Darin: The Pride of the Double Deuce - Erotic Paranormal Shapeshifter Romance (9 page)

“See that you take care. I need to know that Mer knows that no matter what she does, I can find her and kill whatever she loves. I don’t want her to love me, but she will mind what I tell her. When she said yes, no matter how I got her to say it, she knew damned good and well that I’m the one going to say that it’s over. That bitch will pay for this. See if she doesn’t.” Nash wasn’t sure yet how he was going to get her back home. He’d been about to book a plane for them all but knew that Mer would be an issue. “Did you have any luck getting some cash for me?”

“Yeah, but there was a glitch at the other end. Not sure what, but someone is looking into it. There is a place here that can receive money, but the most they’ll take is five hundred at a time.” Nash rolled his eyes. “That’s what happens when you live in a small shit town, I guess.”

After Rocky left him, Nash sat on the couch in the living room. The place wasn’t bad, really, but it wasn’t what he wanted in a home. Nash smiled when he thought of his home that no one but Rocky knew about. He’d been having some work done on it since he’d been out here too, and it was going to be perfect for keeping Mer in line.

Nash had more money than anyone realized. Millions and millions of dollars that he had stashed all over the place in his home. There were safes on every floor, hidden in walls and floors. He’d even hidden some of his ill-gotten gains in mattresses, under tile in the bathroom, and in the deep freeze in the garage. There was a substantial amount in a bank in Switzerland, but that was his settling money. Money to be used to live off of when he was no longer welcome here.

He’d seen too many of his counterparts, other criminal types, that had been caught going to the bank for their escape money or travelling to some out of the way place to dig something up. He had money in a couple of banks. It wasn’t all at his home. But sometimes, like today, he might need to have a little more than he’d brought, and this was how he’d get it. Nash prided himself on being prepared.

Even now he had enough money to buy and sell the little ranch operation that she worked for, he knew. A few ponies and a home was nothing to him, but he’d take it just to watch it burn if any of them fucked with him. Nash was almost hoping one of them would try and stop him from taking what was rightfully his. And Mer was fucking his. She had been since the first time he’d seen her.

Nash had seen her at a party. He’d not been invited, but it had been in the hotel he was having a meeting in and he had just joined the festive event. And what an event it had been. Food and drinks, people dancing and having a good time. And there she was, the center of it all, simply because she’d graduated from college. Like a woman needed a college education, he remembered thinking back then. But he could see that the people there had thought it a big deal. Nash had made his way over to her when she’d been talking to a group of people.

“Hello.” She’d nodded her response and then turned her back on him. It was the first time in his life that he could remember someone doing that to him. When she continued to talk to the group in front of her, he calculated what it would take to get her to learn her place. The only thing he could think of was to slap the shit out of her. But he refrained. Barely. When she started to walk away from him, he grabbed her arm.

“Hey, what do you think you’re doing? Don’t you dare walk away from me. Just so you know, I think you’re very rude. I wanted to talk to you.” She had jerked her arm from his grip and backed away from him. “I said that I wanted to talk to you. Now don’t be a cunt, and stand here and do as you’re told.”

“I have no idea who you think you are, and really, I don’t give a shit, but I’m not some child to be ordered around. I think it’s time that you left.” This time when she turned her back on him, Nash saw red and jerked her around and slapped her. As soon as she hit the floor, her mouth bloodied, three men took him to the floor too. As they held him down, she was helped up and handed a washcloth.

“Toss his ass out. I don’t know who he is, but I want him out of here.” The men dragged and shoved him to the door of the hotel. When he was nearing the desk, he called for the clerk there to call the police. He wasn’t going to be manhandled by a group of idiots. As soon as he was out of the building, he’d been surprised to see two uniforms there. He found out that they were there to congratulate Mer, but had arrested him and took him to jail instead. He’d started on his campaign then to have her brought to her knees.

He’d had both them officers killed the very moment that he’d been released. And the clerk from the hotel for not helping him out when she could have. Then Mer had disappeared for nearly a month before he’d been able to make her pay for her behavior. Marrying her had been a spur of the moment thing he’d regretted ever since.

