Uncertain Claim
Rebecca Airies
Book 4 in the Protective Affairs series.
When Gavin tells Protectorate analyst Diana that she’s his mate, she doesn’t believe him. After all, a werewolf doesn’t date—he claims. Diana knows this, and therefore assumes her time with Gavin is limited, even though she aches for more than just a few months of hot sex. She’s prepared to grab any moments of happiness and make as many memories as she can before their affair ends.
From the moment he met her, Gavin knew Diana was his mate. He simply wanted to give her everything a human woman would want from a man. Lust burns hot between them, but only claiming her will truly satisfy his wolf. When he’s attacked and put into protective custody, he refuses to stay unless Diana is near. Now he’ll have to protect her from the killers stalking them if he hopes to finally claim his mate.
Ellora’s Cave Publishing
www.ellorascave.com
Uncertain Claim
ISBN 9781419937286
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Uncertain Claim Copyright © 2011 Rebecca Airies
Edited by Briana St. James
Cover design by Caitlin Fry
Photography: Triff/Shutterstock.com; iStock.com
Electronic book publication November 2011
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Uncertain Claim
Rebecca Airies
Chapter One
Strains of recorded music filled the night air as the crowd slowly filtered out of the open-air theater. Diana leaned into Gavin’s side as they waited to the side of the stairs for the people leaving the concert in the park to thin a little. Her head rested against his soft white shirt. She savored the warmth coming off him on the chilly evening as well as the firm support of his muscles.
The music had been thrilling and the gorgeous man beside her was more than the cherry on top of a wonderful night. She looked forward to him taking her home. Good night wouldn’t be a kiss at the door. More like a murmured word and cuddle as they went to sleep.
She peeked up at him. Most of the time, she had to stop herself from staring at him, but she could look her fill at him now, since his attention centered on the people around them. He drew eyes everywhere they went. The man was that good-looking. His blond hair was a little mussed and curled near the white collar. She longed to reach up and stroke her fingers along that strong jaw, but didn’t.
Gavin’s eyes scanned for possible threats. He was in protection mode, obviously a little uneasy about the crowd around them. He worked in security. It was more than habit from his job at Contech Security, a business owned by Evan Connors, the alpha of the werewolves in Dallas. Gavin was a wolf shifter and that came with a lot of protective instincts.
She’d give a lot if any of those feelings were focused toward her, but knew that wasn’t possible. If she’d been his mate, she’d know it by now. Weres didn’t keep that information to themselves. Still, she enjoyed being with him and was determined to savor every moment they were together.
It was not as if a woman like her dated a man like him every day. He had muscles on his muscles. Not that she’d seen any evidence that he worked out religiously to get them. With his eye-catching looks, he should have been modeling or in movies. Well over six feet and built like an ancient warrior, he drew feminine stares like a seventy-five-percent-off designer shoe sale.
Gorgeous, muscled hunks normally didn’t go after the geeky, average girl. Diana had been surprised when he asked her out that first time. It wasn’t that she didn’t think she could attract him, but it usually took time for men to discover there was more to her than what was on the surface. On the other hand, hunger had blazed in his green eyes the moment they’d touched her curves.
Diana tilted her head to the side, fascinated by the clenching muscles beneath Gavin’s shirt. She stepped forward, wanting to be as close to him as possible. His fingers closed around her wrist as he urged her back. Sighing, she relaxed and let him scan the crowd without worrying about her. His eyes remained fixed on the men and women filtering out of the concert. Such a protector, or maybe that should be predator.
With a quick tug on her hand, he drew her into the last trickle of exiting patrons. Ahead of them, two women in designer gowns and high heels slowly tottered up the stairs. Gavin pressed her forward and to the right, keeping his body firmly between her and most of the crowd. Overprotective wolf. Eyes glued to the staircase, she focused on not tripping over her own feet. Cool night air brushed against her left side, drawing her attention. Gavin had stopped. She frowned and a heavy weight settled in her stomach.
“Ally?” He sounded a little confused.
Turning to look at him, she tried to brush away the rush of fear. Simple paranoia. He saw someone he knew. His body jerked and his face tightened in a grimace of pain. His arm swept out, pushing her behind him, just as his other shoved at someone.
Her heart slammed against her chest. She eased back into the rows of seats to give him room. He’d flinched. Was he hurt? Her jaw tightened and she shook her head, pushing away the gut churning thought. She frantically searched the ground and nearby seats for something to use as a weapon. Nothing. Her hands tightened into fists. She needed to help him.
She swung her gaze back to Gavin. His arm rose defensively. A low growl rolled through the air. Hair stood on the back of her neck and a shiver rolled down her spine at the animalistic sound coming from Gavin. A blonde woman stumbled back. The long skirt of her evening gown nearly tripped her, but she dove forward again. Silver flashed in the light as a knife sank deep into Gavin’s arm.
