“You…” Legrand points the knife at me menacingly. It’s one of those fancy military-grade ones, and something tells me this isn’t the first time he’s used it. I have to fight smart, or this could be over fast.
“Rose, get out of here. Get somewhere safe!” I call out to Rose, but my gaze is fixed on Legrand.
Legrand looks to the side quickly and sees Rose. He whistles loudly, looking somewhere in the audience, and points at Rose with the knife. I turn to the bleachers and see several men quickly making their way down the stairs and headed in Rose’s direction.
“No—”
“Just a few shifter friends I keep on hand in case I need backup,” he replies, his voice strained by the pain from his arm, but still surprisingly collected.
The men have reached Rose, and though she tries to fight them off, they quickly grab her and begin pulling her away toward a side door.
“Rose!” I leap in her direction, hopeful I can vault over the cage and get the men off her. Legrand intercepts me, slicing at me and catching my shoulder with his knife. It hurts, but all I can think about is Rose on the other side of the fence, yelling for my help.
Legrand just waggles his knife at me “Why all the rush now, Rowan’s son?”
It dawns on me that all of this is Legrand’s doing. The people that chased Rose and Josh out. The mob setup. The car explosion. He’s been the one behind this all the time, not just some pawn in a grander scheme. He’s the one that put Rose in danger.
Anger explodes inside of me. If I was angry before, I’m a supercharged ball of rage now.
“I swear I’m going to kick your ass. For real this time.”
“Oooh, I’m shaking in my boots,” Legrand replies, mocking my perfect comeback from earlier in the fight. I see Rose disappear through the back door, but I know I’ll be coming for her soon. Just as soon as I crush this sonuvabitch.
I come toward Legrand, and he lunges at me again with his knife. Even though his other arm is still hanging limply, he’s surprisingly quick. But not quick enough. I kick up at his hand, my foot connecting with his wrist, sending the knife up into the air and back down to the ground behind me, where I hear it clatter. Legrand looks at me, stunned.
“I’d say your 90 seconds are up now.” I kick the still-stunned Legrand straight in the chest, and he flies across the ring, tumbling to the ground. He moves, straining against the pain from his arm, and scrambles for the exit. I walk quickly to him and grab his hand on the door leading out of the cage, and twist his wrist with an arm lock. He crumbles to the ground, and I kick him in the chest. He rolls and stumbles back onto his feet.
The once calm and poised Vincent Legrand is a mess of sweat and blood. The killer, the murderer, now pathetic and broken in front of me. We both know it’s over at this point.
With a wild look in his eyes, Legrand charges at me one last time, his good arm brought back for one last punch. I wait calmly for him to come to me and then dodge to the left. I bring my right hand forward into his face and feel his nose crunch under the force of my knuckles. He flies backward, spittle arcing back in the air from his ajar mouth, and then crashes to the ground.
The Chainsaw, once invincible, lies on the ground limp and unmoving. Either dead or just out cold, I can’t tell, but I don’t really care either.
The crowd erupts with noise, and in the same instant that the match is declared over, almost as if timed to it, the large steel doors leading into the arena burst open, and the arena begins to flood with police and men in suits. Looks like they brought the cavalry after all…
The entire building is in pandemonium now, people rushing for the exits while the police make arrests. Satisfied that they’ll take care of Legrand, I run to the edge of the arena, pull myself over the open top of the cage, and make my way through the crowd. Thankfully, being bigger and stronger than everyone else here helps, and I comb my way quickly through the shouting humans toward the small side door that everyone else seems to have thankfully failed to notice. I kick the door open and go into a dark hallway.
I’m sorry to make you wait, Rose. I’m coming for real this time.
7
Rose
Damn, how many goons can the mob possibly have?
There are only three of them, but these men are oddly strong. If they weren’t I’d have laid them out already. They drag me back to a small storage room and toss me inside, closing the door and locking it from the outside.
