"As for James Hutton, the Latin teacher, he died while in prison in a truly grim way," Ryleigh said, with a faint grin on her face. "After his death, it was discovered that he had been in contact with the Psychologist treating Noel. The b.a.s.t.a.r.d had given the lady all the ammunition she needed to continue the abuse he had started, and her Hubertus was too blind to see."

"f.u.c.k, Rye," Jacks said. "I am so sorry you had to go through that."

Jacks wanted to kill every person that had ever hurt or disappointed the women sitting next to him, but he was also afraid the list was going to be a long one. Ryleigh had lived through things that no one ever should, and she took every failure personally. In their business, there were always failures, no matter how hard they tried to help. The psychologist and the Latin teacher were to blame for Noel's fate, not Ryleigh. But he knew that she would never accept that, and he had to concede that if he were in the same position he would blame himself as well. It was just the way they were built.

"Thanks, but don't feel sorry for me," Ryleigh responded. "Noel, yes, but not me. We messed up and put Noel in harm's way; going against everything we stand for. I will carry that burden until my dying day."

Ryleigh would never take pity from anyone, period.

"But some good came out of that case as well," Ryleigh said, immediately changing her demeanor. "I was such a mess with our failure that we put stronger safeguards in place and new training protocols into action. We have been able to help over one hundred survivors since that time, including a few of your rescues. I am proud of that, and that is the area The Holly Group wants to continue in. Dad and I talked about it, and I would like to help the survivors more. We would like NAC to get them out and The Holly Group to help with the aftercare."

Ryleigh knew that her Dad had created NAC because of her, and she was happy because more people would benefit from his tenacity and caring nature.

"Okay, enough of this, Jacks," Ryleigh interrupted. "Memory lane is not a place I like to visit often."

Ryleigh needed a break before she let herself fall apart. She only did that when she was alone. She would never be vulnerable to anyone ever again. She just wished she could figure out why she was laying this all out for Jacks; she barely knew the man. Shoot even the people closest to her didn't know everything she was telling him and it scared her. She was making herself vulnerable to him.

For the next half hour, they discussed physical therapy techniques and jargon. Ryleigh would need to show Jacks the proper way to lift a patient, but within a half hour he was already talking like he had been a psychical therapy a.s.sistant for a long time. Ryleigh was impressed with Jacks' ability to retain a wealth of information so quickly. He had explained that he and everyone on the teams went through medic training, but he hadn't kept up with more than the basics. The man really was an enigma and not the meathead she thought he was at first. He was extremely intelligent with just a lot of extra muscle.

Now all they had to do was meet the team, go over the data, and practice on the safe. Oh, and let's not forget, to play the happily married couple, Ryleigh reminded herself. Why was she looking forward to that part the most?

Chapter 24.

Pulling up to a nondescript warehouse in northern Kentucky, Jacks seemed oddly on edge. Ryleigh was kind of surprised to see the arrogant, c.o.c.ky man actually fidgeting in his seat. Why was he so worried about her meeting his teams?

"Are you ready to meet the guys?" Jacks said rather agitatedly.

He still seemed like she was going to break at any moment and that bothered her more than she was willing to admit to herself. She didn't want Jacks to think of her as a victim or fragile. She wanted him to think of her as a survivor and strong and equal. Maybe she shouldn't have opened up to him the way there. Did he think less of her because of her failure with Noel or because she attracted a monster like James Hutton? Despite those things, for some reason this man just made her feel safe. Ryleigh still couldn't believe that she was so open with him. She had already told him things that not even Dad or Mia knew. She was becoming more invested in this man than she had any other person in her life. This concerned her.

"Yep, I can't wait to meet your burly bunch of teddy bears. Bring it on MCF," she responded.

"MCF, do I even want to know?" Jacks replied.

"Nope, just go with it, Sir," she jokingly snapped back.

