by T. A. Grey
“I don’t think it’s in either of our interests to let that happen.”
“Exactement! I will negotiate new terms with Alpha Gavin MacKellen. I’m requesting the death of Xavier Carbon for letting Hanna and Alex go free.”
Broderick paused. “An assassination is a large number.”
She lifted her chin, proud as any queen had a right to be. “For the return of his sister and her friend? He would do anything to have her back; you could see it in the man’s face. They will return to their home. My Remi will forgive me for what I have done,” she whispered fiercely.
“A tall order but perhaps a wise decision.”
“Precisely.”
“People will suspect,” he hedged. “Once they learn of his death. Rumors have already begun about you renouncing the kingdom. Likely a rumor starting from the snake’s mouth himself, Xavier. He’s a powerful man to simply murder. People will notice, and they will point fingers. Some of those fingers will be pointed at you. Are you prepared for that?”
Queen Lysette, beautiful in her auburn-haired, pale-skinned splendor was regal and deadly in all her glory. “They will suspect many people. I am not his only enemy. That is also why Gavin MacKellen and his lackeys will be attuned for his job. I do not want his blood spilled near my land or my pack.”
“Absolutely, my queen.” He bowed his head and pressed his fist over his heart. “I swear to you my allegiance. Even if I must do it myself, my Queen, I will not allow Xavier Carbon to overtake this pack.”
She took his hand and held it dearly and kissed his fingers once. “That, my friend, is why you are so dear to me. And to answer your question--yes, I am prepared. For anything.”
Chapter TWENTY-FOUR
The bright neon sign outside the sporting good’s store had a two missing letters that didn’t light up. The sign read Broken Stones Sporting Goods. The B and G both missing.
Alex would have preferred a better hideout, but this would have to do for now.
He jimmied open a rear-exit door by the docking bay and went inside. Hanna had long passed out. He’d been hurrying the best he could ever since. Fuck, he didn’t know what he’d do if she died. He just...couldn’t even think of it.
An alarm didn’t sound, so that was a relief.
Only security lights were on, the red glow surrounding Exit signs and other displays. Alex shuffled inside and found an office with a couch. He placed Hanna on it then leaned down to check her pale neck for a pulse. He hadn’t been sure for more than thirty minutes, had been too cowardly to check sooner.
He felt nothing. A knot formed in his chest. Alex closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. Then he pressed further, deeper into her neck. Please, be there, he begged.
Thump, thump. Thud-ump.
He sighed a breath of relief. Thank you god; he sent up a prayer.
Cold in here. Alex scourged through the building, moving slowly. His energy completely depleted from his miles of hiking through the wet snow while holding Hanna. He moved through the store, grabbing sleeping bags, standing heaters and took them back to the office, wrapping Hanna up.
He pulled her wet clothes off--she still didn’t stir--and tucked her into a heated, thermal sleeping back and cranked the heat up on the standing heater. He held his hands in front of the little mini-furnace and flinched, as his hands seemed to hate the heat. Frostbite had already settled in on his fingers and toes. He turned the heat on Hanna and went to fetch more supplies.
He found vending machines, then a handy hatchet from the tool aisle. He used his newfound hatchet with its black sturdy leather grip in hand (for easy-to-carry use) to hack open the vending machine for food and drinks. He took his newfound supplies back to Hanna. He grabbed thick winter clothes off the racks, uncaring as hangers clattered to the floor. Lastly, he went to the gun section. For a moment, he stood there, eyeing the different weapons and ammunition carefully. He’d have to pick the lock, as all the weapons were behind locked cases. A lock wasn’t a problem for him, fortunately.
Alex chose what he wanted--a small caliber pistol that could definitely slow an enemy down. No silver bullets in this human store so the regular ammunition would have to do. It wouldn’t kill a lykaen, but it might hurt like hell.
He just hoped he wouldn’t have to use it. No one else needed to die in this adventure. He filled the ammo clip with six rounds, put the safety on, and headed back to the office.
