Elias knew Jacque was right. He also recognized his words as the invitation they were. He looked at Sage and Reece for confirmation. They glanced at one another and then nodded at the same time. “We’ll stay.”
“Good enough.” Jacque gave both boys a nod of approval. “Now let’s eat. I’m starving.”
The group laughed and gravitated toward the kitchen. Anny and Armand stayed behind with Elias. “You really care about Sue, don’t you?” she asked.
He nodded. “I do.” Frustration ate at him. He wanted to be with her. She was all alone while he was surrounded by pack. It didn’t seem fair.
“We’ll figure out some way to deal with her ex. I’ll help in whatever way I can, even if it means coming out of hiding. It’s probably past time now that the threat to me is gone. It just felt safer to keep things the way they were.”
“No one is faulting you for anything, Anny. You did what you had to do.”
“I did, but it became habit. Protecting the pack at all costs. It’s powerful motivation.” She smiled at Sage and Reece. “I’d like to have children someday, if we’re blessed. And I want them protected.”
His lingering anger at Anny bled away. Of course she wanted the pack safe and insulated from danger. It was only natural that some of the couples here would have kids eventually. It was a mother’s natural instinct to protect. Anny and Sue were a lot alike in that respect.
“Keeping Sue away from my new life was the only way to protect her. I know I hurt her, but I did what I had to do.”
“You did.” Her mate wrapped his arms around her from behind, cradling her in his strength. “We’ll help Sue if we can.” Armand kissed her temple and shared a private look with Elias.
He knew Armand’s first priority was protecting Anny. Good enough, his priority was protecting his boys and Sue. When he pictured his family, he now included Sue and Billy in that group. Billy might not be his biological son, but that didn’t alter his protective instincts one little bit. Billy belonged to Sue. Therefore he belonged to Elias. It was as simple as that.
She might not know it yet, but Sue was a part of him. Whether or not they’d be able to be together was something only time would tell.
“Food is up.” Gator called them over. Supper was later than usual and Elias was hungry. He wondered if Sue had eaten. He hated not being with her. Not that she’d want him with her right now. She’d been angry when she’d left earlier.
No matter what happened, he planned to go by her place later and check on her. He’d never sleep until he knew she was safe.
* * * * *
Fergus McLennan was furious. As soon as the deputy’s truck turned onto the main road and disappeared, he whirled around and punched his cousin in the face. Connor fell back a few steps but stayed on his feet.
“What the hell was that for?” Connor demanded. He felt around the corner of his mouth with his tongue and swiped away the trickle of blood on his lip.
“For getting the law called down on us. I told you hunting for wolves was a stupid idea.” He glanced toward the house, but his wife was inside. He didn’t want her to know the law had been called on them.
“You’ve gotten soft,” Connor accused. “You used to be as gung-ho as us about tracking wolves.” His eyes narrowed. “You just lost interest one day. What happen? You lose your nerve?”
Fergus would never admit it out loud, but he had. He could still remember the visit in the middle of the night from the dangerous stranger who’d threatened him with death if he didn’t stay away from Gray Everson and her dog. To this day, Fergus had no idea who the man was, but he believed him. It had taken Fergus months to start sleeping through the night again. Now his stupid cousin had destroyed what peace he’d found.
“I told you we should just go and take a look.” He’d only agreed to that because it had been so long since the threat he’d started to feel safe. And he didn’t want to look like a pussy to his kin. “Now we’ve got the law watching us.” He turned his head and spit on the ground.
“You heard the deputy.” Sean stepped up beside him, taking Fergus’s side against their cousins. “They got dogs out there.”
“Part wolf,” Connor shot back.
“But pets and legal too.” Sean took off his ball cap and scratched his head before jamming it back on. “I know I’d be pissed if someone shot one of my hunting dogs.” Sean loved his hounds. Sometimes Fergus thought his brother loved them more than he did his wife.
“We need to stay away from those people.” They were strangers even though they’d lived out there on the land for years. Fergus was as curious as most folks, but they minded their own business and kept to themselves. The only reason they were involving the law was because his stupid cousin had shot one of their animals.
“It’s a wolf. I’m telling you.” Connor began to pace, never a good sign. Meant the idiot was working himself up to do something stupid.
“How do you think the law found out it was us who done the shooting?” They all stared at Angus. Connor’s brother rarely spoke, but when he did you had to listen. He usually made good sense. Angus shrugged. “Those folks barely leave their land. How would they even know who we were?”
That was a mighty fine question and one they all pondered.
Connor stopped pacing. “That waitress at the diner. Sue Walsh. She was slinking around our table while we were talking.”
“She wasn’t slinking. She’s a waitress, for God’s sake,” Sean pointed out. “She was pouring us coffee.”
Angus leaned against his truck and crossed his arms over his chest. “But she probably did overhear something. The question is whether or not she was the one to go out to the old Mitchell land and warn them.”
Fergus got a sinking feeling in his gut. This was getting out of hand. It was one thing to be hunting wolves not long after Anny Conrad had been attacked. Shooting a man’s dog was another, even if the damn thing did look like a wolf.
