Treasure Tides Part 15

"What the h.e.l.l," she muttered as she tried to pull out of Royce's grasp. "Oh! I don't want to dance with you, Mr. Dark Lord himself."

Becki was sick of this he-man routine. She had been jerked, pulled, and flung around just about as much as she was going to stand.

"Go away! Go play with your new toy," she said as she attempted to walk off the dance floor and leave Royce standing alone.

He refused to let her leave. He kept groping her, and she was starting to get a headache.

"Get your hands off me, you jerk. Seriously Roy--,"

He wrapped his arms tightly around her, and smothered her protest with his mouth firmly on hers. They could talk later; right now he needed to get Becki out of here, as soon as he got Trevor's scent off her. He ran his hands all over her body; making sure he touched every square inch that Trevor could have possibly touched. Although, if Trevor had dared to touch some of the areas where Royce's hands were roaming right now, there would be a fight between the two of them after all.

During their kiss, he steadily backed Becki to the rear exit of the building. As soon as they cleared the doorway, he ripped his mouth from hers, threw her over his shoulder for the second time that night, and ran for the car.

What the h.e.l.l? One minute he was feeling her up and was kissing her like she had dreamed about. The next minute he was hoisting her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes? She started pounding on his back with her fists.

"Put me down, you imbecile. You Dark Lord! I'm staying with Trev. He's going to do a belly shot, and then we're going to the beach," she yelled hoping to goad him into putting her down.

She got more than she bargained for when she felt a stinging swat land firmly on her a.s.s.

Becki gasped in shock.

"I've heard enough of that s.h.i.+t so drop it," Royce advised. "You are not-- I repeat not-- going to have s.e.x with Trevor Simmons. Not tonight...not tomorrow night...not any night. Do you understand me?"

"Oh- My G.o.d," Becki sputtered in shock. "You just struck me! I can't believe you did that! n.o.body hits me, you two-timing jacka.s.s. I'm going to kill you Royce St. John," Becki threatened. "Just as soon as things stop spinning," she said more quietly.

He dumped a still-protesting Becki into the pa.s.senger's seat of his vehicle.

"Stay put," he warned before starting to walk around the car toward the drivers' side. He changed his mind about the time he reached the front b.u.mper, and walked back to her side of the car. He wrenched the door open, and bent low to put himself at eye-level with Becki. When she looked at him with wide eyes, he spoke to her slowly and quite clearly, "For the record, I did not strike you. I swatted your a.s.s because you deserved it. And, if I ever hear you utter that bulls.h.i.+t again, that won't be the last time I swat your a.s.s. Hear me when I say-- you will never have s.e.x with that b.a.s.t.a.r.d." He slammed the door firmly closing the subject.

Royce saw Landon pulling into the parking lot as he stalked around the car, once again. Unfortunately, Becki saw him, too.

"Landon is here!" she exclaimed, fumbling with the seatbelt as she tried to unbuckle it. Problem solved! She would ask Landon to give her a ride home.

Trevor had been dancing with a blond the last time she saw him, so evidently leaving with him was no longer an option. Whatever the case may be, she was not spending one more second with this bossy, pushy, lying, two-timing a.s.s.

"Help me get out of this car," she demanded, "I'm staying with Landon."

"No," Royce corrected, "you're going home with me."

"I don't want to go with you! I don't want to see you, ever again, please," she whispered brokenly as her eyes filled with tears and spilled over for the third time that night.

"Becki, I don't understand what's wrong," Royce said in frustration. "That c.o.c.ky jacka.s.s in there thinks I've done something to upset you. I've wracked my brain to figure what it could be. I have to tell you, I've come up with nothing. I think there has been some sort of mix-up--"

"Humph, I'll just bet you do...the only mix-up was yours," Becki hissed at him viciously.

"Sweetheart, I'm not following you," Royce insisted.

"Don't sweetheart me! Of course, you didn't follow me. You were too busy! I followed you!

"You followed me? When did you follow me?" He would know if he were being followed. He'd been trained for that sort of thing.

"You didn't think I would be downtown, did you? Guess what? I was downtown, and I saw you!"

"You saw me downtown?" Royce repeated as he struggled to wrap his head around what she was trying to say.

"Yes!"

"Why didn't you say something to me?"

"What-- so you could introduce me to that b.i.t.c.h you were--" she couldn't bring herself to put it into words.

"What b.i.t.c.h? I wasn't with any--?"

"That b.i.t.c.h was me, you idiot," Joanna interjected.

Royce was speechless. All this? Over his sister?

"She doesn't know I'm your sister," Joanna reminded him drearily.

As tears continued to run down her cheeks, all Becki could say was, "d.a.m.n it!"

