No Truer Love [Hondo, Texas Wolves 2]

by Claire Adele

  The bell on the front door jingled. She turned from the counter to see Darlene come in the shop. “Hey! What are you up to today?”

  “Ty came to me this morning and asked me to come by and say hi and see how you’re doing. Beau called, too. They’re worried about you having to deal with Cinco this evening. So, you’re planning on paying the loan to Cinco after work?”

  “Yes. The sooner, the better. I’m looking forward to being done with Cinco. In fact, I can hardly wait. I suspect that he and his men have been sneaking around my house, keeping track that I don’t leave town or something. Beau and Ty found footprints outside my windows last evening.”

  “Oh! That’s awful!” Darlene cried. “What scum those hoodlums are. I know you can hardly wait to be done with Cinco.”

  “I hope he’ll accept the payment today after I close the shop. I’m beginning to worry that he’ll refuse to do business that late in the day, just as an excuse. I’d really like to take the check to him this afternoon and be done with it.”

  “I’d wait for Beau and Ty,” Darlene said.

  “I want this over now,” Chloe said. “I don’t look forward to spending another night worrying over Cinco’s harassment. Because of him, we hardly got enough sleep last night. We didn’t get to bed until late, and then we’d no sooner gotten to sleep than wolves or wild dogs or something big scratched at the front door.”

  “Oh no,” Darlene moaned.

  “Yes,” Chloe said. “Beau and Ty insisted on going outside to chase the animals away, and I swear I saw wolves fighting in the front yard. I was so afraid Beau and Ty would be hurt, trying to chase them away. When they finally came back inside, they both had various cuts that they said they’d gotten from barbed wire. I have no idea where they ran into barbed wire because I haven’t seen any fences made of it in the neighborhood. Not only that, but where did the wolves come from? It’s surprising to me that there are wolves living near Hondo and coming into the town at night.”

  “You will think I’m loony after what I’m going to say, but those wolves may have been werewolves.”

  Chloe could only stare at Darlene in total surprise that she would say such a crazy thing. “Darlene, you say the most surprising things sometimes.” Chloe smiled at her and shook her head. Darlene was teasing her.

  “I’m absolutely serious,” Darlene said. “In fact, they probably fought with Beau and Ty. I didn’t know that Rafe and Lucky were werewolves when I became involved with them. When Rafe finally told me, I didn’t want to believe him. I’d fallen in love with both Rafe and Lucky. I was hurt at first, and later I realized our love for each other was big enough that I could deal with anything. Their werewolf side hasn’t changed the way I feel about them in the least.”

  Chloe gave Darlene a rueful smile. “Come on, Darlene. I’m serious about paying off Cinco. I can’t joke with you now.”

  “I’m not joking. You know they’re all four in the same family. They’re all related. I sincerely hope that won’t stop you from keeping Beau and Ty in your life. The truth is probably that Beau and Ty fought as werewolves against a rival pack of werewolves last night. It doesn’t change the fact that they’re nice guys. Rafe and Lucky are good, decent men, and they’re wonderful to me. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else but with Rafe and Lucky.”

  Chloe stared at Darlene, suddenly frightened and shocked by what Darlene told her. Was she hearing Darlene correctly? This couldn’t be happening. Was she losing her mind? She gripped the edge of the counter to reassure herself that she wasn’t dreaming. The counter was solid wood beneath her fingers.

  She needed to get out of there. She couldn’t wait for Beau and Ty. She also couldn’t wait until closing and face them before she paid Cinco the remainder of the loan. “I’m going to close the shop now and take the check for the money you loaned me, and I’m going to pay off Cinco. I can’t put up with his harassment any longer.”

  She couldn’t have heard Darlene right. It must be that the stress Cinco caused her had driven her out of her mind at last.

  Darlene reached a hand out to her. “I’ll go with you.”

  “No,” Chloe said. “I’ll take care of this alone. I don’t want to get you involved with Cinco and his men, too. You’ve already done so much by loaning me the money to get him off my case.”

  Chloe moved to the door and opened it for Darlene to leave. “I’ll call you just as soon as I get back from Cinco’s place. I’ll be fine.”

