One True Mate 4: Shifter's Innocent

by Lisa Ladew

  Cerise gave him a funny look at his exuberance and he laughed to himself. She hadn’t heard the expression, and now he seemed like a fool.

  She turned to Kaci. “You want to eat yet?”

  Kaci only stared, then shook her head slowly.

  Beckett spoke up. “Sorry, li’l bit. I should have warned you that McDonalds could have that effect on you if you aren’t used to it.”

  Kaci nodded her head. “Totally worth it,” she said, and Cerise’s mouth dropped open in a perfect O, as the feeling of sweet victory made Beckett sit up taller, grinning like a fool. She’d spoken to him.

  Determined to act like it was no big deal, he chuckled. “Spoken like a girl after my own heart. Love me some greasy hash browns and gallons of soda.”

  Kaci grinned at him and he grinned back, locking eyes with her for just a second, savoring Cerise’s stunned expression from next to her.

  Kaci bent over. “Bathroom,” she said.

  Beckett eased into the right lane. He’d been watching the exits the entire morning, making sure he knew exactly which ones had bathrooms. “Hang in there,” he drawled. “I’ll get you to one fast as a duck on a June bug.”

  He’d always been one to press home his advantages. Kaci had talked to him, now he just needed to get her to laugh.

  Chapter 23

  Beckett sped into the rest stop, ignoring the spattering of cars already there and the dark SUV following him in, speeding directly to the front of the squat brick building and stopping. He jumped out to run around and reach the passenger door, but Cerise already had it open and was lowering Kaci to the ground. They hurried into the restroom. Beckett closed their door behind them and climbed back behind the wheel.

  He parked his truck and got out, pausing a second as he scented foxen on the air. He frowned. Foxen? Bearen? Now he wasn’t sure. The strange scent stirred a memory inside him. Suddenly alert, he scanned all the people hurrying to and from their cars in the early afternoon cold, but saw no one who looked suspicious.

  He left his truck, then made his way to stand by the entrance to the women’s bathroom, some sort of sick anticipation twisting his guts. He’d felt something was off since the night before, and now the feeling grew legs, sprinting around inside him, demanding his attention.

  He scanned the parking lot and saw nothing out of the ordinary.

  Cerise said something sharply in the bathroom and Beckett twisted toward the sound. As he did, a chunk exploded off the concrete wall behind him with a thick thumping sound, bits of rock flying everywhere, the sound they made when they hit the wall almost musical.

  Beckett was in motion before the first bit of falling rock bounced off the ground, launching into a twisting roll that carried him behind the rock wall that hid the open restroom door from the parking lot.

  His guns were in his truck. Someone had just shot at him with a rifle with a sound suppressor attached. The shot had been at head level, meaning they weren’t messing around. Beckett was in deep shit because whoever it was wanted him dead. By rights, he should be already. He had only one option, and it wasn’t waiting around for the cops to show up.

  “Cerise!” he shouted, his every sense on high alert. “Stay inside. Don’t come out till I come get you! Someone is shooting out here!”

  A woman screamed inside the bathroom, but it wasn’t Cerise or Kaci. Beckett had to trust that they would do as he’d told them to.

  He sprinted out of the protective area, heading for the parking lot, his elbows tucked in, his torso lowered in a bit of a crouch, putting every fiber of muscle he had into moving quickly, hopefully faster than the muzzle of the gun he ran from. No luck there, unless the shooter wasn’t a professional.

  He’d heard the flat crack of the rifle, way quieter than the boom of a non-suppressed rifle, but not imperceptible, and thought he could pinpoint where it had come from. He was completely exposed moving across the parking lot, using cars for cover when he could. He’d parked in the center row and just reached the driver’s side door when he heard the quiet crack of another shot and the twang of it punching through metal somewhere. Beckett ripped his door open, the second shot telling him exactly where the shooter was. Now to go on the offensive.

  He fished under the seat, pulling out his concealed carry tote, jamming his keys into the lock. He’d put his duty weapon in there before entering the hospital to find Cerise two nights before. He fished it out, flicked off the safety, then pulled out his secondary, too. No time or need for ammo beyond one extra magazine for each. If he didn’t do this right the first time, he’d be dead and completely unable to reload anyway.

