Justus Read online

  “I see you haven’t stopped giving him hell,” Paige said and nodded to Titus, who only seemed more uncomfortable following their exchange.

  Rachel sighed and rolled her eyes.

  “He thought he’d have a better chance of being heard by you if he brought me,” Rachel said.

  Paige looked over to Titus. He responded with a sheepish smile back, and then his face twitched into a more serious expression, as if he seemed to realize he was the one in charge of the trip out and not the mouthy doctor beside him. He straightened himself and shot Rachel a stern frown.

  “How is Kate doing?” Paige asked before he could get out their reason for coming.

  She really didn’t want to have to turn them down again. It had been hard enough the first time. Plus, with the threat of termination from the hospital looming over her, she might be tempted to accept if they offered her another job. And all her reasons for leaving to begin with were still valid.

  Paige sighed and opened the door a little wider. Standing there talking on the front porch wasn’t ideal since the weather had changed recently. The cold air chilled her and forced out all the nice, warm air she’d created with her roast.

  He paled a little. “Kate’s doing well,” he said and stepped through the open door.

  Rachel let out a bark of laughter and followed close behind. “The little wife is nearly ready to pop with those babies and about as crabby as could be expected,” she said. “Soon he’s going to have his hands full, and he’s scared shitless.”

  If it were possible, Titus paled even more as he sat in the chair beside the couch. Rachel took a seat on the couch.

  Paige gave him a tender smile and leaned forward a little.

  “You’ll be fine,” she said. “You’ve got a whole village to help.”

  Her words seemed to calm him, and she smiled. It was nice to be helpful. The Luna men always seemed slightly lost, adrift in the human world they’d been thrust into, and it tugged at her heart. Despite the danger, she envied their closeness. They may have had a hierarchy and leaders, but in the end, they were more like an extended family in many ways than a group of super-soldiers.

  “Yes, well,” he said and cleared his throat. “We’re here for two reasons.”

  Paige frowned a little and sat on the couch near the doctor.

  “Have you heard from Justus?” Titus asked.

  Paige stared for a moment before speaking. She’d seen the handsome man in the room they used as a makeshift prison near the clinic. It was one of the things that just never seemed to sit right: holding Remus and Justus as prisoners because they might be associated with the Horatius Group.

  She knew the Group was bad and ruthless, but it just seemed shameful to lock up men who had obviously been through so much already.

  The haunting look she remembered from Justus could only be an indication as to the horrors he’d been subjected to.

  She shook her head no to answer Titus’s question.

  “Did he escape?” she said.

  Titus winced at her words. “He left during some of the commotion.”

  “We want you back,” Rachel said, looking over to her. “You know how understaffed we are. We need you now more than ever.”

  Paige knew how much they needed her, but that was the problem really. The last person that had come to work in the Luna Lodge clinic from the outside tried to kill them.

  The committee jerk from the earlier phone call hadn’t been wrong. The hybrids were under constant attack. The chances of another nurse being crazy enough to accept and deal with working in such an environment were slim to none.

  Paige shook her head.

  “As I said before, I just can’t,” she said and looked between the two of them. “I really care for the people there, but I just can’t. It’s too much. It’s…too much excitement.”

  Rachel looked over to Titus. The calm expressions on their faces suggested they both had expected the answer.

  “What if we paid more?” Titus asked.

  Paige considered the offer. It was tempting. Her bills were mounting, and there was no telling when her sister would be back to help with that. If she did lose her job at the hospital, things would get very rough. She’d likely be hoping for something like this.

  Still, that didn’t change anything. Money wouldn’t help if the Horatius Group attacked again, especially if she got caught up in the incident.

  “Well,” Rachel said and stood. “You’ve heard your options. I think we should be going—”

  Titus frowned. “You didn’t even give her time to answer.”

  Rachel snorted as he stood.

  “She’s not going to sign up today,” Rachel said with a sigh. “We just need to give her a little time.” She managed a small smile. “She’ll come when she’s ready.”

  Titus stood and glanced between them. He wrinkled his forehead, clearly unsure about the conversation.

  “If you say so,” Titus said and shook his head.

  Paige wanted to reassure him they would find someone to help, but the truth was, she couldn’t.

  When she’d been asked to help out, more than a few staff members had been sorry for her, and several had said they wouldn’t help either because they thought it was too dangerous or because they didn’t want to have to work closely with the “freaks” in the woods.

  In the end, most had only done their duty at the town hospital when treating any of the hybrids because they were curious, not out of a great sense of duty.

  Well, most of them. She could think of a few who seemed to not be so disgusted with the idea of working with the hybrids, but that was before the most recent danger. No reasonable person would want to work for them now.

  Maybe when the whole review was over, she’d look at getting them the help they needed. Being short on medical staff was one of the worst things they could have at this moment, and she didn’t want to see anything happen to them. If things just stayed calm for a while, people might be more trusting as well.

  Titus stepped out the door and walked back to the jeep without a word. Paige stopped in the door with Rachel.

  “He’s worried,” Rachel said quietly. “We are recovering after the attack, but one good hit could send us right back to where we were.”

