by Terry Spear
“I’m shifting, and I’m getting out. Now.” Shelley gave him a small smile, kissed his cheek, and then shifted.
“I second that, lad,” Ethan said, still watching out the back window. He began stripping out of his clothes. “We’re better off standing our ground as wolves since we have nothing but our teeth to protect us.”
“Hell. I meant for Shelley to stay in the vehicle while you and I tackled the wolves, damn it.”
“If you think Shelley will stay in the car and watch us fight, you sure don’t know her very well.” Ethan grinned. “Maybe you should have learned a little more about her before you took her for your mate.”
Duncan glanced at Shelley, who was wagging her tail, looking eager to please and not in the least bit like a vicious wolf that could tear into a bunch of big males. He let out his breath and released the steering wheel, since he wasn’t doing much of anything anyway, and then reached over his mate to get the door and opened it for her. And prayed he wasn’t making the biggest mistake of his life.
She jumped out of the moving car, though with his foot pressing hard on the brakes, they were going slow enough for her to lunge safely onto the sandy beach.
Ethan jumped over the backseat into the front and bounded out of the car to join Shelley. Duncan hoped to God the guy in the truck behind them was a wolf, because otherwise… well, he guessed there was no otherwise. The guy was a dead man one way or another. Without a weapon and in human form, he wouldn’t have a lot of options. But for now, Duncan had to get out of the driver’s seat where he couldn’t easily yank off his clothes and shift. All he worried about, though, were Shelley and her uncle. He sure as hell wished Cearnach was here already.
The car still barreled toward the ocean, propelled by the bulldog of a truck behind it. Duncan was trying his damnedest to haul himself over the console in the compact car. For a man, it was hard to clear the steering wheel and slip over the blockade with any ease. Growling in frustration, he finally managed it, ripped off his clothes, and shifted. Cursing himself, Duncan jumped out of the vehicle as a wolf before the tires hit the first wave. He had to get word to Cearnach.
As soon as his paws hit the ankle-deep water, he saw the wolves. They must have gotten out of the truck while Duncan was busy removing his clothes and shifting. Three damn big males. When Duncan was out of the car, the driver of the truck stopped and opened his door. Duncan knew they’d have another wolf to face in short order. He raced up the beach and tore into the first of the wolves immediately.
Ethan had only been waiting for Duncan to join him, while the offending wolves seemed to be waiting for the driver of the truck, their alpha male. Ethan attacked the closest wolf to him. That meant Shelley had her own male wolf to tackle. Duncan felt cold chills race down his spine at the thought, especially since the driver would soon be joining his comrades in the fight.
The wolf he attacked was almost a golden color, an Arctic wolf who had somehow gotten himself mixed up with a gray pack. The wolf snarled at him, snapping his jaws and trying to get Duncan’s throat.
He heard the wolf growling and the enamel of Ethan’s and the enemy’s teeth making contact. He didn’t hear a peep out of Shelley. He couldn’t look to see where she was—not when the other wolf raced around the truck to aid his companions, then stopped and looked in the direction of the ocean.
Glancing that way, Duncan saw the one wolf chasing after Shelley. She was headed straight for the water. Damn it. The wolf he’d been fighting had paused to look, too. Then the truck driver raced out with the other wolf after Shelley. Damn it to hell.
He swung his head around, catching the wolf he’d been fighting by the neck, but he only tore the skin, nothing vital enough to fell the hefty wolf. The Arctic wolf screeched with fury and attempted to bite Duncan, who dodged out of the path of his snapping canines. He wanted desperately to go after Shelley. Ethan hadn’t made any headway with the gray wolf he was fighting, either.
Duncan couldn’t spend any more time looking to see what was happening to Shelley. His fight had to be with the wolf trying to take him down. He lunged again, only to clash with the white wolf’s teeth, missing his throat once again.
***
Shelley hadn’t been sure what to do, but she knew she couldn’t outfight the male wolf. When she saw the truck driver shifting, she was certain he’d come after her. Easier to kill a female and be done with it. She also figured she was their primary target so they’d think they might as well finish her off.
