by Leah Brooke
He found it almost immediately.
A man lay unmoving on a lower ledge about a hundred yards away.
Following his gaze, Joe shared a look with him and nodded.
Moving slowly, Joshua made his way in that direction, looking around for the other two men but saw no one.
He caught their scent, but it was weak, obviously days old.
But it was there and would make tracking them easier.
It took only minutes to reach the other man, and as soon as Joshua landed on the ledge, he shifted into human form.
He automatically felt for a pulse, glancing back at Joe. “He’s got a pulse, but it’s weak.” Wiping the sweat from his brow, Joshua looked up. “If we tie ropes to him, I can pull him to the top.”
Leland inclined his head. “We can smell the others. You take this one to the hospital, and we’ll track the other two.” He smiled faintly. “Go home. Check on your mate.”
Irritated to be so transparent, Joshua frowned. “I’ll come back and—”
“No. We’ll be long gone by then. There’s no need. Get him to the hospital and in custody and go home.” Leland blew out a breath. “We know what it’s like to be away from our mate, and I know you’ll be worried until she’s back on the farm. At least you can talk to her.”
When Joshua hesitated, Joe smiled. “We’ve got this, Joshua. Hell, it’s only two men.”
“Armed men.”
Joe looked up from his backpack, pulling out a long length of rope. “And you suddenly think we’re not able to handle two armed men? What the hell, Joshua?”
“You’ve got a mate with a baby waiting for you. There’s no need to take any chances.”
Leland wrapped a blanket around the other man and began to tie ropes around him. “You have a mate, as well, and we’re all going to have to protect them. Two fucking assholes aren’t going to pose a problem.”
Joshua sipped from his canteen and shrugged. “Fine. Just be careful.”
“We will.” Joe grinned. “We’ve got a hell of a lot to live for.”
* * * *
Sitting in the passenger seat, Joshua dug in his backpack for his cell phone.
After turning it on, he checked to see if he had any missed calls, disappointed and relieved to see that he had none.
It was good that Fiona hadn’t needed him, but he’d hoped that she’d called.
Not wanting to call her in front of the others, he looked ahead to the ambulance they followed. “Once we drop him off, can someone give me a lift to the airport?”
The police sergeant smiled. “Are you kidding? Absolutely. I’ll have one of my men take you. How long do you think it’ll be for your friends to get back?”
“A day or two. They’re on their track.”
“I have no idea how you people do it. We had our best trackers in there, and they came up empty. You must have some kind of secret.”
Joshua shrugged, texting Brock before tucking his phone in his pocket. “We’re the best.”
* * * *
Joshua jumped out of the plane as soon as it came to a stop, knowing that Brock would refuel and head back, looking up to see that Thomas waited for him.
Walking toward the SUV, Joshua called Fiona’s cell phone again, only to have his call go to voice mail.
Again.
He looked at the time again, wondering if she was taking one of her bubble baths.
Or ignoring him.
Or sick.
Or in the hospital.
He tried to dismiss the last two, hoping anger would beat back the panic as he hit redial.
Irritated, he took the keys from Thomas and jumped in the driver’s seat. “How’s everything at the farm?”
“Don’t ask.”
Joshua frowned at the younger man. “I’m asking. What’s going on?”
Thomas grinned. “Glenna’s decided that she wants to set up a trap for the guy stalking us.”
“What?”
“Yeah. She heard that he got away because Joe and Leland were intent on helping her instead of chasing after him. She feels guilty and wants to catch him before Joe and Leland get home.”
Joshua grimaced. “What kind of trap?”
“She wants to be the bait.”
“No.”
Thomas shrugged. “You tell her that. She gets mad every time Graham tries to talk her out of it and claims she’s going to do it with or without our help.”
“We’ll see about that.”
As soon as they arrived at the farm, Joshua got out and tried to call Fiona again, and once again, his call went to voicemail.
Hoping that Glenna would have some answers, he strode into the farmhouse, following her scent to the kitchen.
To his consternation, he found her sitting at the table crying. Panicked, he looked around for the source of whatever had upset her, a cold knot forming in the pit of his stomach.
Graham jumped up from his seat at the table, looking relieved. “Talk to her.”
Kneeling beside her, Joshua touched her hand. “What’s wrong? Did something happen to Fiona? Your parents?”
Shaking her head, Glenna used a napkin to wipe her eyes. “No. I’m a terrible person. I suck at being a mother, and a mate.” She blinked suddenly. “Why are you back alone?” Her eyes widened with fear. “Did something happen to Joe and Leland?”
“No.” Patting her hand, Joshua smiled. “We found the first guy injured, and I had to take him to the hospital while Joe and Leland finished tracking the other two. We found their track when we found the first guy, so Leland and Joe should be back in a day or two.”
Taking a deep breath, Joshua glanced at Graham and sat in the seat next to her. “Now, why would you think that you suck at being a mother and a mate?”
“Because I can’t breastfeed Jonas anymore, and it was because of me that Jim got away.”
Joshua frowned and glanced at Graham. “Who the hell is Jim?”
