Jacob regarded the man for a moment, trying to decide if he could be trusted.
“This doesn’t leave here, Jacob. But I can’t protect our kind if you’re not honest with me.”
“‘Our kind’? Who are you really?”
“I recognize Grant. Trust me, none of us will mourn his loss. He gave us werelions a decidedly bad name. I’m willing to admit that I’m almost glad that it was him and not someone else. But, my feelings aside, I still have to do my job. So if you could start at the beginning that would help me a lot.”
“If I do that, will you promise to leave Samantha and Mabel alone about this? They’ve both been through so much and I don’t want them to have to relive this constantly.”
“Of course. If I get everything I need from you, there’s really no reason to drag the victims into this.”
“Thank you,” Jacob said, starting the story from when they’d found Mabel alone in Samantha’s empty house and relaying everything that Mabel had told them.
He didn’t interrupt Jacob’s story until he got to the part about coming around the bend in the trail and seeing two lions and Samantha in battle.
“Wait, so this Samantha isn’t a shifter?”
“No.”
“And she just went after him with a few sticks and rocks?”
“She was like Jane of the Jungle,” Jacob laughed, enjoying the picture that conjured up in his mind.
“That’s pretty impressive.”
“We thought so.”
“And how did you know Samantha prior to this?”
“Great job sneaking that in,” Jacob said with a wry smile.
“It is my job.”
“Touché. We met her through the dating website.”
“The one for shifters?”
“Yes.”
“I’m on there. I haven’t gotten any hits yet, but I just signed up. I was going to delete my account, but if Samantha is the kind of woman I’m likely to find on there, I think I’ll stick around.”
“She’s something else.”
“She truly is. Do yourself a favor and don’t let that one get away. She’s not the kind of girl you can spend one night with and walk away.”
“We’re starting to see that.”
Detective Bruce stood, taking one last look at Grant’s lifeless body before heading back towards the trail.
“So what are you going to write in your report?”
“That depends on what the ME can explain away. I’ll get with him and we’ll make sure that only the necessary information gets into the report. We wouldn’t want to create mass hysteria by letting it get out that one of our own was a vicious stalker that nearly killed his own sister.”
“That’s probably wise. Forget the ninety-nine percent that are fine, upstanding citizens; there always has to be that one the spoils it for the rest of us.”
“Isn’t that the truth? So what are you two going to do now?”
“We’re going to watch over Samantha and Mabel until they’re healed and then we’re going to see where life takes us from there, I guess. We don’t really have a plan.”
“Isn’t it just like a weretiger to fly by the seat of his pants until something turns up?” Detective Bruce laughed.
“If it isn’t broken, why fix it?”
Detective Bruce shrugged.
“It seems to work for you two. You’re kind of famous for it.”
“More like infamous,” Jacob laughed. “But this week, and meeting Samantha, has been a game changer. The Locke twins are finally going to settle down.”
“Are there big changes on the horizon for you two then?”
“Let’s hope so. I can’t imagine that what we all just went through was meant to be anything but a big slap on the head from the universe. Dylan and I have been skating through life. It’s time to do something worthwhile.”
“I’m thinking that protecting Samantha and her friend is as worthwhile as you could possibly get.”
“It’s a start. We have more plans in the works, but we’re still hashing that out. Being identical twins isn’t always as drama free as everyone assumes.”
“I’ll bet. I’m just wondering which one of you is going to get the girl in the end.”
“Do you really think just one man can handle Samantha?”
Detective Bruce threw his head back and laughed, the sound filling the forest and bouncing off the trees. He slapped Jacob on the back heartily.
“Come to think of it, I’m not even sure that two men is enough. Piss that little lady off and you might find yourself in the same shape as poor Grant.”
“I think you might be right. Not that I’m not enjoying this time with you, but are you through with me? I want to get to the hospital to be with Samantha.”
“I’ve got all I need. I appreciate you being honest with me. It makes my life easier and it helps me protect our kind from an unnecessary media storm. I’ll be in touch if I need anything, but this is a clear case of self-defense, and I will likely be moving on to another crime pretty quickly. The wicked never rest, after all.”
He waved goodbye to Jacob and went into the house to meet with his men. Jacob got into his car and drove down the road, turning left onto the highway instead of right towards the hospital. He was going to go there eventually, but first, he had something he had to take care of.
CHAPTER 15
It was more than two weeks before Samantha was able to leave the hospital. Mabel remained in ICU, fighting for her life. Her injuries were extensive, and more than once, the doctors had expressed their belief that she would never wake up. Samantha still clung to the hope that her friend would be fine, but with each passing day, she was coming to accept that the worst might happen.
Dylan and Jacob were already at the hospital when Samantha was released, having spent most of the entire week in her room and taking turns at Mabel’s beside on the off chance that she woke up and found herself alone.
“Are you ready?” Dylan asked after she emerged from the bathroom dressed in her street clothes.
