Flyers Fuzzbutts and Fisticuffs

by Jools Louise

  Moriakovsky laughed again, aiming his rifle at her head. “Little girl. You do not want to test me,” he warned. “I am here to kill a man who has caused me a great deal of aggravation. I do not care who I kill to get to him.”

  He gestured to where Jayne lay, unconscious, with blood pooling under her.

  Candy paled and took a step back, cowering against her friends. Blue stared at the men, feeling helpless. He just hoped that Arthur managed to find help, and fast.

  * * * *

  Cullen found himself close to the school and approached cautiously through the trees. A small fox was scurrying from the elementary school, and Cullen let out a yipping cry, getting the little one’s attention. Changing course, the fox ran toward him.

  “What’s going on?” Cullen asked urgently. “Arthur? Is that you?”

  Arthur shifted, panting and looking terrified. “Some bad men came into our school. They’re holding the others prisoner, and they shot Miss Jayne. I ran for help.”

  “Fuck!” Cullen forgot himself enough to swear. “John’s going to shit a brick. That’s his sister.”

  “Honey went missing, as well. We were going to track her down, but then the men came in, so we couldn’t follow her,” Arthur said, trembling in the cold. “She’s been talking to someone called Stealth459 on the Shifter Network. Blue thinks the person is someone called Shadow. Mika said that Stealth459 was on a weapons warehouse in Russia. Owned by his daddy. Nikolai Petrovsky.”

  Cullen stared at him in horror. “Double fuck!” he swore.

  “Shift, little one,” Cullen urged him. “We need to get help, and quickly. My friend, Doyle, ran this way. My other friend, Louis, was shot and kidnapped. Perhaps by these men.” He frowned. “This is getting confusing.”

  “I listened at the door,” Arthur said timidly. “The man is called Moriakovsky. He said he’s here to get someone he called Arctic Wolf. They didn’t mention anyone called Louis.”

  A low, chuffing growl sounded behind them, and a large snow leopard appeared, green eyes staring at the buildings.

  “Hey, John,” Cullen whispered. “I guess you heard all that.”

  The leopard nodded.

  “Your sister was shot, and Honey went missing,” Cullen told him. “I’m not sure how badly Jayne’s injured.”

  John snarled, staring down the hill.

  “I think there’s two things going on here,” Cullen told his friend. “If Nikolai Petrovsky is Shadow, and Stealth459, then he’s got an agenda of his own. Is he still after Irina and Mika? But why use Honey to get to Primrose? I don’t know who’s in the building.”

  “There were a lot of men,” Arthur said. “One spoke with a Russian accent.”

  John shifted suddenly, staring in alarm at Cullen and Arthur. “Stealth459 was the handle of an old adversary when I was Special Forces. I was in a firefight and killed his cousins. They were nasty and tortured a lot of people. They liked causing pain. He’s lethal and has a long memory. If this Petrovsky is the same man, then he’s here for revenge. His beef with Irina might be connected, but he certainly wouldn’t miss the opportunity to hurt me while he’s here.”

  “She was an agent,” Cullen admitted. “She turned her back on that when she began helping shifters out of Russia. Their organization, Stronghold, is strongly suspected to be government sponsored. Hundreds of our kind have been murdered or disappeared. That’s a good enough reason to take her down.”

  “Shit!” John cursed. Then he smiled in relief. “Oh looky down there,” he said, pointing. “Aiden just got involved. Those fuckers down there won’t know what hit ‘em. I need to go and find Honey.”

  Cullen stared, then grinned. Aiden was a teacher at the elementary school, and a fox shifter as well as having a second form, a super human sort of thing that made the Incredible Hulk look like a weakling. He was already huge and bristling with muscle, but when someone yanked up Aiden’s testosterone levels, it was instant carnage.

  “I need to find Louis and Doyle,” Cullen said, sniffing the air. “And what about Honey?”

  “I can track Honey,” Arthur said. “If she went to get Primrose, she’ll be heading for your house, John. Blue said that Stealth459 messaged her and asked to meet Primrose.”

  John eyed the little boy, then shook his head. “No, love. It’s too dangerous. Let’s take those guys down first,” he said, pointing to the school. “Oh, okay. I think Maizie and her friends are on the case, as well,” he muttered. “Oh god.”

