Abandoned (14 page)

She gripped him again, harder. “No.” She shook her head. “Don’t leave. Please,” she pleaded in a voice so low he knew she was struggling to hold on to her sanity. Her nails dug into his wrist.

Another shot. Daniel ducked his head to hers and set a hand on top of her hair to hold her closer to the floor. If anything happened to her
,
he didn’t know what he would do. It wasn’t an option.

She pleaded with him with her eyes, her bottom lip between her teeth, her hand holding his wrist in a grip he was surprised she was capable of.

“I’m going to shift.” He knew he could scent better in wolf form
,
and he needed all his senses on high alert right now. He handed her the gun, pushing it across the floor toward her. “There are six rounds in there. Use it if anyone comes through that door you don’t know.”

She shook her head. “I’ve never shot a gun in my life.”

He turned the grip toward her and wrapped her hand around it, settling it in her palm the way she would need to fire a shot. He flipped off the safety. “It’s ready to fire. Just pull this trigger.”

“No,” she muttered. “Stay.” Tears ran down her face. “I can’t do it.”

“You can, baby. If it’s you or them, you will.” Daniel released her, praying she could gather the courage to save her own life if need be. He scooted back a few inches, wincing as glass cut into his naked body in several places.

He closed his eyes for a brief moment and shifted, emitting an unsolicited growl as he bounced up onto all four paws and bounded for the broken window first.

A glance at the ground showed one man lying in the bushes. Daniel sniffed the air and held his breath a moment. He heard no breathing sounds. The asshole was a shifter, but he appeared to be a dead one. That was a good sign.

He turned to the bedroom door, wishing that fucking window didn’t leave Allison unprotected. With his front paws, he opened the door and then he nosed it ajar enough to stick his head out. Nothing else was inside the house yet. Keeping a keen ear on the bedroom, he widened the door and padded into the hall. He moved from room to room, peering out every window into the darkness.

Still nothing. Who’d fired the shots? And where was the other intruder? All he could do was hope his father had gotten his call and sprang into action. Any other choice was unimaginable. But where was he now? Someone had killed the man at the window. Had his father been somehow incapacitated in the altercation?

Allison screamed and Daniel bounded back to the bedroom just as a wolf came flying through the window. It wasn’t anyone Daniel knew. His scent was unfamiliar, which meant he was as good as dead.

Daniel jumped, landing on the intruder almost before his paws hit the ground. Daniel growled as he slammed the shifter into the floor, skidding them both across the hardwood until they hit the wall under the window.

The bastard clawed at Daniel, trying to get out from under him. Daniel pounced again, getting his entire body over the slightly smaller frame of the asshole with the mess of gray fur.

The shifter slammed his jaw over Daniel’s leg, biting down hard and forcing a loud squeal from Daniel’s mouth. Daniel gritted his teeth together and twisted his neck until his gaze landed just where he wanted. He had the fucker on his back, pinned. A quick lift of his hind leg and he struck hard against the shifters balls, nailing him with enough force that the guy released Daniel’s leg and curled up in a loud whimper.

Something blocked Daniel’s view as it flew through the open window to land at his back. Keeping one paw on the piece of shit under the window, Daniel jerked his gaze behind him, expecting his fight to double. Instead he found his father standing behind him, a gun lifted in the air. “Not another move, if you value your life
,
you son of a bitch.”

Daniel jumped to the side
,
leaving the shifter in his fetal position. For a moment he thought they were safe and it was over, but then the goddamn maniac jumped up onto all four paws and bared his teeth. He leaped into the air, straight toward Daniel’s father.

Luckily his dad was quicker. He fired one shot and the shifter landed in a heap on the floor of the bedroom, barely emitting a squeal as he died almost instantly.

“Shit,” Jerome muttered.

Daniel shifted quickly back to human form
,
grabbed a pair of jeans
,
and shrugged into them. “What? You’re mad?”

“Well, I wanted that asshole alive. He’s not going to answer any questions dead.”

Daniel kneeled on the floor and set a hand on his mate’s leg from the opposite side of the bed he’d left her. “It’s okay, baby. It’s over.” He leaned in farther as she shook. “Come here.” He didn’t want to drag her out, but she seemed to be in shock. When she twisted her head around to see him, her eyes were huge and glazed over. Again he thanked God for his incredible vision. So much could be determined from just a look
,
and in the dark that meant the world to a shifter.

