“I didn’t leave you,” Roslyn whispered. “I was hoping you’d think that and just forget about me.”
“Forget about you?” Dell snarled, his eyes narrowing. “My death would be the only way I could forget about you and even then I have doubts that would ever happen.”
His words made her speechless for a minute as she just stared at him. She had to make him understand why she’d behaved the way she had. “I know how evil Cylus could be and couldn’t bring that to your door, especially with you becoming alpha.”
“Fuck him!” Dell growled. His nostrils flared in hatred. “He’s dead and will never hurt you ever again.”
“I know that.” Roslyn glanced away from him, but he brought her face back to his. “But he—”
“I don’t care what happened while you were there, only that you were hurt.” Dell’s voice was strained, but clear. “I don’t care what you’ve done in your past, only that you were mistreated. I don’t care! Do you hear me?”
“If you don’t want me now, I’ll understand.” Her voice broke, indicating that while she may understand, she would be devastated. She heard his words, but they were so hard for her to believe. Her track record with men was not so great, but Dell Farris was a different breed and it was hard to wrap her mind and her heart around that fact. She knew it was an automatic response to also protect herself from the pain of hurt. She knew exactly how the rapes had affected her, but she didn’t know how Dell felt, and that killed her. Roslyn had a lot of demons she had to fight, but that was her fight. It was unfair to bring someone in who wasn’t absolutely aware. “I have a lot of demons, Dell. I’ve dealt with them okay, but there are times—”
“Unless you want another hole in your wall, you will never say anything like that again.” Dell took her face in his hand. “There is nothing in this world that could happen that would make me not want you in my life. Do you understand me? Absolutely nothing. And as for your demons, I’ll be by your side fighting each and every one of them with you. Never doubt that.”
She nodded, her heart beating frantically in her chest.
“I was on my way to find you when I got a text about what really happened and where you were.” He continued, “I hate that I didn’t leave sooner and that you had to endure more than you should have.”
She knew for a fact Leda had told someone about the note and in hindsight, she was so glad she had. “I should have come to you,” Roslyn admitted again, her voice a little stronger. “Just hard to realize I have someone I can depend on without a price.”
“Yes, you should have,” he agreed. “There is no price where I’m concerned, ever. I’ll never let anyone hurt you again, Roslyn. You can trust me to always protect and take care of you. But you have to trust me in order for me to do that.”
“I’ve never trusted anyone in my life, but I do trust you, am learning to trust you,” she whispered, reaching up and touching his cheek. “Thank you for coming for me.”
“I would walk through hell and fight the devil for you,” he replied, then kissed her softly. “Never doubt that.”
“I don’t.” She pulled him close so she could hug him. “I was just trying to protect you and everyone else. And in all honesty, after being told you are worthless for a better part of your life, well, it’s hard to believe someone would care enough to come fight for me. I should have known better, but mental abuse can be just as brutal as physical.”
“Thank you for caring that much, but never do it again.” He cocked his eyebrow at her. “And know if you ever need to talk, I’m here, and I promise to help you forget the past and look forward to the future.”
Tears flowed as she nodded at his words. “I don’t deserve you, Dell Farris.”
“Honey, it’s me who doesn’t deserve you.” Dell hugged her close, vowing with whispered words to never let her go.
******
Dell walked out of her bedroom to fix them something to eat. Roslyn was tired from trying to get up and walk, so he left her to rest. He closed the door so not to disturb her, but he also needed a moment alone.
She had been raped, had known it when he’d stepped into the camp of that son of a bitch. If he could kill a man all over again, he would do it in a heartbeat. While Dell understood what she had tried to do, he didn’t agree with her actions. Anything she did to put herself in danger, he would never agree with. Just thinking of the pain and humiliation she had suffered before he arrived made him want to kill, his rage was so great.
A soft knock sounded at the door. Relief poured through him at the distraction as his thoughts were becoming dangerous. The bastard who’d injured his mate was dead, but he still felt the need to hurt something. Opening the door, he found Leda standing on the other side. Her eyes were wide as she looked away from him.
