Austin and Rex followed him inside, and he paused a moment to take in the dim light created by flashlights of whoever had taken Brenda and Tom captive. Ry figured that Mark wouldn’t be using his own flashlight, which would give him away. The reflecting light that moved on the ceiling let Ry know that the bastards were inside the large room that opened up nearby. As he remembered, there was a small cave leading off of this larger room.
Ry moved ahead as quietly as possible. They needed to get to Brenda and Tom before the miscreants got them into that small tunnel, which would make rescuing their friends more difficult.
Suddenly he saw the shadowed form of Mark just ahead. As the three of them joined Mark, he nodded toward the light down the hill below their position. The scene below revealed quite a few outlaws. Mark pointed out the positions of Brenda and Tom. Each of them was being guarded by one of the bad guys. Ry nodded to Mark, as did Austin and Rex.
Mark used hand signals to let the three of them know he was going to move down closer and he wanted them to stay where they were.
Ry could see that he had a clear view of the outlaws. If anything went wrong, he had a straight shot at the guy guarding Brenda. He motioned to Austin and Rex what he planned to do if necessary and indicated they should watch the guy near Tom and the others a few steps away from Tom. Austin and Rex nodded that they agreed.
Ry watched Mark as he moved closer to Brenda. Finally he grabbed her arm as he put his face close to hers and pulled her behind him. Then Mark stood and aimed his pistol at the thug guarding Tom.
“Move and we’ll shoot,” Mark shouted.
Ry held his gun ready as the outlaw spun away and ran down the path. Tom lunged to the safety of the boulder behind Mark and sheltered Brenda. The other miscreants followed the fleeing outlaw, their flashlights shining on the rocks and path ahead of them.
Ry kept his gun aimed at the kidnappers until they were out of sight inside the smaller cave.
Mark headed back up the path with an arm around Brenda, and Tom walked behind him.
Ry met them on the path with Austin and Rex beside him.
“Are you all right?” Austin immediately asked them.
Ry listened as Brenda said they were but that Tom had been hit on the head with a pistol by one of the bad guys. Mark checked the back of Tom’s head, and Tom insisted he was all right.
“I’m so thankful you guys came so quickly to our rescue. Those awful men said their boss wanted us. Whatever for?” she asked, looking disgusted.
Ry suspected the guys might be working for the same bastard who had caused Jeff to be hurt. “I’ll make a call and get the officials over here to look at the area,” Ry said.
Austin assured Ry that he and Rex would wait with him.
Mark thanked them for coming to help. “If you don’t need us, we’ll take Brenda home with us.” He asked them to call the next day if anyone needed any information from them.
“You all deserve a rest,” Austin said.
“I think I can take care of this incident for you,” Ry said. “Go home and don’t worry about it.”
Tom thanked them, and Mark said they’d check with him the next day.
Rex thought they should head back to the hot springs area to wait for the officials. They walked back together and kept Mark, Brenda, and Tom in the middle of their protective group.
Mark helped Brenda into their truck, and they headed to their home.
Ry made the call to the officials in town, and they all three waited. It wasn’t long before they arrived. Ry explained to them what had happened, and the three of them walked to the cave on the north end of the hill and showed the officials where they’d met up with the kidnappers.
After the officials investigated the area and the cave, and made notes, they said they’d give Mark and Tom a call the following day.
The officials headed back to their office, and Ry headed out for home as Austin and Rex drove back to their bar and dance hall.
When Ry arrived home, he found that Jeff was still sleeping in the recliner in the den under the watchful care of their girlfriend, Keri. Ry put their dinner on the island in the kitchen as Keri quietly left her chair beside Jeff and joined Ry in the kitchen. She put her arms around his neck and hugged him close.
“I was so worried about you,” she said, her lips pressing against his neck, her breath and her body heating him. “Did you find Brenda and Tom?”
