Fighting For Their Mate

by Vella Day

  “They’re early risers. We’ll say we finished our hike and spent the night at a hotel to clean up. Now we’re ready to leave.”

  “Okay, but use my burner phone. We don’t want your father to trace the call.” Ford handed it to her.

  Bailey inhaled. She wasn’t sure she could act normal. “Ready?” she asked Tatum.

  “I guess.”

  Bailey chuckled. “You can always say it was tiring listening to me whine about how out of shape I am. That way, you don’t have to sound excited about the trip.”

  “Isn’t that the truth.”

  Ty stood. “We’ll wait outside while you have your family reunion.”

  “Thanks. We’ll keep it short and sweet.”

  She wished she could tell her parents about the wonderful men she’d met, but that wouldn’t go over well. Perhaps if they met them, her parents would see that both men were perfect, but she’d leave that for another time. Right now, she wanted to go home and forget about Statler and his experiments.

  * * *

  “Bailey?” Ford’s voice pierced her brain.

  She opened her eyes. It was dark, but when she sat up, the lights in the distance and the half-moon lit the way. “We there yet?” She stretched.

  “Not yet. We’re going to take a pit stop.”

  She spotted the sign for the rest area one mile ahead. “Where are we?”

  “Somewhere in West Virginia.”

  Wow. She’d really dozed. “What time is it?” She must have slept for hours.

  “Three in the morning.”

  She grunted. They must have switched drivers, but she didn’t remember. “Do you need me to drive?”

  “We’re good,” Tyson said.

  Bailey slipped on her shoes and her coat. “Maybe I could get a water and a candy bar or something.” They’d have to pay again since she didn’t have any cash.

  “Whatever you want, honey.”

  Tyson exited the roadway and slowed. There weren’t any cars around, but it wasn’t surprising given the hour. He parked and the two of them escorted her to the bathroom.

  “I’m a big girl. You don’t have to come in.”

  Ford smiled. “We know. We need to take a leak, too. We’ll meet you right here.”

  He was taking this protection thing a bit too far. Needing a drink and something to eat, she did her business quickly. When she stuck her head out, the men weren’t there. Neither was anyone else. She wandered toward the snack machine that was tucked in an alcove, wanting to check out the selection before asking the men for some change.

  As she was studying her choices, footsteps sounded behind her. She looked over her shoulder getting ready to ask him for money when her heart stopped.

  “Hello, Bailey. Long time no see.”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Bailey’s throat closed. “Brad. What are you doing here?” She backed up until she bumped into the drink machine.

  She had to stall him. Had to wait for Tyson and Ford to come out. She had no doubt that he wanted to either kill her or kidnap her. Her damp fingers slipped on the glass.

  “I have to take you back to Statler. You’re the key to keeping the enhanced werewolves alive.”

  “You’re mistaken.” Sure, she had some rare blood type, but she needed to convince him she wasn’t special.

  “No. I’m not.”

  Brad lifted a burlap sack from behind his back and came at her. No! She wasn’t going back to that place. She screamed, but nothing came out. She opened her mouth again and inhaled deeply as panic gripped her belly. This time only a squeak sounded.

  As he raised his arm to place the cloth over her head, instinct kicked in—or else it was what Ford had taught her. She bent her knees and batted her hands, pushing the sack away. Probably due to the surprise attack, Brad seemed to lose his balance. She stepped in, reached up, and clawed his eyes with one hand while she punched him in the side with the other. The contact didn’t seem to do much, but it forced him to grab his face.

  “You cunt.”

  Shit. Now what? Run!

  She’d taken three steps when Brad caught her from behind. Bailey refused to go quietly. “Ford! Tyson!” Finally, the words sounded.

  “They can’t hear you,” Brad said as he tightened his hold over her throat.

  She tried to shrug her shoulders to keep him from choking her, but it was too late. He was cutting off her air. Using what breath she had left, she slammed her heel on top of his foot.

  He grunted. “Bitch. You’re coming with me.”

