Rae, Beverly - Saving Mandy [Night Runner Werewolves 3] (Siren Publishing LoveXtreme Special Edition) (11 page)

“That’s how you got the bruises, isn’t it? You owe them money.” She stated the obvious, wanting to have it confirmed.

He leaned closer, his breath a putrid flow of air assaulting her nose. “You got some money. Sure, you do. I can tell what with the nice clothes you wear. And Decker, he’ll do anything for you. So if you could give me a little money, enough to get these thugs off my back, then you’d be helping out your dear old dad.”

He held out his hand, palm up. She gaped at him. What did he expect? That she had a wad of cash in her back pocket?

“Wrong. I work hard for what I have, and I’m not giving it to you to pay off gambling debts.”

His pleading expression morphed into disgust. “You’re just like your mother, aren’t you? Always blaming a man when he’s down on his luck.”

“I’m not blaming you, but I’m not about to pay off—”

Glass shattered around them as a big, burly arm reached through the window, snagged Glen by the collar, and yanked him back through the broken shards. Mandy screamed, grabbing for her father a second too late. Flinging the door open, she raced into the dimming light of the evening.

Five men, each one large and muscled, stood around her father, who lay on the ground. He moaned then rolled onto his back.

“Get away from him!” Fear shot adrenaline through her, making her dismiss the warning bells clanging inside her head. She started down the steps.

“Hold up there, girl.”

The tallest of the group barked the order then tilted his head at her. “I don’t know who you are, and I don’t much care either. Our business is with him, not you. Stay out of this, and you won’t get hurt.”

“Damn, Toker, she’s a hot one.”

“He’s my father.” She ground out the words then planted her feet apart.

Surprise lit up Toker’s face. “His daughter? Well, well. I never would’ve thought any woman would lie down with this mangy mutt.” His heated look took in her body, lingering too long over her breasts. “How a louse like him ever turned out a beauty like you is a wonder. Yes, sir, it’s a damn wonder.”

“Leave him alone.” She hoped he wouldn’t see how much her knees wobbled.

“Look, girly, he owes us money, so unless you’re going to give us what’s due, then he’s got to pay. With his hide.” He struck out and kicked her father in the back. Glen wailed and curled into a fetal position.

“How much?”

She’d gotten his attention. “Are you going to pay?”

“How much?” She swallowed and prayed the amount wasn’t more than she could afford.

“Fifteen thousand.”

She hadn’t meant to gasp, but she couldn’t help herself. Fifteen thousand? He might as well have said a million dollars.

He made a rude sound and waved her away. “I don’t think your daughter’s going to save your ass, Glen-boy.”

“She’s not. But I am.”

Mandy and the men pivoted toward the side of the house. Decker stepped out of the shadows then stopped, a rifle in one hand.

“Who the hell are you?” Toker lifted his lips in a snarl.

“I’m the one who’s going to spread your guts all over the ground if you don’t leave the man alone.” Decker hefted the rifle to his shoulder. “Now get going before my finger gets itchy.”

Toker growled, his eyes flashing. The other men answered with growls of their own.

“I don’t like threats.” Toker took a step forward and his friends did the same.

She held her breath and wondered how many shots Decker could get off before they reached him. “Be careful, Decker.”

Decker tilted his head and closed one eye to place his sights on Toker. “Come on, big guy. You’ll be the first to eat lead.”

Toker stopped, his face a mask of rage. “Put down the gun and fight like a real man.”

Decker laughed. “You mean like you? Fighting five to one against an old man? Besides, my mamma didn’t raise no fool.” He repositioned the rifle on his shoulder. “Now get while you can still run.”

Toker scowled and clenched his fists. “Don’t think this is a done deal. I’m going to get my money.”

“Not today you aren’t. Now go.” Decker pulled the trigger, firing the rifle and sending dirt into the air in front of Toker’s feet.

