The Enforcers (The Blood Bar Chronicles) Read online

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Logan’s Captive

  A Pendant’s Confession

  Unbound

  In the Shadows

  The Blood Bar Chronicles

  Book Three, The Enforcers

  Breathless Press

  Calgary, Alberta

  www.breathlesspress.com

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  The Blood Bar Chronicles: Book 3, The Enforcers

  Copyright © 2013 Michaela Rhua, Alyssa Fox, Kiru Taye, Caledonia St. James

  ISBN: 978-1-77101-861-6

  Cover Artist: Victoria Miller

  Editor: Deadra Krieger

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.

  Breathless Press

  www.breathlesspress.com

  Logan’s Captive

  by

  Michaela Rhua

  Dedication

  This story is dedicated to the ladies of The Nuthouse Scribblers.

  Thank you for encouraging me to take part in this anthology.

  Your support and wise words have been an inspiration!

  Chapter One

  Kyla Tremayne trudged through the rain to her final destination—The Blood Bar. Who on earth had decided to meet there? The answer to that was obviously Jane Munro, the creator of the online writers group that met monthly at different locations. She pulled up the collar of her coat in the hope of keeping some part of her dry, but to no avail, as the lashing rain continued to soak her thin coat. The red lettering of the bar’s sign loomed ahead. Not the type of place or location she would normally frequent, but in this instance she was grateful to see it.

  Pushing against the metal door with her shoulder, Kyla edged her way in. The warmth of the bar hit her first, then the sights and sounds around. The dim lighting cast shadows around the room and accentuated the dark corners where bodies could meet and not be seen. The chosen music seemed to be rock, with an intense beat that almost set an ominous tone. She glanced around and found a cluster of empty tables to her left on a raised platform. Kyla sighed audibly as she shucked off her coat and placed it on one of the chairs.

  Taking a look around to get her bearings, Kyla saw the bar straight ahead. It was already crowded with people chatting, drinking, or staring at her. What? Intense eyes met hers from across the right-hand side of the bar. She swallowed and looked away, fiddling about in her bag to look cool and undisturbed, but disturbed she was. Get a grip, girl! Unfortunately she had to go to the bar to order a drink; one of those unavoidable things about coming to a bar.

  Keeping her gaze low, she wove in and out of people to her target. The bartender looked at her, but didn’t come over. Oh, great. She hated stuck-up, good-looking bartenders who looked down their noses at customers that were not gorgeous enough to be served. She couldn’t help but glance across the bar to where the would-be model bartender had gone. Yet those other intense eyes, surrounded by dark brown eyebrows and a neat beard on a chiseled jaw, were still on her. He seemed to be whispering something to the bartender, who quickly looked in her direction and started to move across. She ordered herself a red wine and gave her silent observer a nod of thanks. A cheeky wink was her reward, bringing a blush to her cheeks.

  With drink in hand she walked back to the table and chose to sit facing the door so she could see the other group members come in. It also avoided watching to see if he was still there. Kyla checked her watch; yes she was early, something that would look like she was desperate for this evening. Unfortunately, that was true. Her life wasn’t full of exciting dinner, lunch, or drink dates, her mobile phone didn’t go off constantly like Dizzy’s. She longed for these meetings where she could step out of herself and be who she really wanted to be, rather than who she was.

  The door swung open, and in walked Arielle, shaking raindrops off her chestnut-brown hair. Kyla waved to catch her attention.

  “Hey Arielle, good to see you,” Kyla said, giving her a hug.

  “Oh, Kyla, what a day from hell! Hold on, dying for a drink.” Arielle sighed, dropped her wet coat on the nearest chair, and headed to the bar.

  Kyla turned around, smiling as she watched Arielle walk off. A brief scan right told her Mr. Intense was not there. She wasn’t sure if she was disappointed or not. After all, he was hot, but let’s face it, hot men did not look at her twice. Maybe that was his good deed for the day; helping a no-hoper like her. She turned and sat down, staring down at her purple T-shirt dress over black leggings and black boots that had seen better days. She knew she wasn’t the fragile-looking creature who seemed to be the fad these days. Maybe she could do more with her looks, but why bother, as her mother had said?

