Falke’s Captive (19 page)

Their telepathic reaction reached the puma locked inside the cage, and it let out a terrifying scream only partially drowned out by the noise of the big rig and the revving ATV being maneuvered into the trailer.

Beth tried to shout despite the duct tape over her lips. Her heart pounded a furious beat against her breastbone, and her skin prickled. The damn puma scream was enough to scare a woman half to death.

They’re here,
Sindre told her.

She widened her eyes at him and continued to struggle with the tape on her wrists. If she could just get loose…

Sindre was on all fours, pacing.

“Mmmm!” She eyed the vial as it rolled around inside the cage, but the cat wasn’t listening, at least not to her.

Kelan says to stay calm. They’re going to get us out.

“Mmm-mmm…” She rolled her eyes. Yes, she knew all of that, but he needed to stop freaking moving around before he knocked the vial out of the cage. She heard the semi start up.

He says he and Reidar are here. And Gunnar too.

She closed her eyes, burning with fresh tears.
Hurry.

The ATV shot into the rear of the trailer with the professor on it. He killed the engine, got off and leaped back outside to put away the ramps and shut the doors.

Beth used her feet to roll her chair over to the cage and kick it.

What?
Finally, Sindre looked at her, and she looked down at the vial, which was now at the edge of the cage.
Oh.
He started to reach for it, but missed when the trailer was jolted from the outside. Her wide eyes met the cat’s gaze.

The semi…Tim was hooking up. They were going to move out.

The puma pawed at the vial again and covered it up as she pushed away from the cage and rolled back across the space a mere second before the side door opened and the professor stepped inside.

This was a nightmare.

How could Kelan and Reidar save them without revealing their secret? Was Tim in on it with the professor? Surely he saw her Jeep outside. He’d know she was in here.

The trailer jostled again, and the professor stuck his head back out. After a few seconds, he asked, “All set?”

“Yep, just got to raise the drops, and we’ll be ready to go,” she heard Tim holler. “You want to put up those steps and join me in the cab?”

“No, you do it. I have a test underway in here. I want to keep an eye on it.”

She could tell Tim drew closer. “You sure? It’s gonna be a bumpy ride, at least until we reach the highway. Most everything in there is bolted down, but you and the chairs aren’t.”

Whitmore kept the door almost closed, but for a little room to clear his head. “I’ll be fine. I’ll…duct tape any loose things down so they don’t get away from me.”

“Okay. Have it your way. Call me on my cell if you want to stop somewhere and pick up food or something.”

“I’ll do that.”

He closed the door, locked it, and turned to face her. The puma hissed at him, but the professor eyed her. “Now, my dear, what am I going to do with you?” He looked down, searching the floor. “And where did that vial go?”

As soon as the truck began to move, Reidar saw Kelan jump to his feet and take off running. He’d been positioned directly behind the trailer and had the best view inside, and the angle to approach without being seen.

Goddamn it,
Gunnar shouted.

Get the truck
, Kelan shouted back, racing for the back of the trailer.
Stop this damn semi!

“Let’s go,” Reidar called to Gunnar after he saw Kelan leap safely onto the back and hang on to the vertical bars that made up part of the double doors’ locking mechanisms. He’d braced his feet on the horizontal steel beam that always hung from tractor-trailer rigs, designed to protect motorists from being decapitated in the event of an impact.

“That damn, wild-assed brother of ours is gonna get himself killed,” Gunnar snapped as he caught up with Reidar sprinting for the fence.

“That’s why we’re here. To make sure he doesn’t.” He cleared a rotten log and ducked past a low hanging limb.

Without another word, both men shifted into catamount form and sped up. Kicking free of their shoes and hampered only by their clothes, they made faster time through the woods and leaped the fence simultaneously.

Shifting back to human form, they climbed into the truck.

“I think I ripped a hole in this shirt going over that fence,” Gunnar muttered.

