Rescuing Their Virgin Mate[Pack Wars-Book 3] (19 page)

Dirk halted. “Would that be
so bad?”

No.
“Yes. I need time. Promise me you won’t
visit until I call.”

He winced and his hands
clenched. “We’ll respect your wishes.”

The pain racing across his
face cut her deep. “Thanks.” She averted her gaze. Her stomach hurt, and she
fought back the tears.

Clay must have sensed her
despair and pulled open the front door. “Dirk. Come on. Let’s leave the lady
alone.”

Lady?
Not our mate?
Her
insides almost bled.

As soon as they left, she
rushed to the window. Once they were out of sight, the sobs came. She grabbed
her stomach and sat on the sofa. Even the silence in the house seemed to mock
her. What had she done?

#

Clay slapped the dashboard.
“I don’t like it.”

Dirk glanced over at
him
as he turned right onto Jackson Street. “Like I do?”

“I meant, I don’t like
leaving her there
alone
. You sensed
the shifter when we were at the storage unit.”

“A lot of workers are
shifters. Doesn’t mean he’s a Colter or associated with Hood.”

Maybe he was overreacting and
looking for an excuse to go back and kidnap her for real. “True.” He pulled out
his phone. “I’m calling Trax to see if any of the men have a beat on Hood.”

With Hood at large, there was
no telling if he held a grudge against her or not. The man they’d captured
mentioned Hood knew that he and Dirk had been undercover. That made things
worse.

“Call the general. Maybe some
of the men are spilling their guts, looking for a deal.”

“I doubt that. Since when
have you known the general to cut any deals?”

“They don’t know that.”

“Harvey Couch’s death
crippled their organization. If Hood goes down, the Colters will feel real
pain. No one’s going to say anything.”

“I hope you’re wrong.”

“Me, too.”

#

Elena put away her few
belongings and then spent at least four hours searching not only for a possible
apartment,
but
for job openings. Her skills were
limited. If her family had money while she was growing up, she would have gone
to college. Law had always fascinated her, which might be why she enjoyed
Janice so much. Several companies were advertising for paralegals, but even if
she had the money now, it would take a long time to earn a certification.

She dropped her head in her hands.
Here she thought being locked in a cage was bad. She swore the pain in her
heart now was worse. Torn between her family beliefs and what she wanted was a
no win situation.

Maybe some food and a glass
of wine would give her clarity. The jetted tub in Janice’s master bath would
soothe a lot of aches, but she wanted to ask permission first. After two slices
of pizza and a glass of wine, she dropped onto the sofa and clicked on the
television.

Even though one of her
favorite shows was on, she couldn’t concentrate. She loved both Clay and Dirk.
They both wanted her and she wanted them. She should call them back and say she
wanted to be with them. But first, she needed to tell her mom.

She clicked off the tube and
dialed. Her pulse soared and her pits sweated. The phone rang forever before her
mom picked up.

“Hello?”

“It’s me again, Momma.”

“Elena. Something wrong?”

“No.” She rolled the bottom
of her shirt into a wad. “I have a confession to make, and I pray you will
forgive me.” With her free hand, she made the sign of the cross.

“Tell me.” Those two words
were fraught with censure.

Here
goes
. “I fell in love
with the men who saved me.”

Silence met her. “Did you
have sex?”

She would focus on the sex
part and not on the fact she fell in love with two men. Lying would not help.
“Yes. With both men.”

“Lord in heaven, forgive your
soul. Why, Elena, why?” The strangled cry that followed tore out her heart.
Damning her soul was one thing, but crushing her mother was another.

“Maybe I’m weak. Or maybe I
believed this is the right thing for me. I’m happy, Momma, for the first time
in my life.”

“Do they love you?”

“Yes. Very much.”

“God would not approve. Two
men? What were you thinking? This can’t end well.”

She swiped the tears from her
cheek. “In Gulfside, many women are with two men.” Perhaps she exaggerated, but
she had nothing else to offer.

“I’m disappointed in you. I
brought you up better.”

Being disappointed was better
than being destroyed or suicidal. “I know, Momma. I’m sorry.”

Lights flashed across the
living room window. She tensed then returned her attention to the conversation.

“I’m not sure you should come
home for a while,” her mother said.

Her comment hurt, but the
fact she wasn’t screaming helped. “I know. I know.” A second set of lights swept
the other way a few seconds later. Perhaps they reached the end and turned
around.

A car door sounded. The front
porch light glowed. Janice had installed lights around the bird feeder, too.
Who knew those critters needed to see to find water? She stepped to the window
but stood to the side so the driver couldn’t spot her.

At first she thought Dirk or
Clay had come back to beg her to return, but they would have parked in the
drive. She peeked out. Darkness shrouded the two people, but there was enough
moonlight to tell it was two men. Neither was Dirk or Clay. Her heart raced.

“Momma. I have to go. I think
those bad men might have come back.” She disconnected, not waiting for her
mother to answer.

This
can’t be happening
. Dear
sweet Jesus, they were coming up the path.

Run!

Call
9-1-1
. He fingers
fumbled with the numbers. There wasn’t time.

Hide!

Horror gripped her,
splintering her thought process. She spun and ran. The kitchen had cabinets
under the island but they’d be stacked with pots. She dashed down the hall and
up the stairs.

Glass shattered.
Shit
.

She blessed herself as she
reached the top of the stairs. Searching the office for somewhere to hide, she
discarded one place after another. They’d find her in a closet or under a bed.
She glanced upward at the attic door.
Perfect
.
She tugged on the rope and a ladder unfolded. While she’d never been in
Janice’s attic, she bet all it contained was insulation and beams. If she
stepped on the floor, she’d tumble through the ceiling.

