Gator's Challenge (5 page)

He’s not the man he once was.
Hell, Andrew had never become the man she’d hope he’d be.

Perhaps she had an unrealistic ideal.
Maybe the man I want doesn’t exist.
After all, Wes couldn’t seem to handle her needs either.
Am I the problem here?

Foolish thoughts that didn’t detract from the fact that her husband was seriously whacked.

And her babies were threatened.

“Get into bed, boys. Mama will tuck you in, and then I have to pop out for a little bit.”

“No. Stay with us.” Tatum’s lower lip trembled.

“It won’t be long. You’ll be safe here.” The lie almost stuck to her tongue. “I’m going to talk to Daddy and find out some stuff. I’ll be right back.”

Do I ever want to talk to him?
Wes was right about one thing. Running off half-cocked wouldn’t achieve anything. It certainly wouldn’t help her boys, and they were her number one priority.

Tucking the blanket just below the chins on her angels, she shivered with the righteous fury of a mother whose cubs were threatened.

If Andrew or anyone else hurts my babies, I will kill them.

Rowr.

I
’m going
to have to kill Andrew.

Good. Crunch his bones.
A great solution from his gator side that never liked the pompous prick.

Andrew never hid the fact he thought himself better than Wes. In his eyes, Wes was just a dumb, fucking Mercer.

A dumb, fucking Mercer that so wanted to slam his fist into the smug smirk on Andrew’s face.

“Where are we going?” Melanie asked as he escorted her from the boys’ room to the elevator.

“To Andrew. He asked to see you.”

“Asked to see me?” She uttered a bitter laugh. “If he wanted to see me, then maybe he should have marched his lazy ass over to the prison block he’s keeping our children in.”

With a twitch of his finger, Wes brought her attention to the camera in the corner.

Melanie pivoted and, with a slow smile, raised not one but two middle fingers in a salute. “I hope Andrew is watching. I hope anybody watching knows what assholes they are to be working here.”

“So much for the façade of genteel lady.”

“You should know by now that I might fake it, but I’ll be never a lady.”

The door slid open, and they stepped forth, but he waited for the pair of white-coated doctors who were babbling as they passed into the open cab before he dipped his head to whisper, “You never faked it with me.”

He didn’t dare pause to see her expression. He walked away wondering if she’d retort.

No, but she did reply. Her sharp kick at the back of his knee caught him off guard. He stumbled.

A laugh rumbled from him. “Still playing dirty.”

“Taking advantage of your weaknesses is not dirty. It’s insightful. Don’t forget I know a lot of your secrets, Wes Mercer, and I will use them against you.”

Good thing she didn’t know his biggest secret of all.

I never got over her.
Probably never would. She was the one good thing in his life. The one thing not tainted by the Mercer name. And he’d let her go.

Because she deserved better than me.
She still did, but had he known she’d settle for a shithead like Andrew, then maybe he would have stuck around because he certainly wouldn’t have treated her so badly. And he would have loved any kids they had.
I’d certainly never let them be brought to a place like this.

I wish things could have turned out different.
He
wished he’d made different choices.

Such as now, for example. Andrew had called him and said, “Bring me my wife,” and Wes practically clicked his heels and ran to do his bidding.

He should note, however, that his haste owed less to the order and more to the anticipation of seeing Melanie again. It was bloody emasculating how a glimpse of her could brighten his day, even when she kept scowling at him.

A mate should have strength.

She’s not our mate.

Yet.

Never. Because he didn’t deserve her.

“How many buildings are in this compound?”

“About a half-dozen. Four of them are quarters for the staff. Another one, the two-story one, over there”—he pointed—“houses a gym facility, recreation rooms, and a variety store where you can also special order items.”

“It’s a prison,” she observed.

“Yes.” No point in denying it.

Noticing she didn’t keep pace with him, he turned. She eyed him, her brow knit in question.

“You know this is a glorified prison, and yet, you seem content with it.”

He rolled his shoulders. “Not so much content as resigned. I have to be here.”

“Pays that good, does he?” The words daggered him with bitterness and a dose of repugnance.

“I’m not here for the money.”

“Then why are you here? The guy I knew might sometimes skirt the edge of the law, but he would never be involved in something like this.”

“I’m a Mercer. We’re capable of anything.”

“Don’t you give me that line of bull. I know you and your brother Brandon at least were trying to change your reputation. To break the chain.”

“Bad genes always win.”

