Page 92 of Kidnapping Their Third

Either way, maybe it was time to starttalking about herbefore he startedtalking to heragain.

“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 ofshould’vesin 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 unspokenif she comes back to herselfhung 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.

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