Alistair (Golden Streak Series) (6 page)

She sat down. She looked at Bronwyn when
she cleared her throat. The woman was going to tell her something she didn’t
want to hear, so she stood up again and started for the kitchen. She was
pulling out flour and sugar when she heard someone enter.

“I’m going to bake something. Do you
have any preferences? I have to bake something before I explode.” She heard a
small laugh and looked over at Alistair. “You think this is so fucking funny? That
man shot all those people because he was looking for me. For me.”

“And you want to bake.” She didn’t even
answer as she opened the refrigerator and began to pull out eggs and milk. The
cook a very nice man by the name of Jed Richards, who looked like a giant of a
bear himself only pointed to where things were when she asked him where they
were.

“You’re frightening our cook.” Jed
snorted, then looked at Alistair when she did. “You are. He’s afraid you’ll
mess up his lovely kitchen. Isn’t that right, Jed?”

“Sir, I’ve served you for ten years, and
in all that time I would scream at you for messing in my kitchen, that’s true. You
never put things away the way I want them, and you don’t tell me when I’ve run
out. But in all this time, never has a woman come in here demanding where I put
my measuring spoons.” Jed grinned at her as he handed down a large bowl from
the cabinet over her head. “She can cook all she wants and leave me the mess to
pick up. I don’t ever, never ever, fuck with a mate that’s as pissed as she is.”

Ally laughed. She couldn’t help it. Jed
did look to be a little scared. He winked at her, and she asked him what he
was. Then flushed hotly when he laughed at her.

“I’m so sorry. That was rude and very…it
was rude. I’ve never met a tiger before this and assumed since you said
something about….” She put down the bowl with eggs in it and stepped from the
counter. “I’m sorry. I had no right to come into your kitchen and act like
this.”

Alistair started to say something but Jed
cut him off. He looked at Alistair who nodded before turning back to her and
smiled.

Jed handed her the bowl of eggs and a
whisk. “I’m a tiger, like you, but I’ve been injured. My cat had been, anyway.
He…well, he’s a bit on the scared side now and hasn’t been out to play in some
time. He is afraid, you see.”

“Afraid? I don’t understand. Aren’t
you…you’re a weretiger, right?” Jed nodded. “Then why is he afraid, and you
aren’t? And you aren’t, are you?”

They both looked at Alistair when he
cleared his throat. “While we reside in one body, we’re as different as two
separate people. He has his likes and dislikes, as his cat does. When his cat
was injured, then…well, Jed can’t shift.”

She looked at them both, trying to
figure out if they were kidding her or not. Her books had never said anything
about them being two people, or in this case, a person and a cat. She started
mixing the ingredients together while she thought about it. She heard the door
open and close behind her but paid little attention. When she turned from
putting the first pan of cookies into the oven, she was startled to see the
entire family in there with her.

“I bake when I’m nervous.” She started
to clean up and then decided that she needed more and pulled out some other
things from the pantry and cabinets. “I like to make bread when I have a
serious problem to work out. I’ve not had the…it’s hard to bake when you’re on
the run.”

Bronwyn snorted. “It’s hard to bake when
you’re as big as a house, too. But I can sample anything you put before me. I
love cookies and bread.”

She put the milk on to cook and looked
at them all, including Jed. “I don’t know what to do. I mean, I know what I
should do, but not what to do. Bronwyn told me that he’s here in this area. He
has to be looking for me here, so I’m assuming that the prints came back.”

Alistair nodded before he answered her. “I
spoke with a friend of mine, and he said he already spoke to your ex. He said
the man claimed you were confused and that he should hold you until he got
here. He also mentioned the robbery.”

“Robbery? I don’t know anything
about…Lance did it?” He nodded at her. “When did this happen? I’m assuming that
I should expect to be arrested soon?”

“No. Clift said that there was something
wrong with the way they were added, and he’s looking into that as well. You’re
safe here. And Isaac is in the area, but he doesn’t seem to be having any kind
of luck finding you. The police are…let’s just say that he won’t find too many
people there that’ll help him, if any at all.” Alistair stood up and pulled on
an oven mitt when the timer went off. Jed put out three cooling racks while she
put in two more trays.

“So the police department is lying to a
lawyer. That will get them into trouble, wont it?” Ryland grinned as he stuffed
a hot chocolate chip cookie in his mouth. “You’re going to burn yourself, you
moron.”

