CHAPTER EIGHT

"J ust hand him over, deputy, and I will take care of any paperwork or legalities necessary. You don't have to wait for the Mayor. I have the authority by the State of Michigan to take custody of this man." Jordan pushed the legal documents into Jamie's face as he demanded to see Ronan James.

"This isn't Michigan, sir, so yes, I have to wait for Lance Hendricks to sign off before I can release Mr. James." Jamie turned his back and headed to his desk in an attempt to dismiss the man. Jordan reached out roughly and grabbed his upper arm, and swung him back around to face him. "Remove your hand, sir, or lose it." He stated and eyed Jordan with a lethal stare. Jordan quickly dropped his hand and stepped back.

"Show me the prisoner," Jordan demanded, puffing out his chest.

"This isn't a petting zoo. You will see the prisoner when the Mayor says you can. Now take a seat and wait or go have a cup of coffee at the Black Bean and I will notify you when he arrives."

Jamie went to his desk and began working on his computer, ignoring the glare of the man in front of him. Finally exasperated by the dismissive attitude of the deputy, Jordan slapped his cell phone number on the desk and took his leave of the Police station, and headed to the Black Bean.

Upon entering, he was met by a bubbly young blond with a big smile. "This way, sir, and I will have you seated and served."

"Thank you, Marcie." He read her name tag. He stood out a bit from the locals with his expensively cut black suit and authoritative presence, which caused several dinners to give him the once over as he passed.

"Just coffee, for now, thank you." He ordered and turned to look out of the window, clearly signaling that he was not interested in further conversation.

Marcie returned quickly with his coffee and then left him alone. Jordan was lost in his own thoughts when conversation from the table across to his left caught his attention.

"Have you met that new young man staying at the Manor?" The woman asked her companion.

"No, not yet, but I hear he and his sister are both staying there." She answered casually and took a bit of her salad.

"And considering the attentiveness shown them by both Aaron and Lance, I think they will be staying a long time," Marcie added to their conversation as she refilled their water glasses. All three women giggled like schoolgirls.

That was all he needed to hear. Jordan slapped a few bills down on the table and took his leave immediately. No wonder they were giving him the run-around. The Mayor obviously wanted something and was going to use the James siblings to try and get it. As he was getting into his car, an older man was walking by with his dog, and Jordan caught him up.

"Can you give me directions to the Manor? I have a meeting with the Mayor and lost the directions he gave me." The man gave him clear directions and then went on his way.

…

Ronan groaned as he stubbed his big toe on another tree root. The gas station was approximately eight miles by road but should be a shorter distance through the woods. According to his calculations, he should be able to make it in about another fifteen or twenty minutes if he could keep up a good pace and stop tripping over his own feet. He'd give anything to be wearing his boots right now. His flip-flops were useless. If it weren't for the fact that they gave minimal protection from sharp rocks and pine needles, he would have tossed them already.

How long would it take for Dean and then Lance to realize he was gone? Dean was no slouch. He could probably figure it out soon enough, and then how long it would take for him to track him through the woods? He started upping his speed as the thought of being caught before he reached the gas station assaulted his mind. It can't happen, not again he had to make it, and he had to get away.

Lance and Aaron were just a couple of low-life individuals willing to do anything, even fake love and attraction, in order to get what they wanted. That thought brought with it wonder as to what it was they wanted. They most likely wanted money, although he couldn't remember a reward being offered for their return. They understood the lengths to which Jordan would go to apprehend him and so probably figured he would be willing to pony up a good reward for his return. Ronan shook his head in disgust.

…

Lance skidded to a stop near where Dean said he'd lost track of Ronan. He leaped from the vehicle and raced to the woods. He could smell Ronan as clearly as if he were standing in front of him. If he went far in these woods without proper footwear, his feet would suffer. Lance planned on carrying him as soon as he caught up. His mate would not be in pain and would not suffer as long as he had breath in his body.

The very idea of Ronan in pain caused Lance to nearly shift, but he managed to pull the urge back, knowing that he would need to be in human form to speak and reassure Ronan. He must know that Lance would never allow Jordan Randall to touch him ever again. Ronan belonged to him, his mate, his love, his forever.

