‘We have her, Jared. You need to come fucking quick man. I dunno if she’s gonna last much longer.’ I’m up and in motion before my mind registers what he’s actually just said. They’ve found her.
We get to the kitchen, and on the table, where Imogen and Logan would normally put breakfast, there’s a body. It can’t be her. They’ve got it wrong—this isn’t Maiya. No no no no. Please no. There is barely any hair on her head from what I can see. Her face is unrecognisable—she is black from the bruising and has what look like burns all over her skin, which look infected. And the smell. Oh my god, this cannot be happening. All her fingers look broken and deformed, and she has a bone sticking through her lower leg. Zoe is tending to her, but she looks way out of her depth on this one.
‘We need a doctor! Has anyone called an ambulance?’ I ask, stunned at everyone standing around.
‘We can’t,’ Brad informs me.
‘What do you mean we fucking can't. She’ll die, look at her?’
I feel in my pocket for my phone—it isn’t there. ‘Shit, someone give me a phone. We need to call the emergency services. I can't believe you’re all just standing here.’ I’m ranting and looking at everyone to hand over their phone—no one does.
‘Jared, I cannot let her die. Please, please, someone help her!’
‘Baby, we are. Look, see, Zoe is working her magic. We can't call an ambulance because the police will come and we’ll be in the frame. Think about it, baby.’
Right then and there I didn’t give a rat’s ass about me or anyone else. Maiya looks like she has about a second to live. This isn’t right!
‘We need blood,’ Zoe informs the room, ‘but I don’t know her type.’
Brad steps up and offers his arm. ‘So use mine, I’m type O.’
She works fast and soon has blood from Brad in a drip bag and on a trolley that seems to appear from nowhere. She is just putting in an IV when a thought suddenly flashes in my mind.
‘Wait! She’s human!’
Zoe looks grim, as she nods. ‘Devon, we don’t have a lot of choice right now. She could die from this. It’s a risk, but if we don’t try she is going to die for sure.’
I nod, resigned to the fact that this has to happen. I don’t know what the side effects will be—if there are any, or if this has ever been tried before. But I hope to god it works, and she pulls through. Wolf blood couldn’t do any more damage than was already done.
‘Zoe, call the pack doc get him up here asap,’ Jared tells her.
‘Already dialled him,’ Brad says with his phone up to his ear.
Jared
I eye the boys and jerk my head—we need a meeting now. We get to the library.
‘Where’s my father?’ I ask
‘He left for home early this morning. He said something had come up, and he was needed. He’ll be back as soon as possible though.’ Harrison filled me in. I nod. This is my rodeo anyway.
‘Howard, explain what happened.’
‘We had just gone on to shift and were doing our first lap of the outer property lines when I found the scent on the air. Smelled like death, and we thought she was gone, but then Harrison found a heartbeat. They obviously dumped her there for us, or the police, to find.
‘Where exactly was she?’
‘To the right of the big oak—just outside of the property line. Literally just outside, too,’ Howard continued. Fuck me, right where we bury our dirty laundry.
‘Jared, my guess is they thought she was dead. So they’re either sending a ‘don’t fuck with us’ message, or they were banking on the police sniffing around and finding her,’ Harrison chimes in. And I hated to admit it but he I thought he was fucking right. Why else would they dump her there of all places? This was Kristen. If the police found Maiya, they’d dig deeper and find more. Fuck. I still can’t believe Kristen would sell us out.
‘I want these motherfuckers found and in the ground TODAY!’ My patience with these bastards has run out, and if they have Kristen’s intel on our dirty work, this needs to end quickly. I can’t fucking protect Devon if I’m arrested and locked up, and I won’t survive that either, no wolf could. ‘Brad, I want you to stay with Zoe and Maiya. I want updates. Howard, Harrison—find Dom and Jake. We’re going hunting.’
‘Fuck, yeah.’ Harrison pipes in. Howard stays quiet, as does Brad. Until Harrison leaves the room,
‘What about duties here?’ Brad asks.
