chapter Thirteen
Ellison’s body went so still that Maria barely saw his intake of breath.
She’d known he’d thrown out the That’s why I love you, offhand, Ellison always joking. But he had murder in his eyes, rage so deep that he wouldn’t stop to think before he attacked Mr. Bradley.
Maria knew that Pablo wasn’t wrong to say that Bradley was untouchable. She might not have another chance to tell Ellison what she felt.
“What?” Ellison asked, his voice deadly quiet.
“You heard me.”
Maria started to push past him into the house. Ellison clamped a hand on her shoulder, drawing her back, turning her around. She looked up into gray eyes that held hunger and silent need.
“I know I heard you,” he said. “I want you to say it again. Like you mean it.”
“I do mean it.”
Ellison’s eyelids slid down in a slow blink. When he opened his eyes again, they were lighter gray, the wolf in him coming out. “Say it again, Maria.”
Why not? She wasn’t ashamed or afraid. Maria drew herself up straight and looked into his eyes. “I think I love you, Ellison Rowe.”
His fingers bit down. “You think? What, you’re not sure?”
“I don’t know what real love feels like. I loved my parents and grandparents, but I was a child. I thought I loved Luis, but I never really knew him.” She swallowed under Ellison’s burning gaze. “All I know is, I can no longer imagine my life without you in it.”
Ellison yanked her against him, his hands remaining on her shoulders. His grip held raw power—strength, but not imprisonment. Never that.
“Then mate with me,” he said, his voice low, savage. “Let me mate-claim you, and join with me sun and moon. I’ll give you . . . everything.”
Maria warmed against his body. “Will you stay alive for me? And stay with me?”
Ellison started to smile. “You bet. But I hope you’re not gonna ask me to stay home and not go after Bradley.”
“No.” Maria said. “I want you to get that sucker. We need to, as Spike would say, take him down.”
Ellison’s eyes narrowed. “Who’s we? You are staying with Andrea.”
“We need to stop him, Ellison,” she said.
Ellison stilled again, the laid-back human with the smiles and jokes fading into the Shifter who took care of his family at any cost. “We will. But not with you. I don’t want him knowing anything about you.”
“He already does. Like you said, he had his men following me with the cubs, and he knew Connor went with me to the test today. He must have planned the abduction by watching me, figuring I wouldn’t be able to stop anyone taking Connor.”
“Yeah, but to Bradley right now, you’re just the human female who lives with Shifters. He’s an idiot if he thinks you’re nonessential, but I want him to think that, if it means he’ll ignore you. You flash yourself in front of him, he’ll have you in his sights as a person trying to interfere with his lucrative business.”
“If you’re so confident you can stop him, it won’t matter.” Maria balled her fists. “We have to stop him, Ellison. They can’t keep trying to hurt us.”
Ellison’s eyes flickered slightly, and Maria realized she’d said us.
Well, she was one of them now. She’d lived with the Austin Shifters, laughed with them, helped take care of them, and loved them, for months now. Ellison had imprinted himself on her, and she knew that no matter what else she’d do in life, she’d somehow be bound to him.
“We will stop Bradley,” Ellison said, a deadly edge to his voice. “But my way.”
“Fine, but I will be with you every step of that way.” As Ellison started to turn from her, Maria put herself in front of him. “You know that if you go without me, I’ll find a way to follow. Unless you intend to lock me in the basement?”
“No.” Ellison’s tone was harsh. “I’d never do that.” He’d never be like Miguel, he was saying. Never imprisoning her. Never. Then he grinned. “Although, there’s a new flat-screen TV down there. Doesn’t have cable, but Elizabeth has been smuggling me DVDs.”
Maria’s eyes widened into a glare. “Are we going or not?”
“Yep.” Ellison gripped her shoulder again. “I’m taking you, because I know that if I don’t, you’ll follow me, and I can’t be worried about where you are. So you’ll stay with me, and when I tell you to keep out of sight, you do it, all right?”
“Of course I will. I don’t have teeth and claws, or a handy weapon, so what could I do?” She looked up at him in all innocence.
