by Lily Cahill
And why had Hudson told Ellen to protect her? Ellen was pushing seventy. It made more sense for Kay to protect Ellen.
Besides, Kay was supposed to know how to operate in these situations. As Cord Lewis' daughter, she was considered a high-value target for kidnapping. Every couple of years, she'd been through training on what to do if she was attacked. It kept the rates lower on her kidnapping insurance--a policy that most people on her father's level of wealth considered a necessity.
So she was well-versed in how to operate in a dangerous situation. The problem was, it had never actually happened until now. And she had panicked, just like they'd told her she would. She'd remembered to grab a phone and her purse, as she'd been trained to do. But she'd stupidly let Hudson leave her locked up in here when he would have been safer waiting inside with her until the police arrived. What was the point of having a panic room if you weren't going to use it?
Kay tried to remember to be calm and rational, but knowing he was out there made it difficult. Just then her phone buzzed. She grabbed it, hoping it was Hudson, but it wasn't. It was a text from her father.
Chase is out. You win. Let's talk.
Any other night, the message would have made Kay dance for joy. But she was only annoyed. She didn't want to be dealing with this right now. All she cared about was Hudson's safety.
It was then she noticed the TV screen on the far wall. It showed views from security cameras positioned all around the exterior of house. There were some inside the house too--around the entry doors and outside of the safe room.
Kay gasped as she saw movement in one of the night-vision cameras. Hudson and Steve had come out onto the back porch barefoot, still wearing only pajamas, and completely unarmed. Hudson wasn't even wearing a shirt. The two were peering out into the darkness and completely vulnerable to attack.
"What are they doing?" Kay asked.
"Why don't you come have a seat, honey?" Ellen asked.
Kay looked over to where Ellen was sitting calmly on a long, puffy couch.
"I can't just sit," she said. She was way too wound up for that.
"Come on, keep an old woman company," Ellen said, patting the seat next to her.
Why wasn't Ellen nervous? It made no sense. Kay ignored her request, and turned back to the TV screen.
But Hudson and Steve were gone.
They no longer stood on the porch
"Where'd they go?" Kay asked, turning back to Ellen. "Did you see where they went?"
"Probably to the armory in the basement," Ellen said. "There's a cache of weapons there, just in case."
"But you didn't see them go?" Kay asked, scanning the screen again.
"No," Ellen said.
"Why didn't they go to the armory first?" None of this was making any sense at all.
Then Kay saw something terrifying: two large bears prowling around the exterior.
"Oh my god," Kay gasped.
Both bears were large, but one of them--the black bear--was enormous, at least three times the size of the smaller brown bear. She'd never seen a creature so big. It was the size of a pickup truck from end to end.
Kay put her hand over her mouth. Hudson might be out there with that thing.
"It's okay, honey," Ellen said. "Looks like it was just a bear that triggered the alarm. That's good news."
"But they might be out there with it," Kay said. "What if they don't know?"
"They'll be okay." Ellen said. "Steve goes hunting regularly and Hudson can take care of himself."
Against that thing? She knew Hudson was strong, but he wasn't invincible. Kay looked to Ellen, terrified, but it still seemed like she wasn't scared at all.
"There's nothing you can do from here, honey," Ellen said.
Ellen was right. She had to go out there and force Hudson and Steve to come back inside. Them being out there alone was insane.
She raced to the door, but it wouldn't open. A keypad above the doorknob simply flashed the word "LOCKED" over and over and over.
"How do we disarm it?" Kay asked.
"I'm sorry, honey, but I can't let you do that."
"But they're all alone out there," Kay said. "With that thing."
"What do you think Hudson would do if I let you walk out that door?" Ellen asked.
Kay pursed her lips. She knew Ellen was right. Hudson would completely overreact, and likely blame Ellen. Especially if Kay somehow got hurt.
"Exactly," Ellen said. "I know it's tough, honey. But the only thing we can do right now is wait."
Chapter Twelve
Hudson
Hudson sniffed the air and the ground as he loped around the house, circling in wide laps. He and his Uncle Steve had split up to cover more territory, but so far neither of them had found anything or anyone.
The whole situation made Hudson very nervous. First there was the break-in at his loft in Chicago. Now someone had found him here.
And he was sure it was a someone--the scent of human lingered, weak, but there. Whoever it was had done a good job of masking their scent. They'd almost definitely used a chemical of some sort to do it, because he could barely detect it at all. The smell mixed with the animals and other odors of the forest. If he wasn't mistaken, a pack of bears had been here recently too. It was almost as if the two had come together, at the same time. The smell was similar to the way Steve and Ellen smelled in their bear form. But it definitely wasn't them. Then it hit him.
No.
Was it possible?
Could there be other shifters that had found him? But why would they want to attack? The scent was right--faint, but right. It didn't make any logical sense. He knew no other shifters beyond Ellen and Steve, and they'd always made it seem like their kind were rare. Perhaps they were also violent. Perhaps that was why his aunt and uncle had never tried to find others.
He didn't like this. He didn't like not having all the information, and he was starting to get the feeling that there were some major things he didn't know.
