Breathe Into Me (18 page)

Jamie
’s right it’s been hours since Linc was taken into custody, we should’ve heard something by now. Jamie places a cigarette between his lips just as a flame appears in the palm of his hand.

“Oh my god
,” Andy gasps.

“Damn it
, James,” I could wring his neck for that.

“What? It’s not like she doesn’t
know we have powers.” He lights his smoke then makes a fist and the flame is extinguished.

“Doesn’t t
hat hurt?”

Jamie rolls his eyes.
“I could jump naked into a volcano and waltz out of there without so much as a blister.”

Andy stares at my friend in awe.
“That’s so cool.”

Cass looks more annoyed than impressed. “Yes he’s very impressive
you should see him on the Fourth of July, now can we focus here? We can’t sit on our asses and do nothing. I say we go to the crime scene and see if we can pick up that coyotes scent.”

I shake my head at my brother. “Micah said to stay here and that’s what we’re going to do.” I understand Cass’s restlessness
, but Micah would kill us if we disobeyed an order.

“So what
, we’re supposed to sit on our hands and just wait? Fuck that, I’m going with or without you two.” Cass turns to leave, but Jamie grabs him and slams him face first into the wall.

“You are fucking staying here whether you like it or not. My brother has enough shit to deal with and you are not going to add to it. When he gets back we will find that coyote and kill him
. Until then we wait.” He releases Cass and steps away from him.

Cass’s eyes change from turquoise to
bright cobalt. Shit, I grab Andy and pull her behind the island.

“Put your hands on me again
, James, and we’ll see whose powers are more impressive,” he growls.

“Bring it on
, aqua man,” Jamie fires back.

I’ve had enough of this, I throw my hands out, and both males slam into opposite walls.

“Are you two done?”

They struggle to break free
, but the air around them keeps them immobile. “You know I can hold you here all night, I suggest you two go to your separate corners and behave.” In this moment, I pity Micah for having to deal with this on a constant basis.

“Fine now let us down,
” Cass sighs. I release them and they drop to their feet.

“Jesus, remind me never to piss any of you off.”

I pull Andy into my arms. “We’d never use our powers on you, angel, you have nothing to worry about.”

***

Several hours later Micah still isn’t back and he’s been unreachable. After I fed my mate and dealt with my idiot brothers, Andy and I curled up on the couch together, it didn’t take her long to pass out in my arms. I opted for the couch instead of my bed. I knew if I took her upstairs, I’d end up making love to her all night and she’s in no shape for that. The poor girl is exhausted. I glance at the clock on the mantle it’s almost midnight.

Where the hell is Micah?
If he isn’t home soon we’ll have no choice, but to go out and look for him. I try not to panic, Micah is strong, and with his powers, he’s unstoppable, I’m sure he’s fine. I hold Andy close and relish in the fact that she’s here and has fully accepted what I am. We still have so much to work out, but it should be a lot simpler now that she knows the truth. Just as I start to close my eyes, the front door crashes open. Micah slams the door shut and makes his way into the kitchen. Andy awakens in my arms as Micah takes a seat in his favorite chair.

“Sorry
, Andy, I didn’t mean to wake you.”

S
he rubs the sleep from her eyes. “It’s okay.”

Jamie
and Cass join us from upstairs. “Where’s Linc?” Cass asks.

“Jail, the F
eds haven’t charged him yet. I’m guessing their going to wait for the autopsy report.” Curses begin to fill the room.

“Liv couldn’t get him out?”

Micah takes a swig from his bottle of scotch before answering Andy’s question. “She’s a good attorney, but your ex seems to be well versed in the law. Our boy is staying put until the report either clears him or he’s charged and we bail him out.”

Great, how can this situation get any worse?

“How good is your ex at his job?” Micah asks.

“
Keith sucks as a human being, but unfortunately he’s a good cop.”

Micah runs his hand over his goatee.

“That’s what I was afraid of, if he digs too far into our past he’ll have to be dealt with.”

Andy stiffens beside me.
“You’re not going to kill him are you?”

