Beast Denied (17 page)

Right then, she wished for Tynan…

The car came near, but whoever was inside didn’t switch off the lights, and Naomi squinted into the glare. She could just see the outline of a man behind the wheel.

The driver’s door opened, but nobody got out of the car. “Looks like you’ve got yourself in a spot of bother.”

Recognition speared through her brain, turning her stomach to ice.

Derek Stoltz. The man she had shoved that night at Seth’s hotel and who was trying to discover her identity.

The phone fell from her hand onto the tarmac, and she hurriedly retrieved it, planning to get back inside her car and lock it fast. But he was on her before she had barely snatched up her phone.

He grabbed her arm, pushing her back against her car so hard, the reverberations shuddered down her spine. “Seems you and me have some unfinished business.”

The lights from his car highlighted his harsh and uncompromising features, and the long gash that ran from his outer eyebrow and spread across his cheek. She had done that. She hadn’t realized just how much strength she’d been able to summon, only that he’d held his hand to the left side of his face after she’d pushed him, all the while spraying her with curses.

Panic ripped through her. One look at his mean expression and she had no doubt that he’d been watching her, following her, and was here to make her pay.

“Get your hands off me.” Naomi shoved him, but his grip tightened. She summoned all her strength, but this time he seemed prepared for her, his fingers digging into bone so hard, she winced.

He leaned in close, the faint smell of beer on his breath. She whipped her head to the side, but he dragged her back to look at him. “Like I said, unfinished business. You owe me. Fucking disfigured me for life.” He stabbed at his face, a fanatical gleam in his eye. “Why else would I be hanging around this shithole, if not to get you to pay for what you did to me.”

Naomi jostled against him, but he pushed himself lewdly against her, pinning her against her car. “If you can’t take no for an answer, that’s on you, asshole.”

For some reason, that made him laugh. “Seems to me you haven’t been saying no to those other guys you’ve shacked up with. Had yourself a real party. Well, now you’re going to party with me.”

“And one of those other guys will be here any minute,” Naomi improvised. “I just called and told him to come for me.”

He pinched her cheek so hard, her eyes watered. “Nice try. But there’s no signal out here.”

Shit.
“I… I’m on my way to an emergency call from the hospital. If I don’t contact them in the next couple of minutes, they’ll send someone to check.”

His upper lip rolled back, displaying white teeth. “Nobody’s coming. Who do you think called you?” He made a phone sign with his hand and tilted his head. “Mr. Lox has taken a turn and he’s asking for you.”

Oh God.
“That was you?”

“I’ve been on your tail since you did this to me. I know every fucking thing about you. Had to bide my time because of those two gorillas of yours. When they moved you into that mansion, I was pissed because I couldn’t get near the place. I’ve got to give them their due. There’s some pretty fucking amazing security out there. One of them has you tied to his hip all day, making sure you’re not out of sight for a damn second. But everything comes to he who waits, eh? Seems you only had one of them servicing you tonight, and when I saw a light go on in two of the bedrooms…well, trouble in paradise, I thought. Now’s my chance to get the bitch alone.”

She felt sick to her stomach knowing he’d been watching her, stalking her. She had feared he’d gotten hold of her address via her car details, but this was taking things to a whole new terrifying level.

“You…you did something to my car…”

He shook his head but laughed. “Couldn’t get near the thing, not unless I wanted to trigger all fucking manner of alarms at that fortress you’re shacking up in. I’d figured on following you to the hospital, then getting you alone when you parked. But that shit bucket of yours took care of things for me. Sometimes life just throws opportunity in our path.”

While Naomi cursed inwardly for not getting herself a more reliable vehicle, Stoltz grabbed her phone, threw it into some shrubbery and pulled her along to his car. She struggled hard, but he pushed her into the driver’s side and shoved her over to the passenger seat. Naomi tried desperately to unlock the door, but she couldn’t budge it. She struck out at him, and from nowhere, he produced a man’s tie.

Despite lashing out with every fiber in her body, she couldn’t stop him from grabbing her hands and tying her wrists. He stretched her arms back and looped the end of the tie around the headrest.

“I’m going to kill you, you bastard,” Naomi spat, pulling against the tie.

Stoltz closed the driver’s door and started the ignition. Turning, he eyed her with a lascivious gleam, his gaze resting on her breasts. “While I appreciate the need to get you out of here, there’s no rule that says I can’t take a moment or two to enjoy what’s soon to be mine.”

Nausea swam in her stomach when he popped open the button of her coat and pulled the sides away, revealing her straining blouse. “Don’t you dare touch me.”

