by Black, C. E.
I poured a glass of milk and thought about how I wished I could just jump in a car and drive to the store or anywhere for that matter. I looked down at the cast on my left wrist with a frown. I had three more weeks before I healed enough to have it and the one on my leg removed.
I sighed knowing those weeks would crawl by slower than molasses. At least Liz would be back within the week and I couldn’t wait to see my friend. We had so much to talk about.
“Here, let me help you with that,” Bear said as he walked into the kitchen.
He took the milk jug out of my hand and put it in the fridge, before turning back to grab my glass. I followed him to the table and sat down in the seat he pulled out for me.
“Thanks,” I said as I took the glass from him.
I sipped my milk while he sat down in the chair next to me. His hazel eyes were trained on my face, his expression serious. I knew he had something important to talk to me about and I was afraid of what it might be.
“Want to play monopoly?”
“Huh?” I wasn’t expecting him to want to play a game.
“Listen, I’m sorry I have been kind of out of it lately, but I’ve had a lot going on with work.”
His smile didn’t quite reach his eyes.
“Is everything alright?”
Bear shook his head. “I can’t really talk about it, sorry.”
I knew he would say that, but it had not stopped me from feeling disappointed. Again, I wondered if Jordan and Alex would be coming home. I wanted to ask, but I knew he couldn’t tell me anything. I would just have to wait it out and a game was a perfect way to get my mind off things.
I agreed and Bear went to the hall closet to get the game. He brought it over and began setting up the board. His smile was a little wider and I knew he was about to say something ridiculous.
“Prepare to get your pretty little behind beat.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Is that a threat or a promise,” I said cheekily.
Bear threw his head back and let out such a loud bellow of laughter that it had me chuckling right along with him.
“You are something else, Sam. I swear if I had met you first...”
He trailed off and I couldn’t stop the blush from heating my cheeks. It only made Bear laugh harder and I smacked him on his hard shoulder playfully.
Snorting he said, “Be careful, I don’t want you breaking your other hand.”
I rolled my eyes. “Whatever, let’s just play. I’m ready to show you how this is done.”
He just smiled and began sorting out the money. Once the board was set, we chose our game pieces. Bear picked the horse and rider and I grabbed the car.
“I always wanted to be a cowboy,” he said as he rolled the dice.
I looked him over, pretending to give him a critical eye and shook my head.
“Sorry, you just don’t look like a cowboy.”
He smiled. “Yeah, but that don’t stop a boy from dreaming.”
We played for the better part of an hour, shooting insults and trash talking. I was winning, of course. I had most of the properties and wasn’t lacking in money either. Bear grumbled about me cheating, which earned him glares and more insults.
“So why does Jordan and Alex have a closet full of board games, anyway? I never knew they liked to play stuff like this,” he asked as I took my turn around the board.
I shrugged. “They’ve had them a while, I guess. We use to play them a lot back when we first met.”
“You make it sound like you don’t play anymore. Why?”
My cheeks heated again and he chuckled.
“Oh, I get it. You guys moved on to playing like grownups instead.”
My lips pulled up into a grin, but it probably looked more like a grimace. It was still hard to think about those times. I had moved on, and luckily, Alex and Jordan were with me now, yet I continued to regret how things became so messed up back then.
“Hey, I’m sorry,” Bear said softly, his smile falling. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”
I waved my hand, dismissing his apology. “I’m not upset, just some unpleasant memories is all.”
“Want to talk about it?”
I opened my mouth to say no, but shut it again. As I looked at Bear’s concern expression, I realized I wanted to tell him. Something about him made me feel comfortable, so I opened my mouth and told him what had happened. I told him everything, except the dirty details, of course.
He was looking at me sadly, as I finished. “I’m really sorry it went down like that, but it seems that everything has worked out.” He smiled. “You’ve got a little girl on the way and I could tell right away that Jordan and Alex are head over heels for you.”
“You’re right. I am very thankful that it has worked out so well. I just hope they come home soon. I’m ready to start a future with them and there is so much to do before the baby comes.”
Bear’s gaze was steady on mine. He looked as if he was mulling something over. I knew my face showed my confusion, but I stayed quiet, letting him get his thoughts together.
Finally, he let out a long sigh. “We need to talk.” His voice was deep, yet soft.
“Okay,” I croaked. I cleared my throat and sat back in my chair. “Jordan and Alex aren’t coming home today, are they?”
“No, I’m sorry, they aren’t.”
I nodded. I knew they weren’t, but deep down I had hoped.
“How much longer will they be gone?”
Bear shook his head. “I don’t know.”
“What do you mean, you don’t know?”
“I can’t tell you.”
I reached out and grabbed his hand. “Please tell me what’s going on. Please?” I begged as my eyes began to tear.
When he shook his head again, I stopped him from speaking.
“Who am I going to tell? There is no one here with me, but you.”
He massaged the back of his neck and let out another long sigh.
“You’re right, if the guys trusted you enough to let you in on their secret, then they would want you to know what was going on. It’s not right to keep you in the dark.”
