by Maddy Barone
“Me?” That squawk hurt her head. She lowered her voice. “You were going to be killed. Your dad was going to just let it happen. I had to do something!”
Cole closed his eyes and shook his head. “My dad would never let that happen.”
She jerked her wrist free. “He said--"
His breath came out of him in a deep sigh. “I know. I know.” He captured her hand again and held it gently. “You haven’t had a chance to get to know him yet, but Mom should have known better.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Your dad was very convincing.”
“I guess he must have been, if Mom went along with your crazy plan.”
“And Rose and Patia. They believed him, too.”
His eyebrows rose. “So, this is Dad’s fault?”
She made herself consider. Throwing back a sarcastic reply would be easy, but easy wasn’t the right thing here. She wondered if her mother-in-law was having this exact same discussion. “Not your dad’s fault,” she said carefully. “But I knew what my stepfather was capable of. I kept imagining what he would be doing to you and I couldn’t bear it. I had the best chance of getting to you.”
Cole stroked his thumb over her fingers. “Did you even consider talking to my dad?”
“No. I knew he wouldn’t let me.”
“Ha! So, you knew trying to rescue me was stupid.”
The word ‘stupid’ grated, but she put it aside to search his face, trying to see inside him. “Cole, maybe it was stupid. But I love you. If there was even the smallest chance that I could get you free, it was worth it.”
He was quiet for a moment. “I promised I wouldn’t give you orders. But please promise me you won’t ever do something like this again.”
She shook her head slowly. “I would do it again if I had to.” She lifted a hand to stop his protest. “But I promise to talk it over with someone.”
“Someone like my dad?” he asked pointedly.
“Someone like your dad,” she agreed.
He smiled at her, so handsome her heart turned over. “Good enough. You know, my mom and dad have these kinds of discussions and then they go into their room for the rest of the day.” His smile took on a heated curve. “Are we done discussing?”
An answering heat flared in her. “Yeah. I think we’ve discussed enough.”
He slid one arm between her back and the bed and pulled her so close she could feel his breath on her lips. She tilted her head to touch his lips, but he pulled back.
“Actually,” he said, “there is one more thing I need to say.”
Gina suppressed a protest and waited with all the patience she could gather.
He leaned close again. “I love you,” he whispered, and covered her lips with his.
How could the heat of his mouth ease the stress-tense muscles in her neck and shoulders? And how did it replace that tension with a different kind of tension? He was magic. The warm honey of desire flowed through her, languorous at first, before becoming urgent. His lips caressed the arch of her throat, the corner of her jaw, the tender spot behind her ear.
Through the haze of desire, she became aware of drums. No, it was her pulse, sending flaring pain through her head. A whimper escaped her.
Cole lifted his head away and looked down at her. “You’re hurting.”
She almost reached to pull his head back down, but she couldn’t deny the pain. “A little,” she said. “My head.”
Cole’s face showed rueful regret, but he brushed a smiling kiss over her nose before removing his arm and sitting back on the bed. “I’m rushing you. I should let you rest.”
She was cold without him embracing her. “Don’t go,” she blurted. “I was so afraid for you when my stepfather had you. I want to keep my eyes on you so I will know you are safe.”
“Move over a little.” He stood up and unbuttoned the shorts. Kicking them off his long legs, he slid into bed beside her. “I can hold you. That’s enough for now.”
He settled her on her side, her head pillowed by his shoulder, her lips close to his throat. She could have lain like this for hours. His scent was soothing. She let the comfort of his presence wash over her. She was safe. He was safe. They were together again. After a while, her mind stirred with questions she tried to ignore. Loathe to give up the comfort of simply lying in her husband’s arms, she tried to ignore the questions. It was impossible.
“Cole? How did you get out of the cage? How did you find me?” She wet her lips. “What happened?”
His chest rose and fell in a sigh. “How much do you remember?”
She didn’t want to remember. “I was in the tent. My stepfather…” Her voice trailed off as a shudder of horror ran through her. “He was going to kill me. He really was.”
