by Sadie Carter
Dusty looked at her watch. “Fifteen minutes. You should be safe to move now. But I’ll check in with Devon, see if there are any problems.”
She activated her earpiece. “Devon, status report.”
Static was her only reply.
“Devon?” she said harshly. “Devon, answer me.” She looked over at Laney, whose eyes were saucer wide.
“Shit.”
“Jesse, you there?”
Static assaulted her ear.
“Fuck, fuck.”
Dusty reached for her gun and phone, searching through her contacts until she found Reed’s number.
“Do you hear something?” Laney asked. Dusty stilled, turning.
“What?”
“Outside, I think I hear someone.”
Dusty tossed Laney her phone.
“Call Reed, tell him what’s going on. I’ll go out and check. Ahh, which direction do you think the noise is coming from?”
Laney’s eyes filled with surprise but she answered quickly. “West.”
Dusty nodded and opened a corner window in the living area, climbing out to drop as gently as she could onto the ground. Her leg collapsed and she landed jarringly on her butt, biting back a hiss of pain. Ungracefully, she rolled onto her feet, adrenaline helping her ignore the protesting pain in her leg.
Unfortunately, there weren’t many places for her to hide. There were no bushes or trees close to the house. If anyone was watching with a rifle, she was a dead woman. She drew her gun from the shoulder holster and moved toward the western corner of the house.
As she slipped around the corner, the man standing there turned and snarled, eyes flashing yellow. Okay, not a man, a werewolf. She looked from him to the contraption he’d attached to the side of the house.
He appeared almost nervous as he stared between her gun and the bomb. “You haven’t got much time.”
“Dismantle it. Now.”
He shook his head and took a step backward.
Dusty spotted Brynn over the man’s shoulder. And in that split second of inattention, the bomber leaped at her, knocking the gun from her hand.
“Get the bomb out of here!” she screamed at Brynn before her attacker punched her. Dusty brought her head up, smashing her forehead into his nose, grinning at the satisfying crunch.
He placed his hands around her throat, choking her. Big mistake. That left both her hands free. Dusty gouged her thumbs into his eyes. As he reared back in pain, she jabbed her elbow into his throat.
His hands loosened around her throat as he struggled to take a breath. Dusty reached into her boot, drawing out the knife she kept in a leather pouch there. The hilt was made of rubber. His hands tightened around her throat again. Black encroached on the edges of her vision as she raised her hand and pierced his side with the silver knife.
There was a loud thump and her attacker slumped forward, nearly suffocating her with his weight. She glanced up to find Laney standing over them, a heavy skillet in her hands. Laney’s breath came in fast pants, her eyes were wide as she stared down at the man lying over Dusty.
“Did I kill him?”
“Dunno, but I’m about to suffocate to death if you don’t get him off me,” Dusty grumbled, pushing at his weight.
“Oh God.” Laney threw away the skillet and reached for him, easily rolling him off Dusty.
“Thanks,” Dusty muttered, sitting up gingerly. She rolled onto her good knee, taking deep breaths as her other leg complained.
“Here.” Laney held out her hand.
Dusty still hated leaning on others, but she knew she wouldn’t get up on her own. So reached up and let Laney help her up.
She heard a shout. Looking up, she saw Josiah and Marcus racing towards him.
“Are you hurt?” Marcus demanded, running his hands over Laney.
“I’m fine. I’m fine. Dusty is the one who fought him.”
Yeah, but Marcus knew better than to run his hands over her. She leaned back against the house, trying not to make it obvious that she was in pain.
“Is he dead?” Laney asked as Josiah knelt next to the guy, feeling for a pulse.
“Got a pulse,” he answered.
“Thank God.”
“What the hell did you two do to him?” Marcus snapped.
“Laney hit him with a skillet,” Dusty replied. “He was trying to blow up the house.”
“What?” Marcus looked shocked and Laney grew even more pale.
Cain raced toward them.
