“Hey, little sister how you are doing?” Cash asked, still holding the cold cloth to her neck, but rubbing her arm at the same time. He was crouched on the floor behind her and uncomfortable as hell in the small room, but he wouldn’t have left her for the world, especially now that he saw the tears.
“Sorry Cash it's just…”
“I know, little momma. Jacks had told me before I came back. Are these happy tears?”
A sob broke out before she could answer. Cash couldn’t help himself, he pulled her into his lap and started to rock her. It felt natural to console her this way. They had bonded from the outset. Maybe it was because of his close relationship with Jacks or maybe it was just meant to be, but from the beginning Cash had accepted Ryleigh as family. They joked around about the little sister thing, but Cash honestly felt that connection with her
“You know, I can only imagine what is going on in your mind right now. It's got to be a little overwhelming to take it all in. In the last couple of months, you found out you have Shifter DNA, are related to your adoptive Dad, and the man who contributed his DNA to you is dead.” Cash continued, “You go out on a mission where you meet your mate, get kidnapped and beaten, then get married, and find out that you are pregnant. That alone would be enough to throw most people over the edge, but you ended up with the worst possible cherry on top. Not only do you have to worry about The Holly Group, but also you have three separate entities, maybe four, coming after you and the people you love. I would be crying right along with you if I wasn’t such a manly man,” Cash joked.
That got the giggle he was hoping for. He hated seeing a woman as strong as Ryleigh suffering this way. He wanted to protect her from all the pain, hurt, and unknowns, but it was impossible. Watching her now, he knew what Jacks was talking about on the plane; you can’t fight shadows, and it sucked.
“Cash, I’m so scared. What if my fucked-up genetics are causing problems and what if my baby is going to pay for how I was created? How can I protect him if I don’t know what I’m protecting him from? I never thought I would have a baby let alone a husband. I never even let those thoughts into my brain. Now, I don’t know what to do. I feel like I’m failing everybody. I didn’t know what I was missing Cash. I want this baby with all of my heart, but what if, because of me, he’s harmed and how do I face Jacks or myself if that happens?”
With that last statement, Ryleigh’s sobs increased. She wasn’t a pretty crier. Her face was red and blotchy, and snot was running down her nose. Cash tried to dodge a couple of times, but gave up knowing it was no use. He was effectively a tissue for this crazy lady, and surprisingly that didn’t bother him all that much. If he couldn’t have his happily ever after, then he would make sure Jacks and Ryleigh got theirs, as well as his teammates. If they needed more doctors or scientists to help the baby out, Cash would make it his mission to find them. This was his family.
“Now you listen here, Rye. You aren’t failing anyone. Who found out about Franklin's data? And who thought far enough ahead to get your agents implanted with tracking devices? And who is responsible for turning two of the meanest sons-of-bitches I know into pussy cats? That was all you Ryleigh, and your baby is going to be just fine. Did you tell Jacks how you were feeling? Does he know how scared you are?”
“No,” Ryleigh answered, still crying, “I can’t put that on him, he has too much on his plate as it is.”
Damn, Ryleigh didn’t have a clue. Jacks would drop anything and everything in a second for her, all she had to do was ask. But she wasn’t that kind of person, and Cash loved her for it. However, she needed to stop because she’d someone else to think about now.
“Rye, I can tell you this, you and that little one are the only things that truly matter, and if a case comes up, we can defer to another team. We’re a family, and you are a crucial part of that family. If you need any of us, especially Jacks, we’ll be there for you, anytime. You have been taking care of everyone else for so long it's time to take care of yourself and your cub. If you need Jacks, myself, or any of the other guys, we’re here, no questions asked and no judgments made. You know Jacks would be pissed if he thought you were hiding things from him. Talk to him. He should be back soon from what Dalton said. Now, come on, let's get you off of this floor. Dalton was on clean up duty and that fucker has a tendency to slack,” Cash tried to make light. “But he did volunteer to go down to Ruby’s to get dinner. Why don’t you jump in the shower and I’ll go and get your pajamas? Everything else can wait for a couple of hours.”
