“You are such a fucking whore. I’m going to make you pay for what you did to my face,” he snarled into her ear.
Janie felt him shift, and his knee dug into the middle of her back. Keeping her wrists restrained in one hand, he rummaged around for something with the other. She could only see a little of him in her peripheral vision, because turning her head too far made pain shoot into her shoulders and down her arms. Catching a glimpse of a long, thin object coming toward her, she whimpered and then sobbed when she felt a prick in her neck. The bastard had just injected her with something.
Oh God, please don’t let me die. Seton, Wolf, Lander, I’m sorry. I love you so much.
They were the last thoughts to run through her mind before she was swept down into a drug-induced abyss.
Chapter Six
Seton and his teammates had dressed down for reconnaissance in Fort Yates. Wearing denim jeans, flannel shirts, and cowboy hats, they hoped to look like nothing more than visiting ranch workers. But underneath they were armed to the teeth. Knives were hidden in boots, holstered pistols were hidden beneath their loose shirts, and they were also wired for sound. Tiny high-tech hearing devices were tucked away from view in their ear canals, and minute transmitters were attached beneath the buttons on their collars. If needed, they could call for backup and their leaders and teammates would be with them in moments.
There was a cool breeze coming off the Missouri River, but Seton, his brothers, and the Healy brothers were oblivious to it. Scanning the area constantly, looking for anything out of the ordinary, Seton glanced at Bryden, and after giving him a nod they dropped the walls to their empathic abilities and let the rush of emotions wash over them.
It was a hard thing to do, letting emotions from so many people bombard his mind. Trying to sort through them all was physically as well as mentally draining. Breathing in deeply, he picked up the scents of dank foliage on the ground near the river. Being careful to sort through the smells, he discarded nature’s pungency and concentrated on the humans. There was nothing he could detect out of the ordinary, so he looked over at Bryden to get his perspective. Bryden gave a slight shake of his head, and then Seton received an image in his mind from his teammate. Giving a nod of affirmation, Bryden and his brothers split off from him and his as they continued their explorations.
This was the third day their team had searched Fort Yates and the surrounding area, and still they hadn’t found anything. Seton was just about to put his mental wall back in place, but he hesitated. There was something not quite right, and it was close by.
Signaling the rest of the team that something needed further investigation, he adjusted the sunglasses on his nose and headed to the left, down a small, narrow laneway which he knew led to the only clinic in town. Pain and sorrow as well as fear washed over him, making his guts churn. Taking a deep breath, he pushed those emotions to the back of his mind and with the flick of a finger indicated to Wolf and Lander to skirt the building for possible entry and exit points.
Looking around to make sure no one was watching, he bent down, pulled the knife from his boot, and sliced the palm of his hand. When his blood was flowing freely, he hid his knife, walked up the steps to the clinic, and entered.
Thankful that the clinic was currently empty, Seton handed over the fake identification they all carried to the nervous young woman behind the counter.
“Right this way, sir. We’ll have you fixed up in no time.”
His eyes never stopped moving as he followed the young woman to an exam cubicle and waited to be attended to. Letting his mental barrier down once more, he had to concentrate on not doubling over with the fear bombarding him. What the fuck is going on? This wasn’t the sort of fear and sorrow one expected to feel in a doctor’s office. It wasn’t full of grief, as if someone was about to lose a loved one. Inhaling deeply he sorted through the antiseptic smells and frowned as his olfactory senses latched on to a familiar scent.
“Hello, Mr. Watson, my name is Dr. Smith, and I’ll have you stitched up in just a moment.”
Seton eyed the short, balding man gathering supplies from the cupboard across the room. He wondered if this was the Smith they were after. The man’s features reminded him of a weasel, but when Seton looked into his close-set eyes, they were cold and bleak. Seton knew they had their man, but he didn’t think he was the head of the black-market organ trade organization. He wouldn’t know for certain until they interrogated him, but he could feel evil rolling off the fucker in waves, which only seemed to add to the nausea roiling in his stomach. Clearly the man was up to no good, and Seton’s instincts told him to take the man in for questioning. He’d have to wait for formal interrogation to be sure, but he wasn’t letting any possibility slip by.
