by Sadie Hart
“Hiding under the passenger seat like a smart little kitty.” Sawyer gave the cat an affectionate rub. “Come on, let’s keep going.”
Rift watched as she ushered Kinsey on, and stepped in behind her, his hand finding the small of her back. “Game plan?” he murmured softly.
“Uh, head for that strip mall up there.” She swallowed and Rift knew there was something she wasn’t telling him.
“Sawyer.”
She shot him a smile, then jogged up beside Kinsey. “She’s a tough little cat, isn’t she?”
Rift sighed and let it go. Sawyer hadn’t gotten them this far to turn her back on them now. If she had a plan she didn’t want to divulge yet, he’d give her time. Besides, it wasn’t like he had a plan.
He should have chased down the second rogue and killed him, too, when he’d had the chance.
Now they not only had no car, they’d had to leave in such a rush that they had nothing left at all. Nothing but the clothes on their backs and Rona. He smiled at that. He’d known Sawyer wouldn’t leave his cat any more than he or Kinsey would have, but to turn and see her cuddling Rona to her chest as she hurried to catch up? Well, damn.
They rounded the edge of the small strip mall and Rift instantly spotted the large black explorer. He froze, his heart pounding in his chest. Sawyer—
“Mace!” she shouted, waving, and the man leaning against the side of the vehicle turned. Lion. But Rift didn’t recognize him as one of the Cane Creek males, but something about this one screamed pride male.
Maybe it was the power, the confidence, of being so close to Boulder turf and just not giving a damn, but the sight of it hit Rift like a stone to the gut. The big man grinned and opened his arms, just as Sawyer hurtled herself into them.
Instantly Rift’s lion roared to the surface, furious, the hard slam of aggression sending him staggering forward a few steps, his fists clenched at his sides. Mine, his lion thundered inside him.
The man holding Sawyer grinned as he lifted her into the air, his face almost boyish as he looked into her face. “Damn, girl, been a while.”
Then he looked up and saw Rift and the joy washed away into something colder. Dangerous.
“Don’t, Mace,” Sawyer said, pressing a hand to his chest. “Rift’s a friend.”
A friend? She hadn’t kissed him like he was nothing more than a fucking friend.
“You didn’t mention a rogue male when you called.”
Sawyer braced both hands on her hips and frowned up at him. “Would it have mattered?”
The man she called Mace shot her a glare that made Rift snarl. The other lion flicked his attention back to Rift, but he answered Sawyer, the word sharp and short, “No.”
“Rift, cool it,” Sawyer said, turning toward him. She ran a hand through her long hair, shaking out the tangles before she took a step towards him, then Kinsey. The poor girl looked so confused.
“Mace, this is Rift and Kinsey, and the details are a long story. But I called for help.”
“And a ride. And you got both.” He tilted his head towards the car, even if he never removed his gaze from Rift.
Obviously he saw Rift as an enemy.
Same here, asshole.
“Rift, Kins, this is Mason Reyes.” She glanced at the man by the Explorer and then back to Rift. “My brother.”
Her what? Rift jerked his attention to her, the other male temporarily forgotten. “Your last name—”
“Grant.” She shrugged. “I changed it when I left the pride. The thought of getting chased down by six pride males tends to make most prides think twice before taking on a Reyes daughter.”
Rift just stared at her. A Reyes daughter. Holy fucking hell. And he’d kissed her. Slept with her wrapped in his arms every night they’d been together. He cut a glance to Mason and knew her brother could smell him all over her. Mace’s eyes were dark as he leaned against the car.
Shit.
And they were heading into the thick of pride territory.
Rift had never considered himself a coward, but the thought of facing down the entire coalition of Boulder Pride males made him want to run in the other direction.
“Were we heading here all along?” he said finally, his voice soft.
“No. At least, I was still trying to figure out another way.” She gave him a sad half-smile. “I didn’t want to bring trouble to my family. They’ve had enough of it.” She looked at Kinsey. “But after today.” She shrugged. “We’ll at least be safe there.”
