“Hey, you used me too,” Ronan tried to justify his actions.
“At least I was up front with you on how I wanted to use you,” she fumed. “I had the respect to tell you, not keep shit behind your back.”
“I didn’t tell you because it doesn’t concern you.” The moment the words left his mouth, she wanted to smack him. Greyson must have known it too, because he shook his head as if he knew Ronan fucked up.
“You’re right, it doesn’t concern me.” Turning, she stormed down the hall. Just as she passed the main entrance to the ballroom, little Miss Blondie came through the doors. “He’s down there.” She pointed down the hall where she left Ronan and Greyson. “He’s all yours.”
Lifting her chin, she walked out of the venue with her dignity in place. She told him all about her embarrassing condition just for him to hide the real reason he called Gerri in the first place. Mad at herself for allowing him to play her, she stormed down the entrance steps. Wanting to avoid the whole ‘you’re leaving without your date’ drama, she turned to the right, away from the valets. It was too late to drag Annette out of bed. Instead, she’d use an app on her phone and get a driver to take her home.
“You need a ride?” Startled, Braelynn jumped. It was the man that had been staring at her.
“No thank you, I have a ride coming,” she refused and started to walk back toward the valet to wait on a car.
She was jerked backwards with a hand over her mouth. Biting his hand as hard as she could, she stomped on his foot with her heel. He let go and she ran toward the building. Screaming out for help, she was hit hard on the back of the head. All she saw was pavement as she fell to the sidewalk.
Thirteen
“Damn it, Greyson.” Ronan turned back to Greyson. “You just can’t leave shit alone, can you?”
“Ronan, you don’t have much time left.”
“Don’t you think I know that.” He ran his hand through his hair. “Now that Braelynn has found out, it’s going to be harder to convince her. I had a plan in place for tonight. How do you ask a woman to be yours when she storms off mad at the world?”
“She’s not mad at the world, just you.”
“Because of you.” He gave an exasperated sigh. Arms snaked around his neck and he thought Braelynn came back.
“Now that she’s gone, we can play.” He knew that voice and it wasn’t Braelynn’s.
Irritated, he pulled her arms from around his neck.
“Ronan, it’s been months.” Claire leaned in, touching his arm with her dress covered breasts.
“So?” Ronan turned away from her and Greyson and headed back toward the ball. He had a check to deliver. Apparently, Claire had other intentions. She grabbed onto his arm, stopping him.
“You know you can’t resist. No one can take you like I can.” Claire tossed her blonde hair over her shoulder.
“I’m not in the mood.” Yanking his arm free, he walked into the ballroom.
Claire had always been his go to sex partner. She was always able and willing to spread her legs for him. Being a horse shifter made her an easy fit. He didn’t want easy though. There’s something about his human lover that made him forget all others.
“Ronan,” Gerri called out to him as he was walking to the stage. “Where’s Braelynn? I know I saw her a few minutes ago.”
“We hit a slight bump.” He didn’t go into detail.
“Then you need to go after her,” Gerri suggested.
“Once I hand off this check I’ll call her,” he agreed.
“You should go after her now,” Gerri insisted.
“I will in a few minutes.” He left Gerri to walk up the stage steps.
In the middle of his speech, a panicked sensation came over him. For a moment he thought Braelynn may be having a panic attack over what happened between them a few minutes ago. Then suddenly the feeling was gone completely. Something wasn’t right. He should feel her but it was like she vanished. He breezed through his speech, cutting off a few of the sentences he had prepared. Presenting the check to the president of the foundation, Ronan shook his hand and hurried off the stage. Not wasting a minute of time, he left the charity ball to find Braelynn. Waiting on the valet to bring his car around, Ronan pulled out his phone and called Braelynn. He called her three times and she didn’t answer. Her phone wasn’t off, or it would go straight to voicemail. On his way to her apartment, he continued to call her. If nothing else, she would answer long enough to tell him to fuck off, but she didn’t.
