“And miss the show?” Albert danced toward me. The jerk actually danced. I had to be trapped in some kind of nightmare. This couldn’t be happening to me.
“What did Nezat do to you?” Because the Albert I knew didn’t dance. We’d tried once, and he’d had two left feet.
“He opened my eyes.” Albert stopped and crossed his arms. “He wants to make me his second-in-command.”
“Just what you’ve always wanted,” I said. “To be in the spotlight. Too bad you made a deal with a demon to get the attention you’ve always craved.”
Albert was also a coward. Nezat needed to choose his minions more carefully. The first sign of trouble or aggression and Albert would wet himself. Too bad I couldn’t be around when that happened.
“I shall return when Nezat is ready for you.” Albert winked before he walked out and closed the door behind him, locking me inside.
The last time I had Dillon with me. Now I was alone. How I wished someone was there to talk to me, to tell me we were going to make it out of here. I’d figured out where I was. It was an old milking farm Dillon and I used to sneak to when we were teenagers to get drunk. It had been long ago abandoned, the buildings and home in disrepair. I used to love hanging out here, Dillon and I talking about our future, what we were going to do with our lives.
Now it was nothing more than a death trap for me. Nezat had surmised that Dillon had been pregnant when we’d last been taken. He would know the same about me. Only we’d been rescued before Dillon could be killed.
No one was here to rescue me.
I glanced at the wooden shelves then walked over to them, yanking a large piece loose. The ends were jagged, pointy, making it a good weapon if I needed one. I’d never taken a life. The thought made me queasy, but if it came down to surviving, I would plunge the pointy end right into Nezat’s black heart.
A noise past the door drew my attention. It was some kind of commotion. I went to the door and pressed my ear against the warm steel. Voices were raised, but I couldn't make out what they were saying.
The handle on the door wiggled. I ran to the other side of the room and raised the board over my head. When the door slammed open, I shouted and rushed forward, ready to kill Nezat.
But it wasn't Nezat.
Jack grabbed my wrists and stopped me from poking out his eyeball. “It’s me, Casey!”
The board clattered to the floor as I threw myself into his arms. I thought for sure I was going to die on this abandoned farm. “How did you find me?”
Jack crushed me to him, his arms so firmly around me that it was difficult to breathe. “Dillon,” Jack said.
I owed my best friend the world for remembering this place. I hadn't been here in years, but I used to have fond memories of this farm. Now all I would think about was Nezat when this place crossed my mind. He’d ruined that happy memory for me.
“Nezat?”
“He vanished,” Jack said. “I heard him telling your father that he was going to kill you because you were with child already.” Jack scooped me up into his arms, and I didn’t protest. I would never protest again if Jack and Ken wanted to pamper me.
“Ken?”
Jack walked us out of the room. We were in the building where the cows used to be housed. No wonder the manure scent was so strong.
“Jack, you didn’t answer me.”
“Let’s just say that Albert and Fred won’t be bothering you again.”
Two wolves and a bear were in the area we entered. Lucas stood there, his jaw clenched tight, his arms crossed as he looked down at the shifters. I saw blood on the floor before I turned my head away and buried it in Jack’s chest.
“You okay?” Lucas asked.
I assumed he was talking to me. I just gave him a thumbs-up because I wasn’t pulling my head away. I didn’t want to see the carnage. I was already reeling from the fact that Fred hadn't tried to save me. He’d basically sold me out for money he would never get. If Ken hadn't killed him, Nezat would have. I had no doubt in my mind.
“Let’s get you home,” Jack said.
They were the sweetest words I’d ever heard. I looked up at Jack when we were outside. “I love you.”
His eyes softened as he looked down at me. “I love you, too, sweetheart.”
Ken appeared at Jack’s side, naked as hell. He walked to the truck and grabbed some clothes that had been folded on the seat. When he was dressed, he took me from Jack’s arms.
“I love you,” I said as I threw my arms around his neck.
“Love you, too, squirt.” He kissed my temple. “Never vanish from in front of me again.”
I frowned. “It wasn’t as if I wanted to.”
Now that Nezat knew I was pregnant, he would leave me alone. That was all I’d wanted. To finally be able to breathe again. When we were home, I took the longest, hottest shower of my life, trying to scrub that farm off of me. Too bad there wasn't a way to scrub Nezat, Albert, and my father from my mind.
But I was safe now, and that was all that mattered to me. Everything else didn’t feel like an obstacle. Not after what I’d been through. Now I was looking forward to a lifetime with my mates. Looking forward to starting a family with them. These were the men I loved, the men who meant everything to me. My heroes, my mates, my life.
THE END
