She laughed at that, rolling her eyes as she led him toward the Jeep. “Yes, the burgers are safe. Come on, let’s get out of here before the police show up. This is a mess.”
She stopped as she caught sight of the dead coyote shifter at her feet. Like before, he was human—and like before, he was inked. And there was no mistaking it this time. He had the Maker’s Mark statue—or a rough rendition of it anyway—tattooed on his arm.
She sucked in a breath. Now she would have to tell Zak. This was too big to keep quiet. His original theory had been right after all.
Before she could summon the words, Del caught sight of something else. A scrap of fabric hung out of the man’s pocket. Zak must have seen the same thing because he slipped free of the arm she’d wound around his waist and crouched to get a closer look.
With careful movements, he reached down and lifted the fabric free. Del sucked in a sharp breath as she recognized it for what it was. Dammit. Now, Zak would know it too.
“It’s a sock,” he said, obviously confused as he inspected it. Finally, he brought it to his face and sniffed. His head whipped up to hers. “It has your scent.”
She waited for him to realize what she’d already figured out.
“They aren’t after the team. They’re after you,” he said.
Del nodded. Zak was right. This wasn’t about land preservation. This was personal. They wanted Del—or something she had—and clearly they weren’t going to stop until they killed her for it.
Chapter Eleven
Zak marched back to the Jeep, resisting the urge to drag Del along beside him. Or better yet, throw her over his shoulder a second time and carry her off to safety. She was right. He was a caveman at least when it came to protecting his mate. And he wouldn’t apologize for it. At least he didn’t stare at her while she gathered the clothes she’d dropped earlier and slid back into them.
He felt like an idiot. It had taken him too damned long to figure out these coyotes were about something bigger than a land protest. They wanted Del. Or the statue. He’d seen that tattoo although he hadn’t mentioned it—and he knew what it represented from his little perusal of her hidden item still wedged in his Jeep.
He waited to comment on the ink, wanting her to point it out, to admit it all or even some of it. But she hadn’t. He’d been too blinded by his feelings for her to see how big this secret was and now, they were in much deeper than he’d realized.
This wouldn’t stop when they got back to Fort Jericho. Not if the statue was real. And he’d already seen it with his own eyes when she’d gone to order their burgers. It was tiny but definitely legit. Could he really pawn her off on another bodyguard and just walk away? Let someone else be responsible for keeping her alive?
He already knew the answer to that one. Just the thought of it, of seeing her with someone else, already had him itching for another brawl. And he had a feeling he’d get one at this rate. Those coyotes had an annoying knack for finding them at every stop. That pissed him off too.
He made it back across the highway to the Jeep before rounding on another gas station patron and sneering in the man’s face. “What the hell are you looking at?”
“Ack!” The man screeched and scurried away into his car, gunning the engine before peeling out of the lot.
Zak grinned. It gave him a small sense of satisfaction to see the man run scared. Probably didn’t help that he was still naked but he’d long since grown comfortable with his own body thanks to his days the military. If someone else wasn’t, well, that was their problem.
“Are you done scaring the locals?” Del asked. Her raised brow only made him grin wider.
“I needed to do something to cheer myself up,” he said. “But you’re right, I can think of a much better idea.”
He started toward her and she shook her head, backing away. “No way, caveman. You stay on your side of the vehicle.” She slid into the passenger side of the car and shut the door before he could argue.
He went to the trunk and rummaged for a clean pair of pants, slipping them on and then going back for a shirt and boots. The smell of stale fries and burgers reminded him what the interruption of the coyotes had cost him. His head snapped up and he found the blonde—Ashley?—watching him from the backseat, slightly terror-stricken, a fry poised at her open mouth.
“There better be something left in that bag when I get in,” he said.
Ashley nodded an assurance, popped the fry into her mouth, and shoved the bag at Del who waited up front.
Zak slammed the back hatch and rounded the car, turning the key he’d thankfully left in the ignition earlier. Del offered him a greasy wrapper which he took before twisting to look at Ashley. “What are we doing with your new friend?” he asked.
“She’s coming with us,” Del said as if resigned but not thrilled about the idea. His brow rose and she added, “Well, she’s not safe out there.”
Zak’s eyes narrowed at Ashley’s reflection in the rearview. “The question is whether you and I are safe with her in here.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” Ashley demanded.
“Those coyote shifters keep finding us somehow,” he pointed out.
Del glared at him hard enough for him to feel its heat. “I told you, I met her back at the motel. She’s a local. Human. Not a coyote shifter.”
“And not a rat,” Ashley put in.
Zak eyed her, unconvinced. “Why are you here?”
Ashley bit her lip, hesitating, then sighed. “My parents aren’t around, all right? My Uncle Roger has a chop shop in Ledo and I boost some product for him to make extra money. Keeps a roof over my head.” She looked down and then back up. “Also keeps Uncle Roger from knocking me around when business and booze get slow, and well—business has been extra slow lately. I just wanted a ride out of there. I’ll figure out the rest.” Her eyes narrowed. “And I’m not a narc.”
