I said my goodbyes to Levi, endured a ridiculously long lecture on locking the doors and being safe, and finally agreed to take Fang along for protection. Fang and I headed to the parking garage to take our highly anticipated leave for the evening. But what I saw when I got there confused me.
One of the perks of my position as alpha female was having the second best parking spot in the garage. However, my lovely, red Mustang was missing, and in its place was a huge, 1980 baby blue Buick Electra.
Jumping jalopies!! This must be a mistake—that or a cruel joke. I looked around but my Mustang was nowhere to be seen.
I stormed down the hall and entered his office like an F4 tornado. “Levi This-Better-Be-A-Mistake Drake, where is my car?!”
“Uh oh.” He actually looked scared for a moment.
“If you don’t tell me now I’m naming our boys Larry, Mo, and Curly! Now where is it?! This better be a joke!”
He gathered up his courage and answered with assurance, “It’s no joke. The Buick is your car now until the babies are born and you return to your normal, docile self. You and the babies will be safe in it, and it’s slow.”
“How could you do that?! That’s it! You’re on the dung heap now, Mister! I’m kicking Hector off and putting you at the very top of the pile!”
“Charity, calm down. It’s just temporary. And it’s your own fault so don’t be mad at me.”
“My fault? How is it my fault?”
“You can’t keep getting speeding tickets and expect zero consequences.”
“Sing a new song, would ya! I’m outta here!”
“Charity, wait.” He followed me out and across the facility. When he spotted Ashley, he grabbed her. “Ash, go with Charity please.”
One look at my face and she needn’t ask why. She nodded and followed me obediently to the garage where she got into the blue Buick, with Fang beside her, and buckled up.
I sighed in surrender and got in, driving out of the garage with as much speed as I could make the dinosaur conjure up, which wasn’t much, dang it.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Once it turned dark, Fang began with his whistling bark, so when the doorbell rang I wasn’t surprised to open it and find Raven standing there looking smug.
“I hear you need a babysitter for the evening, so here I am.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me!”
“No, and you will not deter me either. The werewolves are busy tonight. In times like this I bet you are glad you have a vampire friend.” He waved his hand in the air like a magician and Fang quieted instantly and went to lie by the sofa.
“That’s debatable.” I sighed. “Come on in. Ash, it looks like we’ll be having company tonight. Ray is here.”
“Oh goody. Raven, come on in. We were about to make some popcorn and watch a chic-flick. I hope you don’t mind, or is watching T.V. bothersome to you?”
“No, I watch T.V. sometimes, although never a chic-flick, but there is a first time for everything. What is it called?”
“It’s an old one called Pride and Prejudice. Have you heard of it?”
“Yes. I have read the book.”
“Oh, even better. Come have a seat on the sofa and we’ll get started. Is there anything I can get you?”
“No, thank you. I had Samantha earlier.”
Ashley and I stared at him for a few seconds, and then broke into laughter. He laughed too. It shocked me, such a normal response, and yet it’s not something I ever thought I’d hear. I was pleased.
Ashley got the popcorn from the microwave, dumped it into a bowl, and came and plopped down beside us on the sofa, taking a handful before passing the bowl to me.
“What is that awful smell?” Raven asked, nose wrinkled.
I looked at him in surprise. “It’s popcorn. Haven’t you ever tasted popcorn before?”
“I am sure they did not eat that in the nineteenth century.”
“Oh, well, your loss,” I shrugged, stuffing a handful in my mouth. Then I looked at him for a second and shoved some in his mouth.
At first he just peered at me in surprise, but then he began to chew, and after he swallowed he smiled, gently prying the bowl from my hands and taking another bite.
Victory was mine!
The evening was actually a very nice one. Raven was now totally addicted to popcorn, having us make two more batches before the movie ended. And shortly after, Ashley and I took our leave to the bedroom to change into our jammies and brush the popcorn kernels out of our teeth. I cracked open the bedroom door and threw Raven out a pillow and blanket. He caught them in mid air. Soon Ash and I were tucked in bed and fast asleep.