Diana wished she had a gun on her. She’d distract Gavin if she rushed forward. A shrill, feminine scream pierced the night from somewhere below them. She jumped, but so did the blonde attacking Gavin. The woman’s head swung wildly from side to side. Her hands dropped to her side. The bloody dagger hung limply from her fingers for a moment before they tightened around the hilt. She’s crazy. Diana stared open-mouthed at the woman who seemed only now to realize that there were people around them.
The blonde woman spun. She and two men sprinted down the stairs and around the stage area. The woman’s evening dress looked designer and the two men were in suit jackets and slacks like everyone else in the crowd. Diana cursed under her breath. Not a mugging. Not the way they were dressed. Her h
eart thudded against her chest. Her knees almost buckled as horror froze her. Those people had targeted Gavin.
Gavin slumped a little and the movement tore Diana’s thoughts away from the people who’d attacked him. That bitch hurt Gavin. Diana rushed forward. Curving an arm around him, she pushed him into a chair. He winced as he landed. Red stained his shirt, drawing her attention.
Her hands shook as she pushed the jacket back. She drew in a hissing breath. Her teeth clenched against the need to scream. He’d been stabbed once in the side. The hole in his shirt was small, but dark red blood plastered it to his skin.
Tears burned her eyes and her throat tightened. The coppery scent of blood filled her nose. She couldn’t lose him. Not like this. She gingerly pulled the tail of his white shirt free of his black pants to get a closer look. Blood flowed from the puncture, but she couldn’t tell just from the position if it had hit anything vital. Then there was his arm. That bled even faster than the puncture in his side.
She took off the white jacket that matched her dress. Her blood pounded in her ears. I have to slow the blood loss. Ripping off the sleeve, she tied it around his arm, not too tight, but tight enough to put pressure on the cut. She pressed the bulk of the cloth to the wound at his side even as she put her hand in her purse to search for her phone. Something about this reminded her too much of an incident that had happened to a Protectorate agent earlier this month.
A man in a suit knelt beside her. She glanced at the black-haired man. Suspicion immediately came to the fore. Gavin was already hurt. She’d stood behind him like a helpless idiot while he’d been stabbed. Not again. As the man leaned forward to apply pressure, Gavin snarled low in his throat. The man jerked back.
“I’m a paramedic. Can I help?” The man glanced to where she held the jacket against Gavin’s side with one hand and tried to find the palm-sized phone with the other.
“Gavin.” She glared at him and felt like snarling herself. “I need to get an ambulance for you and some people here to take care of this. We’ll both watch him, but we need some help.”
The low rumbling stopped, but Gavin’s eyes locked onto the man. Instinct would push him to keep possible threats away from him when he was injured. The fact that he was letting someone touch him amazed her.
“Hold the jacket, please. I need to get someone here.” She pulled back enough that he could apply pressure to Gavin’s wound.
“There were at least three people calling to report this.” The man frowned. “An ambulance is already on its way.”
“I work for the Protectorate. I’m involved, so this won’t be a normal investigation.” She watched him as she finally found the phone. While it wasn’t necessarily correct the way she phrased it, this attack screamed for handling by the agency that dealt with crime committed against or by the paranormal groups. Pressing the speed dial for the Protectorate, she waited impatiently for an answer. She didn’t know who this man was, so he wasn’t getting any information about Gavin.
When a calm, familiar voice on the other end answered, Diana spoke. “I need an ambulance for a male at Tarrant Park and I need an agent familiar with the Mareno case to meet us at the hospital.”
“An ambulance is on the way, Diana. Reason you think this is related?” Thom Stanford asked evenly.
“I think it was supposed to resemble a mugging, but there were three of them. Nicely dressed, blending in with the crowd and the woman was dressed in what I’m fairly sure was a designer gown. Gavin called her Ally, so they’ve met. Definitely not a run-of-the-mill mugging. The ambulance will need to go to one of the special clinics.” Diana looked around the area for any possible threats. The men and woman had vanished onto one of the paths after that scream.
Returning her attention to the call, she tried to be as clear as she could without revealing everything to the stranger next to her. She kind of felt foolish, but the attack made her hyper-aware of possible danger, but that was the least of her worries. Her stomach rested somewhere near her knees as horrific thoughts flooded her mind.
“An agent will meet you at the hospital. Are we talking were or vampire?” Thom was all business. She could hear the quiet click of keys as he entered the information. Her senses tuned to every little nuance. Adrenaline still pounded through her body. Every eye felt like a hand on her shoulder, making her conscious of the milling people. They were only watching, but she couldn’t relax.