  “Don’t forget to call me, and please be careful,” Darlene warned as she left the shop.

  Chloe shut the door and locked it so no one else could come in and keep her from leaving for Cinco’s right now. Once she paid off the man, she’d deal with the wild werewolf story Darlene had told her. Was everyone around here crazy? Or was she the delusional one?

  She gathered up her purse with the check secured inside and grabbed her cell and car keys. Nerves played havoc with her. As she drove down Main Street, it took a concerted effort for her to keep her mind on the speed of her small van, the traffic, and the street numbers.

  * * * *

  Beau kept his eyes on the careful training of the cutting horse that Lance and the guys worked with in the corral. His cell rang. It was Darlene. He answered her call. “What’s up?”

  “Beau, I just left Chloe, and she’s determined to go pay off Cinco right now. I couldn’t stop her, and she didn’t want me to go with her. I couldn’t convince her to wait for you and Ty.”

  “Thanks for calling right away. We’ll head for Cinco’s right now. Hell. It’ll take us a few minutes to get there. Call Rafe and Lucky for me, okay? Tell them there may be a serious showdown with Cinco and his men and we need them to meet us at Cinco’s office on Main Street.”

  “I’ll call Rafe right now.”

  “Thanks, Darlene. I appreciate it. See you later.” He ended the call. Thank God, Ty had come by with the cutting horse and stayed. “Ty! We’re needed in town to help Chloe with that damn Cinco, right now. Lance, we may need your help. This could be a serious showdown. Colt, you and Greg keep working with the cutting horse and see that he’s put up in his stall when you’re finished, okay? We’ll be back tomorrow morning if not before.”

  “Got it,” Colt said. “Don’t worry about things here. Go take care of your girlfriend.” He grinned at Beau.

  “Let’s hurry, guys. Ty, you’d better ride in my truck since you’ve got a horse trailer on the back of yours.”

  Beau, Ty, and Lance all headed for the trucks at a run. Beau gunned the motor and left the parking area by the barn as fast as he dared. He looked in the rearview mirror and saw Lance right behind him.

  “Shit,” Ty swore. “We can’t get to town fast enough. She’ll already be at Cinco’s by the time we get there.”

  “I know, and it scares the hell out of me. If Cinco or his goons touch her, I’ll tear them apart.”

  “I’ll help,” Ty said. “Hopefully, they won’t be that stupid. I can’t believe I didn’t make sure she was protected at all times until we got Cinco off her case. I should have sent a couple guys from the ranch into town to keep watch.”

  “Don’t beat yourself up over it,” Beau said. “I should have done the same thing. But the load of work we have on the ranch right now kept me from doing that. I should have seen this situation coming and stopped it beforehand.”

  Chapter Nine

  At last, Chloe located Cinco’s place of business. It looked like one of the older homes in town that had been turned into businesses. She parked and walked up the short sidewalk to the front door. She tried the doorknob. It turned easily. She opened the door and stepped inside into a room with an antique table for a desk. An oriental rug covered the old wood flooring. One of Cinco’s men sat in a chair behind the desk.

  “Are you here to see Cinco?” he asked, leering at her.

  “Yes, I am,” she said shortly. “Please tell him I’m here.”

  The swarthy-looking man rose from his chair and crossed the hall
to a closed door. He opened it and went inside that room and closed the door behind him.

  Cinco’s place gave her the chills and a distinct feeling of lurking evil. She wanted desperately to deliver the check to Cinco and get out of this place.

  The door to the room opened, and Cinco walked across the hall and invaded her space, the smug bastard.

  “Here’s a check to pay you the remainder of what I owe on the loan.” She handed it to him.

  Cinco glanced at the check. “This does not cover the interest on the loan.” He held the check out to her. “You owe me the interest. I can’t accept this without the entire amount owed to me.”

  Chloe’s anger built. “How much is the interest?”

  “I’ll have to consult my bookkeeper,” he said. “Meanwhile, I expect you to make the payments on time, or I will destroy your little flower business.”

