Page 41 of Willing
Chapter 24: Paul
Carly and Dylan stood abruptly, “What are we waiting for, let’s go.”
The girls rushed out passed me, heading down the stairs. I couldn’t take my eyes off Carly. She seemed so determined, fierce.
“Carly – hang on.” I grabbed her arm, pulling her back up a step.
“Dylan, we’ll catch up. I need to talk with Carly a second.”
Dylan nodded, bounding down the stairs to the others waiting in the kitchen. I spun Carly around, standing in front of her.
“Look – I just wanted to tell you that I love you.”
“Paul, I know you do… wait, why are you telling me this? Are you going after him?”
“Yes – and you’re staying here. I need you safe, so I’m leaving you with Dylan and Roxy. They can protect you here at the house. And if my suspicions are right – Dylan can’t do magic right now. So, she’s going to need her friend to keep her calm.”
“How… how’d you know?” she eyed me suspiciously.
“Just a hunch. She’s been acting weird, and moving the wedding up – to this weekend, just made me even more suspicious.”
“Don’t tell Jensen. She wants to surprise him at the wedding.”
Pulling her in for a kiss, my lips met hers. The warmth of her mouth against mine sent electric ripples through me. She pressed her breast into my chest, letting out a soft moan.
“Damn woman – you’re going to make me stay here if you keep doing that.”
“Nope – just a reminder as to why you need to come home to me.”
“Alright, let’s go downstairs before I take you right here on the stairs.” Adjusting my pants, I pulled her down the last few steps into the kitchen. Everyone was waiting.
“Ok – Joe, Chris, Stephanie – you will be team bravo. Me, Kai, Paul, and Haven will be team alpha. Haven thinks he has taken him to this abandoned house – a block down the road.” Jensen turned to face Dylan, “You will stay behind with Mike, Haley, Roxy and Carly.”
“Ok.” Dylan smiled, looking at Carly standing beside me. I smiled back, knowing her secret, being here was the safest place for her to wait.
“We are going to just show up and demand him release Carter. No games – well not really.” Jensen stifled a giggle, “You guys will come up from the back, to surprise him. And this time – we aren’t taking prisoners. He’s unstable and needs to be dealt with.”
“Oh, you don’t have to worry about that,” Kai cracked her knuckles, “I don’t plan on mercy this time.”
“Kai.” We all turned to see Cassandra, “You have to be cautious. If you were to be killed, I would kill him too. So, use your head.”
“Mom. What are you doing home?”
“Roxy called me. Thank god – I want to be here with Dylan and Carly. In case something goes wrong. Don’t worry – the school will survive without me. Plus, with the peace and quiet I can look for another replacement for the football coach. The idiot I hired… well, he’s an idiot.”
“Well – maybe you should hire a grown up. That guy – kid, rather, is fresh out of college. Too young to be the head football coach. Anyway, we need to go. You guys lock up after we go.”
Jensen kissed Dylan goodbye, I glanced to see Carly watching me, “I love you Carly – I promise to return, so we can finish what we started on the stairs.”
“Um, you mind. I don’t need that visual please.” Roxy laughed as she sauntered into the living room.
“Be careful – bring Carter home.”
She walked me to the door, watching as I piled into Haven’s car. Pressing my hand to the window, I prayed I could keep my promise. We had only just begun – and I hadn’t claimed her fully. Something I planned to right later on.
We drove in silence, knowing this could get ugly. If this guy was Dante – which I was confident he was, he was hellbent on revenge. That was always a recipe for disaster.
We pulled into the driveway of the abandoned house, immediately my wolf was on alert – itching to get out. We exited the car, glancing around at the land that surrounded the run-down shack.
