Page 53 of Laken's longing

He was careful not to say that he wouldn’t harm anyone. That was something he wouldn’t promise. Whoever had threatened Laken had taken their pound of flesh in worry, so he would exact the same from them. His wolf expected nothing less.

Lane pressed in closer, arms slipping back around his middle to cling tightly. “You promise me you won’t do anything stupid.”

His chuckle was dark and dangerous. “I’m never stupid, my love, unless it comes to you. Then I’m stupidly in love.”

Lane released a sigh that could reveal just how much power those words had on his husband’s resolve to fight Derick on this subject.

“Be careful.” Lane came up and pressed the softest kiss to his lips. It was brief, but it held so much love, it stole his breath. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“Same, my love.” He held him close and inhaled his scent, one that had captured his attention and held it for over forty years. Derick never let himself think about what would happen if Lane died before him. It was a concept he couldn’t fathom when life wasn’t infinite.

Lane left him when, through the monitor, he heard Emmy crying. It was late and everyone was in bed. Derick used the diversion to change clothes and pack an additional outfit like the one he wore, adding a spare pair of identical boots to the small hold-all. He had no intention of bringing anything bloodied back into the house and didn’t need Lane noticing the change of clothing. His husband missed nothing, which was something he’d learned the hard way.

He was waiting at the door when he heard a car approaching. He left the house under the cover of darkness, quickening his step to avoid anyone deciding they wanted to join him. Jupiter,when they’d picked him up alone, was in a mood that left Derick with a growing sense of worry that his son was suffering in ways he couldn’t fix.

For now, Derick made a mental note to speak to Oakland and get him to do a check on those who remained from Jupiter’s pack. He did not believe what put the haunted look back in his son's eyes was the past, more the present and what was happening with his brothers. But with the misstep in the past and currently with Laken, Derick wasn’t taking any chances.

In the car before it had fully come to a stop, Brooklyn took off while Derick clicked in the seatbelt. “Where are we headed?”

Brooklyn, a dark, brooding man who tended not to make small talk, was dressed the same as Derick, except for the leather gun holster he wore across his chest holding two chrome Desert Eagles. Derick knew the man could handle those monsters with an expertise that rivaled any crack shot marksman.

“A cabin ‘bout halfway up in the mountains at Rowan Grove, on the other side of Hazardville.”

The SUV sped along quiet streets. The lateness of the hour left the streets quiet enough that they hit the highway that would lead them out of town in record time.

Silence filled the car for the first few miles as Derick considered his plan of attack. He never went into any situation without one.

“How did you find them so quickly?” The drop-off had been six hours earlier.

“It was relatively simple. With inferred cameras watching the drop site and Billy intercepting traffic cams, we identified the perps before they’d left their car to collect the bag. Amateurs for sure. When they were out of their car, we placed cameras and a listening device inside, along with a tracker underneath the hood.” There was a dark chuckle that chilled Derick’s skin. “We didn’t need the tracker, the fucking fools were gibbering likegirls on their first date about where they were going to check out their payoff. Told their respective partners they were going hunting for a few days.”

“They didn’t open the bag in the car?” Derick recalled exactly what was in the bag and laughed, thinking about their surprised faces at finding filthy diapers caught on camera.

“Nah. There was some muttering about how bad the bag smelled, which they thought was because of the trash can. They stuck it in the trunk.” White teeth flashed at him in the dimness of the car. “Got the look on their faces when they opened it in the cabin, though. Thought you might wanna see. Priceless, that shit.”

Derick matched Brooklyn’s grin. He’d make sure Oakland sent him the video to share with Lane.

“Oakland has all the remaining photos. He clarified in his own unique way there are no more.” Brooklyn’s eyes would freeze warm water as they flashed at Derick, his panther lurking in their depths.

Derick didn’t need to imagine Oakland's unique talents. He’d seen them up close and personal on more than one occasion. Lethal force wasn’t always required when Oakland had a bag of tricks to make the body hurt that barely left a visible mark.

“They had them hidden in the cabin. As I said, total fucking amateurs.”

They lapsed into silence as the SUV ate up the miles, Brooklyn easily navigating even when they rumbled up a road that was no more than a dirt track. The car rocked hard, shaking Derick hard enough his teeth rattled together until they came to a stop outside a wooden cabin.

Small, one storey, and well tended from what he could see. It sat in a tiny clearing. The three cars parked outside filled the ground in front of the place. Two dark SUVs, which belonged toOakland’s team, meant the older model Wrangler jeep belonged to whomever was in the cabin.

Derick got out into the chilly night air. The bite was more noticeable with the surrounding trees blocking much of the sky. The door opened in front of him as he approached, boots crunching in the dirt.

“They’re all yours.” Oakland said, nodding. He stepped aside to let Derick pass as he came up the wooden steps, onto the porch.

Schooling his features when he stepped inside, he saw three men tied to chairs in the center of the room. The stench of Emmy’s diapers fought with the reek of fear coming from the sweat drenched men. Derick walked in front of them wearing a look of disgust.

The one in the middle held Derick’s attention. The man looked like his son but with none of Laken’s integrity. It sickened Derick that these fuckers were accountable for what happened to Laken in the past, and were now taking advantage of what they’d discarded so casually.

“How could you?” He held back none of his fury. The words lashed the air like a whip.

The men on either side of the asshole in the middle cowered back in their seats, eyes wheeling all over the place, seeking an escape. They’d find none.