by Tl Reeve
In fact, he wondered how long the group of boys had been waiting for Bell and Zoe or any of them. The hyenas couldn’t have happened upon them, as there were no homes or people in the desert for miles. The girls had taken the long way around Window Rock to get to Bodhi, who’d been at the orphanage the whole time. It was quite clear to him, they’d had shadows the whole time, which meant they were being followed since the moment they arrived in town.
So, why hadn’t they been jumped before now?
The only answer he had was the fact Keeley had installed the security system and they’d realized they couldn’t get in. They waited for someone to make a mistake. Rapier shook his head as he slipped back into his vehicle. Once inside, he plugged the coordinates from the note into his GPS so he knew where he was going. When the map flashed onto the screen, he blew out a breath. “Are you fucking kidding me?” He stared at the screen and chuckled. The cruel, sadistic son of bitch wanted Rapier to go back to where it all started.
Rapier’s Pride lands.
His phone rang beside him on his seat, and he spied a look at it. Kalkin. They’d said all they had to for the time being. He understood Kalkin’s position. It was a catch-22. Whatever Kalkin did would be wrong in someone’s eyes. Rapier had been put into the same position. If he killed Raymond, he’d go to jail for the rest of his life. If he handed over Mackenzie, the eldest Raferty would die. None of the solutions were a win for anyone. So, he took the simpler victory, getting Bell back. Whatever happened afterward, well, he gave it up to the powers that be and hoped to fuck it didn’t include an eight-by-ten jail cell.
He’d never survive it.
Rapier started his truck then pulled away from the curb. The drive would take him an hour. In that time, he hoped he could come up with a reasonable plan to not get anyone killed or put him in jail. Hell, by ignoring Kalkin, he already had a seat waiting for him in lock up. His phone rang again, but this time it was Jasmine. He snorted. Kalkin probably told her he’d taken off. Bastard.
“Kitten,” he said after sliding his finger across the screen.
“You’re on your way then?” Grit and determination filled her voice.
“I am,” he answered.
“Horseshit,” Caden grumbled. “Didn’t Kal tell your ass to wait. That we’d handle this shit.”
“Sorry, yo-ur, br-k-n up. De-er-t sh-t re-cep-ion,” Rapier replied.
“Fuck you, asshole. You have great reception. We all do out here.” Caden snarled. “You’re leaving us no choice. Don’t put us in the position to take you down too.”
Rapier laughed to himself. “Fuck you, Caden. Both you and your brother put us—all of us—in this position. You waited long enough for Raymond to show his fucking face and he did.”
“Rapier—”
“Be careful, Rapier,” Jasmine said. “Bring our daughter home.”
She hit the end button at the same moment Caden began reaming her ass for encouraging him. This time, Rapier laughed out loud. His spitfire mate could keep all the men in check, including the asshole Under-Sheriff standing in Rapier’s home. He shook his head. Jasmine had a silent strength he’d been in awe of, always had been. However, when she got into her spiral, she forgot about that piece of her. He hoped going forward she’d be more inclined to use it than to bury it in the fear and anxiety.
Rapier glanced in his rearview mirror and blew out a breath. At least Kalkin hadn’t tried to follow him. Enforcers, for all their fancy bells and whistles, stuck out like a sore thumb. They were easy to spot, even more so as darkness descended onto Window Rock. He’d need the element of surprise if he had a chance at beating Raymond. Sure, there were contingencies he couldn’t assess for, but this was all straight forward, Raymond would give him Bell and then Rapier would...what?
Kill him. The lion had grown bolder in the last few weeks. Since he shifted the first time with Jasmine, it’d been harder and harder to keep him at bay. Rapier understood the ramifications of keeping the lion locked in mental chains. Once they were safe, he promised he’d do better. He’d give the lion equal time. Until then, they couldn’t kill Raymond. Not without provocation.
