by Marla Monroe
Now he was on the way back, and he felt good about what he’d accomplished. If he were lucky, there would be some squirrel stew left when he got back. He’d chewed on jerky off and on all day, but a hot bowl of the stew would go down really good. It wasn’t foot-stomping cold right now, but it was pretty nippy out.
As he hiked down the first road, a noise to his left stopped him in his tracks as a huge buck slipped out of the woods to his left and slowly made its way across the road to the other side. Not long after it disappeared into the tree line on the opposite side of the road, two doe bounded out after him. If he’d been hunting, that would have made a major dent in their food needs for the foreseeable future. Unfortunately there was no way he could field dress and cart out even the smallest of the two does with what he already had to carry.
There will be other deer. I can hunt while we’re on the move. I don’t need to take the time it would take to dress it out anyway.
Suddenly he felt like he needed to be back already. Urgency rolled through him like a tidal wave. One thing Carver had learned through experience while with the MC back home—never discount an urge to do something or be somewhere. As sure as he had, someone paid with their life. After the second time he’d felt that need burning in his gut, and one of the prospects and the ole lady he was supposed to protect were kidnapped by a rival gang, Carver never ignored it again. They tortured and killed them before anyone could stop it. He wasn’t about to ignore that feeling now.
He picked up his pace, taking shortcuts instead of the easier roadways. Time wasn’t a kind mistress. She’d screw you any way she could. That’s why he risked falling when he walked along a narrow bank next to the still-swollen stream, and why he continued through the woods despite the obvious signs scratched high up on tree trunks that said a dominant male bear hunted there.
When the terrain allowed, he jogged. When it didn’t, he pushed it to the limit anyway. He needed to get there where he could protect Vella—and Lance. Neither of them was able to handle what he could. Lance just wasn’t vicious enough, and Vella was still recovering from nearly dying.
It had hit him while he’d been searching for clothes that would fit her. He really liked her, and he couldn’t argue that the sexual attraction was there as well. He could easily see himself falling for her. He could also see her round with his child, but he didn’t really believe it would happen, despite his ability to picture her as a part of his life. Once she found out he’d once been a bondsman, she’d curse him to the farthest reaches of the earth. Men like him had killed her brother. He couldn’t let himself forget that.
It doesn’t matter how much I want her now and will probably want her even more by the time we make it to the new community. It won’t matter because I will have to tell her how I’d been part of the brotherhood who’d taken her brother from her. Full disclosure and all that bullshit. If I don’t come clean with her and somehow Lance and I manage to make her our woman, one day in the future it will come out. She will hate me even more for keeping it from her—for lying to her.
Nope. He couldn’t do that. He couldn’t tell her yet, though. First he had to make sure she made it to their destination safely. He wouldn’t risk her being so angry and disgusted with him that she ran off. The least he could do for her was to keep her safe when men like him had taken her protector from her.
The closer he got to the cave where he’d left them, the better he felt with his ability to handle whatever was eating at him. Every step took him even closer, settling the sick feeling in his gut just a little more. The burning in his soul cooled a bit as he was able to actually see the rocks that formed the base of the mountain where their cave lay hidden.
Just as he relaxed a bit, the sound of a gunshot then a scream had him dropping the packs and taking his weapons to run as fast as he could toward the cave. As seconds ticked by, Carver felt as if he were running in slow motion and would never get there. For the first time in a long time, terror threatened to choke him.
As soon as he saw the entrance to the cave, Carver headed directly for it, but before he reached it, a hand reached out and pulled him by the shirt to the side of the cave’s entrance. He started to punch whoever it was until he saw that it was Lance—a dirty, bloody Lance at that.
“Hold up, man. He’ll pick you off like a fucking low-flying bird,” Lance whispered, his fingers still fisted in Carver’s shirt.
“Where’s Vella?” he asked, staring hard at the other man.
“In there with him,” he said, dropping his head.
“How? Where were you?”
“I’d gone out to wash the damn dishes. When I started back, I heard the damn wolf growling and Vella yelling at someone. I wasn’t thinking and walked right up to the entrance, and the bastard shot me. That’s why I stopped you,” Lance told him.
“What fucking wolf? There’s a wolf and some stranger in there with her?” He didn’t understand what Lance was saying.
“Look, forget about the wolf. It bonded with Vella and probably tried to protect her, but she’s holding on to it to keep the man from shooting it. She needs to let the damn thing go so she can get away while the bastard is dealing with the wolf.”
“There’s only one man in there with her? Are you sure?” he asked.
“Yeah. I didn’t see anyone else, and there’s nowhere for anyone else to hide.”
“He doesn’t know about me yet. I want you to distract him so I can get a clear shot at him from the other side. Give me two minutes to make my way to the other side. I’ll have to swing wide since I can’t get around the mountain. Once I’m on the other side, I’ll pick my shot. It’s up to you to get me that shot, Lance.” He looked hard at the other man and liked the determination he saw in his eyes.
