Desert Bound

by Elizabeth Hunter

  “Yeah.”

  Ted said, “Frank says he sent a couple guys over to keep an eye on the hotel. Avery’s truck has mysteriously slashed tires, so he’s not going anywhere.”

  “Good.”

  Alex heard clothes rustling, then something thumped against his legs. He looked down at the diamondback who was head-butting him in the calf.

  “Stop bitching, Sean. She’s not going to drop you.”

  “Unless you bite me,” Harper said. “Then all bets are off.” A moment after that the eagle shimmered to life, hopping over the grass until she hovered above the snake. She jumped up, wings spread, and grabbed the twisting snake in her talons. Alex heard Sean’s rattle a second before Harper wings beat against the air and the two lifted into the sky.

  He opened his phone and hit Frank’s number as he and Ted got in the truck.

  “Alex. How’s Josie?”

  “Terrified,” he said over the engine roaring to life. “What the hell was Avery thinking?”

  “I do not know, my friend. But he’s not going anywhere now. There’s still no sign of the children, but my men are there, keeping an eye on the room.”

  “I have people headed toward you, and Ted and I will get in the car now.”

  He waved at Old Quinn, who nodded back, arm still around Josie’s shoulders.

  “But no one’s seen the kids?”

  “No. But that doesn’t mean anything. They saw the car and called it in. Identified Avery when he walked out to get groceries from the car. The children might be in the room and away from the windows.”

  “Groceries are a good sign.”

  “We’ll keep watching. Are you sure you don’t want us to go in to look for the kids?”

  Josie said the her brother had doted on the children. She’d never imagined he would hurt them. Alex didn’t know where Avery’s mind was, but he was guessing that—in his own twisted way—Chris Avery thought he was rescuing his sister’s kids.

  “Not… yet.”

  “If that changes, you let me know.”

  “I appreciate this, Frank,” Alex said, “But I need another favor. I have people headed your direction, and they’re going to need some sweats or something.”

  “Sweats?”

  “Sweats. Coveralls, even. A man and a woman. He’s around six feet. She’s tall, too. Just get them something to cover up when they get there, a phone they can use to call me, and please no questions.”

  There was silence on the other line. Ted turned left on Spring Street just as sheriff’s cruisers turned.

  Finally, Frank said, “Is this part of those secrets you and Ted keep?”

  “Don’t ask questions you know I can’t answer, Frank.”

  “It’s hard when you’re making me curious, son.”

  Ted pulled up to the stoplight at Spring and Main. The truck’s back door was wrenched open just as the light turned. Caleb Gilbert jumped inside.

  The chief of police barked, “Go!” and Ted took off.

  “Is this Alex?”

  “Harper? What’s happening?”

  Two hours later, Ted, Caleb, and Alex were still driving, but Harper flew as the eagle flies, which meant he’d been expecting her call, so he put it on speakerphone.

  “We’re here,” she said. “Sean’s still alive and wearing really ugly coveralls. Some guys are here. They say they’re Frank’s men? You want them to stick around?”

  Alex turned to Caleb, who was frowning. Slowly, he shook his head at Alex and he got the message.

  “Send them home,” Alex said. “Avery’s human. The Sheriff’s Department is already involved. We need to call Vegas PD.”

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  By the time they arrived at the Rest Eazee Inn outside of Henderson, the parking lot was swarming with cops.

  Caleb leaned forward over the front seat. “What the hell?”

  He flipped open his phone and in a few seconds was shouting at it.

  “Devin, what the hell is going on? I call in a possible sighting and pull into a mobile command unit with SWAT presence!”

  Ted was just trying to figure out where to park. She pulled into a spot outside the lighted area and sat back, listening to Caleb rail.

  “How did it turn into a hostage situation, Dev? This didn’t need to be a hostage situation. I told them I was coming up here to talk to the guy. I told them the kids were his—”

  The sudden silence made Ted’s stomach clench.

  “What do you mean there’s only one kid in there?” Caleb switched to speakerphone.

