Pack 11 - Wolf Whisperer

by Karen Whiddon

  “What are you going to do?” she asked.

  “Pull over,” he told her. “Then, once the officer gets out of his car, I’m going to take off. It’s our only chance. If this truck’s been reported stolen, he’s going to arrest us.”

  Up ahead of them, a motorcycle careened out of a side street, doing at least seventy-five, maybe more. Weaving in and out of traffic, the bike picked up speed.

  “That guy’s an idiot,” Mac said, momentarily diverted from their own problem. “He’s an accident waiting to happen.”

  As soon as the words left his mouth, a panel van turned onto the access road, just as the motorcycle swerved out to pass another car.

  With a loud boom, the two collided. The biker went airborne, the bike, too.

  Kelly gave a little scream.

  Traffic, which had been moving along well, came to a complete standstill. The police car, lights still flashing, whipped around Mac and Kelly and, driving on the shoulder, headed toward the accident.

  Unable to believe what had just happened, Mac looked at Kelly. She gave a nervous laugh and shrugged. “What now?”

  “We’ve got to get out of here,” Mac said.

  “I agree.” She looked wildly around them. “But how? We’re hemmed in by cars.”

  Sirens sounded in the distance, indicating the police officer had called the accident in.

  “More cops and emergency vehicles are on the way.” Mac flipped on his blinker and began inching toward the shoulder.

  People had begun getting out of their cars and walking over to see what was going on.

  Eyeing the accident and the increasing crowd of onlookers, Kelly sighed. “I just hope that cop forgets about us by then.”

  “He won’t,” Mac put in grimly. “Not if he ran a check on this vehicle. We’ve got to get out of here. I need to try and make it onto that side street.”

  “The one the van pulled out from?”

  He nodded. “I know it’s blocked, but if I cut through the gas station…”

  Behind them, flashing lights signaled the approach of police backup. A fire truck and an ambulance, sirens wailing, blazed past on the shoulder, with two more police cruisers directly on their tail.

  By the time they all pulled up to the accident site, the side road had been thoroughly blocked.

  “Next they’re going to set up someone to direct traffic. They’ll have to use that side road,” Mac predicted, trying to sound calm and feeling trapped.

  “I feel like a sitting duck.” Kelly rubbed her arms as though she was cold. With the air-conditioning blasting, maybe she was.

  “Come on. Let’s get out and walk. We can pretend we’re like them.” He pointed to the cluster of people on the side of the road near the police cruisers. “We’re leaving the truck here.”

  She stared at him. Then, biting her lip, she unbuckled her seat belt and reached for the door handle. “You’re right. It’s our best chance. We’ll disappear into the crowd of people over by that shopping center.”

  “Yeah. We can find a new vehicle later.”

  Caught up in either the spectacle unfolding at the accident scene, or their own irritation at being stuck in traffic, no one honked or yelled, as Mac had half suspected they would.

  Holding hands, he and Kelly headed toward the accident scene, and then they cut across the shoulder, down a grassy embankment and into a half-full parking lot. They slipped among the parked cars and mixed with a group of people heading to shop at a large grocery store.

  “We need to get out of this immediate area,” Mac told her, keeping his voice low. “Once they get that accident scene cleaned up, and everyone back in their cars, they’re going to realize that pickup was abandoned in a lane of traffic. If they didn’t realize it was stolen before, they will now.”

  “Okay, then pick one.” She glanced around them, gesturing widely. “There are a lot of cars here to choose from.”

  Wincing, he grimaced. “I really didn’t want to steal another vehicle, but we’ve got to meet Simon and his crew in Corsicana.”

  “And we’ve still got to call Ian,” she reminded him.

  He couldn’t believe he’d managed to forget about that. Checking his watch, he saw it was a little after two-thirty. “We’ll call him around three,” he said, “an hour before the meeting, and try to delay it. Right now, let me get us some transportation.”

  This time he chose a black four-door sedan, a Chrysler 300. Common enough not to attract notice, spacious and roomy and completely different from the pickup and BMW they’d used before. Again, he jotted down the license plate number and put it with the other two before climbing in and starting the car.