Jacks told Ryleigh to wait a minute and jumped out of the car. He had this incredible urge to show her that he was a gentleman. He wanted to open the door for her and properly introduce her to the team, but the little minx didn't give him the chance. She was out of the car before he even rounded the hood. He also had to wonder what kind of women walked into an unknown situation without even the slightest hesitation. She didn't know his men, not that any of them would ever hurt her, but she didn't know that with any certainty Walking toward the building, Ryleigh stopped, frozen into place. Coming out of the door was possibly the largest man that she had ever seen in her life. He had to be at least 7-foot-tall with cascading muscles, a bald head, and a goatee. His muscles seemed to have muscles, if that was even possible; and she knew it wasn't. It didn't seem anatomically possible to be built like that. Maybe it was the Shifter genes.

If only to add to his coa.r.s.e appearance, he was also covered in tattoos and piercings, with no less than thirteen piercings on his ears and face alone. The man had full sleeves on both arms, and she could faintly see another one peeking out on his neck from under the incredibly tight t-shirt that he was wearing.

He was definitely a man that Ryleigh would run screaming from if she had come upon him in a dark alley. Self-defense training or not, the man was scary, and she wasn't stupid. Shoot, she didn't even need a dark alley; she wanted to run from him right now, she thought to herself. She noticed that he had continued forward while she was glued to the same spot. When Ryleigh finally made eye contact with him, everything changed. This behemoth of a man had the kindest eyes that she had ever seen. He must have noticed that she relaxed some because he quickly offered her his hand.

"h.e.l.lo, ma'am," he greeted Ryleigh. "I am Cash Windsor, beta or Second in the Alpha Team. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Ryleigh was surprised that Cash's handshake was so gentle for such a large man. She could tell that he was holding back. The greeting he gave Jacks proved that, because Ryleigh was sure the slap he received on the back would have left a lesser man in the hospital with broken bones.

"Jacks called in with your ETA, and I figured you would be hungry," Cash said cheerfully. "I have dinner waiting on you, and the rest of our group will be here shortly for a Sit-rep. But before they get here, I want you to know that I truly appreciate the work you and the Holly Group have done for women and children."

Jacks couldn't help the feelings of jealousy he was having towards his second. Cash, despite his appearance, knew how to deal with women on a personal level. Jacks knew how to convince a woman to f.u.c.k him and then he was done. Cash actually made friends with them; a concept he didn't understand until this moment with Ryleigh. He wanted to be her friend and much more "A friend of mine's sister, Jessica, was taken when she was only fourteen years old," Cash continued. "Although that happened well before the inception of the Holly Group, your team took on the cold case and was able to give my friend's family closure and bring the b.a.s.t.a.r.ds that had taken her to justice. I will always be eternally grateful for that. That family has been able to move on because of what your group does. Thank you."

Ryleigh was ashamed of herself and the thoughts she had when she first saw Cash for the first time. She knew better than to judge a book by the cover and that is exactly what she had done with Cash Windsor. She was also embarra.s.sed that she didn't like taking grat.i.tude from the friends and family of the people The Holly Group helped. In a perfect world, the survivors wouldn't be in that position in the first place. The Holly Group was just doing what everyone should; help.

"Uh. Thanks, Cash, but we were just doing our job," Ryleigh said, embarra.s.sed about the abrupt admiration. "It is important to all of us at the Holly Group to help as many victims and survivors and their families as possible."

"Yes, Ma'am. I understand, but please know your operative went above and beyond for this family," Cash continued to convey his appreciation. "The case was not an easy one. I had even been looking into it myself for years and couldn't find a lead. Your agent worked tirelessly to give this family closure, and we all appreciate that. Please, the next time you see Zoey Clark tell her that she has my sincere grat.i.tude."

Ryleigh could tell she and Cash were going to become really good friends. His easy-going nature appealed to her, just not in the same way as Jacks appealed to her.

"I will and thanks again, Cash," Ryleigh a.s.sured him. "I know Zoey was happy that she could bring some closure to the Gunther family. However, please know that she had hoped to bring about a reunion. That case was an extremely hard one, but did lead to justice in the end; closure for the Gunther's and two girls were reunited with their families."