He laughed. “I’ll be doing more than touching you.” He stabbed a finger at his scar. “You left me bleeding and with a fucking hard-on the last time we met. Well, this time I’m getting what you owe me.”

“Yeah? Well, you try anything with me and I’ll give you a matching scar for your trouble.” Naomi wasn’t sure where this bravado was coming from. She was trembling with fear, her heart banging mercilessly against her rib cage, and she didn’t know how the hell she was getting out of this.

He snarled, the corner of his mouth turning up in a ferocious manner that highlighted the depth of the gash. “I’m getting tired of this conversation.” With a screech of brakes, he accelerated away.

“Where are you taking me?” If she could get that information, she could store it away. He had to have a phone. When she got free, she would try and get it away from him and call Tynan.

Stoltz didn’t answer her question, so she tried to still her thundering heart and focus on landmarks and signs along the narrow trail.

Although the main routes through the moor were familiar to her, Naomi didn’t recognize the small, unmarked track road he turned along.

Tynan would know where they were. If she could somehow convey what she was seeing to him, he would be able to find her. She was sure of that.

About a half mile along the track Stoltz turned left, and the car jostled along a craggy ledge between head high shrubs, perfect for hiding a car from view of the road. Again, she concentrated hard, mentally noting markers.

They came to a stop at a small outbuilding, and Naomi’s blood ran cold. The moor was littered with disused engine houses, a legacy of its mining heritage. If he managed to lock her in there and tie her up, she might not be able to escape.

Stoltz switched off the car lights and the ignition, giving Naomi the chance to take note of the one doorway and two small window openings. While she deliberated, working out how to make her getaway, he opened the passenger door and untied the knot around the headrest. Grabbing the center of the tie knotted between her hands, he yanked her out. She stumbled, but he paid her no mind and just kept dragging her toward the doorway.

Inside, the stone building was dark and dank, and she heard the skittering of small creatures hurrying to make their escape. Stoltz pushed her hard, and she fell against the floor, jarring the heels of her hands. Pain ratcheted up her arms, grime and dust kicking up to her face from the impact of her fall.

Coughing up dust, she twisted until she could sit up. Stoltz was in front of her, holding a faintly glowing lamp. Naomi shuddered. This whole scenario was like something out of a horror film.

Keep him talking
, she thought.
Stall and keep his mind off the inevitable
. “What happened to your sidekick?” she demanded. “Doesn’t share your penchant for attacking women?”

“Doesn’t have the balls for it. Told me he wasn’t interested in payback. But then he’s not the one scarred for life, is he?”

“How did you know about this place?”

“Had to do something while I waited for your bodyguard to take his eyes off you long enough for me to act, didn’t I?” He smiled and crouched down in front of her, the smell from the kerosene lamp turning her already sickened stomach even more sour. “Thought I might as well get acquainted with the landscape while I had some time on my hands.”

“How long have you been following me?”

He grinned. “Didn’t take me long to hack into the motor vehicle database. From there I found out a whole lot more about you. Of course, I couldn’t deal with you as soon as I’d hoped, because of the man you’ve been spreading your legs for. But I found out where you lived, where you worked. And past experience taught me that it pays to be patient. It also taught me how to avoid being detected while I followed you.”

Past experience?
“How…how did you do that? Keep from being noticed?”

“There’s this wonderful thing called car hire. Twenty-four-hour contracts. That way, your guard wasn’t going to spot the same car tailing you.”

The fact he had everything planned down to the last detail and the comment about past experience alerted her to this not being his first foray into stalking and abduction.

She swallowed, edging back from him.

He ran his hand down her leg. “Never did like a woman in trousers. What say you we take them off?”

She kicked him, lashing out with everything she had. With her hands still tied, she grabbed his hair, stabbed at his eyes, pounded his head, but he managed to grab the binding again. He yanked her forward until she was on all fours, and he knelt in front of her. His hot breath pulsed against her throat, his teeth scraping down her neck.

She tried to gain purchase and get to her knees. That way she could continue to lash out with her bound hands. But Stoltz had his hand pressed to her back, holding her down. Oh God. Where was her strength when she needed it most?

Focusing hard, she summoned her power. She imagined heat flaring in her chest, then pushing down to her stomach, into her legs. Energy tingled through her arms, her hands and fingers trembling with the same force she experienced when she had shoved Stoltz that night in the hotel.

But this felt different. Stronger and more elemental. Instinctively, she knew that she was going much further than simply summoning her strength. She was going to shift.

