~ Part 5: Justified ~
~ ~ ~
Chapter 15
Liam looked back down at his phone in disgust when another text message from Sweeten came through.
Don’t bring that buffoon of a werewolf with you or the deal’s off. I won’t tolerate his incompetence a teensy-weensy second longer. It’s you and me and your delicious girlfriend or nothing.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
“Angus says he won’t deal with Courtland anymore. Only me.”
“The hell I’m letting you do this alone.”
Liam ground his teeth together to keep from punching something. “He wants my mate, Irish. And the hell I’m letting that happen.”
“So you’re calling her your mate now?” Irish asked, his tone amused.
“Isn’t that what she is? I bit her, drank from her. That makes her my mate.”
Irish grinned. “Uh-huh, brother. That’s what makes her your mate.”
Liam narrowed his eyes, irritated by Irish’s taunts about Freya. She was his. End of. “Look, right now isn’t the time to sing Liam and Freya sittin’ in a tree.”
Irish barked a laugh. “Claire told me you two were officially Freyum.”
“Irish…” Liam warned.
“Okay, okay. Icky chick emotions aside, not a chance in hell we’re letting Angus get his hands on Freya. So next move.”
“You could dangle me as the carrot,” Freya called from the cabin’s steps, her voice carrying on the bitter wind.
Liam’s gut wrenched, a hard jolt so hard that, had he any breath to give, he’d have lost it. Her willingness to help was huge to him. Would be huge to his clan. But not a chance in hell was he letting Angus touch one hair on her head.
He held out a hand to her, one she reached for as she made her way down the steps. “What are you doing up?” he asked, shooting her a smile. Every time he saw her, his stomach tightened and his chest swelled with pride.
She touched her ear with the tip of her finger, reaching down to stroke Clarence’s head when he nudged her knee. “Vampire hearing. I think it might be just a little better than a werewolf’s.”
“Freya,” Irish acknowledged her, tipping his head in her direction. “Welcome to the clan.”
She winced, her blue eyes sheepish. “Sorry.”
But Irish squeezed her shoulder in reassurance. “Not your fault, if what Liam tells me is true about what happened that night.”
Freya nodded her head with a wry smile. “It’s totally true. You don’t really think I’d give up red meat forever without a real fight, do you?”
Irish barked a laugh, glancing at Liam with eyes full of approval. “I like her. Okay, so let’s get to the business at hand. Reconnecting with Angus. And no, Freya. I know what you’re thinking and as your clan leader, I’m telling you, not gonna happen.”
“But—”
“No buts, Freya. I don’t know why Angus has decided you’re the trade-off or what, if any, his fixation is with you, but as right hand of the Fangs, I’m agreeing with Irish,” Liam said, his lips thinning in discontent.
She dropped Liam’s hand and planted her knuckles on her hips. “First of all, Angus and I did have some pretty scintillating conversation. After all the witty barbs we traded, I’d want to hook up with me were I him, too. I’m a good catch,” she said with that flippant tone he’d come to chuckle silently over. “But just hear me out. I’m not saying you actually give me-give me to him. I’m just suggesting we make him think you’re giving me to him.”
Liam cocked his head. “Bait and switch?”
Freya’s face went hard under the moonlight. He hated seeing her discord—which was maddening. “Why not? Then we ambush him. It beats having to involve Courtland again, right? We skip the middleman and go straight to the source. Then you squeeze whatever he has out of him until he bleeds like a stuck pig.”
Liam brushed her hair from her face. “Easy there, Tiger. No bleeding anything. Let us handle that.”
But Freya made a face and shuddered. “He’s an animal. A disgusting piece of shit who deserves every horror he’s ever thrust upon some innocent times ten. I’m all for killing the puke so he never darkens our doorsteps again.”
“But hold on,” Irish interjected. “Angus isn’t going to fall for us just giving you up, Freya. He surely must have sensed you and Liam are involved in some way.”
She deflated instantly. Damn it. “When Liam came rushing in to save me, he told Angus he’d kill him if he harmed his mate.”
