He’d fucking failed her.
His lion roared through his head, demanding a rewind on the clock. The beast needed her back in their embrace, but Lindley had nothing to give him. Not even a single damn word of encouragement or spark of hope.
This wasn’t like when Hailey had been taken. Then, at least, there’d been a lead to dig into. A face to smash until he coughed up information.
He stared at the dark, empty road with no idea what to do next.
“The fuck took you assholes so long?”
Lindley and Trent turned their heads at the same time.
Two men approached. The baked earth scents of their inner animals reached across the parking lot stench of leaked oil and gas.
“Well? Where’s your van? We have a hot one ready to make the final leg of her trip.”
Lindley and Trent exchanged looks. Lindley stepped forward, hooking a thumb over his shoulder. “We’re on the other side of the building.”
“We’ll hop in and show you where to park,” Trent added.
“Because it’s so fucking hard to find a place.” He gestured to the mostly empty parking lot. Trent’s truck, their van, and a car were the only vehicles in sight. “Just meet us on the other side.”
Both lions turned and backtracked toward their doors.
Lindley sprinted after them, tackling one around the waist and driving him to the ground. The other stumbled around in time to catch Trent’s punch right in the nose. Blood spurted down his chin, but that was as much as Lindley saw before his own opponent twisted into the attack.
He ducked to the side. The punch meant for his face grazed the side of his head. Lindley reared back and threw the weight of his entire body into the blow he landed on the shifter’s cheek.
Anger detonated and ignited every cell in his body. He wanted to rip the lions to pieces and scatter their remains like a line drawn in the sand. His people, his Kyla, weren’t to be touched. They weren’t to be fucked with. Anyone who attempted to cross the bloody, rotting, stinking line would have their own bits added to the mix.
His lion slashed at his middle to get to work and teach them a lesson, but Lindley held back.
Kyla wouldn’t want him to lose his shit. To get her back, he needed to keep his head.
He couldn’t go to her with blood on his hands. He couldn’t keep her with darkness eating away at his heart.
Lindley slugged the bastard again. Keeping Kyla proud of him and keeping her safe required a balance. He didn’t have to roll over and take whatever was thrown at him. He could still fight.
The lion under him bucked hard and threw him to the side. Lindley landed on his back. The air in his lungs dumped out of his mouth when his opponent planted himself on his chest. Furious, choked burr rattling in his throat, Lindley scrambled to right the world and gain the upper hand again.
On his other side, Trent wound his legs around his target’s trunk and grabbed him in a tight chokehold.
The doors of the van swung open and three more lions poured out.
“Fuck,” Lindley growled under his breath. He needed the fight to end. Now. Before the others made it across the parking lot.
He pulled the same bucking move that sent him sprawling and jumped back to straddle the man. He grabbed the fucker’s cheeks and peeled him off the ground, prepared to crack his head against the rough asphalt.
“Not so fast,” a familiar voice said behind him.
The muzzle of a gun pressed against the back of his neck and demanded his obedience.
Shit. Fuck. The last time he’d heard that voice was two months ago, talking shit to Trent after he’d abducted Hailey and handed her over to Jasper.
The pressure at the base of his skull let up as boots shuffled to the side and around his front. Lindley craned his neck to glare at the man still drawing on him.
He’d be lying if he said he was glad to see the man. His lion paced just under his skin, ready to pounce and sink claws into the traitor. Trent had shown him mercy by shooting him full of sedatives and ordering him left on the side of the road. Lindley doubted he was capable of that sort of generosity.
“Holy shit. You know who this is?” Garrett flicked a glance to the others muscling Trent to his knees.
The lion Trent tried to choke out rubbed at his neck. “Don’t give a fuck,” he rasped. “Kill them and be done with it.”
“Hell, no. This one,” Garrett gestured to Trent, “is Jasper’s kin. And this one,” he waggled the rifle’s muzzle in front of Lindley’s face, “is a Levine.”
