Blane pulled back behind the tree. Why would this Rufus guy kill another of his kind…and an apparent stranger? It seemed obvious he’d followed the other man from the cabin with a definite intent to kill him. What was going on that was worth killing over? At least Blane had learned something new. The she-panther’s captor was armed, and he was a killer.
Rufus walked quickly away in the direction of the cabin. Blane waited until the hyena turned the first bend in the path, then checked the body in the brush. The smell of death was already around it, and Blane turned away. He loped after Rufus, swiftly bringing his quarry back into sight. At Rufus’s hurried pace, they reached the cabin within a few minutes, and the hyena raced up the front steps.
Blane stopped under the shelter of nearby trees and sat on his haunches. He checked out the clearing, including the cabin and shed, for any sign of movements. This time he was getting a peek inside to assess the she-panther’s situation, no matter what the risks. He padded forward keeping to any sparse cover he could find.
* * *
Katrina was poised to push off the balls of her feet when she heard the rattle of the front latch. She froze as Rufus burst in the door, then she eased against the back of the chair. Disappointment washed over her. He was early—way early.
BJ jumped, but the other men barely reacted. One of them opened his eyes in Rufus’s direction but quickly lost interest. They were too drunk to care.
“Everything OK?” Rufus demanded. His eyes immediately flashed to Katrina.
“Sure, boss,” BJ said. “What’s the matter? You look kind of spooked.”
Rufus rubbed the back of his neck. “I had this creepy feeling as if someone was watching…or something was about to… Never mind. Guess I was wrong. Maybe I need a beer.”
“Problem solved?”
“Yep. For now at least. I don’t like how easily he found the cabin.” Rufus grabbed a beer can and downed half the contents in one swallow. “Maybe we should back off for a few weeks or months, until we can find a more secluded place.”
“Whatever you say.” BJ waved a careless hand.
Katrina suspected BJ’s mellow attitude was beer induced, but would he be so agreeable about the loss of income when he sobered?
BJ continued. “When’s the buyer coming for the current batch?”
“Should be here at dawn. And I’ve been thinking about her.” He pointed his beer can at Katrina. “If we’re going to scale back for a while, our cash flow will suffer. We could sweeten the current deal. She’s worth good money.”
“You kidding me?” BJ looked startled. “Who’d buy something that could kill them?”
Rufus laughed. “Someone who strives on danger. Exotic cats bring a premium.”
Greed suddenly shone on BJ’s face. “Well, I was looking forward to a little fun, but…how much?”
Rufus named a figure.
BJ’s eyes widened. “Holy—! And our cut?”
“Fifty-fifty.”
“Damn. Done deal, man. I can buy me ten willing women for that.”
Katrina’s lip curled in distaste. They wouldn’t find her such easy property to pass around. But their greed actually brought a measure of relief. Selling was better than killing. As long as she was alive, she’d eventually find a way to escape. Of course, she couldn’t wait forever if she intended to help the other women.
Rufus next words at least brought them back into the picture.
“Sober up your buddies or get them out of here. Then bring the women in to clean up. My buyer won’t pay the prices I want if they look like trash.”
BJ tried, poking and shaking his friends, but the only guy he could get a coherent response from was the one who had passed out first. Apparently he’d slept it off. While BJ was ushering his other two friends out the door, Arnie, the sobering drunk, took the key ring from the counter and headed for the shed. It was several minutes before he returned. When he did, the six women preceded him. The leg and wrist shackles had been removed, but they were tied together by throat collars like so many dogs.
Rufus came out of the back room with an armful of clothes. Arnie positioned the women in a line, and Rufus looked them over.
“You,” he said, pointing at the first in line. “Take off those dirty rags and get into the shower. Be quick about it. Then put this on.” He shoved a bundle at her.
Arnie unhooked the neck chain; the woman stripped and disappeared into the bathroom.
