by Becca Van
“Open your eyes, slut. I know you’re awake.”
She took a fortifying breath and opened her eyes. When she saw the small Asian man standing over her she almost laughed but quashed the urge at the last second. He wasn’t any bigger than she was, and he didn’t look as if he could hurt a fly, yet when she met his lifeless gaze, she quickly changed her mind. He might not be able to physically harm her, but he was holding a gun and it was pointed directly at her head.
“Get up.” He drew back his leg and kicked her hard in the thigh.
Kenzie bit her lip to keep from crying out as pain seared into her quadricep. Okay, so he was able to inflict pain after all. She quickly rolled away from him onto her hands and knees, swallowing down the bile that threatened to come up at the movement. Her head was hurting so bad and her vision was blurry, but she didn’t have time to worry about any of her aches and pains. She needed to do whatever she could to survive. Her mates would eventually realize she was missing and come looking for her.
Would they be able to follow her scent and find her? For the first time in a long time, Kenzie began to pray.
She pushed to her feet and panted as she swayed. Another shiver skated up her spine when she saw the other three men staring at her. Fear and cold had her shaking in her boots but when she met the eyes of one man standing off to the side, her fear quickly turned to terror. He was eying her body over with lustful possession. He was also holding what looked like an automatic rifle. There was no way Kenzie was getting out of this unscathed.
When he took a step toward her and licked his lips, Kenzie took a step back.
“Stay where you are, slut.” The guy who’d kicked her was standing right behind her. He pressed the muzzle of the gun hard into the middle of her back. She was surrounded with nowhere to go, but there was no way she was going to let them rape her.
She’d rather die than suffer being used so brutally for her body.
Maybe she could taunt them into killing her.
* * * *
Jay ran alongside his brothers in panther form, aware of the other shifters running behind them. His feline was in a killing rage and he wasn’t going to reel him back.
He almost stumbled when he felt terror leach into his heart and soul. It took him a few moments to work out that he was feeling Kenzie’s emotions. He increased his pace, running faster and harder than he’d ever run in his life, hoping that they would make it to his mate to save her.
Her beautiful face flashed into his mind and his emotions warred between love and fear. He drew a deep breath and pushed his feelings aside. If he let himself feel, he might end up fucking up. This was a life and death situation, and everything hinged on him, Jordan, and Jenson to rescue their woman.
Jay was glad to have so many shifter friends at his back since they had no idea what they were up against. He hoped there wasn’t an army of men lying in wait ready to pick them off one by one. Although a bullet would hurt, any wound sustained would heal quickly. That was unless they were shot in the head or the heart.
His feline sniffed the air and he slowed his pace. He could smell Kenzie on the breeze as well as smoke from a fire and four other human scents, but that wasn’t all. He could smell weapons.
Jay came to a stop, Jordan and Jenson beside him. Tatum, Rex, and Shaffer came up beside them, and they all inhaled deeply. Zayn, Karter, and Jace were behind them. After making sure he was far enough away from the campsite to change back into his human form without being seen, he pushed his panther back.
“Zayn, you and your brothers skirt around them and come in from behind,” Jay ordered. “Tatum, Rex, and Shaffer can come in from the east.” He met the gazes of the Kodiak bear shifters. “Broden, Airen, and Archer come in from the west. Jenson, Jordan, and I will go in from the front. They have guns, so be careful.
“Zayn, give everyone a few minutes to get into position and then give the attack signal.” Jay waited for nods of acknowledgment and then changed back into his panther.
The other shifters took off and he and his brothers stalked closer to the campsite.
It was time to take out these assholes and get his mate back.
* * * *
“Take your clothes off, cunt.” The guy with the gun at her back ordered and reinforced his command by jabbing the barrel of the weapon into her spine.
Kenzie stepped to the side and shook her head and immediately wished she hadn’t when pain pierced her skull. She’d just taken a breath to try and circumvent the pain when she was slapped in the face, hard.
