Chapter 6

Six

Dyson

I stepped into the bar and slid close to the wall, keeping my back protected while my eyes adjusted to the dim lighting. Eeli stepped in and moved to my side. I scanned the room, my gaze traveling over the crowd, looking for our guy.

Eeli's shoulder flexed against mine. A quick glance showed me the hint of discomfort on his face. I returned to searching the room for our bail jumper, but shifted my weight so our shoulders pressed together.

He dragged in a sharp breath and his shoulder relaxed into mine. Anxiety accompanied both of us pretty much everywhere we went since we hit stateside. Places like this bar—crowded, loud, dimly lit—amped it up. The faster we found the bail jumper, the better.

Not seeing our target, I straightened my shoulders and moved into the crowd.

"Fucking, Sawyer." Eeli's quiet growl hit my ears and I chuckled. We had big plans for Kratos Securities. But while we implemented those plans, Sawyer came up with the brilliant idea to go after high bond criminals who skipped out on their bail and came to either Hardwood, Wild Ridge, or this small neighboring nowhere town. It was easy to let the mountainside towns swallow you and just get lost.

I scan the crowd again, this time letting my gaze touch every male in the room. I'd never planned on getting into bond enforcement, but I could see Sawyer's reasoning. High bond skips meant big influxes of quick cash while we got things up and running which protected one's nest egg.

Didn't mean I liked doing this shit.

A band started playing on a stage at the back of the bar. The crowd near us thinned as people drifted toward the sound.

"Least the music's good." But as soon as the words left my mouth, a strange feeling pinged through my nervous system, making the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

"Feel that?" Eeli asked.

I gave him a quick nod, all my senses on high alert. Eeli and I walked shoulder to shoulder, easily falling into the rhythm we'd perfected together during our stint in the military.

I registered the relief that poured through me as we slipped back into sync, moving as one through the bar. The last few days have been weird. Or maybe I should say weirder than usual. Eeli and I still felt that cloying need to be close. But now there was a new element—Clara.

I pushed thoughts of Clara down immediately. The last thing I needed to do while hunting for our jumper was allowing her to invade my mind.

"Front clear," Eeli said.

With a lift of my chin, I directed us to where the crowd was forming around the stage. Every sense on high alert, I could almost smell danger in the air.

Eeli stayed at my side, our movements completely synchronized. His presence beside me made entering the crowd much easier.

And there was my problem, not to mention the source of some tense moments between Eeli and me the last few days. Despite an inner warning system setting off bells inside my head demanding that we seek out our girl—and there was no doubt in my mind that Clara was our soulmate—the clawing need to have Eeli at my side hadn't left.

Sucked bad enough when it seemed like my sanity depended on Eeli. Add a soul-deep need for the woman I knew was mine to the mix, and I had a whole new meaning for the term fucked up.

One more time I made a determined effort to focus my attention on the room around us. The last thing I needed to do right now was get myself or my partner injured because I couldn't keep my head in the game.

"Where is this fucker?" Eeli's question told me he was feeling the same edginess I was. Our guy had to be here. Or something else was about to go down.

My nerves felt like rubber bands stretched to the snapping point.

My phone vibrated against my leg. I dug it out of my pocket, keeping my eyes moving over the room, scanning one face before moving on to the next one.

I glanced at my phone and clenched my teeth at the words there.

"Eeli, Sawyer, and Mac got our guy."

Eeli stopped and looked over at me before doing another scan of the room. "Is he sure?"

I texted Sawyer quickly and passed on his affirmative response. "We're done. We can head back to the office now."

Eeli turned in a slow circle, not giving up his search. "Something still doesn't feel right."

I nodded. Normally I wouldn't hesitate a second before moving out of the bar. But my instincts were roaring at me to stay.

"Beer?" Eeli asked.

Guess his instincts were saying the same because under normal circumstances, he'd be out the door ahead of me.

We found a high-top table in the quietest corner and sat with our backs to the wall, beer bottles sweating condensation in front of us.

Eeli shook his head. "Did our guy have a partner?"

I pulled up the email with the bail jumper's picture and vital statistics. "Negative. No known associates in the area."

