I ran for a while, enough to tire out my wolf, but eventually was pulled home. I expected to find Maddie there, but instead I only found Oscar sitting on the back porch, alone.
“Liam? Is that you?” he asked, seeing my wolf approach.
I nodded my head, then shifted before him.
“That's so cool,” he whispered under his breath.
Sniffing the air around me, I knew Maddie wasn't around, but I had the next best thing and that seemed to satisfy my wolf. The kid was my pack, too, my family.
“Kid, do me a favor and go grab some clothes. Tell Grandma Mary we're going out for a bit.”
“We are?” he asked as I felt his excitement begin to bubble.
“We are if you hurry. I don't know about you, but after the day I had, I could use some ice cream.”
That had him moving quickly and soon he returned with a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. Not my usual attire, but it was a casual kind of afternoon. There was no way I could concentrate on work right then anyway.
Mom stepped out on the porch looking a little worried. “Everything okay?” she asked in that way that she did when she knew the answer but wanted you to confirm it. I didn't.
“Everything's fine. Oscar and I are just going to hang out for a bit.”
“In the middle of the afternoon? On a work day?” she questioned, giving me the all-knowing mom eyes.
“Yup,” was all I said. “Come on, kid, let's go.”
We got out to the driveway and Oscar stopped. “Mom has your SUV,” he said, sounding disappointed.
“I know,” I assured him.
“Are we walking all the way to the Cold Shack?” He didn't sound too happy about the thought.
I led him over to a large garage at the back of the property. His interest piqued. I knew he had never been inside and the windows were all tinted so you couldn't even see in.
“Pick one,” I said as I opened the door and escorted him inside.
His mouth dropped open and his eyes were wide in shock as he looked at my collection of vehicles. A large, black, dually diesel truck; a brand new Jeep I hadn't even really broken in yet; a silver BMW convertible; a sleek green Jag that I rarely took out; and a classic 1965 Stingray in Vette yellow. I had a thing for cars.
“That one,” he said, pointing to the Corvette.
“Good choice.” I grinned down at him, grabbing the keys off the hook on the wall.
“Are all these yours?” he asked.
“Yup.”
“Cool! So, why do you share the SUV with Mommy then? She's always having to take you to work so she can use it and all, but you don't really need her to do that with all these.”
I laughed. “I know.” I shrugged. “Guess I just like the extra time with her.”
He grinned. I knew it made him happy that I loved his mother so much, even when she was breaking my heart and stirring up my wolf with that mission nonsense. He would never know about that, though.
I kept things upbeat. The Vette only had two seats, so he had to sit in the front. I knew Maddie was going to freak out, and he did, too.
“Mommy's not going to be happy about this. Are you sure it's okay?”
“Of course I'm sure,” I said. “Here.” I grabbed one of my motorcycle helmets off the shelf and shoved it down on his head. “Now, buckle up, and you'll be good to go.”
“I'm still supposed to be in a booster till I turn eight,” he warned.
“I know, I know. Remind me to check while we're in town and see if anyone has one. In the meantime, this works, right?”
He giggled, and I liked that he was happy. His laughter made me crave more of it, so I went to the cabinet and grabbed my old football shoulder pads. I took off the helmet and shoved the pads on him, then replaced the helmet.
“There,” I said, checking him over thoroughly. “No way she can say you're not safe now.”
Oscar laughed harder. “You really want me to wear all of this?”
“Riding in the front seat is very serious. Just making sure you're absolutely safe.” I opened the door as he climbed in, still laughing. I strapped him down, satisfied of his safety, even if he did look ridiculous. I needed a little ridiculous just then.
I opened the bay with the remote in the car and we drove off, closing it behind us. I knew I was speeding as we flew around curves and over hills. Oscar cheered me on the whole time. Sometimes boys just needed a little danger in their lives.
We arrived safely at the Cold Shack. I unbuckled him and removed the gear before we got out. He was in second grade now, I didn't want the others to pick on him because I was over-exaggerating things.
