19. Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Nineteen
Heath
“Y ou’re twitching.”
“What?” I turn from the road to glance at Hunter briefly.
“Your hands are twitching on the wheel,” he says slowly.
“I think I’m missing something,” I whisper. My skin feels like it’s melting. I despise every mile between me and my mate.
“Your mate. That’s what you’re missing,” Bane says dryly. I look in the mirror, and his sober face is lit up by his phone.
“Or did you miss the three dragons flying behind us?” Hunter says, looking over his shoulder.
“How could I miss them?” I ask. I appreciate their attempt to help, but I don’t need the dragons.
“We could have handled this,” Hunter mentions.
“You could be home snuggled up with your mate,” Bane adds like an asshole.
“Killing them will be easy.” Hunter faces forward and crosses his arms. “It seems like you don’t trust us to get the job done, Boss.” My lip curls. “Is that it?”
“You fucking know it’s not,” I snarl.
“Why?” he persists.
“I need to look them in the eyes. For Rylee and for Juliana.” The steering wheel creaks as I tighten my grip.
“Sure,” Bane mutters.
“Have something to say, Bane?” I ask roughly.
“How long have we been with you?” he asks.
“A long fucking time.”
“You trust us up to a point,” he continues, shutting his phone off. “You like control and can’t allow yourself to depend on anyone.”
“Fuck off.” His words hit me because they are true.
“We understand your need for vengeance,” Hunter says softly.
“I have to keep her safe.” I stare at the pavement in front of me but drive the car without seeing anything. “I can’t lose her.”
“You won’t.” Hunter drops his arms, turning slightly toward me. “We will do anything to help you.” His words make me uncomfortable. “You did a lot for us.”
“Shut up,” I growl. I don’t want their gratitude. “I wasn’t going to leave you there.”
“You could have walked away,” Bane says.
“No.” I clench my jaw.
“We are grateful. You have our loyalty and friendship. So get fucking used to it. You can’t get rid of us, and we will stay by your side,” Hunter growls. “Your mate is our family now.” He extends his legs, lounging in the seat.
“We would die for her,” Bane rasps. “That is why we are here, keeping your ass under control so you can go back to her.”
“My ass?” I ask, smiling slightly.
“We all know you couldn’t do it without us,” he replies, returning to his phone.
“Right.” Fuckers are delusional. “What did you tell Remy?”
“The truth,” Bane answers.
“He’s happy to have us close,” Hunter says. Remy owns a restaurant in town. He’s been asking his brothers for years to move there.
“He missed his brothers,” I state.
“He gets why we stayed with our other brother.”
I can feel Hunter’s stare but don’t meet his eyes. I roll my shoulders, fighting my emotions.
“I have to admit, this doesn’t feel right.” It’s more than leaving Juliana. I know she has an army in town and at the house.
“We know they are at the hotel. They checked in last night,” Hunter says.
“They’ve asked about you,” Bane says.
“I realize that,” I hiss. “Fuck, I don’t know.” I have a nagging feeling in my stomach that I got this all wrong.
“In ten minutes, we’ll see,” Hunter muses.
“Yeah.” The three men rented a room close to the fighting ring. They have been asking anyone they come in contact with about me, pretending to be interested in fighting for me. I may not trust many people, but those who do business with me respect me. They know the men don’t have good intentions. “Why would they talk so freely to strangers? If they are trying to hide their identity, send messages to Juliana, why advertise their location?”
“Maybe they want you to come to them?” Bane offers.
“No.” I shake my head. “It’s not right.” I didn’t stop to think. I have been acting on instinct to protect my mate.
“Call the vampires,” Hunter suggests. Ryker and Bash can travel much faster than we can. They went ahead to scout the area. I decided to drive fast. Anyone that stops us, I can bend to my will. Hitting Ryker’s name on the dash, I wait impatiently for the vampire to answer.
“You almost here?” he answers.
“Five minutes.”
