Royce looked at his brother Jesse . " What do you mean ? You know we have a number of employees that are considered part - time . It works out well for all of us . " " Yeah , but for her … look at her average weekly pay . I checked with records and the girl averages about eighty hours a week . I mean , Christ , that 's more than you work in a week and she does it consistently . " Royce picked up her payroll sheet . It looked like over the past year she 'd worked enough hours to triple her income . He looked over at her hourly wage and then back at Jesse . " She ever apply for a full - time position ? " He knew the answer before his brother showed him the applications . There were over three dozen of them . " She 's been applying for a full - time spot since she was hired . Those are only over the past three years . She can 't apply and be turned down but every six months . " Jesse pulled out another sheet from the file in his hand and handed it to him . " These are her job performances . In order to be eligible for the yearly bonus , it 's required that you score a seventy - five or above . The bigger your score , the bigger your bonus . " Her scores were fantastic . Nothing below a ninety - seven and several one hundreds . All the comments seemed to center around her good deeds and her ability to do her job . He looked at Jesse again , knowing he was missing something . " She can 't get them . The bonuses . She 's not eligible because of her part - time status . White had been keeping her as part - time so that his bonus would be bigger . The less he gives out , the bigger his is for his department . Kasey was caught where he wanted her . A great employee who needed to work and who did it very well and no bonus . " Royce leaned back in his chair and read the comments in the spaces for the supervisor she worked for . " Exemplary work . " " Good work ethic and code of conduct . " " Amazing trainer , keeps things running when I 'm not available . " And there were more than that . " Find out what her bonuses would have been , change her status to full - time retro from the day she was hired , and give her the benefits that she 's entitled to . " Royce took the next sheet of paper he handed him . " Christ , you 're good . " On this sheet were the bonuses she 'd been entitled to , a check for the amount , and the change in her status . Both needed his signature to complete . Also , there was a form to have her promoted to White 's position . " I thought you 'd want someone in the position that you knew would do a good job . She 's the best you have in that department . From all accounts she runs the department when he 's not there or even when he was . There 's not one employee there who wouldn 't jump for her . " Royce figured as much . Every time he saw one of the other officers , they asked about her . She was very well liked . He wondered if anyone of them had felt the bite of her tongue when she was pissed , but didn 't ask . She was entirely too mouthy as far as he was concerned . " Let me think on this promotion for a bit . She won 't be back for awhile yet so I have time . " Jesse laughed and Royce glared at him . " She isn 't exactly what I 'd consider management material is all . " " Sure . And this has nothing to do with the fact that you 're attracted to her , I suppose . Mom said she isn 't afraid of you . I think that 's hilarious . " But Royce had stopped listening . " Attracted to her ? When hell freezes over . The girl has the most annoying , mouthy , bitchy … well , as far as I 'm concerned , there aren 't enough adjectives to describe what she is . Attracted to her . Mom , right ? She put you up to this . Well , she 's wrong . " Jesse stood up and gathered his papers . " Me thinks thou doth protest a bit too much , brother dear . Admit it , she 's gotten under your skin . Even I can see that . " Jesse left laughing . Royce wanted to get up and pound his brother in the head until he stopped , but knew that it would only make matters worse . He leaned back in his chair to wonder why his mother thought he was attracted to Kasey . She was beautiful . Her hair was the color of fall , dark and light reds and browns that made him think of warm nights in front of the fire snuggled under a blanket together . She 'd probably hog all the blankets , but it would be fun trying to take them from her . Or trapping her beneath them to grab a few kisses . He stopped that train of thought . Her eyes were a shade of gray he 'd never seen on a woman before . Steel gray with highlights of dark blue that darkened when she was pissed . He 'd seen them that color more often than not and he smiled . He did seem to push her buttons . She was tall and , with her ill - fitting clothes , he 'd been hard pressed to figure out if she was as big as she looked or just sloppy . He 'd heard from her uncle that she 'd been requesting new uniforms for over three years and every time they came in , they were bigger than before until she just stopped trying . Jay thought it was White trying to put her in her place . Royce was beginning to see that he might have been correct . Then he wondered if Jay knew what his niece had been putting up with and decided that he hadn 't . Jay York would have torn the man to pieces for his niece . He 'd been intrigued by her the moment she 'd stopped him in the lobby . He 'd never been stopped before and , while that surprised him , he 'd wished her timing had been a bit better . But when White had come up and started ordering her around he wanted to see how she 'd react to finding out who he was . He supposed that he wanted her to see him as godlike , the man of all men . But she 'd only seemed like she was going to the guillotine . She 'd handled that well enough , better than he 'd expected . She 'd not backed down nor done anything but her job . He smiled . She was a pain in his ass and though he wouldn 't admit it to his family , he was beginning to be attracted to her . He picked up his coat and the check and started for the door . Time to pay the piper , he thought , and see her face when he gave her the check . Leah watched the man coming toward her . She knew who he was . Her daughter had complained about him endlessly for the past few hours . And she had described him to the letter . All the way from the way he walked like he owned the ground beneath his feet to the top of his dark curly hair that needed a good comb through and a pair of scissors . Leah smiled when she saw the frown on his face . Here was a man who could give her daughter more than she ever dreamed . If either of them were to stop bickering at each other long enough to see it . " She 's getting a bath . Well , they 're trying to give her a bath . She 's hurting so bad that they had to give her a shot to ease the pain , but she wants to be clean more , " she told him when he stood next to her . " She