by Becca Van
“Why didn’t you call the police?” Jerry asked. “Hell, why didn’t you go to the shelter you worked for? Someone there could have protected you.”
“Mary’s husband was a very influential man and well connected, and he felt that I somehow convinced Mary to divorce him and in doing so ruined his life and career. He threatened me by saying he was going to pay some women he knew to go to the police and tell them they were mistreated by someone at the shelter and then use his connections to shut it down. I couldn’t risk that happening.
“So many women and children went there looking for help and protection when they had nowhere else to go. There was no way I was going to hang around and watch him destroy so many more lives.” Alyson sighed. “I didn’t want to be the deciding factor in that asshole hurting more people.
“Besides, I knew that Mary was safely hidden. If he couldn’t get to me, then he couldn’t get to Mary either. Even a man with Virgil Minogue’s resources could only find her with a lot of effort. I packed up my stuff, handed in my resignation, and worked my way to Aztec. It took me six months to get here. I didn’t want to make it easy for that asshole if he was following me. I was careful and spent most of the time looking over my shoulder.” Alyson glanced at Jerry and shrugged. “You know the rest.”
“You can’t stay here by yourself. It’s not safe.” Jerry stood up and pulled his cell phone from his pocket. “Why don’t you start packing while I call in reinforcements?”
“What are you talking about?” Alyson asked as she, too, rose from the sofa. “I’m safe enough. Virgil doesn’t know where I am.”
“Are you sure about that?” Jerry spun and pinned her with a frown. “You’ve been traveling under your real name. When you filled out paperwork to work for me, you used your social security number, and this isn’t the first job you’ve had since leaving home. Employers, me included, have run background checks on you and paychecks have been deposited into your bank account every step of the way. A clever man or a rich one could use any of those to find out where you are.”
Alyson felt the blood drain from her face. Shit! How could I be so naïve? Virgil probably knew where she was every step of the way. It didn’t take a genius to realize it would be easy to find someone from their social security number, especially if he had help, like a private investigator. Even though Virgil had been a drunk and abusive, he wasn’t short on funds. He’d been a hedge fund manager, and Mary had told her his parents had been wealthy and powerful and had left him with a large amount of cash after they had died.
“Rylan,” Jerry said into his phone. Alyson moved closer and shook her head. Why was he calling the Friess brothers? She could take care of herself. She had been doing it for a long time.
Jerry scowled at her but continued with his conversation. “You need to get over to Alyson’s right now. She needs to be kept safe. I’ll explain everything when you get here.”
Alyson frowned as Jerry rattled off her address and then disconnected the call. “What the hell did you call him for?”
“You remind me of my niece, girl. Do you think I’ll just sit around and do nothing when you’re in trouble?” Jerry asked gruffly. “Go and start packing, because you aren’t going to have a choice when Rylan gets here.”
“You can’t tell me what to do!” Alyson yelled and then took a deep breath as she tried to control her frustration. “I am an adult, for goodness’ sake.”
She picked up the half-eaten pizza and carried her plate to the kitchen, where she dumped the pizza in the trash and then filled the sink with hot, soapy water. The kitchen was so small she didn’t have the luxury of a dishwasher. A noise behind her alerted her that Jerry had followed her.
“If you don’t want all your stuff packed haphazardly, I would start getting busy if I were you.”
“I’m not leaving. You and those furry butts can’t make me do anything I don’t want to. I think you should leave.”
“Oh, no. I’m not going anywhere. I know I’ve only known you for two weeks, Alyson, but you are like a niece to me and I’m not going to stand by and watch you get hurt.”
Alyson spun around to face Jerry and slammed her hands on her hips, heedless that they were dripping and soapy.
“Look, I really appreciate it that you are looking after me, Jerry. I really do, but I have been taking care of myself for years. I don’t need your or their help.”
“God, you sound like you’ve lived for fifty years instead of only twenty-three. I understand you don’t want to lose your independence, Alyson. Just give those men a chance. You have no idea what you would be throwing away. Don’t live with regret for the rest of your life because you’re afraid. I had the chance to be happy, and I let my fear dictate my decisions. I have regretted that for years. Don’t end up bitter and lonely like I have because you’re fearful.”
Alyson hated to see sadness and loneliness in her gruff boss’s eyes. He’d touched her heart by telling her she was like a niece to him. She opened her mouth to reply, but a knock on the door halted her speech. She glanced nervously at the door but didn’t move toward it. Jerry gave her a last look and then went to answer the knock.
Rylan walked across the threshold of her small house with Tarkyn and Chevy following right behind. Her breathing escalated as their imposing presence seemed to suck the oxygen out of the room. God, they were magnificent. Her breasts swelled and her nipples turned turgid. Alyson squeezed her thighs together, trying to ease the ache in her clit and pussy as fluid seeped out onto her panties.
“What’s going on, Jerry?” Rylan hadn’t taken his eyes off her from the moment he walked into her small house, and although she tried to break their connection, she couldn’t seem to manage it.
Jerry began to explain, which pissed her off, but Alyson couldn’t find her voice, so she turned her stare into a scowl and narrowed her eyes.
