by L. P. Maxa
“Thank you, I appreciate that.” And Pen did. It felt good to know they were on her side, that they understood she wasn’t trying to hurt Baze in any way.
“Can someone please help me off this damn mat now?” Corey lifted her hands in the air. “I seriously don’t think I can get up on my own.”
***
After yoga, Pen showered. And then put on another pair of soft pants with an even softer long cardigan. It had started to drizzle outside and she wanted nothing more than to curl up in bed with a good book. But she didn’t live here, and she didn’t know where Jace the Junior Mastermind kept his library. Would the kid even own anything in the fiction genre? Something told her the answer to that was no.
“Hey, there you are.” Baze was walking toward her, down the hallway that led to the staircase.
“Here I am.” She threw her arms wide, and then dropped them to her side. “Did you have fun making someone bleed?” His forehead wrinkled so she pointed to his shirt. “You have blood on your sleeve, and your shoes.”
He looked down. “I guess I missed a few spots.”
“Guess so.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “Anyone I know?” That was almost comical. She knew no one here except for his pack, and even the meanest alphas didn’t beat on their own.
“Ox.”
“You were out hitting livestock?” She raised an eyebrow in question. “Why?”
Baze chuckled. “No, not an ox. Ox. He’s one of Franklin’s men.” He peeled his soiled shirt off his body and bent down, using it to wipe the blood from his shoe. His tattoo was staring her in the face, the one she’d inked on his skin on his eighteenth birthday. He had more muscle now than he did back then. She wasn’t drooling though, nope, not at all. “We got him last week after he attacked Madden, and before that Riley.”
“Wow. Were they okay?” She knew that Franklin had hurt people in Baze’s pack, but she didn’t realize that Madden had been caught in the crosshairs like Pen was. Baze probably mentioned it last night when he explained everything to her, but that had been a lot of information to take in all at once.
“Riley was pretty bad off, and Madden was almost raped. But they both survived, and we got a small piece of leverage on Franklin. The last associate of his who was in Haxton ended up dead in his holding cell.”
“I take it Franklin isn’t one of those nice shifter mob bosses, huh?”
“What do you know about shifter mob bosses?” Baze flexed his pecs, whether on purpose or accidently she didn’t know. Either way her brain short-circuited a little. “Pen?”
“Huh? Yeah. Um, not a lot.” She cleared her throat to try to gain some self-control. “There was a rumor going around at my boarding school that a few of the girls in my dorm were heirs to some mob fortune back in the states.” She hadn’t paid much attention to the gossip. At that point she was still crying herself to sleep every night missing the man who was currently standing shirtless in front of her. “Their last name was Monterey, they had this crimson red hair and terrible attitudes. They were freshmen when I was a senior.”
“Huh. Name doesn’t ring a bell. Listen, dinner is ready. If you’ll wait for me to find another shirt, we can walk down together.” She didn’t much feel like having dinner with ten other people, but she knew she needed to be there. They were going to be talking about her regardless.
“Sure.” She sent Baze a tight smile and then nipped at his finger when he passed by her and pretended to wipe drool from the corner of her mouth.
Chapter Seventeen
Baze
They were all gathered around a large dining room table that appeared to be custom built for twelve. Molly cooked grilled chicken and asparagus, much to Corey’s dismay. The only reason Corey didn’t riot and try to find the nearest drive-thru fried chicken place was because Molly also made cheesecake for dessert.
“Now that eating is out of the way,” Keller cut his eyes teasingly to Corey because she was still munching on dessert. “Let’s get down to business. We haven’t really talked as a group since Jace and Baze told us we were basically quarantined to this compound.”
“For your own safety.” Baze stood, taking over the conversation. “Jace, you want to go over what you learned from Pen this afternoon?”
Jace nodded, pulling his cell out of his pocket. The kid kept notes like a therapist. “Between Penelope’s descriptions of the room she was kept in and the fact that she was driven from there to St. Leasing without losing consciousness, I think Franklin is now staying close to Haxton. I assume that when Ox got caught, Franklin decided that if you want something done right you’ve got to do it yourself.”