Ellison gave her another suspicious look, but he nodded, as though he accepted her words. “Fine. Let’s go get backup.”
***
Backup meant, first, Ronan, who didn’t want to come. “Ellison,” Ronan said, standing in his front door and filling the entire doorframe. “What if they’re waiting for us to empty Shiftertown? Then they come in for the rest of our cubs?”
Olaf peeked out from behind Ronan, and Ellison was aware of Scott and Rebecca in the background. Ellison seethed with impatience.
“An attack on Shiftertown is a different thing from their snatch-and-grab modus,” he said. “Rebecca won’t let anything happen to the cubs—you know that.”
“You got that right,” Rebecca said. She was tall, like most Shifter women, but when she shifted to her Kodiak bear, in all of Shiftertown, only Ronan was bigger.
“And I’m not chopped liver,” Scott said. “Anyone comes for Cherie and Olaf, and I’ll let my craziness come out.”
“We need you Ronan,” Ellison said.
“And if he’s too much of a wuss to go,” a voice said behind Ellison. “I’m game.”
Broderick. The wolf Shifter stood on the walk between Ronan’s house and converted garage, arms folded. “I know you think I’m an a*shole,” Broderick said before Ellison could speak. “But I have nephews and younger brothers. We cut this off at the source, Ronan.”
Ronan stroked Olaf’s hair, pushed the lad gently behind him, and closed the door. “Fine. I’m coming.” He glared at Broderick. “But I’m going at you at the next fight club. For calling me a wuss.”
Broderick looked pained—no one won fights against Ronan, except maybe Dylan. But at least Ronan was coming.
“Can we hurry?” Maria asked, as impatient as Ellison.
“One more,” Ellison said.
He’d saved the best for last. He knew that once Tiger joined them, the man wouldn’t want to slow down to let Ellison pick up anyone else.
When Andrea unlocked the door for them to Liam and Kim’s house, Tiger was nowhere in sight. Ellison scented him, though, and the Tiger-man was not happy.
“He’s downstairs,” Andrea said. “Comfortable with TV and lots of snacks. Liam didn’t want him following.”
Ellison faltered a step. “You mean Liam locked him in there?”
“Yes. The basement door’s reinforced steel. The only thing that would hold him.” Andrea smiled her half-Fae, half-wolf smile and dangled a key from its ring. “Here you go. I’ll be at home.”
She got herself out of there with amazing swiftness, the back door slamming. Ellison heard her run back to her own house, the cries of Katriona and Kenny welcoming her.
Ellison grasped the key and drew a breath. “Everyone needs to clear a space. Maybe you should all leave the house.”
“Nope,” Ronan said. “If he attacks, you need us to help pull him off you.”
Maria, at least, had the sense to leave the kitchen. She ducked out of the big room to the living room beyond. “Good luck,” she said.
Gee, thanks. Ellison approached the door to the basement, tucked near a broom closet in the back of the kitchen, squared his shoulders, and put the key into the lock.
As soon as the key turned, Tiger slammed into the door from the other side, nearly tearing it from its hinges. Ellison had danced aside, knowing what was coming. The door, made to withstand Shifter strength and police battering rams, remained whole, but only just.
Tiger roared and leapt at the first Shifter he saw—Broderick.
“Shit!” Broderick yelled, his feet coming off the floor as Tiger’s entire body hit him.
“Tiger!”
The cry came not from Ronan but Maria. Tiger paid no attention. He slammed Broderick into the wall, shoving him halfway to the ceiling.
Ronan and Ellison gripped Tiger on either side and tried to haul him back. Broderick screamed and fought, his half beast emerging in defense.
Maria put herself where she could look into Tiger’s crazed face. “Tiger!” she shouted again. “We need you. And Broderick. Do you want the man who captured Connor?”
Tiger halted. He swiveled his yellow gaze to Maria, fixing on her. He stared at her for a few more heartbeats, then he dropped Broderick to the floor and stepped over his prostrate form.
“We get him.”
Maria patted Tiger on the arm. Instead of jerking away, Tiger accepted the caress, and then carefully sniffed in her direction. “Mate-claimed,” he said, and looked at Ellison.
