Heat Rising: A KinKaid Wolf Pack Story (10 page)

“Bring him in,” Evin commanded to his staff at the perimeter. The side door opened, and two enforcers entered, hauling the shackled Gregorson prisoner between them. Once near their guests, they stopped, awaiting Evin’s further instructions.

“Release him.”

One of the enforcers tugged a set of keys from his wide belt and worked it into the lock of the prisoner’s thick metal bracelets. They popped open and the male snarled, rubbing his wrists, his dignity apparently insulted by his capture. Too bad.

“Walter,” the one introduced as Carl called out. The other male’s attention snapped in his direction, and he strode over to his family member. Carl reached out with one thick arm, wrapped it around his brother, clapping him on the back. “Are you well?”

“Yeah. I’m good,” Walter stated in a gravelly voice.

“Now, take your pack member and get off our territory.” Evin’s dark warning had the Gregorsons cranking their heads toward the alpha. “Your male was fortunate I was in a forgiving mood when he broke into my home. But heed my warning, Stefan. Any more of your pack get the idea they’d like to fuck with me again…they won’t be so lucky.”

A low growl reverberated off the mohawked alpha right before he surged toward Evin. The slide of metal on metal rang out off the marble. Rosa’s breath hitched at the sound. She blinked. And when she lifted her lashes, she found the muzzles of the KinKaid wolf pack’s enforcers strategically placed at not only Arick’s temples, but his entourage’s as well. In counter response, the Gregorson enforcers had matched their move and their guns were aimed in the faces of the home team.

“Everyone take a deep breath,” Evin calmly stated.

Easy for her brother to say. Rosa wasn’t sure she could inhale at the moment even under a direct order.

Stefan’s upper lip twitched, curled, showing off one long canine.

“I don’t think the alpha meant to show any aggression. Did you, Stefan?”

“Call your dogs off, KinKaid,” he growled.

“You first.”

“Just who in the hell do you think you are?” the other male snarled. “Definitely nothing like your father. That’s for sure.”

“You’re exactly right.” Evin nodded and edged forward, putting them face-to-face. “I’m…nothing like my father. I’m a wild card you’ve been dealt. Unpredictable.” Her brother tilted his head. “So if you’re as smart as you think you are, that should scare the hell out of you.”

Stefan’s expression smoothed, iced. But closer inspection revealed a slight tick in his jaw. Rosa smiled. Yes. Evin had gotten under his skin.

“Lower your weapons,” Stefan barked. His men obeyed, shoving their pistols back into their holsters.

Evin swung his head from left to right with a nod to his enforcers. Immediately, they stood down.

“That may be the case, KinKaid. We’ve never come head-to-head before now, but I assure you, the same goes for your pack. Keep them off my land, or you’ll need a shovel to retrieve what’s left of them.”

“Not a problem,” Evin answered, his tone cool.

Rosa eased forward until she had a better angle of her brother and Mason’s faces
.

“I hope for your sake that’s the truth.” Stefan aimed a finger at Evin’s chest, and her brother scowled. “Because your puny-ass threats will only succeed in a war. One that you’ll
never
win.” His voice climbed in decibels. “Gregorson territory will never be yours.”

“You’re speaking in riddles, Stefan,” Evin stated, his demeanor cool. Rosa had to give her brother credit. He wasn’t easily baited into the other man’s rage. “What the hell do I want with your land?”

“Don’t insult me,” the other alpha spat. Stefan whipped around. “Let’s get out of here, Arick, before the stench of this place embeds itself in my clothes.”

“Yes! By all means…do get off my property,” Evin chewed out through his teeth. The group filed out through the door, followed by a team of KinKaid armed staff to make sure they left the grounds without incident. With a solid
thunk
, the heavy doors to the home closed behind them. Rosa joined her brother and his mate.

“What was that all about?” Mason’s gaze narrowed on her brother. “What threats?”

Evin shook his head. “This feels wrong. The blatant hostility. The talk about threats.” He scrubbed a hand over his face and sighed.

Her brother had good instinct, and if he had a bad feeling about this, more than likely he was right. The front door opened once more, catching Rosa’s attention, and Landry walked in.

“Their convoy is being escorted off the grounds, sir. So far. So good.”

“The sooner they’re back on their own turf the better,” Evin stated, crossing his arms.

“Evin,” Rosa began. “The idea is revolting, but I have to ask…do you believe someone is attempting to instigate a war by trying to make Stefan think you’re out to take his pack?”

“This I know for sure, I haven’t been the one sending him threats. The last message he received from me was an invite to retrieve his pack member. So you tell me?”

“Sir.” Landry walked up beside them, and Evin looked to his lead. “When you’re free…there’s something I’d like to discuss with you—in private, if you don’t mind.”

