Page 4

Roaring out the stupidity of it all, York went to his knees and fell into the ash. He sat there for several minutes just basking in the fact that he’d killed another rogue. And he had come out all right. Standing, staggering a bit before moving, York willed himself back to his office and into his bath. Taking a much-needed shower, he was ready to face the day again when he sat at his desk.

There was paperwork to fill out on the beast he’d just killed. York had been notified that the beast’s mate had died and that he wasn’t taking it very well. That was several days ago. Today he’d killed two people and was going for more when he was called in to take care of him. Looking up from his desk, he saw his mom there.

“Mom?” She said that she’d felt him going out on a job. And wanted to make sure that he was all right. “I’m fine. I’m just great. I took care of the beast, and he won’t harm anyone again.”

“I so worry about you doing this job. I worry even more when it’s during the day like it is. I know you have no need to rest while the sun his high in the sky, but I’m your mother, and I do worry.” He told her that he was fine. “I see that. I do. But I still worry.”

His thoughts went to the young woman from this morning and wondered if she would worry about him if she knew what he did. He had no idea where that thought had come from but couldn’t shake the feeling that she’d be encouraging the beast to kill him so that he’d be out of her hair. Shaking his head, he asked his mom if she wanted to go to the museum with him. He was supposed to be on the board but had never been.

“I’d love that.” There was no reason for them to go to lunch. Neither one of them cared to eat. They could; at their age they could eat a meal and be satisfied from it, for a time anyway. They didn’t even have to feed all that often, and he liked that. When thoughts of the woman came into his head again, he stood up to leave. “We’re going now?”

“No time like the present.” He told her about the encounter with the young woman this morning, and she got a good laugh out of it. “You should have seen Jenkins. He looked fit to be tied. I thought that if he’d had fangs, he would have shown her so that she’d be impressed with him. For some reason, she’s been on my mind a great deal this morning.”

“When was the last time you fed?” He said that it had been a couple of weeks ago, but he should more than likely find himself someone else. “You don’t want to be hungry when you go out to work. That would make you weaker.”

“It would only make me hungry, not weaker. I know what I have to do.” He needed to find the girl and have another argument with her so that he could get her out of his head. She was there too much. “Let’s have an enjoyable afternoon and not think about my work or snarky women that need to learn their place.”

“You don’t believe that.” He asked her what she meant. “That women have their place when it comes to being with you. You don’t believe that, do you?”

“I know that women are stronger than some men. I would hope that she would have the smarts to know when to step back when she’s in over her head. But as for being in place? I guess I believe that to a point. Even you had your place when Dad was alive. You’ve since outgrown that, but you did walk behind him when you went places.”

“That was a different time. Women today would kill a man if he thought that she should walk so many paces behind him.” He said he could see that. “Women are stronger than men in a great many ways. Giving birth is just one of them.”

Again the woman, fat with his child, came into his mind. He was going to have to get with her to argue so that she’d be wrong again and he could move on. He had no idea where these silly thoughts were coming from, but he wished they’d leave him alone. He and his mom spent an enjoyable five hours at the museum, and he was glad for it. The woman only came up about a dozen times in his thoughts.

Driving himself home, he realized that he didn’t finish his paperwork and decided to do it at home. He had a desk there that he used, and when he was finished with the file, he’d send it on to the council and be done with it. He had plenty to do to keep him busy, and once he was finished with the file he had on the rogue, he decided to take a walk around town.

He loved the small town setting that he lived in and was glad that his brothers were close enough that if he needed them, they were right there. York settled himself in the library once he’d had enough of the town and picked out a good book. To him, they were all good books. He loved to read more than he did anything else. And even though he had a nice extended library at home, he did enjoy sitting in the library reading as he could catch up on the best gossip there was. His mom wouldn’t be very proud of him for listening to it either.

He was nearly halfway through the book when the woman came into his library. He started to go to her to tell her to stop invading his thoughts when he realized that she was hurt. Standing only to sit down again, he watched her wander the aisles of the books while she wrapped her hand up in something. He was standing next to her when she was in the stacks at the back of the books.

