“I see,” Kelan ground out. “Mind if I ask when?”
“No date arranged just yet. Matter of fact, he still hasn’t decided what he’s doing.”
Kelan looked at Pete and frowned before returning his gaze to Jessie.
“You’re not being very clear,” Kelan said. “You made a promise to Pete that he could buy the bar from you. Do you still intend to sell it to him or not?”
Jessie sighed and his shoulders slumped. “S’pose I’d better tell you everything, hadn’t I?”
“That would be good,” Pete said. “I’d appreciate that, sir.”
“The thing is,” Jessie began, “the bar’s not exactly mine to sell.”
Pete didn’t think he’d heard the man right. “Excuse me?”
“That is, it’s not all mine. My son owns half. Has done for five years.”
Pete was at a loss.
Anger started to rise within him. “Shouldn’t you have asked him first before offering to sell it to me?”
“I did. We had it all agreed that we would sell the place.”
Pete frowned. “Then what happened? Why did you change your mind?”
“I didn’t change my mind. Brandon did.”
“Why would he do that?” Pete asked.
“Well, Brandon’s been having a few problems with his pack out east.”
Kelan sat forward in his seat. “What sort of problems?”
“Seems some of his pack members found out he’s gay and they’re giving him a hard time about it.”
“Brandon’s gay?” Pete and Kelan asked in unison.
Jessie nodded. “Came as a shock to me, too—not that I mind none. Let’s be clear about that. Brandon said the trouble in his pack was nothing he couldn’t handle at first.
A few taunts and jibes, nothing serious, but it got worse recently. Some of the wolves have got…physical with him. He’s been in a few fights and it’s made him think seriously about moving home.”
“And he’s been thinking about taking over the running of the dancehall,” Pete surmised.
“Yeah, but I’ve been trying to talk him out of it. I’ve got my hands full here on the ranch and I could do with the help. I think he might be coming ‘round to my way of thinking, too.”
Pete sighed. “I appreciate you being honest with me. You’ll let me know as soon as Brandon makes a decision?”
“Of course.”
“I think that about covers things,” Kelan said. “Thank you for your time, sir. If you could let me—” His words were cut off by the sound of Jessie’s phone ringing on the table near the window.
Jessie frowned. “Ah, give me a minute.”
He got out of his chair and crossed the room to answer it.
“Jessie,” he said into the receiver. “What? Oh, God…”
All the color drained out of Jessie’s face while he listened to the news his caller imparted.
It was clear something bad had happened.
“How many people were inside?” Jessie asked quietly.
Pete’s head swiveled between Kelan and Jessie.
Kelan shrugged and they continued to listen.
“Are there any survivors? Okay—actually, I’ve got Alpha Morgan and Pete here with me now. We’ll be right there. Thanks, Sheriff.”
When Jessie hung up he turned to face Pete and Kelan, his face grave.
“That was Sheriff Ambrose. He said there’s been an explosion at the dancehall. Looks like there are only a couple of survivors—at least ten people dead.”
Kelan let out an almighty roar and raced for the door.
It was all Pete could do to keep up with him.
Jessie brought up the rear.
“What’s up?” Jessie asked. “How come Kelan’s so upset?”
Pete swallowed down the bile that had risen in his throat.
“His mate,” he replied. “Kelan got a text as we arrived. Jake and his friend were on their way to the dancehall.”
Chapter Four
Tony pressed a hand to the wound on Jake’s arm and looked around helplessly at the devastation in the parking lot. A fire crew, paramedics and men from the sheriff’s department were running around in every direction, trying to deal with the chaos.
He and Jake had been lucky.
They’d been nearing the door to the dancehall when there was some sort of explosion inside, the force of which had thrown them back on their asses. Jake had cuts all over his face and chest. A fragment of wood from the door had embedded itself in his shoulder and he had a large gash on his arm.
He’d lost a lot of blood, but he was doing okay.
Thank God.
