Roaring for Him (BBW Paranormal Shapeshifter Romance) (Wicked in Wilder Book 1) (23 page)

“What’d he want?” His body vibrated with anger, but she held him tightly and let her eyes close. The past was a bitch.

Tilly trudged home from the gas station. She’d begged and pleaded with Tony—the owner—and didn’t get anywhere. She’d been out of commission for a week. He’d been handling her shift, but tonight the new gal started and he didn’t need her. Not when the new bitch was eye candy and willing to suck Tony’s cock.

Piece of shit.

So she’d turned right around, tucked her hands in her pockets, and slowly retraced her steps. Cars rushed past her, wind shoving her onto the shoulder. She’d have to find a new job tomorrow or see if Darla could give her another shift or something. Rent was coming due and she needed to feed the girls.

She ducked into the woods, cutting across the big plot. The path was well worn and her cat let her see the trail with ease.

She didn’t notice his presence until it was too late; the big, black town car sitting along the road in front of their trailer, engine running and exhaust white due to the cold. One of Dex’s goons stood near the front door, one hand gripping the wrist on his other arm. He looked relaxed, but she knew he was anything but. His awareness was in the tension in his jaw, the tight tendons on his wrist and his weight resting slightly forward on the balls of his feet.

He was waiting. For her. If he’d wanted the girls, the door would be wide open and they wouldn’t be waiting around.

She came forward and sensed when she had the goon’s full attention.

Fuck. Time to pay the piper, huh?

When she came even with the guy, she paused and spoke. “He in the car?”

“Mr. Sullivan would like your company Miss McBride.”

Her company. Right.

Tilly nodded and strode toward the waiting car. Another guy came around to open the back door and she slid into the vehicle. No sense in whining or bitching. Not when they were so close to Liv and Phee. Later though, she’d do what needed to be done to keep them safe. She was in Dex’s debt and apparently it was time for him to be paid.

“What did he want?” Mitchell’s voice was harsh, rough.

“What else could a pimp want?”

His hands tightened on her, his nails pricking her skin. “
Tilly
.”

She shook her head. “He didn’t… I didn’t…”

“It wouldn’t matter if you did. Everything you’ve lived through brought you to me. That’s all that matters. You wanna talk shit out, I’ll listen, but none of it means a damn thing.”

More tears clouded her vision. She cried more with Mitchell than she had in her entire life. “Nothing like that happened.” She cleared her throat and forced herself to continue. “Not because he was giving me a break, but because he didn’t have a chance.”

“What happened?”

What happened? Hell. Bloody, dark, disgusting, fucking amazing hell.

And she’d never been happier and more destroyed at once.

“He took me to this warehouse just outside town. The place was run down, rust everywhere, some of the windows broken. It looked abandoned from the outside.” She shook her head. “But inside it was beautiful. The exterior was a shell and inside everything was brand new. The whole place smelled like fresh paint and my lioness kept sneezing. Between that and the dust, my eyes were watering until I was almost blinded. I can’t tell you how many twists and turns we took until we finally reached an office at the back.”

Tilly closed her eyes, remembering. “There were only a handful of men in the building. It was a new place. It wasn’t
staffed
and he only brought a few goons to stand guard. No one knew about the building. How dangerous could it be?”

“You tell me?” he murmured.

“Very.” She opened her eyes and met his worried gaze. “He forgot.”

“What’d he forget?”

“That I have sisters who love me. Who would die for me. Who would… kill for me.”

Mitchell cupped her cheek. “Tell me.”

“Phee found me,” she whispered. “She hunted me across town. She’d watched the men load me into the car and got worried. Even though she wasn’t able to shift, she could track me and she did. I…” She swallowed hard, old emotions clogging her throat. “I’ve never seen so much blood.”

Tilly lost herself in the memories once more, falling down the rabbit hole and embracing the pain.

The hallways were wide enough for the goons to walk down while keeping her between them. By then they had been dragging her. Pure fear drove her at that point, her lioness roaring her objection but it knew there was nothing to be done. They owed a debt and she wanted the girls to be safe—to be left alone.

