HURRICANE (Beasts of Prey Book 2)

by LC Lehesaho

  From the left side, her jaw is colored with blue bruises, and when she drops her hands down so I can get the gown off, I suck in a breath.

  The jagged letters on her beautiful, otherwise so smooth and tanned skin glows red on her stomach. The first word starts under her breasts, and the last one is on her lower belly.

  Then I see the round burn marks over her cobra tattoo on her side. Bigger than a cigarette. A cigar. There are over a dozen of them.

  "Holy shit..." I slap my hand to my chest, trying to keep my heart from bouncing out. I thought I was prepared to face what they've done to her, but clearly, I fucking wasn't.

  Cobra folds her arms over her chest and stomach, covering herself. "I..." Her voice comes out strangled and hoarse, as she glances towards the shower. "I can get there myself."

  "What? No, I'll help." I shake my head, lifting my hands to take hold of her waist to help her up, but she winces, jerking herself backward. I froze, and my heart stops beating at the same time. "Cobra?" I trail my gaze to her face. There's a line between her brows, and I see she's biting her cheek nervously. "What is it? It's me, baby girl."

  She closes herself from me, not even looking at my direction. I can almost hear her heart thundering. "No, just... go."

  "Negative. Talk to me, what did I do?" I tilt my head, trying to catch her gaze, but she avoids my attempts, like looking at me would burn her to a crisp. "Baby, please, tell me what I did, so I won't do it again, okay?"

  She frowns, having an inner fight in her head.

  "You think I'm disgusting," she finally whispers, her body trembling as she speaks.

  My mouth drops open. "What? No, I don't, what the hell made you think that? You're gorgeous, baby." I place my hand on her thigh, over the skull tattoo, which covers the entire side of it. She winces again, but I don't move my hand. "I love you, and I'll never fucking ever think anything like that of you. Do you understand me?"

  Her jaw tightens, shoulders almost touching her ears as she shields herself. "You..." She swallows so hard it echoes in the small bathroom. "You looked at me like I'm diseased."

  "Fuck." I scrub my face with my hand, another one still on her thigh. Yeah, I fucked up already. "I'm so sorry, baby. Look at me." I wait until her beautiful eyes come to mine, hesitantly. "It wasn't my intention. I reacted to what they did to you, not you. Okay? I'll always want you, don't ever doubt that."

  Cobra closes her eyes, taking a deep, shuddering breath. She lets out a little sigh, like gathering herself while opening her eyes. "Mmhh. I'd like to get to the shower now."

  I slide my hand up her thigh to her waist and bite my tongue to keep my thoughts in order. I failed miserably. Her skin is so hot and smooth under my fingers that I'd like to taste her. This is not the time or the place for me to get ready to go, but fuck, how can I not?

  Cobra is divine, even though she looks like she came straight from the war zone with her long blonde hair now red from the dried blood and all the little cuts and bruises all over her. And that's actually where she came from.

  None of that diminishes her appearance. She's always been the most exquisite thing I've seen, and the iron will she possesses with a heart of gold makes her a true fucking goddess.

  I help her up, her hands coming to my shoulders for the support, and not able to stop myself, I pull her against me. Her pebbling nipples press against my chest, just like my hard dick—gently—to her stomach. I don't want to hurt her.

  She looks up at me, blinking those big Bambi-eyes, so her long black lashes almost brush her cheekbones.

  "You feel me, baby girl?" I ask, leaning closer and kissing her forehead. "I'll always want you."

  Her stomach presses harder against me, making my dick throb against her through my sweats. "Come to the shower with me."

  I'm so fucking tempted.

  "No." I kiss her cheek, finding my way to her ear, as I whisper, "I'm not going to fuck you yet, ‘cause you had a screwdriver in your thigh less than twelve hours ago and, baby." I nip her earlobe. "I can't promise I'll be gentle."

  A salacious smirk decorates her face when she leans back. "I've never expected anything gentle from you, kitty."

  Knock on the door makes us both freeze.

  "Tiger, we need to talk," Leo's rich, and slightly sinister voice comes through the door.

