“Boss!” The driver called from the front seat. “I think we’re being followed.”
“What?” Cassius looked behind him. “Who the hell is it? Police?”
“I don’t see any lights or hear sirens,” the other goon said. “Looks like a pickup truck.”
Pickup truck? Hope stirred in her. But surely many people drove pickup trucks here, right?
“Lose them, you idiot!” Cassius screamed. The limo sped up, its engines roaring as it tried to outrun their pursuer.
Who could it be? When she tried to look behind her, Marcellus pulled her back down, and she cried out as pain shot up her arm.
Something caught her eye up ahead. It was as if time slowed down as something red flashed on the road. The driver must have seen it, too. The vehicle slowed as the driver engaged the brakes, but a loud thud indicated that they hit whatever it was.
The slippery conditions made them skid off the road and spin in circles. None of them were wearing their seatbelts, so she and Marcellus tumbled forward—her into the empty seat beside Cassius, and the burly goon into his employer. A loud crash indicated they must have hit something, the impact slamming her against the door.
“What the hell?” Cassius screamed furiously as Marcellus scrambled to get off him. “Get us out of here!” he barked at the driver. But the man didn’t answer. “Goddammit! Marcellus, get up there and—”
A loud thud interrupted him as something heavy smashed against the side of the vehicle.
“What the—”
Glass shattered as a large paw broke through the window, pulling the entire door off.
“Goddammit!” Cassius exclaimed as one of the largest creatures she’d ever seen—a humongous bear with thick brown fur—poked its head in and roared at them, baring its teeth.
“Get him!” Cassius ordered Marcellus.
The burly goon lunged forward, tangling with the bear and tackling it to the ground. Why would he do that? In human or swan form, he wouldn’t have had a chance against the bear.
When Cassius grabbed her arm and pulled her out the other door, she realized why. He was just distracting the bear so his boss could finish her off.
“No!” She struggled as hard as she could, digging her heels into the wet earth. However, when she heard the cock of a gun and felt something hard press against her side, she went still.
“Come now, Ms. Wednesday,” he sneered. “My need for you to die outweighs your desire to live. I have much more to lose.”
Her swan hissed at him, its wings flapping madly. “Please!” she cried. “Don’t.” She wrapped her arms around her belly. “I’m—”
He shoved her against a tree and wrapped his hand around her neck. “You—”
The orange and black blur came at them so fast; she couldn’t tell what it was. Only that it was very big and had large claws that came down on Cassius. The swan Alpha screamed in pain and doubled over, dropping to his knees.
When Darcey lifted her head, a full-grown Siberian tiger stood over the Alpha and let out a roar.
Anders! Darcey couldn’t believe it, but she knew it was him, even though she’d never seen his tiger. Familiar golden eyes bore into her.
Slowly, he began to change. Limbs growing shorter and fur receding into skin. Soon, Anders stood there, chest heaving, those honey eyes never leaving her.
“Darcey,” he whispered hoarsely as he moved toward her.
She attempted to stand, but her knees wobbled, sending her forward. He was in front of her in a nanosecond, lifting her up into his arms. “A-Anders. He-he tried to—”
“Shh … beautiful.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “You’re safe.” Glaring down at the Alpha, he spat, “He won’t be going anywhere.”
When she tried to see what he had done to Cassius, he whirled her around, then started to walk away. “I’ve called P.D. They should be on their way. They’ll take care of him.”
She felt faint, and her stomach churned. An ice-cold feeling washed over her, and her swan beat its wings in a panicked rhythm. “Anders. Anders. Put me down.”
“In a second.” He continued walking, out into the road, past the smashed Bentley. A chill passed over her again as she saw Marcellus’s prone body. “Anders, there’s a bear loose—”
“I know,” he said. “He’s a friend. C’mon, there he is.” He frowned. “What the heck—”
Turning to where Anders was looking, she saw a huge, naked man kneeling on the side of the road, clutching something. No, not something. Someone.
“Geez! Krieger, what are you—” Anders froze.
