In the Crossfire (Bloodhaven) (28 page)

“You
reek
of her,” he snarled.

There was only one
her
Liam could think of who applied to this situation.
Ah.
So that was what this was about.

His mouth curved. “Good.”

He punched a fist into the tiger-shifter’s gut, unleashing his claws. A quick twist and rip upwards, and the pungent smell of fresh blood hit the air. The other man yanked away and tumbled to his back with a roar. He clutched the gaping wound in his belly. Liam vaulted to his feet and planted his foot on the man’s neck.

Nobody threatened his pack.

The shifter grabbed Liam’s knee and twisted, sending him crashing to the floor. Liam rolled, expecting the man to make a grab for him, but to his horror he saw the shifter bolting for the exit through which Naley had disappeared.

He ran after him, ignoring the pain shooting up his left knee. An enraged howl turned his blood ice-cold. Liam burst into the stairwell, relief coursing through him when he saw it was empty but for the pacing man on the landing below. Naley had escaped.

The sound of rending clothes cut through the air. Liam saw his opponent pounding down the stairs mid-shift, face broadening as striped fur sprouted along his body. The cement steps shook beneath his massive feet. His roar echoed through the stairwell.

He was going after Naley.

Liam leapt over the iron railing, unable to hold back his enraged snarl. That cat wasn’t touching his cub. He ignored the pain shooting up his leg when he landed. He took three steps at a time, rapidly discarding his clothes as he shifted. He leapt over the iron railing again in wolf-form, crashing onto the tiger’s back. The impact knocked the tiger off-balance, and both of them rolled in a wild, clawing ball to crash against the third-level landing.

Liam clamped his jaws around the big cat’s haunches, right as the tiger sank its own massive teeth into his shoulder.

* * *

Isobel swerved in between bystanders as she ran, pushing aside those who weren’t quick enough to get out of her way. It was only by sheer force of will that she managed not to go to pieces. She had to maintain focus. Losing control would mean becoming utterly useless to the people she loved and needed most, and she
refused
to let them down.

Her calm held her through until she neared Kaya’s apartment. Out of nowhere, Naley tumbled forward and flung herself into Isobel’s arms.

“Aunt Iz!” She was sobbing, fear and confusion radiating throughout her quaking body. “Liam’s inside—he told me—told me to run—he hasn’t come out—”

“It’s all right. Shh. It’s okay.” Isobel quickly, desperately ran her hands over Naley, making sure the girl was safe and unharmed.

Naley was still speaking, but wasn’t able to tell her more than that a shifter who’d smelled rank had charged into the hallway just as Liam had pushed her out. Isobel knew at once that it was Ogden. She cupped her niece’s face between her hands and lowered herself to Naley’s eye-level, drawing the girl’s frantic babbles to a stop.

“Cub, listen to me.” Isobel spoke rapidly, aware that precious time was slipping away. “I want you to run three blocks down and hide in the most populated store. When you see Council SUVs arriving on-scene, I want you to grab the nearest agent and identify yourself. They will take you somewhere safe. Do you understand me?”

“But what about you and Liam?”

“
Do you understand me?
”

Naley gulped and nodded. Isobel quickly kissed her forehead and pushed her on her way before racing into the building.

She immediately heard the deafening crashes and roars emanating from the north stairwell. She ran for its entrance door. Around her, residents nervously peeked out of their apartments.

“Get back inside!” she bellowed, and they hastily slammed their doors shut.

She burst into the stairwell and flew up the steps. Her heart nearly lodged in her throat. On the landing above her, a silver wolf growled viciously as he backed into a corner, favoring his hind leg. Blood ran down his shoulder in viscous rivulets.

Liam.

Pierry Ogden was in tiger form, stalking toward him. Isobel would recognize the bastard anywhere. Deep gouges were scattered across his furred flesh. His white underbelly was stained red, blood dripping from a wide gash onto the cold cement floor.