Then there was the matter of the stranger who’d threatened him. Fergus never wanted to see the man again. He’d had strange eyes that had glittered in the dark. Just like an animal. Fergus was sorely afraid if he ever saw those eyes again it would be the last thing he ever saw. The man had had held a big knife to Fergus’s neck. There was no doubt in Fergus’s mind he knew how to use it and wouldn’t hesitate if he thought it necessary. He knew he’d come very close to death that night. Still felt the icy steel against his neck from time to time.
“I’m done.” He hitched his jeans up and headed toward his front porch. He wanted to sit in his easy chair, have a beer and watch a ball game.
“Coward,” Connor called.
Fergus shrugged him off. He could live with name calling from his cousin. He was more afraid of the stranger than of Connor. “Say what you like. I don’t care. I ain’t hunting on their land again. You coming?” he asked his brother.
Sean nodded. “Yeah. I don’t mind killing a wild animal who might hurt someone, but I ain’t going after a man’s dog.”
“Let’s go,” Connor said to his brother. Angus got into his truck while Connor climbed in on the passenger side.
Fergus stood on the top step and watched his cousins drive off. “Those boys are not going to let this alone. You know that, don’t you?” Sean said.
He nodded. “Yeah, I know. But there’s nothing more we can do. I aim to stay out of trouble.”
Sean nodded. “There’s plenty of game to hunt without raising a lot of dust with the law.”
“How about a brew and a ball game?” He opened the door and motioned his brother inside.
“Now you’re talking.” Sean strode into the house, as much at home here as he was in his own place.
Fergus’s wife called out from the kitchen. “You boys hungry?”
Fergus grinned. “Always.” Her laughter filled the air. He plunked himself down in his favorite
chair and turned on the television. Sean settled on the couch and they both watched the game. It was just getting interesting when Angie came in with a big plate of nachos, heavy on the cheese just the way he liked it.
He playfully smacked her bottom when she passed by. She swatted his arm and winked at him. She was a hell of a woman.
“Thanks, Angie.” Sean waited until she was gone before he spoke again. “You think they’re going to do something stupid?”
Fergus feared they were going to do the same thing he would have done only a little more than a year ago. They were going to go hunting. They couldn’t leave well enough alone. He’d been like that once, but he’d learned there was more to fear than a wolf running around outside town.
No, the bigger fear was the one that could get into your locked house, past your dogs and threaten you while you were sleeping in your bed. Fergus had never told anyone about that night and never would.
But it had changed him and there was no going back.
* * * * *
The sun had set in Louisiana hours ago, but Jean Paul Dupointe was still awake. He leaned back in his chair with his feet propped up on the railing and his hands folded on his stomach. He loved the land and the heat and never understood how Jacque LaForge and the others could forsake their home and settle up north.
Each to his own. It had opened up an opportunity for Jean Paul, and he’d taken advantage of it. He was smart and ambitious. Being alpha of the Louisiana Pack suited him.
He liked to sit out late at night listening to the sounds of the bayou. It was always so alive, even at night. The insects hummed, the nocturnal birds hunted prey and the gators cruised the waterways. The familiar sounds settled his soul. This pack had lost a lot over the past couple of years, and it would take time and dedication to rebuild. He relished the challenge.
He turned his head when he heard footsteps heading in his direction. He sniffed the air. “What is it, Calvin?” Calvin was a cousin on his daddy’s side and was Jean Paul’s second in command.
“Just got a call.” Calvin sauntered up and leaned against the porch rail. Jean Paul didn’t speak. Calvin cleared his throat. “Seems a couple of the locals up in Salvation shot themselves a wolf.”
He pulled his feet off the railing and they landed on the porch with a heavy thump. “Anyone hurt?” He didn’t really care what happened to Jacque and his pack, but he had issued a warning to one of the locals. Unfortunately, Jean Paul’s brother had mentioned that fact to others before he’d died. Everyone in the pack knew of Jean Paul’s warning, which meant he had to enforce it or lose face. Jean Paul Dupointe was a man of his word. He had a reputation to uphold.
“One wolf injured but not seriously.”
Jean Paul nodded. “You know who did it?”
Calvin shook his head. “Non. Should I send someone up there?”
Jean Paul weighed his options and came to a decision. “Non. I think I’ll take a quick trip to Salvation.” He stood and stretched. “I won’t be gone long. If it’s my problem, I’ll deal with it. If it’s not, then it’s Jacque’s problem.”
He didn’t have to tell Calvin to keep a watch on things while he was gone. Calvin enjoyed his position as Jean Paul’s second and knew he wasn’t nearly strong enough to take him in a fight. No, everything would run smoothly while he was away.
He went inside to pack a few things to take with him on the trip.
Chapter Twenty
Sue heard a twig snap just beyond the yard. “Elias?” She set her empty glass on the arm of her chair and slowly stood. “Is that you?” It could be an animal. Plenty of raccoons and deer around.
She crossed her arms over her chest, regretting her slight attire even if it was too warm to wear anything else. She was very aware of not having anything on beneath her nightgown. “Who is there?”