In the lobby of the apartment building, Ronan repeatedly pressed the elevator button as if it would hurry the elevator. Irritated with the slow elevator, he decided to take the stairs two at a time. Knocking on Braelynn’s door, he waited for a reply. When there was no answer, he called out for her.
“Braelynn, I’m sorry. Can we just talk for a minute?” he spoke through the door, still no reply.
Remembering Annette was one of Braelynn’s neighbors, he went knocking on doors looking for Annette. He was shooed off by an older gentleman in the apartment next to Braelynn’s, so he went to the next. When no one answered, he went down the line.
“Ronan, what are you doing?” Annette came out of an apartment on the other side of the hall.
“I need to find Braelynn. Is she with you?”
“No, last time I saw her she was getting ready to go to the ball.”
“I thought she would come straight home, but she’s not answering,” he admitted.
“I have a key to her place. I’ll go check on her.” Annette disappeared into her apartment then came back out with her keys.
As they walked back to Braelynn’s apartment, Ronan tried to call her again. He didn’t hear any ringing coming from inside. Annette unlocked Braelynn’s door, but before she could step inside, Ronan rushed passed her.
“Hey,” Annette called out. “I said I would check on her.”
Ignoring her, Ronan went in and searched the apartment. Braelynn wasn’t there. By the looks of it, she hadn’t been home either. Damn it, where the hell would she go?
“She’s not answering my calls, either,” Annette stated. “What did you do?”
“Nothing,” he claimed. The way Annette looked at him he knew she didn’t believe that for a second. “Alright, I withheld something from her and she found out tonight in a not so nice way.”
“Are you married?” she asked.
“No.”
“Kids?”
“No. I didn’t tell her that without finding the love of my life by my birthday I would lose my wings.”
“Lose your wings? Is that like a beauty and the beast thing?”
“Kind of, but instead of being an ugly beast forever, I lose my wings and all that goes with them. I’d become a horse shifter.”
“That’s it? That’s what you hid from her?”
“See? No big deal.”
“To you maybe. It wouldn’t be a big deal had you told her. If you kept something like that from her, what else are you hiding?”
“Nothing.”
“How will she know that? She poured her heart out to you. Before the accident, Braelynn rarely got with men. They’d have to be in a committed relationship before any clothes came off. She hates the way she is now. It took a lot for her to be completely open. She put herself out there to the fullest and you hid shit that wouldn’t have made a difference to her. I don’t blame her for walking out on your ass.”
“I know I was wrong, Annette.” Ronan sat on the couch in the same spot he had pleasured Braelynn hours before. He really did fuck up. He had his reasons though, and as soon as he found Braelynn he’ll tell her all about it.
“I hate to say it, but if it’s been a few hours since… you know.” Annette whistled. “She may have been mad enough and went to one of those clubs she likes.”
“I’d feel her if she was getting her freak on,” Ronan admitted and headed for the door. “I need to go.”
“Oh no you don’t.” Annette ran to catch up w
ith him. “You’re not going without me. What do you mean you’d feel her?”
“Pegasus shifters have bonds with their mates. The more sex you have together the stronger the bond. If we were to never see each other again, the bond would fade away until there was nothing left.” He told her as they got on the elevator.
“Your bond with Braelynn is strong then isn’t it?”
“Strong enough that I could talk to her when she’s miles away. Right now, there’s nothing though.” He led her to his car in the parking garage.
“Is this something else you’re keeping from her? She would have told me about something like that.”
“She’ll know as soon as she wakes up.”
“You think she’s asleep.”
“I don’t know what’s going on, but I’m going to find out.” Unlocking the car doors, he got in the driver’s seat and waited for Annette to get in. “Where to first?”
“Her favorite is Heads N’ Tails.”
“Fasten your seatbelt.” Ronan didn’t wait for her to buckle up as he took off from the parking garage.
