Brooke, Leah - Panthers' Prey [Black Panthers 1] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

by Leah Brooke

  Thankfully, James and Marc took over, but her mind wandered when Marc answered that they had all been here all night and that, no, he hadn’t seen any sign of the panthers these men kept claiming to have seen.

  She could see the pain in James’s eyes, but also saw his concern for her. His teasing in the shower hadn’t fooled her a bit, not when she could see just how much each movement hurt him.

  Eyeing him now, she swallowed the lump in her throat, the emotion nearly overwhelming her. She couldn’t get the image of him falling to the ground out of her mind, or the horror she’d felt when she thought she might have lost him.

  She couldn’t help but notice how often his gaze slid to hers or how he constantly touched her as though to make sure she was still there.

  It occurred to her suddenly that she did much the same thing to him. She touched his thigh, his hand, his knee, and found it increasingly difficult not to let her worry show.

  His hair had fallen over his forehead, giving him a rakish look and making her fingers itch to push the dark, silky strands back, but she realized that they covered the bandage Marc had placed there only minutes ago.

  Officer Brown shared a look with his partner before settling back, his eyes narrowing on Marc’s.

  “I just think it’s interesting that several other people from around here have seen this panther, but you haven’t. You live here, miles from town, and most of these woods are on your property. I think it might be a good idea if you stay out of the woods until I have them checked out.”

  Marc shrugged, rubbing a gentle hand over Bailey’s back, his warm hand settling right under where she hurt the most.

  “I think your little arsonists are imagining things, or making them up. You don’t really believe that Bailey rode off on the back of a panther, now do you?”

  Officer Brown scrubbed a hand over his face.

  “To tell you the truth, I don’t know what to believe. I want you to stay out of the woods until I tell you it’s okay.”

  In the blink of an eye, Marc’s eyes became cold and hard.

  “It’s my property, and I’ll go where I please.”

  So alarmed at the icy temper emanating from Marc that she actually shivered, Bailey reached out to touch his arm, shocked at how stiffly he held himself.

  He whipped his head around, his arm tightening around her, his eyes cold and razor sharp. Almost immediately, they warmed again, some of the tension leaving his body.

  “Honey, why don’t you go into the bedroom?”

  Bailey shook her head, a little distracted by the incredible warmth generated under her hand.

  “No. I want to go get the gasoline off before someone goes past and throws a cigarette or something.”

  The other officer lifted his head from where he’d been taking notes, his eyes flat and cool.

  “The firemen are already taking care of that. We called them in when we realized that they’d poured gas all over the outside of the building.”

  “Still, I want to check out—”

  “No.” Marc helped her to her feet as he stood, shooting a dismissing look at both policemen. “I think we’ve answered enough of your questions. I appreciate you letting us know what happened. Bailey’s upset and shaken. Excuse us.”

  Both officers looked up, Officer Brown’s look becoming one of impatience while the other policeman merely nodded, his eyes sharp as he glanced at Brown.

  Marc ignored both, turning his back on them and leading her from the room. As soon as they disappeared from view of the others, Marc bent and lifted her in his arms. Holding her against him, he studied her face, his eyes dark with worry.

  “Christ, you’re so pale. I’m scared you’re going to pass out. Are you in a lot of pain?”

  She opened her mouth to answer, but snapped it shut when he started talking again.

  “Forget it. I can feel it. Your adrenaline is keeping it at bay for right now, but it’s going to hit soon.”

  He sat her on the edge of the bed, took out his phone, and punched in a series of numbers. He put the phone to his ear before kneeling in front of her to remove her shoes.

  “Joe? It’s Marc. I need you here. Now. My mate’s been shot, and you’re the only one I trust to remove the bullet. No. We can’t go to the hospital. If I thought the damned thing was fatal, she’d already be there! It’s lodged in her shoulder. Looks like it went in at an angle. It must have been when we were running away. No exit wound.”

