"So, you some kind of debt collector? Here to rough me up for money?" Steven didn't even have the good grace to wait until we were down the stairs.

"Something like that," I answered.

"Really? Which place you from?"

"Julianne's."

"Oh wow, that's legit? Like you can go after me even though she's dead?" His comments and my mounting ill temper left only one option.

I slammed Steven into the wall hard enough to make his eyes roll back. It only took a little bit of pressure. A bit of focus. He didn't even try to squirm. Once his eyes finished rolling there was kind of a silly smile on his face.

Man feels off. Pulse erratic. Eyes dilated. Breath full of extra things. Too little fight in this creature. Worthless.

"Are you high?" I asked.

"Me? No, dude. Just happy, happy, happy."

Clearly he was mentally short a few screws. Either it was drugs, or he was an amazingly carefree guy. I threw him to the side and kept walking down the hall. His hang-ups weren't my problem. Steven bounced up almost instantly and limped after me.

"So, what am in for? You got like, late penalties? ‘Cus I can totally pay. Got money riding on the challenger tonight." He managed a few stupid jabs at the air and didn't even wince. "If Sandberg wins I can take care of your collection and maybe some for that sweet number upstairs."

"Good luck," I said.

"You'll see. Odds aren't too bad."

"Sure." I just wanted to be away from him and somewhere I could enjoy the fight. I needed to see blood splattering. My head was starting to throb.

"You going to go watch the match? Can I like, follow you down there?" Steven asked me while smiling.

"No."

"You'll hardly notice me. I swear." He put one hand against the wall and held the other up as if swearing an oath.

"No." We made it down the stairs and Steven still didn't leave me alone. He had made good time on the steps even with his hurt leg.

Then I saw a face that paralyzed me. Her face. Dark skin that broke only for a smile. The whites around her irises. Her dress was daring and dipped so low in the front that any man would do a double take. Brown creme fabric against dark chocolate skin.

I quickly veered away from that side of the room, found a corner and tried not to freak out. This was too much. We had separated long enough that things were becoming bearable. Just short enough that seeing her smiling face felt like being shoved into a grinder.

"You alright? You look super white. Like, a ghost, maybe some sort of returned from the dead thing. They got a name for those?" Steven’s head tilted to one side. The man had followed me down and it was aggravating.

"Don't know." The question threw me off. I had never heard of such a creature. Vampires were close, considered partially dead by a lot of people due to their nocturnal nature. It was an old belief from centuries ago.

"Damn. I should come up with something about monsters coming back from the dead. It sounds like a money maker. I've got a nose for these things." He rambled.

I had to give it to Steven. He was distracting, just enough to get me past the initial panic. I dared to look up and over at the main reason for my messy past. Kahina. She was walking around with her new husband in tow. A man she married less than a week ago. They weren't out on some island resort or near the North Pole to enjoy their honeymoon. No, they were here, tonight, at Bottom Pit.

Hell.

The television claimed they knew each other for years. Storybook romance. Too bad I never saw the guy once during my association Kahina. Until two weeks ago I had never even heard of the guy. Reginald Horn. A man whose credit limit totaled higher than all the money I had ever touched in my life. Full fledged vampire. Over a hundred years old. They were a perfect couple. I hated him instantly.

Thirty bodies between us. Not much. Like tiny ants. Could reach this Tick. Kill him. Reclaim Dangerous Mate. His death must be swift.

I tried to shake off the thinking. Tried to shake off the slow focusing of rage and awareness. To prevent my world from becoming a tunnel of violence.

"Come on, the fight starts in like five minutes. Bets are closing. Well, the good bets." Steven took off, limping through the crowd. True to form he stopped at the nearest scantily clad waitress and tried to chat her up.

I lost focus on the idiot and tried not to flip out in the middle of a crowded room. The back of my neck was tingling almost full time. A rush of nearly orgasmic pleasure was being muted by frustration. If I could just get rid of Reginald things would be so much better.

