by Rayna Tyler
“That doesn’t explain what you’re doing in my brother’s house.” Leah eased herself onto the sofa and began rubbing her belly. It seemed my sister wanted to be comfortable now that she’d taken over the interrogation.
“I’m Hannah’s friend Sydney. I finished my last job early, and when I got her message telling me about her trip here, I decided to surprise her. Only, when I arrived at her cabin, it was empty.” She adjusted her weight when Avery tried to free herself again.
“I was hanging out in the reception area at the lodge, hoping to find out where she’d gone, when I overheard you two”— Sydney wiggled her finger between Leah and Berkley—“talking about picking her up and taking her into town. So I followed you.”
I remembered Hannah saying she hadn’t gotten a good look at the person following us. I was certain if she’d recognized her best friend, she would’ve said something. “Why all the mystery? Why not let Hannah know you’d arrived?”
Sydney smiled. “Mostly because of the way she was looking at you when you were coming out of the restaurant. Hannah’s never acted that way around a male before, and I didn’t want to get in the way if it turned out to be something romantic.”
“If you didn’t want her to know you were in town, how did you end up being here today?” I asked, not totally satisfied with her answer.
“I was keeping an eye on her because her ca…I mean she has a tendency to get into trouble. It’s not her fault.” Sydney’s scowl reflected her uncertainty.
I had to give her credit for wanting to protect Hannah’s secrets. Both of which—Hannah being a shifter and having an allergy issue—Sydney probably wasn’t aware I already knew.
“Yes, I know.”
“Anyway…” Sidney shot a glare in Avery’s direction. “That’s how I caught her breaking into your house and taking Hannah’s stuff.” She glanced behind her where a couple of Hannah’s suitcases were sitting on the floor. They were partially hidden by my recliner; otherwise, I might have noticed them sooner.
I lowered my gun and placed it on the end table near the sofa, confident Berkley was more than capable of taking over if things got out of hand. I walked over to Sydney and offered to help her up. “You can let Avery go now. I don’t think she’s going anywhere.”
Sydney sniffed the air as soon as she was standing. “I was right about you and Hannah. I can smell her all over you.” She grinned, her slate-gray eyes sparkling as she paused to catch another whiff. “And you recently had sex.”
I wasn’t sure what was more embarrassing, the fact that she could tell what Hannah and I had been doing simply by smelling, or that she’d announced it to everyone in the room. And if she could tell, it meant my shifter friends could too. As much as I yearned to know everything I could about their kind, I could have gone my whole life not knowing that particular tidbit.
“That’s because I’m Hannah’s mate,” I blurted out before any of the other females, more specifically my sister, could make a chastising remark.
Berkley and Leah didn’t seem surprised by the revelation, but Sydney seemed rather elated. “You are. That’s awesome.” He wide grin dimpled her cheeks.
“What?” Avery jumped to her feet. “No, that’s not possible!”
“Yes, it is.” I blew out an exasperated sigh. “Now can we please get back to finding out what happened to Hannah?”
Avery pursed her lips and hugged her chest tightly, refusing to speak.
Sydney furrowed her brow. “That’s what I was trying to do before you all got here, but I couldn’t get her to talk.”
Rushed footsteps sounded in the hallway, drawing everyone’s attention. Nick entered the room holding Mandy’s hand, making sure that she stayed behind him and well protected.
He was dressed in an old pair of sweats and a worn T-shirt and wasn’t wearing any shoes. I assumed he must’ve been at home working in his woodwork shop before coming to my place. We all knew he preferred to go barefoot unless he was going to be around humans.
“Did you guys find Hannah?” Mandy asked as she moved to stand beside her mate.
“Not yet.” Berkley glanced expectantly behind the new arrivals. “Reese and Jac?” She asked Mandy with a raised brow.
“They wanted to come too, but thought someone should stay behind and take care of things at the lodge.”
Nick sniffed the air the same way Sydney had, then glanced at me and grinned. “Mitch, congrats. Mandy told me you found your mate.”
