Watch Me, page 13
“It wasn’t him! Keric didn’t know. He had nothing to do with it!” Tiffy stood rigid in his grip, pale and terrified. “It took me a while to get past it too, but I trust him. I love him, Thomas. He’s my mate.”
A sound of disgust came from Thomas. “Your mate? You think I want his dirty blood running through members of this pack?”
“No, you just want my blood running out of me, onto the floor.” Keric needed him to let go of her. If Thomas got any angrier, he’d hurt her. “Have at it then, because you will have to kill me to make me stop loving her.”
“I won’t kill you.” Thomas moved his hands and encircled Tiffy’s throat in such a way, one sharp twist would be enough to snap her neck. He tossed the knife at Keric. “You’ll do it for me.”
Keric took a step back and the knife clattered to the floor between them. Thomas couldn’t be serious. What made him think he’d kill himself? “No.”
Thomas tightened his grip on Tiffy’s throat. “Let me spell it out for you. If you don’t end your own life, I’ll be ending hers.”
Chapter 14
Tears stung Tiffy’s eyes, less because of the predicament she was in, more because of the torment she saw in Keric’s eyes. “Don’t even think about it, Keric.”
“Shut up, Tiffy.” Thomas’s thumb dug into her windpipe.
Where the hell was Zalin? She’d hit the call button and knew he’d picked up, just as she’d slipped the phone into the pocket of her robe. He had to have heard, had to know the danger. He had to know they needed help.
“No, I won’t.” She had to make him listen. He accused Keric of being the bad guy, when all he’d done was protect her, while Thomas threatened her life. “You’re acting exactly like Kell did.”
Thomas growled. “I’m not.”
Tiffy saw Keric move forward slightly, a dangerous glint in his eyes. The fool would try to take Thomas out, if she didn’t do something, and fast. “Yeah, you are. Only Kell was crazy, what’s your excuse?”
Thomas stared down at her, apparently stunned.
It cost him.
Keric leaped at him and threw one well-aimed punch at his nose, breaking it in the process. Thomas let go, howling in pain and clutching his nose. Tiffy spun away, putting herself between the two men. Keric wouldn’t let her and yanked her behind him. She had no idea where he’d found the strength, but it seemed as if he didn’t feel the nasty wound in his chest anymore. He went at Thomas like a steam train, knocked him to the floor and pinned him, his hand at the man’s throat.
“You fucking idiot! Did you think I’ll let you kill Tiffy?” Keric hit him again, splitting Thomas’s lip. “Did you think I’d just fold and give up?”
Thomas tried to throw him off, but Keric was like a man possessed.
“Stay down, if you know what’s good for you. I won’t let you hurt her, or me. Ever.” Keric slammed Thomas’s head into the floorboards. “I’ll fight to have a life with her as long as there is a single breath left in my body.”
She had no idea how he could stand upright, let alone fight Thomas, or keep him on the floor. There was some packing string balled up in a corner, and Tiffy grabbed it and tied Thomas’s hands.
Footsteps below briefly drew her attention, but by the time Zalin and Barad came running in, Thomas was trussed up like a turkey on the floor.
Tiffy didn’t even look at the two men. “You’re late.”
Zalin stood in the doorway, staring down at Thomas. “What happened here?”
“Nothing much. Thomas came to kill Keric.” Tiffy glared at him. “Didn’t you listen?”
Zalin paled and pulled her close. “Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”
“I’m fine.” She extricated herself from his arms.
Keric glanced at her. “Listen?”
“I called him and put the phone in my pocket so he could hear what’s going on, hoping he’d get the message and rush to help.” She shot a pointed look at Zalin.
“It was muffled. I couldn’t understand a word. I thought you might have accidentally dialed my number.” Zalin was clearly shaken. “Has he gone insane?”
“He wasn’t making much sense.” Keric backed away from Thomas, swaying dangerously. Barad grabbed his arm and kept him on his feet. “Thanks.”
Tiffy ran to him and helped getting him back into bed, while Zalin dragged Thomas to his feet. To her shock she could see tears running down Thomas’s face. “I wasn’t kidding when I said he acted like Kell. Why is it everyone seems to think they need to threaten my life?”
