Blood Rain

Lacey glanced down at the floor, accidentally getting a lock on Gypsy and Nick again. She felt the heat spread back across her cheeks. “There’s only one bed here and I think it’s taken. Besides, I want to make sure Vincent is safe.”

“Vincent’s just fine,” Storm informed her, having teleported them into the castle office before she even finished her sentence. He was quick to teleport himself over to the desk so he wouldn’t be so close to Ren's anger at having been interrupted. It wasn't his fault that Vincent fearlessly stayed within the danger zone.

“Twenty-five minutes and thirteen seconds,” Vincent said, glaring right at Ren.

“What?” Ren snapped, feeling his temper spike now that the idiot was back in his sight.

“That’s how long it takes to revive from a broken neck,” Vincent smirked. “Sorry to put a damper on your curiosity.”

“Ren wasn't exactly himself,” Lacey said, stepping in between them, but the fact that her back was to Ren made it obvious just whom she was taking up for.

Vincent watched the slow devious smile appear across Ren's lips… too bad Lacey couldn’t see it. That was okay, he knew how to pop things that were full of hot air. “I assume Ren isn’t himself quite often, seeing as how he’s a succubus and hanging out in a city that’s infested with bloody demons. I wouldn’t trust him as far as I could throw him.”

“Well… too bad, since he helped save both our lives tonight,” Lacey countered stubbornly.

“I don’t need anyone to save my life… or have you forgotten my little disability,” Vincent thundered, stepping closer so he could glare down at her. He watched her lips part with her sharp intake of breath and instantly regretted the fact that he knew exactly how to hurt her the most.

His features softened when she reached out as if to touch his cheek, but the resounding smack that echoed across the room caused his frown to return full force. Fine… maybe he deserved that, though he couldn’t fathom why.

“That’s for killing yourself right in front of me you heartless ass,” Lacey said harshly, before adding a little louder, “and just because you don’t remember it doesn’t mean I forgive you.”

“Duly noted,” Vincent responded sarcastically when Lacey spun on her heels and strode to the desk Storm was sitting behind.

Lacey placed her palms on the desk top and leaned forward to whisper to Storm. “Sorry… I wasn't supposed to say anything about that… was I?”

Storm tried like hell to keep eye contact with her but, even in doing so, he could still see almost all of her breasts because of the way she was leaning forward in the sexy little dress he’d picked out for her. Sometimes he outsmarted himself.

“Someone was bound to mention it to him sooner or later,” he answered, having teleported beside her but now facing the other two men. He rubbed his chin to hide his smirk when Lacey slowly turned her head to stare at him but didn’t rise up from her sexy little position. “Ren, how about filling in the database on tonight’s undertaking.”

Ren was suddenly behind the desk, startling Lacey enough for her to jerk her gaze up to him, only to find that he wasn't staring at her face. She glanced down in confusion then stilled, seeing just what he was staring at… her breasts. Refusing to take the embarrassment, she gave him a wicked smile before slowly rising up and turning her back on him.

Storm cocked an amused eyebrow when Ren turned to look at him accusingly. That little slice of eye candy wasn't his fault… at least he’d shared a tasty bite. He returned his attention to Vincent, who was still standing there stroking his chin thoughtfully while watching Lacey.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Lacey informed him, ending the line of questioning before it could even start.

Vincent raised his hands in surrender, “Fine.”

“Did you agree to join PIT,” she asked, softening her voice. She tried not to pay attention to the fact that one of his cheeks was now several shades redder due to her temper.

“I reckon I did love,” Vincent responded, now knowing Storm had gotten him good on that little deal. She obviously hadn’t been in any danger at all and the Time Walker would have known that for a fact.

“Hey, I told you she was fine,” Storm defended himself with a shrug, when Vincent gave him a brooding look.

“What’s the catch,” Vincent asked, not really all that upset he’d been tricked into making a deal that bound him to a legendary Time Walker and the elusive PIT organization.

“You have to have a partner,” Lacey quickly answered, remembering the reasoning behind the rule.

“Are you offering?” Vincent smirked, liking the deal more and more by the minute.

“No,” Ren answered for her. “She’s mine.”

Lacey blinked at the possessiveness in Ren’s voice, but she didn’t call him a liar. She glanced over at Storm curiously. “Has there ever been a threesome?” She didn’t catch the wrongness of the question until she noticed Vincent’s right eyebrow rise several notches and heard a low growl coming from behind her.

“Oh geez, get over it you perverts. I didn’t mean it that way and you know it,” Lacey insisted, crossing her arms over her chest. She blinked, having to block out all kinds of dirty thoughts that were suddenly trying to become images in her dirty little mind.

