by Sadie Hart
Kanon held his breath, trying to catch the scrap of a muffled, panicked voice coming over the end of the phone. The words came too fast for him to understand and Gaston’s irritated growl told him the other lion wasn’t having any better luck. “Slow it down, girl. Start from the beginning.”
He heard her stutter and stop, fear riding her voice hard, but Kanon caught the familiar edge to it. Tegan stiffened alongside him at the exact moment they recognized it. Shit. Mel. He reached out and touched Bree’s shoulder. “Melody Knight, Lennox’s friend.”
Instantly, Bree stepped towards Gaston, one hand outstretched. “Give me the phone.”
The lion turned to snarl at her but she growled right back. “Give me the phone, Mr. Reyes.”
His growl didn’t die, but he handed her the cell phone anyway. Kanon almost smiled. The woman standing in front of him, that was so where Lennox got her no-bullshit attitude. “Ms. Knight? This is Breanna Torres, Lennox’s boss...”
There was a startled gasp and the phone clicked dead. Bree jerked back startled, then held the phone out to Gaston. “Call her back.”
Kanon stepped closer, glancing at Tegan before turning to look at Gaston. “May I?”
Gaston nodded and waited for whoever it was to pick up. “Put the girl back on the damn phone.”
He shoved it into Kanon’s hand, recognition flaring through his eyes. Probably not anything more than the simple knowledge that Kanon was one of his many bastard children, but it was enough. Kanon waited until he could hear Mel arguing with someone on the other end and then softly, “I’m not telling you anything.”
“Mel? It’s me.”
Her voice came out in a relieved rush. “Kanon? Are you okay? You can’t trust her.”
He felt Bree stiffen next to him and winced. Gaston’s eyebrows lifted. Anyone within earshot was suddenly focused on the phone in his hand. “Why, Mel? Where’s Lennox?”
“It’s her husband. He’s behind this all. He’s still got Lennox, she managed to get me free...but it’s her husband. Caesar Torres. I recognized him, Lennox recognized him. She called him by name, I swear Kanon. It was her husband, do not trust her.”
Outrage poured over Bree, her body turned stiff, angry and she took a step for the phone when Brandt was suddenly standing between her and Kanon. Bree snarled in Brandt’s face. “He didn’t!”
Brandt didn’t move at all. He held her gaze until Bree stepped back, and then with a gesture at the Hounds around him, they all closed in around her. “Stand down, Breanna or I will have you detained.”
She growled but backed down, crossing her arms over her chest and waited, seething. Kanon understood the loyalty. Had Tegan been accused here, he’d have denied it just as vehemently, but Mel...she had no reason to lie as far as Kanon was concerned. And he knew Mel, he didn’t know Bree, he didn’t know her husband.
Kanon glanced towards Tegan, his throat suddenly dry. His partner slipped a hand in his and squeezed tight. “It’s all right, Mel. Tell me what you can.”
Out of nowhere, her voice found courage, strength and she told him everything she could. Then her words softened, scared. “I left her. He was there, I don’t know if she got loose.”
Mel’s quiet tears clawed at his heart, but Kanon held strong. If anyone had a chance, it was Lennox. “It’ll be all right, Mel. We’re on our way. Besides, it’s Lennox we’re talking about. If anyone can get free of that bastard, it’s going to be her.”
Kanon relayed the information to Brandt. “He’s detaining them in a barn on Boulder Pride territory. Mel said it was a good distance out, but she’s not sure exactly how far.”
Gaston shook his head, cutting him off. “I know the barn. We use it on occasion when trail riding and want to stop for awhile. We can stable the horses and do some rock climbing. It’s by some pretty rough terrain.”
Kanon nodded. “When Mel left, there was an injured male lion there. In rough shape, dying of silver poisoning. A Rulon Reyes?”
“My son. The one they’re trying to pin for murder.” Gaston snarled in the direction of the Hound that had been questioning him earlier.
“And a lioness and a small girl.”
“My daughter and niece.” Rage trembled in his voice and Kanon glanced up at his father. Gaston had never been there for him, but it was obvious, that for those of his kids that lived in the pride...he loved them and would do anything to see them safe.
