Callista, hands clenched tightly to her sides, glared at the man behind the large mahogany desk. She couldn’t believe what he was telling her.

“You keep going like this, you’re going to get yourself killed. I have no choice but to suspend you. We can’t afford another incident.” Ezra Peak kept his gaze steady and his hands folded neatly in front of him.

“You can’t suspend me. You need me.”

“Yes. I need you alive. You’re no good to me dead and your behavior of late has been suicidal.”

Slamming her hand down on the desk, she ran one hand through her disheveled hair. “That monster killed my sister. I’m not going to rest until I cut out his black heart.”

Ezra sighed. Callista knew he was getting too old for this. “Look,” he said. “I’m sorry about Hestia. We all are. But she knew the risks going into this venture. And your actions won’t bring her back. You’ve violated over twenty codes and you’ve placed yourself and your team in danger. You’ve become a liability; I can’t see that I have any other choice.”

Eyes blazing with fury, Callista began to shake. “He tortured her, bled her, and then ripped her apart. I won’t rest until I return the favor.”

Ezra rubbed his eyes and leaned back in his chair. “God! You can’t keep doing this to yourself.” His face went hard. “You’re suspended until further notice. And you are to have no contact with your team, do you understand?”

“NO! Ezra, no, you can’t take my team away...”

“I didn’t take anything from you.” Ezra frowned. “You did.”

No! He couldn’t do this to her. She had given her entire life over to The Mercy. She had bled for them. She had killed for them. And they repaid her by kicking her out on her ass. Callista tore a pathway to her desk. Her heart was beating furiously and it took everything in her not to tear something apart.

“Callie.” Richard Willis’ husky voice broke through her thoughts.

As there would be little point in it, she didn’t turn around but continued to throw items from her desk into her box.

“Callie. I’m so sorry.” Richard placed one of his large hands onto her shoulder. She glared at him and he grimaced when she jerked away. “We didn’t say anything. We didn’t tell Peak, anything.”

“Oh, and I’m to believe that Ezra just came to the decision to suspend me out of thin air?”

Richard sighed. “He was bound to find out. Someone was going to say something eventually.”

Poking Richard in the chest with her finger, she fought the urge to slug him. “I saved your life, you miserable sonofabitch.” She narrowed her eyes. “I fucking saved your life.”

Richard’s eyes softened. “I know. And that is what a good leader does.”

“Go fuck yourself, Richard.”

Richard grabbed her arm. “Callie, don’t be this way. We need you...” He gulped. “I need you.”

Her nostrils flared. She looked pointedly at where Richard held her arm in an iron tight grip. “Let go of me. Let go before I cut your hand off.”

Richard stiffened when he realized that she held a razor sharp blade resting against his wrist. Bet he was surprised at how fast she had managed to get her knife out. She hadn’t even had time to blink.

Richard released her.

Callista nodded curtly, and turned back to her packing.

“There’s going to come a time when you need me, Callie. And you’d better hope that at that time I’m willing to ignore your treatment of me.” Richard cast her one last lingering look before walking away.

* * * *

Home again. Of course it had never felt like a home, more like a place where she crashed between jobs. Gods, she had never even gotten around to decorating--not that she could decorate worth shit--she had barely furnished the space.

Dropping her box on the floor, it fell heavily into one of the few pieces of furniture she did own--her La-Z-Boy.

“Oh, Hestia...” Closing her eyes tightly against the tears that threatened, Callista tried not to remember how Hestia had looked in death. She had barely recognized her once beautiful and vibrant sister. There had been almost nothing left to identify her. They had found one of her severed hands. And if not for the tattoo on the palm, she would have not accepted that this body could be her sister.

Looking down at her palm, familiar pain wormed its way through her. There, on the flesh of her palm was a bleeding crucifix tattoo, the exact same as her sister’s.

She remembered the day they had had the tattoos done. They had been fifteen and sixteen respectively and stupid, right off their first vampire killing. They had swaggered into Jimmy’s, a notorious tattoo parlor--notorious due to the fact that it was run by a biker gang--and demanded the tattoos. Jimmy had taken a shine to the two beautiful, ballsy and bad-assed girls, and done the tattoos for free.

It was a day that Callista would never forget.

“Hestia ... what am I going to do without you?” Dropping her head into her hands, and for the first time since her sister’s death, she allowed herself to cry.

How could Ezra do this to her? That monster had murdered her sister. She had a right, a right, to avenge her death.

Lifting her head, she wiped the tears from her face. Her look was determined. Well, it didn’t matter. She would find Lord Halifax, the leader of the vampires, the monster that had killed her sister, and she would cut out his evil heart and then burn him to ashes.

