by Eve Langlais
His head dipped. He sighed. Drummed his fingers.
“What’s wrong, Big?”
“What’s wrong is I can’t lie to you. There is a secret installation.”
“What?” I yelled. Not entirely surprised. I’d known he was holding back.
“Before you get mad, I didn’t want to tell you because I really would prefer you leave town. I wasn’t joking about it being dangerous here.”
“Because this is the place. This is where they’re experimenting on our kind.”
“Maybe. I don’t know for sure. Which is why I was sent here.”
“Who sent you?” Only to answer my own question. “Daddy sent you.”
“Not specifically. Me and a bunch of other guys joined the temp agency that Chymera uses to find staff. The agency sent me here to work.”
“And you report what you find back to my dad,” I said aloud. “This means the pack knows what’s happening.”
“Not exactly. But we knew something was up. Over the past few years, people have gone missing. All shifters. No bodies ever found.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I couldn’t help the hurt in my tone. I’d been honest with him. I couldn’t believe he’d been lying to me.
“Because I wanted to keep you out of it.”
“Wanted to protect me because I’m a weak bunny who can’t take care of herself,” I huffed.
When I would have moved, he grabbed me and yanked me into his lap. “Because I care about you and I didn’t want to see you hurt. After the kidnapping attempt, do you know how hard it was to go home? I just wanted to sleep outside your door.”
“Why didn’t you?” I asked. “After all, his accomplice could have come back.”
“Because I knew you’d hate it. That first night we ran into each other, you made it clear you’re all about standing on your own two feet. Which I respect. It means I can’t mollycoddle you even if it almost kills me to walk away.”
“But you followed me that first night. You didn’t think I could walk home alone.”
“I followed you so I’d know where you were staying. How else could I have seen you again?” His lips tilted.
“You should have been smarter and stolen my wallet.”
“Apparently not all of us are as gifted in five-finger borrowing as you are.”
I laughed. “Not all that gifted considering I was groping you pretty noticeably when I took it.”
“I’m sorry I lied to you.” His face turned serious.
“Can’t really be mad, I guess. You were also on a mission. The good news is now we can work together. Starting with, where the heck is this secret installation?”
“Somewhere in the acreage behind the institute.”
“So you don’t know where it is?”
He shook his head. “Not exactly. And again, this is only an assumption. About a week or so ago, on a secondary road leading out of this place, I spotted an off-road track going into the woods. It seemed kind of curious, so I parked and went for a walk. I didn’t get far before some dude stopped me and told me I was trespassing.”
“Human I assume?”
“He seemed to be, but I couldn’t be sure because the guy had no scent.”
“Impossible. Everyone has a smell.”
“Exactly. But he didn’t, and that’s how he snuck up on me. I never even knew he was there until he spoke.”
“Did you pee yourself?” I asked. “That happened to me once. I had to really go, and I was walking into the apartment and Lana, my roommate, screamed ‘Boo,’ and I yelled and sneezed at the same time. It wasn’t pretty.”
Again, he got the strangest look on his face.
“You know, most people would keep that story to themselves.”
“There are many things in my life I have to keep secret. Embarrassing moments aren’t one of them.” Besides, maybe if he thought of me as a girl who peed her pants he’d stop looking at me in that smoldering way that told my panties to take a hike. We had serious business to discuss that wouldn’t get done if my mouth was full of his penis.
“Back to the point of the story. Whatever is in those woods is guarded by people we can’t smell coming.”
“Have you told anyone?”
“Not yet. See, I happened to meet an old friend, and things got kind of crazy.”
I found it rather flattering that I distracted him. Now, however, was time to focus. “We need to go back to that road you found.”
“Obviously, but the problem remains: How do we reach whatever is in those woods?”
“I can reach it.”
“How? The guard will stop us the minute they find us trespassing.” Him and his logic.
“Which is why we’ll have to make sure we’re not spotted. Good thing the full moon is tomorrow night.”
His eyes widened. “Oh hell no. You can’t take your bunny in there.”
“Why not?”
“Because you’re a rabbit, Enny. And rabbits aren’t exactly fearsome predators who can take out guards.”
“One, that’s a rather broad assumption to make.” Not to mention my bunny was not as useless as he thought. “And two, why take out a guard if I can sneak by him?”
“Sneak?” He snickered. “Enny, it might have been years since I saw your rabbit, but some things can’t be forgotten. As I recall, you are freaking huge.”
“Are you calling my bunny fat?” I angled my chin.
“Not fat, but definitely oversized. You’re what, a hundred pounds?”
“Hundred and five.”
“Even compacted, that’s a one-hundred-and-five-pound rabbit. The world’s largest known species is the continental giant, and the biggest one on record is only fifty-five pounds. You’re almost twice that size.”
“How do you know that?”
He shrugged and wouldn’t look me in the eye. His head ducked, and he practically blushed as he mumbled, “I might have read up on rabbits after you turned into one.”
“Why?”
“Because I wanted to know more about them.”
“Again, why?”
He finally raised his head enough to stare me in the eyes. “Because I used to like this girl who turned into one.”
