by Bear Naked
“Melissa, we all knew how he felt for you, but I certainly wouldn’t have ever thought he would have done any of that shit.” The sound of the clock on the wall ticking down the seconds seemed so loud.
“I know talking to him won’t do any good, but I also think putting some distance between us is the best thing right now. I mean, I tried to explain everything to him over the phone, hoped he got it this time, but I also think that we can’t have a friendship anymore. He just is too invested in his feelings for me to be happy that I’ve found my mate. I don’t want him hurt, but I also want to start my life.” The sound of Ary’s kids laughing had Melissa smiling.
“He may have been a nice guy, or at least we all thought that, but he was also creepy in the way he vied for your attention.” There was shuffling on the other end and then kids screaming and the sound of fighting proceeding. Ary sighed heavily. “See what you’ll have soon.” Melissa wanted that. She wanted the kids screaming and fighting, the chaos that came with that, and just having a house full of life.
“Can’t wait.” Ary chuckled, but Melissa knew her friend probably thought she was being sarcastic. Melissa had never expressed her desire for all of that, but she hoped now that she found her mate she could finally have it. But it was still very early in her mating, and a lot of things could change. She and Declan still needed to get to know each other. “Listen, it sounds like World War Three is about to hit your house, so I’ll let you go.” As if to prove her point Cole yelled something at his sister.
“Yeah, that might be best. If I don’t get control of these two I might end up having a mental breakdown.”
Once they were off the phone Melissa sat there and thought about everything that had transpired over the last few days. The mark Declan had given her throbbed as if to solidify the fact that she was really mated. After she had dropped off Manny’s car this morning before work she had sensed something volatile brewing within Manny. It wasn’t just that he was hung-over, which had been pretty damn clear. It was the way he had looked at her, as if he was seeing right into her very soul. To say it was a little unnerving was an understatement. She looked at the clock, saw she had to meet Declan at the steak house about ten minutes from the office, and knew she needed to get her ass in gear or she’d be late. She stood, grabbed her purse, and right when she reached for her cell a text came through.
Manny: Let’s straighten things out soon. I think we both deserve to be happy.
The text wasn’t really anything specific, almost kind of cryptic in a way, and she contemplated responding. But Melissa didn’t really know what to say to it. Instead she sent a text to Declan saying she’d be there in fifteen, put her phone in her purse, and headed out the front door. She locked up and headed around the side of the building and to the employee parking lot. Grabbing her keys from her purse, she saw her cell light up with another incoming text.
Declan: Good, because I’m about ready to gnaw off my own arm.
Melissa laughed out loud and sent him a quick smiley face before shoving her phone in her purse and unlocking the driver’s side door, but her wolf rose up violently, growling and clawing at the feeling of danger that slammed into her from behind. The scent that slammed into her was familiar, and shock as well as betrayal filled her. But before she could turn around and deliver the promise of her wolf tearing some shit up, someone reached around her, pressed a cloth to her nose, and held it there tightly. Melissa inadvertently sucked in a huge breath at the thought of suffocation, and a sickly sweet smell filled her nose. She struggled, but it didn’t take long for her limbs to feel like they were made of steel and her head to become too heavy for her to hold up any longer as darkness swept over and took her under.
****
Maverick stood behind Declan as he hacked into various businesses around Sweet Water, trying to find out any information on the supplier of the drug being distributed. “I’ve brought up the lab that supplies the pharmacy in Sweet Water and some of the surrounding cities. They are the most likely focal points. They have the set up needed to cook everything up, but then again we could be dealing with someone working out of a trailer in the middle of nowhere.” He looked over his shoulder at Maverick.
“This isn’t an episode of Breaking Bad.” Maverick’s expression was stern and hard, but this situation was far from funny. Dead bodies were involved, children of residents of Sweet Water, and they wanted justice. Declan had been assigned this task to find the bastards involved in this, but he wouldn’t be the one delivering justice. It was up to the residents of this town, the ones that had lost their loved ones, to handle this. Even if Declan wanted to fuck up the ones responsible for this, to keep Melissa safe, he was stepping back when the time came to handle business.
He turned back around and hacked into the mainframe of the pharmaceutical company that had recently taken over some property at the edge of town last year. Declan pulled up employee records, shipment accounts, and supply receipts, trying to figure out if anything was out of the ordinary. But the employee image that came up had recognition slamming into Declan. He scanned the profile for Robert Phillip Martin. And it was when Declan got to the next of kin section that he saw why this Robert male was so familiar.
“You know that guy or something? You’re checking out his details pretty thoroughly.” Maverick moved from behind him to take a seat beside Declan.
“No, I don’t know him personally, but I know of his brother.” Declan opened another screen and typed out the information that would bring up Manual Richard Martin’s information. Maverick leaned forward and scanned the file that was brought up.
“Shit, look at their IQ scores.” Maverick pointed to first Robert’s information, and then did the same to Manny’s. “And look at what they studied and excelled at in college. Chemistry, man.” Maverick leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest.
Declan continued to read over Robert’s employee report. “He’s only been employed with Harrow Pharmaceuticals for the past year, and in fact was one of their first employees.” Declan continued to read. “And look at the department he oversees.”
