SizzlingInsanity (13 page)

“She’s headed in this direction, away from her cousins’
house,” Cade said. His eyes were flashing amber and Connor knew his generally
calm brother was close to losing his shit.

“You change,” he told Cade. He turned to Gage. They’d left
the others guarding Garrison. “Gage, go to her cousins’ place and watch them.
She might circle around.”

Gage nodded and took off. Connor didn’t wait for his brother
to finish changing. It wouldn’t take him long and he’d soon catch up.

He took off after their mate.

* * * * *

Shelby crouched in the bushes. Her teeth chattered from the
cold, the autumn air freezing against her naked body. She’d changed back to human
form when she’d come across a house on the outskirts of town. She glanced over
at the clothesline. Obviously, it was an older couple living here, the dresses
hanging on the line were shapeless and about three sizes too big with large
floral designs that only those with failing eyesight would think were
attractive.

Still, beggars couldn’t be choosers. She crept forward,
praying she wouldn’t be seen. Quickly snatching one of the dresses, she raced
back to the safety of the bushes and slipped it on over her head.

Shelby took a deep breath and knocked on the door, trying to
hide her trembling. She couldn’t believe she’d actually made it this far
without detection. She’d half expected Cade and Connor to jump out and grab
her. Either that or the cops, alerted by the old lady whom she’d stolen this
delightful outfit from.

The door opened and her classmate Jala stared at her, her
smile of greeting soon turning to a look of horror.

Changing had healed her bruises somewhat, but she didn’t heal
as quickly as full-blooded werewolves so she knew her face would still be
sporting a nasty-looking bruise. Combined with her uncombed hair, her baggy,
old-lady dress, bare feet, and no doubt frightened face, she knew she was a
shocking sight.

“What the fuck happened to you?” Jala screeched.

Shelby winced at the sound. “It’s a long story. Can I use
your phone?”

“Yeah.” Jala visibly shook herself before reaching out her
hand and grabbing hold of Shelby’s, clasping it tight. “Of course you can. Come
in.”

She pulled her inside. Shelby had been here before when
they’d worked on assignments together. Jala was the closest thing she had to a
friend. She’d tried to keep the other girl at a distance, but Jala just kept
trying, inviting her for dinner, for coffee, or to a party.

Shelby had finally caved in and forced herself to be
sociable.

“Here, sit down.” Jala pulled her over to a long couch
covered in magazines and textbooks. She swept them aside, not caring where they
landed. Jala wouldn’t exactly win any prizes for housekeeping.

Shelby perched gingerly, wincing. “Thanks. Is your roommate
home?”

“No, she’s at her boyfriend’s place.”

“Good.” The fewer people who saw her, the better. She felt
guilty about including Jala in her problems, but she couldn’t think of anywhere
else to go. She had no money so she couldn’t use a public phone. Jala’s
apartment had been close and she was getting desperate.

Jala stood over her looking concerned. “Do you need me to
call the police, Shelby? Do you know who attacked you? Did they take your
clothes?”

Shelby forced herself to smile. “I know I look a mess, but I
can’t call the police. The people who did this, they’re powerful. I just need
to call my cousins.”

Jala nodded, looking a bit shaken. Shelby squelched her
guilt. Jala passed her the cordless phone. With trembling fingers, she dialed
Sawyer’s cell.

“Hello?”

“Sawyer, it’s me.” She cleared her throat, surprised by the
thick lump of tears that formed at the sound of his voice.

“Shelby? Shelby, is that you?” His voice became more frantic.

“Y-yes,” she whispered, swiping at her cheeks.
Get
yourself together woman.
She pulled in a deep breath. “Sawyer, I’m in
trouble. I need your help.”

“Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

“I’m fine,” she said. “But can you come get me?”

“Of course I can. Where are you?”

“I’m in town, at a friend’s house.” She gave him directions.
“Sawyer, they could be watching the house, hoping that you’ll lead me to them.”

He snarled. “Who? Has someone hurt you? Where have you
been?”

“I’ll explain everything when you get here. But, can you
lose any tail?”

“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it.”

“Oh, and can you also bring me some clothes?”

He growled. “I’m going to want to kill someone, aren’t I?”

“Possibly.” She swallowed. “Please hurry, Sawyer.”

“I’ll be there soon, squirt. Just stay put.”

* * * * *

Connor looked at the large building. There were probably
thirty apartments in it and that meant a lot of witnesses. But she was in
there. They’d tracked her here, even though she’d done an excellent job of
trying to throw them off her trail.

Smart little wolf.

