Fugitive Mate (Silverlake Shifters Book 1)

by Anastasia Wilde

  Emma bit her lips. “It’s not that. It’s just too dangerous. I don’t want anyone else to get hurt.”

  Jace dumped the bloody towel in the sink. “I appreciate the thought, darlin’, but I think that ship has sailed.”

  “I’m sorry,” she said.

  Jace met her eyes and held her gaze. “Trust me,” he said. “Maybe I can help.”

  He saw the moment she made up her mind. She straightened her shoulders. “Okay,” she said. She took a deep breath.

  “I’m from Tennessee, not California. Near Nashville. And I used to date this guy there—he made a shitload of money in the recording industry and turned it into a business empire. His name is Alexander Grant.”

  Jace shook his head. The name meant nothing to him.

  “Anyway,” Emma said, “one of his recording artists, a friend of mine named Duke Granger, told me that Alexander had ripped off a bunch of his songs and was selling them overseas. He’d made hundreds of thousands in foreign sales, and Duke didn’t get one dime. He was still playing clubs and roadhouses for peanuts.”

  Jace narrowed his eyes. He knew how cutthroat the music industry could be. He’d met some shifters in Nashville who had a successful country band, and the stories they could tell about shady contracts and artists getting screwed by recording companies made his hackles rise.

  “So you confronted Grant?” he asked.

  Emma snorted. “You don’t ‘confront’ Alexander Grant,” she said. “Not about something like that. I started snooping around. Luckily, I was close enough to Alex to get access to a lot of his private files, and his ego was too big to think I’d ever turn against him. But when I found out that he not only had been screwing over Duke, but hundreds of other people with dozens of corrupt business deals, I couldn’t let it go. I stole his laptop.” She gave Jace a sideways look. “And his Ferrari.”

  Jace was amazed at her courage—and her sheer nerve. “No way,” he said. “That Ferrari story was true? I thought you were just bullshitting me.”

  “Oh, no,” she said. “Seeing that Ferrari go off the cliff was one of the highlights of my life.”

  She added, “And I still have the laptop. All I have to do is get it to my friend Grizzly. He lives somewhere in the mountains up above Cascade. He’ll take it to his FBI contact. It may not be enough for a conviction, but it will tell them where to look. Once they start digging, Alexander’s house of cards will start to fall.”

  Jace said, “So that’s what that guy with the gun was trying to get from you? Grant’s laptop?”

  Emma nodded. “And he won’t be the only one,” she added. “Alex has an endless supply of minions just like him.”

  Jace frowned, putting it all together in his mind. “So you’re saying that’s why you took my bike and left, after I offered to help you? You knew the kind of guys Grant was sending after you, and you didn’t want to endanger me?”

  She nodded.

  Jace watched her face carefully. She sounded sincere, and he couldn’t smell a lie. But something didn’t add up here.

  “So why the hell did you even talk to me? You came on to me, danced with me—begged me to take you into my room to get away from that guy when you saw him in the parking lot. You didn’t seem too worried about me then.”

  Emma turned on him. “Fine,” she said. “You think I’m lying, fine. I didn’t want you involved at all. I can handle this on my own.”

  “No you can’t. You’re barely holding it together, and Grant’s people have almost caught you twice.”

  “I have to!” she said, sounding desperate.

  “So, what?” he asked, frustrated. “Something suddenly changed in the middle of the night?”

  “Yes!”

  She pulled his phone out of her jacket pocket, swiped it awake and started tapping the screen. “That guy I told you about? Duke?” she said. “He wanted to confront Alex about his songs, but I told him not to. I told him to wait for the FBI. He didn’t listen. And last night, when I woke up and went on Alex’s computer, I found this.”

  She handed the phone over to him. It was a news article about Duke Granger crashing his hang glider.

  Damn.

  “I’m sorry about your friend,” Jace said. He almost handed the phone back to her, remembering just in time that she’d stolen it from him. He shoved it in his back pocket instead. “But the article says it was an accident.”