“Next time, jump higher.” Reidar cranked the engine, but there was nowhere for him to turn his vehicle around.

Asshole.
“There better not be a next time.”

“Hang on. This is going to get tricky,” Reidar said as he jammed the gearshift into reverse, twisted around to look out the back, and stomped on the gas.

On the back of the trailer, Kelan hung on for dear life and prayed the next damn pothole wouldn’t knock him loose. He had to get inside before he lost his grip. He had to rescue Beth and his brother, but he couldn’t risk letting go while the fucking terrain was so unpredictable.

Another dip jarred him, so he used his knees to absorb the worse of the jolt.

Hang in there, Sindre,
he said, even though he knew his brother wouldn’t be able to hear him through the metal doors of the trailer.

Where the hell were his brothers? He shot a look over his shoulder at the passing trees, trying to determine if they’d passed the ATV trail or not. He couldn’t tell, because he couldn’t see much from quick glances while he focused on not falling off.

Then he heard an engine and the crunch of gravel as someone slammed on the brakes and the tires dug into the dirt. A roar behind him followed instantly by the sound of spraying gravel told him his brothers were coming, but he didn’t dare look back.

A hard jolt and sway accompanied the rig’s turn onto the highway, but the ride smoothed out even as the big rig began to pick up speed. Kelan slid his left hand down one vertical bar to the handle, while he hung onto the other one, and yanked. The latch opened, but it was far from silent. He had no time to lose. He yanked hard on the door and, with all his strength, swung himself inside.

Careful,
Sindre warned, taking a swipe through the bars at the professor who advanced on Kelan. It slowed the man down and gave Kelan time to regain his footing.

The professor attacked without a word, and Kelan went on the defensive, ducking a book thrown at his head and dodging an office chair the man sent rolling at him. Kelan knocked the latter object away, and it tumbled out the back of the trailer. He assumed the squeal of tires was Reidar’s effort to avoid the chair on the winding mountain road, but he didn’t have time to look back.

He clung to the cage and pulled himself forward, but had to throw up an arm and turn away when the professor let loose with a fire extinguisher at his face. The white powdery cloud cleared just in time for him to block a blow from the same canister, although the fucking thing hurt like a son of bitch. And it pissed him off. He launched himself at the man, and the two fell to the floor, punching and scrambling for an advantage.

As Kelan gained the upper hand, he heard a terrified squeal from Beth and saw her chair slip passed them, her feet shoving frantically at the smooth floor to stop her slide.

Kelan shoved off the professor and flung himself at her chair, snagging one branch of the wheeled base in time.

I’ve got her,
Sindre said, his big paws reaching through the cage bars and wrapping around one of her legs.

Kelan let go, but before he could push to his feet, Sindre shouted,
Watch out!

Beth squealed, and a blow to Kelan’s back knocked the wind from his lungs. He fell forward, sliding a few feet closer to the back of the trailer as the big rig continued its meandering climb up the mountainside. A quick grab of the tied-down ATV’s tire stopped him.

The professor bellowed, raised the canister and lunged forward.

Kelan rolled over.

Whitmore swung downward to strike the knockout blow.

Kelan barely dodged the fire extinguisher, its base clanging on the floor a mere inch from his ear. He grabbed the professor’s arm and kicked out and up, catching the man in the gut and tumbling him head over heels clear of where Kelan lay. The professor’s cry turned into a scream of terror as his own momentum sent him sailing headfirst out the back door of the trailer.

Reidar cursed when he had to swerve to miss the damn chair careening onto the road. Gunnar braced a hand on the dash and kept talking on his cell phone to the police dispatch. He figured, and Reidar agreed, that with Beth bound in the back of the trailer, it was best to get law enforcement there as quickly as possible.

The two yahoos in the truck could scream all they liked about unusual chromosomes to the other nut-jobs in the state prison. No one was going to believe a former scientist and grad student convicted of kidnapping a woman.

