Duncan Read online

  THE PROTECTORS

  DUNCAN

  Copyright 2013 Teresa Gabelman

  All rights reserved. The right of Teresa Gabelman to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. This is a work of fiction and any resemblance between the characters and persons living or dead is purely coincidental.

  Gabelman, Teresa (2013-7-20). DUNCAN (THE PROTECTORS SERIES) Book #3.

  First Edition.

  Editor: Hot Tree Editing

  Photo: www.bigstockphoto.com

  Cover Art: Ron Gabelman

  Acknowledgements

  I wish I could thank every reader by name. You have given me the courage to continue to do what I love and that is to tell stories. Until you, the awesome readers, tell me to stop, I will continue to write. Thank you for reading my stories. If I can make you have just one strong emotion while reading, I have achieved my goal, and that is to take you out of reality if only for a second or two. Your support means more to me than you will ever know. And to the Warriorettes, well, what can I say about these crazy women except every single one of you ROCK!

  Special thank you to my editor, Becky Johnson, at Hot Tree Editing for your understanding and being patient with me. It’s a pleasure and blessing to work with you. Anyone not using your service is truly missing out on working with the best!

  Chapter 1

  Duncan Roark sat staring at his cluttered desk without seeing anything at all. Three months he had searched for her, and…nothing. Not even a hint of where she had disappeared to. The low growl escaping his lips rattled papers on his desk. He had failed her in more ways than any man worth having her should. His arms rested on the edge of the desk as if ready to dig into the pile of work that waited for him, but his clenched hands said otherwise, as did his darkening eyes.

  Slowly, his hand reached for the drawer on the right; he then opened it cautiously, almost as if something would jump out. His fingers stretched to touch the silky black hair still bound by a simple rubber band. Anger gripped him without warning, causing him to slam the drawer shut. Picking up the closest object, he hurled a stapler at the wall in front of him.

  Jared Kincaid opened the door to Duncan’s office at that exact moment. “Like what you’re doing with the place.” Jared eyed the stapler sticking out of the wall before looking back at Duncan.

  “What do you want, Kincaid?” Duncan growled, running his hand through his shoulder-length blond hair that was coming loose from the leather tie. “I’m not in the mood.”

  “Obviously.” Jared walked in and sat in one of the two chairs in front of Duncan’s desk, stretching out his long, muscled legs - settling in, totally ignoring Duncan’s foul mood.

  “I’m in the middle of something, so spit it out, and then get out.” Duncan shuffled papers around not even knowing what they were.

  Damon and Sid walked in also catching sight of the stapler sticking out of the wall. “Nice. you gonna frame it?” Sid walked over and sat in the other chair leaving Damon to lean against the wall.

  “What is this?” Duncan leaned back in his chair, eyeing each Warrior.

  “Tea time.” Sid’s smart-ass answer echoed in the room as he kicked his feet up on Duncan’s desk.

  “The women are worried about you.” Damon’s deep voice broke the sudden silence.

  Duncan sighed, shaking his head before his eyes zeroed in on Sid. “First off, get your big-ass feet off my desk before I break your legs.” He knocked them off anyway before Sid could comply. “Second of all, I’m fine. So go and tell your women thanks, but…butt out.”

  Jared snorted. “You can tell them that yourself.”

  “Well, we had a pow-wow and decided that you need to stop being an asshole and get your shit together.” Sid didn’t pull any punches. He thought about putting his feet back on the desk, but stopped at Duncan’s look.

  “I’ve always been an asshole, and my shit is together, now get the fuck out of my office,” Duncan growled, getting tired of the game.

  “There’s talk that this may not be your office much longer.” Jared sat up straight, all fun and games gone.

  “So be it.” Duncan shrugged his shoulders. He had figured as much. A lot had slipped in the three months she had been gone. He really didn’t care anymore. He had given his life to the Council, his life was now hers.

  “So be it?” This time Sid sat up. “What the fuck do you mean, ‘so be it’? It took me months to get used to working under you, being the asshole that you are. I sure as hell am not going to get used to someone else coming in here changing shit.”

