by Elle Thorne
He tipped her head back with one hand on her cheek. “Don’t be.” He brushed his lips across hers. Just the tiniest touch, then he was pulling away, mercury swirling in the depths of his gaze.
Her breath hitched. Her pulse raced. Her head felt light. Her stomach had butterflies the size of pterodactyls. She leaned into him, her hips against his muscular body. And she experienced something she’d never had before.
Safe. She felt safe.
“Maybe I’m the one who should be apologizing,” he uttered, his tone low.
“You have nothing to apologize for.” The words were out of her mouth before she could think about engaging the filter which determined what spilled from her lips and what didn’t.
“No?” His smile was wicked.
She blushed harder.
Cash squirmed and pulled her away from the tornadic emotions taking her for a spin.
The sound of a door closing in the other room pulled them apart.
Chapter Eighteen
Fuckin’ wolf.
Wonderful wolf.
Judd blamed the wolf. No, the wolf wasn’t in control of his lips. And it wasn’t in control his emotions, but somehow, the two of them were swept away at the sight of Maisie in a bathrobe that barely managed to conceal her hard nipples pressing against the plush fabric. They were carried away by the scent of her desire. So strong. So utterly female. So completely theirs. Soon. One day soon.
That kiss, he’d felt an electric charge between them when he’d brushed her fingertips as he’d passed Cash to her. But when they’d kissed, that charge turned into an electric storm.
Good thing Cash had been there. Good thing Gabe had returned. All this, because if not, he’d have been too tempted by the smell of her, the touch of her, the sight of her, to have claimed her as his and his wolf’s.
They made their way toward the front of the house, where Gabe was unloading grocery bags. He glanced up. “Got everything I think he needs.” Then he noticed Maisie. “Hey. Hope it was a good nap.” He turned those hidden gray eyes toward Judd. “Did you tell her about the plan? She good with it?”
Judd cringed. He hadn’t told her anything yet. Wasn’t sure she’d go for part of it. “Not yet. Haven’t had a chance.”
The expression on Gabe’s face stated he knew why.
Judd resisted the urge to swipe at his lips. It wasn’t like she had lip color on, so how would he know? He was a little late on resisting the urge, as his hand was already up by his face, so he settled for scratching his bottom lip with his thumbnail.
“What plan?” Maisie looked between one and the other of them while she rummaged through the bags’ contents one-handed, Cash on her hip.
“Let me.” Gabe reached for Cash. And of course, true to form, the little one practically jumped into his arms.
Maisie almost appeared hurt, the expression fleeting as it crossed her face. “He seems to favor you guys so much. Must be a shifter thing.”
Gabe remained silent, eyes on Cash while he ruffled his blond mop.
“He’s not a shifter,” Judd was quick to add, hoping this would trap the man into giving it up.
“No?” Maisie glanced up from the baby formula she was trying to get into. Seemed they didn’t make it easy to access. She shrugged. “Guess I merely thought that.”
And just like that, the matter ended. Thwarted, Judd scowled at Gabe, who was sporting a smirk, as though he knew what Judd’s hopes had been.
Gabe walked toward the back door with Cash. “I’m taking him outside. We’ll be playing by the pool.” When Maisie opened her mouth to protest, he raised his hand without looking back. “I won’t let him walk or crawl around. I know. The pool. I got this.” Then he added, “Walker, why don’t you take this time to make sure Maisie’s on board with our plan to get MacIntosh out of her hair?”
“When do you wean them off a bottle?” Judd asked, really wanting to avoid the topic of the plan because she might lose her shit. And even hate him. Maybe.
“I don’t know for sure. I’ve googled that stuff, but it seems there so many opinions. I guess I thought I’d let Cash set the pace. What plan?” She tagged that on the end, her tone not changing.
But he could tell she was watchful and wary.
“Nothing bad.”
“Right. Why don’t I buy that? I’m thinking it involves something that won’t sit well with me.” She pulled the bottle from the microwave, tested it on her wrist. “I’ll let it cool a spell. Keep talking.”
