“Go!” she ordered as Jael joined her. “We’ve got this.”
“The hell you do,” Jackson countered.
Before he could say anything else, a howl sounded from inside the pub. John cursed as a large Irish wolfhound pushed past him, followed by two coyotes and then a second wolfhound. Mac bit back her own curses and turned her attention to the area in front of her. She couldn’t let herself be distracted now.
Using hand signals, she ordered Jael to move to another location. They needed to maximize their coverage of the parking lot. As she did, one of the wolfhounds all but knit itself to Jael’s side. Mac smiled slightly, recognizing the shifted form of John and Moira’s eldest daughter. Moira crouched next to Mac. The message was clear. They were sticking close to the two, making sure nothing happened to them.
The coyotes, Norwood and Zee Logan, moved swiftly and silently, bellies to the asphalt, across the parking lot. They stuck to the shadows, using the parked cars as cover. As they moved into position, Mac scanned the area, searching for a target.
There!
A gunshot rang out in the night. Mac ducked and smiled grimly. If they kept to this sort of fight, she’d count it as a win. But her gut told her not to bet on it. Lycans never made things easy. But she would play the hand dealt her and pray those she cared for made it out alive.
“Moira.” She glanced down at the wolfhound. “You need to stay with Jackson. Keep him safe. The pride can’t lose another alpha.”
The wolfhound shook its head, the message clear. Mac frowned but didn’t say anything. At least John had grabbed her husband by the collar and dragged him inside before the shooting began.
“Then stay down and keep out of my way.”
“Santos!” a man called from somewhere in the shadows across the street. “It doesn’t have to be this way.”
She grinned and felt her jaguar’s excitement. This was it. The hunt was about to begin.
“You’re right, Branson.” She signaled Jael to be ready. “You’re proven yet again just how inept you and your people are. You couldn’t even kill me when your shooter stood right in front of me. So save us all some time. Come out and let’s settle this once and for all.”
She winced as Jackson’s voice came over her Bluetooth receiver, demanding to know what in the hell she thought she was doing.
“Ah, little cat, I would but I don’t trust you. I know you’re hurt. No way would your mate let you meet me in a fair fight.”
She laughed. She actually laughed and she made sure to do it loudly enough Branson and his people could hear.
“As if you know anything about fighting fair.” She put as much derision as she could in her voice. “How long do you think it will be before the cops show up? Let’s do this now, when it’s just us.”
Now he laughed, an evil sound she hoped never to hear again.
“That will only make it more interesting. Tell me, would you be more focused on getting to me or making sure my people didn’t turn any of your precious normals?”
Mac ignored his taunt and peeked around the edge of the SUV’s bumper. Her teeth bared to see three wolves slinking in her direction. Suddenly, the two coyotes seemed to appear out of nowhere. At the same time, Jael popped up from behind the SUV and opened fire.
Mac used the distraction to change positions. Staying low to the ground, she raced from behind the SUV to take cover in back of Norwood’s pickup. She grimaced slightly as several bullets slammed into the truck. Norwood loved his pickup, treating it better than a lot of people treated their children. He’d never forgive the lycans for putting bullet holes in it.
The sounds of the coyotes fighting the wolves filled the night air. A very human cry of pain followed another round of gunfire. Mac tensed and then relaxed when she realized it hadn’t been Jael. From the direction of the cry, she guessed it was one of Branson’s people. Assuming the woman was as good a shot as always, that meant Branson’s numbers were dwindling. All they had to do was hang on a little longer. Then he’d either get desperate enough to make a break for it, giving her the opportunity to go after him or Mateo would be there with reinforcements.
Hopefully, before DPD units rolled onto the scene.
More gunshots and a curse from Jael had Mac glancing back toward the pub. Jael shook her head, indicating she was all right. Unconvinced, Mac knew better than to question her. The last thing they needed was for Branson to order his people to focus on Jael, especially if she was badly injured. Instead, she leaned down, her mouth close to the wolfhound’s head.
