Emily's Captive (A Lilly Town Shifter Novel Book 2)

by Palmer, Bobbie

  “I’m fine,” she mumbled. “Alright,” he said defensively.

  “How the hell did I end up in bed with you?” she asked angrily.

  “We kissed, then you tackled me to the bed.”

  “But… why?” she asked. “I’m guessing because you wanted to?” he suggested.

  “Yeah, well… urgh!” she growled out.

  “I’m sorry?” he said. He was sorry? He was SORRY? What the hell!

  *** Paul couldn’t figure out why Emily was so mad. He thought last night had been pretty good. Based on the sounds coming from her, she’d definitely enjoyed it. Was she having morning regrets?

  “I’m really sorry?” he tried again. She must not have been able to take it because she stormed out of his room… naked. She must have realized because she immediately stormed back in, grabbed her clothes, put on her shirt, and walked back out.

  He really didn’t know what to think. He might have to get Lucy’s help to understand. That actually wouldn’t be a bad thing to do. He hadn’t talked to her in a while. Paul picked up his phone and dialed her number. He was surprised he could still remember it.

  “Hello?” Lucy said groggily when she answered. “Did I wake you?” he asked her.

  “No, no, I was just watching TV. Who is this?” she asked. “It’s Paul,” he said with a smile. He was happy to hear her voice. He’d liked her from the first moment he’d talked to her. He knew they’d hit it off as friends.

  “Hey, how are you? I haven’t seen you in ages,” she said excitedly.

  “I’m good. I’ve been detained. How are you doing?” he asked.

  “I’m huge,” she said with a laugh.

  “What?” he asked, confused. “I’m pregnant, so I’m huge. I’m almost as big as a whale,” she laughed.

  “You aren’t huge,” he heard Mike say in the background.

  “Congratulations!” Paul exclaimed. “Thanks, I’m really excited. So you want something? Just tell me,” she said. He could hear the smile in her voice.

  “Do you know Emily?” he asked her. “Yeah. Not very well, but I’ve met her. Why?” “She’s mad at me,” he said bluntly.

  “Yeah, that’s one woman you don’t want mad at you,” she said.

  “I know.” “What did you do?” she asked.

  “I slept with her.” “Okay, did she not…?” Lucy said, leaving the rest hanging.

  “Yes she did. It was great. I really don’t know why she’s so mad,” he said. “Well, women are strange, and I have a feeling Emily is in her own category of strange. I can check with Mike,” she said, and before he could say no, she was yelling for Mike.

  “What’s up?” Paul heard him say in the background.

  “Emily’s mad at Paul.” “Tell him to run far, far away,” he said.

  “No, they did it and now she’s mad.” “Did she…?” Mike asked.

  “He says she did.” “Tell him to leave her alone and she’ll eventually either act like it never happened or she’ll decide she wants more,” Mike said.

  Lucy came back on the phone. “Mike said…” she began. “I heard him,” Paul interrupted before she could finish. He really didn’t want everyone to know about his sex life, but now apparently they did. Maybe they could put it on the five o’clock news to make sure nobody missed out.

  *** Lucy was happy to hear from Paul. She’d been wondering what had happened to him, but she’d had so much on her mind lately that the thought had sometimes escaped her so she never asked.

  She was shocked he’d slept with Emily. Mike had told her Emily had had him locked up after the call. The fact he’d sleep with the woman who was holding him captive was even more of a shocker.

  That was something she would never do. There was a name for what Paul was feeling, but she couldn’t remember what it was. It didn’t matter, but the whole thing was crazy. If Mike had held her against her will, she’d have been pissed and there would have been a lot of hatred. Okay, when he handcuffed her to the bed didn’t count. She liked being tied up for extra-curricular activities.

  “Hey,” Mike said, waking her from her thoughts. “Hey,” she said with a smile. She would never be able to get enough of him.

  “What are you doing?” he asked as she walked around the living room.

  “I’m not sure, but I’m hungry now.” “What are you craving?” he asked.

