by Crissy Smith
Frowning, his brother changed course and marched back to him. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” he assured Max. Of course, he was lying but his brother was the last person he wanted to have this conversation with. Chase just needed time to get his head on straight.
“Then why are you leaving?”
Sighing, Chase wasn’t sure what to say to get Max to back off. As close as the two of them were, this was Chase’s problem and he didn’t want Max involved.
Besides how embarrassing it would be to let his brother know what a big failure he really was.
“Talk to me, man.”
Raking his gaze over his brother, Chase recognized the stubborn set of his jaw and concern in his eyes. “I just need to get away for a bit. That’s all. With Marcus’ family here and now you and the Alpha, I’m not needed.”
“Okay, if that’s what you want. I’ll tell the others you’ll be by later.”
“Yeah, sure.” Spinning around, he hurried back to the elevator.
Stopping his escape, Shawn called him. “Chase! Marcus is awake and asking for you.”
“Fuck!” he murmured. No choice in the matter. Chase spun on his heel.
Max was still standing in the same spot. Avoiding his gaze, Chase rushed to Shawn’s side. He could get through this then he was going home and losing himself in a bottle of tequila.
“You’re awake,” he said with fake happiness.
Marcus sat up with his daughter at his side. “I told you I was too mean to die,” Marcus replied with his usual gruffness.
“Yeah, you did, old man,” he agreed. The room seemed a lot smaller filled with so many people.
Kayla’s two friends stood in the corner by the window. Both men openly stared at him. Paying them no mind and turning his back on Shawn and Max, Chase made the effort to look only at Marcus.
“Come here, son,” Marcus commanded.
Leaning forward, the strength with which Marcus grabbed the back of his neck surprised Chase.
“Thank you.”
Staring into Marcus’ face, Chase had to swallow hard to clear his throat. The emotions in the man’s features were unexpected. Unable to say anything, he simply nodded.
“Mr. Webb.”
At the doctor’s arrival, Chase took his chance to distance himself from the others in the room. Putting his back to the wall, he observed as the doctor spoke with Marcus and Kayla.
Shawn shouldered his way into the conversation. Chase thought everyone should leave and was about to suggest it when Marcus started to raise his voice.
“While I appreciate you patching me back together, I am going home!”
Oh, hell. Chase should have predicted this argument.
“Now, Marcus, you need to recover,” Shawn advised.
“Mr. Webb, you were in surgery only a few hours ago,” the doctor tried.
“Dad, listen to your doctor,” Kayla added.
From his position, Chase could see Marcus was about to lose his shit.
“How about a compromise?” he suggested, joining the small group.
All eyes turned to him.
“At least stay overnight. If you are still feeling well enough to go home tomorrow instead of a few days, we can revisit the subject. One night, Marcus.”
The silence in the room seemed to turn to tension as no one moved.
“One night,” Marcus finally grumbled.
Like a balloon popping, the atmosphere immediately eased.
“I’ll let you visit for a few more minutes but after that, I’m afraid I’ll have to ask most of you to leave. If my patient insists on checking himself out early, I will make sure he is well rested when he does go.”
A chorus of affirmatives followed the doctor out.
“I really wish you would reconsider,” Shawn told Marcus. “He’s just looking out for your wellbeing.”
“I can take care of myself,” Marcus argued. “All I want to know is if you found the son of a bitch who shot me.”
Chase should have hightailed it out with the doctor. Sliding his feet back, he retook his stance against the wall.
“No,” Shawn said roughly. “Bastard got away. But we got his scent. We’ll keep a guard at your door here and watch the house.”
“I don’t need any damn protection. I can take care of myself.”
Opening his mouth to argue, Chase quickly thought better of it. Shawn could strong-arm Marcus if he had to. It would be better if the Alpha handled this.
“You’ll keep the guards,” Shawn told him. “Right now we have a gunman lose, who could go after all of us. The Pack is on high alert. My family will be kept safe.”
Marcus didn’t say anything but his gaze left their Alpha until it landed on Chase. Chase didn’t look away until Marcus did.
“You think they found me?” Marcus finally asked Shawn.
“I don’t know. It’s a possibility.”
“What are you talking about dad?”
“Maybe I can help answer that.”
The room came alive with activity as a new voice joined them.
Chase jumped at the woman’s voice as Max and Shawn practically pounced on her.
“Hey!” The tall man who had arrived with Kayla jumped forward. “Get your hands off my sister.”
“Where’s the guard?” Chase demanded angrily.
The noise level rose until Chase couldn’t hear anything in particular. Whistling sharply, he gained everyone’s attention.
The woman held by Max and Shawn smiled as she glanced over at him.
“Thank you, Mr. Lawson.” She then turned to Marcus. “How are you, Marcus?”
“Fine. You can let her go,” he told the two protectors. “She’s not here to hurt me.”
Shawn and Max released the woman, who nodded to them. “Gentlemen.”
The young man with matching features to the woman moved forward quickly. “Angel, are you okay?”
She waved away his concern, instead hugging him. “Yes, of course.”
