Damon (The Protectors #1)(2)
“Suck up.” Chad whispered behind her. Acting like she was fixing her shirt she flipped him the bird.
Mitch ignored them. “Okay, here it is guys. Ever since the vampire race decided to let us know they were and have been a part of our everyday life, we've been knee deep in funky shit. It’s no secret that vampire blood, better known on the streets as Crimson Rush, has hit the Social Service Departments all across the country hard. Human and vampire kids are being sent out to homes and it’s our job to make sure the homes we send them to are safe. Humans want to adopt vampire kids and vampires want to adopt human kids. Pretty screwed up if you ask me, but who the hell am I to say what’s right or wrong. Most of these types of adoptions are legit, but the ones that aren’t is what we're dealing with right now. As you know, some human adopters are using the vampire kids as their very own drug dealer harvesting their blood and the vampires are turning the human kids to sell for money. It’s a cluster f*ck of a mess. Your jobs have become more dangerous than a year ago. Just take a look at Callahan’s face. You may not have had a seriously dangerous situation yet, but it’s coming. That's why I have decided to call in the experts to train you how to better protect yourself while doing your job.”
Everyone’s focus went to the three men. Now that her gaze wouldn’t draw attention since everyone was staring, Nicole was instantly aware of how perfect and gorgeous these men were. They all wore the same black workout sweats with black tank tops. Talk about muscles and hard bods. Glancing up, her gaze locked on golden eyes glaring deeply into her baby blues. Shivering, she turned her attention back to Mitch, doing her best to keep her focus glued to her boss.
“Before I turn you over to these guys, I want to let you know that this is mandatory. Five nights a week, weekends, and whenever they want you for as long as they want you. Before you open your mouth Callahan, we will work out the details of emergencies like you had tonight as they come up.” Mitch glared at her.
Where was all the glaring coming from? “Didn’t say a word boss.”
“Maybe not out loud, but I know what’s in that head of yours before it makes it to your big mouth.” Mitch grumbled loudly.
“Impressive.” Nicole murmured to Pam. “Scary, but impressive.” Pam chuckled.
Mitch glared for another few seconds at the women before continuing. “These men have taken time out of their busy schedules to help make you guys safe, so I expect nothing but respect for each of them. This is Duncan Roark, Jared Kincaid and Damon DeMaster's. They belong to the Vampire Council, the group of warriors we have been hearing about in the news.”
Nicole heard the buzzing of her coworkers behind her as her eyes shot up to the one named Damon. If you haven’t heard of the Vampire Council Warriors then you have either been living under a rock or dead. One year ago, almost to the day, as the vampires made known they were not only in the movies but living among the human race, the VC Warriors were keeping the peace between the two races along with the human Special Forces. Turning humans without special council approval and also consent from the human was a warrant for death which was carried out by these special warriors.
The blonde vampire, Duncan, stepped up beside Mitch. “We have been working closely with Mitch to see exactly where we can help you carry out your jobs. As we cannot be everywhere, and have many rogue vampires running rampant, the children of the two races have fallen between the cracks. The reason the Council has approved us working with you is because they believe that what you do is just as important as what we do.” Duncan nodded toward the other two. “We are here to instruct you on how to protect yourselves and will be pairing up with some of you on your jobs to see exactly what you are dealing with. The goal is to prepare you for anything that comes your way.”
“Who exactly is pairing up with who?” Pam raised her hand, then snapped it back down, embarrassment coloring her cheeks. “Me and Nicole have the heaviest case load, but some of the others have more dangerous areas.”
Mitch stepped in on this question. “Even though they have more dangerous areas, that doesn’t really have anything to do with who is breaking the law and using these children. We are going to pair Jared and Damon with you and Callahan since you two have the most cases. Duncan is up in the air right now. The Council has said that if we need more help it will be offered to us, but we are to start out with these guys. Now to get us started, Callahan, why don’t you tell us exactly what happened tonight and we can go from there.”
Nicole started flicking her thumb nail nervously, an old habit. She hated being in the spotlight. “Ah, well, I did my follow up call this afternoon and talked to Mr. Mullins. He sounded nervous, talking fast, and clearing his throat a lot. I asked how things were going and he assured me everything was fine and that Sam was playing Play Station. I asked the protocol questions as usual and even though he answered everything okay, he still sounded nervous and out of breath. I then asked to speak to Sam. He said he wasn’t there, that he was playing at a friend's house.”
“How old is the boy?” This question came from Damon.
“Eight.” Nicole answered without looking directly into those gorgeous golden eyes. “I didn’t bring up the fact that he just told me he was playing Play Station since I knew I was going to do a home visit as soon as I hung up with him. I acted like everything was good, assured him I would talk to him next week and hung up.”