“There’s a trail a little way up. It leads to the south face of the mountain. It should be the fastest way up to where I was told to go.”
She turned in her seat and faced me.
“You’re just going to walk in there and hand yourself over?” Her voice rose a full octave as she said it.
“I don’t have much choice here, Gen. I’m not in a negotiating position. They have Justin. This is going to be a cut and dried exchange. Me for him; I can handle myself should the need arise, but I want you to stay hidden. Don’t try to help me or put yourself at risk for me. If everything goes south, I want you to run far and fast.”
I could tell she wanted to roll her eyes, but something in her eyes told me she was just as scared by all of this as I was. We finally found something worth fighting for, and there we were preparing to gamble it all away on the hope that we’d get lucky and be able to walk out of there alive and together.
We rounded a bend in the road that opened into a makeshift parking lot. The hikers used it often enough that the ground was bare dirt aside from tufts of grass and weeds here and there. Justin’s truck was parked closest to the copse of trees.
Gen pulled her gun from the holster and checked it over, making sure it was loaded and the safety was off. She handled it like it was an extension of herself, natural and efficient.
“What?” she asked when she saw me watching her.
“You think that’ll do the job?”
She nodded. “Oh yeah. One of these will poke a few holes in even the toughest hide. I’d be more worried about him than me. I’m an excellent shot, and this fucker has pissed me off for the last time.”
“Whatever you say, babe,” I said, pushing the door open and climbing out of the truck.
It felt right having her there at my side, ready to go to war over someone she’d declared as hers. It didn’t diminish the trepidation I felt about her being in harm’s way, but it was better to have her near me.
She hopped down from her perch in the truck and kicked the door shut behind her. Her hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail that bounced behind her as she moved. In the short span of time we’d spent together, I’d come to know some of the many faces of Gen. This one was her gettin’ shit done face. She wasn’t taking any chances and neither was I.
Chapter 14
Gen
Fear swirled in my belly. I’d never been a hunter, at least not when it came to animals of the furry variety.
“Don’t be scared. He’ll be able to smell it,” Talon said low as he passed by me.
“He can smell that sort of thing?”
Talon nodded.
“How do you know? You’re not a tiger,” I pointed out.
“Because even I can smell it. If I can, then I know he can.”
Well, shit.
I didn’t have time to wonder what else he could riddle out with that nose of his, but I was putting that tidbit in my back pocket for later inspection. Talon slung his pack over his back and strapped it around himself snugly.
The trail was barely visible as the grass and ferns threatened to erase it entirely. Talon took the lead, keeping his pace manageable so I could keep up with him. I’d started to get used to the terrain, making sure I didn’t roll or sprain another ankle.
The clearing came into view ahead on the trail. I could see the break in the trees as near blinding sunlight broke through the canopy of evergreens. Talon held up a hand for me to stop. He turned to face me and crouched low, pulling me down with him.
“What-”
Talon clasped his hand over my mouth, preventing me from finishing my question. He held a finger over his lips to be quiet before pointing up ahead.
I squinted, trying to make out what he was looking at, but I didn’t see anything. I held my hands up, not understanding what he was getting at. He leaned in close, pressing his lips to my ear. His breath was warm, sending tingles over every inch of me.
“It’s a trap. There’s a snare up ahead on the trail. I think he’s got every way in rigged.”
He pulled back, scanning the woods around us, but I pulled him back in and whispered lowly into his ear.
“How do you know?”
When he pulled back, he wore the sexiest smirk I’ve ever seen on anyone, and I’d seen Chris Hemsworth smile. Talon pointed to his eyes.
Eagle eyes.
He slipped back into recon mode, scanning for any sign of André. Talon shook his head.
“We need to split up. I’ll go first, but I need you to stay hidden as best as you can. I’m trusting you here. Don’t get all heroic on my behalf. I know you can handle yourself; just don’t go out of your way to put yourself in harm’s way,” Talon ordered.
