Clash of Flames: An Ian Dex Supernatural Thriller Book 7 (Las Vegas Paranormal Police Department) Read online

  Clash of Flames

  An Ian Dex Supernatural Thriller Book 7

  John P. Logsdon

  Christopher P. Young

  There are many book series in the Paranormal Police Department, and there are a ton more on the way!

  PPD Precincts

  Las Vegas - Ian Dex

  Netherworld - Piper & Payne

  Southeast Asia - Mark Vedis

  Seattle - Savannah Sage

  Shadow - Wren Cooper

  New York - Bethany Black

  Tap here to see all the books in the PPD, listed by their timeline!

  OTHER SERIES

  Platoon F - Comedic Sci-Fi

  Queen Arthur - Arthurian Comedy

  Ononokin - Comedic Fantasy

  Chapter 1

  Sleep wasn’t easy to come by for those who worked in the Las Vegas Paranormal Police Department (PPD). First off, you worked nights, so you had to be comfortable sleeping during the day. Secondly, you were always on edge because you never knew when a member of the supernatural community might do something naughty to a normal. And third, you were hornier than the average person due to the genetic enhancements you got when you became a full cop.

  Each officer was enhanced for their particular race. A vampire was quicker and more agile, a werewolf was stronger and faster, a mage could cast more spells without running out of juice, a pixie could throw dust or use more creative curse words, and so on. But they only got one increment on the level of horny.

  I was different.

  I was an amalgamite. That meant I’d gotten bits of vampire, werewolf, pixie, fae, werebear, and various other sprinkles in my system. So when I got my enhancements on the day of becoming a full cop in the PPD, I ended up getting a bunch of horny points. That, in turn, essentially made me the horniest guy on the planet.

  I kept it in check most of the time, but it wasn’t easy. There are a lot of hot chicks in Vegas, you know.

  What made it worse was that I’d recently been bitten by a vampire whose venom unleashed a lot more of my powers.

  For example, I used to be able to cast a simple illumination spell using my mage abilities.

  That was it.

  Nothing fancy.

  Now, though, I could launch spells that the mages on my team drooled over. I could also pop out my fangs like a real vampire. I couldn’t do that before. On top of that, I got faster, stronger, had more stamina, and was technically ‘better’ in every way than I was before that vampire bite.

  Now, I know what you’re thinking…

  How could it possibly be worse that I had better powers?

  Because my girlfriend, Rachel Cress, who also happened to be my partner on the force, had taken a real shine to my new demeanor.

  She used to be the one who snarked at me all the time, called me an idiot, and had the upper hand in our relationship. But since that damn vampire shoved venom in my veins, I was loaded with angst and brooding. It turned out, this got Rachel’s engine revving.

  Where she once spent half the time staring at me with crossed arms and a tapping foot, she now swooned over me…mostly. Now and then she’d break out of her Ian-is-yummy mindset and be her old self, but it wasn’t like it used to be.

  Okay, so now you’re really confused.

  How could it possibly be worse that I had better powers and my girlfriend swooned over me instead of calling me an idiot all the time?

  Because we’d been having so much sex that I barely got any sleep!

  I’ll admit that this doesn’t sound like the worst problem a guy could have, but I was the chief of the Las Vegas PPD. I needed to be on my toes at all times, and I needed to have my wits about me, too.

  “Ian,” Rachel said as I stood in the shower, letting the hot water do its best to revive me, “mind if I join you?”

  Honestly, the woman had become more insatiable than me.

  Me!

  But I couldn’t say no. It just wasn’t in my DNA.

  So I held out my arm, signaling for her to join me.

  “Now, we’re talkin’,” said The Admiral, who happened to be my dick.

  Yes, my dick spoke to me.

  We have had many conversations over the years, in fact. It made it quite awkward to pleasure myself, but fortunately it was rare that I needed to do that anymore. These days, when I did give myself the old low-five, The Admiral and I had a strict no-talking rule that we followed.

  To make things even more fun, Rachel could also hear it when The Admiral spoke. I have even referred to her as “The cock whisperer.” Crude, yes, but that’s how my brain worked.

  She smiled at The Admiral’s enthusiasm, letting her robe drop as she stepped inside.

  My condo had an open-style shower that could fit four people comfortably. Trust me, I know. That’s what you got when you lived in a 3.5-million-dollar hedonistic hovel at The Martin in Las Vegas.

  Within moments, our hands were all over each other.

  I was tired, but when you had a woman as hot as Rachel pressing her nakedness against you while hot water rained down on your back, you tended to wake up.

  Crash.

  We both opened our eyes and looked at each other.

  “What was that?” she asked.

  “No idea,” I replied, but I let my senses reach out through my property.

  One of the many things I was gifted with as an amalgamite was the ability to know if there was anything out of place in my condo. It had saved my ass on many occasions, in fact. Bad guys and girls had shown up more than once to my not-so-humble abode.

  There were five bodies moving slowly down the hall.

