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In The Arms Of a Killer

CHAPTER 9

Bulma tried to move, but it wasn't working. She felt as if she would pass out any second. She couldn't let that happen, it would only make things easier for him. She could feel herself getting stronger, and she tried to push him off. Damien noticed this, and hit her in the face, opening up a gash over her eyebrow, and her head fell to the side as she slipped into unconciousness.

Now that she was out, Damien found it a lot easier. Due to his drunken state, he acted quite stupidly. He got up off the bed and began dancing, pretending that she was awake and wanting him, and that he was doing a little strip show, except for the fact he had no clothes on already. Finally he ceased his strange movements and stared at her.

He stood at the end of the bed and ran his hand up her soft thigh. He found some newly formed bruises there. He wasn't drunk enough to let these pass un-noticed. They looked like bruises like someone was gripping her tightly. How dare someone touch his woman! Or that's what he thought anyway.

Damien got onto the bed and sat over the top of Bulma, straddling the unconscious woman. He ran his thumb over her nipple and squeezed her breast roughly, and he leaned down to kiss her again. Her head flopped to the side and in the dim light coming from the doorway, he could see she had something on her neck too. He flicked on his bedside lamp, squinting at its sudden brightness, and had a closer look at her neck. It was a hickie. She had been with someone. Although he couldn't tell whether she was willing or not.

All rational thoughts left the man's mind. She must have been cheating on him! "You damn little bitch! After everything I did for you! How could you? Who was it?!" The drunken man got no reply.

"Oh so it's gunna be like that is it? Well I'll make you scream. Yuck! I can even smell 'im on you!" Damien moved a bit closer to her neck and sniffed again. That scent was rather familiar. He knew it was a man, but who?

Damien had worked part-time as a prison guard, and had had a lot of contact with Vegeta. He was the one who had suggested they put him in solitary, after he killed Gus and put the other two in hospital. Suddenly it clicked.

It was Vegeta who she was with. Damien brought his hand up and slapped her across the face, making her cheek red, and he kept hitting her until her face was bleeding quite a bit.She had gashes on her forehead and cheeks, and a trickle of blood down the side of her mouth. No doubt here would be bruises under the blood as well. Bulma moaned. Even in her unconscious state her head was killing her.

Damien decided that was enough and placed his tip at her entrance. He would have thrust into her then, except he felt something slither down his back. Well it was more like a couple of things. Suddenly, there was a tearing and burning sensation down his back, and he yelled. It came in fiery streaks. He felt as if he had cut himself with a knife. A knife. That's when he remembered she had just been with Vegeta.

He turned around to see a huge black panther behind him, it's eyes boring into him and it's teeth bared. He could hear it's growl coming from deep within it's throat. He gave a yell, but he moved nowhere, its eyes held him in place.

Damien could feel the blood pouring out of the open wounds on his back, and took a quick glance behind him to see that Bulma was getting covered in it. The huge male cat swiped its paw across his face, leaving more big gashes. Damien could not see out of one eye now. The burning pain was in his head now too, and his vision was getting fuzzy. He suspected he had a concussion. In reality, he was only a little buzzed from the alcohol, but only enough to make him feel a little woozy, the concussion worsened it slightly.

The panther anvaced towards him, and it opened its mouth.

"No-one touches my girl."

The next thing Damien knew, everything went red, and faded into black.

~*~*~*~

Bulma awoke to an excruciatingly painful throb in her head. She moaned and rasied a hand to her face, and was shocked to see it was covered in blood. She sat upright, and realized she was naked and totally drenched in blood. Bulma remembered what had happened. Damien had tried to rape her. She looked on her body for the wounds that were creating the blood, yet she couldn't find any, except for the ones on her face.

Tears started streaming down her face as she thought she had been raped. She got up off the bed and stumbled into the bathroom, failing to notice there was no pain except for the one in her head. She slammed the door shut and dropped down in front of the toilet, vomiting into the bowl and relieving her stomach of its contents. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and flushed the toilet. She went over to the sink and put the plug in, turned the taps on and waited for the water to fill it up. When it was, she scooped the water in her hands and splashed it on her face, wincing as it stung her wounds. Bulma wasn't game enough to look in the mirror just yet.

She looked at the bloodied water and let it drain away, and grabbed her toothbrush and toothpaste to rid her mouth of the horrible taste. She let her hands rest on the edges of the basin, and she just stared straight down into it, the tears falling from her cheeks as she sobbed.

