“It is what it is,” Wraith mocks as he twists off the top and downs half the bottle.
“Look, we don’t even know if they know we have her. When we left, they were looking for her in the woods. Don’t go borrowing trouble.”
“They’re not stupid Slash.” Wraith wipes his mouth with the back of his hand.
“That’s debatable,” I mutter under my breath. Wraith’s eyes flash in warning. The threat easily read. Shut the fuck up.
“They’ll figure out she had some help.”
“What if we hide her somewhere?” Kid chimes in.
“I need Slash here. And if he’s anything like Shadow, he’s not going to let her get too far away from him.”
“What about stashing her at the Clubhouse?”
“You think she’s going to want to be around the bitches there?” Shyla scoffs. “Cherry will make her life a living hell and you know it. She hates humans.”
“So does Slash, but that doesn’t seem to bother him now.” Kid laughs.
“Enough!” Wraith roars, rattling the windows. A soft sound comes from the other room.
“I think she’s awake,” Shyla adds with a smirk. My attention snags on the door to my bedroom, waiting for it to open.
“Slash before you go barging in there, let me go check on her,” Shyla offers. “It may be easier seeing another female first before being bombarded with all the testosterone in here.” She kisses Shadow before climbing off his lap.
“Thanks Shyla. I appreciate it.”
She knocks on the door before opening it, and my mate’s scent floods my senses. Fear, confusion and wariness taint her honeysuckle smell.
“Look we know nothing for certain at this point.”
“Fine. We’ll stay alert for anyone snooping around,” Wraith concedes. “If I get a whiff of anything, we’ll lock her down and keep her safe.”
“Appreciate it man.”
“I’m gonna head out,” Wraith clasps my hand. “Congrats on finding her.” With a nod, he walks out the front door.
“I’m out to.” Kid throws his empty beer bottle in the trash. “There’s a certain red head that probably needs some consoling, now that you’re off the market.” Kid’s cocky grin is the last thing I see before he struts out the door.
Killer rises from the couch and ambles over my way. He leans on the bar next to me. “Slash don’t take her for granted. You hold on to her with both hands. I know that you hate humans because of what happened to your brother, but that has nothing to do with her. Don’t let that hate interfere with what you could have. The love of your mate is unlike anything you’ll ever experience. Don’t fuck that up by being stupid.” He grips my shoulder before turning to leave. Big Bry nods in my direction before following Killer outside.
I turn to see Shadow staring at me pensively.
“Any advice?”
“Brother, I wish I did. You’re in a whole ‘nother world than I was in. Shyla knew she was my mate. It made things easier in that regard. But you, you got a human who doesn’t know about shifters or mating or any of this shit. I’d hate to be in your shoes.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” I snort. The opening of the door kills Shadow’s retort. Anxiety runs rampant through my veins, eager to see who emerges from the opening. Shyla’s face appears with a timid smile. My body vibrates with anticipation, my heart pounds and my palms get sweaty.
“How is she?”
“Scared, nervous, confused. She doesn’t remember anything but leaving work.” Her eyes dart back to the door. “That was two days ago.”
“Jesus.” Wiping a hand over my face my mind races with thoughts of what those bastards could have done to her in that time.
“I don’t think they assaulted her, Slash. I think they wanted to use her for leverage.”
“Leverage? For what?”
“I don’t completely understand. She mumbled something about her dad.” She gathers up her purse from the floor. “Just go easy with her, Slash. She’s very timid. Drove my cat crazy. You’ve got a time ahead of you.”
“Thanks Shyla, for everything.”
“You’re welcome. She’s very nice. She’s just caught up in something that she has no business in,”
“Let’s go, babe. Leave the lovebirds alone.” Shadow wraps his arm around her shoulders. “Call if you need anything brother.”
The door shuts softly behind them.
Now what?
154
Molly
Snuggling into the soft pillow, a woodsy scent brings me comfort as I drift back off to sleep. Woodsy scent? What the hell? My sheets smell like Tide. My mouth feels like I’ve been sucking on cotton balls and my body aches like a son of a bitch. Did I get run over with a Mack truck? What is going on?
Throwing back the blanket, the room is a blur of light color. Where the hell are my glasses? I pat the bed frantically until I reach a table beside me. Fortunately for me, I don’t slam my hand down on top of them and break them. With the glasses in place, I come to the stark realization that I don’t have a freaking clue where the heck I am. Oh shit. Looking down, I’m wearing a humongous purple shirt with SFA emblazoned on the front. I don’t own a purple shirt like this. My heart flutters like a bird as my chest tightens.
The last thing I remember was leaving work on Friday and that I needed new shoes because my feet were killing me after filing court papers all day. The backwoods county clerk I work for doesn’t believe in keeping everything computerized there has to be a hard copy too, which doubles the damn work. Maybe when the old bat finally retires, we can modernize and move into the current century.
But I digress. What did I do after work? My mind races for the answer, but my thoughts