She took out a gallon of milk and handed
it to him, then smacked him on the head when he started drinking from the jug.
He got up to get glasses while she started to knead the bread. Jed sprinkled
flour on the surface whenever she paused.

“Nah, we’re not lying because none of
them know for sure that you’re here. Besides, as of two days ago, Isaac doesn’t
have a job, so he’s not a lawyer. The police department will say that they’re
looking for you, or that they have some hits, but nothing solid. The only
person who actually knows where you are, who has seen you here, is us. And we’re
not going to say anything to him.” Ryland ate two more cookies as he spoke
around them. “You know, these are amazing. And you didn’t use a recipe or
anything.”

“I know how to bake. What do you mean no
one knows but you guys? Are you saying that the cops know but they’re going to
tell him that since they’ve never seen me, it can’t be proven? That’s the
stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.” She looked at Jed when he laughed. “What do
you think?”

“I think that if he is stupid enough to
try and take you from anyone here, it’s likely that he is stupid enough to
believe that they’ve no idea where you are.” He nudged her arm. “Knead and I’ll
make a dinner around this bread for you.”

She looked around the room and settled
her gaze on Bronwyn. “What is it you need to tell me? I’m assuming it has something
to do with the mall shooting.”

“Lance didn’t send that man.” Her world
narrowed to a pinpoint and she felt arms around her. Then she was sitting in a chair
with her head between her knees. It took her several minutes to realize that
they were shouting at each other before she lifted her head. Putting two
fingers into her mouth, she whistled. It froze everyone in place.

Chapter 6

Sandra was impressed. For a girl who
said she wasn’t much in the way of fighting back, she sure had these people
thinking otherwise. When she ordered them to sit, all of them sat down,
including Bronwyn and Ryland, without a single hesitation. Jed nearly did as
well when she told him to help her with the flour.

“Now. We’re going to do this calmly and
without our loud voices. If you want to use them, you’ll go outside and do it. You’re
terrifying me.” She started to knead the bread again, and Sandra almost felt
sorry for it. “Okay. Explain to me what you mean, Bronwyn.”

Ally glared at Alistair when he opened
his mouth, but when he closed it with an audible snap, Sandra had to cover her
mouth with her hand. Yes, this girl would do well in this streak. Sandra
thought maybe it might be fun to bait her but decided that she’d do it later.
Right now, there was just too much going on.

“Remember what I said about being able
to do all sorts of stuff?” Ally nodded at Bronwyn. “Well, one of them, as you
know, is reading minds. And I could feel the idiot coming toward the shop as we
were coming out of the dressing room. But he was a good deal closer to us than
I thought, and I had no time to hide you, much less save everyone in the mall.”

“Well, of course, you couldn’t save
everyone in the mall. How silly of you to think that you’re that strong. And
even if you had, how would you have been able to save your mother-in-law after
draining yourself so much?” Ally looked at her. “She would have been too zapped
to help us, wouldn’t she?”

“Yes. It takes a great deal out of her
when she uses her stuff. I’m sure that had she more time to find and get rid of
the man that she might have been too weak to save her and my grandbaby.” Sandra
looked at Bronwyn. “You know what I’m telling her is the truth.”

“Okay, then, you knew the man was
coming, did your thing, and saved our butts. Then what? You read his mind and
knew that someone else was sending him to kill me?” Ally looked at Jed and
smiled. “I can’t remember when I started doing this, do you?”

“It’s kneaded enough, my dear.” Sandra
had a feeling the bread was perfect no matter what as she watched Jed prepare a
bowl for it. “I’ll just set this aside while we deal with the rest of these
cookies.”

There was a great deal more batter left,
and as Jed scooped up the dough and dropped it on the sheet, Ally started to
pace. Sandra watched her son. She knew that he loved the girl, it was written
all over his face, but he also was afraid for her. Bronwyn started speaking as
Ally pulled some other ingredients from the cabinets.

“I wasn’t really sure what I was looking
for, but I do know that your ex wasn’t in his mind. So I dug a little deeper. I
suppose that your ex could have sent him, but a female talked to him and told
him where you were. She said that you’d either be in that particular shop or
you’d be in the food court. Either way, he was excited to be getting to do this
for her.”

“I guess we should be lucky that he
found me in the shop. There had to be considerably less people there.” Ally was
putting together something else in another large bowl while Jed finished the
cookies off. It looked like ten or so dozen of them lay on several cooling
racks on the counter.