“Only if you give up.”

He didn’t reply. Instead, he swiped them into another building. “This is the C residence. Andrew has the entire top floor to himself.” Unlike the hired lackeys, those in charge wanted for nothing.

“What about your uncle?”

“His penthouse suite is in the A building while Andrew’s father is in B. The floors below them are designated to scientists, staff, and guards.”

“Everyone in one place. How convenient.”

More like inconvenient. Having that many people grouped meant eyes and ears everywhere on top of the cameras watching. Melanie didn’t quite grasp just how under the microscope they were. She needed to stop airing her views aloud.

As soon as the elevator doors whooshed open, he yanked her in. Quick scans and a jab of his finger shut the doors, and as soon as they did, he said in a low voice. “There’re no cameras in here. And before you ask, I have no idea why. I need you to listen. You can’t keep ranting about Andrew and the others.”

“Why not? I’m pissed, and I don’t care who knows it.”

“Well you should care, especially if you intend to be around for your boys.”

“Is that a threat?” Her eyes sparked, and he could see the wild cat pacing behind her gaze.

“No, it’s a warning. People who talk have a tendency of going missing.”

“Like your brother?”

“Exactly like my brother. And others. How do you think they choose those they experiment on? Trust me when I say you don’t want to become one of them.”

Her lip curled. “So what are you suggesting? That I become the perfect Stepford wife?”

A snort escaped him. “As if Andrew would believe that. No, but I am saying you need to act cool. There is some strange shit going on, and when I say strange, I’m talking even more fucked up than usual. I want to help you escape. You and the boys. You don’t deserve to be caught in this mess.”

“No one deserves this.”

The elevator jolted to a stop, but before the doors could open, he hit another floor, and it started moving again.

“I agree no one deserves the shit Bittech has put them through, but for some, it’s too late.”

“Is it too late for you? Are you one of their experiments?”

“Not yet, but only because they like their specimens healthy. Apparently a two-pack-a-day habit makes me ineligible. What a shame.” His grin was a tad toothy, but it did bring a reluctant answering grin to her lips.

“I knew there had to be a reason for your nasty habit. So let’s say I believe you when you say you’re going to help me, what next?”

“You’re going to have to pretend, probably for a few days—”

She interrupted. “We don’t have a few days. You heard what that nurse said. They’re starting on the boys tomorrow.”

“Those are just the prelims. Height, weight, blood work, etc. We have time before they start.”

“You’ve seen this before.”

Wes couldn’t reply as the elevator stopped. It opened and someone came on board. He and Melanie stood in silence as they went to a different floor. The stranger, with only a curious glance their way, exited.

Alone again, Wes pressed the button for the top floor. “I don’t have time to explain everything. We can’t stall any longer or Andrew will get suspicious. Remember what I said. Stay cool.”

“I’ll try.”

And that was all he could truly ask for. With her cubs in danger, Melanie was a mother ready to do anything to protect. He just hoped it didn’t land her locked up in the lower levels.

If it does, though, I’ll find a way to bust her out.

Crunch some bones.
His gator didn’t mind indulging in a little violence for a good cause.

The elevator opened onto a square vestibule with a reinforced steel door facing them.

No one had access to it but Andrew. Wes put his hand on the scanner embedded in the wall, and when a female voice prompted, “Identify yourself,” he said, “I brought your wife.”

Not his!
Snap. His inner gator couldn’t help but crack its jaw at saying the word.

Andrew didn’t deserve Melanie.

But neither do I.

There were clicks and the hiss of air as the door unsealed and slid sideways. Wes prodded Melanie in the back, sensing her trepidation. She straightened her shoulders as soon as she realized he’d noted her sign of weakness. Melanie always did have a strong spirit—and even stronger passion.

Remember how tight she used to hold us when we sank inside?

Nothing he did allowed him to forget. But he’d tried. Just ask his local liquor store.

Into her husband’s lair Melanie stepped, the flip-flops on her feet a striking contrast to the beige Travertine stone floors. When it came to his suite, Andrew spared no luxury.

“About time you arrived, my lazy pet,” Andrew called from farther inside. “I was about to send the hunters to look for you.”

The hunters? A little extreme—and worrisome. Those savage creatures were more likely to rip apart their target than bring them back.

“I was tucking the boys into bed.” Melanie spoke in his defense.

It irked. Wes could defend himself.

Really? Because you look like a lackey who takes shit.

