Beneath a Blood Moon (75 page)

While Richard stared at me, his eyes remained dull and devoid of emotion and life.

“What’s his name?” I asked, my voice trembling as I met Richard’s gaze, searching for the clever, interesting man I liked. It was as if all of his vibrancy had been snuffed out, leaving him nothing more than a puppet.

“His name is Richard,” my father replied. “Go ahead. Look him over. If there’s anything wrong with him, I’ll get rid of him and find a better male to keep you and your mate company.”

I shifted my gaze to my mate. “He’ll get cold. I don’t want him to get cold, Daddy.”

It sickened me to call my father something so pleasant when I wanted nothing more than to wrap my hands around his throat. With Richard so close, I didn’t dare.

If Richard had been ordered to protect my father, he’d rip me apart. Richard was faster than me—and far, far more experienced. I approached Richard, shivering from more than the cold. Breathing in deep, I was relieved that none of my father’s sickness marred Richard’s scent—yet.

Without the force of his personality driving him, Richard seemed so much smaller than I remembered; I was taller than him, something I hadn’t really noticed before.

“Your mate won’t be too cold. He’s tough. I’ll bring him inside soon,” my father soothed. “Go on. Touch Richard. Use him as you want. Look him over. Does he please you? Richard, she’s yours to share with her mate, so make certain you keep her warm and happy. Make her feel good and content.”

Richard moved with lithe grace, slipping his hands around my waist. With a gentle touch, he worked his way under my coat, pulling me close to him. His breath warmed my neck. I trembled, and while my wolf was repulsed at another male touching me, I restrained her.

If my father thought I didn’t want Richard, I didn’t know what he’d do. While reluctant, my wolf agreed with my reasoning despite her urge to drive Richard away with our teeth and snarls.

Richard slid his hands along my sides, shoving my shirt up beneath my coat. Pressing his lips to my throat, he scraped me with his teeth, voicing a growl. One of his arms circled around me, holding me close to him.

His other hand crept ever upwards, teasing my skin with gentle brushes of his fingertips. When he found my holster, his growls intensified.

He bit me so hard my entire body went limp. He held me close to him, kneeling without letting me go. While his one hand remained under my shirt, he slipped the other away, and his bite made my every nerve more sensitive. I gasped at the way his fingers skimmed over my skin.

My father watched, and while I couldn’t see him, I could smell his satisfaction and pleasure.

“That’s right, Richard. Play with her. Make her yours. You want her, don’t you?”

Richard nipped me again, drawing a strangled cry out of me. “Mine,” he growled, his chest rumbling.

“You like that, don’t you, Sara? You like having males around to please you. That's why you ran away, isn't it? I denied you what you really wanted. You knew it’d be easy to find males willing to worship you in Vegas. I won't make that mistake again. Whoever you want pleasing you, you will have. These two are only the beginning.”

The only male I wanted pleasing me was Sanders. However, I wasn’t immune to the way Richard bit me. Pleasant shivers ran through me, warm and soothing rather than arousing, although my wolf feared if he kept teasing me with his mouth, I’d cross that line soon enough.

“That’s right, Richard. Enjoy her and make her happy.”

The only thing that would make me happy would be grabbing my gun and shooting my father in the face. I couldn’t even snarl my fury. Each time I took a breath to make a sound, Richard nibbled on me, coaxing another gasp out of me.

His seeking hand once again found my holster. Working his mouth to mine, he teased me with a kiss.

“Good,” my father murmured. “Please her.”

Richard broke our kiss, forcing my head to the side so he could nip the other side of my throat.

My mouth ended up near Richard’s ear. Drawing a shaky breath, I whispered, “Kill him. It’ll please me.”

Once again, his mouth sought mine, applying a faint pressure to my lips.

The blast of gunfire deafened me.

Richard kept a vice-like grip on me; the vibrating rumbles of his chest against mine warned me he was growling with his every breath. The scent of blood filled my nose, so strong my wolf’s hunger roused. I pulled away from Richard, and he sank his teeth into my neck in retaliation, biting down hard. Agony washed through me, and I slumped against him. Tears blurred my vision.

