CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Uncertain, Bailey dug her teeth into her lower lip. Did she trust Deke? Yes. He’d never given her a reason why she couldn’t. And it was well-known that he never broke his word. But this wasn’t a simple secret, and it was instinct to clam up and say nothing.

Names of ex-members of the Movement were leaked from time to time. Every one of those people were then either hunted by extremists or tracked down by the human law authorities. Humans generally didn’t interfere with shifter business, but extremists weren’t shifters. They fell under a different law system, and so any shifters who wronged them were expected to pay for it.

As such, ex-members rarely shared their past occupation. Havana had told Tate, but they were mates—his loyalty was therefore primarily toward her. She didn’t have to worry that he would ever betray her.

Luke was made aware of their past because she and her girls trusted that he’d hold his silence, even if only out of loyalty to his brother. Like Deke, he was a man of integrity. And just as she couldn’t foresee the Beta ever breaking her confidence, she couldn’t envision Deke doing it either—particularly not when it would endanger her.

Her gut told her she could trust Deke, and her snake agreed. Nonetheless, Bailey hesitated. Why? Because she doubted he’d believe her.

Not that she thought he underestimated her in the same way he once had. But she still wasn’t certain he’d buy that she’d given eight years of her life to any cause, let alone one so noble. She wasn’t certain he’d believe she had it in her. If anyone else displayed such incredulity, it wouldn’t bother her. But with Deke, it would sting.

There was only one way to find out how he’d react, though, wasn’t there?

Deciding to take the risk, she cautioned, “You can’t tell a soul.”

Clasping her hands, Deke gave her an earnest look. “I won’t say a word to anyone. Whatever you tell me will remain between us.”

Puffing out a breath, she sat up straighter. “We were members of the Movement once. Me, Havana, Aspen, and Camden.” She held her breath, awaiting his response.

His brows arched slightly. “That sure answers a lot of questions. How did you become part of it?”

Bailey scrutinized his expression, surprised. There wasn’t even a hint of skepticism there. “We were recruited,” she replied, still not yet trusting that he was taking her seriously.

“Huh.” He swiped his tongue along the inside of his lower lip. “I can see why you’d have caught the Movement’s attention.”

She felt her brows slide together. “You can?”

“You’re strong. Fearless. Loyal. Sharp. You have your own mind but respect the chain of command. That you’re also a loner without a mate would have ticked their boxes.” His forehead creased when she stared at him. “What?”

Bailey shrugged. “I thought you might struggle to trust that I was telling the truth.”

“Once upon a time, I’d have doubted you,” he admitted. “I’d made too many incorrect assumptions about you. But now, yeah, now I can easily believe it. You’re a person who’d commit to something you wholeheartedly believed in, especially if you thought it would make a difference to others.” He squeezed her hands. “Thank you for your service.”

Relief slipped through her bloodstream, and her snake’s tension eased away. That had not gone as either of them had expected. Not that they had any complaints. “You really can’t tell anyone. The only people in the pride who know are Tate and Luke.”

“I told you, you can trust me.”

“I know I can, or I wouldn’t have shared it with you. But I also know that you’re close to your family, who are all about being open with each other. I can imagine it would bother you to keep major secrets from them.”

“Not if those secrets simply aren’t their business or need to be kept private. I love my mother, but I’m not blind to the fact that she struggles to keep things to herself.”

Bailey felt her mouth quirk. “She’s awesome. You’re lucky to have her.”

His expression softened. “Yeah.”

“What was it like to grow up in a family where you’re the only dominant?”

“Fine, mostly.” Releasing her hands, Deke skimmed his palms up her arms and settled them on her shoulders. “But you feel like you have to tone yourself down; keep the more intense parts of you dormant until you’re around other dominants. Only then do you really let the full force of your personality stretch out.”

“Did it make you feel like the odd one out?”

“Sometimes. But my parents knew that, so they did their best to counter it. Still, it didn’t always work. I couldn’t even have a real spat with my brothers over trivial things because at some point my level of dominance overwhelmed them; then they’d cringe and cower, which made me feel like a sack of shit. So I had to bite my tongue a lot and put a chokehold on my temper.”

Bailey felt her lips part as realization dawned on her. “No wonder you don’t bother with tact and have so little tolerance. You spent too long holding back words and crushing your emotions.”

