“No. But he is in trouble. Which is why I have Jack.” She took a small sip of the coffee. He was right, it was good, although it didn’t give her the buzz she needed that caffeine could deliver. “He told me to come find you.”
“And you trusted him.” Wyatt watched her closely.
“I’m here, aren’t I?” Monica answered stiffly.
“Can you give me the same trust?” Wyatt asked.
She closed her eyes, fighting off the fog in her brain. She was so goddamn tired, it was hard not to spill out everything to Wyatt and ask him to figure it all out. “I want to.”
“What about his wife?” An edge to his voice made her alert, as alert as she could be considering her near exhaustion.
Monica sighed. “She’s been kidnapped.”
Wyatt coughed as he swallowed his coffee down the wrong way. “By who?”
“That, I don’t know. But Trent gave me Jack, so I could ensure his safety.”
“So, Trent didn’t get kidnapped, too.” Wyatt nodded. “You weren’t followed?”
“No.” She bit back the words that would tell him she was a professional. She didn’t need to piss him off. Not on the first night under his roof. “But my car is stuck on a road in the mountains, I can’t leave it there. I don’t believe anyone saw Trent hand Jack over to me. But there’s so much I don’t know that I can’t be sure. I need to hide my tracks.”
“That’s for tomorrow. Tonight, you need to get some sleep. The rest you can tell me in the morning.” He finished his coffee and got up, taking her cup from her hands. “You are safe here.”
“I know.” She did know, deep down in her soul she trusted Wyatt.
Of course, you do, her bear replied.
“Good night, Monica. Help yourself to whatever you need. I’ll watch and listen.” With that he took the cups to the kitchen and then slipped out of the front door, leaving her alone.
For a long while Monica didn’t move, she sat staring into the fire, trying to figure out how she’d got here. After leaving the Army, she’d made a life for herself offering a discreet service to women who needed protection. She’d traveled all over the world, worn dresses worth more than a year’s worth of Army pay. Yet she’d given it up as soon as Trent called her. Dropped her life like a hot coal and taken responsibility for a child she didn’t know.
But she knew Trent, they’d worked together, served together. If he needed her, she was there. Because she knew that if ever she needed a friend, he would have been there for her. No questions asked.
However, Monica had questions, and she not only was going to ask them, but she would damn well find the answers, too.
Getting up from the sofa, she kicked off her boots, and without undressing flopped down on the bed and slept.
Chapter Four – Wyatt
Wyatt’s wolf prowled the area around the cabin, spiraling outward to cover more ground. If anyone had followed Monica and Jack here, they hadn’t tracked them to the cabin. He was tempted to go back down the trail, follow his mate’s scent to her car and see if he could pick up any other scents. That would alert him to any hidden dangers. He was being paranoid.
We can’t leave them alone up here, Wyatt told his wolf.
For once in agreement, they loped back to the cabin and entered the place they’d called home for the last few years. It was so familiar, the furniture, the rough wood, worn smooth under his feet. Yet it was so different. Everything had changed. Not just the scent of his mate and Trent’s small child. But his life, too. From the moment he’d found Jay on the mountain a few weeks ago, like a ripple on a pond, Wyatt’s life had altered.
For the better, his wolf told him, and as he gazed down at the sleeping figure of his mate, he had to agree. There was no going back.
And he didn’t want to. Wyatt had removed himself from the world for long enough. Whether as a punishment or a cure, it no longer mattered. It was time to go back, to face the world as it was, and try to make it a better place. That was all he’d ever wanted. Yes, things had gone wrong. Very wrong. How can you protect the world if you can’t save your best friend?
But he’d come to terms with it, and thanks to Jay and the dragon family, he now understood that he had to let it go. Guilt would eat you up inside.
At last, his wolf said as he settled down behind the front door of the cabin. At last, you have forgiven yourself.
Wyatt looked inside himself. Had he forgiven himself? Perhaps he had.
His wolf lifted his head and looked across the room to the small child sleeping peacefully in the makeshift bed. Perhaps this was his redemption. To reunite a family.