Eeli nodded and took a pull on his beer.

The silence grew between us and damned if I didn't feel like a high school chick on a first date. I wasn't exactly known for my chattiness, and Eeli was even more taciturn. Long silences between us weren't uncommon or uncomfortable. Neither one of us felt the need to fill every void with idle chatter.

But this silence seemed loaded. Maybe it was just me. Maybe feeling torn between Clara and Eeli was fucking with my head, and Eeli had no clue anything was off.

A glance at him pushed that idea right out of my head. Eeli's clenched jaw and the white-knuckle grip he had on his beer bottle told me he felt it too.

Before I could think how to bring it up, the band stopped, and the guy that'd been singing since we got here introduced someone else. I ignored what was happening on the stage and racked my brain for ways to bring up Clara.

I opened my mouth, but the room suddenly filled with a sweet voice that carried clear to the back of the bar. The lyrics spoke of longing for love. The emotion behind the words made my heart ache and the voice itself danced over my skin like a warm, loving caress.

My eyes flew to the stage. In all my years of service, I'd seen enough that very little surprised me. But what I saw on that stage made my jaw drop.

"Holy shit. Clara." Eeli's voice held a strange huskiness I'd never heard from him before.

With effort, I tore my eyes from Clara, her dark hair flowing over her shoulders and her eyes closed as she sang, to look at Eeli. His face held the same expression I'm sure my own wore—shock and awe.

And something else. I studied him, trying to get a lock on what it was.

But I knew. I knew exactly what I was looking at. For the first time in all the years I'd known him, Eeli wore his feelings on his face as clear as day.

Or maybe I only recognized it on him because it so closely resembled the emotions thrumming through me—longing, need, desire...possession.

"Eeli." My voice even held the same rasp his had just moments ago.

He spun toward me, his gaze raking my face.

"What the fuck, Dyson?" he finally asked.

I stared at the man in front of me, my best friend. The person who carried me through some of the worst moments of my life. And I knew I needed to come clean.

"She's our soulmate," I said quietly.

His eyes narrowed.

I jutted my chin toward the stage. "Clara...she's...I don't know. She touched me and something happened. The fucking world opened up, swallowed all my pain and something took root inside me." Satisfaction for getting the words out there was short-lived.

"That's impossible, Dyson."

"Eeli, I know we have...whatever this is going on between us. I know it's the worst possible time, but I have no control over it. Clara. She's started something inside me. I don't understand it, hell I think I'm half crazy."

"No, it's not possible."

"I'm sorry?—"

He shook his head and pounded a fist on the table. "I mean it's not possible. Clara can't be yours. Because she's mine."

Clara

W hen Will introduced me to sing, an unusual twinge of nerves struck me. Not that I never got nervous about performing in front of the audience, but usually I welcomed the butterflies that came along before getting on stage. That was all part of the fun.

My bandmates were the same way. We'd talked about the adrenaline spike that comes on right before going on stage, and how it pumps the energy level even higher. The feeling was addictive.

But the nerves I'd felt since we started playing tonight were different. These weren't butterflies. It was more like an intense itch under my skin. The sensation slid up and down my spine, causing the hair on the back of my neck to rise. It wasn't fear, but something close to it, something I couldn't quite put a name to.

By the time Will announced my song at the very end of our set, I was strung as tightly as the strings on the guitar I held. I did my best not to let it get to me. I prided myself on being professional at all times, including giving everyone in the audience the best show I could, whether we were playing to a few locals in a local mountainside dive bar or a packed-to-the-rafters club.

As I sang the lyrics of the song Will and I had written, I started to relax. I let my eyes drift closed as I put as much emotion behind the words as I could. The song was about how hard it was to find love when you felt the need to hide parts of yourself from everyone. And as I sang the words, images of Dyson and Eeli floated through my mind. When I wrote this song, it wasn't about anyone specifically, just a way to put a voice to my frustrations and desires.

But now I had a target for those desires. I could feel the longing building inside me as I imagined being held in Eeli's arms or lying down beside Dyson. The frustration I felt was so much greater than anything I imagined as I wrote those lines. Back then it was just one love I longed for. One man who seemed so out of reach.

