Chasing His Squirrel (Big Bad Bunnies Book 2)

by Golden Angel

  Well that was reassuring at least.

  As carefully as she could, Jesse ripped open the collar of Brock's shirt so she could see his shoulder. His breathing was shallow and pained, but he didn't regain consciousness, which was probably a mercy. His shoulder was a mess, although it had finally stopped bleeding. Blood coated it, making the cloth of his shirt peel wetly away from his skin and squishing the fabric between her fingers as she pulled at it.

  Jesse bit her lower lip as she gently pulled the shirt away from his wound... well, if she could even call it a wound. It was more like a bunch of different wounds that all came together to make up one giant, awful wound... a mess of flesh and sinew, and she was pretty sure she even caught a little glimpse of bone.

  "It's bad isn't it?" Ana asked, craning her head around.

  "Yeah."

  The sound of vomiting caught her attention and she looked over to where Bailey had shifted back into her human form, and was bent over heaving into the grass. Jesse lifted the shirt back up again to block Brock's shoulder from his sister's sight, her own stomach churning as the sickly sweet scent of the vomit drifted to her nose.

  Straightening, Bailey saw what Jesse was done and gave her a wane smile as she rubbed her hand across her mouth, smearing away some of the blood. "It's okay, I'm not throwing up about Brock's shoulder... I... this happened the last time I was in a fight too."

  She stood there, naked, and looking a little lost and Jesse's heart went out to her. Usually Bailey was so confident, so strong, it felt weird to see her appearing so vulnerable. And to know that Bailey had thrown up the last time she'd been in a fight... she'd probably used a lot of the same tactics. Remembering her squirrel's own bloodthirsty attack on the polar bear, Jesse could only imagine what it would have been like if her squirrel had succeeded. Yeah, throwing up once she was back in human form probably would have been the least of it.

  The sound of the chopper receded and Jesse heard pounding footsteps approaching. She looked up and smiled at the sight of Brady's giant beast hopping towards her, followed by Bethany and Steele. Man those giant bunnies could jump high and far when there was nothing in their way but grass. Off in the distance, she could see Eli's polar bear chasing after the chopping, roaring all the way.

  That was one pissed off polar bear.

  Being swept up in Brady's naked arms was pretty great, she had to admit. She felt really and truly safe and comforted for the first time in days. Weeks. Really, since the last time she'd seen him. Breathing in his familiar scent as it wrapped around her only increased that sense of security.

  Unfortunately she couldn't really relax because there were too many things they needed to tend to immediately. Brock's injury, Ana, the revelation of traitors and shifters working for The Company, and the Big Bad Guy's startling resemblance to Eli. Although, going by how pissed off Eli seemed to be, Jesse didn't think her revelation was going to come as a shock to him anymore.

  Chapter 12

  Washed, dressed, and reunited with Jesse again, Brady was sitting so close to her that she was practically in his lap. The urge to reach over, pick her up out of her chair, and actually place her in his lap was so strong it literally made his hands itch. He clenched them into fists on his lap in front of him instead and looked around the conference table.

  Ana was there, looking much better than she had in the field; fully dressed now, cleaned, and bandaged. Her injuries had been much less severe than Brock's, although she'd taken a hard knock to the head which had rendered her unconscious. Since that had resulted in her being taken captive, it's possible that had saved her life.

  Beside her, Steele was frowning and staring off into the distance, one arm slung around the back of Bethany's chair, which he'd pulled in so close to his their chairs might as well have been a couch. Bethany kept glancing over to where Kasim and Bailey were sitting; the two of them had their heads together and were speaking in such low voices that no one else could hear them, despite their shifter hearing. Tomas, one of Eli's team leaders, was beside Bethany, and he was just staring down at the table in front of him, his palms flat on the surface, not looking at anyone. On Brady's left, Jordan, Steele's second-in-command, was keeping a wary eye on Tomas, as if worried the team leader was a powder keg about to explode. The tension in the room was so high that even Brice, who was sitting next to Bailey, hadn't tried to break it.

