by Laina Kenney
She stood on shaky legs and searched for her bra. Why did the phone always ring when she was in bed?
“That’s what I’m afraid of.” She saw the flash of temper on his face and placed a finger over his lips. “I don’t want to ask you to kill for me. I don’t want that on your conscience, and don’t say it wouldn’t bother you.”
He pursed his lips and kissed the tip of her finger, but said nothing. He turned and began to pull on clothes.
“I don’t want death to define what could be between us.”
“What is between us is the most important thing in my life. Do you think I wouldn’t kill for you, to protect you and keep you safe? I would, Maressa. You need to face that. I deal with what comes for me, sometimes by diplomacy, but more often by blood. I didn’t achieve the title of Enforcer by sitting on my ass at home with a beer and a bag of popcorn. I am a warrior. That bastard has stretched out his hand for what’s mine and if he touches you again, he’s a dead man.”
Maressa searched for her jacket.
“Great. If you get arrested for murder, I won’t visit. I won’t. I don’t respect murderers.”
“How do you feel about men who protect their families? Do you respect them?” His hard tone said he wasn’t giving an inch. “Can you respect a man who does what is necessary, whatever is necessary, who sheds blood willingly to protect what he loves?”
She dropped into a chair and covered her face with her hands.
“Yes.” It was almost inaudible, but she had to make the admission. She couldn’t let him think that she didn’t respect his primitive values. She knew there were human men who thought just that way, who risked their lives every day in uniform to keep people safe from harm. Who was she to judge?
“Then we have nothing to worry about.”
“How can you say—”
“I speak the truth to you, Maressa, no matter the cost. My truth.”
He got down on his knees in front of her and brought her hands to his chest. “I am a man who will protect you, your sister, your elderly aunt, Todd, who has acted as a brother to you. Your family is my family now, and this man is threatening our family. That is how I see this problem and it is unacceptable to me. That is how I can say that we have nothing to fear from tonight except the physical, Todd’s safety and yours. Do you begin to understand me now?”
She curled her fingers, spread them, tested the resilience of his warm living flesh. “Maybe.”
“I want you to understand. I want you to know that I would leave this man alone if he behaved well and left my family alone. If he lived a good life and never preyed on others, he would be perfectly safe from me. But since he will not stop, I will not. I need you to see that I am a protector, and to accept that in me as you accept it in yourself.”
She stopped, surprised.
“Maressa, you abandoned your comfortable life to save your sister. Tonight, your first thought was to try any way you could to save Todd. I accept this in you and will help you. Can you not accept the same in me?”
She pulled him close and kissed him softly.
“Yeah,” she said against his mouth. “When you put it like that, I can.”
Ives finished buttoning his shirt then pulled her up and against his body in a hard hug.
“Then, are we leaving now?”
“Yeah.” She hurried to the door. “I don’t know how an extra few minutes or half hour will help us.”
“You’d be surprised.” Ives reached for his phone and pressed a few buttons. When someone picked up, he gave the name of the bar and requested a crew for a possible hostage situation. While they pulled on jackets and rushed out to his car, he continued talking and tossed her the phone as he slid into the driver’s seat.
“Give Egan the address of the bar,” he said and she recited the address into the phone.
“Got it,” the man said. “ETA fifteen, set up for possible hostage. Tell Ives to wait an extra five then go in soft for sweet Christ’s sake. I faint at the sight of blood,” and he ended the call.
She repeated what the man had said and Ives snorted.
“Go in soft? I always go in soft. I whistle. What the hell does he want? And don’t let Egan fool you. He’s the one you have to watch. If he loses his temper, limbs and organs go flying.”
She blinked. “Thanks, that’s a great image that will now be stuck behind my eyes forever.”
“Just wait. It’s even better in person,” was his reply. “It’s a toss-up whether Egan or Rylek, our Alpha, has a worse temper in battle. If a woman is threatened, Rylek loses it.”
“Rylek Sidarov?” Maressa asked, startled. “Tall, Russian accent, smooth and elegant? I’ve met him. Back a couple of years ago when Todd was trying to branch out into catering, we did an event for the city and he was there. Wow. Yeah, I can see how he wouldn’t be human. He’s as gorgeous as a movie star, but even better.”
Ives gave her a sideways look and she started talking fast.
“But I think you’re much more compelling and beautiful, in a male-who-gives-me-screaming-orgasms sort of way.”
He flashed her a fierce look. “Good answer.”
Ives shifted the gears smoothly, shot through the yellow light, and swiftly maneuvered the car into a parking spot.
Maressa had her door opened already and only his vulfen reflexes enabled him to snag Maressa’s wrist before she could get out.
Chapter 12
She tugged against his grip but he didn’t release her until she turned to him.
“I’m going in,” she said fiercely.
He bared his teeth. “I’m aware. You can dance in the front door singing karaoke if you like, but you will listen to reason and wait a few minutes until we can get into position.”
His fangs were prominent and he thought his eyes were probably glowing, but he couldn’t do a damn thing about it.
His mate was walking into a dangerous situation and he was going against every protective instinct he possessed to stand back and let her. He wanted to tell her that he would take care of it, and that was exactly what his ancient instinct clamored for, but his intellect insisted that she needed to be a part of the rescue of her friend.
