When Worlds Collide Ch. 02

There was also no sign of any police which made him angry. Shots had been fired and men had died in this residential street and not one person had picked up the phone and called the police. Such lack of caring would never occur in a Were community. Lacey could have died here tonight and not one of her neighbours would have given a shit about it. His anger started to turn into an almost homicidal rage and he had to work really hard to push his wolf back down. Their mate had been threatened and the animal didn't want to go quietly.

He worked on it while he loaded their cases into the back of the Jeep. By the time he came back to get the women from the apartment he had successfully quietened his wolf. "Both of you slide into the back seat," he said as he took Jen's keys and locked up her apartment as the two women headed to the Jeep.

The coast still looked clear but he didn't want to take any chances. The back windows were tinted and would hide them from any prying eyes. He pulled the Jeep out of the residential street and headed towards the city limits. Both Jen and Lacey sat quietly in the backseat but he could see they were frightened and confused. His eyes met Lacey's in the rear view mirror and he tried to smile reassuringly at her as he pulled out his cell phone and tossed it back to her.

"Hit the first speed dial for me and put it on speaker," he said casually.

Lacey did as he asked and then leaned forward so the phone was closer to his mouth.

"There better be a bloody good reason why you're calling at one thirty in the morning," Jared Hanlon barked sleepily down the phone and Rafe grimaced slightly.

"Mike and Pete haven't arrived at the compound yet?" he asked with more than a hint of concern in his voice. He heard his alpha draw in a quick breath.

"Should they have?" he asked, instantly alert.

"They're bringing Aaron in. He's been shot pretty badly. I told them to phone ahead to the doc so he'd be awake and alert when they got there."

Jared cursed loudly. "What the fuck? Hold on a second, Rafe." There was a sound of rustling bedclothes and a female voice mumbling sleepily and then Jared could be heard talking quietly. "Mills, honey, run down and see if there's any sign of Aaron being brought in. He's been shot. Make sure that Luke's awake too."

Rafe heard Millie's gasp and then he had Jared's full attention again.

"Report!" Jared barked down the phone and Rafe filled him in as quickly as possible. He didn't mention anything about Lacey being his mate but he knew his Alpha would automatically pick up on it and understand why things had gone to shit so quickly.

"I take it you're bringing the women to the compound?" Jared asked after a slight silence. He sighed when Rafe confirmed it and muttered under his breath about Armands being a complete pain in his ass but there was no real heat in his voice.

"Fine, I'll see you when you get here," his Alpha said about to hang up. "Wait, hold on again, Rafe."

Rafe heard Millie talking in the background and then came Jared came back on the phone. "Millie met Luke's wife on her way over to ours. They took Aaron straight to the doc. He's with him now."

Rafe let out a sigh of relief. At least Aaron was in the best hands possible. "Thanks, Jared."

The call was terminated and Lacey held onto the phone just in case it rang or Rafe needed to make another call. She was confused about what she'd heard so far and a quick look at Jen showed she was equally as confused. Just what was this compound and why had they taken Aaron there instead of to a nearby hospital? The Jeep was speeding out of the city and towards the neighbouring one. It was a long distance to take a badly wounded man.

Rafe seemed loathe to speak anymore so she eventually settled back against the seat and squeezed Jen's hand reassuringly. She really hoped she'd made the right decision agreeing to go with Rafe. She was starting to wonder if she'd fled one nightmare only to land right in the middle of another.

Rafe pulled into the compound and headed straight towards Jared's house which was slightly detached from the other buildings. Most of the downstairs lights were on so he was sure his alpha was there and not down at the medical building.

"What is this place?" Lacey asked as they stepped out of the Jeep. The compound looked like it was just a bunch of log cabins of various different sizes in the middle of a deep forest. She had seen no sign of any boundary fences on the way in. Even though it was dark and the middle of the night, the moon was full so she was sure she hadn't missed any kind of enclosing fence.

A rustle off to the left startled her and she thought she saw some kind of wild animal peering at her before it disappeared. She couldn't stop the little shiver of fear which went through her as Jen gasped in shock. She must have seen it too.

