by Bethany Shaw
“I wouldn’t even bother fighting either of them on this,” Devon said, observing the two women. “Trust me. I’ve learned that arguing with a woman on a mission is like trying to jump-start a car without a battery. You’re not going to win. In fact, you’ll only push her to rebel more.”
“I would like to have your support, Gene,” Natalia whispered. “Regardless, I plan to call Juarez this afternoon.”
Gene closed his eyes. “What about Adrian?”
“He will not be involved in this. I will tell Juarez the deal is for me only,” Natalia said. She turned to Lark, her bottom lip trembling. “I was hoping in my leave, you could watch him?”
“Yes, of course,” Lark assured her.
“I know it’s hard, but I’ve sent Lark into the Lion’s den before. Sometimes you have to let them do it,” Devon said quietly.
Scrubbing a hand over his face, Gene nodded. “Fine. We’ll call Juarez.”
***
Natalia gulped as she took the phone from Gene’s hand. His fingers grazed against hers, and she swallowed nervously.
“You don’t have to do this. There is always another way,” he said quietly, grasping her hand.
Meeting his eyes, she leaned in, pressing her lips to his softly. “I know. But another way has not presented itself.”
Gene kissed her again, and Natalia closed her eyes, sinking her fingers into his thick brown hair. His arms wound around her, pulling her flush against him. His lips caressed hers. One of his hands drifted up her shirt, and she pulled away, knowing they could quickly lose focus.
“I should call now.”
Gene kissed her again, and she groaned against his mouth. Mustering up the strength, she took a step back. He reached out, gently taking the phone from her. He tapped a few keys on his phone before handing it back to her.
She looked down at the white screen and bit her lip. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach, and she felt nausea roll over her. Closing her eyes, she grasped the phone and inhaled a deep breath. Slowly, she opened her eyes and looked down at Juarez’s name. Jamming her finger onto the send button, she spun away from Gene.
Pulse roaring in her ears, she listened to the deafening ringing.
“Eugene Harris,” Fernando greeted, sounding too cheery. “I suppose you’ve called regarding the deal I offered Devon.”
“It is not Gene, but yes, I have called to arrange a deal,” Natalia said quietly. Her breath shook, causing the phone crackle in her ear.
“Natalia, what a surprise!”
She cringed, practically seeing his grin through the phone. “I have learned of your proposal and feel I have no choice but to accept. I have only two conditions.”
“Forever bargaining, are we, Natalia?” Juarez chuckled.
“I will only surrender myself to you. No one else! No bodyguards—no one. Despite our differences, I trust you more than Malakai and Luis.”
“They should not have killed your mother,” Fernando said solemnly.
Natalia shook her head as she laughed. “Like you cared?”
“I care about what hurts my family, Natalia. I truly wish you’d have been brought home under better circumstances. What is your second condition?”
“Adrian is not coming with me. He stays behind,” Natalia stated through gritted teeth. If her plan failed, she needed to know that her son would be safe—loved and brought up respectably.
“You would abandon your child?”
Tears pricked her eyes, and her breath hitched in her throat. If her plan failed, that is exactly what she would be doing. She might never see him again. “If it meant a better life for him, yes! I am not so selfish to force him into your world.”
“And I refuse to forego my great grandson,” Juarez bellowed.
“I am offering to come peacefully to you. No one knows that I am speaking with you. I believe it best we keep it that way. This is the only way you will ever get me alive,” Natalia hissed venomously. “It is not Adrian you really want, but a woman, a female to breed.”
Juarez remained quiet, and she closed her eyes as tears ran down her cheeks. Sniffling, she swiped them away.
“Gene and Devon are clueless to your plan?” Juarez asked.
“They are.”
“Then how is it you have his phone, I wonder,” Juarez chuckled.
“I have become friends with the alpha. We are close. He is indisposed, and this call needs to end sooner rather than later so make your decision now,” Natalia growled. Her hand shook as she held the phone to her ear. Her parched throat ached from the sobs that threatened to spill over.
