by Knight, Gwen
Sighing, Harley dug the phone out of his pocket and finally turned it on. It’d been off for days. He could only imagine what he’d find. Sure enough, once the phone finished booting up, the notifications began pouring in. Texts from Pierce, demanding they check in. Texts from Wyatt, insisting he be updated about the situation. An email from Wells assuring him they were fine and would head to Mexico City unless they heard otherwise from him.
“Ready?” Jasmine’s voice dragged him back to the present.
He glanced up at his phone. “Are you ready?”
Her eyes locked on the screen, a flash of hope skirting across her face. “I think so. Yes. Yes, I’m ready.”
He couldn’t blame her. She had to be experiencing some mixed feelings about her father right now. The man had literally ripped them apart, but he was also her father, one who was currently worried about her.
Harley handed her the phone, her father’s number already queued up.
Jasmine shot him another glance, her bottom lip tucked between her teeth.
“It’s all right,” he assured her.
“What do I even say to him?”
“Whatever you want. Whatever you feel comfortable with.”
Fear blanched her face. “Not that. I can’t tell him that.”
She didn’t need to elaborate. Harley already knew exactly what that was. “He never needs to know you’re a shifter, if that’s the avenue you choose to go. But just know, if you do decide to tell him, I’ll support you. Nothing he says can hurt you if you don’t let it.”
Her face twisted. “Because it’s that easy, huh?”
“No, it’s never that easy. If he can’t accept the new you, then he doesn’t deserve to be in your life.”
She grimaced. “Yeah, I’ve heard that before. For now, I think I’ll stick to the basics. Telling him over the phone that I’m a shifter wouldn’t be a quick conversation.”
That it wouldn’t. Born a werewolf, Harley had never had this problem before. But he had faced a few girlfriends in his past. Some had accepted him as he was, others had immediately ditched him. Jasmine had been the first he’d actually been worried about telling. Thankfully, she’d openly accepted him. Too bad the same couldn’t be said for her father. But who knew? Maybe this would help him overcome whatever biases he currently suffered.
With a deep breath, Jasmine nodded, then pressed call. Thanks to his heightened senses, Harley could hear it ringing in the background. Just like he could hear Jasmine’s elevated heart rate. She truly was nervous about this discussion.
The second the call connected, she blanched and threw the phone at Harley.
“Jesus,” he muttered, fumbling to catch it.
He could hear her father in the background, calling his name, demanding someone speak to him.
“I—I can’t,” she murmured before turning away.
Staring down at the phone like a poisonous snake, Harley cursed. Yeah, this was going to be a pleasant conversation.
Not.
15
“Fulton! For crying out loud, would someone answer me?”
Harley lifted the phone to his ear with a sigh. “Don’t get your panties in a twist. I’m right here.”
“Christ Almighty—what the hell is going on over there?”
Where to begin? How about, “I have Jasmine with me. She’s safe.”
A relieved sigh shuddered across the phone. “If she’s safe, why aren’t I talking to her right now?”
“She’s indisposed at the moment.” He honestly couldn’t think of a better reason than that.
“Indisposed? What the hell does that mean?”
“Unable to come to the phone? Averse to speaking with you? Disinclined to—”
“I get it!” the senator roared.
Harley bit back a laugh. He could only imagine the senator’s face, all beet-red and veiny. He had to admit—he got a certain high from poking at the fellow, especially now that he knew more of what the man was capable of.
“I mean, why doesn’t she want to talk to me?”
Oh… maybe because you broke her heart? “Because she doesn’t. And I don’t see the need to force her to. So! Here’s the update. She’s currently with me, we’re heading to the embassy in Mexico City, and yeah. I’ll have her home… when I get her home.”
“Wait—”
“Okay, bye now!”
“Fulton, don’t you dare hang up that phone. I want to know exactly what happened. Who kidnapped her? Why? Was she hurt? What happened to her abductors—”
“Can’t this all wait until we’re home?”
“Absolutely not. Debrief me. Right the fuck now.”
Harley sighed. This was pointless. They needed to continue moving, not standing around talking to her father. So, in a concise manner, Harley hit the hot points, answering each of the senator’s questions in order. “Humans First. Because she supports shifters rights.” He refused to go further in depth than that and give the senator more reason to hate him. “She was a little malnourished, but not hurt. Like ninety percent of her abductors are dead.”
“What do you mean ninety percent?”
“Well, generally, that means ten percent still live.”
“What the hell? I didn’t hire you to leave some alive.”
Jasmine’s head snapped up.
Harley ground his teeth. “You didn’t hire me for anything, period. If you remember, you begged me to help. And I agreed. There was no mention of funds exchanging hands.”
“Semantics.”
“Or, you know, outward lies. But I guess you’re used to toeing that line.”
The senator grumbled something unintelligible, but Harley understood the gist of it. “What about the others?”
Ah, right. The others. Harley cleared his throat. “Only Wells, Carlisle, Jones, and Richards are left.”
“What do you mean?”