  He dropped his keys to the floor of his truck and began moving on instinct to the rear of it, gearing up for another all-out sprint. He broke cover and moved fast, bringing his weapons up and firing indiscriminately at the copse of evergreens where he knew the shooter was, the boom of the guns echoing back and forth from the forest on both sides of the rest stop parking lot. From behind him, people shouted and cars slammed to a stop or sped out the exit. He ignored them all, covering ground like it was hot lava about to burn holes in his shoes.

  Forty more feet, thirty, then fifteen before he left the parking lot and entered the trees. His eyes scanned behind every thick trunk as he ran and shot, searching out the shooter. If he’d been able to shift, he could have covered the ground in half the time, and flown like an arrow to a bull’s-eye directly to the bastard, but the humans everywhere guaranteed that wasn’t possible, even if he were hit by a bullet.

  As if he’d conjured it, a sharp tug pulled at his upper right arm, dropping it to his side, flopping and useless, his gun tumbling to the ground. He triangulated again, jogged to his left, and squeezed off every round from his other gun in quick succession directly around the tree where he now knew the shooter to be.

  The accounting part of his brain told him he was out of bullets, but his fingers didn’t get the message. Click. Click. He dry-fired twice, but it didn’t matter. He was there, his breath tearing in and out of his lungs, his leg muscles on fire from the all-out sprint. Only twenty feet farther, past the trees, cars whizzed by on the interstate, the drivers oblivious to the life and death struggle about to start.

  He dropped his gun and hooked an arm around the neck of the hulking male on the other side of the tree, squeezing hard, trying to snap the asshat’s head off his neck. No luck. The guy was as big as he was, bigger maybe, and ready to fight. He smelled like foxen, but in a flat, dead way that confused Beckett. He didn’t dwell on it, instead using his body’s momentum to pull the male backwards off his feet, pile-driving his head into the next massive tree trunk. Even if the male was human, Beckett could hurt him. His human protection drive was inactivated for humans who had tried to hurt shiften, or other humans.

  Beckett tried to get his other arm up, to twist the male’s chin and head, break his neck, but the arm wouldn’t work. The male growled at him, trying to gain his footing. Beckett snarled back, knowing he couldn’t allow that. This guy was big, and he might have friends around. He called an image of Cerise and Kaci up in his mind, not knowing if the guy was after him or them, but if he was after them, he was dead, even if Beckett lost use of both arms.

  The trick worked. Mine! screamed through his brain, followed swiftly by protect! His body surged and his fangs grew in his mouth. All the better to tear out a throat. His right arm worked enough, on sheer willpower alone. He grunted and slammed the male into the tree again, ignoring hands that scrabbled at his arms, then took the male to the ground, aiming his head at a large rock that jutted up from the forest floor.

  Crunch. Beckett let the unconscious male slip out of his grasp. From behind him he heard a female scream. He shot a look over his shoulder to the bathrooms. Not a person in sight. They’d all hit the deck, or jumped into their cars, or were hiding inside the building.

  Another hulking male who could have been a brother to the one he’d just incapacitated ran out of the women’s restroom, Kaci tucked under one a
rm kicking and screaming, Cerise lying limply over his other shoulder. Knocked out? Beckett’s strength surged again and his flat rage turned murderous. That male was about to die.

  He sprinted back the way he had come, dismayed to see the male stop at a dark SUV idling at the curb, throw Kaci in an open door, then shift Cerise’s weight so he could do the same to her.

  Beckett would never make it to them before he drove off with Cerise and Kaci.

  If he lost them, he would not survive.

  ***

  Cerise woke in a blur, her head pounding at her temple, unsure who or where she was for a moment. Then it came back to her. Beckett shouting that there was a shooter, telling them to stay in the bathroom. Gunshots. People screaming. Kaci had trembled and whimpered in fear and Cerise had held her as they’d backed into a corner in the smelly bathroom. Footsteps. Someone entering quickly. She prayed it was Beckett even as she knew it wasn’t. A man with close-cropped hair and an unkind face, his body massive, reminiscent of Schwarzenegger in every movie she’d ever seen him star in. The guy had seen them and moved straight for them, his blocky face set in a permanent frown. She’d tucked Kaci behind her, put her hands up, palms facing forward, trying to remember how she’d pushed Cici, praying the power wouldn’t fail her.