“So you do this out of love for the alpha. Do you really think he will care for Adrian? Would he not be better with you, his own mother? I promise you, I will let you keep him with you,” Juarez said.
“My reasons are not your concern. Adrian stays behind, or you have no deal. You can have thousands of male werewolves; it’s the alpha female you need. What is it going to be?” she replied, her voice strong.
Natalia jumped as she felt warm hands wrap around her. Gene’s pine-and-moss scent invaded her senses, and she focused on him, willing her body to relax.
“Fine! I suppose I’ll have more great grandchildren in the coming months. In exchange for your safe surrender, Adrian and the two packs will be free from my wrath forever. You, however, will cooperate, or I will rescind this agreement. Are we clear?”
“Yes.”
“Very well. I am in New Orleans but can be on my way within the hour. I will text you the exact location of our meeting in the next few minutes. Once you have it, delete the message and the call history off the alpha’s phone. I will see you soon, Natalia,” Juarez said.
Natalia choked out a sob as the phone clicked. Trembling, she turned, handing the phone back to Gene. She closed her eyes and used her thumb to dab at the corners before opening them. Composed, other than the slight shake of her hands, she met Gene’s gaze.
“He will text soon with the location to meet,” she whispered.
Gene’s hands cupped her chin, and he pressed a feather light kiss to her lips. “I heard. You can still back out.”
“No, I meant what I said. I care about you, Gene. I do not want to see you hurt. Promise though, if things go wrong, you’ll look after Adrian won’t you?”
“Yes!” he said instantly. “Nothing’s going to go wrong, Talia. I’m not letting you go to meet Juarez alone. We’ll be there in the distance, watching and waiting. I’m not letting anything happen to you.”
Natalia nodded. She believed the sincerity in Gene’s words, but, knowing Juarez better than him, she had her doubts. Regardless, if she went, then he would have to honor their conditions.
“Juarez is a man of his word, but if he brings more than just a body guard, you cannot interfere. Promise me. If you die—if Adrian and Lark are taken, this is for nothing.”
“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”
Natalia cringed as Gene’s cell phone vibrated, alerting them to a new text. Sighing, Gene pulled back and looked at the screen, turning it so she could see as well.
“Tomorrow afternoon,” Natalia said, staring vacantly at the screen. Her chest constricted, and she shivered.
“Hey, come on. I want to show you something. It will help take your mind off things,” Gene said, grasping her hand in his and tugging her to the door.
Chapter Twenty-one
Gene stopped the car in front of Luigi’s restaurant. He grinned as Natalia gave him a side-glance before hopping out of the vehicle to get Adrian from the back. The eight men they’d brought with them took up positions around the building discreetly.
“This is one of the best restaurants in Abilene,” Gene beamed as he opened the door for her.
“What, is this like a date?” Natalia questioned as the hostess greeted them and led them to a table.
“Yeah.” Gene said. The she-wolf set Adrian’s carrier in the sling and Gene pulled out a chair for her. “I thought we needed a break. You
know—to do something normal.”
Natalia looked down at the checkered table then back up to him. A small smile slipped across her face, and she pulled her long coffee-colored locks over one shoulder as she picked up the menu. “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me yet. After this we’re going to drive the route you’ll be taking tomorrow and pinpoint a good rendezvous point.” Gene cleared his throat. He wanted to keep the mood light over dinner. “This restaurant used to be my dad’s favorite. Until Emily and Claire came to the ranch, we use to order it for dinner every Sunday. You’ll like it here,” Gene said, tapping his fingers against the menu, already knowing what he wanted.
“Sunday dinner? So that is like a ritual?”
“Yes! It’s something my parents believed in. Having one day out of the week devoted to family only,” Gene said fondly. “Of course, our family includes the entire pack.”
“My mother and I had Wednesday nights. Since she worked at the resort, weekends were busy for her. Wednesday nights were ours. We would do dinner and a movie with popcorn.”
