by Sadie Hart
Mason and Cutter headed for the plane and Rift found himself automatically falling in behind them.
“I hate planes,” Cutter grumbled and Rift winced.
He could definitely agree there.
Being locked in tiny seats with neighbors he had no control over, hurtling thousands of feet above the land, gave him the willies. But it was this or days in the car, and Rift wouldn’t make Kinsey wait that long. Not at the hands of Dougal Slade.
That bastard was psycho on his best days. His brother wasn’t much better.
Ducking into the plane, Rift eyed the seats. More spacious than commercial. But still.
He glanced at the Hounds as they piled on. Sawyer smiled at him and gestured for him to have a seat. Oh. Right. Because standing in the middle of the aisle made it hard for everyone else to get past.
“Come on,” he muttered to Cutter, who finally followed Mace down the aisle.
Rift wedged himself into the pitifully small seat and stared out a window at the black sky and the quarter moon carving a sliver out of the darkness. Sawyer slid into the seat next to him, her hand finding his thigh, just as Brandt and another Hound slipped into the seats directly in front of them.
Rift leaned his head back against the seat and waited in silence for the plane to lift off. The churning engines, the mindless chatter around him, it all fell away as he focused on Kinsey’s face. Somehow, he was going to save her.
Then the plane began to move and Rift gripped the armrests, a low growl slipping through his teeth. “You okay?” Sawyer asked and he forced himself to look at her.
She looked...calm.
He shook his head. “You fly a lot?”
Sawyer lifted her shoulders. “A few times back and forth to the Academy, then down to Texas in the first place.” Her lips quirked in a half smile. Teasing. “Then again, it never seemed to bother me as much as it does most lions.”
Rift looked at the Hounds, utterly calm in their seats, and he wanted to snarl at them all.
Brandt turned, his arm braced on the back of his seat as he looked at Sawyer. “What can you tell us about Cane Creek’s layout? What are we looking at when we get there?”
A cold knot of fear settled in Rift’s stomach. “He said no Hounds.”
“Exactly why we can’t afford to be seen. But you going solo will get you and Kinsey killed. No way are they actually going to trade you for her.”
Hell. Rift knew that. He closed his eyes. No matter how this went down, there was a big chance that neither he nor Kinsey would walk out of there alive.
“They have four pride males. Dougal, Tavis, Sans, and Jerome. Dougal is the ringleader, the rest just follow his orders. There are more than twenty in the pride, probably closer to thirty, most of them lionesses. There are a few kids, but Dougal monitors how many.” Her voice didn’t waver as she rattled off what she knew. “Dougal doesn’t skimp on security either.”
Brandt arched an eyebrow. “Cameras?”
“Oh, yeah. Every corner of the house. How well they’re monitored, I don’t know. I was rarely allowed in the house. They keep their lionesses in the dorms. Only those, uh, sentenced to a night with one of the pride males go inside the main houses outside of cleaning and cooking duties. I was still too new to get much freedom anywhere other than the dorms.”
“Jesus,” Rift muttered. “How’d you find Kinsey?”
“Jenna. I made friends with her after a particularly rough night.” Rift saw the flicker of pain that flashed through her eyes. “Everyone just left her in a bloody heap on the floor. I helped her to bed, cleaned her wounds.”
“What kind of wounds?” Brandt asked.
For the first time since this conversation had started Sawyer’s face shuttered. Rift reached for her. “You don’t have to.”
She looked up at him. “Yeah, I do. It’s part of my job.”
As a Hound. He pulled back a little and Sawyer turned back to Brandt. “Burns. Cuts. Bruises. He used his fists and claws on her mostly. There were a few teeth marks on her neck. He’s lucky he didn’t pierce anything vital. But then again, I’m not sure he would have cared.”
“How many of the others bore similar marks?”
“Every one of them from time to time, and though Jenna often got it the worst, she also went the longest between visits. Still, after that I was able to befriend her.” Sawyer continued on, rattling off details on the houses and pride territory, and Rift couldn’t take it anymore.
He needed space to breathe.
