“She’s contagious.”Roger clutched the cell phone to him, his voice rising in panic. “She has lycanthroism.”
“She isn’t sick.” Sam closed the space between him and Roger in two long strides. A minute ago Roger had appeared in control, now he shrank before the bigger man. Sam reached out and plucked the phone from Roger’s loose fingers. He shook his head at her. “Glenna, you shouldn’t be here.”
“That’s what I said.” Roger nodded. “You shouldn’t be here.”
“I’m taking you back.”
“No. I need to stay here, Sarah needs me.” She got up off of the couch. “I’m not leaving until I see Sarah.
“Glenna, you’re putting everyone at risk.”
“You are sick,” Roger said. “I knew it!”
“Sam, look. Roger is my fiancé. I’m sure once he understands, he’ll use the connections that my family’s helped him accumulate and fix everything.” She fixed Roger with a hard stare. “Won’t you, Roger?”
“Fiancé.” Sam’s big frame seemed to get larger and his eyes gleamed. “Tell him it’s over, Glenna.”
“You two have something to work out. I’ll just be over here.” Roger dropped his arm from his face and ducked around Sam, lunging for the kitchen.
“There’s another phone!” Glenna got up to stop him, but before she could get there, Sam was across the room.
“I wouldn’t do that.” Sam ripped the corded phone from the wall.
Roger’s mouth gaped. “How dare you.” He snapped his lips together. “Glenna.” She knew this tone. He’d used it when she’d bought the shocking orange hatchback. “You shouldn’t have brought him here Just look at him. Your grandmother would be shocked. I’m shocked.”
“Come on, Glenna, it’s time to leave.” Sam tossed the phone down and started towards her across the apartment.
She ran behind the couch, her fingers curled into fists. Nothing made sense anymore. Her new instincts said to trust Sam, but she needed to stay here and see Sarah and Sam wasn’t going to allow that. “Roger, you have to help me. They’re keeping me prisoner.
“Are you telling me this is one of the men who’s been keeping you in quarantine? Why didn’t you say so?” A huge smile spread across Roger’s face. “Obviously, if you’re going to take her away, I don’t need to call anyone.”
“You understand, she’ll still be listed as deceased?” Sam asked.
“Sam? Roger? What are you doing?” Glenna’s head swiveled back and forth between the two men. Roger was supposed to be her ally. She shook her head to clear it. No, Sam was supposed to be her ally. “Roger, I’m your fiancée. You should listen to me.”
“Glenna, you’re dead.” Roger smiled and the chill of his expression shot through her like ice. “We’ve moved on. I’ve been living here, helping your sister cope.”
“You’ve moved in with Sarah?” Glenna couldn’t believe her ears. “But you would never move in with me. You said it was inappropriate.”
“Sarah needed someone here, to protect her from the paparazzi and the trolls. Everyone thought we’d helped you escape. There have been a lot of calls. Social media has been a frenzy. She can’t be on the internet. Now that the CDC has declared you dead, it’s much better.” Roger nodded at Sam and Ian. “Thank you, gentlemen, for taking care of this.”
“It’s no problem, sir.” Sam’s face had gone blank. “You do understand you can’t tell anyone, not her grandmother or her sister. It’s better for them if they think she’s dead.”
“I understand completely.” Roger nodded, and gestured toward the door. Sam crossed over to Glenna and reached for her.
Glenna hung onto the couch, her fingers scrabbling over the tightly covered cushions. “Screw this. I’m not going anywhere.”
Sam grabbed her, tearing her away from the couch. Her fingers lost their purchase and he dragged her to her feet. She fought hard, pushing and shoving and scratching.
“You see how the illness has progressed?” Sam grunted as she kicked him hard, hitting his leg instead of the soft groin area she’d been going for.
“She doesn’t understand what’s going on,” Ian said. “Sad, really.”
Sam swung her over his shoulder and walked out of the apartment, leaving Ian behind, still talking to Roger.