Tarkyn and Chevy walked around Rylan and skirted Jerry until they were standing next to her in the kitchen. She wanted to rush to her bedroom and lock herself in, but she was frozen in place. When they each placed a hand on her back, she came out of her trance and tried to move away. Before she had taken three steps, Tarkyn snagged her around the waist and pulled her back against his front. She inhaled deeply when she felt the hard ridge of his erect cock against the top of her ass and the small of her back. The guy was huge.
“Pack your stuff, Alyson. You’re coming home with us,” Rylan said in a voice steely with determination.
“I’ll leave you to it,” Jerry said as he scooped the truck keys up from the counter and moved toward the door. “Don’t worry about the truck, honey. I’ll get one of the others to pick it up tomorrow.”
“What do you mean you’ll have someone pick the truck up?”
“It’s too dangerous for you to be making deliveries alone. You can come back to work when all this is over.” Just before he closed the door he looked around Rylan at her. “Just remember what I said, Alyson, and call me if you want to talk.”
Alyson pulled away from Tarkyn and eyed Rylan warily as she moved toward the sofa. Shit, what am I going to do now? If Jerry wasn’t going to let her work until she was safe, there was no way she was going to be able to pay her bills. God save me from overbearing men! They could demand all they wanted, but there was no way she was going home with them. She would just have to find another place of employment, but with the economic downturn and high unemployment rates, that wasn’t going to be so easy. She sat down and stubbornly crossed her arms over her chest, staring at the TV, pointedly ignoring them.
“Okay, if that’s the way you want to play it, you just sit there and rest.” Rylan walked into her bedroom.
Alyson shot off the sofa and hurried after him.
“Just what the hell do you think you’re doing? Get out! I don’t want you here.” She glared at him and pointed toward her front door.
“You can protest all you want, but I know you want us just as much as we want you. I can smell you creaming from here.”
<
br /> “I can’t help the way my body responds to you. Shit.” Alyson turned away from him and began pacing the small space between her TV and sofa. “I can’t believe you three. I don’t need or want your help. Please just leave.”
Alyson made her way back to the sofa and threw herself on it in a fit of pique. Tarkyn came over and knelt at her feet while Chevy took the seat next to her. She was surrounded by their heat and masculine scents, which caused her pussy to contract and gush out more fluid. Rylan stood in the doorway of her small bedroom, watching her.
“Aly, we can’t leave you here alone when you’re in danger.” Chevy placed his hand on her knee. “We are your mates and it’s our job to protect you. We want you in our lives, honey, but we aren’t going to force you to do anything you don’t want to. My brothers and I share a suite of rooms in the pack house, and we have a spare bedroom you can use. You can have it all to yourself. We promise not to invade your privacy.”
That didn’t sound as bad as she’d thought. Considering how bossy they were, it almost seemed reasonable. But she stood firm. “I don’t need your protection.”
Rylan moved closer and stood over her but then he leaned down so he could see her eyes. “You do need protection. That asshole probably already knows where you live and is biding his time to come after you. He could even have hired someone else to do his dirty work for him. Are you willing to let him torture you until he has the information he needs? You are the only person who knows what his wife and baby’s new names are and where they’ve gone, Alyson. He isn’t going to let up until he has what he wants.”
They’re right. And they would protect me…No. Be firm. “I can look after myself.”
“You are so fucking stubborn,” Tarkyn snapped and gripped her upper arms. His hold was firm but caused her no pain. He moved in closer until their noses were nearly touching. “Are you invincible, Alyson? Can you face a bullet and not get hurt? He is going to come after you and do whatever his sick mind can think up and cause you pain without a qualm. Don’t you get that?”
“Of course I do. I’m not stupid,” she cried out.
“Then why are you acting it?” Rylan squatted at her side. “You’ve already seen the damage that bastard can do. Do you think he’s just going to walk up to you and ask you politely where his wife and daughter are?”
Alyson shook her head. She knew what they were saying was true. Virgil Minogue had threatened to beat and rape and then kill her if she didn’t tell him where Mary and their daughter were. But Alyson was determined not to give him anything on his family. She would take all the information on them to the grave with her if she had to.
“Darlin’.” Chevy rubbed her arm. “Please let us help you. No one should have to face what you’re facing without help. Please?”
Alyson sighed and closed her eyes. They were getting to her, but although she was scared out of her wits that Virgil would find her, what she felt for the three Friess brothers scared her more. It wasn’t because she was beginning to care for them. She refused to entertain the thought. It was because she had seen how lost the shelter’s women and children had been after things had gone bad. Not all the women she had helped had been from abusive relationships. Some of them had found themselves without a home and had come seeking help at the shelter until they had gotten over the shock of finding themselves adrift after sharing their lives with someone they had thought of as special. What those bewildered women had needed was a shoulder to cry on and for someone to listen to them. Then, after they had expelled their hurt, anger had taken over. Many times Alyson had watched the women gather themselves, determined to turn their lives around and start over.
Alyson didn’t want to suffer through what those poor women had. The pain and devastation she had seen in their eyes had been heartbreaking. She had vowed never to get mixed up with a man, ever.
