* I drove straight to Gabriel Jericho home. Kristen Bauer sat in stony silence beside me. She didn't want to help me. Caiden and Gina had convinced her. I could still taste her on my tongue; feel her in my arms. Tension roiled off of her in waves. She was committed now to helping. Gracie-Lynn Jericho had been taken and she had nothing to do with this. I was furious, shaking with it. It forced me to move sooner than I wanted, sooner than Gabe or Joel were ready for me too. Chitto Doxtator had been murdered and they were still reeling from that. Now, I had to tell Gabe his baby sister had been taken. I pulled down the lane towards the farmhouse that sat in the middle of beautiful land. A tiger paced in an enclosure and I watched as an orangutan climbed up to see us as I parked. Kristen got out of the truck as if the devil were on her heels. I got out and led her up the steps. I knocked on the door. Bronwyn Jericho opened the door, her expressive eyes not to thrilled to see me.

* I drove straight to Gabriel Jericho home. Kristen Bauer sat in stony silence beside me. She didn't want to help me. Caiden and Gina had convinced her. I could still taste her on my tongue; feel her in my arms. Tension roiled off of her in waves. She was committed now to helping. Gracie-Lynn Jericho had been taken and she had nothing to do with this. I was furious, shaking with it. It forced me to move sooner than I wanted, sooner than Gabe or Joel were ready for me too. Chitto Doxtator had been murdered and they were still reeling from that. Now, I had to tell Gabe his baby sister had been taken. I pulled down the lane towards the farmhouse that sat in the middle of beautiful land. A tiger paced in an enclosure and I watched as an orangutan climbed up to see us as I parked. Kristen got out of the truck as if the devil were on her heels. I got out and led her up the steps. I knocked on the door. Bronwyn Jericho opened the door, her expressive eyes not to thrilled to see me.
"Quinn, come in." She opened the door and stepped aside. I moved inside the home she had made and turned as Kristen came in.
"Bo, this is Kristen Bauer. She's Caidens cousin. Is Gabe home?" She shook Kristens hand and then moved to close the door to the cold.
"He's out back, taking care of Marjorie and the others. I'll get him." She grabbed a sweater and headed towards the back of the house. I showed Kristen to the living room.
"Might want to get everything set up. He'll want answers." She remained silent as she started pulling out all of her equipment. I heard the back door open and stomping feet. Gabe came in with Bo behind him.
"Quinn." He shook my hand and then held his hand out to Kristen. "You must be Kristen." She took his hand.
"I am. Nice to meet you."
"Is everything okay?" Gabe sat in a recliner, Bo perching on his lap.
"We have trouble. Donovan has Grace." I saw a flicker of emotion on Gabes face.
"How do you know?"
"I managed to hack the security system to Donovan Wilson's headquarters. It had been silent up until last night. The lines lit up. They took her last night." Kristens fingers tapped across the keys and the audio came through. *
You have a family here..a mate and a son, Gabe. A son you've barely spent any time with since his birth. How long do I have to keep giving you up, before I lose you for good? * I moved to the coffee maker and began to make coffee as a way to calm my temper. I shoved the pot under the faucet and turned on the water letting it fill. I felt my mate come up behind me and wrap his arms around me. * I love our family, Angel. But Gracie.. * I jerked away from him and set about pouring water in the machine and putting a filter in and scooping coffee grounds into it, before cutting it on. Coffee started to percolate. Tears pricked at my eyes. * Is your sister..I know, Moy Volk, but when do me and our son matter? Let someone else go. * We didn't notice Quinn and Kristen had stepped into the kitchen. * She's right, Jericho. Let me go..I'll bring your sister back to you. You have a responsibility to this pack, and they need you. * I was looking up into my mate's eyes and he gritted his teeth, and flexed his jaw. He was mad, but I couldn't find the energy to care. I was mad too, and fucking tired of losing everyone I loved. * Kristen moved up to stand beside Quinn. * I'll go with Quinn. Be his back up. * Quinn turned and looked hard at her. * Like hell you will. * Her eyes darkened. * Yeah..I guess it's like hell, because I'll be with you. You're not my alpha..I've pledged to Joel..and he's said I can go. So therefore...* She patted Quinn's cheek as Gabe and I turned to watch their antics. I smirked at Kristen's smile. * Suck it up, Butter cup.
