Duncan (14 page)

“Good.” Sid grinned as the nurse passed again. “Hey Sloan, we got health insurance through the Council right?”

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Sloan looked up from his phone with a growl.

“I think I need to get my blood pressure checked.” Sid wagged his eyebrows as he took off after the nurse, tossing his empty potato chip bag in the trash.

“I think I hate him,” Sloan sneered. “I really do.”

“Ah, he grows on ya.” Jared shook his head laughing at Sid.

“Okay, now that the scare is over with we need to plan a baby shower.” Nicole whipped out her phone.

All the Warriors threw up their hands in horror, even Sloan, different mutterings of protest coming from each of them.

“What?” Nicole stared at them.

“Me and Nicole can’t do this on our own on such short notice. The baby is coming soon. That doesn’t give us much time.” Tessa flipped her hands in the air. “Come on, guys.”

“Babe, we kill shit.” Jared talked to her on a serious level. “We don’t do baby showers. Nowhere in the Warrior’s oath does it say we do baby showers.”

“Oh, and it says you kill shit?” Tessa gave him a disbelieving snort.

“As a matter a fact, it does.” Jared tossed back at her.

“I’d like to see that oath.” Tessa’s glare was suspicious.

“Only Warriors can lay eyes on the oath.” Jared smiled knowing he had her.

“Uh, actually I’ve seen the oath and it doesn’t say that.” Jill stepped next to Tessa and Nicole. “Count me in girls. We don’t need their help. We got this. They’d just get in the way.”

Tessa elbowed Jared in the stomach when she walked by him, she and Nicole already making plans.

“You’ll pay for that in training,” Jared warned Jill with an evil glare.

She just shrugged her shoulders with a grin. “Sorry.”

Jared snorted at her as she followed Tessa and Nicole. Glancing around at Damon, Duncan and Sloan, he threw his hands in the air. “Thanks for jumping in and helping out guys.” Jared growled.

“Hey, you were doing fine,” Sloan replied, leaning against the wall.

“Yeah, until you crashed and burned,” Damon added with a rare grin. “Didn’t really want to go down with you.”

“Yeah, and I’ll remember that, pal.” Jared walked away, but realized he was heading toward the planning women. With a quick turn, he headed back past the Warriors who were all laughing at him. “Fuck you, guys.”

Duncan was paying half attention to what was going on. His focus was on what was going on in the room behind him. He tried to get a read on Slade, but he was closed off tight. He wouldn’t try to read Pam, didn’t even know if he could. He had tried to get into the nurse’s head, but all her thoughts were about how she was going to get the new doctor into her bed and he so wasn’t going there.

“How you holding up?” Sloan walked over.

“I’ll let you know after the doc comes out.” Duncan replied glancing at the door with a frown.

“He’s the best, Duncan,” Sloan reassured him. “I wouldn’t have brought him in if I didn’t believe that.”

“So is he a doctor or a Warrior?” Damon asked, hearing their conversation.

“He’s both, but he’s a Warrior first. I’ve known him for a long time. He will be an asset to the team.” Sloan patted Duncan on the back. “She is in the best hands.”

The door opened as Slade and the nurse came out. He gave her instructions before turning toward Duncan. “I need to talk to you alone.”

“Is she okay?” Duncan didn’t budge from his stance by the door.

“She’s getting dressed.” Slade looked around. “Come on.”

Duncan followed him to a private room that wasn’t being occupied. “You didn’t answer my question.”

Slade frowned as he closed the door. “Okay, I need to get this out of the way first. I hope to God you find the bastard who did this to her, and even though my priority is to save lives, there are some lives not worth saving. Kill the bastard or I will.”

“No worries there. He’s a walking dead man.” Duncan tried to remain calm, waiting to hear something he was sure he didn’t want to hear.

Slade took a second to compose himself, his black eyes going to gold in a flash. “She has been used, hard.” Slade growled knowing he didn’t have to explain what he meant. “She has a lot of damage that is not repairable. This birth, if natural, is going to be hard on her.”

Duncan looked away his face a mask of stone. “Does she know?”

“Yes.” Slade replied. “I told her everything. She asked me to tell you; she wanted you to know. She said that you two haven’t been intimate yet, but I advise you to go very slow with her.”

“Not a problem.” Duncan was having a hard time talking, his words coming between clenched teeth. His rage so raw, he was about to explode.