His phone buzzed and he answered the call.

“Gage, what do you have?”

“All three of her cousins left in separate vehicles. They’ve
gone in different directions.”

“She’s contacted them,” he concluded. “They’re trying to
keep us from following her.”

“I put GPS trackers on each of their vehicles, Dylan is
tracking them from his computer. What do you want me to do?”

“Contact Dylan, get him to watch where they go. We’ve got
her under surveillance, but in case we lose her I want to know where her
cousins are at all times. Trick is on his way here. You get back to the house.
Make sure Sam is well guarded.”

“On it.”

Gage ended the call and Connor slipped his phone back into
his pocket. He looked down at Cade, who glanced up at him and whined softly.

“I know. I want to go in and grab her too, but there are too
many witnesses.”

If she were on a lower floor, they could sneak in a window.
He’d done some recon, however, and followed her scent up to a door on the
fourth floor.

“I wonder who she knows here.”

Cade growled this time and Connor nodded in agreement. It
better not be a male.

“Should have tied her to our bed.” Then she’d be with them,
between them. His dick swelled at the memory of last night. Taking her had felt
so right.

Being apart was gut-wrenching.

There was a small, deliberate rustling and he turned as
Trick walked toward them.

“You got here quick.” he said to the other man.

“I brought the Porsche.”

Cade growled. It was his car and fast. Very fast.

“I didn’t scratch it,” Trick said to Cade. He handed Connor
a backpack. “Clothes for Cade. Where do you want me?”

“Go watch the other exit,” he said. “We’ll wait for one of
her cousins to get here then we’ll figure out what to do.”

Trick nodded and ran off.

* * * * *

Shelby jumped at the knock on the door. She stood, groaning
in pain. Floating spots danced in front of her eyes. Jala grabbed her arm.

“Are you okay? Sit down,” she urged.

Shelby blinked. “No, I have to see who it is.”

“I’ll get the door.” Jala sent her a stern look as she
remained standing.

“Ask them to identify themselves first. I’ll recognize their
voice.”

Jala nodded before moving over to the door. Shelby sat, not
really having much choice, the trip to get here had done her in, taking the
last of her energy.

“Who is it?” Jala called out.

“Sawyer, Shelby’s cousin.”

“He should have short, dark hair, tanned skin. Tall, about 6
foot 4,” Shelby called out.

Jala peered through the peephole. “Looks like him.”

“Let him in. Please.”

Jala opened the door, stepping back as Sawyer stormed in,
his face stony cold. He ran his gaze around the room, resting on her briefly.
He shut the door behind him.

“Are you alone?” he asked.

Shelby nodded, wincing slightly. Her head was pounding,
aftereffects of a quick change and too much exertion when she was injured.

“Just me and Jala. It’s safe.”

Sawyer narrowed his gaze and strode toward her. “You’re
injured.” He placed his fingers gently beneath her chin, turning her to face
him.

He sucked his breath in. “Who?”

His voice was deadly and she saw Jala start and stare at
them worriedly. She stepped forward. “That’s what I’d like to know. I wanted to
call the police but Shelby wouldn’t let me.”

Sawyer glanced over at Jala then back at her questioningly.

“Jala and I go to college together. She’s a friend.”

“Why didn’t you come home? Were they keeping you somewhere
close to here?”

How much to tell him? She definitely couldn’t tell him it
all in front of Jala. She glanced over at her friend.

“They took me from home. I changed to go for a run when they
grabbed me, drugged me.”

“They’re dead,” Sawyer snarled. “Who are they? Why did they
take you? Where else are you hurt?”

Shelby held up her hand. “They weren’t the ones who hurt
me.”

Sawyer’s eyes widened. “Then who?”

“I’ll explain everything but I think we need to move.
They’re good trackers, Sawyer. I tried to cover my tracks as best I could, but
I’m worried they might show up here and I don’t want to put Jala in danger.”

“Don’t worry about me,” Jala protested. “I’ll be fine.”

“I shouldn’t have put you in the middle of all this. I wish
I hadn’t but I couldn’t think of anything else to do.”

God, she was so tired.

Jala sat next to her, taking her hand. “I’m glad you came
here. You can trust me, Shelby. I have your back.”

Shelby smiled at her. “I know you do. But the quicker I
leave and the less you know the better.”

Sawyer had been talking quietly on his phone as they spoke.

“See you soon,” he said before putting his phone in his
pocket. “That was Owen. We’ve got to get going.”

Shelby opened her mouth to question him but he glanced over
at Jala and she nodded in understanding. The less Jala knew the better.

