Melody Austin was afraid of nearly everything, but like it or not, she was a survivor. When she was seventeen, she had survived a harrowing attack that left her mentally and physically scarred. Now, ten years later, her brother, Daniel, repeatedly asked her to talk about the disturbing events, to tell him what happened so that he could understand, but she remained silent. She knew he meant well, but telling him a bear was behind the attack at the school would get her locked up in a mental institution. No one would believe that story, and she couldn’t blame them.
Daniel had taken a job working for the McCrays. He made Mel promise that she’d join him in just a few days, but instead, Daniel received a call that his house was on fire, and Mel had been burned in the process. Daniel took Gannon with him to check on his sister.
Daniel had told Gannon that Mel was a bit skittish before they arrived on the scene. But the moment Gannon caught her scent; he knew she was his mate. He meant to reassure her by telling her that she was his mate and that everything would be all right, but the instant she heard that he was a bear shifter, she went wild, running back into the fire to get away from him.
When Gannon discovered that a bear was the cause of all her fears, he didn’t know how he could get past this. He couldn’t change what he was…. Was this doomed from the start?
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Demi Morgan was good at keeping her identity hidden, so when an attorney found her at a restaurant she owned, she was more than a little angry. Very few people knew how to find her, and she took her privacy seriously. His news that her mother had passed, several months ago, did nothing for her. Her family had never wanted her, and in turn, she didn’t want them either. He knew her family, and he understood her feelings, but the will had to be read.
Reluctantly, Demi made her arrangements to travel back to her hometown in Ohio. Her intentions were to either decide to stay, or to sell the home her grandmother had left her. Living in the same town as her brother and sister didn’t appeal to her at all. When her brother, Nathan, cold-cocked her in the elevator, an unlikely savior came to her rescue, Madden McCray.
Demi wanted to hire Madden to be her bodyguard while she was in town. Madden said as much as he could use the money, he told her he already had a job, but his brother, Lucian could use the work.
Lucian wanted to meet Demi before he accepted the job, and when her scent hit him between the eyes, his bear rolled over him—she was his mate. But reality hit him like a freight train. She had money—a lot of money—and he and his family had always been dirt poor. He wanted his mate too—more than anything, but he’d have to get past his pride first….
Josiah McCray was there the day that Meadow was brought to their home to go into hiding. The beautiful blonde in the wheelchair was a shadow of the woman she should be. All Josiah saw was his mate, and he loved her no matter what.
The killer was still out there, and Meadow had his identity locked inside her mind and the killer knew it. Everyone previously in charge of her care was now dead. There was no way that was a coincidence.
Meadow was a loose end, the one that got away. There was no way the killer could let her live….
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“Aunt Mel, can you show me how to use these things?” Mel looked back at her niece and saw that she was holding something that shouldn’t be held by an eight-year-old. “It looks like something I saw in a movie one time. They chopped off a man’s head with it. It rolled right over to the kids, too. Teenagers are stupid, I think.” “You might be right on that. But if you don’t put that cut off tool down, we’re going to have a problem. I don’t mean you and me, but your daddy and me. Just lay it back on the big machine there, and I’ll answer your questions about it.” When she put it atop her laser cutter, Mel smiled at her. “Your daddy was a dork when he was a teenager. Not me. I was the perfect picture of a child, and I never got into any trouble.” “Bull hockey.” She’d seen Daniel standing behind Mary, and had said that to get him breathing again. “Mary, what have I told you, repeatedly, about picking up tools out here when Mel is working?” “You said that I should be more responsible than she is. But Daddy, Aunt Mel said that I can’t learn anything if I don’t get to touch, see, or even use something.” Mel laughed and looked at her brother. “She’s very smart about her tools too. Aunt Mel told me that if I picked anything up, it had better be unplugged and have the safety on the plug. I looked before picking it up. I promise.” “Yes, well, I didn’t see that.” Daniel kissed her on the cheek as he sent Mary into the house for lunch. “Are you staying for lunch?” “Are you having anything besides fu-fu food? Like meat and potatoes?” He said that they were having a salad with salmon on it.
