by April Zyon
A laugh burst out. “Despite my mother’s best efforts most women don’t get the fact I won’t just drop everything at their every whim. That there are days where I get lost in the work and won’t hear my phone ringing. That while I’m the boss I’m also the only one there doing the work. Plus there’s the fact I tend to get scatterbrained and don’t always remember what day it is unless it’s super important to me.” Like their thirteenth yet first official face-to-face date.
“So will the moment of our official date be one that you will recall?” She was teasing him. He could see it in her eyes. “Because I know that this date will be one that is forever etched into my memories. I really do happen to love the idea that maybe, just maybe, I will earn a place in your memories?”
“I have it marked on my phone calendar with all the bells and whistles. I’m horrible with dates, usually can’t remember names, but I have my ways to get around such obstacles. Mostly thanks to technology.”
“Oh really? And what would I ever do with you, Piran Raske, if you forgot my name? How would I ever forgive something so terrible? If we were making love and you shouted another woman’s name, what then?” She was baiting him.
Piran figured it was time to get his own back. “Well, I don’t know, Georgia. No, wait, it’s Bobby, right? Shit, that’s not correct, gimme a second here.” Tapping a finger to his chin, he put on his thinking face, then scrunched up his nose. “Crap, it’s on the tip of my tongue. Help me out here, would you?”
She snickered, then shook her head. “Oh no, you don’t get off that easily. Think, think very hard. I’m the one who it took you thirteen dates to meet. Come on, I know you have this, Alessio.” That little wench was using another name for him? Oh the audacity. “Or is it Max? What was your name again? I think that I’ve become forgetful as well.”
“You are going to get spanked for that later, you little witch. I can’t believe you are using my own forgetfulness against me. Shame on you, Quinn.” Wrapping an arm around her waist, he hauled her in close to bite her lower lip. “Say my name and I’ll make sure you enjoy every smack to that sweet ass more than you thought possible.”
“Oh really?” She had moved her hands to touch his, and he felt her relaxing in his arms. “Makes me wish we could just stay in bed all day.” She sighed. “Remind me again what we have to do today.”
“Well, my office manager is still out sick. I do need to go in for a while today to put a layer of lacquer on the headboard and then crate up the other pieces for pickup by the shipping company late this afternoon. We have time for a little hanky-panky, I think.” Giving her a kiss, he smacked her ass and shooed her off. “Quit distracting me, you little minx. I need to finish cooking breakfast and not burn it, or you’ll be a lot less impressed by my limited skills.”
“Food first.” She snorted in derision and danced out of his touches. Damn, he needed to learn how she did that. “Food and then hanky-panky. I’ll even clean up.” There was a moment’s hesitation before she added, “It is still safe, right? I mean you won’t be hurt or caught unaware if we head out? Now that I know what you are I can understand why you were so sure you could take care of us both, but I’m still asking you anyway. Will it be okay?”
Cupping her cheek, he stared into her eyes. “We’ll be fine,” he said softly. “We’re not going to take any chances, and if either one of us has a bad feeling we turn our asses around to come home. We’re not going to let him dictate our lives, but we’re also going to be smart about every move we make until he is locked up or dead.” Piran was hoping for the latter, even though he knew the guy deserved to rot in prison. He personally wanted to rip the man’s throat out for the pain he’d caused Quinn.
She leaned into his touch. He noticed again just how much she mimicked some of his moves. If she were a shifter, she would be a cat with the way she was rubbing her cheek to his hand, and damn he wanted to hear her purr. “I trust you.” That gutted him, that she trusted him so fast. He soaked in those words from her and enjoyed them. “As much as I hate to say this, I’m hopeful he will die. He’s escaped more than once and has proven more often than not he can easily reach outside of jail at any time. Heaven only knows I have the scars to prove it.”
