Chapter 5
Peyton could have taken the money out of one of her accounts, but paying Judy with her money felt wrong. Paying her with someone else's dirty money, on the other hand, didn’t cause Peyton the same conflict. Especially, if that person was a piece of shit like her mother. Finding the job was easy; it was for some businessman who wanted information regarding one of his competitors, basically, for blackmail. Peyton found the information quickly and forwarded it. Both men were shady and liked to play in dangerous areas; she felt it was her job to teach them a little lesson. So, she set up a Trojan, forwarded the information on her employer, and sent that information to the competitor. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy. Turnabout is fair play after all. She had what she had come for, an easy twenty-five hundred dollars to buy a little more time.
Peyton gave Judy the down payment on the agreed upon date. The bitch even gloated. What was more important, she thought she was sly, still bringing up Bastian and continuing to make threats. Peyton played along, not giving her any information. They set up their next meet date for one month, then, thankfully, Judy was gone. Peyton knew she needed to get the hell out of Dodge before that meeting; for now, at least, she’d bought a little time.
Peyton decided to bring a local dog breeder on full-time as her assistant; she’d been working with on and off for a while. Her name was Cathy, she was retired military and had even worked with one of her dogs in the field. The lady impressed Peyton, which was hard to do. Her love for the dogs rivaled Peyton’s. What Cathy didn’t know was Peyton was planning on making the position a little more involved. If everything worked out, she planned on offering the business to Cathy altogether.
For the next couple of weeks, Peyton’s admiration of the woman only increased. She knew now she could leave her precious babies, knowing Cathy would take care of them. She also knew she was making the right choice. After all of this stuff with her mother was over and done, Peyton planned to sit down with her. She felt Cathy was the right person to leave everything Peyton had worked so hard to achieve. It felt like it was time. Even though she would be leaving a little part of herself behind, in the end, Peyton knew it was the right choice. She needed a change. She needed to live, and she was going to do her damnedest to figure out how to do that. She didn’t want to look over her shoulder for her mother any longer; that part of her life needed to be over. She would take Zeus, Hera, and Brut and retire that was the plan.
One added benefit of leaving Cathy in charge was her boyfriend happened to be a badass biker. Peyton had met him and liked him instantly. He was rough around the edges, but she could see how much he loved Cathy by the look in his eyes, they softened every time he looked at her. It was sweet if you could call a biker sweet. Peyton didn’t know the rules, but she was pretty sure he wouldn’t have appreciated the sentiment.
The man showed his love for Cathy with the way he came by to just check things out and make sure his Ol’ Lady was safe. He even grilled Peyton at first about her intentions toward his woman. Peyton was a little shell-shocked at that conversation, but she must have said something he liked because he was pretty cool after that. He brought them lunch a couple times a week and even fixed a couple of things on the property Peyton had been putting off doing for a while. Maybe she’d been planning this move longer than she realized.
Crank was a good man, and she knew Cathy would be safe when Peyton needed to leave. She wasn’t really expecting Judy to do anything drastic like try to hurt Cathy or the dogs, but the added security of having Crank around made her feel better about the situation.
During those weeks, Cathy had taken over nearly all the dog training duties. She had previous experience in the military and had even taught Peyton a thing or two. Peyton really liked her. Cathy respected what Peyton was trying to do and added her own expertise and talent to the mix. It was a win-win for both of them. When Cathy didn’t need her help, Peyton spent the time on her computer, trying to find out anything and everything her mother was up to.
Two days before she was supposed to leave, Peyton hit pay dirt. Word on the Web was Judy was going to give her up to the mysterious suit men, so they could press her for information. This didn’t surprise her and was pretty sure the information they wanted was about Bastian. From everything she could figure out, they had a general location, but nothing concrete. She did know the Club was being watched, but that was about it.
Her software and the software she hacked hadn’t proved the men’s identities yet, but Peyton was hopeful it paid off soon. Now, for the hard part, she needed to leave. She could take her babies, but they weren’t exactly inconspicuous and even though her first stop was remote, she didn’t know where she would be going next and tugging along three large dogs didn’t exactly scream low profile.
