Bill walked over to the fridge and Maggie came rushing in. He swore the woman had a silent alarm on it. She always knew when he opened it.
“What are you looking for?” she asked. “I don’t know, just seeing what you have,” he said with a smile. He always knew how to get to the woman.
“Now you know I can make you anything you want. All you have to do is ask,” she said with an offended look.
She said the same thing to him every time. “Okay, I’d like some of your famous cookies and cream.”
“That one’s easy. Give me a little bit of time and I’ll have them ready for you,” she said with a smile. Bill was never one to eat a lot of sweets, but he could never get enough of Maggie’s cookies and cream. Nothing else compared. “What’s she doing out there?”
“Running,” Bill said, and sat at the table. “She’s going to run herself to death. I know she has a lot going on, but she can’t keep running away from it.”
“I know, but you know she won’t listen. She’s stubborn. She needs to work this out by herself,” he said with a sigh.
“Maybe you could talk to Paul, maybe see if he can knock some sense into her,” she said with a grin.
It seemed they both knew what Emily’s problem was; they just didn’t know how to help her with it. “I think he’s probably just as bad as she is. He knows he feels something for her, but he won’t do anything about it. At least not for a while. I know his type,” Bill said after a moment.
“You are just like him. You still haven’t talked to Lexi yet, have you?” she said with a knowing smile.
“How did you…?” “I know everything,” she said as she began crumbling up cookies. “No, I haven’t talked to her. She’s too young, too inexperienced. She’s into the club scene and partying. She seems superficial sometimes and I know she’s not deep down. I just want to give her some time to grow up.”
“Just don’t wait too long. She might get scooped up by someone else. From what I’ve heard, she’s a very attractive woman. Someone might think she’s perfect before you think she’s ready. Just keep that in mind,” she said and started stirring something, leaving Bill to his thoughts.
He was attracted to Lexi; he’d give anything for just one night, one kiss. He just didn’t want to hold her back from anything she wanted to do. With his life, it was difficult. He was always involved in some rescue mission or taking down Hunters or helping the local pack. To top it off he ran a bar and was the local shifter emergency doctor. The pack had one, but she was the pack doctor; there were a lot of other shifters in the area. He couldn’t subject Lexi to that life, not while she was so young and wanted to let loose and have fun. It wasn’t fair to either of them. ***
Paul was sitting out on the porch enjoying the cool night. Bill was inside and Emily was running. He was enjoying the peace. Even his guard was inside, watching him from the window, so he had some semblance of privacy. He saw Emily running around outside and couldn’t take his eyes off of her. She would pace back and forth, then crouch down and pounce on something, then start pacing again.
It was something odd to watch and he was surprised to see it. He’d seen Emily run, but he never thought he’d see anything like that. He was so engrossed in watching her movement that he missed it when she turned and looked at him. He must have made a noise and alerted her to his presence.
As she stalked toward him, he became afraid. She was pissed off and coming straight for him. He wasn’t going to run and he wasn’t going to show her he was afraid, but he did feel a little like pissing himself. He never wanted to see that look, at least not directed at him.
*** Emily had heard someone laughing at her from the porch and looked over to see Paul. She never wanted anyone to see her like that. She was embarrassed to be seen like the fool who was playing with leaves, trying to burn off some energy. She wasn’t going to let him know how she felt. Instead, she stalked toward the house with murder in her eyes.
She wasn’t going to hurt him; she just wanted to scare him. She wanted him to know that she was a lethal killer who could rip out his throat and not look back. She could see the fear in his eyes, but he wasn’t budging. She respected him a little more for that. He was willing to face a murderous tiger with no weapons.
When she reached the porch, she let out a hiss, warning him to never tell anyone. Well, she hoped that he would figure out what it meant, because she was not shifting in front of him. She would rather him tell the world what had happened than have him see her naked. She stalked into the house and saw Bill standing in the living room, giving her the evil eye.
“You didn’t have to do that, you know. We all have to get out there and let our animals have some fun, even the big bad killers,” he said sternly.
She nodded and walked upstairs to her room. She wanted a hot bath and a warm bed. She knew she wasn’t going to be getting all that much sleep, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t going to try.
CHAPTER 13
Emily had mixed feelings when Jason showed up the next morning. She hated him. They’d been friends once, but now they didn’t get along. They fought all the time, which was one of the reasons she lived on the East Coast and him on the West. They very rarely saw each other, and Bill only sent them on missions together if he had no other choice. She hated to admit it, but she really needed his help on this one. She was going to be in charge, though. It was her sister; she needed to be the lead on the rescue.
“Paul came up with a brilliant plan, so we don’t have to worry about being headed off early on,” she said, a little frustrated. She knew he wouldn’t like it.
“But I don’t understand. Why can’t we just go after the most likely one and get her? The goal is to get Stacy out. Why not get her out as soon as we can?” he asked.
“Because it would be nice to not get attacked when they figure out the pattern. This way there is no pattern. They have to guess which one we go for next,” she said between gritted teeth.
