Catching Her Mates

by Rebecca Airies

  “I’ll see you then, Archer.” She flicked a glance around.

  “Don’t think about skipping out on us.” Archer narrowed his eyes at her. He pointed a finger at her. “We’ll find you.”

  “I promise I’ll be there, but don’t panic if I’m a little late. I don’t get off until seven thirty. And sometimes there are things that keep me after that.” She exhaled. He was damn lucky she was whyr. Otherwise she would be calling the police to report a stalker.

  “I won’t panic. We’ll all be there.” He smiled and walked away from her.

  * * * *

  Archer hesitated, reluctance to leave the woman making his feet drag. Leaving a store had never been so hard. But the longer he’d been there, the more stressed she’d become.

  Her petite build emphasized her femininity and roused all of his protective urges. The store vest over the white button-down shirt said all business, but the short, sassy blond hair showed a hint of attitude. They’d probably run into that soon enough.

  She had such delicate features. High cheekbones arched over a stubborn little chin. For most of their too-short meeting, she’d frowned at him. Those pink lips should have been smiling, happy at meeting her mate, but fear had rolled off her, and she’d looked around as if she’d expected someone to jump out and reprimand her. Once they met again, he’d coax her into giving him a real grin.

  Right now, she strolled around without a claiming mark on her. That couldn’t go on for much longer. She belonged with the Dark brothers. Everyone needed to know that, for their own safety. Whyr wouldn’t bother her. Once they bit her and mated, she’d carry their scent. There were still the human men, though. Somehow, they’d have to convince her to wear their ring.

  Archer drove to the police station. John should be there, and he definitely needed to know. Judge might be with a patient, so he’d get a text and a call to explain.

  “Hi, Archer, you come to visit us today?” Debra Sullivan sat behind the reception desk and smiled. She offered the only way back to the working area of the police department.

  “Yeah, I need to visit with my brother today. I’d be happy if you could page him for me.” Archer leaned against the edge of the desk and smiled at the older woman with gray-streaked black hair. She and her family had come to almost every party and barbecue that John had thrown for the police officers since he became chief.

  “I’ll give him a call.” Deb nodded and picked up the phone. She spoke for a few moments.

  The low rumble of his brother’s voice replied, but the words were indistinct.

  “He said for you to go on back. He doesn’t have time to get out of his office at the moment. Just a heads-up, he’s not in the best of moods, so you might want to go easy if you’re going to tease.” Deb lifted a brow.

  “No teasing. I’ve got some good news. Maybe it will put him in a slightly better mood. It’s made me happier.” Archer waved his hand, walked to the door, and waited as Deb buzzed him through.

  He pulled the door open and paced through the hallway, past the soft interview rooms. This police department was almost as familiar as his own home. He shook his head.

  Their old home had changed a little in the last few weeks. They’d replaced flooring and most of the furniture. They hadn’t decided on the custom-order headboard because they hadn’t been able to agree on a design.

  Judge sought something they could tie things to, while John searched for something solid that would last for years. The possibilities and sense in both sides of their arguments appealed, but maybe they should go for something with a little bit of both.

  He made his way back to John’s office. He knocked, although sometimes he simply walked in. Better not put him in a bad mood right from the start. He tapped his thigh. A grin pulled at his lips. John would be relieved, happy, and probably ready to get her.

  John had been going to every cougar function he could. He’d come home disappointed every time, without even having found a trace of that sweet scent that teased him in the bar. He filled the rest of his time with late hours on the job and used his work to distract him from the lack of progress. And full mating fever hadn’t hit yet. They’d simply caught her scent.

  Hell, Archer had gone to some of those functions. No luck there. All it had taken was a trip to one of the local department stores to find their mate. As if fate was telling him he was doing it wrong. He shouldn’t have spent so much time surfing the net looking for inspiration. In person was clearly the better option.

