Hounded (Shifter Town Enforcement)

by Hart, Sadie

  “So can I, but I think she’s given us about all she can today.”

  And that had to be enough.

  He remembered holding her, kissing her. For a woman who hadn’t signed up for any of this, who seemed pretty damn determined not to like them, she’d given them a hell of a lot more than Tegan had thought possible. The least they could do was take care of her tonight.

  As if he were reading Tegan’s thoughts, Kanon stepped away, reaching for the driver’s side door. “Let’s get her some food then.”

  They rode in silence, only the flash of street lamps and neon signs to illuminate the darkness lingering in the car. Kanon ordered for all of them, his voice numb and clipped, but the angry rumble that snarled out of their stomachs at the scent of food told Tegan they were hungrier than they felt.

  Three ten-packs of tacos later, they had food, drinks, and were carrying the boxes back up to the hotel room. Kanon swiped the keycard to let them in, boxes cradled in one arm, while Tegan shouldered the door open, the cups grasped in his. They set them down on the small, circular table between the two beds.

  The water wasn’t running so he called out, “Food’s here.”

  “Be out in a sec.” She gave a low groan that had them both focused on the door. “Man that smells delicious.”

  “Tease,” Kanon mouthed, trying for playful and failing. He slumped back against the headboard, his first taco halfway unwrapped.

  They were both two for two by the time she came out. She scrunched up her nose, while she wrapped her long red hair up into a pony tail. Her shirt clung to her skin, wet lines from her hair dribbled over her breasts in a trail that left nothing to the imagination.

  “The crappiest thing about showering when you have no clean clothes? You feel dirty the moment you slip back into them.” Lennox paused at the foot of Kanon’s bed, glancing between them as her hands fell to her sides. Color crept up her neck, but she shook it off.

  “Knock it off. Eat,” she said, waving at the boxes before snatching up a taco for herself and plunking down at the end of the bed. “And stop staring at me.”

  A rivulet of water trailed down her neck and slipped under her shirt. Tegan swallowed.

  “Do I have to eat in the bathroom?”

  Tegan couldn’t help but grin. “You’re keeping our minds on pleasanter things. Not a bad thing, right?”

  Her face sobered. Lennox crumpled up her empty wrapper, tossed it in the waste bin, and dug out a second taco. “I know. Here’s the deal though. We’re off the hook here, but we also have two bodies in Utah, and technically, I’m still supposed to be picking you up in Idaho for assaulting a Hound. I have no idea what happened to the written testimonies I gathered...”

  Her tongue darted out, tracing her lips.

  “In other words, where do we go?”

  Tegan eyed the taco in his hand. Kanon had had his ass jumped by a Hound in one state, two bodies dead in the next. “Someone might be trailing us...”

  Lennox nodded. “That was my next thought.”

  “So what? String me up as bait?”

  She jabbed a taco at Kanon. “Enough out of you. Smart ideas or zip it. And I don’t know. But I...shit.”

  Lennox darted off the bed and snatched her cell phone off the table at the end of the room. She winced at the screen.

  “Missed call?”

  She nodded.

  “My boss. Was going to call her and clear Kanon’s name.” She cringed. “Two of his character witnesses ended up dead and the testimonies are gone now.”

  Kanon winced. “We can’t even prove they were witnesses on my side, not the Hound’s.”

  Tegan frowned. He hadn’t thought of that. Kanon had roughed up that Hound pretty good, but maybe he was after them now? Or a relative, maybe a pack mate?

  Lennox was already shaking her head by the time he looked up. “It was Nick Jensen that Kanon beat the shit out of. And no one I know of close to Nick has even half the amount of power to do that kind of wiping. It’s either one heck of a Hound after you, or a witch. My money is on a witch.”

  “Maybe this Nick hired a witch?”

  She shrugged. “Could be, but as friendly as I am with my boss, Bree won’t take your side over one of her Hounds. Not without proof.”

  Which they were awfully short on.

  “Fuck,” Kanon whispered, low and raw. Tegan turned, but his partner was already up and moving. He grabbed Lennox’s phone from her, ignoring her startled protest.

