Tomorrow. I wasn’t really sure how Dominic had pulled that off so quickly. I knew Marcy’s dad, one of the detectives in Dog Mountain, had a hand in it, but still, Jared’s cremation seemed ... rushed. But then, I guessed rushed was probably a good thing right now. It wasn’t as if we had days to plan, and really, Jared would have wanted something simple and quick.
I wiggled in my seat, fidgeting with the seatbelt strap that ran across my chest. “I’m going with you, Aidan.” My throat felt dry and prickly and sore, and I swallowed hard trying to clear the sensation. “I need to see him. I need to do this.”
Aidan’s response was a frustrated growl. I glanced over at him hesitantly, watching his jaw tick and his fist clench tighter on the steering wheel. He didn’t look at me this time, not even a little glance. His thumb stopped moving on my thigh, and his scent … changed. I breathed in deep, trying to place the new aroma. It was thick, tangy. It was … worry? Apprehension, maybe? I wasn’t entirely sure.
“Talk to me,” I said, reaching over and squeezing his thigh. Right then, I seriously wished I could read his mind, because not knowing what he was thinking was knotting me up like crazy. “What’s got you so freaked out?”
Aidan relaxed slightly under my touch. He sighed. “It’s pretty clear you’ve hit your limit for today,” he said. “I just think it might be best if I handle this one alone.”
My inner-wolf squirmed uneasily in my belly, and I shifted in my seat, turning to face him fully. “Are you mad at me? Is that why you’re trying to send me home?”
“No, sweetheart.” He shook his head. “No, not at you. I’m mad at this whole screwed up mess we’re in,” he said, with a ripple of irritation gliding through his tone. He let out another long sigh. “But not at you. Never at you.” His eyes met mine, serious, but somehow, warm. “I just don’t want you to break on me. If you need time to get it together, then I’m going to make sure you have that time.”
“I’m good,” I said. A warm flood of relief washed over me and I laughed a little. He was worried about me, not about what he thought I’d do when we got to my dad’s. “I really am. And I have to do this, even if it kills me. I have to. I’m not going to let them down. Not again. I won’t.” I paused for a second, watching his jaw clench, and that warm feeling of relief started to fade. “There’s something else, isn’t there?”
“Later,” he said, gently but firmly. “Let’s talk about it later, okay?”
I opened my mouth and just as quickly, I closed it, because I really had no idea what to say to that. He was right. I’d hit my limit hours ago around the time that Tommy and Chris had shown up at our house with the guys and shared what Jared had been up to. I’d surpassed my limit when Aidan shifted in the house, ready to kill them. And by the time we’d confronted Jared, well, I’d been way past the point of keeping it together. But somehow I’d managed. The truth? I really didn’t know how much more I could take before I lost it completely.
So instead of pushing it, I leaned into him, kissed his cheek, and murmured, “Okay, later.”
Moments later, Aidan turned onto my old street, pulled past my parents’ driveway, and then backed in. He yanked up the parking brake, put the car in neutral, but he didn’t turn it off. He looked at me, his face blank, and said, “Let me handle this.”
I nodded once to appease him, but the burning glint that flared in his eyes told me he knew I didn’t plan on sitting back and keeping my mouth shut. He let out a frustrated growl, and dragged a hand through his hair.
“Aidan,” I said a little hastily, as he cut the engine and pulled the keys from the ignition. “He’s my dad. I know how to talk to him.” I let out a long stalling breath and then I lied, “And I’m okay. Honestly. I’m good.”
Aidan didn’t believe me, not for a second. But really, I knew he wouldn’t. He turned into me, cupping my cheeks in his hands. “I’ve got this.” His voice was rough and full of some emotion that I couldn’t place or more accurately, it was one that I didn’t really want to place. He brushed his thumb along my cheekbone, his eyes searching mine. “You trust me, right? As your mate, I need you to trust me enough to know that I’ve got this.”
And with that, he dipped forward, touching his lips to my forehead, and then before I could reply, he popped the door open and got out. He didn’t waste any time as he made his way up the steps of my parents’ front porch and pounded on the door.