She had confided in Cathy about some of her life, like her mother, but she hadn’t told her everything. When Peyton went to her and asked if she would watch the house and her dogs for a while, Cathy didn’t even hesitate to say yes. Peyton felt guilty, she didn’t want to put anyone in jeopardy, and she had no idea how Judy would react when she came to get her money and found Peyton gone. Peyton was surprised when Cathy beat her to the punch.
“Listen, Peyton, I don’t know what’s going on with you, but we’ve known each other for quite some time now, and if you’re in trouble, you know all you have to do is ask, and I’ll help. But if you don’t ask, I can’t do anything more than I’m doing now, being a friend.”
Wow, that took Peyton aback. She liked Cathy, but she had never honestly put her in the friend category because she was a means to an end. She trained the dogs and helped out. The realization of how shallow she’d been not to have even considered her as a friend left her feeling sad. Cathy was a good person, Peyton liked her a lot, and the truth was she wanted to be friends with her, but it was so ingrained in her that she often didn’t trust people’s motives. Cathy had proven herself over and over, and Peyton had been too blind to see it. Peyton was ashamed of herself.
“Listen, Cathy, I’m really sorry, I can’t go into all the details, but I promise you, I’ll be safe, and if I get into trouble, I’ll call my brother or you. I just need a little time away to figure things out. I need you to watch out if you decide to stay here, and please, keep your man close. In a couple of days, I’m pretty sure my mother is going to be beating down the door because I’m going to stand her up and Judy Carlson doesn’t like to be pimped.”
“Damn, honey, I know you’ve told me a little about your mom, but are you really sure it’s going to get that bad. I’ll just tell her you’re gone. What’s she really going to do?”
“I don’t know, Cath, please be safe, keep the dogs close, and don’t engage her if she comes around. Just tell her I’m gone, threaten to call the police if she doesn’t leave, and please, don’t trust a word that comes out of her mouth.”
“Will do, but honey, are you sure you don’t want to talk with Crank and his boys? I mean, they’re one percenters, but honestly, Peyton, they’re good people.”
Peyton knew they were because three of the men in that motorcycle club were Bastian’s brothers. She didn’t know them personally, but Bastian had talked about them enough, and Peyton always did her homework. It was one of the reasons she picked this area. The Ruthless Bastards MC ran this area. They kept the drugs out and the gangs and other criminals in line. Peyton might live in the mountains, but the city wasn’t that far away.
“They might be able to help,” Cathy continued, “and then you wouldn’t have to leave. They could even scare off your mom or whatever you need.”
If only things were that simple, but she knew her mother better than anyone. Judy wouldn’t ever give up, especially if she was stuck in a corner. Peyton needed to get out of Dodge and plan her next steps. Then she could go to Bastian and let him and his team take over. She needed to figure out the suits end game before that happened. If this was all just Judy blowing smoke, she didn’t want to raise the alarm, just yet.
Chapte
r 6
Wyatt didn’t have time for another babysitting mission. Shit, the drama that went down with that Zoey chick and Bravo and Echo were enough to make him want a stiff drink and some down time. But what he really needed was to get home.
The guys who worked within NAC, all Shifters, were just starting to find out true mates, the one person who would complete them, really did exist. For the last century, only males were born with the ability to Shift into an animal and even then, not all offspring possessed the trait. Shifter numbers were dwindling fast. It was hypothesized that within the next century or two, Shifters would be bred out of existence. The Holly Group discovered experiments that a rogue agency The Pandora Group had conducted. Pandora disbursed a toxin which was only supposed to affect ‘people’ with the specific Shifter genetics. It would make them sick, causing them to seek medical attention. The medical personnel would then take samples, skin, tissue, and of all things, sperm from the individual. That really bothered Wyatt. Shifters were taught at a young age not to trust human medical professionals. If their abilities ever got out, it would be catastrophic. What really blew Wyatt’s mind is the secret had been out for over thirty years; now, it seemed they were, in fact, the ones in the dark.
