by Julia Talbot
This sucked big hairy elk balls, no offense to Tyrone. He would call Ty tomorrow, in fact. Not to suck his balls, just to hang out. He was worried enough that company would be good.
Then, in a couple of day, his wolf would be home.
He cleaned up absently before pulling out the ice cream to soften. He had a few calls to make… maybe to the enforcer he’d met in Boulder.
Someone had to keep his wolf safe, after all.
“Well, time to get to work,” he said, listening to his voice echo. Damn. He was used to being a loner, but now he wasn’t used to being alone.
He just needed to stay busy.
Chapter Ten
THEY WERE howling along to the Eagles when the impact happened, the Jeep sliding along the road, fishtailing wildly.
Alan tried to correct, but they went sliding, crashing into the guardrail and over, the world spinning wildly as they tumbled. Fuck.
“Shit!” Alan flailed out, hand on Sebastian’s chest. He wasn’t sure what Alan was hoping to do, but the idea was sweet.
He slammed his finger on the emergency call button built into the car, but he was pretty sure it was too late.
They went rolling, and he counted. Six. Seven. Eight. When they jerked to a halt, mercifully right side up, Alan was unconscious, and Sebastian could barely keep it together.
Hard hands reached through the shattered glass, pulling him, dragging him out through the window.
Sebastian let out a howl that rivaled any his wolf could let out. “Alan! Alan!” He tried to fight, but his body felt heavy. Stunned.
He was shaken, his head slamming back against the doorframe, dazing him. He opened his mouth again, but Alan was out. Maybe his attacker would think Alan was dead and leave him be.
His wolf surged to the front, and he snapped, trying desperately to get free.
“Fucking wolf.” The voice was low, distorted by something. Maybe a mask.
Yes! He spun and bit, his teeth sinking in deep.
A yowl split the air, and a fist connected with his head, just below his ear.
The world disappeared, a huge tunnel opening up beneath him, and he fell.
THE HOUSE phone rang, surprising Jaxon awake. He’d been dozing on the couch after his ice cream binge. He grabbed for it, because his cell phone showed no calls.
“Hello?”
“Where the fuck is that little shit?”
“Mr. Ron?” Jaxon sat up straight. “What’s wrong?”
“Did they blow me off? Put Seb on the phone. Now.”
“He’s not here. He left almost four hours ago with Alan.” His heart began to pound. Where was Sebastian? He grabbed his phone to text. Maybe they’d stopped to plan or something.
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah. We had bacon and eggs and they headed out.” He stared at his cell, hoping against hope for a reply. Then he texted Alan.
“What the hell?” Ron growled. “Are they fucking off?”
“Neither of them is texting me back.” He hit call on the number of the Jeep. It had its own phone number thanks to the navigation. Sebastian had made sure he had all the cars listed.
It didn’t even ring through. How the fuck didn’t it ring through?
“I’ll send someone that way.”
“I’ll go too.” He would get Tyrone to drive. He texted Ty, a little frantic now. “We’ll find him. You hear from them, you call me.”
“Ditto. Tell the son of a bitch to stop playing games.”
“I will.” This was no game, but Ron had no idea, and frankly, he didn’t want Ron to know. He hung up with Ron before texting Des the enforcer, the one he’d met at Ron’s.
Ty called a few seconds later. “What’s up, Jax?”
“Sebastian and Alan were on their way to Boulder. They didn’t make it. I need help.”
“I’m on my way. Give me twenty.” The phone went dead.
He grabbed his go bag and his sidearm, then dressed for the weather. Jaxon needed to get on the road and find his mate.
He kept texting and calling, closing up the house, calling Nan to come deal with the security guys in the morning. He would get someone to be with her if he couldn’t. Ty had to know someone local who could be a bodyguard.
Hell, Nan was a biker babe with a long memory and a vicious bite. She’d be okay.
He grinned, but it faded fast. He reached out along his bond with Sebastian. Where was he?
