She searched his gaze, seeming to think the truth lay in his eyes, but she wouldn’t find it there. Hell, he barely knew it.
With a short nod, she stepped away from him and reached for one of the guns.
Disappointment swelled inside him that she was so easily convinced. Which was stupid. That’s what he wanted. He needed her to keep her guard up against him.
“First thing I’m going to teach you how to do is load the gun…”
He trailed off in surprise as she grabbed the clip, deftly popped it in the chamber, and then turned to aim at the target he’d set up minutes ago.
He cleared his throat. “Okay, you seem to have that down. Why don’t you let me show you how to hold the weapon properly—”
She pulled the trigger and fired shot after shot, easily hitting and knocking down the seven soda cans he’d lined up.
Dismay kept him silent long after the echoing gunshots faded.
Sage set the gun back on the table and folded her arms across her chest. “How was that?”
“Pretty fucking good, actually.” He met her stare. “Looks like your brother taught you how to shoot after all.”
“Of course he did. I missed any vital part of you on purpose this morning, Nate.” She tilted her head and flashed him a hard smile. “If I’d wanted to put a bullet in your heart, you wouldn’t be standing here right now.”
Looking at the obliterated cans again, he muttered, “Apparently.”
“Now back to what you were saying. I’m not sure why you don’t trust yourself with me. You’ve slept with me in every context of the phrase. What sparked this new I’m dangerous theme?”
Learning about a handful of dead women that he may or may not have killed. He couldn’t tell her that, though.
“Sleeping with you will have to stop. I won’t let myself be alone with you at night. Maybe not at all.”
She made a murmur of disbelief. “You’re alone with me now.”
“Yeah, well you’ve got a Glock within reach and clearly know how to use it.” He picked up the gun and extra clip. “Let’s head back inside.”
But she made no move to follow. Instead folded her arms across her chest and looked at the ground.
“Actually, I need a couple minutes to myself.” She bit her lip. “Well, maybe even a couple of hours.”
He stilled. “You want us to leave the house?”
“No. Not at all. Stay with the Donovans, do whatever sort of investigating you need to do, and I’ll just go for a walk.”
Something about the request didn’t sit well with him. It was stupid, because he wasn’t holding her hostage.
Not anymore.
“You’ll be safe?”
“Of course. That mountain lion thing was a total fluke. I ran too far away from civilization and was taken off guard.” She paused and gave a small shrug. “Nate, I know this area like the back of my hand. I’m not going to get into any trouble, and if it makes you feel better I’ll bring the gun.”
“I’d prefer if you did.”
She lifted her gaze to his again, and all he saw there was steadfast resolve.
“It’s actually pretty normal for me to walk an hour every day. I use the time to think. Plot out my books. Decompress.”
“Understood.” He wouldn’t stop her. He’d been striving to gain her trust—had offered her the chance to leave before—so why was instinct telling him to stop her now? “If you’re not back in a couple hours though, I will worry.”
“I know.” A smile played around her mouth.
“And I will come find you.”
“I know that too.” She took a step toward him and reached out to touch his chest, smoothing her hands over it.
The feel of her fingers, delicate and soft, tracing his bare muscles had a shudder of need ripping through him. Why the hell did he respond so easily to her?
Why, when the darkness threatened to rise up inside him again, did he seek her out? In just a few short days, she’d become his anchor. Maybe against her will at first, but now, clearly willing.
“You don’t need to worry about seducing me to gain my support. You have it. Though you’re welcome to try that seducing thing again tonight—in fact I encourage it.” She gave a soft, suggestive laugh and then stood on her tiptoes to press a light kiss to his mouth. “I trust you, Nate, and you should trust yourself. You won’t harm me.
This woman was incredible. He watched her turn and grab the gun from the table, then stride off into the woods.
Don’t let her go.
He ignored the paranoid voice in his head and went back inside the house to join the Donovans.
Chapter Seventeen
The mass of trees held the sunlight prisoner, but Sage didn’t mind the shade it offered.
It wasn’t overly hot out, but having been shooting—not to mention kissing Nate—her body temperature had risen up a little.
The silence of the walk was a familiar comfort. The warm, clean air that came with this part of the hills.
The farther down the hill she went, the less trees there were and the land became more dry and filled with rock and dirt. She liked the dry, rugged heat but she’d deliberately picked her home in a spot that was closer to Yosemite Park than Fresno.
Trees called to her. They always had. Her pack had to be careful in the warmer areas. They needed the trees to blend in if they were going to run in wolf form.
Her thoughts returned to Nate and she bit back a sigh as butterflies fluttered to life in her belly. Was she completely out of her mind? And how often had she asked herself that question since he’d barged into her life?
But her theory on trusting her gut kept her from walking away. Seeing how much faith Warrick and Sienna had in their alpha only reassured Sage that she was making the right choices.
How long before her brother forced her into a mating? A year? Two at most? This was her chance to explore passion. Both in the bedroom sexually, and out of it as she fought passionately to help prove Nate’s innocence.
