits Gabrielle liked about this woman.

  Gabrielle was quick to get to the point, “I need to talk something out, and you are the only option here.”

  Bethany Anne thought about that for a split second, jumping into vamp-speed to take apart the comment. Well, she was the only female vampire and the ultimate boss. Typically, Gabrielle could talk to Dan for anything her Bitch’s needed, so probably female vampire need. Gabrielle looked a little distressed, which was not very normal for the older, much older, woman. Bethany Anne sighed, “Children?”