“I guess you reach a point where you’re just done with toning down your responses.”

“You sure never did it with me,” she muttered, fisting the bottom of his tee.

“You didn’t need me to. It was one of the reasons I was comfortable around you—though you probably wouldn’t have guessed that. No matter what I said or did, you didn’t get upset or cower or yell or anything. It was freeing. I could just be who I was around you. I think you get how that can mean something to a person.”

She swallowed. “I get it.”

Slipping his hands from her shoulders to the sides of her neck, he said, “Come here.” He tugged her forward, and their mouths met in a slow, languorous kiss that made her toes curl. Pretty soon after, he used his fingers to shove her into an orgasm that had her toes curling all over again. She then rode him right there on the sofa, impaling herself on his cock over and over until they were both engulfed by a release that made their thoughts splinter.

Oblivion was a marvelous place.

Picking up yet another bat from the rec center’s outdoor tennis court at closing time the following day, Bailey flicked Camden a look. “Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that I told him. If you’d shared our past history with someone, I’d want to be made aware of it.” A cool breeze swept over her, ruffling her hair and gently shaking the wire fence separating the court from the parking lot adjacent to it.

Noticing that Camden was eyeing her closely, she frowned. “What?”

He shrugged. “I’m just surprised you told me. It’s not often you put yourself in other people’s shoes and imagine how they’d feel.” He grabbed a tennis ball from the ground. “Your sense of empathy isn’t exactly fully developed.”

She shot him a sharp smile. “Hello, Mr. Pot. I’m Black Kettle. Nice to meet you.”

“Hey, I ain’t judging—I’m aware that I’m no better at empathizing. If it wasn’t for Aspen, I’d probably do all kinds of cruel shit on a daily basis. She’s pretty much my conscience; brings out what little good I have in me.” He threw the ball in the container near the wall that held several others.

Bailey felt her nose wrinkle. “I don’t think me and Deke bring out the good in each other.”

“No, you bring out the good and the bad.”

“You say that like it’s a positive thing.”

“Because it is.”

“How?” It didn’t sound positive.

“It means you bring out who he really is—no masks, no frills. He does the same for you.”

Huh. “I never really thought of it like that.”

Camden turned to fully face her. “Look, you once did me a favor. You pestered me to stop hesitating in telling Aspen what I felt. You opened my eyes, made me confront a few things, and gave me the push I needed. So now I’m going to do the same for you. I repay my debts—Aspen harps on that it’s important.” He rolled his eyes.

Bailey shoved the bat into the box with the others and then set her hands on her hips. “Okay.”

“I know what it’s like to be abandoned by the people who are supposed to protect you. It makes you pull inward. Makes you see bonds as a threat. You and me lucked out, though. We found people early on in our lives who taught us that not everyone will leave us.”

She gave a slow nod. “Havana and Aspen saved us both.” They’d essentially made her and Camden see that they didn’t have to be perfect to make people stick around.

“For me, it was really just Aspen—I didn’t listen to anyone else; didn’t care what they thought. She stopped me from fully closing myself off to the world. But I still don’t bother with outsiders unless she asks it of me. I’ve got the only person I really need. Her.” He paused. “You’re more willing to take chances on people than I am, but you don’t really open up to them.”

“I’ve opened up to Deke.”

“Not all the way. You’re still keeping a part of yourself locked away because you’re not really expecting what’s between you two to pan out in the long-run. You think you’ll part ways at some point. Don’t deny it—I know you too well not to sense where your head’s at.”

Bailey shifted from foot to foot. “It’s not that I think we’ll definitely part ways. I just don’t fully trust that we won’t. He wants to find his true mate. I don’t believe that’s me. Neither does my mamba.”

“Honestly, I don’t think you’re his predestined mate either. But does that have to matter?”

Not to Bailey, however … “It will if he’s intent on seeking her out. And I don’t know if Deke, being as honorable as he is, would find it disloyal to imprint on someone instead of wait for his mate.”

Pursing his lips, Camden briefly inclined his head. “I can see why that would play on your mind. He is far too noble—it must be tiring.”

“I know, right?”

