“Nikki is injured,” Alex told them as they ran for their trucks. “She thinks her hand is broken.”
“And she’s pregnant, Jace,” Butler added. “She just found out. That’s why they went to the pharmacy. To buy a pregnancy test.”
Jace nodded, turning to Lucian and Cole as they came out onto the front porch of the pack home. “Double the security around the women of the pack. None of them are to go anywhere without an escort. I don’t care if they just want to go and get groceries. They can get as angry as they want. None of them are safe. If we have to fight them in order to protect them, we will.”
“Yes, Alpha,” Lucian answered immediately, taking out his phone and contacting the other sentries.
“And keep an eye on Mia,” Jace added. “I don’t want her leaving to try to go with Dean and Mitchell to get her mother.”
Cole’s attention snapped to Lucian. “We’ll do that, Alpha,” he promised, his eyes flashing golden at the mention of Laurie’s daughter.
“I’ve got Hunter on the phone,” Jackson told them as they rushed toward the parking area in front of the pack home. “He and Clay are off duty. They’re at the hospital with the Jane Doe they found.”
“Damn!” Jace muttered. “Call Carter and Doc and have them meet us with Carter’s truck at the front of the lodge.”
Jackson nodded. “What do you want me to tell them, Jace?”
Jace couldn’t prevent the growl that escaped him as his wolf paced angrily within him.
“Tell them we’re going to get all of our mates and bring them home.”
Chapter 24
Nikki fought her way back to consciousness. Something was wrong. She couldn’t focus.
“Why is it so dark?” she mumbled.
Then she remembered. The panic that flooded her system nearly made her throw up. Taking slow, deep breaths, she forced herself to calm down. She had to get herself under control. There was no way she was going to let Boyd intimidate her.
She stilled, concentrating on her surroundings. It was quiet. She thought she might be alone. Taking stock of herself, she realized that she was lying on a bed, and she was fully clothed.
“Thank goodness,” she whispered.
She was still blindfolded. Her arms were tied above her head to a metal headboard. She grimaced slightly when she tried to move her arms. Not only were they sore from the position they had been in for God only knew how long, but her wrists were raw from the rough braided rope that secured them. She flexed her right hand slowly, opening and closing it carefully, wincing at the pain. She moved her fingers individually, thankful that each responded fully despite the fact that they felt stiff and swollen. Maybe nothing was broken after all.
She moved slightly on the bed, pushing her body up toward the headboard. She hesitated and listened, checking to see if there was any movement from her surroundings. Hearing nothing, she pushed herself further up on the bed until she was able to touch her forehead with her hands. Twisting her hands, she struggled to grab the cloth that covered her eyes. She had to bite her lip to keep from crying out as her wrists were rubbed raw from her exertion. After several failed attempts, she finally grabbed the very edge of the blindfold and pulled at it in one continuous tug. Pulling her head back as the blindfold reached her eyebrows, she sighed with relief as her vision was restored.
She blinked at the sudden flash of light and tried to get her eyes to focus. Looking around the small room, she realized that she was in a very small one room cabin. It looked as if it wasn’t used that often. Dust covered everything, and there was a stale odor in the air, confirming her thoughts.
It was a barely furnished room, with only a bed, a door that she assumed led to a bathroom, and a small kitchenette. The large fireplace against the far wall was cold, and there was supply of wood and a set of fireplace tools covered with cobwebs beside it. It would seem that it had been a long time since anyone had ever used this cabin. Thankfully, she was alone.
She closed her eyes and took a breath to center herself. When she opened them, the blue of her eyes sparked with determination as she pushed herself up further on the bed so that she could reach the ropes around her wrists with her teeth. With painstaking patience, she bit into the ropes and pulled at the knots. She struggled with them without stopping. She had to get free before anyone came back.
The cabin door opened with a slam, and she pushed herself back down onto the filthy comforter and pillow beneath her. She stared at the man who entered, forcing herself to stay calm when she saw Boyd walk toward her.
