Two Minutes (Seven Series Book 6) (32 page)

As he drifted toward the front of the house, my mom got off the couch. “Lexi, did you need help in the kitchen?”

Lexi glanced over her shoulder. “I was just flouring the counters so I can knead the dough.”

“I can do that for you.”

April smiled. “Looks like you could knead the dough on Lexi. She probably has more flour on her than the countertops do.”

There was a pregnant pause—the kind that was expectant of a Denver wisecrack that never came.

“We got news,” Austin said. He seemed out of breath, his face flushed.

Reno patted April’s leg and she got up so Reno could stand.

“The Council dropped charges.”

“What?” I exclaimed with a gasp. Before I knew it, I too was standing.

Austin took a deep breath and rubbed his chin. “I don’t know why; it couldn’t have been our talk. A rep from the higher authority is supposed to call me back any minute,” he said, staring at his phone.

I worried my lip and paced in a circle. The music suddenly made it seem as if we were in a waiting room, and waiting rooms made me nervous.

When his phone rang, everyone held their breath. “This is Austin Cole. … Of course.”

I shadowed him as he turned away and held the back of his neck with his other hand. April murmured something to Reno and he replied, but all I was doing was trying to tap into my nonexistent super-hearing abilities so I could find out what was being said on the other end of the call.

Austin looked down at the wood floor. “I was planning on coming up there tonight. Can we talk more about the—” He frowned. “No, I understand.”

The tone of his voice had layers of emotions, and butterflies turned in my stomach.

“Is there someone else I can speak to on the matter? … No, that’s not my intention. I’m assuming you’re pressed with more important matters, and— … Yeah, I understand.”

Austin pressed his thumb on a button and threw the phone across the room. I jumped when it smashed against the wall and broke apart on the floor.

“What’s going on?” Mom asked, rushing into the room.

Austin raked his hands through his hair, cursing below his breath. I’d rarely seen him so angry, and when he collected his temper, he leaned forward and placed his hands on the back of the leather couch. “The higher authority won’t release him without payment.”

“How much?” I asked.

“Five million.”

The air left the room.

William headed toward the front window. “We don’t have that kind of money. Even if we sold the shops and the house, it wouldn’t be enough. We’d have to sell it all.”

“I thought the business was doing well,” I said. “And everyone has a job.”

Austin shook his head. “A lot of the money goes back into the business, but it gives us a steady paycheck—a dependable one. We’ve put a lot of money into your school and your living abroad, and it costs a lot to feed and clothe a pack. I’ve negotiated some loans to build relations with smaller packs, but I can’t get that money back right away. I just don’t have five million in cash to hand over. Fuck! Where the hell is Wheeler?”

“I just bought a new Jaguar,” William said bleakly. “I can sell it back, but I won’t get as much as I paid.”

“I have some money saved up,” Lynn volunteered. “It’s just twenty thousand, but I don’t need it. I have a job and I’ll be drawing social security in a few years. Maybe if we all pool our money together, it’ll be enough.”

The truth was splashed on everyone’s face; they didn’t have that kind of money. They enjoyed taking vacations and donating to charity. Sometimes they made frivolous purchases, and peace parties always depleted money in the account. I knew Wheeler was helping Austin make safe investments for future generations as the pack grew in size, but clearly that money wasn’t accessible.

Lexi looked around the house. “Do we have anything in here we can hock? Something of value? An antique?”

April tapped her fingernail against her teeth. “What about Naya’s purses and clothes? She has a lot of designer stuff in there.”

“Worth five mil?” William asked.

“What about the house?” Lexi suggested. “We fixed it up real nice.”

“I paid six hundred thousand for it.” Austin stood up and moved around the sofa toward his chair. “This house won’t sell for that much—not to a pack. Nobody wants to move down the road from Church. It’s still not enough.”

My mom looked at her hand. “Maybe I can sell some of my jewelry. I don’t have much worth anything, but I have a couple of diamonds.”

I sucked in a sharp breath as a memory jostled in my head. “What did you just say?”

“Well, I tucked away a few rings for you girls when you got older. One is a ruby and the other—”

“Diamonds,” I breathed.

Lexi gave me a funny look. “What’s wrong, Maizy?”

