He looked behind him to check on Bella, and what he saw had his wolf pushing forward. “Neftali,” he growled, drawing all eyes to Bella.
“Who is this lovely lady?” Neftali asked, leaning over her as Bella tried to get away from him.
“Personal space, dude, back up,” she snapped.
By the time Raul got to her side, Neftali was sitting on his ass about five feet away from her. “Wow, she’s something else. Damn, honey, where the hell have you been all my life?” Neftali said, getting up and stepping forward, but Raul moved in front of her.
“Back off now. She’s mine!” he snarled. “And you will show her the respect an alpha deserves. Now what are you doing here? You were supposed to be helping the humans organize those they are missing.”
“Humans don’t need any help. I won’t stand there and be sneered at. My loyalties are with the pack, as it seems you have forgotten,” Neftali said, stepping forward.
“Are you challenging me? Because if you are, let’s do it now. I have no time for your bullshit.” Raul inched forward until his nose touched Neftali’s. He knew everyone watched behind him, but he was tired of this wolf’s little threats.
“Soon, Alpha, real soon,” Neftali growled. “But unlike you, I made sure my family is safe and away from this area, since we all know you don’t believe in your destiny.” Neftali moved out of the tent but looked back straight at Bella. “Who knows, maybe she’ll turn you down, wanting a real man.”
Raul moved to launch himself at Neftali, but Bella placed her hand in his. “Honey, I wouldn’t have you if you were the last man standing,” she told Neftali. “Really, you should brush your teeth more often; it might help with the ladies.” She smiled up at Raul. “And don’t worry about our destiny; it will be taken care of, and no one will stop us. Even those with small minds and God knows what other small things.”
Raul stepped in front of her as Neftali whipped around, snarling. “In time I’ll show you how small, little lady.” He shifted and ran out of the tent.
“Well, that went well. Let’s hope the rest of your pack’s men aren’t as aggressive.” She plopped down in a chair.
“Are you out of your mind? You do not challenge a man like that and then belittle him!” Raul yelled, glaring down at her. “Don’t we have enough to worry about without adding to our problems?” He leaned down into her face. “I mean it, Bella. Don’t do that again.”
He straightened and took a deep breath but wasn’t prepared for her foot as it connected with his shin.
“Son of a bitch.” He glared at a very pissed Little Mite.
“You are not my mate yet, and if you keep acting like you just did, I’ll walk out of this city as fast as I can. No one threatens me.” She spun and marched out of the tent, ignoring everyone.
“What the hell?” she growled, and Raul’s heart leapt his throat.
What if Neftali had been out there waiting for her? Raul ran out of the tent along with the others to only come to a dead stop as they watched Bella move over a pile of broken road to the east side. She was almost gliding over the rocks.
“Bella, get your ass back here,” he growled, but she only flipped him off without even looking back.
His brother, Mario laughed and Herme snorted. “Excuse me, while I retrieve my daughter.”
“No, it’s my job, and I pissed her off.” Raul took a deep breath and followed her steps carefully. But he wasn’t alone; Herme was right beside him.
“Sorry, she’s not yours yet, and if you keep rejecting her in front of others, she never will be.” Herme nodded toward Bella. “The Ozters couldn’t hurt her because they knew I’d kill them, but they made sure they embarrassed her every chance they got. As her adopted mother said, ‘A heavy hand in private is the only way you’ll get through to her.’ You just hurt her emotionally.”
“Damn, okay, I got it. But where the hell is she going? And how can she move that way? It’s like she’s not even touching the ground.”
“She’s pissed and on to something. I’ve only seen this happen once before when that ass hurt her. But with her mate here, her power could be changing too,” Herme said and frowned. “Damn, she’s crying.”
“What?” Raul felt like a first-class heel as they finally caught up to her. Bella was holding a little girl, whose leg was pierced by a piece of metal.
The little tike’s face was dirty, fresh tears rolled down her cheeks and she kept whispering, “My brother,” and pointing to a ravine.