“Yes. I need to get out of here. Being stuck in this hospital for a week is making me feel twitchy.”
“Do you want to stop by Mabel’s room on the way out?”
“Yes, I would like that. Where is Jacob?”
“He’s in Mabel’s room. We got her a gift. That way, if she wakes up when no one is here, she’ll know that we didn’t abandon her.”
“What did you get her?”
“You’ll see.”
He held out his hand to her, squeezing it tightly when she slipped her fingers between his.
“Thank you for coming to get me.”
“It’s no problem. I know you don’t want to drive your car.”
“I don’t want to see that car ever again.”
“Do you want us to help you sell it?”
She shrugged.
“That or push it into a ravine. I don’t really care.”
“We’ll do that on one condition.”
“What’s that?”
“You let us buy you a new car.”
“I can buy my own car.”
“Of course you can, but that’s not why we want to buy you one.”
“Then why?”
“We have our reasons.”
Samantha rolled her eyes.
“You know the one thing I liked about being in the hospital and you two fussing over me?”
“What’s that?”
“There was none of this cryptic twin shit.”
“You didn’t miss it?”
“Yes and no.”
“Well, there you go.”
He hit the buzzer for the ICU, ushering Samantha through the door ahead of him when the nurse buzzed them in. His hand was on her back as she walked to room 143, wondering what she would find when she stepped through the doorway.
It was as bad as she’d imagined. Mabel was still connected to a seemingly infinite number of tubes going into and out of all sorts of machines. A dry
erase board recorded any interaction she had with the staff, which was minimal at best. Her progress was now being measured in hand squeezes and eye blinks. Samantha found the entire thing disheartening. A single tear slid down her cheek and she swiped away at it angrily.
Jacob walked in then, carrying a stuffed animal in his arms. The sight if this tall, strong man carrying a plush toy lightened the mood a little, cheering Samantha up enough for her to crack a smile.
“I like that,” she said, taking the animal from Jacob and carrying it over to the bed.
She sat down beside her friend, carefully placing the stuffed tiger in a white doctor’s coat in Mabel’s arms.
“We’ll be here when you’re ready,” she whispered softly, squeezing Mabel’s hand and kissing her friend on the top of her head.
Mabel didn’t stir, which broke Samantha’s heart.
“I’m ready to go,” she said abruptly, walking out the door without waiting for their answer.
When they were out in the hallway, Jacob put his arm around Samantha and walked her towards the elevator.
“She’s going to be alright,” he said quietly.
“I hope you’re right.”
So do I, he thought.
Samantha was relieved when she saw their car parked almost directly in front of the main entrance of the hospital. She had recovered from most of her injuries, but she was still stiff and sore, and walking long distances was painful. She was exhausted and she was ready to go home.
Well, not really.
She climbed into the passenger seat, trying to figure out how to broach the subject before they wasted the gas driving her all the way home. She finally decided just to blurt it out, hoping that her request would be well-received.
“I’m not ready to go home,” she said.
“I thought you wanted to go home,” Dylan said, “Are you feeling sick?”
“No. I’m not talking about that. I mean, my home. I’m not sure I can go there now, or ever.”
“That’s alright,” Jacob said from the back seat. “Where do you want to go?”
“Can I go home with you guys? Just for the night and then I’ll find somewhere else to stay.”
Dylan chuckled.
“You can stay with us until you’re ready to leave. You don’t need to explain, we get it. If someone attacked me in my own home, I think I would be hesitant to return, at least for a while.”
“I find it hard to believe that you would be scared.”
“You’d be surprised. Anyway, Jacob and I would love to have you as a guest. You can stay as long as you want. We’ll have a guest room made up and you can stay there and finish recovering.”
Dylan gave Jacob a knowing look, and Jacob responded by pulling out his phone and texting their maid to get the room ready for Samantha. Samantha hid her disappointment, but she was frustrated. She was hoping that they would invite her to sleep with them. Safely cocooned between them, she knew that she would feel safe. But she had to face the facts. If they didn’t have strong, romantic feelings for her after what they’d been through with her, they probably never would.
The disappointment over that fact was stronger than she would have anticipated.
She sat quietly in the passenger seat, watching the miles pass by as they headed towards their home, and further away from the mountain. She loved that mountain, and she would return again one day. But that day was not now.
She sat up straight in her seat, her expression a little panicked.
“My laptop,” she said.
“It’s in the trunk. Jacob went and got it when he came to the hospital after dealing with the police. We knew that you would want it at some point.”
She leaned back against the seat and breathed a sigh of relief.
“Thank you. I can’t tell you how important that is to me.”
“We gathered,” Jacob said wryly, chuckling a little at her moment of panic.
Dylan took the next exit, driving down a well-appointed street and pulling into a gated yard at the end of the block. Samantha stared in awe at the huge mansion before her, blown away by its beauty and the sheer size of it.