With him distracted, Darcey managed to untangle herself from Anders’s arms. Her feet touched the ground with an unsteady gait, so she held onto him. “What’s going—” She gasped, her hand going to her mouth.
The man—Krieger—held the figure of a frail, naked woman, her long, coppery locks spilling over his arms like a bloody waterfall.
“No!” He let out an anguished cry and clutched the woman to him. “Please. No.” Sobbing, he buried his face in her hair. “Don’t leave me. I’m sorry. I’m sorry I couldn’t be better.”
“Anders? What’s—” She dug her fingers into his arm as sharp, shooting pain struck her in the abdomen.
“Darcey?” He caught her before she collapsed. “What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”
Looking down between her legs, she saw it—the red seeping through her white leggings and down her thighs. “No …” she managed to whisper before the world turned black.
Chapter Fifteen
Anders didn’t know how much time had passed. Hell, he couldn’t even recall how he got here in the sterile, antiseptic-smelling waiting room of Blackstone Hospital. When he closed his eyes, the only thing he could see was red. All that blood. Darcey.
“Here, man, have some of this.”
Lifting his head, he nodded gratefully at Daniel, who offered him a paper cup. “Thanks.” He took a sip of what he assumed was coffee, but it was hard to tell. It tasted like ashes on his tongue.
“Do you want to talk about what happened?”
“I …” His chest tightened. All he could remember was him and Krieger chasing down the limo, then seeing it crash. Krieger got to the limo first and tore it open, but he saw another man drag Darcey out. He recalled shifting and the taste of blood and flesh in his mouth. Then holding Darcey.
The paramedics arrived just in time. Thankfully, Krieger had been thinking clearly and immediately got on the phone with P.D., keeping them updated on their whereabouts as they chased Darcey’s kidnappers. After that … everything was a blur.
Krieger. Where was he? And that woman on the road. Who was she?
“Any news yet?” Daniel asked as Sarah approached them.
She shook her head. “No, I just came from the nurses’ station.” Sitting down beside Anders, she placed a hand on his shoulder. “Thank you. Thank you for going after her.”
His stomach churned, and he remained silent. What could he say? Darcey had run from him. No, he pushed her away, and now there was a possibility she could die, and she would never know how much she meant to him.
“Are you the family of Ms. Darcey Wednesday?”
All three of them shot to their feet. “How is she?” Anders said.
The doctor narrowed his eyes. “Which one of you is her family?”
“I’m her sister,” Sarah said.
“And her brother-in-law,” Daniel added.
“Come with me.” The doctor gestured for them to follow him. But when Anders followed, he put a hand up. “And you, sir? Are you family?”
“It’s all right,” Sarah said, giving him a weak smile. “He can come.”
“Fine, but you can’t stay too long, and you must let her rest.” They followed the doctor down the hall, and entered the second room on the right. Filing in, they made a beeline for the lone bed where Darcey lay, dressed in a drab hospital gown, her arm hooked up to an IV drip.
The sight of her, looking so frail, made Anders panic. His tiger,
too, didn’t like it. He rushed toward her. “Darcey. Oh God.”
When her gaze landed on him, she went even paler. “What are you doing here?”
“Darcey, please—”
“I don’t want him here,” she cried, pleading to the doctor. “You said family only. Please, tell him to leave.”
Anders felt his gut clench. “Darcey, I’m sorry, for what I said—”
“No!” She grabbed at Sarah, who had rushed to her other side. “Tell him to go! I don’t want to see him!”
“But, Darcey, he saved you,” Sarah reasoned. “And he’s your mate, don’t you want—”
“Get out!” she screamed at him. “Get out. Get out!”
The words struck him like a knife to the chest and made it hard to breathe. His tiger mewled at her rejection of them.
“Ms. Wednesday, please,” the doctor said. “I warned you, you can only see your family if you stay calm. We can’t have you stressed, not with you almost losing the baby.”
Blood drained from Darcey’s face, and she let out a sob.
“Baby?” Anders felt like he’d been hit by a cannonball in the gut. “You’re pregnant?”
