“True.” And it might also prove useful if Barney could get the training program off the ground. They could add some sort of room to the back of the house where Barney and the other Hunters could hold classes. “Wait. Kits?”
“Yup. You’re going to have them, right?” Tiffany grinned. “Think about it. A little boy with your hair and Barney’s…stubbornness?”
“He’s more than just that, you know. He’s very affectionate when he’s with me.”
“Is that right, Frodo?” Tiffany’s mocking expression was going to get her smacked.
“Yup, Gimli. He even understands Second Breakfast and my unhealthy obsession with mushrooms.” She added a stick-figure Tiffany with lousy hair and Gimli’s beard to the picture.
“I don’t look like that!”
“Oops. You’re right.” She put little stilettos on the stick figure.
“Bitch.” Tiffany’s expression became serious. “You scared?”
“Of you? Hell no.” Heather smirked at her sister. “I know your weak point.”
“Don’t you dare.” Tiffany glared at Heather as Heather opened her mouth, ready to sing. “I swear I’ll tell Barney all about your naked Barbie orgy.”
“They were hot tubbing, you sicko.” Heather hummed the opening bars to The Phantom of the Opera’s “Think of Me”.
Tiffany sighed. “I love that play so much. She should have gone for the Phantom.”
“The Phantom was a stalker.” Heather had been through this so many times it wasn’t even funny anymore. “But…Raoul,” she sighed, batting her lashes. “He’s so dreamy.”
Tiffany rolled her eyes. “Puh-lease. He shows up, remembers he’s always wanted to shag her, and carries her off into the sunset. Pfft. The Phantom loved her for who she was, but Raoul loved the memory of her.”
“And she fell for the pretty boy, blah blah blah.” Heather closed her eyes. None of this was helping her forget the danger Barney was in.
“Hey.” A warm, gentle hand pushed her hair away from her forehead. “He’s going to be okay.”
“He’s tough. So tough he’d been tasked with training other Hunters on how to be a badass.”
“Right. So you don’t worry over him, all right? If he finds out you’re making yourself sick over him.”
“I’m not.” Heather opened her eyes and scowled. “I’m going to get out of here soon and be claimed by Barney.”
Tiffany giggled. “I still can’t get over his name.”
“Is it that much worse than Bunny?”
“Bunny doesn’t have a song.”
Oh really? Heather couldn’t resist. “Little Bunny Foo Foo hopping through the forest—”
“Don’t even bother, we already know he’s been turned into a goon.” Tiffany picked up the pad of paper. “A house, huh?”
“Yeah.” Heather bit her lip. “He’s staying.”
“Good.” Tiffany stood and gave her a hug. “We can start planning your wedding then.”
Wedding? “Can we wait on that until he asks me first?”
Tiffany blinked, looking confused. “Why?”
“Because?”
“If that’s all you’ve got, I think you should look at maybe doing a double wedding with Chloe and Jim.”
Hell. Barney was going to flip the fuck out.
A soft tap on the door had her looking at her doctor. She sat up, eager to hear the news she’d been waiting for. “I’m being sprung from this joint?”
The doctor laughed. “You’re being kicked out. Put some clothes on, get out and give me my bed back.”
“Yay!” Heather did a sitting-down booty-dance.
“Remember, you need to see your regular doctor to check your wound, okay?”
“Yes, sir.”
“The nurse will be in with your discharge papers. Sign them and you’re gone.” The doctor winked at her and left.
Heather waved her hands at her sister. “Gimme my pants, woman!”
Tiffany laughed. “Did anyone bring you any?”
“Mom and Dad brought stuff for me to change into once I got discharged, but that stupid fever kept me from leaving.” Heather wriggled on the bed in excitement. She’d have to call Barney and let her know she was going home with him today.
She blinked.
Holy fuck.
She was going home with her mate today. Which meant…
“Heather?” Tiffany waved her hands in front of Heather’s face. “Yoo-hoo.”
Heather finally focused on Tiffany’s face. “Does it hurt?”