Now my desires seemed even more fruitless, even more taboo.

As I got to the end of the song, a single tear slid down my cheek. The crowd had gone oddly quiet. I slowly opened my eyes just as wild applause and catcalls broke out.

I scanned the audience in front of the stage and listened to the feet stomping and whistles. This wasn't the biggest crowd we'd ever performed for by any stretch, but what the crowd lacked in size, they made up for in loud and vocal appreciation.

I shook my head in wonder and glanced at the other members of the band. Will threw me a grin, and I smiled right back before I turned my eyes forward again.

And that's when I saw them.

My heart came to a complete, sudden stop. My breath refused to come. Even the sounds of the cheering dulled as I took in the two men sitting at a table in the far corner of the bar, both of them with their eyes locked on me.

Reality came crashing back with a vengeance. My heart restarted, going from zero to a hundred in a second and a half. The noises of the crowd and Will thanking everyone on behalf of the band hit my ears. Those sounds were slightly muted because they competed with the sound of my blood rushing through my body in quick, jolting pulses. I froze in place, even as Will and the other guys headed off stage.

But then I watched as Dyson and Eeli exchanged a few words and in unison stood from the table and moved toward the back of the bar. Toward me.

Holy crap. I needed to get out of here. Now.

My feet finally seemed capable of carrying me, and I scrambled toward the stairs at the side of the stage. I clutched the neck of my guitar and came a hairsbreadth from face planting as I stumbled over microphone cords in my haste.

Somehow I managed to get myself and my guitar off the stage and into the back room, slamming the door behind me the second I stepped through it.

At the sound of the door crashing closed, Will looked up from where he was putting his bass back into its case. When his gaze landed on me, his brows snapped together and he started moving toward me.

"What's wrong?"

I leaned against the door, letting my head fall back against it, breathing as hard as if I just finished an ultra-marathon. I shook my head, fighting to get my breath under control before I was able to offer any explanation for my bizarre behavior. "They're here."

"Who?" Will asked.

I peered over Will's shoulder to see our other bandmates. They looked at me curiously but didn't stop packing up their stuff.

I returned my attention to Will and whispered, "Dyson and Eeli."

His eyes grew wide. "You're kidding. They're here?"

I nodded.

"Did they see you?"

I nodded again, this time more frantically.

"Oh, shit, Clara. This is not good. On so many levels."

"I know!" He didn't need to explain it to me. I'd managed to hide my music from the members of my family through high school and all the years since. The last thing I ever wanted was for my friends and family to tell me how dangerous it was, hanging around bars with a bunch of musicians. Worse, I hated the thought of them making fun or light of my music. It was as important to me as taking care of my animals.

And of all people to finally discover me—Dyson and Eeli. Could my luck get any worse?

I eased my way around Will and headed for where I left my guitar case. "I have to get out of here. Now."

Will stepped toward me. "How are you going to manage that if they saw you? Even if you get away?—"

The door burst open. All of us twisted toward it as Dyson stormed in with Eeli hot on his heels. They looked huge and fierce in the already cramped back room.

I felt like someone sucked all the air from the room. My eyes darted back and forth between the two men. I couldn't imagine what they thought, discovering me standing on that stage.

Will moved in front of me in a protective move I'm sure he wasn't even conscious of. That brought me right out of my Dyson and Eeli-induced stupor. I fought down a giggle. Dyson and Eeli might get angry at finding me hanging out in a bar, standing in front of a room at least half full of men with the alcohol flowing liberally, but they'd never in a million years hurt me.

And I wasn't even going to touch the fact that, while Will was a big guy, next to Dyson and Eeli, his rangy frame made him look like a pipsqueak.

I moved out from behind him. But obviously, Will wasn't as sure of Dyson and Eeli as I was. He reached out and placed an arm in front of me and grabbed my arm, blocking me from moving forward.

The second his hand landed on me, an inhuman growl came from the front of the room making my spine go straight and ratcheting up the tension by a million and one percent.

"Get your hands off her." Eeli stalked toward us, his jaw clenched so tightly, I wouldn't be surprised if he bared his teeth.

"Eeli, it's fine." I tried to break Will's hold, but he refused to let me go. "Will!"

