Falke’s Captive

by Madison Layle

  Reidar dared another glance at Torsten and spoke softly. “Because we were with her this morning.” Kelan stiffened beside him. Reidar looked back at Axel and Gunnar who now sat next to him, still in puma form. “We spent last night, all night, in her hotel room and in her bed, right up until about twenty minutes ago.”

  “Goddamn it!” Axel pulled away from his mate and spun with both hands diving into his hair out of obvious frustration. “You tell us you’re going to deal with the threat to our family, and that’s the way you two decide to do it?” He turned back to point at them again. “Did it never dawn on you two dolts that she could be using you? Keeping you occupied while her cohorts kidnapped Falke?”

  “You don’t know a—”

  “Kelan,” Reidar said, stopping his emotional brother in midyell. “Arguing over this is not going to get Sindre back any sooner.”

  I agree, Gunnar said. Whether or not the woman is involved is a matter to debate later. We need to find Sindre.

  “I agree too,” Torsten said, standing up from where he’d been sitting on the back fire escape.

  “Okay,” Reidar said, looking at him. “Fill us in. What happened?”

  Torsten’s troubled gaze met his, and Reidar could sense the stress this was putting on his little brother. “Look, all I know is he wanted to take a quick shower before he shifted to Falke for the day, so I headed down before him to open up. He was supposed to follow soon after, and I left the back door ajar for him, but he never showed.”

  “Okay. Did you see anything?” Torsten shook his head, but Reidar continued the interrogation. The others might have heard it all already, but he and Kelan needed the details. “What about noises? Did you hear anything?”

  “Just some tires squeal.”

  “When was that?”

  “About five minutes after I opened up, but I had a customer at the counter. I didn’t get a chance to look outside.” Torsten was visibly torn with guilt, but Reidar tried his best to soothe the pain.

  “It’s not your fault.”

  “No, it’s mine,” Kelan said, making Reidar and everyone else look at him. He took a second to look at each person and cat. “It’s not Beth, but if it is someone she’s working with, then we’ll stop them and get Sindre back. We know where they are, but we have to move fast.”

  “I’m coming with you,” Torsten said, stepping closer.

  “No,” Axel said, putting the full weight of his alpha position behind that one word. “You’re going to get Heidi and go to Dads’ and stay with them until all of this is resolved. They need to be protected too in case this is something more than I think it is. These people might not settle for one cat.” He looked down at Gunnar and then up at him and Kelan. “I’m going to go with you.”

  No, Gunnar said at the same instant that Dakota grabbed Axel’s arm again. He placed his hand over hers.

  “It’s final. They obviously can’t handle this situation on their own.”

  That statement made Kelan and Reidar bristle, but for once Kelan made the wise choice and let someone else do the fighting.

  Without raising his voice, Reidar said, “You have to think of Dakota, Ax. You have babies to worry about.”

  “Don’t you think that’s what I’m doing?”

  “You’d put Dakota through the stress of worrying about you? While she’s carrying your children?”

  I’ll go. Gunnar stood up on all four massive paws.

  “Like that’s gonna make it any better for Dakota,” Kelan said softly.

  “None of this is going to make me feel better,” Dakota said, showing some of the spunk that won the hearts of two Falke men. “Not until Sindre’s back and everyone is safe again. Everyone! So stop all of this damn bickering and go find him.”

  “Amen,” Torsten said, giving her a smile.

  I’ll go, Gunnar repeated. You may be the family alpha, Ax, but none of you will succeed if you’re at each other’s throats and too busy arguing over this.

  After a brief hesitation, Axel nodded, and Gunnar told Kelan, Get me some clothes. Reidar, bring your truck around back.

  “Torsten can go get Heidi while Dakota and I lock things up here,” Axel said. “We’ll all meet at Dads’ place.”

  Okay.

  Reidar nodded and headed back down the alley, but before he turned the corner, he heard Axel tell Kelan, “Finish this.”

  “So, now that we’re all dressed like trees, what’s the plan?” Gunnar wanted to know.

