by Leela Ash
Rifle.
Sniper rifle.
Their Rat was back.
Chapter 18.
Paige threw herself flat, sprawling face-down in the hot stones. Beneath the pitiless sun, she felt naked. Nothing protected her. No rocks, no trees. The cliff trail was too far away; she’d be cut down before she made it.
The bikes! Dreading a bullet’s lethal kiss, she low-crawled behind one of the dirt bikes. From behind its paltry cover, she scanned the desert for any sign of their enemy.
Nothing.
Rats hide. That’s what they do.
And this Rat could kill people from a quarter-mile away.
Rex lay fifteen feet from her. Exposed. In the open. The soft rise and fall of his chest was the only sign that he still lived. But there was so much blood! Painted across the rocks… spilling out from beneath his limp form. No one could survive losing that much blood—could they? She had to get to him, bandage him….
And that meant exposing herself to the Rat’s attack.
If she didn’t, though, Rex would die.
Once, that conundrum would have frozen her in place. Risk her life for Leonard? Never. Not in a million years. For Rex? Even a week ago, she would have hesitated.
Not anymore. She loved him. Whether he returned her passion or not didn’t matter. She couldn’t imagine a life without him. Better to be cut down by some despicable Rat and fade away beside him.
Even on this short trip, Rex had insisted they bring an emergency kit. Paige yanked it off the back of the bike. Yet, as she rose, preparing to sprint, a name echoed in her mind.
Jake.
What about Jake? If I die here with Rex, who will care for him?
Don’t I have to stay alive—for him?
With a moan, she sank down, pressing her forehead against the bike’s hot metal. Her love lay dying in the sands before her. But her innocent son waited in town, needing his mother’s love and protection.
Rex, she knew, would tell her to leave. To protect the children, all of them, rather than him.
Her heart whispered he was wrong. Love couldn’t choose. Love would never sacrifice one part of her family to save another.
She was going to protect all of them.
Or die trying.
Three deep breaths to flood her body with oxygen. Then she bolted to her feet and dashed across the desert.
No bullet cut her down before she slammed to her knees beside him. Another scan—no sign of the damned Rat. Where was he? Why not shoot her? Was she, a mere human, so useless that he didn’t care whether she lived or died?
Once, that thought would have filled her with shame. Now, it summoned a fierce, vengeful fury.
Good. I hope he did write me off! I’ll show him how wrong he is.
Straining, she rolled the Bear onto his back. Peeling off his riding jacket, she found a shoulder holster and a BIG gun. That, she set aside. Maybe she could give Mr. Rat Freeman a nasty surprise!
Then she got to work. Wadding thick gauze against the hole in Rex’s shoulder. Taping it in place. Struggling to remember her old high school first-aid class.
Every rustle, every weed waving in the wind, made her jump. Paige forced herself not to think about the Rat and his deadly rifle. She did keep glancing up, fearful that he had crept close. If he jumped her before she could shoot him, she had no hope of saving Rex.
Yet the desert remained empty. No sight or sound from the Rat—until she finished bandaging Rex and leaned back on her heels, surveying her work.
Then a thin, grating voice called out from behind a boulder a hundred yards away. “There should be an emergency tarp in that kit. You wanna cover him up; otherwise, he’s gonna bake in the sun.”
Freeman! Heart hammering, Paige snatched up the gun, took aim, and squeezed the trigger.
Nothing happened. The trigger didn’t move an inch.
Safety! Shit! How did you turn one off?
Meanwhile, the Rat continued his monologue. “Since you’re waving that thing at me, I’m guessing you don’t know how far a .45 slug travels. Let me give you a hint: I’m not in range.”
To prove his point, Freeman stepped out from behind the rocks. He wore a grey mottled jacket and hat. Desert camo, she realized. In his arms, he cradled a slender, vicious-looking rifle. The Rat gave it a pat. “Now this beauty has a much longer range. And you, ma’am, are well within it. So, I suggest you put your gun down and we have a chat.”
There was a little button above the pistol grip. Could that be the safety? Paige pushed it and couldn’t tell if anything happened.
