Gina's Wolf (Daughters of the Wolf Clan Book 3)

by Maddy Barone

  Jon gave her a thin lipped smile. “We’ll leave before any action against Omaha.”

  She wanted to ask how soon an attack would take place but didn’t dare. She reached for the platter of scrambled eggs. Tanner seized her wrist.

  “Do you love him?”

  “Jealous?” she asked.

  His grip tightened so she couldn’t suppress a gasp. “No,” she lied. “I only married him because they made me. But I am married.” The pain forced a choked scream out of her. “Let me go!”

  “Indeed.” Her stepfather’s mild voice took on a sweet note that made her blood run cold. “Tanner, I believe I mentioned once before that I don’t like to have my daughter manhandled like that. Release her.”

  He did, with a sullen look. Gina put her hands in her lap. Her stepfather might protect her simply to impose his power over his allies, but Gina was glad of it. Of course, once she and the Allersens were away from the camp Todd wouldn’t be there to stop any mistreatment.

  Jon inclined his head coolly. “We certainly don’t intend to harm our wife. But since she is our wife, she is no longer your concern.”

  General Atwater raised one bushy black brow. Todd set his fork down with great care. “Georgina is my daughter whether she is your wife or not. Her mother would be unhappy to know her daughter is not treated with respect. If my wife is unhappy, I am unhappy. You do not want me to be unhappy with you.”

  Gina shot a glance at her mother. It didn’t look like she was paying any attention to the conversation, but there was a subtle slant to her head, showing she was listening. As if she cares, Gina thought sarcastically.

  Brother Saul made patting motions in the air. “No, we don’t. I’m sure my boys will treat Georgina with all the respect she deserves.” He turned his gaze on her. “Please be patient with them. They are young.”

  Gina managed a tight smile. She wanted to jump to her feet and scream that she wasn’t married to them, they were pigs, and she hated them. Instead, she reached again for the eggs. She wasn’t hungry, but she would need to keep up her strength. Jon gently pushed her hand aside and took up the spoon himself.

  “One spoonful or two?” he asked politely. “Bacon?”

  A polite monster. His courtesy was probably due to her stepfather’s implied threat. He poured her coffee and sat back to watch her eat. Gina took her time with her breakfast. Inwardly, she spun in frantic circles, trying to find a way out of this. Another pleading glance at her mother told her she would get no help there. Why couldn’t her mom be like Carla? Carla would do anything to save her kids.

  At last she could eat no more. Jon told her, still polite, to go get packed. “I need to use the necessary first,” she said. “Excuse me. I’ll be back.”

  Tanner gave her a toothy grin. “We’ll escort you. This is an army camp.”

  She ground her teeth. “I’ll be fine. No one here will hurt me. I’ll be right back.”

  “We will accompany you.” Jon stood and held her chair.

  Trapped, Gina cast another glance at her mom. There was a tiny pucker between her brows that smoothed out as soon as she saw Gina looking. “Go ahead, dear,” her mother said. “I’ll get your packing started.”

  Jon smiled stiffly. “Please set out a change of clothes for your daughter. I’m sure she would appreciate something fresh to wear.”

  Why was she going along with this? Letting herself be hauled off by these goons to be their ‘wife’? Gina opened her mouth, but her stepfather cut her off.

  “You’ll go, Georgina,” he told her. “You can go on your own two feet, with dignity, or you can go tied up like a criminal. Your choice.”

  “Gerald,” her mom said in the soft, subservient tone she reserved for her husband, “please be kind. Gina has been through a difficult time.”

  Her stepfather’s face did not change. “Walk or be carried,” he said to Gina.

  Gina seethed in silence. He would do it. Being free gave her a better chance to fight or escape. “Fine,” she ground out. She marched to the door flap, hands clenched. Jon and Tanner went with her. Outside the tent it was still dark. “What time is it?’

  “Half past five,” Jon said imperturbably. Having a wife who hated him didn’t seem to cause him any concern. “This way.”

  There were many latrine areas around the perimeter of the camp, but he led her in the opposite direction of the cage where Cole was. She almost protested. She wanted to see Cole but making a fuss would just draw more attention to him. And the latrines in this direction were on the edge of camp. Could she get away?

