by Kathy Love
Jensen stared at Sebastian. That was the most ridiculous and far-out explanation he’d ever heard. Something was definitely not right here.
“There have to be hundreds of thousands of bikers roaming the U.S. Why do you think these three might know her? And even if they do, know her whereabouts?”
Sebastian cast a quick look over at the couples. “There aren’t many roaming around quite like these guys.”
Before Jensen could ask what that meant, Christian returned to the trio.
“How are the beers?”
Again, the men offered noncommittal replies.
“So, are you just traveling through?” Christian kept his tone conversational as he wiped down the bar.
“Yeah,” the one with the tattoo said, then took a long swallow of his beer.
“That’s good.” Christian nodded, obviously trying to think of a new angle to get these guys to talk.
“We don’t get a lot of your type-this time of year.”
One of the men, Jensen wasn’t sure who, grunted.
“This is a waste of time,” Jensen muttered to Sebastian.
Sebastian didn’t answer; instead, his expression was far away, as if he was concentrating very hard on something. Just as Jensen decided to repeat himself, Sebastian glanced at him.
“No, I think we are on the right track.”
Jensen frowned. “Why would you think that?” Boy, these guys were nuts.
“Because Christian is making them nervous.”
Jensen glanced back over to the bikers. One sipped his beer, the other two stared straight ahead, looking far more bored than nervous.
“Yeah, they look really shaken,” Jensen stated dryly.
“Shh,” Sebastian hissed, giving him a look like he was the one who crazy.
What the hell were these brothers seeing that he wasn’t? Jensen wondered. This was the biggest dead-end he’d ever seen. And even if he could see what the brothers saw in these bikers, Jensen knew they just needed to search. He knew deep in the pit of his stomach that Elizabeth was in real danger.
He frowned at his own train of thought. How did he know that? After all, Elizabeth had a track record of running away. And he had just revealed how he’d failed Katie. Elizabeth knew he’d never told that to anyone but her. That was enough to get her panicked. She might have just run from him. Period.
He considered that for a moment, then shook his head. No. She was in trouble, and she needed him. Now.
“I’m just going to go look for her,” Jensen said suddenly, standing. But Sebastian caught his shoulder, his grip tight.
“No. We don’t know where to look. There’s no point going without a plan.”
Jensen gaped at him. “This is the plan?” Then he realized his voice was getting a little too loud. He lowered it to hiss, “Question random bikers?”
“Trust me. It’s a better plan than you know. And eventually, you will know why.” Sebastian glanced at the wall behind the bar.
Jensen followed his gaze and he realized that Sebastian was looking at a calendar. What the hell was going on here?
Christian appeared, placing two beers on the bar in front of them.
“These guys are uncomfortable,” he murmured.
“I know,” Sebastian agreed.
Again Jensen looked over at the group. What the hell were they seeing, because he just saw a group relaxing with their drinks.
This time, he couldn’t stop from saying what he’d been thinking. “Are you two totally nuts?”
“Shh,” Sebastian hissed again, flashing a subtle look toward the bikers.
“I’m sorry,” Jensen said quietly, but not keeping the irritation out of his voice. “But I don’t follow this line of thought at all. Why would they know her?”
The brothers looked at each other, then back to him.
“You are just going to have to trust us on this one. But we want to find Elizabeth as badly as you do.”
“Then let’s go look for her, and stop wasting time with this ridiculous plan.”
“All right,” Christian said, keeping his voice low and calm.
Sebastian’s head snapped toward Christian. “You’re kidding, right? The ridiculous plan would be to just go out and search.”
Jensen glared at Sebastian.
“Give me a few more minutes with these guys, and if I get nothing, we’ll come up with a new plan.”
Jensen started to hesitate, finding no reason to waste any more time with this strategy. But arguing wouldn’t do any good. Plus, Christian had such a reasonable way of talking that it almost seemed silly to disagree with him. Almost.
But Jensen felt himself nodding.
Christian nodded in return, then headed down the bar to the bikers.
Jensen sat down again, staring at the beer in front of him. He almost wanted to take a drink, but he knew this wasn’t the time to start drinking. Elizabeth needed him clear and levelheaded.
Sebastian didn’t have the same thoughts. He sat back down and downed half of it.
“Can I get you anything?” Jensen heard Christian ask the bikers.
One of the men asked for another beer, the other two said they were fine. Christian strode away to get the order. When he returned, setting the beer in front of the men, he lingered.
“You know, I just have to ask, because we do have a regular here like you folks. Elizabeth is her name. You wouldn’t happen to know her, would you?” Again, Christian kept his tone casual as if the answer didn’t much matter to him. Certainly the bikers wouldn’t know the woman in question was someone as close to Christian as his sister.
The one with the moon tattoo shook his head, not even giving the idea a thought. “Nope. Never heard of her.”
He clearly was not interested in small talk.
Jensen started to stand again, and again Sebastian caught his arm to get him to remain seated.
“He knows her.”
Jensen frowned at Sebastian. “He said he didn’t.”
“He’s lying.”
Jensen’s frown deepened, but he remained on the bar stool.