Toker’s men whirled and ran, leaving him alone. With one last kick to her father’s side, he stalked after his friends.

Mandy rushed to her father and helped him sit up. “Are you all right? Do you want a doctor?”

“I’m okay.” Glen settled his weight on her and rose on unsteady feet. “Thanks to Decker.”

She led her father into the house with Decker following. Placing him in the chair, she waited until Decker put the gun down, then slid her arms around him.

“Thank God you came when you did.” She laid her head against his chest and closed her eyes.

“Yeah, I’m glad I showed up when I did. You and your father are safe now.”

She owed him so much. From helping her mother, to finding then saving her father. How would she ever repay him?

“Mandy, can we talk for a minute? Outside?”

She pulled away to search his eyes. “Sure.”

Outside on the porch, he took her hands and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. “You know I love you, right? I mean, I’ve never said the words, but you know, don’t you?”

Did she? Or had she ever given it any thought? “I, uh, I—”

He kissed her, breaking off her words. “No, don’t say anything. Just listen.”

He gulped, his Adam’s apple moving up and down, and gripped her hands tighter. She nodded, her mind reeling with questions. Had he had enough? Was saving her the last straw? If he broke up with her, what would her mother say?

Her eyes widened as he went down on one knee. Her heart pounded in her chest, almost painfully. Her mind wouldn’t function, couldn’t understand what he was doing.

“I asked your mother for her blessing and she gave it. So”—he cleared his throat—“Mandy Garland, will you do me the honor of becoming my mate? Uh, I mean my wife?”

Marriage? A ringing sounded in her ears, and her body trembled. She froze, letting the myriad of emotions whirl inside her, her sight blurring for a moment. She blinked at the image before her. Had she just seen Jimmy’s face instead of Decker’s?

“Sweetie? What do you say? Will you be my wife and let me take care of your mom and you for the rest of our lives? I’ll even pay off your father’s debt.” Decker took out a small, black box and flipped the lid open to reveal a large, princess-cut diamond ring. Taking the ring out of the box, he slipped it onto her fourth finger.

Her mother would want her to say yes. And her father? He may not be much of a father, but he was all she had. She had to help him. The memory of Jimmy holding her, sliding the sponge over her breasts came and went, lost in a rush of dismay. She and Jimmy would never happen.

She gazed into Decker’s eyes, saw the man who’d done so much for her family, and made her decision. “Yes, Decker. I’ll marry you.”

Chapter Seven

“Are you giving up on her?”

Jimmy enclosed the coffee mug in both hands and winced at the noise Sara made rattling the fry pan on the range. “The only plan I have is to down a bottle of painkillers and hope my head doesn’t fall apart before then.”

Sara dropped a plate filled with pancakes in front of him. He closed his eyes and waited for the stabbing pain in his forehead to subside. “Have pity, will you? My head’s about to explode.”

“Your head should explode after drinking as much as you put away last night. You should’ve gone with the rest of us on the run. That would’ve done you more good than getting stinking drunk.”

After Mandy had left with Decker, he’d spent the rest of the night holed up in his room with a bottle of Jack Daniel’s and the misery of having lost his mate. With the morning came another kind of misery. “Just because I tied one on last night, doesn’t mean you need to make it worse this morning.”

“Are you going to answer my question or not?”

“What do you want me to do? She’s with that Decker guy. Looks to me like she’s made her choice.”

Sara slid into the chair beside him and yanked his hair.

“Ow!” Searing pain flared into every part of his head. He held his head and snarled at her. “What the hell, Sara. Are you out to skin me?”

“I might just do that, if you don’t get your head out of your butt. Think about what happened. Did she say he was her choice? Did she tell you to leave her alone? I saw her expression right after you trounced off like a pouting five-year-old. That girl wants you, even if she doesn’t realize how much.”

“I don’t know, Sara.”

“Look, I was angry at first, too. But now that I’ve had time to think about her situation, I think she should’ve stayed.”

