But it had been hours now, more than twelve, since she’d made contact with him.
“Stop thinking so hard, baby.” Griffen set his hand on her thigh and squeezed. “We’ll find him.”
She bit her lip. Alive?
He squeezed her leg again. His own concern was as palpable in the truck cab as hers. This was not good, and they both knew it.
She watched out the truck window as Griffen pulled up to Miles’ house. Miles’ beat-up older truck wasn’t there. The place was dark. No sign of life. It also didn’t appear to have suffered much damage.
“Wait here,” Griffen commanded as he jumped down from the cab and jogged to the house. He’d left the truck running. Less than a minute later, he was back, swinging up into the truck. “He’s not here.”
She figured that. “Melinda’s?” They had to go somewhere.
Griffen nodded, threw the truck into reverse, and sped away from the house.
Chapter Thirty-One
Miles groaned as he attempted to turn his head to the side. Something dug into his cheek. He tried to open his eyes. They were heavy and gritty. What the hell?
He was on his back, but his face was twisted to the side and smashed into the ground…gravel maybe. It smelled. Horse manure…
He fought to force himself more awake. His head hurt like a mother fucker. He couldn’t lift it. He couldn’t lift anything. Not even his arms and legs. He was pinned. Something heavy held him down.
His entire body hurt.
It was dark. Very dark. He could see, of course, but where the hell was he? A barn? It looked like an entire interior wall was on top of him.
He took a deep breath. He needed to calm down and figure out where he was.
Think.
Randal Peaceman… The man had called him early that morning needing help with a birth.
He squeezed his eyes tight. Think.
He left after dropping Rebecca off at the hospital…
He showed up at the old man’s home and followed him to the barn…
There was no horse in labor… What the…?
That was all he could remember.
Fuck.
He tried to move again to no avail.
Griffen. Rebecca.
“Hey…” He knew his connection was weak, if coming through at all.
Nothing.
His mind was too foggy to make a connection with them. Maybe he had a concussion.
Deep breaths.
Someone moaned nearby.
He twisted his head in the direction of the noise, hoping to see something. Anything. Too dark. There was nothing to see. Barn walls. The side of a stall. So dark.
He swallowed. He was so thirsty. And son of a bitch, his head hurt.
“Griffen…” he tried again. “Oh, God. Rebecca?”
“Miles!” The sweet, sweet voice of his mate penetrated the fog.
“Oh, thank God.” He relaxed infinitesimally, having made the connection.
“Where are you? Miles? Talk to us,” Rebecca communicated.
The moaning nearby started again.
“I think I’m in Randal Peaceman’s barn. That’s the last thing I remember.” He sucked in a breath. His chest felt heavy. “Get Melinda. She knows the place.”
Griffen’s voice came through next. “We’re with Melinda now. She’s nodding. Getting in the truck. Hang tight.”
“Are you hurt?” Rebecca asked.
“Not sure. Something heavy is on my chest. An entire wall, I think. What the fuck?”
“Maybe something fell on you during the earthquake?” she continued.
“Earthquake?” He shook his foggy brain, which only hurt worse.
Silence.
Apparently it would be strange that he didn’t know about any earthquakes.
Griffen came through again. “Be there in ten, buddy. Hang tight.”
“Stay with me, Miles,” Rebecca said. “Please. You’re scaring me.”
“I’m here, love. I don’t think I’m dying.” He tried to chuckle. It wasn’t funny. Rebecca didn’t laugh.
Miles jerked his head to the side again when he heard mumbling.
“Mother fucker…” Randal?
“Randal?” Miles’ mouth was so dry the word barely came out. He tried again. “Randal?” He remembered being with Randal. Surely he still was. Maybe the two of them were pinned in an earthquake, though it worried Miles a lot that he didn’t remember the incident.
A grunt and then a shadow fell over him. Almost total darkness, but he recognized Randal.
