by Thorne, Elle
“I rest my case. They’ll never let you go again. Plus, this way, if one of us gets caught, the other one will still be out and able to help, or at least rescue Petra.”
“What if you get caught by those wolves, and this time you piss them off? I don’t like this plan at all.”
“Look, Cy.” She took his hand. “Gavin’s not going to help you, and he’s not going to help me help you.”
“Because you dumped him?”
“Yes—Wait, how did you know?” Had Gavin told Cy something? She fumed Gavin might have misled him.
“Call it a hunch.”
She eyed him suspiciously. “That’s a pretty lucky hunch.”
He shrugged.
She continued, “I can’t call my brother. I don’t want to.” But… why didn’t she want to call Vax? She couldn’t think of a good reason. Maybe she just wanted to be someone other than a girl who had to be saved. Not that Vax would treat her that way, or ever had, but her father had always made her feel like girls were second best to boys. Wow. Maybe I’m pretty fucked up.
Nah, her father was the one who was pretty fucked up. “Just get to Houston alive. I’ll meet you in The Woodlands, by the waterway, around by the pavilion. Think you can find it?”
“I’ll find your scent.” He kissed her lips, his tongue tempting her with promises.
Chapter Eighteen
Cy walked Lila to her car, and she got in and started it. As she watched him in the rearview mirror, a wave of sadness washed over her. There was something about leaving him behind that bothered her and her tigress.
Be careful, she mouthed, knowing he couldn’t hear her.
She made it back to Tiero Tower One in less than thirty minutes. After pulling into her spot in the parking garage, she slipped her key into the elevator to unlock it. She had to use a different key to go to her own floor. Pressing the button, she tapped her heel on the tile, impatient and very, very ready to get on the road again.
She exited the elevator and almost ran into one of Gavin’s men standing by the door.
“Hi, Grayson.” She waved nonchalantly, as though she hadn’t been through a bunch of shit tonight, and as though her dress wasn’t torn and bloody.
“Lila.” He nodded his acknowledgment then immediately turned and started to talk into an earpiece.
She didn’t think she’d be lucky enough for him to be taking to a girlfriend. Oh, hell, no. She was willing to put money on it he was reporting in to Gavin. Damn the luck. Still, without acting too suspicious, she walked nonchalantly to her apartment.
There was no time for a shower, so she wet a washcloth and ran it over the bloody areas, sponging off the scars that had formed.
Done, she slipped into a pair of jeans, stopping to check out her ass in the mirror, wiggling to get a better fit. Next, a black T-shirt, some black boots, and she was good to go.
Shit! She’d forgotten the block. She’d run up to Vax’s office—she knew where he kept his stash. Once she’d grabbed her keys, her cell—and her charger, for goodness’s sake—she opened the door and ran out.
Damn!
She ran into a broad chest in a crisp white shirt and a jacket.
She bounced back.
Gavin.
Damn the luck.
Chapter Nineteen
Cy shifted into his tiger skin and loped toward his vehicle. He’d left it on the outskirts of Dallas, on the north side, when he’d first arrived to Tiero territory. Quite a haul away. He had no choice; he was going to have to lope the whole way there. Time was of the essence.
He was torn. On one hand, he had to get to his sister immediately. Her three-day death sentence wasn’t sitting well with him. On the other hand, the woman he would claim as his mate was going off on her own, into the same danger his sister was in. He didn’t know she wasn’t going to do something stupid that would get her killed.
His tiger growled.
Okay, he hadn’t meant to think the word stupid. Maybe foolhardy was a better word. Or bold. Or crazy.
The tiger growled again. Well, I’m not any happier than you are about her decision.
“I’m thinking, I’m thinking.” He pulled the SUV out of the parking lot he’d left it in. He hadn’t even had time to catch his breath. “I think I have a solution.” Why the hell was he talking to his tiger out loud? “Jeez, I’ve lost it.”
