Page 245 of Duty and Desire

VENGEANCE

By Rebecca Zanetti

CHAPTER 1

Noah Siosal knew not to answer the door. In his gut, he felt the mistake coming. But the pounding was going to alert his neighbors in the quaint condominium complex, and since he didn’t even know their names, he fought his instincts and yanked the damn thing open. Ah, hell. He was already shaking his head at his distant cousin, when Benny dragged in a half-starved immortal with burning blue eyes. “No. Just, no.”

Benny, all six-foot-eight of him, shrugged the guy into the nearest chair. “Family first.”

Family first? “Absolutely not.” Noah shut the door as quietly as he could, when all he wanted to do was tear the heavy oak free and slam it over Ben’s head. “I don’t want anything to do with you, and I sure as shit don’t want anything to do with this beyond damaged hybrid.” He had just moved to the tiny industrial town in Indiana, and taking in a vampire-demon was the last thing he had time to deal with, especially since he needed to get back to the hunt.

Benny sighed, his dark eyes going into puppy dog pleading. If the puppy was a thousand-year-old hybrid with teeth sharp enough to tear apart a Buick. His brown hair hung unruly around his broad shoulders, and a three-day scruff covered hisangled face. His dark eyes were bloodshot, and shadows cast marks above his rugged cheekbones. For the visit, he wore ripped jeans and a lime-green T-shirt with Snoopy dancing a jig on it. “I need help.”

No. Just no. Betrayal heated along with anger down Noah’s throat. “You’re working with the Realm.” A fact the entire extended family, if they could be called such, had not known. The Realm was a coalition of immortal species, ruled nicely by the Kayrs family, and Noah’s cohorts had always quite happily stayed out of organized anything. Benny was supposed to be the wildest outlaw of them all. “I heard the rumors about your working with the Realm and lying to us all of these years.”

Benny sighed and ran hands bigger than platters through his thick hair. “I never lied. I just didn’t tell you I was one of the Seven.”

One of the Seven. Of the elite, dangerous, deadly immortals tasked with either destroying or saving the world at some point. The jury was out on which eventuality, and Noah didn’t even know any other details. Nobody did. Right now, it just didn’t matter. “Get out, Benny.”

“Agreed.” The male on the chintz chair some decorator had chosen pushed to his feet, his expression haggard. He had long blondish hair streaked with an unnatural dark brown, striking blue eyes, and a voice so hoarse he must’ve spent centuries screaming. “I don’t want to be here, and he doesn’t want me here, so let’s take our leave, Benjamin.” The male straightened and hitched toward the door.

“No.” With one hand, Benny shoved the guy back down. “Noah? This is Ivar. We call him Viking or Vike because he used to be one. He’s been through a multiple of hell dimensions, real ones way away from this world, and we’re getting him help, but I have a mission at the moment.”

Noah crossed his arms and tried not to feel sympathy for the obviously wounded immortal. Burn scars covered his neck and trailed down one arm, and considering immortals very rarely scarred, the hell dimensions must’ve been beyond comprehension. And who had even known there were hell dimensions available to travel through? Mostly nobody until very recently. “A mission for the Realm?”

Benny rolled his eyes. “Don’t worry about it. But I need somebody I can trust, and he needs somebody who can plant him on his ass if he goes berserk. You’re more than capable.”

It was true that vampire-demon hybrids were stronger than either species alone, and Noah was grateful for the extra strength in today’s world. He looked more vampire than demon, but at his core, he was mostly demon. “I don’t have time for this, Ben,” he muttered.

Benny grinned, the entire look screaming ‘smart ass.’ “I heard you ran into some trouble hunting werewolves in Russia. This will be decent downtime for you.”

Noah lifted an eyebrow instead of rubbing his just-healed chest that a werewolf had clawed through. Weres were mindless creatures intent on killing, and somehow they kept cropping up in the oddest places. “I’m busy.”

“I figured.” Benny sobered. “I’m sorry about Clyde. He was a good soldier.”

Even the name ripped through Noah with sharp blades. “He was. So you understand why I’m busy right now.” Clyde had been the closest thing Noah had to a brother. Hell. They were brothers. And the bastard who’d killed him would go down and hard. As soon as Noah found him, which was why he’d moved to this small shithole of a town in Indiana. His prey had businesses outside in the overgrown and huge industrial area.

Benny sighed. “You do this for me, and I’ll get you a line on his killer.”

“I know who killed him,” Noah gritted out. “Just have to find the asshole.” A good for nothing feline shifter who was supposedly crazy as hell. It had all, like usual, been over a female. “Petersen attacked Clyde from behind. He had to have.”

“Probably. I’ll find out where Petersen is hiding. I have good contacts now, you know.” Benny’s eyes swirled with emotion. “I miss him, too.”

Clyde had only been dead for a month, and Noah had been hunting at the time. Had just found out, and his gut hurt constantly. His head ached. His hands fisted with the need to avenge. “I don’t want or need your help.”

Ben rolled his eyes. “Sometimes it’s necessary to regroup. I heard the Russians paid you handsomely for that last job. You deserve a break from work.” He edged toward the door.

“Being an independent contractor is a good gig,” Noah snapped.

Benny reached for the doorknob. “Contractor, mercenary, assassin.... it’s all respectable. But now, vacation time.”

He could really use intel on where Petersen was hiding, damn it. Noah turned to look at Ivar, who slumped in a way that showed he just didn’t give a damn right now. “I don’t understand, Ben. I don’t know how to help him.”

“Well, now.” Benny clapped him on the shoulder, and the sound echoed loudly through the airy space. “You owe me, and you know it.”

It was true. Noah blew out air. His friend had saved his life in the last war, without question. “This is how you want to call in your chip?”

“Yep,” Benny said cheerfully. He reached in his back pocket and drew out a folded piece of paper. “The queen looked into this, and I signed both of you up with the appropriate background information. The guy running it is supposed to be an expert in PTSD and trauma, even though he’s a human, andit’s just for a couple of weeks until I get back. Good luck.” He shoved the paper into Noah’s hands, opened the door, and shot outside in a surprisingly graceful move. The door shut quietly.