Henry grabbed his cell before it finished the first ring. “Yes.” That was all he needed to say. The caller ID told him the call was from his superior, whoever that was. All he knew was the guy worked at the headquarters for The Head Council. He was their main inside man. Perhaps he was even
the
main leader.
“I’ve done some digging. These bastards at The Head Council organized that sting. They have gotten very powerful, and they’re expanding. They’re enlisting more shifters to NAR every day and mobilizing as we speak. I don’t want this shit to get out.”
“I understand, sir.”
I understand
,
but what the fuck do you want me to do about it?
“It’s too soon. We aren’t ready… Fuck.” He sounded winded
,
as though he hadn’t thought this out before he called.
“What would you like me to do, sir?”
“Get a man out to get a visual on Allison Watkins. She’s at a dude ranch in Texas. I’ll send you the address. We need to go in and get her ASAP. Figure out exactly where she’s staying and all the details surrounding her location.”
“Get her? You want us to kidnap her back?”
What the fuck?
“Yes. But for now, just gather the information. We don’t want to alert anyone to our plan. She’s vital to the mission. We need her and we need her damn mouth shut. The longer she’s with those people, the better the chance is she might remember details we don’t need exposed. And Henry…”
“Yes, sir?”
“Get on this fast, Fairfield. Time is of the essence. I’ll get you the manpower. You get me the deets.”
“Okay, sir.”
“The rest of the women taken from us should be there also. I want Allison Watkins back. We’ll decide about the others soon.”
“I’m on it, sir.”
The line went dead.
Henry dialed the next number and drummed his fingers on the desk as he waited for Tarson to pick up on his end. It wasn’t until the fourth ring that the man finally answered. “Hello?”
“Tarson. You had me worried there for a moment.”
“Sorry. I was in the other room. Is everything okay?”
“Not even close.” He stretched his neck to both sides as he continued. “I need you to do a job
,
and I need you to keep it completely to yourself.”
“Okaaay.” Tarson dragged that word out as if it were absurd to even question his allegiance. “Have I ever let you down?”
“No. But this is important and confidential.” Henry had spoken many times to his superior and thought long and hard before choosing Tarson for this job.
The fact that Tarson had been working for the Romulus for several years and had an impeccable record made the selection that much easier. The man had always been trustworthy and reliable. Hiring him had been a good decision.
“There’s a dude ranch in Texas I need you to spy on. I need some information about who’s there and what’s happening.”
“Sure thing, boss. When?”
“Immediately.”
“Okay. What am I looking for?”
“A dozen women. I’ll send you information on all of them—pictures and data. The most important one is a woman named Allison Watkins. I need to know if she’s among the others. A visual is mandatory.”
“Got it. But why the hell would anyone care about a bunch of women?”
The one bad thing about Tarson was his inquisitiveness. Henry would love it if the man would simply do a job, no questions asked. But that wasn’t his style, so Henry had called prepared. He knew Tarson well enough to play into his hand perfectly.
“These women banded together to conspire against their mates and abandoned their homes and their duties.”
“Are you fucking with me?”
“Nope. They even stole money from their mates to get away. And now they’re gallivanting around living the high life on a ranch in Texas.”
“God damn. The gall. How did you find them?”
Henry smiled to himself. “They’re women. They’re too stupid not to leave a paper trail. Several of the men found evidence of their plot.”
Tarson gave a sardonic chuckle. “Of course. Ignorant. All of them. No worries. Send me the details and I’ll be on my way.”
“Good. Oh, and Tarson?”
“Yeah.”
“Be super careful. I’m not sure who they may be with or what they may have told the shifters they’re with. After all the lies they’ve woven, I wouldn’t be surprised if they’ve come up with some damn sob stories about being abused. They may even have protection.”
“Got it. I’ll make sure no one sees me.”
“I knew I could count on you.”
“Absolutely.”
