Fierce Protector (Sierra Pride Book 3) (6 page)

“I’ve no idea. You’re the one with the practical field experience.”

Gabriel didn’t think he imagined the sarcastic tone of Gutierrez’s voice.

Miranda walked over to him, no longer trying to be subtle or quiet. “I’ve seen him transform. It was ghastly.”

The words wounded him. He’d been raised to love his lion form and the natural process of his changes. But if the woman he loved couldn’t see that…it meant one of them was wrong.

Gabriel had been wrong before—he’d been wrong about Hera. So wrong.

Miranda was still crouched over him, as if considering his body. He could lash out, twist his entire form around. It wouldn’t do much more than knock her down, hurt her a little. But he couldn’t do that, not even to escape. Could he?

“He needed room, when he was changing before.”

“Room?”

“Yes, like space to move around in. His body flexed and moved, the joints popped. It was like something out of a horror movie. But he seemed to need motion. We can’t do that, though, because he’s bound. What are we going to do with him, anyway?”

“I’ve brought a cage to our remote lab in Nubston,” Gutierrez said. “I want the samples now, though. Loosen the bindings, but not all the way, and maybe he’ll change when we wake him up.”

“Are you sure?” Miranda asked. “It doesn’t seem safe—”

“Ms. Hsin, I assure you, we’ll be safe. If nothing else, I’ve a weapon for eliminating any threats he might pose once he’s transformed. All we need is the DNA, and that’s just as easy to collect from a dead sample than a live one.”

“If you’re sure,” Miranda said.

“Stop questioning me and do your job, Ms. Hsin.”

Gabriel felt the ropes loosen around his ankles. He felt the barest brush of her hand against his legs, and it made his chest ache. He’d thought he’d tasted happiness, but it had been a lie.

Miranda was up close to him.

“He’s still asleep, yes?” Gutierrez asked.

Miranda lifted one of his eyelids, and Gabriel did his best to keep his eye unfocused and staring past her. “He’s completely out.”

“Good. Loosen the rest of the bindings.”

As soon as his arms were free, Gabriel jumped to his feet. Miranda screamed, but it was too late. He was already pounding across the clearing and into the nearby woods.

“You idiot,” Gutierrez shouted. “You said he was asleep!”

Gabriel yanked the ropes from his wrists and ankles and transformed into his lion form. He’d be faster and quieter this way, and his vision was better.

He hunkered down behind some brush and watched them. As soon as they started their pursuit, he’d be off in another direction.

Gutierrez and Miranda stood at the spot he’d disappeared, staring out into the darkened forest. They were arguing loudly, and Gutierrez shouted, “Which way? Which way did he go?”

Miranda lifted her arm and pointed in the opposite direction from where Gabriel had actually gone. Was she lying to protect him?

That was when Gabriel saw it. A tiny spot of blood on the inside of Miranda’s arm. She hadn’t taken a sample from Gabriel; she’d taken it from herself.

Much, much worse than what he’d thought of as her betrayal, was the fact that she was in danger.

Chapter Twelve

It was fine, Miranda told herself. This would work. Yes, she’d hated letting Gabriel believe that she’d betrayed him. She’d hated putting the decoy needle anywhere close to his skin while she pressed the real sample needle against her own.

She was sure this would work, but it wouldn’t work once Dr. Gutierrez figured out that the sample was from a human female.

“Shouldn’t we go after him?” Miranda asked. Somehow, she had to destroy that sample, and if the two of them were stomping through the forest, Miranda would be able to double back and get rid of the blood. She hadn’t wanted to get Gabriel’s blood anywhere near Dr. Gutierrez, but she also couldn’t be discovered to have falsified the sample. She still had her career to think of, and Dr. Gutierrez held the key to Miranda’s future in her slender, latex-gloved hand.

“We’ll be able to track him better in the morning,” Dr. Gutierrez said.

It was difficult enough to find a real cougar; Miranda doubted that Dr. Gutierrez believed they’d find Gabriel. Something was off.

“Besides,” Dr. Gutierrez continued, “he’ll come soon enough when he learns you’re in danger.”

“When I’m in—what?” Miranda turned with a gasp.

Dr. Gutierrez was holding a gun. A fucking
gun
.

“Go ahead and scream for him,” Dr. Gutierrez said. “I’m in favor of it.”

