Page 15 of Bandit's Bounty

"I don't want to talk about it," Raine snaps. “Can we just go home please?"

"You're not going anywhere," Dane snarls, his upper lip curling before he masks it so nobody else notices. The only reason I saw it was because I’m paying close attention to his actions and words where it comes to my baby sister.

"My sister wants to go home, then I'll take her home," I declare, my wolf rising to the surface daring anyone to argue with me. This fucker is already on my bad side for what he put my old lady through; there’s no fucking way he’s going to dictate what my sister can and can’t do.

Dane moves, getting between my sister and me. "You aren't taking my mate anywhere."

"Your mate," I snarl. "You keep saying that, but just this afternoon, didn't I hear two of your club’s doxies," I spit out, my tone now menacing, "talking about the fuckin' you'd given them just this morning?"

"That's enough," Sloane states, touching my arm. Normally, a simple touch from her calms me, but not this time since I’m too keyed up. There’s no fucking way I want Raine to experienceanything like what Sloane did, especially not from a male who spreads himself around so frequently. She looks at Dane. "Remember what I said earlier when you apologized. Don't hurt your mate before you actually get to know her. She wants to go home, so you need to let her."

I step back from Dane even though the urge to pound his face in until it’s unrecognizable is still riding me hard. Sloane looks at Raine before she starts talking again.

"Let's get you home where you want to be right now. Later, when you're feeling better you can talk about what happened," Sloane says, her arms going around Raine’s waist. "Come on. Bandit rode his bike, but I'm sure one of these Neanderthals can lend us a car to get you home."

"My car . . ." Raine starts to say before she’s interrupted.

"Don't worry about it right now," Sloane remarks and guides my sister from the room.

Chapter Nine

Sloane

As we move down the hallway, we run into Karsyn who looks directly at Raine and says, "I'm so sorry to meet you under these circumstances. I'm Karsyn. These two sweethearts are mine and Corbin's children. This little guy here," she states as she nods to the baby, "is Asher." Then she jerks her head down to the little girl. "And this is Sage."

"Nice to meet you," Raine mutters, briefly taking Karsyn’s hand in hers. "Sorry to be short. I just want to get home and go to sleep."

Karsyn nods and smiles softly at Raine before she replies, "As you should. But please know that everything you go through in life, it happens for a reason. It makes you stronger. More resilient. Just remember to never shield yourself from the love and hope that you deserve." She leans in and whispers something that most probably wouldn’t hear but I’ve now got shifter hearing so have to hold in my gasp when I hear her tell Raine, "Don't let what he did to you blind you from the life youhave ahead of you.” Raine does, however, and she gasps out loud then pulls away slightly as Karsyn adds, “I won't speak a word. It'll be our little secret until you're ready to share."

I manage to steer Raine away, my mind racing at what Karsyn could’ve possibly meant. I spot one of Bandit’s brothers already at one of the vehicles holding open a door while Dane looks on abrasively. I don’t fully understand all that’s happened between the two of them today, but I realize rather quickly that if Dane is in fact Raine’s mate, I’m going to have to wholly make peace with what he did to me.

Raine climbs into the backseat and settles in, sighing. Once I’m sure she’s good, I lean in and promise her, "It's all going to be okay."

As we leave, she asks, "What did you mean by what you said to Dane earlier?"

"He came up to me recently, at the last barbecue, and asked to speak with me. He wanted to apologize, though I'm not sure if he actually meant it, regardless, he followed through and said he was sorry. I figured I'd give him the benefit of the doubt," I reply, shrugging. "Anyway, I told him that if he ever found the one for him that I hoped he never treated her the way he did me. With you being his mate, I wholeheartedly hope he's not going to go back on his word."

"Well, you have nothing to worry about when it comes to him and me being anything,” she spits out. “I'm not going there, no matter what he seems to think we are," Raine retorts.

I glance at her and convey, “If it’s because he and I dated, you know that’s in the past, right? I’m mated to your brother and I’mperfectly happy. Besides, if Dane’s your fated mate, you won’t be able to resist, even if you’re human, Raine. Trust me on this.”

A secret grin plays around my lips when I think about how direct Bandit was with me. He could’ve paid for Dane’s mistakes, but thankfully, my therapy enabled me to heal that standoffish part of me.

She says something that I can’t hear despite my newly enhanced hearing then shuts down, leaving me to my own thoughts.

Despite Bandit’s protests, I took Raine back to her parents’ house and have been puttering while Bandit postures and grumbles. A lot. His expression is one of murderous rage and has been like that ever since leaving the Spiked Raiders’ clubhouse.

"You okay?" Bandit asks his sister.

"I'll be fine," she replies while climbing into her bed being cautious of her injuries. "You can go home now. I'm just going to lay here and go to sleep."

"I'm not leaving you here alone," Bandit grumbles, his face twisted in confusion of why she’d begin to contemplate him leaving her side. "Mom and Dad are on the way back, they’ll meet us here instead of at the clubhouse, but they won't be here until morning."

"Bandit, I'm fine. I don't want to talk. I just want to sleep." Raine turns so her back is now facing both of us and I see my mate clench his hands into fists, frustration now evident on his face.He shifts away from the door and sits on the edge of Raine’s bed, his hand patting her hip.

"Look, Raine, I know you don't want to talk about it, but you're gonna have to. I need to know who did this to you. I can't let them get away with this shit. I'll give you the night. You need rest. Tomorrow we'll talk. We also gotta talk about Dane . . ." Bandit starts, his face looking like he’s been sucking on a lemon when he mentions her mate’s name.

Raine’s response is immediate and snappish as she interrupts him before he can finish making a checklist of things he feels they need to discuss. "We're not talking about him."

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