“How do we know each other?” Kelly asked, frowning.
“Um…” Sydney shook her head. “I doubt they’ll care about all that.”
“They’re armed!” Kelly sounded panicked. “Look at the guns on the sides of the helicopter.” She had to raise her voice over the engine noise.
“Maybe they’re military or something,” Paige said, not fully buying it but praying it was true.
“Must be!” Haley yelled so she could be heard.
Paige felt ill. Worry coiled in her gut. “Here they come,” she said, watching as the chopper began to descend. Even though her hair was tied up, any loose strands whipped about her face. Dust and grass blew up. All of them shielded their faces with their hands.
Within minutes the chopper had landed and was powering down. Paige noticed that the others had removed their packs, so she did the same, placing it at her feet. There was no running at this point. That window of opportunity had firmly closed.
Three guys climbed out. They were in fatigues but didn't look like military personnel. The guy in front had medium-length hair. She didn't think that was allowed if you were serving. It was normally short, a buzz-cut type of a style. She wasn't sure though. The longer-haired guy seemed the youngest of the three, his skin was unlined and an arrogant smirk marred his face. The other two looked to be in their forties. They were serious, even severe looking. There were no labels or name tags on their clothing. If they were in uniform, surely they would have those? What worried her the most was that they all wore holsters. She could see the gun handles sticking out. They were armed. The young one had a big hunting knife strapped to his belt as well.
“I don’t think they’re military,” Paige whispered.
“Definitely not,” Kelly voiced.
“Stick to the story,” Sydney said, under her breath, there was an edge to her voice. No longer as sure as before.
Kelly moved closer, as did Sydney, so that the four of them formed a group. Paige swallowed thickly. She forced herself to smile as the men drew closer. “Afternoon ladies,” the youngest said. “I’m Tim and this is Mike and John.” Mike had thick dark hair. It was greying at the temples. John was bald with a bit of a paunch above his belt.
“Hi!” she said.
“Hello, I’m Kelly. This is Paige.” Kelly pointed at her, her voice was shrill.
“I’m Sydney and this is Haley.” Sydney at least sounded a bit calmer.
“What are you ladies doing all the way out here?” Mike asked, although she wasn’t convinced those were their real names. She couldn’t say why. Maybe because they were all so generic.
“Hiking,” Sydney replied, nodding her head vigorously as she spoke.
“Is that so?” John folded his arms. “You do realize that you’re thousands of miles away from any kind of civilization, don’t you? Strange place to pick for a hike.”
So they weren’t lost.
“Not at all,” Sydney went on. “Untouched wilderness is the perfect place for a hike.”
Paige had to hand it to the other woman, she sounded and looked perfectly calm. Paige’s heart was beating like mad. She could feel sweat beads forming on her brow and under her arms.
“You here for the day or…?” Tim asked, brows raised, a grin still plastered on his face.
“Just the day,” Haley answered.
Tim whistled low. “Out all this way for a day?”
This felt like too much of an interrogation. Who were these guys? Something still didn’t feel right. Even more so than before. “Sydney’s husband owns a helicopter. He graciously offered to take us out here. We’re fine.” She hoped they would leave.
“Oh.” John nodded. He stuffed his hands into his pockets. “What type of helicopter does he own?” He directed the question at Sydney, whose smile tightened.
Her eyes flicked up. Then she giggled nervously. “I have no idea. I’m afraid I’m a real girl. It’s blue and I like flying in it. That’s all I know.” She giggled some more.
“Where are you gals from?” Tim asked.
“Mississippi,” Haley said.
“Boston,” Kelly said, at the same time. Shit! Two different states.
“The two of us are also from the Boston area. Haley is staying with me.” Sydney smiled.
“I don’t see a wedding ring,” John said. There was this glint in his eye that Paige didn’t like.
Sydney kept her eyes trained on him. “I don’t like to wear it when I work out.” She narrowed her eyes. “What is this? Twenty questions? We’re out here for the day. Why is that so hard to believe?”
