Unstoppable

by R. L. Mathewson

  He needed this to work.

  “There’s no more money,” Thomas, his Beta and the man that should be doing whatever it took to fix this, said with a helpless shrug as Vane paced his office, telling himself that this could still work.

  He just…

  “Find some,” Vane bit out, his eyes flashed silver as he struggled to keep it together.

  He watched Thomas open his mouth only to close it on a sigh before he said, “Even if we found more money to meet his demands, it wouldn’t matter. The Sentinel lied about everything.”

  “Bullshit!” Vane snapped, ramming his fingers through his hair as he struggled to make sense out of how this went to hell so quickly.

  The plan had been perfect.

  They’d been able to enforce the truce, making sure that Packs and Masters worked together, keeping each other in line, and making sure that the Sentinels didn’t have any reason to look too closely at what they were doing. They’d also created their own blood delivery system, making sure that they took away the dependence that vampires had on the Sentinels. They’d made sure that the Sentinels never found out what they were doing by staying off the grid, only using technology when they needed to lay a trap, getting rid of anything that the Sentinels could use to track them, relied heavily on snail mail to communicate, and were able to pull it all off thanks to the Sentinel who hadn’t been able to fuck the Council over fast enough for a chance at revenge.

  The Sentinel made sure that they knew what the Council was up to, the location of every Sentinel home, safehouse, and compound, who was working for the Council, what the Council knew, and made sure that they knew exactly who the Council was hiding and where they were. And for all those things that the Sentinel didn’t know…

  Magnus’s new pet took care of the rest.

  In four months, they would have been ready to put their plan into action, but the fucking leech got greedy, forcing them to move before they were ready. He told the leech that they needed to wait, but he wouldn’t listen. Vane had been left with no choice but to make a play for Kale Quinn’s mate before it was too late. It cost him his son, but he knew that in the end, that it would have been worth it.

  If it hadn’t been for the fucking leech…

  “The Sentinel lied, Vane. It was too fucking good to be true. A female Pyte that was also a shifter with blood that could heal anything and give us immunity from silver?” Thomas asked, shaking his head in disbelief. “It was a lie and it’s completely destroyed us. We’ve lost everything.”

  “No,” Vane bit out coldly. “He didn’t fucking lie. Quinn has a mate and-”

  “And the leech killed her. The demons that we never should have crossed backed it up. She was just a shifter. And now, we have to worry about Kale Quinn coming after us for killing her,” his Beta bit out with that same look in his eye that the rest of their Pack had before they’d snuck away in the middle of the night like fucking cowards.

  “No,” Vane said, stubbornly shaking his head, because he refused to believe that he’d lost everything, absolutely fucking everything, for nothing. He needed her to save his Pack. She was going to give him the sons that he desperately needed. “They’re lying.”

  “They have no reason to lie! Magnus doesn’t have her. He’s the one that’s lying!”

  “They have every reason to lie! Do you have any idea what they could do with her blood alone?” Vane demanded only to go still when the hair on the back of his neck suddenly stood up.

  “Yes, I do,” came the quiet murmur that had Vane swallowing hard as he looked over his shoulder and found Kale Quinn sitting in his office chair, watching him through green eyes that shimmered in the light and-

  “Oh, god…”

  -realized just how badly this was going to end when Kale’s eyes turned red.

  Laymon Pack Safe House

  New York

  “So,” his incredibly beautiful wife said as he felt her climb onto his lap, “I’ve been thinking.”

  “About?” Kale asked, unable to help but smile as he opened his eyes and found Ashley looking incredibly adorable wearing one of his shirts.

  “My skills,” Ashley said with a heavy sigh as she settled more comfortably on his lap, making his lips twitch as he wrapped his arms around his mate.

  “Those terrifying Pyte/shifter skills that leave grown men trembling in fear?” Kale asked with a teasing smile.

  “Those would be the ones,” Ashley said with that warm smile that he loved more than anything as she reached up and ran her fingertips along his jaw.

  “What about them?” Kale asked, pulling his arms back just far enough so that he could rest his hands on her thighs.

  “They’re clearly going to waste,” Ashley explained as he leaned in and brushed his lips against hers.

  “Clearly,” Kale murmured in agreement with a teasing smile as she narrowed her beautiful red eyes on him.

