by Jools Louise
“This isn’t your mate, is it?” Craig asked, then blushed when they both laughed uncontrollably, even getting a smile from Shona’s sister.
“No, silly, I’m gay, remember?” Elvis teased.
“You could be bi,” Craig said gruffly, rolling his eyes.
“Yeah, but no,” Shona retorted, chuckling.
“Here, sweet pea, how about helping some of these guys?” Craig said to Elvis as Blaze finished opening the last of the cages.
“Sure thing, sex bunny.”
“It’s sex muffin, actually,” Craig replied calmly, winking at Shona. “He’s a little deaf. It’s all that bling he’s wearing.”
They both looked at Elvis, who despite being told to wear dark clothing was clad in a purple long-sleeved T-shirt, which had a sparkly sun and moon on the front.
Shona chuckled. “Yeah, he’s a sparkler, all right.”
“A star, sweetie, that’s what you meant, isn’t it?” Elvis drawled, helping the other woman. Craig placed his hands gently on Shona’s shoulders and allowed himself to focus on healing. Elvis mimicked his actions, and between them, they soon had the eight prisoners in much better condition, although it was exhausting work administering the healing light in quick succession.
“How’s the other guy?” Craig asked.
“Carter’s checking on him,” Elvis said, looking sad. “I hope he’s okay. He was being whipped to hell.”
Blaze was talking into his link. “I’m trying to call for a helicopter to get us out of here,” he said. “There’s too many for the Zodiac. This storm is too fierce for them to come tonight, though. Amos said he’ll come through in the morning. His brother, Howard, paid him a visit.”
“Amos has a brother?” Craig asked in surprise. “Wow! You boys and I need to spend more time chatting and less having sex. I didn’t know that.”
“What?” Blaze asked, horrified. “Less sex? No way!”
“Didn’t you say that the reason Costa was allowed to sneak in was because you were sleeping off fun and frolics from last night?” Elvis asked, tongue in cheek. “I would imagine you’d jump at the chance to have more meaningful conversations.”
“What’s Amos’s brother called, again?” Craig asked his mate, ignoring Elvis’s snarky comments.
“Howard,” Blaze replied, coming over to kiss his mate once Craig was finished tending to his patients.
“Howard’s okay?” Shona asked.
“He’s your mate?” Craig asked.
The other woman nodded. “Yes. We didn’t know he was alive.”
Elvis patted her shoulder. “Once the chopper gets here, we’ll take you to him, Sandy,” he said gently. She teared up and began to cry, the events of the last wretched months catching up.
“Hey there,” Blaze said softly. “Let it out, honey.”
Shona went to comfort her sister, stroking her straggly hair away from her face, crying, as well. “Why didn’t he come for us?” Sandy asked brokenly. “We waited and waited, but he never came.”
“If your family are anything like mine, he was probably told you were dead or didn’t want him anymore,” Elvis said bitterly. “That’s the sort of fucked-up shit they’d say.” She cried harder until she was all out of tears, subsiding into sniffles and whimpers.
“We’ll get you guys some food, okay?” Blaze said. “Elvis, let’s all head outside. Finch has cleared the other buildings. The one where Craig was being held is big enough for us all and has a small kitchen. We’ll crash out on the floor and keep warm before the hearth. I don’t think anyone wants to stay in this place for another night,” he added, gesturing to the cages.
“That was Costa’s digs,” Craig said, helping a young man from his cage, and wrapping a blanket around his thin shoulders, which had been brought in by one of the former guards. “He’s bound to have food there. And the fixings for hot drinks. He liked his comforts.”
They made their way through the storm to the warmth of the last building to wait out the night.
Chapter Thirteen
“Hi,” Craig said shyly, his blue eyes gleaming with love for his alpha as he strode gracefully toward the large helicopter that had just landed, its rotors still turning.
“Hi,” Amos Hartland replied huskily, hopping to the ground and meeting his mate halfway, enfolding him in his arms, trembling with relief. “So glad you didn’t die,” he added, kissing Craig hungrily, uncaring of the nearly two dozen people standing around watching. “I love you.”