Herme nodded and moved to the place she pointed to as Raul knelt next to Bella.
“We’re checking for him. How did you get here? We’ve scanned this area three times,” he asked, taking the small child out of Bella’s arms and standing.
“Don’t know. Woke up here.” The little girl had to be no more than eight but seemed to be smart. “I was with my little brother, taking him to the bathroom when the ground shook. We hid but still got hurt. We were so tired, both of us fell asleep, and then we were down there.”
Raul didn’t like it one bit. “Bella, let’s go, now.”
Herme came up the ravine carrying the child.
“Move it now,” he yelled.
They took off. Raul had to catch Bella twice as she stumbled, and then he felt the ground start to shake again. Little holes of steam punched through the dirt behind them.
“Is she going to blow?” Raul asked Bella as they reached the tent and Herme handed the little girl over to Raul’s father.
“No, but it’s letting off steam. You have to get those people out. Soo, it will be too late. If you’ll notice, the steam is all along the ravine, which points right to where I told you the fair was. I think we’re lucky it broke through there first.” Bella stepped forward, and he placed his arm around her and brought her back against him.
“I’m sorry about earlier. I didn’t mean to embarrass you. Neftali has always known how to push my buttons, and with you here now, he’ll be more aggressive.” He turned her to stare down at her. “I don’t like his reaction to you.”
To his right, Sunshine came into the tent with a few of the pack females, all of them carrying food. “Come, you need to eat, and I want you to meet my stepmother.” He went to move, but she stood still, staring up at him until her eyes rolled back in her head and her legs gave out.
“Bella!” He grabbed her before she could hit the ground. He lifted her into his arms and hurried to the area where his father had set up an emergency aid station. He’d just found her; he couldn’t let anything happen to her. “Father!” he shouted, coming into the tent and placing her down onto an empty gurney.
“What happened?” he asked.
Chapter Ten
Bella moved her head, her neck hurting. “Shit,” she mumbled and tried to roll over, but she was tangled up. “What in the world?” She opened her eyes to see Raul staring down at her. “What happened? Where am I?” she asked, looking around.
“You’re at the temporary medical station I set up, young lady. You outdid yourself today, didn’t you?” Sergio asked, coming up beside her, messing with what had to be an IV. “Has this happened before?” he asked, looking down at her.
Her face heated, and she looked down at her hands. “Once, when I was about ten. I was behind our house, and there was a deer there that had been shot. It had a little baby next to it. I couldn’t let it die. I guess after I healed it, I passed out, because Charley found me about an hour later. But it was worth it to see the momma with the baby. This is the same thing. I couldn’t allow all those people to die.” She turned her gaze to Raul.
“Did you start digging?” she asked, and he nodded.
“You’ve saved over 300 people, young lady, not to mention our own people. But you can’t risk yourself like that again,” Sergio said. “We’ll finish this IV up, then I want you to eat something.” He looked up at Raul. “She should go back to the house and rest.”
Raul nodded, but his gaze never left hers.
“I’m sorry,” Bella
sighed. She’d give anything to just curl up in her favorite big, soft robe with a cup of coffee. She looked away from Raul toward the front of the tent. People were running all around, helping those who were hurt, and here she lay, taking up one of the tables. “Maybe I should sit somewhere else so you can use the table?” she asked and turned her gaze to Raul.
Sergio looked at the IV pole then at her, nodding. Gently Raul lifted her, and his father put the IV bottle on her legs.
“It’s protein and a couple other things you needed. But no more playing hero; you’ve done enough.” Sergio wagged his finger and Bella smiled.
“Yes, sir.” She rested her head on Raul’s shoulder as he moved her out of the tent and back into the command center where Herme and Mario were going over files with some of the elders she’d met this morning.
Raul sat down and nodding to the others, holding her. “Have you found anything about Bella’s family?” he asked Herme.
