Chapter 16 #2
Rosemary’s shoulders straightened. “As if that was ever in question,” she replied haughtily. “I’ve got a fucking warrior’s mark to prove it.”
“Yeah, you do.”
She snickered. “Your aunt is cool as hell, you know that, right?”
“Oh, yeah,” I replied as we headed toward the kitchen. “I realized that a long time ago.”
“I kind of forget it’s there,” she confessed.
“Me too.”
“Really?”
I shrugged. “I notice the shoulder and the hip more, because I don’t want to hurt you when I’m holding you.”
Rosemary stopped. “You haven’t hurt me.”
“Well, I don’t want to start.”
“Hey, Danny boy,” Chance called from halfway down the stairs. “You got a minute?”
“You good?” I asked Rosemary.
“I’ve been living here for three weeks,” she replied, patting my shoulder consolingly. “I think I can walk into the kitchen on my own.”
Chance met me at the bottom of the stairs and then led me out into the front driveway. We’d almost made it to the trees when he finally stopped.
“I think I’ve found him,” he said quietly. “I followed the money. It’s the only company that’s receiving payments and doesn’t have any connection to Keihley, Morren, or Adamson. Two properties: a house in Missouri and a warehouse in Arizona. Looking at records, someone is living in the house.”
“You got him.” I slapped Chance on the back. “Fantastic fucking news. But why are we out here?”
“I didn’t want to ruin the day,” Chance grumbled, tipping his head back and forth. “You know, the bridal shower shit.”
“Wait, you’re not going to tell them?”
“I will,” he hedged. “Later. After the party.”
I debated silently for a moment, then nodded. A few hours wouldn’t make any difference.
A car rolled up the driveway, and two men climbed out. I waved at Reese’s honorary fathers as they headed toward the front door. I guess some boys were allowed. I was definitely going to give Rosemary shit about it later.
“I’ll call Dalton after everyone has left,” I said, looking back at Chance. “Have him head over so we can set some plans.”
“We’re getting closer,” he replied, rubbing his hands together. He smacked them together once. “Cool, good talk.”
I stood there staring as he strode away.
“Why the hell did you tell me now?” I called after him.
“Had to tell someone,” he replied, throwing his hands in the air. Without another word, he climbed into his truck and fired it up.
Great, now I’d have to keep it to myself all day surrounded by people, while he was off doing whatever the hell he wanted. I wasn’t even surprised.
When I got back inside, all the women were in the living room, and Reese was fluttering around in a short white dress.
She was practically glowing as she touched the tables, the flower vases, and the presents.
Pete, the man who’d stepped in when she was a teenager to be the adult she needed, wrapped an arm around her shoulders and kissed her head happily.
“What?” Rosemary said, stepping into my view. “What happened?”
“Nothing happened,” I replied, lowering my voice in hopes that she would too.
“Spill it,” she whispered, glancing over her shoulder. “I know every expression on your face, and something is going on.”
I knew with absolute certainty that she wouldn’t let it go.
After asking for nothing for so long, hiding what she needed from me, carrying the weight of our separations silently, it was as if a switch had flipped in my mate after the night at the Cavendish house.
Nothing was off limits anymore. The closeness I’d wanted, the easiness I’d seen between my brothers and their mates, I had that now too.
Rosemary told me what she needed when she needed it.
There was no hesitation on her part—and she fully expected that to work both ways.
“Come with me.” Taking her by the hand, I tugged her toward the stairs and back to our room.
Once we were closed in, she looked at me expectantly.
“Chance thinks he found Hermann.”
“No fucking way,” she hissed. Her eyes dropped closed, and she let out a long breath. “Where is he?”
“Two properties, two different places to search,” I told her as she wrapped her arms around my waist. “But the house in Missouri looks more promising.”
“Fuck yeah. When are we going?”
My chest twinged with anxiety.
“Daniel?” she said questioningly. There was irritation in her voice, but worse, there was an almost detached disappointment.
I swallowed back every valid reason I could think of why she should stay home.
“Chance doesn’t want to tell anyone until after the party,” I said, tightening my arms around her as she started to pull away. “Tonight, I’ll call Dalton so we can start planning.”
“You can’t cut me out of this,” she said quietly. “That’s not the relationship I want to have.”
“I know that,” I replied. “I have a feeling we’ll be headed south in the next few days.”
She nodded solemnly.
“Good,” she said, running her hands up my back. “Let’s get this shit over with.”
“Don’t say anything until I’m able to speak with my dad and brothers.”
“I won’t.”
“You ready to head back downstairs?” I asked, letting my fingers tangle in her hair.
“In a minute.” She leaned forward and pressed her lips to mine softly. “I just want to be here with you for a little while. Okay?”
We stood there just inside the door, holding each other. When we went back downstairs, she’d be engulfed in women, happy and celebrating Reese. After that, we’d be neck-deep in plans and strategy sessions with my family and hers. But for now, it was just us.
We hadn’t had enough time that was just us.
I was really looking forward to when that changed.
“Okay, I’m ready,” she said with a sigh as she pulled away.
“You sure?” I asked, sliding my hand down over her ass. “I bet I could fuck you before anyone noticed we were missing.”
Rosemary smiled, her eyes lighting up. “After the party, but before you tell your brothers?”
“Deal.”
We held hands as I led her back into the hallway and down the stairs, not ready to let go quite yet.
“I love you,” I whispered in her ear as we reached the bottom. “And your ass looks incredible today.”
“My ass looks incredible every day,” she whispered back with a chuckle. “I love you too.”
Just as I’d begun to let go of her hand, the front door swung open so hard that it slammed into the wall with a loud bang.
As I turned, Chance came through it, a woman with long dark hair clutched in his arms.
They were both covered in blood.
Shock held me in place for only a moment before both Rosemary and I were moving toward him.
“I found her on the road. Her car was upside down,” he babbled, practically sobbing. “Help me.”
I’d never seen my Aunt Alice move so fast. She’d rounded the couch and had her hands on the woman before we’d even crossed the room.
“Rena?” Reese wailed in disbelief.
“Please,” Chance continued. I wasn’t even sure if he knew what he was saying. “Please, you have to help her.”
“I’m helping her,” Alice assured him. “I’m helping her. Carry her into the surgery.”
“She’s hurt,” Chance said, tears running down his face. “She’s hurt really bad.”
“Chauncey,” Alice snapped. “Into the surgery now!”
“I—” He looked down at the woman, his chest heaving. “My mate.”
The words seemed to echo through the room. Even Reese fell silent.
“I cannot carry her,” Alice said, reaching out to grip my brother’s chin in her hand. “So either carry her into the goddamn surgery or Danny will do it.”
Chance lurched into motion just as my father and Ambrose came out of the kitchen at a run.
“Out of the way,” Alice ordered, leading Chance and his mate toward the hospital room.
Ambrose followed, but I stood frozen as they disappeared.
Rosemary’s fingers slid between mine as somewhere behind us, Reese sobbed. Her other arm wrapped around my waist as she leaned into me.
“Holy Gods,” I mumbled, lifting her hand to my lips. I shuddered as I leaned toward her, fear making my lips numb as I whispered in her ear. “Baby, I don’t think she was breathing.”
Rosemary’s head jerked toward me, her eyes filled with horror that matched my own.
The last of my brothers had found his mate, and I was pretty sure he was about to lose her.