She opened her eyes to find Chevy’s mouth close to hers. She licked her lips and stared at his. He leaned forward and brushed his warm, soft flesh back and forth over hers, like he was easing her into accepting his mouth. He sucked her lower lip between his and nibbled on it lightly with his teeth.
Alyson moaned and pressed her body into his until her cotton-covered nipples were rubbing against his chest. Chevy released her lip, opened his mouth over hers, and thrust his tongue into her depths. He tasted so good. His spicy, masculine flavor exploded on her taste buds, and she responded by tangling her tongue with his. All her previous resolutions faded. She knew she would never get enough of him and his brothers.
Chevy wrapped his arms around her, pulled her onto his lap, and deepened the kiss even more. Alyson hadn’t known such feelings or desires existed until she’d met these three men. Her blood heated from the inside and her pussy clenched and released with each swipe of his tongue over hers. He kissed her with such hunger that her body went up in flames.
A hand cupped her breast and flicked her nipple. Another hand molded her other breast and pinched her aching peak between thumb and finger. It was enough to send her hurtling over the edge and into paroxysms of pleasure. Her cry of rapture was muffled by his mouth, and the hands on her breast pulled at her nipples until the last shudder left her body.
When Chevy withdrew his mouth from hers, she was pleased to find he was panting as heavily as she was.
“You are so fucking sexy, baby,” Rylan whispered in her ear and then nipped her earlobe. “You look beautiful when you come.”
Alyson turned to look at Rylan and Tarkyn as more heat rushed into her cheeks. She had been so wrapped up in Chevy she had almost forgotten his brothers were there.
You’re lying, girl. You knew they were there the whole time, and they helped you get off without even taking your clothes off.
Shut up, Alyson told her inner voice.
Though she could deny it all she wanted, she knew that she would go home with them. At least she would have the protection they’d offered, she thought, but she didn’t fool herself that that was the only reason she was going along with them.
Oh God, Alyson, you are so screwed.
Chapter Six
Rylan nipped and licked Alyson’s earlobe and then placed his nose against the skin of her neck and inhaled deeply. His wolf was clamoring for dominance, telling him to claim his mate by biting the tender place where her neck and shoulder met. He let a growl rumble up from his chest as he fought for supremacy. Biting Alyson there would claim her as his. His wolf didn’t want to wait until she was ready, but Rylan would never allow himself to claim her without her permission. His human side won, but his mate had stiffened at his growl.
The tension seeped from his muscles when he didn’t smell fear on her. She was nervous but not frightened. That was something at least. Taking a deep breath, he pulled back and slowly rose to his feet. The pressure his jeans had been placing on his hard, aching cock eased slightly as he straightened.
He held a hand out toward her. “Come and help me pack your stuff, baby. You don’t want me to do it all if you don’t want your clothes all wrinkled.”
Rylan’s tension eased even more when she placed her hand in his and let him help her up. Then he looked at his brothers. “Why don’t you two start packing up the kitchen?”
“Oh. No, wait. You don’t have to do that,” Alyson said over her shoulder as he started to pull her toward the bedroom.
“We want to help you, Alyson,” Chevy said.
“What I meant was that everything in here stays. The only belongings I have are in my bedroom and the bathroom. The place was fully stocked, including crockery, silverware, and linen.”
“All the better.” Tarkyn grabbed the plate on the coffee table and the empty pizza box. “Chevy and I will clean up while you and Rylan gather your things.”
Rylan let go of Alyson’s hand and began to open drawers, pulling her things out and placing them on the bed. “Do you have a suitcase, baby?”
“Yeah, I have two. They’re on the top shelf in the closet. I’ll go and get my things from the
bathroom.”
Rylan slid the door to her closet open and silently cursed when he saw how little she had. The dresser had only been half full, and she only had three bras. At least Alyson had more pairs of panties. He pulled the cases down and tried to fold her things carefully and put them in the case. Rylan had managed to fold her only two sweaters before she was back from the bathroom. She had a small clear plastic bag containing the bare necessities like generic shampoo and conditioner as well as deodorant, toothpaste, a toothbrush, and stuff all females needed. What pissed him off was that she had nothing to pamper herself with. There were no moisturizers or creams. He bit his tongue and kept quiet as he pulled a pair of jeans off the hanger.
“Here, let me do that.” Alyson smiled at him as she placed the impromptu toiletry bag into one of the cases.
Curiosity got the better of him. “Is this all you have?”
As soon as he asked, he mentally cursed his own bluntness. Red tinged her cheeks, and he felt like a real bastard. “I’m sorry, baby. I didn’t mean to embarrass you. I just thought you would have more. I thought since you had a degree you would have had some savings from your previous job.”
“I did.” She whispered her reply and lowered her head as she pulled her lower lip into her mouth. “I couldn’t stand to see the disappointment on the faces of the kids when we let them go through the secondhand clothes that were donated.”
“You used your own money to buy them new stuff?” Rylan asked as he dropped the jeans onto the bed and pulled her into his arms.