  “Pick up, pick up,” he whispered.

  “Kanon...”

  “Aiby, please girl, pick up. It’s Kanon, if you’re there, come on.”

  Tegan’s heart sank. Shit. No.

  “Aiby.” Kanon glanced at him, eyes wide. Angry.

  The same answering furor flooded Tegan. He chucked the taco back in the box as Lennox snatched up her car keys. “Come on,” she said, but he already knew.

  Tristan, Caro. Whoever had done this, had stalked them. Knew them.

  The bastard had probably watched them last night.

  Tegan couldn’t bring himself to hope.

  Lennox didn’t offer them false promises as she ushered them out the door either. She didn’t promise them that Aiby would be okay. No. Instead, she followed their directions and sped across town to the one story bungalow, silent, her face grim. She knew, but she didn’t say it.

  She just got them there as fast as she could.

  Chapter Seven

  Lennox parked half a block down, her gaze sweeping the neighborhood for anything unusual. Whoever was behind this knew their every move, so chances were, he was here or he’d been here. There was also the fact that Hennessey might have opted to start running through Metro’s employees and had found Aibileen Walters already.

  She killed the engine and twisted in her seat to get a good look at the men behind her. Their hands were already on their seatbelts. “You guys stay here.”

  The refusals were instant, loud rumbling growls of dissent.

  “If she’s...”

  Kanon stopped himself and looked away, his gaze focused down the street. She heard the anger in his voice, the pain. They all knew the truth. The chance that Aibileen Walters was still alive was nonexistent. Lennox didn’t hold out for fairy tales.

  She also recognized the need for revenge hidden in that low voice. In the tension strung between them.

  “You’re going to what? Get yourself caught now?”

  They both flinched at that. Tegan sank down against his partner. He looked tired, resigned. Kanon just looked pissed, but he tempered back his growl and jerked his shoulders in a shrug.

  “Then stay here. If she’s alive, I’ll come get you. If she’s not...” Lennox shoved the pain in her heart away. She wasn’t supposed to care. “If she’s not, I’ll cover our tracks and we’ll go. Nothing else, got it?”

  Kanon turned on her, one hand gripping the back of her seat as he crowded closer. He was built like a tank, hanging over the center console so he could snarl in her face. Lennox didn’t pull back. “Aiby doesn’t have family, she deserves a funeral.”

  “Fine. Then I walk away right now, and your ass can take that bullet some one’s got coming for you. Or you can stay here, let me help you, and we’ll find the son of a bitch behind this. Which one do you want more?”

  The fight drained out of him, leaving him pale. Lennox winced. She might as well have kicked a dog for all the guilt she felt. Kanon didn’t answer her, but the resignation written over his face was enough. He curled into Tegan, whatever other arguments he might have had were gone now.

  “I’m sorry,” she said, and slipped out of the car.

  Drudging up the Hound magick in her gut she cast a light shielding over herself. That way, if anyone saw her they’d be less inclined to remember details. Things like hair color, clothes.

  All the things a Hound would use later when they questioned witnesses.

  She also wiped the scent trail between the house and the car. One taco wasn’t
nearly enough to keep the bile from building at the back of her throat, but she had to keep it together. Whoever was doing this, they were good. Better than her. If this kept up, they were going to need a witch on their side or Lennox was going to kill herself on overdraw.

  She couldn’t keep this pace up.

  The house was locked but Lennox wrapped her hand around the knob and sent a pulse of magick through the lock. It popped open. Slipping in side, she shut the door behind her, senses on alert. Quiet, with the ripe scent of blood in the air. Lennox headed down the pale yellow hall, past the wraparound staircase and into the living room.

  The dark skinned woman lay over her couch, still in her Metro uniform, or what was left of it. Her body was brutally slashed open, blood pooled over the hardwood floor. Lennox let the magick slip out through her senses, searching for clues. Kanon, she searched. Nothing.

  Relief sank through her shoulders.