  “I never asked for this job,” Duncan replied, no emotion in his voice.

  “Okay, enough with the bullshit.” Jared slammed his hand on the desk. “We’re all worried about Pam and we will find her, but until then, you need to step up and get your head out of your ass. We need you in this position so we can get shit done. We’re losing the war out there, buddy, and we need our leader.”

  Duncan growled his frustration. He knew they were right, but his focus was on her, only her. “What the fuck do you want from me?”

  No one said a word, just stared at Duncan. Sid finally broke the silence by standing. “I may sound like the biggest pussy by saying this, but it needs sayin’.” He leaned over the desk, staring directly into Duncan’s eyes. “I have never had a family, even as a human. Everyone in this room, I consider my family, my brothers, and I would give my life for any one of you. I am behind you, in whatever you decide to do. You leave the Council, I walk behind you. We are going to find her, Duncan.”

  Everyone watched a little wide-eyed as Sid finished and calmly walked out of the room, without slamming the door behind him.

  “What a pussy,” Jared snorted then grinned, uncrossing his feet to stand. “Though I do second what he said. You walk - I walk.” He leaned over, slapping Duncan on the shoulder before following Sid out the door.

  Duncan glanced at Damon who still leaned against the wall, arms crossed. “You think Jared’s going to give Sid hell for his little speech?”

  “Without a doubt.” Damon grinned. “Never heard Sid talk like that before. Seriously didn’t know he had it in him.”

  Running his hand down his face, Duncan sighed. “You need to take over for me until I find her.”

  “No.” Damon’s answer was firm. “I will help you, but not by taking your place. You’re our leader, and that will not change.”

  Anger flashed across Duncan’s features. “How can I be a leader when I don’t care about anything other than finding Pam?” Looking down at his desk littered with notes, files and shit he had no clue about, he pushed them aside. “Fuck!” That one word held so much pain and frustration, Damon flinched.

  “We will find her,” Damon replied, still in the same pose he was in when he first came into the office. “But I have one question.”

  Duncan’s head came up in a snap, his mood foul. “What?”

  Damon’s large frame moved away from the wall, his arms dropping to his sides. “Once you find her, then what?”

  “What in the hell do you mean, ‘then what?’” Duncan was doing his best to hold his anger in check. “What fucking difference does what I’m going to do make?”

  “Because Pam is my mate’s best friend, and if you are just going to find her to break her heart, then you need to sit back behind that desk and let us take care of her.” Damon’s answer was firm and point blank.

  Duncan’s only answer was a growl, his fist closing tight.

  “Answer my question,” Damon said, his voice calm. “Because if we do get a lead on her, your answer is going to determine whether you’re going to be informed.”

  Duncan flew across the desk, stopping inches from Damon. “Then
I’ll beat the information out of you if it comes to that.”

  A slow smile spread across Damon’s mouth but didn’t reach his eyes. Warriors they were, brothers they would always be, but their alpha ways were always at the surface - always ready for a good brawl.

  “My mate’s wishes come before yours in this case.” Damon’s eyes darkened to match Duncan’s. “I hope sitting behind that desk hasn’t made you soft, because if you don’t answer my fucking question, you won’t be told anything.”

  Both men roared as Duncan tackled Damon, taking him to the ground. Duncan’s fighting skills far exceeded any of the Warriors in their group, but Damon wasn’t a slouch. He gave as good as he got.

  “Stop it!” Nicole rushed in, trying to break them up. Running to Duncan’s desk, she started throwing things at them. She may be a vampire now, but she was a smart woman and knew not to get in the middle of two fighting Warriors. Jill followed her, dodging the men as they rolled toward her, swinging. “I said stop it!” Nicole yelled louder.

  Jared and Sid ran in, moving Jill out of the way of the rolling Warriors. “I’ll take Damon for a hundred.” Jared stood with Jill at his back.

  “Pfft…Duncan is going to tear him up. Hell, I’ll even raise it a hundred.” Sid snorted watching the men.

  A book hit Jared in the chest. “Break them up, Jared.” Nicole shouted. “What the hell is wrong with you? They’re going to kill each other.”