We headed inside hand in hand. He ordered a cup of mint chocolate chip and I got a banana split. We sat in the booth and chatted about everything. He told me school was going great. He was making lots of friends. We talked about the new house. He hadn't seen it in a while, so I promised to stop by on the way home.
Jessica came in with Bobby and two other boys. I recognized one of them as the one that was giving Oscar shit the night of his first pack run, but by the way they greeted each other and Oscar begged for them to join us, I knew they had already become fast friends.
We pulled over some extra chairs and Jessica and the boys sat down. I was suddenly out of the picture and forced to talk to her. I really wasn't in a social mood, though, so I first checked my phone. Several missed texts from Christine popped up.
There was some paperwork she needed my signature on before end of day. I checked the time. I could give him a few more minutes.
“So, Liam, how is fatherhood going? Oscar seems to be settling in nicely and I hear the new house is almost complete,” Jessica started, obviously just making casual conversation.
We chatted for a few minutes. I was surprised at how much information I glimpsed on Oscar and how he was settling in from her. Jessica Moore was obviously in the know with the second graders of San Marco. It was reassuring to hear how well he was doing, not that I expected anything less.
As we stood to leave, Jessica did too, and I noticed for the first time just how very pregnant she was. A longing to see Maddie's stomach swollen with my child washed over me. I grinned despite the trials of the day. I couldn't wait to see it and know that was my child she was carrying.
We said a quick goodbye and headed back to the car. Oscar got in and buckled, but didn't move to put the safety equipment on. I looked past him to the Cold Shack and saw the other boys watching. I didn't say a word as we drove off.
We headed for my office and as we walked in, Chris immediately began doting on Oscar. The kid was a bit of a charmer, I had to hand it to him. By the time I had gone in and signed the stack of papers she'd left on my desk and returned, that boy had Christine Canine wrapped around his little finger. Promising her he'd visit again soon, we left.
“Can we still stop by the house? Or do you think Mommy will be worried by now?” he asked.
“Mommy will be fine,” I assured him, and we headed to the home site.
I knew, before I even saw my SUV in the drive, that Maddie was there. I pulled up next to her. She and Lily were standing in the middle of the field in obvious discussion. I could only assume it was wedding plans, knowing Maddie would never discuss her mission and the Verndari with my sister.
As Oscar jumped out of the car, it drew Maddie's attention. I could feel the confusion and frustration rolling off her.
“Tell me you did not run out and buy that,” she emphasized, pointing to the Corvette, “just because we argued.”
“You and Mommy are fighting?” Oscar questioned and I saw the immediate regret on her face.
“No, just a little disagreement. Mommy and I are fine,” I assured him.
Lily snorted. “About time you disagreed on something. It's not normal for two people to be so, so agreeable all the time. There's joy in makeup sex,” she whispered low enough that I hoped the kid didn't hear, but his questioning eyes told me he did. I shook my head, telling him not to ask, an
d was happy he didn't.
“I did not just run out and buy that because I was upset. I picked Oscar up and we went for ice cream. That's it,” I told her, not really feeling like I needed to justify myself.
“If you've had that all along, why have I been waking up before the crack of dawn to take you to work and feeling guilty about monopolizing your vehicle?”
Oscar said matter-of-factly, throwing my words back in my face, “҆Cause he likes the extra alone time with you. He has plenty of vehicles, you don't need to feel guilty. If you want something different, I'm sure he'd let you pick. I got to pick which one to ride in today.” He had a momentary look of panic. “Liam made me wear a helmet, and football pads, and buckle up. I was perfectly safe.” Then he ran away, finding Troy as they headed into the house for a tour.
Lily was laughing. “You made him wear a helmet and pads to ride in the Vette?”
I shrugged. “I didn't want Maddie to freak out over him being in the front seat and riding without a booster.”
“But he wasn't in them when you got here,” my sister challenged, and I wanted to smack her.
