Redemption (15 page)

“Time’s up sweetheart. What will it be?” Cody asked again, and she could tell by the resigned expression on Jack’s face exactly what the alternative would be. The dark-haired wolf might balk at torture but apparently murder was lower on his list of morally objectionable activities.

“I’ll help you.” She might have imagined it but she thought she saw a flicker of relief in the younger man’s eyes when she agreed. Cody grinned and grabbed her arm, hauling her to her feet. She yelped at the sudden flare of pain in her shoulder and then to test her theory she stumbled.

Cody jerked her arm again, harder this time. She swallowed a whimper of pain but kept her eyes on Jack’s back. He didn’t turn around but his shoulders went rigid. It wasn’t much to work with. She hoped it might be enough.

This would be her last chance at escape. Who knew where they would take her from here? A tremor of fear shook down her spine.

“One condition,” she said. Jack did turn around then, frowning at her. She felt a pang of regret. She thought he might actually be trying to warn her. Cody pushed her again toward the door and she purposefully fell hard on her side, cradling her arm as she rose to her knees, silently rejoicing when Jack turned his scowl on Cody.

“Be careful with her. She’s human.”

She didn’t think that Cody would back down but didn’t want to give him the chance. She climbed to her feet, positioning herself so she was standing behind Jack. Then she caught Cody’s eyes and she smirked at him. When Cody stepped forward, Jack blocked him with his body.

“You’re not touching her again.” his voice deepened in warning.

“You’re here as a witness. Nothing more. That was the deal and you’ve already crossed the line more than once.”

“And I’ll cross it again if I have to. Remember who’s paying you.”

Damn.
A hint of uncertainty flickered across Cody’s features. Worried he might back down, she whispered to Jack, “I think he’s afraid of you.”

Jack looked at her sharply but he pushed her back against the wall when Cody advanced another step. He held up a hand but Cody kept coming.

“I don’t know why your kin insisted on a witness anyway. If you didn’t want to get your hands dirty, you shouldn’t have come. You’re cowards. All of you pack wolves—weak-willed and small-minded. Tethered like good little puppies to your alpha.”

Jack’s face darkened with a scowl. “I’m nobody’s lapdog.”

Cody shook his head. “Who are you going to protect her from? I’m the best friend she’s got right now. Do you think the Yaguara will show her any mercy if they catch us? Do you think they showed any to your brother?”

This was going even better than she’d expected. These two did not like each other. The barely checked violence terrified her but it was the only weakness she’d seen and her time was running out. Sophie pressed her back to the wall and tried to make herself small. They’d been heading outside when Cody had pushed her and the door was still open. Once the first punch was thrown, she’d make a break for it.

Now.
Cody swung and she bolted, hoping Jack would be too distracted by the fist flying at his face to pay attention. She stayed low, edging her way around the room, keeping her body behind the furniture and out of their line of sight, expecting to hear one or the other shout for her to stop. But when she eased the door open and glanced back, they were on the floor, snarls and grunts coming from the tangle of heavy limbs. And she was gone.

Rain slapped her face as soon as she was through the door. She’d been so focused on what was happening inside, she hadn’t heard the storm picking up and it momentarily gave her pause. A sudden flash of lightning briefly illuminated the clearing, letting her get her bearings, and the crash of furniture behind her got her feet moving again. She ran for the tree line, not knowing exactly where she was. Not too far from the camp. Judging by the glimpse of the terrain, they’d taken her further up into the mountains.

Simple plan—run downhill, try not to hurl herself off any cliffs, avoid the wolves. Sophie ran until it felt like her heart would burst, unable to tell if the sounds she heard behind her—snapping branches and deep throaty growls—were the men chasing her or only the storm.

A vine snatched at her ankle. She cried out and went down hard, her hip landing on a log. She pushed her wet hair out of her face and scrambled back up to her feet. She looked behind her but everything was black and for that one moment, oddly still. Forcing the bruised muscle to move even though it screamed at her, she started running again, pushing aside low-hanging branches and skidding a few feet down a patch of loose rock.

