Deadly Pack (Deadly Trilogy Book 3) (6 page)

“Good.”  I nodded, although it sure as hell didn’t sound good, but I found myself repeating, “Good.  What about the boys?  Any idea on their ages?”

“Toddlers,” Tommy said.  “Still in diapers.”

I nodded.  “Okay,” I said and swallowed hard.  “Anything else?  Security?  Lookouts?”

“There was no security, at least none that I could see,” Craig said.  “They seemed pretty relaxed, barbequing, drinking.  I’m going to guess that Jeff isn’t on to us.  I figure they’d be on alert if he was.”

“Or he is on to us and doesn’t want us to know,” I said, meeting each one of them in the eyes, searching for anything that showed they were holding something back — something that Tommy or Chris might not have noticed — but I didn’t see or scent anything off.  “He called after we dropped off the body.  He wants Jade to move back home.”

“Good for him.  She won’t be doing it,” Beck bit out.  His gaze darkened with anger.  “What did she have to say about it?”

I sighed and raked a hand through my hair.  “She doesn’t know yet.  Luken took the call and I guess she was pretty upset so he told her he’d talk to me, let me decide if she needed to know or not.”  Beck let out a laugh and I held up my hand to keep him from saying what we were all thinking.  “She agreed with him, guys.  She didn’t fight it.  No argument.  She even walked away so he could call me.”

I quickly filled them in on the conversation, telling them about Luken’s accusations and about Jeff’s admittance that there was more going on than we thought.  The entire time I spoke I waited for one of them to snap, because Luken was right.  I was sure that if one of them thought that I’d actually hit her, they’d be all over me for it.  Jade was, after all, one of theirs.  She wasn’t just their alpha female.  As far as they were concerned, she was part of their team and they loved her like a little sister.

But they didn’t snap.  Actually, I thought they even looked a little sorry for me, which was kind of weird.

“She okay?” Landon asked, concerned, when I finished.

“Honestly,” I said, shaking my head.  “I don’t know.”  I pushed my chair back, standing up.  “Go home, guys.  Get some sleep.  I’ve got to go fill her in.”  I stepped around my desk and headed for the door.  “Let’s meet for breakfast tomorrow, all of you.  Be at the diner for eight.”

~ JADE ~

My belly hurt and I felt as if I were about to pee myself, but I couldn’t stop laughing.  Each time I thought I was almost done, and I tried to catch my breath, Dominic or Marcy would start, and their laughter would set me off again.  It was like a chain reaction; one of us started and it caught on to all of us.

I wrapped my arms around my stomach, trying to hold myself together as my body shuddered through the side-splitting laughter.  It hurt so much, but I had to admit, it also felt really darn good.

The skunk had definitely been the highlight of our summer that year.

Aidan crashed through the front door, which flung back and hit the wall with a startling boom, and then he slammed it shut.  I jumped — literally jumped — flying off the couch, my heart in my throat.

“I hate rain,” he muttered, wiping his face on his soaking wet sleeve.  He was soaked through, his hair plastered to his head, and water running down his face and neck.  He pulled off his jacket and it fell to
the floor with a watery smack.

“You scared the crap out of me,” I muttered.  He looked a little pissed off and really tired, and he continued to curse the storm under his breath, not even looking up at us.

My lips started to twitch as I watched him shuck off his water-filled sweater, and I swear I tried seriously hard to hold it back, but then he mumbled something that sounded like,
Stupid damn rain,
and a burst of laughter tumbled out of me.  And with that, Marcy and Dominic started howling right along with me.

Aidan snapped his gaze up, focused on mine.  He looked a little shocked to see us all watching him, but the shock didn’t last.  He lifted a brow.  “Something funny?” His voice was growled, but his lips were curving up at the corners.

I tried really hard to straighten my face and gave him my best serious look, which probably wasn’t all that serious since I was still giggling.  I shook my head.  “Nope.  Nothing funny.”  I darted over to him, went up on my toes, and planted a sloppy wet kiss on his cheek.  He chuckled, and I swore he looked relieved. He reached out for me and I managed to duck away before he could pull me into a soggy hug, and called, “I’ll grab you a towel,” as I shot for the stairs.

