Minutes, hours, he wasn’t sure. Colored lights bloomed and died in the sky, but now only the moon and stars broke up the darkness. When the agitation coursing through him faded to a dull buzz, he stopped along the river. Spray from the waterfall created a light mist right where the stream drove into the mirrored surface. Above, near the halfway point, a small bridge crossed in front of the falls. Townsfolk and tourists alike loved the spot.
Lorne loved it when it was empty. This was his spot when he needed peace from everyone.
Right then, he had plans to make. He never should have left the homestead. Never should have kissed Sloan. Never should have taken up with Lilah in the first place.
The family was gunning for him. He needed to make sure no one else got hurt. Bennetts took care of their own. Those words were ingrained in him from a young age. He just never expected them to mean death.
Noise to his left forced him to lift his head. A growl of warning entered the air to ward off the intruder.
He was almost disappointed when he recognized Hunter’s outline instead of Ian’s. He wanted the fight. He wanted an end to the waiting.
Hunter took a seat next to him and planted a cold beer in the dirt right next to a bundle of clothes. “I’m not leaving, so you either sit there like a big dumb animal, or shift and share a drink with me.”
Lorne lifted a lip and snarled.
Hunter shrugged like his threats didn’t matter. Lorne wanted to show him how serious he was with claws and fangs.
Except... not really. The man was a jerk half the time and an idiot the other half. He also saw more than he let on. He couldn’t keep his mouth shut, but he let the clown facade hide him from any true responsibility. That was something Lorne understood. Walls and barriers came easily to him.
Hunter took a long draw from his bottle and stared out over the water. Moonlight filtered through the trees and reflected off the surface. The scene would have been peaceful without the irritated growl that rumbled in Lorne’s chest.
Interloper. He wanted to be alone.
Hunter didn’t look at him when he finally spoke. “You had the mates in a tizzy with your smooth exit.”
Not his problem. They had someone to run to for comfort. Unlike him.
“I’m sure Ethan will release you if you want. It’d suck to lose you, but he’s not an alpha to hold you against your will. You could go to the lions, or skip town.”
Lorne let his shift ripple through him slowly. He wanted the pain.
“Ethan isn’t the problem,” he rasped.
“Is it us, then? I know Alex is a shithead and Jesse secretly wants us to hug and roast marshmallows together, but they aren’t so bad.”
Hunter’s tone stayed light, but a strand of hurt entered his scent.
Lorne eyed the man while he stuffed himself into the jeans he’d brought. He’d thought of them as clan in only the most distant sense. He was pledged to Ethan, he tolerated the others, he worked to make sure they didn’t murder each other. But actually getting close? He’d done his best to keep a distance. Dead men didn’t have futures.
The thin tinge of pain told a different story. He might have held back, but someone else looked to him as a friend.
Lorne sat back down with a scowl. “It’s not any of you,” he admitted. He picked at the label on his bottle and mulled his words. “There’s shit from the past coming back on me now. I’m not safe for anyone to be around.”
“You know, when things were going tits up with Joss, my old man pushed his words on me. And for once in that old codger’s life, they were actually as profound as he made them out to be.” When Lorne didn’t respond, Hunter continued. “Be there. Show up. Hold on until the very last second. If you’re lucky, you’ll dodge the stomping hooves of life. Because it’s important to stay with it when you find a real connection. For people like us, they don’t come very often.”
“Pretty words.” Lorne shrugged. “Reality isn’t like the fairy tales. Sometimes the villains win.”
“So you’ll, what? Give up?” Hunter snorted. “Fuck that. If you want this girl, make the ground red with blood and fight off everyone standing in your way. You know we’ll have your back.”
“For an agent who was ready to keep you locked up while they took down the people holding your mate captive?”
“No. For your mate.” Hunter waved a hand. “Oh, don’t look so shocked. Could only be one thing to make you this much of an idiot.”
“Yeah. Having it spread from you.” Lorne scratched at his beard.
“Only thing spreading from me is wisdom gained through years of being right.”