Zalin’s eyes narrowed. “I intend to find out.”
Keric drew her close and the other people in the room were forgotten. She wrapped her arms around him and looked up into his face. “How could you? How could you risk your life for me? Again. He wouldn’t have killed me.”
“I wasn’t taking the chance.” Keric kissed her softly. “Are you okay?”
“I think it should be me, asking you the same question.”
Behind them, Zalin hauled Thomas out of the room, but neither paid attention. Barad remained behind, a thoughtful look in his eyes. “Did he say why he tried to kill you?”
“Blames me for Tiffy’s father’s death, by association,” Keric grumbled. “Do you have any more nutcases I should watch out for, in this pack?”
“Thomas was always like an uncle to me.” Tiffy sat on the bed and rubbed her hands over her face. “I don’t understand why he suddenly flipped. I know he said he loved my dad, but so did I, and you don’t see me trying to kill people who had nothing to do with it.”
Barad stared at her. “He actually used those words?”
Tiffy stilled. “What words?”
Keric’s hand folded over hers. “I think I get it.”
He did? Well that made one of them. “Well, spell it out for me.”
“He was in love with your father.” Keric’s voice was gentle.
She shuddered and shook her head, pulling her hands from his grasp. There was no way her father was, nor had he ever been, gay. Her mother would have known. “Ew. You’re wrong. Dad and Thomas? No way. No way.”
“I’m not saying your father reciprocated his feelings, or even knew about it. I doubt Thomas ever dared tell him.” Keric drew her close. “I’m quite sure it was a one-sided thing, but it didn’t lessen the pain for Thomas.”
He had to be wrong. Thomas, strong, dependable–now crazy–Thomas wasn’t gay. He didn’t act any different from the other men. “It has to be something else.”
“He’s right, Tiffy.”
Her gaze shot to Barad’s. “No. He–”
“He hit on me once.” A tell-tale crimson stain appeared on Barad’s cheeks. “I thought he was joking. I guess he wasn’t.”
“Call Zalin.” Keric sat up. “Tell him to let the guy cool off, before he does anything.”
“He deserves everything he gets,” Tiffy muttered. “I hope Zalin breaks his nose some more.”
“Tiff, if I were in his shoes, I’d take it out on anyone associated with the killer too. He’s blind with grief. He doesn’t know what he’s doing.” He caught her against him. “I know you’re angry. So am I. He has a lot to answer for, but if we deny Thomas the help he needs, and beat him up instead, how is it ever going to end? We’d be as wrong as he was, and as guilty as Kell.”
How could he be so reasonable? How could he understand what had driven Thomas to the edge, and forgive him? “He tried to kill you. I can’t forgive that.”
“I’m not asking you to be friends with him. I’m asking you to help me break a vicious cycle before it starts.” Keric leaned forward and kissed her. “Please. I’ll never forgive him for threatening your life, but I understand what’s going through his mind. He needs help. Professional help.”
Barad stared at them from across the room.
Tiffy reached for her phone, but narrowed her eyes at Barad. “What?”
“Just thinking.”
“About what? You want a piece of him too, now?” Tiffy lowered the phone. If they had another maniac in the room, she’d freak. Enough was enough.
“The pack he leads as Alpha one day is to be envied.”
“Nothing new there.” She rolled her eyes, and called Zalin.
Chapter 15
Four Weeks Later
Tiffy heard the roar of a motorcycle, stopped at the curb and hitched the grocery bags up. She’d head over to the dry cleaners and cut across the back lot to the bank. It would save time and–
“Hey, you know your way around here?”
She looked up to see if the deep male voice had been directed at her. The biker looked at her, and something about him seemed eerily familiar, but his black helmet obscured most of his face. Then he lifted his head and she saw his eyes. A gasp left her throat.
Eyes almost identical to Keric’s darkened with worry. “You’re not going to faint, are you?”
Tiffy took a step away from him. “Who are you?”