  “Why do you do that?” she asked, clicking her seat belt into place. “I noticed you writing down the tags on the other two, as well.”

  Slightly embarrassed, he gave her a rueful smile. “I’m guessing I’ll have a lot of karma to pay back when this is all over. Stealing three different vehicles isn’t a good thing. I can look the owners up with the license plate number. That way, I can at least try and make some kind of retribution.”

  Her eyes widened. “You plan on contacting total strangers and telling them you’re the guy who stole their car?”

  He laughed. “No. Actually, I plan on doing everything anonymously. If I told them who I was, most people would just call the cops and have me arrested. But I’ll try to make it up to them somehow, if I can. Without them knowing who or why.”

  She stared at him. He couldn’t tell if she approved or not. He told himself he didn’t really care, but the truth was, he did.

  “Have you always done this?” she finally asked.

  “Nope. But then I’ve never stolen anything before.”

  “I like that.” Leaning over, she brushed a kiss on his neck. “Since I stole with you, I want to help you make amends.”

  If he could have, he would have pulled the car over and given her a real kiss. He settled for grinning at her instead.

  Ducking her head, she blushed. Then, while he was still grinning like a lovesick fool, she lifted her chin and met his gaze. “Where are we going now?”

  Back to business. She was right. He needed to stay focused. “We’re taking 287 down to Corsicana. When we get to the Home Depot, we’ll wait for Simon.”

  “Meanwhile, we need to call Ian.” Pulling her cell out, she looked at it. “I am so dreading this.”

  “We’ll be fine.” He hastened to reassure her. “Do you want to practice or anything?”

  “No. We’ll be fine.” She turned her head to look out the window.

  Driving, he felt glad of the silence. Normally, before being sent on a mission, he was pumped up, ready to go, uber-confident that things would go well. This time, it was too personal, there was too much at stake. If he even allowed himself to think about what could go wrong and what was at risk, he would make mistakes.

  He stared straight ahead at the road, not really seeing it. He needed to shut down, get in the zone and focus. Maybe once Simon and his team arrived, he would find it easier to do just that.

  “Mac?” Kelly’s voice startled him out of his thoughts. “It’s five after three. Are you ready to call Ian?”

  He nodded, keeping his face expressionless, as though his heart hadn’t leapt into his throat.

  “All right, then.” Locating the stored number, she pressed it, putting the phone on speaker before handing it to him.

  “I assume you’re calling me because you’re early,” Ian answered, going directly to the point.

  “There’s a problem,” Mac said. “Kelly doesn’t believe her mother is even there. She wants you to put her on the phone and let her talk to her, as proof.”

  “I’ll do no such thing,” Ian replied, anger sharpening his tone.

  “Then we won’t be coming.” Shooting Kelly a quick glance, Mac terminated the call.

  “Whoa.” Kelly exhaled loudly. “I wonder how long it’ll take him to call back.”

  “That depends. If he h
as your mother handy, it will be only a few minutes. If, on the other hand, he’s bluffing, then the phone should ring just about now.”

  Silence.

  Forcing a chuckle, Mac tried again. “Just about now.”

  To his relief, the cell rang as if on cue.

  “How did you know that?”

  He shrugged. “Just know his type. Go ahead and answer it.”

  Again on speaker, Kelly answered. “Hello.”

  “You impertinent little bitch.” Ian’s voice dripped venom. “You have no right to try and test me.”

  “I have every right,” Kelly rejoined, an edge in her voice. “This is my mother and my sister you’re claiming to have captive. How do I know you’re not lying?”

  Ian cursed, using another lyrical language that made the swear words sound like poetry. They waited until he wound down, then Mac spoke. “Get her mother and her sister and put them on the phone, or the deal’s off. And,” he added, pretending it was only an afterthought, “I’d like to speak to my children again, as well. Both of them this time.”

  “Impossible.”

