Chapter Ten
Bo was still getting his head back on straight after the most intense almost-lovemaking session of his entire life. They hadn’t had sex, but they’d definitely made love. His mate was perfect for him in every way. He strode to the kitchen, intent on filling her with tasty food and rich wine. Okay, so his bear was already prowling for a go at round two with their beauty. When the threat to his family was neutralized, he would ask her to be his mate and wife. His bear chuffed in hearty agreement. But, first... He pulled the cheese and meat trays from the refrigerator and set them on the counter with a bowl of fresh fruit. He opened the red wine and took a long whiff. Its bold yet subtle aroma reminded him of Jane, her naivety mixed with years of being on her own. He salivated at the thought of tasting her sweet nectar again. Feeding her the fresh fruit and licking it off her chin if she dribbled. Kissing her with her mouth full of the robust merlot. His cock surged to life, but he willed himself to relax. His little mate needed nurturing first. As much as his body demanded he rush into the bedroom, throw her onto her tummy, and pummel her with his fast, sure strokes, he knew she wouldn’t be ready for that. Not yet. Hell, maybe not ever. He could break her with the hard fucking he wanted to give her.
His bear silenced within him and gave a low growl as the high beep came from her cell phone. He grabbed it off the counter and handed it to her where she was lounging in his bed, looking like an angel. “You got a text, and I didn’t want to invade your privacy.”
She smiled and took the phone from him. “It’s okay, it’s probably just Ingrid checking in. Or Liam sending one last nose kiss before he goes to bed.” She glanced at it, and her face went white.
His bear went on full alert. “Is everything all ri—”
“They took Liam!” She cut him off and bolted from the bed, scrambling to find her clothes.
Bo grabbed her cell phone, horror dawning in him as he read the messages.
<Your sitter’s dead.
<Drowned in her own blood.
<Come to old saw mill on Fifth.
<You and the kid are MINE
He tossed her socks and shoes at her and fumbled his way quickly into his jeans. “Who took him?”
“My ex.” Her eyes were full of fear and silent rage. “The lion shifter who’s his father. Seth found us.” Her lower lip trembled.
He was already grabbing his jacket and his shoes and phone. “I’ll get him back. Let’s go!”
They raced out to his truck, and he was peeling out before she had even closed her door.
He gripped the phone tightly against his ear. The only able-bodied male over eighteen who could help him was his one hundred and thirty-year-old beta. And the guy was leading a fishing trip for humans—too far away. Zach, his sister’s new mate, would be a tremendous help. But he and Nissa were still visiting his parents after some issue at home.
He wasn’t going to involve the cubs in this fight. Though a few of them were close to their eighteenth birthday, they still lacked the skill and power to go against lions. And hell, he didn’t even know how many lions there were.
Bo screeched to a stop and rushed into Jane’s apartment. The scent of blood hit him. “Stay here!” he growled, and she stumbled to a stop.
He felt bad for startling her, but better to scare her a little than have her walk in to something too gruesome.
~.~
Jane waited for Bo to walk inside, counted to five, and then stumbled in after him. It was her child, dammit. Her sitter. Her home. Bo was placing a sheet over the body in the kitchen. Ingrid’s hot-pink tennis shoes poked out from under the sheet.
Glue, borax, and crayons were strewn throughout the room. Liam had been coloring and making slime. Tears filled her eyes. If anything happened to her baby...
Bo picked up the lock of blond hair that lay on the table next to the half-drawn picture, and Jane shuddered with rage. The monster had cut a piece of his hair. A growl built within her chest and released as the rage filled her. She would kill Seth with her bare hands.
She picked up the lock of hair and looked at the precious drawing her little boy had been working on. Wolves, bears, and lions seemed to howl in the moonlight. A little blond boy in blue pajamas danced around with a big black bear-looking thing. I have a sekret came from the blond’s mouth in a tiny little word bubble in pink. He’d spelled secret wrong, and she started sobbing as she pressed the picture and hair to her chest.
“We’ll get him back.” Bo’s eyes shone with violence and anger, and, for once, Jane wasn’t afraid.
~.~
“Why are we stopping here?” Jane scowled as Bo pulled over to the side of the road next to a small group of teenagers. Ida’s dojo was brightly lit up as young and old sparred.
“I need to get some things.” He opened his door and stalked toward the entrance. “Wait here.”