  After another pause, he sighed. “Yes. We’ve got some trouble. Yeah, well, James got hit, too. Grazed him in the fucking head. I’m almost positive he has a concussion. No, we can’t explain how the hell he got shot without exposing ourselves. I’m about ready to take my chances and get both of them to the hospital. Brown’s up to something, but I have no fucking clue what it could be. I haven’t done anything to make him that suspicious.”

  He listened to whatever the man named Joe said and nodded, raking his hand through his hair. Coming to his feet, he paced to the window.

  “I had to get them both out of there, and—yes. We shifted. Yes, there were witnesses. I know, Joe. I know.”

  He turned and came back toward her, staring down at her, his eyes dark and bleak.

  “If we hadn’t, both James and our mate would be dead.”

  He looked grim, never taking his eyes from hers. “Thanks, Joe.”

  He disconnected and tossed the cell phone onto the nightstand, looking up as James entered the bedroom.

  “Are they gone?”

  James smiled faintly and held on to the doorway, his eyes narrowed to mere slits.

  “Yeah. Brown’s suspicious as hell but has no idea what to suspect. He is acting strange.”

  Marc nodded grimly. “He’s up to something. He wasn’t this bad before, but since I’ve been back—hell, since we found Bailey in the woods—he’s been worse. Christ, what a mess. I’ll deal with it later. Joe’s on his way here to look at both of you. James, don’t fall asleep. Bailey, I’ve got to get you cleaned up.”

  Bailey nodded and tried to lift her arm to take off her blood-soaked shirt, but her arm felt twice as heavy. Since it only hurt when she lifted it, she put it back down and reached for James, who looked as tired as she felt.

  “Okay. Did you say James might have a concussion? Can’t we just make up a story about how he got hurt and—”

  “No.” Marc pulled the hem of her shirt away from her, sank his teeth into it, and ripped it. Straightening, he continued to rip her shirt to shreds, his movements careful and slow and his eyes watchful on hers.

  “Let’s just get you out of this, sweetheart. Help’s on the way.”

  Bailey grimaced as he tossed her tattered shirt toward the bathroom. “Sorry about this. It seems like you’re always taking care of me.”

  Leaning forward, he touched his lips to hers.

  “I know you’ll find this hard to believe after everything I’ve said, but I’d like the chance to spend the rest of my life taking care of you and keeping you safe.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Lying on her stomach, Bailey kept looking back and forth from James, who lay propped against the headboard next to her, and Marc, who never stopped pacing.

  “You’re as nervous as a cat.”

  Pleased with her joke, she met his glare with a smile.

  “Maybe a glass of milk would calm you down.”

  From beside her, James chuckled.

  “It appears our mate likes to live dangerously.”

  Unable to resist, Bailey grinned, trying to move to a more comfortable position.

  “Danger from you? Nah, you’re just two pussycats.”

  “Jesus, she sounds just like my mate.”

  Startled at the unfamiliar voice, Bailey started to turn, wincing at the pain in her shoulder.

  With a hand on her back, James kept her from rising, the obvious effort it cost him keeping her still more than anything.

  “Stay still. It’s Joe Diablo, another member of our pack
—family. He’s had quite a bit of medical training, and he’ll take good care of you. I promise. He’s the one who we called for advice the night we found you in the woods.”

  Marc came forward and knelt at her side, running a hand over her bare back and hitching the covers just a little bit higher.

  “He’ll take care of both of you.” His gaze lifted to a spot over her other shoulder. “Thanks for coming, Joe.”

  James looked up toward the doorway and smiled.

  “I see you brought a posse.”

  Curious, and very aware of her nakedness beneath the covers, Bailey turned her head toward her injured side, alarmed at the amount of blood soaking the towel Joe lifted from her right shoulder.

  She supposed she shouldn’t have been surprised to see that he, too, had black hair, which framed a face so incredibly gorgeous and hard it appeared chiseled from stone. His brown eyes, several shades darker than James’s, sharpened as he inspected her shoulder, his lips thinning.

  The gentleness in his touch surprised her, his fingers light as they probed.

  From her left side, she heard two low growls as both James and Marc caressed her back and hair.