“Sorry, Alpha,” the guard said from the doorway. “She showed a badge and said she was authorized to enter.”
“It’s okay, Jeffrey. She just took us by surprise,” Shawn assured the young guard.
“I apologize for interrupting. I tried to call Justin but my call went unanswered so I just came up here. Angelica Salvatore.”
As introductions were made, Chase took in the newcomer. She had the same black hair and crystal clear, blue eyes as her brother. About the same height as Kayla, she was probably around five seven or so. Intelligence gleamed from her gaze as she locked it on him.
“What are you doing here?” Marcus asked the question Chase was dying to voice.
“After the incident with Kayla and Randy last night, Justin called. When word about your shooting came in—and since they were already on the way—I detoured here instead of heading onto Lubbock.”
“What incident?” Marcus and Chase asked simultaneously.
Chapter Five
With the addition of Justin’s sister to the mix, all of the information floating around had given Kayla a headache.
She should have prepared her father better for hearing the news that someone had been after her and Randy the previous night, but she hadn’t had the chance.
As he glared at her, she shifted nervously from foot to foot.
“That settles it,” Marcus said trying to sit up farther. “I’m not staying here while my daughter is in danger.”
Three sets of hands—hers, Shawn’s and Chase’s—all landed on him to keep Marcus in bed.
“Dad, I’m fine,” she soothed.
“Marcus,” Shawn growled in warning.
With a thunderous expression, her dad settled back against the pillows.
“There is too big of a coincidence to ignore,” Angel stated, as she sat in one of the chairs by the window.
She’d never met Justin’s sister and now she was kind of glad she hadn’t. Angel was pretty intimidating, even surrounded by s
hifters.
It wasn’t her appearance exactly, but Angel just had a certain presence about her that screamed ‘I’m in charge’.
“This is a major concern for the organization. We think they’ve found you and your daughter,” Angel spoke directly to her father. “There are more of us on the way.”
The heavy sigh was full of so many emotions Kayla couldn’t have guessed what was going through her dad’s mind as he lay there.
“I’ve brought danger to the Pack,” Marcus said to Shawn.
“You’ve spent your life protecting us and are part of my family. We’ll handle this,” Shawn replied easily.
“What exactly is going on?” Chase asked from across the room.
Peering over at him, Kayla took in his crossed arms and frown. The man was not happy with the information that was unfolding.
“We’ll discuss it, but not here.” Shawn turned to Max. “We need a safe place for everyone to stay. I don’t want Marcus alone at his house when he’s released—at least not right now.”
“The main house has enough space. Between Alex, me, Chase and Jacob, we’ll cover security. Also, we’ll assign a few more guards close to the Canyon opening,” Max offered.
“I agree. That will be the best place for everyone right now.”
It only took a matter of seconds and a few sentences for the two men to organize everything. Stunned, Kayla sat as they spoke softly to each other.
The others in the room seemed to take in the two with varied degrees of amusement. Angel sat back smiling. Randy bobbed his head from one to the other. Justin kept rocking back on his heels just listening, and Chase simply smirked.
“Uh, if I can ask a question,” Kayla raised her hand as if she was still in school.
The Alpha paused and looked over at her.
Now that she had his attention, Kayla didn’t know what to say. Finally, thinking of what brought her to town, she questioned. “What about the man who shot my dad?”
“That is being investigated,” Angel informed her. “We should know more once we get settled.”
“You’re responsible for the closing of the church?” Chase spoke up, aiming a fierce expression in Angel’s direction.
“You could say that,” Angel quipped.
With a shake of his head, Chase pushed away from the wall. “I figured. I have to go. I’ll meet up with you all a little later.”
“Where are you going?” Max blocked Chase’s exit.
“To my diner. I need to check on things.”
Max started to back away.
“Not alone,” Marcus practically shouted.
“What?” Chase asked, frowning at him.
“He saw you. They’ll know who you are by now, if they didn’t prior to this afternoon.”
“Look, I don’t know what all this is about but I have a business to run. By the time everyone gets to the Wilson ranch, I won’t be far behind. Nothing is going to happen in town anyway.”
“I disagree,” Shawn replied. “You are also the Beta of the Pack. Not only does that put you in danger, but you witnessed what happened at Marcus’, so we need to make sure you are guarded too.”
“I can take care of myself!”
Kayla sympathized with Chase. It was obvious he had been through a lot that day and needed some time away from the matter and everyone now involved. She wanted to offer to go with him but that wasn’t possible. She had her own priorities.
Instead, she watched as Max gripped the back of Chase’s neck and whispered in his ear.
The emotions that crossed Chase’s face told her a lot. She wasn’t certain why she felt the strong instant attraction to him.
All she knew was that she wasn’t going to fight it.
Chase Lawson meant something to her and her wolf. She would find out what that was later.
“Fine,” Chase said, throwing his hands up before stalking away from everyone. “I need to make a phone call.”
Chase stomped out of the room and Kayla had to bite back a smile. The man needed some stress relief. Kayla had a few suggestions to help.
