Colin: McCullough's Jamboree - Erotic Jaguar Shapeshifter Romance (McCullough's Jamboree Book 1) (21 page)

“Yes. I would be dead.” Lauren started to tell her she was sorry about that again, but she waved her off. “What I need is for you to help me with a home. The one that I have…well, it served its purpose when it was only me. And now I find that I wish for something homey. The place I have now is not even fit for a vampire, much less one with a mate.”

“I’m guessing that you don’t want to live in Tony’s home.” She said that he did not, that he wanted a home with her, not memories from before. “All right. I know that Rich and Dustin have a couple of homes that they’re working on now. Maybe you can talk to them and they can make any adjustments you need in a home now while it’s still under construction.”

“I would like that. And a bigger home as well. I should like to have you and the rest of the jamboree to come and visit us.” Lauren said that would be nice. “There is one more thing too.”

Victoria seemed a little hesitant about saying anything, so Lauren thought of something to fill the time until she was ready. She told her of the babies that they may or may not adopt and the plans that Dustin wanted her to help out with. Lauren was pretty sure she hadn’t been listening to her, and wasn’t really surprised when Victoria turned to her suddenly, her face awash with guilt.

“You will not find the men who shot Tony. Their bodies will be…when I took them away that day, I told no one that they lived. Not even Tony.” It was abrupt and to the point, and Lauren didn’t even ask her why not. “If you could tell someone where the bodies are…they are not in the best of shape to identify, but I have left their things there so that they can be…dental records will do very little to help them, I think. I was…as you say, pissed when I went back to them.”

“I see.” She didn’t and was sure she didn’t want to either. “Tell me where they are and I can tell a couple of people I know that are working on the case. No one will know where the information came from. I think that having something like this solved, even this way, will be one less thing that the authorities have to fuck with right now.”

“Thank you.” There was more, Lauren knew it, but again spoke of things that weren’t related to the trouble Victoria seemed to be having. She told her of her interview, or whatever it was going to be, with Jarvis who, of course, was now the president.

“I think he’ll do a good job. He’s still working from his home, of course. They have to make sure that his new digs are not going to blow or anything. I suppose that we should be happy that—”

“I want to kill them.” Just because she wanted to be sure they were on the same page, she asked her who. “Irwin and Williams. They ordered Tony to be killed, and now they’re sitting in their cells living their life like nothing has changed.”

They were. But their lives had changed a great deal. The two of them were in protective custody right now, but as soon as the trial was over, Lauren didn’t think they’d last long in prison. Even not being in the general population, they’d still be killed quickly, and not quietly either.

“If you kill them, and I’m not saying they don’t deserve it, what would that give you? You have Tony now and he’s well. And will be for a good long time too. They’re going to pay for what they did. More than likely with their deaths. But not right away.” Victoria nodded. “Killing them would be a great deal of satisfaction to a lot of people, but they also need to stand up for what they’ve done. They killed a great many people in the name of greed. All those young men that were there to kill Hawkins and my company just so they could be in charge of everything.”

“I know. I knew that you’d say that too. It’s why I came to you instead of following through on what I want to do. You level me at times, I hope you know that.” Lauren told her that she did the same for her.

Colin and Dustin came in then. They both looked like they’d been laughing. And when Colin asked about Tony, Victoria smiled. “He is having a grand time whipping his men into shape. He said that they’ve been lax much too long with him being away. I think I like him being in charge. It’s…invigorating to me.”

