“Good. I caught you. Is Adriana with you?” He sounded winded. Out of breath. Scared…
“She’s right here. We’re on speaker.” Thank God Reid didn’t take the call in private and try to hide anything from her. She would have killed him.
“Nolan’s been compromised. He reached out to me telepathically. He’s on the run, and he left his phone behind.”
Adriana froze. Her body tightened with fear. Oh God. Please God. Don’t let this be happening.
“What happened?” Reid asked.
“He was in his hotel room when three men approached his door. He scented them and grew concerned when they didn’t keep moving down the hall. When he looked out the peephole, he knew they were after him. They looked like thugs. One of them was holding a keycard. Nolan panicked.”
“Shit. Please tell me he got away.” Reid flattened his palms on the table and leaned in closer, his stress palpable in the room.
Adriana was silently freaking out as she waited for Stanton to continue.
“Lucky for him, he had already made a plan. His room was on the third floor. It was a smaller, out-of-the-way hotel somewhere. He didn’t tell me where. But there was a fire escape, and he immediately used it to get out of the building. Whoever was at the door obviously didn’t put anyone outside the hotel on the ground because Nolan evaded them and ran.”
“Fuck,” Reid shouted, lifting one hand to reach for Adriana and draw her closer.
She hadn’t realized how badly she’d been trembling until he tucked her into his side and literally held her upright with his arm around her waist.
“Where is he now?”
“On the run. He communicated all this to me as he grabbed a taxi. He wants you to pick him up.”
Reid pushed off the table at that declaration and looked down at Adriana.
No way in hell was she going to be left behind. She could read the panic in his eyes as he considered both his horrible options. He would never leave her unattended. But he also didn’t want to put her in harm’s way. And there was no time to make alternative plans.
“I’m going to text you the address. He’s going to have the taxi drop him off several blocks from his location.”
“Getting in the SUV now.” Reid released Adriana slowly, seeming to be unsure if she could stand on her own.
Maybe a moment or two ago he would have been right, but now her adrenaline had kicked into high gear. She raced across the room to grab their coats while Reid picked up the phone. She led the way down the stairs to the garage two steps at a time while Nolan continued to listen to Stanton.
The man’s next words made Adriana stop dead at the bottom of the stairs with her hand on the doorknob. “Reid, there’s something else.”
“What?”
“Nolan believes a shifter is involved.”
“Shit.”
“Yes. He’ll explain, but be careful.”
“You know I will.”
Adriana yanked the door open and rushed to the passenger side of the SUV while Reid climbed into the driver’s seat. Seconds later they were on the street driving too fast while the GPS barked out instructions.
She put her seatbelt on as they rounded the first corner and held on to the handle above the door with a firm grip, her other hand braced against the dash.
The woman in the GPS indicated they were ten minutes away from their destination. Thank God. Adriana wasn’t sure she could survive a long trip. Her nerves were shot as it was.
Friday night traffic in Calgary was dense. Every turn took too long. Every red light was excruciating.
“Where are we going?” Adriana asked. “This area doesn’t look safe.”
Reid nodded. “It’s intentional. I know exactly where we’re going.”
“How?”
“I’ve been there before.”
She shivered, not wanting to ask why. The answer would probably make her lose her dinner. She scanned the area closely as they approached, needing to see Nolan before she would truly believe he was safe. What if someone followed him?
Suddenly, Reid pulled over in front of an abandoned building with a large awning that protected a deep entry cove. He had barely come to a stop before disengaging the locks as Nolan rushed from the dark corner and yanked the back door open. In less than a heartbeat, he was in the car, and Reid was peeling away from the curb.
Adriana twisted in her seat to see him. This was only the second time they’d been in the same place in person. She drank him in. Other than the fact that his hair was a bit messy on top, from hand combing it most likely, he didn’t look like a crazed man on the run. He wore a brown leather jacket, jeans, and loafers.
Shockingly, he appeared far calmer than she felt. He reached over the seat and grabbed her shoulder. “Take a breath, babe. I’m fine.”
Adriana inhaled deeply. She hadn’t realized she’d been holding her breath.
He smiled warmly and turned his attention toward Reid. “I figured you’d know exactly where I would be.”
Adriana glanced at Reid. He had known. “How?”
Reid nodded, his eyes on the road as he drove nearly too fast to get away from the area. “I hid a client there once for several hours. Nolan and I joked that we’d remember the spot if either of us were ever in a bind.”
There was nothing to joke about today, but she was certainly glad the two of them had had that conversation. It kept Nolan safe tonight.
“Is your grandpa’s cabin still habitable?” Nolan asked Reid.
Reid took the next right turn, leading away from the city. “I haven’t been there in a few weeks, but I assume it’s fine. Water and electric are still on.”
“At this point, water and electric would be a luxury. I’ll settle for walls and a roof.”
Reid chuckled. Chuckled. How could he find even a morsel of humor in this outing?
She turned to look at him, shaking. “I thought you were from Ottawa?”
He nodded again. “My parents moved there when I was a baby when my dad took a job there. Both of their parents were from this area of the country. None of my ancestors are living now, unfortunately, but my grandfather left me his cabin. I love having this little piece of him.”