  Flashing Mac a grin, Kelly gave the thumbs-up sign. Then she let loose. Screeching like a shrew, she called her cousin every name in the book, and then some. Amazed, Mac sat back and watched while she worked herself up into a lather.

  Ian made several attempts to interrupt. Each time, Kelly drowned him out, her voice shrill and furious.

  “Mac, get your woman under control,” Ian finally shouted.

  Obligingly, Mac said her name, the first time in a normal voice, the second in a sharp tone of command.

  Immediately she fell silent, unable to keep from smiling at him. She thought their acting was pretty darn convincing.

  “Go ahead, Ian,” Mac said.

  “I don’t have time for this nonsense,” Ian snarled. “This is your last warning and your last chance. If you don’t show up here in less than an hour, the deal’s off and you can forget about ever seeing your loved ones again. Understand?”

  Kelly shook her head and opened her mouth. Lifting his hand to forestall her, Mac replied to Ian, “We’re not going anywhere or doing anything until we know our family members are alive,” he said stubbornly. “And if you can’t provide that assurance, the deal is off.”

  With that, even though Ian had started to speak, he closed the phone and ended the call.

  “Let’s see what happens now,” he said. Glancing at Kelly, he saw she was staring straight ahead, tears running down her cheeks.

  Damn. Swearing softly under his breath, he immediately signaled and turned into a fast-food-restaurant parking lot. Once they’d parked, he reached for her and pulled her into his arms. “What’s wrong?”

  She raised her face to his, her gaze tortured. “He’s not going to let us talk to them. I’m beginning to think he’s already killed them. My mom and my sister. Dead.”

  He wanted to say something reassuring, but the same thought had also occurred to him.

  Gently he brushed the tears off her face. “Why do you think that?”

  “Why else would he refuse to put them on the phone?”

  Kissing her cheek, he shook his head. “I can think of several reasons. Chief among them being that he’s not at the same location as they are. Remember, you heard there was some sort of compound out in west Texas. Obviously, this is pretty far from there.”

  She peered up at him, then slowly nodded. “You’ve got a point.”

  “So stop worrying,” he said, aware he was also speaking to himself. “Everything will work out fine.”

  They continued heading south on 287. Outside, the cloudless sky and bright sunshine made the temperature steadily rise. By the time they reached the exit for I-45, the car’s outside thermometer showed ninety-three.

  About to comment on the heat, Mac realized that Kelly had fallen asleep. Leaning on the door with her hand under her head, she looked so peaceful dozing that he didn’t want to wake her.

  Finally, they took the Richland Chambers exit. Turning left and going under the freeway, they made a right turn and pulled into the Home Depot parking lot. Checking his watch, he saw that they were way too early to meet Simon. Since Kelly slept, he kept the car running and listened to the radio.

  An hour or so later, Kelly’s cell phone rang, waking her. Blinking groggily, she fumbled in her purse and, without looking at it, handed it to him.

  It was Simon.

  “We’ve landed in Dallas and are en route,” Simon said. “We should be there in ninety minutes or so. Meanwhile, I’ve had my assistant working on finding out about this Danny McKenzie and his son, Ian.”

  Sitting up a bit straighter, Mac dragged his hand through his hair. “And?”

  “The west Texas rumors were exactly that, only rumors. But they do have some sort of compound or encampment near Corsicana. Five hundred acres of mostly pasture. They’ve built a huge house, thirty thousand square feet, and most of them are living there, sort of like that Branch Davidian thing years ago in Waco. I’ve got aerial photos that were actually taken by the FBI.”

  “The humans are watching them? That’s not good.”

  “Nope. Foolish. Your agency has been keeping an eye on them, too, but the Protectors don’t seem to be aware that they’re Tearlachs.”

  “Faulty intel. What about this lake house where Ian wants us to meet?”

  “The upper echelon spends quite a bit of time there. Danny McKenzie and his son and an odd assortment of women. They’re rumored to have quite a harem, but nothing illegal, so other than keeping an eye on them, the various agencies aren’t doing anything. Their hands are tied.”