Instead of pulling on Allison at the risk of scaring her to death, he let go of her leg, flattened himself to the floor
,
and wiggled under the bed to join her. When he reached her side, he pulled her into his arms and held her tight. He threaded his fingers in her hair and tucked her head against his chest. He knew he was bleeding from several cuts, but he didn’t care. All that mattered was calming her racing heart and reassuring her she was safe.

•●•

Two hours later, Allison stood at the kitchen table
,
still wearing nothing more than the long T-shirt, her eyes narrowed as she examined another cut on Daniel’s chest. “I think you got half of these crawling under the bed after the fight.”

He winced when she applied antiseptic to another bloody spot. He didn’t respond.

“I don’t think any of them need stitches. If you take a shower and rinse away most of the blood, you’ll probably look much better.”

He raised an eyebrow. He hadn’t released his grip on her since his father had flipped on the bedroom light, filling the room with the bright glow that snapped her out of her trance and set her into motion.

She’d climbed out from under the bed on her own on the side not currently occupied by a giant dead shifter. Daniel had been right behind her, his hand on her the entire time. He’d led her into the bathroom and set her on the toilet while his two oldest brothers and Evan entered the house and disposed of the intruder. What they did with the body and that of the shifter under the window outside, she didn’t know. Hell, she didn’t want to know.

What she did know was that she was alive
,
and she owed that to Daniel and his quick thinking when he’d called his dad. She’d heard the man answer on the other end and managed to mutter into the phone. It didn’t matter what she’d said. The important thing was he’d told her he’d be right there. And he’d come. Armed. Bless him.

Daniel wrapped his arm around her middle and pulled her close again, her belly against his cheek. He fisted her T-shirt at the back. “If anything had happened to you,” he repeated for the tenth time.

“It didn’t.” She lifted his chin and stared into his eyes. “Nor to you. We’re safe.”

In the two hours since all hell had broken loose, several shifters had arrived on the scene, sent by NAR. They now surrounded the house and were scattered around the property. Unfortunately they’d found no other unwanted guests
,
and the two who had been shot weren’t talking. Dead had a way of preventing that.

Allison still shook, her hands not returning to anything close to steady, but she tried to keep her chin up.

“And tomorrow you’re going to learn to fire that gun.”

She scrunched her nose at him. Shooting a weapon had never been on her bucket list, but neither had being kidnapped or shot at, so she needed to alter her frame of reference and buck up. She nodded and sighed. “I guess there’s no other option.”

Daniel stood. He twisted his left arm in every direction as he held her steady with his right. Luckily it was just a sprain. Nothing seemed to be broken. A few hours in wolf form would speed his recovery and help heal his wounds also. “I think I need you to wash me. I feel a little weak.” He grinned at her
,
and she rolled her eyes as she led him from the room toward the master bath.

“That’s the dumbest line I’ve ever heard.” But the opportunity to bathe him made her knees weak. She wouldn’t turn it down for anything. She might need to pay extra special attention to every inch of his skin
,
in fact, just to be sure they didn’t miss any cuts…

•●•

Allison opened one eye and moaned at the bright light filling the room. She realized where she was upon awakening and snuggled into Daniel’s warm body, pulling the covers over her head to block out the sun.

His chuckle shook her. He ran his hand up and down her back, giving her chills even when surrounded by his warmth. “We have to get up.”

“Oh God no.” She lifted her chin and set it on his chest, shrugging the blankets away from her face to see him. “We have to face people today?” She’d had enough company in the night to last a lifetime. And they’d only slept a few hours after his family had graciously swept the bedroom free of glass and covered the window with a large sheet of clear plastic. She was tired.

The only thing that had allowed her to slow her heart rate and relax into Daniel’s arms was knowing there were so many military trained shifters surrounding the property now. No one would get by them without making a lot of noise.

His teasing smile made her heart beat faster. “Unless you want to hide out here forever. I’m okay with that too. But your parents, and mine for that matter, might express opposition. They’re expecting us for breakfast.”

She scrunched up her nose. “A family gathering? Ugh.” She ducked back under the covers and wrapped her arm around his chest. She hadn’t known he’d planned that.

“It is customary for newly mated couples to occasionally leave the house. And I agreed to this plan yesterday evening. If I’d known we would have been attacked in our sleep, I’d have told them we couldn’t make it.” His chest vibrated against her cheek as he spoke.