Harley rolled his eyes. The man loved to ask that question. “I mean, we ran into some complications along the way. Local shifters who didn’t particularly appreciate us strolling through their territory. I’m handling it. Are we done? Can I get back to rescuing your daughter?”
“Let me speak to her.”
Harley shot Jasmine a glance. For a moment, he thought she might shy away, but then she lifted her chin and nodded. Pride warmed Harley’s gut as he handed the phone over.
She lifted it to her ear and swallowed. “Hi, Daddy.”
“Jasmine! What’s going on? Why didn’t you want to talk to me? Are you all right?”
“I’m fine,” she said, choosing to ignore the other questions. “We’re on our way to Mexico City, so I’ll let you know once we’re there.”
“Jasmine—”
“We gotta get going.”
“Wait, Jasmine—”
“Bye, Daddy.” She ended the call and stared down at the phone.
Harley took her into his arms and rested his cheek against the top of her head. He understood how difficult it’d been to talk to him and silently praised her for being brave enough.
“I hate him, you know? For what he did to us.” She rubbed her head against his chest, then deflated with a long sigh. “But I still love him too. It makes no sense.”
“Yes, it does.”
“Don’t get me wrong. When we get home, he and I are going to have a long-ass discussion about this, one that better end with him on his knees, begging for my forgiveness.”
Harley chuckled as he ran a hand up and down her back. He only hoped the conversation went the way she wanted. In his experience, not many people changed their beliefs even when confronted by a loved one.
“We should get going,” she finally said, pulling back from Harley. “When I was in the gas station, they were discussing the San Quintín fire, talking about how many people fled here.”
Shit. He’d wondered, considering there weren’t many larger cities between here and San Quintín. Comitan was the natural choice.
“Then let’s get gone,” Harley
said, ushering her back toward the vehicle. “I can call my alpha along the way. We need to get out of here before anyone recognizes us.”
Jasmine nodded and slid inside, the bag of water and food at her feet.
Harley did the same before turning over the engine. Phone between his legs, he pulled out of the gas station, hoping they hadn’t attracted too much attention. Thankfully, the city was packed with minibuses full of tourists. Maybe it would help them blend in.
Either way, he found his gaze constantly drifting to the rearview mirror, to ensure they weren’t being followed. It didn’t help that a rusted black vehicle seemed to be taking all the same roads as them. And when they hopped onto the highway, so did the other car.
“Do you think Wells and the others made it out of San Quintín?” Jasmine asked, unaware of the developing problem.
Harley shrugged, his focus divided between the car behind them and the road ahead. He wove in and out of traffic, careful not to speed, but erratic enough to know for sure if they were being followed.
“Damn,” he muttered.
Jasmine glanced his way, her brow raised.
Gripping the steering wheel, Harley took the next turn, taking them off the highway and back onto the city streets. The last thing they needed was to broadcast where they were heading.
“What’s wrong?”
Harley stared in the mirror for a second longer. So far, the other vehicle hadn’t followed them. All a coincidence, perhaps?
“Harley?”
“I thought someone was following us.”
Jasmine didn’t turn, and Harley silently thanked her for that. Had she glanced behind them, if someone was following them, then that would have been a clear indication they’d figured it out.
“Are they still there?” she asked.
“No, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t still watching. Could be they’re backing off.”
“What do we do?”
What could they do? They needed to get to the embassy in Mexico City, and anyone with a lick of intelligence would know that. Really, no matter what, they weren’t safe.
Harley drummed his fingers against the steering wheel and contemplated their options. After a quick mull, he decided to say screw it and continue with their original plan. No matter what they did, they ran the risk of running into another jaguar group. The only thing that mattered was getting to Mexico City.
“We keep going,” Harley finally said.
Jasmine reached out and took his hand, fear evident on her face.
Harley smiled and squeezed her fingers. “Don’t worry. I’ll get you out of this mess.”
Come hell or high water.
* * *
The soft sound of Jasmine’s even breathing told Harley she was asleep. It hadn’t taken long. A few miles outside Comitan, her eyes had started to droop. He’d suggested she get some sleep, and with very little protest, she’d leaned to the side and nodded off.
She’d slept in the car yesterday as well, but he knew she needed more than that. Being held hostage for a week without much food or water would take a toll on anyone’s body. But add in the fact that they’d turned her into a shifter, and her body was currently going through some massive changes. The least he could do to help was let her sleep along the way.
Mexico City was a good fourteen-hour drive from Comitan. Maybe longer depending on tolls, construction, traffic, road conditions, you name it. And he was determined to do it all in one stint. It was a lot to ask, but he couldn’t risk stopping and being found. Last night had been the anomaly. He’d started to veer into oncoming traffic, he’d been so tired. Pulling over had seemed the safer option. But he’d also been running on very little sleep for the past few days.
Thankfully, he’d slept quite well the night before. Even after his and Jasmine’s little interlude under the waterfall. Sleeping next to her had energized him in ways he’d forgotten it could. There was a strange magic when it came to mates. Some could feel their partner’s emotions, others just felt an intimate bond. Harley fell into that category. Like he’d spent his whole life looking for her. And now that he had her again, he never intended to let her go. He only hoped Jasmine was strong enough to stand up to her father. He’d help her, though. So long as she wanted him to.
