Battle Scars (11 page)

An hour passed then two. I shifted my legs, straddling the branch as I fought the threatening cramps. I was getting too old to sleep in trees and right now my comfortable mattress called with a siren’s voice.

The wind shifted and brought me the scent of Felis.

More than one.

More than two.

More than three.

I resisted the urge to sigh. I hadn’t even tried to lose the enforcers knowing it’d waste time I didn’t have—not to mention the bastards had way more experience that I did on hiding, prowling and doing whatever their masters asked. The only hope I had was to outwit them.

And in my present state that was going to be a wee bit hard.

The sound of boots scraping below me brought me out of my reverie. I looked down to see a pair of youngsters scrambling up the trunk as if they were born to it, giggling like fools. They reminded me of kits discovering the fun of scaling anything and everything with their claws.

There were a lot of scratched and mangled wooden posts at the farm. Ruth hadn’t even tried to replace them, pointing out that Felis babies needed to play and enjoy their claws and she wasn’t going to switch out the cribs and staircase railings every time a new baby was dropped off at the daycare.

Ruth died before her time, a victim of Felis politics.

I’d be damned if I wouldn’t at least try to get these two free of that particular part of their heritage.

Evan Chandler was being a gentleman, letting Lisa Middleston climb first. It didn’t escape me that it also gave him an excellent view of her butt. The dark-haired teenager let out a laugh as his claws extended between his knuckles, allowing him to dig into the tree and get a good grip, better than most humans would be able to get.

He shifted his shoulders, adjusting the backpack. A rolled-up sleeping bag at the bottom of the aluminum frame bounced against his butt. His guitar sat against the pack, tied down with bungee cords.

Lisa’s red hair stood out against the leaves as she approached me, her own claws whittling away at the bark. The two of them were focused on each other, whispering and giggling as they sprang up the tree at a faster pace than I had. She wore the backpack’s twin a bit better than Evan, the belt around her hips snug enough to avoid the frame smacking against her body.

The pair smelled of soap and a dash of perfume. They were clean and looked good despite the dark circles under their eyes.

I guessed you had to get used to sleeping in a tree.

They passed by me without a glance, headed for higher ground. The Felis in me wanted to smack them hard for not bothering to use their god-given senses and be more aware of their surroundings—if I were one of the enforcers I’d have them bagged and tagged in a few minutes, to say nothing about delivering a strong sermon about displaying their claws in public. But they were in love and ignoring everything other than each other.

I reached inside my duster to get my cell phone. A quick text message told Bran to come and keep an eye open. I couldn’t ask him to cut off their escape route. Two young Felis fleeing would bowl him over and send him flying, not to mention putting him between the enforcers and the kids in a brawl he couldn’t win.

He’d dispute this considering he’d bested an adult Felis a few months before in a challenge but Carson had been injured and concussed. And I didn’t need to see Bran disemboweled either by the hunters or their prey in a frantic battle in the park. Felis didn’t kill each other and tried as hard as possible to avoid hurting or killing humans but I didn’t put much stock in the philosophy at the moment, given I still felt like I’d been worked over by a herd of rampaging buffalos.

I didn’t wait for Bran’s answer before moving to the trunk and pulling myself up, following the trail.

Gritting my teeth I willed my claws to come out. My lack of control over my Felis change hadn’t gotten any better, the natural shifting to a full Felis still out of reach. I’d manifested my claws a handful of times under stress and a full change most recently when I’d been shot but I still sat at the level of a newborn kit, stumbling around in the dark.

Nothing shot out from between my knuckles, the hard sharp nails staying silent and hidden.

I sighed and rolled my shoulders, feeling the strained muscles as I grabbed the ragged bark trunk.

By the time I’d gotten up to the same level as the runaways they’d already begun setting up their sleeping area, oblivious to my arrival.

Another black mark on the kits’ record. If I could smell them they sure should have been able to scent me. They were so wrapped up in each other they’d forgotten to be alert and aware of their surroundings.

True love.

A dark blue tarp swung between two branches sprouting close to each other, the fork allowing Evan to tie down the plastic with bungie cords twisted right around the thick wood. Lisa pulled a thin blanket out of her backpack and laid it across to give them some protection from the harsh plastic.

She hummed a familiar hunting song, adding to the warped domesticity around her. Another blanket came out and was neatly folded into a makeshift pillow, wadded into one end of the hammock.

The two hadn’t noticed me and I moved around to the other side of the tree and climbed above them. Technically I had them trapped between me and Bran at the bottom of the tree.

I didn’t have a lot of faith in technical.