“You’re still alive?” Randal asked. The guy was old. Very old. Miles was pretty sure he was the oldest living member of the pack. He still lived way out in the middle of nowhere with his moonshine and his few animals. Miles knew he had a son, Randal Junior, but he didn’t think the younger man lived out here with his father. He wasn’t sure if Randal Junior even lived on the reservation anymore. The old guy had been one of the elders who governed the tribe for many years. He still held the position, although in more of a figurehead capacity these days as a matter of respect.
“Something’s on top of me. Can you help?”
Sardonic cackling. “Fuck no, I ain’t helpin’ you, asshole. Unless by help you’re referring to the bullet I’m gonna put through your thick head. Then yeah.”
Miles flinched. What the fuck? “Griffen. Dude. Heads up. Something’s not right here. I’m not alone. I think Randal has lost his mind. He’s threatening me.” Out loud he said, “Randal, what the hell are you talking about? Help me up.”
More deep chuckling.
Miles fought against the obstruction on his chest and legs. What was wrong with him? He was so weak.
“Now you listen here, you asshole.” Randal’s voice sounded shaky. Pissed off. His face was full of rage as he leaned closer. He kicked something. There was a noise, and whatever pinned Miles shifted.
Miles screamed at the sharp pain in his legs when the item moved.
Randal laughed again. “Ain’t this perfect. A fucking earthquake pins the very asshole I’m about to kill. Nice.”
Kill? Fuck.
“We’re close. What’s going on?” asked Griffen.
“Randal is mumbling about killing me. He must have lured me here for that purpose and gotten thwarted by the earthquake. Be careful. I think he has a gun. I’m pinned in the barn. Something must have fallen on me in the quake. Do you have Rebecca and Melinda with you?”
“Yes.”
“Leave them in the car. Too dangerous. You might need to shift. Gonna have to shut off the engine and come in quiet so Peaceman doesn’t hear you coming.”
“Got it. Turning the car off now. I’ll run from here.”
Miles turned his attention back to the deranged old guy. He needed to reason with the man, buy some time. “Randal. Let’s talk about this. What’s bothering you?”
Was he suffering from dementia or something?
Randal laughed harder. “Rich. Sure. Let’s talk. Let’s talk about you thinking you can mate with two people outside our pack and get away with it.”
What? “Get away with what, Randal? They’re my mates.” And how did Randal know so much about Miles’ private life? The man hardly ever came to town.
The pressure on his chest increased as Randal leaned into the object. He gritted out his next words. “We do not mate outside the pack, asshole. Never. We’re a superior tribe. We mate inside the pack.”
Miles licked his lips. He couldn’t think how to respond. “Okay, Randal. Calm down. Maybe I’m mistaken.”
“Yeah. Maybe you are. And maybe you’ve already planted your seed in that human bitch who isn’t a member of our pack or our tribe. She’s not even fucking lupine.” Spittle sprayed from Randal’s mouth to land on Miles’ face.
Miles shook his head. “I haven’t. Trust me. I would know.”
“Thank God for that. At least no half-breed fuckers will be born into the pack this time.”
This time? What the hell is he t
alking about?
“Guess the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. You probably don’t even remember your mother. That bitch tried something similar. Must run in your family’s fucked-up blood. Look what happened to her.”
“My mother?” Miles had no memory of his mother. He was three when she disappeared and left him and Melinda with their grandmother. To this day no one knew if she was dead or alive. He knew there had been extensive search teams, but no body was ever found. It was as if she simply vanished. One day she left the house and never returned.
Did Randal kill her?
“That bitch made bad choices. Like the ones you’re making now. Thought she could mate with some white man. Stupid, stupid bitch.”
“What white man? I’m not half white, Randal. I’m one hundred percent Native American.”
“You don’t know fuck.”
Apparently. Miles couldn’t wrap his head around all this information. His mother mated a white man? Or tried to? Did Randal stop her? Did he kill her? When could that have happened? And why did Miles not know any of this?