  Emma snorted. “That was no accident,” she said. “We flew together earlier in the week. And then when we packed up afterwards, we checked each other’s equipment, the way we always do. And there was nothing wrong with his. Nothing.”

  Jace opened his mouth to answer, and then did a double take. “You’re a hang glider?”

  “Yup,” she said. “I’m Danger Girl. Hang gliding, bungee jumping, motorcycle racing…”

  “Wow,” Jace said. He couldn’t stop himself from adding, “That’s hot.”

  Emma rolled her eyes at him. “Most guys think so, until they find out I’ll do things they don’t dare do. Then their little egos get hurt and they’re not so happy.”

  Jace grinned at her. “I’m an alpha wolf,” he told her. “You don’t have to worry about me. I have a huge ego, and a whole wolf pack to pump it up.”

  Emma snorted. “Huge ego. Great. You and Alexander Grant.”

  That sobered them both up.

  “So you think he sabotaged Granger’s equipment?” Jace asked.

  “Not personally,” Emma said. “He would have sent a minion—like the one he sent after me.” She added, “Now do you see why I didn’t want you involved?”

  Jace shrugged—and just stopped himself from wincing at the pain. “I can handle Grant’s minions.” He’d taken out the one who’d attacked Emma without much trouble. As long as it wasn’t a whole posse with guns, he’d be fine.

  She went silent, gazing into the distance. Then she asked carefully, “Should I ask what happened to that one who was attacking me?”

  Oh, shit. He didn’t want her to ask.

  Jace shook his head. “I don’t think you really want to know.”

  After a moment, she nodded. He was relieved she didn’t want details. If she was going to be his mate, he had to ease her gently into his world. A much more primal and violent world than she was used to.

  His mate. Was she really meant to be his mate? The prospect didn’t seem so bad, now that he knew why she’d been lying. And stealing. In her own messed-up way, she’d been trying to protect him.

  That realization soothed the raw painful place in his chest, like a warm blanket on a cold day.

  “So what are you going to do now?” Jace asked her. He couldn’t let her go off into danger alone. Especially not if she was his mate. But he needed to handle this right, so she didn’t bolt.

  Emma wrapped her arms around herself, as if she were suddenly cold. “I don’t know,” she said. “Take the Malibu, I guess, and just hope that Alexander doesn’t have anyone else close enough to me to catch up before I get to Idaho.”

  Jace said, “And then what? You said that you don’t have enough evidence to get Grant arrested—just to open an investigation. That could take months—years, maybe. What are you going to do until then?”

  “I don’t know!” she snapped. “It’s not like I had time to think this through. I had to take my chances when I had them. I’ll figure something out. I always do.” She turned away from him, taking a shaky breath. “Just let me get through one crisis at a time, would you?” she muttered.

  Jace got up and went over to her. She didn’t turn around, so he reached out, hesitantly, and cupped his hands around her shoulders. He felt her muscles relax gradually under his touch, and she leaned back against him.

  Ours. Mate, his wolf said smugly.

  Oh, shit.

  Emma said, “Maybe Griz can help me. Or the FBI. Both of them know how to make people disappear.” He could tell she was trying to sound hopeful, but she just sounded forlorn.

  Mate, his wolf ins
isted. Protect her.

  Jace bit his lips, trying to figure out how to convince her to let him help. “I know you can probably kick Grant’s butt single-handed,” he said finally. “Especially since you probably have my gun in that bag.”

  She stiffened, and then he heard a huff of laughter. “Is it scaring you that you know me so well already?” she asked. “Because it’s scaring me.”

  It was scaring the hell out of him. “Fuck, yeah,” he said.

  She gave another soft huff of laughter.

  He rested his cheek on the top of her head, and said, “But I can’t seem to stop caring what happens to you. And since we’re going to basically the same place, from the same place, at the same time, doesn’t it seem kind of silly for us not to go together?”

  She turned and looked into his eyes, and he could see the worry and sadness there. “I’d never forgive myself if anything happened to you.”