I sat back and studied the pair as they snacked on a small bag of commercial trail mix and passed a water bottle between them. After getting smacked around I deserved to see exactly who I was dealing with.

Now that I had a clear view of him I had to admit Evan Chandler didn’t do his picture justice.

The short black hair brought out his blue eyes. He wasn’t one of those musicians who sat around all day composing. His biceps were pushing the dark blue T-shirt sleeves to their limit. I could easily imagine him working on a farm, splitting wood and doing chores before retreating to the barn and composing a romantic ode to Lisa.

Lisa Middleston didn’t look much like her father, which was probably a blessing. Her long red hair had been pulled back into a ponytail brushing her shoulders, the tight black shirt showing off the same excellent physical condition Evan was in. Her slender fingers seemed more suited for piano keys than working with bungee cords.

These weren’t spoiled city kids looking to live on the wild side for a night before going back to their monster mansions. These were two young people who had worked with their hands for almost all of their lives and were prepared to rough it in the big city to be together.

This wasn’t necessarily good news. If I’d been able to scare them back to their families offering a hot meal and soft pillows it’d be easier to approach them.

I moved out onto the branch above the pair and waited until they had curled up around each other in the makeshift hammock, cooing to each other.

I cleared my throat, wanting to catch them before I switched from observer to voyeur. “Evan,” I whispered. My idea was to approach them as quietly and as calmly as I could. No use causing a scene.

The teenager’s head snapped up. He pushed Lisa behind him and leaped onto one of the two branches, Changing as he went. Instead of confronting a young man I found myself facing a full-fledged Felis, his charcoal-black fur taking over his human features. His claws shot out and he snarled at me, his aggressive stance signaling an oncoming attack.

So much for not causing a scene.

Lisa stayed in the hammock but Changed as well, her cream-colored fur a startling contrast to her boyfriend’s dark coloring. She pushed herself to her knees with a curse and showed off an impressive set of incisors along with her own claws.

I held up both hands. Even if I could have Changed I wouldn’t have, not in this situation.

“You know I’m family,” I said as gently as I could. “I’m not here to fight.”

Evan’s nostrils twitched as he took me in. His baby blue eyes widened before narrowing into a hunter’s focused glare. He stayed in a fighting pose but waited for me to make the next move.

“Like I said, I’m not here to fight.” I turned my hands so they could see my lack of claws. “I’m here to talk.” I couldn’t help smiling. “Besides, you kids are too fast for me. Just about broke my neck getting up here, and I might have to call the fire department to get back down.”

That earned me a snicker from Evan and a muffled giggle from Lisa. The joke didn’t make us fast friends but we’d managed to back away from sworn enemies.

Evan risked a glance over at Lisa. She gave him a nod and Changed back. Evan followed close behind and we were all human again.

“Thank you.” I looked at Lisa. “Your dad asked me to find you. He said he wanted to talk to you one last time before you turn eighteen and go on your own way.”

She snorted. “Bullshit.”

“I know.”

Her shocked expression lasted a second before the mask fell. “So why are you here?” She grabbed at the makeshift pillow, rolling and folding the blanket.

“I was also hired by his mother.” I looked at Evan. “She didn’t have a cover story. Just wanted me to find you and bring you home before you hit your birthday.”

“Son of a—”

I cut Evan off before he got to the cursing. “I hear you. The problem is I’m not the only one looking for you.” I paused. “But I’m the best chance you have to get out of here together.”

Evan growled. “Bastard. I knew he wouldn’t let her go without a fight. Goddamn family feud.” He looked around. “Send a fucking army after her. How many are there?”

His claws shot out again, gleaming in the dim moonlight.

“One. For each of you.” I smiled. “Competing to the very end.”

Lisa stuffed the blanket into the backpack, her voice rising slightly. “Then we’ll run. Get out of the city. All we need is another two weeks, another couple of days.” She tugged at the tarp, climbing up on the branch to release the bungee cords. “As soon as we’re old enough they’ll leave us alone.”

I moved closer, very aware of Evan’s claws. “You think your families are going to let you do that? You don’t think they’ll keep on your trail, keep hunting you down to keep you apart?” I snorted. “I knew you were young, I didn’t think you were stupid.”

This earned me an angry snarl from Evan. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.” He pointed at me. “I’ve heard about you. You’re that damned misfit, that chick who can’t Change.”

I held up a finger. “That would be ‘that woman.’ At least try to be respectful of your elders. And don’t think for a second that you’re just going to scoot your asses down to the bus station and grab the next Greyhound for Vancouver.”

“You gonna stop us?” Evan said, baring his fangs.