I sighed. “Yeah, I'm sorry about that,” I said, speaking only to Maddie. “We ran into Jessica and a few of his friends at the Cold Shack, and it just wasn't cool to do that in front of his boys. I was careful driving, though.”
I tried to give her an innocent smile. There was still tension between us and I knew it had nothing to do with me taking Oscar for a ride without a booster seat. Lily must have sensed it too, because she excused herself to join Oscar on his tour inside.
“Are we okay?” Maddie asked sadly, and sounding a little unsure.
I nodded and hugged her close to me, stroking her hair and inhaling her scent. “I understand why you feel you have to do this. I don't have to like it to respect that. And I really don't need the details. Just promise me you'll be careful. Don't take any unnecessary risks and come home safe and sound with all of this behind us.”
She nodded against my chest. “It's not happening for a . . .”
I cut her off. “Maddie, I really can't handle the details. I was barely keeping control of my wolf today, and poorly at that. I've never lost control like that before. The more I know, the worse it'll get. I know mates aren't supposed to have secrets, but for all of our sakes, please keep this to yourself.”
She wrapped her arms around my waist and hugged me tightly. “If you're sure that's what you really want.”
“It's not, but it's what I need,” I told her honestly.
Already in my thoughts was the one place I dreaded most. I knew I would know when the day of her mission came. I knew that I wouldn't be able to handle it, or control my wolf from stopping her without serious intervention. I knew she was going to hate what it did to me, but I didn't see much choice. I started calculating a plan. I couldn't risk her or blowing her cover and endangering her further because I wasn't strong enough to control the beast.
Thinking through the details, I planned to talk to Kyle, make him swear that, when the day came, he'd lock me up in the place we feared the most, because it was the right thing to do.
Maddie
Chapter 26
I didn't like keeping things from Liam, but I tried to do as he wished. It was making things a little awkward between us and I constantly second-guessed if what I was doing was right. I couldn't sleep at night thinking of all those shifters stuck in cages. The mission was to get Raina out safely, but could I really leave the rest behind?
I had secretly spoken to Patrick about the possibility of rescuing others. His friend Dave worked in the clinic where they were holding them, alongside Jacob. Patrick and Dave had another human friend named Larry who was the third Verndari assigned to the region along with Martin, whom I had already met. Larry was apparently a bit of a computer whiz, and we were able to coordinate Raina's escape with their system's patching window, though Jacob wasn't aware of that. The servers running the camera system in the building would only be down for three minutes and it took another two minutes to get the system fully back online. A five-minute window wasn't much, but it was hopefully enough for what I was planning.
There was absolutely no room for error if we were to pull it off. I had to be in Jacob's office when the computers went down and back before they came back online. He would be busy taking care of Raina's supposed remains and as far as he was concerned, my only role in the day would be to park next to the trash compactor with Patrick safely hidden inside. Patrick would retrieve Raina and hide her with him in the trunk of my car while the cameras were down, and I'd simply drive home afterwards.
The plan was simple, it just wasn't enough. For my enhanced plans to work, everything had to go perfectly.
The night before the mission I dropped Oscar off at Jessica's for another sleepover at Bobby's. Since school had started back, Oscar was thriving with other kids his age. They typically only did sleepovers during on the weekends now. A Wednesday night sleepover was unexpected and apparently super exciting for the boys. I had thanked Jessica profusely. All she knew is that I needed to leave early the next morning and would be out of town for the day. I could have left him with Mary, but didn't think he'd ask as many questions or draw too much attention towards my plans if he was distracted by Bobby Moore.
“So tomorrow?” Liam asked, noticing Oscar was not around for dinner or to say good night to.
I simply nodded. He had asked me not to tell him the details. He didn't want any part of it, but I wouldn't lie to him to maintain that request, either. My admittance made him very possessive. I headed to bed early, knowing morning would come quickly, but he had followed me and there had been little sleep that night. When he had lain over me, something he hadn't attempted since the first time we had tried to have sex, the panic began, but I pushed it aside, knowing he needed the control more than I did for once.