“When she’s done, each of you will take your turn.” Rufus handed every woman a piece of clothing, then turned to Katrina. “You’ll have to do as you are. I’m not removing those shackles until you’re somebody else’s problem.”
Katrina bit her lip and refused to speak. If she antagonized him further, he might add leg shackles or something even worse. She needed fewer restraints not more.
“I see that glint in your eyes.” Rufus sneered. “Marks on your lovely skin would cheapen your value to me, but I’m sure your new owner will find ways to curb your attitude.” He turned away as if bored by her. Katrina hoped he was.
It was time to get out of here.
Escape hinged on getting the key to her chains…which had to be the single one left on the counter. Without that, there wasn’t much she could do. Oh, she might be able to create enough disturbance for the women to run, but they’d quickly be rounded up again if she couldn’t get free to shift. And she would have gained nothing. She needed an accomplice or two.
Arnie continued to watch the waiting women; BJ guarded the bathroom door, occasionally opening it to peek in. He said he was checking to avoid any attempt to escape. Yeah, right. The bathroom had no windows or extra doors.
The first woman returned from the shower wearing a low cut dress that barely covered her breasts and the top of her thighs. The second woman was done and similarly attired before Katrina was able to communicate with the brown-haired woman who’d told her about the sales.
Katrina checked to make sure no one was watching, then lifted her chin toward the counter. The woman’s gaze followed her gesture, and she nodded.
“What are you doing?” BJ demanded. “Were you signaling someone?” He looked from the woman to Katrina, but Katrina had already dropped her focus to the floor.
“Just stretching my neck,” the woman said. “This collar is uncomfortable.”
BJ narrowed his eyes. “Too bad.”
“You’re next.” Arnie shoved the brown-haired woman toward the bathroom.
Katrina stifled a sigh. Another delay.
Her body nearly quivered with tension during the next few minutes. When the woman had finally showered and changed, Katrina waited until Rufus and BJ were standing next to each other, then nodded at the woman again.
She lowered her head, sprang from her chair, and barreled headlong into both men.
* * *
Blane had been on the grounds outside, sniffing around for the last half hour. When BJ came out to transfer the women to the cabin, he’d almost been spotted. Another shifter would have caught him. As it was, he’d barely made it around the corner where he’d crouched next to the building—listening and waiting. He smelled the terrified females and listened to the clanging of chains. Prisoners, he’d concluded.
When the man finally herded the women up to the main cabin, Blane quickly followed. Reaching the back door, his nose twitched with the scent of the other panther inside, strong, intriguingly female. With luck it would mask his own scent from detection by the hyena.
Blane stretched his long body upward, placing his front paws on the windowsill and looked inside. Katrina! He’d found her.
He dropped back on four paws, quivering all over from a primal rush of protectiveness. The bastards had chained her, but she looked all right. She looked good. His heart pounded with excitement, his nostrils flared and his tail twitched. He began to pant silently as he fought to maintain control. If he went charging in there without a plan, he might get her killed. He wouldn’t risk losing her now.
Blane forced himself to lower his body to the ground, every sense concentrated on the scene inside. He could picture it in his mind. The women, two men, and the hyena. Acceptable odds, but he’d also seen the gun.
Katrina was shackled, so no help there, but she didn’t appear afraid. Did she have a plan for her escape? Was there a way he could let her know he was there? That he could help?
He crept toward the back door and put his nose to the crack. The smell of fear from the human females had abated somewhat, and all he could distinguish was the sound of running water and faint voices. Should he attack now or would there be a more opportune moment if he waited?
Loud thumps and screaming from inside made the decision. Blane turned and raced toward the window.
* * *
Katrina looked frantically for the brown-haired woman. She’d lost sight of her in the chaos that followed her eruption from her chair and knocking Rufus and BJ to the floor.
There! Next to the counter. And she was holding the key! Katrina leaped forward and bent her head. The woman fumbled with the lock, it clicked open, and she grabbed her wrists. Katrina’s gaze sought the gun that had gone flying from Rufus’s hand. It lay against the far wall, and he was scrambling toward it.