  Arielle returned from the bar tossing her long hair, getting admiring looks along the way, and obviously enjoying the attention. Kyla smiled at her friend’s confident attitude and wished she had more of that.

  “A few hotties in here tonight!” Arielle grinned while fanning herself and rolling her eyes. Both girls continued chatting for a few minutes and missed the arrival of Ana, who was by now at the bar. Arielle went to get Ana’s attention, leaving Kyla alone. For some reason she didn’t feel alone. She could almost feel those eyes still on her, but he had gone, she was sure of that. Silly really, how her imagination was running wild!

  “Do we have a plan for what’s happening tonight?” Arielle and Kyla exchanged blank looks until Arielle returned with a, “Nope!”

  “Chatting, drinking, and—with Arielle’s luck—pulling fit blokes,” Kyla said, at which Ana choked on her water.

  “Come on, I’ll get us a bottle of wine,” Kyla offered, knowing that many bottles would be consumed before the night was out. She loved the group, a definite highlight on her horizon.

  Kyla wove through the busy crowd and finally made it to the bar to place her order. A conversation nearby caught her attention, obviously a group of sex-starved males, the usual types who lurked in bars hoping to get lucky.

  “That group over by the door is new.” At that Kyla’s ears pricked up, knowing they were talking about her friends. “Hmm, hair you could bury your head in. I’m thinking of burying more than my head in that one!” was the reply, followed by male laughter. “Well I’m not into the frumpy one, so you can have ‘em all!”

  Kyla’s throat tightened as she looked up to pay the bartender. Her eyes caught a movement to the side, and there he was suddenly.

  “I’ll pay for that,” came a deep voice in her ear.

  Kyla swung around and looked up into bright blue eyes, and for a moment she lost the ability to think. Holy hell, he was huge close up, even against her, and she wasn’t exactly small, standing at 5’10”. Those shoulders...had to be three feet wide! She gulped! Come on brain, what would Dizzy say?

  “No thanks, mate, the frumpy one can pay her own way.” The words tumbled out of her mouth. Tossing the money on the counter, she then grabbed the bottle and glasses and stormed off to her friends, who were oblivious.

  ***

  He had decided to stay and kick back for a while after Xander, his boss, had said he was leaving. The day had already been long, with meetings all day, but now was playtime. Swallowing his drink, Logan Miller looked around The Blood Bar. The c
rowd was like any other in his adopted hometown of New York, drinking and flirting being the main action. Only here, in Edinburgh, they spoke with a tone that was harsh to the ears, and almost impossible to understand.

  A gust of wind brought an enticing scent to his nostrils. A sharp look to the door revealed a bedraggled vision entering. As she took off her coat, more of her scent floated to him, sending messages to his cock. Hell, he’d never had that reaction before! He noticed one or two of the supes turn, look, and nod knowingly. It was enough to make his wolf rampage. The urgent need to protect her, take her somewhere private, overtook him, and he found himself taking a step in her direction. When their eyes met, he stopped. Her eyes widened, pure green pools looked at him, then looked away. This was bad, real bad. But he could not look away as she made her way to the bar. He saw her bite her lower lip, almost a nervous gesture. The bartender was not going to her, but standing talking to someone near him. Logan caught the bartender’s eye and nodded in her direction. An instruction for him to pay attention to the lady—he wanted to say his lady! She looked up and saw the exchange, the bartender strolled across to her, and she ordered her drink. Looking up to him, she nodded her thanks; Logan smiled and gave her a wink. The way she blushed in return lit sparks all the way down to his ever-hardening erection.

  He moved so he could see her face as she now sat with her back to him. More of her friends arrived, and she lit up. The way her lips curved into a smile, deepening the flecks of green in her eyes, made his wolf demand to have her. So enticing! She came to the bar again and he took the chance to move next to her.