Didn’t mean she wouldn’t struggle. Didn’t mean she wouldn’t balk when they stopped before a massive set of double doors or when she was shoved into the room. Goons One and Two took up posts on either side of the door, bracketing the portal with their massive bodies.

No escape.

As if he didn’t have a care in the world, Dex strode behind the desk that occupied the rear of the room. He lowered himself into a leather chair and propped his feet on the smooth wood. Yeah, he acted like nothing was amiss, but then again, there wasn’t. He’d gotten what he wanted—her.

Now she knew what he’d been doing with his late night visits. Checking her out. Finding a weakness. Setting her up.

“What do you want?” Time to get to business and she wanted it spelled out for her.

“You know who I am.” He pulled a cigar from his jacket and then snatched a cutter from the desktop. His eyes remained on her as he snipped the tip.

“Yeah.”

“So you know what I want.”

Tilly pressed her lips together and swallowed the growl that threatened to escape. The lioness didn’t like this situation one bit. “Yeah.”

“And you’re going to do what I want without giving me shit.”

She trembled with the effort it took to keep the beast at bay and kept her mouth shut.

He pushed to his feet and leaned over the desk. His eyes burned bright with anger. “Right?”

She still couldn’t answer. Not when she knew her cat was less than a second from breaking free. She wanted to scream
no
. That she’d see him in hell first. That he couldn’t turn her into a whore. That…

His attention flicked to the back of the room, a tiny glance and then pain exploded in her head. The throbbing ache sent her to her knees and the metallic tang of her blood filled the air. She released a low hiss as she dealt with the agony, and fur rippled through her pores.

Dex slowly came to her side, his feet sinking into the plush carpet as he came to stand beside her. “I’ll get what I want, Tilly. You need to accept it now. It’ll be a lot less painful for you.” He squatted. “And your sisters.”

Her sisters? No. “Fuck—”

His attention wavered and this time it was a kick to the stomach, forcing her to fall to the side. “Try again. And be nice about it.”

“You leave them—”

This kick was harder than the last and she was pretty damn sure she heard something crack inside her. Not a snap of bone that came with a shift, but one that sent spearing agony down her spine. She snarled with the strike, unable to keep her mouth shut.

That’d been the beginning of the end.

She shied from the rest of the scene, unwilling to remember. “You think Phee was scary today? It was nothing like that night. Nothing. Her roar, the pure fury, scared the fuck out of me. And the men didn’t have a chance to react. One minute they were kicking me and the next Phoebe was there. Five hundred pounds of rage.” She swallowed hard and she could practically smell all that blood. “It was the first time she’d shifted and her animal just took over. When she was done, seven were dead. Others tried to come to Dex’s rescue, hearing their screams, and she took them out. Every single one. They had guns, but…” She shook her head. “She’d scared them so bad they hadn’t been able to shoot straight.”

Mitchell’s hands were soft as he stroked her, but he remained silent. Thank God because she wasn’t sure she could stomach his sympathy.

“But she didn’t touch me. She kept everyone at bay, tore them to shreds, and left me alone. She was all animal and the beast knew I was family. Otherwise she would have taken me as well.” She fought the panic that always surfaced when she thought of that time. “I was left with a sobbing twelve year old kid and seven bodies. We were both coated in blood and I just…” She shook her head.

“You did what had to be done,” he murmured.

“I was a cold-hearted bitch.” She chuckled. This was the only part of the story she liked. “He was a pimp,
the
pimp. I figured he had to have cash somewhere. So I found a stash, took it, and set the whole place on fire. Dex wanted to make as much money as he could so he cut corners. It didn’t take much for the place to catch fire. Last I heard, the authorities called it an accident and closed the case.” She stroked his arm, running her fingers over his fur-covered skin. “I used the money to move here and open my bakery, hoping I could make a life far away from there.”

“What made you choose Wilder?”

She frowned. “That’s all you have to say? Nothing about Phee, what I did or how dangerous—”

Mitchell shook his head. “That’s all I gotta say. What’s done is done. While I hate that it happened, I’m so fucking proud to have you here at my side. So proud to have Phee and Liv as part of my family. You three are survivors. You did what had to be done and I’m in fucking awe of you three. I’m one lucky son of a bitch to have you here.”

