SizzlingInsanity (4 page)

She smiled. “Well, it only makes that noise when one of you
guys sits on it.”

“You calling me fat, squirt?” he growled, shaking his head.
“Should have beaten you more as a child, you don’t know how to respect your
elders.”

She sighed. “Yes, and you are so very, very old.”

“Brat, you’re not too old for me to put you over my knee.”

“You’d have to catch me first.”

“You okay, Shelby?” he asked, his face serious.

“Of course,” she lied. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“There’s something going on with you lately. You’ve been
secretive, more so than usual. I know it must be hard, not having a female to
talk to, but if there is anything you need to tell me, you know I’ll listen.”

Shelby groaned. “Haven’t we had this talk already? I know
all about sex, Sawyer.”

He narrowed his gaze at her. “Exactly how much do you know?
Is that what this is all about? You’ve got a boyfriend? Is it someone from
college? Who is he? We need to meet him.”

“Sawyer, I don’t have a boyfriend. Even if I did, I wouldn’t
be bringing him home to meet you guys. Owen would be sitting on the porch
cleaning his gun and you’d probably grill him to death. There’s no way you are
ever meeting any boyfriend of mine.”

Sawyer growled. “You will bring him home to meet us.
Immediately.”

She reached out to grasp hold of his hand. “There’s no one,
I promise. I’ve got too much going on for a relationship.”

Sawyer grunted.

“Shouldn’t you guys be heading off to work?”

“We’re going. Just as soon as you spill what’s been
bothering you.”

“You know, you’d probably have been able to buy your own bar
by now if Jack didn’t take so much from you. He taxes us much higher than
everyone else, doesn’t he?”

“Finances are my problem, Shelby. Not yours.”

God, he could be such an old-fashioned idiot sometimes. He
took his role as head of the household seriously, never burdening anyone else.

“Do you ever feel like you would be better off if I wasn’t
around, Sawyer?”

“What?” he yelled. “Like hell. Why the hell would you say
that?”

She tried to turn away, but he grabbed hold of her
shoulders, keeping her facing him.

“If it wasn’t for me, you could live with the pack, you
wouldn’t have to worry about money, you’d probably be mated with pups right
now. Don’t you ever think about that?”

“Of course I do. But I don’t blame you for any of that,
Shel. Christ, you didn’t ask for any of this either. You were a tiny baby when
you came to live with us. None of this is your fault—its Jack’s for being a stubborn
old coot.”

“You don’t think Uncle Colin ever wished that he’d never
taken me in?”

“Never. Listen to me.” He grasped hold of her chin. “Your
mom and our dad might have been half-brother and sister but they loved each
other and Dad loved you. You’re part of this family, Shelby. Our sister. And no
one, not even Jack Masters, is going to tear this family apart, you hear me? I
don’t want to hear another word about it.”

“I just feel like I’ve robbed you of so much. If I were a
better person, I’d leave.”

“What the fuck kind of talk is that?” Owen snarled from the
doorway. “I don’t like your attitude at the moment. You better snap out of it
before I snap you out of it.”

“What the hell does that mean?”

“It means that if I hear you talking like that again then I’m
gonna take my belt to your butt.”

She rolled her eyes, having heard the same threat before.
None of them would ever lay a hand on her and they knew it.

“You and whose army, buddy?”

“Who needs an army when I have guns?” He curled his arms up,
flexing his impressive biceps.

“You’re such a poser, Owen. Get out. Go to work before you
get fired.”

Sawyer stood and kissed the top of her head. “Get some
sleep, squirt, you look tired. We’ll be back around three.”

She waved them off and turned back to her books. They
slammed their way out of the house and she heard the trucks start up. The house
became deadly quiet. Shelby turned back to her books and tried to concentrate,
but it just wasn’t happening. Twenty minutes later she closed the book she was
trying to read and rested her elbows on her desk, holding her head in her
hands.

Why couldn’t she forget Garrison’s bodyguard? His scent, his
touch, the heat in his gaze. No matter how hard she tried, he continued to play
on her mind like a scratched CD, over and over and over.

Urgh, maybe what she needed was a run. She’d been cooped up
in this house too long. That was it.

Shelby stood and stripped, grabbing a robe to wrap around
herself. She had a lower body temperature than most werewolves. Her weak human
blood.

Moving downstairs, she walked out onto the porch and
breathed in the late afternoon air. The sun would go down in about another
hour.