She was fast like a greyhound, her family had always said. She was swifter than the whole lot of the bulkier males. So she ran, not feeling cowardly in the least. Not when she would have been at such a disadvantage if she’d had to fight them. This way, she could draw two of the wolves off Duncan and her uncle until they were ready to tackle them.
She knew any of them could run as wolves for hours, although she didn’t have hours. Plus she was afraid that despite the dark, someone might see three wolves racing behind the lighted resort hotels on the beach, if they weren’t careful. Not that people would think they were wolves. They’d figure they were a pack of wild dogs.
She’d started to run into the ocean, but she didn’t believe paddling in the surf would help her. None of them would be able to fight well in the rolling waves, but they might be able to herd her back to shore and give her the killing blow. With their longer legs, they’d be on firm ground before she could manage. So she ran for the only refuge she could think of. At least she knew the Mastic Reserve fairly well. They probably had never been there.
With her greyhound speed, she flew across the sand and headed for the reserve, hoping she might save herself there. Then she had another thought: what if…
She glanced back at the wolves running after her, noticing that their heavier weight bogged down more in the sand. She had a much greater lead on them. If the forest didn’t work, she’d head to Sal’s place. As long as no one was there trying to kill him, maybe she could secure his protection. At least he was a male wolf and could aid her against the other two. He might even have guns in the house.
But what if Carlotta had sent men to his place also? What if he was already dead?
***
Cearnach and his brothers had one thing in common—they were all punctual. So when his flight arrived and there was no sign of Duncan but the smell of other male wolves permeated the airport terminal, Cearnach wasn’t about to hang around. He knew his brother was in trouble.
He called Ian to let him know what was happening as he headed for a waiting taxi. As late as it was, taxis were no problem, and he had the driver take him to the villa. Over the phone, Ian told Cearnach, “Duncan’s taken Shelley for his mate.”
Cearnach smiled. “I don’t believe it.”
“Believe it. Her uncles and mother are coming to live with us. Her Uncle Ethan’s there now, and he’ll be helping Duncan with any fight headed their way.”
“Aye, Ian. Good to know. Looks like I’m here. I’ll call you back as soon as I know something.”
When the taxi drove up into the drive, Cearnach saw no lights on in the place and no vehicle out front. As soon as he opened the taxi door, he heard wolves growling on the beach behind the villa. Adrenaline surging through his blood at racecourse speed, he hurried to pay the driver, slammed the door, and tossed his bag at the front porch. Then he ran full out around the back of the villa.
In wolf form, Duncan was fighting an Arctic wolf, while another male wolf fought a gray. Since the one was close to Duncan, he seemed to be on the same side. Was it Sal Silverman? No one else was here. Where was Shelley? He hoped she was in the house, safe from the fight. That’s when he saw the car in the surf and the truck with the driver’s side door open as it had been left, engine rumbling at the edge of the water.
Hell.
Thankful he’d arrived in time, Cearnach stripped out of his clothes and shifted. Then he ran straight for the wolf that Duncan was tackling. When Duncan saw him, a hint of relief shown in his
eyes. He did the damnedest thing—turned his back on the wolf, which was a dangerous course of action, and ran north along the beach.
Duncan had to have gone after Shelley. Another wolf must be trying to run her down. Damn it. The white wolf didn’t go after Duncan because he’d seen Cearnach as a much bigger threat and turned to face him. Cearnach was fresh, hadn’t been fighting, and was ready for the kill.
As soon as he tackled the Arctic wolf, Cearnach recognized that the wolf was tired. Too bad. He had to help Ethan Campbell next so he quickly put the Arctic wolf down. Easy enough to do since Duncan had already worn the white wolf out and his stamina was spent.
Cearnach tore into the other enemy wolf, and with two against one, the wolf quickly collapsed, sucking in his final breath. Cearnach didn’t wait to see the wolves shift into their human form. He tore off after Duncan, hoping he found his brother before it was too late.
