Shifter Town 3 - Big Cats Don't Purr (17 page)

Lennox snorted at that. “Let me? Please.”

She handed little Taige over, and Sawyer cradled the baby gently against her chest. The little girl made a soft cooing noise and Sawyer laughed. “True enough. But how’d you get a vacation without the two of them?”

“I needed an excuse to visit Mel, and they are busy with work this weekend.” She grinned as she let herself in and set the diaper bag by the door. “And I’m still on maternity leave.”

Sawyer couldn’t help the pang of guilt. “Except when you’ve been helping me.”

“I didn’t mind at all.” Lennox made herself comfortable on the bed while Sawyer rocked little Taige in her arms. “If anything, I’m glad I could help.”

That was Lennox for you. She always worked. Always. But if anyone was able to save the day, it was her.

Sawyer looked down into Taige’s golden eyes and smiled. She was a beautiful little lion cub. She looked so much like her mother, except for the feeling of lion just under her skin. Lennox was a dog-shifter. A Rhodesian ridgeback, to be exact. “I think the only thing she got from her daddies is the fact that she’s going to shift into a lion. She looks just like you.”

A motherly glow of pride surrounded Lennox as she gazed at her baby. “And thanks to you, she’ll grow up knowing she can be whatever she wants. Even if she wants to be a Hound like her momma. You opened that door when you became the first lioness to become a Hound for Enforcement.”

Sawyer felt her cheeks heat at the compliment. Nothing would stop this little girl. Even if Sawyer hadn’t opened the door, if Taige had wanted to be a Hound like her mom, Lennox would have made it happen.

“Thanks to me,” Lennox added as she looked at her daughter, “She’ll know she can fall in love with whoever her heart chooses.”

Her boss’s words slammed into Sawyer and she swayed under the blow. Life wasn’t that easy, but she hoped Taige would never know that. She hoped that whoever Taige’s heart chose would be perfect for her.

“Sit down, Sawyer.” Lennox tilted her head at the bed.

Sawyer took the command for what it was and sank down onto the bed next to Lennox. She kept her attention firmly locked on the baby in her arms. “You didn’t fly all the way down here to show off your little girl.”

“To you? No. Mel, yes. But, when I realized that you haven’t even left the state, I figured we needed to talk.”

“Lennox—”

“You know that when I met Kanon and Tegan, relationships between ridgebacks and lions were nonexistent. It just didn’t happen. And considering I was supposed to be arresting Kanon, it was the last thing that
should
have happened.”

Sawyer had always wondered how Lennox had fallen for the two lion males. She’d only ever known snippets of the story, never the beginning. Not in detail, at least. This time Lennox told her everything. Filled in all the details she’d never known.

“Kanon was a job. And he’d been accused of murder. But if I’d simply followed orders, he’d have been dead and Torres never would have been caught.”

Torres, a man who had later killed several shifters, including children, and tried to frame Sawyer’s family. Torres who had captured and tortured her brother, Rulon, and had later abducted Sawyer and her sister Gilly.

“Why do you think I backed you when you took Kinsey?” Lennox touched her arm. “Sometimes we have to break the rules to save someone.”

“I know.”

“I’m not dumb, Sawyer. I recognize the sound of heartbreak in your voice, whether you’re on the phone a hundred miles away, or sitting right next to me.”

“I love him. I love them both.” She dared to look at Lennox then. “But I can’t do witness protection.
I can’t.
”

“Then maybe we should have found a different way.”

“There wasn’t another way. Not one that kept them safe.”

Lennox’s hand tightened over her wrist. “We never even tried. For your heart, shouldn’t you at least try?”

Sawyer felt her heart leap into her throat. Desperate. She wanted so badly to believe, longed with all her heart to hope. And as she looked into her boss’s eyes Sawyer realized that if anyone could find another way, it would be Lennox.

Lennox who’d already pulled the impossible once for Rift and Kinsey.

Maybe she could do it again and find a way to make it work for all of them.

