by Maya Banks
his arms to clear the path. He finally shouted for Braden to get the hell in and help him out.
Between the two of them, they finally managed to free themselves from the tangle, and Ian stood unsteadily with Katie in his arms.
“I’ll take her. You get the guns,” Braden said as he reached for her.
Ian gripped her tighter and shook his head. “I’m fine. Let’s go.”
Braden regarded him skeptically but then shrugged, bent down and collected the rifles and started out ahead of Ian. They moved at a fast clip, and though Ian was tiring, he forged ahead, determined to get back to the truck so they could get the hell to the airport.
When they got to where the SUV was parked, Ian headed for the backseat.
“Put the seat down and you drive,” he instructed Braden. “I need to see how bad she’s hurt, and we can’t afford to waste any more time.”
Braden quickly collapsed the backseat and then climbed up front. Ian laid Katie down and got in after her.
“It’s going to be bumpy getting out,” Braden warned.
Ian nodded and positioned himself so Katie wouldn’t roll to the floor.
After examining the filthy wound, he decided it wasn’t as bad as it looked. It needed stitches. Several. She’d lost a lot of blood but it was nothing that would kill her.
Her face had taken another beating. Her lip was split and swollen, and a dark bruise shadowed her cheek. He was thankful the jaguar attacked Ricardo and not Katie. He only wished he’d been cognizant of making the kill. He would have relished every second.
In an odd gesture of tenderness, he trailed a finger softly over her cheek and to the bloodied cut at her lip. And then, realizing that he was wasting valuable time, he cursed and yanked his hand away.
He reached for one of the bags in the back and hoped he still had enough shit to get the cut cleaned and bandaged. He paused when he found one of the syringes with the sedative.
Her remaining unconscious until they got on the plane served several purposes. She wouldn’t cause further trouble, and she’d also not feel anything when he cleaned the wound.
After injecting her, he waited a few moments before pulling out a bottle of water and several bandages. He meticulously cleaned all the dirt and debris from the cut. After swabbing the fresh rush of blood, he carefully pushed the edges of the cut together and added small strips of medical tape to keep it closed.
He applied a clean bandage and secured it. If she didn’t move much, it shouldn’t start bleeding again.
“She all right?” Braden asked.
Ian looked up to see Braden watching in the rearview mirror. He offered a short nod.
“I’ve sedated her so she should be out until we get on the plane. I cleaned the wound. It needs stitching. I’ll call Eli before we take off and make sure he has a doc lined up when we land.”
“Let’s just hope we get to the plane in one piece,” Braden muttered.
Chapter Nineteen
Tyana watched as Eli finished shoving his clothes into a duffel bag and then tossed it onto the bed. Afterwards, he methodically performed a weapons check, going over each gun, each piece of electronic equipment.
She was jealous as hell.
D had left with Marcus hours before, and now Eli prepared to rendezvous with Tits before they headed to Austria.
She was itching to go. She wanted Esteban, and she wanted him badly. Wanted to make him pay for D’s pain and suffering.
“You look like you just swallowed a really nasty-tasting bug, sugar,” Eli drawled.
She blinked and then glared at Eli. “I hate being left behind,” she muttered.
He grinned and dropped a kiss on her upturned lips. “Yeah, I know you do. I’d rather you come along because I hate leaving you, but until that cast comes off, you’re stuck here.”
“Get him for me, Eli,” she said softly. “Promise me you’ll take him down for D. For what he tried to do to you.”
Eli’s expression turned serious. “I know how much D means to you, Tyana. I know how much it’s hurting you to be separated from him. I’m going to do everything I can to help you both. I have a personal stake in this, remember? Ian and Braden aren’t far behind D. They’re deteriorating more each day.”
She grimaced. “I don’t mean to leave them out of the equation, Eli. It’s just that for so long it’s been just me and D. It’s hard for me to get used to the idea that we aren’t alone anymore.”
Eli brushed her hair behind her ear. “No, sugar, you aren’t alone. You’ll have me for as long as you want me.”