  Reaching out farther, I found they had used some type of cutter on the main door. The crashing sound must have been the piece they’d cut falling into the house. I’d no doubt it wasn’t the intention to have made any noise upon entry, unless they were idiots.

  Well, their screwup was our salvation.

  “We’ve got five people incoming,” I whispered. “Did you close the bathroom door?”

  “Yes,” Rachel replied.

  “Good.” Then, I focused my attention on The Admiral and said, “You may want to go down now.”

  “Can’t, man. I’m ready for action.”

  “We’re about to be attacked,” I explained. “Having you standing up isn’t going to make fighting all that easy.”

  “I’ll do my best, pal,” he replied, as if shrugging, “but once I’m ready, I’m ready.”

  “Do you want me to slap him or something?” Rachel asked, her face serious as she prepared to fight whoever was coming after us.

  “Yes, please,” cooed The Admiral.

  I grimaced and gave Rachel a look. “I think that would make things worse.”

  “Right.”

  I carefully stepped out of the shower as the five bodies moved into place just outside the bathroom.

  One last scan allowed me to pinpoint what Rachel and I were dealing with, and it wasn’t thrilling.

  “Werewolves,” I whispered.

  The shower was still running so as not to tip off the intruders that we knew they were here. Rachel stayed in, but the showerhead was farther back, meaning she was no longer getting wet.

  I handed her the robe she’d dropped and went to reach for a robe of my own, but it was too late.

  The handle was turning.

  Chapter 2

  The door swung inward and there I stood, in all my glory, as the first werewolf stepped inside. She looked
at my naked body, fixating finally on The Admiral.

  She blinked.

  I kicked.

  The Admiral flopped about.

  “Take it easy, pal!” he yelped.

  “Shut up.”

  The werewolf hit the floor, but another dived in behind her and reached out for me. Then, he paused, looking unsure about the prospect of wrestling with a naked guy who had a boner.

  A left cross rung his bell, dropping him to the floor with a thump.

  Normally it would have taken a few punches to exact this amount of destruction to something as tough as a werewolf, but they were in my house, I was naked, my girlfriend was right here with me, and my adrenaline was through the roof. Plus, again, I had all those enhanced powers from that damn vampire bite.

  In other words, it was not the best time to fuck with me.

  I glanced down at The Admiral at that thought.

  Okay, so I suppose it was the best time to fuck with me in a literal sense, but you know what I’m saying.

  The third werewolf had jumped into the bathroom and he didn’t seem to care about my situation. His eyes were red and he had drool pouring from his mouth. He was ready to bite.

  The Admiral must have realized that he was not exactly safe in this equation, because he began to deflate.

  “It’s about time,” I said just as the latest wolf dived at me.

  I jumped to the side and let him crash into the wall as the remaining two wolves came into the bathroom.

  Okay, now it was pretty cramped in here.

  “Stay!” I called out as if telling a poodle not to come any closer.

  Funny thing was, they did.

  For a second, anyway.

  Then they looked even more pissed than they had before.

  “Rachel,” I called to her directly, using our PPD-issued, brain-altering, built-in connection system, “I’m going to get them out of the way. You head for the door. I’ll follow.”

  She nodded.

  “Anyone want a treat?” I asked as I kicked back and landed a solid heel against the red-eyed wolf’s chest, driving him back toward the wall.

  The other two didn’t play the game of one-at-a-time fighting. They launched at me with their teeth at the ready.

  Unfortunately for them, that was exactly what I was hoping they’d do.

  I didn’t need to fend off both of them. I just had to knock the one into the other so they’d both be off balance.

  My duck-and-punch was perfectly timed.

  They both collided with the red-eyed wolf and I took off for the door, right behind Rachel.

  Unfortunately, I slipped.

  That was one of the fun parts about running around on a wet floor.

  I landed right on my ass, too.

  My tailbone throbbed in response.

  Not fun.

  My body healed super fast, which was great, but it was still going to take a minute or so before I would be in tiptop shape. I had a feeling the wolves weren’t going to give me a reprieve, though.

  “Get the girl,” growled the red-eyed wolf. “We’ll kill this one.”

  Well, obviously, I couldn’t have that.

  And, so, in Bruce Lee fashion, I put my hands behind my head, placing them on the floor, and then I kicked my feet up, hopping straight into the air.

  I spun around, wincing at the pain in my back.

  “Who the fuck are you guys?” I asked as they paused their advance. “Did I put one of your bosses in the kennel or something?”

  Their eyes grew dark.

  “Sorry,” I said, holding up my hands. “I meant in prison.”

  “You are our target,” said the one I was just going to call Red from now on. “We were paid to kill you and your girlfriend, so that’s what we’re doing.”

  “Ah, I see,” I said, reaching back to lock the bathroom door. I knew Rachel was going to try and come back in here and I couldn’t allow that. Then I stepped forward, careful not to trip over the two unconscious wolves at my feet. “I’m hoping you’ve realized by now that I’m not easy to kill.”

  “You’ll die before we leave,” Red said with a shrug.

