Craving Her (Keeping Her Series Book 4) (8 page)

“We will speak again.” 
This time the bite was more hot than cold, and then turned almost smug.  “Your
mother sends her regards.”

Then with the blood
draining from her face, and her eyes turning to her father’s, the arrogant
fucker hung up in her ear.

“Did he say ‘your mother’?”
Shawn asked, his eyes going from her to her father and back again, while Cleo’s
were glued on her dad.

“That’s exactly what he
said,” Cleo answered, her voice so cold every single eye in the room turned to
watch her.  No one said predators didn’t have good instincts.

My mother sends her
regards?  Motherfucker!

CHAPTER
EIGHT

To say she was unhappy to
hear her mother was involved in this mess was an understatement.  But from the
look on her dad’s face, he was suppressing a whole lot more rage than Cleo. 
When Lucas Gibb was ordered to choose between his children or his pride he left
without a backward glance.  The mother of his children, a full pride female
used to a certain type of life, refused to have anything to do with him and cut
all ties.  To insure she did the same with the children she had thought to
barter off for breeding, he threw more money at her than she could get in a
mate price for either of them.  Apparently that worked just fine for her
because she made the deal.  Cleo had met the woman one time in passing.  She
had her father’s eyes, but she could see a great deal of herself in that
haughty, high cheek-boned face and long, thin figure.  The other thing she saw
was curiosity, and then dismissal.  To a preteen learning how to be a woman
among men, that moment of slow recognition and dismissal was devastating.

It was not until she met
Miley the first time that she saw how mothers should be.  The last thing she
wanted to deal with on top of Shawn’s rejection was her mother back in the
mix.  Especially considering she had no legal right even in shifter circles to
barter Cleo off for mating.  She had given that up legally years ago.  Yet,
from the few words Gerent had spouted, it seemed likely he had some financial
agreement with her mother that made him think he could kidnap and force a
mating claim on Cleo. 
Awesome.  Thanks again, mom.

After the third time she
flinched at the sound of the word being bandied about, Miley spoke up, her eyes
solely for Cleo.  Her hand in her mate’s much larger one, she was leaning
against his side in silent support, but her eyes were all for Cleo.

“How about from now on we
call her by her name, and leave out the labels she never earned.”  Miley’s
voice had everyone pausing in their different discussions, and everyone looked
at Cleo and then away. 

All but Shawn, who had
moved close enough that she could feel him behind and to the side of her – a stalwart
rock to lean on.  His eyes had never left her.  If only it wasn’t all a lie, it
might be comforting.  As it was, all it did was piss her off and want him out
of her space.  Immediately.

To make that happen she
moved back to the kitchen and the opened bottle of wine.  It would take
something a whole lot stronger to help in this situation, but at least she had
something to do with her hands, other than strangle someone, or fondle her
guns, which might send the wrong message.

“Anyone else want a
glass?” she asked, holding up the wine bottle. 

Logan moved over to take
the stool across from her.  “Got any beer left?” 

She turned and pulled a
few from the fridge, passing him one and leaving a couple on the island for
anyone else who might want one.  Logan pulled off the bottle cap and tapped his
long neck against her wine glass gently.  His eyes on hers were serious and
understanding enough that she knew he was letting her know she wasn’t alone,
and that he understood how hard this was for her.  Logan could say a lot
without saying anything at all, and it reminded her she had family.  Family
that actually deserved the title.

“Hell of a day you’re
having, sweetheart.”

He was not wrong, even if
he only knew parts of it.  “Any chance Eli will find this guy and we can end
this before it blows up in our faces?”

“You mean before he tries
to take you again, or your mother makes a cameo?”

She grunted and gulped
her wine.  “Pretty much.  That’s exactly what I mean.”  

“If anyone can find him
it’s Eli.  But this guy,” he looked truly concerned and the warning in his
voice was to take it seriously, “has deep pockets.  We will protect you, and we
will eventually end this, but I don’t think it will be quick or easy.  If it
was that easy, we would have ended him already.”  His eyes sharpened on her
face even more, telling her to take what he said and absorb the implications.  “He
knows who we are and what we are capable of, and he has prepared for it.”