“Let me up.” Sawyer glanced at him, but he was already standing, pushing his way toward the aisle.
Rift headed for the back of the plane, every muscle in his body tense. Suddenly he felt trapped, as if the plane was closing in around him. At the last row of seats he turned and leaned against the wall, his head resting on the cubby above the seats. He didn’t know how long he stood there, just concentrating on breathing, but then Sawyer was there behind him. Her sweet scent drifted into his nose, her hand touched the hollow between his shoulder blades.
“Rift?”
“How often do you do shit like this?”
Sawyer leaned into him, one hand wrapped around his arm as she looked up at his face. Rift tilted his head so he could see the flare of understanding in her soft amber eyes. “Go under cover? With bastards who rip into the prides like they’re expendable?”
“Under cover a lot. And two of my major cases where I wasn’t undercover were serial killers. Being a Hound isn’t about standing by and letting the bad guys win.”
Hell, he got that. But the thought of willingly letting Sawyer waltz into danger and potentially deadly situations had his stomach in knots. Fuck, he wasn’t sure he was that strong.
Except, if he was really honest with himself, he’d fallen in love with her the moment he’d realized a lioness that wasn’t even related to Kinsey, who barely even knew her, had saved her. Risking everything.
It was that lioness who’d become a Hound.
For all the same reasons.
It was why she went under cover, why she took the risks she did, and as much as it made him weak in the knees with fear, he wouldn’t have her any other way. “Damn,” he whispered as a shudder rolled through him. “You’re mine for all the reasons you chose to be a Hound.”
Surprise flicked through her gaze and Rift smiled, turning to wrap his arms around her waist and draw her close. “Just when I think I can’t survive the thought of you wading into danger I realize that’s exactly why I love you. But I need to know one thing.”
“What?” she asked, voice soft.
“Are you staying this time, or are you going to walk away again?”
Sawyer pressed her face into his chest. “I’m so sorry. I just couldn’t leave my family forever. I couldn’t do witness protection, so I left, because leaving you felt like the easier option.”
“Was it?”
“No.” Her hand fisted in his shirt. Rift tightened his hands on her hips. “I’m staying, Rift. I can’t survive leaving you again.”
“Good. Then, Sawyer...” he paused, waiting until she glanced up at him. Then Rift took her mouth with his.
The kiss was gentle, imploring, and Sawyer opened to him. Welcoming him inside once more, holding him every bit as much as he was holding her.
Her hands slid up to cup the back of his neck, and Rift groaned into her mouth, wishing like hell he didn’t have to let her go. Wishing that they weren’t on this damned plane.
Mace cleared his throat and Rift broke the kiss with a snarl. “I almost regret partnering with your brothers.”
Her fingers played in his hair. “No you don’t.” She nipped over his bottom lip. “Ready to do this?”
He nodded, knowing damn well, as they turned back towards the group, that Sawyer wouldn’t be sitting on the plane once it landed while they went after Kinsey. She was going to be right there with him, in the thick of it all.
And as much as that scared him, he also knew there was no one he
’d rather have at his back.
But he’d still do everything in his power to keep her safe.
***
Exhaustion weighed down his muscles as dawn crept across the Texas sky. A wrought iron gate stood at the entrance to the heart of Cane Creek’s territory, and they’d already hiked past a dozen No Trespassing signs. Surprise was their only option, though Sawyer hadn’t looked too confident about that on the plane. As he stared past the gate to the ring of houses he understood why.
They were fucked.
The forest edge was a few feet in front of them, leaving nothing but open lawn for a hundred feet before getting to the houses. No bushes, no trees, not even an outdoor table to duck under. And there were cameras on every corner of the main house. Cameras, Sawyer had assured them, that were all in perfect working order.
Rift glanced at Cutter and Mace. This wouldn’t be something they could power their way into. The moment someone saw them coming up to the house, Kinsey was as good as dead. Looked like he’d be letting the Hounds take the lead after all. No matter how much it galled him. Rift wasn’t sure he trusted Shifter Town Enforcement, but he did trust Sawyer.