  After catching her scent off Logan, he hadn’t slept very well. All the damn questions. Where was she, and more importantly who was she? He couldn’t wait to take her home and protect her from anything that might even inconvenience her. Prickles skipped over his palms. There was so much to learn about her. Did she like strokes or circles on her clit? How sensitive were her breasts? What did she taste like?

  “Come on in, Archer.” John’s voice barely sounded muffled by the thick wooden door.

  Archer strolled in. John sat behind the large, gleaming, mahogany desk. A stack of papers rested to one side of the keyboard. In spite of the fact that most paperwork was done on computer, his brother sometimes preferred to have a hard copy rather than electronic.

  “Hey, bro, Deb says you’re in a bad mood. Something happen?” Archer dropped into one of the chairs and tried to hide his grin. In spite of promising not to tease, he couldn’t resist delaying the news at least a few minutes.

  “Yeah, I got some news that pisses me off and merely confirms my suspicions. I hate it when I’m right this way.” John turned off his monitor and turned to stare at Archer. “What brings you here?”

  “Ah, not quite yet with that. What did you learn and what suspicion did you confirm? You have a lot of them.” Archer raised a brow. If something was wrong, they all needed to know. It would help them prepare to keep their mate safe. John wouldn’t be thinking all that clearly once he learned that she was close.

  “My brakes failing. They didn’t fail.” John took a deep breath and clenched his hands on top of the table.

  Archer’s eyebrows rose, and he leaned forward. If they didn’t fail…

  “Someone did something to your brakes?” Archer clasped the arms of the chair. Shit, they didn’t need this now.

  “Yes, the line was cut and drained almost completely. It had to be done at the house. Someone was at our house. Since there was no fluid on the driveway, they had something to drain it in so I wouldn’t notice anything.” John bared his teeth.

  “And your brakes failed as you were pulling out of the driveway.” Archer tensed. Those brakes could have failed on the way to the station. It could have been fucking disastrous.

  “Yeah, I don’t think they meant for it to happen so soon. They let too much slip out.” John nodded. “I think they meant for me to be hurt or killed or possibly responsible for someone else’s death.”

  Archer shivered. Someone wanted John out of the way badly. Who the fuck targeted the chief of police? A normal assault would get attention, but sabotaging the chief’s vehicle…this was more than a petty personal problem.

  “You think that it’s the person responsible for the poisonings, don’t you?” Archer’s stomach churned.

  “Yes, I think they want me out of the way. They tried to drug and take me, but didn’t succeed. Now, they try to flat out kill me. I think someone realizes that I’m not stopping.” John settled back in his chair.

  “Yeah, but they should have recognized that from the first. We’ve had enough experience with these types of attacks to know that the first people caught are never the ones actually the ones in charge. The people in charge stand and watch, organize. They don’t involve themselves in the normal work of their plan.” Archer shook his head. Those plans usually had a large quota of crazy involved, forgetting so many aspects of the situation. Or maybe the people purposely ignored it since it didn’t fit their view of the circumstances.

  John lifted a shoulder. “I don’t think these people are
looking at how the past plans failed. Their plan is obviously so much better than those.”

  Archer exhaled heavily. This did change things a little. He smacked his hand on the arm of the chair. Maybe he shouldn’t have left her at the store. The anxiety on her face and in her eyes had torn at him. That job meant something to her, and she was afraid to lose it. He exhaled. They’d give her a chance to come to them.

  But she only had tonight. He couldn’t leave her out there when crazy people would probably start with the poisonings and attacks again. It was going to be hard to let her out of his sight. Not that that would work. The attackers would be coming after John’s family, too.

  “What did you need?” John tilted his head. “And why are you suddenly so quiet?”

  “Yeah, um, you’re probably not going to be as happy about this as I hoped, especially considering what you learned about your brakes.” Archer tapped his fingers on his chair. Having a new mate was going to stress John, but maybe not as much as knowing she was out there alone. She’d be safer with them.