She was across the island counter and looked so at home he found himself thinking this was a sight he’d like to see every morning.
Judd shrugged. “Here’s what we came up with while you were sleeping.” He put his hands on the granite counter and leaned forward. “We let MacIntosh know that I have Cash. Tell him he has to come down to collect him. Give him incentive to do so. Then”—he squirmed, uncomfortable at sharing this part with a human who most assuredly didn’t deal with matters such as these—“well, then we have to neutralize him as a threat.”
She moved the bottle slowly under a running faucet to cool it, the whole time watching his face. “Neutralize.” Then, after a long moment. “I suppose that means what I think it means.”
“I don’t see any other option,” Judd pushed on. “He wants you dead. He won’t stop until he gets what he wants. You dead and Cash in his hands. And he’s got a hell of a long time to make that happen. And tons of resources. I don’t see any other way. Neither did Gabe.” He was confused. Why would she have a problem seeing someone killed when they were trying to kill her? He didn’t get that. Maybe because he was a shifter, and he knew life among shifters could be violent and lethal.
“So, you guys are worried I’ll take issue with your killing Paul MacIntosh? That’s what’s bothering you?”
Not exactly. “There’s more to the plan.”
“Like?” Her tone carried trepidation, and it should because he was sure she wouldn’t like this one damned bit.
“We show him that I have Cash. Make him think it’s easy pickings to come get him from me.”
“You show h— No! Hell, no. Fuck, no. Not a chance.” She stormed about the place. Hair wild waves, eyes flashing blue fire. “Did I mention, no?”
He exhaled, pulled back from the counter he’d been leaning on, and went to her side. He put an arm around her shoulders.
She flung him off. “Don’t even try to sweet talk me into this.”
Ah, hell no. Surely, she didn’t think he was that brand of manipulative. “I wasn’t going to. I was just going to say I know this is a tough decision—”
“It’s not a tough decision at all, Judd Walker. It’s the easiest decision ever. You can’t use my son as bait. I refuse.” She tossed a tight, grim smile his way. “See? Easy peasy.” She walked toward the French double doors leading to the area where Gabe was showing Cash a windchime. “Bottle’s ready.”
Chapter Nineteen
Maisie gave Gabe the bottle because he didn’t want to leave Gabe’s arms. Her own son, a traitor.
Whoa. Okay, she didn’t really think that way. She was still pissed about Judd’s suggestion. Cash as bait. Screw that.
“You seem off-kilter.” Gabe handed Cash the formula. “I’m not going to hold that for you, son. You’re gonna be grown enough not to need that soon, anyway.” He took a spot on a wicker loveseat, propped Cash up on his lap. “I’m guessing you don’t like the plan?”
She scoffed. “Why would you ever think I’d let my son be bait?”
“I wouldn’t let harm come to him.”
“Why? You don’t even know him. Or me. Why would I trust you?”
When he raised his head, tipping his hat back, his eyes glowed ethereal, causing her to pause and take his measure. He said he wasn’t a shifter. But what was he? He dropped his head once more, focusing on Cash.
He hadn’t answered her question, but for some reason, she felt she could trust him. And she knew she could trust Judd. He’d put himself on t
he line for them already. She chastised herself for overreacting. For accusing him of using Cash as bait.
“I’ll be right back,” she told Gabe and promptly went inside.
Judd was leaning against the marble mantlepiece at the other end of the room. One arm propped on the marble, the other running through his hair and over his face.
She approached him quietly, yet he raised his head and looked at her with tormented eyes.
She put a hand on his shoulder. “I owe you an apology.”
“No, I… Hell, I shouldn’t have let you think I wouldn’t have done everything and anything to protect Cash.”
“I know.” She believed him. Truly. “It was reflex. Stupid, instinctive reflex.”
“I understand reflexive actions. My wolf operates on reflex all the time. He’s quick to act.”
“So, what does this idea of yours look like? This plan you mentioned.”
