Jace: The Pride of the Double Deuce (14 page)

“I never even thought to ask. Hang on.” He turned to the desk and asked, then told Palmer what he knew. “Grave condition. They have him in intensive care now with round the clock care. He was hurt pretty badly, by whom I can only assume was his mother. Gunshot wound to the head.”

“See that he gets the best. I’m not sure what happened out there, but from what you told me, I’m sure the kid helped her more than we know.” Jace thought so too.

“His mother is dead, Palmer. I hope you don’t mind, but I’ve put a man on it to look into what was going on at home. After the little bit you told me you found, I think there was quite a bit of abuse going on.” Jace didn’t tell him about everything he’d already found out. And when Palmer got there, they’d have to sit down and see what he wanted to do with the information. “He’s going to need help. And I don’t mean just with the physical stuff either.”

“Just keep me informed about everyone. I was very glad to hear that Howard is going to make it as well. The old poop drives me batty most of the time with his proper ways, but I love the man.” Jace made a mental note to tell Holly as soon as she woke up that Howard was going to be just fine when Palmer continued. “Tell her that I love her. Tell her that her daddy is coming. All right?”

“I will. First thing, I promise.” He hung up the phone and went to sit with his family.

He’d no more sat down than the doctor came out to talk to them. He didn’t look like he had terribly bad news, but Jace braced himself for the worst.

“We removed the bullet and handed it over to the police. She’s lost a good deal of blood, but she’s getting fluids now, and that should balance it out soon enough.” He sat down when the doctor did. “Her knee is what worries us. There was some pretty extensive damage done to her knee cap, and I’ve called in a specialist. But before he begins working on her, he wanted to speak to you. I’m assuming that you are her husband?”

“Not yet. In a few days we’re to be married. The bullet, the police from our town will need it as well. There was another shooting that we’re assuming the other woman did as well. Also, is it possible to transfer her soon? We’re not from around here, and I’d like to get her closer to her family.” He nodded and said that would be up to the other surgeon.

“My part is pretty cut and dry. She could leave day after tomorrow if it was just that. But like I said, that knee is pretty bad.” Jace nodded and asked if she’d be able to walk. “Of course. Of course. But she’ll have some limitations.”

A few minutes later the second surgeon came to talk to him. This time, however, the conversation was a little less medical and a lot more shifter to shifter. The man standing before him was an alpha male to a pack of cats. What, Jace had no idea, just that he was powerful as well as in charge.

“You and her are mates?” Jace nodded and had to fight hard the urge to submit to this man. What he would have given him Jace wasn’t sure, but he knew that he had to stand up for himself. “I think you should change her. I can operate on her knee, replace the knee cap and repair the damage, but she’ll never walk well again. The damage is huge. And if I replace it, she will never be able to heal it when she shifts. What’s gone cannot be healed. You understand that, don’t you?”

“Yes.” He nodded, then looked at Mason when he came to stand beside him. The doctor told him what was going on. Jace took a deep breath before asking his next question. “I don’t know how to change her. I mean, I have a general idea, but as far as doing it…I’m not sure I could do it.”

“You can.” Jace was glad for the vote of confidence from the doctor, but wasn’t so sure. “I can guide you. And I would suggest that you have someone there in the event…she’s a strong woman. I have no doubt that she’ll come through it well, but she’s been drugged.”

“Drugs don’t bother us.” Jace nodded at Mason’s statement. “I mean, we can feel it for several seconds, but nothing like what she would feel.”

“Yes. I’m aware of that, but what I mean is, she’s been drugged heavily. And while you might not feel the effects of it given to you, she has more in her system than normally given to a man for say, some stitches or whatever. I can tell you that she’ll not feel the effects of the pain that you’re going to have to put her through, but you might get a little of it. You might feel…you will feel it stronger, I think.”

Jace only looked at Mason. His nod was all that he needed to make him feel better. Going in with someone he knew, someone he trusted more than anything, wasn’t going to make this any less hard on him or Holly, but with Mason there, he could take over if something happened.

The doc ran them through the procedure. It was pretty much what Jace had thought. Bite her in the belly until she could absorb the saliva from his canines. He was just ready to strip down and shift, the doctor having given him a room to change her in, when he turned to him once more.

