Shifter Challenge

by Selina Woods

  “We were beginning to worry, youngster,” Redley commented, opening the door to let us in. “As soon as the sun sets, we’ll have traffic.”

  Caesar, Gray, Miles, and two other lions introduced to us as Billy and Sam hadn’t been idle as they waited for us. They had removed the crates from the truck and had systematized the rifles, handguns, and stacks of ammunition.

  “This is Ramsey,” I said. “We owe him for organizing this shindig. He created maps that will show where the enforcers should be tomorrow.”

  Ramsey opened the thick carton of maps and handed them out. “We know they still may want to kill Logan for interfering with their greed. That same greed, we hope, will keep them shaking down the citizens.”

  Caesar studied his copy. “This is excellent work. We know we can’t expect to catch them all in our net, but if we can get enough, the others may go into hiding.”

  “Or band together in one last attempt to kill me,” I replied. “Without me, they may think this entire war will fall apart.”

  “We can’t let it,” Ramsey stated firmly. “We’ve come too far. You have to stay alive, Logan.”

  “I’ll do my best,” I told him dryly. “But I am as expendable as the rest. So if I’m killed, I designate you, Ramsey, to carry on the fight.”

  “Nuh-uh.” He shook his head. “Not me. One of these guys should.” He gestured toward Caesar and Gray.

  “For reasons I’m not able to tell you,” I said slowly, “they can’t. It has to be you. You know this town and you know those assholes out there.”

  Snorting bitterly, he glowered. “You better just stay alive, Logan. You get yourself killed, and I’ll hike my leg and piss on your corpse.”

  “You do that. Now, is there anything we might be missing? A hole in our plans? We need to find them before the enemy does.”

  Waiting for dark to arrive, we discussed everything that could possibly go wrong. “The difficult part is,” Caesar commented, “we can’t get them all in one fell swoop. The survivors can cause a great deal of damage.”

  “Except that now the civilians they prey on now will fight back,” Redley answered. “They will be expecting the same cowed response and might just be taken by surprise when their victims become the hunters.”

  “Let’s hope so,” I said, seeing full darkness arrive.

  In twos and threes, shifters quietly arrived to receive guns and ammo, and if they had their own shops, they were instructed to wait in hiding until the enforcers came to collect. Then take the enforcers by surprise and kill. Ramsey marked a map with their shops’ locations, and as the evening passed midnight, his marker filled his copy with red circles.

  Those civilians without a direct link to a store were given a map, a handgun, and instructed to take down any thug within a six-block radius. “If a shopkeeper in your area needs help,” I told them, “then assist. You’re given handguns because you can keep them hidden. And don’t forget, they’ll kill you first if they can.”

  Jordan, the tiger shifter, and two of his companions from the execution of the four enforcers also arrived. He shook my hand with a grin. “So now we come to it, Logan. It’s the real deal.”

  “It is,” I replied, smacking his shoulder. “By tomorrow night, it’ll be over. You just make sure you stay alive.”

  “You, too, bro.”

  He and his friends were given handguns and their locations to protect, and then they slipped back out into the night. Ramsey spread the marked map out for us to look at together. His finger pointed. “We now have most of the city covered,” he said. “But here is an area that isn’t so far. As it’s your own neighborhood, Logan, maybe you want to cover it.”

  “Damn straight, I will,” I said with a tight smile. “I owe those assholes a life.”

  “Then maybe you should get over there,” he went on. “Hide early. Redley and I will continue here.”

  “Now hold on,” Redley protested, hefting a rifle. “I ain’t sitting this out. I’m gonna skin me an enforcer or three.”

  Ramsey sighed and glanced at the small number of guns that remained. “I reckon there aren’t too many folks coming now. I suggest we load the rest of these into the cars and head for our hiding places.”

  Ramsey and Caesar brought the cars around and we quickly filled the trunks with the remaining weapons and ammunition. Kiana took a pistol that fit her hand neatly and stuck it into her waistband. Ramsey, Caesar, and Gray accepted rifles and placed extra magazines in their pockets.