“It’s not mine alone. Gabe and I came up with it together. And I say that because I think his input was invaluable.”
“What’s the plan, then?”
“We lure MacIntosh here. I’ll warn my pack at Crooked Arrow Ranch, so they know what to expect, in case he goes looking for me there, though we plan to direct him right here to the Bonepile. You and Gabe will be below ground.”
She glanced toward the elevator, wondering how that would hide her and Gabe when it was visible and in the open.
“Not there.” He waved toward it. “He has another entrance to a different spot. It’s a bunker. It’s a place you can hide indefinitely, though we don’t plan to make this last. Quick and dirty. That’s the objective.”
She shuddered at his words. Quick and dirty. That meant this was how they planned to take Paul MacIntosh out.
“Hey.” He put an arm around her, drawing her close. “Nothing’s going to happen to Cash. Or you. I won’t let it.”
“Shifter life seems so different than—” she gulped. “Different than I’m used to.”
“Make me a promise?” He turned her to face him fully. He was so large she felt like a young girl next to him. “Just one. Okay? One promise.”
After all he was doing for her, how could she deny him one thing? “Okay. What?” She chewed on her lip.
“Come to Crooked Arrow Ranch after. See life there. If it’s not what you want for—” He stopped.
To her shock, he placed a gentle kiss on her forehead.
“Just that one thing. Give Crooked Arrow a look-see.” He pulled her against him in a tight hug.
She’d never felt so safe in her life. Not ever.
“And trust me.”
She sent up a prayer things would go the way he was thinking, because the alternative might mean losing—
Losing everything.
Chapter Twenty
A day had passed.
Maisie, Cash, Judd, and Gabe were all gathered around the outdoor courtyard area Gabe had in the middle of his home. Gabe was grilling steaks. Cash was in baby-mode instead of wolf-mode, which thrilled Maisie no end. Bouncing on a bouncy Gabe had suspended from the rafters.
“Does he ever not wear that hat?” she asked Judd. “Or his duster?”
“Never seen him without it.” Judd was in jeans, a white tank, and boots. His feet were propped on an ottoman in front of the loveseat they were sharing.
“Are you close to him?”
Judd laughed softly. “I’ve come to know more of him in the last day than I ever have. He was a contact. Business, that was it.”
“Why’d it change?”
“Huh.” Judd pierced her with those eyes of his, the silver swirling throughout. “I guess it’s a combination of things. His hatred for Paul MacIntosh and maybe he has a soft spot for Cash. Which I can confess is completely understandable. I’ve grown fond of the little one myself.”
A warmth suffused Maisie, head to toe. It was different than the heat that surged through her when Judd looked at her with a certain gleam in his eye. No, this was the kind of warmth a mother felt when she knew her baby was loved. It didn’t matter if he was Cash’s father, or uncle, or whatevs. What mattered was the way he felt about her baby, who was her everything.
She sat for a while, in silence, while she ruminated over the latest developments, as Judd had related them to her. He and Gabe had made a video of Cash playing and Judd and texted it to Paul MacIntosh.
Of course, Paul had called Judd immediately, and Judd told him he wanted to negotiate for his grandson, letting him think it was a ransom situation. That the negotiation had to happen in person. And to bring a million dollars in cash.
“A million,” she whispered? “What will you do with a million?”
Approaching with a plate full of steaks, Gabe snorted.
Judd looked perplexed, then said, “We’re not doing anything with it. But we have to make him believe he will get Cash, and for that, he’d need to have money. Else he’d wonder why he was coming down.”
“Okay.” She got the logic behind that.
“Everything is set in the bunker,” Judd said. “It’s ready to go. And I don’t think it’s too early for you to head down there. Maybe after dinner. Got a TV, lots of kid videos, some kid toys, a ton of food. You’ll be good for a while.”
“I don’t see it lasting half a day, myself,” Gabe added. “It’s just a matter of when he arrives.”
“We don’t know when that is, do we?”
