Fighting For Their Mate (26 page)

Ford clasped her hand and squeezed once before letting go. “Nothing’s impossible, but I never pegged them as very organized. They had a goal to capture you, and they failed.”

This time. She and Tatum had met Brad and Tom in North Carolina, and she prayed they weren’t from there.

*     *     *

“Should we wake her?”

“Let her sleep a little longer.” Ty looked down at Bailey. The lines around her eyes had softened. He motioned they head back into their living room. “How do you want to play this? We can’t keep her here forever.”

Ford stroked his chin. “I know. She’s made it clear that she loves her family above all else. There’s no way she’ll ever be comfortable being around two men. Her dad’s thinking of running for a higher office, and if his daughter is in a ménage relationship, he won’t have a prayer of winning.”

“Not to mention what would happen if he finds out we’re werewolves.” He embraced the fantasy. “Can you imagine if we had a little boy together and he shifted in front of them? They’d probably have a heart attack.”

“That would suck.”

Ty strolled past the living room into the kitchen and pulled two beers from the fridge. He handed one to Ford. “So we let her walk away? Just like that?” Ty couldn’t do it. Not only did his body need Bailey, the man in him was falling in love with her.

“I’ll walk away.”

The words took a moment to sink in. “You don’t want her, need her, or love her even a little bit?”

Ford waved his bottle. “Fuck, yeah, I do. That’s why I’m willing to sacrifice my desires and give her to you.”

“That’s not how this mate thing works. She cares about you. Bailey would be upset if you weren’t with us.” Hell, he’d miss his brother. “Bailey’s not only my mate, she’s
our
mate.”

Ford sat at the kitchen table and tipped back his drink. “I was thinking about going back to Canada. I want to help the General take down Statler.”

“Way to change the subject, bro.” Ford was crazy. “Think about it. Statler’s men probably have a kill-on-sight directive against both of us. Bailey needs us here.”

“Statler had no idea who broke out Tatum. He’s probably thinking it was Dram and Tony’s doing. If I get back there in the next day or two, I’ll make up some story about chasing after those two. Statler will believe me.”

Ty hated when Ford acted like this. He was using logic to block out the emotional part of his brain. “I don’t buy your self-sacrificing bullshit. It’s because of Uncle Ned, isn’t it?” It was always about that one failure.

Ford chugged his drink. “Kind of.”

They’d been through this too many times. “Do you think you can bring him back to life if you go up to Canada? What’s your plan? You going to strike before the General can assemble his men just so you can save twenty or more women? Will that do it for you? Twenty saved woman equals one failed robbery attempt? The two you saved weren’t enough?” He came close to shouting, but he needed to convince his twin that he was wrong.

“I want to make sure Bailey is safe. I don’t want her to have to watch her back her whole life.”

That logic had merit. “Let’s say you do go to Canada, and within a month you and The Pack manage to break into the lab, save the girls, and take down Statler? Will you be satisfied? Will you be able to get past Uncle Ned’s death? If so, then what will you do?”

“I come back here.”

Ford wasn’t thinking this through. “So you can watch me make love with Bailey? You can’t tell me that it won’t kill you to see us blissfully happy, knowing you gave her up.”

“I’d be doing it for her. Bailey will understand.”

Ty shook his head. “No. You’d be doing it for yourself—for that guilty conscience you have. Until Statler’s out of the picture, we have to watch her, and I can’t do it alone. I need you. You know she’ll be chaffing at the bit in no time. Sure, she can take some photos here and there, but then what?”

Ford slammed the bottle on the counter. “You got a better plan, genius? Are we supposed to sit around with our thumbs up our ass while we let others do the job that I know I can do better?”

Ty didn’t have the answer to that, but his mission was to prevent his twin from going off half-cocked and getting himself in trouble. “We need to protect Bailey. She’s fragile right now.”

“Who’s fragile?” came the female voice from the kitchen doorway.

Damn, he should have sensed her presence. “Hey, honey. Sleep well?”

“Yes.”

Bailey looked adorable—sleep lines in her cheeks and a riot of auburn hair tangled about her face.

“Want some water?” he asked.

“How about a beer?”

Ty laughed. Ford did not. His brother pushed back his chair. “I’m going out.”

“Where are you going?” she asked. Her voice was thick with concern. Damn Ford.

“I won’t be long.”

Bailey slid onto the seat next to Ty while she watched Ford head through the door that exited to the garage. “Is he upset about something?”

Ty wasn’t sure what he’d tell her, but somehow the truth seemed to be the best choice. “Ford wants to go back to Canada and help free the rest of the girls.”

Her face whitened. Ty retrieved a beer from the fridge and placed it in front of her.

“Alone? That’s crazy.” Her hand shook as she picked up the bottle and sipped from it.

“The stated reason is to help take down Statler. Ford says he’ll wait for the General to assemble his men before he strikes. I’ll be honest with you. Ford knows the inside of the lab better than anyone. He would be an asset to General Armand.”

“Don’t you think your old boss will deactivate his access code as soon as he realizes what you’ve done?”

“Ford doesn’t think Statler knows it was us who saved Tatum.”

She shook her head, looking quite disgusted. “What’s the unstated reason?”

Ty finished his beer. “Hard to say, but I think he’s driven by guilt.”

“What could Ford possibly have done to deserve being guilty about? He’s noble and caring.”

Clearly, she had an idealized view of them. “When Ford was eighteen, he wanted to be a cop worse than anything.”

Her brows rose. “I can see that. He likes to help others. I wish everyone on the force were a werewolf. It would give the cops a distinct advantage.”

He waved the bottle. “That it would, but shifting is frowned upon. Remember, the world isn’t ready to learn about our talent.”

“I know.”

