With Caution: With or Without, Book 2 (28 page)

The sound of Remi’s bike motor echoed through the house and Jake didn’t have time to think, much less argue. He shook his head and ran out the garage door, trying to keep up with his mate. “Remi. Wait!”
Damn.

Remi took off.

Jake started his bike, hit the garage door opener, then jumped on and headed out of the garage with the door closing behind him. His heart leapt into his throat. Remi shouldn’t be driving. He didn’t think straight when it came to his brother.

He drove onto reservation land, and Remi was still nowhere in sight. Had he taken a different way? He hadn’t said anything, but Jake was certain he’d go to his parents’ house. That’s where Sterling would be.

Rounding the first of three curves on the way to the Lassiter house, Jake hit the dirt road. Feeling the bike try and get away from him on the dirt and loose gravel, he slowed a little. That’s when he saw the cloud of dust and Remi’s bike laying in the middle of the road, the tank and front wheel crumpled, the back wheel still turning.

Oh God no.
Jake stopped so abruptly his bike almost slid out from under him. Alarm stabbed through him. Everything went still and quiet. It was like watching a movie in slow motion with the volume turned down. He scanned the area for Remi and inhaled, trying to find him through the dust. “Remi!”

* * *

Rhys watched Jake’s taillight speed away as he put his car into reverse. It was getting dark out. He’d been taking nightly trips to the Lassiter house in wolf form and so far Sterling had come to no harm, but he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t concerned now. He was tempted to try and call the kid’s cell phone, but he didn’t want to chance Dirk Lassiter hearing it.

Those pictures of Remi as a teen haunted Rhys. Even knowing they were Remi, when Rhys had first seen them he’d envisioned Sterling lying there. He’d been so unsettled, he’d shifted and gone to the Lassiter house in broad daylight just to check on the kid. Luckily, Sterling had been unharmed. Which was a damn good thing. Rhys wasn’t sure he had Jake’s restraint. He’d have to kill Lassiter for harming the boy.

His cell phone rang as he drove onto the reservation. Recognizing Sterling’s number, he hit the talk button. “Sterling?”

“Rhys? I…can’t…get…Remi.” His voice was soft and slow, like he was having a hard time talking.

Rhys didn’t like the wheezing sound of his voice. Something was very wrong. “I’m on my way, tell me where you are.”

“There’s a fiel—” He coughed, the sound almost gurgling. When the coughing ceased, a long, pain-filled moan started.

Fuck.
Rhys stepped on the gas. “What are you closest to? Did you walk toward town or toward the Winston’s house?” He tried to reach that inner calm he always obtained in a dangerous situation, but it wouldn’t come.

“I don’t…know. I went str—” There was more coughing. When Sterling spoke again, his voice was softer. “—out the back door and kept going.”

A field. Out the back door.
Rhys racked his brain. There were a lot of fields on the reservation. Turning onto the road behind the Lassiter house, Rhys rolled down all his windows and slowed. He concentrated on making his eyes shift so he could see better. Taking a deep breath, he pulled the outside air in through his nose and made his voice calm and stern. “Keep talking to me, kid. Are you walking in the field?”

There was more coughing.

A wave of nausea hit Rhys.
Hang in there, kid.
“Sterling! Where are you? Are you in a field? Can you see your house from where you are?” He hated sounding so rough, but he had to get Sterling to answer him.

“In the field. I can’t see the house, I’m lying down.” His voice was so slight Rhys wouldn’t have been able to hear it without his sensitive hearing.

“Can you hear any cars?”

“No.”

Damn, damn, damn.
He gripped the steering wheel harder to keep his hands from shaking. He couldn’t remember ever being this unnerved. Rhys honked his horn. He was directly behind Sterling’s house, overlooking a field he himself crossed in wolf form to check on the kid. “Can you hear a horn?”

There was no answer.

“Sterling?” Rhys stopped the car and pulled over to the side. God, please let him be right. Please let this be the field Sterling was crossing. He got out, taking his phone with him. “Sterling?” Why wasn’t he answering? Lifting his face, Rhys scented the air. Blood. His fangs dropped. He sniffed again and took off toward the appealing aroma. His heart pounded so fast and hard he could hear it. Scanning the ground, he didn’t see the kid anywhere but the scent was getting stronger. Sterling was here in this field…somewhere.