  No, she could not. They followed her right up to the latrine. Tanner even tried to follow her inside the cramped booth. She turned furiously on him. “There’s not room for two people in here,” she snarled. “Even if I wanted you in here, which I don’t.”

  Tanner slapped her face with casual violence. She fell against the wall, holding her cheek and gaping at him in horror. “Don’t ever use that tone with me,” he warned.

  There was blood in her mouth. She spat it at him. Tanner reacted with the expected fury. Jon grabbed his arm to hold him back. “Watch it,” he muttered to his brother. “Wait until we’re away from here before doing that.”

  Tanner ran a sneering glance over her. “What are you waiting for? Me to offer to wipe your ass? Get in there and get it done. We need to be on the road by daybreak.”

  She went in and fumbled to lock the door. She couldn’t leave with them. She could not be their wife. From outside the thin walls she heard Tanner say, “I get her first.”

  “I’m older,” Jon countered in his mild voice. “And neither of us will get her first. You know dad always goes first.”

  Brother Saul? Did he mean that Brother Saul would have sex with her? The thought made her stomach revolt. Or maybe it was the stench of the waste in the latrine. Gina would have stayed in there for hours, but the odor was too horrible. It was almost pitch black but she imagined the ditch under the booth was overflowing. She took as much time as she could, but after only a couple of minutes, Tanner pounded on the door.

  “Hurry up. You don’t want me to come in there to get you.”

  She spent a moment imagining the pleasure of pushing his head down the hole. That was only a fantasy, so she buttoned her pants and opened the door with a stoic face. She brushed past the brothers and made for the harem tent.

  The ache in her cheek and lip intensified to a throb as she strode along. She was sure her face was swelling. What would her stepfather do when he saw the evidence of Tanner’s violence? Just before she got to the tent Tanner made an attempt to grab her arm. One of the guards blocked him. Gina could have hugged the private. She ducked under the door flap that the other guard held open for her and charged into the area she’d last seen the President. He was still there, sitting at the table with her mother. Brother Saul and the officers were gone.

  “I’ve packed your bags,” her mother began, but her voice trailed off when she saw Gina’s face.

  Satisfaction at her mother’s reaction warmed Gina. She turned to Todd. “I cannot marry them” she proclaimed, pointing to Tanner and Jon who had followed her in. She blotted blood from her lips with the back of her hand and held it out to show it to him. “See what Tanner did to me?”

  “An accident,” Tanner said breezily. “It’s dark out there. I couldn’t see where she was.”

  Her stepfather wiped his mouth with his napkin. “Just like squabbling children,” he sighed.

  Gina clenched her fists. Was he going to overlook it? He couldn’t. Backing down now after making a point of her treatment at breakfast would make him look weak.

  A man flung the door flap open and burst into the dining section.

  Red-faced and sweating, he was panting as if he had run a long way.

  “Sir,” he wheezed. “A classified blue message for you.”

  Gina watched her stepfather take the envelope. The messenger backed away, his hands braced on his thighs as he sucked in air. Blue was th
e highest level of classification, but not for wartime. As Todd read, his face was dead white, then almost green. He crumpled the paper and pressed it to his chest.

  “Get out,” he screamed. “Out!”

  The messenger rushed for the door flap, followed by Tanner and Jon. Gina didn’t want to follow them anywhere. They would probably take the chance to bundle her off to their commune. Her mother didn’t leave, so Gina eased herself to one side of the room and watched her stepfather. He clutched the paper to his heart and rocked back and forth in his chair.

  “My son,” he moaned. “My son.”

  “Gerald.” Her mother put a hand on his shoulder. “What is it?”

  He flung her off. “My son is dead! Suzanne lost the baby. I am cursed to have no children.” The dreadful grief in his voice turned to vicious anger. “None but your ungrateful, disobedient daughter.”

  Gina swallowed, recognizing the budding signs one of his insane rages. She should have followed Jon and Tanner after all.

