“I think you’re overreacting.” Her smile told him she meant to try her plan, no matter what he claimed.
Which meant he’d have to stop her. But how?
While he puzzled that one out, Raven shook off his arm and stepped out into the mall. Simon hurried to catch her.
“What are you going to do, start screaming?”
For the first time, a look of uncertainty crossed her face. “I just figured I’d make myself noticeable. If they’re still here, they’ll see me. After that, it’s their move.”
“And if they shoot you?” His gut knotted at the thought of that. “What do you want me to do then, leave you here to die?” As if he would, as if he could.
“They won’t shoot me.” She sounded confident. “The head-honcho guy, your boss—”
“Ross.”
“Yes, Ross. He wants something from me. And from Cee. I think he needs us alive.”
“Beck says the order is kill on sight. Dead or alive. I told you that.”
“You did. But what does Beck know, really? He’s on the run from them, too. He’s not exactly in the loop, now, is he?”
Put that way, Simon had to admit she had a point. “For now, can we get out of sight for a minute?” He pulled her over to a makeup store, half dragging her toward the sale shelves located in the back.
“Why?”
“Let me call Cee,” he said, still trying to stall and keep her from doing anything foolish. “If she’s free, will you at least wait a little longer before giving yourself up?”
Though she hesitated, finally she nodded. “Okay. Call her.”
Scrolling through the address book, he located Cee’s entry and hit Send. But instead of answering, the call went to her voice mail.
Watching Raven, who pretended to be engrossed in a display of mineral makeup, he left a terse message explaining the situation and hung up after asking Cee to call him immediately. He muttered a quick prayer under his breath that she hadn’t been captured. “I got her voice mail.”
“I know, I heard. But why did you say I was suicidal?” Raven asked. “I’m not trying to kill myself.”
About to answer, his trepidation gave way to triumph as his phone rang. “Thank the hounds,” he said as Cee’s name showed up on the display screen. Answering, he couldn’t help but relay his worries to the teenager.
“No, they didn’t get me,” she said in response to his query. “I saw those two goons come in, so I hightailed it out of there. I’m clear across town, though I was worried about you guys. Why does Raven want to commit suicide? Something I said?”
He had to chuckle at the teenager’s dry tone. “Ask her yourself.”
“Put her on,” Cee demanded. “I want to talk some sense into her.”
“Okay.” He handed Raven the phone. “Cee wants to talk to you.”
Listening while Raven spoke to Cee, he didn’t bother to hide his smile. Judging from Raven’s end of the conversation, the girl ripped Raven a new one.
“Okay, okay. I’ll call you later,” Raven promised, then closed the phone. She gave Simon a chagrined grimace. “She made me feel like an idiot.”
“I hate to agree with her, but you were.” Putting his arm around her shoulders, he gave her a quick hug to soften the blow. “Those field guys are following orders. They won’t listen to reason.”
“Then who would?”
He took his time answering. “I don’t know. That’s why I’m having so much trouble coming up with a plan. I don’t know who’s normal and who’s not. I used to think Ross—”
“That’s it! Simon, I know what we can do!” Raven jumped up and down twice, barely able to contain her excitement. “You know how I said I was tired of running?”
“Yes,” he answered cautiously, almost afraid to hear what she’d say next.
“I still am. But okay, I have to admit maybe my idea about letting them get me here in the mall wasn’t a good one.”
“I’ll say.” He glanced at the doorway, relieved to see no sign of the two Protectors.
“But I have another idea. A much better one.” She took a deep breath. “Simon, you know where the Protector’s headquarters is, right?”
“Of course I do. I worked at headquarters.”
Grinning, she watched him closely. “Then let’s go there, right now. If we show up unannounced, I’ll bet we can confront this Ross, face-to-face.”
Go there. At first, he wanted to dismiss her plan instantly. But the more he thought about it, the more he believed it just might work.