A cry escaped her lips before she could contain it and the agony in her head was so bad her stomach roiled. She didn’t even realize she was down on her knees, until the cold wet snow soaked into her jeans.
When a cruel brutal hand grabbed her hair, lifted her to her feet, she reached back, trying to grasp the wrist and alleviate the pain in her scalp, but she froze when she felt a gun pressing into her skin under her chin.
She forced her heavy eyelids up and stared into those cold, evil brown eyes. She was staring at her own death.
When another hand tugged at her sweater and ripped it down the middle she didn’t react. Nor when her long-sleeved T-shirt was torn in half.
Kenzie tried to hide in her own mind as she had countless times when her stepfather had beaten her, but it was too hard. All she saw was Jay’s, Jenson’s, and Jordan’s smiling faces.
Love and sorrow poured into her heart and soul and she pushed it out toward her mates, hoping they felt how much she loved them and how sorry she was that she wasn’t going to be able to spend the rest of her life building their relationship, making love and kids, living a happy life.
All of her dreams had once more been taken away from her in the blink of an eye. Tears burned her eyes and this time she didn’t try and stop them. Her heart was breaking apart, her soul being ripped in two.
She sobbed when she realized she’d never get to see the loves of her life handsome faces ever again.
* * * *
Jenson sniffed the air when he heard more paws pounding toward them and wasn’t really surprised to scent the retired FBI agents and Kodiak bear shifters, Preston, Gabriel, and Liam Louis. The three men had kept to themselves since they’d relocated to Ambrose, working hard to renovate the rundown five-bedroom house they’d bought.
They’d also been trying to help out by searching for the Triad leader, but they’d found zilch. Preston had told them he suspected the Chinese mafia boss had hired a topnotch IT expert who was hiding the leader’s whereabouts.
Jenson narrowed his eyes as he and his brothers crept closer and closer toward the camp, thanking his lucky stars that they were panther shifters with black coats, which helped them to blend in with the night.
When they were no more than twenty yards from the men holding his woman hostage, they stopped.
Jenson stared at his mate, relieved to see her chest rising and falling as she inhaled and exhaled. Her eyes were closed, and he could scent blood on her. While he was furious that she was hurt, he was ecstatic she was alive.
When one of the assholes kicked her after seeing her shiver, rage such as he’d never known coursed through his veins, his blood. He opened his mouth to roar out of fury, but quickly snapped his mouth shut when Jordan nudged his shoulder with his own. He glanced at his brother’s cat and bared his teeth when Jordan shook his head.
He abhorred seeing his mate being hurt but they needed to wait for Zayn’s signal. If he went in too early he’d fuck everything up.
Jenson had to close his eyes and grit his teeth when one of the fuckers slapped Kenzie across the face, but when he heard material ripping he opened his eyes again.
Kenzie was shaking with terror and cold, and tears were rolling down her face. When he saw her breasts were exposed and two of the bastards were leering at her, he tensed his muscles in readiness. As soon as Zayn gave the attack signal he was going to rip the bastards’ throats out. He didn’t give a shit that the retired feds were nearby.
All he cared about was getting to Kenzie and keeping her safe.
* * * *
Kenzie was so angry she was shaking. She frowned because she hadn’t been angry until now. She’d been scared and cold and now her heart was filled with so much fury it was a wonder she wasn’t seeing through a haze of red.
And then she relaxed.
It wasn’t her anger she was feeling. It was her mates and they were close by. She tried to surreptitiously gaze about, and she gasped when she saw glowing eyes toward the back of the camp. Three sets of light blue eyes were staring at her. She’d seen one set of those blue eyes when she’d gone to the store with the other women. If Zayn was here, then there were probably other shifters nearby, including her mates.
Her tears dried up and after sniffing she lowered her head in subjugation, but on the inside, she was ready for the battle of her life. If she could somehow get her hands on one of those guns, she might be able to help her mates and the other shifters take these sick, perverted fuckers out.