And it helped having the Donovans here to take on that cause…
She stiffened at the sudden rush of footsteps behind her, before spinning and lifting the gun. It was quickly wrestled from her hand as a hand closed over her mouth to smother her scream.
“Don’t scream, it’s just me, Sagey.”
The panic inside her died instantly at the sight of her brother standing in front of her. Unease quickly replaced it, though. What was he doing out here?
He lifted his hand from her mouth.
“Jim, you scared the crap out of me.”
“Shh. Not too loud.” His gaze darted past her to something behind her.
She turned and saw a couple other guys from their pack approaching. One familiar and not exactly a welcome sight.
Her stomach sank and she glanced back at her brother.
“What’s going on?”
“We’re getting you out of here.”
“Excuse me?” Her voice rose sharply and she took a step away from him. “I need to get back—”
“You’re not going back, Sage.” He nodded at one of the guys behind her.
Gus. He was big, burly, the beta of the pack and—if her brother had his way—her future mate.
“Grab her and let’s get out of here.”
His words sunk in too late as Gus swung her up into his arms, placing a palm firmly over her mouth like a lid on a teapot.
No. Dammit, she couldn’t let him take her away from here. And the only reason she could imagine him having hauled away like a sack of flour, was if he knew about Nate.
Crap. Her heart thudded and she drew in a nervous breath. Having a gun had been useless—she couldn’t very well shoot her brother, even if he hadn’t knocked the gun from her hand.
They took another route out of the woods, to a side road where an SUV was parked. It wasn’t even a minute before they had her in the backseat with Gus and were speeding away from her house.
“Are you going to tell me wh
at’s going on?” she asked tersely, because playing dumb was about her only plan at this point.
“You know exactly what’s going on, Sage.” Her brother met her gaze in the rearview. “I knew something was wrong when you answered the door this morning. I sensed the presence of another alpha.”
Of course. How could she be so stupid? If Nate had picked up on the fact that her brother was an alpha, her brother—though he hadn’t seen Nate—must’ve sensed that there was one nearby as well.
“You weren’t acting right,” Jim continued. “But I couldn’t put my finger on it. Couldn’t figure out why I would sense another alpha. I figured I must’ve been imagining things, because I’m the only alpha in this part of California.”
She held her tongue. Refused to confirm anything.
“And then I got home and this little bulletin pops up in my email. All about some alpha up in Seattle who just murdered a shit ton of people and was spotted in Central California.”
“He’s innocent!” Her plan to deny everything ended when the words exploded from her like a verbal missile.
“Shit.” Jim smashed his palm against the steering wheel and let out a string of violent curses. “He’s not innocent, Sage. And now I have to wonder just what the hell he did to you to get you to trust him.”
From beside her, Gus gave a grunt of agreement. When she glanced at him, his expression was sour with resentment. Clearly he didn’t like the idea of someone else touching his future property.
I’m not yours yet, asshole.
She wouldn’t say a word about how close she and Nate had gotten. Not one single word. Because if she even hinted what had gone on in the past few days, Nathan was a dead man.
Maybe her silence made it worse, though. Jim made a low growl, and then shook his head.
“I swear I’m going to enjoy watching him be executed. If I don’t kill him myself.”
She curled her fingers into fists and forced herself to not acknowledge that last statement.
Nate. Oh God, she had to warn him. Had to find a way to tell him and the Donovans to get the hell out of here and quick.
“Did you turn him in?” She could barely get the words past her dry throat.
“No. Not yet. My first priority was getting you out of there safe.” Jim’s hands tightened around the steering wheel. “We’ll call the P.I.A. when we get back to my house.”
She had minutes. Literally minutes before Nate’s location was revealed to the authorities.
Sweat broke out on the back of her neck and she drew in a ragged breath.
“You don’t know him. You don’t know the entire story.”
“And guess what?” Jim snarled. “You only know the lies he fed to you, sis. I told you it was a bad idea to let you move out there alone.”
“Oh jeez. Not this again. I’m an adult. A grown woman for God’s sake.”
“You’re the sister of an alpha and too damn trusting for your own good.”
She ground her teeth together, refusing to get caught up in this degrading conversation again with his little goon sidekicks listening in.
They arrived at her brother’s house not even ten minutes later.
Gus stopped abruptly in the foyer, and she had no choice but to stop walking or risk dislocating her arm.
“Did you sleep with him?” He glared down at her, his bushy brows drawn together in a scowl.
Irritation flashed through her, and she jerked her arm away from him. “That is none of your damn business, Gus.”
“I’m making it my—”
“Gus! Bring her in here dammit.”
Gus’s scowl deepened at her brother’s terse order, but he obeyed and jerked his head toward the living room.
“Go. I’ll deal with you later.”
She was about to deal with him by driving her foot into his balls. God. This was the aspect of shifter life she hated. How horribly the women were treated—like they were a piece of damn property.
Sage strode past him and down the hallway that led to the living room, and when she arrived she was face to face with a man and woman waiting in the entryway.
She glanced sharply at her brother. “Who are they?”
