by Lisa Kessler
Our coach was a weathered old Brit with cauliflower ears and a heart of gold. He chuckled and offered his hand to Kaya. “Any friend of Vance’s is a friend of mine.”
She shook his hand. “Great to finally meet you.”
Gary winked at me. “She’s way too good for you.”
“I agree, mate. I’m a lucky bastard.” I leaned in to kiss that dimple in her cheek. “I’m due on the field. Don’t go anywhere.”
“Not a chance.”
I ran to my teammates at center field, struggling to keep from looking back at Kaya. I always sent her texts about rugby practice. And she always declined. It became a ritual, silly fun. I never expected her to actually come watch. I couldn’t find words for how much it meant to me that she did. She had my back in a way no one ever had. She made me feel like I mattered. She made me want to be a better man, to be worthy of her.
During scrimmages, we only played one forty-five-minute half. Less than an hour until I could hold her in my arms again. Our team won the toss and chose to receive. They kicked the ball downfield, and I sprinted after it. I made the catch and slalomed through the other players, racing for their goal. Someone caught my heel, sending us both rolling across the grass, but before I hit the turf, I passed the ball back to one of my teammates. We were all continuing downfield when the arena lights suddenly went dark.
Gary blew a whistle from the sidelines. “Who forgot to pay the damn bill?” he joked, but I wasn’t smiling.
Someone was here. I couldn’t find their scent yet, but I would.
Cell phone flashlights came out, but with my night vision, I didn’t need one. What I needed was a weapon.
I turned toward the sidelines to grab my bag and retrieve the knife I kept stashed inside. My stomach dropped when I saw Gary alone by the field.
Fuck.
My pulse hammered, thumping in my ears as I raced off the field. I found a pile of clothes by my bag—Kaya’s clothes.
She shifted. I scanned the field for any sign of the lynx.
“Guess we’ll have to call it for the night,” Gary shouted to my teammates on the field. “Don’t be late tomorrow. We may only get to practice until sunset if these lights don’t get fixed.”
I grabbed my knife and tucked it under my shirt. Then I stuffed Kaya’s clothes into my bag. If I couldn’t see her, then whoever cut the power wouldn’t be able to see her, either.
Or at least I hoped that was the case.
I crouched down, sprinting between the cars in the parking lot. Nothing abnormal there. I recognized all the cars. I pulled in a slow breath. My sense of smell wasn’t as keen as a werewolf’s, but if Kaya was nearby, I’d know.
Nothing.
Where was she?
Losing my shit wasn’t going to help her. If she were standing here with me, she’d be reminding me how she had saved my ass—twice. She shifted to protect herself, and I trusted her. I needed to focus on the task at hand.
I headed back toward the field, welcoming the familiar chill in my veins. This was a game of cat and mouse, and I was a fucking deadly cat.
CHAPTER 22
Kaya
I trotted silently around the covered swimming pool of the sports complex. Right before the lights went out, the wolf inside me had caught the scent of a jaguar. And it hadn’t been Vance. I instinctively embraced my lynx the moment everything went dark, and my shift was almost instantaneous. I didn’t know for sure what the jaguar was after, but I was betting it was me. And what better way to handicap Vance than to capture me?
Yeah, I wasn’t going to let that happen.
The scent stopped at the door to the gymnasium. I twitched my ears, checking the area for any movement. Car engines started, tires squeaked, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. I sniffed the base of the door. Why would the jaguar have hidden inside the gym?
“Here, kitty, kitty.”
I hissed, ears flat. This wasn’t the same jaguar scent coming from the door. This was another enemy. How many were here tonight?
A tall man wearing black from head to toe pointed a gun in my direction. I pushed my lynx to run. We sprinted for the corner of the building. Behind me, the gun didn’t make a sound I recognized. No clap of gunfire and no muffled silencer, but something hit the ground with a metal clink.
The man came around the corner as we skittered underneath a golf cart. “This doesn’t have to be difficult.” He kept the gun raised as he scanned the shadows. “I don’t get paid if you’re dead.”
My breath came out in silent pants, but I stayed put.
