by Sam Crescent
This is your chance. Ignore them. Close your mind off. Get to where you need to be.
Travis closed his eyes. The barn was silent except for their breathing and the flick-flick-flick of that match against the bastard’s teeth. He focused so hard a pain jabbed the back of his head, but he pushed on, reaching out to that special place in the shadowy recesses of his mind. He grasped its edges and held on, pulling on it, dragging it towards him until its warm thickness enveloped him. It cosseted, caressed, and spread through him like a shot of fast-downed rye, freeing his limbs from the lethargy that had claimed them. And then his bones minimised, forming those that would knit together with muscle and sinew to create the skeleton and innards of his wolf. A shot of adrenaline ricocheted through his blood, speeding to nerve endings and sparking the energy he’d longed to possess. Hair sprouted, popping through his skin, and his fingernails strained as they changed into claws.
He opened his eyes, thanking the good Lord above that he looked down on his sprawled wolf form. Quietly, filled with vigour and an excess of power, he got up on all fours, adopting the stance to pounce.
Sarah remained staring at Clark.
Clark remained chewing his matchstick from his perch on the barrel.
Travis made a quick-fire decision. He crept around the front of his truck and down the other side so he was closer to Clark. Hoping his paw pads didn’t encounter anything on the floor that would make a noise, he slunk forward one slow, agonising step at a time, and stopped just before the end of his truck bed.
Clark sighed and glanced up at the ceiling, clearly playing at being bored.
Travis sniffed, caught Sarah’s attention. She gave him a wide-eyed stare but kept the gun in place.
Clark lifted both hands to rub his eyes with square-ended fingertips.
Big mistake, fucker.
Travis lunged, leaping through the air at incredible speed and slamming into Clark. Clark toppled sideways, the thud of him hitting the floor a pleasure to Travis’ ears. Travis jumped on top of him, pinning him in place on his back. There was no question of what he was going to do—no question at all.
Praying Sarah had the instinct to look away, Travis lowered his head in a swift-as-fuck movement and filled his mouth with Clark’s neck. The bastard writhed, struck Travis’ back with hard fists and gurgled in protest. Travis bit—hard—and, without even a glimmer of remorse, gave a flick of his head. The click of Clark’s windpipe snapping was almost lost in the louder noise of flesh being ripped free. Travis growled and snarled, hating the taste of the man’s blood on his tongue but continuing just the same.
No one threatened his woman. No one.
Travis flung Clark’s flesh to the side and stepped off him, padding to the barn doorway without a backward glance as Sarah gulped in huge breaths behind him. He’d comfort her as soon as this was really over. He couldn’t give in and go to her now. Although Rodney was a dumb son of a bitch, he was still dangerous. Travis looked back at Sarah, who glared at Clark’s jerking body then slowly faced Travis.
“Jesus Christ,” she whispered. “You ripped his fucking throat out!”
Travis nodded once, turning away to peek around the door frame. Rodney stood halfway between the barn and the cottage, appearing to try to lift Stephen up to the lip of Travis’ well. The sheriff’s body was having none of it, seeming to push at him, arm swinging by itself, swatting the dimwit on his chest. Rodney struggled on in his usual docile manner, but then abruptly his demeanour changed. He went from buddy-buddy to all-out mean, launching an uppercut to the sheriff’s jaw. Stephen’s head snapped back, and Rodney let him go. The sheriff went down like a sack of shit, his ass meeting the ground with a bone-jarring smack.
“I gotta sort you,” Rodney said. “Now, I tried being nice, and look how ungrateful you were.” He swung back his leg, ready to kick.
Travis had seen enough. He darted forward, reaching the pair within a second. Barrelling his head into Rodney’s back, he sent the man flying. Rodney yelled out a strangled “What the fuck?” before landing face-first in the dirt. Travis held him down, two legs either side of him, and looked to his right at Stephen.