“Go to her. Protect her. I need to know she’s all right.”
Moira licked her face once and then dropped to her belly. Mac watched as the wolfhound slowly crawled across the open space to the SUV. Once she knew the wolfhound was safe, Mac turned her attention back to the area across from the pub.
Cait, where are they? she asked her jaguar.
The jungle cat pushed itself forward and Mac felt the jaguar looking out of her eyes. When her mouth opened and drew in a breath, it was Cait doing it and not her. Then she lifted her head and sniffed, scenting the air. Blood, sweat, fear, anger, all were there. So was the wet dog smell mixed with rotting meat she’d come to associate with the lycans.
Three humans and only one lycan. The others had either fled or were out of the fight through either injury or death. Good. She could handle those odds.
“Branson!” she called, taking a quick look over the hood of Norwood’s truck. “Even with the element of surprise, you’re losing. So let’s settle this the way it should have been settled long ago. Pure vs were. You and me.”
As she spoke, she noticed new shadows moving through the dark. She sniffed the air again and smiled. The cavalry had arrived, so to speak. Her cousin and members of his unit were there. A soft spat! was followed by the death cry of one of those with Branson.
Mac chuckled to hear footsteps retreating. A man’s voice told Branson they hadn’t signed on for this. Mateo’s voice came over her comms, ordering his people to secure the area. Relieved, Mac leaned against the truck. Then, knowing the fight wasn’t yet over, Mac pushed to her feet. As she did, part of her hoped Branson didn’t try for a headshot.
“You know, I’m getting tired of your lot shooting at me,” she taunted. “You keep telling us you’re the alphas. So prove it.” She put as much disdain in her voice as she could as she scanned the area, looking for Branson.
Cait?
Shift! her other-self screamed.
Before Mac could react, the jaguar took control. Mac screamed in pain as the shift was forced on her. She felt on fire as pelt replaced skin. Bones broke and reformed. Muscles twisted and cramped. As she dropped to her hands and knees, a bullet cut through the air above her, where her head had been a moment earlier. Then she heard Branson’s angry cry a split-second before she scented the shift on him.
Go! Go! Go! Mac ordered her jaguar as it fought free of her clothing.
Mackenzie wears too much, Cait growled.
Go, Cait. We can’t lose him!
“Mac?”
The jaguar turned its head toward the voice. Jael stood at the back of the truck. Her right hand pressed against her left shoulder. Blood seeped between her fingers. Pain etched deep lines from the bridge of her nose to the corners of her mouth. But her eyes looked at the jaguar in concern.
She’s hurt! Mac said in the back of the jaguar’s mind.
We will make the lycan pay for hurting friend, Cait thought back at her.
The jaguar padded across the cooling pavement and stopped in front of Jael. The woman went still and then relaxed as Cait rubbed once against her leg. Then the jaguar turned and padded off across the parking lot. It paused near the edge of the deepest shadows and sniffed the air, ear tabs twitching as it searched for its prey.
We hunt!
Keeping to the shadows as much as it could, the jaguar moved through the streets of Dallas, tracking the lycan. Mac waited, watching, occasionally offering a suggestion on what t
o do when they temporarily lost the scent. The last thing they needed was for Branson to get away. If he did, the danger to the pride and those who looked to it would not be over.
Foolish wolf, Cait chuffed as they followed the wolf into a park. Mac chuckled her agreement. She knew the park well. She played in it as a child and patrolled it when she still walked a beat. There wasn’t an inch of the park she didn’t know. She doubted Branson could say the same. All they had to do was deal with the wolf before anyone else came upon them.
Which was unlikely this time of night since the park closed down at dusk.
The jaguar slowed. Its paws moved soundlessly along the grass as it stalked its prey. It heard the wolf panting from nearby. Good. It was time to end this. It had been a good hunt but now it was time to act.
Go high. Ambush the wolf, Mac said.
The jaguar didn’t need more encouragement than that.