Steve loped up to him and growled low, motioning his head back to the house. He wanted to go back, but he wasn't at ease enough to shift into his human form. He had smelled it too.
They made their way to where they had stashed their clothes, and Steve shifted back fast. Hudson followed suit.
"We need to leave," Steve said, dressing quickly. "Right now." He seemed spooked, more frightened than Hudson had ever seen him.
"What's going on?" Hudson asked. "Did I smell other shifters out there?"
Steve's face blanched. "Yes."
"Do you know who they are?" Hudson asked.
"I believe so. But there's not time to explain. We need to get the women and leave immediately. Somewhere safe."
"I'll call Larry," Hudson said.
Larry was at the staff house. Hudson was a private person for obvious reasons. He didn't like having to worry about his employees stumbling on him or his family when they were shifting, so he'd purchased a house a few miles away where his staff could live comfortably and still be accessible.
They went back into the house, and Hudson grabbed his cell. Larry said he could be there in ten minutes.
Hudson changed into sweatpants and a hoodie, then grabbed the same for Kay. She'd swim in them, but he needed her to move easily. The clothes he had already given her weren't warm enough, and the only other item she had was a ball gown.
"I need shoes for Kay," Hudson said, entering his Aunt and Uncle's room where Steve was packing a small bag for him and Ellen.
They found a couple options that would work--tennis shoes and some flip-flops if those didn't fit. Then they headed to the panic room and punched in the code.
Kay crashed into his arms. "What's going on?" she asked. "Where did you go? I was so worried."
"We have to go," Hudson said. "But first I need you to change. You too, Auntie."
It was then that he caught a small, silent exchange between his stepparents. Ellen looked at Steve with a questioning furrow of her brows, and Steve
nodded once. Whatever was happening, Ellen knew about it too. Not just knew, but expected it.
It made Hudson doubly worried. He needed to get them all out of there, and fast. Kay and Ellen changed quickly and were ready by the time Larry drove into the drive.
The foursome darted toward the helicopter as the blades began turning. They made it inside and the chopper took off. As the lake house grew smaller and smaller beneath them, Hudson let out a sigh of relief.
He turned to his uncle. "Okay. I want to know what's going on."
Steve darted a look at Kay. "Later," he said.
Hudson wished desperately in that moment that he had already told Kay everything, but he hadn't. And it was clear that his uncle thought now wasn't the time either. He frowned and settled in for the flight back to Chicago. Whatever was going on, it would have to wait until they could speak in private.
Chapter Thirteen
Kay
Kay felt like ants were crawling across her skin. Something big was going on, and no one was telling her what it was. But it seemed like they all knew. It seemed like they knew and weren't talking because of her. It was maddening.
Hudson closed the door to their hotel room. She realized it was the third hotel they'd been at together over the course of only two weeks--first that damn condo and then the ballroom at the gala, now here. How completely bizarre. This one was further outside of the city. She could see the skyline of downtown Chicago in the distance from her window. Hudson had said it was a place he'd chosen because he'd never been there before.
He sat down on the edge of the bed next to her.
"First of all, Kay, I'm sorry about this," he said.
"Please tell me what's happening?" she asked.
"I don't know, not everything," Hudson said. "But I'll tell you what I do know. This is the second attack on one of my homes in the past two weeks. I believe they're trying to harm me. I believe I may have put you and my stepparents at risk. But I don't know who they are or why they're interested in me. It may have something to do with my family, my past."
"What do you mean?" she asked. She understood why Hudson might be targeted for his money, but he seemed to believe they wanted him dead. And because of his family? None of it was falling together.
"I don't know for sure, but my Aunt and Uncle know something, and they're not comfortable talking about it in front of you. I'm going to their room now to find out the truth. And I will tell you everything when I come back, okay?"
"Okay," Kay said.
"Try to get some sleep," he said. "And do not open this door under any circumstances. I have my key with me."
Kay agreed and watched him go. She snuggled under the covers, not believing for a second that she'd actually be able to sleep. But exhaustion took over and soon she was sleeping restlessly, dreaming about large black bears with sharp teeth.
#
Kay felt strong arms lifting her and roused groggily. "Hudson?" she asked.
"Shut her up," a rough voice said, and a hand slapped over her mouth.
She screamed.
It was dark. Where was she? She couldn't see anything--except the downtown Chicago skyline out the window.
The hotel. She was still in the hotel.
Her training kicked in. She couldn't let them move her to a second location. It was rule #1. She bit the hand over her mouth, then chopped at her assailant's windpipe as hard as she could.
"Grgh!" the guy moaned, and dropped her on the floor. She could hear wheezing, coughing.
She tried to scramble up, but then more hands were on her, dragging her across the floor. She tried to fight but there were too many. She was outnumbered. They were going to take her. She might only have seconds. Her mind raced for a solution. She remembered plan B.
"Wait! Please don't hurt me! I'm pregnant! I don't want to lose my baby," she said. It wasn't true, of course. It was a technique they'd taught her at kidnapping school, meant to garner sympathy, to make them softer on her so she could gain the upper hand and attack.
