suspected that Kyle and Walter
Carstairs had different motives, and Nick had gone with her. Turned out that
Kyle had his sights set on making Hannah his bride. Apparently he had a habit
of trying that particular tactic. He was even willing to challenge Nick, who
was posing as her husband at the time. But it hadn’t come to that. Hannah had
known somebody on the inside. Someone named A.J. Only clearly, A.J. wasn’t a
guy, but a girl who now went by the name of Andie.
Jaxon
didn’t know if he wanted to strangle Andie or kiss her. Hannah too for that
matter. Unfortunately, right now he couldn’t do either. He needed to find Andie
first.
Jaxon
turned around. “Charlie, get Hannah. Now.”
“On
it, boss.”
Charlie
hightailed it out of the dressing room, while everyone else sat there in
uncomfortable silence. Jaxon ignored the others as his mind ticked through all
his possible courses of action. He had to get to Andie before someone else did.
He fought the urge to pace like a caged animal. As Alpha, he couldn’t afford
the luxury of letting anyone else see him lose it. He must remain cool, calm,
and in control at all times. Even if he wasn’t.
Several
long minutes later, Charlie’s voice preceded him into the room. “Found her.”
Hannah
walked in behind Charlie. When she saw the group of men gathered, her eyes grew
wide. She focused on her brother. “Jaxon? What’s going on?”
He
nodded at Mike. “Do you know this man?”
Her
eyes got even bigger. “Hi, Mike.” She turned her confused gaze on her brother.
“Hannah,
this is not the time to hold something back. Andie has disappeared, gone rogue
or maybe to another dare. I need to know if I can trust this man.”
She
nodded. “His name is Mike. He helped Nick and me to escape Carstairs last
year.”
He
leveled his most Alpha stare at his sister. “And who, exactly, is A.J.?”
Hannah’s
lips thinned, and she shook her head. “I told both of you that I didn’t
want to get in the middle of this.” She sighed deeply. “A.J. is Andie. She’s
responsible for my being alive and still with the Keller Dare and married to
Nick. Mike helped, but Andie was the driver.”
“We’ll
talk more about this later. But for now, do you have any idea where she might’ve
gone?”
Hannah’s
brow wrinkled. “If she left, she had good reason. And likely she’s got a plan.
She’s the most levelheaded strategic thinker I’ve ever met.”
Jaxon
walked over and gently took Hannah’s shoulders in his hands. “I told her who I
am, and then I had to leave before we had a chance to talk about it. I’ve got
to find her.”
Hannah
softened at the look of desperation in her brother’s eyes. “She went to our cabin in Montana,” she whispered
Jaxon’s
grip tightened. “How does she know about that?”
“Because
Andie and I had discussed the possibility of her having to go rogue. We worked
through a couple of scenarios to help her buy time while she figured out a
plan.”
“You
couldn’t have shared this with me?”
“Would
you have given her any options? Discussed it at all?”
Jaxon
looked away. He wouldn’t have, though not for the reasons Hannah thought. Jaxon
glanced over to Pete.
“Get
the chopper ready.”
Chapter 16
Andie
stayed low to the ground. In the summer this field was probably filled with
luscious, tall grass. However, winter had hit Montana early this year and
blanketed it with a thick layer of snow. She’d been battling a wicked storm for
the past twelve hours or so.
Cougars
actually thrived in the cold and were known to do much of their hunting when
other animals holed up to ride it out. So she was built for the weather, but
that didn’t make it easy to get through. Exhaustion weighed on her, and every
single step was an act of sheer will.
It’d
taken her four days to travel this far, hampered as she was by having to stay
off the grid as much as possible. Luckily, she hadn’t come across any other
shifters – cougars or
Carstairs had different motives, and Nick had gone with her. Turned out that
Kyle had his sights set on making Hannah his bride. Apparently he had a habit
of trying that particular tactic. He was even willing to challenge Nick, who
was posing as her husband at the time. But it hadn’t come to that. Hannah had
known somebody on the inside. Someone named A.J. Only clearly, A.J. wasn’t a
guy, but a girl who now went by the name of Andie.
Jaxon
didn’t know if he wanted to strangle Andie or kiss her. Hannah too for that
matter. Unfortunately, right now he couldn’t do either. He needed to find Andie
first.
Jaxon
turned around. “Charlie, get Hannah. Now.”
“On
it, boss.”
Charlie
hightailed it out of the dressing room, while everyone else sat there in
uncomfortable silence. Jaxon ignored the others as his mind ticked through all
his possible courses of action. He had to get to Andie before someone else did.
He fought the urge to pace like a caged animal. As Alpha, he couldn’t afford
the luxury of letting anyone else see him lose it. He must remain cool, calm,
and in control at all times. Even if he wasn’t.
Several
long minutes later, Charlie’s voice preceded him into the room. “Found her.”
Hannah
walked in behind Charlie. When she saw the group of men gathered, her eyes grew
wide. She focused on her brother. “Jaxon? What’s going on?”
He
nodded at Mike. “Do you know this man?”
Her
eyes got even bigger. “Hi, Mike.” She turned her confused gaze on her brother.
“Hannah,
this is not the time to hold something back. Andie has disappeared, gone rogue
or maybe to another dare. I need to know if I can trust this man.”
She
nodded. “His name is Mike. He helped Nick and me to escape Carstairs last
year.”
He
leveled his most Alpha stare at his sister. “And who, exactly, is A.J.?”
Hannah’s
lips thinned, and she shook her head. “I told both of you that I didn’t
want to get in the middle of this.” She sighed deeply. “A.J. is Andie. She’s
responsible for my being alive and still with the Keller Dare and married to
Nick. Mike helped, but Andie was the driver.”
“We’ll
talk more about this later. But for now, do you have any idea where she might’ve
gone?”
Hannah’s
brow wrinkled. “If she left, she had good reason. And likely she’s got a plan.
She’s the most levelheaded strategic thinker I’ve ever met.”
Jaxon
walked over and gently took Hannah’s shoulders in his hands. “I told her who I
am, and then I had to leave before we had a chance to talk about it. I’ve got
to find her.”
Hannah
softened at the look of desperation in her brother’s eyes. “She went to our cabin in Montana,” she whispered
Jaxon’s
grip tightened. “How does she know about that?”
“Because
Andie and I had discussed the possibility of her having to go rogue. We worked
through a couple of scenarios to help her buy time while she figured out a
plan.”
“You
couldn’t have shared this with me?”
“Would
you have given her any options? Discussed it at all?”
Jaxon
looked away. He wouldn’t have, though not for the reasons Hannah thought. Jaxon
glanced over to Pete.
“Get
the chopper ready.”
Chapter 16
Andie
stayed low to the ground. In the summer this field was probably filled with
luscious, tall grass. However, winter had hit Montana early this year and
blanketed it with a thick layer of snow. She’d been battling a wicked storm for
the past twelve hours or so.
Cougars
actually thrived in the cold and were known to do much of their hunting when
other animals holed up to ride it out. So she was built for the weather, but
that didn’t make it easy to get through. Exhaustion weighed on her, and every
single step was an act of sheer will.
It’d
taken her four days to travel this far, hampered as she was by having to stay
off the grid as much as possible. Luckily, she hadn’t come across any other
shifters – cougars or
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