Hounded (Shifter Town Enforcement)

by Hart, Sadie

  “Ari,” he crooned softly, rubbing his thumb over her knuckles. “I will never lie to you again. There will be no more monsters, sweetling. No more.”

  They were all going to die first.

  He’d keep her safe. Protect her.

  Caesar hefted her up and pressed her forehead to his cheek, cradling her close. This was a gift he’d never expected, never dared to dream of. “Wait till your momma sees you.”

  A tear slipped out of his eye and rolled down his cheek. One of many he’d cried for her over the years. She was back and he was never going to let her go again. Cradling her gently in one arm, his attention still locked on the distant voices of the pride behind him, Caesar knelt down and with his free hand he lugged the small, slip of a woman up onto his other shoulder.

  She would sleep for awhile yet, long enough for him to get her back to the barn, tie her up like the bastard he already had. Long enough for him to figure out what he needed to do yet. He blew out a breath and closed his eyes, hating the way his whole body shivered as he roused the magick once again, blotting out the traces of his presence as he stumbled back towards his car. He didn’t bother hiding the physical signs of his arrival—the broken twigs, crushed grasses.

  As long as they couldn’t scent him, it didn’t matter. Let them think it a lion, a deer, a stumbling idiot. Let them even think it was the murderer on the loose, as long as they couldn’t pick up his scent they didn’t know it was him. He knew the Hounds were stumped, lion-shifters didn’t have the magick needed to wipe a trail, but it was so obviously lions behind it. He had those poor dogs chasing their tails.

  A smile twitched at the edge of his lips. In the end, the strange lack of a trail would be forgotten, but the lion-shifter brutality would be etched into the minds and fear of every person in the country. Human, shifter or Hound. They would never forget the destruction these monsters had caused.

  Caesar shifted Arianna closer, her nose resting under his chin and he let his smile grow, stretching full over his face and it reached his eyes, warming him to his toes. She was safe now and soon, they’d all be safe.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Kanon’s heart thudded in time with the knocks. Shit. The muscle in his jaw flexed, his teeth ground together. They couldn’t just sit here hoping the Hounds would go away. They’d bust down Melody’s door. Lennox’s car was reasonable cause enough. This was a shifter home; constitutional laws were iffy at best when it came to Shifter Town Enforcement. The only laws that mattered were their own.

  Kanon stood, tugging Tegan after him and he blew out a long, slow breath. The last thing he wanted to do was walk over to that door and open it, but one of them had to. Kanon raked a hand down his face, fingertips pressing briefly into the spot above his nose as if it could ward off the oncoming headache. He’d be lucky if this didn’t get him a silver bullet.

  “We have to do this,” he murmured and felt Tegan stiffen next to him. Hands tense. Tegan nodded.

  “I know.” His whisper trembled, the words coming faint, breathy.

  “Then we might as well do this.” Kanon let Tegan go and strode for the door, ignoring the shake in his knees or the way his lion clamored up his gut.

  The beast wanted out, to sink claws and teeth into something, to turn all that fear into cold, hard rage. Kanon tamped it down and wrapped a hand over the doorknob, wincing as another blast of knocking rattling the door, sending vibrations up his arm. He unlocked the door and twisted it open. The Hound’s fist nearly rained down on his skull, the ridgeback jerking back, one hand going for his gun.

  Kanon flinched, his head turned away. Awkward. Submissive.

  He waited for the crack of the gun that didn’t come. With a flick of his gaze back to the Hound on his stoop, he saw another Hound standing next to the ridgeback, dark brown hair that was almost black framed the edge of his temples in soft curly-Q’s, made only masculine by the sharp bite to those brown eyes and the hard ridge of the man’s jaw. The ridgeback stepped back to let the darker haired man take charge.

  “Can I help you?” Kanon breathed the words out in a rush, his heart beating. They’d smell the fear on him. Not that fear had a smell, but they’d hear the wild beat of his heart, the audible wet sound of his swallow as he garnered courage. Smell the sweat sticking to the small of his back, lining the crease between his shoulder blades.

  He tilted his head past Tegan, towards the TV, the evening news rattling on to less scary items on the agenda and he winced. “Though I think I have a good guess.”