Aside from a knock to the head when he’d landed, Tony hadn’t sustained any injuries because Jake had been in front of him and had taken the majority of the blast.
Other people weren’t as lucky.
Tony had counted twelve men and women that had been brought out by the fire crew, but only a couple of them looked to be alive and only barely. The paramedics were still working on them. They’d tried to help Tony and Jake, but Jake had insisted they help the people who had been inside the bar first, arguing that they were worse off than him.
Tony tore his eyes away from the crowd and studied his friend.
“How are you doing?”
“Okay.” Jake’s eyebrows pulled together. “But I need to call Kelan. If he hears about what happened without knowing I’m okay, he’ll be terrified. Can you grab my cell phone?”
“Of course.”
Tony kept his right hand pressed to the wound on Jake’s arm and reached into Jake’s pocket with his left. He could hardly believe how much Jake had changed in the past year. Even by his own admission, he’d been self-absorbed before, but now, lying on the ground injured and bleeding, his main concern was for his partner.
He pulled out Jake’s cell phone then pressed the button to switch it on.
Nothing happened.
“Uh, I think it might be broken. Probably took a knock when you fell.”
Jake’s eyes widened. “No! I’ve got to call him!”
“Jake, just relax, will you?” Tony had to push down on his friend’s chest when he attempted to get up. “It’ll be fine. Just lie still.”
“No, you don’t understand. I need to call him, now.” Jake looked over his shoulder and called out when he saw the sheriff walking in their direction. “Jared!”
The sheriff approached and got on his knees beside them.
“Jake? I didn’t even see you there. Are you all right? What the hell happened?”
“I don’t know. The building blew seconds before we got to the door. Jared, you have to call Kelan, tell him I’m okay. He knew we were coming here. If he finds out…”
Jared’s eyes widened. “Shit. Kelan is on his way here now with Pete and Jessie. I called Jessie to tell him what had happened to the bar about five minutes ago. I’m sorry, Jake—I didn’t know you were here.”
“Oh, God.” Jake’s already pale face lost the last of its color. “Jared, you’ve got to call him back. He’ll be frantic. He might shif—”
Jake’s eyes flickered to Tony and he cut off what he’d been about to say.
Tony frowned.
He might what?
Jared nodded and pulled out his cell phone. He dialed and held the phone to his ear, waited a couple of seconds then shook his head.
“He’s not picking up.”
“Fuck!”
Jake became even more panicked when the paramedics joined them and took Tony’s place at his side. They tried to inspect Jake’s wounds but he was thrashing around, trying to get them to leave him alone.
“I think he’s in shock,” one of the paramedics said. “We might need to give him a sedative to calm him down. Sir, try to relax, please. We need to get you to the hospital. You have a large piece of wood in your shoulder and your arm will need stitches.”
Jake became even wilder when he heard that, fighting them for all he was worth. Tony had never
seen him so upset.
“Jake, calm down, buddy. I’ll come to the hospital with you. The sheriff here can tell Kelan what happened. Can’t you, Sheriff?”
Jared’s eyes widened, but he nodded.
“It’s all right, Jake—I’ll deal with Kelan when he gets here. I’ll tell him you’re okay. I promise.”
The paramedics put a temporary dressing over the wound on Jake’s arm. Then one of the firefighters carried another person out of the building and shouted for help. The man looked in a bad way. Both his arms were covered in burns and his t-shirt had melted to his chest.
He was covered in blood and black soot.
“Jesus Christ,” Tony whispered.
He’d never seen anything as terrible.
“Jake! Jake!”
Tony looked up to see Kelan tearing through the lot. He looked frenzied, barely holding it together. The sheriff got up and called out to him.
“Kelan! Over here! He’s okay!”
Kelan raced in their direction.
When he reached them and saw Jake lying on the floor, covered in blood, a low growl tore from his throat.
The sound sent chills through Tony’s body.
