“Murder? Dad?” Mella shook her head. “No.”
It took Layla a moment to put the pieces together and when she did, she dropped back onto the sofa. She hadn’t meant to say those words aloud for Mella was never to know what had happened to their father. It was better that she believed the story everyone else did: that it had been a mugging gone wrong. If she knew the truth, she’d be in danger. All this time, she had been protecting Mella from Donald and now she’d let the truth slip. Shit.
“He wouldn’t.” Mella grabbed hold of the back of the sofa, her face pale.
“Come sit down.” She touched her sister’s hand. “Please.”
“Tell me he wouldn’t. Tell me you’re saying these hurtful things to get back at him for whatever he’s done to upset you.”
“I’m not going to lie to you. I’ve been hiding the truth from you for so long that it’s freeing you finally know. Dad found out what was happening and what kind of man Donald truly is. You know Dad—he had to confront him. Confront us. I watched the whole thing unfold and I was too terrified to do anything. I’m sorry, Mella.” She squeezed her sister’s hand. “If I knew Dad had found out, I would have spoken to him before anything could happen. There was nothing he could do. Nothing anyone could do.”
“Until now.”
Korbin’s deep voice had her turning to the main door. Relief flooded through every cell of her body to see him standing there. She wanted to go to him but Mella was finally starting to listen. Layla hadn’t gotten to any of the important stuff, or to Korbin and his clan. Going to him at this moment would no doubt bring Mella’s rage back to the surface.
“Who the hell are you?” Mella eyed him quizzically. “Are you the one my sister is fucking? What were you thinking putting these insane ideas into her head?”
“You okay, Layla?” Korbin asked, coming closer to the siblings.
“Answer me.” Mella demanded.
“Mella, enough.” She nodded to Korbin, letting him know she was okay. “He’s opened his home to us. The least you could do is show some respect.”
“Seems to me he’s getting more than your respect.” Mella pulled her hand back from underneath Layla’s and stepped away from her. “I want to go home.”
“It’s not safe,” Korbin stated as he came around to stand next to the sofa. “This man you seem to think so highly of shot your sister today. She showed up here near death’s door from the loss of blood and you can’t even give her a few minutes to explain why you were brought here. If that’s what siblings are like, I’m glad I’m an only child.”
“Prove it. If you were shot, prove it. Let me see the wound. Then I’ll listen to you about Donald. Otherwise I’m leaving and I’m going to tell him where you are. Let him deal with this fucked up situation.” Mella crossed her arms and plopped down into the only living room chair.
“I figured you’d say something like that, so here.” Stepping passed Layla, Korbin handed Mella a small stack of print outs. “Those are images from the surveillance cameras. You can see the blood soaking through her shirt, her pale skin, and the fear in her eyes. She ran through the woods from Donald’s house. I checked; taking a direct route from Donald’s house, it’s a little over seven miles. Though I suspect her journey was longer. She could have died before she arrived here and you act as if this was all arranged to spoil your day.”
“Lala?”
Hearing her nickname broke the dam that had been holding back her tears. Mella hadn’t called her Lala in years. Looking back, she realized now that had been the first sign they were drifting apart but back then, she’d thought Mella was growing up. No need for a childhood nickname. Back then it had pained her a little to lose the special nickname only her sister had called her but to hear it that moment felt like a knife in her heart. They had been torn apart. Some of the distance between them had been maintained to keep her safe from Donald. But how much had she lost in the process? She missed her sister, her best friend.
“That asshole shot you.” Mella dropped the pictures on the coffee table and leaned forward. “What are we going to do?”
“I’m going to handle it,” Korbin announced. “While I do I need you to stay here with Layla. I’ll have someone call the Dean’s office on Monday and explain you have a family emergency. We’ll take care of what we can for your college classes so you don’t fall behind. Whatever it takes, my people will handle it. Right now, your safety is more important than college or your job.”
“My apartment. If I’m staying, I need some of my things.”
