Croc and the Fox (13 page)

her. “Shoot!” screamed their leader, spittle flying. “Shoot her

 

before she –”

The leader of the hunters didn’t finish his sentence. In one fell swoop, she silenced him. Crunching her jaws, eating her snack, she eyed the other puny creatures holding black sticks. One of them made a loud noise and a moment later something stung her.

She roared. They ran. Her ears perked up.
Prey!
Tail high, she chased, their scents easy to follow. She caught a fleeing figure with a gleeful pounce. She ate, savoring the fresh meal. Yum.

Chapter Sixteen

It took Mason, accompanied by Dr. Manners and several of the best agents FUC had to offer, a few hours to make it to Viktor’s cabin. When his croc buddy failed to check in, they’d immediately gotten on their way because Viktor wouldn’t miss calling without good reason. Mason just couldn’t believe someone would have gotten the drop on his friend and mentor. Even when confronted with the empty cabin – everything in its place, no sign of a struggle – Mason couldn’t allow himself to believe that he man who trained him was perhaps in trouble.

Viktor always came out ahead. The man possessed uncanny instincts and was deadly with a gun, and even more so with a knife.

But then again, his single buddy was perhaps distracted by a certain redhead. Mason had never seen Viktor behave so out of character. Letting a woman stake a claim on his lap? The Viktor he knew was more likely to shove her off. Or had, until Renee. As for taking her to his cabin on the pretext of getting her to relax so she could shapeshift? Mason never heard a bigger load of crock in his life. Viktor never took women to his private haven. But he took the fox.

On the hunt for the croc and his charge, was Mason going to accidentally interrupt something naked and sweaty? He hoped not. He’d just eaten some delicious honey buns and he’d hate to bring them back up.

“Cabin is clear,” he announced to the men milling around the structure. “Let’s fan out and see if we can pick up a trail. Maybe he met a croc bigger than him and got hurt.” Or the love bug bit him.

Dr. Manners went to follow him into the forest when Mason halted him. “Where are you going, doc?”
“With you, of course.”
“You any good at tracking?”
“No, but if there’re injuries, my presence could make a difference.”
“Viktor’s a shifter and a tough son of a bitch. Short of a blast to the head or decapitation, he’ll survive.”
“Have you ever seen a broken leg heal crooked when it’s not set correctly?” Dr. Manners asked. “It’s not pretty for anyone. Having me along could make a difference. Not to mention, we have no idea how Renee’s ability to heal might have gotten affected by her testing.”
“Valid points, but we don’t know what we might run

into.” To his credit, the doctor didn’t back down. “I might not

have the same training as you, but I can take care of myself.” “What if we run into some of the mastermind’s
henchmen?” Mason asked.
A smile curved the doctor’s lips. “Then it’s a good thing
my beast likes fresh meat. Shall we?”
With a snort of mirth, Mason let his nose lead the way.
Lucky for him, his keen sense of smell picked up a trail. It led
down to the marsh, then to a crumpled pile of long grass where
he got the distinct scent of his old unit buddy getting lucky. But
it was the feathered dart on the ground that raised his hackles. Dropping to his knees, he lifted the missile and sniffed,
the distinct medical aroma a bad sign. Someone drugged them.
But who? Regular human hunters who thought they’d caught
themselves a large prize? Or deadly shifters, ones with nefarious