“Garrett, you motherfucker.” Trent chuckled softly, shaking his head. “I shouldn’t be surprised to find you doing some shady work. I’m more surprised Jasper let you weasel your way into his ranks.”
“Shut your fucking mouth,” Garrett snarled.
“After all,” Lindley said over the sound, “you were the one to give him up last time around. Nothing like a good redemption arc, is there?”
The others slashed dark looks at Garrett, but stayed silent. Pity he didn’t get an immediate reaction, but he hoped the slow burn of suspicion had been ignited. Garrett deserved every ounce of bullshit avalanching his way.
One of the late arrivals cocked his head. Sudden interest brightened in his eyes. “You’re sure that’s them?”
“Lived with ‘em, didn’t I?” Garrett turned and spat on the ground. “We turn them in, maybe we can get off fucking escort duty.”
The lions exchanged silent looks before one nodded.
“Ditch their ride,” Garrett ordered, pointing to Trent’s truck.
Sirens wailed in the distance and stopped the other lions in their tracks.
“Motherfucker,” he snarled. Garrett threw a hateful look toward the bank of windows, then dropped his eyes to Lindley and Trent. “I’m going to love doing this.”
Garrett drove the butt of the rifle into Trent, then it was Lindley’s turn to be swallowed up by darkness.
Chapter 24
“That the new pussy?”
Kyla froze as soon as her feet touched the ground. The words were a shock after her time with the Crowleys and a reminder of where she'd landed. She was nothing again. Her value didn't stem from her thoughts or words. What she could do with her hands and in a birthing bed mattered more.
Beardo growled and shot a glare over her head. “And shit like that is why you’ll never be given a mate, asswipe. Have some fucking respect.”
Her lioness crouched down inside her. There was more to the useless cowering, Kyla realized. Much more. The cat was ready to spring and sink her claws into the male.
Bad move. The scent of lions hung heavy in the air, even thicker than her home with the Levines. She didn’t need to see through the walls of the surrounding buildings to know the place was littered with lions.
All the lions, the transportation… Only one place she could have been taken. She was in the belly of the beast and the middle of Jasper Crowley’s pride.
She ran a mental hand down the creature’s back and moved through the rush of sendings. The big home in front of her was replaced by a smaller den. The scents in the air changed to the familiar ones of Lindley and his pride.
Kyla ran another hand down her lioness’s raised back. Soon. They’d find their way back soon.
She hoped.
A firm hand on her arm guided her forward. “Sorry about him,” Beardo muttered. “He’s one you’ll want to steer clear of, given the chance.” The other guard grunted in agreement.
"Do you know who I'm supposed to be given to?" Or rather, the woman she impersonated.
Then again, it might just be her if she couldn’t figure out an escape route.
He shook his head. “I’m just a driver. They don’t tell me shit.” His eyes softened. “Keep quiet, and it’ll go easier. Some of these males take pride in breaking the complainers. Disgusting, if you ask me.”
She eyed him in confusion. Not the words she expected from someone doing Jasper’s bidding, that was for dang sure. “
Why are you here?” she blurted.
They both looked at her sharply. Kyla dropped her eyes. In a quiet voice, she added, “If you don’t mind me asking.”
“Only way we can protect our females. Now, hush.”
She didn’t have a chance to push for more before they escorted her past the lions flanking the entrance. Kyla kept her eyes lowered as they led her inside.
“The prides are in place and ready for your order. We expect high casualties at all sites.”
Kyla stiffened at the voice off to the right as much as the words themselves. Roland was in what looked like had been a living room converted into a war room.
Planning death.
And he sounded freaking thrilled with the idea.
He wasn’t alone, though the males she recognized weren’t a surprise. Jasper stood on one side of the big table, attention on the maps spread out in front of him. His second, Ira, held his position on another side. Other males leaned against the walls or sprawled in chairs with the casual disinterest of powerful alphas trying to feel out others around them.
