by Kim Fox
Amélie was teetering on the edge too, and they both succumbed at the same moment as Grant thrust in deep.
He let out a roar as the mind-shattering orgasm erupted through him, shaking him to his core. He couldn’t move, he couldn’t breathe. He shut his eyes against the spinning room as Amélie clutched his body—the only anchor that was keeping her from drowning.
The intensity eased with every second that passed until they could both breathe again. He dropped on the bed beside her and she quickly crawled into his embrace.
“Wow is right,” he said in a breathless tone as he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her even closer.
Grant knew in that moment that he’d walk through fire for this girl. He would march into General Hunt’s base and face down a whole platoon of mercenary shifters for her. He would kill for her. He would die for her.
He would demand that of himself, but not from his crew.
They each had to make their own decision on what to do, but his decision was already made. He was determined to save her family.
But what would his crew do?
Chapter Eleven
Amélie
“Oh my god,” Tempest said, looking horrified. “And I here I thought you were just some kind of psycho bitch. I didn’t realize you were doing all of this to protect your family.”
“I’m sorry I attacked you all,” Amélie said, still embarrassed about her aggressive behavior on the morning that they had first met. “That wasn’t me.”
“That’s too bad,” Tempest said with a grin. “I kind of liked the psycho bitch version of you.”
Amélie laughed. “Maybe that was a little bit me.”
It was nice of the crew to be so forgiving. Grant and her had sat them down and just explained to them the situation she was in. She wasn’t expecting any help from them, she just wanted them all to understand why she had tried to kill them.
She liked them all and didn’t want to be seen as a prisoner in their eyes anymore. She wanted to be seen as a friend.
“This General Hunt is starting to piss me off,” Mack said, already breathing heavily. “He’s asking for a Smack Down in Mack Town.”
Amélie grinned. It would be a lot less scary bursting in with these guys at her back.
“Is that your new catchphrase?” Logan asked, laughing at his friend.
“Yeah,” Mack said with a nod. “Do you like it?”
Logan grinned. “Not bad. Better than your last one.”
“What was his last one?” Tempest asked.
Logan started laughing and once he started, he could barely speak. “It was… it was Back Off or Mack will Whack You Off.”
Amélie tried to fight back her smile as everyone burst out laughing. Everyone except for Mack who was getting angrier by the second.
“I meant whack as in hit,” he said, getting flustered. “Not as in… never mind.”
“Anyway,” Grant said when the laughter started to die down. “General Hunt will be back. He wants Tempest’s magic wand and he won’t stop at anything to get it.’’
“My wand?” Tempest said, looking outraged. “What does he want with it?”
“I wish I knew,” Amélie answered, “but I don’t know. I didn’t ask too many questions while I was there.”
She noticed that Ryder was watching his cousin closely. So far he hadn’t said a word.
“What’s the plan?” he finally asked, looking at Grant.
“That’s what I want to talk to you guys about,” Grant said, dropping his eyes to the picnic table. They had just finished breakfast outside. “I’m going with her.”
Ryder shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “Where?”
Grant took a deep breath as he rubbed his chin. “Amélie’s family is in trouble and I promised to help her get them out.”
“You’re going to break them out?” Logan asked.
“We’re going to break them out,” Ryder corrected. “He’s our alpha and we’re going with him.”
“Ryder,” Grant said, putting a hand on his tattooed arm. “We can use any help that we can get, but you’re not deciding for them.” He looked around the table at each of his crew members. “None of you have to come with us. It’s going to be very dangerous and we all saw the kind of power that the General has at his disposal. Anti-shifting serum darts, enhanced shifters, a skin shifter, and that’s just what we know. Who knows what other kinds of surprises he has hidden up his sleeve?”
“When you put it like that,” Mack said with a grin. “I’m definitely in.”
“I’ll have to move my band practice around,” Logan said with a nod, “but I wouldn’t miss it.”
“Me too,” Tempest said, wrapping her arm around Ryder’s. “If General Cunt wants my wand, I’ll let him have it. I’ll let him have the whole experience of it.”
“I’m going too,” Bryce said, puffing out his scrawny chest.
“No, you’re not,” Mack snapped, shooting the kid a fierce warning look. “No way.”
“Why not?” he complained. “I’m ready. Grant, don’t you think I’m ready?”
Grant watched the boy, studying him closely. “Mack is right. It’s too dangerous.”
“But I can’t miss this,” Bryce whined. “Mack you had already fought a dragon shifter by the time you were my age!”
“Yeah, but that’s me, twerp. I’m one of a kind.”
“And he nearly died,” Logan added.
Mack frowned as he turned to him.
Logan grinned. “Nearly had his nuts burnt right off.”
“But I didn’t,” Mack said, glaring at the guitar player. “I’ll show you.”
He reached for his belt buckle and everyone yelled “No!” at the same time.
“This is no place for a rookie,” Grant said to Bryce who was still desperate to join.
“This is the major leagues, Bryce,” Ryder said. “And you’re still playing Pee Wee.”
Bryce turned to Grant with a desperate look in his eyes. “Put me in, Coach,” he begged. “I’ll show you. I’m ready. My lion is ready. And if I die, then I’ll die doing what I love the most, fighting with my crew.”
