“I told you I’d stick with you till the end,” he said over the scream of pain in his head. He shifted in his place and winced at the pull of his shirt against his shoulder. The scent of warm metal hit the air.
Right. Concussion wasn’t the worst of his problems. He’d been shot full of silver before the beat down began. Which explained the unhealed injuries and minimized wolf.
“Well, the end has arrived,” Maylee gestured around her. “Behold, our last lodgings before we’re executed.”
Simple walls framed the four sides of the room. Dirt floor and tiny square windows high along the walls made an unfinished basement their jail cell.
Nothing else stood in the room. No tools he could repurpose into weapons. Unless they shrank down to the size of squirrels, the wooden steps with a rickety railing would have to be their escape route.
“Where are we?”
“Dustin brought us back to clan territory. Took all night.” Her voice dropped to a near whisper. “I was worried when you didn’t wake up.”
“I’m wide awake now, and ready to kick,” Ellis answered around a grimace.
Despite the pain in his body and the hurt Maylee caused, he felt solid. Focused. Oh, he wanted to rip and tear into the fuckers that caged them in the basement, but he had control of himself. He wasn’t about to fly off the handle and sink into the rage that sat on his shoulder like a devil. Maylee and Esme needed more from him.
First, the shit around his wrists had to go. The silver tape was wrapped tightly, several times. Almost like they’d rewrapped the roll with him as the stabilizing center insert. Brute strength wasn’t going to break that, and with his wolf locked down, he needed some sharp help.
He pushed through the pain and checked the pockets of his jeans and jacket. When those came up empty, he reached for his boot.
Jackpot.
“They took Esme.” Maylee’s voice cracked. She slashed her eyes away and swallowed hard before continuing, “We’re to be tried tomorrow. Today, I guess. I kidnapped the alpha’s heir, as if he’d let her get close to the throne over any boys he spawns in the future. You aided and abetted, and attacked the alpha unprovoked. We’ll both be killed.”
Not if he had any say in the matter. “Right, well, crawl over here. I need your help with something.”
He held out the small knife he’d retrieved from one of his boots. For a group playing at badasses, the bears hadn’t given him a thorough search. Big mistake on their part, and he intended to let it be a hard lesson.
“Where did you—what do you want me to do with that?” Maylee widened her eyes in surprise.
“I need to shift to heal my head. Can’t do that with silver still inside me.” Ellis raised his fingers to his damaged shoulder. Warmth spread over his shirt, then quickly cooled as the wound seeped. “I need you to free my wrists, then you’re going to slice over the entry wound and dig out the bullet.”
Her lips set in a grim line. “I’m not qualified to do any part of that. And besides, I’m filthy. I’m liable to give you an infection if your random boot blade doesn’t do it first.”
“I can’t fight in this condition. I need to shift.” He shrugged and regretted it with another wince. “Infections take time, anyways. If it makes you feel better, I’ll take a shower in alcohol as soon as we’re back in Redwater.”
“We’re not getting out of here,” Maylee said with a small shake of her head. Sadness and defeat swelled in her scent.
“Maylee, look at me.” Ellis waited three seconds into her refusal. His voice dropped to a low rumble of demand. “Look at me.”
Seeing her at the true end of her rope nearly killed him. She’d put her life on hold to protect an innocent child from a murdering and complicit bear clan, only to wind up where she’d started. And frankly, their chances were slim. They were locked underground, he was injured, and who knew how many assholes waited up top to send them spilling back down the stairs.
But he had to try. He had to stay strong for his mate. Luckily, he excelled at both fighting and pretending everything was fucking aces.
“We are getting out of here,” he said with conviction. “We’re going to find Esme, too. And if anyone objects, I will rip their tongues from their throats. I swore to keep you both safe. That’s what I’m going to do. Now, get over here and make like a surgeon.”
She let out a shuddering breath and he thought for a moment he’d have to pep talk her into action. But as soon as he opened his mouth for more encouragement, she sniffled back the tears she refused to shed and straightened her shoulders.
“What do you need me to do?” she asked in quiet resolve.
He held out the knife again. The small blade was thin and razor-sharp, meant for the dirty, slicing work it was about to be put to.
Gingerly plucking the knife from his hand, Maylee straddled his thigh. He didn’t even have a second to enjoy the false relief and warmth of her touch before she wrapped a hand around his wrist and sawed through the tape.
Ellis yanked the remnants from his skin, wincing with each rip. Carefully, he peeled off his jacket and shirt, needing Maylee’s help to finish the job. He craned his neck to check out the damage. The ragged edges of the wound were closing at the abysmally slow rate of humans, which was to say, not at all. Removing his clothes had reopened what had clotted. He was a damn mess, and about to get worse.
Her fingers splayed around the wound and the blade hovered over his skin. “I’m sorry,” she murmured on an exhale, then sliced straight across.
Ellis clenched down on his teeth. “The pain will pass.”
“For leaving. I’m sorry for leaving.” She turned her head away for a brief moment, then focused entirely on the cut she’d made.
Ellis didn’t know if it was fresh pain or his concussion that made him imagine things. But no, she’d spoken. Was still speaking words that plugged his heart straight into an electrical grid.
