A Place to Call Home (Hollow Crest Wolf Pack Book 3) Read online

  "He didn't have an alarm system or anything?" Wyatt asked with a frown.

  "We disabled it," Kannon informed him.

  "You broke into his house, probably used something illegal to get around the alarm, stole data off his computer, and now have a host of videos that would bring the FBI down on us if they found them?" Wyatt summarized.

  "Uh, yeah," I admitted sheepishly. "When you say it that way, it makes it sound bad."

  Wyatt ran a hand through his hair. "Gray's going to be here soon, but let's see what you have so far."

  "I'm going to take Lori into the other room," Corey said quietly. "You can update me later."

  Wyatt gave his brother a nod, but he watched us leave with worried eyes.

  Corey tugged me into the bedroom and shut the door behind us.

  "Before you scold me," Corey said with a wry smile. "I pulled you away for both of us, not just you."

  I let out a breath. "I would be upset if you guys thought you were going to handle this without me," I admitted. "But I really need a break to clear my mind. There's only so much…" my voice trailed off without finishing my thought, but Corey seemed to understand.

  "Yeah," he agreed as he plopped down on the bed. "Hearing about it is one thing, but it's completely different to see it with your own eyes."

  Corey patted the bed next to him, and I only hesitated for a second before joining him. We laid down facing each other, our bodies only inches apart.

  "I've shared some things with you that I haven't even told my brother," Corey said quietly. "You're the only one who knows what really happened with Jayna."

  I grabbed ahold of his hand when I saw the pain in his eyes. "I trust you, too," I told him.

  "Not with everything," Corey said as he brushed a curl out of my face.

  "I just worry-" I hesitated before finishing my sentence.

  "You're worried that I'll lose control," Corey finished for me. "I'm working on it, Lori," he promised. "I want you to be able to trust me with all of your thoughts and concerns; I don't want you to hold anything back from me."

  I smiled at him. "And I want to keep you safe and out of jail."

  Corey huffed, but his eyes were amused. "For you, I'll do my best."

  I laughed, but my heart was still heavy. "What's going to happen to us?" I asked sadly. There was so much going on right now that I could barely keep track of it all.

  "We're going to take down Reaven for good," Corey told me. "Then we'll deal with the next part of this shit show we call life."

  Corey and I shared a smile, and I cuddled closer to him. Corey pressed a kiss against my forehead, then the tip of my nose. "Do you know that you've become the center of my world?" he asked in a low voice. "Whenever I'm struggling with something, I think of you. I look forward to our quiet moments together, I love to hear you laugh, and you're always in my dreams."

  "Good dreams?" I asked shyly.

  "Of course," he murmured.

  We stared into each other's eyes, and I was the first to move towards him. I pressed my lips to his. Our kiss was soft at first, but he felt so good that I couldn’t resist going further.

  Corey responded by kissing me until he took my breath away. He cupped my face and then pressed his forehead to mine, both of us breathing hard.

  “I need you,” Corey uttered in a raw voice. His eyes were closed as he spoke, but I could feel the vulnerability in his words. He was exposing himself to me, trusting me as he bared his soul.

  “I love you,” I told him wholeheartedly.

  Corey opened the bond between us and let me see inside of him. Feeling the depth and ferocity of his love for me meant more than words ever could. There was nothing in the English language that could express the intensity of the emotion between us.

  His lips met mine, and our kiss was anything but soft. It was hard and desperate like we were on the edge of a cliff and clinging to our last moments. “Tell me to stop,” Corey growled.

  “No,” I murmured back before taking his bottom lip in my teeth.

  Corey chuckled, and his eyes lit with a fire I hadn’t seen before. He picked me up by the hips, so he was laying back on the bed, and I was straddling him. I could feel his hardness beneath me, and I rubbed against him, soliciting a groan from him. “You’re so perfect,” he murmured as he skimmed his hands over my body. “Touching you feels wrong, but so right. I don’t want to keep my hands off you.”

