Lessons in Purrsuasion: BBW Paranormal Werelion Surprise Pregnancy Mob Romance (Chicago Catastrophe) (16 page)

S
tone padded
into the kitchen area, lost in thought. Everything had to go just right, no missteps. Everyone’s safety depended on it. Kate was already at the table, a cup of coffee in her hands.

It was hard to focus on the problems at hand when he had the most beautiful woman curled up under the covers in the other room, though.

“You know, I really do miss the villa,” Kate said in way of a greeting, looking at her cup of instant coffee like it was a personal insult that she had to drink it instead of the fancy espressos she was used to. “At least there my bedroom was far enough from the guest one so I didn’t have to hear you two go at it all night long,” she commented, yawning at Stone to really drive the point home.

He didn’t even try to hide the grin that spread over his cheeks. Hell if he was going to feel sheepish about showing his mate a good time.

He heard a rustle from behind him and turned to see Selina standing awkwardly in the doorway, clutching the frame with one hand.

“Oops,” she muttered, cheeks turning red.

“We may all be dead soon enough, nothing wrong with having a little fun,” Stone remarked, unapologetic.

Selina was his and he wasn’t going to let embarrassment stop him from showing her affection. Kate would just have to deal.

“Any luck with the phone?” Selina asked, obviously trying to redirect the conversation, her cheeks still that sweet color of scarlet.

Kate stood to grab another icepack from the freezer, something that seemed to have become second nature to the resilient little woman.

Glad she’s on my side,
Stone mused for what had to be the umpteenth time.

“As a matter of fact, yes. I used all the favors I had left to cross off the numbers belonging to Crimson Claws’ flunkies. That left me with only one contact. I drove to the other side of town while you were still asleep and used a payphone to call the number.”

“I said I had something the boss would be very interested in. The man on the line said if I called back later tonight, they were willing to set something up.”

“Did you tell him who you were?” Selina queried.

“Of course not. We can’t let word get to Parker that we’re up to something,” Kate scoffed.

“Could anyone have spotted you at the payphone? The bounty on my head had to have expanded to you by now,” Stone asked, calculating the risks.

There were too many things that could go wrong. He felt like he’d been playing catch-up the entire time and he didn’t like it one bit.

I don’t remember work being this messy before… But then again, I don’t usually have to care about anyone’s well-being when I’m on the job.

His gaze went to Selina and then Kate. Both women he was responsible for, who he had to keep safe. The parameters for this mission were completely different from what he was accustomed to.

“I can’t be sure, but I was careful,” Kate answered.

Stone knew it was the best any one of them could do at the moment. With who knows how many greedy scumbags out there looking for them, showing their faces was inherently dangerous. It was a risk they had to take.

Stone was glad they actually had a real shot of meeting the Crimson Claws’ boss, but he wasn’t keen on Selina’s insistence on being involved. If he had his way, she would be somewhere far away from the action and ready to board a plane to Acapulco if something went wrong.

She’d look great in a bikini.

Concentrate.

He knew that wasn’t the kind of woman Selina was to stay away from something where she could be of help. He had to admire that about her, even if it annoyed the hell out of him at times.

Richard suddenly piped up from his chair, speaking louder than necessary due to the music blaring in his ears.

“I know you guys are up to something and I’d like to help,” he yelled at the wall.

It would have been a downright comical sight if it weren’t also so sad. If Richard was to be believed, he only wanted to keep Kate safe. Now he was strapped to a chair, unable to help anyone. If the man loved Kate even half as much as Stone loved Selina, the helplessness he must have been feeling had to be overwhelming.

The gravity of what his thoughts betrayed hit Stone like a ton of bricks as Selina sauntered across the floor and curled up on his lap, her arms around his neck.

I love her.

Selina considered him with a slight smile. Her dark eyes were kind and innocent, no hint of bitterness or anger despite all she had been through in such a short time.

What’s not to love?

“What are you grinning at?” Selina asked, tousling his hair and pulling him out of his thoughts.

He hadn’t even realized he had a goofy smile plastered on his face.

“Nothing. Just in a good mood, I guess,” he replied.

Stone had already scared her once when he blurted out that she was his mate, his fated. He would wait for a more suitable time to express his feelings for her. More drama was the last thing they needed today. The Crimson Claws provided plenty of it without their help.

“Weirdo,” Selina mumbled, giving him a suspicious look.

“Hello?” Richard continued loudly.

Kate rolled her eyes at the man.

“Do you want to hear what the traitor has to say?” she asked.

“It wouldn’t hurt to hear him out,” Stone suggested with newfound pity, feeling a sense of odd camaraderie with the man.

“His kidnapping
was
one of the nicest I’ve been involved with,” Selina shrugged. “No threats of violence or anything. And I’ve had plenty of material to compare it with recently.”