“Wisdom gained from dumbass mistakes.” A ghost of a smile hitched up Lorne’s lips.
“Truth speaker.” Hunter canted his head. “Come on. Let me give you a lift home. Joss will skin me alive if I let you stay out here all night.”
Lorne stayed seated a moment longer.
He’d had trouble putting his feet into motion and getting clear of the men from Black Claw. He’d justified it to himself as keeping them steady, or a lack of threats staring him down. Even when he decided he had to leave, he’d still been unable to actually do it.
Hunter was right about one thing. For whatever reason, he’d hung on tight to his clan. They were his people. Idiots, all of them. Crazier than him. But still good. With the rejection of one family came the acceptance of another.
He had a place among the Black Claw clan.
A piece of himself, rusty and bent out of shape, slid into position. Others still poked into him, slashed at him, burned him wherever he brushed against them. Work to be done. Fixes to be made. Nothing came easy.
But he had to try.
Not just with the clan, either. He’d drawn the line between himself and everyone else for so long, telling himself he did it to keep them safe, he wasn’t sure how to let someone in. Wanting to be otherwise wasn’t enough. He had to figure out the pieces and put them together.
Lorne pushed to his feet and followed Hunter out of the woods.
Chapter 11
Sloan glared at Ian through the glass. He smirked back as if he knew exactly where she stood. He didn’t, she knew, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that those cold eyes were focused on her.
“You didn’t need to come in,” August said at her side. “We had it under control.”
“I know. I wanted to hear what he had to say.”
She’d stayed with August and Crewe the entire night. Useless, but she couldn’t pull herself away. Even as Ian pissed and moaned about his violated rights, she stayed. When he fell silent, she didn’t leave. They’d tried waiting him out, all three entering at separate times to ask their questions, but the man hadn’t said a word in response.
When dawn struck, he finally uttered the dreaded word. “Lawyer.”
The lawyer had arrived not even an hour after placing the call and looked as weaselly as they came. Slicked back hair and eyes that darted around the room, he infuriated everyone as soon as he called agents back into the room.
“My client intends to cooperate fully. With regards to your ridiculous line of questions, he can give you his exact location on the day of the attack. Right down to the hour, I’m told.”
“Gas receipts. I went in to pay with cash. You can probably check the security cameras. I wasn’t anywhere near that campground,” Ian stated.
Sloan wanted to punch the smirk off his fucking face.
August turned from the glass with a disgusted tick in his throat. “Did you need to hear all that because of your new boyfriend?”
“He’s not my boyfriend,” she grumbled.
“Yeah? That why you smell like him?” Her partner waved a hand. “Better be careful. You might find yourself invited to Sunday dinner with me and the mate.”
Sloan rolled her eyes. “Fuck off. We both know you eat at a trough and no woman would allow you at her table.”
Inside the box, Crewe cocked his head to the side. “So if you weren’t anywhere ne
ar the campground, do you have any idea who was? Because our witness statements put you there. You have a twin, Mr. Bennett? Some other relative looking exactly like you?”
“The one and only,” Ian answered in a smarmy tone.
Nothing else exited his mouth. Crewe went back and forth with him, prodded for anything incriminating or a new lead, but Ian gave up nothing.
Asshole. He might not have hurt this particular family, but Sloan was certain he had a hand in others. Lorne called his entire family bad news, and the layered talk between them scratched at her instincts. She memorized Ian’s face. No doubt, she’d see it again someday.
Crossed arms and glares greeted Ian when he was finally released from the interrogation room. More than a few agents shifted uncomfortably when he stretched his arms out wide and rolled his shoulders, making a display of his regained freedom. His lawyer whispered something Sloan didn’t catch, but the nearest shifters did. Rolled eyes and looks of disgust followed him to the elevator.
“Well, that was a bust,” Crewe announced once the doors dinged closed and left the agents alone. “Motherfucker had a solid alibi and doesn’t even smell like he’s lying. We’re back to square one.”