“Fu-fu food. Why can’t you have a burger with something like potato salad or French fries like normal people?” “I’m trying to instill good eating habits in my children. Unlike their aunt has. Did you really get them to try anchovies, Mel? I swear to you, you’re a bad influence on all three of them.” She just stared at him. “I was joking. I feed them healthy meals so that when you’re in charge of them, they can have whatever junk food you give them to balance it out.” “We rarely eat junk food, as you call it when they’re with me. The night that they came to spend the weekend with me, we had a nice big healthy bowl of popcorn with hot pepper powder all over it, and no butter.” Daniel just shook his head. “When are you leaving to go to the McCray’s? I’m sorry that I can’t go with you.” “No, you’re not sorry. You’re thrilled to have to stay here cooped up in this building working. Speaking of that, I told Demi that you weren’t coming, and she said that if you weren’t with us when we arrived, she was coming for you.” Mel just pulled the welder mask over her face and turned on the soldering iron to use. “I know you can hear me still, Mel. I don’t think I’d mess with this family about this. They’re going to get us out of debt with what they’ve asked us to do. Especially you.” “I’m paying things off, Daniel.” She pulled the mask up and put her equipment down to turn to him. “I love you dearly, I really do. Your children mean everything to me. I would…. I think that I’m only alive because of the four of you. But I will tell you right now, I can’t do this much longer and remain sane right now, I can’t do this much longer and remain sane. It’s too much for me.
People terrify me.” When he pulled her to him for a hug, she went to him willingly. But she was afraid that he realized that she wasn’t hugging him back. It was difficult to have people hug her. Much harder for her to hug them back. “Mel, I have a deal for you. And don’t turn me down before I ask you. You come with me for a couple of days—that’s all, just two of them. Then whenever you want them while I’m still there, you can come and get the kids and keep them for the entire weekend. All of them, if that’s what you want.” She looked up at him, suspicious of him giving her something that she wanted so desperately. “I promise you too; I won’t even put any restrictions on them. Including what you do with them and feed them.” “So, I can take them to the movies with me.” He asked her if she’d want to do that. “No. Never. But for them, I would. I’d do just about anything for them and with them if it made them love me.” “Oh, Mel, they love you right now. Even if you didn’t take them to places, or get them food that would melt a normal person. My kids have never thought of you as anything but their much-loved aunt. I promise you, honey. For as much as you love them, they love you that much, if not more.” She didn’t say anything but did lower her head. “You don’t believe me, do you?” “I know what I am, Daniel. I know, too, what I look like. I see people staring at me. Looking at me like I’m some sort of freak.
” Daniel, as he usually did, told her that wasn’t true. “Look at me, Daniel. My face is a mess.” “Melody Austin, you need to get yourself a better mirror if that’s all you see. You’re the most beautiful creature—woman—that I’ve ever seen. Well, except for Demi McCray. Did you see that woman? My goodness, I should have used her good looks when I was a kid to have as a wet dream.” She smacked him on the arm. “I’m joking. She’s scary, don’t you think?” “I don’t like her.” She pulled away from him and turned back to what she’d been doing. “She is scary, but she’s also nosey and rude. I don’t like the way she thinks that her shit doesn’t stink.” Mel reached into her pocket and put a buck in the cursing jar on her shelf. It wasn’t very full, not as full as she thought it would have been had there been someone out there with her at all times. They did it, mostly her, when there was someone around to hear it. If she’d had to put something in it when she was alone, she’d never be able to afford her rent, not to mention food. “When are you leaving?” He told her that they were going to a hotel in Vegas tonight, and leaving first thing in the morning. “I’ll have to meet you there then. I have to finish this door with the specs on it that Demi asked for before I leave here.” “Are you going to crap out on me?” She said that she’d let him know for sure before he left there. “I’m going to hold you to that. I’m also going to tell the kids the deal that we made. I know you well enough to know that you won’t be able to turn them down.”
“If you tell them, they’ll be out here for the rest of their time here. And that will only delay me getting finished. Up to you, but if I’m pestered too much by them, I won’t be there for a while.” He nodded and said he’d hold her to it. Mel looked at him. “You know what this is going to cost me, don’t you? You know that I’m going to be a mess the entire time that I’m there. I’m afraid, Daniel. Every time someone gets too close to me, I’m afraid that they’re going to hurt me.” “I know, honey. I know. I also know that you’ve yet to tell me what else happened that day. You getting shot and left for dead doesn’t explain your fear of people, nor the scarring on your face. I wish that you’d tell someone about it.” She turned away again. “Mel, you know that I’d never judge you or even tell you that you were anything but lucky to be alive.” “I know that. But why am I? Alive, I mean.” She tried to smile at him and knew that it came out as tight as it felt on her face. “Go away and leave me to it. The way it’s working now. I’m going to be another few hours getting caught up for Miss “I would like this on the door too, please.” “What is it you’re doing?” She knew what he was doing—changing the subject so that she’d not dwell too much on their conversation.