This Pandora group took things a step further and decided to start making designer babies for the highest bidder. Using the genetic material, the medical professional they hired, a Dr. Franklin, cultivated and impregnated human females with these enhanced embryos. They promised babies who could shift into the animal of the owner’s choice as long as Pandora was allowed to continue with their experiments for the life of that child. Their promise and experiments were thankfully deemed failures. The initial six who were created were all female. The failure in the eyes of the buyers and Pandora was female children were unable to shift as promised. What the fuckers didn’t know was those women had the potential to be true mates. True mates bonded almost instantly with their destined partner, calming both the animal and the man, joining them as one, creating peace for the war which every Shifter male lived with on a daily basis. Without a true mate, the male would inevitably go rogue, his animal instincts taking over completely obliterating the male’s human side. These men had to be put down to protect the clans. How this group even knew about the Shifter race was still undetermined. Shifters kept that secret highly guarded and had believed themselves to be successful, only now realizing how wrong they were.
With Jacks’ mate, Ryleigh, being pregnant, the man was going a little crazy. Jacks was Wyatt's team leader. Missions, which they would usually take, were put on hold and for the first time that Wyatt could remember Alpha’s base was placed on lockdown. Not only for Ryleigh’s sake, but for Emma and McKenna’s the newest members of Alpha. Wyatt had met and spent some time with Ryleigh and thought she was a good person. He knew about her past and even enjoyed her spunk, but wanted to see how things played out over time.
Like the others, he had listened to the legends of true mates as a child, but they were fiction to him since he had never in his lifetime witnessed a true mating or even knew anyone else who had either. It had become folklore a story told over and over again, nobody actually knowing how much truth there was to these stories. Like a game of telephone, the stories had a way of changing, depending on who was telling it. Wyatt liked cold hard facts, and until he got them, he always reserved judgment.
He wasn’t stupid either. When he had the time, he made an effort, Skyping with the two ladies Emma, and Ryleigh, attempting to get to know them. They would be a part of his life for the foreseeable future, and he wanted to keep an open mind. What he really needed was to be able to observe them in person. He wanted to believe what everyone was saying was true, he just didn’t want to get his hopes up for himself, quite yet. He was happy for his buddies and maybe even a little jealous. The only problem was he was never quite the optimist as everyone else, he always leaned towards the pessimistic side.
Shit, Dalton had found his true mate by being in the right place at the right time. He did keep a small glimmer of hope alive that he too would one day find his true mate, and she was accepting of him as Ryleigh and Emma seemed to be of the guys. He liked what he did and never wanted to leave his makeshift family, but the idea of having someone in your life who loved you and accepted all of you was a dream he was secretly holding out for.
His bear had always been a bit restless, and over the years, he had to fight to keep control. Maybe a mate could help with that; Dalton said he’d never felt such peace in his life. Wyatt could use some of that, but how the hell was he supposed to find his fated mate if he was constantly being loaned out to other teams and running errands, like the one he was currently on. Except for the few women from the Holly Group who were helping the Teams out, he didn’t have much contact with other females. Well, at least not females he hadn’t already met, and he was pretty sure no sparks had flown beyond a couple of nights of pleasure with any of those ladies. No insta-bonds, just yet, for good old Wyatt.
Looking out at the road, Wyatt couldn’t help but think, what the fuck, Bas’s sister lived in the middle of nowhere. He was on some fucking little back road up in the mountains. The dirt drive looked like someone had worn two tracks down the middle of it. The fucking potholes were as big as craters, and he had no way to avoid them. The scraping of his undercarriage literally made his teeth grind. Now he had a headache pulsing between his eyes, causing his mood to plummet. After all, this shit, this chick better fucking be home! So, he could be on his way, but before he left, he was going to give her a piece of his mind. Bas was so going to pay him back for this little mission.
