Gerard (5 page)

“I would like to go now if they’re going to take me in.” He moved to touch her leg where the worst burn had happened. “Don’t touch me. It’ll hurt and I don’t want you to touch me.”

“Hush.” Susie watched as he ran his finger along the biggest burn. His fingers were warm, but the pain was still there. “You should shift and heal, or I could do it for you. Taste all of you.”

Her body was responding to him touching her, and to his words. She knew that he could smell her; hell, she could smell him too. When he ran his fingers down her cheek to her lips, Susie moaned, then begged him to leave her alone.

“I can’t, and you know that. And I think you know that it’s too late for the two of us now.” Nodding once, she moaned as his mouth moved over the same area where his fingers had been on her face. “I want to kiss you. Taste to see if you’re as delicious as I think you’re going to be.”

“I’m an ex-con.” That had him pausing enough that she could force herself to move back. “They said I killed some people, and I went to prison for it.”

“But you didn’t.” She didn’t say anything, but he seemed to know what happened as he leaned away from her but held onto her hand. “You were recently released. The man that had killed those people is in jail now, and you’ve been set free. You’re no more an ex-con than I am. You were exonerated, and now you’re working for my brother because you saved his wife yesterday. I’ve been talking to my brother.”

“I’m not like you.” He asked her what she thought was different about them other than them being man and woman. “You have money to burn. You have a life, a job, and a family. I have a bastard of a father, a dead mother, and five years of my life gone because someone didn’t check the facts like they should have.”

“No, not all true, but some. I don’t have any money other than what I get paid each week to work on the ranch and the extra I’m getting for running the mill. Both my parents were killed when I was five, so I didn’t know them that well, but I do miss them. But if you understand that I’m your mate then you have to also understand what that means for us. I’m not going to leave you. And I’m not going to let you leave me.” Susie looked out at the cruisers that had arrived not long after she’d fallen away from the smoking wood. “You knew what I was to you when we were in the woods earlier.”

“So? It wasn’t like you were thrilled about meeting me either. You just wanted a fuck. And you weren’t even caring if it was any good for me.” When he didn’t answer her, she knew that she was right. Then he frowned.

“Do you really think that…? Well, obviously you do. I never leave a woman unsatisfied. Ever. And when this is done, I’ll show you just how thorough I can be.” She snorted, and could see that he wasn’t any happier with her than she was with him. “We really need to talk.”

Susie looked away from him. She didn’t have any idea what was going to happen to her now. They were going to take her in, this much she knew. First of all, she’d been staying in a house that wasn’t hers. Trespassing on the land was a big deal. There was no proof that there was a man that started the fire, and as far as they knew, she was nothing more than a woman without any means of supporting herself. Which, she supposed, was true. And now she had this man in her life. She looked at him when he said nothing.

“I don’t care for people.” He only nodded at her. “You have this big family that is going to expect you to find someone more suited to what you are, rich and fabulous. What do you think you’re going to do with this thing that might or might not happen between us when I’m taken back to jail?”

“I doubt very much my family would care if you really were an ex-con, or that you had twenty-five children somewhere in your background.” He knew as well as she did that there would have been no children of any union she’d had before he had come into her life. Her body had been waiting for him. “What do you mean, taking you back to jail? Is that what you think? That you’re going to jail for this?”

“Yes.” Susie felt tears in her eyes. “I don’t want to go back to prison. I didn’t do well there the first time, and I won’t survive it again.”

“You’re not going anywhere.” She pulled back from him when he tried to pull her to him. “Let me hold you, Susie. Then I’ll go and figure this out and take you home…take you somewhere.”

He held her for several minutes, and as much as she hated to admit it, it did feel really good for someone to hold her without it being violent. The only time in her life she could remember being held was to be punched, or sometimes tied up by her father.

After Gerard left her, she tried to think what she had to do now. Getting as far from the man as she could was her best bet. But even as she made her way to the doorway of the ambulance, she knew it was going to be harder than she’d thought. The woman standing there looking at her made Susie stop moving.

“He said you’d run. I didn’t believe him, of course, but he was right.” Susie looked around to see who was close. “You can try and get away, but I’ll find you. Do you know who I am?”

“The alpha’s bitch. The wolf.” The woman nodded. “I didn’t want to have to kill that other wolf, but he was going for the leap bitch. He attacked first.”

“So I heard. And now my husband and I wish to make you welcome into the pack, as you are in the leap.” Susie stood up now, the pain almost bearable. “You can’t leave him. Do you know what will happen should you leave him now that he’s found you?”

“Do you know what will happen to him when my father finds him? Or me for that matter? He wants something from me that I have no desire to share with him. My father, I mean.” The woman shrugged. “He’s a bastard and a prick, and will stop at nothing to get me working for him again.”