“Does what hurt?” Tiffany stared at the jeans in her hands. “Well, I suppose it could, but only if you get your short and curlies caught in the zipper. But that’s what panties are for.”
Heather rolled her eyes. Maybe asking her sister about her first sexual experience wasn’t such a good idea after all.
Chapter Fourteen
“You want to do what?” The Alpha’s blond brows rose in disbelief. “Fuck no.” He turned to walk away, back into his practice, but Barney stopped him by grabbing hold of his arm.
He had to admit, this was probably the first Alpha he’d ever met who was an optometrist. Most of them tended to run organizations or businesses, but nope. Dr. Max Cannon fixed people’s eyesight. So did his Marshal, the head of his security, Dr. Adrian Giordano.
Halle was so weird. No wonder Heather wanted to stay. He loved it here too.
“Oh, stop snarling, kitty. I just want to have a chat with Dr. Demento, not hurt him or anything.” Barney let go and clasped his hands together. “Please?”
Max shook his head. “I can’t guarantee you’ll be safe if you go see him. He’s…different. He used to be warm and funny and now he’s a cold-ass killer.”
“He took out Salazar, something none of the rest of us managed.” As far as Barney was concerned Dr. Howard should have earned a medal for that. Salazar had been a fucking psycho. Unfortunately, he’d been a Hunter psycho, making him Barney’s problem. That a non-Hunter took him down was something that still made his butt itch.
“It wasn’t that he took him out, it’s how he did it.” Max ran his fingers through his hair. “He poisoned him with something that worked almost immediately. Jamie is dangerous now, Barney. You need to be wary of him.”
Barney nodded. “If he’s gone rogue I’ll know it. I’ll eliminate him, even if it means Hope lives without her mate.”
“Hope might be the only reason he hasn’t lost it completely, but if he views you as a threat to Hope he’ll take you out before you can blink. That’s what I’m afraid of.” Max sighed. “Damn it. Fine. Go talk to him, but if you die I’m not the one who’s going to tell Heather.”
“Gotcha. On my head be it.” He turned, then for shits and giggles stopped. He loved seeing that look on Max’s face. “Oh, by the way, I beat your high score on Mario Kart.”
“My…did you break into my house again, you asshole?”
Barney sauntered away, ignoring the Alpha’s repeated shouts and threats of bodily harm. Man, toying with the big, macho types always made him smile. They all thought they were invincible until someone showed them otherwise.
Of course, that had earned him a few scars, but it was still worth it.
It didn’t take long to get to Jamie Howard’s house. It was where the Pride had held all of its major events before Marie was murdered, so Barney had known where it was located even before he began investigating Chloe. Now here he was, standing in front of a freaking mansion on the outskirts of town. A mansion that was starting to look run-down instead of like the grand home of the previous Alpha. Marie must have made Jamie her sole beneficiary, as the money he’d made as a doctor would not have allowed him to continue to live in the mansion. Taxes alone would have driven him to try and sell the place.
He stared at the closed gates, noting the r
ust that was slowly beginning to set in. The vegetation was starting to go wild, the grass uncut, the weeds left to grow wild. Dr. Howard’s plush lifestyle with Marie Howard had fallen to pieces, and his home showed it.
Barney pushed the gates open, surprised when they operated smoothly, without a single squeak of protest. Rusty or not, at least the man had oiled the hinges.
Barney rode his motorcycle up the driveway, keeping an eye out for anything unusual. Other than the neglect of the estate, nothing popped out at him. When he turned off his motorcycle the normal sounds of birds filled the air. He set the kickstand and strode to the front door, knocking firmly.
The door opened, but no one was behind it.
“Creepy much?” Barney strode in, not surprised when the door closed silently behind him. The front hall was amazing, with a huge chandelier, marble floors and antique furniture. There was a chill to the air, a sense of disuse as if no one had stood in that hall for quite some time. Barney spoke louder, wondering if Dr. Howard could hear him. “Nice trick. So how did you rig the front door to open?”
Silence. It was starting to freak him out.
“I need to speak to you, Dr. Howard.”