She couldn't get the seat belt off. She pulled and pulled, but it wouldn't budge. She had to get the seat belt off! She had to get away from him! She couldn't breathe. She kept trying to suck air into her lungs, but she couldn't. Her heart was about to explode!

"Becki," Royce spoke calmly trying to stop her panic attack. She was gasping for breath, and he could see that she was terrified.

"Get this thing off me! Royce! Get it off!" She was sobbing again, beating on the seat-belt fastener with her fist.

If she got that seat belt off, G.o.d knew what she would do next. Actually, Royce knew exactly what she would do next. She would huff right back into the bar where a battle between Vampires and Werewolves could erupt at any moment.

"Joanna," Royce conceded defeat. "I could use some help here."

No sooner were the words were uttered, than Becki stopped fighting and started snoring.

Landon had noticed that Royce and Becki seemed to be in a heated discussion when he parked his vehicle. He had intended to take care of the Vampire problem, and then check on Becki. His Wolf had other ideas, however, and had insisted that they check on Becki first. Landon had argued that she was with Royce and would be safe until they had their business taken care of. realized that it would be impossible to deal with peacefully if his Wolf was pacified. He stationed his three buddies at the bar to keep an eye on things and promised to return as quickly as possible.

Royce sighed and rubbed his temples. Becki must have been serious about getting drunk tonight. He hoped he never had to deal with her in that state again.

Landon scented high levels of adrenalin as he approached Royce's vehicle. He knocked on the hood, to alert Royce of his presence as he made his way to Royce's side of the vehicle.

"Everything ok here?" Landon asked as Royce lowered his window.

Royce didn't bother to deny the tension radiating from his body. He knew Landon had already scented Becki's distress. And, truthfully, he was too mentally exhausted to be anything but honest. Landon soon the Vampires "Not now, but it will be," Royce a.s.sured him. "As soon as she is sober enough to understand that the 'b.i.t.c.h' she saw me with downtown was not another woman I'm involved with, but my sister."

"Ah," Landon nodded, "that explains it. She's p.i.s.sed?"

"Crazy p.i.s.sed," Royce answered. "The fact that she tried to drown her sorrows in a gallon of Crown didn't help the situation."

Landon patted the hood of Royce's car, "You better get her out of here. I'm not sure how things will go down in there."

"She will be at the condo with me, if anyone is looking for her," he said with a look in his eyes that dared Landon to protest.

London stared intently for a moment, nodded once, and turned toward the bar. Before he had taken more than a few steps, he turned back with a warning for Royce, "Make sure you know what you are doing. She is very precious to me."

Royce acknowledged Landon's words with a nod, "Understood. Just so you know... she's very precious to me as well."

Landon spun on his heel and disappeared into the Pub.

Royce heard a soft Witchy chuckle. "Jo, when I get back to the condo, we are going to have a talk about respecting each other's privacy," he threatened. Like that would work. She really needed some kids of her own so she could meddle in their lives and leave his alone.

Landon strolled casually back into the bar. Chance, Bradley, and Devon were leaning against the bar seemingly uninterested in the Vamps at a nearby table. They were in deep conversation with the guy Sean had described as Trevor Simmons.

He casually grabbed the beer waiting for him and headed over to join the party at Trevor's table. As Landon and his friends approached, the Vampires rose swiftly to their feet, fangs flas.h.i.+ng.

"Sit down," Landon warned quietly. "We aren't looking for trouble here tonight. This is a public place. We just want to talk."

Because he was flanked by three ma.s.sive bodies with yellow eyes and fangs of their own, the Vamps heeded his advice and sank warily into their seats.

Trevor inclined his head toward the remaining chair at their table, indicating that Landon should join them.

Borrowing chairs from nearby tables, his three companions created a protective semi-circle behind Landon.

"Why are you in town?" Landon asked the Vampires directly.

"Doing a little treasure hunt--" Rouel began.

"These are friends of mine," Trevor interrupted, shooting a meaningful glance to Rouel. "Eric and Rouel are just pa.s.sing through. Don't worry. They aren't here to sample the local flavor, right guys?"

"Right," they agreed. Eric's response was a little more convincing than Rouel's.

Leaning forward, Landon made eye contact first with Eric and finally Rouel. "You do realize this is Moultrie Pack territory?" At their nod, Landon continued, "Make no mistake; treaty notwithstanding, we will be watching both of you closely. If you make one wrong move, heads will roll... literally," Landon promised.

With that being said, he rose to his feet, swung his gaze to Trevor, and advised, "You really should be choosier when it comes to picking friends. These guys could be seriously hazardous to your health."

As the group took their leave of the Vampire's table, Landon called over his shoulder, "Watch your step gentlemen, and I use that term loosely, because we will be."