He hugged her tight. “Everything went smoothly, and we rescued Brenda and Tom. They’re on their way home.” He hugged her and then eased his arms from around her as she lowered her arms from the grip she’d had around his shoulders. He crossed the room to the den and, with Keri snuggly against his side, took a good look at Jeff. Seeing that his best friend was sleeping soundly, Ry kissed Keri on the cheek.
“Thank you for staying with him,” Ry said.
She looked up at him and shook her head gently. “There isn’t anywhere else I’d rather be.”
He smiled at her and kissed her soft lips gently. “How about having some dinner with me?” he asked her.
“That sounds good,” she said. She walked back into the kitchen with him. After she helped him warm up the meal in the microwave, they helped themselves to the steak and veggies and sat down at the island to eat. Jeff was still sound asleep.
“Those pills the doctor prescribed for him must have knocked him out,” Ry said.
“I think so. He’s been sleeping soundly since you called to let us know about going to help rescue Brenda and Tom. How did that go?”
“We didn’t have any problems getting them away from the kidnappers. They basically ran off when they saw the four of us. Mark got hold of Brenda, and Tom joined him, and after those nasty guys ran the other direction down a cave across from us, we all walked out of the cave together. I called the officials in town to come check things out, and after they finished their job, I headed back here. I’m hungry. How about you?”
“I’m tired, but I’m also ready for dinner,” she said, smiling at him, her beautiful eyes warming him.
Ry delved into his meal but noticed that she was taking fewer bites of the delicious food than he was. The day must have been hard on her.
When they finished eating as much as they wanted, they put the food up in the fridge and took their glasses of wine into the den. Keri took her seat in the recliner next to Jeff, and Ry sat in the recliner that was attached to hers on the other side. She reached to slip her hand in his, and they leaned back and got comfortable.
Ry held her hand and felt relieved that they seemed to have made it past one of the big hurdles in their relationship with her. Obviously from her concern about Jeff being hurt, and her care for him, she loved them enough to stand by them when they were injured.
Would she be able to accept the next shocking fact they needed to tell her about themselves? What would she think about them being shape-shifters? Would she be able to handle that? It seemed to Ry that they should tell her soon. He didn’t think it would be fair to keep it from her any longer. For now, though, he wanted to wait until Jeff was definitely mending before they brought it up to her. He didn’t want to hamper Jeff’s healing by saying anything that would drive Keri away. When Jeff was well, they would tell her about being shape-shifters.
Chapter Ten
The following morning, Ry called C.P.O. to talk to the guys at headquarters about what had been happening around the red rock hill. “The dangerous threat someone is making by trying to kidnap Tom, along with his and Mark’s lady, Brenda, and also causing Tom and Jeff to suffer bodily injuries with their dangerous falls in the caves, are our chief concerns right now,” he told the man at headquarters.
“It’s making us less concerned with finding the minerals we were sent here to find and more concerned about the safety of our agents and our friends. Mark and Tom are involved in finding Wra, the criminal leader of a local gang who continues to prey on the local people, causing some of them extreme anguish and, in some cases, bodily
injury. I’m suspicious now that Wra could also be involved in the accidents that happened to Tom and Jeff in the caves, if it wasn’t the abrasive guy searching for minerals farther up the hill from our search area. I want badly to arrest whoever was responsible for Jeff’s fall in the cave, as well as Tom’s fall. Do you need for us to continue to search for the minerals, or would you rather we helped Mark and Tom find and arrest Wra or look into the other guy searching for minerals higher up on the hill?”
“It’s the consensus of opinion here at headquarters,” the man replied, “that you and Jeff should continue to look for the minerals since you have experience with that and you’ve already sent some interesting rocks to the experts to run tests on. At the same time, you have permission from headquarters to protect yourselves and anyone with you from any dangerous people, including Wra. But we’d rather you didn’t focus on Wra at this time. We have several additional agents in that part of the state who can help you out and make things safer for you and your friends. We’ll get in touch with them and let them know the situation. They’ll be contacting you and Jeff soon. For now, please continue to gather mineral rock from the red rock hillside and send it in for analysis.”