It was more likely that Berkley had already figured it out, then told Mandy, who in turn told Nick.
“Thanks, but she’s not here, and we’re pretty sure Avery knows what happened to her,” I said.
Berkley flicked her right wrist, her nails extending into sharp claws. “I was looking forward to extracting the information from her myself, but now that you’re here, I’m sure we can get the answers a lot faster.”
Avery shuddered and took a few steps backward. “Berkley, you can’t be serious. His wolf will kill me.”
Nick was part wild wolf. In the shifter world, they had a reputation for being antisocial loners whose animals couldn’t always be controlled and sometimes turned feral.
Mandy smiled proudly at her mate. “You should’ve thought of that before you messed with a member of our family.”
“Maybe you should take her outside,” Leah said. “It’s difficult to scrub the blood out of the cracks on a hardwood floor.”
“It would definitely make getting rid of the body parts a lot easier,” Berkley added.
Sydney had no way of knowing the female’s comments were meant to intimidate, to get Avery to talk. Shock flickered in the glance she gave Berkley and my sister, as if she truly believed their intentions.
“Sounds good to me.” Nick grabbed Avery’s arm and pulled her toward the sliding glass doors leading out to the deck. It only took one of his deep, hair-raising growls to stop her from struggling.
“Mind if I come along? I asked.
“Are you sure you want to watch?” Nick asked me.
“I’m not squeamish, and I’ll do whatever it takes to get Hannah back.”
Avery braced her hand against the doorframe to keep Nick from dragging her outside. “Fine, stop. I’ll tell you whatever you want to know.” She hastened away from Nick as soon as he released her.
“Tell me where Hannah is, and know that if she is harmed in anyway, I will gladly turn you over to Nick’s wolf.” I preferred saving lives, but wouldn’t care about sparing Avery’s if I lost Hannah.
Avery swallowed hard. “I waited for her to go for a run, then lured her tiger into one of those cylindrical bear traps, then called Evan at the ranger’s station and told him where he could find her.”
After hearing what Avery had done and knowing how scared Hannah must be, I was tempted to change my mind about Nick taking her outside.
Berkley shook her head in disgust and pulled her cell out of her skirt pocket. “I’ll call Reese, tell him what we found out, and have him contact his friend over at the ranger station.” She walked into the kitchen for a little privacy.
Sydney gazed at the suitcases. “Why were you taking Hannah’s things?”
“I knew Mitch would be working in town and wanted to make it look like she’d left him,” Avery’s tone lacked any remorse.
“Why would you do something so maniacal?” Leah snapped.
“With Hannah gone, I knew I could convince him he’d be better off with me.” Avery jutted her chin, her self-confidence never wavering.
“What about finding your own mate?” Mandy slipped an arm around Nick’s waist.
Avery wrinkled her nose, then glared at everyone in the room. “You all know that not everyone finds their mate.” Her disgust quickly changed into one of boredom. “Most of the available shifter males I know wanted to wait for their mates, and I got tired of waiting for mine.”
“But why me?” From what I’d observed, the female never lacked male attention.
“I thou
ght you’d make a worthy mate since I couldn’t seduce you as easily as I could the other human males in town. I found you even more appealing after seeing the way you acted with Hannah at the restaurant.”
Sydney shook her head in disgust. “Unbelievable.”
Berkley walked back into the room, concern creasing her brow. “Reese confirmed that Evan did pick up the trap and took Hannah to the station.”
“Then why don’t you look happy about it?” I asked.
“Because not long afterward, Nash Bradshaw showed up and drove off with Hannah still inside the trap.”
“Oh, that’s not good.” Leah winced and rubbed her belly. “Sorry, mild contraction, nothing to worry about.” She blew out a deep breath. “According to Glenda, the Bradshaw brothers are distant relatives and a little wild.”
“Great.” I gripped my nape. “You’re saying my mate has been abducted by bears?”