A hollow voice sounded just above his head. “Third door on your right, Hunter.”
Barney nodded and followed the directions, peeking through the doorways as he went. Each room was elegantly designed, yet the chill followed him. Had Dr. Howard turned the air conditioner to Antarctica?
Third door on the right. Barney reached for the handle, shivering slightly as the cold metal met his palm. This whole place had his senses tingling like mad, but until he actually met Dr. Howard he couldn’t say for certain if the man was rogue or not. He opened the door, fully expecting to find a fight on his hands.
Instead what met his gaze was a blond man sitting in one of the chairs, a mug in his hand. From the scent it was coffee. Nothing special about that. The man wore simple jeans and a button-down shirt with sneakers. Again, nothing special.
It was the side table next to him that caught Barney’s eye.
The table was loaded with needles, springs, an assortment of cases, and what looked like completed auto-injectors. Barney didn’t want to know what drug was being put inside the syringes. He was willing to bet it was the same chemical concoction that killed Salazar.
“Good afternoon, Hunter.” Dr. Howard sipped his coffee, his gaze never once landing on Barney. It stayed firmly fixed on some point on the carpet, leaving Barney to wonder if the man was aware of much beyond himself. “I’ve been expecting you. My Alpha decided I needed to speak with you.”
Max must have called Dr. Howard and told him to play nice with the Bear. Yay. Barney loved it when possible prey was forewarned of his arrival.
Not.
The faintly mocking tone sounded eerily familiar. This man was on the edge, barely holding on to the rage riding him. He’d heard it in more than one rogue, but Dr. Howard wasn’t setting his instincts on fire. Instead, he felt wary, as if he were around an apex predator and he was the prey. It was a sensation Barney wasn’t used to.
Fuck. That. Barney would get what he needed and get the hell out of this haunted mansion. “Have you heard the prophecy?”
Dr. Howard’s lips quirked. “Two becomes one, one becomes three.” He placed his mug next to the needles. “Do I look like a Fox or a Bear to you?”
“It’s been theorized that you might be part of it.” Barney wasn’t about to tell this man who’d come up with the idea. He wanted Dr. Howard far, far away from Heather at all times.
“Oh?” With a quick glance upward, Dr. Howard rendered Barney speechless.
The man’s eyes were silver. As silver as Julian DuCharme’s or Chloe Williams’s. The doctor was the white Puma.
“You think I give two shits about some prophecy?” Dr. Howard stood with all the feline grace his Puma granted him. He strode to the window and looked out, his hand resting on the fabric of the curtains. His claws were out, lightly scratching at the fabric over and over until a small hole appeared, allowing a sliver of light into the room.
There was only one card he could play to get through to the man. The one thing that was probably keeping Jamie Howard from becoming a rogue. “If it involves you, it involves Hope.”
Barney was stunned when Dr. Howard turned to face him. There were still threads of silver in the man’s eyes, but the expression on his face had gone from disdain to despair. “Hope…Hope’s been through enough. The last thing she needs is some tight-ass spirit governing her life when she’s just gotten her freedom.”
“This could be something that helps you both.” Barney remained still, unwilling to do anything to cause Dr. Howard’s tone to harden once more. The soft smile when Hope’s name was mentioned and the obvious concern was what he expected of a man who had yet to claim his mate. If he could actually get through to the man and bring back a sliver of who he used to be there might be a way to save him. “If Hope’s nightmares are eased by finding out the answer to the riddle, wouldn’t it make everything worthwhile?”
“No. Not everything.” The silver was slowly bleeding back into Dr. Howard’s eyes. His demeanor became icy once more. “There are some things that are never worthwhile.”
“No, I suppose not.” He shuddered at the thought of losing Heather, and they weren’t even mated yet. Dr. Howard’s heart and mind had been shredded when Marie Howard was pulled away from him. The wounds left behind might never heal, even with a bond to Hope. “It’s a shame Julian wasn’t able to save your wife.”