  But he’d never even tried to grab her, instead swinging at her with his fist, catching her in the left temple. He’d pulled the swing, so as not to kill her, but she was still knocked unconscious.

  Cerise cracked her eyes open and saw a terrified Kaci looming over her, cradling her head and rubbing her hair, her lips moving but no sound coming out. They were in the back seat of a large vehicle. Cerise pushed herself up slightly, trying to orient herself, her head pounding worse. How long had she been out?

  Not long. They were still in the parking lot. Behind her, she saw Beckett running at a flat sprint, trying to catch them. Tires squealed and the car they were in jumped forward. Cerise forced herself into a sitting position, ignoring Kaci, her eyes only on their abductor who was driving the vehicle, his eyes shooting between the road ahead of him and his rearview mirror. She put her hand on the man’s shoulder and pushed with everything she had, brain flexing like she was bench pressing twice her body weight. “Stop the car. Now.”

  He tried to twist in his seat to see her, but blood spurted from his nose, and vessels burst in his right eye, making it go red and his face go slack. The car careened forward even faster, the wheel straightening as his hands fell away from it and they headed right for the forest. “Wake up!” Cerise shouted, pushing again, her mind fatiguing noticeably. Kaci screamed in her ear and clutched at her. The man jerked upright in his seat, then slammed on the brakes. The vehicle jumped the curb, but slowed and stopped. Cerise and Kaci were both pitched forward.

  The driver’s side door was wrenched open and Beckett was there, dragging the big guy out of the car, then slamming him into the door and the concrete again and again. “Get out! Run to my truck!” he yelled and Cerise scrambled to do it.

  “Kaci, come on, we gotta go.” Kaci followed and they pushed out the side door, then ran to Beckett’s truck hand in hand.

  When they got there, Cerise lifted Kaci, then snatched the keys off the floor, and climbed in herself, throwing a look at Beckett over her shoulder. He was backing away from the other man, who lay crumpled on the concrete. Beckett looked around at the forest as if scared more attackers were coming, then began to run for them.

  Cerise pushed over to the middle seat, dimly aware of Kaci crumpled next to the far door, crying. She stuck the key in the ignition, as she had carefully watched Beckett do since he’d promised to teach her to drive, then twisted it. The truck lurched forward, the engine grinding, then dying. She grimaced and took her hand off the key.

  Beckett flung himself into the truck, pulling his door closed, jammed the stick between them to the front, the truck moving smoothly for him. He leaned forward as he drove, his eyes scanning the trees, his hand seeking the radio knob and viciously twisting it off. “There’s at least one more of them,” he said. “Keep your heads down until we’re out of here.” Cerise pulled Kaci to her, and they both ducked in the long seat. Beckett moved the stick again, and again, and the engine revved up, spurting them out of the parking lot and back onto the highway.

  Chapter 24

  They drove in complete silence for several minutes, Cerise trying to calm Kaci and herself, until Beckett took out his phone.

  “What are you doing?” Cerise snapped, her eyes locked on the phone.

  “Calling the police.”

  Cerise had no choice. She put her arm out and touched Beckett on the wrist. “No police, please,” she said, willing to beg, but pushing instead. She didn’t know what had just happened, but she did know what would happen if Beckett called the police.

  Instead of his quick and easy agreement, this time he swung his head toward her, his eyebrows drawn. The push had been no different than any other she’d tried before, although the flex did feel slow, fatigued. She had a moment of panic, until he put the phone down on his leg and focused on driving again.

  His right hand wasn’t working well, his fingers unable to curl. She followed that arm up to his shoulder, swearing when she saw all the blood. “You’re shot.”

  Kaci had quieted, but whimpered and peeked around Cerise to see.

  Beckett shook his head. “It’s not bad. I’ll get checked out when we take you to the hospital.”

  “For what?” Cerise’s galloping heart had started to calm, but now it raged inside her chest again.

  “You were knocked out. Did he hit you?”