  She turned and froze at the chunk of dark black fur on the floor. She inhaled. Lion, male. Everything else was hidden. She plucked it off the floor and pocketed it. This time when she let her magick out to search she broadened her terms. Lion, male, Hound, witch. Something low tugged in her gut and Lennox stepped closer, careful not to walk on the blood, and picked another scrap of fur off from Aibileen’s clenched hand.

  “I’m sorry,” she whispered. But there would be no funeral from friends for her, at least not from the two men in her car.

  They obviously cared for her. Loved her, and Lennox hated the guilty nudge of jealousy at the back of her mind. She searched the downstairs, wiping her scent as she went, and then jogged up top. Empty. Nothing there for her to find and hopefully nothing for the other Hounds to find either.

  All that was left to do was let herself out, get back to the lions in her car, and put as much distance between them and this place as possible. There were no more witnesses left. No one they could try and protect except for themselves. And right now, Lennox needed a night sprawled out in a deep sleep before she could do anything more than faint.

  One last glance at the woman on the couch, she headed for the door.

  “I’m sorry,” Lennox whispered and slid out the front door, locking it behind her as she went.

  They knew. Long before she reached the car she saw Kanon look away. Tegan tensed beside him, hand fisted as it rested across the armrest on the door. They didn’t say a word when she slipped inside, rolled the engine over, and drove away.

  Lennox put a good hour between Aibileen’s neighborhood and them before she pulled over in a Wal-Mart parking lot, her head slumping to rest on the steering wheel. She needed sleep and food. And lots of them both.

  Kanon leaned against her chair. “You all right? I’m sorry.”

  “I’ll be fine. I just...” She blew out a breath. God. Now what? “Either of you guys got somewhere safe we can go? Hole up somewhere for a night?”

  “Besides home?” Tegan shook his head. “No.”

  “Family?”

  Kanon’s laugh came bitter, sharp. “Lions, honey. Your pack might be mighty glad to see you come home every holiday, but for the cat side of things, not so much.”

  Fair enough. Lennox rubbed her forehead and dug out her phone. “Stay here.”

  Neither protested as she slipped out of the car, shutting the door between them so she’d have the illusion of privacy. They’d hear. She’d have to cover half the damn parking lot so they wouldn’t, but this had to be good enough. Bree had called once more, probably wondering where the fuck she’d disappeared too.

  Kanon was supposed to be an easy snatch and grab. Now how did she explain this? She couldn’t. Lennox punched in the number automatically—it was faster than scrolling through her contacts—and perched up on the hood of her car. It took Mel six rings to answer her damned cell phone.

  “I thought I was going to get kicked to voicemail.”

  “Cut a woman some slack. I was getting ready for work.” Heels clacked the ground on Mel’s end and Lennox couldn’t help but smile. Her friend danced, served bar, and did show girl renditions for a living. And it made her happy. About all someone could ask for in life. “What’s up?”

  Lennox toyed with the hem of her shirt. How was she supposed to bring potential trouble to her best friend’s doorstep? Whoever this was, he’d already slaughtered two wolves and a snake-shifter. He’d have no qualms ripping Melody apart.

  “Lennie, you okay?”

  A groan stole out of her at the sound of the amused snorts from inside the car. “You’re the only one on the planet who calls me that.”

  “Mmhmm. What you calling for? You sound sad.”

  “I need a place to stay.”

  The high heels stopped clicking and Lennox waited in the silence for Mel to say something, anything. They’d been best friends for as long as she could remember. “You in trouble?”

  “Kinda. Yeah. A lot.”

  Melody blew out a small huff. “You know where I live. You coming then?”

  “Uh.” Lennox fought not to glance back at her car. Just the sight of them might make her change her mind. Shit. She was not going to live this down. “It’s not just me.”

  “Is it a man? ‘Cause girl, you’ve been needing a man.”

  Lennox rolled her eyes skyward. The boys needed some cheering up, something to make them smile. Comic relief. That was all this was. “So you’ve told me.”

  “What’s his name?”

  Scrunching her nose she ground out, “Which one?”

