Gasps went up.
“Please, my lord,” she whispered. “Don’t do this. He has always been a valued member of our pack and he is my mate.”
A heavy hand settled on her shoulders and she looked up to see not Joe but the Supreme.
“Come, lass.”
She didn’t think she could bear the pity she saw in his eyes. Rayne turned to look at her mate and saw that Manuel Montoya had moved to his side. A muscle worked in Ringo’s jaw as he stared at her stonily.
“Ready to get out of here, my brother?” he said to Manuel.
“Yeah. Let’s blow this joint.”
“Get out,” Joe growled. “I don’t want to see your faces again.”
Ringo gave her one last look and the coldness in his gaze chilled her. She didn’t believe this. She couldn’t. It wasn’t possible that the man she’d fallen in love with would do anything remotely traitorous. But then Ringo spun away and, with Manuel at his side, left the building.
Standing in the center of the room, feeling shattered and more alone than she’d ever felt in her life, Rayne looked across the crowd and saw pity in the eyes of her friends. People she’d known all of her life, looked away in discomfort. Tears pooled and she jumped slightly when Quinn’s arm went around her. “Come on, honey. Let Martha and me take you home.”
Rayne was mortified as tears began to pour heavily from her eyes. “No. No. I’ll get home on my own.” She poured every ounce of contempt she felt into the look she gave her alpha. “What is wrong with you people?”
Despite Quinn’s protests, she pulled free and dashed through the front door just in time to see the taillights of Ringo’s truck fade into the distance. Desolation crawled up her spine to settle around her heart as she trudged the few blocks toward her shop and the sanctuary to be found there. Aching and suffering from an overload of emotion, she began to run. Her boots weren’t made for it and she stumbled, falling to her knees. No doubt she was scraped to pieces but she felt nothing. Getting up, she continued, not noticing that blood ran in a steady stream down her shins. Rayne could barely see for the tears. She couldn’t breathe.
Oh gods!
Her hands were shaking so badly, she barely got the key in the lock before stumbling through the door. The shop smelled so familiar, so comforting and she needed comfort right now. Woodenly, she locked up behind herself and made it into her apartment in the back. Stripping her clothes as she went, she immediately turned on the shower in the bathroom and stepped under the steamy spray. Mechanically, she scrubbed her face clean and washed her body. When the necessities were done, she leaned back against the wall of the shower and just let it all go. The pain. The loss. How wonderful it would be to be empty of everything right now, to be a machine and not be able to feel this terrible, awful grief.
Her eyes were raw and her throat was sore from sobbing when she went into her dark bedroom and pulled on a pair of shorts and an oversized tee shirt. Wanting nothing more than to just crawl between her sheets, she turned but then cried out when a pair of arms went around her.
“Shh, puta! I’ve got you now!” Selena’s words were whispered in her ear. The she-wolf had been responsible for her and the others being taken weeks ago. She had been there running the show, shamelessly flaunting her crimes in front of the entire town of Cloverfield. She was a menace who wanted nothing but power and glory. Rayne tried to fight her grip but she was no match for the powerful lycan.
Selena laughed at her puny attempts and raised a glistening silver knife. “I’d love to slice that pretty face of yours, chica, but I’d hate to disappoint the fellas.”
“Bitch!”
“So they say. Don’t mess with me, Rayne. I have plans for you—and this time your lover isn’t here to save you.”
Chapter Seven
Ringo and Manuel drove through most of the night until finally weariness pulled at them and they had to stop to catch a few hours of sleep. The utter desolation of the land he traveled through called to Ringo as he topped a rise on the highway. He understood the feeling and had lived it much of his life but never more so than now. Recalling the night before, he gripped the steering wheel, glad that Manuel was dozing over on the passenger side of the truck. He wasn’t in a happy mood, to say the least.
Rayne.