claimed that she couldn 't stand her own odor . " Royce looked at the door and then back at her . " She can be quite vocal when she 's displeased , can 't she ? Would you like to go get a cup of coffee while we wait ? I 've not had lunch yet either if you 're interested . " Leah nodded . " Thank you . They just started so they may be awhile . She asked me to leave so that she could cuss without repercussions . I think I might have heard a few of them before I got the door closed . That poor nurse . " " Yes , well your daughter can be nice when it suits her . Not to me , but I 've seen it a time or two with you . " Royce smiled and took a bit of the sting out of his words . " I 'm sorry . You probably don 't want to hear me bashing your daughter right now . " Leah laughed . " Kasey always has been a bit headstrong . I think I wanted her to be independent so badly I over - encouraged her to be outspoken as well . " They were seated in the large cafeteria when she spoke . " She 's my biggest champion . I love her with all my heart . " They ate for a few minutes before Leah looked up at the man again . " I 'm dying . Soon , as a matter of fact . I have an inoperable brain tumor that is slowing killing me . Or quickly , I suppose . I have less than six weeks left on the year they gave me . I don 't think it 's … I won 't live to see her married or happy with a family of her own . " He looked embarrassed then he looked her in the face . " My secretary told me about your illness . Bobbie , I think she knows your brother Jay . She said you 'd been ill for a while before they found it . " " Yes . Kasey blames herself for that , but I can 't convince her that it 's not her fault . She seems to think if she 'd not gone away to school and had been home to see what was happening , I might have been able to get it taken care of . But she couldn 't have . It was too big before anyone found it . I 'm just lucky that I 've had the past few years to prepare and be with her . " Leah looked away , her heart suddenly too full to think . She smiled back at him when he started to apologize to her . " I didn 't tell you for your sympathy , Mr . Hunter . I told you because I wanted you to know about my daughter . She 's not as bad as she seems … well , not near as bad . She just hates hospitals . I do , as well . When I was first diagnosed she spent nearly all the time with me . Six months , as a matter of fact . And the hospital hadn 't been … they weren 't kind to me as they are with her right now . The administration frowns on people without insurance coming to take up their bed space when others with money can be there . Kasey works too hard to pay the bills I incurred . And she refuses to let me help her when I can work . She seems to think it 's her duty to take care of me . " Leah smiled at his question . She thought the man knew what her daughter would do with the money , but she answered anyway . " She 'll pay what she can on my bills . If there is any left over , she 'll insist on paying this one as well . Kasey hates to owe anyone anything . " Royce straightened up , clearly offended . Leah wondered if the two of them realized just how much they were alike . Both had a pride that rolled off them in rivers . " She was hurt on the job and I take care of my employees , Miss York . She will have to learn to live with disappointment if she thinks I 'm going to let her pay on my bills . And if she tells you any differently , you let me know . I 'll set her straight . " Leah threw back her head and laughed . " Oh , Mr . Hunter , you are in for a big surprise if you think anything I say to her will make a difference when she has something set in her mind . Kasey is the most stubborn woman I know and she will tell you that all on her own . " Leah laughed again . " I love my daughter , Mr . Hunter , very much . I love her more than a mother loves her daughter . Without her … without her , I 'd have died a long time ago . But she said I can 't . And for whatever reason , I haven 't . " He nodded with a soft smile . " Call me Royce . And for as much as I hate to admit it , I admire her stubbornness , but that doesn 't mean I 'm going to let her get by with it . " " Call me Leah , and you have my fondest hopes that you can try and get through to her . As I have said , she is extremely stubborn . " To herself , Leah thought , and my biggest hope is that I get to see you two come together . They went back up to her room twenty minutes later . Kasey was alone in the room when they entered and glared at Royce when he came into the room with her . Leah hid her smile and sat in the chair next to the bed without commenting on her looks at Royce . " Do you feel better , honey ? Your cheeks are red . Are you in pain ? " Leah had to bite her cheek to keep from laughing when Kasey turned as best she could away from the man on the other side of her bed . " That 's the plan , you know , " Royce said . " When you 're asleep , you can 't hurt yourself and your body has a chance to rest . It 's called cause and effect . You should try and practice that a bit more . You might learn something . Take the damn drugs and get better . " The only reaction Kasey had was to stiffen , but she didn 't answer him . Instead , she continued to look at Leah . Kasey smiled tightly . " I 've been making arrangements with Uncle Jay . He said that I could move in with him as soon as I can get there . Aunt Suzy will be thrilled . And he said that he 'd hook up the Internet if I still needed him to . It 'll help me - " " You are not going anywhere until I say so , " Royce cut her off . " I know for a fact that the doctor said you 'd be here for another week or more until you could even begin to think about moving about . And if - " Kasey turned on him immediately . " Listen to me speak , you overbearing , pigheaded asshole . I do not work for you . You are not my boss . I don 't even know … what are you doing here ? Get out . Shoo . " " No . " Royce turned to look at Leah . She could see the strain on his face and , for whatever reason , she thought it was the funniest thing she 'd ever seen . " Could you give us a few minutes ? I 'd like a few words with your daughter . " " You 're not tossing my mother out . I want you to get out . I don 't even like you . You are the most stubborn , egoistical dickweed that - " Leah didn 't know what she expected , but she certainly didn 't expect him to lean down and kiss Kasey . Smack her , yes , maybe even flip her over and beat her bottom , but not kiss her . Leah stood up and left the room when she heard her daughter moan . There were some things a mother just didn 't want to know . Out in the hall Leah leaned against the wall and waited for the elevator , smiling . She knew then that Kasey had met her match and couldn 't be happier for either of them . She just hoped that she 'd be around to . . . A slight dizziness