Ogden’s head suddenly whipped up and turned to look over his shoulder. A gruesome growl escaped him as he zeroed in on Isobel. His eyes were glazed with a volatile madness that had previously only lurked by the faintest degree the day she’d rounded him and his fellow faction members up in the swale. That day seemed like a lifetime ago.

Isobel willed herself to remain calm. She forced herself not to look at Liam and his injuries. Instead, she kept her eyes pinned on Ogden. She refused to give this monster the pleasure of comprehending her terror.

“Hello, Pierry,” she said, her tone reflecting a steady calm she didn’t feel. “Coward as ever, I see.”

He growled and half-turned in her direction. Her upper lip curled in deliberate insult.

“Did you know I killed your father? I think you do. I’ll draw you a picture, if you’d like. I put the gun to his head and blew his fucking brains out.”

The tiger emitted a deafening, ungodly roar, heavy with rage. It was all the warning Isobel needed before he shoved away from Liam and lunged down toward her.

Isobel was already leaping up the stairs. Her foot hit the wall on her right, pushing her off so that she spun in mid-air, barely missing the snap of his jaws. Even as she landed on the landing above, she kept an ear out for Liam. His breathing was heavy but not labored. A quick glance allayed her concerns. He could still run.

Damn wolf
should’ve
run.

“Get out of here, Liam!”

His glare of rebuke told her what he thought of her suggestion. Instead, the damn wolf tried to nudge her aside.
Overprotective idiot.

And then there was no time to argue. Ogden spun around and launched himself back up the steps toward them.

Isobel and Liam exploded into action. Isobel went high, using her elevated height to leap into the air and smash her heel against Ogden’s upturned nose. The crunch of bone echoed sharply in the stairwell.

Ogden shrieked, his spine arching up in a painful curve. Isobel landed on his back at the same time that Liam, the stubborn wolf, slid low. He ducked in between Ogden’s thrashing legs. Dodging the sharp claws around him, he sank his teeth into the open gash in the tiger’s gut. Ogden’s flesh gave an audible rip.

Isobel barely held on as Ogden howled and tumbled on the steps. She hissed as her shoulder slammed into the wall, but dug her fingers harder into Ogden’s scruff. She grabbed the blade that was tucked behind her waist and sliced it clean across the tiger’s throat. An arc of blood flew across the air in a fountain of scarlet.

She ignored the sick, wet gurgle emanating from the tiger. She stumbled down the stairs to where Liam lay panting on the landing below. He dragged in a deep breath before starting to shift.

“Liam! Are you all right?” Below, she heard a door open. Then Council agents in uniform surged in.

“Agent Saba! Are you unharmed?”

“The suspect—”

The agents shut up on sighting Ogden’s body, which continued to twitch before finally slumping still. A circle of red expanded around him, matting his fur and dripping down the steps.

Isobel moved Liam and herself out of the path of blood flow.

“We need a medic!” she yelled at the agents. Her hands went to Liam, who was clutching his shoulder. She remembered he’d been limping as well. Her heart pounded as she looked and felt for any other injuries and lacerations she might’ve missed. His naked body showed dark bruising and several scratches, but nothing worse than the gash in his shoulder.

“Liam, are you all right? Where else are you hurt?
Liam!
”

“Isobel.” He took her hand and squeezed it. “It’s okay. I’ve healed from worse.”

“I don’t care if this is a paper cut compared to what you’ve gone through! Where else are you hurt?”

She felt his ribs, testing to see if any were broken. She stopped when Liam lifted both hands to her face. He grimaced at the pain caused by moving his shoulder, then swore on sighting the blood his hand had smeared on her cheek. He tried to wipe it away. Isobel slapped her hand over his and kept it in place.

“Naley. . . ?”

“I found her,” Isobel whispered. “She’s safe.”

He stared at her for a long moment. Then he smiled, and Isobel blinked away treacherous wetness from her eyes.