Did I dream it?
I suddenly remembered having a mint tin filled with diamonds when I was little. I didn’t recall much except that I wanted to make them my treasures. “Oh my God!”

I nearly knocked Lexi down when I ran past her and up the stairs. When I hit the hallway, my feet squeaked against the floor as I slowed down and flung my bedroom door open. It hit the wall with a thud, and I stood motionless.

“Jesus, Maizy. What the hell?” Lexi put her hand on my back, panting and out of breath. “Are you okay?”

I paced toward the sparkling wand mounted on the left wall near the window. When I lifted it, a shimmer of prisms scattered across the room.

“Lexi, remember when I was little how I believed that this wand was magical?”

She snorted. “Yeah, you used to carry it everywhere. Sometimes you’d thump someone over the head with it.”

I turned around and held it in my hands, lifting my eyes to meet hers. “Years ago, you used to take me to the old house to dig for diamonds. Well, here they are. I glued them to my wand.”

Her jaw dropped and eyes widened. “Are you kidding me? I almost threw that thing in the trash!” She shrieked, racing forward and taking it from my hand. “Oh. My. God. I never looked at them; I thought they were just fake stones. Jesus, I threw several away that had fallen off!” Her eyes widened. “These are big diamonds, Maizy.”

My smile was infectious, and we looked at each other—a slow, hysterical flutter of laughter beginning to rise.

“What’s going on up here?” Austin asked from the door.

Lexi let out her Beaker laugh and whirled around, holding the wand like a fairy. “Austin, I hereby grant you one wish. Anything you want. What will it be?”

“Quit messing around. We have serious—”

“Austin Cole, answer my question. What is the one thing you want more than anything?”

He stared at her with a conflicted look, but finally said, “Denver home.”

She sauntered toward him and tapped him on the forehead. “Your wish is granted. Remember the diamonds my father stole? Voilà!” She turned the stick between her fingers and Austin stared at it.

“Holy fucking Christ. Are you telling me—”

“Exactly. There’s got to be enough here. Can we use them without getting in trouble?”

He chewed on his lip for a minute. “No one will question where we got them, and if they do, we’re in the clear. The crime took place years ago from a criminal who’s now dead. Let me see it.”

She held it at arm’s reach. “No, sir. Go downstairs and bring me a giant plastic bag. I don’t want to lose any of these. Call Wheeler or Naya and see if they know someone who can give us a quick appraisal.”

“I’m on it,” Reno said. I hadn’t even noticed him by the door, and I listened to his boots stomp down the hall.

“Hopefully they’re real,” Austin said. “I’m thinking the higher authority gave me an unrealistic number, knowing we’d never be able to match it. I hope they don’t back out of this when I walk in with the cash.”

Lexi smirked. “Make them a money bouquet.”

He shook his head, giving her an intimate look. “Be right back with the bag.”

When Austin left the room, it felt as though a weight had been lifted off me. I could breathe again. I sat on the bed and felt my head pounding with the nasty side effect of adrenaline.

“Why didn’t you mention this before?” she asked, a little line forming between her brows.

“I just put it out of my mind, I guess. Over the years I assumed it was something I’d imagined. What would a little girl be doing with diamonds? I was wrapped up in a world of pretend and stopped thinking about it. But when Mom mentioned diamonds, it made me remember something I’d forgotten.”

“What?”

I looked down at the wand she held at her side. “Dad slapped me. Did I ever tell you that?”

Her mouth opened. “No.”

“From what I remember, it wasn’t very hard. But it startled me. It’s when we were in the car and he was trying to get me to stop crying. They were arguing up front or something—I remember a lot of shouting. Anyhow, I’m not sure where I found them, but I thought they were candy. I’d forgotten the act of actually stealing the diamonds, so without that memory, it never seemed believable I’d have something like that in my possession. Kids play pretend all the time, and you grow up wondering how much of it was real and how much was made up.”

Lexi lifted the wand and looked at it. “There were supposed to be fifty million dollars’ worth, but this… I don’t know.”

I looked guiltily at her. “That’s all I took. If it’s not all there, I might have thrown some away or lost them. It was a long time ago, Lexi. I really can’t remember all the details.”