I try to calm the jealousy I instantly feel. Her concern for her ex has nothing to do with left over feelings for him
. She just doesn’t want anyone else to get hurt.

“Of course not, but his mind will have to be erased. You have to understand
, Andy. We have to protect our secret. If Agent Spencer starts to connect the dots, he’ll be able to tie us all too multiple murders and disappearances, we could all end up behind bars.”

Jamie begins to laugh.
“That’ll be real fucking fun on a full moon.”

He’s right we’d be stuck in a cage with nowhere to hide.

“It gets worse we have a couple of new shadows.” Micah lights a smoke and begins to explain. “When I left the station I went to the bar, I wanted to ask Finn if he knew the name of that coyote. Two seconds out of the parking lot, I spotted Agent Spencer and his partner trailing me. So I went into the bar, snuck out the back, shifted, and made my way to the crime scene. It was too contaminated to get a definite hit so I went back to The Boonies, got a name, and came home. Do you want to guess who’s parked outside?”

You have got to be kidding me.
“How the hell are we supposed to do our jobs with two Feds watching the house?” I stand up and begin to pace the floor. This is a fucking nightmare.

“So
you’re telling me we finally have a lead and now we’re stuck in this goddamn house?” Micah nods answering his brother’s question.

“I know a way I can get him to leave, it won’t help you tonight, but he’d be distracted tomo
rrow.” All eyes turn to my mate.

“Oh no, no fucking way are you going to have dinner with him.”
Andy has to be crazy if she thinks I’m going to be Okay with her going out with her ex.

“It’s th
e only way, Adam. You need to catch this guy and clear, Lincoln.”

I know she’s right
, but my jealousy has taken the wheel and I can’t seem to regain control. “I just got you back and you want me to let you spend time with your ex, a man who is still in love with you by the way. It’s not happening, we’ll think of something else.” I make my way toward the kitchen I need alcohol.

“Do you really think
that I want to spend time with him? Just looking at Keith pisses me off, but if it helps you guys then I’ll do it.”

Micah lets out a sigh.
“I hate to say it, kid, but you might have to suck it up and let her go. We need to find that coyote before he kills again or leaves town.”

Cass cuts off my response.
“You can’t ask him to do that, she’s his mate. Besides I’ve got a better idea.”

***

Twenty minutes later Micah has found the address and we head out onto the deck.

“Okay
, Cass, what’s this brilliant idea of yours?” I ask.

“It’s my turn to show Andy one of my many tricks.” Cass steps forward and stares
toward the lake, moments later fog begins to roll over the black water toward the house. The swirling mist thickens and begins to surround the property. The cloud is so thick you can barely see a foot in front of you.

“Good thinking
, Cass.” I slap him on the shoulder. I pull Andy in for a quick kiss and begin to strip out of my clothes.

“I need you to stay inside
, angel, promise me.”

She takes my shirt from me and brings it to her nose.
“I promise. Please be careful, all of you.”

With one last kiss, I shift into my wolf form. Andy kneels down and stares at me in amazement.
“You’re beautiful,” she says as she runs her hands through my white fur.

I nuzzle her hand and give it a quick lick. I plan on doing more of that when I get home. With one last look, I turn and head for the woods. Man I can’t believe that worked. I owe Cass big time, I can’t believe Micah wanted me to let Andy go out with that asshole. I’d love to snap that fucker in half for the way he spoke to her today. I know he was purposely trying to provoke me and it worked like a charm. I have a feeling
Agent Spencer is going to be a major thorn in my side. We need to end this so he can leave town.

We continue to head west, the werecoyote lives in a trailer in the middle of nowhere. We’re hoping to catch him off guard and alone. I don’t care if he’s surrounded by his whole pack, that bastard is going to pay for going near my mate. About a half -mile from our destination, an eerie feeling washes over me. Something isn’t right and I’m not the only one who feels it. We slo
w our pace and scan the area. I don’t see anything out of the ordinary, but I can’t shake the feeling that we’re walking into something bad. We continue forward ever watch full of our surroundings. I step forward and pain radiates through my paw. Shit, I instantly shift back so I can pull a thin silver spike from my hand. Great this place is booby-trapped. I conjure a large gust of wind. Leaves, and small branches scatter and several more traps are revealed. I ignore the pain and shift back to my wolf form.

