Noah slapped him on the shoulder as he moved past him. “You need to chill, man. She did what she thought she had to do.”
He glared at his friend as he limped by. “Let me hear you say something like that when it’s your mate who’s been hurt.”
“You don’t need to take your bad mood out on everyone,” Tarun muttered.
“My bad mood? Seriously?”
“You had two freakin’ shifters coming at you at once, and no one was available to help. So I stepped in. I had to.”
“You didn’t have to. I would have been fine, and the moment they came in, I ordered you to go upstairs. You willingly defied me.”
“Ordered?” she said, her voice several octaves higher with disbelief and ire.
Damara looked up from where she was smoothing the bandage over Tarun’s shoulder. “All right, you two. Enough. Tarun, it probably wasn’t a good idea to ignore your mate and rush headlong into battle, especially since you’ve never been in one before. And Luke, don’t look so smug. She did amazingly well for a newbie, and she saved your ass. Show some gratitude. And if you value your balls, not to mention your life, you might want to rethink trying to order her around ever again.”
Luke blew out a breath, moving to take a seat next to Tarun. Picking up her hand, he held it tightly as he ran his thumb over her knuckles. “I won’t say I’m sorry for being mad, but I’m sorry for losing my cool and taking it out on you. I just hate to see you in danger, especially to help me.”
Her hazel eyes softened as she squeezed his hand. “I get it. But don’t try to tell me you wouldn’t do the same thing. You would, and you know it. And don’t try to say it’s different because you’re a man. That’s a surefire way to make Damara’s prediction of you losing your balls come true.”
He smiled, but before he could reply, Blake walked into the room, running a weary hand over his face. Luke straightened in his seat, staring at him intently. “So what’d they say?”
“Not a fucking thing.”
“What?” he asked with disbelief. “Did you use your gift?”
Blake shot him a disgusted look. “Of course I did. The only thing I got out of them was they were hired. They’re not the ones behind this.”
“Mercenaries,” Dmitri muttered from across the room. He was sulking in a corner, upset that he and Damara had been in town and missed the fight.
Luke frowned as he shook his head. “I don’t understand why they didn’t say more. No one can keep quiet when they’re faced with the pain of your gift, Blake.”
“I got the impression that they didn’t know much, but what they did know, they physically couldn’t speak of. It was like they were under a gag order, one they couldn’t break. Tarun was right, too, about them being on something. They’d taken some kind of speed for shifters, or some shit.”
Damara frowned as she put up the first aid kit. “It has to be related to shifters we’ve pursued before. Maybe family of those we’ve captured or put down. Someone Luke took down on a mission, or something, and that’s why he’s the main target. But we’ve been on so many missions—how could we possibly narrow it down?”
Something niggled at the back of his mind, but he didn’t get a chance to puzzle over it as Tarun stiffened and gasped, while Noah’s head turned sharply toward her.
“You’re sure?” Noah asked.
She looked at him with irritation. “You should know, since you’re clearly borrowing my gift.”
Annoyance shot through Luke. “Care to clue the rest of us in?”
Tarun blew out a breath as she looked at him. “It’s not about y’all’s work as Enforcers. I thought it was, but it’s not even about them at all. This is personal to you, Luke. The Enforcers are just collateral damage.”
His blood turned to ice as he stared at her, before moving his gaze to each of his friends in turn. Looking at her again, he clenched her hand tighter. “You have to go home, Tarun. Please. I’ll leave, too. None of you should be in danger for me.”
Blake snorted. “You’re an idiot if you think we’ll let you face this alone.”
The other Enforcers agreed, and he squeezed his eyes shut as he shook his head. He fucking hated that someone had a vendetta against him and the Enforcers were going to stick by him, putting themselves in danger, but he hadn’t really expected anything less. But Tarun…
Opening his eyes, he glanced at her, knowing his gaze was pleading. “I won’t order you this time, baby. You deserve for me not to. But I’m begging you. Leave, before you get hurt. Even worse than you are now. Losing you would hurt me worse than anything that could be done to me. Including death.”
