by Cara Adams
But that still didn’t explain why the guns were in the graves. That made no sense either.
Jaz became aware of a familiar sound. Way in the distance, she could hear Phideaux. She stood up straight and scanned the track back the way she’d come and saw a cloud of dust still at least a mile away. Her dog had a mighty loud bark, and it was getting louder all the time. She raised both arms above her head to wave and acknowledge him.
And then, coming from the other direction, racing across the desert toward her, she saw a second cloud of dust.
Oh fuck! What now?
She squatted down and grabbed one of the bigger guns, balancing it between her hands. She was certain it wouldn’t be loaded, but maybe just holding it would keep the people in the other vehicle away from her until Damien and Hunter arrived. Maybe.
Chapter Six
Damien had never driven this fast in the desert before. Right now he was on a rough track, but still, it wasn’t at all safe or sane behavior. But he had no time to act safe or sane with Jaz still in danger. His body was stiff and sore, his thigh was bruised from where Hunter’s boots had kept bashing into his leg as he’d run back to camp, and his head ached with the beginnings of dehydration. But no way in hell was he stopping for a drink right now. Not when his heart ached for his woman far worse than his body craved water.
“Dust cloud,” he said tersely to Hunter as Phideaux started to bark.
“Shut up, buddy. I’ve already got a headache,” he added to the dog.
Phideaux ignored him, pressed his nose to the windshield, and barked louder. Hunter wound down the window and went to stick his head out, but the dog moved faster, scrambling over the man, hanging out the open window and barking furiously.
They crested a rise, and the wheels lost their grip on the sandy, uneven surface. Hastily Damien lifted his foot off the gas and steered into the skid, taking the truck off-road for a short distance until he could safely steer them back onto the track.
Sweat poured down his back, soaking a T-shirt that had already been soaked in sweat twice today and that likely would be good for nothing but to use as a rag in the garage after this drive.
“They must have dumped her. She’s on the track waving, and the vehicle is a lot farther away,” said Hunter.
Damien rubbed his forehead with his hand and squinted his eyes. He could see her now, signaling to them. She was still the best part of a mile away, but he knew it was her. Even if he hadn’t been sure, Phideaux had his entire upper body out of the truck now, and his barking was ear-splittingly loud.
“Fuck! That dust cloud is getting closer,” said Hunter, pulling out his cell phone.
“I hope it’s your friends then, not the bad guys coming for us.”
“Hell, me, too.”
Damien concentrated on driving. One skid was quite enough for his rapidly beating heart right now.
“Sir, there’s a vehicle approaching us, and we can see Jaz on the road.”
“That’s Chloe and Gideon Jenner. She can see you and Jasmine as well. I have another team tracking the minivan. They’re reasonably certain they know where it’s heading.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“Did you get all that?” Hunter asked Damien.
He nodded and then wished he hadn’t as his head pounded harder. “Yep. The dust cloud is the good guys. The bad guys have disappeared for now.”
“More or less. Phideaux, would you please shut the fuck up?”
Phideaux whined, but he ceased barking, which was a relief to Damien’s headache. Likely the dog thought he’d finally made the humans aware of what he already knew. Damien wondered if Hunter had worked out where Jasmine was faster than him because of being part werewolf. Then he shrugged. It didn’t matter. They were all on the same team anyway.
The black SUV reached Jaz before him, and a man and a woman jumped out of it. Damien was stunned to see Jaz holding an automatic weapon pointed at them. Where did she get that? From the bad guys?
He braked to a stop, and before the truck was completely stationary, Phideaux had forced his big butt out of the window and raced across to Jaz, putting himself in front of the other people and growling loudly.
Jaz bent down, dropped the weapon, and held the dog, only to be knocked to the ground as he licked her face and then straddled her body, still growling.
Damien clambered out of the truck and followed Hunter across to the other two people.
“It’s okay. The Alpha sent us to help,” called the man.
“Yeah, we know.” Damien rubbed his head. Shit, he felt awful.