“I can’t fucking pass this guy.” Reidar’s fingers hurt from the tight grip he had on the steering wheel. He continued to catch glimpses of the fight inside the trailer, and he wanted the truck stopped now. When a cloud of white obscured the view, he’d had enough and stomped on the gas, whipping his truck into the other lane.

“Yes, we’re nearing the top of the pass,” Gunnar was telling the dispatcher. “The big rig is…well, it’s beside us right now. Yeah, we’re passing it…. I know it’s dangerous! Just get someone the fuck here. There’s a woman’s life at stake, and the assholes have our cat.”

Reidar laid on the horn, trying to get the driver’s attention, but the man seemed to be in a world of his own.

Fortunately, his truck’s V-8 engine could out-pace the big rig on the steep climb. Just as they neared the top, Reidar whipped in front of the truck and braked, but paced in front of it to keep from getting run over as the semi came to a jarring halt. Thankfully it’d only been doing about thirty-five up the steep incline.

Tim jumped from the cab, cursing at them as Reidar and Gunnar left their vehicle and ran back toward the trailer. “Hey, what the fuck’s your problem?”

“You are, you dick-weed,” Gunnar snapped, running interference for Reidar who kept going. “You enjoy kidnapping women?”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Tim asked, following them until he too spotted what had already stopped Reidar in his tracks. “Who?” Tim choked on the question.

Oh, shit.
Someone lay bloodied and motionless on the roadway several yards back down the lane.

“’Bout time you showed up,” Kelan said, sticking out his hand to help Reidar into the back.

With a relieved grin, Reidar clasped his hand and climbed up. “Got here as fast as I could.”

Tim looked in the trailer and stood there wide-eyed and fidgety. “What the fuck happened? Lizzy? Oh my God.” He turned to look back at the body.

Sirens sounded in the distance, but they were fast approaching as Kelan made his way over to Beth and began releasing her from the chair.

“Come on, Tim,” Gunnar said. “Let’s go check on your boss.”

“Oh shit. Is he…I don’t understand. Lizzy? What the fuck is going on?”

Reidar unlatched the cage door and set Sindre free.

My collar is in the corner. It fell off the desk and slid over there
.

“I’ll get it,” Reidar said as he went after it.

Kelan pulled the tape off Beth’s mouth.

“Ahh. Ouch.”

“Sorry,” Kelan murmured. “Just a few more strips, and I’ll have you free. Are you okay?”

Reidar fastened the collar around his brother’s neck. A glance toward the end of the trailer told him Tim still stood staring at Beth and muttering apologies, but now he was joined by the guys with badges. One was calling for an ambulance as he rushed over to Gunnar and the professor. Another climbed into the trailer, and a third began questioning Tim about the incident.

Beth looked at Kelan, then over at Reidar, tears welling in her eyes. “I’m okay…now.”

Kelan pulled her into a tight embrace, and Reidar smiled, his hand on the nape of his little brother’s neck.

The puma purred.

Kelan slid the back door shut on the display case and began to stow the empty boxes in the bottom drawer of the case when someone cleared his throat. He climbed to his feet to see Axel there.

“Where’s Reidar?”

“Here,” Reidar answered, stepping out of the back storage room with an armful of merchandise to be put on display in the second case.

“Set that down a minute. I’ve got something to discuss with you.”

While Reidar set his burden down, Kelan watched Axel who seemed unusually still. Kelan wasn’t sure he liked that; Axel’s composure usually made him nervous. He likened it to the calm before a storm. “What’s up?”

“First,” Axel began, “How’s Beth?”

“Fine,” Reidar said. The investigation into the professor’s death had been settled almost immediately, with no charges filed against Kelan or anyone else. Kelan had been acting in self-defense, and Beth’s story of her kidnapping, corroborated by the evidence at the scene, plus eyewitness testimony of Tim and the Falke brothers, put any legal ramifications to rest. “The inquiry at the university is taking forever, but we talk to her every night.”

