The Daemon’s Hacker

Havoc Predators MC, Book 1

By Ann Edwards

Copyright 2021 Ann Edwards

All Rights Reserved

Characters and events portrayed are fictitious.  Any similarity to real persons, living or dead is coincidental and not intended by author.  Places and incidents are either a product or the author’s imagination or public domain.

No part of this book may be distributed, reproduced or stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronical, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the express written permission of the publisher.

Digital ISBN Number - 978-0-578321-06-6

Print ISBN Number - 979-8-496712-94-1

Cover Design by James, GoOnWrite.com

Dedication

This book is dedicated to my loving and wonderful husband.  Without his support I would not have had the courage to pursue this.  I also got my love of motorcycles from you and for that I say thank you and I love you.

Chapter 1

Liam

“Come on man, you can’t beat on the computer if you still want it to work.”  I am tired of Dax constantly griping on me about this stupid hunk of plastic.  It’s not my fault, as a Daemon, my fingers are too big for the keys.  “Trying to search on this tiny keyboard sucks!”  Dax huffs his breath at me.  “I am the MC Enforcer. It’s in my job description to beat on things.” Dax and I are both members of the Havoc Predators Motorcycle Club.   We aren’t officially one percenters, but we do have our own way of doing things, especially since we are all paranormals.  Dax is our tech guy.  Computers, software, alarms, and surveillance whatever the club needs.  We have several businesses that we own and operate.  Our biggest money maker is our security company.

Living in a small, out of the way town, in Oklahoma, we do a lot of traveling and online business.  Our current client keeps having money stolen, over the web.  We haven’t been able to catch the culprit, and keep running in to dead ends.

“I need a drink. I’ll be at the bar if you get any ideas on where to go next with this.”  We are at the clubhouse.  It’s an old barn, located on two hundred and fifty acres, in the middle of nowhere.  Being paranormal, we need privacy and seclusion to shift.  We each have our own two to five acres of land. Several of us have already built our own houses.   Some are waiting to meet our elusive fated mate, before building.  Being paranormal, we have longer lives.  Once we find our mate, we can live even longer, just as they will. Each of us looks to be in our late twenties to early thirties. I can’t remember being that young.

I walk down the long hallway, to the main room.  The center is a large open space. Along the walls are various mismatched tables and chairs, in a variety of heights.  On the far wall, stretching the whole length is the bar.  We have a second floor with rooms for guests. The stairs are along the right wall, connecting to a small balcony at the top. At the bar, one of our prospects is pouring drinks and manning the small kitchen. With appetites like ours, food is always at the ready. I take a seat, and the prospect hands me a beer, “give me a shot of Jack too.”  I don’t bother with please and thank you, it’s his job.  If he wants to earn his patch, he does as he’s told and stays quiet about it. Being a daemon, I stand at six foot five, and my shoulders are massive.  It’s part of why I am the Enforcer.  Although, Pres. being a dragon, usually gets the job done faster than the rest of us.

Dax takes the seat next to me I guess we aren’t done with this conversation.  “I think we need to get a hacker.  I am stuck at this point, not sure how else to track this fucker down.”  He runs his fingers through his long blonde hair, frustration clearly on his face.  Dax is really good at the computer stuff.  For him to be at a loss, whoever we are looking for must be REALLY good.  I take a mouthful of beer, and start to choke on it, when the prospect chimes in. “I have someone who might be able to help.”  Dax and I slowly turn our heads and stare at him.  He starts to cower under our glare.  “Who the fuck do you know, that is better than Dax?”  I’m being an ass, but he needs to learn his place.  “My, um, cousin, she does private side work, like private investigator type shit.  She hunts down deadbeat parents and cheating spouses or boyfriends."

Dax and I share a glance before turning back to him.  “Is she local, and can she keep her mouth shut?”  The last thing we need is some outsider running their mouth, and possibly ruining the clubs reputation.

“I am not sure where she is, currently, but I can reach out to her, see when she can get here.”  Dax pipes in, before I can, “We need to discuss this with Jasper before we do that.  Get me her information, and we can move on from there.”  The prospect pulls his phone out, and jots down a phone number and email address.  “She doesn’t always answer right away.  She’s paranoid about stuff coming back on her, so she usually does a background search before returning the call.” Once we get the information, Dax and I get up and walk back to Jasper’s office.  As President of the MC, Jasper has final say on all the business decisions.

We knock on his door, and walk in.  He looks up, eyebrows pulled down in disapproval.  “By all means, come in.”  We each take a seat in front of his desk.  “What is going on?”  Dax hands him the note from the prospect.  “This is Noah’s cousin.  We need a hacker, he thinks she can help.”  Jasper takes the note, and looks at both of us. “I assume this is about the Robinson case?”  We both nod our heads.  “We are stuck.  Not sure how they are getting through the extra firewalls and security we added, but more money is missing.”  Jasper shakes his head, “So what does he think SHE can do, that we can’t?”

“According to the prospect, she makes her living hunting down hidden money from dead beat parents, and cheaters.”  Jasper rubs his chin. He looks like he has been in this office for days.  His t-shirt has food and liquor stains on it.  His dark hair is too long, sticking out in all directions, he needs a haircut.  Jasper and I like to keep a cleaner look.  When we shift, it makes things easier to deal with. 

“Involving an outsider needs to have a vote, we can’t just decide.  Send a message, I’m calling Church.  Get the officers here within the hour. If the council approves, reach out to her, get her here ASAP.”  We both nod, and get up to leave.  Church is what we call our meetings.  Only patched members are allowed to attend.  Depending on the circumstances, it can be officers only or full membership.  Dax walks out first.  Before I leave, I turn and look at Jasper, “You alright Pres?”  He looks back at me, “I can feel something coming.  My skin feels too tight, and my dragon is getting antsy.”  It’s never a good sign, when our other side gets riled up, before we do.  I just nod my head at him, not sure what else I can tell him.  We have enough space where he can let his dragon loose, without causing too much attention or problems.  Even though the world knows paranormals exist, they still get twitchy if they think we are too close.  I need another drink.

Chapter 2

Phoebe

“Come on you bastard, show me what you got.”  I have been sitting at this computer for almost eighteen hours now, trying to track down this guy’s offshore accounts. He owes his wife spousal and child support.  He has a Mcmansion and a new high maintenance wife, so he has it hiding somewhere.  Her Botox injections alone cost more than my monthly rent. They live outside of Los Angeles, but she acts like they live in Beverly Hills. Meanwhile, his ex-wife and three kids, can barely afford rent, food, and a two bedroom apartment outside of San Diego.  California cost of living is so expensive.  The fact he got caught banging his secretary made his pre-nup null and void.

Now he is stuck with his new Barbie Doll, and she is sucking his bank account dry. Of course, if she had a clue about his hidden money, she would be spending more.  I am concentrating so much, following the money trail, when my phone sounds with a text message, I jump out of my skin.  I need some sleep and a decent meal.  A diet of soda and junk food isn’t helping any.  I am so close to setting this to rights I can taste it. 

My phone starts to ring.  I glance over and see it’s the same number the text came from, as if I will answer. I don’t want to hear about my car warranty right now.  I roll my eyes at myself I really need some sleep and food.  Although, I am not sure what order I need each of those.  I get an alert for a voicemail and it starts ringing again.  Whoever is trying to get in touch with me needs to learn a bit of patience.  I continue to ignore my phone, following the money trail.  “HA!! Bastard, I got you!!!”  I start doing a happy dance in my chair, thankful no one can see me right now.  “You have been a VERY naughty boy James.”  He has over fifteen million hiding in the Cayman Islands. I am sure he has more elsewhere, his current address is misleading.  He already has a yacht worth two million.

“Hmm, let’s see how much the kids and the former Mrs. are worth, shall we??”  I get a ten percent commission for myself, so, this is going to make for a nice break before my next job.  I think seven million will last her a while.  I have already set up a new account for Stephanie, James’ ex-wife.  I also set up trust accounts for each of the kids. I work on making the transfers to each of the bank accounts, moving my cut first. I get a notification on my phone that my transfer went through.  I have to route each transfer all over the place.  I know I am not the only hacker out there. I need to make myself as invisible as possible, so it doesn’t get  traced back to me.  Just as I finish up, I get two more text messages, one phone call and one voicemail. I am popular today, just not sure if it’s the kind of attention I want. 

I make a quick call to Stephanie, giving her the access codes for the new accounts. She thanks me through tears.  I remind her, not to start spending too much, too fast, and draw attention to herself.  The back payments owed are still going through the courts, he just has a better lawyer dragging things out.

I sit back in my chair and take a deep breath.  I try to use my computer skills for good, in this case it was good and evil.  I get yet another text message, and finally drag my tired eyes to my phone.  Each message is from an unknown number, except one.  My cousin Noah, who I haven’t seen in years, is one of the messages.  The others are all from his area code, this can’t be good. Noah and I text once a month, just to do a quick check in.  We really have no other family, at least none we claim.  I know he is trying to patch in to a local MC, in Oklahoma.  I have never had a fascination with motorcycles, not that I am against them, it’s just not my thing. 

I open my foodie app and order some real food to be delivered.  I have about an hour, just enough time for a hot bath and a glass or two of wine.  As I run my bath, I open the text messages, starting with Noah.

Noah:  Hey Cuz, the MC needs your expertise.  I gave them your number and email.

Phoebe: What I can I do to help the MC??

While I wait for him to respond, I open the next message.

Unknown: Phoebe, the Havoc Predators need some computer help.  Can you get back to us?

Unknown:  Noah said you run backgrounds before returning calls.  This is for our security company, legit work. Please get back to us.

Unknown: I left a couple voicemails, I REALLY need a response.

Well, now my interest is peaked.  If the MC is calling an outsider things must be bad. I have read enough books and watched enough television to understand how things are done. Taking a deep breath, I decide to check my voicemail, still not responding to the text messages.

“Phoebe, my name is Dax. I am the tech guy for the Havoc Predators.  Noah said you would be able to help us with a little problem.  He said you run backgrounds before taking on a client.  The company name is Havoc Security.  Look forward to hearing from you.”  Hmm, nice deep voice, wonder what he looks like. I wonder if he is a paranormal, like Noah and I.

Our mothers were human sisters.  My Aunt liked the bad boys and ended up sleeping with a Goblin.  My mother, not quite as bad, my father was an owl shifter.  While I have more human traits, I still have exceptional eye sight and hearing.  Having the ability to shift would have been nice. I would never fly in a tin can again.  As I think back to my parents, such as they were, the next voicemail starts up.  “Phoebe, it’s Dax again.  I wanted to make sure you understood, we are on a tight deadline.  We will pay you twenty percent, instead of your normal ten percent, plus travel expenses.”  Wow, they must really be desperate.  Just as I am ready to get in my bathtub, my phone pings again.

Noah:  We have a security issue.  Please call Dax back it would help me out a LOT.

UGH, so much for my time off.  If I have to travel, at least I get a change of scenery.

Phoebe: I LITERALLY just finished a job.  I need some sleep and food, I will call Dax later.

Noah:  I owe you one, thanks!!

Phoebe:  Yes, you do!!

Chapter 3                                            

Liam

It’s a quiet Wednesday afternoon at the clubhouse.  The club girls are here, Jules has someone bent over the pool table.  I can’t tell who from here.  I am tired of the same old girls.  I am tired of sharing with my brothers.  I need a good lay, but not the same old pussy.  Jasper walks in, and sits next to me, at the bar.  He still looks like he hasn’t slept for days, although his shirt is clean today.  “Has Dax heard from Phoebe yet?”  I take a mouthful of beer, shaking my head.   “Noah said she had just finished a job and would get back after she got some sleep.  Dax gave her a little information, hoping to peak her interest, told her about the extra ten percent payout.”  Jasper nods, “Hopefully she gets here quick.  I really want this job off our plates.  We have too many others waiting. If we get too backed up, we’re fucked.”  We are already short staffed.  We need to hire more people, but everything has to come to a vote for outsiders.  Not to mention, for a town as small as Venus, you don’t get many new arrivals.

I start to say something to Jasper and I feel a hand on my arm.  I look down and see long bright red nails.  As I look up and glare at the owner, I fling her hand away.  “Chloe, if I wanted you to touch me, I would ask.  Don’t make me tell you again. Go rub your nasty snatch on someone else.”  Jasper chuckles just loud enough for me to hear.  She crosses her arms over her tits, trying to push her them in my face, as she pouts.  “Liam, I just wanted to make you feel good, you look tense.”  I roll my eyes, taking another swig of my beer.  I put the bottle on the bar, and stand up.  I tower over her, even with her hooker heels on.  “I am not telling you again.  If I WANT you to touch me, I will tell you to. Otherwise, get the fuck away from me.  You have been with every brother here, plus some from other chapters.  If you think someone is going to make you an Old Lady after that, you need your head examined.”  Jasper can’t contain his laughter at that one.  She huffs out an indignant breath. She looks at Jasper and he cuts her off before she even gets started.  “He’s right.  And if you continue to put hands on brothers who don’t ask, you are out of here, get me?”  She huffs out again, and storms off, slamming the door outside as she goes.  Both of us just shake our heads at her antics.  With no old ladies, yet, she really doesn’t have much competition.  I can’t wait to see when we do get them, who puts her in her place.  That’s assuming she’s still around.

The door opens, letting in the afternoon sun, Dax walks over to us.  “She get back to you yet?”  Jasper’s head picks up at my question.  Dax sighs out “Not yet.”  The prospect sets a beer in front of him, just as his phone rings. Jasper and I watch, as he pulls his phone out. When he answers, he gives us a brief nod, before walking back outside.  With the jukebox playing, it makes it difficult to conduct business.  At least it’s not a Friday or Saturday, he would have never heard his phone.  Ten minutes later, he walks back in.  He orders a shot of Patron, this can’t be good.  He downs the shot and looks at me and Jasper.  “Well??”  He nods his head several times, “She’s coming.”  We all let out a deep breath. Hopefully we can get this done quick.

Chapter 4

Phoebe

I can’t believe I took a red eye to end up driving another 4 hours to this podunk town. I need some sleep, but I need coffee more.  As I drive down the two lane road, I see quaint store fronts.  This town looks like it’s stuck in the fifties.  It’s cute, quiet, and if you blink you will miss the lot of it.  I find, what I think is a coffee shop. The sign says C8H10N4O2, what the fuck??  I park out front, climb out of the rental car, and walk inside.  The smell of fresh brewed coffee hits me, it’s wonderful.  I start to wake up just from breathing that wonderful aroma. 

There are a few tables in front of the window, a little gas fireplace in the corner, and a sign showing the Wi-Fi address. I think I just found my new favorite place to hide.  There is an older woman behind the counter, manning the register.  The glass case to the right has several fresh made pastries.  I get in line, studying the menu.  There are a couple specialty drinks, but nothing like that chain store, and I won’t have to pay five dollars for a cup either.

I step up to order, and the woman gets a huge smile “Welcome, what can I get for you hon?” I smile back, you have to, she is just too cute.  “Can I get a cappuccino, with a shot of caramel and, a blueberry scone?”  She nods her head “Sure thing. My name is Marie.  Did you just get in to town?”  As I hand her my money, “yes, I am here to visit my cousin. What does the name mean? I have never heard of a coffee shop with a bunch of letters and numbers.”  She chuckles a bit “It’s the chemical compound for caffeine.”  Yep, I have found a new favorite spot. She hands me my scone and tells me to take a seat, while my coffee is being made.  I thank her, and take a seat near the window.  I am not sure how well known or liked the MC is, and I really don’t want to start on the wrong foot.

I like to people watch.  It will also help me get a lay of the land, before I let anyone know I am in town.  They weren’t expecting me this soon.  Marie brings my cappuccino over, and takes a seat across from me.  She has a gentle smile, grey hair, and lots of laugh lines around her eyes.  I immediately like her.  “So, who is your cousin, if you don’t mind me asking?  We are a very small town, and pretty much everyone knows everyone.”  I nod my head.  This is what made me nervous about coming here.  I don’t like people in my business.  It’s why I hide in my apartment with my computer.  “His name is Noah.” I don’t want to give her any more than that.  While she looks sweet, I know looks can be deceiving.  Her smile gets bigger “Ah, yes, he is a prospect with the Predators.”  The fact she knows all of that catches me a little off guard.  She just laughs “Small town.” 

Just as I am about to respond, the door opens, with the little bell above the door tinkling.  I look up and see a behemoth of a man.  He has to be at least six foot five, the shoulders of a linebacker, and a tight ass. He fills those jeans out nicely.  I continue to take my fill, starting with the black boots, dark denim clad legs, red t-shirt and leather vest.  I get to his face and see a chiseled jaw, clean shaven, piercing dark eyes and dark hair cut close to his head.  It’s not quite a military cut, but pretty close.  I see a scowl on his face as he looks over every patron in the place.