“Drug composition and properties, and synthesis and drug design.” Yeah, it was fucking Greek to Declan, too, but he knew enough basic shit to know what that all boiled down to. “The guy has his hands deep in creating the shit in those labs, Declan.”
Declan minimized the files and pulled up several cameras that were located around Sweet Water. He had to do some fancy work to bring up older footage, especially when the city crashed the shit after a month’s time, or at least thought they did. There was always a way to get the information on the internet. But compared to some of the things Declan had done, this was child’s play. Sweet Water had implemented the cameras after the explosion in Kashton, and the news about Trent Sharpe’s drug organization. He scanned through several days of footage, starting with when the drugs had first starting making their rounds through Sweet Water. It was a long, tedious process, but he finally got the first image he had been looking for: Robert and Manny meeting up at Harrow in the middle of the night and hauling out boxes from the back of the building. He scanned other dates, and they always ended up in monthly trips to Harrow. But the last thing he picked up was the van they packed the boxes in disappearing down Perkins Road, where the cameras no longer tracked.
“The only thing out there is land.” Declan looked over at Maverick and nodded. “Man, we need to be positive these two guys are the ones that have their hands in on this shit. For all we know they are just supplying the chemicals.” But even Declan could hear the doubt in Maverick’s words. Declan shook his head.
“No, I know these two are involved. Their education and background alone is enough to make me sure they are the ones cooking the fucking shit, but after the way I saw that Manny asshole act after I claimed Melissa,” Declan shook his head again, “I have no doubts Robert is just as sick as his brother.” Maverick looked at his watch. “I have a dinner thing with Melissa, but that works out good because
I don’t want her anywhere near this when it goes down. And it will go down.”
“Where do you plan on taking her to keep her safe?”
“I have my cabin on the other side of town, opposite from where I think those assholes are making the drugs. She’ll be safe there.”
Maverick nodded and stood. “All right. Call me when you’re ready to head out, but it needs to be tonight. Even if they aren’t out there, as long as we can find the place and verify that that is where the drugs are being created, I’m sure we can scent out if they are involved.”
“I’ll find out what housing is out there, and see if either of them owns the property. I’m going to assume it’s probably located in the middle of fucking nowhere.”
Maverick nodded again. He clapped him on the back.
“Thanks, brother. I’m not going to tell Link until we know for sure.”
Declan turned around in his chair.
“He still wanting to dish out the punishment?”
They stared at each other for a moment.
“I don’t know, although I know he and Trace were discussing all of that earlier. He might be leaning towards going the legal way.” Maverick grabbed his leather jacket and put it on. “He just wants justice for his kid, but I think he would rather the prick rot in prison than take the easy way out.”
“Yeah, I know, and I can’t blame him.” He watched Maverick leave, and turned around to finish getting the information he needed before he headed out. Declan knew this was going to be one very long, most likely fucked-up night.
Chapter Twelve
Melissa’s stomach roiled, and that must have been what roused her. She slowly opened her eyes, blinking away the haziness that was her current vision, but when she tried to lift her hands to rub her eyes she realized she was restrained. Her vision cleared enough that she was able to actually make out what was in front of her, but nothing was familiar. Taking inventory of her body, she was thankful nothing hurt aside from her head, but she assumed that was from whatever Manny had drugged her with. And she knew it was Manny from the familiar scent of him that hadn’t been cloaked well enough with the chemical stench that had surrounded him. She was in a chair, with her arms bound behind her back, and her legs roped together. She looked around again. She was in a cabin, with a fire blazing to her left, and the smell of spices coming to her from the right. The pounding in her head started to become less painful with each breath she took. Raised voices suddenly came from a backroom, and she tensed when the door opened. But it was not Manny that stepped out, but his older brother.
“You’re up.” His voice was bland with disinterest.
“Robert?” She hadn’t seen him since she had gone to Manny’s college graduation and Robert had been there. He was only a year older than they were, but he had always had this apathetic personality, kept to himself in school, and immersed himself in his studies. Both Martin brothers were intelligent, excelling in high school and at the university. But she had always felt this detachment with Robert, and it seemed everyone else got the same vibes around him because they tended to stay away. But Robert looked different, more controlled even. The brothers looked very alike with their dark hair parted on the side, their glasses, and this air about them that had been classified as the “geeks” in school. She had never liked the labels people put on others, even if they didn’t understand them, but with Robert it wasn’t just about what was on the outside. As she stared at him right now there was something dark inside of the meerkat shifter, and even though his animal was one of the weaker species in the shifter community, her wolf was hesitant and stayed back. There was something very uncomfortable and uneasy in the way he watched her, and that had a million different red flags going off inside of her. Robert faced her and leaned against the counter that separated the kitchen and living room.
