“All right, why would your mother need to tell you she wants to plan a party?” She focused her eyes on John. There had to be more than the stated party going on here. They hadn’t ever said anything bad about their parents or family.
“Yeah, my parents wanted to welcome you the week after we met you. A nice idea, but we’re still under a threat. I don’t want them at risk. I don’t know how closely the people who targeted me are watching us, but I suspect they are. I’m sure they’re not going away after a couple of attacks.” John grimaced. “I asked her to wait until the danger passed.”
“At times, our mother doesn’t have much in the way of patience, and she’s getting tired of waiting to meet you.” Archer lifted a shoulder and waved.
“Well, we can’t do anything about the party. It would be dangerous, but you could do something about the meeting. Not in person, of course.” Leslie smiled. Her stomach churned a little. Sometime soon she’d have to meet their family, too. Such a hugely important meeting. Hopefully, they like me. Them telling her about their mother and fathers as well as their sister was one thing, but how they actually meshed was something else entirely.
“You mean over the phone? That wouldn’t satisfy her.” John sighed.
“Well, phone would be one way, but I actually thought that a video conference might be a good first meeting.” She glanced at the menu and chose her food. The meal didn’t hold her focus. The men did.
“A video conference might work for a little bit. It won’t stop her from giving you a big welcome party later though. Be prepared to meet a lot of people you don’t know and to wonder how she found your friends when you didn’t tell her yourself.” John reached over and covered her hand with his.
“I like parties, and I’m fairly sure that if she knows about my friends that it’s because you told her.” She took a sip of her water. They’d give their mother almost anything she wanted if it didn’t put her in danger. Their love for family drew her.
“She wouldn’t need us to do it. She’d find out on her own. Our mother can drag information out of anyone. She’d have made a good interrogator.” John squeezed her hand before withdrawing when the waitress appeared with the appetizers and their drinks.
The woman took their meal orders. Leslie’s mouth watered at the smells wafting up from the variety of appetizers on the table. She scooped one of the appetizers onto the plate in front of her. She glanced at the men as they did the same.
“Did you get away with anything when you were young?” She focused on John first, but included Judge and Archer, as well.
“Not much.” Archer lifted a shoulder. “Not that we tried very often. John especially. He seemed to always know what he wanted to do.”
“I thought maybe you’d been a typical wild child who chose to serve and protect once you’d gotten a little of the wildness out. So you always wanted to be a police officer?” She turned to the man in question. Definitely, something she’d never pictured.
“Not necessarily a police officer, but something along that line.” John nodded.
“So what else was on the list as careers for you?” She turned her fingers under his and squeezed. The profession of police officer fit him so well. What others had attracted him?
“I thought about coast guard or fireman seriously. That one had my mother almost pulling her hair out in worry just at the idea of it. Police officer she knows there’s a risk, but she has a thing about fire.” John leaned forward, but grinned.
“Did you take your mother’s fear of it into account?” She bit her lip. Some people wouldn’t.
“I did a tour through the firehouse and then did a ride along with a police officer. Nothing happened on the ride along, but I was hooked on it. I went to the academy and worked my way up through the ranks.” John held out a piece of buttered bread.
She bit into it. The slight yeasty taste and the richness of the butter burst over her tongue. “What about you, Judge? Was your goal always to be a doctor?”
“Actually, in high school I thought about being a lawyer, but a few science classes in college got me into that side of it. I decided to be a doctor. Deciding on orthopedics was another decision that took some thought. For a while there, I gave serious consideration to trauma surgery.” Judge grinned.
“What decided things for you?” She raised her brows. He had the confidence and the intensity. If necessary, he would have put in the time to gain the skill.
“Their schedule. I wanted to be able to give my mate more time than that when we found her.” Judge lifted a shoulder. “I still have to leave occasionally when my patients need me, and sometimes I’m on call at the hospital as an orthopedic surgeon. But overall, I wanted to be able to be with my mate as often as I could.”
She nodded. Hardly ever seeing him would suck. After a while, his absence might make her wonder if she mattered to him. Excuses would only satisfy her for so long.
“And you, Archer, did you want to be in tech security when you graduated high school.” She stared at Archer.
“Um, no.” Archer grinned “I took a lot of classes in my first two semesters because I had no idea what I wanted to do. I finally hit upon some computer classes. Once I realized that I liked computers, I transferred to a more technology-focused school. I went through a few graphic design classes before getting completely out of that side of it and going to the more technical aspect.”
“Did you plan to open another branch of your company in another city?” She tilted her head. Her stomach clenched. He’d just returned from setting one up. Please stay here. She pressed her lips together. With a successful business, expansion was always a possibility.
“Not in the next few years. I need to keep my business stable and not overreach.” Archer shook his head. “What about you? What do you plan on doing once you’re out of school?”
Tension flowed out of her muscles. She relaxed back in the chair and took a few deep breaths.
“Eventually, I want to open my own accounting service, but the more I’ve thought about it, the more I realized that I need experience and to see how a business like that runs. On top of that, I need the experience for my CPA. I don’t even know about the right price points. I’ve only been involved in merchandise.” She bit her lip. It would take time to learn the necessary details to build a successful business. This wasn’t the time to rush in.
