by Abigail Owen
George just looked at him with raised eyebrows. “That’s right.”
Zac waved toward Sarai. “Well?”
“She’s a lot cuter than you, boy.”
Zac grunted in response. Clearly she’d won George over. Quite a feat.
Sarai stilled. “Umm…I think that might be him.” She pointed to a guy with his back turned to them.
“I’ll be damned,” George muttered beside him.
Sarai walked over to the man seated in a booth, nursing a cup of coffee. Zac sent George a questioning look, which was waved off before they moved to follow her.
****
Sarai inched around to get a better look as she neared their would-be rescuer. He glanced up as she approached.
“Mac?” she asked tentatively.
“Yes’m.” He tipped a well-worn baseball cap back as he stood. “You must be Sarah?”
“Sarai,” she corrected as she held out her hand to shake.
“The wife of Abram in the Bible, before he became known as Abraham and she became known as Sarah.”
She smiled. “That’s right.” Few people caught that reference. The version of her name was unusual these days.
He nodded.
Not a smiler, she thought. That was okay. Neither was George, really.
Sarai sensed Zac come up behind her. He laid his hand against the small of her back. She just barely resisted the urge to lean into him.
“Mac. This is Zac Montclair and George Cotilliard.”
As she made the introduction, Sarai caught the flicker of…something…in Mac’s eyes. Irritation? Questions? But his gaze was focused on George. She caught George’s slight shake of his head when she glanced back.
What was going on?
George noticed her gaze but did nothing to clue her in, so she turned back to Mac. “You once told Andie that if she ever needed help, to give you a call, and if you were in the area, you’d come running. I hope that extends to friends of hers.”
“You said as much on the phone, and I promised to help. I only spent a couple of days with Andie, but any friend of hers is a friend of mine.” He glanced at the two men behind her. “They can come too.”
Sarai’s held in a chuckle as she felt Zac stiffen. Mac ignored him and motioned them all to join him in the booth. Just to save some awkwardness, Sarai scooted in next to Mac. The plastic of the seat squeaked a protest with each movement.
“Now.” Mac landed a curious gaze on her. “Do I want to know what kind of trouble you’re in?”
Sarai bit her lip. “There’s a group of men after—”
“They’re after Sarai,” Zac broke in.
But she shook her head. “I’m not so sure about that.”
“D’ya do anything illegal?”
“No, sir,” Sarai said. “I have some specific skills they may be interested in acquiring against my will.”
“Uh-huh. Would those skills have something to do with the knives strapped to yer person?”
Sarai’s eyes widened. She glanced nervously at Zac, who’d stiffened in his seat. “No,” she said to Mac. She didn’t bother to ask him how he knew about that. No way could he see them.
“Hmmm. All you need is a ride?”
“Yes.”
“The coordinates you told me are in the middle of nowhere, Idaho.”
“Yes. We’ll go the rest of the way by foot.”
Mac pulled a toothpick out of the front pocket of his cowboy shirt, stuck it between his teeth and chewed as he thought.
After a good long moment, he nodded. “All right.”
“Thank you, Mac. We’ll owe you one for this.”
“I’ll remember that,” he said.
Sarai had a feeling he meant it.
CHAPTER 30
The plan was for Mac, who was a cross-country truck driver, to transport them to their destination. The only tricky part was that they had more people than Mac had space for in the cab of his truck.
Mac drove, of course, and there was a seat for one more person up front. In the back of the cab was the living quarters which sported a bed large enough for one man to lie down. Except not George or Zac, who were both too tall. This meant two people had to sit on the bed, side-by-side, legs sticking off the end.
Zac and George were in the back playing cards when Mac pulled off the main road and made his way down a smaller road for a bit. Then he stopped altogether.
Sarai looked out the window at the wooded area. “We here?”
“This is the spot,” he confirmed.
Zac and George poked their heads out of the sleeping compartment. Zac took one look outside and nodded. “This is good.”
They all gathered their things and hopped outside. Impulsively, Sarai gave Mac a big hug. Something about the gruff truck driver was likable. He’d helped both her and Andie now in less than a year. He was good people in her opinion.
“Hey now,” he scoffed when she hugged him.
But she just grinned. “Thank you,” she whispered.
“It was nothin’.”
Then he gave her a hard look. “You tell Andie my offer of help stands. That goes for you too, little lady.”
“You don’t want to get mixed up in our problems, Mac. Thanks for the offer though. I hope we won’t have to take you up on it again.” She reached out to give his arm a squeeze.
“Don’t you hesitate.”
Then he shook hands with Zac, who said, “You ever need anything, and I mean anything, you call this number. I’ll be on the end of it.” He handed Mac a card.
Mac took it with a brief nod and tucked it into his shirt pocket.
Zac and Sarai started down the road, then paused when they noticed George hadn’t followed. Turning back, they watched as he and Mac exchanged a handshake.
Sarai glanced at Zac, surprised. The two men hadn’t said more than a handful of words to each other the entire trip. Now, they spoke for a long moment in low voices that didn’t carry. Then Mac headed toward his truck as George turned their way.
“What was that about?” Sarai asked as they started walking.