“Good, then we’ll go.” Brandt instantly started issuing orders to his Hounds. Naming off Hound packs to come along, and then he turned to Gaston and gestured for him. “You’ll ride with me. You’ll show us to the barn. As for you two,” he glanced back at Kanon and Tegan, starting to gesture for them to stay and Kanon shook his head.
“We’re going with you.”
Brandt’s eyes narrowed, but he nodded. “Fine. Breanna...”
“Don’t you dare order me around. I’m coming. My husband—”
“Might very well be responsible for this.”
“Then I’ll deal with it. But I am here operating under my own jurisdiction. I won’t interfere with your investigation; I’ll even stay close to you. But I am going.”
“Fine. We all go.” Brandt gestured for them to head out, but caught Kanon and Tegan before they could leave. “I’m letting you come, but I don’t need anyone messing this up. You keep your fur under your skins or I will put a silver bullet in you myself, got it?”
They both nodded.
Brandt gave a small sigh and glanced at Breanna, lugging herself into the passenger seat of his black SUV out front. “And keep an eye on her. If it turns out to be her husband...I’m not sure what we’re dealing with here.”
Kanon glanced at the Hound’s eyes, the grim set of his mouth, the firm resolution branded through every inch of him. Brandt knew the kind of killer they were dealing with. It could be another set up. Or, for the first time Kanon could ever remember, a Hound had gone rogue. A damn good one too and there was no telling if it were just one, or a whole pack.
“We will,” Tegan said softly and Kanon inclined his head in agreement. “Deal.”
“Good. Then let’s go.”
And Brandt led them out the door.
***
Arianna’s favorite game had been Hide and Go Seek. She’d taunt him all day, giggling as she tossed her small body over the armrest of his chair and pleading with him to close his eyes and count. She loved to hide. To try and outsmart him, but just as much as she’d loved to hide, she’d loved to track him too.
Caesar smiled softly at the memory of her padding down the hall, her dog-form still puppyish, her coat rust-red. She’d had ears too long for her head, paws too big for her legs, and a lanky look that pups and kids alike shared. That look that said they still had plenty of growing left to do. Her tail had wiggled and wagged as she trotted after him, black nose pressed tight to the carpet as she snuffled her way towards the bedroom.
And her nose was right, he had been there. But Caesar had never believed in playing fair, and his daughter was more than smart enough, more than talented enough for an advanced game of Hide and Go Seek. He’d grinned over his shoulder as he watched her disappear into the bedroom and he’d made a beeline for the back door, scampering all the way down to the shed, winking at Bree in the garden as he’d blown past her.
Arianna hadn’t once given up, no matter how hard the games had gotten. She’d found him up trees, on the roof, in the basement hidden beneath the old guest bed. She’d gotten clever with her hiding spots too. From hiding in cupboards, to behind the trash can, to buried under a pile of leaves he’d raked up the day before.
His heart gave a painful squeeze at the memory of swiping back leaves to see her smiling, round face staring up at him. She’d have made a great Hound. A stray branch caught in his shirt and Caesar pulled away, lifting a shaking hand to wipe the scent of him from the twig when he paused.
They’d ruined it. Everything.
That damned bitch had gotten loose and s
alukis were fast. He had no doubt she be finding help shortly, and Lennox would have told her who he was if she didn’t already know. Then of course, there was Lennox herself. She wouldn’t leave, not until she’d found the lioness and Arianna, believing like an idiot that he’d hurt his own daughter.
Caesar froze, glancing out at the shadows and strips of light broken by the trees. He had to salvage this yet. There had to be some time left, some way he could still make the world see the monsters they harbored. Arianna had to get safely to Bree, she needed her mother and he trusted Bree to keep their daughter safe.
Then if Torres could just slip away, maybe he might be able to get his feet back under him and get back to the plan. He raked a hand over his face, exhaustion making him tremble, and his head pulsed with the sharp stabs of a migraine. He’d overdrawn himself too much; he couldn’t keep this pace up much longer.
No. There would be no coming back to finish the job. He needed to do it now. Everything had to happen now. Blowing out a frustrated breath, Caesar knelt, inhaling the rich scent pooling in the small gulch. The scent of the lioness filled his breath and he gulped down another, checking for Lennox. Not yet.
