Golden Binds

by Roberts, Laylah

  13

  She fought the waves of darkness. Her mouth was dry. Her eyelids heavy. Exhaustion was like a weight on her chest, dragging her under. But there was a reason she wanted to be awake.

  She pried her eyes open, blinking to clear them.

  “Water,” she croaked. She didn’t know how she knew someone was there. She just did.

  “Gigi? Shit. She’s awake!” A panicked voice said. Sawyer? Sawyer didn’t panic, did he? What was going on? Why did he sound so upset?

  “Sawyer?”

  “I’m here, baby.” A rough hand clasped around hers as his familiar face filled her vision. He looked even more unkempt than usual if that was possible. His hair was a mess, parts sticking up, as though he’d been running his fingers through it. There were lines of worry around his mouth and eyes.

  Worry over her?

  “Here you go, sweetheart.” She turned her head to see Garret. He sat next to her, attempting a smile when he saw her looking at him. But she’d seen the concern.

  She took a sip of water, using the straw he held out to her. He slipped a hand behind her head to support her. Immediately, she felt better. Clearer. He laid her gently back.

  “Am I dying,” she teased.

  Both of them went still, their eyes wide, barely breathing. Shit, she wasn’t dying, was she?

  “Fuck, that was just a joke.”

  “Not a very funny one,” Joe growled, stepping out of the shadows of the room. It was her turn to stare. Because Joe looked nothing like himself. His hair was mussed, his shirt untucked and buttoned incorrectly, as though he’d dressed in a hurry and hadn’t bothered to look in the mirror.

  “Joe, what’s wrong?” There had to be something terribly wrong for him to look like that.

  “What’s wrong?” His mouth dropped open. “What’s wrong? What do you think is wrong?”

  “Well, no one is dead so . . .” It wasn’t that bad, was it?

  “Only because we fucking got to you in time. You could have been killed! Raped and murdered.”

  “You’re swearing.”

  “Of course, I’m fucking swearing.”

  “But none of that happened. It all turned out okay.”

  “Okay? Fucking okay?”

  “Boy, when he loses it, he really loses it, huh?” she attempted to joke. It failed miserably, again, as Sawyer and Garret looked at her with stony faces. “Too soon?”

  “They beat you! You have bruised ribs, a black eye, and so many other scrapes and bruises that we stopped counting them.”

  She pulled back the covers, stared down at her naked body. “Hope you didn’t cop a feel while I was out.”

  More stony looks. “Maybe it’s time to rethink my future as a comedian.”

  “Your future involves living in this castle, under our care and never, ever putting us through this again,” Garret told her firmly.

  “Why did you leave your brother’s compound?” Sawyer asked.

  She sighed. “You guys must have some really good drugs, I feel fine.”

  “The doctor gave you morphine,” Joe told her. “When it wears off, you’ll fucking feel it.”

  She winced. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but could you please stop swearing? It’s freaking me out.”

  “Well you terrified years off my life.”

  “So, we’re even?”

  He glared at her. “Not even close.”

  “Gigi, you didn’t answer me,” Sawyer reminded her.

  “Well, if you must know I was coming to the three of you.” She licked her lips.

  “Why?” Garret asked. “You knew Joe was coming.”

  She looked around at them. “I was tired of you visiting me one at a time. I wanted to be with all three of you. Together.”

  “Then you’ve made a decision?” Joe said with satisfaction. “You’ll be ours?”

  “I-I guess.” She wasn’t quite so sure now.

  Sawyer turned to his oldest brother. “We need to tell her all of it.”

  Joe just studied her. This wasn’t the man who’d been slowly relaxing around her. Who’d even managed to laugh at some of her terrible jokes. This man was intense, dangerous, and terrifying.

  “Tell us everything that happened first,” Joe ordered her.

  She wanted to press them to tell her what “all of it” was, but she figured maybe this would help Joe calm down a little. “Well, I used the rope to climb out the window.”