“Just thanking him for the help,” George said.
Her gut told her it had been more than that. Her visions remained blank which didn’t help her figure out the mystery.
Once they made their way deep into the woods, they shifted, stowing all their stuff into a pack Zac wore. Then they made tracks for their final destination.
****
A knock sounded at Andie’s office door. She looked up from the schematics of the compound security systems that covered the dark oak of her desk.
“Yeah?”
Jaxon’s sister, Hannah, poked her head around the door. “They’re here.”
“About damn time,” Andie muttered. Though inwardly she breathed a sigh of relief. “Any trouble?”
Hannah shook her head. “No. They think they were able to shake off anyone who might have followed.”
“Right. Let’s go.”
The two friends said nothing as they hurried to the main conference room. When they entered, Andie walked straight to Zac and then Sarai, giving them both hugs.
“I didn’t know what to think when I got your message.” She glanced at Sarai. “Your comment about going to the dare in Canada was a good clue. At least, I figured it was unlikely you’d go there. So it made sense you were headed this way.”
“Glad to see you made it in one piece,” Jaxon’s voice interrupted. He entered the room and walked around the long conference table to his wife. He squeezed Andie’s hand. “We were worried.”
Zac shook his head. “It’s still not guaranteed that we didn’t just lead them straight to you. But they’re less likely to attack this dare than just about any other place we could’ve gone.”
“Good call to come here.”
Andie nodded her agreement. “Sarai is a cougar shifter, and, ultimately, our responsibility. No matter that she’s on loan to your Timik or not.”
Sarai noticed Zac’s jaw
clench at that, but he didn’t refute it or claim her. Her heart fell a little bit. They hadn’t had any time to talk since leaving New York. There they’d been lovers. Here…well…things were different.
But there were bigger things than her love life to worry about right now. “I’m not sure they’re only after me.”
“What do you mean?” Andie asked.
“The impression I got is that every attack on us so far has been directed more at Zac than me. I’m not even sure they knew I was there.”
But Zac shook his head. “I smelled Carstairs there just the day before.”
Jaxon’s expression hardened, his lips compressing. “You sure?”
“Yes.”
“Which means they had to be there for you,” Andie concluded.
But Sarai shook her head again. “I talked to the last guy still conscious before we left.”
George chuckled from the corner where he’d taken up residence.
All eyes swiveled his way. He just shrugged. “Talk is a loose term for that conversation, I’d say.”
Sarai rolled her eyes. “Anyway. I pretended that—with my visions—I knew more than I really do.”
“Wait,” Zac stopped her. “You didn’t know all that? Why didn’t you say so earlier?”
“Because we were busy escaping,” she pointed out.
She turned back to Andie and Jaxon. “He confirmed that Kyle is working with the wolf packs, though not in the way we think. Kyle is in league with someone else—someone more powerful than the wolves.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because the guy’s orders came down from someone who scared the hell out of him. Somebody else is driving this sudden increase in attacks. I think Kyle has convinced them I’m worth getting too.”
“And Zac? Why target him?”
Sarai shook her head. Politics was not her forte. “My guess is the polar bears are a scary enough contingency, so they need to take out this alliance. They’re also rich, in land and money. That would be a big draw.”
Everyone in the room froze.
“That has to be it,” Jaxon muttered.
Zac’s hands balled into fists. “If that’s the case, I need to get to my Timik. They’re in danger.”
But Jaxon shook his head. “No. If it’s you they’re after, it’s best you stay here. We’ll send some of our best fighters out to help protect your people.”
“Thanks,” Zac said. Based on how tight his shoulders were, Sarai knew he was barely holding himself in check.
“There’s more. They’re going to go after the dam.”
Jaxon swore. The compound ran on private hydroelectric power provided by a dam close by. The Nation had a lot of talented people when it had first been formed—in engineering and construction. They’d run the compound on generator power for several years until the dam was up and running. Now it was their only source of power. Not only that, but, depending on how they blew it, the resulting flood had the potential to wipe out the compound.
Zac’s head whipped around to stare at her. “When did that one hit?”
She lifted a single shoulder. “On the way over in the truck.”
“When I asked if you were okay?”
She sent him an apologetic look, then spoke to Jaxon. “As long as you secure it at both ends as well as from the lake side, you’ll catch them in time.”
He nodded his thanks. “But you still don’t know who they are?”
She grimaced. “Coyotes this time. Still working for someone I can’t see.”
“Would it be worth checking with the other Seers?” Andie asked.
“Yes.” The three of them were all powerful with their gifts, but in different ways. She doubted they’d see anything different. Someone knew they had Seers and was managing to work around them somehow.
CHAPTER 31
Sarai glanced around at the trees surrounding the wide open spaces that made up the training arena for the Keller Compound. Despite having lived and trained here for months, after being cooped in up in New York, followed everywhere by her shadows, it felt almost wrong to be out in the open like this.
“You’re sure this is safe?” she asked again.
“Safest place on the property. It’s dead center.” Andie smirked. “And I created the security protocols.”
Sarai shook her head at her friend.
