The young man seemed to instinctively know what was being required. Carefully, he untangled himself without waking his girlfriend, and followed Chogan and the others outside.
“It’ll be fully dark again soon,” Chogan said to the other men. “And I meant what I said about us coming up with a plan to break out of here.”
“Good to hear it,” said Rhys, sarcasm layering his voice.
Chogan didn’t bother to respond to him directly. “I’ve been thinking about it all day, and the one advantage we have is that of surprise and confusion. If they’re not expecting us, we can take them from all levels—air and land.”
“But how would they not be expecting us?” said Danny. “Surely they’ll be prepared for us trying to escape.”
“I’m thinking we need a distraction of some kind. A smaller group could begin an attack on one part of the ring. While that’s happening, the bigger group could take on another part while the soldiers are weakened in numbers, assuming they send men to defend against the first group.”
“The first group is liable to get killed,” said Blake, frowning.
“I know. That’s why I’m willing to lead it. I’ll take Michael as part of my air attack, and perhaps Mischa, if she’s willing. She’s fast and strong.”
“You could be sacrificing yourself and the others.”
“I’ll sacrifice myself, if I need to,” he said, trying to ignore the awful churning of nerves in his stomach. “I got everyone in this mess. I need to stand up and be counted. As for the others, I can’t speak for them, but I will ask them.”
“I don’t want you to put yourself in danger,” said Blake.
He forced a laugh. “I don’t want to either, but I think that ship has sailed, Cuz.”
“It should be me who leads the first team. I know how the military works. I’m more likely to get out alive.”
“No, that’s the exact reason you need to be in the other group. They need you to lead them, and you’re our best fighter.”
“I can fight too,” Rhys interrupted.
Chogan nodded to him. “Which is why you’ll be in the main group, too. There are weaker shifters among us. They’ll need protecting.”
Blake frowned. “And what are we going to do about Tala?”
That’s where Chogan drew a blank. No matter what he thought of, he couldn’t think of a way of getting Tala out of there safely. She still hadn’t woken, but as soon as she did, her shift would most likely start again. They couldn’t carry someone mid-shift. Not only was it impossible to keep hold of limbs that were constantly changing, shrinking and morphing in your hands, there was also no way of telling how she would react to being touched. She would be in agony, no doubt, and could easily lash out and harm whoever was trying to help her.
He couldn’t meet Blake’s eye. “I don’t know. We may have to consider leaving her.”
“No,” said Blake, with finality. “I already told you, I’m not leaving my sister here.”
“We’ll think of something,” Chogan said, not wanting to get into a fight with his cousin, and trying to buy them time. “Let’s go and tell the others what we’ve discussed.”
Together, they went back inside the cabin. A couple of the others had already begun to stir, and they went around and woke the rest, gathering them inside the main living area of the cabin. Chogan could have killed for a hot, strong coffee, maybe even with a shot of something stronger added, but all they had was water.
He crouched beside Tala and reached out to touch her shoulder. She was lying on her side and one eye opened, winking up at him. She opened her mouth to speak, but the moment she did so her face began to change again, and the only thing that came from between her lips was a low moan of pain. Her features began to stretch, her mouth and nose elongating, the nose melding to the upper lip, and turning black. A hard, shiny surface covered the skin of her conjoined nose and mouth, and when she opened her mouth again to try to speak, the tongue that curled out from between the two hard husks was no longer human.
He sensed a presence standing at his right shoulder and turned to find Leah beside him.
“Her animal guide is a bird,” the other girl said. “I recognize her shift.”
Chogan turned back to his cousin and immediately saw what he hadn’t before; the lower half of Tala’s face was now a beak.
Of course, Leah’s guide was also a bird, so she would recognize the formation and patterns of the metamorphosis. Leah crouched beside him and reached out to touch Tala’s arm, which was now covered in thick, hard quills that would have become feathers if allowed to complete their transformation. “I would guess a crow,” Leah continued. “Or perhaps a raven.”
He took a moment to allow the news to sink in. It was like discovering the sex of a baby after a nine month pregnancy. Part of him was proud of his crow-shifter cousin, the other part of him was dismayed that she was now suffering.
“Thank you, Leah. That’s really good to know.” At least if they knew what kind of animal she’d bound to, they might be able to make contact with it, somehow, try to placate it into living in synergy as the rest of them did. He prayed that would happen. The thought of Tala being able to soar above the treetops lifted his heart. It gave him hope.
Leah blushed. “Welcome.”
But, for the moment, it seemed Tala’s shift would continue, though it seemed to have slowed. The problem of how they would escape this place, and take her with them, remained.
Everyone else had gathered in the open plan living area. The young couple stood close together, Danny’s arm protectively around Lexie’s shoulder. Harry Bernard, and the new woman, Julianne, hung out near the back. Toby had sat himself cross legged on the floor, his hair hanging in his face, as he fiddled with his useless computer. Michael had his arms folded across his chest, his face tense. The father and son, Garth and Jerome, remained side by side, and Mischa leaned against one of the walls, her hands shoved in her jean pockets.
Blake and Rhys came to stand either side of Chogan, flanking him like a couple of bodyguards.