came over her and she had to hold on to the railing before she fell . But it left as suddenly as it had come over her . Weakly , she moved toward the elevator and stepped inside of the opening . Time was running out . She knew this as well as she knew that she her daughter was going to be as happy as she ever hoped for her to be . Leah pushed the button to take her to the ground floor and held onto the railing again . Soon , too soon , she 'd be gone and she was happy that her little girl would have someone to hold her when this was over . Leah knew her daughter wouldn 't be happy with her if she knew what she was thinking , but there were some things a mother did want to know . And Leah wanted to know that her only child would have someone to care for her , to hold her when she was no longer able to do it . Dane Murphy , Murph to her friends , had always been special . Not only smart , she had … abilities . Abilities that would make her a target . While attending college at fifteen , she 'd formed a deep friendship with Rider Lanning . He was the brother she never had and one of the few people she knew she could trust … . They hadn 't spoken in years . How did he know to contact her now ? The gunshot wound was bad … she wouldn 't last much longer … . She wanted to tell him that she 'd left him everything … the money … the houses … . She was too weak , she lost the connection before she could tell him about the most important thing … take care of her son . Carter Lanning had withdrawn from his family . The rescue mission where they had to recover a busload of children from a mudslide had taken a toll on him emotionally . He hadn 't expected the little girl he pulled out of the mud to be alive only to die in his arms . She haunted his dreams … she 'd called him Daddy and died . Carter knew that Rider 's friend was in critical condition in their Leap 's medical facility . They had taken her there to keep her hidden from whoever shot her . What surprised him was that the boy Rider had in the cafeteria carried the scent of his mate . Carter had a mate … and a son . He couldn 't be happier . They would be his forever . They would do as he says and he would protect them always … . " My family are leopards , and not without the means to keep you safe . You 've met Linyah and the rest of my family . We can help you , but you 're going to have to listen to every word I say from now on . " Saying nothing , she turned from him . He was an ass and full of himself . If he thought that she 'd been just sitting around waiting for him to come along and rescue her and Max , he was dumber than the people who thought she 'd give up without a fight . Buy Links Dane Murphy , Murph to her friends , had always been special . Not only smart , she had … abilities . Abilities that would make her a target . While attending college at fifteen , she 'd formed a deep friendship with Rider Lanning . He was the brother she never had and one of the few people she knew she could trust … . They hadn 't spoken in years . How did he know to contact her now ? The gunshot wound was bad … she wouldn 't last much longer … . She wanted to tell him that she 'd left him everything … the money … the houses … . She was too weak , she lost the connection before she could tell him about the most important thing … take care of her son . Carter Lanning had withdrawn from his family . The rescue mission where they had to recover a busload of children from a mudslide had taken a toll on him emotionally . He hadn 't expected the little girl he pulled out of the mud to be alive only to die in his arms . She haunted his dreams … she 'd called him Daddy and died . Carter knew that Rider 's friend was in critical condition in their Leap 's medical facility . They had taken her there to keep her hidden from whoever shot her . What surprised him was that the boy Rider had in the cafeteria carried the scent of his mate . Carter had a mate … and a son . He couldn 't be happier . They would be his forever . They would do as he says and he would protect them always … . " My family are leopards , and not without the means to keep you safe . You 've met Linyah and the rest of my family . We can help you , but you 're going to have to listen to every word I say from now on . " Saying nothing , she turned from him . He was an ass and full of himself . If he thought that she 'd been just sitting around waiting for him to come along and rescue her and Max , he was dumber than the people who thought she 'd give up without a fight . Buy Links Murph sat as still as her wounds would allow her to . She hurt . Not just from the bullet that was still lodged in her belly , but from the other wounds she 'd gotten when she tried to get away . Where the hell were the police when you needed them ? Then she smiled . She was the fucking police . But as the man who 'd shot her in the first place moved by her again , she held her breath and waited for him to turn and see her . " Listen , Murphy . If you just come on out in the open , things will go a good deal better for you . " He laughed . " I mean , I might be persuaded to just kill you now , instead of later when I 'm done with you . I 'd love to fuck you so hard you won 't think of how badly I 've shot you to hell and back . " Dane Murphy wanted to let him end her , but she knew that was the coward 's way out . She 'd been on that end of her life and wasn 't too keen on going back to being a doormat . Not for the last five years and not ever again . Besides , she had someone who needed her , and she wasn 't going to give up that easily . Taking her hand away from her belly , she looked at her blood as it not just spilled out on the ground but seemed to be running in a steady stream as she sat there . When Conrad Snyder , her would - be killer , moved away again , Murph knew she was close to dying . There simply wasn 't anything left in her . When someone touched her mind , she nearly begged him to come and get her , but he spoke before she could . Hey , remember a long , long time ago when we were in … what the hell is wrong ? Where are you ? Mother fuck , is that bastard there with you now ? Tell me , Murph . So help me , I 'm going to kill him this time . Leave it to Rider to demand rather than to be calm . Nah . Dad is dead . But it 's not him this time , sad but true . I 'm dying , Rider . So nice of you to be with me when I do . I so didn 't want to die all by myself . He cursed again . You 're pretty good at that . I never realized that until now . Shut up and tell me where you are . She said nothing to him , smiling for the first time in a good long time . All right . Tell me where you are so I can come and get you . I 'm somewhere in Ohio . Right now it eludes me as to the name of the streets I was running down when the man with the gun was shooting at me . She felt the blood pour from her more and moaned . There 's no time to come here . Just … I 'm glad that you called or whatever this is called . I 'm coming to get you . A friend of mine is helping me . And Thomas . You remember Thomas , don 't you ? She said that she 'd not had the pleasure of meeting him . He 's got some scary shit going on . Rider , just stay back out of this . I know that 's the same as telling you to fucking do it , but really , this guy is out to kill me … well , he wants to see me dead , and I 'd sooner not have to worry about you joining me in the afterlife . I do have someone I need for you to go and take care of - The shadow over her made her move away , but Rider said her name and she tried to focus on his face . When he lifted her up in his arms , her body just seemed to let go and she screamed out her pain . He was talking to her when she calmed a little . " Where is he ? " She told the other man , who she assumed was Thomas , she had no idea . " Do you have anything with his scent on it ? Like did you touch him ? " " I 'm well aware what having his scent means . And in the event that you haven 't noticed , he shot me , not hung around for a tea and crumpet party . " The pain of being moved took her breath away , and she tried to breathe through the pain . " I think if I throw up right now , I 'm going to die . I will anyway , but I was wondering if you could take me somewhere that they could lessen the pain . " Thomas laughed , and Rider glared at him . Closing her eyes , she tried not to laugh at the sight of them being pissy with each other . She opened her eyes when someone said her name , and looked blurrily at the man in front of her . " Hello , my dear . My name is Danny Hudson . I 'm a doctor to the leap . They brought you here instead of the hospital . They seem to think that whoever did this might want to finish the job they started . " She nodded . Talking was too much effort , but he seemed to understand her just fine . " I 'm going to give you something for the pain , and then we 're going to operate on you , all right ? " " Too late for that . Just tell me … where is Rider ? He 's my only friend . " Murph must have faded out a bit because the next time she opened her eyes , Rider was there with a surgeon . And he didn 't look old enough to vote despite the scrubs and mask . " Money . I gave it to you . It 's all in a will . The only person I know . " " You 're going to be fine . Just let them do their work . " When he started to move away , she said his name again . " Murph , you 're going to be just fine . These doctors will fix you up better than new . I promise . " " Dad isn 't dead . I lied to you . " He nodded , telling her he knew that . " You have to take the money from me and use it for evil . Promise me . You said you would . " " I promise . " She faded again and opened her eyes as he was talking to someone behind her . " Murph , stop fighting the drugs and let them work on you . " She was too weak to fight any more and let them take her away . She didn 't even dream and she knew she was gone , and let death take her . That was it , or she 'd just been given the best drugs on the street . Nothing had worked this well when she 'd been hurt before . But she 'd forgotten to tell Rider what she needed from him more than anything in the world . And now it was too late . Hopefully her attorney would do his job . Rider tried not to pace again . It was pissing off the rest of the family , yet he found that he just couldn 't sit still . Damn it , what the fuck was taking so long ? He looked at his mom when she told him to sit down . He sat , but not for long . He had to move . Do something . " How long have you known her ? " Rider tried to wrap his mind around his mom 's question . There was never a time that he didn 't know Murph , it seemed . " I 'm assuming that you two are not mates . " " No . She 's … we were in college together . But she 's a lot younger than me . Eleven years , to be exact . She was taking some pretty hefty classes and I was skimming along on the least I could do . " Rider grinned , remembering when she 'd taken him on . " I was in class , snoring , when someone nudged me . I never knew who it was until this little bitty thing met me out on the lawn after class . Man , she was pissed off . Tore into me like I 'd done something to her by napping . " " You should have been paying attention . Good for her pointing that out to you . " Rider nodded . " But she did more than that , didn 't she ? What on earth did she do that has that smile on your face ? " " She hit me . Not girly - like either , but square in the nose with her fist . Then she tossed me over her shoulder and onto the ground so quickly that I never saw it coming . " His mom laughed . " Yeah , at the time I didn 't think it was so funny . But she 'd taken me on and told me in no uncertain terms how I was going to conduct myself in class from now on . That some people - she , she said - had paid a good deal of money to learn something , and I wasn 't fucking it up for her . " " Your second year . " Rider asked his mom what she meant . " When she hit you , you were in your second year . Before Christmas . She straightened you out for me and your grades improved . " " That 's right . " He sat back on the couch and smiled at the memory . " She 's brilliant - I mean off the charts brilliant - and her education was really important to her . I tried to be mad at her for what she 'd done to me , but all I could think of was that she 'd taken me on . At the time , I thought of myself as a big deal . She put me in my place . " " Good for her . " Rider nodded . " And she can contact you ? How ? Were you and her … were you and she … ? Rider , how did you know she was hurt ? " " I didn 't . Not at all . She 's good at that too , and no , I didn 't sleep with her . She was … it was too weird . But we did hang out together until she left college . We were close in other ways , but not sexually . " His mom nodded . " As for her talking to me , I don 't know . She 'd been able to do it forever , she told me , to other beings . Humans , too , she told me , and that 's when I figured out it was because she was using a great deal more of her brain than most people did their mouths . Like I said , she 's smart . " Rider watched the nurses coming and going and his brothers , the single ones , flirting with them . Misha wasn 't there but home with his wife , and Thomas was coming back soon . He was being prepared for his crowning and he 'd not been able to leave again . " I was asking her to be my date to the crowning . I 'd not thought of her in years , but when I was unpacking one of the boxes that Thomas gave me , I found an old picture of her and I together at something . " He remembered the night well and smiled at it . " She and I had a pact back then . If we were in a desperate way , we could call on the other to use as a