Special Ops Shifters: Dallas Force: The Complete Series Collection (Shifter Nation)

by Meg Ripley

  It was just like her to say it that way, and he loved her all the more for it.

  “I love you, too, kitten.”

  10

  “Are you ready for this?”

  Sabrina turned away from the mirror to find Max standing in her bedroom doorway. He’d insisted on staying in the living room overnight, wanting things to be as professional as possible until the trial was over. The moment they’d shared on that remote hillside had been utterly magical and they both knew they’d have to talk about it again at some point, but for now, it was easier not to get too wrapped up in the possibilities.

  “Yeah. I’ve just got to get my shoes on.”

  “I don’t mean physically ready, although that’s important, too.” Max glanced at his watch. “I mean inside. I know this case has been difficult for you.”

  Sabrina crossed the room to her closet for a pair of Chelsea boots. It was strange getting ready for a shifter trial, since they didn’t happen in typical courtrooms. Had this been something the humans were in charge of, she’d be putting on her best pantsuit. As it was, she wore a loose flannel shirt and skinny jeans. Max had told her to prepare for a hike. “It has been,” she admitted, “but I’m actually kind of excited to get it over with. I won’t have to dread it anymore. They’ll call me to the stand, I’ll describe the wolf I saw in the stairwell, and then it’ll be all over with.” When she turned away from her closet, Max was right there behind her.

  His brow was creased with concern. “That’s not necessarily true.”

  “Why not?” She stepped to the side to get around him.

  Max sighed. “Because, Sabrina, you’re giving a testimony that could potentially convict a man of murder. Depending on what connections he has or how powerful he may be, you could still be in danger.”

  Sabrina opened her mouth to argue, but no words came out at first. How had she not thought of that before? Perhaps because she hadn’t taken the initial death threats all that seriously, and once the wolf in the park had let her know otherwise, she hadn’t wanted to think about it anymore. “I suppose that’s possible. I’ll deal with it when it comes.” She finished slipping her boots on and rose quickly from the bench at the foot of her bed.

  Max caught her arm, his fingers gently closing around hers. “Sabrina, please. I know you’re good at stuffing everything down inside. I actually kind of admire you for it. I do the same on my good days with PTSD. But there’s also reality to consider. You can’t just be cavalier about this and risk your life.”

  She shot him a look, her fear making her angry. “Are you sure you can handle being my protector during this trial? Or do we need to call in someone with a cooler head?”

  His face transformed from one of worry to one of displeasure. “I’m fine. And there’s no way in hell that anyone is going to be at your side today other than me.”

  “I don’t need you getting all overprotective.” Sabrina pulled her arm out of his grasp and headed for the front door. In the back of her mind, she knew she was being unreasonable. But at the moment, she just wanted this all to be over with.

  Max’s footsteps were heavy as he followed her out to the elevator. “I have reason to believe that this trial might not go the way you imagine.”

  She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter what they do. All I have to do is give my statement.”

  “That’s true to a point, but I think there might be a lot more to this than just some random wolf who wanted to kill Rutledge. I took the liberty of doing some research on the shifters in the area and—”

  “You took the liberty?” she repeated testily as she climbed in the chopper. “Max, you can’t just intrude on my life like that. It’s not your business.”

  “It is my business when someone’s trying to kill the woman I love.” His dark eyes were ablaze as he whipped his head to look at her from the pilot’s seat.

  It was the first time the word had been mentioned since their tryst on the hillside two nights ago, and it made a lump rise in Sabrina’s throat. She hadn’t realized she was putting up such walls against him until he said it, and she could feel them slowly sinking back down. But once again, Max was keeping her from shoving away all the emotions that were too hard to deal with. It was time to get back under control. “Okay,” she said simply.

  “Let me at least tell you the information I came across. There’s no reason you shouldn’t go in as fully prepared as possible.”