‘Logan and Imogen will be here. Gather all the rest of the pack. We’ll split it down the middle. I don’t want anyone left unprotected.’
‘Okay,’ he agrees and leaves the room.
‘Fuck me. Am I in an alternate universe?’ I look to Howard for an answer
‘Huh?’
‘When does Brad ever just agree?’
‘He’s been acting weird since we brought that girl in.’
‘She is a fuckin mess.’ I shake my head. ‘Just hope she makes it—Devon will never forgive herself if she doesn’t.’
‘She shouldn’t be shouldering the blame.’
‘Try telling her that.’
He rolls his eyes
‘Nah man, that’s your territory. I ain't going there.’ He chuckles but it's soon lost. The situation is grim, and we need to end it fast.
I find Devon in the same place I left her. She’s helping Zoe wrap the girl's arms in cling film or some shit. It still stinks to high heaven, but the smell of disinfectant is blurring the lines with the burnt flesh and death stench. My head already feels woozy from the potency of the disinfectant they’re splashing about. I never did like that smell. Always has pain attached to it, and right now that pain is clear for all to see on Devon’s face. I put my hand on her shoulder, and as I do, Maiya starts convulsing on the table. Fuck. Devon screams and Zoe goes into action. Brad seems to appear from nowhere, and Zoe barks orders at us. I pull Devon away from the table and help Brad to get Maiya into the recovery position. Zoe checks her airways while we do our best to hold her still so she doesn’t hurt herself anymore. It’s a fucking horrible task. She’s choking on her tongue and foaming at the mouth. Zoe manages to get to grips with it and stop the choking, but her body is still doing its own thing. I can hear sobs coming from Devon in the corner, and the need to comfort her is strong, but I can’t. The seizure eventually stops, and we all look at each other while Zoe checks her vitals.
‘When is the doc arriving?’ I ask Brad,
‘He was leaving when I rang, so I’d say an hour if he’s driving fast. Hour and a half, tops.’
‘Good, Zoe keep working your magic till he arrives. Brad, I need you to check all the outer perimeter surveillance before we leave. You up to that after giving blood? I want to know if we got a look at any of the fuckers faces.’
‘On it,’ he says and runs from the room. Devon is still crying, but she pulls herself together as she comes over and puts her arms around my waist.
‘You okay?’ I ask. She nods her head into my chest.
‘Baby, I’m going out with the boys, and we’re gonna bring you their fuckin heads. I promise.’ She nods again, wiping at her eyes. She swallows and looks me in the eye.
‘You make sure you come back, Jared. Just promise me you will come back?’ I take her face in my hands and press my lips to hers. It's not the time for a passionate kiss, but I need her to know that nothing will keep me from her. Her eyes close, and she moans a little before pulling back and looking me directly in the eye.
‘Say you promise.’
‘Baby?’
‘Jared, say it! I need this.’
‘Devon, you are my reason for breathing. I will always find my way back to you.’ Her eyes close. I didn’t promise, but she seems pacified. I would never make a promise like that. One that I would have to break if the Reaper came for me.
‘Okay, so listen up. Brad, Logan, and Imogen will all be here staying with you guys, and I have a team of guys that came with my dad, staying too. So you are protected.’
‘W
hat about you who is going with you?’
‘Don’t worry. I have men with me too, plus Howard and Harrison. We’ll be fine,’ I tell her, stroking her hair. Pushing it behind her ears.
‘Okay,’ she mumbles, ‘but be careful.’ This is something she would get used to in time. This is what we do. We’ve gone to war with other packs, and we’ve gone to war with the kitsunes before too—this is no different.
‘Always am,’ I tell her, grabbing a handful of her ass and pulling her to me. Her arms go up and around my neck and her lips touch mine. I let her lead since we’re in the presence of her sick friend and Zoe, but she doesn’t seem to care. Her lips open up, and I feel her tongue flick out and taste my lips—an invitation I won't refuse. I slide mine in along hers, and I kiss her until she’s gasping for air. ‘God. I fucking love you,’ I tell her honestly.
