The problem was that he didn't want to leave her alone, and even though a huge part of him wanted to go on the attack, he needed more to keep her safe. If he had learned nothing else, it was that every time they were apart, something happened. They should just never be apart again. For some reason, he really liked the idea of that.
Against his better judgment, he went back upstairs and laid down next to Jamie. She was still trembling in bed, and he pulled her in close to try and warm her up.
Once she was in his arms and snuggled up against him, he told her what had been bothering him since he met William. It was one thing that they worked together, but what didn't make sense was why they would be at such odds with each other. She obviously didn't want to tell him, but he felt like after everything that had happened, he had a right to know.
“Why does he keep popping up and attacking you?”
He heard her sigh next to him. “Because he wants me to buy his girls.”
“Why do you say it like that?”
“Because that's how it is. Up until very recently, I thought that he did what he said he did. That he recruited women that were looking to get married. Marriage is a lucrative business for the shifters because the unions are considered so much stronger than humans make them. So, I thought that everything was above board. I quickly found out that it wasn’t, and he was, in fact, buying the women from their poor families.”
Dylan started to get uncomfortable.
“You don't mean what I think you mean?”
She insisted that she did, and he felt stricken. “So the girls that you introduce me to, they were bought?”
Why was it so hard for him to say it out loud? It wasn't like he had done it after all.
She agreed that they were and then she clarified that it was only the last one that had most likely been sold by her parents.
“See, that's why I didn't want to tell you. I didn't want you looking at me the way you are now. I didn’t know what he was doing, and then I was roped in. He said he would sell them for other things, and I didn’t want them to have that kind of life.”
“I just don't know what to say. Out of a million things that I thought you were going to tell me, I guess that human trafficking wasn't one of them. This is going to take some time to process fully.”
Dylan didn’t mean to sound harsh, but it was harsh. How could she have worked with such a man? How could she expect not to have trouble with a man like that? In a way, it just made him want to kill William even more. Obviously, it would do better to have him dead. It would help the whole world to get people like him out of the way.
She tried to push back away from him, but he wouldn't let her. Even though he was judging her on what he had just learned, that did not mean that Dylan wanted her any less. She was still the woman that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. He was just disappointed in her. He wished that she wouldn’t have gotten herself wrapped up in such a mess.
Maybe she just didn't have it in her to go against such a man, but Dylan did not have a problem with it. He had met evil in all forms. Dylan would put the word out with his clan, and it wouldn't take long at all for him to find William and take him down for good. His vengeance would not be complete until William was dead.
“You're not going anywhere, Jamie, and I’m not looking at you in any way.”
“You promised.”
“I promised that I wouldn't try anything. I'm not going to try anything, Jamie. I just think that you need to be held tonight. Whether I like what you told me here or not, it doesn't matter. You're still mine. I haven’t changed my mind about you, Jamie. I just don’t want to talk about this anymore tonight. There is always tomorrow.”
She was quiet, and he almost thought she had gone to sleep. He wanted to ask her more questions, but trafficking of women was enough for one day.
He was now thinking about how he was going to find William and make him pay. It wasn't a discussion that she needed to be part of. She probably wouldn't agree with it and Dylan could not risk her telling him to stop.
“You have to promise me something, Dylan.”
“More promises? I don't know if I want to agree to anymore.”
“This one you have to. It isn't for me, but for you. Just promise me that you will leave William alone. I am going to take care of it.”
“Why are you trying to protect him?”
“I'm not trying to protect him, Dylan; I'm trying to protect you.”
Dylan did not want to make that promise and instead of saying anything out loud, he kissed her. It made them both forget about everything for a moment. Dylan was no longer thinking about William. That’s what they both needed: a few minutes of haze. Clarity was overrated.
Chapter Fourteen
Because Dylan did not make the promise to Jamie, he did not heed it at all. The next morning, the first thing he did was send several people out to find William. It was not a hard decision for him. William had to pay, and considering what he was into, it was probably for the best that he was taken out completely. Dylan was so sure about that, and nothing was going to make him feel differently.
Jamie insisted that she go to work and meet with a couple of clients. Dylan was afraid to leave her by herself, but she would not let him go with her. Instead, he made sure that two members of his clan shadowed her for the rest of the day. Their instructions were to not let her out of their sight. Dylan could not even think of what would happen if Jamie was attacked again. He would not let it stand. She was to be his wife; he hoped, so it was his job to protect her.
When he got back to the clan, it was already midday, and the first person he was looking for was Eddie. His brother was a little bit younger than him, but he always gave him good advice, and Dylan needed some now. Everything had gotten too complicated.
He had started out just looking for a wife, now he was in love with a woman that wasn't even meant to be his. Not to mention the fact that she was being attacked and dogged by a human trafficker that she had helped. Jamie needed a protector, but Dylan needed advice. How was he supposed to take care of all of it?
