by Maia Dylan
“The odd thing is, this guy must be a pro, and cold-blooded as hell. If you’re standing here leaning on a tree about to blow the shit out of some guy”—Grant leaned against the tree, acting it out as he talked—”you’d expect his scent to be fairly strong. You’d expect that he’d be sweating and nervous, but nothing. You must have caught the scent when you first got here, but it was gone by the time I did, and by then there wasn’t much to go on.”
Dane had to agree. To take a life was not something most people took lightly. If you were to kill someone in anger or retaliation or, shit, even in self-defense, you’d be sweating profusely and the adrenaline would be pumping. However, if it was something that you were used to, like it was simply another day at the office, then you’d be cold as fucking ice.
“So, this prick was a pro,” Dane started back toward his truck. “That makes me feel much better. Because that means once I catch up to the bastard, and trust me, I will, I won’t feel at all guilty when I rip him in half.”
The two of them stepped out from the trees just as Hunter’s truck came screeching to a halt behind Grant’s patrol car. Dane sighed as he walked toward the car. He watched as Xanthe struggled to get out, but Hunter held her in the car and cast Dane a quizzical look. Dane nodded that it was safe, then braced himself for the whirlwind that was his woman leaping into his arms.
“Oh, my God, Dane.” Xanthe squeezed him tight and Dane felt his heart swell. Damn, he loved this woman. “I was so scared.” Then she suddenly morphed from sweet and pliant to tense and pissed as she pulled back slightly and thumped him the shoulder.
“What the hell?” Dane asked incredulously.
“‘This is no place for her’? Really?” Xanthe pushed on his chest, trying to get away, but he wasn’t stupid enough to let her. “Really? God, Dane. How in the hell did you think I would feel, knowing that you were here, shot and hurt? Let me tell you. Scared. Scared shitless. And the place I should have been, and demand that I be from now on when either of my mates are hurt? Right by your side. You hear me, Dane Smith?”
“Baby.” Dane grinned. His mate was fierce and a force to reckon with when she was pissed. “I think the entire state heard you.” Then he slammed his mouth down on hers, swallowing her yelp of surprise, and took her mouth, not stopping until he felt her melt into him and wrap her arms around his neck.
He had just pulled back and was taking gentle sips from her lips when he heard a car horn sound behind him. He pushed her further onto the road curve and off the road, and spun to face the new threat.
“Whoo hoo! Damn, Dane! Looking good!” Faith’s voice came from the open window of the car that slowly crawled past them. Lucy was driving with Rowena and Cassadee in the back, and all were checking him out.
Dane growled as he leapt to stand behind his mate, and pulled her in front of him.
“I think it might be a little late to play coy, my love,” Xanthe said with a laugh as she waved at her friends, who drove off with wolf whistles. “I think they may have caught sight of all your goodies.”
“Yep,” Hunter said as he stepped up behind them and placed a hand around Dane as he held out some shorts. “But luckily, babe, you ain’t got nothing they haven’t seen before.”
* * * *
An hour later, Xanthe finally felt like her blood pressure had returned to normal. They had returned to her place, and met up with Ty, Trent, Faith, and the rest of Hunter’s and Dane’s team. Since the last four members of their Enforcer team had now arrived, they had the full complement of ten, including Hunter and Dane. Grant and Dane had filled them all in on what had happened out at the scene of the shooting.
When she had caught the urgency edged with pain and then the intense anger that had come down their link from Dane, she had felt like her heart had stopped. Then, when she had heard him tell Hunter that wherever he was, was no place for her? Well, that not only had her heart beating again, but her anger raging along with it.
When she and Hunter finally pulled up beside Dane’s car, Hunter kept her in the car long enough for Dane to give him the go-ahead. Xanthe was still pissed. Just because the three of them were bonded, mated, and claimed in truth, didn’t mean that they had the right to dictate what she could and could not do.
“Baby, I can tell you’re still a little angry.” Dane’s annoyingly calm voice came to her down their link, and she turned from her place by the window in her living room to look at him where he sat on her couch.