  Grumbling, and he really fucking loved it when she grumbled, Ashley climbed off his lap, made her way over to the bed and grabbed a blanket before she wrapped it around herself and marched back across the room to climb back onto his lap. “What about Chris?”

  “What about him?” Kale asked, reaching up to adjust the blankets around her before placing his hand on the soft swell of her belly as he listened to their little girl’s heartbeat.

  When he heard their baby girl’s heartbeat for the first time…

  God, he’d never heard anything more beautiful in his life. As soon as he’d realized what that soft flutter was, he’d crawled between Ashley’s legs, careful not to wake her and placed his ear against her stomach and closed his eyes as he listened to Aine’s heartbeat become stronger. He’d stayed there for several hours, whispering to their little girl in Gaelic while Ashley ran her fingers through his hair. He told her how much he loved her, that he was counting down the days until he could finally hold her, and that he was head over heels in love with her mother.

  “Chris said that I was a natural,” Ashley said, placing her hand over his.

  “He only said that so that you’d come out from under the bed,” Kale said, gently caressing her belly, still having a hard time believing just how incredibly lucky he was to have found her.

  “I was luring him into a false sense of security,” Ashley said, nodding solemnly.

  “By quietly sobbing in the corner until I came and got you?”

  “It was all part of my plan,” she assured him.

  “What plan was that exactly?” Kale asked, leaning in to steal another kiss.

  “To make the Sentinel fear me,” Ashley said, smiling against his lips as she wrapped her arms around him.

  “I think he’s more afraid of making you cry.”

  “Because my brother takes exception to seeing me cry,” she pointed out, making him chuckle because that was definitely an understatement. Christofer went fucking nuts if she so much as sniffled. The Pyte was taking his job as her big brother very seriously, which of course, entertained his mate, who loved watching him turn into a mother hen over his little sister.

  “I don’t need my brother to fight my battles,” Ashley said with a soft little sigh as she brushed her lips against his.

  “Which, of course, explains why you scream his name anytime Chris even looks at you funny,” Kale said, only to groan when Ashley kissed her way down to his neck.

  “I like to be consistent,” Ashley said, smiling against his neck only to suddenly go still, curse under her breath and slap her hands over her ears as she jumped off his lap and quickly made her way back over to the bed when the first moan reached them.

  By the time that Cloe moaned Christofer’s name, Ashley had her headphones on and was back on his lap, grumbling something about being scarred for life as she buried her face against his chest, reminding him that they needed to figure out what they were going to do. They weren’t going to be able to stay here for much longer, not with the Council still demanding that they turn Michael over and every shifter, vampire, and demon
determined to find them.

  They’d debated splitting up to make it harder to find them, but that was never really a choice. They were family and he wasn’t about to let anything happen to them. Now the problem was finding somewhere big enough to accommodate all of them and far enough away from humans so that they didn’t have to worry about attracting unwanted attention, and somewhere the Council would never think of looking for them.

  “I can still hear them,” Ashley whispered against his chest, making his lips twitch.

  “You’ve got to learn how to block them out, mo ghrá,” Kale said, kissing the top of her head.

  “That’s easy for you to say,” she grumbled against his chest, making him chuckle.

  While she still struggled to gain control of her abilities, mostly because she was stubborn, Kale had already mastered his newfound skills. Daily feedings helped her control most things but blocking out the sounds of her brother having sex was still a struggle.

  “Would it help if I distracted you?” Kale asked as he pushed the blanket away before he wrapped his arms around her.

  “It probably wouldn’t hurt,” Ashley mumbled sadly against his chest as he allowed his eyes to shift red as he pushed off the floor with his feet and sent them floating towards the ceiling.

  “Showoff,” Ashley grumbled, smiling against his chest as she wrapped her arms around him, only to take him by surprise when she took over, turning them over so that his back was pressed against the ceiling.

  “Now,” Ashley said with a soft sigh, “about those skills…”

  “I was wondering when you were going to come down here,” Michael said, opening his eyes, expecting to find Caine standing outside his cell, only it wasn’t Caine.

  “Did you really think that I forgot about what you did to my daughter?” the Pyte, who’d barely said two words to him over the last two months, asked as he allowed his eyes to turn red.

  “I had nothing to do with that,” Michael said, only to swallow hard as he watched the Pyte reach over and unlock his cell.