  “Ah, come on Nicole,” Sid sighed. “Lighten up. They’re just letting off some steam.” Sid growled when a book bounced off his shoulder.

  “Break them up!” Nicole demanded, running out of things to throw. “Or I swear I will tell everyone what I caught you watching the other day.” She directed that threat to Sid.

  Jared’s eyes widened as he looked over at Sid. “What were you watching?”

  Shooting a nasty look at Nicole, Sid headed toward the fighting Warriors. “Shit! Girls take the fun out of everything.”

  When both men were broken apart, they sat panting, their eyes glaring at each other. Damon’s grin spread first with Duncan’s following. “I think you broke my jaw, asshole.” Damon worked his jaw back and forth with his hand.

  “Serves you right.” Duncan rubbed his shoulder. “You’re lucky that’s all I broke.”

  Nicole frowned, watching the four Warriors laugh, slapping each other on the back. “Are you kidding me?” Nicole threw her hands on her hips. “You beat the crap out of each other then walk around congratulating each other?”

  “Honey…” Damon tried to stand, but his leg gave out.

  “Don’t you ‘honey’ me, Damon DeMasters.” Nicole walked toward the door. “I can’t believe you guys.”

  “Dog house for you tonight,” Sid chuckled. “Guess you got a lot of sucking up to do. You guys make me nauseous. No woman will ever pull me around by my dick.”

  Those words stopped Nicole cold. “I found Sid watching Rachel Ray.” She smirked at Sid.

  “Who and what the hell is Rachel Ray?” Jared frowned.

  Nicole put her hand on her hip, liking the nauseous look on Sid’s face. “It’s a chick talk show.”

  “Dude!” Jared took a step away from Sid, his eyes narrowing. “A chick talk show?”

  “She’s a cook,” Sid replied but snarled at Nicole. “She has good recipes. I was getting ideas for-”

  Nicole walked up to Sid, leaning in close, cutting him off. “A woman may not be able to lead you around by your…” she glanced down then back to his face, “…dick, but one sure can make it shrivel up.”

  Nicole, proud of herself, walked out of the room, shoulders back, her head held high. Jill followed, her hand across her mouth, trying to hold back laughter. It didn’t matter to Nicole that she knew what Sid had been doing, which was actually writing down recipes since he cooked most of their meals. He was an excellent cook, but anytime she could put the arrogant Warrior in his place, she would do it.

  Sid turned to glare at Damon, stabbing a pointed finger toward Nicole’s retreating back. “She is evil.”

  Damon grinned proudly, watching his mate walk out the door. “No, she just put you in your place, and very well at that.”

  The three Warriors laughed and snorted at Sid’s expense. “What the hell are you laughing at?” Sid punched Jared in the shoulder. “You owe me two hundred dollars. Duncan had his ass.”

  “Bullshit.” Jared followed Sid out. “Damon was all over him.”

  “Pay up, bitch,” Sid snarled.

  “Not happening,” Jared laughed. “Come on. I think there’s a Martha Stewart marathon on today.”

  “Fuck you.” Sid slammed out of the room with Jared’s loud laughter following him.

  Duncan cursed as he picked himself off the ground once they were alone. Reaching down, he held his hand out to Damon, helping him to his feet. “I love her, brother.” Duncan’s eyes didn’t waver.

  “I know you do.” Damon gave him a nod. “I just wanted to make sure we were both on the same page. Just don’t let her go this time.”

  “I made a lot of mistakes where Pam was concerned.” Duncan admitted, taking responsibility for his inactions. “Mistakes I won’t be making again. She is mine.”

  Damon nodded, understanding completely. “We’ll find her, brother.” He grabbed Duncan’s shoulder in comfort. “We are going to find her.”

  Chapter 2

  Jared found Tessa and Nicole in the kitchen, their heads together, which meant impending trouble for him and Damon.

  Walking up to Tessa, Jared grabbed her from behind, kissing her soft cheek. “What trouble are you two brewing up?” He frowned when they both jumped, looking guilty. Glancing closely at them both, he cocked an eyebrow. “Seriously, what trouble are you two getting into now?”