Tyson leaned on his elbows. “Our uncle was the sheriff of the small town where we grew up. Since Ford wanted to go into law enforcement, Uncle Ned agreed to let Ford come with him on patrol one night. Our little town was usually quiet, but that night our uncle received a robbery-in-progress call. When the two of them arrived, the robbers were still in the store so Uncle Ned called for backup. He instructed Ford to stay by the car and make sure no one came inside. I believe he was referring to unsuspecting customers.”

She hissed. “How terrible to want to buy some milk and end up in the middle of a gunfight.”

“Exactly. Gun in hand, Uncle Ned entered. Instead of waiting outside as Ford had been instructed, he decided to be a hero and go around the back to surprise the robbers through the loading area.”

“That was smart.”

“Maybe, but as soon as Ford disappeared around the back, three of their cohorts came in the through the front, surprised our uncle, and slit his throat. Ford claims that if he’d had Uncle Ned’s back, he could have warned him—or better yet, stopped them.”

She shook her head. “He couldn’t have known that. The men could have come in the back way just as easily or attacked Ford.”

Tyson shrugged. “I told him that, but ever since, Ford’s believed that he’s lacking somehow. It was what prompted him to enter the service. I might have been the one to pump iron, but Ford studied fighting techniques, learning from the best.”

“Does he really think that if he goes to Canada and save the women single-handedly that somehow he’ll be forgiven by his uncle?”

Bailey was very insightful. “You’ll have to ask Ford.”

She cupped her beer and looked off. “Do you think I can change his mind?”

Demons had driven Ford for a long time. Ty doubted anything anyone said or did would have an effect. “You can try.” Ty pushed back his chair. “I’m hungry.”

“So am I.”

“Let’s see what we have.” He looked in the fridge. “I can offer you a ketchup or mustard sandwich. That’s about it.”

She chuckled and the sound did his heart good. “We could go out.”

“We could. Let me call Ford and see where that ass is. Maybe he’ll meet us.”

He dialed Ford’s number. “You’re not talking me out of leaving,” Ford said. No hello or anything.

“What makes you think I’d do something like that? You can go to Canada and rot for all I care.” Ty understood the more he argued the more stubborn his brother would become.

“Thanks for the support.”

“Bailey’s hungry. Want to me us at Harvey’s Restaurant?”

“I don’t think she should leave the house for a while.”

Ty looked over at her. Her brows were raised. “What do you suggest?”

“I’ll pick up pizza.”

Oh, boy. More pizza. “Hurry. We’re starving.” He disconnected and faced her. “Ford will be back soon with pizza.”

“He doesn’t want me to go out, does he?”

Ty didn’t like that defiant look. “Not for a couple of days.”

“You think Brad and Tom will find me? In North Carolina?”

He shrugged. “Our names might not be in the phone book, but they are on the property appraiser’s site. Our location is hard to hide.”

Bailey looked down at her hands. “Is this how it’s going to be? I’m basically a prisoner? While I like this jail better than the lab, will I ever be free to have a life? How am I going to take photos? My subjects are often wild animals that roam the woods. Are you going to come with me everywhere I go?”

She was running her thumbnail up and down the bottle and her eyes were watering. Ty reached out and clasped her hand. “Don’t worry. We will stop Statler.”

“It’s Brad and Tom who are the ones I’m worried about.”

“They’re harmless. We can stop them.”

“If they’re so harmless, then why do I have to hide?”

She had him there. “The General will head to Falling Pines with everything he has. We got you and Tatum out. With enough men, we can storm the place and win.”

“I’ll believe it when I see it.”

God, he wished there was something he could say. Too bad, she was right. She wouldn’t be safe until Statler was imprisoned, or at the very least, his scientists were taken out of the lab.

The garage door opened a short while later. “Food’s here.”

F
ord was doing the right thing. He didn’t say much during dinner because he wanted his brother and Bailey to get to know each other better—without him—and it was killing him. His animal side wanted to protect her with his life, but the human in him had fallen in love with her. How it happened, he couldn’t say. Perhaps it was her strength, her intelligence, or just her love for her family that made him want to spend the rest of his life with her, but it wasn’t meant to be. Bailey had been willing to do anything to protect Tatum and her parents. If he didn’t know better, he’d say she might have come from werewolf stock herself.

“I’m heading to bed,” he said. Being around her anymore might make him regret his decision to leave in the morning.

Ty and Bailey glanced at each other. Ford was a night owl, but he had an early flight tomorrow. The last minute ticket had cost a ton, but it would be worth it once he found a way to take Statler down. Even the General didn’t know of his plans. Ford had the sense Armand would tell him to stay away until his men arrived, but he couldn’t do that. He’d failed to save his uncle once. Ford wasn’t ready to let Statler get the best of him now. Those women needed saving.

Bailey pushed back her chair and sauntered toward him. He should wave her away, but with the way she was looking at him, he couldn’t. His animal side, or maybe it was his human side, wanted her like never before. Would making love with her one last time be so bad? It would definitely help him get through the next few days, weeks, and maybe even years without her.

No. I have to let her go. For her sake.

She planted her palms on his chest. “I can’t take it anymore.”

His pulse quickened. “Can’t take what, little girl?”

“Being pent up with no release in sight.”

“That’s why I’m going to Canada. To free you from being chased.”
And to free you to love one man.

She smiled and his cock hardened. “I was talking about sexual release. How about some good loving to keep you focused? And me sane? I don’t want to think about how long it will be before I see you again.”

Bailey lowered her hand and grabbed his package. He growled and plucked her hand away. “None of that.”

“Why not?” She gave him that delicious pout that always did him in.

“Because.” He didn’t have a good reason.

“I’ve been thinking.” She leaned in closer and her scent invaded every cell of his body.
Stay strong
.

“About what?” If he could keep her talking, perhaps she’d see he was intent on remaining distant.