“We’ll take good care of her, sir, don’t you worry.”
“Stop! Stop! Put me down!” She shrieked and pounded and kicked, but he carried her out and down the stairs, straight over to the big, black SUV.
Sam opened the hatch. She struggled, but he thrust her into the back section. She scrambled for her feet and lunged for the door.
“Sorry, sugar.” He slammed the hatch. She went for the front but couldn’t get through. She was stuck in the fenced-off area for dogs.
Chapter Twenty-eight
Sam intercepted Ian in the parking lot on the opposite side the building and handed him the keys to the Jeep.
“See you there?”
“Sure, chief.” Ian got into the driver’s side of the Jeep. “You’re going to be one sorry mother when you finally let her out.”
“Maybe I’ll have you do it.”
“Maybe I’ll need to stop for dinner on the way back.” Ian laughed and closed his door.
Sam tapped the hood as the Jeep pulled away, and a dark sedan pulled in, glinting with extra polish in the streetlights. Like some scene in a movie, two men in dark suits and sunglasses got out of the car.
Sam moved out into the open parking lot so they couldn’t bookend him against a car. Why the feds persisted in dressing like the mafia, he didn’t know.
“Good afternoon, sir.”
“Hi.” He imagined the scent of cool, clear water and tried to push away the tension-knotting picture of angry Glenna kicking the blackened glass of the Suburban parked on the other side of the building. Even if she made a ruckus, they wouldn’t notice. But someone might.
“We’ve heard reports of a woman in the area.” Fed A held up a picture of Glenna. “Have you seen her today?”
Shit! That asshole Roger had called the police.
“Missing?” Sam forced his shoulders to look relaxed. The man smelled like stale office air and donuts and just the sight of him had his hackles rising. “When was this?”
“The report came in a few minutes ago.” If they knew it was him, why were they bothering with this formal crap, asking him as if they weren’t sure? Something was wrong. If Roger had called the police, they wouldn’t have gotten here this fast. And it wouldn’t have been these suits, it would have been uniforms.
His brain ticked into overtime.
They’d been watching the apartment.
“Look closely.” The Fed pushed the picture at him.
He knew better than to touch anything a Fed handed him. He looked carefully at the picture of a beautifully dressed and posed Glenna. Her expressionless face and stiff body showed luscious curves that she lacked from weeks of illness. Her wild red hair was dyed a demure brown and locked down into a high-polished style. No, this wasn’t the Glenna he knew.
“Nope, haven’t seen her around here. Does she live here?”
His acute hearing picked up the sound of thumping. Glenna. Shit!
Copying the actions of birds when their nests were threatened, he walked in the opposite direction. Leading the feds far away from the sound of Glenna, pissed and kicking in the back of the Suburban.
He needed to get her out of here, before someone else called the cops.
“No, but her sister does.” Fed A continued to pump him for information. “Do you live here, Mr....?” Fed A asked.
Feb B just followed along, his face the official mask of a government official on official business. Obviously the beta.
“No, my girlfriend does. I was just leaving for work.” He smiled, the most charming, easy-going smile he had in his repertoire. “Night shift. And if I’m late the boss will cream me.” He moved further away from the building and Glenna.
“Here’s
my card.” Fed A followed, holding out a generic white card with black print. Sam took it. Edward Lasasso. And a phone number. Lasasso gave him a no-nonsense look. “Do me a favor and call if you see her.”
The feds stopped following him. He could feel them watching him as he walked away from the apartment and away from Glenna, urgency building with each step.
Were they going inside? Hanging around? Could he circle around and get Glenna?
He didn’t have any choice. Someone was bound to hear her pounding. Unless she’d given up. He moved cautiously around the next building, and then snuck back, using the bushes between the two buildings as cover, until he was on the side with the Suburban. No sign of the suits. He hugged the wall, and made his way over to the suspiciously quiet SUV.
He couldn’t hear Glenna.
His breathing sped up.