Freeman waited, patient and amused. “Now, if you don’t trust my knowledge of guns, you’re welcome to test it yourself. Take a shot. I warn you, though, that if you do, I’m gonna shoot that gun out of your hand. You’ll probably lose a couple of fingers. Because I’m vengeful like that,” he added, with a toothy grin.
Was this a bluff? Could she even hit a target at this distance? Paige licked her lips. Lily hadn’t given her a gun when they saved Jake. Maybe shooting people wasn’t as simple as the movies made it look.
No, better to try to lure him closer. Slowly, she lowered her weapon. “So, talk. What do you want?”
“I want you to drop that gun, put a tarp over your man so he doesn’t die, and then come with me.”
“If you didn’t want Rex to die, maybe you shouldn’t have shot him!” she spat.
“It’s all part of the plan, lady.”
“What plan? You can’t seriously think I’ll trust you. Give me a reason to do what you say.”
He considered her demand. “Fair enough,” he shrugged. “Here’s what I’ll do. I’ll explain all the ways I see this situation ending. You pick the ending you like, and we’ll go from there.”
“First, you can decide not to cooperate with me. In that case, I’ll wander off. Put a couple bullets through you, or your bikes, if I can’t shoot you for some reason. You’re not carrying a guy his size anywhere.”
She hadn’t thought of that. Even turning Rex had been hard. “Well, that option sucks,” she said, licking her lips.
“I agree. You die. I don’t get what I want.”
“What do you want?” That was the heart of the problem.
“Hostages.” The word sent a chill down her spine. “I want your Bear to live through this and I want to be able to motivate him by threatening his loved ones.”
Hadn’t Rex talked about that? About how the Fangs of Apophis kidnapped children and Mates to control Shifters? And hadn’t he said that the Rats suffered the most?
Paige’s eyes lit with hope. “Is that what the Fangs have done to you? Kidnapped your family? I can help! I know a Dragon and I’m sure he could save your people!”
“That’s a kind offer, ma’am.” From this distance, she couldn’t read his face, but a dark, mocking humor colored his words. “Unfortunately for you, not all Rats are blackmailed. Some of us just like this shit.”
Okay, fine. At least she wouldn’t feel guilty shooting him! “Whatever. So, what’s Plan B?”
“Option two is you pretend to agree with me. Then, on the way back to my Jeep, you try some foolishness.”
That actually was her current plan. Paige waited, wary.
“Maybe you pull it off. Probably not, seeing as how I’m a professional and you’re an amateur. But know this: try anything once we leave and I’ll kill you.”
As if she was afraid of dying! Playing along was her only true hope.
He must have seen the defiance in her eyes, because he continued. “Let me explain why you don’t want to try Plan B. Because after I kill you, I’ll go get your kids. I’d rather take all of you as hostages, but just the kids works too.”
Her stomach roiled at the thought of Jake and the Fairburn children captured by the Fangs. “And what if I cooperate fully?”
“Same situation as Plan B, only you go with the kids. Which means they have someone to care for them and protect them. Hell, you can even try to hatch an escape once
you’re in the camps. I don’t care. After I deliver you, you’re someone else’s problem.”
None of those ‘Plans’ sounded good to her. But ‘Not dying’ was the best start. She’d have to keep her wits about her and watch for a way to turn the tables.
“Sold. I pick Plan C.” Only the slightest quaver shook her words.
“All right then. I figure you’re actually picking Plan B, but we’ll pretend it’s C. Next step: put the gun down.”
She did, placing it near Rex so that he could find it if he woke. Following the Rat’s instructions, she set up shade around him and left the last of their water near at hand.
One last kiss, one second to stroke his cheek a final time.
I love you, she thought silently. I promise I’m coming back for you, once I make sure this bastard can’t hurt our kids.
Heart aching, she straightened, trying to ignore the dark pool of blood that surrounded her Mate.
“Now what?”
“Now, we walk.”
As they did, Paige studied him. Freeman was a small man. Scrawny and wiry, not truly strong…she might stand a chance in a fight with him….
