Abbey's Protectors [Beckett's Wolf Pack, Triad Mates 4] (Siren Publishing Menage & More) (35 page)

I’m sorry, too, sweetheart,
Hunter added softly.

Be quiet.

Abbey’s cool voice sent a surge of guilt through them.

“Drew, continue please,” she told the pack doctor as he stood across from them.

“Have you both taken care of all medical examinations and reports from this incident?” he asked them, smiling as he looked down at the medical bag he was packing. He would never say it to Hunter and Clay, but he was enjoying watching them squirm under the disapproval of their mate. He knew very well how a mate’s unhappiness could hurt the other members of a triad.

“Yes. We both received treatment from the EMTs and had follow up care at the hospital,” Clay told him, nodding. “They took pictures of our injuries for the report. We’re both on medical leave for the rest of the week.”

“Do you have to report back for follow-up care?”

“No, Drew,” Hunter answered. “We both signed off that you would be the doctor we would report to. We’ll just need documents filled out by you to add to the report.”

“Okay,” Drew agreed. “I can do that with complete honesty once I’ve seen that you’re both back up to speed.”

“What do we need to do, Drew?” Abbey asked worriedly, unaware that she held both men’s shoulders tightly within her grip as she stood between them.

“The men will need to let their wolves out,” Drew explained. “Their wolves will keep them in that form until they’re completely healed. There’s no way to know how long that will take. I would assume that Hunter’s wolf will keep him longer since his wound is more serious, but Clay’s wolf also has some healing to do. Once they shift back to their human forms, they both should be fine.”

“You’re sure they’ll be okay?” Abbey asked softly, looking at her men worriedly.

The cuts across Clay’s face made her realize that he had to be in some pain. The large bandage on his neck made her stomach hurt. The glass shard had been removed and he had received five stitches to close the wound. She was concerned that he had lost blood because of it.

Looking at Hunter, she couldn’t see his injury because of his shirt, but she could see the hole in his sleeve and the dried blood on the material. It made her heart pound and her stomach clench to realize that her men knew real danger every time they went to work.

“Yes, Abbey. They’ll be fine,” Drew assured her. “I’m going to be heading home. Call me if you need anything.”

“Thanks, Drew,” Hunter spoke up, starting to stand.

“Sit down,” Abbey told him firmly.

“Sweetheart, I’m fine,” Hunter protested.

“Don’t even think about it,” she told him, raising her hand to stop him from talking. “You, too,” she snapped at Clay as he began to stand. “Don’t you dare move.”

“Okay, honey,” he told her, winking.

Abbey actually growled in frustration as she walked away from them and followed Drew to the front door of their home. “Thanks for everything, Drew.”

Drew turned to face Abbey and smiled at the angry expression he saw on her face. “They’ll be fine, Abbey,” he told her softly once again.

“I know.” She reached out and lightly touched Drew’s arm. “I’ll make sure my men shift. If there’s a problem, I’ll call you.”

Drew placed his arm around her shoulder and pulled her toward him to hug her gently. “Can you handle this, Abbey?”

“What? Being mated to police officers?” she asked. At Drew’s nod, she smiled and nodded back at him. “I think so. It scares me, but it’s what Hunter and Clay need to do.”

Drew looked down at her, his forehead furrowed in confusion. “If you’re okay with that, what’s bothering you?”

“I have two mates who want to protect me and shield me from the bad things in life. We’re going to have a serious discussion about that.”

“Just remember, Abbey. It’s because they love you that they try to protect you from the dangers of their job,” Drew reminded her gently.

Abbey nodded, taking a deep breath to calm herself. “I know. Thanks, Drew. I’ll call you if we need you.”

Drew hugged her one last time then reached out and opened the door. “Have fun with your mates,” he called over his shoulder as he walked out of their home and made his way down the front porch steps.

Abbey watched him go, silently fuming at the way her men were trying to shield her from their work. Shutting the door, she turned and made her way back into the kitchen, glad to see that Hunter and Clay still sat at the table where she had left them.

“Abbey,” Hunter began.

“Sorry, honey,” Clay spoke up.

Abbey raised her hands to stop them then stepped forward and placed her hands palms down on the table so that she leaned toward the two men as they sat on the opposite side. They looked at her silently, but Abbey could see the worry in their beautiful eyes.

“I’m only going to say this one time,” she began very calmly. “I understand that your job is dangerous. I understand that there will be times when you don’t want me to know what’s happening. I’m okay with you not allowing me to see everything that happens during your day.” She looked at both men, standing up and folding her arms across her chest. “What I’m
not
okay with is you closing our link so that I can’t feel your presence. We’ve only had the link for a short time, but I felt lost without it. I need to know that you’re okay. I need to feel your warmth and your love. I need that inside of me. Don’t ever take that away from me again.”

Both men had the decency to look ashamed. She almost caved at that moment and forgave them for everything, but she knew she had to take a hard stand now so they would never distance themselves from her again.

“Will you tell me what happened?” she asked them softly.

“It was a routine traffic stop, Abbey,” Hunter told her gently.

Abbey nodded, taking a deep breath to calm herself. “What made them pull guns?”

“The stash of cocaine in the trunk,” Clay answered without hesitation.

Abbey was quiet for such a long time, it made both men look at each other as concern filled them. They both ached to hold her between them so she could feel just how sorry they were and how much they truly loved and needed her. They watched as she stepped back from the table another step to look down at them. The silence between them at that moment was nearly unbearable.

“If you ever close me out of your hearts again, I’m leaving,” she told them finally, her voice strong and firm. “I will not be coddled. I’m your mate, not a child. I’m strong enough to deal with whatever happens when you’re working, but I’m not strong enough to understand when you push me aside. We’re a team. We fight together. We take the good and the bad—together.”