“Used to?” I found myself utterly fascinated by the conversation, by the fact this guy I used to crush on had taken the time to do research, because of me.
“Yeah, used to. Because she ran away without a word or a goodbye and never came back.”
The rebuke stung, and I defended myself. “I didn’t want to be a burden on the pack.”
“Did it ever occur to you that you caused a bigger burden to those you left behind?”
To my shame, I’d always assumed everyone felt relief. Even my parents. After all, I was an embarrassment to the two strongest people in our pack. Surely, despite their claim they loved me still, they were better off without a broken daughter?
“I thought I was doing the right thing.” Which sounded lame even to my ears.
And he didn’t spare me any quarter. “No, it wasn’t the right thing. You were a selfish asshole. Good news, though, there’s still time to apologize for it.”
I grimaced. “You want me to talk to my parents. I thought we already discussed the fact I wasn’t interested.”
“Yeah, I know you’re not. Doesn’t mean it’s the right choice.”
“You promised you wouldn’t bring me home.”
“And I’ll keep that promise, even if it’s a dumb one.”
“You calling me a dumb bunny?”
“If the stubborn fits.” He held my gaze. “Listen, Enny, I know you’re scared. But I think if you just talked to them. Hell, maybe if you saw them… Maybe you’d see there’s nothing to be frightened of.”
See them? My heart fluttered, and my hands shook. I shoved myself from his lap and paced. “I can’t.”
His hands anchored themselves to my arms and forced me to stop. “Calm down.”
“I’m calm.”
“No, you’r
e not. I can hear your heart racing. Why are you so frightened? It’s your mom and dad. They love you.”
“Do they?” I tilted my face. “I’m not their perfect daughter anymore. My dad even wondered if I was his.” The DNA tests run on me afterwards to see why I was the way I was proved otherwise. However, all the tests in the world couldn’t fix me.
“They had a shock, and maybe they didn’t handle it as well as they should have. But you never gave them a chance to apologize. Never gave them a chance to get to know the new you.”
“I was a freaking bunny in a pack of wolves. I didn’t have time. I was too worried about getting eaten.”
“In time the pack would have accepted you.”
I scowled. “You don’t know that for sure.”
“Neither do you because you ran before giving anyone a chance.”
“Fine. I get it. I was a jerk who should have tried a little harder. Enough with the guilt trip. You are totally being a downer.” Which made me crave chocolate something fierce.
I got something sweeter as he held me tight and pulled me closer.
“I’m sorry, Enny. Don’t be mad.” His lips brushed my temple, then my cheek, before finding my mouth. I melted into him and might have taken him right there on his rickety desk except we heard a car coming.
“Shit. Can you duck out of sight?”
I did one better. I dove out the window. With his keys. Things were getting complicated, and I needed something with icing to help calm me down.
As he was bent down dealing with the person coming in, I raced out with his truck. Not stealing, merely borrowing it for a bit. I blew him a kiss as I went by and shouted, “Pick you up at five.”
I drove into town and hit the grocery store. Super excited to see my favorite brand of ice cream on sale. What I didn’t expect was to also bring home a man.
Not that I told Derek about our visitor when I picked him up at the end of his shift.
Boy was Derek surprised when he walked in the door, wearing a scowl, and saw our guest tied to a chair.
“Um, Enny, what the fuck?”
“Remember how you said we needed a cover to get in?”
“Yeah.”
“I found it.”
Chapter 11
As plans went, hers wasn’t the worst he’d heard of, but that didn’t stop Derek from pacing.
“Let me get this straight,” he said, pivoting before he hit the wall. “You went to the grocery store for junk food.”
“I don’t know if I’d call it junk. Ambrosia of the gods seems like a better title.”
“And you happened to see this guy?”
“Not just any guy.” Claire pointed to her captive. “Check it out, I found Igor, the same fellow who tried to kidnap me.”
Igor glared in reply.
It took Derek a moment to process her claim. “Did you say Igor? Is that really his name?”
“Um, no, I kind of made it up on account he has no wallet. I checked.”
This time he blinked. Confused about the fact he was angry. “You went through his pockets?”
“All of them, even the tiny change one. But don’t worry, he didn’t enjoy it one bit, so no need to be jealous.”
“I’m not jealous.” He was pissed. The reason? She’d touched another guy. Shit, I am jealous. Not that he said anything out loud. She didn’t need more ammo.
Claire approached him and placed her hands on his chest, peeking up at him with utmost seriousness. “I would never cheat on you, Big. Especially now that we’re kind of an item.”
“Are we?” For some reason this did much to soothe the irritation. Until he looked at the man in the chair. He wouldn’t be enjoying any of the benefits that came with them being an item with Igor in his house.
That brought about a long sigh. “Let’s go back to the part where you saw your kidnapper. Of course, your first thought wasn’t to get away but to abduct him instead.”
“I know, brilliant, right? And ironic. He kidnapped me, I kidnapped him.” She beamed. “So any-hoo, I happened to drive around the back of the grocery store—”
“Because the long way out of the parking lot is great for gas consumption.”