The Rat must have agreed because he never gave her a chance. He trailed fifty feet behind her, giving orders. Lacking PotBoi52’s guidance, he’d come in from the north. And so they trudged, on and on, out into the middle of nothing.
Under the blazing sun, she boiled in her protective jacket and heavy jeans. Freeman sipped from his water bottle but refused to share. As minutes dragged by and sweat poured down her face, Paige found herself growing dizzy.
Bastard. He probably wants me weak with thirst and dehydration. Makes it less likely I can fight back.
By the time the Rat’s Jeep came into view, she was staggering.
Freeman, meanwhile, remained cheerful. “There’s a box under the driver’s seat. Get it and take a seat in the shade.”
That was an order she could happily obey. Paige retrieved the box and plunked to the ground.
“There’s a pair of handcuffs inside. I want you to cuff your right hand to your left ankle.”
Oh hell. If she did that, she’d have no chance to jump the Rat….
Freeman didn’t miss that hesitation. “Time to choose, lady. What’s it gonna be? Plan B or C?” He took a step back and the muzzle of his rifle rose.
Exhausted, unarmed, and too far away…she chose to delay again. “Plan C,” she croaked. Then she clicked the cuffs shut, effectively crippling herself.
One of the Rat’s eyebrows rose. “Well, hell. I really took you for a Plan B kinda girl. Glad you’re sensible.” He tossed her his canteen and backed up. “I need to make arrangements. You catch your breath, stay cool, drink some water. I’ll be right back.”
Which was kind of a lie: he never really left. Just backed up a hundred feet and made a phone call without taking his eyes off her. Unable to hear anything he said, Paige used the time to catch her breath. No telling when (or if…) an opportunity to escape would arise. She needed to be ready at any moment.
When the Rat returned, he crouched down a few feet away from her. “Everything’s settled. All we need to do is pick up the kids—and then I take you to your new home.”
‘Home’. Oh, that was funny. Paige glared at him and wished looks really could kill.
“One more question.” Freeman leaned closer, beady eyes fixed on hers. “Where are the kids?”
For a second, she couldn’t even understand what those words meant. Freeman knew where Rex lived. Why would he ask such an obvious question?
Then the answer hit her, and she began to laugh. Wild, hysterical gales of mockery.
SueSue Mint. Rex’s Rat babysitter. She and the children had escaped!
Freeman slid a long, wicked knife from his boot sheath and waved it in front of her eyes. “If you insist, I will torture you until you tell me.”
“Torture away!” she taunted him. “I don’t know where they are. Their sitter took them, and you’ll never find them.”
“Rat?” His eyes narrowed. “I thought so. That booby-trap in the mud room nearly got me.”
Good on you, SueSue, she thought. You keep my babies safe!
His nose wrinkled as if he’d bitten a lemon. “Guess it’s a good thing I’ve got you, then.”
Like a gut-punch, those words knocked the wind out of Paige. Her throat burned with shame as she realized the truth.
He’d tricked her. A scrawny guy like him couldn’t drag her miles through the desert. So, he’d fooled her into walking to his Jeep. She had given him the hostage he needed.
All afternoon long, her heart had raced. Bouncing from fear to worry to terror and back. Now, at last, it stilled. As she pondered that awful, disgraceful truth, peace settled over her.
She knew what she had to do now.
Die.
Dead, they couldn’t use her against Rex. One shot, one stab, and it would be over. Her family and her love would be safe. All it took was a way to provoke Freeman into a killing rage.
Completely unaware of how the ‘game’ had changed around him, Freeman kept talking. “This next part will be challenging, but I’m sure you can pull it off. You need to hobble to the back of the Jeep and get in.”
Eyes flashing, she raised her chin. “No. I’m not cooperating anymore. Move me yourself, jerk.”
His eyes narrowed. “Woman, you do not want to pull this shit. Have you ever been tortured?”
“Nope.” Damn, she loved her voice right now. Strong, confident, mocking. Lily would be so proud of her ‘Omega Wolf.’
“Then let me tell you what’s going to happen.” Crouching, Freeman tossed that wicked knife back and forth between his hands. “I’ll start by peeling your fingernails off, one at a time. If that doesn’t make you see sense, I’ll take off a couple of fingers.”
