Forever Is Not Enough [Council Enforcers 2] (Siren Publishing Classic)

phone number of every council member and enforcer. She scanned through her list until she got to Mitch Ericson’s number and dialed before she could talk herself out of it.
    “Enforcer Ericson speaking,” the deep voice on the other line answered.
    Jacqueline paused, unsure of what to say. Did she tell this man that the former Councilman Percival was her father? Was she supposed to tell him it was drugs created by her that had put them all in the situation they were in now? Ben had told her to trust this Mitch guy, but she had a feeling not even Ben would want to save her once he found out the biggest secret she had been keeping. Not even her father knew what she had done. Now that secret was affecting Ben, and he had no idea.
    “Hello, who’s there?”
    “Oh, umm…” Jacqueline stuttered, trying to come up with something to say. “Hi, Ben told me to call you and you would come and get us..”
    “Who is this? Do you know where Ben is?”
    She had to pull the phone away from her ear as Mitch shouted his questions. Jacqueline decided to ignore his first question for the moment and focus on the second one. There would be plenty of time for her to explain who she was once she and Ben were someplace safe.
    “Ben is right here with me. We got away, but he’s hurt really bad. He’s unconscious in the back seat, but before he passed out, he told me to trust no one but you. He told me you would keep us safe.” She truly hoped that was true.
    “Tell me where you are,” Mitch demanded. “I will come get you myself.”
    Jacqueline had a feeling he was the type of guy who always got what he wanted without question. He ordered, and people followed. Normally, she would have followed his order, but for some reason, as she looked at Ben lying in the back seat, she felt very protective of him. Something she couldn’t describe, but was more powerful than her own guilt for what she’d done to him, kept her from telling Mitch where they were.
    “How do I know I’m speaking to the real Mitch Ericson? I don’t even know what you look like. How do I know the real you will even show up here?” The growl on the other end of the phone raised the hair on the back of her neck and effectively stopped her from asking any more questions.
    “Listen, lady, I don’t know who you are, nor do I care. All I care about is Ben. He is the closest thing I have to a brother. I have been searching for him for almost three months now, so if you have any clue as to where he is, I suggest you tell me now, or I will hunt you down and—”
    Mitch’s threat was cut off when Jacqueline heard him arguing with a woman in the background. She was tempted to hang up, but the thought of having to keep Ben safe on her own stopped her.
    “Okay, lady,” Mitch said, sounding irritated. “My mate says to see if you’re willing to drive here to our home. She seems to think you’ll feel safer knowing I’m allowing you into my home with my pregnant mate and cub here.”
    Jacqueline thought about it for a moment. From what she knew about shifters, they were very territorial and protective when it came to their mates and children. If Mitch was willing to let her into his home while they were there, then he must be telling the truth. “Okay. Tell me where you are, and we will come to you.”
    She pulled out a map as she listened to Mitch tell her his address. His home was just outside of Flagstaff. The particular bunker they had been staying in was located in southern Colorado. Even with the hour she had already driven—luckily in the right direction— she was still looking at a three-hour drive at least. Jacqueline looked over at Ben. He was still pale, but his breathing was normal. She had managed to get the claw marks on his side to stop bleeding, so at the moment, he wasn’t in danger of bleeding to death. He still needed medical help though, and he had made her promise to trust Mitch.
    Taking a breath, she finally answered. “Okay. We should be there in about three hours if all goes well. I will call you back if something happens.” She hung up before Mitch could respond and she broke down and begged him to come get her.
    As Jacqueline pulled out of the parking lot, she hoped she wasn’t making a mistake in trusting Ben and Mitch. She had learned at a very young age to depend only on herself. According to her father, her mother had died when she was too young to remember, and her father himself was too caught up in trying to take over the