He shot me a look that told me just how nuts he thought I was. And he wasn't the only one feeling the tension. Our bandmates moved up to flank us, making Dyson step forward, his face like granite. All the five of them needed were some swords and shields, and maybe a metal skirt or two, and they'd look like ancient gladiators about to battle for their lives.

Men. I ripped myself from Will's grasp, ignoring the tingle of pain that shot through my elbow as I twisted. "Stop it. All of you."

"Clara..." Will started.

I held up my hand. "Will, it's fine. I'm sure Dyson and Eeli are surprised to find me here. But it's not like they're going to hurt me." I turned to the two men who had my knickers in a constant twist lately. "Right, guys?"

Eeli continued to stand with his posture rigid and his gaze locked on Will.

Will and my bandmates weren't much better. They stood with squared shoulders, grim expressions on their faces, fists clenched and cocked at their sides.

I rolled my eyes and fought the urge to laugh. I'm sure my bandmates could more than hold their own.

In a fight with my guys? No way. Next to the ferocity of the two men who seemed to hold my fate in their hands these days, all of my bandmates looked like pussycats. My guys had them beat by a mile when it came to bulk, brawn, and predatory instincts.

I took a giant step forward and put myself directly between Eeli and the band. I glanced over at Dyson. He'd relaxed a bit. His shoulders were still tight, and I could almost feel the tension coming from him. But he'd rocked back on his heels, and a small smile played over the corners of his mouth. Apparently, at least one of the men in the testosterone-laden room could appreciate the ridiculousness of the situation.

"Clara, over here," Dyson clipped out.

Okay, maybe I'd overestimated his appreciation.

I sighed, but I couldn't help myself. Something about his voice, about the look in his eyes, made me want to obey him. A little part of me balked at the idea, but then logic took over. Extricating myself from the current machismo sandwich I seemed to be the meat in was probably the best way to neutralize the situation.

I stepped over to Dyson's side. You would think I managed to defuse a bomb. I'd be lying if I said the pressure totally left the room, but there was a definite easing of tensions.

Dyson moved into me, pulling me close, his arm a band of solid metal around my waist so that my front was plastered to his side. He pressed a fleeting kiss to my temple.

I'm sure my mouth dropped open at his physical display. And I think I lost my ability to blink. What on earth was going on here?

But while my logical side might be running to catch up to what was going on, my inner woman was in her glory. She stretched luxuriously and urged me to press even closer into Dyson.

"What are you guys doing here?" I finally managed to ask, my voice soft.

Eeli slid up behind me, pressing close to my back. The warmth of the two men enveloped me, infusing me with a languid heat that had me fighting the urge to rub myself against them.

I turned to my bandmates and I couldn't help it. I giggled. Will had a smug, I-told-you-so look on his face. Moe and Curly, on the other hand, had their jaws on the floor, their eyes popped out of their heads.

Here was one upside to Will's theory that the three of us were somehow bonded together like a mated trio I've read about in those shifter books I love to collect.

But this is real life and not some made-up story on my bookshelf.

I turned my face up to Dyson to find him looking down at me.

"We were looking for a bail jumper," Dyson explained. "Sawyer and Mac nabbed him, and Eeli and I decided to grab a beer. Imagine our shock to see you on stage."

At the mention of my brother's name, my entire body went rigid. "Sawyer was here? Did he see me singing? In a bar?" I couldn't keep the horror out of my voice.

"No, Clara." Eeli ran a soothing hand up and down my arm.

I didn't think he got the effect he was going for with his touch. Every nerve ending in my body stood up and took notice. Parts of me I'd long considered useless suddenly came to life.

"Your brother and Mac were at a different bar. We'd split up," Dyson explained.

All I could do was nod as I fought for control of my senses. No easy feat considering the oh-so-close proximity of the two men I considered mine.

"You want us to leave you three alone?" Will's voice broke into the intimate bubble surrounding us. Amusement dripped off every word.

I shot him a dirty look and found the demeanor of my three bandmates had changed considerably. Will had his arms folded over his chest, a smirk twisting his lips. Jack and Dave just looked confused. And maybe a little turned on.