His protective streak was a bit of a turn on even if it grated against my nerves that he was basically giving me orders. This was his rescue mission, and I’d let him run this one because while I loved Justin like the brother I’d never had, he was Talon’s best friend.
I nodded.
Talon stayed low, crouching as he moved around the closest tree, and headed off toward the left side of the clearing. We were both still close to twenty yards from the place Justin had told Talon to go.
I couldn’t see or hear anything that was going on ahead. I needed to find somewhere closer with a better vantage point. My knees and thighs were screaming from staying in a squat, so I straightened a little, still bent so I wasn’t much higher than the foliage around me.
Looking back, I couldn’t see where Talon had disappeared to. I heard a deep voice up ahead though I couldn’t make out what was being said clearly. I picked my steps carefully, avoiding anything that I could see that might give me away. There was a boulder next to a monster pine; it was perfect.
It was only a few yards into the tree line, but there was an almost clear path right to it, and if I was careful enough, I could get to it without being seen. I didn’t know what André was capable of, but I needed to stay downwind just in case. If he caught my scent, the jig was up, and Justin could be as good as dead.
Moving forward, I stayed on my toes as I tried to be as light on my feet and agile as possible. It was difficult to do, and my ankle was still sore and unused to having so much pressure put on it since the injury. The ball of my booted foot came down heavily on a twig I hadn’t seen beforehand. It cracked and could’ve given a shattered window a run for its money with how loud it echoed off the trees. I bolted, practically diving behind my destination boulder.
I froze, not taking another step in case I attracted André’s attention. Rustling of leaves sounded as though it was heading in my direction. Squeezing my eyes shut tight, I prayed he hadn’t heard it and wasn’t coming for me.
“I’m here. You can let Justin go now,” Talon announced.
I couldn’t see where he was, and I sure as hell wasn’t about to stick my head out and get discovered.
“I don’t know about all that. Your buddy seems to like it out here. Don’t you?” André growled, tromping through the underbrush like he was no longer on the hunt.
I braved a glance around the edge of the rock as soon as the tiger sounded far enough away. Justin sat on a rock near the edge of the clearing. He didn’t look good; there were very obvious bruises forming on his face. Justin kept his head down, making himself less of a target.
André stepped into the clearing, blocking Talon’s way to Justin, who looked a little worse for wear. He didn’t answer André’s question, keeping his eyes averted. Moving closer, André’s leg shot out, connecting with Justin’s side. A meaty crack sounded; something was definitely broken. Justin doubled over and dropped to the dirt, gasping for air.
A rage-filled growl tore from Talon. It was a sound like I’d never heard before. Unlike the low rumble I’d heard from André, this was louder and more threatening. I’d seen what Talon was capable of before I’d run away, but like a train wreck, I didn’t want to see what he was capable of when he was pushed too far. I couldn’t look away either.
&
nbsp; “What was that? I can’t hear you,” André asked, rearing back to let his foot fly again.
“Stop!” Talon ordered, moving forward.
André roared, sounding more animal than man. Talon wasn’t backing down though. He stood his ground, pushing his chest out in a silent dare.
“You want to challenge me? Boy, must have a death wish. No matter, I’ll be happy to oblige,” André taunted.
“There’s no need for this. You can walk away from Elk Springs right now, and no one will follow you. No retaliation, no war over territory, just free and clear,” Talon tried to reason, stepping closer to the beast.
His relaxed demeanor was a show. I could see Talon’s knuckles turning white as he clenched his hands into fists.
Justin coughed, spitting blood into the dirt as he struggled back to his knees. His arm was clutching his middle. He needed help. I needed to find a way to get him out of there and to a doctor. André was a large man, fueled by rage and more strength than Justin could withstand. There could be internal bleeding or a punctured lung.
“You’re on my land. That’s reason enough for me,” he said, pulling his shirt off and tossing it aside.
