Blood Rain. Amy Blankenship

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.

      â€œSo, 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?”

      â€œChad’s a high ranking cop, though he’s one of the only human cops left in the city. With a lot of the 911 calls coming in being more than a little on the strange side, we’ve had to fill the city with paranormal police officers, along with infiltrating the rescue workers, hospitals, and fire departments,” Storm answered.

      â€œThat’s understandable,” Vincent nodded, silently doing the math of just how many paranormals it would take to pull a citywide trick like that off. “After the stampede I witnessed tonight outside the Witches Brew, it’s a wonder the humans aren’t dropping like flies.”

      Storm was becoming drained from flickering in and out of the room so fast that no one would catch on to what he was doing. Thankfully, Ren was too busy to notice his weakening state, since he was concentrating on the fact that Vincent was once again touching Lacey.

      Focusing back on the topic, Storm continued. “It’s because of PIT’s combined efforts that the human casualties have been kept to a minimum, but even that amount has the city morgues overflowing. The demons are trying to stay off our radar but don’t get me wrong… it’s a very dangerous job and right up your alley.”

      â€œYeah, the worst thing that could happen is you get painfully killed… constantly,” Ren agreed, making it sound like the best thing in the world. Who knew he could be so petty.

      â€œOoh… I think I just got one whole goose bump… try harder,” Vincent responded to the barb in his most bored tone.

      Storm interrupted their verbal war before it escalated into Vincent’s first painful death as an official PIT member. “With your expertise on the different types of demons and what their weaknesses might be, you’d be a lot of help. And don’t worry… you will have an arsenal of weapons and I’m not talking about standard police issue… we have the kind that tends to ruin a demon’s day.”

      Lacey glanced at Ren when Storm mentioned weapons. The truth was… she was looking at their best weapon, yet after what happened back at the Witch’s Brew, she understood that he was also the unstable fuck-bomb that could take them all out if he lost control. Remembering just how she’d given him that control back, she blushed and looked away.

      â€œBut don’t forget,” Storm reminded Vincent, “your number one job is to keep Chad safe until Trevor comes out of hiding. If you get careless and taken out by a demon, that leaves Chad without true backup until you revive.”

      â€Speaking of weapons,” Vincent said and gave Storm a slow smile. “Once the babysitting job is done, I suggest me and you team up and go retrieve some very unique items I know of… things the demons have hidden away.”

      â€œYou honestly think you’re going to be teamed up with Storm,” Ren asked, with an arched eyebrow, again feeling an overpowering need to rip Vincent to shreds.

      Lacey frowned at him once again, hearing the jealousy in his voice. The man seemed to have a possessive streak a mile long and obviously didn’t want to share her or Storm.

      â€œStingy,” she accused.

      Ren shrugged, “It just amazes me how highly the newbie thinks of himself.”

      Lacey rolled her eyes. “Oh get over it, what are you… five?” She moved away from Vincent and approached Ren, watching his face for any sign that it would improve his mood and prove her theory right.

      â€œI’m a lot older than you,” Ren mocked, with a wide grin now that Vincent was left standing alone.

      â€œYou made the water heater break while I was in the shower,” Lacey countered playfully, now that she had proof of her nearness being the equivalent of his chill pill. “So mentally, you’re a lot younger than me.”

      â€œShall I take you to meet Chad,” Storm asked, trying to distract Vincent and keep him out of trouble. Lacey was quickly learning how to calm Ren's dark side but Vincent was a hell of a lot slower on the uptake.

      â€œIs it safe to leave them alone,” Vincent whispered, then daringly raised his voice to get their attention. “By the way… I’m pretty sure I’m older than either one of you and you’re both grounded… though I might let Lacey off with a spanking, if she agrees to play nice.” He gave her a suggestive little smile when she swung around to look at him with wide eyes.

      Storm quickly reached out and teleported Vincent out of harm’s way, making a point to remember the expression on Ren’s face. Maybe he would make a special trip back with a camera while he was at it.

      Unable to ignore the strange flash of light that went off right in his face, Ren blinked. Instead of grabbing the idiot he had been aiming for, he wound up gripping thin air and staring at a piece of paper left fluttering in front of him. He snatched it from the air with a frustrated growl.

      â€œWhat’s that?” Lacey asked, completely at peace with the fact that Storm had once again disappeared with Vincent. At least she trusted Storm to keep him safe and alive.

      â€œIt seems your ex-partner is going to be out of range for the rest of the day,” Ren frowned, when the note suddenly vanished and was replaced with a snapshot of his face distorted with rage. Ha… Ha. Storm was just a barrel of laughs lately. He gave a wicked smile as the snapshot turned to dust and slipped through his fingers.

      Ren turned his head to look at Lacey and noticed her eyes flashing with humor. She was still staring at his hand where the picture had just been.

      â€œLiked that did you,” he asked with a cocked eyebrow. She was making it hard for him to hold on to his anger. Her nodding vigorously was just way too cute.

      Chapter 3

      â€œI need to get out of these clothes,” Lacey said, glancing down at the cocktail dress she was still wearing. The dress had been really pretty when she’d first put it on, but after the frightening night she’d had, it was dirty and actually ripped in a couple of places where she’d been pierced by those demon strands.

      A shockwave of intense sexual need hit her hard and Lacey snapped