  Without headlights, we drove to my neighborhood and parked along the street among the old and rusted remnants of the wars. Getting out into the quiet night, I glanced around for any potential trouble from the night hunters or the enforcers. All remained silent and still, as though the entire city held its breath.

  Perhaps it did.

  Separating, we slipped into the darkness and found hiding places on both sides of the street for several blocks in both directions. Kiana and I hid within the burnt-out remains of a truck not far from the skeletal remains of the L and D Market. By lying flat on the floorboards, we could watch the sidewalk through the busted remains of the door. Unless one turned his head and looked directly into it, we’d remain hidden.

  I made certain we could get out of it easily and silently, then relaxed to wait for the rest of the night to pass. “Here we are all cozy together,” I murmured, kissing Kiana lightly, “and I can’t jump your bones.”

  Her teeth gleamed in a grin. “Horny bastard.”

  “You know it.”

  I knew better than to think of Derek but did it anyway. “I think we should take Suzanne and her babies with us to Denver,” I said. “I want to look after her.”

  “That doesn’t surprise me at all.”

  “I can’t imagine,” I began and almost choked, “what she’s going through. Without him.”

  From the corner of my eye, I saw Kiana turn her head to look at me fully. “If she’s going through anything close to what you are, I feel badly for her.”

  I dared not say anything more, for I knew I’d lose what precious control I had over my emotions. I felt glad that she didn’t take my hand or speak again, for then I would lose it. I’ll get this shit out of me by killing the assholes who killed him.

  The hours passed slowly, the sky outside the old truck gradually lightening from black to gray. A few birds chirped in greeting to the new dawn, and a few shopkeepers walked by our hiding spot on their way to open their businesses. I glanced sidelong at Kiana, observing her quick nod in readiness. The enforcers would no doubt arrive within an hour or so to begin shaking down the locals.

  Foot and vehicle traffic picked up, my gut tensing in preparation for the fight to come. Cars pulled up to the curb nearby with the screech of tires; doors slammed shut, and shrieks of panic, terror, erupted from the people on the street. I glanced sharply at Kiana, seeing her eyes wide with horror.

  I charged from hiding, my gun ready, amid the stampede of folks fleeing the area, running from the circle of cars in the middle of the street. I had expected a few enforcers prepared to shake down the businesses, not more than a dozen of them with glass bottles in their hands, rags stuffed into the necks.

  “Oh, shit,” I muttered in fear and dismay. “They’re gonna light up the entire block.”

  The enforcers scattered, pulling lighters from pockets, setting the rags aflame. The few closest to me recognized me instantly, and their brief expressions of surprise changed to sneering hate. “You should have paid attention to your lesson, Logan,” he growled, lighting his rag. “Now these folks will pay the price.”

  I gave him no chance to throw it. Lifting my gun, I shot him dead center. He stared at me, shock widening his eyes even as blood bloomed on his chest, the bottle falling from his slack fingers. The glass shattered on the pavement, flames scorching up and out. He was instantly consumed by them and gave a brief cry of agony before he collapsed into a burning heap.

  Gunfire exploded beside me as Kiana fired at another wh
o trotted toward us, his bottle aflame. Her shots missed him, and he threw it, smoke from the rag trailing across the air. I shoved her hard, pushing her down behind the wreck we had hidden in, my body on top of hers.

  The bottle exploded on the sidewalk where we had been standing, flames licking at the rusted hulk, heat blistering my back and ass. Cussing, I yanked Kiana up, and we both dashed around the far side of the old vehicle, better protected from the wash of fire. “That was close,” I muttered. “You okay?”

  “Yeah,” she answered, her gun up and ready, searching for another target. “I’m a lousy shot.”

  “You’ll get plenty of practice.”

  The enforcers lobbed their flaming bottles into structures, setting them ablaze and pulling their guns from pockets and waistbands. Smoke filled the street, half hiding the enemy from us. A few blocks away, Caesar broke from cover and shot two thugs at close range, even as Redley, his rifle socked into his shoulder, raked the area with gunfire.