Since they were already at a bar, Landon decided they might as well blow off some steam. He chose a corner table because he preferred to sit with his back to the wall.

"What do you antic.i.p.ate their life expectancy to be?" Chance asked nodding to the table they had just abandoned.

"Pretty d.a.m.n short," Bradley responded with a snort.

"Can I bring you boys something? Anything at all?" a scantily clad waitress asked with a twinkle in her eye.

Landon had caught her scent as soon as he crossed the threshold of the bar. His hand snaked out to encircle her wrist. He gave a slight tug and she plopped into his lap.

"Hi, Rach," Landon greeted her by nuzzling her neck and resting his hand on her slightly protruding stomach.

"I'm headed to the dance floor," Chance announced as he stood. "I need to find me some action."

Two more chairs were vacated as Bradley and Devon followed.

"An alpha in the making," Rachel observed with a grin.

"Yes, but there is still some work to do first," Landon added.

Landon gave Rachel a smacking kiss on the cheek before helping her to her feet.

"You boys stay out of trouble tonight. I'm heading home in another ten minutes. Do you need anything before I go?"

Landon shook his head but flashed a grin as he said, "Just tell your old man, that I kissed his wife and felt his baby kick tonight."

Rachel laughed and said, "You're a foolish man Landon Smith to risk the wrath of my Jay. But rest a.s.sured, I'll be sure and tell him." She turned and blew him a kiss as she walked away.

Landon chuckled. Jay was like a brother to him. They had been raised together as pups. Jay and Rach had been married forever, and she was expecting their third child. She was still as beautiful as ever and still thought the sun rose and set in her husband. They both knew Jay would take a bullet for Landon, but it tended to stir his Wolf if Rach bore even the slightest scent of another man. Landon knew the next time he saw Jay, he would have to listen to him b.i.t.c.h about the sleepless night he would have tonight.

There were times when Landon envied Jay. And other times, like when he was talking to him on the phone and the kids were screaming, he wondered if he would ever be ready for a commitment like that.

Shaking off the seriousness of his thoughts, Landon stood to join the party currently in progress on the dance floor.

Women had started crawling all over the boys within a matter of minutes. Their bulky bodies were like magnets to all females in the vicinity. Soon the dance floor was rowdy and full. The drinks and the women just kept showing up. Due to their metabolism and body ma.s.s, alcohol had little effect on Were. In Landon's experience, that had proved to be a handy advantage when it came to womanizing and pool tournaments.

Rouel watched the Were with distain. His hatred overruled his fear, but tonight he kept both restrained. He would bide his time until the coin was found. Trevor slid another drink in front of him, his favorite-b.l.o.o.d.y Mary. As Trevor reached across him, he picked up an underlying scent. He leaned toward Trevor, inhaling deeply.

"Mmmm, delicious. Who is she?"

Trevor, struggling for nonchalance, responded, "Who knows, I've been trying to score all evening." He had hoped to cover Becki's scent with that of the blond, but he had not had enough time to do an adequate job.

Sniffing again, Rouel said, "Yes, but one is stronger than the others." With an evil leer, and flash of fang, he taunted Trevor, "Do you smell that Eric? Isn't it divine?"

Trevor forced a grin and said to Rouel, "Sure wish I knew which one she was."

"Eric? Are you ready for a refill?" Trevor asked, signaling the waitress to stop by their table when she had a moment. Vamps were less susceptible to the effects of alcohol than humans but not immune to it. Trevor, with a small bit of magic, could simply nullify the alcohol content in his own drinks. It was not exactly fair, but only a fool concerns himself with 'fairness' when working with Vamps.

Trevor, Rouel, and Eric left shortly before midnight. As the three left, Rouel leaned close to Trevor and inhaled deeply one more time.

"Back the h.e.l.l off me, Vamp," Trevor warned as anger began to sizzle beneath the surface of his skin.

Rouel smiled sardonically, "Backing off."

Trevor didn't trust the slimy blood-sucker any further than he could throw him. He realized that he would have to stay away from Becki from here on out. He mourned the loss of his only true friend.

Landon and his band of 'Werey' men left soon after Trevor and his Vamps cleared out.

"Chance and Devon, you're on watch tonight," Landon said as they pulled in the driveway. "I scented Becki all over Trevor, so I'm sure his friends did too. That cla.s.sifies her as a high-risk probability in this mess. Unfortunately, she is closely linked to Kurt and the girls, so they are now high-risk as well." Vamps made Landon edgy. Vamps with an agenda made him downright paranoid. Obviously, they were here for the coin, but why?

The Were/Vamp treaty specifically prohibited running the Vamps out of town unless their behavior became problematic. Without a doubt, problematic was fast approaching. Chance and Devon would patrol tonight, and he would have a talk with Royce and Kurt first thing in the morning.