She didn’t need The Mercy. She would do this on her own. Now that Hestia was gone ... she was alone. It was how it had to be.

* * * *

“One, itty, bitty, girl.” Lord Rufus Halifax glared at his soldiers. “All of you can’t stop one itty, bitty, girl?” Halifax stood from his throne and began to descend the dais. His eyes were solid red and his fangs had extended to full length. His smile widened when he saw his soldiers take a step back. They saw their death reflected back at them in his cold, red, eyes.

They should fear ... he was fear.

“Master.” Soldier One bowed. “We ... we ... we tried. She came armed to the teeth and...”

Lord Halifax moved faster than lightning. His hand dug into Soldier One’s chest and began to twist. He watched with unfeeling eyes as his soldier began to twist and moan as his heart was held in his hard grasp.

Lord Halifax grinned evilly. “One more twist, soldier, and your heart belongs to me.” He dug his talons even deeper. “Can you live without your heart?” Turning his gaze to Soldier Two whose eyes were wide and blinking, he said, “You ... what should I do with you?”

“Master...” Soldier Two’s voice died off when he saw his death mirrored in Lord Halifax’s expression.

“Yes, soldier?” He gave a cruel laugh, still holding Soldier One’s heart in his hand. “Yes? Did you wish to say something to me?”

“No.” Soldier Two dropped his head.

“Good.” Lord Halifax drew back his hand quickly, withdrawing his talons from Soldier One’s chest. The soldier stumbled back and doubled over, blood ran in great gushes down his chest.

“Good,” Lord Halifax repeated quietly. “Do not speak to me, I shall speak.” He turned his blood-red eyes flat. “You will find the girl. You will bring her to me. I would prefer that her breath still lingers in her body when she is placed on my altar.” He laughed then. “But it is not necessary. I want her, boys. And you will get her for me, or...” Lord Halifax licked Soldier One’s blood from his talons, “I will take out my ... disappointment ... on you.”

Soldier One and Two, swallowed and nodded. It was common knowledge that his disappointment always demanded payment in blood and death. Neither of which they were willing to supply. He knew they would find the girl. And they would take her down.

* * * *

Frowning, Callista wrinkled her nose. Her tracking skills were near perfect. She hadn’t made a mistake. They should be here. The trail led here. Where in the devil were they?

“What the hell?”

Recognizing the voice, she spun around ready to do battle. “Well, hello there, come to play?”

Richard, flanked by ten members of The Mercy, stood in the alleyway.

“Richard, Richard, Richard... I knew your tracking skills were shit. But I didn’t know you’d stoop so low as to follow me.” Callista saw him stiffen, and grinned. She knew what her words did to his pride--they ripped it to shreds.

Richard clenched his hands into tight fists. “What the hell are you doing here? You shouldn’t be here.”

Narrowing her eyes, she took a deep breath to keep herself from striking out at him. “They’re here, so ... I’m here.”

“You’re suspended, Callie.”

“Don’t call me Callie, asshole.” Whipping her daggers out, she faced him in a ready stance.

A couple of The Mercy sniggered.

Richard pressed forward. “You don’t want to test me on this one, Callie. Get the hell out of here before...” His words were abruptly cut off as a vampire jumped from a second story building right on top of him.

With a cry of fury, Callista spun around. Her dagger caught a rampaging vampire right in the heart. Her aim was true.

“Die again you ugly, dead, sonofabitch!” she screamed as she cut the vampire’s heart out and threw it to the ground. She delivered a high roundhouse kick to the vampire’s head. The blade affixed to her boot severed its head immediately.

“Callista! Watch out!”

Spinning around, she barely ducked the sword that was aimed in her direction and grabbed the blade. Her mouth curved up in a wide smile when she saw the vampire who was holding the sword pale even further. Blood ran down her hand and she wrenched the sword free of the vampire’s stunned grasp. “Got you,” she said, sneering. She whipped the sword out and over, and the vampire’s head flew off its body.

Callista turned to her savior and saluted her. “Thanks, MaryAnne.”

MaryAnne nodded. “Don’t mention it. Couldn’t let you get skewered like a kabob, could I?”

“Well, thanks again.” She smiled wryly, wiped off her blades and turned blazing eyes toward Richard. “Don’t ever follow me again.”

“I didn’t follow you. My team trackers tracked the vampires here,” Richard snarled.

“Oh, come on. We both know that your trackers couldn’t find a bone if it were placed under their noses. They found this place because of me.” She sheathed her blades. “So like I said, don’t follow me again.” Pushing past Richard and his team, she left the dark alley never looking back.