by Tl Reeve
They moved together. The sensual glide of their bodies sent shards of pleasure through him. Rapier palmed her breasts, squeezing and teasing her nipples. She shuddered and whimpered. The sound she made as she said his name—the low yowl of pleasure washed over him and settled in his balls, drawing them up flush against his body. He didn’t want this moment to end, yet he couldn’t wait to begin again even when they both climaxed.
Rapier latched onto the back of her neck as he pounded into her, frantically trying to find his release. His relief. His sweet death, in Jasmine’s arms. Her nails dug into his hip. A mixture of pain and ecstasy burned through his veins. He lowered his hand between her legs and found her hard clit, throbbing. She bucked against him, clenching around his cock. His strokes shortened. The strangle hold she had on him twisted his insides and sent a tingle of pleasure down his spine.
He groaned as he bit deeper into her skin, knowing he’d leave a fresh mark there. He didn’t give a shit. Jasmine was his kitten, and he was her daddy. Fuck the rest of the world. She tensed in his arms. The rhythmic pulse of her release started as a soft flutter around his tip. He continued to thrust into her, sinking into the thrill of fucking his mate.
“Rapier...” she whimpered.
He didn’t stop. He couldn’t. His pace became more demanding, drawing out her climax while relishing each quiver and ripple as she orgasmed. “Take me with you, kitten.”
She shuddered and rocked against him, clawing at his flesh as her powerful release shot through her, triggering his own. His breath left him in a whoosh. His heart hammered in his chest. With each jerk of his cock deep inside her, filling her with his cum, he moaned. It fucking hurt so good. He tightened his arms around her, afraid if he let go, he’d lose her in the shit storm he knew lay just on the horizon, out of their reach.
Slowly, he regained his senses. The house was still quiet. The only sound was their combined heavy pants as they tried to drag air into their lungs. Then, Jasmine laughed and so did he. He cradled her in his arms and sighed. “Jesus, kitten.”
“Don’t blame me,” she teased.
Oh, he didn’t. Wouldn’t. He loved every minute of it. “We should get up. The heathens will be stomping around the house.”
She laughed again. “We should shower too.”
He slipped from her and groaned. “Yeah.”
Jasmine eased out of bed and started for the bathroom. She paused at the door before glancing over her shoulder. “You can wash my back, if you want to.”
Rapier watched the sway of her hips as she stepped farther into their bathroom. A growl of pure lust rumbled in his chest. “Temptress.” He bound out of bed and took off after her. “They can fix their own breakfast this morning.”
When Rapier finally came downstairs, he went to his mate first, then his daughters. They were eating their breakfast, which Jasmine made for them, and were jabbering about their plans for the day that included hanging out with their favorite tiger. He grinned. Warmth and happiness filled his chest. As much as they might worry about what might come next, these moments with his family... Fuck, they did his soul good.
“Good morning, girls,” he said sitting down next to them.
“Morning, Pops,” Zoe replied.
“Morning, Daddy.” Bell grinned. “Momma made extra. Will you eat with us?”
“Of course,” he answered, grabbing an empty plate from the pile. Every morning she asked the same question. Every morning he gave the same answer. She needed the reassurance. He’d been happy to oblige.
He’d just popped a piece of bacon in his mouth when his phone rang. Jasmine threw him a disapproving look, but when he showed her that it was Kalkin, fear and resoluteness filled her pretty hazel eyes. Rapier stood as he answered it. “Morning.” He kissed the crown of Zoe and Bell’s heads before going outside. “Should I be worried about you calling so early?”
“I need you at the courthouse,” Kalkin stated, forgoing pleasantries. “Now.”
“On it. Let me tell Jasmine and Osirus and I’ll be right there.” He stepped back inside the house.
“Bring him with you.” Kalkin hung up.
Shit. “I have to go.” He stared at Jasmine. A niggle of warning or something not being right ripped through his gut. Why couldn’t he go back in time and spend the rest of the day with his mate, in bed? “I have to grab O on the way.”
Jasmine stood slowly. “What’s wrong?”
