Stacey Espino (7 page)

“I thought I’d seen the last of you,” she said. Her body reacted to seeing him by sending a sharp jolt of adrenaline through her body. She associated Corbin with fear, kidnapping, and threats—everything negative. He didn’t really have a cause to fight with Garret anymore since they both had their missing miners back, but she wasn’t naïve enough to think the rivalry was dead. The Gregor miners blamed the Rockfords for the mysterious inspection that came out of left field.

Ryder and Corbin had both attempted to kidnap her, and they might have been the ones to leave the creepy note on her door after her arrival in town.

“I’m always around.” He came closer. She looked to the side to ensure the attendant was still pumping her gas. He was gone. “You’re out of Gregor territory.”

“I’m not a prisoner. I can go and come as I please.”

He shrugged nonchalantly. “I can see what they see in you. You should consider coming to work for Rockford. I’ll pay you double what Garret’s giving you.”

“I can’t be bought, Corbin. Besides, it’s not about money. Not anymore.”

“Not for me either.”

Why was he looking at her with adoration? He hated her. Left her for the wolves.

“You don’t know me. You’re just trying to make trouble for Gregor, and I won’t be a part of it.” Even if some of her men were fickle, she still wouldn’t backstab them.

“I want what they have. Maybe it’s about time my pack took a mate.”

Her breathing picked up. Why did he act the same way as Garret and the other miners? Were all men from Climax nuts? Maybe living in the wilderness made them behave more animal than man.

“One woman for the lot of you?”

“Of course. You should know how it works by now.”

“Well, good luck with your search.” She tried to return to her car, hoping he wouldn’t follow.

“I don’t need to search,” he called behind her. “I’m looking at her.” He closed her car door when she opened the door.
Why did I leave the cabin?
“Tell me, Cassidy. Has Garret told you nothing about his big secret?”

“What secret?” She knew the men were hiding something from her but didn’t know what. The fact a virtual stranger knew more about Garret than she did rubbed her wrong.

He smiled. “It’s not my place to say, but if you knew the truth, I guarantee you’d leave Climax and never return.”

Cassidy wasn’t sure what could be bad enough that she’d want to leave. Her love was immeasurable. The only thing that would push her away would be infidelity.

“Does it have something to do with the inspector?”

Her fears fizzled away, replaced by the desperate need to get Corbin to reveal Garret’s secret.

“Is the inspector causing a problem?” He chuckled. “You know what’s interesting? You can request a particular inspector once an order is given.” Corbin stared at her, his eyes mischievous as he awaited her response.

It took her a while to put two and two together. “You asked for Samantha Tanner, didn’t you? Why?”

“To prove to you what kind of men you’re committing to.”

He’d set up the Gregor miners in more ways than one. She was pissed off Corbin had reported the mine at all because it was Garret’s livelihood. But now she wondered if maybe the Rockford owner was right. Would her men pass the test of fidelity or fail miserably?

“It doesn’t matter.” She kept her cool, not wanting to reveal the fact she was mush on the inside, more vulnerable than she’d felt in a long time. “No matter what happens with Garret, I’d never work for you.”

“I want a woman, not just an employee.”

“I think you’re forgetting everything you’ve put me through. What on earth makes you think I’d ever consider being
your
woman?”

“Because I’m going places. My mine has twice the contracts as Gregor. I know humans value material wealth.” He smoothed his hand over her hair. “Besides, it would be sweet revenge for you. I bet your so-called faithful lovers are enjoying the renowned Ms. Tanner as we speak.”

She growled, shoving Corbin away. Cassidy got in her car and slammed the door shut. “Lies,” she shouted. She hit the gas and plowed toward the highway. Her throat clogged, and her eyes began to water. She didn’t want to hear it. Didn’t want to imagine the men she loved throwing themselves at another woman. She fucking loved them, and it killed her to think she was just a notch in their belts. They’d made her feel special, but it was just an illusion.

“Why was Cassidy left alone?” roared Garret. His alpha’s rage grew by the minute, his claws breaking free from his fingers.

“She had no car. We all went to work like we always do,” said Travis. “You never told one of us to stay behind.”

Garret tore off his shirt. Evan had never seen his alpha so angry, not even when Matthew went missing. A male without his mate was a dangerous thing. “I don’t know where the fuck she is. Every single time she’s ventured off on her own, she’s gotten herself into trouble. Am I the only one who cares?”

Evan’s natural inclination was to keep quiet, but he fought his beta nature and spoke up. “If she didn’t feel so disposable, she wouldn’t have left.”

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” Garret barreled toward him so they were chest to chest. Evan had all his pack mates beat in the size department. He might follow orders, but Evan didn’t know fear. He stood his ground, staring his alpha straight in the eyes.

“Don’t you remember telling her to keep your relationship a secret from the inspector? And what was that today? Letting that bitch lock arms with you? I swore I heard Cassidy’s heart tear down the middle.”

“What are you talking about?” Garret lost some of his steam, his voice low.

“She feels like shit and I don’t blame her. Even Patrick’s been eying the new girl.”

“That’s bullshit! I never even spoke to the inspector. Maybe you’re the problem. You’re the one who wants Cassidy all to yourself,” said Patrick.

The pack went silent as if some great taboo had been spoken.

“I’m loyal to my pack,” Evan confirmed.

“We all know what you’re feeling when we shift,” said Patrick. “Cassidy’s for all of us, not just you.”

“Apparently I’m the only one committed to her.”

Garret returned to his usual diplomatic self, taking control of the escalating situation. “I know you want me to mark her. I haven’t been stalling to see if I could find us a better catch, Evan. I’m terrified to scare her off when she finds out what we are. I don’t want to lose her.”

“Is she even coming back?” asked Matthew. “Should we go find her?”