Frustrated sighs rolled through the room with the news. Work the case, that was all they could do. They had it easy. Some poor man was laid up in a quarantine facility until he could find a bear clan to sponsor him and ease his transition into shifter life.
The elevator dinged open again. “Whoa, excuse me. Coming through.”
The voice raised alarm in the ranks. Uncertainty rippled through them and spread out until all eyes were fixed on the redhead wobbling in their center and trying to peer around the pile of boxes in her hand.
Crewe poked his head out of his office at the disturbance. “Ms. Warren, how did you get back here?”
“Oh, a nice pair of men came out as I was coming in. They held the door for me.” With a sigh, Joss Warren dropped the boxes on the nearest desk, shoving aside a stapler and toppling a pen cup in the process. Neither of which seemed to register.
“You can’t just waltz in here,” Crewe tried again.
“I brought cookies!” she exclaimed in a sing-song voice. “And brownies, too! Chocolate chip, peanut butter, I think there might even be some fudge in one of these.” She pried open one lid, then shifted the order of the boxes. Two more, and she held the box aloft. “A-ha! White chocolate, raspberry ripple. Who wants it?”
The silence weighed over the room while red crept up Crewe’s neck.
Sloan stepped in before he could explode at the woman. Her people were just one misstep after another. But she’d brought treats, so whatever the true reason for her visit, at least there was a hit of sugar waiting at the end.
“It’s okay, Crewe. I got her.”
He turned gold eyes on her. “Make it quick.”
“Come on,” Sloan said. She jerked a thumb over her shoulder. “This way.”
Joss took a step forward, then whirled around and gestured to the boxes. “Dig in, please! They’re my gift and giant thank you for helping out with that tiny little problem a few weeks ago.”
Joss stumbled to her side and whispered loudly. “I was hoping to get you alone.” She bit back her laugh. “Sloan, alone. It rhymes.”
Sloan resisted passing a hand over her face.
She led Joss into the break room and offered to pour a cup of coffee. Joss nodded gratefully and doctored hers with a spoonful of sugar.
Seated at a table, Sloan fixed her with a steady gaze. “What are you doing here?”
“Hoooonestly?” Joss ducked her gaze. “I wanted to make sure there were no hard feelings about Hunter’s meddling. But really, it’s to hide mine and Hunter’s meddling with Lorne. And you, too.”
Her eyes grew big, like she’d just realized what came out of her mouth. She raised her hands and shook them from side to side. “Please, please don’t hold that against us. Me. Hold it against me. Don’t, that is.”
“Joss.” Sloan pressed her lips together to keep from laughing. The woman was one-hundred percent unadulterated awkward truthfulness.
“We’re just really excited and in love. When you know, you know. And I think you know about Lorne, and he definitely seems to know about you, even if he’s grunting more than usual and refuses to talk about anything that’s happening. We just want everyone to be as happy as us.” A huge smile spread across her face.
That infectious smile tugged at Sloan’s heart. This woman, bound and held against her will by people wanting to do her great harm, wasn’t wallowing in any of that. She had her place in the world, and it was at the side of a man willing to get into huge amounts of trouble to save her.
“You and Hunter,” Sloan said flatly.
“Yes, exactly. We’re just trying to spread love around like fat little cupids. But not those creepy babies. Or the adults in diapers. Cherubs! We’re cherubs, dangit!”
Love. Hah! She might have had an intense desire to ride that cowboy, but love? Love was so far from her mind that it might as well not exist. Cherubs be damned.
Besides, he was cut from the same cloth as Ian and most of the other shifters she knew. Insular, the lot of them. Protective of their own. He didn’t want her doing her job when it infringed on his life. That wasn’t something she would sign up for in a partner.
“So that’s why you brought a bunch of sweets. To act like not-creepy cupids.”
Joss hesitated, then blazed on with her mission. “I just don’t want you to give up on him. Not so soon. And I think that’s what’s going on with the way he stormed off last night. Hunter wasn’t very forthcoming with what they talked about, but he was grumpy as heck and muttering up a storm about stubborn so-and-sos keeping him out and away from his mate at an unholy hour. But he had this little smile on his face, so I think it was promising, whatever was said.”
