Seth

by VA Dold

  “You have got to be kidding me,” Sara mumbled under her breath.

  Seth settled in for the long haul with a magazine from the reception area. He was halfway through an article on gun safety when Randy poked his head in.

  “We have a fresh one.”

  Sara nodded and headed for the door.

  Seth was right on her tail. “What’s going on?”

  “We just got a call and need to go to the scene. There’s no need for you to come,” she said over her shoulder as they waited for the elevator.

  Seth growled low in his chest. “The hell there isn’t.”

  “You’re not allowed to ride in a police car unless you’re under arrest.”

  “He gets a pass. Seth told me about your stalker and that he’s acting as your bodyguard. As long as he stays at least twenty feet away from the scene, he can come along,” Randy’s voice boomed behind them.

  Sara sighed heavily but didn’t turn from the elevator doors.

  When they stopped beside the car she was assigned, he smoothed her hair and brushed his thumbs over her cheekbones. He told himself it was to soothe her, but he knew it was because he was the one who needed the soothing. Touching her was imperative.

  “Please don’t be angry. I have to come so I can protect you. We don’t know when Paul will make another attempt on your life. Until we take him out, where you go, I go as well.”

  “Right.” She dragged the word out with as much sarcasm as a person could instill in a single word. “You just want to be with me.”

  His smile was slow in coming. “You’re right ma petite colombe. I take every opportunity I can get to spend time with you. Though I’m serious about coming along to protect you.”

  Sara shook her head and opened the car door. “Suit yourself.”

  Seth took the passenger seat. Pleased he had wrangled his way into a ride along without too much fuss.

  Sara glanced at him and scowled. “When we get there, stay in the car. I can’t have you contaminating evidence.”

  “Agreed. But if you find yourself in trouble, call to me through our telepathic link. I will be to you in a heartbeat.”

  Sara rolled her eyes.

  He glared at her. “I mean it. Either comply with my request, or I’ll be at your side.”

  “What’s the point? You can’t turn into a wolf in front of everyone, and you sure can’t pull out your sword.”

  “I have other ways to protect you, mate. Besides, many innocent objects can be used as a weapon.” He flashed her a dazzling smile. “I have excellent skills with or without a typical weapon.”

  “Fine,” she huffed.

  “Fine, what?”

  Sara’s nose wrinkled. “I’ll let you know if I need help.”

  “Good.” What he didn’t tell her was he would be close by, regardless of her orders to the contrary. Something about this situation had his spidey sense buzzing.

  After several minutes of silence, Seth asked, “Want to hear a joke?”

  She gave him an odd look. “Sure, why not.”

  “A policewoman with a K9 dog on a leash caught up to a criminal in an alleyway. The criminal sneered at her and turned to make his escape. She smiled and reached to unhook the leash then said go ahead. He loves fast food.”

  Sara looked at him and laughed. “You have a sense of humor?”

  He cocked his head and looked at her for a moment, then his mouth quirked up. “Of course, though it’s a facet of my character that my brothers insist does not exist,” he said in a mock-disappointed tone.

  Sara snorted. “They’re wrong.”

  “Exactly.”

  The personal police radio crackled and cut their levity short. “Second shooter! The scene is not secure. Repeat the scene is not secure.”

  “Shit! I have to get in there.”

  “I thought homicide wasn’t called in unless a death was possibly a murder? This sounds like an active crime in progress.”

  “I was called in for a body found in the alley. The fact that an unexpected shooter is there now is accidental. Someone screwed up.”

  “There’s no way you’re going into that alley alone. I’m coming with you.”

  She put the car in park and gave him a hard look. “I won’t be alone. Officers are on the scene. Stay in the car.”

  Before Sara could coordinate with her men, she felt Seth’s presence, but neither heard him approach, nor spotted his position. He was close though, somewhere behind her. She wasn’t going to touch how she knew that with a ten-foot pole. “Pain in the ass man can’t follow one simple order,” she mumbled under her breath.

