Captured Boxed Set: 9 Alpha Bad-Boys Who Will Capture Your Heart (65 page)

Chapter
Twelve

At first, Cindy hadn't taken
their threats seriously. She lived with these two women, after all, for long
enough that she'd thought she knew them. So she thought.

When they confronted her about
Jack, after he'd left, Cindy was shocked to discover that Stephanie had been
listening in on her and Jack speaking together in her room.

Then she'd gotten angry. What
followed was a shouting match, and once Cindy started up, Stacy and Stephanie
saw no reason to listen to her when she tried to explain that Jack wasn't going
to be an issue.

In fact, they seemed to think
that Cindy told Jack more than she really had.

"You let a
hunter
into this house! Are you that
fucking stupid? Why would you tell him about us? Are you really that dense?"
Stephanie demanded.

Cindy didn't like being
insulted, which was why she lost her temper and yelled back at the other woman
in the first place. "He's not a hunter! I didn't know that's what he was
when I brought him here either! And if I did, then I still would have brought
him because—"

"Because what?" Stacy
asked. "Because he's different? Because he tells you that he's in love
with you and that he's going to take care of you?"

"You don't even know what
you're talking about," Cindy snapped. It irritated her that Stacy phrased
it as if no one normal could ever love her. Just because they hadn't found
anyone who would keep their secret didn't mean they had to act this way.

"I know you're every bit as
idiotic as Stephanie thinks you are, and I think so too. How you've made it
this far without getting caught and locked away really is a miracle."

"I saw him," Stephanie
said. "When you brought him in and when he left again. Very nice looking.
Cute boy-next-door type. I bet he gives you all kinds of puppy dog eyes, too.
Real innocent, never hurt a fly. And he's a hunter, making his country proud."

"I'm leaving," Cindy
snapped, and she hoisted her purse over her shoulder and started walking toward
the front door.

Stacy was the one to grab her by
the arm and yank her to a stop.

Cindy looked down at where the
other woman held her, and she felt her inner fire burning brighter.

"Let go of me," Cindy
said, staring the taller woman in the eyes as she tried to be as threatening as
possible.

Stacy wasn't a pyro, but there
was fire in her eyes just then, and she gripped Cindy's arm tight enough to
cause her real pain as she hauled her around and slammed Cindy against the
wall. One of the pictures hanging there fell off, and the glass frame shattered
on the floor.

The wind sailed right out of
Cindy's lungs. "
Are you out of your mind
?" she shrieked.

Stacy's fist was hard and hurt
like all hell when she punched Cindy in the stomach. It happened so fast that
Cindy didn't even get the chance to warn her that she was pregnant, or protect
her stomach, and Cindy was left coughing and gasping for air as her legs no longer
worked to hold her up. She wanted to slide down to the floor, but Stacy held
her up. "Jesus Christ, do you think this is a joke? Is that what this is
to you?"

Stacy was in full on attack mode
as her thin but strong fingers grabbed onto Cindy's hair, yanking her head back
and forth before she slammed her knee into Cindy's gut.

Stacy got riled up and talked
tough whenever she ranted about hunters, but Cindy never thought the woman
could be this violent. Cindy coughed and gagged for air. "Stop," she
gasped.

"These are our lives you're
playing around with! I'm not about to get picked up by the collectors and
dissected for you!"

Stacy slapped her that time,
hard enough across Cindy's cheek that it burned as hot as her fire.

That was fine. She'd take a slap
in the face over more abuse to her stomach any day.

"I—I'm pregnant. Stop,
please, I'm pregnant," Cindy begged, keeping one hand over her stomach
while holding out the other, as if that would be enough to ward off the other
woman and her rage.

Stacy's eyes widened, but Stephanie
was the one who came to Cindy's defense. "Jesus, Stacy. If you don't cut
that out she's going to run and tell her hunter boyfriend."

"I barely touched her! Look
at me, Cindy, you're going to be fine, okay?"

Cindy didn't feel fine. Her
stomach was killing her and she felt all sorts of things moving around in
there. Panic took hold of her body in a tight fist, and everything cramped up. "I
need a doctor."

"All right, come on,"
Stephanie said, moving forward as if to help her, but Stacy stopped the other
woman.

"Not yet, give me a second."

"Stacy, this is serious,"
Stephanie said.