“But there’s a chance he’ll choose you instead. You want that. Want it badly enough that you’ll easily get spooked if you get it, because—with the exception of Havana, Aspen, and yeah me to an extent—no one ever chose to keep you around.”

She folded her arms, feeling vulnerable.

“What I’m trying to say is … If he does offer you what you want, don’t panic. Think. Don’t backtrack. Don’t pull away. Don’t immediately assume it won’t work. Or ignore my advice and fuck it up—your life, your choice. But then you’ll do what you said I’d do if I didn’t push past my own issues: you’ll spend the rest of your life wondering if you made the right decision.” He jabbed her forehead with his finger. “Be smart.”

“Does this mean you care if I’m happy?”

His brows pulled together. “Let’s not get crazy.”

She laughed. “You were just returning a favor.”

“Right.” He looked around the court, checking that no other equipment was lying around. “We’re done.”

Bailey nodded. “Let’s go back inside and check—” There was a whoosh a mere millisecond before scalding heat blazed across her cheek, making her flinch. Bullet.

She and Camden dived to the side and then took cover behind the corner of the building, barely escaping the other bullets that near-silently whizzed by.

It took her military-trained mind a split second to work out where the shooter must be hiding. So when the fucker stopped firing and her enhanced hearing picked up the thudding of feet fading away, she darted out from behind the building and ran for the fence with Camden at her side. They scaled it fast, and then he shifted.

Ignoring the burning pain in her cheek, she followed the white tiger across the parking lot and into the small wooded area beyond it. Adrenaline pounded through her and kickstarted her heartbeat.

The big cat was far faster than her as they rocketed through the maze of trees, following the noise and scent—human, she sensed—of the shooter, so the tiger was soon out of her sight.

Her pulse leaped as she heard a guttural roar followed by a cry of such pain up ahead of her. Bailey tracked the sounds, skidding to a halt moments later. A male dressed in black lay flat on his front, claw marks spanning his back and tearing through cloth and skin, screaming as the tiger ragged him backwards with the jaws he’d clamped around the shooter’s leg. Well, ow.

The male was desperately reaching toward the rifle on the ground mere inches away from him, but the tiger kept on hauling him back. The human twisted onto his side, pulling a handgun out of seemingly nowhere, and aimed it at the tiger.

Bailey was on him fast, snatching the firearm. As he stared up at her, his face a mask of sheer agony, she whacked his head hard with the butt of the gun. He slumped to the ground, his eyes closed.

Panting, she looked at the tiger. “You can let him go now.” She wasn’t entirely surprised when the big cat did no such thing. “We need to get him back to the center. It’ll be faster if one of us carries him than if you’re dragging him.”

The tiger dropped the leg with a put-out snarl. Bones snapped and popped as his body shifted shape, and then a naked Camden stood there glaring down at the human. He fisted the fucker’s torn sweater and, without a word, began none-too-gently hauling him toward the center. Bailey grabbed the rifle and then followed Camden.

When they stalked into Corbin’s office soon after and dumped the human on the floor, Havana, Aspen, and Corbin sharply turned their way. They stiffened. Gaped. Spluttered. And then they jumped into action. Havana crossed to Bailey, Aspen went straight to her mate, and Corbin crouched down beside the human.

“What in the hell happened?” asked the Alpha female.

Rage a hum in her blood, Bailey replied, “To sum up … that asshole shot at me while I was in the tennis court, me and Camden sprinted after him, Camden’s cat took him down, and then we brought him here after I knocked him unconscious with this.” She held up the handgun, wanting to hit him with it all over again. Her snake was leaning more toward fucking his system up with her venom.

“Bastard,” Corbin growled, searching the human’s pockets. “No ID or phone. There’s a set of car keys, though.”

Camden flexed his fingers, his expression blank in a way that told Bailey he was seething inside. “I didn’t see a vehicle,” he clipped. “He must have parked it somewhere in or near the woods.”

“I’ll go see if I can find it,” said Aspen, all business.

“I’ll go with you.” Camden shifted again and then preceded her as the pair prowled out of the office.

Pacing, her face flushed with anger, Havana looked at Bailey. “I’ll call Tate.” A deadly calmed laced her voice. “You should call Deke. He’ll want to hear about this from you.”