“Thanks for your help,” Ry said. “We’ll continue the hunt for the minerals, and we’ll be expecting the call from the additional agents.” He ended the phone call and put his cell phone back in his pocket just as Keri entered the kitchen from the hall.
“Are you going to stay here today with Jeff?” she asked him.
“Yeah, I’ll be here with Jeff, unless you need a ride.”
“I’m ready to leave for the bar and dancehall,” she said. “I’m working the lunch shift again, and I’ll be off after the lunch crowd leaves.”
“That’s great,” Ry said. “I’ll let Jeff know what’s going on.”
Jeff was dozing in the recliner in the den after eating a small breakfast and taking his meds. Ry touched his uninjured arm gently, and Jeff opened his eyes and looked up at him. “I’m going to take Keri to work, and I’ll be right back. Is that all right with you? Do you need anything before we leave?”
“No, I’m fine,” Jeff said, shifting in the recliner. “I’ll be right here taking a nap.”
“Sounds good,” Ry said. “Back in a bit.”
Ry left with Keri, and they took the truck into town. After Ry walked inside the restaurant with her, he waved to Austin who was working behind the bar. He came across the room.
“How is Jeff doing today?” Austin asked.
“He’s doing better,” Ry said. “He was taking a nap when we left. I’m heading back home to look after him, and I’ll come and pick Keri up when her shift is finished.”
“Glad to hear Jeff is better. We’ll see you a little later,” Austin said.
Ry waved to Keri as he left the building. He hurried back to the house. He didn’t want to leave Jeff alone too long.
Jeff was awake when Ry walked into the den. “Are you all right?”
“Yeah, I’m doing better all the time,” Jeff said. “But I’ve been sitting here worrying that what’s happened will ruin our relationship with Keri.”
“I don’t think so,” Ry said. “And I think you can quit worrying about that. She was a trooper and met us at the hospital. She walked with me into the examining area where they took you, and she leaned down and kissed you. Do you remember that? She’s been at your side since we brought you home, and now she’s at work. She asked me to pick her up from work and bring her back here so she could keep an eye on you.” Ry smiled at Jeff. “Does that ease your mind?”
Jeff looked a little embarrassed. “Yeah, it does. Thanks for reminding me. I’m still a little foggy about things that happened since I fell and hit my head.”
“Don’t worry about it. You’re entitled to be a bit foggy.” Ry grinned at him.
“Did you talk to headquarters about what happened?” Jeff asked him.
“Yeah, I talked to them this morning.” Ry couldn’t keep the concern from his voice.
“What did they say?”
“When I asked them if they thought we should drop what we were doing hunting for the minerals, and go after the kidnappers instead, they said no. They want us to keep on the case about the unknown minerals. The guy I talked with also said that they have some other people in this area who can help out and go after the kidnappers.”
“That must be the two guys and the woman who work with C.P.O. and came to the masquerade party we had,” Jeff said.
“That’s what I was thinking, as well,” Ry agreed. “They’re well-qualified to go after the kidnappers and whoever’s leading those bastards.”
“That relieves my mind a lot,” Jeff said. “Mark and Tom still want to bring down Wra, who could be involved with the kidnappers. He could also be involved with whoever caused Tom and me to take a bad fall in the cave.”
“I’d like to be part of that chase, as well,” Ry said. “But headquarters said they wanted us to continue what we’re doing hunting for the minerals.”
“I guess we’ll do that then,” Jeff agreed. “I sure would like to be in on taking those bastards down, though.”
Ry gave his best friend a wry smile. “Maybe we’ll still get that chance.”
“I’m hungry. What have we got for lunch?” Jeff asked him.
“How about a nice rare steak sandwich?” Ry asked him, heading for the kitchen.
“Sounds delicious,” Jeff said.
Ry was relieved that Jeff wanted to eat. That meant he was feeling a lot better and was on the mend.
