Rescuing Their Virgin Mate[Pack Wars-Book 3] (9 page)

He drew her to his chest. “I
like the
feels right
part.”

He leaned over and kissed her
like it was their first time. His soft lips and passionate embrace rippled down
to her toes. If only she were a foot taller, everything would line up so well.

Dirk stepped back, his
breaths coming out faster. “I can’t be with you and not want to make love. I
think we need to just wash and get out.”

Speechless over his
declaration, she pumped soap into her palm. She thought about turning her back
as she cleaned between her legs, but he might construe her action as insulting.
If this relationship was going to work, she needed to get over her inhibitions.

Dirk kept his gaze off her
body as he quickly washed. Before she finished rinsing, he stepped out of the
shower and toweled off.

“I came in to say breakfast
was ready, but then I got distracted.”

“Uh-huh.”

Animals had good hearing. He
must have been aware she was in the shower—naked. She shut off the water
and stepped out. This time, she proudly faced him.

His eyes squeezed shut for a
moment. He exhaled. “I got your yoga pants and top from your bedroom. They’re
on the bed.”

“Thanks.”

 
He nodded then he left.

Amused by his reaction, she
hurriedly dressed in the outfit he’d brought and dashed out of his bedroom into
hers to change into something more suitable. She didn’t need Clay to see her
nipples.

The smell of bacon, eggs, and
coffee permeated the hallway. Boy, was she hungry. She changed as fast as she
could,
then
rushed into the main room. Dirk was
already seated at the table, and Clay was at the center island. He picked up a
pile of scrambled eggs and placed it on the table.

“Have a seat.”

She glanced at him. Did he know
what transpired last night? He probably would be upset if he did. With her back
to Clay, she glanced to Dirk and mouthed,
does
he know?

Dirk must have telepathed
something to Clay because he turned around. “Elena, just so you know. There’s nothing
secret between the three of us. Nor should there ever be.”

Uh-oh.
She decided to test him. “You’re okay
with me having been intimate with Dirk?”

“More than okay.” He grinned.
“Remember when I said you are
our
mate?”

The words tumbled around in
her brain. She did remember but dismissed the concept of loving two men.

“Don’t get me wrong. I like
you, but I believe in committing to one man at a time.”

“I understand.”

While he said nothing more,
she didn’t believe the conversation was over. Dirk poured her juice, and Clay
brought over the bacon and toast.

Dirk waved his glass. “Let’s
eat.”

She was halfway through
breakfast when Clay leaned back in his seat. “I don’t want to upset you, but
can you tell us about your time in the warehouse?”

The image of that horrid
place surfaced. The mold, the filth, and the darkness made her flesh crawl. As
if the confining cage and horrible food weren’t bad enough, the memories of
being cuffed and blindfolded when they transported her to that strip club made
her gag. She pushed her plate away. “It was terrible.”

Clay leaned on his elbows. “If
we find out where they held you, we might be able to save other girls. What can
you remember? No detail is too small.”

She blew out a breath and
clasped her hands together to keep them from trembling. “It was dark.”

Dirk sat next to her and
placed a comforting hand on her leg. “Were there any windows?”

“Two small ones, high up.”

“You’re doing good,
sweetheart. What else?”

“It smelled of mold.”
Instinctively, she wrinkled her nose and her stomach churned.

She closed her eyes for a
moment and the image of that hulking guard emerged. He liked to shove her when
she had to go to the bathroom. She never sat on the toilet because there was no
seat. That and the fact roaches lived in the corner.

“Anything else? Like a
chemical smell perhaps?”

She tried to block out the
mold and the sweet stench of roach bodies. “I’m sorry. I smelled so bad… I didn’t
detect anything other than the dampness and rusty metal.” No use describing the
other horrors.

“How big was the space?” Dirk
asked.

She tried to visualize the
place. “The warehouse was metal and rectangular. Maybe the size of a high
school gym.”

Dirk squeezed her thigh.
“That’s real helpful.”

She opened her eyes and
soaked in his excitement. “There were two doors in the middle of one side. One
was a double garage door, like a loading bay, and the other was for people.”

Clay took a bite of his meal.
“That’s a big help. When they transported you to the strip club, do you
remember anything about the outside of the building?”

The tang of the gag still
resided in her memory. “They blindfolded me, but I smelled salt in the air.”

“You might have been near the
Gulf. Any sounds you recall?”

A shot of adrenaline plowed
through her. “A train went by every night.” She smiled. “And cranes. I never
saw them, but the chains clanged and squeaked during the day.”

“Excellent. Do you think if
we drove around the seaport you might recognize the place?”

Her chest tightened and she shook
her head. “I never saw the outside. But the day they brought in Cheryl and
Barbie through the loading bay, I got a glimpse of the area. I could see cars
driving by a couple of hundred feet away.”

Clay smiled. “Did you happen
to notice what was across the street from the warehouse?”

Now she understood. She knew
more than she thought. “There were more warehouses. The one across the way had
red lettering on the sign, but the sun’s glare was too strong to read
anything.”

“Your memory is good.”

She held up her fork. “This
might not mean anything, but I can tell you about the people who came in and
out of the warehouse.”

Clay’s eyes lit up. “Tell
me.”

Her best description was of
the Russian guard and the matron who gave her the clothes. “The day they came
for us, the man who you gave the money to showed up at the warehouse. A lady
came with him.”

Clay’s brows rose. “John
Hood. Tell me about this woman.”

She described her the best way
she could.

