In just hours he’d repeated the process in two more corners of the mountains.
All he had to do then was hunker down for the night, a short distance from the wolf cabin, and wait for the show to begin with first light.
It was a gamble, but he had a hunch the do-gooder wolves would take the bait and be forced to abandon the redhead while they saved the day once again from the big…bad…vampire.
It wasn’t long after the sun came up that he watched the local sheriff pull up to the house.
The long-distance binoculars he used were incredibly accurate and kept him from getting too close and blowing his location as he watched the redhead climb into the cruiser. A smile spread across his face. Perfect.
He figured with no other alternative, the Durhams would be forced to leave the redhead in the hands of the fine, upstanding sheriff. Keeton wandered down to a spot in the road in the direct path to town and casually dragged a long branch across the gravel.
Sure enough, five minutes later, Hardin pulled to a stop and got out of the car, mumbling something about how the forest rangers should have already been by to clean up something like this.
The moment he ducked out of sight off the road, shoving and tugging on the heavy limb, Keeton popped out of the trees, dove into the cruiser, flung it into reverse and backed away, tires squealing as they attempted to get purchase on the gravel.
The redhead screamed, struggling to reach the door handle. As the door flew open she lunged, but was caught short by her seatbelt. He laughed at her. Her fear was palpable. She reeked of anxiety, which made her blood pump faster through her veins and heightened his need to drink from her.
A deep inhale of her scent made him grip the steering wheel firmly with both hands to keep from slamming on the brakes and taking a sip of her. He kept her trained in his periphery vision while he angled his neck to see out the rear window and guided the vehicle to a spot where the road was wider.
At the first opportunity, he hit the brakes and twisted the wheel to the right, sending the car careening to a T with the road and forcing the passenger door to slam shut. The redhead stopped screaming and held on tight to the door, gasping for breath. Keeton popped the gearshift into drive and had them headed in the opposite direction in a flash.
The woman pleaded with him, “Please, let me out… Please… Just don’t hurt me.”
“Why would I hurt you?” He glanced at her, confusion warring with his need to feed from her. Even with the three snacks he’d had last night, he wanted her. He’d hoped the little meals would tide him over and keep him from taking too much from her the first time. Now, he wasn’t so sure. Saliva pooled in his mouth. His fangs poked at his gums, threatening to come down. He glanced her way again.
The quizzical expression on her face made him raise an eyebrow.
“You’re a…a…”
“Vampire?” he provided for her. His chortle filled the car again.
She swallowed, her throat bobbing up and down.
“Not everything you hear about us is true, ya know.” He drawled the words in his finely perfected southern accent. “Vampires have families too—wives, kids… We can control ourselves. We don’t have to kill everything in our paths.” At least I hope so. She smells so damn good. The floral scent of her shampoo filled the confined space of the cruiser.
It was true. Sure, he hadn’t specifically tried this out himself before, but he had no intention of killing her. At least not for about a hundred years or so.
“You won’t get away with this. They’ll kill you, you know.” The woman looked around the inside of the car. She was calming down, which both pleased him and concerned him at the same time. He’d never once picked up a woman who wasn’t terrified out of her mind once she realized what he had planned for her.
Her heart rate slowed. He could actually hear the swishing of her blood flowing at a more reasonable pace through her veins.
“Those wolves of yours? Ha. They’ll have to catch me first. And they haven’t succeeded in that area yet.”
“The whole state is going to be looking for this car in about ten seconds.” She glanced around, her brow creased.
“I’m sure they are, but we’ll be long gone.” Within moments of speaking, Keeton whipped the car right off the road into the trees. The spot was perfect. Branches scraped both sides of the car, scratching the doors with a sound not unlike fingernails raking across a chalkboard. The foliage would hide the vehicle and buy him some time while he escaped with his woman. Her white fingers grasped the dashboard with one hand as the car jostled over the uneven dirt.
Finally, when the vehicle would go no farther into the dense foliage, he shut off the engine and turned to face his lady.
