“And if one of his men kills you?”
Her jaw tightened. That was a very real possibility. “Then I guess I’ll have to hope that you and your sixteen hundred officers can do what I couldn’t.”
Chapter 14
Ryan stared at the most beautiful, fierce, loyal, andstubbornwoman he’d ever known. He saw it all the time when working with the gangs. Loyalty trumped common sense. Obligation to brothers-in-arms forced people to make stupid choices, take insane risks, and forgive the most heinous crimes. And werewolves had that particular psychosis in spades. They were all about the pack, which was indeed their greatest strength. But when the leadership went bad, it was their greatest weakness.
Frankie was trying to fix things from inside, and two months ago he would have supported her wholeheartedly. But the problem was too big and too dangerous now. It was time for law enforcement to step in. And that meant him since he was the only shifter on the police force.
But before he could say anything, before he could make the woman see reason, her phone rang, distracting them both.
She leapt on it, thumbing it on and answering with a desperate, “Noelle?” Her gaze connected with his, and she nodded. “That’s great!” Her voice was happy, but her expression fell, and she tried to speak but kept getting interrupted. “I understand, but—” Her shoulders sunk. “They’re fine. Why don’t—” Her gaze cut to the ceiling. “I know, Noelle. Thank you. You know, we can—” She looked at her phone, then dropped it back onto the bedside table. “She hung up.”
He arched a brow in query and she gave him the bullet points.
“Brady will show us where the serum is held, but not until he gets some sleep. He’s wiped out, plus Noelle and her sister are drunk.” She held up her hands in defeat. “I tried to find a way around, but she was barely coherent. We’ll just have to wait. He’ll come over here when he’s ready.”
“Do we know when that will be?”
She shook her head. “We just have to wait.”
Not his favorite words, but he understood patience. Sometimes it was all he had. So he nodded, but before he could say anything, Harley toddled into the room rubbing his eyes.
“Where’s Mommy?” he asked, his voice high and tight.
Noelle scrambled sideways and quickly dragged on an oversized shirt. Ryan moved equally quickly as he hauled on his sweatpants. Meanwhile, Jaxon joined his brother in the doorway. “Mommy?”
Ryan finished with his pants and scooped up both boys, one in each arm. “Mommy’s not here right now, but I am. What say we—”
The two started crying as if they’d timed it together. Wails in stereo, straight into both ears. Ryan winced as he tried to comfort them, but it didn’t work. It was the middle of the night and the kids wanted their mother.
“Come on, Jaxon,” Noelle tried as she pulled the child out of Ryan’s arm. “Don’t cry. I’m here.”
That left Ryan able to support Harley with both arms as the kid squirmed and worked himself up into a major fit. “Hey, buddy, why the fuss?” he tried as he started heading to the boys’ room. The kid wailed even louder.
Meanwhile, Frankie took the opposite approach. She sat down on Noelle’s bed and murmured something to Jaxon. He quieted quickly as he nuzzled into her neck. Ryan frowned at her, wondering how she’d done that when Harley was screaming like he was being tortured. Fortunately, she had the answer. In the pause where Harley had to take a breath, she spoke up loud enough for the both to hear.
“Harley, do you want to lie down here with me and your brother? We can rest right in Mommy’s bed until she comes home.”
The kid pulled it together in a split second. He nodded tearfully and reached out to her. Well hell. Ryan carried the boy to the bed where Frankie had stretched out with Jaxon snuggling her on her left. Harley went to her right, curling into her side as if she were his whole world. Which left Ryan standing there in shock as the boys settled down.
Meanwhile, she flashed him a rueful smile. “Noelle says they do this to her every night. They wake up and won’t be quiet until they can sleep with her like this.”
He nodded, seeing everything he craved spread out before him: a woman and children, all snuggled together on a bed. As he watched, he saw the stress of their argument melt from Frankie’s body. She dropped kisses on both boys’ head then extended her legs and exhaled with a sigh. He tucked them in, gently pulling the blanket over all three bodies.
“Do you need anything?” he whispered.
She shook her head, her eyelids already drooping. Then just as he was about to leave, she called out to him. “It’s a big bed. There’s room if you want to join us.”
“Do you want me to?”
Her eyes opened, and she gave him a tired smile. “It’s up to you, bear. Do you join the puppy pile here? Or sleep alone in the next room? It’s all a matter of choice.”
Prudence told him to keep his distance. Setting aside their earlier argument, he was still a bear, and she was a wolf. No sane person entered a cross-breed relationship without careful thought. And yet, no part of him wanted to go slow. He wanted her and them.
So he climbed into bed. He had to lift Jaxon and resettle the boy. He worried he was upsetting things needlessly, but a moment later, the child flopped over and dropped his head onto Ryan’s arm. It was sweet and allowed him to stretch out his hand to stroke Frankie’s shoulder.
“This okay?” he asked.