Bulma looked up into the mirror to find her face bruised, cut and swollen. She shook her head and looked back down, as if it was just a figment of her imagaination. Then she had another look, just to double check that this wasn't some freaky dream. But what she saw scared her more than anything. A dark figure darted across the back of the bathroom behind her. She spun around to see no-one. It was then she remembered her weapon. Bulma concentrated. Nothing. The Iceblade wasn't working. She looked at her wrist. It had been removed. No weapon for her after all.

Bulma whimpered. She'd have to face whoever it was alone. She snuck to the door and opened it. She went out of the room; her hands held across her chest as if they would add some warmth and protection. She moved steathily back into Damien's bedroom, and the dark figure jumped out at her and grabbed her arms. Bulma screamed as loud as she could and kicked and struggled, yet the person didn't let go.

It seeemed to be telling her to calm down. It grabbed her head and forced her to look at it. At first nothing registered in her brain except the need to escape. The figure was whispering soothing words to her and it drew her into it's chest.

"Shhhhh. It's okay. It's only me. I'm not going to hurt you. It's okay." Vegeta tightened his grip on her as he lowered her to the ground, kissing her on the head as she shivered in shock, her brain half trying to process that he wasn't hurting her and the other half telling her to get away. She was slowly calming down as her body and mind grew accustomed to the warm, familiar embrace that offered her comfort.

Vegeta looked down on her and she finally realized who it was. She wrapped her arms around his neck while she bawled into his shoulder.

"V-Vegeta! Damien……H-He……"

"Quiet Bulma. He did nothing except give you those cuts and cover you in his own blood. I killed him. Don't worry. It's all over. I'm here now."

Bulma's laboured breathing was choked with her crying. Vegeta picked her up; Bulma was just drooping in his arms, and he took her to her own bedroom. They sat on the floor and Vegeta let Bulma lay in his arms. He hoped that this more comfortable setting would help.

"You okay now?" He asked, concern lacing his voice.

Bulma nodded. "I t-think so." She stuttered. "What d-did you do to D-Damien?"

"I was in the panther form when I came back. So it looks like he's been attacked and eaten by a wild animal."

Bulma looked at him in disbelief.

"What? I was hungry! The only thing I didn't like was when all his hair got caught in my fangs. That was gross."

She nearly threw up again. "Where is he? What did you do with him?"

"He's on the bed where I left him. You mean you didn't see him? He was laying right next to you with his guts practically in your hand. That's why you have so much blood on you." Vegeta stated.

Bulma simply passed out.

"Hmmm. I'd better clean some of these wounds."

~*~*~*~

When Bulma awoke again, she found Vegeta was putting some ointment on her cuts, and some ice on her bruises. She noticed that she was still covered in blood, and that she was cold sitting here on the floor. After Vegeta was done, Bulma got up and was heading for the shower, but Vegeta pulled her back against his warm body, leaving a large smudge of blood on his jumpsuit – not that it wasn't bloody already anyway.

"Vegeta what are you doing? I wanna take a shower." she whined.

Her ran his hands down her body, that was slick with blood. Vegeta held her head and kissed her softly, sucking on her bottom lip and soothing the burning mark there. It was the only one he hadn't put anything on, because the stuff he was using was poisonous if ingested.

He ran his hands back down to her hips, and begn lapping at the blood on her neck. When Bulma moaned and titled her head back, he knew that was an invitation to go on. He picked her up and took her into Damien's room, and kicked the half-eaten body off the bed. He lay Bulma down on the blood-stained sheets, and proceeded to gently caress her blood-soaked body.

He licked the red liquid off her breasts, coating his tounge in it. Bulma arched her back and pushed her chest out to him more. She grabbed the top of his jumpsuit and pulled it down, so he got the idea, and he got off the bed and took all his clothes off. He lay back on top of her, and groaned. The blood was making them slippery, and felt good against their bare skin. Vegeta wished he'd thought of this before.

Vegeta ran a hand up her inside thigh and slipped it into her. He went a bit lower and parted her thighs a bit more so he could fit his head in too. He began sucking and nibbling on the hidden bud, making her moan loudly and scream his name. When he was done there, he let Bulma taste herself and the blood on his fingers.

"I guess you were right. Blood does taste good when it's fresh." Bulma observed. She lay her head back on the pillow and waited for Vegeta to continue. He sat between her legs, just staring at her, running his eyes over her body.

Hr growled in arousal as his nostrils flared, talking in hers and the blood's scent. He wanted to jump on her and take her roughly right there, but he knew he'd have to be gentle, especially after the beating she just got.

