Ignoring her attempt to distract him, he continued, “Didn’t we settle the matter concerning chain of command?”
“It’s not my way to stand by and do nothing.” She tried to shrug off his hands, but he tightened his grip on her arms.
“If it’s the last thing I ever do, I’m going to break you of this penchant to use yourself as bait.”
She pursed her lips and lifted a silvery brow. “Are we going to stand here arguing until we get caught?”
Drew emitted a frustrated growl and let her go. He needed to get a grip. He was torn between wanting to shake her or tuck her into his pocket for safekeeping. Then there was the residual lust riding him. Nothing like a cock-stand to make a man surly.
Turning away from Sabine, he pushed down the lever of the lock securing the rear door and eased it open. He listened, inhaling a lungful of air ripe with the scents of the city. The service road was empty of Redmavens, but they were close. It was all he needed.
He pulled Sabine through the door, and it slammed shut with a soft thud, locking them out. Never more aware of how vulnerable they were, he paused and waited for any sudden rush of movement.
Satisfied they were safe for now, he did a quick survey of the vehicles parked in the alley. He looked lustfully over at a sweet Suzuki Hayabusa custom job that he’d use in a heartbeat if he were on his own, but he wouldn’t mention that fact. Sabine would probably give him grief both for hesitating to use it because she was with him, and also if he took it, for putting her on a ride that could go from zero to a hundred miles in a couple of seconds. His mate didn’t appreciate speed.
He dismissed several cars. When his gaze settled on a big black monster of a tricked out Ford F-150, Drew grinned. It had, “this is a Badass truck” written all over it. Whoever owned it had issues, but then he had a few himself, and he wasn’t in the mood for subtle.
“That one.”
He stalked over to the sweet ride and cupped his hands on the window to see what kind of additional security it had wired to the horn. And Bingo, he saw the familiar logo of the same security system he had on his truck. The good news was he could reconfigure the alarm and the GPS. The down side to this was he’d have to be swift and accurate. He had under a minute to disengage the alarm and locks or they were screwed. He slid under the truck, took a dime out of his pocket and unscrewed the junction box that held the wires he’d need to reroute.
“Hurry, there’s a couple of Redmavens headed our way,” Sabine hissed. She crouched down to see what he was doing.
“Stay down. If they look down the alley, they won’t see us.” Sweat dripped down Drew’s face as he undid couplings and worked as fast as he could to identify the correct leads. The seconds ticked by in his head with the resonance of Big Ben. His fingers and mind flew.
“Did you have to choose the most conspicuous vehicle in the bunch?”
“If by some stroke of bad luck we are spotted, the horse power in this baby will give us a fighting chance.”
“I hope you know what the heck you’re doing. The time we have bought might be running out. The Redmavens are almost upon us.”
“Jeeze, woman, don’t rush me. One wrong connection and this thing will start bleating like a goat.” He connected the wires for the door locks to the battery and the soft thunk signaled they’d disengaged.
He scrambled out from under the truck and hustled Sabine into cab made dim by the darkly tinted windows.
Hot-wiring a car was a skill he acquired when Gustav denied him access to their cars, fearing his Evel Knievel stunts would get him killed. The engine let out a husky growl when he connected the two wires to bypass the ignition switch.
Drew reversed, drove with a studied nonchalance down the short back alley, and stopped until he could ease out into traffic. Rush hour. Good. They’d use it to blend in with the people heading to the suburbs. He spotted a gap in the line of cars coming up and he swung out to join the swarm of vehicles.
Sabine let out a long, relived sigh. The sound forced him to look over at her. He hadn’t gotten a hint of worry when they took down the Redmavens. She held it together admirably.
“Started to doubt I’d get us out of there?”
“Pfft, I knew you would, but I didn’t want your inevitable confrontation with Bardo to happen when we are outnumbered. He would have cheated. The scent of his desperation is almost manic.” She relaxed against the cushions.
Taking short swift glances at her between keeping an eye on the flow of cars, he watched her expression change from weary to ferociously feral.