He addressed them all. “I know you don’t want to stay here. You want to get back to your families and homes.” They nodded and murmured in agreement. “We need to fight back. We have a plan, to cause confusion and use it to our advantage.” He ran through what they had discussed before.
Michael heard his part to play and paled, but nodded his agreement. “I have a family, but I know others do too,” he said. “But I also know what it’s like to be held captive and feel useless, and I won’t do it again. If I can help save others, than I will, with one condition.”
Chogan said, “Name it.”
“That I’m able to write a letter to my family for someone to deliver if I don’t make it.”
Chogan didn’t even bother to try to reassure the man that he might make it home. They were hugely outnumbered by men with guns. They needed to be realistic. “Done,” he told him.
Leah stepped forward. “I want to come with you too,” she told Chogan.
“No, you’re too young.”
“I’m twenty-one! And I’m a shifter, I can fight. I’ve fought for you before.”
“And you got hurt. No, Leah, I won’t see that happening again.”
“But ..?” she started to protest, but Chogan silenced her with a stop motion of his hand. She stepped back, her mouth twitching as she tried to repress a scowl.
“I’ll come with you,” said Mishca, the tall, black woman. “I don’t have any family. If something happens to me, I don’t think anyone will miss me too badly.”
Chogan felt a pang of sorrow for the woman. “Thank you, Mishca.”
“Shouldn’t you take someone else?” Blake said. “Three shifters doesn’t seem like much to me.”
“It will be enough, and it’s better that we are weaker and you are stronger. We need for you to get out of here in one piece.”
“We all want to get out of here in one piece.”
Chogan forced a smile. “I gues
s you can’t always get what you want, Cuz.”
“So when are we going to start this attack?”
“Not until it’s fully dark. Our shifter eyesight will give us an advantage on that front. Before then, I suggest those of us who are strong enough should send our guides out to survey the perimeter, see if we can spot any weak areas. Even if the number of soldiers remains the same, you might notice some that aren’t paying as much attention or perhaps seem weaker. They might have weapons, but they’re still just men. We need to find two areas on different points of the circle, preferably not too far apart. My team goes in first, with the idea of creating noise and chaos as much as anything else, and then a couple of minutes later, the second group hits. We want soldiers at the second group’s spot to hear the commotion and race to help those being attacked by the first group. Hopefully, the perimeter will then be weak enough to breach.”
“When do you suggest we do this?” asked Rhys.
“I think we should go in a couple of hours,” Blake said.
Chogan checked out the reaction of the group. No one rejected Blake’s suggestion. The younger women appeared nervous, as did Toby, though he knew the boy would never admit it. The men all mirrored the same bravado, arms folded, eyes narrowed.
“We still haven’t figured out what to do about my sister,” said Blake. “I won’t leave her.”
Rhys stepped forward. “I’ll carry Tala.”
Chogan blinked at him in surprise. Of all the things he’d been expecting Rhys to say, it definitely hadn’t been that. Then he remembered how the tiger shifter had protected her during the attack in the warehouse downtown. He obviously felt something for Chogan’s cousin.
“Are you sure?”
“I know it won’t be easy, but I owe her.”
“You can’t carry her while she’s shifting, it’ll be impossible,” said Chogan.
Blake shook his head. “And if anyone is carrying her, it’s going to be me. She’s my sister.”
“No,” said Rhys. “I was part of the reason she got herself in this mess. If I’d refused to help her in the first place, she would never have been able to overpower Autumn. I knew what she wanted of me was wrong,” he shrugged. “I guess I’m a sucker for a pretty face.”
Something inside Chogan’s stomach tightened at the mention of Autumn. He’d not forgotten that Rhys had abducted her in the first place. “It doesn’t matter anyway. You can’t carry her mid-shift.”
Leah spoke up. “She doesn’t shift when she’s sleeping. Is there any way to make sure she’s asleep when we try to escape?”
Of course! Why hadn’t he thought of that?
Chogan grinned at Leah. “Smart cookie.” The girl’s cheeks flushed, but she grinned with pleasure. “We can’t make sure she’s asleep, but we can knock her unconscious. It won’t be fun, or pleasant, but at least she’ll stand a chance if we can get her out of here.”
“If we knock her unconscious, the first place we’ll need to take her is the hospital,” said Blake. “And I don’t think a hospital is going to be able to help her much as she is.”
Chogan frowned. “We’ll take her to the reservation then.”
“There won’t be enough medical resources for her.”
“It’s the best chance she’s got. We can hardly take her to a regular hospital as she is. They’d call the cops and we’d land up right back where we started.”
Blake didn’t argue.
“Okay, so that’s settled it,” said Rhys. “We’ll render her unconscious, and then I’ll carry her.”
Chogan shook his head. “I still don’t think it should be you. You’re one of our strongest fighters. We need you to be able to fight.”
“So I’ll carry her as far as I can, hide her behind a tree or something when the fight starts, and then pick her back up when we’re done.”
“How can you carry her as a tiger?” Blake said. “It’s not like she can hold onto your back.”
“I’ll go as a man. I might not be tiger-strong as a human, but I’m still a damn good fighter. And I’m fast. I can run seven minute miles over a distance.”