  “—couldn’t stop them from calling backup. He was yelling and screaming. The next door neighbor called the cops, too. Management. They said they’ve heard one kid crying. An officer went to the door and Avery shot through it. They followed procedure. Called it in. They’re trying to make contact, but no one’s answering the phone.”

  Alex was fuming. “What the hell’s going on in there?”

  Caleb said, “Dev, I’ll keep you updated.”

  “Talk to a Lieutenant Eric Boxer. He knows you’re coming. He doesn’t know that Ted and Alex are with you.”

  Caleb hung up the phone and moved to get out of the car. Alex put a hand on his arm.

  “What can we do?”

  “Nothing, until I find out more. They might be willing to let you talk to him, since you know him. I’ll play it up like you’re a friend of the family.”

  Ted said, “I’ll try to find Sean and Harper.”

  She got out of the truck and hiked toward the lonely pay phone at the corner. She stopped and turned, scanning the parking lot for any familiar faces.

  “Sean?” she hissed. “Harper?”

  Voices came from behind her. “Here, Ted.”

  She turned to see Harper in a black sedan wearing blue mechanic’s coveralls.

  “Where’s Sean? And whose car is this?”

  “It’s either Vito or Guido. Not too sure.”

  “Vito?”

  Harper got out, holding out the keys to Ted as she shrugged. “Frank’s guys. Someone came and picked them up. Left the car here for me and Sean.”

  “Where’s Sean?”

  She nodded toward the lit up parking lot. “He shifted to get closer. Went around the back.”

  Ted took a deep breath. “Let’s hope none of the SWAT team are phobic about snakes.”

  Sean felt the cool crawl of dust on his belly. The unmistakable taste of panic in the air. Two of the children were in the room, but not the third. And Chris Avery was not in good shape.

  It was an old building with a raised foundation, so he slipped underneath, into the shadows past the brightly lit parking lot. Bullhorn shouts beat against his ears. The subfloor of the motel was rotten with garbage and dead rodents. He could hear scrambling on the floor.

  Two children.

  No, one child.

  No, two.

  His rattle trembled when the puzzle pieces locked into place.

  He had to get into that room.

  Sean was lucky. Rodents had gotten there first, burrowing into the walls, following the pipes that led up to where the food and water would be. He slid along one, seeking an entrance. He spied a pinprick of light and in a blink, he’d shifted.

  The tiny lizard crawled up the back of the wall, poking his head through to see the dark shape of Chris Avery thrashing on the floor.

  “L-little… freak,” the man spat out. “Fucking… little… bitch.”

  Before he lost his temper and shifted through the wall, he darted into the room.

  He could smell her venom in the air. The lethal neurotoxin had already started working on Avery. The young snake had struck twice. Once on his hand and another on his face. Avery was muttering partly because his jaw had already swelled to the point that Sean was surprised he was able to talk at all. The hand must have been the first bite. It was bleeding and raw. Instead of going to the door and getting help, the man had huddled against a wall, clutching his hand and spitting curses at the bed.r />
  He could hear a boy crying in the bathroom. He shifted, the shivers wracking his body as he stretched and twisted. Pinpricks of pain rushed along his newly human skin, and he broke out in a cold sweat.

  Blinking, he lay staring up at the ceiling as Avery began choking on his own spit.

  “What the f-fuck?” he moaned. “What the—”

  “Shut up,” Sean snarled. “Where is she?”

  Avery’s eyes widened. “I don’t know.”

  “Are the boys okay?”

  “Fuck you. I would never hurt them. I was trying to get them away from you freaks. Kasey—”

  He started choking again. Sean knew that Avery had less than an hour to live unless he could get medical treatment. Young snake venom was especially toxic. And shifter venom was even more toxic than most. Since he’d smelled the neurotoxic venom in the air, he knew what form Kasey had taken. He had to be very, very careful.

  “Kasey?” He shuffled along the floor. The lights were still shining through the closed drapes, and he didn’t want to give the cops a shadow to shoot at. “Kasey, it’s Uncle Sean.”

  “Uncle Sean?” a small voice from the bathroom called.

