Hell Kat Read online

  HELL KAT

  HELL KAT

  VIVI ANNA

  APHRODISIA

  KENSINGTON BOOKS

  http://www.kensingtonbooks.com

  For Shayla…my guiding light

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Although my name is the only one on the book cover, I didn’t get here alone. I had help. Lots of it.

  I want to thank my agent Bob Diforio for putting up with me and all my crazy nuisances that I’m sure drive him nuts, Audrey LaFehr for taking a chance on me, Lisa Renee Jones for all the hard work she’s done for me, and for being there when I needed her. To the girls of Allure—Lisa, Sasha, Cathryn, Sylvia, Myla, and Delilah, you ladies rock and I hope you’ll share power when we take over the world.

  To the managers and staff at Chapters, I thank you for always letting me be me, and for putting up with my brilliant ideas and the fact that I scribbled notes all day instead of working!

  And I especially need to thank the most important people of all—my family, who have been there for me from the very beginning when I had no clue what I really wanted to do with my life. And for supporting me when I finally figured it out! I love you more than I can possibly express. Mom, Dad, Lane, Erin, Ryan, Deb, and Shayla…you are my pillars of strength, and without you I would not be able to stand.

  Contents

  Acknowledgments

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  1

  LOWER BC PLAINS, THE YEAR 2275

  D ust devils whirled viciously around the broken remains of civilization. Buildings that once stood proud and strong were now only jagged cement shards protruding from infertile dirt and rock. The sun was a big glaring ball of light in the sky. Where it had once produced growth and warmth, it now scorched what was left of the Earth with its brutal rays.

  Kat looked up into the blistering sun and wondered for the second time today what in the hell she was doing on the outer rim. The fierce, arid wind whipped at her cloak and tried to tear it from her body. Sand peppered her face like a tiny barrage of bullets. Pulling her hood forward, she adjusted her tinted goggles over her eyes and continued to search the rubble for her treasure. No small feat, considering her right eye was covered by a black leather eye patch.

  She kicked at the dirt and crumbled concrete with her steel-toed jackboots. Nothing. They’d been searching for nearly two hours now. She glanced over at her partner.

  “Damian! See anything?”

  Damian stood from where he squatted, raising his head toward Kat, his blue eyes glinting in the sun. He held up his hand, something encased in his glove.

  “Just this cute little dolly.” He waved it at her, grinning mischievously.

  The doll, headless and encrusted in filth, rattled in his hand.

  “Quit fucking around. And put on your goggles.” Kat shook her head. The kid knew better. An hour under the unprotected sun produced cataracts. Cataracts usually led to blindness. She’d seen it happen more and more. Her sister had succumbed to blindness before she had died from the flu. Damian was lucky he had his hood pulled over his head.

  “Yes, Momsie.” Damian reached around to his pack and unzipped a compartment. He came away with his tinted goggles.

  Kat watched him put them on.

  “Better?” He flashed a grin.

  She shook her head but smiled. He always managed to make her smile. That was one of the reasons she had bartered for his life three years ago.

  He had been an employee of a local junk dealer named Jones. Whipping boy, more like. He did errands for Jones, cleaned up the shop, and, once in a while, loaned out to friends. Loaned, as in pimped out for sexual favors. Men or women, it didn’t matter to Jones. He was an equal opportunist. If the price was high enough, Damian could be bought.

  When Kat first saw Damian, he was hanging from the ceiling by his hands, his wrists shackled in metal claps. As he was naked, except for a thin strip of cloth hanging over his crotch, Kat couldn’t help but notice his long, lean body. Muscles rippled as he twisted side to side, struggling against his restraint. When he managed to turn all the way around, Kat could see the long red welts on his back. She looked down at his dangling feet and saw the instrument of choice lying on the dirt floor: a horsewhip.

  Although disgusted by the display, Kat didn’t show it. She had a reputation to uphold, and couldn’t be seen as soft. It was hard enough just being a woman in these desolate times.

  “Selling meat now, Jones?”

  Jones had glanced up from inspecting the electronic gadget she had brought him, and eyed Damian. “Caught ’im stealin’. ’E’s usually a good boy, but ya can’t ’ave the ’elp ’elping ’emselves, now, can ya?”

  “I guess not.”

  Damian met her gaze then. His eyes were as blue and clear as the afternoon sky. High, chiseled cheekbones in a comely face with lips full and sensuous. Pretty like a woman, but—she saw as she gazed down his body—there was no question he was all male. His sculpted chest glistened with sweat.

  Jones must have noticed her watching him. “You can ’ave a go at ’im, if you like. Won’t even charge ya, since ya’re such a good customer.”

  Kat had wanted a go. She felt the sexual pull. It tugged at her insides, gathering painfully between her legs. Guilt also washed over her as she watched him hang from the ceiling. Scrutinizing his powerful body, she wondered what his skin would feel like under her hand. Wondered what his flesh would taste like if she trailed her tongue over his taut stomach and down lower under the thin cloth. As if privy to her thoughts, he smiled at her, the cloth at his crotch beginning to twitch. She quickly looked away and left the store with her coins.