Piran couldn’t have stopped himself if he’d wanted, and he didn’t want to. Instantly he wrapped her up in his arms to hold her close. “He will never, ever hurt you again. I will kill the bastard before he gets close to you. No one does my mate harm, mental or physical, and lives.”
She turned her face up to him and nodded. “I know you will. I know you will do whatever you have to in order for us to both be safe. You’ve even given up the full mating with me until I can get on birth control. You have no idea how much that means to me.”
“You’re my other half, Quinn. I would never be so callous as to take away your choices. To hurt you is to hurt me.” Dropping a light kiss to her lips, he cuddled her a moment more before releasing her to rescue the first waffles. “Sit down, sweetheart.”
Once she was settled, he served her and she began to slather her waffle in peanut butter. He wanted to gag, but he kept his face neutral. “Can you grab me the milk I put in the freezer when you come to have a seat with me, please?”
When the hell had she done that? “Yes, dear,” he said, partially a tease and partially to buy himself time while replaying her movements through the kitchen. He poured more batter onto the grill, then shut the lid and put the sausages on a plate, adding it to the other items on the table.
Once he had everything on the table and was sitting beside her, she winked at him. “All right, eat up. I’m starving and I really, really want to finish eating so that we can work off all these calories.”
“Eat all you want, little mate. I want you happy, sated, and several other things, too. Makes me happy to see you like this.” Reaching over, he tucked a piece of her hair back and stroked her cheek with his fingertips. “Eat up. We have many calories to burn in delightful ways.”
“Goodness, I love when you talk like that.” She all but purred in her happiness, and the way she closed her eyes halfway and leaned into his touch went straight to his gut. “Yes, many calories to burn before we have to go and face the real world so that you can finish that beautiful headboard for that lucky couple and I can help you dodge your momma’s calls. Let’s just hope she doesn’t stop by. That would be seriously awkward. Especially if I had you naked when she did.”
Chapter Twelve
Two weeks later…
Quinn was on pins and needles and had been for two weeks. It had been too long. She was shocked that she hadn’t been found yet. She hated this, hated that she was always jumping at the shadows, but she had a reason to be terrified. The man who was hunting her had no qualms in taking lives, and he would do everything in order to kill her.
Once more she looked out the window of his shop and frowned. “Piran.” She called his name, then laughed. He was so into a piece he was working on that he hadn’t heard her. She moved to him and put her hand on his back, a place she’d realized she could touch him and he would respond. “Hey, can you come look at this?” she asked. “The back alley, there is something, well, it’s kinda weird. It’s like one of those four-by-four mini trucks that people drive with remote controls, but it looks like it has a camera or something on it. I could be wrong. I hope I’m wrong.”
Instantly he was on his feet, setting the chisels aside. He wrapped his arm around her waist and let her take him to the window. Frowning, he tilted his head in that way she associated with his jaguar. “Quinn, call the sheriff right now,” he said in a calm, low tone. “Back away from the window and head into the employee lounge. Now.”
She grabbed her phone and, once she was locked in the employee lounge, she dialed the sheriff. “Sheriff, Piran told me to call you. Something very, very bad is going on. Please get here quickly? I don’t like him being without someone to watch his back other than me.”
“I have deputies in the area on another call
that turned out to be nothing. I’m sending them straight over. What’s going on there?” She heard him cover the phone and the muffled yelling to get moving and something else she couldn’t quite make out. “Talk to me, Quinn. What’s happening?”
“It’s so strange. It looks like one of those little RC four-by-four trucks but it looks modified, like there is a camera on top of it. I can’t be sure but I think that’s what it is. So either a kid is having a field day recording the alleys in the town, or something very bad is happening.”
“If Piran told you to call me for that, it’s a lot worse than some kid out trying to film under the ladies’ skirts around town. Are you tucked somewhere safe?” he asked. “Shit, hold on a second.” The phone became muffled again to where she could hear the drone of voices but nothing else for long minutes. “I’m on my way to you now. I have the marshals and we have a huge problem. A resident was found tied up with his wife in the garage. Their paperboy came round to pick up the money for the next week and heard them trying to get attention. Kid is freaked out but I think we have unwanted guests in town. Are you safe?”