Stepping out into the yard, she pulled off her robe and
threw it on the porch before starting the change.

Cade watched the petite woman as she completed the
transformation from human to wolf. Jesus, if he had ever seen a more beautiful
woman he didn’t know when. She was tiny. She probably wouldn’t even reach his
shoulders. Her long, wavy hair was so blonde it was almost white in places.
Every inch of her skin was creamy, white perfection.

Once she’d completed the transformation, a pale wolf stood
in her place, small but stunning.

No wonder Connor had been so taken by her. Not that Cade
would make the same mistake. He would never let a female get in the way of a
mission.

The wolf trotted off in the opposite direction, without any
clue that they were watching her. What the hell were her cousins doing leaving
her alone? Anyone could get to her, harm her. If she were his, he’d make sure
she was under lock and key when he wasn’t around to watch over her personally.

“Gage, you and I will change. Cade, you bring the
chloroform. Remember, we don’t harm her.”

Cade nodded at his brother’s words. No, no harm would come
to her. But he would get the answers they needed. It should be easy, she was
just a female after all.

“I can’t believe she bit me,” Cade said in disbelief,
glancing down at the puncture marks on his leg.

“Relax, it’s almost healed,” Connor replied with little
sympathy.

“You have no idea what kind of germs live in her mouth, she
could have all sorts of diseases.”

“Cade, she’s a werewolf, what diseases can she possibly
have?”

“She’s half-human, they have all sorts of nasty bugs.”

“All of which you are immune to,” Connor pointed out.

They’d had no intention of harming her—too bad she hadn’t
extended them the same courtesy. In fact, she’d kind of impressed him. He
hadn’t thought such a tiny female could fight so fiercely.

But they had her now. She was safely locked in one of the
rooms in Sam’s basement. Now they would be getting some answers.

“Think we’ve waited long enough?” Gage asked as he leaned
back in his chair. Gage had been watching Shelby’s house and when he’d seen her
cousins leave, he’d called Connor. Just as they’d been about to storm the
place, she’d conveniently stepped outside, which made taking her easier and
with less risk of leaving any trace they’d been there.

Hudson nodded. “Bet she’s broken down by now. There’ll be
tears, pleading. She’ll probably be ready to spill after the first question.”

“Ahh, I’m afraid not.” Dylan turned around the laptop so
they could all see the video feed from the room she was locked in.

She was glaring right at them. Very slowly, she raised her
right hand, made a fist and then flipped them the bird.

“Well, I stand corrected. That is one tough little bitch,”
Hudson said, admiringly.

Cade felt a sudden surge of possessiveness. What was wrong
with him? He never got possessive over a woman. He took a deep breath.

“Are we gonna tell those idiot human guards that she’s
here?” Gage asked, resting his hands behind his head.

Cade shook his head. “No way. They’d just find some way to
fuck this up.”

Connor had tried to convince Sam to get rid of the human
guards, but he’d stubbornly refused to. Something about them having families,
bills to pay, blah-blah. If they wanted to keep their jobs then they should
actually do their jobs.

Cade had been appalled by their lack of preparation, their
sheer laziness. They were a bunch of bumbling idiots. He wouldn’t have them
working on his team. Ever.

“We keep her presence quiet. It doesn’t leave this room,”
Cade warned.

“You’re not telling the senator?” Dylan said in surprise.
“Do you think that’s a good idea?”

“Sam leaves tonight for a five-day trip to Washington,”
Connor replied. “We’re hoping that by then we’ll have all our questions
answered and our guest will be dealt with.”

“It would be easier if we could find this Annabeth,” Trick
said. “Want me to try asking around again?”

Connor shook his head. “You’ll just make them suspicious.
Especially with Shelby missing.”

“Got the feeling they’d all see her disappearance as a
bonus,” Trick replied.

Cade bit back his growl. How could a pack not protect and
cherish every one of their females, no matter if they had mixed blood or not?
Shelby was petite and fragile—she should be a pampered member of their pack,
not an outcast.

“We don’t know that her cousins will feel that way. They’ve
been living with her. And if the members of their pack tell them we’ve been
asking questions…” Connor trailed off, looking over at him.

“We should move her,” Cade said abruptly. They couldn’t risk
her family finding them before they had their answers.