He shook his head. “I’m not sure. As soon as I find out, I’ll call you.” He dragged her into his arms and inhaled the sweetest hint of cinnamon and fruity bath soap. “I love you. Keep the girls close. I’ll have Jenna join you. Let Saber and Cormyr know.”
She nodded. “I will.” She grabbed her phone off the counter. “It’s what we have group text for.”
“You’re a fucking genius, mate.” He kissed her again. “I’ll call when I can.”
Rapier ran out the door and jumped into his truck. As he started it, he hit Osirus’ number then pulled out of the driveway. His friend answered on the second ring, and by the sound of it, he’d interrupted his friend with Jenna. Shit. I’ll make it up to him later. Both of them. “Sorry. I wouldn’t call if there wasn’t something going down.”
“Don’t worry about it. What’s up?”
Rapier could hear Jenna in the background. “Put it on speaker for me. I have to tell both of you.” He waited a minute.
“Okay, we’re here. What’s going on?”
“Get ready. I’m on my way to you. Jenna, bring Utah and yourself to the house to watch over my girls. We’re needed at the courthouse.”
For a split second, Osirus didn’t answer. “Shit. What happened?”
“I don’t know. Kalkin was short with me. But guessing by his tone and wanting us there now, it can’t be good.” Rapier turned onto Osirus’ street. “I’m three minutes out. Meet you at the door.”
Osirus grunted. “I’ll be ready.”
The drive to the courthouse had been the longest fifteen minutes of Rapier’s life. As he turned the corner onto Apache Court, there was a large gathering of reporters on the steps to the courthouse. Kalkin and Caden surrounded ADA Charles Franks while Hauser, Da Susa, and a few other Marshals and FBI agents stood guard.
“What the fuck?” Osirus breathed.
“No clue, but this doesn’t look good.” Rapier pulled into one of the last remaining spots and shut off the truck. When he got out, Osirus joined him. “Do you think they found Emmitt’s body, maybe?”
Osirus shrugged. “With this much media? I think it’s bigger.”
“Could be.”
Rapier headed in the direction of the stairs where Kalkin stood sentinel. ADA Franks continued to answer questions, but when he caught Raymond’s name, he paused. Rapier snapped his attention toward Kalkin, who didn’t give anything away. He doubted Kalkin would even if they were the only ones outside. Quincy was just that big of a wild card.
“Thank you, ladies and gentlemen.” ADA Franks stepped away from the crowd, and Kalkin followed.
Rapier waited for the group to disburse then followed behind Kalkin. Osirus was right there with him. Tension radiated off him. What had Raymond done? What did they miss? When they stepped inside the building, Kalkin waited near the elevator. Rapier didn’t hesitate. He had to know what all the hurry up was about.
“Kalkin,” he said, joining the Alpha.
“Bout time.” He pushed the button on the elevator. “Caden is upstairs.”
Once they were in the elevator and the doors closed behind them, Rapier turned to Kalkin. The man’s features were tense. A raging fire burned in his icy blue eyes, and the constant rumble vibrating in his chest gave Rapier pause. “What th—”
“Not here. In the office.” He gave Rapier a stern look. Whatever happened, it was bad.
A thread of anxiety worked through him as they came to a stop on the third floor. The doors slid open, and he was greeted by a passel of deputies. One was stationed outside each office. The d
oors were closed, and it was also eerily quiet. Considering the commotion outside with the reporters, he figured everyone would be frantically working as well.
Rapier again followed Kalkin down the hall to an office at the end. He greeted the man stationed there, and he immediately recognized Logan. He looked like shit. He had dark circles under his eyes and his hair was getting a bit shaggy. He also smelled like a familiar female. However, now wasn’t the time to ask questions. Later, he would find out what was wrong with the guy.
When they stepped into the office, Osirus stopped next to him. Inside sat ADA Franks, Jerome, Caden, and Everett. It surprised the shit out of Rapier to see the man there. No one had seen hide nor hair of him since after Raymond had been arrested. There was also another man Rapier didn’t know. He wore an expensive suit and had a take-no-prisoner expression on his face. Rapier could feel the man’s gaze on him. It weirded him out and pissed his lion off, big time.
“Someone want to tell me what the fuck is going on and why you called me away from my mate and family.” Rapier growled. They had the courthouse locked down tighter than Ft. Knox while leaving his family vulnerable.