Hanna still hadn’t stirred. He pressed his hand to her forehead to find her cold and clammy. Something about that didn’t sit right with him at all.
He wanted to wake her and feed her, but he didn’t know what to do. Maybe she needed the sleep. That’s all he could hope.
Shivering, teeth clattering so hard he thought he might break a canine; Alex undressed and pulled on new clothes. White camo-patterned winter pants and shirts with a heavy coat. He grabbed the same clothes in a small women’s size for Hanna but he’d wait until she woke up to dress her. Didn’t feel right, otherwise.
He sat on the floor next to the cot and touched her arm. It was warmer than it had been, but not normal yet. Maybe that was a good thing, better than being feverish. Fuck. He had no clue what to do. He knew jack shit about treating a sick person who’d been in the cold too long.
He grabbed some medicine, a menthol smelling cream that the queen had given them, and rolling Hanna gently onto her side, he applied it to the wound. Maybe it’d help.
Alex’s expression softened as he gazed at Hanna’s sleeping form. A knot in his chest wound tight from emotion. He touched her forehead and patted her hair back from her eyes, making silent promises he only hoped he could keep. His princess. She’d really proven herself tonight. Damn, but he had to laugh thinking about how tough she was. So much strength wrapped in one tiny package. Yet, he saw the doubt in her eyes. She thought she should be wonder woman, crime fighting, perfect in every way. But no one was perfect. Hell, he knew that better than most. And he had the scars to prove it.
Alex spoke out loud, quietly. “You don’t have to be wonder woman for me, princess. Just be you.”
His chest clenched with an emotion he didn’t care to analyze. Gritting his teeth, Alex turned around and curled into his sleeping bag. His eyes grew heavy quickly. His strength sapped. He’d take a few hours of shuteye, then he’d feed Hanna, clothe her, and get them the hell out of here. Yeah, that’s what he’d do.
If only life ever went how you planned.
Chapter TWENTY-FIVE
“What in the hell happened here?!”
Hanna shot straight up. Her quick-shooting mind told her several things at once: that Alex had jolted upright as well, and that she was naked, and that she had no clue where she was, and finally, that somebody was very unhappy they were here.
Alex shot her a visceral look. “Time to go, princess. Sorry, I was hoping we’d have some time to...”
A voice, the same, accent yelled even louder this time. They walked over glass and it crunched. “They ripped the place apart! Call the damn po-lice now!”
Then, Hanna heard something, a sound she found rather familiar.
Cha-thunk! A pump-action shot gun being pumped and ready to fire.
“They have a shot gun,” Hanna whispered.
Alex shoved a pile of clothes at her and started barricading the door as quietly as he could.
“Hey, Bernard, they even looted the damn vending machines. Filthy animals.”
As of yet the two men didn’t know that the looters of said vending machines were still inside.
“Hurry,” Alex replied. He lifted the desk, with as little noise as possible and placed it in front of the locked office door.
“Go check the safety deposit box, Earl! Make sure they didn’t take the money.”
Alex and Hanna shared a startled, anxious look. At once, they gazed left and saw the black wall safe that surely Earl was looking for. A moment later, the door handle jiggled.
“It’s locked! Hey, I saw a shadow move inside the office. The
y’re still inside! Quick! Get over here.”
Cha-thunk--POW!
The glass window in the door shattered in an explosion of glass. Hanna screamed at the sudden noise and Alex tackled her to the ground shielding her from the flying shards.
She saw the satchel they’d brought that had the queen’s goodies inside and grabbed it as they shuffled across the floor keeping their heads low to the ground.
“The window?” Hanna asked.
“Yup,” Alex said, voice surprisingly casual.
“There’s two of ‘em!”
This was so not good.
Alex stood, then ducked a gunshot as the man aimed straight for his gut. Luckily, Alex was a wee bit quicker than the human was. A bullet would still hurt like a son of a bitch and could easily slow them down when they needed to move quickly.