At the same time, he didn’t feel like he was face-to-face with a criminal mastermind. This organ-smuggling operation was too big. The head of it wouldn’t be in this little clinic doing the hard work himself.
Seton continued to eye Dr. Smith. Watching the doctor intently while he worked must have got to the bastard, because beads of perspiration dotted his brow. When the last suture was tied off, Seton met Smith’s eyes.
“There you are, Mr. Watson, all done.”
Seton was distracted from his observation of Smith by another pulse of fear and sadness. It seemed closer than it had been before, and Seton’s stomach churned harder than ever. There was something familiar about the emotions washing over him, as if he recognized the sender…
Janie. It was impossible. She was supposed to be back at her home, but as soon as Seton made the connection, he felt certain. The misery coming from somewhere in this building belonged to his woman.
The thought of her being in danger was enough for him.
Seton didn’t say a word but rose to his feet slowly. He moved quickly then, grabbing hold of Smith and spinning him around. He pinned him to the exam bed with his hands cuffed behind his back and spoke quietly into the microphone at his collar.
“What the hell do you think you are doing?” Smith yelled. “I’ll have the authorities throw you in jail and throw away the key. I’m a doctor for God’s sake.”
“What’s going on?” The young woman who had showed him in appeared around the curtain.
“Put your hands above your head and don’t move,” Bryden commanded, shoving the barrel of his pistol into the small of the woman’s back.
“Good timing. Wolf, Lander, where are you?” asked Seton.
“We’re in the back. Fuck, Seton, Janie’s here, and she’s been beaten and drugged.”
“How bad is she?” asked Seton.
“She has bruised, swollen cheeks, and I can’t wake her up. God, I don’t know how to treat her because I don’t know what they’ve given her. I’m going to call the medevac to come take her to a hospital. I want her flown close to home. We need to be able to see her,” Wolf informed him.
“The local police are on their way to pick up Dr. Smith,” Seton said. “Janie’s kidnapping gives us grounds to arrest him and hold him. Hopefully he’ll give up his bosses while he’s in custody.”
“So he’s not the one?”
“It doesn’t add up. My instincts tell me that someone else is behind this—someone who’s been using Smith and probably others like him to do their dirty work.” Who that was, however, would have to wait. Janie was his priority right now. “Take care of Janie and let me know how she is. I’m going to have to stay here and clean up this mess,” Seton stated, giving Smith a cold look as the bastard glared at him. “Bryden, take care of the receptionist and see what she knows.”
“On it,” Bryden replied, and Seton saw him move toward the frightened young woman.
He really didn’t want to stay here and deal with this shit. He wanted to go with his brothers to make sure Janie was going to be all right, but at least he could see her for himself before she was taken away.
Shoving Smith into a chair, he secured the cuffs to the radiator fixed to the wall and called out to Ward u
sing the mic.
“Keep an eye on this piece of shit. I’ll be back in a minute.” Seton walked out of the room when Ward came in. He knew Ward wouldn’t let Smith out of his sight, and now he hurried down the hall to the back of the building.
When he came into the back room, his knees nearly buckled at the sight of Janie. She looked so small and fragile, her face swollen and bruised. The darkness of her eyelashes made her skin seem even paler, a sharp contrast of ebony on parchment white. Walking farther into the room, he was filled with rage like he’d never felt before. He wanted to howl out loud at the injustice of Janie being injured. He wanted to race back out to Smith and strangle the fucker with his bare hands.
Wolf was just inserting an IV drip into the back of her hand. “How is she?” Seton asked in a voice gravelly with emotion.