“Mitchell, you gotta understand that Phee is…”

“Your sister.”

“Dangerous. When someone in her family is threatened, when she gets really scared, her bear takes over. Protective doesn’t begin to cover it.”

“Hey,” he brushed his lips across hers and the small touch sent some of her tension fleeing. “You’ve shouldered this for years, Tilly. It’s time to let someone help you, and her.”

Tears sprung to her eyes. “I tried to get the bears to help her, but—”

“You don’t need a bear, you need an alpha plain and simple. I kept that part of me under wraps today. I didn’t want to get in a fight with your sister. I like her, I didn’t wanna put one bruise on her pretty little head even if she’s an annoying shit.”

She grinned and even more strain eased.

“I’ll work with her. We even have a therapist who’s pack that’ll talk to her if that’s what she wants.”

“I can usually handle her.”

“But you can’t follow her to college which means we’ll deal with it once we’re mated.”

“You’re taking on a lot by being with me.” There was no denying the truth.

“Baby, I’d take on the fucking world to be with you. Your bitch of a mother and your sister’s bear are nothing.” She nibbled her lower lip, unsure of where to go next. “Trust me, Tilly. That’s all you gotta do for now. Just trust me.”

“Okay,” she whispered. She would try at least. “It’s hard though.”

Mitchell wiggled his eyebrows. “I’ll tell you what’s hard.”

She snorted and met his smile with one of her own.

“That’s what I was looking for,” he murmured. “You’re beautiful when you smile.” He brushed his finger along her cheekbone. “Thank you for telling me all that. Thank you for letting me in.”

“I want this to work, Mitchell.”

“And it will. We both have to want it enough and we do.”

She nodded and enjoyed the silence. Or at least enjoyed the brief silence since a low bark drew their attention to the backyard.

Mitchell sighed and eased her from his lap. “Damn impatient fucks,” he grumbled as he stood and snared her hand. “C’mon.”

“Where are you going?” She hated the nerves filling her voice. She had an idea, but wasn’t looking forward to what lay outside.

“I’m going out to your back deck to check in with
our
wolves.”

“Oh.” Tilly once again mirrored his actions, snaring her mug and slowly making her way to him. When he raised his eyebrow once again, she shrugged. “If they’re
ours
and they’re here to protect us, I should check in as well.”

Mitchell grabbed her with his free hand, circling her wrist with his fingers, tugging her closer. She moved forward until their bodies were flush, her curves snug against his hardness, and she sank into the touch. “Ours?”

She nodded. “Ours.”

“I don’t want to ever wake up alone again,” he murmured.

She shook her head. “You won’t.”

“I want to believe you.”

Tilly eased her wrist from his grasp and raised her hand, placing her palm gently over his heart. “You can. It’s hard for me to trust, to believe I have someone I can lean on. But you…”

He laid his palm over hers, holding her in place. “I’m not someone. I’m your mate. Every breath I take, every beat of my heart, every drop of sweat, and every tear is for you.”

How could she deny him? How could she doubt him? How could she… Do anything but throw herself into his arms and shed the tension and worry that had ridden her for over ten years?

Tilly took a deep breath and let it out slowly before she replied. “Okay. Let’s… Let’s talk to our wolves and then we can figure out what to do next.”

“About what?”

“About what’s going on at the bakery and… my mother.” She fought the tears that instinctively came when talking about her only parent. “I need help dealing with my mother and the threat she poses.”

Mitchell lowered his head and softly brushed his lips against her temple. “I will never,
never,
allow anything to happen to you or your sisters. They’re mine now too, remember?”

“I remember.” Now it was time to put her money where her mouth was.

“Come on. I hear them rustling in the backyard. If we’re not careful, Roman will dig a hole under your fence and claim it’s for
escape purposes
.” Mitchell leaned close and dropped his voice. “We all know he’s still a pup at heart. Don’t let him fool you.” He stepped back, led her through the back door and raised his voice. “And we all know his mama has him whooped like a little bitch.”

A blur of gray fur streaked past Tilly and jumped on Mitchell, knocking him to the wooden porch with a loud thud. Somehow her mate managed to keep hold of his coffee, though.

Must be Roman.