Tall, Dark & Furious (A Pyte/Sentinel Novel Book 6)

by R. L. Mathewson

  In seconds that cold glare was replaced with a warm smile as Nathan put his weapon away so that he could pull Samantha into his arms. Trace watched as Samantha wrapped her arms around her brother and hugged him tightly as he pressed a kiss against her forehead with a, “What the hell am I going to do with you?”

  “How did you find me?” Samantha asked the question that Trace was wondering as he stood up, taking in the large man in front of him, noting that his hair was a touch darker than his sisters, his brown eyes matched hers, and that’s where the similarities ended, Trace thought as he scented the air and-

  “Sentinel,” Trace said, the word was ripped from his lips on a growl as he reached past Samantha and grabbed the large bastard by the neck and slammed him into the wall.

  “Trace, don’t!” Samantha cried as Trace tightened his hold around the Sentinel’s neck as everything went red while he allowed his fangs to slide down and-

  “Shit!” the Sentinel managed to get out on a grunt as Trace slammed him into the wall, causing it to crack. The dog barked as it tried to get between them only to stop when Trace released a warning growl.

  “You left her unprotected,” Trace snapped, ready to tear the Sentinel’s throat out.

  When he’d thought her brother was human, Trace had simply dismissed him as pathetic, thinking that he’d abandoned his sister to save his own ass only to realize that none of this would have ever happened if her brother had been here doing his job. That overly sweet scent that his father had warned him about told Trace everything that he needed to know. The Pack never would have come near this town if he had been here. They never would have gone into that house and put their hands on her if he had been here to protect his sister.

  “I-” her brother started to explain only to be cut off with a pained grunt as Trace pulled him forward and slammed him back against the wall.

  “Do you have any idea what they could have done to her?” Another slam. “Do you?” He pulled him forward again and-

  “S-stop!” came the frightened plea that Trace ignored as he shifted his focus beyond this room, listening for another heartbeat and the telltale scent of another Sentinel only there was nothing.

  “Where is she?” Trace demanded, tightening his hold around the Sentinel’s throat as he reached down and yanked his shirt up, exposing the small cross and crescent moon birthmark that identified him as a Sentinel.

  He found himself looking back up into a pair of cold brown eyes as the Sentinel bit out, “Don’t,” before Trace glanced back down at the light brown mark, letting Trace know that the Sentinel hadn’t found his mate yet. If he had, the mark would have turned red after he first came in contact with her only to turn black when they’d consummated their bond, which meant that he had no excuse for leaving his sister behind.

  “You left her behind for nothing!” Trace roared as he picked up the Sentinel and slammed him into the wall, destroying it on impact.

  “I didn’t have a fucking choice!” Nathan shouted, reaching up to pull Trace’s hand off his throat as Trace tightened his hold and-

  A roar was torn from him as an ear-shattering noise sounded, tearing through the house, forcing him to release the Sentinel so that he could place his hands over his ears as pain exploded in his head, dropping him to his knees and kept him there. He struggled to make sense out of what was happening, but he couldn’t, not over that noise, and not with his ears feeling like they were being crushed.

  When the Sentinel grabbed Samantha’s hand and pulled her out of the room, Trace was forced to watch her go. When he felt blood dripping down his neck as the deafening noise was suddenly replaced by a low hum and the pain in his ears suddenly exploded, he pushed himself to his feet and went after his wife.

  *-*-*-*

  “What’s going on?” Samantha managed to get out as the headache that hadn’t gotten any better over the past few weeks suddenly turned into a migraine that had her head spinning while the house alarm that she didn’t remember setting continued to blare as Nathan dragged her down the stairs.

  “We need to move faster,” Nathan said as he pulled her down the stairs faster until she was left stumbling as she tried to keep up and the sound of a roar tore through the house, causing her head to pound harder with every ear-shattering decibel.

