34. Chapter 34

Chapter 34

Pike

Standing in the living room of his old apartment, Pike took in all the nasty things that he’d ignored but found unacceptable now that he lived with Kimble. The mold all over the ceiling, the crumbling sheetrock, and soft spots on the floor were only the visible issues. The lack of water pressure and getting lukewarm water for his showers, if the water warmed up at all, were constant problems.

Worst of all was the damp, rotting smell permeating the whole place. How had he ignored it for so long?

Next to him, Cora made a quiet, disgusted sound. “Sad to say that this place is as bad as I remember. I can’t believe you paid rent for this dump.”

Pike looked down at her. “Funny you should say that. I missed paying last month and this month and nothing happened. No call, no text, no email. I wonder if this place even has a manager anymore.”

Cora grinned. “Too bad you didn’t know that sooner, you could’ve stopped paying rent months ago.” She hooked an arm through his and led him to the bedroom. “Let’s get your stuff and get out of here. I want to be home before Kimble wakes up. If we don’t get time with him right away, we might not see him until bedtime! ”

Kimble was busier than Pike and Cora combined. Between his businesses and the pack, he spent a good deal of his night on a computer or phone. Annette had kept everything running while he was gone, but it was really a two-person job. Without Kimble, things had been missed and pushed aside. Not that it bothered Kimble. The vampire absolutely jumped into a hectic nightly work schedule.

It almost made Pike miss the old days just a little, when Kimble's whole focus was only him. Coming to his old apartment felt like saying goodbye to the last part of Kimble’s time being feral. Now that he was breathing in the mold and looking at the nastiness, Pike could say with confidence that he had no regrets.

“We can leave all the furniture behind, but I want my clothes and some personal stuff,” Pike explained.

“Whatever can fit into the truck,” Cora agreed. They’d driven the pack truck that had basically become Pike’s vehicle. “Grab anything and everything this time because we aren’t making a second trip.”

Pike chuckled and rubbed his irritated nose. “Agreed!” He handed her one of the trash bags he had in his hand. “Can you get everything in my dresser?”

“Sure,” she agreed and shook open the bag. Pike opened a second bag and started on the contents of his closet. They worked in silence for a few minutes before Cora spoke. “I talked to Stan today.”

Stan and Enrico kept Cora and Kimble apprised of Lucy’s progress and condition, but Pike had asked not to talk about it. Cora’s statement was to see if he wanted to know. Every time he’d say that’s good, or something equally hollow, she’d drop the subject.

This time, he didn’t immediately respond. Trash bag half full, Pike went still debating whether he wanted to know more.

He hadn’t seen Lucy since the night she’d attacked Cora. She was living on pack lands now, but at Stan and Enrico’s place. Their cabin was on the far edge of the property, away from the main fenced-in area. They even had a separate driveway so the likelihood of running into his sister was slim.

The separation was good. It gave him time to figure out how he felt about her abuse and betrayal. He was going to forgive her, but he needed to decide what kind of forgiveness he was going to extend. Would he try to rebuild the close relationship they’d had as kids or was he going to forgive but keep her at a distance?

Either way, maybe it was time to start talking about her before he started talking to her again.

“How is she?” he asked.

Cora jerked straight with a slightly surprised expression on her face. “She’s uh, doing well.”

“I know I didn't seem interested before,” Pike admitted, feeling guilt creep up again. He ducked his upper body back into the closet, so he didn’t need to face Cora. “But I wasn’t ready. I think I’m ready now.”

Cora dropped the bag and rushed to his side, climbing up and clinging to his back like a monkey.

“Nope,” she declared firmly. “We aren’t doing that. No guilt allowed. You did your best, and now it’s Lucy’s turn to do her best.”

His mate’s firm tone and warm body made the guilt ease. “I should’ve known.”

“Or she should’ve told you. There are a lot of should’ves in this world.”

Reaching his arms back, he cupped Cora’s ass, making her wiggle against him. “No sex here,” she admonished. “It’s too gross.”

She was right, and honestly, he didn’t want sex at the moment. He wanted comfort. When he withdrew his arms, she slid down and turned him to face her. He hoped for a hug, but he got a sincere expression instead.

“I know you’ve got all kinds of mixed feelings about Lucy. If you don’t feel comfortable talking to me, then talk to Kimble. Or you can talk to Annette. She’s an amazing listener. I blabbered at her for hours yesterday before I realized how much of her time I took up. When I tried to apologize, she got that sweet earth mother look on her face and said, you can talk to me anytime and know that everything you say was heard and understood. I think I love her!”

