* * * *
Russ and the woman broke through the last of the brush and stumbled out onto the red dirt road. The pain in his chest and shoulder had become a dull throbbing, nothing he couldn’t stand. He knew that from experience.
A car sat about fifty yards away, pulled off the road. “That’s my car.” She pointed to it and started walking.
He stayed put, eyes narrowed, watching her.
“Come on. I’ll take you wherever you want to go. Hospital, hotel, home.” She waited for him to answer, but his mind whirred, trying to decide what to do.
He looked up and down the dirt road, trying to judge where he’d left his bike. It had been off the highway. “Which way is the highway?”
“This way. Down the road a bit.”
He frowned as he assessed the situation. Go with her, or stay. His brain said, “Leave” but his body wasn’t hearing it. He cursed his biology and followed her to the car.
“I need to get this bullet out of me or I won’t heal.” He slid into the passenger seat and fastened the seat belt. She gave him a nod.
“We can go to the emergency room.” She started the car.
“No.” He growled. “They have to report shootings.”
“And what’s wrong with that? The guy shot you. And he needs to be reported. In fact, as soon as we’re out of here and safe, I’m going to call the police.” The car started down the road and Russ made up his mind.
“After. You can report it after I’m gone.” The last thing he wanted was to be caught up with the police, even just for questioning.
“But you don’t understand.” She huffed, and shook her head. “Didn’t you see what he had in that plastic sheet?”
“Plastic sheet?” Russ thought about it, but all he remembered was his mate being scared of the man.
She rolled her eyes. “There was a dead body. A woman. He was burying a woman in the woods.” Her voice was completely calm, as if she discovered dead bodies all the time. Either ice water ran in her veins or this wasn’t her first time around death.
“Are you a cop?” he asked.
“No. I’m a photographer and painter. I still think I need to report this. I’m pretty sure the police will want to know about this as soon as possible.”
Russ closed his eyes and grunted as the car went over a deep rut and the undercarriage bumped, sending a shock wave of pain through his body.
“Not my problem.” Now, even more than ever, he wanted away from all of this—whatever it was. She was determined to drag the cops in, and there would be questions asked, and he wasn’t sure he’d have the answers they wanted.
Now she narrowed her eyes. “So why did you attack him, if you didn’t see the body?”
Russ stared out the window. “He was dangerous.” He shrugged. “He frightened you. I could smell it.”
“You were tracking me? Why?” She glanced over to him, and then back to the road.
“I didn’t expect to find anyone in the woods. I was curious. But then I found you hiding behind that tree, and I could smell your fear of him.”
“So being the big bad wolf, you had to go and attack him? Typical.” She grimaced.
“Look, how the hell do you know about me? How do you know so much about weres?” He turned his body to face her, but she stared straight ahead.
“My family is were.”
“Around here?” If there were other weres and they found out about him, about being a rogue, it could get even uglier than it was now. His body went on alert, sensing a new danger.
“No. Over in Louisiana. We’re McCallan’s. We’ve been in the area since the late 1800’s. Now there’s just me, my two brothers and my mom left.” Something sad in the tone of her voice made him study her closer.
“Not a very big pack.” His pack had been larger, almost a dozen wolves and their mates and children, but that had been before the hunters came.
“No, I suppose not. My father’s brothers died young, so his line is all that’s left. Jake got married and has a kid and another on the way. He’s the alpha. Trey’s run off to find himself.”
“And you?”
“I got the hell out of there as soon as I could.” She didn’t say more, but from the way her mouth twisted as if she’d swallowed something bitter, he got the picture.
“Look. Take me some place I can cut out this bullet. Then drive me back to my bike and I’m out of here. After that, you can call the cops and tell them whatever story you want, just leave me out of it.” He leaned back against the seat, his shoulder throbbing.
“I don’t have to tell them a story. I have it all on film.” She grinned, looking very pleased with herself.
A cold wave of dread washed over him. “Film?”
“Well, not film. I said I was a photographer. Weren’t you listening? Once I realized he was up to no good, I started taking pictures. Got the whole thing on my digital camera.” She patted the case sitting between them on the seat. He hadn’t noticed it before, but now he couldn’t take his eyes off it, as if it were a rattlesnake set to strike.
“Everything?” His heart slammed into his chest. Oh shit. If she got pictures of the wolf and the cops saw them, how long would it be before they realized there were no wolves in Mississippi? And if the cops found out about him?
“Sure.” She didn’t grasp the danger, not to him or to herself.
“You have pictures of that guy burying the woman.”
“Right.” She nodded.
“And you have pictures of the wolf?”
“Don’t be stupid. I’d never show them pictures of the wolf. I might not be with a pack right now, but I remember everything I was taught. Protect the pack.”
Russ growled as all his instincts for self-preservation and protection of his mate kicked in. He had to make her realize that if the man in the woods knew she had evidence against him, her life might not be worth much.
“Do you think he knows you took pictures?”
“No way. My shutter is virtually silent and I know he didn’t see me. He was too busy looking at you.” She laughed. “So was I.”