It was arguably the best sex we'd ever had. I found I really enjoyed the aggressive side of Liam in the bedroom, even if I was a little sore and a whole lot tired on this very important day. I could have sworn I even felt my canines sharpen as a result, and wondered if I had just imagined it or if nature would find a way to truly bond us. I blushed and smiled thinking about it. We had gotten very little sleep, but he woke long enough to claim me once again before I headed out.
“You look very happy for someone who's about to cause mass chaos on an already dangerous mission today,” Patrick said when he picked me up. We had a couple hours of driving to reach Jacob's office and there was no real point in him riding in the trunk the entire way.
I was surprised to find Patrick O'Connell very easy to talk to. He didn't pry into anything too deeply. We talked about how Oscar was adjusting to school, the wedding plans, Elise—basically anything but the mission ahead of us. I was grateful for his company, but it didn't stop my nerves from increasing the closer we got.
Just before we arrived at Jacob's office, I stopped at an abandoned gas station that I knew would not have any cameras watching, and helped Patrick into the trunk. Apparently, there was already a release button from the inside so a person would not actually get locked in there. Who knew?
It was a rental car. Jacob had rented it and somehow gotten it to Patrick beforehand. A cover story had already been fabricated so no one would question me driving it. It was supposed to allow us to remain untraceable, and no DNA could ever be pulled from it showing our part in the escape. It had sounded a little paranoid to me, especially since the plan was for everyone to believe Raina was dead, but Jacob had insisted.
I pulled up next to the dumpsters at the side of the building, exactly where Jacob had told me to park. The lot was largely full, so it didn't even look odd for me to park there.
"Ready?" I asked Patrick in what appeared to be an empty car.
"Just breathe, Maddie. You can do this," he told me.
"I know. I know. I'm just nervous. We left absolutely no room for error."
He chuckled. "It's just a good thing humans don't ha
ve heightened hearing. You need to try and slow your heart rate. You're going to freak out every shifter in there."
I laughed. "Okay, okay, I can do this. Here goes. Good luck."
"Good luck, Maddie."
I got out of the car and walked around to the front desk. By all appearances, it looked like a small, elite research facility. That's what I had always thought it was. I just didn't know that the research being performed involved my kind against their will.
"Janie!" the receptionist greeted me, sounding a little surprised.
"Hello, Helen," I said, trying to remember what the old Janie would have said and how she would have acted. I wasn't that scared, fragile girl anymore, but I needed to act like I was.
"Jacob said you've been struggling some lately. I hope this is a sign you're doing well?"
"Yes, thank you," I said, barely making eye contact with the woman. "I'm here for lunch with Jacob."
"I suspected as much," she said, nodding to the food I was carrying with me. "I'm sure he'll be thrilled to see you out and about. Just sign in here," she said, pointing to a visitor log on the desk. "You remember how to get to his office?"
"Of course," I said politely.
"It was really good to see you, Jane."
‘You too, Helen," I said as I turned and headed down the hall I knew would take me to Jacob's office. I was a nervous wreck. My hands were even a little shaky. Fortunately, that only confirmed the severe depression stories and anxiety attacks Jacob and Annie had told people in light of my absence. It wasn’t that I was really ever around these people, but I supposed they at least asked about me and kept up through Jacob.
I knocked on his door and waited for him to welcome me in, but as the door opened a young man I didn't recognize stepped out, shaking hands with Jacob.
"You sure you can't do lunch? We could finish this discussion once and for all," the stranger said.
"Sorry, Trevor, this is my daughter, Janie. I don't believe you two have met before. Janie, this is Trevor Daniels, Stephen's son. You remember him, don't you? He's one of the proprietors of the clinic. I'm afraid I have to decline your lunch offer. As you can see, I already have plans," Jacob told him.
Forever Mine (Westin Pack Book 3) Page 23
