"What chance does that sports car have against this thing?"
As if in answer to his question, Wade felt the truck lurch once more. He lost control as it veered to the left. That bastard hooked his back fender!
"Hold on!” Wade desperately tried to keep the truck from rolling as Brett's Jag rammed the rear wheel well. The Hummer skidded across the lanes of the road and a huge plume of white smoke clouded Wade's vision. Before he knew what had happened, the truck was facing the wrong way at a dead stop.
"Shit!"
Without another thought, Wade stepped on the gas, trying to turn back toward Dallas. Brett's car was banged all to hell and Wade couldn't help but feel a momentary pang of sorrow. That silver Jag must have cost a fortune. But it was obvious Brett was far beyond caring as he bared his teeth through the windshield, trying his hardest to hook Wade's bumper once more.
Keira's eyes were shut tight and she clutched onto her seatbelt for dear life.
"Are you hurt?” Wade bellowed.
She didn't answer, but her lips moved silently. Was she praying? She wasn't bleeding—that's all that mattered right now.
Once the Hummer was clear of the Jag, Wade stepped on the gas, leaving Brett in the dust. But he should have known that damned cheetah wouldn't leave well enough alone. A few seconds later, his twisted Jag once again sidled up next to the truck.
"I've had enough of this shit,” Wade said under his breath. Instead of trying to outrun Brett, he began to drive on the offensive, using the Hummer's size to his advantage. It only took one good hit and Brett lost control, veering sharply into the grass median. He apparently turned his wheels too far and the car rolled violently. One of its doors flew off, landing in the oncoming lanes.
"Oh my God, we killed him!” Keira was panting hard and Wade wondered if she was hyperventilating.
"We didn't kill him. Breathe into your hands."
"What?"
"Breathe into your hands!"
Amazingly, she did as he said. He gazed in the side view mirror and cursed foully. A sleek, yellow cheetah leapt from the wreckage of the Jag, running before his feet even hit the ground.
"What the hell is that?” Keira screamed.
"It's a cheetah, Keira. Brett is a cheetah!"
Wade looked at his speedometer. Only fifty miles an hour. Not good enough, damn it! He tried to make the truck go faster, but it suddenly sputtered and his nerve-endings screamed in shock.
"Mother fu—"
"Wade? What's wrong? Why aren't we moving? Oh God, it's gaining on us. Go faster!"
"I'm trying.” Sparing the gauges another glance, he noticed the needle of the gas gauge hanging right on ‘E'. With another look in the side view mirror, all he could see was a yellow blur running faster than any creature had a right to run.
"Jesus Christ,” he hissed. Fear dug its claws into him for the first time since he'd confronted Sean. Brett wasn't going to have any mercy.
The truck slowed to forty-five, then forty miles an hour.
Brett sped up, running next to the truck, only to sprint in front of it on the road. In a move that shocked the shit out of Wade, the cheetah turned on the asphalt and leapt at the Hummer, landing on the hood.
Keira screeched at the top of her lungs as Wade tried his hardest to dislodge him by swerving across every lane of traffic. But Brett had shifted back to his human state and he held on to the windshield wipers with a vengeance. Wade growled, narrowed his eyes, and did the only thing he could think to do.
He slammed on the brakes.
Eleven
The truck skidded to a stop and Keira watched as Brett flew off the hood onto the road. She swallowed a scream when the Hummer was rear-ended from behind. Wade yelled something but she wasn't paying attention. It wasn't until he climbed out of his seat, frantically pulling on her seatbelt that she understood.
"Keira, we're out of gas. Get this damn thing off!"
With trembling fingers, she unbuckled herself and cried out when Wade grasped her arm.
"Let's go. Now!"
He pushed her toward the back doors and threw them open with such force, they banged on the back of the Hummer. Without stopping, he jumped down onto the hood of the car behind them and pulled her down as well.
"What are you doing?"
"Trust me, lady. Do not argue!"