No, Miranda wouldn’t scream and draw him here. When Dr. Gutierrez said she had a weapon, Miranda had assumed she meant the tranquilizer darts. Shit. This was
not
right.

“Dr. Gutierrez? I’m all for giving everything to research, but we’re here to help living organisms, to learn about them and how we can coexist better. What you’re doing right now…isn’t that.”

“I saw you take a sample of your own blood, Ms. Hsin. You thought I couldn’t see, but I know you betrayed me. You were lying the entire time.”

“Please,” Miranda said. “Please. We don’t have to do this, any of this.”

“Scream,” Dr. Gutierrez said. “Bring him back here. I’ll take all the samples I need, and you can go free. I promise.”

Dr. Gutierrez’s tone made the hairs on Miranda’s neck stand up, and she felt sick to her stomach. Miranda didn’t know how that promise would work. Dr. Gutierrez would let Miranda and Gabriel go after stealing blood samples and threatening their lives? Unlikely. They’d always exist as a threat to her and her research.

If there was one thing Miranda knew about Evelia Gutierrez, especially now, it was that nothing got in the way of her research.

“I won’t scream,” Miranda said. “I won’t bring him here. He’s probably already gone, anyway.”

Was he? No, he had to be nearby. And Miranda couldn’t risk that he’d be shot once again. Miranda was no actress, but she could feign surprise. She looked up, pretending to hear something overhead, and Dr. Gutierrez looked up, too. Without warning, Miranda lunged for the darkness ahead of her. She dove past the trees. A shot rang out, and then another.

She’d never been shot at before. Her breath came fast, and there was no time to think. Fueled on pure panic, she jumped up and ran blindly. More shots rang out. She lurched forward and down, trying to make herself a smaller, faster target.

Her foot caught on something. A fallen limb. Shrieking, she fell to the ground, throwing her hands out at the last second.

Her wrist snapped. Pain radiated throughout her arm, and she held back a whimper.

“Miranda, come back,” Dr. Gutierrez called. “I can help you. This whole thing is foolish.”

But Miranda couldn’t trust her. She could only trust one person out here, and that was Gabriel. She had to find him, but she couldn’t lead Dr. Gutierrez to him. Stumbling, she finally stood up.
One step in front of the other. Keep walking. It doesn’t matter that Gutierrez is faster. It doesn’t matter that the pain makes you want to throw up. Is doesn’t matter that visibility is shit now that it’s so dark.

Keep going.

She kept repeating it to herself,
keep going
, and then she started counting by nines. Counting would calm her down and get her through; it always had.

Crashing sounds came from behind her; Dr. Gutierrez was in pursuit. An electric lantern bobbed, shining dull light through the trees. Miranda could barely see, and she was vaguely aware that at some point she’d started crying, although she couldn’t remember when, or why. The end of her career as a scientist? Or was it because Gabriel was out in the woods somewhere, believing she’d betrayed him—would he ever know? Somehow that hurt the most—the thought that he might think she hadn’t loved him, that he’d think she hadn’t felt that instant, amazing, and powerful connection between the two of them.

She’d felt it stronger than anything she’d ever felt in her life.

She’d never be able to outrun Gutierrez, not like this. Gutierrez had a gun.

What had Miranda been thinking, running off into the dark like this?

Miranda stopped. She silently stepped around one tree, then another, so she was off to the side from the path she’d been on. Gutierrez was getting closer, and maybe Miranda wasn’t as far off as she should be, because Gutierrez was moving slowly, checking around her.

Miranda reached down and felt for something to throw. Pine cones. She lifted one and tossed it far beyond her, then she tossed the other one.

“Ms. Hsin…Miranda, we can resolve this peacefully. You can trust me,” Dr. Gutierrez said. “I’ll put the gun away. It’s in my pocket. I only want to talk. Maybe your, uh, friend will want to talk, too. Donate a sample in the name of science? It’s okay, you can trust me.”

Gutierrez seemed very intent on getting Miranda’s trust, but Gutierrez’s electric lantern exposed her true intent. The light was enough for Miranda to see that, as Gutierrez stalked past her, the gun was nowhere near her pocket. It was held up and out, as if she’d shoot at the first sign of Miranda.

Or Gabriel. What had Gutierrez said? It was just as easy to take DNA from a dead sample.

