Authors: Lynnette Bernard
Knocking lightly on the office door, she heard Jackson’s voice call for her to come in. Pushing the door open quietly, she stepped inside the office and hesitated. Jace was on the phone. He looked up as she entered and smiled, waving her in. Jackson reached out, holding his left hand out to her. She walked to him slowly, reaching out to touch his hand, gasping as he pulled her gently toward him so that she was seated sideways on his lap.
“Morning, beautiful,” he whispered against her neck, nuzzling her and taking in her wonderful scent.
“Morning,” Laurie said quietly, unable to look him in the eye. “I’m sorry to bother you both.”
Jackson pulled her toward his body, settling his right hand beside her hip, and laying the flat of his left hand against her stomach. He could sense her unease and worried at her distance. She still had her mind closed to them, and he wanted to cuddle her against his chest and assure her that everything was fine.
“Honey, you’re welcome in this office whenever you want,” he stopped her. “We want you with us all the time.”
Laurie nodded absently, their kindness touching her heart and filling her with warmth. How could she ever live with herself if these men were hurt because of her? Before she could say anything, Jace ended his call and stood up to walk around the desk and stand before them. He leaned forward and kissed her forehead lightly, closing his eyes and breathing in her scent.
I can scent her pregnancy.
He smiled as he noted that Jackson’s hand covered their baby in their mate’s body.
The baby has made her smell even sweeter.
Jackson smiled up at him, barely able to contain his joy.
I can’t wait to feel the baby moving and growing.
Jace nodded, smiling down at them both. His heart almost hurt at the emotions he was feeling at finally being a part of a mated triad.
“I saw Nikki this morning,” Laurie told them quietly. She looked up at Jace, and he could tell she was trying to hold herself together.
“I checked with Doc,” Jace told her, reaching out to stroke her cheek with his index finger. “He said she’s doing well and should be back to normal by tomorrow, but he wants her to take it easy for a while.”
Laurie nodded. “I’m glad,” she said so softly they barely heard her. “And I’m glad Alexander and Butler are going to protect her. She’s had a hard life.”
Jace looked down at her silently. “I checked on Julia. She’s totally healed. One of the perks of being a wolf shifter.” Unable to hold back any longer, he reached out and took her by her upper arms to pull her up into his embrace, tucking her head under his chin as he kissed the top of her head gently. “Everything will be fine, Laurie,” he promised. “We won’t let that man hurt any of you ever again.”
Laurie wished with all her heart that what he was saying could be true. But they didn’t know the extent of Patrick’s cruelty. He was truly an evil man. She couldn’t allow him near these wonderful people. She feared for all of them, especially her children, who were often the recipients of his cruelty.
“Jace, you don’t know what he’s capable of,” she told him sadly, unable to look at either man as she spoke. “He’ll go after my kids because he knows that’s the one way that will hurt me the most.”
“Then you need to bring your children here,” Jace interrupted her. “They’re pack now and will be protected by all of us. I want them here with us from now on.”
Laurie looked up at him in surprise. His face was filled with determination, and she knew that the anger that was rolling off of him was directed at the man who had hurt her and her children repeatedly over the years.
“If he dares to come near you or the children, or any member of this pack, he will not live to see another day.”
The quiet calm of Jace’s words made her shiver. She could feel the power of the man. Laurie stepped back as she looked up at him, seeing him as Patrick would see him. Jace was a force to be reckoned with. His size, his musculature, his fierce loyalty and ability to protect his pack made him alpha. It was evident in all that he was, and this knowledge slammed through her full force. She realized that she was privy to a softer, gentler side of him, all of the immediate family members were, but that did not diminish the fact that he could and would protect every one of them to his last breath.
Jackson reached out and rested his hand on Jace’s shoulder, centering him and calming his anger. Leaning in toward them both, he cocooned Laurie between them and leaned his head down to rest against the side of her face.
“Please, Laurie,” Jackson whispered against her temple. “Bring your children here. They’re our children now, too. Bring them home to us.”
Tears filled Laurie’s eyes as she felt the strength of the two men as they held her tightly. She wanted to believe that everything would be okay. She wanted more than anything else for her children to be their children. But she didn’t always get what she wanted. Actually, except for the birth of her children, she
never
got what she wanted. She was afraid that if she dared to hope, she would just be disappointed. Again.
Chapter 18
Laurie slowly made her way to their bedroom, taking a seat in the large, comfortable chair before the fireplace. The last two days had been difficult for her. Jace and Jackson had been loving and supportive, and the rest of the family had been very forgiving of the incident with Patrick, but she couldn’t stop the fear she had that Patrick would make true on his promise to hurt her by hurting the people she cared about.
She wasn’t aware of how much time had passed as she stared, unseeing, into the empty fireplace, lost inside her own head. She had so much to think about. She knew she had to leave. It would be best for everyone if she left, disappearing from their lives, so they would be safe. She had come to care about them all too much to put them in any more danger. And danger is exactly what they would be in when Patrick found her. It wasn’t that he cared about her or the kids. It was that he felt he owned them. No matter how many years had passed since their divorce, he still haunted her and tormented them all. It was the classic case of if he couldn’t have them, no one else could have them.