“All this time I thought you buried them. I even borrowed a metal detector once and spent three hours in the backyard of the old house, hoping you buried them in something metal. I wish you’d told me.”

“I guess I was afraid someone would take them away. They were my treasures. I found glue for the wand that was so strong that I’d glued two of my fingers together. I haven’t thought about that in years. I guess the diamonds made the wand seem more magical. I didn’t know back then the value of those things—not really. They were just pretty.” I swept my hair behind my shoulders and looked up at her. “I’m so sorry I never told you. I was a rotten kid.”

She stared at the place in the wall where the wand once sat. “It’s a good thing I’m sentimental. I almost threw it away with some of your dolls when you were twelve, but Mom talked me out of it. She said you might have a little girl someday you’d want to give it to. I was going through your room once when you were about to turn eighteen. Mom relented and we’d decided to give away some of your toys to charity after you’d given her permission. I had so many good memories of you with that wand, and I couldn’t bring myself to throw it out. Denver almost talked me into it.”

I laughed noisily. “That figures. He would have sealed his own fate.”

Lexi sat next to me and bumped her shoulder against mine. “Even without them, we would have figured something out, Maze.”

“Yeah, Wheeler was planning a prison break.”

“I would have sold the shops. That’s how much my family means to me. I’d do it for any one of you. We would have figured it out. This just made it a hell of a lot easier.”

“Now you’re starting to sound like Mom.”

She smiled wistfully. “Maybe it’s good practice for someday.”

On his way to the jail later that evening, Austin called everyone in the pack to give them an update on Denver’s situation.
We still weren’t in the clear yet since we didn’t know for certain if the higher authority would accept our payment. It was then that Austin learned Wheeler and Jericho had devised a solid plan to break their little brother out of jail. Austin recited a colorful collection of profanities in the Dodge Challenger before hanging up on them.

“Get your asses home,” Austin growled in the phone. “I’ll call you when we know more.”

A shiver skated up my spine as I looked through the dark windshield. “Where are the diamonds?”

He turned onto the dirt road, and boy, did it look spooky with only our headlights guiding the way. “You know how Lexi took the stones and drove out to meet Naya?”

“Yeah?”

“She knows a guy. Turns out he’s also an acquaintance of Wheeler’s, so that was good enough for me to trust him. He appraised the stones and made an offer.”

“What was it?”

Austin flashed his eyes at me. “As many times as you carried that wand around and left it at a restaurant, it might make you sick to know. I’m not concerned about making a profit, and because he offered a hell of a lot more than what the higher authority is asking, I accepted it without a counteroffer.”

“Did you bring it with you?”

He sniffed and we hit another bump. “It’s not safe to travel with that kind of money. It’s in a safe place, and if they accept, they’ll send a Regulator to collect the money.”

His motor rumbled as we slowed to a stop. The Vampire at the gate briefly questioned him before allowing us to pass. His black eyes shone in the headlamps, watching me as he pulled the gate open. When I drew in a nervous breath, he smiled and his fangs descended.

“Austin?”

“Yeah,” he said in a distant voice.

I thought about all the stories Lexi had told me about growing up together—how protective Austin was of her. She used to think he was hotheaded when he’d beat up strangers for making lewd remarks to her, but then she’d explained it was what made Shifters different. They had an instinctive nature to protect what they loved, and they were willing to fight for it. Reason and logic went out the window and bowed down to primal instinct.

“When Lexi asked you to make a wish, you hesitated.”

He cleared his throat. “I thought she was going to tell me something.”

Then it hit me. He thought Lexi was pregnant. I remembered the look of hope and fear in his eyes. Deciding not to broach a topic that was probably the root of what tested their relationship, I touched his arm.

“I’m beginning to see that no relationship is perfect. It’s all a struggle. She loves you more than anything.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of,” he said, barely audible.

I withdrew my hand. Austin would be ashamed if he found out Lexi had told someone else about their personal struggles. “The only thing a woman needs to know in this world is that they’re enough.”

“Is Denver enough?” He slowed the car down near the shack. “He’s just a bartender with a middle rank in the pack. You’ll probably never see him in a suit, and he couldn’t offer you the money another Shifter could. I know you got an offer from Prince, and I would respect that choice.”