Grant looked at him long and hard, trying to decide what to do.
“Mack,” he finally said, “are you going to be able to keep an eye on the kid?”
“Boss,” Mack warned. “It’s not a good idea.”
“Are you going to be able to watch him?” Grant repeated.
Mack shook his head and sighed. “I’ll never take my eyes off him.”
“Good.” Grant turned back to the thrilled kid who was about to get what he wanted. “You can come, but this is no game, Bryce. This is life and death.”
“Thanks, Grant,” he said, shaking the alpha’s hand a little too eagerly. “I’ll be brave. You’ll see!”
“I want you to be smart,” Grant said as his arm jerked up and down. “Normally, I would refuse but we need every pair of paws we can get. And besides, every superstar was once a rookie. Even Mack.”
Amélie’s shoulders dropped as her eyes welled up with tears. These people were risking everything for her and her family. They didn’t have to, but they were.
She felt so lucky and grateful to have found them.
“Thank you all so much,” Amélie said, wiping her wet eyes. “I don’t know how to thank you.”
“Thank us when we all get back safely,” Grant said. “With your family.”
They spent the next hour making a plan. They needed a van to sneak into the facility and there was only one place they could get one. Too bad the guy who could lend it was not going to make it easy on them.
Amélie smiled as they all got up. I can’t believe we might all be free today.
She couldn’t wait to hug her sister and feel her mother’s arms wrap around her.
“Well, General Cunt better get ready,” Logan said, flexing his arms. “Because we’re coming for him and Mack is going to jerk him off.”
“Whack him,” Mack said,
throwing his hands in the air as he shook his head in frustration. “You know I didn’t mean it like that. Asshole.”
“Save all of that energy for later,” Grant said with a chuckle. “You’re going to need it.”
“So, are you two like a thing now?” Tempest asked as she drove to the firehouse. Amélie and Grant were sitting in the back and Ryder was sitting in the passenger seat of the yellow Volkswagen Buggy. The rest of the boys were following in a car behind them.
“Tempest!” Ryder snapped.
“What?” she said with a shrug. “I’m curious.”
“Yes,” Grant answered in a tone that was thick with finality. “We are a thing.”
Amélie’s mouth curled up into a smile as she turned to him. They were a thing? She liked the sound of that.
He smiled back at her as he reached across the seat and took her hand in his. A warm shiver rippled through her as she thought back to last night.
The sex had been amazing. He had blown her mind last night, and this morning. She hoped this outing was going to go well for a lot of reasons, but she was also hoping it went well so they could do it again.
“I can’t believe this is the plan,” Ryder said, shaking his head. “Jordy is such a prick. He’s never going to lend Logan his van.”
“I’ll talk to Keaton,” Grant said. “Jordy might say no, but I think I’ll be able to get Keaton to override him. Alphas have an unspoken bond.”
“I hope you’re right,” Ryder mumbled under his breath. He didn’t look too sure.
Amélie watched with wide eyes as they pulled into the Redemption Creek firehouse. It was a gorgeous old-fashioned firehouse set against a spectacular view of the mountains. Her eyes roamed over the red brick and dark wooden beams up to the old watchtower that looked out over the town.
“It’s beautiful,” she whispered as they turned the corner and the shiny firetruck came into view.
“It was built in 1894,” Grant said, looking out the window to admire the charming building. “It’s full of history.”
“It’s full of pricks,” Ryder muttered.
“Ryder is not a fan of the firehouse,” Grant whispered. “They wouldn’t hire him.”
Ryder whipped his head around and glared at them. “I didn’t want to work there. I only applied as a joke!”
He huffed out a breath as he turned back, shaking his head as he looked out of the windshield.
“It wasn’t a joke,” Grant whispered, making Amélie giggle.
They all emptied out of the two cars, except for Ryder who stayed inside sulking.
Amélie watched as five gorgeous firemen walked out of the building to greet them. Pricks or not, these guys were pure eye candy.
One of the guys walked forward to greet Grant. He must be the alpha. Amélie could just tell by the commanding and assertive way that he carried himself. She recognized it because Grant carried himself in the same way.
“Bounty Hunters,” the man said with a grin as he shook hands with Grant. “And this was looking like it was going to be a nice day.”
Logan slapped hands with his friend who must have been Jordy, the lead singer in his band Predatone. He had long brown hair and a handsome face with slender features. He was wearing a tight white t-shirt with baggy firefighter pants and the heavy boots with the laces undone.
Amélie could tell that girls must go wild when they see him singing on stage. In another life, she might have been one of them.
The guys all chatted for a bit until Grant cut to the chase. “We need your help,” he said. The boys quieted as all eyes turned to Grant.
“We’re not hiring Ryder,” Jordy said with a grin.
Ryder rolled the window down a crack and put his mouth to it. “I applied as a joke. I don’t want a job here!”
“It’s not that,” Grant said. He turned to Jordy who took a step back under the alpha’s stare. “We need your van.”
“Ha!” Jordy said, slapping his muscular thigh. “Good one!”