His tiger rumbled in agreement.
He took his cell out and flipped through the contacts with his index finger. He’d call the only person he trusted.
His tiger rumbled in agreement again.
The phone’s ring was shrill in his ear. “Come on, answer. Answer already.” Finally, a connection was made.
“Hello?” The most welcoming voice he’d heard in a long time answered. It was the voice of someone who had become like a big sister or an aunt to him and Petra.
“Mae?”
“Cy?” He knew she was smiling from the way her voice changed. “How are you? How is Petra?” Then her voice turned serious. “I don’t think it’s a good thing that you’re calling me, is it? What’s going on?”
He could never hide anything from Mae Forester; she was practically psychic. He ran through the story of Petra’s disappearance.
Mae spoke up. “Okay. Let me see how I can help.”
“Wait. Mae. There’s more.”
She paused, and he could hear her breathing on the other end.
“There’s a girl. Lila Tiero—”
“Vax’s baby sister. Well, half-sister, to be precise.”
“Yes! Well, she’s trying to help, but I’m worried about her.” He brought Mae up to speed with everything but how he felt about Lila.
“You don’t have to tell me the rest,” Mae said. “I can hear it in your voice. Let me make some calls.”
“She’s going to hate me for this. I don’t think she likes being babied.”
“I’ll be sensitive to that when I make arrangements.”
He blew out a breath and kept his foot steady on the gas. He fought back the urge to tell her how worried he was.
“Look, Cy, have I ever let you down?”
She was right, she hadn’t. “Okay. Just keep me posted? Please? Lila means a lot to me.”
Mae’s tone softened. “I know, Cy. I know how hard it is for you to feel this, and I know how much harder it is for you to say it. We’ll make sure your mate comes out of this unscathed.”
“Wait, no, I didn’t say she’s my—”
The line went dead. Mae, as always, had hit the nail on the head. Even though she lived a ways from him in Bear Canyon Valley, she’d always been there for him and Petra. He owed her so much. If Mae called and asked him to help with anything, anything at all, he’d be on the road immediately.
He wondered how many shifters owed her.
Two hours plus, and more than a hundred miles later, Cy hadn’t heard a word from Mae. He was more than halfway to Houston and had no clue what was going on. Worse, he didn’t even have Lila’s cell number. What the hell was wrong with him? Was his brain gone?
The not knowing was killing him. He called Mae, who answered on the first ring.
“I was just going to call you,” she said.
“Catch me up. What have you done?” And how much would Lila hate him when this was all over?
“I called Vax.”
Shit. That didn’t bode well. The last thing Lila would want was her big brother rescuing her. “What did he say?”
“He called Gavin.”
Ah, double shit. “And?”
“Vax told Gavin to give Lila whatever she wants to help her.”
Maybe that wasn’t so bad, after all. “Why do I have the feeling there’s more?”
He kept his eyes on the road. A green sign in the grass by the roadside advised that Huntsville was a few miles away. Another sign warned him not to pick up hitchhikers as this was a prison area.
Lila would be driving through this? As long as her adversaries were human, she’d be f
ine. Throw a bunch of shifters into the mix, and Cy would be worried.
“The thing is,” Mae explained, “the wolves in Houston, those are two brothers. Reese and Rory Nielsen. They have a whole slew of cousins. The cousins are a mangy bunch of outlaws from the Rafferty side of the Nielsen brothers. Something like their father’s first cousin’s offspring, or something like that. Who really knows? Bunch of mongrels, that’s what they are.”
Cy was confused. Where was all this going?
Mae continued, “So, Vax is not exactly available. He’s out somewhere in the Gulf of Mexico, on one of his cousin Lézare’s boats, vacationing with his new mate. So for him, getting back won’t be quick.”
“And…” he prodded her. Good grief, this wasn’t like Mae, taking so long to get to the point.