She shot him a toothy wereish smile. “He is going to be even more frenzied when he realized we’ve slipped through his fingers. We’re going to have to come back to put him down. I can’t live with the constant fear of him hunting us.”
He retrieved his phone from his pocket, flicked it open, activated it, and auto-dialed his primo’s number. He hoped Rafe was well away from the area.
Rafe’s yeah was rife with the same annoyance he felt.
“Where are you?” Drew asked when Rafe finally acknowledged his call.
“On my way out of the city. Should I do a U-turn to pick you and Sabine up?”
“No, I have transpo. Things have gotten a little sticky. Did you find the den?”
“Yep, Aimee’s spoor is heavy in the air. She was there until recently. Or so I’ve been informed. The place was deserted so we didn’t linger. On the way back to the car, I recognized a couple of Bardo’s personal guards scouting the area. He can’t be far behind. And what the hell do you mean things have gotten sticky. Ishbel’s been yammering about coming back for her sister.”
“Bardo IDed me, and now we’re his targets.”
“Shit, I’m coming to get you.”
“No, I’m going to call Royal and let him know what’s going on. Our focus has shifted. We need to locate the were we tracked, it looks like he’s a Redmaven beta who has revolted, Bardo is hunting him too. He’d be our best bet to find Aimee.”
Drew recognized the sound of a scuffle.
“I don’t…Give that back,” Rafe ordered a second before Ishbel’s voice filled his ear.
“Are you all right? Sabine’s anxiety for you is rife on the wind. I told this mule-headed man we’d come back for you, but does he listen to me? No! He had to follow your orders.”
“Yes, she’s fine.” He twisted to the side as Sabine reached for the phone on hearing Ishbel’s voice.
“I know she’s fine. Are you hurt? Does she need my assistance?”
“I’m fine.”
“Oh good, I caught her concern for you.” Ishbel sighed. “Now put her on.”
Sabine worried about him? Well, that was a new one to him. The little imp used his distraction to snatch the cell from his hand. Sabine put the device to her ear. “Ishbel?”
“Sabi, is all well?”
“Yes, listen, we’ve sighted the were who has Aimee’s spoor on him.” She looked over at Drew as she continued to speak. “He’s headed north by sea. I think you and Rafe should try to pick up his scent trail by back-tracking along the route we took down here to see if he comes ashore at any point between here and the spot we first caught her scent.”
Ishbel snorted. “I would, but I don’t know if I can get this inflexible mass of muscles to agree to anything I suggest. I knew something was wrong and told him to drive around until we spotted you and Drew, but did he listen? No.”
“I was following my alpha’s instructions.” Sabine heard Rafe’s aggrieved response in the background.
“What are you, a mindless drone?” Ishbel’s riposte shot from the little device. “Are you sure you don’t want us to come to you, at the very least we could lure them away.”
Drew held out his hand and she handed him the phone. He pushed a button and she heard Rafe and Ishbel bickering.
“Ishbel tell Rafe to turn on the speaker so we all can follow this conversation.”
“Yeah.” Rafe’s tight voice echoed from the cell pho
ne.
“Sabine suggests you and Ishbel head back up the coast.”
“Like hell I will.”
“I’ll be right behind you. Like I said, I’ve acquired transportation, but I’m going to ditch it and get something less showy as soon as I feel we’re well out of Bardo’s reach. I’ll keep my phone on so you can tell us where to meet you. If you get wind of the S.O.B. who has Aimee’s spoor on him, get a fix on his location, and keep him under surveillance. We’re going to have a little a chat with him.” The deadly intent in Drew’s voice didn’t bode well for this Micah.
“Looking forward to that. See you in a bit.”
Drew disconnected the call and made another. “Royal, Savannah is lousy with Redmavens. It seems their alpha has arrived, so I want you to tighten the noose. Have my fighters form a net around the city, so no Redmaven gets out. Good, yeah, yeah, fine. I owe you one.”
He snapped the phone shut, dropped it on the seat between them, and hauled her to his side by the arm.