“We’re going to see her this weekend,” Kelan added. They hoped to finally mark her as their mate, since their original plans had been thwarted by the kidnapping and subsequent investigation. As soon as they were released from interrogation, she and Tim had headed back to return the mobile lab to the university and face further inquisition there.

He and Reidar had let her go because they’d known it was something she needed to do on her own. Before she could truly be theirs, there was the matter of the grant, her dissertation and a whole host of loose ends that needed to be tied up—not the least of which was Whitmore’s promised vial of a
wild
cougar’s blood to Dr. Sayers, a sample the Falke family vet was more than happy to acquire. So Beth had left them with nothing more than a kiss and promise to return. The separation, nearing three weeks now, was damn near unbearable. He’d taken it as long as he could.

Axel nodded with a frown and stared at an envelope in his hand. “I suspected you’d be making the trip sooner rather than later, but…” He held out the envelope. “I hope this might change your mind…about Seattle.”

“Axel, we’re not—”

“What is it?” Kelan asked, cutting off Reidar’s denial that the trip was anything more than temporary. They were going regardless of what was in the envelope, but he still wanted to know what Axel was up to. That frown worried him.

“That’s the deed to Old Darcy’s gas station and a check. I figure once you do some remodeling, that big ol’ garage will be perfect for a warehouse. And the check’s your startup capital.”

Kelan’s knees went weak, his head a little light, when he pulled out the papers and saw all of the zeroes on the check. He looked over the first page of the deed, but his eyes wouldn’t focus. “Seriously?” he asked Axel.

“Yeah, seriously. It’s what you wanted, right?”

Kelan nodded, unable to say more.

“You two showed your commitment to this family, and our dads told me your biggest concern was the babies. You made me proud. I’ve been waiting for you to grow up. Looks like it finally happened.”

“I don’t know what to say.” Kelan folded the papers and stuffed them and the check back into the envelope.

“I do,” Reidar said. He gave Axel a quick, back slapping hug. “Thank you.”

“Yeah,” Kelan said. “Thank you, brother.”

“Now, that’s not free money,” Axel said after Reidar stepped back. “I’m not charging you interest, but that is a loan, and you will pay me back in a timely manner. It’s all in those papers.” He motioned toward the envelope. “There’s a contract between the three of us. Don’t try to cash that check until it’s been signed.”

“We won’t,” Kelan reassured him.

“And I still expect help with Catamount Outfitters when we’re busy,” Axel said, motioning toward the front of the store where Sindre was helping a group of tourists sign up for a weekend trek to Red Dog Ridge. “But we’ll work out a schedule so you two can focus on the warehouse and online store. And I’m going to be hands on. I’m keeping a share of it.”

“That’s in the contract too?” Kelan asked, but he already knew. His brother was giving them some leash, but if they fucked up, Axel would take over and save the day. That was his way.

“Damn straight it is,” Axel said, but then he grinned. “I expect you two to do great things, though. Don’t let me down.”

Both Kelan and Reidar shook their heads. “We won’t,” Kelan promised. “It’s a deal.”

“Good.”

“But we’re still going to Seattle this weekend.”

Axel’s frown deepened. “About that. I know you want to go, but…well, I sort of promised…That is…”

“Spit it out,” Kelan grumbled.

“I sort of promised you two would take a very important client on a camping trip along Icicle River.”

“Damn it, Ax!” Kelan slammed a fist on the counter.

“Axel,” Reidar tried. “You knew we had plans. We’re supposed to be off this weekend.”

“I know! I know, and I’m sorry, but there’s always next weekend, and this client was…insistent. I couldn’t say no, and there’s no one else who can do the job. I’m sure you can make it up to Beth.” He gave Reidar a pat on the shoulder and glanced at his wristwatch. “The client will be here any minute. I’d suggest you hurry and get ready.” Before they could argue further, he turned and headed back up the aisle. “Remember, we have a deal.”