“I’ll send Sparks to get whatever you need. He’s one of the baboons who kidnapped you.” Korbin chuckled. “Though I’m not sure he’s going to like the reference.”
“I highly doubt it.” Layla tried to suppress a giggle but it bubbled out of her. “Mella, there’s more you need to know. The second part is almost harder to handle than the first and well, since that went swimmingly, I’m sure this is going to go great.” Sarcasm dripped from her words.
“There’s no easy way to say it.” Korbin took a seat next to Layla on the sofa.
“You mean that you’re fucking?”
“Mella! Enough with that word.” Layla snapped. Her sister always had a way with words, especially when it came to working curse words into a conversation. She was young and swore like a sailor, thinking it made her look cool with her friends, but Layla hoped she’d outgrow it. Her sister was too good for the way she talked. Too sweet and naive. Maybe that was why she took to the nasty words.
“Come on, sis. It’s obvious there’s something happening. How long has it been going on?”
“First, that’s not the issue we’re talking about and second, Layla and I have not been intimate.” Korbin reached out and placed his hand over Layla’s.
“Intimate? Heaven help me, I feel like I’m getting a sex lesson from Dad. All you have to do is shift uncomfortably in your seat.”
“Stop it, Mella,” Layla snapped. Nineteen and she was acting as if she was hearing about sex for the first time. The situation was serious and she’d thought for a moment her sister understood that. Now, with the snarky comments, she wasn’t so sure.
“There’s something special between us, which she can explain later. I can tell you I care for your sister, so it’s not some quick fuck as you seem to think.” His gaze stayed on Mella but her sister wasn’t looking at him. Rather, she seemed focused on Layla.
“If that’s true, then what’s this big revelation you’re about to drop on me now?” Mella leaned back into the chair, her attitude disappearing again as she seemed bored with the situation. “Come on, sis, I can handle it. Afterward, I’m going to kick some sheriff ass. That fucker deserves some Cole family justice and I’m just the person to give it to him.”
“There will be none of that.” Korbin squeezed Layla’s hand, reassuring her he’d protect Mella, too. “I’m handling the situation with Donald. You going after him for vengeance is only going to entice him more. He’ll see your actions for what they are.”
“You seem to know so much. Please tell me why you think that.”
“Avenging your father’s murder and the only way you’d know what truly happened is from Layla. That will make him more determined to get his hands on her. I won’t allow—”
“Mella,” Layla said, cutting Korbin off. “Korbin and I have spoken about this. His plan will work, and it will get Donald to leave us alone. In exchange for that, you need to realize he’s going to be out there as a free man. He’s the sheriff. Even if I wanted to press charges against him, it would be suicide. He’ll tear our lives apart.”
“What about him murdering Dad?”
“The only witness is me. There’s no evidence, not now. He’s cleaned it up, made it look like a mugging gone wrong. He wrote my official statement and forced me to sign it. One where I clearly state we were too far away to do anything to help Dad.”
“Layla could face charges for giving a false statement to the police, but more than that, i
t would enrage him further. He’s killed before, so he’ll do it again. He proved it today when he shot Layla.”
Korbin’s words filtered through her brain but she wasn’t focused enough to truly understand them. All she could picture was her father lying on the ground near the parking lot.
“Old man, I warned you to stay away from us.” The anger in Donald’s voice froze Layla in place. This conversation would mean Hell to pay for her when they got back to the house. It wouldn’t matter to Donald that she hadn’t known her father would be there, or what he’d say. It would still be her father—her fault.
“Dad, please.” Her voice cracked.
“It’s okay, La. Go wait in my car. I’ll handle this.”
“Don’t move.” Donald grabbed hold of her arm before she could even think about doing as her father asked. “We made a deal. Layla’s mine.”
“You went back on the deal the moment you laid a hand on my daughter.” Her father’s gaze shifted from Donald to her. “Go, Layla. Now.”
