Chapter 14
Noah kept his mate’s gaze as he zipped up her jeans, his heart full of her. “You okay?”
She blushed and nodded. “You?”
“Yeah. Better than okay.” There were probably soft words, kind words, he should use right now. But he didn’t know any. “I’m possessive and protective and kind of abrupt.”
Her eyebrows arched, and those pretty hazel eyes sparkled. “Yes. I’m aware of that.”
He swallowed, brushing her soft hair off her shoulder.
“I belong to you. Completely and in a way I’m not sure you feel yet.
” It was the most he could give anybody in this world.
All of him. “Mates have a connection, and someday we’ll be able to share thoughts if we wish.
When you hurt, I hurt. When you rage, I rage.
And when you get frightened, I worry. When you’re in danger?—”
“You turn into a beast?” She grinned.
He nodded. “Kind of. More like I let the beast loose.” Was it just him, or did that sound dirty?
He chuckled. “Immortals are more animalistic than humans, and we’re fine with that.
When a mate is threatened, it’s not pretty.
” That was as much as he could clean it up for her.
“We’re as much instinct as thought, even though we’ve had a millennia to increase our intelligence beyond those of humans.
But at our base, our main core, we’ve never softened. ”
She leaned up and kissed his chin. “I’m not afraid of you.”
“Good.” The words weren’t enough. “For us, it happens fast. I love you, Abs.” He took her hand, more than happy to give her decades to catch up with him, and started walking for the exit.
Her hand felt small and fragile in his. How long would it take for her body to change and become immortal?
He’d heard the timeline was between a day and a couple of weeks, and there was no way to know hers.
So he’d have to be extra vigilant for the next couple of weeks.
By the way she leaned against him, brushing her breast against his forearm, that wouldn’t be too difficult.
She tripped and caught herself, holding his hand tighter. “You’re a mercenary. How is that going to work?”
He grimaced. “I own several businesses around the world, and we could run those.” He was tired of hunting and killing, and he’d been looking for something to do.
“One of them is a charity. Actually a few of them are.” He glanced down as they reached the outside door.
“I’m loaded, by the way. You don’t need to work.
” Money hadn’t ever meant much to him, but if she wanted to shop, he was happy to give her all he had.
“Loaded, huh?” She waited as he opened the door. “If you don’t mind holding still for a bit, I’d like to work with Tabitha. Get some experience, at least while I wait for my probation to end.”
He’d forgotten. “Speaking about that, you need a decent lawyer.” He’d better find a couple.
“Maybe, but I signed the agreement, so it’d be hard to overturn. Much easier just to live out the probation, which then will go away. If Monte leaves me alone.” She worried her bottom lip with her teeth.
Oh, the human was going to leave her alone. Without question.
She stretched her neck. “Hey. What’s up with your rock hard bed?”
He paused. “Hard? What do you mean?”
She rolled her eyes. “Come on.”
He hadn’t noticed. “It came with the apartment. I’ll get a new one if you’d like.”
“Yeah. I’d like,” she said.
He liked her planning for their future. Rain splattered down as he opened the door and pulled her out, heading for his truck.
A bullet pinged off the metal building next to his head, and he reacted instantly, ducking over her and hauling her in front of his vehicle.
“Stay down.” A bullet could still kill her.
He levered up, looking at a dark van near the fence.
A man partially rose, firing wildly. Shit.
It was Monte. Where’d he get the van? He reached for his gun and remembered he’d lost it in the fight with Petersen.
Abby looked up at him, her eyes wide and frightened. “Who’s shooting?”
“Monte,” Noah said grimly. “Does he own a van?”
She shook her head. “No, but his cousin in Grangeville owns a body shop. He borrows cars once in a while.” She paled to beyond white. “We’re pinned down.”
Yeah. Their vantage point sucked.
“Abigail? Come out and come with me, and I won’t kill this piece of shit you’ve picked up,” Monte yelled.
Abby started to rise.
“Stop.” Noah pressed a hand on her shoulder. “What the hell are you doing?”
She blinked away tears. “If I go, he won’t shoot you. Call the detective, the good one, and maybe you can find me. I can’t let you get killed.” She wiped her eye. “I love you, too.”
The words hit him like a hammer, and he let himself enjoy them for the briefest of moments. “You’re a moron, sweetheart,” he finally said.
She reared back. “Wh-what?”
He’d been clear. He’d been more than clear. “I handle danger and protect you. Not the other way around. Ever.” He shook his head. “And I’m immortal—pretty much. Remember?”
