Fagin's Folly

by Lisa Oliver

  Cooper stayed in bed, but he was sitting up, the covers clutched to his chest. There was something in Rory’s eyes that unnerved him.

  “Do you want me to guard the omega, while you’re gone alpha?”

  Yep, this is going to go to shit. “No,” Cooper said quickly. “It’s fine, I’m awake. I’ll come with you, Fagin.”

  Fagin pulled on his shirt and leaned over, brushing Cooper’s forehead with his lips. “You’ll be bored, and I don’t want you around the town degenerates that’ll crowding the police station this time of night. Rory will keep you safe.”

  Rory’s the one I’m worried about, but Cooper kept his thoughts to himself. Fagin had enough on his plate getting Buster and Gregory out of jail. Shifters didn’t do well in any form of captivity and if either man shifted while they were with the police, all hell would break loose. Hopping out of bed quickly, Cooper grabbed his jeans and shirt and pulled them on, ignoring Fagin’s growl.

  “Rory can stay with me while I find some coffee in this place. You’ll need some when you get back, depending on how long it takes.”

  “I’d rather you stayed here until I got back,” Fagin paused, putting on his jacket.

  “Coffee or come with you,” Cooper pasted on a fake smile as Fagin finished putting on his jacket. “I’m not moping around a motel room without serious sustenance.”

  Fagin was torn, Cooper could see it in his face, but if Buster and Gregory were in jail, then they needed Fagin to get them out. Cooper would far rather be with him, but if Fagin was going to insist on him staying with Rory, he wasn’t doing that in a room containing a bed that still smelled of their sex.

  “There’s a Denny’s two blocks down the road,” Fagin said quickly. “I’ll take you down there; Rory, you’ll need to clean up first. I’ll wait with him until you get there, so make it quick. You stay there, until I get back, okay?”

  “Promise,” Cooper’s smile was genuine this time. Rory didn’t look pleased and while he’d hate for anyone to say he was high maintenance, Cooper was thankful he’d got his own way. “I’ll just get my boots on.”

  “Alpha, the omega can wait with me until I’m changed. I’m sure Buster and Gregory will be desperate to see you.” Cooper caught the hint of deceit in the air and from the tightening of Fagin’s mouth, knew Fagin could smell it too. He shouldn’t have pushed the issue, Cooper thought as he sat on the bed and pulled on his boots.

  Fagin snarled and stalked closer to the door. “What’s your sudden interest in my mate, Rory?”

  “I…er…he’s pack, Alpha. Just protecting the weaker members of the pack the way any good enforcer would.” Rory gulped and edged out the door.

  “Or maybe setting up a situation where you can be alone with the omega of the pack, maybe?” Fagin pulled out his phone and clicked the screen. Cooper heard it ring a few times and then Buster’s bleary voice came over the air.

  “If you’ve woken me up just to tell me little dude wants ice cream, I’ll…I’ll….”

  “I take it you’re not in jail then?” Fagin quirked a brow at Rory, taking in his disheveled state.

  “What the fuck? I’m in the room next to yours, sleeping like any sensible person would be.”

  “Get your boots on, Buster, we’re going hunting,” Fagin clicked off the phone as Rory took off running. “Stay here, babe. Lock the door. Don’t let anyone in but me.”

  Fagin’s boots rang loudly on the concrete outside their room, probably waking a dozen other people in the process. Cooper was just about to close the door when Buster stumbled out of his room. “They went that way,” Cooper pointed towards the end of the motel block. “Fagin’s after Rory.”

  “What’s that stupid shit done now,” Buster fumed. “I was going to warn Fagin about him over breakfast.”

  “Then you need to go that way.” Cooper pointed again, and Buster took off running, surprisingly fast for a man of his height and bulk. He looked around to see if Gregory had woken up with all the commotion, but he didn’t see any movement. He closed the door slowly and turned the lock, just as Fagin had asked.