…

I can't believe he set me up like this, and I can't believe I fell for it. Ronan groused as he made his way carefully through a rocky area and across a small stream. His mate, what a bunch of bullshit. Ronan was upset at his own naiveté. Lance was just like Jordan, manipulative and controlling. Why couldn't he have recognized that rather than falling for the whole attraction thing hook, line and sinker? He made me feel so special and protected, and I believed everything. I even had sex with him. How stupid can I be?

He was so caught up in his anger and self-ridicule that he failed to take notice of a large brown wolf closing in on him from behind. When he did happen to see it, he put on additional speed haphazardly dodging around trees and obstacles. He could see the gas station, and it gave him the incentive to make it the distance. He would not be trapped again, no more lies and exploitation. Lance would not get the reward money he was counting on.

There were plenty of people and activity at the gas station, so his pursuers would not be able to do anything to him there. He prayed that Molly and Henry were already waiting, and they could make a clean getaway before Jordan or Lance could catch up.

"Ronan, stop, please! It's not what you think, please! I've never lied to you. Please let me explain."

Ronan recognized that voice. It called to him on a physical level. He desperately wanted to turn and run to Lance and ask him to love him and protect him. His rational mind told him to keep running, so he pushed through the need and focused on the gas station just ahead.

Victory immediately morphed into terror as he broke through the tree line and came face to face with Jordan Randall standing outside of his car with his hand on the door handle. Their eyes locked, and Ronan's panic was recognized and consumed with a satisfying smile.

Before Ronan could comprehend the situation and react, Jordan dove at him, grabbing him by the upper arm and then throwing him against his car. Ronan scrambled to resist and pushed against the door frame, but Jordan was strong and unrelenting.

Jordan laughed and muttered joyously. "Too good to be true." He leaned in close to Ronan's ear. "This is absolutely priceless."

Molly came running towards them with Henry close behind. "Ronan, no, let him go!" She screamed.

From the opposite direction, the brown wolf, which Ronan believed to be Dean, burst from the tree line and was charging at them. Lance was running beside it, boiling with rage.

"Release him; you won't make it out of the county Randall!" Lance leaped towards them just as Molly and Henry did the same. Unfortunately, Jordan swung Ronan around with an arm around his neck and pressed his back to Jordan's chest. In his other hand was a gun.

"Back off, or there won't be anything left for you to rescue." He pointed the gun at Ronan's temple as he glared at them.

Lance realized that his bad day had just turned into a complete nightmare. "Don't hurt him," Lance stated clearly and put up his hands in a nonthreatening manner. "You don't want to do this, Randall. Think about your reputation, your career. Let him go, and we can forget this ever happened." Jordan laughed and pulled Ronan closer to him, causing Ronan to lose his balance and stumble backward.

Jordan held him up by the arm on his neck, cutting off Ronan's breath until he was able to right himself again. Lance panicked seeing Ronan's distress and started forward until Jordan waved the gun at him and demanded he back up while threatening them both.

"I don't get you, people. You call me and report that you have Ronan James in custody, but then you refuse to give him over. What sort of payoff were you hoping for?" The hurt mixed with anger in Ronan's eyes cut through Lance like an acid burn. Lance kept shaking his head in denial, hoping that Ronan would give him a chance to explain when this was over.

"We had no intention of handing him over; we never did. Our only goal was to get you here so you could be dealt with, and your influence on Ronan and Molly would be over." Lance noticed Molly moving to the side of Jordan just out of eyeshot as he maintained Jordan's attention. "You're never getting out of here. The cops have the road blocked. This isn't worth your life or your career." Lance hoped to appeal to the man's ego.

Molly made a noise which caused Jordan to jerk towards her and take his eyes off of Lance just long enough for Lance to react. He grabbed Jordan's arm holding the gun and twisted it back over his head. The gun discharged into the air, and everyone froze for a moment.

Lance's body slammed Jordan against the side of the car, effectively loosening his grip on Ronan, who fell to the pavement gasping and choking. "Run!" Lance shouted at him, but Ronan wouldn't run away and let others get hurt.

"No." Ronan coughed and tried to get to his feet. Jordan suddenly realized that he was losing the battle with the man who attacked him and freed Ronan. In his hatred and anger over the turn of events, Jordan focuses all of his rage on the ungrateful Ronan lying at his feet. He took the opportunity and struck out at him landing his expensive Italian shoe on the side of Ronan's head. The strike sends Ronan sprawling backward again onto the hard pavement.

