by Tl Reeve
“Trial is set for next week,” Kalkin informed him, and it took all the wind out of his sails. “Subpoenas are going out end of this week.”
Rapier cocked a brow.
“You, along with your brothers, are listed as key witnesses. The prosecutor has been notified your mate now resides in Apache County.”
“Fuck,” he snarled. “Who informed him she was here?”
“I did.”
Rapier saw red and had to clench his fists, so he didn’t deck the other man. “What? Why the fuck would you do that, Kalkin? Quincy is goin’ to know Jasmine, fuck, my cubs are back with me.”
Kalkin didn’t move a muscle. He just stood there, silent and non-provoking, which was odd for him on a good day. “As much as I hate to admit it, Raymond Quincy still has eyes on our town. The moment your mate stepped inside of our county lines, the prick knew and was already planning his next move. We need to get ahead of him. That was the point of us joining forces. Remember?”
“Shit,” he muttered. Kalkin was right. Rapier rubbed the back of his neck in frustration. “Did you know about this when we spoke this morning?”
“Yes,” Kalkin said.
Rapier roared in frustration. Kalkin didn’t even flinch, nor did he explain his actions. It only annoyed him more.
Motherfucker.
“And you didn’t think it was important I knew then?” Wasn’t even one day, and he was already hiding shit. What a way to start a new partnership. “What did I say this morning? I said you can’t hide shit from me. It won’t work if you do.”
“I didn’t hide it,” Kalkin stressed. “I simply delayed in telling you. One thing you need to learn about me, lion, is I don’t jump to conclusions without all the facts. When we spoke this morning, I didn’t have all the information. No point in blowing your morning without all my ducks in a row. And because I didn’t blow my wad this morning, I’m able to give you more details.” Kalkin paused, leaving Rapier hanging.
“Well?” Raymond Quincy made the hair on the back of Rapier’s neck stand at attention twenty-four-seven.
“Da Susa got some intel. A bit of chatter really. It’s enough for us to go on. Seems as if the Quincy Pack is preparing for something big.”
Rapier’s body tensed in anticipation. “Do you know what?”
Kalkin shook his head. “Da Susa doesn’t have anything firm. He’s got his ear to the ground. The second he hears something, he’ll let me know and you’ll be my next call.”
Rapier nodded. “Knowing the Quincy Pack as I do, I wouldn’t put it past those dumb assholes for trying to break Quincy out of jail.”
“Possible,” Kalkin said. “According to my sources, he’s not handling confinement very well.”
Jail wasn’t supposed to be easy. It was fuckin’ jail for a reason. “You don’t know? You haven’t seen him personally?”
“Can’t. If I get within twenty feet of him, I’m likely to choke the bastard out,” Kalkin admitted.
Rapier snorted in disbelieve at the other man’s honesty. “Fucker can rot in a jail cell for the rest of his life, for all the fucks I care.” Rapier gnashed his back teeth together so damn hard, he swore he heard them crack.
“Da Susa also got a hit on the two morons Quincy sent after your mate.” Kalkin reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded sheet of paper that he handed over. Rapier took the paper, unfolded it, and stared down at the two men. “Know them?”
“Yeah. They’re part of ol’ Raymond’s inner circle. Neither of them is known for being the brightest crayons in the box. Rumor is they’re Quincy’s get. Poor bastards,” Rapier said before handing the paper back to Kalkin.
“Quincy sure as hell likes to spread his seed,” Kalkin remarked.
“Apparently, he thinks it’s his God-given right.”
“Da Susa has no names, just this picture,” Kalkin said.
Rapier rolled his eyes. “Give me a break, Kal, don’t you already know who they are?”
Kalkin shrugged, his expression blank when he finally responded. “I have a suspicion who they are.” Rapier snorted, not believing a word Kalkin said. “Nothing firm.”
“One on the right is Jack Henry, the one on the left is his younger brother Earle.”
Kalkin nodded his head. “They’ve been spotted sniffing around this morning.”
“Fuckin’ great.”
“No worries, lion, I’ve got Logan keeping an eye on them. They step one foot inside county lines, and I’m hauling them in for questioning.”