  They’d changed into camouflage apparel taken from the store’s racks. But Kelan appreciated Gunnar’s willingness to let them take the lead. Axel wouldn’t have done that, but it was best if they worked together. And Kelan and Reidar knew more than all the rest combined. Where the lab was, what it looked like both inside and out. What Beth’s lab partner looked like. And they both were certain that Beth was not involved in this latest incident, but if her lab partner was to blame for Sindre’s kidnapping, that meant she might’ve walked into trouble after leaving them at the hotel.

  Kelan continued to stare out the windshield as Reidar weaved his four-wheel drive pickup through the underbrush along the ATV track they’d gone up the day before.

  “Sneak in, confirm Sindre is even there, and then rescue him,” Reidar said before glancing at Gunnar and then back to the trail. “You know, he might already have gotten away. I mean, if they leave him alone, he could do what Kelan did and get himself out of this mess.”

  “I hope you’re right,” Gunnar said, “but if not…”

  It was the not that worried Kelan and kept him silent. He’d tried to call Beth on her cell phone twice already, but she hadn’t answered. His gut told him something was seriously wrong. His fingers curled into tight fists.

  When Reidar pulled to a stop at the fence, Kelan was the first to leap from the truck.

  “Okay,” he whispered, thinking there was too damn much daylight. “The forestry’s base camp is about a hundred yards west of here, over that fence. We’re going to have to shift to get over it and then change back. We don’t know if they’re at the mobile lab or out scouting the area. Let’s keep it quiet.”

  Reidar and Gunnar nodded, both stripping as fast as possible. Reidar was the first over the fence and kept a lookout, with Gunnar following next. Kelan tossed all of their clothes over the fence, shifted and made the leap over while Reidar dressed and Gunnar watched for trouble. Soon, with all three fully dressed in camo once more, Kelan’s brothers fanned out a few feet to either side of him, and they began their trek through the woods to the base camp.

  Kelan felt as if he didn’t breathe again until he was close enough to see the lab was still where they’d left it the night before. And there was Beth’s Jeep. He took a second to close his eyes and fill his lungs with fresh air, which he let go with a sigh.

  The vehicle’s presence at the base camp didn’t explain why Beth wasn’t answering her phone, and until that mystery was solved, he wouldn’t be able to breathe without the ache in his chest.

  He and his brothers ducked down a few feet inside the tree line that surrounded the base camp when the sound of a revved motor echoed through the forest. Seconds later, a man he recognized as Tim came barreling out of the brush and onto the dirt drive, throwing a dust plume into the air as he whipped the ATV into a turn and pulled up to the back of the trailer.

  Who’s that? Gunnar asked.

  Kelan answered, Tim. He’s another student who’s working on the field project with Beth.

  Kelan watched as a second man, the older, heavier one they’d seen last night with Tim, stepped from the side of the trailer, shutting the door behind him.

  The professor, Reidar suggested, and Kelan concurred. But where was Beth? The professor met Tim at the end of the trailer as the younger man lined up the ATV to a pair of ramps. From the brothers’ vantage point, Kelan had a clear view of the trailer’s back doors, but they were closed, so he couldn’t see if Beth and Sindre were inside. And unfortunately, without a sight line t
o Sindre, they couldn’t communicate telepathically.

  But Kelan was close enough, hidden in the heavy overgrowth that lined the clearing, to hear the conversation between the two scientists.

  “I’ll put up the ATV,” the professor said as he grabbed onto the handlebar. “You go around and hook the trailer to the truck. We need to head back to the university.”

  “Why? I thought we were staying here ’til the end of next week.”

  The professor frowned. Apparently he didn’t like being questioned. “Plans have changed. There’s some more equipment that’s come in, and I want it installed in the lab. Plus I need to get back to the campus lab where I can do more in-depth tests on some of the research Beth started. After you drop me off, and the equipment’s installed, you can go back to the northernmost point on the map that she marked and begin gathering other samples from the wildlife up there.”

  “Oh, okay. Where is Beth? I wanted to tell her—”

  “She’s not here.” The professor sat on the ATV and revved the engine once.