“But they could guess right and we’ll still have the same problem,” he said. “Jason, listen to me. They won’t be able to figure out where we’re going next. Remember, we have Paul, and he knows Zeke.”
“Yes, but that was what, six months ago. We both know Zeke has never taken a kid before, so this is out of the ordinary. We don’t know if we can rely on his intel.”
“It’s not like I can turn some Hunter into a shifter-lover just to get updated info. We’re doing the best we can with what we have. Zeke was injured last time we saw him, shot in the back from what Paul said, so I don’t think he’s really changed all that much, not if he was that injured,” she retorted.
*** Jason hated seeing Emily like that. She was pale with bags under her eyes. And he’d never seen her so pissed off. He never wanted to see that anger directed at him. She was scary.
He’d never met Stacy, but he wanted to. Having Emily care so much about you was something that took a special person. She didn’t care about anyone, other than Stacy, it seemed.
Jason wondered if she was like Emily, a hard killer, or on her way to being one. It sounded like she was a child, so maybe she wasn’t one… yet.
Looking at her, he tried to picture her as a nice person, someone mothering and kind. It was hard to imagine the hard Emily being kind to anyone, let alone a child. He tried imagining her tucking someone in and all he could do was laugh.
“You are an asshole,” she said when she caught him looking at her. Jason knew how to piss her off and getting under her skin was fun. “Thanks. I love you too,” he said with a smile. He heard a snort and looked down to see Paul trying to hold in a laugh. He was starting to like the guy already.
“Jason, we need to get her back as quickly as we can. We don’t know what they’re doing to her. I want her safe,” Emily said with frustration, but trying to be nice. He could tell she was about to fall apart and he wondered if there was something else. She knew how to handle a bad situation. She was always the one with a cool head, yet here she was almost in tear
s. This was not the Emily he knew.
Paul was enjoying the show. Emily and Jason couldn’t seem to agree on anything. He couldn’t wait to see what would happen if they talked about what type of transportation they would be taking. He actually couldn’t wait to bring up that tidbit of information. Some of the areas they were going to were rough. The only way to get there was on foot or by ATVs.
“Okay, agree to disagree. It’s our only option and Bill likes the idea,” Paul finally said. He really was enjoying it, but they weren’t getting anything done with the arguing.
“Fine,” Emily said. She knew she’d won just because of Bill.
“Fine,” Jason said with a sigh. “Now, some of these compounds are pretty far back into the woods and hard to get into. I know you guys can shift, but since I’m human, I can’t,” Paul said.
“I have some humans on my team also, so we’ll have to figure out a way to get in,” Jason said. Paul looked at him confused. Why would he have humans on a team that helped shifters? “There are humans mated to shifters who are on my team, and some humans just like going in and taking down the bad guys.”
“Oh. Well, anyway, they have access roads for their own people, but there is surveillance. We’d be found out in thirty seconds flat.”
“So we go in the back way,” Emily said simply. “Yes, but there’s no way in the back way, unless you have some large animals the humans can ride.”
“Actually, we do,” Jason said with a smile. “I’m not having anyone ride me,” Emily said angrily. “Well, since Paul’s your prisoner and your special helper, you get him and I’ll figure out my team. We have enough larger shifters – bears, tigers, jaguars – that the humans can catch a ride on, but no more than one passenger because of the weight. Some of them are mates anyway, so I don’t think there’s going to be much of a problem. You’re probably the only one who will have one, Emily,” Jason said to her.
Paul looked over at Emily and saw the look of pure hatred there. But he didn’t care. She wasn’t really mad at him, just the situation. She’d probably never had anyone ride her before, and thought it was demeaning or something. Or she didn’t want a former Hunter riding on her. He couldn’t wait, though. He got to ride a tiger! How many people could say that?
“Fine,” she grumbled. She shouldn’t be too mad; she did win… somewhat. It wasn’t her intention to have someone ride her, but it should work. It would make sure they were quiet and that they would be able to move faster.
Richard saw Zeke head into the room where the girl’s cage was. He couldn’t let him go in there. He couldn’t let Zeke talk to her. He couldn’t let the attachment continue. It could ruin him.
“Sir, Jim from Tuscan just called. I didn’t know you were back. I was just about to go, but I think this is something you should probably take care of. A shifter got in and attacked them. They now have it contained, but he said they needed your help with cleaning everything up,” Richard told him.
“Thank you for telling me. I’ll leave right now,” Zeke said, and walked away. Richard smiled. He had a few more days to work on the girl. He’d been so busy he hadn’t had a chance to do anything with her, but now… now he was going to do something. He had it all planned; he just had to wait for Zeke to leave.
Opening the door to the room she was in, he looked in. She was looking around, trying to find something. She must have heard Zeke outside talking to him. She probably thought he was coming in to chat with her. She was in for a surprise.
Richard walked over to her cell and saw the fear in her eyes when she realized it was him who. Her shoulders were squared and she looked ready to fight, but he could see the fear there. He raised a gun and shot a dart into her neck. He wanted her unconscious for his plan.