“Work how?”

Susie didn’t answer but moved to where the men were standing around the yellow tape. She had missed something earlier when they had pulled her off the smoldering fire, and she wanted to have another look. As she made her way to them, limping heavily, she thought about several things, mostly the man that had tried to burn the house down around her. He’d run off before she could tackle him. Putting out the fire had been much more important to her than chasing a man she had already gotten a scent of.

When Gerard came up behind her, she didn’t look at him but at the burnt wood. “What are we missing?” She looked at him and said she didn’t start the fire. “We know that. But he left nothing behind to help us. No scent. No prints. What is it we’re missing? You were the only one here with him, so tell us what you remember.”

She moved to the tape, then looked at the cop standing there. When he lifted it up for her, she moved to where he’d been standing. It placed her about where the man had been that had tried to burn the house down around her head.

The man had poured the gas on the wood that had been stacked for the fireplace. “I was in the back bedroom just getting ready for bed. The room that falls out into the woods, so I’m assuming it was the master suite. I could smell it. The gas. It was powerful.” She looked back that way and thought of something. “I don’t think I could have smelled it from here, do you?”

Mason sent someone around the house to see if there was more gas there. Susie looked down at the grass, then knelt down onto it. She looked to her right and thought of something she’d not remembered until then.

“There was another man. He was about fifty yards that way.” She pointed out toward where the garage was. “I didn’t really see him, but he…a bright light, like a cigarette, was burning in his hand too. I saw it go to his mouth where it brightened when he drew on it. This man, the one that set the fire, he smelled of it too…of the cigarettes that the other man had. But more of an association smell rather than that he smoked too. Or maybe not nearly as much I think.”

This time the officer with them spoke. “Send three men out there to see if they can find where he might have dropped a butt. Look for footprints too. And take one of the Douglas men. Have them…you know, work their kind of magic and see if they can sniff something out.”

He meant shift. Susie might have suggested that they take one of the wolves, but had no idea whether there was much of a difference in their ability to sniff things out or not. Instead she stood up and looked around.

“When I came around from behind him, he didn’t turn at all to see me. He was human, so might not have heard me like a shifter would have. Also, he was burned. I kind of pushed him into the flames. Had he not smothered some of it, I might not have been able to put it out as easily.” Mason asked her if she had his scent. “Yes. In addition to the cigarette smell, he smelled of bear and drugs. The nonprescription kind.”

Chapter 4

Gerard watched Susie. She was hurting, all of them could see that, but she remained calm and answered all their questions every time someone asked. He wanted to make her shift and take care of her burns, but he figured she was going to do it when she wanted and not before. He had to smile; she was as stubborn as he’d been told she was. When she came toward him after going over what she’d found and seen again, Mason did as well. As they met near him, he reached out and carefully pulled her into his arms. He was happy when she didn’t fight him, but he was also worried that she didn’t.

“I have a favor to ask you.” Mason didn’t look at him when he asked Susie, but Gerard felt her stiffen. “You can tell me no if you don’t want to do it. It’s not that big a deal, really.”

“You mean I can tell you no, but you’ll find some sort of punishment to make me do it anyway, right? Well, I can’t give you the winning horses. Not that I can’t, but I won’t.” Mason did look at him then, and Gerard could see his confusion. Then he looked back at Susie. “And if you make me do that—because I’m pretty sure you know that you can—I will hurt you. I know it would mean my death, but I don’t really give a shit what happens to me again so long as I don’t have to be cooped up again.”

“I don’t need you to tell me the winning horses, but it’s nice to know that you won’t do it. And as for you always assuming that someone wants you to do something nefarious or illegal, that’s not the way I work. I wanted you to help me with the cattle that we have on the property. They’re skittish too. And there are a couple of horses that I mentioned to you this morning that I’d like to make sure are all right. Christ, you need to chill out.”

Susie pulled away from Gerard, and before he could pull her back, Mason reached for her. It was over in a second. Mason was on the ground and Susie had a knife at his throat. He wasn’t sure who was more surprised by the move, Mason or him. But Susie was as calm as she was about most things she did or said.

“Don’t grab me.” Mason nodded but didn’t speak. “I…I should sit you down and…don’t hurt me please. I will explain, but I want to leave here in one piece.”

“Your father?” She nodded at Mason. “I shouldn’t have grabbed you. I know better. My mother raised me to be gentler to women, and even though you can more than likely kick my ass, I should know better anyway. Can you let me up?”

When she was off him, Mason didn’t stand but sat on the ground. Jace and Darin came to him, but he stopped them with a raised hand, telling them that she didn’t do anything to him that he didn’t deserve.