“Pregnant?” Sarah repeated. Slowly, her head turned toward him, her nostrils flaring. “Leave.”
“But I—”
“She doesn’t want you here.” She clutched Darcey to her chest. “Daniel, please!”
Daniel stepped forward, blocking him from advancing. “Let’s go.”
“I can’t—”
“I said, let’s go.” His silvery blue eyes glowed with the power of his animal. An arm came up to his shoulder and pushed him toward the door as Darcey’s sobs filled the room.
Powerless, he allowed Daniel to lead him out. “Daniel, please—”
“I warned you,” Daniel snarled. “If you didn’t have plans to claim her, just leave her alone. You couldn’t even do that, could you, you selfish bastard!”
“She’s having my baby!” Oh God. Darcey. A baby. And they’d almost lost it. “Please, man, just let me talk to her alone.”
“No! I won’t have you upsetting her again.”
“Christ!” He raked his hands through his hair. What was he going to do? “Daniel, please. What if it was you? And what if it was Sarah in there? With your baby?”
Daniel’s face hardened. “You can’t say anything to change my mind. You don’t deserve her.”
“Please … Dan …” He swallowed the lump in his throat. “You’re right, I don’t. Not since the moment I was born did I deserve anything or anyone like her. All I do is ruin everything I touch. Anyone I come in contact with. Starting with my own mother.”
And then it all spilled out. He confessed to Daniel every single detail of his wretched life, from the moment his mother walked out on him on his birthday, to that afternoon when Felicia came to see him and he eventually pushed Darcey away. “… I swear, until the doctor said something, I had no idea she was pregnant. I was doing it for her.” He gripped Daniel’s arm. “I thought … I thought it was for the best she stayed away from me. I wanted her, but I’m no good for her.”
Daniel scrubbed a hand down his face. “Anders … man … I don’t know what to say.”
“I … I love her,” he choked out. “And I can’t live without her.” His tiger roared in pain, and his gut twisted. “Just … five minutes.
The bear shifter held up his hands. “I’m sorry, it’s not up to me. If Darcey doesn’t want to see you, I can’t make her.”
“I’ll wait. I don’t care how long, I’ll wait.”
Daniel looked back at the door and then at him. “I hope you’re willing to wait a while. Look,” he placed a hand on his shoulder. “I’ll … I’ll talk to Sarah and to Darcey.”
“Thanks, man.” He sighed. “You’re a good friend.”
“Don’t thank me yet.” Turning on his heel, he disappeared into Darcey’s room.
Anders stared at the closed door, unsure what to do. His tiger wanted him to go in there and claim their mate and their cub, but he knew he couldn’t push it. Jesus Christ. A baby. He’d never asked Darcey about protection, and he always assumed she was safe. That’s what she wanted to talk to him about at The Den. When he told her all those terrible things.
Was it any wonder that Darcey didn’t want to see him? After how he treated her? He shoved his fingers into his hair. “Fuck.” He really did it this time. Made her believe that he was a no-good bastard by treating her like trash. Closing his eyes, he could still picture the heartbreaking look on her face when he told her there was no place for her in his life. And when she fainted, and all that blood … the baby nearly—
“Anders.”
He spun around at Daniel’s voice. “Yes?”
The expression on the other man’s face told him it wasn’t good news. “She needs rest. Sarah’s going to stay with her. I’m gonna go home and check on Adam and come back with some stuff for Sarah. Do you need anything?”
“No.”
“Why don’t you go home, man?” Daniel suggested. “Get some sleep.”
He shook his head. “No. I’m going to stay here.”
Daniel let out a breath. “All right.” Reaching over, he squeezed Anders’s shoulder. “I’ll see you around.”
“Thanks.”
Grabbing an unused chair from the nurses’ station, he placed it by the door and camped outside her room.
The hours blurred by. Nurses came and went into the room. Night must have passed at some point, but he didn’t sleep. Morning came. The shift changed as a different set of nurses walked by him and made their rounds.