Lance nodded at him before moving closer to the edge of the cave entrance to wait before he would start yelling at the man holding Vella in the cave. Carver shrugged on his pack and it settled into place, a perfect fit, much like a leather glove. Times like this made him thankful he’d been who he had been all those years before. Only this time, he would be using that past to save someone who’d become special to him in only a few days. He smiled, all teeth, and slipped into the trees to find a path that would provide him with cover and a clear shot.
* * * *
Pain made it difficult for Vella to breathe. The bastard had one arm around her chest just under her breasts and was squeezing her hard enough that she was sure her ribs would break soon. Her cheek burned where he’d backhanded her earlier. The wolf had tried to attack him, but he’d lifted his gun and started to shoot at it. Vella hadn’t even thought about it. She jumped and covered the wolf with her body so that the man would have to shoot her to get to the wolf.
Cursing, he’d walked over and started kicking at her to make her get off the wolf. The second she finally let go and curled in on herself the wolf had sprung and bitten into the man’s right arm, making him drop the handgun. Vella had lunged for it despite her ribs screaming in protest. He had managed to grab it before she got to it. Then he had pulled her into his arms and tried to kiss her.
When she had stomped on his instep, all he did was grunt, his boots protecting his foot to some degree. The wolf had lunged at him from behind, nipping at his ass. The bastard once again had aimed the gun at the wolf. This time Vella had used her head and butted him in the chin so his shot went wide. The wolf had snarled and ran behind them, plastering himself to her legs from behind. When the man holding her had tried to turn around to get a clear shot at the wolf, she had jumped and bit the flesh of his neck in an attempt to keep him from shooting her new friend.
When he had stopped going after the wolf and turned his attention to the front, Vella had been relieved, but it wasn’t but a few seconds later that she had realized someone else was coming and the form of Lance began to emerge from the foliage. Before she could shout to warn him, her captor had fired a shot. She had seen Lance jerk and almost fall. She had screamed and managed to sink her teeth int
o the man’s arm.
Lance had dove into the undergrowth and disappeared. She was once again alone with the man who’d attacked her. Well, not totally alone. The wolf was sticking close to the back of her thighs but wasn’t making a sound. Vella had a feeling it was actually trying to make the man forget he was even there.
“Hey, bastard! Let go of my woman. I’ll see you dead before I let you take her. You can leave right now, and I won’t kill you. If you don’t leave now without hurting her, I promise you’ll regret it more than you’ve ever regretted anything in your life,” Lance said from somewhere near the cave side. “You okay, baby?”
She started to answer him, but the man holding her moved his arm lightning fast so that his hand now wrapped around the front of her neck just hard enough to show he meant business.
“You keep your fucking mouth shut. Understand?” he asked.
She nodded her head, afraid to open her mouth again. He didn’t move his hand away from her neck. He shuffled deeper into the cave until their backs found the wall. He jerked her around in front of him, his forearm replacing his hand across her throat. She had a moment to wonder where the wolf had gone when she felt his cold nose rub the hand she had let fall to her side. The other one she used to grip the man’s arm as if she could force him not to strangle her.
She saw a flash of Lance’s form as he moved from the edge of the cave’s entrance to a tree farther away from the cave. Her attacker jerked his gun in that direction and fired, but it was obvious he missed when a bush about five yards away from the tree vibrated as the bullet flew through it. Still, the noise and knowledge that Lance was out there kept her heart pounding in her chest like a long-distance runner stepping up his pace.
I’ve got to figure out how to get the gun away from him or Lance is going to get hurt worse than he already is.
The problem was that she didn’t know what to do. Again the wolf’s nose brushed her fingers. She rubbed the short fur over his nose, wishing she had a weapon of some sort. A knife would have been real nice right then.
“Don’t worry, baby. Carver here will save you. You know I’d never leave you with a scumbag like this guy. Let Carver take care of it.” Lance’s words didn’t make much sense at first. Then she thought harder and realized he was referring to himself as Carver but in fact was telling her that Carver was back and would help.
“The only way she’s getting out of here alive is if you throw down your weapons and stand with your hands up so I can see you. You don’t do that, and I’ll take my chances and just kill her here and now.” The bastard’s voice had a slight shake to it now. He was scared.
Good.
Of course, so was she. This wasn’t her first time being held like this, and last time had ended in disaster. She didn’t want to always be a liability to someone. Maybe she should have just stayed back at the commune. There she knew what to expect and no one was dying because of her.
Again the cold nose of the wolf brushed across her fingers then up to her palm. The animal must have been picking up on her fear and depression. If the men tried something, one or both of them could be seriously hurt or killed. She didn’t think she could live with that hanging over her head after her brother had already died trying to save her. Desperation burned in her chest.
Another movement from near the tree caught her eye. It caught the attention of her captor, as well. He fired in that direction, but this time someone fired back. Just as the second shot sounded, the man holding her shifted to the left, grunting when the bullet found some part of him.
Instinctively, Vella pulled away from him at the same time the wolf jumped and grabbed the man’s arm that held the gun, growling and shaking his head, worrying the area he had between his teeth like he was gnawing a bone. Then everything seemed to happen too fast for her to know exactly what happened.