Both men stood and made their way around the table to take her gently within their arms. She allowed them to hold her close, finally relaxing as they nuzzled against the sides of her neck and bit down on their mating marks. She moaned lightly then pushed them away.

“Enough of that. Get upstairs and get into bed. I want you both shifted into your wolf forms within the next five minutes. Are we clear?”

“Yes, Mate,” Clay whispered, kissing her neck one last time before looking at her with a smile on his face. “Will you come up and lie down with us, honey?”

“Yes, I’ll be up as soon as I talk to my friends. They’re expecting me to video chat. Now get going, both of you.”

“Okay, sweetheart,” Hunter told her, kissing her cheek lightly. “Make it fast though. We need you between us or our wolves won’t be able to settle.”

“I’ll be up in ten minutes,” Abbey promised.

Both men nodded, clearly relieved that she was not going to stay angry with them. It was cute, actually. Abbey liked that they wanted her to be happy. She said a silent prayer of thanks to the beautiful lady that her men were safe and at home. She was going to make sure they were healed completely then she was going to have a serious talk with them about their future. She was ready to take the next step. She hoped they were, too.

She had thought long and hard about it. She wanted to have a baby with her men—her mates.

“How are things going at Tyler Industries?” she asked her two best friends as she faced them on the computer screen. Both of them looked very tired, and she was concerned.

“The business is fine, Abbey,” Synthia told her without hesitation. “Peter has no access to anything within the company. He’s been put on paid leave until we can figure out where we can send him to work. We wanted your input on that before we decided.”

“Well, he
is
very good at marketing. We can’t take that away from him,” Abbey said thoughtfully. “Shelly, would you look over our companies and see which one would best benefit from a strong marketing presence in their office? We’ll make sure that Peter understands that his salary is contingent upon his performance. If he doesn’t benefit the company, he’ll be removed from the position.”

Shelly smiled and nodded. “Sounds good, Abbey. I’ll look for one of the companies far enough away so he won’t be tempted to come back here and bother you.”

Abbey laughed, sitting back in her chair and running her fingers through her hair. “That sounds like a good plan.” She looked at both of her friends and saw the dark circles under their eyes. “I want you both to come to the Circle Three Ranch.”

Synthia looked at her sister in surprise. “You do?” she asked, facing Abbey once again. “Why?”

“Well, I think you both would be happy here. The people are really nice, and the land is absolutely beautiful. I think you’ve both worked hard enough with me for the last ten years. It’s time for all of us to relax. We can successfully run the business together from here.”

“I don’t know, Abbey,” Synthia told her, chewing on her lower lip with worry. “I don’t think we’re ready to do that.”

“Well, think about it,” Abbey told her firmly. “I’m very happy here. Hunter and Clay are wonderful men, and I’m thankful to be mated to them. You don’t think that’s a bad thing, do you?”

“What? That you’re happy?” Shelly asked, surprised.

“No. That I’m mated to two men,” Abbey clarified.

“Absolutely not,” Shelly told her immediately. “I think it’s hot.”

Abbey laughed out loud. “Yeah, it
is
pretty hot,” she admitted. “I think you two might find yourselves mated to two men if you come out here. I would like it if you were a part of this pack family.”

Synthia and Shelly looked at each other briefly. Abbey couldn’t tell if they were upset by the fact that she wanted them to be a part of mated triads, but they certainly looked sad.

“I don’t think we would fit in with your pack family, Abbey,” Synthia told her finally.

“Of course you would,” Abbey protested. “Why would you say such a thing?”

Synthia shrugged, reaching out to take her sister’s hand in hers. “We’ve had no family but you and your dad for a lot of years,” she explained. “I don’t think we know how to be a part of a family anymore.”

“Synthia, I think it would be a natural fit for the both of you to live here. If you find your mates, you’ll be so happy. Please think about coming here.”

Synthia nodded, squeezing Shelly’s hand lightly. “We’ll think about it,” she promised. “Now go to your men so they can heal. We’ll talk to you in a couple of days. Just let us know what’s good for you.”

“We’ll get all the information together that you need,” Shelly told her. “Hope your mates are better soon.”

“I wanted to tell you something,” Abbey whispered as she leaned toward the screen.

“What?” Synthia asked as she and Shelly eased forward.

“I’m going to ask Hunter and Clay if they want to start a family with me.”

Shelly shrieked her happiness. Synthia just smiled.

“That’s awesome, Abbey,” Shelly told her excitedly.

“I think that would be a wonderful idea,” Synthia added. “You’re going to be a great mom.”

Abbey smiled as she faced her friends. “I hope so,” she whispered. “I’ll talk to you later. Take care of yourself and email me if you run into any problems or if Peter acts up.”

“Take care of yourself, little mother,” Shelly told her, winking.

“Love you, Abbey,” Synthia told her, reaching out for the mouse to close the connection.

“Love you guys, too,” Abbey told them softly.

The screen went blank and Abbey felt her heart racing as she closed down her computer. She had a lot to discuss with her men but first she had to make sure that they were okay. Leaving the study, she made her way up the stairs and down the hallway to enter their bedroom. She smiled at the sexy sight before her.

Both men had showered and were waiting for her in bed. The sheets and blankets were folded down at the bottom of the bed and her men were waiting for her, completely naked.

“Well now, this is a nice sight to be greeted with,” she told them as she toed off her sneakers and climbed up onto the bed to kneel between them.

She reached out and rested her hands on their chests, worry gripping her as she noticed the cuts on Clay’s face and neck, and the bullet wound on Hunter’s arm. She gently touched their faces and smiled at them as she heard their contented hums of happiness.