Daddy Shifter's Fake Fiance (Stonybrooke Shifters)

by Leela Ash

  “I thought you said you were not the same man anymore?”

  “I’m not. If I was, you and all of your friends would already be dead. But you keep lying to me Mike. How am I supposed to trust you, when I can’t trust what comes out of your mouth? This kid was trying to lead us somewhere, or he was trying to get back to someone. Either way, I will find out what it is. Be thankful that you make me curious more than angry. I will get my answers.”

  6

  Jessa knew that the men were coming. She didn’t know that there was now more than one or that Milo had been hurt. She had heard the gun shot in the distance and hoped that it wasn’t Mike who was getting shot. It was hard to think of something happening to him.

  She stayed crouched in the top floor of the firehouse. There was a pole she could slide down to the entrance if she had to get out of there quickly. Jessa didn’t know what was going to happen, but she was better off with her son and the others away. She wished that Milo hadn’t left without her, but he was the only one there who could help her. If he hadn’t come, she would be all alone. The feeling was not as comforting as it used to be.

  Jessa used to like the solitude, but it was hard to like it now. She had gotten too used to people and even though it had been some time since she had left the settlement because of a man, she had made her own group. Each one was picked up on the road and she trusted all of them. But now what?

  Her trust was no good now, and there was nothing that she could do but hope that whatever happened next, she would walk away with as many people as she started with. Life then was worthless and cheap, ending without so much as a word of goodbye.

  She tried to shake the thoughts from her mind, questioning why she was so sure that something bad was going to happen. It was that feeling, the knot in the pit of her stomach that told her something wasn’t right. She knew that her gut was more accurate than her mind sometimes, but now she questioned it. She questioned everything except the love she felt for Mike and the need to get him back. Jessa didn’t want to go on being aimless without him. There was no peace at the coastline if he was not there with her. Jessa knew that now.

  There were noises and she could hear people talking. It took her a minute to put together where she had heard the voice before. It threw her off, because they were not supposed to be there. Why was she hearing her son talking to Carin? Jessa looked out the small, dingy window that was covered in dust and her heart dropped.

  What were they doing there?

  “Jessa!”

  She scrunched down even more and tried to think. Whoever they were, they knew she was there. And now her son was there. It was clear that she had trusted the wrong people and Jessa didn’t have anything else to do, but give herself up.

  “Come out now or this sweet little boy gets one in the face.”

  Her heart leapt in her chest.

  “All right! I’m coming now. Don’t hurt him.”

  Jessa slid down the pole and put her hands up, looking into the faces that greeted her. Her son tried to run to her, but he was passed off to Carin to hold onto.

  “Well, now I see what all of the fighting was about. You my dear, are prettier than I would have thought.”

  Caston’s eyes took in the long hair and supple curves. She was exactly what he had been looking for and it was the first time that Caston had smiled in a long time. She would do.

  He turned to Mike and smiled. “I can see why you wanted to keep this under wraps. Good call to keep the rest of them back there. They will tear her up. I will let them have what is left.”

  “Just let my son go, please. I will do whatever you want.”

  Caston looked at the boy and then shrugged. “Fine, he goes.”

  Shane looked at his mom being held and tried to go to her. “Don’t. You need to go. Stay out of sight and do what I told you.”

  She was pulled back from the guy holding her and grimaced when she felt his need on her backside. Blocking it out, she waited till Shane was out of sight before she turned to the man in charge. Her eyes hadn’t even met Michael’s. She was too busy sizing up the two that had betrayed her. She should have known that it was a trap. Their story was just too convenient, but she had trusted them enough to leave her son with them and that was on her. How could she have been so wrong?

  “What did you tell your son to do?”

  Jessa wouldn’t tell him the truth, but she had to think of something. “There was a house many miles from here that was safe. I told him to go back there.”

  He looked into her eyes, but saw nothing amiss. She was still playing the scared woman and it was working. His gun had already been taken off of her and the man behind her was far more worried about smelling her hair and rubbing himself against her than actually holding her properly.

  She looked to Mike for a minute and saw the sorrow in his eyes. She didn’t want to see that. There was no time to be sorry, only time to move on and finish it.

  “Bring her here Lee. I need a good look at her.”

  He pushed the woman forward to Caston and Mike wanted to stop it. He already knew what they wanted and the idea of it made him furious. She was not meant for those kinds of things. She was meant to be with him. Michael knew then that it was all his fault. If he wouldn’t have left, maybe this fate would have never come to be.

  What he didn’t understand was how she was so calm. Mike knew that she was capable of many things, had seen her kill a man before, but she was more calm than he was. She didn’t know what kind of man Caston was and if she did, he was sure that she wouldn’t be so cool about it all.

  “What do you want with us? I don’t even know you.”

  “You will Jessa. You will know me well before this day is done.”

  She tried to hide the shiver that was elicited by his innuendo. The very idea of such an old man touching her made her skin crawl. His hand came out to play with one of the long strands of hair and he yanked on it to get a rise out of her. When he didn’t get one, he grabbed more until he heard a whimper.