Kalkin blew out a breath. “Raymond escaped.”
“What the fuck?” Rapier snarled. Fear and raged slammed through him. Kalkin had promised the motherfucker wouldn’t see the damn light of day. “You couldn’t tell me over the phone so I could protect my family!”
“No,” Kalkin replied. “The minute we start changing shit is the minute Raymond will go to ground. We have to act like this is no big deal.”
“The hell we do.”
Kalkin sat down in one of the available chairs and sighed. “I should have killed the bastard when I had the chance.” He glanced over at Charles, who said nothing. “It would have prevented all of this.”
All of what? Raymond was out, sure, but Rapier had a sneaking suspicion there was more to whatever Kalkin didn’t say. “Spit it out.”
“Allen Pendergrass and Marjorie Pendergrass are dead,” Caden answered. “Both were mysteriously poisoned last night. Coroner has the bodies. We should know cause of death for sure, soon.”
“We also have the camera footage as well,” the man in the tailored suit said, pushing off the wall. “I’m Warden Havok. I found Allen’s body this morning. The warden from the female jail called me a few moments after I found Pendergrass.”
“Suicide, maybe?” Osirus asked, quirking a brow.
Warden Havok snorted. “No. Not even close. From the footage I’ve already reviewed, and, for all our planning, we had some corrections officers on the take. But, I will say, it sure does look like it, which I assume was the plan all along. We’ll know more after the autopsies.”
“Fucking Raymond,” Rapier roared. “He’s a fucking snake. He has to be behind this.”
Kalkin nodded. “That’s my thought too. He eliminated the two people who could put him away for the rest of his life.”
Charles handed Rapier a folder. “We also did a comparison of the bullet found in Tiffany’s head to those of the officers on scene and received the results in her autopsy as well.”
“Do I even want to hear this?” Rapier sat on the couch to the left of him.
“Tiffany wasn’t killed by an agent,” Charles said.
Rapier snorted. “This shit keeps getting better and better. Let me guess, Raymond?”
“I believe so.” He pointed to the file in Rapier’s hands. “She was three months pregnant. Twins.”
“Son of a bitch,” Osirus grumbled. “The bitch couldn’t help herself, could she?”
“We believe this was her second pregnancy, that we know of, since Aiden and his deceased siblings were found,” Kalkin added. “We never like to see the loss of an unborn child, but in this situation...after what we know about Tiffany and her disregard for life, well...”
Rapier grunted. “So, another couple of counts of murder will be tacked onto Raymond’s case?”
Charles nodded. “Yes, the only downside is that the ATF and FBI might have a hard time proving Raymond had a hand in the building, distributing, and detonating of any of the explosives that took out the Sheriff’s Department.”
Of. Fucking. Course. This shit show just became a comedy of fucking errors. The anxious thread running through his veins became a sludge. The thickening tendrils made it hard to breathe and concentrate on what happened in the meeting. His thoughts fractured to his mate and his daughters. They were vulnerable. Raymond was out. Raymond could find them.
“I see your wheels turning,” Kalkin said. “Don’t worry. Jerome has a drone monitoring your house, and I have a few deputies keeping an eye on it. Plus, Jenna is there with Utah along with your brothers. I doubt Raymond would be that stupid.”
Rapier cocked a brow.
Kalkin chuckled. “Yeah, true, asshole. However, I think we need to see this play out. Watch him. Wait. He’s going to make the wrong move and when he does, we’ll take him down again.”
Yeah, not if Rapier could help it. If Raymond showed up, he wasn’t calling Kalkin. He’d take the bastard out. “So, what’s next?”
“Good question.” A knock came at the door. “I see our guests have arrived.”
Rapier could’ve said he was surprised to see Poppa, Black Jack, and Hombre.
But he wasn’t.
He’d learned over the last year the other Alpha would do anything and everything to protect his family, pack, and town. Rapier would do the same.
“Well?” Kalkin asked the small group who filed into his office without any preamble.
Poppa sighed. “I got nothing, Kal. No one is saying shit.”
“Fuck,” the other Alpha growled.