“Nope.” I pointed down. “The two hunters waiting somewhere in this park will. Not to mention the cops who are on the lookout for you throughout the city.” I tilted my head to one side. “You don’t look stupid, you do the math. What do you think your odds are of staying free with enforcers from both families following your trail? You think skipping to another city, another province, another country is going to stop them from tracking you down? No Pride’s going to take you in without checking with the Board and what do you think they’re going to say with both families screaming for your hides?” I looked from one to the other. “You might have gotten away for now but are you really prepared for being on the run forever? Skipping from town to town before the locals get wind of you? What sort of life is that?”

The two didn’t answer.

“Exactly. You want to settle down somewhere you’ll have to deal with this here and now.”

Evan caught Lisa’s eyes and stared at her. She shook her head in quiet communication.

His claws retracted, leaving tiny slits between his knuckles. They’d heal soon enough.

“Good.” My pulse began to slow. I hadn’t been looking forward to a brawl with a kid half my age. “Now we need a plan.”

Chapter Seven

Lisa cocked her head to one side, studying me. “Don’t mean to be impolite but why would you want to help us? You’re getting paid by our families to find us, like a bounty hunter. You’re the bad guy or girl, whatever you want to call it.”

“True.” A stiff breeze shot through the branches bringing me the scent of the enforcers, down on the ground somewhere. Way too close for comfort. “But they hired me to find you. Not to hand you over to thugs who’ll drag you back home and the fact that both sides thought I’d be stupid enough to play their game pisses me off.” I gripped the wood, readjusting my balance. “Look, once you’re eighteen you can do what you want but I’m willing to bet that if I let your parents get hold of you neither of you will see each other ever again. Call me a hopeless romantic but I figure you two deserve to at least have a chance at true love.” I shifted on the branch, trying to feel more secure. “This family feud has got to stop and I think you’re the ones to stop it.”

“Damned idiots,” Evan grumbled. He looked at Lisa. “On both sides.” He pulled Lisa up beside him with his hand tight on her waist. “They can all go to hell. We love each other and no one’s going to stop us from being together.”

“How much?” I couldn’t hold back a frustrated snarl. “How far are you willing to go? I’m willing to go to the wall for you two to have a fair chance at making it work but you’re going to have to convince me you’re in this for the long haul, not just having a lark playing at being adults or trying to piss off your parents by dating the enemy.”

Evan’s lips curled away from his teeth. “I love her. If we have to run, then we run.”

“I got that. Hell, that’s why we’re up a tree together.” I pointed down at the ground. “But you go with her on the run you’re leaving your family. There’s no going back home, there’s no happy family dinners in the near future. There’s no help from anyone, you’ll be out on your own.” I studied his face. “You ready to say goodbye to your mother forever? You ready to blow off your friends, everyone you ever knew?”

“You left,” Evan shot back. “You survived.”

“I was pushed out,” I snapped. “And you have no idea how hard it was for me to make it.” I sliced the air with my hand, talking past the sudden lump in my throat. “We’re not talking about me. We’re talking about you, the two of you. Are you both ready to write off your families, your friends forever? Everyone you ever knew, everyone you worked and played with? Everyone?”

A panicked look came over Lisa’s face. She looked at Evan and I saw the crack in her mental wall.

“Look I get it. You’re in love,” I said. “Believe me it’s a wonderful feeling. I know that. But we all need family.” I said it again, pushing as much emotion as I could into the sentence. “We all need family. Even if we don’t like or love them at that moment we need them in our lives.”

I wasn’t just being preachy in order to keep the two of them around.

Felis relied on each other and our family ties to keep us strong, supported and secret. Every Felis tithed to their Pride to keep their Board running—they counted on having that support system around for family emergencies and for help if needed. If you lost your job the Pride would help you find one. If you got sick and couldn’t pay your bills the Pride would help out. If you needed someone found because of an emergency or crisis you called the Board and they’d declare a hunt.

I hadn’t needed the support, hadn’t been able to call on it for years. It was only recently that I’d been able to access it and only because I needed the family’s help to save a life.

Young Liam Callendar.

They’d come through, my Felis family. They’d helped find him and those responsible for his mother’s death and his kidnapping.

It was a debt I’d be a long time paying off, if I ever could.

I knew what I’d lost by being declared outcast. I wasn’t sure these kids knew what they were willing to throw away.

“We can go off the grid,” Evan said. “No one’ll find us. We’ll change our names, get fake I.D.”

I sighed. “Kit, that only works in the movies. You get a job, you rent a hotel room, you go into the doctor’s office for a cut finger you’ll be found. You have no idea how deep the family’s connections run.”