Rafe ignored her question though he paused from taking out their suitcases and glared into the trees. "If I find out who's pissing about out there I'm going to jump on them with both feet," he growled irritably, slamming the back door closed. He turned to the two women. "This way," he grunted and headed up to the front door.

"Did he just tell off a wild animal?" Jen whispered shocked and Lacey shrugged. It had certainly looked that way. Just who the hell were these people? Some weird nature loving hippy sorts? Rafe didn't strike her as the hippy type but the compound setup was really strange. The two women followed him silently into the house.

Lacey stopped just inside the door. The rather rustic looking log cabin was in fact a spacious home. Granted there was a lot of wood around but there seemed to be numerous proper rooms on the ground floor and bedrooms up the wooden staircase. She actually quite liked it. Rafe was setting their suitcases down on the floor when a tall woman appeared on the upstairs landing.

She smiled broadly when she saw them and practically glided down the stairs. Her black curls came to her shoulders and looked as if she'd just dragged her hands through them. Her cobalt blue eyes practically shone as she reached the bottom of the stairs.

"Rafe, you've been gone too long," she smiled wrapping her arms around the big man's waist and giving him a warm hug.

Rafe smiled fondly and kissed Millie on the top of her head before he tousled her hair. "I'm a victim of the club's success," he replied quietly.

"Bollocks," she laughed. "You're still running as fast as your long legs can carry you and you know it. You forget I can see right through you." She stepped back and looked at the two women curiously, glancing back at Rafe when he didn't deny her accusation.

"Are you going to introduce me?" she asked archly with a raised brow.

"You know I don't like repeating myself," he answered brusquely. "I figured I'd wait until everyone was present."

Millie regarded him with narrowed eyes for a long moment and then sighed and turned towards the study. Rafe trailed after her as did the two women.

Jared's study was one of the larger rooms in the house. The tall dark haired Alpha was sitting behind his desk listening to the end of Peter and Michael's report on what they'd witnessed. His handsome face was set in a deep frown which lightened slightly when Millie crossed towards him and perched on the arm of his leather chair. His arm automatically snaked around her waist and he gave her a quick smile before he turned back to the two men.

Rafe motioned for Lacey and Jen to have a seat on the black leather sofa underneath the window opting to stand at the end closest to Lacey while he waited for Jared to be finished with his friends. The two women were being remarkably quiet. He had the distinct impression it wasn't a usual occurrence for either of them. Still they were in rather unusual circumstances at the moment.

He glanced down at Lacey and she turned to meet his eyes. He gave her a slight smile and then turned as Jared dismissed Pete and Mike.

"So, what exactly have you gotten us involved in, Rafe?" Jared asked slightly caustically, his displeasure evident in his tone and the expression on his face. His blue eyes practically bore a hole through Rafe and he shifted slightly uncomfortably under Jared's penetrating stare.

"Don't quite know yet," he answered slowly. "Still trying to find out all the details. How's Aaron?"

Millie's eyes clouded slightly and Rafe felt his heart thud loudly in his chest. "He isn't dead?" he asked with more than a touch of concern in his voice.

"No, he's hanging on at the moment but the doc's worried," Jared answered stroking Millie's hip soothingly. "It looks like the bullet missed his lung on entry but his subsequent moving around to evade being shot again caused it to move and nick his lung. It's fifty/fifty at the moment."

The Alpha's own concern was evident. Weres healed quickly from most things but Aaron had lost a lot of blood before reaching medical attention. There was a good chance he could die and Jared hated losing any member of the pack. Aaron was one of his betas and a good friend. His death would hit the whole pack hard as well as Jared.

"Aaron's too stubborn to die," Rafe said with a small smile. "He'll pull through just so he can tell the ladies all about his near death experience and charm them into his bed."

Millie smiled slightly and her concerned expression cleared a bit. "Introductions, Rafe?" she asked.

Rafe introduced the women. He omitted any titles when introducing Jared and Millie. They were human after all and there were still pack laws to uphold though how they were going to do so with the two of them hiding out in the pack was a bit of a headache. But it was Jared's headache now not his. Which was probably why his Alpha was so pissed at him right now.

Jared was pissed and pissed big time. One of his betas was fighting for his life, two humans were dead, two of his pack had shifted in a residential area and he had two human women on pack lands. He couldn't imagine anything else that would make the situation any worse.