The redhead stared at him with her lips pursed. He clutched her biceps with one hand and yanked her toward him, the seatbelt strangling her as she struggled.
“Listen, my little redheaded goddess. As you’ve duly noted, I am a vampire and therefore possess the ability to end your life in the blink of an eye. I suggest you squeeze those plump, pink lips of yours together and not make a single noise. As much as I’ll admit you are a fine piece of ass I’d love to keep for my personal entertainment for years to come, I’ll not have my own existence jeopardized by you. You understand?”
Tears streamed down her face and she nodded her assent.
“That’s better. Now, if you want to stay alive, keep your trap shut and do as you’re told.”
She nodded again.
Keeton slammed her back against the seat, unbuckled her and then grabbed her by the hair to jerk her out of his side of the cruiser.
He flung her over his shoulder in less than a second. Her breath whooshed from her lungs and she pounded on his back with her fists. “Put me down.”
Keeton sprinted between the trees.
He’d chosen the perfect hiding place.
He figured he had about an hour before Sergius or one of his brothers would be on his tail. They’d need to save the day, rescue the damsels in distress and then head back to town where they assumed the redhead would be at the station.
By the time they figured out the error of their ways, it would be way too late.
Juliana squeezed her eyes shut and tried to concentrate. Think, Jules, think.
Her body was flung over the shoulder of the bloodsucking asshole like a sack of potatoes. She ached all over, even in places she didn’t know possible. Her stomach threatened to chuck her breakfast with all the jiggling and bouncing.
“Serg?” Why can’t I reach out to him? She’d been yelling at him through her mind ever since McKinney had jumped into the car.
He moved fast. She gripped the back of his pants to hold herself up and keep the jostling to a minimum. Branches raked across her face, leaving behind the sting of their scratches. Everything was a blur. She couldn’t begin to identify where she was at the speed he moved and with her head hanging upside down.
It didn’t take long, only five minutes or so, before he jammed them through an opening to a cave and flung her onto the floor. It wasn’t like the last cave. The entrance had been boarded up at one point and seemed to have an actual door.
McKinney leaned in very close to her face, his lips millimeters away. The scent of his wretched breath gagged her. She held her breath while he whispered, “This shaft is loaded with bats, and the bats have rabies.”
She didn’t so much as breathe as he tied her wrists behind her back and then her ankles together. “I suggest you don’t scream.” His eerie voice hummed close to her ear, and a tremor assailed her. “Sharp sounds and movement upset the bats.” He stood up, looming over her. “You’ll find yourself in a hell of a pickle if they attack. Bound and helpless, you won’t be able to protect yourself. Do I make myself clear?”
She nodded, staring blindly into the pitch-black abyss. Fear crawled across her skin like insects.
Bats were the least of her problems. Leave them alone, and they’ll leave you alone. But vampires? She had no
idea how to fight them.
“How do you think you’re going to be able to hide me? They’ll find you.” Even though she had no idea why Serg couldn’t seem to hear her telepathically, she knew he could track her. He’d done it already.
“Ah, my sweet,” he muttered into her ear, sending a disgusted chill down her spine, “I have a plan. You see, this is an old, abandoned mineshaft we’re in. I’ve had years and years to explore them. I know every inch of my way around the tunnels. We’re just going to slip inside, dynamite the entrance and voila, your precious wolves won’t be able to get through to follow you. Even if they follow your scent to this location, it’ll be the end of the road. We’ll be long gone by the time they figure out a way through. Believe me. I know.”
Fuck.
Juliana bit the inside of her lip until she could taste her own blood. Her fingers shook violently as she struggled to work at the knot behind her back. Sweat ran down her arms, the dampness making it difficult for her to get any sort of purchase on the rope.
“Serg. Where are you?”