“They’ll certainly never expect that,” he said slowly. “If we time it properly, we can get inside and catch Ross alone and unprotected.”
“Perfect.” She crossed her arms. “And if we have to, we can even use him as a hostage.”
“Good plan.” He gave her an admiring glance. “Sometimes I find it hard to believe you lived isolated up in the mountains with a pack of wild wolves.”
She laughed. “I told you, I read a lot. I’ve even been known to catch a movie now and then, when I was in town.”
Hounds, she made him want to…He kissed her then, right there in a store full of women, unable to resist. “You’re amazing, you know that?”
“No.” Though she batted her eyelashes at him in false modesty, he could tell his words pleased her. “Let’s get out of here.”
One more hug and he let her go. Instantly, he got serious. “Will you do what I say?”
She didn’t even hesitate. “Of course.” Then, flashing him a quick grin, she amended her statement. “This time.”
“Good enough. Now walk slowly, as if you don’t have a care in the world.”
“One, two, three, go.”
They strolled back out into the mall aisle. The crowds had grown in size, mostly teens and preteens, maybe because school had let out now. As they passed a woman’s clothing store, Simon spied a woman’s brightly striped ski cap and got an idea.
“Wait.” Snatching the cap off the mannequin, he went to the counter and paid for it. Returning to Raven, he handed her the bag. “Put this on.”
“Why? I’m not cold.”
“No, but you need to hide your hair. There aren’t too many women with hair like yours.”
She frowned, apparently puzzled. “I have long, curly hair. Lots of women do.”
“But not that particular inky shade of yours. You have beautiful hair, Raven, but you need to hide it for now.”
Removing the hat from the sack, she pulled it over her head, tucking her long braid up into it. “There. Does that look better?”
He adjusted one wayward lock and nodded. “Perfect. Let’s go.”
They reached the door without incident and stepped outside into the gray, wintry day.
Raven squinted at the change in light. “So, tell me about this Protector headquarters. How long does it take to get there?”
He kept his hand lightly on her arm. “For this region, it’s not too far. A couple of hours, driving. It’s located down in The Springs.”
“The Springs?” She nudged Simon’s side. “Where’s that?”
Hellhounds. As his body stirred, he shook his head, realizing that, in all the excitement, he’d forgotten to purchase protection. He made a mental note to stop at the first drugstore he found and do exactly that.
“Colorado Springs,” he told her. “Come on.”
They reached the bus stop, watching as the big white bus lumbered to a stop on the other side of the mall. Just a few more minutes and they’d be safe. Simon normally wasn’t a betting man, he’d always left that to Beck, but the odds looked good that they’d somehow managed to evade the best trackers in the shifter world.
Once they were home free, he’d take the time to wonder about that, but for now, he was simply counting his blessings.
“Here comes the bus,” he muttered. “You get on first. Scope out the other passengers, but whatever you do, don’t react no matter who you see.”
She bit her lip. “Do you think the
y might be on here? I’d think they have their own transportation.”
“They probably do, but you never know. Protectors are very thorough.” Odd, the more he talked about his former occupation, the more he felt as if he was simply reciting dogma rather than stating facts. Another development he’d examine more closely later.
“Get seats as close to the front as you can.”
“Easy on, easy off. Okay.” She nodded. “You know, even though Colorado Springs isn’t all that far, we don’t even have a car. How are we going to get there?”
The bus moved toward them, way too slowly for Simon’s peace of mind.
“Beck does.” He tapped on his cell. “Once we’re out of here, I’ll call him and see if he’ll let us borrow it.” He didn’t want anything to tie up his hands or his concentration until he knew they were in the clear.
“Don’t talk about our plans anymore,” he warned. “Talk about completely ordinary stuff, like the weather.”
Adrenaline pumping, he took Raven’s arm as the bus pulled up and stopped.
Following her, he got on and did a quick scan of the other passengers.
Though he saw one other shifter, there were no Protectors on board.
