Kane (Protectors #29)

Chapter 1

Kane stepped into the compound and instantly regretted it. The noise rolling out from Sloan’s office hit him like a damn freight train. Voices were raised...again. He paused, frowned, then pivoted on his heel. Yeah, hell no. He didn’t even want to guess what kind of chaos was brewing in there.

“Where in the hell do you think you’re going?” Charger’s deep voice boomed from behind him, sharp enough to make Kane’s shoulders tense.

“Not in there,” Kane muttered, jerking a thumb toward Sloan’s office before glancing over his shoulder. One look at Charger’s glare, and he sighed, knowing that look. “Shit...”

“If I’m going in, so the fuck are you.” Charger nodded toward the closed door like a man marching into battle. “You wanted me here, and I’m here.”

It was true, he had asked for Charger to be here, and now he regretted it. Kane groaned under his breath. He hadn’t been around for a few weeks, and every time he did show up, it seemed like the universe decided that was the perfect time for some shitstorm to explode in Sloan’s office.

“Where have you been?” Charger pressed as they neared the door.

“Well, Dad,” Kane drawled, throwing open the door before he had to answer and immediately wished he hadn’t.

“All I’m saying,” Jared was bellowing, hands flying through the air, “King isn’t the only one who’s been shot with silver and lived! He’s running around here acting like a God or something.”

Kane glanced at King, who cocked his eyebrow with a half grin, but remained silent.

“And I’m asking if it went straight through Raven?” Sid shot back, eyes rolling hard enough to see the back of his skull. “The bullet was embedded in King. There’s a big difference, genius.”

“I am a God, ya know,” King added with a wink at Raven, but was ignored by both Sid and Jared.

“Oh, okay, Dr. Dumbass!” Jared snapped. “Forgive me for not remembering whether it went straight through or not! I mean, my daughter just got shot. I was a little preoccupied with worry.”

Kane smirked, his gaze drifting to Raven, who only shrugged with that signature “I’m surrounded by idiots” expression.

Sid turned toward Charger, pointing like an attorney at trial. “You were there! Did it go straight through or not?”

“Do I even want to answer this?” Charger muttered to Kane, who snorted.

“Not a chance, bro. No matter what you say, one of those two is going to be pissed.” Kane warned him, then shrugged. “Ah, fuck it. Tell them.”

“Straight through,” Charger finally said, sealing his fate.

“Ha!” Sid barked, jabbing a finger at Jared. “Told you!”

Jared’s eyes went dark. “What the fuck ever? Silver is silver! Doesn’t matter if it passes through or sticks. It went into her body!”

“Should I tell them?” Kane murmured to Charger, who grinned.

“I mean, they should already know. They are the mighty Warriors.” Charger snorted, smirking at Raven, who gave him a knowing look. “But yeah, go ahead. I want to watch this dumpster fire burn.”

“There are imitation silver bullets out there being sold. Hell, there’s probably more imitations circulating out there than real ones,” Kane said loud enough to cut through the argument.

Jared turned, scowling. “Do we look stupid?”

“You really want me to answer that?” Kane muttered cocking his eyebrow as he leaned against the wall, arms crossed.

“I’ve been shot with silver, or so the idiot who shot me bragged before pulling the trigger.

Got the bullet tested because I live and there wasn’t a trace of silver. Just cheap knockoff metal.”

“Would have loved to have seen that sucker’s face when you didn’t die instantly.” Duncan chuckled next to him.

Sid frowned, ignoring Duncan. “Was it embedded or go straight through?”

“Will you give it a rest?” Jared barked, throwing up his hands again.

“Either way,” Kane said, his tone flat, “if it had been real silver, I wouldn’t be standing here having this stupid-ass conversation. And Raven sure as hell wouldn’t be over there smirking like the queen of sarcasm. We’d both be dead.”

“Nickel silver,” Steve chimed in from the back.

“Nickel silver.” Kane nodded affirmatively.

“I was gonna say that earlier,” Steve muttered glancing between Sid and Jared, “but, you know... I like living.”

“Good choice,” Jared and Sid said in unison.

Steve shrugged. “Nickel silver looks close enough to silver that the untrained eye can’t tell. People sell nickel silver as the real deal because they can charge a higher price and profit. Lucky for us, people are getting cheap metal instead of silver vampire killer bullets.”

King, who had been silently watching the circus unfold, finally sighed.

“How about this—nobody gets shot, and we stop having this dumbass debate. Any vampire who’s ever been hit with real silver knows the difference.

You don’t forget that kind of pain... and you sure as hell don’t want to feel it again. ”

“I don’t know anyone other than you who has survived being shot by real silver and lived to tell about it, so I’ll take your word on that,” Kane said, then grinned at Raven. “Sorry, Rave,”

“Hey, this wasn’t my fight,” Raven said, glancing between Jared and Sid. “All I know is that I got shot and it hurt like hell, real silver or not.”

The room fell quiet for a heartbeat.

Then Kane smirked at Charger. “Told you walking in here was a mistake.”

Charger chuckled, shaking his head. “I like living dangerously.”

Before Kane could respond, the office door slammed open so hard the walls rattled, sending everyone on high alert.

“Don’t you assholes have shit to do?” Sloan barked, glaring around the room like he was picking targets. “Am I not working you enough?”