And like it or not, she was one of them.
Rift blew out a breath and turned his attention to the Hounds.
Brandt gestured to a pair of his Hounds, and they slipped off through the early morning shadows in the forest, quiet and stealthy. “Gonna see if we can’t get a different angle on this house.” He looked at Sawyer. “Give us the layout again.”
“The house on the far right is Dougal’s. Tavis lives there too. The smaller house behind that belongs to Sans and Jerome, the two other pride males. Then the bunkhouse to the left is the dorm. They house the rest of the pride there.”
Rift couldn’t help the harsh sound that crept into his throat. The structure of this pride felt more like a prison than a home. Boulder Pride had welcomed family. The various groups intermingled with each other, connected. Here? The women were housed like cattle, brought out only for the pleasure of the bulls.
Shifter Town Enforcement had to do something about this. Or what good were they?
He glanced at Sawyer and saw why she’d fought so hard to go under cover in this pride...and then risked it all to save his daughter.
“Look, we don’t have long. Dougal is rarely up this early. I can use the lack of light this morning to get inside.”
“No,” Rift said, even as Brandt cocked his head.
“The only people up and at it in that house this early are lionesses. They’ll freak if they see one of you. No trusts Hounds here. But they know me.”
Rift grabbed her arm. “They could flip when they see the woman who’s pissed their pride males off.”
“I’m still your best shot. We need to have Kinsey safe before we can do anything else. You, Brandt, his pack...that’s all going to get Kinsey killed.”
Brandt jerked his head. “Do it. But get a vest on.”
Rift whirled on the other man, but the Hound wasn’t looking at him. He was fetching a vest from one of his pack and passing it to Sawyer. Brandt pressed an ear piece into her ear and adjusted the mike. “If anything happens, you give us the word. I’ll have everyone ready to move. We’ll go in hard and hot if we have to.”
Sawyer smiled. “I got this.”
But when her eyes found Rift’s they softened. He wanted to scream at her, toss back his head and roar. Cane Creek wanted him. He should be the one waltzing into danger. His muscles bunched under his skin as he fought the urge to grab her and tie her to the nearest tree. Rift’s gaze skimmed down over the vest covering her chest, the mike settled in her ear.
For the first time since he’d met her she looked like a Hound.
Sawyer’s hand found the side of his face, her fingertips soothing over the rough stubble. Cupping the back of his neck, she pulled his head down for a quick kiss. It was harder than he thought to keep the kiss light and easy. When she was going to turn away from him and stride into danger.
Rift nipped over her bottom lip, almost demanding she stay, but he was the one who pulled back first. “Be careful.”
She nodded. And then, for the second time in as many days, Sawyer walked out of his life. But this time he knew she was coming back.
Or he was going in after her.
Chapter Twenty
Sawyer crept across the lawn, hoping like hell she was right and the pride males were still asleep. She couldn’t remember a time where they’d been awake before seven, but that didn’t mean a thing if they were expecting Rift. Easing around the side of the house, Sawyer made her way to the door the lionesses used. It would let her straight into the kitchen, and while they almost could have risked the pack following her in, Sawyer wasn’t sure she could keep the women quiet if anyone other than her walked inside.
Dougal made damn sure his lionesses were more scared of him than anyone else.
The door eased open under her hand and Sawyer slipped inside. Jenna stood in the kitchen, a pan in her hand. Sawyer barely stifled a whimper when her gaze landed on the other woman.
Bruises lined Jenna’s arms, crisscrossed her neck a mottled echo of a choke chain. Claw marks decorated her wrists, and Sawyer saw the red puckered lines disappearing beneath the baggy t-shirt Jenna wore. Sawyer bit her lip and looked Jenna in the eye. The other lioness stood there, frozen. Her whole body shook with tremors—from fear, from pain, Sawyer couldn’t tell.
She lifted a finger to her mouth in a gesture of silence, her gaze pleading.
One scream from Jenna and it could all be over. Chances were Sawyer could make it back to Brandt and Rift, but Kinsey...
She couldn’t even think about that.
