Free On the Hunt by Alexandra Ivy, Dianne Duvall, Rebecca Zanetti Page B

Brotherhood and have fancy letterhead, but in the end they’re only humans.”
    “No, his injuries were too severe,” Mika said, trying to visualize what had happened after Jacob had been pulled from his car and then beaten nearly senseless. “And besides, if he was trying to flee his attackers, why wouldn’t he remain with Bailey until he could contact the monks and be returned to the safety of the monastery?”
    Wolfe paced the narrow floor, his brow furrowed as he considered the various possibilities.
    “It’s almost as if—” His words came to an abrupt halt as he sent Mika a worried glance.
    Mika’s heart missed a beat as the vague sense of unease became downright terror.
    “As if?” he prompted.
    “As if Jacob was the bait, not the target.”
    “Shit.” Mika was charging down the stairs and out the door before Wolfe even finished speaking. “Bailey.”
     
     
    Bailey wasn’t surprised that she woke alone.
    Mika had warned her before she’d tumbled into an exhausted slumber that he would have to leave as soon as Wolfe arrived.
    And astonishingly, her first reaction hadn’t been to assume he was running out on her because he didn’t find her important enough to stay.
    Instead, she’d been able to simply enjoy the small aches and pangs that came from a night of thorough, delectably vigorous lovemaking as she stood beneath the shower.
    No regrets. No clawing fear that she’d made herself too vulnerable.
    It was . . . blissful.
    Pulling on another loose sundress, this one in a pretty shade of peach, she combed her curls with her fingers and headed for the kitchen to make coffee.
    She intended to keep busy while Mika was gone.
    Not because of her old habits. But because she knew that if she sat around worrying that he might be in danger, it would drive her crazy.
    Taking her coffee and cell phone, she sat at the kitchen table and began returning messages that had come in overnight.
    The first was from her parents. She grimaced as she opened the message, already preparing herself for their usual spiel: So sorry we won’t be returning home as planned, but the school in New Zealand has asked us to come early and we’re sure you’ll understand . . .
    She sent back a quick text saying of course she understood, blah, blah, blah.
    There was no point in being disappointed.
    It wasn’t as if she could change her parents, or their obsession with their careers.
    All she could do was build a stable, loving home for her own children so they would never feel second best.
    She abruptly gasped, realizing where her thoughts had taken her.
    Children.
    Mika’s children . . .
    Excitement raced through her.
    The mere idea should have been shocking.
    Just a day ago she was certain that her life as the free-spirited healer was precisely what she wanted.
    No rules. No restrictions. No disappointments.
    Now she was once again Mika’s lover, and a strange, wholly unexpected urge to start nesting was settling deep inside her.
    Craziness.
    Still trying to accept the cataclysmic shift in her world, Bailey caught the unmistakable smell of blood.
    A high-blood was injured.
    Keeping a hold of her phone, she headed out of the kitchen, already suspecting who she would see as she stepped into the early-morning sunshine.
    The young man standing at the edge of the barrier had light brown hair that fell onto his forehead and a bluntly carved face that was bloody and bruised from a recent beating.
    His gangly body was equally wounded, the loose shirt and cargo pants covered in filth.
    Christ. He looked like he’d been tortured.
    Sliding her cell phone into her pocket, she took a step forward.
    “Jacob?” she breathed. “Who did this to you?”
    He held up his hand, pressing it against the shield. “I need your help.”
    She took another step forward. “What happened?”
    He licked his busted lips, one eye nearly swollen shut. “Can I come in?”
    Bailey twisted her hands together, her every instinct urging to her rush to Jacob