“And, now, I’m wearing your clothes.”
Saxon grabbed his shirt off the floor. “It’s not a sex thing. It’s a you’re in danger, and I’m not thing.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Somehow, I don’t think you’d let me bite you and rub my female essence all over your naked body.”
He was about to tell her, Damn right, when he realized that the idea didn’t seem so bad to him. “The situation is totally different. I’m a sentinel. I’ve been trained to take care of myself. You are not. Plus, you are half-human.” He looked her up and down. “Besides, your clothes would never fit me,” he said dryly.
Demi stomped her foot. “Quit taking what I’m saying so literally. You know what I mean. If the situation were reversed—”
He shook his head. “I’m sorry, but the situation isn’t reversed and never will be.” He walked past her and put his hand on the doorknob. He turned. “But, if we ran into a male who was in trouble and Phoenix, Tegan, or Kendall did what I just did to you, I would be all for it.” He turned the knob and opened the door.
“Would you think less of the man?”
“Not in the slightest. If it meant keeping him alive, I would say, he was pretty damn smart.”
Demi followed him into the living room where, upon their arrival, everyone stopped talking and stared at them.
Saxon narrowed his eyes and dared any one of them to say something.
“Come on, Siya. It’s time for us to go.”
Siya sprang from the couch.
“Thanks, everyone,” Demi said.
“Yes, thank you,” Siya said. She stopped in front of Ram. “Thank you.”
The side of Ram’s mouth lifted. “You’re welcome.”
“Come on, Siya,” Demi said from the door.
Siya hurried over, and the two walked out the door.
“You’re just going to let her leave?” Camden asked.
“No. I’m going to give her a head start, and then I’m going to follow her ass home.” And then he’d talk to his alpha and ensure that Demi had twenty-four-hour protection.
Chapter 22
Bing.
Demi picked up her phone from her kitchen counter.
Saxon: You okay?
Demi rolled her eyes, but she couldn’t stop the smile from forming on her face.
It had been a week with no sign of the Donald Wright character. She’d taken Monday off of work and taken it easy the rest of the week. Siya had taken Demi’s stitches out on Tuesday, and her wound was almost completely healed at this point.
Besides Saxon’s daily texts to see if she was okay and still alive, life was back to normal.
Demi: I’m fine. Still.
Demi: Now is when you can admit that I’m right and you’re wrong.
Saxon: I’m never wrong.
Demi: Everyone is wrong sometimes.
Saxon: Whatever you say.
Demi began to reply when her phone rang in her hands. It was her mother.
She sighed before answering, “Hey, Mom.”
“Hey, Demi.”
Demi had never been close to her mother. Even before she’d gotten remarried, she’d hardly ever been around. When Demi was little, she’d thought it was because her mom was working all the time, but now that she was older, she was sure that her mom had been with her now-husband many of those nights. Her mom had pretty much left her grandmother to raise her.
When her grandmother had died, Demi’d had to live with her mom for almost a year until she turned eighteen. It had been awkward. She’d barely known her stepfather, and her two younger half-sisters were practically strangers.
Then, when she’d started going through her awkward monthly heat, she and her mom had had to keep it on the down-low. Her stepfather and sisters had no idea she was a half-shifter. Her mom had been helpful during that time, but Demi had always felt she’d done it more to keep their secret than because her mother loved her.
To this day, they still weren’t close, and her mother never called just to chat or check in.
“What can I do for you?” Demi asked.
“I wanted to remind you that Stephanie’s birthday party is in a few weeks.”
“I know, Mom. I have it on my calendar.”
“Oh, good.” Her mother cleared her throat. “So, how have you been?”
“Fine.”
There was no point in telling her mom what had happened last week. Demi knew her mother loved her, but it would just feel weird to have her mom worry about her. It was simply easier not to tell her.
“Work is going okay?”
“Yes.”
“Good, good.”
Awkward silence.
“And how is Dave? The girls?”
How odd was it that she referred to her two sisters as “the girls”? Especially since they were a little older than girls now.
“Good.”
Demi looked at her microwave clock. “That’s great. Look, Mom, I have to go.” Thankfully, it wasn’t a full lie. She was having lunch with Siya. Her mom didn’t need to know that she still had two hours to go before picking Siya up.
“Okay. We will talk soon.”
“Yep. Bye.”
“Bye.”
Demi quickly hung up, and after the call screen cleared, she went back to her text message. She hit the home button and set down her phone.
She no longer felt like responding to Saxon. Her mother’s phone call had sucked the fun mood out of her.
Kendall drummed her fingers against the steering wheel as she watched Demi park down the street and walk into Siya’s house. Today was probably her last shift before she took some time off for her heat, and she was ready for a break. But that was probably more to do with how boring Demi duty had become.
Kendall understood Saxon’s worry, but no one had seen any signs of anyone following Demi. But, until Donald Wright was found, they would be watching the half-human. Everyone, including Kendall, was hoping it would be soon. One day shortly, Demi was going to figure out that they were watching her to keep her safe, and Demi didn’t seem like the type to be okay with being followed even if it was for her protection.
