Jackson

by Terra Wolf

  Back in my car, I drove towards Skylar’s apartment again. I couldn’t wait to see her, especially now that I knew the coyotes had become an even bigger problem. If they found out that she was in Nashville again, it would give them the perfect opportunity to kill her.

  Besides, harming Skylar would be a great way to get to us—to get to me. They knew how important she was to the clan.

  Parking my car outside her apartment building, I charged up the stairs to her apartment. I already had the jitters. I still couldn’t believe the fact that we were finally together. I needed to see her again to remind myself that she was real.

  On the fourth floor, when I approached the door of her apartment, I saw that it was swinging open. I looked around, feeling my bear shift angrily underneath my skin. Had I got the apartment wrong? This was the one she’d said she lived at.

  I pushed the door further open with my foot and stepped in, my gun was already cocked out. I was ready to shoot.

  “Sky? Skylar?” I screamed her name, but didn’t hear a peep.

  Her apartment looked clean, there was barely any sign of struggle. Could it be that she’d just stepped out? I walked through the living room and noticed the mug of coffee on the table. She’d barely drank from it.

  “Skylar! It’s me!” I shouted again, and no sound. I used my senses to see if I could see or smell anything that would give me a clue. I caught a whiff of something and I went into the bedroom. There was a window open and a breeze was blowing in. If she’d stepped out, why would she leave the window open in her bedroom?

  I went over and looked out at the fire escape. I was about to slink back in, when I saw a bit of fabric stuck on the edge of the window sill. I picked it up and looked keenly at it. It was a piece from her denim dress. I was sure of it. Then the overpowering scent of a coyote shifter filled my nostrils.

  “Fuck!” I growled.

  Now I knew for sure that she’d been taken. Why else would a piece of her dress be out on the window? She was trying to make an escape, but they’d caught her.

  Every dark thought was running through my head right now. Where had they taken her? What were they going to do to her? Had they killed her already?

  I felt like I was going to be sick.

  Chapter 12

  Skylar

  I woke up to the sound of dripping water. I had no idea where I was, and my first instinct was to throw up. I was nauseous and feeling sick, but I screamed instead. It was then that I realized I couldn’t move.

  I was tied, my hands were tied and my feet were tied too. I was on a bed and my arms were pulled up, tied to the back headboard of the bed. I blinked furiously, trying to get my eyes adjusted to the dark. It was some sort of room. A small room…or it may have been larger, but I couldn’t tell in the dark.

  I looked around me and immediately I knew that the coyotes had me. I remembered everything now, the man in my house, pulling me back in through the window, knocking me out.

  I screamed again.

  I knew I was alone in this room. I couldn’t feel another presence with me. What were they going to do to me? Where was I being held?

  Would Jackson ever find me?

  I struggled against the ties, but whoever tied me; had done a professionally excellent job. I couldn’t get my hands free, not one degree. I was stuck here, in this cold dark room with the sound of dripping water in the background.

  “Please please…what do you want?” I screeched, hoping to get someone’s attention.

  At least I was still alive, I reminded myself—but right now, any silver lining appeared too bleak and faded. I trusted Jackson and that he would find me, but when? Was this how my life was going to end? Was that all I was destined to have with Jackson?

  One stolen night of being together…and then gone?

  I could feel the tears rolling down my cheeks as I sobbed. I couldn’t even sit up properly, I couldn’t lie down…they had me in a torturously uncomfortable position and I had no escape.

  “Talk to me! What do you want!” I screamed again, as loud as I could. I was sure that they could hear me. If they had gone to so much trouble of tying me up like this, they were definitely keeping an eye on me too.

  Eventually, I heard the sound of a bolted heavy lock being opened. Someone was coming in through the door.

  A sudden flash of light appeared and I realized that the door had been opened. Someone had stepped in and then the light disappeared again.

  “Who are you? What do you want from me?” I hissed, struggling to get free again. I could sense the man’s presence in the room as he slowly stepped towards me. I knew it was a man, and I knew my life was hanging by a thread…dependent on this man’s whims and fancies.

  Then I heard a light bulb switch on. It filled the room with a dim orange glow…enough for me to see the man’s face.

  It was Liam Mason. The alpha of the Canyon Hollow Coyote Pack.

  I’d never seen him before, but I recognized him immediately.

  I could hear my father’s voice in my head now. I was six, and he was playing with me in our backyard. I had a million questions for him, about being a shifter. He didn’t say much, but he told me that he was involved in some things that he wasn’t happy about. As a six-year-old, I understood very little of what he was saying.

  But he did say something that day which stood out. Even now, I could hear him saying it— “if you ever see this man, Skylar, I want you to run.”

  I’d stared at him, confused. Then he’d described him to me. A big man with a scar running down the front of his face, all the way over his lips and down his neck. Dad told me this man was called Liam Mason, and that he was evil. I’d promised him that day that if I ever saw him, I’d run.

  But I couldn’t keep that promise.

  He was standing in front of me now, and I had nowhere to go.

  I struggled, instinctually, even though I knew that those ties were not going to give way.

  For a few moments, Liam just stood there, smirking at me.

