by Carmen Fox
“You know, don’t you?” Leo’s knuckles turned white.
Was it too late? Had he read my mind?
The path forked, and Leo turned right, deeper into the woods.
There would be no police station waiting for me out here. Not this far from town.
“Know what?” I asked, trying to sound normal.
His jaw flexed and relaxed, over and over. Any second now, he would stop the car. Would he do to me what he’d done to Raven? Was his face the last face I was going to see?
Or had I lost it completely and allowed paranoia to kidnap my mind?
The real question, though, could I take the risk? If he turned on me, I stood no chance. In human form, he outweighed me. In wolf form, he’d tear me to pieces.
I tensed my muscles and yanked at the steering wheel, sending Leo’s sedan soaring into the trees.
Twenty-three
The sedan veered. The tire struck something hard, and Leo’s vehicle leaped to the right.
“Shit.” Leo counter-steered, but not fast enough.
I squared my shoulders against the seat, my head flat on the head restraint.
A white wall hit my face and disappeared in a fraction of a second. The impact jolted my bones from my body.
For a moment I sat, stunned. The smell of explosives singed the air. My nose stung, my vision blurred. I took a deep breath, but something was in my throat. A cough wracked my aching chest, my aching everything.
A dark shape moved to my left.
Frame by frame, reality re-entered my consciousness.
Leo.
Killer.
Shit.
Within a second, I’d undone my seatbelt and pushed against the door. Something blocked it, so I rammed my shoulder against it. A sharp pain shot through my arm and into my leg, but at least the door opened.
Run. Don’t think.
I scrambled away from the totaled sedan. Through the woods. Back the way we’d come.
My lungs stung with each short breath. Had I done the right thing? Was my suspicion even correct? Trees surrounded me, dizzying tall trees in every direction, and I zigzagged with only my arms as buffers.
A log stuck up from the ground and tripped me. I tussled up. Pushed harder. The faster I ran, the darker and colder it got. I kept the road to my right, close enough to jump in front of a car. Not that I was likely to find one out here.
How long before Leo was compos mentis? How long until I would die?
I ripped my phone out of my jacket, dialed a nine. Tripped. Fell. Got up. Pressed the next number.
Thuds drummed behind me, building to a crescendo. A force knocked into my back. My cell flew from my hand as I went sprawling onto my front.
A sharp pain stole my vision.
“Let me go.” I rallied onto my back, propping myself up.
I wasn’t going to go without a fight. Not me. I kicked out.
“Shit.” Leo’s spit hit my face.
I swung my arm and somehow got off the ground. My fist connected with his stomach but only grazed it. Running had made no difference.
But my father’s lessons would save me. Judo, aikido, fencing. I hadn’t endured torture after torture to be beaten now.
Leo swung me against a tree, chest first. My face scraped across the sharp bark. Then his arm curled around my neck from behind and squeezed.
I let out a muffled cry that died on my lips. Kicked his leg. Slapped at his hand. Scratched until I drew blood.
“Shh. Nearly over,” Leo whispered.
His tone was soft, comforting.
But I didn’t want to be comforted. I wasn’t done. Drake was innocent, and he needed me to prove it. All it took was a lucky punch, a good kick, and I’d be free.
I strained against his hold, rammed the heels of my boots into his shin.
He yelled out, squeezed harder.
My throat closed. The pressure in my head built, blocking my ears. In front, a branch reached for me. But the trees couldn’t save me. Powerless, they waved.
I snapped for oxygen, it was gone. My lungs didn’t inflate.
No air.
No police.
My muscles burned, and I slackened in Leo’s grip. This was it. My last moment. At least I didn’t have to see his face.
I dropped my arms and looked into the woods. At least I was going to die in my happy place.
***
A cramp seized my leg, and I kicked out. Then I opened my eyes, inhaled sharply.
I could breathe again. Safe.
