by Milly Taiden
Toni nodded and stumbled down the hallway to the bathroom, confusion still riding high in her mind. She hadn’t had enough sleep to deal with this. Twenty minutes later, she walked into the kitchen in time to see Caelen setting a plate at the empty seat.
“Perfect timing, breakfast is served,” he said with a bow before moving to his seat and digging in to his own breakfast.
“Thank you,” she said hesitantly as she watched her friends eat and chat about mundane things. Had she been dropped into the Twilight Zone or something?
“Is this normal?” she blurted without thinking.
Kira and Caelen laughed, but Carly shrugged. “Not as far-fetched as you would think. The people on the mountain are a different breed, and I don’t mean because they’re shifters. Our doors are always open to each other and it’s not unheard of to have guests for breakfast that you weren’t expecting. You’ll get used to it. I promise. Caelen is our driver and bodyguard for the day.”
Toni didn’t know what to say so she ate breakfast and thanked him for the wonderful meal. This was going to be an adventure she hadn’t expected when she fell for Garrett, but she knew without a doubt, she wouldn’t give it up for anything in the world.
27
“So, Caelen, are you with us every day or just today?” Toni asked as they were headed into work a short time later.
“We’ll switch it up depending on who is free. I just happen to be the one for the next couple days who could be spared on short notice.”
“And will you be leaving once we get to work or will you be hanging out?”
Caelen just gave her a sardonic look and chuckled. “After the stunts you two pulled, do you really think we’d leave you alone all day? You’d end up going out for lunch again and as the past has proven, who knows what would happen.”
Carly piped in from the back seat, “That was one time, and we had those nice guys who came to our rescue.”
“Yeah, but what if they hadn’t been there?” he asked with a pointed look in her direction.
Toni let the silence fill the car the rest of the trip to the office. They needed a plan to talk to Jared, but how were they going to do that if Caelen spent all his time hanging by their sides?
“Ladies, I’m going to drop you here and watch you go in. I’ll park and then come find a place to put myself in the office out of the way.”
The women nodded and climbed out of the car and headed inside quietly. Once they were through the front doors, Toni finally asked what had been weighing her down. “What do we do now?”
Carly shrugged. “Only thing we can do is either bring him in on it or make Jared come to us here.”
Kira snapped her fingers. “That’s actually brilliant. Toni, what if you leave a message for Jared that you have some of his things and that he can come pick them up here during the day? Once he’s here with us, they won’t be able to see him and we can talk to him freely.”
“I think I only have a couple pairs of old sweats that belong to him. Nothing that would make him care to come get them. What am I going to put in the box if they check? They won’t get suspicious?”
Carly smiled. “You’ve been friends forever, right? What if you make copies of some of the photos you have and give those to him? Maybe put the sweats in there and a coffee mug, things that could easily be overlooked, but plausible.”
“I need to go back to my house, and that means Caelen goes with us,” Toni reminded them.
“Fine, so we pick up some of your things. Tell him you forgot something you needed in your hurry last night. He won’t doubt it, especially if you tell him it was something girly or feminine, if you know what I mean.”
Toni laughed. “You’re devious, Carly. Very devious, but I love it. Sounds like a plan to me.”
The rest of the workday passed quickly. At lunch, Caelen picked up food for all four ladies and sat with them as they discussed the day’s activities. They filled Kasey in on all that had transpired since they had left her and of Toni’s new status with Garrett.
That night, Caelen took them to Toni’s house as he was asked while they picked up the necessary items. Toni felt bad about lying to him, but it was for his and their own protection. If their mates got wind of what they were doing, they would have been in big trouble no matter how many promises of sexual favors and apologies they made.
Toni spent the night alone in Garrett’s house, missing him until it was a living ache in her chest. The only relief were the phone calls and the hours she spent talking to him before they fell asleep clutching their phones.
By Wednesday, Toni was aching for Garrett to come home and ready for some answer from Jared as well. Today was the day; come hell or high water, something was going to break. The tension and stress of not knowing and being without her mate was going to kill her.
“You ready for this?” Kira whispered as she entered the boardroom where Carly and Toni sat waiting.
“More than ready. I need answers and I’m done waiting,” Toni growled as she stood and paced the small room.
“I think she needs some S-E-X, too,” Carly whispered with a wink to Kira.
“Jared’s here and so is his boyfriend. What do I do?” Kasey called from the doorway with a panicked look on her face. “I can’t lie. Can one of you get him, please?” she begged as she scooted into the room. “As soon as I saw them get off the elevator together, I hightailed it back here to tell you.”
“I got it, don’t worry.” Toni straightened her shoulders and marched up front with a determined look on her face.
“Jared,” she said with a haughty look. “Thank you for coming by. I appreciate you doing this during the day, but I’ve not been at home at night to have you come there.”
Jared stood and wiped his hands on his pant legs in a nervous gesture she’d seen him do a thousand times. “Not a problem at all. Thank you for returning them and not burning them.”