I began to let go of his hand, but he surprised me by tightening his hold, as he looked me square in the eye.
“The mission did not go as planned. Somehow the enemy found out ahead of time and set a trap.”
I gasped. “Is everyone alright?”
Bear bit his bottom lip and I began to tremble. It was obvious from his expression that everyone was not all right. Were Alex and Jordan gone for good? Would Bear have told me if that was the case?
“Everyone is alive, we think.”
“You think?”
“Paul, Jordan and Alex have been captured. The rest of the team was able to get out, though Leo was badly hurt. He’s healing as we speak.”
I stopped listening after he said Jordan and Alex had been captured.
“You have to do something! Go in and get them!” I practically shouted.
“Our team is doing everything they can to get them back.”
“Obviously not if you’re still here,” I said as I pulled my hand away from his.
How could he just sit there playing a board game while my men were being tortured or worse?
“I can’t leave, Sam. Jordan and Alex wanted me to watch over you and that is what I am going to do.” He narrowed his eyes on me. “I will not break my promise. Our team is working on getting them home and I have complete faith in them.”
His voice softened along with his eyes as tears began streaming down my face. “You should have faith too. It will all work out, you’ll see.”
~ 29 ~
Jordan
“Hmm,” I groaned as I snuggled closer to Sam. My palm ran over her smooth, naked hip and up her waist until it rested just under her heavy breast. My cock hardened in anticipation of being inside of her again and I pulled her closer so she could feel how much I wanted her.
“Jordan,” she moaned as I rubbed mysel
f against her enticing ass.
All I had to do was lift her leg and I would be home, but I wanted it to last. I wanted to tease her, tease myself, until we were both so close to the edge that we would explode in a fit of passion like never before.
My hand grasped her breast and I plucked at her harden nipple as she arched, pushing her breast more firmly into my palm. Sam began grinding her luscious backside against my erection causing me to groan and nip at her neck.
“Jordan,” she said again, this time a little firmer.
I ignored her pleading and placed wet kisses across her shoulder as my hand began to travel down her flat stomach. I paused, wondering how her stomach had become flat at supposedly eight months pregnant.
The thought was fleeting and I forgot why I had paused soon after. I shook my head as my hand continued its journey south. Just as my fingers brushed her silky curls, she called my name again.
“Jordan!”
Her voice sounded different, a little lower and huskier. She must have been extremely turned on. I grinned proudly, but why had she shouted?
I buried my nose into her neck, behind her ear. The long brown waves of her hair fell across my face like a caress and I rubbed my nose against her skin tenderly. I took a deep breath to drawl in her sweet scent only it wasn’t as sweet as I remembered.
“Jordan!”
I took in another breath through my nose and began coughing uncontrollably. What in the hell! She smelled musty and I could have sworn I just snorted a big pile of dirt.
“Jordan!”
Alex? Where was he? We had to give Sam a bath. I loved her, but damn, I had never smelled anything as horrible.
“Jordan! Wake up!”
What? The image of Sam, warm in my arms, dissolved and I opened my eyes, blinking a few times groggily. I was lying on a dirt floor, which explained the lungs full of dust. Where was I?
I lifted my head, wincing a little at the pull of sore muscles, and took in my surroundings. I was in a room that was fairly large, about the size of my apartment. It had dirt floors, which I had already noticed, and concrete walls. Light fixtures hung low from the ceiling, swinging slowly and giving off a dull yellow glow.
“Jordan.”
I sat up carefully and turned towards Alex. He was sitting only about six feet away, but two layers of metal fencing separated us. I was in the center of an 8’x8’ cage, made of steel wire mesh. It seemed Alex was in the same situation.
He was sitting on the ground cross-legged. He looked a little worse for wear with his hair matted and dirty. His bare chest was covered in dried blood and dirt. Below the waist, he wore a pair of gray sweats that looked as rough as the rest of him.
“Where are we?” I asked.
“Markus says we’re under the new Town Hall.”
“Mark?” I growled. “That asshole betrayed us!”
A whine from the other side of the room had my eyes shifting past Alex. There was movement, but the wire mesh was hindering my perfect eyesight. I closed my eyes and sniffed.
His fear mixed with the musty, damp odor permeating the air. I savored the taste of his fright on my tongue. He would become much more afraid before I was done with him.
“No, he was our informant.” Alex said firmly.
I shook my head and looked at him. “He was the only one who could have ratted us out.”
Alex pointed to the cage on the other side of him. “He is locked up because they found out he was helping us. He is not the snitch. Paul is.”
“Paul?”
I was dumbfounded for all of about two seconds before I started grinding my teeth together. I should have known the dark bastard would turn traitor.
“Yeah, he turned on me when I was searching for you. I got knocked in the head and woke up in here.”
“Damn!”
“That was four days ago, Jordan.”
“What? I’ve been out for four days?”
“You were hurt pretty bad. There was a whole in your side the size of my fist.”
I looked down at my torn and dirty clothes. Lifting my dusty black tee shirt, I saw a round scar, shiny with new skin. Shit, it was rough looking, but it would be good as new in a few more days.