  She held very still, listening for a retort, but he said nothing at all to give himself away. Stupid shifter was dang good at playing cat and mouse. She didn’t like feeling like the mouse.

  Very carefully she peeked around the corner into the alley. Making a quick note of the position of each man. The perp was cornered beyond their positions but out of sight.

  “Stay where you are.”

  The command was a low growl. Close to her left ear. He’d gotten so close, she felt his warm breath stir her hair and dampen her skin. “How the hell did you do that?” she snarled.

  He shrugged one shoulder. “I’m a hunter.”

  Sara rolled her eyes. “Go back to the car, I have work to do, and you’re distracting me.”

  Suddenly, Seth felt fear. Paralyzing fear. Something was off about this situation, and Sara was about to walk into the middle of it. “Please, Sara. Stay with me where it’s safe. Let the others take him into custody.”

  She gave him a quick shake of her head. Seth felt a pang of impending loss stab his heart.

  “Like it or not, this is my job, and those are my men in there. I won’t abandon them,” she hissed.

  He had the unexpected urge to kiss her into submission. The need so strong it was nearly impossible to suppress. He was grateful for all the years of training and self-restraint. Detective Sara Adams would despise him if he used such tactics to prevent her from doing her job.

  Seth caught her wrist and spun her around to face him. “Damn it, woman. I’m trying to keep you alive. Listen to reason for once in your life and heed my warning.” His voice was impatient and demanding as if she would obey his every command.

  “When I hear it, I’ll heed it.” Before he could say more, she pulled her hand free and disappeared around the corner into the line of fire.

  Seth stared at the spot she’d vacated. Stunned. Unable to draw breath.

  Officer Jones inched from behind a dumpster and yelled, “Adams, take cover!” The barked order echoed off the walls of the alley and was immediately followed by gunfire.

  Jones crumpled in a heap within feet from her position where she crouched along the wall, a bloodstain blossoming across the right side of his upper chest. Sara lunged for him, grabbing the first body part she could reach and tugged with all her might. “Dammit, Jones. How many time do I have to tell your dumb ass to wear a vest?”

  Additional shots were exchanged as she worked to stop Jones’s blood loss. A siren blast from an ambulance told her help drew near as her teammates subdued the perp. “Thank God,” she murmured. Then she snarled close to Jones’s ear, “Don’t even think about dying on me.”

  Seth fell to his knees next to her and held his hands over the wound. “I can help.” She watched him close his eyes as light blazed from his palms.

  Sara kept an eye on her fellow officers. They would have a huge problem if anyone saw the light coming from Seth’s hands. Moments later the ambulance appeared at the mouth of the alley. Sara gasped and touched Seth’s arm. “Times up.”

  Seth opened his eyes and withdrew his hands extinguishing the light. “Thank you.”

  “No, thank you. I like Jones and would hate to lose him.”

  The medical team converged. Sara and Seth stood and moved out of the way. She turned and handed him the car keys. “I have to collect
evidence and take notes. I can’t have you in the middle of a crime scene.”

  He closed her fingers around them and shook his head. “I’ll be just outside on the sidewalk.”

  She shrugged. “Okay.”

  He gave her hand a squeeze and left her to do her job.

  Sara walked to where the body lay facedown in a pool of blood. She flipped her notepad open and froze. All of her team was to her left, but the crunch of a footstep on broken glass came from the right.

  Another gunman emerged from a hidden door in the wall. Once the door closed it virtually disappeared into the brickwork. Someone took great pains to camouflage its presence. From the crazed look of his eyes, he was tripping on drugs. Whatever he’d taken gave him unexpected strength.

  She dropped the notepad and braced for the impact. She’d secured her weapon and didn’t have time to pull it from her holster. He took her down hard, cracking her head on the pavement.

  Pain exploded, and she struggled to maintain consciousness. Broken glass bit into her back, but she didn’t feel the pain. She shoved him with her left hand and reached for her gun with the right. Before she could get the upper hand, he leapt from her chest and pulled a magnum from behind his back.