I’d like to say that I followed him immediately. That my head was in the game and I was totally prepared for everything. I wished I could say that I knew he had this. But I couldn’t do any of that. Nope. Instead, what I did was sit in the car, watching out the back window, blinking at his back, stunned and more than a little confused.
The front door opened. My dad filled the doorway. He smiled at Aidan, and it looked so warm and sincere. Dad even clapped him on the shoulder in greeting. And still, I held my breath and I didn’t move.
I watched the arm gestures as they spoke and I watched Dad’s smile fade a little. And then his eyes roamed over the car and they locked onto me. He furrowed his brow and cocked his head, and I heard him call, “Jade?”
His voice snapped me out of my stunned moment. I pushed the door open and hopped out of the car in a flustered rush. I was so flustered and rushed that my foot caught on the door well and I tripped. My heart jumped into my throat as I lurched forward, coming close to doing a face plant on the driveway, but luckily, the door was there to catch my fall. I steadied myself, and called, “Yeah, coming,” as I let the car door slam.
I took in a few deep breaths, attempted to school my expression, and then, although my brain tried to fight me, urging me to run away, I turned and started toward the house.
“Pumpkin, what’s wrong?” Dad asked, stepping out of the doorway, past Aidan. “You’re looking a little pale.” He looked good in jeans and a beige knit sweater, like an average working citizen. The clothes. The smile. The warm, concerned tone he used with me, as if he actually cared. Lies. They were all lies.
I met his eyes and for a moment, I thought about making something up, but really what was the point anymore? So instead, I said, “I helped kill Jared.”
Aidan cut me a warning look, which I completely ignored as I padded up the steps. I brushed my hand along his back as I went past him, and took a seat on the porch swing. The old chains creaked, as I pulled my feet up underneath me.
“Jared,” Dad said and his eyes widened just a little. He glanced at Aidan, then back to me. “Jared’s dead?” And all his warmth was suddenly gone. He looked suspicious and a touch excited, and seeing it made my stomach roll.
“Yeah,” I said, glad I’d sat down because I really wasn’t feeling all that steady anymore. “He wanted to challenge Aidan for alpha. He ended up attacking me and I kind of held him down while Aidan ...” I broke off as my stomach rolled again.
“Jared wanted to challenge for alpha,” Dad stated, as if he didn’t believe it. He narrowed his eyes, glancing between the two of us. His nostrils flared as he took in a few noisy breaths and he chuckled, grinning at Aidan. “You claimed her.”
I clamped my mouth shut, mostly to keep my jaw from dropping. A look passed between my dad and Aidan. I wasn’t exactly sure what it meant, but it meant something. Something for sure. Whatever it was, it effectively ended any further discussion of Jared’s death or the fact that I’d helped make him dead.
“No, she claimed me,” Aidan corrected, cementing my theory that the something explained Jared’s motives for challenging for alpha. He moved over to me, planting a hand on my shoulder and squeezed, a firm reminder to me that he had this. He waited a beat, most likely making sure I got the hint, and then said, “Richard’s body is in the trunk. He’s one of yours. You can deal with him.”
Dad’s eyes shifted toward the car, then back to Aidan. “The point of giving him to you was so he could help you.” His tone was impassive, as if Richard’s death meant nothing to him one way or the other, and I assumed that was probably
true. “He’s not much use to you dead.”
Aidan shrugged. “Wasn’t much use to me alive, either.” It came out on a growl and his hand clamped, pinching tight on my shoulder.
Oh, yeah, my mate totally had this. I gritted my teeth and pressed my lips together, keeping my mouth shut, but I was pretty sure that the look I cut him told him exactly what I thought because he loosened up on my shoulder a little.
“You came here to get me to clean up your mess?” Dad asked, his voice carrying a bitter, dark undertone and his distaste showed clearly on his face.
Aidan raised a brow, and gave Dad a look that said, uh yeah, but he didn’t say anything. I figured that probably wasn’t what Dad wanted because his eye started twitching, and he clenched and unclenched his jaw as he glared at us. He was losing control over his calm persona. I could see it. The lines on his forehead deepened, his eyes hardened.
