Chapter 23
Chapter Twenty-three
MATT
Matt couldn’t honestly say he remembered a thing about the drive to the hospital. If his half-formed suspicions had any truth to them, a little girl had been dragged into a war between two shifter packs. It was indefensible on every level.
It could also be disastrous for all shifters if non-shifters were to learn that was what had happened.
He had every intention of tracking down the bastard who’d done this, but if he turned out to be a shifter, Matt already knew he’d administer rough-and-ready shifter justice.
Her parents deserved to see him held accountable through the courts, but Matt couldn’t risk what that would mean for shifter/non-shifter relations.
At the hospital, he was told Hailey Thomas had two broken legs.
One was a clean fracture, and the other wasn’t quite severe enough for her to be sent to the nearest trauma center.
That was the most positive thing he could say about her condition.
His wolf had snarled deep inside him as he’d promised her weeping parents that he would do all he could to catch the person responsible.
It was after six when he got back to the office. The instant he set foot in the building, his hackles rose. Someone had been here. An alpha had been here. In his territory, bringing other wolves with him.
He identified the scents as he moved through the open area containing Bryce’s and Shannon’s desks, toward his private office at the back, scenting as he went. Three in total, all male, had been here perhaps an hour ago.
At least they hadn’t been in his office.
That was clear of any trace of strangers, but the sense of intrusion, of challenge, lingered, and he was still restless when Janice tapped on the door.
When he told her to come in, she closed the door behind her, which had his senses even more on alert.
Janice had been the secretary in the Elk Ridge Sheriff’s Office for forty-one years and had better instincts than many law enforcement officers Matt had known.
“There was someone here to see you earlier. He was a big, dark-haired mountain of a man calling himself Cale.” She hesitated, as if preventing herself from saying something more.
“Go on,” Matt said. His predecessor had written her off as a fussy, middle-aged woman, but Matt trusted her.
“The thing is, Sheriff, I don’t think he really wanted to see you, because he wasn’t surprised or disappointed to learn you weren’t here. If it wasn’t me just overreacting, I’d have said all he wanted was for you to know he’d been here.”
“You don’t overreact, Janice. What about the men with him?”
She looked disapprovingly at him over her glasses, chiding him for stealing her thunder.
“Well, as you obviously know, he had two men with him. They were more like a wall of muscle than anything else,” she said.
“There was big, dark, and muscled, who looked plain mean to me, and there was big, blond, and muscled, who was more… I don’t know, I couldn’t get anything from him.
He was just passive, I guess.” She smiled suddenly.
“He had a nice butt though, for someone who’s probably a criminal. ”
“I’ll be sure to factor that into a lineup,” Matt said. “Anything else?”
“Mr. Cale said he’d come back to see you tomorrow, but it sounded like he was trying to make a threat more than anything else.” She shook her head sorrowfully. “As if I was supposed to be intimidated.”
“Thanks, Janice,” he said, leaning over to turn off his computer. He needed to get back to his pack. It wasn’t right to leave them. The threat Karl had detected was closing in.
She hesitated with her hand on the door, turning back to him. “The thing is, Sheriff, I didn’t like him. I mean, there was something about his eyes. As if there was nothing there.” She shivered. “I just didn’t like him,” she repeated.
“Let me know if you see him again,” he said. “But this evening, go home to that husband of yours and tell him I said he’s to fix dinner for you and open a bottle of wine.”
She laughed, her face lightening. “Oh, he’s jealous enough of you already, Sheriff. I’m not going to add to it.”
With that she was gone, the door closing quietly behind her. Matt called Karl. Although Karl was never less than vigilant, it made Matt feel better to know he’d warned him. Then he called Bryce, and found he was just pulling up outside the office.
He went to meet him and climbed into the passenger side, relaxing against the seat with a long, exhausted sigh.
It wasn’t like Matt to let anyone else drive, but he was so tired, he’d probably end up going off the road.
And he could trust Bryce. He’d always known that, but what Bryce had done with Lindsey—Matt owed him even more than before.
And the thing about Bryce was that he’d never see it that way.
With him, it would never be a debt to be called in. Bryce’s heart was endless.
On the way back to the ranch, Matt told him about Cale.
“What are you thinking, Matt?”
Matt was silent for a while, watching the familiar road unfurl before them.
“I’m thinking Cale wants Jesse, for reasons I can’t be sure about.
Having followed him here, he’s decided he also wants Elk Ridge.
” He shifted in his seat. “That makes no sense—it’s not as if there’s anything here—but the fact something belongs to someone else is enough for some people to want it. ”
Bryce shot him a sideways glance, Cheyenne forever in the background of their lives.
“I think he’s letting me know his intentions. Testing me. Proving how much damage he’s willing to cause to get what he wants.” The weight of tiredness dragged at him, pulling him deeper into the seat. “And warning me that if I don’t give it to him, there’ll be more to come.”
Bryce cursed under his breath. “Damn. I was hoping you might be thinking something different from me.”
JESSE
Jesse was helping Jason prepare dinner—if helping meant getting his hand smacked with a wooden spoon every few minutes for stealing mushrooms. Jason might be shy, but he was a damn tyrant when it came to messing with his food.
When Matt and Bryce walked in, warmth flooded through Jesse at the sight of Matt. Jesse wanted to go to him and press against him till their scents were mingled the way they always should be. But those thoughts faltered as he caught the look on Matt’s face.