  “Why don’t we try this again?” Ephraim murmured as he stepped inside the cell and locked the door behind him. “You’re going to tell me everything that you know about Magnus and while you’re doing that, I’m going to refresh your memory about what you took from me.”

  “The Council-” Michael started to say, knowing that the Pyte would never do anything to risk pissing off the Sentinel Council, not when he needed them to protect his family, only to forget how to breathe when Ephraim said, “Isn’t going to

  Manhattan, NY

  What the hell was she doing here? Emily couldn’t help but wonder only to remind herself that she was desperate. It was the only explanation that she could come up with that would explain why she’d agreed to a job interview at eleven o’clock at night in a penthouse with a man who hadn’t said a word to her since she sat down ten minutes ago.

  She should probably go, Emily thought as the incredibly handsome man sitting across from her continued to watch her. Not really sure what she should do at this point, besides look for the nearest emergency exit, she cleared her throat as she shifted in her chair and-

  She was wasting her time, Emily realized as she glanced down at her resume, which consisted of a dozen dead-end jobs that in no way qualified her for this job. She’d be better off seeing if the hot dog stand over on Howard Park was still looking for help. Decision made, Emily grabbed her backpack and-

  “Where are you going?” came the coldly asked question that had her looking up and immediately forgetting how to breathe when she spotted the incredibly handsome man glaring at her.

  “I made a mistake coming here tonight. I’m sorry, but I don’t think I’m right for this job,” she explained with a helpless shrug, only to add, “I’m not qualified to be anyone’s assistant,” when he continued glaring.

  “Then why are you here?” he asked, his glare turning curious as he considered her.

  “Desperation,” she found herself admitting, hoping that it would be enough to let it go.

  “Do you know how to use one of those things?” he asked with a pointed look at the box with the Apple logo on the coffee table in front of her.

  “A computer?” Emily asked, unable to help but frown as she glanced from the brand-new laptop to find him watching her again. “Yes.”

  Nodding, he murmured, “Then I’d say that you were perfect for this job.”

  She opened her mouth to argue that point only to find herself saying, “Look, I don’t even know your name, never mind why I’m really here. If you could just-”

  “My name is Cade, Miss Ryan,” he drawled, “and you’re going to help me find my daughter.”

  Bonus Material

  If you’d like to read more scenes from Unstoppable, please click below.

  Free Download of Unstoppable’s Bonus Material

  I hope you enjoyed Unstoppable. If you have a moment, please consider leaving a review for Unstoppable. They help out a great deal and they are truly appreciated.

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  Thank you,

  R.L. Mathewson

  Afterword

  The excerpt from Chapter 1 came from:

  Finally: A Neighbor from Hell

  Also by R.L. Mathewson

  Anger Management Series

  Devastated

  Furious

  The Pyte/Sentinel Series:

  Tall, Dark & Lonely

  Without Regret

  Tall, Dark & Heartless

  Tall, Silent & Lethal

  Fated

  Tall, Dark & Furious

  Unstoppable

  The Neighbor from Hell Series:

  Playing for Keeps

  Perfection

  Checkmate

  Truce: The Historic Neighbor from Hell

  The Game Plan

  Double Dare

  Christmas from Hell

  Fire & Brimstone

  Delectable

  The Promise

  Irresistible

  Finally

  The Neighbor from Hell YA Series

  Misunderstood

  The EMS Series:

  Sudden Response

  The Hollywood Hearts Series:

  A Humble Heart

  A Reclusive Heart

  The Cursed Hearts Series:

  Black Heart

  About the Author

  New York Times Bestselling author, R.L. Mathewson was born in Massachusetts. She’s known for her humor, quick wit, and ability to write relatable characters. She currently has several paranormal and contemporary romance series published including the Neighbor from Hell series.

  Growing up, R.L. Mathewson was a painfully shy bookworm. After high school she attended college, worked as a bellhop, fast food cook, and a museum worker until she decided to take an EMT course. Working as an EMT helped her get over her shyness as well as left her with some fond memories and some rather disturbing ones that from time to time show up in one of her books.

  Today, R.L. Mathewson is the single mother of two children that keep her on her toes. She has a bit of a romance novel addiction as well as a major hot chocolate addiction and on a perfect day, she combines the two.

  If you’d like more information about this series or any other series by R.L. Mathewson, please visit www.Rlmathewson.com

  Thank you,

  R.L. Mathewson

 

 

 
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