Pleading the Fifth

by Sandrine Gasq-Dion

  “Tell us who he is, Walter.” Seth removed his knife from its sheath.

  “His name is Pierce, okay! He told me you wouldn’t kill me!”

  “He lied,” Jacob pulled Walter up to his face by his shirt. “What. Was. In. The. Syringe?” Jacob enunciated each word for effect.

  “Spit!” Walter shouted.

  Jacob arched a brow. “Excuse me?”

  “Rogue saliva,” Walter admitted hurriedly. “A lot of it.”

  “Ah, fuck,” Seth sighed, running a hand through his hair.

  “So Pierce Barnes is behind the attack on Scott Delange. Who else has he got working for him?” Jacob peered into Walter’s eyes. “I know you know.”

  “Um…some Markel dude?”

  Seth drew in a short breath. “The lawyer?”

  “Get in touch with Alexander, Seth,” Jacob instructed. “I’ll take care of Walter.”

  Walter blanched. “You’re going to kill me?”

  Jacob threw Walter back into the chair. “I don’t know yet, you may prove to be useful at some point. I think Alexander would like to have a live specimen.”

  Walter swallowed hard. “Huh?”

  “Don’t worry so much, Walter,” Jacob grinned. “You made the choice to be what you are, there are consequences.”

  “And those consequences have arrived,” Seth closed his eyes, sending the message to Alexander.

  ~~ Alexander looked through the microscope; Scott’s blood was being attacked. His lupine side was waging a battle with the pathogen in his bloodstream. His human side was paying the price. Alexander had no idea how much longer Scott’s body could handle the fever raging through him. At some point, brain damage would occur. Alexander had come to the conclusion that it was rogue saliva before he even got the message from Seth. Now if he could only find a way to combat it. Wayne had done all he could, giving Scott his blood as well as biting him repeatedly. Alex rubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands. He wanted to be with Scott, but he knew his job was in the lab trying to figure out how to save his son.

  “You look tired,” Evangeline closed the door quietly. Placing a cup of coffee on the desk, she palmed Alexander’s face. “You need rest.”

  Alexander shook his head. “I cannot rest until I find out how to help Scott.”

  “You won’t be any good to him if you fatigue yourself.”

  “I can’t stop…I need…” Alexander dropped his head to the desk.

  “I know,” Evangeline said with a soothing tone.

  “I cannot lose him.”

  “You won’t, we’ll find a way.” Evangeline held Alexander, hoping she was right.

  Chapter Six

  Over the next two days, the hospital corridor was filled with not only the packs, but the human family as well. The brothers of the Salvatore clan sat in the waiting room with the rest of the packs. Riley sat in one of the chairs across from Scott’s room, his head on Mateo’s shoulder, his eyes swollen from crying. Josh sat with Sam and Dakota. Since he was a doctor, Mark had gone off with Alexander and Wayne to try and help. Josh scanned the room; Devin Lyons sat with Keegan, Devin’s face devoid of any and all emotion. But Josh knew the man was hurting. Somehow, he’d developed a friendship with Scott. Nicholas was pacing back and forth as Sebastian tried to comfort him. Josh stood up as Jackson Murphy approached him. He had gone to the cafeteria to get everyone coffee. Josh helped distribute it.

  “Any change?” Jackson asked hopefully. Josh shook his head.

  Jackson knocked on the door softly; an

  even softer ‘come in’ came from behind it. He opened the door to see his beta on the bed with Scott Delange. Jonas Brooks sat in the corner chair asleep. Scott was like another son to the man, he’d been his alpha before Scott joined Alexander’s pack and Jude considered Scott his brother. Jackson couldn’t stop his intake of breath. Tristan looked gaunt and sallow. Jackson walked briskly to the side of the bed.

  “Oh God, you’re connected,” Jackson felt his beta’s forehead. “How bad is it?”

  “Not as bad as it is for my mate,” Tristan pulled Scott closer to him. “I’ll survive; he might not. And if he doesn’t, I don’t want to either.”

  “Don’t talk like that!” Jackson snapped. “We’ll beat this!”

  Scott’s heart monitor blipped, then flat lined. Tristan was up instantly, pushing the button on the wall.

  “Don’t do this!” Tristan shouted, starting CPR.

  Jonas sat upright in his chair, a look of shock on his face. “What happened!?”

