A Mate for the Alpha and His Brothers (10 page)

The door was locked again, and then a moment later, the engine began, and the van moved off, a little faster than before. It bumped along the track for a distance and then must have turned onto a proper road because the ride became smooth and they moved much faster.

The back of the furniture van was illuminated with a bright gas light, and someone banged on the driver’s door of the van. Elsie was closest to the sliding passenger door so she opened it. No one yelled at her, so she climbed out, followed by Favian and JJ. Amory came and stood beside her while Brayden flanked JJ.

The men recognized each other, and there was some joking and fist bumps, and then an older man came over and looked at her. “LC Parker I presume?”

Since he called her by her real name, he must be the leader. “Yes, sir.”

“And you will be JJ.”

“Yes, sir. Good afternoon, sir.”

“These were the men chasing you. Do you recognize them?”

They crossed to the side of the van and looked. Elsie didn’t know them, but she didn’t expect to. She watched JJ, but there was no sign of recognition on his face.

“What about this one?”

Elsie stared at a woman in her early twenties. Her face was shaped just like Elsie’s, and her hair was a very similar color to hers and JJs. She wasn’t as small as Elsie, but she wasn’t big either. More like JJ. Sort of in between.

While she was staring at the woman, her eyes opened and then opened wider. They were filled with fear. They were a deep blue with flecks that were almost black in them. Elsie had only ever seen eyes like that once before. On her father. Yet he was supposed to have been an only child. He’d said any number of times that she had no cousins on his side of the family because he was an only child.

“Which branch of the Parker family are you from?” she asked the woman.

At the same time as she spoke, JJ asked, “Who the fuck are you?”

“I’d like to know that as well.”

It was the older man who spoke, the man from the cell phone, and the look on his face reminded her very much of Amory but also of Favian and Brayden. So he was their father. But who was this woman? And which side of the battle was she on? Friend or enemy?

Favian stared at the captive woman. She was young. Not as young as JJ, not an adolescent, but certainly not thirty either. Probably not even twenty-five. How did Elsie know she was a Parker, though? She was slender and not particularly tall, but she wasn’t as short and slight as Elsie. Her body did appear to be fine-boned though, and her head… Hmm. Her head was the same delicate shape as Elsie’s. Was that a Parker trait? But if Elsie knew all about the Parker genetics, why didn’t she recognize the woman? They must have met at family gatherings if they were related. Elsie was likely eight to ten years older than this woman, so she’d remember a little girl, surely?

JJ was staring at the woman and looking at his sister and then back to the woman. “Ah, fuck. You’re my sister as well, aren’t you? And Mom would have told me if she’d had another child. Did Parker do a runner on your mom, too, the same way he did on mine?”

The woman licked her lips and whispered huskily, “Yes.”

Favian guiltily thought he should give her a drink of water, but the water was in the minivan, and he wanted to hear everything that she said. He needed to know. It was burning a hole in his gut not knowing who had been following them or why.

To be honest, he was damn glad Brayden had been driving when it happened. All three of them had completed an advanced driving course, but it sure as hell hadn’t included turning corners on two wheels, exceeding the speed limit by so much his brain could hardly compute the math, and driving up a narrow ramp into a furniture van.

Brayden had handled the minivan like a pro driver. Favian was afraid he might have crashed and killed them all.

Sam, an older man from the Yooper pack, held a bottle of water to the woman’s lips, and she drank thirstily. That made Favian feel a little better.

Zebulun said, “You haven’t answered my question.”

The woman started, and her body shook. “I’m sorry, sir. My name is Judith Lutterworth, and Lewis Parker, or Lutterworth as he is called now, is my father.”

Little light bulbs went off all over Favian’s brain. He and his brothers had noted the coincidence of two men being called Lewis, but they couldn’t make sense of it. “But if your mom is named Lutterworth, why is he Lutterworth?”

He’d almost said why wasn’t she a Parker, and then he’d remembered Parker had been married to Elsie’s mom when JJ was conceived, which was likely seven or so years after this woman had been born.