“It never ceases to amaze me that Beckett’s pack wastes their time with such weak humans,” he sneered as he walked toward the bed. “You have a smell that’s offensive,” he added.
“Says the guy who looks like he hasn’t had a shower in weeks,” Nikki snapped.
Boyd moved closer to the bed, his menacing growls increasing as he stood beside her. His top lip curled up, and his canines lengthened. Taking a deep breath, his eyes flashed golden as he took in Nikki’s scent.
“Well, it seems you’ve got a little secret,” he said quietly.
Nikki’s heart pounded in fear. She could feel the anxiety mounting in her body and had to fight not to let the terror take hold of her.
“That will make it all the more sweet when you die and take your whelp with you.” His voice was calm and deadly. “That’ll be perfect. Your mates will suffer twice before I kill them.” He walked toward her and reached out to grab the material of her shirt and pulled her toward him.
Nikki nearly vomited at the stench of his breath. His skin was covered in dirt, and his clothes reeked of filth. Hygiene was certainly not his friend. He disgusted her in all that he was. Having him threatening her babies and mates sent real fear straight to her heart and settled with a sickening thud in the pit of her stomach. She met his gaze with determination. No matter how afraid she was, she was not going to let him see it.
“You’re either overestimating yourself or underestimating my mates,” she told him calmly.
“Oh, no, sweetheart,” he told her smugly. “I’m going to make sure they know you’re dead, and when they shift to attack I’ll be ready. I’ve got two silver bullets with their names on them.”
The vicious growls of two wolves broke the silence outside the small cabin. Boyd let go of Nikki’s shirt, smiling with satisfaction.
“Don’t worry,” he told her as he turned and walked toward the cabin door, taking the gun from the drawer of the small table beside it and checking to be sure that it was loaded with the silver bullets that would kill any wolf shifter. “You’ll be joining them in hell very soon.”
* * * *
Dean drove quickly toward the small shopping center not far from the Circle Three Ranch. Mitchell sat silently beside his triad partner. He could feel the worry Dean was feeling. With each passing day, their connection strengthened, and he was thankful and amazed that he was actually finally part of a triad partnership.
“Are you okay?” he asked Dean quietly.
“I will be as soon as we get Mom,” Dean answered evenly. “She has to be more careful.”
Mitchell nodded silently. He knew Dean was upset, but he also knew that Laurie needed to be in control of her life. It didn’t feel good to be under everyone else’s rule. Mitchell knew that from firsthand experience.
“Dean,” he began, sighing softly as he decided how to tell his friend what he needed to hear.
“What?”
“When I was with my old pack, I was disrespected, beaten, and treated as if I was responsible for everything bad that happened. I was never allowed to go anywhere or do anything without permission.” He looked at Dean seriously and smiled sadly when he felt the instant sympathy from his partner.
Dean glanced at Mitchell quickly before returning his attention to the road ahead. “I’m sorry that happened to you, Mitch,” he told him honestly.
Mitchell nodded. “I’m only telling you this because you need to understand that your m
other deserves to live her life without feeling that she’s lost her freedom. She’s a great lady and the best mother. She shouldn’t have to feel guilty for leaving pack land today. There had to be a good reason that she left with your aunt.”
Dean was quiet for so long, Mitchell was afraid he had crossed a line in their new partnership. He sighed and looked out the window. Whether he had or not didn’t matter though. It had to be said. For Laurie’s sake.
“You’re right, Mitch,” Dean said finally. “We felt the same way when we wanted to leave the ranch to go to the movies and they wanted us to take security with us.” He turned briefly to look at his triad partner. “Thanks.”
Mitchell nodded, smiling. “You’re welcome,” he answered quietly, thanking the Fates for pairing him with such an understanding friend for a triad partner.
“There’s the pharmacy,” Dean said, pointing to the right.