Her mind finally made up, she stood and walked to the large walk-in closet. She reached for her small suitcase and spread it out on the bed that she shared with Jace and Jackson. Her eyes filled with tears as she realized she would be giving up the only time she had ever truly felt like she belonged somewhere. She felt a pain in her chest as she thought about how she deeply loved both men. It didn’t matter that their relationship was unconventional. It didn’t matter that she had only known them a short time. Time didn’t matter when it was the right one. Ones, in her case.
Before she left she would have to make Nikki promise not to give anyone her address or phone number. She knew Jace and Jackson would try to contact her and try to find her. That would only put them in danger. And she couldn’t allow that to happen.
She nearly jumped a foot when her cell phone rang, breaking the silence of the room and scaring her in the process. She reached for it quickly, nearly falling to the floor as she stretched to reach the nightstand where her phone lay. Looking at the display, she didn’t recognize the number. Opening it quickly, she prayed it wasn’t Patrick. He somehow always found out her phone number no matter how many times she had it changed.
“Hello?” she answered quietly.
“Hello, is this Ms. Laurie Young?” a woman’s voice asked from the other end of the line.
“Yes, this is Laurie Young.”
“This is Officer Pauline Thomas from the Colorado State Police,” the woman continued. “I’m calling to inform you that your daughter, Mia Young, has been in a car accident and has been brought to Denver Memorial Hospital.”
“Oh my God,” Laurie whispered, dropping down to land with a thud on the floor. “Is she okay?”
“I don’t have that information at this time. I’m sorry,” the officer apologized. “The attending physician is checking her out now. But you should know that she was clear and lucid when she handed me her cell phone to give me your phone number and told me to call you. She was pretty adamant that the only people she wanted me to call were you and her brother.”
“I’m on my way,” Laurie told her, standing up and grabbing for her purse as she nearly ran from the bedroom. “Can you tell me what happened?”
There was a hesitation on the other end of the line, causing Laurie to stop dead in her tracks as fear gripped her. She held her breath as the officer cleared her throat and answered firmly.
“It appears that your daughter was run off the road by someone driving a dark sports car,” she told her carefully. “We’ll question your daughter as soon as the doctor allows us in to speak with her.”
Laurie nearly choked on the pain that bubbled up inside her. It had already started. Patrick was making good on his promise to hurt the kids. She knew without a doubt that the dark sports car was his.
“Have you called my son yet?” Laurie asked quietly, forcing the panic down.
“No, ma’am, we haven’t.”
“I’ll call him,” Laurie told her quickly. “Please tell Mia I’m on my way and that her brother Dean will be there before I can get there.”
“Yes, ma’am,” the officer answered. “Be sure to drive safely.”
“Thank you,” Laurie whispered, snapping her cell phone shut and making her way through the lodge quickly.
Spotting Vera Moore, the housekeeper she had been introduced to when she had arrived, Laurie walked to her quickly, doing everything she could to keep herself under control. The older woman watched her warily with definite coldness in her eyes, making Laurie hesitate in her journey toward the woman.
“Vera, would you please tell Jace and Jackson that I have a family emergency and I have to leave for a while,” she told her firmly, unwilling to go into detail with a woman who had been less than welcoming to her. She wished she could have found someone else to ask, but the house was empty, and she couldn’t wait another minute to leave.
Vera nodded briskly, not speaking a word, turning and walking away without a backward glance. Laurie only had a moment to worry about it before she turned and ran from the main house. She couldn’t hold the tears at bay any longer. By the time she reached her car, pulling open the driver’s door and throwing her purse onto the passenger seat, the tears were falling freely down her face.
Climbing into her car, she started it quickly, buckling her seatbelt and pulling away from the ranch, ignoring the pack members who saw her leaving. She knew she must have looked a sight, crying and driving with abandon, but she didn’t care. All she knew was she had to get to the hospital and protect her babies once again.
She drove with determination toward the hospital, thankful that she wasn’t pulled over for speeding along the way. As she drove she prayed that all would be well. She could only hope that God would see fit to watch over her babies until she arrived.
Lucian turned to Cole as Laurie passed them and rushed to her car. Their alpha and beta had not given the order to detain their mate if she tried to leave the compound, but seeing her tears made him know that this was not something to be ignored.
Without hesitation, Luc pulled out his cell phone and called Jace. It went right to voice mail, and he was concerned. He knew that this situation was one that needed to be addressed immediately.
“Alpha, this is Luc,” he said quickly. “Your mate just left the compound, and she was very upset. It looked like she was crying.” He turned to face Cole and saw that his triad partner was just as concerned. “Cole and I are going to follow her to make sure she’s safe.”
* * * *
A great sigh of relief escaped Laurie as she finally pulled into the hospital parking lot, cursing as she searched for an empty parking space. She nearly cried with relief when she finally found one. Parking and jumping from the car, she pushed the automatic lock on her key chain and ran for the main entrance.
It took nearly ten minutes to find out where her daughter was being held. The nurse who finally came through with the information pointed toward the elevators at the end of the hall.