The vamp glared at her. “Trying to communicate with your precious Sergius? Might as well give that up. He won’t hear you. Not while you’re with me. I’m much older and far more powerful than he is. I can block almost anything. We’ll be out of here before those Durham wolves track us. I’ll be right back. Don’t move.” His cackle trailed him into the shaft of the mine, making her cringe at the amount of noise he was making.
As soon as Sergius shifted, he took off at a full sprint through the trees. He was hell bent on getting to the police station as fast as possible, but he paused, skidded to a stop and lifted his nose into the air.
“Juliana?” Nothing. Fucking goddamn McKinney. How the hell could the vamp have her already? She should be in town, in the police station. Visions of a fallen tree flitted through his mind. It had been a setup.
Deep breaths. No way she’d made it to the station.
Sergius turned around, ran in the opposite direction, toward where she’d probably been when he’d last connected with her.
“Something feels wrong about this,” he told his brothers. “You guys head to town—I’m going another direction. I don’t think the sheriff ever made it to the station.” He wasn’t about to take the time to change back to human form and call Hardin. His gut told him it would do no good anyway.
“Jesus. What happened?”
“I can’t connect with Juliana anymore.”
When Serg reached the road that led from his ranch to the town, he came to an abrupt halt. A long, deep inhale told him his mate had been here. Recently, and outside the car. He spun a few degrees in both directions to determine which path to take. Southeast.
Within moments of stepping into the trees across the road, he saw the cruiser parked between the trees. He’d scented Hardin even before he saw him or heard him. Hardin leaned into the vehicle, shouting into the radio. Where was Juliana?
Serg growled, and the sheriff spun toward him. “Serg? Thank God.”
Serg lowered his head to glare at the sheriff.
Hardin shouted information. “McKinney took her. It was a setup. Jumped in the car when I got out to move a branch across the road.” He pointed toward the northeast. “About a half a mile that way. He spun the cruiser around and I chased. Only managed to find where he’d left the road because of the tire tracks and the smashed bushes. Don’t know which way he headed from here. Obviously on foot.” James spun around as if he could figure it out that way. Didn’t matter. Sergius had her in his scent. He turned and loped off.
Where have you gone, vamp?
It didn’t take long to arrive at the entrance to an old mineshaft. His breath almost froze in his chest as he dragged Juliana’s scent into his lungs. She was alive.
Staying in wolf form, Serg darted into the darkness. It took little time for his eyes to adjust. The stench of vampire stung his nostrils, but Juliana’s scent was stronger.
“Serg?” Her voice was barely audible.
He spun and saw her scrunched in a corner in the same fashion Anna had been, except without the duct tape. Where was McKinney?
He inched toward her, keeping his eyes peeled in every direction.
“Stay quiet. Bats,” she whispered. “He went deeper into the shaft. He’ll be back any second.”
Sergius turned in the direction she indicated with her chin and headed away from the entrance toward the tunnel. A low growl rumbled in his throat.
“Dynamite,” she breathed. “He plans to blow the mouth of that tunnel.”
His steps were precise, paws hitting the hard-packed earth soundlessly. Didn’t matter; he could smell the vamp already, which meant McKinney could sense him too.
“Stay right there, wolf. Not another inch or she dies.” The vampire’s deep, gravelly voice grated on Serg’s nerves.
Sergius paused. McKinney stood ten yards down the dark corridor, a lighter in one hand and a fuse in the other. Good Lord, what does he think he’s doing? Doesn’t he have anything more modern than a fuse and a flame? He’s going to blow the entire mountain off the map if he isn’t careful.
Clearly McKinney hadn’t done much research on modern explosives. He really lived a sequestered life.
When the vampire flicked the lighter open, Serg emitted a howl to bring the rafters down. The noise startled McKinney. He jumped, and the glowing red flame made contact with the fuse. The igniter hissed, lighting up like a Fourth of July sparkler.
A moment of realization sparked on both their parts in the sudden flash of light, and then McKinney dropped the dynamite, turned and fled into the tunnel.