  More enforcers fell while others bolted for hiding spots from which they fired back. I heard more gunshots from the other direction, a choked-off scream, and hoped it was an enemy and not Gray or Ramsey that had been hit. “Come on.”

  With Kiana at my back, I charged into the thick smoke, breathing shallowly, and shot a goon before he shot me. The fog changed from gray to a reddish-orange from the burning buildings, and then we broke from the cloud into clear, breathable air. Coughing, my eyes burning, I saw Kiana’s eyes streaming tears from the smoke.

  “They’re running,” Kiana exclaimed, pointing to the surviving enforcers bolting for their vehicles, shooting indiscriminately to cover their retreat.

  I aimed and shot at one, missed, even as he made it to his car and jumped inside. The engine revved, and tires squealed as he charged his sedan straight at us. I stood in the middle of the street, firing through the windshield at the driver. The glass shattered, and he slumped over the wheel. Out of control, the car slewed sideways, jumped the curb, and slammed nose-first into a burning shop.

  “Get back,” I yelled at Kiana, expecting the vehicle’s fuel tank to ignite and explode.

  We ran for cover behind an empty car, its engine idling, just as the wreck in the building detonated with a coughing roar. Pieces of metal and glass shot in all directions, peppering the sedan we hid behind. Kiana looked dazed, her black hair flung wildly over her face and shoulders as she slowly stood up.

  She swiped it from her vision, staring at the torched car and the flaming building. “I think they’re all go—”

  I heard her grunt at the same time a gun barked from behind us. I spun and fired three times in quick succession. I shot the enforcer in the face, blood and bone bursting in all directions. He fell backward to the pavement, twitching violently before finally expiring.

  Kiana slid to the ground.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Panic leaped down my throat. “Kiana?”

  Her face rapidly drained of blood as her eyelids flickered, her eyes rolling crazily. “Lo—Logan.”

  Kneeling, I lifted her and discovered her back wet and warm. Horrified, I took my hand away, seeing it covered in slick red. “No, no, oh, shit. Kiana!”

  You have to stop the bleeding.

  I half turned her across my lap and pressed the heel of my hand against the wound in her shoulder. “You’re gonna be all right, baby,” I told her, trying not to gasp. “Hang in there.”

  “I—love you.”

  “I know, I love you, too, now quit talking.”

  Gazing around, I saw little save smoke and fire, and hoped she and I weren’t the only survivors. “Help,” I yelled. “Caesar! Gray!”

  Over the steady roar of the burning structures, I heard a voice call back. “Logan?”

  “Over here. Kiana’s been shot.”

  I half expected more gunfire to erupt, but did not hear any. Within moments, Ramsey crouched at my side, his fingers on Kiana’s neck. “Her pulse is strong,” he said. “Keep your hand there. We have to get her to a healer.”

  “Robert,” I told him. “We don’t have time to find another.”

  “Right.”

  Gray, Caesar, and Redley arrived to circle us, their rifles ready to shoot any threat. “How bad?” Gray asked.

  “Her shoulder,” I answered. “She’s bleeding bad.”

  “We have to get her to the penthouse,” Ramsey told them. “Help him get her into the car.”

  Awkwardly, as I had to keep my hand pressed to her wound, Caesar and I lifted Kiana. She cried out in pain, the sound stabbing me in the heart, but we set her gently on the rear seat. We lay her across my lap, her face resting on my knee with her legs on Caesar. Ramsey got in behind the wheel as Gray and Ramsey peered in through the window.

  “Do what you can here,” I told them.

  “We will,” Gray replied. “Keep her alive.”

  Ramsey put the car in gear and drove through the swirling smoke, accelerating once he’d cleared the fog. Beneath my hand, I felt Kiana’s heart still trying to pump blood out through the hole in her back, but I thought I kept it inside her, in her veins, “I won’t let you die,” I said, using my free hand to stroke her hair. “I won’t.”

  “Good,” she murmured.

  The sound of her voice reassured me, and I glanced at Caesar, who returned a small encouraging smile. The sedan rocked around corners, but with the attacks on the enforcers all around the city still going on, there was little traffic Ramsey needed to avoid. He drove fast, speeding down the avenues toward the beach.