  “I-I need to lay down,” she said, trying to pull her hand free only to have Nathan tighten his hold around her hand and-

  Shoved her behind him when the alarm suddenly stopped, and she realized that they weren’t alone. Swallowing hard against the nausea threatening to take over, she watched as a large man with cold green eyes pushed away from the wall.

  “What the hell are you doing here, Kale?” Nathan asked, keeping his eyes locked on the large man walking towards them as he reached back with his other hand and pulled her away from the stairs before stepping back, forcing her to move with him as her legs threatened to give out.

  “Came for the Pyte,” came the lazily drawled words with a slight brogue as Samantha found herself being shoved back again and-

  “Mine,” came the softly growled word that had her looking back over her shoulder and swallowing hard when she spotted Trace standing at the top of the stairs. His red eyes locked on her as he headed down the stairs and she found herself grabbing onto Nathan’s arm and trying to pull him towards the door, knowing that their only chance was to find a place to hide.

  “Change of plans,” Kale said as she suddenly found herself pulled away from Nathan.

  “Get your fucking hands off her, mutt,” Nathan bit out as he reached for her only to have Kale wrap his arm around her and pull her back.

  “Let me go,” Samantha mumbled weakly, as she watched Trace turn his head to follow the move.

  “Didn’t they ever teach you not to come between a Pyte and its mate?” Kale asked as he slowly backed up, taking Samantha with him and making her really wish that he’d move faster when Trace’s eyes narrowed on them. Nathan pulled out his gun and stepped in front of them, keeping pace with Kale as they kept moving back.

  “W-we should probably hide,” she said, squeezing her eyes tightly shut when her head began spinning, threatening to drop her on her ass.

  “She’s not his mate,” Nathan bit out as her legs gave out and she felt the large arm around her tighten as she heard a door open behind them.

  “I-I really don’t feel so good,” Samantha said as she moved to get free only to have Kale turn her around and pick her up.

  “Tell that to him,” Kale said as Samantha was forced to bite her lip to stop herself from crying. God, her head hurt so much.

  “I’m telling you,” Nathan said as she felt herself carried downstairs.

  “What are you doing here, Lukas?”

  “Came to get my sister.”

  “Well, that’s going to be a problem,” Kale said as she heard a growl erupt around them and-

  “Don’t fucking do it, Quinn,” Nathan bit out as she felt Kale shift her in his arms seconds before he laid her down on what felt like a cold metal floor.

  It felt good against her aching head, Samantha thought numbly as she opened her eyes and watched Kale shove Nathan through the open door and pulled him out of the way seconds before Trace stepped inside the cell and the door was slammed shut behind him.

  Chapter 29

  “Open the fucking door!”

  “Not happening,” the shifter that Trace was going to kill said as he ignored the Sentinel’s shouted demand while Trace focused on the small woman in his arms as she whimpered and her hold on his arms tightened to the point of pain.

  Trace allowed his eyes to turn red in warning as he carefully tightened his hold around his wife as he stood up. He carried her to the door of the cell that he’d found himself in a few minutes ago and said, “Open the door.”

  “Tell me something,” the shifter drawled with a gleam in his eye as he leaned his shoulder against the cell, “why are you here?”

  “Open. The. Door,” Trace bit out, as he kept his
gaze locked on the shifter that was giving off an overwhelming scent that left no doubt in Trace’s mind that he was dealing with an Alpha. The way the shifter allowed his eyes to flash silver only confirmed it.

  “To be honest, I didn’t really expect to find you still here, not after I saw that tomb. I figured your father would have had you taken away from here and put under protection until he could get to you,” the shifter drawled, as he pointedly glanced around the cellar that his father had turned into a prison, “but now that I’ve seen what he has waiting for the bitch…”

  The shifter allowed his voice to trail off as he slowly turned his gaze back to Trace. “You’re not planning on going anywhere until this is over, are you?”

  “No,” Trace said evenly while he watched the shifter as he glanced from Trace to the other cells, taking in the chains coated in silver that disappeared into holes in the floor and the weapons lining the walls before pushing away from the cell with a shrug.