“They are in the room. The music is blaring, and one of them just came back with beer.” Ryker doesn’t sound impressed. “Are we sure they are the masterminds?”
“I don’t know anymore.” I hate not being sure. Every aspect of my life has been carefully navigated through.
“Still want us to wait?”
“Almost there.” I end the call and slow the car as I approach the hotel. Parking across the street from it, I grab my cane, and we get out of the car. Ryker and Bash step out of the shadows.
“They aren’t worried,” Bash states.
“The curtain hasn’t moved. They aren’t acting like men on the run.” Ryker saunters across the street, and I step beside him.
“One of them is human,” I inform them.
“He’s friends with two wolves,” Ryker says, and I nod.
I approach the door, and the music continues. Their senses should have tipped them off to the monsters at their door, but I don’t hear any rushed movement. I roll my eyes and kick in the door.
“What the fuck?”
“You’ve been looking for me.” I step inside, and they freeze. Two men are sitting on the bed, and the third is sitting on the floor. The human is eating a burger, licking his fingers as he leans back against the bed. His eyes widen as his fingers pause halfway to his mouth, and his fear stinks.
“Heath,” the wolf on the bed whispers. He stands slowly, grabbing the knife tucked into his belt and holding it tightly in his fist.
“The cane,” the other wolf mutters. He slides off the side of the bed, his eyes fluttering from my cane to the men blocking the door.
“I had nothing to do with it,” the human denies, standing quickly, holding his hands up, the meat falling out of the bun.
“What did you have nothing to do with?” I ask softly.
“Uh…” He looks at his friends, but they don’t spare him a glance.
“What is your name?” He swallows and steps back.
“Ellis,” he answers softly.
“Ah, yes.” I take a step. “The human who hangs out with shifters for the thrill of it.” Hunter found lots of information about Ellis. “You are single. You find it fun to go along with whatever your friends want. Do you remember her?”
“Who?” He moves rapidly, stumbling.
“Don’t fuck with me. You know who.” I follow him, and Hunter and Bane move in front of the wolves. “Rylee is my sister.”
“Right.” He hits the wall, and his fear oozes from his skin. “She—”
“Do not make excuses,” I snarl.
“Sorry…sorry.” He licks his lips, and the rest of the food falls to the floor. “Are you going to kill me?”
“Yes.” I stop in front of him. “But I want some answers first.”
“Will you let me live if I tell you?” he asks, his desperation annoying me.
“No.” I lean forward, pressing my cane on his foot. “I don’t need your cooperation to learn what I need to know.”
“Leave him alone.” I wrap my hand around Ellis’s neck and look over my shoulder.
“Steve, right?”
“Fuck you,” Steve says.
“Be a good wolf and shut the fuck up.” I thrive on the fury in his eyes. He wants to kill me but is weighing the options with my powerful friends surrounding him. I turn back to the human.
“Did you participate in the torture?” I ask.
“Man, no.” He shakes his head, and I squeeze his neck, looking into his eyes. “Wait, what?” His eyes glaze over as mine turn into my snake’s.
“Did you hurt her?” I demand.
“Yes,” he says.
“Did you enjoy it?”
“Yes.”
“Do you regret it?” I rasp.
“No.”
I dig my fingers into his skin. “Did you send messages to my mate?”
“No.” He’s trapped in my eyes, so I know he isn’t lying.
“Did they?”
“No.”
Fuck.
“Do you know I have a mate?” I ask.
“No, Sir,” he answers, and I rip out his throat.
“Motherfucker,” Adam yells. As I watch Ellis slide to the floor, I grasp my cane, step back, and slide it through the air, the tip severing his head.
“It wasn’t you,” I state, tilting my head.
“You killed our friends. We were trying to find you, not your mate,” Steve says.
“We didn’t even know you had a mate,” Adam grits out. I nod and face them.
“You thought you could kill me,” I growl.
“We could if you didn’t have them with you,” Adam says, and I laugh shortly.