* * * *
Jordan was so tense he felt as if he was about to explode. He’d watched his mate being hurt with a dispassion that scared him, but reverting to the cold soldier was the only way he was going to be able to function without losing his mind.
Finally, Zayn howled.
Jordan exploded into action, his brothers at his sides as they leapt up and sprinted straight for the fuckers who’d hurt his woman.
When he saw the fucker standing in front of Kenzie raising his hand toward her, he bunched his rear leg muscles and leaped. He literally flew through the air, his jaw opening wide and then clamping down hard on the fist aiming for Kenzie’s jaw. He crunched down through flesh, bone, and sinew, and keeping his grip on the hand as he landed on his paws, he shook his head back and forth in a rabid killing frenzy.
Gunfire echoed into the night, but Jordan ignored it and wrenched with all his might. Blood sprayed and screams of agony almost drowned at the shots being fired. Jordan spat the severed hand from his mouth and growled as he stalked over to the man writhing on the ground.
He saw fear and pleading in those evil brown eyes, but he ignored it. There was no way he was letting this fucker live after hurting his mate.
* * * *
Kenzie braced for the blow when she saw the fist coming toward her face, but then she was stumbling back as a large black cat pounced between her and her nemesis. The panther’s fur brushed over her exposed skin, but he never hurt her.
The other three men were no longer looking at her as they fired their weapons into the night. The air was filled with the sound of bullets being discharged from the guns as well as roars, snarls, yowls, chuffs, and howls.
She’d dropped to the ground as soon as the first bullet was fired, and now she was gazing about trying to find her men and to see if she could help in anyway. Her stomach roiled when she saw Jordan’s feline with a fist in his mouth, shaking his head back and forth. She had to turn away when the hand came away from the arm. She gagged. Blood and gore were definitely not something she hoped to see again anytime soon.
After emptying the contents of her stomach, she glanced about again. It was so quiet now that the weapons were no longer being discharged. Three bodies were lying lifeless in the snow some distance from her. She quickly looked away. When she saw Jordan’s panther bend with an open mouth toward the handless man’s throat, she closed her eyes.
A sob of relief escaped from between her parted lips and she covered her face with her hands as she started trembling uncontrollably. Tears poured from her eyes.
She was safe. Her men and their friends had rescued her. She’d never have to be scared again. They’d killed to protect her.
“Kenzie!” Jay rasped and then gathered her into his arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck and shivered as the heat from his naked skin warmed her exposed front. She cried her eyes out. By the time the tears stopped she was exhausted and felt as if she’d been hit by a truck, but she didn’t care. She was alive.
She would have all those years she wanted, to live with and love her mates.
Her dream of having a happy ending was going to come to fruition after all.
Epilogue
It had taken just over forty-eight hours for Kenzie to heal. Broden, Archer, and Airen had taken over her mates’ kitchen duties and her men hadn’t left her side.
Although, in the beginning she’d been grateful for her men’s help, she needed to get up and move about. Her muscles were getting stiff and sore from not using them. Every time she’d needed to use the bathroom one of her guys was there to carry her. If she was thirsty, there was a drink in her hand before she’d even had the chance to ask for one.
The mating bond between them was so strong they were aware of her needs before she was. Their anticipation had been appreciated but now it was time to get her ass out of bed.
The other shifters and women had stopped by to visit and make sure she was okay over the last two days. Kenzie had taken the opportunity of thanking the men for having a hand in saving her from her kidnapping assailants. Being the heroes they were, they’d all brushed her thanks aside.
Kenzie was alone in the bedroom for the first time in hours and she was feeling sticky and dirty with sweat. She canted her head and concentrated on her mates, listening to hear where they were.
She could hear a shower running in Jordan’s room, and the low rumble of voices in the kitchen told her Jay and Jenson were talking to someone.