Andie led her onto a large black sparring mat. “Zac tells me you’ve become quite the little fighter.”
Sarai shrugged. “We figured out how to get my visions out of the way at least. I don’t know how good I am without the knives.”
Andie laughed. “I’m going to pat myself on the back for starting you down that path either way.”
Sarai laughed too. “Your dad deserves more of the credit on that one. You’re crap with knives.”
“Hey!” Andie protested, but Sarai just grinned.
“For that, we’re going to test out those fighting skills. Without the knives.”
“Ah dang.” Taking off her jacket, she dropped it off to the side. Sarai unstrapped the various sheaths she now wore under her clothes at all time. After the fight in New York, and seeing just how effective those little weapons were, she went nowhere without them.
“Sheesh, Bouchard. Do you have enough of those things?”
She just grinned as she pulled her MP3 player and headphones out of her pocket and fiddled with the buttons. For Andie she decided a song with a steady beat would work best. She put Get Low on loop. The beat kept her in the fighting groove.
Besides, Andie’s preferred style of Krav Maga was fast, hard hitting, and gymnastic in nature. Although Andie could switch up styles easily—a master of many—her preferred method was to go on aggressive attack. Sarai needed a beat to keep up with her. She had a feeling most of this fight would be spent on the defense.
She cranked it loud, then closed her eyes and assumed her stance. Legs wide apart, one behind the other, and her weight back, rather than forward.
When no move came her way—that she could see in her inner eye at least—she opened her eyes to find Andie staring at her. She paused her music. “What?”
“You’re going to fight me blind and deaf?” Andie sounded both incredulous and amused.
Sarai gave her an innocent look. “Don’t worry about me.”
“Okay.” Andie sounded doubtful.
Sarai knew her friend would hold back at first, test out the method. She planned to take advantage of that fact. Music back on, she resumed her stance, waiting for Andie’s first move. It didn’t come. Not exactly. Instead of seeing a fist or foot flying her way, Sarai held in a laugh as Andie came in close, then waved a hand in front of her closed eyes. Sarai cocked her head a different direction, pretending she was tracking Andie incorrectly.
In her vision, Andie shrugged. As she did, Sarai stepped in close, hitting her friend with a frenzied series of punches to her stomach and ribs. Shock caused Andie to pause long enough that Sarai even had time to step back and get in a good kick, landing it on Andie’s thigh. Seeing Sarai was capable, Andie went deadly serious. Time to get down to business.
Andie’s first set of attacks were basic punches. Sarai was easily able to block each. She even got in a few double blocks and snaked in a couple of jabs of her own, though Andie deflected most. After a couple of hits, Andie took a strong grip on Sarai’s wrist during a block, then used the leverage to swing around and pull Sarai into a grappling hold. Instead of fighting the hold, Sarai dropped to her knees, breaking it.
She rolled away and surged back up to her feet. She tried not to let her frustration show. She’d seen Andie fight. If she let her get a grip on her in any way, that was it, which meant close-in blocks weren’t going to work.
Andie tried to rush her, but Sarai put her long legs to good use against the shorter woman, snapping out kicks, both high and low, often with the same foot while holding her balance. The effect was she managed to keep Andie at a distance. The other effect was a bit of a stalemat
e.
They danced around each other for some time. Sarai was starting to breathe hard when she saw her chance. Andie moved in close enough for Sarai to use a move she’d been practicing on her own while in New York. She launched herself into the air, spinning in a sideways motion, and aimed her trailing leg at Andie, who took it right to the chest, toppling her over.
But Sarai didn’t have time to gloat, because Andie, prone, was still a fighter. She whipped her feet around, taking Sarai’s own feet out from under her. She landed on her back beside Andie on the mat. Before she knew it, Andie had her knee at her throat, cutting off her air.
“Give!” she choked out.
Immediately, Andie released her to flop down on the mat beside her. Sarai lay there winded, sucking in oxygen. She switched off her music and looked up at the tall pine trees that towered above them. The wind kicked up, stirring the needles, creating a whooshing sound all around them. She turned her head to find Andie still lying beside her. They both grinned and then started laughing.
It was the most Sarai had laughed in a long, long time.
“That might’ve just been the sexiest damn thing I’ve ever seen.” A male voice interrupted their amusement. Sarai looked up to find Charlie, one of Jaxon’s Commanders, standing there with Jaxon and all his men, as well as Zac and George.
Jaxon glared at Charlie. “Call my wife sexy again, and you deal with me,” he growled.
Charlie cleared his throat. “Yes, boss.” She noticed the cocky grin stayed in place though.
Then Jaxon walked over to offer them both a hand up. “That really was the sexiest damn thing I’ve ever seen though.” Sarai heard his murmured comment to Andie and smiled as Andie gave him a swift, promising kiss in return.
Sarai glanced at Zac. He said nothing about Charlie calling her sexy, just crossed his arms, remaining silent.
She looked away.
“You’ve improved a lot,” Andie said, claiming her attention.
Sarai shook her head. “That last move was made in desperation. I was losing steam.”
Andie waved her comment off. “That’s just stamina. You can always improve that, but your technique is solid and your instincts are right.”