In the morning, Ashley made breakfast, refusing to let me so much as touch the kitchen. I can cook eggs for cryin’ out loud.
“So, Charity,” Raven asked, “how did you sleep last night?”
“Great. I read in the Bible once that God never sleeps nor slumbers, but is always watching over us. So I figured, if God’s gonna stay up all night then why should I?”
He laughed. “That is very clever.”
“What are you laughing at? You don’t even like God, remember?”
“Well, I find myself liking Him more and more these days. It seems I have Him to thank for sending you into my life.”
I wasn’t sure how to respond to that, so I didn’t. I shrugged and continued to eat.
I was pleased to see Ashley finish her whole plate of eggs and bacon, along with two pieces of toast smothered in grape jelly. When she saw me staring, she smiled. I, on the other hand, had just taken my last bite of oatmeal when Levi called. I groaned and answered it. “I’m still mad at you,” I said into the phone. “Why? For taking away my car, that’s why. And in case you didn’t know this, you’re my husband—not my father. Yeah—well—that’s beside the point. Oh whatever. I’ll be home when I get home. If I come home at all.” I snapped the phone closed.
“Gee, Charity, should you have been that hard on him?” Ashley asked.
“Probably not!” I snapped. “I know I’m being childish, but I just hate that he’s always right. I shouldn’t have driven so fast in my new car. It’s just that I’ve never had a nice car before. And it drives so awesome. I know he did the right thing, but it still makes me mad. I guess I should call and apologize, huh?”
Just then the doorbell rang.
“Surely Levi couldn’t get here that fast.”
Raven went to the door to answer it. As soon as he turned the doorknob, the door flew open and a big man barged in and grabbed Raven, slamming him to the floor. Two more men rushed in and piled on top of him. Raven was knocking them off one by one and throwing punches, sending them flying across the room. Within moments, however, Ashley and I watched in horror as the men wrestled with Raven, subduing him and tying him up, needing enough chains to render six vampires helpless. I recognized the men as members of Wesley’s pack.
I was reaching for my phone when two of the men rushed at us. We threw our hands up in surrender. I couldn’t risk the babies being injured in a scuffle. It was then that I noticed that Fang was still quiet and curled up by the sofa. That was some mind trick, I noted with annoyance.
They tied our hands with duct tape behind our backs and two men began ushering us out while the last one stayed behind with Raven.
“Charity!” Raven called, but then was silenced with a hard blow to the face, and another to the lower stomach.
“Stop it!! I shouted. “Don’t hurt him! He’s a friend of the werewolves! Please!” I cried out right before one man slapped duct tape over my mouth.
The men escorted Ashley and me out and into a black car parked in the back parking lot. Amazingly no one saw us.
We’d been driving for at least twenty minutes when the car pulled over and we were rushed from the car and led across an empty parking lot toward what looked to be a vacant warehouse.
We were taken around the back where they unlocked a door and led us inside. Boxes were stacked everywhere.
Maybe this is where the east pack’s supplies are held. The two men took us to the far corner of the building and sat us on our butts, against the wall. I squealed as one man, the biggest one, jerked the tape from my mouth, causing it to bleed.
“Don’t move or speak. Wesley will be here soon to talk to you.”
“Please let her go. She has nothing to do with this,” I begged.
“Silence!” the biggest one barked, and went to stand against the door, arms crossed, watching us.
Wesley rushed in, looking flushed and excited. “Where is she?” he demanded.
The big one against the door pointed.
He approached us, phone in hand, and knelt by me, looking me over thoroughly. “Why is she bleeding?” he asked the big one as he wiped at my lips.
I jerked away from him. “Don’t touch me!”
“She was talking, so we taped her mouth shut.”
“I told you to make sure she wasn’t harmed in any way!”
“I’m sorry, Sir. It won’t happen again.”
He grunted and then turned back to us. “I’m sorry for the interruption this morning, ladies, but I need you to help me with something.”