Russ made up his mind. He wrapped his hand around the case and pulled it into his lap. “Promise me you won’t go to the cops until I’m far away.”
She glanced down at the space where the camera case was, and then over to his lap.
“Hey! What the hell are you doing?” She grabbed at the case, but he jerked it away.
“I want your word. The cops can’t know about me.”
“Give it back.” She growled as she lunged for it, taking her hands off the wheel, but he pushed her away. The camera hit the floorboards between his feet. The car kept moving down the road as they struggled for possession, both cursing.
He glanced up and saw a white, late-model Ford turning from a narrow side lane onto their road. “Watch out!” he yelled.
She cursed and grabbed the wheel, standing on the brakes. Russ braced his good arm against the dash to keep from hitting it. The seatbelt jerked him backward, shooting mind-numbing pain throughout his wounded shoulder and arm.
Their car halted just a dozen feet from the vehicle in the road.
“Whew! That was close,” she said, as her body slumped back against the seat.
Russ, bent over from pain, straightened.
And recognized the face of the man from the woods.
Chapter 4
Marvin stared at the man and woman in the car. No one was supposed to be on this road. He didn’t recognize them and her little SUV wasn’t a cop car. He sighed in relief, letting the tension of the near wreck slip from his body.
Then he frowned and slipped his hand into his jacket to clutch the butt of the revolver. Still, they’d seen him. Seen the car. Maybe even could remember his license plate.
He ran though his options.
* * * *
Tori’s skin crawled as she looked at the man from the woods.
“That’s him.” She gulped, only daring a brief glance at the man next to her.
&n
bsp; “Get out of here. Now!” he ordered, beating on the dash with his good hand.
She obeyed, throwing the shift into reverse. She flung one arm over the back of his seat and twisted to see behind her, and then stomped on the gas. The car rocketed backward down the road, slinging red Mississippi clay from the spinning tires.
“How far to the highway?” he shouted over the revving engine.
“It’s longer this way. The road comes out farther down.” She didn’t take her eyes from the road behind her, searching for a place she could turn around. The trees along the side whipped at the car as it swerved from side to side. Driving in reverse and staying on the road proved harder than it looked on television and in the movies.
Next to her, the were’s heavy breathing, panting almost, and the change in his scent warned her they were in danger.
Because if a werewolf is scared, it’s got to be bad.
* * * *
Marvin pulled the gun from his pocket as the other car reversed down the narrow road. From the looks of fear on their faces and their reaction, they must know what he’d done.
Somehow, they’d seen him. Maybe they’d owned the dog he shot.
He’d never had witnesses before, but he knew what to do about them.
He switched the gun to his left hand, rolled down his window, and gave chase. Maybe he could get off a clear shot or two. All he needed was to stop them, and once they’d stopped, he’d make sure they’d never tell anyone.
Their car pulled away from his and he stepped on the gas.
If he didn’t get to them before they hit the highway, they’d be on their way to the cops. They might even be calling the police right now.
He squinted through the windshield to see if either of them used a cell phone.
* * * *
“Do you have a cell phone?” Russ asked.
She flicked her gaze at him, and then back to the road. “It’s in my jacket pocket. But reception’s terrible out here—you might not get any bars until we’re closer to town.”
He slipped his hand into her jacket and felt around. No phone.
“Other side.”
He leaned across her and her breath puffed over his cheek with short, warm caresses. His arm brushed across her full breasts, and she gasped and pulled back just a bit. His wolf stirred again. This is not the time. He located the phone and worked it loose.
He checked it for reception. She was right. “Fuck. No bars.” He shoved it back in the pocket nearest him.
“I think we’re almost to the road. Damn, he’s gaining on us.”
“Driving backwards isn’t the fastest way to go.” He turned to look behind them out the rear window. They swerved and nearly hit a tree. “Or the safest.”
If that man caught them, Russ knew it’d come down to the wolf and the gun. He’d faced guns before with the hunters and just now in the woods. Both times the guns had won. Both times he’d been left to die.
And the people he’d loved had paid the ultimate price.
Not this time. No fucking way was he losing another mate.
“Slow down. I’ll jump out and try to get him to stop for me. You keep going.” Russ figured his chances were better on foot. Once he got the guy to stop, he could shift and disappear into the woods. His wound had almost healed, it just needed the bullet out to seal over. His wolf would be strong enough to manage, at least for a while.
He had to do something. This time, he had to save her.
Russ grabbed the door handle as the muscles in his body tensed, ready to spring from the car.
*
“Are you nuts?” Tori shouted. “You’re wounded.”
He growled. “Listen to me. If he shoots you, he’ll kill you. He probably won’t kill me. I’m a little tougher than you.”
She shook her head. “I’m not leaving you.”
“I don’t think you’re going to have a say in this.” He smiled at her for the first time and her heart staggered at it. Oh no, not falling for that.
“You don’t own me. I can do what I wa—” Her words were cut off as she was thrown forward into the steering wheel. Her seatbelt snapped her back, her neck jerked, and her hair flew around her face, obscuring her vision.
