Scared of Spiders

so damned cute. After they had left, the murmur of their arguing voices came through the closed door.

Josie sighed and flopped onto her couch. “Great. I went from two men to no men. Now what are we going to do today?” Snickers, who’d hopped up beside her, just meowed.

With nothing else to do, Josie did laundry. What a letdown. Her building thankfully had a washer and dryer in the basement area, so, armed with a book and quarters, she lost herself in the world of romance as her clothes tumbled around in the machines. It was midafternoon when she finally emerged with her last load. She lugged it up the stairs to her flat and balanced it on her hip as she unclipped her keys from her belt loop. A piece of paper fluttered in the jamb, and she let it fall to the floor when she opened the door. Only after she’d set her laundry down and closed the door did she pick up the hand-scrawled missive. In seconds, she was on the phone calling Clint with hands that shook.

* * * *

“How the hell did they find her?” ranted Brandon in the passenger seat of Clint’s SUV.

“Did any of the rogues escape yesterday?”

Brandon shot him a dirty look.

“I’d say it’s obvious then; we’re being followed.”

“By who, though?” growled Brandon. “And why threaten Josie?”

Clint’s wolf bristled inside his skin. “I don’t know, but they messed with the wrong pack if they think they can threaten our woman.”

“Our woman?” said Brandon sardonically. “I’d say right now we’re lucky she’s even talking to us. She was really pissed this morning.”

“And whose fault was that?” said Clint glaring at Brandon.

“Hey, I went to check on her. I can’t help wanting her. You of all people should know the feeling.”

“Yeah,” admitted Clint begrudgingly. “But now we’ve got to decide. Are we still going pursue her separately, or do we work together and tag-team?”

“I’ve always been a team player,” quipped Brandon. “And besides, remember the fun we had with that blonde back in college.”

Clint did indeed, and he hoped Josie would, too, when he and Brandon showed her how the love of two men would surpass her previous ideas of pleasure. Besides, with the danger she faced, he’d feel better knowing someone with the same emotional investment would also be watching her.

“Fine; that’s settled easily enough, but now, how are we going to (A) get her to agree to it and (B) get her to move out to the ranch where we can keep her safe?”

“You forgot (C),” said Brandon with a twinkle in his eyes. “How do we convince her cat not to shred our manparts when we sleep?”

Clint chuckled. “I guess we’d better invest in some jockstraps, because I doubt Josie will go anywhere without her furball.”

“Maybe if I rub catnip all over me, her kitty will like me and get me back in her good graces,” mused Brandon.

“Ha. I’m going with tuna myself.”

They discussed ways of taming Josie’s ferocious cat the rest of the drive, the silly banter not easing the anger still coursing through Clint, an anger that started when she’d called him in tears and probably wouldn’t end until he killed the threat to his future mate.

She must have watched for them from the window for she flung the door open as soon as they pulled out front with a screech. Her eyes were red, and her cheeks streaked with tears. She held her cat in her arms, which, as if sensing her mistress’s need, only emitted a low growl in their direction.

“Where’s the note?” asked Clint. She pointed behind her, her expression so frail, Clint braved the claws of her cat to wrap his arms around her. She shuddered in his embrace, and the cat, with a squawk, struggled loose. Clint watched over her head as Brandon spotted the note on the living room table and snatched it up to read. His beta’s face lost its usual joviality, and his eyes turned flinty.

It must be nasty for Brandon not to joke about it.

Brandon spun an unresisting Josie into his arms, handing Clint the note in the process.

Don’t think your testosterone-laden dogs will stop me when I come for you. Your time is fast approaching, and I will allow nothing to stand in my way. Tell your puppies if they know what’s good for them, they’ll roll over and prepare to greet their new master.

Rage-and icy fear for Josie-coursed through him. Marked or not, Josie was his. The thought of harm coming to her made his wolf howl in his mind and push to come to the surface, eager to hunt down the one who thought to threaten what was theirs. Instead of giving voice to all this, Clint simply said. “You’re moving.”

Josie pushed out of Brandon ’s arms and looked between them. “Move? Isn’t that a bit extreme?”

“This note is no joke, Josie. The people in our world don’t play by the rules, you know. They’ve discerned you’re important to us, and they’ll hurt you to get to us,” Clint replied. He didn’t mention that anyone who harmed a single strand of hair on her head would not survive his wrath.

“I’m important?” Her voice, vulnerable along with her bright eyes, made him groan, and he crushed her to him. Actually, she ended up sandwiched as Brandon hugged her from the back.

“Baby, I can’t explain it right now, but trust me when I say Brandon and I would rather die than see one hair on your head harmed.”

“Fine. Let’s say I believe you. Where is it you want me to move and for how long?”

Clint didn’t say forever, even as he thought it. “We’ll move you out to the ranch until we’ve taken care of the danger to you. I’ve got plenty of spare rooms.” And a really large bed. “I can also get a couple of the pack to patrol the grounds and prevent any unwelcome visitors.”

“What about my place and Snickers?”

Clint looked at her blankly for a second until he realized she meant the cat and not the chocolate bar. “We’ll bring your cat of course, and if you don’t mind, I’d like to station a pair of my guys here to keep an eye out.”

She bit her lower lip, and her glance bounced between him and Brandon. Finally, with a sigh, she nodded her head. “Fine. I’ll come. Just give me a few minutes to pack a bag. I’ll also need to grab the cat carrier from my storage unit in the basement.”

She left them to go to her bedroom, and Brandon turned to Clint, his eyes furious. “What the fuck is going on? First, this asshole sends some rogues at us, and then he threatens Josie. I want to find this son of a bitch and take him apart.”

Clint smiled, but his eyes remained flinty. “Oh, we’ll find him and make him regret even thinking of harming our little mouse. But, on a bright note, we’ll have Josie with us at the ranch where she belongs.”

Brandon grinned. “Are we flipping to see who gets to sleep with her first, under the guise of guarding of course?”

“My house, my turn first.”

Brandon would have retorted, but Josie was back lugging a knapsack. Clint raised an eyebrow in surprise. She’s certainly not like other women and their stacks of luggage. Not that she’d need many clothes if he had his way-he’d prefer she get naked and stayed that way.

Wrangling the cat into the cage proved interesting, and Josie had several scratches before Clint bent down and let out a menacing growl. The cat took one look at him and with a disdainful sniff, turned to march into the cage.

Damned felines. Another problem solved, the trio made its way to Clint’s SUV, where he gnashed his teeth as he realized that by driving, he’d placed Josie in the back seat with Brandon.

Josie, as if realizing this, finagled it so that Brandon sat in front on the passenger side, while she rode in the row behind with her cat.

Clint smirked at Brandon, who scowled. Despite the fact they’d agreed to share her, it didn’t mean healthy competition wasn’t alive and flourishing.

Halfway across town, Clint heard the question he’d dreaded.

“Why are we going this way? I thought you said I was on your way to work.”

Brandon laughed. “You are if you take a scenic twenty-minute detour.”