Graham slid a cup of black coffee in front of him. “The guy who’s been stalking us.” He shrugged. “Evidently, he told her when he grabbed her, but that information didn’t get passed around.”
Feeling as if he was walking through an emotional field of landmines, Joshua decided to take one thing at a time. “It wasn’t your fault that he got away. He got away from Miles, Dane, and me the other day, and it didn’t have anything to do with you.”
Glenna sniffed, lowering the napkin to eye him skeptically. “Really?”
“Really. We’ll catch him. Now, what’s this about you being a terrible mother? You’re a great mother. Why can’t you feed Jonas?”
“Because he needs more milk than I can give him and it’s costing me too much to feed him. How can I be Joe and Leland’s mate if I can’t even feed their baby?”
Joshua smiled, anticipating such a problem with his own mate. “Honey, Jonas is a shapeshifter. He apparently needs more, which isn’t your fault. You were already run down, and having Jonas took a lot out of you. Now, he’s taking even more. What did Mitch say?”
Grabbing another napkin, Glenna sniffed again. “He said that we don’t know enough about how this works and that feeding Jonas the high-protein formula would be better for both of us. It still makes me feel like a failure. I should be able to feed my own baby.”
“The way he’s growing?” He took her hand again. “Don’t you trust Mitch?”
“Of course.”
“Then listen to him. Joe and Leland have been worried about you, and if you stop feeding Jonas, you’ll recover more quickly. Jonas will be able to get the protein he needs, and you can get strong again.”
“I guess you’re right.”
“I always am.”
“No wonder Fiona calls you arrogant. I thought you were a big teddy bear.”
“I am, until I’m crossed. Speaking of your sister, have you heard from her?”
“Yes.”
Narrowing his gaze on her mischievous smile, Joshua sighed. “What’s going on?”
&n
bsp; “I’ll tell you, but you have to agree to help me trap Jim.” She shrugged again and reached for her own coffee. “If not, I’ll just have to do it on my own.”
“And let us explain to the Alphas what happened? No thanks.”
He took her hand again. “But I can lock you in the house and make sure you can’t get out until they get back.”
Crossing her arms over her chest, she glared at him. “If you do that, I won’t tell you about Fiona.”
Narrowing his eyes, Joshua hid a smile. “I handle your sister, honey. You’re an amateur compared to her. Now, tell me about Fiona, or I’ll lock you in the house and put guards on the door.”
Lifting her chin, Fiona smiled. “I’ll tell Joe and Leland.”
“And I’ll tell them what you had planned.”
“You would do that to me?”
“Yeah. I would. Still might. Now talk.”
Glenna sighed but, to Joshua’s relief, had stopped crying. “When Fiona got back, Mom told her that Uncle Russell and Aunt Carol would be coming back to stay. My father always listens to his older brother, and when my uncle saw how hard my father was to handle, he asked my mother if it would be all right if he and my aunt stayed with him while he recovered.”
Ripping the napkin to shreds, Glenna sighed again. “I didn’t realize my father was being so difficult. Fiona never told me. She took all of that on and kept it to herself.”
Joshua nodded and reached for his coffee. “She seems to always work that way.” Careful to keep his tone even, he lifted his cup. “I’ve been trying to call her, but the call goes straight to voicemail.”
“Really? Maybe she’s busy getting everything ready for Dad. They’re releasing him today.”
“They are? That’s great. When is she coming home?”
“It’s supposed to be a surprise.”
“Do you want to catch Jim or not?”
“You’ll help me?”
“If you tell me when your sister’s coming home.”
“She’s on her way. Last I talked to her, she was at the airport waiting for her flight. She knows Brock’s busy with the plane, so she’s catching a commercial flight. She wanted to be here waiting when you got back. Now, here’s my idea.”
* * * *
Nearly gagging on the cheap perfume Glenna had doused him with, Joshua crouched lower in the shrubs, scanning the area for any sign of their prey.
Along with Graham and Thomas, who also stunk to high heaven, they’d remained hidden for almost an hour, with no sign of their stalker.
It had started to get cooler outside, and Joshua decided to give it just a few more minutes before hustling Glenna back inside.
In the distance, Joshua caught sight of movement and stiffened, relaxing again when he realized that Joe and Leland had begun to close in on their mate from the other side.
Smiling at the thought of what the nauseating smell did to them, he refocused his attention on the shrubs and trees surrounding them.
Wrinkling his nose against the strong smell of perfume, Joshua breathed a sigh of relief when the wind shifted.
He caught another scent, recognizing it immediately.
It was the scent of the man who’d been spying on them and had, so far, escaped them.
He wouldn’t escape this time.
Joshua focused his attention toward the source of the scent, slowly rising and balancing his weight on the balls of his feet.
Considering, and quickly dismissing, the idea of shifting, Joshua remained poised to attack, waiting for his prey to move closer.
He didn’t have to wait long.
Desperation must have suddenly taken over because the other man leapt from the brush and headed straight for Glenna.
Joshua raced to cut him off, with Graham and Thomas close behind him, while Leland and Joe closed in from the other side.
Racing past Glenna, Leland and Joe cut him off, sending him in Joshua’s direction.
