Force of Nature Series Boxed Set (Books 1 - 4) (33 page)

“You really fucked up this time, Patrick Booth. You fucked up so bad that I had to use my considerable resources to clean up your mess.” Tom had come to the cage and rapped the cane on the metal and Paddy jumped back. “You need to learn your place, young man, and starting with that young woman who came in and had the nerve to knock me down.”

Paddy didn’t remember that, but then he didn’t remember much when he was a wolf. He moved to the middle of the cage and looked up at Tom.

“Why am I in here? I didn’t do anything you didn’t tell me to.” At least he didn’t think he had. And if he had, he was pretty sure that he’d be dead now and not just in a cage. “Let me go and we’ll talk.”

Tom sat back down in his chair and waved the others out. The nurse looked at him and it was then that he could see the hatred on her face. He tried to think what he’d done to her too, but the door was shutting and he looked back at Tom.

“You killed that woman. Your ex-wife, she’s dead. You went nuts and…well, I’ll be lucky if I can ever get the stains out of my suit. You’ll be paying for that, you can bet. Dry cleaning blood out is a no-no. So, I’ll expect you to compensate me nicely. As for her death, it is my understanding that wolves, once they get a taste for blood, never can get enough.”

Paddy sat back on the wall and took several deep breaths. He’d killed Judith. He didn’t remember, but he was sure that Tom was telling him the truth. He looked up at the man.

“How? I mean, how did I kill her? And the kids, are they okay?” He wasn’t sure what Tom had in store for his daughter, but he was pretty sure it wasn’t good. “I think I’d like to change my mind about Darcy. You can’t have her now.”

The cane hit the cage again, this time so hard that it rattled him too. When he scooted back this time, he was afraid. He was suddenly very afraid not only for Darcy, but for him as well.

“You’ll give me what I want or else I’ll hurt you in ways you can’t imagine. I will make your conversion seem like child’s play compared to what I’ll do to you.” He sat back again. “You are going to get me the child. And you’ll get me the woman that knocked me over and took the child from me. She will pay for her…indiscretions. The girl, she’ll be my day walker and someday my bride.”

Paddy remembered shuddering, thinking that he didn’t want the vampire to touch him much less his daughter, but a deal was a deal and he didn’t want to be hurt. Darcy would have to be on her own, he reasoned. She was smart, she’d learn her way. Paddy nodded and after a bit more conversation, mostly from Tom, he was let out. That had been just over two months ago.

After another hour of nothing moving in and out of the driveway, Paddy shifted and ran to his car. He hated that he had to go back to human form to get inside his dive of an apartment, but there was no hope for it. The first time he’d tried to get inside as his wolf, the neighbor, a nosey bitch, had called the police and he’d been chased out. Since then he’d made sure he made a great deal of noise when he heard them go to bed and when they’d complained, he’d met them at the their door as a wolf. They didn’t complain any more.

His cell phone was ringing when he entered his shabby room. He hadn’t taken it with him because he didn’t want to give away his position hiding out. He looked at the caller ID and didn’t recognize the number so he let it go to voicemail. Stripping down, he stepped in the shower and was drying off when he heard it ring again. This time he answered, ready to give the person on the other end a piece of his mind.

“They know. They found out that you killed your wife and they’re going to come and get you.” The call ended with a bang. He set the phone down then picked it up to dial to retrieve messages. It said basically the same thing, only this time there was a threat. “If you tell on me, I’ll take you down with me.”

Paddy sat on the toilet and set the phone gently on the sink. He stared at it for several seconds before he leaned forward, rested his head in his hands, and continued to stare. He didn’t have any idea who it was and worse yet, he didn’t know what the hell they were talking about. He moved out of the bathroom then started to get dressed. He didn’t even go near the phone until he was completely clothed and had his boots on. He picked it up and decided to call the number.

It rang three times before someone answered. It was a woman this time instead of the man from the other two calls. He waited for her to say something besides hello, but she didn’t. Then when she did speak, his entire body chilled.

“It will do you little good to figure out where this call came from. You’ll still be dead. Dead sooner if you fuck with us.” There was a shuffle of something heavy then, “Call this number again and I will hunt you down and cut your pecker off.”

The line going dead was nearly as scary as the threat.

Chapter 12

Glad watched the children. She’d been trying to think of a way to talk to her grandniece, but all she thought about was that Darcy was talking only to Gordon and Dallas about what had happened. And what she was saying to them was…well, Glad’s heart hurt not really knowing everything.

Someone had come into the house and had killed Judith. They knew that. They’d thought it was Paddy, but it turned out that he’d actually been knocked out when it happened. Darcy had said that he’d changed into a wolf and that he’d attacked them, but the other man had shot him with some sort of gun and the needle had been sticking out of his fur when he’d gone down.

The man, Tom is what Darcy had said her father had called him, had then attacked Judith, who was trying to hide her. Darcy said her mother had been shielding her with her body, but the man had simply used the cane that had changed into a large sword. He’d cut her nearly in half, and after she’d fallen he’d started beating on Darcy.