Five minutes later, the entire pack, along with Jesse, was gathered around the kitchen table while Matt briefed them on the hostile pack that had caused havoc in town.
“I don’t like being so defensive,” Matt said. “But with our numbers, we’ve got no choice. I want everyone staying home tomorrow. Bryce, that includes you. As for tonight—no one’s to patrol alone. Pair up, and stay within hearing distance of one another.”
A throat was cleared very quietly. Jesse didn’t catch who it was, but Matt looked straight at Karl. “Everyone but Karl is to pair up.”
Karl dipped his head in acknowledgement.
“I don’t think Cale’s going to come tonight, given that he’s set things up to meet me tomorrow.” Matt looked around the table, meeting the eyes of each pack member in turn. “So when you’re not on patrol, I want you all to get some sleep. No point worrying about what hasn’t happened.”
He leaned back in his seat. “Any questions?”
Yeah, Jesse had questions. But he’d save them for when the rest of the pack wasn’t there.
Matt met Bryce’s eyes, which were beaming a very definite message at him, though Jesse couldn’t begin to decipher it. He huffed silently to himself. Another pack thing he wasn’t in on.
Matt turned back to Tristan. “You’re not part of the patrols tonight. Stay in, and get some rest.”
Tristan’s face fell, though he nodded in acknowledgement.
The pack cleared away after dinner in near silence before going their separate ways, Christian making the time to glare at Jesse on his way out. Whatever Dave thought about it, Christian evidently hadn’t forgiven him for hurting his mate.
“Karl,” Matt said quietly, when Karl was heading for the door.
Jesse got the feeling this was private, so he busied himself washing the big roasting pan that wouldn’t fit in the dishwasher.
“Get some sleep,” Matt said. “You look like crap.”
“Seen a mirror lately, boss?”
Karl had a damn good point. Matt had dark circles under his eyes, and his face was gaunt with strain.
Jesse didn’t know what Matt’s expression was, given that he couldn’t turn around without betraying that he was listening, but a moment later, Karl gave a little sigh and said, “Yeah, okay.”
“If you need to do a circuit or two, that’s fine, but sleep. I need you well-rested for what’s coming.”
Jesse’s heart dropped into his boots at the ominous words. Up till now, it had been a vague sort of threat, something directed toward him. But now… He’d put Matt’s entire pack in danger. And the worst of it was, he didn’t know how. He had no idea what he’d done to bring this down on them.
He bit his lip and kept scrubbing while the door closed quietly behind Karl.
“You’re quiet.” Matt’s voice, behind him, but not too close.
“Just can’t win. Either I’m always complaining or I’m too damn quiet.” Jesse set the pan on the draining board and turned to look at Matt, wiping his hands dry on his jeans. “Karl’s not wrong—you need to get some sleep.”
“I’m sure you could find a way to persuade me into bed,” Matt said, but the effect of his teasing words was ruined by the yawn that split his face.
Jesse smirked, but it faded as he watched Matt try—and fail—to blink the exhaustion from his eyes.
“Hot milk and a bedtime story, I reckon,” Jesse said. He took Matt’s hand, and tugged him toward the bedroom.
There, Matt stood in the center of the room, swaying slightly as his eyes drooped.
For a moment, Jesse was lost—this wasn’t what he did, taking care of people.
But he couldn’t leave Matt like that, so he started undressing him, then pulled back the covers and Matt flopped into bed.
More like a pancake than a strong, sexy alpha.
Something in Jesse tugged sharply at his defenselessness, and he pressed a kiss to Matt’s forehead.
Matt’s hand wrapped around his wrist, then he instantly dropped it. “Sorry,” he said, eyes alert suddenly. “I didn’t—”
“Touching that way’s fine,” Jesse said. Because it was, and if he’d made Matt scared to touch him, he was never going to get laid again. Speaking of which…
“Move over.” He swiftly undressed and climbed into bed beside Matt. He was pretty sure sex was off the menu tonight, but there was always tomorrow morning.
The sheets were cool on his bare skin, but Matt was warm when he rolled over and lay half on top of Jesse, pressing a kiss to his lips.
And then came back for more, until sleep was the furthest thing from Jesse’s mind.
They moved against one another, no energy for anything more, but this was all he needed—Matt’s strength and warmth above him, his weight anchoring Jesse, and his breathing growing harsher against Jesse’s neck as he got close.
A low groan shuddered out of Matt as warm wetness spilled on Jesse’s skin, and then Matt was saying his name, over and over.
As if his exhaustion had torn down the last of his walls.
Jesse held him, and wondered why his eyes were stinging.
He wanted this, Matt’s warmth, the safety of his arms, the way he said Jesse’s name like it meant something.
Jesse closed his eyes, trying to let himself have this moment.
Just this once, something good, just for him.
But the second they were no longer moving, no longer kissing, his mind caught up to him.
He couldn’t pay the cost of this. He just couldn’t.
Later, when Matt was fast asleep, his breaths gusting against Jesse’s shoulder, another thought struck him. He hadn’t just brought this down on Matt’s pack. Every person who’d been hurt in the town today was because of him, too. That little girl…
Jesse’s chest ached as he tried to hold in the guilt and the shame of it.