Mine for Eternity [Council Enforcers] (Siren Publishing Classic) (2 page)

There were no cars in the drive, so she assumed no one was home. To her shock, the front door had been unlocked. At first she thought it was because the house was in the middle of nowhere, but now, Tessa knew exactly why. Instead of a guard dog, whoever lived in the house had a pet lion, a lion of all things. After everything her and Nico had been through, they were about to be eaten by a freaking jungle cat. She screamed when a hand landed on her shoulder.

“It’s okay. I won’t hurt you.” A deep raspy voice came from behind.

Tessa turned and fell against the door, gripping her son tight in her arms. She thought her heart was about to beat out of her chest as she got a look at the man who had grabbed her. He was tall, about six foot five with long, golden hair. In fact, everything about the man was golden, from his hair to his strange gold eyes. Even his skin was a deep, gold color like the man spent most of his time out in the sun. The shorts the man was wearing hung low on his hips, and Tessa couldn’t help but stare at his chest and stomach. He was huge with bulging muscles on top of muscles. She gulped and pulled Nico closer to her.
What have I gotten us into?

“Hey,” the man said, holding his hands out as if he could sense her thoughts. “You’re safe here. I promise I won’t hurt you.”

Tessa peeped around the man and sighed in relief when she didn’t see the lion standing there waiting to eat them. “It’s not you I’m worried about. I’m sorry we came in here without permission. We’ll leave and not bother you again.” She gripped the doorknob to leave when the man cleared his throat.

“You aren’t going out there like that.”

The command made Tessa stiffen. “Look, mister. It’s not like we stole anything. The door was unlocked, so we technically didn’t break in. All we wanted was a shower and food, but I would have left you money for whatever we took. No harm no foul. Now, we’ll be on our way.”

“I meant you can’t leave because you don’t have any clothes on.”

The smirk on the man’s face, as he looked her up and down, made Tessa want to smack him, but she was too embarrassed to move. She hadn’t even realized she was naked until he pointed it out. She hadn’t thought of anything but grabbing Nico and getting the hell out of there. Their bags with the money and everything they owned in the world were still lying on the floor in the bedroom upstairs. There was no way she was going back up there to get them with the lion just waiting to have her as a snack, so Tessa was screwed.

“Look, you said you guys were hungry, so why don’t you get dressed while I fix you something to eat.”

Nico’s stomach chose that moment to growl. Looking at her son’s slim, hollowed cheeks and dark circles under his eyes, there was no way she could turn down the offer of food for him. He needed to eat. “Okay, we won’t say no to a meal, but we’ll leave right after that.”

The man frowned but didn’t say anything. He just nodded and turned toward what Tessa assumed was the kitchen. There was no way he was leaving them alone in that house, so she quickly followed.

“Not that I mind or anything, but do you plan on eating naked?” The man grinned.

“I left my bag upstairs.” Tessa assumed that would have explained things, but the man just stared at her. “I’m not going back up there. That beast you have almost ate me. Who has a pet lion anyway?”

She didn’t get what was so funny, but evidently something she said was because the man about fell over himself laughing. He even had Nico giggling, although Tessa was pretty sure her son had no idea what he was laughing at. Not amused, she put her hand on her hip and stared at the stranger who had allowed them into his home. “Are you finished?” she asked when it looked like he was finally settling down.

“Yeah.” The man chuckled. “I’ll go get your bags for you. Just wait right here.”