“I never should have left. Fight or flight instincts took over, and I flew faster than ever because I didn’t want to bring any of you down with me. That worked out well.”
Clear!
“You were heading in the wrong direction when I found you.”
“Yeah, well, I was coming back. I never should have left in the first place.” Her mouth pressed into a thin line. “Ready?”
He’d assumed it’d been a feat of the accident that took her off the road with the front end pointing in his direction. That she’d been driven off on her way back to him instead of spinning out while speeding away mattered. She was coming back to him. All hope wasn’t lost.
Heaven help anyone who stood in his way of getting her free.
“Ellis?”
He nodded. Sheer will kept him still as she began. His other arm flexed with his fisted grab into his discarded shirt. Sweat dotted his forehead and upper lip and the room began to darken around the edges.
“Done,” Maylee muttered. “Got it.”
Ellis pressed his shirt to the wound and rolled his shoulders. Sweet relief followed the brush of his wolf against his mind. He just needed to shift, then he’d be on the road to recovery and vengeance.
Maylee tried to hand him back the knife, but he refused the blade. “The moment that door is opened, you get Esme and get out, understand? I’ve got your back. I’ll give you enough cover to escape.”
“But what—”
He cut her off with a hard kiss. He stroked his cheeks, her neck, her hair. The body that’d been beaten to hell and back again didn’t give a fuck about his aches and pains. He just wanted to feel the press of Maylee all around him until he couldn’t breathe.
They’d had too little time together and too many misunderstandings. Just because fate brought people together didn’t mean they’d find their way to a happy ending. They still had to work out their shit and figure out how to make room for another person in their life.
And then sometimes murdering assholes got in the way.
He angled her face and deepened the ki
ss. Her sweet scent filled his nose and exploded on his tongue. He wanted to imprint her on himself. Needed to remember the moment in case something went wrong.
He was one man against a clan of bears. A distraction. Distractions didn’t usually make it out alive.
Ellis eased back and ignored the sway of the basement. “Don’t worry about me. Worry about getting our girl free.”
Maylee stood and took a step back. Her head cocked to the side and a surprising smile lifted one corner of her lips. He thought she’d object again, but she simply nodded. “Are we waiting for them to come for us, or are we forcing them to open the door?”
The choice was taken from them by the sound of keys jangling above. As one, they turned their faces toward the door.
The handle turned.
The door inched open.
Greg pushed inside, a tray in his hands and a scowl on his face. He bumped the door closed with his hip and spat into both bowls of oatmeal. “Time for your last meal, fuckers.”
“You’re a real prick, Greg,” Maylee snapped back.
“And you know who gets her fingers broke if you try anything. Over there. Now.” He pointed to the far wall.
Ellis narrowed his eyes. No wonder Maylee hadn’t been subjected to the same bumps and bruises that littered his body. She’d been forced into compliance by threats to the young cub.
His wolf snarled viciously. His world wasn’t immune to violence. Hell, he’d frequently doled it out himself. But those at the other end of his fists knew the risks they took when they fucked with a motorcycle club, or tried to start a brawl in the middle of a bar.
Innocent lives? Ones that had no choice over their brush against his rough kind of life? Those weren’t to be touched.
Ellis didn’t fight as his wolf took a wild leap forward. His jeans shredded as his body ripped apart and reformed into a large, pissed off maneater.
Greg barely had time to twist around and widen his eyes before Ellis snapped forward. He tore into Greg, biting his arm and yanking him down. The man struggled, lashing out with his free hand and his sharp cries of pain, but the wolf didn’t let up.
Maylee jumped into the fray before he struck a killing blow. She fished into Greg’s pockets until she held up a set of keys. Then she kicked him in the ribs and growled, “That’s for being such an asshole!”
Greg rolled into a ball and moaned.
Ellis followed Maylee up the stairs. She listened before easing open the basement door and slipping into the living room beyond. Once Ellis was through, she closed the door behind them and locked Greg inside.
“What’s going—” Two men rounded the end of the hall and came to a stop.
Ellis lifted his lip and snarled.
So much for a quiet getaway.
Chapter 17
Maylee hated being inside Dustin’s house. The faux wood paneling was peeling away from the walls. Tacky, mismatched furniture looked like the collected remnants of relationships long past.
But most of all, she hated feeling Helena’s ghost among the wreckage.
The lamps on either side of the couch came from the first little apartment they shared together. A pillow on a chair. The dishtowel hanging from the stove.
Objects, only. Helena’s face didn’t appear anywhere. Then again, why would Dustin want to see the face of the woman he’d killed in his den?
Ellis lunged for the two with a savage snarl. The noise yanked Maylee back to the task at hand.
Find Esme. Get free.
She spun around the wolf. As he promised, he provided the cover she needed. Ellis kept them off her as she took the stairs two at a time.
Down the hall.
To the nursery.
The room remained unchanged from the last time she’d been inside. A soft grey covered the walls, with a wallpaper border of yellow bricks and ducks. Over the crib, Esme’s name had been stenciled in black paint. Clothes and diapers Esme had outgrown lined the changing table, no doubt last stocked by her caring mother.