Wade hopped off the hood and let go of her hand long enough to rip open the driver side door. He yanked out the man who was behind the wheel. The man only protested for a moment before screeching at the top of his lungs at something over Wade's shoulder. Keira turned to look.
There, at the front of the Hummer, was the cheetah, snarling and favoring one of his hind legs. She felt her heart in her throat at the look on the animal's face. She remembered watching it turn into Brett on the hood. Brett was the cheetah? None of this made any goddamn sense!
"Get in!"
Wade took hold of her shoulders and shoved her into the green sedan. Keira fell against the emergency brake and hurt her fingers, but that didn't stop her from scrambling into the passenger seat. As quick as a flash, Wade jumped in behind her, putting the car into reverse before the door was even shut behind him.
The cheetah tried to catch them, but it fell onto the ground with what looked like a howl of pain. Once Wade was clear of the truck, he slammed the car in drive and rocketed down the road, not even glancing in the rearview mirror.
"I think we broke his leg. That ought to hold him for a little while."
Keira held her right hand to her chest and felt like she was going to puke. Taking deep breaths, she suppressed the urge as best she could. Her thoughts were running a mile a minute and she couldn't fathom all she'd seen. A cheetah had jumped onto the hood of their truck and somehow changed into Brett, a man she'd seen many times with her father.
Dear God.
"Are you all right? Are you hurt?"
Wade glanced at her, apparently noticing the way she favored her hand.
"I ... I hurt my fingers wh-when I ... when I climbed in.” Reaching up to smooth her hair, Keira couldn't stop the shudders ripping through her body.
"Let me see."
"But you're driving."
"Let me see, damn it!"
Keira knew he was still pumped after what had just happened. Hell, she was too. Holding out her hand, she let him inspect it while he drove erratically.
"Nothing looks broken. I think you just sprained them. I didn't know Brett was so friggin’ close to us. I'm sorry you had to be subject to that. He won't hurt you. I'm sure the old man gave him strict orders to bring you back unharmed. Me, on the other hand, I'm not so sure about anymore."
"What the hell was that?” she asked after a few moments of silence. “You said it was Brett, but it was a cheetah."
Wade took a deep breath and ran his fingers brutally through his hair. “Brett's a shifter, Keira. He was merged with a cheetah and he's damn good at what B*E*A*S*T* engineered him to be. That's why Covington chose him to be his personal body guard."
Realization hit Keira in full force. Brett was a shifter? That's what a shifter could do?
"Oh my God."
"Keira—"
"You can do that, too, can't you? You're a shifter, just like he is. Except you're a cougar.” A long, uncomfortable silence stretched between them as Keira's skin pebbled with goose bumps.
"Yes,” was all he said.
She glanced at him, noticing his glassy eyes. A muscle ticked in his jaw while his nose flared, as if he was trying his hardest not to cry in front of her again. Without knowing what else to do, Keira bit her lip while shivering uncontrollably.
"Wade?"
"I ... I don't know if I can take you all the way to Dallas,” he said, his voice wavering. “In fact, it might be best if I let you go in the next town we come to."
"I don't want to go back. Not after what I just saw. Holy shit, if my father is making men who can ... become monsters, I don't want to have anything further to do with him."
"If you don't go, Keira, he'll hunt you down. Believe me, I know. You have to go back. He wouldn't hurt you."
"I'm not so sure,” she said under her breath. Wade looked at her sharply.
"What do you mean by that?"
"Let's just say my father was fond of spanking, smacking and all-around general nastiness after my mother died. He and I are not on the best of terms, even though I put on a fake front for the media."
Wade's eyes widened. “He hit you?"
Keira nodded and looked away. “With his hands, his belt, anything he had handy. Even when I was in high school."
Did Wade just growl?
She glanced back at him only to see his eyes flash at her. Now that she knew exactly what he was capable of, an intense terror flooded through her veins. Wade was a monster, just like Brett. He'd been trying to tell her all this time, but she hadn't believed him.
He shook his head as if deeply regretting something. “Damn it."
"Wh-what?"
"I was hoping it would have taken you longer to end up hating me."
