by Becca Van
Every once in a while Alyson looked toward the hallway and kept an eye out for her three men. They hadn’t shown their faces at the bar since that confrontation earlier in the afternoon, and she wondered what they were doing. Are they still talking about me? Have they had some news about Virgil? God, why do I care what they are doing so much? Alyson couldn’t believe how quickly she had grown to depend on them. It felt like there was an empty hole in her heart, and she knew only those three could fill it. And they hadn’t even claimed her yet. Would that make her feel more complete? Would it be harder to stay away from them?
The desire to stay with them and be a part of their lives grew the more she got to know them. Maybe tonight they could talk about it some more, she thought. She could apologize for not telling them about seeing Virgil and ask all her questions about life in the pack.
After helping Carter with the drink orders, Alyson did another sweep of the tables, collecting more dirty dishes, and took them into the kitchen. She spied Cherry at the back door. She was half in and half out of the entrance, and it looked like she was talking to someone while she smoked a cigarette. The stench wafted into the kitchen, making Alyson crinkle her nose with distaste. As she approached to ask Cherry to close the door, Cherry looked over her shoulder. Her face seemed to drain of color and then went bright red.
What’s with her? Maybe she feels bad to be caught smoking?
Cherry quickly stepped outside and closed the door behind her. Alyson gave a mental shrug and got back to her chores.
* * * *
He had bided his time, and his patience had paid off.
You can’t get rid of me by turning off your cell phone. The phone’s GPS and Virgil’s connections had gotten him as far as Aztec, but his target had disappeared before he could close in. It was just his luck. Ten months of searching fruitlessly for Mary had given him a taste for failure, but he wouldn’t fail any longer. The bitch from the shelter might have hidden Mary too well for him to find her again, but Virgil now knew exactly where to find Alyson Redding.
When he’d lost the GPS signal, he’d switched to plan B. This morning he’d questioned one of the delivery drivers from the warehouse in Bloomfield, the one where his contacts told him she’d last been hired to work. He’d missed her only by a day, but the driver said she wouldn’t be around anymore. When he’d offered the other driver cash, the young man had told him he’d overheard his boss on the phone and she was now working and living in Aztec.
Now, at last, he’d gotten lucky. When he had seen her through that window he’d thought for a moment he had conjured her from his imagination.
Sneering with glee and rubbing his hands together, he walked around to the rear of the building, making plans. She had to pay for taking his family away. Now he had no one, not even his job. If it hadn’t been for that bitch Alyson, he would still have everything. She had to pay for what she’d done to him.
He was so much better than anyone else. Who did the slut think she was, helping his wife and daughter to leave him? He didn’t really care about his job or colleagues. It was the principle of the situation he found himself in. He was lucky he had more than enough money to live off the interest for the rest of his life if he wanted to, thanks to the money his parents had bequeathed him at their deaths and his acumen with investments. What he lacked was a way to close in on his prey. Alyson Redding was safely inside the Aztec Club, which seemed to be full of huge, fierce-looking men. Brute force wouldn’t get her out of there. Virgil needed another way.
The rear door to the club opened just as he entered the alley, and a redhead stood on the top step and lit a smoke. Yes, this is perfect. It was meant to be. He approached the dour-looking woman and pasted a smile onto his face.
“Hi there, I was wondering if you knew Alyson Redding?”
She looked him up and down, eying his designer watch and clothes. A smile spread over her face, replacing the hard look she had first given him. “Why do you want her?”
“She’s my cousin,” he lied. “I have some bad news regarding a family member and didn’t want to have to tell her over the phone.”
“Oh, too bad,” the woman said insincerely. “She doesn’t get a break for another two hours. If you can wait, I’ll bring her out after the dinner hour.”
“Thank you. I’d appreciate it. Have you got a cell phone?”
“Yeah. What of it?”
“If you would allow me to give you my cell number, you can call or text me just before you bring her out. I want to go to the motel and reserve a room.”
“Sure.”
