Bethany [Eminence Shifters 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Page 3

  “Fuck it,” Samson said. He was way beyond angry with himself. “I was right there while this was all happening.”

  “The money has already been paid. He’s going to search for her,” Michael said.

  Samson couldn’t believe this. He knew Renta was suspected of human trafficking, but they’d never found proof before. By taking Bethany as he had, they finally had that proof. Michael had found it. But he didn’t care about prosecuting the man now. He wanted to kill him.

  “He’ll use the same information that you uncovered to try and locate her,” Jason said, his tone cold. “The fact that she’s a stranger to us will work to our advantage. I need to inform Finn.”

  Samson watched Jason walk calmly back to his office. He wasn’t fooled by Jason’s charade. He may have attempted to appear unaffected by the danger to their mate, but Samson had scented his brother’s fury.

  “He’s continuing with his denial, it seems,” Michael said as he walked back to Bethany’s side.

  “We have bigger things to concern ourselves with than our brother’s stupidity,” Samson said. “We can pound some sense into him later.”

  * * * *

  Volunteering to call their Alpha had given him an excuse to walk away from Bethany, when all he’d wanted to do was to hold her in his arms. His run, it seemed, had not dulled his desire for her in the slightest.

  The news that she’d almost been sold had ignited a possessiveness in him that he’d never experienced before. I am not controlled by my cat. I have free will and I will not take a mate.

  He’d never told his brothers what had happened with Judith. The pain had been too fresh when he’d first returned home. Then, as the years passed, he’d never found the right time to bring it up, so it remained as a raw wound on his heart.

  He called Finn and assured him they’d keep him updated, and that at present, there seemed little chance that Bethany had been followed to Eminence by Renta or his criminal associates.

  Bethany’s tests were now complete and he needed to share his findings with his brothers. Her mates.

  He had to consider the reality of his situation. When Bethany woke, she would become a mate to his brothers. Not to him.

  His cat nearly forced a shift on him at his refusal to join in their mating. That hadn’t happened to him since his first shift.

  He had to face the fact that once she was safe, he’d have to leave Eminence.

  He staggered under the force of his cat’s rage. But he was stronger, and he’d exercise his free will. Instincts be damned, he would not take a mate.

  * * * *

  Michael was spending a few more minutes with Bethany before going to check with his contacts. He was hoping they’d uncovered something more about her. He wanted to know everything about her life before three weeks ago.

  He was perched on the exam table, holding Bethany’s small hand, while Samson slept in the chair next to her bed. His brother was making an attentive and caring mate, which he found surprising, considering how vocal Samson had always been about never wanting one. Now all they needed was for Jason to realize how futile it was to fight against nature.

  As if conjured by his thoughts, Jason entered the clinic.

  “Do you have the test results?” Samson asked. He’d obviously not been as deeply asleep as he’d appeared.

  “She was given a mix of Ketamine and Haloperidol. The drugs have effectively placed her in a medically-induced coma.”

  “Can you reverse it, now you know what they dosed her with?” Michael said anxiously.

  “If necessary. I’d rather she come out of it on her own. With no knowledge of her medical history, I’m reluctant to administer even more drugs.”

  “Will she have been harmed by what they’ve done to her?” Samson said. Michael could hear Samson’s cat in the rough snarl his voice had become.

  “Barring any unforeseen drug reactions, she should make a full recovery within the next forty-eight hours.”

  “Don’t you give a fuck at all about her, Jase?” Samson said. He growled loudly at Jason now, his eyes shining with amber lights. “You sound as though you’re discussing a stranger, not your fucking mate.”

  “I care because she is your mate, Samson. I will say it again, she is not my mate.” Jason casually flicked some lint off his sleeve before walking from the room.

  “I’m not leaving Bethany’s side to chase him down and beat some fucking sense into him.” The amber had filled Samson’s eyes completely, his canines grazing his bottom lip and slurring his voice further.

