Chapter 15
Rhys waited until Elizabeth was in the car and they’d pulled out of the driveway before he spoke. He’d tempered his reaction because he wanted to support her in this endeavor, but damn it, she was going to get herself killed.
“Do you realize who you’ve just pissed off?” He glanced her way, the grip on the wheel tightening as he tried to control his bear clawing just below the surface. He’d wanted to roar with pride at the way she’d stood up for herself, but on the other hand, he wanted to throw her over his shoulder and get her the hell out of there before she put a bigger bull’s-eye on her back. Shit.
“A crappy politician that doesn’t deserve to be in office,” she answered matter-of-factly before glancing out of the passenger window.
“But heisin office.” He glanced at her.
“I know his secret. He won’t come after me.”
“Dead people can’t tell secrets. He might not personally come after you, but you knowing his secret is exactly why he will.”
She let out a long sigh as she turned toward him. “I’m not here to make friends, Rhys. I’m here to find the missing girls.”
“Yeah?” he answered sarcastically. “And how is that working out for you? You’re alienating everyone you’re talking to. You already have more than one target on your back. How many more, baby, before you start to take this shit seriously?”
She snapped her gaze to his. “I want justice.”
“For who? The girls? Or for what happened to you in the past? Or maybe from the father who gave you to his brother to raise? Did you see a little bit of your situation in Rebecca? You have a lot of anger to deal with, baby.”
He reached over, trying to hold her hand, but she yanked it away, balling her fingers into a tight fist and resting it in her lap.
“Lizzie, I care about you. You are my mate, and it’s my job to protect you and make you happy, but right now I don’t know how to do either.”
He pulled the car over onto the side of the road and put it in park before he turned to her. “Tell me how to fix your anger and take away your pain. Just tell me, and I’ll do it.”
Her angry eyes watered as she turned away from him to stare out the window again. He was starting to understand her, even if she didn’t understand herself. She had two tactics when people pissed her off, two different reactions. She either withdrew by running away or turned into a ticking time bomb set to explode. Fuck. He ran a hand through his hair.
She needed help, and as much as it pained him to think it, she needed more than he could give her.
He got out of the SUV, rounded to her side, and pulled her door open. He unhooked her belt and pulled her into his arms. She was stiff beneath his touch, her face was red and blotchy, and it was a miracle she hadn’t shifted into something that could beat his bear’s ass or eat him.
“I’m sorry.” He used the crook of his finger to raise her chin to look at him. Her watery eyes stared back at him, cutting his anger off. “I’m just worried about you, Lizzie. I’ve just found you, and I’m not ready to lose you.”
He was a dick. A mate didn’t talk to the woman they were falling for like a total prick, but he couldn’t seem to stop himself. At the rate he was going, she’d dump his butt and go to Evan, and what would he say to stop her? Beg for her to forgive him? Sometimes the truth was painful and even harder to bear coming from someone you cared about, but it needed to be said. After how she’d come back to the hotel last night, and after what he’d just witnessed, he was amazed her strong-headed ass was still alive. Shit.
She looked up at him with sadness in her eyes, and his gut clenched tight. He’d caused that look, and he was ready to kick his own ass because he was the one person who was never supposed to hurt her.
“I’m not perfect, Rhys. I never claimed to be. If those girls are going through what I went through…” She closed her eyes, dropped her head and gave it a little shake. “I have to find them,” she said with more conviction. “And more than that, I have to find what’s driving these assholes to continue. If I just knew, I could stop it. I could stop them from hurting anyone else.” She glanced up at him. “I have to stop them.”
He wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight. He kissed her hair, unwilling to let her go. “You’re a survivor, baby. No one can take that away from you. Not the guys who abducted you, not the senator, not any of the shifters that want you dead, not even your father or Evan. You’ve survived all of this time without their help, without mine.” He leaned back to look down at her face. “You will catch these guys. I just need to know that youwilllive through this because if you don’t….itwilldestroy me.”
She relaxed into his arms, and he felt some of her anger dissipating with each breath. He leaned down and pressed a kiss to her lips before releasing her and tapping her on her fine butt. “Come on. We have work to do,” he announced as he rounded the car, slid back inside and waited for her to shut her door. “Let’s review. So what do we know for sure?”
“Emily Fisher is dead; Sadie and Maria are missing; Jennifer was reported missing, yet she wasn’t.”
“Who reported her?” he asked.
“No one is taking credit for it, so I’ll have to review the tapes to see when it was called in.”
He gave a slow nod. “What else do we know?”
“Jennifer hated her fox, but her DNA was somehow altered.”
“Okay, and no one is taking credit for that little surprise, but we have to be looking for the mastermind behind that alteration. What else?”
“Evan is neck deep in this crap and was meeting with the senator and the guy I saw at the lab who was scowling at me from the top floor.”