Ryland got up to get more glasses as Bronwyn
filled the plate again. If Ally kept this baking thing up she’d have enough
food for the entire family to take home. She got up to find some old tins she
knew that Alistair kept for her. She was just filling them with cookies when
Ryland spoke.

“Do you know of any females that might
want you dead? Or maybe someone that your ex might know that would help him? A
friend or lover?” Ally shook her head as she poured sugar into the bowl.

“No. He didn’t have a many friends. People
he worked with didn’t care much for him, and I lost all of mine just after we
were married. He had…I wasn’t allowed to go out with them anymore without him,
too.” She looked up, pausing in the middle of mixing together the dry
ingredients that Sandra just figured out was going to be pie crust. “Do you
think it could have been his mom? I mean, she’s as mean as a…she and I never
seemed to get along, and the one time I went to her after I’d been returned
home to see if she’d help me, she….”

Sandra felt the tension surrounding the
girl and then noticed that even Jed took a step back. Alistair cleared his
throat twice before he spoke, and even then his voice was hoarse and deep.

“What did she do?” Ally put the bowl
into the countertop and reached for the glass of ice water that Jed handed her.
“Ally, what did she do to you that made you not go back to her for help again?”

“She…she hit me. Not with her fists like
Lance did but with the mug she’d had in her hand. She told me that I should be
more grateful that she’d not come after me, because I wouldn’t just need a long
sleeved shirt to hide what her son had done. She’d…she said that she’d kill me
if I ever tried to put her son into a position again where he had to explain
what had happened to me. I knew then that I had to get away.” She gently mixed
the iced water with the dry things, making the dough soft and flaky. “She then
told her son that I’d insulted him, and he said he’d take care of me when he
got home. I ended up in the hospital then and got out with the help of a nice
judge.”

“The one that had helped you with your
divorce as well, correct?” Sandra looked at Keith when he spoke. “I helped find
out all I could about you when you first got here. That was part of what I
found. I’m sorry.”

Sandra waited for a reaction from the
girl. Fireworks, anger, something, but all she did was shrug. There was
something so…laid back about her that made Sandra think that once she was able
to let it go, she’d be hell on wheels.

The bread was punched down twice before
the conversation was completed. And a loaf of it eaten as a snack when it came
out of the oven while Jed cleaned up the kitchen. Most of the talk centered on
family and antics of her son’s childhood, but Sandra watched Alistair and Ally.
She had never seen a couple bond so quickly and so completely before. And when
he touched his mate, she could almost see the sparks flying.

“Dinner will be in one hour. I’m making
fried chicken, mashed potatoes, white gravy, and green beans. The apple pie, my
favorite, will not be shared.” Jed grinned as he continued. “You’ve all eaten
enough sweets for one day, and I shall sacrifice myself by eating the pie
alone. In my room. With vanilla bean ice cream. And a cup of Londonderry tea.”

