by Rebecca York
He put on a burst of speed and caught up, grabbing her arm, stopping her downward plunge just in time. Ahead was a sheer drop-off at one of the ravines in the area, and he heard rocks falling, hitting ground far below.
She looked at him wide-eyed, then looked over the edge into the rocky gorge below. “My God,” she gasped. “You saved me. Thank you.”
“Are you okay?”
“I don’t know.”
When he helped her up, she winced.
“What happened?”
“I think I twisted my ankle.” She pressed down gingerly.
“Can you walk?”
“I think so.” She gave him a sick look. “Do you think anybody heard me scream?”
“I hope not,” he answered, thinking that they had better put some distance between themselves and this particular hill.
He held her upright, then found a broken branch which she could lean on.
They began to make their slow way up the hill. He kept scanning the crest, looking for trouble. They had gotten about halfway up when he froze. Above them on the ridge he could see a man with a rifle standing at the spot where Tory had tripped and started her near fatal slide down the hill. She’d left a trail of scattered leaves, a route that was easy to follow.
Brand pulled her down.
“What?”
“Someone’s up there. With a gun,” he answered, looking back again.
The man had vanished. Probably he was going to alert the others, which gave them a little time. But not much.
He led Tory to the right, both of them keeping low and putting about fifty yards between themselves and the trail she had gouged in the leaves and mud.
He parked her behind a tree and belly crawled to the edge of the cliff, looking out into space and feeling a stab of anguish when he thought of what might have happened.
She was safe for the moment, but unable to walk fast now. Could he find a safe place for her?
About fifteen feet below the drop-off, he could see a shelf of rock.
As quickly as he could, he came back for Tory. “There’s a ledge down there where I can hide you.”
She looked doubtful but followed, dragging in a sharp breath when she saw the narrow shelf of rock below them.
“You think there’s room for us down there?”
“I think there’s an overhang,” he said, hoping it was true and not a trick of the shadows.
He opened his pack and took out a length of rope, which he looped around an outcropping of rock that hung off the edge. After testing his weight, he lowered himself down the rock face, easing onto the ledge where he saw what he’d been hoping for—a depression like a shallow cave. Not only would it hide Tory, it would shelter her from the rain, which was still coming down.
“There’s a place for you down here,” he whispered. “Grab the rope and come over.”
Her face contorted. “You think I can?”
“Yes. You’re a dancer. Your arms and legs are strong.”
“I’m afraid of heights,” she whispered.
“Don’t look down.”
He knew she didn’t want to do it, but without wasting more time, she reached for the rope. He waited with his heart pounding until he could grasp her hips and help her the rest of the way down, guiding her into the overhang.
She breathed out a sigh of relief when her feet touched solid rock. He did, too.
“Good job,” he murmured.
“Thank God I’m not dizzy anymore.”
“You were?”
“Yeah.”
He clasped her to him, and they clung together.
“You’ll be okay here.”
“We’re going to hide from the guards?”
“I’m going to leave you here while I take care of them.”
Her eyes widened. “There are a lot of them. How are you going to do it?”
“I won’t do anything stupid,” he answered as he turned away to rummage in the pack and pulled out a dry shirt. “Put this on.” Next he took out one of the power bars he’d bought. “And eat this. It will help your strength.”
She looked like she wanted to protest.
“Don’t argue. Leaving you where it’s safe is the only thing to do.” As he spoke, he handed her his phone. “If Decorah Security calls, tell them I’ve left you to go after the bad guys following us.” He paused for a moment. “And if I don’t come back, call them.”
“Brand!”
“I’ll be okay.”
“You just said you might not come back.”
“I will,” he said, punching out the words. “That was—just a precaution.” He swallowed hard before adding, “I’ll leave the rope in place so you can get back up by yourself.”
“Don’t leave.”
The fear in her voice tore at him, but he gave the only answer he could. “I have to.”
She reached for him again, wrapping her arms around him. He should ease away before it was too late to get behind the bastards up there. Instead he pulled her into a fierce embrace, his hold on her tightening. He closed his eyes, memorizing the feel of her body against his, sliding his hands up and down her back, then clasping her bottom, torturing himself with the need for her.
“You never told me your last name.”
He laughed. “Right. It’s Marshall. Brand Marshall.”
She murmured the name, and he was sure she thought she’d convinced him to stay here with her. But that was impossible with the goon squad closing in on them.
Still when she raised her face, he lowered his, their mouths coming together for a frantic kiss. He understood she was desperately trying to keep him with her, but he knew he had to leave while he could still climb over the edge of the cliff unobserved.
He’d found a good hiding place for Tory, but he had to eliminate the threat to her.
When he pulled away, he saw the panic in her eyes.
“Back in a flash,” he said, hoping it was true as he shouldered his pack.
“Get under the overhang and stay there,” he told her as he reached for the rope.
When she’d moved back into the shadows, he started up, stopping before he reached the top to look around. When he saw a man silhouetted against the sky, he eased below the edge again, waiting with his heart pounding for the guy to come charging down the hill. After long seconds, he looked again, and the figure was gone, but Brand knew he had very little time to get out of there without leading the trackers directly to Tory.