“A little angry, Dane?” Xanthe crossed her arms and narrowed her gaze at him. “I can’t remember a time I have been more frustrated than I am in this moment.”
“Come on, Xanthe.” Hunter sent a wave of calm down their bond which had the exact opposite effect. “You’re gonna have to forgive him sooner or later.”
“It’s not just him I’m pissed at.” Xanthe flounced over to an armchair, steadfastly ignoring the couch her mates were sitting on, and threw herself down into it.
“Aww, yeah.” Faith said from where she sat on Trent’s lap in one of the kitchen chairs. “I don’t know what y’all were arguing about but the temperature in this room just dropped like by a thousand degrees. You give ‘em hell, Xanthe girl.”
Her living room was filled with shifters, all of whom were grinning at her, obviously pleased that her mates were squirming. Xanthe wasn’t so much interested in having her mates squirm as she was in having them treat her as an equal in their relationship. Yeah, that might seem a little overly dramatic, but right in that moment she didn’t give a shit. She might have been the least dominant of the three, let them lead her into the whirlwind of pleasure that came when the three of them came together, and allowed them to tempt her with things she hadn’t known she even wanted, but she was just as fiercely protective of them as they were of her.
“Xanthe,” Hunter said in that firm voice that normally had her shivering with need, but she ruthlessly slammed a barrier across their link. The more she thought about what could have happened with Dane, the more upset she became.
Hunter’s entire body froze, his blue eyes blazing at her, and if she wasn’t mistaken, there were definite flecks of amber there, too. Not taking her eyes from Hunter, she still saw the grimace Dane gave that clearly said she shouldn’t have done that.
“So, you want to have this conversation out loud in front of our friends, and my team?” Hunter quirked an eyebrow. “Well, babe, I am more than okay with that. Let’s just summarize for those in the room not privy to our earlier conversation, shall we? You’re pissed at Dane because he didn’t want you to come to him while he was hunting an attempted murderer. And you’re just as pissed at me, because I held you in the vehicle until I had the all clear from Dane at the scene. Am I correct?”
Xanthe felt a flood of heat flush her cheeks. When he said it like that—
“It’s more than just that, Hunter. Neither of you took what I wanted into account. It would have been my choice to be with Dane when he was injured, just as it would the same damn choice if it were you who was injured.” Xanthe leaned forward in her chair, desperate to make them see it from her point of view. “Then, when we arrived at the scene, all I needed was to see for myself that Dane was okay. As his mate, it was my right!”
“Do you think I didn’t want to jump out of that car and run to check on him myself?” Hunter mirrored her earlier move and sat forward in his armchair. “Hell, Xanthe. He is as much my mate as he is yours, as I am yours and you are ours. But there is one damn thing that you have to understand and accept really damn fast, beautiful. When it comes to your safety, the only person whose opinion I will take into account is Dane’s. We will protect you with our fucking lives. Even if in protecting you, we hurt your feelings. I would rather deal with you pissed off than hurt.”
“I wasn’t the one who was hurt, Hunter.”
“I know that.” Hunter stood, and Xanthe quickly followed suit. “Dane had been shot by some walking death wish who now goes straight to the top of my shit list. And he wins
the prize of having his spleen shredded from the inside out by my lion, and I was not going to risk the fucker shooting you, too. You are not a shifter. You could have been shot and killed, and you stand there and tell me that I should have let you out of the car and make yourself a target? Hell no!”
Xanthe felt all her anger deflate in that moment. She knew he was right. He had done something to ensure her safety, and Dane had done the same thing. She nodded and cast a quick glance around the room. Most of the men looked uncomfortable, and Faith had a look very much like pained understanding on her face.