“I’m okay,” she called out as he reached her. His gaze was intense as he ran his hands over her body before pulling her close so she could lean on him. She could see the concern in his eyes but he remained quiet, standing back slightly as Cooper and Reed ran toward them.
“What the fuck happened?” Reed asked.
“This bastard tried to blow the house up,” Dusty replied. “Brynn disappeared with the bomb.” Surely he should have returned by now. She wondered how much had been left on the timer.
“Josiah, Marcus, take our prisoner away,” Reed told them.
“Where do you want him?” Marcus asked coldly.
Reed frowned. “Put him in the small storage shed by the creek.”
“Everyone inside,” Cooper ordered. He pulled Laney close, kissing the top of her head.
Dusty took a step forward but shards of fiery pain engulfed her leg. Luckily, Cain steadied her.
Dusty threw him a pained smile, letting him take most of her weight as they followed the others.
“Are you really okay?” Cain asked quietly as Josiah and Marcus loaded their prisoner into a car and drove off with him.
“I’m fine.”
She was sweating and shaky by the time she got inside, but was determined to make it without being carried.
“Everyone sit,” Laney bossed, pushing Dusty into a chair. Concern flashed in Laney’s eyes briefly. Damn, she must look in worse shape than she thought. Cain moved toward his normal spot, but Dusty grabbed his hand before she’d even thought about it. He looked at her in surprise.
“Sit with me?” she asked.
His sudden grin filled her with warmth and he perched on the wide arm of her chair, his arm resting across the back.
Brynn appeared in the doorway. His eyes were immediately drawn to hers and finally the knot in her stomach eased. He was safe. They were all safe.
“Brynn,” Cooper greeted him. “You got rid of the bomb?”
Brynn nodded. “It’s been dealt with.”
“Good. Dusty, report.”
Dusty took a deep breath. “Shortly after you left, I tried to get hold of Devon— Oh shit, Devon, I couldn’t raise him or Jesse.”
Reed immediately turned to Tina and Cain. “Go,” he barked.
Dusty looked over at Brynn. He nodded. “I’ll help.” He disappeared as Cain and Tina took off at a run.
“We’ll wait until the others are back to hear your report,” Reed said to Dusty, who nodded. Cooper kissed Laney’s forehead as she worried at her bottom lip.
“Why is someone trying to hurt me?” she whispered quietly.
“We’ll figure it out, baby. I promise.”
Suddenly, Dusty longed for her men’s arms around her. And she didn’t care what anyone else saw or thought. Leaning on her men didn’t make her weak. It simply meant she was loved.
Brynn reappeared. “They’re alive.”
Dusty and Laney let out simultaneous sighs of relief.
“They’re unconscious. Looks like a tranquilizer. Cain and Tina are transporting them to your healer.”
Twenty minutes later, the enforcers, except for Josiah, Marcus and those who were injured, were all assembled.
Cain had resumed his former position on the arm of her chair while Brynn rested against the wall across the room.
“Dusty, tell us what happened,” Cooper ordered. Dusty retold everything in detail. Everyone was silent for a moment.
“So have we finally found the guy who’s been threatening me?” Laney broke t
he quiet. “But why? Who is he?”
Reed frowned. “Dusty? Did his scent match the one you picked up when the bookstore was bombed?”
Dusty froze, unable to think of a good excuse. Shit! She was going to have to tell them her secret. This was it.
“Dusty?” Cooper asked.
“I-I don’t know.”
Reed frowned. “Why not?”
“Because I couldn’t smell him.”
Laney frowned. “You didn’t hear him outside either. What’s going on, Dusty?”
Dusty took a deep breath. “My wolf is gone.”
“What?” Cooper spoke first as everyone stared at her in shock.
“My wolf, she’s umm, sleeping, I think. I can’t rouse her.”
“When did this happen?” Cooper asked.
She focused her eyes on the wall in front of her, not wanting to look at anyone. “Ahh, I tried to change after I got out of the hospital.”
“So after you were injured?” Cooper queried.
“Yes. Why?”
He tapped his fingers against his thigh. “What does your doctor say?”