“She has some good ideas. I know you’ve had a lot of extra work cut out for it, but I think that her ideas are right up there with what you wanted. Did I tell you that they’ve gotten rid of the cafeteria idea? That was a smart idea you had with not having one.” “She only wants to butter me up by going with my idea so that I’ll change things around on the door,” Daniel asked her if she believed that. “No, but it’s a lot of extra work that she’s asking for after we gave her a quote for what the doors were going to cost.” “I never thought of that. Yeah, that is something that we’ll have to add to future contracts. That the deal is based on the doors that we show them at the time. Or we have to jack up the prices. How much longer is it going to take you to make the doors now?” She told him. “Christ, Mel, that’s a lot of time for each of the doors. Will it be all right with the pricing that we gave them?” “Yes. Mostly because I make the doors myself, I wonder if they know that. Not that it matters, but anyway, yes, I have the parts here to modify the other four that I have done, but if she keeps making me have to go back and redo them, it’s going to be cheaper for me to tell her to fuck off. Much more satisfying too.” They both laughed. “I can make it work. The extra three hours per door is going to go faster once I get the hang of putting it together. And you’re right, her ideas have been really good. This modification is to make sure that the deadbolt to the wall is longer than the standard size. I told her that I put in four inches now, and she wondered if there was a way to make them longer to lock into the frame. It’s a good idea, no busting the door in, but like I said, it’s costly in man-hours for me.” After he left her, Mel pulled her equipment back on and started working on the bolt. She had made it so that the door would lock into place when the alarm was triggered, but having the bolt longer and going through the entire width of the door, plus ten more inches into the wall, would make it safer for the kids.
Mel worked through lunch and dinner. Once in a while, one of the kids came out to ask her something. Mel always put down her work to talk to them. They would also shove something at her—a bottle of water, a granola bar, or something. Usually, she’d take a bite of one of those nasty things and toss it, but if they hung around, she’d have to finish it. Mel couldn’t stand food that was good for her. “Aunt Mel, I have something I need to talk to you about.” She looked at Holly when she sat on the stool where she was working and told her to ask away. “I’m sixteen now, and I was wondering if you would help me pick out a dress for the winter dance.” Everything in her seemed to freeze up. Winter dance meant they were getting the school ready. It meant that they would be decorating. Mel watched as she saw her niece’s lips move, but nothing was moving through the air to her ears. The sting to her face had her inhaling sharply, and her heart beating again. “Are you all right?” She looked at Dan, Daniel’s fourteen-year-old son, standing between her and Holly. “Aunt Mel, are you all right now? Christ loves a cat. You scared us to death.” “I’m all right. I just zoned out for a minute.” Dan just looked at her. “I’m fine. You have a nice slap there for a veggie eating man.” He laughed, just as she hoped that he would. Holly looked a little freaked out still, but she hugged them both. When she thought that she could speak again, she held them tighter so that they’d not see her face. “Don’t tell your dad. He thinks I’m perfect.” Holly hugged her tightly. “I’m sorry that I scared you. It was never my intention. But you guys know that I’m weird, right? I just got all caught up in thinking about things that I shouldn’t have.” “We love you, Aunt Mel.
We know that you hurt—even when you’re with us, we can see it.” She told them that she loved them as well and let them go. She looked at Holly when she took her hand into hers. It was everything that she could do not to take her hand back. “You’re the bravest person I know. You’ve done more since you were in the hospital than anyone ever did before. You’re making something that happened to you into something that will help others that could have been hurt the same way.” “Thank you.” Holly nodded, and then Dan hugged her again. When they both moved back, he told her that he was sorry he’d hit her. “It’s all right, Dan. I know that you were trying very hard to keep me from hyperventilating again. You did the right thing.” Daniel came out to tell them they were getting ready to go to the hotel. When he asked her if she was all right, Dan told her that his aunt was perfect. Daniel looked at her when the other two went into the house to finish loading stuff in the car. “I’ll be there in a couple of days at the most. But don’t try and talk me into staying more, Daniel. I’m doing this for you and no one else. All right?” He nodded and thanked her. “You might want to remember that if anything happens to me if I have a meltdown in front of our clients, I did try and warn you.” “I’ll remember. Thank you, Mel. I promise you, nothing will happen to you.”