That was Rosa’s cue to leave. The look on Landry’s face said she probably didn’t want to hear what he was about to discuss with her brother anyway.

A half hour later, she closed the back door to her house, dropped her car keys on the kitchen counter, and breathed a sigh of relief. After the morning’s events, she was exhausted and needed to regroup before she could have her own one-on-one with the alpha.

Rosa groaned. That was one conversation she’d give anything not to have. Because once that meeting was over, so was her freedom until the most difficult and important decision of her life was made. Who would be Rosa’s mate?

A beep, coming from the phone in her back pocket, pinged. Rosa plucked it free and checked the display. The number wasn’t one she recognized.

Rosa, if you care at all for Landry’s continued existence, you’ll meet me in two hours in Hollows. The corner of First and Sunset Street. Wait in the parking lot there, and I’ll find you. I have information about your enforcer you should know. Tell no one, and come alone. Or the info stays with me, and Michaels will pay the price.

Her stomach bottomed out, and Rosa wobbled on her feet. This had to be some kind of sick prank. She tapped reply, demanding the messenger’s identity. Who did she know that would have her number and play such a devious game?

The phone beeped again.

You’ll learn everything you need to know when you show up. Alone.

What kind of knowledge or evidence did this person have on Landry that placed his life in jeopardy? And why her? How did she fit in the picture, and how did they know she’d even care enough about him to risk meeting a stranger off of KinKaid lands? Rosa’s mind wandered back to the last hour and Landry’s serious tone when he’d approached her brother asking for a private meeting. Did that have anything to do with this mysterious text?

If she were to make it all the way into the neighboring town of Hollows by the deadline, she’d have to leave now. This was crazy—a huge risk. What if it was a trap? The Gregorsons had just left the grounds.

Rosa’s chest tightened, her gut a quivering mass of nerves. But there wasn’t really any alternative.
Whatever this was about, the sender of the text knew one of her weak spots: Landry Michaels. She couldn’t ignore the summons. His life was at stake. Rosa couldn’t risk something happening to him. Not if there was a way to prevent it. He would do no less for her.

Besides, whatever was coming her way would arrive no matter how hard she attempted to dodge destiny.
Her thoughts flew to Pebbles, and her efforts to protect the puppy from his inevitable path. She’d failed then—had learned she couldn’t thwart fate. Now, if the future her vision had foretold was coming for her, it would arrive no matter how hard she attempted to dodge its grim hand.

Rosa strode into her bedroom and over to the nightstand by her bed. Yanking open the bottom drawer, she stared at the shiny dark metal object sitting in the bottom. She wrapped her fingers around the cool steel, then ejected the magazine, assessing the number of bullets lodged inside. Fully loaded. With a hard click, she popped the sleeve back inside the handle. This could all be a setup, and she couldn’t avoid what was coming for her next. But damn if she would go down easy.

Arick could barely sit still.

She would come.

There was no doubt. He’d observed how protective Landry had been of the female, and how the other enforcer—the same one he’d spotted at The Scene—had responded as well. The female’s gaze had followed the two males in the room. As much as it soured his gut to admit it, Carl had been right. They cared about the alpha’s sister, and she them, and it was the currency he needed to get Rosa right where he wanted her.

Staring down at the message on his cell, he couldn’t help but grin. Based on the frantic reply he’d received from the KinKaid female, the money he’d paid the hacker to track down her number had been worth every dime.

He glimpsed the time on his phone. If she’d taken the bait, Rosa’s vehicle would be rounding the curb any moment now. Meeting her in town had never been his intention. The entire message was bullshit. Why meet her in public when they could lie in wait for her on the lesser-traveled mountain road?

“Get ready,” Arick ordered his driver, and the large male cranked the SUV’s engine. Checking the rearview mirror, Arick determined the other two shifters he’d brought along for the job were alert and prepared to go. The female was petite, but she was also the alpha’s twin. A fact not to be underestimated. They would need the extra muscle. He fully expected the effort required to contain the blonde would be on the level of bringing down a feral beast.

Drumming his fingers on the door’s armrest, Arick waited. Time had slowed to a fucking snail’s pace, and his temples throbbed under his failed attempt at patience. The female had to show. The execution had been flawless. He’d stationed the retrieval team at the location they now sat to wait for his return after the meeting with Evin was completed.

He’d ridden in a separate vehicle from his brother for the return trip, since he’d planted an earlier excuse with Stefan of another engagement Arick needed to attend before returning. Then after he’d separated from the Gregorson entourage, he’d doubled back and stashed his Hummer in the nearby brush.

Stefan trusted his little brother to the end. While admirable, family loyalty and all, it was a fatal flaw in the alpha’s personality. In a position of power, a true leader trusted no one. Stefan had never learned that cardinal rule. But once everything was set into motion, Arick would personally teach his father’s “perfect” elder son a lesson Stefan could take with him to hell.