The waitress brought their meal a few moments later. They ate, chatting quietly. When she finished her main course, she looked up. Waiters strode toward their table. The men moved tables over to join theirs without a word. Leslie frowned. What was happening here?
She lifted her gaze away from the young men. Five women wove their way around the other diners. Chloe, Dixie, Shonna, Maggie, and Penny. Tony joined them as they arrived at the table. Leslie’s heart beat faster, and she dropped the dessert menu.
Leslie popped up and hugged everyone before she sat down again. Before Dixie sat down, she handed a blue bag to Judge. The woman smirked at Leslie and then slid into the chair. What was that bit of sneakiness about? Leslie turned to Judge.
“This is for you, sweet cat.” Judge held up the bag and jiggled it before sitting down. “But first let’s order some dessert.”
“Oh, that’s so wrong.” Penny giggled. “Tease her with it and then not even let her see what’s in the bag.”
“Yes, he’s a great big tease, but I’ll get him back later.” Leslie nodded. Long, slow torture maybe with ropes and cuffs on his big wrists to keep him from interfering.
“Teases can sometimes be the most fun to mess with.” Penny grinned, but that faded. A slight scent of fear drifted in the air before Penny took a deep breath.
Leslie looked at Penny. Shonna was probably right, at least in this case. That quiet girl had things going on that she didn’t tell anyone. And a past that no one knew. Something was happening in Penny’s life. Leslie hoped she told someone soon.
“Yes, they can,” Chloe agreed with a nod and a look toward Tony.
They all ordered dessert. Conversation bounced from the mundane to the personal while they waited for the food. Judge’s eyes twinkled as he chatted with Tony. If he weren’t on the other side of the table, she’d grab that bag. No label on the bag and too big to be jewelry. Her fist clenched on the table. It had made a thumping sound as it slid from one side of the bag to the other, so it had some weight. Not clothes. Darn man. He let her see it and then swept it out of sight.
“Now, what’s in the bag?” She locked her eyes on Judge.
“A present for you.” Judge lifted his eyebrows.
“We’ve ordered dessert. Show me.” Leslie glared at him. She would go around the table to get it.
Her friends laughed at that. Judge did not appear intimidated.
“We could wait until we get home.” Judge’s mouth twisted, and his eyes lifted to the ceiling as if he was giving it serious thought.
“And you could get hurt.” She drummed her fingers on the tabletop.
Judge chuckled. “Such a fierce little cat. Don’t have much patience, do you?”
“Not when I’ve been teased.” She leaned forward with her hand extended.
Archer chuckled. “She definitely doesn’t.”
Heat bloomed on her cheeks. A shiver ran down her back at Archer’s intimate tone. A small chuckle escaped. They’d definitely found that out. In the bedroom, they’d kissed and licked her until she’d screamed and clawed their backs. She couldn’t help it.
“Here, tell me what you think of this.” Judge passed the bag to her.
She tightened her fingers as the loop settled in her palm. Definitely heavier than it appeared. Drawing it close, she peeked into the bag. The logo of a computer company scrawled across the top of the box. She drew in a slow breath.
She pulled it out and stared at it. Her breath caught in her throat. She glanced up at Judge and back to the box. A top-of-the-line tablet rested in her hands.
“We noticed that you hadn’t been using your tablet in the last few days, and I picked it up one day. When I tried to turn it on, it wouldn’t boot up. I realized you weren’t using it because it was broken.” Archer smiled.
Her fingers tightened on the box. They had just handed her a tablet that she’d looked at every time she went near a store with a computer department. Wings fluttered in her stomach, and her eyes burned with tears.
“Thank you.” She ran her hands over the box. “I’ve looked at this one since it came out. I put off getting anything new because I had a functioning tablet.”
“Will it work for what you want?” John asked.
“Oh, yes, it’s perfect.” She smiled. They were so thoughtful. She swallowed hard. “The only reason I’m not ripping into it right here and seeing everything it can do is that I don’t want to start playing with it and ignoring everyone else here. Not to mention the mess.”
“I’ve thought about picking that up myself.” Dixie stared at the package.
“If I hadn’t bought myself a two in one recently, I’d be damn tempted to get one of those.” Penny nodded. “The commercials make it appear amazing.”
“Oh, I know, and I tried out one of the floor models at a tech store and loved it.” Leslie grinned and tapped the box. She definitely wasn’t telling them they shouldn’t have.
Their desserts arrived. With a sigh, she slid the box back into the bag and set it at her feet. They talked, ate, and laughed. In the middle of a joke, John’s phone went off. He answered while everyone else continued to eat. Leslie watched him. After a moment, his jaw hardened. He straightened, and his entire body drew taut.
Something had happened. A weight settled in her stomach, and the evening turned a little gray. John wouldn’t finish that dessert. She clenched her jaw. Fuck. It had been such a nice night, too. She drew in a slow breath. This was something she’d have to get accustomed to as his wife. His job and this town were important to him.
