Glacier Read online

  “You thought I’d wait for you to leave and then scream to draw a human,” she guessed.

  “But you only screamed when this prick was hurting you.” He released her face. “Take a shower. Stay up there when you’re done. I’ll bring you something else to wear.”

  He wasn’t lying to her, at least. She inched away from him and walked to the stairs. Part of her expected him to follow but when she glanced back, he was bending over Ted’s body. She hurried up the stairs and into a shop. The back door was closed but it showed damage from being kicked in.

  Just out that door was freedom. The sun was down enough for her to be able to move in the shadows. Her best guess was within five minutes, it would be completely dark.

  Glacier was trusting her. That meant something.

  She glanced around and saw another set of stairs leading to a second floor.

  Staying was the right thing to do. Glacier hadn’t hurt her. He’d protected her.

  The bathroom was easy to find. She closed but didn’t lock the door and turned on the water, running her hand over her newly healed flesh. It didn’t hurt anymore but red streaks remained from the claw marks. They’d fade fast, though.

  “You fucking idiot,” Glacier muttered, not sure if he spoke to the dead enforcer or himself. He went under the stairs and pulled out another folded canvas tarp, wrapping up the bloodied body. He would need to find the idiot’s keys, since he couldn’t very well carry the corpse on his bike.

  It made him feel sick imagining what could have happened to Mandy if he hadn’t arrived so quickly. She was the Vampire who hadn’t been able to bite elderly people in a hotel because she felt compassion for humans. He should have trusted her to stay inside the shop and not chained her down, leaving her defenseless against an attack.

  Lesson learned. It wouldn’t happen again.

  He cocked his head, listening. Pipes squeaked. The old building had a lot of issues, including plumbing. She hadn’t run but was instead showering. He’d figured it was a fifty-fifty split on what she’d do if given her freedom. Now he knew. Mandy was smart. The council would be after her if they realized she wasn’t dead, and the Lycan packs lumped her in with the nest who’d murdered their kids. But she did have her Vamp friend in town to run to.

  He carried the body up to the shop and dropped it on a counter. The back door was broken, thanks to the dickhead in the tarp. He lifted his phone, placing a call. Kelzeb answered on the second ring.

  “I thought I wouldn’t hear from you again until you hit the nest after dawn. Did something go wrong?”

  “One of Kevin’s enforcers decided to break into the shop I’m staying in and go after my Vamp. He’s dead now.”

  Kelzeb sighed. “Your Vamp? I take it she’s alive still?”

  He gritted his teeth and sucked in a deep breath before blowing it out. “Yes, she is. Mandy isn’t like most bloodsuckers. She’s good, Kelzeb.”

  “Shit. What are you doing, Glacier? You killed a Lycan over a Vamp?”

  “That bastard broke in here to hurt her. She was helpless, since I had her chained down. What kind of dick does that? He tore off her clothes, used his claws on her, and was about to rape her when I showed up. Don’t expect me to apologize for taking out garbage!”

  Kelzeb took his time to answer, long seconds passing. “I would have done the same. I take it you have feelings for this Vamp, since you sound so enraged?”

  “Her name is Mandy, and I don’t know what the hell I’m feeling. I just know she didn’t deserve for that dickhead to go after her. I also don’t know why the council trained her to do their dirty work. They must be idiots. I’ve spent time with her, and it’s clear that she’s too damn sweet to fit in with them.”

  “Calling a Vampire ‘sweet’ disconcerts me.”

  “She is. Wait until you meet her. You’ll see what I mean.”

  “I don’t want to meet your Vampire. Hell, I don’t even want to know about her. I have to tell this shit to Aveoth. It always falls to me to spin some mess a guardian creates. This could become a shit-storm. The pack asked us to be there the help them, not kill one of their enforcers.”

  “He deserved it.”

  “Agreed, but it still won’t sit well with the alpha. It never does. They could attack you as soon as they find out. Are you asking permission to fly out of their city and let them deal with the nest on their own?”

  “No. I’m going to finish the job. The nest killed Lycan kids.”

  “And what of Mandy? Do you plan to turn her loose or are you taking her with you when you go on your next assignment?”

  Glacier opened his mouth, not sure what to say.

  “Let me make it very clear that you’re responsible for her actions if you allow her to live. Make damn certain she’s worth putting your ass on the line for. You set a killer free and any deaths are on you. You keep her at your side, and she falls under our laws. Including punishments.”

  “I hear you.”

  “We also have another problem if you keep her. You can’t feed her, Glacier.”

  “I know.”

  “I mean it. It’s too fucking dangerous.”

  “I know,” he rasped.

  “Are you thinking about making her your mate?”

  He didn’t know that one. But the idea of keeping her didn’t sound half bad.

  His silence must have answered for him.

  Kelzeb loudly sighed. “It was stressful enough when Aveoth brought Jill here. She only has partial Vampire bloodlines. He loves her, and she’s made him happy. Everyone deserves that. There’s no way in hell you can bring a full-blooded Vamp home to the clan, though. We’re not miracle workers. You know the damn history we have with Vampires. Some of the clan will full-out rebel.”

  “I didn’t say I wanted to bring Mandy to the cliffs.”

  “Good. To be clear, I also didn’t say you couldn’t keep her with you, since you don’t live here. Update me if anything else happens.”

  “I will.”

  Kelzeb ended the call and Glacier shoved his phone into his pocket. He felt a bit stunned. Kelzeb hadn’t ordered him to kill Mandy again, just made him responsible for her actions if he kept her. The threat of refusing a direct kill order from his boss was off the table. The tension eased inside him.

  He didn’t live at the cliffs, barely visiting the clan home, instead moving from job to job and whatever location he was sent. He could keep her. That was a real option now.

  It changed everything.

  He respected the hell out of Kelzeb for giving him the green light to proceed as he wished. Lord Aveoth would abide by his best friend and advisor’s decision. The two of them were as close as he was to his own brothers.

  He jogged upstairs to get Mandy something to wear. The water in the bathroom shut off right as he dug through his bag.

  “I’m coming,” he called out to her. “Just a minute.”

  Chapter Five

  Mandy wore another baggy long-sleeve shirt and a pair of boxer briefs Glacier had given her. He’d led her into the bedroom. It was small, cracks marred the walls, and the only thing decent as far as furniture went was the queen-size bed. The sheets on it looked new, despite how it was unmade. He pointed at it and she took a seat. He crouched in front of her.

  “Here’s the deal. I need to get to the pack and plot going after the nest at first light. I’d let them handle this situation on their own but they’ve proven I can’t trust them. Lycan kids are in danger if that nest remains functional. I refuse to let children pay for having a stupid alpha who doesn’t vet his enforcers better.”

  She nodded.

  “I’m not going to chain you up again to leave you defenseless. Ted might have equally stupid friends who could show up here.”

  She was surprised he’d trust her.

  “I think you still have a heart in that bosom of yours, Mandy. Whatever you do, from this moment forward, my ass is on the line. I’m accountable. You fuck me over, my ass is going to be handed to me.