As the last lock sprang free, a woman screamed in pain, and Katrina whirled to find Arnie slashing a knife at the other women. Katrina’s instincts sent her leaping to defend them, ignoring the threat from Rufus, and shifting into panther form as she went. Her powerful jaws reached for Arnie. As she bit down, she heard the sound of shattering glass.
A black blur sailed through the window, and the loud roar of an angry male panther filled the cabin.
In the chaos that followed—the screams, the gunfire, the growls and snarls—it was hard to know exactly who did what in the next few minutes. Arnie died almost instantly. BJ had snatched another gun from the kitchen cabinet, but hardly had time to load before Katrina leaped on his back and dug in her claws. He fell to the floor writhing, and she stood over him.
The quick-witted woman who’d helped her brought the shackles she’d taken from Katrina and slipped them on BJ’s wrists. She didn’t appear to be the least bit intimidated by the she-panther standing over him.
Katrina lifted her head and scanned the room for Rufus. The women were huddled in a far corner. The front door was off its hinges, and Rufus was gone. Growls and snarls from the clearing outside said he hadn’t gotten far.
She raced to the door and stopped, arrested by the sight. The male panther circling with the hyena was magnificent. His massive black head swung back and forth, as he stalked the other predator, his coat shimmering a deep blue-black in the moonlight. An angry, green glow reflected from his slitted eyes. Her heart raced at the incredible sight.
In animal form, Rufus was just as big as the panther, perhaps an inch or two taller in the front quarters. His jaws and angular shoulders bulged with power; the hair on his back stood on end. Neither male paid the slightest attention to Katrina’s presence in the doorway. They were focused on each other in a primitive battle for dominance and survival.
Katrina resisted the urge to rush into the fight. The panther wouldn’t welcome her; no alpha male would. And there was no question this was an alpha. Everything about the way he walked and held his head telegraphed a make-my-day message to the hyena. She sat on her haunches and waited to see how it developed. Despite the well-known cunning and viciousness of the hyena breed, she couldn’t imagine that this marvelous black predator would need her help.
The brown-haired woman came up to stand behind her. “Where’d he come from? Is that your mate?”
Don’t I wish. Katrina twitched her ears but didn’t take her eyes off the fight. Surely the woman didn’t expect a cat to answer her.
During the next few minutes, the other women joined them and no one said another word as they watched the spectacular fight play out in front of them. The combatants appeared evenly matched, repeatedly tearing into each other, springing apart and attacking again. The air vibrated with growls and snarls, clumps of fur and splashes of blood dotted the ground. Their hot breath crystallized when it hit the cold, forming eerie fog-like areas around their heads.
Both beasts were breathing hard now, their movements slower and more cautious than in the beginning, circling more. Each was looking for that final kill. To Katrina, that meant the panther would be going for the neck, the hyena for the underbelly. A miss for either could be fatal. She sat up straighter and moved into a crouch, ready to spring into action. She wouldn’t sit still and watch their rescuer die for his efforts.
The hyena struck first, his charge sending both beasts tumbling to the ground. His jaws snapped so close to the panther’s vulnerable belly that for a moment Katrina thought he’d struck home. Then the panther retaliated with a strike of his own, missing Rufus’s twisting spine but ripping off his left ear. A screaming howl rent the air. The panther followed his advantage by sinking his teeth into the hyena’s left shoulder. They rolled. Rufus shook himself free, spun away, and raced into the woods. The panther gave chase.
No! Don’t go. Katrina leaped forward, then came to an abrupt halt. The black cat had already disappeared from view. Her chest tightened as if she’d just lost something necessary to life and breath. She watched for a long moment, hoping he would return, but the snowscape remained empty.
* * *
Blane chased Rufus for almost a mile, but a hyena’s endurance was one of their greatest strengths. Blane lagged behind, and he finally stopped, his tongue hanging out, his sides heaving.