When they pulled up in front of the pharmacy and parked the car, they saw Laurie and Janine waiting just inside the door. Dean and Mitchell got out of the car quickly, shutting the doors behind them and walking to the store entrance with determined strides. Laurie exited the store immediately, rushing to Dean and embracing him.
“Are you okay, Mom?” Dean whispered as he hugged her tightly.
“I’m fine,” Laurie reassured him, reaching out to hug Mitchell to her tightly. “All of you worry too much.”
Dean smiled and looked at Mitchell as he smiled back at him. His triad partner was a wise man. He looked at Janine who stood apart from them and grinned at her.
“What about you, Janey?” he asked, smiling wider at the shocked expression on her face. “Are you okay?”
Janine blushed lightly and nodded. “I’m good,” she answered quietly. She nearly fell to her knees in shock when Dean walked toward her and embraced her quickly.
“I’m glad,” he told her quietly before letting her go and reaching out to take the three bags of purchases from her. “I guess you guys had some serious shopping to do.”
He turned and led the way back to his car, popping the truck and carefully placing the bags inside it before slamming it closed. He held the front passenger door open for his mother while Mitchell opened the rear passenger door for Janey. Once the women were seated, they shut the doors and walked around the front of the car to the driver’s side.
“Janey?” Mitchell questioned him.
“It suits her better than Janine,” Dean explained, tipping his head toward the young woman who sat quietly in the back seat. “Don’t you think?”
Mitchell looked at Janine and saw how she was nervously fiddling with her seatbelt. “I think you’re right,” he said finally. “Janey is a much nicer name for her.”
Dean smiled and rested his hand lightly on his triad partner’s shoulder. “Let’s get them home. Jace and Jackson will be worried until they know Mom and Janey are home safely. Maybe you should have a talk with Jace and tell him and Jackson exactly what you told me before.”
Mitchell swallowed nervously. Even though he was new to the pack, he felt the fairness in his new alpha. But that didn’t make the prospect of giving advice to him any less scary.
* * * *
“Mitchell said there are three cabins that the women could be in,” Jace told the men as they drove toward Randall’s pack land. “There’s an entrance to the area that veers off to the three sections. We’ll split up when we get there.”
“I can’t feel Nikki,” Alex told them. “Can you sense her, Butler?”
Butler shook his head, looking out the side window silently. Turning to face his alpha and beta in the front seat, his eyes were filled with worry.
“Alpha, are you able to feel Laurie if she’s asleep?”
Jace looked at Jackson as he sat silently beside him. He couldn’t lie to his lieutenant. “I can, Butler. I can’t feel her thoughts all the time, but I feel a sense of peace that she is well, even when she’s asleep.”
“Sometimes we can’t sense her, Butler. Laurie has a habit of closing herself off from us so we don’t worry when she’s not feeling well,” Jackson added, his voice strong. He knew both Butler and Alex needed to know all the possibilities. “Knowing our mate, she’s probably taught Nikki how to shield her thoughts so she can protect you from worrying.”
Butler nodded, hoping that what Jackson said was the case with their mate. He looked over at Alex and saw the way his triad partner was fighting his wolf. He was in the same predicament. His own wolf was clawing at his chest to be released.
She’s going to be fine, Alex.
Alex looked at him with anger. If he’s touched her, I’ll tear him apart.
I’ll help you.
“We’re here.” Jace’s voice was calm, but all of them could feel the determination that their alpha was feeling.
He parked his truck and stepped out of the cab. Carter and Doc pulled in beside him at the entrance and climbed out of Carter’s truck to join them. The six men stood silently as they surveyed the three trails that led away from the main entrance.
“Do any of the paths call to you?” Jace asked Butler and Alex as he stood beside them.
Both men closed their eyes and breathed in deeply. They couldn’t scent Nikki, but something tugged them toward the left path.
“This way,” Alex said, nodding toward the path. He pulled his black T-shirt over his head and threw it into the back of Jace’s truck.
