Chapter Four – Ryan
His blood reached boiling point quickly. Ryan patrolled the edges of Danita's farm, sniffing for any trace of McGrath. The Leopard was a sly, slippery devil. It wouldn't surprise the Bear if McGrath had been spying on them this whole time.
It was clear that he wanted Danita.
And it was just as clear that he didn't want the hard working, determined woman that Ryan and Killian had gotten to know.
He didn't want her pounding fence posts into the earth, or hauling hay bales around while she prepared to feed her alpaca herd, or climbing into the top of the barn to rip off the old shingles and lay down new ones. He didn't want how silly she got when she was tired, the string of curse words when she nailed her thumb or the way she ran for the first aid kit if someone else injured themselves.
All Dean McGrath wanted was her body. He didn't care if he broke Danita's heart or left her a shell of her former self. He wanted to manipulate her into getting into his bed for as long as he could. It had happened before, and it was only fear of Killian being punished that kept Ryan from taking matters into his own hands before now.
But Danita? No. There was no way he was going to let that stinking Leopard get his paws on her.
It was all he could do to stop himself from chasing McGrath down right now to tear him to pieces. The only thing that held him back was the knowledge that if he did that, Danita and Killian would suffer for it.
The fury still heating Ryan's blood cooled a little. When he had decided to run away from home all those years ago, he expected to go alone. But Killian had sacrificed everything and went with him. Kelly was from a very rich family in the community of shifters they grew up in. His family would have protected him when it came out that he liked to share women with his best friend.
The same couldn't be said of Ryan. His mother was incredibly homophobic, and any sort of indication that her son didn't fit in her narrow view of morality meant he was beaten. He'd learned over the years to hide his pain as his flesh and bones knit back together. At least shifters healed faster than humans. If he had had to spend weeks hiding a broken arm rather than a few hours he never would have made it outside the house.
It continued for years. And when he told Killian, his best friend had bought two plane tickets out west and told him to pack only what they could carry. Killian always knew what to do.
There was no scent of Leopard around the farm, and Ryan's head had cooled enough for him to think straight. He headed back to the house, careful to avoid the alpaca pasture. Danita got upset if they frightened the animals.
Killian was waiting for him on the half-fixed front porch. Night had deepened to the point where the only light was the splash of Milky Way and connect-the-dots puzzle above them. Ryan shifted back to human form, sitting on the porch next to his partner.
"Danita?"
Killian shrugged. "She's sleeping. A little mortified that she would think the worst of us, but I think she'll be okay. The real question is what we do now."
"I think you mean the real question is how we kill McGrath." Ryan didn't bother to stop the growl in his voice. His hands clenched.
Killian might still be trying to convince himself that the reason they were drawn to Danita was just because she was a beautiful, sensuous woman that would no doubt give them great pleasure, but Ryan knew the truth. She was their mate. The one that they had been looking for all this time, even if they hadn't realized they had been looking.
To Ryan's surprise, Killian let out a heavy sigh and shook his head. He felt his hackles rising. His best friend didn't think that McGrath deserved to die over this?
"We are going to kill him. We're not going to let him abuse and destroy Dani that way. Kelly, don't tell me you're even considering leaving her here."
"Calm down. Look, I understand how you feel. I do. There is nothing more I want than to see McGrath dead right now, except—"
Ryan growled warningly.
"Except for Dani to stay safe." Killian glared at his partner. "Killing McGrath is useless if it gets Dani hurt, or worse. So keep your head on straight, so I don't have to beat you."
"Like you could." Ryan flexed his muscles, recognizing Killian's attempts to lighten the heaviness between them. It worked, and both shifters relaxed a little. Ryan rolled his shoulders. "So. What do we do, then?"
"We play this smart. If we decide to kill McGrath, then even if the Leopard doesn't see us coming and kills us, then the Lion will consider us in-house traitors. He'd kill Dani as well as both of us to send a message to the syndicate. We're just a couple of low-level thugs, Rye. McGrath brought us in. We're just lucky he wants to keep us."
"Excuse me?"
"If he didn't, he would have killed us already, rather than trying to just isolate Dani."