He and his friends could go in, some in human and some in wolf form, and take care of the threat for good, but that wouldn’t show his mate that he understood and valued her need to shield the people she cared for. And, though it pained him, he respected that part of her.
So, as much as he hated it, he wouldn’t stand in her way, would in fact, do everything in his power to stack the odds in her favor. She would be walking into danger, but she would be surrounded by vulfen warriors. She would be completely safe at all times. He wouldn’t allow any other outcome.
“Maressa?”
She hissed out a short breath.
“Okay. Fine.”
Ives tilted his head. “Is that the fine ‘fine’ that means okay, or the female version of fine that really means ‘up yours’?”
She smiled a little at that, but it faded.
“No, it’s the fine ‘fine’. I know you’re going to fix it somehow. I’m trusting you to fix it. I’m walking in that door when it’s the last thing in the world that I want to do, and I can do that because I know that you’ve got my back.”
He pulled her hand to his lips and pressed a kiss to her palm. She curled her fingers on his cheek and he lingered, nuzzled.
Some of the tension in her slid away with his tenderness, but she was still aware of time ticking down. Todd was in there with a man who thought nothing of a little torture and punishment, a known criminal. She hugged Ives tighter for a moment before pulling back.
“I hope your friends are as good as you think they are.”
“I have trained or trained with all of them.”
“Okay. So, I’m just walking in the front door?”
His head cocked to one side and he listened to something she couldn’t hear.
“Time,” he said and opened his door.
&nb
sp; She got out of the car, and he was beside her on the sidewalk. A man melted out of the shadows and pressed a tiny knife into her palm.
“Pocket, within easy reach,” he said and she took a good look at him.
“Do I recognize your voice from the phone call?”
He grinned, a quick flash of white teeth.
“Yeah, Egan Reitn, at your service. This should be over in three to five minutes. And when you go in, try to look a bit more frightened and less like you want to yank out his liver. It could put the man off.”
She jerked a thumb at Ives. “He’s still here.”
Egan’s head jerked back and he gave Ives a measuring glance.
She could almost feel Ives’s laughter, though he didn’t make a sound. The warmth of his body was very close to her back.
“Give me just two minutes from mark to get inside,” Egan said, “then go.”
Maressa was about to ask the obvious question, when her brain caught up and she understood. She nodded and turned her watch to catch the feeble light from the drugstore window.
“Mark,” he said, and when she looked up, he wasn’t there.
She timed one and a half minutes then looked at Ives.
“I’m going now,” she said.
“We’re going.”
She stepped in close and hissed, “I have to go alone. No friends, no cops he said.”
“He didn’t say no dogs.”
Ives’s stubborn expression changed before her eyes into a furry muzzle and he dropped to the ground in wolf form. She frowned. He wasn’t in his human form, but the fierce protectiveness in those glorious eyes translated very well. She knew there was no sense in arguing. It was plain he had made up his mind. In either form, he was going with her.
“Fine,” she said, and didn’t know herself whether it was fine okay or fine up yours. Stubborn French bastard.
She started walking toward the bar. It was up at the corner of the well-lit street, but the air was thick with the scent of brine and wisps of fog curled around cars and light poles.
She reached out and curled the fingers of one hand into the furry ruff of Ives’s neck as he walked beside her. It seemed that in every crisis of her life so far she had faced her fears alone. It was a shocking comfort to know that he was with her.
And it wouldn’t break any of the rules that Biff—Frank—had set out. She almost laughed. She was quite sure that Biff wasn’t entrusted with any secrets of that magnitude. He would have tried to sell out and turn a profit and then been killed for his betrayal. She didn’t need a road map to show the way that particular situation would have worked.
She stopped at the door of the bar and took a deep cleansing breath before trying the handle. The heavy door swung opened without a sound and they walked through the darkened welcome area and straight into the bar.
Todd was tied to a chair near the bar, and Biff was helping himself to whiskey out of the bottle. One of his eyes was mottled black and swollen and his wrist was wrapped in a tension bandage. He grabbed his gun and wiped his mouth on his sleeve when he saw her.
“Well, well. You’re early. You must really care about this stupid son of a bitch here.”
He kicked Todd hard in the leg. Todd’s eyes above the gag were puffy and hideously bruised, but the anger in them could kill.
Maressa had never seen him look like that and she had worked with him for years.
“Where’s your friend?” she asked, surprised to note that her voice was steady.
“I didn’t feel like sharing.” He smiled and her stomach lurched.
“You brought your dog? Stupid bitch. Your dog won’t save you from what I’ve got in mind.”
Maressa noticed movement out of the corner of her eye and started talking to keep Biff’s attention on her.
“I don’t know what you have in mind. You didn’t really say.”
Was that another black wolf sliding through the shadows at the side of the bar? Her heart was pounding, but she didn’t want to risk taking a good look in case Biff wasn’t as drunk or stupid as he appeared.
Even in the low light, she could see that his pupils were tiny pinpricks. Was he on something?