After setting down both the rifle and the handgun on Corbin’s desk, Bailey took a long breath, doing her best to suck in her fury. She could lose her shit later, when they had the answers they needed. For now, she needed to adopt some of Havana’s icy composure.

She also needed to do as Havana said and call Deke.

He answered the call after only a few rings. “Hey. I’m almost at the center. You ready to leave?”

She hadn’t known he would be one of the enforcers who would follow her car home today. “Uh, I need you to not go AWOL.”

A pause. “What happened?”

She scratched her uninjured cheek. “Well … someone might have shot at me while I was at the tennis court outside the rec center.”

“What?”

“I said shot at, not shot,” she quickly added. “Their aim was a load of my ass. Apart from a graze on my cheek, I have zero wounds.”

“Not the fucking point, Bailey.” There was a loud rumble in the background, like he’d slammed his foot on the pedal. “I’ll be there within minutes. Did you see the shooter?”

“He was hiding in the woods, but me and Camden caught up to him and brought him to the center.”

“You pursued someone who was armed?” he asked, the words jagged with a pissed-off snarl.

“Of course I did. You would have pursued him.”

Another pause, and then Deke cursed. “Do you recognize him?”

“No. He has no ID on him. He’s human—that’s all I know for sure at this point.” She frowned on hearing the screech of tires coming down the phone. “Don’t drive too fast, we don’t need you crashing.”

“What I don’t need is my woman having bullets fired at her.”

That, too.

It wasn’t long before he appeared in the office with Isaiah hot on his heels. His posture stiff, his muscles bunched with tension, Deke made a beeline for her. His jaw clenched tight, he cupped her neck so gently, his touch barely there, as he examined the graze on her cheek.

“It’s healing fast,” she told him. “It’ll be gone within a few hours.”

Hauling her close, he palmed the back of her head and wrapped his free hand around her nape. “Fuck, baby.” He dragged in a breath, taking in her scent as if to reassure himself that she was alive.

Bailey swallowed, unused to anyone other than her girls giving that much of a crap about her safety. She smoothed her hands up his back. “I’m okay.” It was an awkward attempt at comforting—she’d never been all that good at it.

“What do we know so far?” he asked no one in particular.

“His name is Richard Fleming,” Aspen replied. “Me and Camden found his wallet in his car. I texted his details to River. He’s digging for more info on our friend as we speak.”

“I searched his phone,” Camden added. “His text-conversations make it apparent that he’s an extremist. He told a fellow extremist that he got a ‘job’ to give a lone shifter a scare. He wasn’t given strict instructions on how to go about it; he was told to be creative. But instead, he planned to kill Bailey to impress the higher-ups in their faction.”

Deke let out a low growl that rang with fury.

Aspen took up where her mate left off. “If he has the ID of who hired him, he didn’t mention it to his buddy, only added that he’d met the guy at a bar. It’s probably the same dude who hired the last extremist.”

Scraping his hand over his nape, a visibly upset Corbin shook his head. “I know you might want to consider the jackals, but I don’t see them associating with extremists. Gut them open like a fish, yes, but not giving them work.”

Havana nodded, her temper barely controlled. “Ginny could have asked a friend or paid someone to hire an extremist for her. Unfortunately, we can’t question her, because she’s still nowhere to be found.”

“No one here I’ve spoken to has seen or heard from her,” said Corbin.

Isaiah piped up, “I don’t even slightly suspect Jackson’s brothers. They were terrified of us.” He paused and looked around. “Is Tate not here yet?”

Havana rolled her shoulders. “He’s on his way. He’s bringing Luke, Blair, and Farrell with him.”

Camden’s phone chimed. He whipped out his cell and frowned down at the screen. “That was River. Our guy here is definitely an extremist and has quite a criminal record. Much like the last extremist we detained, he’s seriously small fish. His faction doesn’t officially exist—it’s just a bunch of hateful humans who’ve banded together and commit petty acts.”

Just then, Fleming stirred, squirming slightly.

Deke narrowed his eyes. “Someone’s awake.” He crossed to the human and rolled him onto his back.

Wicked fast, the male put a small vial to his mouth and knocked back the contents.

Deke frowned. “What the fuck?”

Everyone crowded around the human as he began coughing and groaning.