  A conversation made his wolf growl. One of the guys had referred to his woman as frumpy, and that made Logan want to rip him apart. Instead, he brought his head down, took in her scent and whispered in her ear, “I’ll pay for that.”

  With that she turned around and looked up at him. Hell, she was perfect. Honey-colored skin, full lips that asked to be kissed, and green eyes that looked straight into him. Say something, he just wanted to hear her speak.

  “No thanks, mate, the frumpy one can pay her own way.” With that she walked away.

  Momentarily stunned, he had not seen Xander standing next to him.

  “Xand, why are we still here?” Logan asked, feeling antsy.

  Xander didn’t say a word; he just nodded toward the group of women, who seemed to be the center of everyone’s attention.

  Logan sucked in his breath, and asked, “Who the hell are they?”

  “No idea. But on my last count, we have vamps, shifters, the timeless, and God alone knows what else in here. Everyone in here is more than human, except that little group of ladies over there. I wonder why that is?” Xander asked.

  Logan looked around the room and saw that his boss was right; the only humans in the bar were his woman and her friends. Xander growled and Logan jerked his head in the direction he was looking. Henri De Tourneau with David Malm, hmm interesting. The men were not a combination you would expect, old rivals who now seemed best friends. Henri was not one of Xander’s favorite people—being a vamp!

  “That can’t be good,” Logan commented. Xander shook his head.

  David Malm was what wolves called the Timeless, more commonly known as a Time Traveler. The combination of Vampire and Time Traveler did not bode well.

  “If he is here then keep your eyes open, there’s sure to be trouble,” Xander instructed Logan, his beta. Logan nodded and continued to watch the women. Something was happening; her eyes widened, and a flush appeared on her cheeks almost as if...no?

  “You mean strange like that,” Logan nodded over to where the group of ladies now seemed to be mid-orgasm.

  “What the hell is happening?” Xander hissed. Both men saw Henri start to move and David vanish.

  Logan watched his woman grab her head as though in pain. That was it. He had to get her out of here. Whatever was going on was not good! The air around them sizzled as he moved to her. She was doubled over with her head in her hands. His wolf was ready to kill whoever was responsible, if they had caused her any harm.

  Logan grabbed hold of her and half carried her to the bathrooms, where her other friend had disappeared to earlier. He could feel her body under his hands, soft and warmer than expected, but it was her scent—it flourished from her—which called to his wolf. Damn it, another time and another place! She seemed awake but out of it, eyes swimming in her head. As he neared the bathrooms, he found Xander standing with his back to him, and a figure peered around him.

  “Kyla?” The woman in his arms groaned. So his woman was Kyla. Xander caught the woman’s shoulders. “What the hell did you do to my mate?” She tried to stamp on Xander’s foot with her heel.

  Logan shoved past Xander, leaving him to deal with her.

  “Calm down, we didn’t do anything to her. We saved her,” Logan explained.

  “Saved her? From what? A crazy man trying to kidnap her? Well looks like you’re doing a bang up job there, mate!”

  Xander leaned in. “We’re trying to help. Calm down.”

  “I feel sick, Dizzy,” Kyla announced, breaking the tense silence.

  “I’m here, doll, don’t worry. Let’s get you into the bathroom.” She slipped her arms under Kyla’s, and helped her toward the toilets.

  “Watch them, make sure they don’t leave. I’m going to find out what the hell is going on.” Xander growled. Logan had no intention of going anywhere until he knew Kyla was safe!

  “Oh doll, remind me never to leave you lot alone again,” Dizzy told Kyla.

  “I just need to sit down for a second. God, I felt—” Kyla hissed, as she landed unceremoniously on the tiled bathroom floor.

  Logan shut the door behind them.

  “What?” Dizzy asked

  “One minute I thought I was going to—you know—come, then this pain.” Kyla sighed as she leaned against the wall, holding her head. Logan couldn’t believe his ears.

