Read Online Shifter Town 3 - Big Cats Don't Purr by Sadie Hart - Free Book Online
Authors: Sadie Hart
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hands and she watched a frown tug his brows together before he stepped forward. One finger reached out and brushed aside the hair from her cheek. “You don’t look okay.” But instead of pushing, he slid an arm around her waist and drew her to him. “Let’s go back to bed.”
He led her back inside and took her phone gently from her, then laid it on the table between the beds. “Worries can wait until morning,” he said and then drew her into bed next to him and wrapped his arms around her as he pulled her close.
Strength surrounded her, calmed her, and Sawyer pressed her face into his chest. Her fingertips trailed over the hard lines of his body. In his arms, she was almost willing to believe they were safe enough. That they didn’t need to involve her family.
But as Rift captured her hand in his, stilling her gentle caresses, Sawyer was reminded that he was only one man.
They had four on their tails.
Rift couldn’t possibly be enough. No matter how much she wanted him to be.
***
Tavis hesitated outside of his brother’s door. He could hear the woman crying, her soft pleas obviously falling deaf on Dougal’s ears. She should have known better. Dougal had little mercy for anyone, even his own brother. With a grimace, he lifted his hand to knock.
Tavis Slade knew better than to beg, but his brother would not be happy that they’d let the little bastard offspring and her protector get away. Not that Tavis was particularly happy about it himself.
Dougal had promised him Sawyer Grant, right from the moment she’d joined the pride. Now what would he get? Leftovers from one of his brother’s thugs? Because that was all Sans and Jerome Scott were. Ex-rogues and thugs that Dougal used to keep the Slade pride in their family. Every lioness Tavis had ever touched had been fucked over by all three of them before being offered to him. Sawyer was supposed to have been just his. The muscle in his jaw ticked. Instead, she’d run off with Jenna’s mutt. Jenna, who’d been Dougal’s personal little prize.
He barely kept the scowl off his face as his knuckles rammed down on his brother’s door. If Dougal had just kept his own bitch under control, Tavis might still have his.
“What?” Dougal’s voice snapped from the other side of the door.
“It’s me.”
The door jerked open a second later and Dougal towered in the entrance, blood on his face. Tavis could feel his brother’s lion just under the surface, boiling with barely constrained aggression. With a glance past Dougal, he spotted Jenna sobbing on the bed, her arms and legs bloody with bites.
“She deserved to be punished,” his brother said, leaning against the doorjamb.
“For a child she popped thirteen years ago? Or being clever enough to lie to you?” The moment the words left him, he regretted them.
Dougal leaned into him, his face a bloody snarl. His teeth were red with Jenna’s blood. But what he said wasn’t anything Tavis had seen coming.
“For fucking the same bastard that killed our sister and then for lying to me to hide his bastard spawn. The same spawn your precious little bitch stole from me.”
He felt like his brother had punched the wind right out of his lungs, and Tavis swayed. No... “Rift Callahan?”
He twisted his attention to Jenna and saw the truth all over her pain-filled face, even as Dougal whispered, “Yes.”
Bloody spittle struck his cheek, but Tavis didn’t care.
“How’d you find this out?”
“When I went to her little house at the edge of the pridelands. I found this.” He turned and snatched a picture of the desk beside his door. He spread out the wrinkled picture and passed it to Tavis. The face of Rift Callahan stared up at him from the glossy print.
The moment the photo landed in Tavis’s hand his fingers spasmed of their own accord, crumpling it in his fist. Rift was one man Tavis wished he’d killed a long time ago.
Dougal gave a low growl. “So did you find them yet?”
“No.”
He led her back inside and took her phone gently from her, then laid it on the table between the beds. “Worries can wait until morning,” he said and then drew her into bed next to him and wrapped his arms around her as he pulled her close.
Strength surrounded her, calmed her, and Sawyer pressed her face into his chest. Her fingertips trailed over the hard lines of his body. In his arms, she was almost willing to believe they were safe enough. That they didn’t need to involve her family.
But as Rift captured her hand in his, stilling her gentle caresses, Sawyer was reminded that he was only one man.
They had four on their tails.
Rift couldn’t possibly be enough. No matter how much she wanted him to be.
***
Tavis hesitated outside of his brother’s door. He could hear the woman crying, her soft pleas obviously falling deaf on Dougal’s ears. She should have known better. Dougal had little mercy for anyone, even his own brother. With a grimace, he lifted his hand to knock.
Tavis Slade knew better than to beg, but his brother would not be happy that they’d let the little bastard offspring and her protector get away. Not that Tavis was particularly happy about it himself.
Dougal had promised him Sawyer Grant, right from the moment she’d joined the pride. Now what would he get? Leftovers from one of his brother’s thugs? Because that was all Sans and Jerome Scott were. Ex-rogues and thugs that Dougal used to keep the Slade pride in their family. Every lioness Tavis had ever touched had been fucked over by all three of them before being offered to him. Sawyer was supposed to have been just his. The muscle in his jaw ticked. Instead, she’d run off with Jenna’s mutt. Jenna, who’d been Dougal’s personal little prize.
He barely kept the scowl off his face as his knuckles rammed down on his brother’s door. If Dougal had just kept his own bitch under control, Tavis might still have his.
“What?” Dougal’s voice snapped from the other side of the door.
“It’s me.”
The door jerked open a second later and Dougal towered in the entrance, blood on his face. Tavis could feel his brother’s lion just under the surface, boiling with barely constrained aggression. With a glance past Dougal, he spotted Jenna sobbing on the bed, her arms and legs bloody with bites.
“She deserved to be punished,” his brother said, leaning against the doorjamb.
“For a child she popped thirteen years ago? Or being clever enough to lie to you?” The moment the words left him, he regretted them.
Dougal leaned into him, his face a bloody snarl. His teeth were red with Jenna’s blood. But what he said wasn’t anything Tavis had seen coming.
“For fucking the same bastard that killed our sister and then for lying to me to hide his bastard spawn. The same spawn your precious little bitch stole from me.”
He felt like his brother had punched the wind right out of his lungs, and Tavis swayed. No... “Rift Callahan?”
He twisted his attention to Jenna and saw the truth all over her pain-filled face, even as Dougal whispered, “Yes.”
Bloody spittle struck his cheek, but Tavis didn’t care.
“How’d you find this out?”
“When I went to her little house at the edge of the pridelands. I found this.” He turned and snatched a picture of the desk beside his door. He spread out the wrinkled picture and passed it to Tavis. The face of Rift Callahan stared up at him from the glossy print.
The moment the photo landed in Tavis’s hand his fingers spasmed of their own accord, crumpling it in his fist. Rift was one man Tavis wished he’d killed a long time ago.
Dougal gave a low growl. “So did you find them yet?”
“No.”
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