“Wesley, please let Ashley go. She has nothing to do with this.”
“Yes, but you will be less likely to do something stupid if she’s here.”
Oh man, he had me on that one.
“What do you want with us?”
“Well, you see you’re going to help me convince that stubborn husband of yours that it’s in his best interest to accept my challenge.”
“So that’s what this is about? Your need for power has clouded your judgment. Levi will rip you apart for this. Surely you know that. He’ll never let you win this way.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. He’ll lose or lose you.”
“Are you saying you’d actually kill me, even knowing I’m pregnant?” I was appalled.
“No. What kind of a monster do you think I am?”
“The furry kind. And the vicious kind.”
“Maybe, but I’d never really harm you, but he doesn’t know that.”
“How can you say that? You tried to kill me in Virginia.”
“Now, Charity, that was a mistake. I wanted the man taken out because he was a threat, but I never intended for those animals to harm you or your mother. It was a test to see if I could trust this Eli, which I couldn’t. The animals obviously got out of hand. I apologize for that.”
“Well, I don’t accept. I shouldn’t be here. You need to release me, Wesley.”
“Soon enough. But first I have to make a call to Levi. If you’ll excuse me.”
He stepped aside and dialed. After only a few seconds, he spoke. “Yes, Levi, it’s me. Are you surprised?......What do I want? Well, I’m glad you asked. I happen to be standing here looking down at your lovely wife, all tied up and looking very pissed…..And how long ago did you talk to her?......Well, I assure you she is here. That vampire was easy enough to subdue. But I believe he’ll need a doctor though. If he means anything to you I suggest you get to him right away.”
My heart sank at his words. Raven was injured because of me. He was trying to protect me, something he shouldn’t have needed to do, and yet he wanted to. I began to cry, I couldn’t help it.
“Oh, it seems I’ve upset Charity with this news. Maybe she likes this vampire more than she should…..You still don’t believe me? Fine, if you want proof—here it is.” He lifted his phone and snapped a picture of Ashley and me and then hit a few buttons.
“Wait a moment and you’ll have your proof.”
He smiled as he lifted the phone away from his ear. I could hear Levi growling from where I was sitting. When he was done Wesley continued. “You’ll get her back unharmed, I promise. All you have to do is meet me, with your pack, in the clearing in one hour. You’ll accept my challenge, and I’ll defeat you. My pack will once again honor and respect me. If I don’t win—you’ll never see your bride again. If you kill me—you’ll never find her.” He winked at me.
Slime ball.
“Once I’ve defeated you, I’ll give you her whereabouts, and then, and only then, can you retrieve her. In the meantime she’ll be treated well, I promise you……Well, you’ll just have to take me at my word……Oh come on, Levi, I’m many things, but I always keep my word. Do we have a deal?.....Fine. I’ll see you in one hour.”
“No, Levi!” I tried to yell to him, but Wesley had already disconnected the call.
“Try not to worry too much, Charity. I won’t kill him, but after I’m done with him he’ll wish I had.”
He turned and whispered something to the big one and then slipped out the door with the big one following him.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
I stomped my feet in fury as I rested my head against my drawn up knees and angry cried. It wasn’t pretty.
“Charity,” Ashley finally spoke, “it’ll be fine. Levi will let that stupid jerk win and then they’ll come for us.”
I peered up at her. “Ashley, could you stand to have Josh beaten to the point of death? Could you just sit back and let it happen, knowing he was suffering?”
She sighed. “No.”
“I have to get us out of here.” I started pulling on my ropes, trying to free my hands.
“Charity, that big guy’s right outside the door. How are we gonna get past him, even if you could somehow manage to get out of the ropes?”
“I don’t know yet. Let me think.” I continued to work at my hands, but they wouldn’t come free. Then I had a thought. “Ashley, get me angry.”
“What? You mean angrier than you already are?”
“Yes. Say something—anything to get me angry and worked up.”
“You mean like the Hulk?”