Turning to her friend, she hugged her tight. “Thank you so
much. You know, I never thought I’d have a friend like you, but I’m so glad
that I do.”

Jala hugged her back. “Anything you need, I’m here.”

“Do you have somewhere you could go for a few days, Jala?”
Sawyer asked, looking concerned.

Jala shook her head. “My parents are away overseas, but I
could get my brother to come and stay. He was a Navy SEAL.”

Sawyer nodded. “Good. Do that. Call him now. Come on,
Shelby.” Sawyer helped her stand and she swayed, feeling lightheaded. He caught
her against him.

Jala had grabbed the phone and was talking into it quietly

“Can you walk, squirt?”

“I’ll be fine. Shouldn’t we wait for Jala’s brother?”

“He’s on his way,” Jala said, putting down the phone. “He
won’t be long and he’s not happy so I wouldn’t stick around. He’s kind of
overprotective.”

“I don’t think these guys will hurt anyone, but they’re
strong and smart. If they do come, you tell them what you know.”

Jala smiled grimly. “Which is pretty much nothing.”

“Thanks again, Jala. I owe you.”

Jala gave her a hug and they said their goodbyes. Sawyer
held her against his side as they moved down the stairs. Her legs were like
Jell-O and by the time they reached the ground, she was shaking.

“Fuck this,” Sawyer said. He pulled his keys out of his
pocket before gathering her up against his chest with one arm like she was a
small child.

“I’m fine,” she protested.

“No, you’re not, you’re exhausted, injured, and stressed.
Now hush and let me take care of you.”

Shelby sighed, relaxing against him. “Where are we going?”

“My truck is parked out front. We’re going to meet Owen and
Jonty at the summer house.”

Sawyer pushed his way out the doors, beeping open his truck
doors. He opened the passenger side, placing her inside before he ran around to
the other side.

“Jack is going to let us use the summer house?” The pack
used the house for cookouts during the summer. It was built next to a large
lake and was pretty isolated. They wouldn’t be able to drive the whole way in.

“Jack can get fucked. He won’t even know we’re there—it’s
all closed up now. No one will find us up there.”

It was a good plan. She leaned back against the car seat.

“You gonna tell me what happened?” Sawyer asked as he pulled
out onto the road.

She turned to look at him. “Do you mind if I wait until
we’re with the others? I don’t think I have the energy to tell it more than
once.”

He glanced over at her, his gaze softening slightly. “All
right, squirt. You just lie back and try to get some rest. I’ll wake you when
we get there.”

* * * * *

“Do you want me to go question whoever she was with?” Trick
asked Connor, nodding over at the apartment.

They watched as another truck pulled up and a large,
muscular man stepped out. He grabbed a duffel bag from the backseat before
storming inside. His every movement screamed military.

“No. Shelby is too smart to tell them anything. Besides, I
have a feeling they called in protection.” He nodded at the man who was
disappearing into the building. “Gage put GPS trackers on each of her cousins’
vehicles.”

He’d recognized the guy she’d been with as one of her
cousins. It had been the only thing stopping him from racing over there and
ripping the guy’s arms off for daring to touch what was his.

“Car’s this way.” Trick led them over to the Porsche. Cade
growled softly.

“You can hardly drive in this form,” Connor told him
reasonably. But he took the keys off Trick, knowing Cade would cope better if
he were driving.

He started the car and headed in the direction they saw the
truck drive off in.

“Call Dylan, get directions.”

Trick set Dylan up on speaker phone and Connor followed his
directions, pulling off onto a gravel road.

“Looks like all the vehicles her cousins are driving are
heading in the same direction now. You want us to come in as backup?” Dylan
asked.

“No,” Connor said. “You’re needed there. We’ll be fine with
the three of us.”

He pulled the car up about a mile out from where Dylan said
the other three vehicles had stopped.

They all got out. Connor grabbed the backpack and they
headed out on foot. When they reached the vehicles, it was clear that they’d
headed out on foot somewhere.

Connor sighed. Shelby really was leading them on a nice
chase.

“Let’s go.”

Thirty minutes later, they’d tracked Shelby’s scent to a log
house nestled against a large lake.

“What now?” Trick asked.

“We wait for Cade to change back and then we go in and get
her.”

“Easy as that, huh?”

Nothing about Shelby was ever easy.

* * * * *

Shelby finished telling her cousins everything, including
the attack by the guard and how she had been spying on Garrison for weeks. When
she was finished she couldn’t look at them, not wanting to see the shock and
disbelief on their faces.