“I dealt with your mom. And I’m gonna deal with you now, fucker. It’s too bad your stupid human didn’t pay attention to my numerous warnings and get the hell out of town. Would have saved a whole lot of hassle. But that bitch is persistent. She didn’t give a fuck about any warning I left her that she wasn’t welcome here. Now I’ll deal with you instead. Had hoped to avoid it. Pains me to dispose of a healthy male member of the pack. But if your mind ain’t right, then you have to be dealt with.”
“I’m coming in, Miles. In wolf form.” Griffen.
“Got it. Be careful. You need to take this asshole out. I haven’t seen his gun, but he said he was going to shoot me, so I’m going to say it’s on him somewhere. I’ll try to keep him talking as long as I can.”
“All right.”
A shuffling noise some distance away caught Miles’ attention. It caught Randal’s too.
Miles heard a snarl. He was so damn helpless, and he hated it.
Randal cussed and stomped out of sight. There was a low growl and Randal screamed. Another growl from somewhere else. Who the hell was that one coming from?
Melinda. Damn her. He could smell his sister’s scent.
A struggle filled his ears, shuffling, scraping of wood against wood.
And then a gunshot.
Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck.
Miles struggled against whatever weighed him down. It wouldn’t budge.
If anything happened to Griffen or Melinda… He hoped to hell Rebecca was far away.
And then Griffen spoke out loud. He had shifted back to human form. “Stay right where you are, you son of a bitch, unless you want to be riddled with holes.” He must have gotten the upper hand.
Another struggle. Apparently Randal did not heed Griffen’s advice.
More shuffling and grunts. And then a thud. Silence.
Melinda leaned over Miles seconds later. “You okay?” She too had shifted back to human.
“What the hell happened?”
“Griffen knocked him out cold.” She turned her gaze downward. “Looks like the entire inside wall of the barn fell on you. Hang tight. Let us get Randal secured, and then we’ll deal with this.”
“Sure. I’ll just wait here,” he said sarcastically.
“Ha ha.”
Another set of hands were on him then. She touched him before he scented her in his distraction. Rebecca.
Instantly he calmed. And in the next heartbeat he stiffened. “What are you doing in here? It’s not safe.”
She leaned over him and rolled her eyes. “Don’t start with the caveman routine. I’m fine. I waited like a good little mate until Griffen had things under control.”
“Under control?” His voice rose as he glared at her. “There was a gun shot.”
“And no one was hit by it. Griffen kicked it out of Randal’s hand. It went off. It’s over. They’re tying him up now.”
“If you saw that, you were too close.” He wanted to throttle her.
“Cujo, get a grip. I was not in the building. I was outside. There are holes all over. I looked through them.”
He narrowed his gaze at her.
“If you don’t stop glaring at me, I’m gonna have Griffen leave you pinned.”
He said nothing. Half of him had never been so happy to see her in his life. The other half wanted to spank her and then tie her to his bed and never release her.
Griffen leaned over the top of them. The only person with clothes on was Rebecca, naturally. “Rebecca, you stand on this end. Melinda, you crouch down over on that side. Let’s see if I can lift this enough to stick a wedge under it and then slide him out.”
Each woman took their spot and Griffen grabbed a heavy crate from nearby. “I’m gonna lift now. Rebecca, push this under the wall as soon as it’s high enough. Melinda, pull him out if you can.”
He turned to Miles. “Do you think your injuries are severe?”
“No.” Truthfully he wasn’t positive, but didn’t feel much, just pinned.
“On three. One… Two… Three…” Griffen grunted deep as he lifted. Rebecca shoved the crate under as fast as she could before he couldn’t hold the wall any longer.
Melinda reached under and nabbed Miles’ leg and arm and tugged.
Miles sighed in relief just having the pressure lifted, and then he bit the inside of his lip to keep from crying out at the pain.
Finally he was free. His mates ran around to his side.
Rebecca leaned in close, touching him everywhere at once. Frantic. “What hurts? Tell me. Miles. What hurts?” She nearly screamed in hysterics.