  Jessa was clear what kind of man he was quickly. She had seen more than her fair share of them. He liked to make people hurt. So she gave him what he wanted and he stopped. “I can see I am going to like you. Like a wild stallion needing to be broken.”

  “What do you want from me?”

  He grinned. “You know exactly what I want from you. And I think I want to make your boyfriend watch.”

  She closed her eyes for a moment like she was going to get woozy and acted like she needed to be held. The man behind her straightened her back up and there was a glance between the two.

  “Why don’t we have some privacy the first time? Lee will hold you and your friends out here while we go in the firehouse.”

  “They are no friends of mine.” Jessa glared at the two that had brought her son into it. They would pay soon enough, she thought to herself.

  “Feisty. Yes, just what I have been looking for.”

  Caston grabbed her arm and pulled her into the large red building that was abandoned a long time ago. She felt as solitary as it was, standing tall against all of the elements.

  ***

  Milo had crept into the foliage to hide and was surprised to see Shane sitting in the bushes. It had taken him a while to get there, but he had managed to save some of his strength and was doing his best to gather as much of his energy as he could. He would need it to fight the blood loss. If things went well, he was sure Michael and Jessa would come back for him. Seeing Shane there seemed to be his proof.

  He couldn’t stand, but grabbed at Shane’s shoes. Shane squealed softly, surprised by the unexpected contact. He squinted into the brush, unable to recognize Milo underneath the blood that had gotten smeared on his face. Milo tried to shush him, worried that the noise might draw attention to their location. Milo did not know how many more of Caston’s men were out there, and while he was wounded he didn’t want to find out. He had very little fight left in him. He had done all he could. It was up to Michael and J
essa now.

  “Take this and point it at whoever comes this way. Just pull the trigger if it’s a bad guy.”

  The boy took the gun from Milo. It felt heavy in his hands and looked down at Milo. “I can’t.”

  “Just like I showed you. This is why you needed to learn. You may need to use this.”

  7

  “Please. I don’t want any trouble. I will give you what you want, just let me go.”

  Caston was sizing her up. There was something not quite right with her, but he wasn’t sure what it was. All he knew was that he had her and with Lee taking care of Michael, he had plenty of time.

  “Take off your clothes.”

  She started to shake with the idea of it, trying to talk him out of it. There was no talking him out of it though, she saw that then. He wasn’t interested in anything that she had to say. When he barked his order again, Jessa started to undress, trying to check her tears.

  “Come on girl. I don’t have that much patience.”

  She tried to hurry up, but her hands were shaking so badly that it was hard to. His yelling at her wasn’t helping either. Jessa wasn’t good under pressure and she was crying too hard to see much through the blurry vision she was afforded.

  When she managed to get her shirt off, he made a sharp intake of breath and she looked up disgusted. The last thing she was trying to do was turn him on. But there was a problem with her pants, so she went for her bra, hoping that he would be distracted for a few moments for her to make a plan.

  Pulling the clasp back and letting her fullness come to his eyes, there was no more yelling. She felt a rough hand on her and tried to ignore it. Jessa was done playing the scared woman. She wanted his hands off of her and she was seething inside. He holstered his gun and made use of his other hand on her softness. She moaned as he tugged on her nipples, then whimpered as he pulled harder. That was what made him want more.

  Caston sat down on a chair, pulling her down to his lap and she could feel the excitement underneath her. She wanted to spew, her stomach lurching from the touch, but there was nothing that she could do.

  “Please. You don’t have to be so rough.”

  He grinned at her and assured her that he did. “You will come to like it Jessa, just give it some time.”

  When his hands went for the front of her pants, she stopped his hand. “Let me do it.”

  He was more worried about what was in front of him and let her slide off of his lap. She knew that she didn’t have much time, but there was something holding her back. It was the first time that Jessa worried that it would be enough, would she be enough?

  She pushed his hands away, trying to give herself some room to move. He smiled at her and she tried to make her own smile reach her eyes. The last thing she wanted was for him to touch her, but it was what had to be done.

  Gathering her courage, she started to pull her pants down, her hands searching for the knife that was strapped to her thigh. It was the only thing that made her feel safe and when her hands closed around it, she let her pants fall. The man’s attention was on her panties and not on the gleaming blade in her hands. Before he knew what had hit him, she had plunged it deep into his neck.

  His eyes were wild, searching for her before settling on her face in surprise. “Did you really think I was going to let you touch me?”

  He groped for her with one hand, while the other tried to stop the blood pouring out of his neck. It wasn’t what he had thought would happen. It was poetic in a way that he would be taken out by some weak women. It seemed fitting to him and he started to give up the fight. It was over. Caston fell from the chair with a thud and she was left to listen for sounds outside. The man was losing his fight with life and she wanted to make one thing clear to him before he went. Jessa wanted him to know that she had won.