“He cut me up really bad. I was bloody everywhere and then he stabbed me in the chest. I tried to get away, but…but I fell, and then Aunt Alexis came into the house. She tried to get him off me, but he wasn’t having it.” Darcy looked up at Glad and then away. Glad was afraid she was going to tell them that she’d let Tom into the house, but she didn’t. Grateful beyond words, Glad leaned against the wall she was hiding behind and listened to the rest of the story with horror.

They’d come there to get Judith, Darcy said. And her. Glad had only let them in because Paddy had called and said that he’d had some money for them. And Jessie thought maybe they could work things out so that he’d visit the children. She had insisted that she let them in. The fact that Paddy was bringing his lawyer so that they could sign off on the papers that said he’d be giving them money every week was something they had both agreed would be a good thing.

They needed the money. They were living only on hers and Jessie’s Social Security and it wasn’t much. Judith had a little saved, but the divorce had cost her plenty.

Darcy sitting next to her on the couch and watching her brothers and sister startled Glad and brought her from her horrible memories.  Darcy was mute for several minutes. When she finally spoke to her, it was in low, hushed tones.

“He wasn’t telling us the truth. He never did. Did he?”

Glad could have pretended that she didn’t know who she was talking about, but it would have been a lie. There were enough of those going around right now and she decided to answer her question. “No. I didn’t mean to let him hurt you, Darcy. I swear it. I let him in because he said that he had seen the errors of his ways. And when I left, I didn’t know what he was going to do to you.” Glad wiped at the tears as she continued. “He’s always been only out for himself. Always. I don’t know what to tell you, but I swear that I didn’t—”

“I know that, Aunt Glad,” she told her, cutting her off. “He said once that he didn’t know why he married Mom. He thought it was because she didn’t want him when he was growing up. Why would he want someone that didn’t want him?”

Glad didn’t know the answer to that either other than to say Paddy had always been a spoiled brat, so she said nothing. As they sat there watching Sis play with her dollies and the boys try to run them over with their trucks, Glad thought of something else. “How did she save you?”

Darcy looked at her with a frown.

“Your Aunt Alexis, how did she save you? Gordon told me that you said Alexis saved you, but he didn’t say how. He said you told him yesterday when you were talking to him and Dallas. You said that she saved your life. How?”

She was so quiet that Glad was sure she wasn’t going to answer. Then when she did, she knew that Darcy wasn’t telling her everything. She didn’t know why she thought so, but she got the feeling that Darcy was protecting her aunt even now…or she still didn’t trust her.

“I don’t know. I think she put a blanket over me and stopped the pain. I guess the blood that was on me was…it must have been Mom’s and not mine like I thought.” She looked at Glad then and smiled that sort of half-smile. “You know that’s what I meant, don’t you?”

Glad nodded and didn’t say anything. There were things going on that she didn’t understand. They’d all known that Alexis was different, and after Judith died it had become more apparent that whatever she was, she was keeping it to herself. Glad wondered what else she didn’t know about her niece. She left the children to go into the other room, her thoughts a jumble of everything.

The kitchen was her solitude. Glad began pulling out things to make some cookies without thinking about what she was doing. Her mind was a muddle of things that were really nothing she could narrow down, so she baked. By the time she’d gotten the batter mixed up and the first sheet of cookies in the oven, she finally came upon the note that Alexis left.

“I’m at the building making stuff for the shop. Please call me if you need me as I’ll have the phone near me. Gordon and his brother may be in and out. I don’t know what they’re doing, but let them have free rein. A.”