Marie jumps up and goes over, giving him a kiss on the cheek. “Liam, what can I get for you sweetie?” Liam, as I now know who he is, seems quick to recover and respond to Marie’s question.  “Can I get two black coffees, one with a shot of espresso in it?”  Marie walks behind the counter, “Dax on his way?”  Dax, my head picks up at that.  If he is meeting Dax, is he also in the MC?  I want to smack myself upside the head, when I realize the vest he is wearing has a large Havoc Predators patch on the back of it. I really need sleep if I didn’t get that right away.  I really want to hear his voice again though.  It’s deep, and one I would LOVE to hear talk dirty to me.  I shake my head. I need to have a night in the sack with someone.  I can’t remember the last time I got laid.  I am not sure how long I will be in town on this MC job.  I don’t want to get involved with any of the “brothers” as Noah calls them.

I am still watching Liam, as I hear a throaty rumble.  As I overheard, he is expecting Dax, but this sounds like several bikes, not just one.  Liam hears it too. He mutters something to Marie, and starts for the door, stepping outside as the group of riders come to a stop.  Just as he gets there, a single rider pulls up.  I can see blonde hair sticking out from under the helmet.  He doesn’t shut off his bike. He just sits watching what this group plans to do.  I take a quick look around and realize everyone in the shop seems to be waiting for something to happen. After a long few minutes, the group guns their engines and race out of town.  The guy outside shakes his head as he shuts off his bike and removes his helmet.  He is pretty, for a man.  He seems to be about seven feet tall.  I am guessing he isn’t exactly human. He looks up and sees me sitting in the window, shooting me a quick wink, before walking over to Liam.

The bell above the door tinkles again, and they both walk inside.  I assume the blonde is Dax.  Hopefully I can observe the two of them before I garner too much attention. They both walk to the counter, Dax giving Marie a quick kiss on the cheek.  She is smiling from ear to ear.  There is too much noise for me to hear what they are discussing, even with my advanced hearing.  I finish my coffee and scone, and am waiting for them to step away from the counter before I get up. I need another coffee; this one will be to go.  I don’t want to hang around here anymore.

As Liam steps away from the counter he turns and I get that piercing gaze directed my way.  Taking a deep breath, I gather my dishes, and walk them to the counter. Marie gives me a sweet smile, and I ask for a coffee to go.  I want a quick escape, so I just get a regular cup, instead of a cappuccino, with lots of cream.  I about run out of the coffee shop, and dive in to my rental car.  I lock the door and back out. I need away from these men.  I chastise myself, what was I thinking coming here in person.  This is going to take a lot a patience working with them for any length of time.  They still won’t give me details until we meet face to face.  I can appreciate that.  Being a hacker, nothing online is safe.  I find an empty parking spot a few streets over and pull out my phone.

Phoebe:  I am in town early, where can I meet you?

Noah:  Already? They were expecting you to call first.

Phoebe:  I want to get this over with, so I can take a vacation.

Noah:  Can you come to the clubhouse?  We can talk there.

Phoebe:  No, I don’t want them to know I am here yet.

Noah: Ok, I know you have your reasons.  I can’t get away for a few hours.  Where are you staying?

Phoebe: The B&B, it looked a little cleaner that the hotel.

Noah:  It probably is.  I wouldn’t get comfortable.  They guys mentioned you staying at the compound.

Phoebe:  Why would I stay there?

Noah:  They all live here, so it is easier for meetings and stuff.

Phoebe:  I will worry about that later.  I am going to check in and take a nap.  Call when you are on your way.

Phoebe: And come ALONE!!!!

I really hope he listens to the last part.  I easily find the bed and breakfast. After I park the car, I get my bags and walk in. There is a staircase on the right. To the left is a doorway to a sitting area.  I can see a fire place with a comfortable looking sofa in a floral pattern, and several solid color wing back chairs to compliment.  To the back, is a doorway that looks like it enters the dining room.  From this angle, all I can see are several wood chairs, with gingham cushions, and an oak buffet, with Sterno trays. There is an older gentleman at the desk, who gives me a warm smile.  I have to say, everyone is pretty nice here.  I give him my name, sign the registry, and get my key.  I am on the second floor.

As I walk up the stairs, I can hear a high pitched voice talking over a vacuum cleaner.  She is complaining about someone named Nathan and bad sex. It is too early and I am too tired for this.  Her voice is like nails on a chalkboard.  She is blocking the hallway, so I can’t get to my room.  I tap her on the shoulder, as she obviously can’t hear me to ask her to move.  She shoots me a nasty look for interrupting her conversation.  “Can I help you?” she asks me.  “Yeah, I need past you, to get to my room.”  She huffs out a breath and steps a little to the side.  I have no patience for this bitch.  I am tired and just realized I forgot my coffee in the car.  Fuck this, I don’t even bother to try and squeeze through the small gap she left.  I catch her in the lip and nose, with my elbow as I walk past.  Immediately, she starts yelling about her nose gushing blood.  I look over my shoulder and smirk, as she glares at me, holding her nose. “You bitch!!!”  She starts towards me, and I drop my bags, ready to finish what I started. 

Hopefully I don’t get thrown out, that whole customer is always right thing.  I hear heavy footsteps on the stairs, as I bend to pick up my bags. I hear the nice man, from the desk, telling her to quit whining and go home. I look over my shoulder to see if he is throwing me out.  He waves me on to my room. I guess he is used to her antics.  I get to the door of my room, and have to put my bags down to use the key and open the door. 

It’s weird to find actual keys anymore, instead of those credit card things.  Once inside, I put the extra bolt on the door. I look around, it is a decent room.  It’s clean, that is a major start.  There is a queen size sleigh bed, with a duvet in shades of blue. Three of the walls are in a light grey.  The fourth is a dark blue, all the trim is white. There are white gauze curtains, and grey carpeting.  It’s homey.  I see a door in the corner, and find it’s a bathroom.  I was expecting to have to share, so that’s a nice bonus.  I draw the curtains and blinds, making the room as dark as possible.  I need a shower, but a nap is my priority.  I quickly change into a pair of sweats, lay on the bed and am dead to the world in minutes.

Chapter 5

Liam

Dax is sitting across from me, waving his hand in front of my face.  I realize I have zoned out.  The gorgeous red head that was in here earlier has me distracted. When I walked in my skin started to itch. Not to mention trying to figure out what the Full Moon Travelers were doing here.

Rhys and his crew are getting bold.  There is no love lost between our two MC’s. They have wanted our town for years. They can’t outright attack us, as we have the other charters in our favor.  For them, it’s only a handful of members.  When I come back from my wonderings Dax is laughing at me, shaking his head.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”  He laughs, again, “ever since that hot little redhead left, you have been zoned out.  What’s going on?”  I wish I knew.  “Any idea who she is?”  It’s his turn to shake his head. “No, but I wouldn’t mind finding out.”  A rumble comes from nowhere.  Dax’s eyebrows hit his hairline, “Dude, what the fuck?” I shake my head, “I wish I knew.  Ever since I walked in, and saw her sitting there, the beast won’t settle down.”  I rub my chest, trying to calm him down.  Dax tilts his head, “maybe she’s your mate?”  I start to shake my head, then stop, and then start again.  I have been around for so long, I can no longer hope to find her.  Now it’s his turn to shake his head, “never say never brother, she might be.”

I am about to respond something sarcastic when his phone goes off. He pulls it out of his pocket, reading the text.  “Noah just messaged, Phoebe is in town already. She checked in to the B&B. He is supposed to meet her later.  She didn’t want us to know she is here yet.”  Wow, the fact he notified us anyway, against her wishes, not sure if that is good or bad for him.  Noah has been a prospect for nine months.  He is close to his patch, but has a way to go yet.

I look at Dax, “I thought Jasper wanted her on the compound?” he shrugs his shoulders in response.  “Well, if that is where Pres wants her, that’s where she needs to be.  Should we go get her?”   As club Enforcer, it’s my responsibility to protect the club and make sure Jasper’s orders are followed.  I don’t care if Phoebe is a civilian or not. She is now working for us.  Dax finishes his coffee and stands “let’s go.” He has an evil look on his face. He is up to no good.

When we get to the bed and breakfast we can hear a nasally whine. Dax and I look at each other, and then follow the sound. We only have state police here, so most problems fall to the MC to resolve.  As we get to the kitchen, we see Chloe sitting in a chair with a towel to her nose. We look at each other, and then back at her. “What happened to you?”  Since she now has an audience, she lays in on heavy, telling us about how one of the guests accosted her, for no reason.

Luckily we know Chloe better than to just take her story at face value.  Herb walks out of the storage room. When he sees us he shakes his head.  “Herb, what REALLY happened?”  After hearing his version, I am more inclined to believe Chloe instigated the incident.  She isn’t happy unless she is causing trouble. Chloe jumps from her chair, forgetting all about her bloody nose.  “You can’t honestly be taking that red headed bitches side on this. I did nothing wrong.”  That has my attention. All Herb said was it involved a female guest. Dax and I share a look.  I lean in so I am nose to nose with Chloe.  “If you are smart, you stay away from her.  If she is who I think she is, she is doing the MC a favor, and you will face Jasper’s wrath if you fuck it up.”  Her face goes a little pale at that statement.  She finally regains her composure. She turns to Herb, “I don’t think this is going to work out, I quit.”  He pulls an envelope from his back pocket and hands it to her, “saves me from firing your lazy ass.” As Chloe’s jaw drops, Dax and I double over laughing.  When we gain our composure we walk upstairs.  Herb was nice enough to give us her room number, before he escorted Chloe off property.

We get to the door.  Dax looks at me “do you want to knock, or should I?”  He chuckles at his own joke.  I pound on the door.  After a minute or two with no response, I pound again, still nothing.  I look at Dax.  He has the same concerned look on his face. I pound one more time, just as I raise my fist for the last hit on the door it swings open.  The same red head from the coffee shop, hair mussed with an irritated look on her face and hands on her hips as she stands in front of us.  Her lips have a perfect cupids bow. Nice pert tits and firm round ass for holding on to while I pound in to her from behind, and lots of hair to grab as well.  As I continue to look down her body, I see she has changed to sweat pants, and her foot is tapping.  I look back up to see an eyebrow raised over one eye, and a look of total contempt.  She takes a deep breath, runs a hand through her hair and says “I guess my asshole cousin is more loyal to the MC than blood.” 

Now it’s my turn to raise an eyebrow. “What do you want? I told him to come alone.”  She pokes her head out the door, looking up and down the hall way.  “Jasper wants you to stay at the compound.  We are here to escort you there.”  Immediately she starts shaking her head.  “I already told Noah, I was staying here.  I could care less what Jasper wants.”  Both Dax and I growl at that, no one disrespects the President.  I go to respond and Dax puts a hand on my chest stopping me.  “I think we might have gotten off on the wrong foot.    I am Dax, the tech guy, the one you spoke to on the phone.  This is Liam, he is our Enforcer.”  He puts his hand out to shake hers.  She looks at it for a minute before reaching her own out and shaking hands.  A loud growl comes from nowhere.  They both stop, mid handshake and look at me.  Dax gets a know it all smirk on his face.  Just to prove a point, while he still holds Phoebe’s hand, bends over and kisses the top.  I grab him by the shoulder and pull him away from her, throwing him against the wall.  Dax starts laughing from his place on the hall floor. Phoebe has both hands back on her hips and a glare on her face.  I throw my hands in the air and stalk down the hall to the steps.

I pace the sidewalk out front, near our bikes.  I don’t understand what is going on.  My skin starts to itch, like I have ants crawling all over. Is it possible?  I have never had this reaction to any woman before.  At over five hundred years old, I had all but given up hope of finding my mate.  Once I calm myself down, I go back up to Phoebe’s room.  Dax, wisely, is still in the hall way. Of course, I can hear her yelling at him, over going to the compound. As I reach her room, I find her throwing the few unpacked belongings back in to her suitcases.  All while cursing and yelling about over bearing males. 

Once she is packed, I step in to the room to gather her bags.  She has a death grip on one bag, I am assuming contains her laptop.  I let her keep it.  Once we get downstairs, I see Herb back at the desk, a look of amusement on his face.  Dax walks over, and hands him several large bills. “This should take care of the lost income.”  Herb nods his head, and gives his thanks.  I put a hand on Phoebe’s lower back, and walk her to the rental car.  Once she pulls out of the parking lot, Dax leads, with her in the middle and me in the rear.  With the Travelers in town earlier, we aren’t taking any chances with her safety.

Chapter 6

Phoebe

We drive for about a half hour, west of town.  There is really not much to see, farm land and some scattered houses. Definitely a difference from the city I am used to.  I realize we have started slowing down.  I see a driveway coming up on the right, with a building near the street and a small parking lot.  As we get closer to the building, I realize it is some kind of store front, with a couple offices attached. The far end has several garage bays, with the doors open.  Dax and Liam each pull in to a spot on either side of my rental car.  I have already agreed to work with them. I am not sure why they are acting like I am just going to run off. I hear my name being called, and turn my head to the left.  Noah is approaching me, with a big smile on his face. He gets to me, arms out for a hug and I punch him in the face. 

Immediately, he drops to his knees, blood running through his fingers, as he clutches his nose.  Dax and Liam are both doubled over laughing. A few other guys come out to see what is going on, when they see Noah on his knees at my feet. Noah is glaring at me, “what was that for?”  I lean in, so only he can hear me.  “That’s for running your mouth about me being here early.  I told you to meet me later and come alone.”  He at least looks remorseful, although I am still fuming.

I feel a hand on my arm, “Come on Rocky, let’s introduce you to Jasper.”  I pull my arm free and lean back in to my car.  Of course the juveniles they are start with the cat calls and whistles.  I hear a growl, and all laughter stops immediately.  I look over my shoulder and see Liam shooting each of them a death glare.  I don’t understand his problem.  I grab my purse and computer bag, lock the car, and follow Liam in to one of the offices. 

The one in the middle of the building says Havoc Rental and Real Estate.  The other is Havoc Security.  We enter the Havoc Security office, and move to an office at the end of a long hallway.  The walls are white, with an industrial style carpet in grey.  I didn’t get much of a chance to look at the outer office.  I would have fallen from being rushed while trying to look around.  Dax is already seated in front of a desk.  Behind the desk is one hulk of a man. I thought Liam was big. As I get closer to the desk, he stands, with his hand out, “Hello, I’m Jasper, President of the Havoc Predators, thank you for coming.”  I return the hand shake and sit in the empty chair in front of his desk.  I can feel the heat from Liam’s body at my back.  Instead of feeling wary or nervous, his presence actually makes me relax.  Not sure what to take from that.  “I want to have Dax bring you up to speed on the case we need your help with.  He is our tech guy, but whoever this thief is, keeps getting past the firewalls and other security measures.”  I nod my head, getting through a firewall can be child’s play.

I look at both Jasper and Dax, “where will I be working from?”  Jasper responds, “We have our tech room set up a couple doors down the hall.  This is part of why I wanted you to stay at the compound.  If the hours go long, you don’t have to try making the drive back to town.  If you need something, just let Dax know, and we will get it.” I just nod my head.  “I tend to work long odd ball hours.  I need to make sure I have access to snacks, coffee and able to get some food brought in when I want it.”  Jasper asks me to make a list of what snacks I want.  Cream or sugar for the coffee, and what types of food I prefer, that kind of thing.  “I will have the prospects get you anything, you need.”  I chuckle, “good Noah needs to make up for ratting me out.”  At that comment Jasper raises an eyebrow and looks between Dax and Liam.  “Rocky here punched Noah in the nose as soon as he got close enough, brought him to his knees with one punch.”  Jasper’s eyes go wide at that, looking me over from head to toe.  I just shrug my shoulders.

“Ok, since my nap was interrupted” I shoot a dirty look, over my shoulder, at Liam, “I need to get a bit more sleep, then we can start.”  Dax is already shaking his head.  “It’s Friday.”  I look between the men “so??”  His jaw hits the floor, “we party Friday’s.”  I chuckle, shaking my head.  “I DON’T party of Fridays, especially if I have a job to do. So, you either adjust your party schedule, or I am out.”  Before Dax has a chance to respond, Jasper steps in. “Dax will do whatever is necessary.  This job is a priority to complete.” I thank Jasper, and stand up.

I start to lose my balance, from moving so fast, and having not eaten for a while.  Liam grabs me around the waist before I can go down.  I look at him through my lashes “thank you.”  He gives me a nod letting me go and leaves the room.  I look back over my shoulder. Dax and Jasper both have smirks on their faces.  I work my way back to the car, and find Liam propped against the door.  As I get closer, he straightens out, and helps me get in. He bends down, “if you follow me, I can get you in a room, so you can nap.  I will also get you something to eat. I am guessing that’s why you were a little unsteady there.”  I just nod my head. He is a little too observant.