Or maybe not. I sat in a kitchen of sparse décor, the kind one might describe as rustic out of kindness. A phone lay on the table. I pushed with my legs to get up, but a nylon cord wrapped around my arms and torso. Similar restraints wound around my legs. Someone had tied me up. Not someone. Leo.
I wiggled in the chair, but with its metal frame, it seemed too robust to break, even if I slammed it against something.
Leo hadn’t even been careless enough to leave knives lying around.
“You’re awake.” He entered the kitchen and propped himself up by the counter to the right of the tall fridge.
“What’s going on?” I kept my voice measured.
I understood why he’d attacked me. But I hadn’t a clue why I was still alive.
“You were done. So close to being safe.” He pinched his index finger and thumb together. “But you wouldn’t listen. Had to keep on drilling. Now the police will never know of Drake’s innocence.”
I glared. “They will, once I get out of here.”
He crossed his arms. “Maybe you’re going to be his latest victim. I mean, you look like Raven.”
“Why did you do it? Kill her? What could she possibly have done that would justify it?”
“You know what she did.”
“I have no earthly idea.” I took deep breaths, stretched against my restraints without letting the effort show on my face, but the cord didn’t loosen.
“She was going to elope with Cody. Leave her parents behind. Leave me behind. For what? To have mutts with him?”
“He’s not a catch, sure, but it was her life. No one’s controlling your life, are they?”
Leo spat on the ground, or certainly made it look that way. “Mutts don’t ask to be born, but Raven knew better. She should have listened.”
“This is insane. I know you. You’re better than this.”
“I didn’t set out to kill her.” His top lip moved and briefly revealed his teeth. “I tried to reason with her, reminded her that dating a human was going to hurt her parents, but she didn’t listen.”
“See, I knew it had to have been an accident. Let me go, and we’ll find a solution together.”
“I don’t want to hurt you, believe me. But the way Jonah’s handling the crisis was an eye opener. He’s useless.”
I raised my eyebrows. “This is about power?”
“No. It wasn’t supposed to be.” He steered his gaze onto the ground where he scraped the floor with the toes of his shoe. “But now we’ve reached a point. Lines are drawn. If you aren’t with me...”
My breath came more evenly. Leo was deluded, no doubt, but I wasn’t going to tell him that. “I totally agree. Jonah didn’t handle this the way an alpha should. Not the way you would have.”
He glanced up, his eyes moist. “Exactly. At first, Raven’s...disappearance even had a positive effect on the pack, you know? I used it to remind everyone that we needed to stick together. Then Drake found the body, and I knew the moment Buck got his nose on the ground, he’d smell me.”
I jerked up my head. “Are you saying you killed Buck?”
“I kinda had to.” His shoulders slumped. “I told him not to come to the lake and to meet me on the way instead. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to bury his body.”
I strained so hard, the ties ate into my forearms. “When he was discovered, you needed a new scapegoat.”
“You were the one who told me about Drake dating Raven.” He spread his hands
out to his sides to support himself on the counter. “I’d gone back for Raven’s necklace so I could plant it on Buck later, but Drake would work just as well.”
“You were spot on. It’s looking bad for him.”
Flecks of light bounced across the creamy-white floor. Colorful utensils completed the tasteful decor. It seemed inconceivable that someone as damaged as Leo could have gone shopping for tiles to create a home for himself. It was possible he hadn’t always been this way. Maybe killing Raven had triggered a dark streak in him.
“At least with him out of the picture and Jonah weak, I can bring order to the pack again.” Leo cocked his head. “I’d hoped you’d be by my side.”
“Really?” My eyebrows shot up. “I mean, my father is the one with ties to Jonah. Your alpha has made it clear he doesn’t want me in his town.”
“Our town. If you’re willing.”
Would Leo believe my charade? I’d have to be careful not to lay it on too thick.
“It beats waiting another century before I get my chance to take my father’s throne.” I sighed. “I don’t know. Could I even trust you?”
“I told you I didn’t intend to kill Raven, and Buck, well, he was collateral damage.”