He had nothing to worry about. Tessa had no plans of leaving the kitchen while the man was gone. She settled in a chair with Nico in her lap and sighed. She was exhausted. She had been on the run for over two weeks now, trying to distance herself from Chicago as much as possible, and she still had no clue what she was going to do. All she knew was that they couldn’t continue like they were. Every day, she watched Nico getting thinner and the circles under his eyes getting darker. That was no way for a two-year-old to look. He should still have baby fat on his rounded cheeks. She had to find some place safe where they could rest. The problem was that he found them no matter where they went. She had no idea how he was able to find them so easily either. Tessa had even stopped using her ATM and credit cards, thinking he was somehow able to track her and Nico with them. It was the reason they were half starved at the moment and desperate enough to break into someone’s home. With her cash running so low, she couldn’t afford even the cheapest dump for her and her son to stay in for the night. Tessa would have been tempted to use her credit cards again if she hadn’t left them behind in her panic to run the last time he had almost caught them. She was starting to believe the man chasing her was psychic or something.

“Here you go.” The man came back in the kitchen and handed Tessa her bag. “There is a bathroom right down the hallway that you can get changed in.”

The man pointed toward what she assumed was the bathroom door, but Tessa didn’t move. “I’m fine thank you. If you could just turn around, I can get dressed right here.” He really didn’t expect her to leave the kitchen alone, did he?

The man laughed but didn’t say anything as he turned and began pulling things out of the refrigerator. Tessa sat Nico in the chair she had been in and pulled some clothes out of her bag. “I’m Tessa by the way,” she said as she dressed. “The little guy here is Nico.”

“Mitch,” the guy introduced without turning around.

Tessa had to wonder why the guy hadn’t called the police yet. They had broken into his home, and all he had done was offer them a meal and a promise that he wouldn’t hurt them. Mitch didn’t seem like the crazy type that suckered an unsuspecting woman in with false promises before he dragged her down to the basement for his version of “fun.” She couldn’t be too sure though. After all, he did have a man-eating beast as a pet.

Once Tessa was dressed she pulled out a chair next to Nico and sat. She could tell that the poor boy was fading fast. He had his head down on the table as he swung his little legs back and forth. She knew if he was still for even a minute, he would fall fast asleep. Tessa felt tears prickle her eyes. Being on the run was no way for her two-year-old child to live. He was still a baby in her eyes. He should have been at home surrounded by all his toys with regular meals. The sad thing was Tessa had no idea why she was running. One minute she was living a normal life as a single parent and the next she and her son were running scared.

She thought about the night it all started. She had just gotten off work and locked up for the night. Normally she got off before dark, but that night Tammy, her replacement, had called in sick. Tessa covered for her because she could always use the extra money. The night was warm, so Tessa thought nothing of walking the four blocks to her apartment. The screams were what drew her attention as she walked past a small stand of trees surrounding the park she frequented with her son. The image of a man bent over a woman with blood dripping from his mouth and fingers was the first thing she saw. It was her turn to scream when she looked down to see a woman lying in the grass with her chest and stomach ripped open. Tessa didn’t think after that. She just turned and ran as fast as she could until she was safely inside her apartment.

“Here, go ahead and eat this because you look like you’re about to pass out.” Mitch slid a plate in front of her.

Tessa had been so lost in memory that she hadn’t even seen Mitch come over. She looked over and was surprised to see Nico happily munching on a piece of bacon. She had to give it to the kid. No matter what she had put him through these past two weeks by dragging him around, he was still the same happy kid that he had always been. She wished she could go back and be just as oblivious to the dangers in the world as he was. Unfortunately for her, she would never forget the image of the dead woman seared into her brain. She would also never forget what else she saw that night. Something she had never even told the police. They already thought she was crazy. If she had told them what else she saw, they would have surely thrown her in the nuthouse and taken her son away from her. No, she would never tell another living soul. She was going to try her best to forget about it herself. At least she would pretend she would.

“This is good. Thank you.” The simple meal of bacon, eggs, and toast had to be the best thing Tessa had eaten in what seemed like forever. Nico seemed to be enjoying his meal as well, judging by the fact that he had already finished his bacon and eggs and was almost done with his toast. Without thinking, she grabbed her last two pieces of bacon and a slice of toast and put them on his plate.

“No,” Mitch grunted. He stood with an angry look on his face and headed over to the stove.