  The dark haired Hound in front of him smiled, just a tight flicker of lips. A grim, tight line that curved at the edges. “Brandt Lawrence, Colorado Alpha. Kanon Reyes?”

  Kanon could only nod. Lying wouldn’t get him anywhere. Brandt’s cool gaze flicked back to land on Tegan. “Tegan Sharpe?”

  Tegan grimaced but nodded. His broad shoulders tense, skin pale. No one had shot them yet, that had to be a plus. Maybe they really were only wanted for questioning. It was almost laughable. Shit like that never actually happened with shifters, especially not lions, and especially not with murders involved.

  Brandt’s gaze flicked between them, the man as confident as Lennox. He didn’t yield anything, and with nothing more than a glance or two at the both of them, he’d laid his judgment. Figured out his game plan. Kanon remembered Lennox when she’d first faced them both, her calm, assessing glances.

  It shouldn’t have surprised him that this Hound had it too, but after the bitch in Utah, and the seemingly inexperienced ridgeback there as well...his faith in their abilities to do anything more than pump bullets into shifter bodies hadn’t exactly stood much of a chance.

  “You’re both wanted for questioning for the disappearance of Lennox Donnelly.” Brandt tilted his head, without breaking eye contact with Kanon. “That is her car out there, is it not?”

  That sharp brown gaze narrowed, waiting for the lie. Kanon gave him the truth. “It’s hers. We rode with her.”

  “Where is she now?”

  “Last I knew? She was checking out the crime scene involving those kids.” Pain tightened his voice and Kanon looked down. “That was a few hours ago. She left with her friend Melody Knight.”

  “This is Mel’s house,” Tegan supplied.

  Brandt made a low sound in his throat, like a rough edge of a growl just starting, or a huff of approval. Kanon couldn’t really tell. He didn’t know the man well enough to know. “You’ve been charged with kidnapping.”

  That wasn’t a surprise. Kanon felt his lips tighten, his heart picking up speed again. His palms suddenly clammy. Then he heard the whisper of metal sliding out of jeans and turned to see Brandt pulling out a pair of silver laced cuffs. The Hound paused, tensing, ready for a fight, but Kanon turned slowly around and placed his hands behind his back. Tegan did the same.

  They’d go peacefully. Hopefully that would save them. Give them a chance.

  He had no doubt that when Lennox had first pulled hers, she’d have cuffed him, driven him to the Enforcement office and left him in the hands of the executioner there. This could be the same deal. Kanon glanced over his shoulder. “We didn’t kidnap her.”

  The skin around Brandt’s eyes crinkled, almost soft, but there was no trust in the Hound’s gaze. The ridgeback behind Brandt scoffed, disgust as evident in his eyes as if he’d spit at their feet. Brandt ignored it, instead gesturing towards Tegan. “Clarence, cuff Mr. Sharpe please.”

  The cuffs burned along Kanon’s skin as they clicked into place. Brandt’s grip was firm on his forearm as he tugged Kanon back, still watchful. “You can give your statement at Enforcement.”

  So they were going to live that long. A relief at least. “You can also speak to Lennox’s superior. She has questions for you both.”

  Brandt led him towards the car, Tegan following behind in the hands of the other Hound. “Coming willingly will help you both. It’s not often lions are so...placid.”

  Kanon didn’t know what to say to that. He’d damn
near squared off with Lennox in his living room, fully ready to do battle. Tegan too. If she hadn’t had a calm head and agreed to hear them out...one of them would have ended up dead. Knowing Lennox, both him and Tegan would have been face down in the carpet in their own pool of blood.

  Brandt leaned over and opened the door to the black SUV, silver mesh and bars gated off the back seat from the front. He was relieved to get the big vehicle though. Cars were a tight fit, especially Enforcement ones with all their gadgets and protective gating. Brandt read them both their rights as they sat in the back, before he shut them in. Kanon watched as the team of Hounds disappeared inside, leaving two to guard the vehicle.

  He knew they were searching the house. Knew what they’d find. The sheets in the guest bedroom would still smell of last night’s sex. Kanon slumped back against the seat, leaning slightly into Tegan for strength, and stared up the gray fabric ceiling.

  A few minutes later the front door opened and Brandt slid in, Clarence beside him. The ridgeback’s jaw was tight enough it looked ready to crack, a pale white bump showed on his cheek, where the bone jutted out.