Well, damn. He’d wanted to tear the creature apart limb by limb for capturing Katrina and treating her like that. He let out a soft growl. She was his mate. His soul mate.
Blane lay down in the snow, enjoying the cool against his heated skin. He licked at an injury on his left leg.
He’d hoped if he found Katrina they could pick up where they’d left off and build a new life. But in the back of his mind he’d been afraid the attachment—the love—was only a part of their human lives. Then he’d seen her again; nothing had changed for him.
But what about her? She didn’t act as if she recognized him. Shouldn’t she? Hadn’t he just known—enough to track her for months?
When she’d been forced to put her old life behind her, maybe that included her love for him. Maybe she’d moved on. Should he just accept that?
He stood, looked back, and then ahead. Finally, he chose one, his head up and ears pricked forward as he settled into a ground-eating trot.
* * *
Katrina finally realized he wasn’t coming back and padded into the cabin. Gathering the clothes she’d shed during her transformation, she carried them in her mouth to the bathroom, nudged the door closed with her nose and returned to human form. When she exited a few moments later, the women were free of their chains.
“I’m Katrina,” she said, addressing the brown-haired woman. “Thanks for the help.”
“Tara. And we should be thanking you.” She looked over her shoulder at the other women. “Come on, ladies. She won’t bite, at least not in this form. Honestly.”
Katrina grinned and nodded, and the others introduced themselves.
“I’ve never met a shifter before.” The dark-haired girl was the youngest of the bunch, no more than a teenager. “Does it hurt?”
Katrina blinked at the unexpected question. “The shifting? Not much. You get used to it. How’d you all end up as captives?”
Each woman told a different story of abduction and abuse, but all of them had been stolen or lured from their homes and families by the human males and turned over to Rufus.
“He was the ring leader.” Tara pointed at BJ still shackled on the floor. Someone had looped a second set of shackles around the legs of the table and then around his original cuffs. He wasn’t going anywhere. “What are we going to do with him?”
“The authorities can handle that. As soon as I find my cell phone, I’ll call them.”
Tara frowned. “I’m not sure that’s enough. He was going to sell us. Like slaves.” She suddenly jerked her head toward the door. “What time is it? Some buyer was supposed to be here at dawn. Isn’t it close to that?”
The women reacted with instant fear and exclamations. A couple headed for the door.
“Wait. Don’t going running off on your own,” Katrina said. “We need to stick together. I promise nothing bad will happen to you. I won’t let it.”
The women paused.
“We have to do something,” Tara said.
“Rufus mentioned some guns in the kitchen cabinet. Anybody know how to shoot?”
Not surprising, Tara’d had firearm experience. She and Katrina armed themselves from Rufus’s stash. Once Katrina found her travel belt where it had been kicked under the couch, she dialed 911 on her mobile phone and detailed the situation to the authorities.
The women had lost their edge of panic with the advent of the guns and contact with the police, but they were still ready to bolt at the slightest provocation. A couple of them stared out the windows; others paced restlessly in the confined space, and one girl sat and cried. When BJ moved his leg and rattled a chain, she jumped and gave a piercing shriek.
Still on the phone, Katrina paused to explain the scream to the officer. “They can’t remain here with a buyer on the way. We’re going to start walking to town.”
The officer didn’t agree, but she couldn’t force the women to stay.
“What about your prisoner?” he asked.
“He’s in shackles. We’ll leave him here.”
“And if the buyer sets him free?”
She sighed with impatience. “That’s your problem. We don’t want to be here when he arrives.”
The officer sighed in resignation. “Stay together. We’ll want to talk to everyone.”
Less than a minute later, the seven women exited into the breaking dawn. Katrina and Tara had their guns drawn and took the lead. They hadn’t gone more than ten steps, when two human males appeared on the path from town. The brawnier of the two had a rifle slung over his shoulder.
Valentines Heat I Page 3