“Have you thought about the possibility she may never be able to be intimate with a man, with you?” Slade’s eyes were clouded with sympathy.

“Yes, I have,” Duncan replied. “And it doesn’t matter to me.”

“But it matters to her.”

“What the hell do you mean by that?” Duncan’s eyes finally shot to Slade’s.

“She’s very concerned that she can never be the woman you need,” Slade said point blank.

“What the fuck did you say to her?” Duncan growled plowing Slade into the wall.

“I didn’t say anything to her. I told her how much damage had been done.” Slade understood Duncan’s rage and didn’t push back. “She was the one asking the questions. She is more concerned about you and the baby than she is about herself. I am just giving you fair warning about where her mind is.”

“Fuck!” Relaxing his hold, Duncan cursed again as he let him go. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be. I would be slamming people if that was my woman,” Slade replied. “Just go slow with her. Keep her as calm as possible. I honestly cannot pinpoint a due date with her, but I can tell you it’s going to be very soon. She is already dilated, but it’s different with different women.”

Duncan didn’t even act like he knew what he was talking about. He didn’t care about other women. All he cared about was Pam and that she stayed safe. Duncan stepped away. “Thank you.”

Slade slapped him on the back. “Come on. She should be dressed by now.”

Duncan walked out of the room and headed to the room where she was. Hearing her voice, he looked down the hall and saw her sitting in the waiting room with Tessa and Nicole. The Warriors surrounded the women as they sat and talked. Pam smiled at something Nicole said, her eyes lifting to meet his. Her smile started to fade as her eyes went from him to Slade and then back to him again. Duncan gave her a grin with a wink, letting her know that he wasn’t running; he was here and wasn’t going anywhere.

Chapter 15

A tall, older man in a physician’s jacket met the large group as they made their way to the emergency room exit. “Dr. Buchanan?”

Slade stepped up. “Yes.”

The man stuck out his hand. “I’m Dr. Krebs, chief physician here at the University and would like to welcome you.”

“Thank you, sir.” Slade shook the man’s hand. “I apologize I haven’t introduced myself, but we had a bit of an emergency. I appreciate you and your staff setting things up for me.”

“Glad we could help,” he replied. “I do want to inform you that the hospital is surrounded by reporters who seem very interested in your patient. They are not allowed inside the hospital, but they have the area covered.”

“Where’s our decoy?” Jared looked around for Jill.

Jill stepped forward. “I didn’t bring a pillow,” she grinned. 

Dr. Krebs smiled. “I think we can help you with that.” He walked to the nurses’ station giving a few orders before he walked back. “You can bring a car where the ambulances unload.”

Slade smiled. “Thank you.”

“No problem at all.” Dr. Krebs smiled shaking hands with the rest of the Warriors who thanked him. “Dr. Buchanan, I’m looking forward to working with you.”

Nodding, Slade watched the older doctor walk away. A nurse came up with a pillow and coat. Jill walked up and took them.

“Be right back.” Jill took off to a restroom.

Sid walked up. “What’s going on?” he asked, combing his messy hair with his fingers.

“Reporters. Decoy time.” Jared answered. “Go get the car and pick up the doc, Duncan and Jill.”

“I’m not leaving Pam.” Duncan’s tone indicated to everyone that he was not leaving her side.

“Okay, I’ll go with them.” Jared nodded at Sid to go.

“Ready.” Jill walked out with her instant pregnant belly and large coat. “I need a hat.”

The nurse who brought the other stuff looked around the nurses’ station and came back with a baseball hat. “Here.” She handed Jill the hat. 

Jill put it on her head and smiled. “Thanks.”

“I’ll let you know when the car pulls up.” She grabbed a wheelchair. “Those reporters know the ropes at the hospital. If you walk out of here, they might figure it out. All pregnant patients brought in, leave in a wheelchair.”

Jill sat in the wheelchair pulling the cap lower. Glancing up, she caught Slade staring at her. “Do I look like Pam?” she asked.

“No.” His reply was short and to the point.

Jill frowned at him as the nurse walked up.

“Okay, there’s the car. We have an ambulance that just pulled in, so please try to stay out of the way of the paramedics.” The nurse warned them.

“Okay, let’s do this.” Jared got behind to push Jill.

Slumping down Jill lowered her head. Just as she started to look up, a sweet smell hit her nose. In an instant, her fangs grew, her mouth flowing with saliva. Passing her on a gurney was a man who was bleeding profusely. A growl erupted from her throat that sounded animal like. Her golden eye turned black as midnight.