“I told him to leave you alone, but my brother has this sick fascination with you.” He tilted his head to the side, and this was the first time she noticed the mask around his neck. How she had missed it was beyond her. “He’s always held this torch for you, but I don’t see it. You’re far too ill-tempered and strong willed for my taste. I prefer a female that will bend no matter what.” Her stomach clenched at the words he said, because laced with them was this sick desire, and she could just imagine the kind of things he liked to do to make a female break. She looked down at the gas mask type thing again. It wasn’t very large, just big enough to cover his nose and mouth, but it also wasn’t one of those paper ones either. “You know what I use this for?” He ran his finger along the mask, and she snapped her eyes up to him, but before she could respond Manny was walking out with the same mask around his neck.
“Melissa.” Manny said her name like they were lovers or something. It was all gentle and caring, but held this warped sense of affection. He knelt in front of her, and she leaned back as much as the restraints allowed. “Don’t be like that, Melissa.”
“Don’t be like what?” Her wolf rose up a little in front of Manny, but was still apprehensive around Robert and this dark vibe he let off. He certainly had gotten worse over the years.
“You look at me like you don’t even know who I am.” Manny was on his haunches close to her, and fortunately Robert stayed against the counter.
“I don’t know who you are, Manny.” This hurt look crossed his face, but she didn’t give a shit.
“I’m the same male you have known nearly your whole life.”
She shook her head. “No, the guy I knew my whole life would never have drugged me, kidnapped me, tied me up like some kind of hog, and sure as hell wouldn’t have played me for a fool after I found my mate.” She gritted her teeth and tested the restraints.
“You can try all you want to get out of those.” Robert gestured to the rope that bound her. “But those knots will only tighten when you struggle.” Melissa stilled and watched the nasty-ass smile spread across Robert’s face.
“You asshole.” He shrugged, looking unconcerned. She turned her attention back to Manny. “Declan will come for me, Manny, and there won’t be anything anyone can do to stop what he does to you.” An evil look crossed Manny’s face, but Melissa was feeling a hell of a lot of anger and betrayal right now, and she was going to let Manny know exactly how she felt. “You’re a spineless coward, and so is your brother.” She snapped her eyes to Robert, not caring that this male was even more unstable and evil than Manny. Manny sighed, but Robert pushed off the counter and moved toward her in angry strides. She knew he was going to hit her before he brought the back of his hand across the side of her face. Her head jerked to the side from the force of his blow, and she tasted the metallic tang of blood as her teeth sliced into her lip. “You asshole. What kind of male hits a woman, especially one that can’t even defend herself?” Maybe the smart thing to do was to keep her mouth shut, but that wasn’t who she was, and Melissa wasn’t about to let these little dick bastards win. She spit a mouthful of blood and saliva on the ground by his feet, heard his hiss of outrage, and knew he was going to hit her again. But before he could slap her Manny had his body between hers and his brother’s.
“Don’t hit her again, Robert.” There was strength in Manny’s voice that she had never heard before, but Melissa didn’t give a shit.
“You should have never brought her here. This complicates everything, especially if she’s mated.” Robert stormed away, but she didn’t miss how he put the mask on his face as he stalked to the backroom. He slammed the door shut, and she was left alone with Manny. Her anger and rage started to grow, as did the need to shift into her wolf. But shifting while she was bound wasn’t that smart, and would only make her more vulnerable. The ropes could get tangled around her paws when she was in wolf form, and unless she knew she had enough time to make sure she could get out of it if that happened, she didn’t want to risk it with them so close.
“I wouldn’t even try shifting, Melissa,” Many said, but he seemed tired all of a sudden. “We won’t leave you alone long enough to m
ake any real progress, and I don’t want to have to drug you again.” Her blood ran cold at his words. “It will make things so much easier if you just play nice.”
“You know me well enough that I am not just going to sit back and allow myself to be a victim.”
He sighed and nodded. “Yeah, I know, and that is why you will get drugged again, be bound to the bed in the back room, and have a gag shoved in your mouth.” She didn’t flinch even though his words were said so coldly and maliciously. “I can’t have you hurting yourself or Robert or me.” He sighed, removed his glasses to rub his eyes, and placed them back on the bridge of his nose. “I’m sorry about all of this, but I think if we just spend some time together, you will realize that we were meant for each other, Melissa.” He leaned forward until there was hardly any space between their faces, and before she could react he pressed his lips on hers. Bile rose in her throat when he moved his tongue along her lips. She snapped at him, and pleasure slammed into her when he grunted in pain. He pulled back, and she saw the blood that lined his lip. “You’re angry right now, but everything will work out, Melissa.”
“Declan will come for me.”
Manny narrowed his eyes at her. “He can’t find you out there. This place is under Robert’s name, and he doesn’t know anything about my brother.” She didn’t mention the fact that Declan’s job was to find people that couldn’t be found by anyone else.
“You can’t keep me here forever.”
Manny walked over to the kitchen and checked a few pots on the stove. “We won’t be staying here very long. The heat is getting too strong right now with those bodies being found. Robert and I just need to finish this last batch to distribute since we have orders for triple the profit. It would be foolish to leave when that kind of money is on the line.” He turned and looked at her, and it was then that she realized what he was talking about. “But we know that some local bikers are searching for the suppliers of the drugs since one of their kids up and died.” He shrugged, sounding completely unconcerned. It took her only seconds to understand what he was talking about, and when she realized her stomach dropped and a cold sweat broke out along her forehead.