Pike nodded in agreement. “Did you know she’s a trained therapist? She closed her practice when she took over running the pack.”

“That makes so much sense. She might have closed her practice, but she’s still practicing,” Cora quipped .

“Very true,” Pike agreed. “I’m not surprised a therapist is a pack alpha. Packs love nurturing leadership. What did Stan say about Lucy?”

“The worst of the withdrawals are over, but she’s still sick. She’d been taking ash for years, and it’s going to take some time for her body to come back from that.”

The thought of Lucy suffering made Pike feel like a monster. “Should I be there to help?”

Cora shook her head. “She needs to be around people she can’t manipulate or terrorize. Stan and Enrico are taking turns staying with her so she’s never alone, and Annette is going over to talk every day. Although now that I know she’s a therapist, I guess she’s having sessions with Lucy. Annette told me it could be years before Lucy’s really back to herself.”

The unspoken if she comes back to herself hung between them.

“Stan and Enrico are amazing,” Pike murmured. “I should talk to them.”

That made him realize he should call his mom and dad and tell them what was going on. As far as they knew, Lucy was simply not talking to them. She’d done it before. Pike had wanted to wait until she was well enough to see them before saying anything about the drugs and attack on Cora. If Lucy’s recovery was going to take months more, he should tell them, so they didn’t worry.

“We can tell your parents together, if that’s what you’re worried about,” Cora offered. Like Kimble, Cora had gotten good at guessing thoughts based on the feelings coming through their bond. She was right more often than not, and it made Pike feel loved to know Cora cared enough to offer help.

“Yeah, I’d like that. Thanks,” he agreed. “I think—”

His words were cut off by the sound of the apartment door crashing open and a voice yelling, “Where the fuck is my cousin!”

***

Cora

Pike’s face mirrored the surprise Cora was feeling. When he rushed to the bedroom door, she was right behind him and almost bumped into his back when he came to an abrupt stop .

“Who are you, wolf?” Pike asked with a fierce scowl. He straightened up his spine, pulled back his shoulders and cracked his knuckles. She’d seen him do this before back when he’d been a bouncer. It made him appear intimidating and more often than not ended a fight before it even began.

The expressions on the faces of the dozen men crowded into the apartment’s living room told Cora that Pike’s tactic wasn’t working this time.

“I’m Danno’s cousin and alpha,” the guy in front said. “The last I heard; he was with your sister Lucy. She begged us to give her one more chance and because Danno’s such a soft wolf, he agreed. This was the address she gave me for you. Tell me where Danno is, and I might make your death a painless one.”

There wouldn’t be any rescue from Kimble. It was still at least two hours until sunset. As she’d done her entire life, Cora looked around for viable weapons. There wasn’t anything more in the apartment since Kimble had rescued/kidnapped her so many months ago. She hadn’t found weapons then and doubted any would magically appear.

Tugging at Pike’s shirt, she tried to get him to move back into the bedroom. Barricading the door would give them a little time.

They were on the third floor. Could Pike shift and climb down?

This time, it was Pike’s turn to read her mind.

“They'll be through the door before you can blink,” he murmured while keeping a wary eye on the men. “When I move, you need to run for the door. Don’t stop. I’ll survive but only if you run.”

She hated the idea but promised herself that she’d only run until she found a weapon. Then she’d be back to bash some faces in.

“I don’t know where your cousin is,” Pike said in a reasonable tone. “Lucy showed up a week ago, and I gave her all the money I had. I haven’t seen her since.”

Cora winced; she should've been the one to lie. Pike sounded like he was reading lines from cue cards.

The leader shook his head. “I’m pretty sure you’re not telling me the truth,” he drawled .

“We could play with the little human,” one of them said, licking his lips as he stared at Cora. “That might make the bear be more honest with us.”

Without warning, Pike roared and charged. Cora was startled enough to freeze in place as he shifted mid-stride, his clothes turning to shreds and falling from his body. He bowled over three of the wolves and ripped his claws down a third and forth.

Belatedly, Cora realized this was when she was supposed to run, but the melee was between her and the front door. There wasn’t enough room around them, and she wasn’t going to make it if she tried to go through.

Suddenly, one of the wolves was next to her, his eyes full of malice. “I know a quick way to end this!”

Scrambling sideways, she barely stayed out of his reach, and it was only because he got shoved from behind by a flying body that she managed to make it into the bathroom.