  “Hmm, cheese,” she said.

  “Junk food cheese or healthy cheese?” “Junk,” she said with a smile. “Okay, you rest your feet. I know how they look when you’ve been on them for too long,” he said with a knowing look.

  She nodded and sat down. He walked into the other room and that was when she remembered what she was after. Her computer. She pushed herself up and over to her desk.

  Waddling over, she grabbed it and went back to her seat. “I wanted my computer,” she said, before Mike could say a word when he walked back in. “Paul gave me an idea and I wanted to get it down.”

  “Sit!” he said, and put her cheese sauce and Doritos on the table next to the couch.

  She did as he said, flopping down with her laptop in hand. “Thank you,” she said to him with a smile. “So, Paul and Emily?” he asked.

  “Apparently,” she said, and opened the cheese dip.

  “I don’t think that’s going to work out too well,” he said, settling on the couch next to her. “I don’t know. I think there’s more to Emily than you think. She’s more than just a killer. She has to be. It’s just a side no one has ever seen.”

  “How do you know that?” Mike asked. “Because I can read people. She’s who I would want as a character in one of my books. She’s someone who grows as a person as the story unfolds. Those are the best stories.”

  “Well, you would know,” he said with a smile. “I know. I’m the expert on all things book.”

  “You are the best expert I know,” he said, kissing her.

  *** Stacy was sitting on her cot and Zeke in his chair. He’d been so kind to her. She still hadn’t figured out why he wouldn’t just let her go. He was in charge of the whole place, and she hadn’t seen the other man in a while. So why couldn’t he just let her go?

  “Stacy, so, umm, well I’m not sure what to talk about,” Zeke said.

  She cleared her throat. “My parents died, a few years ago in a car accident.”

  “I’m sorry,” he said quietly. “Emily took me in and has taken care of me since. She taught me everything I know.” “Is she your aunt?” he asked. “No, she’s my sister. She’s a lot older than me and didn’t have to do it, but she did. We’re really close,” Stacy said sadly. They might not always get along, but she missed her.

  “ I’ll find a way to get you back to her,” he said.

  “Why aren’t you letting me go?” she asked. “Richard is stronger than I am physically. I have more discipline than he does, but if it came down to a fight, he’d win. I’m working to get rid of him, but I have to go about it gently. I don’t want him coming after you or your family. I want you to be safe,” he answered.

  “Why?” she asked. “Honestly, I don’t know,” he said with a sigh. She nodded her head and let her mind wander. At least she knew he wanted to let her go, unless it was just some ploy to get her to trust him. She hoped he was being honest. It smelled like he was.

  *** Emily didn’t know what had happened. She didn’t know if she even liked Paul. Okay, so maybe she did, but she didn’t want him to know that.

  Ugh, she was so fucking confused. She didn’t know what to do. Yeah she did. Maggie. Maggie would tell her what to do. She pulled out her cell and dialed home.

  “Hello?” Maggie said when she answered the phone.

  “Help,” she said. “You slept with him.”

  “How did you know?” she asked.

  “Because I knew it was going to happen. That, and Bill told me.” “How the hell did Bill know?” “Mike told him,” Maggie said simply. “How did Mike find out?” she asked.

  “Apparently Paul c
alled Lucy to talk to her, asking what to do about you being so pissed off.”

  “Huh, I never expected that,” she said. “So, you want to know what to do next,” Maggie said.

  “Yes.”

  “Well, you go see him and sleep with him again.”

  “But…” “No, you want him. I know you do, so deal with it.”

  “Fine,” she said.

  “Good. Now, you go find our girl and bring her home safely,” Maggie said and hung up.

  “Well, she was a big help,” Emily said to herself, confused.

  CHAPTER 18

  Paul watched as Emily purposely stayed away from him. She was sticking close to another woman who was there. He could tell she was hating every minute of it too.

  When she wasn’t paying attention, he got close enough to listen in on one of their conversations. Something about a guy who was a potential mate for the woman. Paul watched Emily’s face while she listened. She was bored out of her mind.