After what seemed like forever, he rounded a corner to see a cute little house, the massive pit bull standing in the middle of the drive, not so cute. He was a damn grizzly bear, and even he knew not to mess with a pit. The dog stared down his car like a game of chicken. What was he supposed to do now? Deciding to be a cautious, he rolled up his windows and honked the horn. The dog didn’t move from his post and continued to stare him down. After about fifteen minutes of this, Wyatt was getting pissed. Didn’t anyone live here? Then he remembered what Bas had told him about his sister’s dogs; they knew Bas’s scent and were okay with him, but he wondered how they acted toward strangers. Not to mention, he was pretty sure Bas had said dogs, plural. Where the fuck were the other ones? Looking around, he let his enhanced senses take in the area. He was able to pick up various forest creatures, but also two other dogs. So, that meant the others were lying in wait. He also picked up something else, human and judging by the sweet scent, female. He hoped this was Bas’s sister. Deciding he didn’t have any other choice if he wanted to get this over with. He was either going to make an incredibly brave move or an incredibly stupid one. Wyatt got out of the car and slowly approached the dog.
“It's okay, boy, just here to see your momma.” Wyatt let out a bit of his dominance, and although the dog didn’t cower, he could tell he was aware another predator had taken a step on his territory. “See, I’m a nice guy, you don’t want to bite me.” Walking with caution, he came closer to the slobbering monstrosity; who the hell keeps dogs this big, anyway. He continued to talk to the dog, and the damn thing actually cocked his head as if he understood him. He was probably thinking, stupid man, yeah come a little closer so I can get a better bite. When he came within five feet of the dog, a loud whistle sounded, and Wyatt braced for the attack he was sure to come, but Kujo just turned and left him standing there like he didn’t have a care in the world. That was when he noticed the woman standing in the distance.
She was average height for a human female, he would guess around five and a half feet tall. Relatively fit, but older than what Wyatt had been expecting. This woman had to be at least forty, and he was pretty sure Bas had said his sister was in her mid-twenties. Pretty lady though.
“Can I help you?”
“Yeah, my name’s Wyatt Green. Are you Peyton Carlton?” When the woman didn’t answer right away he said, “Your brother sent
me to check up on you.”
“Nope, sorry, Peyton isn’t here. Just me and the dogs.” Then the woman started to walk away like that short non-answer was going to appease me. Fuck, didn’t normal people have normal conversations?
“Okay, listen, do you happen to know where she is or how I can get a hold of her? Her brother is really worried about her.”
“Listen,” the woman actually sighed like I was bugging her or something, “all I know is she asked me to look out for the place and she would be gone for a while. I didn’t ask for the specifics, and she didn’t tell. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some chores I need to get done before I head out for the night.”
“Ah, thanks.” Yeah, this was going nowhere fast. He needed more, and this woman was locked up tight. “Who are you if I might ask?”
“Name’s Cathy, I’m Peyton’s assistant. She wasn’t sure how long she would be gone, so it’s just the boys and me. You met Zeus; Hera and Brut should be around here somewhere,” she said, looking around the area. Wyatt knew exactly where all three dogs were, and he was pretty sure this Cathy person did as well.
“I’m actually surprised he let you pass without much of a fuss. Peyton has these babies trained to prevent trespassers. Most people would turn the other way with a Pit his size standing in front of them, but you just walked up to him. Mister, I don’t know if you have brass balls or if you're just plain stupid. Do you know what kind of damage that dog could have done to you?”
“Well, ma’am, I really don’t want to talk about my balls, but Peyton’s brother told me all about the dogs and their training. I can’t believe a dog trainer as skilled as her would teach dogs to attack without provocation or command, even trespassers. I decided to test the theory. It apparently worked.”
“You're right about that, but Peyton said if anyone was coming around here to watch myself, and I plan on doing just that. So, sir, if you’ll excuse me, I have stuff to do, and you need to be on your way. I don’t want any trouble. I barely got the last people who came sniffing around to leave without calling the dogs out. I think they may have pushed further, but my boyfriend and his buddies showed up just in time. It didn’t look like they wanted to deal with a bunch of bikers. I hope you’re not going to become as big of a problem.”
NAC & The Holly Group - Box set: Alpha Team Page 64