Liam shook his head as he turned to head back to the house, tugging Clarence’s leash to follow. “It’s too risky, anyway. A guy who’s managed to escape the law for as long as he has isn’t an idiot.”
Freya trotted up the stairs behind him with Irish in tow. “Then I have an even better idea.”
Liam pushed the cabin door open with a chuckle and pointed to the chair, motioning for Irish to sit. “I’m all ears.”
* * * *
Irish blinked at Liam, the firelight highlighting what Freya was sure was admiration for her in his eyes. “It could work, Liam. I don’t like it, but it’s smart.”
But Liam wasn’t having it. He bolted upward from the couch and shook his head, his fists clenched. “The hell I’m letting Courtland put his hands on her, Irish! It’s almost as bad as the part where we hand her over to Angus.”
Freya jumped off the couch, too, holding up a hand to slow him down. “Don’t go knuckle-dragger on me now, Liam. This could work. Really work. Listen, Courtland’s too stupid to know we’re screwing him, and if Angus wants nothing to do with him during this negotiation, he’ll never know you told Angus I was your mate.”
“That’s damn risky, Freya. Maybe even more like suicidal. To trust that Courtland won’t communicate with Angus?”
“But you said yourself he totally believes you weren’t with me the night Ethan died, even after Petra told him you were. He’s fallen for whatever it is you have that sucks him into your web of lies. He really believes you’ve been booted out of the Fangs. What’s one more lie? So let’s use your weird influence over him to our advantage.”
“And how do we explain to Angus why I called you my mate?” Shit, he’d lost all sense of reason when he’d seen Freya in agony at the hands of Sweeten.
But Freya smiled sweetly at him. “We lie. That’s how. We tell him I’m a whoring, lying, cheating mate, and that’s why you had me in that crazy circle of garlic and crosses. Because you hunted my unfaithful ass down and planned to punish me before killing me.”
Liam ran his hand over his jaw. “While you watched Kitchen Crashers?”
“Okay, so you’re not a sadistic captor.”
“Your storytelling leaves me in awe, Freya.”
She grinned up at him and chuckled. “I was a lawyer. Game face and bluffing is my jam.”
Irish nodded his agreement. “She’s got a point, Liam. Courtland’s latched on to you as some sort of surrogate. He was willing to let you negotiate with Angus, for Christ’s sake, knowing full well you might be able to talk Angus into a better deal and cut Courtland out of the cash flow for the blood completely. Does that make any sense to you? To let you negotiate a gig with Angus that could possibly take money from the Dogs’ pockets?”
“Well, to be fair, I did tell him I wanted to get my hands on the blood so I could hold it hostage and use it as a way to get revenge on you and the Fangs. I knew he’d love the revenge theme there. Courtland sopped that tidbit up with a biscuit because you’re mated to the one woman he hates more than anyone else.”
Irish shook his head in disbelief. “Jesus, I can’t believe there hasn’t been mutiny by the pack at this point.”
Freya snorted. “Oh, it’s been bandied about, but only in hushed whispers. Most everyone in the pack is afraid of Courtland. He’s big on the iron fist rule.”
Liam grimaced. “Because that’s what he’s good at. But he doesn’t like this part of the business his brother had going on with Angus because he doesn
’t understand it. He’s just not smart enough to keep Angus in line, and I think Courtland secretly knows that. It didn’t take me long to worm my way into his good graces and take over the business aspect of things, did it? He gave me free blood for life as my reward. He damn well likes the title of alpha, but the position and the work that goes with it is too hard for him.”
“As a former pack member, nothing Courtland does surprises me, but I have to admit, you worming your way into the cockles of his heart caught me off guard.”
That was when Liam let his head hang low. “I can’t tell you the kind of bullshit I’ve fed him over the past couple of months. The promises I made about the shitstorm of terror we’d rain down on the heads of the vampires in town. Sometimes, it was all I could do not to tear my tongue out for the lies I told him. Especially about the vamplings—about my feelings for Hadley and…” Liam stopped, the disgust in his face evident.
