A Mate for Gideon (The Program Book 2)

by Hartnady, Charlene

  “You fucked up big time,” Zane snarled. He released Brant. “Let’s go and find your female.” He glanced in Gideon’s direction before turning back to Brant. “You need to hear all of the facts before you make decisions like that.”

  “What facts?” Brant shouted from behind them.

  “There is no time to explain right now. Gideon’s female is in danger.” Zane glanced back over his shoulder.

  Gideon’s heart raced. He jogged ahead of Zane, making for the nearest vehicle. He didn’t give a fuck whose it was. He needed to get to that bed and breakfast urgently.

  “I take it you know where she is,” Zane’s voice boomed from behind him.

  Gideon didn’t take the time to glance back. “Yeah!” He shouted. “I knew there was a chance of this happening. We devised a plan.” He prayed that she would follow it to the letter. That her bastard ex wouldn’t try anything. The male was dead if he so much as looked in her direction.

  “Thank God!” A human female shrieked. She ran towards them. “They took her.” The little human was crying. Tears streaming down her cheeks. “They took Jenna.”

  “Tell us what happened!” Gideon snarled.

  The little human’s eyes widened with fear.

  Gideon took a few deep breaths. “I’m sorry…I’m not going to hurt you. Who took Jenna? This is important.”

  “A couple of guards. They had her bag…I don’t know where they were taking her. Please, you have to help her. She told me to tell you what happened.”

  “Thank you, female. We appreciate it,” Zane said. He patted her on the shoulder. The gesture looked awkward on the part of his king.

  The whole exchange gave him pause. What if they hadn’t taken her to the B&B. Maybe she had asked them to take her elsewhere first to put them off the scent. There was also a distinct possibility that they had simply escorted her from the property and had left her at the gate. Gideon pulled out his cell phone and dialed the main security office at the gate. A male answered.

  “This is Gideon.” He didn’t wait for a reply. “Some males left recently with a human female. Did they take her somewhere?”

  There was a short pause. “Yes, sir, they drove out in one of our security vehicles.”

  “Who were the males?” Gideon growled.

  The guard rattled off some names.

  “Have they returned yet?” He tried to keep from snarling at the male.

  “No. I’m sure that they…wait a minute…here they are now. They just pulled up and are waiting to be let in.”

  “Keep them there. I need to question them.” Gideon couldn’t help but to growl. Low and deep.

  “Um…yes, sir…what should I say?” Gideon could hear the hesitancy in his voice.

  “I don’t give a fuck, just as long as you keep them there.” He didn’t wait for a reply. Zane was already getting into the vehicle. Thank fuck the male had chosen the passenger seat. Gideon needed to do something. Driving would give him something to focus on. He needed to try and stay calm. This had been expected. Jenna would follow the plan. She would be just fine.

  In under three minutes, they pulled up to the front entrance. Three males from his security team stood next to one of the SUVs.

  Gideon exited the vehicle and strode over to the waiting males who instantly stood to attention. Their backs pulled a little straighter, they gazes dropping to their boots as Zane moved in next to him.

  “Is it true that you took a human female off this property?” Gideon couldn’t help but to growl. He directed the question to one of the team leaders.

  “It’s true.” Jake nodded.

  Gideon sucked in a deep breath through his nose. “Where did you take her?”

  “Brant’s orders were to drop her off at the bus station. Wait a minute…” The male’s eyes narrowed on Gideon. “She was telling the truth…you’re in love with her. No fucking way.”

  “She told you that?” Gideon swallowed hard.

  Jake nodded. “She said that the two of you were involved…she begged me to call you but I didn’t believe her.”

  Gideon clenched his jaw. “You should’ve called me,” he managed to grind out.

  One of the other males elbowed Jake. “You shouldn’t have said that shit to her.”

  “What shit?” Gideon growled, feeling his blood begin to fucking boil.

