by Hawk, Ryanne
Lucky’s hands fisted at his sides and he took a step toward her, then stopped, visibly shaking. “Can’t. We have to go. Hammer would go ballistic if we were late.”
Energy pulsed around the room, violence spiked with carnality. It seemed that Lucky was as on edge as she was, only he tried to hide it, whereas she’d decided to talk about it.
Men.
“Come on, then. Let’s get this party started. The sooner it’s over, the faster my life can resume.”
He arched a brow. “What the fuck does that mean?” From one blink to the next, he had her pinned against the wall with his body. “You planning on walking away once we get rid of the threat to you?”
Inside, she roiled, but she projected a calm exterior and stared into his eyes. “I meant I could breathe without feeling like I have a huge target on my back, Lucky. Not that I was going anywhere.”
Not unless I have a good fucking reason to leave.
Cecelia would never allow someone to hurt her again. Not ever. She knew shifters were a violent bunch, but she also knew they were caring, compassionate, loving, and most would die for their mates/girlfriends/wives/whatever. Lucky struck her as a gallant type, but craziness could be hidden until the right moment.
“Sorry,” he whispered. “This is all new to me, and it’s fucking hard to control. The mating frenzy is making me insane.”
She reached up and cupped his cheek. “It’s all right. We’ll get through it. One step at a time.”
“I understand what my brother went through, now.” Lucky smiled.
“Must have been something,” Cecelia said, even though she wanted to burst and ask a billion questions about him and his family. But she didn’t want to scare him away. He’d finally shared something. “What’s your brother’s name?”
“Mark. His mate is Rose. They have three kids. I haven’t seen them in a long time. Not since I left the pack and joined the Ruling Council. By rights, it should have been my eldest brother, Jonas. He’s the pack’s alpha. He let me come instead.”
Cecelia nodded and kissed him on the lips, then slid down and under his arm to stand behind him. “We’ve got a hot date.”
She opened the door and hooked a finger in his belt loop, tugging him with her. He slung an arm over her shoulder and they walked out of the bunkhouse, into the alley, and across the way to the party house. Lines of bikes gleamed in the space and music blared into the night as people milled about, smoking, drinking, laughing, and making out.
“Party’s in full swing,” Cecelia said into his ear and held his hand. She squeezed his flesh to rid herself of her nerves. They’d do her no good here. All the shifters would be able to smell her fear, feel her unease. She needed to project calm confidence, with a side of arrogance in order to play their games.
The humans needed to see her strong, unfazed, and even haughty. She was not an easy mark. Ha. I’m fucking Cecelia Marks, bitches.
Laughter bubbled in her stomach and she erupted in a fit of giggles. Lucky kissed her to stop the flow. When he pulled back he said, “Better?”
She bit her lip and nodded. “Sure. Hell is waiting with bells on.”
No one paid them much mind when they walked in. Gazes sized them up, people probed around with their senses, and dismissed them. Cecelia saw Hammer talking with someone she’d never seen before and even though her blood was pounding in her veins, she walked on without missing a beat.
“Is that one of them?” she murmured to Lucky, thrusting her chin in the direction of the MC president who was laughing and bullshitting with a small group of men.
Lucky glanced over, nodded once, and squeezed her hand. “Showtime, baby. Put on your happy face.”
Cecelia closed her eyes and inhaled, searching for that calm place she went to when she meditated. When she opened her eyes again, she pasted a smile on her face and morphed her body into a sinuous and sexy female, then stalked toward her prey, all hips and ass and grins.
Lucky matched her pace and slung an arm over her shoulder, still holding her hand. “Evening, boss,” he drawled and sidled up next to Hammer, nodding to the other men in the small circle.
“Lucky, Cecelia, this is Darius, president of the Delta Dogs.”
Cecelia examined Darius. He was wearing faded blue jeans and a grey hoodie sweatshirt with his leather vest with club patches over it. He had on a black skullcap and his face was round. He had kind eyes. But she knew that could be deceiving, especially for a shifter. She inhaled discretely, sorting through the alcohol, sex, sweat, and dirt to get to his base scent.