  “Fine.” Sabrina didn’t think there was anything Max could tell her that would make a difference, but if he could get it out and then leave her alone, then it would be a worthy sacrifice.

  He rattled off some random facts about the shifters involved and their clans while Sabrina watched the ground whisk by. The rest of the ride was silent, and when Max landed in a remote field, Sabrina didn’t bother questioning him. She followed him on foot along a narrow path that at times didn’t look like a path at all. He seemed to know where he was going, and if he got them lost, then it’d be his fault.

  Instead, they arrived on a large clearing in the middle of the woods. A sizeable gathering had already assembled there. President Whiteside was near the opposite edge, chatting with a small cluster of people. Sabrina felt a wave of anxiety turn her skin clammy.

  Max put an arm around her waist. “We just need to find a spot along the edge and wait until you’re called,” he murmured in her ear.

  “I’m sorry,” she muttered as they settled onto the grass. “I wasn’t very nice earlier. This is making me a lot more nervous than it should.”

  “That’s understandable,” he soothed, rubbing his warm hand across her back. “Do you hear the stream?”

  Sabrina listened intently, filtering out the din of other voices until she found the gentle splashing of water. “Yes. What about it?”

  “Concentrate on that. It might make you feel better to ground yourself in something that has nothing to do with the proceedings. I do it sometimes.”

  She smiled at him. There was something much more comforting she wanted to ground herself in, but now wasn’t the time to say it out loud.

  The assemblage hushed as President Whiteside stepped to the center of the clearing. “Ladies and gentlemen of the shifter community, it’s time to begin.” He was a noble-looking man with hair as white as his name, and he stretched out his arms as he waited for complete silence. “Thank you. And I also thank all of you for gathering here today. Let us work together for swift and fair proceedings. As you all know, black bear Isaac Rutledge was killed a few weeks ago. Today we shall investigate the circumstances of his death, as asked by the surviving members of his clan.”

  Sabrina turned her attention away from both the stream and Max in order to focus on the trial. She listened closely as members of Isaac’s clan gave short speeches that not only described what they’d seen at the hotel on that fateful night, but that also honored the former Alpha as a good and caring man. While Isaac’s character wasn’t being called into question, it was their way of honoring their dead. The gathering approved of this ancient tradition, nodding their agreement in all the right places.

  There were no lawyers in attendance. Everyone was given the opportunity not only to speak their minds, but to call others into question. Sabrina fully expected someone to ask her questions before it was officially her turn to speak, but she was startled when it was the very man accused of killing Isaac who did so.

  The wolf stepped into the center of the circle and whispers rippled through the crowd. He was an older man, perhaps in his fifties, his skin deeply tanned from his time in the wilds, his hair bleached by both the sun and age. His deep blue eyes skimmed the crowd and he held up his hand. “Please. There is no need to whisper. I already know what you’re saying about me and I don’t blame you. My name is Hugh Taber, and believe it or not, I was a very good friend of Isaac’s.”

  Another wave of low whispers made its way around the circle.

  “Isaac and I had known each other for a long time,” he continued whe
n the noise had died down once again, “and there’s nothing that pains me more than knowing he’s no longer on this earth with us. He was a good man, one who wanted positive change for all shifters in our community. But even with as much work as he did with the conclave, we both knew it was difficult for some to accept that he and I were as close as we were. We often met in secret, choosing to keep the focus on the friendship that we shared instead of what everyone else thought about it.”

  Sabrina tipped her head. She’d heard of some prejudice amongst the shifters, but she hadn’t seen any of it firsthand.

  “And while I could stand up here all day and tell you how innocent I am, I choose instead to let someone else do it for me. Dr. Sabrina Barrett, would you please join me?”

  Glancing uncertainly at Max, Sabrina stood and stepped forward. She could feel every tendon in her body tighten. If this was the same wolf she’d seen in that stairwell, then she didn’t want to be anywhere near him. But she had no choice.

  “I’m right here,” Max reassured her. He was on his feet, too, but he remained on the edge of the clearing as required by court protocol.

