by T. J. Finn
Finn
I’m sorry and hope you can forgive me. I don’t want you to put yourself in any more danger and I know you would if you came with me. I know where Corbin is and I’m going to go stop him. I can’t take any chances of him getting anywhere Magic.
Claire ripped the note off the pad of paper, grabbed her keys and headed out of the motel room. As she closed the door, she stuck the note between the door and the frame where she knew Finn would see it and ran to her jeep. She didn’t know how much time she had before Finn would return and she wanted to be long gone before he did.
Starting her jeep, she pulled out of the parking space and headed toward Main street, turning in the opposite direction she'd watched Finn go. Pulling out her phone, Claire opened one of the map applications and looked at the area she was in. From the conversation the two men were having, Corbin had set himself up in a house just outside of town. From what she could gather from the men at the bar, he had come to Durango after Finn had disappeared to set up a base of operations. The man really wanted Finn. Claire figured that it was an ego thing. Finn had slipped through his fingers and, if what Finn said was true, his wolf’s pelt was rare and it meant a lot of money to Corbin.
Claire drove through town, not quite sure which way to go but she saw that there was really only main highway leading south out of town and she headed toward it. She felt a quivering in her stomach at the thought of him heading south. South meant Magic and she had to stop him before he got there. Claire didn’t know if her plan was going to work but she had to try. She had to keep Finn and everyone else she loved safe.
Love. The simple word warmed Claire turning the quivering in her stomach to a flutter as if a kaleidoscope of butterflies were flying around in her stomach. She wasn’t quite sure when during the last few days she had fallen in love with Finn. Logically she knew that it was too soon, that they had been thrown together by fate into a life or death situation and that didn’t make a lasting relationship. But she had fallen in love with Finn and seemed to have found some peace with him around her. There was no telling whether it would last. Finn had told her that he wanted to stick around, see where things went and for now, that was good enough. If they managed to survive.
Chapter 12 - Finn
Finn had hurried into the convenience store to get Claire her ginger ale and crackers and was back on his bike and on his way to the motel in less than fifteen minutes. He was worried about Claire. She had been so pale and shaken when he’d left her at the motel room and had been surprised to follow her out of the bar to find her throwing up. It must have been terrible for her to do what she’d done and another wave of guilt washed over him.
Claire had said she had been trying to build up walls and barriers to help her cope with the voices that seemed to attack her from all sides. Finn remembered his own mother and that she had been telepathic like Claire. She didn’t seem to have the trouble that Claire did and Finn wondered how she’d managed it. Of course, Claire had said she’d needed to be closer to the men in the bar to really make out what they were thinking. His mother hadn’t had the obstacle. She always seemed to know what her cubs were doing and thinking. Of course, Finn mused, that was part of being a mother.
Finn’s heart felt heavy thinking about his mother. He knew she had heard Corbin that day and sacrificed herself so that he survived. Corbin would hurt for killing his cousin and Claire’s friend but he would die for killing Finn’s mother.
Shaking off the grief that seemed to sneak up on him, he accelerated the bike to get back to the motel. The faster Claire started feeling better the faster they could end this. Finn was approaching the stop light right before the motel parking lot when he saw a jeep that looked like Claire’s turn in the opposite direction and drive off down the road away from the motel. Frowning, he drove into the parking lot, stopping in front of the motel room. Swinging his leg around the bike, he looked at the road a minute then turned to the door.
The white piece of paper flapped in the breeze and he frown, opening the door, snatching the note before it fell. Finn was reading the note as he stepped inside, unable to make any sense out of what Claire had written. He looked at the bed, then around the room then back to the note. Oh hell! He dropped the bag he was carrying and rushed back out to his bike. Claire had left and he really had no idea where she went, only the direction she had turned.