Cole soothed her with a gentle hand stroking her arm. “He can’t hurt you; he’s dead.”
“I know. My mom shot him to save me. And then Tanner― Oh, God.” She struggled to sit up, new horror icing her lips. “Tanner tried to kill her.” She caught an odd expression on his face. “Where is she? Is she okay?”
“Sh, sh, she’s okay.” He tried to get her to lie back down against him. “Everything will be fine. Tanner and Jon are dead. The Kansas-Missourians surrendered to Omaha. We won.”
“But what about my mother?” she demanded.
“She’s okay.” He finally gave up trying to make her lie down again and sat up too. Gina couldn’t decide if he was nervous or guilty or just hesitant. “Have you met Jay, my dad’s beta?”
Gina gripped his forearm. “What? Who cares? What does he have to do with my mom?”
Cole took a deep breath. “Well, see, Jay’s wolf has chosen your mom to be his mate.”
She blinked. “Mom? Really?” A giggle gurgled up. “That’s wonderful.”
“It is?”
His cautious tone made her blink again. “Isn’t it?” She narrowed her eyes. “Why are you so nervous? What’s wrong with him?”
“Nothing! I thought you wouldn’t want another stepfather.”
She pushed a little further away from him, eyes still narrowed. “What’s he done to her? Is he mean to her?”
“Of course not.” Cole sounded horrified that she would even suggest it. “He took her to the hospital. There weren’t any rooms left, so he put her in with Ray and dragged a doctor to her to fix her.”
“Dragged a doctor to her? Literally?”
A glimmer of a smile lit his face. “Literally. I wasn’t there, but Patia told me about it. Jay grabbed him by the arm and ran so fast down the hall that the doctor tripped. Jay just yanked him along, yelling that he had to fix his mate.”
Gina smiled, imagining it, but the smile faded. “How badly hurt is she?”
“She’s hurt, but she’ll live.” When she continued to stare at him, he sighed. “Her cheekbone is fractured. Her nose is broken. She’s lost some teeth.”
Gina shuddered. “That sounds so painful. And her face … She must look awful. When can I see her?”
“Soon. Maybe tomorrow. The doctor is making her sleep. He put a needle in her arm and it’s connected to a bag that puts medicine in her to make her sleep.”
“But she’ll be okay? You’re sure?”
“The doctor says she will.”
She searched his eyes and finally let out a relieved breath. “That’s good.” She laid her head back down. “Tell me about Jay. Is he bossy like you? Sweet and funny? Has he been married before? Will I have step-brothers?”
He made himself comfortable. “No, Jay’s wolf never chose a mate for him until yesterday. He’s my dad’s age. Maybe a little younger. I think he’s been lonely. Every time a wolf found a mate, he congratulated them, but I bet he wondered if he would ever find a mate of his own. Now he has. But only if your mom accepts him.”
“She hasn’t accepted him?”
“She hasn’t been awake long enough.”
Gina was quiet for a moment, considering how a new stepfather would change her relationship with her mother. �
��For a long time I wanted my mother to love me more than she loved Todd. I never thought she did until she shot him to keep him from killing me.” A faint shudder made her head throb. “Will Jay truly love her? I mean, will he be good to her and not use me to control her?”
“He will love her and protect her. He will love and protect you.” Cole laid his arm over her waist to give her a light squeeze. “I’ve known him since before I could walk. He’s always been patient and kind. He’s a good man who has waited decades for a mate. He will treat her like a princess.”
What would it be like to have a stepfather whose love was true and pure? Would she feel safe? What an alien thought. “I hope mom accepts him.”
He brushed a kiss over her nose. “Me, too. I want Jay to be happy.”
“I want my mom to be happy. Tell me more about him. You didn’t say if he is he bossy.”
“Like I said, he’s about my dad’s age. He’s been the Pack’s beta since before I was born. He’s an Alpha, so I suppose he is a little bossy. Just a tiny bit.” Humor colored his voice. “Not as bossy as Uncle Shadow. But then, no one is as bossy as Shadow.”
