by Thorne, Elle
“I’m sure they would,” Sara said, hating herself for lying to these people, especially after their kindness.
Sara was saved by her stomach. It rumbled so loud that even the humans heard it. Astra and Kelsey burst into laughter.
“Let’s eat.” Kelsey indicated a table full of food. “Mae brought some over, but she couldn’t stay. After closing the shop, she was taking some soup to Tanner and Marti.”
“What would we ever do without Mae?” Kane laughed.
“Indeed.” Doc’s voice was low.
Sara studied the handsome doctor shifter, then turned her glance to the other two shifters. She hadn’t been around this many shifters… any shifters, really, since… She pushed the memories away and took the plate that Kelsey handed her.
Joe sat next to her. She had a heightened sense of his body next to hers. It was as if they were connected by an invisible field of energy. Her own body pulsed with awareness of his, of what they’d done, of the feelings he brought out in her.
Hell, she wished it was as simple as the words “brought out.” Joe didn’t just bring feelings out. He completely and totally overwhelmed her senses. Everything was amplified with him next to her.
A shiver ran through her. She should run away as fast as she could. This was too much, too real, too… She couldn’t even come up with the words. Yes, I’ve got to get out of here. Like, quickly. She glanced out the cabin’s window. It was still light outside. She’d leave as soon as it was dark, when everyone was gone. She’d sneak away like a thief in the night.
I suck. I really suck. Can’t believe I’d do that to him.
Her bear growled in agreement.
I don’t want to hear your thoughts on it. You know they’re all better off with me gone.
Especially Joe.
Chapter Fourteen
Sara breathed easily for the first time in a long time. And it wasn’t lost on her that she’d not had this kind of peace since she was a child.
The easy camaraderie of the shifters and their mates was comforting. Ivan was in his element with the group, enjoying the attention, showing his mother how he’d learned to shift back and forth, quickly, easily, and seamlessly. Sara bit back the tears as she watched her little one showing off his newly learned skill.
“Look, Mama.” He growled and shifted again into a little bear, stood on his hind legs and let out a roar.
“That’s wonderful.”
I hate that I have to take you away from all this and back to a miserable life on the road with just your mother for company.
Joe’s dark gaze bored into her. She wondered if he could read her mind.
Of course not, don’t be silly, she chastised herself.
But yet, there was something about the way he watched her, as if he knew something. As if he were privy to her darkest secrets.
“So, where are you from?” Kelsey asked.
Sara froze. Here we go. The questions she didn’t want to answer.
“She’s from Canada,” Joe answered.
“What shifter family?” Kane put his fork in his mouth, but the tone that he’d used raised a question within Sara.
“I don’t have a family.” Sara hoped her tone would dissuade more conversation on the topic.
But it didn’t. They all stared at her, waiting.
Fine, but I’m not going into detail and I’m not telling them about Crossroads. “They were killed.”
“That’s something many of us have experience with,” Astra said, her eyes glowing. “You’ll be safe here.” She said it with such assurance that Sara had to wonder why she was so sure.
“She’s right,” Doc agreed. “There are several of us, and among us we have a network of friends that extends across several continents.”
She wasn’t going to risk their lives to find out if they really could keep her safe. She wasn’t going to do that to them. And she wasn’t doing that to Joe. They simply didn’t understand. And she couldn’t explain Crossroads to them.
“This is great.” She pointed to the pot roast with her fork. “Tell Mae thank you.” She wondered who Mae was.
“You’ll get a chance to tell her yourself.” Doc glanced at his phone. “She said she’d stop by after she closed up shop and delivered the soup.”
“You’re staying for a while, right?” Astra got straight to the point.
“I’m not sure.”
“Yes, Mama, let’s stay.” Ivan shoved a piece of garlic toast in his mouth. “I like it here and I want to meet Dominic. He has a cold right now, but he’ll be better tomorrow, maybe.”
Great. Just damned great.
Sara looked down so she wouldn’t be giving anyone a dirty look. This was not working out at all. Now Ivan was on their side.
Their side? She immediately felt horrible for thinking this way. They’d done nothing but help her and Ivan. Her bear grumbled agreement with that thought.
Yeah, when you’ve been on your own as long as I have, you get this way.
Her bear snarled.
I know you were there. You don’t know what I mean. I was helpless. Powerless. Completely under someone else’s control.
Her bear released a roar that made Sara want to hold her hands over her ears.
I know. I’m sorry. I should have thought about it from your perspective. You were just as powerless. And you couldn’t help me. I’m sorry.
She was sorry. She realized it couldn’t have been easy for her bear to sit back and watch her being manipulated, tortured, pried, prodded, and even raped.
“Sara?” It was Joe.
Everyone was staring at her, concern on their faces. She realized they’d been talking to her. Had they asked her a question?
“Sorry. Lost in thought.” She glanced at Joe.
The way he was looking at her made her nervous. She couldn’t get over the feeling that he knew what was in her mind. In her heart.
“I was saying you could stay with us,” Kelsey repeated. “I run the Bed & Breakfast for Mae. We always have rooms reserved for special visitors.” She smiled at Ivan. “You two are very special visitors.”