A man stepped out from behind a tree. She started to relax but then tensed when she realized whoever he was, he wasn’t Elias. Sue backed up against the door, keeping her eyes on the man as she reached for the handle. If she could get inside and barricade the door, she could call the sheriff.
“No need to run off.” The male voice was affable enough, but Sue wasn’t stupid. No one made calls this late at night, especially not slinking in under cover of darkness, if they didn’t have some kind of foul business in mind.
Billy. She had to protect her son at all costs.
She opened the door behind her, but before she could duck inside, the man raised his rifle and aimed it straight at her.
“Now you don’t want to go running inside. We already had one visit from the law today.”
“I don’t want any trouble.” Her mouth went dry as the man moved closer. She heard another rustle off to the left and a second man walked out of the woods. Terror had her heart pounding in her ears.
“Now that depends on you.” The first man walked forward until she was able to make out his features.
“Connor McLennan?”
“Yup.” The man motioned to her with his gun. “Step away from the door, Sue.”
Her fingers were locked around the door handle and it was an effort for her to release them. Sweat rolled down her temple. “I don’t understand.” She’d known this man all her life, and not once had she ever considered him a danger to her. She was learning much too late that people weren’t always what they seemed.
If Connor was here, the other man must be Angus. The two brothers were close. “Why are you here?” she managed to ask.
He motioned with the gun again. “Step away.”
Sue didn’t want to leave the relative safety of the back door, but she had no choice. She forced her bare feet to slide along the deck.
“When I was gassing up my truck at the station earlier tonight, I got to chatting with Sam Owens. Seems he saw you driving out toward the old Mitchell place earlier today. What were you doing out that way?”
Oh God. Somehow Connor knew she’d warned the folks living out there. “I was just taking Billy for a drive.”
The minute her son’s name left her lips she knew she’d made a mistake.
Connor nodded. “Fine boy, your son. Heard a rumor that your ex is trying to get custody of him.”
That didn’t surprise Sue. There were no secrets in a small town. Only Anny had managed to keep her whereabouts secret. No mean feat.
“That’s none of your business.” She didn’t back down. You couldn’t let a bully see fear or he’d attack. She knew that much. Plus, she’d had years of dealing with difficult customers at the diner.
“Oh, now that’s where you’re wrong. You made it my business when you stuck your nose in mine.” He lowered his gun and took a step closer. “You told them Southern interlopers that we were the ones who shot that wolf, didn’t you?”
There was no way she could talk herself out of this predicament. All she could do was go on the offensive. “I did. You shot their dog. There are people living out there. You could have killed someone.”
He tipped back his ball cap. “It’s a damn wolf out there. I don’t care what anyone says.”
“It’s a pet. It hasn’t hurt anyone.” No, only Connor had done that. The furrow on Reece’s body was a testament to that. Only the animal had healed much faster than it should have. Maybe it truly had been just a graze. But still, he’d been trying to kill Reece.
“They called the law and had a sheriff’s deputy come out to my cousin’s house looking for us. We go on their land again, and we’ll get charged with trespassing or worse.” Connor took another step closer. Sue took a step back before she could stop herself. She was scared out of her mind. He had a rifle and she had no weapon to defend herself. Plus, he was a lot bigger than she was. He didn’t need a gun to hurt her.
“Just stay away from them and you won’t have any trouble.” Sue knew she’d done the right thing, but in doing so she’d inadvertently put he
r son in danger.
“Angus figured out it was you who must have warned them folks. See, they’d have no way of knowing it was us. And the only person who might have overheard us talking about it was you. Yup, Angus was smart enough to suspect it might be you. Then old Sam mentioned seeing you out that way.” He shook his head and Sue’s blood ran cold. “You should have minded your own business.”
“You’re only making the situation worse,” she warned him.
Connor reached out and roughly cupped her face in his hand. “What are you going to do? Tell the law? I don’t think so.” He squeezed until she winced. “You’ve got a boy to protect.”
“Connor,” Angus called, but Connor ignored his brother and kept staring at her. Sue was almost paralyzed with fear at the sheer malice she saw in his face. He was enjoying her terror.
She jerked away and took a step back. “Go home to your wife.” She figured it couldn’t hurt to remind him he had a family to protect too.
His laugh was low and ugly. “My wife ain’t talking to me. She’s not happy that all her friends called to tell her about the deputy paying me a visit.”
“This will all blow over.” They’d gotten a warning. They could have simply walked away from all of this. She didn’t understand why Connor was here.
“You owe me.” The leer in his eyes scared her on a whole other level. She’d been afraid he might shoot her. Now she was terrified he might rape her. And he was right. If she went to the law, Connor could hurt her son.
“I don’t owe you anything. You brought this on yourself.” She wouldn’t back down, wouldn’t cower. She’d fight him with everything she had.
“You going to be a part of this, Angus?” she asked him. Connor’s brother was the even-tempered one of the bunch.
“Connor, maybe she’s right.” She started to relax when Angus appealed to his brother.
“No.” Quick as a rattlesnake, he backhanded her. She fell back and stumbled, barely catching herself before she fell. Her face throbbed and she felt something trickle from the corner of her mouth. Blood.
Wolf on a Mission: Salvation Pack, Book 6 Page 20
