Chapter Sixteen
~ Rad ~
Watching Ajag slowly moving around the next morning made me delighted, but also made me feel guilty as hell. I probably shouldn't have gone so hard on him the night before, but I couldn't help myself. Once he became mine, I couldn't keep my hands off of him.
I was still reeling from the fact that he'd allowed me to claim him. He'd even claimed me. For the rest of our lives, we would be connected, bonded together as true mates.
I would never be alone again.
There was a small fear at the back of my mind that I tried not to think about. After my pack had been slaughtered, I was alone and I thought that I would always be alone. Friends were friends, even the close ones, but a mate was something else.
Mates were forever.
I glanced at the small child trailing after Val like a duckling. For some reason no one on the planet would be able to fathom, Sy had taken a liking to Val. He'd been following him everywhere since he woke up this morning.
Val was practically scandalized.
"We should get on the road," I said as I stood. "We have a lot of road to cover."
Val said something to Sy that made his shoulders slump. I was too far away to hear what it was, but a moment later he said something else and ruffled the hair at the top of Sy's head.
Sy nodded and then bounced over to where Ajag was standing next to the Jeep. Ajag lifted him up and placed him in his seat. A moment later, he closed the door and walked around to the other side of the car.
"Same tune as yesterday?"
"We'll need to gas up before we hit the highway," Val pointed out. "I don't want to do it in Moab, but maybe a little farther down the road."
The next three days were pretty much rinse and repeat. We stopped long enough for gas and food, sometimes in a diner, sometimes just going through a drive through.
We'd find some out of the way spot to camp for the night and then get right back on the road the next day. Val left periodically to report in to Elder Ridge and get updates on the investigation into Elder Payne.
Other than that, nothing changed.
Well, one thing changed. Instead of sleeping on the ground in my fur I was now sleeping curled up with Ajag every night. That was much better than sleeping alone on the cold hard ground.
By the time we reached the small town where the ranch was located, we were all tired and so done with being on the road. As much as I loved being out on my bike, if I didn't see pavement for the next month I'd die a happy man.
I made careful note of all the vehicles we passed as we drove through town. I didn't expect that any of the council soldiers could have arrived before us considering the pace we'd had on the way here, but it never hurt to be careful.
I saw nothing out of place, or at least nothing that overly concerned me. That didn't mean I would stop looking. Danger could come from anywhere. I had a family to protect now and I'd be damned if Ajag or Sy got hurt on my watch.
I still wanted to scout the ranch before I actually took Ajag and Sy home, just to be on the safe side. So, right before we reached the ranch, I pulled over to the side of the road. I was in no way surprised when Ajag and Val pulled over with me.
I climbed off my bike and walked back to the Jeep. "There's a small dirt road just down the way. It's right before the driveway to the ranch. I want you to pull in there."
Ajag frowned as he glanced through the windshield. "We're not headed to the ranch?"
"We are," I replied. "I just want to check it out and make sure we don't have any unwanted guests before I take you and Sy there."
"All right."
"Just follow me." I got back on my bike and then drove down to the dirt road I'd mentioned to Ajag. It was a little bumpy on the bike, but I was positive the Jeep would make it no problem. Brass had driven SUVs down this thing.
Once we were far enough up the dirt road to not be seen from the man street, I parked my bike, turned it off, and then swung my leg over it. I walked over to the Jeep again.
"Wait here," I told Ajag. "We shouldn't be more than ten minutes or so. If you have any problems, just drive away and then call me on the cell phone like we prearranged. I'll come find you."
Ajag gave me a simple nod.
I walked over to wear Val was still sitting on his bike. "Up for a little recon?"
Val glanced toward the Jeep. "You just gonna leave them here?"
"Ajag knows what to do if there are problems."
Did I like leaving Ajag and Sy here alone? No, but I couldn't think of a better plan.
"You know I could go check things out if you need me to. There's no sense in both of us going."
"You haven't been to the ranch before," I replied. "You don't know what you are looking for."
Val snorted.
Yeah, he had me there. Val could figure out what was going on in a second even if he suddenly landed on Mars.
I rolled my eyes at the man. "Fine, I'll stay here. You go check out the ranch. Just don't do anything to the duck."
"Duck?"
I wagged my eyebrows.
Just wait until he found out about Fred.
Val sighed heavily. "So, which way is the ranch?"
I simply pointed.
I waited for Val to take off into the woods before walking back over to the Jeep. I leaned my arm on the window frame and leaned in a little. "How you holding up, babe?"
Ajag gave me a pouty face, his lower lip sliding out for a moment before he said, "Tired, hungry, antsy."
"I can do something about the tired and hungry part when we get home. Not so sure about the antsy part. That may take a little thought on my part."
Ajag grinned at me, something I hadn't seen him do very often, but it was something he'd been doing more and more over the last few days.
"You seem like a smart man to me," Ajag stated, amusement lacing his voice. "I'm sure you'll figure it out."
I crossed my arms and leaned them on the window frame. "You think so, huh?"
This was a side of Ajag coming out that I really enjoyed. It made me wonder if this was what he'd been like before all this mess started.
"I do," Ajag replied. "I—"
Ajag's head snapped around so fast I heard his neck pop. His entire body went stiff and the smile fell from his lips.