The sheriff was a pitiful sight. Travis shifted quickly, reached for the handcuffs dangling from the man’s belt and secured Rodney’s wrists in metal. Travis glanced around, spying the bucket chain hanging from the underside of the well roof, nodded to himself and yanked Rodney to his feet. He forced Rodney to the well and manacled him to the chain.
Back inside the barn, he checked to see if Clark had stopped moving before he returned to his corner. The man was dead, no doubt about that, and, without any more hesitation, Travis stared out of the barn doorway and whispered to Sarah, “Quickly, while I keep watch in case someone heard the gunshot. In my truck there’s water. A bottle of it in the glove box. The truck’s open. Hurry!”
She didn’t stop to question—halle-goddamn-lujah!—and rushed over to the truck, swinging the door wide and producing the water he needed. He took it, dousing his face, cleaning away the blood that would give him away, then tossed the bottle back through the open truck doorway.
As he lowered to the floor he said, “Close the truck door, honey, then go and get the deputy. Explain what happened. Tell him I’m still groggy.”
She didn’t argue, running out of the barn. He watched her come abreast of Rodney and speak, then look him up and down. She kicked him full force in his bollocks, spitting on him as he jerked around in pain.
She disappeared for a while, returning with the deputy in tow.
“You okay there, buddy?” the deputy asked.
“Yeah, yeah, but he isn’t.” Travis nodded across the way.
The deputy followed his movement. “Jesus H. Christ. That damn wolf sure had a bite on him.”
“Aww, God,” Rodney wailed from outside. “Aww, boss!”
“Oh, give me a damn break,” Sarah shouted back, strutting towards Travis. “He’s where he ought to be—in Hell—and you’ll be joining him if you don’t shut the fuck up!”
“Where did the wolf go?” the deputy asked, eyes going left to right.
“Hell if I know,” Sarah said, hunkering down beside Travis. “All I care about is getting my man some clothes, taking him home where he can recuperate.” She cocked her head and tucked strands of his hair behind his ear. “You okay, wolf boy?” she whispered.
Travis almost laughed but caught himself just in time. Feigning tiredness, he made a song and dance of struggling to stand. “Just let me get some clothes so I can cover my nuts up.”
Sarah put a hand around his waist and he leaned on her for support.
“So why are you naked, anyway?” the deputy asked.
“I was stripped by Rodney last night. Sarah told you that, right?” Travis said.
Rodney wailed again.
“Like I said,” Sarah muttered, “shut the fuck up, Rodney.”
“Let me…” Travis breathed heavily as though tired. “Let me talk to him.”
The deputy stared at Travis. “Two minutes.” He stood over Clark and tugged his radio off his belt.
Travis walked outside with Sarah, leaned close to Rodney, mouth by his ear. “If you so much as breathe a word about me being out at Gordon’s Creek last night—or even out at all—you remember your boss, yeah?”
Travis drew back, his nose inches from the other man’s. Rodney nodded.
“I’ll fucking rip your throat out like that as well.”
* * * *
“So, let me get this right,” the deputy said, pacing up and down Sarah’s living room. “Clark killed Macy Jo and Stephen, Rodney kidnapped Sarah, and he also drugged you? Smacked you on the back of the head then stripped you naked?”
“That’s about the gist of it, yeah,” Travis said, clothed in his well-worn jeans and soft plaid shirt.
“What the hell for?” the deputy asked, frowning deeply.
“No damn clue. Who knows what goes on in the mind of someone like him?” Travis sniffed and
rubbed his jaw.
“And some wolf killed Clark?” The deputy paused in his pacing and stared at Travis and Sarah.
“Yes, I saw it,” Sarah said. “It frightened me to death.” She bit her bottom lip.
“I’ll just bet it did,” the deputy said. “Well, it’s all a bunch of mess and no mistake, but I’ll file the reports and we’ll see what the magistrate says. I can’t see Rodney getting jailed. Diminished responsibility is on the cards, you’ll see. The man’s a jabbering wreck, saying you’re the wolf and you threatened to rip his throat out.”