  “What is it, Archer? Don’t skirt the issue. If I’m not happy about it, making me wait to learn about it isn’t going to change the ending.” John frowned and leaned forward. “I’m not making a ticket of yours disappear, if that’s what your problem is.”

  “No, it’s not that. I got that message the first time you pulled me over and didn’t even cut me a break on the speed you clocked me at.” Archer threw up his hand. And when he’d shown up in court after Archer decided to fight it. “I was out on my lunch break, looking at bed sets, seeing if I could find a good headboard that we’d all agree on. I caught the scent of our mate as I was shopping.”

  John’s eyes widened. He gripped the edge of his desk. “Did you catch up to her? Who is she?”

  “Yes, I caught up to her. She works at that department store. Her name’s Leslie Morgan.” Archer exhaled.

  So far so good. John hadn’t exploded or started ranting.

  “Where is she? Is she out in the hall, in the reception area?” John stood. “You should have brought her in with you.”

  “I didn’t bring her here. She’s still at her work. She was afraid of losing her job. There’s something there, but I don’t know what it is. She agreed to meet with us at a restaurant tonight. I told her Mama Lucia’s.” Archer brushed at the hair at his temple. If only he could have talked to her longer and in private.

  “Why do you seem so introspective all of a sudden?” John sank back into his seat. “If it’s about the danger to her, we’ll deal with it. We have no choice. I’d rather have found her when nothing was going on, but I’m not leaving her out there where someone could hurt her.”

  “Well, there’s that, but she didn’t seem surprised about finding her mate. There was no reaction from her, except the fear that she’d lose her job.” Archer drummed his fingertips on the arm of the chair. The strangeness of her action hadn’t hit him until he’d left her. “She didn’t lean forward to confirm it. She just told me that she couldn’t do this here.”

  “So, maybe she knew she had a mate.” John tilted his head and scowled. “If she knew, why wouldn’t she approach one of us before now?”

  “I don’t know. That’s something we’ll have to confirm when we talk to her. I have to text Judge, so he’ll know about this and where to meet us for dinner.” Archer pulled out his phone. He typed out the message.

  “When is that?” John asked. Keys clicked as he began doing something on his computer.

  “Eight. Though she said that if she was a little late not to panic because she didn’t get off until seven thirty and that sometimes she had things to do that held her later.” Archer looked up as he pressed send.

  “Is this her?” John turned the monitor.

  The picture on the screen had her hair longer, cut in a bob rather than the shorter style she now wore. Those hazel eyes and full lips were unmistakable. That was their woman.

  “Yes, but her hair’s different, shorter now.” Archer smiled.

  Trust John to actually look her name up on the system. His muscles relaxed. She hadn’t given him a fake name. She’d probably be at the restaurant. Hopefully, she was ready for a mating.

  These last few weeks had sapped his patience. Each unsuccessful search enraged the feline inside. Her absence had ripped at him.

  “Good. She was honest about the name, so she should be there even if she is late. Our woman appears to have even more of a lead foot than you do.” John shook his head.

  Archer grinned. “Well, everyone has their foibles. You’re a little too serious.”

  He couldn’t wait to meet their woman for dinner and learn more about her.

  Chapter Three

  Leslie put her hand over her stomach. Her stomach churned. Nervousness and dread built. Would they be angry when she explained?

  The elegant white-and-red sign at the front of Mama Lucia’s glowed as darkness fell. Diners filled the tables near the windows. Another busy night for Mama Lucia’s.

  He’d found her at her work. If she’d met him anywhere else, she might have given him a fake name or run. Something to get a little time to think and adjust.

  John’s brothers. How did she not know they were back? Surely they’d been seen enough for others to comment on it. And what had he been looking for at the store? He hadn’t had anything in his arms.

  Sweat dampened her palms, and her heartbeat raced. She grabbed a tissue and rubbed it on her palms. Can’t sit out here in the parking lot all night.

  They were in there. Well, at least one of them was. John’s SUV sat in the parking lot, a big black monster of a vehicle.