Selina sat in her own seat as Stone stood and gently deposited her from his lap. He pulled Richard’s chair away from the wall and up to the table. The earbuds and blindfold were removed before Stone sat back down, considering the man quietly.

Richard blinked, his eyes not yet used to the lights.

“Whatever you’re planning, I want to help. I
need
to help. I know it won’t make up for what I’ve done, but I have to at least try,” he said.

“It’s not like we couldn’t use help…” Selina commented.

“I have absolutely no reason to double-cross you. I just want Kate to be safe and I know better now than to try and reason with a madman,” Richard continued, meeting their gazes one by one.

Stone was inclined to believe him, but ultimately it was Kate’s decision. She was the one whose trust had been betrayed. Whose crew had been killed because of Richard’s lovesick choices.

“I’ll think about it,” Kate responded, getting up from her seat to put Richard’s earbuds back in.

Judging by her tone and the way she shoved the buds in a little too hard, Stone concluded she was most definitely
not
going to think about it.

A screech of tires from outside the apartment caught Stone’s attention. Curious, he rushed to the window, just in time to see a blue Audi pull up to the curb.

It can’t be.

Stone’s suspicions were immediately confirmed when Parker stepped out of the car, three other shifters in tow.

“What is it?” Selina asked, walking beside him and tugging at the curtains.

She gasped when she saw the men outside, looking up at the building and talking amongst themselves. Stone’s lion roared to life, ready to protect his mate. Ready to rip Parker to shreds if he so much as looked at Selina the wrong way.

If Parker thinks he’s here for Selina, he’s dead wrong.

“They’re here. Three guys plus Parker,” Stone announced grimly.

“What? How the hell did they find us?” Kate exclaimed, already pulling guns out of the living room drawers, her icepacks and shitty coffee forgotten.

They both knew the answer. Contacting Parker’s boss had been a necessity, it could not have been avoided. They couldn’t hide forever, which was very evident now.

“Get me out of this chair,” Richard pleaded urgently, struggling against his restraints.

Stone only hesitated for a second before grabbing a kitchen knife and cutting the man loose.

Nothing left to lose.

All Stone could think about was getting Selina out of the building. He was okay with dying today, just as long as she got to safety. He grabbed her in a fierce embrace, breathing in deeply and letting her sweet smell fill him. He was going to carry her scent with her for the rest of his life, no matter how short that turned out to be.

When he pulled away, Selina’s hazel eyes were shiny with tears.

“Don’t hold me like you’re never going to see me again. We are going to kick Parker’s ass, and we are going to do it together,” she declared, expression hardening.

Stone gave her a quick, forceful kiss and a nod before turning to Kate. She was already standing by with a gun ready for him. Richard was carrying a piece as well, stretching his muscles and cracking his joints with a determined expression on his face.

“Okay, we have no time to run. This limited space isn’t ideal, but we’ll have to make do. Spread out, find cover and shoot at anything that comes through the door,” Stone instructed, already knowing that this was going to get ugly.

Kate handed Selina a 9mm, giving her an encouraging nod in the process. Richard was already in position by the door, ducking behind the wall that separated the living room from the kitchen. Kate set up in one of the bedrooms, leaning out from behind the doorway.

I’m going to keep her safe. No matter what.

Stone pulled the couch away from the wall and flipped it on its side and both he and Selina got behind it. Since Stone’s little team wasn’t all clustered together, they had a chance to confuse their enemies, with bullets flying at them from all angles.

Stone positioned his body in front of Selina’s as footsteps came running down the hallway. The door burst open, but no one came through. A canister flew into the apartment instead, hissing before exploding in a plume of smoke.

Parker is using my own tricks against me,
Stone thought as a noxious fog enveloped everything around him.

S
elina was having
the worst sense of déjà vu as her lungs burned and she struggled to breathe. She could hear Kate and Richard coughing, but couldn’t make them out in the thick grey smog.

Without even any thought, her right hand flew to her stomach, hovering there protectively as the smoke forced itself down her lungs. The significance of the gesture didn’t escape her notice, but she didn’t exactly have time to ponder it right now.

Stone grabbed hold of her left hand, interlocking their fingers.

“I won’t lose you,” he whispered in between suppressed coughs as footsteps entered the room.

“We’re low,” Stone shouted to Kate and Richard, and gunfire erupted.

Selina’s eyes watered and she clung desperately to Stone’s touch. She knew they were at a serious disadvantage, but she also still believed that together, they were a formidable team. She would do anything for him and he would do anything for her. It had gotten them out of some deep shit before, there was no reason it couldn’t happen again.

Stone dragged her along, crawling on the floor. She heard and felt him fire his gun, but couldn’t tell if he hit anything or not. The whole apartment complex had erupted with motion and noise, people running and screaming in the hallways in an attempt to get out and away from the rattle of gunfire and bullets flying everywhere.