The sound of Darcey’s door opening made his heart jump, and he shot to his feet. “Sarah.” He swallowed hard. “How is she?”
The look of contempt on her face was unmistakable. “So, you’re still here.”
“I can’t leave.” He took two steps toward her. “Please. She’s mine. My mate. And that child is mine.”
She pointed a finger at his face. “Correction: you were her mate. But you gave that up when you rejected her.”
“I didn’t.” He cursed under his breath. “I mean … I only did that because I tried to protect her. From me.”
“Really? And was getting her pregnant part of your plan?”
“You’re mated,” he said. “You know what it’s like, and how you felt when you first met Daniel. Darcey’s a shifter, so imagine that feeling tenfold. Imagine a voice, an animal inside you, telling you every single moment of the day that your mate is there, and you need to be with them.”
“Don’t you dare put this on her,” Sarah hissed. “If it were up to me, you’d never see her again. But it’s not.”
“What—” He stopped short, noticing the annoyed look on her face. “She wants to see me, doesn’t she?”
Sarah’s nostrils flared, and she folded her arms over her chest. “Against my better judgement, yes.”
Hope flared in his chest. He didn’t even bother to ask permission, and instead, just barreled into the room. “Darcey!”
She wasn’t in bed. Instead, she was standing by the window, looking outside.
“Darcey, what are you doing?” Panic rushed through him. “Why are you out of bed? You should be—”
“I’m fine, Anders,” she said flatly. “I’m all healed. In fact, Sarah’s getting all my discharge papers ready.”
“Darcey, I’m sorry.” He reached out to touch her, but she flinched away, so he dropped his hand to his side. “About what I said. I didn’t mean any of it.”
She shut her eyes and took a deep breath. “You don’t have to say that.”
“But—”
“Really. You know about the baby now. And … frankly, it’s a relief.” Her shoulders dropped. “I was going to tell you at The Den. But now … now you saved me the trouble.”
“Saved you the trouble?” What was she saying?
“I wouldn’t have kept the baby a secret from you,” she said in a quiet voice. “I doubt I could have.
But I want you to know, you don’t have to do anything. We’ll be fine.”
“F-fine?” A throbbing pulse built up behind his eyes.
“Yeah. I’ll take care of the baby. You can have visitation; I won’t fight you.”
“Darcey, what are you saying?”
She wrapped her arms around her belly protectively. “Or if you don’t, that’s fine too.”
“Are you nuts? Darcey. Darcey, look at me.” But she kept her gaze fixed toward the outside. He wanted to reach out to her, but she looked so fragile, he feared she would turn to dust if he so much as touched her arm. “Darcey … I love you. Please. I want to be with you. Be your mate. Raise our baby together. Please tell me you feel the same way.”
Her eyes shut and she didn’t speak for a few seconds. As he waited on tenterhooks, the silence stretched between them until she finally spoke. “I don’t know how I feel, Anders. When you said those words at The Den—”
“I didn’t mean them.”
“But you didn’t know I was pregnant then, either,” she pointed out. “I don’t want you to feel obligated to be with me because of the baby. So … I’m letting you go.”
A knife-like pain sliced through his chest. It was worse than anything he’d felt before, not even on that day Felicia walked out without so much as a backward glance. “No.”
“Please, Anders, just go.”
“I said, no.”
Her head whipped around, as she finally met his gaze. “What do you mean, no?”
“I’m not giving up. Not without a fight.” Never. “I’ve made mistakes in the past, but I know one thing: you and me, that’s it for me. No one, and nothing else matters. And I’m not walking out on this child.”
Her brows snapped together. “I told you, you can visit all you want—”
“That’s not enough, Darcey,” he warned. “I want it all. I want our child, and I want you.”
She gasped. “I said I don’t know—.”
“I’ve hurt you, and I’m sorry.” He took a tentative step toward her. “But I’m damned well not giving up on you.” Darcey would be his, there was no doubt in his mind.
Her arms folded over her chest. “I’m not going to make it easy.”
Blackstone Ranger Rogue: Blackstone Rangers Book 4 Page 16