Nash had never been able to kill her outright like she begged him to all the time. Not by her words really, but actions. It was as if she had a death wish or something, and he’d never been able to pull the trigger. Then she’d told him she was pregnant. It had taken him nearly the entire time of her body swelling like a fat pig to get her to tell him who the real father was. Nash did not want children and wouldn’t believe that it had been his, no matter how many times she’d told him otherwise. It had taken him nearly his entire jail time to realize that she’d fucking lied to him when she’d told him a name. There had been no John Smith. In his anger, he’d not been able to see that and had lashed out at her again. Then the bitch had gotten a restraining order against him—fat lot of good that had done—and had been granted a divorce. Not that he’d let a little sheet of paper deter him from his plans. It hadn’t stopped him from doing just what he wanted, when he wanted.

It had taken him little effort to ruin her after that. Charging up credit cards that he’d gotten in her name had been easy. With her being a vet of good standing, people had been falling all over themselves to give her ten to twenty grand a pop. He’d gotten a dozen or so cards filled out, charged them to the max, and had had a blast taking the shit to the dump. He didn’t even care that it had been stolen, just so long as she didn’t have it and had to pay for it. But the big car, the black SUV, had been the best. Christ, he’d even driven it around a little bit before leaving it running with the keys in it one day. He’d even had a plant in the bank to dip into her accounts when she had a couple hundred in it. Nash had figured that he had her just where he wanted her at all times. Then she’d run.

“Bitch will pay for that too.” He was going to enjoy tearing her down. Just before he planned to kill her. And he would too. Of that, there was no doubt.

Not in money, no, that’s not how she was going to pay, but with each punch to her face. Every time he had to cut into her. Every little thing he did to her was going to be one more thing he was going to mark off the list of shit she had done to him. As he’d been saying all along, she belonged to him, damn it. As he moved around the “borrowed” house, he thought of other things she was going to have to repay him for. This trip being one of them.

He’d had to get his hands dirty too, and that did not settle well with him. Nash never killed unless he had to, and even then he didn’t enjoy it as much as Rocky did. Rocky, he’d come to figure out, was a sadist, which worked out well for them both as he took care of all the little problems that Nash didn’t want to deal with. Which were mounting up since he’d been here taking care of his wife.

Smiling, he thought of the preparations that he’d made at his home. The little room he’d had put in for his dearly soon to be departed wife. He was pretty sure that she was going to die quickly, but he could hope that she’d last long enough that he felt justified in what he’d spent on the room.

There was a long table that he was planning to tie her to. Then there were the knives, all of them in varying lengths and steels that he was going to fuck her up with. There was even a bath he was going to bathe her in when he had had enough fun. No one would ever find even a hair of hers in his home when he sunk her body in the acid he’d purchased just for her. Nash wanted her alive, too, when he put her in it. He was looking forward to hearing her screams when she was dying.

He didn’t get off on the sound of screams. Nor blood for that matter. Sometimes it even sickened him a little, all that red bleeding out of various places on a person’s body. But for her, he’d suffer through it. To watch her while she suffered, the way she’d made him suffer, would be fulfilling to him. He might even let Rocky have some fun with her before bath time. He had a better stomach for it than he did anyway. Yes, it was going to be a good time to see Mer suffer at his hands.

When the phone rang, he picked it up and waited for Rocky to speak. He could hear other voices coming over the line, but he held it tightly to his ear to hear even a whispered sound should Rocky not be able to speak loudly.

“I get her today at the end of her school day. It’s been arranged.” The line went dead, and Nash sat there smiling. Today. This shit with that brat would bring it all to a head.

“Mer, my dear wife, you are going to pay for this shit. And I’m going to love every moment of it.” Nash went to dress. He was going to establish an airtight alibi for today. Thinking of going out of town to a restaurant he’d heard about on the news yesterday, he was thinking of the new suit he’d gotten delivered just the day before. Nash was going to enjoy this, knowing that when he got back to the house, the brat would be there waiting for him.