“And listen,” she continued before Sloan could finish processing her rapid-fire words, “he’s got some issues, just like we all do. And sure, he’s fluent in grunts and narrowed looks, but I don’t think I’ve seen him so… at peace since I got here. Which is a not-small deal. These Black Claw boys love them some manly misery.”
Sloan crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m not responsible for someone else’s peace.”
Especially when she couldn’t trust he would have her back.
“No, you’re not. You’re right. But there’s a balance, you know? That push and pull. The right person can make you better while you do the same for him.”
“And you think Lorne is that someone?”
Joss shook her head and hands at the same time. “I’m not making that call. I’m just here to suggest you don’t give up so quick. If you want. No pressure. But… what do you have to lose?”
Sloan stayed quiet. The answer was a big fat nothing. She was already alone. She’d barely made headway with the new unit. Her old partner was as dirty as could be and his cronies wanted to erase her from history. Hosing off a cowboy in the midst of a wallow wasn’t going to bring her any lower.
But would it help her up?
“So, I know this is probably sudden, but I want to ask you out on a date. A lady date. With Tansey.”
Sloan stared at her until she squirmed.
“It’s fun, I swear! We kick the guys out and put up these signs saying boys aren’t allowed, like all those jerks did when we were kids and denied us use of their clubhouses. They’re even laminated now, which makes it totally official.” Joss drew in a breath and then rushed on. “And then we watch a movie and paint our nails and freaking bond like the badass bitches we are. Tansey’s words, not mine. But I kind of like how they taste.”
Joss won and Sloan couldn’t keep the smile off her face. “No promises. To either thing. But I’ll think on both.”
The woman clasped her hands together under her chin and blinked green eyes watery with hope and enthusiasm. “That’s all I ask!”
Chapter 12
Lorne followed the noi
sy clan up the stairs of Hogshead Joint. The scent of barbecue made his mouth water and his bear rumble in the back of his head. A little slice of heaven waited to be served up for their enjoyment.
And maybe he wasn’t displeased with the company. After Hunter’s pep talk, Lorne had sensed a hint of calm anticipation in his bear. Not peace, exactly. But hope that they were on the right path.
Lorne still didn’t know what steps he needed to take to get there, but at least the beast wasn’t slashing at his middle or trying to eat him from the inside out anymore. He celebrated the win.
Hunter and Alex jostled to reach the door first. Alex growled and Hunter bared his teeth in a vicious smile when their fingers wrapped around the handle at the same time.
“Would you two cut it out? We don’t need another public brawl.” Ethan made a noise in the back of his throat. He waded between them, air thickening with the pulse of power as he yanked open the door and guided Tansey through. “We’re lucky Trent didn’t use it as an excuse to pull his horses.”
Lorne ducked his head and didn’t say a word.
“Too bad. Could have used the time off,” Alex muttered.
Jesse swatted him on the back of his head. “Like you even help with the rides, fucker.”
“Which leaves me running everything else while you’re off playing tour guide. A man can only do so much.”
“Sounds fair to me. Can’t rotate you in to handle the rides, so you’re working where you won’t bite someone.”
Alex’s snapped answer didn’t register to Lorne. He followed the others to a long table in the corner and blindly placed his order for a bottle of beer.
One scent stood out to him. He followed the trail with his eyes.
Ian sat at the bar, slowly sipping at his beer and watching a game play on the television. That he was there meant Sloan and her people must have come up with nothing. Lorne wasn’t sure if he was glad or upset by that.
Still, not a good sign he hadn’t left town. He wanted no part of Ian’s unfinished business. He’d lived for too long expecting the shadow of death to fall over him. There hadn’t been a reason to fight his fate. He’d killed, and he expected to be killed.
Breaking Fate: Book Three: Black Claw Ranch Page 9