His lips curled away from his teeth. “I’m not a kit.” He stood up, balancing on the thick tree limb. “I’m a man.”

“Not for a few more days,” I shot back. “And being a man means thinking things through, not jumping at the first thing you see like you’re on your first hunt. Right now you’re up a tree without a way down except through a pair of angry thugs.”

“So what do we do?” Lisa asked. She looked at Evan. “I don’t want to go home. Not this way.”

“First,” I held up a finger, “first we get you out of this tree and out of the line of fire. Get you someplace safe where we can sit and think without me getting splinters up my ass. Give me some breathing space and let me see what I can arrange to make everyone happy.”

“Why should we trust you?” Evan said.

I spread my hands. “I’m the best one you’ve got.” I locked eyes with the young man. “If you’ve got a better idea, I’m open to hearing it.”

That shut him up for a few minutes as he glared at me.

Evan broke eye contact and turned back to Lisa, who was busy packing up the tarp, folding the dark blue plastic into a fat square and putting it back in her pack along with the bungee cords. It was pretty obvious who the organized one in this couple was.

She let out an annoyed huff. “I can’t believe my dad sent someone after me,” she said. “Who is it?”

“Eddie Longstrand.” I nodded at Evan. “And your peeps sent Nathan McCallister, a fucking thug.” I touched the side of my head. “Slammed me into a wall when we were in the parking lot.”

“That was you in the parking lot?” His expression turned from surly to sadness. “I’m sorry about that. I scented him and ran, didn’t even think about the commotion behind me.” He looked at Lisa. “Remember I told you there was some sort of fight in the lot? That must have been her.”

“Oh.” She turned her attention to me. “Are you okay? Evan said there was an ambulance.”

“I’m okay. Head’s too thick to know when to crack.” I mimicked Hank’s earlier joke of knocking on my skull and immediately regretted it when my knuckles hit an egg-sized lump. “Damned hard bodycheck, though.”

“Yeah.” Evan shook his head. “He’s a punk all right. Little weasel’s been slithering around my family for years. Married my cousin, widowed a few years later.” A puzzled look crossed his face. “At least I think it was my cousin.”

I resisted the urge to laugh. Instead I pulled out my cell phone and tapped a text message to Bran, giving him an update on the situation.

The response flew back a few seconds later.

DON’T SEE ANYONE BUT NOT SURPRISED. YOU GONNA ALL RUN?

I hesitated before answering, running through scenarios in my mind. Even on my best day I couldn’t hold off two enforcers and I couldn’t ask Bran to take them on. The kids were willing and eager to fight but these were two battle-hardened men who wouldn’t mind drawing blood if it accomplished their mission to retrieve the kids. Dragging Evan and Lisa back bloody and beaten was a perfectly acceptable option to them.

I’M OPEN TO IDEAS.

Bran’s response came back a minute later.

STAY THERE. I HAVE ONE.

I looked down between the leaves and spotted him over near the fountain, strolling casually as if he had nothing better to do than play on his cell phone. I hoped he had a better idea than sitting here until dawn. I wasn’t sure how long the enforcers’ patience would keep them in the bushes and hidden.

I already had proof McCallister had all the self-control of a whiny brat.

The pair were waiting for everyone around to go to sleep or at least be too tired to take notice of strange things happening in the couples tree. A little noise, a little growling and anyone still awake would think someone was getting it on with their partner instead of a double kidnapping.

The comforting thing was no one would be killed. Felis didn’t kill Felis.

It didn’t mean there wasn’t a chance of injuries, however. And if it took a broken arm to get Evan back to his family and a twisted ankle to get Lisa back to the Middlestons, I had no doubt they’d do it.

We waited in silence. I stretched out my legs, working out a possible cramp. It’d been a long time since I’d climbed a tree and I didn’t miss it a bit.

“So how did the two of you meet?” I asked. “I’m assuming it wasn’t over a potluck dinner at the farm.”

Lisa giggled and relaxed a bit, leaning into Evan’s shoulder as they sat on the branch. “I found him in the dinosaur exhibit. Right by a huge stuffed sabertooth cat.”

“We went to different schools,” Evan interrupted. “Never met each other. But one day we ended up going downtown to the Royal Ontario Museum for a field trip. A couple of classes from a bunch of schools all packed onto the same set of buses headed down to the city.” He turned and smiled at Lisa. “I saw her hanging out with a few of her friends and knew she was my soul mate. Walked over and introduced myself, wowed her girl posse and they all took off, leaving her with me.” His chest puffed out. “She looked at me and I was done for.”

I couldn’t help smiling.