“Baby, I’ll see you when I get home. I have to go. Archer, Judge, take care of her.” John brushed her cheek before he stood.
“I’ll see you, John. You just take care of yourself.” She bit her lip and blinked to keep tears from her eyes. No crying. He’s just going to work.
“We’ll make sure she’s safe.” Archer nodded.
The night felt flat after that. When they left the restaurant, Archer and Judge stayed close, and they didn’t relax until she was back in their house. Fuck. Her stomach tightened as if someone gripped it with strong fingers. Would he be all right? Would they attack him? He’s the one they want out of the way.
Chapter Fourteen
John narrowed his eyes as he pulled up in front of the office building. No lights shown from the windows on this side. Only the lot lights and the police cars illuminated the scene.
This was something new. A direct attack on a fox, no other type of being involved. John stared at the group of people gathered near the double doors. It could be politics or a random attack. Maybe this wasn’t connected to the attacks on other people and the poisonings. John wouldn’t rule it out yet.
He got out of the car and strode over to Jason, who stood near the ambulance that remained at the scene. Why was it still here? The man should be on his way to the hospital.
“Jason, give me a better report than a fox attorney was attacked as he left his building.” John faced the other man.
“Josh Murray was ambushed by two other foxes as he left the building. I don’t know if they meant to kill him, but I’m fairly sure they meant to hurt him. He was struck in the head with a pipe.” Jason glanced over to where a red-haired man sat on the curb.
“Why isn’t he on his way to the hospital?” John narrowed his eyes at the man. There was something familiar about that man. He drew in a breath. Josh looked like Mark Murray. Mark was a councilman and an overall good man. He didn’t sport that superior attitude that some foxes carried around. This had to be a brother or maybe cousin.
“He refused to go. He wanted to see if we caught the man he recognized. I told him that we’d have to find the man and connect him to the scene, but he won’t listen.” Jason shook his head.
The fox probably wasn’t thinking straight if he had a head wound. John sighed and tapped his foot. Maybe he could get the man to the hospital though before the men came back from the search of the area. He strode over to the wounded man.
“Hi, Josh, I’m John Dark.” John sat down beside him.
“Hello, my brother has spoken of you.” He held a hand to his head.
“Josh, I know you want to wait to see if the men find anything in the search, but I’d really like you to go to the hospital so they can check you out. I need to take your statement formally, and I need to know if your head wound would interfere with your thinking. After we get you checked out, I’ll take it, and by then we should know something.” John turned to face him.
“I’m thinking clearly.” Josh narrowed his eyes, but groaned.
“Maybe you are, but let’s make sure. They could give you something for the pain, as well.” John tilted his head and looked at his eyes. The man’s pupils were off. Josh had a concussion. He’d have to take the statement twice anyway.
“All right.” Josh dipped his head slightly.
The paramedics moved in the moment Josh assented. They had him loaded and on the way in moments. John smiled.
He took a long glance around the lot and the entryway to the office building. Blood drips led away from the entry in an erratic pattern on the sidewalk. John followed the trail back to the starting point, the shrubs.
The attackers must have hidden there. John straightened. If Josh was attacked from behind, he was lucky that he hadn’t been hurt worse.
John strolled back over to Jason. “I’m going to the hospital soon. Keep me informed. Once he’s clear to talk, I’ll interview him and see if he can tell us who would want to hurt him. If the person he recognized it is behind it or if he thin
ks someone else might have sent the people after him.”
It could go either way. Personal or for some kind of gain. Either way, there wouldn’t be an arrest without proof, and an ID from a man with a concussion would be easy to discredit. He clenched his fingers into a fist. Hopefully, the lab could get something off the pipe they’d bagged up.
“I’ll finish up here.” Jason nodded.
John left the scene and drove to the hospital. A nurse stopped him before he could get into Josh’s room. The doctor was in with him. He stepped to the side of the hallway and pulled out his phone. Since talking with Josh is out, I can at least talk with Leslie.
“Hi, sweet cat, how are you doing?” John leaned against the wall.
“I’m doing all right. We finished talking and eating and have made it home. Are you on your way?” she asked.
John tensed. Her sexy breathy voice shouted sex. Had he interrupted something? His cock hardened. The flush rising on her cheeks. Her pale, golden skin gleaming in the soft light. Her reddened nipples poking up as she waited for him on the bed.
His body tightened, and blood pumped south. This was the last place he needed to get lost in lustful thoughts. He stiffened. Fuck, think about something else. He shifted his stance. Damn, this was going to be a long night.
“No, I still have things to do and wanted to check on you and make sure you were safe.” He pulled in a few deep breaths.
“I’m safe at home now. Archer and Judge will take care of me,” she said. “I want you to take care of yourself.”
“I will, angel, but there isn’t any danger to me right now. I’ll be taking a statement as soon as the man is cleared by the doctor.” He laughed.
Warmth flowed through him. Although his brothers cared, they didn’t tell him to hurry home. Having someone worry about him was such a change. He rushed home to her every day after work. In the past, he’d linger or take on extra work to keep busy.
Catching Her Mates Page 13