“I’m in Piran’s workshop employee lounge for now but he’s not safe. I need to get to him.” She was freaking out and knew it. “Hurry, Sheriff. I’m going back out to Piran and I’m damn well going armed.” Thank God she had a gun and had it with her today. “I’m hanging up now.” That quickly she was walking toward the door. She slipped out of the lounge and into the workshop without even the slightest hesitation.
A strong arm wrapped around her waist and yanked her in to the hard, warm body she recognized on contact. His scent reached her a second later. “What the hell are you doing, woman? I told you to stay in there. You know, where it’s fucking safe.” Piran turned her in his arms to hug her tightly to him. “You’re trying to give me a heart attack, aren’t you?” Holy Christ, she hadn’t even seen him when she’d walked out of the lounge. It was like he’d appeared out of nowhere.
“No, but I didn’t want you to be out there without someone to watch your back. I called the sheriff and he’s sending people over now. You are coming into the break room with me, right? I don’t want to be alone right now, and I sure don’t want you to be alone either.”
“Do you honestly think I’d leave you alone?” Clicking his tongue, he urged her back into the break room, then pulled the door shut and bolted it. At her look, he shrugged. “If they get inside past all the security that I armed, which I was doing when someone was leaving the safe room she was supposed to be in, that’ll hold them a bit longer. I didn’t really see anyone out there, but that camera was pretty high tech, so it’s not a kid.”
“It was the sound that I caught first, and then I saw the shadow moving that had me coming to you.” She was hugging him tightly. “I’m so sorry this is putting you and the people in this town in danger.” She hated that these men were coming for her in this town that was so amazing. These people had become her family, even if she had tried to push everyone away from her.
“Hush, sweetheart. This is not your fault in any way. But you have given me an idea,” he muttered. Digging out his phone, he pressed some buttons. “Sorry to bug you at work, bear, but I think my girl’s psychotic father might be making an appearance. I’d go through channels but since we’re in my shop, alone, on the edge of town I don’t think I have time. The sheriff is coming but we might need a little backup to keep civilians safe. Thanks, Jagger. I owe you one. No, I’m serious, dude. We’ll talk about this later and you won’t win.” With a laugh, he hung up the phone and stuck it in his pocket.
“A bear?” she asked with a frown. “Okay, so you are asking a bear to come and help us. Does he have others that will come, too? I’m sure that my father’s goons would shit their pants if a bunch of really big bears were to show up.”
“Several of his employees are part of his clan. He also has a few members that work in the more immediate area. Jagger’s a good guy and an even better ally in a fight. Normal way to do things would have been to call my alpha and have him call Jagger. I’ll hear about cutting corners later but to hell with it. I’m more concerned with keeping my mate alive than going through proper channels.”
Suddenly, Piran’s head jerked around and he let out a snarl. “Gunshots.” He had his head tilted to the side again. “Four different ones from what I can make out, maybe five. And there are the bears. Nice timing, Jagger. If he ends up with a hole in him, his mate will kick my fucking ass. She looks all sweet but she’s a fierce little thing.”
A minute later his phone rang, making her jump. Tugging her closer, he pressed a kiss to her temple and put the phone to his ear. “Yup. Uh-huh. Seriously? All right, we’re coming out.” Hanging up, he pocketed it and took her hand in his to tug her to the door he unbolted. “Stay right at my side. We have to stay in the only blind spot I left in the system to reach the panel and disarm the system.”
“Don’t worry, I’m not planning on going anywhere further than I have to from you.” If anything, she clung to his side even tighter. She held on to him for all she was worth as they very slowly worked their way through his shop and toward the control panel. Reaching the panel, he flipped down the cover and punched in the code. A second later all the lights on the elaborate board flashed green and she heard what sounded like clunks and bangs. She watched as he disarmed the system. Then she wrapped her arm around his waist and followed along at his side when they left the area. “Okay, so what now?” She hoped that his friends were out there and waiting for them.