  He didn’t understand why she was keeping her distance. They had sex, so what? Even on missions she was keeping her distance, sending him with Jason. He didn’t have anything against the guy. He actually liked him, but he wanted to be close to Emily. He wanted to fuck her all over again.

  “Hey man, what’s up?” Jason asked him. “Nothing much. Just waiting for the next mission.” Maybe once they found Stacy, if Emily was still giving him the cold shoulder, he’d just leave. He didn’t want to be around her when she was acting like some preteen.

  “So, what’s up with you and Emily?” he asked. “How did you…?” “It’s obvious. She’s keeping her distance from you and you’re staring longingly at her,” Jason said with a smile.

  “Honestly, I don’t know,” he said with a sigh.

  “Do you know why Emily and I don’t get along?” Jason asked.

  “No. I thought you just never got along because she’s Emily.” “We used to be really close. One drunken night we ended up sleeping together and this is how it’s been ever since. All I’m saying is be prepared for the cold shoulder,” he said, and slapped Paul on his back before leaving.

  Great, just what he wanted to hear: that he might be stuck in Emily’s cell for the next fifty years.

  *** Jason knew he probably shouldn’t have told Paul that, but he felt bad for the guy. He knew Emily didn’t like sharing her feelings or admitting them. He just wanted to prepare the guy for the

  heartbreak he knew was coming. He didn’t want to see Paul pining for her when she would never reciprocate.

  “What did you tell him?” Emily asked, walking up to him.

  “The truth,” he answered.

  “Why?” she asked. “Because I don’t want him hurt. I don’t want him thinking he’s going to get any more out of it. He’s supposed to be helping us. I don’t want to see him lovesick over you for the entire mission.”

  “That’s my business. You don’t know me anymore. Stay out of it,” she snapped at him. “And why don’t I know you anymore?” he asked her. He’d never wanted a relationship with her. He liked her, but as a friend, nothing more.

  “I know it’s my fault, but I just can’t do it,” she said sadly.

  “I know.” “Then please stay out of my life.”

  “If you change your mind, you know where I am,” he said.

  She nodded and walked away. Jason liked the friendship they had. They were more alike than anyone knew. They might have ended up in different places because of what they had been through, but they were the same in so many ways. She understood him and that meant a lot. Very few people did.

  “Jason, how do you want to handle the next raid?” Grant asked him. He sighed and went back to work.

  He always had work waiting for him. Sometimes he really wished he didn’t. Sometimes he wished he could let himself get lost in his own mind just for a little while and enjoy the silence.

  *** Emily had watched as Paul and Jason talked. She knew what they were talking about even before Jason had told her, and she didn’t like it. She didn’t want Paul thinking she slept with every man she could get naked. She’d been really close to Jason before it had all happened, and they’d both been lonely and drunk. Very drunk.

  She regretted it because she knew it would ruin their friendship, and it had. It was her fault she had let it, but she just couldn’t be friends with him after that. It was too awkward.

  “Emily, what’s wrong?” the woman she had been staying close to asked. She wouldn’t really call her a friend, she was slightly annoying.

  “Nothing,” she said. “Well, Kevin is great. He took me out to this really good restaurant last night.”

  “Uh huh.” “He was such a gentleman. He opened doors, pulled my chair out, held my hand, and walked me to my room. Well, that was until I pulled him in and had my wicked way with him,” she said with a wink.

  “Good,” Emily muttered.

  “Are you listening to me?” Michelle asked.

  “Oh yeah. Kevin, gentleman, sex,” Emily said. “Okay, tell me what’s on your mind. I know you’re not too much into the girl talk thing, but I thought we were friends.”

  “Him,” she said, nodding her head at Paul. Why was he looking at her?

  “Paul?” she asked.

  “Yeah.” “What? Are you afraid he’s going to get away? I’ll help you with that. He’s evil,” Michelle sneered.

  “No he isn’t. He was misled. He thought we were evil. He didn’t know we were people.” “Now he does?” Michelle asked disbelievingly. “Yeah.”