“Where do you think you’re going?” he asked, easily catching up with her. She felt an arm go around her waist at the same time her hands found the heavy ceramic top to the toilet tank. Gripping it in both hands, she lifted and swung with all the muscles in her small frame. It impacted the guy's head with a satisfying sound and cracked in half. Just like when she’d fought Danno and Lucy, the necklace got warm and sent electric sparks over her skin. She swung and sent the guy flying.

To her disappointment, the guy wasn’t knocked out. He hit a wall, blood gushing from his nose but was still focused on her.

“You bitch!” he shouted. Shaking his head like a dog, he sprayed blood on the nearby walls, then looked at her with murder in his eyes. Getting up, he easily dodged her attempt to hit him again and was equally fast with a backhand to her face. She lost hold of the remnants of the lid and went to her knees. For a few blessed seconds, her face was numb and then the pain came, making her sweat.

She tasted blood in her mouth and felt something dripping down her chin. When a hand grabbed hold of her upper arm and hauled her to her feet, she tried to resist but was having trouble getting her vision to focus.

It seemed the necklace couldn’t make her fast enough to beat this wolf shifter .

“That’s only the beginning,” the man hissed in her ear, then shook her a little. That didn’t help her brain re-orientate her vision.

When he dragged her back into the living room, she saw Pike had knocked out a few of the wolves but was bleeding from wounds on his face and hind quarters. Half the remaining wolves had shifted and were taking turns baiting him so the others could rush in and bite him before dancing back. The ones that hadn’t shifted were standing there yelling encouragement as if this was a sporting match.

There was howling and roaring but considering the empty state of the apartment building and most of the area, Cora knew help wasn’t coming.

Was this it? Had Lucy managed to kill them after all?

The man holding her up pressed his hand to her throat. She felt his finger shift and sharp claw-like nails dug into her skin. She went perfectly still, scared that any movement would cause him to puncture her vulnerable throat.

“Bear! I have your human!” the guy called out. Pike turned and roared when he saw them. He started to move but the wolf holding her tightened his grip, and she felt his claws slide into her flesh. She couldn’t help the cry of pain that came out of her.

Ashamed by her weakness, she yelled as best she could. “Fuck him up, Pike! Don’t worry about me!”

Her words were more of a croak than a bellow, but either way, they were ignored by all parties.

“You know I’ll kill her,” the wolf warned.

She needed to distract him so Pike could take him out. She didn’t have anything on her person but maybe her nerve pinching trick would work.

Or make him squeeze down and kill her.

Everything was worth a try.

“Please don’t kill me,” she begged as she brought her hand up and placed it on the back of his. She stroked as if trying to soothe him, hoping he’d relax just a little. “I have money. Lucy asked for it, but I refused. It’s at my house in a safe. You can have everything.”

The alpha shifted from wolf to human and stared at her. “You have the money? ”

Seeing hope, Cora put her hand in place to pinch but waited. Maybe they could buy their way out of this. “Tons of it. Hundreds of thousands of dollars. In cash.”

He eyed her, as if gauging her words, then scoffed. “You’re lying.”

“What if I’m not?” she asked. “If you kill me, you’ll never find the safe.”

The alpha nodded his head. “Sure, I’m willing to listen to you.” Cora saw a possible escape until the man continued talking. “I’ll keep the bear with me. Quick and Bagger will take you on a little road trip. If I lose contact with them or there’s no money, your bear becomes a rug.” He looked at Pike. “You try to maul my men, and Quick will ventilate the human’s neck. Do we all understand each other?”

Cora wanted to cry. This wasn’t what she wanted to happen. There wasn’t money back at her place. She was going to have to come up with another plan during the car ride there.

“What’s going on here?”

Horrified, Cora watched Mrs. J hobble into the apartment with her little dog at her side. Muggsie blinked milky white eyes at the strangers and gave a yipping bark while Mrs. J frowned at everyone.

She raised her cane and pointed it around the room at the wolves. “Cora and Pike are friends of mine, so all of you should go.”

Pike shifted back to his human form and faced the old woman. “Please, Mrs. J, you need to leave.”

With his back turned, Cora could see dozens of deep puncture wounds all over his thighs, buttocks, and back. Those were bad enough, but there were several deep gashes across his left side. Blood streamed down his skin and even in the short time he stood there, puddles had formed at his feet.

He was hurt so much worse than she thought. Now Mrs. J was in danger. Could this get any worse?