Brad took it and scrolled through while Avery looked over his shoulder. “And you believe the brother of a man you know has him?”
Beck gave a brief account of what happened to Lim. “I think he’s the person who sent the images to Kassia.”
“How did he have her number?” Brad asked.
“I lost my phone in the bakery the same day as Kassia first received the messages. I think Matis got a hold of my phone and sent them.” It all fell into place. “He used that as a decoy. We put all our attention on Kassia while he was focused on taking Hex.”
“He must be a man with a plan,” Avery said. “Hex is not an easy man to take down.” She frowned as she flicked back through the images of Hex tied up and gagged. Putting two of her fingers on the screen, she zoomed in. “There’s blood on his forehead. I guess he must have taken Hex by surprise.”
“Shall we go?” Beck asked as his concern for his brother grew. “Hex might need medical attention.”
“Okay, we’ll take my truck and, Mac, why don’t you drive, too. We’ll stop just here.” He pointed to a curve in the road before the barn. “There we’ll make a plan.”
“The guy is a shifter,” Beck warned. “If we all go in, he’ll know, and he might react.”
“Okay, let’s stop here instead,” Brad pointed to a section of the road about a mile away from the barn. “I doubt his senses can reach that far.”
“Wait, Beck is not going in alone,” Mac insisted.
“He might have to,” Brad replied. “But let’s talk about it when we get there. I need the drive to give me a few minutes to think things over.” He nodded and turned back toward his truck.
“We’ll get Hex back,” Avery assured them as she followed her boss to the truck.
“I hope she’s right,” Kassia pulled the front door closed and they followed Mac to his truck.
“I could drive,” Beck insisted.
“You could.” Mac opened up his truck and climbed inside. “But we want to get there in one piece and you’re on edge.”
“I’m in complete control,” Beck assured his brother.
“I’m glad one of us is,” Mac told him. “Because I’m fighting the need to shift and tear a certain wolf apart.”
See, you are the same, his bear told Beck. That’s why you have issues.
Beck buckled up his seatbelt and glanced sideways at Kassia who was seated next to him. We’re not quite the same, he reminded his bear. I have so much more to lose.
Then we need to protect Mac from himself and Hex from Lim’s brother.
Easy, Beck replied.
Although, he suspected none of this was going to be easy.
Chapter Twenty – Kassia
“Did you plan to take off on your own?” Kassia asked as they drove toward the meeting place.
Beck glanced nervously at Mac, who side-eyed him. His brother already knew the answer. “Yes. I figured I could go alone and no one else would get hurt.”
“What stopped you?” Kassia asked as she laced her fingers through his.
“My bear. He persuaded me that Brad is the best person to deal with this.” Beck smiled sadly at her. “He reminded me I’m not in this alone.”
“You’re not,” Kassia confirmed. “Although I think we both understand how you feel. You wanted to protect us. Which I appreciate. But I’m happy you changed your mind and came back. We’re stronger together.”
“We are,” Mac chimed in.
“I’m beginning to understand that,” Beck admitted. “But I’m still going to need reminding from time to time.”
“That’s what we’re here for,” Kassia told him.
Beck took out his phone and checked for messages, his expression grave as he pushed his phone back into his pocket. “I don’t know what I’ll do if anything happens to Hex.”
“He’ll be just fine,” Kassia assured him even though she had no way to know who or what faced them when they reached the rendezvous point.
They drove the rest of the way in silence, each of them lost in their own thoughts. In some ways Kassia wished this had all been about her. She wished Mindy had been responsible for the photos because a pissed-off Mindy would be much easier to deal with than an angry wolf shifter.
As Mac steered his truck to the side of the road and stopped behind the sheriff’s truck, Kassia’s stomach flipped over with nerves. When she’d come to Bear Creek, all she’d expected was to look after her aunt. Instead, she was caught up in a hostage situation involving shifters.
“I could go in,” Mac insisted as they got out of the truck and joined Brad and Avery on the side of the road a mile away from the barn.
