Timber Valley Pack: Lynx On The Loose( A Paranormal Romance With Shifters) (11 page)

              A few minutes later, Steele’s phone rang again. 

              “One of the fire spotters saw what he thinks is your truck, headed out of town.” Steele pushed his foot down on the accelerator.

Isadora lay on the pickup truck bed as it jounced down a dirt road so bumpy that it made her teeth rattle. She’d awoken to find that she’d been hogtied hand and foot, her mouth duct taped, and a tarp pulled over her.

Ha. Zador was an amateur. She’d already chewed and clawed her way free. 

Just as she was about to shift to lynx form and leap out of the pickup truck bed, the truck slowed to a halt, and the engine shut off. She tensed as she listened to Zador speaking to someone on a cell phone. He was still inside the truck.

“You’re going to have to send your men to come get me.  No, I can not risk driving out of town.  There is only one main road, I’d be too easy to spot.  I’m just going to lay low here on this off road and wait for you.  Don’t worry, I can handle the bitch.  By the time you get here, I will know everything she knows.”

As he talked, she heard somebody scrambling into the pickup truck bed, and the tarp lifted.  Sally slid under the tarp with her. She was spattered in dirt and mud.

“What are you doing here?” she demanded in a whisper. “Get out of here! Go!”

“I saw you sneak out the window. I didn’t want you to leave us again, so I climbed under the truck and held on,” she whispered back.

“I wasn’t leaving you!  I was going for a quick ride! All right, we need to get out of here now. I’m going to throw the tarp off, we’re going to shift and run for the trees. He’s a wolf, he can’t follow us once we climb. Do not stop for anything, I mean it.”

Zador was still talking, as she and Sally threw the tarp off them, shifted, and leaped over the edge of the truck.  They were a long way off the main road, so far that it wasn’t even in sight. There was a meadow stretching away on either side of the road, a rolling green carpet that swept out to the trees. The grass was high; she’d have to pray that it would conceal them until they were safe.

“Run!” she hissed to Sally, as Zador cried out in rage. She heard the truck door bang open.

Off in the distance, she could hear cars headed their way, as she and Sally raced through the tall grass.  Bullets pinged in the dirt by her paws. 

Cursing, she turned and ran back, weaving through the grass and  aiming straight for Zador.  She could only pray that Sally would keep running for the trees.  If she could keep him distracted, Sally should be able to escape to safety.

Who was in those cars? Dash wouldn’t know she was in trouble, yet. It had to be Colonel Bradwell’s men.

She felt a bullet tear into her chest as she leaped on to Colonel Zador, ripping at him with her claws.

Agonizing pain shot through her body, but she tore at him madly with her claws. He screamed, and shot her again, right through the abdomen.

As she fell to the ground, she thought she heard Dash’s voice in the distance, shouting her name. She knew it couldn’t be true, but she felt a smile twitching her lips all the same.  As she felt her life seeping away, she pictured his face, and hoped he’d take care of Sally and Thomas.

* * *

Colonel Bradwell and his men stood by their Humvee and watched the Cessna glide down the runway. He couldn’t wait to get out of this Godforsaken wilderness, and stop looking over his shoulder every time he heard a twig snap or leaves rustling.

He still couldn’t believe Zador had called him to say he’d have to reschedule. Reschedule? Like this was some kind of casual business meeting, and not a desperate run for their lives?

At least Zador had taken care of that nosy lynx bitch who’d been sniffing around and causing trouble for them, but the fact that he was standing up arms dealer Moamad Latif filled him with rage.  Latif was going to be pretty dammed pissed off when Bradwell arrived without him.

Mentally, he moved Zador to the top of the long list of people he planned to kill as soon as he no longer needed them.

              Bradwell watched the Cessna come to a halt. He had a dozen of his most trusted men with him.  He’d promised all the rest of the men who had worked for him that he’d provide safe passage out of the country within the week. He was lying;  they were underlings, men who had no information that they could use to harm him, and he would just hire new mercenaries when he settled in.

              The rear stair-door of the plane unfolded.  He watched warily, until several men who were Middle Eastern in appearance climbed down, waving at him to come forward. Latif’s men. He let out a breath he hadn’t even realized that he’d been holding. It was almost over.

              Suddenly, a constellation of red lights danced on the chests of the men to both sides of him.  Laser sights. Before he had a chance to cry out, shots cracked through the air and half his men fell to the ground.