“I wasn’t hurt badly, Luke. In fact, I came out of the fight better than any of you did. The only reason I sat still for Damara to clean my wound and bandage it is because you insisted. I have shifter healing too, you know. It would have been closed up completely in a couple hours even without her attention.
“And I’m sorry. I really am. I want to give you what you want, but I can’t. Nothing’s changed. I might have sensed that the threat is personal against you, but that’s the only difference. You still have a better chance if I’m here.”
“I don’t agree with that. I have a better chance if you’re safe.”
Tarun looked at him with compassion, but he could see the resolve in her eyes. She wasn’t going to budge. And he knew, if he tried to order her or force her, he’d lose her forever. Still, better to lose her because she was pissed than lose her to death.
“Besides,” she continued softly, “whoever this is clearly knows shit. The odds are good that he knows I’m here. And you and I haven’t exactly been hiding what we are to each other. I wouldn’t put it past him to track me down if I left and use me to get to you. To draw you out. I just might be safer here, in all honestly.”
Damara nodded, her voice just as soft as Tarun’s when she spoke. “She’s right, you know. The likelihood of him knowing she’s your mate and using her is good. Besides, she was right about your odds being better with her here. Think about it. If she wasn’t here, you would have died in the fire. And tonight, from what everyone’s said, two of them were going after you at once, but she joined the fight and drew one of them away from you. You’re a fierce fighter, there’s no denying that, but the odds weren’t exactly in your favor. Both times this asshat has tried to engage, she’s the reason he didn’t succeed.”
“That’s not a good enough reason to put her in danger,” he muttered.
Damara shook her head. “I think it is, and I’m pretty sure everyone in this room would agree. We might not be siblings by blood, but we are by heart. And I don’t want to lose my brother. We’ll make sure she’s protected, Luke. Me, especially. I love her already, and I’m pretty sure the rest of us do, as well.”
Brow furrowing, he sought any remaining option, but even he had to admit, there were none. They were right. He fucking hated to admit it, but they were. Whoever it was that was going after him was going to die a very slow and painful death when Luke got ahold of him. He’d make sure of that.
Glancing at Tarun, he took her other hand in his, holding tightly. “I can’t make you leave. If you want to stay, well, I won’t force you to go. And they’re right. You did amazingly well during the fight tonight. But if you’re staying, I want you trained. In human and animal form. I want you to have the best possible odds of survival. If you stay, you train. Are you okay with that?”
A breathtaking smile graced her face. “More than okay. Knowing what I’m doing means having another way to help protect you.”
He heard the others drift away and begin hushed conversations, but he didn’t let his eyes leave hers. “You realize that’s all fucked up, right? It should be me protecting you.”
Leaning over, she kissed him sweetly before pulling back with a shake of her head. “I know you think it does, but gender doesn’t really matter. Mates should protect each other. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a man or a woman.”
“You�
�re an amazing woman, and I got incredibly lucky when I found you.”
“You mean when I found you,” she teased with a twinkle in her hazel eyes.
“Doesn’t matter who found who first. What matters is we’re together.”
“Amen to that.”
Tarun panted as she leaned over, her hands on her knees. Damara just put her through her paces—for four hours straight. She was freakin’ exhausted already, and she had a newfound appreciation for the warriors in her old tribe.
Old tribe. It felt weird to think like that, but that was what it was. She belonged with Luke and the Enforcers. She and Luke hadn’t had that discussion yet, but she knew what being an Enforcer meant to him. She’d never make him give it up for her.
Besides, she found it kind of exciting. Her mate would probably have a coronary if he heard her say that, but it was true.
The main reason she agreed to train was because she wanted to be able to protect him better.
But part of it was because she’d like to join them one day—although she wouldn’t bring that up around her mate until the current danger was finished. She didn’t want to give him a heart attack.
