He thought of his Mustang out in the driveway and decided it might not be a bad idea to move it into the garage. He got up carefully, not wanting to disturb Sheri. His princess needed the sleep. He had plans for her once she was awake again. Going to his closet he pulled out a worn pair of jeans and slipped them on, then threw on his oldest sneakers and his warmest flannel shirt. He picked up his shredded pants and carried them down to the living room, pulling his keys out as quietly as he could, then went to the closet and pulled down his father’s old service revolver. He’d checked the gun carefully the day before, taking it out to the shooting range to make sure everything still worked properly. It did. He tucked it into the back of his jeans, covering it with his shirt. He went into the garage and opened the garage door.
Fuck. Looks like Parker’s been here, he thought as he stared at the four flat, obviously shredded tires.
He pulled out his gun and closed the garage door, eyes peeled to see if the bastard was still out there.
When nothing happened he tucked the gun away and went back inside to call Gabriel Anderson, Max, and Simon.
He looked up just as he hung up with Simon to see Sheri wrapped in one of his shirts standing at the top of the stairs, her pretty blue eyes full of regret.
And that pissed him off.
“Don’t even fucking think it,” he growled, bounding up the stairs two at a time.
“Adrian…”
“No.” He took her in his arms, her head resting in the cradle of his shoulder. Compared to him she was so small and delicate he felt like a caveman. The urge to protect his mate was so strong he trembled with it. “You’re not going anywhere.”
“I have no clothes,” she said, smiling softly. “I have to go and at least get those.”
He pulled back and looked down at her. “I think you look beautiful.”
She rolled her eyes. “What happened to your car?”
“Someone decided to sharpen their claws on my tires.”
Her jaw clenched, her eyes flashed red and her back stiffened in anger. He could feel her claws digging into his back.
“That is so fucking hot.”
She frowned. “What is?”
“Watching you go all Xena on me. Makes me want to dress you in leather and bend you over a tree trunk.”
She raised one brow, the regret gone from her eyes as she glared up at him. “Pig.”
“Didn’t we already have this discussion? Oink oink, baby.”
Her lips twitched.
“Go on upstairs. I have a long robe you can wear. It’s hanging inside the bathroom door. You’ll have to come down and talk to Gabe and the others, but then we should be able to get some sleep.”
“What about your car?”
“Max and Simon can help me replace the tires first thing in the morning. Belle can walk with you to work.”
“I repeat: in what clothes?”
He frowned thoughtfully. “Good point. Let me call Max back. Emma can get some of your clothes from your hotel room.”
“If Rudy knows I’m here, that might not be safe for Emma.”
“Another good point.” He pulled out his cell phone and dialed Max’s number. “Hey, Max? I need you to bring Emma with you. Sheri needs some clothes from her hotel room.”
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea,” Max replied. “If he’s already been to your place odds are he knows where she’s staying. He might have the place staked out.”
“Yeah, she mentioned that. I was going to ask you to go with her. If Parker can take on both of you we’re in more trouble than I thought.” He tried to ignore the nagging thought that he should be there, as well. His place was beside his mate, protecting her, not his Alpha. That was Gabe’s job.
“I can pick out stuff for her. I think I know what to grab. Shirt, pants, underwear, right?”
“And makeup,” Sheri said, knowing Max would hear her.
“Makeup?”
“And Jerry’s dog food, and his bowls,” she added.
“Anything else she needs?”
“Probably, that’s why I said to take Emma.” He put his hand over the receiver, knowing Max would hear him anyway. “Emma’s the smart one in that relationship.”
“Asshole,” Max grumbled.
Adrian could hear Emma in the background. “Give me the phone, Lion-O. Hi, Adrian. Everyone okay over there?”
“Other than my poor Mustang, everyone’s fine.”
“Ouch. Did he scratch the paint?”
“If he did, it just ups the level of hurt he’s gonna feel.”
Emma snickered. “We’re on our way. I’ll find out what Sheri needs once I get there, okay?”
“Okay. Bye.”
“Bye.”
He hung up the phone and tugged her into his arms, then rubbed his hands soothingly down her back.
“See? All taken care of.” He pressed a quick kiss to her lips before stepping back. “Go grab that robe, sweetheart. Gabe should be here any minute, and he doesn’t need to see you looking so damn sexy.”
He could see the worry was back in her eyes just before she turned away and headed back into the bedroom.
Oh, yeah. Parker was in for a world of hurt.
“So are you and Adrian mated?” Belinda asked as they walked to Wallflowers the next morning.
Sheri tried not to grin smugly. Leaving him, denying the mating, no longer seemed to be an option. He’d made it clear, after everyone had gone the night before, that if she left he’d just follow her, muttering something about handcuffs and bedposts as he’d carried her back to bed. “He bit me right through my shirt.”
Belinda whistled. “Rumor has it he carted you right out of the store, threw you in his car and took off into the sunset.”
“Pretty much. The dork.”
Belinda laughed. “What?”
“It’s freezing out, and he left my coat and my purse behind.”
“He left your purse?” She shook her head in disbelief. “Men are idiots.”
“You said it.”
“So whose coat are you wearing?” The laughing, knowing look on Belinda’s face said she already knew the answer.
Sheri stroked the dark leather jacket Adrian had draped over her before kissing her goodbye, the smug smile she’d been fighting firmly fixed to her face. “His.”
“It’s his favorite.”
“I know. He threatened me with severe bodily harm if I let anything happen to his jacket.”
Belinda put her hand under her elbow as they approached the intersection. Just as the two women began crossing the street a black car screeched around the corner and barreled towards them at top speed.
Belinda gasped, pushing Sheri back to the sidewalk just as Jerry began backing up, the signal for an oncoming car. She lost her balance and fell, banging her head on the pavement as the car clipped Belinda, throwing her a good ten feet.
Sheri’s glasses flew off her face, blinding her in the harsh sunlight. Jerry was whining and licking her hand as the car, a dark sedan, hurtled down the street, narrowly missing another car before it turned another corner and was lost to sight.
“Belle?” she slurred. She was surprised at how hard it was to speak.
No answer. Or if there was one, she didn’t hear it. The pain in her head blossomed as she tried to lift her head to find the other woman, and the world went black.
Adrian stared down at his mate and felt a depth of rage he’d never before experienced. He literally trembled with it. He had no doubt who was responsible for his mate’s condition.
Rudy Parker was a dead man.
“Belinda’s going to be okay. They’ve had to operate on her broken hip, and she has a broken arm and a concussion. The docs say she’s lucky, it could have been a lot worse. But she’ll be okay,” Simon said quietly as he entered hospital room. He sounded both shaken and furious. “Gabe interviewed the eyewitnesses, and he’ll be in to talk to Sheri as soon as she wakes up.”