Chapter 7

Liam

The more I am around this woman the more she is messing with my head.  I have been walking around with a hard on all damn morning.  She is currently following me to the clubhouse.  We have several rooms here, but with the party tonight, I don’t want to leave her here.  I haven’t talked to Jasper, but I can tell from the looks him and Dax were giving me, they know I am protective.  I will set her up in one of the spare rooms, in my house.

I continue to drive past the clubhouse. My house is the second one, on the right side of our little road.  The house before mine belongs to Mordecai, our Sargent at Arms.  The first house, on the left side of the road is Jasper’s. The house across the street from me belongs to Mason, our VP. 

All of the officers got first pick of the lots.  We all decided that it was best if we were closest to the clubhouse, in case of emergencies. Each of our houses come equipped with a storm cellar, being in tornado alley and all. We even have one in the basement of the clubhouse.  Yes, it’s odd to have a basement, but it not only helps to support the original structure, but, in case of parties, it is faster to get to safety. The clubhouse is an old barn, with red siding.  Over the years, the wood just kept getting ripped off, in downdrafts.  It was easier, and a more uniform look to just change it all, to aluminum siding.

My house is a one story ranch with a wraparound porch.  It has four bedrooms and three and a half baths.  A pair of the bedrooms has a Jack and Jill bathroom. I am not sure why, but as we park in my driveway, my nerves ratchet up.  I really hope Phoebe likes the house.  After I dismount my bike, I walk over to her car, and start to collect her bags.  Per usual, she has a death grip on her computer.

I open the front door, and step to the side so she can walk in first.  Unfortunately, being behind her, I can’t see her expression.  She is looking around taking everything in.  I look around my house again, trying to look at it from her perspective.  To the immediate right is the doorway to the master bedroom suite. The living room is done in creams and browns, with a black leather sofa.  There is a sixty inch flat screen television mounted to the wall, and floor to ceiling windows across the front of the house.  I don’t have much on the walls, never saw a need. 

There is an oak table, in the formal dining room.   The kitchen is all modern appliances, done in stainless, and a six burner gas stove, with grill.  The stove hood is done in copper.  The island has copper pans hanging from a rack above it. All the cabinets are a light oak color, with some having frosted glass doors.  A small table sits in the left corner of the kitchen.  Sliding glass doors lead to a back patio area, where the grill and outdoor bar is set up. It is mostly an open concept.  There is an entrance to a small hallway on the far right side of the kitchen to the hall.  The hallway leads to the laundry and other bedrooms.

I realize she is standing there staring at me. I smile weekly, and shrug.  I put my hand on her lower back, and guide her through the house.  “I have 3 spare bedrooms you can choose from.  Two share a bathroom, the other is separate from the bathroom in the hall.”  She has a funny look on her face.  “This is your HOUSE???”  I don’t understand the issue, again.  “Yes, I thought you would be safer here.  Shit, not that you aren’t but, staying in the clubhouse can get a little rowdy.  There is next to no privacy, and if your sleep schedule is as hectic as you say, you are not going to get any rest.” She seems to think it over, and nods her head.  “I will take one attached to the bathroom, thank you for the consideration.”

Something in my chest lightens at that.  I have a nagging that won’t quit, and my cock just gets harder the longer I am with her.  Yes, I am starting to think Dax is right, and maybe she is my mate.  I am not sure how I feel about it.  I don’t sense her being anything other than human.  This could pose an issue.  Obviously she knows of paranormals, since Noah, a Goblin shifter, is her cousin.  I will have to take it slow, get her to relax and open up around me. 

I realize she has found the bedroom herself. Again, the room, in fact the whole house, is done in the same, cream, brown and black, plus or minus some woodwork.  As I walk fully in to the room, I realize she is already falling asleep.  I grab the blanket off the foot of the bed and cover her up.  I fold the bottom up, and take off her shoes, then fold it back down.   I feel something tighten in my chest.  I arrange her bags, so if she gets up, she doesn’t stumble on them.  I slowly walk out of the room, and pull the door closed.  I don’t close it all the way, in case she needs anything.

I go to the kitchen and start going through the fridge.  I need to make sure my mate is taken care of.  I laugh to myself, my mate.  I need to make a list and send a prospect to the store.  I hope she likes pasta.  I wasn’t expecting her and I don’t have much else to make. I run my hands over my face several times.  I need to discuss things with her, later.  We can get to know each other first. Then we can make decisions for our future.

Chapter 8

Phoebe

I wake up and the sun is setting or rising, I can’t really tell.  It takes me a few minutes to figure out it’s evening, and remember I am at Liam’s house on the compound grounds. I can hear the television from the front of the house, and smell garlic and spices. My stomach takes that moment to growl, loudly, reminding me the last thing I had to eat was earlier this morning, at the coffee shop.  I slowly stretch as I continue to wake up.  I need a shower and to get dressed.  I want to get this project over with, and start my vacation.  I dig some clothes from my suitcase and head for the shower.

The bathroom is nice, all cream colored tile, with bronze fixtures and brown accents.  It’s obvious he lives alone, so I wonder who decorated.  I start the shower, letting the water get hot.  I can hear Liam coming down the hall towards the room I am in. I guess he realized I am awake.  “I made pasta and meatballs, if you are hungry.” I am not sure how he knew I was a sucker for a good pasta dish, I am starving. “That sounds good I will be out in a few minutes.”  I hear his footsteps going back to the front of the house.  I strip down and get in the shower. The hot water on my tired muscles feels great.

After getting washed, including shampooing this mop of hair on my head, I force myself to get out of the shower.   I could have stayed under that hot water all night, but I have things to do I’m not on vacation yet.  I throw on a pair of dark wash jeans with a long sleeve t-shirt and some tennis shoes.  I don’t bother putting makeup on. I will just be sitting at a computer and I am not out to impress any of these guys.  I am just happy I remembered my leave in conditioner.  I put a little bit of lotion on my face, and head towards that wonderful aroma.

“Did you have a good nap?”  I was so lost in thought, on the project ahead, I never noticed Liam standing in front of the stove.  “I did, thank you.  The bed was more comfortable than the one in my apartment.”  Liam gives me a soft smile. “Here, I made you a plate.  You are probably starving. I haven’t seen you eat all day.”  I nod my head. “I grabbed a scone this morning, at the coffee shop.”  His eyebrows draw down and he gets a scowl on his face, like that bothers him. “You need to take better care of yourself.”  I raise an eyebrow at him and give a slight shake of my head.  “Do you have any coffee?  I need to get my head in the game, if I am going to start working this case.”  He turns around and I hear the whirring of the machine.  It is one of those newer machines with the frothing attachment.

While the coffee machine does its thing, Liam sets a plate in front of me.  There is enough food to feed three people.  I look at him, then the plate, and back at him. “I REALLY hope you don’t expect me to eat all this.”  He shakes his head, as he walks away muttering about stubborn mates. 

He walks back to the table with another plate, and a steaming cup.  Its heaven, not only is it coffee, I realize he made me a latte.  “I am going to get spoiled with this kind of service.”  I take a sip of the latte, and moan.  He added a little bit of caramel too.  I hear something growling, and realize it’s coming from Liam.  I raise an eyebrow, as I put my cup back on the table.  He takes a deep breath, like he is gearing up to say something, and then seems to change his mind.    I start to eat the dinner he made me.  It tastes so good. I am afraid of what he would do if I moaned again, so I just continue to eat.

“I need to call Dax, when you are ready to head to the office.  I already had the prospects grab your snacks.  The refrigerator and coffee is all full, for when you need it.”  I nod, since I have a mouth full of pasta.  “Thank you, once I start a project, I tend to go full tilt until I finish it.  I have gone thirty-six hours at a time, on high problem cases.”  He starts scowling again. I don’t know what I said this time to cause that.  “Please tell me if you are tired or hungry you will take a break.  The last thing any of us want is you causing yourself harm trying to help us.”  I nod my head. “I appreciate the concern, but this is how I usually operate, don’t worry about it.”

I eat about a third of the food he gave me.  “Can I get another one of these to take with me, to the office?” holding up the coffee cup.  “I don’t know what kind of machine is there, but this is the kick I need to get started.”  He has a funny look on his face “You can have anything you want sweetheart.”  I catch part of a grimace on his face before he turns around and heads back to the counter.  I am not sure what is going on.  I have been called a lot worse than sweetheart. 

I pick up my dish and walk it over to the sink.  “Do you have a container or something to put this in?  I hate to see it go to waste.” He starts to rummage around in the cabinet, turning around with two plastic containers in his hand.  “You should take one with you, and heat it up later.  It would be better than the junk food.”  Ok, now I am really starting to get pissed.  Who the fuck does he think he is, I met him twelve hours ago, if that.  “Ok, DAD, can I go to prom with Dax?”  I hear this awful noise, and realize he has mutilated the pan he was in the middle of washing.  He takes a deep breath like he is gathering his thoughts. I really don’t know what his problem is.  He puts the pan in the garbage can.  When he turns around, he pins me to the counter, with an arm on either side of me, caging me in.

“Listen sweetheart, I am NOT your father, but I AM your mate!!”  At first we just stare at each other, and then what he said seems to break through his haze of anger.  He puts his finger under my chin and closes my mouth.  Mate?  I have heard other paranormals talk about the elusive fated mate.  I know both my parents and Noah’s were not mates. Him and I were both accidents, and consequently treated as such. He backs away from me, running his hands through his hair.  He gets my coffee finished, pouring it in a travel mug and hands it to me without saying a word.  I take the cup, grab my laptop bag, and purse.  I check to make sure I have my phone, not that I will pay any attention to it, along with my charger, and walk out the door.  I have Dax’s number, I will call him myself.

Once I am in the car, I get my phone out, and text Dax.  I am sure, from the booming bass coming from the clubhouse, the party is in full swing and he will never hear it ring.  Just as I am ready to pull out of the driveway, I see a shadow fall across the window.  I jump and let out a slight scream, and I almost spill my coffee, it’s Liam.  I put the window down a couple of inches, so I can easily yell.  “Do NOT sneak up on me like that.” He shakes his head and walks over to his bike.  He is one very confusing male.

As we pull in to the lot, at the security company, not only is Dax there but so are Jasper and two other men I haven’t met yet.  I get out of the car, grabbing my bags and coffee “Hello boys, I guess Dax brought the party here?”  Jasper laughs “We wanted to make sure you were comfortable and had what you needed.  Dax will be helping you, as much as possible.  The other two can be gofers.” 

This gets a couple of moans from the guys.  “Are you going to introduce me, or am I just supposed to call them Hottie One and Hottie Two?”  This earns some big smiles to break the ice, while I hear growling behind me. I glance over my shoulder and see Liam scowling at his friends.  I turn around and Jasper points to the guy just to his left “This is Mason. He is the club Vice President.  The other clown is Wyatt, our Treasurer.”  They both give me a slight head nod. “Well gentlemen, I don’t know about you, but I can think of better things to do that flap our gums all night.” 

Jasper turns and opens the door to the security office.  They have one small table lamp on, in the far right corner. There are some standard waiting room chairs, in grey, to match the carpeting.  Other than a sign with the company logo, the walls are void of anything else, and are just plain white.  There is a fake palm tree in the front right corner, this place needs help.

I turn to Jasper “You guys need to do some updating on this office.  I am not sure how you get clients if they come here and see this.”  Mason chimes in, “You can always redecorate when this is done. Make it how you like it.” I am not sure how to take that statement, so I just ignore it.  I look between Dax and Jasper “Show me where I am working, I want to get started.”  Dax puts his hand on my lower back and guides me down the hall way.  This earns another growl from Liam.  I stop dead and turn around, with my hands on my hips.  “If you can’t stop this bull shit, get out.”  Every single one of them stops dead in their tracks looking between Liam and myself.  I am not sure what is going on, other than his comment about mates, but I have work to do.

Dax gets me up to speed on the measures they have taken.  He is stumped on how they keep getting through.  It takes me a few hours but I figure out they are back tracing his ISP, he never used a VPN blocker to hide his trail, rookie mistake. Once I get some of that cleaned up, I add some additional security.  That was the easy part, now the fun begins.  I have been in front of the computers for about six hours now. The guys keep wandering in and out asking if I need anything.  It’s sweet that they ask, but it is starting to break my concentration.  I am used to working alone.  I have one of my custom programs running, trying to back trace the electronic trail. Whoever this is is good, but I am better.

Chapter 9

Liam

She has been at this for hours.  I know she is getting annoyed with my hovering, but I can’t leave her alone.  My inner beast is starting to get antsy with the mating. All these other single males around her are not helping.  Mason walks over to where I am sitting.  I pulled a chair from the lobby into the hall way.  I can see her from where I sit, but I am trying to stay out of her way.  She is right. She is here for a job. The fact that she is my mate is coincidence. 

“So, how are you holding up?  Does she know yet?” I run my hand over my face and take a deep breath.  “Yeah, I sort of blurted it out just before we left to come here.” He cringes.  “How did she react?” Now that he brings it up, I tilt my head to the side “she didn’t really.” 

“Ouch” Yes that pretty much sums it up.  He puts a hand on my shoulder, “Good luck, let me know if I can do anything to help.”  I just nod my head.  I am not sure what to do, so I can’t really ask.

I can hear her clicking away on her laptop. She doesn’t have her nails done like the club girls to.  I guess with all the typing she does it would make it a little difficult.  I lean my head back against the wall and just listen to Phoebe mutter as she does her thing. Every once in a while she gets up and walks around the small office stretching her neck and arms.  I am hesitant to interrupt her and break her concentration, but all she has eaten is junk food.

“You need to take a break and eat something other than garbage.”  I need to make sure my mate is taking care of herself.  As I walk in to the computer room I see her shaking her head.  “I can’t stop.  If, assuming it’s a male, he picks up my trail, he can change his protocols and I will have to start from scratch.” I don’t know enough about what she is doing to argue.  “If I bring something you can eat while you type, can you handle that?”  She mutters under her breath “yeah, if it will get you to leave me alone.”

I walk back to the lobby and call Noah.  “Hang on.”  I pull the phone away from my ear.  I am one step away from going to the clubhouse and remind him who he is talking to.  “Sorry, there is so much noise over there I needed to step in to the kitchen.”  Ok, I will let him slide, a little. “I know you know who was on the phone, watch your tone with me.”  “Yes sir” That’s more like it.  He doesn’t have his patch yet.

“I need you to make Phoebe something to eat. Something she doesn’t need to stop what she is doing to eat.”  He thinks about it.  “I can do a bunch of finger foods. I will have someone run it over when it’s ready.  I need about ten minutes.”  I look at Mason he gives me a quick nod.  With our advanced hearing I know he heard the whole conversation.  “Mason is coming to get it.” I hang up before he can reply.

“Thank you” He nods his head as he leaves.  I walk back down the hall and resume my watch.  Just as I get comfortable Phoebe gets frantic in her motions. I am not sure what is happening but my beast is too close to the surface.  I am ready to destroy anything that upsets her.

Chapter 10

Phoebe

“Come on, come on, come on.”  I am so close to tracking this bastard down.  He is good.  I have tracked his electronic trail all over the world and then some constantly changing IP address and hiding.  My whole body is starting to ache.  I need a bottle of wine and a bottle of pain relievers. Maybe I will try and get them to spring for a massage.  They really need to get more comfortable furniture.

Liam has been sitting in the hall keeping a silent vigil. I appreciate that more than he knows.  I am sure he is still waiting for me to respond to his mate comment.  I guess that part of my shifter parentage didn’t carryover either.

Not that I really know much. My father, really just more of a sperm donor, didn’t stick around long enough to help guide me on what may or may not happen. 

I need to forget about my deadbeat daddy and put the mate thing on the back burner.  I can’t afford to be distracted right now.  Dax is still pouting as he types away on his own computer. His security protocols were good just not good enough.  I gave him some instruction as to how to make the security stronger. Once I did that, he immediately started to reinforce all the companies they do security for.  I will work on the MC database later.

“Motherfucker!” Immediately I have everyone’s attention.  Liam is directly behind me.  Dax looks at me, hands hovering over his own keyboard.  Jasper is in the doorway.  “What happened, what’s wrong?”  I am not sure who exactly asked that question.

“The money trail leads to the Cayman Islands.”  I look up from my screen and see three blank faces.  “Is that supposed to mean something specific?” this came from Jasper.  I take a deep breath, hold it, then slowly let it back out.  I actually do this several times. I can tell the guys are getting antsy waiting for my response.  When I have calmed down a little I finally raise my head back up.

“The case I just finished was a hack of accounts from a bank in the Cayman Islands.”  They all look at me like they are waiting for the punchline of a joke.  I pinch the bridge of my nose before I finally spell it out.” 

“I hacked a guy’s account and transferred money he owed his ex-wife for child and spousal support. I moved it to another offshore account, also in the Cayman’s.  When you have money you don’t want anyone to find, you hide it with a place that doesn’t want attention.  Some people use Switzerland, others use the Cayman’s etc.”  Understanding lights on all their faces.

