Hitman's Creed - 37

 

"And that's how I ended up getting shot," Glenn told the others late that afternoon.

He’d eaten the light meal Miriam prepared, put on the cutoff shorts she had Joey dig out of his dresser, slept some more, and awakened to find Joey sitting beside him again. This time it was Joey who helped him sit up and take his pills. Glenn felt well enough that he'd refused to lie back down again. With Joey's help he moved to the corner of the sofa and leaned back with one of the blankets covering him, muttering as he did, "I need to get more than these shorts on sometime."

"You need a shower sometime too," Joey replied as he wrinkled his nose, although he liked seeing Glenn like that, in just shorts and the blanket that was now down around his waist. That earned him a lifted middle finger and a chuckle from Glenn.

Joey's mother and Mary appeared a few minutes later, the former wanting to know all the details now that Glenn was feeling somewhat better.

"I was on such an adrenaline rush at that point I was able to get Fairburn's body into a corner of the barn where there was a large pile of rotten hay. That's where he is, at least for now. Before I got him under it I stripped him of any ID as well as his shirt and belt because by then I knew I was bleeding too much. I fixed up a compression bandage of sorts then made my way from the barn back to my car."

"I'm amazed you made it that far," Joey's mother commented.

"It wasn't easy but I really had no choice. The drive from there to here was, shall we say, interesting. I had to fight to keep from passing out and I was damned glad the car is an automatic not stick as I could only use my left leg. I'd just turned onto the lane to here when I really did pass out for a few minutes." He shook his head. "The car's front bumper is resting against a tree trunk, or in it, I didn't really check. I'm glad I was wearing my seat belt and going slow. Anyway, I came to, crawled out of the car and made it the rest of the way back here. The stair railing helped me get onto the porch and I staggered to the door. The rest you know."

"At least you made it back," Joey said quietly. He shrugged a shoulder when Glenn looked at him. "I knew you would, of course."

Glenn chuckled. "Uh huh, then why did you act like you'd seen a ghost when I got here?"

"I did not!" Joey protested. "I was just… you looked like death warmed over as mom says. So anyway, umm, what now? What happens when someone finds the body?"

"With luck that won't happen until he's unrecognizable."

"But if he is? They, the police will figure out who he is and that someone shot him and when that happens you know they'll come to see us." He glanced at his mother. "If they do, I'm going to take the blame."

"Why can't Glenn?" Mary asked, puzzled. "I mean, well, wasn't it self-defense?"

"He can't, that's all there is to it," Joey said adamantly without looking at Glenn. "I can claim it was, and that I was afraid because… because I'd followed him when I saw him in town. I was going to find out where he was staying and, well, we ended up at that farm and he attacked me. Yeah, that would work."

"Joey," Glenn said firmly before anyone else could talk, "that is not going to happen. I'm not going to see you ruin your life and your dreams."

"It's my choice," Joey replied just as firmly.

"No, it's mine." Glenn put a hand on Joey's arm. "Actually, once I'm up and mobile again I'll find somewhere better to dispose of the body. That was just a stopgap measure after all, now that I think about it."

Joey opened his mouth to protest that going back there wasn't safe, and then closed it again when Glenn shook his head. "All right," he said instead, "I'll go with you."

"Damn it, what am I going to do with you?" Glenn growled. "That was a rhetorical question by the way so don't answer."

Release day for 'Vampires Have Lives, Too - Box Set'

 Vampires Have Lives, Too

Box Set

 

https://www.jms-books.com/edward-kendrick-c-224_229/vampires-have-lives-too-box-set-p-5408.html

 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F43828GV/ 

 

 

GENRE: Gay Paranormal Spicy Romance Box Set
LENGTH: 176,315 words
RATING:

Five stories about vampires who, just like their human counterparts, live life to its fullest. They can be happy lives, sad or lonely ones, or ones full of anger. Vampires can have families, and most importantly, they can and do fall in love. Contains the stories:

Lonely Vampire: Vampire Armand knows what it means to be lonely. Then he catches Tino, a new vampire in town, playing Robin Hood and points out that he's not giving to the poor. So the pair band together to create shelters for the homeless. Has Armand finally found the one man who will make his life complete? Or will a rogue vampire who preys on the homeless destroy any hope of happiness for the lonely vampire?