“I don’t need them.” I look at the Hunter and Bane. “Step back.”
“Boss,” Bane scowls.
“Do it,” I hiss. When they move back, I look at the vampires. “Stay out of it.”
“Sure,” Bash says, leaning against the door. Ryker shrugs and joins him.
“Try.” I cup my hand.
“What?” Adam raises his hand, the knife held tightly, but he’s not holding it right. There is a right and wrong way to hold a weapon. He knows nothing.
“Try to kill me. They won’t interfere.” I stand casually.
“Sure.” Steve narrows his eyes.
“Promise.” I wait. They both move at the same time. At the last second, I lift my cane, impaling Adam. His eyes are wide as my weapon enters his stomach. Steve stops too late behind him, and I plunge my hand into his chest. “You fucked with the wrong person. I value family. Rylee didn’t know it then, but she was my sister.” My eyes flash, and I lock on Steve’s dying ones. “Did you threaten my mate?”
“N-no…” Blood drips from his mouth.
“You, same question.”
“We didn’t,” Steve gurgles.
My jaw ticks, and I jerk my hand down. Adam is cut in two. As he drops, I push my hand through Steve and pull back, ripping his heart out.
“Holy fuck,” Ryker whistles through his teeth.
“Impressive,” Bash says.
“Open the door. The dragons are here.” I wipe my cane on the comforter. Bane hands me a towel, and I clean my hand.
“We can take care of the bodies,” Kingston offers.
“They didn’t send the messages,” Saphira frowns.
“No,” I say grimly.
“Shit,” she says.
“Let's go,” I hiss. Leaving the dragons in the room, I speed across the street.
“We’ll get there before you,” Ryker says.
“Not the way I’m going to drive.” I start the car before Hunter and Bane get in.
“Heath,” Hunter whispers.
“I know.” I dart onto the street. The speed limit means nothing to me. “I fucking knew something was off. I should have listened to my gut. My mate is in danger, and I’m hours away.” I grit my teeth, and my tattoos glow through my shirt. “I was consumed with revenge and not the facts.”
“We don’t know who it is,” Bane says softly.
“It’s someone in her life.” Fuck, I should have looked closer at her past. Everyone who she has been in contact with.
“Call her,” Hunter suggests. I’m out of town in seconds. I special-ordered my car, and no one can stop me.
“Call Juliana,” I say as I engage my phone. I hold my breath as it rings and rings. “End call.” I grind my teeth. “Call Micah.”
“Fuck, Heath,” he answers, and my heart thuds painfully.
“What happened?” I ask, my mouth dry.
“There was an explosion. It was a distraction. We found Rylee in the woods. She was bound and gagged. She’s alive but hurt. She will recover.”
“Juliana.” I know what he’s going to say.
“She’s gone, brother. Shit,” he whispers.
“How?” My body vibrates, and Hunter and Bane are tense.
“It looks like he took her from behind the house. There are tire tracks close by. She’s alive, Heath. Sally and the wolves are tracking the car.” The door in the closet. She left willingly. “Daisy and Steph are with Rylee. Quinn is helping with the fire before it burns everything.”
“Is Rylee awake?”
“No. She is healing, but slowly.”
“Call me if she wakes before I get there. Keep her alive, and no one kills the fucker except me.” I end the call and press on the gas.
“Heath.” Bane cups my shoulder.
“Dig into everyone she knows,” I instruct, knowing Hunter always has his computer. “Find out where the mom is. Juliana mentioned someone named Jeff from the hotel. Call her brother and ask about Stanly. You have an hour.”
“On it,” Hunter says, reaching for his computer under the seat.
Something made her leave the house. She thought someone was in danger, and she couldn’t allow them to be hurt. Rylee. Juliana would know it would destroy me if she died. My sweet mate, who always takes care of everyone, thought of me before her safety.
The world blurs around me as I focus on one thing.
Showing whoever took her what it means when you take a snake’s mate.