  "Yeah, in a sec," I try to keep my voice even. Well, at least I tried.

  Cobra turns red in a second, and she buries her face in my chest. "I'll never get used to this."

  "This is kinda exciting. C'mon." I move her to the shower, placing her on the stool set under it. "I'm gonna be right outside if you need anything, just yelp for help."

  "Sure thing." She nods towards my crotch. "Arrange that before you go. Don't embarrass us more than we already have."

  I bark out a laugh. "Baby, we hit rock bottom of embarrassment when I saw the picture in front of Leo, so I think this is nothing in comparison."

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  "So, why this secret gathering?" I ask, ping-ponging my gaze between Leo and Doc.

  "Exactly what I want to know too," Leo says, eyeing me with a slight scowl on his face. Daddy Hayes may not be so okay with Cobra and me after all. Or maybe it's the boner in my pants, who knows. I keep the innocent face on, ignoring it. At least, it's not waving anymore, so that's a bonus.

  Doc's face, on the other hand, looks like she is watching a weathercast from the TV. "I wanted to discuss with both of you because in her state, she will be needing surveillance."

  Leo crosses his bulk arms over his chest, the dress shirt's sleeves already rolled up. "Don't linger, what is it?"

  She clears her throat. "Well, the blood results showed they've been injecting her with huge amounts of tranquilizers—every day for the last twelve days, she verified it. Now, Cobra is on painkillers because of her injuries, but the truth is she’ll crash when they wear off."

  The hairs on my neck stand to an end. "What the fuck does that mean?"

  Leo looks like he is ready to explode, which doesn't happen often. Doc raises her hand, calming things down. Fuck her; we're not calming down. She better start talking.

  "Benzos are very addictive." She takes her glasses off and cleans them, before putting them back on, in no hurry. "So, my guess is that she is already addicted to the tranquilizers, and if she is not getting them, there will be withdrawals."

  Leo's voice is just a growl when he speaks, "What are they?"

  I have a hard time concentrating because above all the fucking shit they did to her… they made her an addict? I bet she doesn't even know it yet. I can't even imagine how Cobra will take this.

  Doc glances at her laptop. "Well, most of the people who are addicted to benzos are having anxiety, insecurity, and nervousness. Also, sleeping disorders are usual and physical reactions like palpitations and tremors. That's what we can expect from Cobra if we don't soften her landing."

  "You're suggesting we keep injecting her with that shit?" I grit my teeth, not happy at all. She'll never accept it. I know she won't.

  Leo drops his head back, looking at the ceiling, his chest heaving.

  "Yes, it's my advice, but she can also take them as pills, it's all the same. Her psychological trauma will be hard enough to handle, and if we add this on top of it, she might crash and hard," Doc says matter-of-factly.

  "You gotta be fucking kidding me," I huff, tearing my hands through my hair. This can't be happening.

  "Do we have any options?" Leo asks, his voice even. His expression is everything, but.

  "No, not that I can think of."

  Leo turns his eyes at me. "What do you think?"

  My eyes shoot wide. "What?"

  He waves his other hand in the air, impatiently. "What do you think we should do with her?"

  Oh, fuck. Leo is really asking my opinion.

  I clear my throat. "It's up to Cobra. If she wants the meds, then I stand beside her, and if not, I'll still stand beside her."

  Leo traces his eyes aroun
d the room before huffing out a breath. "You're right. It's Cobra's decision."

  Well, fuck, serious situation or not, I feel my chest rising. Leo asked my opinion, and he agreed with me. This is epic.

  "Well, let's discuss this with her tomorrow." Doc turns to her laptop, dismissing us effectively. I don't know why Leo stands that kind of behavior from her. It goes over my understanding. It's not like she can't be a human being, as Puma would say, but she is cocky as fuck. Not only that, but she also seems like she doesn't actually give a shit about her patients, like what kind of a doctor are you, jeez.

  Leo turns to me, his eyes telling me he’s thinking about something… not so pleasant from his point of view.

  "Yeah?" I urge him to say what he clearly is trying to get out. "I'll come to your office in a minute. I just want to make sure Cobra gets back to bed, okay?"