  “Then don’t,” I said defiantly as I moved his hands to cup my breasts. “There’s nothing wrong with what we’re about to do. I want you just as much as you want me.”

  Corey licked his lips, and his eyes darkened. “Take your shirt off.”

  I smiled and sat back to lift my shirt over my head. His eyes devoured the sight of my lacy bra with the hunger of a starving man. Without hesitation, I undid the clasps of my bra and let it fall.

  Corey sat up and took one nipple in his hot mouth as he cupped my other breast. I writhed against him, working my hips to rub against his erection. He flipped us over so that he was hovering over me and kissed down my belly until he got to the button of my jeans. “Do you want to stop?”

  “No,” I said breathlessly.

  Corey peeled off my pants and panties and continued to kiss a trail down my body. I gasped when he reached my most sensitive parts. All thoughts left my mind as he used his tongue to drive me to new heights of pleasure. Just when I thought I couldn’t take it anymore, he pulled back. He quickly stripped out of his clothes and slipped on a condom.

  I opened my legs further as he kneeled between them. “Corey,” I breathed out.

  He placed a soft kiss on my lips before sliding slowly inside of me. I groaned as he started moving slowly inside of me, testing my response.

  “You’re everything to me,” Corey admitted, his eyes shining with emotion.

  Our movements quickened, and I wrapped my legs around him, encouraging him to go harder. Our bond was completely open, and I lost myself in the sensations. My orgasm hit hard, making my body clench as waves of pleasure went through me. His intensity increased, and I felt his release when he let out a guttural moan.

  We collapsed next to each other, our breaths coming fast. “It might have felt like the wrong time to you,” I whispered. “But I needed to feel that. I needed you to erase the bad with something beautiful.”

  Corey leaned on his side, and his eyes searched mine. “I think I understand.”

  I smiled and gave him a quick kiss. “Let’s clean up so we can snuggle. I need that, too.”

  Corey laughed but did as I asked. Only a short time later, we were curled up beside each other, our breathing even and slow. The world could be a dark and ugly place, but with Corey and the others by my side, there would always be a light to shine through the darkness.

  Chapter 20

  Kannon

  I yawned and tried to keep my eyes open. The videos that were disguised as old security footage had been a gateway into the darker side of Roger Reaven’s activities. I had traced the source of a couple of videos he obtained from other men, and it had led me to an alarming section of the dark web. I had no idea that a man like him would even know that such a thing existed, let alone have the technical skill to find it.

  Corey, Grayson, Wyatt, and I had a pack meeting with Lori yesterday, and she had pushed for us to go to the police. Grayson and Wyatt had wanted us to get to safety first, then worry about putting him behind bars. Corey had watched Lori with stormy grey eyes and then announced he was on her side. That left me with the deciding vote.

  “We don’t need to go to the police,” Wyatt growled. “We can take care of Reaven ourselves.”

  Lori sighed and leaned her chin on her hand. “That might get rid of the problem for now. But what about all of the other girls that need closure? They deserve to see him put behind bars so that they know they’re safe. Plus, the police can take down the whole network of men he was trading videos with. We could affect the lives of a lot of other kids positively.”r />
  This was the sweet but feisty wolf I’d fallen in love with. A lesser wolf would have wanted to sink her teeth into his throat, but Lori was more concerned about the other victims than she was with getting revenge for herself. Pride filled me as I reached for her hand, and she gave me a warm smile.

  “I don’t think you realize what coming forward might do,” Wyatt cautioned her. “You think the townspeople hate us now, but a lot of high-profile sexual assault cases result in the public blaming the victim.”

  Lori tossed her hair defiantly. “I know,” she told him. “That’s why he’s gotten away with this for so long; everyone is afraid to come forward. No one thinks they’ll be believed. Not against ‘a pillar of the community’ like Mr. Reaven.”

  “We’ll stand with you,” Grayson assured her as he leaned forward to look into her eyes. “And we’ll protect you against anyone who thinks they can come after you.”