She forced down the urge to fidget. “I haven’t asked him. I missed my first two checkups but I’ve got another in three days.” More like she’d ignored the appointments, not wanting to hear what he had to say.
Cooper grabbed his phone. “Call your surgeon. Now.”
“I don’t know the number.”
He rose, returning with a card in his hand. She took it from him, dialing the number with a shaking hand.
Ten minutes later she hung up the phone in amazement.
“Well?” Brynn asked.
“He said that he didn’t want me changing with the plate in my leg. If I did the plate could damage my leg irreparably. So he injected a little disc under my skin. It slowly releases a drug that keeps my wolf asleep. When they remove the plate, they’ll take the disc out and my wolf will gradually wake up.”
She held her tears back through sheer force of will. “He said he explained all of this, but I can’t have been listening, I was kind of out of it. Apparently it was also in the discharge papers which I threw out and would have been explained at my follow-up appointments if I’d gone to any.”
Glancing up, she found everyone staring at her. She glared at them.
“What?” she snapped.
Brynn laughed. “Better watch the wind doesn’t change, hellcat.” Everyone turned to stare at him, frowning, taking their attention from her. Which had been his intention, of course. She sent him a small smile and once everyone had turned back to her, he winked.
“So Dusty’s wolf can’t distinguish this guy’s scent, which means we’ll have to get the information we want another way. Ready for some good cop, bad cop?” Reed asked. Dusty nodded. She was the pack interrogator. Once this guy woke up, it would be up to her to get him to talk, with Reed and Marcus’ help.
“He must have been the one to set the bomb at the bookstore,” she said slowly. “The question is, why? Who is he? And why didn’t he or whoever he’s working with kill Jesse and Devon instead of simply tranquilizing them?”
“Only one way to get an answer.”
Dusty nodded at Reed’s words and stood.
“Yep.”
Chapter Fourteen
Dusty limped into the small storage shed they were using as a temporary jail. When Zachary had been alive, they’d used his basement as a holding cell. But no one suggested taking their prisoner there.
She nodded at Josiah, who was standing guard outside the shed. Inside, Marcus lounged back on a plastic chair. He looked up as Reed and Dusty entered, his expression calm.
Rising, he offered her the chair, which she took gratefully. Her leg was stiff and sore. Cain had made her take some pain pills, but they hadn’t kicked in yet.
Dusty smiled at the prisoner as he raised his head to look at her. She was playing the friendly, helpless female today. It was her turn to play good cop. Damn it. She much preferred bad cop.
Their prisoner sat on the dirty floor, his arms and legs chained up in silver, which had to be making him feel as weak as a kitten. Silver would drain him, ensuring there was no way he could break free.
Not that he was putting up any resistance. He stared at her with broken eyes.
“What’s your name?” she asked softly.
He shook his head. “Why should I tell you?”
She raised a brow. “What? It’s some big secret? You know, these accommodations aren’t bad. You have four walls, a window, even a light. We have a coffin, about five-feet long, that we like to put our really recalcitrant prisoners in. No windows, silver joins and a small hole for you to breathe out of. Would you prefer that?”
Okay, so good cop had just flown the coop. But this guy had punched her, choked her and tried to blow her up.
She studied him closely. His clothes were cheap, and he hadn’t had a decent haircut in a while. His hair was unkempt and greasy. And yet he might have been handsome were it not for the defeated, weak feel to him. He was too pasty, too thin.
“What does it matter? You’ll just kill me anyway. Once I tell you I’m as good as dead.”
“And if you don’t tell us what we want to know, you’ll spend your last hours in a lot of pain,” Reed growled.
“Look, I didn’t want to do any of this, but I had no other choice, they gave me no choice.” Sweat gathered on his forehead, dripping down his face.
His gaze flitted between Reed and Marcus, trying to decide who the bigger threat was. Licking his lips, he tried to straighten up.
“You can’t do this. I have rights. I don’t belong to this pack.”
