Page 3 of Waylon

“They’d no doubt claim that they were the ones to be in charge of her estate and the ones that would pay out all the money. Sick bastards.” Logan agreed with him. “So? What do I do with my wealthy mate that anyone else couldn’t have been able to do?”

“You need to claim her so that she’s immortal. The sooner, the better.” He told Cullen that he didn’t care for being blackmailed. “I know you don’t, but you can get to know her better after things hit the fan for her in the next few hours.”

“You’re serious. I need to claim her now, without even meeting her, so that she doesn’t die and we can hang out together. That’s a shitty thing to do to anyone. Much less your brother. What if you’re wrong about her?” Logan said that he wasn’t. “I don’t like this. I’ll do it because I don’t want anyone to die for no reason. I know that ten million is a lot of reasons for her to be alive but I still don’t care for this.”

All he had to do was to say the words that would claim the woman as his mate. As he said, he’d do it, but he wasn’t going to be hanging out with her anytime too soon. He had other things going on that needed his attention more than she might.

Once the words were out of his mouth, him claiming one Londyn Grace Rice as his mate and one true love, he felt a connection to her like a rubber band being snapped on his wrist. Standing up when he felt her pain, he looked at his brother and dad and said that he had to go. Once he was out in the sunshine, he realized that he hadn’t any idea where she was or what was happening to her. Heading to the diner, where he’d first seen her, he stopped when he saw the large black car sliding to a halt near where he was standing. The passenger got out, and Waylon felt his gorilla snarling at the other man.

“You there. We’re looking for that girl we asked you about. Have you seen her around lately?” He asked the man, a burly of a guy, why he’d think that he’d seen her since he asked him the day before yesterday. “We’re not getting shit out of anyone around this town, yet we know this is where she is staying. You’d think that someone would help us somewhat. I’m her dad, and I’ve been looking for her.”

“Father, huh? She must look like her mother if she’s your daughter.” He asked him what he knew about her looks. “You said she had purple eyes. You don’t, so I’m assuming that her mother has them.”

“Oh.” He looked into the car he was still standing beside and spoke to the driver. He wasn’t talking all that loud, but it was just enough for him to hear. He wanted to know if they should question him more someplace private. Unless he wanted a troop of gorillas on his ass, he’d better be rethinking that. He looked at him again, smiling a tight smile. “How about we get you a cup of coffee someplace and sit down and talk about this? I mean, you might have seen her and don’t know it. What do you say about that?”

“I have to go to work.” He said he was sure that his boss wouldn’t mind if he was late. “I would. So no, I’m not going to go anyplace with the two of you.”

When he walked by him, going to the diner again, the man reached out and grabbed him by the arm. All Waylon did was to look at his hand on him, then at the man. Smiling at him, Waylon let just enough of his gorilla go to make sure that man knew he was fucking with the wrong person.

“Remove your hand, or I’ll tear your arm from the socket and beat you to death with it. I’m not kidding you right now.” The man let him go, but not before showing him the gun that he had in his coat. “If you think you can pull that out before I can tear out your throat, then go right on ahead. I’ve got nothing but time on my side if it comes to having to kill you.”

~*~

Londyn watched the exchange between the men just beyond where she was hiding. It occurred to herthat this was the same man that had chased her down several days ago when she’d been hiding in the woods. Now that she was staying at the diner, the apartment just above the place, she could look all over the town and not be seen. It was nice, too, that she was nearly worry-free from the men trying to kill her.

There was no doubt in her mind that she’d be dead if they found her. Donnie had already been killed by them, and it didn’t matter to them that his poor mother might not have known shit about what he’d done for her. She was also terrified that once they found her, Donnie’s death would look easy compared to what they’d do to her.

The odd part was she’d not even known about the checks from the insurance company. Handing them over to Mr. Dixon, Dallas, his name was, didn’t bother her so much as knowing that all this time, she could have been in a great deal better shape than she was now. Londyn had been living paycheck to paycheck since her parents had died and she’d been able to get out of college. She’d only had a few weeks left to work for the firm in order to fulfill her obligation for them paying half her college loans. She did wonder now if they’d ever planned to do that and it upset her that she’d worked there for a large pay cut just so they’d keep their end of the bargain. It was going to be difficult for her to trust many people after this was finished, hopefully without her being dead. That was what she was working for right now.

