Theirs (18 page)

“
I’m gonna run to the restroom. I’ll meet you inside the theater.”

He scowled. “You’re killing me.”

I bit back a grin. “It’s a small town. They won’t automatically assume you’re gay; only if I take too long.” I winked.

He was only slightly amused. “Hurry.”

I pointed my index finger at him. “No picking up men in my absence,” I stated sternly.

“
That’s not even funny.” His expression was stoic, serious, but his eyes sparkled, showing he found the humor in it. I knew he was happy that I was in a teasing mood; it meant I was content, and my negativity, that could creep in so fast, was at bay, contained for now.

I backpedaled to the ladies’ room, located by the front door. I swear, theaters do this to torture you. Either that or they’re trying to make you miss enough of the movie to come back and watch it again.

Small theater, small bathroom; thankfully it was empty. There were approximately four petal pink stalls. At least they were clean and stocked with toilet paper and paper towels.

The toilet flushing bounced off the walls and probably announced to everyone in the lobby that I was done. I slid the lock open and pulled the door towards me. As I squished around it, I came to an abrupt halt.

“
Hi, muffin.” His voice grated every nerve in my body.

A chill chased down my spine, freezing me in place.
How did he find me?
Better yet, how was I going to get away?

My eyes traveled up the length of him. He was dressed in black jeans and a black tee with a leather jacket over it. His hair was longer now, barely grazing the tops of his shoulders. He’d taken the time to slick it back. His greasy locks, crooked nose complete with pointed tip, thin lips and acne scars only enhanced his pervy demeanor.

“
Wash your hands,” he ordered. He held his jacket open, revealing handcuffs on one side and a gun on the other.

My heart pounded in my chest.
Breathe. Just keep breathing. Deep breaths, Kate. You can do this.

Slowly I crossed the walk way to the row of cream colored pedestal sinks. I avoided looking in the mirror. I didn’t want to see what was coming when it was coming. My hands shook violently as I reached for paper towels.

Swiftly, before I could react, he cuffed my hands behind my back, still dripping with water.

“
Fight me and I won’t hesitate to shoot your brother before he even sees me.”

My heart stuttered. My lungs fought every forced breath.
Breathe, Kate. Breathe.
Numbly, arms already beginning to ache, I nodded my head.

“
Good.” He jerked me out by my upper arm, past onlookers and employees. He whipped out his badge. “Police business, people.” He man handled me to the car and shoved me into the back seat.

Tears stung my eyes. Staring out the window, people stopped and watched, but no one dared to interfere. Shock reverberated through me. I’d known for over a year that this day would come, but I didn’t believe it. I’d fallen, escaped, so easily into Jerry and Ellie’s world that I’d nearly forgotten about the man who used to haunt me.

My head whipped back, smacking the seat as he sped off.

“
You disappointed me, muffin. I sent you all those nice gifts and not once, not one fucking time did you call and thank me.” His voice rose steadily. “Not only did you turn out to be an ungrateful bitch, but you’re a back stabber too.” He paused, focusing on the road.

We weaved through town. I didn’t recognize anything though. I was out of my element. And the further he drove, the more my hope diminished. Jerry and Ellie could smell me a mile way, but in the car, my trail was nearly non-existent. I gasped as a sob broke from me. I never got to tell them. They would never know that I’d fallen in love with them too.

Everything began to spin. I was inhaling but the oxygen wasn’t reaching lungs. They weren’t expanding.

The past week flashed before my eyes. They’d taken me in, protected me, loved me; they made me happy for the first time in my life. Dying now, at least I would die knowing unbridled pleasure, the love of a man and a woman. I would leave this world knowing what it meant to be special; they made me feel worthy of all they gave me. They would never know what they did for me.

His voice was a blur, slurred shouts in the distance. The walls were closing in. My heart raced faster and faster, feverishly trying to pump the little oxygen in my veins through me. My chest hurt; my head pounded. This was it. I was convinced of it. At least it wasn’t at his hands.

I love you, El. I love you, Jer.

—

Chapter Twenty-Eight

JEREMIAH

“
Where the fuck are they?” There was no way I could remain in control knowing the asshole was here. Clearly he wasn’t staying in town. I needed to get a BOLO out to the surrounding towns.

My wolf destroyed my insides. His vicious snarls rumbled my chest, shaking me with every bellowing roar. He didn’t hold back, and, with our mate missing and a lunatic after her, there would be no containing him.

Ellie came rushing inside. She damn near steamrolled me. “Scent’s nonexistent. They left in his rental.” She tugged on her hair at the roots, beginning to pace with swift, uneven steps.

“
Grab clothes. We’ll shift before this is over.” Ordinarily I would have said fuck it and left, but there were far more humans in the towns over, humans that knew nothing about weres.

My wolf growled; the pressure he put on my limbs made me want to move, drove me to chase the wind in search of her.

