The Lion’s Curvy Mate: Shifter Romance

Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

Declan heaved himself off of Garrett. His mind reeled at finding his friend like this. Garrett sat up, winded. He wiped the blood from his mouth and staggered to his feet.

“What the hell are you doing here, Declan?”

Declan stood looking at him, gaping. “What do you mean? I’m here to find you.”

“You got my letter.” It wasn’t a question. Garrett scrubbed a hand across his face, looking upset. “I should never have sent that.”

“What? You told me you’d taken on a dangerous job. Then I didn’t hear from you. Couldn’t get in touch with you. I figured you were in trouble.”

Garrett looked around, as if making sure no one else was around. “I am in trouble. And so are you. You should never have come.”

“Tell me what the hell is going on,” Declan demanded.

Garrett nodded. “I will. But let’s move these guys first. No one can know that you were here.”

Garrett grabbed one of the unconscious man’s legs and dragged him toward the side of the building, where the shadows were thickest. Declan watched in silence, still trying to work out what was happening here.

Sadie joined him at that moment. “So that’s your old army friend?”

“You heard?”

“Yeah, I heard,” she said. “You guys weren’t exactly whispering. I’m surprised no one else heard you.”

“Something is wrong.”

Sadie looked up at him. He saw the concern in her eyes. He felt a pulse of shame inside him for letting her come along. Whatever was happening here, it was a lot more complicated than he’d thought. More complicated meant more dangerous.

“What’s going on?” she asked.

“I don’t know yet. Just stay on your toes. And stick with me, no matter what happens.”

Garrett peeked his head out from around the corner. “Hey,” he called out in a loud whisper. “Get your ass moving.”

Declan hauled the other drugged man away from the front of the building, straining against the man’s dead weight. The fight with Garrett had drained his already failing strength. It was a wonder he was still standing.

He made it into the shadows and dumped the body next to the other one. Garrett pulled Declan deeper into the shadows. Sadie followed right behind.

“You shouldn’t be here,” Garrett said. “Especially tonight.”

Sadie bristled beside Declan. “Some welcome. We risk our butts to save you and this is the thanks we get?”

Garrett looked down at her, frowning. “Who the hell is this?”

Sadie was about to speak, but Declan beat her to the punch. “She’s a friend. And don’t be shitty with her or I’ll whoop your ass again.”

Garrett grinned and rubbed his jaw. “Please. You hit like a girl. Look, you guys need to get out of here.”

“I thought you were in trouble,” Declan pressed.

“I am. Or I was. Look, it’s complicated. I’m working it out.”

“Really?” Declan asked, crossing his arms over his chest. “Working for drug dealers? That’s what you call working it out?”

“It’s a security job. I protect some people, protect some cargo. What the hell do I care what kind of business they’re in?”

“It’s illegal. And it’s going to get you killed. Come with us. We’ll help you.”

Garrett shook his head. “You can’t help me. And I can’t leave. Sure, maybe I’ll get hurt here, but I’ll be a dead man if I leave.”

“I can protect you,” Declan said.

“No you can’t. You have no idea how bad these guys are. They don’t f**k around. I don’t have time to explain. You need to leave right now. They’ll be here any minute.”

“Who?” Sadie asked.

“Everyone. There’s a big deal going down tonight. Lots of cargo, lots of money involved. We have a buyer coming in. They’re bringing their people to the meet. And my boss is bringing the whole crew. And you’ve just walked into the middle of it.”

“All the more reason you should come with us right now,” Declan said.

“I can’t, alright? Drop it, okay? And go. I can’t protect you from these people.”

“Look,” Sadie interjected. “I don’t give a crap if you come with us or not. But we’re not just here for you.”

“What are you here for?”

“Declan is sick. They injected him with some kind of poison. We need to find the antidote. Can you help us with that?”

Garrett looked at Declan, smiling sadly. “So they got you too, huh?”

“You’ve been poisoned?” Declan asked.

“Yeah. The only thing keeping me alive is the treatments they’re giving me. That’s why I can’t leave. That’s why I have to keep working for them.”

“I figured out a treatment,” Sadie said. “For Declan. I can give it to you, too.”

“A treatment or a cure?” Garrett asked.

“Only a treatment. I haven’t been able to figure out the cure. Not yet.”

“Then it doesn’t matter,” Garrett said bitterly. “There’s only one cure for the s**t they stuck us with. And that’s in the hands of the man running this operation.”

“Did he say he’d give it to you?” Declan asked.

“He did. Once I’ve proven my loyalty to him.”

“You know that’s a lie, right?” Declan asked. “He’s going to keep stringing you along. Until you’re no more use to him. Or until you’re dead.”

“What choice do I have?” Garrett asked, throwing his hands up in frustration.