  “You’ve grown up, sweet Skylar,” he said.

  He was implying that he knew me when I was a kid, that he’d seen me when I was a little girl. I wanted to scream, I wanted to cry—but I knew that showing any signs of weakness in front of him; would be a mistake.

  “What do you want from me? Why am I here?” I screeched instead.

  His laugh came out of nowhere. He laughed with his head thrown back, with his shoulders quaking. Like I’d just told him the funniest joke he’d ever heard.

  “You really think that’s going to work on me? Playing this role of the innocent lamb?” he asked, stepping closer to me.

  A chill ran down my spine. I was afraid he was going to touch me.

  “I want to know what I’m doing here. Why you have me tied up here!” I screamed.

  He stopped laughing finally and drew in a deep breath.

  “Okay, I’ll tell you, little girl. You have just given me the best leverage I can use against the Canyon Hollow Clan,” he answered.

  I glared at him. I could feel the sweat dripping down my temples, dampening my eyelashes.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I have nothing to do with the Canyon Hollow Clan. My father was a part of it but you killed him! Since then, I haven’t had any connection with them!”

  Liam was nodding his head lightly, listening to me…but I could tell from the look in his eyes that he didn’t believe a word of what I said.

  He smacked his lips before he spoke again.

  “Nice try, little girl, but I know exactly what your relationship with the Canyon Hollow Clan is,” he continued.

  I shook my head, desperate to make him see reason; but he was smiling again. He had me exactly where he wanted me.

  “I had Jackson followed. You see, my son Braden, was very enthusiastic about Jackson getting out of jail. None of my sons were big fans of their brother getting beaten up and being put in the hospital. Braden was more than willing to find Jackson the moment he
stepped out of the detention center, and making sure that fucker never walked again.”

  I gulped. My throat had gone dry. I knew exactly where he was going with this.

  “Whatever your son has told you is a lie. I have nothing to do with Jackson!” I still tried. I had some fight left in me.

  “That’s not going to work on me, Skylar. My son saw Jackson go to the diner, where you work. Jackson very neatly led us to the girl we’ve been trying to find for ten years. Two birds. One stone,” Liam continued.

  The smirk never left his face. He was having fun watching me squirm and sob.

  I shook my head.

  I couldn’t believe how this had happened so quickly. Jackson had led them straight to me.

  “What do you want from me?” I squealed and Liam shrugged his shoulders.

  “It’s very simple, little girl. I want to kill you. You see, we know you saw the murder. Braden was there. He knew you were in the cupboard. He could smell your scent. But my stupid son is soft. He didn’t want to kill a kid. But you’re not a kid anymore.”

  I couldn’t hold back the tears. I was crying because I knew that my end was near. They were going to kill me. They were going to kill me before Jackson had a chance to find me.

  “Braden is an idiot. He should have killed you right then. Made sure he left no witnesses. We’ve been trying to find you since then. Finish the job.”

  “So, you’re going to kill me. You killed my father and now you’re going to kill me too!” I spat at him.

  Liam drew in a deep breath and shook his head.

  “Not yet, little girl. If I kill you now, then I lose the leverage I have on the clan. Braden saw you and Jackson together. We know what is going on between the two of you. That boy will do anything to get you back, and that is exactly the kind of foolishness we need.”

  “No, please, just leave him alone. Kill me if you have to!” I was crying now. I had given up. I knew there was no escape from this. They were going to kill me anyway. They were going to kill Jackson too. I just wanted it to end.

  All my life, I had death and danger hanging over me like a dark shadow. I just wanted it to be over. I’d had enough.

  Chapter 13

  Jackson

  I had no doubt who was responsible for Skylar’s disappearance. The coyotes had taken her. And I had a haunting suspicion about who had led them to her—me. For the one month that she’d been in Nashville, nothing had happened to her. And on the very day that I was out of prison, that I went and looked for her—she was kidnapped.

  I drove my car back to the lodge, where most of them had already gone to bed. Thankfully, Charlotte asleep so I didn’t have to answer a barrage of questions.

  Grant and Lincoln were still out in the porch, drinking, when I went up to them.

  “Jackson? What are you doing back here? Come join us for another pint,” Grant said.

  I was struggling with the idea of telling them what was going on. But that would require a lot of explaining. I’d have to tell them the whole story with Skylar, and I just didn’t have the time for it. Besides, whatever was going to happen tonight with the coyotes; I wanted to do it alone. I didn’t want my family to be involved in the mess—especially since that was exactly what Liam Mason wanted.

  “I can’t stay. I’m looking for information on Ben Mason,” I said, standing over them. Grant and Lincoln exchanged looks. The mention of the Mason’s name was like an explosion in this house.

  “What do you want with that scumbag?” Grant asked and I shrugged my shoulders.

  “I just need to find him,” I said.

  “You need to find a coyote?” Lincoln reiterated and I knew alarm bells were going off in their heads.

  “Do you know where he is?” I asked.

  “You need to tell us what is going on before you get yourself back in detention again,” Ford said, and he stood up.

  “You don’t need to get your panties in a bunch. I just have some unfinished business with him. It’s nothing,” I said.

  Grant stood up too.

