“Fuck!” Thorne cursed, stamping his foot and looking anywhere but at the person who now raced toward them as Ace stood over their two prisoners who lay broken and bloodied on the floor.

She slid to a stop, her face cold as ice as she glared up at him. “What the hell was that? You had explicit orders. We were to breach together and you disregarded those orders and when we get in I find this . . . this bloodbath. What the hell, Quinn?”

Jana prodded him in the chest. Hard. With such force that she forced him back a step. Shit, she was strong, but he kept his voice steady as he glanced down at the bloody mess on the floor. “I can’t help it if you and your people can’t keep up and as for him, he attacked me. I was merely defending myself. He wasn’t going to stop until he killed me. I had no choice.”

“There’s always a choice,” Jana spat back.

“I have to find Amaya.” Quinn turned away. “I need to find my Bloodmate.”

He stormed away and was surprised when she allowed him to. No. Not surprised. He was fucking astonished. He’d taken out her prize and she’d barely slapped him on the wrist. He rushed away, not wanting to look the proverbial gift horse in the mouth. “Ace, Thorne, we have to locate Amaya. She should be on this floor. Give me a moment and I’ll . . .”

Before he could utter another word, there was a shout and a flurry of movement and excitement from the rear of the vast expanse of the warehouse. “She’s here! We’ve got her”

He spun around, eyes searching and landing on a group of people herding toward them out of the gloomy darkness. His heart stopped beating in his chest when he saw her looking bewildered and in shock, her head spinning this way and that, searching for . . . him. Her eyes landed on his and . . . thump, thump, thump. His heart started up again at the same time as his brain engaged enough to send a message to move his feet, sending him rocketing toward her at breakneck speed.

Amaya shook off the helping hands of her rescuers, none too gently, and ran to meet him. Her hair flying out behind her, her legs pumping quickly and soon she was there, right there her arms open and jumping up into his as he grabbed her tight against him. Inhaling her scent, and he’d been right . . . wild heather overtook him, mind, body and his fucking soul, settling him like nothing else could. “You’re here,” she whispered against his chest, a tiny hitch in her voice alerting him to the fact she wasn’t quite as all right as she’d tried to portray.

“I’m here.” He held onto her as if she were about to disappear. Terrified she would be taken from him again. He couldn’t allow that to happen. Wouldn’t allow that to happen. “I’m going to take you home, Amaya. Back to Scotland, right now. Is that okay? I have to get you away from here. I need to get you home, where I know you’ll be safe and protected.”

“I’ll go anywhere with you, Quinn.” She leaned back and sighed. “I’m tired, I just want a shower, some food, and a bed.”

“I can do that.” He placed her down onto the ground and only then noticed the crowd that amassed around them.

The entire team stood watching, including Jana, Delia and every other person who’d come along. “What?” he growled, not liking the attention one bit.

“I’d like to debrief her, and you.” Jana looked around at the rest of the crowd, waving them away.

“You can contact us at my home, Miss Noskova,” he replied formally. No longer did he call her Jana and she noticed the change. Her back straightening and her jaw tightening. “I’m taking my Bloodmate home and I’m getting out of here right now. We’ve done nothing wrong and broke no laws so you have no right to detain either one of us. We’ll be available for questioning once she’s had a chance to recover from her ordeal, which I am sure you’ll appreciate, has been horrendous for her. Being kidnapped by such vicious men as these and held prisoner, well, it’s taken its toll on her and it’s my duty to take care of her. Now, if you’d excuse us, we’ll take our leave. You have my details and I will, of course, avail myself to you at all times and I thank you and your team for everything. I will be sending a large donation to your Christmas fund, or is it the Orphan fund? I can’t quite remember, but just send the details to my office and I’ll ensure a donation is sent.”

Delia stepped forward and stamped her foot. Actually stamped her foot! “You can’t just walk out of here, Signore! We need to question . . .”

Jana held her hand up stopping her. “It’s okay, Delia. I know where to find him and he’s right, Amaya has gone through enough for now. She needs rest before we can talk to her. Look at her, she’s exhausted. Another day won’t make any difference and as Mister Alexander says, I know exactly where to find him. He’s not stupid enough to try and evade our questions. Isn’t that right?”

