He yanked her up by her hair before she could do as he said. Eyes watering and heart plummeting that she was back in this situation, Kenzie was pulled roughly toward him. Rook brought her close to him, and she instantly repelled against his touch. He smelled nothing like Bram’s addictive scent. Instead, Rook smelled like death and decay, pain and degradation.
“Did you actually think I wouldn’t come for you?” He didn’t give her a chance to answer as he held her head back so she was forced to look at him. “No, you knew I’d come, and you knew I wouldn’t let you get away again.”
29
Bram yelled at Zac, who was hauling a thick piece of lumber over to the foundation. Luckily, there had been an easy enough solution to fix the problem, but now it was just a matter of getting all the shit straight before they could resume with the construction of the Hampton building.
He watched a few more of the guys level things off before he turned to Charlie and Ford, and said, “I’m gonna head out early, since everything is good to go. I am taking Kenzie to that Italian restaurant right outside town.”
Ford grinned, and Charlie slapped him on the back.
“I am still stunned to shit that you found yourself a mate, brother.” Ford crossed his arms over his chest and looked pleased with his statement. Bram scowled at the middle brother, which only made Charlie and Ford laugh harder.
He knew his brothers meant well. They had their mates, a little ocelot and a red fox shifter, and Charlie’s mate was even expecting a baby.
He didn’t tell them about her past, because he knew even though he loved his brothers and didn’t keep anything from them, that Kenzie’s story wasn’t his to tell.
“Yeah, yeah. Just go to your mate.” Ford stretched his back and grinned. “I’m heading out too. I’m taking Talia out of town, maybe to Colorado Springs or Steamboat for the weekend. After the whole Mina fiasco, I just want some alone time with her, ya feel me?”
Charlie made an agreeing grunt. “I’ll hang back and make sure this shit actually gets done. Ary’s been having a bad case of every hour sickness and was finally sleeping well when I left.”
“Every hour sickness?” Ford asked almost absently as he gathered up his things to leave.
“She has morning sickness all the time, not just in the morning. I don’t know what fucker decided to peg it as morning sickness, because it sure as hell comes and goes at all hours of the day. Hence the every hour sickness.”
Bram looked over at Ford, who was still grinning.
“What in the hell is so funny about my mate being sick?” There was a bite to Charlie’s words.
“Chill the fuck out. I’m not smiling because Ary is sick, but because I can’t wait for Talia to get there.”
Charlie snorted and leaned against a worktable placed outside at the site. “You say that now, but it’s a whole different story when your mate is dry heaving because her stomach is empty, and you have to hold her hair back because there isn’t anything else you can do.”
Before he could listen to what would soon be a full-out argument between his older brothers, Bram waved goodbye and headed back to the trailer. It was right when it came into view that he knew something was wrong.
It wasn’t because the door swung open or the fact that he sensed Kenzie wasn’t inside. It was the fresh scent of her blood that filled the air, and the closer he got, the stronger it filled his nose. He rushed to the trailer and ripped the door from its hinges. Searching the interior wildly, he already knew she wasn’t in there.
Throwing his head back and letting his bear come out full-force without shifting, Bram roared out loud enough to shake the trailer. He rushed outside and inhaled deeply. The wind blew from the south, and because of that, he hadn’t scented the metallic tang of her blood that tinged the air until it was too late. Seconds later, Charlie and Ford were rushing over to him, their expressions on alert as they scanned the area.
“What the fuck is going on?”
“What’s wrong?” his brothers asked him in unison, but Bram couldn’t speak, couldn’t think about anything aside from the fact that he knew that motherfucker Rook had gotten his girl. He could smell the fucking panther stinking up the air.
He would have to tell his brothers what was going on, because he needed their help. He could track her down from the scent of her blood, but he would need the back up from two of the hardest bears in Sweet Water. No doubt, Rook had been waiting for this moment when Kenzie was alone, and he had basically given his mate to the psychotic shifter.
“Fuck.” He ran a hand through his hair and scanned the area. His whole body shook, and he was having a hard time keeping his bear in control. He wanted nothing more than to let his animal free so his senses would be more attuned to finding Kenzie, but he needed to explain everything to his brothers so they knew what the fuck they were dealing with. “I have to find her.”
His whole body shook with so much force his teeth rattled together. His muscles tightened, expanded, and the promise of his bear coming forth was only seconds away. He needed to do something instead of standing there, but just as he took a step to head into the woods and let his animal fully out, Charlie gripped his forearm and brought his face close to his.
“You need to calm the fuck down, take a deep breath, and tell us what the hell is going on so we can fix this and get your mate back.”
Charlie could read him so well, and even though he didn’t mention anything about Kenzie being taken, no doubt they could feel his