And his gator looked like a pair of boots waiting to be made. The reminder of who he used to be didn’t help him accept his situation, a form of slavery that involved gritting his teeth when Andrew said, “Good gator, fetching my wife. It’s nice to see it’s not just dogs that can learn tricks. And people said a Mercer couldn’t be trained. Too dumb, they claimed. All that inbreeding, you know.”

Out of habit, Wes clamped his lips tight. But Melanie didn’t know Andrew did this on a regular basis, taunted him constantly in the hope of making him snap.

Hands planted on her hips, Melanie wouldn’t let it slide. “Leave Wes and his family alone. He did what you asked. No need to insult him.”

Andrew stood from his chair, and Wes recognized the glint in his eye, the mad one that appeared more and more frequently. “Are you defending him? Do you still have feelings for your high school sweetheart, dear wife?”

“Of course not. You should know me well enough by now to know I won’t listen to you degrade someone. What surprises me is the fact I even have to say this to you. You never used to treat people this way.”

“Perhaps I got tired of the so-called stronger predators treating me as if I was inferior.” Andrew’s lip curled in a sneer. “Now I am the one with all the power, and it’s time to pay them back for some of their taunts.”

Some people never got over the hierarchy from school. As a bit of a nerd, a rich one with a snooty attitude, Andrew tended to get shoved into a fair number of lockers. Wes knew he’d done it a time or two. Maybe more. Stolen Andrew’s lunch, too, every Wednesday. That was roast beef sandwich day. Wes enjoyed every bite of that juicy meat on the fresh Kaiser layered with provolone cheese, a touch of mustard, and lettuce.

Wes leaned against the wall by the elevator, prepared to listen to Andrew’s spiel about how mean people were.

“Don’t bother getting comfortable, gator. The wife and I are going to have a chat.
Alone
. You may leave. I’ll contact you when I need you again.”

Bite his fucking face off.

His gator didn’t like Andrew’s attitude, and neither did he. But he also hated more the idea of leaving Melanie alone with the prick. His fists clenched at his sides. How he longed to lunge at the man—
bite his head off
. The crunch would sound so good. Yet, it would achieve nothing.

It would make me feel much better.
His gator had no doubt.

We can’t eat him.
Not yet, not while Andrew and Uncle Parker held all the cards.

It irked another had that kind of power over him. Even worse, the guy with the power showed signs of madness, a side effect of the drugs he’d helped create and then imbibed.

Everything came at a cost. Andrew had gained great strength from the drugs he took, but he’d lost something else. All his marbles. Only a few seemed left rolling around. Anyone could see the growing madness in his eyes.

But Wes couldn’t do anything about it yet.

We mustn’t leave the female with him.

What if Andrew tried to hurt Melanie?

Chomp him if he dares!

And what of the others he had to also protect?

As if sensing his dilemma, she cast a glance over her shoulder. She didn’t speak aloud, but her eyes said, “Go,” and she mouthed,
I’ll be fine.

“Is there a problem?” Andrew asked.

Yeah. The fact that Andrew still breathed. He tamped down those words and instead forced out, “No problem, boss. I’m going to have a smoke, so if you need me, I won’t be far.”

A leer stretched Andrew’s features. “Don’t come running if you hear screams. The wife is a noisy thing.”

I know, you fucking prick.
He couldn’t fucking forget. And the bastard poked at the memory wound.

Because he’s a prick. Prick. Prick.
The word repeated itself over and over as Wes stalked from Andrew’s apartment and back into the elevator. His anger ran higher than usual after a session with his boss.

No denying the guy deserved an award for his extreme asshole persona, but Andrew deserved to die the most for having the legal right to be with Melanie every day.

I would give anything to be in his shoes and sleep beside her.

Sleep?
his gator grunted.
A true bull does better things than just sleep beside his female.

A smart male would do such dirty things to Melanie… Dirty, sweaty, fun things.

Things only Andrew could do!
Snap
.

But didn’t. The loser.

Wes didn’t understand it. How could Andrew have a woman like her, a freaking amazing spitfire of a woman, and not treat her like a queen? Andrew should worship her. Instead, he treated Melanie like shit.

We should go back for a chat. Just open our mouth and—

No eating him until I know I can get everyone out safe.

He wouldn’t abandon anyone to this fate. And, no, that didn’t make him a fucking hero. Perish the thought. Wes just didn’t like assholes, which might explain why there were days he didn’t like himself.