  Joe glanced over her back before smiling down at her.

  “Easy. Your mate’s safe with me. As for the posse…you said you had trouble. Why don’t you go out to the other room with them and tell them what’s going on while I take care of your mate? Hi, honey. I’m Joe. I’m going to give you something to numb your shoulder. It’s going to hurt a bit, but then it’ll feel much better.”

  Marc pulled the covers up higher.

  “I’m not leaving.”

  Bailey shivered at the cold liquid Joe poured over her shoulder, clenching her teeth when he started to dab around her wound. Now that she’d had a chance to calm down, it had really started to hurt, and now it stung.

  “Hi, Joe. I’m Bailey. Can you take care of James? Please.”

  She’d kept up a running conversation with James over the last two hours, needing to hear his voice and to know that he was all right.

  Joe smiled, but he appeared to be concentrating on the contents of what she assumed was a bag he’d placed next to the bed.

  “James is being tended to right now.”

  “Son of a bitch! What the fuck is that?”

  She turned her head again just in time to see James snarl at yet another black-haired man.

  “Jeez, do all of you have black hair?”

  Joe nodded and began to fill a syringe.

  “Yes, and it tends to draw attention when we’re together, so we tell everyone we’re related. Hell, we may be. Who knows?”

  Another man came over, took her hand, and placed it close to her face, easing the pillow out from under her head.

  “Hello, Bailey. I’m Vincent, Joe’s better-looking younger brother.”

  Bailey couldn’t imagine a man more handsome than Joe, but, amazingly, Vincent was. His face didn’t have the hard lines and edges of his brother’s, but his eyes held the same intelligence and strength. They also held concern and a twinkle of amusement.

  Even being this close to him, though, her pulse didn’t race as it did with Marc and James.

  Joe shook his head as he brought the needle toward her shoulder.

  “He keeps saying that, hoping that one day it’ll be true. A little pinch here, honey. Just stay real still for me.”

  Vincent pressed a hand between her shoulder blades as Joe stuck the needle into her shoulder, the firm pressure not allowing any movement when she flinched.

  Drawing a hissing breath, Bailey squeezed her eyes closed.

  “Shit. That hurts.”

  The deep growls from behind her, so fierce and familiar, made her smile.

  Joe finished and removed the needle, glaring over her shoulder.

  “Don’t you fucking growl at me. I’m trying to help her. If you didn’t trust me, you wouldn’t have called me, remember? Mitch, will you please finish up with James? Joshua, help Mitch get them out of here. Call in Dane and Graham if you need to.”

  “I don’t need any help.” The voice, much deeper than the other men’s, rumbled with amusement and threat.

  Marc’s hand came over her back as Vincent removed his.

  “I’m not going anywhere, and if you try to make me, you’re going to end up even uglier than you already are.” His lips touched her left shoulder. “It’s okay, baby. I know it hurts. I won’t leave you.”

  Anxious to see who else was in the room, Bailey turned her head, careful not to move too fast. One man tended to a glowering James while another huge man, dressed entirely in leather, stood back a few feet, his arms crossed over his chest.

  He had a barrel chest, heavily tattooed arms, and thighs like tree trunks. Everything about him, including the smile he shot at Marc, appeared threatening. His features, hard and cold, softened somewhat, but didn’t make him look any less intimidating.

  This was a man who would draw attention wherever he went, scaring the hell out of all those around him.

  Bailey didn’t scare easily but, even with Marc and James between her and Joshua, had to admit to being more than a little daunted by the giant of a man.

  James smiled at her reassuringly and gestured toward the man unwrapping gauze from a package.

  “Bailey, this brute with no compassion is Mitch. The giant standing over there trying to look intimidating is Joshua.”

  Wincing at the probing fingers at the back of her shoulder, Bailey swallowed heavily. “He looks pretty intimidating to me.”

  * * * *

  As soon as Mitch finished bandaging James’s head, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small tan packet, worry evident in his smile as he handed it to James.