Glad looked out the kitchen window and saw that there were lights on in the building and that some of the doors and windows were open. Smiling, she wondered what sort of concoction Alexis was brewing up now, and she went about her baking. It was several hours and several batches of cookies later when Gordon and Dallas showed up.

~~~

Gordon could smell the other wolf as soon as he walked along the driveway. He knew that it was the same one that had attacked him, and was very careful where he walked. He wanted his brother to get the scent too. After the two of them walked around where Paddy had been they went back up to the house and sat in the kitchen while Gladys filled a plate of cookies for them both.

“What do you think we can do to improve the way this place is locked down?” Gordon looked up at his brother as he shoved two warm chocolate chip cookies in his mouth. “This place has a better security system than we have. Not to mention all the power running through those lines. Who the hell is she trying to keep out?”

Gordon hadn’t told Dallas about the other wolf. He wanted him to come there and see for himself what they were dealing with. It made him feel better knowing that the place was secure, but he still had a feeling he was missing something.

“Oh, he’s a horror of a man. Why just before they divorced, he threatened me,” Jessie said as she entered the room and before Gordon could talk around his cookies. “The nerve of the little pisser. I’ll have you know that in my day I could shoot the eye out of a rat.”

Gladys huffed. “Last week it was a knife. Get your stories straight, you old bat. And as far as I know, you’ve never even had a gun in your hands.”

“I did too. Last fall when we had that turkey shoot. Remember? You said that I couldn’t hit the broad side of a house and I proved I could.”

“You did hit the broad side of the house. Nearly shot Alexis in the process. She told you if you ever picked up a gun again she was going to shoot you with it herself.” Gladys took a gallon of milk out of the refrigerator and set it between Gordon and Dallas as she continued berating her friend. “And it wasn’t a turkey shoot you were at, it was the backyard where Alexis was trying to show us how not to use a gun. You failed. Miserably.”

Jessie looked crestfallen for about half a minute then brightened. “Yes. I remember now. I did show her I could load a gun quickly. She was very impressed with that.” She took the milk from them and then handed them both a beer.

Gladys took the beers, put them back, and handed them both a glass of milk. “Beer and cookies will make you sick. And yes, she was impressed with your ability to load a gun. But if you remember correctly, which you never do, she told you that she was impressed that you could load a gun so quickly with all the ammo that had already been used. It does little good to have a well-loaded gun if all the bullets in it are already fired. You dolt. I swear you get nuttier every day.”

Gordon didn’t know how much longer the bickering might have gone on, but the children came into the kitchen at that moment and defused it. They were given milk and cookies too, and after a kiss to both aunts and a hug to both him and Dallas they were sent on their way into the backyard. Dallas grinned at him when the door closed behind them.

“You ready for a family? Seems they’ve taken to you all right.” Dallas picked up another cookie and took a healthy bite. “I’m going to be the favorite uncle and enjoy spoiling them all very soon.”

Every wolf that came near him knew that he was claimed and that he had a mate. Gordon’s cock jerked in his pants every time he thought of his mate and what they’d done in the forest last night. Christ, she was wonderful, and he found himself wondering where she was right now and if he could go and find her. He looked up when the back door opened and there she stood. His wolf snarled for a taste of her too.

Dallas’s laughter brought him back or he might have simply pressed her against the wall and taken her, damn the people around them. He flushed and glanced back at Alexis, whose cheeks were red.

“Down, you two, or we’ll never get this finished.” Dallas got up, led Alexis to his chair, and then stood next to the counter. “The house is secure. There isn’t anything I think we can add to make it any better. The building out back, is it just as locked up?”

Alexis nodded and turned toward Dallas. Gordon felt his breath swoosh from his lungs. Damn it, he felt like he had a constant hard-on around her and wondered if they would ever get enough of each other. Then he grinned. He certainly hoped not.

“I’ve had several different people work on the system since we moved in. There are four…no, five different alarm companies that have us online, as well as Dark Treasures in town. If someone so much as breathes on the door, the police will be there in seconds.” Alexis started to continue, but Gladys chimed in.

“There are also buttons all over the building to press if we are in trouble and open. Alexis showed us where they were and even gave us both a map so we didn’t forget where in case somebody comes in.” She pulled her map out and handed it to him. “There are a whole bunch of them in the front and a bunch in the back. She even put one in the bathrooms in case we’re using the facilities when we get the call.”

“We’re not to push it if we need toilet paper and we’re in there, though. The police were not amused when they busted in the door for that one.” Jessie shook her head. “Nope, not one bit. I’ve had to do some pretty long community service for that one.”

Gordon didn’t even ask. Being on the force, he had heard about someone calling for help and it turning out to be nothing but a paper run, but he’d never heard it had been Jessie. He was going to call his brother Connor when he got some time and see if he had much information on it. Gordon could see that Dallas wanted to ask, but didn’t.

With a shake of his head, Dallas continued. “I want to be able to have a look around the shop if you don’t mind. When do you open for business?”

“I have to run some supplies in today. We’re normally closed on Sunday and Monday. That’s when I go in and replenish what we’ve sold through the week.” Alexis got up and moved toward the door. “I’ll let you know when I’m packed up. The van is nearly loaded now and I shouldn’t be much longer.”

When she went out the door, he stood to follow her. Dallas stopped him with a hand on his chest. The older women left the kitchen about the same time and they could hear their voices fade as they walked away.

“The wolf, do you think he’ll try and get to the children? They go back to school tomorrow, right?”

“Yes,” he answered Dallas. “I’ve already made arrangements to have one of the pack pick them up here and take them. They’ll also bring them back at the end of the day. There are five teachers there that Austin has told to watch out for them and to protect them as well. Why?”

“Don’t know, but I have a feeling that…well, I have something on my mind that I’d like to talk to you about when we’re alone.” Dallas looked at the door that Gladys and Jessie had gone through. “Do you think the other woman…Jessie…do you think she’s as dumb as she appears?”

Gordon started to say she wasn’t dumb just confused, but then he realized what his brother was asking. He too looked at the door. Could she be? The two women had been together since the beginning of this and neither of them seemed surprised by Jessie’s behavior. Nor did it seem forced or an act. But still, he didn’t know for sure.

“What are you asking me? If I think this is a scam and she’s a part of it?” He had lowered his voice to nearly nothing, but he knew that his brother would hear him. “You think she’s in on whatever is going on here?”

“I don’t know,” Dallas answered just as quietly. “But I can’t believe that she’s that stupid about things.”

Gordon hadn’t thought of it like that. He’d just thought they were funny together. He would wonder now and that was probably why Dallas had told him. He’d keep an eye on both women from now on. He moved toward the door again and out. Dallas said he’d be walking the perimeter again and would wait for the two of them.