by Nowlan,Anya
I don’t belong to anyone! When are people going to get that through their thick skulls!
A knock on the door a while later told her Stone had followed after giving her time to cool off a little. She was in no mood to look at his stupid, gorgeous face.
“What do you want?” she demanded through the closed door.
“Can we talk, please?” Stone asked softly.
At least he sounded apologetic. Selina sighed in frustration.
I’m going to have to speak to him eventually, she thought, getting up and opening the door.
Albeit totally reluctantly, as she confirmed to herself.
She scowled at Stone, who was standing awkwardly in the doorway. His knuckles were bloody. She got the very distinct feeling that he had taken most of his frustrations out on Tom. A very big part of her didn’t mind that one bit.
“So I’m yours, am I?” she demanded, hand flying to her hip.
“It’s not like you think…” Stone started, just like every douchebag in romantic comedies who’s just been caught in bed with the protagonist’s sister.
“So what, we had sex and now I suddenly belong to you? Were you lying before when you said lions had it different than tigers?” she pressed on, determined to get answers, anger and fear mingling within her.
“No, it’s not like that at all. When I say you are mine, I mean you are my soul mate. I am yours just as much as you are mine. It’s not about ownership,” he explained, taking a step towards her. “I know we are fated to be together. As such, you are mine. But it is not something I can force on you.”
Selina backed away, still not quite convinced.
Soul mates? That sounds like a bunch of bull.
But given what else she had learned lately… Was it really such a stretch? Selina felt silly even contemplating it.
“And how can you be sure that I’m your soul mate? That we’re ‘fated’, or whatever?” she asked, suspicious.
“I just know it’s true. It is a part of being a shifter. There is this pull, a primal connection… I can’t really explain it. You are my mate.”
The fire that burned in his eyes when he said that told Selina that he meant every syllable he said. But she couldn’t help but think it was still… well, entirely ridiculous.
But hadn’t she felt the same pull he was describing as soon as she laid eyes on him? She was drawn to Stone like no other man before, with a force that was even scary in its intensity.
“So you’re not in… heat?” she asked.
“No, I didn’t lie. That’s a tiger thing. And I would never hold you against your will or force you into something you are not comfortable with, you have to believe me,” Stone said, reaching out but not touching her.
Can I trust him?
Everything inside her was saying ‘yes’, but after the night hey just shared, she may be a little biased.
She was stuck in uncharted territory, forced to go with her gut. It hadn’t failed her so far. And if Stone had some ulterior motive with her, she was bound to figure it out sooner or later, right?
She swallowed dryly, taking in his impressive form and those sad, soulful eyes that seemed to be pleading with her to understand.
Who was she kidding? She wasn’t going to be able to stay away from him either way.
She hesitantly stepped closer to his outstretched hand, leaving the safety of her room.
“You should have told me,” she admonished, already softening as she felt his warmth radiate towards her.
“I didn’t want to scare you off…even more,” he smiled cautiously, fingers tightening over hers as he took her hand.
“Is there anything else?” Selina asked, wanting to have it all in the open.
As if this isn’t already too much, she added under her breath.
“I used to be part of a pride, but I broke off from them. It is customary for a powerful Alpha to mate with as many females as possible, to secure strong offspring,” Stone replied, looking more vulnerable than she had even seen him. “I was supposed to take over after the previous Alpha died. I didn’t. I left for the Navy instead. I decided that wasn’t for me and struck out on my own. I wanted control over my life, to love who I choose, just like you do.”
Selina got the feeling this was a part of Stone he rarely revealed. Both his words and the sincerity echoing off of them struck a chord with her. Stone had never been anything but honest with her and could she really blame him for not wanting to freak her out with this whole ‘mate’ thing?
After all too much contemplation, she leapt into his arms, covering his mouth with hers.
Stone’s hands tangled in her hair as their tongues twisted together. All of Selina’s anger dissipated. The feel of his body against hers was all that mattered.
She had to remind herself they needed to stay focused on the task at hand. Tom had already managed to get them fighting and was probably feeling pretty pleased with himself right about now.
Well, probably less so now than before Stone used him for a bit of boxing practice.
Selina pulled away with more than a little reluctance, flattening her palms on Stone’s chest.
“We’ll pick this up later. You’ve got work to do.”
Stone’s eyes hardened as he let go of her, he too more than a little reluctant to do so.
“You’re right. That little worm is going get what’s coming to him. As soon as I get any usable information, you’ll be the first to know,” he said, sighing.
He gave her a look that made goosebumps pimple on her skin, pure animal desire blazing from those mesmerizing green eyes of his. She watched as he gave her a nod and stalked off, headed back to the dank cellars to wring Tom for what little he could.
Selina took a moment to gather herself before choosing to leave the bedroom in search of some company. She settled into the living area just as Kate emerged from her study.
“One of my informants claims he just spotted Stone,” she sighed. “Better go check it out lest he slip through my fingers,” she added sarcastically.
“Go get ‘em!” Selina encouraged with a raised fist.