“That’s correct.” Quinn turned on his heel, Amaya’s hand in his and walked away. “Ace, get the car, Thorne, phone and get the jet ready. I want to get in the air as soon as possible.”

Ace jogged away and Thorne caught up to them, his cell already out and calling his pilot. When he’d finished they were already outside and he was looking over his shoulder. “Fuck, I thought we were going to be locked up.”

“Me too,” Quinn chuckled. “But we weren’t, now can you call and have food delivered to the jet, please? Amaya will require to be fed. What would you like, darling?”

Amaya had yet to say a word but now she let out a giggle, high-pitched and full of glee as Ace pulled up. “Oh my god. I can’t believe that was Jana Noskova! The Jana Noskova and you just basically told her to go take a run and jump! I almost had a heart attack in there. I swear my heart was beating so fast I thought I was going to faint.”

“Let’s get out of here before she changes her mind.” Thorne opened the door for them, his eyes darting back to the building time and again before he got in and slammed the door. “Go, go, go, Ace.”

Quinn wrapped an arm around Amaya’s shoulder, pondering Jana’s reaction, a sliver of unease slithering up his spine. “Something seems wrong to me. Jana appeared far too calm back there, especially after she’d been so hell-bent on capturing that bastard. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but she let us go far too easily. Don’t you think?”

Ace agreed quickly. “Boss, when you were resting back at The Directive offices, she was like a woman possessed about getting her hands on that guy. I agree, something screwy is going on but I’ve no idea what.”

“I don’t care,” Thorne butted in. “All I care about is that she didn’t slap us all in handcuffs and lock us up for disobeying her orders. I want to get in the jet and in the air as soon as possible. I won’t believe she’s let us leave until we’re twenty thousand feet in the air, and even then, I’ll still expect her to appear out of thin air and whip us back for questioning.”

“That’s not going to happen, relax.” Quinn had felt Amaya’s body tensing as Thorne spoke and he didn’t like it that his words had affected her. “Stop talking nonsense. Jana will contact us when we’re home and we’ll answer her questions like civilized people. I’ll send a huge donation to whatever fund she wants and the matter will be closed. Now, did you carry out my orders? Will there be provisions for Amaya onboard?”

“Yes, of course. I ordered a variety of food as I wasn’t sure what you liked, Amaya. I’m sure there should be enough for you. You’re not something weird like a vegan or anything like that, are you? Because you’re a Shifter so I ordered a ton of meat dishes . . . hell, I hope I didn’t muck that up.”

Amaya smirked, shaking her head. “I’m not a vegan, no, although I do enjoy veggies and salads, but meat is my primary food, Thorne, thank you.”

“Whew!” Thorne dramatically wiped his forehead before giving her a wink. “The boss man would have my guts for garters if I didn’t feed you right.”

Amaya laughed, her body shaking next to him as Thorne glanced up at him. His look was one that conveyed a thousand words . . . wonder was top of the list, quickly followed by how happy he was for him. His friend tipped his head, his lips tugging up as he carried on teasing Amaya for the rest of the journey. Her quick retorts back showed she wasn’t taken in and she was more than a match for Thorne, going so far as challenging him to a chess match when he said he was “unbeatable”. Quinn had snorted at that as he regularly played with Thorne, and although his friend was good, he was in no way unbeatable. But he guessed he was only trying to break the ice with his Bloodmate, and he was doing a damn fine job of it too. By the time they reached the airport she was relaxed and smiling widely and showing no signs of the ordeal she’d gone through as they boarded.

It was a temporary fix, he was aware of that, but he was grateful nonetheless. If Amaya was calm and stress-free as they started the long flight home then he hoped she’d be able to rest and sleep, and hopefully, recuperate from whatever she’d gone through. She was, in fact, like an excited puppy as he led her inside the cabin, her eyes wide and flitting all around taking in the plush furnishings that he took for granted and barely noticed any longer. Her fingers running over the soft leather while he spoke to the pilot and Thorne showed her around and Ace made sure his men were all accounted for, having arrived just behind them. One was injured, a Wolf, but he looked to be healing fast and there was nothing to be concerned about so Ace made sure he went to clean himself up and get a change of clothes and then food. After that he’d rest and be right as rain by the time they landed.