“I thought his closest house was in Denver.” Jasper peered across the table to his twin. “And you watch that house, right? You have your drone thingies.”
“Yes. I keep tabs on that property with my drone thingies.” Jace shook his head. Baze assumed it was the word thingies that warranted it. “There hasn’t been anyone there in months. Another sign that he’s staying somewhere closer to us.”
“Does anyone else feel like Jace has transformed into Lex Luthor before our eyes?” Riley moved the cheesecake plate out of Corey’s reach when she went for a third piece. “Secret lair? Drones? Skills in torture? What the hell, man?”
“I had a different childhood than the rest of you, remember? I didn’t grow up spending my weekends at the fucking sandlot with my buddies. Maybe I’ve always been Lex Luthor, and I needed the right occasion to let it show.” Jace’s tone was measured, relaxed. He wasn’t angry, but he was defending himself. Baze knew how hard he’d struggled to fit in over the past year.
“No one is attacking you, Jace, and I’m sure Riley didn’t mean anything negative with his comment. Right, Riley?” Corey narrowed her eyes slightly, addressing her unborn baby’s cosmic big brother.
“Of course not, man, I’m, I don’t know, worried about you, I guess.” Riley shrugged, crossing his arms. “I feel like suddenly you’re thirty-five or something.”
“Me too.” Jasper nudged his brother’s shoulder. “I never get to see you anymore.” He gestured with his thumb to Riley. “You even kicked me to the curb as your roommate. Now I’ve gotta bunk with his bitch ass.”
Sometimes Baze forgot how young the twins and Riley still were. They hadn’t even graduated high school yet. They should be worried about baseball practice and meeting girls. Not getting jumped on their way to class and the best torture techniques. He wished he could spare them from all the crap headed their way. He wished he could wipe their memories clean and send them on a spring break trip down in Panama City. But that wasn’t their reality.
He looked across the table, meeting Corey’s gaze. He could read her expression; she was thinking the same thing he was. He could see it in her eyes, there was sadness there. Along with some misplaced guilt. None of this was her fault, like none of it was his or the kids’ or Pen’s.
He got to his feet, placing his hands on the back of Penelope’s chair. He liked being close to her, and as much as he wanted to touch her skin, he knew she still wasn’t ready. “Look. This is a shit situation we’re all in, we can say it. This fucking sucks. Jace is having to bring out a side of himself he battles with daily. Jasper, you’re losing time with your twin and you’re losing your freedom. Riley, bud, you’ve been beaten by not one but two henchmen. I mean, fuck, this is terrible.”
Jasper hid a chuckle behind his hand. “It’s a good thing you don’t typically give the pep talks before our games, coach.”
“I wasn’t finished.” Baze picked up an asparagus stalk and threw it at the sarcastic twin, the yin to Jace’s yang. “But we have something Franklin doesn’t have. We have a fucking pack, we have a family. We have people worth protecting, worth fighting for.”
“Oh wow, Coop, are you crying?” Keller leaned forward, handing Corey a napkin across the table.
She took it and dabbed at her eyes, then waved away his concern. “I’m super freaking pregnant and Baze is standing u
p being all sweet. I don’t think I’ve ever heard his curt ass string together that many nice words in a row before.” She pointed at Linc. “Don’t act like you didn’t tear up either, I saw you.”
“We think that Franklin used Pen as a distraction as well as a message. It breeds questions and mistrust, the fact that none of you knew about her. And it shows how far his reach is, and how much information he has on all of us.” Baze wanted the rest of the pack in the loop, but he sure as hell wasn’t about to bring up Pen’s thoughts on him being alpha. Things were already stressful enough as it was.
“Well then he’s dumber that we thought he was.” Dom had his hand on Corey’s back, but his eyes were on Baze. “There is no mistrust in this pack. And all he did by handing us Penelope was make us stronger, make us step up our game.”