  “Take one of these and go lie down someplace else. I need to help Joe with your mate.”

  Bailey frowned. “You people like to throw that word around a lot, don’t you?”

  A pregnant pause followed as the men looked at each other somberly. Almost as one, all eyes turned toward Joe.

  Curious, she turned her head again, pleased to find it didn’t hurt her shoulder at all.

  Joe and Vincent were in the process of tearing gauze and instruments from packages, but Joe paused, his eyes meeting hers, a sadness in them that pulled at her.

  “We’ve all come to appreciate the value of mates and realize they’re irreplaceable. We also realize we have a responsibility to them to keep them safe, and part of that is keeping our true identities hidden.”

  Mitch finished cleaning up the supplies he’d used for James.

  “Now that we know that it’s possible, we all have hopes of finding our own mates. You can bet that we’re not going to fuck it up the way these guys did.”

  Marc never took his eyes from her, the gentle plea in them melting her heart.

  “Hopefully, we figured it out in time to get her to forgive us.”

  James moved closer to her side, shooting Marc a look of superiority.

  “Speak for yourself. I didn’t act like an ass the way you did.” Wincing, he dropped his head onto the pillow next to her, his eyelids drooping.

  “Why you people insisted on fighting what you want is beyond me.”

  Joshua shook his head and grunted, but Bailey could see the concern in his eyes when he helped a groggy James to his feet.

  “Well, it took a shot in the head for you to figure it out.”

  James smiled in her direction, his eyes glassy.

  “No, we figured it out before, didn’t we, Bailey?”

  Smiling back, she reached for his hand. “Yes, we certainly did.”

  Joshua met her look of concern and nodded once in understanding, the bare semblance of a smile touching his lips softening his features and making him appear almost approachable. His concern for James, and his obvious affection for him, made Bailey feel much better.

  “Don’t worry. Your mate will be just fine. Come on, James, and you can tell me all about it.”

  Marc looked
over his shoulder. “Put him in the other bedroom.”

  As Joshua left the room, half dragging, half supporting a disgruntled James, Bailey tried to turn her head back toward Joe, but Mitch stopped her with a hand in her hair.

  “Keep your head turned this way, honey.”

  Alarmed, Bailey lifted her gaze to Marc’s.

  “Oh, shit. He’s doing something, isn’t he? Something he doesn’t want me to see.” She could feel pressure against her shoulder, but nothing else through the numbness. Gritting her teeth, she imagined all sorts of things he could be doing to her. Hell, he could be cutting into her for all she knew, the mental image of it making her slightly nauseous.

  “What’s he doing? No. Don’t tell me. Shit. Tell me.”

  From behind her head, Joe chuckled, the tension in his tone hard to mistake. “Don’t worry about what I’m doing. You just concentrate on staying still while I fix you right up. Tell me how you met Marc and James. You must have met them recently because we just had a reunion and neither one of them mentioned you. If they’d met you, I’m sure we would have heard about you.”

  Mitch shot a look at Marc and removed his hand from her head, his attention on her shoulder and what must have been a variety of items above her head. He reached for something, and then his hand disappeared behind her.

  “If I found my mate, I’d sure as hell mention her, especially if she was as beautiful as you are.”

  Marc rubbed her arm.

  “Stop flirting with my woman. Easy. Oh, God, Bailey, does that hurt?”

  “Would you shut the fuck up? Bailey, honey, you’re fine.” Mitch rubbed her back, and shot a dirty look at Marc. “Why don’t you go check on the others?”

  “I’m not leaving her.”

  Touched by his concern, Bailey reached for his hand, trying not to imagine what Joe and Mitch were doing to her shoulder. “It doesn’t hurt, Marc. Tell them how we met.”

  Mitch grinned and wiped her back with something. “We’d rather hear it from you.”

  Bailey kept her eyes on Marc’s. “He and James saved me. I’m surprised Leland didn’t tell you.”

  Mitch glanced over her shoulder. “Leland didn’t come back. He got a lead on his mate and called. We’re waiting to hear from him.”