Sid (The Protectors Series) Book #4 (20 page)

Sid took one
-step, invading her space. “You are mine, Lana.” Sid’s eyes were black with possessiveness. “I have never said that to anyone in my long life, but you are mine. I don’t share with anyone, and I will hunt that motherfucker down if he calls you again.”

Lana’s stomach was doing all kind of weird flips and flops
; her knees felt weak, and all she wanted to do was hold on to this man and never let go. So much for clashing. It was like his alpha side was singing her favorite song, pulling her in and that totally shocked her. But she also had a little alpha in her and she had to make one thing clear; then she could feel that their relationship could go further. “I don’t share either, Sid,” she responded, taking her one-step toward him. “So make sure you really mean what you’re saying. I know how much you love the ladies, and—”

He grabbed her up in his strong arms and kissed her hard, his tongue pushing deep into her mouth. It was a kiss she had only read about in romance novels. Her
toes actually curled as he bent her backwards. Finally, he lifted his mouth from hers, staring into her eyes. “I haven’t looked at another woman since I met you. And that surprises me more than anyone else,” he growled as he nipped her lower lip. “You are mine, Lana Fitzpatrick.”

She knew she had a decision to make. No words of love were spoken, but what did she expect
? Did she want to be his just until it lasted? Could she guard her heart enough to just have some fun until his eyes moved on to someone else? She knew the answer to those questions before she even asked herself. She wanted this. She needed it. She could handle it. Wrapping her arms tightly around his neck, Lana breathed deeply and then jumped in with both feet. “I’m yours, Sid Sinclair.”

They walked into the kitchen
hand in hand, and all went silent. Forks stopped in mid-lift. All eyes fell on her and she wanted to step behind Sid; she knew she was a screamer and now everyone in the compound knew it too.

Pulling Sid down, she whispered in his ear. “Are the rooms here sound
-proof?”

“No, the
y’re not.” Sid winked at her. “Don’t pay any attention to them. They’re just jealous, and if one of them says a word, I’ll kill them.”

Surprised at how serious he sounded
, she let him pull her toward the food. “Did you make all of this?”

“Yes, so eat up.” Sid handed her a plate. “I don’t like to see food I’ve made wasted.”

Lana wasn’t afraid of food. She loved food. It didn’t matter that she couldn’t cook, but she sure as hell could eat. Filling her plate with eggs, bacon, sausage, hash browns and a biscuit, she glanced at the table where the other Warriors were eating. Deciding not to go there, she placed her plate on the counter and started to dig in.

“I’m done.” Slade stood
and took his plate to the sink. “Take my seat.”

Not wanting to seem rude
, Lana picked up her plate and headed to the only available seat, between Damon and Duncan and across from Jared, who sat next to Jill and Steve. Noticing once again that everyone had stopped eating and was staring at her plate, Lana smiled. They were about to be amazed.

“No way you can eat all that
,” Jill eyed her plate.

“Oh, I can and will eat all of this
,” Lana nodded with confidence. “There isn’t an overflowing plate I haven’t been able to demolish yet.”

“How do you stay in shape eating like that?” Jill look
ed at her then her plate again.

The room grew silent as they all looked at her
. Lana met Jared’s gaze and she knew for a fact he had heard her last night and was dying, absolutely dying, to say something. Not to sound too much like a bitch, but if things were okay between her and Sid, she really didn’t care what others thought.

“
A lot of hard and sweaty exercise that makes you scream.” She peeked at Jared who choked on the drink of coffee he’d just sipped from his cup.

“Well
, you must have been doing some extra-hard exercises last night.” Steve stood with his plate. “Cause I heard a lot of screaming.”

The room exploded with laughter
. Lana’s face turned red, but she smiled, looking down at her food.

“What?” Steve looked around at everyone. “What did I say?”

Jill and Lana glanced at each other as the Warriors got up from the table. Steve followed, asking what was so funny. Jill just shook her head with a large smile, but her smile faded as she made eye contact with Slade, who turned and walked out of the kitchen.

“Have you ever been to Metropolis?” Jill asked
, pushing her plate away.