“That’s right. She usually goes by Lizzie, actually,” Christian added.
Sebastian chuckled quietly. “Oh, that got their attention.”
Jensen watched the bikers, seeing nothing that indicated they were anything but bored with Christian’s comments.
“She actually hasn’t been here in a while-”
“You know,” the one with the tattoos said suddenly. “I’m not really sure why you are talking to us.”
Christian shrugged, still remaining calm. “Just that she was like you. You know.”
“Well, we don’t know her.” And for the first time, Jensen also seemed to sense they were lying. The brothers were right.
“Sorry to bother you,” Christian said. “I just thought maybe-well, you never know. It is a small world, as they say.”
The tattooed man reached into the back pocket of his jeans and pulled out a black wallet. He tossed down a fifty-more than enough to cover their bill. Then he stood, and the other two followed suit.
“We don’t know her,” the man stated, then strode toward the exit, the other two close behind.
The brothers and Jensen watched them leave and as soon as the door slammed shut behind them, Christian stated, “I’m going to tell Jolee that we are leaving.”
“I’ll ask Mina to help her with the bar.”
Jensen frowned, not understanding anything that was going on-even though he did know they needed to follow those men. But he accepted it. Hell, he hadn’t understood anything since they got here.
And at least they were doing something, even if it was just going on a wild-goose chase.
CHAPTER 24
Within five minutes, they were loaded into Jensen’s truck and headed toward the mountains.
“How do you know they headed this way?” Jensen asked.
“I just know,” Sebastian said, staring ahead as if he was somehow tracking them in his
mind.
“You know,” Jensen said slowly as he turned onto Route 219, “I don’t really get you guys, but since you seem so definite, I’m trusting you.”
“We’re your best bet at the moment,” Christian told him.
Jensen pressed down on the accelerator and the truck picked up speed.
Throughout the night, Sebastian or Christian would tell Jensen where to turn until they were high up on the narrow, twisting roads of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Jensen had stopped questioning them about their strange navigational skills. He somehow felt that they were on the right track, too. He couldn’t say why or how, but he felt as if they were getting closer to Elizabeth.
“Who would bring her up here?” Jensen asked after they turned onto yet another winding road.
“I’m not sure,” Christian said.
“She hasn’t told us a lot about her past since we were reunited,” Sebastian said, then winced as if he realized he might have said too much.
“She told me that you were separated for years and just recently found each other again. I also got the feeling her past wasn’t good.”
The brothers nodded.
“Yeah,” Christian said. “And she hasn’t told us a lot about what happened in those years. So I don’t know who might want her back.” Now it was Christian’s turn to look as if he’d said too much.
“Wanted her back?” Jensen found that wording curious, not to mention Christian’s expression. “Was she really with a biker gang or something?”
“Or something,” Sebastian said. “We really don’t know the details. Now, I wish I’d pressured her more to talk about it.”
Jensen wished the same thing. But he never guessed someone would want to hurt her. Maybe he should have. He should have protected her and he failed. But he did have the feeling now that they were on the right track. They were getting closer.
“We are going to have to stop soon,” Christian stated.
“What?” Jensen frowned quickly in his direction, then looked back to the narrow road.
“I know it doesn’t make much sense, but Sebastian and I have to get inside before the sun rises.”
Again, Jensen cast a quick frown in their direction. “Why?”
“We can’t be out in the sun,” Christian said. “Our skin can’t tolerate the sun’s rays.”
“What? Like vampires?” Jensen said in disbelief.
“Yeah,” Sebastian said with a slight smile. “Exactly like vampires.”
Jensen glanced at them, sudden wariness filling him. They weren’t joking, were they? He thought of the creature outside that woodshed. Then finding Elizabeth in its place.
“Jensen, our skin will blister and burn,” Christian said in his sensible, calm way. “It’s really dangerous for us. I know you want to keep going, but we can’t. And I don’t think you should go without us.”
“Okay. I think I saw a sign back there for a motel in another few miles or so. Let’s hope it’s open this time of year.” Jensen glanced at the mountains, realizing the sky just above was really starting to lighten. He pressed harder on the accelerator.
Fortunately, the motel was open and they had vacancies. While Christian and Sebastian took their room key and headed to their cabin, Jensen registered. By the time he finished and got his own room key, the rays of the sun were brushing the treetops like long fingers grasping everything in their reach. Elizabeth’s brothers had been wise to hurry to their room.
His room was right beside theirs. He knocked just to be sure they had made it there okay.
“Yeah?” Christian called through the closed door.
“Are you all right?” Jensen asked.
“All set. Don ’t go anywhere without us,” he answered.
“Like I can. You and Sebastian seem to be my navigational system.”
The door jerked open a crack, although Jensen couldn’t see who’d opened it. The hotel room was pitch black, not a single light on.
“We’re serious,” Sebastian’s voice said from behind the door. “You are going to need us.”
Jensen nodded, even though he wasn’t sure Sebastian could see him. “Okay. I’ll wait.” He hesitated to leave the door. “But I get a strong feeling that Elizabeth is in real danger.”
There was silence on the other side of the door. “I know you do. And that’s why you are going to need us.”