“I admit I was tempted, but then decided why waste the matches?” She glanced to the man beside Jared and frowned. “If you don’t mind waiting here, I’ll have him come right back. My boss would actually like a word with him so this isn’t totally a social call, or well, it wasn’t really that anyway, I guess.” She shrugged, turned, and led the way back to the conference room.
“Toni, are you okay? What’s going on?” Jared whispered as soon as they were out of eye sight of his boyfriend.
“Not here, hold on. We’ll explain in a minute,” she whispered without glancing in his direction.
“I put the box in here and Kira is also inside waiting for you,” Toni said in a normal clipped but bored tone.
She shut the door and slouched against it. “Okay, it’s safe here. We can talk. I’m sorry about that but I had to get you alone to find out what’s going on and we didn’t know how to do it otherwise.”
Jared paled. “They’re going to know something is up. This is dangerous.”
“Jared, calm down. Look, we have a box for you and it is some of your stuff, including pictures. I do have a proposition for you, too. We aren’t going to put you in jeopardy or ourselves. We swear.”
“What do you want to know?”
“Everything, make us understand what is going on, who is watching me and you. Are they the ones responsible for breaking into Garrett’s house, the shifter teenagers being zombies, and is it the cartel or someone else?”
Kasey gasped and blushed as she heard the rapid-fire questions. Toni glanced at her but didn’t have time to do more than that.
“Yes, it’s the cartel. That man out there isn’t my boyfriend. He’s my watchdog. If I don’t do as they ask, they will kill you and me. I’ve done everything I could to keep you out of it. That’s why I was so mean. I thought if I pushed you away, you’d be safe. I didn’t know it was you they wanted until later.”
Jared fidgeted in his chair and glanced from face to face looking for something. “I wish I knew what it was they wanted, but I don’t know. They just wanted me to stay close to you and
try to find out information about the mountain since you were so close to the shifters.”
“What about Garrett’s house and the kids?” Toni demanded.
“I don’t know anything about that. They don’t tell me much. They’ve used my love of men to destroy my life. When this is over, and if I’m alive, I’m leaving this area. I just hope you can forgive me for the things I said to you. I swear I never meant to hurt you. I was doing everything I could to protect you.”
“Well, that’s one thing closer, I guess. At least we know it involves the cartel and the mountain again,” Kira grumbled in frustration.
Jared shifted in his chair and cleared his throat. “If I said caves would that make sense to you?”
The girls turned and faced him intently. “Why do you ask?” Carly questioned.
“I overheard them on the phone once and they kept saying caves. The conversation didn’t make any sense to me, but it seemed very important.” Jared trailed off and glanced at his watch. “I need to go before he becomes suspicious and heads back here.”
“Wait, if he asks about the business reason, there’s paperwork in the box. I have a client in need of an accountant, if you don’t want it, maybe your boss will. But it’s a legit offer and it gives you cover at the same time,” Kira replied.
Jared nodded and moved to the door with the box in hand. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry. I never meant to hurt you. I did love you, just not the way you deserved. Garrett seems like a great guy and I’m happy for you.”
Toni smiled and hugged him. “I hope you find your happiness one day.”
“This is bad, isn’t it?” Carly whispered as they watched Jared walk down the hallway with his head held high and the box firmly clutched in his hands.
“Yes, it is. I fear that’s the last time I’ll ever see him,” Toni said as tears ran down her cheeks. “He was a great friend when I needed one. I hope he makes it out of this alive and does find someone to make him feel like Garrett makes me.”
28
Three of the longest days of his life had passed. Each second of those three days he’d wished he’d never left Toni’s side. He dreamed, ached, and longed for her in a way he’d never have imagined.
Now, he was almost home and it took all his concentration not to speed and risk the chance of being pulled over and getting delayed. He’d called Toni and told her he wouldn’t be home until the morning, due to impending bad weather. The sadness in her voice had made him reconsider and when he hung up, he decided to chance it. If it got too bad, he could always pull over and wait it out. But at least he’d be that much closer to his heart.
It was nearing one o’clock in the morning and he knew she was in bed asleep since she’d called to say goodnight a couple hours ago. He just had to get home and wake his Miss Behaved woman and show her he could handle her and her kinky ways.
The mountain was quiet as he pulled to a stop outside his home. He gave a soft whistle to let the patrol know it was him and moved to the door as he heard an answering all clear whistle. He smiled knowing his family protected her in his stead just as he had done their mates when they were unable. This mountain truly was the best place in the world.
He slipped inside and made his way to his room only to find it empty. He did a slow circle and sniffed the air. The room looked just like it had the day he’d left, even the scents in the room were old, but he could smell everywhere else in the house.
He went back to the living room and sure enough, there was evidence of her being in the house. He frowned and moved to the spare room. He pushed the door open and smiled when he saw her sleeping in the bed with one bare leg thrown out of the covers and her arm over her head, showing a good bit of her bare body to his hungry eyes.
“Please tell me this isn’t a dream,” Toni mumbled as she slowly woke to the feel of Garrett wrapped around her.
“Nope, it’s real. I’m here and I’m not leaving you ever again.”
“Good, I’m holding you to that. I just got used to you being in bed with me. I don’t want to have to face an empty spot again.”
