Pretty Baby(36)

"Sometimes I wondered if it would have been better knowing she was dead, Elliot."

"How can you say that?" Elliot cried out. "You have no idea what it was  like thinking my mother was dead all these years and knowing my father  hated me. I had no one, no family, no friends, nothing until Tommy came  into my life. How could that be any worse?"

"I knew Summer was out there. I knew she was alive. I didn't have the  luxury of grieving for her as you did, as Chase, Devlin, and Donovan  did. I had to pretend that she was dead, pretend that Sophia was my  wife, all the while knowing that at any moment, they could kill Summer  and Tereza. Each time I left them, I never knew if I was going to see  them again."

"I'm sorry," Elliot whispered. "I guess we each have gone through our own ideas of hell."

"Well," Tommy said, "hopefully not much longer. If this plan of my  father's works, everyone will be reunited and Philip Spencer will be out  of business."

Tommy glanced down at his mate in concern when Elliot stepped closer to  the table. "I have a quick question. I understand that we're going to  raid these places and all, rescue Summer and Tereza, and get back as  much information as possible. We're even going to destroy whatever we  can't get back. What I don't understand is how we're going to explain  this to everyone."

"What do you mean, Elliot?" Daniel asked.

"We're talking about blowing up buildings here. Won't there be an  investigation or something? Won't the police and maybe the federal  government get involved?"

Daniel grinned. "That's the best part. One of Chase's friends did a  little research into Spence Corp. It seems that they use animals in  their medical research, and they have received several threats from  animal rights organizations, specifically, ones on the fringe of  organized protesters."

"I don't get it."

"Several of these fringe groups have been linked with terrorism  throughout the world." Daniel reached under the table and came up with a  can of red spray paint. "A few slogans painted on the walls and no one  will know the difference."

"And a few well placed emails by an anonymous, but reliable, source to  certain government agencies," Chase said, "and the federal government  will be so busy looking into Philip Spencer's financial dealings that  they will forget all about who did what to what building."

"Philip Spencer has not made a lot of friends over the years, Elliot,"  Daniel explained. "His greed and bid for power have made him quite a few  enemies, some of them in very high places. I don't think they will care  who takes him down, as long as he goes down."

"God, you make him sound like an evil monster."

"He is an evil monster, Elliot," Chase snapped. "Look what he's done to our family."

"I just … I never saw him that way. Sure, he was mean and cruel at times,  but until a couple of days ago, he was my family. It's hard to think  otherwise."

"You have a real family now, Elliot, your family." Tommy smiled at the  small shudder that racked Elliot's body at his words. He wondered if  Elliot would ever get used to having a real family. "You have your  father, mother, sister, and brothers and the entire Wolf Creek Pack.  That's got to be better than Philip Spencer."                       
       
           



       

"Damn, my Christmas list just got a whole hell of a lot longer."

* * * * Tommy was so nervous he felt like his stomach was doing  loop-dloops. He was supposed to act casual as he followed Elliot's  progress into Philip Spencer's house from his vantage point in the trees  surrounding the Spencer estate.

Elliot was going to pretend to be coming home for his normal monthly  medical exam. If things got bad, he would signal Tommy through their  mental bond and the troops would come running in to save him.

Tommy still didn't like the plan. There were too many things that could  go wrong, too many things that could put Elliot's life in danger. Every  protective instinct Tommy had was screaming at him not to let his mate  go.

Besides the fact that Elliot was basically walking right into the heart  of danger, no one had been able to find Carl Douglas since he had  attacked Tommy in the alley. If he were inside the house, there was no  telling what kind of damage the man could do to Elliot before Tommy  could reach him.

Tommy glanced down at his watch, tensing when he saw that ten minutes  had gone by since Elliot entered the house. It felt like ten years. He  looked over at Bishop and nodded his head toward the building. Bishop  just shook his head and held up five fingers.

Great, five more minutes. Tommy rolled his eyes. He didn't want to wait  five more minutes. He wanted to go in now. "Chill, dude," Bishop  whispered. "He'll let you know when we need to come in. Give him a  chance to handle this on his own. I think Elliot needs to confront  Philip Spencer and gain back a little of what that man has taken from  him."

"I don't like it. He's been in there way too long."

Bishop rolled his eyes. "So, contact him. You said you could." If Tommy had a gun in his hand, he probably would have shot

himself in the foot. He couldn't believe he had been sitting there  agonizing while he waited for Elliot to contact him when he could have  contacted Elliot. The mating bond mental thing they had going on between  them was so unusual, Tommy sometimes forgot that it went both ways.

"Elliot, is everything going okay?" Elliot's response was almost  instantaneous, bringing Tommy's level of tension down several notches.  "Yes, everything is fine. Philip is just chewing me out over that whole  mess with you and Carl."

"Carl?" Tommy's anxiety went right back up. "Is Carl there?" "Yep. He's  sitting in the corner smirking as we speak." "Shit, Elliot, I think Carl  knows that you can shift."

"Tommy, if Carl knows I can shift, then-"

"Philip knows as well." Tommy nudged Bishop with his foot then

nodded toward the house when the man glanced over at him. "We're on our  way in, pretty baby. Just keep them busy until we get past the guards."

"Easier said than done."

"Just be careful, Elliot. We'll be there in a few minutes." "You be careful," Elliot snorted silently. "I'm sitting in a nice,

comfy chair inside the house. You're the one that has to sneak past the  guards." "We're on our way, pretty baby," Tommy said mentally as he  followed Bishop and Prince Zacarius out of the tree they had been  sitting in.

It had been decided that the prince would accompany Tommy and Bishop  because of his vampiric abilities. Except for his mate, Devlin, he could  control someone's mind with just a bite. That knowledge kind of gave  Tommy a creepy feeling. He didn't want anyone but Elliot biting anything  on him.

Elliot could bite whatever he wanted.

Tommy had a hard time staying behind Bishop while they snuck their way  into the Spencer Estate and past the guards. He wanted to run, to reach  his mate as fast as possible. He didn't want to creep through the  underbrush.

It took more than the few minutes Tommy promised Elliot for them to  reach the side of the large mansion that belonged to Philip Spencer.  Between the lack of adequate hiding places in the massive landscape and  the armed guards that patrolled the area, moving quickly just wasn't  possible.

Tommy flattened himself up against the side of the building and let out a  silent breath. The need to get to Elliot was growing stronger, and it  made Tommy feel edgy. His wolf was just under the surface, wanting out.  He could barely keep himself from shifting.

"Elliot, is everything okay?" Tommy waited several moments for Elliot's  response. When none came, he began to grow even more anxious. "Elliot!  Answer me, damn it. I'm going out of my mind here."

There was still no answer. Tommy nudged Bishop and gestured to his head,  shaking it to let the man know he couldn't contact Elliot. Bishop  nodded and hurried along the edge of the house to a set of floor to  ceiling windows and double doors at the back of the building.                       
       
           



       

When Tommy peeked around the corner of the window and peered inside, his  blood ran cold. Elliot was still inside the large study with Philip and  Carl, only another man had joined them. He was carefully withdrawing  blood from Elliot's arm, a very unconscious Elliot.

Tommy started to growl then pressed his lips tightly together so he  wouldn't be heard by those in the room. The muscles in his arms went  rigid with his need to tear into something, or someone. His mate was  being threatened. Tommy never felt such an overwhelming rage before.  Having a mate put a whole new spin on his ability to control himself.