“Not even you?” she teased.
“I am not even close. My dad is pretty mild tempered, and Jay is even more laid back. Not that he lets people walk over him. Did I ever tell you about the time Jay caught me trying to sneak out of the den when I was thirteen?”
Peace settled over her. She drifted to sleep with his deep voice in her ear.
Chapter Fifteen
When Gina next woke she knew immediately there was no one in the bed with her. “Cole?”
“He’s out, helping bring Ray home from the hospital.”
Gina turned her head on the pillow and saw Patia sitting in the chair five feet from the bed. The room was dimly lit. “What time is it?”
“A little after seven,” her sister-in-law replied. “Breakfast will be ready soon.”
Gina sat up in bed, feeling her head throb, but not as viciously as it had last time she’d been awake. She wasn’t sure if breakfast would be a good idea. “You didn’t go with them?”
“Dad says it would be dangerous. Lots of Omaha men are still celebrating the victory.” She made a face. “Drinking all night,” she added in disapproval. “Dad says they might be drunk enough to bother me.”
Her tone said any man who tried to bother her was stupid and would deserve whatever Cole did to him. “When will they be here? Cole, I mean. Are they coming here or taking Ray to Mayor Madison’s house?”
“Ray’s coming here.” Patia’s voice was very firm. “The hospital is full and the Mayor’s house is for the overflow of people hurt in the fight.”
“Is he well enough to move? Is there an ambulance or will they carry him on a stretcher?”
“He’s getting better. Ray’s dad took the bus. Dad thought it would take them maybe an hour or an hour and a half, but the streets are full of people, so it might take longer to get through the crowds.”
The last time Gina had seen Ray he had been awake but weak in a hospital bed. “Were many people hurt?”
Patia’s face clouded over. “Over forty from Omaha were killed and about the same number hurt. My brother Wolf’s Howl was shot and so was my cousin Eagle, but it’s not serious and they’ll be fine in a week or so. But my cousin Red Feather is dead.”
Red Feather’s youthful face flashed in Gina’s mind. One more in a long line of sins to lay at her stepfather’s feet. He destroyed lives wherever he went. He had destroyed hers one bit at a time until at last he’d tried to kill her. If her mom hadn’t…
“I want to see my mom,” she said abruptly. “Is she here?”
Gina glanced at the door. “She’s down the hall. I can take you there.”
Gina used the bathroom and took a moment to look at herself in the mirror. She wouldn’t win any beauty contests anytime soon, but she thought she looked better than she’d expected. Walking carefully, she went back to the bedroom and dressed slowly. Surprisingly, her head didn’t hurt very much. But she felt weak and trembly, grateful for Patia’s arm to lean on when she left the room. Over the mezzanine railing she saw the public dining room set up for guests but deserted.
“No one’s coming for breakfast?” she asked.
Patia shook her head. “Not with injured women in the house. Cole is amazingly tolerant, considering that you are hurt. He threatened only three people since he brought you home. But Jay? I’ve never seen him so growly. He’s taken protecting us to a new level of crazy. No one is getting near your mom.” When she glanced at Gina’s face, she gave a little laugh. “That doesn’t include you; you’re her daughter. But when that little driver, Sal, tried to help the men carry your mom into the house, Jay leaped on him and pinned him to the wall so fast he didn’t know what had happened.”
They stopped in front of the door to the room at the corner of the mezzanine. Patia tapped on it very softly, so softly that Gina didn’t hear it, but it opened at once to reveal a tall man with silver streaks winging through his black hair at his temples. The silver was lost in the twisting braids that hung past his shoulders to his belt. His somber face was handsome, dominated by a proud nose. His black eyes went immediately to Gina. He nodded silently, as though in answer to a question, and stepped back to let them in.
Gina looked across the dim room and found her mother lying on her back in the bed. Her legs shook when she looked at her mother’s swollen face. Both her eyes were surrounded by deep bruising, and only one could open. Her lips were puffy, and her forehead and one cheek were grotesquely swollen.
