Excessive Force (Force of Nature Series) (4 page)

“Don’t.” He stopped moving toward her and she went to the door. “I swear if you touch me again I’ll hurt you. You seem like a nice guy and all but I’ve got a life and it does not involve having you hanging around me for the rest of my life.”

“You think that’s going to make this go away?” She knew it probably wouldn’t but nodded anyway. “You’re kidding yourself if that’s what you think. We’re fated to be together whether you like it or not. I, for one, would like to pursue this to see what we can be together.”

“You see this is
where we differ. I know what the conclusion will be. You’ll find out just what I am and decide that all the money offered to sell me off is much better than having an easy fuck. Well, been there and done that, asshole, and I’ve had my fill of men like you.” She wrapped her hand around the door handle and reached for an animal, any one that would get her away from there. But he wrapped his arms around her just as her hawk took her.

She had no idea what might have happened if he hadn’t held her
at that moment. But she knew as surely as she was now perched on his arm that had he not, she would have been hurt if not killed. The shot that rang out was still vibrating across the wind even as the wood splintered from the wall where her head would have been.

She knew she was hurting him but
couldn’t let go of him just yet. Her talons were sharp, but she knew that if she let go, she’d fall to the floor, and she needed to think right now. She looked up at Austin when he stepped into the room. CJ had been moved to the other side of the room by some force. She didn’t want to think about what would have happened if she had left the house first instead of her.

“You all right?”
CJ nodded to Austin, and he turned to Reid and her. “Good. What the fuck is going on? Was that a shot I heard?”

“Someone shot at Jodie.”
She moved to the floor and shifted again as Reid continued talking to Austin. “She was just getting ready to leave when I stepped up behind her. I’m not sure where the shot came from, but I would say fairly close.”

“
I’d like to go now.” Both men shook their head, but otherwise ignored her. “Maybe I should rephrase that, I’m going to leave. As I have said several times, I’ve got things to do.”

“Your brother purchased three bottles of chemicals this morning.
He paid cash and had on gloves this time.” Jodie looked at Phil, and he nodded at her. “I’ve a contact at the store. What would a man who hasn’t picked up as much as a dishcloth in a decade be doing with so much lawn chemicals?”

She didn’t like her father, her brothers either
, but to know or to think that they’d be capable of killing off one another made her sad and pissed. She went out the door and toward her bike. She didn’t get on it just yet but thought about what was going on. She didn’t turn when she felt someone, Reid, come up behind her.

“They’ll kill him off and get away with it.
Then they’ll try to kill me if they think they can get the land.” She turned to him. “Do you know how much I’ve had to sacrifice to pay off those taxes? All my savings, and then some. It’s taken me almost three years to put it all back in the bank. I’ve given up so much just for those bastards to treat me like shit.”

Before he could say anything, if he would have
, she swung her leg over the bike and started it. She was moving down the drive and out the large gates before she let the tears fall.

Chapter 4

He was being poisoned
, there was no doubt about it. Reid looked up at Phil and nodded once. Phil moved to the foot of the bed and braced his arms over his chest. No one would get past him unless they were set on being killed. Reid looked at Jodie, who had shown up not ten minutes after he had.

She’d changed
her clothes. Not to say that she’d been wearing the same thing every time he’d seen her, but she’d dressed up. She’d had on a pair of jeans and a baggy tee-shirt yesterday, and now she had on a pretty silk blouse that fit her like it had been poured over her and molded to her body. The skirt was short, but not too short, and her bare legs looked long and smooth. He had to bite his hand when she’d bent to lay her purse on the chair just inside the room. Reid had to concentrate hard on what he was there for and not what he’d wanted to do to the beautiful woman in front of him.

“I’ll have him taken to the hospital where I live.
Maybe they can, I don’t know, take some of this poison out of him.” Reid shook his head as soon as she said she was taking her father away. “Then what do you suggest? I leave him here until they finish what they started? Not fucking likely.”

“I’ll have him transferred to the clinic where I can keep an eye on him.”
And her too, he thought to himself. “Then when he’s better, we can make arrangements to have him set up in one of the homes close to where we can keep him safe.”

“And you’ll do this why? For sex?
No thanks. I’ve enough to deal with on my own.” She pulled out her cell phone and he stepped to her, no longer caring to be nice. She was his, damn it.

Reid jerked her around and slammed his mouth over hers. She dug her nails into his arms enough that he
felt the pain of it, but her body fit against him when he pressed her to the wall behind her. She moaned when he cupped her ass, and he lifted her against his hardening cock. Christ, he wanted her right fucking now.