A blood-curdling roar was heard, and in an instant, Lance shifted into a large black wolf and brought Jordan down, landing square on his chest. He sunk his teeth into Jordan's shoulder, pinning him in place. Ronan was out cold and bleeding, and Jordan was about to meet his maker.

Molly and Henry hurried to Ronan's side as the cops rushed to assist Lance. Terry was the first on the scene and the first to get to Lance. "Easy now, Alpha, don't kill him. That would be a bitch to try and cover-up." Terry waited as Dean, who had now shifted back to his human form, came to stand next to Lance.

"He's not worth it, Lance. You have a mate to attend to. Let us deal with this garbage." Dean urged. Jordan lay there dumbstruck and staring, afraid to move as the wolf's teeth continued to hold him and blood gushed from this wound. It was discovered that an Armani suit was no match for the razor-sharp teeth of an angry wolf.

Slowly Lance released him and backed away. At the same time, Dean and Terry came forward and took hold of Jordan, dragging him unceremoniously to his feet. Lance shifted back in seconds and was instantly reaching for Ronan. Molly was holding his head in her lap and gently cleaning the cut above his eye, which had now stopped bleeding.

Henry backed away to give Lance room and stumbled into Terry, who quickly caught him and righted him back on his feet. Terry did not immediately take his arms from around Henry, looking at him strangely as if shocked by the presence of the man in his arms.

"Sorry." Henry apologized.

"No, problem." Terry almost moaned the response.

"Thank you." He responded, giving the officer a blatant once-over.

Ignoring everything around him, Lance knelt down and picked Ronan up, and cradled him in his arms. "I'm taking him back to the Manor, have the doctor meet us there." Molly stood and glared at Lance while holding onto Ronan's arm.

"He isn't going anywhere with you." She spat at the Alpha. "You turned us in. You set him up to be taken." She began pulling at Ronan to try and free him from Lance's grasp.

"No, Molly, it isn't what you think; please listen." Aaron had pulled into the station and was walking up on the group. "What you thought you heard is not what was actually said."

Molly let go of Ronan and turned to regard Aaron standing behind her with his hand outstretched towards her. "I heard you discussing Jordan with Lance and you said he would be in town before sundown. You said the plan was working. What was I supposed to think?" She took a couple of tentative steps toward Aaron. "You overwhelm me emotionally, and I'm sure Lance has done the same to Ronan, and then you separate us. What was I supposed to think?" She unconsciously took Aaron's hand, and he pulled her into his arms.

Aaron nodded to Lance, letting him know to go, and he would handle everything there. Molly jerked back towards Ronan when she noticed that Lance was running with him into the woods. Aaron stayed with her with a slight but solid grip on her hand.

"He won't hurt him; Ronan is Lance's mate just as you are mine; he is in no danger." Aaron gently pulled Molly closer while watching the events and his words play out in her expressions.

"Why did he call Jordan?" Molly struggled to comprehend the intent.

"We both felt it would be better to deal with the man on our own turf, so to speak." He calmed her with a kiss on her temple and ran his hand up and down her back as he continued to press her close. "We were going to impress him with the knowledge that to pursue you two any further could and would be hazardous to his health. We hadn't taken into consideration that you and Ronan would find out and jump to the wrong conclusion." He put another kiss on Molly's temple.

Molly snuggled in close and wrapped her arms around his waist. "You weren't going to hand us over for a reward?"

"No, we want to protect you both, and in order to do so, we needed to get Jordan Randall off your backs." Aaron placed a kiss on her lips and squeezed her to him.

"What's going to happen to Jordan?" She spoke softly, her voice muffled by Aaron's shirt.

"Terry, Dean, and the other officers will take him to jail. I'm sure he can be charged with assault with a deadly weapon at the very least and perhaps more." They watched as Dean pulled Jordan to his feet and pushed him against the side of his car while twisting his arms behind his back. Terry and one other officer that Molly didn't know cuffed him and hauled him over to the Police cruiser. Molly noticed that while handling Jordan, Terry never took his eyes off of Henry, who was now standing off to the side, observing and listening to the action.

"Follow us to the Manor in your car. I will take Molly with me." Aaron spoke to Henry, who slowly pulled his eyes from the handsome Police Officer.

"Okay." He fell into step behind them and got into his own car, waiting for them to get settled and pull away. Henry followed slowly, enjoying his last opportunity to look at Officer Terry Moore. He was surprised and delighted when Terry smiled and waved. Henry reciprocated and then proceeded on his way.