  “So much for a plate of pancakes,” Cooper sighed as he sat on the bed and picked up the television remote. “Hopefully, that mate of mine will still want to eat when he gets back.” He clicked through the limited channels and found a binge run of ‘Say Yes to the Dress’. Beth would love this, he thought as he settled down to watch.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Fagin didn’t know who he was more cross at – Rory for lying, Rory for trying to get his mate alone for goodness knows what purpose, or Cooper for not telling him straight out he didn’t want to stay alone with Rory and why. No, of course, his anger had to be directed at Rory, but Fagin couldn’t help but think, as he ran across the parking lot and into the trees beyond, that a talk with Cooper was well overdue. Didn’t I show him how much I care about him just two hours ago?

  Stopping, Fagin’s eyes pierced the gloom. His wolf was hunting, seeing wasn’t a problem, but if Rory made his way back into populated areas there could be trouble. It wasn’t easy to concentrate when he was busy thinking about Cooper. His mind quickly scanned their lovemaking. Shit, I didn’t even kiss those lips. I didn’t talk, I just dived into his ass and made a pig of myself. Fuck, I’ve got to do better by my mate.

  More boots, coming behind him this time. Fagin turned, his claws fully extended. Buster burst into the clearing. “Where’d he go?” Buster ignored Fagin’s threatening stance. “I...fuck…I’m so pissed off with him. I told him back at the bar things were different in this pack and that you and little dude were true mated.”

  “What did he say?” Fagin tilted his head back, his nose working wildly while he tried to pick up Rory’s scent. It shouldn’t be difficult. The man did have blood on him.

  “The stupid shit was going on about how he wanted to go back to the motel and have his turn with the omega.” Buster slammed his hand into the nearest tree. “He’s got some warped idea that omegas are like sex slaves in a pack or something. Where the fuck did he get that from?”

  “Who cares. I take it you straightened him out?” Fagin started moving further into the trees, certain Rory had headed in that direction.

  “I thought I had. I told him he was an idiot, you two were true mates.” Buster followed him closely as they went deeper into the trees. “That little dude was to be respected the same if not more than anyone else because he was the alpha mate. When Rory wouldn’t shut up about it, I took him out the back of the bar and smacked him around a bit.”

  That explained the blood. Then Fagin had a chilling thought. “Where was Gregory when all this was going on?”

  “He was with us. He didn’t say much. I know he had a word to Rory when I left him out the back of the bar, but he was in his room when I got back to the motel. I stopped and washed up in the restrooms at the bar before I came back in case anyone saw me. Shit.” The whites of Buster’s eyes shined in the night gloom. “You don’t think they both have the same stupid ideas?”

  “I don’t know, but I’m about to find out.” Fagin turned and started sprinting back the way they’d come. As he got to the far edge of the parking lot, he heard Cooper scream for him through their link.

  /~/~/~/~/

  “No, not that one,” Cooper yelled at the television. “Pick the other dress. The other one. Ugh.” He threw the remote towards the end of the bed. “Silly women – what are they thinking taking their mothers with them when they go bridal dress shopping? Don’t they watch the show? Their mothers always choose something that makes the poor girls look like stuffed potatoes.” He felt a pang of homesickness for Beth. The two of them spent many a night, eating ice cream or popcorn and critiquing dress choices on the television. Well, Beth did most of the critiquing. He was too busy drooling over Randy and his cute little dog.

  A scratch on the back window, had him tilting his head to listen. Fagin. It had to be Fagin. But why was he at the window? “Oh, my gods, what if he’s hurt?” Cooper scra
mbled off the bed and hurried towards the window. He could see a dark shape looming behind the curtain and flicked the curtains aside. “Fagin,” Cooper fumbled with the window catch. He finally managed to get it open. “Fagin, are you…fuck, let go of me.” A thick hand mashed over his face stopped him calling out, but he still kicked and hit out all he could. Unfortunately, he was no match for two beta wolf shifters intent on pulling him out of the room. As Rory caught his legs and Gregory pinned his arms, while still managing to keep his mouth covered, Cooper did the only thing he could think of and screamed for Fagin through their link. Please don’t let him be too far away. Please let him have heard me. Fagin, where are you? FAGIN.