Jodie curled her fingers into his hair
, and he moved his mouth down her jaw to her throat. He tasted her need, as it seemed to pour from her. When she tilted her head for him, he took a small nip at her hot skin and licked the area with his tongue. He wanted to bite her, wanted to mark her, but he couldn’t do that, not like this. Phil clearing his throat had him lifting his head from her pounding pulse.

“You have an audience.
I’m sure I know what you’re feeling, but right now we have more important…well not more important, but certainly more pressing things to deal with.” Phil laughed when he growled at him. “I wish I could let you finish what you’ve started, but the brothers are coming and I don’t think they should see you feeling up their sister right now.”

Reid looked at Jodie
, who was looking at the wall to her right. He said her name softly twice, and when she ignored him, he lifted her chin to have her look at him. He could see her wolf stirring in her eyes, and his own curled himself around him as well.

“I’m sorry.” She frowned.
“I was angry that you dismissed me so quickly, and I lost my temper. I should never have….”

“Should never have what?” Her voice was husky and full of promise
, and he wanted to pick up where they’d stopped. But he heard her brothers coming up the stairs.

“
Your brothers are finally awake. What do you want to do about this?” She looked at him, and he waited, trying his best not to order her to let him take care of this. He had no doubt that she could handle much more than this, but he wanted to do it for her. Knowing that would piss her off more, he kept his mouth shut. For now.

Mike came in the room
first, still in a pair of baggy dirty pants and no shirt. Barefooted, he nearly fell as his feet slipped on the rug. Curt came into the room next, wearing nothing but a pair of boxers that looked like they were two or three sizes too small. They, too, were dirty, but it was the look on his face that had Reid stepping in front of Jodie.

“What the fuck i
s going on here? What are you doing in my house?” Jodie started to step around him, but a growl slipped from his mouth before she could move. Everyone looked at him.

“You might want to take it down a notch there
, buck-o. I’d hate to have to hurt you for pissing me off.” Phil moved toward the two younger men as he continued. “You were informed that we were coming. And as for your house? I wasn’t aware that you owned this property. I just assumed, like most, that your father owns it.”

Reid watched the two men and saw the
anger being replaced with fake concern. Mike had been doing the poisoning. He’d bet his life on it. And when he looked at Mike, he wondered if he was trying to kill Jodie. These two were bad news.

“I’m having father moved to the clinic. The ambulance is on its way,
isn’t it, Mr. Campbell?” Phil winked at her and pulled out his phone as Jodie moved around him toward the brothers. “You’ll be out of this house by the end of the week. If not, I won’t be responsible for what happens to you when the bull—”

“You
can’t order me out of this house. When Dad is gone, I’ll own this place and you’re not taking him anywhere. He’s staying here.” Curt crossed his arms over his chest and glared at her. “You just try it and see what happens.”

Before he could move, Curt was slammed against the wall. No one had moved
, and when Mike stepped toward them, he joined his brother. Neither man spoke, but Reid knew it was more likely due to her magic rather than them learning to keep their mouth shut.

“I own this place as of five years ago. I’ve been
paying all the bills and keeping the taxes paid up. The utilities as well. And as of now you’re no longer going to freeload off me.” She slammed them twice more against the wall without so much as moving her finger. “And I will take him where I think he’ll be safe from either of you. Unless, of course, you want to tell me which one of you are giving him poison?”

Neither man
made any kind of indication they were going to answer her. Jodie turned to him, and he had to bite his inner lip or laugh. Christ, she was amazing. And powerful. It meant that she didn’t need him to protect her, but he was going to enjoy watching her take on her family.

The medics from the clinic arrived fifteen minutes later.
As they were loading up her father, he looked at the two men as soon as Jodie let them free. He waited until the ambulance was pulling away before he spoke to them.

“I know.” Nei
ther man moved, but he could feel the fear. “You’ve been poisoning him for a very long time, and now you’re going to be fucked because I plan to find out which one of you has been doing it. And I’m also going to find out which one of you shot at her.” With that, he moved out of the room and into the living room where Phil and Jodie were waiting.

“
You ready to go?” Phil nodded, but Jodie watched her brother’s move up the stairs, still dressed as if they were going back to bed instead of starting the day. They paused when Jodie said their names.

“You’ll have until Friday. You’ll
be given a notice today, and whether you’re here to get it or not, I frankly don’t care.”

Phil stood by him as Jodie left the house.
Reid turned back to the two men and looked at them. He knew what sort of men they were, men like his father had been. Lazy and mean men who would toss out their own sons so their welfare checks and food stamps would go further without them in the house.

“You come near her again
, I will kill you.” Mike sneered at him, and Curt flipped him off. “You think I’m kidding you? She’s my mate, and I’ll do whatever it takes to protect her.”