“So you were worried about me?” His thumb flicked over the pulse point in her wrist. It sent her heartbeat into a thready dance.
“Yes, and what about it?”
“You care about me, don’t you, Sabine?”
“Yes, I do” Her disgruntled answer elicited a snort from Drew.
“Don’t make it sound like it’s like swallowing a dose of nasty tasting medicine,” he teased. Seeing the warm regard in his eyes, she rested her forehead on his shoulder.
“That’s one way of putting it. I am in a bit of quandary. You make me want to stray from the destiny laid out for me.” She blew out air and looked over at him. “I didn’t get any peanut brittle.”
Her reply elicited a hearty laugh from her mate. She couldn’t help but chuckle too. It was where she wanted to be and where she belonged.
His hand tightened on her arm. “If I get you some, will you accept my mate’s mark?” The hint of demand beneath the amusement in his voice made her pause.
She didn’t know what to say. The spot where he’d put his brand pulsed and a hollow ache settled in the center of her chest. The yearning for the proof of their bond on her body grew daily.
Drew could laugh. He wasn’t the one who had to admit she might have been hasty about rejecting his mark. Did he covet the link as much as she did?
Ever honest, she blurted out, “Maybe…”
“Then soon.” He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and brushed his lips over the crown of her head. “The pleasure we’ve shared will pale in comparison to what is to come. Now that’s a new experience I can’t wait to share with you.”
Rife with carnal promises, the rumble of his voice sent vibrations rippling through her body. Now she ached in places she shouldn’t while a rabid wolf was on the hunt for them. But then the unexpected was to be expected with her mate.
And, to be perfectly honest, she liked it that way.
Chapter Twenty-eight
Sabine glanced over the muddy field packed with vehicles of every description. The colorful array reminded her of a swarm of hard-shelled bugs. The sky hovered between the brilliant orangey-pink of a dying evening and the moody gray and blues of dusk as Drew searched for another car to borrow.
She’d be glad when they reconnected with Ishbel and Rafe. The fear-fed adrenaline rush from evading the Redmavens had worn off. All she wanted was a bath, a bed and a lot of food.
Hearing a soft thunk, she turned to see Drew slide behind the wheel of a car. Sabine watched him pull down a bundle of electronic components from under the dash. He stroked the wire like the strings of a harp before he located whatever he needed to start the vehicle. She envied the ease with which he manipulated mechanical devices to suit his needs.
He unlocked the passenger side door. “Hop in babe, we’ve got ourselves a ride.”
She took her seat then winced as something sharp bit into her back. Sabine wiggled to find a comfortable spot. “Is this the best you could do?”
Drew’s brows shot up. “What are you, a budding car snob?” He maneuvered the car out of the lot and unerringly slipped into another never-ending flow of travelers.
“I don’t care one jot about cars, but these seats are terrible.” She was inexplicably irritable and anxious to see her sister.
“Why are you so crabby all of a sudden?” The question was valid. Her buoyant mood after their near brush with Bardo had evaporated.
After they’d left the detritus-filled city behind, her senses opened up. She caught intermittent whiffs of Micah’s musky masculine scent. Giddy that they were on the right track, she’d chattered at Drew but for the last half-hour a niggling uneasiness clawed at her perceptions. There was no hint of Redmaven spoor on the wind currents so she couldn’t understand her growing apprehension.
“Do you have a feeling like something is not quite right?” Sabine asked softly, staring out into the gloom broken by the blinding streaks of light left behind by the passing cars.
Drew sent her a perplexed look. “Not more than the ordinary. What’s off for you?”
Sabine shrugged. “Nothing. It’s nothing really. Maybe my senses are overloaded by everything I’ve had to filter through lately. There were many alien odors to identify, isolate and memorize.”
Drew’s eyes narrowed. He studied the traffic streaming over the opposite side of the road, before he glanced at the little mirror to observe whatever was coming up behind him.
His nostrils flared wide. “I don’t pick up on anything.”