Good. He’d need the time. Hurrying forward, his boots smashing through the undergrowth, Caesar didn’t worry about stealth anymore. Instead he ran headlong into the woods, just like the lion bitch ahead of him. She was heading for the river, and the road beyond it. She knew this land probably better than he did.
But Caesar angled himself down a small gully and worked on closing the gap, and driving the lioness straight into the small swell of cliffs that lined the drop into the river. He’d studied the territory, the maps. If he could push them farther upstream, by the time they reached the river’s edge it’d be one hell of a nasty jump.
It was the perfect trap. All he needed to do was make sure he got there before the lioness got too desperate. Caesar jerked at the dog inside him, pulling the red rust dog out in a blur as she shifted from man to canine. He was faster, stronger, and he had one more change left in him today. One more bit of magick.
And if he did this right, he could still save everything.
Chapter Nineteen
The scent of silver burning through flesh scorched down her lungs as Lennox ran. Shifting hadn’t healed the wound, but she could run better on three legs than she could on one. It was the best she could do. Unlike Torres she wouldn’t have to worry about hiding her tracks. She had a damn good reason for being here, and Mel and Rulon could back her.
Nose sliding over the ground she gulped down the changing scents. The thick reek of pine trees and rotting silver, giving way to hints of wet earth and water. A river? Boulders stretched up to her left as the forest gave way to the growing edge of a mountainside. The terrain had begun to turn rocky under the tree roots and leaf litter about a mile ago.
Scent tended to travel out in a cone from the source of smell, fainter at the edges, thicker the closer she got to the source. It traveled on air currents, got lost in pockets that hung in gulches like ghosts lingering behind. She didn’t so much as follow footprints, but whispers left behind on the wind. Her head was always moving. Scanning low, scanning high, her nose straining to keep her path angled with Sawyer and the little cub’s direction.
Torres was there too, his scent thicker, closer. Which meant he was no longer bothering to cover his tracks. He’d shifted to his dog-form too, the scent of fur rich as she breathed it in. He was healthier than she was, not having been shot and all. A growl trickled up Lennox’s throat as she tossed herself over a fallen log, crashing through a thorn bush. She wrenched her way through the prickly branches and kept going.
The stabbing pain in her side hadn’t healed and it made putting weight on her right foreleg a misery. She could run, but every time her paw touched the ground it stretched the wound along her side. She broke through the trees and an open clearing spanned in front of her. Grass stretched to her shoulder and she leaned her triangular head forward, black nostrils wide as she inhaled the scents carried by the wind.
The cliff side.
She bolted after them, scrabbling up the rocks. Water rushed over rocks nearby, somewhere to her right, a throbbing roar that built, louder and louder, with every step. Then she wormed her way up a small gap in the boulders and found herself standing in another strip of meadow.
This time, not alone.
Sawyer was bent over the little girl sitting on the ground next to her, blue dress tattered. The lioness dragged in large, gulping gasps of air, but her head snapped in Lennox’s direction and instantly the woman dragged back lips to reveal feline teeth. A snarl curled from her throat and Sawyer stepped neatly over the child, all lean muscle ready for a fight.
Lennox didn’t dare give the woman a chance to shift, she changed back first, nearly collapsing to her knees as pain lanced through her side, the silver spreading quicker through her veins. Sawyer startled to a stop, uncertain but not trusting. Lennox forced a soft smile at that.
“Come on,” Lennox said, dragging herself up to her feet. He knees shook, the world hazy as she glanced around. It wouldn’t be much longer before she ended up gasping on the ground like Rulon, just waiting to die.
“Why are you helping us?”
“Because I didn’t do this.” Lennox took a step closer and extended a hand, wrist up. She knew she still smelled like lion, like sex. Kanon and Tegan’s scent had faded, but it still lingered over her skin and clothes, light under the scent of her sweat, but still there. “Because I was trying to protect friends of mine. Lions.”
Sawyer leaned forward on the balls of her feet, her nostrils flaring slightly. Her brows drew together and Lennox laughed. “Yeah. Believe me. I’m still not quite sure how I went from trying to arrest one of them...to well...bed.”