Dad looked back at the car and then glared back at Aidan, and it was at that moment that I decided I’d had enough. This conversation needed to end. Now.
“Dad,” I said, drawing his attention. “Just deal with him.” I looked up at Aidan. “And will you stop being a dick. He’s been helping us. He doesn’t have to, but he has.”
A small, forced smile played at Aidan’s lips. “I don’t like it when someone hurts what’s mine,” he said. He reached out, brushing a thumb across my bottom lip, an intimate gesture, one that made me blush. “And he hurt you.”
“Are we still on that?” Dad groaned. “You were going to make her leave. I helped you achieve that a hell of a lot more peacefully than you would have by dragging her out.”
“Stop it,” I said, hoping for annoyed, but it came out sounding a little too sweet. I totally blamed Aidan’s lip touch for that. I stood up, shrugging off Aidan’s hand, squared my shoulder, and met my dad straight on. I sucked in a few breaths, hoping to bury my unease and spat, “We’re close to finding them, no thanks to your little gift. You could save us some time and tell me where they are.”
“I don’t know their exact location, pumpkin.” His voice was soft, careful, and so was his gaze. “They don’t tell me until I’m called out. They think I’ll slip up.”
“I think that’s bullshit,” I said, and I was surprised that my voice came out calm and controlled because I felt far, far from calm. “I think you know. What I don’t know is why you’re trying to protect those monsters.”
Dad jerked back a step as if my words were a physical slap, and at the same time, Aidan said, “Jade, that’s enough.” His tone was soft, but packed full of command.
I chose to ignore him. So did my dad.
“I’m not protecting them,” said Dad cautiously, raising a hand in surrender. “I’m trying to protect my family, and keeping them away from town keeps you and your mother safe.”
“Safe!” My blood pressure rose, my heart pounding within my chest. “You call this safe? You pushed me into the middle of a war. You’ve made it my responsibility to act.”
He laughed once, a startled sound. “You’re the alpha female. You won’t be fighting.”
His assumption didn’t improve my mood. My eyes flared, my fists clenched, and my entire body started to vibrate with anger.
“Hell, yes I will,” I said with a fevered pitch. “Do you really think I’d send my pack out and not be there with them? What kind of a leader does that? We can’t ask them to fight and then hide away until it’s over.”
I barely had time to suck in a breath before my feet were torn from the ground. Warm hands circled my waist, twisting my body around, and then I was dangling over Aidan’s shoulder. I let out a gasping shriek and started to squirm as one of his hands gripped onto my butt, holding me firmly in place, and the other went to my thigh.
“Put me down, Aidan,” I growled, smacking his back and kicking out, because really, kicking and hitting was the only rational thing to do while hanging over someone’s shoulder.
Aidan chuckled, and squeezed my right butt cheek. “Not a chance, sweetheart.” And then he started moving, with me hanging over his shoulder.
“Wait a minute,” Dad called. I heard the smile in his voice. “Jesus, Aidan, put my daughter down.”
But Aidan didn’t wait and he didn’t put me down.
He went straight for the car. He yanked the passenger side door open, dropped me in, and shut the door without a word. He turned his back to me and growled, “Get the body out of my car.” And a second later, the trunk opened. The car bobbed a little as Richard was removed.
I blinked, stunned, staring at the window. Aidan stepped away from the door, moving toward the back of the car, and I reached for the handle, ready to follow him because, well, throwing me over his shoulder and tossing me in the car was seriously not cool, and I wasn’t finished with my dad. Not even close. I grasped the handle and was about to pop the door open when I heard my dad’s voice, and I froze.
“Aidan, we need to talk,” he said. He sounded as though he were trying to hide his laughter, but there was seriousness to his tone, too, and I swore there was an edge of desperation. “All of us. Your mating changes everything. There’s more going on here than you think.”
Aidan laughed. “Oh, yeah?” he said. “I thought you didn’t know anything. Isn’t that what you just told your daughter?”
“I said that I don’t know where they are, not that I don’t know what they want.”