She lost track of time, running until her chest burned and her side cramped viciously. She didn’t stop until she had to, throwing all her weight back and dropping to the ground to avoid falling off a ledge. The woods at her back. A black drop-off at her feet and to her right a wall of rock.

She got to her feet and started to climb.

About twenty feet up, with no idea how much further to the top, she heard a low-throated growl definitely not related to the passing storm. Wolf. The fear that struck her was deep and primeval. It turned her insides to jelly and she fought against a sudden spurt of panic that screamed at her to run. She reached up as far as her arm would extend and searched for a handhold while her legs shook with the need to flee.
Careful. Focus.
She’d known they were coming.

She climbed, knowing they wouldn’t be able to follow her up this sheer face in their animal forms. She could do this.

Her fingers slipped on the wet rock and she choked back a sob. Another animal joined the first—the strange bark followed by a sharp yelp of pain. She used the last bit of strength in her legs to push herself up and almost cried when her hand reached a ledge.

Panting for air and straining to hear what was happening below, she hauled herself over the edge and sprawled onto her stomach. Spent, her muscles twitching from the exertion of the run and from the climb, she lay there for a moment waiting for her pulse to slow and then rolled onto her back. Cold, sweet rain poured down from the sky and she opened her mouth. Thunder sounded in the distance, echoing off the mountains. Gingerly she climbed to her knees and then to her feet. Without the lightning to help her find her way, she was blind, afraid to move too far in any direction.

But even blind, she was aware of height and big empty spaces around her. She should keep climbing up. She couldn’t outrun them on flat ground. The broken terrain was the only advantage she had. Or, at least, it was where she was least disadvantaged. Her limbs shook and she was dizzy. The sounds of fighting from below ended, leaving everything eerily silent. Just that dull far-off rumble, the patter of rain on rock and her rasping breath.

“Sophie.”

Lifting a trembling hand to her mouth, she stifled a sob, not wanting to believe her ears. But his voice called out again, louder this time, “Sophie.”

And there was no mistaking it. She sank to her knees. “Adriano. I’m here.”

A long pause made her wonder if he was suffering the same reaction. And then, “Can you climb down? If you hang from the edge and drop, I can catch you.”

She peered into the darkness and started to laugh, exhausted and giddy with relief. “You want me to jump?”

“I won’t let you fall.”

He was alive.
How was it even possible? Tears mixed with rainwater and she swiped at her cheeks before starting the climb down. Adriano plucked her off the rock when she was close enough for him to reach. He didn’t say a word, just cradled her in his arms before he started to run.

When she protested, he said gruffly, “The wolf is still out here somewhere.”

She stilled, snaking her arms around his neck and tucking her head against his shoulder. It ought to have been uncomfortable being carried this way but his stride was so smooth she was barely jostled when his foot met the earth. It had seemed like she’d stumbled through the woods for hours but he couldn’t have run for longer than fifteen minutes before they reached the clearing and its ramshackle house.

He set her down gently and touched her cheek like he couldn’t help himself. But the look in his eyes stopped her cold. Regret. Longing. A look that said he wanted to pull her into his arms but wouldn’t. The kind of look that said goodbye. She recognized it because usually she was the one wearing it.

Light slashed across his face and he turned. A slender figure stood silhouetted in the doorway.

“Adriano,” the young woman called. “The king wishes to speak with you.”

Adriano took her arm to lead her back into the cabin but Sophie didn’t budge. She needed to know what to expect from his king. More than that, once they went inside everything would change. He would go back to his people and she would go back to her old life.

Adriano looked down at her, brows lifted expectantly. She tried to memorize him in that moment. Dark eyes, gentle hands, hard body. His concern and determination to see her safe. Even dirty, soaked and exhausted he was still the most beautiful man she’d ever seen. She inclined her head toward the woman waiting for them on the porch—young, beautiful and unabashedly naked. “She’s like you, isn’t she? A Yaguara?”

Adriano nodded. “She is. Don’t worry,
gata.
She’s a friend. I won’t let anyone hurt you here.”

That wasn’t what she was worried about. “You went to your king then, the man who betrayed you?”

His expression didn’t change but the muscles in his forearm tightened under her fingertips. “It was the only way.”