  They were all thinking about the people who were missing - Meredith, Eli and Brock. Meredith's body was down in the morgue with her teams’ and there would be a service for them tomorrow before the bodies were sent home to their families’. The ambushed team had suffered the only fatal casualties, thankfully, although there were plenty severely injured, like Brock. Despite the surprise of the attack, the enemy had been just as surprised when they hadn't been able to sneak in completely undetected - thanks to Steele's constant security updates.

  Brock was in the infirmary being operated on; the damage to his shoulder was so great that if he was going to have a chance of using it again, there hadn't been any other choice. Even then, Doc had told them that Brock would struggle to regain use of the arm. The whole Bunson family still felt uneasy about any medical professional, but Bethany and Bailey seemed to like Doc even if they weren't entirely comfortable allowing Brock to be operated on, so Brady hadn't protested. Not that the feisty redhead would have cared if he had. She'd been like a general in charge of troops and wounds were the enemy; if anyone could heal a person through sheer determination, it would probably be her.

  Leaving the infirmary had felt wrong, but there was nothing to do there but wait and if he was going to have to wait he might as well try and do something productive with that time. Bethany, Brice, and Bailey had all felt the same way. Besides which, with all the wounded, there hadn't really been room for them there anyway.

  A light touch on his right fist nearly had him jumping out of his skin, and he turned his head to see Jesse looking at him with sympathetic and worried eyes. She was about to draw her hand away, but he immediately captured it with his own and wound his fingers through hers, holding it tightly. Her grey eyes widened in surprise, but she didn't try to pull away.

  Good.

  Because he'd had some time to think and he was staying here in Cryus Peak, with her. He knew he'd been blowing hot and cold, chasing her and then pulling away from her, and she'd been right to set down the limits when he'd left her, but three weeks without her had rearranged his priorities. Brady knew he'd be happy staying with her, being part of Steele's team. He didn't have to be out hunting The Company, although he'd ask Eli to call him in for major assaults. Even if he had to leave her again, for a short period of time, he didn't want to do so as her friend.

  He rubbed his thumb over her hand, staring directly into her silvery eyes, trying to convey his feelings without words. Jesse's brow wrinkled in confusion, her breathing hitching slightly at the sensation of his caress. As soon as they were out of this meeting, he was going to clear up that confusion.

  It wasn't that his priorities had changed, exactly, it was just that he could see a new way to go about them. And, okay, they'd changed a little. Going out after The Company to every site wasn't as urgent as he thought it would be. Brady had faith they would find whoever was in charge and take them out, but he didn't need to be there for every single step of the way. Some of the steps would do.

  Plus, there had to be a reason The Company went after Cryus Peak after Lakewood. Maybe they'd decided getting Dr. Montgomery was too difficult so retrieving his test subjects would easier, maybe they'd somehow found out Jesse and Daniel were on site along with Bailey and Bethany (which Joe would obviously know) and the number of them all together was too much to resist... Brady didn't know, but obviously leaving Jesse behind and going out in search of The Company hadn't made her any safer. So he may as well let himself be happy, be with her, and work on bringing down The Company from here.

  Jesse hadn't looked away from him and he realized that he was staring at her like a s
appy, lovelorn puppy dog and she still looked confused as hell, but that was okay. He would be happy to explain as soon as they were away from prying ears. He wasn't sure he could whisper as quietly as Bailey and Kasim were doing.

  Speaking of... his shifter hearing picked up footsteps stalking down the hall and he gave Jesse's hand a little squeeze, pulling his gaze away from her as Eli entered the room. Finally, now they could get started.

  ******

  The warmth of Brady's hand around hers and the way he'd been staring into her eyes was distracting enough that she didn't even notice Eli was coming until Brady looked away from her. But who could blame her? Brady hadn't been looking at her like she was a friend, he hadn't even been looking at her with just desire... he'd been looking at her like he was memorizing her face, like she was something treasured, something to be cherished. It had taken her breath away.

  Despite everything that had happened today, that was not how she expected him to look at her.

  Or maybe she just hadn't wanted him to look at her that way. Because it wasn't fair. She was already having enough trouble forgetting their one time together. She hadn't managed to date since he'd left. No one else made her heart race the way it did when she got a text or a call from him.