It had been almost animalistic as if it were coming from a wild dog. Kelan fell to his knees and ran an assessing eye over Jake’s wounds.
It was crazy, but Tony was sure he’d seen Kelan’s eyes change color. They seemed to flash amber, but when he looked a second time they were back to normal.
He scrubbed a hand over his face.
Damn.
The explosion must have had more of an effect on him than he’d first realized if he was seeing things that weren’t there.
Now that Kelan was at his side, Jake had finally calmed down. Kelan slid his fingers through the hair on the back of Jake’s head and pressed their foreheads together. Tony couldn’t help the pang of jealousy that coursed through his veins, but he found he wasn’t jealous of Kelan, exactly.
He was jealous of what they shared—of how important they were to one another. He couldn’t help but wish he had someone who loved him that much.
“I was so worried,” Kelan whispered. “I thought…”
“Shh,” Jake soothed. “I’m okay. Just tired. I feel like I could sleep for a year.”
While Kelan held him, Tony noticed that the cut on Jake’s arm was bleeding again—and badly, if the amount of blood that had soaked through the temporary dressing was anything to go by. Tony was just about to mention it when Kelan did the weirdest thing. He lifted his head and scented the air right before his gaze zeroed in on Jake’s arm.
“Jesus, Jake, you’re bleeding.” Kelan ripped off the dressing to take a closer look.
“Uh, Kelan, I don’t think you should be touching that,” Tony said. “If you just apply pressure until the paramedics—“
Kelan ignored him and grabbed hold of the wooden shard in Jake’s shoulder then tugged it free.
“You can’t touch that!”
Kelan growled again and the sound silenced Tony.
When he looked at Kelan’s face he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Long, pointy teeth seemed to grow down from Kelan’s gums then he bit into his own wrist.
“What the fuck?” Tony shouted.
Kelan lowered his wrist to Jake’s mouth and his blood seeped between Jake’s lips. Tony jumped up and tackled Kelan. What the hell did he think he was doing?
“Get off him! What the fuck are you doing?” He looked to the sheriff for help. “Sheriff, please, help me get him off, he’s gone mad!”
The sheriff let out a long sigh and rubbed the back of his neck.
“Alpha,” he pleaded. “There are humans.”
What the hell?
“Sheriff, help me!”
Tony tugged at Kelan’s arm, but he was brushed aside as easily as if Kelan were swatting an irritating fly. Tony lost his balance, falling backward. His head cracked against the concrete for the second time that night and he swore he saw stars.
There was another growl then—a long, deep rumble that was ferocious in its force, but that one didn’t come from Kelan. When Tony turned his head to see what was going on, a beautiful man loomed over Kelan, his glare penetrating.
“Don’t touch him, he’s mine!” the man shouted.
When their gazes locked, the man had the same amber-colored eyes and sharp, pointy teeth that he’d seen on Kelan. Tony shivered, a combination of fear and lust racing up his spine and warring for dominance.
The man stared at him and Tony cheeks heated.
He had trouble breathing.
His head hurt and when he gingerly touched the spot he hissed, his fingers coming away covered in blood. The man who had shouted at Kelan ran to Tony’s side and kneeled down in front of him.
Tony tried to scramble away.
The man was some kind of monster—his eyes, his teeth—he couldn’t be human…
“Shh, it’s okay,” he soothed. “You’re going to be okay.”
“Help! Get him away from me!”
The man blinked and his eyes returned to normal.
They were the prettiest hazel color Tony had ever seen, but he thought he saw a flash of pain in them. Then, right before Tony’s eyes, the man’s long teeth shrank back into his gums so that he looked normal again—better than normal, actually. He was incredible. Tony longed to run his fingers through the man’s tousled, shoulder-length hair.
Would it be as soft as it looked?
His jawline was strong and covered with a few days’ worth of stubble.
He was captivating.
But his eyes, his teeth…
“What are you?” Tony whispered.
“I…”
“Pete, best if you leave him alone for now,” the sheriff said, putting a hand on the man’s…Pete’s shoulder.