  He cupped her chin with his hand. “I’d never forgive myself if something happened to you,” he said. “Especially knowing that if I’d been there, I could have prevented it. So just let me do this, please? My huge male ego needs to feel like a hero.”

  She grinned at that. “Okay, alpha wolf,” she said. “I’m done protecting you. Let’s do this.”

  He closed his eyes, his body almost sagging in relief. Emma was already turning away, picking up her bag. “So where did you park the Malibu?”

  Jace shook his head. “We should take the bike,” he said. “Too many people might be looking for the Malibu.”

  Emma said, “You just got your arm sliced to the bone with a hunting knife. However fast you heal, there’s no way you’re going to be able to drive a motorcycle for hours on end.”

  “I’m not,” Jace told her. “You’re driving. I’m just going to ride behind you and try to cop a feel while I have my arms around your waist.”

  “You grope my boobs and I’ll lay that bike down on the highway at seventy miles an hour,” Emma shot back. “Try your shifter healing on that, perv.”

  Jace grinned and tossed her the keys. This whole thing might be crazy, but he felt better than he’d felt since he first bought Silverlake.

  Whether she knew it or not, he had a mate to protect.

  Chapter 16

  Two hours later, they were flying down Route 80 on Jace’s motorcycle, well on their way to Idaho.

  Jace rarely let anyone drive his bike—especially not with him as a passenger. But his arm still wasn’t in good enough shape to hold the bike steady on the highway, especially not for hours at a time. He knew Emma’s arms were pretty tired too, but she should be good for another hour or so. By that time, Jace would be healed enough to take over. At least, he hoped he would be.

  Although, he didn’t mind the excuse to have his arms wrapped around Emma’s waist, snuggled up behind her with his chest against her back. Her warm, soft body felt amazing against him, and her scent was driving his wolf wild.

  He was falling in love with her.

  He knew it was crazy. They’d known each other less than twenty-four hours. She’d spent most of their time together lying to him, and the rest of it freaked out because he was a shifter. But she was loyal to her friend Granger, and when she’d found out her boyfriend was a grade-A asshole, she’d risked everything to get justice for his victims. She was brave, taking on Grant all by herself. And she was gutsy and feisty, and she never gave up. A woman like that was worth keeping. Even if she did steal a vehicle or two. Nobody was perfect.

  Now all he had to do was convince her that living with a pack of shifter wolves was the way she wanted to spend the rest of her life. Maybe it was a better choice for her than what the FBI and her friend Griz would have to offer.

  He had less than a day to convince her that it was. That even if she didn’t love him now, he would treat her so well that someday she’d learn to. That she could have a big extended family that cared for her and protected her.

  He just hoped the others in his pack would accept a human. He knew Kane would object. Hell, Kane would be livid. He might even challenge Jace for leadership of the pack, unless Jace could complete the bonding process before he had a chance.

  His whole future—his pack’s whole future—was in Emma’s hands.

  They’d come to a long stretch of highway with a narrow grass verge leading to woods on either side. Just being among the trees made Jace feel less stressed. His wolf loved the forest; they both grew homesick for their territory when they were gone too long.

  A wolf without his territory was just a wanderer. Never happy. Never feeling right. Always alone.

  He saw an exit sign and was about to suggest that they pull off for a brief rest when something whizzed past his ear. His wolf hearing picked up the whine of a bullet.

  He glanced in the rearview mirror and saw a black Humvee bearing down on them.

  “Shit!” he yelled. “Emma! They’re right behind us!”

  The wheel wobbled for a minute as Emma reacted in shock. Then she steadied herself and gunned the motor, threading the bike between cars. Irate drivers honked at them.

  Jace could see Emma’s arms shaking. All this dodging and weaving was taking its toll on her, not to mention the burst of adrenalin from being shot at. Jace put his arms over Emma’s, helping her steady the bike. He felt the pull and sting of his knife wound, but the last couple of hours he’d spent resting it had given him some strength to lend her.

