Blood Magic: Witch’s Bite Series Book Three Read online

  I close my teeth and lips around the edge of his wrist. My tongue flicks out, sampling his skin and I almost moan at the taste. My teeth sink into his flesh like a knife through butter and hot, sweet blood spills over my tongue. Not just blood though. His magic seeps into me from every point of contact, and the rush from that is almost overwhelming. I want to take it all.

  I shove him away as hard as I can and he stumbles backward, slamming into the bathroom wall. He leans against the wall, breathing just as hard as I am, watching me with a heated gaze.

  “Fuck,” I say, running my hands through my hair.

  “If you want,” he says, his cheeks dimpling.

  “That line is getting old,” I say, rolling my eyes.

  “One day you’ll take me up on it.” He straightens and adjusts his jacket. “Take a shower and order some room service. I imagine you need human food as well.”

  “Yeah, I do,” I say, pressing a hand to my stomach. It’s been quite a while since I had the tacos.

  “Don’t let it get this bad again,” he says, his tone hard.

  I look at the floor and bite the inside of my cheek. I can still taste his blood in my mouth.

  “I don’t intend to.”

  “I have another errand to run. Don’t do anything stupid while I’m gone.”

  He strides from the room and I slide down the wall, my legs suddenly weak. I press my hand to my mouth and stare straight ahead, not really seeing anything at all.

  6

  “What do we know?” Stocke asks, leaning back in her chair.

  Brunson has the remote this time, and he clicks it, pulling up a map on the projector.

  “Agent Davidson was able to narrow down the suspect’s location to this city block,” Zachary says, pointing at the street highlighted in red. “Surveillance was able to confirm that the suspect is there, and was seen entering this building.”

  The slide changes, showing a plain building set back from the street. It looks a little run down and definitely abandoned. A lone figure is walking across the parking lot toward a side entrance.

  “There have been four other people observed entering and exiting the building, but we have not been able to identify them,” Zachary says.

  Commander Benjamin Driver leans forward and clasps his hands. He’s an unassuming man with white hair and a soft, round face. He looks like the sort of man that enjoys mowing his lawn and putting up Christmas lights.

  “They’ve all kept their faces hidden,” he says, tapping his thumbs together. “They don’t park anywhere near the building, except for one van which drove into the parking lot around seven am this morning.”

  "So we have no way of knowing how many people might be in that building?" Stocke asks.

  "We can estimate five to ten suspects," Driver says spreading his hands. "But, ultimately, that’s just a guess."

  "Since this is the NWR, we have to assume there will be booby traps, and that the suspects will be heavily armed. Commander Driver confirmed for me yesterday that we will have SWAT backup, but that will not make this easy," Stocke says as she looks around the table. "All of you have been on raids before, and you understand the risk we're taking."

  I guess you can call the fight that went down at Chevy's bar a raid, but I'm hoping whatever we do tonight will be better organized. And have fewer casualties.

  "Now, our goal is to arrest the NWR members, not assassinate them. However, you do what you have to in order to make sure that you, and your team members, come back alive," Stocke says, her tone allowing for no argument. "Brunson, please walk us through the tactical plan.”

  Zachary stands up and walks to the front of the room. The slide changes to an overhead view of the building. Several points are highlighted, including the street across from the front of the building, and three entrances on the building itself.

  "Officers with the City of Phoenix's Homeland Defense Bureau will secure a perimeter around the building. The streets will be blocked here," he points to the main street leading past the building, "and here," he points at the side street east of the building.

  He clicks the remote and the slide changes, zooming in on the building itself.

  "We do not have any information on the internal layout of the building, however, we have identified three entrance points which you can see highlighted in red, yellow, and blue. We will have three teams, one for each. Hu and Cook will be Red Team, Davidson and Andreas, you two are Yellow Team, Hawking, Walsh, Carter, and myself will be Blue Team. I have already gone over this with Commander Driver who is coordinating with the SWAT team for us. They will be with us through the initial entry and attempt to secure the immediate area, and our teams will push into the building."

