He held her tight, his heart warming. Her trust meant everything. “You are safe with me, honey. I promise that.”
“Maybe it’s crazy, but I believe you,” she said softly. “Even just a few days of peace, that would mean everything.”
“It’ll be more than a few days, hon. Trust me. But if all you can believe is they can’t find you yet, believe that for sure. But if they do come, I’ll be ready.”
“I don’t know how you can promise that,” she said. “But I’m tired of running anyway. We couldn’t run now if we wanted to. So all I can really do is put my trust in you.” She rolled over onto him, her dark hair all around her face in a soft, brown halo as she leaned forward until they were nose to nose. “I do know there’s no one else I’d rather be stuck with,” she said.
He knew it was probably more than she’d ever said to anyone else. He felt slightly bad for not telling her who he was, why he was so confident no one could take her away from him. But at least for now, that was how it had to be.
He just wanted things to be simple. Just for a little while longer.
While he won over his mate.
He’d tell her the rest when he had to.
7
A couple days later, things were going better than even Ares with his own natural optimism could have guessed. He’d spent the past few days getting to know Mac and Kat and doing fun things with them.
It was fun to take Mac bowling and see him struggle with even the littlest bowling ball. It was fun to see Katrina be pretty good, while Ares himself could only bowl really powerful gutter balls. He blamed Katrina and the distraction of her beautiful ass every time she bowled right before him. Made it hard for a man to think.
Maude had them all beat. She was part of the local bowling league and managed a nearly perfect score that had them all high-fiving her at the end.
And now, on a perfectly sunny summer day, he was just wrapping up some shopping at the small local grocery store with Mac and Kat. Mac had ridden on his shoulders all the way here from Maude’s place, laughing as Ares went faster or slower, while Kat giggled and told them to slow down.
Ares had told the locals he had some family visiting, and as it wasn’t uncommon to see new people or tourists around, everyone had been friendly and welcoming and not asked any questions.
As they shopped, getting things for Ares to cook for dinner tonight while Kat tried to talk Mac out of trying to shove every piece of candy in the store into the basket, Ares couldn’t help but hope this was his new, immediate future.
They were his. And he wouldn’t let the trust shining in little Mac’s blue eyes or the assurance he felt from Katrina every time he held her be misplaced.
Sometimes he still saw fear in her eyes, but it was easy to run a hand through her hair, looking into those soft brown eyes, and tell her things would be okay, hold her against him until she felt better and secretly swear vengeance to himself against anyone that had ever hurt or scared her.
“Is this everything?” Kat asked, pulling him from his thoughts as she started to load things onto the conveyor belt.
“Yup,” he said, flashing her a grin. He made sure to take the heaviest things from her and put them up himself. He knew he was being overprotective, but so be it. Kat had dealt with enough so far. He’d make sure everything from here on out was as easy for his mate as possible.
When they’d loaded it all and the cashier was ringing up the total, giving them friendly smiles as they did so, Mac suddenly said something about seeing a dog and then darted outside.
Ares’s ears perked up, but he knew kids tended to just run off when they wanted to.
“I’ll get him. Be right back,” Kat said, running after them.
Ares finished paying quickly. Even though they were still close, he didn’t like not keeping his eyes on them at all times. He took his receipt and jogged to the automatic doors.
And what he saw made his heart sink into his shoes.
Men in dark clothing and masks were shoving someone into a van, and from the flash he saw, he was sure it was Katrina and probably Mac.
Dammit, why had he taken his eyes off them, even for a second?
He dropped his groceries and ran out into the road just in time to see them speeding away, burning rubber as they tried to accelerate in the slow, bulky van.
His mate was in that van.
A cold calm came over him as he reached for his shoulder holster and pulled out the gold Desert Eagle .50 caliber he had strapped over his back, concealed by his jacket.
In any other kidnapping, it would already be too late. The van was accelerating, there was no time for Ares to find a car and follow them. And by the time he could call it in, they could already be hurt or worse.
That’s if the kidnapping had been a normal one and not someone foolishly trying to take the mate of an ex-Special Forces soldier.
Ares aimed at the right back tire of the van and fired two shots into it. It made a boom and hissing sound, and as the van fishtailed, he aimed and hit the front tire on the right, forcing the vehicle to curve into a sharp turn and hit the nearest curb, stopping with one flat tire over it.
The car made a hissing noise as he walked toward it, calm as can be, gun at his side.
He had four more express action rounds. He wouldn’t need them.
He heard swearing from inside before a man stumbled out of the passenger’s seat, training a gun on him. Ares raised his hand and fired, dropping the man instantly.
No one else immediately exited the van, but Ares waited. Luckily, he knew the man who’d sent them wanted Kat and Mac back alive.
Then the largest sliding door slammed open and two men piled out, holding guns. Ares fired on one while reaching into the other side of his shoulder holster and pulling out his other gun, a .44 caliber magnum. He fired with that and watched both men drop to the ground.
He didn’t know if there were any left, but he wasn’t taking any chances. And he knew he was within his rights. They were committing a felony and had aimed their weapon at him. Nonetheless, he’d probably be calling Hades for a cleanup.