  Three elephants were running toward the school in question, full charge. Without pausing, bellowing angrily, the lead elephant passed Aiden and shoved her huge bulk through the front door. The sound of crashing and yelling followed.

  John and Cullen exchanged grins, despite the serious situation. “Okay, so you go after Doyle and Louis. I’ll get Honey,” John said, shaking his head. “Maizie and Aiden will take care of Jayne,” he said, looking torn, as though he wanted to help at the school but knew that Honey was out there alone, with a killer who had deliberately targeted her.

  “Where’s your mom, Arthur? We can’t leave you here on your own,” Cullen said.

  “She was helping with the horses, today,” Arthur said.

  “Okay, then we need to head out to the main ranch,” Cullen told him.

  “Let me come with you,” Arthur begged John. “I might be able to help.”

  “No way,” John retorted firmly, shifting back to his leopard form, then making his way stealthily through the trees toward his house.

  “Come on, squirt,” Cullen said gently. “Shift so you don’t catch a cold. Then we’ll take you to your mom, and I can go after my mates.”

  Arthur nodded reluctantly, shifted to his fox form, then trotted along after Cullen as they headed toward the ranch proper. Maizie and Aiden were more than capable of taking care of business.

  * * * *

  Honey hid beneath a small bush, in lion form, and watched the small cottage that her friend, Stealth459, had acquired. Instead of a young boy escaping an abusive father, as he had told her on Shifter Network, she found an old man, looking about the same age as her Daddy Aiden. Like, at least forty. Perhaps this was a mistake. Maybe Stealth459’s father had found out about their messages and had come instead. She had the sinking feeling, however, that she’d been duped. She was so stupid. Blue was right.

  Her tail swished from side to side as she tried to figure out what to do. She hadn’t gone to get Primrose after all, but had gone to the cottage where her so-called friend was. She had been determined to prove Blue wrong.

  A large snow leopard slunk up behind her, and she yelped in fright, staring at the huge cat, scenting John. Oh crap!

  John nuzzled her gently, and growled softly, glaring before turning his attention to the cottage. He chuffed, nudging her to leave the safety of the bush, silent as a ghost. She followed behind, tail between her legs, thoroughly shaken by what she’d so nearly done. She wanted to believe that she would have never put her best friend Primrose in danger, but the truth was, if Primrose hadn’t been ill, she and her friend would be in that cottage right now.

  John’s house came into sight, and Honey saw Joe McKellar, the hunting dog shifters, their mate Jace, plus Cassidy, Rafe, and his two mates, Lucas and Archie. Double crap!

  Joe threw some clothes at John, and the big snow leopard slunk into the house, reemerging moments later fully clothed. Honey sat on her haunches, head down, feeling about as silly as it was possible to feel under the stares of all the adults.

  “So, munchkin, what’s going on?” Cassidy asked quietly, with none of the anger that Honey had expected.

  Honey sniffed but didn’t shift, not looking up. She shrugged, not wanting to respond.

  “Arthur told me that our good friend, Shadow, is also Stealth459, and old nemesis of mine from my SF days,” John said mildly, glancing at Joe.

  “Stealth459?” the ranch owner said sharply, shooting a look at Honey. “That’s who Honey’s been messaging on the Network? Th
at’s the guy whose brothers you killed.”

  “Yes, and he’s also known by another alias…Nikolai Petrovsky, who’s after our newest residents, Irina and Mika,” John replied. “Apparently he’s been in touch for a while, hasn’t he, Honey?”

  Honey met his gaze, swallowing hard before shifting. Cassidy immediately stepped forward, helping her to dress. Then came confession time. Honey explained everything that had gone on.

  “So, this Stealth459 began talking on the Shifter Network about six months ago?” Joe asked.

  “Yes, sir,” Honey said, tears in her eyes. “He’s funny and he made me laugh. I didn’t think there was a problem. He wanted to know all about the ranch, and my friends. He told me his father was not very nice, and he wanted to run away.”

  “So you helped him, by telling him to come to Sage,” Cassidy cut in.

  “I didn’t think there was a problem,” Honey repeated tearfully. “Blue and Murray and the others just wanna do stupid stuff. I hate when they go off and get into trouble. I wanna play with my dollies, and they make fun of me because they like to play with mud. So I go with them, and then end up grounded.”