Which begged the question, how did he expect to get out of there without spilling blood? He didn’t have Mackenzie. Rapier glanced over at the empty seat and frowned. Okay, so his first plan—not spilling blood—wouldn’t work. When push came to shove, he’d have to fight, and hope Bell could get away. Of course, he didn’t think he’d ever lose to the likes of Raymond. The guy ruled by mental and physical abuse. He killed for the hell of it. Made others do the same. Starved his people. He did everything in his power to turn them into a pack of feral wolves.
Rapier blew out a breath. They were a pack of feral wolves the pack/pride had to help. Some of them, he realized, would probably die in the desert before accepting anything Kalkin or he offered them. Others, he hoped would accept it and learn a better way. He also hoped if there were mothers still alive and able to care for their pups, they would reclaim them from the orphanage and start over either in Window Rock or someplace far away. They wouldn’t be able to outrun their memories, but they could outrun the stench of a life stolen from them.
As the miles ticked by, he thought about all those still in Raymond’s pack and wondered what would have happened to them if he’d stayed, gone by the harsh rules. Not helped Mackenzie. Not mated Jasmine. The idea of experiencing a shell of a life, a life without his mate’s love, without his brothers, without his children, settled in his stomach like a lead weight. The best parts of him were in Window Rock, waiting for him to return with his daughter. He did everything in his power to protect everyone, including Kalkin Raferty and the Raferty family.
He pushed on, following the directions until he turned off the main highway onto a deserted dirt road. The waning moon cut a silver trail along the small rises and desert flooring. The giant transmission towers cast long shadows across the road and resembled aliens like those in War of the Worlds—their lines, a wavy pattern escorting him to his destination. In the distance, he could see smoke. The white wispy tendrils curled upward into the sky.
There.
Rapier stepped on the gas. He strangled the wheel in a death grip. He leaned forward; adrenaline pumped through his veins. Soon he’d see his princess. With his superior eyesight, he flipped off the headlights of his truck and allowed his lion to surge to the forefront to join him. The silvery night sky became shades of blue and grey. The smallest of details stood out as he came around another ridge and spotted the bonfire.
A single truck sat in the middle of a circle. Two dark masses stood within it. Raymond and Bell. Rapier pulled his truck away from the circle and parked it there. Raymond was cocky, he liked to believe everyone would do his bidding or else and so far, very few had gone against him. Rapier shut the truck off then slipped from the vehicle, taking his phone with him. He had to get in behind Quincy. If he could get the drop on him, maybe he could grab Bell and run. Raymond wouldn’t go back to Window Rock; he knew what was waiting for him. However, Quincy wasn’t the brightest bulb.
He followed the ridge he passed up around to the west side of the clearing. When he came to the low outcropping of rocks, he used those to his advantage, crouching down to stay hidden. In front of him, Bell sobbed. They were soft terrified cries of pain. Rapier scented the air and curled his lip. She’d been hurt. When he was done with Raymond, he’d find the fucking hyenas who took Bell and kill them too. They lost their ability to claim they were children the minute they left Zoe for dead and kidnapped Bell.
“Hello, Rapier,” Raymond sneered. “Where’s Mackenzie?”
Rapier didn’t say anything while hitting the record button on his phone. He stayed low and peered over the rocks in front of him to check on his cub.
“We’re not going to play games, are we? I know you’re there. Come up, or I kill her.”
Rapier swallowed hard. No, he didn’t play games. Raymond, on the other hand, loved fucking with people. “Let go of Bell.”<
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“And be left defenseless, no, I don’t think so. Come out and face me,” Raymond said. “Stop being such a coward.”
Rapier clenched his fists. He wouldn’t rise to the bait. He wouldn’t strike without being prepared. “Pot meet kettle.”
Raymond gave a sinister laugh. “I’m not the one hiding.”
“Let me ask you something, asshole,” Rapier spat. “When you were killing all those families and burning out our homes, what was the point?”
“Power,” Raymond said. “Cattle always need to be shown what happens when someone makes a mistake.”
“And, starving people?”
“Punishment for losing their way.” The nonchalant way he gave the answer twisted Rapier’s insides.
“Why me?” Rapier asked.