And I was staring. The distance between Kahina and I barely existed in my mind. I removed myself from her presence for a month but I hadn't given up on a hope of us eventually. Distance hadn't changed how I felt about her. She was still mine. Still one of the few people I could track without a link. Without effort.

Mine. Mine. Mine.

The word pulsed. I turned and shook my head then stared at the wall like it was a lifeboat. It was difficult to move. My feet wouldn't even shuffle towards the door.

Dress almost silk. Slides as her arm moves. Feel her smile. Lips curved and barely tense. Slightly past from makeup. Her back flinches where the Tick touches her. Barely a stutter. Dangerous Mate breathes in time with twitch. Only I notice. She's mine.

Why would she flinch at this man? I managed to stifle my anger long enough to look the pair over. He was busy chatting to the men in suits. Their words excited and loud. About the fight. Her eyes looked around the room, and every so often she chimed in on her husband's conversation. Showing she wasn't to be ignored. They seemed perfectly normal.

Reginald gave her a peck on the cheek and dropped his arm. She flinched again at the momentary contact. Something in her mind wasn't reacting right. Maybe the romance was just too fast. Maybe she was still upset of the death of a man she didn't remember right. I could only hope that the false memory of me was impacting her.

I had been her guard, there for her when she went through a vampiric transition. I gave her everything. My protection, love, and blood. Then because of a barely remembered threat, I let her memories be wiped away. Days later found me floating along in a sea of booze. The world kept spinning while I put off processing my grief and regret.

Not once in the last four weeks had anyone beyond rowdy wolves tried to attack me. The entire thing might have been a fabrication. If it wasn't for the nagging voice in the back of my head that had grown more defined over the last few weeks. It told me the danger was real. Very real. And if the wrong person truly wanted to kill my former girlfriend then it was easy enough. There was a threat. One I couldn't quite grasp.

Even vampires could die to a high-powered sniper rifle. One shot, one stupid well-placed bullet from upon high and her head would explode like a watermelon. It made the anger worse just contemplating how quickly she could be snuffed out.

I planned to find Daniel, find Muni, find anyone and ask how I could end my self-imposed witness relocation program. Once I got over the initial shock of leaving Kahina.

Then there had been an announcement of their wedding. That put me back for days. I hadn't expected her to pick up a relationship so soon.

"You should see the line up there." The brown haired goofy man said.

"Steven." My hand went up and stopped just before the smaller man's face.

"What?” He leaned to the side and looked around my hand. “You ready to crowd up to The Pit? Who's your money on? I hope it's not Holland, I swear-"

"Shut up." I cut him off.

"What? Why? You feelin’ alright? You just hang out with me. We'll drink, see a grand fight, take home some money, maybe some lovely lady-" Steven nudged me and spoke a little louder. All for the benefit of an approaching waitress. "-would be interested in going out for dinner after their shift ends."

I wanted to throw the geeky man into a wall, again, with more force. Chances were Steven would ignore the pain and only smile.

To make matters worse, Kahina had noticed me. I saw that momentary look in her eyes and turned away to avoid encouraging her. If she ever remembered that I had left her things would be disastrous. Being around Kahina would make me a public figure and essentially painting a target on everyone I cared about saying 'Please try to kill them, thanks, Love, Jay'.

"Woh damn. She's like a guided missile. Sorry, vampires, not my thing. I'll scope out a good vantage point. You have fun with toothy there." Steven whistled low and tried to slyly scoot away. Then he gave up the act and a grin crossed his face. Moments later he was chasing down another waitress.

Her legs run smooth. No nylons. Barely a hint of fabric to the light dress. No bra. No…

The voice in my head was out of control. I couldn't allow myself to think about what she felt like. Yet my personal circle of Hell rarely let wants and needs meet.

I did want to talk to her. Hell, I really, really, really wanted to. Not just talk. I wanted to spend a lot of time on a bed or the nearest convenient table. The closer she got the worse my background thoughts became. More primal.

Kill him. Take Dangerous Mate home.