Trick shook his head. “They’ve got no reason to come looking
for her here. I never let on where I was working. All I told them was that I’d
met Shelby in town, found out she was a member of their pack and followed her
out here, wanting a date. I pretended to be disgusted when they told me she was
a half-breed. It wasn’t hard, I was definitely disgusted by their treatment of
her.”

“Okay, so we leave her here,” Connor decided. “Gage, Hudson,
and Trick, you go with Sam. Try to play nice with whichever human guards are
assigned to go with you. Dylan, you continue to monitor house security while
Cade and I talk to our guest.”

“Cade? You’re going to use Cade?” Hudson asked.

Cade didn’t blame him for being so shocked. He was surprised
himself. Not that he’d had any intention of being left out of questioning her.
Yet he fully expected to have to fight his way into the room. He wasn’t their
best interrogator. He often didn’t understand people the way his brother and
the others did.

“Yes, I’m using Cade,” Connor said firmly. “You guys get
ready to go. Dylan, the three of us will take turns watching her and looking
after security around here. But you’ll do your watching from out here,
understand?”

Cade bit back a growl of denial. He didn’t want Dylan
anywhere near her, even if he would be clear on the other side of the wall. But
he held his protest in. What the hell was the matter with him? She was the
enemy, their prisoner, he had no cause for feeling possessive.

Maybe her bite really had been poisoned.

* * * * *

Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit.

They were watching her. Those damn cameras saw everything.
She had to get herself together.

Think, Shelby. Think.

How had they found her? And what were they going to do with
her? Her cousins probably wouldn’t notice she was gone until they got up
tomorrow and then they’d think she was in class.

When they did figure out she was missing, they’d have no
clue where to look. These wolves knew what they were doing, they’d waited until
she’d changed and moved far enough away from the house that her cousins would
have a hard time finding their tracks.

Why hadn’t she told Sawyer what she was up to?

Because he’d never have let her leave the house again. Owen
might actually have followed through on his threat to spank her. It didn’t
matter to them that she was twenty-two years old; she would always be their
baby cousin.

They’d be furious with her. Shelby didn’t want to give them
any cause to regret taking her in. She definitely didn’t want to involve them
in her problems.

But how to get out of here?

Those assholes had overwhelmed her. Even though she’d fought
them, she had no chance of winning, especially once they’d knocked her out.

When she’d awoken, she’d been in human form, stuck inside
this windowless room. Shelby hated the feeling of being trapped. Closing her
eyes, she took deep breaths until her heart rate slowed. Opening her eyes, she
forced herself to take in the room. The walls were whitewashed and austere.
There was a double bed in one corner, two chairs and a table that were bolted
to the floor in the opposite corner. The other end of the room housed a toilet,
a small basin and an old armchair that was also bolted to the floor.

There was nothing in here that could really help her.
Everything that wasn’t bolted to the floor was worthless as a weapon. Her only
hope lay in tricking her captors.

She could do this. Her uncle had taught her to be strong.
Shelby knew how to defend herself. She’d been doing it for years—all those
times that members of the pack had caught her on her own, away from her
cousins. She’d fought them off and survived.

She would survive this too.

And preferably, she’d get out of this place before she had
to use the toilet. There was absolutely no privacy with that camera able to see
every inch of the room.

The door opened and she glanced up, keeping her face
schooled to show her disinterest as the werewolf she’d knocked unconscious
yesterday walked in. Damn, he was even more gorgeous than she’d remembered.

Oh shit, the universe so wasn’t being fair, there were two
of them?

Shelby glanced between the two of them. The one she’d
escaped from yesterday had shorter hair and as far as she could see that was
the only way to tell them apart. She avoided the short-haired one’s stare,
instead turning her attention to the other one.

Bad idea.

Instantly her body heated, her nipples pressing against the
T-shirt someone had dressed her in. It was a man’s T-shirt, ending just above
her knees. It could belong to either of the gorillas standing in front of her.

She was naked underneath. Her wolf must have changed back
once they knocked her out, not strong enough to keep its form when she was
unconscious. Had one of them carried her in his arms, naked?

Oh God, and why was she slightly turned on by the thought?
They were the enemy. Yet the way the long-haired one’s gaze watched her, ate
her up, made her think the attraction wasn’t just one-sided.

Bad enough she’d let one of them kiss her, now she was
attracted to both of them? It was enough to make a girl doubt her sanity. Maybe
she should have been taking psych classes at college.