“So our hacker took our clients’ money and has it hiding in an offshore account?  This came from Dax I think.  I have focused my attention back on the computer screen.  I have found the bank I just have to get the rest of the details and shut this down.

“Can you tell me the total of what is missing?” I ask that to the room at large.  I don’t know if they all know or if I will be told, not being part of the MC.  If I know how much I am looking for it might help narrow down the accounts. Some of these balances are more than I will see in ten lifetimes.

Mason walks in with a takeout container and sets it down next to my laptop.  He has a puzzled look on his face, looking around the room.  “What did I miss?”  Wyatt pulls him to the side to catch him up while I open the box he brought me.  Right now Noah is my favorite person.  All deep fried goodness, chicken fingers, cheese sticks, jalapeno poppers the works.  Taking a bite of a cheese stick I let out a moan.  I didn’t realize I was that hungry.  As I chew my food I realize I have the attention of every male in the room and Liam is growling again. “Sorry” I mutter around a mouth full of food.

Jasper finally breaks the tension “Fifteen million dollars.”  I freeze.  Liam immediately picks up on my mood change.  “What’s wrong? Are you choking?  Do I need to do the Heimlich maneuver? Sweetheart please tell me what is wrong?”  I slowly come out of my stupor.

I look up at the guys. They are all staring at me everything else forgotten. I stand up not being able to sit still while I tell this story. Taking a deep breath I explain the situation of James and Stephanie, making sure I mention Botox Barbie.

Wyatt lets out a low whistle as the rest of the guys flop into the nearest chair.  “So let me make sure I understand this.  James Henderson cheated on his wife, Stephanie, refused to pay her alimony and child support.  She then hired you knowing he had money hiding. You found an account in his name, in a Cayman Islands bank, transferred almost half in to five different accounts, including yourself.”

“Yes, that about sums it up.”  Not sure what else to do for a minute.  My attention goes back to my food. As I continue to eat Liam starts rubbing the knots out of the shoulder muscles.  I catch myself wanting to moan at how good that feels. “I will give you a week to stop doing that.”

At my comment Dax looks over at the two of us. “I hate to break up the lovefest but can we get you to add to the conversation please.”  I pat Liam’s hands letting him know its ok.  We have lots of time. I take a deep breath, wiping my hands on my jeans.  I stand back up to pace.  There are times I need to walk it out as I think of what my next step should be.

“So, we suspect that James Henderson at least had the same amount in his account, that the Robinson’s have missing.” I pause my pacing and look at Liam “Would you please make me another latte?  I think our evening is going to run a lot longer, I need caffeine.”  He nods his head and walks out.

Chapter 11

Liam

The fact that Phoebe is asking for my assistance even if it is only to make her a latte is making my beast purr like a kitten.  He is happy that she is eating, at least a little, of the food we provided.  We are both happy that I finally got my hands on her and she liked it.  I know she is busy and I assume that is why she hasn’t brought up my mate comment.  I have to keep reminding myself we have time.  I at least now have her in my life.  That is more than I had two days ago.

As I walk back in to the computer room I hear Mason ask “So James Henderson is our hacker?”  Before he even finishes his statement Phoebe is shaking her head.  “Several reasons it is not him. First he never gets his hands dirty.  He is smart but lazy.  Second he isn’t smart enough be able to hide this well.  He is paying someone else to do this for him.”

The fact that both cases are linked because of Henderson seems like a giant coincidence.  I am sure the guys are thinking the same thing.  “So, how do we go about this?  You have moved stolen money from James and gave most of it to Stephanie. It wasn’t his to start with.”

Phoebe keeps standing up and sitting down, pacing in between.  Her agitation is not helping me settle my beast down at all. He really doesn’t like to see her upset.  I finally reach out and pull her in to my lap.  I see a few smiles before they are either covered up or turn their heads.  Phoebe doesn’t fight me in fact she leans back and puts her head on my shoulder.  That damn purring starts again causing Dax and Wyatt to laugh their asses off. “Just remember this fuckheads.  When you find your mate remember what they say about payback.”  They try and tone down the laughter some remembering we have a bad situation to deal with.

Phoebe takes a deep breath “I will give back my commission. I will divert it directly to the Robinson account.  I can also call Stephanie Henderson and explain some of the situation to her.  I feel bad, it’s probably the first time in a while she has been able to breathe regarding the next meal for those kids.”

Jasper asks her “How far back is he?”  Phoebe shakes her head “I am not totally sure. I know she was several months behind on all her bills, including rent, and putting food on the table.”  I have an idea of what Jaspers solution might be.  After several minutes he gives a quick head nod. “When you talk to her, let her know the MC will be sending her two hundred and fifty thousand dollars.” Phoebe is so excited she jumps out of my lap and runs over to Jasper giving him a giant bear hug.  I don’t like her touching another man so I quickly pry her away from him and go back to my seat. She gives me a funny look that I ignore.  The guys all laugh at me. I don’t care.  I can’t wait until they find their mates and see how much they like it.

Chapter 12

Phoebe

“What time is it?”  Having started so late at night and being in a room with no windows I have lost all conception of time.  The MC is used to keeping weird hours so other than running out for supplies they have all been right here with me.

Just before I get an answer, we all hear the lobby door open.  Jasper is still in the doorway and can see who it is.  He does a weird man-shake thing guys do and as he steps back in the room the newcomer joins him.  The man is almost as tall as both Dax and Jasper.  I know my mouth is hanging open.  This guy has muscles upon muscles. He wears the typical MC uniform, jeans, boots, t-shirt and cut.  I asked Noah earlier, so I didn’t embarrass myself, about the vests. He told me they are called cuts and other than their bike, is their most prized possession.  You don’t mess with a man’s cut.  He has reddish brown hair and piercing green eyes.  I feel intimated in his presence.  Liam must be able to tell my unease as he steps behind me placing his hands on my shoulders.

Jasper gets a soft smile on his face “Phoebe this is Mordecai, our Sargent at Arms.”  He nods his head and gives a small grunt.  “Hello” I am not sure where my lady balls are right now, but this guy is scary.  I will have to ask Liam later what everyone is.  It isn’t very polite to just blurt the question out.  I don’t even know what Liam is yet.  Being the whole mates thing he might get really upset if I ask about his friends first.

“Ok, can someone tell me the time?  I don’t want to scare Stephanie Henderson calling her at three in the morning.”  I get general nods of agreement. Finally Mason answers “It is actually seven in the morning.” Wow I knew we had been working a while but my internal clock is way off.

“Well she is still two hours behind us. Can someone set an alarm on their phone for at least two hours from now?”  They look at me like I am crazy.  Finally I grab Liam’s phone from his back pocket and do it myself.  He keeps giving me a heated look when I initiate touching him.  I could feel his erection while I was sitting on his lap.  As I put his phone away he starts to purr again.  I look up at him through my lashes and give him a soft smile.  I am not against being his mate we just need to get to know each other a little more first.

“Ok, so what do we do during the next two hours?”  I look over at Dax with an evil smile on my face.  He gives a slight groan as I respond “We burry the bastard.”  The other guys laugh when he mutters under his breath about getting laid.  If the other club girls are as skanky as they look I am doing him a favor.

Chapter 13

Liam

It’s been four hours since Phoebe talked to Stephanie Henderson.  Phoebe gave her the highlights of the situation.  She broke down in tears until Phoebe got to the point in the story about the MC giving her money.  She immediately tried to refuse it, but Jasper wasn’t hearing it.  After all, it isn’t her fault the ex-husband is a piece of shit.

I keep making Phoebe lattes every thirty minutes or so.  I don’t know how she is surviving on all this caffeine.  I know when she is done with this she is going to crash hard.  I will need to make sure she has what she needs.  I am useless when it comes to computers so if this is what I can do to help I will continue to do so.

Dax has gone back to reinforcing all of our internet security.  Phoebe has transferred all of the seven million from Stephanie Henderson’s account, plus her commission back in to the Robinson’s account.  She added some extra protection there so James Henderson doesn’t take it back again.  She said if anyone tries she will get an alert on her phone.

She is not only trying to get the remainder of the original fifteen million transferred back to our client but also looking to see who else James Henderson and his partner have stolen from.  On top of that she is trying to track down where they are hiding it. The Cayman Island banks are not the only ones who help hide illegal money from the United States Government.

“Sweetheart you need to eat something more than the junk food.  What can I get you?”  She looks at me with tired eyes shaking her head “I can’t stop, just make it easy to eat. I’m not picky.” I nod and walk back out to the lobby.  Pulling out my phone I text the prospect.

Liam:  Phoebe needs real food. Something healthy that can be eaten easily.  Handle it!

Noah: On it.

At least he is being useful.  I know we are all starting to feel the effects of no sleep.  I can only imagine how tired Phoebe is.  She is doing most of the work.

I go back to the computer room and sit in a chair in the far corner. We have servers along the whole back wall.  They are stacked from floor to ceiling. There are two tables, length wise, in the center of the room.  Two computers are set up on each one side by side. They are set up so those working can either be across from one another or next to each other. There are several chairs along each wall, just in case someone needs to observe or multiple people are working on one computer.

Dax is currently across from Phoebe while the one next to her is running some program.  Dax just got back from a three hour nap.  Jasper and Mason are currently sleeping and will be back later.  Wyatt slept some of the night, so he is running interference for the rest of the MC.

As far as I am concerned, I will sleep when Phoebe does.  I don’t want to leave her alone.  Between all the single males my beast won’t settle.  It also isn’t fair if I get to lay down when she is killing herself for us. I feel a hand on my arm and look up.  Phoebe is looking down at me with a soft smile on her face. “Go take a nap, please.  I am good to go and if I need you, you won’t be of any use if you are overtired.”  She has a point.  I nod as I stand.  “Are you sure you are going to be okay?”  She nods “I will be fine, just doing my hacker thing.”  She lets out a small giggle.

“Noah is working on getting you something to eat. The farthest he can get is the lobby, since he is just a prospect.  I will let him know to text Dax when he gets here.”  She nods then stands on her tip toes to give me a kiss on the cheek.  She whispers “Sleep well my mate.”

My face breaks out into the biggest grin.  The fact that she acknowledged us as mates has my beast preening like a peacock.  I give her a peck on the cheek as well.  “Don’t hesitate to have someone wake me up if you need me.  I will only be gone a short time. I don’t want to stay away from you for long.”

She nods, “Ok, we can talk more later about our mating.” I nod and walk out to my bike.  I love my bike.  It is a custom, most of our bikes are.  Being paranormal a regular motorcycle frame is not strong enough for our weight and size. My bike is black. The tank has grey graphics, mini ape hangers, black and grey saddle bags, two into one header with some of the loudest pipes we could create.  Of course you can’t forget the chrome.

Liam: I am going home to get some sleep. Text Dax when you have Phoebe’s food ready, bring it to the security office.

Noah: Ok

As I pull in my driveway my chest feels funny. Those ants start to crawl on my skin again.  It has to be due to my separation and worry over Phoebe.  As I walk down the hall I find myself in the room Phoebe slept in yesterday.  Her scent is everywhere.  Immediately my beast starts to settle down.  I strip down to my boxers, hanging up my cut and climb in bed.  I am surrounded by her smell on the pillows, blanket, and her clothes.  I fall asleep almost immediately.

Chapter 15

Phoebe

“So, you will be joining us permanently I guess?” I look up from the computer screen to see the smirk on Dax’s face.  “I am not discussing this with you before I have discussed it with Liam.”  He chuckles as he nods his head.  “I get it.  You will be good for him.” I smile as I go back to my computer.

Just as I am about to start some more back tracing, alarms start blaring everywhere.  Dax starts to panic.  Wyatt runs in from the other office, I didn’t even realize he came back from the clubhouse.  “What’s going on?”  Next I have Jasper and Mason running in with puzzled looks on their faces.

“Damn it!”  I am typing as fast as I can.  I don’t understand how he got through.  “Dax, did you get all those updates in, like I asked you to?”  He has the right to look humble.  “No, I was so tired I figured I could get caught up soon enough when I got back.”

“Fuck!”  The lights on the servers start going off.  I can’t type fast enough to disable his access.  This guy working for James Henderson just might be better than I am.  What were only minutes seems like hours but I finally shut off his access to the back trace on the Havoc Security systems.  Finally all alerts stop I am so dumbfounded I just sit and stare at the screen for a minute.

Dax’s phone goes off. “Prospect is at the door with Phoebe’s food.”  Wyatt turns to get it, being he was still next to the door. I can’t even think of eating right now.  All the guys are just staring at me.  “I need a minute.”  They all nod and let me leave the room. I go to the restroom and splash cold water on my face.  I have never gone against someone this good.  I take a deep breath and slowly let it out. I do this several times trying to get myself under control.  I don’t have time to breakdown.  I would really appreciate having Liam’s arms around me right now, but he isn’t used to these hours and needed rest.

I give myself a little pep talk and go back to the computer room.  I look at the guys “can one of you please make me a latte, with an extra shot of espresso.”  Dax gets up “I’ll get it.  I am really sorry Phoebe.  I will do whatever it takes to help fix this.”  I nod not really having much more to say.

Jasper steps up next to me, setting a container down. “Here, take a minute and eat. You aren’t going to do any of us any good if you make yourself sick.  Not to mention we will have to deal with an angry Liam.”  That at least earns a smile.  I open the container and once again my cousin comes through.  He really is sucking up.  I start to eat my club sandwich with homemade fries and ranch dressing.  If I didn’t have such a mess on my hands I would ask for a glass of wine and a shot of jack.  It gets the job done quick don’t judge.

“Okay boys, let’s find this fucker.”  I get a bunch of “Hell yes” and “Damn Straight”.  The first thing I do is double check the Robinson’s accounts.  All the money we put back in is still there that is one positive sign.  As I continue to type and search for more money James Henderson has stolen, I think about his yacht, house and high maintenance wife. “Dax, look into all the property holdings James Henderson has.  We need to see if maybe he is hiding it in the physical form, not just in an offshore account. See if he might also be hiding anything in either wife’s name. Before his divorce he refused to put any asset in Stephanie’s name.”

I need to start tracking down this fucking hacker he has officially pissed me off.

Chapter 16

Liam

I wake up and the house is completely dark. I roll over and look at the clock, Holy shit it is already two in the morning.  I get out of bed and walk into my room.  I pull some fresh clothes out and get a quick shower.  Phoebe has been at this, with no sleep, for over twenty four hours now.  I am swamped with guilt that I got some decent rest and she hasn’t had any.  I run through the motions of getting washed up, throw on some clothes and my cut.

I quickly grab the leftover containers of pasta.  I will at least make her take a break and eat something with me.  I turn a light on just in case we get home before dawn, and then lock up the house. I put the pasta in one of the saddlebags and drive down to the security office.  When I get there I notice every officer is here.  I really hope something bad didn’t happen while I was gone.

“Hey Sleeping Beauty is here.”  I look up and see Wyatt standing at the door.  “Fuck off dude.”  I grab the containers and start to walk past him into the office.  He grabs my arm “Dude, you need to go easy on her.”  Immediately my blood pressure goes up and my beast is ready to spring.  How dare he accuse me of mistreating my mate?  “I am not sure what you are inferring but you can take your hand off me at any time.  I would NEVER hurt my mate.”

His head jolts back like I struck him.  After he recovers “No, that isn’t what I was talking about.  I would never accuse you of hurting her.  While you were sleeping the other hacker back traced her search.  He started taking down all the servers.”

“Why in the FUCK did no one come get me?” Now I really am pissed off.  He shakes his head and tries to calm me down. “We wanted to. She is just as worried about you as you are about her. She said to let you sleep since there was nothing you would be able to do anyway.” I take a couple deep breaths.  I need to calm down before I go in to see her.  She has enough on her plate than to worry about me and the beast.  I give him a slap on the back “thanks man.  This is all so new.  We haven’t had a chance to talk and now everyone is running on no sleep.”

He nods “I get it.  I hope when I find my mate she is as tough as yours is.” The swell of pride in my chest helps calm me down a little.  I need to put eyes on my girl.

I walk down the hall and enter the computer room.  I see her still typing away on her keyboard.  In fact she has both computers and her laptop going, sitting in the middle of them all.  I set the pasta down walking over to her I give her a quick kiss on the head “how you doing Sweetheart?”  She gives me a weak smile “better now that you are here.”  I can’t help the smile that breaks across my face.

“What can I do to help you?  Are you hungry, need a latte, shoulder rub?”

“Yes”

Everyone in the room chuckles at her one word answer. “I brought the pasta from last night do you want me to heat it up?”  She thinks about it “Can you possibly get me more of that fried goodness I had earlier, or yesterday, whenever that was?”  Jasper gets up “I will go and get it.  I have to check in at the clubhouse anyway.“  We exchange nods just before he leaves.