Avoiding a growl was difficult. Shaking my head to regain control was ineffective. By the time she strode across the room I was almost prepared to face her.

I looked up and froze like a deer in headlights. Crushed peppermint filled the air making my eyes water slightly. Her scent invoked memories, nights together, laughing, conversations, all things that I couldn't bring up. Guilt washed through me for checking out the waitress earlier.

Kahina had almost killed me before. Twice. That kind of danger should have scared me. Should have made me run the other way with my imaginary tail between my legs. For the longest time, I had thought I was afraid of her. For four years that was what my memory told me. Until I learned it was all a lie. I had run to keep her safe.

I wanted to take her right there on the table.

"Do I know you?" The woman said. Her face was nearly level with mine and dark red eyes bored away searching for secrets. Both lips were nearly a perfect match of crimson.

"No." I said carefully.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm very forgettable." It hurt to say that. It hurt even more to control myself and not say or do anything else. My back still tingled with surges of angry happiness. Both shoulder blades were trying to spread wide and bat against the air. I wanted to jump up and down like an excited puppy.

Kahina frowned but didn't stop glaring. I finally sighed and switched tactics and started to back away. Her fingertips pushed against my chest and my breath caught.

"You are extremely familiar." Her words were almost a purr. I could hear an unspoken word at the end of her sentence. Cat-nip, her pet name for me. Her face was nearly hypnotized. Sharp peppermint had grown stronger.

How did no one else notice that smell?

I maintained eye contact. Not through any demonstration of will power. It was because my gaze was riveted to her face. My other senses felt the rest of her body. It was clingy. Almost lecherous. Especially when considering the woman was now married.

Can solve that. Simple. Can kill him.

"You were staring quite intently across the way there." I felt her subtly taste the air. She had grown better at that. Her body mimicked human patterns almost perfectly. False breathing. Eyes blinking. Arms moved and fingers drummed against sides as if lost in thought.

"Star struck," I muttered.

"Ah. Perhaps. But you don't seem like the type." Her tongue snaked out to lick a sharpened fang. I watched and tried not to remember all the good and bad memories that mouth had brought me.

"You never know."

"No, men like you, I know. You love the conflict. Subtly is a waste of time. You seem like the sort that solves problems with a hammer." Kahina said.

"So?" I tried to shrug one shoulder but it moved slowly. That burning sensation in my back kept distracting my mind.

"So. A man like you stares that intently and he has two thoughts. Fight or fuck." Her words were vulgar and dead on.

"Maybe."

"Which is it?" She asked.

"Neither." My honest answer would have been both, of course. "It’s just not everyday I see the East Coast's Hotel Princess in a place like this." I had to change the conversation. A wise man might have run, history had proven wisdom was not a trait of mine.

"Well I expect quite the show tonight so I insisted we go out. These events remind me of my younger years." She smiled. This was the first expression of happiness Kahina had given me since her change.

That alone was worth stifling my urges. It pushed back the clouded thoughts in my head just a bit. I felt human for the first time in weeks.

"I'm sure you'll enjoy it." I responded. Kahina had loved to watch the fights on television, especially during our last few months together.

"I do hope so. The few fights I've seen tonight are rather boring. The champion fight promises entertainment. Do you have money on anyone Mister...?" Her voice trailed off.

"John." That was what Barnie and Roy both called me. A good a name as any.

"No last name, John?"

"Not tonight." My brain tried to remember what Muni had told me a month ago. What would happen if Kahina did actually hear my name? Would memories come flooding back? No, hers were completely removed.

"Ah. Well then, John. Who's your money on?" She looked around the crowd as if scouting for a good person to place a wager on.

"I only bet on myself." I too tried to look away, but both of us seemed intent upon tracking the other with our peripherals.

Kahina turned back towards me and said, "Are you a fighter then?"

"Used to be," I muttered slowly. Part of me could vaguely recall joining a fight or two when I didn't have people to chase down for debts or lost items.

"Did you enjoy it?" Her words felt like being stalked by a panther. Not because they were both black, but because there was a wall of muscle just beneath the skin. Long sharp teeth, that name felt much more fitting than Dangerous Mate.