* * * *
The engine of the Honda Accord they'd stolen droned on. Wade tried hard to stifle the sadness in his heart. He was tired of feeling sorry for himself. But there had been a small sliver of hope inside of him that Keira wouldn't push him away. The scent of her fright a few moments ago gave him a clue as to how she felt now, scared and confused. And the fact she hadn't spoken for long minutes made him realize he'd just lost whatever feelings she had for him.
His gut twisted inside of him as he gasped for breath, barely able to hold back the creature roaring inside of him. He wanted to disappear into the hills, never to be seen again. Maybe that's what he'd do. He'd drop Keira off in some random town and leave her behind to go lick his wounds in the wilderness.
He needed to be alone, to think about his life and what to do next. And regret the day he'd ever met Keira Covington. Wade knew she'd haunt his dreams for the rest of his life, and he'd probably lament ‘what could have been’ for a very long time.
"Wade?"
Her gentle voice cut through his dark thoughts.
"Yeah?” He didn't look at her. He couldn't. It would be like gazing at the sun—painful and intense.
"I don't hate you."
Inwardly, he scoffed. How could she not? He wasn't a man, at least not the kind of man she'd want in her life. He was a mutant, plain and simple.
"Why not?” he asked in a scathing tone. “I hate myself."
Keira sighed. He could see out of the corner of his eye that she'd turned to face him, but he continued to keep his eyes glued to the windshield as he drove.
"That may be,” she told him. “But I don't hate you. You ... are what you are, not because you're some kind of evil villain, but because someone did this to you."
"Your father."
"All right,” she conceded. “My father. He made you a ... a shifter.” Her voice wavered and she rubbed her arms. “But that's no fault of yours. I know you're nothing like Brett. You talk big, about taking out your revenge on my father, but I don't think you'll actually do it."
"Well especially not now.” Wade licked his lips before continuing. “All my equipment was in that Hummer. The rifle, ammo, tranqs, heck, even a few vials of the serum were in there. Now, I have nothing."
"What's the serum?"
He felt his skin prickle at her innocent question. He took a deep breath. “The serum is a formula the B*E*A*S*T* scientists came up with to suppress the effects of shifting. If you're in your human state, you cannot shift into your animal. If you're an animal, you cannot return to being human. The effects last for about four hours before wearing off. It can come in quite handy when you're dealing with another shifter whose out for your blood. Noah used it with Tam, and I think Rogan said he'd used it on Sean."
"Who are Tam and Sean?” Keira's scent turned guarded.
"They were the assholes B*E*A*S*T* sent to kill Noah and Rogan. They were shifters themselves. Tam was a black panther. Sean was a Kodiak grizzly."
Wade heard her swallow hard.
"Don't worry about them,” he said in a softer tone. “They're both dead."
"And now Brett's after you.” It wasn't a question, more a statement of fact. Wade nodded.
"For whatever reason, Covington doesn't want me killed. He commissioned Sean to capture me and kill Rogan. Well, Sean did capture me, but I was able to escape. We stole Sean's cell phone and your father called and left a message on his voice mail, just like I told you before. He wanted to make sure I wasn't harmed.
"But now that I've kidnapped you, I think all bets are off. Brett wasn't trying to push me off the road or get me to stop. I think he was trying to cause an accident. Maybe your father has had a change of heart."
"But that accident would have involved me, too,” Keira pointed out.
"Injuring you is apparently the price your father is willing to pay to get to me."
She gasped, covering her mouth with her hand. “And you want to take me back to him?"
Wade glanced at her and his heart stopped. Her eyes reflected her fear, but also something else. She truly didn't want to go back. How could he possibly, in good conscience, send her back to the real monster, back to the man who used to beat her into submission? The mere thought made his hackles rise in anger.
Covington would no doubt have a few choice words for her, and perhaps punish her for running away with Wade instead of going quietly with Brett.