“That sounds like fun,” Gene replied. “What’s your favorite movie?”
“It is silly.”
“What?” Gene asked, chuckling at her blush.
“My mother liked to watch older movies. Have you seen Sixteen Candles?” She asked, burying her face in the menu.
“No, but I’ve heard of it,” Gene laughed.
Peering over her menu, she said, “We use to watch it at least once a month. Maybe we could watch it sometime. I would like to see it without the Spanish voiceovers.” She gave him a shy smile. “So what’s good here?”
“I’m getting the lasagna. I think just about everything on the menu is delicious. What do you like?” Gene asked, watching as she perused the menu.
“How is the shrimp scampi?”
“Good. And if you don’t like it, you can get something else,” Gene offered. He wanted her to relax—to have fun and enjoy herself.
“I think I will try it,” she said, tucking her menu back between the napkin holder and the window.
The waiter came back and set a basket of rolls on the table. He then pulled out a pen and pad of paper. Gene motioned for Natalia to order first before placing his own. The waiter finished scribbling on his notepad and walked off. Natalia sank back into her chair as a small smile slid across her face. Her eyes flitted over to Adrian, who was sleeping in his car seat.
“What kind of flowers are your favorite?” Gene asked.
Natalia’s gaze snapped up to his, her mouth popping open in surprise.
“You said you liked them. What is your favorite type?”
“Oh, um, I do not know. If I had to choose one, I’d say orchids,” Natalia said as she opened her silverware and laid her napkin across her lap.
“They grow in Mexico?” Gene asked, wanting to know more.
“Yes, I believe they grow in most places, which doesn’t make them very unique per se. But I do enjoy their color, and the shape of the flower.”
“Nice flowers and sandy beaches. Sounds like a good place to live.” Gene leaned forward on the table, watching her.
“It was. There are many people who would come to our resort every year. Did you ever truly take a vacation or was it always visiting other packs?” Natalia questioned.
“It was always to see other packs. I think my parents would have liked to take vacations, but there are some thing’s that are just not practical when you have your own pack. But now that Dev and I are so close, I see no reason why one of us couldn’t go away for a short period of time,” Gene explained, thinking of the possibilities.
“And you would entrust your pack to Devon?”
“Of course. Just as he would entrust his to me. Dev and I are on the same page; we always have been. Maybe when things settle down, we can go to Cabo. Just the three of us,” Gene offered. Holding his breath, he gazed into her chestnut eyes, watching her breath catch at his proposal.
The waiter came, placing their drinks before them. Both of them thanked him before he dashed off.
Natalia took a sip of her Coke and looked at the table for a long second. Gene’s pulse roared in his ears as he waited for her response. Looking up, she smiled.
“I would like that.”
***
Lark rolled her shoulders back as she prepared to begin her workout with Devon. The blonde jabbed at the mat in Devon’s hand. “I want to go tomorrow,” she said as she connected with the pad, sending his hand reeling back.
“Gene and I still haven’t worked out all the details.”
“Well, don’t you think you should do it soon,” she sassed.
“It’s unlikely we’ll both go. We can’t risk both alphas leaving. The other night was a rare exception. We will discuss the details tomorrow morning,” Devon said, grasping her arm. Before she knew what was happening, the alpha pushed her into the wall. The strength of his thrust was hard enough to startle but not hurt her. “I had other plans tonight.”
“What plans?”
“I had dinner delivered from Luigi’s, and we have the house to ourselves for the next few hours.”
Lark frowned as she looked up at the ceiling, noting that the house was oddly quiet.
“What’s going on?”
“A surprise,” he smirked as he kissed her.
Melting into his embrace, she wrapped her arms around him. Moaning, she ran her fingers through his blonde hair.
Pulling back, Devon chuckled as she tried to lean into him again. “Come on, our food will get cold.”
Devon gripped her hand and led her to the stairs. As they climbed up, the smell of Luigi’s garlic bread caused her taste buds to salivate.