The woman rushed back to the SUV and returned with an armful of bottles of water. She handed two to Jaz and then gave him and Hunter one each. Damien twisted the cap off and poured the wonderful, cool liquid down his throat, gulping hard. “Thanks. I really needed that.”
“I’ve got a couple more if you want another,” she said.
“It’s okay. We’ve got some water in the back of the truck, but I couldn’t stop driving to get it.”
That reminded him about the dog. He went back to the truck and rummaged around in the backseat for Phideaux’s water bowl before he remembered he’d thrown it in the footwell. He pulled out the large water container, which was still half full, and the bowl and then poured some water for the dog before drinking some himself, straight from the container. It wasn’t cool, like the bottle the woman had given them, but it was wet and refreshing, so he didn’t care.
He longed to hold Jasmine in his arms but wasn’t brave enough to do it in front of these strangers, especially since the dog insisted on guarding her. The man had returned to the SUV as well and came back with a pair of bolt cutters. He cut the handcuffs off Jaz’s wrists, handcuffs Damien hadn’t even noticed she was wearing until now.
“It’s a shame to ruin such a nice pair of cuffs, but without the key, I don’t have a choice,” said the man.
Damien grinned. Another werewolf, another Dom. The two things did seem to frequently go together. He stood and feasted his gaze on Jaz. She looked fine. Sweaty, dirty, and her hair all messed up, but as beautiful as ever. Finally he couldn’t resist. He stepped closer and hugged her. “I’m so glad you’re not hurt. I mean, you aren’t hurt are you?”
“Hell no, I’m fine. A little stiff in my muscles, but mostly that was from getting the handcuffs from behind me to in front of me and pushing these crates out of the minivan. Can someone please tell me what the fuck is going on?”
“Yeah. I’d like to know that, too.”
The man held out his hand. “Gideon Jenner and my sister, Chloe. What say we load these weapons into the trucks and go home and talk in the air-conditioning? Likely you could all use a shower and some food as well.”
Damien sighed. “All our stuff is back at the cemetery. There wasn’t time to pack up. I had to follow Jaz right away.”
He grabbed the water and took another long drink, refilled Phideaux’s bowl, and handed the container to Hunter.
Chloe pulled out a cell phone and typed a message. Almost immediately it beeped. “Reuben and Tekoa have finished packing up your tent. Where do you want them to take it? The easiest solution would be for them to bring it to our place and you could all stay the night there, but it’s up to you.”
Damien had no idea who Reuben and Tekoa were, likely other wolves belonging to the pack he supposed. But he wasn’t really feeling like the very long drive back home in the dark across unknown desert. Following Chloe to their base seemed best. He turned to look at Hunter. Hunter was the wolf. It was really his decision. But Hunter was watching Jaz.
“What do you want to do, Jaz?”
“If it’s not too much trouble to have so many of us, I’d like to go to Chloe’s home. I really, really need a shower.”
“Besides, then we can have some girl time. My mom managed to do slightly better than Mrs. Wishram, but the wolf gene overruled as usual. I have three brothers. Come on, Jaz, you and the dog—Fido did you say his name was?—can travel with
me.”
Damien’s head was still pounding but he noticed the surprised look Jaz gave Chloe. It took him a moment to connect the dots and then he realized Chloe had mentioned wolves. Fuck!
Gideon just stared at his sister and shook his head. “Right then. Looks like the three of us get to load these crates into your truck. At least, without the mutt, there’ll be room for me in the cab.”
Damien laughed. He longed to hold Jaz tight and know she was safe and well, but it seemed she was already organizing their lives. Although maybe they’d better hurry up their plans to tell her about Hunter. If it wasn’t too late already.
* * * *
After they’d loaded the crates of guns into the back of the truck, Damien climbed into the driver seat, and Hunter slid into the middle seat, leaving the window for Gideon.
“I’m sure we’ve met before, but I don’t recall you from school. We went to Burton High School. I guess you attended Towler,” said Hunter.