Miles reached up and grabbed both her biceps and hauled her close so her face was inches from his. He smiled. “I’m gonna be fine, love. Stop worrying.”
He was injured. He knew that, but he needed to shift and give it time.
First he needed to reassure his mate. “Look at me, love.”
Her gaze was frantic, darting all around his face.
“Eyes, Rebecca.”
She finally settled her gaze on his.
“I’m gonna live. I promise. I need you to make sure nothing’s dislocated, and then I’m gonna shift. I’ll heal fast. You know that.”
She opened her mouth and nearly screamed. “Dislocated? Miles, I don’t have X-ray vision. I can’t know that.”
“Love. Calm down. I don’t care about cracked. Just displaced. If anything is dislocated, you’ll have to set it before I shift.”
Her eyes went wide.
He released her.
She went to work touching him everywhere. If he weren’t in so much pain, he would have found her efforts endearing.
Finally, she declared him to have no compound fractures or dislocations.
Griffen crouched down along his other side. “You good?”
“I will be.”
Griffen held up a syringe. “Know anything about this?”
Miles flinched as his memory surfaced. “Shit. He stuck me with that. Must have knocked me out before the earthquake. That would explain why I can’t remember a thing.” He blew out a relieved breath.
A rustling sound made them all turn around.
Randal had come to, shifted, managed to free himself, and was growling at the four of them, teeth bared, nostrils flaring, his fur matted and mangy.
“Fuck,” Griffen said as he stood and turned around.
Miles watched him lift the gun. Thank God his mate had the gun.
“Stay where you are, asshole. I don’t want to shoot you, but I will if you force me.”
Randal growled one last time and then turned around and ran from the rubble that was the dilapidated barn.
“Goddammit.” Griffen lowered his arm. He turned back around and faced Miles. “Sorry, man. No way I could shoot him.”
“It’s okay. Let’s get the fuck out of here. We’ll deal with him later.”
Griffen handed the gun to Melinda. “Do you know how
to use this?”
“Yes.”
Griffen looked momentarily surprised as he turned back to Miles. “I’m gonna shift and go get the car and bring it as close as I can. Hold tight.” He turned to Melinda. “Shoot first. Ask questions later.”
She rolled her eyes. “I would have had no problem shooting him if I’d had the gun instead of you.”
Griffen smirked, and then he shifted and took off.
Miles leaned up on one elbow. His entire body ached. He hoped it was all superficial so he wouldn’t have to spend too many hours healing before he could hold Rebecca properly in his arms.
He heard the car engine as Rebecca leaned down and kissed him all over his face. She even lifted his hands and kissed his knuckles. “You scared the piss out of me. We were trying to reach you all day.”
He grinned. “I was busy.”
“I see that.” She set her head on his chest for a moment and then released him. “Do your thing, big guy. Let’s get out of here.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
Rebecca stared down at her mate. She stroked his fur for the millionth time. Griffen lay on her other side, his hand running up her back. “He’s gonna be fine, baby. He just needs to sleep. Leave him be.”
She glanced over her shoulder at him. “How do you know? He’s barely moved since we got home.”
They’d arrived in the dead of night after dropping Melinda off and assuring her she could come over in the morning with Miles’ grandmother in tow.
Weird shit had gone down between Miles and Randal before the old wolf took off. Rebecca knew some things had been said between the men before she arrived that none of them heard. She’d felt his shock and confusion.
“This is how we heal, baby.”
“You weren’t out like this for this long when you were hurt.”
“My injuries weren’t as bad.”
She flinched. That didn’t help.
Griffen rolled his eyes. “Baby, trust me.” He pulled her back down to lie between them and held her tight.
“It’s almost nine in the morning,” she mumbled.
“And we slept the entire night with a wolf in our bed.”
She smiled into his chest. She’d insisted they put Miles in the bed, even though Griffen thought it was ridiculous. She’d put her foot down, and he’d given in and settled the groggy enormous wolf on top of the mattress.
Rebecca's Wolves (Wolf Masters Book 6) Page 24