‘Love you too,’ she smiles against my lips, and I let her go.
I meet Brad in the surveillance room. We have images of them but no faces. There were four in total. One looked to be a lot like fucking Kristen. I meet the guys where Maiya was found. Howard has rallied everyone up and given my orders. I saw the team that were staying as I left and now all that was left to do was find these fuckers and kill them all. Harrison, Dom, and Jake are our best trackers, and they found a trail to follow in wolf form, so we followed with weapons and clothes in our backpacks. Although I was certain on the CCTV that Kristen was among the four that dumped Maiya, her scent was not easy to determine, which pissed me off. We track a few miles through the woods before we come to a more public area so the guys have to change and get dressed before we can carry on. It is more time consuming this way but it was never good for us to be seen in wolf form—people tended to freak the fuck out.
We come to a road. The guys are stopping intermittently to sniff the ground because that’s where the scent is strongest. From someone else's point of view, we just look like a bunch of guys who can’t tie their fucking shoelaces very well. We come to a garage and the scent disappears. I have the surveillance on my phone, thanks to Brad, so I walk into the shop and straight up to the counter. Howard stays with me. I ask the clerk if she was on all night or if she’s just started. She smiles and tells me she gets off in fifteen minutes. Great, she thinks I’m flirting. I seriously aren’t, but it could work in our favour. ‘Can you do me a favour?’ I ask and grin at her.
‘Sure, handsome.’ I grit my teeth a little, but I don’t falter. I take my phone from my pocket—Brad has sent me stills too. The faces aren’t clear, but you can see their build. They all have caps and hoodies on.
‘Can you look at these and tell me if you remember seeing them get into a car here?’ She leans over, and her tits practically spill out over the counter.
‘Oh yeah. I remember them alright. They fuelled and ran. I got their registration and reported it to the police. Is that why you're here? You want my statement?’ She grins at me again, and I almost roll my eyes.
‘Yeah, we’re looking for them for another crime they committed. Did you get a good look at them?’
‘Yeah, I have a monitor right here under the counter. There were three big guys and one woman.’
‘Can we take a look?’ I ask smiling my best smile.
‘Sure, come on back, just lift the flap there, that’s it,’ she says as I lift and go behind the counter. She does something with the control and up comes a still of the car with the registration perfectly clear. Then another still and there in the back seat of the Nissan Patrol is Kristen. Clear as a bell. Bitch. There is a guy next to her who isn’t clear, but the guy in the passenger seat and the one at the pump are both clear as a bell too. We’ve fucking got them!
I get on the phone and text Brad the details, and what do you know, he gets a name and an address in minutes. Chances are it won't be that straightforward, but it’s a fuck load better than what we started with.
Someone named Travis Welborn owns the Nissan, and he resides on a fuck load of land with a house at the end of this drive. We’ve spread out. Howard is by my side. Harrison a few feet in front. Dom is at my back, and the others have fanned out to check out the property. I’m waiting on the signal for ‘all clear’ then I’m walking through the front fucking door. I’m done playing games with these fuckers. I get the yip, and then another, and three more follow that. It’s go time. As we near the place, all I can hear is some heavy metal shit playing through an even shittier sound system. It makes my ears bleed—who even listens to this crap?
I don’t bother trying the front door. I just boot it. Once is all it takes and the piece of crap plastic folds in on itself. I follow the screaming and wailing of the speakers. Howard kicks another door open and bingo, I find Kristen on her knees giving the blowjob of her life to fucktard number one, while fucktard two and three are having a three-way with some prostitute-looking bitch.