Her maybe. Her family was probably going to hand him his ass.
But Kinsey would be safe there, too.
Rift closed his eyes and nodded. He was a dead man walking, but planned or not, Kinsey was his daughter. And she deserved all the safety he could give her. There wasn’t anywhere safer than Boulder Pride.
“You have five older brothers and two younger ones. Which set is he in?” Rift glanced at Mason, fighting not to cringe as he did the math.
“The youngest of her older set.” He grinned, no doubt knowing damn well what Rift was thinking.
Ouch.
“They’ll behave,” Sawyer promised him, but Rift doubted it.
Especially considering that, Reyes daughter or not, Rift had no intention of ever letting her go.
Something in his face must have given him away, because Mason scowled, but Rift ignored him.
“Let’s go, then,” he muttered.
“Can Rona come too?” Kinsey asked, looking at Sawyer as she cuddled the cat, but it was Mace who answered.
“The cat? Of course.” He popped open the back door. “Just keep an eye on her when we get there. Some of the youngsters can play a little rough.”
And as lion cubs they probably played rougher than most.
Rift slid into the back seat next to Kinsey and watched as Mace grinned at his sister before pulling her in for another hug. “It really has been a while, sis. You could call more, you know. Your mom’s been worried sick.”
“Sorry, I just...” She glanced at Rift and then shook her head. “Let’s go home.”
But from that split-second look she exchanged with her brother, Rift knew without a doubt she was keeping something else from him.
Though after the last surprise, he doubted it could be anything worse than being a member of Boulder Pride. He slumped back in his seat. If he survived her family, he could handle whatever other secret she was hiding from him, no problem.
***
The highway flew by, the sights all familiar from a lifetime of traveling all over the state. The scenery itself had become a symbol of family, safety, home. She smiled. As much as she’d tried to avoid bringing this problem home, it felt nice to know they were finally safe.
Cane Creek couldn’t touch them here.
“Rulon’s got a second cub on the way,” Mace said, referring to her oldest brother.
“Oh? Boy or girl?”
“Little boy. And dad’s groaning because, at this rate, people have got to start moving out. He already booted Cutter from the pride.”
Cutter was a year younger than her and had been raising hell when she’d left.
“Dad couldn’t take a seventh male.”
Still, her heart broke for her younger brother. Where would that leave him? She doubted many prides would want a Reyes who had been kicked from Boulder. It might mean family problems they’d have to deal with later.
“So he’ll be a rogue?”
“Nah. I’m leaving, too. Cut and I can get our own turf up in Montana or Wyoming. And at the rate the pride is growing, if we ever need a third or fourth male, we’ll just grab one of the young guys as they come of age. They can’t all stay and live at home like Ru.”
“Anyone else know?”
“No. They don’t need the stress right now, and I’m not actually pulling out until Cut’s got us some land. Besides, you know Ru would kick my ass if he knew I was planning to leave and just hanging around. He hates freeloaders.”
He flashed he
r a teasing grin, but Sawyer knew better. Rulon wouldn’t care at all. Mace was still his brother. Once Mace and Cut had formed their own pride, Rulon might not be able to have their back, but he’d always be rooting for them. Dad, too.
“So he’ll hate me,” Rift said from the back seat, and Sawyer started to protest, but Mace cut her off.
“He’ll hate you for a lot of reasons. The big one being you smell like you’ve been rolling with his sister.” There was enough anger in Mace’s voice to make her roll her eyes.
“I’m a big girl, Mace. I get to choose what I do in my personal life. That’s why I left. I didn’t need you all breathing down my neck.”
“Doesn’t mean they’ll like you bringing him home.”
Sawyer sighed and glanced out the window, recognizing the dirt road they’d turned down. The small green street sign on the corner read Reyes Street.
“Shit,” Rift said from behind her. “You have your own street?”