“Jill?” Jared leaned down to whisper. “What’s…?”

She heard nothing but the heartbeat of the man bleeding as it pumped his lifeblood out his wound. Nothing mattered to her at that moment except to taste the sweet blood. In an instant, she was out of the wheelchair.

“Son of a bitch!” Jared reached for her, but missed.

It took Slade a second to realize that Jill was under an attack of bloodlust. Grabbing her before she could reach the man on the gurney, he held her against him as he rushed through a throng of reporters shouting questions. Jill fought him with everything she had, but he was too strong for her. He could feel Jared at his back pushing reporters back. Sid had jumped out, and was ready with the door open. Slade fell in the back of the car with Jill underneath him.

“Jill!” He tried to get through to her, but he knew she was too far gone. Holding her down with his hand on her chest, he sat up trying to get his jacket off with one hand.

“What the fuck happened?” Jared slammed the door as Sid took off.

“Bloodlust.” Slade’s eyes didn’t leave Jill’s vacant ones. “Help me get my jacket off.”

“They’re following.” Sid kept his eyes peeled to the road and rearview mirror. “Where do you want me to go?”

“Just drive around until we get word they have Pam back at the compound.” Jared informed him while he tried to help Slade.

“Hasn’t she been feeding?” Slade demanded.

“I don’t know,” Jared replied. “I mean, I thought she was feeding with the others.”

“Well, I think it’s safe to say you thought wrong,” Slade mumbled looking down at Jill who had started to calm down, her eyes focused on his. “You back with us?”

She nodded, her frightened eyes open wide. “What happened?” Her voice was raspy and rough.

“Have you been feeding?” Slade asked her, easing the pressure slightly on her chest.

Her eyes shifted away from his. “They don’t like me,” she whispered.

“What? Who doesn’t like you?” Slade asked, confused.

“Never mind,” she replied, not realizing she had actually spoken her thoughts out loud. “I’m fine. Please let me go.”

“You’re not fine,” Slade growled down at her. “You’re starving and could have killed an innocent because you decided not to be responsible and feed.”

With surprising strength, Jill knocked his hand away from her chest and sat up. “I said
I’m fine
.”

“And I said
you’re not
.” Slade reached for her, but before anyone in the car knew what was happening, Jill opened the car door, jumped out rolling to her feet taking off. “What the hell!” Slade sat stunned for a second before he was out the door after her.

Sid and Jared looked at each other shocked. “Did that just fucking happen?” Jared turned, staring at the empty backseat. “Yep, it fucking happened.”

“Guess the cat’s out of the bag, or should we say the vamp’s out of the car.” Sid shook his head in disbelief. “You better call and let the others know. I’ll turn around.”

Jill ran hard and fast zipping down side streets and back alleys. She didn’t know or care where she was going. Horror at what she had almost done spurred her even faster. She had almost killed an innocent. She would be kicked out of the Warrior program for sure, and what would happen to her then? Her family wanted nothing to do with her. She would be alone, and that terrified her more than anything.

Turning down another alleyway, Jill skidded to a stop. “Crap,” Jill whispered. Looked like she picked the wrong alley.

Ten men stood in a circle, engrossed in something until Jill’s shoes slid on the gritty concrete. “Hey!” One shouted as the others looked up locking eyes on her.

“Sorry, wrong alley.” Jill took a step backwards until she saw a woman kneeling in the middle of the group of men. Glancing back up at the men, she noticed they were a mix of humans and vampires.

The man who spoke was vampire, his golden eyes glowing in the darkness. “You got that right, little girl.” He nodded to one of the men who grabbed the woman dragging her toward a car. The woman tried to fight, but the man tossed her around like a rag doll.

The woman’s eyes met Jill’s briefly; she was human. Jill’s attention went back to the other men who started moving toward her as a group, the one who spoke in front.

“Holy shit. Luck is with us tonight, boys. We got us a half-breed.” The man laughed clapping his hands together. “And I thought it was going to be a light night. We are going to make bank.”

Jill kept quiet, thinking of her options, which were few. She noticed that three of the human men had stopped and were edging away from the vampires who pressed forward. Okay, that left five full-blooded vampires; the other full-blood was busy with the woman. Was she ready for this? Probably not, but she wasn’t going down without a fight.