Consortium lions. Had to be. No other reason for that many dominant males to gather in one spot without shedding blood.
She ducked her head a little lower so her hair slid to hide her face. The steps her captors took passing the doorway seemed to slow as both time and space conspired against her.
Please don’t let them see me. Please don’t let them see me.
“And the secondary teams?” Jasper asked.
“Ready to ensure the subsequent raids are appropriately horrific. Both sides will be primed to fight when we’re done.”
Kyla’s stomach twisted and turned, the same as it’d done on the trip from Heatherglen to wherever she’d been unloaded. Not only were they planning death, they were planning some monstrous levels of it. She needed to figure a way out of the camp to shout warnings to any and all who would listen.
“Stop there,” Roland called in a louder voice.
The last was an order for her guards, who pulled up short with barely audible disgruntled sighs.
Roland prowled through the room and into the hall to stop directly in front of her. A knuckle under her chin tipped her face up to meet murderous eyes and a triumphant sneer.
Instead of backing down, her lioness held steady inside her. Legs locked, hackles raised, the creature was ready to fight against the man who’d stolen her life and reduced her world down to the size of his territory. There was no more running. Figuratively, anyway. She wouldn’t turn her nose up at a clear path to freedom. But there, in that moment, she was backed into a corner and refused to let him push her around.
"This is quite the surprise." Roland laughed softly. He leaned in close, lifting a lock of her hair to his nose. "You smell like my worthless son."
“You don’t know a damn thing about him,” she snapped back.
Jasper lifted his eyes from the map spread over his desk.
“I was expecting my new female, but this is even better.” Roland dropped the lock of hair and turned to Jasper. “This one managed to slip out of my territory. She’s been holed up with your nephew’s pride.”
Jasper’s attention slid right over her to her guards. “You picked up the wrong female?”
Her guards stepped away from her in a hurry.
“We didn’t know,” the bearded one defended. “We were at the spot. She was wandering alone.”
“And you didn’t insist on speaking with her handlers? You didn’t see why they let her out of their sights?”
“We were already running late. We didn’t want to—”
Jasper’s snarl sent a shiver down her spine. The air thickened as alpha power and pure menace poured off him. “You,” he pointed to Kyla, “I’ll deal with later. Throw her in with my mate.”
Rough hands grabbed her around the shoulders. Jasper had already stepped in front of the lions who hauled her in. She almost felt a little sorry for them.
Almost.
“You idiots,” he snarled.
Her new escort jostled her up the stairs. One quick turn of a lock swung open a door and a hard shove sent her stumbling forward. The door closed behind her with a sharp crack. The scream of pain that followed ruined her hope that the sound was anything but bone breaking.
“Kyla?” someone whispered from a dark corner of the room.
Sage.
Holy heck, she’d found her. Not under ideal circumstances, admittedly, but they were in the same room together once again.
Heart tripping in her chest, she nearly fell as she rushed across the room to throw her arms around the other woman.
Sage stiffened at the touch and Kyla reeled back.
The strong woman she’d known had crumpled in on herself. Sage’s hair was disheveled and her eyes red with tears, though she mostly refused to look anywhere but the ground. A silver collar ringed her neck and kept her lioness under control. She hunched her shoulders to make herself smaller and rubbed her palms against her jeans.
“You shouldn’t be here,” she muttered. “You have to get out.”
“What do you mean? We’re going to get free. I’m not leaving you behind.”
“Kyla…” Sage said, face twisted with pain. The hand she raised to her collar shook. “I can’t go anywhere.”
She eased down the neck of her shirt and turned. There wasn’t a mate mark—that Kyla could see at least—but the scar marring Sage’s skin was still a horrific claiming. Long, uneven drags of the letter J were healed over with different shadings of pink like a repeated wound. It wasn’t something lovingly given, or even calmly accepted. It spoke of a fight that Sage ultimately lost.