He managed to open the window before deftly sliding back to her. He grabbed a backpack from near the desk and shouldered it. “Ready? Drop down and wait for me. If I don’t make it down, get to a truck parked out back. Here’s the keys.” He dropped a keychain into her palm.
“How’d you get keys to a truck?”
“Found them in the desk. So long as it runs, I don’t care.”
PUH-POW!
Two more gun shots unloaded, buckshot, pings of metals shrapnel crashed into the wall above their heads, littered them in a cloud of gunpowder and dust. Hanna about shat herself. Very unprincess like.
“We’re gonna hurry, ok?” he said.
“Yup!” She nodded rapidly.
“Ah, ha, look here. We got two ripe ones for the picking!”
Hanna glanced over her shoulder. Big mistake. Two heavy-set men were kicking at the busted door. It was broken enough in parts, that they were beginning to work the door open. Then, there would be no holding them back.
“Hanna, go!” Alex shoved her out the window. “Now, now, now!” he chanted, pushing her out. She fell for a moment before hitting a pile of snow. It cushioned her fall.
She stumbled to her feet and looked up, waiting for Alex to drop down.
Another gun shot. The screech of the desk being shoved across the door. Her heart sank. Goddamn, they were getting inside.
“Alex!” she shouted.
The sounds of fist fighting. Flesh striking flesh, rhythmically. Grunts of pain. Another gunshot, all she could see was the flashing red of light, then a cloud of smoke.
Please be okay.
Hanna was about to run around the building to slip back inside and help him, but then she saw him. Alex’s legs came out, one by one, rather slowly even. Then he dropped down, landed in the snow, and stood wiping the dust off him. He didn’t appear to have a care in the world.
“What is wrong with you?” she hissed, jabbing him with her finger.
He smirked, mouth twitching with a smile. He shrugged, then slowly began making his way toward the back of the building.
“Hello, shouldn’t we, you know, hurry?” she said.
Another shrug. “Not anymore, princess. I took care of it.”
She gave him a pensive look. “You took care of it? Please tell me what that means. And, please, can we drop the princess title? I am done with it.”
He gave her a teasing look. “I thought you liked being called princess?”
“Since when?” She looked around the snowy, empty, terrain for someone to smack her over the head. “What kind of conversation are we even having right now? Because this is insane. You haven’t even told me what happened up there.”
“What happened up there?” He talked as they walked. Like two friends out for a subdivision stroll after a peaceful dinner of Hamburger Helper. “And will you please stop acting like your James freaking Bond?”
“I just...re-negotiated the situation.” He kicked up some gravel from the back lot. “There’s our truck.”
“That rusty, dented train wreck, you mean?”
He sent her a cheerful smile. “Oui, that’s exactly what I mean.”
She smothered her ears with her gloves. “Please don’t speak French to me. If I never hear it again, I’ll be a happy woman.”
“You mean a happy princess,” he corrected. Hanna glared at him until he held his hands up. “Alright, alright, retract thine claws, Princess--I mean, Hanna.”
Alex tossed the keys up into the air, whistling a spry tune. He caught them, then tossed them up into the air again. Hanna stared at Alex as if she was seeing a ghost. Who was this man? This was not the Alex Thompson she knew. This Alex was...fun and exciting and weird. Well, he’d been those things before.
Alex must come from a nefarious past. He could pick locks of all kinds, swiftly and with familiarity. He seemed trained for handling violence and difficult situations. He stayed calm under tremendous stress and he made mistakes, which told her he didn’t do these activities quite that often. But, still too much for anyone’s good.
“I’m on to you, Alex Thompson. I’m figuring you out.”
“I doubt that, sweetheart. Now get in the truck.” He opened the door, then swung inside and tossed up the lock for the passenger side. Hanna hopped into the cold truck, kicking away old fast-food wrappers and soda containers from the floorboard. The faux-leather interior was torn in places revealing the yellow, spongey foam beneath. “‘Sweetheart’. You know, it just doesn’t have the same ring to it as ‘princess’ does. Don’t know why you can’t take a compliment when a man sends ya one.”