Coyote, her mind whispered.
“Pleasure to meet you,” Cecelia said, and took his offered hand. His fingers were callused and warm. Lucky did a one-armed hug and back thump.
“Good to see you, Darius. I hope you’re enjoying the party.” Lucky made a slow perusal of the myriad of women, drinks, and drugs floating around the large room. “Anything you need, just ask.”
Darius nodded. “Party’s good. Long day of travel. It’s nice to blow off some steam and let loose.”
“Amen to that,” Hammer said, and clinked bottles with him. A moment later, a tall woman strode up to Hammer and wrapped her arms around his waist.
“Hey, baby,” she said.
Hammer turned and kissed her soundly to a cacophony of catcalls and whistles from the closest members. He broke away and showed her his teeth. “I missed you, Maura.”
The president’s mate was wearing black jeans with a silver studded belt, dangerously high heels, and a low cut red top highlighting her cleavage. She had long brown hair trailing over her shoulder. Her gaze collided with Cecelia’s and her eyes’ pretty hazel color sparkled with alpha dominance. Cecelia met her stare for two beats, then lowered her eyes and flicked her gaze away, pretending to be interested in the goings around the club.
“How are you, Cecelia?” Maura’s husky tone jarred Cecelia’s thoughts, and she turned back to the pretty woman she’d pegged as being around forty-five. Wisps of gray hair were scattered amongst the blonde highlights of her flowing chestnut waves.
“I’m fantastic, Maura. How kind of you to ask. It’s a pleasure to see you.”
No one here needed to know they’d never met before this moment. It was all part of the charade. Maura flashed her a charming smile and reached out to cup her cheek. “Such a pretty girl. I can see why Lucky is so taken with you.”
She turned left and scrutinized Lucky. “Been a while, Lucky. You’re looking rested,” she said, and offered him a sly smile. “Mating’s been good for you,” she said, and raised a brow.
Lucky shuffled closer to Maura and kissed her cheek. “It has. I couldn’t be happier, Maura. And you–” He leaned back and gave her a once-over that earned a low, vibrating growl from Hammer. “You look fine as ever.”
Cecelia tested the scents from Maura and determined that yes, she was a lioness. A fierce one, too, if the faded white scars lining her chest were anything to go by.
The men around them laughed. Darius openly perused both Cecelia and Maura, then resumed his conversation with Hammer. “So, tomorrow night at Merlot’s, are you expecting trouble?”
Hammer shrugged, perched an ass cheek on the bar stool, and pulled Maura to sit on his lap. “Who knows with the Ice Rangers. I’m hoping it won’t come down to bloodshed, though.”
Darius gulped from his glass of amber liquid after setting his empty beer bottle down on the counter. “I can’t guarantee no blood. Two mil is a hefty bounty, and some of my guys are strapped. Not everyone’s on board after the patchover. There are a few holdouts I expected to have a decision on by now, but…” He lifted his hands in the air. “I didn’t want to kill them yet, but if they cross the line...”
“I understand. Do what you can. How’s Andrea?”
Darius’s face broke out in a wide grin, crinkling the skin around his eyes. “Better than ever. Almost ready to deliver our first child.”
Cecelia listened and filed away information for later use while
studying Darius’s pack. He’d brought six men with him. One bald man was sitting on the couch with two female club bitches draped across his lap. A second was sipping a girlie drink at the bar, hiding his face with a baseball cap. Two more were playing pool, drinking beers, and laughing in good humor as they razzed each other. The last two stood behind their alpha and stayed silent. It was obvious the one wearing a blank face with dead brown eyes was the enforcer; the other showed a bit of a crazy light with a crooked smile, broken teeth, and tattoos covering most of his body.
His mouth was open slightly and he licked his lips in an attempt to make Cecelia uncomfortable when he caught her staring at him. His scent markings told her he was a hyena. The enforcer was a wolf. The other four she wasn’t sure of from this distance, but most likely were coyotes like their alpha.
