by Knight, Gwen
He didn’t bother to pull the couch out of the way before lifting Luis into the air. Luis struggled, his legs and arms flailing as he fought to find purchase. Harley didn’t give him the chance. He dug his claws into the asshole’s throat and relished the sight of the man’s blood dripping down his fingers. Then he heard the distinctive sound of flesh tearing as he threw Luis across the room, his body slamming into the farthest wall. The entire room shuddered under the force then fell into an eerie silence.
Slowly, Wells and Carlisle turned toward him, their gazes dropping to his hand. Without stopping to take a breath, Harley dropped what remained of Luis’s throat and picked up the gun he’d used to shoot Jasmine. Harley checked the clip, cocked it, then systematically moved through the room, placing a bullet in the head of each Humans First member.
Discarding the gun, he rushed to Jasmine’s side and untied her. The scent of burning flesh rose to his nose, but he didn’t feel any pain. He couldn’t focus on anything but her.
“Here, let me help,” Carlisle murmured, handling the rope around her throat.
Together, they freed her from Luis’s contraption and laid her on the floor. The bullet had hit her in the chest. Not good. But it could have been worse. A headshot, for instance. A chest wound, she could survive. Hell, Axel had recently survived the same wound over half a year ago. She was strong. Strongest woman he knew.
“Is she all right?” Carlisle asked.
Heart in his throat, Harley leaned down and pressed his ear to her mouth. She had to be alive—had to be. He couldn’t lose her now. Not after everything. Not after finally finding her again.
Oh, God, she wasn’t breathing.
Growling, Harley tore his cell phone out of his pocket and threw it at Carlisle before administering CPR. “In my contacts list is a Dr. Levingston. Call him.”
Thankfully, the kid obeyed his order without complaint and did exactly that. Harley listened in between compressions as Carlisle relayed everything to the doctor the pack used for medical emergencies. On the other end of the call, Harley overheard Levingston say he was on his way. Grateful, Harley paused his compressions and leaned down, listening. Fear ravaged his insides when Jasmine didn’t immediately start breathing. A fear that slowly started to bleed into rage as the blame settled in.
Fuck ‘em.
Fuck ‘em all.
If this was the game Humans First wanted to play, then bring it. He’d kill every last one of them.
He leaned in and pressed his mouth to hers, about to blow, when her body suddenly jerked and she unleashed a rasping cough. Relief loosened Harley’s muscles. He stopped compressions, put pressure on her wound, then leaned down and muttered soft words. Everything he could think of. Anything he could think of to keep her here with him. To keep her alive.
“Jasmine?” her mother warbled, braving a teetering step toward them.
Wells shook his head and ushered her back to her husband, who was working to gently remove the tape from his son’s mouth.
Harley gave Jasmine all his focus. Her half-hooded eyes gazed up at him, her lashes drooping as she fought to stay conscious.
“Stay with me, kiddo,” he murmured, gently rocking her in his arms. “I need you, okay? And you need me. Don’t deny it.”
She gave a weak, wheezy laugh.
“Shh.” He leaned in and offered another kiss. “Just stay with me. I love you too damn much to lose you now.”
Her eyes fluttered open, dim but full of emotion.
“Yes, I know. A little cliché to tell someone you love them when they’re literally dying in your arms, but hey, I’m a cliché sorta guy.”
Another weak laugh.
“But you’re not dying, right? So I guess it’s not that cliché.”
“Love you too,” she rasped before closing her eyes.
Harley’s fear spiked, but at the sight of her rising chest, he tamped back his wolf and continued to rock her. Dr. Levingston would be here soon. Then everything would be okay.
It had to be.
He couldn’t handle any other outcome.
21
Two hushed but angry voices roused Jasmine from a deep sleep. She blinked open her eyes and winced at the bright lights bearing down on her. The hell? Where was she? What happened? And why was she wrapped in gauze and blankets?