Something to Kendall’s left caught her eye, but when she turned her head and looked, she didn’t notice anything out of place.
She rolled the window down and sniffed the air. She smelled a cat-shifter somewhere, but that didn’t mean anything. Shifters lived on average roads in average neighborhoods all over.
She was about to turn her head back to the right to watch for Demi to come out of Siya’s door when something caught the sunlight, and the hair on the back of Kendall’s neck stood on end.
She opened her car door and exited the vehicle, not caring now if Demi saw her. Her instincts were telling her that something wasn’t right.
Kendall walked toward Siya’s front door while keeping an eye out for whatever she’d seen glint in the sun. But it wasn’t her sight that alerted her that there was truly trouble.
Demi and Siya walked out of Siya’s house and seemed to be walking toward Siya’s car parked on the street. Siya didn’t have a driveway, and Demi’s vehicle was parked further down. Kendall watched Demi and her friend when she heard the sound of a gun being fired. The shot landed behind the two women on Siya’s lawn as Kendall sprinted toward them.
Both Demi and Siya looked scared, but neither of them screamed, which Kendall had to give them credit for. They moved closer to Siya’s car as more bullets landed behind them.
It seemed odd that every shot the person had made missed the two women, and the shooter never seemed to correct his aim and shoot closer or in front of the women.
As the two ran for Siya’s car, something clicked in Kendall’s brain.
The shooter wanted them to seek shelter behind the vehicle.
Kendall began waving her arms. “Stay away from the car! Stay away from the car!”
Both Demi and Siya paused when they noticed Kendall, but then another shot was fired, and they hurried forward
. Kendall jumped for the two of them just as Siya’s car exploded, knocking them away from the blast.
Kendall couldn’t see much because of the smoke, and she couldn’t hear anything because her ears were ringing, but she could feel movement under each arm, so she knew Demi and Siya were alive.
The rhythmic pounding of large footsteps vibrated on the ground, and Kendall hoped that someone was calling 911 and coming to their aid.
But whoever had approached them yanked her off the ground in a manner that immediately told her he was not there to help. She could just barely make out the scent of male cat-shifter with the chemicals of the blast permeating the air, which meant he was bigger and probably stronger than her.
Kendall fought his grip to see if she’d mistaken his intentions, but his arms only tightened around her. She rammed her head back against his face at the same time she kicked a leg behind her in hopes she’d get a knee.
She barely skimmed his leg, but her head did connect with his, and she felt a rumble in his chest, as he was probably cursing her out. Her ears were still ringing, so she couldn’t make out his words.
His grip loosened, and Kendall was almost free of him when he grabbed her again. An arm went around her neck, and try as she might, she couldn’t escape.
She fought for what felt like an hour, but it was probably closer to five or ten minutes until unconsciousness consumed her. Her last thought before going under was how badly she had failed her mission.
Chapter 23
Demi pushed the oxygen mask to her face and took a couple of deep breaths from her seat on the back of the ambulance.
The sight of Saxon walking toward her brought her immediate comfort, and she was aware that she shouldn’t rely on him to make her feel better. But she could worry about that later. At the moment, she deserved something nice happening to her.
“Ms. Cross?”
“Hmm?” She looked away from Saxon to the detective standing next to her. “I’m sorry. I didn’t hear what you said.” She pointed to Saxon. “My friend is here.”
The detective smiled politely. He was a handsome black man, but his eyes looked tired, and Demi felt bad for not paying attention and making his job harder.
“I understand you’ve been through a lot.” The detective closed his notebook and pulled out a business card from his suit jacket. “We can talk again soon, after you’re feeling better.” He handed her the card. “In the meantime, if you think of anything, please call me.”
“Will do.”
“I’ll set up an appointment to meet with you soon.”
“Okay.”
“We’ll speak again soon.” As the detective stepped away, he nodded to Saxon as he approached. The detective headed over to the second ambulance where Siya was sitting much like Demi.
“What did you tell him?” Saxon asked.
“Not much.” Demi looked down at the card in her hand. “He’s human, so I just gave him the basics. I told him I had no idea who had done it.” She looked over at her friend. “Of course, being that it was Siya’s car in front of Siya’s house, it looks like Siya’s the target.”
Saxon followed Demi’s gaze to her friend. “Will she say anything?”
“No. Besides, the detective already spoke to Siya once. I think he’s just making sure she doesn’t remember anything.”
“What did you say about Kendall?”
“Just that someone ran up to us to help when the shooting started and pushed us away from the blast. And, when we came to, she was gone.” Demi shrugged. “I didn’t know what else to say, but I’m afraid that I made her sound guilty.”
Saxon sat down beside her and rubbed her back. “You did the right thing.”
After Siya’s car had blown up, neighbors had come outside to see what had happened. Demi had quickly asked one of them if she could borrow a cell phone to call Saxon. She hadn’t known if she should call from her own, so she’d told the neighbor it was broken.