Finn’s wolf was pacing and growling making his muscles twitch so much that he nearly crashed the bike. For the first time since he could really remember, he was afraid. Fear that he wouldn’t find Claire in time had him taking chances that he wouldn’t normally take on his bike, but he made it across town without killing himself then had to decide which way to go. Claire was nowhere in sight, but he knew that Highway 550 would take him straight to Albuquerque and the direction of where Claire had shown him Magic was. Turning onto the road, he gave the bike some gas and let it go.
It didn’t take Finn long before he thought he saw her jeep in the distance which surprised him. He’d learned on their trip to Durango that Claire liked to drive fast while listening to music. Him being able to catch up with her only meant that she wasn’t quite sure where she was going and he might have a chance of catching her. As he got closer, he watched her turn off the highway and start down a dirt road. Growling, he made the same turn once he came to the fork in the road.
He was really going to tie Claire up to the bed once he caught up with her and never let her leave his sight again. What was she thinking? Finn knew what she had been thinking and anger and love mingle together leaving him frustrated and scared all at the same time. He couldn’t lose Claire. Not now that he’d found her. The idea and concept of a fated mate had gone the way of the rotary phone and tinfoil used on the antennas of televisions. Everyone nowadays believed it was archaic and people like his parents and grandparents were the exception and not the rule.
Finn had always admired his parent’s relationship before his mother had been murdered. He had never seen two people more in love than those two. It had nearly destroyed his father when his mother died and he had lived the rest of his days a mere shell of the alpha male that he had been. When his father had stepped down as Alpha to their pack, his brother, Sean had stepped up with little resistance. Although being pack alpha wasn’t inherited, his family had been ruling the pack for centuries. Sean had a couple of wolves challenge him but he’d beat them both down fair and square and now they served, like Finn, as pack enforcers.
He brought his bike to a stop when he saw Claire turn off the dirt road and onto what appeared to be a lane that led up to a large white ranch house. Even with hs wolf’s eyesight he couldn’t make out anything other than the color so he turned as well and headed down the lane, but slower this time. If this was where Corbin was, he would know that Claire was coming by now.
Finn had to make a plan that included him getting in there, grabbing Claire and the two of them getting out of there alive. He wouldn’t worry about taking out Corbin just then. There would be time for that later. The important thing was to keep Claire alive.
Chapter 13 - Claire
Claire stopped the jeep at the fork in the road and looked at her options. Turning right would take her back onto the main highway and to the New Mexico state line. Turning left would take her down a dirt road or, she could go back go get Finn.
As she had been leaving the edge of town, a car pulled out in front of her and she had recognized one of the men from the bar. She’d followed it for fifteen minutes until it had turned onto this dirt road. The dust from it was just now settling back down. Claire’s hands shook. All the way she’d been calling herself every kind of idiot for doing this without Finn. Her resolve to keep him safe and not let him get near Corbin started slipping away about ten minutes after she’d left the hotel. Now, sitting there and seeing the house, it was completely gone. What had she been thinking.
Looking in the rearview mirror, she shook her head. Claire had to keep him safe, even if it meant leavin
g him behind. Making the turn onto the dirt road, she gripped the steering wheel so tight her fingers were beginning to hurt. She had to stop Corbin before he even tried to come near to anyone else she loved.
Claire found the driveway leading up to the house she had seen without any trouble. There was an archway of sorts, two large round poles on either side of the road and a large sign that stretched across above the cars that had the name Del Monico Ranch burned into it. She wondered briefly if that was the name of the family that owned the land or just what the ranch was called. Funny what your mind latched onto when you were afraid.
Slowing the jeep to almost a crawl she drove the short distance down the lane until she pulled up in front of the house. The front door opened and five men walked out onto a wide, wrap around porch when she came to a stop. She recognized the two men from the bar, one of them surrounded by the others. Frowning, Claire opened herself up but couldn’t pick up on any of their thoughts. Strange. With trembling hands, she opened the driver-side door and got out, taking several deep breaths to calm herself and gather her magic. She needed to be ready for anything.