shield . A date , I guess . I was asking her to go to Thomas 's thing . " " Do you know who shot her ? " He told her that he didn 't . " But she was close to dying . That 's why you had her brought here . Do you even know what she does for a living ? For all you know , she could be a drug dealer and it went down badly . " Rider stared at his mom . " You and Hannah need to stop watching so many of those drama things . You 're sounding as bad as she is . And I 'm pretty sure that she 's become the cop she wanted to be even back then . She would be the best at it , too . Nothing but black and white for her . " Danny coming down the hall made him stand up . He looked worried but not stressed , an expression that the man wore daily . When Danny asked them to sit down , he looked like he might fall over instead of simply sitting with them . " She 's a stubborn little thing , isn 't she ? " Rider said she was . " I have her sedated for now , but I have to tell you , had that surgeon from your brother 's place not been there , she 'd be dead and not recuperating right now . He did most of the work , and frankly , I was glad to give her over to him . She 's … like I said , stubborn . " " What happened ? " Carter was standing next to his chair when he asked . " I mean , if you had her under , what could she have done to upset you so much ? " " She was under , then not . Then under again . I 've never seen anyone who could fight off drugs like she can . It must burn through her system like it does us . " Rider nodded , and Danny looked at Carter as he continued . " I 'm thinking that whoever shot her wanted her to suffer . The angle of the bullet we took out of her was from close , too close for him to have only hurt her and not killed her right off . You know what I mean ? " Carter nodded but said nothing more . His mom talked softly to Danny , mostly asking about his family as Rider tried to reach out to Murph again . When Carter stood up he did as well , and followed him down the hall and out of the building . " I have to go away for a few days . " Rider nodded . " I 'm sort of … I need some time on my own . I 'll meet you at the castle . " Carter left him standing there as he walked away . He 'd been doing that a lot lately . Just disappearing for days on end , only to return when they needed him . Today he 'd wanted to talk to him about it , but this thing with Murph had put him off . He reached for Misha to let him know of his concerns . I 've noticed it too . I mean , he 's been acting all weird since we came back from the mission with the children all those months ago . What do you suppose it is ? Rider remembered that search . The bus load of children that had been overloaded and had fallen into a ravine . You think he might need to get his head together ? I think we all need that , but there is just too much going on right now . Rider had seen an increase in crimes over the past several months that had made him start carrying a gun . He said that he needed time on his own . Isn 't his apartment in some building that is nearly empty of other people right now because it 's brand new ? He bought the building . I didn 't know that until a few weeks ago . And he said he 's in no hurry to have it filled . Rider was more worried now than he 'd been before . He 's never been one to have a lot of friends . Not to say he doesn 't have them , but he 's always been a loner . Yeah , I know , but even you think this is different . Misha agreed and asked about Murph . She 's doing well now . I don 't think she might have made it had we taken her to the hospital . She was as close to death as I 've ever seen anyone . Danny said someone shot her from close range , like he wanted her to hurt . I 'm going to have some things looked into about her . Not the public kind of looking , but just general . Anything I should know about the two of you that I might find out ? Rider told him what he knew . Good , that 'll help . Also , I 'm having the building and this house upgraded with security . I don 't want anyone coming in and catching us off guard . And Hannah has been looking into some retinal scanning for us . You 'll have to get with her to set it up so you can get in . I think it 's a great idea . He told him he thought so as well . Then he went back into the hospital to wait . It wasn 't any better now than it had been before talking to Misha . Murph had been a great memory in his life , more than he 'd thought of until right this minute . Rider thought of all the things they 'd done together . None of it bad , but not much he 'd like his family to find out about either . Mostly it was just goofing off , but then they 'd both been a good deal younger and Murph had … he thought she 'd needed him . But he now knew that he was the one that had needed her . Then he remembered Murph 's dad and contacted Misha again . She 's got a dad . His name is Daniel Murphy . Not as bad as Hannah 's mom , but right up there . And you do remember that Murph 's name is Dane Murphy , right ? She said she had money when we were younger , but I never saw it in her . And she was at one time a cop , I think , or something like that . He smiled . Oh , and you might want to check out a man by the name of Winston James the ninth . He hung with us too . Murph was the only one that could call him Whinny and get away with it . Why him ? Rider had no idea but told him it was a feeling . All right then . And did you say her dad 's name is Daniel and hers is Dane ? Misha said he 'd get on it and closed the connection . Rider went back into the hospital to wait until he could see his friend . He thought about the first time the two of them had sat down and had a serious talk . She 'd been in his apartment and reading one of her countless books . She had suddenly looked up at him and smiled . Rider smiled back but sat down hard when she had started talking . " You 're a leopard , aren 't you ? I mean , you try really hard to fit in , but that 's what you are . " He nodded . " Yeah , I thought so . I 'm just a regular human , but I bet you knew that . " " Yes . You 're very smart and you can manipulate things with your mind , but I think only human . " She asked him why he only thought she was . " Unless I taste your blood , I can 't be sure about anything about you . " She had put out her wrist to him and he stared at it . " Taste it . I know that we 'll have this better connection and all . Hell , Rider , you know that I can read people 's minds now , so you having the ability to read mine if I let you won 't be so bad . " " I 'll not just be able to read your mind , Murph , but I 'll be able to find you even if you don 't want me to . " She shook her head . " I will . Your blood will call to me . " " No , it won 't . It might for the first few hours , but you won 't be able to after that . Something about me shields things like that . My dad