Colin laughed and Dustin’s face turned several shades of red. Lauren just giggled. Victoria, Lauren knew, was around more people than she had been in years. And her
just say it
attitude was something people were going to have to get used to about her. She was much too old to change.

~~~

Colin moved slowly between the trees. He wanted to catch Lauren unawares again, but it was getting harder and harder to do so. She had caught on quickly on how to sneak as a cat, and her knowledge as a soldier was making it difficult for him to tackle her the way he wanted to. He loved to pounce.

There are nine deer on the property right now, and a wolf that I’ve never seen. How do you tell if they’re shifter or not?
He told her it was their smell. And it surprised him that he wasn’t worried about her being there with someone she didn’t know.
Ah, so I have to get up close and personal with his ass, or is it just a general smell to them?

There will be no ass smelling unless you’re near mine, and even then, I’m not so sure. So yes, it’s just a general smell. You should be able to smell human on them. More so than a regular wolf unless he’s been raised by them. I’m doubting that, but you never know with people.
She didn’t say anything back, and he got a little worried.
Where are you?

You mean the big bad Colin McCullough can’t find his little mate? Oh, how sad is that.
He growled at her, then saw the deer she’d been talking about.
You should be able to see me in the thicket behind the big buck. He looks like he could take on a few hundred wolfs as big as he is.

I see you.
Anyone could, as a matter of fact, once she was out in the open. She was snowy white with darker spots that stood out in deep contrast to her fur. He was a darker orange with the same darker spots, and was what he thought of as a run of the mill jag. But her coloring was more suited to desert running, and he loved it. He saw the wolf then
. He’s not a shifter. Too small. I forgot to mention that too. Unless he’s a pup, which I doubt. Just watch him. He looks…well, he looks like he’s going to take one of the deer.

Will he attack the group or just take what he needs?
Colin said he didn’t know. That if he was hungry enough he might, but they would normally stand down with so many.
He does look a little on the thin side. What if we helped him out? You know, put out food for him. Maybe he’ll leave the deer around here alone.

All right.
He started to ask her why she cared, but then he saw the two pups coming out of the tree line. That was the reason, he realized, that the big wolf was taking a chance with the group of deer. He had young to feed.
Lauren, head the pups off a little and I’ll help the wolf get his dinner. They’re starving. Look how small the pups are. I wonder how long they’ve been out here like this.

I don’t know, but I’m worried now. You mean to kill the deer, don’t you?
He didn’t answer her.
I guess it’s the way of the wild, but I don’t have to like it. I know all about food chain and all, but why would he wait so long to get food when they’re this starved?

I don’t know, love. Maybe he’s been on the run for a long time, or he’s just arrived and this is the first time he’s been able to find meat. But they have to eat.
He watched her move to the pups, and the wolf was slightly distracted.

Colin went in for the kill and was surprised when the wolf came to help him. The two of them took the larger of the females down, and then Colin backed away. He’d done this before, killed wild animals that were harming other wild life, but never had he done it for food. He watched the wolf, seeing that he really was nearly starved as he tore open the flesh of the deer and then looked at him. Backing away more, Colin wanted him to know that he wasn’t going to harm any of them.

The two cubs came up behind their father and dove into the fresh meat as if they’d been waiting for some sort of signal to do so. Now that they were closer, he could see that they were all in the same shape. Nodding to the wolf and leaving him to his dinner, he moved to stand beside Lauren. Then they made their way to the house.

He would have died, I think, had we not helped him
. Colin said nothing, not even sure what he might have said. The wolves, like a lot of other animals, were hunted for sport now, and he was worried that they might hunt them out.
I want to set up some sort of rescue park around here. For him and other wolves. Or for that matter, whatever animal needs a little help
.

They’re wild. I’m not saying that I don’t like your idea, but they’re wild animals and could hurt us
. She said then they’d take care of them.
All right. I’m not sure what we’d have to do, but we can look into it
.

When they were on the deck, both of them shifted and then moved to the large hot tub that had only just arrived today. He had never been a big fan of them. It seemed that they would never relax him the way people said they did. But with Lauren, it was nice; the warmed water and jets seemed to make his muscles, usually so sore from working too much, just feel good. As soon as they were both in the water, the jets were turned on and he nearly melted. It felt that wonderful.

“Dustin gave me a schedule to help out with the club of sorts. I still can’t believe he talked me into this.” Colin didn’t say anything. He had been surprised as well, but then once she said yes, she threw herself into it like most things she did. “And tomorrow I go in and talk to Jarvis. He said he wants me to head up some kind of death squad. I told him not to expect too much from me. I have a life now.”

“Death squad?” She told him it was a hunt and destroy kind of thing to go in and retrieve people from behind enemy lines. “Will Hawkins be with you?”

“No.” He knew when she was stalling and waited her out. “He’s going to go into something else. Something that I can’t share with you. But I won’t be going on the missions, just making sure from here that the men know where to go and when.”

“And how do you feel about not being right there where the action is?” She leaned back in the seat and closed her eyes. He loved her, everything about her, and seeing her this way, relaxed and happy, made his heart beat a little easier. “I know you’re going to have to visit DC a few times a month. Tony told me that a few days ago.”

“Yeah, he told me too. It’s something we have to talk about.” He nodded and wondered if she’d be upset if he asked her if he could go with her. “Tony and I have talked about the visits there. I guess he’s going to be setting us up a house to stay in so we don’t have to hotel it and everything. There will be a staff too. He seems to think it would be easier on us if we didn’t have to have our stuff shifted around every time we came to town.”

“That’s good.” It was too. He wasn’t going to have to be without her at night. “Oh, Mom said to tell you that she’s conducting interviews for you over the next few days for staff here. I had no idea that it was that much work. We do have the few that came with me, but she thinks that with us working both here and out of state, we might need some extra help.”

“Neither did I, but she’s right about us working a great deal. And to be honest, the thought of having strangers in the house all the time is a little overwhelming. I know that we will both be out a lot, but do we need a cook all the time? And someone to make our beds?” He looked at her. “And if anyone tries to dress or undress me besides you, then they’re going to get their throat punched.” Colin laughed and shook his head. The things that came out of her mouth at times were so serious, yet funny as hell.

“I think they’re mostly here so we don’t have to worry about fixing dinner if we’ve been out all day. And I, for one, would love to have someone make the bed and dust for us. I hated that when I lived alone, and welcomed someone coming in and doing it for me.” He could tell that she was going to sleep. As he moved closer to her, just to keep her from going under the water, she looked at him and he smiled. “I am so in love with you.”

“I want those twins.” He nodded, stilling in his movements to let her finish. “They’ll need us. Not just because they don’t need to be in the system, but with them not being wanted…I know how that feels when you’re little. If we raise them…when we raise them, we’ll make sure that they never feel that way. That no one treats them as if they are less than what they are, and that they can do whatever they want. The sky is the limit.”

“All right. I love that idea.” She nodded and laid her head back. “They’re one of each, by the way. I was told that this morning when I talked to Jack.”

“Okay, good to know for the next phase our life. We’ll need to add more room on this house.” He looked at the house and wondered why she thought that. “We can’t just have these two, you know. We’ll need to make sure that your parents and mine have plenty of grandchildren to spoil. As I’m sure they’ll do.”

“I’m sure you’re right. The children will fill a big hole in all our lives.” He pulled her on his lap and suckled at her breasts when she lifted them to his mouth. “How about we practice making a few of our own while we’re here?”

“I love the way your mind works.”

Chapter 12

“Josh, we have company.” She heard him moving in the cab behind her but didn’t turn to make sure he was hidden. They’d been on the run for a long time now, and this was nothing new for either of them. The police would come in, take a look around, then leave her to her business. They were never going to find Josh unless they knew what he was. Only this time they were all dressed in suits, and she was sure that two of them, if not all three, were armed.

The man standing at her door when she rolled down the window asked her what her name was. Reese said nothing. If he didn’t know then she wasn’t going to help him unless he made her. When he laughed, she watched the other two with him, both cops, as they moved to stand by the other door to her truck.