Lana nodded. “Me and my sister have been a couple of times.”

“What do you wear to this place?” Jill looked uncomfortable asking.

Without being too obvious
, Lana looked Jill over. She wore sweats and a t-shirt. “Want to go shopping?”

“Not really
,” Jill grimaced. “But I guess I don’t have a choice since I don’t have many clothes.”

“It
will be fun,” Lana assured her. It would be nice to go out with another woman. She hadn’t done that in so long, and it was one thing she missed doing with her sister. “We can go get your hair and makeup done. You’ll feel like a new woman.”

“I don’t know about all that, but I’d appreciate the help.” Jill
actually looked like she was in pain when the word ‘makeup’ was mentioned.

“You want to catch the doctor’s eye
, don’t you?” Lana grinned, exposing the secret she knew Jill held.

“No.” Was the only response Jill could come up with.

“Liar.” Lana took the last few bites of food, lifted the corner of her empty plate for Jill to see and then stood. “Let me tell Sid we’ll meet them here later, and then we’ll go.”

Chapter 20

Sid dropped Lana and Jill off at the warehouse where Lana’s car was
parked. As soon as they were safely in the car and driving away, he grabbed his cell phone.

He dialed the number then waited. “Hey man
, I got a favor to ask you. Can you meet me at University Hospital? Yeah, on my way there now. I’ll meet you out front.”

Tossing his phone in the passenger
’s seat, Sid pulled out of the driveway heading toward the hospital. Thoughts of last night and Lana filled his drive time. She was so different from the women he went after, or actually came after him. She was a mix for sure. She was a hard ass with a huge heart who made him laugh and definitely turned him on. Just thinking of last night had him hard. She didn’t play games. She went for what she wanted in an honest way, and he was more than happy to give it to her however and whenever she wanted.

“Jesus.” He was getting himself all worked up just thinking about it.

Pulling into a parking place, he got out and headed to the front where Slade stood waiting for him.

“What’s up?” Slade asked
, looking more like a biker in a motorcycle gang with his leather jacket than a doctor saving lives.

“I wanted to see if you could check over Lana’s sister.” Sid went into detail
about what he knew. “She has been unreachable for a month. The last time I was here, I tried to read her and got very little.”

“I would love to, but I don’t know much about this sort of thing
, and I can’t do anything without release from her doctors.”

“I got a hold of her father who is meeting us here.” Sid led the way with Slade following. “Her grandmother is also coming. She has the same gift as Lana and her sister Caroline.”

Miles was waiting when the elevator doors opened. “Good to see you again, Sid.” Miles shook his hand and then looked up at Slade.

“How you doing
, Miles?” Sid nodded. “This is Dr. Slade Buchanan. I really appreciate you coming.”

“Always happy to come see my little girl.” Miles shook Slade’s hand
and then laughed. “I’m sorry, son, but you don’t look like any doctor I’ve ever seen.”

Slade smiled
, not taking offense. “I get that a lot.”

“I bet you do.” Miles stopped them at the door of Caroline’s room. “What is this all about?”

“I want to see if Slade can help Caroline.” Sid glanced in, seeing an older woman sitting in a chair holding Caroline’s hand.

“Son, we have some of the best doctors taking care of her.”
Miles frowned.

“I understand that, but none of them are as good as Slade or
have the power of getting into a person’s mind. I will go through every VC Warrior we have to see if any of us can reach her. I already tried last night. I saw flashes, but not enough to reach her.” Sid replied, deliberately leaving out the possibility of feeling her move.

Miles bit his lip
, nodding. “I appreciate that very much.” Miles cleared the emotion from his throat. “Where is Lana?”

“She already has so much guilt about this.
I didn’t want to get her hopes up until I was sure one of us might be able to help.” Sid put his hand on Miles’s shoulder. “I think it’s worth a shot.”

“Anything that can bring my girl back is worth a shot.” Miles moved out of the way
, leading them toward Caroline.

“I need a release from her current doctor before I can do anything
,” Slade informed them both.