  “You raped her,” the Hound said finally as they turned onto the road. Brandt gave a low warning in his throat.

  “Clarence.”

  “They...”

  “We didn’t rape her,” Tegan muttered and twisted to look out the window, pain etched in the lines around his eyes. “Lennox would have kicked both our asses if we’d so much as stolen a kiss.”

  The ridgeback twisted in his seat, lips curled into a snarl. Brandt took one hand off the wheel to catch his officer, as if the barrier between them wouldn’t hold the man back. Maybe it wouldn’t. Who knew what other tricks Hounds had up their sleeves that other shifters didn’t have.

  Tegan barely kept his voice civil. Polite. “You show how little you think of her, if you think of a second she’d have let any man put a hand on her she didn’t want.”

  “And you make it sound like she’d want to fuck a lion.”

  A fist slammed into the metal mesh. It rattled under the force of the blow. Tegan didn’t flinch. He stared out the window and didn’t say a word.

  “Sit down, Clarence. Now.”

  Brandt’s voice was like steel, unbending, unwavering and the Hound flinched under the weight of his superior’s command. Slowly, Clarence settled back into his seat. Kanon leaned his head onto Tegan’s shoulder, his eyes on the quick glance Brandt shot them both through the mirror. He made no accusation, not even in a look.

  Kanon was thankful for it. It didn’t mean much. There was no ally in that look either, no friendly smile. But, at least right now, the Colorado Enforcement Alpha was withholding judgment. He’d make his case when he had all the pieces together. Not before.

  It helped, Kanon realized, that Brandt wasn’t a ridgeback. “What breed do you Shift into?”

  Clarence rumbled out a growl, but Brandt didn’t seem at all irritated by the question. He flicked on a blinker, before turning the car down another road. “Wolfhound.”

  “I’d always thought ridgebacks were the heads of Enforcement.”

  That drew the faintest crease around Brandt’s lips, the slight hollowing of a dimple. An almost smile. “Most of the time they are. Not here.”

  Kanon wondered if that had something to do with Boulder Pride. He glanced back into the rearview mirror, Brandt flicked another gaze through mirror and their eyes held. No. It had nothing to do with the pride and everything to do with Brandt himself. He had Lennox’s discipline, Lennox’s strength. The same confidence, surety. The same easy way of dominating the world around him.

  He wondered what her Alpha was like and shuddered. Surely Lennox didn’t work under a bitch when she could easily move up. God, he hoped not.

  The square brick building with the Hound crest emblazoned in silver and steel on the side came into view. The parking lot was chock full of Enforcement vehicles and more than a few unmarked cars. Brandt parked in the open slot at the front of the building, a sign with the Hound crest situated in front of the parking spot. Obviously it was his.

  Clarence was hardly gentle when he jerked Tegan out of the car and Kanon watched as Brandt stood there, one hand on Kanon’s arm, observing. The wolfhound’s gaze locked on Tegan. Clarence jerked him forward a step and Tegan stumbled, but didn’t react. He wouldn’t. Brandt blew out a soft breath before tightening his grip on Kanon’s arm.

  “Come on. Let’s get you inside before he knocks your partner on his ass.”

  Kanon slipped out of the car, pausing as Brandt shut the door behind him, and tilted his head back to breathe in the scents. The place reeked of Hounds, the occasional whiff of another shifter, but more recently, the fresh blast of lion. Male.

  Looked like they weren’t going to be the first ones.

  Brandt led him though the glass doors, into the lobby. Metal chairs and odd desks were scattered around the room with no real sense of placement. Hounds buzzed around the tables and filing cabinets, but more than a few had glanced up to get a look at the new arrivals. The Hound behind the reception desk had her lips curled back in a snarl.

  Kanon’s gaze flitted over the room. A tall, lanky woman with hair a shade darker than Lennox’s stood along the back wall, a few Hounds flanking her. Their conversation had stopped as Kanon and Tegan had been brought in, and her sharp gaze fell on them. A handful of Hounds shuffled off to the right.

  A huge, bear of a man stood in front of a desk, the metal chair sitting next to him looked painfully small. His shoulders looked too big to have fit through the front doors. His angled face was hard, with black hair that spilled into his eyes as he looked down at the ridgeback in front him.