Fourteen
The sound of her phone ringing woke Braelynn. Opening her eyes, she was still in total darkness. Something was over her face. Shaking her head, it felt like a cloth bag, and her hands were tied behind her back. She was in the trunk of a car, which was confirmed when the vehicle hit a pothole and she bounced. First thing first was getting her hands in front of her. Pulling her knees to her chest she curled up to get her hands around her feet. As she moved her hands down her head jerked back in painful discomfort. Putting her hands back in their original position relieved the pull on her head.
“What the hell?” Her hand restraints were somehow attached to the bag over her head. Testing the pull again she moved her hands down. Her head pulled back confirming her theory. “Shit.”
“Braelynn.” She heard Ronan’s voice in her head. Shit, she’d lost too much oxygen and started hallucinating.
“What the fuck, Ronan?” This is not the time for her to freak out. “Why are you in my head?”
“You’re in trouble, aren’t you?”
“In a bad way.” A tear ran down her face as she realized how screwed she was. Now was not the time to panic, she reminded herself.
“Where are you?” As he asked, it felt like he was holding her hand giving her peace and strength.
“I don’t know. I’m in the trunk of a car.”
“What kind of car? Maybe I can find you from the air,” he offered. It gave her some comfort knowing he was looking for her.
“I don’t know, Ronan. He knocked me out, and I woke up here,” she hissed while pulling at the knots around her wrists. “I can’t get loose. I think he’s slowing down.”
“Who is he?”
“I don’t know, he was at your charity ball.” Could he know this guy?
“Describe him.”
“About your height, average build, and his hair is black. He had it slicked back tonight, but I saw him weeks ago and his hair was shaggy.” The car suddenly stopped sending her rolling toward the back seat. “Shit. He stopped.”
The car door opened with a creak. Fingertips drumming along the side of the car let her know he was coming closer.
“Stay with me, Ronan,” she pleaded. Having him in her head calmed her.
“I’m not going anywhere.”
The cold night air hit her as the trunk opened. Blindly, she kicked out not wanting his hands on her. She tried to slide back as far as she could. Yelling for him to stop when he grabbed hold of her ankle, he pulled her closer to him. She kicked out, but he still managed to throw her over his shoulder.
“Observe everything, Braelynn,” Ronan spoke again.
Closing her eyes, she focused on sounds and movements. The man’s steps were smooth. His shoes scuffed concrete. He bounced her around, repositioning her. Keys jingled as he unlocked a door, bringing her in from the cold night air. The temperature wasn’t much better on the inside but at least the wind was no longer whipping around her. There weren’t any voices or sounds of a television being on. Smells of gasoline and oil tickled her nose. Mechanics garage?
Suddenly she was plopped down on the cold concrete. He pushed her back against a post and tied her to it. She tried to bow her body outward so that the rope would be loose enough for her to maneuver. He pulled the bag off her head, taking a few strands of her hair with it.
“Who are you? What do you want with me?” she questioned.
“Three years ago, you cost me something dear.”
Three years ago? What could she have possibly cost him? She still has no clue who the hell he was.
“You caused my brother to get sent away. He can’t return because of you.” He spat near her feet.
“Mason? He caused that on himself.”
“Who’s Mason?” Ronan asked, but she couldn’t answer him. “Never mind, Annette can tell me. Just hang in there. We’ll find you.”
She didn’t know how he was going to find her, but she hoped he would hurry. If this jerk is related to Mason, then there’s no telling what he was capable of.
Fifteen
“Annette, I need you to tell me everything you know about Mason.” He maintained his composure while his knuckles turned white from his grip on the steering wheel.
“Mason? Oh my God, does he have Braelynn? Did he take her?” Annette began to panic.
“Annette, I need you calm right now. Mason? He’s the shifter that caused her wreck, right?” Placing his hand on her shoulder, he sent a calming flow to her. Annette looked over to him and her breathing slowed down.
“Yes, does he have her?” she asked again.
“No, but someone he knows does. I can’t hear their conversation, but I can hear her. She’s okay at the moment, but we need to hurry.”