Chapter Sixteen

Waiting was going to kill him. Rift paced across the front lawn, his gaze flicking from the house to the STE vehicles still parked out front. If anything happened to Kinsey while he was sitting here twiddling his fucking thumbs, he was never going to forgive himself. A strangled growl tore from him and Rift craned his head up into the darkness, his gaze locked on the somber stare of the moon.

“You hanging in there?” Mace stepped up beside him.

“About as well as I can. I just want to go get her. Now.”

“And that’d be suicide.” Rift turned on the other man, bristling. He wanted a fight, but Mace didn’t back down. He stood steady and strong and open. “And Cutter’s on his way. If they haven’t figured out anything by the time he gets here in an hour, then we’ll leave. But you can’t go in there alone. Kinsey won’t have a father if you do. Is that what you want for her? To be stuck there because Jenna’s the only parent she has left?”

Rift’s mouth opened but no words came out.

No, that wasn’t what he wanted. He wanted Kinsey safe. To give her a home where she could have a normal life. A pride. Rift twisted away. “No.”

“Then you wait until the rest of
your pride
gets here.”

He’d never had backup before. Never had a pride. Both of his parents had been loners. Rogues. Nomads.

Rift nodded and something inside him settled.

“Besides,” Mace said as he clapped him on the back. “We won’t be driving. We’ll be taking a plane. We’ll get there, hopefully before they even do.”

Unless they’d hopped a plane too.

Rift didn’t even realize he’d spoken aloud until Mace answered him.

“Brandt’s calling on that. If they have, we’ll know soon enough.”

“What do we do then?”

“Same deal. We get there and we get your daughter.”

Rift did his best to ignore the knot in his stomach as he eyed the dark landscape around him, his lion’s vision making it easy to see in the dark. He saw Brandt hit one of his trucks as he hung up. The Hound turned and spotted him. This one didn’t seem like a bad Hound, but Rift had never trusted Shifter Town Enforcement.

They’d never actually cared for the shifters they were supposed to police.

Human police? They had a motto. Serve and protect.

Shifter Town Enforcement’s motto was more like protect humans and execute shifters.

Brandt headed toward them.

“What did you find out?” Mace asked, obviously comfortable with the Hound. “They took a private plane and should be landing in Texas any moment now.” Rift’s stomach plummeted.

“And the local Hounds?”

“Idiots,” Brandt snapped out. “Roy Beckett is a complete and utterly incompetent ass. I can see now why—” He cut himself off and shook his head. “Just know we won’t be relying on them.”

Rift hadn’t planned on it, but now he resented the wait even more. They had Kinsey and he was still states away.

At this rate, things couldn’t get much worse.

***

Dougal leaned back against the porch rail as he watched the car pull up the drive, a satisfied smile on his face. He kept his voice cool, calm, collected. Not a hint of the laughter threatening to bubble up inside him.

“I just thought you should be aware,” Roy Beckett continued over the phone. The Hound had proved helpful. “They’re saying your guys kidnapped a child.”

“I honestly don’t understand what Colorado has against us. My partners have never taken a vacation out of state, they opt to take
one
and my brother is called in about attacking a rogue and bashing in a car, and now they’re accusing him of kidnapping. Cane Creek has never been an issue. Ever.” He let the last word hang harshly between them. “I don’t appreciate the harassment.”

“And I did my best to explain just that to the Colorado Enforcement office. Your pride has an even cleaner slate than Boulder Pride, and I told them in no uncertain terms that I didn’t understand and wouldn’t give credence to the accusations.”

“Nor do I,” Dougal said and watched as his brother slid out of the car. Sans and Jerome dragged a struggling girl from the back; her mouth was taped shut, her arms tied behind her back. She thrashed and Sans hefted her up and snarled in her face. The threat was more than obvious. She lashed out anyway, kicking him in the thigh.

He sent her spinning to the ground.

“But I appreciate you letting me know, Roy. We’ll be sure to keep any future vacations far from Colorado. Obviously they’re not too keen on visitors.”

