Chapter Three
Joanna
In the past, whenever I was having a shit day, I’d pick a fight with a werewolf on our watchlist. But the uprising threat made it too dangerous to hunt alone. And if I wanted to team up…who’d even answer my call?
If word about me and Marcus had spread, the reactions most definitely mirrored the one from my ex, Malik: disbelief. And more pointedly, disgust.
“Joanna Sullivan, everyone. The hunter who’s fucking the alpha.”
I was an enigma. But hunters sleeping with supernatural creatures wasn’t unheard of. I worked with a few hunters who swore vampires could make their partners come by feeding from them, and how the hell would they know that unless there’d been intent to fuck?
Before Marcus, I was even involved with his beta. Of course, that was just sex and nothing more than a necessary distraction.
But with Marcus…
Shit.
It wasn’t too hard to remember why I hated jogging. Instead of clearing my head, I was living in it. So, I was more than happy when my building came into view.
And I was sure whoever was driving the SUV was happy, too.
For thirteen minutes, the black Chevrolet had remained a decent distance behind me—trailing at a normal pace, using its indicator at every turn. But for the last two minutes, it was right on my ass, as if the driver realized I’d clocked him and had given up trying to hide.
Instead of walking to the rear of my building, I began my cool down stretches right in front of the old loading dock. With my back to the street, I heard the hum of the engine disappear. Doors slammed shut, and two people clunked toward me.
Auras buzzed like mosquitoes in my ear; the two strangers were definitively human, but they weren’t hunters.
I turned around when someone cleared their throat, and to my surprise, one stalker was a woman. But her impressive physique agreed with her heavy footsteps.
“I’m Viper.” Her muscles screamed bodybuilder, with defined biceps that rippled as she crossed her arms in her snug black tank top. She gestured with a tilt of her head, making the snake tattoo that curled from behind her left ear down the side of her neck dance. “This is my partner, Tobias.”
“We would like you to come with us.”
I turned and studied the man right in front of me. He was beefy, with thick, bulging muscles that stretched the fabric of his black shirt to its limits.
Again, my gaze darted between them. “No, thank you.”
My voice carried a nonchalance that brought a furrow to Viper’s brow. “Miss Sullivan, we weren’t asking.”
“And the answer’s still no. Imagine that.”
Tobias grumbled and sprung for my arm.
I grabbed his hand and twisted it back, hard.
He cried out in pain, struggling to pull away before punching with his other hand.
I ducked, landing a punch to his balls, and he doubled over in agony.
I hooked my right leg around his left and pushed him onto his ass by the neck when Viper whipped out her gun.
I prepared to disarm her, but a door of the SUV flew open.
“Joey,” a gruff voice called hastily, “get in the car.” James stared at me from the back of the SUV, his posture rigid. But at least his hands weren’t bound.
“Who are Fezzik and Goliath, James?” I straightened after noticing the slight tic of my mentor’s jaw.
“We’re with the Bureau, Miss Sullivan,” Tobias answered as he pushed himself to his feet. He’d spat out my name like a curse. “Our boss would like to speak with you.”
Viper stepped back as she holstered her gun, creating a path for me to walk through.
The two giants stared at me as if they knew I wouldn’t run now—not after they disclosed who’d sent them… And they were right.
The National Bureau of Supernatural Affairs was an organization whose sole purpose was to police the supernatural.
No one remembered exactly how it formed, but rumor had it that a coven of witches and warlocks birthed the damn thing after a surge in vampire fledglings.
Now all supernaturals—the vampires, the shapeshifters, the demons, et cetera—were governed by an entity said to possess talismans and spells that could bring even Lucifer to his knees.
I climbed into the rear passenger seat, my gaze never leaving James.
“What the fuck is going on?” I hissed, attempting to keep my breath steady despite the way my heart pounded in my chest.
He shook his head and kept his face emotionless, but when he spoke, the edge in his voice could cut through steel. “Maybe I could’ve given you a heads-up if you’d returned any of my calls.”
Shame forced my gaze to drop, and my eyes landed on the two black hoods between our knees. “Oh, hell no.”
Tobias reached over, his large arm pressing me harder than necessary against the seat as he grabbed a hood.
“These are enchanted,” he said, holding it out for me.
“It’ll be tempting to take it off… Don’t.
” The corners of his mouth rose into a smile that didn’t reach his eyes…
as if he secretly wished I’d ignore his warning.
But I knew what curiosity did to that damn cat.
◆◆◆
The enchanted hood stripped away all my senses. When I cursed out loud, the thick fabric swallowed the sound of my voice. My scalp sweated, and even the smoky scent of my reverting roots was missing.
These fuckers owed me a silk press.
I didn’t know how long we’d been moving. It could’ve been two minutes or two hours.
With the hood still on my head, the only sign we’d stopped was Viper’s hands gripping my wrists. I could tell it was her because she had to carry me and, despite all the muscle, the woman’s breasts were impressive—a lot bigger than my 32B cups.
I kept stumbling, my body not knowing which way was up thanks to the hood’s magic.
When someone pulled it from my head, the scent of stale air hit me like a brick, burning my nostrils.
I scrunched up my eyes to block out the blinding fluorescent light, my hands flying to my ears to silence the humming of the bulbs above.