No, Keira wouldn't be safe returning to Dallas. She wouldn't be safe on the run with Wade either. But he'd be damned if he'd let Keira fend for herself in the big, wide world. If her father's goons found her when Wade wasn't there to protect her, he shuddered to think of what might happen. Covington had no qualms about abducting men, faking their deaths, and changing their genetic code. Certainly he wouldn't think twice about harming his own daughter.
Wade couldn't let that happen.
"Aren't you going to say something?” She sounded exasperated.
He heaved a deep sigh and shook his head, knowing he was going to regret this.
"You like Oklahoma?"
Twelve
Relief poured through Keira like rushing water. Tears misted in her eyes and she couldn't hold back the smile that spread upon her face at Wade's words.
"I love Oklahoma."
He gave her a half-grin that made her insides jump. Despite that he could change into a cougar at will, he was still damned sexy. She didn't even bother trying to hide her desire. She had no idea how well he could smell it, but she'd be willing to bet he'd still be able to smell her even if she bathed in a vat of flowery perfume.
She chuckled at the thought.
"What's so funny?"
"I'm just thankful you're not taking me back."
"Don't make me regret it,” he said dourly, making a face. “You're not safe in Dallas, but I'm not so sure you're safe with me, either."
Her face suddenly fell as her stomach bottomed out. “You won't leave me in Oklahoma, will you?"
Wade arched a brow and gave her a sidelong glance. “What do you think?"
"I ... I'm sorry. It just sounded like ... like—"
"Keira, you're not safe with me, but you're in even more danger if I leave you to your own devices. Your father's men won't dick around. If he wants them to bring you in, they'll do it. But I can't vouch for your condition when you're returned to him. Christ, I didn't kidnap you, lady ... I saved you."
Keira clasped her hands together on her lap so tightly, her knuckles went white. “Thank you."
He looked at her sharply. “For what?"
"For saving me. For opening my eyes and showing me what a horrible man my father really is. I knew he was a tyrant. But I didn't know he was a heartless bastard.” She spat the words as if they left a bad taste in her mouth.
Wade flipped on his turn signal and merged onto the junction with the northbound Highway 281. He seemed speechless. His jaw opened and closed a few times bef
ore he said, “You're welcome."
"Where are we headed?"
"I haven't got a clue. But first on our agenda, we need to get hold of a cell phone. I left mine in my other car."
Keira laughed at his off-the-wall comment. “Your other car?” The tension melted away as she giggled. Wade's mouth curved upward before he, too, chuckled. Soon, she was wiping tears of mirth from her cheeks and gazing out her window. But as the silliness faded, a dark cloud settled on her heart. She was on the run, just like Wade, from her very own father. What sense did that make?
None at all.
But hell, seeing a grown man shift into a cheetah didn't do much to satisfy her reality check. Even Wade could shift, but thankfully, she hadn't seen him do it. Perhaps she could go on pretending he was a normal man for just a little while longer.
But she sure did like his smile. His eyes crinkled at the corners and lit up his entire face. His teeth were straight and white, and his skin was barely dotted by the shadow of stubble. His beauty stole her breath.
What was to become of her? She had friends, a job, a life back in Dallas. Now here she was, in a stolen car on her way to Oklahoma with a man she wanted to get down and dirty with.
She supposed her situation could be worse.
* * * *
Wade's eyes drooped a couple of hours later as he began to activate the new disposable cell phone they'd bought a little while before in a small town off the highway. For the life of him, he couldn't remember the name of the town, but it didn't matter. Rubbing his eyes, he sighed, and glanced at Keira in the driver's seat. She'd offered to drive and Wade had been more than willing to let her. His eyes were beginning to cross.
"Everything okay?” she asked.
"Yeah, just peachy. Although I'm trying to figure out how the hell Brett got my phone number."
Keira shrugged, but kept her eyes on the road.
The phone gave him a chirp to tell him it was activated. “There we go,” Wade said, smiling.
"So you're going to call your friend Rogan back?"
He nodded. “For all I know, Brett has my cell phone now. I need to tell Rogan to ditch the phone he has and get a new one. Brett will have access to..."
Nature of the B*E*A*S*T* Page 6