“He made some calls. They really don’t have a relationship with the Nielsen tribe, but Vax wanted to arrange for them to meet with you. He said Lézare would call and make nice, set the scene, or something to that effect.” Mae paused, probably to breathe.
Of all the damned positions to be in! Cy had spent his adult life avoiding shifters, having nothing to do with them because he wanted to be left alone. He had no trust and no love for them. The last thing he wanted to do was put his or Petra’s fate in the hands of shifters.
“Mae—”
“You have to do this. I know it’s out of your comfort zone.”
It was way more than out of his comfort zone. “What good will it do?”
“Lézare doesn’t think the Nielsen brothers know what their cousins are doing. They’d be powerful allies in shutting down an illegal operation and getting Petra back.”
“If they don’t know what their cousins are doing,” Cy added. “If.”
“Lézare’s a lot of things, but one thing he’s got going for him, he’s a powerhouse of information.”
He shook his head. He would have to gamble his sister’s life on that. A cool breeze washed over him, except there was no breeze. Perspiration broke out on his forehead.
“We’ll see.” He ended the call with Mae.
Maybe he should pursue some other options. At least he could forge on knowing Gavin would take care of Lila.
Gavin. His stomach roiled.
Her ex.
Gavin, who was still in love with Lila.
Cy clenched his jaw.
Chapter Twenty
“Leave me alone.” Lila glared at Gavin. “I’ve had enough of your interference.” She tried to walk around him, but he shifted his weight, still blocking her. “Move.”
“Wait.” Gavin didn’t move.
She was livid and tired of his always watching her, always making sure you’re okay.
“What do you want?” She didn’t even have enough patience to be polite.
“Vax called.”
She rolled her eyes. Now Vax was going to start in on this bullshit? She was tired of being sheltered. First, her father when she was living in Europe, now Vax, here in America. It had gone on long enough. “And?”
He drew a deep breath, as if what he had to say was difficult. “He wants me to help you.” Gavin swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “I’m supposed to act as if anything you say is the same as coming from him.”
Suspicious, she crossed her arms over her chest. “What else?”
“He and Callie won’t make it back immediately. He said the next few days were crucial and I’m to be an asset, not an obstacle.”
It felt like someone had released a thousand doves in Lila’s chest. Her brother was trusting her. “So you have to do anything I say?”
“Anything except leave you unguarded.” A smile crept to Gavin’s face. “He knows your propensities.”
Lila nodded.
“Lila.” His expression softened. “I didn’t mean to be such a—”
“Douche?” She finished his sentence.
“I was going to say I didn’t mean to be so overly concerned about you.”
“Douche works better.” She smiled at him, cautious. Just because he’d apologized, that didn’t mean he was going to change his ways or fall out of love with her. For all she knew, he said this to get her to let her guard down. “I’m going to get some block. I’m driving to Houston. Alone.”
“We’ll be behind you in the SUV.”
“Lose the tracker.”
“But—”
“Lose it.”
He growled, deep in his chest. She ignored it. She’d gotten what she wanted so far.
“Meet you in the garage in ten.”
Chapter Twenty-One
There it was—a sign letting Cy know he was in The Woodlands, a few miles north of Houston. Now he had a choice to make. Had the choice already been made for him? He exited the freeway. He was going to meet Lila.
His tiger growled, ready for an argument.
Haven’t you done enough interfering? This whole mate thing, the damned timing on it sucks. Cy couldn’t control his temper.
If he met Lila, she’d be in danger, and he wouldn’t be able to help her and Petra at the same time. Mae’s plan was better. Letting Gavin secure Lila’s safety while Cy looked for his sister was the more sound idea, even if he hated to admit it. Lila would hate him. They were supposed to do this together.
Damn it. He didn’t have her number, so he could call her. Jeez, would I even want to call her? She’d do nothing but rant about how he was no different than the other males in her life. Rock and a hard place.
