Emily's Captive (A Lilly Town Shifter Novel Book 2) (7 page)

Emily had mixed feelings when Jason showed up
the next morning. She hated him. They’d been
friends once, but now they didn’t get along. They
fought all the time, which was one of the reasons
she lived on the East Coast and him on the West.
They very rarely saw each other, and Bill only sent
them on missions together if he had no other
choice. She hated to admit it, but she really
needed his help on this one. She was going to be
in charge, though. It was her sister; she needed
to be the lead on the rescue.

“Paul came up with a brilliant plan, so we
don’t have to worry about being headed off early
on,” she said, a little frustrated. She knew he
wouldn’t like it.

“But I don’t understand. Why can’t we just go
after the most likely one and get her? The goal is
to get Stacy out. Why not get her out as soon as
we can?” he asked.

“Because it would be nice to not get attacked
when they figure out the pattern. This way there
is no pattern. They have to guess which one we go
for next,” she said between gritted teeth.

“But they could guess right and we’ll still
have the same problem,” he said.

“Jason, listen to me. They won’t be able to
figure out where we’re going next. Remember, we
have Paul, and he knows Zeke.”

“Yes, but that was what, six months ago. We
both know Zeke has never taken a kid before, so
this is out of the ordinary. We don’t know if we
can rely on his intel.”

“It’s not like I can turn some Hunter into a
shifter-lover just to get updated info. We’re
doing the best we can with what we have. Zeke was
injured last time we saw him, shot in the back from
what Paul said, so I don’t think he’s really
changed all that much, not if he was that injured,”
she retorted.

***

Jason hated seeing Emily like that. She was
pale with bags under her eyes. And he’d never seen
her so pissed off. He never wanted to see that
anger directed at him. She was scary.

He’d never met Stacy, but he wanted to. Having
Emily care so much about you was something that
took a special person. She didn’t care about
anyone, other than Stacy, it seemed.

Jason wondered if she was like Emily, a hard
killer, or on her way to being one. It sounded
like she was a child, so maybe she wasn’t one… yet.

Looking at her, he tried to picture her as a
nice person, someone mothering and kind. It was
hard to imagine the hard Emily being kind to
anyone, let alone a child. He tried imagining her
tucking someone in and all he could do was laugh.

“You are an asshole,” she said when she caught
him looking at her.

Jason knew how to piss her off and getting
under her skin was fun. “Thanks. I love you too,”
he said with a smile. He heard a snort and looked
down to see Paul trying to hold in a laugh. He was
starting to like the guy already.

“Jason, we need to get her back as quickly as
we can. We don’t know what they’re doing to her.
I want her safe,” Emily said with frustration, but
trying to be nice. He could tell she was about to
fall apart and he wondered if there was something
else. She knew how to handle a bad situation. She
was always the one with a cool head, yet here she
was almost in tears. This was not the Emily he
knew.

Paul was enjoying the show. Emily and Jason
couldn’t seem to agree on anything. He couldn’t
wait to see what would happen if they talked about
what type of transportation they would be taking.
He actually couldn’t wait to bring up that tidbit
of information. Some of the areas they were going
to were rough. The only way to get there was on
foot or by ATVs.

“Okay, agree to disagree. It’s our only option
and Bill likes the idea,” Paul finally said. He
really was enjoying it, but they weren’t getting
anything done with the arguing.

“Fine,” Emily said. She knew she’d won just
because of Bill.
“Fine,” Jason said with a sigh.

“Now, some of these compounds are pretty far
back into the woods and hard to get into. I know
you guys can shift, but since I’m human, I can’t,”
Paul said.

“I have some humans on my team also, so we’ll
have to figure out a way to get in,” Jason said.
Paul looked at him confused. Why would he have
humans on a team that helped shifters? “There are
humans mated to shifters who are on my team, and
some humans just like going in and taking down the
bad guys.”

“Oh. Well, anyway, they have access roads for
their own people, but there is surveillance. We’d
be found out in thirty seconds flat.”

“So we go in the back way,” Emily said simply.

“Yes, but there’s no way in the back way,
unless you have some large animals the humans can
ride.”

“Actually, we do,” Jason said with a smile.
“I’m not having anyone ride me,” Emily said
angrily.

“Well, since Paul’s your prisoner and your
special helper, you get him and I’ll figure out my
team. We have enough larger shifters – bears,
tigers, jaguars – that the humans can catch a ride
on, but no more than one passenger because of the
weight. Some of them are mates anyway, so I don’t
think there’s going to be much of a problem.
You’re probably the only one who will have one,
Emily,” Jason said to her.

Paul looked over at Emily and saw the look of
pure hatred there. But he didn’t care. She wasn’t
really mad at him, just the situation. She’d
probably never had anyone ride her before, and
thought it was demeaning or something. Or she
didn’t want a former Hunter riding on her. He
couldn’t wait, though. He got to ride a tiger! How
many people could say that?