Bloody hell.

With a deep breath, Naomi tightened her muscles, forcing back the power that erupted through her. It was almost as terrifying as being kidnapped by Stoltz, and after all these years, she didn’t know how to control it. There was no way she could turn into panther form. If she did, she would expose her pack and put them at dreadful risk. Pack members never shifted in front of humans. It was considered an act of treason against her kind. Naomi had already committed wrong by using her meta-strength against Stoltz that night in the hotel. She would never again put her own needs above that of her people.

There had to be some other way she could stop Stoltz.

His breathing began to kick up, rasping nauseatingly again her ear. Naomi struggled against his hold and managed to hike up onto her knees. With her restrained fists, she thumped his chest, but he grabbed her arms and held her still. Unable to move, she used the only thing she had left. Gathering every bit of lung power, she let rip and screamed.

His hand clamped over her mouth. Naomi tried to bite into his palm, but he pressed down harder. “Might as well give up the fight, bitch.” Using his free hand, he placed his fingers around her throat and squeezed. “As they say in outer space, there’s no one around to hear you scream.”

Chapter Eleven

In Nathan’s driveway, Tynan paced and stared down at his cell. Reception could be hit and miss out on the moor, which was likely the reason Naomi wasn’t answering.

When he’d woken from a fitful sleep and stepped outside to get some air, he’d immediately noticed her car was gone. He checked the computer, and noted the tracker on her car indicated it was stationary and halfway between here and town. He’d always known that fucking junk heap would let her down, but he’d hoped it would be someplace other than out on the moor in the middle of the goddamn night.

He needed to get to her. Fast. After sparing his SUV a glance, he decided it was faster to track her in panther form. Chances were, if she’d broken down, she’d have started walking to the nearest house or farm. There wasn’t much in the way of habitation on the road from Nathan’s back to town, which meant she might have detoured across the moor. Since the tracker he’d placed in her bag was now lying on the kitchen counter after she’d laid into him about planting it on her, he didn’t have the luxury of technology to fall back on. All he had was his senses and his instincts.

After moving around to the back of the house, he shrugged out of his jeans and T-shirt, and placed them in a pouch bag, along with his shoes and his cell. He hooked the pouch between his teeth and stood tall. With his eyes closed, he focused and directed the energy that began pulsing through him. Power spiraled from his solar plexus, emanating outward in a familiar vortex of energy that shot through his body like a brutal wave. Scorching heat thundered through his veins, transforming his limbs into a potent force of agility and strength. His jaw hardened, his canines lengthened, and black fur sprang from his pores. On all fours, he padded the ground, his nostrils flaring as he sniffed the air. Seconds later, he took off, driven by a ferocious need to find and protect his female.

Tynan ran parallel to the road, keeping a covert safe distance away and allowing plenty of time to camouflage himself from the inquisitive eyes of a passing driver. He pounded over the ground, his concern intensifying with each drop of his paw against the earth. Shit. The moor was an unforgiving place for a lone female, shifter or otherwise, and he couldn’t shake the sense of foreboding weighing on his chest.

He pushed himself harder, faster, ignoring the dull ache in his back generated by the increased speed. He reached her car in record time and came to a halt, focusing on the open driver’s door, the faint warmth of the engine.

Due to the abrupt stop, his rear legs threatened to go into spasm, so Tynan padded around the perimeter of the car while the clouded light of the moon made eerie patterns across its hood. His unease rocketed when he saw her bag lying on the passenger seat. Naomi was attached at the hip to that damn bag. She’d never go anywhere without the thing and would certainly not abandon it while stranded out here on the moor.

Stalking up and down beside the car, his heartbeat a frantic metronome, he raised his head and willed a connection to Naomi. Pacing, he glanced into the shrubbery and noticed her cell lying on the rough grass.

Fear ate at his focus, panic making his head whirl. No way on earth would she leave her phone. Shit. He couldn’t think straight, couldn’t get a sense of her. He wanted to roar his frustration, but right then it wouldn’t do any good. He had to find her. She needed him.

He poked his head through the open driver’s door and sniffed. Her scent flooded his nostrils, and he drew it deep down to his very core. He let the essence of her fill him, strengthen him, steady him.

His female. His mate.

Any doubt they were meant to be together was swept away on a surge of unquestioning certainty that she was his. The very heart and soul of him.

He drew her in once more, but this time the air was edged with something else. He sniffed again, seeking to identify the vaguely familiar odor. He sensed the pernicious quality of it, the underlying intent to cause harm. The same smell that had assaulted his nostrils when he’d checked out the hotel room.