  John knelt beside her, and stroked her hair. “What did your online friend promise you?” he asked gently.

  She looked up, startled, then felt guilty again. “He was gonna help me to run away with him,” she admitted. “He said he knew a place where I could play with my dollies all day long. He said I was obviously smart, too smart for my stupid friends.”

  John let loose a low, feral growl, and she flinched. “So, he helped to turn you against your family and friends?” he said.

  “No,” she said mutinously, pouting. “That stupid Flying Squad did.”

  “You know that this Stealth459 is evil, don’t you?” Joe said, and she nodded hesitantly.

  “He lied to me, didn’t he? And he never wanted to meet any of my friends before, but then at the end, just this morning, he suddenly asked me to bring Primrose along. I never mentioned anyone’s name to him,” she said earnestly. “I promise I didn’t. But he seemed to know a lot about them, and knew that all of you had adopted lab kids.”

  “Primrose is still feeling a little groggy after her cold,” Cameron said, holding out his hand. “But she’d love company, if you feel like spending time with her.” He smiled suddenly. “She hates dirt, too.”

  Honey sniffed miserably and nodded. “I’m sorry I’ve been so mean. I would hate it if anything happened to my friends and family.”

  They all heard a trumpeting roar from the direction of the school, and John grinned widely. “Maizie is making sure nothing happens to those guys,” he chuckled, and hugged Honey close. “Now why don’t you go and see Primrose? We need to take out Shadow.”

  Honey nodded and went into the house with Cameron, crying again.

  * * * *

  The atmosphere after Honey went inside turned grim. “Okay, gents, this guy is not your average Joe,” John said, smirking when his ex-boss flipped him off at the snark. “Stealth459 is someone to be afraid of. He’s smart, ruthless, and has managed to map out our town without even leaving home. He wants payback, I imagine, for what I did to his family, but he’s also linked to a former agent, Irina.”

  “He needs to be euthanized. Quickly,” Joe added. “I came across the guy years ago, after he went rogue. Killed for pleasure, not for any legitimate reason. He was responsible for the deaths of several innocents, before you and I met, John.”

  “I know, boss,” John replied. “This is the first time I’ve heard his real name.”

  “The Shifter Network is compromised,” Rafe piped up. “We should turn the tables. Our children are being used as unwitting accomplices, and Flashpoint and its allies are able to hurt us through them.”

  “We need to deal with that later, guys,” Joe said grimly. “Right now, we have a murderer to take care of.”

  “On it, boss,” Sky retorted. “I contacted Freddy at the college. He and Ethan are on their way over. We may need Freddy’s flight skills.”

  “Let’s stake the place,” Joe said. “And someone needs to look in on Irina. She’s helping Dorothy with the horses.”

  “Aaron’s there, as well, as is Goran and Oskar. They won’t let anything happen to the ladies,” Archie chimed in.

  A moment later Freddy landed beside them, mantling his huge wings before shifting quickly.

  “Guys, whoever is at that cottage is gone. No sign of him,” he said breathlessly.

  “The stables,” John said urgently. “We need to split up. Two of you stay here to protect Cameron and the girls.”

  “Yeah,” Joe added. “The rest of us, head out to the stables. Freddy, could you do another recce? Signal if you get eyes on target.”

  “You got it,” Freddy replied, shifting again before lifting off, his eagle form several times larger than a regular raptor. He was soon above the tree line and then out of sight.

  “Okay, guys, let’s go,” Joe urged.

  “We’ll stay here,” Jace said, looking at Archie and Lucas, who nodded. “With Cameron and Cassidy here, we’ll stop anyone getting to the girls.”

  John hesitated, frowning. “Petrovsky knows this ranch, and he’s no fool, so he knows where I live. He could well double back. I’ll stay with Cameron. You boys go with Joe.”

  Joe nodded slowly, palming his cell phone. “I’ll warn Aaron to expect something. His cousins are helping out as security. I don’t want this turning into a bloodbath.”

  “He wants payback, one way or the other,” John said. “So I have a hunch that Petrovsky will come here first.”

