Their Mating Rituals [Paranormal Protection Unit 4] (Siren Publishing Classic) (3 page)

Lina nodded. “What about you?” she asked him and saw the stoic look on his face. When she counted down the time in her mind, she leaned in close to him, placed her hands over his ears, and pulled him close so that she could press his face to the crook of her neck.

What happened next was a shock. Jesus H. Christ, he hadn’t been kidding. Thankfully she had kept her mouth open when she pulled him closer. She hadn’t closed her eyes fast enough, so lights danced before them, and she couldn’t hear anything, at all. Holding him tightly she tried to protect him as best she could. In her mind she could hear her mother bitching her out from one side to another about putting a man’s welfare before her own.

Cursing her, Aiden kept his lips parted so the percussive wave didn’t deafen him permanently. His eyes were nearly sealed shut so he didn’t need to worry about that. Damn woman. But so brave. Listening to the firefight and the snarls and curses, he knew the men were inside and taking everyone down.
Get off the stool and behind me,
he said to her.
I’m a hell of a lot harder to kill than you are, sweetheart. Do it now and remember, keep your hands up and away from your body when the others come in. They will be hyped up on adrenaline and the fight.

This man had to be off his meds if he thought Lina was going to stand behind him in this. Moving closer to him, she wrapped herself as close to him as she could, holding onto him even though she couldn’t hear or see anything right now. She was seriously hurting but she had this deep and crazy sense to protect him, needed to protect him no matter what.

When she didn’t listen, Aiden didn’t argue. He couldn’t. His head was ringing even more. Hearing his brother, Aiden looked up slightly.
Don’t hurt her!
he growled at his brother as he stormed closer.
She’s mine!
he snarled and then went blank as he realized the truth. Stunned, he hung there beaten to hell and back again, but he knew, without a doubt, she was his mate. Holy hell!

Lina felt him tense and held him tighter. Her hands still covered his ears and held him tight to her shoulder. If someone was going to start to fire, they would have to get through her first, and she knew it. She couldn’t, wouldn’t let him go. Ears ringing horribly, she felt like sobbing but didn’t. Couldn’t. She wouldn’t give whoever was near them the satisfaction of knowing how afraid she was and how much he meant to her.

Staring at his brother, Allister shook his head. “Great timing, bro,” he muttered, moving in closer. Easing around to Aiden’s back, he winced visibly. His brother was nearly unrecognizable except for the Dragon tattoo that sat at the small of his back, wings up for a defensive strike, the body over his left ass cheek with the tail that wrapped down and around his left thigh. Leaning in, he tapped the woman’s nose. “Hi.” He grinned at her. “I’m Allister, Aiden’s brother. The guy you have a death grip on. You can let go now. We’re here to get you and him out. But we need you to let go so we can get him down, all right?” he said a little louder than normal since he had a feeling she couldn’t hear much of anything right then.

Lina frowned and looked at the man. He was perfection, drool worthy, but even though he was, she still didn’t want to let go of the man she held. She shook her head, frowning. She looked at the man she held, then the other man, and then back to her man. “Twins?” she shouted, not realizing she was shouting though.

Wincing at her volume, he waved a hand to indicate to keep it down. Nodding, he smiled. “Twins,” he said to her. Shifting, he gently took her hand. “Come on, step down and let the guys take a look at you just to be sure you’ll be okay.” Pointing to Trey, who held up a med-kit, he lightly tugged on her hand. “Come on, no one will hurt you. Promise.”

It’s okay, sweetheart, go and let Trey check your ears out,
Aiden said quietly.
Allister won’t hurt you. He knows I’d kill him if he did.

You can’t even kill a fly right now,
she shot back to him in his mind. “All right.” She hoped that the volume was down when she said it. She took the hand offered to her and then added, “Don’t you dare hurt him. He’s been hurt enough.”

