“’lo?” A deep voice, husky with sleep answered the phone. Just hearing him speak had her melting into a puddle of desire.
“Reno?”
He cleared his throat. “Yeah. Who’s this?”
“Brandi. Brandi Johansson.” She held her breath, tightening her fingers on the phone and wondering what he’d say.
“Brandi? What’s up?’ There was a rustling sound as if he were levering himself up in bed. She could easily picture him; his wonderfully muscled chest sprinkled with a light dusting of body hair, the way it formed an interesting trail down to where the covers pooled about his hips. Swallowing hard, she tried to concentrate on what she wanted to say.
“I need you.” Even as the words left her mouth, she winced.
He chuckled. Deep and rich and sexy, the sound curled around her causing her stomach to quiver and goose bumps to rise over her skin. “That’s what they all say, darlin’. Any particular reason for this sudden revelation?” The drawl in his voice both aroused and annoyed her and she fought to keep those feelings from her voice. Now was not the time to be mooning over the man or to be picking petty fights!
She bit back the retort that rose to her lips and continued on. “In a professional capacity, Reno. I’m home for a week’s vacation and I think Victor, the new Alpha, is a Purist. Some of the halves and their families left town but the few that remain are in trouble.”
“Specific rights violations?” His tone became clipped and business-like, the playfulness of just a moment ago no longer evident. She could almost picture him sitting bolt upright in bed, his eyes alert, his mind ticking off the salient facts.
“Oh yeah. I—”
A hand suddenly reached in front of her and took the phone from her, flipping it shut and ending the call. “Hello Brandi. I haven’t seen you in years.”
She looked up and saw a tall middle-aged man standing over her. He had dull blond hair and ice blue eyes that seemed to cut right through her. It was Victor, the new Alpha. Damn!
Slowly, she got to her feet. The man was just as intimidating now as he’d been last time she’d seen him and she fought the need to cower at his feet.
“Hello, Victor.”
“I’ve been away on business but I’d heard you were coming home.”
“Not really ‘coming home.’ This is just a short visit.” She felt it wise to qualify the length of her stay.
“This will always be your pack, Brandi. And pack is home, the place where your wolf feels most secure knowing there is an Alpha to provide guidance and protection.” He stepped closer. His voice was calm and reasonable, almost hypnotic as he stared intently at her. “That’s my role. To guide you down the proper path.” Extending his hand, he slid his finger over the curve of her cheek. “You’ve been away far too long, Brandi. I sense your inner wolf is discontented, confused. It’s yearning for stability. The conflict is draining you, leaving you vulnerable. I think we need to fix that, don’t you?”
For a moment she was mesmerized by his voice, by the steadiness of his gaze. The qualities that made him an Alpha—strength, intelligence, charisma—pulled at something deep and elemental within her. She could feel herself falling under his spell and had to force herself to look away and regain her sense of independence.
“Actually, my wolf is quite content and fully aware of the fact that Klaus gave me permission to leave when I went to the Academy.” She spoke with more bravado than she actually felt. The way he was looking at her made her nervous, but she lifted her chin and called upon her training to hide the fact.
“I found no signed papers officially releasing you from the pack when I went through his files. Any idea where he might have put them?” He tilted his head slightly and looked at her inquiringly.
She was silent. Klaus had never signed relocation papers. It had been a verbal agreement that she could go to the Academy and work at Lycan Link with the option to return some day if she so chose. As Beta at the time, Victor had to have known that.
He gave a tight smile. “I thought not. It was remiss of him, but beneficial to me. We need you here, Brandi, as much as your wolf needs to be here. A strong pack is important and our numbers are not as high as I’d like them to be.” Unexpectedly, he switched topics. “Who were you calling?”
“A friend. May I have my phone back?” She held out her hand but instead of returning it, he flipped it open and began to search the files.
“And this friend would be… Reno?” He raised his brows and looked at her. “That’s the last number dialled.”
“Like I said, a friend.”