She nodded and went back to work. She knew that he stood there for several minutes. Mel could feel him looking at her. But after a while, not only did he leave her, but he told her that he loved her. Not letting her tears blind her anymore, she wiped them off and started working. The sooner she got this done, the sooner she could see her nieces and nephew to bring them home with her. They would be the only thing, she knew, that would keep her from ending her fucking miserable life. ~*~ Gannon didn’t know who he was picking up other than the kids and maybe one or two adults. He thought it was a ploy to get him out of his home, but really, he was ready to hit the town running anyway. His list was finally complete enough that his house was starting to fill out around the edges. Which to him meant that he not only had towels so that he’d not have to wash one every day to use but sheets for all the beds, baking stuff if he was inclined to do that, as well as throw pillows that his mom had helped him pick out. The two couches that he ordered had been delivered yesterday. He was thrilled that the evening had been cold enough out that he was able to light a fire. It was both homey, he thought, as well as cozy. Gannon was loving the house more and more daily. When the plane landed, he stood there waiting for the family he was to pick up to disembark. It had frazzled him a little to know that not only did Demi have her own plane, but Meadow’s family had one as well. They were both so stinking rich that he felt intimidated every time he was around them when they were talking about what they had in the way of money. He saw the little girl first. Her name, if he remembered correctly, was Mary.
The other two, who he knew were Holly and Dan, got off next. They stood with their sister at the bottom of the stairs, waiting for the others to disembark. When the father came down the stairs, he was loaded down with bags, but Dan ran up the stairs of the plane and helped him down with them. Laughing as Dan handed each of his sisters something that he’d taken from his dad, Gannon thought that he could really like that kid. He came into the airport with nothing in his arms as he’d pawned it off on his sisters. He thought that he’d just found his favorite Austin. “You must be the Austin family.” He and Daniel shook hands. After that, he introduced his children to him. Gannon shook all their hands too. “I have a car for you to use. All the things that you sent ahead are already at the house. Demi said to tell you that she has the staff in place, and all you need to worry about is having dinner with them tonight. If you feel like it.” “I’m starving to death. My belly thinks that my throat has been struck through.” Gannon glanced at the little girl, then at her dad, who was mortified at what the child had said. “I want something to eat, please. I’m sorry, Daddy.” “Yes, well, I’m thinking that I might have to have a couple of rules to go over with your aunt when she has you. Mary, tell Mr. McCray that you’re sorry.” Gannon looked at Mary, who winked at him when she said that she was sorry.
Gannon changed his mind—Mary was going to be his favorite to hang out with. She was sassy and adorable. When he suggested that they hit a pizza joint on the way to the house, they all looked at their dad. This, he would bet, was a real treat for these kids. “I’m hungry too, so we’ll have pizza. But, and I can’t stress this enough, there will be no trying to outdo the others with how hot they make it. All right?” The kids moaned and groaned, but they agreed. Gannon wondered about that but decided to see if they could order the pizza to sit in the back for a minute or two so that it wouldn’t burn the kids when they ate. “Mr. McCray, thank you for this. It’s been a very long morning for us.” “It’s fine.” He helped them load everything in the back of the limo. He was to bring Daniel up to date on the school project, as well as give him the information about the house they were going to be staying in. “The ground level is nearly up, and all the walls for the basement are finished and standing now. Most of the wiring had to be redone, but that wasn’t on our end but that of the contractor. He is working overtime to catch up with his mistake.” “Yes, when I was looking at the video of the place, I did wonder why there were no outlets on that level. I’m glad that Mrs. McCray is sending me progress reports so that we can be up to speed on things as they go, instead of finding things when the building is nearly finished.” Gannon agreed with him and pulled out his notes. “I’m so glad to see that someone else writes themselves notes to go by. My sister, she’ll be coming in a few days, has never taken a list to the grocery store since she’s been going.