  Unfortunately she didn't have the willpower to pull away, either. She'd just stared back into his warm, hazel eyes and basked in his nearness like the little, lovelorn squirrel she was. Dammit. At least he was looking back at her the same way, so she didn't feel too pathetic.

  Trying to switch gears from staring into Brady's eyes to focusing on Eli wasn't easy, but her brain caught up after a moment.

  "We have a problem," Eli announced, his voice grating. One glance at him showed a man who was the opposite of his normally cool and collected self. Not only was his tone completely different when he spoke, but his blond hair was tousled like he'd been running his fingers through it repeatedly, and he'd put on his normal suit but the tie was slightly askew and the shirt bulged at the waistline where he'd done a particularly poor job of tucking it in. Overall, he looked rumpled, harried, and furious, with his green eyes flashing angrily.

  "I'd say we have several, but I have a feeling you're talking about the dude who looked just like you?" Steele asked dryly. Ana gave Eli the side-eye. So Jesse wasn't the only one who had noticed, although she saw that both Bailey and Bethany jerked slightly in surprise. Apparently they hadn't gotten a good look at the bad guy blond as he'd run away. Brice and the other team leaders just looked confused.

  A muscle in Eli's jaw clenched and popped. "Yes, that's exactly what I'm talking about."

  He hit a button and the lights went dark before a projector shot an image onto the screen on the far wall. The man shown there really did look remarkably like Eli, although there was just a little bit of difference in the nose, his hair was a little less perfectly blond, and his cheeks were slightly rounder. They had the same green eyes and sculpted chin though. Heck, they could be twins.

  "This is my older brother, Aiden," Eli said in a tight voice that did little to conceal the fury roiling beneath. "We lost touch because he's an obnoxious, narcissist, self-obsessed shit. I hadn't seen him for about five years, until today. Before this, I was under the impression he was working as a manager at some kind of Fortune 500 company in New York. Obviously, I was wrong. We're still working on getting information on him because he doesn't seem to have an internet presence and the company I thought he worked for no longer exists. Obviously, he's now working for The Company."

  "I'd say he's pretty high up," Ana said, her voice almost apologetic as she spoke up. It was clear Eli was more than just angry about his brother's involvement, he was also angry at himself and feeling guilty, even though he wasn't responsible for his brother's actions and there was no way he could have known or guessed what Aiden was involved with. "He was definitely in charge of the group we were with, and from some of the things he said it sounded like he might have planned the whole thing... he kept talking about doing things himself to make sure they were done right."

  The fury in Eli's expression shifted to more guilt and remorse, paling his skin as he sat down. Jordan reached over to pat his shoulder. Or smack his shoulder? Kind of hard to tell with a man as big as Jordan.

  "Don't go blaming yourself," Jordan said. "You couldn't have known."

  "I should have kept better tabs on him," Eli said, shaking his head. "He was always an asshole."

  "The jump from 'asshole' to 'experimenting on shifters' isn't exactly a small leap," Bethany said, leaning forward to give Eli one of her no-nonsense looks. Jesse had to press her lips together to keep from smiling. While it was obvious Eli was blaming himself, there was no way Bethany and the others would let him get away with that. Even in this moment of sobering truth, it was good to see the support between everyone here. "Brady's an asshole constantly, but that doesn't mean he's going to go join The Company, so you couldn't possibly have known your brother would just based on him being an asshole."

  Everyone laughed as Brady sighed and scowled at his sister, but he didn't complain when even Eli managed to crack a tiny half-smile.

  "Thank you, Bethany, for that... unique perspective," Eli said before his smile slipped away again. "Aiden's always been a little more than a run of the mill asshole though. He can be charming when it suits him, but he's always looking out for number one and he doesn't do anything that doesn't benefit him. He's also cruel, completely self-involved, and willing to hurt others to get his way. Granted, I wouldn't have thought he'd get involved in something like The Company, but I should have been keeping better tabs on him regardless."