"Fighting helps keep me level headed.” I tried to skirt honesty while talking to her. Now my mind was imagining her naked, stalking across the bed while licking one tooth again. The idea had me flustered, I wanted to fight her and do all that other stuff too.

"Have you worked for me before?" Kahina shifted gears suddenly. I paused and gave a confused look. The clever girl was trying to catch me off guard. Just being around her was disarming enough.

"No. Never even heard of you before I saw the news." How long could I play dumb? Her questions were difficult to dodge, and I wasn't about to walk away first. Not from her, not again.

"Sorry, Miss Rhodes." Using her last name was safe. According to the news, she kept her maiden name.

"Call me Kahina."

"Maybe."

She hummed in thought then tensed a bit. It was barely visible. If my senses hadn't been picking up every trace movement of her body I would’ve never noticed.

Reginald wandered up behind her. He had the same build I did, large, thick, muscled. Only instead of the general thug presence I carried, he was sophisticated. The tailored clothes, the professional smile, a ramrod straight back, head pried back, everything. Just a slight tilt to his head that let him peer down at everyone.

"Who's your friend, Dear?" His voice annoyed me. There was a self-assured calmness to his words. Everything felt measured, but not calculating, well paced and steady.

"This, is John. Just John." Kahina’s hand waved at me in an almost offhanded manner. I felt relieved while the bottom dropped out from under my gut.

"John? I'm not familiar with him." Reginald was slightly shorter and managed look down on me.

"No, it seems I'm not either," She responded while looking across at her new husband.

"The fight will be starting soon." He said.

I hoped Reginald would combust. Maybe flooring would drop out from below him and he would get sucked into the molten core of our earth. A stake could just magically appear piercing his heart and I would be the happiest man on earth.

"Yes, we did come for a fight, didn't we?" Kahina said.

"Of course, you insisted this would be a worthwhile adventure. Goodbye, John. Come on, Dear, it's time to get to our seats." He wasn't even subtle about putting his hand around Kahina's waist. She flinched again and I definitely didn't imagine it. The anger that barely stayed controlled nearly broke loose.

Hell, I nearly snapped and tore the man a new air hole. The fact that I didn't should have put me up for an award. One of many I deserved for tonight.

"Of course." She turned and beamed a smile across to him. That look used to be for me.

My gaze wasn't even remotely friendly now. Too bad the other man didn't know about my past. Otherwise, he wouldn't have looked so smug.

"Enjoy your night. I'll be betting on you, that is, if you do decide it's worth your time to fight." Kahina nodded in my direction.

Reginald turned her away gently and they strode off. I watched for a moment fighting hard to restrain my senses. To control all those perceptions that wanted to wrap around her form and feel everything that had been denied to me over the last month.

Dangerous Mate.

That suppressed voice didn't sound angry. No, it mourned from deprivation. Finally, they moved out of sight. The man that I had been hunting down slid back over and plopped down on a chair. He looked bored but was decent enough to remain quiet. This situation felt like too much. Everything was too much. Steven and his stupid giddy attitude. Reginald having everything I couldn't. Kahina trying to remember me and failing. The giant roadblock that had ruined my life, The Order of Merlin.

I picked up the table and slammed it into the wall. Arms swung again and again. It wasn't a real person, wasn't good enough. Hell, the crowd barely even paused to pay attention to me. There was a fight on, and the Pit was warming up. One man destroying a table wasn't as exciting.

"Sir." A dainty voice behind me said.

"He's busy. I can hold that for you." Steven’s voice felt distant.

"Sorry, Mister Gates. I've been told that it goes to him only." The waitress sounded tiny, a frail thing without much meat on her bones.

"Something special? Not trying to roofie my friend here are you? ‘Cus he'll go willingly. If he won't, I will."

"The House would never do that." She said in a huff. Dainty feet stomping in outrage wouldn’t have been out of place, but my eyes were still glued to the broken furniture.