The approaching hum of another vehicle jerked Arick into alert. His driver popped the SUV into drive, readying for the chase. A Jeep buzzed past, top down, a blonde female behind the wheel.

Got you.

“That’s her!” Arick slammed his fist onto the dashboard. “Go, go, go!” The tires spun, biting into the loose dirt and gravel, fishing-tailing as they launched forward onto the pavement. Wild and pounding, Arick’s ears roared with the rapid beat of his heart. In seconds, they were right behind Rosa. After the wide bend in the road, this particular section was a straight away, descending down the mountain. The solid yellow lines opened up for passing, and Arick’s fingers curled, tightened. His veins standing out in sharp relief along his forearms.

“This is it!” He hissed. “Get her!”

The SUV swerved hard left, the engine downshifting in a throaty roar. Speeding past the driver’s side of Rosa’s Jeep, Arick glanced through the passenger window. Rosa’s gaze darted his way, and he didn’t miss the widening of her eyes when recognition dawned. Satisfaction spread a smile on his face. She knew he was coming for her.

Before his next breath had cleared his lungs, Arick’s driver had passed Rosa. He jerked the wheel, taking them over into her lane and slowed, forcing Rosa to either ram them in the rear or choose the grassy shoulder.

Brakes squealed.

Hers.

Theirs.

In the side mirror, Arick watched as Rosa’s Jeep bounced hard on the
soft shoulder’s uneven surface before coming to what had to be a spine-jarring stop.

“Yes!” Arick swung his head around, assessing the distance between the vehicles. “Back this damn thing up!” he demanded. The SUV lurched into reverse. “Come on. Come on.” They had to get there before she could take off. The dark shifter behind the wheel slammed their SUV into park a couple of feet from her Jeep.

“Out! Out! Don’t you fucking dare let her get away,” Arick growled.

Doors flew open around him, and they rushed from the vehicle, engine still humming. Rosa scrambled from her Jeep, making a beeline for the brush, but two of his shifters were on her before she’d made it three feet beyond the hood of her Laredo.

One of his thugs snagged her by a fistful of hair. Rosa’s head snapped back on a yelp. She stumbled into the larger male, and he fumbled for a subsequent hold. Rosa spun, a pistol appearing in her hand aimed at her attackers.

“Shit!” Arick hissed. The bitch had brought a gun.

Kapow!

Arick jerked back, head bowing, palms flying to his ears.
Fuck!

A howl rent the air, drawing Arick upright. One of his men clutched an arm, blood
oozing down his torn black sleeve like a garnet oil spill. The taller of the two, Johnson, or maybe it was Jackson—who the fuck knew—seized her wrist, knocking the weapon from her grasp. But before he could get her under control, Rosa pivoted, kicked, taking out the male’s knee. He dropped.

“You fucking bitch!” the downed male roared.

The third hired shifter charged forward, attempting to body slam her to the ground, but Rosa was too quick. He landed with a
humpf
onto the hard packed earth.

Incompetent bastards.
Arick shook his head.

As usual, he would have to handle things himself. Yanking the tranq pistol from his waistband, Arick closed in on the female. “Rosa!” he called out. “Don’t make me have to take you down like a dog.” He raised his arm, muzzle pointed at her back.

She spun, facing him, but her feet kept moving in a reverse course. “You do this, Arick, you are a dead man,” she cried out. “My brother will kill you.”

“Darling, that’s exactly what I’m counting on him trying to do.” Arick squeezed the trigger. The projectile ejected, hitting its mark—Rosa’s shoulder. She gasped, staggered, flinging her hand over the protruding dart. “Perfect.”

Within minutes, she’d crumpled under the potent sedative. Arick strode forward and retrieved his prey.

Now the real fun would begin.

***

Kaleb perched on a stool in the KinKaid mansion’s kitchen, sipping on another cup of coffee. Not that he really needed the shit right now. It was late in the afternoon, and he was so damn jacked up after the Gregorsons’ visit that sitting still, waiting for Landry to exit his meeting with the alpha was an excruciating lesson in patience. He white-knuckled his mug, lifting it for another gulp of the black brew. The duo had been holed up in the study for the past couple of hours, and with every tick of the clock, the lining of Kaleb’s gut wore another millimeter thinner.

What the hell was taking so long?

The thump of boots sounded in the hallway, and Kaleb plopped his mug on the counter. At that moment, Landry’s tall frame rounded the corner. His expression was stoic, but Kaleb had known the shifter for too long not to detect the marks stress had left behind around the male’s eyes. Kaleb slid from his seat and met his partner on the other side of the island.

“You ready to head out?” Landry asked before Kaleb could open his mouth.

“If you are.” He nodded.

“I am. Nothing more to be done here.”