Broderick climbed from the kitchen floor, accepting Ronan’s hand up. “What? Oh, you bastard.”
“Challenge me,” Ellison said. “Please. I’m going to need to work off some steam.”
“Later,” Ronan growled. “We need to go.”
“Yeah, I Challenge,” Broderick said. He had his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath. “In front of witnesses. Eat it, Ellison.”
“Fight club,” Ellison said. As the Challenged, it was his right to name time and place. “Tonight.”
Broderick stared. “Are you nuts? We don’t know what will go down today.”
“If we survive, fight club. Done?”
“Shit.” Broderick gave him a nod. “All right. Done.”
Ellison laughed. His fighting blood was up. He was in love, he’d had sex with the most beautiful woman in the world yesterday, and she’d told him she loved him today.
The most beautiful woman in the world started yelling at him in Spanish. Ellison understood only a few words, like idiota, but he laughed again. Maria was fiery, she was courageous, and she was his.
Now to find Bradley, kick his ass, kick Broderick’s ass, and take Maria into his arms tonight.
***
“I can’t believe you talked me into this,” Pablo said from beside Maria in Ellison’s truck.
“Insurance,” Ellison said, his voice rumbling pleasantly from Maria’s other side as he drove. “In case you decided to go behind us and tell Bradley we were coming.”
“Would I do that?” Pablo sounded innocent.
“You would totally do that.” Ellison grinned across at him, his drawl becoming pronounced. “So you come with us, my friend.”
“And you’re bringing your girlfriend? You Shifters are insane.”
“Yeah, we are,” Ellison said. “No telling what we’ll do next.”
He stepped on the gas of his black pickup, shooting them down the highway past Bastrop and out into the country. A big fire had devastated this area last year, destroying homes in and around the historic little town. Shifters from Austin and the Hill Country Shiftertowns had gone out to help people evacuate and save what they could, though that detail hadn’t been made public.
No one had heard from Dylan or Sean about the search for Connor, and none of the Shifters dared make a call in case a stray cell phone ring endangered the Morrisseys. Maria’s heart was cold with fear for them, but she knew they would call if they had news. They must be searching, planning what to do—or in the middle of a fight for their lives. Not knowing was hard.
Pablo had said that Bradley had a house east of Bastrop on the river, an estate that encompassed about a hundred acres, surrounded by a fence and a large electronic gate. Bradley didn’t do his business there, Pablo said—he conducted business in offices and warehouses around the city. He didn’t piss in his own sandbox.
Maria found the phrase strange but apt. If police raided Bradley’s house, they’d likely find nothing. Pablo’s information, though, meant that Connor probably wouldn’t be at the house either.
Ellison drove with one hand, while Maria held Pablo’s smart phone with its map of the area. Before they reached the gates of Bradley’s house, Ellison pulled onto a side road that had once run off to someone’s ranch and now led to a housing development.
Bradley’s estate had escaped the fire, but many of the houses in the development had not. New buildings were going up again, workers in large pickups and work trucks swarming the neighborhood.
Good camouflage, Ellison said, parking at the end of the line of work trucks. He slid out of the driver’s seat, and Ronan, Tiger, and Broderick crawled out from where they’d been lying low under a tarp in the back.
“Goddess,” Broderick snarled as he shook himself out. “I smell like bear and . . . whatever he is.” He gave Tiger a dark look. “I said I’d help, but don’t put me with the crazy again.”
Tiger growled at him, but Maria swore there was humor behind it.
“Fine by me,” Ellison said to Broderick. “You can scout to the north with Ronan. Tiger and I will cover the south. Take out guards, but quietly. Ronan, you’ll teach Broderick how to do that, right?”
Ronan grinned, and Broderick made a noise of disgust. “Like I can’t be more stealthy than a giant bear,” Broderick muttered.
“Take out the guards, make your way to the house, and we’ll disable the alarm system.” Ellison studied a piece of paper before tucking it into his pocket. Pablo’s girlfriend had given them instructions about how to go about bypassing the alarm without triggering it.