“I apologize for the harassment, though. I’ll see what I can do.”

Dougal hung up the phone just as Tavis stepped up next to him. The blue-haired spitfire was thrashing around on the front grass, her legs scissoring through the air any time Sans or Jerome stepped close to her. “Interesting little brat,” Dougal murmured. His brother snorted.

“Crazy as a wildcat. Both your boys have been threatening to bash her head in the whole trip. Thanks for the plane, though. I didn’t like creeping around in a car. Too many opportunities for them to follow before we got away.”

“The Colorado Hounds called, and you’re being accused of kidnapping.”

Tavis’s head snapped up. “I’m what? He involved the Hounds?”

“Apparently, but Roy’s already assured them we’re model citizens in terms of lion behavior.” He smiled down at Kinsey. “Besides, if he brings the Hounds with him his daughter will die a slow, slow death.”

***

Sawyer could hear Lennox on the phone in the other room. “Are you sure?”

Her boss suddenly sounded stressed, and Sawyer tossed her new toothbrush on a towel on the sink and headed out, frowning with concern.

Lennox bounced slightly as she rocked Taige back and forth, the phone cradled between her shoulder and ear. “How long has she been missing?”

Sawyer stopped dead.

“And you’re sure they took a plane? They can’t get on commercial flights with a hostage, maybe she went willingly—”

Lennox’s eyes met hers and Sawyer felt her stomach drop. “Kinsey?” she mouthed and Lennox tilted her head in a slight nod.

“She wouldn’t have gone willingly,” Sawyer whispered.

“We’re on our way. Do
not
let them leave for Texas yet. And yes, Brandt, I know I’m on maternity leave. But I’ll be calling Federal Shifter Enforcement and getting us a ride. And Sawyer wants to be there.” A wry smile crossed Lennox’s face. “Undercover be damned, that’s her case. The girl she rescued. And, well, she might be able to get you all into Cane Creek.”

That was most definitely something she could do.

The Slades wouldn’t be happy to see her. If anything, they’d be
very
happy to wring her neck. But they probably wouldn’t want her blood on their front door. They’d want her inside, where they could beat her at their leisure, and that could give Brandt and his Hounds time to act.

Lennox hung up the phone and started dialing again, Taige cradled in one arm to her chest.

“Neither you nor Brandt will have jurisdiction down there,” Sawyer said. “And Beckett thinks Cane Creek walks on water. He doesn’t give a rat’s ass what happens in that pride as long as Cane Creek backs him.”

“Luckily I’m very good friends with a few Feds.” Lennox smiled. “After that Torres fiasco and taking over for Bree, I made a few connections. I just hope Cane Creek messes up and shows their true colors while we’re down there.” She tilted her head in toward the diaper bag. “But we have to go. Brandt can’t keep Rift and your brothers there much longer.”

“My brothers?”

“Yeah, apparently Callahan turned down witness protection. Opted to pride up with two of your brothers. He was off checking the territory when Kinsey was taken out of Boulder.” Lennox grinned. “Told you there might still be a way around witness protection.”

Sawyer felt her heart leap in her chest. “We just have to save Kinsey first.”

Chapter Seventeen

Rift dug his fingers into the wooden rail as he looked out over Gaston’s front lawn. It was shadowed and dark and all he wanted to do was grab one of the cars and get on the fucking road. Before they killed his daughter. With a strangled snarl, he bent at the waist, pressing his forehead into his knuckles.

Rift jerked his head up when he heard a branch snap, but then forced himself to relax. Cutter stalked across the lawn, pacing back and forth, looking every bit as pissed as he felt, and Rift forced himself to shove out a shaky breath. They’d find her. He just hoped that she was still alive.

“Easy, man,” Mace whispered as he stepped up beside him. “You look like you’re going dark there. Stay positive.”

That was so much easier said than done. He forced his stiff fingers to let go of the rail before it splintered.