Three Mates for Judith (13 page)

“Do you remember giving me the princess tiara to wear for your wedding?” Judith asked Lutterworth.

“What the fuck has that got to do with my Monet?”

“Answer the question, Dad.” Judith’s voice was firm, and Lutterworth said, “Yes.”

“The next Christmas you bought me some presents. You almost never bought the presents. Usually Mom did it. But that year you bought me some gifts. I loved that tiara and was so excited at the thought that maybe you’d bought me something just as wonderful for the holiday. I looked everywhere to find where you’d hidden my gifts.”

“So back then, you found your Christmas present in that old chest of drawers in the storeroom and now you’ve taken my Monet from there. Where is it now? I want that painting.” Lutterworth lunged forward, striding the few steps to the counter and reaching over it to grab Judith.

Naftali, who’d evidently been hiding behind the counter all that time, surged up in front of Judith, put both hands on Lutterworth’s chest, and pushed him backward.

Mr. Davey appeared behind Nelson and walked across the room, holding the heavy silver tray in his hands. For one moment Nelson wondered if he was going to offer it to Lutterworth as an exchange, and then the older man lifted it up and brought it down hard on Lutterworth’s head. Lutterworth crumpled to the ground with a shocked look on his face.

Mr. Davey turned round with a rather embarrassed, apologetic glance. “I know you said to let him be, that you needed evidence, but I couldn’t hold back any longer. I think he’s broken a couple of my ribs.”

Cherise and Mrs. Davey burst out of the bedroom and into the living area, Cherise to hug Judith, and Mrs. Davey to pet Mr. Davey on the arm.

Meanwhile Naftali had removed the electrical cables from the table lamps again, and Nelson helped him tie their captive’s arms and legs. Nahum was on the phone to the Alpha, so as soon as Lutterworth was secured, Nelson called Sam and Jake to tell them what had happened.

“I’ll take photographs of the kitchen window, and then we’ll board it over until the glass company can get back here again,” was Sam’s laconic reply.

“I taped our conversation,” said Judi, sliding her cell phone in and out of her jeans pocket.

Nelson heaved a sigh of relief. Surely that was enough evidence to keep Lutterworth safely behind bars for a long time. Especially since he’d admitted exchanging the painting for a copy. He’d also broken into the house and probably broken Mr. Davey’s ribs.

* * * *

Judi ran to hug her mother, and then she helped her escort Mr. Davey to an armchair to rest. “Should we ask the doctor to come here, or should we take you to the emergency room?” Judith asked.

“There’s a paramedic on board the helicopter coming to take Lutterworth away. Some people are very interested in interviewing him,” said Naftali.

Judith was surprised. She’d thought her father was only a petty criminal, annoying but not exactly big time. “Why do they want my father? He doesn’t deal drugs or weapons or anything important. He just steals people’s expensive ornaments.”

“He has some interesting friends,” said Nelson.

“Well, damn. I suppose that means he’ll give evidence against them and get off with a greatly reduced sentence. What a fucking shame.”

“His sentence might be reduced, but he won’t be troubling you for a long time. More likely he’ll be sent to a nice prison where his former friends won’t be able to kill him for giving evidence against them. Otherwise, even if he says nothing, they might decide it’s safest to remove him from this earth just in case he decides to talk later,” said Nahum, watching Lutterworth.

He’d woken up from his hit on the head with the silver tray and was looking rather worried. At first Judith thought he was going to pretend he’d done nothing wrong, but one look at the determined faces of the three panthers had changed his mind fast.

Then Jake appeared in the doorway with several men clad all in black. Lutterworth was whisked away, and a paramedic checked Mr. Davey and strapped up his chest, saying he thought the ribs were bruised, but not broken, but he should get an X-ray to be certain. People came and went in Judith’s apartment, and then her mother and Mrs. Davey disappeared downstairs.