“Fuck,” Reidar said. “Didn’t see that coming.”

“Me either,” Kelan said. “Leave it to Ax to find a way to give a great gift all wrapped up in barbed wire.”

“Yeah, now what?”

“We’ll just have to tell Beth the truth, and as soon as we dump off this client, we’re headed straight to Seattle, damn the consequences.”

“What’s so important that you have to rush off to Seattle?”

Both brothers turned at the familiar feminine voice to see Beth walking up the aisle. She stopped a few feet from them, looking gorgeous in denim cutoffs, hiking boots and a bright green, curve-hugging tank top. Axel peered around the shelves with a smirk on his face.

“
You’re
the client,” Reidar guessed, and she nodded.

You asshole!
Kelan said telepathically, sending his eldest brother into a fit of laughter.

Reidar tossed his big brother a huge grin over Beth’s shoulders as he pulled her into a tight bear hug.
Thanks, Ax.

Anytime. Enjoy the camping trip.

Kelan vaulted the counter and waited for Reidar to let go so he could snatch her into his arms. “God, you’re a sight for sore eyes.”

She chuckled, blinking at him from behind her glasses. “Back at ya, hon,” she teased, using his pet name for her.

He laughed and lifted her off her feet, swinging her in a circle. “You’re back.”

When he set her down, she pushed her glasses up her nose and grinned. “Where else would I be when the two best guides in the Wenatchee forest are here?” She ran her finger down Kelan’s shirtfront, turned and winked at Reidar. “I just hope they don’t charge too much because I’m a broke student struggling to finish some research so I can finalize my dissertation.”

“What are we waiting for?” Reidar asked. “Let’s go camping.”

“Uh, don’t you think we should put up the tent first?” Beth asked, shrugging out of her backpack. She watched her lovers, who’d already dumped theirs on the ground, unzip and spread their sleeping bags over a soft spot between towering pines that shaded the fragrant grass from the late afternoon sun. “Or build a fire?”

Kelan straightened and began to walk—no
stalk
—toward her.

“Uh, guys?” She took two steps back for each one he made, but failed to hide the smile tugging at her lips. A thrill zinged through her at the dark look of lust in Kelan’s eyes, the set of his mouth, the way his body moved with smooth grace toward her. “I’m supposed to be out here to gather research,” she reminded him.

“Which you can do tomorrow,” Kelan said, his voice low and rough.

To hell with research. She wanted what he had to offer. They’d all been apart way too long. She’d missed their playfulness, their laughter, the domineering way they had about them that could make her purr.

She loved them so much; every moment of those weeks apart had been sheer torture. She hadn’t known them long, but she had no doubt where she belonged.

Circling around a tree, she put the thick trunk between her and Kelan and kept up her protests. “But we still have some daylight left.”

“And I know just what to do with it,” Reidar said from her left, startling her into a giggle and a run. She didn’t get far, not that she’d tried all that hard.

“Gotcha,” Kelan said, tossing her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

“No fair! There’s two of you.” She laughed amid mild grunts as she bounced against his rock-solid shoulder during his trudge back to camp.

“And you’ve kept us celibate long enough,” he said, laying her down in the middle of their makeshift bed with the utmost care. It was surprisingly soft with the layers of sleeping bags, and she grinned up at Kelan who had a wicked smile on his face that promised every one of her needs would soon be met, filled, surpassed.

As Reidar dropped down on her other side, opposite his brother, she grinned. “Celibacy is overrated.”

“Very,” Reidar agreed before he dipped down to kiss her with a lingering thoroughness that revved her pulse.

As he kissed her, she felt Kelan shift lower to untie her hiking boots, pulling them off one after another. She broke from Reidar’s kiss and tilted her head, allowing him better access to her skin, when he continued to nibble along her neck. Kelan unzipped her shorts and tugged them down. Reidar slipped a hand under her cotton tank to fondle her breasts.