He approached slowly, trying to see inside the van to make sure Kat and Mac were okay. When he reached the vehicle, he could see two men in the backseat, holding Mac and Kat between them, guns pointed at their heads.
“Get back,” the man holding Kat said.
“Hands in the air,” the other said.
Ares could see their hands shaking and didn’t want to take any chances, so he did as they said. He stepped back from the truck, hands in the air.
One of men climbed out, his gun trained on Ares. “Put them down,” he said.
Ares shook his head. “Put yours down.”
“Put them down or my friend will shoot them.”
Ares didn’t think so, but he couldn’t take chances. “Tell your friend to come out here where I can see him. Then I’ll put my guns down. Otherwise, I’ll take my chances putting a bullet through your head.”
The man paled behind his mask but didn’t answer. He seemed to think over his options, then made a jerky motion for the man behind him to follow him out. He seemed to realize the two of them holding their guns on Ares was probably a better idea than just one of them.
“Now put down your guns,” he said.
“Cover Mac’s eyes!” Ares yelled, hoping Kat could hear. He didn’t want Mac to be scarred by this any more than he had to be.
“Put down your guns!” the man yelled. “We did what you wanted. Now keep your end of the deal.”
Ares slowly got on one knee, making a show of putting both guns on the ground.
“Good,” the man said smugly, his voice still shaking. “Now stand up and put your hands up and—”
He was cut off when Ares used his moment on the ground to draw his smallest gun from his ankle holster and immediately aimed and shot both men, dropping them like flies.
Silence reverberated around them. He knew the townspeople were hiding. Then again, they were
used to issues with a motorcycle gang that had terrorized the town not too long ago, and they knew Ares was someone who would take care of business as needed.
He’d stopped a bank robbery earlier in the year as well. No one messed with his town, his mate, or his family.
He slid his weapons back into their holsters and pulled out his phone. He dialed Hade’s number.
“I need a cleanup,” he said simply.
Crackling on the other end, and then Hades hung up. Ares knew he would be there in time to get rid of the men before the police could figure things out. Ever since he’d apprised Hades of what was going on, he’d been staying at Zeus’s place up in the mountains as backup if needed. Now he was needed.
Ares approached the van apprehensively. He knew they were okay, and that was what mattered, but he was also worried what they would think of him. He’d been unmitigatedly violent, but he’d been up against violent men.
Would they judge him?
He was afraid to see their eyes, but he had to know they were okay, so he looked into the van.
Mac was staring at him with wide eyes, and Kat was sitting silently, as if still in shock. The wind whistled around them. Then Ares reached out his arms and Mac lunged forward into them, crying and wailing.
Ares held him tight, kneeling with him on the ground as people started coming out from nearby stores to see what had happened.
“Did you see that?” one woman asked. “A kidnapping.”
“Good thing Ares was here,” a man said. “Hey, do you need any help?”
Ares just put a finger up, ignoring them as he held Mac against him, letting him cry out his pain and fear as his little hands clutched Ares tight.
“Shhh… It’s okay. I’m here now. I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”
“The bad men. The bad men took me and Mommy.”
Ares hoped Mac hadn’t seen anything else. Was too young to understand what had happened. He could hope.
“It’s okay. It’s okay now,” he said, rubbing the little boy’s back as Mac sobbed.
“It’s not okay. The bad men will get us.”
“No, they won’t,” Ares said. “I won’t let them. Did you see how many there were? No one can get past me.”
Mac pulled back, but Ares kept him against his shoulder, not wanting to let him see anything bad as people around covered bodies and pulled them out of sight.
Slowly, Kat got out of the van. Arms tightly wrapped around her, looking as if she still didn’t know what was happening.
“I thought we… I thought…”
He wished he had two sets of arms right now. Anything so he could grab both of them. But Kat would agree Mac was top priority. He stroked Mac’s hair until the crying stopped, until Mac wasn’t shaking in his arms.
“Hey, it’s okay,” he said, speaking to Kat as much as Mac. “Nothing happened. You’re both okay, and you’re going to stay that way.”
He heard the roar of an approaching engine and looked up to see a black dodge viper swing into a parking spot on the side of the road. The front door opened and a tall, muscled figure stepped out, fully clad in black leather, a cowboy hat shading most of his face.
Hades knew how to make an entrance.
He didn’t look up at Ares, just walked over, dropped the keys in front of him, and then walked past Kat to deal with the police who’d just showed up.
Ares heard low, reassuring words from Hades as he talked with the locals, who seemed taken aback by everything.
“I’ll work out the details,” Hades said. “You get your woman and her boy home.”
Ares nodded. He was tired now that adrenaline was no longer rushing through him, and it was hitting him now just how much he could have lost.
He’d underestimated the danger facing them. It was still nothing he couldn’t handle, but he wouldn’t take his eyes off them even for a moment.
And he had to show them where he lived and tell them who he was.
“Come on,” he said, standing and propping Mac against his shoulder as he reached out a hand for Kat. “Let’s go get Maude. There’s something we need to talk about.”