He’d never had anyone go to bat for him like that before. Love for her caught him up, sinking tender talons into his heart. She must hate him now. Last night he’d had to close himself off from her for her own safety and it was the hardest thing he’d ever done. She’d been so open, so giving. Damn it. He’d never known a woman like her and to think he’d had someone like her for just a little while was the greatest gift he’d ever been given. What he really wanted was to take her to his bed and share the ancient consummation ceremony of his people. He wanted to be the lycan to help bring her into a new way of life. He wanted to keep her in his bed forever, tasting her, loving her. Building a future when he’d never been a man who believed he had much of one.
In the glaring light of day, he sent his gaze over the vast land stretching out before him. This stretch of highway was dotted with stone-white hills as far as the eye could see. One might think they were just regular tree-covered hills but that wasn’t the case. Upon closer inspection, the dark green brush allowed glimpses of limestone that had been bleached like dead bones by the sun. Approaching the city of Del Rio, he looked out over Lake Amistad, one of the largest lakes in America. Beautiful, crystalline. The huge body of water was surrounded by a national park and shared its banks with both the United States and Mexico. He wondered idly if Rayne had ever been here.
Oppressive gloom settled over him like a shroud. He was as depressed as hell and he hated it. Reaching over, he nudged Manuel, who slitted his eyes open.
“We here?” Manuel’s voice was gravely from sleep.
“We’re two miles out of Del Rio.”
“What time is it?” Manuel asked on a yawn.
“About noon.”
“Are we gonna drive straight into Mexico? Have you ever been to Acuna?”
Ringo shook his head. “Nope. Never been there. Cactus and Sheriff Dunham have already checked into a hotel just outside Acuna. I gave them a call while you were asleep.”
Manuel sat up straighter and raked his fingers through his black hair. Their shared Hispanic heritage was apparent and would serve to make them more easily accepted by the rogue pack they were to infiltrate. They were the perfect choice for a little rogue hunting deep in the Mexican wilds. “Did Gabe figure out where they are?”
He stared over the hood of the truck and watched heat shimmer in waves off the asphalt pavement. “Yeah. They are out in the middle of nowhere. Camped about ten miles out of Acuna.”
“What’s the plan?”
As they drove through the town of Del Rio, Ringo laid it all out. “The bridge into Mexico is on the other side of town. Shouldn’t have any problem with border guards. We’re American citizens. Tourists come in and out all the time. We’ll go in and meet with Gabe and Cactus and sometime tonight we’ll become actors.”
Manual flashed a quick grin. “Hot damn! An actor! I’d sure as hell like to make the money some of those guys make.”
Ringo snorted. “Yeah, consider this practice for if you decide to switch from cowboying to acting, amigo. We’ve gotta be convincing. This had better work because…well, hell.”
“Because you are risking everything to protect the pack. You risk losing Rayne.”
Silence fell in the cab. A weight the size of Texas settled on his chest. “Already have, my brother.”
“I’m sorry. She’ll forgive you after all this is over.”
“You think?” He laughed, the bitter sound of it grating. “Maybe you didn’t see the look on her face last night. I could’ve ripped her heart out and it wouldn’t have hurt her as much.”
“Did you see the way she bared her neck to Joe?”
“Yeah. Damn woman is something else, isn’t she?”
Late
that night, Ringo and Manuel located the abandoned RV park deep in a wooded area outside Acuna, Mexico. They’d spent much of the afternoon with Cactus and Gabriel, mapping out a plan of action. Cactus spent his days riding the range at the ranch and, as sheriff, Gabriel was often cruising the countryside in his truck. Most likely their absense wouldn’t be noted by anyone.
They were to infiltrate the pack with Ringo challenging to become alpha of this ragtag bunch of assholes. When he and Manuel had them feeling comfy and cozy, they would call in Gabe and Cactus as backup and take the motherfuckers out. They wanted to catch the rogues off guard. Much easier and less dangerous that way.
In a clearing, they spotted a number of old mobile homes and recreational vehicles. Someone had built a campfire that shot orange sparks into the inky black night. In the distance, an owl hooted, lending its song to the creepy atmosphere. Nothing could be more isolated than this spot.