Though the words were meant to comfort her, she saw the flash of uncertainty. Was he so unsure of her feelings? How could he not know how much she wanted him, how much she needed him?
Because you’ve never told him, dumbass.
The idea of laying bare her soul made her lightheaded. But he’d already given up so much for her. To give him the words seemed like so little. If only it didn’t feel like she was stabbing an ice pick through her eyeball.
Queasiness attacked her stomach, and she was sure she was turning green.
“Tyana? Are you okay?”
Eli’s concerned voice reached through the haze, and she focused on his face. On the earring that glittered in his ear. On the strands of dark hair that hung to his shoulders.
“I love you,” she blurted out.
Mortified by the brash way it tumbled out of her mouth, she closed her eyes and prayed he hadn’t heard.
“Tyana,” he said in a quiet voice.
She opened one eye to peek at him. In that moment she wanted to throw her arms around him and kiss him senseless. He seemed to understand how difficult it had been for her. He didn’t demand she say it again. Didn’t make a huge deal out of it. But she could see the stark relief in his eyes, and in that moment, she’d tell him a hundred times over if it meant he’d never look at her with insecurity again.
“I love you too.”
“I’m sorry I haven’t told you before now,” she went on in a rush. “I assumed you knew, I mean—”
He hushed her with a kiss. Long and slow. Gentle yet demanding. She emitted a little sigh as she melted into his arms.
“I do know,” he said as he pulled away. “But it’s damned nice to hear.”
“Eli, chopper’s here,” Mad Dog called from the other side of the door.
“Be right out.”
He glanced back at Tyana as he made a grab for his bags on the bed.
“Well, that’s my ride, sugar. I’ll see you in a few days. Try not to drive Mad Dog and Jonah too crazy, okay?”
She smiled but thought it was a rather weak attempt. He slung a backpack over his shoulder then leaned in to give her a quick kiss before he threw open the door and hurried out.
As she watched him go, she was struck by the thought that a few days ago she’d wanted this reprieve. Wanted room to breathe. And now, suddenly, the two people she loved most in the world were gone.
Hollow achiness invaded, stretching and invading her veins like poison. Alone. She was alone. And it felt horrible.
Chapter Twenty
“What the hell do you mean, they changed safe houses on us?”
The furious words swarmed in Katie’s ears even as she couldn’t quite force her eyes open. There wasn’t a muscle in her body listening to what her brain was telling it, and so she continued to lay there like a limp noodle. Wherever there was.
“No, I don’t like it, Eli. CHR still has places for us to crash. Why are we relying so heavily on Falcon?”
Ian. Ian was talking to someone, and he was pissed. He made a rude noise before continuing on.
“We need a doctor as soon as we hit the ground. Katie’s hurt. No, it’s not too serious, but she needs stitches.”
Vaguely, other sounds began to register. The low hum vibrating her body. The whir of an engine. A jet?
Shit. She was on a goddamn plane.
And then the events of the day, or yesterday, because who t
he hell knew how long she’d been out, stormed through her bruised mind.
She was on a plane with a bunch of wild animals.
She lurched upward and nearly passed out when pain ripped across her abdomen. Almost as quickly, a big hand planted itself over her chest, the palm a little too close to her breast for her liking. She found herself shoved back down on the couch. Couch? On a plane?
Her head was about to explode with confusion.
Braden loomed over her, his expression grim. “Stay your ass down. You trying to open up your wound again? You’ve already bled like a stuck pig.”
When she didn’t immediately respond, his expression tightened, and his eyes glittered with challenge. He pulled a syringe out of his pocket and held it where she could see it.
“You’ve got two choices, sister. You can stay down or I can knock your ass out. Makes no difference to me, and quite frankly, you’re less of a pain in my ass when you’re out cold.”
She forced herself to relax, and slowly he took his hand off her body and stood to his full height.
“Where are we?” she asked, her voice cracking. God, she was thirsty. And so damn hungry her stomach was going to start eating itself.
“We’re landing in Austria in about an hour and a half,” he said.
“Austria? What the fuck?” She started to raise her head, but he gave her a warning look and hovered menacingly.
