Fighting For Their Mate Page 5

  Think. There must be another way to get them to cooperate, to see reason.

  As if she’d dreamt it, a large sign stood high above the next curve that announced the last gas and food before Zeppelin. Now, that was a name she could remember.

  Bailey did a mental fist pump. “Do you think we could stop so I could take a pee? I really, really have to go.” She stopped short of whining.

  Ford glanced in the rearview mirror. While Tyson didn’t say anything, he must have nodded because a few seconds later Ford pulled into the lot of the little grocery store and service station. Three cars sat in front.

  Phone call, here we come!

  Tyson opened the passenger side door and helped her out. There was something strange about these two men. They were overly polite. Then again, Brad and Tom seemed nice at first, too. Tyson clasped his hand around her arm, acting as if he believed she’d try to run away. She wasn’t that stupid. She had a better idea in mind.

  Once inside the store, she scoped out the place, first studying the clerk. She was an older woman who moved slower than the rising tide. She didn’t seem interested in anything other than biding her time until closing, and then collecting her paycheck. The second customer was some man in a plaid shirt and dirty overalls who was paying for gas and some cigarettes. The last person was a girl about her own age. Bailey was tempted to warn her to stay clear of the two men she’d come in with, but she thought it unwise to attract attention.

  If Bailey thought it would do any good, she would have yelled for someone to call 911. The problem was she couldn’t be sure they had that kind of service up here. They weren’t near any big city that she’d seen.

  Tyson nodded in the direction of the snacks. “Bathrooms are in the back.”

  “Thank you.” If she acted meek, he might be fooled into thinking she wasn’t a flight risk. Unfortunately, he followed her. Damn. That would mess up her plan.

  The door to the only bathroom stood open, and it was one of those unisex toilets. While it looked gross, she stepped in and closed the door, praying he wouldn’t wait right outside. Bailey didn’t have to go, but she had to spend some time inside to make it believable. She finally got a look in the mirror and almost gasped. Her blonde hair was matted and snarled, and her eyes looked sunken. Yuk. Not that she planned to seduce either of the men, but if she did, neither one would look twice at her.

  Bailey waited a full minute, then eased open the door, praying they weren’t standing there. Score! Both men were huddled close to the front of the store.

  Time to go!

  The small bathroom had been windowless, but she’d noticed light streaming in the supply closet at the end of the dirty hallway. If she could get the window open, she could crawl out and escape. Where she’d go, she didn’t know, but someone had to be kind enough to help a kidnapped victim.

  Glancing once more into the store, she watched as the men stepped outside, presumably to wait for her to finish her business. Well, they’d be waiting a real long time.

  * * *

  “We can’t just drop her off at the clinic,” Ty said, frustration building at his brother’s stubbornness.

  Ford had wanted to step outside so they could talk without being overheard. If they only used mental telepathy people would think they were engaging in a giant staring match.

  “What do you propose?” Ford shifted his gaze toward the bathroom then back at him.

  Ty wanted to drive her home to North Carolina, but he was well aware that they had an obligation to the other women. Before he made his suggestion, he wanted to be sure that Bailey was Ford’s mate, too. “I could tell you felt a pull toward her.”

  His jaw tightened. “I’ve never experienced anything like that before. My stomach churned while my dick turned rock hard. I can’t think straight when I’m around her.”

  Good. Ty needed Ford to be on his side. “Can we stash her in a hotel room near Falling Pines instead of taking her to the clinic?”

  “And go to work like always? What would we tell Statler? That we let her get away? He’d kill us for sure.”

  His logical brother was right. Before Ty could come up with another plan, a horn blared from the side of the building, followed by a door slamming then someone yelling. While the responding voice came out soft, he recognized it as Bailey’s. What the fuck? He took a quick look inside and spotted the young girl who’d been in the store enter the bathroom. Crap. They’d been tricked.

  Ford must have recognized her voice, too, because he took off toward the side. Ty followed.

  When they rounded the corner, he couldn’t believe it. There she was, staring blankly at the man yelling at her. How in the hell had Bailey escaped? Only then did he spot the open window. Christ, but she was clever.

  He raced to her side. “Are you okay, honey?” He didn’t want the man to suspect she was an escapee.

  The driver appeared a bit stunned. He was a large man who seemed to get off on intimidating women. “I almost hit her,” the man blustered. “She needs to watch where she’s going.”

  The asshole must have peeled around the corner, engaging in something he probably shouldn’t have been doing around the back.

  Ty wrapped an arm around her shoulders and drew her close. “Don’t worry. I’ll make sure she watches where she’s going next time, sir.”

  Touching her and inhaling her sweet scent made his vision distort, not to mention his cock do a dance in his pants.

  The man curled his lip, and jumped back in his car. He slammed his door shut, but Ty was sure he heard some name-calling as he took off.

  Decision time. Ty should yell at her for crawling out a window, but what would be the use? Anyone who’d been kidnapped and drugged would have tried to escape. They had to be more careful the next time, that’s all. “Let’s get you back to the car.”

  Her shoulders sagged for a moment, and then she tugged on his arm. “Please, you have to let me go. I promise I won’t tell anyone.”

