Sadie Hart

by Cry Sanctuary

  “I look better than you. Come on. I think you should hear this.”

  He tugged her back inside and her heart leapt as she saw the doctor talking with Trey, Caine’s second in command. The woman turned and smiled as Ollie approached. “Ms. Lawrence? He’s going to be all right. But he’s still under. You should go home, get some rest.”

  “Can I see him first?”

  The doctor nodded and led her down the hall. Caine lay still, the steady beep of the monitor at his side the only sign of life. Her heart squeezed as she took a hesitant step towards the bed. A gash marred his forehead, butterfly bandages holding it together. He had gauze wrapped all the way up one arm, and a swollen jaw. Not to mention the gunshot wounds under his hospital gown.

  “And the silver?” she asked, turning towards the doctor.

  “Most of it is out of his system. He’ll be okay. He just needs time and rest to heal.” The doctor met her gaze, eyes solemn. “Go home, Ms. Lawrence. He won’t be waking up today. We’re going to keep him under.”

  A wolf-shifter this roughed up could wake up in a panic, the animal taking over. They didn’t need Caine freaking out and running through the building. Ollie swallowed. “You’ll call me when he wakes?”

  “Yes.”

  She turned to see Brandt leaning in the door to the room, keys in hand. She didn’t want to leave Caine, wanted to be here with him every step of the way, but the job wasn’t done yet. Rubbing her forehead, Ollie headed towards her brother. “Are Nana and Star home yet?”

  “Yeah, though Lennox still has a Hound posted at the house. The Hunter’s dead, but they’ve been through a lot.” He slung a hand over her shoulder and led her down the hall. He gave her a gentle squeeze. “You’ve been through a lot.”

  “We all have.”

  Together they stepped out into the morning sunlight, almost peaceful, and Ollie stopped, staring out over the parking lot. “He made it personal,” she said softly, brows furrowed and Brandt turned to give her a funny look.

  “And?”

  “Every one of these last kills, the ones after my escape. The first two were at the place where Rosalie Myers died and I escaped. Then Lydia Marks at my place, right under my nose. He wanted me to see her.”

  “What are you getting at Ollie?”

  “We weren’t the main event last night. That’s what he kept saying. If I didn’t cooperate, it was no biggie; he could shoot us both and still have a hunt.” A fresh chill drew a shiver through her body. “But we were always the main event. It was about me.”

  Brandt winced, and she knew what he was thinking, that this was her guilt eating at her again, but it wasn’t. She knew where they were. “He needs his victims scared. Needs them to run, but he couldn’t make me run unless he had leverage.”

  “Which is why he took Caine?”

  Ollie smiled. “Yeah, because Caine mattered, but I’d have risked him if I’d thought it was just us. He knew I wouldn’t risk us dying, and then the Carsons, too.”

  Brandt started to pull her close, to wrap her in a hug, but Ollie shook her head and stepped back. “He needed to be able to shoot Caine to prove his point.”

  Ollie dug out her phone, pulse pounding as she dialed Lennox. “They have to be there.”

  “Where?”

  “Home. At home.” Brandt was shaking his head, but Ollie didn’t care. Everything inside her screamed that she was right. Caine had thrown him off by attacking, and when she’d gotten the gun the Hunter had been forced to run, but he hadn’t tried leaving.

  The phone clicked over. “Lennox? Did you have Hounds check the woods by my house?”

  “Yeah, they back tracked his trail to his car. Found it there.”

  “The Carsons—”

  “They weren’t there.”

  Ollie shook her head, excitement getting the best of her. “Where was it? A service road, right?”

  “Yeah, just like we told you on scene. Ollie, go be with Caine. Relax.” But she couldn’t. Not now, she was already sprinting for the car, Brandt on her heels.

  “Lennox, last time he parked at my house it was in that meadow. Not the service road. That road is way too used, and we’ve been checking most of them recently. He didn’t care about the car being found. But he needed the Carsons on site.

  “To make it personal,” she finished.

  The car beeped unlocked as Brandt slid into the driver’s seat. Ollie slid in next to him, flipping on the sirens as he gunned it out of the lot. “I’m sending Sawyer out there now, she’s with your grandmother. God, I hope you’re right.”