  Jake shrugged. “I didn’t know. I thought she was talking bullshit. She didn’t believe me anyway.”

  “What did you say to her?” Gideon took a step towards the male.

  “It doesn’t matter,” Zane said. “We need to get to the bus station.”

  Zane was right but Gideon needed to know. “I’m only going to ask you one more time, what the hell did you say to my female?”

  “Fuck…I didn’t know she was your female…” The male spluttered. Gideon could hear how elevated his heart rate was. “I said…I s-said that you didn’t love her, that you were in a meeting and obviously didn’t care that she was being kicked out otherwise you would’ve been there.”

  Gideon snarled as rage swept through him like a blazing fire. He punched the male who flew backwards. He tried to lift his head and Gideon noticed with satisfaction that his nose was crooked and bloody, he’s eye already starting to puff up. Thankfully the male stayed on his back. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know,” he croaked out.

  “Let’s go,” Zane said, more forcefully this time.

  Gideon nodded. “Open up.” He gestured to the guard at the gate.

  "Do it!” Zane boomed, his hard stare on the guard, who nodded quickly, scrambling to do as commanded. They headed for the vehicle. Gideon slid into the driver’s seat, pushing down on the accelerator before Zane had even shut his door.

  As soon as they were clear, Gideon floored it.

  Zane growled, then he reached for a seatbelt and clipped himself in.

  “We’ll head for the bus station first,” Gideon said, his voice surprisingly calm. “We had agreed that she would go back to the small bed-and-breakfast where she hid out before. If she’s not at the station, we will go there.”

  “Your female will be fine.”

  “She had better be.” His chest squeezed so tight that he could barely breathe. “You need to know, that if anything happens to her, Brant is fucking…”

  “Hey,” Zane growled. “Brant is your king. He thought that he was acting in your best interests. He didn’t want to see you step out of line and get into trouble.” He paused. “You can’t go around hitting males like that.” When Gideon glanced in Zane’s direction, he saw that the male was smiling.

  Although he could see the humor in the situation, Gideon was unable to smile back. Until he held his female in his arms again, Gideon would not be able to smile again.

  “Ahhh love,” his king sighed. “It will drive a male crazy. Make him do things completely out of character.”

  He yanked the steering wheel to the right, the tires squealed. His seatbelt bit into his shoulder. Zane growled but didn’t complain otherwise. Another hard left and they were in town. Gideon weaved his way through the traffic. Going as fast as he dared. It wasn’t long before he was pulling into the bus station.

  Leaving the vehicle running, he jumped out and ran. There was no sign of Jenna anywhere. He even checked both the male and the female toilets. Then he saw it. The broken remnants of a cell phone, lying a few feet away from the ATM machine.

  His heart raced. He could hear its beats ringing in his ears. Everything seemed to slow around him. His entire focus zoned in on the trashed device.

  “Fuck!” Zane growled. “It may not be hers.”

  Gideon swallowed hard. “It is.” Panic welled up in him. “I fucking know it is. I can feel it in my gut. That bastard has her and I’m going to fucking kill him.”

  He sniffed the air but because they were outside in the open, any residual scent was long gone. Zane touched his arm, drawing Gideon’s attention to him. The male frowned, his gaze softened. His eyes filled with concern. “Let�
��s go and inquire inside. Maybe someone saw something.”

  Gideon nodded, feeling shell-shocked. He allowed himself to be led. Surely the male would not have been dumb enough to take her to the house they had shared a bed in. Other than that one location, he couldn’t think of a single place where the male might take her.

  Frustration rode him.

  Zane moved to the ticket booth. “Hello.” He gave a closed mouth smile.

  A young female sat behind the glass of the booth. Her eyes widened as they landed on Zane, and her mouth dropped open. She raked her gaze down his torso before moving back up to his face. She glanced at Gideon, also giving him the one over as well. Then she smiled and giggled before pulling a lock of hair behind her ear. “How can I help you gentlemen?” Her smile widened.