The bear was on a mission. And it pissed her off more than anything in the world. It was her fight. Her son. Her life on the line here. Not his. And Bo was treating her like an unnecessary sidekick, like she wasn’t even part of this. It should have made her feel loved and safe, like usual. But this time was different. She was terrified of what Seth was doing to her son right now, and she resented being left stewing in an idling truck. She resented falling in love with another shifter, and him taking charge. Expecting, no, demanding that she just fall in line.
Bo thought because he was alpha, she would just submit to his orders, maybe turn up her belly like some submissive—which animals did the submissive belly or neck thing?—whatever! Fury rocketed through her, and she opened her door and jumped out of the truck, remembering to reach back in and turn it off and grab the keys just in case. Then she slammed the door as hard as she could and stormed over to him where he was talking with the three teenagers on the sidewalk.
She glared at him as she stalked past them and into Ida’s center. She would get weapons herself. Yeah, she would go in and protect her son from the vilest evil in the world, get him away from all of this, and run like hell. Maybe to some small place in Alaska where no one could ever trail them again. Bo grumbled something to the teens, and his loud steps pounded after her. He was not going to talk her out of this; she wasn’t going to stand down. When she turned to face him, she bolstered her anger and resentment and flung it at him in the biggest display of will of her life.
The large man’s eyes widened and lost the spark of power and quiet rage as he assessed her stance.
She wasn’t afraid of him. She never had been. Yes, he was larger than her and could crush her larynx in his fist. He could kill her with one swipe of his meaty grizzly paw, but the fear never came. The truth emboldened her. She stood straighter, defying his power and strength.
Bo was her lover, her protector; he would call her mate. And your mate didn’t harm you. She knew it, she accepted it, and for one moment she wished she could run to him, leap into his arms, and escape from everything. Let him care for her. Liam’s face sprang into her mind, and she shook off the feeling. She let the rage fill her again. She’d use it to bring down the monster who had stolen her son. And then—even though it would kill her—they’d run again. Away from this man and the feelings she had for him.
She held the door open to Ida’s place and scowled at him when he took it from her, allowing her to go in first. “You’re not going without me.”
“Ida.” He caught her gaze, and she sprinted over, ushering them into her small office as the practice continued on the main floor.
Bo caught Ida up-to-date quickly and looked at Jane, his growl threatening to make her knees buckle. But she just stood stronger and glared back. “I am going with you.”
“You sure as hell are not!”
~.~
“If you think for one second you are going to get my son back without my help, you are sorely mistaken.”
“I just don’t want you to get hurt. Do you understand? These are killers. Lions. They will shred you to pieces in an instant.”
“They won’t hurt me. Seth needs me alive as his prize to take back to Daddy.”
“You don’t know that,” Bo growled.
“Well, I’m not sitting here while my son is scared and vulnerable. You don’t have to take me with you. But I will follow on my own. I brought my gun, and I will get my son back. Or die trying.”
He groaned. “That’s what I’m afraid of.”
“What’d I miss?” Sam walked in.
“Jane is trying to get herself killed,” he muttered, while Ida filled her in. “I keep trying to get it through her thick skull that I can do this easier if I don’t have to worry about her getting hurt. Talk some sense to her.”
She gave him a thumbs-up and took Jane by the shoulders. “You ride with me. When we get close, drop us off, and Ida and I will hike in behind you. They won’t be able to scent us. I’ve got your back, Mama.”
“No, dammit,” Bo roared.
“Too late, we’re going. If you want to tag along, fine. But I’m not leaving my best friend here while her cub is in danger. You should know better than anyone, family comes first.”
“Fine. But you stay close to me at all times, no matter what, you get me, woman?” He winced when her eyes widened, and she backed up a step. “Sorry.”
The once-meek Jane shook her head and rolled her shoulders before piercing him with the strongest gaze. “I’m going to get my son back. Let’s go.”
Bo watched with pride as Jane strode purposefully to her car, Sam following close behind.
“Let’s go kill some kitties,” Sam said before hopping into the back of Jane’s car.
Bo hoped they weren’t making a mistake. If he had time, he’d call in reinforcements, but there was no one else around he could trust.
Goddess help them all, Bo would fight. He would bring Liam, Sam, and Jane home safe and sound. And if she didn’t hate him after seeing him in battle, he’d ask her to be his mate. Officially.