Chogan eyed the bulging muscles, the shaved head, the numerous bad tattoos. There was no denying that Rhys looked like he could hold his own.
He glanced over at Blake for the final decision. Even though he was mad at Tala right now, the two of them had grown up together, and he hated the idea of leaving her behind just as much as Blake did. Blake gave the smallest nod of confirmation.
“Okay,” Chogan relented. “You carry her. But you keep her safe, got it?”
Rhys did a mock salute. “Loud and clear.”
Chapter Thirteen
PETER CROSSED THE city’s outskirts with his stomach in knots. He’d driven the route back to Chicago with only one rest stop, his foot heavy on the accelerator. He was aware of time passing in a way he hadn’t before, how every minute that went by was another minute he was apart from Mia.
At least when they were together, if something were to happen, he would be able to physically protect her. Right now, he had no way of keeping her safe.
Lakota Wolfcollar has strengths of his own, Peter reminded himself. And Mia was now a long way from the troubles occurring in the city. The reservation was the safest place he could think of for her to be.
Now he had a challenge of his own. He needed to make contact with someone he’d not spoken to in over five years. He didn’t know if he would be given the time of day, never mind any useful information. The man he was after worked for a division kept secret from the rest of the government. Peter himself shouldn’t even know about it—the department was a joke, a rumor. Only because of Peter’s association with this particular man, did he know with certainty that it existed.
He drove across the city, leaning forward over the steering wheel, his whole body tense. The streets remained quiet as he entered the residential area where he needed to be. He pulled the car over, switched off the engine, and climbed out, heading toward the smart, two story townhouse. He prayed his contact still lived here. Peter had been here a couple of times for cook-outs and drinks during the time they’d been working together, but his colleague could easily have moved.
With his heart pounding, he clenched his fists, lifted one hand and rapped his knuckles on the front door. Even if he did still live here, he might not even be in, but that did nothing to quell Peter’s nerves. He waited, and the thud of footsteps came from inside. There was a pause. Peter would have sworn he felt someone watching him. He looked around and then noticed the small peephole in the door. He lifted his hand in a self-conscious wave. There were a number of clicks and bangs of what sounded like several locks being unlocked, and the door swung open.
He had a little less hair than when Peter had last seen him, the chestnut strands creeping back from his temples, and perhaps a few more lines spanning from the corners of his light blue eyes, but otherwise he looked the same.
The older man scowled, his eyes narrowing behind his glasses. “I thought it was you, but I had to see it with my own God damn eyes. Now get the hell off my property.” He began to slam the door shut again.
Peter jammed his foot in the way, and was rewarded with a bruised ankle. “David, please, wait.”
“No way, Peter. And get your damn foot out of my door.”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t do that. I need your help.”
“You lost any chance of asking me for help five years ago.”
“You betrayed me too, in a way.”
“No, Peter, I didn’t. I might have betrayed what you are, but I never betrayed you.”
Peter hung his head, knowing the other man’s words were true.
“I’d come to think of you like a son, Peter.”
He forced a smile. “You’re nowhere near old enough to be my father.” David was perhaps ten years older than him at the most.
“It didn’t matter. I took you under my wing, and you lied to me. The biggest lie imaginable.”
“It
wasn’t a lie. I just didn’t tell you the truth.”
“Don’t be pedantic.”
Peter sighed. “We can’t talk about this on your doorstep. It’s dangerous for me in the city. You know why. I’m surprised I didn’t see you at the ‘undisclosed location’ they’re talking about on the news.”
David’s eyebrows lifted. “You know where that is?”
“I was there. I got caught up in it all, but managed to talk my way out of it. Are you still involved in that department?”
“The Paranormal Defense Unit? No. I was ousted by a new recruit, a bitch called Vivian Winters. Her father is high up, one of the President’s right hand men, apparently, so she managed to wrangle her way into my job. Not that she isn’t good at what she does, but I guess that’s a conversation for another day.”
“So, you’re willing to talk to me then?”
David’s eyes flicked over Peter’s shoulder to the street beyond. Despite it being early evening, the street was deserted. People were staying inside their homes for two reasons. They had learned a supernatural being existed, and they were terrified either themselves, or someone they loved, would be mistaken or exposed as one of those beings and taken away to a secret compound.
With a grim sigh, David let go of the door, allowing it to swing open. He stepped back, and Peter slipped through the gap, closing the door behind him. He hadn’t liked standing out on the doorstep like that, he felt too exposed. Anyone could be watching.
“I suppose you’d better come through,” David said, gesturing down the hallway toward a kitchen at the end. Peter started to walk, but David didn’t follow initially. Instead, he stood at the now shut door, and began to slide a number of deadbolts back into place.
When David was finished, he followed Peter down into the kitchen. He swung open the refrigerator and took out a couple of beers. “What the hell. It’s past six p.m., right?” He didn’t wait for an answer, but threw one to Peter.
Peter snatched the bottle out of the air. Following David’s lead, he cracked open the top. After being on the road for almost an entire day, he didn’t exactly feel like drinking, but this was an extension of friendship from his old colleague and friend, and he had no intention of turning it down.
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