“I know you’re close.” He started to lower his weapon. “But if you won’t come out for me, maybe you will for him.”
Two more men appeared from the front of the gymnasium—one a stranger, and the other my mate. The stranger had a gun to Vance’s head. He shoved Vance forward, and my wolf howled from the depths of my soul, sending primal vibrations through my lynx. Shit. I could barely rein in the animalistic instinct to attack. But the woman in me knew there was no way Vance had been captured unless he had let them do it intentionally. He had been trying to find me. His nostrils flared as he caught my scent.
“I’m counting to three, little kitty,” the first man taunted. “You either come out, or you can watch his brains litter the pavement. Your choice.” He raised the gun again. “One… Two…”
Suddenly Vance knocked his head back into the man behind him and grabbed his wrist. Vance flipped his captor over his back, dislocating the man’s arm in the process. My mate’s fluid movements made the vicious attack seem almost graceful—emotionless and deadly. How could this be the same man who twirled me around with an adorable smile on his face just because I came to watch him play?
Vance tore the gun from the stranger’s hand and fired a bullet into his head, then pointed it at their leader.
But he didn’t fire. “Drop the gun, Duane.”
I crept out from under the golf cart, sticking to the shadows as I made my way closer to my mate.
“You’ve gotten weak.” Duane chuffed. “Since when do you hesitate to pull the trigger?”
But it wasn’t weakness; it was strength. Vance knew how to be an executioner, but right now, he was putting the needs of his pack first. He had killed the other man in self-defense, and it would’ve been simple to fire the gun and kill Duane. He’d missed out on the chance at the satellite facility. But he didn’t take the easy way out. He didn’t surrender to his assassin’s training.
I fell in love with him all over again.
“Nah, mate,” Vance growled. “This isn’t hesitation. I figure you might be more useful to us alive than dead. But I’m all right with either option. You choose.”
“Did you really think Brian was the only one I brought with me on this operation?” Duane smirked and glanced up at the roof of the gym. “Give him a warning shot.”
A bullet ricocheted off the pavement next to Vance. My wolf snarled as we edged closer. Then another scent hit me.
Asher?
Our Alpha came around the corner, his gun at the ready, Jett right behind him.
“Just give me a reason to shoot you,” Asher said.
“Take the wolves out,” Duane shouted.
I raced forward and launched myself at Duane, my claws extended, and knocked him to the ground. My claws sank into his shoulders as gunfire deafened my ears, followed by a hollow thump on the ground behind me. I didn’t know who had been hit, and I couldn’t check right now. I kept my eye on my prize, baring my teeth at the man who threatened my mate and my Alpha.
“Kaya, wait!” Compulsion laced my Alpha’s voice, commanding obedience, but my lynx fought, shaking her head.
Duane seized my moment of hesitation, throwing me off him. He rolled away and fired one shot into my side. But it wasn’t a bullet that pierced me; it was a dart. I blinked as the sedative spread through my bloodstream.
The back wall of the gym building blurred, and the bushes and trees turned hazy. I stumbled toward my prey and
collapsed, trying to fight the encroaching blackness.
Asher’s voice seemed distant, calling to my mate, then Vance came into view. Standing over Duane, he fired two shots.
The scent of blood hit my nostrils as the world went dark.
CHAPTER 23
Vance
Kaya had lost consciousness, instantly shifting back into her human form. I dropped the gun on Duane’s chest and rushed to her side. Her breathing was even, thank god.
I almost cried when I saw the dart. A dart. Thank god. No bullet. He’d shot her with a tranquilizer. My hands trembled as I plucked it from her rib cage and scooped her into my arms. Bloody hell. I thought I’d lost her.
That had been too fucking close.
Asher holstered his gun, eyeing the four bodies on the ground. He looked up at the roof as Jett approached. I couldn’t help but notice the way Jett swiped his hand across his nose. I glanced at the dead rooftop snipers. They had shot each other instead of Asher and Jett.
“What the hell just happened?” Asher asked.
We had almost lost, that’s what the hell happened.