  Hugh gazed benevolently at her with those unwavering sapphire eyes as she came to stand before him. “I understand you were the first person to see Isaac after his death.”

  Sabrina was painfully aware of the distance between herself and this man and how quickly he could close it if he chose to. “I believe so.”

  “You’re not certain?” He folded his hands in front of his chest and bent forward slightly. He was a tall man, and it made him look slightly less intimidating.

  Still, Sabrina was on her guard. “I didn’t actually see him die, so I can’t say.”

  “Ah.” Hugh nodded knowingly. “And since you didn’t see him die, you can’t say that I was the one who killed him. Correct?”

  She didn’t like the way he was guiding these questions, and she pursed her lips.

  President Whiteside cleared his throat and stepped closer. “Perhaps we should simply let Dr. Barrett tell us what she did see.” He raised an eyebrow to encourage her.

  Sabrina took the cue. “It was getting late and the people in the room below me were getting loud. The management wasn’t doing anything about it, so I decided I’d go talk to them myself. The stairs were right there, so I took them instead of the elevator. When I opened the door, I saw Isaac lying at the bottom of the stairs. A large wolf stood over him.”

  “And what did this wolf look like?” Hugh asked. “Like this?” His jaw bumped out as his ears grew furry and pointed. His shoulders jerked as his other form continued to take over, his knees cracking and bending as he became the exact same wolf Sabrina had seen on that fateful night.

  Her throat was so tight, Sabrina could hardly get any air through to her lungs. “Yes,” she squeaked out. “That was him.”

  The wolf eyed her, his eyes the same blue they’d been when he stood before her as a human. His lips curled in a wolfish grin, and he shifted back quickly to the man on trial. “And did you actually see me kill Isaac?”

  Sabrina swallowed. She pulled that night to her mind, trying to sort out all the details. These were the images she’d shoved aside as much as possible to save herself from having to deal with them until it was time for the trial, but they came charging back with complete clarity. She could see the wolf standing next to Isaac’s body, nudging his ribs with his nose. He stared up at Sabrina for a moment, intent and focused, before disappearing through the side exit. “No.”

  “Ah. That makes perfect sense,” Hugh replied with a smile, “because I didn’t.”

  “Then who did?” someone shouted from the outside of the circle.

  “Please,” President Whiteside said, holding up one hand for silence, “let’s be sure to observe the proper rules.”

  Sabrina rubbed the back of her neck, thinking. She hadn’t been officially dismissed yet, and it felt awkward to stand there in front of everyone, but the question from the crowd had been a valid one. Somehow, she’d managed not to think about it much. She’d done exactly what she did when at work or when she was dealing with something uncomfortable and stuffed it all down. This time, she’d done such a good job that she’d deceived herself into believing her work was done with the simple testimony.

  But it hadn’t been all that simple. Sabrina glanced across the clearing to Max. He stood at the very outer edge, poised to act if anything should go wrong. He was her protector. He drove her crazy, but sometimes it was in all the good ways. He made her remember that she had to feel things, whether she wanted to or not. And he’d also made sure, even though it irritated her to no end, that she knew everything possible about this trial before she went in.

  “The former Alpha died without heirs,” she whispered.

  “I’m sorry. What was that?” President Whiteside took a step closer. “You’ll have to speak up so everyone can hear you.”

  She wasn’t prepared to spout her theories in front of the whole assembly, and she was only just now putting them together. Sabrina met Max’s eyes and swore she could feel his thoughts in her mind. “I said the former Alpha died without heirs. The Alpha of Isaac’s clan, that is.”

  The president tipped his silver head slightly. “Yes. And why is that significant?”

  “Isaac was voted in as Alpha to replace him, but there were probably others who felt they deserved the position. It could’ve been someone within his own clan.”

  Hugh smiled. “I’m afraid even I have to say that’s nothing but speculation.”