Now Freya reached for his hand. She hadn’t given much thought to what had gone into convincing Courtland that Liam really wanted to be a part of the Dogs, but judging from the rage in his eyes, some of those lies had eaten him up, and she hated it. It hurt to see him hurt.
Irish rose from the couch and bumped Liam’s shoulder. “You did what you had to, Liam. We all know that. Whatever you had to say to get inside will never be held against you. In fact, you did such a good job, he gave us exactly what we needed.”
Freya fought the repulsion at having to see Angus again, look into his pink eyes, feel his breath on her face, but she’d do it if it meant capturing him. “Okay, so it’s clear Courtland’s easily duped. Let’s dupe the hell out of him. I’m ready if you are.”
Liam’s jaw hardened. “I’m not convinced handing you over like some kind of sacrificial lamb is the right thing to do.”
“Got a better idea?”
Liam shook his head. “No. But if you just give me a little time—”
Frustration made her lash out at him. “We don’t have any more time, Liam! And for your information, I’m no weakling. I handled myself well enough, despite my coronation in garlic. You and the Fangs won’t be far behind me. I’m not saying it probably won’t have its rough patches, but we’ll get through it. We have to, or do you want the vamplings to die because they have nothing to feed on?”
“Of course I don’t want them to die, but I don’t want you to die either, Freya!” Liam shouted at her, his face red, his fists clenched at his sides.
Her heart flipped over in her chest. Right there in front of Irish, she melted. This thing between she and Liam was growing—growing faster than even she’d expected it to—and his blatant fear for her safety ate her up inside.
Rather than argue, she walked toward him, drove her arms under his and buried her face in his chest. “I know,” she whispered. “I don’t want that either.”
“But I know you’re right,” he mumbled, his lips pressed to the top of her head. “I damn well don’t like it, but I know you’re the perfect decoy.”
Irish placed a hand on his brother’s shoulder. “Then we have some planning to do.”
Chapter 16
Two days later, snuggled in beside Liam in his bed, Freya threw a leg over his thigh and smiled, so content after another round of his delicious lovemaking.
He stroked her back in the dark of the room, moving to skim the underside of her breast, making her purr. “Don’t you start, McConnell. We have a long day tomorrow,” she teased, hoping to keep this last night together light before they took on Angus.
But the heavy weight of what they were about to do sat in the room with them like an elephant from the circus had parked his ass square in the corner.
His arm around her tightened possessively, making her curl against his hard body. “I know.”
Rising up on an elbow, she cupped his jaw, running her thumb over his lip. “It’s going to be okay. I’ll be really careful. I promise you.”
He nipped at her fingertip. “You can back out, Freya. You don’t have to do this. You don’t owe the clan anything.”
Yeah. He’d said that over and over. All while they’d hatched this plan with Irish and some of the Fangs. While they’d tried to watch TV last night, but couldn’t seem to focus on anything but this meet with Angus. While they’d researched demons online and how to kill them permanently then consulted with some of Irish’s old friends in The Opposition. While they’d showered together tonight, and again just before he’d made love to her.
She knew she didn’t owe the clan anything, but owing them had nothing to do with wanting to be an active member. Vampirism was her fate now but even as a were, she’d have done this. Because children were involved, children who needed this blood to survive.
Leaning in, she kissed his lips, letting the warmth of his protective, sometimes fierce words settle into her bones. “I know I don’t have to do this. I want to do this. For the good of everyone.”
Liam grabbed her hand and pulled it to his mouth. “I have a really bad feeling I can’t damn well shake, Freya.”
Resting her cheek on his forehead, she nodded. “That’s because Angus is an entity of bad feelings. He invented them. It’s only natural you’d feel badly.”
He tightened his grip on her hand. “Don’t be glib. Not tonight, when I feel like I’m sending a lamb to slaughter.”
“I resent being called something as meek as a lamb. I’m more tiger than lamb.”