  A confused look crossed Tim’s features. “But her Jeep’s over there.”

  “She rode into town with a ranger who stopped by earlier to check on us. I sent her back with him to check all of us out of the hotel and arrange for someone to drive my truck back to Seattle. She’ll meet you in Chelan tomorrow evening. Now get moving. I want to meet with Professor Sayers as soon as possible.”

  “Yes, sir,” Tim said, but Kelan could tell the professor’s explanations made no sense to him from the confused expression on his face.

  At least good ol’ Timmy wasn’t involved in whatever was going on.

  Something’s wrong, Reidar said telepathically. Beth would’ve called or told us if there’d been a change of plans. The concern was evident in his tone, even though the words weren’t spoken aloud.

  I know, brother. We’ll find her. Just stay put. We’ll figure something out.

  You think she might be in trouble too? Gunnar asked.

  Yes. She was supposed to come here this morning and convince the professor that she’d talked us into letting her have another sample of Falke’s blood.

  What?

  Kelan winced at Gunnar’s reaction, the volume pounding at his brain. It was a ruse! We were going to find another cougar, a non-shape-shifter, and pass off a sample of its blood as Falke’s. We could’ve used it to convince him that the originals were tainted.

  The professor got off the ATV, but waited for Tim to climb into the semi and crank the engine before he unlatched the double doors in the back of the trailer and shoved them open. The sight revealed had Kelan and his brothers cursing.

  Their telepathic reaction reached the puma locked inside the cage, and it let out a terrifying scream only partially drowned out by the noise of the big rig and the revving ATV being maneuvered into the trailer.

  Beth tried to shout despite the duct tape over her lips. Her heart pounded a furious beat against her breastbone, and her skin prickled. The damn puma scream was enough to scare a woman half to death.

  They’re here, Sindre told her.

  She widened her eyes at him and continued to struggle with the tape on her wrists. If she could just get loose…

  Sindre was on all fours, pacing.

  “Mmmm!” She eyed the vial as it rolled around inside the cage, but the cat wasn’t listening, at least not to her.

  Kelan says to stay calm. They’re going to get us out.

  “Mmm-mmm…” She rolled her eyes. Yes, she knew all of that, but he needed to stop freaking moving around before he knocked the vial out of the cage. She heard the semi start up.

  He says he and Reidar are here. And Gunnar too.

  She closed her eyes, burning with fresh tears. Hurry.

  The ATV shot into the rear of the trailer with the professor on it. He killed the engine, got off and leaped back outside to put away the ramps and shut the doors.

  Beth used her feet to roll her chair over to the cage and kick it.

  What? Finally, Sindre looked at her, and she looked down at the vial, which was now at the edge of the cage. Oh. He started to reach for it, but missed when the trailer was jolted from the outside. Her wide eyes met the cat’s gaze.

  The semi…Tim was hooking up. They were going to move out.

  The puma pawed at the vial again and covered it up as she pushed away from the cage and rolled back across the space a mere second before the side door opened and the professor stepped inside.

  This was a nightmare.

  How could Kelan and Reidar save them without revealing their secret? Was Tim in on it with the professor? Surely he saw her Jeep outside. He’d know she was in here.

  The trailer jostled again, and the professor stuck his head back out. After a few seconds, he asked, “All set?”

  “Yep, just got to raise the drops, and we’ll be ready to go,” she heard Tim holler. “You want to put up those steps and join me in the cab?”

  “No, you do it. I have a test underway in here. I want to keep an eye on it.”

  She could tell Tim drew closer. “You sure? It’s gonna be a bumpy ride, at least until we reach the highway. Most everything in there is bolted down, but you and the chairs aren’t.”

  Whitmore kept the door almost closed, but for a little room to clear his head. “I’ll be fine. I’ll…duct tape any loose things down so they don’t get away from me.”

  “Okay. Have it your way. Call me on my cell if you want to stop somewhere and pick up food or something.”

  “I’ll do that.”