  Ollie dropped her phone, holding onto the door as Brandt spun the car onto the highway, speeding for home. She knew she was right. The Hunter, he’d wanted his showdown. He’d have made damn sure he got it. She just hoped they were okay.

  That this time, they got to save someone.

  By the time they reached the meadow, Sawyer was already there, a sleek lioness prowling through the open field. She lifted her head, tail swung over her haunches in a lazy acknowledgement. Ollie was out of the car before Brandt had even managed to come to a full stop, and she shifted easily into her other form.

  The dog closed the distance to the copse of trees, only a few seconds behind Sawyer. Instantly the scent of blood touched her nose, a metallic tang that made her insides knot, but it didn’t hide the pair of feminine scents that had been here recently. Relief slammed in her chest, her heart pumping over time.

  Please, please, please.

  Ollie bolted across the meadow, nose down, Sawyer on her heels. They reached the edge of the forest when Brandt joined them, still human, and sprinting hard enough he was panting. She circled, and then there they were, tied and gagged behind a bush. The little girl was sleeping, her head on her mother’s shoulder, but Danielle Carson was wide awake.

  Relief washed through her eyes as Brandt knelt in front of her, his smile soft. “You’re going to be okay. Shifter Town Enforcement.”

  He pulled off the Mrs. Carson’s gag as Ollie shifted back, tears in her eyes. Sawyer followed suit. “You did it,” she murmured, and Ollie felt her knees go weak. She reached back and caught her partner’s hand.

  They were alive.

  “The man who did this—” Danielle Carson began, and the terrified quaver in her voice clutched at Ollie’s heart. She knelt and shook her head.

  “He’s dead. He can’t hurt you or your daughter anymore.”

  “Thank you,” she whispered. “Thank you.”

  Behind her, Sawyer called for an ambulance, and Ollie let the relief fill her, a warm blanket against the past few months. Reassuring. It was over, really over.

  And they’d won.

  ***

  Ollie was there when he woke, snoring softly in the chair beside his bed. Caine smiled, exhausted but satisfied. It was nice to see her sleeping. Relaxed. A small smile curved one corner of her lips, and he wanted to kiss it but didn’t dare risk waking her. She didn’t sleep enough as it was. Caine closed his eyes and gave a soft sigh.

  “Caine?” His gaze jerked back to Ollie, her heart-shaped face tilted to look at him. Tears marred her normally steely eyes, making them softer, more vulnerable.

  “Don’t cry,” he started, and she laughed.

  “I’m not going to cry.” Her hand touched his chest as the first tear trailed down her cheek. He caught her hand, the IV still poking out the back of his, and lifted it to his lips. He hated seeing her cry, hated feeling like it was because of him. “I’m just happy you’re okay.”

  “The Carsons?”

  “Home, safe. As of yesterday. They’ll probably need some therapy...” She swallowed. “The girl, Elizabeth, she wasn’t raped or tortured, but the things she’d had to hear. The things her mother had to endure.” Ollie forced a grim smile, but nothing could hide the pain from him. She was too easy for him to read. “But they’re okay. Happy to be alive.”

  “Thank God.” Caine glanced around the room, the open door. A nurse bustled by in the hall in m
int green scrubs, a clipboard in hand. “So when do I get to get out of here?”

  “The doc said tomorrow if you came awake okay. How are you feeling?”

  “Like I was shot with silver multiple times, then was idiot enough to run laps with it in my system.” He squeezed her hand gently between his, holding it tight to his chest. Not willing to let her go. Not now, not ever. “I was so worried about you. When I heard the gun—”

  His throat constricted, and Caine ground his teeth together, fighting the roar of emotions raging through him. She was a Hound; this wouldn’t be the only bad guy she went after. This might not even be the last time some psycho tried to kill her.

  He stared at her now, her curly black hair rumpled from sleep. Her normally mad-scientist bun was even messier than usual. The red of her hooded sweatshirt made her lips darker, tempting. He never wanted to lose her, and her job was a part of who she was.

