Vindicator

Chapter 51

Tiffany's father, Steve Duko, scanned the room before turning to stare at the two lone diners. His blue eyes blazed with fury, and with his short, military-style buzz cut, he looked especially intimidating. He stormed towards the two, making the tables shake from the weight of his muscular body. When he stopped at their table, his eyes narrowed to slits and he glared at Karma.

"Tiffany! What the fuck are you thinking?!" He growled, not yet realizing his daughter's blue eyes were no longer looking back at him.

Karma looked down, feigning shame. "I'm sorry, daddy..." she said quietly, trying to buy time to come up with a reasonable excuse as to why Tiffany would do this.

"Whatever. I'll deal with you later" he promised, turning his glare to Theo. "I don't know what you said to her, or how you convinced her to let you go...But this time, you're coming with me" he said with a smirk.

Theo stood up abruptly, causing the table he was crammed under to fly up with him. "The Hell I'm going anywhere with you, you sick bastard" he snarled, clenching his fists.

The waitress could be heard shrieking at the animalistic sound coming from the men. She turned and ran to the kitchen to hide, realizing something bad was about to happen.

"You seem to think that you have an option, pretty boy" Steve said with a malicious laugh. "I came in here alone to avoid alerting the humans that something was off...But we have this place surrounded. You can fight, but you won't win" he promised smugly.

Karma was internally cursing their luck. She knew they'd be on their trail, but had sincerely hoped that the Prince would arrive first to save them. It was a moot point now, though; she'd have to give up Tiffany's body. She knew the girl would never give control up again, so this had been Karma's one shot.

Looking up, Karma found that Theo was staring at her. She realized he was actually using his head, instead of acting irrationally or emotionally; he was waiting for her to make a move first. She gave him a small, sad smile, then looked back to Steve before quickly bowing her head in a show of submission. She decided to try one last trick...

"Daddy...Please...Can't we get control some other way?" She asked softly.

"What?" Steve asked, his voice a deadly calm but the tension in the air spoke to the waves of wrath within him.

"I...I'm in love with him..." she whispered, a tear rolling down her cheek.

Silence.

Karma didn't dare look up, and instead focused on listening to the sounds around her. Theo's heart racing in his chest due to anxiety, but his breathing even. Likewise, Steve's heart was beating a mile a minute, but his breathing was laboured as if he was straining to restrain his wolf.

"You stupid bitch...You think this is love?!" He snapped, yelling at Karma.

He reached forward and grabbed a fistful of her hair at the nape of her neck, then jerked her head back so she was forced to make eye contact. "He used you like the whore you are, little girl. You told me you wanted revenge, and now you spout this bullshit?! What has gotten into you—" he was shouting until this point, but his words died on his lips.

Staring into his daughter's face, it suddenly dawned on him that her eyes didn't look right. He frowned, staring down at her as puzzle pieces seemed to click together in his brain. His rage turned to confusion, then disbelief, and finally the rage returned with a vengeance. "You're not my daughter...Who are you?!" He bellowed, causing spittle to fly on Karma's face.

Disgusted, Karma reached up to wipe her face, and a part of her found it hilarious that he was so angry he didn't think to stop her movement. "Well, you're not exactly right, but not entirely wrong" she answered indifferently.

He shook her by his hold on her hair, growling. "Answer me properly, you bitch!" He insisted.

Karma let out a laugh, despite the pain of Tiffany's hair being ripped out from his movements. "I am in the body of your daughter. Any damage done to me will be done to her, like ripping my hair out for example. She's in here, feeling the pain too...I just can't let her take control, or she may lose her sanity" she explained with a smirk. "You may kill her, in an attempt to kill me, but she and her wolf will be the ones to die. I just return to my own body" she continued, although this wasn't something she was sure of. Still, her lie was confident and believable.

Steve laughed aloud, though, sending spittle onto her face once more. "A lot of good that will do you. We still have you surrounded; having my daughter's body as your hostage, when you are mine, is useless ain't it?" He demanded snidely.

"Stop, Theo" Karma instructed, having seen from the corner of her eye that he was tensing. She knew it was a sign he was preparing to attack, and she didn't want a fight to break out in the diner. Before Steve could say anything, she then grinned at him to keep his attention on her. "Oh, I can go back to my own body any time I'd like. Tiffany just has something I want...But, I am the Spectre. If you force my hand I'll just return to my body, come back and kill you, then bring Theo to safety before I destroy your daughter's mind to get what I want" she explained.

Theo stilled at Karma's command, and couldn't help relaxing and smirking a little at her words. He was under the impression they were in deep shit, but hearing Karma lay out her cards on the table...Well, he was feeling more confident now. Even if they were surrounded, the Spectre could teleport them to safety.

Steve, on the other hand, paled a little at her words. He'd assumed that she was the Spectre, but figured she'd have escaped by now if she was able to. He didn't want to believe that she could actually fight him and win; but, he'd heard plenty of stories. They were stories he'd scoff at before; but now, facing the Spectre himself, his confidence was dwindling.

"So, daddy" Karma said mockingly, "your move...You can let us go peacefully, or you can try your luck against me" she offered with a sinister smile.

Deciding he just needed backup to bolster his confidence, Steve mindlinked the members of his new pack who were surrounding the diner as promised. Ever a man of few words and even fewer manners, he simply sent a message to everyone at once saying "I need backup, get in here now!"

For this reason, when the bell above the door chimed again, Steve didn't bother turning to see who had entered the diner. Karma, on the other hand, was being held in such a way that she could see who walked in. When she saw who it was, she burst out laughing.

Unfortunately for Steve, the Prince and Tom had just walked in. Tom looked ready for a fight; but, the irate Prince looked ready to kill.