“Reno’s an unusual name. It wouldn’t be Reno Smith, the infamous Enforcer?”
She gave a negligent shrug while rapidly trying to decide the best way to answer. Unfortunately, her phone started ringing before she came to any conclusions.
Victor handed the device over. “For you, I’m sure.”
She hesitated before taking it from his hand. “Hello.”
“Brandi? Why the hell did you hang up on me? You call me in the middle of the night and start to tell me about a group of Purists—”
She interrupted his tirade and hoped Victor hadn’t heard that last bit. “Reno, darling. I miss you so much.”
“Darling?” She could hear the puzzlement in Reno’s voice.
“Yes, it’s hard for me to be away from you, too. As a matter of fact, I was just telling Victor that I think I might end my vacation early.”
“Victor? Oh, the Alpha. Damn, is he right there? And he overheard you talking?”
“That’s right, Reno.” She glanced at Victor and saw him holding out his hand, obviously wanting to talk to Reno. “Oh, you have to go right now? All right, sweetheart. Love you and hope to see you soon, bye.” She quickly ended the conversation, and then smiled apologetically at Victor. “Sorry, he had to go.”
Victor didn’t smile back. “I’m not amused by your silly games.” He grabbed her arm and started to drag her along the road. She tried to yank her arm free but he merely tightened his grip painfully and quickened his pace so that she had to half run to keep up with his longer stride. “Brandi, I’m well aware of your job. When I heard you were coming for a visit, I’d hoped we could avoid any unpleasantness but was also prepared if you decided to stir up trouble. Apparently, I was wise to have anticipated your actions. I think we’ll need to discuss this situation further.”
Chapter 17
Reno stared at the phone in his hand, a frustrated growl rising in his chest. She’d hung up on him again! His fingers clenched around the phone and he had to force himself to loosen his grip lest he crack the casing. For a moment he sat there replaying the conversation in his head. A sense of unease, fear even, niggled at the back of his brain. Damn, something had happened to Brandi, he just knew it. While he’d deny it to anyone who said otherwise, the strange connection he had with the woman remained despite the distance separating them. He’d done his best to forget about her this past week but she was always there on the fringes of his mind. It was almost worse now than when she’d been around him on a daily basis.
He got out of bed and strode naked to his desk. It was a full moon and his wolf struggled to get out, his flesh quivering in anticipation. This was the creature’s night and normally he’d have spent the evening out on a run but hadn’t had the heart for it this month. His world seemed grey and uninteresting lately and it was too much of an effort to join the others. In past months he’d always attended the lunar events, looking forward to running as a pack and, if he were honest, carefully shadowing Brandi to ensure that no males made a move on her.
We should go, his wolf whispered. She needs us. It’s the night of the full moon and we need to be together…
Reno shushed the beast and turned on his computer, tapping into Lycan Link’s data base. The wolf might be right. Brandi might need him, but some research was required before he could act. Accessing her file, he skimmed over the information. Much of it he knew by heart. Her height, date of birth,
and years of employment but… There it was. Background information. She was from the Kolding’s Pass settlement. Typing in the name, he began to search through the data they had on the pack.
An hour later, Reno leaned back and rubbed his eyes. The slight chill of the night air had cooled his skin considerably but he didn’t care. A bigger concern occupied his mind and caused a sick feeling to churn in his stomach.
Until two years ago, the Kolding’s Pass Alpha had been Klaus Randers but then the Beta, Victor Hadsund, had replaced him. Strangely enough, Randers wasn’t listed on the pack’s Council of Elders, a position taken by most retiring Alphas. His absence led credence to the supposition that it hadn’t been an amicable transfer of power. If Randers had been forcibly ousted from the pack, there might have been a severe ideological split, which could very well point to Purist leanings.