Max caught her gaze and grinned. There was no way that he could know what she was thinking but as a future Alpha, it wouldn’t be hard to pick up on the attraction between her and his brother.
He nodded to her then quickly spun around, following in Chase’s wake.
“You should get out of here,” her dad said, drawing her attention.
“You do what the doctor says and stay in bed,” Kayla demanded. She bent over and kissed his forehead.
“I will…for now,” he replied.
Motioning for Justin and Randy to accompany her out the door, she led the way to the exit, leaving Shawn and Angel.
Why had her dad kept secrets from her? And they were some big ones too. Hurt by that knowledge, it would take some time for her to heal. In the end, she would forgive her father. She always did.
Knowing he was a good man was a comfort to her and whatever she learned—no matter how bad—would not change the way she looked at her dad.
Chase and Max stood next to the elevator with their heads bent toward each other.
“Any idea what’s going on?” Randy asked from behind her.
Tearing her gaze away from the Lawson brothers, she turned toward her friend. “Not really.”
They both glanced at Justin.
Tucking his hands into his pockets, Justin stared intently at the ground. “I told you what I could.”
Kayla snorted. Justin obviously knew more about his sister’s role in whatever was happening but was leaving it to the others to fill them in. Why she was more pissed about him hiding things than her dad, Kayla wasn’t sure. However, the revelations were going to change her relationship with everyone who had lied to her—even if they thought they were protecting her. She was certain Justin wouldn’t let her get hurt and it must have been hard to have his loyalty torn. Having to choose between her and his family wasn’t something she could ask him to do. Eventually, hopefully, they would be better friends after all this was over.
Although she was pissed, she still loved him.
Shawn and Angel passed the guard, stopping to say a few words to the man before joining Kayla and her group.
“I spoke to Alex. Everything is ready for us.”
“Let’s head out,” Shawn ordered.
* * * *
The large, comfortable living room in the Wilson’s main house filled quickly with the group. One person handed out hot, fresh mugs of coffee to everyone as they each settled into his or her seats.
Chase sat in a recliner across from his Alpha. Seated on the sectional couch, Kayla, Justin, Randy and Angel spoke quietly, while Cassie and Max cuddled close on the love seat. Alex stood as he played host but Chase could see the tension in his friend’s shoulders. They were all feeling the stress from the day.
While Alex was always helpful in Pack matters, Chase knew having a bunch of strangers in his home was still hard for him.
The only person missing was Jacob. The youngest Wilson sibling and park ranger was setting up the added security around the ranch. Now that everyone had arrived, it was time to get started. Alex would have to fill in his brother about what they discussed later.
Clearing his throat, Shawn drew all attention to him. “What you are going to learn today must be kept between the occupants of this room at all times.”
He waited until every person had nodded.
“Also, by having this knowledge, you are putting yourself in danger. No one will think less of you if you decide to walk away right now.”
Again, everyone gave an affirmative.
“Angel?”
The young woman glanced around after sighing deeply. She stood directly in front of them, which put her next to Alex.
His friend moved away, looking uncomfortable. Chase would have to dig into his friend’s reaction later.
“For longer than we really know, there has been a group of people who were in charge of protecting those
who were not human. This organization was started in secret and has always worked that way. Even when the shifters decided to go public, this group has remained dedicated to its mission,” Angel explained.
“You’re a part of them?” Chase asked.
“Yes. You can call it tradition. As the eldest child, I was raised knowing what my duty would be.”
“What does this have to do with us?” Kayla questioned.
“A lot, actually,” Angel replied. “Most agents don’t retire. The ones who do have to live carefully so that they are never discovered.”
“My dad?”
“Yes. After your grandparents died, he was given permission to leave and take care of you. He moved up here to live quietly and out of sight.”
“When Marcus requested to join our Pack, I was advised of the whole story. I was also sworn to secrecy,” Shawn informed them.
Chase wasn’t surprised but he didn’t like that his Alpha had being hiding this information. “And if something had happened to you?”
“Marcus would have shared with my successor, who would have to agree to the same as I did,” Shawn replied, staring Chase down.
Sitting back in the chair, he nodded to his boss. There wasn’t much Chase could do about the past. He’d just have to accept that even as Beta, he didn’t know everything about his Pack.
“So why are they coming after Marcus now?” Max asked.
“And who are they?” Kayla added.
“Just like we’ve always fought to protect, there have been those who have known about the non-humans and are hell-bent on destroying us. We call them the Hunters. And we’ve been battling them a long time,” Angel told them.
“This group that you’re part of,” Alex spoke for the first time. “What do you call yourselves?”
Angel turned to him and smiled. “We’re the Guardians, of course.”
Alex shook his head and muttered something under his breath. Chase couldn’t make out what he’d said but by the rise of Angel’s eyebrows, she’d obviously heard Alex.
“And these Hunters are after my dad?” Kayla asked quietly.
“So it seems. That’s why I think you and Randy were followed the other night. That was right before the attack on your dad. If they’d gotten you then they would have used you to bring your father out in the open.”