  Stocke turns back around. "Does anyone have any questions?"

  The team stays silent.

  “The suspects have no idea we are coming, which is a benefit of organizing these raids so quickly. Let’s all go downstairs and get prepped. SWAT will be driving us to the location.”

  Everyone stands and heads out into the hall. We don’t all fit on the first elevator, and I end up waiting with Reilly, Cook, and Hu for the second one.

  I shift restlessly on my feet. I hate the anticipation of a fight. Everything that can go wrong runs through your mind over and over until you can’t see how something terrible won’t happen. I follow Reilly onto the elevator and cross my arms tightly over my chest. At least I’m not going into this fight alone.

  The elevator carries us down the basement and I follow the group into the parking garage. There are three armored vehicles lined up, waiting for us.

  Ivy gets my attention and I walk over to her.

  “Body armor,” she says, handing me a black vest with a patch that reads JHAPI velcroed to the front and back. “And pistol.”

  The pistol is strapped into a holster attached to a black belt. I take the gun as well and she hurries over to Agent Stocke. I tuck the gun between my legs and pull the body armor on over my shirt. It's heavier than I expected and it feels like putting on a new shoe for the first time. It fits, but it definitely needs to be broken in.

  Cook steps up beside me.

  "You're on Brunson's team," he comments, his voice low so no one else can hear.

  "Yep," I say, popping my lips on the p.

  "If you do something to get him hurt, or killed, I will bury you," he says stepping into my personal space.

  I hold my ground and look up at him, tilting my head to the side.

  "What exactly is it you think I did to him? Or would do to him?"

  He laughs in my face. "Don't act like you don't know you broke his heart."

  I stare at him, confused, then roll my eyes.

  "It's been five years. I've grown up, maybe you should too. I'm here to do a job, not deal with high school drama."

  Cook walks away, shaking his head. Whatever his issues are with me, they’re going to have to wait until another time. I tighten the belt around my waist and adjust the pistol until it isn’t poking me in the stomach.

  Reilly is waiting for me by the last vehicle. I tug at the uncomfortable vest one more time, then walk over to join him. Time to get this over with.

  * * *

  The earpiece is too big for my ear canal. Having something in my ear makes my breathing seem louder too, and I can’t hear everyone’s heartbeats, which make me feel weirdly off balance. I hadn’t realized how quickly I’d come to depend on that for knowing where everyone is in the room. I readjust the body armor again, but there’s no making it comfortable.

  The gas mask is even worse. It smells like plastic and someone else’s sweat. Each puff of my breath makes my face hot and the inside of the mask humid. I tug at the strap on the back of my head and try to adjust where it sits under my chin. All my senses are muffled. I don’t know how anyone is expected to fight like this.

  Elise’s hand appears on my shoulder and she gives me an irritated look.

  “Quit fidgeting,” she whispers.

  I
mouth back sorry and try to hold myself still. The waiting is making me nervous though. Storming in without thinking is more my style.

  Elise, Zachary, Reilly, and I are entering behind the local SWAT team through a side entrance. The rest of the JHAPI agents, excluding Agent Stocke and Staci, are divided up between two other entrances. The building isn’t very large. It’s nestled in between two much larger structures, and it’s the kind of place you’d never think twice about.

  The front is plain stucco with minimal windows and no signs. A fairly large parking lot obscures the view of the building from the road. The parking lot is generally used by people that live in the apartments next door and overflow from the roofing business on the other side.

  “Red Team is a go,” Stocke’s voice says in my ear.

  The SWAT member in front motions forward and the two men behind him swing their battering ram against the door, which instantly gives way. In the midst of the splinters of the door, I see the glint of silver.