  The door to the room opened and Alexander flew in along with Wayne. Tristan was pushed out of the way as Alex readied the defibrillator. Scott’s body jerked as the first charge hit him. The monitor stayed the same.

  “Goddammit, Scott!” Alexander roared. “Come on!”

  Tristan could only stand and watch as Alexander tried again and again to shock his mate back to life. The sounds of sobbing came from the open door and Tristan saw the packs all crowded around. Jude was front and center, tears flowing freely as he watched his brother. It seemed as if hours had gone by and then the room became silent. Tristan’s blood pumped in his ears. He vaguely heard Alexander apologize before he himself broke down, and then Jackson was pulling him out of the room.

  “No!” Tristan went back to the bed and pulled Scott up. “Don’t you give up on me!” Pulling Scott into his arms, he tried the mental link again. “Don’t do this, we just found each other. We have so many more years ahead of us to drive each other crazy. Come on, Scott, please.”

  “It’s not possible…it’s just…not possible,” Wayne shook his head, dazed. “This shouldn’t have happened, it’s not possible.”

  Sebastian wiped his eyes. “I…I didn’t see this. It’s not right…it’s not right!”

  “God, please don’t do this, Scott.” Tristan closed his eyes, warm wetness slid down his cheeks and he realized he was crying. “I can’t do this without you, please!”

  Wayne looked around the room; all of his packs were there. They were family, all of them. Alexander slid to the floor sobbing and Wayne’s heart broke for all of them. He didn’t understand. How could this have happened? The Maccon blood line was immune, Scott may not have been a created one, but he had Maccon blood in his veins. Why? Why was Scott dead? The syringe held more than a bites worth, but Wayne didn’t think it would actually kill Scott. Wayne felt a warm hand slide into his and opened his eyes to see Conner’s tear-streaked face.

  “Why, Wayne?” Conner sobbed.

  “I don’t understand,” Wayne shook his head.

  Wyatt wiped his eyes, Tristan was holding Scott’s lifeless body in his arms and the tough Navy SEAL was sobbing. Wyatt buried his face in Preston’s chest.

  “No…” Nicholas’ eyes pleaded with Alexander.

  “Tell me it’s not true.”

  Wayne turned to see James in the doorway. He nodded his head slowly.

  “What the fuck?” Devin shouted. He couldn’t believe Scott was gone, but the evidence was right there in his face because Tristan Miles was crying. Devin’s heart ached. “I’m going to kill whoever did this.”

  “Please,” Tristan croaked. “Just…leave us alone.” He raised his eyes to his alpha. “Please? Alex, Jonas, Nicholas and Jude can stay.”

  Jackson nodded, ushering out the rest of the men. He turned to look at Tristan. “Scott wouldn’t want you to die along with him, don’t do anything stupid.”

  “I think you remember how you felt when your own mate died, or do I have to remind you?” Tristan rasped.

  Jackson raised his hand in concession. “All right,”

  Jude sat on the floor; the emptiness inside him was like a crushing wave. Alexander sat in between Jude and Nicholas, putting his arms around their shoulders. Jonas held his son’s hand, his heart breaking for the other son he’d lost. The five of them sat there for what seemed like forever before Alexander spoke.

  “I am sorry, Tristan, if only I could have found a way…”
<
br />   “It’s not your fau—” Tristan drew in a sharp breath as Scott’s eyes flew open. “Scott!” Tristan shook him. Scott’s mouth opened and Tristan laid him back on the bed. “His eyes are open! He’s not breathing!” Tristan covered Scott’s mouth with his own, forcing air into his mate’s lungs. “Breathe!”

  Scott gasped, and then coughed. He took a deep breath of air and coughed again.

  Nicholas ran into the hallway to their friends.

  “That’s it!” Tristan laughed, as the tears streamed down his face. “Come on baby, breathe!” Scott gasped and gulped another deep breath of air. Tristan moved back as Scott’s canines elongated. His undercoat sprung from his arms and spread down the rest of his body, only to be replaced in seconds with his overcoat of soft, silky black fur. Scott lay on his side panting in full wolf form. Tristan held him close to him. “Oh God, I thought you were gone, don’t ever do that again!” Tristan sobbed. Within seconds, he was holding Scott in human form.

  Scott coughed once more. “You’re crying.”

