I set the alarm on my phone while I headed to the Jeep. I lived less than ten minutes away. Sixty minutes at my house. I’d be back in under ninety minutes total. And if Simon did show up while I was gone, he’d be fine. It wasn’t as if I was running from him. I was simply getting a jump start on things, so we could be ready to go on his schedule. That was very nice of me. Considerate even. I nodded as I slid behind the wheel and took off.
My mind was going a mile a minute as I parked and headed inside. Clothes and toiletries were a must. Most of the rest of my stuff could wait. I’d grab a few of the photo albums my dad had given me. Pictures of the two us when I was younger. There were even a few with my mother in them. Some that included Leslie and Hannibal. I’d want those. A few of my books. My electronics and the cords for all of them. My favorite blanket. I’d probably need my pillows, especially my body pillow. I wasn’t sure what Simon would have.
I moved to the hall closet and pulled out my suitcases before heading to the bedroom. I was careful to set my phone on the dresser with the volume all the way up. I was neck deep in clothes and shoes—when did I get all these clothes and shoes?—when I thought I heard a door.
“Simon?” I poked my head out the door but didn’t see him, so I walked back toward the front room. “Simon?”
“You fucking bitch!”
“Madison?” I blinked a couple of times as if doing so would clear her from my vision. What the hell was she doing in my house? A man loomed behind her. I had no idea who he was. I didn’t recall ever seeing him, yet there was something familiar looking about him.
“Where’s your mate, little human?” he sneered.
I had no clue what was going on, but I knew it wouldn’t be a good idea to tell them Simon was miles away having a good run with my stepmother. Instead, I ignored the question and threw out one of my own.
“Why are you in my house? Get out. Now!”
Madison sneered. The man laughed. Then he inhaled deeply. “They’re mated. He’ll do whatever we want as long as we have her.”
What was it they wanted Simon to do? The question filled my head as I glanced back and forth between them.
“You need to get out of my house,” I snapped, trying to edge my way back toward my bedroom and my phone.
Madison moved quickly, much quicker than I could have anticipated, cutting me off so I was trapped between the two of them.
“They’re going to see how it feels,” the man assured me. “That giant freak who took my son’s whore. The bastard alpha. All of them. I’ll make them wish they’d never crossed paths with us. They’ll give my son back to me. They’ll give him back, or I’ll kill everyone they love. One by one. Beginning with you.”
I still had no idea who he was. Or his son. Someone the James Pack held, apparently. Then it hit me. The men Hannibal had been after. I’d looked at their pictures. I’d paid close attention in case I ran into one of them. I’d wanted to be able to help my brother. No wonder the man in front of me seemed so familiar. Age Benji Makers a little bit, and he looked just like the man in my house. Benji Makers, the man who would be facing justice when Hannibal delivered him. There was no way they’d give Makers up to his father. I wouldn’t expect them to. But I didn’t want to die. I’d just met Simon.
Simon!
I screamed his name in my head and swore I felt a jolt go through me. I needed him. I wasn’t sure I could get myself out of this. I needed my mate. I needed Simon.
Chapter Ten
~Simon~
The run had been fantastic. There was nothing like feeling the air rush by while I raced along in my fur. Everything was sharper, clearer, brighter. The sky, the grass, the trees. Everything. Yet, there was no ignoring the tug that pulled me back to where my mate waited. Where my mate should have been waiting with bated breath for my return. Instead, I found my clothes folded on a chair and neither Cici nor her dad anywhere around.
There was an itch along the back of my neck. Something was off. I felt it under my skin. I jogged around to the front of the house. The Jeep was gone.
“Cici ran over to her house to figure out what to take with her tomorrow and what to have us bring to her later.” Cain Lawson walked out the front door with Leslie by his side. “I’ve been trying to call her, but she’s not answering. Probably got wrapped up in what she was doing and left her phone on silent. I’m happy to run you over. She left this for you.”
He held out my phone. I’d left it with Cici in case it rang. Obviously, she hadn’t thought I might want her to answer it. I glanced down when it hit my hand and saw I had several missed calls. None from Cici. All from Gabe. I dialed him back.
“What’s up?”
“I’ve been following Madison. Three guesses who she’s hooked up with?”
“Who?” I snarled through the phone.
“Jarrod Makers.” Gabe dropped the name, and my blood ran cold. The Makers were trouble. At present, Benji Makers was being kept locked up by the James Pack. He’d escaped from us once before with inside help. Looked like we might have found out who had helped him.
“I’ll leave Cici here. If I leave now, I can be back in—”
“They’re not headed for Benji. I’m not a hundred percent sure where they’re