“This is restricted airspace and privately owned land. Did you know that?” the younger guy, Tim, asked, rubbing his jaw.
“No, I didn’t.” Sydney shook her head. “We had no idea or we wouldn’t be out here. Look, we’re headed to the pick-up point and my husband will be there to meet us a bit later. We’ll be gone in a couple of hours. We’ll be sure to stay away from this area in the future. Now, if you’ll excuse us, gentlemen, we’ll be on our way.”
“No can do, ma’am. You need to come with us,” John said, shaking his head.
Paige’s heart sank.
“Don’t look so afraid,” Tim smirked at Kelly. “We’ll take good care of you. Escort you back home. Get you there safe and sound.”
“Thanks, but that won’t be necessary. We are perfectly safe.” Sydney shook her head. “My husband knows which route we are taking and…”
“You say you’re from Boston?” Tim raised his brows. “Then we’ll know which direction he’ll approach from and head him off. We’ll direct him right to you. We can’t leave you out here.” His eyes hardened.
“No! I—”
“This isn’t a discussion, ladies.” There was a hard edge to John’s voice. “You’re trespassing. We should arrest you. Come willingly and we’ll let you off with a warning.”
Hunters.
It had to be. Flood could scent fuel in the air. It made his nose twitch. He kept up the brutal pace. A flat out run. One moment he’d been hot on the heels of the group of humans, ready to catch his future mate, and the next, he’d seen the helicopter approaching. A feeling of dread hung in the pit of his stomach. It was an old military model, armed to the teeth, same as before. Fucking slayers! Only, instead of horses, nowadays they rode in on choppers. Instead of silver spears and swords, they used silver-infused bullets and bombs. No matter how they arrived or what they used, there was one thing he knew for sure at that moment ‒ those females were in danger. Grave danger. He wished he wasn’t so far ahead of the others. He could do with some help.
The chopper descended a couple of hundred feet ahead of him. He pushed himself to run faster, jumping over fallen trees and rocks. His lungs ached, his thighs burned with fatigue.
At last, he had a visual on the group. Flood slowed, picking his way from tree to tree, rocky outcrop to rocky outcrop. Not wanting to give himself away. If he could help it, he would hang back. Maybe the hunters would leave a group of human females be. That was a big ‘maybe', and one he didn't really believe would happen.
Within a minute, he was close enough to hear what they were saying.
“This is restricted airspace and privately owned land. Did you know that?” the youngest male asked, rubbing his jaw.
Yes, motherfuckers, it was privately owned. By them, the shifters. It was these assholes who were trespassing right then. Not the females! “No, I didn’t.” The same dark-haired female, Sydney, shook her head. “We had no idea or we wouldn’t be out here. Look, we’re headed to the pick-up point and my husband will be there to meet us a bit later.” Attending the dinner the night before had allowed him to memorize each of their names. Flood grit his teeth, hating how powerless he felt right then. The females were trying to talk themselves out of this. He hoped it worked. “We’ll be gone in a couple of hours. We’ll be sure to stay away from this area in the future. Now, if you’ll excuse us, gentlemen, we’ll be on our way,” Sydney continued.
Fuck!
He hadn’t wanted to race in half-cocked. Three armed males against him. Three on one unarmed would be no problem. The silver they were packing put a different twist on things. It looked like he might not have much choice though, because it didn’t look like the humans were going to dissuade the hunters. It just wasn’t working. This was about to go bad. Flood could feel it. He still couldn’t hear anyone behind him. No snap of a twig, no footfalls. The others were most likely too far away to offer any kind of help.
“Don’t look so afraid.” The younger male had this cocky grin that Flood wanted to punch off his face. “We’ll take good care of you. Escort you back home. Get you there safe and sound.” His eyes dropped to the light-haired female’s breasts before moving back to her face. Flood scented testosterone. That and arousal.