Before she could say or do anything Donald pulled out his gun. “Turn around and go back to your car. Otherwise—”
Donald didn’t get a chance to finish his threat. Her father lunged at him. “Stay the fuck away from my daughter!”
And then, the gun went off. Dad! The sound of a gunshot only meant one thing. Donald had shot him. Tears welled in her eyes as his limp body fell to the ground.
She pulled away from Donald’s grasp and dropped to her knees next to her father. Hovering over his body, she pressed her hands to his chest, trying to stop the blood from pouring out the gunshot wound, but it didn’t help. He was dying and Donald stood behind her doing nothing.
“Get away from him La—I love you.” Her father’s gaze stayed locked on her as he took his final breath. Tears kept falling and her world shattered.
“Layla.”
Korbin’s voice called to her but it wasn’t enough to bring her back to reality. The warm blood under her fingers felt too real. “You killed him!” she shouted at Donald, hatred dripping off every word, as if the man stood right there, in front of her.
“It’s over, baby.” Korbin’s arms tightened around her and she could feel his heartbeat under her fingers.
No, it can’t be that he’s dead. The memory and reality crashed against each other, confusing her. Part of her wanted to pull away while the rest of her wanted to sink into the embrace. If she could focus, she’d know it was Korbin holding her, but the memory held tight, not wanting to let her go.
“Easy, Layla. I’ve got you.”
As the flashback faded, the pressure in her chest eased and the tears ceased. When she opened her eyes, she found herself in Korbin’s lap, his arms around her, keeping her close. Worry creased his brows as he stared down at her.
“You okay?”
“I’m sorry. I…” He pressed his lips to her forehead, silencing her.
“Don’t, baby.” He slid his hand up her back. “There’s no reason to apologize. You’ve gone through Hell but I’m going to take care of it now.”
Not wanting to talk about it in front of her sister, she glanced over her shoulder, but the chair was empty. “Where’s Mella?”
“Sparks is showing her to her room and getting a list of the things she needs from her apartment,” he explained as she turned back to him. “I thought you’d need a few minutes before we continued things with her.”
“She’s not going to understand.” She leaned back into Korbin’s embrace. “I’m not even sure I understand. It’s all so…”
“So what, beautiful?” he pressed.
“Unbelievable.” With her head on his chest, she glanced up at him. “Shifters, mates, I never thought any of this existed. If I wasn’t feeling this…I don’t even know how to describe it. This pull between us. The connection. The peace I find in your embrace. It’s all so hard to explain. How am I supposed to make Mella see? She seems to hate me and I don’t know why. She loved Donald, always talking about how she wanted a man like him to look at her the way he looked at me. What she didn’t understand is there was never any love in his eyes when it came to me. Every time she thought he was looking at me with desire, it was a look of warning that I was in trouble. I couldn’t tell her the truth. Anytime I mentioned I wanted someone better for her, my words pushed her away. She thought I was being selfish, but it wasn’t that.”
“You wanted better for her.” He cupped the side of her face. “There’s nothing wrong with that. She didn’t understand then but she’s starting to understand now. I don’t know if you’ll ever have the relationship with her you want but you can try to rebuild things now.”
“I don’t even know where to start.”
“We’ll start by telling her about shifters. It’s best to get it out of the way before she finds out like you did and freaks out. Then we’ll go from there.” His thumb brushed along the curve of her cheekbone. “You’re not alone in this. I’ll be there every step of the way. You have to trust me. I’ll make this right for you, no matter what you choose.”
“I trust you.” Something about the way he looked at her made her think he understood how hard it was for her to give someone her trust. Yet, in a matter of a few hours, she already trusted him. Maybe it was the connection or desperation, but she trusted him completely.
No matter what you choose. His words echoed through her thoughts again. Didn’t he realize she already made her choice? She was curled in his embrace, seeking protection in his arms and his compound. She had already chosen him. In the short time she had known him, he had showed her something she had never experienced before.