“You should also know that she’s close to ovulating. When she’s changed, that will become stronger for you…her scent, I mean. In…I’d say about three days, you can create a child should you wish it.” Jace was still standing there with his hands at his pants to pull them off when his brother came in. He must have said his name several times before the snapping fingers in his face made him focus on him.

“You okay?” Jace nodded, then shook his head at Mason. “Well, that’s as clear as mud. Anyway, Aunt Georgie is going home to get things ready for Holly. Logan and the rest of them are watching the door and flirting with the nurses. Nothing new there. Are you ready?”

“I think so.” He looked at Holly, then at Mason. “I’m terrified that I’ll fuck this up and hurt her more.”

“Then don’t fuck it up.” Jace wanted to hit his brother but was afraid to. He needed him right now, and hitting him would probably piss him off enough that he’d leave him alone. But he’d get him later. Yeah, that’s right, when he had his own mate.

Shifting, Jace lay down on the mattress that had been put on the floor for this. Holly didn’t move, but he did notice that someone had taken her gown off her when Mason pulled back the sheet. Jace calmed his cat, telling him that this was good, when suddenly he seemed to lunge forward and snap his teeth into her belly. Jace tasted the drugs immediately, but he held on. He had to make her better.

Chapter 14

Holly woke in a strange room. She knew that she’d been in a hospital; the ambulance driver had told her that was where she was headed. Holly didn’t want to leave Jace, but he’d told her that he’d be there soon. Then they’d rushed her into surgery and she hadn’t seen him before. Lifting her head, she looked at Georgie, who was knitting near the window, and then down at Jace, who was curled up near her but not touching her.

He’s been there since we brought you home
. Her voice was low, but Holly had no trouble hearing her.
I’d say wake him, but I’d like to talk to you first. Is that all right
?

Sure. But how is Jeff? Is he…that bitch didn’t kill him, did she
? Georgie shook her head and smiled.
I’m glad to hear that. I think he might have saved my life a couple of times
.

He claims the same of you. And so you know, that man Howard that works for your father…he’s fine as well. A nasty bump on his head, but he’s doing much better today. I talked to him earlier. And Jace snuck Peaches in to see him
. Holly was so relieved that she laid her head back on the pillow and cried.
Your father is sleeping down the hall as well. I hope you don’t mind
.

No
. She looked around again from her prone position.
Where am I exactly? I mean this is beautiful and all, but wow! If this is the hospital, I’m hanging out here more often
.

Your home, yours and Jace’s, is finished. This is one of the few rooms that is furnished completely, but it is your home
. Holly sat up again, careful not to wake Jace.
Are you ready to talk to me now
?

Yes
. Georgie put her knitting down, and it was then that Holly realized that she’d been speaking to Georgie through a link. “I’m not sure what’s going on, but I have a feeling that things aren’t as simple as they were before.”

“No, they aren’t. The police would like to speak to you as well. They’re at the door now just waiting for you to wake so that they may speak to you before we do. That’s what I need to tell you. You’re not to mention the cougar, nor anything relating to the death of Margaret.” She asked her who that was. “Jeff’s mother. You were unconscious when she hit you and that’s all you remember. And that you didn’t talk to Jace with the link you have.”

“I understand.” Georgie stood up and put her hand on Jace, who came awake quickly. Jace pulled her into his arms, and Holly felt like everything that had happened was a bad dream. This was where she wanted to be. “I’m going to tell the police that you’re awake now. All right?”

Holly nodded. Jace was holding her so tightly that was all she could manage. When the door opened they both turned to it, but neither of them said a word. Jace was asked to leave but, of course, he refused.

“I’ve been watching over her for two days, not saying a word like you asked. And now that she’s awake, I’m not leaving her. Ever again. You have something to ask her, I understand that, do it. But quickly. I need to be with her and I don’t want an audience.”

“Mr. Douglas, it is—” Another man put his hand on the shoulder of the first cop. When he left the room, the second guy sat down in the chair and looked like he might be staying for a while. Jace sat on the edge of the bed, but didn’t let go of her hand that he now held.

“Tell me what you remember.” Holly nodded then looked at Jace. The man spoke before she could. “I want you to know that you’re not in any sort of trouble here. What I’m asking you is for your accounting of the story, to ascertain whether or not Mr. Hardgrave had much involvement in this. And if so, how much.”