It was unusual for shifters to die so young. “You’ve lost all four grandparents?” Three of hers were still living north of here.
“Yeah. My parents were older when they had me after years of infertility. I was a surprise.” He smiled. His memories were fond. She hoped she met his parents one day. She would if she bound herself to him. But if she didn’t… She wrapped her arms around her middle, the chill back.
Nolan squeezed her shoulder again. “You’re shaking. Come back here.”
She glanced at the road, wondering if that was a wise choice with Reid driving so fast.
Reid pulled over to the side of the street, surprising her. “Go on. Be quick.”
She unbuckled her seatbelt and climbed over the seat as ungracefully as humanly possible.
Nolan grabbed her waist to help her as she nearly fell into his lap. Apparently, that was his goal anyway because he angled her so that she indeed sat sideways across him and then nodded at Reid. “Keep driving.”
He cupped her face. “I’m fine.”
“You’re not fine.” Her voice was too high pitched. Shaky. “Men were after you. What if they’d broken into the room? What if you hadn’t been able to go out a window?”
“But I was, and I’m okay now.”
“Except people are still looking for you.” She couldn’t calm her voice. She leaned back a few inches to glance down at his body, half expecting to find him missing some parts.
He chuckled. “I didn’t lose a limb, babe. I’m in one piece.”
“For how long? This is too dangerous.”
He sobered. “It’s not ideal, and I hate that you’re mixed up in it, but the less chivalrous side of me has never been so glad to see anyone in my life.”
“You mean me, right?” Reid joked as he entere
d the highway heading west.
“Both of you.”
“So what’s the plan? You going to hide out at the cabin indefinitely?” Reid asked.
“No. But I’d like to let the authorities stew for a while before I contact them. I’d also like to know how the hell someone found me. I haven’t left the hotel room in five days. I even cracked the window a few times thinking I might need some air to counteract the carbon dioxide build up,” he teased, giving her a squeeze and a wink. “That’s how I found the fire escape and knew the window wasn’t painted shut. Thank God.”
“Your dad said there was a shifter involved,” Reid said.
Nolan sighed, leaning his head back against the headrest. “I’m sure of it. He wasn’t one of the three men standing at my door, but a shifter has been hanging around for two days. I have scented him in the hallway several times even though he always continued to walk by without stopping and didn’t seem to have a room on the same floor.”
“Did you make contact with him?”
“Hell, no. I blocked that son of a bitch.”
Adriana flinched at his outburst.
“Scenting an occasional shifter in downtown Calgary isn’t super uncommon, but they don’t usually stay in hotels for no good reason, and I’d bet my last dollar this one wasn’t a guest of the hotel.”
“You didn’t recognize the scent I take it.”
“Nope. Never smelled this man before.”
“So what’s the plan?” Reid asked.
“Hide out for a few days in the cabin and then use your phone to call the police and let them know I’m alive.”
“You still willing to trust the cops?” Reid asked.
“You see another alternative?”
Adriana wrapped her hand around Nolan’s and held on as if he were a life force while she let these two hash out the plan.
“We could stay at the cabin indefinitely until the trial gets closer. It’s certainly safer than the city. No one’s going to find you there. Hell, it’s so remote even I have trouble locating it, and it’s been in my family for fifty years. It’s a bitch to locate in the dark.”
Nolan rolled his eyes and winked at Adriana, making her stomach flutter. How could he be playful at a time like this? “Don’t even try to convince me of that shit. You could get there on foot blindfolded. I’ve even been with you when we arrived in grizzly form.”
“So we stay there,” Reid declared as if it was settled.
Nolan shook his head, his gaze penetrating her so deeply she licked her lips. He tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “Can’t do that. Adriana has classes. You have a life.”
“You might have noticed I don’t have much of a life right now. It revolves around Adriana and now keeping your ass alive since it would seem the law enforcement in Calgary is incapable.”
“Hey,” Adriana quipped. “I resent that statement.” She leaned forward and reached with one hand to bop the side of Reid’s head.
“I didn’t say I wasn’t enjoying every moment of your company. I just meant I have no other place to be right now.”
“Awesome, but I have classes on Monday morning, and I need to get some homework done before then. I didn’t exactly grab my backpack on the way out the door. So, my hands are tied. I’ll need to return.” She decided to taunt him with her next sentence. “Feel free to stay with Nolan in the cabin though. I’ll be fine on my own. You two could probably use a bonding weekend.”
Reid laughed. “She’s so cute when she tries to be manipulative.”
Ignoring him, Adriana gave a little push against Nolan’s chest, needing to get off his lap and buckle into an actual seat. She tried to tell herself she was concerned about her safety, but the truth was, she was more concerned about her sanity if she remained sitting on Nolan’s lap. He enveloped her. His scent, his heartbeat, his breath, his touch, the firmness of his chest and arms. The erection pressing into her thigh.
Besides, she was frustrated with her botched efforts to remain in a state of fear and unease that was slowly being replaced by arousal and desire in this most inopportune moment. Who got horny ten seconds after rescuing someone from imminent danger?
