Defending Kyra (Guardians Book 1)

  DEFENDING KYRA

  SUSAN HAYES

  CONTENTS

  About The Book

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Epilogue

  Sneak Peek at Saving Michelle

  The Guardians - Saving Michelle

  The Guardians - Protecting Jazz

  The Guardians - Guarding Val

  About the Author

  ABOUT THE BOOK

  Gareth Harkness is a supernatural predator born to hunt his natural enemy – vampires. Hunting isn’t his job, it’s his calling, one that doesn’t leave a lot of time for a normal life. He’s got a mission instead of a mortgage, and the only woman in his life is the nameless beauty who haunts his dreams.

  Kyra Robinson is too pragmatic to believe in magic, monsters, or things that go bump in the night. She’s forced to change her attitude when a random encounter at her Vancouver nightclub puts her in the sights of a vampire who wants her for his own.

  Kyra is desired by two men, the hunter, and the killer. After a lifetime of protecting herself, she’ll have to put her heart, and her life, in the hands of a man just as dangerous as the creature hunting her.

  DEFENDING KYRA

  SUSAN HAYES

  * * *

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  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.

  All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental. It is fiction so facts and events may not be accurate except to the current world the book takes place in.

  Copyright © 2018 Susan Hayes

  Defending Kyra (Book #1 of the Guardian Series)

  **Previously Released as Whispers in the Dark

  First E-book Publication: June 2018

  Published by: Black Scroll Publications

  ISBN: 978-1-988446-27-1

  DEDICATION

  For my parents for believing in me no matter what. And for Karen, who started me down this path and supported me every step of the way.

  1

  SHE WAS THERE AGAIN. Gareth could sense her in the impossible darkness that always shrouded this particular dream. Her voice called to him, guiding him to her in a world without light. Something touched his hand, a caress of velvet and a whisper of silk that heated his blood immediately. Her cinnamon scent tingled at his nose, and her voice faded away with a light trill of laughter. He heard a footfall, reached for her, his hand brushing against soft flesh, warm and smooth. He held onto her, drawing her close. The feel of cool silk and warm skin filled his hands as he lifted her to his chest and claimed a kiss from her unseen lips. Mouths open, bodies melting together in the heat of their need, a moment of surrender and then she was gone. He was alone again. His arms empty, the darkness colder without her warmth.

  “Soon.” Her voice whispered to him from somewhere in the darkness. “You’ll find me soon, Gareth.”

  Gareth Harkness woke up as he always did from that dream, disoriented and alone. She only ever came to him when he was alone. He scrubbed a hand over his unshaven jaw and stared out the window into the neon-splattered night. She’d never spoken before. Or if she had, he didn’t remember it. The details always faded away too fast, leaving him with fragments and sensations, nothing he could hold on to. In all the years he’d dreamed of her, he’d never remembered more than a few vague impressions. This time had been different.

  He rolled out of bed and went to stand by the window, his hands clenched to his sides as he stared into the night. Somewhere out there, she was waiting for him. If only he knew who the hell she was.

  KYRA DREAMED she’d been dancing in the club after hours, just her and the music, alone in the dark. She’d heard someone whisper her name in a low male voice that spoke so softly she wasn’t even startled to realize she was no longer alone. She’d called back to him, wandering in the darkness until she’d heard him step up behind her. A man’s hand had grasped hers, pulling her gently, and then strong arms had wrapped around her as he drew her against a powerful chest. It was so dark she couldn’t see him at all, but there had been warm skin under her hands, and her fingers had traced his face, sifted through his close-cropped hair. The kiss had come suddenly, his lips slanting over hers, insistent and demanding. She’d leaned into that kiss and opened her mouth to his, reveling in it as their tongues danced, and they had shared the very air they breathed. Lips sealed, and tongues twined, but somehow she had heard an impossible whisper. His voice, making a promise. “Soon.” Then his kiss consumed them both, and she was falling—

  Kyra came back to herself with a start and forced her mind out of the daydream she’d been enjoying and back to the job at hand. Erotic fantasies weren’t her usual vice but damned if her imagination hadn’t been running away with her this time. She touched her cheek with the back of one hand and laughed when she realized she was flushed. Kyra gave herself a mental shake and sat up straighter in her chair. There was no time for lovers in her life, real or imagined.

  It was a Friday night and a full moon, a combination that invariably led to misunderstood flirtations and drunken altercations. Her eyes flicked from monitor to monitor, scanning the wall of images that flickered over one wall of her office as she played the same game she played every night, trying to pick out the subtle signs that something was about to go awry in her nightclub and then fix it before things went sideways. It was a game she’d gotten very good at, which was why Silken was now one of the hottest clubs in the city. She went back to work, cradling her favorite mug in her hands as she sipped at her third Americano of the night, feeling the caffeine jazz and jitter its way to her brain.