Dr. Howard’s hair turned pure white at the mention of Julian’s name. The curtains were shredded in a move so quick Barney didn’t even see it happen until the fabric was fluttering to the floor. “Don’t say that name.” The snarl that curled Dr. Howard’s lip showed fangs far larger than the normal Puma’s, but it was the calm, precise way he spoke that truly set Barney on edge. It was the complete opposite of the swift, savage rage evident in the fluttering tatters of fabric.
That kind of power, combined with a rogue’s mentality, would be devastating. He would have no remorse, no mercy. If it weren’t for Hope, Jamie’s second mate, Barney would try to kill him right this moment out of sheer terror.
But Barney’s Hunter instincts weren’t tingling. There was a low hum, a potential threat, but it wasn’t fully realized yet. He couldn’t kill a man just because he was pissed off. “My apologies.” Barney had to keep him calm. “Our main focus right now is on whether or not the riddle will be harmful to Hope.” A small lie, but one that he could get away with since that was one of his concerns.
“Hope is safe.” Dr. Howard turned to gaze out the window, giving Barney his back. “I’ve made sure of it.”
Shit. That didn’t sound suspicious at all. “How?”
Dr. Howard glanced at the hypodermic needles. “It’s best you don’t know.”
“You killed her rapist with one of those, didn’t you?” Barney had heard about it from Ryan and Glory. “Good job.”
“Considering he was your fucking responsibility, you’re welcome.”
“Yeah. We fucked up. Hope suffered. But he was a Hunter gone rogue, so he knew how to elude us.” Barney wasn’t going to apologize to Jamie Howard. If anyone deserved that it was Hope. “But that’s not what I’m here about, and you know it.”
Dr. Howard shook his head, chuckling mirthlessly. “There is nothing more I have to say.” He shot Barney a silver-tinted glance. “Keep Hope out of this.”
“That may not be something I can promise, and you know that.”
Dr. Howard’s eyes narrowed. “Try.”
“If my sources are correct, there won’t be anything I can do. If you and Hope are somehow a part of this, keeping either of you out won’t be possible.” Barney took a step toward the hallway, not happy with the way Dr. Howard was staring at him. The man looked ready to jump across t
he room and rip his throat out if Barney didn’t backtrack immediately. “I’d rather you knew and could protect her than be in the dark and get side-swiped by this.”
Dr. Howard’s expression turned blank for a moment before a smile curved his lips. “Thank you for that, at least.”
Barney stepped through the door and headed for the front. Fully aware Dr. Howard could somehow hear him, he added, “And for the record, you aren’t the only one hoping that Hope pulls through.”
The silence of the door shutting behind him was his only answer.
Chapter Fifteen
Heather sat on the edge of the hospital bed, her nerves completely on edge. Barney was on his way from Dr. Howard’s estate. He was going to bring her home.
His home.
She didn’t know if she wanted to do a fist pump and squeal like a little girl in excitement, or shift into her Fox and run for Mommy and Daddy. This being grown-up shit sucked balls.
She bit her lip as she studied her fingernails. Should she tell him she was a virgin? The trauma she’d suffered in her childhood had kept her from wanting to have a boyfriend, let alone have sex. But Barney…Barney wasn’t someone she could run away from. For one thing, she actually wanted to have sex with the man. She’d been eager for it, right up until she realized she’d be having it that day.
For another, he’d hunt her down and drag her little Hobbit ass back before she could yell Freedom!
She knew this was the way it was supposed to go. Meet mate, fuck mate, bite mate, boom. Mated. But now that it was about to actually happen, she wasn’t certain she’d be able to stop shaking long enough to unlock her jaw and give him the mating bite she’d been dreaming about.
Worse, the mating dreams were giving her all sorts of ideas on what would happen once she and Barney got down to the naked and nasty. While it felt incredible in the dreams, she was worried it would hurt once Barney started to enter her. She was a Fox who was not into pain, so the idea of having sex for the first time was kind of scary. Tiffany would just make jokes, so talking to her wasn’t an option. That meant calling her mom.
Indirect Lines: Halle Shifters, Book 5 Page 10