by L. P. Maxa
Linc
His head was against her chest; her heart beat like thunder in his ears. He was mated. It was official. Madden was his whole world, the reason for his every breath. He thought he’d feel different. He thought he’d actually be able to feel their connection. He closed his eyes, stilling his mind and concentrating on his own body. Flashes of the last couple of weeks were playing on fast forward in his head. Him seeing Madden in the trainer’s office, touching her hand for the first time. The smirk on her lips when she blew him off. The way she looked when he picked her up, her scent filling his car on the drive home. The first time he was inside her perfect body, and then every time afterward. He smiled when he realized the reason he didn’t feel different in that moment. Madden had changed him the day they met. His heart had started to beat for her and her alone from that moment forward.
“Is it done?”
He pulled back, setting her on her feet and tucking his still rigid cock back inside his shorts. “It’s done.” He brushed a dark lock behind her ear. “You’re my mate.” He knelt in front of her, helping her get dressed.
“What now?” Her voice was quiet, unsure.
“Now we go out in the hallway and talk to the FBI agents. We help them get Ox somewhere where they can question him, somewhere he can’t hurt anyone else. And then we go home.” He threaded his fingers through hers. “You okay?” No matter what she said, he’d always feel guilty for taking her like that. For doing it after something so terrible happened to her. For having people on the other side of the door, waiting on them. He hated his shifter side for making him be that person. But he loved Madden even more for understanding.
She nodded, pulling her lower lip through her straight white teeth. “Yeah, I think I am.” He frowned, she thinks? She jerked his hand, pulling him toward her. “I think I’m more than okay. I’m happy, Linc.”
He let out a sigh. “Then let’s go get this over with.”
***
Talking to Brooks and Grimes had taken over an hour. Then Baze had helped them secure a location to transport him. Baze wouldn’t tell Linc or Keller where Ox was going. He thought the fewer the people who knew, the better. And the Feds had agreed.
Madden hadn’t protested when Linc insisted that she take the rest of the day off. Her cheek had started to swell and the bruise had started to bloom.
Dom and Corey came by Madden’s office before she and Linc were getting ready to leave. Corey was pissed. She demanded to know where Ox was being held so she could kick his ass. Somehow that image of a pregnant Corey facing off against Ox with her 9 mm made Madden smile, and Linc was glad something had distracted her from the morning’s events.
Dom had told them he would provide cover in case Dean McCormick asked why they weren’t at work. Since Ox had gotten on campus under the guise of being a parent, they weren’t sure who to trust anymore besides the pack.
Now, six hours later, Linc was lying awake watching SportsCenter. Madden was still asleep, her uninjured cheek on his bare chest. He leaned forward and breathed in the spicy scent of her hair. She was his. He’d get to watch ESPN like this, with her in his arms, forever. Did it get any better than that? Food. Food would be the only thing that could make this moment any better. Or a cold beer. After the day they had? Linc could use a beer.
Madden stirred, almost like she’d heard his thoughts. She let out a happy little moan. “How long have I been asleep?”
He checked his watch. “’Bout four or five hours.” He kissed her head. “How are you feeling?”
She sat up, stretching her arms over her head. “Little stiff. That fucker was built like a brick house.” Linc took a shaky breath. He didn’t think he’d ever not want to kill Ox for as long as he lived. “Other than that I’m okay.”
He rubbed her back and muted the TV. “You hungry? Thirsty? Horny?”
“All of the above.”
“Well, since we’re already here in our bed, why don’t we take care of horny first?” He grabbed her thigh and pulled her onto his lap. His hands skimmed up her skin and under the oversized t-shirt she was wearing. She leaned down, fusing her mouth with his, her body grinding expertly on top of him. “You think we could sell all our unused condoms on Craigslist? Between the two of us we probably have a hundred.”
“That’s what you’re thinking about right now?” Madden sat up, her hands on her hips, peering down at him in annoyance.