“We have our ways,” Gabe said cryptically, putting the steaks on the table. “Like Walker said, after dinner would be a good time for you to go, wait it out. There’s a cell down there for you and a landline, too. You don’t come out until we text or call. And only if one of us uses the password. Otherwise, do not open that door.”
“Got it.” She cut into the steak and popped the medium-rare morsel into her mouth, closing her eyes from the heavenliness of it.
After tonight, things would be very different.
Maisie kissed Cash good night and lay next to him on the bed in the bunker, which, if she hadn’t known she was in an underground shelter, she’d have thought was an apartment. A damned fine one, too. She turned the bedside lamp off, and her mind went to Judd.
Was he thinking of her tonight? Was he above them in the house? In the same bed she’d napped in?
She felt close to him then, thinking of him sleeping on the same bed she’d been in. She took out the cell phone and texted him.
R U Up?
Yup. U sleepless?
Nerves, she confessed.
It’ll be fine. I have to collect on my promise.
Her mind went to the promise she’d made. To go to Crooked Arrow. To see shifter life in action.
She typed in: I hope you— She backspaced.
There was no room for negativity or doubt now.
U will. She pressed send.
Chapter Twenty-One
Sitting in Gabe’s sunken living area, TV off, lights off, the place silent, Judd found himself reflecting on what had become his favorite topic. Maisie Malone.
There was something about Maisie’s last words the night before—via text—that fueled Judd’s day. His heart. His soul. His wolf.
She’d texted U will.
Which meant he would be collecting on his promise. She had faith in him. And it occurred to him at that moment, how he’d never had anyone have faith in him as she just showed she did.
He’d been a loner all his life, since his teen years, when his stepfather kicked him out of the house when his mother had died. Life at home before that hadn’t been a picnic either. So, he’d drifted, in and out of packs and towns until, finally, he’d happened upon the Crooked Arrow bunch. That was when he found his tribe, so to speak, but still, he’d kept his loner-ways.
“He’s almost here,” Gabe said.
Gabe was in his usual garb, but the way the duster settled on him, it was clear he was packing more than usual. Not that Judd knew what the mysterious man regularly carried anyway. He wondered about his instinct to trust
him, but it was that. Instinct. His and his wolf’s. The wolf trusted Gabriel Bonegate implicitly, which in turn, led Judd to be more inclined to as well. Though Judd already had formed an opinion about Gabe. There was something about the man. He flat-out liked him.
“How do you know he’s almost here?”
A half-smile made its way to his lips. “I’ve got an inside man.”
“Good enough. He’s coming here? Not going to Crooked Arrow?”
“Yup.” Gabe looked at his phone then set it on the table, face down. “Not going to Crooked Arrow.”
Judd breathed a sigh of relief. He may be a loner, but Crooked Arrow was his pack. And he’d be damned if he’d sit by and watch them be in harm’s way because of Paul MacIntosh. That the conflict wouldn’t involve them was the best news today.
“So, the plan’s… What? Did your source tell you?”
“Yeah, before dawn.” His laugh was sinister. “Witching hour.” He stood. “Let’s go greet our guests. I’d rather head them off before they get all the way down the drive. Especially hate for them to do any damage to my home.”
They made their way in the dark, toward the massive arch which had the name of Gabe’s business spelled out in bones.
“How many of them? Do you know?” he asked Gabe.
“Half-dozen plus MacIntosh.”
Judd grimaced, glad it was dark, though that wasn’t going to matter if Gabe had excellent night vision, like his own. Which again, made him wonder what Gabe was and why he wouldn’t reveal himself. He’d already trusted Judd with so many secrets. His home, the bunker. Okay, well, with just those secrets.
“We won’t be alone,” Gabe said. “Couple of your friends are joining us.”
“My friends?” Judd hadn’t reached out to anyone. “Who?”
“Luke, Score, Jared.”
“Crooked Arrow knows about this?”
“Yup. Thought it would be a good idea to let your own know about this, even if you hadn’t.”