Inferno (16 page)

Ben started to grin as he understood what Danny was trying to say. “Fate leads the way, Danny. It does not insure that life is perfect. That is up to us, my little romantic.”

“Mates aren’t guaranteed?”

“Mates are like the human version of soul mates. We meet. We know we are right for each other. But we still need to learn how each of us ticks. Nothing is guaranteed, Danny, just encouraged.”

As much as Ben wanted to continue to stand there and talk to Danny about their mating, keeping the man safe was more important. If something happened to Danny, there would be no mating.

“We need to get out of here, Danny. Whoever hurt Abe and slashed the tires on the truck could still be around.” Ben pulled Danny back next to his side and then gestured to the fire chief. “I’m hoping the fire chief can offer us a little professional courtesy and get someone to drive us to a hotel.”

“Oh, my kitten.” Just as Danny started to turn, the hairs on the back of Ben’s neck stood up. He grabbed Danny and shoved him down to the ground, coming down over the top of him. The soft cry that fell from Danny’s lips made Ben’s heart hurt but the soft thud that sounded above him as bits of tree bark splintered off the tree right where Danny had been standing made him glad he had reacted so quickly.

He hadn’t heard a sound.

“Ben, what are you—”

“Quiet, Danny.” Ben raised his head and glanced around. He couldn’t see anyone that looked suspicious. Most people were watching the firemen put out the fire. Some were chatting. No one seemed to be paying Ben and Danny any attention.

Hell, no one was even looking at them. At least, no one Ben could see. The hairs on the back of his neck were still standing on end so Ben knew someone was watching…and they were waiting.

“Abe, someone is shooting at us.”

“Shit!”
The rage that came through the twin bond from Abe made Ben’s head ache.
“I’ll be right there.”

“Don’t forget to shift.”
A bear running down the sidewalk in the middle of the city would not do at all. It would cause more chaos than it would fix. Ben needed help, not a whole slew of police officers trying to take out a wild bear running loose through the streets.

“I’ve done this before, Ben,”
Abe grumbled through their bond.
“This is not my first trip to the city.”

Ben cringed at the reproach in Abe’s voice. He knew this wasn’t Abe’s first trip to the city but his brother was injured and someone was threatening their mate. All bets were off as far as he was concerned.

God knew Ben loved his brother but Abe could be so dense sometimes
. “I know this is not your first trip into the city, Abe. I’m just reminding you to think before you act. Danny’s life could depend on it.”

The silence was telling. Abe had a temper. Everyone who knew him was wary of the man when he got in a snit. He wasn’t violent but he had been known to get involved in a few brawls here and there when someone pissed him off.

“Yeah, okay,”
Abe finally answered.
“I hear you. I’ll be careful.”

“That’s all I’m asking, bro,”
Ben said as he glanced around at the crowd gather down the street.
“I know someone is shooting at us, but I don’t know where they are and no one else seems to be aware of the danger. Everyone’s watching the fire.”

“Where are you and Danny?”

“I have Danny on the ground about three cars down from the truck.”

“Okay, I see you.”

Ben’s head snapped up. He glanced toward the alleyway Abe had gone down earlier. He could see his brother peeking around the corner of the old brick building.
“Are you naked?”

Abe smirked at him.
“I left my backpack in the truck.”

Ben could barely keep his amusement to himself.
“Do you want me to get it?”

“No, I want you to watch over Danny. I’ll get my backpack myself.”

Ben couldn’t help it. He chuckled as he tapped Danny on the shoulder. “Baby, look up. You’re going to want to see this.”

“See what?” Danny asked as he lifted his head.

“Remember that I told you that Abe had to shift to heal?”

“Yeah.”

“Our clothes don’t magically fade away and Abe didn’t get them off in time.”

Danny sucked in a breath as they both watched Abe dart out from the alleyway, running full out for the truck. “Is he naked?”

“He is.”

“I’m going to kill him!” Danny’s body tensed as if he was preparing to jump up and go after Abe right that second.

Ben barely kept his mirth locked behind his lips. “He’s trying to get to his backpack, Danny. It has a spare change of clothes in it.”

“He’s naked, Ben.”

“I can see that, Danny.” Abe might be fast but there was still a whole lot of man flashing the neighborhood.

The glower on Danny’s face when he whipped around to glare at Ben surprised him. He hadn’t thought the sweet little man had a mean bone in his body. Apparently, that adorable smile came with teeth.

“Everyone can see that, Ben,” Danny said with a hint of a growl to his voice.

Ben was actually impressed.

“Baby, you’d better get used to everyone seeing everyone naked. We’re shifters. It happens.” And it happened a lot. Nudity was not a big thing to the people of Pacific Cove. “Granted, we don’t usually walk down the streets naked, but we do get naked in front of others on occasion.”

Ben could see the wheels turning in Danny’s head, and the conclusion the man had come to. He quickly raised his hand to stop Danny from speaking. “It has nothing to do with sex or attraction or anything like that. It’s just another facet of being a shifter, Danny. We don’t think anything of it and it’s kind of considered rude to
look
.”

Danny frowned. “Really?”

“Yes, really.”

Danny turned back to look at Abe. “I still don’t have to like it.”

“No, you don’t.” Ben knew the smile had fallen off his face when Danny dropped his eyes and his face paled. “But you do have to accept it. Abe and I will only be getting naked in front of others to shift. I can promise you, the only one that will see us naked in any other situation is you.”

Danny’s eyes flickered up. “Promise?”

Ben smiled as he reached down and rubbed his knuckle up the side of Danny’s face. “I promise and I know Abe promises as well.”

“Promises what?”