The girl slumped to the floor slowly. She was trying to fight it. He could tell when her eyes kept opening then drifting shut. But he’d put enough in there to knock out an elephant. It should be enough to take down a shifter.
*** Stacy heard Zeke outside the door. She had heard his voice, his limp, and the sound of his cane on the floor. She hoped he was there to see her.
She couldn’t make out what was being said between him and the person he was talking to, but she was hoping he’d come in soon. She was thinking she might actually be ready to talk to him. It might not be today, but it was close. She was upset when she didn’t hear anything from him, but she knew he ran the entire thing. He was probably busy.
The door opened and she looked toward it, waiting for Zeke to walk in. She was surprised when she didn’t see anyone. She just stared at the door intently, waiting.
Then a man came in and she saw it was the other man that seemed to be in charge. She didn’t know his name, but she knew he scared her. She knew he was the man who had put her there. He raised a gun and shot her.
She felt the prick of the dart in her neck and before she could get out of its path, she fell to the floor.
When she woke up, she was in a different cell. This one was lit very brightly, with a small camera set in the corner of the ceiling.
Stacy slowly sat up and heard a low growl coming from the corner of the cell. Looking over, she saw what was growling at her. There was a wolf crouched down, waiting for her to wake up.
Holding her hands up in a peaceful gesture, she stood up. For a moment she thought the wolf was going to leave her alone, but it suddenly leapt at her, pinning her to the floor. She didn’t have a choice; she had to shift. Stacy looked in the wolf’s eyes and saw the craziness in them. It was feral. She was so screwed.
*** Emily wasn’t happy. They had to wait until morning to leave. It was too late and Jason kind of had a point when he said they needed sleep before going on. It didn’t make sense to leave late at night and go in exhausted, but that didn’t make her any happier. They could sleep when they were dead.
She took a deep breath, enjoying the smell of fresh air and trees. She wished she could share it with Stacy. Maybe when she got back, they could go for a run and play, something they hadn’t done in a long time.
The door to the house opened and Paul walked out. She looked at him, then back at the night sky. She didn’t really feel like talking. She actually just wanted to be left alone. She took another deep breath and relaxed further into the chair.
*** Paul was feeling cooped up in the house. He needed some fresh air. It was something he’d needed a lot of lately, but after being in that cell for so long, it was something he wanted more than anything.
He really hoped Emily didn’t try to put him back in there when this was all over. He didn’t think she would, which was why he didn’t ask for it. He was helping her bring back the most important person in her life. If not, well, maybe he could slip out during the reunion.
He stepped out onto the porch, his guard watching from the window. Emily was on the porch swing, swaying slightly and settling back into it. When he closed the door, she looked over at him, then back out at the night sky. He looked at it and saw all the bright stars. It was beautiful. Sitting down on the swing next to her, Paul put his feet on the railing and started the chair in a slow swing.
“Did you see that?” Paul asked when a shooting star streaked across the sky.
“It’s beautiful,” Emily whispered.
“Make a wish,” he said. “Why?”
“Because you make a wish on a shooting star.” “That’s childish,” she said, looking at him.
“So? Make one anyway,” he said with a smile. Paul made a wish – to stay with Emily.
CHAPTER 14
Zeke was back from another uneventful trip. It was the same thing. No one had called with a problem; it was just Richard trying to get rid of him. What else could he do? He had to see what Richard had planned with all this.
He was really looking forward to seeing the girl. He wished he knew her name. Maybe he would be able to find out today. He walked into the room where her cell was kept and couldn’t believe his eyes. There was fresh blood on her clothes and deep scratches coveri
ng her arms and legs. He even saw a few bite marks. Walking into the cell, he got a closer look and wondered how she was alive. There was no way a human could have survived the injuries.
Getting a bowl of water and a cloth, Zeke walked into the cage and started cleaning her wounds. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. It looked like another animal had done this to her, but she was the only shifter there. How had it happened?
Maybe she’d tried to escape and was attacked by a wild animal? No, she was a shifter. A wild animal couldn’t have done that. She would have been able to defend herself easily.
She started to whimper. “Easy. I’m just cleaning you up,” he said gently. Her eyes opened and he could see the pain there. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know this would happen.”
She nodded, then closed her eyes and passed out. That was probably the best thing for her. He was going to have to remove her clothes to get to some of the wounds, and it was probably going to hurt like hell.
*** Stacy felt tugging on her leg, followed immediately by a sharp pain from the movement. She opened her eyes, trying to figure out who was hurting her, then saw Zeke with his brows scrunched and a rag in hand.
“Wha…?” “Shh, don’t try to talk; just relax. I’m taking care of you. You were hurt pretty badly. I just set your leg,” he said.
“How?” she asked weakly. “I don’t know. I found you in here like this.” Stacy tried to think back, but the pain was too much. She remembered being shot with the dart, but everything was so fuzzy. Then she saw the teeth. “Wolf,” she said.
“What?” he asked. “It was a feral wolf shifter that did this. I was thrown into a cell with it.”
Zeke nodded.
Emily's Captive (A Lilly Town Shifter Novel Book 2) Page 6