“No, it has to be me,” Beck insisted as he shut the truck door.
“Why?” Mac asked. “He would still only sense one of us approaching. He wouldn’t know it wasn’t you until the last minute.”
“If he’s alone,” Beck replied. He looked around, no doubt pushing his senses to the limit as he searched the area. Kassia felt completely useless. All she could hear was the sound of birds calling and the noise of an occasional car as it drove by.
“There’s no one here,” Brad told him. “I’ve pushed my senses as far as they can go, and I can’t sense anyone.”
“Me neither,” Mac agreed.
“But we don’t know if Matis is watching for me to approach the barn. We don’t know how he’ll react if he sees it’s someone else.” Beck needed to do this. Kassia understood his drive to deal with this himself. He needed closure. Just as Kassia had needed closure with Travis.
“Here’s my idea,” Brad began as he held his hand up to silence Mac and Beck. “We wait here while Mac drives by. It’s a road, there’s other traffic, so whoever is watching won’t know we’re spying on them.”
“I get it. I can sense how many people are at the barn.” Mac nodded. “Good idea.”
“But you keep driving,” Brad warned him. “You don’t go all maverick on us, understand?”
“Completely.” Mac kept his eyes on the road as he went back to his truck.
“Promise.” Kassia ran behind Mac and placed her hand on his arm, forcing him to turn to look at her. “Promise me you won’t stop the truck and go in there yourself.”
Mac tilted his head sideways as he looked at her. “I should have insisted you went back to the sawmill.”
“Promise,” Kassia repeated.
“I promise.” He gave her a sad smile and then he glanced over her shoulder at Beck. “I just want my brothers safe.”
“And they want you safe, too.” Kassia looked back at Beck. “He needs you and Hex.”
Mac nodded and slipped his arms around her, pulling her close. “He needs you, too,” he whispered in her ear.
“Then we all need to come out of this alive.” A worried smile slid over her lips before she swallowed down her fear and pulled away from Mac. “Take care, Mac.”
“I will.” He yanked his truck door open and climbed inside. “I’ll call you after my drive by.”
“Okay.” Brad lifted his hand and waved to Mac. As the truck pulled away and drove toward the barn, they all waited in silence.
Kassia went to Beck, who gave her a weak smile before he put his arm around her shoulders and held her close.
The wait seemed eternal. Kassia began to wonder if Mac had broken his word and had gone to the barn himself to rescue Hex. What if he blew it and they both got hurt? What if Mac lost control as he tried to rescue Hex?
Beck’s phone rang, and they all jumped. He grabbed it and answered it quickly. “Mac?”
“I can only sense Hex and one other person. They’re in the back of the barn on the side farthest away from the road.” Mac relayed the information through gritted teeth. “I want to turn right around and drive back to the barn. I can take him out.”
“That’s what I was thinking,” Brad said.
“What?” Beck’s fist clenched at his side as he rounded on the sheriff and the phone shook in his hand. “I thought we agreed I
was going in.”
“Wait.” Brad put his hand up to Beck. “You haven’t heard the rest of my plan.”
“Go ahead, Brad,” Mac said calmly.
“Beck goes in alone, but as he reaches the barn, he messages Mac to let him know he’s in position. Then, Mac drives back along the road, when he gets to the turn to the barn, he swerves off the road and goes in as backup. If we work it right, then Matis won’t have time to react. He’ll be too focused on Beck.” By Brad’s expression, it didn’t seem as if he was totally convinced this plan would work, however, Kassia figured it was the best plan they could come up with that didn’t leave either Beck or Mac going in alone.
“Okay.” Beck nodded. “I’m going to send a message and tell the guy I’m on my way in.”
“You don’t think the element of surprise is the best way?” Kassia asked, forgetting that Matis was a shifter and there was no element of surprise.
