Heartsblood (Dark Hollow Wolf Pack 10)

“What?” Alarmed at how rapidly Nicky’s chest was rising and falling, not to mention the by-now total lack of color in his face, Jax grabbed his arm. “Calm down, Nicky. It’s okay. He’s gone.”

“Call Marco, quick. I think my hands are shaking too hard to dial the number.”

“Okay,” Jax said, trying to keep his own voice calm. He’d only gotten a quick glimpse of Tate that day on the mountain when all hell had broken loose and high-powered rifles were keeping them all pinned down and picking them off one by one like targets in a shooting gallery. He’d gotten an impression of a tall, dark man running toward Nicky, but that was about it. He was too busy trying to stay alive and keep his little brother and the other children safe to really pay close attention to what the guy looked like. His own hands shook a little with anger now, though, to think the son-of-a-bitch had been so close to him a few minutes before. All the wolves had vowed that Tate would pay dearly for the near massacre that day. One pet murdered, three others gravely wounded, and Nicky so close to death that at first they thought he wasn’t breathing when they got to him that day.

Jax dialed Cade’s number, hoping Marco would be with him. “Cade,” he said when he picked up. “Nicky and I are in Highlands, shopping, and…”

“Is Nicky buying out all the stores? Wait a minute, Marco wants to talk to Nicky.”

“No…wait!” But Cade was already handing Marco the phone.

“Hi Jax, is Nicky there with you? Is he wearing my blue shirt? Tell him I said if he spills so much as one drop on that shirt, I’ll…”

“Marco, listen to me. We just saw Jeremy Tate.”

A stunned silence met the words and then Marco asked quickly, his voice low and tense, “Where’s Nicky?”

“He’s right here.” Jax thrust the phone over to Nicky. “Marco’s freaking out.”

“Hello?” Nicky said in a small voice. His entire demeanor had changed since he saw Tate. He looked stunned and frightened. “Okay,” he said softly. “No, I won’t.”

He handed the phone back to Jax and this time Cade was on the line. He sounded winded, like he was running, and he knew they must already be on their way to get them. “Listen to me, baby, don’t move from where you are. No, go inside the building and stay there until we come for you. Did you see any kind of vehicle he might have been driving? Was anybody with him?”

“No,” Jax said, “he was on alone and on foot and we’re perfectly capable of making it back home on our own steam, you know. I’m parked right on the main drag here in town. We’ll be fine.”

Cade started yelling and Jax held the phone out from his ear. He glanced over at Nicky, who shrugged. “Let them come. They’ll want to look for any sign of Tate in the area anyway, though he’s no doubt long gone by now. No sense in arguing with them anyway when they get like this.”

Jax let the loud voice go on for a while before he put the phone back up to his ear. “Should I go after him and see if I can spot what kind of car he’s driving?”

Cade began yelling again, so Jax sighed and held the phone away from his ear until some of the shouting stopped. “Okay, okay. We’ll be here at the café eating our lunch,” he said, and ended the call before Cade could say another word.

Nicky shook his head. “You’re only making it worse. Besides, they’re right. You don’t know Tate. I wouldn’t put it past him to open fire on us right here, and the hell with the witnesses and the collateral damage. We’d better go inside, I guess.”

Jax threw down his napkin in disgust, but he followed Nicky and waited while he asked for an inside table. They were soon seated near a window where they could watch for Marco and Cade’s arrival. It should take their mates about thirty minutes to drive there from the lodge, though Jax was betting on an even faster arrival.

Jax apologized to their waitress when she brought them fresh drinks and delivered their food, but she was gracious and friendly about the whole thing and flirted with both of them outrageously. Jax reached for his hamburger and French fries and attacked them with the delicacy and finesse of a bear just out of hibernation. It had been a long time since breakfast, and once he finished

his sandwich, if Nicky was still picking at his salad, he had designs on it too.

Neither of them had much to say to each other, and Jax was happy about twenty minutes later to see Cade and Marco coming down the sidewalk toward them, their faces serious and determined. Jax had to concede that he was glad to see Cade. He didn’t like to admit it, but it was getting harder to be away from him, even for a few hours. Nicky stood up and went outside to greet them, while Jax paid their bill and collected his and Nicky’s bags.

By the time he got outside, Cade and Marco had drawn Nicky over to a more secluded bench in the square. They seemed to be questioning him urgently, though Nicky kept shaking his head.

“I told you what he was wearing, and that’s really all I know. I never spoke to him,” Nicky was saying as Jax approached. “He came up to Jax while I was inside.”

In a rare display of public affection, Cade slipped an arm around Jax’s waist as he came nearer and kissed his cheek. “Are you okay? He didn’t touch you, did he, or get close enough to slip something into your drink?”

Jax shook his head and pulled away a little, feeling embarrassed and bothered by the sideways glances they were attracting. “Let’s get out of here, okay?”

“We’ll walk you two to your car. Rory and Casey came with us, and I sent them on ahead to make sure no one messed with it. Then they can take you home while we look around,” Marco said, already pulling Nicky toward the sidewalk.

Nicky extricated his arm and glared at him. “Stop it, Marco, I don’t need Rory and Casey to see me safely home. I called you because I knew you’d want to search the area for any sign of Tate, not because I needed you to babysit me.”

Marco glared back at him, his face flushed and irritated. Before he could say anything else, Nicky laid a hand on his wrist. “Look, I appreciate your concern, but Tate startled me, that’s all. Sometimes I forget how bold he can be. Jax can do as he pleases, but I’ll be driving myself home. You should take the others and look for Tate, though I’m sure he’s crawled back in some hole by now. You forget that I know Jeremy Tate better than anybody. This was all about reminding me he was close by, and letting me know he was watching.”

Marco paled visibly and couldn’t seem to stop himself from pulling Nicky close to him again. Nicky allowed it, and gave him a brief hug before pulling away and taking his bags from Jax. “I’ll go home and put all this away. Jax, are you coming with me?”

“Yeah, I think I will. We have company coming today, after all.” He squeezed Cade’s arm and smiled at him. “I’ll see you back at the lodge. Good hunting.”