  Her temper rose even more. It wouldn’t help to let him know how incensed she felt.

  “Of course, if you’d rather make payments some other way, I’d be happy to make myself available, as well as my men. Maybe even for group sex.” He grinned at her.

  Group sex? She felt sick. She needed to get out of there.

  “I realize you like more than one lover at a time. If werewolves are to your taste, my men and I can also offer you that kind of sex. We are much more accomplished lovers than Beau and Ty, if you’re into that kind of kink, pretty lady.”

  Chloe spun and ran for the front door, adrenaline streaming through her.

  “Stop her!” Cinco yelled.

  His men caught her before she could reach the door.

  “Take her down below,” he ordered.

  “Let me go!” she demanded.

  They easily hurried her toward the back of the house, their hands gripping her arms like steel bands. She dug her feet into the carpet in the hallway, to no avail.

  One of the men opened a door to the right. A stairway disappeared into the darkness beyond. The two men hauled her down the long flight of cement steps. They stopped to open another door at the bottom.

  She struggled, fighting to free herself with no success. Her muscles strained and burned with her efforts. They dragged her inside the darkened room. Meager light outlined the edges of blinds covering a small, high window in the rock wall across from the door. If they locked her in, she might never get out.

  “If you don’t cooperate, lady,” one of the big goons said, “you’ll be chained up like your friend over there.”

  At those terrifying words, she gasped. Who else did they have down here? She followed the direction in which the man gestured and saw a man with little clothing on, his arms held above him by cuffs attached to chains. From the blood on him it looked as if they had beaten him severely. He slowly raised his head.

  My God! Blood covered his face. Red and purple bruises covered his naked torso. With a metal collar around his neck, he was secured to the wall by chains on both sides of him.

  “Mark!” Even though his face was bruised and bloodied, she recognized him. “My heavens, Mark.” She glanced at Cinco who had followed his men. “What did you bastards do to him? Let him go!”

  Cinco’s men just grinned at each other and then at her. Damn them. How was she going to get free from them and get Mark out of this hellhole?

  The men shoved her hard across the room as they released her arms. She fell to her knees. The door slammed closed behind her. She had no doubts that she was locked in with Mark. She feared to know who else was in the room.

  When she turned her head to search the shadows, she saw Cinco and his men standing near the door watching her. She quickly got to her feet.

  Cinco smiled at her with evil intent. “I promise to let you leave, both you and your pretty friend, Mark, after you entertain us with a sexy little show. That is if Mark can get it up.”

  Chloe heard a roar of rage behind her from Mark. Immediately, one of Cinco’s goons crossed the room in two strides and hit Mark across the face.

  “Stop it!” she yelled.

  “I’d like to watch you have sex with Mark, like you did with Beau and Ty the other night.” Cinco grinned at her, the monster.

  Two of Cinco’s men unlocked the cuffs from Mark’s wrists, but not from his neck, while another man held his gun pointed at Mark.

  Chloe’s insides knotted at the dangerous situation. Her fears that someone had been watching her make love with Beau and Ty had been true. Cinco had been watching. She felt sickened by what Cinco planned. She couldn’t believe the nightmare she’d landed in. She’d have to do whatever it took to get both of them out of there alive.

  “We were hoping to catch Mark’s amigo, Lance, and have some fun with the two of them. But since you’re here, you’ll do perfectly. In fact, I think this has turned out even better for our entertainment.

  Chloe would take some of their so-called fun away from them. She crossed the room and put a supportive shoulder under Mark’s arm. She hoped Cinco was disappointed that she felt completely at ease with Mark. She was determined to protect Mark and get them both out of there alive. They both had so much to live for. They had people they loved and who loved them.

  She slipped her arm around his back to embrace him. Mark worked his hands and arms to bring feeling back into them.

  She’d try to stall Cinco with conversation. She prayed Beau and Ty would find them soon before it was too late. “How could you be so evil to treat Mark so badly?”

  Cinco raised his chin. “Undress, lady, or I’ll be happy to help you.”

  A door slammed somewhere above. Running footsteps pounded down the hallway upstairs.