“He’ll know by the time I get within a hundred feet or more. I don’t want him to think I’m trying to sneak up and I also don’t want him to overreact.” Beck gazed down at her worried face, his eyes soft and filled with love.
Kassia’s heart ached for the man who had come to mean so much to her in such a short space of time. She couldn’t bear the thought that she might lose him. Or lose a part of him, if anything happened to his brothers.
“Come back to me.” She took hold of his shirt and pulled him toward her. Slipping her arms around his neck, she lifted her chin and he lowered his head and captured her lips.
“I will.” Their kiss deepened and the world melted away.
“Promise?” she asked.
“I promise.” He broke their kiss. “I love you, Kassia.”
“I love you, too, Beck.” She let him go, praying he would be okay. That they would all be okay, even Matis.
Chapter Twenty-One – Beck
I’m here. Beck sent the message to Matis as he left his mate and the others behind.
I’m waiting, came back the near instant reply.
Swallowing down his fears for Hex, Beck pulled out his phone and checked the direction of the barn. He needed to cross the road and then make his way through the trees heading west. That was the most direct route and if he circled around and came at the barn from the side furthest away from the road, it might help divert Matis’s attention away from Mac’s approach.
We could handle this alone, his bear ground out.
And if we don’t? Beck asked. It’s better to have Mac with us as backup.
Not if it spooks Matis and he hurts Hex, his bear replied.
I think Matis is planning on hurting Hex no matter what. He wants us to suffer. He wants us to feel the same pain he feels.
But his brother isn’t dead, is he? His brother is in prison. His bear bristled with anger. How could anyone come here to their home and threaten their family?
Calm down, we have to stay in control. Beck rolled his shoulders and then let his arms drop at his sides. The tension in his body eased and he jogged across the road before disappearing into the trees.
Beck shifted as soon as he was out of view of the road. It would be easier for his bear to run through the trees than Beck’s human form. He just hoped his bear would hand back control when they reached the barn.
Pushing his senses out to their absolute limit, Beck tried to locate Hex and Matis. They were still out of reach and his bear ran faster, a sense of urgency filling him. They were scared, frightened that Matis would hurt Hex before they arrived. That they might find their brother in a pool of blood on the floor with Matis nowhere to be found.
What if Matis intended to harm both his brothers?
A chill passed through Beck’s bear, but they focused on reaching the barn. There was no point worrying over a future that might not be real.
He’s alive. His bear sensed Hex before he located Matis standing at the barn door, waiting for Beck.
He hasn’t sensed us yet, Beck said.
If I ran fast, perhaps we could punch a hole through the back of the barn and grab Hex before Matis can react. His bear put his head down and ran faster but Beck didn’t like it.
We shouldn’t change the plan, his human side insisted.
But we could get Hex out safely without putting Mac in danger, too, his bear insisted.
Beck fought for control. I’m going to text Mac. Then we can try your plan.
His bear slid to a halt but didn’t let go of the world around him. He clung to it like a drowning man clings to a piece of driftwood in the hope of keeping afloat.
Beck held his breath, scared he’d lost control, scared that his bear would overreact and make things worse.
I told you I am the one who is always in control, his bear answered as he finally let go.
As his bear faded out of the world and Beck replaced him, there was a moment of realization for Beck. A moment when he understood his bear’s actions completely. You don’t think I have control, Beck accused.
You are the one with the hot-headed temper, his bear reminded him.
Beck took out his phone and texted Mac. I’m going in.
Those days are gone, Beck replied. I saw what happened to Lim and I am not going to be that person. I promise.
Beck took a step forward and then another while he waited for Mac’s reply. On my way.
Beck stood still. He held onto the world around him. The birds in the trees, the damp earth beneath his feet. He let it all in. This was life, this was freedom, and neither he nor his bear would ever want that taken from them.
We’ve got this, his bear told him.
We do. Beck let his bear free. He let his bear take control and shifted so that they could rescue their brother.