Wyatt’s wolf dozed as the night wore on, but he never fully slept. He could not risk being caught unawares. If the people Monica was running from were Army, or from a covert squad, they would not bide their time, let the enemy think they were safe, and then attack. They would come in the night, swift and sure, and attack at once.
But no one attacked, no one invaded his home. He kept his word and kept them safe, but as Monica stirred, a feeling of dread descended on him. Could he keep his mate and Jack safe forever?
“Morning.” Monica tiptoed across to his wolf and sat down next to him. She’d slept in her clothes, which were crumpled, her hair, still in its ponytail, was a mess of tendrils framing her face. She looked sexy as hell, and as she stroked his wolf’s soft fur, it was all he could do not to shift into his human form and kiss her lips and caress her body.
Wyatt stayed exactly where he was, resting his head on her knee. She didn’t need sex, she needed comfort. His wolf wagged his tail like a dog and looked up at her with dreamy eyes as she smiled down at him. There was a sadness surrounding her. Wyatt hadn’t given much thought to what she must have given up to be here. Did she have a family of her own? Had she put the lives of her own loved ones in danger for Trent?
If so, what hold did he have over her?
“I’m going to make some of your dandelion coffee, if that’s okay?” Monica got up and padded across the cabin to the kitchen area.
Wyatt’s wolf got up and stretched, whining softly before he slipped out of the door, which closed behind him. Before he could settle down to coffee and breakfast, he needed to check the perimeter once more.
Breathing in the fresh early morning air, he retraced his steps from last night. Nothing had changed, the only new scents were from a rabbit or two who were brave enough to come close to the cabin and nibble the fresh green shoots of grass emerging from beneath the leaf mold. There was no sign of anyone else, and satisfied they were safe, he headed back to the cabin at a slow jog. This time he shifted on the porch and opened the door quietly so as not to wake the boy.
She was sitting on the sofa as the fire crackled in the hearth, warming the cabin. “I hope you don’t mind.” Monica looked over her shoulder. “I made you coffee, too.”
“Thanks.” He sat down next to her. He could get used to the company. “No one followed you.”
She nodded. “I was careful.”
He sipped his coffee and looked behind him to where Jake still slept. “We can’t stay here.”
She tilted her head back and looked at the wooden beams which held up the roof. “I can’t keep moving with him. It’s not right.”
“I know people who can help us. People I trust.”
She gave a short laugh. “Us. This isn’t your fight, let alone anyone who’s never met Trent.”
“That isn’t how things work, you know that. But I am going to need more details.”
She rubbed her hand across her eyes. “All Trent told me was that his wife was kidnapped.”
“By who?” He studied her expression; would she lie to him?
“He didn’t say.” She looked down at her cup, not meeting his eyes.
“But you know who.” He had to push her to reveal everything.
She nodded. “I did some research in an internet cafe yesterday. I have a pretty good idea.” Monica half turned her body to face him. “I don’t r
un and hide, Wyatt. That’s not me.”
“But you think that’s who I am?” He nodded, of course that’s the conclusion she would come to if she followed the evidence right in front of her.
“You live in a cabin on the side of a mountain, with no contact with the outside world other than a ranger who brings you honey cake.” Her words were clipped, disapproving. She thought she knew him, but she was wrong, and the need to prove himself swelled in his chest, threatening to punch a hole through his ribs as it tried to escape.
“I have my reasons.” He pressed his lips together, telling her his reasons would only detract from Jack’s needs. “But I’m over that.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Are you? You see I don’t need to carry dead weight.”
He chuckled. “Don’t sugarcoat it.”
She closed her eyes. “I’m sorry. But it’s the truth. I could leave Jack here with you. He would be safe, and I could go and help Trent. I owe him.”
“I owe him, too.”
“Then look after his kid.” Her words made sense. He could keep Jack here. But Wyatt was done with hiding, too.
Wyatt shook his head. “I’m not staying...and I know Trent better than most people.”