  Security cameras panned over customers and employees, recording everything. In a place as big as Silken, Kyra had learned it was easier to stay put and watch for trouble than to try and be everywhere at once. She sipped on her coffee and watched it all play out before her, waiting for something to catch her eye. It didn’t take long before she noticed a problem, one that required her personal attention.

  She left the soundproofed sanctuary of her office and headed out onto the dimly lit floor of the club. The light, noise, and raw energy of the dancers washing over her in a sensory invasion that she had never managed to quite get used to. She ducked and wove through the crowd, making her way unerringly to her target despite being too short to see over the gyrating bodies of her. Just a hair over five feet tall, Kyra had long since learned to adapt to a world not quite built to her scale. She popped up by the shooter bar and ducked under the counter, earning a welcoming grin from the solitary bartender working at frantic speed to keep up with demand.

  “Where’s Jasmine?” Kyra asked, nearly yelling to be heard over the music pumping through the club.

  “No clue! She said she was going to grab a new tray of glasses and she never came back!” Ash shouted back as he managed to fill two more orders.

  Kyra just nodded and pulled out her radio. A few quick words later, she clipped it back to her belt and touched Ash’s shoulder. “Nick’s on his way over to give you a hand. I’ll go find Jasmine. You need anything else, call me.”

 
“Thanks, boss.” Ash grinned and went back to work, managing to appease the waiting crowd with a bit of banter as he raced to keep up with the demand.

  She headed for the back of the club, concern and irritation warring for space in her mind. Jasmine was a recent addition to her staff, but she’d seemed to be working out well. What the hell could have happened to make her just walk out mid-shift?

  Kyra passed through the employee-only doors and let the noise fade away as her eyes adjusted to the brighter lighting of the back rooms. She scanned the area quickly and sighed when she spotted the loading door standing open. She had made it clear that no staff member was to open those doors during operating hours, but some of them kept sneaking out for a smoke anyway.

  She had made it halfway to the door when she heard raised voices coming from outside. Concern flared, and she sped up and then broke into a run when she heard the distinctive sound of flesh striking flesh and a woman’s whimper of pain.

  She spotted Jasmine slumped against a Dumpster, her hands covering her face. Towering over her was an angry-looking brute, his hand already raised for another blow.

  “Hey asshole, try picking on someone more your size!” Kyra heard herself yell as she entered the darkness of the alley and darted through the piles of refuse and rain-filled potholes until she was standing between Jasmine and her attacker.

  Startled, the man looked down at her and then grinned coldly. “You ain’t my size, pipsqueak. You’re bite-size.” His eyes raked over her petite curves with interest. “You just stay right there and I’ll play with you next.”

  “I don’t think so.” Kyra snarled and slammed the heel of her hand into his chin as hard as she could. The big lug’s head snapped back, and his mouth slammed shut with enough force to break teeth.

  With a growl of pure fury he came at her, fists swinging. She ducked the first blow and struck his chin again, deflecting the next punch with a forearm before dancing back out of range. She knew he was too big for her to take down in a straight-up fight, but she had no intention of fighting fair. The metallic tang of adrenaline filled her senses as she prepared for him to come at her again.

  “Jasmine, back inside now! Tell Travis I need him out here, then call 911. Go!”

  “Don’t you move, bitch, I’m not done talking to you!” the thug snarled, his words slurred by the blood flowing from his broken lips.

  “Move it, Jasmine!” Kyra snapped, and a second later she heard Jasmine’s high heels ring out on the concrete as she bolted back inside. She breathed a sigh of relief and turned all her attention to the big lug in front of her. “All right, big boy, it’s just you and me. You can take off now and wait for the police to track down your ugly ass, or you can stay here and get your butt whipped by a girl before you get arrested. Your choice.”

  “Bitch!” He bellowed and came at her hard, using his size to try and overpower her. Kyra simply dropped low and swept out with one leg, tripping the charging man and sending him crashing headlong into the rusted Dumpster behind her.

  “Wrong choice,” she muttered as she stood up and turned to face him again, feeling almost disappointed when he stayed down, groaning incoherently. It wasn’t long before her head of security and two of his men were running into the alley, all three of them stopping short as they realized their target was already down for the count.

  “Boss, if you keep beating up the bad guys before I even get to the fight, I’m going to get a complex,” Travis muttered with a grin as he looked over the wreckage on the ground. “That’s my job.”

  “Your job is to protect the clientele from each other. Mine is to keep all of you safe,” Kyra pointed out as she stared at the smears of blood on her shaking hands. “How’s Jasmine, and how long until the police arrive?”

  “Jasmine’s shaken, but she’s going to be fine. Says that piece of crap over there is her ex-boyfriend.” Travis glanced over to the still-groaning mountain of a man sprawled in the grime of the alley floor. “The cops should be here in five minutes. They agreed to come around back and keep the sirens off.” Travis gave Kyra a keen look and lowered his voice. “You okay? Or is he the only one who needs an ambulance?”