  He ducked and scrambled to the door. Little Mark was huddled in the bathtub, clutching a stuffed otter. There were tears in his eyes.

  “Hey buddy.”

  “Uncle Sean, Kasey—”

  “I know, bud. Can you stay here while I look for her? Keep quiet so we don’t scare her?”

  He nodded.

  Sean’s eyes swept the bathroom, but his senses hadn’t been mistaken. “Where’s Trevor?”

  “He ran away. Uncle Chris was taking us to the car to see Grandma and Grandpa, but Trevor ran. Is he with Mommy?”

  Trevor hadn’t been at the house, so Sean was guessing the boy had sensed the danger and run off. Hopefully, the trackers had already picked him up.

  “Stay here, Mark. Stay in the bathtub. I’m going to close the door, okay?”

  The boy nodded and Sean eased the door closed, then crawled back to Avery.

  Chris Avery had lost consciousness, and his body was starting to seize. Sean had to decide. Let Avery choke on his own vomit or find Kasey before the police came crashing in?

  Not really a question.

  The room phone started to ring. He ignored it.

  “Kasey, honey?”

  He heard a soft rattle from under the bed, but he didn’t approach.

  “Kasey, he isn’t going to hurt you anymore. It’s safe.”

  Another rattle, but no sounds of movement. He took a deep breath and tried to calm the panicked girl.

  Ten was young for a shift, but it could happen. Sometimes traumatic injury or fear could flip the switch early, throwing a child into a shift as a survival mechanism. The danger was, shifting back for younger kids was harder. The old people said at the beginning of things some young shifters went wild and couldn’t find their way back.

  “Kasey,” he whispered. “I need you to come back, honey. Mark is scared right now. We need to get him back to your mom.”

  There was a shifting under the bed and a small Mohave green rattlesnake slid out from under the bed. Its body was curled and wary, braced for danger as its tail shook back and forth. Kasey’s tongue was out, tasting the air. Sean took deep calming breaths when he saw the spot of blood on the crown of her head.

  The phone rang, but Sean kept his eyes on Kasey.

  “I’m going to stay right here. I won’t come any closer.”

  The rattling stayed steady, but the snake’s body relaxed on the ground.

  “Good girl. Now, you need to picture—”

  A sharp bark from one of the police bull horns sent Kasey back under the bed.

  “Shit!” They were growing impatient. He had to get the girl safe. Sean didn’t think he could get her to follow him in snake form out of the room. And if the police burst in and saw Avery dead from a snake bite, they’d kill whatever bit him as soon as they found it.

  “Ignore them, honey. We need to get you back with your mom. Just picture yourself in the mirror. Try to imagine laying in your bed first thing in the morning, okay?”

  The rattling stopped.

  “You ever do that? I do. I love to lay around in bed. Used to make my mom really mad. But the way my window was when I was your age, the light would come in just right and hit my bed if I let the curtains open…”

  He kept talking, trying to distract her from the sharp shouts of the men outside. The flashing lights that still broke through the curtains.

  “Just picture it in your mind, honey. Feel yourself stretching out like you’re getting aaaaall the kinks out of your back. You feel your legs? Point your toes, Kasey.”

  There was a shifting on the other side of the bed.

  “Stretch your arms out. Feel the muscles there?” He battled back the instinct to shift and hide when he heard footsteps. “You’re such a strong girl, Kas. I bet you were the one who told Mark to get in the bathtub, huh? That was smart, honey. You’re a good big sister.”

  Sean kept his voice steady, even as he heard the footsteps coming closer. The police were going to break through the door. It had been quiet too long.

  “Kasey—”

  A rustling on the opposite side of the bed. A small cry of pain.

  “I’m here.”

  He closed his eyes in relief.

  “I can’t find my nightgown though. I’m all naked.”

  He spied it in the corner of the room and threw it to her.

  “Put it on. Quick. The men coming through the door are police, so I need to—”

  The door crashed open and light poured into the room. Sean’s eyes flashed to the first figure in the room.

