With the truck in view, he slowed so I didn’t have to run to match his long strides. “Deidra wanted me to bring Chandler tonight because she thinks our DNA will be close enough to Serenity’s that the treatment would be more effective.”
No! No more!
I winced. Her mental screams threw off my balance. Cole caught my arm, holding my sister in the other. “You okay?”
“Yeah.” I stroked her hair back from her forehead. “Safe to say she doesn’t want anymore of Deidra’s treatments.”
Cole popped the locks on the truck. “Can you open the door for the extended cab? I’ll lay her across the seat.”
I opened the door and stepped back while he placed her on the back seat. She didn’t move. I worried my lower lip. What had Deidra done to her? She’d talked to me through telepathy, but she didn’t seem conscious.
We got in the truck and drove away as sirens and flashing lights came up fast, headed for the ranch. Cole watched the rearview mirror. “That was too close.”
We sat in silence the rest of the drive. The air seemed thick in the cab of the truck. Between the threat of police stopping us and me checking the back seat to see if my sister had regained consciousness, my anxiety bandwidth had reached maximum capacity.
Asher was waiting outside when we rolled up to the pack’s ranch. I recognized it from the baby shower.
He came down as Cole turned off the engine. “Vance said someone is injured?”
“I don’t think she has physical injuries. At least none that I can treat.” Cole shook his head. “I’m honestly not sure what’s going on. She was in a sensory deprivation chamber for days I’m guessing. She doesn’t show any signs of consciousness, but she communicated mentally with Madison, and her vitals are strong.”
Asher helped Cole lift my sister out of the truck and then took her from Cole. “Naomi’s got the guest room ready. I’ll get her settled in there.” Asher’s dark eyes met mine. “Are you all right?”
I nodded. “I think so, just…shook up, I guess.”
“Tomorrow night is the full moon, so Chandler is bringing the twins over here while Wendy shifts with the pack. You’re welcome to stay. Vance will be patrolling, too.”
Patrolling?
I looked at Cole, but he didn’t say anything. I focused on Asher again. “Do you think Deidra will come here looking for my sister?”
Asher glanced at the sleeping woman’s face. There was an aura of protectiveness coming off him even though he’d never met her and bringing her into his house potentially meant bringing danger to his door. “It’s not Deidra I’m worried about.” He lifted his eyes. “She’s hired ex-Nero jaguar shifters to come for us in the past. She has even more reason to now.”
This was real. The stakes were life and death. Cole had tried to explain it to me earlier, but I hadn’t really understood. The threats weren’t over now that we had rescued my sister from her abusive mother. Maybe the danger would never be over.
Asher carried my sister toward the house as he spoke. “We’ve got plenty of room if you two want to spend the night.”
Vance followed him up, leaving Cole and me alone in the front yard. He looked like he’d aged a couple of years since we’d left his place a few hours ago. He reached for my hand, his eyes studying me. “We got lucky tonight. It could’ve ended much worse.”
“But it didn’t.” I squeezed his hand and looked up at the house. “Do you think she’s going to be all right?”
“Honestly, I don’t know. Maybe Deidra was keeping her medicated. Maybe it’ll wear off.” He stared at me for a second and then whispered, “It’s not too late for you. This doesn’t have to be your life.”
The pain in his eyes lanced my heart. I wanted to console him, cheer him up, but the reality of tonight weighed on me. “I’m not going to lie to you. I’ve never pepper-sprayed anyone before, and seeing the police speed by, knowing they were coming for us, scared me.” My gaze wandered over his exhausted features. “But the thought that I might walk away and never see you again scares me more.”
His thumb caressed my knuckles. “One of the Timberwolves cornered me and aimed a gun at my chest. It didn’t used to shake me like this but knowing he could have been aiming that at you scares the living shit out of me. If anything happened to you…”
I stepped closer, unable to bear the space between us. He wrapped his strong arms around me, and I breathed his masculine scent into my lungs.
Embrace the new world you’re in.
That’s what I’d thought I’d been doing, but I’d gone in unprepared, a liability. Cole was right. This was the moment I could cut and run back to my normal, mundane life of market targets and budgets and forecasts. Or I could stay here with the man I loved, my brother and his new family. And then there was Serenity.
And if I stayed, I didn’t want to be a liability. I wanted to be an equal. A member of the Sedona Pack, not protected by them. I blinked at the realization. Was I seriously thinking about becoming a werewolf? I thought about my call with Vivi last weekend, how shocked I’d been to hear my best friend had become a shifter and I’d never known. It seemed so crazy then.
But after tonight, I understood.
“Let’s get inside.” He stepped back and took my hand. “I need to check on your sister, and you should probably loop Chandler in on what we know so far.”
“Okay.” I tugged on his hand, stopping him. “Just one more thing.” He stopped, looking at me like I was the only source of water in the desert, and he was beyond thirsty. “Could I become a part of your pack?”
His crooked smile melted my heart. “You already are.”
I walked up to the house, my arm around his waist, but my mind was a million miles away.
He didn’t understand what I’d been asking, but tonight I was too tired to explain. Maybe I was too afraid to face the real question. Was I ready to be bitten?
CHAPTER 21
Cole
I woke up with Madison in my arms. We were still dressed, but parts of me wished we weren’t. I adjusted my erection and kissed her hair. We’d been up late while I did what I could to treat her sister. According to Vance, Nero used to use sensory deprivation chambers to enhance psychic abilities. He had never heard of them being utilized to shut them down.
She still hadn’t regained consciousness. Her reflexes were still intact so I didn’t think she was paralyzed, but if she’d been drugged, it could be a few more hours before she was alert. Her heart and lungs sounded good and her blood pressure was normal. Asher and Naomi made a late-night run for supplies, and then we’d passed out in the guest room.
Madison groaned against my chest. “Is it morning already?”
I pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “Yep. I need to go check on your sister.”
“Okay.” She stretched and looked up at me. “Why do I keep waking up without a toothbrush?”
I rolled over and fished through a plastic shopping bag by the side of the bed. I came back brandishing a new orange toothbrush and a travel-sized toothpaste. “I’ve got you covered.”