“Oh, give me strength!” Travis slapped his thigh.
“I know. Crazy is as crazy does, right? The guy’s clearly nuts.”
“Clearly,” Sarah said, pressing a fingertip to her lips.
“Well, I’ll thank you for the tea and be on my way. A lot of paperwork is in my future. It goes without saying that you don’t leave the county until a decision’s been made as to whether Rodney stands trial—not that I think you’ve got anything to do with this in a bad way, of course.”
“Of course.” Travis stood and shook the deputy’s hand. “I’m not going anywhere.” He glanced down at Sarah and caught her soft smile. “I’ve got my woman here to look after and the men to reinstate. We’ve got a ranch to run.”
“Ah, so you’ll be sticking around for a while yet, then?” The deputy nodded to himself as if pleased with what he’d heard.
“Yep. We need to get stuck in and get this place fixed up, and Sarah here’s going to be taking a back seat.”
“She is?”
“I am?”
Travis chuckled. “Damn right you are.” He smiled at her warmly, a glut of love spreading like unruly ivy through his body. “It’s about time you let a man take some weight off your shoulders.”
The deputy cleared his throat. “I’ll, uh, be off then. See myself out.”
Travis waited until he heard the front door close softly then sat beside Sarah.
“Before you protest, honey, just hear me out.”
“Ooh, I could slap you for what you just said. A man taking some of the weight off my shoulders, my ass. Just who do you think you are, Travis Williams?”
“The man who’s going to carry that weight.”
She widened her eyes—eyes that looked a little watery. “Shit, Travis, I…”
“You’re not getting rid of me, Sarah French. No damn way.” He pulled her to him, gliding his fingers through her soft hair and kissing the top of her head. “So, my first order—one you’re going to obey—”
“Obey!” She jerked back. “Why, you cheeky son of a bitch!”
He laughed and kissed her nose. “As I was saying… My first order is that we go and meet with John, see if he needs any help with Macy Jo’s funeral. After that, we’re going to call on every man you employed and ask them to come back—”
“I can do that. I want to do that.” She squeezed his hand tightly.
“All right, that’s fine. You can do that if it makes you happy. And then…”
He paused.
“And then?”
“I’m going to bring you home and take you to bed…for a very long time.”
Chapter Fourteen
John was an emotional wreck, chanting to himself.
“When she didn’t come home I knew something was wrong, Sarah. Even though she stayed out sometimes, I felt it, right here.” He thumped his chest.
Sarah’s heart broke a little bit more to see such a tough man brought to his knees by the terrifying news of the death of his woman and unborn child.
“If you need anything at all, just call me.” Sarah put a reassuring hand over his and squeezed, trying with all her might to give him strength.
He nodded but refused to look at her.
Travis stood behind her, offering her his strength with a hand on her shoulder. They’d figured the news would best be broken by her rather than a total stranger—the deputy had agreed this was the right way to do it.
Sarah wasn’t so sure.
“It was Clark, wasn’t it?” John asked, murder in his eyes.
“How do you know?” she whispered.
“Macy phoned me last night, told me Clark was causing trouble. I fucking hated that prick, even though it looked like we were buddies. It was better that way, made him easier to deal with. If I ever get my hands on him he’ll be fuckin’ dead.”
Sarah knew he would kill him as well. John had been completely devoted to Macy.
“I’m sorry, buddy. A wolf already took care of his useless, lying ass,” Travis said.
Sarah had never felt so much relief to have a scumbag dead. She shivered just remembering Clark’s hands on her and the intention in his eyes. She was so pleased he’d never got the chance to carry out his threats.
“It was too easy. He deserved more pain.” John sighed, his whole body shuddering.
Sarah couldn’t have agreed more, but Clark was dead and gone and he’d left a trail of horror in his wake. Macy Jo would always be missed—her presence had been felt by everyone in town.
Half an hour later, Sarah and Travis left with the promise that John would keep in touch. Sarah may not have liked him all that much, but Macy Jo would have wanted her to make sure he was taken care of.
