Enticing Their Mate (25 page)

Jay trotted toward the barn when a growl sounded off to his left. He glanced in the direction of the sound, and suddenly dirt and grass went flying. The wolf, who he recognized as Russ, came at him full speed. This was going to be a pleasure taking him out. Jay would finally be able to atone for the attack on Sarah.

Russ launched himself at Jay who darted to the side at the last second, forcing Russ to skitter past. As much as he’d like to take his time and slice up Russ until there was no blood left in the wolf’s body, he needed to end this altercation quickly. Finding Sarah was his goal.

Russ turned around and bared his teeth. Attacking his flank would slow him down, but it wouldn’t kill him. For that, Jay needed to take a bite out of his neck. Without the needed aftercare, a nicked artery would be fatal.

Keeping low, Jay charged and aimed for the throat but Russ was quick, and he missed. All he achieved was sinking his incisors into Russ’s body and ripping a hole in his side. Damn. In the process, Russ managed to slice open Jay’s hindquarter, too.

Jay retreated, took aim, and then went at him again, not giving Russ a chance to recharge. While the long cut on Jay’s rear stung, it wouldn’t slow him down. His festering hatred would see to that.

The two circled each other and Russ swiped a paw at Jay’s face, barely ripping off some fur. He mentally shook his head. Did he think a claw to his face would kill him? Clearly, Russ wasn’t skilled in fighting—but Jay was. He needed to end this wolf’s life now.

Jay ran past Russ then circled behind him. As Russ tried to face him again, Jay changed directions and lunged. Fangs out, he sank his teeth into Russ’s neck and clamped down. Blood filled his mouth, spurring him on. Jay shook his head and Russ’s body went limp. He should be content that his adversary was mortally wounded, but he wanted him dead. Jay took one more bite out of the wolf’s throat, dropped the chunk of meat on the ground, then stepped back and admired his handiwork.

His celebration was short-lived as growls coming from on the other side of the barn returned his focus to what was at stake.

“Would appreciate some help,”
Riley telepathed. The connection came out weak as if Riley was having a hard time concentrating.

Leaving Russ’s carcass behind, Jay stormed toward the back of the building where three wolves were circling Riley. Not good. One was limping, a second one had an eye gouged out, but the third appeared healthy. Riley’s condition concerned Jay the most. He was bleeding from the neck.

Upon seeing his friend’s serious condition, Jay lost it and charged. The second and third wolf moved between him and Riley, ready to fight. They must have smelled the blood and thought it was his. Wouldn’t they be in for a big surprise to find him at full strength—or close to it? Riley appeared to be moving quicker, perhaps because he only had one wolf to deal with.

Jay and the healthy wolf connected. Jay bit his hind leg, eliciting an anguished squeal. He then launched himself into the air at the one with the injured eye. His aim was a little off because the wolf he’d bitten first spun around and attacked him from the rear. Chaos descended as the three clawed, scraped, and tussled. Blood spurted from his other flank as one of them dug an incisor into his side and ripped back the skin. Jay stumbled, stunned at the intense ache.

Needing to regroup, he moved backward toward the barn where Sarah’s scent suddenly invaded his nose. Holy shit. She was here—and alive. He wanted to go to her worse than anything, but both wolves had him pinned. He wasn’t going to be able to reach her unless he ended their pathetic lives.

Another yelp sounded and then a whimper as the wolf Riley was fighting collapsed. With a discernable limp, Riley came toward the one-eyed wolf from behind and swiped a claw against his back. As the animal turned, Riley flung himself at the wolf’s throat and latched on. As he wrestled the injured wolf to the ground, Jay had recovered somewhat from his injuries, enough to zero in on the final wolf.

Spurred by the joy of finding Sarah, Jay bared his teeth and propelled himself at the last wolf. Caught between him and Riley, the wolf appeared startled. His indecision was enough to allow Jay to make his final kill.

*     *     *

The General was well aware that walking into a barn alone to face Paul Statler might not have been smart, but right now, his mission was ending this son of a bitch’s life—and finding Sarah.

Dressed in a suit, Statler smiled as he waved a gun at Armand’s chest. “Well, well. Hope you had a nice flight up here.”

“Fuck you. Where’s Sarah?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?”

The General’s enhanced hearing picked up a deliberate scraping sound and he glanced toward an old cart. He couldn’t see behind it, but it was possible Sarah was being held captive on the other side or else a rat was well versed in Morse Code. “If you harm her, your death will be slow and painful,” he ground out.

Statler laughed. “You’re threatening
me
? Surely, your boys have told you that I’ve been enhanced.” He waved his gun—a gun full of poisonous bullets no doubt that would have killed him in the past.

Now, however, the were-killing poison would have no permanent effect on him. One of the reasons he’d asked Tyson and Ford to stay in Florida was because they’d agreed to donate their blood so that he, too, would become enhanced. Armand had to admit he’d never felt better, and those training sessions had made him feel like he was forty again.

Growls and howls arose outside the barn, indicating Statler hadn’t come alone either. No surprise there.

“Seems like our men are doing battle.” Armand had no doubt the Pack would be victorious. It was only a matter of time before they came barging in, which meant Armand needed to take down this man now. Statler had been a thorn in his side for too long.

“You didn’t follow my instructions of coming alone, I see,” Statler said. “Though I knew you were too much of a coward to face me by yourself.” He puffed out his chest, but a hint of worry had seeped into his eyes.

At another deliberate scraping sound, slightly different this time, Armand glanced toward the cart again. Statler reached in his breast pocket and withdrew a lighter and flicked it on. Only then did Armand notice the line of black powder leading to the cart. Oh, shit.