“I love you, too,” Craig mumbled breathlessly.
“My turn, stud,” Finch growled, shoving Amos aside to steal a kiss.
“Hey! You’ve already had your turn,” Garnet complained, lifting Finch off his feet and chucking him, laughing, at Amos. He moved in on a giggling Craig, who eagerly accepted Garnet’s advances. “Love you.” Garnet grinned and kissed Craig soundly.
“What about me?” Blaze protested. “I got us here, after all.”
Craig turned to him, and they shared a sexy three-way, then had to move apart before the show became triple X-rated.
“Damn, Craig, you know how to pick ’em,” Shona called, giggling as he blushed.
“They picked me,” he replied, laughing when Finch came bustling in, hauled him over his shoulder, and took him to the waiting aircraft.
“Just making sure nobody tries to steal you again,” Finch shouted above the roar of the engine.
“Okay, folks, let’s get it together,” Amos said. “We have room for eight. So we’ll make a few trips.” He and Blaze began organizing the operation to get people on board.
“No!” Shona yelled. “We’re not leaving any of these guys with those guys,” she said, pointing to their former guards, who looked sullen and uncommunicative after a long night spent chained together in the former prison block. “I don’t want to be anywhere near them,” she snarled, glaring at the men.
“Why don’t some of us travel back using the Zodiac?” Elvis suggested.
“It probably got washed away,” Blaze said. “We secured it, but those waves were massive.”
“Then what’s that down there?” Elvis pointed to the upturned boat bobbing gently in the now-gentle swell.
“The coast guard are on their way,” Amos said, after speaking. “We’ll rescue the Zodiac when they arrive. About an hour away. Some of these guys will have some explaining to do to the authorities. A tourist boat was fired upon recently, and there will be questions to answer.”
“Speaking of which, how come you’re both here? Who’s guarding our home?” Blaze asked quizzically, frowning.
“Howard showed up,” Amos said, grinning suddenly. “He was worried about the large wolf pack that had escaped from the zoo, apparently.”
Carter laughed. “Funny farm more like.”
“Loony bin, for sure,” Elvis added, smirking.
“Yeah, well, he and his troops said they were doing some training in the area and stayed behind while I flew to the rescue.”
“How did you manage that?” Blaze asked. “He’s not usually the most helpful creature, especially when it comes to you.
“I offered him something he couldn’t refuse,” Amos said mysteriously.
“What, a lobotomy?”
Amos cuffed him upside the head. “No, smartass. Found him a mate.” He began to laugh, so hard he had to lean on Blaze for balance. “You’ll love this next bit. Poetic justice. My brother found someone who’s one of the biggest homophobes as his mate.”
“Who’s his mate?” Elvis said, frowning.
Carter stared at Amos and then winced. “Please don’t tell me my brother Connor came by for a visit?”
“Okay, I won’t tell you that your brother was discovered spying on the place, and my brother smelled him and knew him to be his mate,” Amos gasped out through chuckles. “I won’t bore you with details of how my stick-up-the-ass brother is now mated to a man who is not your average romantic.”
“Is your alpha okay?” Sandy asked warily. “
Or did he smoke something…strange?”
“Howard is a bit of a stickler for rules and regulations,” Blaze explained, starting to laugh, as well. “If he is truly Connor’s mate, given what’s gone on, he’s in for a bumpy ride. They go together like a chocolate Santa on a warm summer’s day. They don’t really mesh.”
“Connor won’t be living with us, will he?” Carter asked nervously, cringing.
“No,” Amos said, more seriously. “Howard is based in England usually, in Lancashire. But he was on maneuvers and pulled a fast one to stop anyone else investigating the wolf situation. He’ll no doubt take Connor back to Preston with him.”
“Any chance they’ll emigrate?” Elvis asked hopefully. “Siberia maybe? That might be far enough away.”
Amos found his composure, wiping his eyes, and studied them both with compassion. “No can do,” he replied softly. “I have more news, Carter. Your parents are indeed dead. It wasn’t just a bad dream. Apparently Charlie had to defend himself, and he beat them to the punch, so to speak. He’s now taken control of the Ruin pack. Connor says that his brother may come after him, as well.”
