by T. S. Ryder
"I do trust you," Rose whispered. "I don't trust the justice system, but I trust you. And I love you, Devon. I know if there is anybody who can do this, it's you."
Devon breathed a sigh of relief. He had convinced her. If she hadn't added the last part, he'd be afraid that she would still go and do something that couldn’t be taken back, but he had won her over. Now, even though he wasn't certain that he could beat this charge, at least he knew she would be safe.
"Did you get a hotel room?"
She nodded. "I did. And I rented a new car so he can't follow me. I'm having it driven to the clinic, and I've stashed some clothes there to change into so that if he is watching me I can throw him off the trail."
"Good."
The cop stepped towards them. "Five minutes are up."
Devon glared at him but focused on Rose again. "I love you."
"I love you, too." She kissed him once more before she left, shoulders shaking. She stopped once to turn back and smile at him. When she did, he saw tears cascading down her face again.
Two hours later, the cops came back to Devon and opened the cell door.
He frowned as they told him he was free to leave. "What do you mean? I thought I was a 'risk' to the safety of the human that's been stalking and harassing my mate."
"Percy Jenkins dropped the charges against you. Apparently, he had a nice chat with that woman and they've got it all sorted out. But you'd better get out of here before I find something else to book you with. Violent shifters like you—"
Devon didn't wait to hear the rest of the cop's tirade. He hurriedly gathered his things and ran from the station. He quickly called Rose. No answer. Terror pounded through his heart. What had she done? What had Percy driven her to?
His stomach churned and his head spun. He called again and again as he raced towards the clinic. His car had been impounded. He didn't have his wallet–no money for a taxi or a bus.
"Pick up," he begged.
A ding told him he'd received a text. Panting, he stopped running to look at it. It was from Rose.
This is the way it has to be. I'm sorry. I left Jamie at the clinic. I love you.
"No." Devon dug his hands into his hair, looking around wildly as though there would be something in the busy streets that would tell him which way she had gone, where that beast had taken her.
The hotel room.
If she had used his credit card, then maybe he'd be able to find it. He phoned her again, hoping against hope that she would answer and tell him it was all a mistake, that she was coming home and Percy would leave them alone.
It went straight to voicemail.
Chapter Nine – Rose
What made her the sickest was that Percy had decided that their 'reunion' would take place at the hotel she booked to get away from him. He was even going to charge their meal at the restaurant attached to the hotel to their room. Devon was going to have to pay for it all.
She emptied her glass of wine, hand trembling. "Why are you doing this?"
"Doing what?" Percy asked–or more rightly, snarled. "Taking you out to dinner? Accepting you back after the way you treated me?"
"Blackmailing me into coming back to you," she replied, her own voice terse. "Stalking me. You never cared about me before, so why did you all of a sudden decide that you just couldn't live without me? Why go through all this effort to make me be with you?"
"Blackmail. That's such a nasty word. And how dare you say I never cared about you? Would I have followed you across the country if I didn't care?"
Rose stared back at him stonily.
"Fine. If that's how you want to do this. I have cancer. A brain tumor, to be precise. All I want from my last few years on this Earth is to be with you. And I am not going to die by myself."
A shiver ran down Rose's spine. She didn't even want to know what he meant by that. But cancer? It had to be just another one of his lies.
Percy held his hand to her. When she didn't move, he narrowed his eyes. "Rose, you're mine. You promised me you'd always be mine and never have anybody else. If I'm 'forcing' you to do anything, it's forcing you to keep your promise."
"And what about your promises? You've broken plenty of those."
"Just order, I'm hungry."
Rose glanced at the menu. Was she even going to be able to keep anything down? But she knew what was waiting for her once they got back to the hotel room, and that made her feel even sicker. So what on this menu would take the longest to cook?
The server came over to them. "Ready to order?"
"No," Rose said, but Percy nodded.