“But she left with him, didn’t she? Her actions say more than a look you think you saw.”

Sara let out an exasperated sound. “You men are all alike. One little obstacle and you’re ready to throw in the towel.”

He blinked, trying to get his pain-clogged brain to function. “I didn’t give up. She made her—”

Sara slapped him on the arm, eliciting yet another round of pain to pierce his body. “For the love of the moon, will you stop hitting me?”

“Then stop saying she’s made her choice. Something tells me things are a lot more complicated than that.”

For the first time since Mandy had gone, a flicker of hope lit inside him. “What are you getting at?”

Sara’s brown eyes met his. “Think about it. She’s a girl whose father abandoned her when she was young. Since then, I’ll bet she hasn’t had a man she can count on, one that treats her right. Then along comes this Decker person who helps her mom and helps her find her father. I’m thinking she feels very obligated to him. Add dating him for awhile, and she’s going to find it hard as hell to break away. Even after finding you.”

Sara made sense. But had Mandy gone along with Decker out of obligation? Add the fact that he hadn’t promised her anything except to keep her from getting hurt again and maybe Mandy thought she didn’t have another option. He hadn’t had time to tell her how much he cared for her or how she was the one for him.

“So do you think there’s still a chance?” He downed the warm coffee and stabbed a pancake into his mouth.

“That depends.” Sara sat back in her chair and sized him up.

“On what?” He paused, the third pancake already in his mouth.

“On whether you’re willing to fight for her.” Sara’s eyes blazed, the amber sparkling in the brown.

Jimmy gulped his food and followed it with the last of the coffee. Scraping the chair across the floor, he stood and nodded at the alpha-female of the pack. “I’ve never backed down from a fight before, and I don’t plan to start now.”

* * * *

Mandy half listened to the game show playing on the television and stared at the diamond she’d returned to the small velvet box. Her mother’s reaction to her engagement hadn’t surprised her. Not only had her mother rejoiced at the news of Mandy’s engagement, she’d actually squealed with delight. Yet once Decker had gone, promising to visit tomorrow, she’d taken the ring off.

“So you made your mom happy getting engaged to the big guy, huh? That’s more than I could ever do.”

Mandy frowned, still wrestling with emotions she couldn’t understand. She cared for Decker, right? He treated her family well, better than any man she’d ever known. Not that she’d known many. But Decker had walked into her life and taken over.

Taken over? Was that how she viewed him? As someone who had taken over her family? Her life? Her future?

She shook her head, ridding her mind of unwanted ideas. But the main idea, the one that kept hammering at her, wouldn’t let go.

Did she love him?

An awful sinking feeling settled in the pit of her stomach. No. She didn’t love him. She could learn to love him, and she owed him a lot, but didn’t she deserve more?

A tear slid down her cheek, and she wiped it away. How many more tears would she shed? Snapping the box closed, she shoved it in her pocket. If Decker asked, she could tell him it needed to be sized to fit her finger.

The knock on the door jolted her out of her melancholy and she was on her feet to answer it before her father managed to goad her into moving. Wiping her face again, she pulled her body straight, determined to make the best of her situation. She swung the door wide.

“I’m glad you’re back. We have a lot of planning—” She stopped with the forced smile plastered on her face and forgot what words came next.

Jimmy returned her smile with a genuine one. His hazel eyes twinkled at her, catching her breath. A breeze blew a shock of hair across his forehead, and she ached to touch it. “Hi, Mandy.”

“Jimmy.” Her voice broke, and his name came out a whisper.

She couldn’t marry Decker. Not when the mere sight of Jimmy almost brought her to her knees. But what choice did she have? Her family depended on Decker.

“Can we talk?” His gaze swept behind her to her father. “Alone?”

She nodded, unsure if she could count on her ability to speak. Closing the door behind her, she followed him across the yard to his pickup. He pulled the door wide and waited for her to get into the passenger side. “Where are we going?”