“Fine,” she grumbled. She shouldn’t be too
mad; she did win… somewhat. It wasn’t her
intention to have someone ride her, but it should
work. It would make sure they were quiet and that
they would be able to move faster.

Richard saw Zeke head into the room where the
girl’s cage was. He couldn’t let him go in there.
He couldn’t let Zeke talk to her. He couldn’t let
the attachment continue. It could ruin him.

“Sir, Jim from Tuscan just called. I didn’t
know you were back. I was just about to go, but I
think this is something you should probably take
care of. A shifter got in and attacked them. They
now have it contained, but he said they needed your
help with cleaning everything up,” Richard told
him.

“Thank you for telling me. I’ll leave right
now,” Zeke said, and walked away.

Richard smiled. He had a few more days to work
on the girl. He’d been so busy he hadn’t had a
chance to do anything with her, but now… now he was
going to do something. He had it all planned; he
just had to wait for Zeke to leave.

Opening the door to the room she was in, he
looked in. She was looking around, trying to find
something. She must have heard Zeke outside
talking to him. She probably thought he was coming
in to chat with her. She was in for a surprise.

Richard walked over to her cell and saw the
fear in her eyes when she realized it was him who.

Her shoulders were squared and she looked ready
to fight, but he could see the fear there. He
raised a gun and shot a dart into her neck. He
wanted her unconscious for his plan.

The girl slumped to the floor slowly. She was
trying to fight it. He could tell when her eyes
kept opening then drifting shut. But he’d put
enough in there to knock out an elephant. It
should be enough to take down a shifter.

***

Stacy heard Zeke outside the door. She had
heard his voice, his limp, and the sound of his
cane on the floor. She hoped he was there to see
her.

She couldn’t make out what was being said
between him and the person he was talking to, but
she was hoping he’d come in soon. She was thinking
she might actually be ready to talk to him. It
might not be today, but it was close. She was
upset when she didn’t hear anything from him, but
she knew he ran the entire thing. He was probably
busy.

The door opened and she looked toward it,
waiting for Zeke to walk in. She was surprised
when she didn’t see anyone. She just stared at the
door intently, waiting.

Then a man came in and she saw it was the other
man that seemed to be in charge. She didn’t know
his name, but she knew he scared her. She knew he
was the man who had put her there. He raised a gun
and shot her.

She felt the prick of the dart in her neck and
before she could get out of its path, she fell to
the floor.

When she woke up, she was in a different cell.
This one was lit very brightly, with a small camera
set in the corner of the ceiling.

Stacy slowly sat up and heard a low growl
coming from the corner of the cell. Looking over,
she saw what was growling at her. There was a wolf
crouched down, waiting for her to wake up.

Holding her hands up in a peaceful gesture, she
stood up. For a moment she thought the wolf was
going to leave her alone, but it suddenly leapt at
her, pinning her to the floor. She didn’t have a
choice; she had to shift. Stacy looked in the
wolf’s eyes and saw the craziness in them. It was
feral. She was so screwed.

***

Emily wasn’t happy. They had to wait until
morning to leave. It was too late and Jason kind
of had a point when he said they needed sleep
before going on. It didn’t make sense to leave
late at night and go in exhausted, but that didn’t
make her any happier. They could sleep when they
were dead.

She took a deep breath, enjoying the smell of
fresh air and trees. She wished she could share it
with Stacy. Maybe when she got back, they could go
for a run and play, something they hadn’t done in a
long time.

The door to the house opened and Paul walked
out. She looked at him, then back at the night
sky. She didn’t really feel like talking. She
actually just wanted to be left alone. She took
another deep breath and relaxed further into the
chair.

***

Paul was feeling cooped up in the house. He
needed some fresh air. It was something he’d
needed a lot of lately, but after being in that
cell for so long, it was something he wanted more
than anything.

He really hoped Emily didn’t try to put him
back in there when this was all over. He didn’t
think she would, which was why he didn’t ask for
it. He was helping her bring back the most
important person in her life. If not, well, maybe
he could slip out during the reunion.

He stepped out onto the porch, his guard
watching from the window. Emily was on the porch
swing, swaying slightly and settling back into it.
When he closed the door, she looked over at him,
then back out at the night sky. He looked at it
and saw all the bright stars. It was beautiful.
Sitting down on the swing next to her, Paul put his
feet on the railing and started the chair in a slow
swing.

“Did you see that?” Paul asked when a shooting
star streaked across the sky.
“It’s beautiful,” Emily whispered.
“Make a wish,” he said.
“Why?”
“Because you make a wish on a shooting star.”
“That’s childish,” she said, looking at him.
“So? Make one anyway,” he said with a smile.
Paul made a wish – to stay with Emily.

Zeke was back from another uneventful trip. It
was the same thing. No one had called with a
problem; it was just Richard trying to get rid of
him. What else could he do? He had to see what
Richard had planned with all this.