“Camped out like gypsies, aren’t they,” Manuel noted. “Think Selena is with them?”
“Betting on it. Praying for it. And you know I’m not a praying man. I’d like nothing more than to have her throat in my hands.”
Manuel shot him a look, his eyes glittering in the dashboard lights. “I hear ya. I think Gabe’s right. The fact we often shared her should make it easy to gain acceptance into the pack.”
Once Joe McKinnon had made it plain he was done with her, Ringo and Manuel had been her lovers. They’d shared her together and fucked her on a solo basis as well. She hadn’t been picky. For her, it was all about sex and getting off and she wasn’t particular about the man. While they sat there, looking down into the wooded valley, Ringo’s mind began to race but he needed calm for what was planned. They couldn’t slip up and he had to be mentally sharp. Making a decision, he reached for his cell phone and hit Joe’s number on speed dial.
Joe picked up on the third ring. “Ringo. Trouble?”
“Nah. We have a plan. Manuel and I are looking at their encampment right now.”
“Good luck. The sheriff called about an hour ago. He and Cactus are just waiting on the go from you. They are good men to have at your back.”
“The best,” Ringo agreed. “Hey, uh, Joe?”
“Yeah, brother?”
“Any word from Rayne? Has anyone checked on her? After last night I haven’t been able to get her out of my head.”
Joe’s deep sigh rumbled across the speaker. “She’s something else, isn’t she? Damn woman just broke my heart. Quinn has called several times and she’s not picking up. I’m sure she’s all right just licking her wounds.”
Ringo flinched. “Do me a favor?”
“You bet. Name it.”
“Could someone go over to her place to check on her? I’ve been feelin’ really uneasy and I don’t like it. I won’t be satisfied until I know she’s safe.”
“Consider it done, Ringo. I’ll head into town and check on her personally.”
When they disconnected, Manuel gave him a look. “You’re worried.”
Reaching up, Ringo rubbed his head. “Yeah, I’ve got this buzzing in my ears and it won’t go away. We haven’t consummated things between us but I wonder if she’s trying to tell me something telepathically. I’ve never been so connected to anyone before and, I’ll just say, I have an uneasy feeling.”
“Then let’s get this show on the road so you can get back to your woman.”
Ringo started up the truck and drove down the winding dirt roads into the valley where the rogues were encamped. Tension, anticipation hung heavily in the air of the cab. The first thing they noticed was a small band of lycans lounging around the big fire and each and every one stood when Ringo braked to a stop. He and Manuel got out of the truck and approached slowly, their hands in the air.
“We mean you no harm, brothers,” Manuel said as the ragtag group began to radiate aggressiveness. But the word brothers made them stop in their tracks and look at each other. Now at least they knew they were dealing with lycans rather than just your average garden-variety humans.
“Heard you were forming a pack,” Ringo said as they finally made their way to the clearing.
One lycan stepped forward and eyed him warily. “Maybe.”
“We might be interested in joining up. I’m Ringo and this is Manuel. We just got kicked out of our pack because our alpha is too much of a pussy to take me on in a challenge. You hear me on that one, amigos?”
Several of the men grinned, some nodded. Looked like verbally trashing an alpha earned brownie points because pretty soon they were sprawled on the dusty ground talking around the blistering-hot campfire. Ringo watched the group of six men carefully as they seemed to accept Manuel into their confidence.
Acting.
Yeah, Manuel was good at that. He had them eating out of his hands. Ringo could tell they weren’t quite so sure about him. He sensed they were a bunch of beta wolves looking for a leader and Ringo was obviously alpha all the way. “You boys got a leader around here? What happened to your alpha?”
Conversation stopped. Either they were surprised he’d finally bothered to speak or they actually had something to say. Ringo wasn’t sure which. The rogues hesitantly introduced themselves. Nervously they looked at each other until a lycan named Smith got up and reached into a cooler to extract a couple of long-necks. He tossed one to Ringo and popped the top on one for himself.
“Zavalos was his name. Got killed a few weeks ago when we raided a ranch north of here.”