“But, Cash, I have to get through the data and…”
Cash knew Ryleigh would fight him, he didn’t care. Until Jacks got back, he was in charge, and she was going to have to suck it up. Sometimes he wondered why it always seemed like it was his job to get people to take care of their basic needs. Shit, he didn’t even know what the people on his team would do if he decided to quit nagging them into showering, eating, or one of a hundred other things.
“No, ma'am, you need food, sleep, and comfort. Dalton and I will take shifts with the data. When the guys get back, they will too. Jacks told me he was bringing something back for you, and I think it’s just what the doctor ordered.”
“I don’t need presents, Cash. I was only kidding before.”
Cash wanted to laugh. Ryleigh was cute. He knew she was just messing with all the guys about sending her presents. Even if she hadn’t been, he would’ve sent her as many care packages as she wanted. He loved her and was happy that Jacks had found such a special woman to spend his life with.
“I know that, honey, but I think you're going to like this one. Now up you go. Get showered and I’ll put your stuff outside the door. Dalton was heading out to get some dinner from Ruby’s and if you are lucky, I bet he’ll even bring you one of her famous turnovers.”
Once she was back on her feet again, Ryleigh hugged Cash as tight as she could and said, “Thanks, Cash, I needed that. Don't tell the others, but you are my favorite big brother,” she said with a smile.
Cash knew she was joking; the whole big brother little sister thing was a bit much, he had to admit that, but it was theirs and it made them both happy to joke around about it. He didn’t give a shit what anyone else thought about it. She was his sister, not by blood, but by connection. and if it made her happy to act silly, he would do it right along with her.
“Damn right I am, and I’m also going to be that little bean’s favorite uncle too. I’ll warn you, I have plans to knock the others out of the running,” Cash laughed as he left Ryleigh to her shower.
Ryleigh loved Cash. He might look like a badass biker, but he had a heart of gold. Not many guys would’ve let her snot all over their shirt. She knew Jacks would have, but she worried about him; he had so much on his plate, and she didn’t want to burden him any further. Feeling better, she decided to take Cash’s advice to jump in the shower and get some rest. She and the baby needed it.
Walking out the bathroom, Cash couldn’t help but be a little jealous of his Alpha. Ryleigh was an extraordinary woman, and now she and Jacks had something he would never get to experience; a fully bonded mating and a baby on the way. Sure, he could meet a woman and fall in love, maybe even have a family someday, but it would pale in comparison to what he and Jessie could’ve had. He mourned that future every day of his life. It would’ve never been fair to only give half of himself to some random woman when his heart and soul belonged to another. Even after all these years, Cash still felt the pain from their bond breaking, leaving only the numbness behind.
No, he couldn’t do that to someone else. He would just have to the best uncle ever. Maybe some of the longing for things that weren’t meant to be would subside. He had to hope they would. Otherwise, what was the point?
Chapter 6
Dalton was waiting at the counter in Ruby’s for the order he already placed. He was enjoying a cup of coffee when he heard the bells of the door ring out. Out of habit, his eyes went to the cause, and he was struck dumb and had
to do a double-take. He thought it was Ryleigh and was about to go over and ask her what she was doing, but it wasn’t Ryleigh. This woman's hair was a shade lighter, and she was probably only a couple of inches taller, maybe five-and-a-half-feet tall, if that. She seemed to be taking in the room, but kept her eyes downcast, which he hated to admit was driving him crazy for some weird reason. He genuinely wanted to know what color eyes she had, it felt essential. Her hair was a warm shade of strawberry blonde with streaks of darker red running throughout, subtle, but stunning. The woman had placed it in some odd way on top of her head, trying to contain the mass, but failing, strands were flying out everywhere. He liked the messy contraption. It brought to his mind long sweaty nights and other ways he could mess it up, preferably with his hands after a long hard night. Maybe not the best thing to be thinking about a complete stranger, but he was a guy after all. So, what the hell, he thought.