“I don’t want her upset without me by her side to offer comfort.”
Cherry turned her head, exhaling smoke. Something seemed to catch her attention out of the corner of her eye. She looked back over her shoulder, her eyes widened, and she hastily shut the door into the club.
“What was that?” Virgil asked. “Did someone hear us?”
“It was nothing.” Cherry had a calculating look on her face. “Since I’m being so helpful, don’t I deserve a reward?”
He gazed at her silently for a moment. He had a suspicion that Alyson had been on the other side of the door just now and that Cherry had deliberately blocked him from seeing her. The bitch wasn’t as dumb as she looked, he reflected.
The fact remained that she was his best way to get to Alyson so far. Reaching into his jacket, he pulled out his checkbook. When he’d written the check and handed it to Cherry, he asked, “Is that satisfactory?”
Her eyes widened. “Uh…yeah…Virgil Minogue, that’s your name?”
“Keep that to yourself,” he said, “and maybe there’s another check in it for you.”
Cherry folded the check and stuffed it in her bra. She gave him a simpering smile. “Okay.”
She’s mine now.
He bid her good-bye and watched as she went back inside. He was going to have to prepare quickly since he hadn’t expected to find her so fast.
Chapter Twelve
Alyson took a seat at the bar and sipped her mineral water. Her feet were aching from spending the last two hours rushing about. She was glad the kitchen was now closed and only the bar was open. She was used to being on her feet, but it had been quite a few years since she had worked in a bar or hotel, and she wasn’t used to the pace. Delivering was so much easier. Although there was less heavy lifting in this job.
Rylan and Tarkyn were now working behind the bar with Carter and she was glad to be on her break. The people waiting for drink orders to be filled were three deep. Chevy walked down the hallway and slipped in behind the gleaming mahogany bar to help his brothers and employee. He leaned over and gave her a kiss on the forehead while he pulled beer from the tap.
“Are you okay, darlin’?”
“Yes,” Alyson replied in a raised voice so he could hear her over the din and chatter from the crowd. “I’m just a bit weary.”
“Why don’t you go and sit at the small table in the kitchen, where it’ll be less noisy?” Chevy suggested and placed the glasses in front of the patrons and took their money. “I can see you have a headache.”
“How do you do that?”
“Your eyelids are narrowed and you have a frown. I can see the pain in your eyes.”
Alyson sighed but gave a nod and slid off her barstool. “You know where to find me if you want more help.”
Just as she started down the hallway Cherry was walking toward her.
“Alyson, I need your help.”
Sighing with frustration and pain, Alyson hid a cringe as Cherry’s high-pitched voice grated on her nerves.
“What do you need?”
“Can you take the garbage out back to the Dumpster, please? I still have to wipe down the stove, grill, and counters.”
Alyson followed Cherry into the kitchen and saw the three garbage bags near the door to the alley. She opened the door and picked up two bags. Just as she dumped them she caught movement in her peripheral vision and half turned. She cried o
ut when a fist connected with her jaw. Pain radiated out from her jaw and up into her head. She staggered as her vision began to blur. Virgil Minogue’s image wavered before her eyes and her muscles turned to lead. With a cry of fear and helplessness, she fell to the ground and stared up at her nemesis before she sank down into a pain-induced sleep.
* * * *
Rylan glanced toward the kitchen for the umpteenth time that night. It had been an hour since Alyson had left the bar, and he was becoming concerned that she hadn’t come back. He didn’t care if she didn’t work for the rest of the night, but he and his wolf needed her close. His animal was becoming antsy. Cherry and the kitchen staff had left over thirty minutes ago, and still there was no sign of his mate.
“Chevy, what was Alyson doing?”
“She had a headache and went to the kitchen to get away from the noise in here.”
“Was she going to come back out here to help clean up?”
Chevy shrugged. “I don’t know, but she did tell me to call if we wanted or needed her help.”
“Alyson, are you all right, baby?” Rylan called to his mate as he walked down the hall.