There was nothing—just white noise. Pure white noise.
His heart raced, pounding in his ears, and Jaxon gritted his teeth. No. Now was not the time to act like a mate. Now was the time to do his job and act like a fucking professional. Find the primary. Rescue and retrieve, if necessary.
He slipped into his holster before attaching his backup weapon to his ankle.
No one fucked with his primary. No one fucked with his mate.
The pounding on the door told him Tyrone was there. Time to go.
Chapter Eleven
WAKE UP.
Wake up, you asshole.
You have to get up.
You have to wake up.
Sebastian heard himself, but his eyes wouldn’t focus, wouldn’t work. His head pounded so hard his temples actually vibrated, and he really just wanted to puke.
He couldn’t even tell, all the way, whether he was in human form or wolf. He tried to rise, but his body was just too sore.
He was on a floor, not on the dirt. In the dark. In the cold.
Okay. Okay, he needed to get his shit together.
“Is it waking up?”
“He’s starting to move.”
“I’m not ready. Put him down.”
Wait. Wait, no. No, he wasn’t ready to die, so that should count for more, right? He struggled, trying to make it upright. His claws slipped on the concrete, the scratching loud in his ears.
Wolf, then.
Just as he made it to all four paws, the sting of a large-bore needle hit his ruff and sank into his neck.
NO! JAXON! MATE!
He collapsed, his breath huffing out of him. He only had time for one last hope. Maybe they hadn’t just killed him.
“TY! STOP. There.” Jaxon saw the broken railing in the nick of time. Tyrone was able to bring the Hummer to a stop, even on the slick road, and Jaxon was out and on his way down the slope before the vehicle rocked back on its springs.
“Ty! We have the car!” And footprints. And blood.
“Coming!” Tyrone came pelting down the hill after him. “Jesus. Alan! Sebastian!”
Sebastian wasn’t here. Jaxon couldn’t hear him at all.
“Watch the tracks! Don’t wipe them out!” He picked his way to the Jeep, refusing to think of his mate in there, dead.
“There’s blood….” Tyrone slowed, obviously looking now. Paying attention.
“Alan! Ty, Alan is in here. Help me.” Alan wasn’t in the driver’s seat. He almost turned away, but he caught the tiniest hint of fur in the passenger floorboards. “Alan, is that you?”
It took Jaxon and Tyrone both to get the door open.
Alan was curled up tight, a huge gash on the big, boofy head.
Ty reached down to lift Alan into his arms. “He’s real cold.”
“Okay, let’s get him in the car. There are blankets, and we can see if he needs a hospital.”
“Okay.” Tyrone forged up the hill, surefooted as any mountain herd animal. Solid as a rock.
Right. Where was Sebastian? He found a cell phone in the snow, the remnants of clothes where Sebastian had shifted, but not wolf tracks leading off to prove he’d escaped.
He wouldn’t leave Alan for hours anyway, not even to get help. When Jaxon got back up to the road, he saw tire tracks and footprints indicating the presence of at least one other person….
“I think they took him, Ty.”
“Goddammit. Is there anything that suggests where? Or how t
hey found them? Anything? Tracking device?”
“Shit. I didn’t look. You get Alan warm.” He slipped back down the hill. He was losing his ability to do his job.
He searched the outside of the vehicle first, groaning when he found a GPS device hidden behind the back bumper. Now he knew what they were doing near the house.
They’d been ripe for the picking all along. God, he was an idiot.
He’d been so fucking focused on being in love, on the mate bond, that he’d forgotten his job. Somewhere deep inside he knew Sebastian was still alive. Part of him would die if his mate did, if his stupidity caused his love to perish.
He grabbed the device, hoping to get something off it. Something that would lead to his mate. Jaxon sniffed it automatically. Cat. Definitely.
Okay. So he had that much. It was a navy vehicle that had hit the Jeep, something with a wide tire base, something heavy.