The man screamed as the wolf jerked on his arm. He threw back his other arm, his hand clenched in a fist as if he planned to use it to hit the dog, but instead he hit Vella in the cheek. Another shot sounded from somewhere even as Lance burst out of the foliage running straight for them. Vella tried to scream no, but she hit the floor hard on her back, knocking the wind from her. Then her captor fell on top of her with the sounds of the wolf all around her. The way his body moved over hers, Vella figured the wolf was giving him hell.
Good. You get him, boy.
It was the last thing she thought.
Chapter Eight
Aw, hell. Am I dead?
Vella couldn’t see anything or move anything, but the pain didn’t seem to have any problem finding her. She must be in hell then. Not that she didn’t deserve to be after some of the things she’d done in the past, but it sucked.
She could feel something warm move next to her. She wasn’t sure if she should try and scream or pretend she hadn’t noticed whatever it was. Like when she was a child and afraid of the shadows lurking in her closet all those years ago, she prayed that whatever it was, if she didn’t see it or acknowledge it, then it couldn’t hurt her. She used to pull the covers over her head and pretend there was nothing there. While she lay there frightened half out of her mind, she would fall asleep, and the next morning it would all seem so silly.
She didn’t think it was all that silly now as she floated in pain in the depths of hell. Whatever it was, it moved again. This time pressure over her upper thighs caught her by surprise, and she squealed without meaning to.
No! Now it can get me.
“Vella? Can you hear me, babe? It’s Carver. Lance is fixing something to eat over by the fire. Talk to us, hon. You’ve got us worried.” It sounded like Carver’s voice, but couldn’t devils and demons do that to trick you?
Something shifted on the other side of her, and a growl sounded from below her.
“Shut the hell up, mutt. I’m not going to hurt her,” the familiar voice said.
Vella tried again to open her eyes, but they remained firmly closed, as if they’d been sewn shut. It sent a shiver down her spine to even think such a thing. God, she’d watched entirely too many horror movies before everything had changed. Now she wished she’d listened to her mom about that.
“Stupid bag of fleas,” the voice murmured.
It made her smile inside. Was she smiling outside, too? Maybe she wasn’t dead, just drifting in and out of consciousness. That made her feel a bit better and took away some of the debilitating fear that had seemed to paralyze her. Maybe, just maybe she would wake up soon.
“Damn it, woman, wake the fuck up!” Yep, that was Carver. It jarred her even as it made her smile.
“Carver! Stop yelling at her. That’s not going to help anything. She’s probably got a damn concussion from the bastard hitting her. To make it worse, she hit her head on the floor when she fell.” That was Lance’s voice.
Now Vella knew she had to wake up, and soon, or the two men were going to be fighting. God, it was so hard to rouse her body from the relatively comfortable numbness it had finally found. All she could think about was that Lance and Carver were going to end up coming to blows if she didn’t stop them.
“Just leave her be, Carver. She’ll wake up when she’s ready. All the yelling in the world won’t do a thing but give us both a fucking headache.” Lance was in rare form tonight.
It made her fight harder to shrug off the darkness and suffocating fear that kept her eyes closed and her body frozen in place. There was nothing that would keep her from waking up now. She needed them to cooperate, or neither one of them would ever make it to the new community she’d begun thinking of as her New Hope.
“G–guys. Stop it,” she finally managed to get out.
“Vella?” Carver appeared over her, his head seeming to float there.
“Hey there, hon. We’ve been really worried about you. Where do you hurt?” Lance asked, his head shoving Carver’s to one side.
“All over,” she croaked out.
“Got something you want to tell me about, babe?” Carver asked with a half-frown
.
It was Vella’s turn to frown. What was he talking about? What did she need to tell him about? It wasn’t until the big dog or wolf nosed her in the side and whined that it hit her. She bit her lower lip and allowed the smile to creep over her face.
“Um, my new best friend?” she said with a question in her voice.
“How the hell did you manage to tame a fucking wolf in less than twelve hours? You gonna explain that to me?” Carver’s voice seemed to get stronger as he fussed. It made her smile.
“He can’t be a wolf then, can he?” she asked. “I mean, he’s either a huge-ass dog or a wolf hybrid. I didn’t have to tame him. He just came that way.”
“Oh, I beg to differ, hon,” Lance broke in. “He took to you as soon as he saw you evidently, but he didn’t like my ass one little bit until you pointed out that I belong here with you. Now he tolerates me, and that’s the nice way to put it.”
While they’d been talking, the animal in question had slowly made his way between her and the two men, lying against her side. She realized he was trying to warn them to back off without upsetting her. That seemed so hilarious to her that she broke out in giggles like a young kid. She must have jarred something loose inside her head when she hit it.
“What’s so funny?” Carver looked over at where Lance stood staring down at her with a similar puzzled look on his face.
“J–just that the wolf-dog has squirmed all the way up from my feet to my side thinking he’s protecting me from you guys,” she said, trying hard to stop laughing.
Both men looked down and finally noticed the huge animal separating them from her. They hadn’t even realized that they’d stepped back while he’d been doing it, allowing him to take over as her protector. It was just too cute, but she sobered when Carver growled at the poor wolf-dog. The animal’s ears lay back, and he returned the growl, raising it to a snarl.