Chapter 12 #2
Keck turned and looked at Duggan like he was out of his mind. “Doug, are you serious? You can’t do this. These guys had something to do with this. We can’t let suspects go.”
Duggan gave his partner a look that finally shut the other guy up. He glanced at us again. “You’re free to go. Thanks for your time.”
Felipe and I got into the truck and pulled away. I glanced through the window and saw the two cops arguing, close to a shouting match. Felipe shook his head. “Fucking bigot.”
I nodded in agreement. “Can you turn your scanner back on? I want to see if we can find anything else out.”
Felipe brought his app back up and I put his phone in the cradle. Before we got home, we heard the call come in that the crime-scene team had found the dead guy’s wallet. The name was Johnathan McGuire.
Felipe and I looked at each other. That was the name of the nurse’s husband. The one who’d been kidnapped. Javi had killed the guy.
“Fuck,” Felipe muttered.
I pulled my phone out and called Luis. He needed to know.
The phone rang six times before he answered. “Huh, hello?” He sounded groggy, and I remembered it was almost four in the morning.
“Luis, it’s Nico.”
“What’s wrong? What happened?” He was instantly awake and alert.
I gave him a quick rundown of the events until we were back in my driveway. We sat in the truck until we’d relayed all the information.
“And the dead guy?” I said. “It’s the nurse lady’s husband.”
“Shit. I was afraid this might happen. Once she didn’t complete the murder, Javi’s crew would have had to kill him. No way you can let something like that slide. If you don’t instill fear, you can’t force anyone to do anything.”
“I don’t think I’m going to tell Maddy about this. There’s only so much she can handle. She’s already so shaken up, I can’t put something else on her plate.”
“Makes sense,” Felipe said. “What’s our next move?”
“I’m sending Javi a message,” I said.
“What message?” Luis asked.
“I’m going to make sure Javi knows that Maddy is mine. He needs to know that any direct threats toward her or her life means he’s declaring war on the pack. He may be doing the bidding of some shadow organization, but the Lorenzo pack is right here, not a thousand miles across the ocean.”
“I guess we’ll see if that gets him off our back,” Luis said.
“I’m gonna try and get some sleep, guys.” With that, I got out of the car.
“Good night…er…good morning, I guess,” Felipe said.
“Talk to you tomorrow,” Luis said.
I hung up and walked up the steps to the front door. Sebastian was sitting on the armchair, reading a book by a lamp. The rest of the lights were off and Maddy was curled up asleep on the couch with a blanket draped over her. Sebastian glanced up and put his book aside.
“How was she?” I asked.
He let out a sigh. “Not great. As soon as you left, I think it all hit her. She puked her guts out, then passed out. She didn’t faint, I think it was mental exhaustion or something. I had to carry her in from the car.”
“Thanks for taking care of her. Go on home and get some rest.”
Sebastian left, and I scooped Maddy up in my arms and carried her up to her bedroom. Her eyes fluttered open and she woke up enough to give me an incoherent mumbled greeting. She was still wearing her work clothes. There was no way that attire would be comfortable to sleep in.
“Do you want to change?” I whispered.
Maddy nodded. “Mmhmm.”
I got her in her bedroom and set her on the bed. I found a set of pajamas and handed the clothing to her. Her eyes still only half-open, she took them from me.
“Can you get my shoes and pants?” she mumbled.
“Sure.”
I pulled her sneakers off and averted my eyes as I slid her pants down.
At least, I tried to avert my eyes. Even in the dim light from the hallway ceiling fixture, I could see the muscular curve of her legs.
Maddy was still half asleep and murmuring words I couldn’t make out.
She peeled her shirt off, the movement causing my gaze to slip across her body and up beyond her flat stomach to the mounds of her breasts.
Maddy unclasped her bra and tossed it away.
My breath caught in my throat, and I swung my head back toward her feet, but not before I’d gotten a glimpse of the dark brown nipples atop her perfect breasts.
I felt like a pervert, and she was still barely coherent and had no idea what I’d seen. She slipped the shirt I’d given her over her head and lay down, falling back asleep almost immediately. My heart was thudding in my chest. I quickly covered her with a blanket and left the room.
After latching her door, I leaned against it. My dick was throbbing in my pants, straining at the material.
Pushing the thoughts aside, I went to my own room, stripped off my clothes, and pulled on a pair of pajama pants. I brushed my teeth and set the alarm on my phone, hoping to get three or four hours of sleep.
Right as I was pulling my own covers back, Maddy called out to me. “Nico?”
Without hesitation, I was out my door and into her room again. She was sitting up, clutching her covers to her chest. I glanced around the room seeing if anything was wrong, then looked back at her. “What happened? Are you okay?”
Her head bounced in a sleep-drunk nod. “Nightmare. Could…can you stay with me?”
Without waiting for a second, I walked to the opposite side of the bed. Maddy watched me as I slid under the sheets. Once I was settled, she said, “I’m scared, Nico.”
Her voice quivered. I didn’t even ask what the dream was about. A thousand different things played through my head. I took her hand in mine and looked her in the eyes. “I’d be a little worried if you weren’t scared.”
Her face crumpled and tears started falling from her eyes. “I never asked for any of this.”
Seeing her cry like that sent my wolf into a rage.
It made me want to jump out of bed, get in my car, and drive straight to Javi’s territory and beat the ever-loving shit out of him.
Instead, I took a steadying breath and pulled Maddy close, pressing my forehead to hers.
The connection sent a wave of calming energy through me.
It must have done the same for Maddy because we both let out deep sighs at almost the same instant.
It was one more sign that she was my mate.
That she was as important to me as I felt she was.
“Maddy, I promise, I’ll do everything in my power to end this. I’m going to bring this to a stop. No one is going to hurt you again. Ever.”
She surprised me by not answering. Instead, she leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss to my lips.
I was speechless when she pulled away. She gave me a small, embarrassed smile before speaking.
“Something in my gut is telling me to trust you, and since I don’t have any other options, I have to believe you will keep me safe. ”
Without thinking, I slid my hands into her dark curls and pulled her to me.
I kissed her—a passionate, possessive kiss that showed her all I felt for her.
I pulled away, but only an inch, our lips only a breath apart.
“You’re mine, I swear I’ll protect you. Anyone who wants to try will have to go through me and my pack first.”
Maddy nodded and slipped deeper into the covers, curling into my body. I settled myself and draped an arm over her. In a few seconds, her breathing took on a deep steady rhythm that told me she’d fallen back asleep, the exhaustion of the day pulling her into unconsciousness.
I was tired. Bone-weary. But I stayed awake a long time after Maddy fell asleep.