A hand pushed me into a chair. I was still disoriented, trying to will the room to stop spinning. I forced myself to take deep breaths until my heart slowed to its normal rhythm.
“So, they were right about you,” a muffled voice dripped with cruel amusement. “It usually takes our captives twice as long to calm—not that you’re a captive, Miss Sullivan,” she corrected with a quickness that nearly made me chuckle. “You’re our guest, of course.”
I eased open my eyes, allowing them to adjust to the light. “Next time, send me a fucking E-Invite, won’t you?” I said through clenched teeth.
I placed my open palms on the surface of the steel table in attempt to regain my bearings; the two people who orchestrated my kidnapping were in my sight, and I for damn sure wasn’t letting them out of it.
The old woman staring at me with reproach had annoyingly smooth skin. Wispy dark bangs hung above her almond eyes, the rest of her hair secured atop her head with a gorgeous emerald hairpin.
The sleeves of her tailored red blazer bore no wrinkles, even as she sat, elbows bent, with her fingers laced upon the table.
The blouse peeking from underneath was whiter than I’d ever seen a piece of clothing, and against it, the black jade pendant she wore stood out like smoke against a clear sky.
The light-skinned man sitting next to the woman had remained quiet thus far.
I guessed he was around my age, and he too was blessed with good looks.
High cheekbones. A strong jawline. And piercing hazel eyes with green flecks.
He wore a well-fitted navy suit that accentuated his broad shoulders, while a Rolex hugged his left wrist.
The slight curve of his lips hinted at a knowing smile before he spoke. “Joanna Sullivan.” Damn, I was a sucker for sexy-ass voices. “I’m Deandre Hill, Bureau agent.”
The Asian woman gave a subtle bow, though the frown on her face from my earlier outburst remained. “And I’m Sarah Li, Director of Operations.”
For the first time since they removed the hood from over my head, I realized we were alone.
I looked around the stark, windowless room.
The concrete walls were bare, interrupted only by the massive metal door several feet behind me.
No furniture adorned the room save for the steel table and the four chairs that surrounded it, three of which we occupied…
“Where’s James?” I demanded, narrowing my eyes at the pair.
Li’s interlocked fingers tightened. “He’ll be joining us shortly, Miss Sullivan. We were hoping for a few minutes alone with you first.”
I shifted in my seat. “Care to enlighten me as to fucking why?” If the twitch of Li’s eye was an indicator, she was not fond of my foul mouth.
Hill arched his brow. “Because hunters are fascinating,” he stated matter-of-factly. “Because you are fascinating, Miss Sullivan.”
I sneered at him, leaning back in the chair, trying to mask my nerves with indifference. “Are you trying to recruit me, Agent? I’m both flattered and not interested.”
“Miss Sullivan—”
“Okay, enough.” I despised people in suits calling me that. It felt like they were scolding me for misbehaving… because they usually were. “Let’s get those four syllables down to two, shall we? Joey is fine.”
Hill glanced at Li with a smirk on his face. “May I do the honors?”
Li slid over a manila folder bearing the NBSA insignia.
Agent Hill opened the folder but didn’t look down when he spoke. “Joanna ‘Joey’ Sullivan,” he recited, staring at me. “African American female. Twenty-eight years old.”
“One hundred and thirty pounds, AB-positive—are you done?” I scoffed.
He ignored me and continued. “Lost father to an illness at seventeen and her mother in a work-related accident a year later. With the settlement, she and her sister, Latoya Sullivan, lived comfortably until tragedy struck again, and a street gang brutally murdered the older sister… But we all know humans weren’t what killed her. ”
I fought down the sigh of relief that threatened to escape my lungs.
The Bureau didn’t know my sister was alive.
“Joanna graduated from community college with an average GPA, no awards, and no job prospects for her…” Apparently, this was the only part of my life that Hill had forgotten. He looked down, scanning his file. “Communications degree.”
Heat flushed through my body. “What’s your point, Agent Hill?”
“You mean besides the fact that we most certainly are not trying to recruit you?”
Great. A smug bastard. I wanted to punch that condescending smirk right off his pretty face. But I wouldn’t, because even though she stayed silent, I knew ‘Director’ was a title Sarah Li earned, and I didn’t care to learn how.
As she studied my reactions, her eyes revealed it all: she was strong, even if I couldn’t read her aura.
“The Bureau was curious, Joey. How someone as… normal as you stopped a supernatural uprising.” Hill leaned forward as if he were done with our jeering. “Joey, what exactly is your relationship with Marcus Blackwood?”
“Sexual,” I answered before I could stop myself.
Hill furrowed his brow.
“What can I say? He has a decent-sized dick.”
A minor crack appeared in Hill’s stiff lip. “What is it with you women forsaking your race?” He noticed the way my jaw dropped and swiftly covered his ass. “The human race,” he clarified, massaging his temples in exasperation. “I’m a soldier, Miss Sullivan, not a bigot.”
Li cleared her voice, cutting through the awkward air. “Joey, is it true you formed an alliance with the Alpha of the Blackwood Pack? And together, the two of you stopped one faction of the rogues?”
My eyes widened. “One faction?” I whispered.
Li shared a pitiful glance with her partner. The wrinkles that appeared between her perfectly arched eyebrows looked out of place, but she remained silent, as if she knew I needed this moment for myself.
Like I’d feared, all we’d won was a battle.
We were still facing the fucking war.