The room went dead quiet. Even Jared’s mouth snapped shut, something that rarely happened.

Sloan stomped to his desk. “I swear to God, I have never—and I mean never—walked into my office without one of you jackasses already in here.”

Kane smirked, glancing at Charger. “You think he means us?”

Charger snorted. “Nah, must be the other jackasses.”

Sid leaned back in his chair, a grin spreading wide. “We just miss your enlightening and titillating conversations, boss.” He wiggled his eyebrows for dramatic effect.

Sloan froze mid-sit, turned his head slowly, and stared at Sid like he was seriously debating murder. “I will kill you if you say another word.”

“Do you even know what titillating means?” Raven gave Sid a sideways glance.

Jared snorted loudly. “I bet he definitely doesn’t know what that means.”

“I know what it means!” Sid shot back. “It means... educational!”

Raven groaned. “That’s not what it means.”

“Son of a bitch,” Sloan muttered, dropping into his chair and rubbing his temples. “One of these days, I’m going to fake my own death just to get five minutes of peace.”

“Wouldn’t work,” Kane said with a straight face. “We’d show up at your fake funeral, arguing about whether the silver bullets went straight through or not.”

“Fuck you, Kane,” Jared hissed, flipping him the finger.

Kane just laughed, not even responding. These Warriors really let their feelings show, and it was easy to piss them off. Kane was good at pissing people off. He did it daily for shits and giggles. It passed the time and put him in a good mood.

“Are you any closer to getting in undercover with the asshole who put a hit out on Joey?” King asked, breaking through all the bullshit.

“Actually, that’s why I’m here.” Kane glanced his way, hating to break this news to him.

“But I did find out from a very reliable informant that Amara’s name is being tossed around again.

Keep her close, King. I’m sure if there isn’t one yet, another bounty for her being taken alive is coming soon. ”

“We figured that,” Damon, who had remained silent during the silver not silver controversy, said from his new place in the new compound, sounding bored and pissed as usual.

“Yeah, well, you can throw vampires into the mix who want Amara and anyone else with Golden Blood. I can almost guarantee Golden Blood is going to trump anything we’ve seen with Crimson Rush.

” Kane said, glancing at King. “Hopefully, Jinx removed Joey’s name from the Golden Blood database in time, or you are going to have your hands full, brother. ”

“Damn, can’t we get a break?” Steve said with a huge sigh. “I guess asking for a vacation is out of the question. I promised Mira I’d take her to the beach.”

“You want a break or a vacation?” Kane eyed Steve. “Find a different profession.”

“Grow your porn stash back, Steve,” Jill said with a chuckle and smirk.

Steve glared at her, then looked thoughtful. “Ya know...”

“And we don’t want to fucking know,” Sid wiped a hand down his face.

“Jared, does Tessa still have the stripper pole in the bar?” Steve looked damn serious when he asked that question.

“If she does, I’m ripping that fucker out tonight,” Jared gave Steve a sideways glance. “I swear if I see you use that pole, I will beat you with it.”

“Sorry, man, I have to ask...” Sid held up his hand for silence. “Why do you want to know that, Steve?”

“Today is the day I’m going to end myself.” Sloan could be heard saying this under his breath, which had Kane chuckling. These fuckers were crazy.

“Dude, before I shaved off my mustache, I asked Siri how much male strippers could make, and holy shit man, it puts what I make as a Warrior to shame.” Steve’s eyes were wide as he looked around at the group. “If I grow my porn stash back and practice on the pole, I can—”

“Look like a dumbass with a porn stash,” Jared chuckled, finishing Steve’s sentence. “For the love of God, stick with the Warriors, Steve.”

And just like that, the room dissolved into laughter, insults, and threats, which were all perfectly normal for the Warriors and Dark Guardians. Kane wouldn’t be shocked at all if a fight broke out. Chaos followed them everywhere, but damn if he didn’t enjoy every fucking minute of it.

Everyone started to drift out of the room, but Kane stopped Adam. “Adam,” Kane said, gaining his attention.

“What’s up?” Adam moved out of the way as others passed.

“How reliable is your power?” Kane asked, not wanting to downplay what Adam could do, but something wasn’t adding up.

“Why?” Adam frowned, not sounding angry at being questioned, but curious.

“In the hospital, you were reading Monica,” Kane said, noticing Charger and King were listening carefully. “She said that her sister had been missing for ten years.”

“I remember,” Adam gave a nod, then waited.

“It’s come to my attention that it’s only been two years.” Kane continued, not sure why Monica would lie about something like that. “Could you have read her wrong?”

Adam’s frown deepened as he stared at Kane. “I’m not going to say no, but the only person that I have ever read wrong was Angelina. Slade thinks our bond scrambles my read of her. Why would she lie about how long her sister has been missing?”

“I’m not sure yet if it’s a lie, but I’m going to be finding out real soon,” Kane said, then clapped him on the back. “Thanks, man.”

“Well, let me know because I never felt any deceit coming from her that day,” Adam replied, still frowning. “Not saying that it can’t happen.”

“Will do,” Kane nodded as he watched Adam head out the door. He was ready for answers from this woman who obviously believed she could outsmart him. She really had no idea who in the hell she was dealing with, but she was about to find out.