by Sadie Hart
He’d never had backup before. Never had a pride. Both of his parents had been loners. Rogues. Nomads.
Rift nodded and something inside him settled.
“Besides,” Mace said as he clapped him on the back. “We won’t be driving. We’ll be taking a plane. We’ll get there, hopefully before they even do.”
Unless they’d hopped a plane too.
Rift didn’t even realize he’d spoken aloud until Mace answered him.
“Brandt’s calling on that. If they have, we’ll know soon enough.”
“What do we do then?”
“Same deal. We get there and we get your daughter.”
Rift did his best to ignore the knot in his stomach as he eyed the dark landscape around him, his lion’s vision making it easy to see in the dark. He saw Brandt hit one of his trucks as he hung up. The Hound turned and spotted him. This one didn’t seem like a bad Hound, but Rift had never trusted Shifter Town Enforcement.
They’d never actually cared for the shifters they were supposed to police.
Human police? They had a motto. Serve and protect.
Shifter Town Enforcement’s motto was more like protect humans and execute shifters.
Brandt headed toward them.
“What did you find out?” Mace asked, obviously comfortable with the Hound. “They took a private plane and should be landing in Texas any moment now.” Rift’s stomach plummeted.
“And the local Hounds?”
“Idiots,” Brandt snapped out. “Roy Beckett is a complete and utterly incompetent ass. I can see now why—” He cut himself off and shook his head. “Just know we won’t be relying on them.”
Rift hadn’t planned on it, but now he resented the wait even more. They had Kinsey and he was still states away.
At this rate, things couldn’t get much worse.
***
Dougal leaned back against the porch rail as he watched the car pull up the drive, a satisfied smile on his face. He kept his voice cool, calm, collected. Not a hint of the laughter threatening to bubble up inside him.
“I just thought you should be aware,” Roy Beckett continued over the phone. The Hound had proved helpful. “They’re saying your guys kidnapped a child.”
“I honestly don’t understand what Colorado has against us. My partners have never taken a vacation out of state, they opt to take one and my brother is called in about attacking a rogue and bashing in a car, and now they’re accusing him of kidnapping. Cane Creek has never been an issue. Ever.” He let the last word hang harshly between them. “I don’t appreciate the harassment.”
“And I did my best to explain just that to the Colorado Enforcement office. Your pride has an even cleaner slate than Boulder Pride, and I told them in no uncertain terms that I didn’t understand and wouldn’t give credence to the accusations.”
“Nor do I,” Dougal said and watched as his brother slid out of the car. Sans and Jerome dragged a struggling girl from the back; her mouth was taped shut, her arms tied behind her back. She thrashed and Sans hefted her up and snarled in her face. The threat was more than obvious. She lashed out anyway, kicking him in the thigh.
He sent her spinning to the ground.
“But I appreciate you letting me know, Roy. We’ll be sure to keep any future vacations far from Colorado. Obviously they’re not too keen on visitors.”
“I apologize for the harassment, though. I’ll see what I can do.”
Dougal hung up the phone just as Tavis stepped up next to him. The blue-haired spitfire was thrashing around on the front grass, her legs scissoring through the air any time Sans or Jerome stepped close to her. “Interesting little brat,” Dougal murmured. His brother snorted.
“Crazy as a wildcat. Both your boys have been threatening to bash her head in the whole trip. Thanks for the plane, though. I didn’t like creeping around in a car. Too many opportunities for them to follow before we got away.”
“The Colorado Hounds called, and you’re being accused of kidnapping.”
Tavis’s head snapped up. “I’m what? He involved the Hounds?”
“Apparently, but Roy’s already assured them we’re model citizens in terms of lion behavior.” He smiled down at Kinsey. “Besides, if he brings the Hounds with him his daughter will die a slow, slow death.”
***
Sawyer could hear Lennox on the phone in the other room. “Are you sure?”
Her boss suddenly sounded stressed, and Sawyer tossed her new toothbrush on a towel on the sink and headed out, frowning with concern.