“Thank God,” Marcus said fervently. “You’re trespassing on our land. You tried to blow up our Alpha’s mate. Do you really think we’re interested in your rights?”
The prisoner gulped audibly.
“They made me do it.”
“Who?” Dusty asked. “Who made you do it?”
He shook his head.
“Enough of this.” Marcus stepped forward. Pulling the prisoner up until the chains were taut, he held him by the neck, choking him.
“Do you know who you almost killed? Who you’ve been terrorizing? Do you?” He shook the other werewolf easily, slamming his head back against the wooden wall with a loud crack.
“My sister,” he whispered in a deadly voice. “Now you tell us what we want to know or I’m going to make sure every inch of your body is in pain.”
He dropped the prisoner, who gasped for breath, whimpering. Cowering, he looked up at Marcus warily.
“If I-if I tell you what I know, will you do something for me?”
Marcus growled, showing his teeth. The man shook.
“It’s not for me, it’s my mate. She’s innocent.”
“What about her?” Dusty asked.
“They’re holding her. That’s how they got me to do this. They said they’d kill her if I didn’t do what they said.”
“And what do you want from us?” Reed asked coldly.
“I want you to find her, protect her. You can kill me. Just save her. She doesn’t deserve this, any of this.”
Reed was silent for a long moment. “All right, you have our word we will try to find her, and if we do, we won’t hurt her.”
Chains rattled as their prisoner relaxed a little and nodded.
“All right, so what’s your name?” Dusty asked
“Dan Edwards.”
“And what pack are you from, Dan?”
“Highmoon.”
“Highmoon?” Dusty asked in surprise. “Texas? You don’t have an accent.”
He shrugged. “I haven’t lived in Texas for a long time. I’ve been moving around for the last few years.”
“You’ve been living without a pack?” Marcus asked in disbelief. Most werewolves needed the pack to keep them grounded.
“There were four of us. My mate, Hanna, myself, my father and my cousin.”
Dusty frowned. “So where ar
e your father and cousin?”
“Dead,” he said dully. Dusty took a breath.
“What are you doing here? Did your pack send you?”
Dusty hoped not. The last thing they needed was a fight with one of the largest packs in the States.
He shook his head. “No, no, they’ve probably forgotten I even exist. I didn’t exactly leave in the best circumstances.”
“And why was that?”
“My father is—was—addicted to gambling. He couldn’t help himself—he’d get in too deep then do anything he could to get himself out. Our pack grew sick of it. They kicked him out after he was caught stealing. From our Alpha. My cousin and I left with him.” Edwards shrugged. “We were lazy, I guess. We preferred to earn a living playing poker and fleecing others than working.”
“You’re con men,” Dusty said, trying not to show her disgust.
“Yeah.”
“And your mate?” Reed asked, obviously wondering what they’d gotten themselves into.
Edwards head rose, his eyes strangely fierce. “She’s got nothing to do with it. I met her about a year ago. Hanna’s really just a kid. She wouldn’t hurt anyone. She never knew what we were doing.”
Dusty was skeptical that she’d had no idea, but he seemed determined to protect her.
“How’d you get the ability to set up a bomb? Not a normal hobby.”
His eyes dropped. “I was always good at that sort of thing. My father had a human friend, older guy. He was dishonorably discharged from the armed forces. He taught me.”
“So you were behind the bombing at the bookstore?”
He nodded.
“Why?” she asked.
“Because they made me. They killed my father and Al, my cousin, when I resisted. And they said Hanna would be next unless I did what they said.”
He may have been spineless scum, but he obviously loved his mate.
“Who did this?”
His eyes were miserable as he gazed up at her. “I don’t know. They were masked. Always.”
“How did they get hold of you?” she asked impatiently.
“My father. He got in too deep with these guys. They were bookies, and he owed them money. I got a call from him, asking me to come and get him. When I got to the address he gave me, they’d beaten him really badly. He was tied up to a chair in this large warehouse, and they were there. Three of them. They’re wolves, I know that but they all had masks on and I didn’t recognize any scents.”