Into the Lair (Falcon Mercenary Group #2)(21)

They both looked up as Braden strode out to the truck.

“Let’s go,” he said as he walked to the back to pop the trunk.

He tossed a set of keys at Ian. “You and Katie head in. I’ll follow with the first-aid kit and the bags.”

Ian caught the plastic key tag and examined the number. Then he scanned the line of rooms until his gaze alighted on the correct door.

“Come on,” he said to Katie, though he was careful not to touch her or act too aggressively.

She hesitated only a slight moment before she turned and followed him.

The room was musty and stale and it was nearly as chilly inside as it was outside. Ian yanked at the yellowed drapes to obscure the view and then turned on the heater under the window.

Katie sat on the edge of the bed, her body language ill at ease. The heater lurched and started to hum, and the smell of exhaust filtered into the room.

Braden stepped inside and tossed a couple of duffel bags on the bed. Katie’s backpack landed next to her, and she grabbed it, yanking open the zipper. She poured out the few changes of clothes and rifled through the contents until she came to a wad of cash and her bankcard.

She fingered the bills and looked up first at Braden and then Ian in confusion.

“Did you think we ripped you off?” Ian asked dryly.

“What was I supposed to think?” she said. “I wake up tied to you in my bed, and my money and bankcard are gone from my pocket.”

“Not that I don’t love watching you two butt heads, but Katie, you need to jump in the shower and wash all the blood and dirt off, and then we need to tend to your wounds,” Braden said.

Her posture immediately became defensive. “I can manage on my own.”

“He didn’t offer you a choice,” Ian pointed out. “Get in the shower or I’ll do it for you. That’s all the choice I’m giving you. When you get out, we’re going to take care of those cuts and bruises.”

Even as he issued the edict, his loins tightened at the idea of being in the shower with her, his hands running over her wet body. He turned away before she could witness his arousal. He was losing his mind. Not to mention his control.

He heard her quick intake of breath. Did her thoughts coincide with his? He glanced down at his fist, held so tight that the skin stretched painfully across his knuckles. With a quick flex, he released his fingers then turned back around.

Katie disappeared into the bathroom and closed the door quietly behind her.

“You okay, man?” Braden asked.

“No, I’m not okay,” Ian bit out. “Where’s the inhibitor? Carry it on you from now on. It does us no good stashed in a bag. I could have hurt you and Katie.”

Braden flopped down on the bed and lay back, his eyes closing in fatigue. “I’m not so sure the inhibitor would have worked, Ian. You shifted really fast.”

Ian grimaced and pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers. Desperation was a constant companion, working in tandem with his pulse, with his every breath, every heartbeat.

“We can’t go on like this, Braden.”

He hated the helplessness, the weakness in his voice. He sounded like a goddamn fatalistic pu**y. But they couldn’t continue living like this. Unpredictable. Changing to wild animals in an instant.

What if he killed his brother?

It was the question that haunted him the most. It was easy to isolate himself from the rest of the world. He and Braden had always been loners. But he couldn’t walk away from Braden. Not when his brother needed him. But if he stayed, would he be responsible for someday attacking the one person in the world who mattered to him?

“What the hell is your problem?”

Ian looked down to see Braden staring at him. He shook his head, and Braden made a sound of exasperation.

“Things could be worse.” Braden tucked his hands behind his head and stared up at the ceiling. “I mean there are worse things than having a naked woman a room away.”

Some of the tension eased from his chest, and he looked at his brother in mock disgust. “That naked woman would like nothing better than to play with your nuts and not in a fun way.”

Braden grunted. “I’d be willing to let her. I’ve always had a slight masochistic streak.”

Ian laughed and was surprised by how good it felt. Maybe some of Braden’s irreverence was rubbing off on him. Or maybe he was too slaphappy to have any goddamn sense.

“Ian?”

“Yeah, man.”

“It might be better if you handled Katie’s, uh, injuries. I’m tired, and I get this weird vibe around her, like I’m about to crawl out of my skin. I don’t want to risk any, uh, complications.”

Ian cursed under his breath. He didn’t trust himself around Katie any more than Braden apparently trusted himself. What was wrong with them? They hadn’t reacted to Tyana or any other woman they’d come into contact with like this. Was it merely the thrill of the chase? A track-and-capture element? Something ingrained deep in their animal psyche?

“We both need to do it,” Ian said grimly. “A system of checks and balances. We’ll have the inhibitor and a large dose of the sedative on hand just in case.”

He paused for a moment as he saw the bleakness enter Braden’s eyes.

“Braden, you have to promise me something.”