Sawyer couldn’t help but smile. “The ranch is set on a hundred and twenty acres, but the actual territory is half the state. But grandpa wanted the street where we actually live to carry the family name.”
Sawyer stared out over the string of ranch houses that housed various members of the pride. There were two new ones over on the north end. A high-pitched squeal sounded from the lawn and she turned to see a pair of lion cubs shifting back and forth from human to cat and back again, batting at each other as they played.
Rulon’s wife Abby leaned against one of the houses, her belly swollen with child, and she looked perfectly at home watching the kids.
“Home sweet home,” Mace said, not a small amount of teasing in his voice as he pulled the car to a stop. Sawyer opened the door and slid out, pausing just long enough for the pair of roughhousing cubs to spot her.
“Sawyer!” The older of the two cubs screeched and barreled head-first into Sawyer’s waist. She scooped the girl up and spun her.
“Gilly.” She put her back on her feet and placed a smacking kiss on her forehead. “You’ve gotten big.”
Another kid barreled into her side and Sawyer stumbled to the ground laughing.
It felt good to be home.
Then she glanced back at the car and saw Rift and Kinsey staring out at her from the back seat, and she wanted to protect them both. Help them find a place as safe and warm as this. Help them build a home.
She swallowed back the sudden lump in her throat.
Damn. She was falling too far for Rift Callahan and his daughter. They were just a job, a rescue mission. But as often as she told herself that, her heart still resisted.
They were already more than that. The question was, what was she going to do about it?
Chapter Nine
Rift watched as Sawyer rolled around on the grass, the kids giggling as she ruffled their hair and gave them kisses. He could almost see her with their kid, cradling the little bundle in her arms. A soft, motherly smile on her face. Her amber eyes aglow with pride.
Then she glanced up at him and the look in her eyes stole his breath in a rush. He wanted this, more than he’d ever wanted anything in his life, and for a split second, it seemed she wanted it too.
“You ready for this?” Mace asked from the driver’s seat.
Rift startled out of his reverie to look at Sawyer’s brother. Hell, probably not. He glanced at Kinsey, who sat leaning against the door, her head out the window as she watched Sawyer. She’d never truly been a part of a pride before.
Rift saw the flash of longing on her face before she stuffed it back under the familiar façade of teenage indifference.
But she deserved this.
He’d never wanted to be a pride male before, but his daughter deserved the chance to be a lion in a lion’s society. Jenna had never bothered to give her that, but Rift, he could find a way. Would find a way.
“Yeah,” Rift said and put a hand on Kinsey’s shoulder. “Time to get out, kid.”
“Not a kid,” Kinsey muttered, but she opened the door and hopped out, Rona still clutched to her chest. Rift followed her.
“Ohhh, a kitty!” One of the kids yelled and ran towards Kinsey. In an instant they were surrounded by kids of all ages, some even Kinsey’s age, all asking to pet Rona.
“Love your hair,” one of the girls crooned. “I wanted to dye mine hot pink but dad threw a fit.”
Rift watched as Kinsey relaxed, smiling, and felt, for the first time, that he was doing something right for her.
Mace stepped up behind him and clapped him on the back. “Now the fun part begins.”
Rift started to twist away, to tell Mason Reyes to back off, and then he saw the bear of a man coming out the front door and thought better of it.
There weren’t many men out there that could make him feel tiny, but shit.
Sawyer turned, saw the man approaching and grabbed him in an enthusiastic hug before he could continue toward Rift. There was nothing friendly in those dark amber eyes, but the moment Sawyer’s arms wrapped around his waist the man relaxed a notch.
It’d have made Rift feel a little better if a small army of lions wasn’t pouring out of the large mansion in front of him and the one next door to it. Mace turned his head and nodded a greeting to someone behind Rift. Rift spun, tense, but the older man standing there just gave him a passing look.
“Hey, Dad,” Mace said, referring to the older man in Sawyer’s arms. “Brought her home safe and sound.”