“Okay…” Kaleb filed in behind his friend and headed toward the side door that led out to their vehicles. He wasn’t sure how to take Landry’s last statement. “How did your meeting go with the alpha?”

“Not here,” Landry stated.

Well, that didn’t sound good. After Landry’s reveal, Kaleb couldn’t help but wonder how the alpha would handle the next bit of news Rosa had to share. Kaleb glanced at the empty space beside his SUV where Rosa had parked her Laredo earlier that morning. She’d disappeared right after Landry’s request to speak with her brother. He’d have to stop by her place on the way home. Rosa had an appointment to keep with Evin whether she liked it or not, and Kaleb planned to make sure she followed through.

Landry had parked on the other side of Kaleb’s vehicle, and Kaleb
followed him over to the driver’s door.

“So your talk with Evin…” Kaleb began.

Landry popped the lever, opened the door, but didn’t get in.

“It didn’t go well?”

“It went fine.” Landry turned and faced him. “You know Evin. He’s tough, but fair. A lot more understanding than I probably deserved.”

“Stop. Dammit, Landry.” Kaleb shook his head. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”

Landry’s hazel glare hit Kaleb with the chill of an early winter’s breeze. “You’ve always been such a fucking optimist. That is when you’re not drinking. Then it’s God save us all from your mouth.” He rolled his eyes.

“Here’s what I got to say about that.” Kaleb flipped up his middle finger.

“Kiss my ass. You know it’s true.”

“Whatever,” Kaleb drawled. “So does Evin believe there’s a connection with what went down between you and Arick and what’s happening between the packs?”

“He said he might not have considered the possibility before today. But after watching how Stefan reacted during their visits and his comments, he’s pretty damn sure Arick is up to his neck in this shit.”

“Damn.”

“My coming to him with the information about having a connection with Arick before the attacks narrowed his list of suspects. Arick is the only person that made sense, the only person we know of who would have something to gain if there was a war.”

Was the bastard that power hungry? “You mean if his brother ended up dead, he’d be positioned to assume his alpha status?”

Landry nodded. “And I guess his encounter with me not ending so well has only added more fuel to his drive for power and payback.”

“What a sick son of a bitch.”

“Revenge coupled with the lust for power. The combo invades the mind like a ravenous disease, blinding the person until all he can see is the endgame and the reward waiting for him there. If this is the case with Arick, no matter how many bodies pile up along the way, it won’t deter him.”

“Then we have to stop him before it goes too far,” Kaleb stated.

“Let’s hope we’re not too late already.”

An hour later, after stopping off at his home to change his clothes, Kaleb pulled up in Rosa’s driveway. Except her Jeep wasn’t there. Maybe she’d already left to meet with Evin?

Kaleb grabbed his cell from the passenger seat and tapped her name in his favorites list. After six rings, it went to voicemail. He frowned. More than likely, she was with her brother, and nothing suggested there was a problem. So why couldn’t he shake the uneasy feeling in his gut?

Mason.

Yes, if she were talking with Evin and wasn’t answering her phone, Mason could at least verify she was there.

Kaleb shot off a quick text to the alpha’s mate. It didn’t take long before his phone beeped with a reply. One that said Evin was home and hadn’t seen Rosa since that morning. Kaleb stared at the vacant slab of concrete in front of his Land Rover.

“Where have you run off to, Rosa?”

This was no time for her to assert that damn independent streak. Tensions were too high between the packs, and she knew that. His stomach roiled.
No matter how upset she was over the early rise in her heat, Rosa wouldn’t be so careless as to roam off. Not now.

He dialed the front gate, sending up a silent prayer she hadn’t left the grounds. Until things calmed, the alpha’s sister was a hell of a lot safer behind the gates.

The guard on duty answered on the second ring. “Front gate.”

“This is Dalton. I need for you to check your records and tell me if Rosa KinKaid has left the grounds today.”

“Yes, sir. I don’t even have to check. She did. I was here when she left.”

Kaleb gut twisted.
Dammit!
“How long ago did she leave?”

“Let’s see…” The
clicks
of a computer mouse echoed into the receiver. “About three hours ago. Said she was heading down into Hollows.”

“Hollows, huh?” Well, at least he knew her general path. “Okay. Thanks for your help.”

“Anytime, sir.” The line went silent.

Still, something didn’t feel right. She hadn’t mentioned needing to leave the grounds today. Kaleb stared at the glowing display on his dashboard.

GPS.

Yes.
Kaleb tossed his cell back onto the seat, shifted his vehicle into reverse, and gunned it back out onto the road. Landry had obtained approval from the alpha to acquire tracking software for several of the vehicles belonging to the KinKaid family and the enforcers.

Rosa may be fine, shopping herself into oblivion, but he’d feel a lot damn better about the timing of her trip if he could verify she was indeed exactly where she was supposed to be—in Hollows.