“My mother has the money, and she’s divorcing him. She was never going to marry him because he told her she had to abort me if she wanted him. He didn’t like that she chose me over him. But when I was six, he turned up at our home, and she fell in love with him all over again. They married fourteen years ago, but she never transferred the finances into his name, and I’m her heir. So he hired these people to kill me.”

“Fucking hell.”

“Goddamn them.”

“Holy shit.”

“We weren’t going to kill you. Just take you away. We don’t do murder,” objected one of the captive men.

“Ohio has capital punishment. We aren’t stupid,” said the other captive.

Favian was beginning to think they were indeed very stupid, but he didn’t say anything.

Zebulun banged on the cab of the furniture van with his fist. “Sam, cover his head and put him in the back of the cab. Jake, go with them and help. Brayden, do the same with this one and put him in the back of the minivan.”

The truck stopped, and Sam and Jake hustled one captive out while Favian helped Brayden put the other one in the back of the minivan, a coat tied tightly over his head.

Once the truck started moving again, Zebulun sat on the floor and indicated for the rest of them to do the same. Zebulun untied the woman, Judith, and said, “Why don’t you go back to the beginning and start again so we can understand what’s happening here.”

Favian grinned at his father’s understatement. The chances of them understanding The Fixer were not high.

Before she could speak, JJ said, “Wait a minute. Are you saying my father, the man I’ve never even met, is The Fixer? And he wants to kill my sister? His own daughter?”

“Yes.”

Amory’s one word response had JJ’s mouth opening and shutting like a fish, and then he snapped it closed and sat down beside Elsie. She leaned over slightly and rubbed her shoulder against him. Favian liked that. It wasn’t a girly thing to embarrass him like patting his arm or something, but it was still a symbol that she was there and cared about him. Damn, she was an amazing woman.

Judith said, “My mother’s father was a senior manager in a telecommunications business back before the whole dotcom thing took off. He accurately predicted the future trend, made a lot of money, and bought even more shares in the industry. Lewis Parker got a job there and apparently fell in love with my mother. They got friendly, and I was conceived. My father wasn’t impressed with that and said Mom should have been more careful and told her to get rid of me. He wasn’t ready to get married and start a family.”

“Likely because he was still married to my mother back then. And living with us still as well. How old are you? Twenty-three or four?” said Elsie tersely.

“I’ll be twenty-four in a couple of months.”

“That was almost twenty-five years ago in that case. I was nine. That’s about when my parents separated.”

“Maybe that was why. Maybe your mother found out he was having an affair with my mother,” said Judith.

“Go on with the story. I want to know what happens next because we haven’t gotten to me yet,” said JJ.

“Don’t rush me. Ten minutes ago I didn’t know either of you existed, although I knew my father had been married before.”

Favian hid a grin. This Judith had just shown a flash of the kind of personality Elsie exhibited. Up until now, she’d been cowed and afraid, but she was starting to adjust, and he was pleased she wasn’t a puppet. Not that she could compare to Elsie, but she was Elsie and JJ’s half sister after all.

“He was friends with Mom again when I was small. There are a few pictures of the three of us, but not very many. When I was six, my grandfather died, and my father started paying a lot more attention to us again. He really supported Mom though the hard times back then. At first Mom was wary of him, but he moved in, and then they got married. I was seven and a half, and I was their flower girl. They’ve been together ever since, but their marriage has been pretty rocky for about three years now. I moved out when I turned twenty-one and inherited some of Grandpa’s money.”

“Is that when the marriage got rocky?” asked Amory.

I’d like to know that as well. Especially since he only came back when there was money available. And he still managed to get his real wife pregnant with JJ during that time as well.

Judith looked worried. “I really don’t know. Sometimes I think he’s just a gold digger, but other times he was really nice. He bought me a fairy princess tiara to wear for their wedding. It was my most precious possession for years.”

“He gave me one when I was seven as well. For my birthday. I thought it was perfect,” said Elsie softly.

“That just proves he knows how to charm the ladies, and we already knew that. What we need to know is why does he suddenly want you dead? Why would he pay these people to kidnap you?” said Amory.

“And why the fuck were they following us?” added Brayden.

“Language, young man,” said Zebulun sternly.