I cradled Kaya in my arms, struggling to contain myself. My nerves were like a bundle of live wires, sparking with adrenaline instead of an electrical current. If Duane hadn’t needed her alive, I would’ve been too late. The future I’d dared to hope for almost slipped right through my fingers.
I kissed her forehead, closing my eyes. “Never again, kitten. I can’t lose you.”
She trembled against my chest. If I didn’t get her some clothes soon, she’d freeze to death. Her clothes were in my bag, but I’d dropped it back by the field after I decided the quickest way to find the bastards tracking Kaya would be to let them capture me.
I pulled my gaze from her face to look over at Asher. “Give me your jacket.”
He took it off and tossed it my way. I held her with one arm and snagged the coat with my other hand. I wrapped it around her and then lifted my eyes. “How did you find us?”
“Alpha thing, I guess.” Asher shrugged. “Since I ascended, I’ve been having visions when someone in our pack is in danger. Sometimes I catch glimpses through their eyes.” His gaze moved between Jett and me. “Jett had just arrived at the ranch, but I caught sight of Kaya shifting. Then I recognized the gymnasium building and jumped in my Jeep.” He clapped Jett on the shoulder. “Thanks for coming with me, no questions asked.” Asher cleared his throat. “I’m still not sure how the visions work, so Naomi’s the only one who knows about them.”
He squatted down beside one of the dead snipers. “Someone want to explain to me how they shot each other instead of us?”
I looked at Jett. I wasn’t going to spill his secret, but I hoped he would tell Asher the truth. “Don’t know, mate.” I glanced over at Duane’s body. “Sorry about the mess here. I tried to give him an out.” My gut churned as I met Asher’s eyes. “I’ll understand if you want me to go.”
Asher cocked a brow. “Go where?”
“Away. Leave the pack.” My mouth went dry. I’d flushed the only future I wanted, the only family I’d ever had, right down the toilet. But the second Duane had aimed that gun at Kaya and pulled the trigger, he had signed his own death warrant. At that moment, I hadn’t been thinking about Asher’s warning about putting the pack in danger, nor Kaya’s concern about only killing in self-defense. All I could think about was ending the threat to the woman I loved.
Asher frowned. “Why would I want you to leave the pack?”
I glanced at Jett and back to Asher. “Because I defied your order not to kill Duane. I don’t know how many ex-Nero assassins are still in that facility in Flagstaff, but this could bring all of them to our doorstep.”
Asher shook his head slowly. “This pack is our family, and families are going to disagree sometimes. But in the end, what matters is Kaya is alive. We all are. We’ll be ready to fight if it comes to that.” Asher came closer, his intense gaze on my face. “I’m the Alpha, not the king. I still wish we could have questioned Duane, but if he had aimed a gun at Naomi, I would’ve done the same damned thing.”
I blinked as the reality set in. I wasn’t being sent away. None of them had any idea how much that meant to me. I focused on Kaya’s face, unable to keep my emotions buried but unwilling to let anyone see them. “I’ve got to move Kaya to someplace warm. Can you guys handle the cleanup?”
“Yeah,” Asher replied. “I’ll get some of the others to come help us.”
Jett’s deep voice echoed off the back of the gym. “I need to talk to Asher anyway.”
The corner of my mouth quirked up as I stood. Jett was brave.
Good man.
I nodded. “I’ll call you once Kaya wakes up.”
I laid Kaya on my bed and kissed her forehead while Abby danced around by her feet, eager to see her even if Kaya wasn’t responding. She couldn’t hear me, but I whispered to her anyway.
“I love you, kitten. Duane is gone, but my soul is still intact.” I stroked her soft cheek with the back of my finger. “I had the clear shot, but I tried to negotiate first.” I shook my head, my voice cracking with emotion. “I thought I lost you.”
I looked up at the ceiling, blinking until my vision cleared. “Rookie mistake not taking a shot when I had it.” I chuckled. “Maybe I really am just a rock shop owner now.” Her lashes fluttered, her eyes moving behind the lids. My breath caressed her ear as I leaned in and whispered, “You’re safe.”