had this vampire bite me once so he could keep tabs on me . The vamp thought I was dead a few hours later and came to the house to tell my dad . Surprise to him was that I was sitting with Dad in the living room being … talked too . " Rider had found out later that she 'd meant that she was being knocked around . Her dad had been a real bastard when he was around his daughter . Murph had never told him all of it , and Rider had asked her a lot . She 'd told him it was because she wasn 't taking his shit , but Rider thought it had been more than that . So he 'd tasted her blood . " You 're not just human , are you ? " She 'd shaken her head and smiled at him . He had felt stupid , like a small puppy that she 'd been proud of . " Well , Miss Know - It - All , what are you then ? And why did you have me taste you if you knew that ? " Rider knew that he 'd hurt her , and when she started stuffing her books into her bag , he 'd watched her . At first he thought she 'd just tell him to fuck off , her favorite thing to say when she was upset , but she said nothing as she made her way to the door . He stopped her by shoving her against the door with her body in front of his . He remembered thinking at the time how small she was , how incredibly tiny she was to his grown - man size . " Please don 't . I 'm sorry . You 're … I 'm jealous , if you want to know the truth . Of you . " She turned then , and he looked down at her . The urge to kiss her came and left him almost in the same breath . The need to protect her , however , never left him , even though he was pretty sure she could do a better job of it than he could . " I 'm so sorry I hurt you . " " You 're jealous of me ? " He nodded . " You have this amazing family . Brothers out the ass that you complain about all the time but love to death . A mom that keeps you in line , and she bakes you cookies to send to you . All you need to do is say you 're having a shitty day and one of them comes all the way here just to cheer you up . And you 're jealous of me ? " " You 're smart , have your shit together , and you have an amazing ability to read people . I 'm assuming that 's why you want to be a cop . " She nodded . " You know what you want , where to get it , and you are going for it . If you 'd not tackled me that day after class I 'd be failing , fucking with my education , and disappointing my mom , who , I would like you to know , is my greatest fan . And yours as well if I graduate with honors , now that you 're helping me . " " You don 't count your mom as a fan , moron . " He nodded , and he saw the tears fill her eyes . " Rider , I don 't know what I am . Why this shit happens to me . Or why I can do half the shit I can do . And now I know that it 's not because I 'm so special , but because I 'm not human . I didn 't really know … I had a feeling , that 's all , and now you just confirmed it . " " You really didn 't know ? " She shook her head . " Then you … what did you think you were , Murph ? You had to have thought something was odd . " " I just thought that I was really smart . " When she 'd started crying , his heart broke for her . She 'd been all of fifteen then . A senior in college at the top of her class . Could do things , amazing things with her mind that people would have killed for , and she was still just a kid well out of her element . Their friendship had only grown from there . They were inseparable . And he 'd learned a great deal about himself and what he was capable of too . Rider found out that he was very smart himself . Then one day she 'd found him in the dorm and had told him she was leaving . Her face was bruised and she looked like she 'd been crying . Taking her into a room that was empty , she told him what had happened . " My dad . I know you 've met him a couple of times here , but he 's not the man he projects in public . He 's a monster . " Rider started seeing things , little things that he 'd tried to blow off before . She wasn 't just abused but terrified of her father . " He 's not going to hurt me again . I 'm going to leave here and grow up . When I do , he can 't hurt me again . I won 't … there is no way I 'm going to help him anymore . It 's just not right , any of it . " " Go to my house . My mom , she 'll protect you . " He knew that his entire family would . " We 'll make sure that he doesn 't bother you again . I 'll call her now . " " And tell her what , Rider ? ' Hey , family , this is my really nerdy friend , Murph . She can move objects with her mind and can read you better than a book . Oh and by the way , her dad is coming for her because he wants her to tell him the winner of the next few horse races so that he can add even more money to his accounts . Why he needs more is beyond me ' . " " You can tell who is going to win the horse race ? " He 'd meant it as a joke , but she only put her head on his chest . " Honey , my family really will help you . I promise you they will . " " And who will help them when he kills me because I won 't do what he says ? I 'm a minor , Rider . I know you forget that and all because I 'm smarter than you , but he has this unbreakable law over me that will get you and your family into trouble . " " I can 't do that and you know it . But I will contact you . Not a lot ; you 'll have women around you all the time in a couple of years . " Murph had turned her back on him as she continued . I love you , Rider . I think you 're the best big brother a girl like me will ever have . He 'd heard from her a few times over the years . Most of it had been just that she was fine and that she missed him . Never once did she tell him where she was or what she was up to , but it was good knowing that she 'd survived . And now this . He wondered had he not tried to contact her , would she have died that night ? He was sure of it , and really sort of depressed about it . Royce was sitting at his desk two hours later . He 'd probably get more work done if he 'd stop thinking about the pretty little officer , but he couldn 't seem to shake the image of her lying on her bed covered in blood . It had been just over a week and the image was just as clear as if it had just happened . When her uncle and he had pulled up in front of the huge , sprawling house Royce had thought he 'd had the wrong address . When Jay had gotten out of the car and walked up the steps , he looked around . The place was a dump and he 'd bet his last dollar that a murder happened near here at least daily . The place didn 't improve once they 'd walked inside either . Jay walked up to a couple of kids hanging out on the stairs and spoke to them . He came back a minute later and started up the stairs . Royce was surprised that the man was taking them two and three at a time , but followed him close . The boys came with them . The boy in the back went back down the flight of stairs and ran back up them