“Now we open the door and find out who all was out there. The sheriff didn’t sound all that happy. Somehow that’s translating to your father not being among those that came gunning for you. But we’ll know in a moment.” Pulling open the door, he shielded her body with his own when he looked out. Apparently satisfied, he gently tugged her along with him to where the sheriff stood rubbing his neck. His phone was pressed to his ear, but he glanced up as they approached.
At the far end of the alley, several huge men—the bears, she assumed—stood clustered together, talking to an officer. All she saw of the people who had attacked them were shadows behind the darkly tinted glass of the squad cars. She moved along with Piran, then stopped when he did before the sheriff. Once the large man was off the phone, she looked up at him. “Please tell me that you have him or someone knows where he is.”
The sheriff shot a look to Piran before answering her. He shook his head slowly. “He wasn’t here, likely never was even close. Best guess is he was on the other end of the camera watching. This feels like a test run to see what might be between them and you. I’m going to say that I think they are reevaluating their strategy about now.”
“How did they even know she was here, with me?” Piran asked.
“No idea. Beyond myself and her former handler, no one knew she was staying with you. Except your alpha, I’m guessing. But it’s not like he’s going to sell her out to the bad guys. She’s pack. Although all it would take was someone watching the two of you moving through the town, I suppose.”
That had her feeling ill. “Joe’s the only one who knew what town I was in, period,” she told them. “No one else knew. He set up everything on the down-low so that no other handler would know where I was. He said it was the safest thing for me, for only him to know where I was. You don’t think that maybe he could have…” She trailed off with that.
Piran was shaking his head. “I wasn’t picking up any deceit from him. Annoyance, frustration, irritation, and dislike but that’s it. Pretty sure the last was specifically directed at me, while the others were more to the situation you’re in. Someone figured it out. Whether they trailed him because he was being secretive or broke into his house or electronics to look for anything odd they could track back, who knows.” He stopped suddenly and looked around. “Where is Joe?”
“He should have been here. I called and told him something was going down when I was already heading over. Even if he caught every traffic light in town,
all six of them, he should have been here right at the tail end.” The men shared another look that had the sheriff cursing and grabbing his radio. “Josie, sweetheart, do me a favor and send squad three and four over to check on that friend of mine, Joe. He should have met me at the scene, and he’s currently a no-show.” A garbled answer came through that the sheriff seemed to understand and he sent a confirmation back.
Quinn looked up at Piran and frowned. “What are you thinking happened?” She wasn’t sure which was worse, Joe being part of the plot to take her or him somehow being hurt.
“Not sure, but there’s no way Joe wouldn’t have been here. Which leaves two options. Both of which are bad with your father involved. For now you and I are going back to the house while the sheriff and his deputies do their thing here. Just let me grab our coats and lock up.”
“Should we have someone come with us to the house?”
“No. It’s also jaguar lands, which means unless someone is invited they are considered a threat. If it hasn’t be cleared. Did I mention there are serious politics with the packs? Are we feeling the love that’s involved with six distinct packs all living in the same general area? Fucking nightmare is what it is,” he muttered. Huffing out a breath, Piran hugged her. “Sorry. You don’t need to hear me bitching about this stuff when we have much bigger concerns. Let’s get our stuff and head home. The sooner you’re surrounded by jaguars, the happier I’ll be. And that just sounded wrong even to me.”
“Right … okay. And you aren’t bitching, Piran.”
He tugged her to the building and inside, handing over her jacket and purse in the next minute. Shrugging into his own jacket, he led her back outside and set the system before locking the doors. He reached for the truck, then paused with his hand an inch from the door. “I’m not usually this paranoid, but I want to check out the truck before we climb in.”