Cash looked upset. "d.a.m.n, I didn't know about the two girls," Cash said shocked. "The case didn't even go to trial because the perps plead guilty and the doc.u.ments were sealed. But how did you know which case I was talking about? You must have hundreds of cases come across your desk."

Ryleigh wasn't going to go into her photographic memory. She did have hundreds of cases across her desk at any given time, and she would always remember each and every single one of them. That was her cross to bear.

"Yeah, there was a lot more to the case than the general public was aware," Ryleigh disclosed. "I will ask Zoey if she is willing to give you a brief once we have completed this mission. With the Holly Group and NAC merging, we can share information now. But please, really think about it first. As you know, the type of cases we handle can be hard to hear and deal with. Some things are just better not to know."

Ryleigh would always try to protect people from the atrocities that she saw every day. Those images haunted her and Cash didn't need them haunting him. She knew that was wishful thinking because he worked for NAC much like her he did see similar cases all the time, but she wanted to save him from this memory if she could.

"As for how I knew, you gave me the information I needed; 14-year-old little girl, cold case, and Zoey was the agent," Ryleigh explained. "We don't take many cold cases."

"I will take that under advis.e.m.e.nt, but please know that I believe Jessica Gunther was my true mate," Cash disclosed. "We bonded so strongly at the age of 10 that I have been unable to let her or her memory go. Sometimes I think you need to go through h.e.l.l to get to the light."

Ryleigh wanted to hug the big, burly man, but she knew he probably wouldn't appreciate it. At least that is what she thought until Jacks gave him one of that weird kind of man hug things. She really needed to stop making a.s.sumptions.

"d.a.m.n, Cash," Jacks interrupted. "You never told me that you believe in true mates or that Jessie was yours.

Growing up, Jacks knew that Cash and Jessie had a special relationship, and he was kicking himself for never asking his best friend what it had entailed. He just thought it was teenage l.u.s.t or any number of other things; never that they were true mates. s.h.i.t, until meeting Ryleigh, he didn't believe true mates existed.

"Sorry Alpha," Cash responded. "It's not something that I generally bring up in casual conversation. With there being no Shifter females, it was more a myth or fantasy than anything else. But I know that Jessie and I formed a genuine bond; even back then."

Cash's demeanor changed, and he looked visibly pained. Ryleigh wasn't sure she wanted to hear what he had to say next because knowing it would tear a little part of her heart out of her chest. She had read the case file Zoey put together. Jessica Gunther was believed to be dead, but no body was ever found. The men arrest confessed to killing her, but something never sat right with Ryleigh about the case. They were too quick to admit to something that neither Ryleigh's group nor cops could prove.

"I can even tell you the day she died. My bear and I felt the bond snap," Cash said mused. "I can't explain it, but in my heart, I know it was true."

Ryleigh had a theory about Cash's relationship, but she really didn't want to go into all the details, so she asked, "Cash, do you know if Jessie was adopted or if her parents used IVF to have her?"

Cash was taken aback. Why would Ryleigh ask him something like that? It was odd. He didn't know anything about Jessie's conception. Why would he and why did she want to know? But he decided to give her the benefit of the doubt and answered, "I know she wasn't adopted because she looked just like her mom, but I'm not sure if her parents used IVF. I could ask them, though. Why?" Cash probed.

Ryleigh didn't want to give Cash any hope, but maybe just maybe his mate wasn't actually lost to him. With all the information, they had discovered in the past couple of weeks, it was remotely possible that this Jessie was a part of the things going on, but she would not say anything until she had solid proof. She would rather have the man grieve than give him false hope.

"Just a theory, but after this mission is complete would you mind asking the Gunther family?" Ryleigh asked Cash. "Also, if her parents have any of the paperwork that would accompany such a procedure or adoptions, try to get them to send that as well. It may provide you with some answers to your questions. If you don't feel comfortable asking I am sure that Zoey still has their contact information."