“You used to know him. When was the last time you saw him?” Monica asked.
“People don’t change. Not that much.” Wyatt’s temper flared. Monica might be his mate, but she wasn’t the only one with a deep connection to Trent.
“How do you know?” She sighed. “Something happened to him.”
“It happened to both of us.” Wyatt was not ready to bare his soul completely, but he had to reveal a part of himself to Monica and trust she would understand.
“I see. You ran up here to live in the mountains and Trent ran to one of the most dangerous places on the globe.” Monica rubbed her hands along her thighs, as if trying to brush her hands clean.
“I heard he went undercover.” Wyatt had no other details. Trent had gone his own way, kept his own counsel. Had Wyatt let Trent down, too?
“A spy. That’s the word you’re looking for.” Monica got up abruptly.
“And you were with him.” It all started to make sense. That’s why she knew Trent so well. It explained why Trent handed Jack over to her.
“Yes. He never spoke about what happened before. But you get used to seeing the darkness in someone. We were told not to talk about our real lives, so that if we were caught…” She placed her hand on the solid wooden mantelpiece Wyatt had set above the fireplace. He remembered carving it into shape, rubbing down the surface down until it was smooth. He’d built this cabin in those dark days, focusing on putting something together instead of tearing things apart.
“Some things are best left unsaid.” Wyatt couldn’t look at Monica, he didn’t want her to see the guilt he carried. To her, he wanted to be perfect. The type of man a woman would be proud of. “Who is responsible for kidnapping Yolanda?”
Yolanda, who Wyatt had never met, but Trent had spoken about with reverence as if she were the one who finally pulled him back from the edge of the abyss. An abyss filled with self-loathing and guilt.
“This is purely speculation on my part.” She turned around, holding her hands behind her back to warm them on the flames. “After we served together. After we completed our mission, we each went our separate ways. We kept in touch, but while I decided to transition out of the Army, Trent went back undercover. Deep undercover.”
“Where?”
“I don’t know exactly. But Trent was sent to bring down a terror organization. Going on the information I have, I’m sure it’s this same terror organization that’s holding Yolanda.” She looked across the cabin to where Jack still slept. Then she moved to sit next to Wyatt, her thigh touching his. When she spoke again her voice was hushed. “The organization was crushed, and the leader brought to justice.” She took her phone out of her pocket and unlocked it. “This is the guy.”
“Amir Tarak. I’ve heard of him.” Wyatt scrutinized the image.
“He was a brutal man.” Monica took one more look at Jack. “I think Trent is going to break him out of prison.”
“What?” Wyatt’s voice cracked like a whip and Jack stirred in his bed.
Monica’s voice was almost inaudible when she added, “I think they want to trade Yolanda for Amir Tarak.”
Wyatt hadn’t known Monica for twenty-four hours, and yet he trusted her and her judgment. Not simply because she was his mate, but because Trent trusted her. Trusted her enough to put his only child into her care. While he went to rescue his wife. By trading a terrorist for the woman he loved.
“How do you know he doesn’t simply plan to rescue Yolanda?” Wyatt leaned into Monica, resisting the temptation to kiss the sensitive skin on her neck. The heat from her body excited him, threatening to overpower his senses, but he had to keep his thoughts straight.
“Because it’s too risky, especially for a man acting alone.” Monica placed her finger under Wyatt’s chin and turned him to face her. “Would you risk my life in a flawed rescue mission, or trade me for a prisoner?”
He gazed into her eyes, lost in the emotions she evoked. “He’s always served his country.”
“I’m not disputing that. But he’s felt loss before. He knows the darkness. And there’s another person he has to consider.” She turned her head, ripping her gaze away as Jack sat up in his bed and yawned. “Hey, buddy, you slept well.”
“Where are we?” Jack’s high, small voice asked as he looked around the cabin.
“Don’t you remember?” Monica got up from the sofa and went to the boy. Trent’s boy. Wyatt understood what Monica meant. Trent would never want to leave a child motherless. Not any child. They might have served their country in the Army, but that was never the whole truth. When they went to war, they went with the knowledge that they were trying to protect innocent lives. And they did their damnedest to do just that.