Gross.

"We'll take you home," Dyson said quietly, bringing my attention back to him.

"I was going to spend the night and come back in the morning with Will."

Both men went rigid against me.

"You're not staying the night here with three strange men." Eeli's voice near my ear sent a shiver down my spine.

I closed my eyes for a brief second as I fought for control. My nerves felt jagged and raw.

With a deep breath that brought the tips of my breasts tantalizingly close to Dyson's chest, I opened my eyes.

"The guys aren't strange." I shot the band a look, finding the three of them still gawking. I rolled my eyes and turned back to Dyson. "At least not in the way Eeli means. I've known these guys for years."

"You mean you've been sneaking around with them for years." Dyson's stern gaze made me feel like a naughty school child.

Of course, that thought led to a host of naughty thoughts that were definitely on the wild side. I sank my teeth into my bottom lip.

A groan escaped Dyson and I stared up at him from under my lashes, searching his face for some clue as to what he was thinking.

Eeli's hands moved up to settle on my shoulders. "How long has this been going on?"

My muddled mind searched for an answer to his question and finally came up with something. "Since the day out in the woods when Dyson helped me find the mama cat. I felt it for the first time then."

Dyson's face instantly softened and one side of his mouth tipped up as if he was fighting a losing battle against his amusement. "I think Eeli meant how long have you been sneaking off to sing in bars, sweetheart."

Sweetheart. The endearment slid through me, warming me from the inside out. My lips parted and for long moments all I could do was stare up into his handsome face.

"Clara?" Dyson prompted.

I blinked up at him and reality returned. "Since tenth grade."

Dyson flinched and I could feel Eeli stiffen at my back.

"You've been sneaking into bars since you were fifteen years old?" Dyson's voice came through clenched teeth, anger clear on his face.

I huffed out a breath. "I didn't have to sneak in anywhere. I was with the band and nobody ever asked for I.D."

The storm clouds brewing behind Dyson's eyes told me that answer didn't calm him at all.

I leaned into him, Eeli's body following mine, curving into my back.

"I love music. I love playing with the guys." I gestured to the stooges still standing there staring at us as if we were the newest episode of their favorite show. I bit back the urge to offer them popcorn. My hard stare must have been enough of a hint. Before I turned back to the men holding me between them, my bandmates went back to sorting out the equipment. "They've always kept an eye on me. I was never in any danger."

"Then why keep it from everyone? I'm assuming your brothers have no clue you've been doing this?" Dyson asked.

I raised my hands and rested them against his chest. My reasons were important to me, and I needed him to understand them.

"Because it was necessary to me," I said softly. I glanced over my shoulder at Eeli to include him in the conversation. "I was afraid if you guys all found out, you'd make me stop."

Eeli's hands came to rest on my hips, so large his fingers rested on my stomach while his thumbs brushed a caress across my lower back. He didn't speak, but his gesture made me feel supported in a way I'd never felt before.

Dyson bent forward so his forehead rested against mine. "I'd like to tell you we would have understood. But you know us better than that. There's no way we'd have been happy to let you traipse off hundreds of miles to hang out in seedy bars."

I smiled. "In retrospect, I can understand why it wasn't a good idea back then. And since then…" I shrugged. "I didn't want anyone to try to take it away from me."

It was as simple and as complicated as that.

"Hey, Clara. I hate to interrupt you guys." Will's amused tone said something different than his words. "But we're all packed up. Ready to head over to the hotel with us?"

The second the word hotel fell from his lips, Eeli let out a low, fierce growl and took a step closer, pushing me directly into Dyson's arms while he flattened himself against my back.

"You're not staying at a hotel with these guys," Dyson bit out.

I twisted my head to look at Will and narrowed my eyes at him. The look on his face told me he was enjoying this way too much.

My attention was quickly pulled back to my guys. I was enveloped in them. Their scents—clean, masculine—filled my head. Their big, hard bodies, pressed against me so intimately, engaged every single one of my senses.

"Will's my ride," I somehow managed to get out.

"You're coming home with us." Eeli's voice was pure gravel and his tone left no room for argument. Neither did the hard, thick shafts I felt pressed against my body.