Sergius bolted backward toward Juliana, flinging himself over her body. There wasn’t time to shift or try to get her out. All he could do was pray his large form would be enough to save her. The ear-piercing explosion vibrated the rock floor beneath them, ricocheting off the walls and shaking years of dirt and debris loose. A large rock smashed into his back. If the sharp pain hadn’t stolen his breath, the suffocating scent of dust would have. The gritty substance filled his nose and mouth.
Juliana’s scream was half-muffled beneath him. Neither of them moved as the cave creaked and more rubble crashed to the ground around them.
Long seconds passed. The air thickened, his sight diminishing.
“Juliana?”
“I’m okay.” Her voice trembled.
When he realized they weren’t injured, he leaped into the air and spun around. The passage was completely caved in, blocked. With McKinney on the other side, there was no way to track him. Shit.
That damn vamp had been in this area for hundreds of years. He could easily follow the mine’s old tunnels for miles. There was no chance of catching him today.
Fuck.
Sergius shook the fragments of earth and stone from his fur and made fast work of shifting back into human form.
Naked, he reached for her. She flinched. “It’s me, baby. I’m right here.”
Her pulse rate went down, and she relaxed into his touch as he reached for the ropes binding her, just as he’d done not an hour ago for another woman.
But this woman was his. His hands trembled and made it difficult to get a good grip on the knots. He squinted in the soot falling around them, his eyes so gritty they watered. As soon as she was free, she launched herself at him and wrapped her shaking arms around his neck, squeezing him as though her life depended on it.
“God. What happened? I couldn’t communicate with you.” Her words stumbled out of her mouth between gasps for air she used to keep from crying. Her fear was palpable.
“I’m here now. You’re safe.”
“McKinney?”
“He’s alive, I’m sure. But trapped on the other side of the mound of rubble. He can’t get to you now.”
“Won’t he just come back?”
“Yes. But we’ll be ready. Always. I’ll never leave you like that again. I promise. One day he’ll be in the wrong place at the wrong time, and I’ll put an end
to his charade.”
Epilogue
Two weeks later…
“Man, she’s beautiful.” Juliana leaned back against the fence and watched Sergius as he worked with the filly. It was a spectacular sight. The spring weather was gorgeous, and the wind fluttered Juliana’s hair around her face.
“Yes, she is. You want to pet her?”
“Can I?”
“Of course. Just always remember to come at a horse from the front so you don’t startle them. You don’t want to get kicked.” He reached for her hand when she jumped down and meandered toward him, slightly leery and apprehensive.
She’d never been around horses. But this was her life now. Three men, a ranch and a dozen thoroughbreds. No time like the present to get acquainted.
“How long will you keep her?”
“Just until she’s one. Next spring she’ll be sold.”
“That must be hard. Don’t you get attached? And what about the mother? They’re so close. She never lets her foal out of her sight. What happens when she leaves?” Juliana lifted a hand, spread her fingers and smoothed her palm down the hair along the horse’s head.
Sergius wrapped an arm around her waist and kept the other twisted in the reins. “Feeling maternal, are you?” He smiled down at her.
She startled. “No, of course not. Just thinking about the foal is all. Kinda sad if you think about it.”
“Are you sure that’s it? ’Cause—”
“Stop it.” She slapped his forearm. “I told you I’m not ready. And I expect you to honor that, Mr. We-Don’t-Need-Condoms-Because-I-Have-It-All-Under-Control.” She glared sideways at him.
“I was just going to say that, if you wanted to…you know…now’s the time.”
“For what? Sex? When is it not the time for sex with you?”
“Hey, you can’t deny you want me at least as bad as I crave you. Don’t even go there. I’ve seen the way you watch me when you think I’m not looking.” He leaned in close to her ear, his breath sending chills down her neck. “You can’t stand it when we don’t make love for more than a few hours. Your blood pressure increases…” he nibbled her pulse point, “…and you always reach for your clit.”
Rescue in the Smokies (Durham Wolves) Page 15