When she gave a soft little snore, Harley smiled and pulled the cell phone out from between his thighs. He’d left Wyatt’s number on the screen earlier, so all he had to do was hit call. Hopefully, Jasmine didn’t wake during this conversation.
“Harley,” Wyatt grumbled the moment he answered.
A grin came to his lips at the sound of his alpha’s gruff voice. The man didn’t know how to be anything but—except perhaps with Sky.
“Tell me what’s happening.”
In a soft undertone, Harley laid out the situation to Wyatt, willingly giving him more information than he had to the senator. Of course, Wyatt had long since earned Harley’s trust and respect.
Once he’d updated Wyatt, a silence fell over the phone, one Harley was accustomed to. Wyatt had never been one to speak without thinking things through. And right now, he could only imagine the thoughts going through his alpha’s head. Scenarios, ideas, and their consequences.
“I have a few concerns,” Wyatt finally said. “First: how did Humans First learn about your relationship with Jasmine?”
A question that had been burning in the back of Harley’s mind since Jasmine mentioned it.
“Jasmine doesn’t believe her father would have told many people.”
“Perhaps not many, but some.”
Harley nodded. He listened to the sound of Wyatt speaking quietly under his breath, most likely to Sky. She was quite familiar with the political arena, thanks to her job. She was friendly with plenty of governors, senators, even their friends. It was an important part of her job to know these people and what they were capable of.
“That’s an interesting thought,” Wyatt said.
“What is?”
“Sky thinks if we can find out exactly who Senator Pierce informed of your relationship, we may be able to track down the person behind Humans First.”
Harley repositioned the phone against his ear, careful not to swerve the car and attract attention. Especially from the law, considering they could ticket him for distracted driving.
“Here’s the thing. Ever since we found Sterling in that warehouse, I’ve had questions.”
They all had. Like how the hell Humans First had managed to abduct a soldier from overseas and bring him home without anyone knowing.
“Whoever arranged that little fiasco must be high up in the ranks. Someone who could make such a request and no one would bat an eyelash.”
Dread settled in the pit of Harley’s gut. “So, you’re thinking another senator?”
“Or, hell, higher.”
“Higher? As in…?”
“As in White House high.”
Harley blew out a heavy breath. “Someone with enough backing to affect a soldier overseas.”
“Someone who is in regular contact with Senator Pierce.”
“Or at least with ties to his circle. Do you have any thoughts as to who?”
“No, but Sky can put a list together and we can start going through it. Senator Pierce’s connection will help narrow it down.”
“Here’s hoping.”
Jasmine stirred and gave a little sigh.
“How’s she doing?” Wyatt asked, clearly having heard.
“She’s strong. She’s shifted three times now, so I’m not worried about that anymore.”
“And you two?”
Harley glanced at her with a grin. “Better than ever, I’d say.”
“Good. Here’s hoping everything goes smoothly from here on out and you can get your mate home. I’ll start making arrangements for her to move into the main house, if she wishes.”
“Thank you, alpha.”
“In the meantime, I’m going to send some help your way.”
Harley blink
ed, a little surprised by the offer. “Really?”
“You have jaguars on your tail, right?”
“Unfortunately.”
“Then you’ll need some help. You can’t face them alone, and it doesn’t sound like Pierce’s men will be much help to you anymore.”
“Who are you sending?”
“Bale and Sterling will be on the next flight to Mexico City. They’ll probably arrive before you do.”
“Sterling? I thought—”
“He’s been discharged. They claim it’s punishment for him going AWOL, but truthfully, it’s because they found out he’s a werewolf.”
“Jesus.”
“Yeah. He’s lucky they didn’t dishonorably discharge him.”
Harley gave a low whistle. Sterling must be pissed. The military was his life.
“What about Axel?”
Wyatt grunted. “He and Maddie are in full-blown wedding mode, and I really don’t want to deal with a pissed off mountain lion if something goes wrong down there.”
If it weren’t Wyatt saying this, Harley would have busted up laughing. Their alpha was intimidated by a tiny mountain lion shifter. Mind you, Wyatt knew best how insane brides-to-be could get. No doubt he wanted to steer clear of that.
“I’ll text you with the info once it’s been arranged. Then let me know once you have everything handled on your end. It’ll likely take the embassy a few days to square everything up and get you guys on a flight home. So it won’t hurt to have the backup.”
No, it wouldn’t. And Harley was incredibly grateful Wyatt had thought of that.
“If you wouldn’t mind, send them with some fresh clothes and whatnot for us. Especially for Jasmine.”
Wyatt hesitated. “All right. I think I’ll put Sky in charge of that.”
Harley chuckled when he caught the distinct sound of Sky teasing Wyatt.
“What else do you need?”
He couldn’t think of much else. “That’s all. Thanks for arranging all this. It’ll be good to get her back stateside.”
“Good luck,” was all Wyatt said before disconnecting the call.