  The rest of the mob took off, leaving John there with his husband, daughter Primrose, and Honey. Shifting he leapt onto the low-hanging branch of a nearby tree and then climbed higher, lying out of sight, his coat blending in with the surrounding snow and ice. Growling again, he saw Cameron stand on the porch for a brief moment, their gazes meeting, before his husband went back inside. Moments later Cameron reappeared with the girls wrapped up warmly in thick coats and boots, plus fleecy leggings. They had a safe house that only the two knew about. In situations like these, it paid to be cautious.

  Watching his family leave, John waited, motionless, for Shadow’s next move. The bastard wanted a fucking fight? Let him pick on someone his own size.

  Chapter Eight

  Cullen entered the ranch compound cautiously, Arthur keeping close. He frowned, since everywhere was quiet. No horses, no people…nothing but the chill wind that started up. Where was everybody?

  “Stay alert, Arthur,” Cullen whispered, hugging the side of the largest stable. He sniffed and frowned. He smelled his lovers, plus the nauseous odor of gun oil, similar to that at the pond. Louis and Doyle were here? Fuck.

  A slight sound to their left had him turning his head, and his eyes widened as he saw Irina and Dorothy standing together, alongside a man who Cullen had seen dozens of times…on Britain’s Most Wanted posters online. Martin D’Arcy. Fuck!

  “Cullen, isn’t it? How delightful of you to join us,” D’Arcy said, smirking, his cold eyes gleaming with malice. “And you brought a little pet, too. How quaint.”

  “Run, Arthur,” Cullen hissed. “Run and hide, baby. Stay out of sight until I come and find you.”

  Arthur whimpered, hesitated, then took off as fast as he could, darting behind the barn.

  “Get him back,” D’Arcy snarled angrily.

  “Get him yourself,” Cullen sneered. “Or is that just too much for you to handle, fuckwad.”

  He met Irina’s gaze and smirked. D’Arcy hadn’t done his homework, apparently, if he thought he could take on Irina. He shook his head slightly, urging her to bide her time. Irina looked about ready to rip the fucker’s head off, but they needed to find out who D’Arcy was working with.

  The former politician and murderer stepped forward, giving Cullen a view of his lovers, lying motionless on the ground. Louis would be pissed. This was the second time in only a couple of months since
he’d been shot. Narrowing his vision, Cullen noted the rise and fall of their chests, and breathed more easily himself. They weren’t dead—yet.

  “So, Mr. D’Arcy, you do know that you’re outnumbered, don’t you?” Cullen said casually, moving closer, a step at a time, his gaze now fully on the Brit.

  “And yet, those two louts are the ones lying on the ground, and I’m the one holding a gun,” D’Arcy mocked, curling his lip. “Don’t move any closer, or I’ll shoot Dorothy and finish the job I started in Fort William.”

  “I’m surprised she’s still alive.” Cullen shrugged, laughing. “Are you that bad a shot? You had two fairly huge targets, and only managed to wound them. And Dorothy was standing right in front of you, according to Albert, but she’s still breathing. I imagine you think you’re holding all the cards, but from where I’m standing, all I need to do is stand still and you’ll probably miss.”

  D’Arcy fired once, into the ground close to Cullen’s foot. “I missed because I wanted to,” he snarled angrily. “Dorothy has something I want.”

  “What? A brain?”

  Another shot, kicking up snow, an inch closer this time. Cullen didn’t flinch.

  “What are you stalling for?” Cullen asked, seeing D’Arcy jerk at the question. “I mean it. Are you waiting for backup? Because Petrovsky has his own agenda. John Hastings. He doesn’t care for you or your issues. He’s a former Russian agent. A rogue agent who killed as many of his own as he ever did targets for his government.”

  “That’s a lie,” D’Arcy retorted.

  “No,” Irina said, baring her fangs. “He is mercenary. He does not care for anything but money. He wants an easy life, and an end to shifters. At any cost. I married him years ago, but when he found out I was a shifter, he tried to murder both me and our son. Now he pretends to be a grieving divorcee, desperate to get me back? I’d rather eat shit.”

  “Shut up, you little bitch,” D’Arcy yelled, rounding on her and punching her in the face, breaking her nose. She shifted in an instant, into a huge Siberian tiger with a snowy white coat, her eyes glittering with rage as she pounced, shoving him to the ground, her jaws clamping around his throat.