Lucky tugged her arm and said, “We’re going to make the rounds.” Not waiting for approval, he pulled her to the bar and signaled their prospect. “What do you want?” he whispered in Cecelia’s ear, taking a quick moment to nuzzle her neck with his nose, making her shiver.
“Sangria.”
Lucky shifted and gave her an exasperated expression.
“What?” she asked.
“Seriously?”
Cecelia crossed her arms over her chest and held back a smile as Lucky’s eyes dropped to her breasts.
He called out, “Sangria for my old lady, and I’ll take a shot with a beer.”
The prospect nodded and got to work.
The rest of the night passed by in a blur of dancing, kissing, and talking with other members of their club and the Delta Dogs. Cecelia made sure she was all over Lucky, touching, grazing, fondling and putting on one hell of a display. Lucky did the same.
After they said their goodnights, they tore off each other’s clothes, hopped into bed, and fucked for two hours.
“I hated when those other men had their paws on you,” Lucky said as they lay in bed, sated and spent, getting ready to fall asleep.
“Me too.”
“Can’t wait for this to be over.” His low voice was laced with drowsiness.
She cuddled closer to him, rested her hand over his beating heart, and kissed his arm, knowing that the fight was just beginning.
* * *
A sound roused her from slumber, plucking her from a wonderful dream filled with sunshine, happy babies, and a rushing river of healing.
“Come with us,” a sinister voice whispered near her ear, rancid breath blowing across her face as a hand covered her mouth.
Cecelia stilled, inhaling deep, then snapped open her eyes to meet the crazy stare of the Delta Dogs hyena. He jammed a knee against her ribs, pressing her down into the mattress to keep her from moving.
“If you come quietly, we won’t kill your mate.”
She glanced left out of the corner of her eye just as a gleam of light glanced off of a silver knife poised at Lucky’s throat. “We shot him up with a sedative, but we’re not above killing him to make you cooperate.”
Cecelia nodded once, wondering if she should struggle, scream, bite his flesh and draw blood. She decided to wait and bide her time.
The hyena chuckled under his breath. “Good girl. Stay quiet.”
He used his free hand to grab one of her wrists, then the other, and duct taped them together. He shifted to his right and bound her thighs, then her ankles. After he ripped one small piece off, he moved his hand and as she gasped, slapped the tape over her mouth.
Cecelia started to panic until she realized she could breathe through her nose. A new terror set in when the creepy fucker picked her up and hefted her over his shoulder fireman style. Good thing she’d put on a pair of sweatpants and a tank top before passing out.
Three men crept out of her and Lucky’s room, wearing all black, no cut, but she knew who they were. The Delta Dogs. Seemed they weren’t taking any chances on tomorrow’s meet. She supposed it was better this way. Lucky and his club would be safe. No more blood would be shed on her behalf. The oaf carrying her was the last one out the door, and briefly, she entertained the idea of moving quickly so he’d drop her.
Then she remembered he was a shifter, and that thought squashed her little bit of hope.
She resigned herself to the fate of being traded for two million dollars just as a small voice said, Fuck that. Fight like a badass. If you go down, go down swinging and take out as many of those fuckers as you can.
Cecelia called to her inner magic and opened the door inside her body that would allow her to tap into the secret energy burned into her blood. She closed her eyes as the hyena carried her and focused on pulling the strands up to the surface of her thoughts and skin, then sent the rays outward, just touching the aura of the shifter who’d kidnapped her.
The hyena shuddered for a second but kept walking. She’d have to get close enough to the others in order to tap into their energy fields so when the time came, she’d be able to protect herself from death.
At least, that was the plan.
The cool night air wove around her body, calling to the core of her being to do whatever was necessary in order to survive.
As the hyena turned to close the door softly behind him, she noticed that a black panel van was waiting near the rear exit of the club. The van’s door slid open, then she was shoved inside and tossed to the ground like trash. Her head hit the metal floor and stars flashed in front of her eyes as her teeth slammed together and blood coated her tongue.