“This is where you live?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“This is amazing.”
“Wait until you see the inside,” Jacob said.
He stepped out of the car when Dylan parked in front of their house, opening Samantha’s door and helping her out of the vehicle. She followed them up the stairs and into the massive foyer.
“You could fit my entire house in your entry way.”
“It’s not as big as it looks, but I’d say at least half of your house,” Jacob teased from behind her. “Besides, you have acreage and access to miles of pristine wilderness. I would gladly give up the fast-paced life in the city for what you have.”
“Why don’t you just buy a place like mine?”
Jacob shrugged.
“It never really occurred to us that it was worth it until we spent some time with you,” Dylan offered. “We’ve always just treated outdoor living as a weekend adventure. But now that we’re in a place where we can retire, we’re thinking about a more peaceful, slow-paced existence.”
“Retire? You guys are like thirty.”
“Well, the dating site is doing so well, and we’re wealthy enough that we really don’t need to work anymore, so we’re considering just managing the website and we can do that from anywhere.”
“Wait. The dating website? You guys run the website I found you on?”
“We did,” Jacob said with a smile. “We even created the website.”
“Why? I mean, not that I’m complaining of course, but you guys don’t seem like the dating site type.”
Dylan laughed as she stammered awkwardly.
“I’m not sure what type of person normally runs a dating site, but we were tired of meeting and going out with women, only to have them run screaming for the hills when they found out that we are shifters.”
“I don’t understand,” Samantha said, following them as they continued their tour of the mansion.
“Not everyone loves shifters like you do,” Jacob teased.
“I don’t love all shifters,” Samantha said, immediately wishing that she hadn’t.
Dylan stopped, tugging on her hand and pulling her into his arms.
“It’s alright,” he whispered in her ear. “We’re never going to let any harm come to you again.”
She tried to laugh it off, but the memory of her time with Grant, and the effects of his long-term stalking were going to be hard to shake.
Dylan cupped her cheek, tilting her face so he could look into her eyes. She turned her eyes away, ashamed of the tears that threatened, but he held fast. When she finally looked into his eyes, he smiled reassuringly.
“Listen, Samantha. We know you’re strong. You’ve proven it time and time again.”
“I don’t feel strong.”
“Of course you don’t. You’ve been through a huge trauma, after spending more than a year of your life running from a madman. That’s enough to shake anyone’s confidence and make them feel afraid. That doesn’t mean you’re not strong.”
“But we only lived because you guys came to save us. If you hadn’t found us when you did-”
“But we did, and that’s all that matters.”
Jacob stepped forward, taking Samantha out of his brother’s arms and pulling her close.
“If you hadn’t been smart, and stalled him, gotten away and picked the smartest route, things could have gone differently. You did everything right. You’re amazing and so brave. There aren’t many humans who would have stood up and fought a werelion the way you did.”
“He was going to kill Mabel.”
“Others would have run, even knowing that. They would have written Mabel off as just another werelion and not worth the death of a human. It happens more than you think, even nowadays when people are so politically correct and enlightened. When it comes down to it, when
it’s us or them, they always choose themselves. You were willing to risk your life to save your friend, that is pretty impressive to me.”
Jacob kissed her on the head, giving her another squeeze before setting her at arm’s length and looking into her eyes. His eyes twinkled and he smiled at her with what she could only describe as a look of pride.
“What?” she asked.
“I think the image of you leaping onto his back like a wild woman with a rock over your head is one that I’ll never forget. Not that I want to. You’re just amazing.”
Samantha laughed in spite of herself.
“That was one of my wildest moments. It helps if you don’t think about it before you do it. If I would have taken time to consider whether I could do such a thing, I probably would have failed.”
“Try not to be so hard on yourself,” Jacob said. “You did an amazing thing and even when the deck was stacked against you, you never gave up. Now come on, let’s look at the room you’ll be staying in. I think you’ll like it.”
They lead her down a long hall and through a large set of double doors. Samantha gasped at the room in front of her. A large pedestal bed rose in the center of the room, covered with pillows and a soft comforter in the darkest shade of sapphire. A heavy desk took up one corner of the room by a large picture window, her laptop case already sitting on top of the desk beside an extra monitor and printer.
There was a doorway in the back of the room, and from where she stood, she could see a large bathroom that looked more like a private spa.
“The bathtub has jets and a heater; it’s like a personal hot tub.”
“That sounds delightful.”
“Do you like it?” Dylan asked.
“I do.”
“You don’t sound convinced.”
“It’s not that, Dylan. It’s wonderful and perfect. It’s just-”
She stopped, trying to decide what to do. The twins had been clear from the get go; it was a no strings thing, maybe a friendship eventually, but nothing more. Here they were, opening their home to her after saving her life, even though she was nothing more than a booty call. If she said the wrong thing right now, she could ruin that forever.
Her Tiger Twins Page 16