When Worlds Collide Ch 02

Wow! Again! I can't believe how many comments I got on the first chapter of this story. I didn't know the Weres were that popular LOL! You guys caught me off guard there. I tried to answer everyone I could but if I missed someone out, I'm sorry! It was kind of hectic! Hope you all enjoy this chapter as much as the first *** WorldHistoryBuff, my thanks again for editing for me!

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Matt Reed sat in the black SUV and watched the couple on the corner talking. It was most definitely the mark standing with the big blond man. He quickly pulled her photograph out the glove compartment just to double check but he was sure it was her. He turned to the man at his side.

"Call the boss, Jon," he ordered. "Give him an update."

His partner Jon Lester pulled out his cell phone and dialled Graves. "She's been spotted, boss," he said quietly. "She's currently with a big blond man standing just outside the lawyer's apartment."

Graves cursed loudly down the phone and he had to hold it away from his ear for a moment. "Yeah, boss, understood." He terminated the call.

"He's pissed she's with another man," he told Matt. "Said we're to take the bastard out at the first available opportunity."

Reed watched the girl go inside and the man turn and look directly at the SUV. "Looks like that will be sooner rather than later," he answered tersely picking up his weapon from the dashboard. "I'll do it. You hang back just in case he gets the jump on me."

He stepped out of the SUV his gun hidden in the waistband of his jeans. He watched the other man approach with a slight smile curving his lips. He seemed totally unconcerned, even slightly cocky.

"Don't you know it's not very nice to scare ladies?" he smiled as he approached. "It's one of my pet peeves. One of the few things that really piss me off."

"You just made a very bad mistake, asshole," Reed countered with his own smile. "The lady is spoken for and her boyfriend is not pleased to hear you're sniffing around."

Aaron resisted the temptation to shift and rip the man's head off. There was more chance of finding out what was really going on if he let the dickhead in front of him feel like he had the upper hand. He stopped when he was a few feet away from him and grinned. "Seems your employer is mistaken when it comes to his girlfriend," he remarked coolly. "As far as the lady is concerned she's a free agent."

Reed couldn't believe the stupidity of the man in front of him. He thought it was only woman who were supposed to earn the title of 'dumb blond'. Obviously he was very much mistaken. "You dumb asshole," he laughed. "You have no idea whose woman you're fucking with, do you? You surely can't know otherwise you would never have started sniffing around her in the first place."

"Why don't you enlighten me then and I'll see if I give a shit?" Aaron retorted, his eyes narrowing dangerously. He couldn't see in the SUV but there had to be at least one more person inside. The man in front of him was too relaxed to not have any backup.

Reed opened his mouth to respond and then closed it. It probably wouldn't matter if he did tell him Graves' name but he hadn't gotten to be so good at his job by being careless. In the exceedingly unlikely event he and Lester came off badly in this encounter he didn't want to point an arrow straight to his boss. He doubted Lacey would willingly give up the name either. Graves had her well beaten into submission.

Aaron sighed in disappointment and shot the man a brief smile. "I had hoped you'd tell me more," he said quietly. "Obviously you're not going to so I'll have to get it out of your partner instead." He let his wolf rise up enough to give him the extra speed and manoeuvrability he wanted without having to shift. There were too many residential properties in the area to risk someone observing a full shift.

He watched the man tense further and then pull out a large gun,and his smile broadened at the certainty he sensed rolling off him. "You think that gives you the upper hand?" he laughed softly.

Reed was slightly perplexed by the complete lack of fear in the man before him. It made his eyes narrow as he tried to evaluate why the big blond wasn't cowering in fear at the sight of a gun. Was he truly just dumb or did he have some ace up his sleeve? He nodded imperceptively at the SUV and saw the man's eyes narrow slightly as if he had caught the movement.

A loud shot rang out but Aaron was already moving, rolling to his right and coming up behind the first man before he could react. His arms circled the man's neck and he jerked hard, snapping his neck in one quick movement and using his body as a shield when the second man dived out of the SUV firing wildly in his direction.

Two of the bullets passed through the body in front of him and entered his chest cavity and he hissed at the sudden pain though he kept his feet. He threw the body towards his second assailant and dived behind the protection of the SUV. A quick perusal told him one of the bullets had gone deep and was close to his left lung. He was bleeding quite badly already and would most probably pass out soon. He hoped Lacey had called Rafe like he'd told her to.