By the time I got back downstairs with a towel, Aidan was down to his boxers, which only looked a little damp, leaning against the wall in the entryway.  Dominic and Marcy were at the door, pulling on their jackets.

“You guys don’t have to go yet,” I said.  “You can wait out the rain if you want or crash here.”  I padded across the room and the minute I reached Aidan, his hand came out, wrapping around my wrist and pulling me in tight to his side.  He plucked the towel out of my hand and rubbed it along his hair without letting me go.

Marcy smiled.  “I promised Trevor I’d be home,” she said and giggled.  “And I think your man wants some attention.”  She pulled open the door and she visibly shuddered as she looked out at the rain.  “Is it unlocked?” she asked, looking back at Dominic.  He nodded and she said, “See you tomorrow, guys,” and with a little wave, she ran out to the car.

Dominic held back for a moment, giving Aidan one of those expectant
start talking
kind of looks.  I glanced up at Aidan, saw his frown and the slight shake of his head, and he said, “Give Tommy a call and get him to fill you in.”

Dominic frowned.  He held Aidan’s gaze for a minute and then nodded.  “Sure,” he said, but he didn’t sound happy about it.  “See you guys tomorrow.”  And then he stepped outside, shut the door, and it was just me and Aidan.

Aidan was quiet, stroking a hand absently up and down my back, seemingly content to stand in the entryway holding me.  His gaze was on the door, but I didn’t really think he was seeing anything.  He looked lost, buried under the weight of his thoughts.

“Everything okay?” I asked, shifting in his arms and eyeing him carefully, the exact same way he was eyeing me.

Aidan smiled a little and caressed my cheek.  “Not sure how to answer that, sweetheart.  A lot of shit happened today.”  He leaned into me, pressing a soft kiss on my lips, and said, “I need a shower.  Why don’t you go get ready for bed?  We’ll talk when I’m done, okay?”

“Yeah, sure,” I said, but I wrapped my arms around his waist, holding him to me, and inhaled a deep lungful of
his scent.

He chuckled.  “I won’t be long.  Promise.”  He gave me another quick kiss, a tight squeeze, and reluctantly, I let him go.

I stood there for a long moment after he vanished upstairs, just listening to the rain pelt against the window.  I don’t know how long I stood there waiting to feel the nerves that I was sure had to be just itching to fill my belly.  I thought I should probably be nervous.  Aidan was most likely going to tell me what my dad wanted and what the guys found out.  But oddly enough, I wasn’t.  Maybe it was the
friend time,
maybe it relaxed me, or maybe I was just exhausted, but for the first time today I felt stable.  Solid.

I made my way upstairs and paused, hovering outside the bathroom for a second, thinking again that at any mome
nt I would feel the nerves, but again, nothing. So I moved on and did what Aidan asked.  I got ready for bed.

After changing into a tank top and pajama shorts, I curled up in bed.  I must have dozed off, because the next thing I knew I was jumping at the creak of the door hinges.

Aidan chuckled softly.  “Tired?” he asked, as he walked over to the dresser.  He rummaged around in the top drawer and pulled out a pair of plaid pajama pants.

“Yeah, I guess I am,” I said.  His back was to me, and I thought I should probably look away as he dropped his towel, but um ... well, I didn’t.  Instead, my gaze wandered along the muscular plains of his back, watching them ripple as he stepped into the pants and tugged them on.

He turned, catching me watching him, and smirked, that sexy half smirk.  I wasn’t really sure how I managed it, but I rolled my eyes at him, and somehow I didn’t blush, not even a little at being caught.

Aidan’s eyes never swayed from mine as he crossed over to the bed.  He climbed in beside me, his arm went around my waist, pulling my front snug against his side, and I rested my cheek on his chest.

Once he had me situated where he wanted me, he let out a slow breath and said, “Your dad’s making a play.  That call that Luken took, well, he wants you to move back home.  He even went as far as saying that I hit you.”

“Okay,” I said, not sure what else to say.  There was nothing, absolutely nothing that he could do to make me move back there
, and his accusation was a joke.  Aidan wouldn’t hit me.  He just wouldn’t.  “Um … did you talk to him?”