"We'll have a garden salad and salmon for her, and one of these delicious-looking cheesy-bacon hamburgers for me. Oh, and can you top up our wine?"
Rose clenched her hands as she glared at Percy. She waited for the server to leave before she spoke, her voice a hiss. "Salad and salmon? You know I hate fish."
"Do you?" Percy shrugged. "Well, you'll get used to it. I love you, but you need to lose weight. You must have gained fifty pounds since I last saw you."
"Twenty-five," Rose automatically replied.
"Still too much. Gonna have to slim you down."
Percy picked up the little menu that held desserts and started browsing through them. Rose sat rigidly as she watched him, her hands balls on her lap. It was starting again. Already he was starting to control her, what she did, what she ate, and she was already trying to mitigate it rather than stand up for herself.
Not that she could actually stand up for herself. If she didn't do as he wanted, what would he do against Devon and Jamie? If she had her cell phone, she could try to catch him saying something damning on it, but that was the first thing he had taken from her.
"I've decided we're going to have a baby," Percy announced. "Since you seem to like babies so much. That will be exciting, won't it? To have our little boy running around. I guess I'll have to suffer through your pregnancy, but—"
"There is no way I would ever have your child," Rose said bluntly. "You are a disgusting, horrible person. I am not going to live in your cage, and I will certainly never let any of my children grow up with somebody like you as their father. I don't care who you think you are, Percy, but you do not control me. I'm going to get a lawyer, and you are going to go to jail."
She jumped to her feet, giving him one last glare as she turned to go. Percy hissed behind her, but she ignored him. She still had her car rental–she'd go to Devon, and they'd get out of the city. It didn't matter where they went, as long as they were together and away from this man.
As she walked into the lobby, she stopped dead. Devon was there, leaning on the front desk as he loomed over the desk clerk. Anger was written in all of his features, but her heart pounded with joy. With a cry, Rose ran forward towards him. Devon turned at the sound. He clasped her into his arms and swung her around.
"Are you okay?" he asked, cupping her face. He pressed kisses to her face so wildly she could hardly respond.
"Yes. Yes, I'm okay. Where's Jamie?"
"Cheri took her home while I looked for you."
Rose wanted to just keep holding him, but she knew they had to leave before Percy called the cops on them again or provoked Devon into attacking him. "Come on. Let's go."
Devon nodded. He clutched her hand and they headed for the main doors. But before they got there, Percy blocked their path. He glared at Rose, his handsome features twisted horribly. Rose shied back from him automatically. She had never seen him this angry before…
"You're not going anywhere," Percy snarled. "Certainly not with a beast. You are coming with me back upstairs, and we're going to have a baby."
"I'd rather die," she shot back. "Now get out of our way or—"
"Or what?" Percy reached underneath his suit jacket.
Rose gasped, drawing back as he pulled out a gun. He pointed it at the two of them. Someone shouted at the desk clerk to call the police, but Rose's gaze was locked on the gun. Percy held it in both hands, aiming dire
ctly for her. She couldn't even breathe, locked into place.
"You belong to me," he said, inching forward. "Now come along, Rose. You know that I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't love you. Leave the beast and come with me, and nobody has to get hurt."
She never thought he would go this far. Her veins were ice, adrenaline flooding her. How could something so small elicit so much fear?
"She's not going anywhere," Devon growled. He stepped forward.
Crack! Screams echoed around the lobby, louder than the aftereffects of the gunshot. There was a sharp thudding noise. Devon stumbled back, clutching his chest. He fell as a stream of red spurted from his body. Rose screamed. She dropped to her knees beside him and pushed both of her hands over the well of blood. The only thought in her head was that she couldn't let Devon bleed to death.
"Get out of here," Percy shouted, waving his gun at the other hotel patrons. "Get out!"
"Run," Devon whispered. "I'll heal. I'm a shifter. It takes more than a bullet to kill me. But he'll come after you next, you have to run."