  /~/~/~/~/

  Fagin was sure his heart was going to leap right out of his chest as he spotted Cooper’s wiggling form being carted away by the two shifters he stupidly thought were pack. If this is pack, I don’t ever want anything to do with the fucking concept, he thought as he signaled to Buster to stay quiet and slow down. He’d get them. He’d see Rory’s and Gregory’s blood spilled before daybreak, but if he wanted this handled the shifter way, he would have to let them get into the woods further first. The last thing he needed was someone calling the cops.

  “No. No.” Cooper’s cries could be heard above the sound of ripping cloth as Fagin and Buster got nearer. Fagin was itching to shift, but it just wasn’t safe. Besides, he and Buster were just as strong in human form and his claws and fangs were already out.

  “Now,” he whispered as he saw Rory wrestle Cooper to the ground, his pants already open. “You take Gregory, I’ll get the other shit.”

  Fagin felt his vision narrow as his wolf came to the fore. There was no thinking involved. One minute Rory was focused on nothing but sticking his cock in Cooper’s beautiful ass and the next he was letting out a blood curdling scream as Fagin’s claws ripped apart Rory’s abdomen while another swipe took out his throat. Fagin didn’t have time for talking, listening to the pathetic man’s excuses. There was no excuse for Rory’s behavior, not when his mate lay on the ground, his clothes in shreds, a fresh bruise on his eye and a set of fingerprints around his throat.

  “Fagin.” Cooper’s voice was ragged, but it pierced through Fagin’s rage like a knife. Holding back a sob, Fagin plucked him from the ground and held him close, stroking the lock of hair back from his face. How the hell am I going to keep him safe?

  “Handcuffs,” Fagin muttered, then realized he’d said the last part out loud.

  “For Gregory?” Cooper tried to turn his head to see what Buster was doing, but Fagin didn’t need him to see any further violence.

  “No, for you,” Fagin said striding back to the motel room. “I’m going to buy handcuffs and you are never, and I mean never leaving my sight again. We will be chained together by the wrist, and everywhere you go, I’m going too. I don’t care what other people think, this world is just too damn dangerous for a sweet man like you. Yes, that’s the only answer and I won’t take any argument about it.”

  Cooper nuzzled his chest and Fagin lifted him up slightly higher, so his mate could take in the higher concentration of his scent in the crook of his neck. After a deep inhale and a satisfied sigh, Cooper said quietly, “You know, I lived on my own for a good ten years. Don’t you think handcuffs are a bit over the top?”

  “No.” Reaching the motel room, Fagin fumbled for his key and got the door open. Going inside, he scowled at the way the curtain was blown about by the open window. One hand keeping Cooper close, he closed and locked it and then went back and locked the door. Only when he was assured the place was secure, did he sit down on the bed, trying to get his heart back in some semblance of control.

  “Look,” he said when he felt he could speak without making a complete ass of himself, “I don’t think you realize just how important you are. You’re my mate, and as such you’re the most important person in my world. There’re scary people out there; horrible people who don’t understand that you’re precious and they’ll try and take you away from me. That just can’t happen – do you realize that? It just can’t happen!”

  Fagin felt his body trembling and suddenly it was hard to breathe. Black spots appeared in front of his eyes and he had trouble trying to think straight. Cooper had been taken, again. Fuck. He was going to need more than Buster’s help to keep his mate safe. He was going to need an army, with tanks, rocket launchers and maybe attack dogs just to be on the safe side. Okay, maybe not the dogs because they tended to be wary of wolf shifters, but everything else. Maybe he could hire people on eBay or craigslist, or the dark web Buster talked about sometimes.

  But then how would he know the people he hired were reliable? Cooper was a beauty, anyone with eyes could see that. But there was more than physical beauty involved. Cooper had a vulnerability about him that made the predators in the world sit up and take notice. Maybe he could toughen his sweet mate up a bit, but then Cooper wouldn’t be Cooper and he wasn’t sure he could live in a world where his mate couldn’t be his precious self.

  So, caught up in his worries, Fagin didn’t realize he’d instinctively buried his nose was in Cooper’s neck. Admittedly, his heart wasn’t trying to escape his rib cage anymore, and the black spots had gone. He looked up, wincing at Cooper’s bruises.

  “I’m going to need another change of clothes,” Cooper said quietly, “and then I think I fancy pancakes. From the Denny’s you said was down the road.”