“It looks that way.” Berkley patted my arm. “There is good news.”
I was finding it difficult to believe. “Yeah, which is?”
“Reese’s friend was able to activate the truck’s GPS, and it showed the vehicle heading in the direction of Nash’s home.”
“Please tell me he gave you an address?” I pulled the truck keys out of my pocket, anxious to go after Hannah.
“What are we going to do with her?” Sydney hitched her thumb at Avery.
“I have an idea.” I’d considered taking her with us, but I didn’t want her anywhere near Hannah again. I picked up the gun and shot Avery in the thigh with a dart. Watching her hit the floor with a thud made me feel a little better, and would be the only satisfaction I’d get until I had Hannah safely wrapped in my arms.
“We can worry about taking her to the sheriff’s office in Hanover when we get back. Until then, we can lock her in one of the kennels I use for overnight patients in the clinic.”
“Sounds like a good plan to me.” Nick chuckled, then heaved Avery over his shoulder and followed me to the back of the house. By the time Nick and I were done, everyone else was outside waiting for us by the vehicles.
I’d assumed my sister would ride back to the lodge with Berkley. Instead, she headed for my truck. “Leah, where do you think you’re going?”
“Hannah is your mate, which means she’s family.” She pulled the passenger door open. “I’m going with you.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea. We have no idea what we’re going to run into out there.” I didn’t want to wrestle a pregnant woman, but I would if I had to.
She snorted and grabbed the bar above the door, then stepped on the side rail so she could hoist herself into the passenger seat. I glanced at Berkley hoping for some support and got a shrug before she climbed in the back seat with Sydney.
I scrubbed my hand along my face. At this rate, I wasn’t going to live long enough to claim Hannah. Bryson was going to kill me long before I got the chance.
Chapter Eleven
Mitch
The address and driving directions Berkley had gotten from Reese for the Bradshaws’ property hadn’t exactly been accurate. She’d had to plug the information into the GPS app on her phone before we were able to find the correct turnoff leading to their home. It was late in the afternoon with sunset less than forty-five minutes away by the time I pulled in front of their house. Nick and Mandy had followed us in their vehicle and parked behind us on the gravel driveway.
Seeing the white forest service truck with a bear trap attached to the rear hitch made what Avery had told us she’d done to Hannah enrage me even more. All I could think about was finding my mate, making sure she was safe, and holding her in my arms. I jumped out of the truck and rushed to glimpse inside the trap. After finding it empty, I ignored Berkley’s warning to wait and climbed the porch steps.
I was beyond politely knocking. I had my hand on the screen door, ready to yank it open when Nick said my name. He clapped a reassuring hand on my shoulder to let me know he was there to support me, and probably also to keep me from doing something stupid. Like provoking some bear shifters by entering their territory without an invitation.
I gave him a brief nod, then glanced behind me to see Berkley and Mandy helping Leah out of the truck. I would have preferred my sister stay inside the vehicle where she’d be safe, but knew arguing would be useless. I also didn’t want to waste any more time getting to Hannah.
“Did you hear that?” Sydney had also joined us and tilted her head, her ears perked. I strained to listen and heard muffled voices coming from outside, somewhere near the side of the house.
“This way,” I said, heading toward another set of stairs on the other end of the wraparound porch, with Sydney and Nick trailing close behind me.
“That ought to do it,” I heard a male say as I turned the corner leading to the back of the house. A few more steps, and I froze at the sight I found. Hannah was lying on the ground, unmoving. A male I assumed had to be one of the Bradshaw brothers squatted next to her. Even in his lowered position, it was easy to tell from the shirt clinging to his broad chest that the male was tall, with a massive build. I couldn’t see Hannah’s face, but there was blood on one of the male’s hands and a large patch covering a portion of Hannah’s oversized shirt.
Within seconds, I was reliving the nightmares of not being able to save Hannah. With a rush of adrenaline and giving no thought to my own safety, I raced toward the male. “Get away from her!” I shouted, then barreled into him. Stunned by my attack, the male didn’t have time to react and ended up on his back with me fisting his shirt and straddling his chest.