In the car, Sarah and Travis travelled in silence. Already there was a difference in the people. Sombre expressions and nervousness had spread like wildfire. News and gossip sure did move quickly.
Sarah decided to fill the silence. She couldn’t cope with all the quiet. She liked to hear noise when she was upset—it took her mind off things. “They all know something.”
“How can you be certain?”
“This is a small town and news travels fast. If they don’t know exactly what’s going on, it won’t take them long to figure it out. Macy Jo and Stephen are both dead. They were prominent people. Ones who will be missed.” She stopped, her voice wobbling. It would be hard for the next few months to not think of Macy. Stephen hadn’t always been the best sheriff but he’d tried. She wondered what John would do with the bar.
“I’m sorry about your friends, but please don’t cry.” Travis took one hand from the steering wheel and held hers.
But nothing could stop the hurt inside.
In the moment, she hadn’t had time to assess what had taken place, but now that she could think and process, the tears began. She covered her face with her hands and allowed emotion to swamp her. She heard Travis pull his truck to the side of the road. Rodney had stolen hers when he’d kidnapped her.
“Let me hold you,” he murmured, placing his arms around her shoulders and bringing her closer to him.
Sarah released her sobs, her sadness at losing two people she’d known—one of whom she’d loved.
“I don’t know why I’m crying now, why I didn’t cry at the time,” she said, tears welling further.
He shushed her, rocked her, stroking her hair. She cried and got comfort from his arms.
“You’ve had a lot of shocks today, baby, just let it go. I’ve got you and I’ll never let anyone hurt you.”
His words soothed and calmed, allowing her time to simply mourn. She knew she wouldn’t get over it straight away, but, like everything else in life, you couldn’t take a time-out from living. Bills still needed to be paid.
At least in his arms, for this short period of time, she could just breathe.
“I love you, Travis,” she confessed.
She didn’t expect a matching answer from him, but she’d wanted to tell him for a while now. She couldn’t recall how far back or even when she’d started to love him. All she knew was, when she thought of losing him, she never wanted him to go.
Travis tensed his arms around her, and Sarah jerked back to look at him.
“I didn’t say it for you to say anything,” she said. “I mean, it doesn’t matter if you don’t love me. I just wanted you to know I love you.” She pulled away and stared out of the window. “I’m ready to go and see the men
.”
Drive, please just drive.
Times like this, she wished she could see inside his head. To have a small speck of understanding as to what he was thinking. He brushed her hair out of the way, and Sarah made sure she didn’t respond even if all she wanted to do was lean her cheek against his hand and kiss him.
“Sarah, honey, look at me.”
The large truck suddenly felt small and cold. She shook her head, heard a rustle of movement, then Travis took her face in his hands and turned her, a little by force, to face him. He rubbed each remaining tear from her cheeks and took her lips in a slow, sensual kiss. Sarah was determined not to respond.
Why am I doing this? Why can’t I just stop being so stubborn?
He tilted her head, exposing her neck. She still refused to respond, but the reaction of her body was already creating a path of fire. Butterflies fluttered in her belly. Her nipples budded, the material of her shirt abrading them. Her clit pulsed, juices flooding from her cunt, swamping her panties with cream. She wanted Travis and no matter what she thought about she couldn’t stop him from swamping her with need. Within seconds, she couldn’t fight anymore and gave up to the power of his lips. He moved his hand to the back of her head and sank his fingers in the long strands. She moaned with the force of lust his touch produced, bliss going straight to her core.
She closed her legs, the friction rubbing her nub to delightful heights. Her moan and gasp opened her mouth, and Travis took advantage of her vulnerability. He thrust his tongue between her lips and into her mouth. She tasted him on her tongue and moaned again, the meeting of lips becoming brutal with their onslaught of passion.
She needed him now. She couldn’t wait any longer. Sarah moved her hand over his groin and massaged his stiff shaft. Already he was hot and ready, and heat spread to her palm through the restrictive clothing.
