by Bianca D’Arc
Dawn was a bit of a non-event, Serena decided later. Their slow progress toward the border with the skinny part of Idaho was made even more tedious by a drizzle that brought with it dark gray clouds and not even a hint of sun. The only difference between night and day was that the sky had lightened to dark gray rather than pitch black.
“I don’t like the look of those clouds,” Bob had said once the sky had gotten about as light as it was going to get. “If the weather gets too bad, nothing will be flying.”
Serena chose not to comment. As long as Bob was going north and west, she wasn’t going to rock the boat. Jezza needed help and she was going to do whatever she had to do to get him the help he needed. Even if it meant going back to her old territory.
She would be in danger if certain members of her old Clan saw her, but she would be careful. She had learned a thing or two about stealth from the classes she had been taking on the Lords’ mountain. They had let her train and learn how to defend herself. She wasn’t an expert by any means, but she knew a lot more now than she had before. Learning new skills had helped her feel empowered, and if the weather kept misbehaving, they might also come in handy. Because there was no way she was going to wait around for a ride to Nevada when every minute of delay could cost Jezza his life.
The man had been too good to her to let him die like that. She owed him. And Serena always made a point to repay her debts.
“If you lift the lid on the console between us, you’ll find cold drinks. Snacks are in the glove box. We probably won’t have a lot of time to stop for breakfast. I’d rather press on, at least until we’re over the border and I can call my kin,” Bob said into the silence.
Serena lifted the hatch on the center console and was surprised to find it went a lot deeper than she had thought. A little LED light came on inside and she could see that the container was actually a refrigerator. Cool air drifted over her hand as she reached in to select a bottle of water for herself.
“Would you like anything?” she asked politely.
“Any cola left? I think there was at least one in there.”
“I see it. There are two actually.” She retrieved the red can and popped the top before handing it to him. She stowed her water bottle in the cup holder on her side of the SUV and closed the hatch on the console. Then she went after the snacks he had mentioned.
The glove box had a spot up top for papers that was neat and tidy. Below was a larger compartment that held various small bags of cookies, crackers, cheese puffs and chips. She took a bag of raspberry centered cookies for herself, then looked over at Bob.
“Can you snag a bag of chips for me?” He sent her a smile and she had to catch her breath. His smiles were potent.
Even under the circumstances—with all the worry that ate at her gut, the tension in her muscles, and the anxiety about getting where they needed to be—she had to admire that smile. It melted her bones and made her heart stutter a little in appreciation. Bob Redstone was just too good looking for his own good.
She fumbled a little with the bag of chips, but recovered as best she could. She opened the bag and handed it to him so he could snack as he drove. Flustered, she turned to her water bottle and spent more time than absolutely necessary focusing on unscrewing the cap. She chewed a cookie, not really noticing the burst of raspberry flavor and swallowed some water, staring out the window at the sparse traffic and worsening weather.
“If the weather is too bad and you can’t get me out of here by air,” she whispered, staring out at the rain, “I’ll go with you.”
She could feel the intensity of Bob’s gaze on her profile, but she couldn’t meet his eyes.
“I won’t take you into danger, sweetheart. Please don’t ask it of me. I have a burning need to protect you.”
Something in his tone touched her and she finally turned to look at him. He was watching the road, but he kept shooting her glances when he could. There wasn’t much traffic on the road with them, thankfully.
Not wanting to argue, she let it go for now. There would be time to argue if and when it became necessary. Her brain wanted to focus on why he was so protective of her. Was it just because he was an Alpha and had a strong need to care for those who were weaker—as she had learned a good Alpha should be? Or was it something deeper? Something more personal?
She was almost afraid to let her mind go there. What would it be like to have a relationship with a cougar Alpha? Her inner bobcat was a little intimidated by his larger size and incredible brawn, but cats were proud—and a little vain. Her cat knew it was prettier than his. It might be smaller, but the bobcat was tough. Resilient. And fluffy.