Leaving it open to mislead
them, she rushed out the door to the deck above the garage. Voices sounded
downstairs. This time they wouldn’t toss her in a crate. They’d kill her.

Chapter Fourteen

Trax’s number flashed on
Clay’s cell. He answered immediately. “What do you have?”

“One of the men talked. Seems
Hood blames you two for the organization’s downfall.”

That didn’t surprise him or
bother him much, except Trax’s tone reflected too much tension. “What aren’t
you saying?”

“They might go after Elena.”

“Fuck.” He didn’t need any
more information and disconnected. “Dirk!”

His friend rushed out of the
bedroom. “What?”

“Elena might be in trouble.”

From under the kitchen
counter, Clay withdrew his gun. Dirk kept his in the car. Clay sprinted to the
garage and Dirk followed. It might have been after rush hour, but too many cars
were still on the road.

“Can’t you go faster?” Clay
asked.

Dirk shot him a lethal glare.
“Fuck you.”

A faster way had to exist. He
searched his phone. “Turn right on Henderson. We’ll cut through the housing
development.” His gut churned and his bones ached. Shifting now would fuck
things up.

He tapped his foot on the
floor. Dirk leaned forward with a tight grip on the wheel. After negotiating
more turns than a maze, he reached Janice’s street. In case Hood’s men had
cornered her or worse, captured her, letting them know they’d arrived could be
devastating. “Stop here.”

Dirk slammed on the brakes
and barely jerked the key from the ignition before Clay was out the door.
You head around back. I’ll take the front.
Fuck. The window’s broken
.

Change of plans?

He sensed two Colters. He had
no idea if they had her.
No.

Dirk raced to the back while
he attacked from the front.

#

Out in the open, there was no
place to hide.

Please God
,
guide me
.

Elena searched for a way down
from the deck. The seconds ticked by. She gauged she had less than fifteen
seconds before they burst through the door. Blockading the entrance with the
lightweight furniture wouldn’t be a good use of her time. She had to get to the
ground and run.

A tree limb hovered close to
the roof, but even if she succeeded in grasping the tree, she’d only be able to
dangle. That would be no better than jumping from the deck.

She leaned over to judge the
distance to the ground. Ten feet was a long way down. Then she saw it. A
gutter. It didn’t look very sturdy, but her options were slim.

She dashed to the lattice
fencing that rimmed the deck and swung over one leg. Stepping on the gutter,
she bounced once to test if it would hold. It bent and creaked but didn’t come
off. She swung her other leg over and prayed she had the courage to slide down
the drainpipe.

The door onto the deck banged
open, and her heart nearly stopped. It was now or never. She clasped onto the
pipe and straddled it. Her arms strained and her grunts came out too loud.

“Let go!”

Her brain fried. The whisper
sounded like Dirk’s voice. She glanced to the ground, and there he stood like a
mirage.

“I’ll catch you. Hurry.”

Sweat slickened her palms and
her fingers slipped. The pipe creaked.

Lord
have
mercy
.
She pushed off,
pinwheeling
her arms and legs. Her
heart slammed into her throat. Dirk caught her. With her in his arms, he raced
to the front of the house. Her pulse refused to slow.

Gunshots sounded inside. He
set her down and handed her a key. “Go to the car and hide. I need to help
Clay.” He pointed toward the end of the street.

With the evil men inside,
she’d be safe as long as her two men took down those bastards. Her rubbery legs
barely held, but she drew on every ounce of strength and ran. Tears choked her.
When she neared the vehicle, she pressed every button until the lights flashed,
and she heard the doors unlock. In case Hood’s men injured both of her men, she
slid into the driver’s side and started the ignition. It wasn’t about hiding.
It was about escaping.

She tapped the steering wheel
and jiggled the handle of the gearshift making certain she could take off the
moment her men exited the house. If only she hadn’t dropped her phone help
could be here in minutes.
Stupid Colters
.

The dashboard clock read 8:46
P.M.
Uh-oh
. What if Hood’s men called
for backup? Sitting here might not be smart, but leaving the scene with Clay
and Dirk inside was dumber. Or was it? Indecision strangled her.

A small part of her wanted to
rush up to the house and look in the window. The smart half told her to stay
put. Now it was 8:49 P.M. How long did it take to shoot two men or wrestle them
to the ground? In the television shows, the good guys won in seconds. A few
punches and the bad guys went down.

What if the two Colters got
the drop on Clay and Dirk?
Don’t think
about it
.

Keeping an eye on the front
door, she prayed.
Hail Mary full of
grace, the Lord is with thee.
As she said her prayer, her jumbled nerves
untangled.

Before she finished, the
front door banged open, and Clay and Dirk dragged out both men. Tears of joy
streamed down her face. The bad men were cuffed, but she feared they’d shift
and run away. Dirk shoved the man forward. Only then did the man’s bloodstained
chest become visible. Halfway to the intruder’s car, the first man dropped to
his knees.

Screeching tires made her
duck. Her heart pounded. She anticipated gunfire, but nothing happened. Seconds
passed. She chanced looking. Trax, Drake, and Kurt piled out of the vehicle,
and she slumped against her seat.

Dirk and Clay let the new
arrivals take charge. Darkening skies prevented her from seeing if her men were
injured. Only a shot to the heart would kill them. Even if they were wounded
elsewhere, they’d heal.