He pulled himself up and flopped to the ground where he kicked leaves around the base of the rope, then slithered along the edge of the bluff, putting distance between himself and Troy before starting up the hill, staying low.
Raymond’s men had made surprisingly good time, which meant they must have an excellent tracker with them. Too bad about that. And too bad they hadn’t been drugged and tied up any time recently. He knew that had slowed Tory down.
Staying low to the ground, Brand climbed partway up the incline, keeping his eye on the top of the ridge. Although none of the searchers was in view, he couldn’t count on staying hidden for long.
He found a tree large enough to hide behind and laid down his pack, then started stripping off his clothing. When the wet fabric clung to his skin, making it difficult to get the shirt off, he cursed and resisted the impulse to rip the damn thing off. He was going to need it later.
When he had finally stripped to his bare skin, he looked around, hating his current vulnerability. And it was only going to get worse in the next few minutes.
But he had no choice besides changing to a wolf. As a man, he didn’t have a chance against a large party of hostiles. As a wolf, his odds were a lot better. Too bad he didn’t know exactly how many guards Raymond had brought along.
Grim-faced, he began to say the chant of transformation. He pushed through it, hurrying the change, feeling pain shoot through his muscles and tendons as he forced the change with a speed he had never thought possible.
It was still raining as
he dropped to all fours and sniffed the air before emerging from behind the tree. He could smell the bastards who had invaded this pristine wilderness. If he had to guess, he’d say there were five or six of them. Long odds, but if Raymond was one of them, he wasn’t going to be much help to the rest.
Brand circled to his right, making it easily to the top of the hill, and spotted a huddle of men. They looked wet and uncomfortable.
What were they waiting for? Probably Raymond, he decided when he didn’t spot the doctor. The captain of the team would want to be in on the capture—even if he’d already proved he wasn’t an asset in a tactical situation.
Brand moved cautiously closer, slipping from tree to tree, watching the group. The rain was letting up, which increased his visibility. But it gave the trackers the same advantage.
Still, they were only humans, looking for a man and a woman on the run. The woman was hidden and Brand was a creature of the forest now, well equipped to deliver some nasty surprises to the men who were hell-bent on hauling Tory back into captivity. And one of the wolf’s chief advantages was silence. He didn’t have to use a gun to take these bastards down. He could pick them off one by one, and the rest of the group wouldn’t even know what was happening.
oOo
Raymond had let Smith lead the search party, and at first he’d struggled to keep up with the others. Finally he’d acknowledged that he was slowing the team down and ordered the main group to go on ahead. They could tell him if they found anything.
When the walkie-talkie in his hand crackled, he pressed the receive button, hoping for good news.
“What?”
“I think I found something,” Costa answered.
“You have them?”
“We think we know where they are.”
“Send someone back for me.” As he spoke, he felt like someone had just given him a shot of amphetamine.
This was a lot better than when Smith had come back empty-handed in the afternoon—saying that the wolf must have taken a route through a stream. But it seemed that the man’s tracking skills were paying off tonight. Smith was like a bloodhound or an Indian guide from the Wild West, and he’d followed a trail that no one else would have even seen. It had led to a parking lot, occupied by a car with the tires slashed.
Raymond had sucked in a breath when he saw it.
“What happened?” he asked Norland, the man who was keeping pace with him.
“It looks like vandals.”
“You don’t think it’s a trap?”
“No. I think we caught a break,” Norland answered. “It looks like the guy was set to drive her out of here, but not now.”
Raymond had paused to make a note of the license plate. He’d get a contact he had in the police department to check it out. Then he’d have a better idea why a guy he’d never seen before had fought his way into a very delicate situation. He’d been thinking about werewolves of all things. But this was a man with a car. Was he a friend of Tory’s—and she’d somehow sent a message?
That was impossible—not when the only landline was in his office, and cell phone use was restricted. Which left the possibility—that the man had stumbled into a situation he didn’t like and had decided to rescue a woman in trouble.
The guy had somehow managed to get inside the compound and wrest Tory away. But now they were closing in, and he was out of luck.
That left out the part about the wolf. Raymond shook his head, unable to fit the animal into the picture.
When Harrison came running through the woods, Raymond pushed back his wet hair and tried not to look like he was winded from all the walking.
“How far behind are we?” he asked.
“About a quarter mile.”
He gritted his teeth as he and Norland hurried to join the others.
His security men looked up as he approached, guns drawn. When they saw the familiar trio, they lowered their weapons. They were standing in a circle near the top of the hill. He didn’t have to actually be here. After they’d freed him from his bonds, he’d been tempted to go back to the Refuge and medicate himself with a stiff drink.
But he’d pushed that thought out of his mind immediately. Slogging through the wet woods had no appeal, but it was the only way to be in on Tory’s capture. Besides, nobody was going to humiliate him in front of his employees like this and get away with it.
