Hollow Moon

by Rebecca York

  It was three of the bastards from the drug operation. One was Kyle, the weasel- faced, greasy-haired lowlife who had first captured him. Another was the guy named Lane who had seemed to be in charge. And the third was the man who had stayed in the background and let the others do the talking before marching Knox to the shed. He was the fellow who had just spoken now.

  A shiver traveled over Knox’s skin. “He called you by name. You know him?”

  “Of course. It’s my brother, Campbell.”

  CHAPTER 7

  “Your brother!”

  Every muscle in Knox’s body tensed. After the explosive lovemaking with Maggie, he had been floating on a cloud of euphoria. Suddenly he came crashing down to earth like a tree struck by an avalanche. He had thought he was bonding with this woman—and she’d just casually told him she was mixed up with the men who had drugged and shot him.

  He reacted purely on instinct—reaching for the camp knife that he’d seen lying at the side of the tent.

  Her eyes widened in fear. Turning away from her, he slashed a slit in the back.

  She watched him in shock as she whispered, “What are you doing?”

  “They’re not going to capture me again.”

  “You’re having another delusion.”

  That stopped him for a moment. Was he? He didn’t know for certain, but he sure as hell wasn’t going to take a chance that this wasn’t the real thing.

  Working feverishly, he enlarged the hole and slipped through, feeling dizzy as he crouched outside the back of the tent while the guy came forward. From his hiding place, he listened to the conversation.

  “Maggie, I can hear you in there.”

  Looking through the slit, Knox saw her scrambling to pull on some clothing. “What do you want?” she called out. He had thought . . . No what he’d thought about himself and this woman had been a cruel joke.

  Pushing that sorrow out of his mind, he focused on what the brother was saying.

  “We had some trouble back at the camp.”

  Yeah, right, Knox thought.

  “What are you talking about?” Maggie asked.

  “Some guy was sneaking up on the old stable. Have you seen anyone?”

  She caught her breath, then answered, “No.”

  “What’s going on in there?”

  “I wasn’t dressed?”

  “In the middle of the afternoon?”

  “I got a headache and went back to bed.”

  Knox heard the two other men move forward. Praying that she was holding the trio’s attention, he stayed low and slipped into the trees, getting far enough away so that he would be hidden.

  He saw the brother unzip the tent and reach inside to pull Maggie out. Knox winced as the guy shook her.

  “What are you hiding?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Then why does it smell like sex in there?”

  “It doesn’t. That’s my organic hand cream.”

  “Yeah, sure.”

  She raised her chin as she faced him. “What exactly happened at the stable?”

  “None of your business.”

  “But you want my help.”

  “That’s right.”

  “Are you doing something illegal out here?”

  “What makes you think so?”

  “The way you’re acting evasive.”

  The brother snorted. “You always did think the worst of me.”

  “I didn’t think. I observed your behavior.”

  “You’re coming with me.”

  “No. This is family property. I have as much right to be out here as you do.”

  As Knox watched from the darkness under the trees, the guy pulled a gun.

  Maggie gasped.

  “I said you’re coming with me. You know something, and I’m going to find out what it is. March.”

  He saw her look back, then move off at gunpoint.

  From his vantage point, Knox pressed his fingers against his eyes. Was he off his nut again? Had he gotten this whole thing wrong?

  He dropped his head into his hands, wishing he could think straight.

  How long did the damn flashback delusions last? If he waited enough time, would he know for sure that he was back in reality?

  He couldn’t afford the luxury of hedging his bets. No matter how this had looked at first, he had to assume Maggie was in danger. And he had to follow her and the men who had captured her.

  They were already out of sight, but a wolf could certainly pick up her scent. Hell, he had gotten so close to her that he could do it now.

  Ducking behind a tree, he ripped off the dressing over his wound, wincing as the adhesive tore hair from his leg. Ignoring the sting, he began to say the chant that would change him from man to wolf.

  He pushed through the familiar words, and as the change came, sharper pain lanced his injured leg.

  He came out of the transformation panting and sweating. And when he looked down at the wound, it was oozing blood onto his fur.

  Well, there was nothing he could do about that. He just had to hope he could still walk.

  Staying in the trees, he headed in the direction where Maggie and the three men had disappeared and quickly caught up. The brother was still holding her at gunpoint.

  Knox couldn’t be absolutely certain, but he was pretty sure this was real and not an extended detour into fantasyland.

  “Hurry up,” the brother ordered.

  “I’m walking as fast as I can. Why don’t you tell me what happened when you were invaded?”

  The brother made a snorting sound. “I don’t know exactly what happened. Either we all got wigged out, or we ran into a werewolf.”

  Knox’s heart stopped, then started up in double time.

  “A werewolf?” she asked, her voice going high and thin. “Why do you say that?”

  “Because we locked a man in the shed, and when we opened the door, a wolf ran out. Or maybe we were all suffering from the same delusion,” he added, like he hoped that was true.

  “And why would you all have the same delusion? What are you leaving out?”

  “Okay, we were testing a new drug on the guy. When we opened the door, we all got a big dose of it.”

  She seized on the first part. “What were you testing?”