seconds later . He looked over at Royce . He wasn 't sure what was going to happen , but he was pretty sure that whatever it was could potentially get them all in trouble . The kid dropped to his knees in front of a door and pulled open a little black bag . " Reasonable cause like them police shows . We heard her moaning , didn 't you ? ' Sides , she ain 't gonna open the door anyway for anyone on accounta she don 't supposed to be here this time a day . She 's hurtin ' to miss work . " Before Royce could comment one way or the other the kid at the door swung it open . When he stepped back Royce saw Jay give him some money , but couldn 't see how much . Royce stepped over the threshold , thinking to ask so he could pay the man back , but the room , the bed , and the girl took his entire attention . Her face was swollen beyond anything he 'd ever seen . The eye that was turned up was closed shut and blood seeped from it . The side of her head where she lay against the bed was soaking blood into the mattress and a small stain now saturated the blanket . Her arm lay at an odd angle and her left pant leg was tight around her thigh and made Royce think if they cut the seams , the flesh would spill out . The fingers to her hand were all bloodied as well as swollen . He thought some of them might have been broken , but couldn 't be sure with all that blood . He startled out of his shock when Jay shook him . " No , an injury . Miss York , Kasey York . It looks like she has a head injury , leg , and her arm . I 'm betting by the way she 's laying there are probably a good many ribs broken as well . " Five broken ribs on her left side and three on her right , a concussion , and seven stitches in the back of her head . There was the contusion to her forehead and another to just below her ear . Two of her fingers were broken on her left hand and one on her right . Her leg was sprained and there were about three dozen cuts on her body that would heal quickly ; the others would take their time . The tape they 'd pulled of the incident showed that when White had hit her with his fist the first time , she 'd fallen back but had not been too seriously injured from what they could see . She 'd gotten right up and beat the living shit out of the man until he 'd gotten the upper hand by using a ball bat on her ribs . When she 'd gone down he 'd stood over her and beat on her several times before his brother had come into the room and wrestled the bat away from him . White was currently in jail pending charges filed by Royce and the company . They were also waiting for Miss York to wake up enough to tell them she was pressing charges as well . Royce was still smiling when his mom walked in . " Must be a pretty girl for you to look like that this early in the morning . Is it that Strouse girl ? " She sat in the chair across from his desk . " Or is it that girl … what was her name ? The one that laughed like she was a bad muffler ? You remember her . " " Porsche Strouse and the muffler girl … You mean Candace Sheppard ? Christ , no . She has been with more men than the NFL has players . Whoever she marries is going to need to put in a revolving door to his house . No , I was thinking about the merger deal we 're finalizing tomorrow morning . You still planning to be here ? " She smiled that mom smile and leaned back in the chair . " Keep your little secrets . I 'll find out sooner or later . And yes , I 'm going to be here . I 've been helping with this deal for three months and I can 't wait to see the look on Charles ' face when he realizes what we plan to do with that building . He 'll be furious . " Charles Benton had messed with the wrong person when he 'd pissed off Royce 's mom . Annamarie Hunter was a person who got results . She 'd been doing some volunteer work at the hospital when a young girl had been brought in . Jessica had been fourteen , pregnant , and beaten . She lost the child and then died two days later , but not before telling the police who had beaten her and why . Her daddy had said no child of his was going to shame him . Of course nothing could be proven . The man who 'd beaten poor Jess had been killed only days later and everything pointed to him acting on his own . But nearly everyone knew better . Charles had made no bones about the fact that he cared very little for his daughter and less about the child she 'd lost . " We have everything in place to start the reconstruction of the building on Monday . Then all the players are lined up to make it so that we can reopen as ' Jessica 's House ' the month after . It 's amazing how many people have agreed to give their free time to work with this house . " She snorted at him . " You knew . You 're too much like your other brothers to say so unless you need something . What is it now ? A girl you 've knocked up ? Someone who won 't sleep with you and you want me to tell her what a great catch you are ? " " Mother , " he said with mock shame . " The things you think of me . And I know better than to try and have unprotected sex . You 've told us often enough growing up what would happen if you found out . I , for one , want to keep all my appendages , thank you very much . " Laughing , he got up and grabbed his jacket . " Come on , beautiful . Lets you and I have lunch together . I want to run a few things by you . " They were to the lobby when his cell phone went off . He pulled it out to see that it was from the hospital . Royce answered with a bit of concern . " Mr . Hunter , it 's Abby from the hospital . Miss York is … she 's … Oh my , there is someone in the room with her and they are going at it loudly , sir . You told me to call when there - " " I 'm on my way . If whoever it is tries to leave before I get there , try to at least get their name . I should be there in about five minutes . " Royce turned to his mom . " I 'm sorry , but we 'll have to do this some other time . I have to - " " I 'm going with you . And don 't even try to argue because you know it 'll do you little to no good and only make you later . Let 's go . " " I said to get out of here . I don 't give a shit how you found out , just get the hell out of here . " Kasey pulled the pillow out from behind her head and threw it at the man in front of her . " Get out ! " " Now , Kasey , that ain 't no way to treat your daddy . I 've been busy , is all . You know how it is trying to make a living . I was just wondering about how you 're gonna sue that fancy company you work for is all . " Gilbert MacDonald had run out on them when Kasey was born . He 'd been pissy , Kasey 's mom had told her , when he 'd found out she was pregnant and ripping mad when Kasey had been born a girl and not a boy . Over the years he 'd come around when he wanted something , money usually , and to knock around Leah York , Kasey 's mom . Until Kasey got big enough to fight him back , then he