Baze appreciated Dom’s vote of support more than he could possibly know. This night was exactly what they all needed. They needed to feel empowered and united. Dom was right: all Franklin did was bring them closer together. Hell, they were all living under the same roof now.
“Has anyone spoken to Grimes or Brooks? How are things on their end?” Keller looked around the table.
“Brooks messaged me about an hour ago.” Jace tapped his cell on the large oak dining table. “They want to meet tomorrow. They’ll text me the address once they decide where. Tomorrow is Monday, so Dom and I will go to the meeting.”
“Pen too, I want her to talk to them about the possible connection between her father and Franklin.” Baze filled in what the group didn’t know. “Penelope’s dad has a shipping company. Jace thinks that maybe Franklin and he worked together at some point and that was why she was on his radar.”
“Should I go too? Or will everyone be okay with me being on campus by myself?” Corey picked a graham cracker crumb off her plate and ate it. “I’m fine either way.”
“I could always head to her office and keep her company while everyone is gone.” Riley turned to Dom. “You guys won’t be gone that long, right?” Dom opened his mouth, and then closed it.
“Oh.” Madden sat up straighter when she realized she was on. “Corey isn’t going to be on campus, she is officially on house arrest.” She held her hand out when Corey took a deep breath, stopping her oncoming bitch fit. “You’re too pregnant and your blood pressure has been high the last three times I’ve checked it. The stress of all this, the added commute, the added danger…it’s not happening, preggo, sorry.”
“You’re not my OB, you can’t put me on bed rest.” Corey stuck her tongue out at her friend. “Nice try.”
“No, but I am the campus nurse, and one call to your doctor about your blood pressure will get me the note I need. And I didn’t say bed rest, I said house arrest.” Madden sent her an “I win” smirk. “If you stop arguing with me, I’ll give you another piece of cake.” She held the plate up, wiggling it under Corey’s nose.
“I know you had something to do with this.” Corey pointed at Dom. “And the fact that you’re letting Maddi take the fall makes me wonder where your balls are and how you ever managed to knock me up in the first place.” Corey got up in a huff, but excruciatingly slowly. She snatched the cake plate out of Madden’s hand and then stormed off the best way she could.
Baze looked down when he heard Pen start to giggle.
Chapter Eighteen
Penelope
Apparently Sunday dinners were a tradition with Baze’s pack. They ate and then they argued and discussed whatever fucked-up thing was currently happening to them. Corey never came back to the table, and a few seconds after she left Dom got up to follow her. At first Penelope hadn’t been sure she liked Corey, but after tonight’s little exit speech, Pen was thinking she’d misjudged her. Pen hadn’t been able to stop giggling at the mother-to-be’s comment about her mate’s balls.
“You are so quiet when we are around the whole pack.” Baze leaned against the large walnut dresser positioned under the window. “Why?”
Pen shrugged, taking her hair down from the confines of its ponytail. “I don’t really know everyone. I don’t have much to add.”
Baze snorted. “Yet you have plenty to say when we get back to the room each time.” He crossed his arms over his chest, looking hotter than he had any right to. “Come on then, bumblebee, let’s hear all the comments you kept to yourself back there.”
Penelope pursed her lips at his use of her old nickname. Baze loved the light color of her eyes; honeycomb was how he’d always described them. “No comments.” She moved into the bathroom and pasted the toothbrush she’d found still in the package under the sink the night before. “Except I agree with Corey, it’s pretty shitty that her mate lets her best friend take the fall for his underhandedness.”
“You were there when Maddi volunteered. And underhandedness?” Baze scoffed from the other room, coming closer to her with every word. “He’s only trying to keep her and their unborn baby safe. You can’t fault him for that.”
“No, but I can certainly fault him for being manipulative.” She rinsed her mouth and put her toothbrush back in the white holder. “Why couldn’t he be honest with her about his concerns?”
“Corey is unreasonable, at best.”