On the other side of Kaya, Abigail was scooting on her belly, pulling herself up the bed closer to Kaya’s head. She looked at me and licked Kaya’s hand.
I chuckled, shaking my head. “She’s resting. Leave her be, little lady.”
Kaya’s fingers twitched, and gradually, she lifted them, stroking my dog’s wide forehead. I smiled, holding her other hand. As she opened her eyes, my heart clenched. I bent to kiss her cheek. “Welcome back, kitten.”
She turned her head, pressing her lips against mine until she coaxed a growl from my throat. Breaking the kiss, she stared up into my eyes. “You’re so much more than a rock shop owner.”
My eyes widened. “You heard me?”
“Yeah.” Her adorable drowsy smile did me in. Her gaze wandered over my face. “Just couldn’t get my eyes to open. He must’ve hit me with an elephant tranquilizer or something.”
“Better than a bullet.” I stroked her hair. “I thought I was too late.”
“He’s dead?”
I nodded. “Yeah.” I searched her eyes for that twinge of fear or judgment, but I didn’t find it.
She reached up to cup my cheek. “I know you tried not to kill him, and I know how hard that was for you.”
“I’ve got a family to worry about now. I knew the pack would be better off if we could squeeze him for information, but there’s no chance of that now.”
“It’s not all your fault. I attacked him before you did.”
I smirked. “I’m a bad influence on you.”
“He was wrong about you being weak, you know…” She searched my eyes. “Killing him would have been easy, but you put your pack’s needs first and fought the urge.”
I raised a brow. “The lynx told you all that?”
She grinned, tempting me with that dimple in her cheek. “I can still hear when I shift.” She grabbed my shirt and tugged me closer to her. “I’m in love with an amazing man, and I’m so proud my wolf chose you. I can’t believe I ever doubted her judgment.”
I rubbed my nose against hers, drinking in her scent. “Thanks for coming to see me play tonight. Sorry Duane fucked it up.” I stole a kiss and whispered, “I’ve never had anyone in my corner before. I like it.”
“Me too.” A spark of mischief flashed in her dark eyes. “You know what else I like?”
“What’s that?”
Her hand slid down to grab my ass. “Being naked with you.”
“You just got shot with a tranquilizer dart.”
“Babe, I’m a hybrid shifter these day
s. I heal crazy fast.”
Damn, I loved hearing her call me babe.
I raised a brow and lifted the covers to take a peek at her. I grinned. “Looks like we’re already halfway there.”
She nodded with a seductive smile. “It’s all up to you now.”
“Anything for you.”
I stripped off my shirt and shorts in record time and then slid under the covers. Pulling her into my arms, I let out a satisfied groan. Her body against mine was heaven. I’d never take one second of it for granted. Ever.
Abby huffed and hopped off the bed, giving us a little privacy.
As much as I wanted to lose myself in Kaya, I also wanted to hold her close and never let her go. I pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Move in with me. I don’t want to spend another night without you in my arms.”
She peered up at me from under her dark lashes. “Or you could move in with me.”
I shrugged. “As long as I get to be with you, I don’t care where we live.”
The truth was, I’d never really had a home, but with Kaya at my side, anything seemed possible. She was a force of nature, and by some twist of fate, she loved me. Me, a washed-up hired gun, rugby-playing, rock shop owner. I’d won the best lottery in the universe.
“Yes,” she whispered. “No more nights apart.”
I rolled her beneath me, my body already hungry for hers. “I love hearing you say ‘yes.’”
She ran her fingernails down my back with a sexy smile. “Who’s the lucky one now?”
I fused my lips to hers as I entered her warm, wet body in one swift motion. She was the sexiest woman I’d ever known, and she made me feel like a damned superhero.
If I got to worship her body all night, it wouldn’t be long enough.
EPILOGUE
Kaya
I’d converted the kitchen at the ranch house into a buffet line fit for a five-star hotel. Chafing dishes lined every countertop, and Piper, Shane’s mate, followed me, lighting the fuel cans underneath the trays as we went. It would’ve been faster if I could’ve brought Harley and some of the kitchen staff from the Red Coyote, but Naomi and Asher’s wedding was pack only.