He said the main requirement was a shifter’s gift, and while hers wasn’t anything amazingly special, she thought it could still benefit them. And if she had the fight training already under her belt, convincing Blake to take her might be easier.
She didn’t want to just be an Enforcer’s mate. She wanted to be one herself, and she was determined to make it happen. Which was why, as grateful as her tired body was when Damara called a halt to training, she had to bite back the instinct to protest.
It would all come in time. At least, that was what she told herself as she trudged inside.
Luke gave her a quick kiss, leaving her to go upstairs on her own as he went to help with the cleanup. The fight had done a number on the bar, but it was nothing they couldn’t fix. It was just a good thing it’d been closed the night before. A bunch of men turning into giant animals would have done major damage to the human patrons—mentally and probably physically.
Reaching the suite, she walked into the bathroom and turned on the shower before disrobing. She studied the discoloration on her ribs, thankful it was quickly fading. Luke hadn’t realized she’d been hurt other than her shoulder, and she was glad. Despite not wanting to hide things from him, she knew that was best kept to herself.
They hadn’t made love the night before, something she never imagined being grateful for. She loved the things he did to her in bed. But she wouldn’t have been able to hide her bruised ribs, and she had no doubt that the shit would have hit the fan if he’d seen them as they looked then.
Turning away, she got in the shower and quickly soaped up, wanting to get downstairs and help the Enforcers get the bar cleaned up. As she washed her hair, she wondered over the fact that she felt so much for Luke, so strongly, so quickly.
Maybe if she was a human, it would freak her out or scare her, and maybe she’d even try to deny it. But she was a shifter, and she’d grown up with the knowledge of mates, and how amazing it was between them if they were lucky enough to find one.
She felt incredibly blessed to have one, and that he was Luke was just icing on the cake. And the fact that they loved each other—that was huge. Being mated wasn’t a guarantee of love, yet they’d found it with each other, and so quickly.
If someone would just quit trying to kill Luke, her life would basically be perfect.
There wasn’t much she’d miss about Durga. She had a few friends she’d miss, and she’d definitely miss her brother. But he had his own family now, and although she’d miss Cady and their cub, Laney, it was time for her to start her own family.
She wasn’t sure how beginning a family would fit in with being an Enforcer, but she’d be okay with waiting. As long as she had Luke, and as long as it happened for them one day, she was content. But she thought it was probably a conversation she needed to have with Luke, along with everything else they’d yet to talk about.
But like she told him, she wasn’t in a big hurry. The important things—like being mates and loving each other—were decided. Everything else could wait.
Stepping out of the shower, she quickly dried off and dressed before throwing her hair into a bun, the strands still wet. She left the room, intent on heading downstairs, but hesitated as she walked passed Georgie’s room.
She hadn’t spoken to her at all today. Actually, Georgie hadn’t come out of her room, now that she thought about it. Feeling a little guilty for not noticing sooner, she turned and knocked on the door. Georgie had to be feeling all sort of off balance.
After all, the other woman hadn’t known about shifters until the other night, and she wasn’t all too fond of the fact that they existed—and there’d been a shifter battle in the bar right underneath her room. She had to be upset, or maybe even feel like she was losing her mind a little.
She didn’t answer the door and Tarun frowned as she knocked again. “Georgie? It’s Tarun. Can you open up?”
Nothing but silence. The door didn’t open, and Tarun’s frown deepened as she listened with her enhanced shifter hearing and still didn’t hear anything. No footsteps, no rustling, not even the sound of breathing.
Taking a chance, she grasped the doorknob and opened the door. She’d rather risk Georgie’s wrath than run the risk that something was wrong.
But the room was empty. Completely so, she saw as she walked inside. Frowning, she walked back into the hallway. Maybe she’d finally ventured downstairs while Tarun was in the shower. Yeah, that was likely. Georgie had been shaken up about the existence of shifters, but she wasn’t one to let things get to her easily. Tarun hadn’t known her long, but she already sensed that about her.