“Why did we bother getting dressed to work out if we were going to eat?” Lark questioned as they reached the top of the creaky old steps.
“I needed you distracted,” Devon said as he pulled her into the kitchen.
“Oh,” Lark whispered, looking at the dimly lit kitchen. The table was set with a blue cloth and candlelight flickered off the walls. White lights ran around the ceiling, illuminating the room. Red roses sat in a vase on the center of the table. “Wow.”
“You like it?” Devon said, kissing her cheek.
“Yeah! What’s the occasion?” Lark asked, her heart skipping a beat.
Devon moved to stand in front of her, pressing his forehead against hers. “I love you, Lark. And I want to spend the rest of my life with you in the werewolf world and the human world. Will you marry me?”
Lark gasped as Devon pulled out a diamond ring, holding it between his thumb and forefinger. “Oh my God yes!” she exclaimed, throwing her arms around him.
***
Lark yawned rubbing her eyes as she walked down the hall toward Preston’s bedroom. She’d slept in this morning, but, after celebrating with Devon most the night, she was still exhausted. She paused as she walked into the bedroom. Sarah lay curled in a ball on the bed. She could tell by the small twitch of her sister’s head that she wasn’t sleeping. Walking to the bed, she laid down and wrapped her arms around Sarah.
“I brought you some breakfast,” she said quietly.
Sarah sucked in a deep breath but didn’t say anything.
“You need to eat,” Lark said, sitting up and pulling Sarah with her.
“I don’t feel like it,” Sarah said.
“I know, but you need to eat anyway. Come on.”
Sarah didn’t respond. Instead, she only stared at the grey comforter on the bed.
Lark sighed, swallowing she bit her lip. “Today we’re going to make a move against Juarez.”
“We?” Sarah asked, her voice raspy.
“I’m meeting with Gene and Devon to go over the details; I think it’s just going to be Gene and Natalia that go, though.”
“Good!”
“Sarah, regardless of whether I go or not, we can’t just sit here and wait. We have control over our own lives, and I would rather take the offensive than si
t back and do nothing,” Lark said, meeting her sister’s gaze.
“I can’t lose you too,” Sarah said, her bottom lip trembling.
“I’m not going anywhere,” Lark said, hugging her sister. “I promise.”
***
Natalia shifted in her seat, twiddling her thumbs. Her stomach clenched and fluttered as she waited for Lark and Devon to get situated. This plan needed to work. Their entire lives were depending on it.
“I’ve been doing some thinking about strategy.” Gene began reclining in his chair. “I think it best if you stay here, Dev. We have all the new men coming in this afternoon who will need to be situated between the two packs. I plan on taking ten of my guys with me. I am familiar with the area Juarez suggested to meet in, and there are several locations we can go. I want to surround him at a decent distance. That way, we’re more likely to go unnoticed.”
“We should probably assume Juarez will have men with him too,” Devon said. “Will ten guys be enough?”
“The smaller our numbers, the less likely we are to be detected. That way, Juarez won’t be able to call in reinforcements that may be stationed nearby,” Gene said.
“I asked him to come alone,” Natalia said quietly. “He should honor his word.”
“Talia will drive one of the Jeeps to the location on her own. After she overtakes Juarez, she will meet me at a rendezvous point,” Gene said as he pulled out a map. “There is a GPS in the car. I want to get out there early enough so that you can drive the route yourself several more times.”
Natalia nodded and took in a shaky breath.
“I can give you my handgun if you want?” Lark offered, picking her purse up and setting it on her lap.
“I have never used one,” Natalia stammered. A weapon would be nice, but she’d always been afraid of the contraptions.
“I can give you a quick crash course if you want. At close range, it would be very hard to miss,” Lark said quietly.
“I will think about it.” Natalia looked down at the floor. “I have a request. If something goes awry, I wish for Adrian to be in your care, Lark.”
Devon looked at Lark before she turned to Natalia. “Of course. But it’s not going to matter. You and Gene are both coming back today,” Lark reassured as she met Natalia’s eyes.