Cash wanted to ask more questions but decided that they could wait. Jessie had been gone for a long time, and so had these feelings. How she was conceived wasn't his business. He knew as a young boy that he loved her and still did, so he decided to stay in the present.

"Okay, now let's get inside before your dinner is ruined," Cash insisted. "I wasn't sure what you would like to eat, so I kept it simple; homemade spaghetti with fresh baked garlic bread and salad, is that okay?"

"That sounds fantastic," Ryleigh moaned. She was absolutely starving. The loud grumble that her stomach chose that moment to make made both men laugh.

Jacks decided to lighten the mood a little. He also needed to get his mind off of what Cash just said because he no longer needed to talk to his Dad or his Grandfather. He just needed to talk with his best friend.

"Rye, you have never tasted anything as good as Cash's red sauce," Jacks declared, nudging Cash on the arm. "I have even been to Italy several times and still cannot find one to compare. You are in for a real treat and if he has made his world cla.s.s tiramisu you are going to feel like you died and went to heaven."

Ryleigh must have had a weird look on her face based on the confused look she was receiving from the men in front of her, but she was still ashamed of her initial reaction to Cash. The man was full of surprises.

"What, don't you think a big bad bear that can cook?" Cash jokingly asked. Cash mockingly looked hurt, placing his hand over his chest like her words caused a physical blow.

Ryleigh couldn't help but laugh at the display, so she decided to play along.

"Isn't that supposed to be the big bad wolf?" Ryleigh said, playing along. "And, no. I know I shouldn't make a.s.sumptions, but dude, not only do you cook but make dessert too? If it is as good as it smells, I might just have to keep you." Huge biker bear shifter for protection that can cook and make dessert for me you could turn that into my dream man in a second, she thought.

Jacks saw red. The thought of Ryleigh keeping his second nearly had him Shifting. She might not know it yet but she was his, and no one was going to get in the way of that.

"Now wait a d.a.m.n minute, you are not keeping Cash, even if he can cook and make dessert. I am pretty sure you will be playing my wife in a couple of days. No dreaming about Cash, and I have been known to make a meal once in a while myself. Come on let's eat." Jacks gloated.

Cash knew his Alpha well enough to know that he was holding on by a thread. He hoped what he was thinking was true, and that Ryleigh was Jacks mate. He wanted his best friend and Alpha to have what he only experienced for such a short time; the feeling of being whole.

"s.h.i.t, Sugar, are you trying to get me killed? How about I cook for you anytime you want, and we act like brother and sister. I will even adopt you," Cash joked. "Yeah, that will work. You are now my honorary sister and my nuts are safe from the big bad Alpha. You know, Jacks and I have been together a long time. I could tell you stories. And, dude, mac and cheese out of a box is not a meal," Cash teased.

Jacks knew what Cash was doing, trying to give him enough time to pull himself together and he appreciated it, he just didn't know if he could. Ryleigh pushed every one of his b.u.t.tons from protectiveness to possessiveness. She just didn't seem to have a clue about it, though. He and Cash really needed to talk, preferably in private. He wanted to know if Cash thought that Ryleigh was his fated mate.

Chapter 25.

"No stories Cash," Jacks commanded, "unless you want your sweet, innocent, newly adopted sister to hear about what happened in Mexico last year. Then I could totally get behind story time. What did Rye call you, big, bad, biker bear? Do you think she would feel the same if she knew about that little performance you did in that bar?"

Jacks knew Cash wouldn't care if he told Ryleigh all his stories, but he really liked to see the light in Ryleigh's eyes when she thought she was going to get some good gossip. He could tell she didn't take much time to play in her life, and he wanted to be the one she played with.

Cash kind of grunt laughed, "No, no, that's enough. Story time is later. Come on, let's eat and let Ryleigh meet the rest of the guys." Walking further into the warehouse Cash said, "Welcome to the Beast Squad, little sister."

