Hearing the fatigue in his mate’s voice, Steel kissed Jackson’s forehead, before murmuring, “Get some sleep babe. I’ll handle Daniel in the morning.”
Smiling sleepily, Jackson inhaled his mate’s delicious scent before darkness claimed him.
Listening to his mate’s soft snoring always brought a smile to Steel’s face and helped him get to sleep. But after Hunter’s call, his mind went into high gear; he couldn’t stop thinking about the danger Sawyer’s mate might bring to the Blackwood Pack.
~/~/~/~/~
Standing in front of Loki, Glenn studied his pain-wracked face while considering his options. Finally making up his mind, he said, “My buddy is gonna undo his rope work so you can shift and heal. All you have to do is shift, make sure everything is fixed, then shift back. Oh, and just in case you have any fancy ideas, get rid of them now because I’m gonna shift too…just so you don’t feel lonely. But before that happens, my other buddy is gonna take your brother outside where he’ll be holding a gun to his head. If you try any shit, your brother will be a dead man. Understand?”
Glancing at his brother, Loki tried to reassure him everything would be okay, and after seeing a tiny nod from Luka, his gaze returned to Glenn. “Understood.” Internally breathing a sigh of relief, Loki hadn’t expected even this modicum of kindness. These men, who’d ensnared him and his brother in their trap, were far more experienced than they were at the killing game—and a lot more lethal.
All his earlier bravado was just an attempt to hide his fear about his brother’s fate while blaming himself for the trouble they were in. He’d convinced Luka to join the same paramilitary group he belonged to. As since he was the only sharpshooter, it was easy to convince Diego to enlist another, his brother, who he trained himself. Theirs was an easy job that paid well, but the downside was neither of them were involved in gathering intelligence—training that could have helped avoid the mess he and his brother were in. The fact that Loki was wrong about the leader being a shifter was proof he was in over his head.
Now he was surprised they were giving him the chance to shift, since he thought it made more sense to keep himincapacitated or even kill him outright. That’s what always happened when he was in Diego’s Army, as the shifter called it, but Loki wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth. He’d do exactly what he was told to do, so they’d have no excuses to kill his brother. Why Loki trusted the man’s word, he couldn’t really say, but in his gut he knew he could.
Watching his brother leave the house, Loki remained still while Smokey removed the ropes binding him to the chair. Staring at the closed door, he listened to the shuffling footsteps of his brother moving away, before looking at the man standing in front of him. “I’m going to do exactly what you say…promise you won’t hurt my brother.”
Giving a quick nod to Smokey, Glenn said, “You have my word. Now, shift.”
Loki gasped in agony as the big man hauled him to his feet where his wolf took over, forcing a shift through his pain. Falling down on his four paws, his wolf inhaled sharply as his bones healed, shooting new waves of pain through him. When they subsided, he found himself face to face with a huge, white, Siberian Tiger. The raw Alpha power emanating from it overwhelmed Loki’s wolf who instantly sunk to the floor, tilting his neck in submission. At that instant, Loki knew he and Luka were damned lucky to still be alive.
Feeling the tiger’s paw cuff his wolf’s head, Loki looked up at him, losing himself in the glowing eyes staring back at him. He froze, not knowing what the tiger would do next. It was uncharted territory for Loki since he never did any fighting when he was with his paramilitary group. Even when he left and became an enforcer, he wasused only when his sharpshooting skills were needed by the Alpha.
Closing his eyes, Loki’s wolf whimpered, making his distress known to the tiger. His fear for Luka grew stronger as he realized neither he nor his brother might ever come out of this alive—they were at the mercy of the tiger. So caught up was he in the nightmare playing out in his mind, it took a moment before he realized the tiger was padding around him. Inhaling sharply, Loki held his breath, waiting for the lethal swipe of one of the tiger’s paws and the feel of its vicious, long claws against his wolf’s exposed neck that would extinguish his life.
Studying the wolf, Glenn’s mind reviewed the information Riley had given him about Luka, making him curious about Loki’s background. Stopping at the wolf’s head, Glenn’s tiger nudged him, moving away before shifting back. Taking the sweatpants from Smokey, Glenn slipped them on and then ordered, “Shift back now.”
Rising up, Loki, fully healed, shifted back. Standing quietly, he waited for instructions, thankful the pain was gone.
Handing Loki some clothes, Glenn growled, “Get dressed, then my buddy’s gonna cuff and gag you. Don’t fight him…or else.”
Snorting internally at the idea of him resisting, Loki quickly dressed, then put his hands behind his back. He winced slightly as the handcuffs encircled his wrists before the sound of them being locked in place registered in his mind. Regardless of how much his wolf hated it, Loki refused to give the men any reason to kill him or his brother.
“Bring him,” Glenn said to Smokey before heading outside.
Heaving Loki over his shoulder, Smokey growled, “Don’t struggle or I just might drop you…on your head.”
Stiffening his body in response to the threat, Loki groaned as the cuffs bit into his wrists.
Slapping his prisoner’s ass, Smokey followed Glenn muttering, “Relax.”
Doing as he was told, Loki sighed and the cuffs loosened around his wrists. Turning his attention to the conversation between the men, he found out how he’d be traveling to where he and Luka were being taken. Riding in the trunk of a car for who knew how long wasn’t something he was looking forward to, but at least he’d be with his brother.
Within minutes, he felt himself being lowered and placed next to his brother. Grateful the man took the time to make sure he was as comfortable as possible, Loki caught a brief glimpse of his brother before he found himself in darkness. Wriggling around until he and Luka were back-to-back, Loki grunted in pain while reaching for his brother’s fingers. Latching on, he finally relaxed, knowing Luka was alive and with him…for the time being.
Chapter 15
After a long night of driving, Glenn was relieved to see the end of their journey come into view. Turning into the driveway, he waited until the garage door lifted before pulling in and killing the engine. Listening for a moment, but hearing nothing from his prisoners, he glanced over at Smokey who was still asleep. Eager to get back to LA, he’d only stopped for gas and drove straight through. Now, after climbing out of the car, he indulged himself with a few long stretches.
Hearing more cars arriving, Glenn turned and found Ghost parking Luka’s car while one of his men parked Loki’s. Once both were secure in the garage, he headed over to greet Ghost. “Any problems?”
“Nope. My men made sure there’s no trace that we…or those two…were ever at the house.” Looking over Glenn’s shoulder, Ghost saw Smokey’s head leaning against the window. “Did he say anything about Xavier Lee?”
“Nope, fell asleep as soon as we hit the road. C’mon, I’ll wake up Sleeping Beauty and you can take care of those two in the trunk.”
“Any problems with them?” asked Ghost, signaling to six of his men to take Loki and Luka down to the cells in the basement.
“No…I checked on them whenever I stopped for gas but they were good boys.” Smirking at Ghost before heading over to Smokey, Glenn swung open the door, causing his friend to fall out. “C’mon, Sleeping Beauty, good thing you got some shut-eye because we have a long day ahead of us.”