Eddie wasn't hard to find. He was in the main house and looked a little surprised to see him. His red hair was spiky and he had a huge smile on his face. Something had made his day, and Dylan wished that he wasn’t about to ruin it by dumping all of his problems into his lap.
“Dylan, I didn't think you would be back today.”
“I didn't think I would either, but things have changed. I have sent Billy and Justin to go find someone for me. Once we find him, we're going to take him out, and I wondered if you wanted to come with.”
“You know that I am not the most aggressive man. I try to stay away from violence.”
“I know, but you're the one that keeps your head on straight when everything is going to shit. I think I really need that right now, and I need someone by my side that I can really trust. I don’t trust anyone like I trust you, Eddie.”
“Do you care to tell me what is going on?”
In truth, Dylan really didn't want to say anything, because none of it was good. It also made Jamie look like she was complicit in everything that was going on. Dylan wanted to imagine that she wasn't, but he knew in his heart that she had been to some extent. His brother would see it right off the bat.
“Let's just say that the woman I'm going to marry is in a bit of trouble, and I need to get her out of it.”
“You always did have a knack for finding the ones that needed your help.”
He scowled at Eddie. “This is different. She really does need help. This isn't a broken fingernail or a few dollars to get out of a bind. She got involved with some really bad people and I'm worried that someone is going to come for her life.”
He wanted to express how upset he was and how worried he was. Dylan was usually the one that could just breeze through everything. There was always a plan in the making, and Dylan ran with confidence that he probably didn't earn. Now though, when the stakes were so high, it w
as hard for him to really deal with it.
“Why don't you get Dad involved? You know that he is a lot better at this than you are. He has been taking people down for decades now and he actually likes it.”
Dylan shook his head emphatically. The last thing he needed was his father to be in the middle of it. His father would not approve of his plans. He would not approve of Jamie, and Dylan didn't want to hear anything negative about her. He was going to be the Alpha soon, and it was his job to take care of it.
“No, I would like to keep him out of this. Every time he gets involved in something, it just gets messier than it has to be.”
“He is still in charge, Dylan. He might not like that you're keeping this from him.”
Dylan looked at Eddie and then sighed loudly. “Do you really want to go to him with this?”
“I don’t know what ‘this’ is. You’re being weird.”
“Do you want to go to Dad with anything important?”
Eddie agreed that he did not. Their father was not the easiest person to deal with, and whenever there was a problem, Malcolm seemed to get even more irate. When he was mad, there was no telling what he would do. Dylan did not want to take a chance of his dad getting involved with something happening to Jamie. He might hear about the trafficking accusations and find that the best course of action was to stay away. Dylan would not be able to keep that order.
“Good, let's just keep it between us. You know how Dad is. He jacks everything up.”
Eddie was silent for a moment. “So, when are you going to marry her? The full moon is tomorrow night. It will take that long to set up the ceremony if you want to do it right.”
Dylan was quiet for a moment, letting his brother’s words play through his head. Was it tomorrow? He was running out of time.
“Can you believe that I haven't even asked her?”
Eddie just shook his head. “And what happens if she doesn't want to marry you, Dylan? Did you think about what will happen then? You know that I do not want to become Alpha. It will not end well. None of the changes that need to be made can be made by me. It needs to be somebody like you, like Dad.”
Dylan tried to assure him that it would all work out like it was supposed to. He was going to marry Jamie and even though she hadn't technically agreed to it yet, he was convinced himself that it would somehow be as it was supposed to be. Dylan had never been one to believe in fate, but he did now. All he had to do was convince Jamie. He had one idea in mind, and it seemed like the best option.
“So why don't you come with me? Let's go find this guy and take him out. Then I have to get back to Jamie and convince her that tomorrow night we're going to be mated.”
“You’ve got a lot riding on a girl that you just met.”
Dylan had to agree. He had never felt like something so important was out of his hands. It was all in Jamie's hands, whether she knew it or not.
William was not that hard to find, because he wasn't too far from where Dylan had seen him last. He was stalking Jamie from the looks of it, and by the time Dylan got there, William had just made it into her office. He told the men that were watching her to stand down. He was going to take care of it himself.
When he got inside, Jamie was trying to tell William that she did not have his money. Again, with the money. He didn’t know how much it was, but Dylan had certainly heard about it enough.
“I see you did not take my warning. I thought I was pretty clear, especially after I threw you out that window. You should really listen.”
“And I don't think you quite understand what situation you are in. I do not work alone, and I am one of the nicer people in the Syndicate. You do not want to meet the rest of them.”