Her animal side knew it could hold its head up high, even next to a cougar. But would the cougar ever look at her as anything but a smaller, weaker, distant cousin of sorts? That was something their wild sides would have to work out. As for their human sides…Serena felt comfortable with Bob when they were talking. And when he turned that certain look on her, she felt an excited quivering inside. She had never felt that way with another man. Only Bob seemed to be able to evoke that kind of response.
It scared her a little, but not in a bad way. It was more the fear of a woman who had never really found anyone she was truly attracted to before. An untried woman who finally found a man who pushed all her buttons. She was confused by the reaction and a little afraid of the consequences, but she definitely didn’t want to run away. In fact, she was eager to see where the attraction might lead.
But only if he was serious. She didn’t want to be just another conquest to a handsome man. She wanted whatever was happening between her and Bob to mean something. Even if it was just a brief affair, she wanted to know that for this short time, she was his focus and that he felt something for her that went beyond animal attraction. Not pity or protectiveness, but actual caring and admiration if it couldn’t go any deeper.
She thought they had already crossed that bridge. They had gotten to know each other and formed a bond of intimacy. The High Priestess had really helped her break that final bond of fear that had held her back for so long. Bettina’s words, combined with Bob’s sudden entrance into her life had combined to bring out the courage her inner cat had used to sustain her in her fur for so long. Only now, she felt that courage in her human form as well. It was a huge breakthrough and something she would always thank Bob for helping her achieve—even if he didn’t realize it.
She respected the man he was. She thought he probably had found some things to admire about her as well. They had made a good start, but where would the incredible attraction between them go now? Would he forget her if he managed to get her on a plane to Las Vegas? Would he not make it back?
The place he was going—the wild part of the Cascade mountain range—was dangerous. She knew it well and knew just how deadly the people she had left behind could become. Bob could get into serious trouble pretty quickly and he didn’t know the terrain. There were caves and hidden places all over those mountains.
Fear ran through her as she thought of him out there alone. Even the best instincts might not save him from her former Clan mates. They were ruthless when it came to protecting the smuggling routes and hidey-holes that were their livelihood. A stranger in their territory would not only stand out, but be ripe for hunting.
Even an Alpha cougar could be brought down by enough vicious bobcats working together.
Chapter Seven
When they finally crossed the border, Bob started making calls. His SUV was wired for sound so he didn’t have to stop the vehicle in order to talk. With her sharp, shifter hearing, Serena would probably hear the conversation anyway, so he just went ahead and made the calls within the confines of the car, knowing she would hear all.
The first person he contacted was his brother Grif. As Alpha of the Redstone Clan, he was at the highest level of the hierarchy, the strongest link in the chain. He had to get Grif’s approval for Serena to be admitted into the Clan neighborhood and put under their protection.
It was mostly a formality. As a general rule, if Bob, or one of their other brothers had given his word, Grif would go along with it, trusting to his brother to have thought things through and not to have made any offers lightly. Unless there was something going on that Bob didn’t know about, all would be well on the topic of his promise to keep Serena safe in Las Vegas.
He hit the speed-dial button, the audio playing through his SUV’s sound system. The phone rang twice and then a female voice answered.
“How are things in Montana?” the youngest Redstone asked. Teenaged Belinda lived with Grif and Lindsey.
They had all lived in the same house with their mother when they first moved to Las Vegas a few years ago. Little by little, the younger brothers had built their own places in the area, but the house where the Alpha lived was still considered the family homestead. It had become a place of warmth and light again when Grif had brought Lindsey home to stay.
“Things are a little rough at the moment,” Bob answered his baby sister. “I’m on the road. Is Grif around? I really need to speak to him.” Although he tried to temper his words, he also needed to convey the urgency that drove him.
“I’ll get him.” Belinda seemed to understand his tone. Bob could hear her bellowing Grif’s name in the background as she scampered through the house. He could easily hear her soft footsteps and the jostling of the phone as she sought their eldest brother. A minute later, Grif’s voice came over the SUV’s speakers.