"I know! But we have to do
this. A hunter knows who we are and where we live."

Cindy shook her head. "He
doesn't know. I promise he doesn't know anything about either of you."

Stacy had Cindy by the hair
again, and even though she was no longer punching or kicking Cindy in the
stomach, Cindy still kept her hands over her navel, trying to protect that
precious spot as Stacy spoke to her. "Just tell me where he lives, and
I'll get a doctor, okay? I'll drive you to a clinic myself and you can get
that," Stacy waved down to Cindy's stomach. "Checked out."

Cindy shook her head. "I
can't do that. I can't."

"Yes you can," Stacy
said.

This time the fire really did
come out of Cindy. It just burst free more powerful than she'd ever gotten it
before. "No I can't!"

Cindy slammed her hands forward
into Stacy's chest, and a ball of fire erupted right out of them. The force of
it knocked Stacy into the far wall.

For a brief second, Cindy
thought she'd set her roommate on fire, but Stacy was resilient and the fire
itself didn't last long without Cindy to control it. Stacy screamed and slapped
at her clothes until all that was left was trailing smoke and the smell of
burned hair.

"Holy shit," Stephanie
said.

Cindy and Stephanie stared at
each other for several long seconds, both of them breathing hard.

Stacy's face completely changed
as her rage took over. "You bitch!"

Cindy went for the door. She
didn't think she'd be able to summon another fireball like that to defend
herself with, and her goal was to just get the hell out of the house.

Cindy grabbed the doorknob, but
the second she yanked it open, it slammed shut on her completely by itself.

Cindy looked over at Stacy, who
was still glaring at her, showing off her teeth and everything, like some sort
of wild animal, as she stomped forward.

Cindy put her hands back on the
doorknob, but she couldn't even turn it. "Let me out, Stacy," she
said.

Stacy just flicked her wrist,
and Cindy was knocked back and away from the door. Another flick of the wrist
and Cindy was on her back. She screamed, feeling that same angry fire rising up
within her as the urge to defend herself and get care for her child took over
every working brain cell in her head.

Cindy was doused with water, a
lot of it, and the fire was put out, and she was left sputtering and cold.

She looked up at Stephanie, who
had a guilty but determined look in her eyes. The woman had summoned the water
with her gifts and put Cindy's fire out. "Don't attack my sister,"
she said.

Stephanie and Stacy had much
more control over their abilities than Cindy did, and with a sick dread, she
realized she wasn't going anywhere when that same invisible hand that Stacy
controlled grabbed her by the hair and yanked her down the hall.

Cindy screamed the entire way,
trying to grab onto anything that she could, but Stacy and Stephanie followed
her down the hall, up the stairs, and into the nearest bedroom with her. The
door slammed shut behind them, and Cindy was stuck.

Chapter
Thirteen

Jack wasn't sure what to say
about everything that Cindy had just told him. Twelve hours ago he wouldn't
have believed a word of it, but now here he was, in bed with her, and she was
looking up at him, waiting for him to give his two cents on what she'd shared
so far. Every word that came out of her mouth was like gospel. There was no
listening to anything else.

She looked like she wanted to tell
more of the story, but she was biting her lip and waiting.

Whatever Jack was about to say was
going to affect everything between them from here on out.

He opened his mouth to ask her
more, to find out what else happened after the twins pulled her into that room
and before Jamie could save her, even though he already had a pretty good idea
of what she would say, when his phone vibrated.

The sound was so sharp and distinct
in the silence that they both jumped a little.

"Jesus, fucking—" Jack
cursed, and he turned over to his other side, reached to the nightstand where
the damn thing was vibrating almost all the way off the surface.

Jack slid his thumb over the glass
and put the phone to his ear. "What?" he snapped.

There was only a slight pause. "What
the hell climbed up your craw?"

Jessica. Fuck.

"Nothing. You just caught me
at a bad time," Jack said, and he rolled onto his back and rubbed his
face.

He looked over at Cindy, and her
eyes were wide with shock,  probably at the realization that he would actually
answer the phone at a time like this. She also looked like she wanted to punch
him in the face.

Maybe he shouldn't have answered
the phone.

"Oh," Jessica said. "Did
the collectors come to pick her up?"

"No, she's still here,"
Jack said, looking back at Cindy..

Cindy didn't have to know exactly
who he was speaking with to know it was someone who knew she was here.