* * *
“Damn it, where is she?”
“Easy, Jackson. We’ll find her,” Jael said from the backseat of the SUV. She gritted her teeth as Mateo managed to find yet another pot hole to drive over.
“We’d better,” the man growled.
Jael understood. When she saw Mac shift and take off after the lycan, she considered shooting the younger woman herself. At least then they’d know where she was. Now, they were driving blind until they either caught sight of the jaguar or one of the tech gurus spotted her or the lycan on traffic cam.
“There!” Mateo pointed toward the park entrance.
Jael looked just in time to see the unmistakable hind quarters of a jaguar disappear into the deep shadows of the trees.
The moment Mateo parked the SUV, Jackson and Jael were out. Mateo followed, speaking quickly, softly, into his comms. Jael listened with one corner of her brain as he identified their location and requested backup. Her main focus, however, was on finding Mac and making sure nothing else happened to her. If they managed to stumble across the lycan and put him out of their misery, so much the better.
“You need to stay here,” Jackson said as he pulled her to a stop.
“Not a chance in hell.”
“Jael, you’re wounded. The lycan will smell your blood and think you’re easy prey.”
She gave a deadly grin. “Good. Let him. It gives us a chance to deal with him once and for all.”
In fact, she was suddenly in the mood for a moonlight stroll through the park.
Before she could suggest doing just that, the silence of the night was shattered by the cry of a jungle cat. Jackson and Mateo stilled, their heads whipping in the direction of the sound. Then they took off running as a wolf’s howl followed.
“Damn it, Mac, if you get yourself killed, I’m going to kill you,” Jael rasped as she ran after them.
They followed the sounds of growls and yelps deeper into the trees. Jael’s heart skipped a beat when she heard the unmistakable pain filled cry of the jaguar. Adrenaline spiked and she raced toward the sounds. She cursed the fact she didn’t have her own inner animal to call on as the men outpaced her. It didn’t matter. They might be faster and stronger, but she was smarter.
She cut to the right, heading off the path. Ignoring the pain from her injured shoulder, she pushed through the underbrush. She and Mac had patrolled this park so many times she swore she never wanted to see it again. Now she thanked her luck for all those times she walked a beat here. She knew every shortcut, every hiding place. Hopefully, it would be enough.
Hang on, Mac. Just a little bit longer.
She slowed as she neared a clearing. The sounds of fighting were closer. She snugged the M4 against her left shoulder. It felt awkward there, but she knew better than to hold it against her injured shoulder. Slowly, making sure she did nothing to distract the jaguar, she inched forward. All she needed was one clean shot.
“Down!” she yelled as the wolf leapt at the jaguar.
The jaguar instantly crouched and leapt to one side. As it did, Jael’s finger squeezed the trigger. The wolf, already in mid-jump, cried out in pain as three bullets slammed into its side. The impact sent it spinning in the air. The jaguar was on it before it hit the ground. Jael raced forward, weapon at the ready, from one side of the opening while Jackson and Mateo appeared from the other.
“Easy, Mac,” Jackson said as he slowly approached.
The jaguar stood over the wolf, growling in warning. One paw, claws extended, rested on the wolf’s flank. The wolf panted shallowly. Blood welled up and pooled under it. A number of wounds caused by teeth and claws marked its body. But the fight wasn’t out of it. Not yet.
“Don’t!” Jackson snapped when it tried to struggle out from under the jaguar’s paw. He rested a hand on the jaguar’s head, his fingers caressing its ears. “Mateo.” He didn’t look at his wife’s cousin.
Mateo stepped up. He aimed his M1911 at the wolf’s head. A single shot sounded, echoing throughout the park. The wolf went limp beneath the jaguar’s paw. As it did, the sounds of sirens nearing filled the air.
Damn.
“Jael, give me your weapon,” Mateo said.
