by Stormy Glenn
“That helps.”
“I can also see the mountains off in the distance. I think I’m west of town.”
“Did you get the boards off the window?”
“No. They’ve taken me to another room to talk to someone.” Keeland breathed deep when they stopped in the middle of the room and the man behind the big wooden desk glanced up. “Jarrod?”
“Hey, Doc. Thank you for joining us. Please, have a seat.” Jarrod smiled as he waved a hand toward a chair sitting in front of his desk. He seemed a lot older than he did when Keeland hired him two months ago. Years older. “Coffee?”
Seriously?
“Yes, thank you.” Keeland gave Jarrod a small smile. “Dom, it’s Jarrod.”
“Your receptionist?”
“Yes.”
“Do you know where he lives?”
“Not off the top of my head, but it’s on his employment papers in the filing cabinet in my office. Look in the top drawer under Employees.”
“I’ll head there right now.”
“Just hurry.” Please.
When Jarrod set a cup of coffee down in front of him, Keeland eagerly grabbed it just to give himself something to do. He waited until his—now—former receptionist had taken his seat again before asking, “What’s this all about, Jarrod?”
“Shifters.”
Keeland’s eyebrows shot up. “Excuse me?”
“Shifters,” Jarrod repeated. “Humans who shift into animals.”
Keeland knew his mouth was hanging open, but he couldn’t think of a response to that. How in the hell had his receptionist learned about shifters? And what did that have to do with kidnapping him?
“I'm not kidding you, Doc. Shifters are real.”
Keeland set his coffee cup on the desk carefully so as to not spill a drop, then folded his hands together in his lap. “I think it’s time for me to go.”
Like now.
“My two associates”—Jarrod nodded to the two men standing behind Keeland—“tried to talk to you about them, but you wouldn’t listen. This is the only way we could think of to get you to hear what we had to say.”
“By kidnapping me?” Keeland shouted, using his fear to spur his words. “Scaring me? Feeding me some bullshit story about humans shifting into animals?”
“Shifters are real and you need to accept that,” Jarrod snapped. All pretense of this being a friendly meeting fell off his face. “They killed my father, and I will wipe every single one of them off the face of the earth if it’s the last thing I do.”
Well, damn.
Chapter Twelve
Dom raced into the clinic and ran straight to the back where Keeland’s office was located. His hands shook as he yanked the top drawer of Keeland’s filing cabinet open and searched for the employee file.
He was so frantic, it took him a moment to find it. Once he did, he yanked the file out and flipped through it, looking for anything with Jarrod’s name on it. When he found the right papers, he dropped all the other papers to the floor and scanned the sheet in his hand.
Holy shit! Dom almost threw up when he saw the name on the sheet of paper. It couldn’t be a coincidence. “Keeland, we might have a problem.”
“Ya think?” Keeland snapped back.
“Jarrod’s last name is Peterson.”
“I know that.”
“Baby, a man named Peterson tried to kill Chay and Gabe a couple of months ago, and I had to kill him. He knew about shifters too. The chances of two men with the same name having knowledge of shifters—”
“Are pretty much nonexistent. I suspect Jarrod is that guy’s son,” Keeland said. “Jarrod knows about shifters, and I don’t know how much longer I can pretend that I don’t.”
Damn.
“You were right. Jarrod lives west of town.”
“Then you know where you’re going, don’t you.”
Keeland was angry. Dom could hear it in his voice. “I’m coming, Special K. I promise.”
Dom quickly sent Jarrod’s address to his brother using the familial mind link between them, knowing Gabe could get it to Chay, then ran out of the clinic. Within moments, he was on the road, racing toward the address he’d given his brother.
“You’d better hurry, Dom. He just went off on a rant about killing the shifters who killed his father, and basically wiping all shifters from the face of the planet. He’s really pissed.”
Double damn.
Dom put on a burst of speed and shot down the road. He knew it wasn’t exactly safe to ride a motorcycle at this high rate of speed, but getting to Keeland was more important. He’d gladly take the speeding ticket if he got pulled over.
A loud caw-caw above him caught Dom’s attention, mostly because it was loud enough to hear over the roar of the engine. Dom glanced up and spotted a falcon gliding along on the air currents above him.
Good, Chay was here.
When Chay flew down closer to the ground and turned directions, heading to the left through the trees, Dom slowed his bike and started looking for a place to pull over. After a little ways, he spotted a dirt road. Dom turned and slowed his bike. It was too dangerous to ride fast over an uneven road.
When he spotted Chay standing there in human form, he pulled his bike to a stop in front of the man and turned it off. He quickly climbed off and started stripping his clothes. There was no way he wasn’t going to have to shift, and he’d like to keep his leather jacket and boots in one piece.