“Welcome to Del Monico Ranch, Claire.” The man in the middle greeted her as she came around the back of the jeep, stopping her in her tracks.
“How do you know me?” She kept her distance, suddenly confused. Trying to clear her mind, she observed the men closely, watching every move they made but still was unable to hear their thoughts. “Where is Corbin? I wish to speak to him.”
The man in the middle took a step-in front of the other men, tilting his head slightly as he looked at her. “I am James Corbin and you are Claire Collins.”
Narrowing her eyes slightly, Claire nodded, her leg muscles tightening, her body ready to run and get back in the jeep. However, she held her ground, even taking a step closer to the house. She didn’t know what she expected Corbin to look like. She had to admit that at one point she had actually pictured Snidely Whiplash from the Dudley Do-Right show. The villain in that show was a sniveling man with a long, thin handlebar mustache and black top hat who tried to thwart the hero Dudley Do-Right in everything he did. Instead, James Corbin was tall and lean but far from skinny. He could have been in his mid-fifties with short, almost spiked, hair with greying at the side. In any other circumstance, Claire would have thought he was handsome.
“How do you know me?” She repeated her question trying to stay calm as she moved around the jeep and leaning back against it hoping it would hold her up.
“You aren’t the only one around here who can read minds.” She lifted her chin slightly, unfolding her arms but clinching her fists, her nails biting into her palms as she stood there. “But unlike you I can shut out those voice or I can delve deeper into the mind I want to hear.”
“That was you at the bar?” Corbin nodded. Claire had known the answer to that question before she asked it. He had been the man sitting closest to her when she’d sat at the bar.
“One of my men saw your jeep with O’Riley inside it. I knew he had frequented that little dive bar when he was here before so I knew it was only a matter of time when he’d go back there and I was right.”
The two of them stared at each other a moment and Claire felt the tug at the base of her skull as Corbin tried to get into her head. “Well you might be unable to block out the voices but you can block anyone who tries to get in. I’m impressed. Perhaps you’re learning to build those walls after all.
Claire was impressed herself but a thought occurred to her and she frowned, her eyes narrowing as she took in the men on the porch. “You’re blocking me from hearing you and your men, aren’t you?” Corbin nodded. Boy what she wouldn’t give to be able to do that.
“So, Claire, since we’re blocking each other, why don’t you tell me why you’re here.” He glanced around her at the jeep then back at her. “Without the slippery Mr. O’Riley in tow.”
“I’ve come to make a deal.” The words came out in a rush, as if she had to get them out before she lost her nerve. Corbin raised his eyebrows, then narrowed his eyes slightly. “I can bring you Finn, I know why you want him. He’s fur is very rare and beautiful.
The look of shock and surprised registered on Corbin’s face, and Claire saw him blink in disbelief. “What would you get from the deal? From what I was picking up from you in the bar, you love the idiot. Why would you turn him over to me?”
Claire took a shaky breath but gave him a hard stare. “I want a cut of the money you get from it. It's expensive for me to live the way I live, maintain the land around it, buy supplies in bulk so I have minimal contact with anyone. Even a quarter of what you will get for his pelt would keep me going for quite a few years.”
The two of them studied each other, the only sound around them was the wind whipping through the few trees around the house. Finally, Corbin nodded and motioned for her to come forward. “You have a deal Claire. Come, let’s discuss the details inside out of the heat overcome ice tea or even something stronger.”
Claire took one then two steps toward the porch taking several deep breaths again to calm herself as she gathered her magic, ready to strike. She would be a fool to trust the man and she would be ready if he or his men tried anything. Corbin waved his men away and they back away from him and she finally made it to the few stairs. He held out his hand as she climbed them to stand by him. Looking around at the men who stepped away, she put her hand in his, amazed that it was shaking like her insides here.
His grip was firm as he gave her hand one shake but, when she tried to pull free, his grip tightened. The sound of a motorcycle filled the air and she saw Corbin look over her head. Frowning, she turned her head to see Finn coming up the driveway. “Sorry, Claire. I was already counting on your help. I knew O’Riley would be right behind you and you led him right to my door.”
