Kuma (9 page)

“Roman? Seri, I think you have completely lo…” The blow to the back of Nix’s head sent her crumpling to the ground.

Seri sauntered up to and walked around Nix’s still form. She took a minute to look down at the woman, then drew her leg back and kicked Nix in the abdomen. “How you like me now, bitch.” Seri worked the saliva around in her mouth and spit. Stepping away from Nix, she walked to her Jeep and opened the driver side door to pop the hatch. She ran to the back of the vehicle and searched behind the bench seat for something to tie the woman up with. Seri released the hidden hatch and checked the tire well that held the spare, giggling when she found a bungee cord. One rope wouldn’t do any good. She sat on the bumper to think. She noticed wires bunched together against the tires side. Bending to follow them, she noticed they went to the tag light. She traced them the opposite way and located a tiny black box they were a part of. She twined the thin cables around two fingers and formed a fist then snatched them out.

Nix still hadn’t moved when she checked behind her. Straightening, she glanced around the area to make sure there was no other traffic coming or going. After a ten-minute struggle to get Nix in the trunk, bound and gagged with a rag she found, Seri ran her hands along Nix’s body to look for any weapons. She pressed down on the boot she’d seen Nix pull the knife from, and found the blade. “You won’t be needing this.” Seri tossed the knife into the bushes behind her, listening for the rattle of leaves and the dull
thud
that told her the piece had landed. She pulled the shade across the space and shoved the door shut. Taking one last look in the back window she nodded. No one would be able to tell she hid a body in there.

Seri trotted to the driver’s side and jumped in, giddy. As she started the Hummer, she picked up her cell and tapped her vehicle’s Bluetooth. She scrolled through the numbers and tapped Roman’s number. The phone ringing on the other end of the line filled the vehicle’s interior.

“Roman.”

“There’s been a change of plans.” Seri couldn’t contain the excitement in her voice.

“Seri if you’re backing out now…well you don’t want to hear what I will do to you.” His voice was calm conveying to her the seriousness of the threat.

“Really, Roman, I’m making a few enemies as we speak, I don’t need to add you to the list. I was calling to tell you to have your private jet ready. I need you to pick me up at the airport.”

“Why?”

“I have Nix, the short one with the bright hair, and I can’t very well take her on a commercial flight tied up now can I?” Seri asked sweetly.

“No, I guess you can’t. How did you capture her? Never mind. It’s too late to get a spot at the national airport for tonight. I’ll have my assistant check for local fields, give me thirty minutes and I’ll call you back.”

“Wonderful, I’ll hit the expressway then and head toward the city.” She started the automobile.

The line was quiet for a moment. Roman cleared his throat. “Why did you take her, Seri? Surely you know how Scar and his brothers will react.”

“I have an idea of what they might do, but when an opportunity presents itself you grab it. Think of this gesture as an early wedding gift.” She tapped the End button and pulled onto the road.

***

Jamison stood in the main foyer of the Alpha’s house. He’d requested to speak to Boris but now it seemed as if everyone had disappeared. He blew out a breath and straightened his tie. Maybe this wasn’t one of his brightest ideas; however, he’d watched how the bear looked at that little spitfire, Nix. And after the first initial date, she’d turned him down for every other one. He turned to glance at the door. Perhaps it would be better to leave. Things were happening that he needed to keep his nest out of. That is why he took a leave of absence as Alpha of the snake clans. He should be focusing on finding a mate; instead he was in a wolf’s house waiting for a bear because he understood that a mate is a once in a lifetime opportunity, and if he wasn’t mistaken, Nix was that damn bear’s mate. The lucky ass.

But he could smell war in the air. For a very stupid reason, the Council wanted to make Volkshire an example. They wanted to get the word out that shifters were only to talk to humans approved by the board, and that was just wrong. Hell, the Alpha Scar finding a human as a mate breathed new hope into him that maybe he, too, had other options. In the meanwhile, as an olive branch to the wolves, he’d hoped sharing the information he had would show the pack that his people could be trusted.

“Why are you here?” A deep voice floated down from above Jamison.

He looked up and acknowledged the other brother. Myka, if his information was correct. “I’m here to see Boris.”

The wolf shook his head and snorted. “You’ll be waiting a long time. He’s busy at the moment.” Myka took the stairs two at a time.