“She has three doctors. Do you need all three?” Miles already had his phone out ready to dial.

“Just the main physician is enough. The one calling all the shots.” Slade, already making assessments, stepped to the end of the bed Caroline was propped up in.

“This is my mother, Georgia Fitzpatrick
,” Miles introduced. “This is Sid Sinclair and Dr. Buchanan.”

The old woman stood
. Her face was wrinkled, but her eyes were bright with intelligence from years of living. She looked both men up and down with her wise gaze.

“You think you can help my granddaughter?” Her voice was strong.

“We are going to try, ma’am,” Sid smiled down at the woman.

“So you’re friends with Lana?” She asked
; her eyes sparkled at Sid.

“We work together.” Sid glanced over to see Miles still on the phone.

“That’s not what I asked, young man.” She snatched his attention back by grasping his arm in a strong grip. “Are you friends with my granddaughter?”

“Yes, I am
,” he grinned, liking her spunk.

“Make sure you take care of her. Something wicked i
s at work here.” Her eyes then went to Caroline. “And it’s stronger than me and my granddaughters put together.”

Sid took her arm
, walking her a few steps away from the bed. “Is it possible for you to get physically harmed through a vision?”

“It’s very rare, but yes
,” she replied, a frown marring her wrinkled face. “Has something happened to Lana?”

“After a reading
, she had marks on her neck and her necklace was broken.” Sid divulged small fragments of the facts.

“You can’t let her read anyone else.” She shook her head. “If she does, she could be lost like her sister. Please don’t let her.”
Fear for her granddaughter lit her eyes.

“I promise to keep her safe
,” he assured the worried woman as much as he assured himself. The fear in the old woman’s eyes sent his protective instincts into high gear. Nothing was going to happen to Lana; he would make damn sure of it.

Miles walked over
, pocketing his phone. “It’s done,” he nodded to Slade. “The nurse will be bringing in all of her files.”

Slade walked around to the side of the bed
, moving the chair out of his way. They all moved closer, but far enough away to stay out Slade’s space. Slade reached up, and grabbed the wall-mounted otoscope to use the small light on the end.

“Caroline, I’m Dr. Buchanan
,” Slade’s deep voice soothed a warning to the woman on the bed. “I’m going to look into your eyes.”

Sid watched as Slade examined Lana’s sister. The last thing he did was grab her small wrist in his large hand
, standing still as his eyes stayed on hers. After a while, he finally let go.

Slade turned with a sigh.

“What did you see?” Miles asked, looking between the two men.

Sid warned Slade with his eyes to be careful what he said. “Not much, but she is fighting back.”

“What do you mean fighting back?” Miles tone took a protective fatherly tone.

“Vampires can read people’s minds, their thoughts
,” Slade explained. “Sid saw only flashes that he couldn’t make out. This time I saw Caroline fighting against something. She was trying to tell me something.”

“Does this make any sense to you
, Mom?” Miles looked to his mother.

“Yes, it does.” She glanced at Caroline. “It means she is strong, but whoever has her
, has more power and is holding her back.”

“So this has nothing to do with the officer who broke her away from the girl she was reading?” Miles asked
, wanting answers.

“
No, but it’s something I’ve never seen before. Someone strong is holding her captive.” she answered, shaking her gray head looking more tired than she had a second ago. “I don’t know how to help her.”

Miles grabbed his mother’s hand offering comfort, but turned his attention to Sid.
“Is there anything we can do?” Miles again looked between the two men. “Anything at all?”

“I’ve already texted Adam, but he hasn’t responded
,” Sid told Slade before Slade could ask. “He may be able to break past whoever is blocking her. Adam is pretty powerful reading through blocks.”

“Okay, great.” Miles looked hopeful. “Where is he?”

“We don’t know, but I will find him and get him here.” Sid grabbed Miles’ shoulder. “Whatever it takes, I will get him here.”

“Thank you both
,” Miles nodded before gently clasping his mother’s elbow. “You spend as much time as you need to here. I need to get Mother back. These trips are hard on her.”

The nurse brought the files to Slade who
got busy flipping through them.