“Yay,” Kate responded dryly.
After about an hour of nothing but silence from the basement while Selina pretended to be interested in a book she’d picked off one of the well-stacked shelves, Selina finally figured out Kate probably had it soundproofed. She shuddered when she realized why that would be.
Little Miss Hypocrite, at it again, she chided herself. It’s not like Tom is having tea and cookies down there, and my heart’s not bleeding over him.
When Richard emerged from the cellar a while later, a harrowing scream slipped into the living room before he could close the door after him.
“How’s it going?” Selina asked, before realizing how inappropriate the question was.
“They’re tough, but Stone’s just warming up,” Richard answered, his face carefully neutral.
I really shouldn’t have asked.
“I’m going to put the cell phone you recovered from Tom into a Faraday bag, cutting it off from all outgoing and incoming signals so that I can safely access it. Maybe the contacts will tell us something useful,” he continued, changing the topic.
He sounded so blasé about the whole thing. It was really amazing to Selina what passed for ‘normal’ for some people. The height of excitement for her had been a missed order at the bakery, or a particularly long day. It was peanuts compared to what these people went through on a daily basis.
“Well, don’t let me keep you,” Selina said, turning on the TV as Richard walked away.
It was evident that she wasn’t going to retain a word of the book she’d been ‘reading’. In fact, she couldn’t even say what it was about at this point, and she’d been at it for more than an hour.
This whole thing is probably going to take a while and I’m not very useful, she thought, scrolling through the channels.
Another uneventful hour full of reality TV passed before Richard returned.
He looked at the basement door, then at Selina.
“No news?” he asked.
Selina shook her head, feeling like an ineffectual watchdog.
Maybe like one of those overzealous poodles, she mused absently.
“Nope. How about you, find anything interesting?”
“I unlocked the phone, but I don’t really know what to make of it. Actually, could you maybe come give me a hand?” Richard asked.
Selina jumped up, excited to be useful.
Finally!
“Sure, whatever I can do.”
Richard led the way to a part of the house she hadn’t been in before. With a swipe of a keycard he had tucked away under his suit jacket, he let her into a brightly lit room filled with all manner of weapons and electronics. He picked up the phone, which was inside a little mesh bag to keep it from being traced.
Selina couldn’t help the low whistle she gave, looking around herself. The armory looked like something out of a Mission Impossible movie.
“You were with Parker for a while, maybe you heard something, a name mentioned more frequently than others, something like that. It could help me narrow down the contact list to subjects we should investigate more closely,” Richard explained as the door whooshed shut behind them.
“They were pretty careful around me, but I can give it a shot. You could read out the names and I’ll do my best to remember,” Selina shrugged, eyes roaming over the shelves full of shiny metal.
She didn’t even know what half of the stuff was meant for, but none of it looked particularly safe.
Joe would have a field day in here.
She took a seat next to Richard, around a large metal table in the center of the room.
“Kate has really taken a liking to you,” Richard said, abruptly changing gears as he navigated the phone with his thick fingers.
Selina let out a small laugh.
“She has been very good to me, but I’m not sure she actually likes anyone. She just does what she thinks is right.”
Richard turned and gave her an odd look. It was part sad, part determined, maybe even a little afraid.
“And I have to do what I think is right. Kate will be upset with me at first, but she’ll see, in the long run, it was the best option.”
Selina’s stomach turned hollow, catching the glint in Richard’s eyes.
What is this?
“Richard, whatever you’re thinking of doing…” she warned, standing and quickly backing up against the door, keeping her gaze on him.
Richard stood as well, pulling a hypodermic needle out from his back pocket.
“I have to keep her safe. This isn’t going to end well and she’s letting her personal feelings cloud her judgment,” he said, checking the clear liquid in the tube.
Selina yelped, even though it was utterly useless, turning to yank on the locked door that had closed automatically behind them. Kate was out and Stone was down in a soundproof basement. Richard had picked the perfect time. She pushed and pulled at the door, but it was bolted shut, the only way to open it dangling around Richard’s neck.
She planted her feet as she spun around to face him, determined to go down with a fight. The punch-kick combo she attempted when he got close enough was too slow. Richard blocked both hits, his free hand flying towards her neck.
The last thing she felt was the needle piercing her skin.
Twenty-Two
Stone
Stone grabbed a rag and wiped the blood off his hands, as the red liquid was making the handle of his scalpel too slippery to hold. Tom was unconscious on the ground, but Will was still awake.
That was not by accident.
Stone had a feeling Will would be the weak link, so he started on Tom to show the man what he was in for. And now, with his higher-up out cold, bleeding on the ground, Will could talk freely. Stone turned to the man with his most menacing smile.
“Will, is there something you want to tell me?”
Will looked at the mangled mess of a man on the floor next to him, clearly terrified.
“I don’t know much, I swear. I just drive people around and run errands,” he stuttered.
“Start talking and let me be the one to determine if it’s important or not,” Stone commanded, putting down the scalpel and picking up some other toys Kate had left him.