  Two canisters are tossed through the open doorway, gas pouring from the spout. Our group pushes forward and I follow Elise, my left hand resting lightly on her shoulder while my right hand grips my pistol tightly. I keep my trigger finger carefully indexed. I’m grateful for the night vision the magic I stole from Javier because it is dark as sin inside the building.

  My breaths puff loudly inside the mask as I scan the heavy fog of gas for movement. I can barely make out the silhouette of the SWAT member that entered first.

  “Two doors to the left. Staircase straight ahead,” an unfamiliar male voice sounds in my earpiece.

  The team splits up with two of the SWAT members and Zachary peeling off toward the closest door on the left. Three others advance to the door just past it. Reilly stops the second team at the door, crouching down to listen to something the others can’t hear.

  The gas has cleared just enough since we came in that I can see the staircase that stretches up into pitch black ahead of us. One SWAT member heads toward it and Elise follows. I hesitate for a moment, then go after Elise.

  We reach the top of the staircase and spread out quietly. There are double doors in front of us, and two smaller rooms to the left. One door is half open, the other is shut. There is a short wall that lines the opening of the staircase.

  The SWAT guy approaches the open door cautiously and pushes it all the way open as he enters the room. Elise follows close behind. I’m a few paces behind, my eyes glued to the double doors, all the hairs on my arm standing on end. I’m a beat too slow, and the door slams shut behind them, trapping them inside, and me outside.

  The double doors fly open and I lunge for the wall that lines the stairwell. There’s a bulky, decorative chrome planter with a fake tree sticking out of it at the corner that I squeeze behind. Bullets fly over my head and there is muffled shouting in my earpiece, along with more gunfire. I guess the fight is on now.

  A man in a mask and camo pants steps around the wall holding a shotgun, I lift my pistol and fire three times. The bullets go wide because my hands are shaking, but he falls back.

  I scramble backward and take a deep breath as electric magic rushes through me. Right now they think I’m human. I won’t use my magic unless I have to, and definitely not before I can use the element of surprise to my advantage.

  The door that Elise and the SWAT member went into rattles violently, like someone was thrown into it. At the same time, gunfire echoes up the stairwell. It finally registers that someone is shouting my name in the earpiece. I tap it three times, the code I was told to let the team know I was still alive, but also unable to respond.

  The men in front of me don’t try to advance again, but they do shoot every few seconds to keep me from moving. I tighten my hands around my pistol and try to think. I can stay here for a while, but I don’t know if Elise is okay, and I’m not willing to leave her in that room forever. She hasn’t shifted, which worries me.

  I can’t breathe right or see, so I rip the gas mask off. A symphony of smells assaults me. Gunpowder. Blood. Silver. Vomit. The welts on my arms twinge unexpectedly and I see movement in my reflection in the planter. I lean a little closer and see my mother looking back at me. My heart jumps into overdrive. I cannot be hallucinating right now.

  She points behind me and holds up two fingers, then disappears. I push my back up against the planter just in time to see the second door fly open and a man step out, his gun pointed right at me. I shoot first and my bullets thud into his chest. He falls forward, blood spreading across his shirt, but there’s another man behind him. I feel, more than hear, the planter shatter as a bullet strikes near my shoulder.

  I push forward onto my knees and fire again. I hit him in the arm and halt his advance. My gun clicks and I realize the slide is locked back. I drop the magazine and scramble for another, but he’s already lifting his gun again.

  I pull on the magic inside of me and rush forward faster than any human would be able to move. In the time it takes his heart to beat once I close the distance between us and my fist collides with his jaw.

  He falls and I pivot and lunge for the other door as gunfire explodes from my right. A bullet punches into my body armor and it feels like I was just hit by a baseball bat, but my momentum carries me through the door.

  Elise is hunched in a corner over the SWAT guy who isn’t moving. Her lip is bleeding and she is half shifted. Her hands are curled into claws and fur is creeping across her face. There are three men standing in front of her, one is holding some kind of taser, the other two have nightsticks. There is shouting in my earpiece. I rip it out. I need to be able to hear.

