CHAPTER FOUR
They didn’t have to wait long.
Ash and Thomas were first to appear, both stark naked and breathing heavily.
“Did you get him?”
Ash’s growl told him everything, filling Connor with frustration.
“Ross and Jenny are just coming,” Thomas added, putting an arm around Sarah. “They’ve gone to get dressed.”
Sarah cleared her throat, throwing a glance over to where Beth sat. Connor couldn’t help but chuckle as Ash and Thomas both realized what she meant at the same time, leaving the room immediately.
Next to him, Beth drew in a shuddering breath. Connor could almost feel the fear coming from her, seeing the way she dropped her chin to her chest again and let her hair fall forward.
“You don’t have any need to be afraid,” he said, trying to relieve some of her anxiety. “No one’s going to hurt you.”
“I don’t deserve any of your kindness,” came the quiet reply. “Not after what I did.”
Connor didn't know what to say. She was right, he supposed. She didn't deserve anything, not after what she'd been involved in, but something told him that it hadn't been something of her own volition. After seeing how her stepbrother had treated her, Connor's instincts told him that Beth had been forced to work with Davidson.
“Connor?”
Getting up, Connor stood slightly in front of Beth as Jenny came in, followed by Ross.
“You’re not hurt?” he asked, as Jenny shook her head.
“We didn’t catch him, though,” Ross growled, his face dark. “Just as well you caught her. We’ll have to make sure she doesn’t escape again.”
Connor’s chest rattled, his lip curling. “She didn’t try to escape, Ross,” he growled, his voice low and fierce. “Something more is going on here.”
He couldn’t stop his hands from curling into fists as he faced his brother, who was still looking at the hunched figure of Beth with obvious disgust.
“You can’t just believe her like that,” Ross barked. “You’re not stupid, Connor. Don’t get taken in just because she’s playing the victim.”
Connor growled louder, stepping closer. His blood began to hammer through his veins, his anger spiking as he heard Beth take in another shaky breath. She was hearing every word and he hated that. “That’s enough, Ross.”
His brother tensed immediately. “You don’t tell me what to do, Connor. I can’t believe you’re so easily taken in her! Get a grip, Connor! Just because she’s got a pretty face and you’ve not mated for a while doesn’t mean—”
Connor’s fist shot out, connecting with Ross’s eye. With a howl, Ross stumbled back, clearly stunned that Connor had hit him. His eye began to swell immediately, forcing Ross into a defensive position although he didn’t come back at Connor straight away.
“That’s enough, Ross,” Connor shouted, refusing to back down. “You didn’t see it. You don’t know what happened.”
“You’re a fool!” Ross yelled back, his voice filling the room as his lip curled back into a snarl. “Whatever you saw, she was just putting it on for you. She knew you were there!”
“He was going to rape her!”
Connor heard his words echo around the room before silence covered them all. Slowly, his anger ebbed away, the heat in his blood cooling. His fists slowly uncurled, but he did not move away from Beth, still breathing hard.
Ross’s hands dropped to his sides, confusion filling his features as he glanced uncertainly at Beth. Jenny, who had been standing to the side out of their way, took a few steps toward Connor.
“I think we should take this outside,” she said softly.
Connor nodded, glancing at Beth who didn’t look up. Together, the three of them walked out of the room toward the back door, stepping into the cool night air. Ross began to pace up and down the small yard, but Jenny stayed right by Connor’s side, her eyes searching his face.
“Is that true, Connor?” she asked quietly. “Is that what you saw?”
Swallowing hard, he nodded. “If I hadn’t stopped him, that’s exactly what he would have done.” He gestured helplessly toward the door where Beth was, hoping that she couldn’t hear their discussion. “He’d tied her hands and mouth. She was helpless.”
“Oh, my goodness,” Jenny whispered, a horrified expression on her face as she stared at him as if hoping he’d tell her it wasn’t true.