“What have you done to yourself?” He took the rag from her and saw the open wound on her hand. “Did someone take exception to one of your accusations that he didn’t own the cars that you’d been working on?” He looked at the wound and decided that it needed stitches. “You’ll go to the hospital with me now and have it looked at.”

“I will not. Stop being bossy. I’m just fine.” He jerked her hand back when she pulled away from him. “What is wrong with you treating me like a child? I said I was just fine.”

“Then stop acting like a child and let me take you to the hospital. It needs stitches.” She jerked from him again and glared at him. If he wasn’t so worried about her, he might have laughed. She was acting like the child that she was. “If you won’t go to the hospital, then allow me to lick the wound closed. That way you won’t get an infection and die. Not that that doesn’t have some merit to it, but today I’m in a better mood.”

“Let me go before I scream.” He allowed her to jerk her wounded hand away from him. It was bleeding more now, and he had to lick his lips. The thought of drinking from her made his cock hard, and his fangs stretched. “Now look what you’ve done. I had just got the bleeding to stop.”

“It needs stitches. Will you allow me to take you to the hospital so that it might be looked at?” He was trying to be calm when all he wanted to do was toss her against the stacks of books and have his way with her. Adjusting his cock again, he looked into her eyes. “You’re in pain. Is this the only place that you’re hurt? Don’t lie to me either. I’ll know.”

“My father found me. I have a brother too that finds me on occasion, but today it had only been my father. I try to stay away from him, but it’s hard.” He had no idea what that meant but didn’t ask. Picking her up in his arms, he heard her cry out just as he willed them to the hospital. “I can’t afford to be here. This is the first place he’ll look.”

“No one will find you. Hush and let me talk to a few doctors.” He got one of the nurses to help her into a gown while he went to find a doctor. He didn’t know what was wrong with her, but he’d bet that someone beat her. It’s all he’d been thinking about all afternoon. That and tasting her.

After finding someone to help her, he sat with her in the room. They must have given her something for pain while he was out because she was lying on the bed sleeping. He looked at her there and wondered what it was about her that made him crazy. As soon as the doctor came in to check out her wound on her hand, he was told about her back as well. Someone had taken a strap to her back, and it needed stitches as well. Having a look at her back made him angry, and he had to calm himself when she was rolled over to her belly to have them looked at.

He wanted to ask her what had happened, but she was still sleeping. While the nurses cleaned up her wounds and then stitched up what needed to be, he sat in the chair and counted to one million so he’d not shake her awake and demand to know who had hurt her. She’d said it was her father who had found her, and he was willing to bet he’d been the man that had hurt her. He was trying to calm his beast when they finished up, and he was asked if he was going to be sitting with her. He had no idea why, but he said that he would. She’d been on his mind all day, and now he wanted to be as far from her as he could. Women were crazy. This one especially. And he didn’t even know her name.

~*~

Rose opened her eyes and wondered where she was. She knew on some level that she had been in the hospital at one point, but now she was in a beautifully decorated room with curtains that looked like gold. Sitting up, careful of her back, she looked around the room and couldn’t for the life of her know where she was. There was a tiny woman sitting in a chair next to the bed, but she seemed to be knitting something. Or something like that. She’d never learned how to do anything with needles, so wasn’t sure what she was doing.

“I’m knitting. You look better.” She asked where she was. “In my son’s home. You were here a couple of days ago. I think you worked on his cars.”

“How did I get here? Last I knew I was in the hospital.” She told her that she’d been there, but since she said that her father would find her there, he’d brought her here. “I’m in a stranger’s home because I mentioned my father might be looking for me. That makes no sense.”

“It didn’t to me either, but I usually listen to York when he has an idea about something. He’s been working for the last couple of hours. He should be home soon.” She asked if she was allowed to leave. “I’m sure you can do anything you wish, but he’ll just find you again. He wants to make sure you’re healed.”