  "I'm kind of glad you didn't," Bethany said, leaning back and crossing her arms over her chest. "If you did, I'd have to start calling you Mr. Paranoid."

  "It's not paranoia if they're actually out to get you," Eli shot back.

  Jesse had to hand it to Bethany, Eli was definitely already starting to look more normal. She knew from being Bethany's assistant that the two spent a fair amount of time talking to each other thanks to their duties, and they'd definitely formed an almost brother-sister kind of relationship. Eli seemed to need that. Bethany was the only one in the room who would dare talk to him this way and it was obviously helping.

  "Alright, well since Brother Asshole-Narcissist is actually out to get you, I'll give you a pass," Bethany said. She leaned forward, putting her weight onto her elbows. "What else do we got?"

  And just like that, Eli was back to normal, in control of himself, and ready to update them all. Jesse was impressed.

  While he, Steele, Brady, and Bethany had been coming after her and Bailey, Jordan and Tomas had been in charge of questioning the prisoners. They'd revealed that Joe had been a font of information for The Company. He'd been the reason they knew how to get into the Peak; he'd been on the tour of the Peak when Jesse and Daniel had been brought there. If Steele hadn't changed the passwords for the security system between then and now, The Company would probably have taken down the entire Peak and captured Bethany, Bailey, Jesse, and Daniel.

  The Company's objective was the reason Jesse had been included in the meeting along with the Bunsons, she realized. She'd kind of been wondering, although she had vaguely thought it might have been because of the polar bear shifter that looked just like Eli. She'd thought Eli would want to answer that rather than having her and the others running around with questions about it. That might still be part of why she was there, but the other part was because Eli wanted her and the Bunsons to know how serious the situation was. Not only did The Company know for sure about her and Daniel now, but they knew where she was.

  "Relocation might be the safest option," Eli said, his gaze skimming around the table to take in everyone's reaction.

  "I'm not leaving Steele," Bethany said immediately.

  Her mate looked pained. "Baby, maybe it would be safer -"

  "Don't you dare," she warned, turning to him and pointing an accusing finger in his face, her eyes flashing danger
ously. The air all seemed to be sucked out of the room and Brady's fingers tightened around hers. "Don't you dare try to send me away. There will be consequences if you finish that sentence."

  The expression on Steele's face hardened and he glared, but he didn't argue. Smart man. The dangerous edge to Bethany's voice had been just a little scary. Jesse hadn't heard her ever sound like that, even when she and Steele had gotten into a fight (Of course, that fight had ended with them going at it like bunnies. Somehow she knew a fight on this topic would definitely not end that way).

  "Where would we move to?" Bailey asked. She sounded more curious than truly interested, and Jesse turned to hear the answer as well. While Jesse wasn't sure she wanted the leave the Peak - and she doubted Daniel would since he'd really just started settling in here - she did want to know the options.

  The corners of Eli's mouth turned down. "I'm not entirely sure. Another pack might have more people who could be bought by The Company. It would have to be a small, secure location guarded only by people we can absolutely trust."

  "Hard pass," Jesse said at the exact moment Bailey said, "Hell no."

  They looked at each other across the table and exchanged little smiles as Steele and Eli let out exasperated sighs. She couldn't see the expression on Brady's face, but he squeezed her hand. Possibly in support, possibly because he thought she was making a poor decision. Either way, it wasn't up to him anyway.

  "I know it doesn't sound ideal," Eli started to say.

  Jesse shook her head at the same time Bailey barked a laugh.

  "I'm not going back into a prison, self-inflicted or not," Bailey said.

  "Absolutely not," Jesse confirmed firmly. "I feel perfectly safe here."

  "Despite what happened today?"

  "Because of what happened today," Jesse shot back. "Not only did Steele head off a traitor's attack without even having a suspicion it would happen, but it's obvious his pack is trustworthy, and the defenses here are secure. Plus, it's possible The Company will assume we're being moved, in which case it's safer to be here where they don't expect. Even if they suspect we remain here, this has to be the best place to leave bait ever. A smaller, more secret location also means less people around, period, and that means a more easily overwhelmed force if they do find us, and much more vulnerable bait."