Dylan had vaguely heard that name before. It wasn't so much a group of people, but more of a thought or theory. He had actually never met someone in the Syndicate, a crime clan of shifters of all different backgrounds. Of course, there were many shifter clans that did some sort of criminal activity, but the Syndicate was different. They were widespread and did big jobs. Dylan wondered if the trafficking business was that big. He honestly didn't know.
“I am not interested in who you work for. I'm interested in you. I told you as a man that if you came back here and so much as talked to Jamie, that I would kill you. I have to hold true to my word.”
He took a step closer and was thankful that Jamie took another step away from William. She had been slowly sidestepping to the corner of the room since Dylan got there. She must have known that the trajectory of the events was going to go downhill very quickly. Dylan had already given him enough chances, and that was only because the night before, he had managed to take off. It should have ended then.
Dylan could see that the man was on the verge of changing. There was a look that would come over a shifter's eyes as the anger welled up and the beast was released. He watched him for a moment until he was fully in his true form, and then he attacked in his own. There was only one ending to that story, and the only thing that Dylan was ever going to regret was that it was done in front of Jamie. He would have preferred her to have been somewhere else when he had to tear apart an enemy.
Chapter Fifteen
“I'm really sorry that you had to see that. I would have rather it have been done away from you.”
Jamie was still feeling numb from the whole situation. She had never seen somebody die in such a way. It was probably going to haunt her for a while, even though she knew it was the best thing that could have happened.
“Do you really think what he said was true?”
“What part of it? A man will say basically anything to save his own life. I think a lot of it was just him trying to save his own life and running his mouth.”
“I'm talking about the Syndicate. I've heard that name before, and it is never anything good that it is attached to. Do you really think that he is part of that? If he is, are they going to come for me?”
Dylan had seen the afternoon going so differently. He had planned to take out William, just not in front of her. He had planned to also ask her to marry him. It was getting close, and the time had come for him to finally do it. His brother was right, and he couldn't allow the chance to slip through his fingers. He could do a lot of good in the clan, and that's what he was going to do.
“I don't know if what he was talking about was true or not. I have heard about them as well, and it wasn't good either. Maybe there was some truth to what he said, maybe not. The best we can do is keep you safe and keep you next to me. I plan on doing that for the rest of our lives.”
Jamie just kind of blew out a breath and shook her head. “You still haven't let that go, have you?”
“Not until you say yes.”
Jamie didn't know what to say. She knew that he had to get married soon, and she was still waiting for him to make a decision. Now with everything going on with William, or whoever he worked with, she wasn't sure if she was coming or going. It was not the right time to have a marriage, and she couldn't even fathom putting together a ceremony at the moment.
“There is a lot going on right now. I don't know if either one of us is thinking clearly.”
“I have never been so clear of anything in my life. I need to get married, and we might as well get married now than later. Don't tell me that you don't feel it too.”
Jamie really wasn't sure what she was feeling. She knew that what happened to William had to be done, but the push that Dylan was making, the talk of getting married was a bit more than she was able to comprehend at the time. She knew that he had to get married soon, but that meant that he should be focusing on brides that were available. Not her.
“I don't know what I feel. I feel a little nauseous honestly and I just kind of want to get out of here.”
Dylan told her that they would go back to his place and she would be safe there. Jamie was worried about who the Syndicate was and what that would mean for her future. She had a lot of questions, but at the moment, she just needed to get away
from William’s body.
Dylan had a couple of the men there to take care of the body. He said it like it was something he said many times before, and that made her wonder what exactly he was capable of. There was still so much she did not know about him. There was no telling what more she would find out. Jamie had certainly discovered that Dylan was quite aggressive when he needed to be. He was also a sight to behold when he was angry. She never wanted to see him angry like that again.
“Let's go stay at my place. Then we can talk about all of this and get some distance between us and him.”
He gestured towards William’s body, but she didn't even look. She had seen enough of it and getting away from it was the top priority at the moment. She wanted to get somewhere where the stench of blood and death was not in her nose.
When they got outside, he opened the door for her, and she refused.
“I thought you wanted to go with me.”
Dylan looked a little hurt, but Jamie waved him off. “I do want to go with you, but I think it would be better if we just ran. Can't you have one of your guys take your car back? Best way to get this out of my mind is to take a long run. Don't you agree?”
Dylan did, and they transformed into their true forms. Jamie took off first, and she ran as fast as she possibly could. Anything to get the images of William dying out of her head. If she could have run away from them specifically, she would have, but Jamie had a feeling that they were going to be with her for a while.
She was beat by the time they got to the outskirts of the forest and she had to slow down. She had been running so long that her lungs felt like they were going to burst and every muscle in her body was sore. That's how she wanted it, though. It was another mile until they would be to his village and she moved back into human form. Dylan was close behind her, and she told him that she was going to walk the rest of the way.
Alpha Shifter Bride Service: (A Paranormal Romance Series) Page 28