“Can I talk to you?” Leda said, then looked back at him, waiting for the answer.
Dell opened the door, letting her in. “She’s resting, but you can wait or come back later. I’m fixing her some soup.”
Leda started to cry as if her heart was breaking. Jesus, he wasn’t good with crying women, but they seemed to be falling apart around him. “Hey now, what is this?”
“I’m so sorry.” Leda cried even harder. “If I would have told you or someone the night of that haunted trail, none of this would have happened. I can’t stop thinking about Roslyn tied to the tree. It’s all my fault.”
“Leda.” Dell sighed. “The person who’s at fault is dead. Yes, you should have said something to someone, but I think you’ve learned that lesson. And Roslyn should have never asked you to keep that from any of us.”
Sniffing, Leda looked toward the closed door before wiping her eyes and looked back at Dell. “Is she going to be okay?”
“Yes, she’s going to be fine. She’s a strong woman.” Dell gave her a small smile. “Thank you for caring.”
Leda only nodded, then glanced around nervously. “Well, I just wanted to let you know that I’m sorry and to check on her. Can you please tell her I came by and tell her I’m sorry?”
“You can tell her yourself.” Dell frowned. “She would really like to see you and should be good enough to have visitors by tomorrow.”
Shaking her head, Leda shrugged a shoulder. “I won’t be here.”
“Okay, well the next day.” Dell knew something was up, but he wasn’t sure what.
“I’m leaving,” Leda finally said. “Time for me to move on. Sam is taken care of, and I have things I need to do.”
Crossing his arms, his eyes narrowed as he stared down at her. “And what do Garrett and Janna have to say about this?”
“Garrett doesn’t care. He’s still mad at me anyway.” Leda wiped her eyes. “And Janna understands what I need to do.”
“Which is?” Dell pushed, not really believing Garrett didn’t care. He may be mad at Leda right now, but he saw her as his own daughter.
“Find my father,” Leda answered, then looked nervous. “Listen, I really have to go. I’m helping Janna and told her I’d only be gone for a little while, and I want to spend some time with Sam before I leave.”
“When are you leaving?” Dell did not like this one bit and his voice relayed his displeasure, as did the large frown on his face.
“As soon as possible.” Leda headed toward the door but stopped before stepping out. She turned her head to look at him. “You’re going to make a good alpha.”
Before Dell could respond, she disappeared out the door. Staring at where she had been, he frowned. Something was not right, and as soon as he took care of Roslyn, he was going to find out what the hell was going on. As alpha, that was his job now, and he’d be damned if he let Leda go without knowing the truth. Even though she was of age, he was her alpha.
As he waited for the soup to heat, he sent a text to someone who may know more about Leda’s plans or may be the one to stop her.
Chapter 23
Dell slammed the hood of the truck he had been working on and looked around town. Snow had
fallen, leaving them under four inches of fresh snow. Winters in this part of Kentucky could be brutal, but he didn’t mind it.
His gaze went toward the coffee shop when he heard the door close. Roslyn was bundled up, carrying two cups of coffee. She gave him a radiant smile as she carefully made her way toward him.
“Thought you might like to be warmed up.” She grinned, then handed him the large coffee.
“Oh, I can think of much better ways to accomplish that than coffee.” He carefully wrapped his arm around her waist, careful of her coffee, with his free hand and held her close. He bent, giving her a kiss.
It had been two weeks since he had found her beaten and hanging from a tree. They had made good progress. She had finally opened up to everything that happened. As hard as it was for him to hear, it had helped them both heal because now he didn’t have to wonder what had actually happened. It was as bad as he had thought, but still better to hear from her instead of his mind playing havoc in that aspect. Their relationship was much stronger because of it. He loved this woman more than his own life and told her daily.
“So how long do you have to work?” She gave him a spicy grin.
“Actually, I’m finished for the day.” He winked, then laughed when she gave him a tight squeeze. “You ready to head home?”
“More than ready.”