Lennox bounced slightly as she rocked Taige back and forth, the phone cradled between her shoulder and ear. “How long has she been missing?”
Sawyer stopped dead.
“And you’re sure they took a plane? They can’t get on commercial flights with a hostage, maybe she went willingly—”
Lennox’s eyes met hers and Sawyer felt her stomach drop. “Kinsey?” she mouthed and Lennox tilted her head in a slight nod.
“She wouldn’t have gone willingly,” Sawyer whispered.
“We’re on our way. Do not let them leave for Texas yet. And yes, Brandt, I know I’m on maternity leave. But I’ll be calling Federal Shifter Enforcement and getting us a ride. And Sawyer wants to be there.” A wry smile crossed Lennox’s face. “Undercover be damned, that’s her case. The girl she rescued. And, well, she might be able to get you all into Cane Creek.”
That was most definitely something she could do.
The Slades wouldn’t be happy to see her. If anything, they’d be very happy to wring her neck. But they probably wouldn’t want her blood on their front door. They’d want her inside, where they could beat her at their leisure, and that could give Brandt and his Hounds time to act.
Lennox hung up the phone and started dialing again, Taige cradled in one arm to her chest.
“Neither you nor Brandt will have jurisdiction down there,” Sawyer said. “And Beckett thinks Cane Creek walks on water. He doesn’t give a rat’s ass what happens in that pride as long as Cane Creek backs him.”
“Luckily I’m very good friends with a few Feds.” Lennox smiled. “After that Torres fiasco and taking over for Bree, I made a few connections. I just hope Cane Creek messes up and shows their true colors while we’re down there.” She tilted her head in toward the diaper bag. “But we have to go. Brandt can’t keep Rift and your brothers there much longer.”
“My brothers?”
“Yeah, apparently Callahan turned down witness protection. Opted to pride up with two of your brothers. He was off checking the territory when Kinsey was taken out of Boulder.” Lennox grinned. “Told you there might still be a way around witness protection.”
Sawyer felt her heart leap in her chest. “We just have to save Kinsey first.”
Chapter Seventeen
Rift dug his fingers into the wooden rail as he looked out over Gaston’s front lawn. It was shadowed and dark and all he wanted to do was grab one of the cars and get on the fucking road. Before they killed his daughter. With a strangled snarl, he bent at the waist, pressing his forehead into his knuckles.
Rift jerked his head up when he heard a branch snap, but then forced himself to relax. Cutter stalked across the lawn, pacing back and forth, looking every bit as pissed as he felt, and Rift forced himself to shove out a shaky breath. They’d find her. He just hoped that she was still alive.
“Easy, man,” Mace whispered as he stepped up beside him. “You look like you’re going dark there. Stay positive.”
That was so much easier said than done. He forced his stiff fingers to let go of the rail before it splintered.
“Why the fuck do we have to wait? Cutter’s here, he’s up to speed. The longer we just sit here twiddling our fucking thumbs, the more time that bastard has to kill Kinsey and hide her body.” He slammed his fist down against the rail a few times, trying to let off steam to keep his anger in check. Trying not to rip up the whole porch and heave it across the lawn.
“Br
andt is working on getting us a plane.”
That stopped Rift. A Hound getting them a plane to go kick some lion ass? He doubted that. His gaze narrowed and Mace held up his hands. “They’re taking her disappearance very seriously.”
“Your father must have some major pull.”
Mace looked away and Rift grunted.
“What happens when we get there and a fight breaks out? Think they’re not going to turn on us too?” Rift felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and jerked. Please God, let it be Kinsey. He dug it out and hit talk, his hand shaking.
Mace jerked his hand, waving for Brandt, who was on the phone across the yard.
“Shit. We should have set him up for a trap and trace,” Brandt muttered, but Rift silenced them all with a jerk of his hand.
“Kins?” his voice came out hollow as he spoke into the phone.
“Close,” Dougal Slade’s familiar rumble came over the line and Rift felt his heart squeeze. Shit, shit, shit.