I unbuckled my seat belt. “Would you respect my choice if I chose Denver? Could I still live in your pack?”

“Let’s just take it one step at a time. Denver’s all over the place with women; I’ve never seen him show any signs he wants to settle. I’m not saying that to hurt you, I just don’t want you to get your hopes up.”

I smiled and opened my door. “I’m so glad nobody ever gave Lexi advice like that when she met you.”

He chuckled and switched off the engine.

Once we made it underground, a guard led us in a different direction than the last time. Austin went into a room while I sat in a chair that was bolted to the linoleum floor just outside. Ten minutes later, a formidable man stalked toward me from the hall straight ahead. He had a powerful stride, a broad chest, and long brown hair that was thick and wavy. He looked like one of those wrestlers on TV. He briefly glanced at his watch and then flicked his eyes down at me before entering the room and slamming the door. I pressed my ear to the wall, but they must have soundproofed it.

I stared at the white floor for what seemed like hours, my stomach twisting into knots. When the door suddenly opened, I sat at attention and held my breath.

The wrestler walked at a brisk pace down the hall and turned the corner out of sight. This was maddening! I stood up and faced the door, my arms crossed, rocking on my heels, ready to bust through it.

Austin emerged and ran a hand through his brown hair, messing it up.

“Well?” I asked, holding my breath.

He slowly licked his lips and then a smirk touched the corner of his mouth. “It’s done. He accepted the offer.”

I flew forward and hugged him.

“They weren’t expecting us to actually come up with the money, so it wasn’t without resistance,” he murmured against my hair.

Heat radiated off Austin and I stepped back.

“Sorry. I run hot.”

I shook my head. “So that’s it? Denver’s free?”

We moved down the hall at a slow pace, Austin a step ahead. “I had a feeling he was going to turn down our offer, so I gave it all to him. Everything we earned from the diamonds now belongs to the higher authority. They’re going to make some kind of official statement with evidence to prove Bromus was an unstable Packmaster. To keep his pack happy, I agreed to work with the Council in relocating them.”

“Not in
our
pack!”

“
Fuck no
. But my hands are dirty, so I need to clean things up and make sure everyone’s happy. If none of the local packs take them in, I may have to barter with them.”

“Reno knows some people out of state, doesn’t he?”

Austin put his hand between my shoulders and led me to the elevators. “Good point. I’ll see if that’s an option, but let’s worry about that later. Right now, the only thing on my mind is setting my brother free.”

When the elevator reached the floor above, we stepped out and a guard escorted us down a hallway with large windows that allowed me to peek into the rooms. He swiped his card key and I listened to the mechanical sound of the door unlocking. I hung back while he went inside.

Through the window, I saw Denver emerge from the right side of the room. The guard removed the shackles from his hands and feet, and I wanted to leap out of my skin with excitement. What kept me cemented in place was the memory of everything he’d said to me earlier in his cell.

When Denver stepped out of the room, Austin gave him a tight hug and patted his back several times.

“We’re going home,” Austin said.

Denver held on, his hands clenched into tight fists and his eyes squeezed shut. I’d never seen the two embrace like that.

Realizing his man card was about to be revoked, Denver stepped back and cleared his throat. “How?”

Austin stepped aside and motioned toward me. “You can thank Maizy.”

Denver blanched and took a step back, his lips pressed tight. The look he delivered was crushing as he swung around and stormed down the hall.

“Hold up,” Austin yelled out as they neared the elevators up ahead.

“No, I’m not holding up. I’m outta here,” Denver said, throwing up his hand. With each stride he took, we grew farther apart. “I can’t
believe
you let her do that!”

My feet still rooted in place, I watched as Denver disappeared into the elevator.

“Will you wait?” Austin slammed his hand against one of the buttons.

“She’s not riding in here with me.”

Austin looked in my direction as I approached. “I’ll talk to him. Take the next elevator up. We’ll be waiting up top.”

So just like that, they left me in the hall of an underground prison. It was almost laughable.

Almost.

“I can’t believe this!” I shouted. I beat my fists on the elevator doors, hoping they could hear me. “You’re the biggest jackass, Denver Cole!”