Ethan was loping close behind him, breathing hard and sounding a little out of shape. Cearnach would have expected that since he was older. He might not be used to fighting wolf to wolf. He had hoped Ethan would take care of the bodies while he helped Duncan. It wouldn’t do for anyone to run into a couple of chewed-up, naked men on the beach. Ethan seemed intent on helping him to save Shelley, though. Cearnach couldn’t blame him. Not since Shelley was the man’s niece.
As soon as they took care of these wolves, Cearnach would deal with Sal. With no one watching his back any longer, the man would give up their money or else. Problem was, he would still have to die. So there wasn’t much of an incentive for him to give up the money… or else.
Cearnach glanced back at the older wolf, who raised his head in greeting. He must have known that Cearnach was Duncan’s brother, coming to lend some muscle to the cause.
Not hearing any sounds of growling, Cearnach had to follow his nose, which told him four wolves had gone this way. A female—had to be Shelley—and three males, one being Duncan. Damn it to hell. No wonder Duncan had given up the wolf he’d been fighting to Cearnach so he could deal with the spent wolf. The she-wolf had two male killers on her tail.
That meant Duncan still had two male wolves to deal with, not just one. Cearnach had to reach him before that happened.
***
Shelley was doing great, having arrived at the reserve well ahead of the other wolves attempting to chase her down. Even though poisonous plants could cause skin irritation, she figured her wolf coat would protect her. She darted off the path and deeper into the forest. Following her scent, the wolves could still track her. If she could shift and climb a tree, maybe she could lose them. But as soon as they lost the smell of her foot pads leaving a scent on the forest floor, they would return to the spot they’d last smelled her and realize she’d shifted and scrambled up a tree. Too bad she couldn’t use the vines to swing through the forest and navigate it like Tarzan, minus the yelling.
Not figuring she could evade them in the forest after all, she headed toward Sal’s beach resort. With any luck, he was by himself and Carlotta hadn’t sent a hit team after him. If Kenneth was there, as soon as he saw her as a wolf with two more wolves on her tail ready to kill her…
He would be a dead man.
Chapter 20
When Shelley saw Sal’s estate, she felt chills race up her spine. The house looked dark and dead. Had Carlotta already murdered Sal?
Or maybe he was sleeping, although it seemed a little early for that.
She didn’t slow her pace, knowing the wolves behind her would soon catch up once they figured out where she was headed. She leapt over the fancy wrought-iron fence surrounding the swimming pool. Spying a doggy door in the bottom panel of the back door, she assumed then Sal must run as a wolf some nights. She dove through it.
That’s when she heard the two angry male voices in another part of the house.
“You son of a bitch, Kenneth. All this time you’ve been working for my wife? Who the hell pays your salary?” Sal growled.
So Kenneth had been the traitor all along. Shelley figured that both were paying the man, only Carlotta was paying more.
A soft light was glowing in another part of the house—the light-blocking curtains on the front windows blocked out the light from within.
“No, Mr. Silverman. I didn’t tell her about the woman you’d tried to pay the Scot to give up. I thought she already knew about Lola, and Mrs. Silverman didn’t seem to care. Why would I think she’d care about this other woman, Shelley, then?”
“Even though you said you hadn’t told her?”
Something crashed where the two men were speaking. Shelley jumped a little. She glanced back at the pool. No sign of the other wolves yet.
“You’ve been telling her about the women I’ve been seeing all along, haven’t you? Spying for her?” Sal said, his voice so harsh that he sounded like he was ready to kill Kenneth.
“No, no, I haven’t done anything of the kind. I’ve got lots of women on the string so I see nothing wrong with it.”
Bastard.
Kenneth was backing up, his voice getting closer to Shelley, but he was facing in a different direction.
Sal had to be stalking him. “But it doesn’t matter if you’re spying for Carlotta. Telling her what I’m doing. I pay you. She pays you more. Is that it?”
“No, I’m just on your payroll.”
“Her money is my money,” Sal growled.