The other man stopped abruptly, a panicked look on his face as he spun around and saw that the five of them surrounded him. “You sons of bitches! You did this to ambush me, didn’t you?”
Joe crossed his arms over his chest, his eyes glittering with rage. “Would you mind telling us what this is all about and why you keep trying to kidnap my mate?”
“Your what?” The other man appeared shaken by the ice in Joe’s tone and spun to look at each of them in turn as if trying to find a way out.
Joe studied the other man, his gaze hooded. “My mate.”
“Our mate.” With his hands foisted at his sides, Leland stepped closer to the stranger, clearly furious, something Joshua understood completely. “Who are you and why have you been sniffing around? You told our mate you wanted revenge. Revenge for what?”
The question clearly enraged the other man. “Revenge for what? You didn’t even care enough to remember us. You left quite a few of us behind when you took off. We barely escaped with our lives when they came to kill our parents. We hid and ended up escaping, but we’ve had to steal and kill just to survive! All these years, we’ve been on our own because none of you could be bothered. We were children, damn it! And you left us.”
Stunned, Joshua glanced around, wondering how many others there were.
Joe blinked, also clearly shocked by the other man’s claim, sharing a look with each of them in turn before turning his attention to the other man again with eyes dark with pity. “You were left behind? We didn’t know anyone was left behind.”
Joshua had only been about five or six at the time, but remembered well how frantically they’d searched to make sure they’d gathered everyone.
He understood better when the man spoke again.
“Well, we were. We’d been cast out, but they found our parents, too. They killed them, and we were alone.”
The other man’s voice broke, which seemed to enrage him further. “We went looking for you—only to find that you’d left us.”
He waved his arms, his eyes wild. “You lived here with everything. A family, a home, food, shelter—while we were living on the streets, stealing just to eat, killing just to survive. You bastards! You don’t deserve to live!”
Shaking his head, Joe eyed the other man. “Why didn’t you come to us? Why didn’t you show yourselves? Introduce yourselves, instead of spying on us?”
Realizing that the other man had become completely unhinged, Joshua slowly moved closer.
“We didn’t need you!” The deranged man pulled a deadly looking knife from his belt. “I’m the Alpha of my pack, and I’ll be the Alpha of this one!”
He lunged for Leland, who growled and stepped aside, easily avoiding the knife blade. “Like hell!”
With a growl, the other man lunged again, and Joshua leapt at him, along with Joe and Thomas, while Graham raced toward Glenna.
In the flurry of activity, Joe, Leland, and the other men went through the fence and over the side of the ravine, with Joshua close behind.
He landed with a jolt but on his feet, aware that Joe and Leland had both shifted as they’d gone over.
The other man hadn’t.
Crouching next to the unmoving man, he felt for a pulse, and when he found none, he rolled him to his back.
Joe and Leland had shifted back and closed in on either side. “Is he dead?”
Joshua nodded, staring at the knife that stuck out from the other man’s chest. “Yeah. Fell on the knife. Looks like it went straight into his heart.”
While Joe and Leland gathered their clothes and dressed again, Joshua lifted the other man, hoisting him over his shoulder. “I’ll take him up. You’d better see to your mate.”
He could hear her cries of fear and agony and would rather carry a dead man up a ravine than have to deal with them again.
Leland nodded, his lips thinning. “Our mate has a lot to answer for. What the hell were you thinking?”
“Your mate and I made a deal. Ask her. This was the safest way.”
Leland climbed up
behind him. “I swear to God, I’m paddling her ass for this.”
Joshua doubted it but said nothing, knowing he would be just as helpless with regard to Fiona.
She would be home soon, and she wanted to surprise him.
He couldn’t wait.
* * * *
They’d killed him.
They’d actually killed Jim.
The Alpha.
He was the new Alpha now and would succeed where Jim failed.
He saw that getting to the woman living with them was impossible, so he had no choice but to go for their other weakness.
Once he had the other woman, nothing would stop them from taking over.
If they resisted, killing the other woman would at least enable them to have their revenge—a revenge that was a long time coming.
He smiled and lowered the binoculars.
And he knew just where to find her.
* * * *
Joshua stepped back to look at their handiwork. “Looks great. I can’t wait until Fiona sees it.”
Leland nodded. “I’m just glad we got it installed in time. Do you know what time her flight is coming in?”
Shaking his head, Joshua pulled out his phone again. “No. I’ve called her several times, but it keeps going to voicemail. I understand that she wants to surprise me, but it’s starting to piss me off.”
“And worry you.” Leland wiped his hands and tucked the rag into his pocket. “Try again.”
“Hell, I don’t even know if her fight was delayed.” Joshua had already begun dialing, unable to shake the niggling feeling in the pit of his stomach.
“Looking for someone?”
Shocked to hear a masculine voice, Joshua looked down at the phone and automatically put it on speaker. “Who’s this?”
“Your worst nightmare.”
“Where’s Fiona?”
“I’ve got your girlfriend right here.”
“Where are you?” Joshua could barely breathe and struggled to keep the horror from his voice.
His mate was in danger, and he couldn’t get to her.
“I’m sure as hell not going to tell you that. You’re going to pay for killing our Alpha. A life for a life.”