Stoltz.

A savage energy filled Tynan, and with it, the primal need to again roar his fury. If the bastard touched her, hurt her, he would tear him apart limb from fucking limb.

He vented his fury on the earth, pawing the ground with a ferocity that kicked up dust and grass. With a low and vicious growl, he took off again, flying across the moor, his heart pounding, his paws barely leaving prints on the ground. Knowing it would mess with his radar, he pushed back the anger. He focused solely on Naomi. On finding her. If there was ever a time to put his full trust in his panther nature to guide him in the right direction, that time was now.

It seemed he ran for miles, detouring twice when he lost the sense of her, and ignoring the way his back complained when his injury made itself known. He had no time for it. Dropping the pouch, he raised his head and sniffed the air. The scent that swept in on the moor’s ever-present breeze was faint but irrefutable. Retrieving the pouch between his teeth, he once more pounded across the moor intent on finding his woman.

His
. No matter how much she knocked him back, how much she tried to pretend there was nothing between them. She. Was.
His
.

His
woman.
His
mate.

He almost bypassed the old engine house, but snapped his head around when a whiff of something caught his attention.

Naomi.

The fear and terror she felt came to him so strongly that, momentarily, his head swam. And Stoltz was in there with her. He could smell the bastard’s stink.

Through the dense gorse, the trunk of a car was just visible. With quiet stealth, Tynan padded toward the structure, his head down and every muscle alert.

From inside came a muffled sound, a scuffling. Ready to roar in, to get to Naomi, only a split second’s instinct held him back.

Never let a human see you in panther form.

Tynan took only enough time to shift and yank on his jeans, hating the delay and praying it didn’t put Naomi at risk of further harm. If she’d been hurt…

Keeping his back to the wall, he glanced through the window opening.

In the faint light, he saw Naomi on her knees, her hands bound and Stoltz pressed up behind her with one hand over her mouth and the other around her throat.

As blood thundered in his veins and a red haze swam in front of his eyes, Tynan kicked in the door.

* * * * *

Naomi squeezed her eyes shut, trying hard to breathe when the room began to spin. Stoltz’s hand pressed hard over her mouth and nose, cutting off her air supply. She tried to gulp in air, her own bound hands clutching at his in a futile attempt to dislodge his hold on her. His other hand pushed down hard against her throat and made her muscles vibrate with the need for release.

She didn’t know what she could do to stop him, but she did know that she was not going to die here. Stoltz wasn’t going to suck the life from her. He wasn’t going to be the last man she saw in this life. He wasn’t going to prevent her from getting back to Tynan.

Tynan
.

His handsome face swam before her eyes: those green eyes, his cocky grin, the arrogant jerk of his shoulder. Her heart squeezed painfully at the thought of never seeing him again…

Her vision blackened. At the same time, energy gathered at the base of her spine, This time she knew what it was and went with it, knowing that to save herself, she had to embrace the strength she had found that night at the hotel. This time was so much worse than that. She was fighting for her life. Later, she would deal with the consequences of her actions, but right now, she had to survive.

She allowed the energy to spread into her core and erupt along her limbs, but before she could release the final tenuous hold on her strength, she was abruptly liberated from Stoltz’s clutches. She gasped in air, dropping to her hands while she heaved and her body shook from the aborted attempt to summon her strength. Behind her came a scuffle, a sickening thud, and then groans of pain.

Coughing, spluttering and grabbing lungfuls of much-needed oxygen, Naomi glanced over her shoulder and saw Tynan about to yank Stoltz up from where he was currently sprawled on the ground.

He grabbed the man, slammed him back against the wall and held him by the neck. Eyes glaring, Tynan looked over at her. “Are you okay?”

She sat back on her heels, wheezing, and nodded.

Tynan kept his attention on her for several moments as if to assure himself that she was telling the truth, then turned back to Stoltz. “You like brutalizing women, asshole?” he growled, squeezing harder around the man’s throat until he turned puce. “Well, let’s see how you do with the likes of me.”

A ferocious intensity emanated from Tynan, and Naomi knew that he wasn’t planning to let the man go until he’d exacted revenge. Since, in the process, he would likely cause excessive physical harm, Naomi crawled across the floor to Tynan. It wasn’t that she didn’t want Stoltz to pay for what he’d done—by God, did she want him to pay—but she didn’t want Tynan hauled up on physical assault charges. Stoltz needed to face the consequences of his actions, but legally and via the police.