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Rafe was moving even as he spoke to Lacey on the phone, her address clutched in his hand as he hurried out his office down to the main floor of the club. He was almost through the private door when the sound of the first shot rang over the phone.

"Lacey!" he screamed hoarsely, a feeling of such fear and dread rushing through him, it almost brought him to his knees.

"It's not me," she shouted quickly as she hurried over to the window to look outside. "It's Aaron! Someone's shooting at Aaron. Oh God, I think he's been hit, Rafe!"

"Get the fuck away from the window, Lacey," Rafe ordered tersely his heart hammering as he pushed through the door into the nightclub proper. He nodded quickly to Ben behind the bar and held up three fingers and then two as he hurried outside. "Stay down somewhere safe," he said slightly more calmly into the phone. "We're on our way now."

He jumped into his Jeep just as Ben, Michael and Peter hurried out to join him. "Here's the address," he barked tossing the paper in his hand at Ben. "Ben, you're my backup. Mike, Pete, you two find a safe place to shift and stay in the background in case we need you."

The Jeep shot off as he finished giving his orders. Ben jumped into the Volvo which had been behind Rafe's Jeep and followed him almost instantaneously. Michael and Peter took the second Jeep behind that and followed too, though as instructed they were scouting for a secluded area to pull over and shift.

It took less than three minutes for Rafe to get to Heriot Row. He screeched the Jeep to a halt, his keen gaze taking in Aaron's sluggish movements as he crouched behind the SUV, using it as a shield against his attacker. He let his wolf drift forward and jumped quickly from the Jeep. Ben was just a fraction behind him.

The human man automatically spun in their direction as they swiftly approached, his gun aiming at them. He seemed unsure as to who to shoot first and they used that to their advantage, darting in different directions and making his decision more difficult for him. Rafe noticed Aaron collapse to the ground onto his back and heard his friend's groan of pain. The attacker fired at him in that moment of distraction, but he moved instinctively and the bullet passed him by mere centimetres before it buried itself into the tree behind where his head had been a fraction of a second before.

Ben struck the moment the man decided who to fire at. He agilely jumped and landed behind the surprised human who was trying to turn to face him. A quick snap of his neck and the street turned silent for a brief moment before Aaron groaned low in his throat, bringing Rafe and Ben running to his side.

"Fuck, it's bad, Rafe," Ben said quietly staring at the bloody wounds in their friend's chest.

"Too used to hanging around big bastards," Aaron groaned with a tortured laugh. "Didn't stop to think the bullets would go through that skinny human and right into me." He coughed loudly and spat up some blood.

Rafe frowned deeply as Peter and Michael ran up. He didn't know if they had actually shifted or not because they were back in their human forms. "Get Aaron to the compound," he said tersely, his voice full of worry for his friend. "Call ahead so the doc's ready for him and let Jared know what's happened."

"What the fuck has just happened?" Peter asked his expression confused as his agitation roiled off his stocky body in waves. Rafe stared at him for a moment and then realised they had no idea what was going on.

"Fine, I'll call Jared," he barked. "Be careful when you lift Aaron. I think the bullet's nicked his lung. Don't do any further damage!"

"Is he going to be okay?" Lacey asked shakily and Rafe's head snapped around to see the tall blonde standing a few feet away. His first feeling was relief that she was okay, his second was anger.

"I told you to stay inside," he ground out. He could see how shaken she was. Her eyes were round with shock as she nervously took in the sight of the dead bodies in the road and Aaron being carefully picked up by Peter and Michael.

"I only wanted to see if Aaron was okay," she answered quietly and Rafe could see how hard it was for her to try and keep herself together. He sighed deeply and pushed his anger down.

"He's going to be fine, Lacey," he said with more confidence than he actually felt. He turned to Ben. "Clean this mess up and then take care of the club. I'm going back to the compound."

Ben nodded as Rafe gently took Lacey's arm to pull her away from the blood and death and headed over to her apartment.

"You should have stayed inside until I came to get you," he said with more gentleness this time. "There could have been more of them out there. You could have been hurt."