Rushing a little, she went down the stairs and entered the bar, looking around. It looked much better than it had that morning—she saw that right off. There was still a lot to do, but it was mostly putting stuff where it belonged and replacing some tables that were damaged in the fight.
What she didn’t see, though, was Georgie.
Spotting Damara, she headed in her direction. The men had all seemed to make Georgie nervous once she learned about shifters, but she’d been pretty relaxed with Damara. Luke caught Tarun’s eye and she waved, but she didn’t slow until she’d reached the pretty griffin’s side.
“Hey, have you seen Georgie lately?”
Damara frowned, quiet for a moment before shaking her head. “No, not since right after the fight yesterday when I checked on her. She’s probably in her room. She was pretty shaken up last night.”
Dread shot through her veins as she shook her head. “No, she’s not. I just knocked, and when she didn’t answer, I opened the door. She’s not there. You don’t think they got to her, do you?”
Damara’s frown deepened as she sent her a fearful look. “Surely not.” Turning to the rest of the room, she raised her voice slightly. “Has anyone seen Georgie since yesterday?”
Everyone shook their heads and panic hit Tarun with the force of a wrecking ball. “Neither have we, and she’s gone. I’m worried about her.”
Dmitri cursed and rushed out of the room, his boots clomping on the stairs, as Luke came over and took her hand. “You checked her room?”
Nodding, she turned into his chest, relaxing just a tad as his arms closed around her. His touch always had that effect on her. “Yeah, I went in when she didn’t answer my knock. She’s not there.”
Blake joined them, shaking his head at her. “I can tell what you’re thinking, but we’ve all been vigilant since the attack. If she’s gone, it’s because she left on her own.”
Dmitri came back downstairs and shook his head once. “She’s gone. I checked every room, just in case.”
“You don’t think she had something to do with the attack, do you?” Liam asked as he joined them.
“No,” Blake replied. “I considered it even before last night. She was too scared of us, plus, y’a
ll heard Tarun. This is personal against Luke. The fire happened when she was still trying to get with him. I could see it maybe after she knew he and Tarun were together, but not before. Plus, she was attacked as well, and she didn’t lie about what happened. I think she left because she just couldn’t handle what we are, and the violence our kind brought to her doorstep.”
“I’m not sure it’s all that safe for her outside of the clubhouse, though,” Tarun whispered.
Luke rubbed her back soothingly. “We can’t force her to stay, baby.”
Dmitri looked at Blake. “Do you want me to follow her?”
Blake exhaled, looking weary. “Yeah, but don’t engage. Make sure she got far away and then let her be. I think she’ll be okay, as long as she’s far enough away and Luke’s still here.”
Dmitri nodded and walked outside without another word. Silence reined and then slowly, everyone went back to what they were doing when Tarun interrupted them. Turning more completely into his arms, she buried her face against the hard muscles of his chest.
“I’m so worried about her. I hope she’s okay.”
“You’re so fucking amazing, you know that?”
Surprised, she pulled back and looked at him. “Huh? Why?”
“Think about it. She was rude as fuck to you when you showed up, then did what she could to make you believe me and her had a thing going on. And yet, despite that, you befriended her. You were nice to her. And now, you worry when she leaves. Most women would rejoice that she was gone.”
Exhaling, she shrugged, feeling her cheeks heat. “I was jealous of her at first. I thought she was telling the truth when she hinted about being with you, and I almost hated her for it. I even told you I was never going to be okay with her, and I meant it. But I realized that she did care about you. She went about her interaction with me wrongly at first, but she did it because she liked you. And I, more than anyone, get that. How could I stay mad? Besides, once I got past that, I really liked her.”
“See? You’re amazing, because there are a lot of women who wouldn’t have been able to get past that initial behavior to realize they liked someone. And hey, I really do think she’ll be okay. Dmitri’s our best tracker. He’ll find her and make sure she’s okay. And if he thinks she’s not, or won’t be, for any reason, he’ll bring her back.”
Control (Blood & Bone Enforcers MC Book 1) Page 15