He didn’t bother with his pants before the sickening cracks of bones breaking and popping filled my ears. André’s eyes were the bright gold of the tiger. Instead of doubling over and landing on all fours, he stayed upright. He moved backwards, bumping Justin as he went and never giving Talon his back.
With a half groan and half growl, André’s body crumpled. He was shifting so much faster than he had the first time I’d seen him. I didn’t blink, afraid that I’d miss something vital if I did. White fur pushed itself through André’s pores and coated his body, broken up by thick stripes of blue-black.
Talon hadn’t moved, not taking his watchful gaze off the beast. Justin was between the two men, too close to the fray should it come to that. I had the chance to end it all before it started. It was a chance I knew I had to take.
I pulled my gun from the holster and flipped the safety switch. Checking over everything, I made sure there would be no problems should I have to use it. The magazine was full and one was in the chamber and ready. I popped over the top of the rock, resting my arm on its stone surface. Inhaling deeply, I blew it out and steadied my hand as I took aim at André.
My shot had to be perfect. If I missed my mark, then he’d know that Talon wasn’t alone. André could turn on Justin and things would go south fast.
André sauntered forward, stalking Talon like the predator he was. His large body was crouched low, ready to spring. Talon moved, keeping the distance between André and him as constant as he could. His muscles bunched and pulled under his clothing, and I could tell he was on the verge of shifting at any second.
André sprung, launching himself toward Talon and closing the gap between them in a single leap. Talon dodged him just in time, missing a swipe of razor sharp claws. Talon managed to keep his skin; I didn’t know what he was waiting for. Giving himself over to the War Bird would buy him some time, give him better odds of survival.
The tiger turned, pouncing quicker than Talon had anticipated. Claws raked Talon’s shoulder and shredded his shirt in the process. Talon howled, skittering away from the monster cat.
André was toying with him, enjoying every second of it. Instead of attacking again, he turned and lunged for Justin, sinking his teeth deep into his shoulder. An earsplitting scream tore out of Justin as the tiger ravaged his body. Blood coated the animal’s white coat. He was going to kill him.
“No!” Talon roared with more fury than I’d ever seen in a man before.
I could no longer sit idly by while the man ate my friend alive. Taking aim, I pulled the trigger evenly, but at the last second, André moved. The bullet sank into the cat’s hind quarters, wounding his leg. The cat roared, releasing his hold on Justin. I aimed again, but it was too late. I’d captured the tiger’s attention and given away my advantage.
André lunged, clearing ten feet or more with each bound as he headed straight for me with murder written in his stare. Talon lost his tight control and shifted almost instantly.
Justin’s screams were tearing through the trees as I turned and ran. Claws raked my hips before I could even take three steps. I fell, waiting for the tiger’s teeth to rip my throat out, but as the seconds ticked by, nothing came. I rolled onto my back.
Talon’s eagle was latched onto André’s back like a cowboy riding a pissed off bronco. He was tearing into the tiger’s flesh with the ferocity of a rabid wolverine. Blood poured down the cat’s face. Over the tiger’s pained cries, I heard Justin’s bloodcurdling screams.
I tried to stand, yet my ankle didn’t want to cooperate. Limping heavily, I stayed in the trees as I tried to make my way to Justin. There was no doubt in my mind his end was near because he couldn’t survive, not after being mauled by a three-hundred-pound death machine. By the time I reached him, he was writhing on the ground clutching his middle tightly.
“Justin!” I called, falling to the ground beside him with a thud.
His eyes opened wide, and my heart stopped beating. The kind eyes I’d come to know as my friend’s were gone. Golden cat eyes stared back at me without a single shred of recognition.
“Oh my God,” I said, scrambling back quickly.
Justin didn’t follow, and I didn’t want to watch what was about to happen. The cracks began in his arms as he tried to push himself up, making him fall back down. His back arched unnaturally, breaking a hundred times or more and lengthening. Fur began to cover him as his face broke into something feral and feline. His cries turned into pained roars.