Storm rubbed his temple trying not to laugh. Someone had to come to her rescue, and it looked like it was going to have to be him. “Sometimes PIT teams do go out together in groups, but even then, you have that one special person that you keep an extra eye out for, and vice versa. I happen to know the perfect temporary partner for Vincent, since it just so happens that person’s partner is missing in action at the moment.”

“Well, it doesn’t sound like this person kept a very good eye on his last partner… now does it,” Vincent pointed out, feeling a bit sarcastic and not caring if they liked it or not. He frowned at Lacey wondering when he’d become so attached to her. The fact that he’d seen red when Ren had boldly announced ‘she’s mine’ was not a good sign.

“It’s kind of hard to keep your eyes on a shape shifter that’s gone into stealth mode. I’m sure Trevor is around here somewhere, but in what form even I don’t know,” Storm defended.

“A shape shifter… really,” Vincent asked, feeling like he was suddenly in a paranormal candy store with all kinds of exotic flavors. He understood true shape shifters weren’t fables but the demons in the thievery ring had searched for one forever and never been successful in locating such an enigma.

“You’re going to put him with Chad,” Ren asked, though he wasn't really against the idea if it got the other man away from Lacey.

“Think about it… they both seem to have the same affliction,” Storm pointed out helpfully knowing Ren would catch the hidden meaning.

“You mean he has a fetish for dying?” Vincent made a face since that was the affliction Storm had rightfully accused him of having. He ignored the sharp glare Lacey was suddenly giving him. She hated it when he talked about dying as if it was no big deal. “If you were going to put me with a demon, then why didn’t you just leave me with the demons I was already used to?”

“Chad is one hundred percent human but Storm is right. He was murdered recently… stabbed in the heart.” Ren paused, seeing a warning look from Storm and secretly tapped into Storm's inner voice only to find out he wasn't to say a single word about the Fallen… neither Kriss nor Dean. He had to concentrate to keep a straight face as he connected the dots.

Returning his full attention to Vincent, Ren continued. “Chad is back up walking around and still just as human as you are. So far, Chad’s only died once and that was against his will, so I wouldn’t call it a fetish.”

“The next time he dies he could stay dead… or not,” Storm offered. “Either way, I’m not allowed to tell spoilers.”

“Yeah right,” Vincent said, feeling his sarcasm kick back in.

“He’s not lying,” Lacey insisted, stepping closer to Storm. “If he tells someone what’s going to happen in the future or even hints at it, he starts to bleed from injuries we can’t even see.”

She turned to gaze up at Storm and reached out to tenderly touch his upper arm. “I’ve seen it happen,” she said sadly. “You broke the rule and bled for me. Those horrible things went all of the way through me tonight. I would be dead right now if you hadn’t warned Ren of what was coming.”

Storm tried to keep the love from shining in his eyes as he stared down at Lacey and felt her gentle touch… but he did love her dearly, so it was hard. “You being here right now made it worth every drop,” he said honestly, before lifting his gaze to lock with Ren's. “Besides, the consequences of you dying seriously sucked and that’s not a spoiler since it didn’t happen.”

“But it obviously did happen and you erased it.” Lacey gave him an adoring smile before pressing herself against him and giving him a heartfelt hug. “You and Ren chose to save me,” she amended before backing away to look at Vincent. “If Storm wants you with Chad, then there’s probably a very good reason for it.”

Vincent sobered, suddenly getting it. These two powerful men could protect Lacey way better than he ever could… they’d already proven that fact. Who was he to take that kind of safety away from her?

Sighing dramatically, he fluttered his eyelashes at her. “Fine, you’ve sold me. We can both be fan girls of the Time Walker.” He purposely left Ren's name off the fan list because he wasn’t sold on the big guy being her boyfriend… just a damn good bodyguard.

Ren ignored the fact that he could hear Vincent’s inner thoughts loud and clear. As far as he was concerned, he’d already won the war for the mere fact that Lacey hadn’t begged to be Vincent’s partner.

“So, you agree to be teamed up with Chad,” Lacey asked with a happy smile. She couldn’t stay mad at Vincent if someone paid her… not when she adored him so much. She flinched when the screen of the huge monitor on the wall to her right suddenly cracked loudly and sent sparks cascading down to the floor.

Ren rubbed the bridge of his nose before glaring at the broken monitor long enough to use his powers to quickly fix the damage he’d just done to it.

Vincent sent a suspicious glance in Ren's direction before returning Lacey's smile. “Sure, for all I know, Chad was scratched by a demon’s pet cat and now has nine lives… oops, eight lives,” He corrected and shrugged. “I guess I can show him the ropes.”

He strode right up to Lacey and fearlessly placed his arm around her shoulders before turning them to face Storm. “So what exactly does Chad do for PIT?”