“Who the fuck are you?” she demanded, not about to show them
any fear. “Where am I? You had no fucking business grabbing me like that!”

The one with longer hair glanced over at the wolf she’d
encountered yesterday. “Got a mouth on her.”

She bit back the need to explain that she always swore when
she was afraid. It was a defense mechanism, an attempt to make herself appear
tougher. The short-haired wolf nodded, staring at her angrily. He sat in one of
the chairs. It creaked beneath his weight.

They were both giants, gorgeous, sexy, deadly giants. Her
breath grew faster the longer she stared at them, the sudden urge to lick those
muscles beneath their tight T-shirts catching her by surprise.

Get a grip!

She folded her arms over her chest in an attempt to hide her
stiff nipples. The long-haired one growled quietly. What was his problem? She
glared at him.

Shit, what was she doing? She didn’t need both of them
against her. She might be able to play one off against the other and the
short-haired one certainly wasn’t going to be on her side after she’d made him
look like a fool yesterday.

The longer-haired one reached into his pocket and pulled out
a small blue light. He walked around the room, pointing the light like a
flashlight.

“What are you doing?” she asked in confusion. Was this some
tactic to make her talk? It wasn’t much of a torture device.

“Looking for old bloodstains.”

She gaped at him before turning to the seated werewolf who
was watching her intently. Yesterday, his eyes had danced with humor and sexual
interest. Now, they were hard, cold.

“Is he trying to fucking scare me? Because he’s doing a
crappy job.”

Not really. She’d already been scared and his strange
behavior just added to her unease.

“Nah, that’s just Cade being Cade.”

“All clear.” She could swear she heard disappointment in
Cade’s voice.

“So what were you doing on private property, spying on a
United States senator?” the short-haired one asked her.

“I was bird watching. And I didn’t see any signs.”

Cade leaned back against the door and folded his arms over
his wide chest. Oh hell, his biceps stretched his T-shirt, making her mouth
water.

“Those binoculars you had aren’t typically used for bird
watching,” Cade said.

“Those binoculars are mine. I want them back. They’re
expensive.” Plus they made a good weapon.

The short-haired one snorted and rubbed his head. “I don’t
think so, sweetheart. I like my head exactly where it is. Not that you’ll get
the best of me twice.”

“Oh, you don’t think so, asshole?” she asked smugly.

“No, because now I’ll be watching my brother’s back,” Cade interjected.
“If you’re sandwiched between us, there’ll be no room for any mischief.”

Sandwiched between them? My God, the images that produced.
She shook her head.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me. The two of you aren’t
getting anywhere close to me.”

Although how she would stop them, she didn’t know. But she’d
fight to the death before she’d let them rape her. Feeling extremely
vulnerable, Shelby wished she at least had some more clothes on. If they
decided to attack her, it wouldn’t take much to get her naked.

“You’ve gone from arousal to fear.” Cade frowned as he
stepped forward, away from the door.

“I am not aroused!”

He grinned. “You were.” Then he sobered. “But now you’re
afraid. Why?”

“Why? Are you kidding me? You kidnapped me, brought me here
against my will and now you’re holding me here just because I did a bit of
accidental trespassing.”

Cade tipped his head to the side, his longer hair brushing
his shoulder. “And you think that means Connor and I are going to hurt you? We
don’t hurt females. Did the males of your pack harm you? Your cousins?”

“What do you know about my cousins?” she asked, suddenly
petrified. What if they took her cousins as leverage? What if they hurt them?
No fucking way. “You stay away from them, they know nothing about this.”

“Then tell us what we want to know,” Connor said as his
brother continued to frown at her. “What were you doing watching Senator
Garrison’s house, Shelby?”

They knew her name? Of course they did. They knew where she
lived and about her cousins. God, how much more did they know? Were they just
toying with her?

“I’m not telling you a fucking thing.”

“You will,” Cade said in a dark voice.

She looked at him in surprise. “I thought you were playing
good cop?”

“You got it all wrong, darlin’. Connor is the nice one.”

Yeah, she wasn’t so sure. “You said you don’t hurt women.”

“There are ways to get you to talk that don’t involve
harming you,” Connor said, his gaze growing intense as he stood and stepped
toward her, crowding her into a corner.

Shelby placed her hands against his shoulders, trying to
shove him back. It was like trying to move a brick wall. Connor grabbed her
wrists and pulled them above her head, holding them there.