True love.
Chapter Nine
Korbin grabbed the pot of coffee and tossed it down the drain. It was well after midnight and he was exhausted. The situation with Layla and Mella had taken more time than he had expected but he couldn’t leave her to handle Mella’s outburst by herself. Thankfully, he’d promoted Zaz earlier that day, which had allowed him to pass off some urgent matters to his Lieutenant while he stayed with his mate. The biggest situation that couldn’t be handled by anyone else though remained on his plate. He’d leave Donald sweat out the night, wondering where his fiancée had disappeared to, and at first light, he’d deal with the sheriff. He didn’t expect the affair to be quick or simple but he could hope.
“Korbin, channel two.” Zaz’s voice broke through the earpiece Korbin was wearing.
“Fuck.” The possibility of sleep disappeared as he reached up and pressed the button on the piece, changing the channel. “Go ahead.”
“We might have a situation. Ted’s at the gate, requesting to speak with you.”
Double fuck. He didn’t bother to question why his Lieutenant was at the gatehouse. Knowing Zaz, he was on full alert, expecting Donald to find them. He rubbed the back of his neck, considering the possibilities, when Zaz’s voice came through the earpiece again.
“Sparks and I are waiting on your orders, sir.”
He knew that was Zaz’s way of offering to send Sparks to guard Layla, without alerting the possible threat to the plan. “Send Sparks here. Give me five; I’ll be there. Get someone to cover the gatehouse if needed. I want you with us.”
“Got it.”
With a faint click, Zaz turned back to the main channel for guard communication, and Korbin stared into the sink wishing he hadn’t poured the last of the coffee out. There wasn’t enough time to brew another pot but there was time for him to gear up in case the situation turned explosive. Moving out of the kitchen, he went back to his desk and grabbed his gun from the top where he’d laid it earlier. Slipping the holster and gun into the waistband of his jeans, he mentally prepared himself for whatever was about to come. Ted would have been an addition to the security at the compound, but not at the cost of his mate. He’d find other guards if he had to.
A soft tap announced Sparks at the door, moments before it opened. Expecting only Sparks, Korbin’s arm jerked toward his weapon. A second man entered, his b
lack hair shaved nearly to his scalp, leaving behind only peach fuzz. With his gaze on the new man, he didn’t grab his gun; he didn’t need that to take out whoever it was.
“Sir, this is Neil. He’s one of the guards Raja brought today.”
Korbin’s stance relaxed and he shot a grin at Sparks. Another reason the young guard would soon be promoted to Captain of Layla’s Guards. He thought outside the box and came prepared to protect his charge.
“Very well. Layla’s back in the bedroom, sleeping.” Hating to leave her, he glanced back. “I’ll be back soon.”
“She’ll be safe,” Sparks assured him.
With a nod, he stepped passed them. He wouldn’t have left her with Sparks if he didn’t believe the guard would keep his mate safe. While she might still be confused about the situation around her, his tiger was sure of one thing—her. She was his mate and over his dead body would something happen to her.
“Korbin.” Sparks stepped out into the hall with Korbin, shutting the door behind him. “I wasn’t sure if I should say anything but you always said it’s better to go in prepared. So…Ted’s alone, but he knows she’s here. The anger permeates the air.”
“I’ll handle it.” He took a step before turning back to him. “Thank you. I appreciate the heads up. Now keep my mate safe.”
“Always.” Sparks opened the door, returning to the Alpha’s quarters, and Korbin headed toward the gatehouse.
He considered speeding his pace for Ted’s sake, but he was Alpha here. He didn’t run when someone called; they came running when he called. The cougar was going to have to realize that if he was going to work for Korbin. This was the perfect opportunity to show that to him. No one showed up at midnight, demanding to speak to the Alpha of the clan, and expected him to appear immediately. To prove his point, he took the long way around the building, taking in the grounds and making sure everything was secure for the night.
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