“Yeah, well, it wasn’t our first choice either,” Braden muttered.
“How is she?” Ian asked as he shoved his way past Braden.
Katie stared at him and shrank back against the seat. How could he look so normal? Had what happened been the product of her twisted mind? Had she finally lost her grip?
Ian’s eyes flashed and then he spun around and stalked out of her vision.
“You deal with her,” he tossed back to Braden. “Apparently she’s not afraid of you.”
“Bullshit,” Katie refuted.
Braden raised an eyebrow. “What the hell did I do?”
“So what’s your little trick?” she demanded. “Lion? Wolf? Hyena?”
“Very funny,” he growled.
“I wasn’t joking,” she said, her voice deadly quiet. “What the fuck are you? All that bullshit about a seizure disorder. Is that a codeword for turning into wild animals?”
Again his eyebrow went up and his eyes twinkled with amusement. “Seizures?” He turned in the direction Ian had walked. “You know anything about seizures, Ian?”
Ian muttered something unintelligible.
“Can I get up?” she asked. “I don’t like lying down where I can’t see. I want to be able to defend myself if the need arises.”
Braden’s gaze narrowed. “Defend yourself from who?”
“You,” she said evenly.
He shrugged and bent down to help her up. “We can eat you sitting up just as well as lying down.”
She went to slug him, but he caught her fist in his firm grip. He stared levelly at her. “You’re starting to get predictable.”
He picked her up, and even though he was extremely gentle, she let out a low moan.
“Sorry,” he muttered as he set her in one of the larger chairs independent of the couch.
She sucked in several breaths and waited for the fire to subside in her gut. She glanced down to see that all the blood was gone, she was wearing a fresh T-shirt way too large for her, and she was still barefooted. For some reason that amused her.
When she let out a shaky laugh, Braden shot her a concerned look.
“What’s so funny?”
“My feet.”
“Your feet?”
“Yeah. No shoes. I’ve run across God knows how many states with no shoes.”
She said it almost mournfully which was stupid. To be hung up on shoes when she was damn lucky to be alive at this point was absurd.
“We’ll get you shoes when we land,” Braden said gruffly. “You need to rest.”
“I’m starving,” she said. “And thirsty. I’d kill for about a gallon of water.”
He froze for a moment, and then he let out a rush of scorching expletives. Then he turned. “Hey Ian, do we have anything to eat on this damn thing? Katie still hasn’t eaten. Hell, I haven’t eaten.”
Ian reappeared a few moments later with a handful of snacks and some bottled water. “Sorry,” he said as he thrust them at her. “It’s all we’ve got.”
She latched onto them gratefully. First she ripped off the top to one of the water bottles and slugged the liquid down like an alcoholic falling off the wagon.
“Slow down. You’re going to make yourself sick,” Braden said gently.
She managed to slow herself just as she drained the last of the first bottle. Then she turned her attention to the array of food she’d dropped on her lap. There was a box of crackers, a bag of chips, a couple of cereal bars and some sort of fruit shit.
She opened the chips and the crackers then ripped open a cereal bar.
“And she calls us wild animals,” Braden said with an amused snort.
Both Katie and Ian glared at Braden who simply shrugged with a distinct I-don’t-give-a-fuck air.
As she devoured a cereal bar, she glanced up at Ian who hadn’t yet retreated. She tried to see a glimpse of the jaguar, and then she wondered at the sheer idiocy of her thoughts. People couldn’t change into animals. They just couldn’t.
“Eat first, Katie,” Ian said in a low, stiff voice. “We’ll talk afterward.”
She stopped chewing, frozen as she stared back at him. Finally she nodded and resumed eating.
She polished off the cereal bar, scarfed the bag of chips and ate half the crackers before she even considered slowing down. The other cereal bar she held was tempting even though she felt the urge to puke.
Only the idea of having to barf and the agony it would cause her because of her injury made her put it away with regret. She contented herself with another full bottle of water and finally leaned back with a sigh. She couldn’t even remember the last time she’d eaten. Ricardo hadn’t concerned himself with making sure she was fed and those days were a big blur anyway.