“No.  I’m not negotiating with him.” 
Aidan’s muscles were tense, jumping and twitching, and I rubbed my cheek against his chest, waiting for him to say more.  His response made no sense to me.  I wasn’t arguing with him.  I wasn’t even acknowledging Dad’s ludicrous accusation, but yet, he was tense.  Stressed.  Wound up tight.

He made a
noise from the back of his throat that sounded like a mix between a growl and a sigh.  “The guys reported in, too.”  He paused, stiffened further, and then sighed, relaxing a little.  “Your dad’s pack has kids with them.  A girl and two boys.”

“What?” I went to sit up, but his arm tightened around me, holding me against his chest, not loosening until I stopped moving.

I held still, waiting for him to elaborate, but he didn’t.  He ran a hand through my hair, and said, “We’re meeting the guys for breakfast tomorrow and if it goes well, we’ll be going in for those kids immediately.”

I blinked and tried to sit up again, but it was a useless effort.  He held me tight against him.  His breathing was strained, his heart thumping quickly against my cheek.  It was then that I clued in to what this was.  He was reporting in to me.  He didn’t want to talk it all out right then.  He didn’t want me to get upset.  He was probably still worried I couldn’t take anymore today, but he knew he had to keep me looped in.

So instead of telling him exactly what I thought about the little breakfast meeting tomorrow, and demanding answers, I asked, “And if it doesn’t go well?”  My tone, unfortunately, came out sharper than I would have liked.

He noticed it and his arms tightened again.  Taking a deep breath and slowly letting it out, he loosened his hold, but didn’t let go.  His fingers continued to shift through my hair and when he spoke, his voice was firm.  “I’ll be picking a new team and then going in for the kids.”

I listened to his words, heard his tone, and I realized that I was completely wrong.  It wasn’t that he didn’t want to talk it out.  He’d already made his decisions, and he was simply telling me what the plan was.  I pressed my face harder against his chest, trying to get closer, show him that I wasn’t going to pull away, no matter what, and said, “Aidan, you can’t ...”

“Jade, sweetheart, they betrayed me,” he said, cutting me short.  “They betrayed you.  I can’t risk that happening again.  Not with this.”

I opened my mouth and then snapped it shut, because I couldn’t exactly argue with that.  He was right.  No matter how much I didn’t want it to be true, the team had betrayed us.  “I’m with you, Aidan, and I swear I’m not as breakable as you think.”

He leaned forward, pressing his lips to m
y hair.  “I know, sweetheart.”

I lay there, my
cheek pressed against his chest, running a lazy trail with my fingertips along the ridges of his abs, as I tried to process everything, which really wasn’t working out too well.  My brain was fried.  I was exhausted.  Processing tonight wasn’t looking like a viable option.

Aidan shifted beside me, placing his hands on my hips, and pulled me up onto his body.  His lips moved from my hair to my cheek, down my face, along my jaw, and settled at my neck.  His tongue flicked out, teasing the sensitive skin below my ear.

Heat rushed over my skin and pooled in my belly as a whisper soft moan pushed past my lips.

He rolled, trapping me beneath his hard body, staring straight into my eyes.  “I forget to tell you something earlier,” he murmured.  He planted his forearms on the bed, holding most of his weight off of me, and his hands came up, framing my face.

“What’s that?” I asked, and squirmed against his chest, my heart plummeting.  I didn’t think I wanted to hear anymore, at least not tonight.  What I wanted was more of his kisses.  More of the heat, the contact.  Something good to cover-up the bad.

He caressed my cheek with his thumb and lowered his head, pressing his lips to mine.  “I love you, Jade.”

My heart danced in my chest.  I opened my mouth to tell him the same, but didn’t get the chance.  His lips pressed down on mine, and his tongue was inside my mouth, tasting, exploring.  His hand slipped into my hair, wrapping it around his fist, and he pulled me closer, still.

I locked my arms around him, holding him close.  The feeling of his skin against mine was perfect and my body began to pulse with heat.  I exhaled when his lips left mine and fluttered down my neck, below my ear, and dipped down to flutter across my shoulder, feeling some of the day
’s tension and stress fall from me, only to be replaced with a whole new wonderful kind of tension.