And So It Begins...Part XIV and A Sneak Peek at Unstoppable

And So It Begins…

Part XIV

An R.L. Mathewson Chronicle

“What’s the plan?” Uncle Jared asked as they stood there, taking in the trio sitting on the other side of the restaurant, watching their every move.

To be honest, Trevor wasn’t really that worried about Abbi, not when he knew just how easily he could distract her with a promise to bring her to look at puppies, but he knew that if her brother was able to get to her first that they were all screwed. It didn’t help that his son was involved in this.

Dustin was bad enough, but Sebastian?

No, this wouldn’t end well for anyone, Trevor thought as he slowly took in the trio across from him, noting the bored look on Abbi’s face, the devious smile on Dustin’s, and-

Where the hell did Sebastian go?

“So, I’m just gonna go now,” Uncle Jared said, clearing his throat awkwardly as Trevor told himself not to panic as he glanced around the restaurant, looking for his son, absently noting that he wasn’t the only one that had noticed that the trio had formed an alliance and that one of them had-

“Ready to negotiate?” came the softly murmured question that took ten years off his life as Trevor glanced to his left to find Sebastian standing next to him, looking bored as he glanced down at something on his phone.

“You have nothing that I want,” Trevor reminded him.

“Are you sure about that?” Sebastian asked, not bothering to look up from his phone.

“Absolutely,” Trevor said, glancing down at his son’s phone only to bite back a sigh when all the words became jumbled, making it impossible for him to figure out what his son was up to. Then again, he really didn’t need to know what his son was up to in order to put an end to this.

“I’ve been meaning to ask you something,” Trevor said, glancing back just as Cole walked in with two girls only to watch him come to a halt when he saw the smile on Dustin’s face.

He watched as Cole swallowed hard as his gaze shifted to Sebastian and whatever he saw there had him grabbing the smaller of the two girls, throwing her over his shoulder before grabbing the other one’s hand and pulling her back toward the front door. Keeping his eyes locked on Sebastian, Cole dragged his friend to the door and-

“What’s that?” Sebastian asked, drawing his attention back to find his son looking bored as he slid his phone into his back pocket.

“Who was that boy was that walked Mikey home last week from the park,” Trevor drawled, watching as his son went still before he glanced up with a calculating look in his eye.

“What boy?” Sebastian asked, his voice breaking at the end there as he swallowed hard and made Trevor feel like a complete jerk for bringing up Mikey, knowing just how much she meant to his son.

“Never mind,” Trevor said, sighing heavily as he glanced back over at the twins to find Uncle Jared coloring placemats with Abbi and Dustin, giving them the distraction they needed.

“Mikey didn’t mention any boys,” Sebastian said, worrying his bottom lip as his shoulders dropped in defeat.

“I’m sure that it was nothing,” Trevor said, trying to give his son a reassuring smile.

“Why would you bring it up then?” Sebastian asked, ramming his fingers through his hair, looking completely lost.

“I…” Trevor said at an absolute loss of words.

There was a shuddering sigh as his son covered his face with his hands and mumbled, “Why would she do this to me?”

“Hey,” Trevor said, wrapping his arm around his son’s trembling shoulders and pulled him closer, “it’s nothing. We both know that Mikey adores you.”

There was a sniffle and then a sadly mumbled, “No, she doesn’t.”

“Of course, she does,” Trevor said, trying to reassure his son that everything was going to be okay even as he had to wonder how he was going to fix this.

Zoe was going to kill him, Trevor thought, trying not to wince as he thought about how his wife was going to react when she found out that he’d screwed this up. Sebastian’s relationship with Mikey was off-limits and he knew that, but he hadn’t been able to resist screwing with his son’s head with the hopes that it would be enough to get his son to put a stop to whatever devious plan he had up his sleeves.

He’d really screwed this one up and now, his son was the one to pay the price, Trevor thought, feeling horrible as he was forced to stand there and watch as his son’s heart broke and-

“That was really all you had?” Sebastian asked, dropping his hands away with a sigh and a sad shake of his head as he pulled his phone back out of his pocket. “I really expected better,” Sebastian mumbled absently as he began texting while Trevor tried to figure out what just happened when his phone rang.

Frowning, Trevor pulled his phone out and-

Oh, hell…

To be continued…

An Excerpt from Unstoppable

The Next Pyte/Sentinel Novel

Release Date to Be Announced

She didn’t like him.

Not. At. All, Ashley decided as she found herself taking in the man glaring at her. Then again, the feeling seemed to be mutual, Ashley noted as she watched green eyes darker than hers narrow on her as they turned silver. The only question was, why did he hate her? For a moment, she wondered if he knew, but…

He would have already turned her over if he did, right?

God, she hated not knowing what was going on and how they’d found her. She’d considered asking Jacob over the past week, but she’d been too afraid to say something that would give her away.

“You’re not going to escape,” Kale said with a dismissive shake of his head, making her frown.

“And why’s that?” Ashley asked, already knowing that she’d be an idiot to try to escape.

Right now, no one knew where she was and since that worked for her, she was going to stay right where she was. At least, until they gave her a reason to leave and considering what was waiting for her out there, she didn’t think being an asshole was enough to make her do something incredibly stupid.

“Besides the fact that you would have already tried?” Kale drawled before saying, “Because you’re afraid.”

“I want answers,” she said, knowing better than to admit that she was terrified and give him something that he could use against her.

She’d learned that lesson pretty early in life thanks to her mother’s Pack.

“Then why didn’t you ask Jacob?” Kale asked, sounding bored as he considered her.

“Because he’s not the one that was hired to kidnap me,” Ashley pointed out even as she told herself that she needed to suck it up and get the hell out of here before it was too late, but…

She couldn’t stomach the idea of hurting someone.

“True,” he murmured, sounding thoughtful before adding, “but then again, since you have no idea what Jacob knows, you would have at least tried to get information from him.”

“And waste my time?” Ashley said, pursing her lips up as she made a show of thinking it over.

“You have nothing but time,” Kale said, sighing heavily as he pushed away from the wall.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Ashley asked, unable to help but frown as she watched him make his way toward her.

“Exactly what it sounds like,” he murmured absently as he raised his wrist to his mouth.

“You’re planning on keeping me here forever,” Ashley said hollowly as she watched his fangs slide down seconds before he bit into his wrist.

“Until I come up with a better plan,” Kale said, gesturing with his other hand for her to get on the bed as the tantalizing scent that she’d been trying to ignore suddenly permeated the air, making her lick her lips as she struggled to look away from the blood dripping down his forearm.

“You can’t keep me here and we both know it,” Ashley mumbled weakly even though she already knew that she might not have a choice.

Not if she wanted to live.

“I really can though,” Kale said, coming closer.

“I can walk through that door anytime I want and we both know that you won’t be able to stop me,” she rushed to remind him as she stumbled back only to hit the bed with the back of her legs.

“Then leave,” Kale said, shrugging it off like it was no big deal.

“You’re not going to try to stop me?” Ashley asked, frowning in confusion as she glanced at her bedroom door before looking back at him.

“I won’t have to,” Kale said, not really sounding all that concerned for someone who’d been hired to kidnap her.

“And why’s that?” Ashley asked, licking her lips nervously as she watched him move closer again.

“Because we both know that you won’t risk finding out exactly how dangerous you really are.”

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