Sid nodded
, smiling down at the older woman. “It was nice meeting you.”

“Take care of my Lana
, young man,” she ordered with a pat on his arm.

“Yes, ma’am
,” he replied, watching them leave.

As soon as they were gone
, Slade looked up from the files, closing them. “She isn’t reliving anyone’s death,” Slade frowned. “Someone has her trapped in her own mind.”

“What?” Sid shook his head
, not understanding any of this at all.

“
Whoever has the block on her released it long enough for her to give a warning to Lana.” Slade ran his hand through his hair. “Whoever it is wants Lana in return for Caroline’s release. She wants to warn Lana not to read anyone else because he is waiting. Whoever it is tried to block that last part, but she’s a fighter. We need Adam to break the block completely.”

“Son of a bitch
,” Sid cursed, as he looked over at the unblinking stare of Lana’s twin.

******

Lana stared at her reflection and grinned. “Hello, Linda Lovelace.” Her long dark hair was covered with a short blonde wig. She had made her blue eyes up to look smoky and sensual. Instead of a dress, she wore blue jeans with black-heeled boots and a low-cut blouse under a leather jacket.

“Who?”
Jill walked into Lana’s bedroom, getting a good look at Lana. “Wow!” she laughed.

“It’
s my undercover persona,” Lana laughed, glancing at Jill through the mirror. “And talk about wow…you look great.”

Jill’s hair had been colored, the blue tints washed away and cut into a stylish spikey cut. Her makeup was playful, but seductive. She drew the line at a dress because if it came down to it
, she didn’t want to fight with her ass hanging out. She also wore jeans with boots, but with a shorter heel than Lana’s. Her red shirt was tight-fitting with long bat-winged sleeves. She looked ready for a night of dancing and fun.

“You really think so?” Jill looked down at herself with a frown.

“Definitely,” Lana nodded.

“Hey
, is anyone home?” A female voice came from the front door.

“We’re in here
, Susan,” Lana yelled, grabbing her bag, and headed out with Jill following.

“Well
, hello Linda,” Susan grinned.

“Hello to you
, Amy,” Lana teased back.

Jill just looked at them like they were crazy.

“Jill, this is Susan in
her
undercover persona, aka Amy.” Lana laughed at Jill’s confused expression.

“Well
, since you confused the shit out of me, hopefully I won’t have to remember all of this tonight. Why don’t we get going?” Jill headed for the door when the doorbell rang.

“That’s probably Sid and Slade.” Lana walked to the door. “They said they’d meet us here
to go over everything.”

Opening the door
, Lana smiled when Sid glanced at her, before he took a step back looking at the house, then back at her.

“It’s me
, Sid.” Lana rolled her eyes.

He glanced behind her at Susan. “Now
, her I know.” He looked Lana up and down. “But you I’ve never met.”

“Come in
. We’re just about ready.” Lana stepped back so they could walk in the door. Both men had to duck so as not to hit their heads.

Jill walked out of the bathroom just as Slade entered. Their eyes met and held before his slowly went from her eyes down her body and back up.

“Did you wire her?” Susan asked, giving a wave to Sid and a smile to Slade who was still staring at Jill.

“Damn, I forgot
,” Lana frowned, going to the closet and pulling out a small suitcase. Grabbing what she needed out of it, she headed to Jill. “Pull up your shirt for a sec.”

Sid frowned. “Who’s running this show?”

“You, but we thought if she gets separated, at least we can still be in contact with her, plus we can hear the conversations,” she replied, pulling tape and running the wire up Jill’s flat stomach. “Reach down your shirt and grab the wire,” she instructed.

“We’re vampires
, Lana.” Sid reminded her. “We can hear fine.”

“Well
, Susan and I are human and can’t, and we will be closer to her than you guys.” Lana pulled Jill’s shirt down. “Go in the other room, Susan.” She tossed her a small earpiece.

“Why are you going to be closer to her?” Sid crossed his arms, his eyes on the way Lana’s ass filled out her jeans.

“How does that feel?” she asked Jill.