I Hunt by Night: My name is Lucas. I was human, once. Now, I'm a vampire and I detest humans. I will do all I can to eliminate them. I'll be declared rogue if I'm not careful. I thought I was until Axel appeared. He's a vampire, sexy as hell, and he's been watching me. Luckily he detests humans too. The attraction is there, and our shared desire to destroy humans. Can we, without being caught? Only time will tell.

The Family Martell: Vampires Dorian and Cecily adopt three human children, who agree to be turned when they come of age. They join the family business and Griff falls in lust with Nolan, his parents' human partner. Margie, their daughter, loves Wayne, a human doctor. Brad is bi, so when he meets vampire Ewan, and his Sire, Alexia, it causes problems that will take the entire Martell family to solve if they can.

The Midnight Detective: When Wyn's young daughter and her mother, Marianne, disappear, he hires Christoph, a private detective, to find them even though he knows Christoph is a vampire. They are drawn to each other once Christoph leans that Wyn is unrepentantly bi. Can Christoph find Wyn's daughter? And how will the two men handle the fact they've become lovers when one is human and the other definitely is not?

Burke and the Vampire: What would you do if you discovered you could sense vampires? Burke didn't believe they existed until it happened to him. Horrified, he vows to eliminate them. Vampire Reynaud must find the slayer dubbed The Hunter. It turns out to be easier than anticipated when events transpire to reveal it's his new friend, Burke. Can opposites attract, or will their differences destroy the possibility of love?

EXCERPT FROM "Lonely Vampire"
Note: may contain sexually explicit scenes of a homoerotic nature.

"Again?" Armand murmured when he sensed the presence of the vampire who had been down by the creek two weeks ago. Apparently he wasn't just passing through town.

After shielding and going invisible, he homed in on the vampire's location -- in the alley behind the club. He moved silently forward until he saw the male.

Handsome, in a rakish way.

As he watched, the vampire approached a young man, saying something to him. The young man nodded, gesturing to a darkened doorway, then took what Armand presumed was money. At that point, the pair disappeared into the alcove.

A few moments later, the vampire reappeared. Armand was waiting for him, visible but still shielding. "You are trespassing on my territory," he said with quiet ferocity.

The vampire merely smiled, asking, "Do you own the whole city?"

"Not all of it. My territory spreads west through all of downtown -- as well as south to the Creek, where I first saw you."

"Not a small area." The vampire paced, keeping his eye on Armand. "Can I ask who you are?"

Armand nodded.

"Well," the vampire said, lifting an eyebrow.

Armand chuckled. "You wanted to know if you can ask -- which is obviously possible since you speak."

"Word games? All right, I'll be direct. Who are you? Will that get me an answer?"

"Armand Lyon. And you are?"

"Constantino Verona. Tino, to those who know me personally."

"Italian, I presume."

Tino chuckled. "Way back in the mists of the past. Armand is French. Right?"

"Correct. Although it has been over well over two hundred years since I last lived in the country of my birth."

Tino stopped pacing to lean against the alley wall, smiling when the young man he'd fed from appeared, scurrying away toward the sidewalk at the far end of the alley. "Sorry for intruding on your territory," he said to Armand. "But I'm new to the city, so ..." He spread his hands.

"From where?" Armand asked.

"Most recently, Philadelphia. I decided it was time to leave, for the usual reasons."

"Not aging."

"Exactly. How long have you been here?"

"Almost one hundred years," Armand told him. "Under various aliases."

Tino nodded. "So you're the grandson, grandnephew, or what have you of who you were when you first arrived. I've done that a time or two, in the last thousand years, when I had something to keep me in one particular place. Then wanderlust would hit, and I'd take off again."

"Well, if you decide to remain here, I suggest you find somewhere else to feed."

"Third time in your territory is not the charm, I take it."

"Not if I catch you at it."

"Duly noted.” Tino gave Armand a mocking salute. "Hopefully, we won't meet again. Arrivederci."

"Adieu," Armand replied -- a moment too late, as Tino had vanished. He may be, according to him, over one thousand, but he acts like one of the punks who hang out along the 16th Street Mall.

 

 

Hitman's Creed - 36

 

Glenn woke to pain so intense he had to bite his lip to keep from crying out. A quiet voice told him to stay still while a hand brushed his hair back from his forehead. He turned his head just enough to see Joey seated on a chair beside him. "How long…?" Glenn asked.