  “After all I’ve done for you, how does she treat me?” His voice rose with every word. “She runs away. She lies to me. She disrespects me. She disobeys me. She embarrasses me in front of my allies. I won’t have it!”

  She definitely should have left. He had never raised his hand to her, but in this mood, he was capable of anything. His lips were shiny with drool. Bad sign. That was a very bad sign.

  “Where is she?” he screamed.

  Her mother glanced over at her. He followed her gaze and when he saw Gina his entire face lit with an unholy fury. Gina cringed involuntarily.

  He drew himself up to his full height, which wasn’t much taller than she was, but the madness made him seem ten feet tall. “You,” he spat. “I can’t tell you how many times I wanted to drown you. Your mother refused to allow it. I am a loving husband, so I was merciful. And this is how you repay me? My son is dead!”

  Gina almost blurted that she hadn’t killed the baby. She took a sidling step toward the door flap.

  “You stay right there,” he screamed. “I’ll have justice for my innocent son.”

  He came at her with hands extended like claws. Gina back pedaled as fast as she could.

  “Gerald!” Her mother’s voice was hard and cold. “Stop.”

  Gina sent her mom a quick glance and her mouth sagged open when she saw the pistol in her mother’s hand. Belatedly, she remembered that she had a knife. How could she have forgotten it? All the times she had practiced pulling the knife out were worthless now. She fumbled, her hands too icy and shaky to grasp it easily.

  “Gerald, stop. You’d regret hurting her when you calmed down. Please.”

  He barked a contemptuous laugh, latching onto Gina’s throat. “You die now, just like my son.”

  A thunderous crack deafened Gina. The hands cutting off her air fell away, and her stepfather looked into her eyes with mild surprise before sliding to the ground tarp. Gina gaped at the smoke rising from the barrel of the pistol in her mother’s hands.

  “Mom?” she said.

  The door flap was flung open and the two guards ran in. Tanner and Jon followed them. Jon’s face turned harsh with accusation. Tanner laughed. Laughed? Gina tore her eyes from her mother’s pale face to stare at him.

  “Murder,” Tanner said gleefully. “Fratricide. No, not that. What is it called when a wife murders her husband?”

  “Justice,” her mother spat.

  “Ma’am,” stuttered one of the guards. “Mrs. Todd, what happened here?”

  Jon pushed past the guards to her mother. “It’s obvious what happened. She murdered the president. Arrest her.”

  A horn sounded three short blasts. The guards looked at each other. “We’re under attack!”

  Her mother snapped, “Go! Find General Atwater.”

  The two guards ran out. They apparently missed Jon’s raised hand. Jon took half a step after them but stopped, clenching his fist.

  “Unacceptable,” he ground out in his gravelly voice.

  On the ground, the president gurgled. Gina hopped back, staring down at him in horror. He was prone, his arms and legs splayed, one cheek resting on the canvas floor. The one eye Gina could see looked filmy, and a trickle of blood flowed from the corner of his lips.

  “He’s still alive,” she croaked. She should do something to help him. She swallowed and crouched down to look for the bullet wound. Blood spread in a dark circle over the center of his back. “Is there a clean napkin?”

  No one moved to check the table for napkins. Her mom was watching Tanner and Jon with narrowed eyes. They were watching her. Gina got up and went to the table. No clean napkins. She opened the chest that held the clean tableware and found a stack of fresh cotton napkins. Grabbing the whole stack, she knelt again by her stepfather. One of his hands was palm down near his face. The fingers twitched. Gina took one of the napkins and pressed it to his back.

  The sound of his breath rattling in his chest made Gina shudder. She shuddered again when the rattle stopped. “Somebody, help.” Tanner and Jon both glanced at her but didn’t move. “Help!” she begged. “I don’t think he’s breathing.”

  Her mom’s cool face crumpled momentarily, then firmed again. Tanner turned a glare on her. “Murderess,” he proclaimed with relish. “You’ll hang.”

  Mom ignored him. “Gina, double check.”