  “We need some information, please.” His king leaned forward. Zane kept his voice low, a deep rumble.

  It had the desired effect because the female giggled again. “Sure.” She raised her brows and licked her lips.

  “Did a human…” He cleared his throat. “Did a young lady with…” Zane turned to Gideon. “What color is her hair? Her eyes?”

  Gideon stepped forward. “She has blond shoulder length hair and brown eyes. She is very attractive. About this tall…” He put a hand to about mid way on his chest to indicate her height.

  The female shook her head and Gideon’s heart sank.

  “Wish I knew where he took her,” Gideon growled. “My Jenna…” His voice hitched as he said her name.

  “Jenna?” The female spoke in a singsong voice. “Her name isn’t…” She searched through some papers on her desk. “Jenna Darcy by any chance is it?”

  “Yes it is.” He gripped the wooden edge of the counter so hard it cracked.

  “Wow! You didn’t just do that.” The female stood up and tried to get a better look at the counter through the glass in front of her. “You totally broke it…with your bare hands,” she whispered.

  “When was she here?” Gideon growled.

  She swallowed thickly, looking back at Gideon. She looked distinctly paler than she had moments before.

  Zane smiled again. “Sorry about my…friend.” He almost choked on the word friend. In any other situation, Gideon would’ve found it comical.

  The female licked her lips and nodded. She sat back down. “The lady that you’re looking for didn’t come and buy a ticket, another guy did. He was pretty good-looking.” Her eyes rolled up in thought. “He had dark hair, a killer smile. He was really tall…” Her eyes flashed back to them. “Although not nearly as tall as the two of you.”

  The male she described sounded exactly like him. That fucking bastard. Gideon’s chest vibrated as a snarl was torn from him.

  The female shrieked. “Please don’t kill me,” she whimpered.

  “You have been extremely helpful,” Zane said. “What ticket did this male purchase?”

  She sucked in a ragged breath. “Um…” Her voice was shaky. She moved back to the papers on her desk and rummaged through them. “Um…the 11:30 bus to—”

  “We will stay here and wait...just in case.” Zane growled, speaking over the female. The destination didn’t matter. “I’m sure he bought the ticket to try and put us off the scent. Though, you never know, he might just be that dumb and return.” He turned back to the female. “Thank you.”

  She nodded once, breathing a loud sigh of relief as they walked away.

  “Is there anywhere else you can think of where he might have taken her?” Zane asked. “I will send a group of males to investigate. I will post lookouts in Sweetwater. Every male will be given a picture of her. We have a recent one on file.”

  Gideon ran a hand through his hair. “I can’t just sit here. I need to do something.”

  “Think then, tell me where she might be and do it now. We will do everything to find your female.”

  “For blood’s sake.” Gideon moved away from Zane. He could feel that he was breathing hard but couldn’t stop himself. His heart raced. He struggled to control the urge to run blindly. To tear his way through Sweetwater. To break down every fucking door if that’s what it took. If he thought it would help any, he would do it. The realization that such behavior would be detrimental stayed him, but barely. He turned back towards Zane. “I don’t know…” He dug another hand into his hair. “The only place I can think of is the home that they used to share. I don’t think he will come back here and I don’t think he’s dumb enough to go there either. I can’t think of anywhere else.”

  “It’s a start.” Zane put a hand on his shoulder. “We will throw everything at this. Leave no stone unturned. I will send someone to go and speak with the human authorities.”

  “Liam, the male, is a police officer.” Gideon ground his teeth so hard that he heard them gnash together. “I’m not sure that involving the authorities is a good idea.”

  Zane nodded. “What do we know about this male?”

  “Not much.” Gideon sighed.

  “We need to find out everything we can about him. Give me that address. I will get the best computer hackers on it.”

  Gideon told Zane. His whole body felt numb.

  Where are you, Jenna? Hang on. Please, just hang on.

