Unstoppable Force (Force of Nature Series) (4 page)

Connor left the clinic and walked to the
edge of the forest. She was his mate, there was no doubt about it. However, she
was not just human, but one with a bit more. He had been informed by Austin
that she was a bit different after he told him what he thought she might be to
him.

“You should know that she’s not just a
human, but an empath, a person who can read things or something like that. From
all accounts she’s been one since birth. And someone is chasing her.” Connor
looked at the woman on the bed who’d just been brought into her room.

“Do we know who or why?” Connor figured
someone would want her for her looks alone, but knew that it was because of her
abilities. “Do you have a rundown on some of the run-in’s that she’s had?”

“I have a list that George gave me. It
has all her foster homes, as well as addresses. And no, we don’t have a clue
who, but the why? I’m pretty sure you can figure it out.” Austin looked at her.

Jealously flared, but he didn’t say anything.

“She’s your mate.”

Connor nodded. “I figured that out when
she was begging me to kill her. She offered me her throat without hesitation. Do
you have any idea what that did to me? She wanted…no, she begged me to kill
her.”

And now he had pissed her off and been
thrown out of her room. Connor looked back to the room he knew that she was in.
And what the hell was he supposed to do now? She wasn’t going to come to him
easily and, right now, Connor wasn’t sure if he wanted easy or not.

~~~

Lou leaned back against the mattress and
closed her eyes. She was still here. Still alive and kicking. Looking back at
the sheet that the man had pulled over her, she pulled it back and looked at
her leg.

The bandage was about eighteen inches
wide and wrapped all the way around her thigh. There were two tubes running out
from the bottom and were snaked along the bed to something beneath it. She
touched the soft cloth and saw that at some point, her leg had bled. She
wondered if it was okay or should she let someone know? Lying back, she decided
to wait for someone to come back before she bothered them.

Connor Force. She wondered why he’d
kissed her. Rubbing her fingers over her lips, she thought again of the way her
body felt when he’d done it. When her door opened, she groaned when she saw who
it was.

“Hello. I heard you were awake. I wanted
to see if I could do anything for you.” Mrs. Force sat in the chair. “You gave
us quite a scare when we couldn’t find you.”

“Go away.” The woman only smiled. These
people were going to drive her crazy.

“When you’re finished here, you’ll have
to have some extra care so you won’t be able to stay at the bunkhouse. There is
plenty of room at the house for you. Connor is staying there with us too
because his house was burnt to the ground last summer.”

She ignored her in favor of the silent
television.

“Do you have a preference for whether or
not you are near him or on the opposite side if the house?”

The door opened again and this time it
was a pretty little nurse. She said she was here to take her blood pressure and
temperature. Lou told her that she’d been bleeding.

“Oh. We’ll have to check it out to make
sure that nothing has pulled loose.” She turned to Mrs. Force. “I’m sorry,
alpha, you’ll need to step out so that we can take the dressing off.”

Mrs. Force stood and smiled. “We’re far
from finished, Ginger. When I get back, I need to explain a few things to you. You’ll
need to know them in order for things to get moving in the right direction.”

“My name is Lou. And the only direction
I want to go is one that takes me in the opposite direction of you and your
clan.”

Mrs. Force smiled and walked to the
door. “We’re a pack, dear, not a clan. I’ll see you in a few minutes.” She left
the room as two more people walked in. “I’ll be right out here if you need me.”

As the nurse took off the padding Lou
thought about telling them that she didn’t need anyone, but doubted it would do
any good. By the time the doctor came back in the room she was sweating and
trying her best not to hit the nurse.

“I’m sorry you’re hurting. I can give
you something for pain.” She glanced at the doctor when he nodded to the
bleeding wound. “I must have missed something. I’m going to have to go back
in.”

“Fuck, this hurts.” She tried not to say
anything more, but he touched the area just above the wound. “If you do that
again, I’m going to fucking murder you.”

When he laughed she nearly did hit him. But
there was a warm feeling in her body and she looked over at the nurse who was
putting something into her IV. Before she could wrap her mouth around telling
him off, he smiled at her.

“I had to distract you.” The doctor was
blurring out, his voice far away sounding. “You aren’t an easy patient, are
you? Just breathe, Miss Cavanaugh. It’ll be over soon enough.”

The next time she woke she was in a room
much different than the first one. This one was like a hotel; a television set
hung on the wall. A couch was pushed up against another wall and there were
several chairs, all of them recliners. One of which had Connor Force in it, and
a man she’d never seen before sat in the other one.

Connor looked…well, she thought cute,
but didn’t think for some reason he’d appreciate that word. Manly came to mind,
as did huge. He was big. She wondered if his hair was as soft as it looked and
then flushed when she realized where her thoughts were going. She didn’t have
the time or the energy for a man, much less one she was sentenced to work for. Moving
her injured leg, she realized that she had very little pain. Well, nothing like
she’d had before, and she took off the sheet.

She knew what he was. She even knew that
he was the wolf she’d begged to kill her in the forest. She wasn’t as worldly
as some, but with her touch she could figure out things that others might not
know. And Connor Force was a were.

There was a bandage. But all the tubes
were missing. She was grateful for that. When she left, and she
was
leaving, this way would make things easier for her. Wiggling her toes, she
realized too that while she hurt, she didn’t hurt everywhere. Before, even her
hair felt as if it was in pain. She looked up when someone cleared his throat
softly.

“Hello. My name is Phil Campbell. I’m a
friend of Connor’s and the rest of the Force family. Holly is my…wife.”

Lou looked over at Connor then back at