Not what she wanted to
hear, but a second later Eli walked through her door with his usual presence,
and unfortunately, Ian was with him. 
Who the hell called my brother?

***

Who the hell called Ian?
Shawn
wondered, smelling him before he turned to see him come through the mangled
door with Eli. 

Ian looked from the door
to the rest of them.  “I guess Dad was here, huh?” 

Ignoring the glare his
father sent his way, he looked over and saw his sister at the bar and headed
there with a certain gleam in his eye Shawn did not trust.  Cleo, he noticed,
took a big swig of her wine and poured another glass, her eyes narrowed on her
brother.  But it was Eli’s grim face that had Shawn’s attention.  Cleo would
have to fend for herself where her brother was concerned.  He had bigger game,
and from the look in Eli’s usually irreverent green eyes and the way his short
black hair was sticking every which way like he had been running his hands
through it in frustration, the answers he had were not going to make anyone
happy.

He looked to Lucas first,
shaking his head.  “The signal was scrambled to hell and back.  Whoever this
Gerent guy is, he knows what he’s doing and he has the money to pay for the
best.  We are going to have to find another way.”

Shawn ground his teeth in
frustration, while he saw Lucas doing the same.  The larger male hissed,
turning to pace the front room and then back.  It was almost funny but he didn’t
seem to realize he was dragging his mate along with him.  For her part, Miley
just went where he walked, her hand tight in his, until he settled again, and
then she ran her hand up his back in a soothing caress.

That seemed to calm the
lion male, but his teeth were still overly prominent when he turned flashing
eyes back to Eli.  “And the guards?”

“That I can help with; they
did not take chances, everyone’s phones were wiped but nothing is really lost,
not on a cell phone.  I will recover the calls made, it’ll just take time.  We
moving Cleo back home tonight, or are you waiting until tomorrow?”

The fact that Eli was not
joking showed how serious they all took Cleo’s safety.  Not one of them would
see her in danger without reacting strongly, and with violence.

Miley cleared her
throat.  “I think Cleo prefers to stay here, and as she is an
adult
,
we
certainly have no intention of trying to force her into an action she is
against.”

Shawn caught the gleam in
Lucas’ eyes and the lowered brow.  Clearly he was all for forcing her into
whatever action he deemed necessary.

Seeing it, Miley narrowed
her own eyes in warning.  “That would be a good way to get her back up, and if
she decides to leave the safety of Lionsgate for good, you would have no one to
blame but yourselves.”

Lucas growled at his mate
and she spoke with firm exasperation.  “It’s not like you can keep her prisoner
indefinitely if she balks.  Besides, with a little backup, Cleo is perfectly
able to handle whatever comes at her.”

Again the growl and an
impressive gnashing of teeth.  Miley rolled her eyes and removed her hand from
his grip.  “I’m going to go stop Ian before Cleo tries to kill him, again.”

So much for Lucas Gibbs’
legendary intimidation
, Shawn thought.  His mate was not
impressed.  If the situation was half as serious, he would have laughed at the
disgruntled look on his leader’s face.  But it was that serious.  “Where do we
go with this?”

Lucas blew out a
frustrated breath.  “Damned if I know.  Eli, do what you can with the phones
and the wiped security hard drive.  I want to know every scrap you can get us.” 
Then he turned to Shawn.  “I need your eyes on Cleo tonight.  Not in the
apartment; I’m putting Ian with Cleo, but close enough to respond if they don’t
take the time to lick their wounds.”

Shawn blinked.  “You called
Ian in?  For security?”

“My mate thinks I don’t
know, but I am well aware that Cleo is her own security.  Ian is here for loud
and obnoxious backup that can handle weapons and shifts to a 700-pound apex
predator.  You are here to let us know if they have visitors, and to apprehend
any that survive the mauling. This time I want someone to question who actually
knows something.”

As a plan it was a good
one.  So, how did he explain that he would prefer to be about a thousand miles
away from the man’s sweet smelling, too young, and way too beautiful daughter? 
The answer was
he didn’t
.  And the truth was
he wouldn’t if he could
. 
Until they ended this threat to Cleo, he wasn’t going anywhere.