  “Christ! What happened out there?” Dizzy threw a glaring look over her shoulder at Logan, who stood leaning against the door, effectively trapping them in the bathroom.

  “Don’t look at me.” He shrugged, wishing he was the one causing her to come.

  “You step any closer, I will do more than look at you,” she warned.

  Logan smirked at Dizzy trying to protect Kyla. If she understood how he felt toward Kyla, she would know he was not a threat to her safety. A threat to her body, maybe.

  The buzzing of her phone caught her attention. “Josie.” She breathed in relief.

  No! Logan grabbed the phone. “I don’t know what is going on right now, but it’s safer you and your friend remain off the grid,” he told her, throwing the phone to the wall, and causing it to smash.

  “What’s your name?” Dizzy asked, her tone smooth and even.

  “Logan,” he replied, smiling broadly. The next thing he felt was a punch to the nose. “Oww!” he exclaimed as Dizzy rushed at the door. What the hell?

  Shaking his head, Logan squatted down to Kyla, who was no longer coherent. As carefully as he could, he lifted her and held her close. Her head rested against his shoulder, and he buried his nose into her hair. She lifted her face and nuzzled against him, and the soft action triggered his shaft into action mode.

  Xander appeared in the room, the escaped woman struggling in his arms. “Logan, get away from here. Go somewhere safe and then call me.” He started to walk away, with a protesting Dizzy.

  Logan didn’t need to be told twice!

  Chapter Two

  The nightmare began; the feeling of helplessness, constriction, and pain. Kyla tossed and groaned in her sleep, willing herself to wake up. Warmth surrounded her.

  “Hush, my sweet, you’re safe.” A calming voice and soothing hand lulled her back to sleep.

  Kyla felt softness around her. She stretched her arms up out of the covers and arched her back, then turned and snuggled further into the pillows. The light filtered through the curtains, which was odd as the window
was on the other side in her bedroom. She normally turned over to face away from the light, not into it. Her eyes flickered open, and she slowly became aware of her surroundings. Beige ceiling, caramel walls, cream duvet, but hers was lilac. Kyla sat up, slowly taking in more of the bedroom that was not hers. It was definitely more sophisticated chic than beggars-can’t-be-choosers studio flat.

  She sat up and saw him seated on a chair by the modern fireplace. He was staring right at her. A sudden sensation hit her core. What, him, from the bar? Clear blue eyes, tussled dark hair, one hand resting on the chair arm, and the other stroking his dark beard. Kyla gasped, not able to tear her eyes away. The duvet fell away, revealing her white laced bra. His gaze went straight to her breasts, and he seemed to hold his breath. She grabbed the cover to her, realizing she was not fully clothed. Who... No, he didn’t!

  “Good morning, my sweet.” His voice was soothing. His accent sounded American, not Scottish.

  “Wh-who are you, and where am I?” Kyla asked.

  He leaned forward, and she realized he was naked from the waist up. He had well-defined arms with muscular biceps, and a chiseled chest that looked smooth to the touch. Oh, she wanted to touch so badly.

  “Logan Miller, my apartment.” His voice brought her attention to his face.

  “What?” she asked.

  “My name is Logan Miller, and you’re in my apartment, Kyla.” His tone was commanding, but not threatening. No, Kyla did not feel threatened by him. Strangely, she felt safe.

  “Where are my clothes?” she asked, clutching the duvet to her chin.

  “In the closet,” he replied.

  “The what?” Kyla wondered what he meant.

  “The closet,” Logan said, pointing to one of the wardrobes.

  “American. You’re American?”

  “Yes, ma’am.” A smile played on his face.

  He got up and walked to the window, long legs taking confident strides, almost like an animal prowling. She saw his defined back and shoulders flex with each step. Kyla snuggled into the pillow, enjoying the feast of powerful man in front of her. Logan reached to open the curtains and the morning light shone in.