Rose shook her head.
"For Jamie."
Her heart lurched. The thought of Jamie's sweet, smiling face being contorted with tears as she was held by a stranger who didn't know her tore at her. Even though tears filled her eyes, she pulled away from Devon and scrambled to her feet.
The movement brought Percy's attention back to her. He pointed the gun at her, teeth bared as he inched forward. Any trace of attractiveness his face once had was gone, his eyes lit with horrific fury. Rose held up her bloody hands, her mind dashing around wildly. What could she say to talk him down? Had he planned to kill her up in the hotel room?
"This is all your fault!" Percy shouted. "If you had just done as I told you to do, none of this would have happened. Does it make you feel powerful, huh? To drive a man to his breaking point, until his only course of action is to kill people?"
"Percy—"
"No, you don't get to talk." His hands steadied as he leveled the gun with her head. "This is your fault and you'll have to live with it for the rest of your life."
He shifted the gun to her left and fired. She turned to see the desk clerk go down with a cry. Rose screamed as he started shooting at others in the room–and then the walls shook with a roar.
Devon lurched to his feet. His sleek black fur gleamed as he shifted, his form turning to a giant cat's. He dashed forward. Percy aimed his gun at the Panther, but with one swipe Devon threw him back against the wall.
Percy rose the gun again as Devon jumped down on him. Every crack of the gun reverberated in Rose's chest. Devon snarled as he attacked the human with claws and teeth. He picked up Percy and shook him roughly. Blood spurted, spraying against the walls and floors. Rose stepped forward, reaching out for Devon though she knew she could do nothing.
"This is your fault," Percy shouted for the last time.
As Devon pulled back and went after the arm that held the gun, Percy turned it. Instead of aiming towards Devon's huge, muscly body, he pressed it against his own chin. Rose screamed. Devon's paw swiped at the gun.
It was too late. One last shot and Percy was still.
Devon backed away from the body. He turned towards Rose, jaw hanging loose. Giant blobs of blood poured from his body, matting his black fur. Rose ran for him. He shifted and caught her as she got to him. Her hands danced over his torso, going from one wound to the next, desperately trying to stop all the bleeding.
"Police," he grunted. "Call the police."
"But—"
"I'll heal."
He managed a small smile at her, which she responded to with a small smile of her own. Stumbling, she ran over to the desk. The clerk huddled on the other side, phone clutched in her hand. She appeared to be uninjured.
"Are you calling the police?" Rose asked, leaning against the desk.
"They're almost here."
Rose nodded. She turned to go back to her shifter but stopped. An older man lay on the floor, clutching his shoulder. People were gathered around him. Rose ran over to them, ripping off a portion of her skirt for them to wad into the wound.
"Is anybody else hurt?"
They shook their heads, and so Rose returned to Devon. He lay on his back, his bronzed skin paling. Rose ripped the rest of her skirt in pieces and pressed it to what looked like the worst of the injuries. Tears rolled down her face as she looked at her love's closed eyes and gasping mouth.
"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I'm so sorry… I love you, Devon. I love you so much."
His hand brushed through her hair. "Love you too… I'm going to be alright. Don't worry. I'm going to be fine."
Rose leaned against his hand, praying that he was right. If she lost him… what would she do?
Chapter Ten – Devon
Devon rolled over, patting the bed as he looked for Rose. When he didn't feel her, his eyes cracked open. Bright moonlight streamed in through the window, silhouetting the form of his mate as she gazed outside. He slipped from the bed and padded over to her. When he wrapped his arms around her, she leaned back against him with a sigh.
"Trouble sleeping?" he asked.
"No. Jamie woke me up a while ago, and I just wanted to watch the moon for a while. It's so pretty, don't you think?"
Devon looked up at the pearly white orb and nodded. The moonlight bathed everything in a silver glow, illuminating the small acreage that they were now the proud owners of. Getting out of the city had been good for all of them, but especially Jamie. She was no longer cooped up inside for most of the day and had started her first attempts at shifting recently. They were even going to get a puppy soon.