More trust on Ellison’s part. Pablo could have instructed her to give Ellison bad guidance so he’d trip the alarm instead. Bradley might then reward Pablo. The Shifters were gambling on Pablo being more afraid of them than of Bradley.
Ellison didn’t say what they’d do after they got inside. Maria knew, though. They’d corner Bradley, find out where the cubs were, then kill him.
Ellison slid back into the truck. Maria looked at him in surprise, then let out a breath when he enfolded her in his arms. He didn’t squeeze, he didn’t kiss her; Ellison just held her, his embrace strong.
He’d never let her fall, the hug said. Never let her falter, never let anything hurt her. Maria had been drifting, rudderless, and now, Ellison was her anchor.
He kissed Maria’s cheek then her lips, his warm. “Goddess go with you,” he said, his voice low. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.” He transferred his gaze to Pablo, and the loving look turned to ice. “You take care of her. If Maria’s hurt in any way, or scared, or pissed off . . . You won’t live to regret it.”
“I know how to do this,” Pablo said, with no sign of anger. “Wipe out Bradley for me, and life will be good. That’s worth sitting a couple of hours in a pickup with a nice young woman.”
Ellison growled. With his arms still around Maria, feeling him rumble against her was like being held by a giant, purring cat.
Ellison kissed Maria one more time, took and pocketed Pablo’s cell phone, and exited the truck. Tiger waited for him with his usual stoic patience, his assessing eyes taking in everything.
Broderick and Ronan walked up the street one way, and Tiger departed with Ellison the other.
Maria turned around to watch Ellison go. His backside in the tight jeans swayed in a fine way as he walked, sun gleaming on his hatless hair. He’d left the cowboy hat in the car, but his boots clicked on the asphalt.
Ellison didn’t turn back, but Maria felt a tether between her and him, a line connecting them. She was with him, and he with her.
Pablo pulled a magazine out of his pocket, leaned back, stuck his elbow out the open window, and proceeded to read. Maria glanced over and saw that it was a home decorating magazine, open to a page on makeover ideas.
“Francesca’s redoing the kitchen,” Pablo said without embarrassment. “She wants me to find ideas I like.”
“I’ve never had a new kitchen,” Maria said, before she thought about it.
“No?” Pablo shrugged. “Well, that’s why I do what I do, sweetie. So I can live a little better than my parents did, which was in the gutter.”
“You’re a smart man. You could make a lot of money perfectly legally.”
“Most of my business is legal. I even pay taxes on it. But I was stupid when I was younger, and did some time. Prison gave me the opportunity to think about how I wanted my life to go, but prison closes a lot of doors for you.”
“So does being Shifter.”
Pablo lowered his magazine. “Don’t let them fool you. Those Shifters might wear Collars and be bound by rules, but I’m here to tell you, they do anything they want.”
“So I’ve seen.”
Maria turned around to look after Ellison again and found him gone. He and Tiger had vanished. Though open country rolled from behind the one street of houses, she saw no sign of anyone moving through the tall grasses.
Maria had promised herself she wouldn’t worry, but that was a silly promise. Of course she’d worry. Ellison was walking into a well-defended fort, with nothing but his teeth and claws and Pablo’s phone—though she felt a little better that he was with Tiger.
But if anything happened to any of the Shifters, she’d have to face Liam and Dylan and tell them. Explain why she hadn’t helped, why Pablo hadn’t.
They’d blame Pablo for not keeping them safe, and they might kill him. From the way Pablo’s fingers shook the slightest bit when he turned the pages of the magazine, he knew it too.
“What can we do?” she asked him.
Pablo didn’t look up. “Stay out of it.”
“Sit here until we know whether they made it or not?” Maria let out her breath. “I should at least call Andrea or Rebecca and tell them what’s going on.”
“And risk your call being picked up by someone in Bradley’s house? I imagine he keeps his ears open for any threat.”
“Can someone do that? Listen in on a cell phone call?”