Wyatt comes in with a latte in hand.  I guess that’s one more thing I don’t have to do.  It is nice to see everyone looking out for my mate. They all know I would do the same thing in return.

I start to rub Phoebe’s shoulders I can feel how tense she is.  “Wyatt filled me in on what happened.  I am sorry I wasn’t here.”  She tilts her head back to look up at me “don’t worry about it.  We didn’t lose anything.  I have a search running through all the servers and computers to make sure nothing was planted.”

I know we haven’t discussed anything yet regarding the future but she won’t have to worry about work.  I know Jasper will do everything he can to keep her as a permanent asset.

Chapter 17

Phoebe

I am over tired. My eyes are blurring on the computer screen. I have been at this for almost forty eight hours now and can’t seem to catch a break.  I am about ready to call it quits and get some sleep when I finally catch a break.

“Guys I found it!”  This gets everyone’s attention.  Wyatt, who had taken Liam’s chair in the hall, gets Jasper’s attention.  Once all the guys are in the computer room, I give them the details.  Liam stands and puts his hands on my shoulders giving me support.

“Ok, Phoebe, what did you find?”  This comes from Jasper as the rest all just watch.  “I found the remaining fifteen million.  I also traced back and found an additional fifty million he has taken from other people.  Those accounts were closed after the theft.  I tracked down most of the owners and returned their money.” They guys all start to cheer.

“We still have more work to do.  Dax, I am going to need you to track down these owners and let them know we got it.  Make sure you give them the new account information.  I have added additional security protocols.  Make sure you also tell them we will be sending an invoice, from the security company, for services rendered. They need to pay the bill prior to getting the account access.  I am not playing games with people. We did the hard part, now they need to make it even.”

Jasper steps towards me, but stops midway as Liam lets out a growl. “I just wanted to give her a pat on the back, she did great.”  Liam continues to growl and Jasper takes a step back arms raised in surrender.

“We still need to find this hacker, but I need some sleep and a shower.”  Liam grabs my hand and starts to walk me to the lobby. Before we get out the door Jasper steps out from the hallway.  “Phoebe, you did a great job.  I want you to know you have a job here with us if that’s what you want to do.”  I nod my head, too tired to think about it.  “Thank you Jasper, I will think about it later and let you know.”  He nods in response as Liam takes my hand and walks me out the door.

“Get in the car sweetheart, I will drive.”  He takes the keys and I am just too tired to argue.  He takes us to his house.  I guess it will soon be our house.  I need sleep before I think about too much else.  My head is resting against the window as we pull into the driveway.  Liam comes around to my side of the car, gently opening the door. He lifts me out and carries me to the door.  He slowly puts me on my feet supporting me so I don’t fall over.

Once he opens the door he walks me inside closing the door behind us.  “Okay sweetheart, do you want sleep first or shower first?”  I have to seriously think about my response.  “Shower first, although I might need your help.”  I have accepted we are mates.  I know we have a lot to talk about but I don’t trust myself not to fall while I am in the shower.

Liam guides me down the hall and in to the master bedroom.  I don’t even care at this point I just need to get cleaned up and get some sleep.  It is already dark outside although I am not sure what the exact time of day is.  I also don’t care.  I am sitting on the bed as I hear the shower start.

Liam walks back in the bedroom and helps me stand up. “Come on sweetheart, let’s get you cleaned up and in to bed.”  He guides me in to the master bath.  Just like the rest of the house it is done in creams and browns with bronze accents.  There is a separate shower stall with three shower heads and a large bathtub in the corner with what looks like jets.  I will take advantage of that feature later.  There are double sinks and another door on the other side, which, based on what is missing I assume houses the toilet.

Liam helps me strip down and in to the shower.  The hot water on my tired body feels wonderful.  I hear the shower door click and realize Liam has joined me.  I am too tired to even enjoy the sight of his naked body.  “Let me take care of you sweetheart.”  I just give him a quick nod as I feel his hands in my hair.  I didn’t even realize he grabbed the shampoo. His fingers massaging my scalp are so relaxing I let a small moan escape.  Liam lets out a small chuckle.  “Any other time I would take advantage of what you do to me, but I know you are dead on your feet.”  I give a slight nod “right back at you there big guy.”

After he helps get the shampoo rinsed he helps me get washed then dried.  We walk in to the bedroom and he sits me down on the edge of the bed.  He has a towel wrapped around his waist.  He turns around digging in the dresser drawer. He comes back to stand in front of me. “Arms up” I have my eyes closed when I feel soft cotton against my skin.  I realize he put one of his t-shirts on me. It is so soft from being washed so many times.

“Can you please go in the other room and get my spray conditioner?  I don’t even want to think about the mess my hair will be if I don’t use it.”  He places a small kiss on my forehead before leaving the room.  I lay back on the bed with my feet still dangling on the floor.  I must have dozed off as I feel myself being moved to lying fully on the bed.  “Do you still want that conditioner?”  I nod my head as I sit up.  “Yes please.”  Liam sprays the conditioner in my hair and works it through with his fingers.  I hear him chuckle “Sweetheart the noises you are making are killing me.”

“You playing with my hair is very relaxing.”  His only response is purring again from his chest.  “I want to get to know you but I need some sleep.”  Liam helps me lay back down getting in bed next to me and pulling me close to his body.  “We can talk all you want after you get some rest.”  I give a murmur of consent before darkness overtakes me.

Chapter18

Liam

Phoebes breathing has evened out.  It didn’t take her but minutes to fall asleep after her shower.  She has done a lot for the MC tracking that money down for our client.  I lay here in the dark relishing the feel of her body against mine.  My head is going a mile a minute on what our next step needs to be.  She has accepted me as her mate.  My beast in preening at that and has one single thought, complete the mating and fully make her ours.  He has been purring for a while now.  Phoebe burrows further into my body and I wrap my arms tighter around her.  I want to do everything I can to make her happy.  My beast continues to purr as I fall asleep with my mate in my arms.

I feel Phoebe stir and realize it is light out already.  I look at my phone and realize it is ten in the morning.  The fact we both slept so long is good Phoebe needs her rest.  I gently rearrange Phoebe’s body and get out of bed.  I go down the hall and get a shower so I don’t disturb her.  After a quick shower I go back to my room, trying to be as quiet as I can. While I was gone Phoebe has curled herself around my pillow. I get dressed and go into the kitchen.  I need to make her some food.

I make myself a cup of coffee and start pulling stuff out of the refrigerator.  There is a soft knock on my door.  I really hope I don’t have to break someone’s arm if they wake Phoebe up.  I get to the door and see Jasper, Wyatt, Mason, Dax and Mordecai all standing there.  I see Noah in the club van sitting out front.  I don’t understand what has happened while we were sleeping just gesture for them all to come in.

“I was just about to make Phoebe some breakfast do you want to join us?”  I get a few head nods and a couple “just coffee” responses. “Ok, give me just a minute.  Phoebe was still sleeping and I don’t want her coming out here without any clothes on.”

I walk back down the hall and see Phoebe sitting up in bed.  She looks at me with a puzzled face.  “Did I hear someone knock on the door?”  Her hearing must be really good if she heard that, it was barely a tap.  I nod my head “Jasper and the boys are here although I am not sure why.  I was just starting to make breakfast.  You have time to get a quick shower if you want.  I will make you a latte while you get dressed.”  She nods as she makes her way to the bathroom.  “It is going to take me a little while to get back on schedule. I will see you in the kitchen.”  She gives me a quick peck on the cheek on her way past me.

I walk back to the kitchen and see they guys have started cooking and helped themselves to the coffee machine.  “So what is going on that you are all hear this morning?  And what is with the prospect and the van?”  Jasper looks around the room “We figured we could take a road trip and pack up Phoebe’s apartment.”  I look at each of the guys but I don’t get a chance to respond.  “Thanks for the thoughtfulness guys but do you think Liam and I can talk about some things first?”

Her statement catches me off guard.  She has accepted out mating, surely she isn’t going to think I am leaving the MC.   Before I can even open my mouth Dax chimes in.  “Baby girl you aren’t denying my boy here are you?”  She is shaking her head no before he even completes his question. “No but I don’t even know his last name or what kind of paranormal he is. You guys are already moving me in.”

I walk over to her, putting my arms around her waist “It’s Martin and I am a daemon.”  Her mouth goes up in a smirk.  “Ok then, what are we doing about my rental car?”  That’s it?  I was expecting a lot more drama than that.  I am not going to assume everything is going to be that easy, but I am not going to argue if I can get her to move in permanently.

“We can get the other prospect to take it back.  Noah is driving the van to haul your stuff back.”  I give Jasper a nod of appreciation.  That is several extra hours we don’t have to worry about.  Looking at each of the guys I realize we can’t all go.  One of our rules is that none of the officers all travel together.  You never know what can happen and we need to make sure the MC can still function.

“Jasper, Mason and Wyatt are all staying here.   Jules and Nathan will be going with you.”  Phoebe gets a funny look on her face. “Is that the Nathan of bad sex?”  Dax spits his coffee across the table Mason and the usually stoic Mordecai bend over laughing.  I look down at the woman still in my arms “Sweetheart how the fuck do you know about Nathan and his quality of sex?”

She looks around the room to each of us. “That is what that skank I elbowed was complaining about when I checked in to the B&B.”  This causes more riotous laughter from the guys.  “Her name is Chloe and she has no room to talk about being bad in bed.  That woman is like fucking a dead fish she is lazy as fuck.”  Wyatt’s announcement brings the laughter down a little.

“Chloe is becoming an issue we may need to take care of sooner than later.”  This is coming from Jasper. I can feel Phoebe going rigid in my arms.  I look down at her and shake my head. “It’s not as bad as you might be thinking sweetheart. Jasper is talking about banning her from MC property and functions.”  She relaxes slightly “good I can say I am not impressed with her and would not miss her.” The laughter goes up again.

Jasper claps his hands together to get everyone’s attention.   “Breakfast is ready.  Let’s get this done, the sooner you leave the sooner you get back.”  Everyone agrees and sits around the table.  This is nice and I can’t wait for Phoebe and I to start our life together.

Chapter 19

Phoebe

My ass hurts. We have been on the road now for about twelve hours.  I am not used to being on a motorcycle let alone for this many hours at once.  I live in the upper corner of California near the borders of Oregon and Nevada.  I still get all four seasons but am always worried about wild fires.  I will miss the area but not my rinky dink apartment.  It isn’t much more than a closet with a separate bedroom.  At least most of my belongings will fit in the van especially since I won’t need to bring my furniture.

I have been in my head the past few miles so I don’t realize we have slowed down.  Our only stops have been for gas and food.  When I look up I see we are pulling up at a motel.  It’s not a five star with room service but I have stayed in worse.  Mordecai goes in to the lobby and after several minutes he comes out and starts passing out card keys.  Jules and Nathan are in one room.  Mordecai and Dax are sharing another room,   Liam and I in a third.  I start to look around “What about Noah?”  Mordecai shrugs “What about him?”  My jaw about hits the ground “I am NOT having my cousin sleep in a van, especially since he has been driving just as long as you have.”  I am about to gear up for another rant when Jules responds “He can sleep in our room, on the floor.”  I really hope they are joking.

Before I can say anything else, Liam grabs our keys, takes me by the arm and starts walking me to our room.  He mutters a “good night” over his shoulder.  We get to our room and as he opens the door he looks at me.  I have my hands on my hips and I am pissed.  He finally drags me in to our room, closing the door behind us.  I look around and realize there are two beds here.  With Liam and I in the same one there is no reason Noah can’t stay here with us.  He should not have to sleep on the floor.  I turn around and see Liam with his hand in the air trying to stop my rant before I even get started. “Sweetheart, I know what you are going to say.  He is a prospect and needs to pay his dues. I was really hoping we could, maybe, do a little more than sleep.  With your cousin here I don’t think that would happen.”

Well that takes the wind out of my sails. My shoulders sag “You are right if he was here nothing would happen.”  He takes his cut off, hanging it up, turning towards me when he is done.  We walk towards each other.  He wraps his arms around my waist as I wrap mine around his neck.  He slowly leans in placing a soft kiss on my lips. I return the kiss as he starts to deepen it teasing my lips open with his tongue.  He slowly backs me up until my knees hit the bed.  I run my hands up under his shirt feeling every hard muscle of his abdomen and chest.  His beast is purring again.  The fact I can make him feel good makes me feel good.  He lets me go long enough I am able to push his shirt up over his head.  We are not too different in height, only about six inches. Once I have his shirt off he tilts his head back “my turn.”  He reaches for the hem of my t-shirt pulling it over my head.  As he looks at my lace covered breasts, he reaches up covering them both with his hands.  He gently pulls the cups down so he can tease my nipples. They harden at his touch as I let out a soft moan.

I hadn’t realized I closed my eyes and when I look up at him I notice he has horns protruding towards the top of his head.  I can tell my eyes widen at that.  It wasn’t something I was expecting.  He stiffens at that as I slowly reach my hand up to touch them.  They are part of him, part of his beast.  “They are beautiful.”  At my statement he lets out the breath I didn’t realize he was holding.

“My beast is at the surface, I need to claim you.”  I give him a soft smile.  “Please Phoebe, I want us to be together.”  Now it’s his turn to let out a moan.

“Please Liam” At my soft plea he loses all patience, I quickly kick off my shoes, and remove my jeans, socks and underwear. Liam looks at me with a bit of disappointment. “You looked like you were seconds away from ripping them off my body. This is one of my favorite sets.”  His look is full of heat as he looks over my body. “I will buy you new ones every week if I have to.  Next time you wait for me.”

I have never been fond of being told what to do. However with the deeper tone of his voice and the lust in his eye this is not the time to argue.  I start to reach for the button on his jeans and he swats my hand away. “I will do my own, just like you did yours, next time sweetheart.  My beast is losing patience to make this official.” At that statement he removes the rest of his clothes.  I stand and look at the marvel of his body.  I had been so tired the night before, I never so much as peeked at him. He is a lot of male perfection.  He has at least an eight pack, with just enough body hair to look hot. I especially like that trail of dark hair leading south to what I want most.   He has several tattoos, mostly tribal, across his chest and upper arms.  I didn’t even realize he had them

He lets out a soft moan as he pulls my body to his capturing my lips with a demanding kiss.  “I am sorry sweetheart this is going to be rough and quick. I will make it up to you later.”  I smile at him “As long as we are officially mated we have a lot of time to do more.”

At that he spins me around and pushes the front of my body to the mattress.  His left hand trails down my spine while his right moves to my front. He lets out another moan.  He isn’t the only one.  His fingers are magic. He plays with my clit, rubbing my wetness around.  Then he breaches my pussy with first one finger then a second and eventually a third.  I am so close to an orgasm.  “Please Liam I need you to fuck me.”

“I know what you need sweetheart and I will take care of you, don’t worry.”

As soon as he finishes his statement his hands disappear.  I can feel the end of his cock at my entrance.  He is thick and long.  I am not sure I will take all of him but for as wet as I am a little pain will make it better.  He starts to work just an inch or two of his cock inside me each time getting a little deeper. “Liam please don’t tease me.”  Suddenly he grabs a handful of hair, pulling my upper body off the mattress. His other hand goes to my hip and he slams all the way home.  I let out a small scream as he bottoms out.

Chapter 20

Liam

Fuck, her pussy is so tight it fits my cock like a glove.  I take a minute to let her adjust to my size and then I begin to pound in to her.  I take my hand off her hip and wrap it around her body until I find her clit.  I start rubbing the little nub and I can feel her pussy start to flutter with the start of her orgasm.  “That’s it sweetheart come for me.  Let me feel that pussy squeeze my cock harder.”  She lets out a small moan and then I feel her let go over the edge.

Her orgasm starts to trigger my own. I can feel my balls tightening.  The barb on my cock is starting to swell.  It’s time to make her officially mine.  My teeth poke through my gums and I bite down on her neck just where it meets her shoulder. I suck in some of her blood. As I do it triggers my orgasm and the barb to fully swell.  This triggers another orgasm for Phoebe.  This one seems to go on and on.  I can tell she is getting tired, we have had a long day, but I couldn’t wait any longer.  I feel my cum coat her pussy. This is the most intense orgasm I have ever had.

Finally, I roll us to the bed, lying on my side so I don’t hurt Phoebe.  I hold her to my body basking in the pleasure of what we just did.  I feel the swelling in my barb go down enough I can slide out of her body. I go to the bathroom and get a warm washcloth to clean her up with.  Once I am done, I toss the washcloth back towards the bathroom and climb in bed.  I pull Phoebe into my body, with her head on my shoulder.

My beast is purring. We are officially mated.  She is mine and no other man will ever have her.    I feel her head move and I look down into beautiful green eyes.  “So, can you tell me what that last bit was about? Your dick seemed to swell.”  I chuckle a little.  “Sorry, I guess I should have warned you.  When a daemon makes love to his mate, the barb at the end of his cock swells. It helps promote procreation.”