“I don’t care what they want,” Aidan said, and I was astonished by just how cold his voice was. “I won’t negotiate with anyone that keeps women in cages and uses them like toys.”
“It doesn’t have to be like that,” Dad said, and yes, he did sound desperate. So desperate that I swore I could almost smell it. Almost. And Jesus, had he just admitted that the cougars kept their women in cages? I felt shaken to the core. My chest seized up and it hurt to pull in a breath. I swiveled around trying to get a look at them, but the trunk was still open blocking them from my view.
“No, it doesn’t,” Aidan said, and his voice had gotten impossibly colder. “You better figure out what team you’re playing for, Jeff, and quick. We’ll kill them when we find them and if you’re with them, we’ll kill you, too.” And then the trunk slammed and the door opened, and Aidan was in the driver’s seat.
He gave me a quick once over before he stuck the keys into the ignition, but he didn’t say a word. He was pissed. I knew it, I felt it, but I was pretty sure it wasn’t directed at me.
“What was that about?” I asked almost cautiously, almost being the key word, because the truth was, I was kind of pissed off myself, and more than a little shaken.
Aidan started up the car. “It’s probably nothing,” he said. “Just more of his games.”
“You threw me over your shoulder.” My voice was a hissed whisper, and I cut him a dirty look, as my face flamed with heat.
“I told you to let me handle it,” Aidan said. He sounded amused. He looked it, too. He dropped the emergency brake, shifted into first, feathered the gas, and pulled out of the driveway.
I huffed, and buckled up. “You knew I wasn’t going to let you.”
“Yeah,” he said cheerfully, giving me that crooked grin of his. “I knew.”
I didn’t respond to that. I figured it was best not to engage in this conversation while my blood was still boiling over.
CHAPTER 3
~ JADE ~
Aidan was still grinning when he dropped me off at the pack headquarters, and I had to admit, his grin was contagious. By the time he’d pulled up in front of the building, the majority of my anger had dissolved into pesky annoyance, although I wasn’t about to tell him that. No, I wouldn’t tell him, because if I did, I might then have to tell him that he’d been right. I should have let him handle things with my dad. And telling him that would have led to an even cockier grin that would have made me feel like even more of a failure than I already did.
The whole idea of bringing Richard to my dad was to make him uneasy and hopefully that would
cause him to slip up somewhere. It was not to let him know, or give him even the slightest hint, that we were on to him.
But, of course, I let my emotions get the better of me. Damn, I might as well have told my dad that we knew everything. I’d clearly let him know that I didn’t believe a word he said.
Yeah, I really should have listened to my mate and kept my mouth shut.
Since Aidan left, I’d been telling time by phone calls. They were becoming predictable. Every five minutes my father would call. I hadn’t answered a single one of his calls and I had no plans to do it anytime soon.
I sat outside on a picnic table, shivering, with my phone clutched in my hands. The wind was brutal, cold and blowing hard enough to rock me, as it came barreling through the trees. Branches creaked and the tops of the pines bowed under its furious attack. The sky was filling up with dirty, dark gray clouds and the air smelled of crisp, fall rain, damp and cold and fresh.
Each time my phone rang, I silenced it. I’d given up on looking at the caller display after the fifth call. I didn’t want to know what Dad had to say. Okay, that wasn’t really true. I wanted to know, the issue was I was a little freaked out that he was calling to tell me that the team had been caught.
Okay, so that was probably a ridiculous worry. Dad had been trying to convince Aidan to stick around. He’d wanted to talk to us. He’d even hinted that the cougars actually wanted something from us. He was probably reaching out to me because Aidan had shot him down, but still, I was worried nonetheless.
I pulled my arms around me, hugging myself tight in an attempt to stay semi-warm. How had my day turned sour so quickly? Just this morning, I’d woken up as the official mate of the alpha male of my pack. We’d been smiling — happy — planning to spend a lazy day in bed.
And then life happened.
It was really the only way I could think about what took place this morning. Life happened. Because within the pack, Jared dying for his crimes was life happening, and if I let myself think about it any other way, I was pretty sure I’d fall apart.