reasons?Pulling his cell phone from his belt, Mason sent out a

text to the other units.
Hostiles in area. Proceed with caution.
He also texted them the exact coordinates of his location. “You still with me, doc?”
Loosening his tie, the doctor unbuttoned the top of his shirt. “I don’t give up easily, bear. Lead the way.”
As Mason jogged along the trail that no one bothered to hide, he called his wife via his Bluetooth.
“What’s up?” she said immediately answering, the sound of her typing in the background the sign of her multitasking ability. By all the honey in the world, he loved how she used that skill in the bedroom.
“Up? Not me, that’s for sure. Viktor and his charge seem to have been abducted.”
“By who?”
“I’m not sure yet. But they came prepared with darts laced with some kind of drug. Sedative I’d wager. No blood though, which is a good sign. It means they wanted them undamaged.”
“Do you think it was the mastermind? How though? I’m sure Viktor didn’t tell anyone he and Renee were heading there. It was spur of the moment.”
“Well, I knew as did you,” Jessie answered. “And Kloe. But that’s it as far as I know.”
“I knew they were going to his cabin,” Manners offered, apparently able to hear Jessie’s side of the conversation. Privacy didn’t exist for shifters in close proximity. “They talked about it when they came to the safe house for some tests.”
“We have a mole,” Mason growled.
“Not for long,” Jessie announced. “I’ll check the safe house phones and computers for breaches to the outside.”
“Sounds good. I’ll call you back when we find them.”
“Oh, no you won’t. You keep that line open so I can hear what’s going on.”
“Bossy swan.” He said it affectionately.
“Love you too,” she sassed.
Mason slowed his pace as a metallic tang filled his senses. Not far ahead, there was blood. “Stay behind me, doc.” Inching forward, Mason trained his ears, listening for any sound of a possible ambush. He kept breathing deep, looking for a scent that didn’t belong. However, the aroma of death permeated everything.
Signs of violence began to litter the path. Lonely shoe over here. Tattered remnants of a shirt. Blood. Cracked tree limbs. More blood. It looked like a violent tornado went tearing through the forest taking out –
sniff, sniff
– shifters along its way. Or did he gaze upon the remains of a rampaging croc?
Nah. He didn’t for a moment think Viktor did it because his friend tended to make clean kills, saving the maiming only for special occasions.
Inhaling again, Mason tried to sift the scents. The distinct tang unique to shifters rose above the coppery one of blood, however, he couldn’t pinpoint which of the many smells caused the destruction.
“What did this?” the doctor asked, kneeling to grasp a long russet strand caught on the bore of a tree.
Given the length of the hair, Mason didn’t entirely want

to know.“Did what?” Jessie asked.

He didn’t explain, taking instead an image and emailing it to her. Her soft gasp in his earpiece let him know she’d received it. “What has hair that long? Be careful,” she whispered.

“Aren’t I always?”
“That’s not reassuring,” she snapped.
“Don’t worry. I’ve got Doctor Manners here guarding my

back.”What she said next made him bite his lip, especially

 

when the doc’s eyes widened. Jessie had quite the tongue on her – in and out of bed.

On silent feet, he continued on his way, following the trail of violence. Mason let out a low whistle as he popped from the dense trees into a clearing. “Holy cow.”

“What? What is it?” Jessie’s voice crackled in his ear, his

Bluetooth not liking the reception out in the boonies. “What kind of animal did you say Renee was?” he
whispered as he held out a hand to hold back the doctor who
also gaped at the scene.
“Fox. Why?”
“And how big are those?”
“I don’t know, not big, like twenty to forty pounds, I
think. Shifter ones tend to be larger of course. Mason, why are
you asking me that? What’s going on over there?”
He didn’t answer. Couldn’t, because he held his breath
and froze in place.
Don’t wake up. Don’t wake up.
He silently
chanted as he tried to take in the creature in the clearing. Didn’t work.
Immense eye lids pulled back to reveal an enormous pair
of golden orbs. They were pretty compared to the giant fangs –
longer than his arm – that emerged from a peeled lip. “Mason,” Jessie hissed. “Answer me. What’s going on?
Why is it so quiet?”
“Turns out Renee can shapeshift,” he answered in a low
rumble, not once taking his eyes off the massive red fox. “That’s good isn’t it?” Jessie questioned.
“Not for me. She’s freaking huge. I mean, she makes
Miranda’s bunny look cuddly.”
“You’re kidding.”
“I wish,” he muttered holding up his phone to take a
picture. He sent it and a moment later his mate whistled. “Damn, that’s a big vixen. What are you going to do?
And where’s Viktor?”
Dr. Manners nudged him, then pointed. Underneath the
giant, twitching tail, they caught a glimpse of a prone figure,
naked and bloody, but Mason would recognize that close
cropped haircut anywhere.
“Damn. That’s him. He’s not moving and I don’t like the
looks of that blood. Did she kill him?”
Manners shook his head. “I saw his chest moving. I think
she’s guarding him.”
Taking a peek around at the wreckage of the camp, and
the way the giant fox regarded them warily, her tail curled
protectively around his friend, Mason agreed.
“So how do we get him out?”
“Why don’t we ask?” Manners took a step forward. “Hi,
Renee. Do you remember me? We met yesterday when you came
in for some tests.”
A growl, that just about shook the ground with its tenor,
saw the doctor hastily retreat.
“Nice try, dumbass. Remind the girl of something she

hates.”“What do you suggest then?” the doctor snapped.