“You son of a bitch, you hurt my daughter and I’ll kill you.”
Dougal laughed, a sound that sent chills down Rift’s neck and lifted the hair on his arms. “Now, now, Callahan. Let’s set some rules. I know you’ve contacted the Hounds. If there’s even a whiff of them, you know what will happen.”
“You even think about hurting her...”
Dougal tsked softly. A cruel, mocking sound that set Rift’s teeth on edge. He was going to rip this bustard apart with his bare hands.
“I will break every bone in your body, Dougal. You will definitely know the meaning of pain when I’m done with you.”
He was going to kill him. Even if Dougal never touched a hair on Kinsey’s body, Rift was going to kill him. Fuck laws. He’d call it a damned pride scuffle if he had to, but he would tear through the son of a bitch if it killed him to do it.
A growl rippled up his chest, choking out any words he could have said, and it was only the tight grip of Mace’s hand on his shoulder that kept him from bolting to a car and driving like a madman back to Cane Creek.
“How eloquent. But I’m willing to make a simple exchange. You for her.”
That implied Rift was stupid enough to believe Dougal would actually trade.
Not since the death of Emma, he wouldn’t.
Both Tavis and Dougal had made it perfectly clear that they considered the accident that had killed their sister to be entirely Rift’s fault. They’d hunted him for months before Rift had managed to disappear. No, they wouldn’t give Kinsey up.
They want to hurt him as badly as he’d hurt them. He’d hoped for years that they’d never have the chance, but apparently the time had come.
“It wasn’t my fault,” Rift whispered, “and was the last thing I wanted.” His throat suddenly dry. “If she could have walked away and left me dead, I’d have traded places with her.”
A growl was his only answer.
Rift closed his eyes, hating the way his whole body shook.
“I’d give your sister back alive if I could.” Shit, he hated begging. But for Kins he would do it.
“Yourself for your daughter, Callahan. Are you game or not?”
A shiver ran down Rift’s spine and he jerked. “I’m on my way, but I want to speak with her.”
“I don’t really care what you want.”
“And I have no reason to come unless I know she’s alive. So I will hear her voice or I’ll know that you’ve killed her and cut my losses.”
His heart squeezed painfully at the words. He’d do no such thing, but his voice shook with the effort to make it sound believable.
“I don’t think you will. I think you’ll take your chances.”
And this chance was enough to make Rift weak in the knees. “She’s dead then? Fine.”
Rift hung up the phone and pressed it into the rail, his whole body a knot of frustration and sheer, bloody terror. If Dougal didn’t call him back, or if he hurt her because of this little game, Rift would never forgive himself. Ever.
He stared up at the sky and struggled for control. His breathing came sharp and fast, and his lion was that close to breaking loose and ripping up anyone near him. He heard someone moving over the grass and jerked his attention toward the sound, a snarl ready to rip out into the night.
Sawyer stood on the lawn, her face pale. Her gaze darted to his phone and then up to him. She nodded. “He’ll call back.”
“I sure as hell hope so,” Rift whispered.
He watched as she crossed the lawn and walked up the steps to stand at his side. Her hand slid over his arm and down to hold his wrist. Sawyer leaned into him. “He will.”
“What are you doing here?”
A sad smile slipped over her face. “We have a lot to talk about.”
Rift watched as she glanced out at a red-haired woman with a baby in her arms talking to Brandt. His gut told him she was another Hound. The woman looked at Sawyer and smiled. But before Rift could ask, the phone buzzed in his hand. He jumped, but Sawyer held him steady.
“Answer. But don’t let him know I’m here. Don’t let him know you have a pride now.”
He blinked at her. How did she know?
The phone vibrated again and Rift took a deep gulp of air and answered. “What, Dougal?”
“Dad?” Kinsey’s voice sucker-punched him and he swayed. Sawyer stiffened beside him. She bit down on her bottom lip and pressed her head into his shoulder, but she didn’t move away. She stayed close enough to listen. Rift leaned his head against Sawyer’s, relief flooding him.