Members of their wolf packs healed fast and always had. It was a trait that had been handed down through the ages in their family lines and one that Ry appreciated. But how were they going to tell Keri about their reality without scaring her away?
Ry finished putting the sandwiches together and took the two plates into the den. They were both quiet as they delved into their lunch.
Jeff soon finished his steak sandwich. “Thanks, that was delicious. I’m feeling a lot better.”
“You’re welcome. I’m glad you’re feeling better. It looks like the bump on the side of your head has gone down.”
Jeff felt around the side of his head. “Yeah, the swelling has gone down to practically nothing. It doesn’t hurt like it did before. My arm isn’t as sore either.”
“That’s good to hear,” Ry said. “As soon as Keri gives us a call later this afternoon, I’ll go pick her up and bring her back here.”
“I think I could go for a swim in the pool,” Jeff said. “I feel like the water would feel good on my arm. A little bit of swimming would probably help the soreness that’s left.”
“We’d all enjoy a swim,” Ry agreed. “How is the golf tournament going?” Ry turned on the TV to the golf channel.
“I had forgotten about it. Let’s watch it,” Jeff said.
They watched the game and Ry made sure that Jeff took it easy. After several hours, the game was finished for the day.
Ry was searching the channels for something else to watch when his cell phone rang.
He answered, and it was Keri. “I’ll be right over.”
He got up from his chair. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
“Sounds good,” Jeff said. “I’ll be waiting right here, looking forward to that swim when you two get back.”
“Okay, I’ll tell Keri,” Ry said, grinning at his friend. “I have a feeling she’ll be up for a swim.”
Chapter Eleven
Keri put her apron up in the small room in back where they collected everything that had to be laundered. She took her purse from the closet and brushed her hair and put on a little lipstick. When she finished, she walked down the hall to the main room and waved to Austin and Rex, who were both in their office at the moment.
“See you tomorrow,” Austin said.
She headed across the main room and out the front entrance to wait for Ry to pick her up. She’d need to wash some clothes at their house if they didn�
��t mind. She didn’t want to take time to go by her apartment for more clothes right now. She was anxious to get back to her guys’ home and see how Jeff was doing. She’d been worrying about him during her entire shift.
She recognized Ry’s truck as he turned into the parking lot from the highway. He parked close by, and she walked down the steps and met him halfway. He hugged her and kissed her, and she gave him a hug and kissed him back.
“How is Jeff?” she asked.
“He’s doing so much better already that he wants to go for a swim in the pool when we get back there.” Ry grinned at her.
“Wow, that’s great,” she said. “I’m so relieved. Do you think a swim would be okay for him?”
“Yeah,” Ry said, sounding certain.
“That will be relaxing for all of us,” she said, smiling at him.
When they reached their house, Ry held her door for her, and they walked inside together with his big warm hand at her waist.
“Hey,” Jeff said, sounding enthusiastic when he saw her. “Are you interested in a swim in the pool?”
“I am if you are,” she said and grinned at him. “You look good. I guess you’re feeling a lot better, too.”
“I sure am,” Jeff said. “I’ve been thinking that a swim would be just the thing to exercise my arm. Not that it isn’t feeling better, because it is, but swimming is always good exercise. Right?”
“Absolutely,” she agreed.
“Have you eaten lunch?” Ry asked her.
“Yes, I grabbed some lunch while I was working,” she assured him. “I’ll just be a few minutes changing into my swimsuit.”
“We’ll meet you out by the pool, hon,” Jeff said.
She hurried down the hall to her bedroom where she changed into her swimsuit and grabbed a soft bathrobe from the bathroom. Soon she was ready, and she headed to the swimming pool. She draped her robe over a lounging chair and stepped down onto the first step at the shallow end of the pool. Ry and Jeff came outside in their bathrobes and walked over to join her. They took off their robes, and they were completely naked and already aroused.
Alpha Defenders_Mate Page 8