Favian looked down. That was just his father reminding them they were on his land now. Everyone had been swearing ever since these criminals had started chasing them.

“Can you please untie me now? My shoulders hurt,” said Judith. Once again Favian was impressed. She did have some spirit and was starting to come out of her fear and speak her mind. This was excellent. Besides, likely she was in pain, especially if she’d been tied up all the way here. Likely, after five or six hours, his shoulders would be in absolute agony as well.

Zebulun nodded, and he and Brayden untied her hands and feet. He checked her skin, and there was a small amount of rope burn, but not a lot. Likely she hadn’t tried to escape. He kneeled down and rubbed her ankles, making sure the circulation in her feet was okay while Brayden rubbed her shoulders.

“When did they tie you up?” asked Amory.

“Only about an hour ago. I was stupid. They said my father wanted me to surprise my mom and to pack an overnight bag because they were in Michigan. It was only when they saw the minivan and slowed down to stay behind it that I asked them why they did that, and Georgio climbed into the backseat and tied me up. He said they’d been told to get rid of me and finding the minivan was a bonus. I was too surprised to do much. I really thought they’d told me the truth. I was even pleased he was being nice to Mom, when I agreed to go with them.”

“You said it’s your birthday in a few months. Do you come into more of your grandfather’s estate then?” asked Elsie.

Favian smiled at her. That was a damn good question.

“No, not until I’m twenty-five. Do you think he plans to hurt Mom? He knows she won’t put him ahead of me in her will, and if he was getting rid of me, maybe…”

“Fuck,” said Amory.

He pulled out his cell phone and started typing furiously. A few minutes later he took a call that he didn’t put on speakerphone. He walked right to the back door of the van and leaned in the corner of it, grunting occasionally and answering in monosyllables.

Favian glanced at Judith, who looked frightened again, Elsie, who looked worried, and JJ, who picked up Elsie’s hand and patted it. That’s what he should be doing. Taking care of his woman. Their mate. This all had to be an incredible shock to her, yet she was handling it well.

When Amory returned, Favian said, “Where is Lutterworth right now?”

“Why is he Lutterworth? Why aren’t you Parker?” asked JJ.

“I don’t know where our father is, and he took Mom’s name because she refused to change her name. She’s never completely trusted him.”

“With reason. He’s not trustworthy,” said Favian very softly. It was the truth, but there was no need to offend his three kids.

Amory said, “Lewis Lutterworth, AKA The Fixer, has vanished. He argued with his second wife, Cherise, last night again, and she told him to leave the house, which he did. But no one knows where he is.”

“Fucking hell. Maybe he is up here after all. Maybe we’ve just brought Elsie and JJ right into the center of the danger,” said Favian.

“Stop the damn truck. We’ll head back home immediately,” said Brayden.

“There’s no need to act quickly. The relevant authorities are on the case. We’ll be as safe with Zebulun and the pack as we would be anywhere else,” said Amory.

“You’re safer here. No one can come onto our traditional lands without a dozen people knowing about it. Stay close to the house and you’ll be well away from any potential danger.” Zebulun spoke with authority, but Favian wasn’t completely convinced.

“Well, damn. I thought I was finally going to start school tomorrow.”

“You are. Our father doesn’t know anything about you,” said Elsie.

Favian wished he was sure that was true.

* * * *

In his head, Amory knew the pack lands were the safest place for his mate and her siblings. There was only one road into the forest, and it was locked with a high wire gate, and fences carrying warning signs indicating the area had been a munitions testing zone and that there were unexploded anti-personnel mines, land mines, and improvised explosive devices throughout the land.

If anyone breached the gate or the fence, an alarm would ring in half a dozen houses ensuring the invaders didn’t get far.

In fact, there were no explosives and never had been. It was a precaution the Alpha at the time had taken when the population in the area started to grow and occasional hunters ventured onto the land.

There’d been stories and photographs in the local newspapers featuring the mayor shaking the hand of a highly decorated army general, pictures of soldiers driving tanks, and then pictures of soldiers erecting the wire fence. Over time, the pack had strengthened their defenses, but apart from the occasional intrepid local youth, no one had attempted to go onto their land.