"Have you been out? About five hours." Joey pulled the blankets up to cover him.

"No. How long have you been sitting there?"

"About five hours," Joey admitted with a small smile.

Glenn looked at him and growled, "Idiot, you should be sleeping."

"I did, on and off."

"Joey, damn…" Glenn's eyes closed again. "You don't have to…" His words faded away.

"Yeah I do," Joey said quietly.

Three hours later Glenn woke again. This time when the pain made him groan deeply Joey's mother was the one to respond.

"I have some painkillers I found in the first aid kit but you'll have to sit up a bit if you don't want the water to soak you. Do you think you can handle that?"

Glenn nodded and with her help he raised up enough to drink from the glass of water once she'd given him the pills. "Where's Joey?" he asked when he'd finished.

"I told him if he didn't get upstairs and sleep I'd tie him to the bed," she told him with a smile. "I guess he believed me because he went up about half an hour ago."

"Stupid kid," Glenn muttered.

"Concerned young man, Glenn. Don't fault him for that. He cares." Once he was prone again she pulled back the blanket so she could check the wound in his thigh. He gritted his teeth hard while she cleaned it again and dosed it with more antibiotic cream. After she'd rewrapped it, she let him know that so far it wasn't infected. "But I will be keeping an eye on it and as soon as Joey's awake we'll get you upstairs so you can have a real bed to recuperate in." She stared hard at him for a long moment then asked, "Where is the body?"

"Safely hidden away. No one will find it unless they know it’s there. Well," he smiled tightly, "at least not unless someone goes into the barn while it's decomposing, which is unlikely since the place looks like it's been deserted for quite a while now."

"Where is it?" she asked. When he told her, she nodded her head. "Mr. Grant died two years ago. He had no heirs so it's been sitting vacant. Occasionally someone goes by to look at it since it's on the market but," she chuckled low. "It's rumored that he haunts it because he doesn't want anyone there. He was a very reclusive man who hated almost everyone, so most people around here wouldn't be in the least surprised if his ghost really did hang out there."

"So Fairburn picked a good place to hide out." Glenn glanced around before asking, "Where's Mary by the way?"

"Still asleep as far as I can tell. Or not," she added when they heard footsteps on the stairs.

Mary came to stand shyly by Glenn. "Thank you," she whispered.

"I don't bite," he told her with a smile. "And you're welcome." He turned to look at Miriam. "I don't suppose I could have something to eat?"

"Of course. Mary, come with me and help."

When the two females disappeared into the kitchen Glenn closed his eyes. He wasn't certain how he felt about the fact that Joey spent most of the night at his side watching over him. On the one hand he liked the idea, much more than he knew he should. A great deal more. On the other hand he knew that he had to quell any hopes Joey had that there could be something between them. 'It would never work,' he thought with some remorse. He liked the kid, more than he should, but last night's episode with Fairburn brought it home to him that they were from two different worlds. 'So now how do I handle that?' He sighed deeply. He had no idea but he knew that he'd have to, somehow.

Hitman's Creed - 35

 

"Not quite the greeting I was hoping for," Glenn said, pain filling his voice as he leaned against the wall next to the front door.

Joey took another shocked look then quickly wrapped an arm around him to help him into the house. Joey's mother was beside them in an instant to help get Glenn to the sofa. His right pants leg wasn't white any more, it was soaked with blood, and the rest of his clothes were stained with blood and dirt.

"It's probably not as bad as it looks," Glenn said through clenched teeth. Joey's mother shook her head then sent Mary to the kitchen to find scissors or a sharp knife. The girl came back almost immediately with a paring knife. Glenn managed a tight chuckle. "Under my sleeve."

Joey pulled the sleeve up, not in the least surprised to find a knife in a sheath. He took it out and handed it to his mother. She knelt beside Glenn and proceeded to slice open the snow and blood soaked sweatpants from the waistband down the front to the knee as she muttered, "It's a wonder you haven't bled to death." She discovered why he hadn't when she found a thickly folded piece of cotton lashed over the wound with a belt.

"My husband's?" she asked and received a slight nod in return. "Dead?" She got another nod from Glenn. "Pity. I'd have liked to have had a few words with him first." As she talked she gently removed the makeshift bandage. "Nasty," she pronounced.