"Ajag, what's wrong?"
"Vehicles," he whispered. "Several of them."
I didn't wait for him to say more. I raced past the Jeep and down the dirt road to the tree line at the edge of the street. I reached there just in time to see the back end of a black SUV as it pulled into the driveway.
Not good, but what concerned me even more were the SUV's slowing and coming to a stop on the street right in front of me.
I turned and hurried back to Ajag just as fast as my feet would carry me. He was waiting for me, standing beside the Jeep with Sy in his arms.
"Is it Payne?"
"I'm not sure." I grabbed his arm and turned him before leading him toward the woods. "But we need to get out of here."
I hated leaving my bike and the Jeep, but they could be replaced. Ajag and Sy could not. The safest place I could think of to take them was the ranch house. Maybe the barn, although Fred would probably not like that.
I dragged him through the woods until we reached the edge of the trees that opened up to the garden area Jackson liked so much. We were on the side of the house, but I could easily see two black SUVs parked in front of the house along with a silver two-door Mercedes convertible.
I had no idea who that belonged to.
"We need to quietly sneak around to the porch entrance to Ze'ev and Jackson's room. You can hide Sy in the bathroom closet while we see who is here."
I'd spent time searching every corner of the ranch house. I knew there was a large closet in the bathroom. It usually housed towels, toilet paper, and shower products. It was big enough to fit a small boy.
Sy tugged on my shirt and then pointed to the greenhouse. "Hide there."
My eyebrows lifted in surprise until I remembered that that was where I had originally found Ajag and carried him into the house. I quickly pated his head. "Good idea, little man."
I'd prefer to get Ajag and Sy up to the hidden attic, but that wasn't going to happen unless I could figure out how to get up there and we didn't have time for that.
Instead, I led them over to the greenhouse and pushed them inside. "Stay here. I'm going to go check things out. Don't come out for anyone that isn't from our pack. Understand?"
Ajag's lips thinned, but he nodded. "Be careful."
I leaned in and brushed my lips against Ajag's. "I'll try."
It was the only promise I could give him.
I closed the door of the greenhouse and then turned to hurry up onto the porch and around to where the double patio doors were that led into Ze'ev and Jackson's bedroom.
I knew they wouldn't be thrilled with me going into their bedroom uninvited, but I needed to know what was happening inside the house and this was the easiest way to do that.
Luckily, the doors weren't locked. As soon as I was inside, I carefully closed them and then crept over to the bedroom door, pressing my ear against the cold hard wood.
The low murmur of voices was constant, but I couldn't quite make out what they were saying. Someone was definitely angry, though, if the intensity of the voice was anything to go by. It was a woman, which instantly made me think of Jackson's cousin Emma.
God, that woman needed to be taken down a peg or two.
This wasn't going to work. I was never going to learn anything this way. I started turn away from the door when it suddenly opened. I quickly jumped behind it.
I raised my hand, flicking out my claws.
As soon as I saw the reddish brown hair, I lowered my hand, breathing out a sigh of relief. "Jackson," I whispered.
His eyes widened as he swung around to look at me and then they quickly darted toward the open door. "Ze'ev, do you know where I put my sweater?" he called our rather loudly. "I can't find it."
"It should be on the end of the bed," Ze'ev replied, his voice growing louder. I knew why when he appeared in the doorway a moment later.
Jackson pointed to me.
Ze'ev's eyes widened just like Jackson's did when he saw me standing behind the door. "Just grab one out of the closet."
While Jackson went to grab a sweater, Ze'ev mouthed to me, "Emma, William, Elder Payne. Four guards inside."
So, basically two headaches, four muscled hulks, and a nightmare.
"Lu?"
Ze'ev pointed up.
"Gunny?"
Ze'ev shrugged. "Have you found it yet, Jackson?"
"Yeah, give me just a moment," Jackson replied.
"Val is here," I mouthed to my alpha.
"Eliminate guards first then come in. I'll be waiting for your signal."
I gave a single nod that I had understood him.
Jackson was pulling a sweater on over his shirt when he walked out of the closet. Ze'ev grabbed him by the arm and steered him out of the bedroom, shutting the door behind him.
I quickly made my way over to the patio doors and let myself out. Since Jackson had gone into the bedroom, there was a very real possibility that the guards would search the room. I needed to not be there when that happened.
I made my way back to the greenhouse. I stopped in my tracks when I stepped inside and spotted Val standing in front of Ajag and Sy, his razor sharp claws out.
"I was wondering where you had gotten off to," I said in a low voice. "Ze'ev wants us to eliminate the guards out here and then make our way inside."
"Already eliminated," Val replied. "That's what I was doing before I found Ajag and Sy here in the greenhouse."
"Did you kill them?"
Val shrugged, which told me nothing and more than I wanted to know at the same time. He probably hadn't meant to kill anyone, but it wouldn't break his heart if he did.
I also seriously doubted he had stopped to check.
"Emma and William are inside along with Elder Payne and four of his guards."
"Who are Emma and William?" Val asked.
"Jackson's cousins, but they are not nice people. They are, however, human, so be careful. They know nothing of our world."
"Guess they are about to find out."
Not sure how well that would go over.