Relief flooded him as they took their seats. The second row was completely empty. Raven took one aisle seat to the left, he took the other on the right.
“Where do you want to go now?”
“Back to Boulder. Once we’re there, I’ll give Beck a call. I’d like to check on Zach, too.”
“And Theo,” she pointed out, sounding concerned. “I need to see how he’s doing, if he made it through the night.”
The drive back to Boulder seemed to take forever. They made a couple more stops and each time a passenger got on, Simon tensed.
When they rolled to a stop on Twenty-eighth Street, he stood up to get off and indicated to Raven that she should precede him.
“Call Beck,” she urged as they watched the bus pull away. “See if he’ll loan us his car.”
“I’m not going to tell him what we’re planning to do. If I did, he’d want to go.”
“Maybe he should come,” Raven said. “We can use all the help we can get.”
Part of him thought she might be right. The other part, the body part he didn’t normally use in place of his brain, protested. “Beck’s kind of unpredictable right now.”
“So are we,” she pointed out. “If they’re really chasing him like he says, then he has a right to confront them, too. We can make our own small army.”
In theory, he liked the idea. Except three didn’t an army make. “Even if we could get Zach to come, four isn’t enough to take on Ross and all his guys. I think it would be better if we went alone.”
“I know.” She held up her hand to stop him from saying anything else. “Less chance of being noticed.”
He punched in Beck’s number. The phone rang and rang, making Simon think he might get voice mail. But on the fifth ring, someone answered. Only the voice didn’t belong to Beck.
“Is that you, Caldwell?” Ross. “Since caller ID shows Whearly and you have his phone, I’m guessing it is. Are you wanting to speak to your friend Beck here?”
Clenching the phone, Simon had to fight to keep the fury from his voice. “Where is he? What have you done?”
Ross laughed. “Beck is back within the protective folds of the Society. Nice and safe, and where we can look after him and make him better.”
“How did you find him?”
“You know us. We have ways.”
“Satellites, you mean.”
“Hey, it’s not my fault if you guys don’t remember that cell phones can act like a GPS. Dumb and dumber, I think.”
Simon let that one go. Right now, Ross had all the cards. “What do you want, Ross?”
“I want the same thing I’ve always wanted. The Feral. Actually, both of them. I’ve dispatched teams to bring yours and the other one in.”
“I know. I saw them today,” Simon mocked. “They’re losing their touch, Ross. They were within fifty feet of her, but didn’t even notice.”
“Oh, yeah?” Ross sounded supremely unconcerned, which Simon suspected was an act. “Well, let me throw another wrench in your plans. I’ve got your friend the vet, and now Beck. I’ll trade you, my two for yours.”
“Mine? I’ve only got one.”
“Yeah, but you were the best Protector I had, Simon. If anyone can round up the other girl, you can. Have them at Folsom Field at sunrise in two days’ time. The weather report is predicting more snow, which is a good thing for us.”
“And if I don’t? What if I can’t find the other girl?”
Ross laughed. “You will. I have no doubt about that. Be there at sunrise. Otherwise, you’ll never get a chance to tell your friends goodbye.”
Letting the other man think he would do as he was told would provide the perfect cover.
“Will you be there?” Simon asked. “I’d like to turn them over to you personally.”
“Of course not.” Ross laughed again, the sound sending a chill down Simon’s spine. “You know I’m too busy to get involved in fieldwork. But I’ll be there in spirit. Oh, and tell your Feral lady friend,” Ross added, almost as an afterthought, “I also have her pet wolf. The animal’s still unconscious, though that will change if I stop the pain meds. Tell her if she turns herself in, I’ll make sure the wolf is cared for. If not, the animal will suffer, I promise you.”
“You son of a bitch,” Simon choked out. “That’s an innocent animal.”
“Yeah, we all are.” Again, Ross chuckled. “We all are sons of bitches. Caldwell, you have two days.” With that final warning, Ross hung up.