  His voice turned lofty. “A new drug that’s gonna make me millions.”

  “So this is another one of your get-rich-quick schemes.”

  Campbell rounded on her. “It’s not a scheme. This shit will sell like funnel cake at a county fair. Everybody’s gonna want it.”

  “You mean like the stolen laptop computers you were selling at bargain prices?

  “Shut up.” The brother looked like he wanted to send the other two men away.

  Do it, Knox silently told him. I can take you down if you’re alone.

  But the two guards remained, and the would-be drug lord said, “I haven’t stolen anything.”

  “No, you’re just making an illegal drug,” she shot back

  “It’s not illegal.”

  “Oh come on.”

  “The law has to know about something before it can be illegal. This stuff is new. A designer drug.”

  “And that makes it okay?” she asked scornfully.

  “It makes it a good bet.”

  She was silent for a moment. “You’re not doing this by yourself. You don’t have the skill to manufacture cheesecake—let alone a drug.”

  “Who says?”

  “Oh come on, Campbell. You didn’t even graduate from Montgomery Community College.”

  He dragged in a breath and let it out. “Okay, I’ve got a top-notch chemist working for me.”

  “Where would you get the money to pay him?”

  “He’s working for lab space and a cut of the profits.”

  “Then he’s going to be pissed when this blows up in your face.”

  Knox wanted to call the conversation a delusion, but he was afraid he was hearing the mastermind’s version of real
ity. In his mind he was a brilliant tactician who knew how to take advantage of an opportunity when he saw it. No wonder Maggie hadn’t wanted to say much about him.

  As though she hadn’t derided him, the brother swept his hand in an arc. “And this location is the perfect place to manufacture it. Unless somebody stumbles in who’s not supposed to be here.”

  “Well, there’s nothing to stop someone from stumbling in. This looks like any other part of the woods because Dad never did develop the property.”

  “Let’s not get off on Dad. We’re talking about the wolf man. You helped him—didn’t you?”

  “No.”

  “Was he a wolf or a man when you met him?”

  Knox heard Maggie catch her breath.

  “What? Are you just figuring out that you had sex with a werewolf?”

  Knox snarled. This was getting better and better.

  “How come you suddenly believe in werewolves?” she asked. “Are you sniffing your own drugs?”

  “No.”

  “You said you might have had a delusion.”

  “Yeah, but his being a werewolf is the best explanation.”

  “So now you believe in fairy tales?” Her question cut off abruptly, and he wondered if she was remembering their discussion about The Once and Future King. Merlin changing Arthur into various birds and animals.

  And what was Knox going to say to Maggie now, if he was able to rescue her? What was going to keep her from running screaming from him if he could rescue her?

  A few minutes ago, he’d thought she might be involved in the drug operation. Now the thought of losing her was like a chasm opening up in the ground in front of him. If he fell in, he was lost.

  He wasn’t sure what that meant, but he knew it was true.

  He stayed behind the four figures as they walked perhaps a half mile through the woods. Not that far from Maggie’s campsite. He’d thought he’d run all night. But either his sense of time had been distorted, he’d been running in circles, or he’d been passed out part of the time.

  Before he saw the stable, a powerful odor hit him, and he almost fell over.

  It was the scent of the drug, although not in the high concentration as when they’d gassed him in the shed. But he wasn’t fully recovered from the experience, and the stuff still made his head swim—which meant he wouldn’t have been able to follow Maggie now if he couldn’t keep her in sight.

  He fought light-headedness and nausea as he surveyed the familiar scene. He would have died here if he hadn’t gotten away. He almost had died. And Maggie had saved him.

  That admission firmed his resolve. She had helped a naked man with a gunshot wound. He must save her. And they would deal with the rest later.

  Shivering, he forced himself not to turn tail and run from the drug that had taken him down once. Instead, he kept following as the brother—Campbell—ushered Maggie around the side of the stable and up a path. About a hundred yards farther through the woods, he saw what looked like a typical Maryland farmhouse with a wide porch and a roofline capped by a front gable. The place had seen better days. The porch sagged, the heavy vines growing on the posts looked like they were dead, and paint had weathered off the siding.

  As Knox watched, the drug mastermind escorted Maggie through the front door, his hand firmly on her arm.

  It was all Knox could do to keep from rushing the house. But that would only get him shot—again.

  What was going to happen in there? Was the bastard going to put her in a basement cell?

  He stayed where he was, and a few minutes later a light came on in an upstairs room. He caught a flash of movement at one of the windows. Was that where he was holding her? It was a room over the porch, which might make it possible to get up there without going inside. Well, a wolf couldn’t climb up there, but a man could. Too bad he was naked.

  He waited for long moments, willing Maggie to come to the window so he’d know she was unharmed. And then what? He was one wolf running at seventy percent capacity. There were at least three men in there—all probably armed. And how many more were down at the stable?

  Too bad he had no idea how to get her out of there. Would the brother knock her around? Kill her?

  Knox clenched his teeth against the terrible images that leaped into his mind.

  The guy had already been pretty rough. But how far was he going to go? And what would Maggie tell him?

  Not much, Knox concluded. As far as the fairy tale part was concerned, she hadn’t seen any wolves.