She looks a little worried.  “What’s wrong?”  It’s then she chuckles. “I guess we need to sit and talk more before we do any more of that. We hardly know anything about each other.  I would prefer to know a little more about you before having your kid.”

I nod my head.  I get it.  We have known each other only days, for all I know she is pregnant now. My beast perks up at this. He is preening knowing he might be a father. I don’t want to scare her “We can talk once we get you back to Venus and settled.”  I feel her body relax at this and her breathing evens out.  This trip can’t end fast enough for us.

Chapter 21

Phoebe

My body hurts, all of it.  Spending the better part of two days on the back of a motorcycle with limited stops sucks.  I enjoyed riding behind Liam I am just not used to this.

We finally roll up to my apartment.  I dig my keys out of my purse and walk the guys to my door. Once we get there though I notice the doorjamb is all busted up. Immediately Liam picks up on my tension and is on alert. In fact all the guys are.  Liam pushes me behind him. Noah stands on one side of me an Jules on the other.  Mordecai, Dax, and Nathan cautiously enter my apartment.

I notice Mordecai’s arms look like stone and Dax’s hands are glowing.  Nathan seems to have vaporized these guys have their own built in weapons.  They don’t need to carry guns.  I can hear them cursing and it sounds like they are moving furniture.  I don’t know why.  My apartment was clean when I left.  Clear calls out from all of them and Liam leads me inside. 

I see that my apartment has been turned inside out.  I look around the room stunned.  Who would have done this and why.  I don’t have any disputes with my neighbors, at least none that I know of.   I hardly talk to them. The area is pretty quiet.  While it’s not the best part of town it also isn’t the worst.

Dax walks over and stands in front of me.  “I need to touch you baby girl.”  Liam growls earning a scowl from Dax “I need to trace her to try and figure out who was here.” Finally Liam relents with a quick nod. Dax puts one hand on my head and the other he extends straight out from his body.  The room takes on an eerie glow. I really need to know what these guys are.

After several minutes different colors show up the majority is white.  I am afraid to move and break Dax’s concentration.  Liam whispers in my ear, “The white is you.” Ok, that makes me feel a little better.  Seeing streaks of two other color does not make me happy.  Mordecai and Jules move in to the room, I hadn’t realized it was only Liam, Dax and I before.  They each take a side of the room slowly going over everything showing the blue and green colors of my intruders.  Dax takes a deep breath doing a whole body shake “Haven’t done that in a while.”  He looks at Liam “Why don’t you start packing what she wants to take.  I can make the rest disappear when we are done.”

I come out of my stupor and walk to the bedroom.  This room is just as bad as the living room. Dax brings in a roll of garbage bags. “Just toss everything in here.  We need to get gone ASAP.  I am going to call Jasper and give him a heads up.”  I thank him and get to work.  I just start tossing shoes and clothes into the bags.  I will need to wash anything I decide to keep anyway.  Who knows what perverted acts they did while in here.

I have a few pictures and trinkets from growing up with Noah.  We have always been more like brother and sister than cousins.  That is something I don’t want to lose.   Thank goodness I had my laptop with me.  If someone would have gotten that I would have been fucked and not in a good way.    

Chapter 22

Liam

My beast is at the surface.  It is taking everything I have to keep him from taking over and destroying the place.  I can smell the intruders.  I don’t recognize the scent but that doesn’t mean a lot.  We are far from home.  I am trying as much as I can to stay calm for Phoebe.  I can tell she is upset and she has every right to be.  I start carrying the full bags to the door so Noah can load the van.

“How is she holding up Liam?”  The fact he is talking to me catches me a little off guard.  I catch myself wanting to snap and remember he is family.  “She is coping.  I think the fact that we were coming to move her away from this place is helping to hold her together.”  He nods in understanding, grabbing some bags and walking out.

Dax comes back over, putting his phone away.  “Jasper said to keep him updated.  If we run into trouble he will have a closer chapter come assist.”  I pat his shoulder “Thanks Man.”

Phoebe seems numb, just going through the motions.  “Sweetheart, if you don’t want any of it we can just buy you new stuff to replace it.”  She shakes her head “That would just be a waste of money.  I am just trying to make sense of all this.  I don’t know why or who.”

She takes another look around the room. Holding up a large manila envelope “Can you please put this in the saddlebag?  This is my birth certificate and some other legal papers I don’t want anything happening to them.”

“Sure sweetheart.  What else do you need from me?” She comes over and wraps her arms around me.  I do the same to her and we just stand there for several minutes. Finally she breaks away, gives a brief nod and walks out of the bedroom.  She looks around the living room, picking up a few more pictures.  “When you guys are done with whatever, I have everything I want, the rest can be trashed.”  She walks out the door heading to the van.  We all look at each other surprised at her resilience. 

“I am going to be outside with Phoebe.  Let me know if you need me.”  Mordecai shakes his head “Go be with your mate brother, we got this.”  I don’t look back. I just follow Phoebe out to the parking lot.

Once outside I wrap Phoebe up in my arms.  She is trembling. “Sweetheart I got you.  We will make sure nothing happens to you.  This is probably just random. Someone noticed you weren’t around figured they would see what they could get.”  She gives a slight nod but remains silent.

They guys are making their way back to us.  “Do you want to ride in the van for a while?  You could get some rest.”  She seems to think about it, but just gives a slight shake of the head.  “I feel safer with you.  I will deal with being sore.” My beast feels settled by her statement.  He won’t totally calm down until we are back home.

Chapter 23

Phoebe

My head has been going a mile a minute trying to find a reason someone would destroy my apartment like that.  I really hope that is was just a random break in.  If we have to search through my client list it might take a while.  I try really hard to cover my tracks, so I know if it is a past client. The list is limited as to who would have enough knowledge to track me down.

We are almost home when I notice the guys speeding up and breaking into two groups.  I look around and see we have a tail.  Several other motorcycles are following us. They are gaining speed quickly.  Liam and Mordecai are doing hand signals back and forth. I see Noah doing what he can, using the van to block them from getting too close.

Mordecai, Nathan and Jules slow down cutting back in behind the van putting it between us and the other riders.  Liam and Dax take off like rockets leaving everyone else behind.   I have no idea how fast we are going. I just tuck my head down and rest it against Liam’s back.  I know he has a lot of experience with this machine this is just something I need to get used to.

After what feels like forever we start to slow down to a more normal pace.  I tense up again when I hear more motorcycles.  I hope Mordecai, Jules and Nathan are okay.  I hear Liam yelling above the pipes.  The bikes coming towards us are Jasper, Mason and a few others I don’t recognize.  Liam does a quick hand gesture and we are gone again.

When we slow down for the second time I realize we are turning on the road leading to the compound.  My adrenaline is running so high I am shaking.  We pull in to the driveway and Liam helps me off the bike. He says something to Dax about later.  I am too out of sorts to pay attention.

He leads me in to the house and wraps me up in his arms.  “You are okay sweetheart.  You are safe.  We are home.”  I take a deep breath and nod.   “That bathtub is calling my name. I am going to start a bath for a long soak.”  He gives me a heated look.  “You go and relax. I have to go and see if Jasper and the rest are back yet.  If they aren’t I have to go find them.”  I nod “Who was that following us?”

He gets an agitated look on his face.  “That was some of the Full Moon Travelers.  I didn’t see Rhys but I did see Logan his VP. We split up to keep you safe. Noah was able to call Jasper and they drove like hell to get there in time.”  He wraps me up in a tight hug like he is afraid I will vanish if he lets go.

I look up at him “I am okay.  A little shaken but nothing a hot bath and a bottle of wine won’t fix.”  He has a funny look on his face “don’t you mean glass of wine?”

“Nope bottle!”  I give him a kiss and turn to walk in to the kitchen.  “Be safe and tell all the guys I said thank you.” He grunts something before walking back out the door.  I hear his bike start up and head to the master bedroom with my bottle of wine.  I don’t even bother with a glass.

Chapter 24

Liam

I make it as far as the clubhouse before I hear the rumbles of motorcycles.  I look towards the main road and see Jasper, Mason and the rest of the guys turning in.  I park my bike and wait for them to get here.  Once they are all parked Jasper yells “Church NOW!!”  I expected that one.  I hope it won’t be long. The thought of Phoebe in the tub is making my jeans tight.

We walk in to the large room we use for church.  It has a long wood table with six chairs on each side and one at the head.  There are other chairs along each of the walls around the room. Usually they only get used when we have mandatory attendance and the other charters are in town.  The wood is from trees we cut down on the property when we were clearing the road and parcels to build the houses.

Jasper bangs his gavel to get us started as everyone gets seated.  Mason sits to Jaspers left.  Mordecai to Jasper’s right. I am next to Mordecai with Dax across from me and Wyatt next to him.  Everyone else just fills in from there.

“We had a little run in with the Travelers this afternoon.  Liam is Phoebe doing ok?”

“She’s okay I think, a little shaken up. She was getting a bath and having a bottle of wine.”

All the guys make faces at that.  Dax is the first one to comment “Don’t you mean glass of wine?”

I chuckle shaking my head “I asked the same question and was told nope bottle.  Who am I to judge?”  That gives the room a little bit of levity that was needed.

All focus goes back to Jasper.  “Once we all got there and the Travelers realized how outnumbered they were they took off.  They are getting bold.  Coming after us when a woman is around is adding to the list of offenses against us.  We are going to need to be vigilant in watching the women.  I don’t want to see something happen to a potential mate.”  Nods go around the room.

“Ok, keep your eyes open, I think it would be wise to travel in pairs for a while, until we can figure out what they are after.”  Jasper bangs his gavel and we are done. 

“I am going to let Phoebe rest for a while.  I know she wanted to do more at the security office but she is wiped out from traveling.”  Jasper nods his head “I want to talk to her about working at the security office full time.  We can do a lot more with her around.”  I nod “I will bring her around tomorrow if she feels up to it, maybe later in the day.  Her internal clock is out of whack between the forty eight hours she worked for us then leaving right away for a road trip.”

“That’s fine, just text me if I am not in my office.”  At that we both walk out to our bikes.  I am heading home to my mate.  Jasper heads back to the main road.

Chapter 25

Phoebe

I am cold.  I look around the room and it takes me a little bit to realize where I am.  I must have fallen asleep in the tub.  I am just glad I woke up before Liam got home.  I can only imagine his reaction to that.  I put my bottle of wine down and slowly get out of the bath.  I grab a towel and wrap it around my body.  I didn’t get my hair wet. I am too tired to deal with trying to dry it all.

I go into the bedroom and find one of Liam’s t-shirts. They are so big on me it’s like a dress.  They are just so soft and comfortable.  I am going to need to wash everything we brought back from my apartment before I think about wearing any of it.  I hate doing laundry too, this sucks.  I climb in to bed and forget all about it.

I am hot.  Why did he turn the heat on?  I try to move to throw the blankets off and realize the heat is coming from Liam.  I can’t move because he is wrapped all around me holding me tight to his body.  I am not sure how long I was asleep. I am still groggy but I am hungry.  My stomach takes that moment to growl and in the quiet of the room it is loud.

I feel Liam laughing behind me.  I look over my shoulder and smile at him.  “You are going to need to let me up to eat.  I haven’t eaten since our last stop on the road.  I am not sure how long ago that was.”  He rubs his hands over his face “Okay sweetheart let’s get you some food.  What are you in the mood for?”

“Chicken fajitas” I am guessing by the blank look on his face he has no idea how to make those.

“Well I have chicken, not sure what else you want or need.  If we don’t have it I will have one of the prospects go to the store.”

I bite my tongue at that statement.  I know trying to patch in makes you lowest in pecking order but they aren’t much different than servants.  He gives me a knowing look and walks out to the kitchen dialing his phone on the way.

He seems to be in a pretty good mood so I guess Jasper and the boys came back unharmed. 

As soon as I get to the kitchen Liam hands me a latte.  “You are going to spoil me with this kind of service if you keep this up.”  That gets a huge smile from ear to ear from him.  I can hear him purring, the beast must be happy.

“So what all are we going to need for this, so I can get someone going and we aren’t eating in three hours.”

“Chicken, onion, peppers, cheese, tortillas, salsa, sour cream, guacamole, rice, corn, it’s a matter or preference, assembly will be required.”  I can’t believe this close to Texas and he hasn’t had this before.

“So how about we talk and get to know about each other while we cook dinner?”

“That sounds like a good idea.  Do you want me to go first?”

He shrugs “if you want to.”

I don’t really, but I want to get this out of the way.  I take a deep breath and slowly let it out.  “So you know Noah is my cousin. Our mothers were sisters.  My Aunt Linda, Noah’s mom, liked to party and had a penchant for the bad boys.  They were at a concert and Aunt Linda met Noah’s dad.  Of course my mom was with her and he had a friend with him. So, the friend sort of got stuck with my mom.  I have no idea how the guys knew each other or if they were related.”  I take a sip of my latte trying to get through this story.

“The friend hung around with my mom most of the night.  After the concert, they hung out in the parking lot.  Of course one thing led to another and they slept together.” Taking another deep breath and drinking some of my coffee I continue.  “They continued to see each other for a few months.  After about four months my mom and my aunt found out they were both pregnant. From what I understand the guys both freaked out.  Something about how it shouldn’t be possible because they weren’t mates.

“Back then knowledge about paranormals was kept quiet as there were a lot of unknowns. So, after everyone calmed down they explained how they were both shifters.  Noah’s dad is a goblin. My dad is an owl.”  At that his eyes go wide.  “So you do have some shifter blood and abilities?”

“Yes, but so far it has been limited to enhanced hearing and eye sight.”  He nods “Okay, well that is good to know. I am not sure how latent it is and what would happen with our kids.”  I am not ready to discuss children. We have only known each other for a week.

“I don’t want to burst your bubble and upset you.  I DO want kids.  I just don’t want them right this second.  We have known each other for a very short period of time.  I have been raised human, so it is going to take me a little while to get on board with that.  I am not saying I want to wait ten years.  I would be happy with just a few months.  Can you deal with that?”

Liam takes a deep breath and walks over to put his arms around my waist.  “I will do whatever makes you happy Phoebe.  I have lived five hundred years without you.  Now that I have you I can wait a bit longer for kids.  Besides, I won’t have to share you if we wait.”  I start laughing at that comment although he is right we have plenty of time.

“Ok, so neither of the guys was happy about knocking up a girl who wasn’t their mate.  I can only see partial logic in that.  They aren’t choir boys so they need to take responsibility for their own actions.”

“Yes, so, they both stuck around during the pregnancies.  Noah and I were born within a week of each other.  We were both about three months old when the guys left.  Mom and Aunt Linda moved in together.  Not only did that help with bills but they didn’t have to get a sitter all the time.  One of them was usually home.”

“My mom worked in the office of a local glass plant.  They made bottles for various companies, depending on the contract.  Aunt Linda was a waitress at a local diner.

“One night during a snow storm, Aunt Linda was on her way home and had an accident.  She ended off the road in a ditch. She wasn’t wearing her seatbelt and was thrown through the windshield. She passed away at the scene.

“My mom was now responsible for two kids and grieving her best friend and sister.  She was having panic attacks when she would have to drive anywhere. She ended up seeing a shrink and they put her on medication.  Well she ended up using them so often they quit working.  One thing led to another and she just kept upgrading the substance to make her numb.

“She lost her job because she could no longer pass a drug test.  Noah and I pretty much raised ourselves after that, most of the time she wasn’t home.  We both got jobs as soon as we could. “

“I am sorry you had to go through all of that.”

“Thanks.  I know it could have been worse.  It could have been a lot better, but at least we were still together.  We were able to be there for each other when our mothers weren’t.”

“So how did you get in to hacking?”

One side of my mouth quirks up “One thing Noah and I vowed to do was finish high school. We knew college was pretty much out of the equation.  I had a computer class and loved it.  I ended up taking as many as I could.  The school had a sale on refurbished laptops since they were getting new ones.  Noah helped me get the two hundred and fifty dollars together to get one.  Once I did I was always on it.  There was so much to see and know.  I could visit exotic places and not leave my living room.

“I just started tying and one thing led to another and it snowballed.  Not everything I did was legal in fact it still isn’t.  We never had much food.  I started hacking local grocery stores.  So many do online ordering and delivery, it was easy. I added the charges to other people’s accounts.  Just one or two items at a time, most of the time people don’t pay close attention to their receipts.  They see a total amount.  They know in their head it is close to what they wanted to spend and move on.  Since neither of us drove it was delivered.”

He is looking at me like I am some kind of genius.  I am more of a survivor.

“Can we just order a pizza?  We started talking and now I don’t feel like cooking.” Liam chuckles and nods his head “Whatever you want sweetheart.” I hope he is always this agreeable.