would only come for money . Like now . Gilbert moved closer to the bed , his eyes dark with anger . She 'd forgotten that she was helpless and that was the way he liked his women . When he drew back his fist to hit her she closed her eyes and waited for the pain . She couldn 't fight him in the condition she was in . " You 'll back away from that girl right this minute or , so help me , I 'll be causing the pain . " Kasey turned to see what the hell Mr . Hunter was doing here . " Are you all right ? " She nodded . Mr . Hunter had her father in a full nelson . She wasn 't sure how that had happened , but was immensely glad that he did . Kasey started to explain who the man was , but a woman , a very beautiful older woman , came to the other side of the bed and started checking her injuries . " You know , I 'm right here . I don 't need anyone to bring me anything for pain , and I certainly don 't need you to call her if I did . " Kasey looked at the woman . " You have to be related to him . I 've never met a pushier bunch of people in my life . " Kasey wouldn 't admit how badly she hurt right now . Nor would she admit how grateful she was for the intervention of Mr . Hunter . The woman simply started laughing , much to the surprise of Kasey . " Oh my , you have to be the secret . Yes , I 'm related to Royce . I 'm his mother , Annamarie . And you would be … " " Mother , don 't do this . She works for me and was - " He 'd just stepped back in from taking her father out of the room . She didn 't worry about her father coming back soon , but he would be back . " I worked for you , not work for you . I was fired . Remember ? And I haven 't the slightest clue what sort of secret you think I might be . And frankly , I don 't care . I have to get out of here . " Kasey looked over at Royce when he growled . " Oh grow up , you big jerk . Not everyone has money dripping from their fingers . " Mrs . Hunter started laughing even harder at that . " You 're not the least bit intimidated by him , are you ? Good . A woman shouldn 't be afraid of their mate , I think . What happened that landed you - " She looked over at her son . " The officer from the lobby ? " " Yes , I 'm … I was Officer York . And now I 'd like for you both to be going now . I 've got plans to make and places to go . " Kasey wasn 't sure how she planned to execute anything , but she had made them . She raised a brow at them both when they pulled up chairs . " Now , tell me who that man was and why he has reason to want to hit you . I must admit , I 've been under the same strain since I 've met you , but not enough to actually follow through . " Kasey glared at him as he continued . " You have been a pain in my ass since you stopped me in the hall of my own building . " " Then don 't make rules you have no intentions of following . " She laid her head back on the bed and closed her eyes . " Haven 't you heard that ' he who makes the rules is a man She 'd forgotten about his mother and looked over at her when she laughed . The woman was certainly his mother . She had the same glint in her eyes when she was laughing . Kasey looked over at Royce . His glint didn 't seem to be from laughing . " Miss York , are you in the habit of biting the hand that feeds you ? And I 'll decide when you are fired from my company . Who was that man and what did he want with you ? " She turned away from him to answer . She wasn 't ashamed of being a bastard child , but she was ashamed of the bastard who was her father . " His name is Gilbert MacDonald and he 's my father . At least in the sense that he was the sperm donor that created me . He 's not been much of anything else . He and my mother never married . " Kasey looked at the door when it opened . " Miss York , your lunch is here . Shall I bring it in or wait until later ? You know what the doctor said . " Abby seemed a bit miffed again , but Kasey didn 't care . " I know what he said and I still don 't care . Bring it in please , but don 't expect me to eat any more of it than I did this morning . I 've told you three times I don 't care for it . And I want to go home . " Even to her ears she sounded childish , but no one would listen to her . She didn 't want any broth and she certainly didn 't want any hot tea , all they would give her . She turned her head away when the tray of " food " was put on the little table . " What is wrong with you ? Are you nasty to everyone or just those that try and help you ? Christ , I don 't think I 've ever met anyone as caustic as you are . " Royce stood up and started taking lids off of the containers . " You 'll eat every bit of this or , so help me , I 'll hold you down and pour it down your throat . " Kasey glared at him . " Try it . " Her voice was low and full of intent . He paused for several seconds as they glared at each other . She was glad that she 'd made him think . She wasn 't one of his minions who jumped when he barked . And she didn 't fucking work for him . " Royce , why don 't you go get you and me a nice sandwich from the deli across the street ? I 'm sure that Miss York and I can get this lunch business squared away . " Neither of them looked at Annamarie . " Royce . " He finally looked at his mother and gave her a short nod before leaving . He turned to look back at Kasey before he walked out the door and that look said volumes . He told her that if she hurt his mom , she 'd be a dead woman . Well , she had news for him , she didn 't care . " Oh goodness , no wonder you don 't want this . It 's crap . " The woman began taking the rest of the lids off the other bowls and cups as she tisked around . " Good heavens , is this suppose to be helpful or kill you ? This won 't do , not at all . Why , if I had a dog … nasty . " did look at it and it 's nasty . Hold on , let me ask her . Kasey , sweetheart , Royce wants to know if you would care for some tea with your lunch or would you like some bottled water ? " I hope you are enjoying this book Kathi S Barton Now live It was the scent of blood ? a lot of it ? that caught Vicente 's attention as his dragon soared over the snow covered field . And if he didn 't do something about it and fast , the poor woman would bleed out . He couldn 't let that happen Abby Curry 's strength was gone . She had given up hope that she 'd be found by someone that could help her . The blood trail she 'd left was easy enough to follow . The three men that hunted her would finish her off if she wasn 't dead already before they got there . But when he heard her name , his blood ran cold . . . it couldn 't be her . . . it couldn 't . He 'd left her five years before . . . standing at the altar . . . . Now what was he going to do ? Royce The Hunter Series Chapter 11 is ready to read Chapter 11 Daniel put down the phone and leaned back in his chair . Royce was going to be a father . Daniel had not seen that one coming . . .