He continued to ogle the woman, figuring he wasn’t hurting anyone. It wasn’t like he would act it; he was only doing what every guy does. Dalton decided to check out her body, but was confused by her choice of clothing. She was wearing a huge overcoat, probably a man’s, but it was like three sizes too big for her build and bulky as hell. Shit, the thing was making him sweat looking at it. He knew some people had an odd fashion sense, shit, he loved superhero t-shirts, but that coat was so out of place. He didn’t know what to think. He liked quirky, but wasn’t a big fan of crazy. It was August for Christ sakes. The Upper Peninsula of Michigan had a tendency to be a bit cooler, but not that much. Still trying to figure out the little lady, he went back to her face and noticed that even without lifting her eyes, she was trying to figure out where everything was in the room; much the same as he was trained to do after several years in the military.
He knew there wasn’t much to see. The dinner crowd had already left. Even on a good day, only a couple of people at a time could be found in the diner. They were pretty isolated this high up in Michigan; most of the people in the community stuck to themselves. Having already done his recon, a habit drilled into him from his childhood and his time in the service, he knew what she was seeing. He was the only customer, beside herself. It wasn’t unusual for this late in the day, most of the locals were at home. The town shut down early this time of the year. Ruby’s was the only restaurant in town, and they both had come right before closing time.
The diner was small, only holding a couple of tables and a long counter with beat up seats. Most city folk would balk at even stepping foot in the place, but Dalton and his team loved it. The first time they brought Ryleigh down, she called it rustic. Ruby’s had some of the best food around; no one cared about the decor. Everything was homemade by its namesake herself from recipes she said were passed down in her family for generations. Not having been lucky enough to have kids of her own, Ruby adopted all the residents as her children and insisted on giving them a place to eat a good meal and have a friendly conversation. She never turned anyone away. The place had seen some better days and was in need of some serious repairs, but not getting many tourists and only having a small community to support the place, plus Ruby’s generosity, didn’t bring the income needed for repairs. The guys had been talking about helping to get it back to what he sure it once was. The community, and more specifically the guys, needed Ruby’s to stay around for a long time. The diner and the proprietor helped them feel more at home.
The woman had caught and held his attention. However, once he got his mind out of the gutter, he noticed something else by using his ingrained Shifter senses. He finally got a good whiff of the woman and wasn’t pleased with what he found. he’d been expecting a sweet feminine scent, but what he got was waves of fear so strong, he couldn’t even detect the slightest hint of her natural scent. She must have come to a type of conclusion because she reached to pull the chair out and that’s when his bear went ballistic. There were bruises all around her wrists and cuts all over her hands.
All the men on teams with NAC were protectors through and through, it was in his DNA. Dalton tried to justify what he was going to do by remembering that any of them would help or offer to help this woman. What could it hurt? His thoughts from earlier shouldn’t make any difference, right? Maybe it was because his bear was riding him harder than normal that he was acting out of character. Typically, if he were in this situation, he would’ve only given Ruby his NAC card and let the woman know to use it if she needed help. Or he would’ve contacted the Sheriff and had him come check out the situation. He knew he wasn’t going to do either of those things. Shit, maybe he should’ve shifted before he left to pick up dinner because his beast had been riding him harder than usually lately. Could that be why he was getting all these weird vibes?
It wasn’t uncommon for Shifters to seek out sex when they were unable to shift for some reason. Maybe that was why he was thinking of taking the strange women back to his bed when he should be thinking about offering her help. The bruises pushed all his protective and possessive urges, and he knew right then and there what he had to do, what he needed to do. He needed to know what had happened to this woman, more importantly who had hurt her. He knew it wasn’t any of his business, but he was unable to take his eyes off her, she intrigued him.