“You can choose not to be his slave,” Declan said, putting his hand on his friend’s shoulder.

Garrett shook it off. “I’m a slave either way. To him or to some treatment that will never cure me. That’s not a choice. I’m staying.”

Sadie rolled her eyes. “There’s no talking to him. Let’s get out of here Declan. We’ll figure something else out.”

Headlights lit the shadows where they were standing. Declan threw a hand up to block the glare. He couldn’t make out much, but he could tell a number of vehicles were lined up in front of him. In front of the warehouse.

Garrett groaned. “I told you to leave. Now it’s too late.”

Garrett pulled a pistol from a hidden ankle holster and aimed it at Declan. Declan looked at him shocked. Betrayed.

“Sorry, old buddy,” Garrett said. “Like I said. I have no choice.”

“We should kill them.”

Sadie couldn’t see the face of the man who was speaking. He stood behind her as he bound her hands with thick cord. He was not gentle.

His words chilled her to the bone. She didn’t want to die out here. Not when they’d come so close. She felt like howling in frustration, but she refused to let these men see her fear.

“Negative,” Garrett said. “The boss is going to want to see them, Joe. We’ll let him decide.”

“The boss doesn’t give a s**t about a couple of trespassers,” Joe sneered. “Especially with the deal going down tonight. He’s gonna want them dead, and he’s gonna be pissed we didn’t just kill them in the first place.”

“These aren’t just a couple of trespassers, moron. This guy served with me. I have a feeling the boss is going to want to give him a job.”

“Just what we need,” the man said. “Another freak.”

“Don’t push me, Joe,” Garrett growled.

Sadie felt the barrel of a gun press hard into her back, jabbing her painfully. She winced. Not just from the pain. There was a weight to the feeling, violent and ugly. It felt like death.

“Whatever, freak. I don’t answer to you. I’m gonna end this bitch.”

Declan looked like he was about to make a move. But then the gun was no longer pressing into her. She glanced behind her to see Garrett grabbing Joe. He slammed the man against the warehouse wall so hard the whole building shook.

“You’re about to fire a gun? Here? You want the cops crawling all over this place?”

Joe glared at him, but Sadie could see the gears turning in his head. “Fine. I’ll strangle her. Nice and quiet.”

“I’ll strangle you, you dumb son of a b***h,” Garrett snapped, shaking the man again.

A third guy intervened, getting between them. “You two can settle this later. We need to get ready. We can’t be standing out here with our d***s in our hands when the other show up.”

Garrett nodded. “Yeah, fine.”

Joe smoothed his rumpled jacket, still giving Garrett the stink eye. “This isn’t over freak.”

“You’ve got that right,” Garrett said, returning the death stare. “Let’s just get them inside.”

The men marched Sadie and Declan inside the warehouse and shoved them into what looked like a closet. A couple of chairs were brought in, and they bound the two captives to the chairs, facing away from each other.

Garrett leaned in to Declan, so close only he and Sadie could hear. “Just sit tight. I’ll do my best to get you out of this. But if you try anything, I can’t ensure your safety.”

“Like I’m going to trust you now,” Declan said.

“You don’t have to trust me,” Garrett said. “You just have to listen to me. Now behave. I’ll be back.”

Then the men were gone, shutting the door behind them. Leaving Declan and Sadie alone, trapped, and waiting for someone else to decide their fate.

Declan strained against his bonds. The ropes dug into his wrists. They wouldn’t budge. These people knew what they were doing.

He called over his shoulder. “I’m cinched up tight. Any luck on your end?”

“No. Can you shift? Won’t the ropes fall away?”

“No, not when I’m tied up like this. I won’t be able to shift at all.”

“Well then, I guess we’re screwed,” she said, laughing bitterly. “Some heroes we are.”

The sadness in her voice broke Declan’s heart. “Sadie, I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“What do you mean for what? For this. For all of this. I should have never showed up on your doorstep. I should have never dragged you into all of this.”

“If you didn’t, you’d be dead right now.”

He sighed. “Maybe that would have been for the best. From the looks of it, I’m going to die anyway. There was no reason to get you killed in the process.”

Sadie’s chair legs scraped against the concrete floor. Declan strained to look over his shoulder to see her turning her chair, jerking her body upwards to hop around. He followed suit, wanting to see her face. He didn’t know how much time they had left. He wanted to spend as much of it as possible looking at her.

When they were face to face, Sadie’s eyes met his. “I’m happy you showed up in my life. Despite all of this, I’m very glad to have met you.”

“Even though it’s gonna get you killed?” he asked.

“Don’t give yourself so much credit. I’m a big girl. I made my choice to help you. I knew what I was getting into.”

“Did you?You thought you were helping a sick man, not getting into a fight with a drug ring. Not putting your life at risk.”