  He closed the door, locked it, and turned to face her. The puma hissed at him, but the professor eyed her. “Now, my dear, what am I going to do with you?” He looked down, searching the floor. “And where did that vial go?”

  As soon as the truck began to move, Reidar saw Kelan jump to his feet and take off running. He’d been positioned directly behind the trailer and had the best view inside, and the angle to approach without being seen.

  Goddamn it, Gunnar shouted.

  Get the truck, Kelan shouted back, racing for the back of the trailer. Stop this damn semi!

  “Let’s go,” Reidar called to Gunnar after he saw Kelan leap safely onto the back and hang on to the vertical bars that made up part of the double doors’ locking mechanisms. He’d braced his feet on the horizontal steel beam that always hung from tractor-trailer rigs, designed to protect motorists from being decapitated in the event of an impact.

  “That damn, wild-assed brother of ours is gonna get himself killed,” Gunnar snapped as he caught up with Reidar sprinting for the fence.

  “That’s why we’re here. To make sure he doesn’t.” He cleared a rotten log and ducked past a low hanging limb.

  Without another word, both men shifted into catamount form and sped up. Kicking free of their shoes and hampered only by their clothes, they made faster time through the woods and leaped the fence simultaneously.

  Shifting back to human form, they climbed into the truck.

  “I think I ripped a hole in this shirt going over that fence,” Gunnar muttered.

  “Next time, jump higher.” Reidar cranked the engine, but there was nowhere for him to turn his vehicle around.

  Asshole. “There better not be a next time.”

  “Hang on. This is going to get tricky,” Reidar said as he jammed the gearshift into reverse, twisted around to look out the back, and stomped on the gas.

  On the back of the trailer, Kelan hung on for dear life and prayed the next damn pothole wouldn’t knock him loose. He had to get inside before he lost his grip. He had to rescue Beth and his brother, but he couldn’t risk letting go while the fucking terrain was so unpredictable.

  Another dip jarred him, so he used his knees to absorb the worse of the jolt.

  Hang in there, Sindre, he said, even though he knew his brother wouldn’t be able to hear him through the metal doors of the trailer.

  Where the hell were his brothers? He shot a look over his shoulder at th
e passing trees, trying to determine if they’d passed the ATV trail or not. He couldn’t tell, because he couldn’t see much from quick glances while he focused on not falling off.

  Then he heard an engine and the crunch of gravel as someone slammed on the brakes and the tires dug into the dirt. A roar behind him followed instantly by the sound of spraying gravel told him his brothers were coming, but he didn’t dare look back.

  A hard jolt and sway accompanied the rig’s turn onto the highway, but the ride smoothed out even as the big rig began to pick up speed. Kelan slid his left hand down one vertical bar to the handle, while he hung onto the other one, and yanked. The latch opened, but it was far from silent. He had no time to lose. He yanked hard on the door and, with all his strength, swung himself inside.

  Careful, Sindre warned, taking a swipe through the bars at the professor who advanced on Kelan. It slowed the man down and gave Kelan time to regain his footing.

  The professor attacked without a word, and Kelan went on the defensive, ducking a book thrown at his head and dodging an office chair the man sent rolling at him. Kelan knocked the latter object away, and it tumbled out the back of the trailer. He assumed the squeal of tires was Reidar’s effort to avoid the chair on the winding mountain road, but he didn’t have time to look back.

  He clung to the cage and pulled himself forward, but had to throw up an arm and turn away when the professor let loose with a fire extinguisher at his face. The white powdery cloud cleared just in time for him to block a blow from the same canister, although the fucking thing hurt like a son of bitch. And it pissed him off. He launched himself at the man, and the two fell to the floor, punching and scrambling for an advantage.

  As Kelan gained the upper hand, he heard a terrified squeal from Beth and saw her chair slip passed them, her feet shoving frantically at the smooth floor to stop her slide.

  Kelan shoved off the professor and flung himself at her chair, snagging one branch of the wheeled base in time.

  I’ve got her, Sindre said, his big paws reaching through the cage bars and wrapping around one of her legs.