“Jeff saved my life. And had you seen his face when his mother shot…how is Howard? My dad’s butler…Mrs. Hardgrave hit him in the head with her cane. Several times, as a matter of fact. I thought for sure he was dead.”

“He’s doing very well. A concussion and some stitches. He also has a few broken ribs. Do you know how he might have gotten them?” She told the man that Howard was behind the couch when he went down, and all she’d seen was Mrs. Hardgrave hitting him over and over. “We think perhaps he was kicked. Was Mr. Hardgrave near him at any point?”

“No. Jeff was near me when she…she hooked him with the cane—Howard, I mean—then tossed him to the floor. While he was there, she used the cane like a club, hitting him over and over. Then she turned and shot me when I told her she was going to jail.” The officer asked her where Jeff was when that happened. “He must have picked me up and put me on the couch. I hit my head when I fell and blacked out for a second or two. When I woke up, Jeff was trying to stop the blood. It didn’t hurt much right then, but then I was terrified out of my mind.”

“Then what happened?” Holly tried to think of things in the order that they happened. “Mrs. Douglas, we know that you were put in your father’s car. What happened then?”

“Jeff brought me a blanket and a pillow. I think he got them from the couch. And he handed me a cell phone. I didn’t use it, but I did make sure that the GPS was on. I was so afraid that if she found it on me that she’d kill us both.” Which was mostly true. “She said we were going to get married, Jeff and I. That she wasn’t going to live in the hovel that Jeff had bought for her.”

Holly paused. There was something else that she’d said, but she couldn’t remember it right now. She instead looked at the cop, trying to let her mind ease for it to come to her. Holly asked him who he was.

“I’m sorry. I’m Detective James Roth. I’ve been looking into some things with Mr. Hardgrave and his mother for a few days. You must be the only person I’ve not met, and I should have remembered that. Did you know that Mrs. Hardgrave was telling her neighbors that her son was set to marry you?”

“No.” Then it hit her. “She said that. Several times. That I was going to marry her son and that she was going to train me. She wasn’t pleased with my father’s house, but said it would do. She killed…we all thought that Howard was dead. And she convinced Jeff that he did it. Said that while he was in prison she would take care of me. I think she used this…I guess you could call it the wounded mother shit on him for his entire life.”

Detective Roth nodded. “We’ve heard that from the neighbors as well. They were very surprised when Jeff moved out of his mother’s home, but then they found out that he was sending her money every week from his paycheck. She was living much better than he was. The neighbors, most of them that knew her, thought the kid would have been better off just changing his address and never talking to her again. She wasn’t what we’d call the motherly type.”

“No shit.” Jace laughed when Roth did. Holly thought of something else. “Detective, I thought that she’d done this before. Not take women hostage to marry her son, but killed. I don’t know why I think that, but I do.”

“You’d be right.” He stood up and moved to the door, then turned to her when the door was open. “One more thing…I’d like to know what you think killed her. Mrs. Hardgrave. Have you any idea what did her in?”

“Meanness?” He only smiled at her attempt at a joke. “I don’t know. Honestly, I have no idea. The last thing I remember is her hitting me with the cane in the leg once. Then she drew back to hit me again; I nearly passed out when it hit my knee. The third time I grabbed it from her and sort of shoved it back at her. I saw her go down, but that’s it. I assume she hit her head on the concrete?”

“No.” He nodded at Jace, then looked at her before going out. “If you think of anything else, will you let my office know? I don’t think we’ll need anything else. Like I said, we’re mostly looking into this for Jeff’s involvement. I don’t think, from what I’ve heard, he was anything but a victim, much as you were.”

“He saved me. More than once. And Jace wouldn’t have found me either had he not gotten the phone to me.” Roth nodded. “Sir, may I ask you something else?”

“Yes.” Holly didn’t know if she wanted the answer or not, but she had to know. If not for herself then for Jeff.

“Is he in trouble? I mean, I know that he brought her to my house. He even told me that he might have told her about us…which there was never an
us
. But what will happen to him?” Detective Roth looked like he wasn’t going to answer, but he did just before he closed the door behind him.

“He’s going to need help. And a great deal of it. But no one is thinking he had a thing to do with the insanity of his mother.” The door closed with a soft click, and Holly looked at Jace.