  Two days later she returned with more electronics and bartered for Damian’s release. Jones didn’t even question her. It was just another transaction to him. They had made a deal, sealed it with a handshake, and she had left the store with Damian in tow. He had thanked her for his freedom.

  But several months later, Kat realized he hadn’t minded his service for Jones. In fact, some of the things he had to do he really enjoyed. Now he did some of those things for Kat. Lucky girl, she thought.

  Damian’s voice broke into her thoughts. “I think Russell gave us a bum lead.”

  She looked over at him as he kicked an old metal can her way. It landed at the toe of her boot.

  “Yeah, maybe.”

  Eyeing the dirt and debris on the ground, Kat went over what she knew about the area. It had once been home to a school of some sort. The exact nature of it eluded her, but she knew young children had attended. She also knew that children of old were taught by electronic means. They had access to all sorts of gadgets. It wasn’t clear even if they had a teacher. Maybe they had all been plugged into some electronic thingy by wires coming out of their heads.

  School. Kat had no concept of what that would have been like. The word and idea were as foreign to her as clean air and fresh water. The little bit of reading and writing she had learned was from her mother before she died. Everything else Kat needed to know she had learned by doing it out on the streets. Not a pleasant education for a young, svelte girl with midnight-black hair and big green eyes.

  Russell, another junk dealer, had told her she could find those old
learning devices out here. At least a couple of steps above the shit ladder than what Jones had been, Kat didn’t mind doing business with Russell. So far he had been honest with her in their dealings. He never tried to skimp on her payment. In fact, he had been feeding her tips as to where certain treasures were located. A win-win situation for them both: she got her money and he got his prize. As far as Kat knew, she was the only hunter he tolerated.

  Something glinted in the sun just under a rock pile a few feet away. Moving to it, she bent down and pushed over one of the stones to brush away the earth. A small circle of metal, the size of a coin, lay embedded in the dirt.

  “Bring me the pack.”

  Damian rushed over to where she knelt, placing the bag at her side. She opened it up and took out a large, long-handled tool, somewhat like a paintbrush. With care, she swept at the area around the shiny metal. More metal appeared under the dirt. She took out a small chisel and hammer and chipped around the earth that imprisoned the artifact. She did it gently and expertly, careful not to damage her treasure.

  “Is that it?” Damian’s velvety voice again broke into her concentration.

  “Shut up, will you?” But Kat wasn’t asking.

  She dug around and under the metal and then set aside the tools and lifted the treasure from the ground. A flat silver disk with tiny buttons on one side lay encrusted in the earth. She rubbed at the metal, clearing away the stubborn, clinging sand. The word PLAY was etched under one button. Kat grinned.

  “Is it the music maker?”

  “Moneymaker, you mean.”

  Laughing, Damian wrapped his arms around Kat. He picked her up and swung her around.

  “I can just taste the thick, juicy steak I’m going to have. I can almost see the blood on my plate.”

  “Put me down or you’ll see the blood on your face.”

  Damian did as she said but didn’t stop grinning. He eyed her as she put the artifact carefully into the pack.

  “Aren’t you happy?” he asked.

  “I’ll be a lot happier after the coins are in my pocket and a bottle of vodka is in my hand.”

  “You’re a lot more than happy after a bottle of vodka.” His eye twinkled mischievously.

  Kat grinned. “I know.” She handed him the pack. “Let’s go before it gets dark. We don’t want to be out here much longer. Raiders will come soon.” She eyed the surrounding burned-out buildings, looking for any sign of scavengers.

  Not the animal kind. The human ones. A few treasure hunters had been killed in this area, their bodies found partially eaten.

  They moved quickly toward the motorcycle propped up against a ruined building. Kat glanced up at the first two stories that still stood erect. The rest lay buried under two hundred years of dirt and rock. Often, Kat wondered how any of these structures managed to sustain the damage of the nuclear blasts. The windows were long gone, blown to pieces and melted from the explosive heat. Then the whole place had burned. The fires had raged for more than a year. With no water or rain to extinguish the flames, the fires ate up what was left of the civilized world. If it had been this bad out here, she wondered what remained at ground zero. If anything still stood in the Vanquished City, she’d be surprised.

  A shrill call shattered the silence around them as Kat swung her leg over the machine. It was no cry of an animal. At least, not the ones running on four legs.

  As Damian mounted the bike behind her, she glanced over his shoulder. Swift, dark movement near a large cement slab confirmed her suspicions.

  “We’ve got company.” She kicked the motorcycle over. Thankfully, it roared to life in seconds; sometimes it was not so reliable.

  Damian, too, peered over his shoulder. “Fuck.”

  “Yup. Load my shotgun.”

  Damian fumbled for the gun strapped to the saddlebags on the bike. “We’ve got only two shells,” he confessed while popping them into the chamber.

  “Then pray there are only two of them.”

  “Done,” Damian said as he handed her the gun.

  “Grab the handlebars.” Kat turned around on the seat as if to hug Damian, so she could see their attackers, the shotgun tucked into her side. “Let’s rock.”