“How far along are you?” Sara asked. She’d scented Kelsey’s baby, and she could hear the baby’s heart beating strong inside its mother.
Kelsey gasped.
Teague burst into laughter.
Astra squealed.
Kane and Doc exchanged knowing looks and smiles.
“It was a secret.” Kelsey’s voice was a high-pitched, excited one.
“Like I didn’t know.” Teague took her hand.
“I don’t think I like this. I can’t even surprise you with the good news,” she huffed.
“Maybe you should have told me.” Kelsey gave Teague a mock frown.
Sara felt bad. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize it wasn’t public already.”
“It’s okay.” Kelsey reached across and put her hand on Sara’s arm. “We really don’t have many secrets from each other. It’s better that way.” She drew a deep breath in. “I guess a part of me was keeping it quiet because of the last time.” She looked at Teague. “I lost our baby more than two years ago. It was a rough time. When I saw Ivan that day, I was just coming to grip with certain emotions.”
Now Sara understood the sadness that had crossed over her face. “I’m sorry.”
Teague put his arm around Kelsey. “We’ve come to terms with it. We know there was probably a reason that it happened and we don’t question it anymore.” He kissed Kelsey on the forehead and put his hand on her tummy. “Everything’s better now.”
Kelsey nodded.
Tears welled up in Sara’s eyes. She pushed them back. She was happy for what they had, and sad she didn’t have that, and never would. She wondered if she and Joe could ever have had that.
Feeling eyes on her, Sara looked up.
Joe.
His eyes were almost black, his gaze intense. He was looking toward the window. “I’ll be back in a bit. Something I need to take care of.”
He was just leaving? Just like that? Leaving her alone? It wasn’t that she didn’t trust all of them, for they gave the vibes off that she could trust them with her life… but still… it was Joe’s home and she was his guest.
He ruffled Ivan’s hair and said, “See you soon, little man.” He grabbed a set of keys from the table next to the door and headed out.
“Bye, Joe,” Ivan called out. “See you soon.”
Odd. What the hell? Just like that, he was gone? “He’s coming back soon, like he said, right?” she asked the others.
“Probably. Not sure what he’s going to do.” Doc frowned, giving a sidelong glance to Kane and Teague.
Something about this worried her. But what could she do? She could be ungracious and leave with Ivan right now, and not get to say goodbye to Joe, or she could have a few moments with him this evening and leave in the middle of the night.
Like a criminal, her bear reminded her.
Sara ignored it. She wasn’t up to arguing with her bear. Not now. She couldn’t deal with her bear, her emotions about leaving, and her emotions for Joe all at the same time. She had to pick her battles.
She rose from her seat and went to the window to see if she could get a glimpse of Joe. “I wonder what’s so important he had to go.” She had a feeling the shifters knew something.
She saw movement and turned her head in that direction. The first thing she noticed was Joe’s truck. Then she saw a form.
It was Joe, reaching into his truck. She bit back a gasp when she saw he’d pulled out a box with a handle. She knew what kind of box that was. That it housed a rifle. What would he be doing with a rifle?
She kept watching. He leaned in again and pulled out…
A pair of tomahawks? Really? Did those things even exist except in tourist areas and kids’ toys? Shows how much I know. I guess I’ve never really been around any Native American people. Not the kind who would carry or have any of those.
She turned back to the shifters at the table. She knew better than to think that Joe was hunting. Not now. Not while everyone was here. “Why would Joe have a rifle?”
“Joe used to be a sniper.” Doc’s words were matter-of-fact.
“I thought he was in the rodeo,” Kelsey said. “That’s what Marti told me.”
“He was that too, but he was a sniper before that. One of the best, according to Grant. Not that Joe will talk about it.”
So why is he taking a rifle out? Sara didn’t like where this was making her mind go.
“I think I’ll take a walk.” She had to find out what Joe was up to. For some reason it plagued her greatly. She looked at Kelsey. “Can I leave Ivan with you?”
“Of course. Always.” Kelsey got up from the table and picked up a book. “Let’s read, Ivan.”
“Kelsey.” Sara choked on the lump that had decided to set up residence in her throat.
“Yes?” Ivan in her lap, Kelsey looked up from the book they were reading.
“Nothing.” Sara turned away, then abruptly turned back. “I don’t have family.” She swallowed hard, willing the lump away, but it only grew bigger and bigger. “I don’t have anyone. If anything ever happened…”
“Hey, now,” Kane said.
Astra put her arm around her. “Nothing’s going to happen. I promise you.”
That’s a promise you can’t keep. You have no idea what I’m up against.
She had to get the thought out. “Seriously. If anything should. Ivan… I’d like…”
Fuck. Fuck!
She couldn’t get the words out. She tried to clear her throat but it was too dry and there was nothing to clear it with.
“I will,” Kelsey said.
That was all Kelsey said, but it was all that Sara needed. “Thank you.” She knelt and kissed Ivan on his head. His hair was soft against her lips. She fought back the urge to squeeze him with all her might, to shift and take him away from the world.