"Devon?"
"Yes?"
"I want to have a baby. Your baby." Rose turned to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. "I know Jamie is still young, and. I think I'd like to wait a little bit so Jamie can have more one-on-one attention at this age, but I want to have more children. Four, or maybe even five."
"Five children?" Devon chuckled, amused at the number. Rose never did anything halfway. He nodded. "Five sounds nice. I was an only child, I wish I could have had four siblings. But don't you think it's time to come back to bed?
Rose sighed and nodded. She let Devon lead her back to the bed they shared, and they climbed under the blankets together. Devon pulled her close against him, loving the way she fit in his arms. It hadn't been any sort of conscious decision for her to start sleeping in the bed with him.
After Percy's attack, Rose had had nightmares, and they'd started dozing together on the couch. Rose told him that when they slept together she didn't get nightmares, and so they moved to the bed. Devon thought that maybe there should be a little more production about it, but it just felt so right and natural that sort of thing wasn't necessary.
It had been like this for a few months now.
There had been some legal entanglements with Percy's death, given the arrest that had happened, but once the cops actually listened to him and Rose–helped along by the lawyer that he hired–it was determined that this was one of those cases where the law had failed to protect its citizens. Those cops who had refused to listen to Rose's complaints about Percy before he got violent were an internal investigation.
It turned out that what Percy had told Rose was the truth. He did have a brain tumor. A psychologist that they talked to about it theorized that the tumor was the cause for all of Percy's behavior before his death. The threat of imminent death made him cling to the thought of what he had when he was healthy–Rose. It also exerted enough pressure on his brain that it changed his personality enough to make him buy that gun. The psychologist was convinced that if Rose had gone with him to the hotel room, Percy would have killed the both of them. He wanted her to suffer; that was why he turned the gun on others instead of her in the lobby. He would have shot her before he shot himself if Devon hadn't been right there. The thought still made Devon's blood run cold.
But that was in the past, and Devon, Rose and Jamie were h
appy being together as a family. Devon grinned as he slid his hands up under Rose's shirt. Her skin was warm and soft and he leaned in to nibble at the back of her neck. As odd as it was, though they had been sleeping in the same bed for months now, they'd never actually gone further than some heavy petting… Rose always drew back, and while she didn't say why, the fact that she wasn't comfortable going all the way was something that Devon accepted.
That didn't mean he didn't want more, though. Just that he was willing to wait to get it.
Rose moaned as he traced his hand down her curves to slip between her legs, probing against her clothing. She pressed herself against him, making a pleasant buzzing start in his center. "Don't you think we should go back to sleep? You have to work early tomorrow morning."
Devon glanced at the clock. "I'd have to be up in two hours anyway. If I try to sleep now I'll just end up in the wrong part of the sleep cycle when I get up… unless you want to sleep."
"I'll let you know," she moaned.
"Remember we're going out for dinner tonight. Maybe you can go out today and buy yourself a new dress."
"A new dress? But I already have a lot of pretty clothes."
"I know. I just want tonight to be special."
Rose wiggled her rump against him, making everything tighten inside of him. Devon gasped in delight, searching for her waistband. She slid her leg up his thigh to give him better access. His heart pounded with excitement. Maybe this time… He buried his face into her neck, eagerly nibbling at her. Rose jerked and gasped under his ministrations.
"Tonight should be special, then?" she asked. "I mean, you want tonight to be special?"
"Yeah. You realize it's our five-month anniversary since we moved out here?"
Rose responded with a moan, and Devon started moving her pajama pants down off her hips. Her hands found him. He let out a mighty moan and jerked hard against her, causing the whole bed to tremble beneath them. Rose giggled.
"If you want tonight to be so special, then maybe we should save this for then, instead of doing it right now."