S
arah’s arms and legs were bound, and the dirty gag Statler had jammed in her mouth made it hard to breathe, but she wouldn’t give up. When she closed her eyes, she could picture Riley and Jay running around frantically trying to find her. Because she always returned to the motel after work, when she failed to show, they’d know something was wrong.

The problem was how they’d find her. It seemed as if Statler had driven for hours, and unless they’d put a GPS on his car, they wouldn’t know where he’d hidden her. Once her coffin-like container had come to a stop, and Statler had dragged her into the barn and tied her up, she’d begun to suspect he was using her as bait. She was okay with that, since whoever he was waiting for would have backup. After all, the person would know how evil this man was. The question was whom had he called?

Statler hated the General worse than anything and would relish a showdown, but with the General in Florida, she wasn’t sure he could make it to Canada quickly enough. She doubted Statler was keeping her captive just to lure Tyson and Ford there, since he’d know he’d lose that fight fast.

Once he’d placed her behind the cart, his game plan confused her. Was his intention to wheel out the cart and shout
ta-da
?

If there was to be a show, she wished that person would hurry up. Two hours of sitting in one position had her legs cramping even more. Add in the fact she was starving and needed to pee, and she was thoroughly aggravated and disgusted with herself. She should have been more aware of her surroundings when she left the clinic.

Sarah looked around for something she could use to cut her ropes, but Statler had moved everything out of reach. Even if she could crawl around the cart to search for something else, he’d probably cold-cock her and drag her elsewhere. No, this position suited her fine.

What seemed like forever later to Sarah, the barn door creaked opened and Statler joyfully greeted his guest. When he asked about the nice flight, she sagged against the wall. The General was here—and just maybe Jay and Riley were, too. Unfortunately, given Statler’s enhanced status, she suspected he would win in a one-on-one fight.

However, if the General was aware she was there, he might proceed with more caution. Instead of making her presence obvious by groaning, she dragged the heel of her foot across the hard-packed ground using short and long scrapes. When the General then asked where she was, hope bloomed.

A loud click sounded, and the General let out a curse. Shit. Something bad was about to go down.

Before she could figure out what it was, loud growls sounded behind the barn, jacking up her pulse enough for her to sit up despite the ache coursing through her. Someone else was out there who hopefully was on the General’s side.

Only then did she detect the smell of sulfur burning. Oh, no. Sarah had to see what was happening. With a Herculean effort, she propelled herself on her back, and using her elbows, slithered like a snake to see past the cart.

Just as she peeked her head out from around the end, a gunshot sounded and her heart nearly jumped out of her body. Had she not seen the bloodstain on the General’s chest and watch him drop to his knees, she might have thought Statler had shot her.

No, no, no! The implication of the General’s death caused sludge to replace the blood in her body. Light-headed, her arms weakened and her head smashed against the ground.

Move. I have to get out of sight.
Did it really matter if Statler learned she’d seen him shoot the General in cold blood? With his nemesis gone, he’d kill her now for sure.

“Thought you could kill me with that pea shooter?” the General said just as Sarah managed to move out of sight.

What?
The General was alive? She’d seen Statler shoot him in the chest. As much as she wanted to peek again, she didn’t dare.

“Why aren’t you dead?” Statler asked. Sarah had never heard the man sound so shocked or fearful before.

“Two can play at your game.”

She didn’t know what that meant, but seconds later, claws scraped against the dirt floor and growls emitted.

Wanting to watch the death match, she twisted her head to the side and looked under the cart. Crap. She couldn’t tell which wolf was which, though it seemed as if the wolf with gray sprinkled throughout his fur was winning. Could that be the General? In his human form, he had gray hair.

A yelp came from one of them and the darker of the two wolves lifted his front paw. As she waited to see the next attack, the strong odor of sulfur forced her to find its source. Holy shit. A flame was traveling along a straight path toward her. Her stomach churned and bile race up her mouth.

With Statler busy fighting the General, Sarah had to chance escaping, though how she’d make it past them and out the door was anyone’s guess, especially with her ankles tied together. She might not be able to walk, but perhaps she could hop, assuming she could keep her balance. She rose to her knees, but without the use of her hands, standing would be a challenge. Needing support, she leaned her back against the barn wall. With her shoulder, she inched her way upward. About three feet above the ground, the slat she was pressing against cracked and moved. She stilled.

Then an idea surfaced. Sarah dropped to the ground again and kicked the broken slat hard. It splintered. Yes!

As she lifted her legs to kick again, a stream of fire slid under the cart a few feet from the wall.
Hurry!

Smoke billowed around the edges and her throat clogged. With the gag in her mouth, she was losing strength fast.

Keep kicking the wall.

Sarah’s vision blurred and her head swam, but she pictured her two men, and a trickle of strength returned. She jammed her feet against the weak board again, and the slat broke free. Just as she flipped over to assess the size of the hole, more wood cracked and her heart sputtered. The growls and cries from the fight going on behind her would hopefully cover the ripping of the boards.

Suddenly, Riley’s face peered in at her through the broken wall, and tears of joy streamed down her face. The large gash at his throat had her sobering. As much as she wanted him to seek some first aid, knowing him, Riley wouldn’t until she was free. Her love bloomed.

A second set of hands belonging to Jay tore off another board. They were both there. This was too good to be true.

Riley held up a finger to his lips as if to tell her not to make any noise. She nodded as he half-lifted, half-dragged her through the hole in the wall. Seconds later the gag disappeared as did all of the restraints. She wanted to hug both of them and kiss them everywhere, but they’d insist they needed to get out of there. Smoke poured from the hole and flames licked their way a few feet away.

“Can you walk?” Jay whispered.