Dev's Mate (Shifters on the run Book 2)

by Serena Simpson

  “Should we let ole Fred here live? Why don’t we let the girl decide?”

  Fred’s eyes got big. “I didn’t mean any disrespect by calling you a girl. It’s just something I say.”

  “Fred I want that black jeep on the back lot. The one you don’t have any papers on.”

  “How’d you know?”

  “Long story. That’s what I want, and you’re going to take our SUV and make sure any papers on it disappear. Are we in agreement?”

  “Yes, I agree.”

  “Fred if I even think you betrayed us. I’m coming back.”

  Ben took the knife from Dev and walked out.

  “What’s he going to do?” Fred’s voice was shaky. They left him in his office.

  “If you pick up that phone I will hear you.” Dev left him with that little tidbit of information.

  Fred walked outside to show he wasn’t going to call anyone.

  Ben walked up to the Hummers and began slashing each tire until every tire on all ten Hummers were torn to shreds. She watched as they transferred everything to the Jeep and wiped down the SUV. Dev got in the front, and she joined him. Ben and Lore got in the back, they circled around to stay away from Fred.

  “How did you know that this car was untraceable?”

  “When I was younger I fell into the wrong group. I learned things I wish I didn’t know.”

  She got quiet and was thankful he didn’t press anymore. Old pain and sorrow ran through her. Dev took her hand squeezing it before he left it on his thigh. She settled down and watched the miles roll by while the guys in the back slept.

  “Who’s hungry?” He asked as he pulled in front of a diner.

  “I am.” She lowered her eyes embarrassed, but she was starving and didn’t know why.

  “Count me in.”

  “Me too.”

  “Good. Rissa, you might not know this, but the animal inside you burns calories making you eat more than you normally would.”

  “They didn’t feed me a lot in captivity.”

  “It was to keep you weak. Just one of their tactics.”

  He got out and waited for her to come around. He took her hand before they walked into the diner. A waitress met them giving the males a flirty smile. When she looked at her the smile slipped off her face.

  “Table for four?”

  “Yes.”

  “Can you tell me where the bathroom is?”

  “Sure hun, I’ll show you.”

  She followed the waitress. When she walked into the bathroom, the waitress followed her.

  “Hun are those boys hurting you?”

  “What?”

  “You can tell me. I can’t abide to see women hurt. I’ll get you out of here and take you someplace safe.”

  Rissa hugged her. “Thank you. They’re not hurting me they’re helping me. I was alone until I met them and I want to be with them. Thank you.”

  She went into the bathroom a smile lighting up her face. When she came out the waitress was still there.

  “Is there a special one for you?”

  “Why?” She edged towards the door.

  “I just want to know which two are free.”

  “Oh.” She slipped out the door and walked fast back to the table.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “It’s probably nothing, but there is something about the waitress that’s bothering me.”

  “Let’s go.”

  “But…” he took her hand taking her out the back door. Ben went around and retrieved their Jeep.

  They took off as the waitress stood in the doorway with a phone to her ear.

  “You made a good call Rissa.”

  “Do you think she’s with the military?”

  “No, but I think they got to her. Offered her a bonus if she saw you.”

  “What do we do now?”

  “We get food. Hungry animals are dangerous.”

  She nodded she felt dangerous as the ache in her midsection demanded to be fed. He hit the highway again and pulled over to the side where there was a rest stop. Lore got out along with Ben. One surveyed the property while the other went into the restaurant.

  Ben came out and gave a soft whistle before Rissa and Dev got out.

  They went in and took a seat. A waitress with a nice smile on her face came and took their orders.

  “You ordered a lot of food.”

  “There’s no guarantee when we will eat next, so we take advantage of every meal.”

  “Maybe I should have ordered more.”

  “No need I ordered more for you.”

  He’s going to spoil me. It was only a day, and already she was smiling. He protected me, and now he’s feeding me. If this were her past life she would be concerned saying to herself, she could take care of herself. In this new life, she wasn’t doing such a good job of it. She had a feeling he was going to teach her how to stand on her own two feet. Maybe then she could beat this attraction she had for him.

  The waitress brought trays of food along with another waitress.

  “You boys must work out a lot, there’s not an ounce of fat on you.”

  The waitress looked at Dev, and Rissa found herself glaring at her. How dare she try to flirt with my man. He’s not my man. She doesn’t know that. A hiss rattled in her throat until Dev lifted her hand and kissed it. The hiss turned into an aroused purr. Her cheeks heated even as she became wetter.

  He grinned at her, and she lowered her eyes because she knew he could smell her arousal. She had been trying to hide it. That was over. Picking up her fork she stuffed a bite of her pancakes into her mouth. Dev turned away to give her time to regain her composure. They were silent as they ate. She noticed them looking over the restaurant every few minutes which made her feel uneasy. She ate everything she ordered and what Dev ordered for her before she was ready to leave.

  “I’m finished. I should probably go the ladies room, so I don’t stop us.”