“If he’s around Apache County or the surrounding counties, he’s gone underground. Like fuckin’ deep,” Black Jack announced.
Caden’s face twisted in disgust. “He’s a slick son of a bitch.”
Rapier couldn’t agree more. If they didn’t all know better, he’d suspect Raymond was a feline with all the lives he seemed to have.
“What about talking to Shadow?” Poppa inquired.
“Shadow?” Everett perked up. It was the first time the other man spoke since they’d all entered Kalkin’s office. Everett looked at Kalkin, his expression a mix of fear and worry. “You have Shadow? When did this happen?”
“We brought him and the other pups to the Raferty Pack couple weeks ago,” Poppa answered before Kalkin could open his mouth.
“What’s the concern with Shadow?” Kalkin asked.
“Where is he?” Everett demanded. If anyone thought the other man’s interest in the young kid was odd, no one said anything.
“At the orphanage,” Kalkin answered.
“He’s safe. Danielle’s been taking care of him, and the others,” Caden said.
“What’s the problem, Everett?” Kalkin pressed.
“Jesus.” Everett rubbed a hand through his hair. “Watch him, Kal. He can’t be trusted.”
Poppa snorted. “He’s a kid, Everett.”
“Right, Poppa, and we both know Quincy gave no quarter to the kid, even with being his blood. He was worse on Shadow than anyone else. Tortured that kid both mentally and physically nonstop. It was horrific.”
“Shadow is strong,” Poppa said.
“He’s an Alpha,” Kalkin added.
Whoa. Rapier’s gaze swung to Kalkin. If he expected to see a hint of fear in the other man’s icy blue gaze, he’d been dead wrong.
“You worry too much,” Hombre stated.
“That might be the case, Hombre. Shadow is a fucking kid who’s been forced to see and do shit no kid or even grown ass man should ever be forced to do. Most time’s he’s half feral. Of all of Quincy’s bastards, it would’ve been Shadow who took control of the Quincy Pack. Of course, once he pried it from Raymond’s cold, dead hands,” Everett uttered.
Rapier hadn’t had the pleasure of meeting Quincy’s get yet. Nowadays he only went to the orphanage when Danielle or Eloise called
for him to fix something one or more of the older, stronger boys had destroyed when they went a little too far with their roughhousing. Rapier just might have to stop by, see how a young boy of ten seemed to scare the shit out of a full-grown male shifter. A Beta no less.
“Heed my warning, Kal. Shadow is dangerous,” Everett stated.
“He’s watched,” Kalkin assured the other man.
After a long moment, Everett nodded. Like everyone else, his faith in Kalkin was all-encompassing. And yet unlike Kalkin, Everett had first-hand knowledge of the massive amounts of evil which had been Raymond Quincy.
For all Rapier cared, Shadow could live happy and free, as long as he wasn’t the second comin’ of Raymond Quincy. If the boy was anything like his father, Rapier would kill the little bastard without any hesitation.
“I’m going back to the pack,” Everett announced. “If I hear anything, I’ll let you know.”
Kalkin laid a hand on Everett’s broad shoulders. “It’s almost over.”
“Thank fuck,” Everett muttered before removing himself from the Sheriff’s office.
Charles and Warden Havok followed Everett out of the office moments later with a promise to hand over the autopsy reports as soon as they were done.
“That man is going to need a long vacation when this is all over,” Poppa muttered.
“And a warm, willing woman who hasn’t serviced pack member after pack member,” Rapier added.
“My mate has extended an invite to you three. Dinner and shit,” Kalkin said, as if he found his wife inviting people over irritating. “That invite extends to the Dryer Pride. I suspect, my little mate has already reached out to Jasmine and Jenna.”
Rapier had no doubt.
So much for a nice, quiet evening home alone, fucking his mate until they both passed out. Dinners at the Raferty compound usually went into the early mornings, or until Kalkin got the urge to kick everyone out and fuck Keeley.
“Word of warning. My mate,” Kalkin said to the three bikers, his voice gruff, all Alpha and serious as a heart attack. “Despises crude language or cursing around the kids. She can be downright bitchy about it. Be forewarned. If she tells you to watch your mouth, you fuckin’ check it, or I’ll check you.”