“That’s right. We don’t leave the desert very often, though. We had to drive an hour across the desert to where the school bus stopped for us, and then it was almost another hour on the bus into town. It’s not surprising none of us graduated high school. The traveling was just too much of a time drag.”
Hunter grunted. At least the school bus stopped right outside their store. “What do you do now?” he asked.
“We run a cactus farm. It’s doing okay, actually.”
“Oh, yes. I’ve heard about it. That was a damn smart idea,” added Damien.
Hunter hoped that was enough general polite chitchat. “What I really want to know is what’s going on at the cemetery and what the fuck are those guns for?”
“The Alpha seems to understand. He said he had it all under control, and he’s got people following the minivan that took your woman as well.”
Hunter just grunted. That wasn’t much of a help to him. How were they to know someone else wouldn’t come along and try to take Jaz again? And why did they go off and leave her after they’d stolen her in the first place? The more he thought about it, the more unanswerable questions there were, and all he really wanted to do was lock her in his dungeon, chain her up, and never let her out again.
Gideon guided them across the desert to another track and then to a one-lane sealed road, which led to the cactus farm.
“Pull around back and leave the truck by the barn while I call the Alpha and ask him what he wants us to do with these damn guns,” said Gideon.
They did that, and Hunter collected Jaz’s backpack, which was in the truck, and their empty water container to refill for the journey back home tomorrow.
“He wants them stored securely, so we’ll lock them in the store room in the barn.”
The three of them wrestled the almost full crate into the storeroom first and then the broken crate. Gideon fetched a wheelbarrow so they could load up all the loose weapons and tip them back into the broken crate, which was much faster than out in the desert, where they’d had to pick up each gun separately and then check thoroughly that they hadn’t missed any.
Hunter looked at the weapons carefully. “I don’t understand what the deal is. There’s nothing special about these weapons. They’re all regular brands and nothing illegal.”
“Yeah, I don’t get it either,” said Damien.
“We’ll just have to wait until the Alpha tells us, I guess. Come inside and get cleaned up,” said Gideon.
“There’s not much sense in showering until our change of clothing arrives.” Hunter hoped that didn’t sound like a complaint. He was as ready for a shower as he’d ever been. He was used to going around shirtless, but he wasn’t usually out in the sun all day shirtless. He didn’t think he’d sunburned, but likely wearing a shirt for the next day or so would be smart.
Gideon pointed to the two black SUVs parked side by side inside the barn. “Tekoa and Reuben are already here. Let’s get your things.”
He popped the trunk of one car, and all Hunter could see was the neatly folded tent. Then Gideon opened the door to the backseat and there was Hunter’s duffel and Damien’s gym bag.
“Thanks.”
The shower was in a separate room by itself, and he motioned Damien to go first. His friend still looked tired, and he guessed he’d overexerted himself getting back to the campsite to chase after Jaz. Hell, he’d overexerted himself, too, and likely he’d ache in every muscle by tomorrow morning. But it didn’t matter because Jaz was back with them safe and sound. Although not knowing what was going on was driving him mad. Despite not having had a lot of practice at being a Dom, his nature was that of the Dom, and he needed to be in control of his life and circumstances and of everything relating to those he loved. Which meant Jaz.
By the time they were both showered and changed, Mrs. Jenner was ready to call them all in to supper. Chloe and Jaz were already seated at the table, empty glasses in front of them and Phideaux at Jaz’s feet, chewing a rawhide toy.
Without even thinking about it, he went and stood on one side of Jaz, and Damien lined up on the other. Chloe looked up at both of them, giggled, and then moved down one seat, making a space for him between her and Jaz.
“Oh, you wolves. So possessive of your mates. Next you’ll be asking Dad to use the dungeon tonight as well.”
“Chloe. Come here and help me,” called Mrs. Jenner.
The smile didn’t leave the blonde’s face at all as she bounced out of her chair to obey her mother.