He crawled back over the top of her, on his hands and knees, and lowered his head so he could whisper in her ear.

"You have no idea how appealing you look with all that blood on you onna. So sexy. You make me want to take you over and over again, until you can't scream any more. But I know I can't. You test my patience and control, and that what I like about you. No woman has done that to me before." He huskily growled.

Yeah? Well you are a fucking horndog, but I don't mind." She purred back. Vegeta smirked and rolled them over so she was on top. Bulma lifted herself up and sheathed him inside her.

She began the simple movement, and after about an hour , she started to get tired, and let Vegeta take over. He rolled them back over and thrust into her, being careful not to grip her hips too hard, as he found he had left bruises there the last time.

When they were done, Vegeta lay on top of her. Just then the phone rang. Bulma picked it up, wondering who it could be.

"Hello?"

"Hi Bulma. It's Chi Chi. Sorry to call you so late, but we wanted to give you the results of those pills you told us to give Goku and Krillin. They didn't work. Goku still can't figure out the answer to 6 x 8, and Krillin's telling even stupider jokes than he was before."

Bulma laughed. "That's okay Chi. I had the feeling they wouldn't work anyway. I'm just giving up on them. If they did work, then they could turn out dangerous anyway if they got into the wrong hands."

"Okay. I'll see you later then? You sound tired."

"Yeah, I am. I've been doing strenuous exercises." She winked at Vegeta.

"Okay then. Talk to you later. Bye"

"Bye." Bulma hung up the phone.

They lay there in the pool of blood, until Vegeta leaned over the side of the bed where he had kicked the body. She wondered what he was doing, until he came up with a chunk of flesh. It was all bloody and looked like raw pulverized steak. Bulma tried to get away from him, but he held her firmly in place.

"It tastes good. Try some." He offered, and took a bite out of it; a trickle of blood ran down his chin. Bulma shook her head vigorously.

"Come on. Not chicken are you?" He teased.

"Not. And I'm not a cannibal either."

Vegeta looked at her with his version of puppy dog eyes.

Bulma easily caved. "Fine. I'll try a little bit." She held up her fingers to indicate how much, and Vegeta bit a piece off, kissing her at the same time as pushing the flesh in with his tounge. Bulma gagged at first, but became accustomed to it. She swallowed.

"If I have to ever do that again……Make sure you cook it first. That's the last and only time I'm eating raw meat." Bulma made a disgusted face, while Vegeta shrugged and ate the rest of the meat in his hand.

They got up and went to the bathroom, and had a shower, for once not doing anything but washing each other, and Bulma changed into some new clothes, making sure that Vegeta incinerated the pyjamas that Damien had ripped off her.

Vegeta put his jumpsuit back on and Bulma called the police and told them a wild animal had come in and attacked Damien. They said it would take them about 15 minutes to get there, and that she shouldn't panic, and also that she should lock her doors, just in case it came back. Bulma stood at the door watching Vegeta leave.

~*~*~*~

After the police and forensic squads had left, the detective in charge told her that they would get some lab results from things found at the scene, especially since they saw she was all cut up, but definitely not from an animal. They wanted to know who or what it was from, but Bulma wouldn't tell them.

"You seem to have been in contact with a lot of officers who have died lately."

"Oh? Yeah. I know. Weird huh?" She nervously laughed.

"We found this in the hallway. Is this yours?" The detective, who just happened to be the one who questioned her some time ago, held up a familiar bracelet with a big blue sapphire in it. Bulma quickly took it off him and snapped it onto her wrist.

"Yes! Thanks! I've been wondering where it got to!" She grinned at him, trying to hide her nervousness.

"Well I have to go now. I doubt we'll be sending any more men to protect you. They seem to all end in grisly fates."

"That's okay. I never like Damien anyway. He was creepy. And besides, I don't think my guy is very happy about having a bunch of police hanging around me."

"Really? Who is 'your guy'? I'd like to have a word with him."

"Ummm. You can't. I don't know where he is. He disappears for ages and comes for a visit sometimes."

"It's Vegeta isn't it?"

Bulma looked around with wide eyes. "No! What makes you think that?!"

"Well, he's always bragging about you in the letters he send us, saying how he's already 'got you'. At first we thought he meant that he'd killed you, but we can see now that he hasn't. Tell me the truth. Does he contact you?"

"Well……Yeah……" Bulma was unsure whether she should answer his questions.

"Was Vegeta here tonight?"

"I……I……Wait a second. I don't have to answer anything. I know my rights. I don't have to say anything I don't want to."