“This has to stop, Wyatt.”
Jasmine’s gaze leapt across the room to find Harley standing next to an unfamiliar man. Had to be Harley’s alpha, a man named Wyatt. She’d heard a lot about him, but they’d never met before.
“Humans First is out of control!” Harley hissed. “First, Maddie’s father, then Maddie, then Sterling, then Axel. Now Jasmine? When are we going to take matters into our own hands? When will we finally say enough is enough?”
Right. Humans First. That’s why she was in what appeared to be some sort of hospital room. That bastard Luis had shot her. Shot her!
She glanced down at her chest but couldn’t see anything beneath the thick bandage wrapped around her.
“We can’t just take action,” Wyatt rumbled, drawing her attention back to the conversation at hand. One she probably wasn’t supposed to be listening to. But hey, maybe they should have moved the discussion elsewhere then. “We have to do this by the book.”
“By the book.” Harley scoffed and whipped a hand through his hair till it stood on end. She smiled at the unruly sight of it. “And where’s that going to get us?”
“Hopefully, standing in a courtroom with the leader of Humans First opposite us.”
“And you honestly think the courts are going to side with us? They don’t see us as anything more than monsters.”
Jasmine winced at his biting tone. She hated that word now. So much.
“This discussion is over,” Wyatt announced. “The proper authorities have been alerted to this new situation. They’re aware of Humans First’s goals. We have to trust them to take the appropriate measures and arrest the right people.”
Harley tipped his head back and released a long groan. “Meanwhile, our people are dying.”
Jasmine watched as a flash of anger brightened the alpha’s eyes. “They may be willing to break the law to fulfill their ambitions, but we don’t have that luxury. The entire world is watching us, Harley. Every fucking move we make is being analyzed by someone. And it will be used against us if we do anything unethical. If we start massacring any asshole associated with Humans First, we will be the ones to bring a new fate down around our heads.”
Inside, Jasmine was nodding along. Though she wasn’t a politician herself, she’d long since mastered the game, thanks to her father. Unfortunately, Humans First was exactly that—a group of humans. It gave them an immediate leg up in this battle. Humans always sided with humans. Yes, some would defend the shifters, proclaim this wasn’t right, demand equality, etcetera. But as a general rule, humans stuck together.
They had to be better than Humans First. Had to be above reproach. Otherwise, the court system would rain hell down upon them.
“As it stands right now, the police have ruled Luis’s death as a result of self-defense. You aren’t being charged with murder. That’s a win in my books.”
Relief loosened Jasmine’s muscles.
Luis was dead. Harley was safe. Thank God.
“But one day, that might change. We need to stay above the law if we’re ever going to win this battle.”
Harley sighed. “I know. I know. I just….”
“I’ve been where you are,” Wyatt told him, his voice softening. “When Sky was in danger, I knew I’d kill anyone who touched her. It’s hard when your mate is in danger.”
Harley nodded.
“Take comfort in knowing Luis is dead. That’s the most important thing here.”
“But not the asshole who hired Luis.”
Wyatt clapped a hand down on Harley’s shoulder. “One day at a time. It might not feel like it right now, but we are making progress. Jasmine’s father gave us a list of ever
yone he told about you and Jasmine. It’s a small list. Four senators, one governor, and one congressman.”
Six people. Jasmine shook her head. Damn her father for opening his mouth. He’d sworn to keep their relationship a secret. Typical politician, breaking his promises. And look where it’d landed them.
“With this list, we can start looking into them.”
“It has to be one of them,” Harley grumbled. “Luis was very adamant that someone had tipped him off about our rescue operation. Who else had known about Jasmine’s abduction?”
“With this list, we’ll find who has ties to Humans First. And when we find out who….” Wyatt’s voice drifted off.
“Fine.” Harley cupped the back of his neck. “Fine. Just… give me a bit to cool down.”