              The men from the plane were firing at his soldiers, mowing them down without mercy. Dozens of men came pouring out of the plane.

              He turned and ran, leaving his men, wild with panic. He ran towards the Humvee, only to see the windshield and tires shredded in a hail of gunfire.

              He heard a howl tear through the air, and his blood chilled in his veins.  It was close. Where the hell was it? He spun around, gripping his Glock with both hands.  A massive wolf leaped through the air and pinned him to the runway with a thud. His head slammed painfully against the tarmac.  His gun was wrenched from his hand.

              An angry looking man strode up to him. “It’s finally over,” he said, in a heavy Eastern European accent, as the wolf shifted back to human form. 

              “Thank you,” Redthorne said.

              “Wait,” Bradwell blubbered. “Don’t kill me. I can give you useful information. I know where Zorad Horvath is.”

              “So do we,” Redthorne said coolly. “He was taken into custody yesterday.”

              Horvath had been lying to him when he called? He’d known the humans were coming for Bradwell? “He…he betrayed me?” Bradwell couldn’t believe it.

              “It’s amazing what someone will do once you’ve ripped out their intestines and then healed them, a few times in a row,” Loren Redthorne said with an ugly smile. “And now, we’re going to have a very long talk, and you’re going to tell us everything you know.”

              “Ah, lovely Timber Valley. Home at last,” Isadora said with a yawn. 

              “We’re here? This doesn’t look too bad,” Fitz said, as they pulled up in front of Dash’s two story Victorian house. It was tucked among towering pine and massive, spreading oak trees, and the yard was as neatly trimmed as Isadora would have expected. He must have had a lawn service keeping it up for him while he was out of town.

              They climbed out, and Isadora stretched and stamped her feet to get the blood circulating again. When she stretched, she had the faintest twinge in her abdomen, but she knew it would be gone in a few days. The healer had done a remarkable job.

              Sally and Thomas scampered off behind separate trees, so they could shift and pee. It had been a long drive back from Montana, with her and Dash taking turns at the wheel.

              “You feel okay?” Dash cast a worried glance in her direction.

              “For someone who was shot full of holes a few days ago, I feel incredible.”  He flashed a smile at her, and she felt a warm glow spread throughout her whole body. 

              “I can’t believe it’s really over,” she said, leaning against him and enjoying the feeling of his hard, muscular body. 

              “And I can’t believe that you were secretly working for the forces of good all along,” Dash said with a rueful smile.

              “Disappointed?” she grinned back at him.

              “Nah, I suspect it won’t be too long before you’re getting in trouble again. Don’t think I’ll go easy on you, either.”

              Isadora didn’t want to come out and say so, but she had some ideas in that department, ideas that included a new painting of the town mayor up on the town water tower. 

Then she let out a sigh. “It’s a shame Steele doesn’t want to come back, now that the Wardens have reversed their decision,” Isadora said.

              “Well, at least he can come back and visit his family any time.  I understand why he’d stay in Lonesome Pine. His wife grew up there, and the town has welcomed him with open arms. He likes his job. He seems very happy.”

              Thomas and Sally came trotting out of the woods and looked at Dash’s house. “Wow, that’s a big house. Which room’s going to be mine?”

              “Upstairs to the left,” Dash said, before Isadora had a chance to say anything. “Sally gets the room to the right.”

“What?” he said at Isadora’s surprised look. “You said yourself that him and Sally aren’t safe out there on their own. We have the downstairs bedroom, they get the two upstairs bedrooms.”

              “Oh.” Isadora looked shocked. “I mean…that’s okay with you? Because I could find room for them at my place.  I thought that’s what you’d want me to do. That’s a lot of responsibility all of a sudden.”

              “Responsibility’s kind of my thing, remember?”

              “True.”

              “And your place is with me.” He looked her straight in the eye.  “You’ve done enough running from me. I’ve caught you, and I’m keeping you.”

              In response, she let out a low, contented purr. “I like the sound of that. Just as long as you remember I’m semi-feral and I bite.”

              “I know this already. It’s part of your charm.” He kissed the top of her head.

              A BMW pulled up as Dash was speaking, and parked behind Dash’s car.  Isadora stared at the woman climbing out of the driver’s side. Well, this was an unexpected visit.

              “Who is that lady? She looks like you.” Sally said. “But not as much fun,” she added.