“I would appreciate it if you’d help me with the rest of the cattle on this ranch. They have been sorely abused. Not so much with the whip that he used on the horses, but with other things. I think a few of them will have to be put down.” Susie looked at Gerard, then back at Mason as he continued. “There is also an issue with a few of the other horses. I’m not sure where they might have come from, but they’re not branded and they won’t come near any of us because of what we are. I want to help them if we can. And if not, then figure out what to do about them in the long term.”

“Cougar, you mean.” Mason nodded at her. “And you don’t want anything else done with them? You don’t want me to convince them that they can do things that they’re not bred for?”

“Can you do that?” She didn’t answer him. “No. We don’t want them to go beyond what they were intended for. But I would like to talk to you about what you can and can’t do. Purely on a curiosity thing.”

“I can sort of calm animals. I can’t usually talk to them, but I can touch their mind and give them an idea. I don’t want to do it. Not ever again. Also, I can…I can feel them. Their pain and emotions. They can…the stronger ones can communicate with me in the form of pictures or thoughts. It will get me killed if you tell anyone.” Mason said he’d not ask her to, and if anyone did, he wanted to know. “I don’t care for people. Not in any kind of form. I would prefer…if you’d allow me to—let me leave when I help you.”

“You and Gerard are mates. And if you leave, he will as well. I know that you’re running from your father. I can understand that completely, but looking over your shoulder for the rest of your life isn’t going to make you any happier than you are right now. If you stay here, we’ll protect you.” Susie said nothing. “I found out some things about him. I’m sure you know most of it, but did you know that your father was a leader at one time?”

“Yes.” Gerard wasn’t surprised when she didn’t give any more information. She wasn’t being rude, he was sure about that, but it was more than likely a part of her upbringing. “I’ll help you with your cattle and the horses. Should you…I should like to give you a name of a person who can buy them should you wish to sell. Or he will sell you some prime flesh as well. He’s an honest man.”

“Thank you.” Mason stood up and looked at the abandoned ranch house before looking at Gerard. “I have another favor to ask. Not anything to do with the animals or anything like that, but…. Can the two of you stay here? I mean, until we sell? If we sell? I’ll make sure that the pantries are filled and you have what you need in the way of linens. Holly and Emma have already stripped all of the things from the house that were no good. The rest…I think it’s being washed up now. I’d just feel better knowing that someone was here all the time after this.”

Gerard said that he would, but he’d have to talk to Susie. When Mason stepped away, thanking Susie once again, Gerard followed her into the house. She sat down on the sheet-covered couch.

“I don’t want to be here long term, Gerard. He’ll come, and what happened tonight will be very small in comparison. Nor should I be your mate.” He sat down. His cat was pissed off and wanting to mark her now, but Gerard wasn’t going to hurt her, any more than she’d already been hurt, by forcing her hand. “I’m not like you.”

“You said that before. I’m not any closer to knowing what you mean by that now than I was then. How are we not alike? Is it the money? Because I don’t have any, as I’ve said. I work for what I have. My brothers married into money, but I don’t have any.”

“You could if you waited for someone else to come along. They might not be your mate, but you’ll be better off with them.” He said nothing. “I know that it doesn’t work that way, but you have no idea what kind of person I am.”

“No. I don’t. And you don’t know what kind of person I am either. I’m not a bad person. I work hard. Lately I’ve been running the mill to get it set up for the town. And I found that I enjoy it very much. I can talk to people with the same interests as me. While my brothers and I are on the same page so far as ranching, these people aren’t related to me.” She said nothing, and he liked the way she wasn’t someone who had to beat her view into a conversation. “I went to high school and did all right. Played some ball for a while, but didn’t care for that since I had to keep holding myself back all the time. Took some of the enjoyment out of it when I was stressing about hurting someone because I was stronger. But it did teach me a few things about sportsmanship, as well as rules need to be followed. I want to be with you. My cat needs to be with you too, Susie.”

“My mother robbed a store with some of her friends. They shot and killed a young man behind the counter when he wouldn’t give her the combination to the safe in the office, as well as some of the customers.” He hadn’t known that, but it mattered little to him what her parents had been like. Susie was the only one that mattered to him. “My father was arrested and served time for armed robbery too. No one was killed that time, but he did a nice walk in prison for it. I was there as well.”

“You were accused of killing some people in their car.” She nodded and got up and started pulling the sheets off the couch and chairs. To him it said they were staying. “Do you know why you were arrested?”

“I didn’t at the time, but I have since found out that my father set me up. He had it in his head that I’d be sent to the same place he was so he could pull me under his wing. Sort of protect me. Really it was to use me and what I can do. I’m not sure what he thought I’d do for him in there that I didn’t want to do for him on the outside, but he did it to me.” She laughed bitterly. “He didn’t take care of me when I was a kid other than to knock me around all the time, so I wasn’t really sure how that was going to work. But I was sent to a woman’s facility, while he was in an all-male place. My parents are not the smartest cats in the world.”