She paused. “Yeah, but bullets hurt you, right?”
“Well, yeah. And they can incapacitate us for a while.” Frankly, they hurt like hell. He’d taken a human bullet between the eyes back in the fifties, and it had taken him two weeks to fix his brain.
“Now, Abigail,” Monte yelled, shooting into the building for emphasis.
There was only one way to get the gun, and it was going straight for it across the parking lot. There was no other option or route. Noah would be completely exposed. “You’re going to have to trust me on this, Abby. Promise me you’ll stay down.”
“I won’t let you get shot in the brain, damn it,” she muttered.
He turned and pinned her with a gaze, letting his eyes go full on demon green.
“In there, inside, we had fun. You disobey me this time, and you won’t like the results.
It won’t be fun.” He kissed her. Hard. “I’d never hit you, and I’ll never harm you, but I have no problem with you not being able to sit for a week.
Take that to heart, mate.” He took a second to memorize her beautiful face and the spirit that had glimmered in her eyes.
Then he turned and leaped up into a flurry of bullets.
* * * *
Rain pounded down, plastering Abby’s hair to her face.
The asphalt was rough beneath her hands, but she crouched low, her heart thundering.
The bullets pinged off the truck and building, ricocheting in different directions.
She was protected right in place, and if she moved an inch, she might get hit.
But how could she let Noah face her ex, her biggest mistake, on his own?
Immortal. He couldn’t die. But he could get hurt. Though he’d asked her, ordered her, to trust him. She kept low, her face against the front grill, and crept around the side.
Noah ran full bore, head down, right at Monte, who kept shooting.
A bullet ripped right through Noah’s shoulder, throwing blood and continuing on to hit the door of the building.
“Noah,” Abby screamed.
He was a blur of motion, almost too fast to follow. Several more bullets hit him dead center and he hitched, paused, and then lunged the rest of the way. He leaped over the van and took Monte down and out of sight.
A scuffle echoed, then a high-pitched scream.
Then silence.
Abby’s hands shook and she forced herself to stand, looking over the wide expanse of wet asphalt. “Noah?” she croaked. He had to be okay. He had to be telling the truth about being immortal. God, he had to be all right. “Noah!”
He stood up on the other side of the van and walked around the front, blood once again pouring from holes in his chest and one in his cheek.
She ran toward him, and he met her halfway. The hole in his cheek revealed his teeth and upper jaw bone. Her stomach lurched, and she swallowed down bile. “How badly are you hurt?” Her hand trembled as she gingerly touched his jawline.
“I’ll be fine.” A whistle sounded through the hole in his face.
She winced. “Heal that, would you?” Then she looked toward the quiet fence line. “Monte?”
“Not going to be fine.” The bone and muscle began to stitch together in Noah’s face as he reached for the phone in his back pocket and quickly dialed.
“Tabi?” he asked. “It’s Noah. How do you feel about ditching a van for me?
” The skin slowly healed over his cheekbone, turning an angry red.
“Yes, I’ll owe you one. Yes. Thanks.” The red turned to his bronze skin tone.
Abby watched, fascinated. “That’s amazing.” One day she’d be able to do that.
He kissed her, his face whole again. Thank goodness. Then he levered back. “I have to take care of another body.”
She frowned. Shouldn’t she feel something, anything, that Monte was gone? They had been married, although he’d been a jerk the whole time.
She wiped rain off her face. “I’m sorry. I made my own problems, and you cleaned them up. I’ll help you.” How did one get rid of a body? “If he just disappears, I’ll be the prime suspect, you know?”
“Maybe, but without a body, there’s not much of a case. And I have a couple of great lawyers. We’ll get them on the line.” He gently turned her toward his truck. “Go sit inside. You don’t help with bodies. Ever.”
That was a plan she could agree with, but this time was different. She’d caused some of this. “Noah?—”
The slap to her ass propelled her two feet forward. She partially turned, her eyes widening.
He cocked his head. “There’s more where that came from. Just to the ass and to get you to take me seriously. It’s your choice or not.” His grin was pure sin. “Who knows? You might like a good spanking. Current literature shows that some girls do.”
She gasped and then coughed from the rain.
And yes, her entire lower body was now on fire for him and anything he wanted to dish out.
But she couldn’t just admit that. Good thing they had several lifetimes to play and have some fun.
She gave him a look that hopefully promised retribution.
With a huff, a good one, she turned and stomped through the rain to the truck, jumping in and getting his nice leather seat wet.
Her mate, even though she did love him already, could just handle all the dead bodies by himself. So there.