Ross stepped closer, with a slightly guilty expression on his face. “I thought he was her brother,” he mumbled, wrapping an arm around Jenny’s waist. “I don’t understand.”
“He’s her stepbrother,” Connor clarified quietly. “She’s terrified, Ross. I don’t know what’s happened to her in the past or what she’s mixed up in, but something’s not right.”
Jenny looked up at her mate. “Ross, remember when I told you that she was never really involved in trying to get me to shift? What if there was a reason behind it?”
“But she fought Connor in the woods,” Ross replied, shaking his head. “That doesn’t make sense.”
“None of it does,” Connor replied, relieved that Ross seemed to be accepting that Beth wasn’t the murderous shifter he’d once thought. “She said she’ll talk to us, but I was trying to give her a bit more time to recover.”
“Thank goodness you were there, Connor,” Jenny murmured softly. “I can’t imagine what would have happened to her if you hadn’t been there to save her.”
Connor shook his head to clear his thoughts. “I don’t want to even think about that.” He shuddered, hating how scared and vulnerable she had been. “But whoever her stepbrother is, and whatever it is he’s doing, we need to find out the truth.”
Ross cleared his throat. “I’m sorry, Connor. I shouldn’t have been so cruel.”
Connor shrugged. “It’s understandable, Ross. I’ve been feeling pretty angry toward her for a while now, but ever since I saw her in the woods, I’ve realized that she might be just as much of a victim as Jenny in some ways.”
Jenny put a gentle hand on his arm. “You’re very protective of her, Connor.”
“I have to be,” he replied, honestly. “Who else is there?”
Smiling, Jenny patted his arm. "You're a good man, Connor. I'm glad she's got you. Hopefully, we can help her."
“You’re not angry with her about what she did?”
Taking a deep breath, Jenny let it out slowly before answering, her face betraying her confusing emotions. "I hate that she was involved with Davidson, but after what you've said—and the instinct I had before about her—I'm sure that she didn't want to be as involved as she was. I don't feel the same anger I did the first time we met her. In fact, I actually feel sorry for her. It's all quite confusing."
Ross pressed a kiss to her temple. “You have a kind heart, Jenny. Come on, let’s go in and see if we can get her to tell us what’s going on. I’ll talk to Ash and Thomas first so that they don’t have the same reaction I did. We don’t want any more brothers with black eyes.” He grinned in Connor’s direction, making him cringe.
“Sorry about that,” Connor muttered, aware that Ross was going to have to explain why he had a black eye to his brothers. “It was sheer defense.”
“Interesting, though, isn’t it?” Ross said, over his shoulder. “You’re so defensive of someone you barely know. I don’t remember you ever hitting me over anyone.”
Connor watched Ross and Jenny walk inside, letting Ross’s words swirl around his mind. Ross was right. Connor had never once hit him or any of his brothers over anyone or anything. There was something about Beth that pushed him to act in ways he had never done before.
Was this what he had been fighting ever since he’d met Beth? An attraction to her that he didn’t want to admit? Frustrated, Connor closed his eyes and tipped his face toward the sky. His wolf had gone crazy trying to protect her, and Connor was pretty sure he’d have fought the dark wolf to the death if he’d had to. Was it just because she had been so vulnerable? Or was there something about her that his wolf was reacting to?
Connor had never thought about finding his mate, figuring it would happen at some point in his life. He'd been too busy working to make their detective agency the best around. He enjoyed his life, especially going on the hunt for missing people or for people evading the law. The chase was always exhilarating and, to date, they'd never failed in a case. Of course, that was because their shifter abilities were more helpful and beneficial than anything the police could come up with—not that they could tell them that.
Opening his eyes, Connor looked up at the moon, feeling his wolf shuffle restlessly. Something serious was going on. Something big. Whatever it was, it had started with Jenny and Greg Davidson and was now carrying on with Beth. And if Beth was involved, then so was he. He'd promised to protect her, and that was exactly what he was going to do.