  Tristan held Scott at arm’s length. “Of course I am! You died!”

  Scott tried to concentrate, trying to remember what happened. “There was a man at the apartment, he served me with papers, then he stuck me in the neck. I don’t remember much after that.” Scott’s brows furrowed. “You left me that morning, without so much as a fuck you or thanks for the fuck,” Scott accused.

  Tristan laughed, pulling Scott into his chest. “I left you a note on the pillow telling you where I was going.”

  “You did?” Scott said, perplexed.

  “In Tristan’s defense,” Alexander coughed into his hand. “Your room is a bit…”

  “Messy?” Jude provided with a grin.

  “So, you didn’t just leave?” Scott asked in astonishment.

  Tristan cupped Scott’s face. “No, I didn’t. And I’m not ever leaving you again.”

  Jonas exhaled a large sigh. “Thank God you’re all right.”

  Jude smiled at Scott with his mate. “We should, um…” Jude nodded to the door.

  “Yes, you are correct. We will leave the two of you.” Alexander opened the door and turned to leave.

  “Dad?” Scott said.

  Alexander stopped; it wasn’t often that Scott used the term and his heart ached that he used it now. He turned slowly. “Yes?”

  “Thank you,” Scott whispered. “I know you probably drove yourself crazy trying to find a way to help me.”

  “You are my son,” Alexander smiled through tears. “I would give my life for yours.”

  Scott swallowed the lump in his throat; he was not the crying type. “And I would do the same.”

  “I will be back for a blood sample, however.”

  “Great, more needles,” Scott sighed.

  “I know, and I am sorry, but I must have a sample. We must know what happened.”

  Scott nodded. “All right. You’ll be back soon though, right?”

  “Yes, I will,” Alexander nodded.

  The door closed as Scott and Tristan heard the whoops and hollers in the hallway. Scott chuckled and turned his attention to his mate. The man looked horrible. Scott cupped Tristan’s face in his hands.

  “You look awful,” he whispered.

  Tristan grinned. “I feel much better now.”

  Scott’s fingers traced the lines across Tristan’s forehead and eyes. He looked tired; his face was a bit pale. “I dreamt of you.”

  “Was I naked?” Tristan waggled his eyebrows.

  “No, you were crying, telling me not to leave you.” Scott ran his fingers through Tristan’s hair.

  Tristan sobered. “That wasn’t a dream. I did say that, I couldn’t believe you were being taken from me. I never even got to say…” Tristan closed his eyes taking a deep breath to steady his frazzled nerves.

  “Say what?”

  Tristan opened his eyes. “How much I care,” Tristan searched Scott’s eyes. “I almost lost you for good; it tends to bring the truth to light. We are connected, to the point where I wanted to die right along with you. I felt your pain, heard your cry in my head. I don’t want to be without you.” Tristan took Scott’s hand in his. “You don’t have to say anything; I know how we both are—”

  “I…care about you, too.” Scott whispered, knowing he was blushing furiously. He didn’t even have to say the actual words to feel exposed, but he felt confident that Tristan felt the same way. He’d just admitted it. Kind of. They would need some time to get to the actual word. That was putting everything on the line. As confident as he was about his feelings for Tristan, he still held on to a bit of trepidation about exposing himself completely.

  Tristan released a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. “Oh, thank God, I thought I was the only one who felt that way.”

  Scott took Tristan in his arms. “You aren’t.”

  Tristan inhaled the scent of his mate. A feeling of peace settled in. “I want to take you out on a real date.”

  “Will you bring me flowers?” Scott prodded.

  “Don’t push it, Delange.”

  ~~ Jacob stood outside Scott’s door with Seth, both of them with huge grins. They’d heard it all. Noah and Ross were talking with James on the whereabouts of the lawyer from Markel and Markel. Hayden and Andrei had been put on surveillance of the firm. Jacob thought it was strange that the head of the Russian mob wanted to sit around pulling surveillance, until Noah had clued him in to how Andrei felt about Scott. Devin paced the hallway back and forth; the man was wearing a hole in the linoleum.

  “Devin?” Jacob said.

  “What?” Devin snapped. He looked up and sighed.” I’m sorry, I just want to find these guys and rip their fucking hearts out.”