  Her stomach heaved. She’d never let him take her. “Help.”

  He clamped a hand over her mouth as he struggled to get the hood over her head.

  “Fuck it.” Brad dropped the cloth and wrapped an arm around her waist. As he lifted her, she kicked, clawed, and screamed.

  As if her men had perfected the art of reappearing at will, Tyson stood before them. “Let her go or you die, Tony.”

  His grip loosened, but he still held on. “I’m not letting her go. I know it was you who told Statler we were Pack members. You fucking liar.”

  “Guilty,” Tyson said.

  Then he smiled as an arm wrapped around Brad’s neck from behind, and he staggered backward, letting go of his grip. Bailey slipped to the pavement, but caught herself before she landed too hard. Seconds later, Tyson scooped her up and ran with her to the car while Ford battled with Brad. Bailey clung to Tyson, never wanting to let go. She didn’t want to cry, but a whimper escaped against her will.

  “Get in,” he urged.

  She scrambled into the back and Tyson jumped into the driver’s seat. He started the engine and drove to the curb where he slowed then stopped.

  Bailey dared to look out. Her throat turned dry, fearing Brad might have harmed Ford. “Where are they?”

  “Don’t worry. Ford is making sure we have a good head start.”

  She didn’t want to know what that entailed, but she’d be happy once they were on their way. “How did he find me?”

  “I doubt Ford will take the time to ask.”

  Out of the shadows, Ford appeared. He rushed to the car and got in. “Fuckers.” Ford leaned over the seat as Tyson took off. “You okay?”

  She rubbed her neck. “I’ll live.”

  “I’m sorry. One of us should have waited outside the restroom.”

  “That would have made me more paranoid.” Bailey wasn’t sure she could live like that, always looking over her shoulder. Perhaps she should move to another state and change her name.

  No. Then she’d never see these wonderful men again.

  Ford twisted back around and looked over at Tyson. “I’m calling the General.”

  “At three in the morning?” she asked.

  “This is important. He’ll want to know what’s happening.”

  Ford made the call, but it sounded like it went to voicemail. He asked that The Pack members up near West Virginia be on the lookout for Dram and Tony. He then gave the license plate number.

  “I’m guessing you let them live?”

  “Unfortunately.” His voice came out harsh. She bet he debated whether to kill them, but then decided bodies would be hard to hide.

  Tyson glanced in the rearview mirror. “I think we should take you to our place instead of your home in Virginia.”

  As much as she wanted to be near them, she had a life. “And tell my parents what? That while on the trail in North Carolina, I met two men and want to move in with them?” She regretted the bitterness the moment she spoke the words.

  “Perhaps if you mentioned they’re hot as hell and want you desperately, they might be happy for you.”

  Tyson was trying to lighten the mood, but he failed. She was sick to her stomach and not in the mood. “My parents would kill me if I told them I wanted two men.”

  She sounded like she was thirteen instead of twenty-three, needing her parents’ approval. If her dad weren’t in the public eye, it would be so much easier.

&
nbsp; “How about you stay with us in North Carolina for just a little while until the General and his men get a handle on how to take down Statler?”

  That could be years. “I guess I could tell my folks that I have a photo shoot in…where do you live?”

  “Asheville.”

  It was a pretty town. “I wouldn’t mind deplaning for a week or two. I’m sure my folks won’t question it. I’ve been known to do crazier things.” Like go to Africa on a safari the summer of my junior year.

  As if that settled it, neither said anything more. Bailey’s stomach grumbled, but she understood it wouldn’t be safe to stop until they were in Asheville. Tyson turned off on I-81 and she leaned back and closed her eyes, trying to come to grips with the fact that the danger wasn’t over.

  Her thoughts ran to Tatum. She sat back up and leaned over the front seat. “Do you think Brad and Tom would ask some of their friends to go after Tatum and Clare?”

  Ford clasped her hand and squeezed once before letting go. “Nothing’s impossible, but I never pegged them as very organized. They had a goal to capture you, and they failed.”

