“You did great, Jade,” Wes said, buckling her into the backseat before wrapping an arm around her. “We’ll be at Melanie’s in about ten minutes.” He rubbed his hand up and down her arm, the friction not penetrating the thick coat to make her warm, but she appreciated him trying.
Her teeth were chattering, and her breathing was rapid as the truck drove through the darkness with the headlights off. She didn’t bother asking if he could see where he was going as they hadn’t hit anything yet, so he obviously could. It must be another shifter talent, good eyesight.
The silence in the truck was broken by the deafening crunch of metal as Jade’s body slammed against the door of the truck. The resounding crack as her head hit the window was the last thing Jade heard.
Chapter 15
Asher was running the instant the twin’s thoughts fired through his mind. He didn’t pause for even a second to decipher all the sensory input. He just ran, calling to the pride with the pride link as he filtered the relevant information from the twin’s human minds.
Pain. Blood. Gasoline. Wolf.
“Beau has found Jade and the twins while they were en route to the Alpha’s,” Asher said.
“How far away are they?” Cooper asked. “Hunter and Finn are on the way.”
“No clue,” Asher said, his body warm in the chilly air as he ran. His paws barely touched the ground as he streaked through the night. His cat fully focused on getting to his family as quickly as possible.
His breathing was steady and even. His mind deaf to the chatter through the pride link, he focused solely on running and his connection to Wes and Troy. They were his windows to both Jade and the enemy.
He smelled Jade’s blood, sweet and hot. Tasted it in the air as he breathed. He felt the metal dig into Troy’s legs as he attempted to pull them free from whatever had him pinned in place. He saw the red shining eyes of the devil as he stood naked by the door of the truck. He heard the screech of the metal door as it was wrenched from its hinges.
Asher approached the scene of the accident with his cat interpreting the events as they unfolded from the simultaneous trio of inputs. His own mind indistinguishable from Troy’s and Wes’s. Even from his position behind Beau he saw the man snarl as he reached his hands out to grasp Troy’s head.
He could feel Troy struggle as he continued to pull at his legs in an attempt to free them from the metal that had skewered them. Troy reached his hands up and raked his claws down Beau’s arms, vainly trying to shake his head free from Beau’s crushing grip.
Asher could see Wes looking helplessly on, his body trapped against Jade’s with the rear cabin crushed by Beau’s truck until it was only a couple of feet wide. Wes and Jade were breathing. The main threat was the maniac about to break Troy’s neck.
Beau was oblivious to the danger streaking toward him and Asher caught him by complete surprise as he slammed into his side, using his body’s mass and momentum like a battering ram. Beau cried out as his ribs snapped. Asher dug his claws deeply into Beau’s flesh and muscle as they slid several yards away from the twisted wreckage.
As soon as they’d stopped moving Asher bit deeply into the back of Beau’s neck, surprised when he found himself unable to close his jaws for a killing bite. Fuck, I want him dead. What the hell?
As his breath rasped in and out around Beau’s neck, the man struggled beneath him. Asher dug his claws deeper, but was still denied the satisfaction of crushing the man’s spine and ending his worthless life.
“Are you back with me, Asher?” Cooper’s voice echoed through his mind.
Despite his conscious mind being solely focused on getting to his family, his cat had heard and obeyed his Alpha. “Don’t kill him.” Had been the order from Finn and he was incapable of disobeying. He curled his claws, growling in satisfaction at Beau’s high-pitched scream. The Alpha hadn’t ordered them not to hurt him.
“Beau ran his truck into Troy’s. It looks like a pretzel.”
The minutes dragged as Asher held fast to his prisoner. Incapacitating Beau Rennie was all he could currently do to keep Jade and his brothers safe. It grated on his last nerve that he couldn’t aid his brothers as they struggled to free themselves and care for Jade.
“You just hold that bastard down,” Troy said, gasping as he again attempted to pull his legs free. “You saved Troy’s life, Asher. Thank you.” Wes whispered the words into his mind, his gratitude and relief easing some of Asher’s frustration. They were all alive to love Jade.