Zak swallowed back the fury at the girl’s story. He had a special kind of disgust for men who knocked women around. But he wasn’t ready to let her off the hook just yet. Not with Del’s safety on the line. “Why us? Plenty of cars pass through that station, I imagine,” Zak said.
She grinned and spread her arms wide. “Hello. You have the Limited Edition Back Country Edition. It wasn’t even a choice.”
Zak narrowed his eyes. “How did you say you two met?” he asked, rounding on Del again.
She winced. “She might have been trying to boost your Jeep at the Stop & Sleep.”
“Rental,” Ashley corrected.
Zak stared at Del.
“You heard her situation,” Del said. “She can’t go home.”
He tossed his burger down and got out, ignoring the protests and questions from both women. An idea had been rubbing against the back of his mind for a while now. He did a full 360 around his car, slowly inspecting every inch of black paint and chrome. When that proved clear, he slid onto his back, shuffling underneath the front undercarriage and then the back. He scanned the underbelly looking for anything that didn’t belong there.
Bingo.
He reached up and yanked a small black box off the frame near the back tire. It had no lights or switches but he’d seen enough of them to know what he’d found. He slid out and made his way to Ashley’s door, yanking it open and shoving the object in her face.
“This one of yours?” he demanded in a low voice, even though he already knew it wasn’t. His shifter instincts told him her story was true. But he needed to hear her say it just the same.
“No, what is that?” Ashley asked, brows crinkling as she studied the small box.
“A gift,” Zak said, disgusted with himself yet again. He slammed her door shut and dropped the tracker on the ground in front of him. Del got out just as he brought his heel down hard on the thing, shattering it into a mess of plastic and wires.
“Zak, what’s going on? What is that?”
“A tracker. Courtesy of our coyote friends,” he said, grinding the pieces into dust
with his boot.
Del’s eyes widened and he checked his temper when he saw the shock—and the fear—in her. “That’s how they knew where we were,” she said.
“Not anymore,” he assured her.
She didn’t resist as he wound an arm around her waist and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Ashley didn’t do it,” Del began.
“I know,” he said quietly.
But someone had. And he needed to know who before this got any worse. She didn’t ask again whether Ashley could stay and he didn’t offer. He knew it was futile to resist anyway. Del had clearly made up her mind. They got back in the car and Zak waited until they were back on the road to pick the conversation up where they’d left off.
He downed a burger and half of his fries before asking the question that was running circles in his mind. “You going to tell me who’s after you?” he asked. Beside him, Del stiffened and looked away. Zak braced himself for her denial.
When she looked back, she’d arched a perfectly sculpted brow at him. “What makes you think I know?” she asked coolly.
“Because you didn’t once demand to know who was behind your kidnapping attempt back there,” he said. Del’s responding pout only confirmed his suspicions further. “What the hell, Del,” he said, slamming his palm against the steering wheel, fuming all over again.
“I don’t know,” she yelled back. “I only know they’re determined to get to me.”
“Why?” he said through clenched teeth.
“Your guess is as good as mine.”
He growled an indiscernible response. His shifter instincts were picking up on something loud and clear. She was holding something back. And not just the attraction that lay underneath everything she said and every look she sent him. That had been there from the moment he’d spoken to her. This was something else. Fated Mate or not, if she wasn’t careful, his little princess was going to get them all killed.
Chapter Twelve
Del stared at the sea of red clay hills that stretched all the way to the horizon. In every direction, desolate terrain made of dirt and clay rolled and stretched, interrupted only by the ribbon of highway Zak navigated.
His demand from hours ago still rang in her ears. He’d finally realized there was more to this than she’d let on. And the worst part was that he deserved to know the truth. But her promise—her task—was bigger than his forgiveness. Even if it meant losing him.
She’d come out here to retrieve the one thing that would put an end to the feuding that had gone on for generations in Fort Jericho. The turf war that had killed her father—and Zak’s father too—was finally fixable. And up until the moment Del had deciphered that damned statue, she’d been determined to fix it. But it turned out the solution was far more complicated than she’d anticipated. Especially when she factored in Zak and her feelings for him.
In the backseat, Ashley snorted and then settled again, back to sawing logs with her mouth hanging open. Del caught Zak’s eye and smiled wryly. His mouth curved slightly upward. Not quite a smile but close enough. A peace offering.
And it only made her feel worse.
He’d gotten an email earlier when they’d driven through a good service area. Something about it had changed him. She hadn’t asked about the contents of the message, and he hadn’t offered but he’d looked at her differently. She knew she couldn’t lie to him much longer.
She opened her mouth, ready to let the whole truth tumble out but Zak’s muttering cut her off. “What now…?”
She had to squint to make sure she wasn’t seeing a mirage. A brown sedan was parked on the shoulder ahead, almost blending perfectly with the backdrop of the clay hills behind it. A figure leaned against the car, head down, mousy brown hair covering her face as she stared at what looked like her phone.
As they got closer, the woman straightened and waved her arms wildly, hailing for them to stop. Del recognized the woman—and the two flat tires on her car. Zak might have noticed too, but he showed no signs of slowing down.
Del leaned forward, her hand braced on the dash. “Stop the car!”