"So I take that as a yes, and I assume you are protecting him. Stay in contact with us Miss Briefs. I don't want you leaving town. I suggest that you stay away from him. He's a dangerous man. You may think he's the best guy you'll ever meet, but I know the true being that lies beneath his good looks. He's the damn devil himself, and he'll stop at nothing to get what he wants."

"Your telling me this? I'm the one who screwed him." She sniffed. "I have him eating out of the palm of my hand."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah. I could just about make him do anything."

"Hn. Well let's see if you can get him to walk back into prison. I doubt he'd do that."

"Well of course I wouldn't make him go that far. Besides, I don't want him to go back there."

"What I don't understand is why he's slept with you, but not killed you."

"Like I said, I have him eating out of the palm of my hand. He comes back to me all the time. Oh and don't think you can send your little men to follow me either, or I'll sue." She snobbily replied.

"Yeah you do that. Put them all out of their jobs. It'll make my life easier." Came a deep, scratchy voice from off to the side. Bulma and Jack turned to face than man who was there. Their eyes nearly bugged out as they saw it was Vegeta in his bloody jumpsuit.

"Vegeta! What the fuck are you doing here?! You'll get caught!" Bulma screamed.

Jack unholstered his gun and pointed it at the Reaper. "I'm only going to say this once. Lay down on the ground with your hands behind your head."

Vegeta walked closer and grabbed the gun, ripping it out of the stunned man's grasp.

"No. I don't think I will. I know you need me alive. So you aren't going to kill me. I know everyone wants my death to be public. They want capital punishment. Bulma? Have you got any thick rope?"

"Yeah. In the garage. Why?"

"Go get it for me."

"Okay." Bulma went off to fetch the rope.

Vegeta tucked the gun inside his jumpsuit, and the Witchblade turned into its gloved form. He let the knife-length blade pop out from a point on his wrist, and he made a show of touching it and pacing, trying to make the detective feel uncomfortable. It was working.

In all of Jack's career, he never thought he'd get a chance to meet face to face with the mighty Reaper himself, unless he was in custody. There were a few questions he had wanted to ask him though.

"So umm……Why did you decide to get an accomplice?"

"What's it to you?"

"Curiosity."

"At first I didn't decide. I just had to accept."

"What? Is this Morpho chick blackmailing you or something?"

"No. We simply had an agreement, that I quite enjoy actually." Vegeta laughed.

Soon Bulma came back, and they went into the kitchen where Vegeta tied Jack securely to a chair.

"Now. What am I going to do with you?" He asked, more to himself than anything.

"God. I am going to get in so much trouble for you doing this Vegeta. You can't kill him because they'll think it's me, and you can't let him go because they'll try to get me then too." Bulma whined.

"Miss Briefs, as far as I know, the only thing that you'll be charged for is helping a known criminal. I'm sure you'll have no troble in paying the fines. But there is no way he'll be spared. You are going to get capital punishment Vegeta. I know that for sure."

Vegeta just shrugged. "Gotta catch me first. And as I see, you Jack, are the one who is caught."

"You just think you are real smart don't you? Fucking bullshit. You and that piece of junk Witchblade. How the fuck did you get that thing anyway?" Jack snarled.

"My my. Quite a temper you have there Jacky. You need to take anger management classes I think." Vegeta laughed in a superior way. He sat down on the kitchen table and examined the clawed fingers of the armour glove.

"Me? I think it should be the other way round. You need fucking help! You fucking bastard! Scott was my nephew!" Jack's face was getting redder by the second.

Vegeta raised a hand to his mouth in fake surprise. "Oh no! What have I done! I killed your nephew!" He sarcastically replied. "Now why doesn't that bother me?" His voice changed to a growl that came from deep within his throat.

The only light came in from the hallway, and it cast a light on on side of his face, yet left the other half completely in the dark. The only thing you could see was his eye shining brightly.

(A/N: I have a picture of this too.)

Vegeta hopped off the table, his boots clunking heavily on the wooden flooring. He went over and sat on Jack's lap, leaving his legs hanging over each side, much the same how Bulma liked to sit on him.

"You know, I never really liked you much. You are too much of an idiotic retard. You think you are smart enough to capture me. Well you are wrong. The only person who has any part of me under their influence is Bulma. But she isn't going to help you." Vegeta shook his head. "I'll leave you alive though. I'm not going to kill you. It's much more fun to see you in pain. I'll break you. You can count on it Jacky."