“Well, yeah.” He wiggled underneath her. “I was thinking I get to slide inside your tight pussy bareback. And then I was like, hey, I never have to wear a condom again. Ever. Which led to, what should I do with that economy-size box in my bathroom.” He made a circular motion with his hand. “Thus. Craigslist condoms.”
Madden tugged at the sheets pooled around her waist, grabbing his dick and positioning herself above him. “Enough.”
She stopped talking and Linc screwed his eyes shut. “Please tell that I’m imagining things and there isn’t someone knocking on our door. Please baby. Tell me.”
She climbed off his lap and he pouted harder than he ever had in his life. “No can do.” She started toward the living room and Linc jumped out of bed.
He wrapped his arms around her waist, stopping her in her tracks. “I’ll get the door. You put on pants, please. Some of my jealousy issues are gone now that we completed the bond, but not all of them.” He kissed her neck and then shut the bedroom door behind him. See? Manners was all it took to keep your mate from chewing your ass out. Dom and Keller should really take lessons from him.
The knocking came again, this time louder. Linc sighed as he opened the door. “Please leave.” His whole pack was standing on his front porch, plus Jasper and Jace.
Corey glanced down then smirked. “Not so funny now, is it?” Linc reached down and adjusted his hard-on. He deserved that. He cracked up every time he’d interrupted Corey and Dom. Molly and Kel too for that matter.
Fucking karma.
“What are allllllll of you people doing at my house?” He held the door wider, allowing everyone to file in. They spread out, each taking a place in the living room. Then Riley sat four giant pizza boxes on the coffee table, and Baze opened an ice chest.
“Thought you could use this.” He tossed him a cold can.
Linc popped the top and took a long swig. When Madden came out a few seconds later he pulled her down onto his lap, taking up the other half of the couch where Corey was currently sitting with her feet up. “Look baby, everyone we know came to visit us.” His smile was sarcastic, as was his tone.
“Hello, everyone.” Madden reached for a piece of pizza and stole Linc’s beer. “What’s this all about? Ox? Or does everyone want to make sure I didn’t murder Linc for claiming me against a wall on campus?”
Linc snorted into the crook of her neck. Only Madden would say something like that. She was fearless and funny and unapologetic. She was perfect, and she was his.
Keller talked around a mouth full of cheese. “Little bit of both.”
“Ox is successfully locked away. Brooks and Grimes are there with him at the safe house and questioning is going to start as soon as he’s ready.” Baze put a piece of vegetable pizza on is paper plate.
“What does that mean? When he’s ready?” Molly came from the kitchen, pouring herself a glass of wine she must have brought with her.
“It means starve him a little first, make sure he’s weak before they start trying to get answers.” Jace shrugged. “That’s what I would do.” Which meant that was what Franklin would do. He’s the one who taught Jace everything he knew about misery and abuse tactics.
Jasper turned to his brother. “How long you think they have until Franklin realizes Ox is missing?”
“Couple days, max.” Jace glanced at Corey and then back down to his plate. “I’m going to go there tomorrow after school, to the safe house.”
Linc’s eyebrows rose, along with everyone else’s. He looked across the room at Baze, the only pack member that didn’t appear shocked by Jace’s re
velation. “Why are you letting him do that?” Hadn’t they agreed to keep the twins out of it? They were just kids. Linc was surprised that Corey wasn’t screaming her head off right then.
Baze set his plate down on the arm of his chair. “Like Jace said, we only have a couple days until Franklin knows something is up. Either he’ll come down here himself, or send another one of his goons. Either way, the kids, all of us, are in danger. The best thing we can do is get Ox to talk, and fast.”
“Baze is coming with me. He’s going to help. Brooks and Grimes aren’t shifters, they won’t be able to break Ox. No matter how hard they try. He’s stronger, he’ll outlast them. I know Ox—I’ve known him for years.” Jace’s eyes were still down on his plate. “Sometimes I wouldn’t see my father for weeks, but either Ox or Bull were always around to keep tabs on me.”