  Squeezing the gas, Damian shot the bike forward. It wobbled dangerously to the left, but he soon gained control. Two Raiders dressed in ragged cloaks and dark goggles rushed out at them. Kat kept the gun pointed, but she didn’t think she’d need it. The strength of the Raider’s legs was no match for the bike’s speed. No human could outrun a machine from the past.

  “Kat! We have a problem.”

  Trying to turn her head, Kat couldn’t see the danger Damian’s wavering voice indicated. “How many?”

  “Two.”

  “Can you go around?”

  “No. There’s a lot of rock and debris. It’s a straight path right to them. If we run into one, the impact might kill him, but we’ll go down for sure.”

  “Are they together or on each side?”

  “One on each side.”

  Kat slid the shotgun into the harness on the bike. Reaching under her cloak, she grabbed two star-shaped steel disks from her belt. They were four inches wide and the blades fit perfectly between her fingers.

  “Should we slow down?” Damian asked.

  “No, speed up.”

  Damian turned his head and stared at her. “What? Are you fucking crazy?”

  “Are there any concrete slabs near them?”

  “Tons.”

  “Find a good one and take us up.”

  “You want to jump over them?”

  “Yup.”

  Chuckling, Damian shook his head. “I’m going to get eaten alive by a cannibal.”

  “No, you won’t. I’ll shoot you before they get to you.” Smiling, Kat raised her arms, tucking her elbows into her body, the throwing stars gripped tightly in her hands.

  “That’s what I love about you, Kat. You’re always looking out for me.”

  Damian gripped the handle, pulling the gas tight. The back wheel spat up gravel and rocks as he gunned it forward.

  “Tell me when we’re right over them.”

  “Okay, hang on!”

  As the bike rumbled under her, Kat closed her eyes and muttered an oath under her breath. She would not die out here. There were many adventures she had yet to experience. She hadn’t even faced her greatest rival…Hades. She couldn’t die without first meeting him. How would it look to Hades if she died out here like an amateur on their first hunt? It would give him too much gloating power. She’d never allow that.

  Feeling Damian tense, she opened her eyes just as the bike hit a concrete incline. Within seconds, they were airborne.

  “Now!” Damian yelled.

  Whipping her arms down and back, Kat released the metal stars. Squeals of pain confirmed her lethal aim. As the bike soared overhead, Kat could see the two scavengers, with the steel disks embedded in their foreheads. They slumped to the ground, dead.

  The impact of the bike hitting the cement jarred Kat and she knocked heads with Damian. Pain exploded in her ear where she hit. Rocking violently, Damian struggled to keep the bike upright. Clamping her eyes shut, Kat wrapped her arms around him, knowing they were going down.

  The front wheel hit a rock just as Damian put on the brakes and turned the handlebar. Instead of flipping over, they skidded to a halt on the side, Damian’s right leg pinned under the machine. Finally, they came to a rest against another wedge of cement.

  Kat peeked open one eye and turned her head to look at Damian. He had his eyes squeezed shut, but he was grinning.

  “Are you hurt?”

  He nodded his head. “My leg.”

  “Then why are you smiling?”

  “Because we’re still alive.”

  Kat pushed out from him and rolled onto the ground. “Not for long, if you don’t get up. There are two more Raiders running this way.” Bending down, she pulled on the bike so Damian could slide his leg from under the twisted stee
l.

  Pain evident on his face, Damian managed to stand. Kat glanced at his thigh. There was a rip in the leather of his pants, and a slow trickle of blood.

  “Don’t be a baby, it’s just a scratch.” After righting the bike, she swung her leg over it. “Get on before your blood attracts more of them.”

  Damian got on behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. “Okay, but I get hazard pay this time. I need a new pair of leathers.”

  “You can have a pair of leather underwear for all I care. Let’s just go.”

  Laughing, Damian pressed his lips to Kat’s cheek in a smacking kiss. “You’re my kind of woman, Hell Kat.”

  2

  R ussell was extremely pleased when they arrived with the treasure in hand. Caressing its shiny exterior with just the tips of his fingers, Russell looked like he was in bliss. Kat wasn’t concerned with Russell’s adoration—she just wanted her money. When he plopped a leather sack of coins in her hand, she felt she’d gotten what she wanted.

  After acquiring their money, Kat and Damian wandered to the nearest tavern, feeling hungry and extremely thirsty; hours out in the barren wastelands would do that. They both ordered steak and potatoes, a rare and expensive treat. While society rebuilt from the devastation of the war, unmutated cattle were still in short supply. Kat asked for a bottle of vodka and two shot glasses. They were in celebration mode.

  After the server took their order, she furrowed her brow at Kat. “You know, Hell Kat, I thought you were dead.”

  Kat glanced up at her and smirked. “Hell was full. So I’m back.”

  Two hours later, after the food had been eaten and the bottle half emptied, Kat felt relaxed and at ease. She was even enjoying the night’s entertainment: a striptease by the local prostitute. Damian was also enjoying the show as he danced on the stage, helping Miss Claret out of her garments. The crowd hooted and hollered at them, encouraging them into more than just a striptease.