“Don’t you have like a tranquilizer, or sedative, or something?”
“Yeah, a bottle of them in my bag. Think she’ll open wide so I can dump them in?” he asked sarcastically.
“Hey idiots,” Jessie cajoled. “Why don’t you wake up Viktor instead? I’ll bet you if anyone can talk her into her human shape, it’s him.”
“I was just going to suggest that.”
“Sure you were,” Jessie agreed in a placating tone.
Worse, Mason could just picture her rolling her eyes in her office. Damn, but he loved her feathery ass. But she did make a good suggestion. “Viktor.” Mason spoke in a loud whisper that made Renee’s tail twitch. “Vi-i-k-t-o-r-r.”
The enormous red fox tensed at his drawn out, sing song version of the name.
Dr. Manners snorted. “Keep going at it like that, and he’ll sleep until next week and we’ll end up dinner. This is how you do it. Quick, like a band aid. VIKTOR! WAKE UP!”
Up went the tail, back went the ears, and a mouthful of teeth appeared along with a low rumble that didn’t bode well.
“Oh shit. Run!”
“Don’t move,” the doctor hissed. “If you run, she’ll think you’re prey.”
Foot frozen in midair, Mason halted his planned escape and watched the bristling fox as she stood over his friend, her hackles up and teeth bared in a snarl. “So what should we do?”
“Nothing. I just saw Viktor move his hand which means he’s regaining consciousness. We’ll let him take care of his girlfriend.”
“Good plan.” Anything that involved Mason not getting eaten worked for him. But Mason had to wonder what was up with the guys he knew falling for women with great big fangs? First his brother and his saber toothed bunny and now Viktor with his giant sized fox. He’d take his wife’s normal sized feathery tail any day. Preferably bent over the armrest of the couch.

Chapter Seventeen

A deep growl, a tremble of the earth, and a face full of fur. “What the hell?” Viktor croaked as he came back to the land of the living, and a truckload of pain. A wet swipe of a tongue across his face had him sputtering. “Ew. Damn. What’s going on?” Then a more pressing thought. “Renee!”

“Calm down, dude. Renee’s fine, more or less.”

Mason? What was the bear doing out here? On second thought,
why aren’t I dead?
Last thing Viktor recalled, he got shot, more than once, and he told Renee to run. “Where is she?” He couldn’t hide the panic in his tone.

“Right beside you,” Mason replied. “She’s the one licking your face.”
Cracking open an eye and seeing the massive head hovering over him, big golden orbs staring intently, Viktor quickly understood she didn’t flee as ordered. Instead, she’d stayed behind and saved his unworthy ass.
“Stubborn fox. I thought I told you to run,” he growled.
She growled back. His lips curved into a smile. It seemed she’d not only found how to change into her beast, she’d also found some courage. He bared his teeth and chuckled when she snarled back at him.
“Um, Viktor, I don’t think she’s in her right mind at the moment. And given she could eat you as easily as the guys who captured you, you might want to think about staying on her good side.”
“She wouldn’t hurt me,” he murmured, tangling his fingers in her fur, awed, despite himself, at her impressive stature. No wonder the mastermind wanted her. Short of a rare wooly mammoth he’d once seen as a boy, he’d never seen a shifter so big. Nor felt fur so soft. He tried to reach up a hand to stroke along her muzzle. Pain made him drop the attempt.
“Don’t move,” Dr. Manners admonished. “You’re still bleeding from the holes in your body.”
“No shit.” Casting an irritated look at the doctor, Viktor restrained an urge to kill him. He didn’t like people seeing him weak, especially not other predators. Mason, he made an exception for. They’d served overseas together – and he knew he could kick his ass in a fight. The doctor, however, was an unknown element. He looked harmless, but Viktor wondered what he hid behind his benign exterior.
“Hey, can you call your girlfriend off? She won’t let us near you.”
“Smart girl,” he joked.
“She’ll be a single girl if you don’t let me take a look at

you.” Renee single and available to the male population? Not

while he had a breath left in his body. “Let the nice FUC agents check me out, Renee,” he murmured.
She whined.
“It’s okay. I trust them. So should you.”
Backing away a few feet, she didn’t once let her gaze stray from his body, or the two men that approached close enough to kneel by his side.
The doc wasted no time and pried his eyelids open and flashed them with a penlight. Viktor tolerated the checkup, only because he could see Renee watching warily, a low rumble shaking her.
“We need to get him back to the safe house or somewhere secure where I can set up a method of transfusion. He’s lost a lot of blood.”
Given his dizzy state, while lying down, Viktor couldn’t

disagree.“Jessie’s called in a medevac team. Says they’ll be here in