Page 68 of Secret Shifters Next Door

I held the phone to his ear and said, “Details. Where did Luis instruct for Harley to be taken? Now.”

The guy spoke into the phone, giving Steff the details and location––somewhere deep in the mountains. When he was done, I let out some of my frustration by slugging him in the jaw and knocking his ass out again. Blayne started tying the guy up, and I went back to the phone.

“Did you get all that, Steff?”

“Yeah, I know the place. Real ritzy joint. Been up for sale for years. Want to meet me there?”

I nodded. “Yeah. We’ll leave this piece of shit tied up here. I’ll make an anonymous call to the cops and give them the location. Go ahead and call Miles. We’ll have the whole crew there to fuck up Luis’s plan.”

“Don’t you want to tell the cops about this?” Steff asked.

It would have been the smart thing to do, but I wanted these assholes for myself, so did my dragon. “No. This is personal. No cops.”

“If you’re cool, I’m cool,” Steff said and hung up.

After the guy was tied up and secured to a nearby tree, I pulled the guy’s cell phone out and dialed 911. I dropped it a few feet away and let it ring. They’d trace the call and find him here. Blayne and I went to our cars.

Before we got in, Blayne asked, “Do you think she was telling the truth? Emily, I mean.”

My gut instinct told me she was. Something about how powerful my connection was to Harley and how much discomfort I was in when I was far away from her made too much sense. I nodded.

“Shit,” Blayne said and got into his car.

I climbed into my truck, mentally cursing Emily for this. All of it. As though I didn’t have enough to worry about. First hunters, then a mate, a baby, Luis, and a witch. Now this double-edged sword. If I denied the bond, I would die. Harley, the baby, and the girls would be left behind, alone and broken. If I claimed her? She would become like me, a shifter, and her life would be at risk.

TWENTY-EIGHT

HARLEY

The first thing I noticed was the nausea. Keeping my eyes closed because I didn’t want anyone to know I was awake, I tried to listen for any clue as to where I was. My head was cloudy, I was awake, but it was like I was stuck halfway inside a dream. What had happened to me?

Footsteps clicked nearby, approaching. I swallowed despite myself, pushing the sick feeling in my stomach away. The steps stopped right beside me––whoever it was stood right above me. Trying to appear like I was still asleep, I forced my body to stay still. Apparently, I did a poor job pretending to be asleep.

“Mrs. King, I know you’re awake. Can you open your eyes?” The voice was male, deep, and calm.

Knowing I had no other choice, I opened my eyes, then immediately closed them again. The brightness of the room sent slivers of pain into my head. Not only was I sick to my stomach, but my head was throbbing. Had they drugged me? Squinting against the light, I opened them again.

The man standing above me looked at me impassively, his arms clasped behind his back. As my eyes grew accustomed to the light, I could take in the room around me as well. It was almost gaudy in its luxury. The bed I lay on was a four-posterwith hanging curtains of thick velvet. The lights and fixtures were gold accented, a bookcase in the back and a desk beside it were dark, rich-colored wood—mahogany if I had to guess. The room itself was huge for a bedroom, and it gave me the impression that I was in some sort of mansion.

The man took a glass from beside the table and held it out to me. “Please drink.”

The last thing I wanted was to take anything from this man, but my throat was so dry I could barely swallow. It was like I’d swallowed a mouth full of sand. I took the glass and sipped at the water. As much as I hated it, that one drink was heaven, and it was all I could do to not sigh in satisfaction. Looking into the shimmering water of the glass, the last few hours slammed back into my mind. The doctor’s visit, Tate and my break up performance, Emily, the wreck.

The stranger said, “My name is Javier. I’m here on Mr. Ortiz’s orders. I’m to keep you safe and comfortable until the situation is completely handled. Once he’s done, Mr. Ortiz will come to collect you.”

“Collect me?” I asked. Like I was some trunk of knick-knacks he was getting from a yard sale?

Javier looked me dead in the eye, and a ghost of a smile played across his lips. “We are going to take out the trash, so to speak. Once a certain person is out of the way, you and your girls will be moved back to New York. Mr. Ortiz will have everything prepared so that your family can truly begin. Then he can welcome his new son and be there to help raise him in his rightful home.”

He said it all with such emotionless formality that it took a second for me to understand what he’d meant. The guy was like a prim and proper butler or something, but there was danger lurking beneath the surface. His hair was perfectly combed and slicked back, but there were what looked like prison tattoos onhis hands, fingers, and neck. The suit he wore appeared to be off-the-rack and ill-fitting. It was like Luis had dressed up some thug and given him a script to read to make things less terrifying. It did the opposite, actually. It showed that Luis was very serious about all this. He’d made plans, and called in friends. All of which with two goals in mind. One, he wanted to get me and the kids back to New York. Two, he was going to kill Tate and anyone who tried to stop them.

Javier stared at me. He tried to look at me impassively, but there was something underneath. A hungry glint in his stare. I had the distinct feeling that if he hadn’t been scared of Luis, he might have tried to give me more than a glass of water. I had to choose my words carefully. There was no way to know what might set the man off and make things more difficult.

“Do you really think Tate is going to let me go without a fight? He’s just going to roll over and let Luis take us?”

Javier cocked an eyebrow. “If Mr. Mills feels the need to make things difficult, a bullet to the skull should do the trick. Most people tend to give up once their brains have been blown out the back of their heads. We have plenty of guns to choose from.”

My heart revved up, hammering against my ribs. My face remained an emotionless mask, but inside I was freaking out. They meant it. They really did. My panic caused my thoughts to spiral, bouncing through my mind. They focused on Emily in an attempt to forget about what was happening with Luis. It seemed that she wasn’t working for or with Luis, but if that was the case, what was she doing?

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