Wyatt nodded. His gaze quickly darted to Jasmine before he turned and swept out of the room. The moment he left, she felt as though she could breathe a little easier. The man was a walking brute with the scars to match. He reminded her of Sterling, except Wyatt’s personality seemed to fill the entire room. Everything about him screamed alpha, very similar to Eztli. Strange how she instinctively noticed these things now. Part of her new shifter senses, most likely.
Harley turned, his eyes widening at the sight of her awake in bed. “Hey there,” he murmured as he closed the distance between them. “Did we wake you?”
A faint smile tugged at her lips. “You would wake the dead, Mr. Fulton.”
He winced, a bit of color staining his fair cheeks. “Sorry. I didn’t think we were talking that loudly.”
Jasmine lifted herself up on the bed, bracing her back against the pillows. Every movement was a new lesson in pain, but with Harley at her side, she could bear it.
“You scared the shit out of me,” he told her, leaning in to kiss her brow. “Promise me you won’t ever do that again.”
She leaned into him, nodding.
“Good. And in other good news, Dr. Levingston said it won’t be long until you’re all healed up. Luis was using silver bullets, but he didn’t hit anything vital.”
“And you?” Jasmine whispered. “I remember seeing blood on you.”
“Nothing serious. A couple flesh wounds. Luckily for me, Luis’s men were horrible shots.”
She blew out a relieved breath. “So, Luis is dead?”
“And then some,” Harley said. He ran his fingers through her mussed hair, pushing it back from her face.
“His men too?”
“Every last one of them. I made sure of that.”
Jasmine closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the wall. They were dead and this whole fiasco was finished. Finally. “You know, a few weeks ago, I was a college student. I woke up early, drank coffee, and went to class. My life was normal, you know?”
Harley nodded, his face grim. “Jasmine, I…” He exhaled and leaned forward on the bed. “I’m so sorry this happened to you. I’ve been thinking, and I know it’s all my fault.”
She blinked. “What? How in the world is this your fault?”
He whipped his hand through his hair again, a clear sign of agitation. “You don’t know this, but Axel and Maddie had a similar start to their relationship as us.”
Jasmine lifted a brow.
“They were far younger when they’d met, but Axel immediately knew Maddie was his mate. Just like I knew you were mine. But this was back when werewolves had only recently come out to the public. And Maddie’s father was worried. His entire family are mountain lion shifters, but no one knew that. He’d kept their secret until his dying days. He knew the public wouldn’t openly accept werewolves, and he knew Maddie would be in danger if she loved one. So he asked Axel to leave. To never come back. And he did.”
Jasmine feathered her fingers through Harley’s hair as she listened.
“The difference being, of course, that Maddie’s father hadn’t tried to bribe him. He’d simply appealed to Axel’s good nature. And Axel had agreed with him. It was too dangerous for him and Maddie to be together. So, he left.”
Jasmine’s fingers slowed. She didn’t like where this conversation was going.
“If I’d just left you alone all those years ago, this never would have happened. Luis never would have taken you, never would have turned you into a shifter, never would have shot you….”
“And I never would have known you,” Jasmine countered. “To me, that’s worth it.”
Harley averted his gaze.
“Stop it,” she snapped. “All these what-ifs are pointless. We can’t change the past, and I don’t want to. Well, except for our three-year hiatus. We let my father get between us, don’t let Luis do the same.” Jasmine tapped him on the cheek. “Hey. Look at me.”
He turned his head back toward her.
“We’re in this together, forever, remember?” She almost chuckled when she heard the words. They had to be song lyrics or something. “No second thoughts. No doubts. Just you and me against the world.”
A hint of a smile graced his lips. “I’m just worried about you. Humans First has already set their sights on you once. What if next time—”
“No what-ifs,” she repeated. “Do you want to know what I learned from all this?”
Harley harrumphed under his breath.
“Life is fleeting and there’s no point in running away from something you want. I’m not scared. Not with you at my side.”