But at this point, I’m not worried about myself as much as I’m worried about Hawes. Everything was looking good up until Legrand got a knife. Someone must have thrown it into the ring for him while we weren’t looking.
The danger with knives is that they can easily do fatal damage to shifters, wounds that can’t heal fast enough to save you from death. And in the hands of a killer like Legrand, who was said to have used a knife in several of the murders he committed, I can’t help but freak out thinking about what he could do to Hawes.
I sit on a nearby bucket and run my hands over my arms, hugging myself, trying to keep calm. My mind thinks of trying to escape, but there’s no way out except the front door, and I’m sure the guys that brought me here are still out there, guarding it.
I can hear noise from the arena now. It sounds distant, even though it’s just that way because of the concrete walls surrounding me. The sound isn’t like the sound of the end-of-match ruckus. It sounds like bedlam, like complete chaos. Maybe a riot broke out?
My mind starts teetering at the implication. Did Legrand kill Hawes? Is Hawes lying, bleeding to death, in the middle of the ring even now?
Keep it together, I try to tell my brain, but I can’t cope with the thought of losing Hawes after just realizing how badly I want him. How much I want to be with him.
I hear raised voices outside of the door, but I can’t understand them through the heavy door and thick walls. The sound is followed by shuffling feet and several thuds. Maybe the riot made its way into the halls? Maybe it will give me an opening to escape.
But as soon as the sound outside the door starts, it’s over again, and all I hear is the more-distant sound of whatever is going on inside the arena. Whatever happened just now, it was fast.
There’s silence for a moment. Then I hear a tap tap tap on the door.
Shit. It’s Legrand. He’s finally come for me, is all I can hear my brain telling me. It’s all over. I feel the walls starting to close all around me, getting colder and closer.
The handle to the door jiggles a bit, but doesn’t move. A second later, there’s a loud wrenching sound of the knob being pulled off completely. I stand up and position myself, ready to pounce on whoever is coming in, even if it’s Legrand.
Another second passes, and the door is kicked in. It swings widely, the deadbolt having been torn off. It hangs ajar, and for a moment, all I can see figure of a man at the doorway, peering inside. He’s shirtless, and incredibly muscled.
The dust clears and my eyes adjust.
It’s Hawes!
“There you are!” he says, coming over to me. I’m frozen in a fighting position, my fists up in the air still. He saunters over to me and sweeps me off my feet, into his strong, safe arms.
“I’m sorry I took so long, Rose. I’ll never make you wait like that again,” he tells me.
“But, but. Legrand. The knife. What happened?” I sputter out, recovering from the drama of the past hour.
“Oh that? Yeah, he’s probably still right where I left him,” he replies. “What about you? You okay? Looks like you’ve had a pretty hectic night too.” He looks me up and down and, satisfied I’m not hurt, smiles at me.
My brain is still processing things, so I just press into him, satisfied to feel him close to me. To be safe. To feel his warm, muscled arms enveloping me like they’ll never let go.
He walks out of the closet and into the hallway, me still in his arms, and heads back toward the arena. The noise I heard before is starting to quiet, and I’m curious to know what�
�s going on.
“So what did I miss in the two minutes I was gone?” I ask.
“Nothing much. Beat Legrand to a pulp so I could save you. The police and your Tribunal buddies showed up. All hell broke loose. Standard fare for whenever I’m around,” he says with a cute shrug, then gives me that scampy smile that shows his one fang that I love.
We’re almost to the end of the hall, and inside the arena I can see men in suits and policemen moving around at various speeds, a few people still running around wildly, a few laying on the ground, cuffed.
“I think I can walk on my own, now.” I want to stay in Hawes’ arms, but I’m pretty sure my superiors will be inside, and they’ll want a full report from me.
“Aw,” Hawes says, half-jokingly. “Well, you’re always welcome to free rides on the Hawes Express. Any kind of ride,” he finishes with a wink, and puts me on the ground.
My legs almost buckle at the last part. So hot. And yet not what I should be thinking about right now with the operation. Granted, the rest is cleanup, but it can still be a lot of work.