  Guilt ate at Paige. Maybe, with her help, she could make a difference. Still, it was hard to go that way. She’d be putting aside the only place her sister and herself had been able to call home.

  She jumped when Rachel placed a gentle hand on her arm.

  “We do need you,” she said and stared intently at Paige so hard that she had to look away. “No one is going to try and force you to come, but you belong with us.”

  Paige looked back up to the dark-haired doctor.

  “Do I?”

  Rachel gave a warm smile.

  “You do,” she said. “You are honest, and with men like this, that means everything.”

  The two grew quiet as Paige thought about what had been said. In any other circumstances, she would have been relieved to know she was not only needed but that she fit in. That was something she’d always had trouble with as a child. Honesty wasn’t always the best when making friends.

  “Just think it over,” Rachel said and handed her a card. “You call me when you’re ready.”

  Paige took the card and gave a small nod.

  She gasped when Rachel brought her in for a hug. The prickly doctor had never really seemed like the hugging sort.

  “Be careful of the townspeople,” Rachel said quietly in her ear. “Something is going on. That’s all I can say for now.”

  Puzzled, Paige pulled back to look at Rachel. The woman stared at her for a moment before nodding.

  “I’ll see you soon,” Rachel said firmly.

  Before Paige could even reply, the doctor was down the steps and trotting off to the jeep.

  She watched as they drove down the dirt road, a cloud of dust in their wake.

  Stepping back into the warmth of her h
ouse, Paige shut the door. She stared down at the card in her hand for a moment, wondering what she should do. Uncertainty ate at her.

  Paige set the card on the table by the couch and shook her head. This wasn’t a time to be making decisions. Right now, all she wanted to do was finish her bottle of wine and eat her roast. At least it’d be a decent end to a pretty much shitty and weird day.

  Chapter Four

  Justus limped through the woods, but he was still faster than most humans on their best day. Blood soaked his pants and trickled down his leg. He could feel the burn in his side but didn’t bother to look at it.

  He knew it was bad, but he had to run. They would have just kept shooting at him. Still, running had only made the bleeding worse. He could feel his pulse thump in his head as more blood soaked his only shirt.

  He stopped and leaned against a tree. His head hung as he clutched the tree for support. Stopping now meant certain death. Either he would bleed out, or those men would find him and finish the job. It wasn’t going to work in his favor no matter how he spun it. Justus needed to get out of sight, and even more, he needed medical attention.

  The thought of going back to Luna Lodge flashed through his mind. He shook his head. No way in hell was he going back there. They were no different than the men chasing him. Maybe even worse in some ways.

  “Traitorous bastards,” he mumbled. Justus could feel the slur of his words and frowned. The ground beneath shifted a little, and he gripped the tree a little harder.

  “Fuck,” he grunted. He’d been foolish to trust the men in the woods, but he’d also been desperate. The poor decision might cost him his freedom, let alone his life.

  His head shot up as a familiar smell greeted his nostrils. He inhaled deeply. It was a surprise he was even able to distinguish it considering how much his injuries dulled his senses. But this was different. Pleasant. Intoxicating. Like being called back home.

  He shook his head. What a silly thought. There was nothing out here that would call him home, and there was always the threat that the Horatius Group had found him and was only tricking him into coming right to them.

  Justus took an unsure step the opposite direction and spun a little. His hand shot out to grip the tree again. It wouldn’t be long before he blacked out.

  He looked in the direction he’d just come and knew the men weren’t far. Distance was getting harder to judge with the more blood he lost, and even those idiots would be able to follow his tracks.

  Justus let out a sigh. There really was no choice. He would have to follow the glorious scent pulling him in and hope for the best.

  With the little strength he had remaining, Justus moved through the woods. He carefully covered the path he made until he was deep enough to throw off his pursuers. Then he set out the opposite direction. If those men had any skills at hunting, they’d be able to follow a trail, and he planned on giving them one to follow.

  Moving as quickly as he could manage, Justus forged a new path in the woods. He knew the water was just up ahead and would give him the perfect place to kill his trail. When he reached the creek’s edge, he placed his foot firmly in the muddy bank, giving them something concrete to go on. With any luck they’d think he walked through the water and follow that wherever it led.

  He turned back toward the sweet floral smell and breathed in deeply. His vision started to blur as the last rays of the sun sank over the horizon, letting night fully claim the area.

  He carefully walked away from the water, gritting his teeth through the pain. The process of moving through the woods was going to be tedious. Not only did he need to make sure he traveled without leaving a trace, but he had to make sure he actually made it out. With each step his senses dulled. Only one thing kept him going. That smell.

  Was it possible? A Vestal? His Vestal?

  The Vestals were rare women who could mate with the hybrids, with many only compatible with a single hybrid. The whole thing was very mysterious. Even the Horatius Group was having trouble with the problem, hence them facilitating Vanessa’s efforts.