Ryleigh was shocked. The men had set this temporary base up fast; it almost looked like a real home. Industrial chic was all the rage, and this place had it going on. Exposed brick walls and big windows dominated the area. The outside looked just like a rundown warehouse, but once through the doors it was much more than it had seemed. Straight ahead sitting, well lounging, at a long table were four men. All huge, all laughing and playing around with each other. Except the two at the end of the table, they were so engrossed with what was going on with their tablets and laptops they hardly even noticed there were other people in the room. Those must be Frost and Green; both huge, both gorgeous, and a little grungy, but definitely computer geeks. From the wide rimmed gla.s.ses, weird, why would a shifter need gla.s.ses? To the comic book t-shirt, the other one was wearing totally geeky but cute. Undoubtedly, the most attractive geeks she had ever seen and considering her need for knowledge she had come across quite a few.

Jackson raised his voice and said "Alpha Team, Beast Squad present."

Ryleigh was surprised when each and every one of them jumped to attention. She almost saluted him herself. Jacks then introduced her to the rest of his team, and she had been right Frost and Green were the geeky guys.

Jacks then stated "at ease," and they all looked right at her. Talk about intimidation.

"Ryleigh, I would like to introduce you to the Beast Squad, NAC's team Alpha. You have already meet Cash, he is my second, demolition expert, and unbelievable chef. Dalton and Ethan are our enforcers." Jacks continued. "While you are here, I would like you to spend some time with them. I don't have all of your credentials, but I would like them to gauge your self-defense skills as well as your weaponry knowledge and ease of use. Next, we have Eli, our medic and requisitions specialist. If you need anything, let him know. I know you said that your team would be sending you the psychical therapy equipment, but if you require anything else, he is your man. At the end of the table, if you haven't already guessed from their disheveled and grungy appearance, are Frost and Green, otherwise known as Wyatt Green and Sebastian Frost? Cash, I thought we agreed that while I was gone, you were going to make the terrible twosome shower at least every other day."

It was the first time that Ryleigh had seen a menacing look from Cash. She could tell he wasn't happy about not following orders and getting, as he stated, the terrible twosome to shower before they left for the mission.

"Sorry, Alpha," Cash huffed, "their hose down time was schedule when you called up with the wheels up. It was either pack up and head out or fight with the f.u.c.kers. I choose to leave. How anyone has to be forced to complete basic hygiene procedures is beyond me. Bas, do you even own a comb or how about deodorant? You are rank man. And, Wyatt, man, red bull and Funyuns do not make for good breath. I swear if Rye weren't standing up wind from you guys I would be embarra.s.sed for you."

And just like that, as if seeing Ryleigh for the very first time, Wyatt and Bas stared at her for a minute then looked at each other and bolted from the room.

All Ryleigh could think was, how odd, but her stomach decided to growl loudly once again. Dang, she would have been embarra.s.sed, but it smelled so good that she decided to just go with it. But when Jacks took it upon himself to help her to her seat at the table, she was embarra.s.sed once again. Besides her Dad, no one had ever done that for her before. She liked it. She was thankful that no one seemed to notice her moment and starting pa.s.sing around the dishes and filled the table.

Ryleigh also noted that Jacks hadn't given Cash enough credit; the food was beyond fantastic. While they ate, Jacks brought the rest of his team up to speed on who Ryleigh was, her a.s.sociation with the Holly Group and NAC, Ca.s.sie Larson, and the fact that females with Shifter DNA existed. The delectable food engrossed Ryleigh's attention so thoroughly that she was hardly paying any attention to what was going on around her. The spaghetti was unbelievable. If she didn't know any better, she would a.s.sume the pasta was homemade just like the amazing red sauce. The garlic bread was beyond to die for and the dressing on the salad should be bottled and sold. She wanted to swim in it because it was just that good. She had just been eyeing the last piece of garlic bread on the table when she noticed the room was eerily quiet. Looking up, Ryleigh saw that all of the men were watching her with varying degrees of expressions on their faces. Jacks looked pained. Cash looked like he had just single-handedly saved the world. Dalton and Ethan, well, she couldn't be sure what their expression was except she detected some fear or maybe disgust. Eli looked at her like she might be an alien or have a tapeworm or something.