  Kyra shook her head in the negative. “I’m good. I just need another cup of coffee and to get out of this weather.” She glanced up, indicating the light drizzle that filled the air with hanging tendrils of mist and gave the night air an eerie orange tint as it reflected the glow of the streetlights.

  “Come on inside, boss. The boys can watch over your latest victim.” Travis laid a friendly hand on her shoulder and escorted her back out of the rain.

  As the first wave of adrenaline passed, she had an eerie feeling, as though there was someone else in the alley, watching her. Then she was inside and the feeling left as suddenly as it began. Just post-adrenaline nerves and too much espresso, she told herself.

  The rest of her night dragged on for what seemed like forever. The police had interviewed her and Jasmine, and in the end, they’d let her go with a warning to try and leave the physical work to her bouncers. She’d overheard one of them joke to the other that if the bouncers had been involved, the guy likely would have gotten off lighter. She had grinned at that. The big jerk deserved that and a whole lot more for hitting Jasmine.

  She’d gone back to work after that. The night had been a busy one, and the revenue had been more than enough to make up for any headaches. With her work outfit stuffed into her backpack and her riding leathers on, she’d headed to the parking lot for her favorite moment of any day, the drive home. At that time of morning, the streets were nearly empty and she opened up the throttle on her Kawasaki Ninja, letting the miles zip by as her tension slowly dissolved into the euphoria of a fast ride on an open road. By the time she wheeled the bike into her parking stall beneath her apartment complex, she’d put the night’s events behind her, her mind clear and her body ready for sleep.

  THE MUSIC in the club had hammered against Vlad like a pulse, a mocking reminder that his heart hadn’t beat in centuries beyond count. All around him lights flashed and bodies writhed to the incessant beat, an intoxicating whirl of decadent flavors and scents. He moved through the crowd, enjoying the brush of warm bodies against him, sweat, blood, and pheromones filling the air until he was nearly drunk with it. Oh, how he loved these nightclubs, each of them an orgy for the senses and a hunting ground like nothing else he had experienced in all his long existence.

  He spotted a table in a desirable corner, shrouded in shadow but with a view of most of the club’s interior. With a flicker of thought, he reached out and sent the table’s current occupants off to dance, to couple, to refresh their drinks, whatever they thought they needed to do, so long as they abandoned their perch. He claimed the table and scanned the area quickly to ensure no mirrors were near enough to capture his reflection, or lack of one. He smoothed his shoulder-length hair back from his face with self-assured ease as he settled back into the chair and relaxed. Much better.

  A waitress approached and asked him if he wanted a drink. For a moment he waited, staring at the pulse point in the girl’s neck. Nothing stirred within him though, so he ordered a Bloody Mary with a faint smile and sent the girl on her way. He knew the name of the drink should no longer amuse him, but it had never lost its appeal. He watched the throngs of people in the bar, mesmerized as always by their succulent softness and utter disregard for his presence. He was a wolf among the sheep, and the sheep so rarely recognized him these days. It made him yearn for other times, times when the prey was wary and distrustful, times when the hunt was so much more challenging than it was now.

  Vlad leaned back in his chair and steepled his fingers on the table in front of him. The hunt might be easier, but computers and modern technology made it harder for him to move undetected, harder to stay ahead of the law and the ones who hunted him. To be able to hunt and kill was a rare luxury now. These days he had to settle for smaller portions, stolen from the veins of the weak and easily confused. At least the bloodl
ust had faded with the years, no longer a raging fever, more like a whispered need. It was easier to avoid the kill when the hunger was quiet, even if it meant the loss of other appetites as well. He was not a creature out of legend anymore, but he had survived.

  The waitress returned with his drink and he slipped her the cash, his fingers lingering over hers as he savored her warmth. As her pupils dilated and her lips parted he withdrew his touch, leaving her to stumble away, knowing she would be dazed and unsure as to what had just happened. Too easy, he thought to himself as she departed, feeling empty and disappointed yet again. This city was new, and he was in the mood for something more challenging. He inhaled again and let the delicious scent of blood pumping beneath warm skin tease the dull edge of his appetite. Perhaps here he’d find a challenge. Somewhere among these soft and tender morsels of humanity, surely there was one who could make his life interesting for a change. He’d been bored and alone for so very long.

  Vlad caught the crackle of a woman’s energy as she passed close to his table and he nearly laughed as he spotted the source of all that fire. She was dressed head to toe in black, from her knee-high suede boots to her cropped leather jacket. Her hair was the colour of champagne and strawberries, cut short and styled into an array of chaotic spikes and whorls that made her delicate features and China-blue eyes stand out even more. Dark makeup only enhanced the fairness of her skin, and the piercings that followed the curve of her ear screamed of defiance. Now that was a woman worthy of his interest.

  He had followed her outside, slipping unseen into the shadows of the alley and making his way up to the rooftops. From there he had viewed the fight and the aftermath, his body surging with bloodlust as he watched the object of his fascination defeat the larger man before stepping through the doorway and out of his sight.