“Gee, sounds awful!” The Rat’s face darkened with fury at her cheerful agreement.
“I don’t think you understand….”
No, you’re the one that doesn’t get it. To cut off my fingers, you need to bring that knife near me. And it’s my key to saving Rex.
Wary, sensing a trap, he studied her. And, in the quiet heat of the afternoon, she heard a sound. A dim, rhythmic beat, growing closer.
Thuh-thump. Thuh-thump. Thuh-thump.
Freeman’s head snapped up.
A grizzly charged through the desert toward them. Blood soaked its fur and shoulder but that wound didn’t even slow it. Eyes blazing with rage, muscles rippling, claws tearing through gravel and dirt, the Bear barreled toward them with shocking speed.
Forgotten, the knife tumbled from the Rat’s fingers as he grabbed the rifle slung across his shoulders.
Paige lunged for it too, hooking the strap with her free left hand.
“Let go!” the Rat shrieked, wrenching the gun back and forth, trying to shake her loose.
Paige clung to it like a terrier.
A booted foot lashed out and Paige felt its steel toe slam into her stomach. Air exploded from her lungs. To her horror, she felt the rifle strap slip through her fingers.
“No….”
Triumphant, the Rat spun, shouldering his weapon.
Too late.
Rex plowed into him with the force of a freight train. Bear and Rat flew past her, driven by the power of that charge. A shrill, terrified scream rang out.
And was quickly drowned by an ear-splitting roar.
Then one sharp, terrible ‘crack’… and silence.
Chapter 19.
The room was filled with voices. Low whispers, murmurs. A babbling stream of muttering that slowly washed away the darkness that hid him.
Rex cracked an eye open.
A half-dozen people clustered by the door, conferring. The Donnellys, Aaron King, Bone-Dog, and John Painter, a Bear he knew from Denver.
“Speak of the Devil,” said the Wolf. “Someone’s come out of hibernation.”
Pushing himself up, Rex flexed his bandaged shoulder and was pleased
to feel nothing worse than a dull ache. “How’s a Bear supposed to sleep with a flock of geese squawking in his bedroom?”
At the sound of his voice, Paige elbowed her way through the crowd and darted to the side of his bed.
The sight of her face, lined with fear and worry, roused his Bear. It grumbled, urging him to nuzzle his Mate and reassure her. He found himself caught, tangled in the marvelous details of her body. The beauty of her round, sweet face. The way that her rebellious bang flipped down across her cheek, begging him to sweep it back. Her touch, her body, her voice…they were magical. In their presence, light filled the world.
He recognized that light now.
Love.
He loved Paige Hall. Loved her, needed her so much that no threat would keep him from her side.
Not even the threat of losing her.
Yet, even as he shivered, rocked by those soul-shaking emotions, words escaped him.
“Hey,” was all he said.
“Hey yourself.” Gently, she settled in beside him, and this time, Rex did brush her hair back. “How are you feeling?”
“Fine.”
Ah, hell, wasn’t he the chatty one… He should say more. Profess his love. Tell her he couldn’t live without her. Or, well, at least choke out a couple of sentences.
Fortunately, Paige wasn’t as tongue-tied as him. “I’m sorry we woke you.”
“Nah, I really am okay.” That was better. More than one syllable, anyway. “What happened?”
“Well, you, um, killed Freeman.”
“I sure hope so! Be pretty damned disgusted with myself if I couldn’t take out one Rat!” When she didn’t laugh, Rex winced.
Stupid. She isn’t Kin. She doesn’t know how savage and violent the Shifter world can be. You’ve probably scared her half to death.
He scooped up of her slender hands in his big mitts. “Are you okay with that?”
“Yes.” Though it was low and quiet, no doubts shook her voice. “By the time you showed up, I was hoping to kill him myself. How did you find me, by the way? Freeman and I headed north, not south.”
“That Rat made one huge mistake: he threatened you. I could feel it, even lying there with a bullet in my shoulder. And I knew where to find you. He couldn’t have hidden from me if he’d tried.”