“Thanks, but that won’t be necessary. We are perfectly safe.” Sydney shook her head. “My husband knows which route we are taking and…””
“You say you’re from Boston?” the other male asked. “Then we’ll know which direction he’ll approach from and head him off. We’ll direct him right to you. We can’t leave you out here.”
Like hell they would!
“No! I—”
“This isn’t a discussion, ladies.” The unfit male shook his head. “You’re trespassing. We should arrest you. Come willingly and we’ll let you off with a warning.”
Arrest?
It was all a lie. A ruse to get them to go willingly…and then what? What did these males have planned?
“Who are you?” Paige stepped forward, she folded her arms. She had light colored hair like the other female, but she was quite a few years older than the one named Kelly.
The young male looked over at the other two. The one with the thick middle scratched his chin. “We’re military personnel. We need to escort you off of this restricted area as a matter of urgency.”
“No problem,” Paige said. “Let us see some credentials and we’ll go with you.”
Clever. This female was smart.
“Credentials?” the young male said, frowning heavily.
“Yes, if—”
"We don't need to show you shit," he continued, his heart rate quickening. His fists clenching. This was spiraling out of control.
“Actually—”
“Actually nothing,” the younger male snarled, pointing a finger in the female’s face.
“Now, now,” the thickset male said in a soothing voice. “Let’s all calm down. There are dangers in these parts. Terrifying creatures that could cause you ladies untold harm. We can’t leave you here unprotected.”
“Terrifying creatures?” Haley laughed, sounding tense. “I don’t think so.” She shook her head. “Wild animals are more afraid of us. We don’t plan on sleeping out here. I’m sure we’ll be fine.”
“We are perfectly capable of taking care of ourselves.” The youngest, Kelly, stepped forward. She was very small, even for a human. “Thank you for your concern, but—”
“Let’s not let things get nasty ladies. They can get nasty and fast. We aren’t going to leave you stranded out here.” He spoke carefully and calmly.
Flood could hear the female’s heart racing. Kelly was afraid. They all were. Justifiably so.
“We’re not stranded!” Sydney yelled, putting her hands on her hips.
“From where I’m standing,” the older male rubbed his chin again, “you look stranded to me. My mama taught me to look after womenfolk and I’m going to do just that, whether you ladies like it or not.”
“I’m thinking maybe your version of looking after us and our version are two different things!” Sydney half-yelled.
The male ground his teeth. Even from where he was, Flood caught the acrid scent of his anger.
“Calm down.” Paige put a hand out and touched her friend. “Shouting at each other isn’t going to help things. Please, let’s discuss this calmly.”
Flood pushed out a breath as he watched the male visibly relax. “You are right about staying calm.” He nodded once. “I’m afraid though, our stance on this hasn’t changed. It’s not up for discussion. Let’s go.” He pointed to the helicopter. It was an old military chopper and packing some serious firepower. All silver-infused, like the bird that had gone into their territory almost four months earlier. Flood couldn’t let the females get into the chopper. He wouldn’t be able to help them once they became airborne. Following them without being seen would not be possible either.
"We told you, we're not going!" Sydney cocked her head, her voice was hard. "My husband will be here soon."
“This is your last chance,” the thickset male growled between clenched teeth.
“Or what? Are you going to kidnap us? Tie us up and cart us away kicking and screaming, because that’s the only way any of us are getting into that helicopter with you.” Haley folded her arms.
“If we have to.” The whelp smiled broadly, looking like he was enjoying himself. Looking like he’d like nothing better than to tie them up. Sick bastard!
Flood was quickly running out of options. At almost two hundred feet away, there was no sneaking up on them. No taking out the males quickly and quietly without putting the females in even more danger. Right then, they were at a stand-off, one that wasn’t going to last long. He could guess where this was going.