Through it all, she watched Braden and Ian suspiciously, looking for any of the erratic behavior they’d displayed before. Ian’s lips were tight, but Braden stood in a defiant posture, clearly inviting her to fuck off.
“What are you?” she demanded.
Ian’s lips curled in irritation while Braden continued to stare her down, his eyes as unfriendly as his posture.
“Don’t look at me like I’m some kind of pond scum,” she burst out. “I’m not the problem here.”
Braden snorted, and she glared heatedly at him.
“You came after me,” she pointed out. “Things have been bizarre since the day you kidnapped and drugged me. You act strange, like you’re hanging on to control by a thread. The next thing I know, Ian turns into some kind of damn big-ass cat and tears Ricardo’s throat out. And then you want to get snotty when I run like hell and act worried about the fact that I’m trapped thirty thousand feet in the air with two wild animals?”
Ian lost some of his surliness. He dragged a hand through his hair and walked over to flop into the chair across from Katie.
Braden remained standing, but he turned to include Ian in his view. The two brothers exchanged what could only be described as looks of resignation. There was more there. A deep sorrow. Katie’s chest tightened even as she damned herself for feeling anything for these two men.
“Did Gabe ever tell you anything about our mission to Adharji?” Ian asked.
Her brow puckered, and her eyes narrowed in confusion.
“I’ll take that as a no,” he said dryly.
She shook her head.
“We were on a hostage recovery mission when we got gassed. We were captured behind enemy lines and were prisoners until we escaped several days later.”
“Gassed? What kind of gas?”
“That’s just it. We don’t know. But whate
ver it was turned us into a bunch of shifters. In my case a jaguar, as you’ve seen.” He gestured toward Braden. “He turns into a panther. Eli is more elemental. He can turn into shit like vapor, or smoke, steam, funky shit.”
“And Gabe? Was he affected?” she asked hesitantly.
Ian nodded.
“Wow, he never said—I mean he never told me.” She twisted her hands nervously in her lap. She’d always thought she and Gabe were close, but now she wondered how much of his interaction with her was solely based on obligation. “What was wrong with him?” she asked as she looked back up at Ian. “I don’t understand how this happened. It’s like something out of science fiction.”
“Gabe could become invisible,” Braden said.
“Invisible? Why something so different? That doesn’t make sense. The rest of you change physical forms, become something else entirely and he merely became invisible?”
“None of it makes sense,” Ian said tersely. “We were some scientific experiment gone wrong. Or at least Braden and I were. There was one other guy, our guide, and apparently he fared the worst. While Eli and Gabe were stable, the rest of us have no control over when and how we shift, and we retain no human cognizance when we’re in animal form.”
“Shit,” she breathed.
“Yeah, tell me about it,” Braden muttered.
“So Gabe could become invisible at will? And you and Ian have no control?”
She couldn’t hold back the surge of fear at being at the mercy of unstable shifters. She’d seen what Ian could do in jaguar form. He’d gone for the kill with no hesitation, and it hadn’t been pretty.
“We carry an inhibitor,” Ian said. “It’s in aerosol form. Most of the time it works to prevent shifting. Lately though…”
“Since we met you it isn’t as effective,” Braden said bluntly.
“Me?” She reared her head in surprise. “What do I have to do with anything?”
“Braden,” Ian growled in warning. “There’s no point.”
Braden ignored him. “I have no idea, sister. I’d love the answer to that. All I know is that ever since we got around you, our shifts have been more erratic, and the only thing that’s worked has been knocking ourselves out.”
“Seems like it would be a damn good idea to stay away from me,” she said sweetly. “Funny I suggested that from the beginning, but you didn’t seem to listen.”
“Look, Katie, I know it has to freak you out,” Ian said. “If it makes you feel better, we’ll give you the inhibitor so you can keep it on you at all times, and we’ll give you preloaded syringes with a sedative that would knock an elephant out. Worse comes to worst, you stick that in our ass and run like hell. Believe me when I say we’re not any happier about this situation than you are.”