We start to advance, moving slowly around the large spikes. Once the trailer becomes visible, we crouch low to the ground and scan the area once again. There isn’t a vehicle anywhere in sight
, but that doesn’t mean anything. The lights are off and the trailer itself seems quiet. It still doesn’t feel right to me. Something’s up. We move forward as one, and make our way over scattered debris and surround the front door. I sniff the air and instantly regret it. A rancid odor permeates my nose and lungs.
What the hell is that?

We shift forms and Jamie reaches for the doorknob, and that’s when it hits me. The rotten egg smell is gas.

“Jamie, don’t…” I shout, but it’s too late. A massive boom fills my ears and the force of the explosion sends my body into the air as my world turns black.

Chapter 15

This has to be the weirdest night of my life. I still can’t believe
all of this is happening. The guys had left an hour ago in search of the monster that killed Vanessa. I feel like I’m in a bad dream, how can she be dead? I just saw her at work a few days ago. She was gushing over how perfect Lincoln was and how lucky she felt to have found him. Now she’s gone and Lincoln’s in jail. When I think about how scared, Nessa must have been and what she went through, it makes my stomach churn. I need to do something to help. Keith is only going to continue to dig into Linc’s past, which means they’re all in danger. I need to talk to my ex. I have to convince him to look somewhere else, but where? It’s not as if I can send him after the real killer.

Which brings up another point, if they kill that shifter tonight how are they going to clear
, Lincoln? What if that report isn’t enough to do it, god he could be sentenced to life in prison. There has to be a way out of all of this. Of course, it would help if I knew what Keith had on him, but it’s not as if he’d tell me. Keith is as stubborn as ever. I had really hoped that he had gotten over what had happened between us. Apparently, he is still holding a grudge. He was such an ass today. I had forgotten what it was like to be on Keith’s bad side. He wasn’t always such a jerk if he had been I wouldn’t have stayed with him for two years. I can’t believe he said all of those things in front of everyone including my uncle. I could kill him for that. I’m brought out of my musings by the sound of a large explosion. What
the hell was that?
I jump off the couch and run toward the French doors. 

“Oh my god
!” I gasp. Off in the distance a thick cloud of black smoke races toward the sky. Panic takes hold as it occurs to me that I have no idea where Adam and his brothers are. I race onto the deck and scan the property. “Where are they?” Please tell me that they weren’t anywhere near that blast, I know they’re immortal, but nobody could live through that.

“Andy, what happened?” Grace asks from the doorway, s
he quickly joins me on the deck. “Oh, sweet mercy, please tell me that the boys are home.”

I shake my head t
oo afraid to speak. Tears spill from my eyes as my fear takes over. “Grace what if they’re…” A sob escapes me before I can stop myself. Fate wouldn’t be so cruel as to bring Adam and me back together just to take him away from me. He has to be okay. I swallow the lump in my throat, but it’s no use. I don’t dare voice my concerns in fear that I could be right.

“
Andy, we have to have faith that they are all right, all of them.” Grace embraces me and I hold on to her as if my life depended on it.

Please god let her be right.

***

An hour later, there is still no sign of the
men. Grace had made us some tea hoping to calm our nerves, but the only thing that will help right now is seeing Adam walk through the door. We’ve been glued to the TV searching for any information on what happened. Of course, it’s still the middle of the night and the local news won’t start reporting the story for several hours. I had called Henry to see if his dad knew anything, but he didn’t answer his phone. All this waiting around is driving me mad. I begin to pace the floor. I need to do something to keep my mind off of the situation.

“I know this is hard
, Andy, believe me I’ve waited up for those boys more times than I can count.” Graces words sink in and I realize this is going to be my life, endless nights of pacing the floor, not knowing if Adam is dead or alive.