“Yeah, yeah, like the Hulk.”
“Okay. Um, Wesley’s gonna hit Levi in his beautiful face over and over. He’s gonna hurt really bad. He might even break some bones, some ribs perhaps. Are you sure about this?”
I was concentrating hard. “Keep going—it’s working.”
She continued to babble about Levi getting hurt until my anger and grief won out, causing my strength to kick in. I jerked hard, angry tears streaming down my face, and the ropes broke free.
“Ash, I’m free,” I whispered in triumph, wiping my face.
She stared at me in disbelief. “Great. Now what?”
I reached in the front pocket of my maternity jeans and pulled out a tube of lip balm and quickly applied a fresh coating. I closed my eyes and sighed. What I did next was the most logical thing in the world for me to do. I inserted my fingers into my mouth and—well—what do you think? I whistled.
Ashley looked at me, wide-eyed. “I’ve heard stories, but that was beyond awesome.”
I smiled. “Thanks.”
“But what about the bad guys?”
Oops. Just then the big one rushed in.
I quickly put my hands behind my back.
“What on earth was that?!” he demanded.
I looked at him innocently. “We were wondering the same thing, weren’t we, Ashley? We were saying ‘what on earth made that awful noise?’”
Ashley nodded her head vigorously in agreement.
He eyed us suspiciously as he approached. He bent over Ashley and checked her hands. It was now or never. Without further thought, I reached out and grabbed his feet, jerking them out from under him. I then clasped my hands together and hit him across the back of the head, knocking him out cold.
“Oh-my-gosh! Charity, how on earth did you do that?” Her face was beaming.
“I have no idea,” I said, my face mimicking hers. I rubbed my belly. “Thanks, little guys.”
“Charity,” Ashley said as I untied her hands, “isn’t there another one somewhere?”
“Yeah. We’ll have to be cautious.” I reached over the big one and searched his pockets until I found his phone. I dialed.
“Hector, thank God…...It’s a long story……W
e’re in an abandoned warehouse, but I’m not sure where……Oh, you heard that?......Okay, I’ll do it again. Please hurry.” I put my fingers in my mouth again and whistled.
“Uh—Charity,” Ashley said, pointing toward the door.
I turned in time to see the other man entering the building. “What’s going on in here?”
“Oh—well, you see this guy was about to take me somewhere to use the bathroom. You know ‘cause since I’m pregnant I have to pee a lot, when he collapsed. I’m not sure what’s wrong with him. Maybe you should take a look at him.”
The man approached, eyeing me suspiciously, but then, realizing that there’s no way I could’ve done anything to him, he knelt beside him. “Jimbo, you all right?” He poked at him, but he didn’t budge.
“Is he all right?” I asked innocently as the man stood. I noticed Ashley had put her hands behind her back, acting as if she were still tied up. Smart girl.
We were both staring up at him when something hit the guy with enough force to send him flying across the room, smashing into a pile of boxes. He was still.
I looked up to see Eli and Hector staring down at me in relief.
Eli grabbed me and pulled me into his arms, hugging me fiercely. I actually felt nauseous at the quickness of the move.
“Eli, you’d better release me before you get your scent all over me and Levi kills you!”
He pulled back and peered at me, his purple eyes confused. “What’s wrong? Aren’t your spidey-senses working? It’s me, Levi.”
“No, because if you’re Levi then who’s fighting—” I gasped.
“Yes, and if I don’t get there quick Wesley might kill him. He’s learned a lot, but he’s not me.”
“Oh, Levi!” I grabbed him again, pulling his lips to mine for a passionate, steamy kiss.
“Are you all right?” he asked, pulling my head against his chest and applying soft kisses into my hair. “Are you and the babies okay?” He reached down, gently caressing my stomach.
“Are you kidding?” Ashley butted in, “she kicked this big guys butt, knocked him unconscious. It looked like a scene from a Jackie Chan movie.”
Charity Rising (Charity Series Book 2) Page 21