“You think I’m afraid of you
, pup? I’ve beaten the shit out of bigger men than you’ll ever hope to be.” Curt moved down the steps toward him as he continued. “You’ll be smart and stay away from her from now on. If this deal with the house and property is true about what she’s saying, I’ll have my way or she’ll not be much good to you either.”

Reid lunged at the man and laughed when he fell back in an effort to get away from him.
When he stood up, Reid turned his back on him and left the house. Jodie was just getting into a cab when Phil put his hand on his arm.

“I’d let her go for now. You have to settle a few things before you can bring her back.
Like the house.” Reid wanted to go after her but knew that Phil was right. He didn’t have a home for them and living in the pack house was not an option. “The people that are still living in your house would like a word with you.”

“Now?”
Phil nodded as they went to his car. “All right. I want a home to come home to, not this mess that I seem to have right now. Is Randy meeting us there?”

“No. Randy has…he’s had second thoughts about this house. He spoke to me right before I left
, and he wants to live on his own.” Phil turned to look at him, as Reid had stopped moving. “It’ll be all right.”

“I
can’t afford this house on my own.” He felt his heart begin to pound. “The only way we were able to swing this is because we were both going to be footing the bill. Now with him out of it, I can’t do this.”

“You can and you will.
I have a plan.” Reid got into the passenger’s side of his car, and Phil at the wheel. Phil grinned at him. “You’ll need to get something more reliable if you have children. This will never do.”

They drove in mostly silence.
After the shock of his brother wanting to back out, Reid was working on trying to figure out how to get the bank to take it back without ruining his credit. When they pulled up in front of the house, all Reid could see was how much money it was going to take to make the house right. Money he didn’t have now.

The
Fields came out of the house just as soon as they pulled to a stop. Mr. Fields had never been overly friendly with him, and Mrs. Fields a little too friendly. Reid was glad that Phil was with him as a buffer between the two of them and him.

“Mr. Atkins, nice day, huh?
” Reid nodded, shocked at the man’s sudden nice demeanor, and took his hand when he’d put it out there. “I was wondering if you and I could have a talk about the house. You don’t really need your lawyer. You and me and the missus can settle this, I think.”

“As you can see
, we’ve come together. So whatever you have to say, I’ll be here as well.” Anger blasted at him from the man as Phil smiled at him. There was something going on here, and he didn’t know what, but he had a feeling that Phil did.

“I would like to speak to him alone.”
Now this was the Mr. Fields that Reid knew. A prick and ill tempered. “Why don’t you wait in the car?”

“He stays with me.”
Phil smiled at them both, and Reid looked at the house. “You’ve been asked several times to keep the place up. I don’t see that you’ve even mowed the lawns. But then, of course, you were supposed to be out long before now, and I would be mowing my own lawn, isn’t that right?”

Mr. Fields looked back at his wife
, then at him. That’s when Reid noticed that she was wearing next to nothing, and she looked like she might have had a black eye. Reid had a feeling that he was going to be in trouble, more than he could get out of right away, if he even came close to either of them.

“You really should come on in the house.”
Reid shook his head and backed up. “Mother fuck, how the hell is this supposed to work if he won’t do what I tell him?”

“Just fucking hit
them both.” Mrs. Fields tore at her blouse to where her breast was exposed along with the dark bruise on her ribs. “We can get a deal on getting them both and never have to worry about money again.”

“Have yo
u figured it out yet?”
Reid nodded at Phil’s whispered comment.
“Good boy. Now this is what we’re going to do. We’re going to get into the car before either of them comes closer. That way we have no DNA on us when this shit goes down.”

The
y moved backwards toward the car, both of them keeping an eye on the couple who were arguing about how to get Reid into the house. When they slammed the doors shut and started the car, both ran after them, but it was too late.

“They were going to
accuse me of hurting her.” Phil nodded as he took a turn a little too sharply. “What the hell was that for? I don’t have anything?”

“You have more than they
do at the moment. Their house, for one. And I put a sizable amount of money in your account some time ago that you’ve never touched.”

“That’s not my money.”
Phil glanced at him. “I didn’t want that money, and you knew it. My parents never wanted us in the first place, and I certainly don’t want their money now.”

His
parents had won the lottery about four years after he and Randy had started living with the Forces. And when a horrific accident had taken both his parents’ lives, most of the money was still in their account. Austin, with Phil’s help, had petitioned for them to receive it as they were their only living relatives. He and Randy both had gotten all the money, and both insurance policies had paid double as they were killed in an accident. There was just over seven million dollars in each of their accounts.