“You may be more tiger, but Angus is a dragon, Freya.”
“Okay, you win this round of who has the bigger zoo.”
“Still not finding the humor in this.”
“Look, Liam, I know this is risky. I know the variables. We only went over them a hundred times today. I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.”
His whole body tensed even as she roamed her hands over his chest to soothe him. “Just lie here with me tonight. Let’s not talk anymore.”
Patting the bed, he snapped his fingers to signal Clarence should jump in next to them and then he pulled her close, tucking her beside him.
As Clarence snuggled next to her side, his soft moan of contentment drifting through the room, she focused on one thing and one thing only—getting out of this plan in one piece so she could come right back here to Liam’s cabin.
She wasn’t going to think about what happened after they’d instituted this crazy plan. She wasn’t going to wonder how they’d handle her vampirism or the council or the clan or anything else.
Tonight, she was going to do exactly as Liam said. Lie beside the man she was becoming more and more attached to and pray.
Hard.
* * * *
Liam rolled his shoulders, pacing the spot where they’d directed Courtland to meet them. He was edgy and tense and as a result, adding to the turmoil her stomach was in. “You sure you’re okay?”
“Stop asking me that!” she hissed, fighting the urge to shriek. “I’m fine. Yes, I’m definitely nervous. But you’re only making it worse, pacing back and forth like an expectant father. Stand still. Please.”
Instantly, Liam stopped, his hand reaching for the trunk of the tree they stood under just outside the Zone. The night was bone chilling, according to the temps on the app on Liam’s phone, and she was thankful she couldn’t feel it. The gloom of the midnight hour, coupled with the frosty glare of the moon on the ice-dipped tree branches, only accentuated her vampire’s black mood.
More than once tonight he’d latched on to her, pulled her close, held her without speaking. More than once, she’d clung to him, too, savoring his strength, hoping to store some of it away to get her through this meet.
He ran a finger down the side of her face with a tender swipe. “I’m sorry, warrior. I’ll try not to freak out as I hand my mate over to Courtland so he can give you the once over before I leave you to Angus like some trussed-up goddamn turkey.”
“What is it with you and animal references?” she joked.
Liam’s eyes glittered in the dark, hard and riddled with worry
. “Wasn’t funny last night, still not funny tonight. Take this seriously, please, Freya. I need you to have your wits about you. I need you to be safe.”
When she glanced at him, his beautifully chiseled face tight, his lips thinned, her stomach did that somersault followed by the flutter of butterfly wings. She let her cheek rest against the palm he placed upon it. “So one last time, are we sure Irish’s friend Mathias has what we need to take care of Angus?”
This item, this magical mystical tool that was supposed to expunge Angus forever, was now in Mathias’s possession.
“We do.”
“And we can trust Mathias?” Claire had mentioned him briefly—something about how he ran a halfway house for kids in the Zone.
“Implicitly.”
She closed her eyes and tamped down her panic. “Good. And the meet with Angus? You gave us enough time to deal with the Dogs beforehand?”
“We have a three-hour window, so if we finish up with Courtland quickly enough, we’ll have time to spare.”
“Wow, whatever will we do with time to spare? Wanna grab a burger and a movie?” she teased.
“We don’t eat.”
“Right. What about just a movie? We could have a real live date.”
He chuckled despite his dark mood. “We rather skipped that part, didn’t we?”
“Yeah, we sort of went straight for the set-up-housekeeping kill.”
“If we get through this, I’ll take you on as many dates as you’d like from here to eternity.”
Her stomach tingled when she fanned herself and winked. “I’m all atwitter.”
But Liam was already back to business. “Okay, so tell me again what you’re going to say when Courtland wants to know how you were turned? Because he will know, Freya. He’ll smell the difference on you.”
She wanted to scream her frustration over the constant repetitive request that she recite what she was supposed to say and do, but the tension in Liam’s voice, the hint of fear in it, stopped her.
Outlaw Alpha Page 15