“Let him go,” she rasped. “Please, Tynan. Let him go.”

With his hand tight around the man’s throat, Tynan looked at her. “No fucking way.”

“We need to call the police. Let them handle it.” When he didn’t budge, she scrambled to her feet. “Tynan. Let the police handle it.”

Tynan continued to glare at Stoltz with menacing intent, his teeth bared and chest heaving. She needed to snap him out of this.

She curled her fingers around Tynan’s arm. “My wrists ache. Can you untie my hands?”

Thankfully, it did the trick, and he whirled around to face her. When Stoltz groaned, Tynan lashed out, his fist aimed at the man’s gut. Stoltz doubled over, coughing as he crumpled again to the floor.

Tynan released her hands and threw down the unfastened tie. He caught her wrists gently and began to soothe the skin by rubbing softly with his fingers. “Did he hurt you?”

She shook her head. The last thing she wanted was for Tynan to start laying into Stoltz again.

“We need to get you checked out.”

“I’m fine.” But he gave her such a vehement look, she touched her trembling fingers to his cheek. “I’m a doctor, remember? I can tell if I’m okay. Just a little shocky.”

“Call Ryan,” he said, referring to a local police officer who was also a member of their pack. “His number’s on my cell.”

Naomi ran her gaze over his naked chest and the jeans that had yet to be zipped. “Where is it?”

He tapped each pocket of his jeans. “Shit. Outside. Black pouch by the clearing. Tell Ryan we’re at the engine house on the old copper track by Golitha Falls.”

Naomi nodded. She wrapped her arms across her chest and started out. Now that the adrenaline was slowing, her body was beginning to shake. At the door, she glanced back. Tynan had Stoltz facing the wall and was wrapping the tie around his wrists.

She found the pouch and dug through the contents to find the cell phone. Her hands trembled as she scrolled through his contacts list until she found Ryan’s number. When he answered, she gave him the gist of what had happened and Ryan said he was on his way.

Keeping the phone in her hand, she grabbed Tynan’s shirt and shoes and started back. Tynan was frog-marching Stoltz to his car, where he shoved the man down on the ground beside it.

“Stay where you are, asshole,” Tynan grated. “Unless you prefer to deal with me rather than the cops.”

Stoltz glared back, then stared straight ahead, his face a mask of pure hatred.

Tynan turned to Naomi and cupped her face with his hands. “Sure you’re okay?”

“I will be. Once I stop shaking. Here, you’d better get dressed before you catch your death.”

Tynan shrugged into his shirt and wrapped his arm around her. “Let’s go over here,” he said, leading her toward a cluster of boulders. “Then we won’t have to breathe the same air as this lowlife.”

Making sure to keep Stoltz in view, Tynan eased her down to sit with her back against the stone, then slid down next to her.

“I couldn’t stop him,” Naomi blurted, giving in to the uncontrollable shaking that only seemed to intensify. “He had me pinned down, and I couldn’t stop him.”

“It’s okay now.” He drew her close. “It’s okay.”

She wrapped her arms around Tynan’s waist and simply clung. “I’ve never been so relieved to see anyone in my life.”

“Tell me what happened. Why did you leave?”

She drew in the scent of him, letting his heat warm every cold place inside her. At last, the tremors began to subside. “I had a call, supposedly from the hospital. It was late, and I didn’t want to disturb you… No. That’s not entirely true. You were mad at me, and I was pissed at you.”

He narrowed his eyes and frowned. “You should have told me anyway. What the hell did you think you were doing, driving across the moor in the middle of the night in that wreck?”

“I didn’t think. I just wanted to get to the hospital. Stoltz was following me. He said he’d been planning to get me alone in the hospital car park, but then my car broke down, and he was right there. He tied my hands, shoved me in his car and brought me out here. Tynan, he’s been following me almost since that night at the hotel.”

“I know.”

“You knew?” She eased away from him, drawing the edges of her coat tight around her. “Why didn’t you tell me? Didn’t you think I should be made aware of that fact?”

“Since there was no way I was planning to let you out of my sight, there seemed no point worrying you with it.”

She squeezed her eyes shut, resignation replacing the terror she’d felt while Stoltz’s hand had been around her throat. “Don’t you see how patronizing that is? Protect the little woman because she hasn’t the skills or the wit to handle things that directly concern her?”

“You’re twisting this out of proportion.”

“Ryan didn’t seem too surprised when I mentioned Stoltz’s name and what had happened. Has he been in on this too?”