They were still staying at the house at the end of the road, but soon, they would be in the house he built for his mate. It was being renovated to her tastes. Roslyn had been so shocked when he had given her free rein to do what she wanted and appreciative in more ways than just saying thank you. So much so, he thought about building her three more.
“You don’t want to go check on how the renovations are going at the house?” he teased, loving the way her face brightened with a blush.
“Maybe later.” She punched him. “Stop teasing me.”
“Never.” With a grin, he kissed her. “I love you.”
“And I love you,” she whispered against his lips.
Dell growled and pulled away reluctantly, so he could lock up the garage. Once done, he turned to see Sam walking past with his head down, kicking at the snow. Roslyn also saw him.
“Has anyone heard from Leda?” she asked, her eyes on Sam, Pepper trailing behind him.
“Not that I’ve heard.” Dell sighed. Leda had been gone for a week. Everyone tried to stop her from leaving, but she was adamant. In the end, she had just up and left, leaving a note saying it was time and she would keep in touch. So far no one had heard a word from her. He had expected Taz to take off after her, but so far, he’d not done that. But his short-fused mood proved that was exactly what he wanted to do. Why he hadn’t was a puzzle. Garrett and Janna were at a loss because Sam seemed to have reverted into himself.
“Give me a minute,” Dell said as he headed toward Sam. “Hey, buddy.”
Sam stopped, looking up at Dell. “Hey.” He stuck his hands in his pockets.
“What are you doing?” Dell pried as he knelt to pet Pepper.
“Nothin’.” Sam shrugged, then looked at the ground. “Ju… ju… just thinkin’.”
“Well, you know you can come to me about anything, Sam,” Dell told him. “We men need to stick together, you know.”
Sam peered at him with interest before he glanced away quickly. “Le… Leda shouldn’t have gone looking.”
“And why is that, Sam?” Dell frowned. Since the day Leda had shown up to speak to him two weeks earlier, Dell had a bad feeling something wasn’t right.
“I’m no… no… not allowed to ta… ta… talk about it.” Sam’s chin crumpled, but he held strong. “Ne… ne… never talk about it.”
He knew the kid wanted to offload and share, but someone had told him not to. “You know, Sam, as your alpha, I can make you tell me.” He gave Sam a serious look. “Is Leda in trouble?”
He nodded. This time his eyes filled with tears. “He’s a ba… ba… ba… bad man.”
“Who, your father?” Dell pushed, hoping Sam didn’t stop talking. Something scared him enough to keep him quiet this long, and if Leda was in trouble, they needed to know about it.
He shook his head. “The ma… man who killed him.”
Dell stared at him for a long time before standing. Their father was dead? Then who the hell was Leda going after? “Come on, Sam.” He reached out and took his hand. “I think we need to talk to Garrett.”
“I’m not supposed to… to… to tell.” Sam’s little hand shook in his larger one.
“If your sister is in trouble, you’re a hero by telling,” Dell reassured him. He reached out toward Roslyn with his other hand as they made their way up to Garrett’s.
His job was to keep the pack safe. Even with Leda not here, she remained his responsibility, and he’d be damned if anyone or anything hurt her.
Garrett came into the room as soon as they walked inside. His eyes went from Sam to his. “What is it?”
“You ready to talk, Sam?” Dell looked down at the boy who peered up at him and then Garrett, and nodded.
“Leda didn’t go… go… to find our da… da… dad.” Sam was having a hard time talking, indicating how nervous he really was. The more excited or frightened he was, the harder it was for him to talk.
“Then where did she go?” Garrett’s voice dropped into concern as he stared down at Sam.
Sam didn’t say anything, but just gazed at Garrett as the tears fell.
“It’s okay, Sam,” Dell reassured. “If Leda is in danger, we need to help her.”
“Sam, is Leda in danger?” Garrett knelt, his voice level so not to alarm the boy.
He nodded, and the tears began to fall. “Yeah.”
“By who?” Garrett persisted as calmly as he could. Dell was aware Garrett wanted to rush Sam, but they both knew that would be a mistake.