He was picking between a good old-fashioned hammer a pair of pliers at the moment. Will gulped, eyeing the tools nervously.
“The big boss is not happy with Parker. I’ve heard them on the phone, arguing about money. I think out of the lieutenants, Parker is the one most involved in managing the finances. Big boss thinks he is using too much of their resources to find Selina,” he said, sneaking glances at Tom as he spoke, as if fearing the man might suddenly spring to consciousness through his injuries and hurl himself at Tom in a fit of rage.
“So Parker’s the money man. How does he launder their illegal income?” Stone asked, picking up the pliers with absent interest and clicking the jaws together a few times as if to test them.
He hadn’t really expected the man to have valuable information, so this was a pleasant surprise. It was something he could actually use.
“He waits until we gather up a large enough sum and then he hands it over to Tom to have the cash transported to Indiana. Big boss has a friend there who has controlling interest in a local bank. Money gets deposited without anyone getting nosy, and that’s that.”
Will was rushing over his words, eyes darting between Stone and Tom.
Goes to show you can’t buy loyalty.
A plan started forming in Stone’s head.
“And where’s the money held before transport?” he asked.
“They don’t tell me those kinds of things. Parker knows, of course, maybe he tells Tom, I don’t know.”
A growl started as Tom’s eyes popped open. By the yellow tint to his eyes, Stone guessed he had been awake for a while.
“You little weasel. You better hope I die here before I get a chance to rip your throat out,” he snarled, unable to do more than attempt to crawl to Will because of his injuries.
Will scooted away from him, looking pleadingly at Stone. He almost felt bad for the man. But not quite.
“I told you what you wanted to know. Please, I don’t want to die,” Will whimpered.
Stone’s lion roused at the pathetic sight.
Shameful.
Even so, he couldn’t risk the men tearing each other apart. Stone may still have a use for them. He dropped the pliers on the metal platter and walked up the stairs and knocked on the door, prompting James to step in.
“Keep an eye on these two until I get back. Tom’s being snippy. Kick him if he misbehaves.”
The large, bald man only nodded and moved to sit on a chair by the wall.
Stone made his way to the living room, excited to have some news for Selina. He shook his hands loose, feeling them cramp up slightly. Twisting bones to their shattering point in the limbs of a grown predator shifter took a lot of work. Stone had almost forgotten about that.
She wasn’t there, though, so he went to her bedroom next. He didn’t find her there either. Frowning, Stone stilled and listened, sniffing the air, but the whole house seemed to be quiet and he could smell her everywhere, her maddening scent playing tricks on his senses.
He stuck his head in the kitchen, but it was empty. Even Linda wasn’t there, seeing it was her day off. He headed to Kate’s study, growing more nervous by the moment, but there was no one there either.
“Selina! Kate!” Stone called out, roaming the spacious villa.
Worry started to gnaw at him, deep and alarming. He picked up one of his burners and dialed Kate’s number. Since both of the women were gone, maybe they just stepped out together to have some girl time?
That’s stupid. Half the city is looking for Selina and Kate wouldn’t be caught dead with her in public.
Panic started to set in as thoughts of Selina in trouble crowded his mind.
>
“Yes?” Kate asked after answering the phone, her voice dull.
“Where are you?” Stone asked, anxious, still pacing the villa.
“Looking for you, of course. Have to earn my keep. Didn’t Selina tell you?”
A cold feeling settled in the pit of Stone’s stomach.
“So she’s not with you?” he stated, his voice flat.
“Why would she be? What’s going on?” Kate asked, annoyance swiftly replaced by concern.
“She’s not at the house. I don’t know where she went,” he answered, running a hand through his hair.
Where could she have gone? Did she change her mind and decide to give herself up to Parker after all? Would she be that reckless?
“I’m on my way back. Don’t do anything stupid,” Kate said curtly before hanging up.
Stone followed Selina’s scent around the house, his lion growling. It was spread out in all the places he would expect to find it, her bedroom, the living room, the kitchen.
There was only one trail that caught him as strange. It led to the weapons room, Kate’s secret armory that she rarely showed anyone. He knew it could only be accessed by a key card, which Selina definitely did not have.
Stone went outside and called out for one of the guards on duty on the perimeter that day. A tall man in a suit came running, hand already on his gun. Stone just snatched the keycard from his neck and slammed the door shut in his face, a cold look on his face.
He ran to the weapons room, trundling through the villa, hoping against hope he would find her safe and sound, ready to throw her arms around him.
Stepping inside, disappointment hit him like a punch to the gut. The room was empty. But he could immediately tell Selina had been there. Her sweet scent swirled in his head, an aching reminder she was now gone.
Through his mounting terror, he studied the room. Tom’s phone was on the table in the middle of the room, everything else looked like it had always looked. Nothing was out of place, no signs of a struggle.
Someone had to let her in here. Why?
He heard the front door slam open, followed by a busy clicking of heels.
Kate.