Inside the crib, Esme sat alone. No toys, no blankets. She broke into a grin as soon as Maylee appeared, giggling and reaching her arms to be picked up.
“Mmmamamamama,” she babbled.
Keep Esme safe.
Maylee reached for the cub as the words echoed through her head as loudly as if Helena spoke them all over again. Her heart seized in her chest. She’d tried her best, and her best took her home. She needed help like the kind the Rawlins pack tried to give her. She needed a partner like the kind Ellis wanted to be. Esme deserved a happy home and a full life.
Footsteps rushed up the stairs behind her. She feared the worst for a quick second. Then the scent of fur and moonlight filled her nose.
Ellis brushed against her side.
“I have her. We just need to get to Greg’s SUV—”
Behind her, down the hall, a door creaked open.
Maylee stiffened at the sound of boots rushing toward the room. Up the stairs, too, which meant the fight in the living room had been discovered.
They had to get out fast, before the rest of the clan was summoned.
“Put the brat down. Now,” Dustin growled.
Maylee slowly spun in place.
Dustin and Vinnie blocked the door. Ellis faced off against them and added to the roadblock. Any move they made was met with a lunge and a snap.
Which left one way out.
Maylee yanked the cord to jack up the blinds on the window. She hardly breathed as she worked the pane open. She held on tightly to Esme as she threw one leg over the ledge.
“Don’t you fucking do it,” Dustin ordered, power infused into his words.
Too bad, motherfucker. You’re not my alpha anymore.
Ellis glanced over his shoulder and for a single second, they locked eyes.
Emotion hung between them. Words they hadn’t spoken yet, but still barreled down on them like a train without brakes. Their future was so singularly clear in that moment. Mate marks and cubs, long nights tangled in each other’s arms and breakfasts on the go, trips into nature to reground themselves back with each other.
He’d promised to give her cover. He’d known something like this could happen, and made sure she understood what he wanted when her mind and heart felt torn apart.
He wanted her to get their girl free.
Their girl.
Maylee slid down the roof, holding tight to Esme, then shielded her as they dropped to the ground. Her ankles tingled on the hard landing, but nothing twisted or broke, and she bolted for Greg’s SUV as soon as she was upright.
Her lungs pumped hard. Her heart thundered in her chest. Her hands shook as she pried open the handle and slid behind the wheel with Esme in her lap.
Scrabbling claws and a sharp bark caught her attention as she slammed the door closed and pressed down all the locks. Ellis, still in wolf form, worked his way over the roof after her, with Vinnie right behind him. Dustin snarled from the window and shouted orders she didn’t hear, but still brought others running into the yard.
Ellis jumped from the roof and landed behind a wall of bears.
One long, mournful howl flooded her ears. Her chest tightened as she twisted the key in the ignition.
Get Esme free. Get their girl to safety.
Fists pounded on her window as she stomped on the gas. The SUV jumped forward and left the clan on the long driveway.
Maylee spun out onto the main road... and stopped.
What the hell was she doing?
She glanced in the rearview mirror. No one followed. No cars peeled out behind her to run her off the road for the second time in her life.
She couldn’t leave Ellis behind again. Not even at his order.
She knew the look he’d had in his eyes. That desperation, drinking up their last moment together. She was sick of that damn look. Helena had worn it. She refused to leave behind someone else who carried her heart.
Gritting her teeth, she spun the wheel around and drove back toward the figh
t.
* * *
Ellis listened to Maylee retreat. His heart felt like it was going to explode, but he kept up his small attacks against the bear clan. Lunge here, snap there, and their focus remained on him. He’d given Maylee the cover she needed to escape with Esme.
What came next didn’t matter so long as she stayed safe.
If he didn’t survive, Jensen and the rest would care for her. See that she found a place to lay low and rebuild her life. They wouldn’t turn their backs on her or the cub.
“Your bitch is gone now, wolf,” Dustin yelled from the roof.
Ellis canted his head between attacks. The man stood with his arms on his hips and a cruel smile on his lips. If fate was kind, Ellis would see the bastard dead before he gave up his final breath.
He snarled up at the man. Fucker needed to get down on his level for that to happen.
Ellis backed up the few steps to the front porch, lifted his leg, and pissed on the asshole’s steps.
Sharp rage stung his nose. Ellis lifted his eyes again to see Dustin’s face twisted in a snarl. Red spread over his cheeks and a vein thudded in his forehead.
“Kill him,” Dustin ordered.
Coward. Motherfucker. The weak sphincter of a spewing asshole.
Murderer who couldn’t kill someone his own size.
Wild yells filled Ellis’s ears as the clan punched in around him.
He whirled from one target to another. Fury sapped into every fiber of his being. His eyes saw the color of blood. His fangs were coated in the stuff. All the irritations and hurts and betrayals felt over a lifetime went into the final fight.
The worst hurt was felt deep in his heart. Never seeing Maylee and Esme again drove him into a berserker rage.
Bourbon and Bears: Book Three: Shifters and Sins Page 11