They ran as if the devil were chasing them. His bear summoned all of his speed and strength and ran toward the back of the barn. At the peripheral of his senses was Mac in his truck. He was driving toward the barn at full speed.
Soon Beck didn’t need his super shifter senses to locate Mac, the sound of the engine revving filled the forest, the smell of gas and the sound of the wheels on the gravel driveway drowned out the scents and sounds of the forest.
Beck kept track of Mac and the truck as it approached the barn while also keeping tabs on Hex and Matis. Events were unfolding rapidly and one wrong move by either Mac or Beck could endanger Hex.
Matis is moving, he’s going toward Hex. His bear roared loudly, sending out a challenge to the wolf shifter inside the barn.
With his head down and his legs pumping, he propelled himself forward, racing with the truck to see who would reach the barn first.
The dilapidated planks of wood making up the side of the barn came into view as Beck broke through the trees, twigs and branches snapping as he plowed through them.
Hex was moving. His bear could sense the two men inside the barn locked in a fight.
An unfair fight, Beck’s temper flared as his brother fought for his life with his hands tied behind his back.
Beck’s bear scanned the side of the barn, looking for a weakness as he ran at it. With a giant leap he stuck his massive paws out in front of him and sliced through the rotted timber. Tucking his head between his front legs like a high diver about to enter the water, his bear crashed through the barn wall and landed on the ground, legs splayed as his claws dug into the soft ground to stop his forward momentum.
Splintered wood lay all around him as he spun around and faced Matis.
“You’re just in time to watch me take my revenge!” Matis yelled as he lunged at Hex with a knife.
Hex pulled back his leg and smashed it into the side of Matis’s head, sending him reeling. As he hit the ground, the knife flew out of his hand. With a howl of rage, he leaped to his feet, shifting into his wolf as he landed on four feet.
This just got interesting, Beck’s bear said as he stalked toward the wolf.
But the wolf didn’t intend to fight the bear. He intended to tear Hex’s throat out.
No match for the
wolf, Hex was vulnerable to an attack. Beck’s bear pushed back on his haunches before he leaped forward, arcing through the air with his teeth bared.
Beck smashed into the side of the wolf, knocking the wind from his lungs. For a moment, Beck thought it was over, but the wolf dragged himself to his feet and snarled in rage.
He flew at Beck, foaming at the mouth as he opened his large jaws and aimed for the bear’s throat. But Beck had spent hours sparring with his brothers and he wasn’t about to be taken down by a wolf.
Pulling his right paw back like a boxer about to land the knockout punch, he lunged forward, smashing into the side of the wolf’s head. There was a loud crack and the wolf fell to the ground, just as the truck plunged through the front of the barn, shattering the doors.
“Beck.” Mac jumped out of the truck and ran toward his brothers.
“Don’t worry, he’s not dead,” Hex said in a muffled voice from his position on the ground. In the struggle the tape had come off from one side of his mouth.
“And neither are you, which is what matters most.” Mac shot forward to help his brother to his feet as Beck slumped down onto the ground in relief.
“Hey, it’s okay,” Hex shook his hands as Mac untied him and helped him to his feet. “Although you could have aimed the wolf away from my head.”
Mac placed his hand on Beck’s shoulder. “You did good.”
“It doesn’t feel good.” Beck’s emotions were in shreds, he could have lost his brother, he could have killed a man.
But we didn’t, his bear reminded him. We saved Hex, and Matis is still very much alive and breathing, even if he is unconscious.
But what now? Hex asked. Another brother behind bars.
That is not our decision, his bear answered as Brad’s truck pulled up outside the barn. We are not the law.
“Beck!” his mate called to him, her voice full of anguish.
“Over here.” Beck stuck his hand in the air and then shoved himself up off the ground.
“Are you all okay?” Kassia ran forward, her arms outstretched as she reached her mate and hugged him.
“Yeah, we’re all good.” Mac shot Beck a questioning glance and he nodded in agreement.
Beck (Winter - Shifter Seasons Book 2) Page 16