When the younger man moved away from the guy in the black SUV, she knew that some pretty harsh words were exchanged. Looking down at the towel that she’d wrapped her bleeding finger in, she was surprised to see that it looked as if it had stopped bleeding. Almost as soon as she unwrapped it to see if it was still bleeding a great deal, she had to close her eyes. The door to her apartment/hiding place opened she turned to find the man from the street there. Something Dixon.

“It’s not there. The cut isn’t there anymore.” He nodded and moved toward her. Slowly, like he was gaging her temperament. “I nearly cut my finger off when I saw the big car…my finger is all healed up, and I’m not bleeding anymore.”

She put out her hand when he asked her to. There was something so warm and comforting about him being so close. After he tossed the towel into the sink, he looked over her hand just to make sure. Snatching it back when he asked her if she was all right like he was asking her if she was sane, pissed her off. So she told him to leave.

“I was only asking to see if you were still hurting. I’m not sure how the magic works, but I was fearful that you might still have some lingering pain. The pain that I felt that brought me here.” She asked him why he’d know she was hurt. “Yeah, about that. I knew because I claimed you to my dad. Usually, it’s supposed to be to my older brother; he’s the razorback in the troop, but my dad used to be the leader, and now—”

“You’re babbling. What are you going on about?” He sat down after asking her permission. “Tell me straight up what it is you’re talking about. How did you feel my pain? For that matter, how did you know that I’m living up here?” He didn’t look like he was going to answer her so she kicked him in the foot.

“You’re not nice. I knew you were up here because once I spoke to Janie, she told me that you were up here. Hiding out.” So much for keeping her safe, she thought. “She wouldn’t have told me but for the reason that I gave her.”

“And just what reason that a perfectly strange man would be able to say to her that would allow you to come up here?” He told her that they were mates and that he’d claimed her. “What does that mean? I mean, I sort of understand, mates. I know a few shifters. But what does…you said that we’re mates. Since when?”

“Since I don’t know when. The fates made it so? I have no idea.” She asked him what he knew about mates. “I mean, you know a few shifters. I’m a gorilla shift—”

“There isn’t any such thing as gorilla shifters.” He stretched out his neck, and she heard it pop several times as he stared at her. “I would think that someone would have said something about them before.”

“So because no one told you that there are shifter gorillas, it can’t be true?” He snorted. “Get over yourself. There are snake shifters, too. And in the event you didn’t know, there are shifters for all kinds of animals around. Elite shifters also have the ability to shape-shift into things that have no heartbeat, too. I suppose you didn’t know that either?”

“You’re very snarky.” He didn’t bother answering her, and she was glad for that. “Tell me what this means, you claiming me.”

“Just what you think it means. I’ve claimed you so that you didn’t bleed out when you cut yourself. In looking at your hand just now, did you know that you also cut your wrist?” She said that her finger was ready to fall off, and that wouldn’t have made her bleed out. “Oh, so now you’re a doctor too.”

“I don’t like you one bit, just so you know that.” He stood up, and she did as well. “Where are you going? Aren’t you supposed to die without me next to you? That’s all it’s going to be too to by claiming me.” Making his way to the door, he stopped suddenly, and she bumped him from behind. “What the—”

He turned to her quickly. His hand covered her mouth, and he held her tightly to his body. Nearly ready to unman him, she heard the voices, too. Several men were talking to Janie about her. Looking up at the man, she didn’t have any idea what his name was when he told her to hush. As much as she hated to be treated like a child, she also didn’t care to be told to hush like she was a baby.

“Logan is going to take you home.” The man just appeared in the room. Sort of sprinkled in the room like he was some kind of faerie god mo— “Listen to me. He’s going to take you to my house where they won’t be able to find you. For the love of everything, will you stay put until I come for you?”