Hunter looked at Jaz, wondering what she’d made of the conversation, but Jaz didn’t appear worried. She winked at him naughtily, though, which made him reflect on what she and Chloe might have been talking about. She was a smart woman. It was unlikely that she hadn’t noticed Chloe’s words both now and back in the desert. Neither he nor Damien had mentioned wolves or BDSM to her, but it was starting to look as though they needed to do that, and soon. Maybe tomorrow. Tonight all he wanted to do was fuck her and then hold her in his arms.
The meal was delicious, and the conversation around it lively. Hunter was used to fun mealtimes in his own family, but he enjoyed being with these people even more because he got to watch the dynamics between the parents, the three brothers, Chloe, and the two farm workers who shared the meal as well.
Hunter guessed that everyone was a wolf except for Jasmine and Damien. He wondered if the Jenners thought Damien was a wolf or simply that since he worked with a wolf family he knew all about them. Certainly it hadn’t seemed to occur to Chloe that Jaz wouldn’t know. He supposed that was the downside to living so secluded. Out in the world, werewolves and shape-shifters weren’t always welcomed and accepted, so his family never mentioned their status when there was any chance of them being overheard. Yet this family talked quite confidently about wolf business. He wondered if Jaz had asked Chloe any questions, or if she’d ask them as they journeyed back to Junctionville tomorrow.
At least it meant they were likely to be given a room and a bed to share, unlike in his house where they still each used a separate room. That was another thing they needed to do, discuss moving into Damien’s house.
Not to mention the fact that they’d gone to that cemetery today, what seemed like a million years ago now, for Jaz’s job. She still had to send off all the information to the Cemetery Trust. Damn he was tired. It was just all too complicated. The only thing he wanted to do was go to bed with his woman.
There was a moment of silence, and Phideaux snored. Hunter grinned, and Jaz and Chloe giggled.
“The dog is correct. It’s been a long day for you people. I’ve made up the bed in the dungeon for you. I thought you might all need to work off some tensions before you slept,” said Mrs. Jenner.
Hunter was certain his mouth dropped open, but he managed to say, “thank you,” and stand up.
He and Damien followed Jaz and Mrs. Jenner down the stairs into the basement. She opened the door for them and then kissed Jaz’s cheek. “If you need anything, little one, just tell me. I’ll look after Ph
ideaux tonight.”
Jaz turned and hugged her. “Thank you, Mrs. Jenner.”
Jaz led the way into the room and turned, surveying it slowly. Hunter waved Damien ahead of him and then locked the door behind them. Jaz was standing in the middle of the room, her arms crossed and a frown on her face.
“I believe there’s something you two men need to tell me.”
Oh shit!
* * * *
It seemed to Jaz that this day had been going on for a week already. There’d been the morning drive to the cemetery, the excitement of wondering if it would be suitable, the worry over the splinter in Phideaux’s paw, being made unconscious and kidnapped, escaping, and then Chloe thinking she knew all these people were werewolves.
Fucking werewolves. No wonder they lived out in the middle of the desert with no one else for miles around. And the amazing thing was she couldn’t even hate them for lying to her. She liked them too much already as people. Chloe was going to be a marvelous friend. Jaz already knew that for however long or short a time she stayed here in the desert that she and Chloe would be best friends.
Her energy should be spent hating Hunter and Damien for not telling her they were wolves. That everyone in Hunter’s family was a fucking wolf for God’s sake. Instead, her mind kept drifting to whether or not they’d fuck her or maybe strap her into that spanking bench and spank her again. She’d been stunned at how sexy it was when Hunter had spanked her. Her ass had been hotter than fire, and her libido had been off the charts.
“Not me. I don’t have any secrets from you, honey,” said Damien, taking a step backward, leaving Hunter alone in front of her.
Hunter turned and flashed him a glance. “Wimp.”
Damien held his hands out, but Hunter turned back and faced her.
“Um. Yes. Ah…”