Of course, now that she can order online and have it delivered, it’s worked out well for her. I don’t like it, but it’s working for her.” “My aunt Mel never leaves the house except to come to our house. She says she’s a hermit crab.” Dan corrected his sister. “I know she’s not a crab—only to Dad, I guess— but that is what she said that I could call it. She said that it was better than me telling people she was a weirdo.” Gannon couldn’t help it—he burst out laughing. This child was going to love his dad, he thought. As they pulled up in front of the pizza place, he told them that it was on the company. Demi had made sure that he had a new company credit card for the school project, in the event that the Austin family needed something before they got to the house. He understood what Dan had been referring to about the heat of the pizza as soon as they started looking at the menu. They didn’t care if the pizza was cooked too hot, but hot as in the spices they could add. Holly and Dan seemed to have the taste buds of someone that would set their mouth on fire if they thought it would taste good. Mary was almost as bad, but Daniel didn’t like heat at all. He ordered his own cheese pizza, with nothing on it, and the salad bar. None of the kids were going to have salad until Daniel told them that they had to eat a balanced meal. “Okay, I’ll have a salad too, but I don’t have to like it.” Gannon covered his mouth when Holly looked at him. “I think my dad was born an old woman like Aunt Mel says about him all the time.
We have to balance our meals, lives, as well as our clothing when he has us.” “You live with your mom part of the time?” The older two stiffened up and looked around. Mary just shivered, as if she had had a nightmarish thought. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to say the wrong thing about that. When you said that you lived with your father, I just assumed.” “It’s all right, Mr. Gannon. Vicky dropped us off one time and didn’t say anything to anyone when she did it. Then she never came back for us. Or for Dad.” Gannon told Holly that he was sorry for that. “We were too at first. But then Dan and I thought of all the things that she had done to us and said to us about Daddy and Aunt Mel, and we decided that we’re better off without her.” “Holly, I’m sure that Mr. McCray doesn’t want to hear about our domestic life.” Holly seemed unaffected by her father’s response to what she’d said. Gannon could tell that Daniel was, however. “My ex-wife isn’t in the picture. They were talking about when they stay with my sister. Mel takes them to her apartment, and they have a good time trying to burn the place down with how hot their food is.” “I like heat too. Not like you three do, but I enjoy some hot when I’m eating.” When the pies were brought to their table, he noticed that all three of the kids had finished their salad. He supposed that everyone should make sure that their kids ate veggies with their other food. He should have done the same thing and had one himself. Taking a slice of the meat pizza and putting in on his plate, he heard from Demi. Her trying to be calm voice had his bear feeling a little tight inside of him.
I take it you have the family. He told her that he did and what they were doing. Don’t alarm anyone there, but Vicky, Daniel’s ex-wife, is looking for him. She’s been by their home twice in the last hour. If Mel is there, which I’m guessing she is by the work going on in the backyard, Vicky isn’t going in the barn to check to see if anyone is in there. There isn’t any love lost between the two of them. I just mentioned her in an off way, and they all looked like they were afraid of her. The kids, especially. Is this something that I need to keep an eye on? Demi said that they’d have a talk about her when they were all together. Will Mel be safe? The kids really love her, and I’d hate to think that anything would happen to her while they’re here. She’s fine. As I said, working. There are enough pack wolves around to keep Vicky from entering the house or the barn, but I wanted to warn you that we need to keep an eye on them. Not that I think she can find them here right now, but I just want this family to be safe. I like them. Gannon told her that he did as well. Good. Like I said, they have nothing to worry about now. But I don’t want anyone to be surprised when Vicky shows up because I have a feeling that she will now that it’s in the paper that he’s designing the school of the future. The aunt is to arrive in a couple of days. I don’t know why there’s a delay, but how is she getting here? By your plane, or will she be driving? Demi told him that she had thought Mel would be with them. I guess, from what the kids said, she’s working on some specs. They didn’t know what, and I didn’t ask, but it’s what put her behind.
I bet it was the locking mechanism that I asked her to change. I bet she had to retool the entire line for that. I’ll tell her how sorry I am to have changed it so close to their arrival date. Gannon told her about the kids wanting pizza, and that they liked it hot. Good for you. Someone you can eat with that likes your sort of food. We’re having steaks on the grill tonight. So all of you will be here. Also, before I forget, I hired you a staff. Okay, Gannon. I’ll see you when you get to their house. Lucian and I are there, making sure that things are ready for them. Gannon didn’t want a staff, but with his house being so huge, he could understand the need for it. Finishing up his meal with the family, he enjoyed being able to just hand over the credit card without looking at the bill. He knew that it was on the company account. But given the fact that he was making good money working with Demi, as well as now working for Meadow, he had had that much more fun in shopping for his furniture that he’d not been able to get at the warehouse. There had still been a great deal of furniture in the warehouse even after he and the others had taken out what they needed. Gannon was still going to go back to finish up the last bedroom. He’d been wanting the bunk bed set that was there since he’d walked around the first time. He had no idea if he’d have a great deal of use for it, but he had decided that it would be nice to have a set of twin beds in the last bedroom, just in case. He had no idea of what would happen, but he wanted that to be there for whoever needed it. Taking them to the house, Gannon was glad that they’d loosened up a great deal with him around. Daniel was a good father, keeping his kids in line and them helping each other. But he could see that they would try their best to get away with something while he wasn’t looking. “I’m exhausted.” Gannon thought maybe that was an understatement for the other man.