  This time. She and Tatum had met Brad and Tom in North Carolina, and she prayed they weren’t from there.

  * * *

  “Should we wake her?”

  “Let her sleep a little longer.” Ty looked down at Bailey. The lines around her eyes had softened. He motioned they head back into their living room. “How do you want to play this? We can’t keep her here forever.”

  Ford stroked his chin. “I know. She’s made it clear that she loves her family above all else. There’s no way she’ll ever be comfortable being around two men. Her dad’s thinking of running for a higher office, and if his daughter is in a ménage relationship, he won’t have a prayer of winning.”

  “Not to mention what would happen if he finds out we’re werewolves.” He embraced the fantasy. “Can you imagine if we had a little boy together and he shifted in front of them? They’d probably have a heart attack.”

  “That would suck.”

  Ty strolled past the living room into the kitchen and pulled two beers from the fridge. He handed one to Ford. “So we let her walk away? Just like that?” Ty couldn’t do it. Not only did his body need Bailey, the man in him was falling in love with her.

  “I’ll walk away.”

  The words took a moment to sink in. “You don’t want her, need her, or love her even a little bit?”

  Ford waved his bottle. “Fuck, yeah, I do. That’s why I’m willing to sacrifice my desires and give her to you.”

  “That’s not how this mate thing works. She cares about you. Bailey would be upset if you weren’t with us.” Hell, he’d miss his brother. “Bailey’s not only my mate, she’s our mate.”

  Ford sat at the kitchen table and tipped back his drink. “I was thinking about going back to Canada. I want to help the General take down Statler.”

  “Way to change the subject, bro.” Ford was crazy. “Think about it. Statler’s men probably have a kill-on-sight directive against both of us. Bailey needs us here.”

  “Statler had no idea who broke out Tatum. He’s probably thinking it was Dram and Tony’s doing. If I get back there in the next day or two, I’ll make up some story about chasing after those two. Statler will believe me.”

  Ty hated when Ford acted like this. He was using logic to block out the emotional part of his brain. “I don’t buy your self-sacrificing bullshit. It’s because of Uncle Ned, isn’t it?” It was always about that one failure.

  Ford chugged his drink. “Kind of.”

  They’d been through this too many times. “Do you think you can bring him back to life if you go up to Canada? What’s your plan? You going to strike before the General can assemble his men just so you can save twenty or more women? Will that do it for you? Twenty saved woman equals one failed robbery attempt? The two you saved weren’t enough?” He came close to shouting, but he needed to convince his twin that he was wrong.

  “I want to make sure Bailey is safe. I don’t want her to have to watch her back her whole life.”

  That logic had merit. “Let’s say you do go to Canada, and within a month you and The Pack manage to break into the lab, save the girls, and take down Statler? Will you be satisfied? Will you be able to get past Uncle Ned’s death? If so, then what will you do?”

  “I come back here.”

  Ford wasn’t thinking this through. “So you can watch me make love with Bailey? You can’t tell me that it won’t kill you to see us blissfully happy, knowing you gave her up.”

  “I’d be doing it for her. Bailey will understand.”

  Ty shook his head. “No. You’d be doing it for yourself—for that guilty conscience you have. Until Statler’s out of the picture, we have to watch her, and I can’t do it alone. I need you. You know she’ll be chaffing at the bit in no time. Sure, she can take some photos here and there, but then what?”

  Ford slammed the bottle on the counter. “You got a better plan, genius? Are we supposed to sit around with our thumbs up our ass while we let others do the job that I know I can do better?”

  Ty didn’t have the answer to that, but his mission was to prevent his twin from going off half-cocked and getting himself in trouble. “We need to protect Bailey. She’s fragile right now.”

  “Who’s fragile?” came the female voice from the kitchen doorway.

  Damn, he should have sensed her presence. “Hey, honey. Sleep well?”

  “Yes.”

  Bailey looked adorable—sleep lines in her cheeks and a riot of auburn hair tangled about her face.

  “Want some water?” he asked.

  “How about a beer?”