“I told you to go,” she said, her tone accusatory.

He rested his forehead on hers. “My place is with you, Isobel. It’s only ever with you.”

“Next time, you let me do my job.”

“Next time, you let me defend my pack.”

She choked back a watery laugh. “We’re in agreement then.”

“Yes.”

Richards approached them to help assist Liam downstairs to await the medic. Some of the agents stared on seeing the way Isobel supported Liam down the steps, and the fiercely protective glare on her face when they didn’t get out of the way fast enough. She didn’t care.

Her heart was here, holding her tightly in his arms, and she wasn’t ever going to let him go.

* * *

The Council extended Isobel’s leave duration to four weeks, pending investigation of the events that had transpired resulting in Pierry Ogden’s death. Isobel found, to her surprise, that she didn’t end up feeling insanely restless during that time. She’d been concerned about that, but as it turned out, those four weeks flew by before she knew it. She hardly even had time to think about work.

After Liam had healed from his injuries, they moved both his and Naley’s belongings into the house. Liam’s old cabin was converted into a larger workspace and storage area. It was there that he’d completed a rocking chair for Isobel, the one with the beautiful curves she’d seen him working on the day she’d brought him those sandwiches. It was far lovelier than the one she’d purchased herself. She’d suppressed a smile when Liam took the first rocking chair back to Evelyn Hooper, who accepted the return after giving a fifteen-minute obligatory protest.

It was amazing how quickly they all adapted to the new makeshift household. There was no awkward adjustment period, something Isobel had dreaded given her lack of experience when it came to long-term relationships. Instead, it only felt natural to wake up beside Liam each morning, to wrestle the remote control away from Naley, and to cheer at Naley’s soccer matches together. Other families at those matches tended to shy away from them, given Isobel’s bloodthirsty yells and Liam’s instinctive glowers, but Naley only seemed amused by her pair of supporters.

Then again, it wasn’t as if her niece was around much lately, Isobel thought dryly as Naley hurtled down the driveway, soccer ball under her arm. The girl only waved a wordless acknowledgment at her aunt before racing through the open front gates.

“I’m never going to see her again, am I?” Isobel commented, parking her bike near the front steps.

Liam stood leaning against the doorway. His grin of affection warmed her through and through, though she now assumed a disgruntled expression when she took off her helmet.

“This is all your fault,” she told him.

The grin widened. “You were the one who agreed to let me put in a practice field for her.”

“So it’s my fault now? See if you get any sympathy from me when she tries to force-feed you out of pure gratitude tonight.”

Liam chuckled softly as he came down the steps. Isobel liked seeing him relaxed like this. He smiled more easily now—not often, and certainly not by default, but that only made moments like these all the more special.

He welcomed her home with a kiss. “How’s Jamal?”

She’d just returned from looking in on her friend. “Better. A little short-fused, but not as bad as you get on your grumpy days, so that’s an improvement.”

Liam gave her ass a light squeeze and she winked. They reentered the house, Liam taking her jacket and hanging it up for her.

“He’s still getting used to his new hand, so he’s not cleared for duty yet. According to that Terris woman, Jamal’s progress is slower than she’d like. I suspect that’s out of sheer stubbornness.”

“I’d’ve thought he’d want to be back on the job as soon as possible.” Liam had met Jamal when he’d accompanied Isobel on one of her visits. The two men had eyed each other in an appraising manner, but fortunately conducted themselves without too much male posturing.

“I’ve seen the look he gives that woman when he thinks she’s not looking. Ten to one he’ll take until mid-winter to get his head out of his ass and do something about it.” She shook her head. “I also stopped by the Council. I’ve been cleared to return to work next Wednesday.”

“As if that was ever in doubt. Not like the Council could protest that Ogden’s death wasn’t in self-defense.”

“I know. The Council just likes to throw a fit when it doesn’t get to process its beloved red tape before an execution first.”