“What’s up? You weren’t due to call in for another day or two.”
“Code Red on the mountain,” Bob reported. “There’s some kind of assault underway. They’re evacuating the non-combatants. I’m on the road with one and she’s listening in on our call. I’ve promised her we’d look after her. Rocky asked and I agreed. Is it okay with you, Alpha?” Bob asked formally. He couldn’t go into too many details over the phone. It was always possible someone might be monitoring the airwaves, even though he had scrambled his signal.
“I’ll want to know more when you get here, but if you promised, it’s okay with me.” Grif’s response was all Bob could have hoped for. The fact that his brother trusted him so completely was something he never took for granted.
“Thing is, there’s someone else in danger. Someone I agreed to find and warn. He’s off the grid in the Cascades. Is there any way we can get a secure flight to meet my friend at Spokane? The Lords are unable to help and every air asset they have is already in use. Added complication is some nasty weather moving in.”
“Let me check with Steve and see what we can scramble,” Grif sounded doubtful. “I’ve seen the weather reports and the storm that’s heading your way might pose a problem for air travel in the whole region. You can probably still get through on the ground though.”
“I had hoped to drop off my friend and continue on to the Cascades. Originally, I was going to drive her home, then come back, but she convinced me the person I need to warn may not have that kind of time.”
“Your friend is one of us?” Grif asked.
“Related species. You’re gonna laugh, but she’s a bobcat.”
Sure enough, Grif did laugh at the irony of Bob—a cougar shifter—making friends with a bobcat shifter when he’d been called “Bobcat” almost all his life as a sort of nickname. At first his brothers had used it as a teasing insult because bobcats were so much smaller than cougars. It was also a play on his name, of course, and the fact that he could turn into a big cat.
“Yeah, I know,” Bob cut into his brother’s laughter. “Should I call Steve or will you?”
Grif was still chuckling when he replied. “I’ll do it. You concentrate on driving. Stay safe little bro. One of us will call back when we know more about the flight situation.”
Grif was still chuckling when they signed off. Bob switched the radio on to seek the weather report and left it on low volume in the background while he waited for the announcer to get back around to the heart of the forecast.
“Your brother sounds nice,” Serena offered from the passenger seat.
“He’s a damn good Clan Alpha,” Bob agreed, adjusting the windshield wipers as the rain intensified.
“And the girl, was that your sister?” Serena seemed to want to talk.
“Belinda. Yeah, she’s the youngest of us all. Still a teen. Going rapidly from cute as a button to femme fatale. Lady help us all when she starts dating.” He rolled his eyes comically, but it was only half in jest.
He, like all his brothers, was intensely protective of Belinda—the only female left of their direct line. They had already lost their older sister a few years before their mother had been murdered, so Belinda was watched extra closely. Nobody wanted anything to happen to her. The brothers couldn’t take another loss like that. Bob especially, wanted Belinda to live a long and healthy life and have a few children of her own that he could spoil as their Uncle Bob. He looked forward to it, though he didn’t look forward to vetting the young men who were bound to come around, wanting to date his little sister.
It was going to take a very special guy to run the gamut of the five Redstone brothers and be allowed to mate with their little sister. They had time yet. Belinda was still young. But in a couple of years, the boys would start testing their luck, asking her out. It was going to be a hellish few years until she grew up enough to find her true mate.
“It must be nice for her,” Serena said in a wistful voice that made Bob glance at her. “Having a family that cares, I mean,” she clarified when she caught him looking. Her voice was quiet, carefully contained, but Bob could hear the sadness and pain in her tone. He reached out to cover her hand with his.
“Belinda has been through tragedy and come out stronger on the other side. You have too. She had her family to lean on, of course, but now sweetheart, you have me. I’ve promised my protection and that’s not something that will change anytime soon.”