“I don’t know if I’m strong enough to deal with this
, Grace.” How will I get through an eternity of this?

“You have to find the strength
, sweetie, if you’re going to love an Enforcer and especially one as powerful as, Adam.”

God, how did I used to deal with this when I was with Keith? His job is dangerous too. For some reason I don’t remember being this a
fraid for his safety. It might have something to do with the fact that Keith wasn’t being hunted by supernatural beings on a daily basis. I bring the collar of Adam’s t-shirt to my nose and breathe in his fresh air scent. I had donned his shirt when I came back into the house to feel closer to him.
What if this is all I have left of him?
  No, I can’t think like that, I have to believe that he’s fine and on his way back to me.

“Are you hungry
? I can fix you something if you’d like.”

I shake my head.
“No thank you, Grace.” I’m grateful for her company. I couldn’t imagine dealing with this on my own.

“If you change your mind let me know, I’m going to head that way and find something to keep my hands busy.” I glanc
e at the clock on the mantle. It’s almost three in the morning. I grab a blanket off the back of the couch and head back out to the deck, curling up in one of the many chairs. The night air sends chills over my exposed flesh. I hurriedly wrap the blanket around myself and try to stay warm. I want to be the first thing that Adam sees when he walks out of the woods. I need to prove to him and myself that I can handle this life. Grace was right. I’m in love with an Enforcer, one that’s smart and strong, and extremely powerful. He needs me to keep it together and not be a blubbering mess when he comes home. As much as I hate the fact that he’s putting himself in harm’s way, I know it needs to be done. I’m not going to fool myself, I know one day he won’t come back to me, but that day is not today.

***

An hour later, I’m frozen to the bone and fighting to stay awake. That little nap I had earlier had worn off hours ago and so has my adrenaline rush.

“Here sweetie I’ve made you some coffee.”

God bless this woman. “Thanks, Grace,” I happily sigh. I take a sip of the magical liquid and instantly perk up.

“I’m going back inside to make you a snack and before you argue with me it’s been hours since you ate anything. You need to keep you
r strength up.”

I didn’t get the chance to argue
before my stomach betrays me and begins to rumble.

“See hungry, I’ll
be right back.” Grace heads inside and I scan the tree line for the millionth time. I can’t believe that we haven’t heard anything. I had called my uncle a little while ago and woke the poor man up. Gary said he’d track down Sheriff Ross and see what he could find out. I pick up my phone and click on my music app. I need a distraction and maybe the radio station will have some word on the explosion. Corey Taylor’s voice echoes from my iPhone and his lyrics instantly bring tears to my eyes. I begin to wipe my eyes with the back of my hand when movement a few yards away catches my attention. I jump to my feet as my heart begins to race.

“Please god let it be Adam.” Seconds later, the men emerge f
rom the trees, bloody and bruised, but thankfully, they’re alive.

“Grace!” I yell as I run
toward the man that I love. Adam limps forward and pulls me into his arms. I finally release the tears that I’ve been holding in for hours.

“I was so worried about you!
” I run my hands over his back just to reassure myself that he’s alive and whole.

“Easy
, luv, I had a rather hard landing.” I start to apologize, but his mouth covers mine and I forget all reason. I wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him with all the passion I possess.  A growl rumbles from his throat as he deepens our kiss further. His hands travel the length of my body and touch me in all the right places sending delicious waves of pleasure to my core. He ends our kiss all too soon.

“I’m sorry
, angel, but I have to help my brothers. Micah’s hurt pretty badly.” Adam grabs his boxer briefs and hastily covers up his body.

I run my eyes over the numerous open wounds and burn marks.
I lose my breath when I get a look at his back. It looks as if someone peeled away sections of his skin. “Oh my god!”

I take in the condition of his brothers. Thankfully, they have all chosen to follow in Adam’s example and cover themselves up. Cass is bloody and bruised and has a nasty lacerati
on on his chest. Several parts of his skin have turned black from third degree burns. Jamie is covered in open wounds and bruises, but has no visible burns.