  Mac relayed the earlier conversation he’d had with Ian. “We need to strike soon. He won’t be expecting us.”

  Simon was silent for a moment. “Where?” he finally said.

  “The compound. I want to rescue my kids, Kelly’s family and anyone else who wants to leave. We can take them into protective custody.”

  Beside him, Kelly shook her head. “No,” she mouthed. “No custody. A rescue, free and clear.”

  “I’ll have to alert the Pack authorities,” Simon said, unaware of what Kelly had said. “It’ll be a full-scale raid on the place, minus the human media. Are you sure you’re up for that?”

  Once again Mac glanced at Kelly. He saw the determination in her eyes, the desire to make this go her way. While part of him—fine, all of him—completely understood, his children had to be his first priority. And the only sure way to get them out was to go in there with a small army. As for Kelly, in the end she’d get what she wanted, too. Her mom and her sister would be free. They’d negotiate the conditions later.

  “I am,” he told Simon. “Get the ball rolling.”

  “All right. See you in a few. Oh, and better tell Kelly you’ll be wearing riot gear. You know as well as I do that this thing can go either way.”

  “It won’t.” Mac was positive of that. “Standard operation. Women and children first. Talk to you later.”

  As he closed the phone, Kelly shifted restlessly. “What’d he say?”

  “He’ll meet us in a few. And he’s ordering up reinforcements.”

  Now that it was a done deal, he shouldn’t have hesitated to tell her the entirety of it. But he told himself he didn’t want to worry her, and he kept his mouth shut.

  After all, she’d find out everything soon enough.

  Kelly couldn’t shake the dread coiling in the pit of her stomach. Mac was hiding something from her, she was certain of it.

  Women and children first. Like they were evacuating a sinking ship or something.

  What had he meant by that? What the hell had Mac asked this Simon person to do?

  Since they had time to kill, they went inside the Home Depot and wandered the aisles. After an hour had gone by, they returned to the car and waited.

  Thirty minutes later, a black Jeep Cherokee pulled up.

  “That’s them,” Mac said. “Wait here.” He got out of the car,
obviously not expecting her to follow.

  “Wait here?” Muttering under her breath, she opened her own door and followed him over to the other vehicle, where the other men were slapping each other’s backs and shaking hands.

  “There’s a lot of male bonding going on here,” she said.

  Mac turned around, frowning. She ignored him, focusing on their leader, Simon.

  “I’m going, too,” she informed them, using her best no-nonsense voice, the one she used when working with a stubborn dog.

  Of course all the men began to protest. All of them, that is, except Simon. He stood watching silently.

  “Enough.” She waved her hand, cutting them off midprotest. “If our theory is correct and they’ve got all of the kids in one place, and you’re going in with guns and riot gear, there are going to be a lot of terrified children. They’re going to need someone to help them through this. That someone will be me.”

  Mac opened his mouth, then closed it when she glared at him. She looked at each man, one by one, daring them to contradict her.

  Studying Mac’s—friends? Coworkers?—she was struck by one trait they all shared. Each and every one of them radiated a raw masculinity, from the breadth of their broad shoulders to their narrow, fit waists.

  They ranged in height, a smorgasbord of testosterone, yet, standing near them, she felt petite and feminine. Protected.

  Paradoxically, this infuriated her. Until Mac had shown up on her doorstep, she’d managed just fine, thank you very much.

  Now, even if their lives weren’t eternally tied together, she didn’t know how she’d endure a life without him. Thanks to the Tearlach binding, she wouldn’t have to.

  Eyeing Mac’s friends, she hoped their expertise would be enough to ensure that they’d succeed.

  Talking together in low voices, they began outlining their plan. Since she couldn’t hear, Kelly moved closer, pushing herself in between Mac and another man.

  The man—whose name she didn’t remember—gave her an indulgent look that set her teeth on edge. “You don’t need to trouble your pretty little head about any of this, ma’am. We’ve got it under control.”

  Both Mac and Simon groaned in unison.