Yeah. He could find this. He took pictures of the tire tracks of the footprints and bloodstains.
He would fucking find this.
Jaxon stopped, then started looking for the guys’ laptops, their briefcases. They’d left Sebastian’s phone; maybe they’d left more. Everything was there. All of it. Okay, so not about the business. How could it be when they would have had all their information on those machines?
He grabbed all of the stuff up and brought it up the hill. Why hadn’t the OnStar called 911? Looked like someone had tried to hit the button; there was a smear of blood on it.
It must have been disabled somehow….
He had to call and figure that out too. He had to find Sebastian.
“Anything?” Ty growled. “We’re heading down into Boulder, yeah? To the packlands? Alan needs help.”
“Yeah. Yeah, I bet they’re using Sebastian to get to Ron. I warned them, but….”
“Seb wouldn’t give Ron up. Not for anything.”
“I know that, and you know that.” Nausea rose in his throat, but he pushed it down. “Okay, you drive. I’ll get information.”
“I’m on it. You keep an ear out for Alan. He might be disoriented when he wakes up.”
“I’ve got him.” He would sit in the back with Alan, help get him warm. As soon as Tyrone got back on the road, Jaxon called one of his best friends at Nose to Tail. A werewolf named Gunnar.
“Yo. Jaxxy! What’s up?” Gunnar’s voice was full of laughter, always.
“Hey, buddy. I need an ID on some tire tracks and a tracking device. I’m on the road and can’t access databases.”
“Sure. Email them over. You in a hurry?”
“I am. I’ll text pictures. Someone’s kidnapped my primary.”
“Shit. Then text them, and I’ll call back if I find anything.”
“Thanks, man.”
“No big.” The line went dead. That was Gunnar. A consummate pro.
Okay. He texted the photos. Then he texted Des at Ron’s.
<???>
God, he could just see Ron loading up to look for Sebastian. And getting killed.
At least Des underst—
Furious barking filled the back seat, wild and maddened.
“Alan. Alan, stop.” He tossed the phone onto the seat so he could reach for Alan.
The wolf’s eyes were wild, teeth flashing, but they never bit him.
“It’s me, Alan. Jaxon. You’re safe now.”
Alan howled, and he knew Alan was calling for Sebastian. It damn near broke his heart.
“He’s not here, man. He’s not.”
Alan began to pant, staring at him with a piercing gaze.
“We’ll find him. I swear.” He touched Alan’s fuzzy shoulder.
Alan’s body rippled, shook against his hand, trembling hard.
“I know. Ty and I got your bags. We’ve got clothes.” He needed Alan to come back to them, talk to him.
Those eyes closed, Alan growling. The air shimmered, and the man slowly coalesced out of the wolf. “Where is he?”
“I don’t know. The cats took him.” He studied Alan’s bruised face. “What do you remember?”
“Someone hit us. He hit the emergency button. I tried to save him.”
“Did you see anything? The car, the man?”
“There were a couple. It was a duallie. Blue.”
“A couple of men?” He was making notes mentally.
“I think so. Maybe three. Seb was losing his shit, but I hit my head.”
“How many fingers?” He held up four.
Alan blinked, stared, then turned green. “Stop the car. Stop the fucking car.”
Tyrone pulled over, and Alan managed to get the door open before tossing cookies.
Poor guy. Jaxon dug into the mini fridge in back seat for a bottle of water. That way Alan could rinse and splash some on his face.
“Sorry. Sorry. I got a bitch of a headache.”
“I get it. You need a doctor? Surely Ron has someone in Boulder.”
“I’ll be fine. We need to find Seb. What time is it?”
“Five thirty.”
“So it’s been hours. Dammit.”
“Ron called, wanting to know where you were.” Jaxon was so damn mad he’d stayed behind. Stupid.
“Ah. Well, we’re running a little late. Traffic.” Alan winked and washed his mouth out. “Let’s go.”
“Yeah. I think they’re headed to Boulder. That’s what the tire tracks said.”
