Chapter Six
Eli stood by the side of the bed and watched the steady rise and fall of her chest. What a shit show this day had been from start to finish.
From the confrontation with Holden and his buddies outside the motel to the mad dash on the mountain, it had been one crisis after another.
The best part of the day had been the long drive from Chicago to Sin Mountain, even if she’d barely spoken.
He’d understood her need to process what had gone down.
She’d truly believed he’d hand her over to her uncle. He’d seen the bitter sting of betrayal reflected in her expressive eyes before she’d made her frantic race for freedom, the desperation as she gunned the truck at him before turning away at the final possible second.
Huffing out a breath, he dragged his fingers though his hair. He was in way over his head. He knew it and so did his brothers.
Physically, Kinley would be fine. No bones had broken in her desperate jump from the moving truck. She likely had bruises, but they’d fade in a couple of hours, thanks to her werewolf healing abilities. Sleep was the best thing for her.
He wanted to stay, but there were plans to make and questions to be answered. Emotionally, there was no telling how she’d be when she woke. She’d proven to be resilient, but everyone had a breaking point.
He grabbed a t-shirt he’d tossed over the back of a chair and tugged it on. He had one hand on the doorknob and stopped. Cursing himself, he spun around and went back to the bed, leaned down, and kissed her forehead. “You’re safe,” he whispered. His wolf huffed inside him, affirming the promise.
With one final look, he left, shutting the door softly behind him. Not that he thought she’d wake anytime soon. She’d pushed herself beyond exhaustion. The adrenaline rush had led to the unavoidable crash. Both body and brain needed to shut down, if only for awhile.
As expected, two of his brothers waited at the dining table.
Levi was outside changing tires. Eli still couldn’t believe she’d doubled back to the house, stolen his truck, and slashed a tire on the other three.
It was a brilliant move on her part and totally unexpected.
Kinley was proving to be one surprise after another.
He pulled a beer out of the fridge, popped the top, and downed half of it in one swallow. With his werewolf metabolism, the alcohol burned off almost as fast as he could drink it, but he enjoyed the taste.
“She asleep?” Cyrus jerked his chin toward the upstairs.
“Yeah.” He leaned against the counter, too restless to sit. He wanted to be upstairs with her, but protecting her was his priority. That meant making plans. “What do we know?”
Zach stopped typing on his laptop. “Not a lot out there about her pack. Like most, they keep things on the down-low. They run all their business through AP Incorporated.”
“Alabama Pack Incorporated. Not very original.”
“But effective and necessary.” Zach was their tech and supply guy.
If they needed it—whether it was information, electronic gear, or weapons—he could source it.
Hacking and navigating the online world was his specialty.
“Everything seems on the up-and-up to me, but Josiah should take a look at their finances.”
Eli nodded. Josiah was the second deadly sin—greed. His specialty was finance. All the brothers had talents that sprang from the seven deadly sins, their namesake.
“How long until the others get home?” Nothing would be decided until they’d all had a say in the matter.
“Tomorrow morning. Lunchtime at the latest.” Cyrus rubbed his fingers over his beard in a thoughtful manner. “You know what you’re doing, little brother?”
That was the question of the day, wasn’t it?
He left the unfinished beer on the counter, took the chair to the left of Cyrus, and looked him straight in the eye.
There’d always been honesty between them.
His eldest brother was as much a father to him as their own had been.
He’s stepped into the role when Eli was fourteen.
“I can’t say I do. All I know is I can’t let any harm come to her. ”
“Shit.” He shook his head. “You thinking about making this permanent?”
Was he? “I honestly don’t know.” There’d been no time to consider much of anything since she’d dropped into his life. He’d tried to walk away, but instinct had kicked in.
“Maybe you should figure that out before we toss our peace and privacy out the window for a woman you met yesterday.” Cyrus’s warning made sense, but Eli’s wolf bristled.
“I’m not sure it matters what I want. It’s up to her, and she doesn’t like me much right now.” That he’d inadvertently scared her so badly she’d bolted didn’t sit right with him.
“She didn’t run you over when she had the chance. That has to mean something.”
Eli gave a rough laugh. “I guess.” He wasn’t going to put much stock in that beyond chalking it up to her basic goodness and decency.