Flood looked down at himself and huffed out a heavy breath. There was no way he was passing as human. Certainly not while wearing just a pair of cotton pants. No shirt, not even shoes. He was bigger than most shifters, which made him enormous compared to a human. His entire chest was covered by a silver marking, much like a human tattoo, only it wasn’t one. It glinted like metal in the sun. He ran a hand over his short hair, cropped close to his scalp. He wished for once he’d chosen to style it like some of the others. Maybe then he wouldn’t look like he did. Hardcore and mean, with eyes like the darkest night. So black it was almost impossible to tell his iris from his pupil. Humans were scared of him. The moment he stepped out from behind that boulder, they would know who and what he was. The moment he showed himself, he would be a sitting duck. His only hope was to delay them long enough for back-up to arrive.
His other option was to sit back and watch these males take the humans by force. Sydney yelped when the human whelp grabbed her by the arm and pulled. “Let go!” She added, more forcefully. “No!” She sounded terrified. It hit him straight in the gut.
No! There was no way he could stand by and watch this happen. These hunters were bad news. He sucked in a deep breath and stepped out from behind the boulder. The hairless male had grabbed another female by the arm and was trying to pull her towards the chopper. The third male was just unclipping his weapon when he spotted Flood. He nudged the bald one, having to do so twice before he let up on the female and locked eyes with Flood. “Well, I’ll be…” He smiled like the cat who had just got the cream.
The youngster kept dragging the female; it took several long seconds before he realized something was up. He first turned towards the others before looking Flood’s way as well. His jaw dropped open and he released the female. They all turned to stare at him, eyes wide.
The whelp smiled. “That’s one of them. It is, isn’t it?” He sounded excited.
The bald male made a shushing noise, designed to tell the others to keep quiet. It worked.
The thickset male pulled his weapon. Fuck! The coward grabbed the nearest female and yanked her against him, holding the gun to her side. Flood might not know much about guns but he knew a shot from that close range would most likely end her life. He also surmised that the silver bullets inside that chamber might just have the same effect on him.
“That’s far enough,” the male warned as Flood drew closer to where they were standing.
Chapter 2
Paige watched in horror as the one who said his name was John grabbed Sydney and stu
ck the muzzle of a gun into her side. The two of them hadn’t gotten along very well in their short time together, but the other woman didn’t deserve to be treated like that. Nobody did. Paige wished, for about the tenth time, that they had listened when she and Kelly had voiced their bad feeling about this whole thing. It was too late now though.
The other two men drew their weapons as well, aiming them at the guy who was approaching. Making his way to them using purposeful strides. Kelly, eyes trained on the weapons, whimpered, squeezing her eyes shut. Paige reached out to the other woman, moving in closer and squeezing her arm. All the while, her eyes stayed on the gun against Sydney’s side. Hayley drew nearer to them as well. Her eyes were wide and she was breathing heavily. They were all in shock. Fear of death would do that to a person.
The only hope they had was an unarmed man. Not a man, a shifter. She transferred her attention back to him. One of the biggest, scariest shifters she had ever seen…and she’d seen a fair number in the last twenty-four hours since arriving there. His muscles had muscles. They were corded and thick. His legs were like tree trunks and his arms almost as big. His chest was the embodiment of the phrase ‘barrel-chested’. His silver tattoo glinted in the afternoon sun. His eyes were narrowed, his jaw tight. His neck muscles were roped and his biceps bulged as he fisted his hands.
“What do we have here?” Tim said. He whistled low, that same irritating smile plastered on his face. It was mean, she realized suddenly. This was the kind of person who enjoyed hurting animals. He would have been a bully in school. The type to hit his girlfriend or swear at his mother. A shiver ran through her and Kelly whimpered, silent tears poured down the younger woman’s face.
John smiled. His was…calculating. “Finally. We’ve been looking long and hard for you.”
“Me?” His voice was the deepest she had ever heard. “Doubtful.” One almost indiscernible shake of the head.
“Not you exactly, but one of your kind.”
The shifter’s jaw tightened further. His dark eyes gave nothing away. “Let the females go and we can talk.”
The Water Dragons Box Set: Books 1 - 4 (Complete) Page 22