Kenzie flung the covers aside, swung her legs over the edge of the bed, and stood. She sighed with relief when there was no wooziness or pain in her head, and hurried toward the bathroom.
After showering, drying off, brushing her teeth and hair, she dressed and walked toward the kitchen.
Three large, handsome men she’d never seen before were sitting at the kitchen table with all three of her mates.
Jordan turned his gaze toward her and jumped to his feet before racing over to her. He pulled her into his arms and hugged her tight. “What are you doing out of bed, baby? You’re supposed to be resting.”
Kenzie squeezed Jordan’s waist. “I’m fine, Jordan. I feel as good as new.”
Jordan stared intently into her eyes and nodded before reluctantly releasing her and guiding her across the room.
“Kenzie, this is Preston, Gabriel, and Liam Louis. They’re retired feds, and they also helped save you the other night.”
“Thank you so much,” Kenzie said. “It’s nice to meet you all.”
“No worries, Kenzie,” Preston said.
“Glad to see you safe and sound,” Gabriel said.
“Do you have any sisters?” Liam asked with a smile.
Kenzie burst out laughing. Liam was obviously a ladies’ man.
“Sorry, no.”
“Pity,” Liam replied. “You’re a pretty little thing.”
“Knock it off, Liam,” Jay said in a growly voice.
Liam held up his hands, palm out. “Just kidding.”
Preston cleared his throat, drawing her gaze. “Because of you, we were able to send a list of criminals involved in the Chinese mafia as well as human, drug, and weapons’ trafficking. A lot of people are going to be safe to walk the streets of America.”
“We found several laptops and cell phones at the camp. We’ve already handed the evidence over to a couple of agents we know,” Gabriel explained. “They’ll be able to get the women back who’ve been sold into prostitution and slavery.”
“I’m glad some good has come out of this. I think I was meant to be sold.” Kenzie held up her hand when her mates started growling. “If I hadn’t, I never would have met you all and no one would know what happened to all those poor missing women.”
Liam nodded. “There are going to be simultaneous raids happening right across the country for the next week or so. All those assholes are going to spend the rest of their lives behind bars.”
Preston frowned in her direction and for some reason she could tell what
he was about to say didn’t sit well with him. “Your stepfather has been arrested for human trafficking. He’s going to be spending a long time in prison.”
“Good,” Kenzie replied, and while she felt guilty for saying that, she meant it. That asshole deserved everything he got after the way he’d treated her. She was glad he wouldn’t be able to hurt anyone else.
The three Louis men drained their coffee mugs and stood.
“Take care, Kenzie,” Preston commanded.
“I will. Thanks again.” Kenzie waved to the three men as they left the room with Jenson.
“Do you need anything, honey?” Jay asked as he shoved to his feet and hurried around to her side of the table. He sniffed their air as he sat next to her, and frowned. She held her breath when he pressed his nose to her neck and inhaled deeply.
When he started purring, her body instantly responded. Her breasts swelled, her nipples hardened, her pussy moistened, and her clit began to throb.
Jay lifted his gaze to her. Air gushed from her lungs when she saw arousal haze over his beautiful blue eyes. “You’re going into heat, mate. How do you feel about kids?”
“I want at least four,” she answered huskily.
“When?” Jordan asked as he rose and kicked his chair aside.
“Now?”
“Now what?” Jenson asked as he came back into the room. A low rumbling purr started in his chest after he inhaled through his nose.
“I want to start trying for a baby.”
Jay lifted her up against his chest and strode quickly for the doorway. “Are you sure, honey? If you’re aren’t ready, we understand. You’re likely to conceive straight away.”
“I’m sure.” Kenzie licked up Jay’s neck and then nipped his ear.
Her clit was throbbing, and she was soaking wet. She needed her mates. They were like a fire in her blood and she couldn’t wait to hold their baby in her arms. She loved them more than her own life.