  Multiple gunshots rang out simultaneously. Three holes blossomed on the perps upper body, one directly over his heart. The impact of the bullets threw off his aim and saved her life. She took the bullet in her shoulder instead of her chest.

  Someone shouted, “Officer down!”

  Seth roared, “Sara! No!”

  Activity burst around her. Running feet crunched on litter and debris, someone shouted orders, and a multitude of hands held her in place while others put pressure on her wound. Over it all, she heard Seth’s frantic snarls.

  “Let me through!” Seth shouted. Then a shaft of sunlight stabbed her eyes when the officer applying pressure was yanked to his feet. Seth dropped to his knees and took the displaced officers place and applied pressure to the wound.

  Another voice, one of the paramedics, took control of the situation. “Stabilize her neck, Steve,” he told the second paramedic. “You, maintain pressure on the wound,” he ordered Seth. “Everyone else back up so we can get the gurney in here.”

  Another flurry of activity erupted. Everyone but the paramedics and Seth stepped away.

  “Are you related to the victim?” one of the medics asked as he worked.

  “I’m her fiancé.”

  Whispers of his declaration spread like wildfire through her fellow officers. You would think she worked with a bunch of junior high girls.

  “Good. We need a third set of hands in the ambulance.”

  Gentle but efficient hands transferred her to the gurney for transport. Pain shot through her chest and head as they started rolling her through the alley. “Jesus! Put shock absorbers on these damn beds,” she groaned through the agony.

  “Fucking human healers,” Seth mumbled as he walked beside her having been instructed to maintain his position and pressure as they headed to the ambulance. He rumbled a low growl each time the gurney hit a bump, and she winced.

  Sara swore like a sailor when she was jarred as the gurney was loaded. Every breath she took was excruciating, and it felt like an entire drum line pounded in her head. She needed major painkillers, stat.

  When the wave of agony subsided to mind-numbing pain, she opened her tightly shut eyes and met Seth’s tortured gaze. The fear in his eyes told her she was in much worse shape than she imagined. Abject terror caused deep lines in his handsome face. Alarm filled her when she noted his coloring. He was as white as a ghost.

  Seth leaned close to her ear and whispered low so as not to be overheard, “You will not die. I won’t allow it.”

  She lifted her hand, smoothing the deep line between his brows and gasped when the movement pulled at her shoulder.

  Seth grimaced but didn’t pull back. “Stay still, mon amour. I feel your pain and refuse to be the source of more.”

  “Don’t worry about me. This is nothing but a scratch.” Sara winced, but less so, when he helped her lower her arm.

  “Your injury is much more than a scratch. But now is not the time to argue.”

  CHAPTER NINE

  Two hours. The tick, tick, tick of the wall clock had become an irritation one hour and fifty minutes ago. He had taken up his vigil when the hospital staff had forcibly separated him from Sara. He wasn’t leaving until she went home with him. He would sleep in the damn waiting room if need be.

  How the hell long did it take to remove a bullet and stitch a wound? Seth glowered at the door to surgery and willed a doctor or nurse to walk through it. Human healers did what they could with what they had, but their methods were archaic. As soon as it was safe, he would heal her himself.

  Several of Sara’s fellow officers wanted to wait with him. After a long and rather loud argument, Seth and Randy convinced them to return to work. But only after Randy promised to call with an update when she was out of surgery. Once they left, he breathed a sigh of relief. He was on edge and couldn’t handle a room full of males so close to his injured mate. Not that he could tell them that.

  You should have taken care of her in the ambulance, Fang grumbled.

  I can’t do that until they release her from the hospital. The medical staff would question her rapid recovery.

  Screw that. Heal our mate and wipe their minds, Fang demanded.

  I would, but too many people witnessed the shooting. Do you want our mate to become a lab experiment?

  Fang shivered. No.