She obeyed without question. He took it and wiped it down. Then he made sure his prints were where they should be had he been the one to fire at the wolf. Once he had, he slung it over one shoulder. “Get her out of here. None of you need to be here when the cops arrive.” As he spoke, Sgt. Lee and a couple of others appeared.
“He’s right,” Jael said. The thought of having to try to explain why she was shot, why they had a jaguar with them and the dead wolf left her with a raging headache.
“Mac, c’mon. You can shift in the SUV.” Jackson pointed in the direction of the parking lot. “And then we will have a discussion about how you didn’t keep your promise.”
The jaguar ducked its head and Jael hid her smile. Yes, her friend was in trouble, well-deserved trouble as far as she was concerned.
“Go,” Mateo hissed.
Jackson grabbed Jael’s arm and led her after the jaguar as the jungle cat raced off. Running after it, Jael hoped this was the end of their troubles but worried it was just the first round. Well, maybe the second. After all, they’d already had to deal with Cassandra Wilkinson and then her father.
But, for now, she was ready to have her shoulder seen to—but after she’d made sure Mac was all right.
32
Nine days. That was how long it had been since Mac last stood in her house. Now she slowly limped inside from the garage. Her mouth tightened as she moved wrong and pain shot through her injured knee. As if sensing her discomfort, Jackson’s arm slid Jackson slid an arm around her waist, supporting her both physically and emotionally. Mac knew it was foolish to be worried about coming home, but she couldn’t help it. Her last memory in the house was facing down Caudell just before he shot her. It didn’t matter that he and the others personally responsible for what happened were either dead or in custody. The memory remained.
“Are you all right?” Jackson asked softly.
She nodded. It was the truth, at least up to a point. The fight with Branson had not been without cost. Her injured side and shoulder had taken a beating. The lycan focused his attack on them, knowing they were her weak spots. At one point, the wolf managed to latch onto her knee. In that moment, Mac worried he’d manage to tear her leg off before she’d broken free. Shifting in the back of the SUV had done too little, at least as far as she was concerned, to heal her. Worse, Patek had taken one look at her when they reached the safehouse and told her no more shifting until he said so. She’d put too much strain on her body and he wasn’t going to let her do anything else to endanger herself or the baby.
Now, with her family following, she moved through the kitchen into the front of the house. As she did, she said a quick prayer. Part of it was in thanks. So much could have gone wrong and almost did. Part of it, however, was a fervent hope someone had cleaned up the entry hall. She didn’t know if she’d be able to face looking at tangible proof of being shot and almost d
ying in her own home, the one place she thought she’d be safe.
“Sit.” Elizabeth motioned to Mac’s favorite recliner. “I’ll get you something to drink.”
She shook her head. She needed answers before anything else.
“The entry hall?” Might as well start with the easiest first.
“Don’t worry, love. Members of your squad, as well as some of the crime scene techs, came and cleaned everything up. Detective Tanaka said to tell you it was their way of saying thanks for all you’ve done for all of them over the years,” Jackson said.
“One of your neighbors took care of the yard,” Ellen took up. “He sent a crew over to repair the front yard. Unless you know what happened, you’d never be able to tell.”
Relieved, she leaned back. Tears of relief, of appreciation, burned her eyes. Not wanting to worry the others, she closed her eyes and tried to relax. As she did, she admitted she probably should have listened to Dr. Patek that morning. He’d told her in no uncertain terms she needed another couple of days to recover and wanted her to remain at the safehouse where they had a clinic set up. Then they’d be able to monitor her and make sure she healed as quickly as possible. But she wanted to return home. She knew the longer she put it off, the harder it would be. Her home, her haven, had been violated and, with it, her peace of mind. For the first time, she understood how those who had been victimized in their homes felt.
“Mac?” Concern roughened Jackson’s voice. She smiled slightly as his hand stroked her hair. “Do you want me to help you upstairs?”
“No.” She shook her head. “I know it’s foolish, but it’s hard.” She opened her eyes and saw him nod in understanding.
“You need to rest so you’ll heal, child,” Ellen said.
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