“Okay, Hunter,” Xanthe replied softly. “I know you’re right. You and Dane were only thinking of me. I guess it was just difficult for me to see one of you in pain and not be able to get to you. I’m sorry for getting pissy when all you were doing was making sure I was safe. I’m just going to head outside for a few moments to get some air. No, Dane,” Xanthe said with a small smile and held out a hand to stop him as he leapt from the couch. “It’s okay, really. I just need a few minutes.”
Xanthe walked quickly out the back door, taking a deep breath. She walked out toward her back gate and into the forest that lay beyond her property line. The mating thing was more difficult than she’d thought. She had never liked having to admit she was wrong, but having to say it twice really sucked.
* * * *
Hunter sat quietly as the conversation in the room returned to the shooting. He was fighting the urge to leap up and follow Xanthe out of the room. Dane had taken to pacing in front of the window, and Hunter could feel his need to follow their mate pulsing down their shared link. But Xanthe had asked for a moment, and no matter how damn hard it was to give it to her, that was exactly what they were going to do—for another two minutes, and then he was going out there to get her. That was about as long as his lion would give her.
“It had to have been someone the Chemist sent, right?” Jack Casey asked as he polished off his third apple.
“Yeah, that would be the best guess,” Trent agreed. “But whoever he sent wasn’t very good at his job. He can’t shoot for shit.”
“What?” Dane spun to glare at the man, his eyes narrowed. “The prick shot me in the shoulder.”
“Exactly. You’re still breathing, so quit complaining,” Maurice added and Hunter almost cracked a grin. Almost, but not quite.
As his internal clock ticked off the last second of the two-minute deadline he had given himself, he stood up from the couch. Dane’s gaze flew to him with a look of relief.
“Stay here, D. I need to apologize to her.” Hunter moved toward the door.
“I pissed her off too, Hunter.”
“Yeah, you did. But I need to apologize to her for the way I spoke to her.” Hunter kept moving even as he felt Dane’s understanding along their bond.
“Okay, but you’d better get her in here quick. My lion doesn’t like not having her in sight.”
“Mine either, D. I’ll get her, then we can finish up and kick these guys out. I’m thinking we are going to need to spend some time loving our girl to make her feel better.”
“Hell, yeah!”
Hunter grinned at the joyful exuberance in his lover’s voice. Damn, he was one lucky son of a bitch. Hunter was halfway across the yard when he felt like a sharp sting at the back of his neck. Wincing and slamming his hand up to kill the insect that stung him, he growled when he encountered a tranq dart instead of an insect.
He reached for his lion, and growled louder when he couldn’t sense the beast anywhere within him. What in the fuck? He changed tack and reached out to Dane along their bond, but he got nothing but a blast of pain behind his eyes for the effort.
Realizing he was in trouble, and fearing for Xanthe, he went to shout for Dane and run forward, determined to get to her. But nothing happened. He simply remained standing in one spot, wavering as if he were about to fall flat on his face. He growled when hands gripped him by the shoulders and lowered him into a chair. As the darkness that had been forming at the edge of his vision began to rapidly expand, Hunter knew that unconsciousness was only moments away. Despite his best efforts, he felt himself falling into the dark abyss.
Chapter 13
Something was wrong. Something was very, very wrong and Dane’s heart began to pound. Hunter had left about five minutes ago looking for their mate, and Dane had given them time to themselves, planning their night ahead. But Dane’s lion was suddenly pacing and crawling within him, and he had to fight not to shift.
His anxiousness must have transmitted to the shifters in the room, because all conversation stopped and they stood as one. As Dane turned to move toward the door that led outside, it opened and Xanthe walked in. Seeing all the men in the room standing, tension in the air, all of their animals clear in their eyes, Xanthe froze in the doorway.
Dane was immediately filled with relief at seeing her, but also anxiety that Hunter was not with her. If Dane’s lion was feeling restless because it sensed that something was not right, then Hunter’s must be clawing at him something fierce.
“What’s happened?” Xanthe almost whispered. Her voice filled with apprehension and fear, driving Dane to her side in three quick strides.