  “What are you thinking?” she whispered.

  “That I’m in love with an amazing woman, who scares the shit out of me.” Her brows furrowed and he gave her hand a soft tug, wanting nothing more than to kiss her. “There are going to be so many nights where your job is going to keep me awake, sick with fear.”

  “Caine...”

  “And yet, this world needs you. The victims like Claire and Lydia,” he kissed her hand again. “And Danielle. They need someone like you on their side. Someone who won’t stop, who won’t give up. Just know I have your back.”

  Tears welled in her eyes as she stared down at him. His gaze skimmed down to her shirt and a soft smile quirked his lips. “So, are you going to kiss me, Red Riding Hood?”

  A laugh startled out of her, and Ollie found herself leaning over the bed, her lips inches from his. “My, my Mr. Wolf, what a big ego you have.”

  But she leaned down and kissed him. “I love you,” she murmured as she pulled away.

  A damn good thing, because Caine couldn’t imagine anyone else in his future. “Enough to move in with me?”

  “Oh, yes. Well, on one condition.” His eyebrows lifted and Ollie grinned, a familiar teasing glint in her eye. Damn, but he loved every single thing about her. Her smile, her laugh, her devotion. “I have a dog...”

  “I love your dog. Star is more than welcome.”

  “Star is happily going to stay where she is, with my grandmother. It’s home to her, and Nana needs her. I can visit.”

  He frowned, trying to think of what else she meant. Then understanding dawned, and a soft smile curved his lips. The golden in the back of the squad car that night, the one full of kisses, wagging his tail like a mini tornado. “He looked like a pretty good dog.”

  “He’s a therapy dog. Well trained. Not his fault his owner was a whack-job who killed people.”

  Caine pulled her back down for another kiss, deeper this time. He ghosted another one across her cheek before letting her go. “He’s lucky I like dogs. Love them really.” Caine winked. “Especially one in particular.”

  “Good, because I want a whole house full of them.”

  “So do I. Especially one who grows up to be exactly like her mother.” Ollie tilted her head back on a laugh, a rich, merry sound that warmed his heart. God, she was beautiful. When she looked back down at him, the unbending steely blue of her eyes had softened. Warmed.

  “Strong, beautiful, with more heart than anyone else I know.”

  “I don’t know,” Ollie said softly. “I know a wolf who gives me a run for my money.”

  He smiled. He didn’t even come close, but Caine wasn’t about to argue. Not when she was smiling at him like that. Like they had forever together.

  A damn good thing, too, because he was never going to let her go.

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  No book is a completely solo endeavor and without the following people, this book would be nothing more than yet another untold story sitting in the back of my brain. Thank you:

  Kodilynn Calhoun for being one of my best friends, my critique partner, and my rock. Through both good times and bad you are with me every step of the way. I couldn’t do this without you.

  Emma Jossin for not only being one of my best friends, but also my rock. You brainstorm with me, help me pick out plot issues before I even open a Word document, and, when I need it, you’re my slave driver to keep me going.

  Faith Freewoman my amazing new editor. Thank you for taking me on, for all of your encouragement, and most of all, for helping me make this book stronger.

  My family for being incredibly supportive, for cheering me on, and for having faith that I could do this right from the start. I don’t think I’d have dared to dream this was possible, if not for you.

  And last, but definitely not least, I owe a huge thank you to my readers. I am so amazed and humbled by your responses and support. Thank you so much!

  About the author: During the day, Sadie Hart works as a secretary in a library. At night, she writes steamy, paranormal romances revolving around the things that go bump in the night - both the spooky and the naughty kind. She lives in Michigan with two large dogs and a flying pig, who’s possibly a superhero and possibly a figment of her imagination. You can find her website here: http://sadiehart.com/

  Also Available from this Author:

  Shifter Town Enforcement Series

  Hounded

  Novellas & Short Stories

  Silver Bells (free Christmas short story)

  Moonlit Lovers Short Story Anthology

  What the Heart Haunts (also available in Moonlit Lovers)

  Bending Steele

  Thank you for reading!

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Acknowledgements

  About the Author

  Also Available from this Author