I tried to speak, but I couldn’t hear myself through the ringing in my ears and head. Pain lanced through my head in tempo with my heartbeat.

Pulling his hand out from under my shirt, Richard eased me against Sanders. His mouth was moving, but I couldn’t make out what he was saying. It hurt to move, but I pointed at my ear and shook my head. He took hold of my chin, turning my head. With a gentle touch, he brushed his fingers against my throat near my ear.

My blood stained his skin red.

Reaching down, Richard touched my mate’s neck. His expression turned neutral. Wrinkling his nose, he gestured to me, pointed to his nose, and mimed drawing a deep breath. Puzzled, I stared at him, and although my hand shook, I touched my nose. Realization struck me, and I pinched my nose closed, drew a deep breath, and popped my ears.

It hurt even more than one of Richard’s bites, and I spat curses. Startled by the fact I could hear them, I blinked. “Ouch.”

“Can you hear me now?” There was something wrong with Richard’s voice, as though I was submerged underwater trying to listen to someone above the surface.

“Sort of.”

“Where the hell did you get one of these? What are you doing out here? How did you get here?” he demanded, shoving the Glock 18 in my face.

I whined, and in my desperation to put some distance between us, I crawled over my mate and crouched on the other side of him. I grabbed hold of Sanders’s shirt and tugged on it. “What’s wrong with him?”

I knew my father’s body was somewhere nearby, but I couldn’t bring myself to look away from either Richard or my mate. Knowing my father was dead was enough.

The scent of death clung to me, so strong it sickened me and my wolf.

Richard’s expression softened. “Drugged. He’ll be all right, though it’ll probably be a few hours before he comes around—and when he does, he’ll probably be violent. That’s the least of our worries right now. Mr. Watson has friends, and they’ll be joining us soon enough.”

I grimaced. “I have friends, too. Also, the only one you’re allowed to take orders from is me, Mr. Murphy. Understood?”

Richard’s eyes widened. “Yes.”

“Give me back my fucking gun,” I snarled.

Grimacing, he obeyed. I unzipped my coat, pulled out the fresh magazine, and swapped them. I staggered to my feet, and the world spun in lazy circles around me. Richard grabbed me before I could fall.

“Ruptured eardrums come with vertigo and a terrible sense of balance, Mrs. Sanders,” he informed me, forcing me back to the tarmac beside my mate. “Stay there.”

“Richard Murphy,” Nicolina snarled, stomping out of the hangar.

Sucking in a breath, Richard twisted around to face his mate. He paled several shades. “Nicolina.”

Wendy and Lisa followed after Richard’s mate, both of them looking rather amused. Wendy joined me, touching my mate’s neck. Through the blood and other scents, I could smell her relief. “Let’s get him to the truck and warm him up.”

“I’ll carry him,” Richard said, and with a grunt, he hauled my mate over his shoulders in a fireman’s carry. “Sorry. I’ll explain everything.”

“You better—and you can start with why the hell you’re drugged with wolfsbane.”

Richard grimaced. “Where’s your truck?”

Wendy helped me to my feet and draped my arm over her shoulders so I wouldn’t fall. “The truck’s in the far hangar. Did I hear you say we’ll be having company?”

“You did—they’re due about an hour after us.”

“Who?” Nicolina stalked to her mate, circling him with the intensity of one of Dustin’s sharks.

“Arnold, several other members of Sanders’s pack, and the start of a pack Watson was building—though by now, they know he’s dead. If those mutts aren’t running wild by the time they touch down, I’ll be surprised.” Richard sighed. “I don’t know how many of them there are. He woke me up so I could fly his fucking plane for him.”

Lisa led the way to my mate’s truck and threw open the back door so Richard could wrangle Sanders onto the seat. I hopped in, helping to stretch my mate out across the back and pillowed his head on my lap. I ran my fingers through his hair, resting my fingers against his lips so I could feel his breath on my skin.

“This looks a lot like Sanders’s truck,” Richard said, his expression as puzzled as his tone.