“Give her another hour,” said Garret. “Then it’ll be nearing sunset, and we’ll have to start searching.”

“You said no fur this week.” Evan remembered Garret’s warning to the pack well.

“Cassidy comes first.”

* * * *

After hours of roaming through different stores, she couldn’t stall the inevitable any longer. She had to go home and face the music. Garret would be furious with her, but she didn’t care. He had explaining to do of his own. Choices needed to be made because she wouldn’t live her life wondering if her men would stray under the right circumstances.

Corbin was confident that the flirty inspector would turn Garret and his miners against her.
Fine.
She just had to know where she stood.

The drive back to Climax was much more foreboding as the sun set. The walls of trees lining the deserted stretch of endless road seemed to close in around her. As night settled in, so did her insecurities. She hoped to God she wasn’t abandoned. Being an orphan, she’d toughened herself during adulthood as a self-defense mechanism. But deep down Cassidy was still desperate for love, approval, acceptance. She’d thought she found her place in Climax, however unorthodox. To find out it might all have been lust rather than love soured her stomach. Surely her private time with Garret, Matthew, and Travis proved they had real feelings for her—at least she could hope. Since she hadn’t known love as a child, it was difficult for her to recognize the real thing.

Part of her debated whether she should head to her house or the cabin she shared with the Gregor miners. They’d only come for her, so she followed the long road out to their isolated home. The final path through the trees was darker than she expected. No fire lit up the cabin. Were they even home? Had they all spent the night at the mine with the alluring Ms. Tanner? She clenched her jaw as she parked her car.

When she entered the cabin, she called out Garret’s name. There was no response, and as she expected by now, there was no one home. At this hour they were always home with a fire lit. There would be laughter, roughhousing, food cooking on the wood stove, and a sense of belonging. She found Patrick’s toque on the back of the sofa. She brought it to her nose and breathed in deeply. The scent reminded her of her sexy Viking. She missed him, missed them all.

Why am I here?
Cassidy felt lower than the wooden floorboards. She had no one to run to, no open arms to comfort her. She thought she’d found that security, but she was wrong. If only she’d found her half brother when he’d come looking for her. Maybe he’d offer her the roots she sought. But he was like the wind, passing through but impossible to hold on to.

With no electricity in the rural cabin, she grabbed one of the extra two-way radios from the tabletop and used the buttons for illumination. There was wood stockpiled out back. She’d start her own fire to create some heat and light for the night.

Cassidy hated the woods. Evan said Gregor land was the safest place in the world for her, but she didn’t believe it. The black wall of forest surrounding her as she walked around the side of the house was not comforting. Frogs sang, her familiar nighttime melody, but they only blocked out the sound of encroaching steps. It wasn’t until those footfalls were right behind her, crunching the dry leaf litter, that she finally twirled around. Before she could scream, a moist rag was held to her face and she felt herself slipping away.

* * * *

“
Her scent is strong here,”
said Matthew. He’d always been excellent at tracking. They’d shifted and bounded through the treeline along the roadway until they reached the town limits of Climax. Cassidy’s sweet fragrance was most powerful in the area around the gas station at the edge of town. Not just her scent, though. Corbin, the leader of the Rockford Mine, had also been here. Why couldn’t he leave them the fuck alone? Matthew had gone through hell for a month. It was one of Rockford’s own men who managed to finally free him. He had hoped there would be peace between their packs after the incident, but no such luck.

Corbin had tried to steal Cassidy from them once, and apparently he was up to his old tricks again. What did he hope to accomplish?

“
Rockfords were here, too,”
said Patrick. “
I smell Corbin’s stench
.”

They scoped out the area, testing the air and land for any signs which might lead them to Cassidy. There was nothing to go on. She must have continued south in the vehicle, effectively masking her trail.

“
So it wasn’t enough to report us. Now he steals our woman? Again
?” Garret howled a warning to the half moon. If any Rockford wolves were in the vicinity, they’d hear it as the threat it was. An alpha wolf had set his sights on revenge, and the pack would follow him into hell if need be. Matthew owed everything to Garret. He also loved Cassidy.

“
What’s our next move, boss?”
asked Travis.

“We’re going to knock in their front door. I don’t give a fuck how outnumbered we’ll be. Cassidy’s ours, and this time I’m claiming her properly.”

“What are we waiting for?”
asked Patrick. The red wolf dashed off into the undergrowth, heading north. They’d have to pick up Evan from the mine. Five strong was better than four.

The night was abnormally chilly for this time of year. Matthew worried about Cassidy being out in the elements. He knew what it was like to freeze, to starve, to survive brutal beatings just to live another day. He wanted nothing negative for Cassidy. She was a delicate female, his little human prize. He had to find her.

They arrived at the mine. Both trailers emitted a warm glow in the inky blackness of the closed mine, the office trailer and Garret’s private quarters. Matthew didn’t know what he expected to find. On one hand, Evan looked especially peeved when Garret ordered him to stay at the mine to watch over the inspector while they went in search of Cassidy. But then again, Evan was known for following orders blindly. He was like a robot some days, obeying commands the rest of the pack harped about.

“Matthew, shift and find out what’s going on with Sam and Evan. Tell him he has to come with us for a while,”
said Garret.
The rest of the pack prowled the area, three dark wolves slipping in and out of the shadows cast by the windows of the trailers.

Matthew tugged on a pair of worn Wranglers from one of several stash bins. He ran his hands through his mop of hair to give himself some semblance of decency, and then knocked on Garret’s door.

Samantha Tanner opened the door. She was scantily clad with candlelight in the background. She leaned against the doorframe, her curves barely covered with black satin and lace. “I was expecting Evan, but you’ll do just fine.” She ran a finger down his bare chest.