“I recognized a few shady groups that have come to town, and this one organization has ties in Cleveland and other places. My mate would know more since she dealt with them before in New Orleans.” Herme slid a paper over to Raul, and Bella frowned when she saw the organization’s name.
“Daisy works for them,” she mumbled, rubbing her cheek against Raul’s chest. He smelled so good, even after working around all this destruction.
He frowned and looked down at her. “Are you sure?”
“Yep, I remember her bragging about getting a job there. She said she was making three times what I was making. She’s a very competitive person in all ways.” The thought of her here in Vegas had her shifting on Raul’s lap.
“Why the frown?” Mario asked and offered her a glass of orange juice.
She shrugged. “I’m just glad Daisy’s not here. I’d have to rip her head off if she started her normal crap.” Bella turned her head up and saw Raul looking at her. “She had a habit of going after the men I was interested in, and you are defiantly on the Richter-scale charts.”
Herme snorted. “When she was a kid, Bella came up with a scale on how men kissed, using the scale to measure earthquakes. She used to say, ‘Did the kiss rock her world?’”
Her face heated, and she glared at Herme. “You didn’t need to tell him that,” she mumbled.
“I want to know all about you, Little Mite.” He kissed the top of her head and gave Mario the sheet. “Use your contacts; find out what you can and also see if Tank can have someone follow Daisy. It’s too much of a coincidence she got a job there.”
“Shit,” Bella sat up and turned to Herme. “Did someone call my work and let them know I wouldn’t be coming back?” she asked, and he shook his head, smiling.
“They have been informed, relax, Bella,” Herme said.
“I heard your woman woke,” a woman with long, blonde hair brought in a full platter of eggs, bacon, bagels, sausages and hash browns and set it down in front of them. “My name is Sunshine. Welcome to the family, sweetie. Now eat; doctor’s orders.” She kissed her cheek. “There is plenty there for you, too, Raul. I’ll go help my mate since he’s overloaded. Will we see you tonight?” she asked Bella but looked at Raul.
Bella nodded. “I’m sure once I eat, I’ll be fine.” She picked up a sausage and put it at Raul’s lips. “Sausage,” she tried to keep a straight face but failed completely.
“We’ll be there,” he grumbled before taking the whole thing into his mouth along with her fingers, nipping them. “I’d like to take you back to the house to rest for a bit. You’ve done too much already today,” he said after releasing her fingers.
“I’m sure I’ll be okay. How long was I out?”
“Two hours, and you scared the living shit out of me. Don’t do that again,” he growled and squeezed her tight.
“Sorry. Maybe it’s because of my injuries. Or it could have been from trying to release some of the pressure in the earth before it moved on to all those people. Either way, I didn’t really think about it. It was natural.” She grabbed the fork, careful of her IV, and shoved a forkful of eggs into her mouth. “Damn, these are good.” She filled her fork and turned to give Raul some, but his gaze was hot. “What?”
“Are you going to feed me?” he asked at the same time Bella swore a large cucumber started to move around in his pants.
She looked down, then back up to him, swallowing the food in her mouth. “I thought we’d share if it’s okay. I mean, if you don’t want me to feed you...” She leaned over and whispered. “Huge cucumber...”
Behind her, Mario snorted as others grunted.
“Okay, now I’m going to hide my face until we leave,” she mumbled, burying her face against his chest and putting the fork back on the plate.
“Hey now, don’t ever hide your face. It’s too pretty, even when it’s a light shade of pink,” Raul said, leaning back, trying to get her to look at him. “Come on, look at me?” he asked, and Bella looked up to see him smiling. “I sure could use some food about now, and so could you, yes?” he asked, and she nodded but kept her gaze down as she picked the fork back up and held it at his lips.
“Does this mean something that I’m supposed to know?” she asked, and he smiled before taking the food.
Mario leaned over and tapped her arm. “It means you’re making sure your alpha is well taken care of, which indicates you care for him. You will make a great alpha bitch.”
She growled. “I really don’t like that term. Maybe we could just say ‘female’?” She frowned at Mario.