I waved him off with a swipe of my chin. “I didn’t mean that. I meant, could I trust you to be a fair alpha, and not to push me aside if I disagree with you?”
“It’s a serious offer.” He stepped forward and crouched. “You’re more progressive than I am, which will help us modernize, and I remember the old values, which will strengthen our base.”
“We can turn this dark time into something positive.”
“Exactly.” A smile formed on his lips, and he ran his thumb down my neck.
“Give the Wild Pack the stability it needs.”
His hand tightened around my throat as his expression twisted into something feral. “You think I’m stupid?”
My breaths came in short bursts. “Of course not. I’m serious.”
“Oh, please.” He straightened, and in the process pushed me back with sufficient strength to make my chair wobble. “I know about you and Drake.”
“He and I made a mistake. You know me. You know how much I hate show-offs like him who flaunt their dominance like a cheap cologne.”
Leo crossed his arms. Regarded me through shrewd eyes. Then twisted and left the kitchen.
Why was I even still alive? Maybe he still hoped my desire to join him in his madness was genuine.
Someone rapped on the door.
“Kensi, Leo, are you here?” Drake shouted. “Are you two okay?”
I twisted on the chair, but didn’t scream out for him. Leo had to have heard him, and if so, Drake was in danger.
“Where the hell are you?” Drake punched the door again.
Leo returned and looked at me through wide eyes.
I shook my head. “Let’s not tell him we’re here.”
“Why not?” He opened a drawer and took out a knife. “I’ll have to deal with him sooner or later.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
He winked at me and ambled to the door.
“Run, Drake!” I shouted at the top of my volume. “Get out of here.”
Had he heard me? He’d stopped knocking, which I took as a good sign.
I used my feet and body weight to move myself and the chair toward the drawer Leo had left half open.
A scuffle erupted in the hall, or rather a full-on beating. Drake was stronger than Leo, no doubt, but Leo had a knife and surprise on his side.
With renewed energy, I wedged my sore teeth behind the drawer’s corner and dragged it out. The sharp edge cut into my lip, but this might be my only chance to get ready.
How had Drake found us? If he’d followed Leo, he must have had a reason. For all I knew, he wasn’t alone and had brought the cavalry. But judging by recent events, my luck would swing the other way.
The knives were wedged too far up into the drawer, but a pair of scissors could be within my reach, provided I could bend that way. I lifted myself up, with the chair glued to my butt, and stuck my face inside, using my mouth to scout for the scissors. The metal loop and blades felt cold against my skin, and once I’d closed my teeth around them, I lifted them out.
Great. Now what? How did I get my tool from up here to down there?
A penguin couldn’t have been less elegant as I shifted my arms a little and slid my hands toward my lap. Next, I tipped my chair back against the cabinet and let go of the scissors. Their weight dropped first onto my stomach and then my legs. I wriggled and jerked until my palm finally closed around the loops.
I applied the scissors to the ties, but with my hand still secured, I couldn’t get proper purchase. A twist of my fingers opened them enough for me to press one blade against the plastic cord. Spies made this look easy on TV, when in fact, the up-and-down movement tired the wrist, with very little gain to show for your trouble.
The sounds outside fell few and far between, but Drake was still alive.
A dull thump froze my lungs.
“What a beauty.” Leo’s triumph came out of nowhere.
Frantically, I pushed the drawer shut with my back and hopped back to my spot, in the nick of time.
Leo popped his head in. “Looks like you backed a loser.”
Blood trickled from his mouth and ran from a wound on his head. Something was wrong with one of his eyes, too, because one lid hung lower than the other.
“Is...is he alive? You can’t kill him yet. Too many bodies will make your pack suspicious.” My words toppled over one another.
“Of course he’s alive. Can’t blame your death on a dead man, can I?”
He limped off, dragging something heavy with him. A door opened, and the sound faded.
Still alive. Still alive. Still alive.
As each syllable ran through my mind, I sawed up and down, up and down, and slowly, my efforts were paying off. Not long ago, I’d half-suspected Drake of being a killer. Now he lay unconscious, at Leo’s mercy.