Chapter 9

Bonnie hated riding in the big car to go home. The rest of the kids got to walk home, but she had to ride. She knew why, but that made it no less boring. No one made fun of her or anything. They were really nice, but she wanted to walk with them. Especially the boy named Patrick Sexton.

His daddy was the pack leader. And while he was a little older than she, he’d been hanging around her a lot since she’d started at her new school. Just yesterday he’d brought her a pretty bouquet of flowers and told her that they were from his momma’s garden. She’d expected the other kids to tease her about that too, but they’d only nodded at her. Patrick was waiting for her at the limo when she came out of the school.

“I was going to go home with you today. My mom said that I can work over at the ranch with your mom to learn how to be a vet.” She nodded, disappointed that her mom was going to be the one that he spent time with. “That way maybe I can stay for dinner and sit with you for a little while before I have to get back home.”

“I’d like that. Fox is making lasagna tonight, and a salad.” He nodded and told her that was fine. When he opened the door for her, she felt a sting in her arm and looked at the little arrow sticking out of her shoulder. “Patrick?”

Things were fuzzy then. Patrick was speaking to her, but they were both falling to the ground. Even before she could figure out that someone had shot them both with darts, she felt a tightening around her like someone had turned up all the power in the world. Then she realized what it was. Patrick had shifted and was standing over her as a big wolf.

She knew then that he’d been shot, this time with a real gun. There was blood on his shoulder dripping down on her face. She felt sickened that someone would do this to him. When he fell, his big body falling onto her, Bonnie thought he’d been killed. Then she screamed when someone grabbed her hair and started to pull her out from under him. That’s when she saw the rest of the kids running back into the building, one of the teachers herding them like the cattle she’d seen on Uncle Mason’s ranch. Her mind seemed to buzz out for a minute, thinking that whatever was going to happen, her mom was going to be very upset.

The man slapped her twice, and she opened her eyes to see who it was. Bonnie had no idea how long she’d been out, but when he slapped her a third time she tried to focus on what he was saying to her. Opening her mouth to try and tell him to shut up, her head hurt, she sat up when he was suddenly gone, his hand raking over her face as he disappeared. Bonnie felt sick to her stomach but looked for Patrick.

A wolf was tearing into the man that had tried to hurt her. Bonnie was really sick now, her belly churning and curling around until she leaned over to throw up. The man was screaming at the wolf, and Bonnie had a feeling that it was Patrick but wasn’t sure. When the gun went off twice, she felt like someone had stabbed her in the chest. Lying back, she looked at the blood that was seeping through her shirt just as the wolf came back to her. Then he was Patrick.

“I’ve called the pack in.” She nodded, not sure what he was talking about. “Stay with me, Bonnie. You can’t die on me.”

“I think I’m bleeding to death.” Her voice hurt to hear. It was weak and she was getting dizzy from the pain in her chest. Looking down at herself again, she knew that this was bad. Her shirt was bright with her blood. “Patrick, I’m so glad that you were with me. I love you. Will you tell my mom and Darin that I love them too? And my grandda. I wish I could have known him better. Tell him I love him.”

“You’ll tell them.” He looked up then and there was a bunch of wolves around them. “Dad, I can’t let her die. She’s my mate.”

Bonnie thought of that word, mate. She’d heard it a lot over the last few weeks at the Douglas homes. Mate meant something, but her mind was fuzzing out again and she couldn’t think. But when she opened her eyes again, not even realizing that she’d closed them, she saw the big wolf standing on one side of her and Patrick, as a wolf, standing on the other. They were so pretty, she thought. So big and gentle too.

“I don’t want to die.” He nodded and licked her face. “Please, I don’t want to die. You have to do something.”

I will, love.
She nodded
. You’re not going to make it unless I do this now. I know you have no idea what’s happening, but it’s the only way we can save you. I’m going to change you. I don’t know if you’ll survive or not, but you’re dying now and I won’t...and I can’t let that happen.