Chapter 26

Liam

Phoebe fell asleep last night while we were watching a movie. We got our pizza and wanted to just relax.  I have no idea what it was even about. I was happy just holding her in my arms with a feeling of total contentment.  Noah brought the van over this morning and helped me unload all the bags of her clothes.  Hearing most of her story last night gives me some new respect for the prospect.

I started to sort her clothes.  I know she doesn’t want to wear any of it before it is washed.  I am very onboard with that idea. I didn’t get to talk to her about working for the security company.  Phoebe is still sleeping so I am trying to be as quiet as I can.  Learning she is part shifter was great, I don’t know any owls. We will need to look that up.

I hear her moving around the bedroom so I go to the kitchen and make her a latte.  I don’t bother with breakfast as I know she needs her coffee before anything else.  I let the cup on the counter and go back to the laundry room.  I have already done a couple loads, so she could get dressed. Some of this stuff she will need to handle herself.

I carry the basket in to the bedroom and start folding the clothes.  She comes out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel.  She gives me a heated look before walking over to me.  I turn to face her and she pushes me back to the bed.  At first I am confused as to what she is doing until she reaches for the button on my jeans. 

After she gets my jeans unbuttoned she reaches her hand in and wraps her fingers around my cock.  I am ready to come in my pants like a teenage boy it feels so good.  She slowly works my pants down to my knees, scraping her finger nails up the inside of my thighs.  She gently cups my balls and she wraps her lips around the head of my cock.  My head falls back to the bed as I moan and my eyes close.  She takes her other hand and starts working the rest of my cock. Her hand and mouth work in tandem.  Other than the feel of her pussy nothing feels better than her mouth.  She starts to increase her speed taking me as far down her throat as possible.  I can’t resist anymore.  I am so close to coming.  I wrap my hands in her hair and lift my hips. What feels like second later, I am shooting my load down her throat.

She lifts her head with a satisfied grin on her face as she starts to crawl up my body. “Thanks for doing my laundry.” If that is what I get for helping her out I will do it all the time.

“There are a few things still in the laundry room I wasn’t sure what to do with.”  She lies down on top of me.  My pants are still at my knees and she is only in a towel. If we lay here any longer nothing will get done today and Jasper wanted to talk to her.

I lightly slap her on the ass “Come on, we have to go see Jasper at the security office. We can continue this later. I will make you a fresh latte while you get dressed. The other one is probably cold.”  Begrudgingly she gets up and starts to put clothes on.  I pull my pants up and go make her latte.  I can really get used to being mated.

Chapter 27

Phoebe

We are sitting in Jasper’s office at Havoc Security.  We have been discussing me working full time for the MC.  Jasper has offered me a really good salary. The fact that I can work so close to the compound and Liam is a nice perk. We still haven’t finished talking but we have lots of time.  I realize Jasper is looking at me like I am supposed to respond to something he said.  “Sorry I zoned out.”  He just chuckles.  “I was wondering if you needed time to think things over or discuss with Liam before you gave me an answer.”

“No, I don’t think I do.  I would love to work here.  The fact that I can still take an outside job is great.  It will also be nice to have a semi regular schedule.”

He nods his head “Good, welcome aboard. If there is special equipment or software you want let Dax know.  If he can’t immediately get it we can make arrangements.  He can also get you up to speed on our other clients.  You can adjust protocols as you see fit.”

“Thank you I appreciate you deferring some of this to me.”

“It’s no problem you proved your worth to the MC. You are family now.”

Family, that word has a different meaning now. I understand why Noah wants to patch in as a full member. We just need some more women here, too much testosterone.  I start to respond when the thunder of several motorcycles sound out front.  Immediately Jasper and Liam are rushing to the lobby. Dax and Mason come out of the computer room I didn’t even realize they were here.  I start to follow when Liam yells back “Stay in the computer room and out of sight.”  I nod but he doesn’t see me, already walking out the door following everyone else.

I figure I will try and distract myself so I start looking over some of the equipment.  I hear footsteps behind me and think Liam has come back in. When I turn around I don’t know who this man is. He has long, greasy, brown hair and a sinister smile on his face.  He has a cut on but I can’t see the back patch. The front says Elijah, Enforcer.  Well I know he isn’t with the Predators. Liam is the Enforcer.

“What do you want? You aren’t supposed to be here.”

He chuckles “I want you Red.”  He takes a step towards me.  I look around for something to use against him.  There are no windows here and he is blocking the door, I have no way out except past him.  I pick up a keyboard, wielding it like a sword.  “Do you really think that bit of plastic is going to hurt me?”

He gets close enough and I swing, giving it everything I have, against the side of his head.  It stuns him for a minute, and I drop it to the ground as I try to rush past.  I don’t make it more than a couple steps when I feel his arms band around my waist. “That was a stupid move Red.”

Faster than I realize, he has a zip tie around my wrists and I feel a pinch in my arm.  I begin to panic as the room starts to blur and I am unsteady on my feet.  I feel him picking me up and putting me over my shoulder as the world goes dark.

Chapter 28

Liam

Jasper, Dax, Mason and I all rush out the door of the security office.  We jump on our bikes and begin to chase the handful of Full Moon Travelers that just drove past our clubhouse.  This needs to stop today.  We have been trying to figure out what they want, other than control of Venus.  This is our town has been for as long as I can remember.  They won’t get it.

As we follow, the farther away from the clubhouse we get the more they are slowing down.  Just when we are about to catch up with them they split up each going a different direction. We do the same.  We have to find out what they want.

I finally catch up to the guy I have been chasing when he just stops. What the fuck is with these idiots?  I pull across the street, not getting too close. “What the fuck is your problem? Venus is ours and you need to stay the fuck out.”  At that he starts to laugh.  He gives a slow shake of his head.  “We got what we wanted.  Have a nice day.”  With that cryptic message he takes off again. 

I go to start my bike back up and my phone starts vibrating in my pocket.  I didn’t want to wake Phoebe earlier so I muted the ringer.  I see Noah is calling me.  “Liam, they got her, they took Phoebe.”  My beast is enraged.  I feel my horns working their way out.  They took our mate.  Someone is going to pay for this.

I rush back to the compound making it in just a few minutes.  I see all the bikes at the security office as I pull in.  “Dax please tell me something good man.”  He shakes his head.  “Apparently the drive by was a diversion.  They had a van parked out of sight.  The only thing you can see is a partial license plate on the security camera.  I am already checking online camera systems from local businesses. I can’t do what Phoebe does so my access is limited.  We will find her brother.”

I start to pace.  My beast wants to rip someone apart.  We want our mate back.  “I don’t understand what the Travelers want with her.  They have never met her or seen her.  None of this makes sense.”

“They probably saw her in the window of the coffee shop, the first day she was here.”

“I guess but what do they want with her.”

Out of nowhere Nathan just appears.  “One of the scent trails from today is the same as her apartment.” That statement has my head whipping around to look at him. “You mean to tell me it was the Full Moon Travelers that trashed her apartment, in California?”

He gives a slow nod of the head “Yes, although I don’t know why.  I also have to assume that the incident on the way home meant we were being watched or followed.  Someone knew she was here.”

We all look at each other.  “Prospect!” immediately Noah comes running over, although he wasn’t far away.

“Do you know ANYONE who would have contact with the Full Moon Travelers that has a grudge against Phoebe?”

Noah shakes his head no. “The only one local she has had an issue with is Chloe.”  Each of the officers looks at each other.

Jasper looks at Noah “Find that whore.  I want her here ten minutes ago.”  Noah gives a quick nod and makes for his bike.  Jules and Nathan start to follow “We can help.”  All three take off towards town.  They can split up and see where she is.  The clubhouse is empty, so we already know she isn’t here.

I continue to pace the parking lot and the security office.  I can’t sit still.  The longer she is unaccounted for the more my beat rages. It has been a couple hours now.  We have had no calls, texts or otherwise to know why they took her or where.  This sucks, I have never felt helpless. I can only hope and pray to Lucifer that she is alright.

We keep getting updates from Noah, Jules and Nathan, they still can’t find Chloe.  They are running out of options on where she could be hiding.  This town really isn’t that big.

I throw myself into a chair in Jasper’s office at Havoc Security.  To say I am frustrated is an understatement.  I rub my hands over my face. Jaspers phone rings “tell me you got something.”  This has me perking up slightly.

After he hangs up he throws his phone on the desk.  “Jules stopped at the coffee shop. Marie said she saw Chloe talking to a Traveler in the street yesterday morning.  She said he grabbed her arm and pulled her in to a dark blue van.”  That sounds like the same one from the surveillance video.

“Ok, so, Chloe in a fit of jealousy and pissed because Phoebe broke her nose, puts Phoebe in the hands of the Travelers?  We are missing something.  Surely she isn’t that stupid.”

Ugh, we are not much further in tracking Phoebe down that we were.  The only thing we can assume is that Chloe double crossed us, and got caught up in it herself.

Chapter 29

Phoebe

I hear muted voices.  My head feels like I am underwater, and I feel like I have been run over by a truck. I try and wipe my eyes and I can’t move my hands.  I look down but all I see is black. I realize I have been tied to a chair and there is something over my head. The room is swaying like I have been on a bender of Jack Daniels. That must have been some good shit he injected me with.  I don’t remember alcohol having this much of an effect on me.  I am trying hard not to panic, keeping my breathing even and movements to a minimum. I am hoping to attract the least amount of attention to myself.

The longer I sit here the more my head clears, I just wish the room would quit moving. I must have moved too much and someone noticed. The next thing I know the cloth that was over my head is ripped away.  I see a guy standing in front of me, he looks familiar but I can’t place how I know him. He has a vicious look on his face “You have cost me a lot of time, money and patience little girl.  You are going to fix this mess or your mate is going to suffer for it.”  Is this the hacker I was going against?

“Um, no offense, but who the fuck are you?”  I don’t expect the backhand across the face. That hurts like a bitch.  I don’t think he is completely human.

He sneers at me “I am the guy you took fifteen million dollars from, and you are going to put it back where you found it.”

“James Henderson, nice to see you are as big a scumbag in person as you are virtually.”  I look around the room.  I see a nice open room, with small round windows along each wall.  There are dark cherry wood accents and white leather furniture.  There is a wet bar along the back wall with doorways on each side leading to other spaces.  “We are on your yacht then.  How long have I been out?”

“It has been 36 hours.”

Wow, poor Liam must be going out of his mind.  “What did my abductor inject me with?”

“I don’t know and don’t care.  It was effective and got you here. We both got what we wanted.”

I give him a small nod.  “And you think that I am just going to give you back fifteen million that doesn’t belong to you? Tell Botox Barbie to lay off her injections, you might have more in the bank.”  That earns me another backhand.

I hear a high pitched giggle from somewhere behind me.  “Barbie or an interactive blow up doll?” that statement earns a hard yank of my hair.  Bending my head back as he stands over me “listen you little bitch, you will undo whatever locks you put on and put that money back.”

“And if I don’t?”

He gets a look of total menace on his face.  “I will eliminate all who are precious to you.  If they can get to you what makes you think they can’t take out the MC?”

That has my attention.  I finally have family. I am close to Noah, blood family, and I have Liam my mate. We were going to start a family.  I consider Dax a goofy brother.  Before I respond a nasal voice I recognize chimes in “just kill the bitch so we can take out the MC.”

“Chloe?” I know she was hoping to become an old lady.  After this move it will never happen.

“Yeah you snooty bitch, you took Liam away from me.  I know he took you out of the B&B and moved you to the compound. I saw you on the back of his bike.   They only let their old ladies on the bikes.  You turned the MC against me.”

Now it’s my turn to laugh. “I did nothing of the sort.  I heard how bad a lay you are, and you had the lady balls to criticize Nathan?”

Her fists ball up a look of pure rage on her face. She starts to take a step towards me, when she is pulled backwards. “Get rid of her, she has served her purpose.”  She starts to struggle as she is dragged out of the room. The next sound I hear is a single gunshot then a splash.  I think it is safe to guess that I will have the same fate once he gets what he wants from me.

“Now, you will get on the computer and you WILL transfer the money and a bit extra for my troubles.”

I need to get very creative here. “What happened with your hacker?  Was I too much for them, they couldn’t break through my security?”  Instead of James Henderson responding I hear someone else respond.

“Oh darling daughter, you overestimate your ability and worth.”

I can feel all the blood drain from my face.  I close my eyes and hope I wake up safe in Liam’s arms, that this is all just a bad dream.  When I open them, I see another man, who I assume is my sperm donor, standing next to James Henderson.  “So, John, you finally decide to show up in your daughter’s life and it is only to threaten her?  Father of the year award winner there, give the man a trophy.”

“How do you two know each other?”  This earns laughter from both of them. 

“James and I are half-brothers.  It was really ironic when we ended up with a pair of sisters.”

I start to shake. This is Noah’s sperm donor father.  How could someone who turned out so good come from such a piece of shit? That also means that Noah has three half-brothers he had no idea existed.  “So you two knock up two women then when things get too real you bail on them, leaving them high and dry.  Not caring what happened to your kids?  Then you marry not one woman but a second, after abandoning your other three kids.  It’s a tie for shittiest father of the year, congratulations.”

James goes to backhand me but John, I refuse to refer to him as father, stops him. “If her eyes get too swollen she can’t see the screen.”  Begrudgingly he lowers his hand.  “Let’s get this over with.  The longer we keep her here the more likely they are to find us.”

“Don’t worry about that.  The other MC I hired to grab her is watching them. We will get plenty of notice before they figure out where we are.”

Well, that explains why the Travelers were involved in my abduction.  The bindings on my hands are cut, bringing me out of my inner musings and back to the present.  I am yanked up by my arm. No doubt that is going to leave a mark, only to be shoved into another room in front of a computer.  This is a small bedroom, just to the right of the wet bar.  It has a twin bed with a bright floral pattern.  The walls are done in yellow with various beach pictures along all the walls.  There is another door in the corner, possibly a bathroom.  The only other furniture is a small dresser and a desk with the computer on it.

I am pushed into a chair in front of the computer.  John stands at the door while James sits at the end of the bed.  Both are watching my every move.  I just sit there for a few minutes trying to stall for time.  Finally James gets up grabbing a handful of hair and pulling my head back so that he is looking down at me. “Start typing.  I want this done in three hours.”

“I will need more time than three hours.”

“Don’t push me bitch.”  He stalks past John and out of the room.  Hopefully if John stays there I can put my idea into action.

“Can I get a coffee, or at least a bottle of water?  That drug messed me up and my head is still fuzzy.”

John looks at me through narrowed eyes. “Don’t try anything, I will be right back.”

Once he leaves the room I take a deep breath.  I hope Dax has learned a few things since I have been around.

Chapter 30

Liam

Dax is sitting in front of the computer trying to track where they took Phoebe.  She has been gone for almost thirty six hours.  We have not heard anything.  We haven’t been able to find anything on where she was taken.  My beast is ready to go on a rampage.  We want our mate back.

I have been pacing the hallway.  Jasper, Mason, Noah, Mordecai and Wyatt have all been here for moral support.  Even though Noah is still a prospect and we don’t usually let them past the lobby, we made an exception.  Phoebe wouldn’t be in this mess if it wasn’t for us.  The only sound is Dax clicking away on the computer trying to trace where that van went.  I am about ready to get on my bike and get information out of any Traveler I can torture when the alarms start blaring.

The last time this happened Phoebe told us it was because they were hacking back in to the accounts.  We all crowd around Dax.  Jasper has a really worried look on his face.  “Is it that hacker again?  Please tell me she taught you how to stop him.”

“Well it’s a hacker, but not the one you are thinking of.  It’s Phoebe.  She is talking in code.  Where’s is Noah?”

“I’m here.”

“Do you know what some of this means?  She must have someone watching her.”

“Yeah, I understand that.  We made up our own language as kids, just being goofy.  I am going to be a little rusty at this.  I haven’t thought about this in years. Can I have a pen and a piece of paper?”

We get the kid a chair, sitting next to Dax. Wyatt brings in a pen and paper, handing it to Noah.  “Can you at least shut the alarms off?”  Just as I ask they stop.  Dax looks up hands raised in the air “that wasn’t me.  She needs to show me how to do that.  I guess she wanted to make sure she had our attention.”

I ignore Dax and his rambling focusing on what Noah is writing.  “Dax, you have to make it look like you are trying to stop her.  She has someone watching her.  James Henderson has her. He wants her to transfer back the fifteen million.  She said there is another guy John.  Holy Fuck, John is her father.  John is the hacker she was fighting.  She doesn’t know how many others are on board.  They doped her up and had a bag over her head.”

Holy shit, James Henderson and her father are behind this?  I look up and see every man in the room has the same stumped look on his face.  We are all anxious to find out where she is. 

“She is just off the inside coast of Baja California.”  We are all making our way to the door when Noah yells “Freeze.”  I am about thirty seconds from ripping his head off.  “If we have a general area we can get her.”