“Why would they take him to the packlands?” Alan frowned. “I bet they turn toward Loveland.”
“I’ll get eyes out for the truck.” Hell, he knew a few people who could hack CDOT cameras.
“Good. He’ll die before he gives Ron up. You know that.”
“I know. I can’t think about that.” He needed Sebastian back.
“No one’s going to die, you fucking predators!” Ty could bugle.
“Okay, okay.” Jaxon needed to stop running in circles. He needed to think. “Chill, Ty. Breathe.”
“I’m trying. You two just stop.”
“Okay. So let me text a few people. Alan, lay back and rest.”
“Seb was right. You are bossy.”
“I am. Sit back and rest. We may need you soon.”
“Whatever it takes to get him back.”
“Good man. Ty, get us moving again.” Jaxon’s fingers flew, sending the new information to Gunnar, and to his bestie back in Cali, who was a hacker, bless her.
He needed to know where his mate was, how to find him.
If he didn’t get a lead soon, he was going to have to go fox and find that damn stinky cat the hard way.
Then he intended to put a bullet in its brain and bring his mate home.
THEY STOPPED at a gas station to regroup, and to see…. Well, to see if he or Alan could scent the cat or the vehicle. They either had to roll into Boulder or head toward Loveland now.
Jaxon was beginning to really panic.
They were fairly sure they were looking for a midnight-blue Ford, and he thought maybe they were heading north, but Alan needed a little medical attention and Ron was losing his shit.
His phone was buzzing every five seconds, and he knew he should have gotten a burn phone. Maybe he could here at the truck stop.
Tyrone filled up, and Alan checked out the Slurpee options for his stomach.
Jaxon found a phone and a charger, then went back outside, sniffing hard. Truck stops were tough, but he knew his mate’s scent. And the cat’s.
Come on, he needed something. A hint. A whisper.
Jaxon lifted his head to the sky, honoring the ancient goddesses of the hunt. The spirits of the first people. Maybe they would hear him and help. Never hurt to hedge your bets.
Mate.
The single whisper stopped him cold
.
Joy surged through him. Sebastian. Where? Where are you?
Mate.
Sebastian’s mental voice sounded slow. Sluggish. They’d drugged him. Maybe Jaxon could use it as a homing beacon, though. He waved to Alan and Ty as they came out of the store. “Come on!”
Neither one hesitated—they both came running like the good men they were. Tyrone hopped into the driver’s seat. “You got a lead?”
“I can hear him.” Stay with me, mate. I need you.
Mate.
There he was again.
“Can he tell you where he is?”
Jaxon squeezed his eyes shut, concentrating. “North.” He could actually sense it. Wow.
“Fucking-A. North it is.” Tyrone took off like a fuck-starved jackrabbit.
Alan sipped his slushie. “He woke up, then. Thank God.”
“I think he’s been drugged.”
“Ah, damn. That’s always bad.”
Jaxon nodded, then jumped when his phone dinged.
Jaxon did have the best lead. Sebastian himself.
He reached out again. Sebastian? Mate? Are you awake?
Cold. Dark.
Okay, that was an improvement. Coherent thought was good. Do you remember the crash?
Mate? Sebastian sounded so confused.
Shhh. Just listen. You were with Alan. They ran you off the road. He’s safe with me.
Alan. Suddenly the thoughts grew sharp, slamming Jaxon’s head back. NO! No, leave me alone! OUT! OUT!
Jaxon thought his eyeballs might start bleeding. Sebastian?
NO! JAXONCOMEGETMEITSDARKCATSTHECATSCOME GETME!
He gripped his head with both hands, the pain excruciating. He understood, though, when his link with Sebastian went dead again. The cats had come to drug him.
“Jaxon? Jaxon, what the fuck is going on?” Alan sounded utterly fucking panicked, and he understood.
“He’s being held somewhere dark. They’re drugging him.” He hoped that was what he’d said, anyway….