The worst part of all was there was no way for her, as a shifter, to hide her arousal from either man. And Reid was liable to drive off the road at the way her body was reacting to his best friend’s presence.
“Sit still, Adriana,” Nolan whispered, gripping her hips. Did he have any other tone in his repertoire besides authoritative? In this case, she was even more frustrated because when he made demands like that, her nipples jumped to attention. What the hell was wrong with her? She wasn’t the sort of woman who liked to be bossed around. She’d made that perfectly clear on so many occasions. Except every time he made a demand, she reacted contrary to reason.
She even stopped moving when what she should have done was squirm even more until he agreed to release her into a seat of her own. But she liked being on his lap. She didn’t want to like it. It was making her uncomfortable in front of the man who’d plastered her against the sliding door in his condo less than an hour ago and chased her brain cells from her head with the most potent kiss of her life.
Not that she had a giant list of kisses to compare it to.
“Your mind is racing,” Nolan whispered in her ear, his lips so close he made her shiver.
“You make me unable to think,” she retorted.
“And you’re sure you could think better if I let you off my lap?”
She sighed. He was right. But her discomfort had more to do with the fact that Reid could see, hear, and smell every single detail. What kind of woman would let a man fondle her like this so soon after having her toes curled by another man? She’d lost her mind.
Other than a stiffness and slightly closed-off connection coming from Reid, he didn’t seem angry. Frustrated maybe, but not angry. Insanity.
The testosterone inside the SUV was potent and making it hard to breathe. She was literally growing faint. Or maybe that was from the crash after her adrenaline rush. Either way, she relaxed into Nolan’s grip and leaned her cheek against his shoulder. If he was going to insist on holding her all the way to the cabin, she didn’t feel the need to make it easier on him.
Resting her lips close to the crook of his neck would serve as a constant reminder of his need to bind to her. Right in the sweet spot. And she knew she was hitting it with every breath because the table turned and Nolan was the one squirming now.
Chapter Twelve
“Adriana, wake up.”
Someone was gently shaking her shoulders. Her neck was stiff. Where was she? She blinked her eyes open and remembered she was on Nolan’s lap with Reid driving to some cabin. Except the SUV wasn’t moving anymore.
“We’re here.”
She sat up straight, wincing at the tightness in her muscles. How long had she been asleep? “Where’s here?”
“Cabin in the Canadian Rockies. Only about a half hour south of Silvertip. We’ll be safe here.”
For how long?
The passenger door opened and Reid leaned into the SUV to tuck his arms under her knees and back. She squealed when he lifted her out of the car and cradled her against his chest. “Put me down. Jeez. I can walk.”
He continued to stride toward the small cabin she could barely see through the darkness. No wonder Reid had joked about having trouble finding it. It was extremely remote. Trees surrounded it. As her superior shifter vision adjusted to the night, she could see that the foliage surrounding the cabin was overgrown. The road leading to it was more of a dirt path. And the structure itself was as unobtrusive with nature as it could get, built out of logs that came from the local evergreen trees. She realized as they got closer it was an A-frame.
She couldn’t believe she’d slept through however long the last leg of the trip had taken on the dirt path up the mountain. She must have been totally out.
Nolan passed both of them to open the door, and Reid set his hand on the back of her he
ad as he entered to ensure she didn’t bang it on the frame. Did the two of them think they could win her over with points for chivalry? Maybe she needed two lists—one to account for all the times they ordered her around and another to keep track of the times they were gallant.
Instead of depositing her on her feet when they entered, he crossed the room and set her on a sofa.
She jerked her gaze around. The cabin was quaint. Cozy. It lacked a female touch. The entire inside was one room. Minimalistic. Small table and chairs. Worn older sofa, but not uncomfortable. Fireplace. The kitchen area in one corner was simple too. Oven, stove, refrigerator, sink. Nothing beyond the basics. This cabin was a blank slate. A decorator’s nightmare…or dream.
Nolan headed back outside. Why?
Reid followed. A moment later they came back in with several grocery bags. “When did you go shopping?”
Nolan chuckled. “You did sleep hard in the car.” He winked at her. “Reid ran into a store a ways back to grab a few supplies.”
Impressive. She didn’t usually sleep that soundly. Then again, she hadn’t slept well in over a week. Between stressing about these two men and her classes, she was exhausted.
Reid headed straight for the fireplace and crouched down. “It’s cold in here, but it’s small. It’ll heat up quickly.”
She glanced around again. Where were they going to sleep? And then something caught her eye, and she lifted her gaze. There was a loft behind her. A ladder led to the platform above the kitchen. It looked like it extended about halfway across the main floor. There had to be a bed up there.
Reid turned to glance at her as soon as he had a flame lit under a carefully constructed pile of logs. “My grandfather built this over fifty years ago.” He smiled warmly. “He liked to tease that he needed a place to get away from my grandmother’s nagging. But we all knew he was full of shit. He adored my grandmother.”
“That’s so nice. I’m glad you have this piece of him. It’s special,” she said as she shrugged out of her coat.
He pushed to his feet as the fire caught and headed toward her. “I’ll admit, it’s rustic, and not many women come here, but it’s shelter. Once the heat kicks on, we won’t be cold at least.”
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