  In less than half the time the trip usually would take, he braked to a halt in front of the guards, still cradling their rifles. “Get Robert up to the penthouse,” he barked at them, getting out of the sedan.

  As two ran into the building, Ramsey opened the door to help Caesar and I extract Kiana from the rear seat. Two guards also stepped forward to help. “What happened, sir?” one asked. “We’ve been hearing gunshots.”

  Hoping their loyalty still rested with me, I replied, “The enforcers are waging war, trying to kill us. They shot her.”

  Caesar carried Kiana while I kept my hand against her bloody wound, and I caught a flash of the guards nearby glancing at one another. “They won’t get past us, sir,” said the shifter who had first spoken.

  “Count on us,” another stated.

  We rushed across the foyer, Ramsey in the lead, and hit the elevator button while the murmuring guards parted and stood to each side. “The healer is on his way,” I heard just as the doors slid closed with a hiss.

  Tony and Albert, awake and eating breakfast with an armed guard, gaped as we charged in from the elevator.

  “Kiana!” Tony cried, seeing his bloody sister in Caesar’s arms. He ran toward us even as Albert wept in fear and grief. Ramsey drew the astonished guard to the side and spoke to him briefly, though I didn’t hear what he said.

  “She’s alive,” I told the brothers. “Stay out of the way.”

  They didn’t listen, however, and crowded around Caesar and I as we hustled her into the big bedroom, then laid her carefully on the bed. By then, both boys were crying, near panic. I couldn’t do much about them with my hand still keeping the blood in her body, but Caesar pulled both of them into his waist in a hug.

  “She’ll be okay,” he told them. “She’ll be okay.”

  Dimly, I heard the elevator ping, and a few moments later, Robert appeared in the doorway. “What happened?” he asked briskly, setting his case on the bed near me. “Shot?”

  “In her shoulder,” I replied tersely. “I’ve kept pressure on the wound.”

  “Then you may have saved her life. Now let me in there, please.”

  Half afraid to take my hand from her, I retreated slowly, giving Robert room to work. He took my place and sliced her tank top from her, exposing her injury. “What can I do?” I asked.

  “Just stay out of my way.”

  Looking down at myself, I realized my hands, arms, and clothes were soaked in Kiana’s
blood. Though reluctant to leave the room, there was little I could do at the moment except watch the healer work to save Kiana’s life. After staring for a few minutes, I headed for the door, Caesar bringing the boys with him as he followed me.

  “Will she be all right, Logan?” Tony asked, swiping at his wet face with his sleeve.

  “Yeah, kid,” I answered, my mouth dry, and hoped I wasn’t lying.

  “Get cleaned up, Logan,” Caesar told me, ushering the boys to a couch.

  Feeling almost as though washing her blood from me meant Kiana would die, I obeyed him. Heading for another bathroom, I stripped my gore-streaked shirt from my torso and washed my hands and arms, finding more on my chest and shoulders. Ramsey stood in the doorway, watching me.

  “That was clever,” he said, his voice low, “telling the guards the enforcers made war on you rather than the other way around.”

  “It just might buy us some time,” I replied, toweling myself dry. “Maybe they won’t join the enemy immediately.”

  “You’ll have to gather a force of civilian fighters,” he told me. “In case those guys downstairs turn on you.”

  I nodded. “After I know Kiana will be all right.”

  “While I understand your need to be here,” he replied, “you shouldn’t wait. You need to be out there; you need to know if this plan worked, or if the enforcers turned the tables on us.”

  Staring at my reflection in the mirror, seeing my cheeks hollow from worry and lack of sleep, the grief deep in my eyes, I said “And if Kiana dies?”

  Ramsey paused before speaking again. “You’ll have to go on.”

  “I don’t think I can do that,” I said slowly, even though I knew he was right.

  “You can. You must.”

  I pushed through the door past him and went into the bedroom where Robert still worked on Kiana. Stepping up behind him, I observed her pale features, but that she breathed slowly and deeply, unconscious. “Robert?”