  “He won’t be able to deny it once she starts responding to our scent. He’s throwing off as much mating musk as we are. His cat knows the truth.”

  “I wish we’d found out why he left the Marines. I think something from that time has him completely screwed up,” Samson said, his growl still a low rumble in his chest.

  “This mating has you very in-touch with your feminine side, Samson.”

  “Fuck you. I can still kill you with my bare hands.” But a smile had spread across his face.

  Chapter 6

  Bethany felt the layers of drug-induced sleep slip slowly away. She struggled to recall what she’d done this time to make the doctors knock her out.

  The more she tried to remember, though, the worse her headache became. But she continued to fight hard to try and clear the fog as quickly as possible. It wasn’t safe for her to be helpless.

  Stuart would get to her the first chance he got. She was in an untenable situation, her word against his, and who was going to believe a long-term patient like her?

  She tried not to cry out with the pain in her head, but a small moan slipped out as she tried to force her heavy eyelids to open.

  “Bethany, can you hear me?”

  She froze. She didn’t recognize that voice, but thankfully, it wasn’t the nasal tones of the dick-less Stuart. She grasped either side of her head with her hands in an attempt to prevent it from splitting open.

  “We’ve waited a long time for you to wake up, Bethany. How are you feeling?”

  This voice was different, but it also wasn’t Stuart. This place didn’t smell the same as the hospital, either.

  Holding her head firmly, she squeezed her eyes tightly closed and took a deep breath. The smell was actually quite wonderful. It was woodsy and clean, with a hint of musk mixed in. As she breathed it into her lungs, she felt a warmth spread through her body in a chain reaction. As the warmth moved on, it left a simmering tingle in its wake, like she’d been standing too close to a lightning strike.

  She’d always had a really good sense of smell, and she’d found most people smelled pretty bad. But not the people in the room right now. Whoever they were they were, they smelled positively edible.

  Bringing her mind back to the problem at hand was difficult, but she knew she had to get out of this bed and away from the hospital before Stuart came on duty.

  “I have a bad case of cotton mouth and a rotten headache. What the fuck did you give me this time?” Bethany said, finally answering their questions. The words proved difficult to articulate with her mouth so dry.

  Growls sounded around her, and the delicious smell grew stronger.

  “I think you need to open your eyes, Bethany. We would never harm you. I was the one who saved you from that asshole in Tijuana.”

  Tijuana? She pushed the drug haze away and tried really hard to think. She remembered limping away from the hospital. She remembered music and beer. That’s right, I already escaped from Claremont. Thank God for that. I’m working in a club in Tijuana now.

  “Why did you need to escape from Claremont, kitten? Are you in some sort of trouble?”

  She must have said that out loud. She had no clue what was going on, or where she was. Gritting her teeth at the pain in her head, she opened her eyes.

  As she blinked rapidly to clear her blurred vision, two men came into focus. When she tried to pull herself into a sitting position, they both gently helped her and propped
pillows behind her back.

  She looked around the room first. She was sitting on some sort of hospital bed, in a room filled with medical equipment. She could see green fields and grazing horses through the large window opposite the bed. In the distance, she could see tree-covered hills.

  “You’re not in Kansas anymore, Dorothy,” she whispered.

  The deep chuckles that erupted from the two men drew her attention back to them.

  “Actually, you’re in a town called Eminence, in the mountains of Colorado. Do you prefer to be called Dorothy, instead of Bethany?”

  The man who’d spoken was huge. “You have to be the biggest person I’ve ever seen.”

  He smiled widely at her and his pale golden eyes sparkled. He was big and gorgeous. He had honey-blond hair, cut high and tight. Coupled with his fatigues and tight black T-shirt, he screamed “military.”

  She shook her head in an attempt to focus her thoughts and think clearly. Moaning, she wished she hadn’t. Her head was killing her.