She stilled, watching him, her eyes filled with wonder…and suspicion.
“Why? You just met me. We’re not even the same species.”
Bob knew the way he answered could either reassure her or frighten her off. He didn’t want to reveal too much in case the depth of his feelings scared her away. He had to play this cool, for now. Let her work her way up to the same intensity of feeling he was discovering inside himself where she was concerned.
He shrugged, though his feelings were definitely not as casual as he tried to appear. “Close enough. We’re both cats. And I’ve been called Bobcat by my friends and family for most of my life.” He chuckled a bit, trying to be nonchalant. “As to why…” He allowed his words to trail off as if he was considering how to respond. And in truth, he was. He had to find the right words, but was afraid he would fail miserably. “Let’s just say, I like you. A lot. More than any woman I’ve met in a long time. And though it may sound strange, in some ways, you remind me of my older sister. I sort of wish she’d had someone like me around, willing to help her when she was in trouble. Or you could say I have a fondness for small, defenseless things.”
She growled at him in the first real show of spirit her cat had given him. “I’m not totally defenseless.” She looked away, training her gaze out the window. “And I’m not your sister.”
On that he could agree. “Thank the Goddess for that.”
He might’ve said more but the phone rang through the car speakers at that moment. He checked the number and realized it was Steve. He hit the button to activate the call.
“If you’re heading for the Spokane airport, don’t,” Steve said in lieu of hello. “In fact, don’t go near any airport in the region, even the small ones. The Lords sent an urgent message to all Clan leadership. Their people have had serious trouble getting out by air. A few are dead. Many injured. Running battles in and around the local airstrips and the Lords themselves are pinned down on their mountain. So far, they’re holding their own, but the enemy is well prepared and has a lot more resources than anyone expected. Worse news—this seems to be a simu
ltaneous strike on all shifter monarchs in North America. It might possibly extend farther, into Europe and South America, but I don’t have confirmation yet. So far, we’ve heard of strikes against a few of the big cat kings and queens and a possible attack on the tiger stronghold in Iceland. We’re waiting for confirmation on that and on a rumored strike in the Balkans. Information from South America is coming in now and it looks like something’s going on there too. This is bigger than anything we’ve seen before, Bob.” Steve’s voice sounded grim.
“Sweet Mother of All,” Bob swore under his breath as the news sank in. He thought fast, trying to figure out what his next step should be. He could turn around and try to help the Lords, but it probably wouldn’t do any good, and it would put Serena right back into danger. And if shifters were being targeted in such a big way… “What about the Clan? Do you need me to come home?”
“We’re fine for now. On high alert and keeping everyone close. Grif said you have a need to go into the Cascade Range.” The statement was more of a question.
“How secure is this connection?” If anyone would know, it would be Steve, the Clan’s security expert. “Can I speak openly?”
“Just put new scrambling tech on my end last week and I know your vehicle has the latest. I upgraded your software before you left. Speak freely. We’re as safe as I know how to make us.”
Bob breathed a sigh of relief. Communication was key and he had felt hampered in the last call he’d made home, unsure of how much he could say.
“We analyzed some of Miranda’s notes in light of information the Lords had. There’s a former Spec Ops guy named Jeremy Devereaux—goes by the name Jezza—who helped my friend Serena get out of a bad situation in the Cascades. He’s off the grid. Apparently he has a sat phone but nobody has the number. He’s been working against shifter drug runners near the Canadian border and piecing our information together, we believe he’s being targeted by the Venifucus. The Lords were going to send out a team to find him and warn him, but then the shit hit the fan this morning and we made a run for the border. They asked me to get Serena to safety. I’d rather not take her back to the Cascades. It was hard enough for her to get out the first time. Jezza called in that guy Ben Steel—the former SEAL and ex-Altor Custodis agent. Matt knows him. He helped Serena escape the first time, but if I bring her back into the area, it’s possible we’ll run across some of her old Clan, and that wouldn’t go over too well.”