“I’m not sure, baby.” Dane pressed a kiss to her temple. “My lion is restless. Did you leave Hunter outside?” Xanthe froze in his arms and Dane felt his anxiety grow.
“No, I haven’t seen him.” Xanthe turned wide frightened eyes in his direction. Dane reached immediately down their link and all he got was a black void. Dane’s lion roared within him. Fucking Jax!
“Jack, Zane!” Dane growled, his lion clear in his voice.
Jack leapt for his laptop, opening it swiftly, and within moments his fingers were flying over the keyboard. Zane Harrison, a member of their team who had just arrived, sprinted past them out the door. He was a bear shifter and the best scent tracker they had, and Dane wanted him outside getting as much as he could before they lost the scent.
“I sent word to all the pack. They know who Hunter is. They’ll let me know if they see or hear anything.” Ty’s voice was a harsh snarl.
“Somehow, someone has managed to inject Hunter with Jax,” Dane snarled. “The fucker must have got him in the back yard. Zane is trying to get the scent trail now, and Jack is pulling up the footage from the camera he installed in the yard yesterday.”
“What the hell? You have cameras set up already?” Ty turned to Jack as he sat concentrating on his computer screen.
“Yeah, alpha, we do. We have them all over this place and Xanthe’s shop.” Jack flicked a quick glance at Ty, before he focused back on his screen.
“You’ve been spying on my sister?” Ty’s tone turned cold. Dane saw Jack grimace, and Maurice drop his head, but he had no damn time for their melodrama when he had his own he was dealing with.
“Ty, rip him a new one later,” Dane asked as nicely as he could with his lion clawing at him from within. “Jack, what have we got?”
Before Jack had time to answer, Zane slammed back into the room, breathing heavily.
“You are not going to fucking believe this, but the only scents I have out in that yard are from Hunter and Xanthe.” The big man ran his hands through his hair in frustration. “There are some crazy-ass marks in the grass. I followed them to the drive of the house next door before they disappeared. I can’t scent a trail from Hunter either. That completely dies away in the drive.”
“Fuck. Me.” Jack looked up at Dane from his computer, his face filled with shock. “Dane, Xanthe, you’ve got to see this.”
Dane kept his arm wrapped around a now-sobbing Xanthe and moved over to the laptop. He was confident that they weren’t going to be watching a video of Hunter’s death. Jack wouldn’t do that. But there was something on that camera that shocked the fuck out of the man.
As soon as Dane and Xanthe stepped up to the screen, and the rest of them in the room gathered around as much as possible, Jack pressed a button and the scene played out in front of them i
n color. They watched in silence as Hunter strode purposefully across the yard. Almost mid-step, he stopped and suddenly slapped a hand to the back of his neck. Within seconds he faltered on his feet, then seemed to just stand completely still.
A figure moved into the shot from the right-hand side of the yard, and Dane blinked twice. The person wore all black. The hood of her sweatshirt covered her head, and her figure was slight but curvy, and was absolutely female. She walked with confidence and had a rifle slung over her shoulder. She was pushing a wheelchair. She then simply walked up behind Hunter, placed her hands on his shoulders, and lowered him into the chair.
“Hunter,” Xanthe moaned softly as the woman wheeled him out of the yard. Dane had to close himself off from her bond to stem the flow of pain and fear. He needed to be fully in control in order to find Hunter, kill the fucker who took him, and then make it so that no one dared take, threaten, or fucking look at either of his mates wrong again. Ever.
“Wait for it,” Jack muttered when they all went to look away from the screen.
A minute later the woman returned, dragging her feet through the tracks made in the grass, making them less obvious. Then she pushed the hood of her sweatshirt back and looked directly at the camera and flipped them all the bird. Jack paused the video and zoomed in.
The woman was stunning. Her hair was raven black, straight, and fell down to her waist. Her lips were full and had that bow top lip that reminded Dane of Xanthe’s, but her eyes were what really told him who they were looking at. Her eyes were brilliant blue, and so damn big a man felt like he could drown in them. Just like Xanthe’s.