Lisa took up the tale. “I knew he was family so I figured it’d be okay to talk to him. Didn’t even occur to me to ask for his last name. I got his phone number after we had lunch together.” She took his hand and squeezed it. “I was all bold and brassy about asking for his number but inside I was all terrified and shaking that he’d say no, that he didn’t like me that much after all.”

“As if.” Evan placed a light kiss on her cheek.

“When did your parents find out?” I asked.

Evan spoke first. “We started texting back and forth as soon as we got back home trying to arrange a get-together.”

Lisa interrupted. “There’s a mall in Barrie that my friends go to all the time to hang out. We met there a few times with our school buddies, sort of chaperoning us.” She gave me a sheepish smile. “Playing it safe. Can’t ever be too careful these days.”

Evan took up the story. “So we’re running up the phone bills with the texting, as you can guess. My mother looked at the cell phone records and saw me making all these text messages to a number. We were getting close to maxing our calling plan out so she checked out who I was calling.” He shook his head. “She freaked when she realized Lisa was a Middleston. Screamed and yelled about how she killed my grandmother.”

“Which I didn’t,” Lisa muttered.

“Wait. Neither of you knew about the feud?” I pointed at each in turn. “No daily roll call of your mortal enemies, no mantra about spilling blood for blood?”

Lisa shrugged. “Sure, Dad talked a lot about it. Told me the Chandlers fixed it all up, picked a field with a rabbit warren nearby to make sure Grandma would be at a disadvantage. She trips, falls and dies and it’s all the Chandlers’ fault.” She squeezed Evan’s hand. “I told him it was an accident.”

“The story I got told was that Maureen Middleston didn’t want to fight but Laura Chandler goaded her on so much that she went into a rage and didn’t see where she was going,” Evan said. “When Laura ran to get help she broke her leg by tripping over one of those same holes. Be pretty stupid to get caught by your own plan.” He looked at me. “I’m not saying my grandmother wasn’t partially responsible but that’s in the past. I’m not running my life based on old bones.”

“You’re pretty mature for your age.” I winced as I pulled up one leg, tucking it under me. “Most young men would be intimidated by their mother acting that way.”

“My older brother, he’s the dedicated one.” Evan rolled his eyes. “Dale, he thinks we’re at war. Mom and he never stop whining about the business, who screwed who and how to screw the Middlestons and their friends. But he’s a mama’s boy. Gets himself all buffed up, works out and talks tough but I know he’s a pussy.”

Both Lisa and I winced at the word.

Evan flushed. “Sorry, ladies.”

“How aggressive is your mother?” I asked, giving Evan a way out of his faux pas. “Is she likely to send your brother after you or Lisa if her enforcer can’t pull it off by himself?”

“Not if she’s smart,” he snarled. “Michael knows he can’t take me in a fight. He might be older but I’m faster.”

“And your mother?” I prompted. “Could she get into it beside McCallister, back him up?”

He shook his head. “She’s getting older and more tired with every brawl. There’s been a few challenges over the years, mostly from family friends who don’t want to lose money for what they see as history.” He spotted my frown and continued. “She’s been nitpicking at the Middlestons for years, undercutting them where she can. My dad ran a construction company, so she tries to poach contracts from the Middlestons. Problem is, now we’re running on fumes ’cause she keeps losing money on the deals.”

“Wait a minute.” I waded through the confusion in my mind. “So Mary Chandler is your mom’s married name? She married into the family?”

It wasn’t that I didn’t trust Red’s version of events but I needed verification.

Evan sighed. “Nope. Before Laura Chandler died she made both of her daughters promise to keep the Chandler name even if they got married, continue the bloodline. My dad’s name is Farmington and he was the sole one who used it to the day he died.”

My head buzzing, I turned to Lisa. “And your dad works in construction. Does he have any brothers?” It wasn’t just to make idle conversation. I needed to know the potential number of Felis we could be facing if Jake decided to bring everyone to the party to get his daughter back.

“He’s an only child,” Lisa said. “He’s got plenty of friends, though, and crib brothers.” She scrunched up her face. “Like Eddie. He’s a nice guy but I know he’s done some nasty things in the past for my dad.”

I rubbed my face with both palms, keenly aware of maintaining my balance. I’d gotten some information but the cold hard truth was that if we were facing one or one hundred angry Felis it didn’t matter—it’d still be too many for me and these kids to handle.

“How passionate is your dad about this feud?”

Lisa shrugged. “Told me and my sisters we weren’t ever to talk to a Chandler, be in the same room as a Chandler, the usual babble. I hear him cursing once in awhile, when he’s gotten screwed out of a contract from Chandler or her buddies. But he’s not as fanatical as Evan’s mother, I think.”