He laughed and nodded. “Will do, when in front of you. Hey, that rhymes.”
Everyone around them moaned.
Bella then noticed the biscuits, cheese at that.
“Okay, who put these here?” She reached over to take one, but Raul took it out of her hand, sniffed it, then growled.
“Yes, who placed these here?” he asked, looking around.
“What? Is something wrong with them?” Bella frowned at the bowl of them. “Damn, and I love cheese biscuits.”
“They’re laced with something. I thought they were left over from the food Sunshine brought in earlier, but when you lifted it up, I could smell that something was wrong with it. I’m sorry, Little Mite; I should have caught this before we even sat down. Hell, any of us should have caught it.” He looked at Mario, who nodded.
“Until she moved the biscuits, I didn’t scent anything. If she would have without you near her...” Mario snarled. “It’s started already.”
“Or it was meant for him. We can’t be too sure,” Raul’s father said, coming over to her side. “Give me your arm, sweetie. I’m going to take this out now,” he said, indicating the IV bottle, “but you finish that food my wife gave you. It’s safe. I suggest from now on you two only eat what we know is safe. Go to meet the pack, but don’t eat anything from there tonight.”
* * *
Raul paced back and forth, furious that not one of them had even noticed the rolls sitting on the table. He had messed up once, but it wouldn’t happen again. He looked over at his bed; Bella was tucked under the covers.
“You know you could come cuddle with me instead of pacing? I mean, there’s nothing you can do about the biscuits now. I’m safe; it’s over,” she said, sitting up.
“I almost lost you twice today, and I just found you,” Raul snarled and knew the beast was close to the surface.
Bella got out of bed, moved to him and wrapped her arms around him. “I’m right here, Raul, and I’m not going anywhere anytime soon. Well, unless you piss me off again.” She smiled, turning her gaze to him. “We can go for a walk if you want. Maybe it will help burn some of that energy you have going here. I haven’t seen the outside of this place. You’ve been working on it for a while?”
“Yes, I’ve have been, and you’re supposed to be resting.” Raul ran his hand up her arm and rested it on her shoulder. “You sure you’re up to this?”
She nodded. “We need to get to know each other anyway. I mean, we won’t h
ave much time at the pack house, I take it. Who knows; maybe you won’t even like me after you get to know me,” she teased. “I mean, I can be a real pain in the ass sometimes, I’ve been told.”
Raul couldn’t help but laugh. Her attempt to calm him had worked. “I don’t know how it’s possible, but in a matter of a few hours, you’ve become very important to me.” He brushed a single stray hair back out of her face. “My father told me it would be like this when I found my mate, but I never really believed it.”
“I don’t know about the mate thing, but the first time I saw you, you were on TV. You were staring out at the city and turned to look at the cameras. I knew then that I wanted to put a smile on that face. To see your eyes light up. So, do I get my tour?”
“Put on your shoes. I’ll show you around, and if you’re good, maybe I’ll take you and Charley to get those purses my brother owes you. After all, he needs to keep his promise to my woman.” He cupped her cheek and bent down, covering her mouth. Her lips were soft like silk. She tasted of mint from brushing her teeth when they got home.
The way she grabbed his arms and dug her nails in as he deepened the kiss, had him pulling her closer. Her moan was caught by him as he stroked her tongue with his, pouring everything into the kiss.
A knock at the door had them breaking apart.
“I’m going to rip apart whoever that is,” he growled and smacked her butt when she giggled. “Not funny, honey. I wanted to be on that scale of yours,” he grumbled and opened the door. Maria stood there with Charley, both grinning from ear to ear as they looked over at Bella.
“Well, put the man out of his misery; did he hit it?” Charley asked, handing Bella a bag of dried fruit. “Eat. You need extra nourishment.”
After putting on her shoes, she stood. “At least a seven, and I’m sure if we hadn’t been interrupted, it would have been higher.” She yanked on his shirt, and he lowered his head.
Vegas Is Burning Page 10