“What’s going on?” He flushed and she wanted to hit him. “Jace? I mean it. What the hell is going on, and why the hell can your aunt talk to me through the same avenue that you can?”

“I changed you.” He pulled back the sheet and lifted the shirt she had on to her knee. “It was ruined. The surgeon said that you’d have problems with it your entire life. If I’d changed you later, it wouldn’t heal correctly. Because if he replaced the knee cap with an artificial one, you’d still have problems with it as a cat. He suggested that he should leave it alone and I should change you.”

Jace was talking really fast. She knew he was nervous, but all she could think about was she was a cat like him. When he started to explain more, most of it tumbling from his mouth like a scrambled mess, she put her hand over his mouth and touched her other fingers to her knee.

“There’s no scar.” He nodded. “She did split the skin open. I could see bone when I… she hit me three times, and I knew then that it wasn’t going to be right afterwards.”

Jace pulled her hand down and kissed it before speaking. “I had thought to wait. Come home, let you rest a little bit before I did it. Talked it over with you for sure. But the doctor told me you’d feel very little thanks to the drugs in your system from the bullet.” Holly looked at the place where she’d been shot and saw that there wasn’t a scar there either. “You won’t scar again because of what you are now. When I changed you, your body automatically healed itself. And when you shift, you’ll heal from most anything. Not a shot to the head or heart, but you’ll heal from now on like I do.”

Holly bent her knee and then got out of the bed. Jace watched her, and she knew that if she stumbled, he’d be to her before she fell. Instead of thinking about what had happened with the Hardgrave bitch, she talked about the things in the room.

“I like the bed.” He nodded. “I’m guessing that you picked this one out so that you could tie me to it.”

“It did cross my mind.” Jace stood up and started to unbutton his shirt. “I’ve thought of a lot of things I could do to you while you were tied to this bed. Like for instance, I’d eat you. I’m sure that now that you’re a cat too, you’ll taste different. I’d very much like to find out.”

His shirt fell from his fingers, and he picked up his hat that was lying at the end of the bed and put it on his head. She felt herself get wetter just seeing him like that. Then he cocked it over his eyes just enough that she could see his mouth but not his eyes. She just loved her half-naked cowboy.

“Are you going to leave that on while you eat me?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“I’d like to taste you too. I don’t have a hat, but I would really like to suck your cock for you.”

“I think we can arrange for that to happen.” He opened the top drawer of the dresser and pulled out several strips of soft-looking leather. “Come here, Slave. I need to teach you a few lessons.” She went to him willingly, her heart pounding in her chest as he pulled her toward the bed. “I’m going to have to show you what happens to you when you run off with strange men.”

She wanted to tell him that she’d had nothing to do with it, but he pulled her arm to the top of the post and tied her to it. When he tied her ankle to the foot of the bed post, she moaned. He smacked her ass with his free hand and told her to behave.

When he had both her arms tied above her head and her ankles tied to the legs, she watched him carefully. He moved around the room, opening drawers and closing them slowly until she thought she’d go mad with need. When he came toward her again, she noticed that he had a small cropping whip in his hand, and she felt her pussy heat up more. When Jace put his hand in the front of the shirt she had on and tore it open to expose her body, Holly bit her lip so she wouldn’t moan again.

As she stood there in just her panties and the torn shirt, he moved the whip over her breasts, then her belly. She felt something move over her body then and looked at Jace, startled, when it happened again.

“Your cat. She wants to play as well.” Holly nodded, not sure she wanted her to come out just yet. “She’ll stay there because she knows that my cat will satisfy her when we’re done.”

“Will he?” Jace leaned over and suckled her nipple, biting on it just hard enough that she wanted more. So much more. Curling her fingers around the leather, she tried to get her breathing under control. “Master, I feel so…I don’t know, something isn’t the same. Is it the cat?”

“You’re in heat.” His voice sounded rough, like his need was right there on the edge with hers. Then he continued. “I could fill you with our child right now. Come deep inside of you and make you with child.”

Jace knelt in front of her, pulling her ass to his mouth. As he played with her belly button, swirling his tongue around the small indentation, she thought about what he had said. Or tried to.

“A baby?” He moaned against her flesh and then nipped at her hip. “Jace, I can’t think when you do that. Are you saying we can make a baby, like today?”