Dropping my shirt, I examined the cage. There was no door, which I thought was odd, so I began looking around for how they got me into the thing. Looking up I saw a chain attached to the top of the cage. I followed the chain to a pulley system. It seemed they just lifted the cage up and down to capture or release their prey.
The steel surrounding me looked strong, but I knew I was stronger. I backed up and crouched, ready to lunge at the wire with all my weight. It should not have been a problem to break through. In fact, I wondered why Alex hadn’t done it yet.
“Jordan, No!”
I ignored Alex’s shout and charged. My body crashed into the metal wire, but instead of breaching the cage, an electrical charge ripped through me. My breathing halted as I shook violently for over ten seconds as the electricity coursed through my sore body.
Finally, I slumped to the ground, twitching uncontrollably. Spasms wracked my muscles, the pain crippling as I tried to take a breath.
“Jordan! Man, are you alright?”
I took a few deep breaths and tried to slow my erratic heartbeat as my muscles began to relax. A metallic flavor coated my tongue. I spit out the blood and rolled over to look at Alex. His gaze was concerned and yet knowing.
“I assume you tried that as well,” I said as I sat up. I knew I wouldn’t be able to stand upright yet, so I hadn’t even tried.
Alex smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Oh, yeah, I tried. It was the first thing I did.”
“We have to figure a way out of here.”
“There is no way out,” A voice croaked from across the room.
I looked over at Markus and could see him curled into a ball inside his cage.
“We’ll find a way,” I growled.
Mark shifted so he could face me. “The only way out is when we’re thrown in the trench. But we won’t be free.”
“What are you talking about? What’s the trench?”
When Mark didn’t say anything, only rocked back and forth with his arms curled around his knees, I looked to Alex.
“Did you notice something strange about the jaguars?” He asked.
I remembered the way the cats’ eyes were glowing red as repulsive pink foam filled their mouths. Their strength was so that I couldn’t fight them off.
“They weren’t strange, Alex, they were fucked up.”
“Yeah, fucked up on drugs,” he nodded.
“What?”
“Cocaine,” Mark said. “The cocaine is what caused it.”
“What’s he talking about?” I asked Alex.
“It seems cocaine has a nasty side effect for shifters. Not only does it cause their eyes to change and gives them that disgusting drool, but they also obtain immense strength.”
“Don’t forget to tell him how crazy they are,” Mark whispered.
Alex sighed, obviously irritated with the man. It looked to me like Mark was going a little crazy himself.”
“The drug also makes them volatile and on edge. While high, they can’t shift, irritating them even more.”
“Why didn’t he tell us about this before?”
Mark had been the one who called Teij for help to begin with. He became our informant and along with our Intel, helped us get in and out unseen along with stashing stuff, like my clothes at Layla’s house.
“He was captured soon after he found out, as he was trying to contact us.”
Shit! I ran my hands over my face wearily. I was tired and wished like hell that my dream of Sam had been real. I would have giving anything to have been with her right then.
“How long has he been down here?”
“Since before you went to Layla’s.”
“What?” I asked shocked.
“Jordan, they knew you were there. Layla was murdered with you there o
n purpose, but they didn’t want you killed.”
“Why?”
Alex blew out a loud breath. “That, I am still trying to figure out.”
“What’s with Mark? He’s told you all of this, but now he wants to stay quiet?”
“I think he’s just about snapped. He’s been in here a long time and he’s scared, but of what, I’m not sure. He won’t talk about anything else and he hasn’t said exactly what the trench is.”
“Something’s going down though,” Alex continued. “A guard has come in a few times a day since we got here, just to check to see if you were awake yet. This room must be sound proofed because every time that door has opened, I’ve heard screams.”
“Like torture?”
“No,” he shook his head. “More like a lot of people having good time. They scream, whistle and shout out names like they’re at a sporting event.”
My mind began putting the pieces together. A sporting event, shouts, drugged jaguars with vast strength... Before I could finish my thought, the heavy metal door opened with a loud groan. Immediately I heard the cheering of a crowd and I knew exactly what was going on, but my attention was somewhere else. It was strained on the man walking into the room.
He was tall, but shorter than I was, with wide shoulders and lean build. His brown hair was graying at the temples and he had wrinkles at the corner of his familiar brown eyes. The cruel and satisfied expression contorted his face into an evil mask.
“I’m glad you are finally awake, Jordan,” he said as my gaze took in his appearance.
He must have thought he was some hot shot with the way he was dressed. The grey power suit seemed a little much for the dank, dungeon like basement. I wrinkled my nose in disgust, but said nothing to the asshole.
“I guess you are going to ignore me.” He clucked his tongue. “But we’ll see how long that lasts. I have big plans for you; both of you.”
He turned to Alex and narrowed his eyes. “Well, hello son.”
Alex growled, but I did not turn to look at his reaction. My attention was all for the other man entering behind Alex’s father. He was taller than Alexander, with a more slender build. His thinning blonde hair was slicked back and his blue eyes were glassy and bloodshot. It was obvious he was still a drunk.