Carter stared, eyes wide with a roiling hurricane of emotions. “Charlie?” he said faintly. “That’s worse than I expected. What about Catherine? My sister? Where is she?”
“Nobody mentioned her,” Amos said. “That’s probably a good thing. I’m sure Connor would have said if anything bad had happened to her.”
“That’s not what I mean. Catherine is as bad as Mother ever was, if not worse. She’s more subtle about it, though. She wants to be alpha so bad, but the rules forbid it. I haven’t seen her for ages, so maybe she hasn’t heard.”
“The strongest leader is the only prerequisite for being alpha,” Amos said. “Nothing to forbid a female taking control…except all those chauvinistic males.”
“Then she could take over?” Carter asked.
“No reason why not.”
“Oh, God. Then there could be a war.” Carter stared at Elvis worriedly. “You know what she’s like. Savage.”
“Connor said something that troubled me,” Amos told them. “He said that when he was little he was abused, severely abused, and ordered to do stuff to you and Charlie.”
Carter snorted. “We were all abused. What’s his angle?”
Amos smiled slightly. “He was deeply shocked by what Charlie did. Remember, he was the one who pulled her off you and stopped her from hurting you more. Maureen was going to kill Charlie, but Charlie won the fight and then turned on your father when Arnie came to deal with him. Arnie was weak and easily influenced by Maureen. We all know that. What could she have used as leverage? Connor seemed to think that Maureen hid something from Arnie, or someone.”
Carter exchanged a glance with Elvis and shrugged. “I never heard of anything. When I was born, five years after Connor and three years after Charlie, he was already a little shit. He used to put fire ants in my crib and tie sparklers to my tail when I shifted. Asshole.”
“Nice brother,” Blaze commented, arching a brow.
“I’m going to do some checking, and find out if Connor’s story is true,” Amos declared. “This may be Connor’s attempt to ingratiate himself. Or it may be a cry for help. Bullies are created, not born that way.”
Carter didn’t look convinced. “Maybe,” he said doubtfully. “I was born into the same family, and I didn’t follow their orders when it came to hurting people. That’s when their hatred truly started. I refused to do the things they wanted me to.”
“Like I said,” Amos told him. “Bullies are taught their behavior. I’m not condoning anything, certainly not his behavior toward you. But perhaps he’s finally learning a different lesson.”
“Your brother will have his hands full,” Carter said, scowling. “Connor’s a twat.”
Amos grinned suddenly. “Howard’s a bigger twat, believe me,” he said. “He’s a year older and a total buzzkill. We were always fighting as kids. Fifty-fifty success rate,” he chuckled. “He’s more than capable of keeping Connor in line. He can be charming when he wants.” Then he winced ruefully. “Judging from all the noises coming from one of the closets earlier this morning, I’d say he was giving Connor some special attention.”
“Oh! Gross!” Elvis complained.
“TMI, Alpha Hartland,” Carter added, wrinkling his nose.
Noises began to emit from the helicopter, that of someone getting royally fucked. “Are you kidding me?” Garnet shouted loudly. “The fucker’s done it again, hasn’t he? Finch!”
Everyone laughed except Elvis, who looked perturbed. “No way am I getting in that thing after they’ve been screwing,” he announced. “I’d rather swim home.”
That generated laughter all round.
“I have some friends who will take this lot,” Amos told him. “You and the others can decide which vessel to go home in. If you want to wait awhile, I can stay here with Carter and some of the others, and we’ll take the next flight.” He looked at Carter shrewdly. “I don’t want you bumping into your brother without me there. He’s not a changed man yet.”
Carter nodded. “I like that plan,” he said gratefully.
“So, half the prisoners stay and wait with you and Carter. We’ll ship the first lot home with Elvis and Craig,” Blaze said, nodding.
“Yeah, sounds good. Should be a couple of hours, max,” Amos said.
They heard some yelling through a tannoy and saw a large vessel sailing closer. Amos spoke into his comm link again, directing the boat toward the easiest landing stage.