  Ty laughed. Ford did not. His brother pushed back his chair. “I’m going out.”

  “Where are you going?” she asked. Her voice was thick with concern. Damn Ford.

  “I won’t be long.”

  Bailey slid onto the seat next to Ty while she watched Ford head through the door that exited to the garage. “Is he upset about something?”

  Ty wasn’t sure what he’d tell her, but somehow the truth seemed to be the best choice. “Ford wants to go back to Canada and help free the rest of the girls.”

  Her face whitened. Ty retrieved a beer from the fridge and placed it in front of her.

  “Alone? That’s crazy.” Her hand shook as she picked up the bottle and sipped from it.

  “The stated reason is to help take down Statler. Ford says he’ll wait for the General to assemble his men before he strikes. I’ll be honest with you. Ford knows the inside of the lab better than anyone. He would be an asset to General Armand.”

  “Don’t you think your old boss will deactivate his access code as soon as he realizes what you’ve done?”

  “Ford doesn’t think Statler knows it was us who saved Tatum.”

  She shook her head, looking quite disgusted. “What’s the unstated reason?”

  Ty finished his beer. “Hard to say, but I think he’s driven by guilt.”

  “What could Ford possibly have done to deserve being guilty about? He’s noble and caring.”

  Clearly, she had an idealized view of them. “When Ford was eighteen, he wanted to be a cop worse than anything.”

  Her brows rose. “I can see that. He likes to help others. I wish everyone on the force were a werewolf. It would give the cops a distinct advantage.”

  He waved the bottle. “That it would, but shifting is frowned upon. Remember, the world isn’t ready to learn about our talent.”

  “I know.”

  Tyson leaned on his elbows. “Our uncle was the sheriff of the small town where we grew up. Since Ford wanted to go into law enforcement, Uncle Ned agreed to let Ford come with him on patrol one night. Our little town was usually quiet, but that night our uncle received a robbery-in-progress call. When the two of them arrived, the robbers were still in the store so Uncle Ned called for backup. He instructed Ford to stay by the car and make sure no one came inside.
I believe he was referring to unsuspecting customers.”

  She hissed. “How terrible to want to buy some milk and end up in the middle of a gunfight.”

  “Exactly. Gun in hand, Uncle Ned entered. Instead of waiting outside as Ford had been instructed, he decided to be a hero and go around the back to surprise the robbers through the loading area.”

  “That was smart.”

  “Maybe, but as soon as Ford disappeared around the back, three of their cohorts came in the through the front, surprised our uncle, and slit his throat. Ford claims that if he’d had Uncle Ned’s back, he could have warned him—or better yet, stopped them.”

  She shook her head. “He couldn’t have known that. The men could have come in the back way just as easily or attacked Ford.”

  Tyson shrugged. “I told him that, but ever since, Ford’s believed that he’s lacking somehow. It was what prompted him to enter the service. I might have been the one to pump iron, but Ford studied fighting techniques, learning from the best.”

  “Does he really think that if he goes to Canada and save the women single-handedly that somehow he’ll be forgiven by his uncle?”

  Bailey was very insightful. “You’ll have to ask Ford.”

  She cupped her beer and looked off. “Do you think I can change his mind?”

  Demons had driven Ford for a long time. Ty doubted anything anyone said or did would have an effect. “You can try.” Ty pushed back his chair. “I’m hungry.”

  “So am I.”

  “Let’s see what we have.” He looked in the fridge. “I can offer you a ketchup or mustard sandwich. That’s about it.”

  She chuckled and the sound did his heart good. “We could go out.”

  “We could. Let me call Ford and see where that ass is. Maybe he’ll meet us.”

  He dialed Ford’s number. “You’re not talking me out of leaving,” Ford said. No hello or anything.

  “What makes you think I’d do something like that? You can go to Canada and rot for all I care.” Ty understood the more he argued the more stubborn his brother would become.

  “Thanks for the support.”

  “Bailey’s hungry. Want to me us at Harvey’s Restaurant?”