“It’s not a joke,” Grant said. “We’re pretty desperate here.”
“Why, do you need a couch moved or something? Get this guy to do it,” he said, pointing at Mack.
“It would mean a lot to us,” Logan said, trying to make his bandmate see.
“Not as much as my van means to me,” Jordy said, glancing over his shoulder at his van. “I bought it to move the band’s equipment around. It’s brand new.”
“I’ll take good care of it,” Logan promised.
“Like you take good care of your guitars?” he said with a huff. “I’ve seen how you take care of your stuff. You use your guitar as a goddamn paddle when you’re floating on that ridiculous pink flamingo floaty in your pool!”
They didn’t have time for this so Grant took Keaton to the side to talk quietly.
Amélie stood there uncomfortably as she waited.
“Hello,” a cute fireman with a nice smile said as he sidled up beside her. “What’s your name?”
“Her name is alpha’s girlfriend,” Mack warned. “Leave her alone, Decker.”
Decker’s eyes widened and he quickly scattered before Grant returned and saw him talking to her.
A few minutes later, the two alphas returned.
Keaton walked right up to Jordy and held out his hand. “Keys.”
“What?” Jordy said, his face turning as white as his shirt. “You can’t be—”
“Serious?” Keaton said with a warning look. “Make me ask again and I’ll show you how serious I am.”
Amélie could tell that Jordy wanted to say something, but he begrudgingly kept his mouth shut, reached into his pocket, and grabbed his keys.
He tossed them into his alpha’s hand and then frowned at all of them. “Not. One. Scratch on it,” he said before turning around with a huff and storming off inside.
“You sure you don’t want us to come?” Keaton asked. “You might need some backup.”
“Maybe,” Grant said, shaking his head. “This will work better if we keep it quiet. In and out quickly without making any waves.”
Keaton handed over the keys and wished them luck.
“Leave the cars here,” Grant said when the crew was alone by the van. “We’re all in the van from now on. Amélie’s driving.”
Tempest and the boys jumped into the back as Grant handed her the keys.
“Are you sure you won’t get stopped at the security gate?” he asked.
“I’ll try my best,” she said, squeezing the keys in her hand until it hurt. “But you must be ready for anything.”
“We will be,” he said, taking her in his arms.
She looked up at his gorgeous golden eyes as he leaned down and kissed her. Her heart swelled as he finally pulled away and smiled at her before jumping in the back with the rest of the crew.
Her relief at having Grant by her side was starting to turn to dread as she got behind the wheel.
Just one more loved one for me to lose.
“What’s in the van?” the security guard asked as she pulled up to the gate of the military facility where her family was being held captive.
Amélie swallowed hard as she stared into his challenging eyes, trying not to look guilty or scared or worried or any of the other dozen emotions she was feeling at that moment.
“It’s for General Hunt,” she said in a steady tone. “It’s classified.”
“Where are your papers?” he asked.
She squeezed her toes, trying to choke back the panic that was bubbling inside of her. If the security guard decided to look in the back of the van, they would all be completely fucked. Not to mention, her mother and sister would probably be executed. Maybe even in front of Amélie to teach her a lesson.
“General Hunt didn’t give me any papers,” she said with a little more force in her tone. “He wants this package immediately and won’t be too happy if you hold it up any longer.”
“What sort of package?”
She stared him dead in the eyes. “T
he kind that’s classified.”
He locked eyes on her, trying to get a read on her. Amélie gave him her best poker face back.
This guy was a shifter like her. She could smell his buck hiding inside him.
“Step out of the van,” he finally said.
Câlisse.
“Is this really necessary? I’m in a hurry to get this to Gener—”
Dropping the General’s name didn’t work. He opened the driver’s door and stepped aside so she could step out.
“Out,” he ordered. “Now.”
Amélie took a deep breath and stepped out of the van. He took her arm with a hard grip and walked her to the back of the vehicle.
Her heart was hammering in her chest as he stared at the black double doors.
“Open it.”
“But this is classif—”
The security guard stepped forward and opened the two doors. He stepped back with a gasp when he saw Grant, Ryder, Tempest, Logan, Mack, and Bryce all squeezed in there, staring back at him.
He quickly reached for his Walkie Talkie, as Grant held out his hand. “Wait!” he said with a gasp. “Wait. We’re here to kill the General.”
The guard’s face turned from harsh to understanding as he stared back at Grant. He turned to Amélie and she nodded. “He has it coming, don’t you think?”
The guard slowly stepped back and dropped his hand from the Walkie Talkie on his belt. He slowly looked around then walked back to the van and closed the two doors, nodding at Grant as he did it.
“You’re free to pass through, miss,” he said to Amélie when it was just the two of them again.
Amélie’s knees nearly buckled as relief flooded through her. She climbed back into the driver’s seat as he walked into his booth and hit the button that lifted the yellow and black boom gate.
“You can find the General in building two,” he said, pointing to the largest of the four buildings. “If the alarm goes off, you can get in through the door on the roof. It’s the only one that doesn’t lock in an emergency.”
“The doors lock during an emergency?”
“In building two they do,” he answered. “They want to keep people in.”