  “I’ll come with you.”

  She opened her mouth and shut it. After her earlier encounter, she wasn’t sure it was a bad idea. With a nod of her head, she stood.

  He stuck his head in making sure the bathroom was empty then stood outside like a sentinel.

  Washing her hands in the sink, she took a good look at her face before she grimaced. It didn’t make sense that she wished she had a facial mask or moisturizer that was a different life a different woman. She was an animal now. None that meant anything to her. She hid her despair deep inside before she left the bathroom.

  “I’m ready.” She gave him a big smile and took his outstretched hand.

  “I haven’t forgotten, Rissa.” His words were low as he led her out the restaurant.

  Ben and Lore were already in the Jeep. They climbed up front, and she closed her eyes wondering where they were going next. They drove a few minutes before the Jeep came to a stop.

  She opened her eyes to find out they were in a large parking lot in front of a mall

  “Dev?”

  “I promised you clothes.” He gave her a smile and exited the Jeep.

  The butterflies that she beat back were running rampant in her stomach. Her heart fluttered. She looked back at Ben and Lore wondering if they were okay with this. They both gave her a smile before they got out.

  “Why are we parked in the middle of so many vehicles?”

  “If we parked alone it would be easier for the military to find our vehicle. That’s what they will be looking for.” He took her shoulders and turned her around. “See that black Jeep? If the military is following us. That’s the vehicle they will target. We can’t stay long.”

  “I understand.”

  “Everyone get anything they need. We have ten min…” Lore stopped and looked at Rissa. “We have an hour.”

  Chapter Eight

  How was she supposed to get all her shopping done in an hour when she had nothing to her name? She took a quick look at Dev underneath her lashes they were walking into the mall, and she was sure
he would need things, so that gave her what thirty minutes?

  “Do you want to get whatever you need first?”

  “This whole hour belongs to you. If I see something while we’re shopping for you, I’ll pick it up.”

  She nodded keeping her mouth firmly shut because her heart was pounding double time and she was sure if she tried to speak everything she was thinking would flow out of her lips.

  It was rare, no it was non-existent to have someone care about her so much that they would put her needs first. She briefly thought of her aunt and uncle who raised her. She hadn’t seen them since the government had taken her away. They were the only people in her life that ever cared and she almost destroyed that caring.

  Had they forgotten about her? Did they think she was selfish when in reality she knew that to contact them would put their lives in danger? She blinked fast and increased her pace so he wouldn’t see the pain she was suffering.

  “Can we go in here?”

  “Are you sure?” She nodded her head.

  This mall carried several fashion stores that at some point in her life she would have loved to go in. Now her needs were simple. Yeah, that designer pair of pants with the fantastic shoes she saw when she walked past one place would have looked terrific, but it would have hampered a quick getaway.

  She always liked this store. It carried a nice line of clothes for both male and females. They were both comfortable and stylish, and that’s what she wanted after she bought some clean underwear.

  The lingerie caught her attention causing her to pull away from him as her stride lengthened. She always loved this stuff but to see it fresh and clean, she wanted to place it all on the floor and roll around in it. She might be losing her mind.

  By the time he made it over to her, she had an armful of bras and panties. That’s when she realized that she wasn’t paying for it and started to put them down. He stopped her with a hand on her arm.

  “Get what you want, but you may not want to get too much if we have to run we may be leaving it all behind.”

  She nodded. That made sense. She got rid of half her pile because some of it was there for looks and not comfort. There was one pair she put down and picked up and then put down. The bra and panties were bronze, and she knew they would look good against her skin. The problem was every time she looked at them she could feel Dev’s hands on her peeling them away.

  “I like those.” He gave her that beguiling smile that twisted her stomach into a mass of butterflies and turned away.

  She snatched them up and placed them on the bottom of her pile. They moved through the store quickly with her snatching clothes up and even trying them on. Finally, they came to the men’s department.

  He stood there looking around while she was already on the move. She found him several casual shirts like the ones he seemed to favor along with some tees. Then she found a pair of jeans that she had to see his ass in. Wait she meant him, she had to see him in.

  “Try these on?”

  “I thought we were shopping for you?”

  She just smiled at him and handed him the clothes. He went into the dressing room and came out looking even better than he usually did. Several women took the time to appreciate what they were seeing while she wrestled with the animal inside of her.

  He walked up close and pulled her into his arms and gave her a kiss. It was so gentle against her lips that her heart melted, and then he licked her making her mouth open before he slid his tongue in for the briefest of taste.

  “Thank you, love.” His voice was husky. “I love when you pick out clothes for me.”

  She was left with slightly swollen lips and a bemused look on her face as he went back into the dressing room. One look at the time when he came out had them running through the store to try and get the last item on their shopping list, shoes.

  When they reached the register, they were both laughing from their mad dash. The customers behind them were also laughing. She heard one older woman say ‘young love.’