“Or I could save you the fucking trouble and go huntin’. My lion wouldn’t mind stretching his legs and ripping some throats out,” he said with a smirk.
“As much as I’d love to let you go do you, I want this by the book. Anything less and we risk Quincy getting out on a technicality.”
“You’re the expert.” Rapier sighed, knowing full well he’d be able to take those two weasels out and make it look like an accident.
“I am,” Kalkin stated.
“I’m forewarning you. Anyone touches my mate or cubs, I won’t hold back. I’ll raze hell on every last one of the Quincy Pack.”
“Believe it or not, the entire pack isn’t like Raymond. There are some good men, women, and children who are struggling to survive under a malevolent Alpha.”
“And you know this exactly how?”
“Everett.”
Rapier didn’t even bother asking Kalkin if he could trust his source. He knew full well Kalkin did. Everett had given up his life in support of the Raferty Pack. Over twenty years ago, unbeknownst to anyone but Kalkin, Everett Hartley had been Kalkin’s snitch. Everett defected to the Quincy Pack, worked his way up, and became Beta. He’d been Kalkin’s eyes and ears the entire time. If it hadn’t been for Everett, Kalkin wouldn’t have been able to arrest Allan or brought in Marjorie as well. Everett had been the connector.
Truth be told Rapier wasn’t overly fond of Everett having had more than one run in with the guy when all the shit was going down with Jasmine and his Pride over ten years ago. It wasn’t exactly easy going from wanting to kill a person for their actions, only to have respect for them for their sacrifices for the greater good.
“We’re going to help them?” If for whatever reason Kalkin didn’t want to, Rapier would.
Kalkin nodded.
“He’s never going to give up, Kalkin, you realize this. Not while his cold heart continues to beat,” Rapier uttered.
“He wants our land,” Kalkin said. “And Mac.”
Rapier nodded. Raymond had already claimed his Pride lands. Granted, his lands hadn’t been much, but they had been home. He had brought his mate to those lands, fucked her in the wilderness of the night, and had dreams and aspirations of one day building something similar to that of the Raferty Pack. Raymond Quincy had destroyed all those hopes and dreams by splitting up a family and denying mates the other half of their soul. Rapier had missed so much of his cub’s life in the last ten years, he wondered if he’d ever get his daughters’ full love, affection, and most importantly their trust.
“Mac still doesn’t remember what happened when he was with Raymond all those years ago?” Rapier posed.
“No. Doesn’t help he’s too damn stubborn and refuses to discuss with anyone in or out of the family,” Kalkin replied.
Rapier didn’t miss the flash of pain in the other man’s eyes. “Can’t Everett fill in some of those blanks?”
Kalkin shook his head, his voice solemn. “No. Everett wouldn’t have risked helping Mac. Besides, Quincy wasn’t always forthcoming with his plans either, so trying to figure it out, would have made Raymond one paranoid S.O.B. He only knew what his Alpha wanted him to know.” Sounded familiar. Kalkin did the same with Caden. “The only ones who know for sure are Mac, and I gotta assume Raymond and that slimy bastard won’t say a word.”
“Mac was in bad shape when I found him, Kal. He mumbled a lot while he was unconscious, not much made sense. When he finally woke up, it was almost like his
wolf erased those memories to protect the man it resided in,” Rapier stated.
It wasn’t unheard of or uncommon for the animal which resided under every shifter’s skin to try to protect the body and mind they lived in. Rapier cleared his throat. “Jasmine told me she spoke to a woman in Colorado who helped her deal with some issues she had after we had to separate. Maybe Keeley can find her, see if she can come here, or even recommend someone to talk with Mac.”
“It’s worth a shot. I’m willing to do anything to help my brother and find out why that bastard wants my brother so bad.”
“Good.”
“By the way, got to give your mate credit. She showed up at my house today with Jenna in tow to apologize to Keeley and Dani,” Kalkin announced.
Rapier winced. “Since I didn’t get a call to get Jasmine from the hospital.”
Kalkin chuckled.
“I gotta assume the meet and greet went well?”