“She’s still unconscious, but her breathing is normal,” Wes said. “She’s fine.” The information was unnecessary as Asher and Troy could hear that for themselves, but it helped to ease the tension.
The small vibrations traveling through Beau’s body alerted Asher of the approaching vehicles before he heard them. Help was coming from both town and the Alphas. Minutes later Finn and Hunter were at his side.
“I’ll take him. Go and help Hunter,” Finn commanded.
By the time he’d shifted he was at Hunter’s side and Barrett was leaping from Axel’s truck, his expression tortured. “Just tell me she’s alive,” he said.
“She’s alive, and so…” Wes’s words were then lost under the screech of metal.
Barrett had pulled Beau’s car free of Troy’s truck and Asher moved in to wrap his hands around the remains of the rear door and wrench it free. The glass on the ground sank into his bare feet and the shards still attached to the window frame sliced deeply into his palms.
Asher felt no pain as the blood ran freely from the deep cuts. His sole focus was freeing his brothers and holding his precious mate.
Mason began to remove Troy from the driver’s seat of the truck, but halted as Troy gripped his arm with an anguished gasp.
“I’ll go in from the other side and have a look,” Barrett said.
Asher threw the rear door aside and left Troy’s rescue to Mason and Barrett as he hooked his arms under Wes’s armpits.
“Can I pull you out or are you still caught on something like Troy?”
“I’m clear,” Wes said.
Asher heard Wes groan as he slowly and carefully pulled him from the truck. Once his legs were free, Wes stood, wobbling as he shook broken glass from his dark hair.
Satisfied Wes wasn’t going to fall, Asher stepped closer to examine Jade. Blood ran down her face in a wide, steady stream. He saw no cuts to her face, the laceration hidden somewhere in her hair. He unbuckled the seat belt and looked under her jumper for any compound fractures to her collarbone or shoulder.
Lifting the hem of her jumper showed a large bruise forming across her abdomen. She looked to be otherwise unhurt, so he slid his arms under her and lifted her to his chest. His eyes stung with unshed tears. She was alive and in his arms. He’d never stop appreciating what a miracle she was.
He turned when Wes put a hand on his shoulder. “Is she hurt badly, Asher?” Wes’s eyes swept over Jade’s face and he tore off his shirt, folding it before pressing it to Jade’s bleeding scalp. “I tried to cushion the impact, but it happened so damned fast.”
“She’s alive, Wes,” Asher said. “You did great.”
* * * *
Troy was stuck on the examination bed, the pain in his legs forgotten as he worried about Jade. She’d been taken for a CT scan a few minutes after they’d been brought to Jason’s home clinic.
Jason finally appeared, wheeling the examination bed back into the room. Jade’s face was pale, a darkening bruise covered the left side of her face. She had a bandage wrapped around her head, and numerous small cuts littered her cheeks from the shattered glass.
Troy’s heart squeezed in his chest as Asher walked in behind Jason. Asher’s brows were furrowed, his eyes blazing amber. With blood still coating his bare torso, arms, and face, he looked like he’d stepped straight out of hell to wreak carnage on the world.
“Is she badly hurt?” Wes asked urgently, moving to Jade’s side to hold one of her hands.
“She’s going
to be fine,” Jason said, glaring at Asher. “Asher’s just pissed because Finn already killed Beau.”
“I didn’t actually kill him,” Finn said, walking into the room and putting an arm around Asher’s shoulders. “I maintain he broke his own neck when he tried running away while my hands were still wrapped around his throat.”
Jason gave Finn one of his rare smiles, showing he was still very much a predator, despite being a doctor. Beau Rennie had hurt a lot of people. No one would mourn his loss.
“Troy, how are you feeling?” Finn asked.
“I’m more concerned for my mate, Finn. But thank you for asking.”
“He had a piece of radiator through both legs,” Wes said. “He’s healing now Barrett pulled it out for him.”
“Fuck,” Jason said. “Why the hell did I go to medical school if the entire pride thinks they know how to treat themselves?”