  She drew in a deep breath and slowly exhaled before grabbing her purse. Time to go in and confront those men. Her throat tightened. She so hadn’t prepared for this.

  She opened the door and slid out of her car. Her knees buckled slightly. With one hand, she gripped the handle. Too late to jump back in the car and go somewhere else.

  She took a deep breath. Calm down. This shouldn’t be so damn scary. But it was. Maybe because it was so important. They were her mates. Her hands shook.

  A hard shove closed the car door. She clicked the locking mechanism and turned her phone up to see the time. A little after eight. Not bad since she’d stared at the restaurant for a while. She strode up to the door and tugged it open.

  She stepped into entryway. The rich burgundy and creamy gold on the walls ran throughout the huge space, giving the restaurant a warm, welcoming atmosphere. She inhaled. Meat, spices, and the rich aroma of tomato hung in the air and made her mouth water.

  Advancing a few more paces forward, she rose on her toes and swiveled her head. They weren’t in the group of people near the polished wood hostess stand, nor at any of the nearby tables. Where were they? If she’d arranged this meeting, she’d be right at the entrance, probably bouncing on her heels.

  Movement caught her eye. A man with collar-length golden hair strode through the tables. A black jacket hung on his broad shoulders. Brilliant green eyes gleamed. Was he looking at her?

  The line of his jaw and some of his features were similar to John and Archer’s. This might be the other brother. Was he coming for her, or was he leaving for some reason? Such a gorgeous man. A man in a suit always hit her buttons.

  “You’re Leslie.” He stopped in front of her, held out his hand, and waited.

  “Yes, I’m Leslie.” She exhaled and put her hand in his. “And you are?”

  When she drew in her breath, warmth burst through her. Desire pulsed, and her stomach tightened. Fuck. Her entire body tightened. Get some control. This isn’t the place to climb him and wrap your legs around his waist.

  “Judge Dark, your third mate. I know you’ve met Archer this afternoon. Have you met John yet?”

  “Not met him, at least not that I can recall, but I know of him.” Her jaw tightened, and she clenched her hand. Over the last few months, his exploits had given her high blood pressure and rage issues. She drew
in a slow breath. With any luck, he couldn’t see the anger or the uncertainty.

  “Know of him, as in what he does?” Judge frowned.

  He led her through the restaurant, but glanced over at her. They wove through the tables. Apparently, they’d been seated near the back. Please, not in one of the booths.

  Judge’s woodsy scent lured her closer. The knot inside her belly tightened and pulsed. She could not sit surrounded by all three of them in a private little booth and act as if she had no reaction to them.

  “By what he does and other things.” She paced beside him.

  He groaned. His fingers grazed hers. She grasped his hand and squeezed it.

  “It’s nice to finally meet you, Leslie. We’ve been looking for you since we caught your scent a few weeks ago. It’s been driving us crazy not knowing where you are, but suspecting you’re close.” Judge stopped at a table near the back.

  John and Archer rose to their feet as she stopped beside the table. Leslie let out a relieved breath. Not a booth. That was great. They could be seen here.

  “What’s the big exhale for?” Archer pulled out a chair for her.

  “I was thinking about sitting in a booth with you three and was a little relieved that we’re out here at a table.” Leslie smiled at him and took a seat.

  Her chest tightened, and she stared at the floor for a moment. They’d gotten caught in her plan to leash John. Damn.

  “What were your thoughts about a booth?” Archer grinned.

  Another fine example of a cougar male. He’d changed clothes. A pale blue shirt covered his chest and dark blue pants encased his slim hips. The shirt emphasized his broad shoulders.

  “That it was too much temptation for a public place, especially when we have so much to get through tonight.” Leslie smoothed her palms down her pants legs and put her hands on the table.

  Sizzling prickles skimmed across her palm. She clenched her hand. Don’t fidget. The glassware, the utensils, or the folded cloth napkin, she’d grab one of them in a few moments if she didn’t calm down.