The blackened windows of the Suburban hid her from view, but the pounding had stopped. Darting glances behind and to the side he peeked into the windows.
There she was. Glaring hate at him.
Wonderful.
He ducked his chin and heaved a sigh, not knowing if he should be relieved or apprehensive at the long drive that lay before him.
He unlocked the door just as Mr. Edward Lasasso and Fed B came around the corner and startled at the sight of him.
“Hey!” Fed B shouted.
He waved and got in, starting the engine.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Glenna snarled from behind the steel bars in the back.
“Sorry, sugar. It’s going to be a rough ride. Hang on.” And he peeled out of the lot.
Chapter Twenty-nine
Sam kept an eye on Glenna in the very back of the SUV. It was dark now and she’d stopped ranting at him, but he could feel her giving him the evil eye anytime she caught him looking.
“Are you ready to talk?”
“No.”
“Quit sulking.”
She stuck her tongue out at him.
“Oh, that’s mature.” He focused back on the twisty mountain highway. “It’s a long drive back to the cabin. You’d be much more comfortable up here.” Her scent permeated the closed vehicle and he wanted her up with him, even if it wasn’t the brightest move. He risked being turned to stone and took a peek in the mirror. “I can pull over and let you up front, if you promise to behave.”
“You mean if I promise to let you manhandle me again?”
“Hey, you brought that on yourself.” He ignored the twitch of his cock at the thought of how her backside had felt under his hand as he’d carried her down the stairs. Her soft breasts pushing into his chest. And the urge of his wolf to dominate the hell out of her and just make her behave. He took the opportunity of a pullover that went behind a chunk of rock and out of sight of the highway. He parked the car and looked back at her. “What do you say?”
“Fine.”
Her eyes were wild behind the bars. He could already see the wolf inside and it called to his wolf. He should leave her back there. It was the smart move.
“I want your promise you’ll behave.”
“I promise not to run away for the remainder of the drive. Now let me out.”
“I guess that’s as good as I’m going to get.” He went around and opened the hatch and pocketed the keys. He wanted his hands free.
She unfolded herself from the back. “Do you mind if I stretch a little before we get back in?”
They were hidden from the road, and it was dark, but he could still hear traffic. He gave her a hard look. “Just remember, I’m bigger, I’m faster, and I’m meaner. If you run this time, you’ll be in the back for the entire trip.
“I already promised.” She shook him off, crossing over to the edge of the overlook and kicked a rock into the babbling creek.
He sighed. And watched her walk further away from him and the SUV. Yes, she’d promised. But she’d done that before. He’d better stick with her.
“So, that was your fiancé.”
“Yeah.” She kicked another rock.
“And now he’s living with your sister?”
“I guess she needs someone. My grandmother isn’t the nurturing type.”
“And he is?” She didn’t say anything, just stared off into the dark. “I understand wanting to see your family, but that jerk? You’re better off without him.”
She turned and glared at him. “I had a life before all this. I had a job and a family. He fit in. My grandmother liked him. My boss liked him. Even Sarah liked him.”
“I guess Sarah really liked him.”
“Shut up.”
“I’m sorry. I know it hurts like hell.”
“How would you know?”
He kicked a rock too. Watched it sail off into the air then crash into the spray of the creek. “You may not think it now, but you’re better off without him.”
“I know.” She shook her head. “You know what?”
“What?”
“He was a bit of a tight ass. Sometimes I think the person he really wanted to marry was my grandmother.” She shook her head. “Maybe that’s why he’s going after Sarah. Poor Sarah.”
“Come on, it’s time to go.” They got back in the SUV. This time she was in the front seat. “Are you hungry?” They pulled back onto the road.
“Starved. I seem to be hungry all the time anymore.”
“That’s the change. You should see what a school full of teenage boys undergoing that and puberty eats.” He shuddered and she laughed. “Now that’s scary.”