Closing his eyes, Rhys stopped and listened. To his left there was the sound of labored breathing. He turned and ran.

Sterling lay on his back in the tall grass.

The picture of Remi flashed through Rhys’ mind, making him shiver. The similarities were staggering. Dropping the phone, Rhys fell to his knees, already reaching for Sterling.

Sterling was still. Even the rise and fall of his chest was faint and shallow. Rhys couldn’t see color, but he knew Sterling’s was off. His lips were the wrong tint and dark splotches of liquid dotted and ran down his face. He’d been coughing up blood. He was bleeding internally.

Tears gathered in Rhys’ eyes, making him blink them away. Ingesting blood helped heal human mates, but there was no way Sterling could swallow anything. Scrambling for his back pocket, he retrieved his pocketknife and opened it.
God, please let this work.
It worked for Remi. Maybe because Sterling was his mate, it would work for them to.

He’d never been so afraid in his life. He slashed his wrist with the knife, then cut open Sterling’s shirt and cut a gash on his slim chest above his heart. As quickly as Rhys’ pulse raced, his arm was already dripping at a rapid rate. He held it over Sterling’s cut, getting in as much as he could. When his incision closed he cut it again and repeated the process.

It seemed to take forever.

Glancing down, Rhys noticed the phone on the ground next to Sterling, still clutched in his hand. His hands were almost elegant, with long slender fingers. No wonder he was so good at catching a football. Closing his eyes, Rhys let go and allowed himself to cry.

He’d learned quite a lot about the kid by watching him. The name Sterling fit him, he was so vibrant and full of life. He truly never stopped talking. It was like he had way too much energy and excitement to contain. It bubbled over by means of singing or carrying on a conversation with himself. Hell, not just himself, he talked to inanimate objects, strays, insects, everything.

Rhys had found himself enchanted.

Feeling the cut on his hand heal, he turned his attention back to his mate.

The cut on Sterling’s chest closed.
Please, let that mean it worked.
Rhys dropped to sit on the ground and pulled Sterling into his arms.

Sterling coughed and blood flew out of his mouth onto Rhys’ face and shirt. He turned his mate’s head, trying to help him get the blood up.

While Sterling heaved the last of the blood from his lungs, Rhys took a deep breath and let relief wash through him. Sterling smelled like pack now. Like a wolf.

Finally, Sterling stopped coughing and fell into a peaceful sleep. Cuddling him closer, Rhys held him, listening to the sound of his breathing. It was calm and even…normal.

Sterling snuggled against him, burrowing his nose in Rhys’ chest. There was even a soft snore.

Smiling, Rhys turned his face into his shoulder and brushed the tears off his face. In the background, wind rustled the grass, the crickets chirped, there were even some cars on nearby roads, but Rhys didn’t want to move. Not yet. He just wanted to sit here and hold Sterling. It might be the last chance he got for several more years. But at least he’d have several more years. Sterling was here, safe.

“Sterling? Rhys?” Remi’s frantic voice rang out, breaking the silence. Jake’s followed. “Rhys? Sterling?”

“Over here.” Rhys didn’t yell, he knew they’d hear him. Grabbing his and Sterling’s phones, he laid them on Sterling’s chest and for the first time noticed a hardback notebook. Hmmm…that was odd. It must have come with Sterling, so Rhys picked it up and put it on Sterling as well. Getting his feet under him, he stood.

Remi ran to him, looking like death warmed over. “Oh God. No!” He reached for Sterling.

“Whoa.” Jake scrambled to get Remi and pulled him back. He looked up at Rhys. “Hey, buddy. Everything okay?”

Huh?
Rhys realized suddenly that he was growling. Taking another step back, he nodded.

“What’s wrong with him?” Remi struggled against Jake’s hold and reached for Sterling again.

This time Rhys was very aware of his growl and he made sure they saw his teeth. He wasn’t ready to hand Sterling over yet.

Chapter Twenty

If Remi smoked he’d have gone through a pack already. As it was he was ready to collapse. Remi glanced at Sterling, lying on Jake’s couch, and his anxiety kicked up a notch. “You’re sure he’ll be okay?”