“Why are we in the spare room anyway? This bed is so much smaller and cramped, not that I minded having to sleep plastered against you.”
Toni laughed. “Simple. I didn’t want to be in your bed without you. So I decided to sleep in here until you came back.”
Garrett growled. “Damn, I love you.”
“Good, because we have a lot to talk about and as much as I love getting a view of this gorgeous body, I have to get to work.”
“Quit, call in sick, do whatever, just stay here with me,” he grumbled with a pout.
“Sorry, we need her today. You can have her tonight,” Kira called through the door. “Oh, and welcome home. Breakfast will be done in a few minutes.”
“What was that about?” Garrett cocked an eyebrow and glanced at the door.
“A new tradition apparently. For some reason, every day this week those two have shown up for breakfast and Caelen has cooked it. Yesterday, Bastien and Luke tagged along as well. Who knows who’ll be out there today.”
“Well, okay then. Let’s get breakfast.” Garrett glanced around and shrugged. “I didn’t bring any clothes in here with me except what I was wearing last night and that was a long drive.”
“Sit tight, stud. I’ll get you something to throw on so you won’t embarrass them.”
Toni threw on her own pajamas and then raced down the hallway to grab her man some. She knew shifters weren’t embarrassed by their nudity, but she was still getting used to this whole thing. It was more for her benefit then theirs, in truth.
She rushed back in, tossing him the clothes. “Hurry up, Caelen’s breakfasts are so good and I worked up an appetite.”
“Should I be jealous? You’re drooling over another man after climbing out of my bed.”
“I think you should,” Caelen called out as he stepped into the doorway and placed a chaste kiss on Toni’s cheek. “Morning, food is about done. If you can get slug a bug outta bed, that is.”
“Why are you kissing my mate?” Garrett growled in irritation.
Caelen smirked. “Because it annoys the shit out of you. Why else? Besides, I’ve had to listen to her bemoan the fact you’ve been gone for three days, you owe me.”
“Hey,” Toni half laughed, half shouted, “I wasn’t that bad. Well, not as bad as Brannon, at least.”
“Brannon?” Garrett questioned as he stood and pulled his pants on.
“Oh yeah. He’s got it bad and it’s funny as hell to the rest of us. Especially since he hasn’t found a reason to get close enough to his mate to talk to her before she runs off.” Caelen chuckled as he hip checked Toni. “Food’s getting cold, woman, eat now.”
Toni followed the men down the hall and into the kitchen. She was surprised to see only Kira and Carly at the table. “Alone today?”
“No, they’re coming. They got waylaid by Brannon. They should be here in a few minutes. Most likely with grumpy pants in tow,” Carly explained around a mouthful of food.
Breakfast was a fun-filled adventure as she watched Garrett come to terms with the fact his home had become the place for breakfast before they all began their day.
Toni smiled and patted his hand. “It’s okay, you’ll get used to it.”
“You guys ready to go? If we don’t leave now, you’ll be late and I don’t want to miss that delicious woman from accounting walking by today,” Caelen hollered as he grabbed his keys off the counter and jiggled them.
“She’s so not interested in you,” Carly said with a roll of her eyes.
“That may be, but it’s still fun to look at her.”
The three women gathered their things and headed out the door while Garrett pulled Caelen aside to speak to him.
Toni was the first to see the men, but it happened too quickly for her to shout a warning to her friends.
“That’s right, ladies, don’t move. Which one of you is going to show us where the cave entr
ance is?” the stocky man in front of her ground out between clenched teeth.
A man appeared and pointed a gun at their heads. “We’re not asking again.”
Toni glanced around wildly as she took in the scene around her. A total of five armed thugs including one cocky little bastard leaned against Caelen’s car. “Recognize me, don’t you?” he drawled as he stepped closer to her, malice and hate clear on his face. “I need to know where that entrance is, and you’re going to tell me.”
“Why do you want it so badly?” she cried out as the man holding her yanked on her hair.
“Simple, my boss needs a way to move product and if I deliver this little gem to him, then I’ll be his right-hand man from now on. Look at what I’ve accomplished so far. I know it’s around here somewhere and I bet you ladies know how to find it. I’m going to count to five and then we start pulling triggers until we get an answer.”
Toni needed to stall, she knew Garrett and the others would hear them and come to their rescue. “What happened to Jared, you piece of shit?”
He backhanded her. “Don’t you dare talk to me that way. I see you haven’t learned your place yet. Maybe I will keep you alive and take you home with me.”
“I’d rather be dead than spend one minute more than I had to in your presence,” she snarled and fought her captive’s hold.
29
Caelen opened the front door. “Hey, what’s going on out here?” he asked. The armed men quickly gathered around the women, a different man putting a gun to each. Toni’s knees were about to give in. She was thankful for Garrett being home. He would come out the door any second and kill all five men and they would be safe.
Caelen looked at the group as if they were long lost friends. “Hi, guys. Long time, no see.” The men looked at each other with confusion on their faces.
The prick holding Toni said, “We’re here to find the cave opening. We know it exists, so no need to deny it. Each minute you delay, one of your ladies is going to die.”