She nodded in agreement. “Neither do I, not really.”
“Sabine, we live by our instincts, survived because of our hyperawareness. The Silverwolves are especially talented in that area. If you feel all is not as it should be, it isn’t. Let operate on the premise that you’re right, okay.”
“You’re believe me even though I’m not sure myself?” Secretly pleased with his belief in her, Sabine placed her hand on his thigh and squeezed. Drew removed one of his hands from the steering wheel and threaded his fingers through hers.
“Yep. Here is a new phrase for you to learn. Shit happens. And lately it’s been happening to us more than most.”
“Don’t say anything to Ishbel about my uneasiness. I want to see if she feels the same way I do without me bringing it to her attention.” She needed confirmation that this silent, unseen, odorless irritant existed. If her sister’s senses were prickling uncomfortably as much as hers were, they’d have to seek out the source.
“We’ll be with them within a half an hour. Rafe said the town we’re heading to has a heavy concentration of the rogue were’s spoor. We’ll check into a hotel and go hunting for him when the town settles down for the night.”
Silence filled the small car, a sense of togetherness, bolstered by the fact that she and Drew were now on the same level of alertness, which lessened her agitation.
* * * *
Drew pulled up beside the car Royal had loaned them on the deserted verge along the highway.
Sabine saw the uncertainty in her sister’s eyes and she immediately knew they shared the same disquietude.
Scrambling from the respective cars they’d been in, they hurried over to hug each other. “You feel it too, don’t you?” Sabine asked.
Ishbel nodded. “Yes. What do you think is causing it?”
They gripped each other’s forearms, needing the familial connection. They were bombarded by something indefinable. Ishbel was the only one there who understood what she felt.
Ishbel shook her head. “I don’t know what to look or listen for, or try to sniff it out.”
“I’d say it’s our sense of smell. It’s the one we can manipulate.”
Drew opened the back passenger door of the car. “Into the car, ladies, and let’s get moving. We’re out in the open here.” They complied, and he joined Rafe in the front of the car.
Rafe slid seamlessly into the northbound traffic. “Any sign of the were we’re hunting?”
“Not yet, but Redmavens hav
e spent some time in and around this town. Ishbel caught Aimee’s trail too, mostly in places you’d gather supplies.” At Drew’s sharply indrawn breath, he paused. “I didn’t mention this earlier to get your hopes up because it didn’t pan out. We got strongest hits in Target and Wal-Mart. The hinky thing is, we tried to track her, but lost her. Ishbel and I hunted for the Redmaven hideout using the scent trail we picked up down in Savannah, but it ended abruptly, too.”
Drew’s phone pealed loudly. He retrieved it from his pocket and frowned at the device before he took the call.
“Lunedare. Who is this?” Drew’s benign expression hardened, icicles formed in his eyes, and his lips pulled back into a ferocious grimace. Fury rolled off him in menacing waves.
“Where’s my sister!” Drew barked into the phone.
Sabine picked up the voice at the other end of the line, but didn’t recognize it.
“I don’t bargain with mutts. Let me talk to Aimee and I might let you live.”
Drew’s jaw clenched, he didn’t like what he heard.
“Where and when. Don’t fuck me over on this, Redmaven. If I have to wait a moment beyond the designated time I will skin you alive and make a pair of boots out of your hide.” He cut the call and a cold mimicry of a smile spread across his face. It chilled Sabine to the bone, in spite of the fact she knew her mate to be a good man.
“It seems the were we’ve been tracking wants to have a meet, and I’m to come alone.” The brown depth of Drew’s eyes burned with fury as he turned to face Rafe. “We know that’s not going to happen, since we are all showing up for the party. We have three hours to explore every nook and cranny by the pier where he wants to meet. I want to know it so well, we’ll be able to approach or leave the waterfront from several angles.” He paused and a feral smile spread across his face. “This Micah Redmaven does not move beyond the periphery of our awareness. I want us to know where he is the moment he sets foot on dry land.”
Her Wanted Wolf Page 30