  Cerise raised a hand to her temple. “Yeah, but I’m fine.”

  “You’re going to the doctor.”

  Cerise stared at him, then hardened her voice, ready to push him again. “I’m not.”

  He looked at her and scowled, an expression she’d never seen on his face before. “Don’t be stubborn about your health. Look, I know you’re on the run, but we can make up a story.”

  Cerise froze. It was the first time either of them had mentioned it. What had she been hoping? That he’d thought it was some sort of a game that she’d been handcuffed and wearing prison-issue clothing? That he hadn’t realized she was an actual prisoner?

  Yeah, that’s exactly what she had hoped. What must he think of her? Her mind twisted. He thought she was a criminal. And he was right.

  He leaned back and lifted his shirt to pull two guns out of his pants. She bit on the inside of her lip and sucked in a breath. He pushed one under the seat, then put the other one down between his legs, fishing a magazine out of his pocket, one-handed.

  “Do you know how to shoot a gun?” he asked, his voice deadly serious.

  Cerise stared at the gun, unable to comprehend why he would ask that. “No.”

  “I do,” Kaci said, her voice tiny, her sobs tapering off into occasional sniffles.

  “I know you do, li’l bit.” He seemed to dismiss it. “Any idea why we were attacked back there? Did you recognize those men.”

  “No,” she said again, her voice as small as Kaci’s. What did he mean, he knew Kaci did?

  “Are you sure?” he asked, his voice hard, his eyes checking the rearview mirror. “I need you to tell me the truth. I can’t protect you if I don’t know what’s going on.”

  “Beckett, I swear, I’ve never seen either one of them before, and I can’t think of any reason why anyone would want to kidnap me or Kaci.” She stopped for a second. “Unless they were police.”

  Beckett grunted. “They weren’t police.” He looked sideways at her, then back at the road, then back in the rearview. “Tell me about yourself. About your family. Is anyone mixed up with anything… illegal? Anything that would have people chasing you?”

  She looked down at Kaci, then out the window, her mind racing. A friend of Cici’s? Improbable. She couldn’t think of one reason, but this was a complication she did not need! They had enough problems. “Our, ah, my dad used to ma
ke and sell moonshine. We had some guys like that come around the trailer for a while. But that was back before I got sick. And they never had nice cars like that. They always drove old, junky cars. Besides, we didn’t take any moonshine from the trailer when we left.” She gave Kaci a warning shake of her head. Let me talk. Don’t you say a word.

  “How about money, or drugs?”

  Stark fear and guilt pulled at her, making her drop her gaze. She’d stolen money from dozens of farmhouses in their county. But as far as she knew none of them had ever discovered it was her, and none would follow and try to kidnap her, would they? The most she’d taken from one house was $42.

  She looked up, catching Beckett watching her. She shook her head, drowning in fear. “No money. No drugs.”

  ***

  Beckett kept watch on the road in front of them and behind them, and Cerise, all at the same time. She was lying to him, he knew it. He didn’t have to have Troy’s nose to figure out what the dark boil of her scent meant.

  “Cerise, I want to help you. But those men were out for blood. You have to tell me the truth.”

  She dropped her gaze again and shook her head, frustrating him to the point where he ground his teeth to keep his mouth shut.

  Kaci plucked on her sleeve, her sniffles turning into scared sobs again. “Are they gonna kill us?”

  Beckett sighed. He was trying to scare Cerise into telling the truth, not scar Kaci for life. “No way, li’l bit, not when I’m around. I’ll never let anyone hurt you.” He picked up his phone and spoke into it, pulling up the YouTube app, with a search for Taylor Swift already on the screen, then handed it to Kaci. “Open that glove compartment there and fish out the ear buds, that’s right, now put them in this hole right here. Good. Now press that big red arrow and put those parts in your ears.”

  Kaci did as he’d asked, and a smile lit her face, her sniffles quieting again.

  Now, back to Cerise. He couldn’t be soft with her anymore, they couldn’t afford it. Something told him those men were there for him, not her, but if that was the case, why would they have tried to drive off with her and Kaci? “Tell me everything, start with how exactly you ended up in jail, and end with why we are traveling across the country. The truth.”