  “Nobody has any unfinished business with that fucker. He barely knows up from down most of the time!” he said with a smirk.

  “Exactly, so nothing’s going to happen. I just need to talk to him. Just trust me!” I argued.

  Grant and Lincoln were glaring at me and I could see they were worried. I’d just got out of prison for beating up a coyote, and now I was looking for another one. I knew what they were thinking.

  “Ford isn’t going to like this,” Grant remarked.

  “Look, if you’re not going to tell me where he is; I’m just going to go ask someone else. I will find him!”

  Lincoln sighed deeply.

  “He’s probably going to be at Tin Roof. That’s where he spends most of his time, if he’s not out burgling old ladies,” he said.

  “Okay, thanks,” I called out to them, I was already backing away.

  “Jackson, c’mon, if you need our help with something—just say it!” Grant said and I waved a hand in the air.

  “It’s nothing. I’ll be fine!”

  I was out of the house and in my car within minutes, headed to Tin Roof. I knew that if I could just find Ben Mason, he would lead me to Skylar. He was the weak link in that family and I knew exactly how to break him.

  ***

  Ben Mason had a drug problem. Something we all knew about. He was the youngest son in the Mason family which ran the Canyon Hall Coyote Pack, and because of his addiction—he was left out of the pack’s business.

  Ben was the only one who was never involved in any of the violence or the criminal activity that the coyotes carried out. Because they knew he would be shit at it. We rarely saw him too, because he was always lying somewhere in a ditch; doped out of his head till one of his brothers found him and picked him up.

  But he had to know something.

  No matter how useless he was, I knew that he would have some clue. At least he’d be able to give me some information on where to begin looking for Skylar. And the last person the coyotes would be expecting me to go to; was him.

  I walked into Tin Roof. It was an old dingy dive bar, which was frequented mostly by junkies like Ben or old drunks. The women in there were addicts too, trying to sell their bodies for one quick hit of a crack pipe.

  I couldn’t see Ben when I first walked in, the place was too dark. I walked up to the counter and thankfully nobody seemed to recognize me. Eventually, I caught sight of him.

  He was sitting slumped in one corner, with his arm around the waist of a malnourished skinny older woman, bouncing her up and down on his lap.

  Just looking at him made me sick. Looking at any of the coyotes made me sick, and the thought that Skylar was now in the custody of their family—made my blood boil.

  I stormed up to him and Ben looked up at me, blinking because he didn’t recognize me at first.

  “Hey handsome,” the woman hissed, standing up, but I pushed her away.

  “Ben Mason, we need to talk,” I growled at him. He looked surprised. I guessed not many people in the world came looking for him. He stroked his greasy blond hair and gave me a toothy smile. I saw the ragged state of his teeth through years of drug abuse.

  “Jackson! Look what the cat dragged in,” he remarked and a laugh escaped his dry chapped lips.

  “You one of the Canyon Hollow Clan?” the woman asked. The pushing didn’t seem to have had an effect on her.

  “Scram before I drag you away,” I snapped at her. She only rolled her eyes at that and lazily stepped away from us. I turned to Ben again.

  “Where have they taken her?” I growled.

  “Taken who? I don’t know what you’re talking about, man,” Ben said and there was a smirk on his face. It could have been because he was high out of his head.

  I grabbed him by the collar, pulling him up.

  “Skylar. Skylar Adams. Where have they taken her?” I raged.

  “The kid? She’s gone man. Nobody knows where she
is!” Ben was beginning to shudder now and I pushed him to the wall. Nobody in the pub batted an eyelid. Either they didn’t notice because they were so high themselves. Or they didn’t care.

  “She’s not a kid anymore, you asshole. And I know your brothers took her. Where is she?”

  I knocked his head against the wall, and he struggled in my grip. He wasn’t going to get free. Both of us knew that.

  “I don’t know anything. They don’t tell me anything!”

  “Where could they have taken her? Where could they be holding her?” I continued to bark and he shook his head. He looked like he was about to cry.

  “I don’t know. I don’t know anything!”

  I didn’t have time to waste on this shit. I needed information now.

  With one hand, I kept him pinned to the wall and I punched his face with the other. Ben’s head bounced back and I could see the blood running down his nose.

  “My brothers are going to kill you for this! They’re going to find you and slaughter you!” he spat.

  I punched his gut this time and he howled in pain.

  “Tell me all the places they could have taken her. Where are they holding her?”

  I could sense some movement behind us now. People were beginning to take notice, but none of them had tried to break us apart yet. Nobody in there wanted to get involved in anything going on between the clan and the coyote pack.

  “I have no idea. You’ve got the wrong guy!” he howled, slumping in my hold.

  I rammed my fist into his gut again, knocking his wind out. He coughed and spat, still wriggling in my grasp but I kept him pinned to the wall. The blood was gushing down his nose, dribbling into his mouth now.

  “You better start talking now, coyote, or you’re fucking dead!”

  “Okay okay! There is this warehouse. They might have taken her there. I don’t know. I heard my brothers talking about it last night.”

  I released my grip on him and he toppled forward.

  “What kind of warehouse? Where is this place?” I asked, cracking my knuckles.