“It did. Although from what I heard Keeley didn’t make it easy for your mate.” Kalkin rubbed the black and grey scruff on his chin. “I’m suspecting my mate is taking on more and more of my characteristics with each passing day.”
Rapier laughed, nodding his head in agreement.
“Jasmine apologized for her rudeness. Not that it was needed. But it’s appreciated, considering our women will be working together at some point.”
“Dinner is canceled then?” Rapier inquired hopefully.
“No fuckin’ way, Dryer. I’m sure we’re going to get a call about it being on for tonight.” Kalkin rubbed his hands together almost gleefully. “Nothing like watching the interactions of a big group and how they work with each other. Especially after we make the big announcement. You can learn a lot about people, their likes and dislikes, during a big meal like that.”
Jesus, fuck, this guy. Yeah, Rapier could be a manipulative bastard when warranted, but he was nothing like Kalkin Raferty. Or so he thought until the lion in his psyche chuckled, totally agreeing with Alpha wolf shifter.
* * * *
“Jasmine?”
“Up here,” she said, staring at her reflection in the mirror.
Moments later, Rapier appeared in the doorway of their room. How odd. For ten years she stared at the door of her old room, hoping and wishing he’d show up out of thin air and reassure her everything would be okay. “We need to talk.”
A knot of dread curdled her stomach. “Sure.” She stepped away from the full-length mirror and sat down on the bed. “What’s this about?”
Rapier joined her. “I have some information. It’s going to make things... Difficult for a while, but I promise we’ll get through it together.”
Not foreboding at all. “Quit being gentle. I’d rather you rip the fucking Band-Aid off than hem and haw about it.”
He narrowed his eyes and curled his lip. A shiver of delight rolled down her spine. “I ought to spank your ass, kitten.”
Jasmine rolled her eyes at him. “Please. You and I both know we’d enjoy it too much and it would only be a temporary distraction from what you need to tell me. So, spit it out.”
Rapier raked his fingers through his hair and sighed. “The trial is starting soon.”
“For Raymond?”
He nodded.
“Good. What’s the bad part?” If the trial was starting, then it meant soon they could stop living as though they were walking on egg shells.
“There’s chatter. His men are up to something.” Rapier took her hand. “They’re looking for you and the girls. I’m sure of it. Though Kalkin cautioned me not to get ahead of myself.”
“Well, we can’t live in a bubble forever. They were looking for us when you came to Colorado. They’ll continue to do so here too.”
He growled. “I know this. You don’t have to be so calm about it.”
Who said anything about being calm? She might look it on the outside, but on the inside, she was falling apart. She mentally started making lists of everything she’d need if they had to run. She also tried to calculate how far they’d get before someone realized they were gone, and she started planning what to tell the girls. Her “in case of an emergency” switch had been flipped. “What would you have me do? Scream? Run around like a mad woman? I could do those things. I might feel good for a minute; however, we’d still be in the same situation.”
He blew out a breath. “You’re right. I hate this shit. I want to wrap my hands around his neck and squeeze the life out of him. Even in jail he can still make me feel like an incompetent mate and father.”
“You’re allowing him to get to you. He’s been in your head since the day we went our separate ways.” She glanced up at Rapier and found rage and fear swirling in his blue eyes. “You have the power to take it away from him. Forget about him and his men and his pack. Let go of all of it.”
“Kitten...”
“My cycle is coming,” she said.
Rapier snorted. “I know.”
She cocked a brow. “Do you?”
He eased closer to her and buried his nose in her neck. “You smell like cinnamon on a hot summer day.” He trailed his fingertips across her skin and pushed her shirt out of the way, exposing her stomach to his gaze.
“What are you doing?” Jasmine licked her bottom lip before tugging it between her teeth.
“Appreciating my beautiful, wise mate.” Rapier pressed kisses to her neck then over her collarbone while cupping her breast.
Jasmine shuddered. She grabbed the hem of his shirt and yanked it upward. Their movements were jerky at best as they disrobed each other then fell into their bed. Rapier climbed over her, pressing his big body to hers, reminding her, not so subtly, that he was in charge, not her. She went pliant below him. Later they would talk about everything they had to prepare for. Now, she wanted her mate.