Butler did the same, removing his clothes and throwing them into the bed of Jace’s truck to join Alex’s. Shifting in an instant and bounding up the path, he could feel Alex close behind him. The fear they felt for their mate’s safety spurred them on, their anger fueled by the fact that she was injured, alone, and afraid. The fact that they felt her fear for their cubs as they raced up the path gave them the briefest sense of relief that her presence was finally back in their minds.
When they saw Alex’s truck parked to the side of a small cabin, they halted in the trees beside the overgrown path. They prowled forward, Nikki’s thoughts and feelings washing over them.
He’s threatening our mate and our cubs. The anger in Alex’s voice was deadly.
Both men couldn’t contain the growls that escaped them. Boyd was going to pay for every moment of terror he had caused Nikki. Shifting to their human forms quickly, they advanced on the cabin. Their only thoughts were of saving their mate.
He’s got silver bullets in his gun! Nikki’s panicked voice screamed to them through their bond.
The cabin door was pulled open, and Boyd stepped out onto the small porch, a gun leveled in his hand and pointed directly at them.
“I knew you’d end up here sooner or later,” Boyd told them calmly. “Your human probably told you where to go.” He cocked the gun and smiled. “Your bitch broke my arm not so long ago. I’ve been thinking a lot about that day. Finding her alone today was perfect. I couldn’t have asked for an easier way to take her.” He looked at both men calmly, the pistol wavering back and forth between the two of them. “An eye for an eye,” he said finally, more to himself than to them. “Which one to choose?”
Without hesitation, he shot Alex in his left arm, growling with satisfaction as the big man was jerked back and went down to one knee. He turned the gun on Butler before he was able to take a step toward him.
“Your bitch also hit me in the head, so I guess you’re elected to get a bullet in the brain.” His voice was strong and eerily calm.
Butler watched him warily as he bent down to help Alex stand, his anger pushing at him. He was going to enjoy every minute of taking this man down and tearing him apart. All he needed was one moment of distraction and he would take his chance.
Alex swayed slightly within his arms and knew it was not because of the bullet wound, but because of the silver within the bullet. Butler knew he had to get Alex back to Doc so he could remove the bullet, or the silver would seep into his system and slowly kill him. But first he was going to take care of Boyd.
* * * *
Pulling at the rope frantically, she ignored the pain as her flesh tore, her blood saturating the dirty linens beneath her. She ripped the rope from her wrists, jumping from the bed and rushing toward the open door. She could hear Boyd threatening to shoot one of her men in the head. Without hesitation, she picked up the wrought iron fire poker from the stand of fireplace tools in front of the fireplace and charged through the door.
Raising the heavy poker, she brought it down with all her strength on Boyd’s shoulder. She heard the sickening crunch as Boyd’s shoulder shattered beneath the blow, and couldn’t prevent the scream of panic from escaping her as the gun Boyd was aiming at Butler discharged.
Butler was hit in his left side and went down to his knees. Alex reached for him and struggled to pull him to his feet beside him, holding him around his waist with his injured arm.
Boyd turned around, his eyes flashing in anger and his canines dropping. “You’re a dead woman,” he growled at her.
“Go ahead and try,” Nikki dared him. “I’ve dealt with meaner men than you. I’m going to kill you for what you’ve done to my mates.”
Boyd lunged for her, murderous intent in his face. He advanced on her quickly, reaching out to grab her, pulling her toward him with a jerk. Nikki struggled briefly, amazed when Boyd’s hands were pulled from her body before he was ripped off the porch and taken to the ground by both Alex and Butler. Nikki was thrown back as Boyd’s body slammed into her before her men pulled him away. She hit the floor of the cabin with a jolt but immediately pushed to her feet, determined to help Alex and Butler overpower Boyd.
She rushed toward the tangle of bodies as the three men fought. Blood covered all three of them, and she was afraid for her men. She knew their injuries were exacerbated by the silver in the bullets Boyd had used. This had to end. She had to get Alex and Butler home so Drew could help them.
Babies for Nikki Page 36