Quinn caught everything as he carried on his conversation with the crew, including ensuring his bedroom had been freshly made up so he and Amaya would have privacy for the journey. He didn’t plan on sharing her with anyone. No. He wanted her all to himself, even if she were asleep. He’d cherish just watching her as she lay in his arms, safe and sound. That alone was a miracle and something he’d thank the Goddess for a thousand times this coming night alone, and he didn’t normally have a tête-à-tête with the deity. Hell, she’d probably tell him to go to hell in a handbasket, but he’d still thank her all the same for delivering his Bloodmate to him safely. That was worth everything to him. More than he could put into words. In fact, there were no words to convey how he felt about having Amaya with him right this moment.

Nothing could cover it. Absolutely nothing could portray what he felt seeing her here in his world, surrounded by his men, his things, and fucking safe. He finally accepted the fact that he’d thought it might not have happened. In the back of his mind, he’d wondered if the bastard Russian might just have killed her anyway and taken the money and ran. Hell, it would’ve been easy for him to have done that. Slit her throat and left her alone in those damn silver shackles so she couldn’t heal herself, and he could have ran with his ten million pounds, and Quinn would’ve been powerless to stop him. His throat closed at the thought of how many ways this evening could have ended differently, his feet moving quickly to her side, his arms sliding around her to pull her back against him as he inhaled her scent deep within him to prove that she was indeed here and he wasn’t dreaming this whole damn scene.

“Hey, are you all right?” She looked over her shoulder, dark eyes wide with a look of worry that clenched at his belly. Worry for him. She was worried about him and it felt so good to have that. So damn good.

His Bloodmate in his arms. He could feel her safe in his embrace. Her soft body pressed against his hard muscles. Her round womanly hips that felt so good as she leaned back into him, her scent enveloping him and calming his soul, her body fitting against him like she was made just for him. Perfect in every way and she was his. All his and she was here, really here with him and he wasn’t dreaming. Wasn’t imagining this entire scene in his mind. Thank fuck, because if she’d been a figment of his imagination then he would truly have lost himself to the madness of the Vampire’s Thirst and there would have been no coming back from that.

“I’m okay, I just needed to feel you and know this wasn’t just a dream,” he admitted quietly, kissing the top of her head. “It’s been a long night, you must be exhausted. Why don’t we get you some food and take it back to my room where you can eat and then get cleaned up?”

A twinkle appeared in her eyes, the silver glinting brightly as she smirked. “That sounds like a good idea. I heard a rumor that there are burgers. I’d love some of those and a decent drink, please.”

“Anything you want.” Quinn waved for an attendant and ordered, “Burgers with all the trimmings, please, and what would you like to drink?”

“I’d love a shot or two of whisky, something that doesn’t taste like it’s come out of a donkey’s ass.” Amaya’s face screwed up. “I’ve not been able to find one here, well, I’ve not been in any decent places since I arrived and I’m afraid what I’ve tasted so far has probably wasted my palate, but if you don’t have whisky a vodka and coke will do just as well, hold the ice. Thanks.”

Quinn chuckled, quirking an eyebrow down at her. “You are aware I’m a Scot? I’ve got several whiskies available, but you can try them all and decide which one you like best.” He turned back to the attendant with the intention of delivering that request but Amaya stopped him.

“No, I’m far too tired for that, one or possibly two and I’ll be flat out.” She smiled at the young woman who was his regular cabin steward, and for the life of him he couldn’t remember her name. How strange. He knew all his staff, but at that very moment all he could think of was his Bloodmate and everything else didn’t matter, including minor details like names of the staff onboard. “Please, just bring me a double of anything you have. I’m sure that’ll be fine, and thank you.”

Quinn led her to the back of the jet as everyone else got settled, the engines already roaring to life as they began to move slowly out of the hanger. “Won’t be long until we’re underway.”

“Good, I can’t wait to see the back of this place.”

“You and me both.” He had to agree with her and he was certain it would be a very long time before he set foot back here. To hell with Bennie and his partnership, if he wanted to deal with him then he could do so via phone or come and visit him in Scotland, either that or he’d buy him out. Whatever happened the only thing that was certain was he’d never set foot in Hong Kong again.