Two days. Not much time. They’d have to make it work.
“What happened?” Raven clutched his arm. “What happened to Beck?”
As quickly as possible, he told her, skimming over most of Ross’s threats about Theo, though he refused to outright lie.
“If he touches one hair on that young wolf’s head, I’ll kill him with my own hands,” she swore.
Since he’d been thinking exactly the same thing, Simon didn’t disagree. He wondered if he was getting used to the odd way they seemed to echo each other’s thoughts.
“What now?” She asked, her expression haunted. “Are we going to meet them? At least the two days buys us a little time.”
“Not likely. First off, that’s exactly what Ross wants you to think. He’s not going to call off his Protectors and sit back and wait for us to show up. And second, I sure as hell am not going to get you and Cee, and hand you over at Folsom Field. I like your idea. We’re going to headquarters and confront Ross.”
“We still don’t have a car.”
“True, since Beck is out of commission and can’t lend us his, we’re going to borrow Zach’s motorcycle. Remember, he said we could use it.” Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the key.
“The motorcycle,” she said faintly.
He waited for her to protest further. When she didn’t, he continued, “We’ve got to haul ass to Texas. I want to get there before we’re supposed to meet them at Folsom Field. The last thing Ross will expect is for us to show up on his doorstep.”
Finally she nodded. “We’ve just got to get the motorcycle out of Zach’s garage without getting caught. How are you going to do that? I’m pretty sure they’ll be watching the house.”
Taking her arm, he steered her in the direction they needed to go. “Let’s start walking. We can figure out something on the way.”
Chapter 14
T hey reached Zach’s street as dusk was settling over Boulder. The first flakes of yet another snowstorm drifted down.
Spotting the house, they both stopped dead. There was a van parked in Zach’s driveway.
“Zach doesn’t own a van,” Simon said. “We’re going to have to go in the back way. I’m pretty sure his gate’s unlocked.”
“What about the dogs?”
He squeezed he
r shoulder. “You’re not afraid of them anymore, are you?”
“No, but I hope they’re all right.”
Simon’s stomach twisted. “Hopefully Ross’s guys wouldn’t have any reason to hurt them. They probably just put them out in the backyard.”
“If they’re there, won’t they bark when we try to sneak in? That will alert whoever’s in Zach’s house.”
He gave her a considering glance. “Not if we do this right. Come on.”
They went around the block, coming in from the opposite direction. On the western corner of his property, Zach had two huge spruce trees.
“Stay behind these,” Simon warned. “Just in case someone is looking out the window.”
As he’d thought, the wooden gate was unlocked. They entered the backyard, which, because of the slope of the land, was level with the top floor of the house. From the covered patio, steps led down to a back door, which entered the den.
“See that window?” Simon pointed to the left of the patio. “The garage is there. We’ve got to cross the back of the house without them seeing us and squeeze through that.”
Raven gave him a doubtful look. “I’m sure I can get through there, but you?”
“I can do it.” He spoke with more confidence than he felt. “The trick will be to do it undetected. Are you ready?”
She nodded.
“One, two, three, go.”
They dashed across the yard, keeping as close to the house as possible. Once they reached the window, they both stood motionless, eyeing each other through the snowflakes.
“No dogs barked,” she fretted. “I hope they’re okay.”
“I’m sure they’re fine.” He hoped they were. “Zach would go ballistic if anyone hurt his beloved dogs.”
With much tugging, he managed to open the garage window.
“How come it’s not locked?”
“I guess because it leads into the garage. Or maybe because this is Boulder. The natives here are pretty laid-back about stuff like that.” Stepping aside, he gestured for her to precede him. “Ladies first.”
Feet first, Raven wiggled on her behind until halfway in. Then she turned, gripping the windowsill, and went inside. He heard the quiet thud of her feet as she dropped to the ground.
Wild Wolf Page 18