  “It makes sense, though. I’d spoken with Isaac earlier that night. We were there to talk about the shifter hospital we wanted to open, but he was distracted. He told me there were issues happening within his clan that he needed to address, and that he would have to get back home soon before things got out of hand. He didn’t want to go into any details, but he was worried.”

  A man stood up on the other side of the clearing. Sabrina immediately recognized Russell. She hadn’t expected him to be there. His face was serious as he stepped forward toward her. She’d come to trust him in the few days he’d spent with her, but his sudden appearance made her nervous. “She’s right,” he announced. “For those of you who don’t know, I’m Russell Barclay. I’m in Isaac’s clan. I can confirm that we’d been having some problems. Nothing had been right since our former Alpha died and our clan was split on who should be taking over.”

  President Whiteside was frowning. “Russell, perhaps you could tell us who has taken over the clan now that Mr. Rutledge is no longer with us.”

  “Ian Saunders,” Russell answered. “He’d been angry when Isaac won the vote and took over the clan. He didn’t like the way Isaac operated, always wanting to follow the law and keep things peaceful. It was profitable enough for him.”

  “You lying bastard!” The shout rang out through the clearing as a man came crashing through the brush. “I only wanted what was best for us. It was those bastard wolves who did this. And I happen to know that yet another wolf tried to kill this young lady here before she could give her testimony. To me, there’s no question the wolf is the guilty party.”

  “The one who tried to kill me was a hired mercenary who didn’t belong to a pack,” Sabrina countered. It was all so obvious now. “And you were there at the hotel that night, too. I remember seeing you argue with Isaac.”

  Before she could question herself for calling out a man on murder, Ian had shifted. He charged forward, his bear body making the ground shake. He showed his white teeth in a roar and he was coming straight for her.

  Sabrina didn’t have time to think, but she didn’t need to. She let go of her human self and let her tiger take over. She was long and lean and muscular, but Ian outweighed her by a long shot. Sabrina held her ground, her tail twitching. He was coming for her. There was no point in running.

  She dodged to the side at the last moment. His weight and his inertia kept him going for a moment before he could stop and turn. She took advantage of the momen
t and pounced on his back, her claws and teeth sinking into his fur. Ian roared, his lips curling back, and swiped at her uselessly. Sabrina hung on, but he was strong. The bear swung his body to the side, flinging her off.

  Sabrina rolled through the dirt and was back on her feet again. Something had taken over, something she hadn’t let out in a very long time. This wasn’t just hiding her emotions or choosing not to think about things. This was her true tiger soul, the warrior inside her who wouldn’t let this bastard win, no matter what. A deep roar emerged from her throat and rattled through the air, telling the bear to bring it on.

  He did. Ian had recovered just as quickly, despite the blood that now ran down through his dark fur. She was quicker, but he was stronger. Sabrina was vaguely aware of shouts and chaos that had broken out around them, but she couldn’t worry about it now. She had her own fight.

  They circled each other as they exchanged blows and searched for the chance to get to the most vulnerable spots on their enemies. Sabrina raked her claws across his face, drawing more blood that dripped from his muzzle. It only infuriated him. When he attacked again, he truly had the advantage of his weight. The bear pinned her to the ground and closed his mouth around her throat. She dug into his underbelly with her back claws. Her front paws smacked uselessly as the world began to go dark.

  A blur of deep orange fur sailed through the air. Sabrina thought it might be a dream, because it didn’t make sense to her muddled mind. She needed oxygen. But then the bear was gone. She was staring only at a bright blue patch of sky, the treetops dancing in a circle around it. Air rushed back into her lungs, and she gasped with relief.

  She rolled over onto her side just in time to see a very familiar tiger finishing off a black bear. Blood stained the paler patches of fur near his belly and legs. Several others had shifted, but they stood back from the fray, waiting.

  President Whiteside swam into her vision. His brow was creased as he looked from the bloody scene to Sabrina. “It’s over. Everything is all right now.”