  “No problem,” Jacob smiled. Devin Lyons had a heart; you just had to look for it. “Scott’s okay, he’ll be just fine.” Jacob’s cell rang, showing Hayden’s number. He snapped his fingers at the group as he answered the phone.

  “What’s up, Hayden?”

  “They are back, there are two of them.” Hayden said. “I’m having a hard time keeping Andrei in the car, he’s locked and loaded and very angry.”

  “We are on our way, keep him in check.” Jacob hung up. “The lawyers are back.” Jacob stood in front of Devin. “Andrei is there; can I trust you to behave?”

  Devin growled, balling his fists. “Yes, for Scott, I will.”

  “Good,” Jacob motioned to Noah and Ross. “Let’s go,”

  ~~ Lawrence sat uneasily at his desk. The man in front of him looked scary as hell. He’d done what he had to do, hadn’t he? He had no idea what Scott Delange had done to warrant being shot up with a substance that landed him in the hospital. He’d pretended to be a reporter trying to find out if the man had died. God knows he didn’t want that on his conscience.

  Pierce Barnes had said the syringe didn’t have anything harmful to humans in it. Lawrence furrowed his brows; the man was evil to the damn core. The man in front of him - Roy? He thought that’s how he’d introduced himself. He was freaky, wearing sunglasses indoors, like he was a drug addict or something.

  When he’d first met Pierce Barnes, the man had promised to help him. He hadn’t believed the man could help him until he’d been introduced to a sickly man named Walter. Walter, so Lawrence had found out, was knocking on death’s door. The man looked like he was about to fall over. Two months later, Lawrence had seen Walter again, healthy and vibrant. Pierce Barnes had promised Lawrence the same if he would help him with a certain problem. The thought of having his Parkinson’s disappear made the decision easy. All he had to do was inject a certain man and Pierce promised him a long and healthy life. With four kids and a demanding wife, Lawrence knew he’d do anything for a cure.

  “So, Mr. Barnes said he could cure me if I did what he asked. When will he be fulfilling that promise?”

  “Who knows?” Roy shrugged.

  “We made a deal!” Lawrence shouted. Roy sat forward. “You are in no position
>
  to be making demands, Mr. Markel. I suggest you tone it down.” “I get it!” Lawrence snapped. “He’s never going to help me, is he? Mr. Barnes’ word is good for nothing.” Lawrence stood up. “You can leave now.”

  The door to his office flew off its hinges, hitting the bookshelf across the room as a man walked in. To say the look on his face was malevolent was an understatement. He looked ready to rip Roy into pieces.

  “Oh, it’s coming to an end,” Devin snarled. He flipped the knives in his hands and brought them down on the hands of the rogue sitting in the chair. The loud howl from the rogue reverberated around the office. The knives went all the way through, sticking out of the bottom of the armrests, effectively pinning the man to the chair. Devin crouched in front of the rogue and removed his sunglasses. Yellow eyes widened. “Hey, asshole.”

  “I know you…” Roy spluttered. Lawrence tried to sneak around his desk and heard a tsking sound to the right of him. He turned to see a dark-haired man with the coldest grey eyes he’d ever seen. The face clicked in his mind and his mouth dropped open. “Oh, fuck me,” Lawrence whispered.

  “You are not my type.” Andrei leaned into the man’s face.

  Jacob strolled in with Seth and Hayden, smiling.

  “Oh, I see you’ve met my associates, gentlemen. Meet Devin Lyons and Andrei Panchenko.”

  “Fuck,” Roy muttered.

  “Yes, fuck,” Jacob sat on the edge of the desk. Andrei moved Lawrence Markel over to stand next to the rogue. “Now, mind telling me why Scott Delange was injected?”

  “I’m not saying shit!” Roy spat.

  “Pierce Barnes wanted him and Tristan Miles out of the way,” Lawrence rushed to say.

  “Shut up, Larry!” Roy snarled at Lawrence.

  “Oh, fuck you, Roy!” Lawrence shouted. “I did what was asked of me in order to be cured, but Pierce will never come through with his promises.” Lawrence faced the big man sitting on the desk. “I am sorry for my part in all of this. I was promised a cure for my Parkinson’s disease by Pierce Barnes. He told me to take Scott Delange out, that I was the only one who could do it because Scott would be able to see him coming. I didn’t think about Mr. Delange dying, I was assured the syringe had nothing harmful to humans in it.”