The steering wheel whipped around as the car spun on the soft dirt road, and the world flashed by in a smear of color. When the car came to a stop, its front bumper rested against a tree.
“Damn, he rammed us.” Tori pushed her hair out of her face. She strained forward to check the damage to her car.
“Get out! Now!” the were shouted. He grabbed her hand and yanked her from the car. Damn bossy alphas.
“Hold on.” Tori leaned back into the car and snatched her camera off the floor, and then looped the strap around her neck.
Behind them, the man opened his door and got out, the light from the cabin illuminating him in the near darkness.
“He’s got a gun!” she whispered, her hand clamping on the were’s wrist.
“We have to make a run for it.” He dragged her along and she stumbled until she got her feet under her and moving in the right direction.
“Easy for you to say,” she muttered. Sure, he could change into a wolf and run on four, but she was stuck with only two legs, despite her modest were abilities.
A shot rang out, echoing in the narrow road. She yelped and ducked as a tree just ahead exploded, showering them with bark. The were grabbed her around the waist and carried her bodily over a small ditch on the side of the road. Together, they broke through low-growing brambles and he put her down.
He led the way, his large hand capturing hers, deeper into the forest. She chanced a few glances over her shoulder, but no one followed them.
“Hey, wait!” She tugged on his hand and dug in her heels. “What about my car? I can’t just leave it there.”
“If we can cut through the woods and get to the highway, I should be able to find my bike. We can use that to come back to your car once it’s safe.”
“You mean, after we call the cops.” He might not want her to do it, but someone had to warn them about the killer. She’d begun to think of him as a serial killer. There was no denying what she’d seen, multiple burial sites. Multiple killings.
“No, I mean, after we get somewhere safe and I get this bullet out of me.”
She wasn’t happy about that, but now wasn’t the time to argue.
“Can you shift?” She couldn’t see his face, but the way his back and shoulders were set telegraphed pain.
“I could, but it might not be the best thing right now.” He rubbed his chest, but kept moving. “I need to think, and the wolf isn’t the best for rational thought.”
“Stop. Let me check the direction.” Tori pulled her hand free from his grip and got out her compass. “That way.” She pointed.
He scented the air and narrowed his eyes.
“Is he coming after us?” she asked. Fear skittered up her spine. What had he done to the woman in the plastic tarp? Tori didn’t know how, but she wasn’t going to end up in a blue tarp.
“No, not yet.” He exhaled and they started off again.
“What’s your name?” he asked.
“Tori. Short for Victoria. Tori McCallan. And you?”
“Russ Magnus.” His brief answer and tone told her he wasn’t going to tell her much more than that. Good. She wasn’t interested.
He was a werewolf and she’d had enough werewolf to last her a life time, so it didn’t matter how handsome he was, how strong, or how much she wanted him to fuck her.
She was not interested.
* * * *
Marvin swore and kicked a dirt clod into the air. They’d gotten away, into the woods where he wasn’t sure if he could find them.
Her car sat half on half off the road.
He strode up to the vehicle, and leaned into the cabin. With a quick press of the button, he opened the glove box and rifled through it, until he found the owner’s manual.
He flipped it open and found
her name and address. “Got you.”
Marvin grinned as he copied the information down. Whether or not he got her today didn’t matter. He’d get her eventually. And when he did, she’d be sorry. So very sorry.
For a short time, he stared into the woods and visualized what he’d do to her. That would be sweet and painful. For the man with her, well, that might take some time, but he would enjoy it, make it last.
They’d come back for the car eventually. All he had to do was wait and be patient. Or he could find her and take care of it. He looked at the slip of paper and then at the car.
He’d wait. For now.
* * * *
Russ heard the whine of cars on blacktop. “We’re close to the highway.”
“Great.”
He glanced back at Tori and halted. Leaves and twigs had tangled in her hair, and she looked tired. “Think you can make it just a little more?”
She glanced up at him, her lips in a grim line. “I can make it.” There was a tone to her voice that let him know she could. From the little he’d seen of her, she was cool, calm, and together.
The perfect mate for a were.
His gaze traveled over her and she blushed. Pretty. She was very pretty. Not small, her head came to his shoulder, and she had a sexy flair to her hips and full breasts. Right now, her nipples poked through her bra and tank top, tempting him.
His wolf would give anything to lay her down right now and take her.
Russ just bet Tori had other plans. She was a woman who knew what she wanted out of life and where she was going.
He was a rogue wolf with no pack, on the run and with nowhere to go.
With a last push, they cleared the forest and stepped out onto the verge next to the highway. Russ sniffed the air, searching for his bike. The black Valkyrie had a distinctive odor—gas, oil, and leather.
He caught it on the air and jerked his head. “This way to my bike.”
Five minutes later, they turned down the rutted lane where he’d hidden the bike.
“Wow,” she said. “Nice bike.”
He shrugged as he pulled out the keys and put them in, and then backed the bike out of its hiding spot.
“What now?” she asked.
“We go to your place, get the bullet out, and then go get your car.” He swung a long leg over the seat, started it, and held out his hand. “Come on.”
McCallan's Heart Page 3