“—when I saw the delivery van parked by a loading dock. The same van that’s been picking up huge grocery orders every few days.”
“Which is suspicious,” he said sarcastically.
“Well yeah. I mean who needs that much raw fish, meat, and vegetables? The thirty pounds of carrots, I get. Great snack with loads of vitamin C. But did you know there wasn’t even a single box of cookies in there?”
“A true crime.”
She nodded. “No kidding because everyone knows sugar is needed for true happiness.”
“I didn’t know that.” Although, given how he felt in the moment, he began to suspect what he needed—ahem, who—in order to find his happy place.
“When I saw Igor was the guy behind the wheel, I knew right away I had to steal his van.”
“You stole it with him in it,” Derek stated flatly.
“I did.” She sounded so proud of herself. “After I knocked him out—”
“With a tire iron?”
Her bouncy hair whipped back and forth. “Nope. Couldn’t find one in your truck, which is a bad idea. What if you get a flat tire?”
“I call a tow truck.” Because his spare had a hole, too.
“Since you didn’t have anything I could use as a whacking stick, I had to improvise. I jumped in the back of the van when Igor wasn’t looking, and when he sat in the driver’s seat, I put him in a sleeper hold.”
“That doesn’t actually work.” A cool-looking wrestling move but almost impossible to accomplish. Especially given her size versus Igor’s.
“It does too work if you jam a plastic bag over their head first.”
He shook his head in disbelief. “Remind me to never piss you off.”
“Keep making my panties wet and we’ll be fine.” Only as she blushed did he realize she’d said more than she intended.
Did his cock get hard? Fucking right it did. But he couldn’t concentrate on that fact right now. Because there was something he needed to clarify. “Um, where is his van?” Because she’d picked Derek up in his truck.
“I parked it a few blocks away from the grocery store in the alley behind the strip club. Then moved him from the van to your truck to here. Tada.” She gestured and beamed.
“How the hell did you move him? He outweighs you by at least fifty pounds. Did you have help?”
“I’m stronger than I look.” Said with a wink.
“Were you seen?” Should he worry the police were about to raid his home and charge him as an accomplice?
She blew a raspberry. “P-l-le-ease. I am not a dumb bunny.”
“Just a rash one. What you did was dangerous. This whole thing was a bad idea, Enny.”
“Bad how? Instead of waiting for tomorrow night for the full moon and infiltrating in bunny stealth mode, I got us a Trojan van.”
He shook his head. “First off, we have no idea where that van was going. Maybe it’s for an old age home or a commune out in the boonies. We don’t even know Igor works for them.”
She jabbed her finger at Igor. “He tried to kidnap me.”
“And? Could be he’s a Silence of the Lambs kind of guy.” After all, she was tasty looking. “The point is we don’t know for sure what his motive was because I doubt Igor told you anything.”
“He’s been a little shy about communicating,” she admitted, rubbing her toe on the floor and looking adorably chagrinned.
“Could it be because you have tape over his mouth?”
“I didn’t have a choice,” she explained. “He was using some really foul language. My ears were burning.”
“You can’t go around kidnapping people, Enny.”
“He did it first.” She stamped her foot in irritation. “Which makes us even.”
“Except for the fact you escaped and he’s still in
my house.”
“You want me to untie him?” She moved around to the back of Igor, and Derek yelled, “No.”
Not because he didn’t think he could handle the big guy. Igor was human, and wolf beat them every day no matter the size. “We don’t need him calling his bosses and telling them we’re onto their crimes.”
“Right.” She nodded. “We need to keep him prisoner until we’ve found the secret base, called in the troops, and evil is vanquished once and for all.”
“You have a vivid fantasy life, don’t you?”
“Yes, and you should see the outfits for some of it.” She winked.
Given how little blood remained in his brain, he was close to not caring if Igor was tied in his living room. He had to ignore the distraction.
Derek turned away from her and mulled over the problems with her plan. “Let’s say the van is involved and we take it on that dirt road. There will be guards. They won’t just let us drive in. Once they stop us, they’ll realize we’re not the regular drivers.”
“Not much I can do about that unless you’re a master of disguise like that Cruise fellow in those Bourne movies.”
“That’s Mission Impossible, which is an apt description for what you’re suggesting. We’re going to be caught.”
“You might, but they won’t keep you captive for long. While you’re distracting the guards at the gate, I will slip in, make sure we’ve got the right place, and then lead the cavalry to the spot.”
“What if they shoot me?”
Her turn to flutter her lashes. “Why would they do that?” Asked most guilelessly.
“You say these people think nothing of capturing our kind and experimenting on us. What makes you think they won’t just shoot me on sight?”
“Because you’re going to show them some teeth. That will show your value. They won’t dare shoot you then.”
“I am not shifting.” He was adamant on that point.
“Then you better hope they don’t aim to kill.”
He gritted his teeth. “I have a better idea. Why don’t I make some calls? Get some backup. Raid this place with actual people trained for this kind of thing.”
“You are not calling my dad,” she yelled, no longer smiling and very agitated.
“We have to call someone.”