“Our uncle, ki… ki… killed him and our mo… mo… mom.” Sam started to cry in earnest. “He stole our pa… pa… pa… pa—”
“Pack?” Dell finished for him because Sam just couldn’t finish. “Your father was alpha, and your uncle killed your father and mother?”
Dell focused on Garrett who was staring at him. “You didn’t know any of this?”
“No. We’ve never known their past,” Garrett said, then cursed as he stood. He quickly realized his actions had upset Sam even more. Kneeling back down, he took Sam gently by the arms. “Sam, you did the right thing. I promise you nothing will happen to Leda.”
“I wasn’t su… supposed to tell.” He sniffed, wiping his eyes. “She’ll be m… ma… mad.”
“She loves you, Sam.” Roslyn, who had been quiet, added. “She won’t be mad at you.”
“Do you know where your father’s pack was?” Dell asked Sam, hoping to hell he knew.
“Kingsman,” Sam said without a stutter.
“Son of a bitch!” Garrett stood, his eyes wide with shock. “Your last name is Kingsman. Your father was Jason Kingsman.”
Sam nodded as the tears fell once more. Roslyn stepped in and hugged the boy. “How about we go get something to drink?”
Dell waited until Sam was out of the room. “It can’t be the same Kingsman.”
“The hell it can’t.” Garrett ran his hand down his face. Then he grabbed his phone out of his pocket. “I’m calling Sloan. This is their territory so they can look for her until we get there.”
Garrett waved Dell to follow him while he talked to Sloan on the phone. They walked through the kitchen, and he gave Roslyn a look of worry before disappearing. He followed Garrett into what he figured was Leda’s room.
“Sloan, it’s Garrett,” Garrett said into his phone. “I need a favor.”
Garrett was silent for a minute as he turned on Leda’s computer. He went to the Internet and looked through the history. Sure enough, Leda was researching names, a lot of names.
“Leda’s in your area and may be in trouble,” Garrett said, then cursed when something came up on the screen. It was a story about Jason
Kingman’s and his wife, Maggie Kingman’s murder. Dell read over his shoulder as it talked about their two missing children. A photo of Leda with brown hair, and Sam came up on the screen as Garrett scowled.
Dell was too busy reading the article to hear the whole conversation. He looked up to see a notebook with papers sticking out of it. He reached and grabbed it. Opening it, notes upon notes with pictures of different men and a few women filled the pages.
“Okay, I appreciate it. We’ll be there as soon as we can,” Garrett said, then ended the call. He took the notebook from Dell when Dell handed it to him. “I knew him. I knew their father.”
Dell glanced back at the computer to see Leda staring back at him. “You never knew their past?”
“We never pressed them,” Garrett said, as he cursed while looking through all her notes. “Janna said that Leda refused to talk about it, and we never felt a reason to demand it of them. I gave them my last name. Son of a bitch!”
“We’ll find her.” Dell sent out a text before following Garrett back downstairs.
Soon the kitchen was filled with Hunter, Marcus, and the rest of the recruits. Taz stood alert, as if knowing this had to do with Leda.
“Sam, why don’t you let Pepper go outside for a minute?” Garrett smiled down at the boy.
“Is this ab…about Leda?” he asked knowingly.
“Yes, son it is.” Garrett ruffled his hair. “We’re going to find her.”
Sam nodded, looking confused. “Leda wants our pa… pa… pack back. Girls can’t be… be… a alp… alp… alpha, can they?” Sam’s eyes were wide, but when no one answered, he looked toward Taz. “Don’t le… let… him hu… hu… hurt her.” He then turned and ran out the door, with Pepper hot on his heels.
“What’s going on?” Taz was alert, his eyes narrowed.
Garrett tossed the papers on the table. “Leda didn’t go looking for her father.” He stopped talking as Janna walked into the room.
“What’s wrong?” The concern in her voice was unmistakable.
Forbidden Temptation (Lee County Wolves Series) Book #4 Page 15