***

“So,
again
with
the kidnapping.  You’re starting to resemble one of those helpless female
heroines in the romance novels that waits to be rescued by the big tough man,
and is always swooning.”

Cleo tilted her head, and
pretended her brother could not still push all her buttons.  “Familiar with
those are you?  And here I believed you when I found that bodice ripper in your
room, and you said it was left by one of your flames by mistake.”  She widened
her eyes and he started to look uncomfortable.  She feigned deep concern.  “Ian,
are you a closet romance reader?”

He sputtered, looking
from her to Logan who was drinking his beer and looking uber masculine while he
leaned against her bar.  Come to think of it, give him a six shooter for his
hip and he could have starred in one of those books.  Ian stood up straighter and
glared at her.  “That was left by someone else.”

“Sure it was,” she said
dismissively and patted him on the arm, an arm she was dismayed to admit was
rock hard and way too big for a freaking teenage boy. 

He growled at her tone
and shook her off.

“The question is,” Logan
interjected in his warm drawl, “do you still have the book?”

Ian opened his mouth and
then closed it with a snap, his eyes flashing between the two of them.  “You
can’t just throw someone’s book away,” he growled.

Cleo sputtered out a laugh,
finally enjoying herself.  “Why not?  You throw away everything else, including
the women, I might add.”

He growled again, his
eyes flashing at her, reminding her so much of her father when he was irritated
it was almost scary.  “It’s a
book
.  You don’t just throw away a
book
. 
And I do not throw women away.  They just get irritated and leave.”  For Ian
that was probably true.  A bigger pain in the ass there never will be, a
totally irreverent prankster and teenage man-whore to boot, who weirdly enough
loved to read.  It was just something he did in his few quiet moments.  It was
just hard to catch him at it.  He was a stealth reader that one.

“At least answer me this,”
she said, trying not to laugh outright.  In his face.  “Was it a good romance
novel, at least?”

He gnashed his teeth,
then narrowing his eyes as he came off the defensive, “Why, you need a few
pointers?  Come to think of it, I think there was an arranged marriage in that
one, too.”  This time he patted
her
arm.  “Don’t worry, little girl, the
big strong men in your family will protect you from the evil villain.  Don’t
you worry your pretty little head about it.”  Then he patted her head.
 The
Bastard.

She smacked his hand
away.  “What are you doing here, Ian?”

“I told you,” he said,
his smirk growing and turning taunting – his usual look when he spoke to his
sister, or most people really.  “I’m the big, strong lion-male here to protect
you, since you clearly can’t do it yourself.  I’m staying the night so nothing
gets you while you get your beauty sleep.”

There was a beat of
silence while Cleo absorbed this.  Appalled, she looked from her brother to her
father across the room.  Then back again. “Is that supposed to be funny?”

“Nope.”  He popped the ‘p’
for emphasis.  “Dad makes the call, I come to the rescue.  You are my little,
ineffectual, weak, can’t handle a few dozen full humans sister, after all.”

She considered the
ramifications and decided a nipple twist, while satisfyingly painful, would be
construed as immature, so she went for the always satisfying punch to the
face.  Before she could make contact with that arrogant
smirking
mouth,
she was pulled back into immovable arms and Shawn was whispering in her ear. 
What.
The. Hell.

“You get in a fight with
your brother, it’s going to look like you are still a kid to boss around.  Your
father is about two seconds from carrying you home and locking you up as it is.”

At his first touch she
froze.  After the upsets of the evening and everything before that, her lion
was just below the surface ready for any fight she could get.  At the touch of
her mate, she felt her eyes shift and every muscle in her body tensed.  It was
an extreme reaction to say the least, and the two men who could see her, well,
neither of them were slow to catch it.

“Bub, I think you better
let her go, nice and slow and back the fuck off,” Logan said, standing up
straight across the bar from them, his eyes on Shawn showing an implacable
resolve.  Ian, too, had lost the teasing smirk and went straight into defending
predator, his gold lion eyes on the man behind her, missing nothing and
promising pain at the slightest provocation.  Seeing yet further resemblance
between Ian and their father was enough to shock her into thinking.  She did
her best to calm down.