  Reluctantly, Gina turned back to her stepfather. Only minutes ago, he’d tried to choke her. The front of her throat hurt from the pressure of his thumb on her windpipe. But she couldn’t just let him die, could she? Todd’s eye seemed to focus on her for a brief moment before it rolled so only the white showed through the slit between his lids. He let out a slow breath and his whole body seemed to shrink. His face went utterly slack. Gina looked up. “I think he’s dead now,” she said numbly.

  “Check him for a pulse,” Jon ordered.

  Gina had no idea how to do that. “You do it.”

  “No.” Her mother motioned to the door with the gun she still clutched. “Gentlemen, please leave. My daughter and I will tend to my husband.”

  Tanner laughed angrily and advanced on her. “You’re under arrest.”

  Shouts came from outside the tent. Gina turned her head to look toward the door, but it remained closed.

  Jon said, “Tanner, let’s go. If the camp is under attack we need to get out of here.”

  Tanner ignored him, reaching to take the pistol away from her mother.

  “Young man, you should leave,” her mother said in a tight voice.

  He didn’t, snatching at the gun again. “You grab Gina,” he tossed over his shoulder at Jon. “I’ll get the mother. We can take both of them with us. Brother Saul will pass sentence on the murderess.”

  Jon hesitated before leaning down to grip Gina’s shoulder and haul her up to her feet. “Come on, wife. Time to go.”

  “I’m not going with you,” she snarled, struggling to break free of his hand. “Let me go.”

  Jon hauled her close to his body. “I’ll pick you up if I have to. Better to come without a fuss.”

  Gina tried to dig her heels in. “I’ll scream.”

  He laughed shortly. “Who will hear you through that racket?”

  The noise outside had increased. It sounded like a battle. The shouts and screams of men were punctuated by distant gunfire. Another shot sounded so close that Gina jumped and tried to duck instinctively. Jon’s fingers dug into her arms.

  “Tanner!” His deep voice was almost soundless. Gina followed his horrified gaze and saw Tanner fall back and then drop to the floor. His head… She had to look away from the bloody mess.

  Jon’s hands slackened. “Bitch,” he growled. “Murderess twice over. An eye for an eye, saith the Lord.”

  There was murder in his eyes as he let go of her and launched himself at her mother. Gina scrambled after him but tripped over Todd’s arm. From her knees, she saw her mother raise the pistol again. Her finger tightened around the trigger. Gina flinched, expecting an
other blast of gunfire.

  Click. Click.

  Jon laughed savagely when the gun failed to fire. He ripped the pistol from her mother’s hand, twisted his hand so he held it by the barrel, and struck her across the face with the gun butt. Blood flew from her mother’s nose.

  “Stop!” Gina scrambled to her feet and rushed him. “Stop it!”

  Without pausing, Jon swung around and clocked her with the gun. She fell, half dazed, into a sprawl on her back. Something dug into her tailbone. The knife. She was an idiot. She had forgotten the knife again! A little dizzy, she got to her feet and reached for the hilt. It came into her hand with an ease that amazed her. Just like in practice. Jon was still beating her mother, bending over her fallen body.

  A throat slice would be easiest, but his back was to her, so she probably couldn’t get to his throat. A wild stab to the back would probably result in her blade getting stuck in his vertebra or rib. She wet her trembling lips and angled the knife so the blade pointed out and slightly up. Gaze centered on his lower back to the right of his spine, between his hip bone and ribs, she took one quick step toward him and jabbed the knife into his back with all the force she had.

  He snapped up with a cry between a scream and a roar. The hilt of the knife jerked from her hand, slippery with blood. She was too slow to avoid the gun butt as it crashed against her head. She fell, curiously cold and weightless, into a deep well of darkness. As the light faded, she thought she heard someone far, far away screaming her name.

  Chapter Fourteen

  The chain attached to his neck clanked when Cole lifted his head to catch the faint whisper of a beloved scent on the cold, early morning air. Gina. The scent faded so he knew she was moving away from him. The wolf, yearning for his mate, wanted to howl. She had lied and given herself up to the enemy. For one sickening second last night he had thought she was telling the truthClosing his eyes, Cole lowered his cheek back to the dirty floor of his cage. He cautiously tested each muscle and joint, and smiled with fierce satisfaction. Four hours with no more torture had given him back some of his strength.