"So why is it a bad time?"
Jessica asked. "Is she somewhere safe?"

Cindy rolled on top of Jack and
straddled him. She had to hold her mass of red hair behind her head as she
leaned in and kissed Jack's chest, sliding her tongue over one of his nipples.

Jack hissed in a breath as his cock
swelled and pulsed, and he had to bite down on his lower lip to keep from
making too much noise.

"Jack? Are you okay?"

Cindy moved her lips and tongue
lower on Jack's body.

"She's wearing a charmed
shackle. It's fine. Where’s Ethan?" Jack asked, changing the subject
quickly.

"He's chasing down a lead. In
the same city where you picked up your pyro. Apparently this guy's been causing
a lot of power shortages lately"

"Must be recent because I
never heard about it."

"And I know you just tried to
change the subject on me. What's going on?"

Part of him wanted to admit to her
that he was having second thoughts about turning Cindy in, but even if Cindy
wasn't sliding her tongue up and down the hard and throbbing length of his
cock, he knew he shouldn't.

As much of a friend as Jessica was,
she was still a hunter, just like Jack was, and just like her brother. Telling
her would just make her feel obligated to do whatever she could to get Cindy
out of his care as fast as humanly possible, and that was the last thing Jack
wanted.

For now.

"I didn't change the subject,"
Jack said, and it took serious rock solid control just to keep himself from
groaning, or hissing, or moaning, or letting out any of the pent-up pleasure
that was building within him. "Just wanted to know where he was. If he was
going to come over and help me out with this.
Ah
!" Jack said
sharply when Cindy's fingernails dug into the flesh of his thigh.

She shot him a nasty look while
Jack tried to tell her that he wasn't planning on passing her around to his
hunter friends, all without speaking.

"What happened?" Jessica
asked.

"Nothing, I stubbed my toe.
Listen, I'll call you back."

Jessica hesitated before she
replied. "All right. I'll call you later to check up. Actually, I'll get
Ethan to give you a call. You need some friends to give you a hand."

She knows
.

Jack had no proof of that. He only
had this feeling that scraped its teeth and claws against the inside of his
stomach, but it was there, and he trusted it, the same way Jessica trusted her
instincts.

"Sure, he and I need to catch
up," Jack said, and despite how every single little thing felt like it was
in turmoil, Cindy continued on what she was doing. She wet her lips and pressed
kisses down the column of his hard cock, which was throbbing for so much more
of her attention.

"Yeah," Jessica said, and
Jack was so glad this wasn't a video call, otherwise it would've been even more
awkward than it already was.

When Jessica hung up the phone,
Jack sighed and tossed it away. "Thank God," he said, giving Cindy
all of his focus now as he watched her mouth stretch over his cock.

She went down once, nearly
deep-throating him before she came back up and let Jack's dick pop free from
her mouth. She smiled sweetly at him, the root of Jack's darkly colored shaft
still in her hand.

"Who was that?" she
asked.

Jack's pulse immediately raced, and
it had nothing to do with how amazing it felt to have his cock stroked like
that. It was more to do with the predatory gleam in Cindy's eyes.

He made a judgment call to not lie
to her. At least if this was all garbage, a trick to get his sympathy, then he
could still look himself in the mirror and be happy with the fact that at least
he had made an honest effort.

"Jessica Frost, she's a
licensed hunter and she knows you're here."

"I figured as much,"
Cindy replied, tightening the grip of her hand and twisting her fist just a
bit.

Jack groaned, thrusting his hips
forward, and his head fell back for just a second before he was looking back
down into Cindy's eyes.

He was stunned with the fire he saw
in her eyes. Literally, he could see burning flames behind that gorgeous purple
color, and it was as beautiful as it was scary. Even with the shackles on her,
her powers were still there, just under the surface, begging to be let out.

She was irritated about something.
About Jessica?

"You sounded like you were
close. Do you know her well?" Cindy asked, and she twisted her fist again,
making Jack hiss and bit down on his lips.

He suddenly didn't think it was
such a great thing for her to be handling his cock and balls while looking so
dangerous, but if she was counting on him being afraid and clucking out a
scared excuse, then he was going to disappoint her. In fact, he wanted to know
what her reaction would be.

"We're ex lovers," he
said, letting it out as bluntly as he could.

Cindy's hand stopped, and the gleam
in her eyes was replaced with something a little more wary, and curious.