God damn the Crossroads people.
She had to go see what Joe was up to. And make sure he wasn’t wandering a forest alone, where he could be hurt.
Chapter Fifteen
In camouflage, his face completely marked up to hide his flesh, barely visible even to the fauna in the forest, Joe surveyed the men with the scope. He was high up in a tree, one of the many spots in the forest that he’d identified over the years, growing up here, making his way around with his grandfather.
He pulled the scope into a tighter focus. Four men. All the men who had been there. All dead. None remained alive to interrogate or to follow. Joe had killed them from about as far away as he used to shoot when he was in the military.
Haven’t lost the touch.
Killing wasn’t something he was proud of, but it was something he was good at. He knew they’d been up to no good. He’d watched them follow Sara’s tracks. Shooting them wasn’t a tough decision to make. He’d shoot damn near anyone to protect Sara and Ivan.
Finding them had been easy. He raised his eyes skyward, thankful for the gifts he’d received from his grandfather. The ability to read the forest and be in touch with its creatures was something he’d never taken for granted. It was also something he’d never appreciated as much as he did now.
Joe had studied the men. The way they’d carried themselves and the way their clothes were creased and tucked gave away a military training.
All of them had been armed with pistols. Clearly not your average hunters. They were hunters of men. Or in this case, a woman and a child.
Silly, he thought, for them not to have something more powerful. In her bear form, those pistols wouldn’t even be able to slow Sara down, not in the least.
Unless the pistols didn’t have rounds in them. Unless they had whatever it was that had made her unable to shift or move. He sneered, a look of disgust curling his lip and marking his handsome face.
Anyone who would do that to a woman was beneath contempt. Yes, he’d find them. All these men who came to his territory and tried to hurt the ones he loved.
A security team, surely sent from Crossroads.
He’d find out more about Crossroads and its location and those in charge of it later. Right now he’d take care of the issues at hand: the men in his territory.
There were more of these men. He hadn’t found a vehicle, not yet, but he would. He’d find the others and he’d take care of them. Then he’d return to his cabin and make Sara his. He’d take good care of her and Ivan, give them the lives they deserved.
He shouldered his rifle and climbed down the tree he’d been in, making his way down with the ease of one practiced in maneuvering in trees and forests.
Making his way through the densely treed forest with stealth, Joe kept his awareness heightened. He wasn’t sure if the others were hiding or tracking. He let nature show him the signs of their path in the form of broken twigs, displaced leaves and an occasional missed boot print. Police issue, it looked like.
Joe’s extra senses picked up a sound. Controlling his pulse, he leaned against a bush and made himself one with the forest while he waited for the source of the sound.
Half a dozen men marched by, more interested in their conversation while the head man tracked Sara. They were headed for his cabin. Not good.
“I’d like to find her before dark,” one of the men said.
“We will. These tracks aren’t old,” another said.
That completely summed it up for Joe. They were after Sara.
Would he take all of them on with a rifle? That wouldn’t do. His rifle was better from a distance. He only had one pair of tomahawks, and there were half a dozen men here.
These odds suck.
He wasn’t stupid. He’d wait. Biding his time had always been one of his strengths. He let the men get ahead of him. They wouldn’t be a problem to keep up with. He could intercept them and take them out one at a time before
they arrived at his cabin.
* * *
“I don’t like this,” Sara muttered. She wasn’t crazy about the idea of Joe wandering about in a forest that might have Crossroads goons in it.
She heard a noise, then felt heartbeats, and froze. Sara held her breath. She was prepared to kill and even be killed if it would put an end to the hunt. If it would keep her son safe. If it would keep Joe alive.
She shifted into her bear and stood in between two large pine trees. The wind teased the pine needles near her ear, but she didn’t let it interfere with her concentration. Low, rustling sounds came from the left: soft steps in the soil and an occasional leaf being crushed. Her bear’s intensity was riveted to whatever was approaching.
Sara poised, mighty bear arms raised, claws ready to deal lethal blows.
“It’s us.” Kane’s voice.
She shifted into her human form quickly. “What are you doing here?”
Kane, Teague, and Doc appeared from between the trees.
“You’re not serious.” Teague frowned. “You’re one of us.”
A burning in her eyes made her curse the response she had to his words. Damn Teague for saying the one thing that would make her emotional. She bit the tears back and the burn migrated to the bridge of her nose.
“Plus, Ivan needs his mama.” Teague smiled. She could see what Kelsey saw in this man, though no man had the same effect on her that Joe did.
Joe. Damn that hardheaded man. “We need to find Joe.”
“What are you worried about, Sara?” Doc frowned at her. “Who could be a threat to Joe out here? This is our forest. Our land, our territory. No shifter in his right mind would challenge that.”
“It’s not a shifter that worries me.”
“Then…?”
“Can we get to Joe first? I’d rather save the explaining for later.”
“Sure, but—”
The sound of a shot interrupted Kane.
Then another. And another.
Sara flinched with each shot.
Doc’s face grew serious.
“Shit,” Teague hissed.