Corbin had one arm around her, hold her own arms at her side, while his other hand wrapped around her neck. He leaned down to hiss in her ear as she struggled to get free. “I have two guns trained on your boyfriend. If you try to use your magic on any of my men they have orders to shoot to kill whether he’s shifted into his wolf or not.”
That was enough to stop her struggling and her eyes went wide as Finn approached them. Claire could see the gold of his eyes and knew his wolf was close to the surface. She’d asked him last night when they had sat naked on her bed eating grilled cheese sandwiches. Finn had told her that was his wolf’s way of making his presence known.
“Are you alright Claire?” She nearly cried at the sound of Finn’s strong voice saying her name. She knew she had been a fool to try this without him but somehow, she had known he’d find her. Claire gave him a nod, her throat too tight to speak. He gave her a wink before he looked up at Corbin.
Chapter 14 - Finn
Fear, anger and cold, calculating violence filled Finn as he stood there watching Corbin tighten his fingers around Claire’s throat. He had almost caught her before she’d made the turn onto the lane that led to the ranch house but she hadn’t seen him from the dust that her jeep had kicked up. He cursed how loud his bike had been, ruining all chances of a surprise attack but he’d seen Claire stop her jeep and get out, then start to approach Corbin. He had to get to her before the man got her but he was still too late.
Finn had to think as he slowly approaches the house as if he were stalking his prey and, in a real sense, he was When he saw Corbin tight his hand around Claire’s throat and Claire struggle, her face turning red from the lack of oxygen, he stopped in his tracks. “Come on Corbin. We both know you don’t want her. It's me you want. Let her go and lets you and I handle this like real men.”
Corbin chuckled and dipped his head to kiss Claire on her temple. Finn’s body jerked as his wolf threatened to shift and attack the man who held his mate but he kept him down for now. He had no doubt that Corbin had guns pointed right at him should he shift and attack. There couldn’t be any mistakes with Claire’s life.
“I don’t know O’Riley. She’s v
ery pretty. I’m partial to red hair and these curves?” Corbin pulled her hard against him. “Are very sensual.”
Finn growled low taking another step toward the porch, his eyes never leaving Claire’s. He would kill Corbin, nice and slow, for putting the sheer terror he was seeing in her eyes at that moment. He’d take the man apart piece by piece and enjoy listening to his screams. Then, something in Claire’s eyes changed. A slight frown creased his forehead as he gave her an almost imperceivable shake of his head. But one corner of her mouth lift and her tongue darted out to moisten her lips.
He only had a moment to think what the hell was she doing before Claire stunned them all. Corbin’s arm around her loosened a bit and Finn watched in amazement as she sprang into action, hitting Corbin in his stomach with her elbow, then stomped on his foot. Finn heard an oomph as Corbin dropped his hold on her and she made a fist, swinging back and hit him in the nose with the back of her hand. The minute Corbin jerked backwards, Claire swung her arm down fast, hitting him in just below his belt. All the men there instinctively groaned but it was enough for her to take a couple of steps away from Corbin.
Finn started to rush the porch when Corbin, blood spewing from his nose, pulled a gun from behind and grabbed Claire again, putting the barrel to her temple. Finn skidded to a stop, his hands in the air and Claire stiffening. “You bitch.” Corbin spit out dug the gun’s barrel harder into her head. “I should shoot you right here in front of him.”
“No!” Finn screamed out, taking another step toward the porch. “You have me Corbin. Take me and let her go.”
“I might have before, but not now. Besides, she’ll come in handy when I get to New Mexico.” Corbin nodded toward his men. “Get him.” Looking at Finn he pressed the gun so hard against Claire’s head that Finn could see tears filling her eyes. “You’ll go with my men, nice and quiet like or I’ll kill her and take real pleasure from it.”