  She bent down and whispered in his ear. “I told my son to go wait in the woods until I killed you bad men. He will come out when I kill you and your friend. Do you really think I haven’t met men like you before? You are not special and there is no place left in the world for you.”

  Jessa saw his eyes get smaller and she knew that he wished he could kill her, wished he could warn his friend that she was loose. But he couldn’t manage to breathe, let alone to speak. She smiled at him, that time it reached her eyes, happy that there was one less creep in the world to deal with.

  Looking out the window, she saw Mike still being held by the other man. He kept looking towards the place where she stood and Jessa wondered if he could get away. There was still the matter of Carin and Jason who she could no longer see. There were too many variables.

  Then she heard shouting and had time only to throw her shirt back on and make it downstairs. Jessa looked back at the monster one last time before leaving. There was nothing to be done there anymore. Racing down to where Mike was being held, she realized that he was in a tussle with Lee. That wasn’t the cause of commotion though. She was immediately worried about her son and peered into the bushes where she had last seen him. Jason came stumbling out, full of blood. For a terrifying moment, she was terrified that something had happened to Shane. Before the fear got to her head, Jason that fell. He had been shot in the back from the bushes.

  The gunshot pulled Lee’s attention away from Michael. He whipped around just in time to see Jason fall, and then he stared with wide, surprised eyes at Jessa, who had emerged and was walking weakly toward the bushes where she had been afraid Shane might be hurt. The distraction was sufficient enough that Mike was able to wrap his arms around Lee from behind, putting pressure on the man’s neck until he fell. He held on until he was sure the man was dead before he moved back and got up. He looked at Jessa and thought he was going to lose it with relief.

  “I was coming for you,” he said.

  She gave him a kiss and then moved towards the bushes where Shane had run. Carin was still somewhere, but Jessa would let her go if she didn’t cross her path again. She was done and the last thing she wanted to do was chase down and kill an old woman. Her payment was with her grandson’s life and Jessa couldn’t think of anything worse than being in this world alone. She almost felt sorry for her.

  Her eyes searched for Shane and she quickly found him in the bushes. He had listened to her and was waiting there just as she’d told him to. Milo was passed out beside him. He’d been seriously injured.

  “What happened to Milo?” she whispered, afraid for the worst.

  “He was shot,” Michael said, stepping beside her and taking her hand. Shane was still staring off into the distance, where Jason had fallen. He was holding a gun in the air with both fists. It looked huge in his tiny hands.

  “Who gave you this?” she asked, taking it gently away from him.

  “Milo did. He told me to that I might have to use it one day,” Shane said, his small body quivering. “He was right.”

  Jessa never wanted him to have to do that, but she knew that the world was different and adapting was the only way that he was going to make it. She scooped him into a tight hug.

  “Are you okay?”

  He nodded and she buried her face in his hair, kissing the top of his head.

  “I never wanted you to have to do that. But we have to keep going Shane. The bad men have friends and I don’t want to stick around for them to find us. Michael, tie your shirt around Milo. We have to get out of here.”

  8

  “I thought I had lost you Jessa.”

  “Why did you leave?”

  They were going back to where they were supposed to be in the beginning, back towards the shoreline, but the group had thinned considerably. Before, there was supposed to be more of them, and now it was back to the original four. Milo was resting comfortably in the small bedroom with Shane. Jessa had been able to patch him up. Thankfully the bullet had only gone through his arm. Although he wouldn’t be able to use it for a while, it would probably heal if they kept it easy.

  Now that they were together in safety, Michael was finally lifte
d from the stupor he had been in for years. While he may not have gotten any answers, he knew that he would sleep better with Caston off the planet. Men like him couldn’t exist without hurting everyone they came in contact with.

  “I left because I thought I had to. I didn’t want all of that to affect you and Shane. Jason told me what I wanted to hear, he must have known something and I played into it. I let my anger blind me to what was really going on. It almost cost us everything.”

  “If you would have told me the truth, I could have helped you.”

  She stopped because that wasn’t really true. Jessa had trusted that Carin would take care of her son and that had almost been a fatal mistake. They had both made the best decision they could with the information given. She couldn’t be mad at him for that. Jessa really didn’t feel anger. She just wanted them all to be safe. Jessa had been sure that she had lost him forever, so it didn’t matter. None of it did. The only thing that mattered was that they were safe.

  “It doesn’t matter. We are still all together. That’s all that matters now. I thought I had lost you for good.”

  He shook his head and lay down next to her. “I was afraid that they were going to find you. I never would have believed that Carin and Jason had something to do with it. They were not loyal like Milo. We’re lucky to have found him.”

  She looked down and took her necklace off. It was the one from her late husband and she didn’t want the reminder then. Right then she needed Mike to hold her and convince her that everything was going to be okay. It didn’t feel like it. Sometimes it felt like the last thing that she could believe in was that everything would somehow turn out okay. She had thought before that her luck had changed. This time, Jessa really hoped that it was true.