When she decided to sit, showing her strength, he was proud of her. All he could think was, good girl, you need a break. But even with the strength she showed by choosing to stay, her hunched shoulders and inability to make eye contact triggered a weird kind of possessiveness. It was something he’d never felt before for another person. Add to that his need to protect, and he was fucked because those instincts were sparking like fireworks on the fourth of July. If anyone needed some help, it was the woman he was looking at.
“I’ll be right with you honey,” Ruby called out to the woman.
That was when the woman, still not raising her eyes fully, finally noticed Dalton, and her hands started to shake visibly. Dalton knew she would bolt if he didn’t do something. He waved off Ruby who looked only as concerned as he was and walked over to the woman as non-threating as possible. Dalton approached her like he would one of the hostages NAC often rescued. he’d seen the look she was giving him many times before on missions.
That’s when he saw them for the first time; her eyes were so unusual they took his breath away. They were more turquoise than blue and big with thick, dark lashes. Her other features were dainty, making him think of a drawing of pixie he’d once seen. But on closer examination those beautiful eyes were wary, hollow with deep dark circles under them and that pissed him off. This woman was too lovely to look this way. He knew from experience, or assumed, that she was running hard from something. Dalton didn’t like it. He also didn’t like that she flinched when he approached, like he was going to hit her. That stung. Dalton would never cause a woman harm, ever.
“Ma’am, sorry to bother you, but do you need some help?” Dalton inquired.
That is when he got the first good look at her face. Damn, someone had done a number on her, and she looked like she would fall right off the chair at any moment, she was so frail. He was kind of surprised that he thought she was Ryleigh at first, they looked nothing alike at the moment. Maybe it was her size and stature. This woman sitting in front of him was in desperate need of a shower. He could tell she’d some slight red in her hair, but that was it. The one thing that surprised him was her inner glow, her appearance couldn’t dim that. The woman never answered him, only cradling her stomach with her arms, looking at the table like it held all the answers in the world.
“Ma’am, did you hear me? Do you need some help? I live nearby and know the sheriff around here. He’s an excellent man. I could give him a call and he would come down here if you're in some trouble or I could walk you down to the clinic. It's not a hospital, but the staff’s not bad and you look like you need some help.”
Dalton had been reading her body language, and she visibly flinched with the mention of the sheriff and the clinic. Damn, what was going on wit
h this poor woman and what the hell was going on with his bear? The bastard was pacing back and forth, agitated by this woman's condition. Shit, he’d seen women in worse condition and his bear didn’t even surface. Seeming to come out of her trancelike stare, she tried to disguise her nervousness and fear. However, he was a Shifter and both of those emotions had a scent, and she was putting them off in waves.
“No, sorry, long day. I came over on the ferry and decided that I needed to stop for the night, but this town doesn’t have a motel,” the woman sheepishly replied.
She was so pale and looked like she hadn’t slept in forever. Dalton was very familiar with the look because working with NAC he’d seen it often. This woman was running. Someone had hurt her badly, and Dalton was determined to get her the help she needed. He didn’t question why it was so important to him, he just knew he needed to provide whatever this woman needed.
“Do you mind if I sit down?” Dalton asked.
Still putting off waves a fear, the little lady surprised him by nodding. After he sat, he put his hand out slowly, but apparently not slowly enough because she flinched back like his hand was the head of a cobra ready to strike.
“Hi, my name is Dalton Hayes. What's yours?”
Chapter 7
Emma was barely holding it together. Why did she let possibly the largest man she’d ever seen sit down at the table with her? Man, she was losing it. She knew she should’ve kept going, but she was so tired and she needed to eat something. After using all but five dollars to fill up the gas tank, she knew she couldn’t go any further and decided to use those five dollars to at least get something to eat. The town was so small, it only had a gas station, grocery story, what looked like a post office, and this diner. If she’d been back home, she wouldn’t have even considered coming into the place. It looked like it hadn’t been updated in at least twenty years from the outside and it looked shabby. She was pleasantly surprised that the interior was clean and well-kept even though it was dated. Good thing as it was the only place that was open.
NAC & The Holly Group - Box set: Alpha Team Page 31