All clearly too fucking arrogant to expect trouble—let alone prepare for it. This is going to be like taking candy from a baby. I aim my gun and watch as Harrison and Howard do the same. I grin knowing that this is going to be a fucking good day. I pull the plug on the sound system, and for a second the moaning from the three-way continues until they all realise it's gone quiet. Everything seems to go in slow motion. Fucktard number one’s head snaps up, and the blissful look from his blowjob disappears real quick as he fumbles for his weapon. Fucktard number two pulls out of the woman's cunt and turns to look at me, with his junk on show. I grin, aim and fire. He writhes around on the floor, screaming all kinds of hell while he bleeds out from the hole his dick had filled. Meanwhile, the prostitute who was being banged at both ends tries to run and cover. Not happening. I shake my head, and she sits on the makeshift bed, covering her tits. Her eyes as wide as fucking saucers. Fucktard one and three, who moments ago were both being sucked off, are now looking at each other with a gun to their heads. Not mine, though. No, mine is trained on Kristen who looks very pale, like the reaper just came knocking. I move Kristen over to the two guys, and I pat them down for weapons. Howard grumbles at me—he doesn’t like me getting up close and personal, but it's just the way I like it. Especially when it comes to these bastards, and fucking with what's mine. When they are searched and weapons removed, I move to the idiot rapidly losing blood on the floor.
‘I’d say you have a few more minutes before you black out. Your heart is beating real fucking fast right now, trying to keep the oxygen flowing through your body, and when that slows, you’re in big fucking trouble, so, here's the deal. I want information—you need a doctor. You scratch my back, and I’ll scratch yours. You feel me?’ His eyes are wild, and he looks pretty fucking pale. But he nods. Good.
‘Okay, I want the kitsune. The American woman—the one calling the shots. Where can I find her?’
He swallows and tries to speak.
‘Keep your mouth shut, Bri—’ Fucktard three shouts, but he’s cut off by a blow to the head, thanks to Harrison.
‘Brian is it?’
He nods his head, and his eyes start to roll. Fuck. I’m losing him. I look to Howard, and he shrugs his shoulders.
‘We have two more, and her,’ he says curling his lip at Kristen. I nod, we should move. During my search, I found the keys to the Nissan, which is parked conveniently outside. I finish off the guy on the floor, and we load the other two and Kristen into the truck. Harrison and Howard come with me, leaving the rest of the team on clean up. I drive, Howard insists. He’s like a fucking woman. Always nagging. But I’ve got to give it to him. It's his job to protect me at all costs, and he does that. Not just because my dad would kill him if he did a shit job, but because he has my back. He’s my best friend. He and Brad always have been.
It doesn’t take long for us to arrive back at the house. It's no surprise to look up and find Devon sitting in the window, watching for us to return. What is strange though is that she's in Brad's room, not ours, and I don’t fucking like that. I wave, and she smiles. It makes my stomach flip a little. Fuck me, I’m turnin
g into a pussy, but I’ll be damned if that isn’t the best fucking feeling in the world coming home to see her smiling down at me.
I watch as she leaves the window and I turn my attention to the two pricks in the bed of the Nissan. Tied real nicely, thanks to Harrison’s strange obsession with different types of knots. They are restrained like a couple of double-jointed contortionists. It’s quite a sight, to be honest, and they are clearly in a lot of pain. Good. Harrison has no sympathy as he hoists one up and over his shoulder like a pig on a spit roast. Making him squeal like a fucking pig too. I pull Kristen out of the back seat—she is also nicely tied up, although not quite as tight as the kitsunes. Her face is impassive like she doesn’t have a fuck to spare over the whole situation. That would soon fucking change. Traitor.
I’m pushing her up in front of me when the door bangs open, and Devon comes barrelling through it. I’m thinking I’m going to get some lip action, but she walks right up to Kristen, pulls her arm back and socks her one right on the fucking jaw. I have hold of her by the rope, but I don’t stop the fall she takes. And I don’t stop Devon going in for a second hit either—this time splitting her cheek open. As bad as this sounds, Devon throwing down, turns me way the fuck on. I’d say I could watch her all night, but that’d be a lie. I would rather take her to our room and fuck her right now. Brad follows, and he’s the one to stop Devon going all out. I’m just looking on like a horny teen with a semi. Brad snaps me back to the here and now though when he pulls Devon by the arm.
Forbidden Love (Stone Pack Book 1) Page 28