Saxon had told her and Siya to give as little detail as possible and not tell the cops that they had seen Kendall getting abducted. He’d promised her it was a shifter matter that they would handle, and while she and Siya had gone along with it, Demi had her doubts.
Demi looked at his face. “Are you sure? Because I feel like I should have told them I saw someone kidnap her. Wouldn’t more people looking for her be better?”
Saxon shook his head. “They’d only get in the way.”
“But they have resources you don’t.”
“They don’t have Reid. Plus, there are shifter police officers and detectives. We can always reach out for their help.”
Demi narrowed her eyes. “You don’t even know that this was aimed at me. You’re just assuming that the Donald Wright guy was behind this.”
Saxon dropped his arm. “You’re right. We don’t know that it was him, but we have a pretty good idea that it was. He couldn’t blow up your car, so he waited until you were with your friend.”
“Oh? And why couldn’t he blow up my car?” Demi had a feeling she wasn’t going to like his answer.
“Because we’ve been watching you. Apparently, we should have been watching both of you,” Saxon said the words without any hint of shame or embarrassment.
She scoffed, “You have no qualms about spying on me?”
He met her eyes. “Not a one because I was right.” He leaned closer to her, putting them nose-to-nose. “If Kendall hadn’t been here, what would have happened? You told me she pushed you away from the car. She saved your ass. So, if you think I’m going to apologize for guarding you, you’re going to be waiting a long fucking time.”
His bullheadedness shouldn’t be a turn-on.
“Why do I want to fuck you right now?”
The corner of his mouth curved up for a moment. “Because you know I’m right.”
She shook her head. “No. I kind of want to punch you for being right.”
Saxon trailed his lips over her cheek and kissed her neck. “Then, it’s because you remember how good I fuck you,” he said against her ear.
While it was true, it was his confidence that made her hot. He was so sure of himself and his actions. That was what made him so attractive to her. But he probably shouldn’t know that. It would only inflate his ego.
“You’re a pompous ass.”
Saxon chuckled and sucked her neck. He nipped at her there before releasing her. “You can tell me all about what a dick I am when I’m inside you tonight.”
She backed away, so she could see his face and raised her brow. “Tonight?”
He shook his head. “Let’s not play this game. You know you’re staying with us for the near future.”
He was right. She knew she was in over her head.
“That doesn’t mean I’m staying in your bed.”
Saxon shrugged and jumped off the rig. “Suit yourself. You can sleep on the couch if you prefer.”
It was just like him to pretend he didn’t care where she slept. Except, with Saxon, she wasn’t sure he was pretending. But she couldn’t let him know that she wanted him to want her to stay with him tonight.
“What about Siya?”
Saxon looked at Demi’s friend and then back to her. “Nah. She’s cute but not my type.”
She rolled her eyes. “I mean, is she coming to stay with you—the shifters—too?”
“Of course. We can’t let one of our own hurt anyone, including humans.”
Demi breathed a sigh of relief. She had been worried about her friend. She didn’t want Siya getting hurt because of her.
She set down the oxygen mask she’d still been holding in her hand and stepped down off the ambulance. “Thank you. I don’t want anything to happen to her.”
Saxon put his arm around her. “Don’t worry. We’ll keep her safe along with you.”
“We should probably go tell her then. Will we be able to pack some stuff?”
“Sure.”
They slowly headed over to Siya.
“Can w
e have our own room?” Demi asked.
Saxon laughed. “I thought we’d already established that you’re sleeping with me. Siya can sleep on the other bed in Ram’s room. I think he likes taking care of your friend.”
“I’m not fucking you with Camden in the room.”
Saxon pulled her close. “I’m kicking his ass out. No one is going to see you naked but me.” He loosened his hold, so they could both walk easier.
“And we’re going to get Kendall back, right?”
Saxon stopped them in the middle of the street and turned Demi toward him. “You’re damn right we’re going to get Kendall back. Not only are we on this, but so are the wolf-shifters. We won’t stop until we find her.” His eyes looked so very green in that moment.
“Okay. I just hope she’s okay.”
“Kendall is a sentinel. She knows how to take care of herself. She won’t put up with anything without a fight. I’m not saying you shouldn’t worry, but you should also keep that in mind.”
Demi nodded. “Okay.”
Saxon put his arm around her again and led her toward Siya.
“But I don’t know if it’s right that we have sex when Kendall is missing.” She mostly said it just to see what he would say.
Saxon shrugged. “Whatever you think. I’m not going to force you.”
Demi sighed. Sometimes, his confidence was frustrating. She didn’t know why, but she wanted him to fight for her.
“That’s very adult of you to say,” was all she told him. “Some men would argue about sleeping in the same bed but not getting any.”
Saxon laughed as they reached Siya. He leaned down to her ear. “I said I wasn’t going to force you. I did not say I wouldn’t be getting any.”
“You’re that sure of yourself, huh?” she whispered.
“When it comes to you, I am.” Saxon lifted his head and looked at Siya. “Pack a bag. You and Demi are coming with me.”
Chapter 24
Eldon cursed the driver in front of him for cutting him off when his cell rang.
Forbidden Seduction Page 11