  “There’s more than one? Is that the kind of trouble you’re in, cause Lennie, seriously. I can fix that real easy. Call one over first, roll around in the hay a bit, and then call the second one. Whoever makes your toes curl...”

  “Mel.” The car rocked slightly behind her, but the doors stayed shut. How did she explain that they’d share? That she could have both of them at the same time.

  “Are they both hot?” Click-clack, click-clack. A car door opened on the other end and Lennox knew she’d lost her. “Oh, and please don’t let it be that husky you were seeing last winter. Sure he could ski the slopes honey, but any woman could see he couldn’t ski a woman to save his life, if you get what I mean.”

  Like anyone could miss it. “Mel, stop for five seconds.”

  Low chuckles sounded from the car and Lennox flipped them both off. Then again, they’d both probably take that as an invitation. “Is it that stud muffin Hound you’ve been partnered with?”

  “Torres is married to Bree.”

  “Ah hell, the good ones are always taken.”

  “Mel.”

  “What, girl?”

  “The boys aren’t the problem. Or the whole problem. Shit.” A laugh sounded from the car and this time she couldn’t help it, Lennox turned and jabbed a finger at both of them before making a slicing motion at her neck. They grinned up at her, completely unrepentant. At least they were smiling.

  “Is one of them there?”

  “Melody, is it all right if the three of us come stay with you for awhile?”

  “They know each other?”

  Lennox closed her eyes and pressed her forehead against the windshield. “Can I explain it all when we get there?”

  “Sure. You know where the spare is. Unless you think you’re going to get here in time to visit me at work?”

  “Doubt it. We’re in Utah. And this...this is dangerous.” Her voice broke and Lennox bit down on her lip to keep herself from crying. Melody was the last person on earth she wanted to get caught in the crossfire. “It’s a lot of trouble.”

  Instantly, Melody sobered over the phone, her voice soft, serious. “Like I would turn you away.”

  The fierce loyalty always hurt, like a damned noose to the heart, but Lennox clung to it. Melody had never once let her down. “I know, but people have died. I don’t want...” She swallowed back the words. She would not say that. She wouldn’t. “I want you to know exactly what you’re getting into, okay?”

  “Get your ass over here
, babe. Like yesterday. Besides, I’m not all helpless. You should see the hunk after me. Tall, dark, and handsome.”

  A thin smile curved her lips. That right there fit both of the men in her car. “Thank you.”

  “No problem, just get here.”

  “Please stay safe...”

  Melody snorted. “Chica, I’m not the one on the run. You stay safer. Love you, now I’m on my way into work, so you call me when you get here. Gary can stuff it if he doesn’t like me answering my phone.”

  Lennox smiled. “We’re on our way. Thank you.”

  She pushed End on the phone and waited, not daring to look up. Knuckles knocked over the windshield and she sighed. “Mel’s a little overenthusiastic,” she explained, sliding off the hood of her car.

  “She sounds nice,” Tegan said. They were both smiling, but they were the worn smiles of men wrung out with grief. Lennox held out her keys.

  “Someone has to drive, I need to sleep.”

  Kanon got out and took them from her, his hand sliding over her hip as he stepped around her. “I will. Rest up.”

  His lips found the back of her neck and Lennox leaned into the kiss automatically, letting him hold her briefly before he let her go, nudging her towards the backseat. “Just tell me where I’m going.”

  They weren’t going to miss the irony in this. “Safety, Colorado.”

  A smile tugged over Kanon’s lips. “So...”

  “I-70 East,” she told him, then collapsed in Tegan’s lap. Lion or not, he could hold her. Tegan wrapped an arm over her shoulder and pressed a soft kiss against her temple. The last thing she remembered was Kenny Chesney playing on the radio, Tegan’s hand brushing through her hair, and an empty highway behind them.

  For once, it looked like they really were going to be safe.

  ***

  “You should pull over,” Tegan said as they passed the flash of a blue oncoming exit sign on the highway. Kanon had been driving for over five hours, stopping only for a bathroom break, some gas, and a snack. “We could get a motel room for the night?”

  “Do you have cash?”