Someone grabbed Selina by the leg, yanking upwards and eliciting a scream from her. She could feel Stone’s body shift towards her, the gun in his hand going off. The shot was too close to her head, making her ears ring and her head hum.

Something snarled very close to Selina. She could hear it even over the chaos and her bleeding eardrums. A sickening chomp echoed somewhere close to her and Stone grunted in pain, his fingers around hers loosening. Something wet slid over her fingers as Stone was suddenly pulled away.

“Selina!” he growled, but she couldn’t make out which direction he went in.

She gripped the gun in her right hand tightly and started crawling in a random direction. She didn’t dare call out, not wanting to give her location away to Parker.

Stone! Where the fuck are you!

Someone grabbed her from behind, pulling her to her feet and flattening her arms by her sides. She tried to struggle, but whoever had gotten hold of her was far too strong to easily shake off.

She was dragged out of the apartment and down the hallway. The acrid smoke seemed to burn right through her. The further away they got, the clearer the air became and she took deep, gasping breaths. She wiggled around, looking up at her captor, but all she could see was a black gas mask through her watering, stinging eyes.

Seeing as she was already being taken, she screamed.

“Stone!” she yelled, hoping he was okay.

The unknown man forced her down flights of stairs, her feet tripping and ankles twisting with each step. They burst out of the back door into a nearby alley, Selina struggling the whole way. The guy wrung the gun out of her hand and pointed it at her, using his other hand to pull off the mask.

It was just as Selina hadn’t allowed herself to believe. Parker’s hooked nose, scarred cheek and white hair emerged from under the rubber and metal, his lips twisted in an arrogant smile.

“I’ve been looking for you,” he growled.

Selina felt nauseated, and it had nothing to do with breathing in the gas.

She flattened herself against the wall, desperate to put distance between herself and the man. There was nowhere to run, Parker was standing in front of the only way out of the alley, like a nightmare that had come back to haunt her. Even more frightening than the idea of having to go with him was the thought of Stone still trapped upstairs and not knowing if he was alive or not.

“You can’t have me,” Selina countered, forcing her voice not to shake.

Parker’s eyes took on a yellow glint as he reached for her, probably planning on dragging her to his car, still parked out front. There was no way she was going to let that happen. As soon as Parker got close enough, she kneed him in the groin, as hard as she could. He must have not expected any resistance from her because she hit dead-on and he doubled over, groaning.

Selina pushed herself off the wall, shoving him away in the process and started running towards the street. She forced her muscles into overdrive, ignoring the voice inside her head urging her to look back, to see if he was following her. Parker was faster than her, she couldn’t waste a single second.

A hand grabbed on to her hair when she thought she might just make it, pulling her backwards mid-sprint. Her scalp burned as her hands flew to her head, trying to protect it and also pry off the fingers tangled in her locks as she was jerked backwards. Parker laughed harshly as she stumbled and fell.

“You’re not getting away this time, little one.”

Disentangling his hand from her hair, Parker dragged her back up, twisting her arms painfully behind her back and pushing her forward. Tears sprung to her eyes as she tried to struggle. Each movement just made him tighten his hold and cause her more pain.

“Let go of me!” she snarled.

Images of Stone filled Selina’s head. The way he smiled, the way he growled when he found something she did cute or sexy. She wanted more time with him, but regardless of that, she was grateful for the moments they did get to share. She would cherish them.

Even Parker couldn’t take that away from her.

A roar ripped through the alley, and Selina couldn’t help but find it familiar. Air whooshed over her back and suddenly, Parker’s hands were no longer on her. She whirled around to see Stone, fully shifted, on top of Parker, his teeth gnashing at the man’s throat.

Stone’s dark mane was already bloody and deep gashes red with blood ran down his back, but at least he was alive.

Oh, thank God!

Parker used his legs to shove Stone off of him, before letting his own change take over. Stone shook himself, preparing for the fight, and blood misted off of him. Yellow eyes faced golden ones as a tiger and lion stood off in the narrow alley, teeth bared and growling. The animals started circling each other, bristling and ready to attack at a moment’s notice.

Parker leapt at Stone, his paws raking across the lion’s shoulders. Stone used his hind legs to push himself forward, slamming Parker against the wall in return. Their mouths snapped open and closed, teeth reaching for the flesh of their opponent.

Stone sank his teeth into Parker’s back, and the man went crazy, trying to shake Stone off. They thrashed around, fur flying and blood falling to the ground. Selina sunk back, trying to get out of the way as best as she could. She didn’t want Parker to use her against Stone.