  “Why not just go through the house?” Garret asked her.

  “Um, well, Carlin has been watching me closely since that night I spent here. I had to sneak out.”

  She didn’t think it was a good idea to tell them Carlin had been mad enough to basically imprison her. “I threw the rope back up so no one would see it and snuck out of the compound the way I usually do. I should probably tell Carlin there are holes in his security.”

  “I informed him,” Sawyer told her.

  She winced. She bet that went over well.

  “I was walking along the street towards the outskirts of town where the tunnel is. I wasn’t paying close attention, I guess. I was still in Carlin’s territory. I never expected to encounter Gio’s goons.”

  She paused, remembering her terror.

  “They jumped out and grabbed me. I attempted to fight back, and one struck me. I fell to the ground, and he kicked me.”

  She’d nearly blacked out from the pain. She looked up into their three stony faces.

  “Could I have another drink?” she asked.

  Garret held up the water for her to take a sip. “Thanks.”

  He brushed back her hair. “You must have been so frightened.”

  “I think they were waiting for me. What did they say? Something like their snitch had come through with the info. I guess maybe someone saw me one of the other times I used that route to get to the tunnels and told them, I don’t know. Anyway, they stuffed me in the trunk of the car.”

  That had been truly terrifying. If she hadn’t been afraid of small spaces before, she was certain she would be now.

  “They locked me in this small room. Gio came to visit, he made a video to send to Carlin.

  He wanted to use me as a bargaining chip to get Carlin to turn over his territory. Idiot. Like he would have done that. I knew they’d kill me if they got what they wanted. Carlin had to know that too.” She frowned. “How did you get to me?”

  “The tunnels,” Joe explained. “I knew something was wrong when you weren’t there when I went to visit. I raced back to get Sawyer and Garret. Sawyer tracked you to Gio’s.”

  “But how?” she asked.

  “I put a GPS tracker in your locket.”

  She gaped at him. “You fucking did not!”

  “I did.”

  She reached for the locket. “And you’ll be leaving it there.”

  “You can’t do that without asking me, Sawyer.”

  “I’ll do whatever is necessary to keep you safe. It saved your life.”

  Well, she couldn’t argue with that.

  “You still should have told me.”

  “And you would have argued with me and refused to let me do it. Not telling you was quicker and easier.”

  “Jesus,” she muttered. Then something else occurred to her, pushing aside her concerns over his high-handedness.

  “You said you got to me via the tunnels, but how did you find the tunnel that led to Gio’s house? And how did you come to be working with Carlin?”

  “We went to your brother to get your mother’s diaries,” Joe told her.

  Her heart stopped beating. “You did what? Are you insane? How the hell did you get out alive?”

  Sawyer scowled. “You underestimate our abilities if you think your brother could harm us.”

  Well, she figured she’d underestimated something. Their intelligence.

  “After a bit of convincing he helped us search for the diaries,” Garret told her.

  “They were hidden.”

  “Your
pet rat helped us.” Sawyer grimaced.

  “Roger did? Clever rat.”

  “We decided to work with your brother. He was supposed to give us time to get out before he made his move.”

  “His move?”

  “He already had plans to move in on Gio’s territory,” Sawyer told her. “He moved those plans up to give us a diversion so we could get you out. I’ve heard that he was successful. Once Gio was taken out, his people put up little fight.”

  “He’s okay then?” Relief filled her. “He killed Gio?”

  “No, he didn’t.”

  “But you said Gio was taken out. One of his men did it?”

  “No. I did.” Joe’s face displayed no emotion.

  What? Joe killed Gio? How?

  “You killed Gio?”

  “And I’d do it again. He died too quickly. I wanted him to suffer, but we needed to get you out of there.”

  She frowned, trying to remember. “I remember the room rocking, like an earthquake.”

  “That was your brother’s diversion,” Sawyer confirmed. “I’m going to have to have words with him about timing. And risking your safety.”

  Yeah, that talk would go down well with Carlin.