Pete swiveled his head and growled at the sheriff.
“Go away, Jared.”
Even though Tony was terrified, the sound sent a rush of adrenaline through his body.
It…excited him.
What the hell?
Jared frowned then pulled a ringing cell phone from his pocket.
“Jared,” he barked into the receiver.
Pete leaned around Tony to take a look at the wound on the back of his head.
“What are you doing?”
Tony turned so that he could keep the man in his sights.
“Relax. I would never hurt you. I’m just checking how bad you hurt your head.” His fingers hovered near Tony’s face as if he wanted to touch him. “It’s only a small cut, nothing to worry about. Head wounds always bleed a lot.”
“Calm down, Cary, and tell me what happened,” the sheriff said into his cell phone.
His eyes flickered to Kelan then he let out a long sigh.
“Cary, I can’t understand you. You need to stop crying and tell me what’s wrong. Are you hurt? Okay… Oh, God.”
Jared’s face turned ashen.
He swayed from side to side before asking, “Was Nate there—is he…?”
Jared closed his eyes and breathed in and out a couple of times before replying. “Oh, thank God. Is everyone there okay? Is Aaron with you? What about the others?
“Yeah, Kelan’s here with me now. I’ll tell him. We’ll get there as soon as we can.”
When the sheriff hung up, he stuffed the cell phone back into his pocket then returned to Kelan and Jake’s side.
Jake sat up and flexed his arm.
He even seemed to have some color back in his cheeks and the wound on his arm had stopped bleeding. It didn’t even look as bad as it had—it was as if the wound was closing.
If Tony hadn’t seen how much it had healed with his own two eyes, he never would have believed it.
“I want to know what the hell is going on here!” he demanded.
Everyone but Pete ignored him.
The hand that had been hovering near Tony’s face was lowered to his jaw, and Pete rubbed it gently, a look of wonder in his
eyes. It was the sort of caress one would give a lover.
The thought sent flames of lust racing up Tony’s spine.
He muttered a curse at his traitorous body.
How could he be sexually excited at a time like this?
“Shh,” Pete soothed. “We’ll explain everything later, okay?”
Tony couldn’t pull his gaze from the man’s eyes.
They were stunning and held him in place like a magnet. He longed to reach out and touch Pete, too. Would his skin be rough underneath his fingertips? What would it feel like rubbing against him if they kissed?
He was desperate to find out.
He shook his head to clear it, knocked Pete’s hand away and glared at him. What the hell was wrong with him? He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been as turned on.
And at a time like this?
It had to be the shock, the adrenaline.
“Kelan,” Jared said urgently. “That was Cary. There’s been a fire at the Crazy Horse. I’m sorry to have to tell you this, but, from what I could get out of Cary, the ranch has… Aww, hell. The ranch has pretty much burned to the ground.”
There were gasps all around.
Tony stared at the sheriff, unable to comprehend what he’d just heard.
“Jesus Christ,” Kelan muttered. He grabbed Jake’s hand, his expression a mixture of alarm and fury. “Is everyone okay?”
“Yeah, it sounds like it, but there’s something else you should know. I got a call from Gregory before I came here. He said a note had been left on his desk at council headquarters.”
“What did it say?”
Jared sighed and ran a hand through his hair.
“It said, ‘You’re all going to pay for what you took from me.’”
“What the hell does that mean? Does he have any idea who sent it?”
“No, but he took it to the forensics lab. We’ll just have to wait to see what they come back with.”
Kelan looked as if he were vibrating with rage.
“It’s got to be connected to the explosion here.”
“Yeah, that would be my thinking, too. Too much of a damn coincidence to be anything else.”
Tony’s head had been swiveling back and forth between Kelan and the sheriff, listening to the conversation with growing unease. He stood up, once again batting away Pete’s hand when he tried to help him.
Pete's Persuasion (2019 Reissue) Page 2