“Oh, and one more thing. Something I didn’t get to do earlier.” Hawes puts his hand on my chin and comes forward, turning me slightly in his direction, and kisses me there in the doorway.
We kiss for several moments, a whirlwind of emotion passing between us. Fears turned to hopes. Sadness turned to happiness. Isolation turned to attraction. Something magnetic between us, the poles pulling toward each other and fusing us together.
His kiss is hot and romantic, and for a moment I forget everything I thought was important in this world, and it’s just him and I. I’m not alone. I have Hawes. And he has me.
Hawes ends the kiss hesitantly, but my mind is still swirling with his scent and the feel of his lips and thoughts of seeing him naked again. I can almost taste him, he’s so close.
“Guess duty calls, eh?” he says, resigned.
“Yeah, for now at least,” I reply breathlessly. I guess I forgot to breathe for a moment.
“Well, go do your thing, I guess,” he says, caressing my cheek with his large thumb and holding me in his arms tenderly. He kisses me again quickly on the mouth.
I have to go to work or I’ll never want to go.
I move to go inside the arena, spotting one of my coworkers inside writing something on a notepad. Hawes follows behind me.
“Oh, by the way, and I can’t believe I’m asking this, but where’s Josh?” Hawes asks.
Josh. I almost forgot. He could still be captured by Alexis. I’m suddenly worried that he might still be her hostage. What if she took him with her and he’s gone?
“C’mon, we have to go find him,” I tell Hawes, running toward the first set of doors we escaped through earlier in the night.
Hawes follows me toward the door. But as if on cue, the second we reach it, Hawes going to open it, it swings open. Standing there is none other than Josh.
Josh’s hair is mussed, his tie and suit coat missing, his shirt only half-buttoned.
He looks at us, looking seriously confused. Even befuddled.
“Hey, where have you been this whole time?” Hawes asks. “You missed all the fun!”
Josh just raises an eyebrow at Hawes. “Fun?” he says sarcastically.
I’ve never seen Josh so far from his normal, composed state. His faux-drunken working man look from earlier tonight looks like a parody of his disheveled appearance now.
Hawes squints at something on Josh, and grabs Josh’s shirt to see it closer. “Josh… is that, lipstick?”
“What? No!” he retorts, swatting Hawes off. Hawes dodges playfully, his eyes mischievous and curious now.
Hawes is right. There are several lipstick stains on his shirt, and I can see lipstick on his mouth too. Dark red.
As if Josh can see us looking, he wipes his mouth with his shirt, which leaves a red stain on the cuff.
“Are you sure nothing happened?” Hawes says, almost exploding with wry curiosity.
“Nothing! Let’s just get back to work.” Josh throws his hands up in the air and barges past us, muttering something about “venomous snake” and “devil woman”.
Hawes eyes me from the side, and we exchange glances.
“I’ll tell you later,” is all I say.
Appeased by this, Hawes nods and follows me to where our team is stationed.
I wish work were over now.
* * *
The next hour was a flurry of verbal reports, meetings with the Tribunal officers onsite, and wrapping things up. In the end, Alexis escaped (Josh gave no further detail than “she got away”), but we were able to capture and detain Vincent Legrand. After seeing what Hawes did to him, I found myself oddly satisfied by the sight. Legrand deserved whatever he got, not just for the horrible things he’s done to shifters, but also for what he did to my Hawes.
Hawes was wonderful, just patiently waiting at arm’s reach when he could, or if the meeting was confidential, within sight of me at all times. He had to give a few short interviews to record keepers, but for the most part he would be leaning against a wall or a sitting on a chair, watching me intently. And whenever I would look over at him, he would just smile and nod, his beautiful orange eyes gleaming with happiness.
“You can go home now, Rose,” Josh tells me. “We’re pretty much done here. And anyway, you’ve earned it.” He’s more in his element, probably bolstered by being back in the routine of things. But I can still see hints of lipstick on his face that leave me wondering.