“This is bad, Ronan,” Annette stated running her hands over her face. “Mason tried to kill Braelynn. The police didn’t believe her, but the alpha believed us. Kade banned Mason from the territory. He assured us we wouldn’t see Mason again.”
Keeping his eye on the road, Ronan pulled his phone from his inside jacket pocket. Scrolling through he found the charity foundation’s website and looked through the list of contributors.
“Is this Kade?” Turning his phone towards Annette, she took a closer look.
“Yeah, that’s him. He was at the bar the night of the wreck. He saw Mason harass Braelynn and sent him home. Mason left, Kade stayed to keep an eye on things. He should have kept his eyes on Mason instead of Braelynn.”
“Good thing for us, I know Kade.” He dialed Kade’s number.
Once he found out where Kade was, he called Greyson to have him meet them at the club. Ronan drove the five blocks to Heads N’ Tails. It shouldn’t take Greyson long either. Pulling in to the parking garage beside the club he noticed Annette looking around.
“This is Heads N’ Tails?”
“Yeah, Kade is upstairs. Greyson will meet us up there.” He jumped out of the car and hurried to the front of the building. Annette came up beside him and stayed close as they went in.
“Good evening, Mr. Styles,” Tyra greeted them.
“I don’t have time for check-in, Tyra.” He pulled out his membership card. “Kade is expecting us.”
“Okay then, swipe and go.” She held up the key swipe.
Swiping his card quickly, he grabbed Annette’s arm and ushered her to the elevator.
“I’ve never been here before. Braelynn has been trying to get me to come here with her.” Annette said looking around. “I thought it would be bigger.”
“You’ll see. Braelynn used to go to the other side.” Getting into the elevator he swiped his card again and pressed the button for floor 14.
“What’s on fourteen?” she asked.
“Kade,” he answered simply.
As the doors slid open, the 80’s rock music came blaring out. He led Annette down the short hall that opened to the club. Opening the door, he let her go in fir
st. Steering her through the club, they made their way to the rear section where couches were lined for gathering spots.
“Ronan, it’s good to see you again,” Kade greeted.
“Good to see you. Sorry we don’t have time for pleasantries. I need to know about Mason,” he told Kade. Ronan watched as Kade looked from him to Annette.
“He’s done it again, hasn’t he?” Kade looked at Annette.
“Someone has taken Braelynn, someone close to Mason. They may be working together. He might have taken her for Mason since he can’t get into the city.”
“The only person that would be stupid enough to help Mason is Elijah, Mason’s younger brother,” Kade explained just as Greyson walked up and clapped his hand on Ronan’s shoulder.
“Well, he’s pissed Mason was sent away and now he’s going to take it out on Braelynn.” Ronan commented.
“If Elijah is doing this, it’s because Mason told him to. I gave Elijah the option to leave with Mason but he declined it,” Kade explained.
“Yeah, so he could get Braelynn later for him,” Annette stated with irritation.
“Where would Elijah take Braelynn?” Ronan asked Kade.
“They could be one of two places. Their father left them some property when he died last year. There’s a car repair shop out on route 16, and a hangar out at the old airport. Neither of them is in use, that I know of at least,” Kade told them. “Trouble is they are on opposite sides of the city. You’ll need to find out which one before you go charging in.”
“I got it covered.” Ronan sat on the couch beside Kade and focused on Braelynn.
“You did that earlier. What are you doing?” Annette asked him.
“Shh,” he hushed her, so he could hear Braelynn.
“He’s using their bond to talk to Braelynn,” Greyson explained. Annette sat down next to Ronan as if she could overhear the conversation.
“Braelynn,” he called out in Braelynn’s mind, where no one could hear him but her. “I need you to tell me about the building. We narrowed it down. Don’t let him hear you talking to me. Is it a small warehouse like a car garage or is it bigger? Are there car lifts? Don’t alert him though, be subtle.”
WInged Solution: Paranormal Dating Agency Page 9