Noah shakes his head.  “She is on the fucker’s yacht.  She is in a small bedroom behind the bar area.  She said the Travelers are watching us. They were paid to take her and deliver her.”

Jasper gives a quick nod “I will call Dallas.  We can figure out a plan to get rid of our tail in the meantime.”  He puts a hand on my shoulder.   “Don’t worry brother, we will get her back.”  With that he leaves the room phone in hand.

“Has she given you any more information?”  I need to put eyes on her. Dax continues to type as Jasper comes back in.  “Dallas is sending thirty guys to intercept the yacht.”  That’s good we don’t know who else is there, only James and John for sure.

“We need to draw the Travelers out, think we are on the move. “  I agree that is a good idea.

“We need Nathan to work his magic, disable their bikes.” 

“Jasper, Mason and Wyatt stay here.  Once we disable the Travelers, we can just get on the road. I want to get to Phoebe.  She doesn’t know anyone outside our chapter.  Not to mention, my beast needs to hurt someone.”

Jasper nods “Mason can go with you.  Dax can stay here and work on the computer.”  I am glad his head is in the game.  I never thought that he could still communicate with her. “What about Noah? If she is still talking in code, he is the only one who can translate it.”

Jasper looks at the kid then back at me.  “Noah can stay here, just in case things change.  We need to know what is happening.  Keep your earpiece in, I will call you if anything changes.”

I give him a quick nod, and we all walk out to our bikes. We take our time, trying to act casual. It is killing me as I just want to race out of town to get my girl.  Once we are all ready, Mason gives the nod.  As the highest ranking officer, he takes the lead.  Mordecai is just behind on his right all of us falling in to staggered formation.  I am directly behind Mason, and Wyatt is directly behind Mordecai.   Jules and Nathan fall in line behind us.  We go in to town.  I noticed our tail shortly after we left the compound.  There are four of them against our six. Not to mention they are all just wolves. We are a mixture.  Mason being a vampire has the fastest speed and power of compulsion.  Mordecai is a gargoyle he can turn to stone.  I wouldn’t want hit with a stone fist.  Wyatt is a griffin able to take to the air at a moment’s notice.  Jules is a Cerberus and Nathan is a Jinn.  I don’t see any officer in the pack of bikes.  I call Jasper “Can you send a couple other guys to the coffee shop? All these Travelers are disposable. We might be able to get information from them.”

Jasper agrees and said give him ten minutes.  We park in front of the coffee shop. I notice a few people in the window.  I walk in as part of the ruse.  “Everyone please back away, casually, from the front window. “  Marie rushes over to me.  “Liam what is going on, are we in danger?”

She is such a sweet old lady. The MC adopted her as the official grandmother of the club.  She looks past me “Where is Phoebe?”  Her innocent question causes my beast to rumble in my chest. I take a deep breath. “They took her.  That is what this is about.” She lets out a gasp as she puts her hand to her chest. 

“You take care of those troublemakers and get that girl back.  She’s good for you Liam.”  I can only nod. I know with my beast being so close to the surface my voice will sound like I swallowed gravel.  I take a deep breath and walk back outside. 

As predicted those dumb mutts have tried to pin us down. Having the building to our back, we are at least secure they aren’t currently behind us.  “Are you boys going somewhere?” 

Mason responds “Just wanted a cup of coffee and something sweet to go with it.”   They chuckle like there is something funny.  I see a smoky haze behind them. They never even saw Nathan vaporize.  I can see the smoke starting to close in on them.  We just wait until he rematerializes, keep the focus of their attention on us.

After a few minutes, we see a whole Nathan standing behind them.  Coming up the street, from the right I see Jasper, Jackson and Dylan walking up. They must have parked a couple streets over so the Travelers didn’t know they were coming.  Jasper gives us a head nod when they are standing with Nathan.  Five of us in front of them, four behind them, we have the element of surprise.  We each take a step off the sidewalk.  Jasper and the others step forward.  We are boxing them in and they are too dumb to notice. When they finally get within arm’s length, Jasper snatches two of them from behind, at the back of the neck.  One actually pisses himself, asshole.  I guess that’s what happens when you go against a dragon.

“Go ahead and get on the road. We got this.”  Jasper has an evil grin on his face.  His dragon has been restless.  He needs a good punching bag.  “Thanks Pres.”

We all get on our bikes, and speed out of town as fast as we can. “I’m coming sweetheart.”

Chapter 31

Phoebe

I really hope that Noah remembered our gibberish from when we were kids.  Otherwise I am fucked and not in a good way.  I have been typing away giving the guys as much information as I can without being too obvious.  I don’t know how many goons they have or if it is just my sperm donor and his brother.

“So, how are you brothers with different last names?”

“My dear girl, we have the same mother, different father.  We should have known that human women could get pregnant.”

I continue to type stalling for what I really hope is a quick rescue.  “I don’t understand the point of having me hack back in to the bank, instead of just doing it yourself.”  At my statement he gets the most disturbing grin on his face.

“My darling daughter, you are a little naïve at times aren’t you.  We are in Mexican waters.  You are in the process of gaining illegal access to someone else’s information and money.  If James ends up not killing you, the Mexican authorities will be sent an anonymous message with all of your history.  You are basically writing your own death sentence as you sit there.”  I plaster a neutral expression on my face as I continue to type.  I have to let the guys know to hurry their asses up. I can’t do much more to stall.  I refuse to be a scapegoat.

The door to the bedroom slams open banging against the opposite wall.  James walks in face red as a tomato.  The only thing missing is steam coming out of his ears.  He stomps over to me, grabbing a handful of hair and shaking me as hard as he can “What the Fuck did you DO?”  John looks back and forth between the two of us trying to figure out what he is talking about.

“I don’t know what you mean.”  How I manage to say that with a somewhat innocent tone is beyond me. I need an academy award or some bullshit.

He lets go of my hair pushing me away from him, causing me to fall out of the chair.  “I just got word that the tail on your mate and his friends disappeared.”

I try to keep a neutral expression on my face, Liam is coming.  James stalks over towards me, as I continue to sit on the floor. “I will ask one more time. What. The. Fuck. Did. You. Do?”

John stands up, grabbing James by the arm, “What makes you think she had anything to do with this?  I have been watching her the whole time, she is just typing code.”  The fact that John didn’t figure out what I was doing, being a skilled hacker, makes me relax slightly.  I am obviously dealing with a lunatic, so I can’t totally relax.

“Call it intuition.  I know she did something.  If she didn’t where the fuck is my money?”

“I told you, I taught their tech guy some things.  He keeps putting up blocks and it’s taking me longer than I thought it would.  I did tell you it would take more than three hours. “

He gives me a nasty look.  “Get your ass back in that chair and do what you need to.  I want my money and I want it now.” I give him a small nod and get up to sit in the chair.  I have to get the guys to hurry the fuck up I am running out of time.

Chapter 32

Liam

I don’t know how we did it, but we got to the bay in about six hours.  I have been communicating with Jasper.  His new punching bag has given him plenty of information.  Apparently they don’t keep specific details just between the officers.  Jasper has made arrangements for a couple of speed boats.  With so many of us, we won’t all fit in one.

We find a spot to park the bikes and load in to the boats. While Wyatt was making arrangements with the owners, we made plans on how to confront Henderson.  He was smart being on the water. He has a quick escape route and plenty of space to run.  Once we get close enough, Wyatt, Nathan and a few from the Dallas Chapter are going to fly on to the yacht.  They should be able to take out most of the problem people while we get close enough to get on board.

Once we get out in to open water Wyatt takes to the air.  We still aren’t exactly sure where they are.  He can see better from the air.  With it being dark outside, they won’t be able to see him either.  The element of surprise should be on our side.  I feel my phone vibrate in my pocket.  I pull it out and read the message from Noah. 

Noah: She is running out of time.  They are trying to frame her with the Mexican authorities. If they can’t do that they are going to kill her.

Liam:  Thanks brother, I will bring her home.

I send text messages to those on the other boats.  We need to hustle.  I have no way to notify Wyatt. I hope he finds them soon. 

About twenty minutes later, Wyatt comes in to view.  He changes back to human form to communicate with us. “I found the yacht.  I can see a couple guys, with guns, on the upper decks.”

He gives the direction of the yacht, and we push the boats to full speed.  I can feel my horns getting bigger.  My shirt is starting to stretch.  I take my cut off, and put it in a compartment, under one of the seats.  I get a funny look about that.  He is a newer brother, from the Dallas chapter.  My body continues to stretch and grow.  Understanding lights his face as he gives me a quick nod.  He is new to their chapter, so he doesn’t know what all of us are.

I see Wyatt preparing to shift again.  He gives me a quick nod and takes to the sky.  I see a vapor following him.  We are still moving in on the yacht. I can now see the lights from it in the distance.  I see Wyatt land on the front, Nathan takes the back.  Not so much as one shot fired.   I am fully shifted now, standing at eight feet tall.  My bulk of muscles are almost too much for this small boat.  I need to put eyes on Phoebe.  Just as we get next to the boat, I hear a scream.

Chapter 33

Phoebe

I can hear something heavy fall to the deck of the yacht.  I am not totally sure if it is Liam or not so I don’t react.  James comes barging back in to the bedroom, lifting me up by my neck.  I let out a scream just before he starts to squeeze cutting off my air.

“I knew you did something you worthless bitch.  Who did you contact?”

John attempts to get him off of me, but James is too far gone in his haze of rage.  Still holding me by my throat he shakes me like a rag doll. “I asked you a fucking question.”  I grab at his wrist trying to get free.  I am starting to see black dots across my vision.  Just before I lose consciousness I hear the most terrifying wail.  James lets me go and I drop to the floor like a sack of potatoes.  Trying to catch my breath I crab walk backwards, away from him.  I am trying to put as much distance as I can between us.

Suddenly the frame of the door is being ripped away. A mist type vapor comes in to the room seeming to freeze both James and John.  I look up and see Liam.  I haven’t seen his shifted form before.  He is massive.  His horns are even bigger than they have been, almost as wide as a longhorn cow, but thicker and curling more up into the air.  His muscles are bigger than anything I have seen before. Even the muscle heads in those weight lifting competitions have nothing on him.

We make eye contact and his eyes turn red.  He looks at James and grabs him by the neck lifting him off his feet.  I can finally take a breath.  I am safe.  I see other men in the hallway, wearing what looks like cuts. I don’t recognize any of them.  I try to speak and my voice comes out raspy.  I slowly get up off the floor and make my way to Liam. I wrap my arms around his waist.  I am safe, he came to get me.

I look up into his red eyes “I love you Liam.”  He drops James and steps us out of the way for one of his brothers to take him.   Nathan still has John trapped.  Slowly Liam starts to come back from his beast mode.  He wraps his arms around me tight whispering in my ear “I love you too sweetheart.”

We just stand there for a moment wrapped in each other. His other brothers all disappeared, along with James.  I see what I think is Jules and Mordecai still guarding the door.  Liam looks at me “So who is this asshole?”

His question causes me to start laughing, momentarily I forgot about my neck and throat.  I start coughing.  I feel Liam stiffen.  I wave him off letting him know I am ok.  After I catch my breath I tell him “this is my sperm donor.”  I hear Mordecai “sperm donor?”

I look at him and nod “I refuse to call him father.  His sperm was the best part of him.”  Mordecai just shakes his head, grabs John by the arm and hauls him from the room.

“You did good sweetheart.  We couldn’t pin point exactly where you were but Wyatt flew around until he found the boat. I am so glad you are safe.”

I nod, in a scratchy voice I tell him “I was really hoping Noah was around and remembered that gibberish.” 

He lets out a breath “Yeah, Noah did really good.  Let’s get out of here.” 

Liam gets me on deck, and helps me in to the smaller boat.  I don’t see James or John.  Liam puts his cut back on, and sits on a cushioned seat, pulling me in to his lap.  I rest my head on his shoulder as he holds my body tightly to his.  We are almost to shore when the sky lights up red and orange.  A delayed echo of what sounds like an explosion hits my ears.  I look up at Liam and he gives me a short nod, okay then.

Once we get to shore and they return the boats to the owners we walk to the bikes. I hadn’t realized there were so many people in our group.  They sent all of them for me?  I am feeling a little overwhelmed. I am not sure if I am tired or coming down off the adrenaline rush.  Liam introduces me and I don’t retain one name. I thank them all for coming and that I appreciate their help.  All the guys do the manly back slap handshake thing and we are heading home.

Chapter 34

Phoebe

It’s been a week since I was abducted and held on James Henderson’s yacht.  I still need to talk to Noah about everything James and John told me.  I need to make sure that Stephanie Henderson and her boys are taken care of.  Eventually we need to let her know as well, about James being Noah’s father.  I am sure they would all like to get to know each other.

Liam has not let me out of his sight much.  I have no problems with that either.  Jasper was able to get details out of the Full Moon Travelers member.  I didn’t bother to ask where he was or what happened to him.  They sold out a rival MC for a small amount of money. 

I told Liam about Chloe’s assistance in the abduction.  I also told him what I think they did to her.  He said they had searched the yacht and didn’t find anyone else around, except James’ henchmen.  I am now responsible for doing background checks on all hang arounds now.

I am getting ready to head to the clubhouse.  Liam had Church and had Noah come sit with me until it was time to head over.

As we near the clubhouse I notice a higher than normal amount of bikes around.  I look at Noah and he just shrugs.  We walk in and see members everywhere.  Liam makes his way over to me putting his arm around my shoulders.  Jasper and Mason walk over next. 

Jasper puts his hand in the air and the room immediately gets quiet.   Noah looks nervous although I am not sure why.  “Noah, you have been a prospect for the past ten months.  You have done everything asked of you with no complaint.  The club needed help and not only did you find a solution, you brought Liam his mate.  When she was missing you stepped up and did what was needed putting your own feelings aside.  It has been voted on.  Here is your patch, congratulations!”  Jasper hands Liam a new vest with the full three part patch.  He is no longer a prospect.  He has a grin from ear to ear.  I am glad I didn’t ruin his day by telling him about his family.  I will do it tomorrow.

I look up and see a line of shots on the bar in front of him.  Ok, maybe I’ll tell him the day after tomorrow.

Epilogue

Jasper

I am heading home from a few weeks in Colorado Springs, CO.  We had our quarterly meeting of the Presidents.  Every quarter we switch it up. We also never do the same order.  That way if our enemies are watching us they can’t track our pattern.  Usually Liam or one of the other officers comes with me.  Since Phoebe has added cyber security to our list of services we have been swamped with new clients.  We need to do something special for her, just not sure what.

My skin continues to itch.  It has been this way for three months.  I am having trouble sleeping and have had to watch my temper.  I am ready to snap.  What is making it worse is I don’t know why.  This has been a long ride. I make what should be the last stop for gas before I get home.  I smell rain in the air.  The sky is starting to get really dark and I see flashes of lightening in the far distance.   Riding in the rain sucks.  It feels like you are getting hit with rocks or poked with needles all over your body at the same time.  I am only a couple of hours out.  Hopefully I can beat this storm.

As I just to the outskirts of town the tornado sirens start going off wonderful.  This is just want I wanted to do.  I drove like hell so I could get home and now I get this.  I see the town is deserted, the wind is really picking up.  As I drive near the coffee shop I see a small hourglass figure walking down the street looking around.  Why isn’t she underground?

I drive over to where she is and she stops dead in her tracks and stares at me.

MINE

Can she really be my mate?  I holler as best as I can above the wind, but she just stares at me.  We can’t stay out here in the open like this.  I finally say fuck it.  I throw the kickstand down.  I walk over to her and her eyes get wide as she takes in my size.  We can discuss that later.  I am a dragon, size matters.  I grab her hand and start dragging her to my bike. She is fighting me trying to walk in the other direction. I finally decide to take control of this situation, it’s a safety issue.  I grab her at the waist and set her on the back of my bike.  Once she is settled I get on and take off.  I hope I can make it to the compound before we get caught in the thick of this.  It usually takes thirty minutes to get to the compound from downtown Venus, such as it is.  Venus is a small town, so blink and you miss it.  I make it to the compound in half the time.  I can feel her shaking behind me.  I don’t normally drive like that but, it was either that or we get caught in the open in a tornado.  I pull in the compound garage hoping it’s enough to keep my bike safe.  I grab her arm and drag her into the clubhouse with me.  I make for the door to the basement and she tries to stop me.  I pause at the door and turn to look at her.  She starts waving her hands and gestures.  I don’t understand.  I tell her we need to hurry and get downstairs.  She puts her hands on her hips with the cutest angry expression on her face.

“I’m deaf you asshole.”  Yeah, this is going to be fun.

About the Author

Ann Edwards is the pen name of a longtime fan of romance stories.  She lives with her husband and three dogs. She enjoys camping, fishing and motorcycles.  She has several other hobbies, in addition to reading.

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