“I’ve been worried about my sister. Leaving her there alone, I hate doing that to her. She’s a grown woman, I know, but she has so many things going on in her head that I worry for her.” The kids had scattered once they were in the house. The girls were picking out a bedroom, and he knew the exact moment that they found the gifts that had been purchased for them. The screams were deafening, and they were laughing too. Demi and Meadow had gotten them laptops to use here and to take home with them when they left. Daniel and Lucian talked about the modifications that Mel had been doing as they walked away. “What?” He asked Demi what she meant. “I don’t know. You look like you’ve taken a tumble down the rabbit hole, and you don’t know which way is up.” “You’re very strange. Has anyone told you that before?” Demi pretended to consider it. “Never mind. You’re strange—let’s leave it at that. Nothing is wrong. I’m just thinking about what is going to happen with this family when the school is finished up. You said that his name was in the paper. You know that’s just going to be bringing out the worst of the worst. People everywhere will be plotting ideas on how to get inside of it just to prove you wrong.”
“I hope they do. Not prove me wrong, but try and get in. I’d like for someone with a devious mind to try and breach a single school that has this equipment in it.” Gannon watched his brother and the other man. “You like them.” “Of course I do. What are you trying very hard not to tell me, Demi? It’s not like you to beat around the bush, or even to knock the sucker out of your way when you have something on your mind.” She told him what she’d been thinking about. “I have too. I don’t know what to think if she is my mate. She’s not like you guys, all gung-ho and out there. I’ve never met her, but I have a feeling that she’s tender and terrified of shit.” “She is afraid. Of what? I don’t know for sure. She’s a recluse, as you might have guessed, and doesn’t like to be touched. I have an idea what happened to her that day, but she’s never said a word to anyone, including the therapist that she sees every other week. Her face was split open from her jawline to her eye. Also, she had numerous slices to her body that no one can explain.” Gannon asked why it mattered. “Because whatever it was that did that to her, it’s what haunts her. Meadow thinks it’s what keeps her hidden away from everyone. She can relate to that more than most, I think. But something happened to Mel, and until she tells someone about it, it’s going to continue to haunt her.” Gannon didn’t know what to say about that. He’d only heard a little about the shooting. Deciding that he needed to get home and look up what he could, Gannon told the family and Demi and his brother that he’d see them later.
He was nearly home when he thought of Mel being his mate. She was broken, he thought or was she breaking. There was a difference, he knew. Meadow had been breaking when she’d met his brother. Gannon thought that had she not met him, she would surely have broken to the point where no one could have gotten her to come back. While he didn’t know this other woman, he thought that if she was one of their mates, then they would need to make sure, and soon, that she knew they were there for her. Gannon also wondered about this Vicky person, and how much she knew about what had happened to Mel at the school. As in, if she had anything to do with it. Gannon had been thinking things like that since he’d started working for Demi. Thinking like a criminal was the only way to catch one. He had the skills to set up equipment to make sure that they were caught on camera. That was because he could think like they did a little. Demi did as well. It was scary how much Demi thought about it. Getting home, he was just putting away the things that he’d picked up before going to the airport when Demi called him. Her using the phone scared him more than what she could be calling him about. “I have the plane ready for you to go. I need for you to go back to Daniel’s home and see to his sister.” He asked her what was going on. “The house and the place where Mel was working are on fire. Daniel is going to go with you to help. Please be careful, Gannon. I don’t know what is going on, but I have a feeling that it’s not going to be good.”
“Is Mel all right?” She said that Mel was the one that had called her. “Okay, I’m leaving right now.” He got to the airport just as Daniel was getting out of the car. Lucian was with him, and they both looked upset. Whatever was happening, Gannon was sorry for the other man. This couldn’t be just a simple meeting of his potential mate. No, everything had to be topsy-turvy all the time.
Author Kathi S Barton 