“Aiden’s my twin. Trust me, I know just what pain he’s suffered and is suffering,” he told her, taking her hand and gently helping her off the stool. Guiding her over to Trey, he sat her down. “Trey, this is…a friend,” he shrugged. Patting her hand, he let go and went back to his brother to look at how he was strung up. “This is going to hurt, bro,” he murmured, knowing the woman couldn’t hear him.

I know,
Aiden murmured softly to his brother.
Just do it quick so I can pass out,
he told him, peering at him through the one semi-good eye.

Nodding, Allister waved over the Bear twins. “He’s going to drop like a bag of hammers. Get ready,” he told them and moved to the control panel. At their nod he hit the release and flinched at the scream of pain from Aiden as he fell and then the absolute silence. Shaking, he ran a hand over his head and walked back to where they’d eased him down.

“His shoulders are both dislocated,” Mac said as they checked him out slowly. “He needs a hospital, but I don’t think we should take him anywhere near the human ones.”

“We’ll take him back to base. Our doctors should tend to him,” Allister said honestly, dropping to a knee beside his twin. “Gods, what the hell did they do to him?”

“Anything and everything they could,” Sully said honestly. “The why is what I’m really curious about.”

Lina winced as she watched her man falling to the ground. Lord, she wanted to rush forward and catch him herself, but she didn’t. She looked up at the big guy tending her and frowned. It wasn’t until the next man walked in that she felt fear, plain and simple, unadulterated, fear.

Bulldog walked into the room and took in everything. He saw the young woman in the hoodie and dismissed her to look to Aiden. “How is he, boys?”

Lina began to edge toward the door. God, she had to get out of there. She had to get out of there before her worst nightmare in the entire world came true. She couldn’t believe it. She was seeing the large man there looking exactly the same as he had twenty-four years earlier in the only photos that she had of him, of her father.

“He’s in bad shape, Bulldog. We need to get him an evac out of here,” Sully said using Talon’s call sign as he turned to look at their boss. “Trey, runner!” he yelled as the girl bolted for the door. But Talon beat her there, easily, so much so she ran right into him and bounced off into Trey’s arms.

“Going somewhere?” Talon asked curiously as he stared down at the woman. “Who’s this?” he asked Trey as he steadied her and set her back in the chair with a warning look.

“She was tending Aiden, the doctor that Skittles mentioned. She’s also his bond-mate, too,” Allister said softly as he helped the brothers move his brother onto the gurney that one of Omega Team brought in.

Lina pulled back into herself, tugging the hoodie up and over her too-recognizable chestnut hair and dipping her head so that he couldn’t see her eyes, couldn’t see his eyes looking back at him. She jerked when he touched her and shook her head. Inside of her head she was panicking, pure and simple. She knew her heart was racing, knew that her blood pressure was through the roof, and knew she would pass out if he didn’t let her go. Good lord, her mother had to have sent this man here to remind her of just why you didn’t give yourself away for another.

Frowning at the woman’s odd behavior, Talon turned at the low threatening growl. “Who was that?” he asked. All eyes fell on Aiden, his lip, swollen and deformed, was clearly curled up over a longer-than-normal incisor.

“Holy shit,” Sully said, inching back a little as Mac did the same. Hell, even Allister moved a bit from his brother. “Al, what the hell, dude?”

“Shh,” Allister said as he listened to his brother. “He can feel her distress and upset and said to back the fuck off.” Looking to Talon, he grinned. “That’s the abbreviated version without all the nasty shit added in, just so you know.”

Lina looked to her fallen angel and whispered in his mind again.
I can’t stay here. Oh God, please, I can’t be here.
She felt tears falling.
He’s a reminder of why I can’t love. A reminder of why I can’t give myself because giving yourself fully to a man only ends in heartbreak. Please, ask them to let me go.

You can’t leave me, not now.
Aiden breathed out through the pain.
Please don’t leave me, not again.
He still remembered the last time she’d bolted off. The memory cut through him harshly and it hurt worse than any other wound he had.
I need you with me. I know you probably don’t understand, but you are everything to me. Please don’t leave.