"Like Aaron was?" she said tiredly running her hands wearily over her face as they entered the apartment and she sank slowly down onto the armchair just inside the front door. "He should have listened to me," she groaned softly.

Rafe didn't entirely disagree with her but he wasn't surprised by Aaron's actions. He had tasked him to keep Lacey safe and he had acted accordingly even if it was a bit reckless not to wait for backup to arrive. Aaron had done as he'd asked and now his life hung in the balance. Rafe couldn't shake the huge weight of guilt which settled over him. This was why he never wanted to be an Alpha. He didn't want this level of responsibility for other people's lives.

He moved further into the room closing the door behind him. A quick perusal showed the basement apartment was quite small. The main door opened into the sitting room and he could see a smallish kitchen through one door and a short hallway through another which probably led to the bedrooms.

He hovered close to the chair Lacey was sitting in, his eyes scanning quickly out the window as he watched Ben dump the two dead bodies back into the SUV and then head over to the Volvo and drive off.

"Can you move further into the room please," he said quietly and listened as she rose away from the window and moved to sit on the sofa closer to the kitchen. He relaxed slightly but never stopped looking out the window.

"Why was Aaron shot, Lacey?" he asked softly. "Who are you running from?"

Lacey stared at Rafe's back. The apartment suddenly seemed so much smaller with his huge presence in it. He made her feel incredibly nervous but she also felt safer having him close by. "You shouldn't get involved," she answered with a bit more strength in her tone as her fear decreased. "I told Aaron the same. This is nothing to do with you, Rafe."

Rafe stiffened at her words and let out a slow breath. He turned his head slightly to look at her from the corner of his eye before he turned back to the window. "This has everything to do with me," he answered quietly. "No one will ever hurt you again, Lacey. Not as long as I live."

She swallowed hard at the total certainty in his voice. She could hear the power and determination in his voice and she felt her panic start to rise again. His tone was so like the one Richard used with her when he was determined to make her do things his way.

The acrid scent of fear assaulted Rafe's nostrils and he had to fight down a burst of anger. "I'm not him, Lacey," he said quietly, dearly wanting to know who he was so he could go and kill him. "I would never do anything to hurt you. I only want to make sure you're safe, which it's clearly evident you're not here. I want you to come back to the compound with me so we can protect you."

"You just expect me to get up and go to some compound with you?" she asked incredulously. "I don't even know you, Rafe. You're just some guy I met in a club less than an hour ago. Why in God's name should I trust you?"

He finally turned from the window to look at her. Her blonde hair had fallen over her shoulders and there was a spark of strength in her stunning eyes. He almost smiled as he watched her back stiffen under his gaze. She was such a contradiction. One moment she was almost ready to pass out from her fear and the next she was finding her inner strength from somewhere. She was a fighter and right now she was ready to fight him.

"You're in danger here," he finally said. "Let me take you somewhere safe until this mess can be sorted out. You really do have nothing to fear from me, Lacey." He tried to inject as much sincerity into his voice as he could. He wanted her to trust him. Hell, he needed her to trust him.

Her response was cut off by the front door opening and Rafe cursing as he spun around quickly and caught the intruder in a tight headlock. He heard a woman scream and then Lacey was running towards him.

"Rafe, it's okay," she cried anxiously. "It's Jennifer, my friend. This is her flat."

Rafe released the woman immediately and pushed her towards Lacey as he slammed the door shut quickly, locking it. He cursed himself for not doing so earlier. Anyone could have just walked in.

"What the fuck? Lacey?" Jennifer Swift said slightly shakily, her hand rubbing her throat lightly as she stepped back from the huge man at the front door.

Rafe turned to look at the new woman in the apartment and quickly appraised her. She was about five feet four inches in height and had a curvy build. She was dressed in a business suit and her black hair was piled on top of her head in some weird bun style women in the business world seemed to favour. Her eyes were green like Lacey's yet hers were a deeper shade, almost teal. She was obviously frightened from her scent but she was masking it quite well and looked ready to jump to her friend's defence in an instant. That fact alone made him smile and instantly warm to the woman.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you," he said sincerely. "There's been a bit of an issue tonight and I thought you were part of it."