Wendy laughed. “That’s because it is his truck.”

“You took his truck.”

“Took his lady, took his truck, and even stole his blanket,” Wendy reported. “Get in, Richard.”

He scowled at his mother-in-law and didn’t budge. Instead, he whirled, snatched his mate by her wrist, and yanked her to him, burying his nose against her neck. Nicolina squeaked, and then she smiled as she wrapped her arms around him.

“I’m sorry,” he murmured.

“How did you get caught?”

Richard sighed. “He surprised us—used a gas bomb loaded with sedatives and powdered wolfsbane. If he’d been smart, he would’ve taken the others as well, but as far as I know, he only grabbed me and Sanders.”

Sighing, Nicolina rested her head on her mate’s shoulder. “Where did he get you?”

“Your father’s house. They were waiting for us. I don’t know if they had been notified we were coming back or if they made a lucky guess.”

“How long ago?”

“Two or three days ago? Have no idea how long I was out for. Ugh. Everyone’s worried sick about you five, I hope you know. Alex was resigned, the last I saw him. I had to peel Desmond off the ceiling several times, and Sanders had been driving all of us insane. In a way, it’s a mercy he’s drugged. Wendy, please call your mate before he kills someone—if he hasn’t already.”

“If they were behind you by an hour, we have less than thirty minutes to get out of here before they arrive,” Amber stated, climbing into the driver’s seat. “If you don’t know how many of them there’ll be, we can’t risk a firefight with them—especially not if some of them are likely wild.”

“Their plane maxes out at nineteen in standard configuration. It’s a Metroliner turboprop.”

“Those are not odds I’m comfortable with,” Amber replied.

Shaking his head, Richard let go of his mate, giving her a shove in the direction of the truck.

Nicolina scrambled inside, but instead of worming her way under my mate’s feet, she sat on the floorboard. “If they’re wild, we’re too close to the city to let them go. They need to be dealt with. As long as we have Sanders and Arnold is still in the pack, they’ll be able to find him. We have thirty minutes. Let’s make the most of them.”

“Is there any way we can shoot down their plane?” Lisa asked.

There was a long silence, and Richard frowned, the dull, glazed look returning to his eyes. “Maybe. It’s got a lot of electronics, and if those systems fail, it’s entirely possible they’ll crash on the way down. I don’t know if you’re up for the challenge, Nicolina, but if you can fry their systems, you might be able to bring it down. Otherwise, we can unload as many rounds into it as we can after it touches down and hope we get lucky.”

“I doubt I can fry the plane,” the wizard admitted, shaking her head. “I could ice the runway for you, but hitting a moving target going that fast with lightning without practicing? I’m good, but I’m not that good.”

“Icing the runway would be a damned good way to cause them some problems on landing,” Richard said. “How much ice and how slick can you make it?”

“How thick do you want it?”

“Let me think,” Richard replied, and with a low groan, he climbed into the truck, shifting my mate’s feet so he could sit. “You have no idea how sore and tired I am.”

“You look like hell,” Nicolina reported. “Are you okay?”

“I’m pretty sure I’m high on wolfsbane; I have no idea how the hell I flew that plane without crashing it. When Sanders finds out I kissed his mate, he’s going to kill me. Hell, why haven’t you killed me? You should—both of you. I’m so sorry, Sara. I should not have done that.”

“I do not hold anyone drugged with wolfsbane and given disgusting orders accountable for his actions,” was Nicolina’s neutral reply. “I could smell Sara’s fury from the hangar, so I’m satisfied she was not encroaching on my territory.”

“Your territory is so not my type,” I replied with a shudder. “He’s got a nice mouth, though. You better put a leash on him. You’re forgiven this time, Richard.”

Both of them flushed a brilliant red.

“Behave, all of you. Seeing as we’re the cavalry and infantry, we need a plan, a good one, and we need it fast,” Amber declared, twisting around in the seat to face me. “Also, we’ll be talking about the fact you let Richard steal your gun while he was making out with you.”

It was my turn to blush. “I ordered him to kill my father to please me,” I blurted.