  Elise lunges forward, taking advantage of the distraction my entrance has caused. She hits the man on the far right, one hand wrapping around the nightstick, the other landing in his stomach.

  I lift my hands toward the man with the taser and push out a burst of electrical energy. It crackles across the room like a lightning bolt and strikes him in the chest. He flies backward and hits the sheetrock with a thud.

  The other man runs toward me. I slip to the left to avoid his first strike. There is gunfire outside the room, and I vaguely hear what sounds like Zachary shouting from downstairs.

  A howl erupts to my right and out of the corner of my eye I see that Elise has finally shifted. She locks her jaws around the throat of the man she was fighting and twists her head violently. He struggles, his hands clawing at her face.

  I drop under another swing and punch upwards, catching the man in the stomach along with a surge of electricity. His body goes tense and he falls.

  I try to stand, but find myself unable to. The welts on my arms twist in pain and my vision swims. Elise runs for the door, pausing to glance back at me. I nod and she races out.

  This cannot be happening. I didn’t try to use my Finding magic, there’s no reason the welts should be reacting like this. I push to my feet with a pained grunt and stumble toward the door. My senses are still buzzing on overload. Everything is sharp and clear despite the dim lighting. There are clusters of heartbeats all around the building, all racing with fear and adrenaline.

  Olivia, I hear Reilly say, his voice cutting through all the chaos. Put your fucking earpiece back in.

  I roll my eyes, but fumble for it nonetheless.

  “Carter here,” I say, my voice shaking to an embarrassing extent.

  “Olivia, stay put,” Brunson responds. “We have them cornered, but if you come out of that room you may get caught in the crossfire.”

  “Is Hawking with you?” I ask. “She ran out of here just a moment ago.”

  There is a pause. “No.”

  A howl echoes through the building and I hear Zachary curse. I edge around the corner of the doorway and look outside. The team is advancing up the stairs. The double doors are still wide open, and I can see Elise facing off against three men. She’s holding her own against them, but there is a fourth coming up behind her that she doesn’t seem to have noticed.

  “Don’t shoot m
e,” I say into the mic before charging out. The welts ache, but I push through the pain and pull on the vampire magic inside of me. I have to be fast.

  7

  I sense Reilly coming up the stairs behind me and put on a burst of speed to stay ahead of him. The fourth man lifts his gun. I tackle as he fires and we both go flying. I reach for the gun as he’s trying to turn it towards me, but I’m faster. I squeeze his wrist and the small bones give way with a crunch. He screams in pain and the gun falls. There is gunfire behind me as the team enters the room.

  The man struggles against my grip. I rear back and punch him hard in the jaw with my left hand. It’s an awkward angle, but I’m stronger than I normally would be and he goes limp.

  I flip around, ready for another threat, but the men Elise was fighting are face down on the ground. One of the SWAT members is cuffing two of them. The third appears to be dead.

  Reilly steps out of the shadows on the far wall and sets Elise, who is still shifted down. She shakes from snout to tail then licks his hand gratefully. He must have grabbed her and gotten her out of the way.

  Zachary rips out his earpiece and storms toward me, his lips curled into a sneer.

  “What the hell were you thinking? I told you to stay put!” He shouts.

  I stand upright, even though the movement makes me want to vomit. I desperately need something to dull the pain shooting through the welts.

  “He had a gun pointed at Elise. There was no time to wait for you to enter the room,” I shout, pointing at the unconscious man behind me.

  Zachary clenches his jaw and glances back at Elise who is limping towards us as she shifts back into human form. Reilly is looking me up and down, his nose twitching as he checks for injuries.

  “Stop yelling at her Zach,” Elise says quietly. “I ran in here on my own and shouldn’t have. She’s right, he would shot me. The bullet grazed my leg as it is.”

  Zachary’s face changes from angry to worried in an instant. “How bad is it?”