He smiled, appraising her from head to toe. “Same question to you, darlin’.”
She inhaled. Definitely Lycan, and not from around here, which begged the question why a leather-clad biker with eyes like Keric’s was cruising around town. Looking for his brother, perhaps? “Is your last name O’Neill?”
His eyes lost their warmth. “What’s it to you?”
Everything. Barad had mentioned another brother and, if she wasn’t mistaken, this guy fit the bill perfectly. “You’re looking for Keric.”
Surprise flashed in the gray then it was gone. “Maybe.”
“No maybe about it.” Tiffy jerked her head toward the bank. “I’m parked over by First National. You can follow me.”
He crossed his arms in front of his chest. “Who the hell are you, sweetie? You seem to know an awful lot about me.”
“Not really. I’m just very good at guessing.” She held her hand out to him. “I’m Tiffany. Or Tiffy, to my friends.”
“Keefe.” He didn’t take her hand. “You know Keric, I take it?”
“Yeah. Come on.” She crossed the road and heard the motorcycle take off around the corner. As she’d predicted, he’d pulled into the bank’s parking lot and waited for her. She nodded at him, went to her car and loaded the groceries into the back.
He followed her out of town, at a distance.
* * * *
“Keric? Visitor for you!”
A visitor? Keric got off the sofa, followed Tiffy’s voice–and froze in the doorway. A man stood in the center of the kitchen. Too close to Tiffy for his liking. He took in the black leathers, the motorcycle helmet on the table and a pair of leather gloves, thrown carelessly beside it. The guy’s dark hair was long, shot with gold and he didn’t need a mirror to know they were pretty identical looking. What the hell was his brother doing here? “Keefe?”
He turned with a lazy grace and measured him with one look. Then a broad grin softened his face. “Hey, bro. You’re a hard man to track down these days.”
“What are you doing here?” Dammit, he didn’t want Keefe anywhere near Tiffy.
“Gee, let’s see. No one heard from you in a while, and I figured I’ll find out if you’re still alive.”
“A phone call would have told you that.” It still didn’t explain how Keefe had known where to look for him. He hadn’t told anyone where he was going. “How did you know where I was?”
Keefe’s eyes became guarded, his gaze fixed on Keric’s scars. “What happened to you? You didn’t have those last time I saw you.”
“Long story.” Keric took a deep breath. “And not one I want to tell.”
Keefe nodded. “All right.”
“Does anyone want some coffee?” Tiffy asked. “Or maybe a beer?”
“Coffee would be great.” Keefe smiled at her and Keric wanted to knock those perfect teeth down his throat.
“Coffee it is.” Tiffy turned to the coffee maker and filled three mugs. “So which of your parents had a thing for the letter K?”
“Mom.” They both answered at the same time, and started to laugh. For the first time in years he felt some kind of kinship with Keefe, even though he was five years older.
“Everything she named started with the letter K. We had a pet dog named Kearnel–spelled K-e-a-r-n-e-l. She named the fish in the pond, and all started with K.” Keefe smiled, but his smile faded after a moment. “And there was my twin sister, Kelsey. She died when we were fifteen.”
And Keefe hadn’t been the same since, Keric realized with a start. Why hadn’t he ever noticed? Had he been so self-absorbed he hadn’t known his brother was hurting?
“I’m sorry.” She handed him a mug of coffee. “Are you on the way through, or would you like to stay for a few days?”
“I’m here to get Keric. There’s a problem at home, and I need him to help fix it.” Keefe shot him a hard look. “So you better be ready to move.”
“What problem? Why can’t you fix it?” He wasn’t going anywhere. Not until he could be sure Tiffy would either wait for him, or come with him.
“Aunt Summer wants to see you.”
“So? Since when did I come running when she called?” Keric shrugged.
Keefe set his mug down. “There might not be much time left to see her, Keric. I’m not leaving here without you. I promised her I’d bring you with me.”
His aunt was dying? Keefe was making promises–and kept them? “She’s...”
“Dying. Yes.”
There was pain in his brother’s eyes and Keric knew he wasn’t lying for once. “I’ll take the next flight out.”