Allison sat on the steps of the front porch of her cabin, cupping a mug of coffee and watching the steam rise in the cooler morning air. It wouldn’t stay that way. If today was anything like yesterday, it would be hotter than hell before noon. And she loved it. After spending the last year in the middle of nowhere without enough clothes to keep her warm in the cooler climate of Minnesota, she couldn’t get enough of the heat. It seemed to be metaphorically warming her soul from the inside out.
She lifted her gaze to scan the horizon. It was early, but several people were already outside their cabins. All the cabins were full now that the other women and their families had arrived. And several people were staying in the dorm. It had been easy for the Spencers to choose. The ten families with fewer than four people occupied the small cabins and the two larger families were in the dorm.
Ashley and Evan were staying with Kenzie and Drake. They would only be there for the first week. The others were welcome to stay as long as they’d like.
Allison could see the appeal. The Head Council had provided several counselors to work with the women and families
,
and Allison had spent the entire day after her arrival in large and small group meetings getting to know the others. There was no doubt the plan to bring everyone together had been sound. The solidarity was healing in and of itself.
Each woman had a different story and experience, but in the end, they were united in the fact that they’d been taken against their will or under false pretenses and drugged.
All the woman had given blood samples the first night to help determine what was in their bloodstream, but apparently no one expected the results to be surprising.
Everyone had also met individually with Evan and two members of The Head Council. Until then, Allison hadn’t been quite sure what his role was in this grand scheme other than being the mate of a previously rescued victim.
The reality was Evan was heading up the investigation to determine what underlying conspiracy was at work. He’d been the one to rescue Ashley in the first place
,
and he’d worked for months for The Head Council to track other missing women and organize the collective rescue this week.
What Allison hadn’t done yet was allow herself to deal with the reality of Daniel. She had yet to tell her parents. Thankfully no one in the Spencer family had breathed a word of her predicament. But Allison knew she needed to tell her parents. She couldn’t hide out forever, even with good reason. And Daniel couldn’t be expected to stay away forever
,
either. She could feel the weight of her mating pressing in on her.
She’d spent two days with her parents. It was time to come clean.
Daniel deserved a face
-
to
-
face confrontation, even if in the end she told him to take a hike. To do otherwise would be unimaginable. Already she was impressed with him for giving her time and space to reacquaint herself with her parents.
The door behind her squeaked as it opened and closed. She could sense her mother without turning around. The woman eased next to her on the step. “You’re up early.” She also held a cup of coffee.
“I’m not fond of the inside of the cabin
,
to be honest.”
“I see.”
“It makes me feel like I’m strangling.”
They sat in silence for a few minutes. Allison listened to the gentle noises of the farm. It was nothing like the city and still too quiet for her, but she did have to recognize the appeal of the sounds of the birds, the trees rustling, the whinny of horses in the distance. “I need to tell you something.”
“Okay, honey. Anything.” Her mother put an arm around Allison and squeezed before releasing her again to hold her coffee with both hands.
Allison took a deep breath. “I met my mate.”
Her mother gasped. “When? Where?”
“Here. As soon as I arrived. He’s Natalie’s second oldest. Daniel is his name.”
“Oh. No wonder I haven’t met him. Where is he?”
“Not sure. But God bless him for letting me have this time with you. I couldn’t have faced him that first day. He backed off and has given me space. At least that’s what I’m imagining. Probably Natalie had a hand in it.”
“That is kind. But isn’t it tearing you up inside?”
“Yes.” Allison ducked her head and stared at her feet. There was no denying the physical reaction she’d had to him and still did
,
even though she’d only seen him for a few minutes two days ago. She’d been busy every minute since her parents had arrived
,
and that had kept her mind from straying to the sexy man who’d kneeled in front of her and smiled so warmly. That one image kept her awake at night, tossing and turning
.
“Don’t you think you need to go talk to him?”
“Yes.” She shuffled her toe against the bottom step. “I’ve been sitting here building up the courage. I wanted you to know where I was going before I left.”