Dirk shoveled down his meal
then pushed back his chair. “I’m going to check it out. I’ll videotape what I
find. Maybe you can tell me if I have the right building.”

She was relieved she didn’t
have to go back there. “I can try.”

Dirk leaned over and kissed
her. “Clay will be your shopping guide today.”

While she needed shoes, only
now did it occur to her that Dirk was walking straight into danger. Her heart
seized.

Chapter Six

Clay tried to convince Dirk
to let him go to the warehouse district instead.

No.
I need to get out of here. It’s for Elena’s own good
.

Last night had changed
something in him. Dirk had slept with a lot of women, but none as special as Elena.
Her level of trust turned him inside out. He never dwelled on how his father
walked out on his mother and never returned, nor did he have the desire to find
out what happened to the old man, but he did yearn for a family.

Other than Clay, he hadn’t
allowed himself to get close to anyone. He loved women and enjoyed their
bodies, but he hadn’t made a connection with any of them like he had with Elena.
As much as he wanted to go slow, his body kept prodding him to speed up. Twice
his fangs had extended and his bones had cracked, and twice he’d had to force
his mind to the Colters to stop the change.

He almost regretted going
into the bathroom this morning. He knew she was in there. He’d heard the shower
running. What the fuck had he expected to find—Elena standing at the sink
fully clothed? She must think he only wanted her for sex. Walking out of the
bathroom wasn’t cool either, but he hadn’t trusted himself.

Dirk left and then relayed
Elena’s description of the warehouse location to headquarters. The general
asked if he needed help.

“I’m only there to find the
right spot, not to capture a bunch of Colters.”

“See that you don’t stir up a
mess.”

As he drove down Seaside
Drive, he slowed to check out the area. The seaport was expansive and dotted
with a ton of metal buildings. If there were two windows on one end of Elena’s
warehouse, it was possible she was housed in a building attached to another.
Shit
. This wasn’t going to be easy.

Dirk drove up and down
Seaside Drive until he spotted a building with red lettering. Across the road,
set far back, was a lone warehouse that fit the description. He parked and got
out with his camera phone in hand. Tourists wouldn’t come here, so he needed to
be as discreet as possible.
He videoed both the building
across the street and the potential warehouse where Elena might have been held.

Unsure if she’d recognize the
building from the side, he strode toward the warehouse for a better angle.
While there were no fences or
no
trespassing
signs, he didn’t want to attract attention by walking right up
to it. Instead, he headed to an area a few buildings down. If he came in from
the rear and took the picture from there, his chances of being spotted were
slimmer.

As he inched closer, his
senses shot to high alert. A werewolf was near. Many wolves, both good and bad,
worked the docks, so he couldn’t conclude this one was a Colter. He slipped his
camera phone in his pocket and acted as if he belonged there. Several vans were
parked in front, and cranes sat two buildings over. A large tug was in dry
dock.

He got within three feet of
the side door and sensed a werewolf inside. He moved closer and tested the
door. It was locked.
Fuck
.

Time to retreat
.
He stepped behind one of the vans and kept an eye on the
exit believing the person would investigate his handle jiggling. While he
waited, he emailed the video of the area to Clay. He’d show it to Elena.
He also texted the werewolf’s presence.

Time seemed to slow the
moment the door to the warehouse squeaked open. The werewolf would know another
member of the clan was nearby, but hopefully he wouldn’t assume it was a member
of the Pack.
Best case
scenario, he’d conclude Dirk
belonged to Hood’s team.

As soon as the large man
stuck out his head, Dirk snapped a picture and sent it to Clay. This guy could
be her Russian guard. The question was if he worked alone. Colters often
recruited humans to do their dirty jobs.

Drawing on his acting skills,
he stepped from behind the van, looked up at the building, and shielded his
eyes, hoping the mark would think he was there to check out the building.

“Hey,” shouted the man. It
was hard to tell much with one word, but it might have been laced with a Russian
accent.

Dirk returned his gaze to the
man. “Hood sent me.”

The man grunted and mumbled
something foreign. The guard pulled out his phone.
Shit
.
So much for deception.

#

Clay had graciously offered
to take Elena shoe shopping. Not only didn’t she want to walk around in
four-inch heels every day, she appreciated the diversion of going to the mall.
The place was packed and being in a crowd made her feel safe. The only negative
was that Dirk was out there looking for Hood’s men and in possible danger while
she enjoyed herself with Clay.

Clay looked around and moved
her away from the rush. He held up his phone and pressed a button. “Dirk just
sent this over. I’d like you to watch.”

For the next twenty seconds,
the nightmare returned. Chills raced up her spine and her pulse raced. At first,
she wasn’t sure if he had the right warehouse until he moved across from the
building with the red letters. She swallowed the lump in her throat and slapped
a hand to her chest to calm her beating heart. As much as she tried to push
aside those horrible two weeks, she couldn’t.

“Yes. That’s it.”

Clay texted her
message back
to Dirk.

Because they were within
hearing distance of a ton of people, it probably wasn’t safe to say too much.
“You said he sensed a you-know-what. Do you think that could be the guard or
Hood himself?”

“I’m sure Dirk will find
out.”

“What if it is? Shouldn’t he get
someone to help him?”

“He can handle himself. Dirk
won’t go on the offensive if the odds are stacked against him.”

She hoped so. As ridiculous
as it sounded, she might be falling in love with Dirk. She was sure her friends
would say it was some kind of white knight syndrome, but she disagreed. Not
that she had a little black book that listed her criteria for a man, but if she
had one, she could check every box in regards to him.