Lifting his head from his hands, Jake sat up straight. “He’ll be fine. You slept for a bit too.” Jake narrowed his eyes, studying Remi intently. “Are you sure you’re all right?”

“Yes.” Remi looked down at his torn jeans and dirty shirt. He was achy from wiping out, but okay. Likely, he’d feel more pain after he was certain Sterling was fine, but at the moment he had too much on his mind. He forced himself to sit on the love seat next to Jake.

Sterling rolled over, his arm flopping off the couch and hanging over the edge. Remi, Jake and Rhys stared at him expectantly, but other than that he didn’t budge.

After Rhys had stopped growling at them, they’d put Sterling in a pair of Remi’s shorts and a T-shirt he’d left at Jake’s. Between Remi and Rhys, they had managed to clean him up.

Sterling seemed peaceful, like he was asleep, and the bruises on his face were nearly gone. Whether it was Remi touching them or Rhys changing him into a wolf, Remi couldn’t say, but he was glad. As nervous as he was over the fact that Rhys had claimed Sterling as his, Remi was damned glad Rhys had gotten there when he did. If not, Sterling would have died.

“Do you know what happened?” Remi made a move to put Sterling’s arm back on the couch, but Rhys beat him to it.

Lifting Sterling’s feet out of his lap, Rhys got up from the end of the couch and put Sterling’s arm across his chest. “No, he wasn’t in a condition to tell me what happened. Did the two of you go by the house?”

Jake nodded. “There was no one there, just the smell of blood. Sterling’s and their mom’s from what I could tell.”

Which was another thing that had Remi concerned. His mom’s blood had been all over the place, but she’d been nowhere in sight. Her car was missing. Had she gone looking for Sterling after he’d left the house? Why hadn’t she called Remi?

Scooting closer, Jake put his arm around Remi and hauled him close.

Remi gave in and rested his head on Jake’s shoulder, needing the closeness of his mate. He felt his anxiety slowly ebb away and fatigue start to take over. But he couldn’t go to sleep…not yet. He had to wait and watch after Sterling. Whatever happened, Sterling wasn’t going back. Remi had already decided. He was going to take off with the kid as soon as he woke. Jake had assured him if it came to that, he’d go too, as did Rhys. So no matter what, Remi would have his brother and his mate.

Man, his eyes hurt. Maybe he could just close them for a second.

He must have drifted off to sleep, because the next thing he knew, his head was in Jake’s lap. Jake’s hand rubbed over his shoulder and the soothing tones of his deep voice tried to lull Remi back to sleep, but something kept pulling at him, telling him to wake up.

“I left while he was arguing with her. I’m not sure what happened after that. I just knew I had to get help,” Sterling said.

Sterling? Sterling was awake. Blinking his eyes open, Remi sat up.

Jake gripped his shoulder. “Slow down, pup, he’s fine.”

Sterling came and squatted in front of him, touching his face. “Are you okay? Jake said you wrecked.”

Ignoring the brief growl coming from Rhys’ direction, Remi grabbed his brother and hugged him. “I’m okay. Just worried about you. You almost died.”

“Yeah, I know, I could tell.” Sterling drew back with a strange expression on his face and looked down at himself. He lifted his shirt, showing off a tanned, flawless stomach. “How am I not dead? I don’t even hurt.” Dropping his shirt, he cocked his head. “He beat me with the baton he carries when he’s at work.”

Oh God.
Remi felt like someone had dumped ice water down his back.

“How am I okay? I was badly hurt. I was coughing up blood.” Sterling frowned and turned so he could see Rhys. “I called you and you were coming to find me…”

Glancing at Jake, Rhys raised a brow.

Sterling spun around, his forehead furrowed at Jake.

“Rhys turned you into a werewolf.” Jake rolled his eyes. “Chay is right. There just isn’t an easy way to tell someone that.”

Remi couldn’t help himself, he burst into laughter. It really wasn’t funny. His life was totally shit right now. His brother had been beaten to the brink of death then changed into a werewolf, his father was still out there somewhere, his mom was missing, his only transportation was now gone, yet here he was laughing so hard he had tears in his eyes.