“She seems okay. She’s a mass of bruises as you can see and slightly dehydrated, but her blood pressure’s good, and so are her other vitals. Until I know what she’s been drugged with, I can’t treat her any further.” Wolf sighed with frustration.
“ETA for the medevac is five minutes. They’ve landed in a paddock just on the outskirts of town. Stedman went to pick them up,” Lander informed them.
“Shit. I tried to get a reading on Smith. He’s part of this black-market ring, but whether or not he’s going to cooperate is another thing. I could feel evil malevolence rolling off of him, but I still think he’s only a puppet,” Seton explained.
“Fuck! When will this shit end? I’m sick and tired of fighting. I just want to settle down and breed horses,” Wolf snapped.
“We all do, bro, but we promised our superiors that we would see this thing through to completion. We won’t be able to settle down until we’ve finished.”
Seton took Janie’s hand into his, emotion clogging his chest and throat at how small and fragile she looked. The paramedics arrived moments later with Stedman on their heels. Just as he was about to withdraw his hand from Janie’s, he felt her squeeze slightly. Looking up at her face, he saw her eyeballs moving beneath her lids. Was she only dreaming, or was she aware they were with her?
“She just squeezed my hand,” Seton said in a low voice.
“That’s a good sign, sir. She could be starting to come around. Let me check her over, and then we can get her out of here. The sooner we find out what she was given, the better.”
“Can you feel her?” Seton asked his brothers quietly, making sure the paramedics wouldn’t hear the conversation.
While he knew it had been her emotion that led him into the clinic, she seemed to be sleeping much more deeply now. That worried him. How strong were the drugs she’d been given?
“Yes, but just barely. She’s hiding deep within her mind.”
“I felt the same.”
“Me, too. Keep me posted,” Seton commanded as the medical officers transferred Janie to the portable stretcher.
“Will do.” Wolf followed the paramedics out of the room.
Seton and Lander turned to face Stedman.
“I told them what’s been going on.” Stedman leaned against the doorframe.
“Did you or any of the others find anything else in this town out of the ordinary?” Seton asked.
“No, nothing. I think Smith had only just set up here. He was intending to use the clinic for another cover to scout out more black-market organ donors. I think you should let Bronsin at him.”
Seton knew that Stedman was right. Bronsin was one of the most powerfully empathetic men out of the whole team and could go deep into another person’s mind. Seton gave a nod of affirmation to the request and headed out to the reception area.
Seton contacted Ward through the mic. “Ward, get Bronsin. We’re going to interrogate.”
Seton went to the other rooms of the building and searched every drawer, nook, and cranny. Sighing with frustration because again he’d found nothing, he headed toward the reception desk.
Bryden was just finishing up with the young woman.
“Thanks for your time, Ms. Cardell. We appreciate it,” Bryden said and turned toward him.
“Anything?” he asked.
“No, she had no idea what was going on. She’s an open book and completely honest.”
“Good. Let’s go see if Bronsin has anything,” he commanded and led the way back to where Smith was being held.
Seton leaned against the door and watched Bronsin work. His teammate looked frustrated as hell. When Bronsin noticed him he gave a slight negative motion with his head, and Seton knew his colleague wasn’t getting anywhere. Sighing with frustration, he stepped back and allowed the police officers he heard coming into the room to take the piece of shit from his sight.
Seton dealt with the authorities, and after several hours he and the rest of the team packed up and headed for home. He’d heard from Wolf that Janie was going to be okay, but he couldn’t get the sight of her bruised, swollen face and battered body out of his mind. He wanted to be able to take her into his arms and hold her, needing the reaffirmation that she was indeed going to be all right.
Seton and the rest of the team were so frustrated with the lack of progress they had made into the black-market organ ring. Tension between them was high, and tempers were getting rather short. The members of their team with any semblance of control at the moment were their team leaders, and Seton knew that was because they were still in the honeymoon stage of their relationship with Brooke.