Jensen agreed with that as he went to his own room and fell onto the bed. He had no idea where to look for her. Hell, he didn’t even understand how her brothers did. Their reasoning made no sense to him.
He shut his eyes, knowing he was going to have a long day of waiting ahead of him. God, he hoped Elizabeth was okay.
He was scared.
“You know, Lizzie, when I first saw you, even the way you were-half-dead-I remember thinking you were something. You were special. You were put on this earth to be an alpha’s mate.”
Elizabeth remained perfectly still, even though her position, crouched in the corner, was starting to make the muscles in her thighs ache. Still, her animal instincts told her to remain motionless, quiet, and let him rant.
He’d been raging now for nearly two hours. He’d raved about the pack and about the elders having no idea what they were doing. He fumed about the pack not knowing what was best, what was the inevitable. Of course, she hadn’t been able to figure that out from his blathering tirade, either. He was making little-to-no sense.
But there was one thing she was certain of-Brody was not the same man she’d left so long ago. He was leaner, nothing more than bow-tight muscle, skin, and bone. And he was even more feral than he’d been.
He’d always been edged with an incivility. A wild, hungry streak that made him dangerous. But the look she saw flashing in his eyes now went beyond even that. It was as if he was more animal than man. And that made her very nervous.
“You always knew that I was destined to be the alpha.”
Elizabeth didn’t argue, although that was never true. The pack knew he was too dangerous to be alpha. Too much of a loose cannon. What did the pack think of him now?
He stopped his rant and glared at her. She swallowed, scared of the hatred she saw in those dark depths.
“You could ruin this for me,” he growled, his voice low, eerie.
She took in a calming breath, then asked in an even tone, “Ruin what?”
He started pacing again, and she thought he wasn’t going to answer.
“The pack, that group of stupid bastards, banished me.”
Elizabeth gaped at him. She couldn’t help it. The pack had always had issues with Brody. His unpredictability. His propensity for violence. But it wasn’t as if the rest of the wolves were much better. They’d all been rough and wild. Traveling as a biker gang, causing trouble wherever they went.
What had he done to merit being banished? The ultimate punishment for a werewolf. Wolves-even werewolves-were natural pack animals.
She’d left the pack, but the truth was, she’d never belonged with them to begin with. And she’d been lucky enough to find Dr. Fowler and his followers to be her social link.
She watched Brody pace, his movements stiff and a tad awkward. She could see he was in pain, which meant Jensen’s grandfather had connected with a bullet. And the bullet had to still be lodged in his body.
Could she escape? Was she fast enough to get away? Not that she even knew where she was. She glanced at the door across the room, a straight shot in the barren cabin.
“ Don ’t think about it,” Brody growled, and Elizabeth looked back to him to see he was guessing her thoughts. “Or I will kill you.”
She didn’t doubt him. His rage was clear on his face. But why was he blaming her? What did he want from her?
This time she had to ask.
“Brody, why did you come for me? How can I help you?”
His eyes roamed over her, and he sneered. “I don’t know that you can. Not in the state you are in now.”
She didn’t understand what he meant
. The state she was in?
His boots pounded the wood floor as he approached her, and she fought the urge to curl up. To protect herself.
He grabbed her arm, his fingers biting into her flesh. Roughly he dragged her to her feet.
“So here’s the thing, Lizzie. I do need you. You give me credibility with the losers in the pack. They know you are above them. And since I’m your mate, that puts me above them, too.”
She started to argue. The pack hadn’t ever respected her or her noble upbringing. Only Brody had ever believed that. But she held her tongue. She had a feeling that the only thing that was going to save her was letting him continue to believe that.
“But you know we have a tricky situation here, don’t we?”
She had no idea what he was talking about. But apparently her confusion was the wrong reaction, because he squeezed her arm, bruising her skin with his powerful grip.
She cried out. He really was crazy.
“So here is the deal,” Brody said, his mouth close to her ear, his fingers still biting angrily into her arm. “We’re going back to the pack, and you are going to pretend we made up. All nice and lovey-dovey. And we are going to pretend that brat you’re carrying is mine.”
At his words, all the air left her lungs. A wave of light-headedness made her weave; the only thing keeping her on her feet was his cruel hand gripping her.
Brody laughed, obviously seeing her confusion. “You didn’t know, did you?”
She didn’t react. She was too stunned. A brat? A baby? She was pregnant. She couldn’t be. It wasn’t possible. Yet, she suddenly knew it was true. She was carrying Jensen’s baby.
Jensen sat up, having faded in and out of a doze. But now he had the strongest, clearest sensation that Elizabeth was in real danger.
He slipped off the bed and went to the window. The sun was still bright. Maybe two hours to go before it set. To the right, he noticed the moon, a pale, ghostly orb barely visible against the clear blue sky.
As he looked at the celestial body, he suddenly saw flashes of Elizabeth. In a cabin. Crouching on the floor. Her arms crossed protectively over her stomach as if she was sick or in pain.
Without thinking about it, he crossed to the nightstand and picked up the keys to his truck. He couldn’t wait for Elizabeth’s brothers. He knew something was very wrong. She needed him now.