He kissed her then. The refined taste of dark chocolate and cream swirled across her taste buds. She couldn’t get enough of him. She wanted more. Jasmine deepened the kiss, drawing his tongue into her mouth to suck on it. The aggressive, lust-filled sounds he made while rubbing against her left her dizzy with desire.
“Daddy...”
“Kitten.” He nipped her chin.
“Fuck me.” She palmed his cock and stroked, paying close attention to the piercing at his tip.
Rapier hissed. The muscle in his jaw flexed as he rocked into her grasp, fucking her hand. “Don’t stop, kitten.”
An excited thrill chased the arousal and adrenaline coursing through her veins. She missed this too. Missed how little control either of them had when it came to sex. She glanced up at his straining form. His cheeks were tinged pink with arousal, as was his chest.
Jasmine ran the pad of her thumb over the sensitive flesh of his crest. Rapier cursed. His hips jerked. She loved seeing him come undone. Loved watching him take his pleasure. It only excited her more. Observing him made her clit throb and her pussy ache for him.
Rapier used his knee to spread her legs then wedged his hips between her thighs. The thick length of his cock teased her slit while the piercing at his tip bumped her clit. Sparks of pleasure spread through her. Her body heated to the point she thought she’d combust before he filled her and fucked her into submission.
“Gonna come, kitten. Put me inside you.”
Ten years had been too long. She realized the error of their ways three months after she had the twins. It was as if someone had taken a vice to her insides, clamping them off until she screamed in agony. A few times, she’d scared the shit out of Jenna, and she realized that had been the beginning catalyst of Jenna not wanting a mate—seeing Jasmine in pain.
“Hey,” Rapier whispered, rubbing his nose against hers. “Stay right here. No more past. Only now.”
He filled her with one stroke, and both of them groaned. The tingle of mini-orgasms unfurled within her, increasing her arousal. Rapier buried his face in her neck while he pulsed through his release. She didn’t know how long they lay wrapped in each other’s arms before Rap
ier began to move.
His thrusts were sure. Powerful. He knew exactly what she needed and how she needed it. She trembled below him, clinging to him for purchase as he pushed her higher and higher. Seeing her mate unhinged, determined to mark her inside and out, destroyed her in a good way. It peeled away the layers of worry and anxiety. It allowed her to concentrate on them and their mating. It gave her strength when sometimes she wondered if she’d ever be the person she was before all hell broke loose.
“Whose pussy is this?” he snarled, grabbing her hips as he sat back on his haunches.
“Yours,” she cried.
“Yours what?”
“Yours, daddy.” She arched to him and whimpered.
“That’s right. You’re my kitten. Mine to love. Mine to protect. Don’t ever fucking forget that.” He used his thumb to manipulate her clit, and the ball of bliss coalescing deep inside her expanded. “Come on my dick, kitten. Give it to me.”
Her body went taut. Her heart hammered in her chest. She sucked in a breath as the knot of pleasure shattered within her. She screamed his name while her pussy spasmed and rippled through her climax. Rapier fucked her through it. He opened her legs wider, allowing him to slip deeper into her.
“Shit, fuck. Fuck.” He placed her legs over his elbows then bent toward her. His heated breath brushed across her chest and neck, adding to the sensations bombarding her. “Gonna come.”
“Yes,” she sobbed. “Please.”
“You always beg so pretty for my cum. I can’t deny you anything.”
Jasmine turned her head, exposing the mark he’d left the night before to his perusal. “Do it. Mark me. Fuck me. Give me your cum, daddy.” Her sex flexed and fluttered around his intrusion, and she gasped, surprised by her orgasm.
Rapier’s hips faltered, and he groaned. “Fuck yes, that feels so good. Like a million fucking kisses, milking my cock.” He shoved deep then bit down on the spot where her shoulder and neck met. While he continued to throb within her, he nipped her ear. “It’s been a long time since we fucked through a cycle, mate. I’m going to make sure you smell like me no matter what.” He nuzzled her cheek and chuckled. “Then I’m going to put my cub in your belly.”