"If his game is to force Dani into a situation where she had no choice but to accept his 'offer', then we should be on the lookout for sabotage on the farm." Ryan knew that if he continued to interfere in McGrath's plans it would paint giant bullseyes on his forehead, but he didn't care. All he wanted was to protect Danita. He chewed on his lip as he glanced at his partner. "I'll understand if you decide to go. It's risky—"
"And leave you to get all of Dani's gratitude? No." Killian knocked his shoulder. "But that does bring me to another point…"
Ryan nodded, waiting for Killian to continue. After several minutes passed in silence, his brow furrowed. It wasn't like his friend to leave thoughts unfinished.
Killian shook his head and laughed. "Look at me, acting like that wuss I was when we first decided that we wanted to share women. The point is, Dani's a virgin. We're going to have to adjust our normal game plan for her."
"Why?"
Killian rolled his eyes. "Rye, you know that taking us both in can be a strange, sometimes painful sensation for even the most experienced woman. Dani has no experience. If we're not careful, we could really hurt her. That's if she agrees."
"She'll agree." It was Ryan's turn to roll his eyes. "Haven't you seen the way she looks at us? Smelled her arousal? She wants us as much as we want her. It's only because of McGrath that she’s been hesitant towards our advances."
"That could be true."
"Of course it is."
"Arrogant SOB." Killian gave him a half-smile. "I talked to McGrath while you were gone."
Ryan snarled.
Killian clouted him on the back of the head. "Shut up! He would be expecting something from us. And I knew that I couldn't do it when you were back because of that damn temper of yours. This was for Dani, and it had to be done."
It wasn't enough of an explanation to appease Ryan, but he kept his growls to himself.
"And what exactly did you tell him?"
"I thanked him for his 'gift'," Killian said.
If McGrath was after Danita, then thinking that the Bears had slept with her would only make him angry. Ryan tensed, but Killian continued before he could speak.
"I told him you looked beautiful in it."
"Screw you!"
Killian laughed and shrugged. "I told him that Dani burned it and won't let us near her. I also told him that we're doing what he wanted us to do, keeping her from running away."
"Did he buy it?"
"No."
"Damn. So should we head for the hills, or kill him?"
Killian sprang to his feet. "No. Stop right there. I already told you killing him isn't an option. We'd need to pay double Dani's ransom to the Lion in order to keep our heads. So just stop. I've made an agreement to buy her from him."
"Buy her?" Ryan got to his feet. His hands clenched, and he wondered if a good blow would knock sense into his partner's head or just kill him.
"He's given me a month to pay her debt and an extra two hundred and fifty thousand. If we can get it to him in that time, he'll leave her alone. Forever."
"We don't have that sort of money!"
"You don't. I have seven hundred thousand in a trust fund set up by my family. It's enough to free Dani from McGrath, and a little extra to help the farm get a better foothold. I've already talked to my family's lawyers, and I'm having the money transferred right now."
Ryan's jaw dropped. All this time, and he hadn't known his best friend was loaded. Maybe there was more to it than what Kelly had just told him, but still. They could have prevented this whole mess from ever starting!
"Don't ask me about it, Rye. Please." Killian turned away, though the pain was raw in his eyes. "There's a reason I couldn't get it before."
"You don't get off that easily."
"Fine," Killian growled. "I couldn't get it until my dad died. And now he's dead. Happy?"
Ryan grunted. Killian was never close to his family, but it wasn't like the guy was made of stone. "Sorry."
"Forget it. He was furious when I told him we shared women, and he never could accept me after that. You’re all the family I need. You and…"
"Dani."
"Yeah."
"She's our mate."
Killian shrugged.
Ryan gripped his friend's shoulder. At least they had a little hope, now. Perhaps the three-quarter of a million dollars was enough for the Leopard to let go of Danita.
But it probably wasn't going to be that easy. Clearly, McGrath didn't know about Killian's wealth any more than Ryan did, but once he did, what was to stop him from changing the terms of their deal again?
We only need a quarter of a million more to pay the Lion for permission to kill McGrath. Ryan set his mouth to a firm line. He'd find a way to get that. One way or another, McGrath was going to die.