"Oh, drinks from the House is it?" Steven acted like he had stumbled upon a great mystery.

"It is."

"That's weird. I never get free drinks." He said.

"Shut, up!" I turned to Steven and swung at him with the table’s remains. The problem was that I didn't hit Steven. I hit the waitress. The table leg clipped her on the shoulder and causing her to cry out while crumpling.

I stared for a moment. She was rail thin. Something about her reminded me of a frail doe. Hitting women didn't sit right with me. Much less clearly human ones that had no chance against any of the stronger and faster races. Hell, human women had enough problems with their males.

"Woh." Steven checked her eyelids for consciousness. She was limp. He checked her wrist for a pulse then checked the woman's chest for authenticity.

Those weren't the things that bothered me. What bothered me was hearing a shotgun being calmly loaded behind me. Steady fingers put shells into two barrels. It closed with a final sort of clang.

"Gonna need you to come with me, John." Barnie said. I turned to look at him. My face a picture of anger.

"No trouble, mister." Ted’s stupid voice chimed in.

"Trust me, no matter how riled up the Steven got you, you don't want to test my patience. I'm on vacation." Barnie looked on the verge of an annoyed yawn.

"Don't test ‘em. It's vacation day." The larger one repeated.

"Wasn't me. Drinks are from the House. House doesn't give me free drinks." Steven said.

I was too stunned at my own actions. The waitress wasn't moving. Even Steven had paused his unwanted attentions. Hell. Her arm was turning unfriendly colors. Maybe it was broken. To top it all off not one, not two, but three of the bouncers showed up.

"I didn't rile up anybody." No one responded to Steven's second self-defense. "You know how to party huh?" Steven whispered, backing up towards me. Why he thought I was a safe to be near was beyond me.

"Look, you idiot." I started.

"One sixty-two. Technically not an idiot."

I was about two breaths away from turning Steven into a human club and laying waste to everything I could find. Maybe his increased IQ would do extra damage to Ted's stupidity. Barnie looked down at the waitress and the spilled drink. I followed his gaze, trying not to huff in frustration. Barnie’s lips turned into a slight frown.

"You been drinking those?" He motioned to the puddle. It was smoking slightly. Barnie didn't seem to care one way or the other about the waitress.

"Dunno." It hadn't burned me like it was the floor. That was a disturbing image. I almost pushed past everyone to retch.

"He has." One of the security goons said. Not their leader, Roy was somewhere else. Just one of the many broken faced thugs wearing suits around here.

"How many?" Barnie asked the staff member.

"Three." I lied through my teeth.

"Five." The bouncer seemed certain.

"Fuck me sideways. Alright, John, if that's how we're playing it, best go somewhere private and get this shit sorted." Barnie kept the shotgun leveled at me but turned towards one of the bouncers. "Call someone for your honey trap. Then get Roy and Boss Wylde, we gonna do this, we do it right."

The bouncer grinned and waded off. They had been filling me with those drinks for a reason. Something fishy was going on and I didn't have enough brainpower to figure it out.

"Move, John." Barnie pointed the gun at me.

"Yeah, move John." Ted said.

I stumbled off in front of them and tried not to hit anything on the way. The pulse was growing again. My face felt hot. Both shoulders nearly burned. The shirt I was wearing was uncomfortable and stifling. It felt like my body was cramped and needed to stretch.

We made it back up to the office. Barnie, Ted, and two of the younger looking bouncers with no weavings in their hair were all between me and the exit. Steven had vanished. Probably consoling the poor waitress. Offering to ride with her to the hospital. If she was even conscious. Or alive.

I paced back and forth in front of the giant dark glass that overlooked The Pit. There were fighters in there. Just two. People cheered. People stomped. The hum of excitement crawled out of that place and flooded this room. It was difficult to sit up here. Difficult to behave. I wanted to leap down there and join in.

Barnie picked his teeth. Ted just stared. I barely spared them a glance.