Ashley woke with a start, sitting up in a daze and mumbling, “Bingo.”
“We can’t pick up any more strays,” Zak said but he rolled to a stop and pulled in just ahead of the incapacitated vehicle.
Del shot him a glare. “Nice to know what you really think of me and Ashley,” she said.
Zak frowned. “Well, not you,” he said and Del shoved out of the car, exasperated.
She jogged back and caught Janet by the elbows as the woman sagged in relief into Del’s open arms. “Del, I can’t believe you found me,” she said. “I’ve been sitting here for hours waiting for someone to come by.”
Del patted her on the back reassuringly. “What happened to your car?”
Janet shook her head, at a loss as Ashley and Zak joined them. He handed her a bottle of water and she took it gratefully. They waited while she chugged a few gulps. “Something darted into the road. Rabbit, maybe, and I swerved to miss it. I think I ran over a nail on the shoulder. I heard a pop and then that was it.”
She looked back at her car and then to Del again with a grateful smile. “I’m just glad you got here when you did. I was not looking forward to being out here overnight.”
“Well, you’re safe now,” Del assured her.
Janet nodded and gulped more water. “Thank you. It looks like I won’t miss the family wedding after all.”
Del swallowed hard against the nausea at the reminder of her impending nuptials.
“Wedding?” Ashley’s eyes widened. “You guys are getting married? That rocks. Can I be your maid of honor? Oh, can I plan your bachelorette party?”
Janet’s brow wrinkled like she was just seeing Ashley for the first time. “I’m sorry, do I know you?”
“I’m Ashley Vaughn, reformed car thief.”
Janet gave Ashley a quizzical look that made Del bite back a laugh. Sometimes, honesty was the hardest to believe. “Well, feel free to take mine. I’m officially done with it.”
“Really?” Ashley eyed the beater with new interest. Del smacked her shoulder.
“No, not really. Come on,” Del said, ignoring Zak’s scowl. “We’ll give you a ride.”
Chapter Thirteen
Del’s insides felt like a braid wrapped too tight. For an hour now, Janet had chatted almost non-stop about the upcoming wedding that awaited them in Fort Jericho. Apparently, she’d been talking to Del’s mother and knew all about the plans from the décor to the priest to the private garden party afterward complete with ice sculptures. Del hated ice sculptures.
“Ice sounds like a nice reprieve after all this heat,” Ashley put in, and Del was grateful for the first time since picking Ashley up. At least her inane responses saved Del from having to come up with one of her own.
Zak was no help. Just a rigid, unmoving stone of a driver. Expressionless and unwavering as the sun set around them. She scowled at him but he didn’t even seem to notice. He kept checking his email.
She hated to admit his non-responses were starting to bother her especially when they talked about the wedding. Maybe he hadn’t been serious after all about having real feelings for her. About thinking she was his fated mate. Maybe she was going to look like the world’s biggest idiot when they got home and realized all this had ever been to him was a job.
“…and that’s when Zak got to him and knocked him down, snatching Del into his arms and killing that coyote all in a single move just like he killed all the others,” Ashley was saying. Del sat up straighter, remembering it a little differently but unwilling to interrupt. “It was badass,” Ashley added on a sigh.
“Coyotes?” Janet frowned over at Del. “These aren’t the same ones that attacked you back at the dig site, are they?”
“I’m afraid so,” Del said.
“But how did they know where you’d be?” she asked.
“Zak found a GPS planted on the car,” Del said. Her eyes flickered to him
and she added, “And they seem to be bent on getting to me for some reason.” Zak’s jaw twitched at that.
“Hmm.” Janet’s expression clouded over with worry. “Does that make going home the best option?”
Del frowned. She’d considered that but she needed to get home to deliver the statue. Or at least, that had been her plan initially. Before Zak had used words like Fated Mate. And before she’d spotted the Maker’s Mark tatted onto the arm of her attackers. “I don’t know anymore. But I don’t have anywhere else to go,” she said.
“I have a place you can stay for tonight,” Janet said. “It’s not far from here. If you want to lie low for a bit until we figure this out. Maybe call in some extra security to help out at your mother’s.”
“This place you’re offering. Does it come with a priest?” Zak asked, shocking Del into confused silence.
“Well, no,” Janet said.
“I’m ordained,” Ashley offered.
Everyone turned to stare at her. Even Zak. “You’re what?” Del demanded.
She shrugged. “Uncle Roger was a hustler. He saw opportunity everywhere. I’ve done three weddings and a funeral.”
Zak snickered and eyed Del. “Well, darlin’, it looks like this was meant to be after all. We have a priest.”
“Priestess,” Ashley corrected without missing a beat.
“And we have a witness,” Zak added, winking at Janet through the rearview.
“You can’t be serious,” Del said.
“I thought you two were already married,” Janet said, looking back and forth between them.
“We used it as a cover while we were running from the coyotes,” Zak explained. “But since that isn’t working, I guess it’s time to commit to the real deal.”
“How does getting married help you evade these coyotes?” Janet asked.
“It doesn’t. But it makes it a lot harder for my bride to be to break up with me after I’ve killed them all and made her safe again.”
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