Page 57 of Kidnapping Their Third

With that, the three of them turned and left with Kimble and Pike pressing in close on either side of her. It was awkward, but she couldn’t have stood on her own.

It wasn’t until they were in Pike’s car and leaving her father’s property that she spoke again. “I don’t want to go home. I don’t want to be inside right now.”

Kimble made a noise of agreement as Pike slowed the vehicle. The two-lane road was deserted so there was no one to get upset as he came to a stop. The Caddy’s engine rumbled unsteadily and belched out a few plumes of smoke. The car wasn’t a fan of idling.

“What do you want to do?”

“I don’t know,” she answered. “My skin feels thin. It’s hard to describe, but it’s like every sound or light around me is sandpaper to my nerves. Can we go somewhere outside but without people? I think I need to be somewhere quiet with a lot of open space.”

Pike blew out a soft breath, as if she’d hurt him. “Can we be there?”

“I need you there,” she responded quickly. “You guys and the quiet are what I want.”

“Then I know the perfect place,” Pike said and put the car in motion again. “I promise it’s just what you need.”

Chapter 22

Pike

Pike knew the route to Otay Open Space Preserve by heart. He’d spent a lot of time there with his family as a cub. He also understood the need to be in the quiet. It was something most shifters craved from time to time, especially if they hadn’t worn their fur for a while.

As he drove, he used the rearview mirror to keep an eye on Cora nestled in the back seat with Kimble. She reminded him of someone suffering from shock. Perhaps in a way she was.

They’d been driving for half an hour, and she hadn’t said a word. He couldn’t stop thinking about what she’d revealed. She’d suffered a major trauma that had left some emotional scars.

Her reluctance to join souls made much more sense now. It wasn’t only a fear that they wouldn’t let her prioritize her family, as she’d said under Tobias’s thrall, it was the fear that her family would side with the outsider against her!

He couldn’t understand family members not listening to each other. Maybe being dismissive of another’s pain was a human thing. Being a bouncer and barback taught him that humans could be very callous to each other, but he didn’t expect it to happen within a family.

It was a relief to find his usual parking spot and he eased the old Caddy in among a small cluster of trees. Beyond those trees was a narrow footpath leading into Otay preserve. No sooner hadhe shut off the engine than Cora made an animalistic noise and pulled away from Kimble. She scrambled over the front seat to claw at the passenger door handle.

“Cora?” Pike was startled by her feral action and froze in place. Kimble managed to flow over the seats as she got the door opened and spilled out of the car. He was right behind her, picking her up from the rough ground and cradling her to his chest.

“Safe,” he murmured. Cora went still in his arms and started sobbing.

Shaking off his paralysis, Pike fumbled his way out of the car and around the back. He stood in front of Kimble, unsure what to do. The vampire had lost the sunglasses and when their eyes met, he saw his pain and helplessness mirrored in Kimble’s eyes.

Getting in close, Pike wrapped his arms around Kimble and Cora. They stood like that, letting Cora cry. Neither of them tried to stop her, she’d probably been holding all this in for a very long time. It was hard to stand there and do nothing, but Pike reminded himself that giving Cora the time to release everything was important.

When her sobbing started to quiet, Kimble spoke again.

“Safe,” Kimble repeated. “I’ll drain Seb. No more Seb.”

Pike latched onto that idea. “Yeah, we can make sure he never comes near you again.”

Cora shook her head violently enough to send black and purple tendrils flying into Kimble’s face.

“He’s in jail, won’t be out for at least ten years.”

“We keep you safe from family too,” Kimble said, surprising Pike. “Fuck them.”

“I wish,” Cora muttered, sniffling. At least she wasn’t sobbing anymore. The tears had slowed to a trickle, but it was still heart wrenching to see his strong human crying.

“I agree with Kimble, fuck them!” Pike said. “My family can be your new family. My mom is great, and my dad is a big softy.”

That made Cora meet his gaze. “What did they say when you went to work at the bars and clubs?”

Her question confused Pike. “Say?”

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