Another cheer came up from the fight below. The champion, Sandberg, was being beaten rather soundly by Holland. It was only the second round though. This fight could go either way. Some fools kept track of points off to the side, just for giggles. A fight like this wouldn't be decided by the judges. It would be complete when one of them stopped moving.

"What is so important that I have to be interrupted a second time tonight?" The redhead stormed into the room. I was too distracted watching the fight below. My face nearly pressed against the glass trying to get a better angle.

"Boss Wylde. John here tried to break one of the pieces of ass downstairs. Figured we'd hold him for you." Barnie said.

"Ass pieces." Ted chimed in.

"You again?" Her name was Boss Wylde, too bad it didn’t matter right now.

I ignored her and focused on the people hitting each other below. Their actions brought me happiness.

"Yeah him. John." Ted was always so helpful.

"We've already met once tonight." She said

I heard her cross the room. Some distant part of me warned of impending danger. That disregarding her was not beneficial to my livelihood. It felt like a rolling wave of heat was chasing me from behind.

I turned and snarled at her. Letting the barely controlled anger flood out for just a moment. The voice that went with my other senses was so close to the surface. Close to taking over and letting everything out. She snarled back, meeting my unspoken threat with one of her own.

People rarely did that to me. Rarely matched my anger with their own. Most creatures, vampires, wolves, elves, and humans at least hesitated. On some level they understood that I was dangerous, a response I enjoyed. It was why Barnie held his gun. It was why the bouncers kept a wary eye on me. It was why people rarely stood in front of me. Even if I didn't feel very threatening anymore.

Not her. She threw it all back at me in equal measure. It made me pause.

"Why haven't you been kicked out yet?" Boss Wylde demanded.

Roy came in the room.

"John's family." The bouncer said. His lisp well under control.

"I don't want excuses." Long fingers with ash painted nails snapped in my direction.

"He's been drinking their stuff." Barnie said. "The runt over here says he's got five of them in him."

Hell. I needed to hit something soon. The glass in here was too frail. The chair too decorative. Everything perfectly positioned to shine and distract. I couldn't destroy this beautiful room. My eyes scanned the other people and wondered how many swings I could get in before Barnie’s shotgun gutted me.

"You're making me miss my fight. For what? He'll probably explode with that many in him." Boss Wylde’s accent grew the angrier she got.

"He won't. Not John." Roy said.

I wasn't sure about it. Their words made little sense. Instead of arguing with her or Barnie I turned to the leader of the bouncers.

"A brawl? You said a welcome back brawl." My voice felt foreign, like some fevered druggie spoke instead. One hand pressed up against the cool glass below. It made concentrating easier.

"Fuck yes." Barnie went from grumpy watchdog to ecstatic teen girl in two words. "John goes in. Rule three in action. Solstice come early. Titties and beer everywhere." Barnie said while humping the air with his shotgun.

"Yeah. Rule three. Titties and beer." Echoed Ted.

"Oh?" The redhead paused to consider the action then looked back at me. "Think we should?"

"If that's what he wants." Roy was careful with his words but there was hope in the man’s eyes.

"I do." I nodded, fingers clenched into fists and unfurled slowly. Everything felt like fire. My forehead sweating again. I needed to drown in the cries of my enemies.

"Been awhile since we had a good brawl." Boss Wylde looked around the room gathering opinions. I could feel her move, normally liquid drowned out my senses, which is why I loved it so much. These Beast drinks were doing the opposite.

"Won't be enough." Ted nearly grumbled. "Five."

"That's the point." Roy slurred briefly around his teeth.

"Brawl?" I almost panted. Holding my head together took a lot of concentration. It felt like the glass had started to sag under my palm that still pressed against it. No longer was the material cool and pleasing. I said, "Need to fight something."

"Fine. Rule three it is. Get him downstairs and I'll put out the announcement." Boss Wylde turned around and pulled out a phone from her desk. Roy motioned for me to follow him. I did, eagerly.

"You have a good time, John," Barnie said as we moved past the duo.

"Good time. Beer and Solstice titties." Ted echoed.