Holly turned to face her daughter. “Go. We’ll be here if you need us. We can only stay a few more days
,
anyway.” Her voice lowered. “I hadn’t considered you not returning to New York with us, but…”
“And I can’t
,
either.” Allison lifted her gaze. “I need to go home. I crave the chaos. It’s too quiet here and I miss my busy lifestyle.”
Holly smiled. “Well, Fate sometimes puts a wrench in things.”
“I see that.” Allison stood. She wiped her hands on her jean shorts. She stared at her mother for several seconds before she backed away with a short nod.
When she turned to face the stable, she took a deep breath. She knew instinctively he was in there. She hadn’t seen him since that first morning, but Kenzie had told her he was often with his horses and would use the barn as a refuge to escape his problems.
One foot in front of the other and minutes later Allison stood outside the entrance to the stable. She paused, lifting her face to the rising sun. Nothing about this situation was in her realm of comprehension. She wasn’t fond of large animals. Had never been on or near a horse. And didn’t want a mate this week.
The moment her mate stepped out of the barn
,
however, she knew it immediately. She lowered her gaze to his and bit her lower lip between her teeth.
He stood still for several seconds before he shuffled forward a few feet. “Hi.”
“Hi,” she repeated, feeling like a middle school student with a crush. Her heart pounded
,
and she wiped her sweaty hands on her shorts again. She glanced down at herself and wondered why she hadn’t taken a moment to make herself at least somewhat more attractive for this second meeting.
The clothes she wore came from Kenzie, bless her. The woman insisted she’d never be that small again after delivering Aaron. Allison doubted that, but she was still grateful. It was already hot for nine o’clock in the morning
,
and the pale blue tank top Allison wore hugged her body so tight she worried her nipples were visible.
Daniel approached slowly until he stood about three feet away. He stuffed his hands in his jeans pockets. His boots were worn and scuffed. His black T-shirt was tight around his chest. He looked like a total cowboy
,
and while Allison never would have imagined herself attracted to a man in boots, she lusted after this one full force.
So…masculine.
He cleared his throat. “I was going to come find you this morning.”
She finally lifted her gaze to his face. “Beat you.”
He softened at her words, the wrinkle in his brow evening out. When his mouth turned up, a dimple made itself present on both cheeks. He was tan from spending time in the sun, his hair just a shade darker than her own blond curls, probably bleached from the sun also. And his eyes, when she met his gaze, pierced her with their deep blue depths.
He nodded behind him. “Can I show you around?”
Allison took a step forward. “Yes, but I have to warn you, I know nothing about horses or any other farm life.”
“No worries.” He turned and she followed.
He says that now
…
As they entered the wide
-
open doors to the barn, Allison paused to adjust to the lower light. She braced herself for the onslaught of what the barn would smell like, but she was pleasantly surprised. Either barns didn’t smell as bad as she expected, or Daniel’s personal scent was overpowering her senses and blocking out all else.
Probably the latter, since Allison knew only one thing—Daniel Spencer flipped her world upside down. As he walked in front of her, she stared at his ass. Firm and sexy. She wanted to grab it, and she clenched her hands into fists to keep from doing so.
His back was all rows of muscle and strength. His T-shirt did nothing to hide his physique.
When he turned toward her, she almost ran into him. She’d been so focused on his body. A flush heated her cheeks as he reached out a hand and grabbed her shoulder to steady her. He grinned. “You okay?”
It was the first time he’d touched her.
Hell no, I’m not okay
.
Electricity zinged down her spine from his contact. She squeezed her legs together at the immediate jolt to her sex. And she had to concentrate to breathe evenly. Every inhale brought more of him into her lungs and spread through her system.
He released her with a jerk as though he’d been shocked. “Wow.” He stepped back and leaned against the stall next to him. “My brother mentioned what it was like, but I didn’t believe him.”