He eyed the two women intently. Rafe was practically sitting on top of the blonde Lacey and he'd sent Aaron to make sure the girl got home safely so it was obvious that she was his intended mate. She appeared to be the target in whatever was going on.

"Lacey, we need to know who you're frightened of," he said softly. "It's the only way we can help you." He watched her curious green eyes flit towards her friend for a moment and then she turned back to him.

"Look, Jared, I'm sorry about Aaron, I really am," Lacey sighed. "He seems like a really nice guy. I told him not to get involved but he wouldn't listen to me. I'm not trying to get you and your friends involved in anything. This is my problem."

Millie smiled softly at her and rose to go and sit beside her. "It became our problem the moment Rafe made it his," she said gently. "We're a very close knit community and we look after our own and that extends to their friends too. You're not responsible for what happened to Aaron. He knew the risk he was taking when he acted so please don't feel guilty about it. He'd go right ahead and do the same thing over again if he had to. Just tell us who you're running from and we'll fix the problem for you."

Lacey jumped up and paced towards the door. She wanted to run out the door and keep running. These people were so strange. They were so intense and intimidating, even Millie. She was feeling boxed in and she didn't know what to do. Stay or go? If she left, Jen would go home and Richard would hurt her. If she stayed something else was going to happen. She didn't know what it was but she knew it would be something so monumental her life would never be the same again.

"Just tell them, Lace," Jen said speaking for the first time. "What more harm is it going to do? Their friend is already hurt. We can't go home because he knows where to look for you now. You know he's never going to stop. It won't matter where you go he's going to follow you over and over and over until there's nowhere left for you to hide. These guys here are huge and scary looking. Maybe if he gets a little visit from them he'll finally give up."

Lacey gasped and looked at her friend. Jen was the last person she had expected to try and convince her to tell. "He said he'd kill you if I told anyone, Jen," she whispered.

"Kill me," her friend laughed hoarsely. "He's only using me to get you to keep quiet. He's manipulating you just like he's always done. I only packed and came here with you because you were so desperate for me to. I'm not scared of that prick. I never have been and I never will be. He won't touch me."

"He will, Jen," Lacey groaned her expression anguished. "He's already tried." She stopped abruptly her hand flying to her mouth, her eyes going wide when she realised what she'd said.

Jen stared at her as slow realisation dawned on her face. She shook her head in denial. "Tell me it wasn't him, Lace," she said horrified. "Tell me it wasn't him who almost beat you to death in my apartment three months ago."

Rafe let out a loud growl and stiffened as red hot rage coursed through him. Someone had almost beat her to death? Three months ago when he was so close to her getting the club ready to open. He growled again, his expression turning murderous until he felt Jared layering his command tone heavily over him.

"Rafe!" Jared said loudly. "Either calm down or fuck off out of here until you do!"

Rafe gave himself a mental shake and saw Jen standing beside Lacey at the door. They were both looking at him with frightened expressions and he realised he must have looked and sounded pretty scary to them. "Sorry," he mumbled staring down at the floor. He gave Millie's hand a grateful squeeze when she reached for him.

Jared took a deep breath and motioned for Jen and Lacey to retake their seats. They eyed Rafe apprehensively for a moment and the big man growled in frustration and strode around behind Jared's desk to place him as far away from them as possible. It seemed to settled them down as they both returned to the sofa.

Lacey bit her bottom lip and glanced quickly at everyone in the room. She had to make a decision and she had to decide now. What was the best way to protect Jen? Her fear told her it was to go back to Richard. If she went back willingly then she was sure he would leave Jen alone. If she went back to Richard he would eventually kill her. She was certain he would do so. He'd already lost complete control once. All eyes were on her and she dropped her head in her hands so she didn't have to look at them.

"I met Richard two years ago," she said dully. "He was the perfect boyfriend. Tall, dark, handsome, exceedingly rich, charming and attentive, sophisticated. He was perfect in every way. I fell for him instantly. I used to lie in bed at night and wonder how I could have gotten so lucky to meet someone as perfect as him." She laughed bitterly keeping her eyes on the floor as she twisted her hands in her lap.