I race forward when I see Micah. He’s leaning against the railing and I get a clear view of his charred c
hest and left arm. He has a deep laceration on his left leg and another on his lower abdomen.

“Grace
, I’m going to need several towels, lots of gauze and some water.”

Micah
leans forward to grab his cigarettes off the table and I promptly slap his hand.

“Are you
kidding me? You have third degree burns and god knows how much smoke you’ve already inhaled. The last thing that you need is a cigarette.”

He rolls his sapphire eyes at me. “I’ll be healed in a few days and I just survived a gas explosion I’ve earned at least that.”

Adam passes me a first aid kit and a pair of gloves.

“You’re going to need stitches
and it just so happens to be my specialty.”

Grace hands me the items I asked for and I get to work cleaning and wrapping
Micah’s burns. “You really should be in a hospital.”

He accepts an open bottle of Johnnie Walker Blue from his brother and proceeds to drink a third of it. “Shifters can’t go to the hospital. If you tested our blood you would find an anomaly and realize
that we aren’t human.”

I try to ignore the fact that he’s guzzling down a two hundred dollar bottle of
scotch like its water.

“So get some of your vampire friends to follow
the nurses around and steal your blood before it’s tested. I’m doing what I can, but you need pain meds and you could get an infection.” I finish bandaging his burns and move on to stitching his stomach wound.

“
Drugs have no effect on us and we aren’t susceptible to infections. Trust me what you’re doing is enough.”

I’m not sure I believe him
, but who am I to argue, I’m still new to this world. “So are you guys going to tell us what happened?” The smell of cloves fills my nose and I can’t help, but chuckle at Micah’s rebellious action. Maybe he does have more in common with his younger brother than I once thought.

“The coyote was ready for us, he set up traps around the property, and unfortunately Adam had the pleasure of finding one
.”

I glance over my shoulder as
Adam holds his right hand out for me to inspect.

“I stepped on a silver spike, no big deal
, angel.”

I shake my head at
his blasé attitude as I finish up with Micah’s first round of stitches.

“After the kid cleared the way for us we made it to the front door. Jamie had already turned the doorknob when Adam smelled the gas. After that it’s kind of a blur.”

God they are lucky to be alive. “So that coyote is still out there?” I ask.

“Yes
, but now that we have a name to go with a face he won’t be able to hide forever, angel. We’ll find him.”

Yeah, but at what cost. Their bodies can’t take any more abuse. “
Okay, I’m done. You need to keep your arm elevated. Have someone help you wash up, but no showers. I’ll check your bandages in a few hours.” I start to clean up my mess and get ready for the next patient.

“Thank you
, Andy.”

I offer Micah a smile as
Jamie helps him to his feet. “Okay who’s next?”

***

“You are the most amazing female, thank you for what you did tonight.”

I nuzzle against Adams body as we lie in his bed and relish in the fact that’s he’s alive. After I had tended to Cass’s needs Jamie refused treatment until I had taken care of Adam. By the time, I got to Jamie most of his wounds had already started to heal.

“I guess it’s a good thing you fell in love with a nurse, you guys would be screwed if I were an accountant.”

Adam’s
body rumbles with laughter. “Beauty, brains and a sense of humor, how the hell did I get so lucky?” His nose presses into my hair and he breathes in my scent. A distinct hardness forms against my backside. “I need to be inside of you.”

His hand glides up my bare legs, to my hip then
settles on top of my core. His fingers slip under the lace of my panties, finding my moist center.

“Place your leg over mine
, angel.”

I quickly comply as he thrusts a finger inside my sex.

“God I love how wet and tight you are.”

I moan his name as he adds another finger to the mix. His palm rubs against my clit and my body begins to tighten. My nipples harden and ache for his touch. Heat sweeps over my body and rushes
toward my center.

“That’s it
, angel, I can feel how close you are, come for me.”

I clutch the silk sheets as he thrusts deeper inside me over, and over again. My head falls back on
to his shoulder giving him access to my neck. He leans over me, his breath on my skin sends shivers down my spine.