She shrugged as best as she could, considering she was tied up. “Well, that was a bit of a surprise. But even if I had known, I would have helped you.”

“I know. You have a good heart.”

She raised an eyebrow at him. “Like you’re any different? That’s how all this started. You were trying to help a friend in trouble.”

Declan snorted. “Yeah, and look how well that turned out.”

“Still, it doesn’t change the fact that you were trying to do something good. How could you have known he’d been poisoned, too?”

He shook his head. “He still could have taken our help. He could have come with us. Instead of betraying me.”

“Don’t be so hard on him. He doesn’t think he has a choice. He needs the antidote. Just like you do.”

“Even after what he did, you still see the good in him? You’re a better person than I am.”

Sadie nodded. “He’s still trying to help us. Don’t you get it? That’s why he pulled the gun on you. To keep his cover up. He’ll have a much better chance of helping us from the inside. Not locked up in here like us.”

Declan considered it. “You might be right. I guess he already saved our lives once. Which gives us a chance.”

“Exactly. We still have a chance. So I don’t want to hear any more talk of dying or giving up from you.”

The look in her eyes struck a chord in his heart. She looked so determined. So sure they could still get out of this. It gave him the one thing his life had been missing for so long. It gave him hope.

“I love your spirit,” Declan said. “But I can’t see a way out of this.”

“Well, not yet. We’re going to have to improvise. Roll with the punches.”

Declan laughed and shook his head. “That’s not exactly a plan.”

“I guess not.”

“If I can get you out of this, I will. Believe me.”

Sadie shook her head, almost angry. “Not just me. Us. We both have to get out of this. Not just me.”

“I’d like that very much,” Declan said. “But that may not be possible.”

Sadie sat up in her seat. “You better not be thinking about making some kind of heroic sacrifice for me. I won’t allow it.”

“If it means saving you, I’ll happily trade my life for yours.”

She groaned with frustration. Declan imagined she would be right up in his face if she wasn’t tied down.

“Don’t you dare,” she said. “You think dying for me is noble?”

He shrugged as best as he could, somewhat taken aback by the anger in her voice. “Yeah, I do.”

“Well, it’s not. It’s selfish.”

“How is that selfish? Giving up your life for someone else is the most selfless thing a person can do.”

“It’s selfish because you’re not thinking about me and how I’ll feel if I live and you die. You’re forcing a lifetime of guilt on me. Making me feel like I’m the reason you’re dead. It’s almost like I killed you myself. That’s bullshit.”

He frowned, mulling it over. “I never thought about it like that. But what are you saying? You’d rather die than let me save you?”

“There’s only one good ending to this. We both get out, together. And we both get to live our lives together. I don’t want to live with just the memory of you. I want to live with you. To have you hold me in your arms. To wake up next to you.”

“Wait, is that what you really want?” She’d never opened up to him like this. He knew they’d been getting closer. And certainly, he wanted all those things she was talking about, too. But he didn’t know she wanted them. He didn’t know her feelings mirrored his own.

She looked down for a second, almost shyly. Then she turned her gaze to his, locking her eyes with his. “It is. If you want that, too, I mean.”

“I do. Of course, I want that. You’re the most amazing woman I’ve ever met. Ever since you locked me in a cage, I started falling in love with you.”

She grinned. “That’s good. Cause I’m falling in love with you, too. And that’s why I’m not about to let you ruin things by getting yourself killed. We’re going to make it through this together. We have to.”

Declan exhaled heavily. Her words filled his chest with a warm, glowing feeling. To know that she wanted to be with him was like feeling the warm sunshine on a cold day. It pushed him to want to live.

But that was easier said than done. “Sadie—”

His words were cut off by the sound of locks being turned on the door. Someone was coming.

Sadie’s insides clenched at the sound. She’d meant every word she’d said to Declan. She believed they could get out of this. Destiny had brought him into her life, and it would be the ultimate cruelty to have him snatched away from her so soon.

But that didn’t mean she wasn’t afraid.

The door opened, spilling bright white light into the dim closet. Two men stood in the doorway, outlined in silhouette.

“Here they are, boss.” She recognized the voice as Garrett’s.

“So this is the guy who’s been causing all this trouble? How the hell is he still alive?” The boss’s voice was vaguely familiar, but she couldn’t quite place it. There was something slick and slimy about it. Something that sent shivers up her spine.

“No idea, boss.” She hated the subservient sound of Garrett’s voice. Even though she’d defended him earlier, it still pissed her off that he was the reason they were trapped in here, facing an uncertain fate. If he’d just come with them when they’d asked, they could have figured out something else. Some other way to get the antidote.

The boss man stepped into the closet. Dim light from the bare bulb lit his face.

“Patton?” Sadie asked, shocked. “Patton Conrad?”