“He works for Evan Connors, so it’s the first, and the group is Dallas, I think.” Diana’s eyes went up to Gavin’s and she saw him nod. “I’m pretty sure it’s Dallas. His name is Gavin Deacon.”
“We’ll do the notification and there will probably be someone there from his pack to see what happened,” Thom said.
“Okay, thank you.” She cut the connection and waited for the ambulance to arrive.
It didn’t take the ambulance long to arrive and the Protectorate operatives appeared at almost the same time. Her teeth sank into her lower lip. The fact that Gavin was so quiet and cooperative worried her. She’d never seen him so unresponsive or pale. How badly was he actually hurt? Was it blood loss behind that? As they loaded him onto the gurney, she talked with the Protectorate operatives and the police. She bunched the expensive fabric of Gavin’s black jacket in her hand.
Unease and fear rippled through her. The keys she’d found in his pocket bit into her hand. Her eyes glued to the closed doors of the vehicle. She ached to rip the door open and jump in there with him. The ambulance drove off with lights still flashing, but the siren off. Worry for him ate at her and she only wanted to be with him.
The interviews seemed to take forever and irritation shortened her temper. She could hardly stand still. Finally, the agent sent her on her way. She drove to the hospital, but only part of her mind focused on the road. Scenes of Gavin on an operating table or hooked up to breathing machines looped in her head. She wished she could have gone with him, but she would have been in the way.
By the time she arrived at the hospital, her mind churned with worry. She’d never been to this particular hospital or known that it existed before tonight. It certainly didn’t look like any of the medical facilities she’d visited. She could see a doctor’s office being here, but not more than that.
As she got out of the car, she looked at the entrance. A guard stood at the door to what looked like an office complex. She hadn’t even seen a sign to identify it. If this wasn’t the address she’d been given, she would have driven right past it.
She walked up to the door and the guard barred the way as she neared.
“Diana Smith?” the man asked.
“Yes, I’m Diana. I think Gavin Deacon was brought here.” She stopped before she could get within reach. The fact that he knew her name both reassured and freaked her out in a way. Who had told them her name and why would they need security at the door of a hospital? Still, she was glad she wouldn’t have problems getting in to see Gavin.
“They’re expecting you. I’ll take you back.” The man stepped back to allow her into the building.
She walked with the man, her mind whirling. White walls contrasted with the dark doors along the hallway. The rooms they passed bore no nameplate or number. It wasn’t so much his comment that they were waiting, but the freakiness of this building that confused her.
She assumed he meant the doctors and Gavin. The Protectorate agent involved with the case couldn’t have gotten here this soon. The presence of a guard at all shocked her. That didn’t occupy her mind long. Anxiety over Gavin’s health pushed to the front of her mind. She comforted herself with the fact that she’d know soon. He opened the last door along the hallway.
It opened into what seemed like a waiting room. Painted yellow and cream, the area seemed soothing and welcoming. He led her through a door into a narrow corridor lined with doors, but didn’t pause at any of them. Her hand fisted against the urge to grab him and demand to know why the hell it was taking so long to get to Gavin.
Suspicion and a
nxiety mixed in her mind. The thought that they were deliberately keeping her from Gavin nearly had her screaming. No panicking now. Taking a deep breath, she pushed the mass of emotion down and tried to reassure herself with the fact that this man was probably Gavin’s packmate.
At the end of the hall, he urged her into an elevator and they descended at least one floor. Her mind was so focused on Gavin that she didn’t grasp much beyond that they were going down. The elevator doors slid back and Diana stepped out to find herself in front of a nurse’s station. She barely noticed the creamy white walls as she followed the man along one of the halls. Two people standing outside one of the doors caught her attention.
As she drew closer, she frowned. The man had straight black hair and dark brown eyes. As striking as he was, the woman beside him grabbed Diana’s attention. Shining black hair hung down the woman’s back and contrasted with her pale skin. The beautiful woman looked a little familiar, but Diana didn’t remember meeting the woman recently. She couldn’t place where she’d seen her.
Diana shrugged it off. It would eventually come to her and more important things occupied her mind. She kept moving down the hall, because the man at her side hadn’t slowed as she had. He walked slightly ahead of her now.
“This is Diana Smith, the woman who was with Gavin when he was stabbed.” The man stopped in front of the two people outside the door. He gestured back to Diana. “Diana, this is Evan Connors, alpha of the pack, and his mate, Geneva.”
Once she heard the name Geneva, it clicked in place. Geneva had been a liaison between the coven of witches in Dallas and the Protectorate before she’d met her mate. Trouble with one of those witches had drawn Geneva and Evan together. Diana hadn’t been introduced to the woman, but she’d seen her enough on video to know her by sight.
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