“She’s strong-willed and straightforward. She knows what she wants. She’s not unreasonable.” Penelope watched as Baze took his shirt off, tossing it into the quickly growing pile of clothes in the laundry basket. Was he trying to distract her? He saw the effect his body had on her in the hallway earlier. “At the end of the day she’ll choose to protect their baby, and mates shouldn’t lie.”
There was no reason for it. There was no need to spare feelings or stave off fights. When you were mated, truly mated, there was nothing that could tear you apart. No amount of disagreements or difference of opinions. For the rest of forever, mates always came back to each other.
“You’re right.”
“I am?” Her eyebrows rose and Baze moved a few steps toward her.
He reached up and brushed her hair off her shoulder. “Mates shouldn’t lie.” He leaned in, inhaling her scent with his nose millimeters from her neck. “I’ll never lie to you Pen.”
She wanted to point out that they weren’t mated, that they weren’t bonded, and those rules didn’t apply to them. But for some reason, she couldn’t seem to get the words to form on her tongue. No, instead she put her hand on Baze’s chest. Not to push him away, but to pull him closer. She wanted to be surrounded by his scent. She wanted to be held, to be loved.
I’ll never lie to you, Pen.
“Baze…”
“It’s okay to want this, Pen.” He placed a light kiss on her jaw. “I’ve missed you every fucking day for the last ten years. I still can’t believe you’re here, that I can hear your voice.” He put his hand on her hip. “That I can feel you.” He took a small step back, meeting her eyes. “If you want to wait another decade, we’ll wait. But I won’t let you go again, bumblebee. You’re stuck with me, bonded or not.”
“I don’t want to go. I don’t want to be away from you, Baze Carter.” She smiled, running her fingers through his dark hair the way she used to do when they were young. “But I need a little more time.” A moment to find her footing and clarity to know that the man standing in front of her was the same man she’d wanted for eternity all those years ago.
“Time I will give you.” He bent down and picked her up, throwing her over his shoulder. “Space? Space I’m about done with.” She giggled as he tossed her on the bed, diving on the mattress next to her. “Last night I lay awake and watched you sleep. I wanted to hold you so fucking bad.”
“You watched me sleep? When did you turn into such a creeper?” She shook her head in mock sadness. “You’ve changed.” He reached out and tickled her ribs, causing her to squirm and laugh loudly. Causing her to remember the boy she fell for. “Okay, you win, you aren’t a creeper.”
He stopped but didn’t move to his side of the bed. He propped up on one elbow, his gaze on hers. “Yo
u have changed though, haven’t you?” The boy she’d loved was so happy, so playful. “You don’t smile as often, and you never really joke around with the others. You’re darker.” She felt sad that his pack didn’t get to know the lighter side of him.
“Of course I’m darker now.” He reached out and traced the tattoo on her hip, peeking out the waistband of her pants. “I lost my light when you were taken away.”
Many more soft-spoken lines like that and her body was going to win. Baze kept telling her that she wasn’t herself around his pack, but neither was he. “That’s sweet of you to say, to call me your light.” She kissed her fingertips and put them to his lips. “But it’s also another sign that you’re their alpha.”
His forehead wrinkled. “How so?”
“Alphas don’t typically let their packs see them being vulnerable. It’s not that they don’t want to display their weaknesses, but it’s more that they don’t really get the chance. While everyone else is joking around, your brain is constantly thinking of their protection, of the next step.” For such a well-known shifter boarding school, St. Leasing wasn’t teaching their students near enough of shifter culture and history. “This pack of yours wasn’t entirely formed by accident, Baze.”
“It was the dangers we kept facing.”
She nodded. “The dangers you kept facing and overcoming, together.” She turned on her side, mirroring his position. “For as long as our history has been recorded, shifters have had turmoil. It wasn’t until our great-grandparents’ generation that packs started to disappear. The human population was growing, and the world was getting smaller. Shifters began to realize that they needed to work together if our secrets were going to stay intact. The rivalries and pack wars stopped, and our people started to live independently from one another so they didn’t draw attention.”