  Working as a team, they moved in an erratic trajectory, trying to stay out of the line of fire while heading for a clump of traffic ahead. Two more bullets zinged past them. If they could get in among the other cars, they’d have some cover from the gunmen. Jace just prayed that Grant’s men weren’t stupid enough to keep firing into heavy highway traffic. They could kill dozens of people if they caused a pile-up.

  Jace and Emma veered around a minivan and a hybrid, pulling up on a tractor-trailer roaring down the road. The slipstream buffeted them, but it also increased their speed. Emma raced the motor and the two of them changed lanes, leaning to the right. Up ahead, there was an RV trundling along in the left lane, next to another tractor-trailer on the right. There was no way to get around them without spinning out on the gravel shoulder.

  “Hold on!” Emma yelled. With a wild rebel yell, she zoomed between the RV and the truck, threading the needle right up the center line between the two lanes.

  The woman was a maniac.

  For the moment, the Humvee’s path was blocked by the two rigs. But that wouldn’t last long. And there were no more exits coming up.

  The Humvee was in the left lane, right on the tail of the RV, with the semi-truck still blocking the right. Suddenly, Jace saw the huge truck swerve, just as the crack of a rifle shot reached his ears. The guys in the Humvee had shot out one of the truck’s tires. Were they insane?

  The trucker hit his brakes and eased over to the side of the road. The Humvee pulled out and punched it, roaring past the RV. A rifle barrel poked out one of the windows.

  Jace yanked on Emma’s wrist, pulling the bike to the left. The shot went wide.

  They couldn’t keep this up. Sooner or later one of those bullets would hit home.

  Emma had apparently come to the same conclusion. The highway had been sloping upwards, and the grassy verges were now steep embankments, with the woods at the bottom of the slope. As one more shot rang out from the Humvee, Emma yelled “Get ready!” and swerved the bike towards the side of the road.

  Jace only had time to think “What the hell?” before they were off the side of the highway and over the embankment. For a wild second they were airborne, and Emma gave another crazy rebel yell.

  Jace gripped her wrists. If they didn’t come down just right, they were going to lay this thing down and smash sideways into the trees.

  The back wheel hit first, the jolt going right up his legs. Then the handlebars came down with a jerk, and it took all his strength and Emma’s to keep the bike upright. They skidded in the grass, sending up a
rooster tail of mud before they got traction.

  Emma was heading for the woods, and now Jace could see what she’d seen from the road. There was an ATV trail leading into the woods—plenty wide enough for the bike, but way too narrow for a Humvee. If they could make it there, they’d be safe—at least for the moment.

  Emma gunned it toward the trail head. Jace risked a quick backward glance, and saw that the Humvee had stopped at the side of the road and the shooter was kneeling to aim at them. Emma was still weaving back and forth so they couldn’t anticipate her path, but no matter how many evasive maneuvers she did, all the sniper had to do was aim at the trail head and nail them when they came through.

  Jace just hoped he was the one to get hit. If the bullet didn’t go straight through him and into Emma, then she might be okay. And he could survive a gunshot wound. Probably.

  Emma did one more zigzag and then punched it, aiming for the trail head.

  Jace braced himself.

  At the last second, she hit the brakes and skidded out, letting the bike slide sideways, its tail swinging around in an arc. The shooter’s bullets went wide. Emma spun the bike around before he could re-aim, and hit the throttle.

  The tires kicked up another rooster tail of dirt, and they were in the woods.

  Chapter 17

  The motorcycle roared up the dirt trail, bumping over rocks and tree roots. Thank god for her dirt biking experience—it was the only thing allowing her to keep the Harley upright. That, and Jace’s strong arms wrapped around hers, lending her his strength, helping her hold the bike steady.

  But the Harley wasn’t made for off-road travel. They couldn’t keep this up long. Emma hoped there was another way out.

  The trail branched, and Jace pulled on her right arm, leaning in that direction. She followed his lead. The trails continued to curve and branch, and Jace continued to guide her. She hoped he knew what he was doing—she was totally lost. With the luck they’d been having, they’d loop around and end up facing the business end of those rifles. She shuddered.