“Somehow I don’t think it’s a compliment.”
The truck clicked when he turned the key--nothing happening. Alex worked the gas pedal, wiggled the key, then the truck rattled as the engine kicked over and roared to life, spewing black smoke from the exhaust.
Hanna shook her head, flummoxed at all of this. She had no clue where they were, the wound on her back didn’t hurt so badly, but bending stretched it open. At least it would heal quickly with her lykaen blood.
The truck stalled, Alex cranked and yanked and worked the old beast back into gear. Finally, the vehicle shook side to side as it trudged along, puttering. Hanna put on her seatbelt and held on for dear life. Off they went, at a rather alarmingly speed. Hanna’s eyes widened a significant amount.
She continued with their previous conversation. “Besides, I’m not a princess. Being sister to an alpha hardly makes me any different.”
He gave her a look of disbelief, taking his eyes off the road long enough to make her cry out and reach blindingly forward.
“Relax, I got this.” His eyes went back to the road which was snow-covered, and in need of a good plow. So, you wanna know why I’ve been acting so strange, as you put it?”
Hanna blinked. “What? Well, yes, I suppose. Hell, you’re still acting strange so...what’s up? Did you...did you kill those men back there?” She held her breath.
And Alex burst out laughing. “Hell no, I didn’t. Just knocked out a few teeth.” He shrugged.
Hanna’s jaw dropped at how easily he said that. “You just knocked out a few teeth? Oh, okay.” She shrugged like he had but couldn’t stop from feeling irrational about this.
“Well there’s that and the fact that Xavier and his Justicars are right behind us.”
Hanna paled. Slowly, her head swiveled to look through the glass partition behind her. What she saw didn’t even terrify her, but simply made her want to move faster. Xavier and dozens of Justicars in full uniform, weapons drawn, some on horseback, others on snowmobiles or driving military-style SUVS were pulling into the back of the sporting good’s store.
“Shit! What are we going to do? They found us already!”
“We’re going to run away of course. And let this old thing do all the running for us.” He patted the dashboard, grinning.
“You’ve gone mad, haven’t you? Did you get hit by a bullet? Have you lost a significant amount of blood? Because you’re acting freaking crazy.”
“Nah,” he said. “Besides they haven’t spotted us yet. We got about, I’d say, sixty seconds on them. We were out of ther
e before they ever saw us. Maybe we’ll get lucky and get away.” He patted her knee, making her jump out of her skin.
“What do you mean? Maybe doesn’t sound so good. What happens if we don’t get lucky?”
He winced. “Well, that wouldn’t be so pretty would it? Now, shush. I’m driving the getaway car here. Oh, and takes this.” Something heavy and metal plopped into her lap. Hanna looked down and felt her eyes bulge.
“A gun?”
“Yup. Shoot to kill, princess. Can you remember that?”
“Of course I can,” she said haughtily, sniffing at the air. She could damn well use a gun, Gavin and Jo had trained her themselves. She had a great long-range shot with a rifle.
“Spoken with the attitude of--- ”
“Don’t tell me,” she snapped. “A princess?”
The back window crashed in an burst. Hanna, becoming used to this violence, didn’t even scream but immediately ducked for cover. Alex grinned at her as he hunched down and punched the pedal to the metal.
“Gotta love the thrill!”
Nope. Hanna disagreed. She certainly did not love any of this.
* * * * *
He hated this cold. He hated this fucking snow.
Wet, nasty shit if you asked him.
Xavier followed the soldier leading him into the human sporting good’s store. He was led past the carnage that had taken place only minutes before his arrival.
A managerial office seemed to be where the brunt of the confrontation took place. The door was blasted open and glass littered the floor. Xavier kicked shards away so as not to walk on the glass slivers. He didn’t need to be bent over his boots later with tweezers plucking little glass slivers from his boots. Ha! As if he’d be the one to clean his own boots, at least he was saving some servant the extra work. See, he wasn’t such a bad guy after all.