  His nods, the vein is bulging in his forehead. "Remember, she just got out of there."

  I cock an eyebrow. "I know. Where are you going with this?"

  "Want me to twist my point to you from an iron wire? I think you know exactly what I'm talking about."

  Oh, Hell no. I never thought that coming out of the closet with Cobra would lead me in this many embarrassing situations. Go figure.

  I look everywhere but Leo. "Yeah, I get it. Message received."

  Leo nods, looking a little bit uncomfortable himself. It's a first. "Tell her I'll visit her after the meeting." Then he walks out, not saying another word.

  My brain feels overloaded, and for a second, I consider maybe I should join Puma and get high. It really wasn't my thing but effective enough to give a little break from overthinking.

  But for me, there are no pauses available.

  I glance at Doc while walking back to the bathroom, and it doesn't surprise me she ignores my presence. I take the bag from the armchair, which Falcon packed with Cobra's clothes so she can get into her own clothes and feel more like home.

  "Baby?" I knock on the door, but I don't wait for her answer before walking in.

  Cobra is sitting on the stool under the water, another heel lifted to the edge of it, and she's leaning on her knee, arms wrapped around her shin. Blood flows down the drain, blending into the water and turning it red. It's coming from her wrists, those wounds from the shackles are bleeding through the bandages.

  The sight forms a lump into my throat, strangling me from the inside.

  "Cobra?" I call her again as I approach, carefully.

  She jerks her head up, like snapping awake from sleep. Her eyes are wide, and for a second, she looks alarmed, body wired up until her gaze lands on me.

  "Uh, hi," she sighs under the flowing water, sweeping the strands away from her face. "I guess I'm a bit tired."

  "Let's get you to bed then, okay?" I turn the water off and grab towels from the shelf—one for her hair and one for the body.

  "I feel like I could sleep for a year," she says, taking the other towel and gathering her hair into it, rolling it on top of her head. When I start to dry her shoulders as gently as possible, she stops me, holding my arm.

  "I want to do it myself," Cobra swallows, looking past me. Nasty feeling prickles my spine, but I let go, handing her the towel and stepping back.

  "Wanna tell me why?"

  She focuses on wiping the water from her skin, brows pulled into a straight line. After a moment, she speaks. "I haven't done this even once myself the past weeks."

  My fingers curl into fists at my sides, anger making my skin tickle. Even though I want to ask her what the fuck they did, I don't. There will be a time when we have to go through this, but it's not now. Besides, it's possible she doesn't want to speak about it, and it's okay too.

  I'm not here to tear her wounds open. I'm the one who's gonna heal her, just like she healed me when I needed it.

  I open the bag, and without a word, hand her black underwear. She doesn't speak either while dressing into them. When I give her a purple T-shirt, Cobra stares at it for a while before lifting her eyes to me.

  "I don't want to wear this."

  "Want me to get you something else from your apartment?" I take a step towards the door, ready to get her what she needs.

  Cobra shakes her head. "No. I want to sleep in your shirt."

  A stupid smirk spreads to my face and takes less than a second to jerk my black T-shirt off. I make my way to her, and Cobra lifts her hands, letting me dress her up. I pull the shirt down, crouching in front of her, and rest my hands on her waist, feeling like the luckiest guy in the fucking world. It's still hard to understand she's really mine. Or more like, she accepted that I'm hers.

  I've been waiting for her for so long.

  "Do you have a meeting with others?" Her hands come to my neck, fingers stroking the back of it.

  "Yeah, they're probably waiting for me already," I admit. "Leo is coming to see you after."

  "Will you come back to me?"

  I place a kiss on top of her nose and smirk. "Always, baby girl."

  ~

  I close the door behind me when I step into Leo's office, and everyone's eyes turn to me. Leo's and Wolf's face tells me very clearly they've been waiting for me for a good while. But Bear? The fucker looks like—

  "Finally! Okay, Dad, honest opinion. What do you think about the fact that this stallion here is boning your daugh—"

  Puma moves faster than me, reaching from the couch to the armchair where Bear is lolling and smacks his head with an open palm.