Troy felt sorry for Jason, but he knew his shifter genes would swiftly heal him once the metal had been removed, so he’d asked Barrett to just pull it out.
“You were caring for my mate, Jason, and you still have Axel and Fergus to look at. I was only trying to help.”
“Well, if your bones heal crooked I’m resetting them without the use of an anesthetic.”
Jason scowled, muttering curses under his breath as he left the room to see to the other injured.
“How is Jade?” Troy called after him.
“He said she has a concussion,” Asher said. “Wes protected her from being crushed.”
Asher’s scowl softened as he smiled at Wes. “Are all those broken ribs healing?”
“I’m fine,” Wes said, lying on the bed beside Jade and tucking her against his side. “She’ll heal better if we’re touching her. That’s what Jason always says.”
“You’re correct,” Finn said. “Plus your cat will stop driving you completely crazy. Is Barrett still with Mason and the wolf?”
“He is,” Troy said. “He wanted to be there when you and Samson questioned him.”
The Alpha growled and the room seemed to vibrate with Finn’s power. “Once I’ve checked on Fergus and Axel I’m going straight to the jail.”
The Alpha was right to be furious. Apart from being a twisted sadist and a murderer, the captured wolf had put their entire race in jeopardy by killing humans. The exposure of even one shifter to the humans would drive them all into hiding.
“Thank you, Finn,” Asher said.
Finn nodded to them and left them alone with Jade. Troy didn’t like the few feet that separated him from his mate. He needed to be touching her.
Asher released the brakes on Troy’s bed and pushed it next to Jade’s, showing how deep a connection Asher had developed with him. Troy’s cat was desperate to feel Jade, but Troy couldn’t shift until his bones had healed. He contented them both by sliding as close as he could to Jade and holding her hand.
“She’s going to be fine,” Wes said. “We have forever with her now.”
“I don’t think I’m ever going to feel happy unless she’s with one of us,” Troy said, lifting Jade’s hand to his lips. “I’ll always need to protect her every second of the day.”
“I think that’s what it’s like to be mated,” Asher said.
“It’s frightening,” Wes said, kissing the bandage on Jade’s head.
“It’s wonderful,” Troy and Asher said.
* * * *
Barrett paced the interview room, his eyes never leaving the cowering wolf chained in the center of the room. This interview room was in the basement of the jail, built by the Alpha with the express purpose of confining any shifter that broke the law. Either shifter or human law.
The room was really just a concrete cell, the concrete several feet thick with steel bolts cemented into the floor. The room had proven useful for shifters, but inadequate for vampires. Construction was underway down the corridor for a cell to contain vampires. The cell had been designed by their vampiric friends from Pine Falls, Aiden and Eamon, so Barrett was certain it would be more than adequate.
“Your best hope is for a quick death,” Barrett said, disgust dripping from every word. “But that’s not going to happen if I have my way.”
This man had aided in Jade’s abduction, then did nothing while Beau abused her. All he’d done was wait for Beau to tire of her so he could rape and torture her himself. Barrett froze in place as his need to kill the wolf coursed through him.
His cat was also trapped by their Alpha’s command. He’d been ordered not to kill, and Barrett was helpless to obey that order. Barrett was, however, going to be right here when Finn gave the order for him to be killed.
He’d just spoken to Asher, and was comforted that Jade’s CT scan showed only a concussion, but he wanted to be there when she woke. He was frozen in his pacing as he thought of just killing this bastard and going to Jade.
“That must be about the hundredth time you’ve thought about killing him in the last five minutes,” Mason said blandly.
“Even if Finn hadn’t ordered me not to, I wouldn’t kill him,” Barrett said, free to start his pacing again. “Oh, I’d hurt him.” He stared at the wolf with his cat’s rage making his eyes blaze amber.
“I can help with that,” Mason said.
The wolf whined pathetically and Barrett’s disgust grew ever deeper. The bastard was tough when he was dealing with helpless human females who had already been beaten half to death. But he was a sniveling coward when confronting fellow shifters.