He was really looking forward to seeing the
girl. He wished he knew her name. Maybe he would
be able to find out today. He walked into the room
where her cell was kept and couldn’t believe his
eyes. There was fresh blood on her clothes and
deep scratches covering her arms and legs. He even
saw a few bite marks. Walking into the cell, he
got a closer look and wondered how she was alive.
There was no way a human could have survived the
injuries.

Getting a bowl of water and a cloth, Zeke
walked into the cage and started cleaning her
wounds. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
It looked like another animal had done this to her,
but she was the only shifter there. How had it
happened?

Maybe she’d tried to escape and was attacked by
a wild animal? No, she was a shifter. A wild
animal couldn’t have done that. She would have
been able to defend herself easily.

She started to whimper.

“Easy. I’m just cleaning you up,” he said
gently. Her eyes opened and he could see the pain
there. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know this would
happen.”

She nodded, then closed her eyes and passed
out. That was probably the best thing for her. He
was going to have to remove her clothes to get to
some of the wounds, and it was probably going to
hurt like hell.

***

Stacy felt tugging on her leg, followed
immediately by a sharp pain from the movement. She
opened her eyes, trying to figure out who was
hurting her, then saw Zeke with his brows scrunched
and a rag in hand.

“Wha…?”
“Shh, don’t try to talk; just relax. I’m
taking care of you. You were hurt pretty badly. I
just set your leg,” he said.

“How?” she asked weakly.
“I don’t know. I found you in here like this.”

Stacy tried to think back, but the pain was too
much. She remembered being shot with the dart, but
everything was so fuzzy. Then she saw the teeth.
“Wolf,” she said.

“What?” he asked.
“It was a feral wolf shifter that did this. I
was thrown into a cell with it.”
Zeke nodded.
“S… Stacy,” she stuttered.
“Your name?” he asked.
She nodded. She was getting too tired to talk.
“I’m glad to finally know it,” he said with a
smile.
Stacy blacked out again.

***
“Go,” Emily said, when they were all standing
outside the first compound. It was a dummy one,
unfortunately, but it still needed to be taken
down.

Everyone rushed forward almost silently. They
were all trained killers and trained to be silent.
She had Paul on one side and Jason on the other.

Jason took out the door and they all stormed
in, killing everyone they came across. Some had
guns, others knives, and the rest just used their
claws.

They weren’t taking prisoners. Whether they
had anything to do with Stacy’s kidnapping or not,
they were killers. And it wasn’t like they could
be put in a human prison. As far as the humans
were concerned, shifters didn’t exist and the
Hunters weren’t breaking any laws.

As they came to rooms, they started splitting
up. Paul stayed with Emily, though. She didn’t
want him out of her sight, no matter what.

They went into a room on their left and found
ten Hunters. Emily went into immediate action and
shot the first one she saw. The second one was
able to knock the gun out of her hands, but she was
ready for him. She quickly kicked him with enough
force to break his neck.

She loved doing this. She was taking down the
bad guys and getting closer to eradicating them
all.

She hit the next guy in the face, breaking his
nose. Before he got out his grunt of pain, she
kicked him in the groin. He fell to his knees and
she broke his neck.

Looking over at Paul, she saw him handling
himself. He had a knife in his hand, working over
the Hunters. She wondered whether or not his being
a Hunter helped. Probably not, but he might have
been fighting friends. Since they were Hunters,
she wondered how close they really were. Emily
wasn’t close to any of the soldiers under Bill.

***

Paul looked over at Emily and was amazed at how
lethal she was. He knew she was a killer, but
seeing the smooth way she moved and killed the men
and women so easily astounded him. He watched as
she broke the neck of a woman with a well-placed
kick to the side of her neck. It seemed to be her
favorite method of killing. He was getting turned
on.

“Come on,” she said, and ran out of the room.
He snapped out of his thoughts and ran after
her. He knew he needed to keep his head.

Running down the hall, they checked every room,
making sure the Hunters were all dead. They didn’t
want to chance any survivors getting word back to
Zeke.

“Emily, we got them all. Let’s blow the
place,” Jason said, coming down the hall with the
rest of their group.

“Got it,” Emily said, and started setting up
the C-4. “Let’s get out of here.”

Emily hit a button, turning on the timer.
Everyone ran for the exit, getting out before the
bomb blew.

Paul knew they weren’t worried about the humans
seeing. The compound was so far off the beaten
path that they’d be gone before the police even
knew anything had happened.

When they were about a quarter mile away, Paul
heard the explosion. He didn’t expect it to be as
big as it was, but he guessed they had to make sure
the compound was completely destroyed. They
couldn’t let any evidence of its existence be known
to the world. If it ever got out, they’d have
bigger problems than just the Hunters.

Everyone walked back to the trucks silently.
Paul stayed very close to Emily. He knew she
wouldn’t like him anywhere else, and he really
didn’t want to be anywhere else.

He looked around at their group and saw only
minor injuries, some cuts and scrapes, but nothing
that wouldn’t heal in an hour. He was happy to see
the outcome.

He might have believed in the Hunters before,
but not now. Now he didn’t see the point in
killing innocent people.