A chuckle sounded to my left and I glanced over my shoulder.

One of the guards sized me up. “My mate says that to me all the time.
It must be love
,” he sang, walking into an office across from me.

“Idiot,” I murmured, tapping my foot on the floor and waiting for the elevator. I could hear the electric whine as it slowed down.

When the doors parted, a hand reached out and snatched my wrist, yanking me inside. I gasped and almost tripped until I landed in someone’s arms.

Denver’s arms.

The doors closed and his mouth was on mine. “I’m sorry,” he said between kisses. The heat of arousal engulfed me when his mouth slowly dragged down to my neck and his hands curved around my ass.

Suddenly his right hand slammed against a button and the elevator quietly stopped. He dropped to his knees and began undoing my shorts.

My fingers gripped his hair. “Wait. The alarms…”

His molten gaze traveled up the length of my body. “They don’t use alarms. It makes the prisoners think something’s up.”

“How do you know?”

I gasped when he tugged down my shorts and pressed a hot kiss below my navel. “I checked with the guard up top. He said we’ll have all the privacy we want.”

When my panties slid down, his fingers disappeared between my legs, stroking my sex. I prayed there was enough air in the elevator, because I was sucking it all up with each heavy breath.

His strokes were skilled, as if he wanted to collect each gasp and gentle word that fell from my lips.

Denver rose to his feet and delivered a salacious kiss while he pleasured me. His coarse whiskers rubbed against my skin, and every rough and smooth part of his body ignited my senses. Then he broke the kiss, heated breaths warming my cheek.

“I need to claim you. Right here. Right now.”

I swallowed thickly, lost in a fog of naughty thoughts. “You want to fuck me in the elevator?”

His body moved against mine. “Don’t say it like that unless you’ll let me,”
 he said, lips next to my ear, voice rough with need.

I shuddered when he pulled his fingers away and looked at me with invitation in his eyes.

“Are there cameras in here?” I asked.

A smile crossed his expression. “If there are, it won’t matter in a minute.”

“Why?”

My heart leapt in my chest when the lights went out and submersed us in darkness.

“They conserve energy when the elevators are inactive,” he whispered while unzipping his pants. “Standing up or lying down?”

I smiled, moving my lips to his ear. “In and out.”

He groaned, and then I felt the hard press of him at my core. His hesitation made me tremble with need. We were on the verge of doing something very wicked in a prison elevator.

It excited me. Made me want to find an alarm button just so people would know what we were about to do.

“We’ve got less than four minutes before it starts moving again,” he said, urgency in his voice.

I lifted my leg and locked it around his. “Then you better get moving.”

His restraint was
killing
me.

“It won’t be romantic like the first time. It’s a craving I can’t fight, and I’ve never felt this kind of need for another woman. If we do this, it’ll be rough, hard, and fast. I need to claim you, and that means fucking you right here.”

I ground against him, arching my back and on the brink of expiring. “If you keep talking to me like that, I’m going to come.”

He penetrated deep, and the heat of him burned like a brand. There was no time to savor the moment. With an urgent rock of his hips, Denver gripped my right thigh and found my mouth. Our tongues twined, and the cold wall pressed against my back. I grew wetter with every thrust, every needful kiss.

I nibbled on his lip and dug my nails into his shoulders. He was lean muscle, the kind most women preferred over the men who looked as if they were on steroids. Strong hands, strong arms, full of boundless energy.

Denver released a growl, low and possessive. “Say something.”

“Why?”

He nibbled my lip. “So I know it’s you I’m claiming.”

He couldn’t see me, and as sexy as this was, I knew how he felt. I wanted to see his fervent gaze and admire the shades of blond in his hair while my hand fisted it.

What does he want me to say?
“I don’t want to sound like a bimbo in a cheesy porn flick.”

“Three minutes,” he breathed.

“Are you counting in your head?” I asked in horror.

“Don’t break my concentration.”

I wanted to laugh, and I did. Probably the worst time you could choose to laugh, and yet the energy shifted in that room. The sexual tension swelled into something hot and untamable. Denver lifted my other leg and I gripped his shoulders.