  “Are you sure? He could just be getting information from us to take back.” “I thought that too, but I really don’t think he will. He’s always smelled like the truth. And after spending so much time with him, I really do believe him,” she said.

  “I’d still be careful around him. You never know if he’ll change his mind. What he was taught is still in him,” she said, then let out a squeal. Emily looked over to see Kevin walking toward them.

  She smiled and decided to leave the couple alone.

  *** “Tell me about your sister,” Zeke said to Stacy. They were sitting in their usual spots and Zeke had brought her some real food, pizza.

  “She’s strong, a fighter. She doesn’t show much emotion and she’s the most lethal killer I know.”

  “Really?” “I’m afraid to tell you too much about her. She hunts your kind,” she said sadly. She was really starting to like Zeke and she liked talking to him, but she didn’t want to give him any information he could use against them.

  “I’m not going to be using any of the information you give me. I just want to get to know you better,” he said with a kind smile.

  Stacy thought about it for a minute and figured it wouldn’t really hurt to tell him a little about her family. She wasn’t going to tell him anything he could use against Emily. She wasn’t going to put her sister in danger like that.

  “I told you she raised me. She doesn’t want anyone to know about her soft side, but it’s there. She might not show emotion, but she feels it and gets very confused when she feels too much. She’s a killer.

  To her, everything is black and white, right and wrong. I’m sure me being in here has driven her crazy. She’s going to be the lethal killer she is, but worse, this is personal to her.”

  “Because it’s you,” he said quietly.

  She nodded. “What was it like growing up with her?” “I’m still kind of getting used to her being around, even though I’ve lived with her for a few years now. I’m a lot younger than she is, so I didn’t really see her until Mom and Dad died. When it happened, she didn’t really talk to me. We didn’t know each other that well and we were both grieving. Bill came over a lot and talked Emily into training me to fight.

  “Emily has a lot of enemies because of what she does, and she’s really good. Her training me brought us together. I wanted my sister and she needed an outlet. We both got what we wanted.”

  “Bill? Who’s he?” he asked. It sounded almos
t like he was interrogating her, but after listening to him talk, she learned he really didn’t have any communication skills. He was trying to get to know her but didn’t know how.

  “He’s a close friend of the family. He’s always been the peacekeeper when Emily and I fight. Even as I’ve gotten older it happens, but isn’t that what sisters do?”

  “I wouldn’t know,” Zeke whispered. “Oh, I’m sorry. It must have been lonely.”

  “I coped. I read a lot.” “Do you still read?” she asked.

  “No.”

  “Why don’t you read to me?” she asked. “It’s not like I can do anything else.”

  “Do you want me to?” he asked her skeptically. She felt bad. The man had been nice to her, so maybe she could help him find a little happiness. “Yes I do. I think you should start with mystery. I hear they tend to grab the reader’s attention.”

  “All right, I’ll get one later today,” he said with a smile. He looked good like that, less cold. She couldn’t help but give him a big smile in return. He wasn’t as bad as she thought he was. He was really growing on her.

  ***

  “Sir, New York just reported in. There was another raid there,” Jay said. “Fuck!” He was certain they were going to hit the Wilmington one. It was close and they had hit only smaller ones. Maybe they were working their way up to the larger compounds? “Are there any survivors?”

  “No. They also blew the compound, so everything’s gone.” “Okay. Let’s think about where they might hit next,” he said, and pulled out a map of their locations.

  “Sir, I wonder if they’re just randomly attacking compounds. There doesn’t seem to be a pattern,” Jay said nervously.

  Richard thought it over. They were savage animals; they couldn’t be that smart. They had to have some type of pattern; he just needed to figure it out. “No, I think they might go for the DC one next,” he said.

  “Yes sir. I’ll prepare transport,” he said and left. There was no way the shifters were that smart. They were animals. Their brains were the size of a pea. He knew he just needed to figure it out.

  He hoped he did it soon and caught them before they took out the entire organization.