  Gideon scrunched his eyes shut and roared. It felt like his heart was bleeding.

  Chapter 13

  Her arms were tied behind her back. The rope so tight it chafed her flesh, successfully cutting off the supply of blood to her hands. Her face felt dry and tight from the crusted blood. The area around her nose was the worst affected. Jenna suspected a broken nose but couldn’t be sure. Her whole face hurt.

  Her legs were tied together. It was painful to try and stretch downward to try and undo the knots. She was in a small dark room. There was a sliver of light to the right of her. A crack at the bottom of a door. Shadows danced and moved. Definitely more than one person. She could hear the low murmuring voices of men speaking. It sounded like several of them.

  What the hell?

  Liam had others in on this.

  Her first instinct was to try and get up. There had to be a way out of here. She wasn’t going to get very far tied up like this though so she stayed put, at least for the moment. Thank god she was still clothed. Not that it would make too much difference if Liam wanted to hurt her in that way. She was also thankful that she had decided to go with the shorts instead of a dress.

  Her mouth felt dry. She tried to move, to push herself up to her knees. Pain shot up her arms. She moaned. The movement from making the noise, caused the pain to increase in her face. One of her eyes was swollen shut. Her head throbbed, the pain dull, but insistent.

  She bit back another moan, not wanting to alert her captors to the fact that she was conscious.

  She was in big trouble. Huge, unbelievable amounts of trouble. For a few seconds, she struggled to breathe as the enormity of her situation sunk in.

  Calm down.

  Focus.

  Jenna was tempted to fight against her restraints. To shout and scream. None of these things would help her. Instead, she gulped in a lungful of air.

  The door opened. Harsh light hit her full in the face, making her squint.

  “Look who’s awake.” The guy leaned down, looking at her. His voice was familiar, but she couldn’t quite place it. It was going to take a little longer for her eyes to adjust. Make that eye, since one was useless at present. Right now, he was just the outline of a man against a bright backdrop.

  Whoever he was, he pulled himself upright and turned back towards the door. “Jenna is awake!” He shouted, putting his hands around his mouth.

  Anthony.

  It was the guy that had admired her butt at the barbecue a few weeks ago. One of Liam’s cop buddies.

  She heard laughter. There were definitely at least three of them, maybe even four. Panic made the air feel thinner. She was no match for a group of guys. She held out hope that Gideon would be able to find her but she couldn’t count on that.

>   If she wanted to get out of this alive, Jenna needed to keep her wits about her. Use every opportunity. Look at this as if she was alone, which chances were, she was.

  Anthony moved back into the room and leaned in over her. “You’re one fine woman, Jenna.”

  Unfortunately, her eye finally adjusted and she could make him out clearly. His stare was glued to her chest.

  “Jen-doll.” The room darkened as Liam stepped into the door frame. “So glad you joined the party.”

  Jenna couldn’t help it, she whimpered. Liam smiled. It was genuine for once. He really did get off in on inflicting pain and suffering. On her fear. He took a step into the room and she tried to pull herself into the fetal position. The restraints pulled, making her cry out.

  “Remind me again…” Anthony trailed his finger along her jaw line and she tried to flinch away. “Why can’t I touch her? Fuck, Liam…I didn’t realize she was so stacked. I’m getting hard despite her messed up face.” He threw out a snort version of a laugh. “I could just put a bag over her head and—”

  “Shut the fuck up,” Liam growled. “You won’t put a single finger on her. Are we fucking clear? She’s mine…mine!” It sounded different coming from him. When Gideon said it, it was almost pained and with longing. When Liam said it, it was demanding and final. It made her sick to her stomach.

  He smiled at her. The fake, psychotic smile. The one he used just before he hurt her. “Mine…Aren’t you, Jen-doll?”

  More questions.

  He could go to hell because she wasn’t answering. Jenna knew that he would hurt her anyway regardless of what she did or didn’t say.