ReplyDelete"Suck it up, Butter cup." Kristen smiled and patted my face. The only thing I wanted to suck was her. Gabe was fuming, but Bo was right.
ReplyDelete"You two can't go alone. Not without back up."
"We'll find back up, but it won't be you, Gabe." I was adamant. "Bo is right. You have a family. And you can't keep involving yourself in things that really aren't your fight."
"What are you talking about, Coop?! This is MY fight. He tried to blow me the fuck up and kill Gina. That makes it my fight!"
"Which wouldn't have happened if I had never asked you to go to that meeting." Gabe looked at me then whipped his head to Bo.
"Really? You're okay with him going and getting himself killed?"
"I'm not going to get myself killed." I snapped, knowing damn well I probably was. But Grace was coming home.
"You insult me if you think that I'd let Quinn get killed." Kristen hissed. Gabe rounded on Kristen.
"YOU could be killed."
"And I will KILL YOU RIGHT NOW if you continue to insist on going on this mission!" Bo's yelled statement shut everyone up. Gabe turned back to her. "That's right. You heard me. I just lost the closest thing I've ever had to a father. And I can't believe that you would choose this moment to once again leave me. And Kody. When I need you." Her voice fell husky after her shouting. "I tell you what, Moy Volk. Ty pomozhesh' svoyemu drugu. YA poydu pomoch' sebe v syvorotke sparivaniya, i togda vam bol'she ne pridetsya vybirat'. (You go help your friend. I'll go help myself to the mating removal serum and then you won't ever have to choose again.)" Her Russian was flawless and I know I looked as dumbfounded as Gabe felt. She spun on her heel and was up the stairs. No on spoke. We were all operatives and spoke enough languages to hear and understand what she had said.
"Gabe. Don't ruin your life for me." His face was dark.
"If she thinks for one second that I would let her erase my mark, she has another think coming."
"We'll figure this out. And I will take back up. I'll bring Grace home. You go talk to Bo, and I'll help Kristen set up the phones so when she calls we might can get a trace." He nodded and Kristen patted his chest, a little harder than playfully.
"Better go fix that. I'd hate to rip your cods off and shove them down your throat because you hurt your mate." That stunned me but Kristen spun on her heel with a wink and headed back into the living room, grabbing the collar of my shirt and tugging me behind her. *
* I climbed the stairs two at a time, my temper seeming to grow with each one. She had threatened to remove the mating. MY mating. I knew she was hurt and I understood it, but she was going to be lucky if I didn't beat that little round ass of hers. My wolf was restless, wanting to reclaim her, to remind her who she belonged to. I also knew that I would have to wait for that because Quinn and Kristen were downstairs. I checked Kody's room. He was in his crib, sleeping on his belly, butt up in the air. His room smelled soft, like baby powder. I eased the door shut and then went into our room. She was in there, sitting in the rocking chair at the window. She looked out over the back part of the house, to the animal enclosures. * Go away. * Her voice was thick with tears. * No. * I rumbled, shutting the door. She sniffled and I hated myself for making her cry. God, I never wanted to be the one to make her cry. I went over to the chair and smiled when I saw she had it so close to the window sill that it was impossible for me to fit in front of her. I picked the chair up, her included, and spun it around. She grabbed the arms for purchase and glared at me. * I said, leave me alone, Gabriel. * I knew my full name meant nothing good. I knelt down, my palms on her knees. " No. I'm never going to go away, Bronwyn. I can't. I love you. With everything I am. I am nothing without you and Kody. NOTHING. I don't mean to make you feel like you don't matter. Or that you two aren't important. Because you're the most important things in my life. I'm sorry that I hurt you, Angel. I wasn't thinking. * Her eyes were filled with tears as I spoke. She looked into my eyes and I hoped she could see the sincerity behind what I was saying. I had every intention of reminding her who she belonged to, but that would be later. When I had more time and privacy to soothe the wounds I had caused. * I don't want you to remove my mating mark. * She started to speak when the phone's shrill ring filtered into the bedroom. She sat up ramrod straight. * Gabe...the phone. * She scrambled out of the chair and half shoved me to get moving. She preceded me downstairs, scrambling to grab the phone. She thrust it into my hands. Kristen had a large headphone pressed against one ear and gestured for me to answer the phone. I took it from Bronwyn. * Hello.
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