  He wasn’t in cuffs, but the tension strung down his back, in the way the muscles flicked in his forearms, told Kanon he wasn’t happy about being here. His scent told Kanon something else. He was a lion, and when the older man turned to look his way Kanon felt his heart drop out of his toes. A sucker punch landed solidly in his gut. Fuck.

  Add a good twenty years and the old bastard looked just like him.

  ***

  Melody struggled over to her right and Lennox bit her bottom lip between her teeth and held her breath. Come on, Mel. The soft prayer whispered through her mind on repeat. Just get one hand free, just one. Mel gave a frustrated grunt. “I can’t.”

  Rulon gave a wet cough from his end of the barn, a gurgling, slick sound that carved at her heart. He was using too much energy to stay awake and help them. “Try...”

  His breath shuddered and Lennox squeezed her eyes shut. When this was said and done, and he’d seen a doctor, she was going to bear-hug this man.

  He cleared his throat and tried again. His voice whisper soft in the barn. “Try and have her come to you.”

  A fit of coughs wracked his body and Lennox swayed under the force of it. “I will get you out,” she whispered to him, but Rulon just made a small noise low in his throat. Negative. He’d already insisted to both of them to leave him behind. Wasn’t gonna happen, she was getting Rulon out of there too. But then again, unbound, Lennox stood a chance of facing off to Torres...just as long as Mel broke free and was out of here.

  “Mel...”

  “I heard him. Hang on, I’m going to try.”

  Something scuffed over the wooden floor. According to Rulon, while Lennox’s arms were tied to her ankles, damn near immobilizing her, Melody’s hands and feet were tied separately. Hands behind her back. Feet out in front of her.

  If she could inch-worm her way over, Mel might be able to get her hands up high enough Lennox could help pull the rope off using her teeth. If they were lucky. Mel gave a low grunt.

  “You all right?”

  “Yeah just keep talking. I’m so going to have slivers up my ass by the time this is done.”

  Slowly, Lennox heard Mel wiggle her way closer, each sliding scuff of shoes and rump over the wood another inch closer. But it wasn’t fast enough. Minutes ticked by, fear tightening like a noose
over her heart. Torres could come back any minute and if he found Mel scooting across the floor... Lennox closed her eyes. She couldn’t think about that.

  None of them could.

  “Almost there,” Rulon said, voice faint. “Just a little...” Mel gave another slide. “There. Now, Mel, move a little bit forward.”

  He sounded so much weaker, exhaustion weighing heavy on every word. The scent of silver rotting his blood so thick in the air it filled every breath Lennox took. “Thank you so much,” Mel whispered and Lennox wanted to hug them both.

  Instead, she waited as Mel wiggled around.

  “Now if you can find a way to get low enough...”

  That was the easy part as far as Lennox was concerned. She shoved her weight to the side and crashed down on her shoulder, a pained groan sounding low in her throat. Damn that was gonna hurt later. “Wiggle your fingers, Mel, I can’t see worth a damn.”

  “You and me both.” But Mel fingertips tickled her nose on command. Thank God.

  “Can you back up a notch?” Mel did it and Lennox found her face buried in Mel’s hands. She strained her neck, her shoulders screaming in protest, but her lips found the coarse touch of rope. She reached out and grabbed it between her teeth. She braced herself for the sizzle of silver and it was the only thing that kept her from jerking back when it burned over her lips.

  When she was done and out of here, she was going to string Torres up by his tonsils with this shit. “Pull,” she mumbled around the rope, trying to yank it down. Mel squirmed, her hands jerking. Nothing.

  She heard Mel’s soft sound of defeat, Rulon’s heavy sigh. Fuck that. Lennox wasn’t done here yet. She closed her eyes, biting down harder on the rope. Silver seared at her mouth, an answering burn in her wrists, but her ankles...her socks cushioned the rope from her skin. She’d call it a rookie mistake, but she didn’t think it would have made much of a different for anyone but her, in a situation every bit as dire as this one.

  Lennox concentrated on her hind legs, willing the dog inside her to come out, to start the transformation. She felt the sluggish answer of her magick, the animal inside her hunkered down somewhere safe, but Lennox needed her now.