“We need to know where all the bodies are,” Barrett said, staring at Mason. “We know Jade wasn’t Beau’s only victim. All those women have families. They deserve to be taken home to them.”
Mason nodded as Samson and Finn entered the room. Barrett sneered at the wolf. It began to shake, then pissed itself, as Samson and the Alpha approached him.
“Don’t like it when you’re the one in chains?” Samson asked.
The wolf lowered his head, avoiding eye contact as Samson released the metal collar from the wolf’s neck. Not that it had fitted very well. This was one puny wolf.
Samson dropped a pair of sweatpants next to the wolf. “Shift or die.”
Mason growled softly, but Barrett placed a restraining hand on his arm. Samson knew what he was doing.
Samson walked away from the wolf to sit beside Finn at the table in the center of the room. Barrett waited until Mason was seated before doing the same. The door to the room wasn’t locked, but he could scent Hunter and Dane in the observation room next door. The wolf wasn’t going to escape.
Barrett felt the charge of electricity in the room as the wolf shifted back to human. He didn’t turn, just waited for the wolf to come and sit in the one remaining chair around the table, the chair directly opposite Samson and Finn.
Barrett stared repulsed as the man slid silently into the chair. He’d pulled on the sweatpants. His large stomach hanging over the waistband was pale and hairy.
“I didn’t hurt anyone,” the wolf said, looking in Finn’s direction, but not at the Alpha’s eyes.
No, the sniveling coward wouldn’t challenge the Alpha.
“Let’s begin by qualifying that statement,” Finn said, his tone arctic as his anger pulsed through the room.
The man looked to Mason, then to Samson and Barrett. He seemed confused and appeared to be seeking their assistance. He got none.
As the silence dragged on, the wolf fidgeted, wringing his hands in his lap and licking his dry lips. He was truly a pathetic excuse for a wolf.
“Wh–what?” he managed. It sounded like a squeak.
“Were you saying you’ve never hurt anyone?” Samson finally said, his voice rumbling as his cat growled menacingly.
“No. Yes,” the wolf said immediately.
Barrett snarled, making the wolf jump to his feet. Finn extended his claws and slowly scraped them across the top of the metal table, making a high screeching sound and leaving grooves in the steel.
“Sorry. What do you
want me to say?” the wolf asked, sitting back at the table.
“This is going to be a long fucking day,” Mason muttered.
Barrett ground his teeth together, his cat desperate to get to Jade, but this was too important. To fully recover emotionally she’d need to know that any other women these shifters had ever tortured and killed had been found. That it was truly over. Barrett needed to do this for Jade.
Chapter 16
“You said I could see her. If she’s here, then please take me to her.”
Amber?
Pain lanced through Jade’s head as she tried to open her eyes. She had no idea where she was, but she recognized her sister’s voice.
“We will,” Bethany said. “Jason was just trying to prepare you. She’s been injured.”
Bethany, Amber, Jason. She knew something was wrong with that grouping of people.
“That’s her sister,” Wes said.
“What’s she doing here? How did she get here? What will we tell her? How do we explain three men lying on a bed with her sister? I’m not moving.”
Troy’s words all came out in a rush and Jade smiled. She winced as her face throbbed a little. Her Troy, his mind moved so fast.
“Troy,” Jade breathed. “Amber.” Everything fell into place as she pushed the remnants of sleep from her mind.
“Why is Amber here?” she asked. Even though she’d whispered pain speared through her brain.
“You’re awake, honey,” Wes said softly. She felt his arms tighten around her as he pressed a kiss to her cheek. “How are you feeling? We’ve been so worried.”
Jade blinked several times but still saw nothing. “I can’t see you,” Jade said, clasping Wes’s arm.
“Try the bathroom light, Asher,” Troy said. “The room light will be too bright. She must have a whopper of a headache.”
“I do,” Jade said. The room was lit by a warm glow, the soft light making her head pound. Jade’s throat threatened to close over as the panic attack hit her. “Barrett?”
Jade [Eminence Shifters 6] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Page 14