“Okay, folks, get ready for a little exercise. We have to get these guys down the cliff,” the alpha stated, grinning at the nervous expressions on the erstwhile wardens.
“I’ll push, no need for anyone to catch them,” Shona said fiercely, baring her fangs at the sullen group.
“Yeah, let’s just drop ’em over the edge,” Sandy added, glaring.
“You two won’t be dropping anything,” Amos advised them wryly. “You’re on the first flight, ladies.”
“Not so sure I want to meet Connor,” Shona said, pouting. “If he’s Howard’s mate, that makes us his mates, too,” she groaned.
“Oh, shit!” Elvis exclaimed. “Good luck with that,” he added, patting her shoulder.
* * * *
Craig looked down, enjoying the view of the stunning scenery rushing by, snow on the hills still as they flew rapidly over the Outer Hebrides toward home. And it was home. He hadn’t had time to really adjust to military life before being injured and then flung into the midst of a conflict far more complex than any religious zealot could come up with. The politics were still there, the violence…and he was only just beginning to understand some of the people responsible.
“Hey, sweetness,” Finch drawled in his ear, hugging him close. “You okay?”
“Yes.” Craig smiled back, kissing his mate. “Now that we’re going home. I’m interested to meet Amos’s brother.”
Finch curled his lip. “The interest will last for about twenty seconds, and then you’ll be wishing you’d never met him. He’s a stickler.”
“Isn’t Amos?”
“Hah! Not even close. Night and day, those two.”
“Do they still fight?” Craig wanted to know, not quite so eager to meet the man, now.
“Not so much,” Finch replied. “They do argue, though. Amos just loves yanking Howard’s chain.” He frowned. “He never told me that Howard had mated Shona and Sandy, though.”
“Perhaps he didn’t know.”
“We have some questions, too,” Shona said, frowning. She sat on Craig’s other side, with her sister opposite. Two of the worst injured were strapped to beds and IVs, with two other prisoners flying with them.
“And you’ll get your chance to ask them,” Craig told her gently, squeezing her arm. “If those idiots don’t give the one you want, kick ’em somewhere significant.”
She giggled at that and hugged him. “You bet, sex muffin,�
�� she said, laughing harder when he groaned at the nickname that seemed to be sticking.
The aircraft continued its journey, startling herds of deer below as it crossed into the Highlands, toward the rugged terrain of the Cairngorm mountains before dipping and following the landscape into the isolated valley that was Hartland territory.
Four army vehicles sat outside the main house, with half a dozen men milling around, all in uniform. Farther down the valley, beside the loch, three were fishing, while another three were hauling a deer carcass up toward the house.
“Did Amos say they could hunt?” Craig asked, frowning.
“Who knows?” Finch said, staring hard. “I don’t think he’ll be too happy they took down one of the stags, though. That old boy has been here for years.”
The aircraft landed in the field next to the house, allowing everyone to spill out onto the grass. Craig took charge of the wounded, organizing for them to be moved to the dwelling where he’d asked for a room to be set aside downstairs as a medical facility.
“Stop there,” a voice said sharply as they approached the porch. “Who’s this?”
Craig felt Finch tense beside him as a tall man exited the house, walking to the top of the steps, as though he owned the world. Fucking prick. Craig despised him already.
“Get the fuck out of my way. This man needs medical attention,” Craig shot back, not stopping.
“I said stop!” the man ordered, palming a pistol, which he aimed directly at Craig.
“Oh, Howard?” Shona called sweetly as she approached. He blanched and took a step back. “This is the man who helped rescue us from hell. And these are his mates. All ex-Special Forces soldiers. You might want to put that peashooter away before you get hurt.”
“Shona? What are you doing here?” He actually looked to be in pain.
“We were rescued, darling,” she repeated sweetly. “Unlike some men, these guys actually take care of business and go after their loved ones.”
He paled even more. “I was told you were away on vacation,” he said weakly, backing up further. Craig exchanged a grin with Finch, enjoying Howard’s embarrassment.