It wasn’t, she knew that. He could have escaped. He could have gone after the stone. Instead, he’d swallowed his pride and risked his life to rescue her. A small, selfish part of her hoped that meant his plan to use the stone as leverage to buy his way home was ruined. But she couldn’t make herself wish for his unhappiness. She couldn’t make herself ask the question either. Instead, she said, “You came back for me.”

His head snapped up. “Of course I did.”

She reached out and touched his chest, smooth and slick with rain and sweat. He was gloriously naked. Gorgeous, perfect, an honorable man. She couldn’t stop touching him just to reassure herself that he was alive. His expression softened and he cradled her face, thumb stroking over her cheekbone. “I’m sorry for all of this, Sophie.”

She stepped closer, slipping her arms around his waist and burying her face against his chest. “I thought you were dead.”

He stroked her hair, wrapped an arm around her shoulders when she started to shake. “I lost a lot of blood very quickly. It slowed my heart enough that Cody must have thought I was dead. It was probably the only thing that saved me. That and I imagine he had his hands full with you.”

“I tried to grab his gun but he was too strong.”

A shudder ran through his body. His lips touched the top of her head. “When I came to, his men were coming in to finish the job and I ran for help.”

“I thought I was going to die too.”

He nudged her chin up. “I had to go for help first. You understand that, don’t you? I couldn’t take them all on my own. I—”

She smiled. “You saved my life, Adriano. I’m not arguing the details.”

“You escaped two wolves on your own. Do you know how impossible that is? I’m not sure you needed me at all,” he said roughly. “You’re a brave woman, Sophie Martin.”

That startled a laugh from her. “You called me a coward.”

“Did I?”

“In the cave.”

A smile tugged at his lips. “I needed you to move.”

He glanced over his shoulder at the cabin and she could feel his impatience. She didn’t want to go inside. Once they went in, this would be over.
They
would be over and she needed to hold on to him just a few seconds longer. “The wolves…they said they recovered what was left of the stone.”

“We got it back.”

She blinked back tears. “You’re going home then.”

He didn’t answer right away and the Yaguara girl started walking toward them. “Gabriel’s waiting for you. Both of you.”

“Another minute,” Adriano snarled which brought the girl up short. She gave Sophie a speculative look before turning on her heel and stalking back to the house. Adriano lowered his voice. “Before we go inside, you need to know…Gabriel isn’t happy that you know about us. You’ll need to convince him that you won’t talk and that you didn’t get a good look at the Bloodstone.”

“I won’t and I didn’t.”

“Good.”

This time, when he took her arm and started toward the cabin, she followed even though she wanted to drop to the ground and cry like a baby. At the threshold, she paused, gaping at the mess inside. It looked like a train had plowed through the small cabin. Splintered furniture. Shattered glass. Stone dislodged from the fireplace, a huge hole in one wall. Not to mention the blood. Everywhere she looked there was blood.

There were six men and two women in the room, all naked and none of them were the wolves who’d captured her. No. She jerked her head up, swallowing down bile. That wasn’t quite true. Cody
was
still here, his body kicked into the corner, buried beneath an overturned table. She didn’t see Jack who must have been the wolf Adriano chased off. She hoped he was long gone.

Adriano stood behind her, his hands resting lightly on her shoulders. Bending his head, he placed his lips to her ear. “Trust me, Sophie. I won’t let you down.”

Then he nudged her forward into the room.

Sophie was frightened but he couldn’t get her out of here until they spoke to the king. Gabriel lifted his head when they entered, then said something to the others, who began to file out of the cabin, leaving them alone with him.

“Sophie,” Gabriel said warmly, walking toward them and extending his hand. “I’m glad to see you made it. I’m Gabriel. I don’t know how much Adriano’s told you about me.”

His smile was all affable charm but Adriano knew Gabriel was trying to gauge how much Sophie knew. After a moment’s hesitation, she accepted the king’s handshake and said, “You’re the king. I know about the Yaguara—that you exist anyway and that you’re shape-shifters. Not much more. I don’t know where your city’s located and I didn’t get a chance to examine the stone.”