  He stumbled through the trees. Darkness had set in around him, and it was only luck he was able to see anything. His vision, normally sharp and crisp even on the darkest of nights, was starting to blur. When he reached the edge of the woods, Justus looked out across the tall field. Not the normal cover he would want, but it would work. Not like he had time to shop around for other options.

  Patches of snow lay scattered around the hard earth, and he tried his best to avoid the white snow with his dripping blood. Most times he could get around virtually unnoticed by even the animals in the forest, but today he was going to be lucky if he didn’t alert the whole area to his presence.

  A distant light reached out across the frost-bitten field. A little farm house stood in the distance, the source of the light and the familiar smell. His nose wrinkled as another, less-pleasant smell greeted him: the scent of that bastard Titus. It was faint but still there.

  Justus looked around him. He’d assumed the Horatius Group would be the ones using false scents, but perhaps Luna Lodge had picked up a few tricks. Maybe it was all a trap, after all.

  A quiet groan escaped his lips from the pain. He stumbled forward, not able to stand in one spot for too long. Something was wrong. He was strong. He’d been wounded before just as badly, if not worse, and he’d never bled as much.

  Focusing on the farmhouse, he pushed forward. It didn’t matter at this point. If it was a lodge trap, he could escape again.

  He sagged as he left the field and stepped onto the grass near the house. Nothing had jumped out yet, but they might not have noticed him. The closer he approached the house, the more at home he felt. His mind couldn’t rationalize why it felt so comforting, but it was all he needed to keep going and risk his freedom.

  He set one foot in front of the other until he reached the porch steps and fumbled. There was no staying quiet now. His feet barely hit the steps as he worked his way up.

  Close to the door, he fell.

  Justus landed hard, and the world blacked around him.

  The sounds around him blended as he tried to open his eyes. It wasn’t until he heard her Justus was able to force them open.

  “Son of a bitch,” someone said. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

  He blinked several times before her concerned face focused in front of him.

  “Paige?”

  Chapter Five

  Paige stared down at the huge bleeding man before her.

  Where had Justus come from? What happened? If he’d been shot by the men from Luna Lodge, she doubted Rachel would have been so cavalier, or even Titus for that matter. Perhaps the Horatius Group had wounded him. There were just too many possibilities.

  Her questions would have to remain unanswered for now. Getting him inside and cleaned up would give her a better understanding of the situation. Whatever was going on, she wasn’t going to let this man die on her front porch.

  She placed the shotgun she’d gotten out just inside the door next to the wall. She stared at Justus for a moment. It wasn’t often she’d had to deal with the quiet hybrid, and with everything that had happened, she was far less trusting. She’d been so determined to stay out of Luna Lodge’s chaos, and now here it was, literally at her doorstep.

  She muttered to herself as she grabbed a blanket from the hall closet and laid it on the porch next to him. There was no way she’d be able to carry the heavy hybrid in, and as much as she didn’t want to do it, pulling him on the blanket was the best option.

  She needed to stabilize his condition in a warm environment. From the looks of things, he wouldn’t be able to survive the cold night, no matter how tough he normally was.

  An idea niggled in the back of her mind that she ought to call Titus or Rachel. Still, she’d have to treat him either way, and there would always be time for that later. For now she needed to find out just where he was bleeding and stop it if she could.

  With a grunt, she hea
ved his body onto the blanket. Blood coated the floor. She stood and gave several hard tugs on the blanket.

  Slowly, the heavy man moved inside the door. She winced as she pulled him over the hump of the door frame. His head thumped loudly, and she knew there would likely be some tenderness later. Still, it was much better to have a bump than to die outside in the cold.

  Once she had him inside, she closed the door and raced to her kitchen to get her first aid supplies.

  The cabinet by the sink thumped loudly as she grabbed out the meager first aid kit. Paige placed a metal bowl in the sink and turned on the hot water. It wasn’t going to be sterile, but it would still help.

  She prayed that the hybrids had super-immune systems to go with everything else impressive about them. She’d just have to make sure she cleaned the wound as best she could.

  While the bowl filled, she pulled out the supplies: alcohol, bandages, scissors, antibiotic ointment, needle and fishing line.

  Paige placed both hands on the counter and took a deep breath. Damn bottle of wine. If she’d known things would end up like this, she would have never indulged. She needed to ensure she didn’t make things worse for Justus.

  She gave a loud bark of laughter, nerves getting the better of her. Still, it was more than a little unexpected. What was it people said? Things came in threes? Well, they certainly had today.

  She bit her lip and considered trying to contact the hospital. Pointless. She was too far out, and after what had happened with Kelly, Paige wasn’t so sure someone at the hospital wouldn’t take the opportunity to kill Justus in his sleep. So many people were terrified of the hybrids after all.

  She took in another deep breath and steadied her nerves. Just another day at work. Just another patient. She could handle this. It wasn’t like she hadn’t seen worse. Burns. That was the thing she hated most, the patients so wrapped in the deep pain they felt. It made her ache in a way she’d never known.

  Paige flipped off the hot water and dumped a little in the sink. She ran to the dryer and pulled out a few fresh towels and a sheet. It was her favorite, but now wasn’t the time to be thinking about that.