She had no idea what his problem was, so Tessa ignored him and watched Nico as he ate. She wanted to make sure he got enough to eat because she had no idea when they would get a meal this good again. They were down to their last little bit of money, and it wasn’t like she had a way of making any more. Tessa’s head hurt just thinking about it.

“Eat,” Mitch said, setting another full plate of food in front of her. “There’s plenty more where that came from.”

“Why are you angry?” Tessa wasn’t sure what she had done in the past few minutes that seemed to piss the man off, but she could tell he was very unhappy at the moment. It was on the tip of her tongue to tell him “thank you for the meal” and to gather their belongings and leave, but Mitch spoke before she could say anything.

“You do that a lot, don’t you? How long has it been since you’ve eaten a full meal without giving half of it to you son?”

Sharing with Nico was something that came naturally to Tessa. It didn’t even register that she was doing it anymore. All she cared was the he got enough to eat, and if that meant she had to go without to make that happen, then that was her problem. She could feel her anger spike. How dare Mitch think he deserved the right to say anything about how she took care of her son? He was a stranger to them and nothing more. “Look, we appreciate everything you’ve done for us, but we’ll be on our way now.”

“Wait. Just wait.” Mitch stood with his hands out. “I didn’t mean any harm. I wasn’t judging you. I just meant it wasn’t hard to see that you guys haven’t been eating properly. I can tell that you’re obviously running from something by the way you keep trying to dash toward the exit every ten minutes, but I meant what I said. No harm will come to you here. You and your son can stay as long as you need. I give you my word that the both of you are safe.”

Could she trust the word of a stranger? Mitch had been nothing but kind to them since they had broken in, but it was only a matter of time before whatever was chasing them caught up to her and Nico again. She didn’t want to put Mitch in danger, but then again, he did have a real-life lion protecting his home. Maybe she and Nico could stay just for the night. A good night’s sleep would do them some good, and they could get a fresh start in the morning. Tessa’s decision was cemented when she looked over at Nico. The poor boy had fallen asleep sitting up. He was in danger of getting a face full of eggs if his head drooped any further.

“Okay, if it’s all right with you, then we will stay for the night.”

“Just finish your food, we’ll talk about everything else later,” Mitch ordered.

Tessa stared at Mitch as she shoveled the last of her eggs into her mouth. She hoped she wasn’t putting her trust in the wrong person. There was just something about him, though, that made her feel safe and protected. She didn’t think those were feelings she would ever feel again, but Mitch made her feel them just by being at her side for a little while.

“Thank you, Mitch, for everything. I will pay you back. I promise.” Tessa stood to clear the table. It was the least she could do since he had cooked for them, but Mitch stopped her by wrapping his large hand around her wrist. Sparks surged up her arm from his touch. She wanted to moan at the heat coming from his firm grip, but she pulled her arm away instead. She looked up at Mitch to see if he felt anything, but he was already heading around the table toward Nico.

“No need to thank me. I’ll clean this up later. Come on and I will show you where you two can get some sleep.”

Mitch lifted Nico out of the chair and started out of the kitchen. Tessa had to bite her lip to hold her protest back. She didn’t want to sound like a bitch after everything he had done for them, but she wasn’t used to anyone taking care of her son but her. It had been just the two of them since she had found out she was pregnant with him, and it was hard to stand by and watch someone else do her job. Tessa somehow managed to keep her mouth shut and followed closely behind Mitch. Her eyes darted left and right as he led them back up the stairs and into a different bedroom from the one they had been in earlier. She was definitely glad of that.

“This is the guest bedroom,” Mitch said as if reading her mind. “No one uses it, but you should still be able to find everything you need in here. The bathroom is through there.” He pointed after he had laid Nico on the bed and stepped back.

“I can’t thank you enough for all of this. We’ll be out of your way in the morning.”

“Can you do me one favor?” Mitch asked. “Just promise me you won’t run out in the morning without letting me know you’re leaving.”