“Change me?” She faded out again and woke when the most incredible pain she’d ever had tore into her belly. They were eating her. The big wolf at her side was biting into her leg; Patrick was tearing into her belly. Bonnie screamed over and over for them to stop, but they didn’t. The pain was incredible. Things flashed behind her eyes. Her body felt like it was being ripped apart. Her last thought was she was dying. Right there, she was going to die.

She knew that she’d never see her mommy again and let the darkness take her under.

~~~

Darin was working the ranch today. Jessie had told him that he could handle it with no one in the place until the next week, and Darin had wanted to get out of the office. The sun was shining, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky, and he was about as happy as any man could be.

As he punched the posthole digger into the ground for the fourth time, he looked at Mason when he said his name. He and Logan had been at this for a while now and were glad for the help. Darin started to ask him if he’d come out to work when he looked at his face.

“There’s been an accident.” The posthole digger was gone from his hands, and Landon and Zach were holding him up. As he fell to the ground, all he could think about was Mercedes. “Bonnie’s been hurt badly. She’s at the pack house now. They tried to convert her to save her life.”

There was more, he was sure of it, and that Mason had told him. But his mind was blank now. All he could think about was his daughter and that she was hurt. He looked up at Mason again.

“Mercedes?” He said that she was with Holly and Emma but didn’t know anything yet. “Was it Nash? Did he do this?”

“We’re working out the details. All I know for sure is that she and some of the other kids were coming out of the school when she and Patrick Sexton each took a dart. It didn’t affect him much, but she fell to the ground. By the time he was able to shift and go after her, she’d been hit a few times. Patrick killed the man who had tried to take her, and the both of them were shot in the process. As I said, I don’t know everything but that the man has been killed and that Bonnie was going to die if they didn’t do something right then.”

Darin found himself in a truck moving along the fields quickly. Every bump they hit seemed to jar another memory of the little girl that had come to mean so much to him front and center. He looked over at Logan when he told him that they were home.

Mercedes was in the corral with several horses when he got out of the truck. He had no idea what she saw when she turned to look at him, but she dropped everything in her hands and ran to him. He was sobbing as he told her what he’d found out. In minutes they were headed to the pack house and Mason was updating them on things.

“A man by the name of Rocky Bends shot the two of them. We know now that he worked for Nash, and that he and a couple of others with him shot darts at Patrick and Bonnie to bring them down. Bonnie took it hard and was out, but Patrick was able to shake most of it off. Thankfully. If he hadn’t, then there is no telling how that would have ended.” Mercedes said Rocky always had a couple of men with him. “Well, he’s dead now, as are the other two that had been with him. Patrick and a pack of wolves killed them before they went to take care of Bonnie. So you know, Patrick told his dad that Bonnie was his mate. So, Darin, I’d tread carefully where she is concerned.”

“What do you mean, she’s his mate? She’s ten years old.” Mason didn’t say anything to Mercedes. Her anger was palatable. “If he’s hurt her, I will kill him. That’s my baby girl, and I won’t have her sold into slavery.”

“Honey, he can’t hurt her.” Mercedes turned to him, and he could see the fire in her eyes. “You have to listen to me. He won’t ever hurt her. He’s more than likely saved her life.”

“I don’t care. He’s not going to touch my little girl.” Mason said nothing more as they drove to the house. Neither did Darin. She was on edge, and he knew that the slightest thing would set her off again. Mercedes was out of the car even before it came to a full stop. Darin was right behind her.

The pack looked as if they were crowded in the big bedroom. Paddy and his wife were nearest the door, but no one stopped Mercedes when she barged past them. Darin looked in the room and saw Patrick there, but he didn’t go any closer to the bed and the small bundle there. His heart broke for her; his little girl had been hurt so badly. Paddy spoke quietly to him as Mercedes cried, holding Bonnie’s hand.