Kyla pressed her lips together in a tight line as her lioness kicked up a storm inside her head. “Well, I’d be lying if I said I felt sorry for the fucker. Lindley is going to tear his head clean off his body when he finds out.”
Sage paled. “Lindley is coming? No. No, no, no. You have to stop him. He can’t be here. He’s not safe here.”
“Sage. Sage! Slow down. What are you talking about? You told me to find him and get help.”
“For you! To help keep you safe! I was dead the moment they put the collar on me.” Her fingers glided over the silver around her throat. “It’s the same as the ones used on those in the shifter prison, did you know that? I think he has connections there. He has connections everywhere.”
“So do we,” Kyla insisted firmly.
She thought of everyone in the Crowley pride, their neighbors, the Ashfords, and everyone else in Bearden. Strangers came to her aid when Levines tried to snatch her from the middle of town. Jasper and his consortium weren’t the only ones with friends.
“It’s too late.” Sage sat down heavily on the edge of the bed. “He’s obsessed with claiming the enclaves for himself. He has plans to take them by force.”
“Which are?” When Sage stayed silent, Kyla approached and took a seat next to her. “Sage,” she said softly, “please. I overheard them talking about something when they dragged me inside. Do you know what they’re going to do?”
Sage nodded sadly. “The attacks. I tried to warn Lindley, but Jasper found me.” Her voice dropped as her eyes closed. “That was my first branding.”
Kyla crawled her hand over the blanket and squeezed Sage’s fingers. Anger burned through her at the treatment her friend had suffered.
Sage tightened her hold and slashed her eyes to the side. “They’re going after the enclaves, but not directly. Jasper has ranted about public opinion turning the last time Bearden was attacked. The Supernatural Enforcement Agency offices are being targeted. Lion prides are prepared for retaliation. He wants enough death on both sides to shut down the enclaves. Then he plans to swoop in and offer safety to anyone he deems worthy.”
“I’m sure he has a very narrow definition of the word.” The same as Roland. She had no desire to return to that way of life.
Besides, she’d accomplished one seemingly impossible goal. She’d found Sage. Now it
was time to get them out for good.
Kyla moved toward the door and pressed her ear against the wood. Two sets of heartbeats thudded on the other side, though neither guard moved or spoke or even seemed to breathe noisily.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m trying to find a way out. What do you think I’m doing?”
One passage seemingly cut off, Kyla tried her second option. She’d made her escape from Nevada by window, and while that had been a quick jump over the sill to the ground, she thought she could manage a leap from the second floor. Heck, dangling by her fingertips would cut the fall considerably.
The window was, unfortunately, barred on the outside. She was about to ease the curtain back into place when another van pulled to a stop behind her unwanted chariot. The back doors flung open and men unpacked themselves from inside, dragging a woman out with them.
They didn’t move, though. Some clicked on flashlights and aimed them into the van. After a few moments of confrontation, two others were yanked into the night.
“No,” Kyla breathed.
Lindley and Trent were pushed toward the front door.
“It’s them. They’re here.”
Sage jumped to her feet. “Lindley? You saw him?”
Kyla nodded, afraid to speak. Her lioness went wild inside her. Roars echoed through her head. Claws slashed at her middle. The sharp pricks of claws stung her fingertips. The beast wanted out, wanted to maul anyone that stood between her and Lindley, wanted to make sure they were never apart again.
Kyla rushed for the door. The handle didn’t turn, but that didn’t stop her from trying again. She pressed her ear to the wood. The murmur of voices was all she heard over the howling needs of her inner animal.
She raced back to the window and twitched back the curtain. The van was still there, back doors hanging open.
One minute stretched into another. And another. Movement rustled as Sage came to stand next to her. Kyla’s stomach twisted into knots when soft light spilled into the night from the floor below.
Lindley and Trent marched back toward the van. The doors swung closed on them.
Savage Claim: Lion Hearts Book Two Page 15