Tiffy slipped her hand into his, and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Do you want me to come with you?”
Yes, he did, but he couldn’t ask her to abandon everything. “Are you sure you want to?”
She tiptoed and pressed a gentle kiss on his lips. “I’ll go where you go. Haven’t you worked that out yet?”
She’d go where he went? Keric pulled her close and kissed her, heat firing in his gut. He fully expected her to change her mind once she realized how far from her family they’d be, but for now...for now she was his. He refused to plan further ahead than holding her in his arms right now, and tonight. He was healed, but Tiffy had insisted he recover some more. If his brother hadn’t stood in the room, he’d have taken her upstairs to show her just exactly how recovered he was.
Keefe cleared his throat. “Get a room.”
Tiffy pulled away and grinned at him. “We got a room.”
Keefe rolled his eyes, grabbed his mug and strode out of the kitchen.
“Ignore him.” Keric kissed her ear. “Let’s go upstairs.”
“Later. I’ll pack some stuff. Where are we going?”
It occurred to him he’d never told her where home was. “Wyoming. About sixty miles outside Cody.”
“I’ll book flights. You go talk to your brother.”
He drew her back before she got far. “Did I tell you how much I love you?”
“Not today.” Tiffy winked at him. “What’s the closest airport?”
“Billings.”
Tiffy frowned. “Billings is in Montana, not Wyoming.”
“Yeah, but it’s closer to where we’re going.” He patted her on the rump. “Trust you to know geography.”
“I read and went to school.” Tiffy winked at him. “Go see what your brother is up to, before my neighbors maul him.”
Distinct possibility, in this pack. Keric headed outside and almost tripped over Keefe’s feet. “Hey, can you find a place where people don’t step on you?”
Keefe didn’t look up. “Are you serious about her?”
“Yes.”
“Is she the reason for those scars?”
“No.” Keric shoved his legs aside and sat down on the step. “Those are courtesy of Kell.”
“What?”
“Kell almost succeeded in killing Tiffy’s family, her included. He went nuts.” He’d learned as much in the weeks since he’d been shot. Zalin had filled him in, after he’d taken Thomas to a clinic where he might get the help he needed.
Keefe exhaled slowly. “Damn. So the rumors were true. He cracked.”
Keric frowned. “You knew?”
“No. I suspected. When we didn’t hear from him, I wondered if he’d finally snapped and got himself killed.” He slanted a cautious look at Keric. “Kell was never right in the head, Ker. He just hid it well.”
He’d underestimated Keefe. “Next you’ll tell me you took care of the shop.”
“I did. Kind of.” He shrugged. “Hired a manager.”
“All right. Who are you, and what have you done with my brother?”
Keefe grinned. “I’m not as irresponsible as you think I am.”
“Apparently not.”
“So if you’re serious about her, why haven’t you married her yet? You’ve been gone almost two years.”
“You wanted me to marry an underage girl? She was seventeen when I met her.” Keric sighed. “And I don’t have the guts to tell her that I can’t stay here. Everyone she loves is here. I can’t just yank her out of it.”
“Not everyone. She loves you too.”
“I’ll break it to her when we’re home. Not a second sooner.”
* * * *
Tiffy was in awe of all the space around her. There were vast areas to run, hills, mountains, streams and forests. “You live here?”
“Yes.” Keric smiled, clearly pleased she liked it.
“It’s beautiful.” She snuggled up to him. “How could you leave this behind?”
“With extreme difficulty.”
“I bet. You must have felt so cooped up at our place.” If she had a place like this to live, she’d never leave. They topped a hill and wide open spaces stretched out before them, a narrow creek running alongside the road, the water sparkling clear and clean. In the distance she could see a wooded area and a few derelict buildings, mostly barns and storage sheds. There didn’t seem to be many populated areas, no neighbors to disturb or worry. It was perfect for a wolf and she envied him for having grown up here, with this endless blue sky above, and so much space to run and hunt.
“You should just marry him and move here.” Keefe turned the car onto a long straight road. “All this is pack property.”