She heard a sniffing noise. Felt someone's breath close to her stomach. Was someone smelling her?
"Well, shit," the man said, surprised. "You are, aren't you? Hey, Dad. She's cooking his cub."
Of all the things Kay had expected, she didn't expect that.
There was a gutteral laugh, then a voice. "A cub? You sure?"
More sniffing. "Yep."
"Even better," the grating voice said.
They actually thought they could smell if she was pregnant? And they thought she actually was? These people were crazy. It wasn't a good sign. She'd learned to hope for sane, prepared, professional. So far, this was anything but.
Regardless, the pregnancy ploy hadn't worked.
On to plan C.
"Please! I'm on special medication," she cried. "It's in my purse." She wasn't on any medication at all. The bottle in her purse had a prescription label with her name on it, but it was full of sugar pills. It was also equipped with a special cap that, when opened, sent an alert and location signal to her father's security team through a micro-tracking device. It only had to be opened to be activated. She'd carried the bottle with her everywhere since she was a teenager. It was a ploy to use their compassion against them. It was also a test.
"Sure you are, sweetheart," the guy said.
"I am. Please. I'll stop fighting. Just please get my meds. I could die."
"No meds," that awful voice growled. "She won't need 'em either way."
Shit. This was bad.
If they didn't care about keeping her well, then she hadn't been kidnapped for the ransom money. Which could only mean one thing.
They wanted to kill her.
Chapter Fourteen
Hudson
Hudson's head was spinning. His stepparents had just told him three things. Each more startling than the last.
The first, was that his mother was alive. Alive. All these years he'd grown up thinking she'd died in a car crash with his father.
The idea was so foreign to him that he didn't know how to feel about it. He'd grown up happy, loved. Sure, he'd wished he remembered her and often thought about how his life might have been different if his parents survived. But he hadn't felt their absence beyond that. As far as he was concerned, he had parents. This was going to take time to process.
The second thing was that his mother was an Empress. Which made him ... a prince.
Yet again, the idea seemed strange, incomprehensible. He didn't even know other shifters existed in numbers large enough to require a monarchy, but apparently they did. And apparently he was part of that royal lineage--not just a part of it, but second in line for the throne.
The third thing was that the crown had enemies. A clan called the Zoltags. And the Zoltags wanted him dead--had wanted him dead since he was a young child, which was why his mother had sent him away. His aunt and uncle were bone-certain that the Zoltags were behind the attacks on his homes.
Now he was expected back at the palace--the palace--with none other than Kay by his side. They would leave tomorrow, which meant that he had no other choice but to tell Kay the entire truth tonight.
He found that he actually longed to do it. The whole mess of it was confusing and overwhelming. All Hudson wanted to do was talk through it with Kay, then old her close beside him as they both fell asleep.
But when he got to their room, the door was standing wide open.
No.
He flipped on the light. Lamps were broken, furniture tipped over.
Hudson's heart dropped out of his chest. He felt a tightness gripping at his heart.
He'd left her alone. He'd left his mate alone.
It was like Ellen and Steve had said. The Zoltags must have taken her. And he would die before he let them get away with it.
Chapter Fifteen
Kay
109 seconds sharp right, 3124 seconds right, 232 seconds left, 440 seconds winding left. She chanted the mantra to herself, hoping she would find an opport
unity to use it, but she wasn't sure how many more numbers she could remember. Already, they were growing fuzzy in her mind as she counted.
She knew very little. She was in the back of a van. She was blindfolded and her mouth had been taped over. Her hands had been bound behind her back. There were at least four men who had attacked her.
Four.
One usually meant a sexual or physical assault--a serial killer or a rapist. More usually meant a ransom.
But they hadn't cared about getting her meds. They hadn't cared at all. They wanted her dead. Why?
Kay felt bile rise to her throat, felt a wave of anxiety so crippling it nearly made her pass out.
Be calm, be calm, be calm, Kay reminded herself. She tried to remember the basic rules: Be calm. Stay alert. Make yourself human. Unfortunately, she'd already broken the first and most important rule of her training: don't let yourself get kidnapped in the first place.
Be calm. Stay alert. Make yourself human.
She started to count again, hoping she hadn't lost track of the time. Before she reached ten seconds, the car had come to an abrupt stop. Arms were on her, pulling her out of the van.
Gravel under her feet.
The smell of pine in the air.
The hoot of an owl.
Thirty-two steps, then a door, then the squish of carpet under her feet, then voices. Lots of them.
"Ha! You got her!"
"Nice work."
"This will show them."
"Try taking the throne without your mate, asshole."
"Bets on how long until he gets here?"
Then so much shouting it was hard to make out words. There had to be twenty people here. Maybe thirty.
Throne? Mate? What the hell was this?
"Take your posts, boys," someone said. It was that grating voice she'd heard earlier. Somehow, it managed to be both deep and chilling at the same time. Kay was glad of her blindfold. She didn't want to see the face that went with that voice. "If he's smart, he'll be here within the day. I don't want any holes in our defenses. We take him out clean and we take him out fast. Then we move on to finding the other brothers. We do not risk ascension, understood?"