She grimaced and Sawyer let out a soft, rough sound. Maybe a laugh.
Lennox nodded towards the girl. “We need to move. I’m surprised he hasn’t caught us yet.”
Sawyer nodded and knelt, scooping the child up against her chest. “Come on, Tilly. Little bit farther.” She jerked her head in the direction of the water rumbling angrily. “There’s a road past the river. But every time we tried to make it to the downstream crossing, the other Hound started gaining.”
Shit. Lennox jerked around just as Torres broke from the trees, a red blur. She barely had time to start to slip into a crouch, to brace herself for the impact, when eighty-five pounds of dog, all muscle, slammed into her. The force of Torres plowing into her side knocked the air from her lungs, but it was his teeth, ripping into the skin just above the gunshot wound that ripped a scream from her.
Lennox fumbled, her hands going to the skin at the back of his neck as she tried to grab hold of him, even as he rode her to the ground. Jaws snapped towards her face, and only reflex kept her from losing her nose. She rammed an arm under his chin and knocked his head back. Dogs were faster, more flexible. In a blink of an eye, teeth could click shut with the force to break bones, rip into skin.
Even with Hound speed flowing through her body, without shifting again, she didn’t have the speed to deflect every bite. Torres ripped into her shoulder, flesh tearing easily under his canines. She was wet. Red. Her hands were covered in blood when a yelp sounded and Torres was jerked backwards off of her. A huge, tawny beast launched past her and landed on the red dog, unsheathed claws slashing down across the ridgeback’s shoulder. In the wild, a lioness would have beaten a stray dog easily.
But when Shifter Town Enforcement had been born, and they’d been looking for away to keep the various shifter-types in line, dogs had seemed the way to go. Several of the shifter dog breeds had been selected, the canine twins already bred for centuries to hunt certain animals, it wasn’t a far stretch to make them Hounds. Packs could outweigh some of the more dangerous beasts, and after that...magick. Thanks to a handful of really powerful witches, Hounds had been infused with a magick on their completion of the Shifter Town Enforcement academy, a privilege none of the oth
er shifter-types had gotten.
Torres couldn’t have much left in him, but Lennox felt the flexing pulse of his magick anyway. Just a light shove, like an invisible hand ramming into Sawyer’s face, but the lioness jerked back startled and it was enough. Torres whirled to his feet and bolted into the woods, vanishing amongst the tattered shrubs and the shadows tossed down by the trees. Sawyer took a step to go after him, her tail curved up over her haunches twitching in threat, when Lennox whistled for her.
The lioness paused, head turned back to snarl at her.
“Don’t. We need to get out of here.” She dragged herself up again, her right arm hanging loose at her side. He’d snapped bone when he’d hit her there, teeth ripping through muscle.
Pain made her sway on her feet, but she didn’t fall.
Suddenly Sawyer was there, reaching for her. “You okay?”
Lennox waved her off.
“Good enough.” A grim smile touched her face. Torres wouldn’t be done. Whatever had pushed him this far...he wouldn’t give up now. “But you need to go. Get Tilly out of here. Get help.”
She stepped around Sawyer, moving for the trees. A low shadow danced along the edge of the woods. Waiting. Like a wolf stalking for an opening. “Go,” Lennox breathed.
Sawyer reached for Tilly, scooping her up just as Torres broke from the trees. This time he didn’t run out–low and fast–a red blur of a dog. This time he stepped out of the shadows like a demon. A man. His gun in one hand, he lifted it towards Sawyer.
His body shook, but it was his eyes that stopped Lennox cold. They were wild, panicked. The look of a desperate man. There was nothing sane staring out of his almond gaze anymore. And the coiled rage pulsing around him, a palpable fury, told her he wouldn’t miss what he aimed at.
“You will not take my daughter.”
His finger moved towards the trigger and Lennox lunged. The sharp sound of a gun firing filled her ears, followed by another blaze of pain as the bullet lanced through her right shoulder. Light exploded behind her eyes as more silver bit deep into her skin, the bullet burrowing straight down to bone. Lennox staggered, spinning under the force of the shot.