  “That’s all I needed to know,” the shifter said, pulling out a set of keys from his pocket and tossed them to the Sentinel, who was watching his every move, and headed upstairs.

  “Get a physician,” Trace said, with a glare aimed at the bastard that was never going near his wife again.

  “I’m taking her out of here,” Nathan said evenly as he unlocked the cell door.

  “No, you’re not,” Trace said, flashing his fangs in warning with a growl when the Sentinel went to take her from him.

  “Yes,” Nathan said, pulling out his weapon and aimed it at Trace’s head, “I am.”

  Keeping his gaze locked on the Sentinel, Trace moved forward, knowing if the Sentinel did anything to harm his wife that he would-

  “I don’t feel so good, Trace,” came the weakly mumbled words that had the Sentinel’s gaze shifting to his sister with a pained expression as he reluctantly put his weapon away and stepped out of the way to let Trace pass.

  “Get a physician,” Trace repeated, wishing that he’d paid attention all those times that his father had pointed out plants that could be used to heal someone, but at the time, he’d been convinced that he would never need to know any of it.

  “What happened to her?” Nathan asked, following him upstairs.

  “Head injury,” Trace said, wishing that he’d realized how badly injured she really was.

  He should have known better.

  He’d been raised in taverns and whore houses where head injuries were common and were known to turn bad quickly. He’d seen plenty of men who’d managed to shake off a blow to the head with a chuckle and a pint of ale only to be hauled off in a cart to be buried behind the church the next morning while others managed to go on for a few weeks before they met the same fate. He should have made sure that she was okay.

  She was his wife and his responsibility. It was his job to see to her needs and to keep her safe and he’d failed her, something that would never happen again.

  *-*-*-*

  “Sam?” a painfully familiar voice said softly, causing the pain searing into her skull to double. A weak groan left her as she felt her eyes gently pushed open and a bright light was flashed over her eye, sending a fresh shot of pain through her head.

  “Do you know where you are, Sam?” Dr. Adams, a man that she’d been hoping that she would never have to see again mostly because of the whole problem with passing out when faced with confrontation thing since she had a pretty good idea that he was probably going to end up firing her since she hadn’t been to work in the last few weeks.

  “Hell,” she grumbled, wondering when her head was going to stop spinning as she closed her eyes only to groan when she felt someone pick up her arm and-

  “Sorry,” she heard Janice, a nurse that she’d been training for the past month, mumble nervously, as she pulled the needle back with a trembling hand, readjusted it, and slid the needle back in with another, “Sorry,” before she heard Dr. Adams clear his throat and say, “I’ve got this, Janice. Just go see how Mrs. Nicolson is doing.”

  “Yes, Doctor,” Janice said, sounding relieved and making Samantha frown as she felt Dr. Adams pick up her arm and carefully finished setting up the IV.

  “What happened?” Dr. Adams asked as she felt the pain medication that he was most likely injecting into her IV start to make its way through her body.

  “Where’s Nathan?” Samantha asked instead, struggling to focus on what was going on. She couldn’t remember what happened, but she knew that he’d pissed her off and as soon as she remembered what was going on, she was going to kill him.

  “I haven’t seen him,” he said, making her frown as she struggled to open her eyes only to close them when the bright overhead lights reminded her that was a bad idea as more pain shot through her head, making it harder to focus.

  “Sorry,” Dr. Adams mumbled absently, seconds before she heard the light switch click off.

  “Where is he?” Samantha managed to ask as she curled up onto her side and placed her hand over her ear, hoping to block out the sounds of machines beeping, people talking, and a baby crying somewhere in the emergency room.

  “Last I heard, he was deployed in Europe,” Dr. Adams said, making her frown as she felt him double-checking her IV line. “Do you remember how you got here, Sam?”

  “No,” she said, starting to feel herself doze off again.

  “We found you outside, slouched over in a wheelchair,” Dr. Adams said as she felt the covers pulled up to her chin. “We’ve been worried about you.”

