Bonded (51 page)

For a moment they
glared at each other, Victor seemingly at a loss for words while
Reno was trying to figure out what the hell to do. He wanted off
the conveyor but his leg wouldn’t allow him to move quickly and he
didn’t trust Victor not to take another swing at him.

It was Victor who
broke the impasse. “A fight is a fight.” He snapped the words,
hatred blazing from his eyes. “True wolves use whatever advantage
they can find. It’s survival of the fittest, the most cunning.”
Slapping the piece of metal against his hand, he curled his lip in
a sneer. “In the end it’s the most ruthless that will survive.”

Reno didn’t even
bother to answer the implied challenge. Instinct was telling him to
get the hell out of there, and he knew this was one of those times
that he damned well better listen. He took a few more hobbling
steps back, dividing his attention between carefully placing his
steps and watching out for Victor’s next move.

He was almost off
the damned conveyor, the loading dock was just a few feet behind
him. Victor feinted a lunge his way and Reno jerked back, stepping
down harder than planned. There was the screeching sound of nails
pulling free from rotting boards. And then, with a lurch, that
whole section of floor suddenly fell away from beneath him and
began to slide down the mountainside in a shower of soil and
rocks.

With lightning
reflexes, Reno grabbed at a metal upright and managed to keep
himself from falling as well. He swung himself back onto a
relatively more solid bit of flooring and looked down, his heart
pounding hard from the close call. A large gap now existed between
him and the mountain effectively trapping him with Victor.

Curses spilled
from his lips. The monstrosity was nothing but rot and rust holding
hands. As if to confirm the idea, the strut he was holding swayed
under his grip and a screw fell to the ground at his feet.

“I guess you’re
not leaving after all, are you Smith?” Victor wiped the rain from
his face with his sleeve and gave a triumphant bark of laughter.
“This is perfect. I can kill you; knock you off this conveyer and
claim it was self-defence. I’ll say you went rogue and attacked. I
had no choice.”

Reno snorted. “No
one will believe you. The ACS is here. They’ll find you and drag
your sorry ass back to Lycan Link.”

“They have no
evidence against me.” Victor twisted his mouth to the side in a
crooked smile, looking entirely too pleased with himself.

An idea formed in
Reno’s head and he tried to keep the Purist talking. If he could
distract the man long enough, the ACS might get here in time to
arrest the bastard.

Unthinkingly, he
tightened his grip on the bit of metal he was holding and another
metal pin fell at his feet. Apparently fate wanted him to have his
own weapon. Slowly, he began to work loose the metal bar in his
hand while continuing to talk. “The humans you incarcerated and
their families will testify against you.”

“If they live.”
Victor spoke with confidence. “I know they’re holed up in the mine
near town but they’ll never make it out alive. And if anyone
questions their fate, I’ll say they disregarded the warning signs I
had posted. Another unfortunate mining accident.” He shook his head
in mock regret.

“Sorry to
disappoint you, but the guards who were supposedly containing the
mixed families abandoned their post to chase me. By now the halves
and their parents are at the base of the mountain. I had a team
waiting in Renwick to pick them up.” Reno lifted his chin, carrying
out his bluff as confidently as possible.

A flicker of
uncertainty passed over Victor’s features before he gathered
himself and shrugged. “Even if my men did leave their post, the
humans won’t have travelled far.”

“If you’re
counting on Walt and his cronies to hunt them down, think again.
They couldn’t track a dead skunk.” Reno was thankful for the noise
of the storm. It covered up the sound of the metal bar coming loose
in his hand. It might not be wolf-like to use a weapon but he’d
rather be evenly matched with Victor than at a disadvantage.

Victor snorted.
“True. Walt is...ineffectual…but biddable. He’ll do anything to
save his own skin, and he knows that I’ll come after him if he
fails me. Fear works wonders, and he has strict orders about how to
deal with the humans and their families.”

“Amazing. We
actually agree on something. Walt
is
ineffectual and he
is
out to save his own hide. Unfortunately, your estimation
of him is way off. He’s more clever than you think and has been
playing both sides, doing your dirty work but turning a blind eye
to some of Klaus’ activities.” Reno arched an eyebrow. “You
do
know Klaus is still around, don’t you?”