  “And how many of you will die with me, Red?”

  He tilted his head in that way dogs do when they hear a funny sound.

  “Who is Red?”

  “Oh, uh…” I coughed. “I was just calling you that because you have red eyes. It’s not like we’ve been properly introduced.” I raised an eyebrow at him. “If you’d like to give me your actual name, I’d be happy to—”

  “Red is fine,” he snarled. “It’s not like you’ll be living long enough for it to matter anyway.”

  “Right.”

  I took a mental inventory of where everything was in the room.

  There was a razor, but it was one of those electric kinds, so that wouldn’t exactly be useful. I suppose I could offer each of them a nice clip and a flea dip, but something told me that wasn’t a great idea. My hairdryer had potential as a weapon, but I’d have to be quick if I decided to go with that. There were bottles and other stuff in the shower, but nothing out here in the open.

  Basically, I had my hands and feet, and possibly that hairdryer. Okay, I also had access to magic and fangs and such, but I didn’t like using those. They made me feel dirty. I’d always prided myself on my ability with a gun, my hand-to-hand combat skills, and my cunning.

  One of the wolves by my feet was starting to rouse, but a swift kick to the jaw put him out again. Just in case, I snapped an extra kick at the second one, too.

  Each of those strikes seemed to irk Red, and even his two lackeys were snarling at me now.

  “Before you kill me,” I said, “would it be okay if I put on a robe first? I mean, I don’t really feel comfortable grappling with you guys while my dick is flopping about, and I’d rather not be found lying in my bathroom naked when the police arrive, you know?”

  Red rubbed his chin.

  “Yeah, okay,” he said, holding back his comrades. “But make it quick. We have a few more visits to make tonight before we get paid.”

  I reached for my robe and began putting it on.

  “Anyone I know?” I asked.

  “Yeah,” he replied with a snarl. “Your other officers.”

  “Only if we get there first, boss,” noted one of his lackeys.

  “Quiet!”

  I looked up, showing them what smoldering eyes looked like on a fully decked-out amalgamite.

  They shuddered in response.

  “Yeah,” I commented through gritted teeth as I tied a knot on the belt that held my robe together, “I don’t think you killing my team is going to work for me.”

  Chapter 3

  I knew they were all planning to attack me at once, so I’d have to make the first move if there was any chance of getting through this without suffering too much damage.

  Why did I always have to do things the hard way?

  “Open the fucking door, Ian,” Rachel said through the connector as the handle moved back and forth.

  “Nope.”

  “I’ll blow the damn thing in if you don’t,” she replied.

  “Please don’t,” I said as I saw the muscles rippling on the wolves before me. “It’ll destroy my resale value.”

  “Then you’d better get over yourself and use magic so you can get the hell out of there.”

  “I don’t like using magic, Rachel,” I replied. “You know that. Now, just give me a second so I can get everything under control in here.”

  It was a command, which I knew Rachel was fond of these days. My dark attitude had turned her somewhat submissive as of late. Not really a whips-and-chains type of submissive, but she did seem to get off on being bossed around some. It was odd for me since it used to be the other way around.

  The Admiral took my thoughts as a cue to start rising up again.

  “Stop!” I told him.

  Fortunately, he listened this time.

  Then, with lightning-fast speed, I re
ached out and snagged the hairdryer from its place on the wall.

  Like a ninja flinging a throwing star, I launched the appliance directly at Red.

  It was perfectly on target, flying straight toward his forehead.

  I thought for certain this was going to be like one of those awesome moves you see in action films.

  And it was…until the cord reached its maximum distance, anyway.

  It paused for a millisecond in mid-air before flying back at me.

  “What the fuck, dude?” shrieked The Admiral as the hairdryer collided with him and his downstairs neighbors.

  I grunted and crumbled to the ground.

  Red began laughing uncontrollably. His goons joined in on the merriment. I’d sufficed in racking myself, which the wolves clearly found hilarious.

  “What a moron,” Red howled through bouts of laughter. “We should just stand over here and let this dickhead kill himself!”

  The others laughed even louder at that.

  “What happened, Ian?” Rachel yelled through the connector.

  “Nothing,” I whimpered.

  “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine.”

  “You don’t sound fine.”

  It took a fair bit of effort, but I stood back up and wobbled on my feet for a moment. Okay, so I wasn’t exactly fine. It’s amazing how getting knocked in the marbles can take you from being a powerful force of mayhem to a groveling mass of sadness.

  “Take your time, dude,” Red said, wiping the tears from his eyes. “We can wait to kill you. Besides, maybe you’ll accidentally shove your toothbrush up your own ass next or something!”

  I frowned at him, thinking that maybe it would be a good idea to use magic on him and his stupid cohorts. A nice energy spell would turn their laughs into screams, after all.

  It was tempting.

  Again, though, I wouldn’t go there unless I had absolutely no other choice.

  If the situation were truly bad enough for me to fear for my life, I’d go with magic in a heartbeat. It wasn’t.

  Yeah, the hairdryer thing was an oopsie.