Kat nodded silently, her lips pressed together, and followed him with folded arms.
He opened the passenger side of Hades’s Viper and let them both get situated with Mac on Kat’s lap.
He’d be sure to drive careful; they meant the world to him.
He started the car and pulled out, letting silence reign between them. As soon as he could, he’d tell her everything. But first, they needed to get somewhere safe.
* * *
Katrina still couldn’t believe what had happened.
She didn’t know what was better, the fantasy world where things had been peaceful, but she wasn’t sure Ares could protect her from what was coming, or the real world where they’d been in danger and Ares had saved them, revealing he was some kind of monster in the meantime.
Well. Not monster exactly. She didn’t know what to think. The men who had tried to kidnap them had guns, but none had used them as efficiently or ruthlessly as Ares.
Who was he, and why was killing so easy for him? Had he killed before? How many times?
She just couldn’t imagine it. Not the fun, easygoing man with the sparkling green eyes and the most amazing kisses. Not the man who let Mac ride on his shoulders and who Mac was beginning to see as a father figure.
She’d managed to cover Mac’s ears as tight as she could, yelling over the gunshots to disguise the noise. She appreciated Ares’s warning to do so.
But even his voice had been so different. So cold, so calculated.
Those men had never stood a chance.
A part of her was reassured by that. Another part was terrified.
The man driving now, who was calm and collected as if nothing had happened, wasn’t the man she’d gotten to know.
What other secrets was he keeping?
But as her heart rate returned to normal and she realized she and Mac were fine thanks to him, she comprehended just what a close call they had. If Ares hadn’t been who was, they would have been in huge trouble.
Perhaps when he’d made those promises to protect her, he made them having a lot more information than she did.
She truly didn’t doubt him on that now.
But she also couldn’t make her idealized view of him as the perfect, gentle guy next door return.
When they stopped in front of Maude’s, she came running out, her hand over her mouth and tears in her eyes. Ares stepped out and opened the door, holding Mac and handing him to Maude, who cooed over him and waited for Katrina to climb out.
“I heard. Oh, Ares, when I heard what happened…”
“We need to get somewhere safe,” he said, lifting Kat out of the passenger seat and ignoring her feeble protest. It did still feel good to be in his arms, and she wasn’t sure her legs would work if she tried to stand anyway.
“Okay,” Maude said. “Your place?”
“Yes, will you come with us? I want to know you’re safe as well. There’s no telling if they know you’re involved or not.”
“I’m coming all right,” Maude said, getting into the back of the truck with Mac.
Ares lifted Kat into the passenger’s seat and they pulled out of the driveway. Maude was still cooing to Mac, who was finally able to giggle at something she said, making Kat share a relieved look with Ares.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to keep secrets from you. Well, I guess I did, but only because I didn’t want you to know that about me until you had to. It’s not who I am anymore. Not unless someone needs me to be. But it’s not the man I want to be for the rest of my life. It’s not the man I want to be with you,” he said.
She understood that but wasn’t sure if she could really separate the two.
And Ben would just be sending even worse men now that he knew what they were up against.
There would just be more violence in general. More for Mac to be exposed to.
More of what she didn’t want.
Life was cruel sometimes.
The last few days had been heaven. The kind of life she and Mac had enjoyed before Ben started chasing them. Except better, because with Ares around, their little family had been complete.
But they couldn’t go back to being a normal family anymore. Not now that men had died and Ares had revealed himself as someone other than the man she thought she knew.
But maybe just because it couldn’t be simple or normal, it didn’t mean it still couldn’t work out.
Somehow.
When they stopped in front of Ares’s house, Kat looked up at it with wide, stunned eyes. “This is yours?”
He nodded. “Yes.”
To say it was foreboding was an understatement. It was more of a fortress than a house, with a huge concrete wall around it and a large metal gate that slid open to allow them entrance. Ares pulled into the driveway and then got out.
Maude carried Mac to the front door as Ares went ahead and unlocked it.
Kat just stared up at the cold house, understanding now why Ares hadn’t taken her there yet.
He didn’t want her to know there was anything wrong with him. And judging by this house, there was definitely something off.
Just who knew how to use guns like that? Was he some kind of crazy vigilante? A construction worker who fought bad guys in his spare time? She guessed she’d figure out soon enough.
“I promise it’s better inside,” he said, the corners of his mouth quirking up in a grin. “Come on.”
He opened the door, and Maude walked inside. Katrina kept her arms around her as she went in the entryway. Her jaw dropped at the luxuriousness of the interior. Plush carpet, hand-carved wooden furniture.
Paintings of the surrounding mountainsides mounted on the walls and over the mantle of an impressive stone fireplace. She sat in one of the chairs, mouth still agape in shock.
Ares stood next to her, looking down quietly as if he didn’t know what to say or do.
Maude looked between them and seemed to sense something was wrong. “I’m going to get Mac something to eat and then show him your downstairs theatre.” Mac perked up and looked at her and she ruffled his hair. “You’d like that, right?”
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