  “I know,” she said softly.

  My eyes were glazed over as I stared at my computer screen as I thought. Suddenly, unexpected code flashed before my eyes, and I was startled out of my reminiscing. I blinked as if that would fix the nightmare that was unfurling before my eyes. Not only had someone caught onto my less than legal activities, but they were also trying to get into my system. I quickly backed out of what I was doing, patched up the hole in security, and shut down my computer.

  My hands shook as I realized how close I had come to being unmasked. I rubbed my hands over my face and glanced over to where Lori had fallen asleep on the couch across from me. She was curled up on her side and breathing softly. Her face was soft, and she looked so vulnerable that it made my heart ache.

  I got to my feet and paced in front of the door, wondering if someone was going to burst through at any moment. Whomever it was that had detected my presence in the server I had hacked into was good. They were quick, and I hadn’t even realized I was at risk until I was already exposed.

  I cursed myself for being arrogant enough to think no one could catch me. Being overtired had made me sloppy and put all of us at risk. Lori flinched in her sleep. I sat on the arm of the couch and smoothed my hand over her hair. She settled with a deep sigh as soon as she felt my touch.

  The door to Grayson’s room opened, and he stepped out, unsurprised to see Lori and me still in the living room. “What is it?” he asked. “I could feel your panic from the other room.”

  I rolled my shoulders back. I was a little annoyed that Grayson had picked up on my anxiety, but also relieved to have him here to help me figure out a solution.

  “I was researching one of the other packs as we had discussed,” I said slowly. “But someone caught on to my presence in their servers.”

  Grayson cursed. “This isn’t the way to make a good impression on another pack.”

  I shrugged. “The good news is that they’ll probably assume it’s the lamia who would be combing through their stuff.” I tried to sound hopeful, but it came out flat.

  Grayson glanced down at Lori. “I’m going to put her to bed, but then we need to talk.”

  Lori stirred a little when he scooped her up into his arms, but he murmured into her ear, and she relaxed right back into sleep. I combed a hand through my hair as Grayson disappeared into our room and tried to focus. I had shut down the connection quickly, but whoever had caught me might also be able to trace it back to me. I had safeguards around my firewalls, and my signal was routed through multiple points around the globe, but someone good would be able to hack their way through everything.

  Grayson came back into the living room and sat across from me. “We can’t discuss any of this out loud,” he told me with the pack bond. “I need to catch up with the game,” he said pointedly as he turned the television on and found ESPN.

  “Yeah,” I murmured as I stared blankly at the television. “Me too.”

  “Pierce told us that we need to get Lori out of here as soon as possible,” Grayson told me.

  My head snapped to him in shock. “Do you think we can trust him?”

  “No,” Grayson answered simply. “But I want Lori out of here, and we’re going to send you with her.”

  I raised my eyebrows at him. “The plan was for all of us to leave.”

  Grayson avoided looking at me and pointed to the television. “That was a good shot.”

  “Gray?” I prodded. “We’re all leaving together, right?”

  “Not right away,” he confessed.

  I clenched my jaw. We both knew that if we didn’t all leave together, then those left behind would be killed. That wasn’t an option. “Lori will never agree to that,” I said flatly.

  Grayson rubbed his hand across his face. “They’re watching us too closely,” he said in frustration. “At least one of us has to remain on the premises at all times, and we’re running out of time.”

  “Lori wants to go to the police tomorrow,” I said to change the subject. “She’s determined to see Reaven brought to justice.”

  “She may be disappointed,” Grayson said softly. “She has a big heart, and she thinks that she’s doing the right thing, but she’s naïve about how the world works. Guilty men don’t always get convicted, and justice isn’t always the purpose of the court system.”

  “You think more than just the sheriff is corrupt?” I asked. It wouldn’t shock me, but I thought that getting the state police involved would keep things legit.

  “The sheriff is the face of corruption here in this small town,” Grayson told me. “But it’s everywhere in our world. Some places just hide it better than others.”