  “I’m not worried about that, honey. If we don’t do as we’re told, we’ll die.” That might not be true, but he wanted to give her something to think about.

  Ford stepped to the other side of her. We could always say she tried to escape and was run over. Ford was probably kidding, but the plan had merit.

  “Let’s get you out of the cold.”

  Once she was seated in the front seat, they stepped away from the vehicle. There was no way she could escape with the two of them standing three feet away. Even if they gave her a few minutes head start, her speed would be no match to theirs.

  Ty kept his voice low. “Your idea has merit. We could say she tried to escape, ran into traffic, and was killed.”

  Ford crossed his arms over his chest. “Who would buy that?”

  “It almost happened.”

  His brother glanced to the sky, his lips twisting in thought. “Statler probably won’t expect us back until tomorrow morning for our shift. Do you think he’d believe if we said she died, but that we stayed around to clean up the mess?”

  Ty really didn’t know what the man would think. “Regardless of our story, he’ll be royally pissed.”

  “If Bailey’s blood holds the secret to saving his men, he’ll be more than pissed. Whatever we do, we need to decide quickly. The clinic will be expecting us in the next hour or two. We can delay only so long.”

  Damn. “This is our mate we’re talking about. We need to think of her first and foremost.”

  Ford glanced to the car where Bailey was keeping a keen eye on them. “If we tell Statler that his prize is dead, he’ll blame us, you know. The consequences could be dire.”

  They both knew that death was always a possibility, but it was the chance they took each and every day they remained undercover. “We tell him the truth—or most of it. She had to pee. When we walked her out, she ran into the road, presumably to flag someone down, and was struck by a speeding car.” Saying she tried to escape would make them look incompetent, which was what he was feeling
right now.

  “Fuck. I don’t like it. Someone from inside the store would have called 911 and the driver would have contacted his insurance company. Statler won’t believe we could cover that up.”

  Ty didn’t either, but what choice did they have? “Any plan that double-crosses the Colters and their organization has a huge risk associated with it.”

  “If we manage to convince Statler that no one but the driver saw what happened, what do we do with her? Where would we keep her?”

  Ty blew out a breath. “Put her on a plane home? At least there she’d be safe.”

  “And have her tell the world she was kidnapped in Canada? No, thank you. Even we don’t need the notoriety. Besides, I have a feeling she won’t leave without her sister.”

  Ford was right. “We’ll put her in a hotel near Falling Pines and tell her to stay put.”

  Ford laughed but the sound held no cheer. “Do even hear yourself?”

  Ty was desperate. Bailey wasn’t the staying put kind. She’d probably try to sneak back into the facility to save Tatum herself. “We tell her the truth. Convince her werewolves exist. Explain that she needs to trust us to save her sister.”

  “And you think when she knows she’s dealing with two mythical creatures called werewolves that she’ll want to stay with us? You’re delusional.”

  Jesus. “What do you think we should do, oh smart one? Drive our mate to her possible death?” The thought had his gut nearly exploding.

  “How about if provide her with all the facts then let her decide?” Ford asked.

  That sounded good in theory, but he wasn’t convinced he was going to like her response.

  Chapter Seven

  Bailey didn’t know quite what to think when they told her they weren’t going to take her to this other facility—that they wanted to free her instead. First came the joy and elation, but it was followed quickly by an ugly dose of reality. It had to be a hoax of some sort. Why would they want to let her go? Hadn’t Tyson said they would die if they didn’t deliver her to this clinic?

  Then there was the fact that both men had been acting rather odd ever since her attempted escape. Every time either one of them even touched her, they turned silent and wouldn’t meet her gaze. What was up with that? She might look like a witch, and probably smelled like one, too, but their reaction was bizarre.

  After turning the car around and heading back the way they came, neither man said anything. Right now, she wasn’t sure which was worse—going to the second clinic to be tested or returning to the first facility where they would keep her strapped down.

  Put that way, the unknown seemed better than the evil known. Unfortunately, they were headed back. Damn. There had to be something she could do. Both men appeared to be deep in thought, so she decided it best if she kept quiet. That was hard since her questions were bursting to get out.

  After an hour of seeing the same vista, Ford turned off the main road and pulled into a rather crappy looking motel. Oh, shit. Her pulse soared. The quiet lull she’d been experiencing was just shot to hell. All she could think of was that they wanted to sexually assault her, messy hair and all.

  Only then did she remember that assault wasn’t about attraction but rather power and rage. These men did seem to have an underlying anger inside them. Fuck. Now what should she do?

  “Maybe you should just take me back to the clinic?” Inside there, she might be able to find a way to escape.

  Ford glanced over at her. “Why? You want to be a test subject the rest of your life?”

  “No.” Nor did she want to be raped. Either way, her future seemed doomed.

  She searched for someone coming out of one of the rooms so she could signal them, but her bad luck held and the place appeared deserted.

  “What are we doing here?” Her voice shook hard.

  Tyson touched her shoulder from the back seat. “We want a place where we can talk in private.”

  “You can talk in private in the car.” That way they’d be in the open.