  “I remember something else.” She stared at Joe. “No, it had to be a dream.”

  “In that dream, was I a bear?”

  “Yeah, how’d you know?” She laughed then quickly stopped as it edged into hysteria. “Silly, huh?”

  Both Garret and Sawyer turned to look at Joe.

  “Not so silly. And not a dream. I finally lost control of my beast when I saw my mate had been beaten within an inch of her life.”

  She just stared at him. Those drugs were really messing with her mind.

  “Funny, I thought you just said you turned into a bear.”

  “I did.”

  * * *

  Joe gazed down at his mate. He couldn’t stare at her battered face for long without wanting to hit something. Damn, it would have felt good to kill that asshole, Gio, again. As it was, snapping his neck had been rather unsatisfying. Too short and pain free.

  But he’d been in a rush. He’d had an injured mate and he hadn’t wanted to risk one of those assholes shooting him.

  “We’re bear shifters,” he told her. Her face had grown paler. She licked her full, red lips.

  “Yeah, I was guessing it was that or magicians.”

  “Sort of similar,” Garret attempted to joke. “All of our family were bear shifters. Usually we produce boys. There has been a girl or two in the mix. But our bears don’t make an appearance until we meet our mate.”

  “Your mate.”

  “You,” Sawyer said.

  “Right.”

  “Bear shifters usually share a mate,” Garret explained. “Our fathers shared our mother, as you know.”

  “So, you never changed into a bear until you met me?”

  Garret attempted a smile. “Nope. It was a hell of a shock when Sawyer changed.”

  “I lost control when I discovered you had escaped through the tunnel,” he told her.

  “There is a legend that says our mate will come to us. And then our bears will break free,” Garret explained. “That we’ll all become bound together. But as far as we know there has never been a human mate. They’ve always been other bear shifters.”

  “Right. Lucky me, huh?”

  Joe watched as her eyes grew wide, the pupils dilated. “I’m really your mate?”

  “We didn’t know for sure until I changed,” Sawyer explained. “And then the same thing happened to Garret. Joe took longer.”

  “Mr. Control,” she whispered. “This is a little hard to believe.”

  Garret patted her hand. “We know. Don’t panic. We’re still us in bear form. We’re just a little hairier.”

  She attempted a smile. “W-what happens now?”

  “Now you rest and heal,” he told her. “And keep out of trouble.

  “And try not to think about the fact you can all turn into bears?” she countered. A little color had entered her cheeks. “And I don’t go looking for trouble.”

  He snorted.

  “Does my brother know I’m here?”

  “He knows,” Sawyer said shortly. “I made the mistake of giving him my number, so we could keep in contact to co-ordinate our attack. Now he’s hounding me to see you.”

  Joe didn’t like that idea. Didn’t want anyone near her but them.

  “I want to see him.”

  “We’ll see,” he told her.

  “So, I’m a prisoner here?”

  “You are our mate,” he whispered. “We have waited for you for hundreds of years. You should have been safe. Protected. We nearly lost you.”

  “Hundreds of years? How old are you?”

  “Joe’s well over two hundred. Sawyer is about thirty years younger than him. I haven’t hit two hundred yet.”

  “This . . . this is too much. I can’t be your mate. You can’t be bear shifters. And two hundred? You don’t look a day over thirty-five.” She stared up at Joe then reached for the covers. “Call my brother, I’m leaving.”

  “You are not,” Joe told her harshly.

  She froze.

  He took a calming breath then another, ignoring the warning look Garret sent him. Yeah, he knew. He was still riding that edge of control and he needed to calm down.

  “You’re injured. And on a lot of drugs. It’s best you stay in bed.”

  “And even if I wasn’t? Would I be allowed to leave?”

  “Somehow, I don’t think we can keep you anywhere you don’t want to stay,” he said dryly.

  She relaxed a little.

  “A man could hope you’d stay where you were put,” Sawyer told her.

  “Where I’m put!” She glared at him. “You did not just say that.”