His own fault, of course. Probably used his stupid phone app to track me, then ran into the wreck of Leo’s car and came looking for us. If there wasn’t a lesson in this for him, he was a hopeless case, which I’d be sure to tell him the minute we were out of danger.
I intensified my sawing motion, stretched my shoulders and arms to increase the pressure, until finally, the cord snapped. A few more wiggles, and the restraints fell away. Red streaks wound around my wrists and arms, which pulsed with a dull ache. I snipped open the cord around my legs and shot to my feet to pick up a solid frying pan.
My hands shook, and I took a measured breath. Could I really bash in Leo’s head? What if I misjudged my own power, and rather than knocking him out, I caved in his skull? I’d be in the same situation Leo had found himself in when he killed Raven.
Steps alerted me to Leo’s return. “I wonder how Drake found us.”
I took a big swing and bashed the frying pan into his shins. He dropped to his knee, and I smashed my weapon into his back.
His body sagged to the ground, but he wasn’t out yet. Instead, he whimpered and tried to push back up.
I bunched my lips, stepped back. Why wasn’t he unconscious yet?
Leo glanced up at me, his mouth open. “Why?”
A leaden hum buzzed through my chest. “Oh God, I’m so, so sorry.”
Another firm smack, and Leo’s body sprawled on the kitchen tiles.
I tied the plastic cord remnants around his arm and body, wrapped duct tape I discovered in one of his drawers around his legs, and picked up the cell phone from the table.
“Jonah? It’s Kensi.”
“Are you at the airport? Where’s Leo?”
“Unconscious by my feet. He killed Raven. Her and Buck. It was him all along. He kidnapped me. His cabin—”
A sharp pain against my right knee made me suck in air. Leo kicked out again, foot high, and knocked the phone from my hand. I reached for
the frying pan, but his reaction was faster. His foot shot up again and smacked it from my grip. It flew up and fell onto his thigh.
His scream of pain was beautiful. I’d felt bad about hurting him, but even my sympathy had limits.
I dashed to the phone. Its display was cracked, but I pushed the buttons anyway. The lights didn’t come on.
Damn.
For now, the cord around Leo’s legs and hands limited his movements, but he was nearly on his feet now.
I opened the cupboard doors, grabbed a saucepan, and pummeled his frame with it until he slumped back down.
“You’re gonna pay for that.” He wheezed.
“We’ll see.” I reached back and planted my fist on his nose, which gave a satisfying crunch.
His eyes glazed over and his facial muscles sagged.
I straightened and rolled my neck. Good thing Drake had softened him up. Otherwise Leo would have made an easy meal out of me. My years of training hadn’t prepared me for the reality of a fight. Frying pans and pots didn’t glide through the air the way a sword did, and real-life pain hurt worse, too.
At least Drake could shift his injuries away, and the sooner the better. I dashed out of the kitchen and scouted the hallway for a telephone. Nothing. Maybe Leo had built this place for the solitude. If so, what were the chances Jonah had the address?
I yanked open one door after another—but one was locked.
Despite lacking the dominance of a werewolf, at least I had the strength. The second my sore shoulder crashed against the light-brown wood, the lock splintered and the door slid open. Wooden stairs led into a separate room that had been built at a lower level than the rest of the house, yet not so deep it qualified as a basement.
Wide, short windows, grimy from neglect, let in sparse sunlight, which reflected off the dust particles. Wooden shelves lined one wall and the floor, stone with a thick layer of dirt, was strewn with tools.
“Drake?” I whispered.
What if he couldn’t answer because he was dead? Leo could have lied. He’d done much worse already.
“Drake?” I raised my voice.
A moan sounded from the back. A moan so laden with pain, it tore at my heart. I skipped the last two steps and dashed to Drake’s crumpled form. Pounded to within an inch of his life, he lay slumped on his back on the dirty floor. A bloody gash glistened through a tear in his T-shirt.