He laughed and rubbed his groin suggestively. She recoiled at the sight and tried to cover it. Did he think that was attractive?
He licked his lips and cupped himself.
“Oh, you know what I want. You want it, too. I saw you looking at me the other night. That’s why you’re here. Bitches always want a man, but they never want to admit it. I’m just doing you a favor and giving you that fantasy that every woman wants. I’ve heard all about it. You won’t even have to admit it. I don’t give a shit if you do.”
Maressa felt her stomach heave and ruthlessly controlled her gag reflex. Did he really think women wanted sex with any random man or that women dreamed of being raped in real life? Who could possibly believe that?
She swallowed hard.
Beside her, Ives’s ruff was standing on end. With a dog, she would have said it was threatening, but a surreptitious glance assured her he hadn’t bared fangs yet. And he seemed to be holding his head low. Maybe he was trying to look less lethal?
It wasn’t working. Any damned fool could see that he was dangerous. But Biff didn’t know what he was up against. He had beaten and tied up a grown man, a proven fighter. Why would he worry about a frightened woman and her dog?
“Come on over here, bitch.” He said bitch like it was her name and anger bubbled inside her. “I’ll pour you a drink.”
She licked her dry lips and nodded slowly. Rubbing her damp palms on her thighs, trying not to look like she wanted to kill him, she stepped forward.
When Biff half turned to grab the bottle, Ives launched himself from her side and another black shadow flowed up toward him from beside the bar. Ives hit Biff full on and he slammed into the edge of the bar with an audible crack a split second before the other wolf crashed into both and they all tumbled over the bar in a churning mass of limbs and fur.
Maressa ran to Todd and fumbled with the knots on his arms. She could hear the crash and tinkle of breaking glass, a yelp, and the dull thuds of fists meeting flesh and her attention wasn’t on the task at hand. When she finally got the first hand free, he ripped off his gag and said,” My feet, for Christ’s sake. My feet first.”
She dropped to her knees and tugged, but only succeeded in tightening the knots. In frustration, she pulled out the tiny knife and got to work.
Todd jumped up and fell to one knee, then wobbled to his feet. He grabbed the edge of the table for support.
“Sorry, my legs are numb. What the—”
He stumbled back in shock as Ives straightened from behind the bar.
“How did you get in here?”
“Back door,” Ives said shortly.
Maressa’s hand flew to her throat. There was a rising bruise on his cheekbone and his eyes were still a little wild, glowing a faint blue.
“Should I call the police?” she asked because she couldn’t ask the other question. She couldn’t ask if he had killed for her.
He looked down and made a movement like he might have kicked something or someone. There was a muffled groan from behind the bar.
“Yes. Call the police.”
She sighed and flopped down into a chair. She propped her chin on her hands and just breathed.
“Thank you God,” she said and his brows quirked up.
Todd looked from one to the other and shook his head. “What is wrong with you? You didn’t call the police? Call Don.”
Todd was looking at her as if she had lost her mind and maybe she had.
All she could do was laugh. She was so damned relieved that Ives hadn’t killed Biff, even though she had wanted to kill him herself when she had seen the bruises on Todd’s face. Her nerves were raw and her bones were rubber and she had to just sit and laugh.
She tossed her phone to Todd and he fumbled before he caught it.
“Hello, hands tied for h
ours,” he groused while dialing. “Can’t feel my fingers. You could have managed one phone call before you went completely nutso, couldn’t you? No. Who has to do it? Todd with the numb fingers and busted nose. Yeah…Don? Yeah, get the hell over to the bar, would ya? We’ve caught your prisoner again and you can add a few more pretty charges to his resume. He smashed me over the head and messed up my sweet face.”
Todd snarled at Don’s response and held the phone away from his ear. Maressa could hear the shouting from the phone’s tinny speakers.
“And tied me up and lured Maressa here and horked on my fucking oak floor, the son-of-a—What? No, she’s okay. Or maybe she’s lost it. That’s her laughing in the background. Just get here.”
Sirens echoed faintly in the distance when he put the phone down in front of Maressa. She laid her head down on the table.
A hand stroked her hair. She knew by the quiver in her belly that it was Ives and she sighed. Even in the aftermath of a disaster, he could make her hormones want to giggle and flirt. He was so male he made her even more female, if that made any sense.
“You got that bastard secured?” Todd asked.
“He is bound and gagged. By the time he regains consciousness enough to speak again, the police will be here.”
Todd looked toward the bar where another dark-haired man with faintly glowing eyes was dusting off his hands. The speculative look on Todd’s face made Maressa nervous.
“He is alive, for the moment,” Ives finished.
Todd shrugged.
“Is he hurt bad?”
“No.”
“Too bad.”
Both men turned toward the bar at the same moment and Maressa’s blood ran cold. Before they could even move, there was a booming sound from the front door.
Maressa was never so happy to see the police as she was at that moment when Don burst through the door at the head of a troop of uniforms with guns drawn. Their presence would keep Ives and Todd from bonding over a little nighttime murder.
“Behind the bar, tied up,” Todd called and Don gestured to a couple of other cops. They headed for the bar at a dead run.
Maressa looked around, but Ives’s friend was already gone.