Bailey lifted the empty vial and sniffed it. She reared back. “Poison. He poisoned himself.” She sneered, as furious as her snake with the little shit for taking such an “out.” “Typical extremist behavior when they’re captured. He must have kept it in a hidden pocket or something.”

Deke fired questions at him, but the bastard ignored them and then started seizing. Within moments, Fleming was dead. “Fuck.” Deke whirled around and thrust a hand through his hair.

Grinding her teeth, Bailey clasped the vial so tight it hurt. She would have thrown it at Fleming’s goddamn face if it wasn’t for the fact that he’d feel no pain.

Around her, the others went on a rant. Camden even kicked the body, his fists clenched. Bailey remained silent, the sour tang of rage in her mouth.

Tate, the Betas, and Farrell soon arrived. Needless to say they were all pissed that the human not only couldn’t tell them anything but had escaped punishment.

His hands on his hips, Luke scowled down at Fleming. “Someone needs to get rid of both his body and his car.”

Soothingly rubbing his mate’s back, Tate gave a curt nod. “I need you, Blair, Farrell, and Isaiah to take care of it.”

“Will do,” Luke told him.

Blair looked at Tate. “Are you going to call the jackals again?”

Tate scraped a hand down his face. “I don’t see any point. The conversation will go the same as the previous two did. And, honestly, I don’t believe that they were behind this.”

“Neither do I,” said Corbin. “One scare to send a message, maybe. I could even accept that they might choose to do it twice just to make it clear that they mean business. But three is overkill, and I don’t envision them having anything to do with extremists anyway.”

“Plus, they’d know we’d take it as declaration of war if we were positive it was them,” Tate continued. “So they’d surely hire a lone-shifter mercenary to get the job done and vanish in a flash, not hire small-time extremists who—given that their strength and speed is no match for ours—are more likely to get caught and overpowered.”

“My money’s on Ginny,” said Blair. “If for no other reason than it’s mighty suspicious that she’s in the wind.”

They all discussed it some more. Aside from Deke. He found it hard to think past the rage vibrating in his bones.

Finally, his jaw hurting from how tightly he’d clenched it, he exhaled heavily and turned to Bailey. “Let’s get out of here.” He and his cat wanted her away from this place; wanted her in their den where she’d be safe.

Her brow furrowed. “My car—”

“I’ll have someone pick it up for you tomorrow. I need you with me, where I can see you.”

She looked like she might argue, but then she sighed. “Okay.”

The Alphas, Aspen, and Camden followed them in Tate’s vehicle as they made their way home.

Her gaze on the window, Bailey said, “This isn’t going to stop until we make it stop, is it? At first, I thought they might call it quits at some point, since their only intent is to scare me. Yet, they haven’t stopped, even though they’ve surely got better stuff to spend their money on.”

His grip tightening on the steering wheel, Deke said, “The reason they might not have stopped is that you aren’t afraid. You’re not on edge or hiding or even keeping a low profile. You carried on with your life as usual while also taking sensible precautions.”

Bailey frowned, looking thoughtful. “Good point.” She puffed out a long breath. “I’m not going to give them what they want and withdraw from the world, but I am going to stay away from the center until this is over. It’s a special place for a lot of people. A place they need to feel safe. I won’t put it or them at risk. I don’t want the members to be afraid to go there.”

Deke had already anticipated that she’d make such a decision. “From now on, consider me your personal bodyguard.”

“How did I know you’d say that?” she muttered rhetorically, her voice dry.

“Because you know me. You know I protect those who matter to me. And you matter.”

“It’s still a little weird when you say nice things to me. Everything feels out of sync.”

He might have smiled if he wasn’t so pissed.

“You matter to me, too.” She cleared her throat. “Just thought you should know.”

His chest tightening, he gave her thigh a soft squeeze.

When they finally reached their complex, he guided her up to their floor and into his apartment. They hadn’t been there more than ten minutes before his parents turned up.

The image of worry, Livy barged inside and went straight to Bailey. “I just heard what happened. You poor thing.”

Noticing the casseroles she held, Deke frowned. “You brought her food again?”

Livy offered him a haughty look. “I’ll bring her whatever I like.” She then went back to fussing over his mamba.

His father chuckled. “Just let it be, son. She likes mothering your Bailey. I think she senses that the girl hasn’t had a lot of that in her life.” He eyed Deke. “How are you doing?”