              “Hello, Diana,” Isadora said, surprised, as her sister walked up to her. She was even more surprised when her sister threw her arms around her.

              “Whoa…hugging? We’re doing the hugging thing now?”

              “I heard that they thought you were going to die!” Diana said, tears in her eyes.

              Dash looked around. “So…no parents came with you?”

              Diana sighed heavily. “No. You know how they are.”

              “Judgmental as swipes?” Dash said, then glanced at Thomas and Sally.“Kids, forget I just said that.”

              Diana put her hands on Isadora’s shoulders. “I know we haven’t been close in recent years.  I’m sorry about that. I spent all that time worrying about what my friends would think if they saw me with you, and then I got the call saying you were in the hospital on your deathbed,  and I thought, I will never get the chance to be close with her.  And you know what? If my friends don’t like you, they’re not my friends.”

              “Wow,” Isadora said. “Who are you, and what have you done with my sister? And please don’t ever bring her back.”

              “We used to be close, remember? Up until, like, middle school.  I’m sorry I let us drift apart.”

              “I probably didn’t make it easy for anyone to be close to me,” Isadora said. “I spent too much time showing everyone that I didn’t care what they thought of me.”

              “I want to see my room!” Sally yelled, dancing with excitement.

              “Oh, I can help you decorate,” Diana said. “I love decorating. Especially little girl’s rooms.  I’m hoping I have a girl.”

              “Really?” Sally’s face lit up, as they walked in to the house.

              “Does this mean no more Hobo camps?” Thomas asked in a glum voice, as they climbed the steps.

              “We can visit,” Isadora promised him. “I know you made friends there.” He brightened up immediately.

              When they got inside, Sally and Thomas shot up the stairs to check out their new rooms.

              Dash led them into the kitchen and opened the fridge to pull out soda bottles for them. “So the humans who were doing those experiments…” Diana said to Isadora, sitting at the kitchen table, as Dash poured their drinks into glasses and serving them.

              “Totally gone,” Dash said. “Wiped out to the last man.  We even got the name of the arms dealer who was helping to finance all of this.  The Justice Department got a tip off from us, and raided his operation and shut him down.”

              “How was it that you didn’t die from your gunshot wounds?” Diana asked Isadora. “I heard you were in a human town.”

              “Dash and his friends got to me right in time.  We were lucky that the Wardens were in the area, and they had healers with them. It was pretty touch and go, from what I hear.”

              “Thank God for that,” Diana said fervently. “Oh, and by the way, my wedding is next month. I told my parents that it’s my wedding, and you’re coming, and you can dress however the heck you like.”

              Isadora laughed. That couldn’t have gone over well. Diana was supposed to be the good daughter. “What did they say?”

              “They said fine, pay for your own wedding, and my fiancé said no problem, he’d pay for it, and now I’m not sure if they’re coming.”

              Isadora snorted. “You’re marrying a rich-ass Alpha.  It’ll be the social event of the year.  Of course they’re coming.”

              An evil gleam sparked in Diana’s eye. “If I let them.   Hey, when you get married, are you going to have a Goth wedding? Because I would love to see the look on Mom and Dad’s faces.”

              “Married?” Isadora echoed. “Hey, I just found out I was going to be shacking up. Don’t rush it. I  kind of like the idea of living in sin.”

              Dash shook his head firmly. “I’m a traditional, old fashioned kind of guy.  There will be a  proposal in the near future. Don’t try to run, don’t try to hide, it’s coming and you can’t get away from it.”

              “A proposal. Interesting. I might even say yes.” All of a sudden a stupid grin was spread across Isadora’s face, and she couldn’t wipe it off no matter how hard she tried. Dash leaned forward, cupped her chin in his hand, and kissed her, his lips soft and tender.

              “By the way, I love kids,” Diana said. “Any time you two need privacy, I can babysit for those guys. OK, you can stop kissing now. I mean seriously, you can stop. Ew! Tongue! That’s my sister you’re devouring there, you pervert wolf! Okay, that’s it, I’m waiting outside until you’re done.”

              Dimly, Isadora heard Diana’s heels clicking across the hardwood floor, but Dash pulled her into his arms and she let herself melt into his body.  For the first time she could ever remember, she felt perfectly at home, welcome and wanted. There was no place on Earth she’d rather be, and no man she’d rather be with.             

THE END

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