  I frowned. “You think he’ll get off?”

  “I don’t think it’ll ever go to trial,” Grayson explained. “Reaven will plead guilty to something very minor in return for rolling over on the network of other men involved. He’ll go free and somehow turn the narrative around to make himself look like a victim.”

  I sighed. “Why is the world so fucked up?”

  Grayson grunted, but he didn’t have to answer. I wasn’t a stranger to the ugly side of life, and I’d seen a lot of it in my eighteen years. Our lives might look like a shit show right now, but things could get worse – and they probably would.

  Chapter 21

  Lori

  I waited anxiously in a dimly lit interview room. A police officer had left me in here after I had requested to speak with Sergeant Gonzalez, and it seemed like it was taking an eternity to find him. The guys hadn’t liked the idea of me coming in here alone, but I didn’t want the police to think anyone else was influencing my testimony. There must have been soundproofing that blocked the sounds of the police department because it was unusually quiet in here.

  I had decided to approach the state police instead of the sheriff for obvious reasons, but I wanted to speak with someone who was at least a little familiar to me. Sergeant Gonzalez had been polite and professional when questioning me about Corey, so I was hoping he would listen to my story before passing judgment on what I had to say.

  Time crawled as I tapped my foot and stared at the blank wall. When the door opened, I jumped in surprise.

  “Lori,” Sergeant Gonzalez said with a smile. “Thank you for coming in today. I understand there was something you wanted to speak to me about concerning Corey’s case?”

  I blinked. “His case? I thought he was cleared of wrong-doing?”

  Sergeant Gonzalez frowned. “He was released once we were finished questioning him, but he’s still a person of interest.”

  “I didn’t know that,” I said softly. I thought back to what Dr. Green had promised. He had told us Pierce would get Corey ‘released,’ but he hadn’t promised the case would be dropped. I felt a flash of anger as I realized the lamia had manipulated us once again.

  “Did you have information for me?” Sergeant Gonzalez prodded.

  “Yes,” I said as I sat up a little taller. “This is very difficult for me to talk about.”

  Sergeant Gonzalez opened his notebook. “I understand, Lori. T
ake your time,” he said kindly.

  “I was assaulted several times,” I blurted out. Sergeant Gonzalez was momentarily surprised but smoothed his features into professional curiosity.

  “By Corey?” he asked. “I’ve heard that he’s had anger outbursts.”

  I shook my head. “No, by…another member of the community.” I hesitated to name Mr. Reaven in the beginning, because I was worried that Sergeant Gonzalez would brush me off once he realized I who I was accusing.

  “The first time was in August,” I said as I pressed forward.

  “Why wait to report it?” Sergeant Gonzalez asked as he set down his pen.

  “I didn’t think anyone would believe me,” I said defensively.

  Sergeant Gonzalez raised an eyebrow. “Why not?”

  “Because he has a good reputation in town,” I tried to explain. “And I don’t.”

  “Hmmm,” Sergeant Gonzalez said as he leaned back in his chair. “What’s changed since then?”

  I slid the cheap thumb drive that Kannon had loaded the video of me being assaulted by Mr. Reaven. “I was given video proof of what happened, and I felt it was safe to come in along with that.”

  “Where did you get the video?” Sergeant Gonzalez asked with sharp eyes.

  “A friend,” I said vaguely. “It shows the entire assault that day, but he also tried the night of the pep rally at my school.” I bit my lip and stopped from saying anything further. Pierce had wiped the memories of the townspeople who had witnessed Corey attacking Mr. Reaven for what he had done, so there were no witnesses. Even if they were, it was more likely that Corey would get in trouble for his role.

  “Any evidence that we collect for a case has to be obtained legally and with a clear chain of custody,” Sergeant Gonzalez told me. “I need the name of the person that gave you that video.”

  I bit my lip. “I can’t tell you that.”

  Sergeant Gonzalez sighed. “Where was the video taken?”

  “In the storeroom at work,” I explained. “Mr. Reaven had called me in there-”