“Yep. A cell call is nothing but a signal going out through the air. If a signal’s out there, you better bet someone has a gadget that can pick it up. My girlfriend can do it. I bet Bradley has a guy on his permanent staff who does nothing but scan phone calls. The guy’s paranoid.”
Maria’s heart squeezed. “Then why do you think Ellison can get inside Bradley’s house without a problem?”
“I don’t. But I wasn’t given a choice in helping, was I? Besides, if anyone can do it, it’s four stealthy, stubborn, scary-ass Shifters. I bet they get the job done with minimum casualties.”
“I don’t want any casualties.”
“Not always possible. If you go after something dangerous, there’s always a risk. The bigger the prize, the bigger the risk. You have to decide whether it’s worth it.”
Worth risking her life to stop men like Bradley stealing children, selling them to people with money who cared nothing for anyone but themselves? It was. After Ellison stopped Bradley, Maria would make it her life’s mission to find all the Shifter cubs who had been taken and release them. A good goal, better than her dream of going to school. She could always go to school when the cubs were safe.
“Whoa.” Pablo dropped his magazine, staring at something in the side-view mirror. “Start the truck. Get us out of here. But slowly. Don’t attract attention.”
“What? Why?” Maria looked back, her heart in her throat, even as she slid behind the wheel. “Oh . . .”
She saw it now too. A long black limousine, slowly sliding its way up the narrow, dirty street, heading for the unfinished houses. Some of the builders saw it too and glanced up, curious.
Maria started the truck. She put it in gear and drove cautiously forward, her palms sweating. She’d have to go to the end of the cul-de-sac and turn around, no other way out.
The limo crept forward, not speeding up, just driving as though the person inside was looking over the houses being rebuilt. Bradley probably owned them, or maybe this wasn’t Bradley at all. In any case, with luck Ellison’s dusty truck would look like it belonged to one of the workers, with its owner heading out to find some late lunch or maybe more supplies.
Pablo was fidgeting with impatience, but Maria drove slowly, casually. She made the turn at the cul-de-sac, the tires crackling on loose gravel on the asphalt, and rolled back the way she’d come.
Pablo kept his face bent to the magazine, though he watched from the corner of his eye. The limo came on at its same crawl.
As Maria reached the spot where she’d started, the limo glided smoothly forward, turned its long body, and blocked the road.
Maria slammed on the brakes. Pablo’s magazine fell. “Gun it. Get around them.”
Maria started to, but she made herself stop. If she hurtled the truck up through a yard and around the limo, they’d chase her, stop her, maybe shoot her and Pablo both. Besides, she had a better idea.
“No,” Maria said.
“Shit, woman. That’s Bradley.”
“I guessed that. Wonder what he’s doing here, and not holed up in his house?”
“I don’t care. Aw, damn it.”
Four men exited the limo. They wore casual clothes, jeans and polo shirts, no business suits in sight. They looked like Texas businessmen out looking at their properties, except that three of the men surrounded the fourth as though they were his bodyguards. All four wore guns in holsters on their belts, no hiding them.
The fourth man was shorter and slimmer of build than the others, had a thick shock of salt-and-pepper hair, and wore wire-rimmed glasses. He looked innocuous, a Texas man with enough money and confidence that he felt no need to dress to impress, until he turned his head and looked at Maria.
The cold in his eyes made her gasp. At five paces away, the chill of him seeped over her, a man with no remorse, no conscience. He could tell his three bodyguards to open fire on the truck, killing her and Pablo without a word, even in front of the construction workers, and walk away without worry.
Pablo’s hand went down his jeans to his ankle holster, but Maria put her hand on his arm. “Wait.”
“I can get off at least two shots before they can.”
“Wait.”
Pablo started muttering in Spanish, asking Mary, the mother of God, to protect him from crazy bitches who thought they were invincible because they ran with Shifters. Maria ignored him, opened the door of the truck, and hopped out. She spread her hands and kept them out to her sides so they’d see she had no weapons.
Even so, two of the bodyguards drew pistols, holding them close by their sides, but definitely training them on her.
“Mr. Bradley?” Maria asked, as though the guns didn’t make her nervous. “I’m Maria. I was hoping I could speak with you.”