He had to meet the Nielsen brothers, and he had no assurances they hadn’t been a part of the abduction. No one really knew them, except for Vax’s cousin, and only by word of mouth. Cy couldn’t put much faith into a pair of strangers. Bringing Lila here would be like putting her in the lion’s den. Who would look after her when he had to go after Petra?
Fuck!
He pulled back onto the freeway, torn between the two options, though he knew meeting Lila wasn’t really an option but more like bringing danger straight to her. He had to go forward with Mae’s plan and meet the Nielsen brothers, but he’d rather Lila was not in danger while he was meeting with them.
Only one thing left to do. He called Mae.
“Sorry I’m a bother. I want to make sure there’s no word on Petra and that Lila’s okay. I’m in Houston, bound for the Nielsen place.”
“She’s fine. Gavin is keeping in touch with Vax and Lézare. They’re keeping me posted. Though I have to tell you,” Mae giggled, “it seems Gavin is still carrying a torch for Lila.”
Cy’s tiger growled. “I know.” He wanted to tell Mae it was one-sided, but, after this betrayal he was serving up to Lila, she might not ever want to see him again.
Mae had said to drive to Sugarland then head out on 59. That part wasn’t a problem for Cy; he was already on 59. She’d said he should get out of his vehicle any time after that, and if he could still scent as well as he had years ago, he’d have no problem finding the Nielsen tribe.
He refrained from bragging about his scenting and how it had gotten even better. Stepping out of the Rover as soon as he’d crossed through the busy, urbanized area of Sugarland, he took a deep breath.
The scent of shifters hit him hard. Many of them. They weren’t hiding their presence, and they weren’t using block. These shifters were staking out their territory and making sure any trespassing shifters knew it was Nielsen territory.
Mae’s directions were to scent for them then head east.
East? Okay, so he’d find the first road he could turn on then turn east.
“Ride with your windows down,” she said.
He’d laughed. “Now give me the real directions.”
“Really, that will get you there, but here’s the directions I’d give to someone who can’t scent like you do. Turn left at the co-op, then right at a little private airport, then the second left. Follow the dirt road.”
He did. Twenty miles later, he pulled onto the dirt road. Two miles after that, he stopped in front of a house that looked l
ike a ranch house with a bunkhouse nearby, except the bunkhouse was as extravagant as the house. Both were mansions. A large barn at the very back of the property almost made it look like a working ranch. Is it a working ranch?
An intricately carved, reinforced metal gate blocked his entrance to the drive. He pulled up to the speaker in a red brick column. Before he could open his mouth, the gate began a slow, motorized hum and swung open.
Surely, they weren’t expecting him? He never knew what to think when it came to Mae’s involvement. She seemed to have connections all over the shifter world.
He inched the Rover in, keeping his guard up, the scent of wolves heavy in the air.
He parked on the covered driveway and turned the engine off, certain he was under electronic surveillance as well as the careful scrutiny of a security team.
He waited to see if he’d be greeted.
Nothing.
Cy opened his car door. He’d go into the dragon’s lair himself, then, so to speak. More like the wolves’ den.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Lila checked the charge on her phone. The battery was full. This time she wasn’t going to let her phone run out of juice. She was at the exit for the pavilion, not far from the waterway. Her body buzzed with excitement. Was it because she was going to see Cy again?
Taking a right, she pulled into a parking lot near the pavilion, got out, locked her car, and made her way down to the waterway. She found a bench to sit on to wait. She didn’t see Gavin, didn’t know if he’d pulled in, didn’t know if he was tracking her—he better not be. She inhaled, but picked up no sign of Cy, none at all. How could she have beaten him here?
Two hours later, she was still waiting. No Cy. This wasn’t good. He’d had a head start. There was no reason he wouldn’t have beaten her here, except…
She didn’t want to think of the possibilities.
Now he was more than two hours late. A feeling churned in her gut. With every passing moment, the churning became more of a burn. Something had to be wrong. She needed to take action. But what kind of action?