Joey had to agree. It looked horrible, a gaping wound on the outer edge of Glenn's thigh that began bleeding again as soon as the bandage was removed.

"I hope to hell you've got a first aid kit here," she said as she pressed the cloth back onto the wound.

"Kitchen. Bottom cupboard."

Joey dashed to find it, returning moments later. He opened it and set it on the floor next to his mother. She nodded in approval when she saw the contents then sent Mary back to the kitchen to fetch a pan of water and whatever clean towels she could find. When the girl returned with them, Joey's mother started to warn Glenn that cleaning the wound would hurt but realized he had passed out.

"Did it hit an artery or bone?" Joey asked as he helped his mother.

"If it hit an artery he'd be dead now," she told him. "I don't think it hit bone but I can't swear to it."

Mary asked as she took a blood soaked towel Joey handed her, "Shouldn't we call an ambulance?"

Joey's mother glanced up at her with a shake of her head. "If he'd wanted that kind of help he'd have taken himself to the hospital. Until he says otherwise we'll deal with this here unless things worsen."

"How do you know what to do?" Mary wanted to know.

"I was a nurse before I met Steven. That was a long time ago but some things you don't forget."

By the time Joey's mother finished with the wound and re-bandaged it, it was closing in on midnight. Glenn was still unconscious and very pale and she decided that moving him would not be a good idea. She told Joey to get some blankets while she and Mary cleaned up. He returned with three that he’d found in a closet. Before covering Glenn, he and his mother carefully removed the rest of Glenn's clothes, and the two sheathes, but not his shorts which neither of them wanted to take off him despite the fact that they were very bloodstained.

As he laid the blankets over Glenn, Joey paused for a moment to admire the man's well-defined chest. Then he blushed as he realized what he'd done.

His mother chuckled and patted his shoulder. "If you hadn't I'd have wondered about you," she told him, which made him blush an even deeper shade of red. She laughed softly before pronouncing it time for all of them to get some sleep. "I have the feeling we'll have a long day ahead of us tomorrow," she said as she led the way up the stairs to the second floor.

Hitman's Creed - 34

 

"Where the hell is he? What's taking so long?" Joey growled as he checked the time again.

"He wasn't exactly running to the store for milk," his mother said in a futile attempt to ease his tension.

He glared at her, resisting the very strong urge to flip her off even though she was his mother.

Mary, who had been awake for the past twenty minutes, said softly, "He has to be alright because if he isn't…"

"Then we're all dead." Joey glared at her as well.

"He… my father… he doesn't know where we are."

"We can damned well hope so but if… if something happened to Glenn. He must have ID on him and your, our, that bastard isn't stupid."

"Both of you stop!" Joey's mother said firmly. "You're scaring each other even more and that does not help the situation in the least."

Joey nodded. "Sorry."

"I know." She got up from the sofa. "Maybe you need…"

"If you say hot chocolate."

"Now would I do that?"

Joey actually chuckled. "It's what you always used to give me when I was sad or upset, so yeah, you would."

"Well this time I was going to offer coffee. So there, smarty." She headed to the kitchen to make some.

"She's very nice," Mary said.

"Yes she is. That's why I keep her around." Mary looked at him in shock and pulled back further into the corner of the sofa. He immediately told her, "That was a joke."

"Oh." She smiled weakly.

Joey sat down on the sofa beside her. "You don't have to be afraid of us. We're not going to hurt you."

"I know, I think. It's just… I'm not used to someone treating me good."

"Your mother didn't, and your foster parents?"

"I guess my foster parents did. I mean they tried but I was older. They were used to little kids. My mother," she shrugged, "She never was mean but I think somehow she blamed me for what happened. When she got angry or upset with me she'd say 'If you'd have behaved he wouldn't have hit you and I wouldn't have lipped off to him'."

"Damn."

"It's okay. I got used to it after a while and most of the time we got along and she treated me fine. I guess."

"Well now you're here and safe and I know mom will make sure you have a home with good people."

"Can't I stay with her, with you?"

"Umm, well, I suppose that's up to her, you know. We'll figure something out. Honest."

She looked at him and nodded, and in the silence that followed he thought he heard a noise on the front porch. In an instant he was at the front door. He pulled it open just a crack; ready to slam it shut again, peered out and said, "Oh hell."