“Uncle Jay, Gina’s still not very strong,” Patia whispered.
Without a word, he picked Gina up and carried her a few steps to a chair next to the bed.
“Gina,” her mother croaked.
Gina fisted her hands on the arms of the chair. “Oh, Mom,” was all she could say. “Tanner did that to you?”
A vicious growl behind her lifted the hairs on her arms.
It looked painful when her mom lifted her eyes to look over Gina’s head. “Jay, I need a few minutes alone with my daughter.”
The growling stopped. “Okay,” said the man behind her in such a deep rasp that his voice barely sounded human. “I’ll be right outside. Call if you need anything.”
The door closed quietly, leaving Gina alone with her mom. She examined the older woman’s face again, noting each bruise, lump and abrasion.
“Are you alright?’ she asked.
Her mom’s head moved restlessly on the pillow. “I will be.” Her hand twitched, as if she wanted to reach out to Gina, but it went still again when Gina drew back. “I’m finally free. We both are. Free of Gerald Todd.”
The fierce satisfaction in her voice surprised Gina. “You loved him.”
“No, I didn’t.”
Gina remembered all the times her mother had bowed to Todd’s wishes, telling Gina to do the same. How many times had her mom brushed off her daughter’s unhappiness? How often had she shown impatience with Gina’s yearning to have her own life? She tried to keep accusation from her voice. “You married him.”
“I did.” Her mom’s bloodshot eye gazed blindly toward the covered window. “I was a widow, alone with a small daughter to protect, when I met Gerald. He was attractive. Oh, not handsome,” she added, correctly interpreting Gina’s expression. “But charismatic. There was something about him that made me feel cherished and safe. I married him because there had already been two attempts by men to steal us and force me to marry them. I thought he was our best choice.”
“He was a monster,” Gina said flatly.
Her mom’s fingers picked at the blanket covering her. “Yes, he was, but I didn’t know that at first.” Even with the swelling and bruises, the bleak expression was plain on her mom’s face. “In the beginning, he was charming. He told me over and over how lucky he was to have gained a wife and a daughter at the same time. He treated you like you were his own.”
Gina remembered times
when Todd had played with her. Maybe she had even believed him when he said he loved her. Maybe.
“Then I found out that I was wife number two.”
Gina blinked at that. “You didn’t know he was already married?”
“Of course not. Plenty of men never have even one wife. Whoever heard of a man with two? I confronted him about it, and when he admitted that he had a wife I told him we weren’t legally married, and I was leaving.”
“I bet that went over well.”
Her mom grimaced. “He became very, very sweet. You know the tone he uses—used—when he grew truly angry? He made threats. I wanted to leave. I wish I’d been brave enough to run then. I talked myself into believing we were safer with him than we would be on the run.”
Gina hurt her lip making a rude sound. Her mom looked quickly up at her.
“You’re right,” her mom agreed in a whisper. “We would have had a better chance then, before he became so powerful. But remember that I was a young woman with a little girl, and no family or friends to help. Maybe I could have found a place to hide if it was just me. But with a little girl? No. And I couldn’t leave you behind. Do you think Gerald Todd would have given up searching for us?”
Gina sighed. “No. But you should have run anyway.”
“Maybe. I stayed because I thought it was safer.”
“It was easier.” The accusation came out with a bitter edge. Gina didn’t take it back.
Her mom hesitated. “Maybe,” she said again. “I told myself I was making the best of a poor choice. As long as he didn’t hurt you, I could bear it.”
“Is that what he threatened?”
Her mom nodded her head slightly. “He didn’t threaten me directly. It was always you who would pay for anything I did or said.”
Gina stared at her hand clenched over the wooden arm of the chair. “You were trapped.”
Her mom croaked a bitter laugh. “From the moment I met him.” She shifted her weight in the bed with a stifled grunt of pain. “I know you ha …” Her voice trailed off uncertainly, apparently balking at the word ‘hate’. “Don’t like me. I made choices that hurt you. I honestly thought they were the best choices under the circumstances.”