  “What? It would make life much easier. Do you think we could get that written into the mating vows?”

  “There are mating vows?”

  “This is a lot for Gigi to take in. Why don’t we give her some time?” Garret suggested. “I’ll stay with her while you two go rest.”

  Joe stared down at her. “We can’t let you go, Georgina. You mean everything to us. It’s not just a matter of how long we waited, but of what you mean to us. You are the only woman for us. There is only ever one mate. There will never be anyone else. Please, think about that.”

  He turned and walked out without a backward glance.

  * * *

  “Well, that was intense huh?” Garret tried to joke after his brothers left.

  Gigi looked over at him. “Did that really just happen?”

  “Yep.” He glanced down at his hands then up at her. “It’s true what Joe said. You do mean everything to us, Gigi. More than you can ever know. If you’d give us a chance, we would show you every day just how much you mean to us.”

  “I’d grow old and you wouldn’t.”

  He frowned slightly. “I’m not so sure about that. There is mating magic that binds us, it might well keep you young. Or age us.”

  “Something to think about,” she whispered. She felt like she’d landed in some alternate reality.

  “There’s nothing to think about for us,” he countered.

  “You’ve had a while to get used to all of this,” she pointed out.

  “Then take time. Just don’t rule it out entirely. And don’t try to leave us. Not until you give it a chance.”

  She thought about that for a moment. She did feel a pull towards these guys. She’d been on her way to be with the three of them when she’d been taken. She wanted them. So, what would it hurt to give them a chance?

  “You have control? When you’re in bear form?”

  “We are still ourselves. We would never harm you.”

  “I want to see my brother. Whenever I want.”

  He grimaced. “Joe and Sawyer won’t like it. But all right. I’ll see to it.”

  “And I want some time without any pressure. I also won’
t be locked in a cage.”

  “Agreed. Anything else?”

  “At the moment, no. But who knows what else will come up? You guys sure do like to surprise a girl.”

  “We’ll try to keep the surprises to a minimum.” He reached over and squeezed her hand. “Thank you, you won’t regret it.”

  Yeah, that remained to be seen.

  14

  She wandered down the long hallway, looking at the paintings lining the walls. The whole bear theme made more sense now. Not that it made the paintings any more attractive. The castle could still use a good scrubbing and an overhaul.

  Even Carlin had been unimpressed by the state of the place. She got the feeling, though, that it was more out of disinterest than lack of funds that the castle was in such a run-down state. The bedroom she’d been given was beautiful. Rich, thick drapes, plush carpet, and a sparkling bathroom. She didn’t know who cleaned it seeing as they didn’t have any servants.

  Carlin had been to see her half a dozen times since she’d been brought back nearly three weeks ago, after Gio had kidnapped her. She figured she’d spent more time talking to him one-on-one in her new environment than she had in the last five years. Of course, most of those conversations circled around her coming back to live with him.

  Each time she’d refused.

  She wasn’t sure why. Sure, she’d told Garret she would stick around. But if she hadn’t wanted to, there was nothing they could do to keep her here. Except for tying her to the bed, she guessed. But Carlin would come in, guns blazing, if he didn’t hear from her every few days. Funny how being kidnapped and beaten had improved their relationship.

  So why had she stayed?

  Because she wanted to. Because she didn’t want to leave them.

  Because she loved them. She rubbed a hand over her face. They’d been babying her these past few days. They’d brought her food when she was hungry, entertained her when she was bored, and pretty much treated her like she was made of fragile glass.

  It had been wonderful. But enough was enough. She wasn’t fragile. She had healed nicely. Yes, her ribs were still giving her some problems, but she wasn’t in nearly as much pain as she had been and was moving better each day.

  Things had to change. She knew she’d scared them. But they were treating her like an invalid. Not a woman. Not someone they desired. Not their mate. She swallowed heavily. She’d thought about it. A lot. There had been many times when she’d told herself she was going to walk away. It was too much to take in.