Reno drummed his fingers on the arm of his chair. So where was Randers now? Getting his perspective on what was happening in the pack would be helpful but numerous searches of the data base had come up empty. Randers was nowhere to be found. Had the man really left town or had he been killed? Purists believed in following the ways of the ancient ones and leadership battles used to be to the death. Such an occurrence should have been reported, but apparently wasn’t. It made the situation seem… suspicious.
The thought that Brandi was alone and involved with such a group sent chills down his spine. Every time she was the DC for one of his cases, he worried until she was out of the pack’s territory, but at least on those occasions she was working in an official capacity with her partner Al Zimmerman and extra backup was readily available. Now, she had no one, and as an employee of Lycan Link she could be a target for the Purists’ revenge, especially if they knew she’d worked closely with his unit.
He compressed his lips thinking of the threatening letters they’d been receiving lately. The Purists were hinting at revenge, of making an example of someone. A sick feeling grew in his stomach and he made his decision. Grabbing his phone, he dialled a familiar number while pulling his duffle bag from the closet.
“Masterson here. What do you want?” Damien sounded less than pleased to be disturbed in the middle of the night. In fact, Reno was surprised the kid was home so early from the run; he’d expected to just leave a message.
“Damien, it’s Reno. I wanted to tell you I’m heading out of town for a few days.”
“You’re what? Just a sec… ”
Reno pulled open drawers and found some underwear and t-shirts, idly listening to the sounds coming from his partner’s apartment. There was female giggling and the rustling of sheets. Little wonder Damien was home early and had sounded grumpy. Was he with the girl he’d been mooning over the past few days or had a new female grabbed his attention?
“Okay, I’m back. Is this about the letter we got today?”
They’d spent the day at work going over yet another threatening letter, so it was natural that Damien assumed he was still thinking about the anonymous missives. The captain had called them in but of course there were no clues to be found and, equally frustrating, the captain was still being tight lipped about the leak, merely hinting that they were narrowing down the suspects. He and Damien had left the impromptu meeting disgusted with the lack of action. They both hated sitting around twiddling their thumbs.
“No, it’s something new.”
“So, what’s up?”
“You alone?”
“Yeah, I’m in the kitchen and the bedroom door is closed.”
“Good. I got a call from Brandi and—”
“Brandi? As in Johansson?” The mocking glee in Damien’s voice came through loud and clear. “The woman you pretend to hate, but really—”
“Can it, Damien. And yeah, I mean that Brandi. She’s in trouble. Her home pack has gone Purist.”
“Whoa.” Damien’s voice immediately sobered. “That’s bad news.”
Reno grunted his agreement. “She called me about an hour ago, but just as she was starting to give me the information, the phone went dead.”
“Did you try to get hold of her again?”
“Yeah but the conversation made no sense. I’m sure the Alpha was there listening in and probably pissed off.”
“Uh… Reno. A weird conversation in the middle of the night… that’s not much to go on.”
“I know, but I did some quick research. Her old Alpha’s missing and she said the halves were in trouble.”
“I don’t know if the captain will consider that enough information to allow us to take the team in.”
“I know. That’s why I’m going in alone.”
“Alone? Reno, that’s a dumb-ass move and against all regulations.”
“So? Regulations and I aren’t close friends. Besides, I’m just taking a holiday. The captain said we’re on stand-by. Maybe I suddenly wanted to visit the mountains. Kolding’s Pass is probably a great place for a vacation.”
Damien sighed heavily. “All right. Give me an hour and I’ll go with you.”
“No. You have to stay back and run interference with the captain.”
“Me? How am I supposed to do that?”
“I don’t know. Make something up. Tell him I met a woman or I won the lottery.”
“Like he’d believe that.”
Reno finished shoving the last item in his bag and propped the phone to his ear with his shoulder while he tugged on a pair of pants. “Whatever. You’re also my backup. I’ll call you tomorrow night. If you don’t hear from me, tell the captain and get your butt to Kolding’s Pass.”
Damien growled down the phone line. “I don’t like this, Reno.”