Thankfully Ellie didn’t argue. Less than three minutes later she had a full duffle bag and a new outfit. “Let’s go,” she clipped, already at the door.

My phone rang, stopping both of our hearts for a split second. Unease snaked through me, full of warning. I couldn’t help but fear the worst. “Yeah?” I snapped before the device was to my ear.

“
Get your ass and all your dogs over here. The asshole arrested her and took off.” I heard the irritation, but mostly the panic in his voice.

“
Where the hell were you? You were supposed to watch her.” My wolf leapt for my surface. I couldn’t move fast enough as I made a beeline for Ellie’s car. I needed speed.

“
She had to go to the bathroom. It’s a public place. I couldn’t follow her in.”

“
Where are you?” I turned the car on and peeled out of the driveway. Ellie barely had time to jump in.

“
Winton’s movie theater.”

“
Stay where you are.”

Rage had never burned white hot inside me, but it did now. Who the fuck did this asshole think he was? This time, I embraced my wolf and all his glory as he pressed towards my surface. She was ours. And you didn’t steal from a wolf without repercussions.

“
Shit, shit, shit, Jer. We were supposed to protect her. If he so much as touches a single hair on her, I’ll fucking kill him.” She threw the bag on the back seat, glaring out at the way.

She wouldn’t have to kill him though because I would.

Shit.
Fear slithered through me. If anything happened to Kate- “Call the pack and call Tom. We’re about to break laws in his county.”

—

Chapter Twenty-Nine

KATE

I tried to shift, but was met with a dull, numb pain in my arms.
Crap!

My eyes flew open.

“
About time you got up.”

My heart took off again. Tightness squeezed my chest; discomfort compressed my gut. I was ensconced in darkness. I knew I was on a bed; I felt the pillows behind me and the springs of the mattress beneath me, but couldn’t see where. It smelled a little moldy and dingy though, like the place hadn’t had a thorough cleaning in a while. Through the musk was a sweetness, like cake, desserts, sugar of some kind. He’d probably eaten recently.

Suddenly, light poured in from what I now saw was a vanity space at the opposite end of the motel room. I swallowed hard as the second bed, covered in desserts of every variety caught my attention. They sat atop a weathered floral comforter that looked like one-hundred-percent polyester. A quick check showed he’d turned my comforter down, which was my skin didn’t itch.

Anxiety had me peering at the other bed again. I couldn’t figure out his play. What did he have planned?

“
You like what you see, don’t you, you fat pig?”

I didn’t dare speak. There was a gleam of crazy in his eyes, the one you envisioned every serial killer with before they slaughtered you.

“
Come here.” He grabbed my arm and jerked, tugged and practically dragged me off the bed.

The cuffs dug into my wrists, sending pain winding up my arms; my hands were numb, prickling from his effort. I fought him. I purposefully made myself dead weight. I wouldn’t help him kill me.

His hands dug into my upper arms. I knew, if I survived, his handprint would be bruised on me.

He was surprisingly strong. He wrapped an arm around my waist and held my back to his front.

My heart skipped a beat, in a very bad way, at the feel of his erection against me. He nearly fucked my back with his thrusting motions, sending my stomach contents upwards.

I wanted a shower. I wanted to clean him off of me, but no amount of scrubbing would erase the memory.

He positioned me in front of the vanity space. In one move, he jerked my jacket and tank up, exposing my bra. His free hand molded to my breast. “These were supposed to be mine. You were supposed to be mine. I would have treated you so good. I would have fed you sweets every day and fattened you up even more before I made love to you.” He ran his hand across my stomach, watching himself and me in the mirror.

I closed my eyes and turned my head away. My lungs hurt. Every breath hurt because now I knew. He didn’t want to kill me. He wanted to keep me, to overfeed me and do God-only-knew what sexually to me.

“
But now…”

I winced as he pinched my breast, digging his nails into the exposed swell of my breast.

“
Now you’ve pissed me off. You hurt me, Kate, and now you need to make it up to me.” Malice was in every syllable.

If there was ever a time to have a panic attack and pass out, it was now. My lungs seized. My muscles clamped, panic overtaking me, but it wasn’t strong enough.

“
On your knees,” he snapped. He shoved me down.

I fell back, my head smacking the bathroom door.

He pulled the gun from its holster. “I won’t kill you, but I will shoot you.”

He was telling the truth. That knowledge slid like ice through my veins as I fought to my knees. The cheap carpet was thin, with little padding beneath, offering virtually no cushion under my weight.

Tears stung my eyes as he set the weapon on the counter. I watched, physically, as he unzipped his pants and freed his long, thin penis, but mentally, emotionally, I was trying desperately to shut down, to close myself off to reality, to pretend this wasn’t happening.

“
I’m going to be nice. I’ll cover it in jelly for you.” He stroked himself from shaved base to light red tip.

I stared blankly ahead. It was one of those moments when you wanted to run, you knew you needed to do something or else something awful would happen, but you couldn’t, you were stunned in place.