All Ryleigh could say is "what?" with spaghetti hanging ungracefully from her incredibly full mouth.

Cash was the first one to speak, "baby sister, can you even taste what you have been shoveling in between your lips? It is like you haven't eaten in years. And, honey, for future reference, little sisters should not be making noises like that at the dinner table with her brothers present."

Ryleigh could feel her face getting hotter, but she was hungry and they needed to just deal with her happy noises. She didn't know when she would get food like this again, and she was going to savor every moment.

Eli spoke up. "Honey, when is the last time you ate?"

He looked so concerned that Ryleigh couldn't help but reply, knowing he asked out of concern for her, "This morning I swear. It is just so delicious. I have never tasted anything like it, and I couldn't help myself." Ryleigh explained.

Before her face could go nuclear Bas and Wyatt bolted back into the room freshly showered and shaven. Ryleigh thought, dang, they might be geeks, but they were really good looking geeks. The quick clean-up has done them well.

Cash declared, "We are so keeping her, Alpha. If she likes my food that much and can get the geek squad to shower on a regular basis, she is staying forever."

Ryleigh was still embarra.s.sed, but she decided to just let it go. None of these men were trying to embarra.s.s her. They were just treating her like they treated the rest of the members of the team and she liked that.

"Sorry, guys," said Ryleigh. "I just realized how Jacks and Cash introduced you; the 'Beast Squad', really? Couldn't you come up with something a little better, maybe like the Phoenix Squad or something like that? You know, like rising from the ashes to protect the helpless and needy."

Ryleigh wanted to be a part of the fun; and not just the side show that she always seemed to be. Every time people found out about her past they looked at her differently and treated her differently. She didn't want that with these men, especially Jacks.

"Baby, we are beasts through and through. No need to try and make it pretty by using fancy names," Jacks all but preened.

"Yeah, and little sister, a Phoenix is a myth. We are all real and all beast. Just watch us roar," Cash was practically crying with laughter before he got the last part out.

It made her think that there was more to the name than what the guys were letting on. She would have to ask Jacks later. Not being able to help herself, she decided to nudge them just a little bit.

"But guys, my dad, and your boss, is a dragon Shifter. Are you saying he is a myth or just a fancy type of Shifter?" she said.

Ryleigh could barely contain her giggle at the looks on their faces. They all looked scared to death.

Jacks was the first come to his senses, "Okay, everyone, we need to get to work. We are on a short timeline and an even shorter leash. Ethan, I want you to set Ryleigh up with some of our fancier gadgets. The necklace, earrings, and bracelet combo are a definite. That way she will have a means of defense if needed. We will also need some kind of low-emitting video surveillance and bug detection. We can download the contents for facial recognition when we download the device her tech girl has made. I want to know all the players in this house. Even if we can't use it while we are there, we can pursue it at a later date. I also want a tracker implanted. Eli, if you could do that after Ethan sets Ryleigh up I would appreciate it. Dalton, I want you to do a full a.s.sessment of Ryleigh's strength and weaknesses and report them to me immediately. Cash, you and I are going to be testing out the safes. We are going to have to check the corrosive for not only odor but reliability. I need to time cracking the safe to the minute. We are going to go with a 50-minute window; in and out and all locked up. Have you set up the mock up yet?" Jacks asked.

Cash mockingly looked offended. "Yeah, all ready when you are, Alpha. We have a complete replica of the ground floor of the Franklin's house in the warehouse. What, you doubted us after all this time? You know we are awesome."

Jacks knew his men were the best and would have everything he had asked for set up. He just liked to keep them on their toes; it was the Alpha's job after all.