The tightening of
Victor’s jaw was his answer.

“Walt knows Klaus
is planning a takeover today, and once he realizes that the ACS is
here, he’ll be more than willing to switch allegiances.” Reno
wasn’t sure how much of this was true but it was plausible and,
from the look on Victor’s face, his opponent knew it.

To give the man
credit, Victor didn’t falter long. He pulled his shoulders back and
shook his head. “Clever of you to try and create doubt in my mind
but it won’t work, Smith. Regardless, I
will
kill you. I’ll
have my revenge for my brother’s death and...” A calculating gleam
appeared in his eye. “Once you’re gone I’m going to claim
Brandi.”

A snarl rose in
Reno’s throat and Victor crowed upon realizing his verbal jab had
struck a nerve.

“Does that bother
you? Excellent.” A smile appeared on his thin lips and taunted Reno
even further. “You took my brother from me. I’ll take the female
from you. That seems like a fair trade, doesn’t it? And while
you’re nothing but decaying flesh in the ground, I’ll be here.
Mating her. Over and over I’ll fill her with my seed—”

Reno couldn’t stop
himself. He couldn’t stand the mental image created by Victor’s
taunts. Forgetting his Enforcers’ oath, the precarious structure he
was on, and even the instability of his own leg, he ripped the
metal bar free from its mooring and in one smooth motion knocked
Victor’s weapon from his hand before tackling him to the floor.

The impact of
their combined weight made the conveyor shudder yet again, but
neither man seemed to notice. They grappled back and forth, their
injuries leaving them evenly matched, while the storm raged
overhead. Stones clattered beneath as the wash of rain created yet
another small landslide and further undermined the supporting
columns for the structure.

They struggled,
locked together, hatred of each other and desire for the same
female spurring them onward. For a moment the air shimmered around
them, both wanting to shift but neither having the energy needed to
do so. Instead they fought as humans, throwing punches, grunting in
pain.

At one point,
Victor had Reno by the throat, bearing down, trying to cut off his
breathing but Reno managed to land a blow to the man’s ribs. It
momentarily winded his attacker and caused the Alpha’s lethal grip
to loosen. Shoving Victor away, Reno levered himself up and used
his good leg to strike out, catching Victor’s stomach.

“Oomph.” As Victor
wheezed, Reno scrambled back. He felt sick and his head was
spinning from lack of oxygen. Leaning against the wall, he took a
moment to rest and quickly scan his surroundings. There was
movement to the side and... Were those voices? Pulling himself to
his feet, he narrowed his eyes and examined the area to both
sides.

Yes! To the right
he saw ACS Enforcers and to the left... Brandi and Damien?

How the hell had
those two met up? And why was Brandi here and not safely tucked
away with the mixed families?

Shit! He had
enough to deal with right now, without worrying about her. Of
course, Damien was with her but... Reno glanced towards Victor and
saw the man was now sitting up yet instead of launching another
attack, the Purist was staring at the approaching ACS, cursing.
Apparently he wasn’t as confident about avoiding arrest as he’d let
on.

Victor flashed a
look his way. “It’s your lucky day, Smith. I won’t have time to
kill you after all.”

“And you’ll never
get another chance. Lycan Link will lock you up for the rest of
your life.”

“Not likely. They
need to catch me first.”

Reno frowned.
There was no way off the conveyor and in his condition, Victor
couldn’t outrun the ACS Enforcers. Unless... Dammit, did the
bastard plan on using the conveyor to escape? And was he really
crazy enough to try to ride it down the mountain? It would be a
suicide run. The conveyor would collapse before he even got ten
yards.

Victor laughed and
Reno realized he’d spoken out loud. “A suicide run? Perhaps. But
better than mouldering away in detention. And if the conveyor
collapses, at least I’ll know you died along with me.”

Crap. The fool
really was going to try it. It wasn’t likely the man’s plan would
work, however on the off chance that it did... Reno prepared to
launch himself at Victor again knowing the move would probably be
the final blow that caused the structure to collapse. Creaks and
groans were already filling the air with increasing rapidity.

