by Terry Spear
Two more windows shattered, and more smoke bombs were thrown inside. They had to leave the house, and Brock was certain they’d be attacked if they went out the front way.
“Guest bedroom window,” Natalie whispered.
Brock nodded, and coughing, they ran toward the bedroom. Once inside, he shut the door. A female wolf was at a disadvantage fighting the heftier males, but ultimately, it was her decision to leave the house or maybe find a room where the smoke wouldn’t be too bad, the garage even. “I’m going as a wolf. You?”
“I have my gun. I’ll remove any gunmen.”
“All right.” He slid the window up. “I’ll throw open the front door first, to make them think we’re coming out that way.”
“Okay. Just be careful.”
“I will be. Then I’ll go out this window first,” he said, his voice hushed. He wanted to ensure she didn’t become a target if someone was waiting outside.
“All right.”
She barely suppressed a cough, but he was certain that, despite the growling and yips and barks on the other side of her parents’ house, anyone near her house could have heard it. Humans, no, but wolves, yes.
Brock raced back through the smoke-filled house, barely able to see, coughing violently, his eyes tearing up. He reached the front door and opened it, immediately leaping aside so that he couldn’t be hit if anyone was waiting to shoot at him.
No one did anything. He assumed they were anticipating Natalie and him exiting the house, and then they’d attack.
Stifling his coughing, Brock raced to the bedroom and closed the door behind him. “Okay, let’s do this.”
He shifted and leaped out the window, then began to search for anyone lying in wait. Natalie climbed out through the window and ran to a large tree, and to his surprise, she scrambled up into the branches. Great plan! The wolves couldn’t climb. If she saw one of the rogue wolves, she could shoot him from her safe vantage point. Then he realized she probably didn’t know all the wolves in his pack by sight yet.
Brock hoped she didn’t shoot one of the good guys. He stayed near the tree, still in protective mode, figuring whoever had thrown the smoke bombs in the house would be coming for them when they realized Brock and Natalie weren’t going out through the front door.
The smoke was drifting out of the broken windows, reducing visibility. Not to mention that the cool night air and the heat of the day clashed, producing a ground fog that was growing thicker. Hell. That was all they needed.
Brock could barely see anything far away, but he heard wolf footfalls against the light leaves they had scattered the day before. He smiled just a little, glad for Natalie’s quick thinking to do that. He heard wolf fights farther away, some moving into the garden, some near Natalie’s parents’ home.
Brock worried about his cousins and other pack members still fighting the remaining wolves. Were there more than they had accounted for? Brock thought that would be the only reason his friends and family were still battling other wolves. That was probably why Dexter had knocked out the security cameras, giving Brock’s people a sense of power, thinking they had so few to deal with that they’d grow cocky. Then Dexter sent in more men.
Here, except for the sound of the one wolf cautiously approaching, pausing, moving again, it was quiet with a toad croaking some distance away, leaves rustling in the light breeze, his own heart pounding, and his breathing rapid.
His muscles tense, Brock waited for the wolf to approach, having to ensure it was a rogue before he attacked. The wolf was smelling Brock’s and Natalie’s scents and heading their way. Brock was feeling antsy, wanting to terminate the wolf now before he could initiate the fight, but forcing himself to wait and see if the wolf was friend or foe.
And then the wolf suddenly appeared, materializing out of the fog like a specter, as if his light-gray fur were partly fog itself. It was Dexter—the wolf who had tried to kill Brock by slamming three rounds into his chest in the confrontation some years earlier. He’d always wondered if Dexter had worn a bulletproof vest that day under his leather jacket. It was time to end the criminal wolf—once and for all.
Brock was glad he knew the wolf by sight, having done surveillance on him, and one of his men in human form had called out to him, identifying the wolf for Brock. So Brock knew just what the bastard looked like, both as a wolf and in his human form.
He growled softly. The wolf appeared apprehensive, glancing around, most likely searching for Natalie’s whereabouts. But then Dexter swung his head around and lunged at Brock.