Sighing with frustration, he thought about Janie. Cursing under his breath, he hit the answer button on his Bluetooth when his cell phone rang.
“Yeah, how is she?” Seton asked.
“She’s awake, and other than being sore and groggy from the drugs, she’s okay. The hospital is releasing her. I’ve hired a cab to transport us to the stud. We should arrive about the same time you do,” Wolf stated.
“Thank God,” Seton replied. “See you soon.”
The tension eased from his body for the first time since he had heard that Janie was in the back of the clinic, hurt and unconscious. Seton vowed then and there that Janie was never going to leave his sight again.
Chapter Seven
Janie moaned and tried to open her eyes. They felt like they were glued shut. Her whole body ached, but her face felt like it was bruised and swollen. Reaching up, she gently placed her fingers to her eyes and winced when they throbbed.
“Easy, baby, don’t touch your face. You’ll only hurt yourself.”
“Wolf?” she asked softly.
“Yeah, baby, I’m here. How are you feeling?”
“Like I’ve been hit by a truck. What happened?”
“Don’t you remember, Janie?” Wolf asked, his voice now closer to her than it had been.
“What’s wrong with my eyes? Why can’t I see?”
“You were beaten, baby. Your eyes are swollen shut. God, I’m so sorry you were hurt.” Wolf’s voice rasped in a low, deep timbre, betraying his sensitivity to her pain.
“Oh God. There was someone in my apartment. I tried to fight him, but he was too strong. He drugged me,” Janie sobbed.
She flinched slightly when arms wrapped around her then sighed as Wolf’s familiar scent as well as his hard, muscular arms surrounded her.
“Shh, it’s all right, baby. You’re safe now,” Wolf crooned as he slid onto the bed beside her, enveloping her in his warmth when he lay at her side. Reaching up, her hands encountered his hard chest, and she snuggled into him as her tears flowed. She sobbed out all the fear and pain she had felt at the hands of strangers and for the fact she had left and could have died before she had declared the love she hadn’t known she felt for the three Garman brothers.
Finally, when the tears abated, she became aware of Wolf stroking her head and whispering to her.
“You’re okay now, baby. No one is going to hurt you again. You’re safe, Janie.”
“I’m sorry,” Janie sighed as the fear and tension she had been experiencing finally left her.
“You
have nothing to be sorry for, baby. Just lie back and rest. I’ve organized for a cab to take us home. You’ll be safe there.”
“Are we going to your home?”
“Yes, baby. You’re coming back where you belong, but don’t you worry, we won’t pressure you, Janie.”
“I know you won’t. I’m sorry, I’ve been such a coward.” She snuggled into Wolf’s chest and hugged him tighter.
“What do you mean by that, baby?”
“I should never have left. I’m sorry I wasn’t strong enough to stand up for what I wanted.” Janie felt Wolf tense.
“And what is it you want, Janie?” His voice was deep and gravelly.
“I want you, Seton, and Lander. I love you all so much.” Janie gasped with a hitch in her voice. “I was so worried about what my parents would think that I took the coward’s way out and let you send me home. I should have stood up for what I wanted and not cared what others thought, but I couldn’t bring myself to hurt my parents.
“It turns out they knew I had feelings for all of you anyway,” she sighed. “My mother asked me how my men were. It was such a weight from my shoulders, and I felt so free. I was going to head back to the stud in the morning, but I didn’t get the chance.”
“Well, you’ll get all the chances you want now, baby. I love you, too, Janie. God, you don’t know how much.” Wolf’s voice was husky with emotion.
“Oh, I have a pretty good idea.” Since I feel the same. “When can we go home?”
Another voice spoke, startling her. “You can go as soon as you like, young lady.”
“The doctor,” Wolf whispered.
The doctor went on, “You will need to rest for the next week, until the drug you were given is out of your system and of course until you can see again. You’re going to need help for a few days though.”
Becca Van Page 5