“I’m ready to burn shit down,” Deke told him.

Clarence laid a supportive hand on his shoulder. “You’ll find out who did this soon enough. Until then, all you can do is try your best to keep her safe. But don’t take on any blame for the danger dogging her heels. I know you dominant males have a tendency to shoulder unnecessary blame. It isn’t your fault that you can’t put a stop to what’s happening—a man can’t kill an enemy he can’t see.”

Deke grunted and then followed his mother and Bailey into the kitchen. Livy was still fussing, even though his mamba seemed completely unsure what to do about it. He glanced at Clarence as he noted, “Mom really does like Bailey.”

“Initially, I think your mom infiltrated her life so she could push her toward you. But she’s grown fond of Bailey. So have you.”

Deke felt his lips thin. “I’m sure Mom crows about that every chance she gets.”

Clarence smiled. “Oh, she does. You know how much she likes to be right.”

Havana, Aspen, and their mates turned up shortly afterward. Both females seemed spooked and were clearly intent on checking on Bailey, who increasingly calmed as the hours went on.

Deke, however, couldn’t find any such calm. He might be outwardly controlled, but he was a raging storm on the inside.

His feline was no more collected—not on the outside or the inside. The animal restlessly paced and hissed and occasionally swiped at the ground with his paw.

Since no one took Deke’s hints to leave him and Bailey in peace, he eventually split the casseroles between everyone. His parents left shortly after they’d eaten, but Havana and Aspen would have lingered for a while longer if their mates hadn’t pressured them to leave. Finally, after hugging Bailey tight, the females agreed to head home.

Not tired, his mamba declared that she was going to throw on a movie. As he didn’t want her to be alone, he lay on the sofa with her as she watched it. He couldn’t follow the plot, couldn’t concentrate on the scenes playing out on the screen. Much like his cat, his mind was still hectic after what happened earlier. The occasional growl slipped out of Deke when he thought back to how the human had cowardly—

“Stop thinking about it,” she admonished with a huff as she rolled over to face him.

He frowned. “How can I not think about the fact that someone is gunning for you?”

“Easy. You focus on something else. Want me to flash you my boobs?”

He delved his fingers into her hair as he remarked, “You’re good at compartmentalizing things. If there’s shit going down, you’re able to mentally set it aside. Where does that come from?”

“Years of living a double life when I was part of the Movement, I guess. I’ve been shot at before, you know. I’m used to it.”

“I don’t see how there could be a way of getting used to having bullets fired at you like it’s no biggie.”

“You’d be surprised.”

He curved the arm she lay on, so the back of her head was tucked into the crook of his elbow. “Do you miss it?”

“Being shot at?”

“No. Being a member of the Movement.”

She hummed. “Sometimes. But I wouldn’t work for the group again. I’ve been offered jobs on the sly, but I always turn them down. Don’t tell Havana and Aspen about it—they don’t know.” A scowl took over her features. “You know, I share things with you that I don’t even tell them. I can’t tell you how much that vexes me.”

He felt his lips hitch up. “You’re cute when you get mad at yourself. You should be able to handle that you instinctively trust me with your secrets, though. I thought you were tough,” he teased.

“I am tough. Now that anyone would believe it if they saw me right now. Look at us, cuddling on a sofa while confiding in each other. It’s sickening.”

He bit back a chuckle. Even his cat was amused, though he didn’t cease pacing.

She poked Deke’s chest. “I blame you. You dazzled me with your cock, and what should have been a short fling became this.”

He flicked her nose with his. “Would you go back and change anything if you could?”

“No,” she all but grunted.

His mouth curved a little more. “Vexed about that, too, huh?”

“Must you get such joy out of my frustration? That doesn’t seem normal to me.”

“You get joy out of mine.”

“And?”

He rolled his eyes. “Can we turn this movie off?”

“Why?”

“Because I want to take you to bed.”

Her face scrunched up. “I’m not tired yet.”

“You will be after I’m done fucking you raw.”

Her pupils dilated. “You basically plan to fuck me to sleep?”

“Pretty much, yeah.”

“I don’t see that working.”

“Challenge accepted.” In a matter of moments, he was hefting her over his shoulder and carrying her to his bedroom. There, he did exactly as promised.