Brock wasn’t surprised. The wolf was known for acting on impulse, being decisive, even if he put himself at risk like the last time they’d tangled. Maybe Dexter thought Natalie was hiding, trying to stay out of danger, and wouldn’t be a threat.
Brock and Dexter clashed, the angry wolf snarling and biting. But then someone came toward Brock from the rear and shouted, “I’ll get him, Dexter. Move out of the way.”
The man’s voice sounded so similar to Dexter’s that Brock wondered for an instant if the wolf he was fighting wasn’t Dexter. Since the gunman called out Dexter’s name, the armed human had to be Dexter’s brother. Or maybe a close cousin.
Brock continued to try to grab hold of Dexter’s throat or something else vital so he could make the killing blow, but Dexter was wily enough to keep Brock from doing so. And Dexter was trying to grab Brock’s throat whenever he could.
The armed gunman was probably the person who had broken the windows, knocked out the security cameras, and tossed the smoke bombs into Natalie’s house.
The gunman fired off a shot in Brock’s direction. He felt something nick his tail. Damn it. Brock glanced around to see the armed man. He not only sounded like Dexter; he looked like him too.
Brock heard movement in the tree and hoped Natalie didn’t expose herself. He figured she was trying to position herself better so she could shoot the lone gunman. Suddenly, she was firing at the man. Five shots, and he went down.
Dexter was still trying to battle Brock, but from the way Dexter’s ears and tail drooped, Brock was certain the wolf was distressed about his fallen family member. Too bad. He shouldn’t have gotten him into a life of crime, if that was the way things had gone. He figured Dexter had been the one to set this all up, and his brother had gone along with it. Then Brock wondered if the fallen man could even be Trenton.
Brock bit Dexter in the muzzle, and the wolf dodged away. Brock was relentless. This guy wouldn’t be organizing any more criminal activities. The blood was pounding in his ears, his adrenaline rushing through his bloodstream as he tackled the wolf again. And again.
The wolf made a final lunge at Brock, a fatal mistake, just as another shot was fired from the trees, and Brock bit into Dexter’s throat, dealing the death blow. Dexter collapsed, his body still a wolf, gasping for air. Brock hung on tight, his jaws clamped around the wolf’s throat. Dexter took a final breath, his wolf form turning into a human’s, and Brock let go. He was serious about ensuring this guy wasn’t going to hurt anyone anymore.
He loped to where the other man was, and he looked so much like Dexter that Brock assumed he must be Dexter’s twin brother, Trenton. Whoever he was, he had died.
A wolf howled from the garden. Shawn. Another wolf howled from the direction of Natalie’s parents’ house. Heath.
And then, each wolf howled, letting the others know where they were and that they were alive. Only one didn’t respond. Brock’s cousin Tanner. Brock knew everyone would be searching for Tanner, praying he was still alive. He’d mated Bella’s sister, and Brock didn’t want to believe anything other than Tanner was going to be okay.
Suddenly, Shawn barked and then howled. Shawn had found his brother, and several of the wolves took off to help him. Brock wanted to also, but he remained behind to watch Natalie climb down from the tree.
“Who’s injured?” she immediat
ely asked.
Brock shifted and reached up to pull her into his arms and set her on the ground. “Tanner, Serena’s mate.”
“Your cousin,” Natalie said, tears in her eyes and her voice.
“Yeah, hopefully he’s okay.”
“What are we going to do about the bodies?” Natalie hugged Brock tight. She was shaking from the adrenaline and maybe from knowing she’d killed a man.
“The jaguar policing branch can pick them up. They’re an amazing group. They have planes and a helicopter. They can carry the bodies from here and dispose of them. Are you okay?” He wrapped his arms around her and held on tight.
She was staring at the man she’d killed. “Yeah. He was going to shoot you as soon as Dexter was in the clear. I had to move from where I was so I could get a clear shot at him. All I had at my vantage point were tree branches and twigs. I was afraid when I started moving, he would hear me and aim in my direction, but he was concentrating on you too much.”