“Neither do I, but I have to go.” He paused and then spoke hesitantly. “There’s something between Brandi and me, Damien. I don’t know what it is, but my gut is telling me she’s in trouble.”
For a moment, Damien was silent. “That doesn’t surprise me. There’s always been something about the two of you when you’re together.” He exhaled noisily. “Okay, go, but be careful. I don’t want to have to break in a new partner.”
Reno smiled to himself at his friend’s concern. “I will. Go back to your girlfriend.”
“Beth?” Damien gave a throaty chuckle. “She’s more than a girlfriend now. She’s my mate.”
“Your what?” Reno almost dropped the phone. Hadn’t Damien just met the girl last week?
“I’ll tell you about it when you get back.” Damien laughed again, sounding inordinately pleased with himself, before disconnecting.
Several hours later, after flying halfway across the country, Reno was travelling up the twisting mountain road that led to Brandi’s hometown. The afternoon sun was glaring in his eyes, casting shadows across the poorly maintained road. All too aware of the steep drop to the side, he forced himself to drive cautiously despite the urgency that ate at his gut. A close encounter with the deep gorges that flanked the roadway wasn’t something he relished.
A clear blue sky, puffy white clouds, and the distant purplish-grey peaks of the next set of mountains made for a breathtaking view. If he hadn’t been so concerned with what he’d find in Kolding’s Pass, he might have appreciated the spectacular scenery he drove past. As it was, the tall dark pines, sharp outcroppings of rock and colourful wild flowers barely made an impression.
He’d collected a rental car at the airport, refuelled at a small town called Renwick located near the base of the mountain and then started what seemed an interminable drive. Steadily climbing upward, it had been ages since he’d passed by any sign of civilization, though that didn’t surprise him. The terrain wasn’t one that invited heavy settlement. The steep mountain sides and rocky ground would make establishing a community difficult. And while there were certainly enough trees around for lumber, flat ground seemed to be scarce. He imagined heavy spring rains would make landslides a yearly hazard as well. In fact, he’d already passed by several spots where it was obvious that part of the roadway had been washed out and haphazardly rep
aired.
Exactly what he’d do once he got to Kolding’s Pass, he wasn’t sure. When he went into a community as an Enforcer he had the authority to do some snooping, to ask questions and expect answers. But this time, he was entering another Alpha’s territory without the protection of Lycan Link’s stamp of approval.
He had a vague plan. Get in. Claim Brandi. Get out. Simple but stupid and it would never work. If the Alpha had indeed cut off her first communication to him, what were the chances the man would simply let her go? What if she was hidden away somewhere? His hands tightened on the steering wheel as he played various scenarios over in his head, each one less pleasant than the last.
By the time a roadside sign indicated he was entering Kolding’s Pass, he was prepared for the worst and drove towards the town with caution. Slowing the vehicle to a sedate speed he scanned ahead. Outwardly there seemed to be nothing remarkable about the place. It was a typical small old-time mining town. Nestled in the mountains, it had seen better days. Several clusters of houses were located near the edge of town, some in disrepair and needing paint while others had small flower gardens and showed signs that the owners were at least making an effort to keep up appearances. A few stores could be seen further down the street, though how many were still open, he couldn’t tell at this distance. Yep, nothing extraordinary, unless you counted the road block at the entrance of the town.
Reno stopped his vehicle and someone dressed in a sheriff’s uniform approached the car. Rolling down his window, he casually placed his elbow out the opening and pasted a vaguely inquiring expression on his face.
The sheriff tipped his hat. “Afternoon, sir. Are you lost?
“Nope. Kolding’s Pass is where I want to be.” Reno gave the man a friendly smile.
“Huh. Now that’s mighty peculiar. We don’t get too many visitors up here.” While the sheriff still had an amiable expression on his face, Reno noted how the man’s nostrils flared, picking up his scent and registering that he was another Lycan. The man assumed a more defensive stance, the friendliness of his smile fading. “Care to state your business in our territory?”
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