  “Nothing.” Nicole cocked an eyebrow back at him. “Are you boys done beating the crap out of each other?”

  Jared eyed them a second longer before pulling Tessa against him tighter, wrapping his thick arms around her waist. “You need to get used to that, Nicole. We Warriors get a little…” he grinned as he searched for a word, “heated sometimes, but it’s always good in the end.”

  Rolling her eyes, Nicole started out of the room. “Heated, my butt,” she snorted, glancing at Tessa. “I’ll see you in half an hour.”

  Tessa nodded as Jared turned her in his arms. “What’s going on in half an hour?” Jared tilted her chin up when she continued to watch Nicole walk out of the room.

  Hesitating for a second before answering, Tessa tiptoed to kiss his chin, avoiding any eye-contact. “Just girl stuff.”

  “What kind of girl stuff?” Jared wasn’t falling for it. He knew Tessa well and knew when she was lying.

  Grasping the back of his head, she moved to his mouth. Jared let her have her moment, because in all honesty, he loved her mouth on his and anywhere else her mouth found on his body. He never knew he could love so deeply, but damn, this woman had him wrapped around her little finger. Before long, his body had hers pressed against the wall, his hand working eagerly up under her shirt.

  “My God, would you two give it a break!” Sid groaned as he walked in. “I can’t walk anywhere in this damn place without you two slobbering over each other. It’s downright disgusting.”

  Pulling his hand out of her shirt, Jared snarled, “Get out of here, Sid.”

  “No, you get the hell out of here,” Sid snarled back. “This is my domain, and from here on out, anything but eating in this kitchen is against kitchen law.”

  “Kitchen law?” Jared tilted Tessa’s chin for one more kiss before turning to face Sid.

  “Yeah, Sid’s Kitchen Law will be posted by the end of the damn day. Now, get the hell out of my kitchen and find a private room.” Sid slammed a few pots around. “But before you do that, Duncan wants to see you. He wants you to take his classes tonight.”

  “Shit.” Jared frowned. “We had plans.”

  “It’s okay.” Tessa fixed her clothing, her cheeks flushed fr
om Jared’s heated kiss and embarrassment at being caught once again by Sid. “We can do dinner and a movie another night. I’m going to check on Gramps. I’ll talk to you later tonight.” She touched his cheek before hurrying out of the room.

  Sid and Jared both watched her closely as she left. “She didn’t seem too broken-hearted,” Sid snorted.

  Jared frowned. “I found her and Nicole in here with their heads together, which usually means trouble.”

  “You poor bastards,” Sid chuckled, adding oil to a skillet.

  “Sid.” Jared glared. “Shut the fuck up.”

  “Just sayin’.” Sid grinned, chopping onions. “Women are nothing but trouble.” His comment was made to an empty room since Jared had already slammed out the door.

  *****

  Nicole pulled into Pam’s old apartment building, parking in the back. Clicking off the lights, she shut off the car with a long sigh. “You ready?”

  Tessa flipped the hood of her black hoodie up. “Lead the way.”

  Glancing around as they made their way across the parking lot, Nicole walked to the sliding glass door knowing it would be locked, but tried it anyway. Next, she tried a window, and sure enough, it opened, as Pam said it would.

  “Hope my ass fits through that,” Tessa whispered, eyeing the window.

  “You and your ass will fit.” Nicole laced her fingers together. “Come on, before someone sees us.”

  Putting her foot in Nicole’s cupped hands, Tessa grabbed the windowsill and slid the window open. With one heave, Tessa was half in and half out of the window, her ass flashing out into the parking lot. Thank God, the window was above the sink. Placing both hands down on the counter, Tessa shimmied her way in, but ran out of counter space and fell the rest of the way through the window, landing on the kitchen floor in a clumsy heap.

  Nicole hopped through the window with ease, landing with grace. “You okay?” Nicole whispered, reaching down to help Tessa up.

  “Well, that was graceful. Yeah, I’m good.” Brushing off her pants, Tessa frowned. “Some days I guess it pays to be a vampire.”