She whimpered, but an eerie chuckle from the creep stopped her cold. The copper tang of blood and her pounding temples made her stomach roil with nausea, but she refused to give in to the black void of oblivion. Cecelia needed her wits, and she needed to know where they were taking her. She inhaled for five counts, and exhaled for six counts until calm radiated from her mind to her limbs.
The vehicle’s engine fired up, then it pulled away from the safety of her allies.
Two men were sitting in the front, and two had remained in the back with her. None of them spoke. She reached for her magic again, sending it flaring out from her skin to create a bubble around her body, then forced it further, to touch the other shifters’ auras. She closed her eyes and concentrated on merging her magic with theirs. She needed to make sure she’d be able to control them both, and for that she had to fuse their auras to hers. Small strands pulsed from her blue hue to their red color. Most shifters, from what she’d been told growing up by the gatekeeper council, had power colors. Red or orange, usually, but a small percentage had other colors.
She could only see their auras when she activated her magic, which she’d only done once, back during her schooling at the gatekeeper lodge. Satisfied, she let go of the magic swirling like a mini tornado and quieted her entire being for what was to come. She’d need every ounce of her energy to do what must be done.
Chapter Fourteen
Lucky woke with a pounding head, cottonmouth, and an awareness that someone had been in his room. He rolled over and cracked an eye open, a fresh day beating sunshine into his head. The space next to him was empty, and Lucky bolted upright, then clutched his head.
After three breaths, he eased his head upright and stood on marshmallow legs, then stumbled to the bathroom looking for Cecelia, but also to relieve his bladder. When he was done, he threw on a pair of jeans and staggered out of his room. He pounded on doors, a sense of panic overtaking him, and as he reached Hammer’s door, tears began to leak out of his eyes.
“She’s gone. She’s gone. Something’s wrong.”
Hammer rested a hand on Lucky’s shoulder as Maura opened their door all the way, tying her robe around her waist.
“Who’s gone, baby?” she said, handing Hammer a glass of water.
His president blew out a hard breath and scrubbed a hand down his face. “Cecelia’s missing,” Lucky told him.
“Are we sure?”
Lucky growled, low and deep. His fingers ached with leashed violence. “There were scents in my room. Delta.”
“Fuck. Gather everyone. There’s no telling when they took her. Let’s comb the vicinity before we mount a full-scale search.”
Lucky nodded, his jaw set and eyes hard. He spun, brought his fist up lightning quick, and slammed his hand into the wall, making a gaping hole where plaster used to be. He shook it out and kept walking, banging on doors and yelling, “Get up. The Delta Dogs took my mate!” A trail of club members followed him in various states of dress.
“What do we know?” Hammer asked Flip a short time later.
“The scents are definitely Delta Dogs. The hyena, and a few coyotes. Three, maybe four. I followed them out the back door and then the scents vanished in a haze of rubber, asphalt, and fucking rain from last night.”
“Get Darius on the phone,” Hammer said to Brick, nodding toward the end of the table. “Find out what he knows. If he answers, he’s probably not involved. If he doesn’t…”
Brick left the table, his phone to his ear as he paced back and forth.
Lucky was close to shifting, needing to sink his teeth and claws into flesh and feel the blood of his enemies trailing down his throat. A low vibration stung his skin. “We have to find her. I can’t go through this again.”
Hammer gave him a sympathetic look but said, “We need you focused, Lucky. Don’t fall into the trap of the past. Cecelia isn’t Amber. She’s…unique. She’ll be okay.”
Brick turned to face both Lucky and Hammer, closing then pocketing his phone. “Darius said to try a cabin about an hour from here. He gave me the address. Said it’s a dilapidated piece of shit that the club used to use for…torture.” His eyes cut to Lucky as he said it.
Lucky balled his hands into fists and nodded. “Let’s get the gear and get moving. The less time she’s there, the better. They’ll need to wait for contact from her ex. She’ll stay alive until they get money confirmation.” He opened his phone and dialed Buzz.
“Hello?”
“I need you. Cecelia’s been kidnapped.”
The rustling of sheets and footsteps came through the phone. “When and where, brother?”