the other man.

“I was wondering how you were feeling. You
gave us all quite a scare.”

“Why?” She cleared her throat when he
cocked a brow at her. “Why does it matter if I’m healed or not? Why does anyone
give a shit?”

“Because of who you are.”

She looked over at Connor, who hadn’t
moved when he spoke.

“When Clint went back in to repair the
damage again, he realized that your blood was severely infected. We had to
resort to…other means to get you to the point where you are now.”

She had already figured that one out and
glanced at the man called Phil. “Again, why does anyone give a shit? And if you
think to sell me off to some lab because you think you know what I can do then
you might want to make sure your insurance is up to date. I won’t go easy this
time.” She snapped her mouth closed when he looked at her oddly. Sitting up in
the bed, she started to put her legs over the side of it when Connor was
suddenly there. She didn’t see him move.

“Where the hell do you think you’re
going? Get back in that bed this minute. You might be better, but you’re still
weak.”

She shoved him out of the way and put
weight on her feet. “Christ,” she murmured. Okay, maybe he was right. She was
still sore. Too weak to let go of the bed rail at least and she was hurting like
a son-of-a-bitch. But his smirk made her try harder to get going.

“You have to be the most stubborn…what
the hell are you trying to prove anyway?”

“She’s trying to get away from you there,
big boy. I would tend to agree with her if I didn’t know for a fact that it
would do her little to no good. For either of you.” They both looked at Phil. “You
might as well give it up, girl. The Fates have decided and you and he are in
for the long haul.”

Ignoring both men, she moved to the
bathroom slowly. Connor walked beside her as if it was his job. She didn’t know
what she was supposed to say to the man, but she didn’t want to deal with him
right now. After closing the door in Connor’s face she picked up the new
toothbrush and paste and brushed her teeth twice. After using the toilet, she
made her way back to the room to find her clothes.

“He’s right, you know.”

She glanced at Connor and noticed that
the other man was gone.

“You and I have a great deal to talk
about and to work out. As for you leaving, I’ve cleared it with Clint. He said
I could watch you just as well from home. So if you really want, I can take you
there.”

“If by home you mean that bunk house
sort of place then I’m ready to go. Anything else and it’s no. I have a service
to perform and I plan to get it over with as soon as possible. So if you don’t
mind, get the hell out. I need to get dressed and back to work.”

Chapter 4

Connor did step out of the room, but he
waited in the hall for her. He was still trying to wrap his mind around the
fact that she’d known he was a wolf, yet didn’t say anything. His phone ringing
nearly had him yelp.

“Phil just called. He said your mate is
leaving the hospital. Is that true? He also said she gave you a hard time.” Before
he could answer him, Austin continued on. “She’s going to be wonderfully bitchy,
isn’t she? I’m thrilled more than I can tell you. I hope like hell she fights
you to the end until you claim her.”

Claim her. “I don’t know about that. I
think I’m going to give that some time. She doesn’t like me very much…well, I
don’t think she likes anyone.”

Austin laughed and Connor flushed. “I
would say that that’s a fair assessment. But you can handle her. She just needs
to have someone love her and she’ll come around.”

Connor looked up when she came out of
her room in a wheel chair. Love her? No, he didn’t. He was sure that he would
eventually, but not at the moment. He told his brother he had to go and closed
his phone and moved toward her. “Come on. I’ll take you back to the compound. There
are things we have to talk about.” He nearly reached for the chair, but stopped
when she stiffened. The nurse continued down the hall with them. “No one is
going to hurt you, especially me.”

“And what is it you want then if you
don’t want to hurt me? Sex? No thanks. I don’t do sex. Ever. Money?” She
snorted. “I have none of that either or I wouldn’t be here. If you want
something you think I’ll give you because of what I am then you’re shit out of
luck there too. I don’t perform, nor do I help assholes.”

Connor was tempted. More than tempted to
show her that she could and would have sex with him. And she’d enjoy it. He
rubbed his hand though his hair and looked around to see who was close enough
to let him take out his frustrations on. Seeing no one he could beat the living
shit out of, he looked back at her. Leaning to her ear, he nearly backed off
when she whimpered.

“If I wanted you to, I could have you
begging me for a good fuck in no time. As for money? I have more than you could
spend in two lifetimes. As for what you can do? As you’ve put it so eloquently,
I could give a shit what you can do.” He straightened up and felt like shit
when he saw the fear there. “I’m taking you to the compound. After that, we’ll
talk. About a great many things.”

She moved down the hall with him when he
took her chair. He wasn’t sure what he’d have done if she’d asked him about
what they had to talk about. He wished she’d been pissed, fought back. Something.
But her fear wasn’t want he wanted. And he felt like pond scum for making her
feel that way.

The ride back was made in complete
silence on her part. He’d asked her about her prescription and she’d not
answered. He asked her if she was hungry and again, nothing. Finally, he just
gave up, pulled in front of the drug store, and called Clint on his way in. He
was careful, however, to take the keys with him.

“Did you give her anything for pain?”

Clint laughed.

“Thanks for letting me take her home
with me. I was afraid she’d bolt at the first opportunity.” He wasn’t just
afraid, he was willing to bet his life on it.

“No problem. And yes, I did. I was
signing off on it when I heard you were already gone. What did you do, dress
her yourself and have Phil rush her out the door?” Laughter made him smile. Connor
really liked this man. “Which pharmacy do you want it at and I’ll call it in?”

Connor told him where he was and asked
to have it rushed. He looked out the front window to see her laying her head
back in the truck seat. He figured she was in a great deal of pain. But doubted
very much she’d ask for help.