“Let me introduce myself.” The woman stepped forward, a sympathetic smile on her face. “My name is Jocelyn Feloray, and this is my associate Frank.”
Jocelyn. That name— Oh holy crap, this was the woman Nate had been referring to.
The woman certainly didn’t look like an evil bitch. Tall, slender and with dark glossy hair and blue eyes—she was actually rather stunning.
Sage turned her attention to the guy to size him up. Combination geek and jock came to mind. Tall, thin and yet clearly toned, he wore starched slacks and a sweater vest over a button-up shirt. Beneath black-rimmed glasses, hazel eyes watched her with an intensity that had her sliding her gaze away with unease.
“Great, now that you’ve introduced yourself, care to inform me what you’re doing here?”
Jim gave her a light smack on the arm. “Have some manners, Sage.”
“We’ve been putting out feelers in the area in an attempt to locate Nathan Larson. Your brother notified us this morning that he suspected Agent Larson might be holding you hostage.”
“I’m not his hostage.” Sage flashed a hard smile. “And I wish I could say it was a pleasure, Ms. Feloray, but I’d be lying. I’ve heard enough about you to know better.”
Behind her she heard her brother mutter a curse under his breath.
“Agent Larson is quite the charmer. I’m not the least bit surprised to hear you’re under his spell.” Jocelyn waved her hand when Sage opened her mouth to deliver a blistering response. “Let’s save this discussion for after.”
“After what?” Sage ground out.
“After you’ve seen this.” Jim stepped forward to stand before his flat screen TV, a remote in hand. He hit a button that forwarded through some kind of video footage.
He hit Pause and then turned to face her.
“Clearly nothing we say will convince you that Nathan Larson is guilty, but maybe this will help lift the veil from your eyes.”
Without looking away from her he hit play on the DVD and the screen came to life.
Sage’s gaze was drawn instantly to the horrific scene on film.
Complete chaos as women, children and men scattered around a small neighborhood in a wooded area. A black shape—clearly a wolf—lunged after them. He was so quick, he was almost a blur, but being a shifter made it easier to recognize what it was.
Blood splattered against the camera lens, obscuring part of the view. Even still she was able to make out the wolf with the reddish tint to its fur—from blood?—as she stumbled into the chaos.
The female wolf stood there, watching a little boy as he ran across the street. Clearly he was crying and screaming—though this video had no audio.
The red wolf moved forward, but had barely taken a step before the black wolf lunged from off camera and knocked her down.
What happened next had bile rising in Sage’s throat.
He’d killed her. Nate had brutally murdered that woman. She hadn’t wanted to believe he’d been the wolf to sink his teeth into her neck and rip through her artery, leaving her dead within seconds.
But then he’d shifted. His black fur had receded and Nate had stood in human form, looking wild and savage, and perfectly identifiable on the film footage.
His gaze had lifted, looked beyond the camera. And he’d seen something that had made shock and apprehension flicker across his face, before he’d spun, shifted again, and disappeared into the woods.
The screen paused. “That was Nathan Larson—as you can clearly see—attacking the pack, and then clear as day murdering his fiancée.”
The only reply Sage had was about to come flying up from her stomach. She pushed past them all and ran to the bathroom, where she promptly got sick.
A moment later she flushed the toilet and then washed her unsteady hands. She rinsed
her mouth, splashed cool water on her face, but nothing was stopping the mix of hot and cold sweat that gathered on her neck.
Oh God. She’d been so wrong. So horribly wrong about Nate. How had she even convinced herself he was innocent?
How had she ever thought it a good idea to sleep with a man who’d basically held her hostage? Who was guilty of murder.
How could she have helped him? Hidden him?
He’d killed an entire village and then blamed it on his fiancée. The fucking bastard.
Unless…the injection.
The memory of their conversation raced through her head, and she stilled. Lifting her head, she stared at her image in the mirror.
Nate had said there were moments that were hazy. What if he truly believed himself to be innocent, because he simply couldn’t remember?
It certainly made sense. Would explain the fierce determination to prove his innocence.
“Sagey. You okay?” Her brother’s voice was followed by the sharp knock on the door.
She left the bathroom, but couldn’t meet the eyes of the group waiting for her. Shame had taken hold and right now she could barely look herself in the eyes.
And the amusement she was sensing from Jocelyn only made her more nauseous.
“Where did you get the video?” she asked, amazed how steady her voice was.
“I provided it. It’s surveillance footage that’s based in the neighborhood. Not that it should matter the origination for the video—it speaks for itself, don’t you think?”
It did. It really did.
Sage stared at Jocelyn—hating the smug expression on the woman’s face. “Why are you here? What do you get out of this?”
“The pleasure in seeing a mass murderer caught and brought to justice.”
“Shouldn’t that be up to the P.I.A.?”
The other woman’s smile hardened. “Let’s just say I’m personally motivated.”
“Nate said something about being injected with a drug that made him a little crazy. Violent.” Sage watched Jocelyn closely. “You wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?”
Savage Revenge Page 15