  "Enough!" Leo's low voice booms in the office like a lion's roar, which it almost is. "Bear, keep your mouth shut until I give you permission to talk, or you'll regret it. What I think about Tiger and Cobra is none of your business, understood?"

  Bear gives him a nonchalant shrug, turning his eyes on the phone in his hand like he doesn't give a fuck about what's going on. Sometimes I think he really doesn't.

  I walk to sit beside Puma, trying to keep my temper in control. Bear sure knows how to annoy people.

  "As you know, there's someone on the inside who reports our moves to Crusador," Leo starts, and just like that, everyone in the room is deadly serious. He leans back in his chair behind his massive desk and places his fingers together, elbows on the armrests. "Silas already mentioned it in the letter, but I thought it was part of his game. Turn me against Tiger by giving out false truths. But Levi had told Cobra the same, and he had information about her only someone who's been in her apartment can have, it's clear it's true."

  The fact we have no idea who it is makes my skin itch. Apparently, everyone else feels the same because all of us move in our seats uncomfortably. Expect Wolf, who is like a statue beside the window.

  "What are we gonna do?" Falcon is the first one who asks the burning question.

  "Wolf will install more security cameras without anyone noticing, Bear and Falcon, you're gonna help him. We're not going to start rushing, ‘cause it's exactly what Silas wants us to do. You're going to keep an eye on everyone, but not make a scene," he tells us, voice back to the calm and collected. "We can't be sure this mole knows we know, so best is to let them believe we don't. When people think they're invincible, they make mistakes."

  Puma throws his hands in the air with a frustrated huff. "You're kidding, right? We're just gonna sit here while someone is snitching about us?"

  Leo tilts his head to the side, cocking a brow. "Oh, you have a master plan then? Please, share it with us."

  "I didn't say I have a plan—"

  "Let me impart some wisdom into you, my son. Another option, the only other option, is to gather all of our twelve employees who work weekly in this mansion and interrogate them. But there is one thing in interrogating," Leo pauses, oozing sinister vibes into the room. "Even innocent people take the blame of the crime when questioned hard enough. That kind of interrogating never works. It only breaks the trust between those loyal employees and me who haven't done anything wrong. Worst case scenario, I end up breaking the wrong person's skull, and we still ha
ve a mole in here."

  The air in the room is so flammable no one dares to speak. Puma clears his throat and opens his mouth, but Leo lifts a palm to stop him.

  "No, there is the third option, and I bet you love this one, Puma. I can gather all of those people and execute them all. Problem solved." He turns his palm up with a questioning look. "How's that sound to you?"

  Puma's gaze drops to his lap. "Sorry. The original plan sounds good, I agree."

  I let out a breath I've been holding, and just like everyone else in the room, I wait until Leo says we can go. When he is on edge like this, no one wants to poke him if it's avoidable.

  Instead of telling us to leave, he stands up and walks to the door. "I'm spending the rest of the night beside Cobra, so if any of you has something to say, that's where I'll be. Otherwise, we'll see in the morning meeting at nine a.m."

  Wait, what?

  No, no, I was supposed to be with her. Fuck.

  "Hey, Leo—" I start, but he cuts me off.

  "Answer is no." He gives me a look which tells me it's better not to argue. "I'm her father, and I'm guarding her tonight. You can be there tomorrow."

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Dad didn't say anything about the things Tiger had revealed to him about me—what I did to myself before Tiger intervened three years ago, which was a good thing. I appreciated him stopping me back then. I love him even more because he's always had my back, no matter what it takes, or what it requires from him. There are not many people who'd do the things he does.

  Tiger's love has always been… unconditional.

  When I woke up, Dad was sitting in the armchair right next to the bed and looked like he hadn't slept the whole night. Still, he pulled on a smile, and it was so genuine and relieved, I couldn't even be mad at him. I wanted to be because it was clear he had banned Tiger's presence, and he admitted it, but in the same sentence said only for this night.

  "I want to take care of my angel myself."