“Baze? You set this up?” Dom was holding Corey, who had tears in her eyes. Linc knew what she was thinking; he knew why she was upset. Corey had talked with Jace for hours, meeting with him every week, helping him learn to cope with his past. She knew better than anyone the trauma he’d gone through. He detested his father, and now he was going to walk into that safe house and have to be just like him.
“Between the two of us, we’ll get it done.” Baze raised his chin, a show of strength when Linc knew he hated this as much as everyone else.
“I should go. I’ll be able to tell what he’s feeling. What affects him the most.” Keller shook his head. “I’ll go.”
“No, then one more person would know where we are keeping him.” Baze shook his head. “The fewer people who know, the fewer people Franklin can come after for answers once he realizes Ox is gone.”
They all returned to eating their pizza, the room full of heavy silence.
How was this their life? They went from four happily single baseball coaches to discussing torture tactics over dinner with their pack?
Molly looked terrified, Corey looked pissed and sad, and Madden looked fighting mad.
The kids were in danger.
Their mates were in danger.
And fucking baseball season hadn’t even started yet.
Epilogue
Linc
“Why are you wearing clothes? It’s eight a.m. on a Saturday, Madden. I thought you said that you weren’t one of those morning people. I feel duped. I feel lied to. I feel—”
She leaned down and put her hand over his mouth. “I was going to make you breakfast in bed, you douche canoe.”
He nipped her palm then licked it seductively. When she giggled and moved her hand he smiled. “That’s sweet, but there is a young shifter sleeping on our couch, and you aren’t wearing pants. Again.”
She pulled away, opening a drawer. “I was in the process of getting dressed when you woke up and started to throw a fit.”
“I only threw a fit because I woke up with a massive hard-on and when I went to sink into your perfect pussy, you were gone.”
Madden snorted. “Like you said, young shifter on the couch. You know the rule. Not until after he’s out of the house.”
Linc did know that stupid rule. He and Madden had been later getting to campus for the last five days.
It’d been one week since they’d started trying to make Ox talk. Baze and Jace both assured them that it was working. Everyone knew they were all on borrowed time though. By now Franklin had to know his second in command was MIA. Any day now retaliation would come.
The twins and Riley were still staying on Faculty Row, one boy at each house. Madden and Linc had Jasper. Corey said it was Linc’s punishment that he had to live with a younger, better-looking version of himself.
But he wasn’t complaining. Not really. He had Madden, and that was all that mattered.
“We also have to meet up with Baze at some point today. I need to get the rest of my stuff out of the apartment.” Baze had changed the locks and added tons of security to the apartment they used to share. He was a little bit paranoid these days—not that any of them could blame him. He was torturing and getting information out of a violent criminal who had the backing of an even bigger violent criminal.
Madden stood over their bed. “Hey, I’ve been meaning to talk to you about something. It’s about Baze.”
He rested his hands behind his head, gesturing down to his dick. It was tenting the covers. “Are you trying to make that go away? Because wanting to talk to your mate about another shifter while he’s got your naked body on his brain is a good way to do that.”
“Actually, yeah. If that could go away until Jasper leaves, that’d be great.” She smiled, lips thinned.
He sighed. “Fine. What do you want to talk about?”
“The first time I had one of those hot flash episodes, both Jasper and Jace were affected by my scent, right? But Baze wasn’t.”
“Well, yeah, Baze is older. He’s more in control of his shifter side, which only comes with age. The twins are still so young.”
She sat down on the edge of the bed. “But Ox, when he attacked me, he could tell. Just like the twins could. He mentioned my scent. He knew what it was. He knew what was happening to me. But then when Dom and Keller came in, they didn’t react to it.”
He narrowed his eyes in confusion. “Okay…I don’t think I’m following what you’re trying to say.”
“Ox is older than Baze, but he lost control.”
“Yeah?” Either he was dumb as a rock or it was too early on a Saturday for his brain to function. Because he wasn’t getting what Madden was trying to tell him.
“Maybe my scent didn’t affect Dom or Keller because they’re mated. Could it be possible that Baze is mated too?”