Suddenly Judith felt absolutely exhausted. Already dawn was coloring the sky outside her windows with pink and orange streaks. She’d had almost no sleep, been fucked by three men twice, had her first ever experience of BDSM, and all that was on top of yesterday’s—or did it count as two days ago now? She’d lost track of time—well, the kids breaking into the house anyway. And the pack cookout. It seemed like a hundred years ago, but her brain couldn’t compute the real amount of hours that had passed.

Judi left the living room and went into her bedroom. She unlaced her boots but left the rest of her clothing on, lay on the bed, and put a pillow over her head to block out the noise. She desperately needed a couple of hours sleep. Then she really ought to help her mom take Mr. Davey to the ER.

From time to time, she was aware of hammering and banging, but there was no sense of danger. Her subconscious guessed it was the broken door and smashed windows being repaired. Then she was more awake and damn hungry but still too tired to get out of bed until a cup of coffee was held under her nose. She opened her mouth and said, “Straw?”

Nahum laughed and waved the coffee under her nose again. Then she smelled fried meat and onions. This time she did open her eyes. She couldn’t eat a hamburger through a straw.

The three men stood beside the bed. They all looked much more tired than she felt now, and she was embarrassed because they hadn’t had any sleep at all yet were still looking after her.

“Mrs. Davey thought you might be hungry,” said Naftali.

“I am.” She wiggled into a sitting position, and Nahum laid the tray over her lap.

She took a huge bite and then remembered her manners. “Did she make food for you as well?” Her voice was rather muffled from the food, but they seemed to understand her.

“Yes, thank you. A couple of hours ago, after the carpenter and glazier finished work. She fed them as well,” said Nelson.

Naftali added, “The Alpha sent a fresh group of panthers to guard this property and the brownstone, but Lutterworth and the kids are all still under lock and key, so there shouldn’t be any danger. The kids’ attorneys have been working feverishly to release the teenagers on bail, but Zebulun has some powerful friends who’ve implied they might be linked to a case being dealt with by Homeland Security, so the boys aren’t going anywhere for a while yet.”

“What time is it? What’s happening now?” she asked, remembering her manners and swallowing her mouthful before speaking. Although the aroma of the burger was so delicious, and she was so hungry she took another bite the moment she’d finished speaking.

“It’s one o’clock. As soon as the fresh panthers arrived to guard the farm, Jake and Sam went with Mr. Davey to the ER to have his ribs X-rayed. One has a hairline crack, and two others are badly bruised. They’ve strapped his chest up again and given him some pain medication, but the ribs will heal themselves in a few weeks,” said Nahum.

“Although he might feel uncomfortable moving around for a little while,” added Nelson.

“I don’t understand what’s driving my father. He’s always been self-centered and loved money, but why is he doing this?” Judith was sad and confused. She knew she sounded like a whiny baby, but she genuinely didn’t understand. Her father had never been violent. Even when he was angry, he was far more likely to stomp off and yell and sulk if he didn’t get his own way than to smash doors and windows and people’s ribs.

Naftali sat on the bed beside her and wrapped his arms around her. It felt so good to be hugged and cared for that some of the tension dropped away from her.

Judi shut her eyes and rested back, absorbing Naftali’s calm strength into her own body. She’d deal with this just as she’d dealt with living in the snow for six months.

She sighed and straightened up, taking another bite of her breakfast. Or lunch. Or whatever it was.

Nelson spoke slowly and carefully, and Judi looked at him, aware he was trying to explain something without hurting her feelings but still tell her the truth.

“You said it yourself. Your father has always enjoyed having money and spending it. He likes his new cars and fancy clothing and other expensive toys. As his own business dried up, he found other ways of accessing money. My suspicion is that he’s gotten himself involved with some people who are engaged in seriously illegal activities. As you said, his crimes aren’t evil. His stealing offered pain and hurt and the breaking of trust to people who invited him into their homes, though, and those people are now going to be perfectly happy to stand against him if he asks for their help to get out of the mess he’s gotten himself into.”