“He had me help him. She was dying and we had no choice. You know that, don’t you, Darin? We would never have done it if we’d had a choice in the matter.” Darin nodded at Paddy and asked him how she was. “I think it worked for her. Her heart rate has picked up in the last ten minutes. Her skin isn’t as cold as before. She’s gonna be weak for a time, but we think she’s going to make it. I know I keep saying this, but there wasn’t any waiting around for permission on this. Darin, there would have been no waiting for an ambulance. She was bleeding out.”

“I know that.” He moved into the room, and Patrick stood up, his small body hard with terror. “You know what she is to me?”

“Yes, sir. But she’s my mate.” Mercedes slapped young Patrick, and Darin watched him struggle to keep his wolf under control. Darin thought that had it been anyone else than Bonnie’s mom, he would have killed her. “I never meant for her to be hurt, Mrs. Douglas. She was dying.”

“So you say. And now you expect me to just let you have her? Because you claim that she’s your mate? I don’t fucking think so. As soon as she’s well enough to move, I’m taking her out of here and to a doctor. If you so much as—” Before Darin could move to calm her, Julia stood in front of Mercedes and handed her a bag. “What’s this? A peace offering? I don’t want anything from you but my child.”

“Look at it. Look at it and tell me what you think happened out there today.” Julia’s wolf was there, just on the surface, and he’d bet anything she was ready to tear into his mate. If she did, then all hell would break loose.

Mercedes pulled the cloth from the bag and stumbled back from it after holding it up. Julia spoke again, this time her voice calmer, her body not as stiff. “She was as good as dead when he changed her. They were gonna take her with them, and had my son not taken a bullet then I’m...they tried to kill my baby too. Those men had shot her as if she was nothing to any of us. Just look at that blood, Mercedes. And where the bullet entered her chest. An inch to the right and she would have been gone. There would have been no saving her from that. I’m surprised she was able to tell him to tell you that she loved you and Darin.”

The blouse had been cream colored with little flowers on it when she’d left the house this morning. Now it was stained a rust color. There wasn’t an inch on it that wasn’t bloodied. The bullet hole was just over where her heart might have been. Pulling the still wet shirt to her chest, she looked at Julia.

“She’s my little girl. My baby girl.” Julia took her into her arms and held her while Mercedes sobbed. “That monster shot her. Tried to kill his own daughter. And now he tells me that your son has claims on her. She’s just a baby, Julia. A little girl.”

“Oh honey, I know that. But you got it all wrong. It doesn’t work that way when children meet their mates. They grow up. They have time.” Mercedes sat down, and Julia sat beside her as she continued. “Patrick told us this morning that he’d found her, his mate. I never dreamed...well, it matters little what I thought at the time. I was happy for him, but afraid too. Like you are. It’s not usual for us to find human counterparts, you see.”

“She’s too young to have a mate and all that goes with it. I know...Darin has shown me what mates can be to each other. I don’t want her hurt, not by this.” Julia took her hand in hers and put it on Bonnie’s chest. Even from where he was, Darin could see her hand moved up and down with Bonnie’s breaths. “She’s really going to be all right?”

“Oh yes. More than all right. She’ll be stronger than she was before. Not ever get sick or any kind of human disease. And since my husband helped convert her, she’ll be stronger still. His biting her gave her more than any other wolf could have given her. To be honest, it’s more than likely the only reason that she made it.” Mercedes asked Julia about the bite. “Never you mind about that now. Just be glad that they were with her. Had they not been there, even having a doctor right there would not have saved her.”

Mercedes took Bonnie’s hand in hers and watched her daughter. Darin looked at Patrick when he said his name. The boy was going to have to come to realize that he was going to touch Bonnie and he was going to have to get used to it. The three of them, Paddy too, stepped into the hallway to talk quietly.

“The man that hurt her, he’s dead. I...my wolf, he killed him before I thought about what I was doing. I’m not even sure I could have stopped myself or even wanted to stop.” Darin took his hand and shook it. “She begged me not to let her die, Mr. Douglas. I think she knew she was. She kept telling me to tell you two that she loved you. I couldn’t let her go. Not without trying to save her. You should have seen her. She was as pale as the moon and as cold as death.”