She sat up and brushed a lock of
her curly red hair behind her ear. It didn't stay in place for very long. "Does
she know about me?"

Considering Cindy had overheard
Jack telling Jessica that Cindy was still here, he knew what she was really
asking. "I told her you and I were together, and what happened after we
broke up."

Broke up
wasn't exactly the correct way of putting it, since they never
officially broke up at all, but it was better, and kinder, than mentioning the
suspicions he had involving the fire.

Cindy looked down at her hands,
which were on Jack's stomach. "So, she thinks I murdered your family then,"
she said, not really asking.

"I'm still trying to figure
that out myself."

Cindy turned her eyes up sharply. "What?
After everything I told you...you still don't believe me?"

Fuck, but it was hard to not
believe her when she looked at him like that, it really was.

Either way, it was clear they were
both done fooling around. There was no way Jack wanted to have sex considering
all the things they were talking about now, and Cindy apparently felt the same
way as she didn't put up a fight when Jack sat up, put his hands on her hips,
and gently lifted her off of him.

He sat on the side of his bed and
stared down at his hands. He contemplated leaving the room, just so he could
pace around, or maybe punch a wall, anything to get rid of this buildup of
energy.

In truth, he was trying to avoid
that "kicked kitten" look on Cindy's face.

Cindy wouldn't be ignored, however,
and she grabbed onto his arm tightly. "Jack! Answer me! You can't tell me
that you don't believe me! Not after that!"

Jack got to his feet. "You can
sleep in the bed if you want. I'll take the couch."

"Jack!" Cindy called, and
she got off the bed as Jack reached for his phone and his keys, but he was out
of the room before she could grab onto him again. He locked her inside, and he
sighed when she began pounding her fists against the door, calling out his name
and trying desperately to get his attention.

Jack leaned his back against the
wall and he shut his eyes, listening as she called out to him, but he never
answered her.

She'd be fine in there by herself
for the rest of the night. His placed was locked down. There were bars on every
window in his house, which was standard for the times when hunters brought
their catch home with them, regardless of whether or not they had boxes to keep
them in.

It was better this way, better that
they both have some time alone to clear their heads. No sex to confuse
everything: no talking, just thinking.

Jack sighed and rubbed his face. He
wanted to believe her, he
so
wanted to believe her, but this could
easily be a manipulative trick on her part. Hell, it most likely was a
manipulative trick. He had to keep that in mind instead of looking at her with
increasingly thick rose-colored glasses.

She'd been pregnant? Held hostage
the night of the fire? And then they’d been separated because he believed a
drastically different version of the events had taken place?

Shit like that only happened in the
movies.

As much as he wanted to believe
her, allowing his to feelings cloud his judgment so he could let her go would
make him the biggest idiot in the history of time.

If she was telling the truth, and
he used his angry and hateful feelings to cloud his judgment before sending her
off with the collectors, then he was still the biggest idiot in the history of
time.

Trusting her once had cost him his
family. Trusting her a second time would have to be out of the question. Nobody
got the benefit of the doubt anymore and everyone was a suspect. He'd learned
that the hard way and he was going to stick it. Christ, he'd only started
dating Jessica because she and Ethan saved his life by yanking his ass out of a
nest of wild vampires.

Cindy stopped pounding her fist
against the door. She must've thought that he left by now. The absolute worst
part, however, was the fact that he could hear her crying on the other side of
the door.

Would someone who was trying to be
manipulative make herself cry even when she believed no one was there?

He had to go. Jack went into his
kitchen and grabbed a beer from the fridge. He looked around for a snack, but
nothing looked appetizing, and he didn't feel like cooking. He only drank to
the neck of his beer before he had to put it back in the fridge.

He could still hear Cindy crying.

Jack went into his living room and
turned on the TV. He flipped through the movie choices on Netflix, but it was
getting late and he didn't want to fall asleep to anything. Nothing looked good
anyway.

Jack turned the TV off and went to
the closet for a spare blanket. He stretched himself out on the couch and tried
to make himself comfortable. He could still hear Cindy softly crying.

When he fell into that in between
place between asleep and awake, he started dreaming about the things he could
tell the collectors when they arrived and she wasn't there for pick up, because
the deeper he fell into sleep, the more he started to dream about just turning
her loose and being done with this whole thing.