Her father. Rift turned back to get a better look at the older lion. He had a good few inches on Rift, but age left him with a little less bulk in the shoulders and more wrinkles around his eyes and mouth. He laughed a lot, Rift decided, and a glance around showed him exactly why.
Gaston Reyes was surrounded by family, and plenty of it.
“Damn, I missed you, girl,” Gaston said as he hugged his daughter again. His gaze cut to Rift, and then back to her. “Though I look forward to hearing the story behind this. In private.”
“It’s not much of a secret.” Though the way she said it told Rift she was holding something back. “I, uh, joined up with the Cane Creek pride in eastern Texas for awhile. Saw one of the females had a kid she was hiding right before the pride males caught wind of it. They aren’t nice to their women...downright brutal, really...so I took the girl and ran. Found her father, who hadn’t even known he was a father.” She tilted her head towards Rift. “But we’ve had some rough luck and could use a place to hide until trouble blows over.”
“I still want the rest of the story later,” Gaston said softly, but turned his focus to Rift.
The man that had been behind Rift and Mace stepped past them to ruffle Sawyer’s hair. “As do I. Though I don’t like the thought of a rogue male anywhere near our pride.”
“Rulon,” Sawyer whispered, and the man, who had to be one of her many brothers—he had her nose after all—gave a short sigh.
“I didn’t say I was against it, just that I didn’t like it.”
“Nor do I,” Gaston said.
Sawyer leaned forward to kiss her father’s cheek. “Are we welcome or not?”
“For the time being,” Gaston said, his eyes shifting to Rulon. The other lion didn’t seem nearly as inclined to agree, but one by one the other pride males relaxed. Mace grinned from his position propped against the car.
He tilted his head in Rift’s direction and whispered, “Now, just don’t overstay your welcome, and you’ll be fine.”
One look at the growing pride around him and Rift knew that would be easier said than done.
***
It didn’t surprise Sawyer at all that her father had transformed her old room into a guest room. Space in pride housing was limited enough, and a vacant room needed a purpose, plus, they’d been lamenting the lack of a guest room for as long as she could remember.
She stared at the bed, the flower comforter oddly reassuring against the excited squeals sounding from downstairs. A soft thump sounded behind her and she turned to se
e Rift set the pile of clothes her father had given him on the dresser behind her.
“How exactly am I supposed to share a room with you and not overstay my welcome?” He pitched the words low, secretive, but it was the look in his eyes that he really needed to hide.
Damn that man. He knew how make her shiver with just a look.
“Kinsey’s bunking with Penny isn’t she?”
Rift nodded. “She’s happy to find someone her age here. I don’t think she’s had that many friends.”
She’d had one while Sawyer had known her, and she hadn’t been another shifter. No, this was probably Kinsey’s first time experiencing what it was like to be surrounded by a pride. Maybe it was Rift’s, too.
“Feeling out of place yet?”
His grin turned wolfish. “I’m still standing, and that counts for something in this place, I would think.”
Sawyer let out a bark of laughter and shook her head. Oh, how right he was. Sawyer couldn’t think of a time a rogue male had been allowed inside Boulder Pride. Rogue males were usually trouble, and that was something her father would have never allowed.
“Especially considering how much I smell like you,” he said softly and Sawyer could feel her heart start to pound.
One kiss, one tantalizing kiss, and she wanted more than she’d ever dare admit from him.
And as if he could read her mind, Rift pulled the door shut behind him and closed the distance between them. One hand found the back of her head, his fingers buried in her hair, and he pulled her toward him. Sawyer stopped him with a hand on her chest.
“We should talk.” But she didn’t even know where to begin.
Relationships weren’t exactly on the table for anyone working under cover. But especially not one with someone she was supposed to protect. Rift and Kinsey, they couldn’t be anything more than a job. Because the moment her heart got involved, her thinking could cloud, her resolve weaken. She needed to be able to do what was best for them, even if they didn’t see it.