“That’s why there are various agencies interested in interviewing him,” added Nahum.

“Agencies that can send helicopters here on a moment’s notice. Yes, I wondered about that. Mom and I know people with private helicopters, but usually the pilot is off somewhere doing something, not standing ready to fly off with no warning,” Judith said, chewing slowly.

Okay. She could deal with that. He was her father, and she’d loved him once, but she didn’t love him now. Hadn’t loved him since he’d arranged to have her killed. Not that she wished harm on him, but a few years sitting in jail might help him get his head on straight and find a better way of living when he got out.

“What are we doing now?” she asked.

“Your mom is in a hurry to check the brownstone to ensure nothing has been stolen from there. Her attorney will be meeting us all at the house. As soon as you’ve finished your lunch, we need to leave,” said Naftali.

Judith sighed and swallowed. Another few hours’ sleep would have been nice. And then maybe more sex. Judith wigged her ass on the bed. It was a little bit tender but not enough to prevent her playing any games these men suggested. Well, it looked as though that wasn’t going to happen. Then she thought. “Oh, fuck. Dad hasn’t sent some of his kids to trash the brownstone, has he?”

“Not while the Alpha has had people watching it,” Nelson said carefully.

Yeah. Right. But what about the rest of the time?

* * * *

They were all still quite tired, and Cherise and Judith napped most of the way back into town. Naftali would have been more than happy to snooze as well, but he was determined to protect his woman and her mother, even though there shouldn’t have been any danger to them now that Lutterworth and his gang of adolescents were all locked up.

But he refused to relax his vigilance. Nelson was driving with Nahum riding shotgun and Naftali in the back seat with the women. His thigh was pressed against Judi’s, but she was asleep, her head resting back against the seat and her mom leaning against her. Touching Judith, even in the most deferential of ways, would have been almost obscene right now, with her mom there. Naftali noticed the similarities between the women—their fine-boned bodies pressed together, their heads the same delicate shape, although Cherise’s hair was light brown compared to Judith’s blonde.

Elsie and JJ, Judith’s half siblings, were also blond. Although Lutterworth’s hair was a gray now, Naftali supposed he must have originally been blond. And Judith had his eyes. Unusual eyes, blue with darker flecks in them. Closed now, of course, as she rested.

Naftali made himself stop looking at her and thinking about her and turned his head to check out the windows of the car. Both sides, in front and behind them. But there was no sign of any trouble at all, and his mind wandered again to the thought of mating with her. Just thinking about biting and claiming Judith made his fangs appear, and once again, he ordered himself to concentrate on his work. Nonetheless, the issue of their mating was a conversation they needed to have and soon. Although not with her mom right there, of course. In bed, just before the three of them fucked her would be much more appropriate.

Naftali’s dick stretched and thickened at the thought. He wanted Judith again. So much that he had to surreptitiously ease his cock and balls inside his jeans. No matter how much he tried to work, he couldn’t stop thinking about her. She was theirs. His and his brothers, and it was time to explain all that to her. The past few days had been one crisis after the other, but they’d waited six months for her, and that was quite long enough.

By the time the car stopped in front of the brownstone in Richmond, the women were awake. Naftali could tell how nervous Cherise was about going inside.

“You don’t think your ex-husband will have set any traps for you inside, do you, Cherise?” he asked.

She shook her head. “Oh no. It’s just I can’t help wondering if he’s taken anything I particularly liked. I’m so glad Judi noticed the Monet at the farm. I didn’t even glance at it. I simply saw the painting hung in the correct place and didn’t examine it properly. However, I’ll be inspecting everything here very carefully. You can be sure of that.”

“I know where his hiding place is here, too,” said Judi.

Nahum snorted, and Nelson coughed. Naftali hid his own grin. Several of the panthers had been inside this house. They’d found a few of Lutterworth’s hiding places as well. But still he asked, “Where’s that?”