“Please,” Sawyer mouthed, her finger still hovering her lips.
Jenna’s wide eyes took in the STE vest across her chest, the gun at her hip. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion, but Sawyer didn’t have time to explain. She glanced around the kitchen. Just them. Someone moved in another room and every nerve in her body lit with caution.
“Where is she?” Sawyer whispered.
Jenna shook her head, a tear sliding down her cheek.
“Jenna, where is Kinsey?” When the woman still didn’t say a word Sawyer crossed the kitchen to her, her steps quiet on the tile, and she gripped Jenna by the arm. “Please, for the love of God, protect your daughter. Where is she?”
Pain flickered through Jenna’s eyes, and for a moment Sawyer almost believed Kinsey was already gone. Then Jenna whispered, her voice so low Sawyer could barely hear her. “She’s not here. There keeping her at the cabin.”
Relief slammed through her. Kinsey was alive. For now.
Masculine laughter sounded from outside, followed by a boot hitting the wooden steps and Sawyer tensed, her eyes widening. Shit. Someone was up and on their way in. Her gaze slammed into Jenna’s pleading. Please. Sawyer slipped across the room and into the pantry, closing the shuttered doors behind her. They were whisper-soft as they slid into place.
“Sawyer?” Brandt’s whisper came through the mike, but she shushed him, just as she heard the kitchen door swing open and Jerome strode inside.
Sawyer watched Jerome through the pantry door slats. He shoved his phone in his pocket, his gaze raking over Jenna’s body, right before his lip curled into a sneer. His hair was still tousled from a night spent away from home, and he smelled like sex and booze. She wondered which of the pride women he’d dragged into his bed.
“What are you doing in here?” His words whipped out, and Sawyer flinched right alongside Jenna. “Dougal’s little prize bitch.”
Jenna winced as he stepped closer, her back bumping into the stove and Sawyer’s heart broke for her. Jerome reached for Jenna, his hand circling her neck over the bruises there, and Sawyer’s stomach twisted at the ugly light that flared in his eyes. Aroused. She wanted to vomit. “Maybe you’d like to come with me sometime. I show you a good time.” He grinned, his dark lips pulling back to reveal the sharp teeth of his lion-half. �
��Dougal don’t protect you anymore. So you could be mine, baby, any time I want.”
Jenna shuddered as his finger trailed a circle over her neck. Sawyer pressed her hand to her stomach. She didn’t want to watch this, but there was nothing she could do for Jenna. Nothing that wouldn’t get Kinsey killed.
He moved closer and Jenna dropped the pan with a pleading whimper, but he only laughed and tightened his hand around her neck. Sawyer fingered her gun, wishing like hell she could pull it. That she could stop this.
The floor creaked in the hall and her gaze darted to the kitchen door as it swung open. Tavis glanced at the scene in the kitchen, then cut his gaze to Jerome. “ Dougal wants you down at the lake.”
Anger coursed through his words, sharp enough that both Sawyer and Jenna flinched.
Jerome leaned in and nipped Jenna’s cheek, but he was talking to Tavis when he spoke, “I thought he wanted backup when the rogue gets here.”
Tavis gave a disgusted snort. “My brother and I will handle the rogue. You keep the girl alive until we’ve taken care of him.”
“Fine. But I get the bitch when we’re done.” Jerome tapped Jenna’s cheek before heading for the door.
Sawyer watched him go, wanting to follow, but Tavis was still standing in the kitchen, and she wanted to scream. Someone had to get to Jerome before he reached the cabin. Someone had to have overheard the discussion through her mike. If they could catch Jerome, there would only be one lion in that cabin with Kinsey. They could rescue easily in that case.
But as Tavis leaned against the counter, his eyes on Jenna, there was nothing Sawyer could do but wait and worry.
***
Rift crouched in the bushes, his thigh muscles screaming. Brandt had had the pack surround the houses to the best of their ability, and Rift had been given an earpiece and a job, just like everyone else Brandt commanded. He’d have argued, but at least the Hound had given him the vantage point with a clear sight to the door Sawyer had disappeared into.