Lina was crying and holding her arms tightly around her waist. Finally she nodded, let out a breath, and said,
All right. I will stay, but please don’t ask me to be close to him.

Relaxing instantly, Aiden let out a breath.
I don’t want you near anyone but me,
he told her honestly.
Come and hold my hand. Talon will stay away from you, I promise,
he whispered gently in her mind. Wiggling his seriously painful fingers, he hoped she’d get the hint and come closer. Warning the others of what he’d asked her to do, he waited to see what she’d do.

Lina moved to his side. Her hand catching his hand in hers, she leaned in close to him. “Now then, calm down,” she whispered. She was sure that she didn’t see what she had thought she had seen, so she simply leaned in close to him. Her forehead to his, she whispered, “Calm down.” Lord, she didn’t know his name and he didn’t know hers. She knew nothing about this man. All she knew was that her father was tossed into her path. Was this some cosmic joke or something?

Hearing her thought, Aiden stilled and shot a look at Talon, who was talking with Trey and the others softly, not a thing amiss.
Sweetheart, he doesn’t know,
he told her honestly and waited until her eyes met his.
I heard your thought. Trust me, if he knew he had a daughter, he’d have had you close to him all this time. I’ve been with Talon for the last…really long time. None of us knew about you.
He could see she didn’t believe him so he let it drop, for the moment.
I’m Aiden,
he whispered.
I’m sorry I didn’t introduce myself earlier. I was…distracted. What’s your name, little love?

“You mean you were hurting and half-dead,” she retorted. Rubbing her cheek to his, she shook her head. She couldn’t give her name, couldn’t believe. “How?” she whispered. “How could he not have known? Isn’t that something pretty important if someone writes them to tell you that she is pregnant?” She needed to know, had to know. “Because my mother did write to him and all the letters were returned unopened. One would think that would be something that he would want to know.” Her hurt shone through, the hurt that she wasn’t good enough to have been wanted by her father.

Frowning slightly, Aiden turned his head gently to breathe her in.
Where were they sent, little one?
he asked quietly.
It’s important, otherwise I wouldn’t ask, angel. Please, just tell me where they were mailed to and I might be able to clear up this mystery. Like I said, I’ve known Talon a very long time. I practically grew up with him.
Close enough really.

She tried to get into his mind, following the path that he gave her and whispering back to him in his mind.
Talina. That’s my name,
she told him quietly.
Everyone calls me Lina though,
she added.
And they were sent to the only address that my mother had. She met him when she was a freshman in college. He was working as a teacher’s assistant and she said she fell hard and fast for him.
Knowing her mother, the hard and fast was one day.
According to her they had a one-night affair and then he was gone the next day. She said that she wrote him at the address she found on his license.
Stalkerish, crazy, but that was her mom, too. She was just that.

Crap, crap, crap
, he thought to himself Sighing, he rubbed his thumb lightly to her skin before speaking to her again.
Talon was undercover as a TA. The license and every piece of identification were part of his cover. Nothing was real. The address was one that we chose at random. We’d never even been there. The mail would have been returned unopened because whoever actually lived there would have believed it was completely in error and would have wanted to get it back to its originator.

Wouldn’t someone who slept with another, came inside of a young virgin girl, think to follow up with them to make sure that there wasn’t a child created?
Lina asked quietly as she let out a breath.
All my life she’s pined for that man. All my life she has told me just what happens if you put a man before yourself. She turned so very bitter, so bitter that in the end I think she even hated me.

I can’t answer that, but I do know he has a picture of a woman on his desk that he occasionally looks at with a sad expression. I believe it might be her,
he said quietly.
Missions are odd things, Talina. They sometimes get to us. The mission we were on, when he was playing a TA, was a kidnapping and murder case, a serial killer. One of the school administrators had a thing for young boys. He took them, did vile things to them, and then, after giving them hope because they’d done what he asked, killed them in a way that they knew they were dying and listened to their pleas and screams. He taped everything, which is why we were able to convict him and ensure his execution.