Chapter 76 - LUCIAN FINDS OUT

Bastian offered to watch Sandy Fink while we slept. I took him up on the offer and hoped that he wasn't going to double cross me. At least he smelled like a trustworthy guy. The truth of the matter was though, that me and Kyle needed sleep so that we could make it back to Boston with our captive.

We went back to the room while Bastian watched Sandy out in the woods. We got a few hours of sleep and some breakfast before we went back to where we had left them. Thankfully, they were both still there. 

"Morning." Bastian called out to us as he yawned. "This fucking bitch here wouldn't shut up."

"Really? What was he saying?" Kyle glared at the scumbag that was once again cowering before us. 

"He was begging me to let him go. He seems to think that I only turned on him because you were there. He doesn't seem to realize I was going to drop his ass at the police station from the beginning."

"At least we had an ally in there." Kyle grinned.

"Yeah, sorry to ruin your plans." I added.

"No worries. We stopped them, that's what matters. I hate criminal scumbags like them so I will take them all down if I can."

"Are you some sort of shifter super hero or something?" I had to ask, it just sounded funny.

"I prefer to be called a supernatural vigilante." I could tell he was joking but it was too perfect for me not to laugh.

"So what are you going to do now?" Kyle asked him as we drove away from town.

Kyle and I had collected all of our stuff and checked out of the hotel. There was no reason for us to stay here anymore.

"I don't know. I need to find my next venture." I saw him smirk and look at me in the mirror of the truck. "You guys got many criminals that need my special attention back where you're from?"

"We live in Boston, there are quite a few seedy parts of town. I think they could definitely use someone like you." I answered him as honestly as I could. "I mean, just take a look at the scumbag next to you, he's from Boston isn't he. And he's a real piece of work." Sandy Fink didn't try to defend his honor. He knew he was outnumbered and outmatched.

"Then maybe I will tag along. I have nothing to hold me down anywhere anyway, maybe I will find what I am looking for there."

It took us driving in three shifts to make it home. We stopped for food, gas, and of course bathroom breaks. We even made sure to take care of Sandy Fink. He got his biological necessities, even though I wanted to forgoe them altogether and make him suffer. Too bad the others wouldn't let me.

Kyle drove first, then me, and lastly we let Bastian drive. We made it back to Boston early in the afternoon just the next day. Thankfully my stomach wasn't as bad as it was on the drive down. That and I wasn't the only one in the car this time. That alone made it a lot easier to make it across the country on such a long drive.

The first place we went was to the department that Lucian worked at. If I could, I usually liked to turn my bounties over to him. He took custody of the scumbag and put him in a holding cell. Then he came over to me and growled into my ear.

"I have no idea where you have been or what you have been doing, but EZ has been going nuts."

"Ahem." Kyle very deliberately and very forcefully cleared his throat as he stepped up next to me and wrapped an arm around my shoulders.

"Oh, I see a few things have happened." He was glaring at the man who was holding me. "Do you mind introducing yourself and telling me why you have your arm around my friend like that?"

"I'm her mate, and the father of her child. I will put my arm around her whenever I please." Kyle glared right back at Lucian.

"Excuse me? Jacy? Do you care to explain this all to me?"

"Perhaps we can get some lunch and she can explain then. We all did just finish a long drive after all."

"I don't know who you are either. Don't tell me you went and got two mates." Lucian growled at me.

"Of course I didn't. Bastian is just a friend and possible colleague. What the hell is the matter with you?"

"How the hell am I supposed to know? A week and a half ago you didn't have a mate and this week you're not only mated but pregnant? What the hell?"

"Well, a lot has happened over the last week and a half." I shrugged my shoulders then. "Let's do like Bastian suggested. Let's get some lunch and talk about it there."

"Fine. Let's go."

Lucian led the way out of the station and to the cars parked outside. Kyle, Bastian and I got into my truck and Lucian got into his work truck. I drove to my favorite diner for breakfast since it was usually a good place to have a conversation.

Once we were inside we settled into a corner booth and Lucian was glaring at me and the others. The waitress was too quick for him to ask anything before we placed our orders so he had to wait a few moments.

Once we had our drinks though, Lucian started our hushed conversation.

"So, Jacy, spill it. When did you meet this so-called mate of yours? I thought you didn't want a mate."

"I didn't want one. Though, apparently, fate doesn't care what I want. I met him the night that we arrested that asshole Saul. We met in a bar."

"A bar? Seriously Jacy? Don't tell me you went and got blind drunk again. I know that case was a tough one but you can't take them all personally like that."

"I know. It was just a little too hard for me to not kill that son of a bitch, so I needed to make myself forget."

"You forgot a lot that night, that's for sure." Kyle just had to add his two cents in on that one, didn't he.

"Meaning?" Lucian still hadn't accepted Kyle yet and was on edge around him.

Kyle went on to explain everything that he could, leaving out the steamy bits. He told him that he had been called into work early and had to leave but learned later that I had forgotten him. We reunited outside of our apartments that were next to each other and ended up in bed again. He told him that during the second encounter he noticed I was pregnant but I left before he could tell me.

Kyle then explained that he was frantic because I hadn't come home so he sought out EZ and found out where I was. He hadn't hesitated; he just came after me.

Then he told him everything that had happened in Arkansas, including me almost being killed. I wished he would have left that out. Lucian looked pissed off at me when he was done. Bastian added a few more details that pertained to tracking down and arresting the four criminals but that was mostly when the conversation was at an end.

Oh, the glare that Lucian was giving me. if looks could kill I would be dead by now.

"No fucking wonder EZ has been going crazy. You ran off and almost died because you were running from a mate bond." It sounded weird the way Lucian was talking. I could tell he wanted to scream but had to keep it quiet. "You're an idiot." It seemed that Lucian was now on Kyle's side, just like EZ had been.

"I agree, it was reckless to run off just because you didn't want to face the fact that you had a mate." Great, now even Bastian was getting in on this. 

"To be fair, I know it was stupid. I just wasn't ready. I mean he marked me without my permission."

"I didn't mean to." Kyle sounded exasperated.

The whole conversation turned into a bonding time for the three men while two of them complained about me. At least we did settle on a few things. Bastian and I would be working together. He was going to help me catch criminals and bring them to justice. And Kyle would help too. He and EZ would be my hackers extraordinaire. They would look for who we needed while Bastian and I brought them in. It was going to become a team effort now.

I thought that was going to be all for the day. I would contact EZ tomorrow and sort it all out. But, it seemed that Kyle had something else we needed to discuss and it started with:

"Your place or mine?"