So now the truth was coming out. The money was all Sal’s. Every stolen bit of it.
“No,” Kenneth said, groveling.
“So you do it for your love of her? What? Don’t tell me that you’re doing it for free, knowing if I learned of it, I could terminate… your employment with me.”
“Terminate you” was what his pause meant to Shelley. He would, too, she thought, although at first she’d believed Sal didn’t have it in him. Stealing money was his forte. Killing was becoming a side venture.
Something banged on the back patio. The wolves who had been following her. One ran into a pool chair and knocked it into the other wolf. He growled. Shelley raced into a formal dining room adjoining the living area where Sal stood stock still.
For a second, he just stared at her, then he must have realized she was Shelley. Probably had watched her with Duncan on the beach shifting after all. “What the hell?”
One wolf bashed through the dog door, followed by the other.
Shelley raced around behind Sal, expecting him to shift and help her fight the male wolves. Instead, he shook his head at the two wolves as they came into the room. “Where are the others?”
They shook their heads.
Her heart nearly stopped. He had sent the wolves to kill Duncan? Not Carlotta?
“Hell, didn’t you kill Duncan? He can’t have killed the others.”
Stealing the show for a second, Kenneth choked out, “They’re… they’re wolves. Trained killer wolves.”
“Yeah,” Sal said, motioning to one of the wolves. “Kill Kenneth, the lying bastard.”
Not believing that Sal—and not Carlotta—had been the one to sic the wolves on her and Duncan, Shelley tried to sort out her options to get herself out of this predicament. She couldn’t move past the other wolf to get to the wolf door. She couldn’t do anything about the front door—not while she was in wolf form. Once Kenneth was dead, the two wolves would deal with her.
Carlotta wasn’t the one who had wanted her dead. What about Sal’s guards who had already left his estate? Had Sal staged the whole thing to look like he was without protection? Had he wanted to get the humans away from here so he could deal with Duncan, a wolf and much more of a threat?
One of the wolves lunged at Kenneth. He threw up his arms to protect his throat from the wickedly bared canines, screeching in abject horror.
Seconds later, Kenneth was sprawled on the tile floor, his throat ripped out, dead.
Shelley was panting from all the running and her heart tripping over itself, her body heated, but chills still ran up her spine.
Sal folded his arms and looked crossly at Shelley. “So, Duncan MacNeill believes I’ve stolen his clan’s money, eh? That’s why he asked for that much money for you. It wasn’t for you at all.”
So he knew. How long before he’d finally figured out that Duncan and his people were after their investments? That had to have been why Sal had ordered his men to kill Duncan. It had nothing to do with her.
Shelley inched away from Sal. If she could get to the front door, maybe she could shift in time, run outside, and shift again. Even though she was tired, she’d had enough of a rest that she felt she could run back to see Duncan and still outdistance the other wolves. The adrenaline was still pumping rapidly through her blood.
Hopefully Duncan and her uncle were all right. The three of them could take these two wolves on. Sal also, if the bastard decided to shift.
“You could have been mine. But you were in on this, trying to trap me, weren’t you?” Sal’s brows rose. “Now you came here for my protection, didn’t you? A little too late.” He shrugged.
Not having much of a choice, she knew her next move might not work, but she had to give it a try. She bolted for the front door and found to her profoundest relief that it had a wolf door. She rammed it with her nose and dashed outside.
“Get her!” Sal yelled.
As soon as she raced around the front of the house, she saw three wolves headed straight for her, while the two Sal had commanded to go after her were catching up to her from behind.
Duncan was in the lead with another wolf racing after him. She didn’t recognize the second wolf as one they’d been fighting. Had he been a latecomer? Her uncle was off in the distance, running to catch up to them. So it would be Duncan and her against the two wolves behind her and the one following him.
She just hoped Sal would stay out of it.
But the wolves behind her began to slow down. Maybe not so confident when they saw Duncan. She sure didn’t intimidate anyone.
What truly amazed her as she ran to join Duncan was that the wolf behind him didn’t seem intent on fighting him.