Anger, more than thought, fueled Miranda, and she leaped out, tackling her professor. First she grabbed the arm with the gun, which shot up into the branches above them. Oh please, don’t let Gabriel have been up there, please.

She scrambled with Gutierrez until she’d gotten the gun, which she held out in front of her.

“Stay back,” Miranda said. “Despite what you’re doing, I still don’t want to hurt you.”

“I don’t want to hurt you, either,” Gutierrez said with a smile. “Unfortunately, you of all people should know I never go into research without an extra…hypothesis.”

Gutierrez reached behind her and pulled out a second gun.

Miranda couldn’t make herself aim, but she had to—her life was at stake. She’d never shot a gun before, but even if she had, could she actually shoot another person?

She wouldn’t have to. When she pulled the trigger, there was no explosion—just a click.

No bullets.

Gutierrez’s gun was out, she was already clicking off the safety, and Miranda was going to die.

A huge shape shot from the trees above them, landing on Gutierrez. A cougar. “No,” Miranda said. “No. We can’t. You can’t. Gabriel, no!”

The cougar turned and stared at her. His enormous paws were pressed against Gutierrez’s arm and chest, pinning her like she was nothing more than an empty scarecrow.

“Walk away, Gabriel, please,” Miranda said. “We don’t have to hurt her. Let her go, and we’ll go, you and me. We’ll leave together. She won’t talk, but even if she did, no one will ever believe that any of this happened.”

The cougar cocked his head, considering her words, and nodded.

Then Gutierrez lifted the gun up, and held it to Gabriel’s head.

“No!” Miranda screamed.

The cougar’s reflexes were fast—he batted the gun away and with one movement, stepped on Gutierrez’s neck. To Miranda, the crack of bones sounded louder than any gunshot.

Epilogue

Gabriel watched Miranda chat animatedly with Hera and Ava. She seemed to fit right in with his family, as if she’d been there for years instead of the hours since her graduation. His entire pride had gone to cheer her on, braving the freeways and city noise and congestion, and the bleachers full of people, people, and more people. They braved it all just so they could clap and scream loudly for the twenty seconds it took Miranda to grab her diploma.

His family, the Sierra Pride, was the absolute best.

During the graduation ceremony, there had been a short moment of silence for Dr. Evelia Gutierrez, who had died from an unfortunate accident while doing sample collections in the mountains. The details weren’t shared at the ceremony, but her death had been ruled an accident, and Gabriel tried not to growl under his breath when her name was spoken with reverence.

No, he didn’t like her. He hadn’t wanted to kill her, but that didn’t mean he ever had to like her. If she’d been successful, shifters all over the world would have been in peril. That was something to think about later, though. Right now, he and his pride and his mate were safe, and that was the most important thing at the moment.

Now, everyone was back at the ranch, and they had all congregated on the patio. Hera and Maverick argued about how to barbecue the steaks until Gabriel growled that he’d buy a second barbecue and they’d have a contest next time.

“Oh, I am so winning that contest,” Hera said, eyes gleaming.

Blake swooped in on her for a kiss. Gabriel was unaffected, as he knew he would be. Hera was pretty, objectively speaking, but Gabriel felt she had nothing on Miranda. He was now with exactly the right woman for him.

The strands of twinkling white lights had been woven along the frame of the pergola, and the funky furniture Maverick had made decorated the deck. One of the benches had been carved like a sleeping mountain lion, and it was the most comfortable of all—it was also where his mate now sat.

He settled on the bench next to Miranda, marveling at how content he felt. The last time he’d stood on this patio, he hadn’t thought he’d ever get to return here; he’d thought he was banished until he could control himself around Hera. Well, Miranda was the magic he’d needed. Hera felt like nothing more than a sister to him now, and she’d accepted his apology with grace.

As Miranda leaned into him and swiped sips of his beer, Gabriel had never felt so lucky in his life.

After steaks, Ava and Jude’s little girl, Chloe, brought out a bag of marshmallows. “
Now
can we have them? Now now now?”

Jude had laughed. “You mean your mother made you hold back this long, kitten? Wow, she’s cruel.”

“Who should we call to report me, then?” Ava asked. “Child Protective Services, or PETA?”

“Ha,” he said, swooping her up in his arms.

Gabriel soaked up their antics, proud to be home and surrounded by his family. Miranda stood up to get them each a stick for marshmallows. When she came back, she burrowed against his side.