His heart jolted, and his breath caught in his chest. Trent also knew firsthand what the effect of failure did to a man. If Trent lost his mate would Jack be enough to keep him sane?
Monica was right. If the only way to rescue Yolanda was to trade her for Amir Tarak, then that’s what he would do. Whatever the risk to his own safety. Because the alternative was too painful.
The time for hiding was gone, now he had to become the man he once was. No. He had to be better than the man he once was. This time he would not fail a friend.
Chapter Five – Monica
After a breakfast of fresh berries and a gloopy porridge, that tasted better than it looked thanks to the wild honey Wyatt added, they collected their gear and set off back down the mountain. Monica watched as Wyatt dampened the fire and packed a backpack with clothes and a toiletry bag. He then secured the cabin and his belongings, packing any perishable food and placing it in his backpack. As they left the cabin, he stopped and turned around to look inside as if he was saying goodbye to his home.
“You okay?” Monica asked as Jack scampered through the trees ahead of them. She kept a watchful eye on the young boy, but she let him roam. When this was over, she wanted Jack to be the same carefree boy, not one who lived in fear for the rest of his life. For that to happen, she couldn’t smother him. Her senses told her there was no one around, and Wyatt had been patrolling the area most of the night. They were safe, for now.
“Yeah. I’m good.” Wyatt looked up at the blue sky above them as the leaves rustled in the wind. “This is my home. I like the peace and quiet. But it’s time to move on.”
“You can come back.”
“Is this where you want to live?” he asked. The question surprised her, and she took a moment to respond. “That’s what I thought.”
“I’m not saying I wouldn’t want to stay here. But not live.” Her brow creased. “This is going to take some getting used to.”
“You mean thinking about another person and their wants and needs?” Wyatt was already getting used to the idea. She sensed it in the way
he spoke, and the way he treated her. Which made her nervous. She didn’t feel that same intense attraction that pushed everything else aside. Sure, she liked Wyatt, and she wanted him, but insta-love had passed her by.
We can settle for insta-lust for now, her bear informed her.
“You got it. It’s not like you can flip a switch.” She watched Jack as he chased after a rabbit. “It’s different than being in a squad.”
“I should hope so,” Wyatt laughed, more relaxed this morning. “With a squad, you watch each other’s backs. With a mate...”
“You watch my front?” she asked, refusing to blush as she injected Army humor. His nearness made her feel feminine. Like a woman rather than one of the guys. But she wasn’t ready to take that step. While they worked together, she needed to maintain an emotional distance.
“I’m trying very hard not to watch your front. Or your back.” He held up his hand and made a curved motion. “That part of your anatomy in particular.”
She burst out laughing. “What would my momma say?”
“Did you join the Army right after school?” Wyatt switched the subject, which was probably a good idea with young ears so close by.
“No, not until my late twenties. I trained as a lawyer,” she admitted.
“A lawyer. And you gave that up?” He sounded as if she were crazy, which she probably was. She gave up a good career for a life of danger.
“I did. I decided to enlist and make a real difference.” And she believed she had.
“Why?” Wyatt sure liked asking direct questions.
“I felt fake. Sometimes you just knew a person was guilty, but you still had to argue he was as innocent as the day he was born.” She grinned. “I was so naive.”
“And when you joined the Army?”
“I joined the territorial Army first. I was a reservist. Influenced by my father who was a career soldier. He always wanted me to follow in his footsteps, but that isn’t why I joined up.”
“He must have been proud though.”
“He was. And I’m sure he took the credit, at least behind my back.” She loved her dad, but he was formal and regimented, everything she didn’t want to be. “But he wasn’t the reason. My unit was deployed after a hurricane wreaked havoc along the coast. It was the most alive I’d ever felt; the people were real. The food not so real.”
Silverback Wolf (Return to Bear Creek Book 17) Page 3