Nothing.
“Tarkyn, have you seen Aly?” Rylan asked his brother after a quick glance in the kitchen. He turned back toward the bar and began to fill another drink order.
“Not since she was sitting on that stool.”
“Fuck!” Rylan handed the glass he had been filling with beer to Chevy and moved quickly back toward the kitchen. He stopped in the doorway again and used his wolf senses to sniff her out, but she wasn’t there and her scent was weak, as if she hadn’t been there for some time. Turning on his heel, he walked toward the office. Empty. He walked further along the hall to the staff restrooms, and after tapping on each door and getting no answer, he opened first the ladies’ bathroom and then the men’s. They were both unoccupied.
“She’s not here.” Rylan tried to contain his panic.
“What do you mean she’s not here? She has to be.” Tarkyn met him in the kitchen.
“Chevy, get some of the young weres to help Carter behind the bar. Our mate is missing.”
“Shit.”
Rylan used his wolf senses and inhaled deeply. Alyson’s scent was most prevalent near the rear door. He opened it and stepped out and could smell that she had been near the Dumpster. Mixed in with her natural aroma was garbage and human male.
“I’m going to shift.” Rylan began to remove his clothes and handed them to Tarkyn just as Chevy came outside. “I’m getting a trace of a male. My wolf will be able to scent it better.”
Rylan called to his wolf and let his human side slide away. When the shift was complete, he sniffed the area. He inhaled, taking the man scent in deep so his animal would remember the odor. Whoever he was, Rylan could tell he was bad news to his mate.
“Alyson was here and a human male. My guess is that it was this Virgil Minogue or someone he hired.”
“Fuck it!” Tarkyn roared. “We need to contact Jarrod and his brothers.”
“I’m on it.” Chevy drew his cell phone from his pocket and dialed. “Jarrod, we have a problem. Alyson is missing. We followed her trail to the back alley behind the club, but there’s the smell of a human male, too. We think she’s been abducted.”
“Shit.” Rylan heard Jarrod’s voice loud and clear. “We’ll be there in a minute.”
Chevy disconnected the call. “Can you follow the trail and see where this asshole took her?”
Rylan took off, keeping his nose to the ground. He was careful to keep to the shadows as he skirted cars in the parking lot at the end of the alley, his brothers jogging to keep up with him. He stopped at an empty parking space and growled low in his throat with frustration.
“The trail ends here. Whoever he was, he had a car waiting.”
Tires screeched nearby. Rylan’s brothers stood in front of him to shield him from being seen, but the truck belonged to the Aztec sheriff’s department. Rylan relaxed slightly as Jarrod bounded out of the truck.
“Virgil Minogue is clean, but I also called Jerry to see if he knew anything. He knows about as much as we do, but he wants me to call him back if we need him to help find Alyson. I have Malcolm and Braxton out combing the area. If they sight him, we’ll know in moments.” Jarrod pointed to the radio strapped to his shoulder.
“I feel so fucking helpless. We have no idea where this asshole would have taken her. God, I just want to hold her.” Rylan headed back to the alley and changed back to human form. Tarkyn handed him his clothes, and he got dressed.
The fear at not having Alyson close and the pain in his heart at her being in danger was almost debilitating. He needed to wrap himself around her and never let go.
* * * *
Alyson’s head was pounding, and so was her jaw. The skin on her lower face felt tight and swollen, and her mouth felt like the bottom of a bird’s cage. Consciousness returned slowly, and she tried to remember why she felt so bad. Trying to get her eyelids to open took way more effort than it should have, but when she finally got them up, she couldn’t see anything anyway. Where the hell am I? What is going on?
She tried to move her arms to push herself up into a sitting position, but when she tugged, they held fast. Fuck! I’m tied up and lying on my back. Moving her legs produced the same result. Her breath hitched in her throat with fear. Her heart raced and she began panting heavily as anxiety took over. She wanted to flee, but she couldn’t move.