“You got in the way. You overstayed your welcome and interfered in a personal matter,” Raymond said. “Mackenzie was being taught a very valuable lesson, and you ruined ten years of instruction. I couldn’t let you get away with that.”
Ruined ten years... What the actual fuck? “What was Mac’s transgression?”
“He whelped a pup in my property.” Raymond growled. “Same as his fucking brother. The twin bastard. My pussy was tainted from then on out.”
“Marjorie,” he said. “Have you stopped to think she attacked those boys and Mackenzie?”
Quincy snorted. “Bullshit. She knew better.”
“She did it anyway.”
Raymond growled loud and long. “Enough of your stalling. Get the fuck out here and face me. Stop being a little bitch.”
“The only little bitch I see here is you.” Rapier rose from his hiding place and towered over Raymond. He took a step closer to them. “You using a little girl to shield you from getting your ass beat?”
“Fuck you,” Raymond said, wrapping his clawed-tipped hand around Bell’s throat. Two of his fingers were poised to dig into her neck. She whimpered, and he laughed.
“If you spill a drop of her blood, you’ll never make it out alive,” Rapier whispered. “Law be damned.”
“You don’t have the balls to do anything, Rapier Dryer. You proved that all those years ago when you tucked your tail and ran away.” The deranged wolf laughed then glanced down at Bell. “She is a pretty thing. You couldn’t have fucked Jasmine to get this pure bred. I bet she’ll be fun to break in.” He licked his lips then grinned. “After I fuck her, I’ll give her to the hyenas to play with. I’m sure they’ll enjoy their treat.”
Rapier roared. “This is your last warning, motherfucker. Give me my daughter or you will die out here like the sad, pathetic piece of shit you really are.”
The light from the fire flickered across Bell’s face, and fury raced through his veins. Like Zoe, her cheek had a welt the size of a golf ball. Blood trickled from her scalp at her forehead, and a cut above her eye had been opened. Her pretty clothes were dirty and ripped. She was missing a shoe and a sock. Her knees were scraped and bloody. Black dirt and grime covered her legs and face. He could see the fresh track of her tears cutting through the filth along with her blonde locks being tangled in knots.
“You knew the terms of our agreement, Bell for Mackenzie. You would have been doing all of us a service if you would have followed orders.”
“I don’t follow your orders,” Rapier spat. “Nor do I hand over family members to be tortured by pieces of shit like you.”
* * * *
Jenna lay on the sand and rock covered cliff a mile and a half from the bonfire. She didn’t need to see the note. Didn’t need to wait for anyone. She knew where Raymond would be. Call it a sick precognition or whatever kind of mind reader bullshit it might be, she’d known it gut deep Raymond would go “home.” It was kind of apropos, taking it back to where it all began.
She set up her sniper rifle and adjusted her scope. There they were in the middle of an open field. The fire obscured some of her field of vision but not all of it. Raymond stood with his back to her. His arm, she assumed, had been wrapped around Bell, keeping her positioned in front of him. She couldn’t see, from her vantage point, what her condition was.
When Nico showed up with Zoe, she understood what she had to do. This job was off the books. She wasn’t part of SWAT. She wasn’t a deputy for Apache County. She was Jenna Panthera, sister to Jasmine and protector of Zoe and Bell Dryer, her nieces. Doing this job by the book would cause more issues than not. It would give Raymond more time to hurt Bell. Or worse, kill Bell. She couldn’t have it on her conscious. She hadn’t fought hard enough before to keep them all together. She’d gone along with the stupid plan and now here they were. In the middle of the desert, in a stand-off with the piece of shit who should have been put down years ago.
She took a deep breath and let it out. It didn’t matter how long she had to lay there. She’d stay out there as long as it took to put Raymond Quincy down like the rabid piece of shit he was. If it meant going to jail for it, she’d take it. Osirus would understand. They all would. She’d take it for the team.
A grunt behind her drew her attention. She glanced over her shoulder and hissed. What the fuck was he doing out there? The mountain lion strode up the cliff and took up position beside her. Even in the darkness she saw that rich, cocky smirk on his mouth. Fucking Hauser. She shook her head and went back to watching the scene unfold.