“Nash, don’t you dare hurt him,” Hannah cried, rolling to her feet and hurrying toward me.
Nash’s disbelieving frown deepened. “Hurt him? But I’m the one…”
“Hannah, are you okay?” I climbed off Nash and hurried to pull her into my arms.
“Of course, I’m all right.” She tipped her head back and smiled, her green eyes sparkling. “We were…”
“Doing a reenactment,” Sydney said with a grin as she approached, arms raised expectantly.
“Syd, what are you doing here?” Hannah pulled away from me and went to hug her friend.
“My tour ended early, and when I heard your message, I thought I’d join you in case you needed help staying out of trouble. It seems I was right, but it turns out to have been a good thing.” Sydney grinned at me.
“Well, I’m glad to see you.” Hannah squeezed Sydney one more time, her gaze taking in my friends as well. “All of you.”
A door on the side of the house opened, and another male who looked like he was related to the one I’d knocked to the ground walked out the side entrance. He was fidgeting with a digital camera strapped around his neck. “What’s going on here?” he said when he looked up and saw my friends and me. His gaze shot to Nash, who was rubbing his back as he got to his feet. “And what the hell did you do to my brother?”
“Cooper.” Hannah stepped defensively in front of me. “This is Mitch and our friends from the lodge.”
It troubled me that she hadn’t introduced me as her mate, a reminder that things were still unsettled between us. I wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her back against my chest.
Berkley shot Nash and Cooper the same sisterly glare I’d seen her use on her own brothers. “Why didn’t you two call to let Mitch know where Hannah was and that she was safe?”
“I wouldn’t mind hearing the answer to that myself.” Leah had taken a seat in a cushioned patio chair not far from where Nick and Mandy were standing.
“It’s not their fault.” Hannah nervously glanced around the group. “My cell phone is back at Mitch’s place, and I couldn’t remember any of his numbers.”
“Besides, we were going to bring her home as soon as we were finished taking our pictures,” Cooper said.
“Honest,” Nash added.
“Pictures for what?” I asked.
Hannah bit her lower lip as she dropped her head to the sid
e to look up at me. “It turns out the guys are fans. We got to talking about how I came up with ideas for my scenes, which led to my process, which led to me sharing my recipe, which led to this.” She pulled her shirt out and glanced at the red spot she’d created with her fake blood.
This was the second time in the last day her special recipe had caused me undue anxiety. Either I would need to stop overreacting, or maybe I could convince her to use a different color. Maybe a nice shade of green to match her eyes.
“I promised to let them help me do a reenactment in return for saving my life.”
A call would have relieved my stress, but I couldn’t fault her for wanting to repay the brothers. “Hannah means the world to me, so thank you for looking after my mate.”
Hannah jerked her head in my direction. “Your mate? Really?” She turned in my arms.
“Absolutely.” I cupped the side of her face, wiping a smudge of dried “blood” off her cheek with my thumb.
She appeared confused, yet hopeful. “But this morning…”
“I was under the impression that shifters recognized their mates immediately. Since you hadn’t said anything even while we were…” I stopped myself when I caught Nash and Cooper grinning. “Anyway, up until this morning, I knew you’d be leaving and was doing my best not to get my hopes up. That’s why I asked if you were mistaken, not because I didn’t want you.”
“Mitch,” Leah interrupted. “Do you suppose you could hurry and get to the part where you tell her you love her?”
I glared at my sister. Hormone imbalance or not, I wasn’t going to rush this moment with Hannah. As it was, I’d hoped to do this while we were alone so I could show her how I felt, not give her a verbal explanation in front of our friends. “Would you mind giving me a couple more minutes, please?”
“We don’t have the time, because my water just broke.” Leah glanced at the wet spot forming on her pants. “Someone needs to take me to the hospital and call Bryson.”
Chapter Twelve