Ben glanced up to see Abe squatting down in front of him, dressed in jeans and a short sleeved cotton shirt. Danny was going to be thrilled. “We promise to not be naked in front of others unless we have to shift.”

“Oh, yeah.” Abe nodded.

Ben rolled his eyes. “We need to get moving. Whoever is shooting at us is not going to stop just because we’re lying down on the ground behind some tree.”

Abe glanced around, his eyes hooded as if trying to not let anyone know he was searching for danger. “You know the second we move, we’re going to be sitting ducks.”

“No.” Ben slowly climbed up into a crouch, pulling Danny up with him but keeping the man pressed close to him. “We’re going to be running bears.”

“And a human,” Danny piped in as if he felt that was important.

Ben chuckled as he glanced down at Danny. “And a human.”

“A mate,” Abe said as he stared at Danny with total adoration in his amber eyes. “A gorgeous human mate.”

Danny beamed from ear to ear. “I’ll take it.”

Ben prayed that was still true when this was all over. Until then, he would do everything within his power to keep the
human
safe.

Danny was willing to admit he was so terrified, he could barely move one foot in front of the other as Ben and Abe dragged him toward the alley. Someone had shot Abe and now they were shooting at him and Ben. Danny knew he had to be the common denominator. Whoever was shooting at them was obviously after him.

He just didn’t understand why.

He couldn’t think of a single thing he had ever done to get someone so angry at him that they would want to kill him. His karma kind of sucked but never in an evil way, and never involving anyone else—if he discounted the hot coffee incident.

“Keep up, Danny,” Ben said as he pulled him around the corner of an old brick building by his arm. Danny rolled his eyes. At least the man was pulling on his good arm.

“This is as fast as I go,” Danny insisted. He could see the worried glances Ben and Abe kept throwing over their shoulders and he wished he could run faster. He just couldn’t. Any faster and he was going to be face first in the pavement.

Danny yelped as he was picked up and tossed over a very nice wide shoulder. There was a light tap on his ass before the ground started to bounce below him.

“You have mates now, Danny,” Ben said back to him as he hurried along beside Abe. “You go faster.”

“Yeah, but who’s going to clean it up when I puke?”

Ben’s face paled. “No puking.”

Danny used Abe’s back as a platform to rest his good hand so he could lift himself up and look at Ben. He arched a brow. “I promise nothing.”

Ben stared for a moment before a burst of laughter shot out of his mouth. “You’re an evil little man. I like it.”

“Seriously,” Danny said when they slowed and then stopped. “You might want to think about putting me down. I don’t do good bouncing.”

“Yes,” said a very feminine voice from the direction they had just come from, “put him down.”

Danny’s jaw dropped when he looked up and found himself staring at the barrel of what had to be the biggest gun in the history of guns. It was freaking huge. Well, sort of. But it sure looked huge when pointed at him. In reality, it seemed to fit perfectly in the lethal blonde’s hand even with the extended length on it, which Danny suspected was a silencer.

He had seen one in a movie once.

A knot formed in Danny’s throat as he was slowly lowered to the ground. He knew any moment now, Ben and Abe were going to push in front of him, placing themselves between Danny and the gun the woman held and the older man that stood next to her.

But first… “Aren’t you my stepmother?” Danny recognized the man with her as being Charles’s lawyer, which made him wonder if Charles was lurking around somewhere. A quick glance around showed only the five of them in the alley.

“Oh, please.” A manicured hand swept down a very statuesque and voluptuous body. “Do I look like a stepmother?”

“You look like a psycho but I was trying to be nice.” Danny knew he should have kept his mouth shut when the older man in the fancy suit standing next to the buxom blonde took a menacing step forward.

“No, Darren.” Danny absently noticed that the woman had a French manicure when she slapped her hand against the older guy’s chest. It shouldn’t have struck him as important, but it seemed so out of place considering she held a gun in her other hand. “Not here.”

“Not here what?” Danny asked.

Red-rouged lips curved up in a smirk. “I didn’t believe it at first when Charles told me but you really are that naive.”

“Hey!” That really wasn’t that nice but Danny supposed it was payback for the psycho statement.

One perfectly plucked eyebrow rose up. “Don’t believe me? Charles has been stealing money from you for years. Your”—she looked Ben and Abe up and down, smiling with obvious appreciation—”benefactors have been sending astronomical amounts of money to Charles every quarter since you were brought to the city from that little hell hole you were born in. Charles has been carefully—”

“Mariana, no!” Darren said desperately.

“Who are they going to tell, Darren? The police?” The gun in Mariana’s hand started to weave as she waved her hand around in the air. “Charles is a well-respected, influential man. That little brat is a nobody that Charles took in out of the goodness of his heart. The police will probably give me a medal for getting him off the streets.”

Danny wanted to point out that the villain in every story usually ended up dying or getting captured by the police after they shared their evil plot to take over the world but he wisely kept that bit to himself.

“Keep your mouth shut, Mariana,” Darren snapped as if he had suddenly grown a set of balls. “Someone could be listening.”

Danny closed his eyes when Mariana turned the gun toward Darren. He waited until he heard a thud before opening his eyes. Danny’s stomach rolled when he looked down at the body on the ground.

This woman was insane. She didn’t seem to care one bit that she had just killed someone. Danny saw no way out of this except to keep her talking until Ben and Abe could figure something out. He was numb with shock.

“So Charles took the money,” Danny said. “So what? What does that have to do with you holding a gun on us?”

Mariana waved the gun toward Ben and then Abe. “They put a hold on Charles’s last payment. It’s a huge sum, enough to let me live in style anywhere in the world I want to go.” Her eyes narrowed, anger making them look like they were sparking. “I want that money. I’ve worked too damn hard to let it slip through my fingers now.”