“I didn’t ask for this.” He tilted his head back and stared at the ceiling.
It was shocking how fast things had changed.
His life had been much simpler a short twenty-four hours ago.
It had been lonely but predictable. Now it was utter chaos.
And it wasn’t only his life in upheaval.
“We spend much of our time assessing danger and possible outcomes, controlling as many variables as possible.” Zach closed his laptop and rested his elbows on the table.
“But at our heart, we’re wolves. We depend on instinct as much as we do our intellect.
If yours is telling you to protect her, you need to listen. ”
Gratefulness flooded through him. His brothers all harbored concerns. Hell, they’d be stupid not to. He had more than a few of his own. They might argue or fight, but in the end, they’d come together and support him in whatever way they could.
The front door opened and Levi sauntered in, wiping dirt off his hands with a rag. “Two of the rigs have new tires. I’ll get to the third. I figured enough time had passed that things had settled down some and wanted to check on our guest. How’s she doing?” He tucked the rag in his back pocket.
“Asleep. Exhausted.” Beyond that, Eli had no idea.
Levi snagged a bottle of orange juice from the fridge. “She led us on a merry chase. Your lady has skills.”
His lady. He liked the sound of that. Maybe a bit too much.
And his brother was right, she did have skills.
More than he’d expected her to have. She’d have easily outwitted a group of human males.
“Her daddy was senior pack enforcer before he died. I expect he taught her a thing or two.” He’d do well to remember that.
“That makes sense. I’m outta here. If you need me, you know where to find me.” Raising the bottle in salute, Levi left to finish the job.
“Are we done?” He wanted to get back to her.
“For now.” Cyrus stood and stretched his arms over his head. “There’s nothing else to be done until the others get home. I’ll take first watch. Until this thing is settled, we’re all on alert.”
Eli pushed up from the table. “I’ll take a shift.” It was the least he could do since this mess was his fault.
“You’d be distracted, something I never thought possible.
You’re usually more focused than even I am, and that’s saying something.
I won’t lie. That worries me, but it is what it is.
You’re better off in the house with her.
” He turned to Zach. “You’re on second shift.
We’ll make Levi take last shift. It will mess with his beauty sleep. ”
They all tease their brother about being a ladies’ man, but he was as tough as any of them. “I’m glad I’m not the one who has to tell him.” Eli pulled his brother in for a hug. “Thank you.”
Cyrus clapped him on the back. “We’re the Sin brothers. It’s what we do. Together, always.”
Eli’s throat tightened and he nodded. “Together always.” He stepped away. “Night, Zach.”
“Get some sleep. You need it. I’ll be working until I take my shift. I’m going to dig into the individual pack members. See what I can come up with. If they have any secrets, I’ll find them. Yell if you need me.” Laptop open once again, his fingers flew over the keyboard.
Family was the cornerstone of Eli’s life.
It was unimaginable that there’d be a time when his brothers wouldn’t be there.
They all faced danger in their line of work, but it was a controlled risk.
They were armed with the best knowledge and equipment money could buy.
For the first time, they were working blind.
He was jeopardizing his entire family for Kinley Wright.
He was being torn in two directions. If it came down to one or the other, he’d lose, no matter his choice.
He took the stairs two at a time and silently slipped into his room. That she didn’t stir told him exactly how exhausted she was.
Lying on her side with her head resting on his pillow and her hand tucked under her cheek, it was difficult to believe she’d led them all on a wild chase. She’d been running him ragged since the moment they’d met. He’d never had this much trouble with any fugitive apprehension job.
He shucked his shirt but kept his jeans on and crawled onto the bed beside her. Lying on his back, he listened to her slow, even breathing, counting each one. After coming off a job and not getting much rest last night, he shouldn’t have had any trouble falling asleep, but he remained alert.
Long minutes ticked by. Normal sounds drifted in through the open window.
It was May in Kentucky, so while the days were warm, the nights cooled down.
As a wolf, he didn’t mind the lower temperatures, actually preferred them for sleeping.
But Kinley had shivered earlier, her body not self-regulating as it should due to exhaustion and being malnourished.
It took a lot of fuel to keep werewolf metabolism functioning at peak efficiency. She was thinner than she should be.