They adjourned to the living room. Of
course, no one believed Jed for a moment. Besides, Sandra was pretty sure that Bronwyn
would murder him if he tried. This conversation was much different than the one
in the kitchen. And Sandra was profoundly glad that things were going to start
moving now.

~~~

Alistair watched his family with his
mate. They were accepting and loving to her, and he was proud. He loved his
family dearly, but if they had treated her with anything but respect, he would
have no problem calling them out. He turned to Ryland when he said his name.

“Where were you, buddy? I was asking you
if you heard anything back from your friend in Nevada.” It took Alistair a few
seconds to catch up. “The guy you said worked with Isaac?”

“Yeah. I heard from him last night by
email. He said he’d call me tonight, but he said about the same things we
already knew. His house is mortgaged to the max, and he is behind on
everything. His car was repossessed about a month ago, and he’s been telling
people it was a mistake. And now he’s reportedly telling everyone that he had
gotten bored with having such a nice car and has decided to use a service.” Alistair
laughed. “He’s into his service for nearly ten grand right now so I doubt he’ll
be getting more rides from them.”

“How did this happen?” Alistair looked
at Ally when she asked. “I mean they have several homes that are loaded with so
many antiques that it boggles the mind. There used to be gardeners and maids, a
cook, and someone on staff to watch the gates. When did all this go to shit?”

Neal cleared his throat. “I looked at
the records. He’s been overspending for nearly all his adult life. He and his
mother have. Just before you left him this last time he took out another
mortgage on his home. By the way, he forged your name to the loan, and until
you divorced him, you were just as responsible for the debt, too. Your judge
friend did an amazing job on your decree. He took your name off of everything
and made sure that any money that was owed to creditors was only in your
ex-husbands name.”

“Judson Parrish, he was the judge that
helped me. He said that he could make it so that I didn’t actually need Lance’s
signature on the paperwork because of the abuse. He said that he’d fixed it so
that anyone who saw me would know that he was a terrible prick and I deserved
this.” Ally flushed. “I’m sorry. You all must think I’m such a fool for
marrying him in the first place.”

“Did you love him?” They all looked at
Jules, who had a plate of cookies in front of him. “I mean, at the first did
you love him at all?”

“Yes. Well, at least I thought I did. My
mother, you see, said that he would be good for me. He’d bring me out of my
shell.” Bronwyn snorted, and Ally laughed. “Yeah, I agree. He brought me out of
my shell and right into intensive care.”

“You do realize that when he figures out
where you are that he’s going to come here, right? So I’d like to make a few
suggestions. I think—”

Cutting Bronwyn off, Alistair watched
Ally stand. “I don’t think you guys understand what kind of person he is. He’s
not going to just let this go. I’ve been thinking that if he comes here I
should deal with him on my own.”

“Are you fucking nuts?” Keith flushed. “Sorry.
But well, no offense, but he’s only a human. And we’re…well, we’re not. One of
us could take him down and be done with it.”

“I was going to say that you should
learn to shoot.” Bronwyn glared at Keith. “And taking him down, as you put it,
would only solve part of the problem. There’s still the person from the mall. She
needs to learn to defend herself against pricks like that. She may not be able
to stop bullets, but she can shoot back.”

“I know how to shoot.” Bronwyn raised a
brow at her. “I’m pretty good, too. I’ve never killed anything, but I can hit a
target.”

“I don’t think she’s just talking about shooting
a gun. I’m pretty sure she means defending yourself period. Like in hand-to-hand
combat and any other thing that she can teach you.” Alistair looked at Bronwyn,
who nodded as he continued. “She can show you. I don’t know if anyone has told
you or not, but Bronwyn is one badass bitch.”

“I am, too.” Bronwyn laughed. “I can
help you with this. Before I met Ryland and he forced me to like him, I was
pretty good at taking on the bad guy and winning.”

Alistair knew that they needed to get
these two women together. Having Ally in shape to defend herself would help her
with her confidence, too. Not that she was unsure of herself much, but he had
seen her in the kitchen and she was terrified. He leaned back on the couch and
listened to them talk. His phone vibrated in his pocket, and he pulled it out. The
room grew quiet when he put up his hand.

“Hello?” There was a brief pause, but
Alistair could hear the cars going by and someone mumbling in the background. He
said
hello
again.

“Where is my wife?” Alistair took a
notepad from the drawer on the coffee table and began writing. He handed it to
Ryland as Isaac asked again.

“I don’t know who you’re talking about. Last
I read somewhere you’re divorced. So, are you married again?” The man started
cursing and Alistair laughed at him. “You should really try to tone that down a
bit there, big guy. People will get the impression that you’re not a nice man.”

Keith moved his fingers and plugged something
into his phone and started clicking on the computer he’s set up next to them. His
brother was very good at his job.

“I don’t know where you heard that at,
but Allyson is my wife till death do us part. If she’s there I want you to put
her on the phone right fucking now. Tell her I’ve had enough of her bullshit.” A
car’s horn beeped, and Alistair knew he was on a busy road. “I’m not fucking
around here. I want her to get on this phone now.”

“You think I’m just going to hand her
the phone after that? Nah, don’t think so. You could come here and see if she
wants to talk to you. But I wouldn’t recommend it. I’m a lot less friendly than
you are.” The man snorted. “You think you’re some bad ass, Isaac?”

“It’s Lance, not Isaac. What are we, in
the high school locker room? And no, I won’t go there. I want her to come to
me. I have a jet standing by that will take us back home where she belongs.” Alistair
felt his temper rise, and when Ally touched him, he pulled her to him.

“She no longer belongs to you,” he told
the man calmly. “She belongs to me. And you might as well go back home on your
jet before that, too, is repossessed.”

Keith gave him the thumbs up, and
Alistair disconnected the call. He had to take several deep breaths before he
was able to ask where the man was. He looked at Ryland, who was talking on his
own phone and knew his brother was taking care of the situation. Ally leaned in
and nuzzled against his throat.