“How the hell did I end up with such a strong, beautiful mate?”
She gave a playful shrug. “Just lucky, I suppose.”
“Sir!” a voice shouted in the hallway. “Sir! You can’t be here right now!”
Harley and Jasmine both snapped to attention. But it was Harley who leapt to his feet when Jasmine’s father marched into her room, a nurse chasing quickly behind him with a harried look on her face.
Yeah, he made a lot of people feel that way.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” Harley demanded, his voice low and threatening.
“Can she be moved?” her father demanded, ignoring Harley’s presence altogether.
Jasmine focused on her father and noticed a weariness about him. A few scrapes and bruises marred his perfect face, but otherwise, he seemed unharmed. “Dad, what you are doing here?”
“Getting you out of here. This is ridiculous. They wouldn’t let us take you to a real hospital.”
Harley twitched, his fingers curling into fists.
She had to diffuse this situation and quickly before someone did something they regretted. Laying a hand on Harley’s arm, she waited until he glanced her way before she nodded. “It’s all right. I can handle this.”
“Are you sure?”
A calm smile curved her lips. Oh yeah, she could handle this. In fact, she wanted to. There was so much she needed to say to her father. Now seemed as good a time as any.
When she turned back to her father, she delighted at the sight of his shocked face, his wide eyes dancing between her and Harley. “Dad, I’m fine here.”
With a single blink, he gathered himself and unleashed his sternest stare, one that used to make her cower. “Don’t argue with me. You don’t belong here.”
“Why not?”
“Because you’re not—” He waved an agitated hand. “—one of them.”
Apparently, her father was in denial. She remembered the look on his face when her jaguar had risen to the surface back at his house. The horror. The dejection. The embarrassment.
“Sir, you really shouldn’t be bothering Ms. Pierce!” the nurse interjected. “She needs rest.”
“And she will. At a real hospital.”
“We are perfectly capable of caring for her—”
“Save it,” her father growled. “Let’s go, Jasmine. Right now.”
Tired laughter slipped past her lips. “What exactly do you expect me to do? Just get out of bed and get in your car? In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve been shot.”
“I’m well aware. Which is why you need proper care.”
>
“I’m getting that right here.”
“Jasmine Pierce, if you don’t get your ass out of that bed right now—”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake, Dad, shut up.”
Her father’s eyes shot wide, his mouth frozen midthreat.
“I don’t have the energy for this right now. Just go home.”
He stumbled over his response. “If you don’t come with me right now—”
“You’ll what? Disown me? Publicly embarrass me? Please.” She rolled her eyes. “I’ve had enough of your antics.” She squared her shoulders and lifted her chin. She didn’t care if she looked pitiful in the hospital bed and gown, she was determined to hold her own against him. “Tell me something. Did you or did you not lie to me about Harley?”
She could see the gears in his head start spinning as he tried to keep up. “I’ve never lied to you about anything.”
“Really? How about when you told me Harley took your payoff and left? That was a lie.”
Right in front of her eyes, her father blanched. Clearly, he hadn’t expected this. Then he jerked his chin toward Harley. “Did he tell you that?”
“Does it matter? This is between you and me. Your one chance to tell me the truth. And remember, I’ll be able to tell if you’re lying.” She tapped her nose. Honestly, she hadn’t a clue if she could smell out a lie. But it seemed like a decent threat.
Her father’s chest rose rapidly as he sucked in a deep breath. “All right. Yes, I lied. But so what? You got to do so much without him in your life. See the world, go to school—”
“All things I could have done with him in my life, Dad.”
“Oh, don’t give me that. You know I only do what’s best for you—”
“Best for me?” Jasmine shouted. “How is breaking my heart the best thing for me? How is telling a few of your buddies about Harley and my relationship good for me? I was targeted by Humans First because you couldn’t keep your fucking mouth shut.”
Her father turned so pale she thought he might puke.