As he joined the circle of men, he could tell by their faces that they were excited.
Smith gave him a direct look. “I heard a scream a few minutes ago. Then I spotted a new trail broken through wet leaves down a steep slope. Up until now they’ve been careful. This is different.”
“A trail?” he asked, his voice sharp. “What if it’s a trap?”
“That’s possible, but it’s more like someone tripped and took a slide down that hill. They could be injured.”
“And the bastard who kidnapped Tory could be down there with a gun, waiting for us to follow.”
Costa, his chief of security, agreed. “We should spread out and approach with caution. You stay up here.”
“What if it really is a trick?” Chambers asked.
“Like how?” Raymond snapped.
“What if they slid a log down the hill to make it look like they tripped and fell?”
Raymond considered that, then turned to Smith. “Show me what you found.”
The tracker led him about fifty yards farther on and pointed to a streak on the ground running toward the edge of a ravine. The displaced leaves and long sweep of mud certainly looked like someone had taken a quick slide down the hill.
After several moments, he said, “Okay, send a couple of guys down. But be careful.”
Chapter Nineteen
Brand got as close as he could to the guards and Dr. Raymond, who had come huffing up to join the main party, looking like he wished he had a golf cart to take him through the woods.
One of the men was pointing down the hill where Tory had taken her slide. Others were following the direction of his outstretched arm. Obviously they were going with the most likely explanation, that she’d taken an unexpected ride down the hill—and maybe gone over the edge.
Brand thanked God that he’d left Tory fifty yards farther along the edge of the cliff.
The wolf counted the men in the party. He could see five, but there might be more. Could he take them all out? If that was the only way to save Tory, he would have to do it.
He’d brought men down as part of a rescue operation like the one at the Hamilton Labs a few months ago, but he’d never killed one while in wolf form. He knew his cousin Ross had done it once, and sworn never again—then been forced to take out the man who had kidnapped his mate.
Brand was in a similar position now, only it wasn’t just the guy he’d killed back at the Refuge. It was seven, and the only way to save Tory and himself was to eliminate them one by one—silently before they realized what was happening. Luckily a wolf didn’t need a gun. He only needed his teeth and claws, backed up by skill and cunning.
Two of the security guards went down the hill, following Tory’s rough slide, and Brand prayed that they wouldn’t figure out that she was fifty yards to the east. The other stalkers fanned out, guns drawn, searching the woods in case she had avoided sailing over the cliff and come back up.
Carefully planning his strategy, the wolf selected the man to his far right. Staying parallel with his quarry, he slipped from tree to tree as the man looked for signs of the fugitives.
Silently moving closer, Brand kept pace with him, lurking in the shadows, waiting for the right moment. It came when the man stepped into a depression in the ground and was thrown slightly off balance. With his target at a disadvantage, the wolf sprang, knocking the guy into a bed of leaves, teeth slicing into the skin at the back of his neck. He made a low sound and tried to get the gun into firing position. Brand clamped down on his wrist, and he dropped the weapon. Brand flipped him over, and he sprawled on the ground, his eyes full of shock a
nd fear as he stared up at the animal that had taken him down. Brand chomped again, severing bone and blood vessels. He kicked the gun away and waited until he was sure the man wasn’t getting up again. He didn’t allow himself to dwell on what he had done. He simply went off in search of his next target.
The guards had spread out to cover as much ground as possible. The next man Brand encountered was also by himself, edging cautiously down the hill, careful of his footing in the wet leaves. Again the wolf used the natural surroundings to good advantage. When the man was close to a rock outcropping, the wolf leaped on his back, slamming him into the jagged stone barrier and at the same time sinking sharp teeth into his gun arm, biting and shaking the limb until it went limp.
The man tried to fight for his life, but his struggles were of no use against a wolf determined to save the life of his mate. Brand finished him off and faded into the woods, considering his next move.
oOo
Tory was still shivering in her wet clothes, and coping with the aftereffects of the drugged soup the doctor had forced her to drink. She’d thought she was finally back to normal mentally. Then she’d realized she was acting dumb as a box of rocks.
Like now. Brand had given her a dry shirt from his pack and she was still wearing her wet one. She glanced up, making a wry sound. None of the guards was up there watching her, and if they were, she’d be in worse trouble than having them see her half naked.
Brand was another matter. She wanted him to see her that way. And not just half naked. A picture flashed into her mind—the two of them as God had made them, rocking in each other’s arms. It warmed her, and she let herself enjoy the sensation for a moment—until reality intruded.
A twig snapped. Then she heard the sound of stealthy footsteps approaching along the top of the cliff.
It could be an animal, but she didn’t think so. It sounded like a person treading cautiously. And it couldn’t be Brand. If he was coming back, he’d let her know it was him. Which meant it must be one of the guards trying to sneak quietly through the leaves as he searched for her.
While she listened to the man getting closer, she fought panic, struggling to keep her thoughts coherent. Brand had left the rope up there tied to a boulder because she might need to come up by herself. But was it hidden well enough so that it wouldn’t give her location away?