  “Chloe! Where are you?” Beau yelled.

  “Answer us, Chloe!” Ty shouted.

  “Here! I’m down here!” she cried loudly before Cinco and his men could stop her.

  She watched in surprise as Cinco and his goons ran for a door in a side wall. One of his men wrenched open the door. A staircase led upward. They ran up the stairs.

  Continuing to offer her help to Mark, she prayed that Cinco wouldn’t return.

  Beau and Ty raced into the basement from the hall stairway. Lance was right behind them.

  “Chloe,” Beau exclaimed with Ty hurrying at his side. They cupped her free arm and her face in their warm gentle hands.

  “I’m all right. Go after Cinco. He’s kept Mark a prisoner here.”

  “Help them, Lance,” Ty said as he and Beau raced up the stairway she indicated.

  Suddenly, Chloe realized how much she cared for Beau and Ty. They must come back to her safe and unhurt. She couldn’t stand it if anything bad happened to them because of her determination to run her life her own way. She couldn’t bear to lose them.

  Lance searched the room and found a key hanging by the door to the upstairs. He tried it in the lock on the collar around Mark’s neck. With a sigh of relief, Chloe watched the collar loosen. Mark opened it and took it off. He threw the piece of metal away from them to the other side of the room.

  “Let’s get you out of here,” Lance said. “Can you walk all right?”

  “Yeah, I can walk. Let’s go.”

  Chloe and Lance kept a shoulder under each of his arms and helped him across the room and up the stairs. It was slow going. Mark seemed to gain more strength the closer they got to the front door.

  At last, they strode outside to the sidewalk. “I have my van, and I can take you wherever you want to go.” Chloe stopped midstep as the sounds came to her of wolves howling in the distance.

  “They’ll be all right,” Lance said as he met her gaze. “Those wolves won’t get the best of ’em.”

  She couldn’t bring herself to ask if they were all werewolves.

  “Beau said we should all meet back at Rafe and Lucky’s house,” Lance said. “I think Darlene is expecting us. She’s good at patching us up.”

  Chloe nodded. “I’ll take you there.”

  “I’ll lead the way in my truck,” Lance said. “Mark, you’ll be more comforta
ble in Chloe’s van than bouncing on the hard front seat of my truck.”

  “That’s fine by me,” Mark said.

  They helped Mark into her van in the front seat on the passenger side.

  Chloe would follow Lance. It was good that he would lead the way since she didn’t remember exactly where to turn off the highway. Even though she’d been to Darlene’s home with Beau and Ty, she hadn’t driven there before. She searched the dense trees and bushes in the distance while Mark made himself comfortable in the seat beside her. She couldn’t see Beau or Ty anywhere. She shook inside as she worried when, or if, she’d see them again.

  Chapter Ten

  Beau and Ty raced outside from the basement stairway following Cinco and his hoods.

  “There’s Rafe and Lucky.” Ty nodded toward their pack members. They joined up without breaking strides as Cinco headed for the dense trees and brush between the edge of town and the river.

  “We’ll probably need to shift,” Beau said.

  “Yeah, Cinco will probably shift to try to get away,” Ty said.

  “We can’t let him get away this time,” Beau said.

  “We won’t,” Rafe said.

  Cinco and his men disappeared into the shadows beneath the thick canopy of trees. The howl of a victorious wolf echoed back to Beau and his pack. Cinco celebrated too soon. Beau knew the river beyond would slow Cinco and his pack. He figured he and his pack buddies could reach the hoodlums first. “They won’t feel victorious when we take them down. Shift when you’re ready!”

  The glowing eyes of Cinco and his pack blinked at them from the shadows. Beau’s beast demanded release. Pain streaked through him as his body began the shift to his wolf form. Electricity circled him like a lariat as it hissed through his skin, until finally his wolflike fur covered him. He glanced to his side to see that Ty, Rafe, and Lucky had also changed.

  They were outnumbered by one werewolf. Beau would be surprised if Cinco took part in the fight without being attacked first. Knowing him, Cinco would rather stay out of it if possible. Beau planned to run straight for him.