  “But you…they…you…pancakes?” Fagin latched onto the one thing he thought he heard.

  “Yes, pancakes with double bacon, maple syrup of course, and…no, I don’t think I need the fruit. But definitely, pancakes. And coffee.”

  Fagin risked a look at the clock on the wall. It was three forty in the morning. Well, it’s not as though I’m going to get any more sleep for a while. He wasn’t sure he’d ever sleep again.

  “Pancakes,” Fagin swallowed the lump in his throat. “If that’s what you want we’ll go and get some.”

  “That’s what I want, and Fagin, I love you too, mate.” Cooper’s smile didn’t make everything all right; Fagin was still plotting ways to make his mate safe. But it came damn close.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Cooper mopped up the juices from his steak with a piece of bread and popped it into his mouth. It had been five days since Rory and Gregory were forcibly removed from their little pack – at least that’s what Fagin called it and Cooper wasn’t about to argue with his description. He just knew Buster turned up with mud on his shoes and under his fingernails while they were still eating pancakes and that was the last anyone spoke of it. As promised, Fagin had been more protective than ever as they wove their way across the country and then north, up the coast taking care to avoid pack territories.

  For the most part it’d been fun, although it seemed Fagin couldn’t seem to stop picking fights – not with Cooper of course, but with any other person who Fagin believed looked at him the wrong way. Most nights involved them in some bar or road house, where they’d eat and drink before getting a room at a motel. Four nights out of the past five, Cooper had to drag Buster and Fagin back to their respective rooms before things got out of hand.

  Tonight, however was different. They were in a small town just shy of the Washington State line right on the coast. They’d arrived around lunch time and rather than move on, Fagin suggested they take a break and see some sights. Fagin and Buster had been busy whispering between themselves; sometimes looking at him, but more often their eyes were focused on Buster’s phone.

  Figuring Fagin would tell him what everything was about eventually, Cooper enjoyed the day sightseeing. The town was a sweet place, full of boutique shops, craft and art galleries; it was clear it was a tourist town and Cooper imagined it would be busy during the summer months. Above the town huge mountains hovered, covered in thick forest and Cooper’s wolf whined more than once during the day anticipating a run. Cooper wasn’t sure if it was possible, but he thought he’d ask Fagin about it later.


  However, instead of ordering more beers once the dinner was finished, Fagin waved for the bill. Cooper grabbed his jacket, privately hoping they weren’t going to be traveling too much further that night. There’s was a lovely hotel on the edge of town, promising spa baths and Cooper’s muscles ached.

  “I’ve booked us into the hotel on the edge of town,” Fagin said as he shrugged on his jacket, “but there’s somewhere me and Buster want to show you first.”

  At this time of night? It wasn’t fully dark yet, but it would be soon. Still, Cooper nodded to show he agreed and found himself sandwiched by the two men as they left the restaurant. That was something he was getting used to, and sometimes he’d grin to himself as people watched him as they went past. He imagined they must think he was famous or someone important, having two big bad-ass bodyguards.

  The bike ride was short, only ten minutes had past when Fagin and Buster pulled into a small roadhouse bar nestled under the mountains. The building looked neglected, but it was solid. Paintwork peeled from wooden shutters and from a quick glance, it’d been empty for a while. The parking lot didn’t have too many potholes though and there was a beautiful stand of trees on the far edge of the lot.

  “Come and see,” Fagin got off the bike and held out his hand. Buster was already at the windows of the old building, peering inside.

  “That guy was right,” Buster said excitedly. “The bar’s still there, all the tables and chairs and stuff we need. It’s not that bad inside at all. Just needs a clean. The kitchen might need a revamp, but it’s nothing that can’t be done.”

  “What guy?” Cooper peered in the grubby window. It looked like it was once a cared for place. Cute pictures on the wall, a huge love heart behind the counter with the photo of a couple’s face in the middle of it and the words “fifty years” written along the bottom. The tiles on the floor were scuffed but wouldn’t take much to clean. There were food storage cabinets, none of them broken – just empty as though waiting for someone to come and fill them. “Why are we looking at this place?”