“Thank God for that. Let me see if he has any ID. He sure looks like he could be Trenton, which makes me worry about Vaughn and the others at Lettie’s place.” Brock searched the man’s pockets and found a wallet, opened it, and found his driver’s license. “Yeah, it’s Trenton.” He gave Natalie the driver’s license, then as a precaution in case there were any stray mercenaries running around, he shifted into his wolf.
Natalie pulled out her phone and called Jillian. “Hey, it’s me. Natalie. Is everything all right there?” She put the call on speakerphone.
“Yeah, we’re still waiting on any action. Nothing’s happening.” Jillian sounded tired of waiting.
“Dexter told Trenton he was supposed to handle Lettie personally. No one else. Trenton was down here with his brother. So why would he be here if he didn’t do what his brother ordered him to do?” And then as if a light bulb went on, Natalie’s jaw dropped. “Ohmigod, what if Lettie and Trenton had a romantic relationship? And he wasn’t about to do what his brother told him to. Can you ask her?”
“Okay,” Jillian said, sounding resigned, “but she hasn’t been totally cooperative.”
“In what way?”
“She doesn’t think Trenton would come to kill her.”
Natalie’s mouth curved into a smile. “Yeah, because she had a thing going on with him. Betcha, and Dexter didn’t know about it.”
“Or he did, and that’s why he told his brother to handle this personally.”
“That could be. We’ve got to go. Tanner’s been hurt. We’re going to see what happened. The men are carrying him to my parents’ house, and Heath is there to doctor him.”
“Oh no. Okay. Let us know about his condition as soon as you can.”
“Will do.”
Brock hurried Natalie into her parents’ house after the rest of the men, not about to leave her alone outside while she was talking on the phone with Jillian. He thought they had eliminated all the rogue wolves, but he wasn’t about to chance it. He adored her for being able to work with him so well. They complemented each other in everything they did.
Heath was bandaging Tanner, most of the men looking on as wolves. A couple of them left the house. Shawn threw on his clothes and took over, bandaging Tanner while Heath dressed. Brock shifted, then threw on a pair of boxer briefs and called Vaughn. “Hey, can you call whoever can do it to send a helicopter for several bodies and to get Tanner to Heath’s clinic? Obviously, Heath needs to go with him.”
“On it. You’ll be at Natalie’s parents’ house?”
“Yeah. But a helicopter can meet us out in the parking lot of the garden center.”
“Gotcha. How’s Tanner doing?” Vaughn asked.
“He’s half out of it. Bad bite marks. Doc’s got him on an IV. Damn glad we have Heath in the pack,” Brock said.
“Hell yeah. He’s doctored us all more times than I care to remember. Is it over? Dexter and his men have been eliminated?”
“Yeah, as far as we know. It’s done.”
The last wolves left the house. Brock assumed they were going to wherever they’d left their clothes.
“Keep us informed.”
“I will. I’ve got to let Devlyn know what’s going on.”
“Okay, one other thing. Jillian asked Lettie if Trenton was a friend of hers and wouldn’t intend to kill her. She said yes. But that his brother might send backup in case Trenton didn’t do what he was told to do.”
“Well, Trenton is dead. It’s up to you whether you want to tell her or not.”
“I’ll discuss it with Jillian. We’ll stay here for another day, but then we’re out of here. She’ll have to find someone else to provide her protection. She should have told us Trenton wouldn’t harm her. Then again, maybe she wasn’t sure. Or maybe she was afraid Dexter would send someone else to do the job. See you soon.”
“All right. Out here.” Brock asked Heath, “Does Tanner need blood?”
“No, he should be okay. He’s got a concussion, and I need to do a CT scan to make sure he hasn’t suffered any real damage. The wolf knocked him into a stone bench, and Tanner hit his head pretty hard. Thanks for calling a chopper.”
“Yeah, we have to get you and him back home to your clinic and get rid of all these bodies so the Silvertons can sell the place.” Brock turned to Natalie and pulled her into his arms. “So we can get you and your parents to the town of Greystoke for good.”