  Love? She couldn’t be in love with him she hardly knew him, but she liked what she knew. Her eyes peeked up at him to find him looking down at her.

  Love? She’d have to think about that later, for now, they needed to hurry.

  “You made it with thirty seconds to spare.” Lore was looking at the burner phone he picked up.

  “But we made it.” Her smile slipped when she realized what she said. It had been so much fun just being around Dev she let her guard slip for a minute to include Lore and Ben.

  “You did make it, and you earned me five dollars.”

  “You cost me five dollars,” Ben chimed in. “I was sure we would have to wait an extra ten minutes for you.”

  She tried on her smile again. “The next time you two bet on me I want the winnings.”

  “Deal,” they said before they climbed into the front of the car.

  “Where are we going now?”

  “We thought you might like some rest and a chance to change clothes.”

  “I’d like that.” Lore and Ben weren’t Dev, but they weren’t bad. She was beginning to think that she had been a little too heavy-handed when she put all men in the too evil to live category. Maybe it was time to change the way she thought.

  “Dev how did the military get you to go along with becoming a host for an animal?”

  “Pretty much the same way they attracted you. They set a trap for me.” He could still remember being called to his commander’s office. “They were tightening security on the base due to some intel they received that someone was smuggling large quantities of drugs into the area through the base and they wanted him caught yesterday. They asked me to work the case because of my background in dealing with and stopping drug rings.

  “It should have been simple. I thought it was, but in the end, it was a setup. They sent me out one night where the op was supposed to go down. Instead, they were waiting for me. I disappeared either I was dead or one of the members of the drug team. They would leave it up to the people who knew me to draw their own conclusions. Not that it mattered to me, my life was over, and I knew it.”

  “You woke up with an animal inside of you?”

  “No, I was one of the control subjects. They gave us powerful drugs that we were sure would kill us, but at least we were still ourselves.” He gave a harsh laugh. “If you could call the debilitating pain and being chained to a wall like we were wild animals being ourselves.

  “Then one day they gave us the wrong drug. Was it a mistake or done on purpose? We’ll never know, when we came to ourselves days or months later, this was our new reality.

  Lore pulled up to a large motel.

  She looked up at Dev.

  “We’re hiding in plain sight like we did at the mall. It will be harder for them to come for us in a large motel with lots of witnesses.”

  “Get rest, preferably sleep. We’re pulling out at the first sign of darkness, and we’ll be driving all night.

  She nodded as Dev left the Jeep to get them rooms.

  “How much longer until you get where you’re going?”

  “Four days if everything goes well. Since we’ve been changed nothing seems to go well so don’t hold me to that timetable.”

  She understood, their timetable was already shot to hell because she had shown up. Should she feel some kind of remorse? It didn’t matter she couldn’t feel that way all she could do was rejoice when she thought about Dev.

  “I got rooms on the second floor. That’s the first floor with rooms on them.”

  He pulled her bags out for her and carried them inside. She lingered behind and watched his ass. There wasn’t going to be anymore pretending she wasn’t attracted to him. As they ran around the store in the mall laughing she realized she had never had that much fun with a male. In the end, it wasn’t that experience which made her change her mind, it was the thought that it would all end when she was recaptured.

  If her life could only be measured in hours, days, or we
eks, then she wanted to enjoy it with Dev.

  She stopped to stare just inside the door. This room was nice. The walls were bright white with a large king size bed and even a nice sitting area.

  He walked up to her and placed his hand under her chin.

  “I thought you might like someplace a little nicer.”

  “I do. Thank you.” She crossed over and sat on the bed looking at him. “I thought you might want to use the shower first.”

  He sat beside her and laughed before he pulled her into his arms. He held her lightly so she could break free whenever she wanted to. Kissing her had short-circuited his brain for a minute. Her scent and her taste appealed to him in a way that was still confusing him. The animal inside of him was hollering mate.

  It was something that should have been clear from the moment he followed her scent back to the SUV, but he was just beginning to understand what he was feeling for her as she became comfortable around him.

  “Are you sure I can go first?”

  She pushed his arm laughing. “Go take a shower I won’t wait too long before I beat you in there.”

  “A challenge.” He jumped up and gathered whatever he needed and headed toward the bathroom.

  It was amazing how life knew how to kick you when you were down and then when you were sure it was coming for your juggler it gave you something worth living for. He stepped into the shower with a smile on his face hoping that the tide in his life was turning.

  Chapter Nine

  She closed her eyes as the hot water poured over her skin. They had close to eight hours before they had to leave and she knew they needed sleep, but she needed to touch him. Watching him when he left the bathroom with his skin damp and a smile on his face made her want to take that step again where she trusted a male, maybe even trusted him with her heart.

  There wasn’t a lot to go on. Yes, he was good the kind of good that could be labeled as exceptional, excellent, marvelous or worthy, and the list could go on. It was the kind of good you spent nights thanking whoever was looking out for you because they had given you such an excellent mate.