His kid was still alive. They had that much, at least. Tears burned at the back of his eyes and a roar built in chest, but he held himself together. Forced himself to speak.
“I’m right here, Kins. Are you okay?”
Kinsey gave a small huff and Rift could imagine her rolling her eyes. It almost sounded normal. “I’m fine,” she said, but her voice quavered and then, “Hey!”
Dougal’s sharp voice cut over the line. “Happy? She’s unharmed, just pissy as hell.”
Rift didn’t even realize he was growling until Sawyer’s hand tightened on his wrist. Her lips found his neck as she gently kissed her way up to his jaw. Relax, big guy, he could almost hear her in his mind. Soothing.
He leaned into her touch. Allowed it to be his strength.
“You have a deal. I’m on my way. Me for her.” Rift said and hung up.
Cutter looked up at him, Mace beside him. “Brandt said the plane should be ready in a half hour. All we have to do is get to the runway.”
Thank God.
Rift looked at Sawyer.
Her soulful brown eyes met his and she smiled. “I’m coming with you.”
“I’m counting on it.”
“We’ll talk on the plane.” Her voice sounded a little hoarse as she pulled away. She shook hands with Brandt, then turned to the red-haired Hound. “You need a ride to Mel’s?”
The woman shook her head. “Mel’s already on her way. Don’t worry about me. You stay safe. Ollie is going to be bummed about the change of plans.”
Sawyer smiled. “I’ll come visit.”
“We know you will. Go get that little girl. Brandt’s going with you. His pack will have your back.”
It was a show of friendship Rift had no idea how to interpret. But he seemed to be the only one here who found it odd. None of the Reyeses seemed to give it a second though as the two women shook hands and Sawyer leaned in to kiss the baby’s forehead.
Obviously the friendship between the Reyes family and the local Hounds ran deep.
Rift had never heard of anything like it.
“I’ll drive,” Cutter said, jerking Rift’s attention back to the task at hand: getting to the airport. “We’ll take Mace’s Explorer. There’s enough room for all of us, though Brandt will follow in his car. His pack should be meeting us there.”
Mace lifted his eyebrows. “My car and you’re driving.”
“I’m the one with the lead foot.” Cutter cracked a grin, b
ut the teasing felt forced. More for Rift’s benefit than theirs. He appreciated it, though. For the first time, he felt like he had people at his back. Sawyer. His new partners.
“And ironically the one with the fewest speeding tickets.”
“I’ll grab the keys.” Mace started for the door. “Just give me a sec.”
Rift found himself staring at Sawyer again. She angled her head and looked up at him. The brief smile that flashed over her face held an emotion he didn’t recognize. Then the same stark fear that clutched at his heart.
But at least Kinsey was okay, he reminded himself. He almost smiled to himself at the thought of her giving them hell.
“Ready?” he mouthed and Sawyer nodded, looking every bit the warrior woman who had rescued his daughter in the first place. God, he owed her so much.
Rift found his way to her side, just as she turned back to the Hounds in front of her.
“Make yourself at home. Dad won’t mind. And tell Kanon and Tegan I said hi.”
“I will.” The woman looked at Rift. “Watch over her for me.” She winked at Sawyer and headed for the door. Brandt turned to fiddle with his car.
Rift nudged her gently. “Your family is chummy with the Hounds.”
For a moment Sawyer stiffened next to him, then her hand found his and she squeezed. “It’s got a story to go with it. One I’ll tell you on the way. Whose car we taking?”
“Mason’s.” Rift turned just as Mace appeared on the front porch and tossed his keys to Cutter. Cutter plucked them out of the air and spun.
“Let’s go, people. Got a kid to save.”
“Still can’t believe they got us a plane,” Rift said as he followed his new partners to the car, Sawyer at his side.
“There’s a lot you’re not going to believe.”
She slid into the back seat next to him and the look in her eyes told him it was going to be a long night. Not that he’d thought for one second he could sleep on the plane anyway. Not with Kinsey at stake.
White-knuckled, Rift dragged himself into the car next to Sawyer.