Then she remembered the dream she’d had of Virgil punching her in the jaw and standing over her while she lay on the ground looking up at him before she lost consciousness.
Oh my God. It wasn’t a dream. You are in deep shit, girl, if that asshole has you.
Alyson squirmed and tugged the ropes around her wrists and ankles. They abraded her skin, but she ignored the pain and kept pulling. Her flesh tore and through the pain she felt the warmth of blood on her skin, but she wasn’t going to give in. She had to escape or she would end up dead. But she would die before she gave that fucking asshole any information on Mary and her baby.
Where are my mates? Do they even know I’m missing? How long have I been gone? Will I ever see them again? Alyson thought of Rylan, Tarkyn, and Chevy, stifling the sob working its way up her chest to her throat. She had no idea where she was and couldn’t get her hands out of the rope. She realized that she may never see them again and she hadn’t even told them she loved them. Now she may never get the chance.
A squeak let her know the door was being opened, and then light filtered in from behind her closed eyelids, but she listened intently as whoever was there got closer to her. She tried not to flinch when a hand touched her face, but she must have moved infinitesimally because male laughter filled the room.
“I know you’re awake, bitch, so you can stop the act.”
A hand slapped her face, and she cried out as pain radiated from her cheek up to her eye and into her already-throbbing jaw and head.
Alyson opened her eyes and faced her enemy.
* * * *
Tarkyn was beside himself with worry for Alyson. He didn’t know how much more waiting he could stand. He and his brothers were in the Aztec Club office, waiting to hear from Malcolm and Braxton for news on Virgil and their mate. Jarrod was sitting at the desk, typing rapidly on the keyboard. Tarkyn felt so useless and helpless and wanted to be out there searching for his woman. He hated that he and his brothers had to wait for information from Jarrod and his brothers, but until they knew where to head, there was nothing else they could do. It would be fruitless to go out searching for Alyson. If they headed in the wrong direction, precious time would be wasted when they had to backtrack. His chest hadn’t stopped aching from the moment they realized Alyson was missing, and he rubbed it again as he stood up and began to pace.
Chevy watched him move from his seat on the sofa, and Rylan was on the phone to Jonah. Their Alpha was going to alert all the pack members to keep an eye out for Virgil and Alyso
n.
Just as Tarkyn was about to declare he couldn’t take any more and was going to look for his woman, Jarrod’s radio went off.
“Jarrod, his car’s been found.”
“Where?”
The voice coming from the radio was Malcolm’s. “Jerry was out in the next town over and spotted Alyson in the front seat of his car. He followed them for a while, being careful to stay back so he wouldn’t be seen. He called it in a minute ago. It’s at an abandoned farmhouse half an hour west of the den.”
“Shit. I know exactly where you mean. Call in reinforcements from the pack, but no one is to go in until I get there. Wait.” Jarrod turned to Rylan. “Are you still on the phone with Jonah?
“Yes.”
“Tell him we have the bastard and we want Blayk there in case we need his medical expertise.”
Tarkyn’s heart stuttered at the thought of Alyson being injured and in pain. He took a deep breath as his wolf pushed against him, urging him to start looking for their mate.
“Okay.”
“Is Braxton with you?” Jarrod asked Malcolm over the police radio.
“Yeah, I’m here, big brother.”
“Good. I want you both to get close to the house and see what’s going on. If you need to go in before we arrive, then do it. Alyson’s life is more important than having her mates on standby.”
“Understood.”
“Let’s go.” Tarkyn headed toward the door.
“Wait up.” Jarrod caught up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. “You three can ride with me. I don’t want you getting in the way and putting yourself in the line of fire. The last thing I need is any of you getting hurt.”
“Fuck, Jarrod, you know I would be careful. If we’re hurt, we can’t protect Alyson,” Tarkyn snarled.
“Control your wolf, man. Take a few deep breaths and calm down. You aren’t going to do any good if you don’t get a handle on your emotions.”