Manuel helped himself to a beer too and started tossing some off to the other men. Ringo knew Manuel was a deadly lycan but he was laying the good-ol’-boy act on as thick as molasses. “Not much of an alpha, if you ask me,” he said before tilting the bottle to his lips.
The other men laughed.
“What’d he raid the ranch for?” Ringo asked when silence returned.
“Women, man! We need us some women.”
“Yeah,” another chimed in. “Can’t have a real pack without some unmated females.”
Ringo sent his gaze slowly over the group. “Got that right. You mean to tell me there’s not a bit of pussy to be had around here?”
The men laughed at the crude joke. One of the men stood to stretch his legs and walked over to the nearest battered RV and leaned back against it. “Getting human women is pretty easy. We just head into a town and wait for the bars to close. Not hard finding someone drunk enough to not put up much of a fight.”
Another guy laughed loudly. “Hell, I want ’em fighting. Fucking and fighting.”
Ringo stiffened. Reports of attacks on human women were plentiful and he had a pretty good idea these guys didn’t wait for a woman to say yes. They took what they wanted, when they wanted it and didn’t care about breaking the rules that governed them all.
“We’ve got us one woman though,” The RV leaner said. “Selena.” He spat on the ground near his dusty boot. “She won’t fuck us though. She’s holdin’ out for an alpha and won’t give us the time of day. Snotty bitch! She’s the one who convinced Zavalos there were plenty of women in Cloverfield. She heard about a big shindig at that ranch and so a bunch headed out. Turned into a big mess that got a couple of our men killed.”
Manuel looked over at the man who’d spoken. “What about Zavalos? Was he her lover?”
“Hell yeah, and then he got himself killed. Selena took off for a few days after that and then she showed up talking about revenge. Shit! That woman is plumb scary.”
Ringo took a long pull of his beer. “Is she around?”
“Nah, she’s been gone a few days but she’ll come sneaking back into camp soon. Don’t think she has anywhere else to go.”
He didn’t think so either. Selena had burned her bridges. She’d be feeling a little lost and desperate right about now and desperate people could do outrageous things.
Later that night, he and Manuel were shown to a trailer that had once been occupied by, oddly enough, the lycans he’d killed when saving Rayne weeks ago. There was n
o loyalty in these men. None. They didn’t give a damn two of their brothers had been killed by some unnamed cowboy from the Wolf Creek Ranch. They were only sorry the unmated females had been returned to their families in Cloverfield.
“I think it’s best we don’t mention our connection to Selena right now,” Ringo said, and he gathered up some trash from the old mobile home’s living area. These men were pigs.
“Agreed. When she shows up there will be plenty of explaining to do.” Manuel sat on the couch and removed his boots. “Think she’ll be happy to see us?”
Ringo shrugged. “Who the hell knows what she’ll think? She’ll either want to fuck us or kill us. Doesn’t really matter at this point. She’s a dead woman. No one betrays the pack like that and lives to talk about it.”
“Wonder if anyone questioned who took those rogues out. You know, the ones you killed when you saved Rayne?”
“They would have proof of nothing. We were out in the middle of the damn desert and believe me, I didn’t leave any witnesses.” Finished with the quick cleanup, he sat at a small dinette table. “I think we need to be ready to strike soon after Selena comes back into camp. She might have trouble believing we turned traitor, despite my checkered history. If she doesn’t buy our story, it’ll be an all-out battle, especially when we let her know we’re taking her back to face the music.”
“We have to be ready for anything.”
“Yeah.”
Seconds later the phone rang. Ringo checked the number and gave Manuel a glance. “Joe.”
When his alpha began to speak, he went utterly still as horror churned through his belly. He hung up and turned to his friend. “Selena took Rayne. Stole her from her bedroom right after we left town.”
“Fuck!”
Ringo tossed the cell phone on the table and rubbed his hands over his face. “Joe said Selena’s scent was all over the place.”
“Then Selena will be bringing her here. Hell, Ringo, Rayne can’t even protect herself against that bitch.”
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