"That was until the first beating," she continued. "I didn't want to go out to some function and I certainly didn't want to wear the dress he'd picked out for me. We got into an argument. I called him a controlling prick and he punched me in the stomach. He spent a good half hour enlightening me on why I was going to wear the dress and attend the function. Then he forgave me by having sex with me. I wore the dress and I went to the function."

Jen reached over and gripped her friend's hands in hers to lend her some support. The total self loathing in Lacey's voice tore at her heart. She looked at the other people in the room. Millie looked horrified, Jared looked angry and sympathetic, and Rafe looked like he was ready to commit murder. None of them looked at Lacey with any kind of disgust or disapproval. She wished her friend would look up too and see that she didn't have to feel so ashamed about what happened to her but she kept her eyes lowered.

"I tried to leave him but by that point I was completely isolated from all my friends," Lacey continued in a monotone. "I was brought up in various foster care homes and had no family to turn to. All I had was Richard so there really was nowhere to go. The abuse went on in cycles until Jen moved back home. She called me up out of the blue and at the sound of her voice I just started weeping. Finally I had someone I could talk to, who I could tell what was happening to me. She encouraged me to leave Richard and I did one day while he was at work. He had beaten me the night before so I had bruises on my body. Jen took photos of them and got a restraining order on him. He went completely mental but he had to back off when the police were called."

Lacey closed her eyes and swallowed hard as she held on to Jen's hands for dear life. It was so hard to talk about this to strangers. She could only imagine what they must think of her staying with Richard for so long.

"Richard blamed Jen for me leaving him," she said quietly. "I was hiding out at her apartment one night when he came looking for Jen. He thought if she was out of the picture I would come home to him. Instead of finding Jen he found me there. We got into an argument and he told me he was going to kill her. I was so scared for Jen I lost control and hit him with a table lamp. It didn't even faze him. He started beating me and I must have blacked out because when I woke up I was in hospital with broken ribs, a broken arm and bruises just about all over my body. Richard was in the room with me. I was sure he was there to finish the job but he really only wanted to make sure I would keep my mouth shut about my attacker." She paused for a moment, frowning in concentration.

"It wasn't even that he was afraid of the police," she whispered. "He seemed almost contemptuous of them, as if they couldn't touch him. He was more interested in fucking with my head. He told me Jen would die if I opened my mouth and I believed him. I lied to the police and they went down the route of thinking the attack was meant for Jen, a disgruntled client or something. I didn't even tell Jen the truth because I knew she'd make me go to the police and tell them it was Richard. I'm so sorry I lied to you, Jen."

She raised her eyes then to look at her friend and saw she was silently crying. She was surprised to find she was crying too.

"It's okay, Lace," Jen whispered wrapping her arms around her friend. "I don't care that you lied. I had suspicions it was Richard who had hurt you but I didn't want to push you into admitting it. You were so badly hurt."

She rocked her friend, stroking her head soothingly as she started to sob quietly. "That was three months ago," Jen said, taking up the tale. "Lacey couldn't leave the apartment the first month because she needed time for her body to heal. She was too afraid to leave once she was healed. Last night was the first time she's left the apartment since the attack and he found her straight away. The man is a psychopath. He's never going to let her go."

Rafe couldn't stay away from Lacey any longer. Her soft weeping was breaking his heart and his wolf was screaming bloody murder at what had been done to their mate. His fury fought for dominance with his tender side and he strode quickly around Jared's desk to kneel at her feet.

He gently disentangled her from her friend and cupped her face gently in his big hands forcing her to meet his eyes. He looked into her distraught face and his tender side won the battle. "He will never hurt you ever again, Lacey," he said fervently wiping at her wet cheeks. "I promise you I will make him regret every single time he laid as much as a finger on you. I will keep you safe."

Lacey stared into Rafe's eyes and read the promise in them. She believed every word he said to her and she felt a faint flicker of hope. Maybe Rafe really could protect her from Richard? He seemed sincere. He seemed to care greatly about her even though they had only just met. She wanted to have faith in him so badly but she was frightened to give in to hope. "I don't want him to hurt anyone else," she whispered tearfully.