“Your brother, Boris, will want to talk to me.”

“Doubtful, you don’t trump his mate,” Myka added

“It’s about N…”

“Dammit, Myka get your ass in here, now!” Scar’s voice amplified, the deadly quality clear as it traveled down the hall.

“Listen, I’ll tell Boris you came by. He’ll find you first chance he has…”

“I will fucking rip the heart out of that cold bitch!” Scar yelled as a loud
crash
rent through the air. Scar came stalking out the shadows. “I need you and Boris right fucking now!”

“Calm the hell down.”

Jamison swiveled his head between the two men. The rumors were true; wolves appeared extremely short-tempered. He started rethinking his position and backing away toward the door. He would simply go pick Nix up and try and talk some sense into her.

“Those assholes are issuing pack rule sanctions. I will not calm the fuck down.” Scar turned his gaze on Jamison. “What the hell do you want?”

Jamison cocked a brow and wiped a hand down his face.

Boris stomped into the main room from another hallway and stopped, seeming to take a measure of each man. He walked up to the trio. “Have any of you seen Nix?”

The wolves shook their heads, Scar answered. “No, but Fre isn’t home yet either.”

Boris ignored Jamison. “She’s not answering her phone.”

Jamison cleared his throat.

The three brothers continued to talk among themselves.

Jamison cracked his knuckles and yelled. “Will you three shut the hell up!”

The men turned to face him at the same time.

“Good, now that I have your attention. I know where Nix is.” Once the words were said, Jamison knew he should have found a better way to put his information. Boris shifted within seconds giving him little time to do the same as the bear attacked.

Chapter Nine

Boris was trying to wrap his claws around the throat of the snake but damn if the beast wasn’t one long appendage. He felt the animal’s tail weave between his ankles and travel up his legs, wrapping tightly around his waist. His brothers yanked at his arms, and he would have taken a swipe at them if he hadn’t been so busy trying to choke the shit out of the snake. He raked his nails along the underbelly of the beast and the animal shuddered before increasing the pressure on his ribs. The roar that escaped him made the mirrors in the room tremble. He could hear footsteps rushing toward him. Boris fell back as his legs were pulled together and the snake opened its wide mouth exposing top and bottom rows of serrated teeth. Their roles reversed. Using one hand to hold the beast at bay, he swung a paw at the snake’s head, watching it rear back.

A wolf jumped over them catching the snake in his jaws. Boris slashed out at the animal, trying to free his legs. The wolf played tag with the snake’s head, getting in close to take nips before jumping back. A second wolf joined them, keeping the animal occupied while the other wolf took a bite on the snake’s body. Freed, Boris rolled to his feet and rose to his full eight-foot status. He bellowed and the room shook.

The shotgun blast stopped all movement as chunks of plaster fell and a fine pale dust drifted down to coat them. Boris looked toward the direction of the sound and dropped to all four feet. Fre stood before the open front door with a shotgun on her hip and Keen in his puppy form next to her leg, his muzzle drawn back to expose his canines.

“If you boys are done playing, I’d like to know what the hell is going on.” Fre pumped the shotgun. “If I don’t like the answer, someone will get shot.”

Boris shifted. “This asshole has done something with Nix and I want to know what.”

Boris watched Fre turn her narrowed eyes on his brothers. “What about you two?”

His brothers and the snake shifted. Rhys walked toward her, and she leveled the weapon at him. He stopped.

“Don’t even try it, lover. I want an explanation as to why everyone wants to wrestle in my foyer.” Fre tilted her head to the side and started tapping her foot.

“I came to tell the ignorant bear that Nix was trying to get to the airport, and was waiting on me for a ride at the Volkshire billboard at the edge of town. I thought he should be the one to go. Maybe smooth things over with his potential mate.” Jamison stuffed a leg into his slacks. “Now I see why she might have run away from this backwater hillbilly haven.”

Fre pumped another shot into the ceiling and a large piece of drywall crashed to the floor. Everyone looked up before turning to stare at her. “Mr. Jamison, I would appreciate it if you’d refrain from calling the good people of Volkshire,
my people
, names.” She aimed the shotgun in his direction. “Or the next shot could very well find its way into your chest.”