Being the mindgame master he is, Vegeta made sure to keep his voice low, calm and deep, while also making it scratchy. He held each side of the man's head, and kissed him roughly on the forehad, and then patted his cheek.

"I suggest you sleep a bit now. Because in the morning, I'm gunna have the time of my life. Police torture! Mmm! I love it!" He growled loudly, yet sadistically.

Bulma stood watching in a stunned stupor. She wondered what he was going to do to the man to break him. Vegeta went over to the fridge and rummaged through it, the light inside outlined his reflection.

"It's a pity your boys had to take the body away. I'm still hungry. I just wished the guy would have been kind enough to shave. All those hairs were disgusting! Not to mention annoying." Vegeta made a funny face as he took out two cans of coke and some indredients to make a sandwich.

"You want one?" He asked Bulma.

"Nah. I'll just have the coke and a carrot. I'm not too hungry."

Vegeta nodded and passed her the can of coke. He got out the multi-grain bread and put all the things on it: shaved ham, swiss cheese, lettuce and grated carrot. He gave the rest of the carrot to Bulma, and she munched on it. Vegeta went back over with his sandwich and sat at the table in the darkness. It didn't take long for him to finish the first half. He took a bite out of the other side.

Vegeta leaned forward into the light and held out his sandwich to the tied up officer. "I'm sorry. How rude of me. Would you like some?" He laughed, waving it in the guy's face.

Jack scrunched his nose up. "You're a sick bastard." He spat.

"Okay. A simple no would have sufficed." Vegeta took another bite and a mouthfull of coke. When he had finished he got up and walked around to the other side, and sat on the table near Bulma. She moved her chair closer and rested her head in his lap, wrapping her arms around him.

"Mmmmm. I'm tired 'Geta." She yawned.

"You call him'Geta?" Jack laughed.

"Shut it. You tell anyone that and I'll make it so painful for you, you won't even be able to scream." He breathed.

"Okay! Okay! You've made your point. I just thought you'd be the last person on earth with a pet name." Jack tried to hold his sniggering in.

Vegeta looked down at the girl whose head was in his lap. He touched her arm, yet she didn't move. She must have fallen asleep. He pushed the hair out of her face and then ran his hand along the top of her head, like she was a cat, and he was patting her. Jack watched all this with interest. It looked like he did care after all. The heartless Reaper wasn't as tough as he thought he was.

Bulma smiled in her sleep and nuzzled her head into his lap further, making a slight smile visible on Vegeta's face. He lifted her arms up and slipped off the table, getting under her so he could lift her up into his arms. She drooped, but soon re-adjusted and snuggled into his chest, warming both their bodies. He sat down on the chair with her in his arms, and held her close to him, completely forgetting Jack was still there.

Bulma yawned and an arm came up and snaked around his neck as she cuddled closer; an even bigger smile on her face.

Jack watched the couple in silence, not wanting to break the mood, even though he hated this man. Hated him, yet this scene seemed so right. Apart from the fact he shouldn't be there and he was tied up in a chair. Vegeta yawned, he was ready to fall asleep. But he couldn't right here. He stood up again, and went into another room, coming back without Bulma. He displayed his strength by picking Jack and the chair up, without straining once, and took them into the loungeroom where he had placed Bulma on an armchair. He sat Jack off to the side and went back to turn off all the lights, leaving a lava lamp glowing on the table, which illuminated the room in its soft glow.

He went back to Bulma and sat with her like he was doing in the kitchen. Vegeta snuggled up to her, and gave her a light kiss on the lips before drifting off to sleep as well.

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I think that'll do for this chap. I really haven't much to say except for the fact I have come to a conclusion. And that is: You people seem to not like horror stories, and I had barely any reviews, so I changed it to suspense, and what do you know?! I have more reviews in a couple of days than I did when I first posted it. So please, continue to review, I am glad to know that all of you who have reviewed so far have liked it, and I am grateful for any feedback about my story. But please, no hash flames for no reason, try to make them constructive, and if you are offended by the gruesome mutilation scenes, then you shouldn't be reading this fic in the first place. I hate to sound like I'm complaining all the time, but it's really annoying when I tell people that there will be scences that are offensive, yet they go ahead and say that I have gone over the top with it. Just like someone did for my last fic: Abandoned & Homeless. I told them that it had a graphic child-abuse part, but yet they went ahead and read it, and complained a tiny bit afterwards.

Anyways. Enough of my babbling……Oh wait, I said that you would receive my ramblings absolutely free in the last chapter didn't I? Oh well. I think that was enough up there. Don't forget to R&R!!! C yas!