  “What the fu—”

  It was a second before the man disappeared and the lizard skittered under the bed.

  Within seconds, he was in the wall.

  “Kasey?” he heard one of the officers call.

  “What the hell was that?”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “There was a guy. Then there wasn’t.”

  “Clear! Suspect on the ground. Unconscious. No weapon.”

  “Kasey, we’re the police. We’re gonna take you home.”

  “My brother’s in the bathroom. Mark!”

  More feet and the sound of doors opening cautiously. “Mark? Trevor? I’m a police officer. Don’t be scared.”

  “We’re going to take you back to your mom now, okay?”

  The officers were being gentle with her. Calm. He heard one of them calling for a medic for Avery. Heard him calling out medical information over the radio, but Sean focused on the kids. He heard Mark start to cry in the bathroom again, but Kasey was there.

  “It’s okay, Marky. The policeman’s going to take us back to mom.”

  “What happened?”

  “—boy and a girl. No sign of the other boy. No injuries apparent. We’re bringing them out now.”

  “Kasey, are you hurt?”

  The sound of gagging.

  “She’s vomiting. Pete, get a trashcan or something. And get another medic—”

  “Pulse is irregular. Get a board. We need to get him out of here as soon as possible. No anti venom in the truck.”

  “—might be shock. She’s sweating like crazy.”

  “Where’s the other boy?”

  “—on the phone with San Bernardino.”

  “Kasey, honey? Kasey, what happened to your uncle?”

  “—wait until she’s at the hospital, Brannon.”

  “I need to know what this is! I’ve never seen this kind of reaction before. Did it bite the kids?”

  “Kasey?”

  Sean waited for her to speak. Skittered closer to the hole in the wall to look through.

  The girl was huddled in the corner, clutching a trashcan. Her brother hung on her shoulder, but the girl sat up straight, her eyes plastered to the seizing man they were strapping down to the board in front of her. Sean blin
ked. Looked again. But the girl’s eyes didn’t waver. The police crouched around her, waiting for her to speak.

  Finally, she whispered, “There was a snake.”

  “Let me through!” Ted shouted as soon as she saw the kids. “I’m their doctor. Let me through!”

  She ran toward Caleb, who was shouting at someone in a black uniform.

  “Caleb?”

  “Yes, she is their doctor,” he yelled. “And a friend of their mom’s. Get her over there and let’s focus on finding Trevor!”

  Ted walked toward Kasey and Mark. No one stopped her.

  “Kasey!” she called out.

  “Doctor Ted?” The girl’s eyes came to her and her shoulders slumped.

  Just then, a stretcher raced past her. As soon as Ted saw Chris Avery, she knew exactly what had happened. Her eyes flew to Kasey’s, and the girl started to cry.

  Ted ran to her, pulled her away from the officer in black BDUs and into a fierce hug. She was shivering, but Ted guessed they were the normal shakes that happened after a first shift.

  She whispered, “Good girl, Kasey.”

  “I didn’t mean to—”

  “You were scared and you protected your brothers. Good girl.”

  “Trevor’s not here.”

  “What?” She looked around. Mark was sitting in the back of an ambulance, sucking on a juice box as a ponytailed paramedic checked him out, but there was no Trevor.

  “Trevor ran. I don’t know where he is.”

  “Okay, sweetie. Don’t worry. We’ll find him.”

  “I’m sorry, Doctor Ted. I didn’t mean—”

  “Shhhh.” She pressed the girl’s face to hers and whispered, “Not here.”

  Kasey clammed up immediately and nodded.

  “Let’s get you checked out, okay? How are you feeling?”

  “I threw up a lot, and I’m really cold.”

  She squeezed the girl’s hand and brought out her phone at the same time. Then she flipped to Alex’s number and hit ‘call.’

  “Ted, what’s going on? They won’t let me close.”

  “Avery was bit by a snake.” She let the silence hang until she knew Alex must have caught on. “Not sure what kind, but he’s in bad shape. Kasey and Mark are okay. No injuries. Get on the phone to Old Quinn. We don’t know where Trevor is.”