They rounded the next bend and passed a black SUV with tinted windows pulled over on the side of the canyon. Sam slowed down and let a sports car and an RV with a boat pass him on the next pass though. Then he saw the SUV. It had gotten back on the road two cars after he’d pulled back on the road.
He kept his eye on them.
“Glenna, tighten your seatbelt.”
“What’s going on?”
“Make sure it’s tight.”
They rounded a curve and the two lanes merged back into one. The black SUV was still behind them.
“Hang on.” He pushed on the accelerator, forcing the unwieldy car up and around the twisting road. The SUV stuck to them like glue. He drove fast until he again was nose to tail with the RV hauling the boat. Perfect. When the next opportunity to pass came he’d force the SUV behind the RV, then he’d lose them.
There was a hard bump on the back. The car shook and bounced, skating close to the drop off on the side of the road.
Sam’s palms went wet with sweat. He yanked hard on the steering wheel, wrestling the SUV away from the edge that curved off into nowhere. Tires squealed as they tilted precariously to the side, finally coming down hard as the road straightened out.
Another hard hit. The wheel slipped through his hands. “Hold on!” He smelled the sharp tang of Glenna’s fear as they slid across the road, heading for the edge of the ravine.
Chapter Thirty
Glenna hung on to the handle above her head and braced her feet on the floor. The weight of the car’s motion pushed her against her seat as the SUV spun out of control.
Sam’s shoulders bulged as he turned the wheel with his whole body. The road, the canyon wall, the edge of the ravine. They all went spinning past as the car turned a hundred and eighty degrees, the other SUV driving past in their old lane, its shiny black windows hiding its operator.
They stopped. Sam lifted his head and looked in the rearview mirror and the horror in his expression had her turning around to look up the road. Behind them, in their new lane, the bright lights and high cab of a semi were coming right at them.
Thump-thump. Thump-thump. Time slowed and she could only hear the sound of her heartbeats counting down the seconds until the crash.
Sam’s foot slammed onto the pedal and the truck roared into action. The grill of the semi grew larger and larger. He twisted the wheel.
Glenna’s fingers turned white on the panic bar. She smelled rubber burning, tasted a
cid high in her throat. Gravel spitting behind them, the speedometer needle jumped and they skated out of the way.
The semi roared past.
Sam pulled the car over onto the first wide spot in the road, and they sat and panted together.
The knock at the window made her jump. “Are you okay?” A grandfatherly looking man was outside, tapping on the glass.
She rolled it down. “Hi, yes, I think we’re fine.” Sam was still sitting, hands clenched on the wheel.
“I saw the whole thing. Must have been some drunk kids playing chicken, hitting you like that. Stupid punks.”
Other cars were starting to pull over, but Sam just waved at the man and they drove away with no sign of the other SUV.
Glenna huddled in the corner. “Who was that?” She was still shaking but she thought her voice sounded calm.
“The feds. We picked them up at your sister’s apartment. I thought I’d lost them, but the assholes either changed cars or radioed someone else. Either way we need to get off the highway.”
She didn’t know what to think. In the last hour her life had turned upside down. Again. Her head was spinning so hard she curled her feet under her and practiced the deep breathing that let her deal with her grandmother, junior accountants, and now crazy car chases.
About a half hour later Sam pulled into a roadside diner, parking around the back and out of sight of the main road. “Come on, I can hear your stomach from here. We need some food and I need to call in.”
“What about the car?”
Sam picked up some mud and smeared the license plates, obliterating the numbers.
“I’ll be right back. Will you be here, or do I need to lock you in the back?”
“I’ll be here.” She didn’t know who to trust. But she knew that someone had just tried to kill her. And Sam. And the only reason she was alive was because of Sam’s fancy driving.
He came back with two bags and handed one to her. The smell of food was too much. She tore into her bag and dove into the hot roast beef sandwich, the rich juices bursting on her tongue in an explosion of taste.
Blood Enforcer (Wolf Enforcers Book 2) Page 14