  Ford drove up to the front where a pink Office sign flashed. At least when he got out, he left the engine running and the heat on. “Be right back.”

  Now that Ford was gone, she could pump Tyson for information, though for a second, she thought about sliding over to the driver’s seat and taking off. She wouldn’t get far with Tyson in the back though.

  She twisted to face him. “Okay, listen. My Dad’s rich. If it’s ransom you want, he’ll pay. Anything you want.”

  Tyson furrowed his brows. “Whoa. What are you talking about?”

  “I don’t know what your game is, but you have to let me go. If you think your boss is bad, my dad will send in the National Guard to find us if Tatum and I don’t check in soon.” His face practically turned white. Good.

  “Let’s not be hasty here. If we free you, where would you go?”

  She hadn’t thought that far ahead. “Anywhere but here. I get the sense you don’t want to harm me, but I’m not sure about Ford.” She didn’t trust either of them, but it was better for him to think she did.

  His mouth opened. “Baby, we want to find a way to save you and your sister, as well as the other women. We’re not here to harm you.”

  Right. Wait a minute. His words finally registered. He wanted to save the women? “I don’t understand. You work for the people who took me.”

  “Let’s wait until Ford returns and we’ll tell you everything.”

  She bet they said that to a lot of women. She and Tatum had trusted Brad and Tom and look where that got them.

  Ford returned and slipped into the car. With him came the crisp, clean air. “All set. It probably is a dive, but I don’t think anyone who comes here is connected with Statler.”

  “Who’s Statler?” Having a name would help.

  “He’s the man who runs the lab—the place where you were kept.” Ford drove around to the back of the motel and parked. “We’re on the bottom floor, room 125.”

  As if they expected bullets to come suddenly out of nowhere, the two men surrounded her as they led her into the room. She froze. The place smelled of smoke and something else she decided not to identify.

  “Ford,” Tyson said. “This place is gross.”

  “Can’t be helped. It’s safe.” Ford placed a hand over his nose. That was a bit extreme.

  There was one double bed covered with a ratty flowered bedspread, a table with two chairs, a beat-up dresser, a rickety desk, and a CRT television. The rabbit ears gave her little hope she’d be watching anything on that set.

  “Have a seat,” Ford said motioning to the bed.

  If she kept her shoes on, she’d be safe from germs. After placing the pillows against the headboard, she leaned back. The men pulled up the two chairs. They looked at each other and seemed to be staring.

  Tyson crossed his ankle over his knee. “I guess the first thing you need to know is that we’re undercover agents.”

  As if someone had punched her in the stomach, the air whooshed out of her lungs. “You’re FBI?” That explained so much about their odd behavior. Excitement and hope filled her.

  Once more, the men glanced at each other. “No. It’s more complicated than that.”

  “You’re CIA then?”

  Tyson winced. “No. We belong to a protection agency called The Pack. We’re the good guys, and we fight things like drugs, gun running, and human trafficking.”

  The last words rang in her head. “They planned to sell me?” The thought made her stomach nearly revolt.

  “We don’t think so,” Ford said. “We aren’t sure what they want you and the other women for.”

  She didn’t buy that. They’d already said this Statler person wanted to test her blood. “You’re here to take down some criminal, but all you know is that he kidnaps women for no reason?”

  Tyson nodded to Ford. “We have to tell her. Everything.”

  Ford sat up straighter. “She won’t believe us.”

  “Try me.” This run a
round was beginning to sound like a stall tactic. Was someone about to break in and nab her for ransom? “Does this have anything to do with my father?”

  From Ford’s wide eyes, she’d caught him off guard. Guess not.

  “Why would your father be involved?” Ford asked.

  “Because he’s a US Senator.”

  “Oh, fuck.” He jumped up and paced in front of the bed. “This really puts a wrench in our plans.”

  They should be happy her dad had power and money. Why weren’t things making sense again? “What plans?”

  “To keep you safe until we can figure out a way to save the rest of the women.”

  They had told her that. “Maybe you should start from the beginning. I’ll try to keep an open mind.”

  Tyson leaned forward. “You sure?”

  “Yes.” She’d only said she’d try.

  He blew out a long breath. “This will be really hard to believe, but there are such things as werewolves.”

  A laugh jammed in her throat, but only a squeak came out. If they were trying to lighten the mood, they succeeded, but only for a moment. She needed to put a halt to this ridiculous explanation. She needed the truth. “Prove it.”

  Ford took a step closer. “You want me to shift into a wolf right in front of your eyes?”

  His eyes seemed to change color, and in the dim light, she swore his facial hair turned darker. “Sure. Why not?”

  “Don’t freak out, now. And don’t be afraid. I won’t hurt you.”

  “Don’t you worry.” She had no idea what he planned to do. Get on his hands and knees, lift his head, and howl?

  “Get ready.”

  Ford suddenly became a swirling mass of fur and flesh. Something cracked and popped, and her vision blurred. She scooted back against the wall and grabbed the pillow to her chest. When she blinked and was able to focus again, a wolf appeared in front of her. Bailey screamed, and then passed out.