  “I’m fine,” she mumbled even as she couldn’t help but feel like she was forgetting something.

  “Then why the hell did they call me at two in the morning,” a very angry, and unfortunately for her, very familiar, voice bit out.

  Telling herself that it was a bad idea, Samantha found herself opening her eyes and immediately wishing that she hadn’t when she spotted Craig, his normally neatly combed dirty-blonde hair was a mess, his clothes were wrinkled, and he looked really unhappy to see her as he stood against the wall, glaring down at her.

  “W-what are you doing here?” she asked, glancing at Dr. Adams to find him watching her with a pitying look.

  “You never changed your emergency contact,” Dr. Adams explained as Samantha’s attention was brought back to the man glaring down at her.

  “Oh,” she mumbled weakly only to frown because that still didn’t explain why Craig was here. Those few unfortunate times when she’d succumbed to the need to blackout when they were together, they’d called him only to have Craig tell them that he was busy and that she’d be fine.

  “Thankfully, you don’t have any fractures, but it looks like you have a pretty bad concussion. I’d like to keep you overnight just to keep an eye on you. I’m going to prescribe a painkiller that should help you sleep. With plenty of rest, you should be fine,” Dr. Adams said, and after a slight hesitation where it looked like he wanted to say something else, he gave her a pitying smile, the same one that he used whenever he explained that it wasn’t a good idea to give her a promotion that she was more than qualified for.

  Once he was gone…

  She found herself ignoring the man that had done everything within his power to humiliate her as she glanced around the curtained-off exam room and couldn’t help but frown. There was something at the back of her mind telling her that something wasn’t right, that she was forgetting about something and-

  “Oh…god…” she mumbled weakly as it all came back to her, the men in the basement, the screams, the pain, the tomb with small bones littering the floor and claw marks marking the walls, and-

  “Trace!” Samantha gasped, moving to sit up only to get knocked back down when the move proved to be too much. Laying back down with a groan, she glanced around the room, looking for him as she tried not to panic.

  He was fine, she told herself.

  He had to be because if anything happened to him, she would-

  “I’ve been trying to call you,” Craig said, leveling a glare on her
.

  “About what?” Samantha absently asked, barely paying attention to the man that she’d wasted too many years on as she worried her bottom lip, wondering if Nathan was looking after Trace.

  “The engagement ring.”

  “What about it?” she asked absently as she glanced back at the curtains, hoping that Nathan hadn’t brought Trace to the hospital, not when he could barely handle being around the people that delivered her groceries without wanting to rip their throats out, which was something that they’d been working on. Now when they came, he only growled, which she was taking as progress.

  “I’m going to need you to pay for it,” Craig said, making her frown only to make her wonder if she was dreaming because there was no way that he could be this stupid.

  “Beth wants a new ring and the store is refusing to give me my money back.”

  Apparently, he could.

  “Umm, you want me to pay for a ring that I didn’t pick out, only wore for a few months, and gave back to you as soon as I found out that you were cheating on me?”

  “Yes,” he bit out, looking pissed.

  “Yeah, that’s not going to happen,” Samantha said on a gasp when her head started hurting again and she found herself closing her eyes and-

  “Ow!” she said, wincing when he grabbed her arm and gave it a squeeze.

  “I’m not playing around, Sam,” Craig bit out as she opened her eyes and felt the air rush out of her lungs when she saw the very large and very angry man that she’d been worried sick about lean in close to Craig’s ear and whisper, “Get your hand off my wife…Now.”

  Noticeably swallowing, Craig slowly turned his head and whimpered when Trace allowed his eyes to turn red and his fangs slowly slid down as the unmistakable sounds of bones breaking echoed throughout the room. As soon as Craig released her arm and began screaming, Nathan was there, knocking him out with one punch and-

  Making her roll her eyes when she spotted that pleased expression on his face again before her attention shifted back to Trace as the murderous glare on his face softened when he looked at her.