Jen turned instantly to Lacey, her eyes going wide. "He's found you?" she gasped.

Lacey nodded and flicked her gaze between Jen and Rafe. She didn't think her friend would say too much, not knowing exactly who Rafe was, but she was hoping to somehow manage to convey to her that she wanted her to keep quiet.

Rafe watched Lacey carefully and his smile broadened. Strength in numbers. She obviously felt so much safer with her friend being present. "Perhaps you would enlighten me as to who 'he' is?" he asked the dark haired woman. "Lacey is being stubbornly tight lipped about it."

Jen squared her shoulders as she turned to look at the huge man. "I don't know who you are, Mister, so I'm not likely to be telling you anything," she said somewhat more bravely than she felt.

Rafe's lips twitched again and he shook his head with a weary sigh. He was really getting nowhere with either of these two women. "Let's just say I'm a friend and I want to help Lacey," he said quietly. "My name's Rafe Hanlon and I run Wicked, the nightclub, which is where I met Lacey tonight. I had a friend escort her home because she seemed frightened of something and two men were waiting outside the apartment for her. If Aaron hadn't intervened who knows what would have happened."

Jen paled and rubbed at her stomach as she moved to sit on the sofa.

Lacey stared impassively at Rafe for a long moment and then moved to sit next to her friend. She had initially decided not to leave with Rafe but now seeing how shocked and frightened Jen was she was quickly re-thinking that decision. Richard's threat to hurt Jen came back to her, and she was suddenly terrified for her friend. He most probably knew Jen had hidden her away from him by now, and she was certain he would come after her.

"Jen, Rafe wants me to go somewhere safe with him, to some compound or something. I wasn't going to go, but if he knows I'm here now and you helped me, you know he'll do something terrible, not just to me but to you too. I'm going to go with Rafe and I think you should come too."

Jen gaped at her friend in shock. "I can't just vanish, Lace. I've got a job and clients I need to help." She looked at the man Rafe and then back at her friend. "How do you even know who this man is? How do you know he hasn't been sent by 'him'?"

"Because I saw his friend get shot trying to protect me," Lacey answered in a hushed voice. "And I recognised the two men who were watching the apartment. It's not safe to stay here anymore, Jen."

"I'm afraid I have to agree with Lacey," Rafe said thoughtfully. "It's not safe for either of you here anymore. I suggest you go and pack a bag of essentials while I bring the Jeep closer to the apartment. Best be quick about it because I want to get out of here before anyone comes to see why those men haven't reported back in. Lock the door behind me."

Lacey found herself automatically obeying Rafe as he slipped out the door quickly. She turned to hurry to her bedroom to pack, Jen on her heels.

"Lace, you don't even know this man Rafe," her friend said urgently. "Why are you doing what he says and why do we need to go somewhere with him? I have friends, other places we could go to if you're worried about Graves coming here."

"Just pack, Jen," Lacey answered stuffing clothes into her suitcase and grabbing at her toiletries. "Did you miss the part where I told you I watched Aaron get shot? Do you want to put any of your friends in danger of that happening to them? I don't know who Rafe and his friends are but they managed to take care of the two men Richard sent and they were two of Richard's best. We'll be safer if we go with Rafe and his friends."

She stripped off her clothes and threw on a pair of jeans and a button down sweater before tying her hair back at the nape of her neck with a hair clasp.

Jen found herself packing even though she had no idea of what was going on. She didn't understand how Lacey could follow a stranger's instructions with such readiness and was worried it was Richard's conditioning to obey an alpha male kicking in. Her friend had done just about anything Richard asked her to do because of his subtle mind control over her. It appeared this Rafe man was doing the same.

"Lacey, will you stop and explain this to me?" Jen tried again as she pulled her suitcase into the hallway. "Why do you trust this man?"

Lacey stopped and looked at her friend seeing the worry clearly on her face. She smiled sadly and stroked her friend's startled face. "Maybe it's because I know without a doubt Richard will kill you if you stay here, Jen. If protecting you means I have to trust Rafe then I'll trust him."

Rafe was pleased to see the two women had packed and were waiting for him almost impatiently. Finally the seriousness of the situation seemed to be registering with them. He had scouted the area quickly and there were no signs of any new activity near the apartment.