I couldn’t trust that Justin wouldn’t maul me the second his shift was done, and I was not about to kill the closest thing to family I’d ever had. I scrambled back away from Justin’s shattering form. Before my very eyes, I watched the sweet-hearted Justin ripped to shreds as a man-eating monster tore its way out of him. In seconds, a snow white beast of a tiger sat panting, and his amber eyes were tracking my every movement. His lip lifted in a snarl, and he began to pad forward, ears pinned back against his head.
“Justin? Is that you?” I asked, scooting back further until my back was flush with the rough bark of a tree.
Fuck me.
The gun was heavy in my hand as I gazed at the tiger that was my friend, but there was a clear disconnect. Justin wasn’t in control anymore, the feral beast was, and I was food. The rumble emanating from his chest could be felt down to my bones. I raised the weapon with my sight trained on his shoulder.
“Justin, if you’re in there, I need you to listen. I don’t want to hurt you, but I will shoot you if I have to,” I pleaded, hoping it would get through to him, but still, there was nothing there.
He kept coming, so I did the only thing I could. I squeezed the trigger. A deafening pop sounded, and the recoil jolted my arms. The bullet tore into the meaty flesh, avoiding anything vital, but it was enough to scare him off. With a startled and pained yelp, the cat took off like a shot, tearing into the forest and away from me. I released a shaky breath I hadn’t realized I was holding in but couldn’t relax for more than half a second. We still weren’t out of the woods yet.
Turning, I bolted back toward where I’d been hiding. Squeezing my eyes tightly shut, I prayed. I prayed for Justin and Talon and for it all to end. When I opened my eyes again, my gaze landed on Talon who was still latched onto André, fighting with everything he had in him.
The eagle seemed to be winning, but then the cat rolled, taking Talon with him before he could let go. André got up first, swatting Talon with a massive paw. I raised my gun, taking aim at the cat once more. André went in for the kill.
With a deep pull of air, I exhaled slowly and squeezed the trigger. A loud pop broke through the clearing. I saw the small crimson explosion clearly against the snow white backdrop of André’s furry head. His body crumpled beneath him like an electric appliance whose cord was unplugged. André collapsed,
falling hard on Talon’s feathered form. The tiger’s entire body went limp, never to move again.
My arms strained under my weight and the exertion of the day as I pushed myself up. With the ankle all but totally destroyed, I struggled to stand on my other foot and hop like the most ridiculous rabbit all the way to where my man laid.
André’s body was slowly retracting back into his human form, but Talon’s feathers were peeking out from underneath him. He still hadn’t shifted back. My blood pressure was rising as I fell beside the behemoth man and pushed him off the eagle. He had to weigh well over three hundred pounds. I shoved and grunted as I struggled to move him more than a few inches at a time. With one final push, André’s body finally rolled off Talon.
Talon’s chest was moving, but only barely. His eyes were moving as though he was trying to tell me something. It was useless; I couldn’t understand what he was trying to say.
“Talon? I…I need you to shift back. I can’t help you like this because I don’t know what you’re trying to say? Can you do that?” I asked, my voice shaky as I tried to get my words out.
Seconds ticked by without any inkling that he was going to shift. Did he understand me? Was the eagle one and the same as Talon or was it more like two beings sharing a single body? With a heavy breath, his feathers shrank back into him and his body grew in size. I didn’t think I’d ever get used to the sound of his body breaking over and over again with each transition. My joints ached just hearing it.
After a moment, Talon laid on his back, naked as the day he was born and groaning. His shoulder looked bad. The tiger’s teeth had to have gone clear to the bone. Flesh gaped from the wound, shredded around its edges. Blood seeped away from it in a slow trickle though I could see its flow continuing to slow as Talon’s body began to knit itself back together.
“Are you all right?” I asked, still watching in amazement.
I’d seen it before, but it still blew my mind.
“I think the shoulder’s dislocated. It needs to get put back in before it heals anymore,” he groaned, lifting his head to check out the damage.
Fly Me Home (Rescue Squad Shifters Book 1) Page 14