Linc let out a loud laugh. “What? No. There’s no way Baze is mated and we don’t know about it.” He sat up and kissed his girl’s neck, breathing in her spicy shampoo. “And we don’t even know exactly why Kel and Dom weren’t affected.”
She wasn’t laughing. In fact, she pushed him back down on the mattress and gave him a serious look. “I’m not kidding, Linc. I saw the way Ox reacted, the way you and the twins did. Your eyes got glassy. It was like the scent took over. You guys were no longer in control. Dom, Keller, and Baze. None of them were affected, even a little.”
“Baby. Dom, Keller, and Baze are pack. They went into protection mode to save one of their own.”
“Who would want to protect me more than you would? That’s your main job, right? To protect me. To keep me safe. But you lost it. You reacted just like the twins. You had zero control.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “I think I’m right, Linc. I think there is something Baze isn’t telling us.”
“No. There’s no way…” He spoke with a lot less conviction than he had moments before. What Madden was saying did make sense, sort of. “If he was mated, but not with his mate? He’d go crazy. There are cases of bonded males that actually die from the separation.”
“Well, he’s an asshole. And he’s bossy as fuck.” She shrugged. “So he has those mated characteristics down pat. Not to mention the fact that he acts like he knows everything about bonding.”
“Now that is true. He always has known more about it than the rest of us.” Linc shook his head. “No. It’s not possible. He just reads more than us.”
But? Was it possible? How would that even work? Would it work?
Linc could tell by Madden’s face that she wasn’t going to give up. She was like a dog with a bone. Baze was going to get irritated quickly if she pursued the issue.
“Baby, Baze is a private person. He’s broody and he keeps to himself. I’ve lived with the guy for years, and I still know little about his life before St. Leasing.”
“That’s because he left his mate behind to start a new life in Haxton.”
“Madden. I am asking you, nicely, to please drop it. Baze will share his past when he’s ready to share it, okay?” He waited for her to nod. He was almost positive that it was more of an I won’t involve you in this investigation type of nod instead of the I’l
l drop it and leave Baze alone type of nod he was hoping for. Plan B, distraction.
“Jasper,” Linc called out loudly toward the living room.
“Yeah?” Jasper’s voice came from right outside their bedroom door. He sounded sleepy and cranky.
“Take my car and get breakfast for everyone.” Madden elbowed him in the ribs. “Please.”
“If you want me to leave so you can—”
“Don’t finish that sentence.” Linc bit his lip to keep from laughing. Jasper really was just like him. “My wallet and my keys are on the kitchen counter.”
“Fine.”
“Take Riley with you.” Everyone had to travel in pairs, never alone.
“Fine.”
Linc captured Madden’s smiling lips, kissing her senseless.
“Uh, Coach?”
Linc pounded his fists into the mattress throwing an adult-sized temper tantrum while Madden laughed. “What?”
Jasper’s voice came from right outside their bedroom door. “There is a dude walking up the driveway carrying a passed-out chick.”
Madden jumped off the bed and pulled on a pair on pajama pants, and Linc was following right behind her as she ran into the living room. She glanced out the window facing the street and then rushed to the front door.
“Baby, are you fucking crazy? You can’t just let strangers walk into the—”
“He’s not a stranger. I know him.” She opened the door, holding it wide.
Linc watched as a large, extremely muscled dude with a man-bun made his way onto the porch then into the house. “Madden. How do you know him?” Man-Bun was definitely a shifter. Linc could tell that the moment he stepped into the house.
Madden ignored him, instead choosing to help giant Man-Bun lay a passed-out blonde chick on the sofa. She was banged up and bleeding. “Matias? What are you doing here? Who is this? What the actual fuck?”
Linc stood by Madden, his hand reaching down to grip hers as the big guy dropped his beat-up backpack by the sofa. Linc pulled her toward him, wanting like hell to demand answers as well.
“Maddi, chica, I travel cross the world to see you and that’s the welcome I get?” Man-Bun tsked and took a step in her direction, causing Linc to jerk her back and let out a low growl.