“Thanks to everyone for helping with this menace,” she said.
“Wel…come,” Tanner breathed out.
Natalie hurried over to him, held his hand, and kissed his cheek. “Get better soon.”
Tanner gave her a small smile.
Brock rubbed her back. “Hang in there, buddy.”
“Will. Serena…kill…me…if…I…don’t.”
The guys laughed and Natalie smiled.
Two men armed with guns walked through the area, continuing to provide security in case there were still any rogue wolves out there. Everyone else continued to talk to Tanner to keep him awake. Before it was time for the helicopter to arrive, the men moved the bodies to one location in the parking lot to make it less time-consuming to load them. They used wheelbarrows and garden carts to make the job easier, then hosed down all the conveyances.
They heard the flapping noise of the helicopter’s blades, and then it landed in the parking lot.
The jaguars had body bags, and the men began to put the dead bodies in them, then loaded the helicopter, everyone wishing Tanner well as he was carried inside and he and Heath left.
Shawn looked as though he’d wanted to go, too, and stay with his brother, but when Brock had told him to go, Shawn said, “No. The rest of my brothers will be there. My place is here, making sure that the garden center runs smoothly until the Silvertons can sell it and move the family to Greystoke.”
Brock sure appreciated him for it.
“By the way, our men found three vehicles with Colorado plates. One was registered to Trenton. It looks like he brought the men with him,” Shawn said.
“Then the operation in Colorado is over too,” Brock said with relief.
“I agree,” Shawn said. “I’m going to join the guys outside and give you some privacy, but we’ll replace the windows on the house tomorrow and make sure it’s aired out properly. Some of the men are going to drop off the rogue wolves’ vehicles at Marek’s place.”
“Sounds good and thanks, Shawn.”
Shawn left, and Brock closed and locked the door.
With the counterfeiting operation stopped, the men responsible for it gone, and plenty of security here for the rest of the night, Brock took Natalie to a guest room that wasn’t occupied. He wasn’t sure if she’d want to make love after killing Trenton. Brock was fine just cuddling with her or doing whatever made her feel right with the world after the ordeal.
“Thanks f
or saving my ass out there,” Brock said, stripping Natalie out of her clothes. “I was certain I could eliminate Dexter, but not with someone shooting at my backside.” He pulled off his boxer briefs, then led her to the bed.
“You had to deal with a vicious enough wolf as it was. I would have shot Dexter, too, if I could have.”
“I’m sorry you had to kill him.” Brock wanted her to know he understood if she was feeling bad about it.
“There wasn’t any other option. Protect my mate or…” She shrugged. “Protect my mate. That was the only choice. I’d do it again if I was faced with the same challenge. He came into my territory and threatened to kill you, and I have no qualms about what I had to do.”
Brock still wasn’t sure that she wouldn’t feel differently in the morning, or even sometime during the night. The adrenaline was still rushing through their veins after the big fight, and he worried she might crash and feel bad after it left their systems. No matter what, he would be there for her.
He climbed into bed, and she joined him. He only planned to pull her into his arms and cuddle with her, but she slid her body over his, held her body tight against his, and began to kiss his mouth. Fire engulfed him and his erection jumped, already throbbing with need. He hadn’t realized just how much his body was craving hers.
And then he was kissing her back, thinking the world of her for being his mate and just as protective of him as he was of her. Anticipation of thrusting his cock deep inside her was mounting, yet he was holding off to pleasure her. Seeing the joy in her expression meant the world to him.
He treasured feeling her soft skin sliding against his, her breasts pressed against his chest, her legs parted as they spread over his hips. She was beautiful and precious to him.
Their mouths connected again, and he cupped her ass, reveling in the way she was pressed against him, arousing him. Their pheromones triggered his craving to bury himself deep inside her. But he was letting her set the pace.
Aching for her, he didn’t expect her next move when she rolled off him. He groaned a little. When she moved next to him, he was thinking she wanted to just go to sleep after their ordeal after all, and he couldn’t help but be a little disappointed.