“Guys?” she said, finding it harder to catch her breath despite the fresh outdoor air all around her. How had she forgotten what these men’s hands and mouths could do to her? “Oh!”

Kelan tickled her navel with his tongue. “Hmm?” Amusement laced his question.

What was she going to say? “Umm, oh, yeah.” She swallowed when Reidar caught her earlobe between his teeth, his warm breath bathing her ear and sending tingles racing down her sides. “What if someone comes…uh…up the trail?”

Kelan tugged her panties off with her shorts, while Reidar worked her tank up. A quick flick undid the front clasp of her bra, and Reidar latched onto a taut peak, drawing a moan from her.

“No one will come by,” Kelan murmured against her inner thigh.

She squirmed beneath their attentive kisses, reaching for them, wanting them closer—needed them as she’d never needed another human being—despite her mild protests. “You don’t know that.”

Reidar pulled away only long enough to dispatch her top and bra to wherever the rest of her clothes had gone. As he pulled his own shirt over his head, he said, “We’re on Falke land. Trust us. We have you all to ourselves.”

Kelan chose that instant to lick her clit, easing her thighs apart with his hands. She bucked her hips, seeking more, her thoughts and concerns fracturing beneath the delicious assault.

Reidar was as naked as she was when he returned to her side. He propped himself up with one arm and lowered his lips to claim hers once more. Sucking his tongue into her mouth, she clung to him, and he drank in her whimpers of pleasure.

As if in concert with one another, Kelan pulled away to undress at the same time Reidar reached between her legs to continue the titillation of her clit with his fingers.

Breathlessly, she asked, “You’re talking to one another again, aren’t you?” making both men chuckle.

Reidar removed her glasses, set them aside and gave her a peck on the nose. With his other hand, he rubbed her sensitive nub with constant, intoxicating circles, keeping her slightly off balance. “How did you know?”

She moaned before she could answer, and reveled in the flick of his tongue along her bottom lip. “You both—mmm, that feels so good—you move in tandem.”

“Is that so?” Kelan seemed amused by her observation as he again dropped onto the sleeping bags to lie next to her. “Then you’re going to love this.”

Together they rolled her on top of Kelan, and he wrapped his arms around her, claiming her mouth in a breath-stealing kiss that melted her bones. Reidar moved in behind her, skimmed his palms down her spine, along her sides and over the curves of her ass, heating her insides to the boiling point.

In the next heartbeat, he entered her pussy in one smooth glide.

“Mmm,” she hummed against Kelan’s mouth. He nipped her bottom lip.

Reidar withdrew a little and pushed deeper the next time, and the next.

“Ohh,” she whispered with eyes closed, her senses attuned to the exquisite rhythm Reidar set, until with no warning, he pulled out.

She blinked, looking down at Kelan who watched her with darkened, passionate eyes.

“I love you,” he said simply, yet she felt the vow deep in her heart.

She smiled, afraid to try to speak. She was so full of love for both of them. They were special in ways she still found hard to believe, and they’d chosen her. They loved her; she had no doubt. They were her real-life heroes who’d come to her rescue and saved her life.

“We both do,” Reidar clarified from behind her, and she reached back to stroke his side with her palm. He nudged the tight rosette of her ass, making her suck in a quick breath and forget about everything else when her body clenched in anticipation of what was to come.

Kelan said, “Tonight, hon, we want to claim our mate. Are you ready to be ours?”

Her mind battling between the pleasure of Reidar teasing her backside, Kelan’s solid, strong, wonderfully comfortable body beneath her, and the idea of being theirs forever, she said the first thing that came to mind. “If that means you’re both mine…”

Kelan smiled, gave a nod, and Reidar squeezed her shoulder lightly.

“Then, yes. Yes! I’m ready.” She grinned and wiggled back slightly, pressing against Reidar’s cock.

Kelan and Reidar simultaneously slid into her body, Kelan filling her pussy with his hard cock, and Reidar easing his length deep into her ass.