“Whatever you want to say,” she whispered. “It won’t do any good.”
The mountain lion nudged her before lying on the ground beside her. His gaze was locked on the scene unfolding in front of them. Rapier had arrived. He stood fifteen feet in front of Raymond. She adjusted her grip on her rifle. The crosshair of her scope leveled on the back of the deranged bastard’s head. If he made any move, she’d pull the trigger.
“You know, this could cause you to lose your job.”
She shrugged. “So could doing nothing. What would you do if it was your family down there?” She cut her gaze at Hauser.
He narrowed his eyes. “I guess I’d do the same thing you are.”
“Then it would cost you your job too,” she replied.
“Suppose it would,” he agreed. “Why’d you come without backup or a spotter?”
“It would have taken too long. I had a feeling I knew where Raymond would be. I came out here on a hunch.” She rolled her shoulders. “Seems kind of fitting, don’t you think? The place where Rapier’s old Pride lands start is the same place all this comes to an end.”
“I’d call it twisted,” Hauser said. “Maybe a bit sadistic too.”
“That’s Raymond for you,” she said. “Twisted and a bit sadistic to the core.”
Hauser snorted. “You could always wing him.”
“He’ll get out again,” Jenna said.
“Maybe.” Hauser rubbed his chin. The rough sound of stubble against dry flesh grated on her nerves. “But, at least you’d know you weren’t the one to take a life.”
She eased back from her rifle and stared at him for a second. “Who says I haven’t already?”
Hauser sat there. He didn’t say anything. He didn’t have to. In her line of work, she wasn’t the one to wing or maim suspects. When the order came down to take the shot, she did. People who commit murder or hold hostages and threaten death didn’t deserve to see the inside of a courthouse in her estimation. Only depraved men and women picked on the most vulnerable. Only those without compunction kill without regret.
She supposed, in the long run, she too was one of those people.
“Look alive, we have movement,” Hauser said, jerking his chin in the direction of the scene playing out in front of them.
Raymond took several steps backward. The glow of the fire shadowed half of his body, but it didn’t distract her. She still had the shot and no one, with exception of the damn mountain lion beside her, knew she was there.
Rapier advanced. The conversation they were having was heated. Rapier didn’t make any sudden movements. He took another step; his eyes were narrowed. His lip curled
. He balled his hands up at his side, and his body tensed. Rapier would do everything in his power to keep from shedding blood in front of Bell, after the incident in the middle of town. Jenna considered it a weakness. Sometimes shedding blood was the only way to prove strength. Getting Raymond’s blood on all of their hands was healing and purification. It would destroy the ghost of their pasts, free those were still afraid, and give those who were killed at Raymond’s command, vengeance.
She blew out a breath.
Any minute now, he’d make a mistake. Raymond had a narcissistic confidence about him. He didn’t think he’d ever get caught. Didn’t think he’d ever die. The more she read over the case files Apache County had on the asshole, the more she realized everyone played right into his hand. It pissed her off. The bastard was weak. If Kalkin could kick his ass, anyone could, Alpha or not. As a matter of fact, it’d been right after Kalkin kicked his ass out of the county that he began upping his tactics. The couple killed near Rapier’s house and on Rapier’s Pride lands. The ones run off their pack lands. Those who disappeared.
Fear.
Raymond craved it.
Fed off it.
He used those who were as crazy if not more than him to perpetuate the crimes. In some respects, he reminded Jenna of Charles Manson. Raymond warped the minds of those who were the most vulnerable and turned them into sociopathic killing machines, and they thrived off it.
It would be a pleasure putting a bullet in his head.
An unholy roar echoed through the area as Rapier lunged for Raymond. Jenna didn’t hesitate, she pulled the trigger. Raymond’s head snapped forward. Blood covered a partially shifted Rapier’s face. Bell fell to the ground, and her father picked her up, dragging her away from Quincy’s bleeding corpse.
And, just like that, Jenna broke down her rifle and put it back into its case. Another day. Another kill. Another debt repaid.
* * * *