  Then calm yourself. I’ll do what I can when she’s assigned a room and then heal her when I’m able.

  Fang harrumphed and skulked to the back of Seth’s mind. Fine, but we’re not letting her out of our sight until she’s back home.

  Before his mate entered his life, fear had no place in Seth’s vocabulary. He and Fang entered each and every battle confident and safeguarded by their hunter immortality. Now, there was Sara Adams with her soft olive eyes, brilliant mind, and beautiful soul. Now they had someone valuable, someone mortal, at stake. They would not lose her to a worthless street punk.

  The rage he’d held in check since she’d fallen under the punks attack threatened to surface and explode all over the waiting room. He needed to kill something. The punk was dead, but he seriously considered asking Luperca to resurrect the little prick so he could kill him all over again.

  Fang’s fury had Seth on his feet and lifting a chair.

  Calm down. You can’t tear the waiting room apart. They’ll throw us out, and then we can’t protect our mate.

  Fang loosened Seth’s grip. Good point.

  Our mate is strong of will and body. She’ll survive this.

  I know that. I just can’t stand sitting around when we can do something about her pain and suffering.

  We’ll ease her pain soon. We must be patient and await the opportunity.

  Fang harrumphed again and settled down.

  To calm himself and Fang, Seth considered how Sara never ceased to astound him. She didn’t have it in her to show weakness. And the word “quit” definitely wasn’t in her vocabulary. Thank God she was a fighter. She would get through this, and they would pick up where they left off. This incident served to set his resolve to claim her. As a human, she was much too vulnerable.

  The swish of the surgery doors grabbed his attention. Seth spun on his heel and pinned the doctor with a hard look.

  “Mr. Le Beau?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’m Doctor Jefferies. Miss Adams injury was more extensive than it appeared. The bullet nicked an artery and bounced around causing internal damage that was unexpected. We repaired the damage, but it took longer than I’m sure you expected. She will be in recovery for an hour or so, and then we’ll move her to a room.”

  “Thank you, Doctor.”

  Doctor Jefferies gave him a nod. “A nurse will let you know when she is
able to have visitors.”

  Seth took his first easy breath since Sara entered the alleyway. Did you hear that Fang?

  Every word.

  We have a while yet. Let’s find a vending machine.

  As long as I get ripple chips, I’m all for it.

  An hour later, Seth watched over Sara’s sleeping form. With each twitch of a finger, he expected her to wake.

  “She should come around any minute now,” the nurse named Julie assured as she checked the monitors. Then she turned and lifted a short plastic box attached to the arm rail. “This is a call button. If she needs anything give it a push and one of us will be here in a few minutes.”

  “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  The moment he was alone with Sara he leaned forward and clasped her hand in his. “Sara. Please, mon amour, open your beautiful eyes for me.”

  A finger twitched, but her eyes remained closed.

  Desperation made him push harder. “Damn it, Sara, obey me.”

  Her long lashes fluttered, and she scowled. “I know you didn’t just order me to obey you.” She opened her eyes and glared. “Because you’re not that stupid.”

  “I apologize. Worry has words only an idiot would utter spilling from my mouth. Are you in pain?”

  He wasn’t lying. His face was gaunt and pale, almost gray. Angles were sharper, and planes were now shallow sunken dips. The tremendous strength he wielded with ease seemed to have been sucked from his very being. The aura of danger that customarily swirled around him was absent replaced by worry, and despair that emanated from him so strongly it pushed at her.

  “I’m fine. But you look exhausted. You should go home and get some rest.”

  He scooted as close to the bed as the chair allowed. “I am home. Wherever you are is home.”

  She smiled and hoped it reached her eyes. The pain and medication dulled her senses and made it hard to concentrate or be happy about anything. “That’s sweet, but you need rest, and you can’t do that if you’re sitting here watching me sleep.”

  “Sara,” he cajoled softly. “You’ve had a shifter male in your family for ten years. You know I can’t leave your side.”