Boris’s eyes widened. At that moment he knew Rhys had found his perfect mate. He looked over at his brother and saw pride in his face. A feeling of desperation swamped him. He needed to find Nix. Boris looked down at his clothes. His jeans were shredded at the seams. He turned on his heel heading for his bedroom. He needed to get dressed and go to the billboard to find Nix.

He was clothed and on his way out the door within minutes, stopping in the kitchen to grab a set of keys. He did a double take when he realized there were no car keys on the hooks. Grumbling, he turned around and walked to the front door. He’d hot-wire a bitch if he had to. Fre sat on the hood of Nix’s sedan.

“You might want to take this one. She’d had it outfitted for an arsenal years ago. Quite a few handy tools are in the trunk.” Fre slid off the hood and walked around to the passenger’s side.

“You’re not going, Fre. Rhys will have a conniption.” Boris slid into the driver’s seat.

“Something is wrong. I can’t get her on her cell. I only left her a couple of hours ago. She should still be waiting. If she’s in trouble, I want to be there.”

“Rhys will have my head.”

“He’s busy at the moment. It will take him a few minutes to realize I’m gone.” She dropped into the passenger seat and smirked up at him.

“You do know that pretty soon he’s going to put bars on all the bathroom windows?”

She shrugged. “Then I’ll find another way out. Plus, I left him in the conference room with Myka. They’ll keep each other occupied until it dawns on Rhys I’m not around. So hurry up already and drive or they may come out and try and accompany you.”

“Point taken.” Boris slid the car in hear and peeled off. The vehicle fishtailed as the tires gained traction, throwing pebbles in the air as they drove for the town limits.

***

The pounding in her head was like a constant rumble drowning out all other noise. Nix tried to move her hand to rub her temple. The more she tugged, the worse her head hurt. She rubbed her cheek against the rough surface and tried to swallow. The nasty rag in her mouth made her tongue burn. She slowly inhaled through her nose and gagged several times. Nix beat back the nausea threatening to overtake her. She continued to breathe in through her nostrils, stopped struggling with whatever bound her and opened one eye taking in the darkness surrounding her. Biting her cheek to keep from focusing on the ache in her head, she levered her head up and caught slivers of light shining through the sides of a covering.

She let her head drop and tried to think through the pain. Everything that happened to her came flooding back. A SUV had come to a haphazard stop, and she’d thought it was Jamison. But it was Seri and the bitch had a gun. Nix lifted her chin and tried to work the cloth out of her mouth with her tongue. She ignored the hurt and fixated on what was happening at that moment. She was moving. That much she was sure of. She rocked her body from side to side and fell against the seat. Tears welled up in her eyes as the left side of her head started throbbing.
Get it together girl, you’ve been in worse situations
. Gently, she tried to free her hands again, weaving her fingers through the loops she could touch. The saliva-damp fabric touched her cheek as she gently pushed it out of her mouth.

Someone was singing, the high-pitched sound drifted to her ears. Nix wondered if she was still traveling with Seri. In the darkness, she wasn’t sure how long she’d been unconscious. She used the noise as cover and scooted around until she lay on her back and rested on her hands. Nix stared up at the dark canvas and then glanced around to get an idea of exactly what kind of vehicle she was in. A sharp twinge pierced her mind and she stopped moving.
Get out of this and you are so going back to Boris
, she thought to herself. Opening her jaws as wide as she could, she spit the last of the fabric out of her mouth. Her cheeks were numb. She pressed her lips together, eased her arms forward, and wiggled her butt to get her clasped hands over her hips. She shut her eyes tight against the agony in her head and bent her legs, pulling them through the circle of her arms.

Her breath caught in her lungs when she felt something tap her ankle as she rested her feet. She swiveled her foot and caught herself before she hooted out. The burner cell was still in her boot. She snorted.
And Fre thought the little cell wouldn’t come in handy
. The singing stopped and Nix went still. From her spot she could see evergreen branches through the slit opening. Nix bit her lip and waited. A door suddenly opened, then slammed shut. Nix took a chance. She pinched the overhead cover’s clasp between her fingers and held it as it rolled into its sheath against the backseat. She inched up, raising her head just above the seat. The vehicle was empty. She rubbed her temple and cried out from the pain shooting through her head at her quick movements.