“Reno!”

He jerked at the
sound of his name. Brandi was calling out to him which meant...
Hell and damnation, if she was that close then, when conveyor fell,
she’d likely be crushed under the falling debris.

Victor was getting
to his feet. Reno knew he had to act soon, but could he do
something that might result in Brandi being injured? Yet if he let
Victor escape, the man would continue to persecute innocent
halves.

Acting quickly and
decisively were the characteristics of a good Enforcer, yet here he
was waffling like a first year recruit. Brandi or Victor? It felt
like a noose was tightening around him. No matter which he chose,
he’d regret the decision for the rest of his life.

Rain poured down,
the sound of thousands of droplets surrounding him in a cocoon of
white noise. He wiped his hand across his face to clear his blurry
vision. A memory flashed in his head. It was his first day at Lycan
Link and Captain Fielding was giving his version of an orientation
speech. The man’s face had been harsh, his presence formidable as
he barked the words in a harsh voice that allowed for no argument.
‘Men, this is your chance—probably the only one you’ll ever get—to
make something of yourselves. You’ll think I’m tough but the world
will be even tougher on you.’ The captain had paced in front of the
line-up, his hands clasped behind his back as he stared at each
man. ‘You’re near rogues; picked from the fringes of Lycan society.
Never forget that you’re damned lucky to be here.’ And then, Reno
was sure the man had stared directly at him seeing right into his
soul. ‘Duty! A sense of duty. That’s what most rogues are missing
and that’s what I’ll teach you. A sense of duty will be your
salvation and if I have to pound it into each and every one of your
heads, it’s what I’ll do!’

Reno blinked and
the memory faded.

Love or duty?

A metal bar lay
nearby. His? Or Victor’s? And did it even matter?

Reno stretched out
his hand and grabbed the makeshift weapon. He flexed his fingers on
the cool, wet surface. If he engaged Victor in another fight, the
structure would surely collapse. Out of the corner of his eye he
thought he saw a flash of red hair on the loading dock, but didn’t
dare turn to check and see if it were reality or just wishful
thinking.

Victor or Brandi?
Duty or love?

He took a deep
breath only to have the decision wrenched from him.

An explosion of
electricity filled the air; the entire world seemed to tremble from
the forceful release of energy that when on and on in never-ending
waves. With a long drawn out groan, the entire section of framing
for the belt began to fall.

Everything seemed
to happen in slow motion after that. The structure crumbling away
beneath him... Grabbing at the sides to save himself, his feet
barely catching on a narrow metal beam... Brandi crying out his
name... He turned his head to see her on the landing dock, reaching
towards him. Damien was there as well. A prayer of thanks that they
were safely out of the way of falling debris left his lips... And
then with a roar, time returned to normal speed.

“Get away from
here!” He shouted the instruction, suddenly noting how the soil
under the loading dock was slipping away even as he spoke. “This
part of the mountain is going to give way any second!”

“Let me help you,
man. Give me your hand!” Damien was leaning forward, his arm
extended towards Reno. More bits of dirt and pebbles skittered down
the mountain, their clatter barely heard over the sounds of the
storm.

“No! Move away.
And get Brandi out of here. That’s an order!” He glared at his
partner but the man merely laughed.

“Since when do I
follow orders?”

“Not fucking often
enough,” Reno scowled. They weren’t going to leave so there was no
point in wasting time arguing. He started to inch towards the
landing—a narrow beam still connected the conveyor to the land. If
he could make it to there...

He paused. Where
was Victor? Looking back, he saw the man pulling himself up onto a
still stable bit of the conveyor. A ten foot gap separated them;
their only connection a thin metal girder. Reno hesitated. He
looked at Damien with his outstretched hand and Brandi standing
nearby. Her arms were wrapped around her waist. Their gazes locked
and he noted the red rims of her eyes. She parted her lips as if to
speak. He closed his eyes briefly, recalling the feel of her kiss,
the sweetness of her breath as it mingled with his. For a moment he
relived all their moments together, and then opened his eyes and
turned back to Victor.