  “Did you say Colorado? How do you know my name? Who the hell are you?” As her thinking cleared, she grew scared. It appeared as though she’d been abducted.

  Another huge man with the brown hair and green eyes handed her a bottle of water. She eyed it suspiciously. She knew she’d been drugged. The effects were too familiar for her not to recognize them. It was possible they were trying to put her back to sleep. She put the bottle of water on the bed beside her.

  “Why don’t we start from the beginning? My name is Samson Reed. This is my brother Michael. I work for the military and was on assignment in Tijuana when we crossed paths. Do you remember serving a slimy bastard in a black suit at the club last night?”

  “The drug lord?” She definitely remembered him. “He really creeped me out. I don’t remember you, though.” She wouldn’t have forgotten someone that huge.

  “You knew what he was?” Michael appeared surprised.

  “Sure, he reeked of drugs and money. So did all the people he met that night. I stayed away from them as much as I could.”

  “You have good instincts, Bethany. But unfortunately, he noticed you. His two bodyguards drugged you and were getting ready to take you from the bar when I intervened.”

  “God, that’s right, I remember now. He smelt so disgusting I nearly threw up.” It all came back in a rush. The trip to Tijuana, finding a job and working at the club. That man grabbing her was the last thing she remembered.

  “Why did they drug me?”

  “At the time, I didn’t know why they tried to abduct you, but we’ve since learned that the man you served, Cristian Renta, is involved in human trafficking as well as drugs.” Samson paused, his eyes got brighter, and his expression became stark with anger. “Last night at the club, he put you up for auction to the highest bidder.”

  As detestable as the practice of human trafficking was, she was surprised she would’ve been of any appeal. She was skinny, with no boobs or curves. Her hair was cut short, as she’d had no access to any sort of hair product, even a hair dryer for years. She was incredibly plain.

  “It’s completely heinous that someone would do that to another human being, but why on earth would he want me? Did he think I was a man?”

  That earned her another deep chuckle from both men. The air seemed to fill with that delicious smell again. She leaned forward a little and took a breath in. It was these men. Their cologne was incredible. It made her think of sex, and she never thought of sex.

  “They most definitely advertised you as a female.” She watched as Michael’s face grew tight with anger. “I saw what he posted online.”

  “Oh God, what about the other girls at the club?” Even though she’d only been working there three weeks, the people were really nice and she cared about them. They’d given her a chance, even though she’d admitted to having zero work experience.

  “From what I uncovered, you were the only one for sale,” Michael said.

  “I’m so glad.” She clutched a hand to her chest to try and calm her racing heart. “They were all really kind to me when I needed a helping hand.”

  The pieces all fell together, at last, in her sluggish brain. Samson had rescued her from that man after she’d been drugged. She could have been…God, she didn’t know where she’d be right now if he hadn’t intervened.

  “I’m sorry I’ve caused you both so much trouble, but I’d like to thank you for saving me from that horrible situation. My name is Bethany Granger.” She held out her hand.

  Samson looked at her hand for so long that she thought she should withdraw it. Awkward.

  But he grasped it in his hand and brought it to his lips, kissing the back of her hand very gently. She felt as though her hand was singed by the gentle caress of his lips. She gasped slightly at the heat spreading through her from the contact.

  “It was an unexpected happenstance that has brought you into my life Bethany, but I’m almost grateful that the bastard tried to take you,” Samson said. As he looked into her eyes, his seemed to almost glow with the sincerity of his words.

  “As am I,” Michael said, taking her other hand in his and brushing his lips lightly to her palm.

  This time, the heat spread through her veins like an inferno. Her eyes felt as though they were on fire. She blinked to try and ease the feeling that they were actually burning. She also felt the stirrings of arousal. She’d thought she was incapable of feeling sexually excited. She’d been unsure of whether it was due to her psychological problems or the drugs they had her on. But it seemed as though she was over that now, because these two had barely touched her and she ached for them to never stop.