  She’d come across a naked man near her campsite. A naked man who told her he’d been shot by guys who were part of a drug-manufacturing operation. A naked man who kept wigging out as the drug in his system continued to affect his brain.

  But now he thought his mind was functioning correctly—although there was no way to be sure.

  For long moments, he kept his eyes on the window and listened intently for sounds from the house. Unable to pick up anything, he faded back into the woods, putting a little distance between himself and the source of the disorienting drug molecules floating in the air.

  When a twig snapped behind him, he went rigid. Christ, had he gotten caught again?

  With a snarl he whirled around to confront the enemy—and came face to face with another wolf.

  CHAPTER 8

  It was his cousin, Cole Marshall.

  If he could have spoken, he would have shouted his gratitude and relief. But a wolf couldn’t talk, and under the circumstances, he thought it might be a bad idea to howl.

  Cole inclined his head, indicating that they should get away from the house. As Knox followed him farther into the woods, he kept glancing back at the window, hoping to see Maggie. But she didn’t appear.

  He followed his cousin into a thick stand of trees and found two more wolves waiting—Zack and Brand. Jonah Ranger was also leaning against a tree, a knapsack at his feet. He wasn’t a werewolf, but he was probably Decorah’s most talented telepath.

  Knox nodded to them, then began to silently say the chant that would turn him from wolf to man.

  The other wolves did the same, and soon three naked men and one in a camy outfit were standing in the woods.

  “Jonah’s got everybody’s clothing—plus some for you,” Cole said.

  “Thanks.” When Knox leaned over to pick up a pair of pants, he winced.

  Cole looked at his leg, which was oozing blood again. “You got shot.”

  “Yeah. I had to take the dressing off when I changed,” he said as he pulled on his pants. Realizing that required a bit more explanation, he added, “Maggie’s a nurse. She patched me up.”

  “And how did you get hit?”

  “You probably figured out this is a drug lab. I was stupid enough to try and get some pictures.”

  “Not stupid,” Cole said.

  “I . . .”

  Jonah stopped him. “Let’s not argue about it.”

  “Maggie’s the woman who got frog-marched into the house?” Cole asked.

  “Yes. The gang here was trying a drug experiment on me, but I got away. She found me in the woods after I escaped.”

  The others also dressed and stood in a circle facing each other.

  “Thanks for coming,” Knox said. “I thought I was on my own.”

  “Did you try to send me a distress call?” Jonah asked.

  He scuffed his foot against the ground. “Yeah, I tried.”

  “I picked up something. I couldn’t bring it in clearly.”

  “Sorry,” Knox muttered.

  “It’s never a sure thing. Cole was the one who decided you were in trouble.”

  “When you didn’t call in, we checked your phone and found it was disabled,” his cousin said.

  “Yeah, one of the bastards crushed it. He was too dumb to get any information from it first. Of course, I was stupid, too—letting him get the drop on me.”

  “Probably the stuff in the air affected your judgment. I’m having trouble thinking straight myself.�
��

  Knox nodded, glad Cole was giving him an out. He launched into a quick account of the past few days—his finding the lab, getting caught, getting drugged, his escape, and being found by Maggie.

  “The would-be drug kingpin is Maggie’s brother?” Zack asked.

  “Yeah. But I don’t think she’s involved.”

  The four other Decorah agents studied him. “Because you don’t want to,” Brand suggested.

  He rounded on his cousin. “Because I got to know her,” he answered, punching out the words, his hands clenched as he dared Brand or any of the others to dispute him.

  The three other wolves all took a step back, and he realized they were giving him space—in the way of their species. In the natural order of things, werewolves didn’t usually work together. Each guy was the alpha male of his own pack—even if it was a pack of one—until he bonded with a lifemate and raised a family. But at Decorah, they’d learned the advantages of not clawing each other apart over minor disputes.

  Knox sighed. He knew the other three wolves had all found their lifemates while nosing around dangerous situations. Probably they understood that he and Maggie hadn’t been playing patty-cake out in the woods. Probably Jonah did too, because he’d connected with his now wife under very trying conditions.

  “Okay, we’re involved.” He didn’t say he’d probably bonded with Maggie. Because he was afraid it wasn’t true? Or the opposite?

  “And if she was working with these guys, would they have been marching her to the house at gunpoint.”

  The others nodded, not pushing the explanation.

  “We need to get busy,” Brand said. “It looks like we have a couple of jobs. Shut down the drug operation and rescue the woman.”

  “And call in the DEA?” Jonah asked.

  “Maybe just turn them over to the local cops and let them handle the feds.”

  “But maybe we’d have to testify,” Brand said. He turned to Knox. “Are you okay with that?”

  “I guess I have to be.”

  “Do you know what they’re making?” Zack asked. “It smells pretty potent, even out here.”

  “The brother—Campbell—claimed it was something new. I gather he’s not capable of manufacturing it himself. He’s working with a chemist.” He slapped his fist against his palm, frustrated that they were standing here talking. “We have to rescue Maggie before we do anything else,” he said, struggling to keep from shouting. “He was already pressing her for information about me. If we attack the lab, they may kill her.”