Finally, Parker managed to get free and backed away from Stone, body low and mouth in a snarl. Selina bit down on her lip, her hands balled into fists, hoping that the next attack would be final, praying that Parker would be the one to collapse.

It has to go well, it has to!

Stone charged, finding a new spot for his teeth to rip into. Parker grabbed hold of Stone with his front paws, claws out, and they went tumbling down, rolling around on the asphalt.

The brawl got bloodier and bloodier while Selina could only watch, helpless and nervous, as the lion and the tiger ripped each other to shreds. In a panic and not sure of what to do, she looked around the alley for a potential weapon.

She could see her gun, laying on the ground behind the battling animals, but there was no way she was going to get to it without being mauled.

She grabbed a loose piece of brick from the ground and held it in her hand, waiting for the perfect opportunity. Stone and Parker broke apart, bodies moving up and down as they gasped for breath.

Just as Parker was about to go for Stone’s jugular once again, she took aim and threw the brick at Parker, using all the strength left in her body. It hit the tiger in the back of the head, momentarily distracting him, making him snarl and glance back.

The way the blood dribbled off his fangs and his eyes burned bright would stay with Selina forever.

With a flurry of swiping paws, Stone managed to get the upper hand then, using the moment that Selina provided him. He crashed into Parked and pinned the tiger down. Selina watched as Stone held him there, growling, even as Parker thrashed and scratched at him. With one determined movement, Stone’s jaws lunged at Parker’s throat.

He chomped down and even Selina could hear the sickening crunch that followed. Parker’s limbs twitched as he gradually grew still. Blood poured out onto the asphalt and Selina kept her eyes on the tiger, not quite believing he was actually dead and wasn’t going to jump back up at any minute.

Stone shifted back from a lion to a man, looking a little worse for wear but still upright, at least, though barely. Selina rushed to his side, supporting him with a shoulder. The backdoor slammed open and hit the wall, making Selina jump. Both she and Stone turned around, ready for anything, but not exactly in any state to meet another challenge.

Kate tumbled out into the alley, gun draw, hair bloody, feet bare and cut up, but still wearing her diamond earrings. She lowered her weapon once he saw Parker lying lifeless on the ground.

“Thought you might need some help,” she said, blowing a stray strand of hair out of her face.

It fell on her forehead again, sticking to the sweat. She’d never looked quite so unladylike in Selina’s opinion. It suited her.

“No, we got it,” Stone remarked dryly. “You okay?”

“If you could call it that,” Kate replied.

“What about Richard?” Selina asked, suddenly worried.

Yeah, it was weird being worried about a man who once kidnapped you, but he wasn’t a bad man, really, just misguided. And he was trying to atone for his sins, however many there were.

Kate’s lips thinned and she gave them a little shake of her head.

Oh.

“Well, seeing as I’m not needed here…” Kate commented, going back into the building.

She was limping but the look she wore on her determined face told Selina that no shifter was ready to meet the wrath of Kate in the mood she was currently in. Selina had no doubt that the small, deadly woman would be perfectly fine, which was not something she could say for anyone who happened to cross her.

“We did it. He’s actually dead,” Selina muttered, still wrapping her head around the whole thing and staring at Parker’s lifeless body.

He had turned back to his human form moments after death, the animal releasing its vessel, and the sight of his torn and shredded body was a gruesome one.

“You don’t have to run anymore,” Stone said solemnly, turning to face her.

She looked into his green eyes and heat swirled in her.

It seemed life or death situations really helped clarify things. Selina realized that more than anything in the world, she wanted Stone to be hers. And she wanted to be his in return.

“And I won’t run from you anymore, either. That’s a promise. I want to share my life with you, given that being a baker’s boyfriend isn’t too boring for a Navy SEAL turned hitman,” she grinned, even though she was feeling a bit teary-eyed.

I really need to stop that. I never used to cry!

“Time spent with you could never be boring,” Stone whispered, before pulling her into a tender kiss.

Pulling away, Selina nervously nibbled on her lower lip, wondering if now was the time to let Stone in on what all her womanly instincts were telling her was true. There was a new life inside of her, there was no denying it anymore. Their relationship had moved at such a rapid pace, but it still seemed early to be starting a family together.

Or was it? Who made up the rules when it came to stuff like this anyway? They already admitted to wanting to spend their lives together without so much as going on a single date. Besides, she could barely hold in the elation and slight trepidation blooming in her chest. She was going to be a mom!

“Actually, I think it’s going to be even more exciting than either of us had thought,” she admitted, glancing meaningfully at her stomach.

Stone’s gaze followed hers and his eyes grew wide. Selina held her breath, waiting for him to absorb the news. Everything inside her relaxed as a huge grin spread out across his face and a large hand found its way to her belly.

“I knew you’d find a way to keep me on my toes,” he said, swallowing up her giggle with another kiss.