By the time they were in the kitchen uncovering things, she’d gotten quiet again. It was kind of calming, but quiet, like a peaceful walk in the woods or a stream running over rocks. As they looked around at the pantry, he realized that someone had stocked it with things they’d been eating while working there. He found a pad of paper and began making notes on other things they’d need. Mostly it was meat, but he did add eggs and bread to the list too. When he moved to the refrigerator, he watched Susie as she sat at the table and added things to the list as well.

“I can cook, but not anything fancy.” He noticed that she didn’t look at him when she talked about herself. “I can read a recipe and make things that way, but I don’t know how to make things from the cuff.”

“My aunt can. But then she’s been cooking for a long time.” Susie nodded. “Can you look at me please?”

It took her several seconds to do as he wanted. And when she did, he could see the struggle she was having with something. He didn’t ask her what it was, but he had an idea it was all of the shit that was going on, on top of what they were going through. He moved to the table and sat across from her before speaking again.

“I won’t hurt you. You know that. Nor will I make you do anything you don’t want.” She nodded again and lowered her head. He lifted her chin to look at her again. “Susie, you can trust me and my family to keep you safe. I swear to you, your father won’t get to come near you.”

“He will as long as…if we mate, then he no longer has control over me, right?” Gerard had forgotten about that rule of their kind. So long as she was unmated, her father could make her do things that she didn’t want, and he could treat her anyway that he wanted. “I’m so tired of running, Gerard. I don’t want you to get hurt, but I want to stay here.”

“Then we have to…I don’t want to rush you, but when you’re ready, we’ll mate and bond. It’s not why I want you, but it will go a long way to keeping you safe from him.” She nodded, but only sat there. Gerard knew that he should be getting ready to go to work today. The ranch needed a great deal of work and time, but he also knew that the two of them needed something too. “I have to run into town to get some supplies for us. And to go by my brother’s house to get the linens he was talking about. I don’t know about you, but I’m too stressed to sleep now. Would you like to go into town with me? Get some breakfast at the diner?”

“You want me to go with you?” She seemed so surprised that he grinned. “I don’t have anything nice to wear. Just what I have on and one more pair of pants.”

“We can take care of that too if you want.” She said she had some money. “I do as well…not a great deal, but a little bit put away. We’ll split things down the middle for now. I don’t know what sort of job you want to have, but I get paid well for working for the RA, the Ranchers Association. Also, I work the mill when I can. It’s going to open in a week.”

“I need to find a paying job too.”

He thought for sure that Mason was going to pay her for helping them out, but didn’t say anything. He had no idea what sort of arrangement they had and didn’t want to step on toes. Right now anyway. As they finished up the list, going from room to room to see what they might need, Gerard told his brother what they were going to do.

You should buy the farm, the two of you. Gerard
told him he didn’t have that sort of money and more than likely never would.
We don’t own it now, the RA does. And I’m betting we can come to some sort of arrangement until you get your feet under you. Maybe even rent it to you for a little while if you want.

I’ll have to talk to Susie. She might not want to live here. I’m not sure where we can live to be honest, but we’re taking it sort of slow.
He asked Mason about the parental law concerning daughters.
She said that he rules her and she’ll be free when we bond. I’m not sure I want that to be the only reason we do this, but it would help her, right?

I have no idea. I’ve heard of the law before, but it’s old. I didn’t even know that it was still practiced anymore. I certainly never would use that.
He told him he thought that Ernie Benjamin would use whatever he could to control his daughter.
You might be right on that. And I wouldn’t put it past him to know that he was making rules up as he went along. She didn’t know a great many things that she should know, being a full blood. And not knowing to report to me is a biggy.

As soon as Susie came into the room, her hair brushed and pulled back into a ponytail, he moved to her to kiss her. Gerard wanted to sit her on the counter and take her, but he really did want to take this slowly. Kissing her on the mouth gently, he took her hand and led her to his truck. This was going to be fun, he thought. Gerard had never been grocery shopping before other than to pick up a few things for Aunt Georgie, and wondered how it was done. He supposed they’d find out together.

~~~

Georgie watched Gerard and Susie shop. Every time Gerard would put something in the cart that wasn’t on their list, Susie would put it back without a word. Then she realized that he was doing in on purpose. Making her huff at him when he didn’t follow the list he’d made for them. As Georgie came around the next corner and in front of them this time, Gerard was being reprimanded for putting cereal in the cart. He no more ate that stuff than she did.