  She had to get a grip. She was in Colorado, back in the USA. She had run for a reason and she had to get going again. She withdrew her hands from theirs, reluctantly. Samson had explained why he had taken her from the club, but not why she was here. “Why have you brought me to a hospital all the way up here?”

  “This is our home, not a hospital.”

  Turning toward the voice, she saw a hugely muscled man leaning against the door frame. He wore khaki-colored fatigues with a tight black T-shirt. His white-blond hair fell to his shoulders. He was just as gorgeous as Samson and Michael, but unlike their kind expressions, he looked angry. His eyes were a cobalt blue. The hint of ice in his beautiful eyes showed her he didn’t like her being in his home at all.

  Then his cologne drifted into the room. It added a deeper, musky note to Michael and Samson’s cologne. Combined like this, it was simply the best smell in the world. The feeling she’d experienced before, of being too close to a lightning strike, amplified as his cologne continued to drift into the room. Within a second, she felt as though the lightening had actually hit her. Every cell in her body felt alive and excited. She felt heat in her core as the unfamiliar sensation of desire coursed through her again.

  As he continued to stare at her, his expression grew fierce. He was really mad, and it made her feel like crying. “I’m sorry. Please, don’t be angry. I didn’t mean to insult your home.” She lowered her eyes, fearing she’d cry. There was a painful scratching sensation in her chest and she was overwhelmingly sad that she’d somehow displeased the icy stranger.

  She’d never felt like this before. She wanted him to be warm and kind like the other two men. His distant demeanor seemed to be physically hurting her.

  “There’s no insult, Bethany,” Samson said as he reached over and took her hand between both of his. “This particular room is actually more of a clinic. This is our brother, Jason Reed. He’s a doctor, and he uses this room to see patients.”

  She felt a little better with Samson holding her hand. The pain in her chest subsided a little. But when Michael cupped her cheek in his hand and placed a gentle kiss on the top of her head, the pain seemed to flow out of her.

  “How are you feeling?” Jason asked her, the words clipped and devoid of emotion.

  “I’m great. I’ll leave soon,” she said softly. The man was giv
ing off hostile vibes that were almost pushing her through the wall.

  “You should drink that water. It will help to flush the drugs out of your system. If you keep it down, I’ll allow Samson to remove your IV.” He turned and walked quickly away.

  Tears pricked her eyes as she listened to his retreating footsteps. She wasn’t usually a weepy person, but Jason leaving so abruptly made her want to bawl her eyes out. The smell of his cologne receded with him and she found it was leaving an emptiness behind. Oh no, I’m losing it.

  “I think I should go,” she muttered. Opening the water and drinking it all, she didn’t care if she got sick.

  She had the distinct impression that her company was not welcomed by Doctor Jason Reed, and it was making her “crazy” come out again. She’d fought too hard and too long to control her schizophrenia to be pushed into an episode by a total stranger. Especially when that stranger was a total prick.

  Chapter 7

  “I need to use the bathroom, please,” she said. She kept her head down and didn’t make eye contact with the two remaining brothers. She had to get out of here. The presence in her mind was coming back. It had been quiet for a few weeks now, but as soon as Jason had walked away, she’d felt it returning, it would fill her mind with its demands and try to take control.

  “Of course,” Samson said. They both helped her off the bed and walked her to the adjoining bathroom. Her head was spinning from the drugs, and her legs were like jelly, but she stayed on her feet.

  “I’ll hang your IV bag on the hook behind the door,” Michael said helpfully. “You look very pale, darlin’. Do you want one of us to stay with you?”

  “No, thank you. I’ll manage.” She needed them to leave so she could get the fuck out of there. She didn’t know what was happening to her. She was attracted to all three of the gorgeous, but complete, strangers. They smelled so good, and they’d set her body on fire. She felt as though she was living in a romance novel. I think my bosom actually heaved when Michael kissed my head.