“Well, it’s been great working with you. You’ve been the perfect partner, Josh,” I say, offering my hand to him.
He takes it, shaking it calmly. “We’ll be sad to lose you. You sure you won’t reconsider?” He asks earnestly, knowing I won’t change my mind.
“Nope. I think tonight cemented my decision.”
“Well, if you ever need anything, just give us a call,” he says, a hint of longing in his voice.
I turn to go, eager to be back with Hawes. Hawes sees me turn to him and, almost like a puppy seeing their owner come home, runs up to me excitedly.
Josh turns to go but, as if he suddenly remembered something, turns to Hawes, and points at him authoritatively. “You.”
Hawes pauses cautiously, standing next to me.
“You take care of her,” Josh finishes, and walks off to join a lingering group of agents.
Hawes turns his attention immediately to me. “What was that all about?”
“Oh, that. I quit,” I reply nonchalantly.
“What? Seriously? Your wild days of crime fighting and adventure-seeking are over?” he says with a chuckle, wrapping his arms around me.
“Yes and no. As long as I have you, I’m pretty sure life will always be an adventure,” I say, unable to keep myself from smiling thinking about it.
“Well, where does our adventure lead us to next?” he questions.
“For now? Home, I think,” I tell him. My body is exhausted from the exertion of the night. And yet, there’s something inside of me (which I now know is my wolf speaking to me) that wants something else. Hawes, in particular.
“Mind if I give you a ride?” he says, coming closer to me.
Patience, Rose. Just have to wait a little bit longer.
8
Rose
The ride back to my place is fun, Hawes and I exchanging the witty banter I’ve always loved about us. But behind that there’s still the sexual tension, the uncertainty, the great big unanswered question between us. I can tell he’s holding back, unsure how I feel about everything.
I’ll be the first to admit the past couple of days have been a whirlwind. But I’m also more sure than ever in my life.
Thankfully, my place isn’t far, and Hawes parks his Ferrari in the visitor parking, jokingly bemoaning the fact that there will probably be scratches on his car in the morning. I just tell him he can afford to get it buffed if there are.
My place is like me. Or at least the me that I grew up with
. Organized. Perfect. But lacking any real fun. I can tell Hawes has never been in such a pristine apartment, despite the fact that his mansion was certainly no pigsty.
I eye him looking around and fiddling with some oddly geometric lampshades I got a while ago.
“Can I get you anything?” I ask, pulling off my old hoodie and tossing it on the ground, Hawes-style. I’m too tired to care about it right now.
“No, I’m fine,” Hawes replies, eyeing me as I take off my hoodie, revealing a simple white tank top underneath that I have on.
“Wanna have a seat?” I ask, plopping onto one of the white sofas I have in my living room. My apartment isn’t huge, but it’s not small. It’s modest, like how the rest of me has been. At least, up until the past few days. Regardless of what happens, there will probably be some changes made around here to reflect the new me.
Hawes sits across from me. He’s just wearing his MMA shorts and his cutoff hoodie. I can see his powerful calves and thighs, muscled and strong. I want to run my hands up his body, but we need to talk first.
There’s a short pause, and Hawes breaks the silence.
“So… quit your job. Cool beans. What next?” he says, sounding unsure about what to discuss.
“Not sure. Might take it easy for a bit, I have a lot of savings from working lots and spending little. Figure out what I want to do with the rest of my life.
“So, your wild days of adventuring are done?” he says with a wry smile.
“Well, who said anything about that? All I know is that I’m done with days of endless desk work punctuated by life-threatening operations. Boring and dangerous, not a great combo,” I reply.
“Oh, so dangerous is out of the question in the future?” Hawes says. He stands and walks over to where I’m at, and sits down next to me. The air is starting to feel electric, and my hairs are standing on end having him so close. His beautiful eyes look into mine, his lips are full and perfect.
Alpha Rogue 3 (BBW Paranormal Wolf Shifter Romance) Page 4