“Where’s Gabe?” he asked.
“He’s on his way,” Chay replied. “He’s coming through the woods.”
Which meant he was in panther form.
“This guy who has Keeland, he’s Peterson’s kid.”
Chay’s dark eyebrows drew together when he frowned. “Peterson as in the guy you shredded a couple of months ago?”
“One and the same.”
“Fuck.”
Dom nodded. “Apparently, he’s out for revenge, although I’m not sure why he took Keeland.”
“Do you think he knows about Keeland’s connection to you?”
“I don’t know. I don’t think so.”
“Can you ask him? It might help to know what we’re walking into.”
Dom nodded again before contacting Keeland. “Baby, does Jarrod know you’re mated to me?”
“I don’t think so,” Keeland replied. “He’s trying to convince me shifters exist and that they're a menace to society.”
“Try to keep that information from him if you can. It’s too dangerous for him to know.”
“Oh, I’m working on it, but this guy is crazy.”
Dom had no doubt.
“We’re almost there, Keeland.”
When he shifted into his panther form, Chay shifted into his falcon and took to the air. Dom started following the bird through the woods. It wasn’t always easy to keep an eye on Chay through the trees, so he just kept heading west until he reached the edge of a field. An older two-story house sat on the far side of the field.
He paused at the tree line and sniffed the air. He didn’t get much more than dry grass and a faint scent of gunpowder and car oil. There was also the faintest hint of body odor. Dom crouched down in the tall yellow grass and waited. He’d been there for about five minutes when Gabe settled down beside him. A moment later, a falcon landed next to Gabe.
“Did Chay spot anyone patrolling outside?” Dom asked through his link with his brother.
Gabe was silent for a moment, then turned to look at Dom. “There are two armed guards at the front of the house by the car, another two at the back of the house. He didn’t spot anyone else outside, but he can’t be positive there aren’t more.”
Dom took another deep sniff of the air. “The scent of humans is there, but it’s faint. The smell of gunpowder is stronger.”
“Then I suspect there’s someone in the trees, waiting for us to show ourselves.”
“You think they know we’re coming?” Dom asked, hoping Gabe said no.
&n
bsp; “I don’t know if they suspect we’re coming for Keeland or if they’re just being cautious, but they are definitely prepared for our arrival.”
Well…damn.
“Keeland, how much has he told you about shifters?” Dom asked his mate.
“Enough to know he doesn’t really know what he’s talking about. I suspect everything he’s heard came from his father, who he seems to believe made the sun rise and fall. I think this is less someone wanting to wipe out shifters and more a son wanting to avenge his father.”
“Do you think he knows there are falcon shifters?” Dom asked.
“Hold on and I’ll ask.”
“Be careful with what you say.” Dom’s protective instincts were running rampant. He was terrified Keeland would say the wrong thing and Jarrod or one of his men would go off.
“Oh, I am.”
Dom felt as if he couldn’t breathe as he waited for Keeland to get back to him. It seemed to take forever before he heard his mate’s sweet voice.
“No,” Keeland finally said, “he seems to think panthers are the only kind of shifters. He’s trying to convince me to work with him because I’m a veterinarian.”
Well, that didn’t make sense. “Keeland, if he wants to wipe shifters out, why would he need a medical doctor?”
Keeland’s snort came through their bond loud and clear. “To find better ways of killing them. Why else?”
* * * *
This guy was batshit crazy and if Dom didn’t get him out of here pretty soon, Keeland was going to clobber them both. He’d heard just about enough of the man’s insane ranting about shifters and what abominations they were.
“Now do you understand?”
Not in the least.
“So,” Keeland said, “you’re saying these…” Keeland squinted. “Did you say they were felines?”
“Yes,” Jarrod replied, “panthers.”
“Okay, so these panther shifters are trying to take over the world?”
“They're stronger than us, faster, able to see in the dark, smell better, hear better. They're essentially panthers of the wild when they're in shifted form.”
“Are they sentient?”
“They're animals!” Jarrod shouted.
Keeland blinked at the vehemence in Jarrod’s voice. He fully believed what he was saying, and Keeland doubted he could convince the man otherwise. He needed a different strategy.
“You said these things killed your father,” Keeland said. “How? What happened? How did your father even know about them? It’s not like this is common knowledge outside of Hollywood.”
“Oh, this isn't Hollywood, Doc, not by a long shot. These vile creatures are without mercy. They kill any and all who stand in their way.”
“And that’s what I don’t understand,” Keeland said. “Just what is their game? What are they after?”
“World domination.”
“You said something like that already, but how? I mean, it’s not like humans aren’t without their weapons.” Keeland waved a hand toward the two armed guards standing at the door. “Why can’t we use weapons like theirs to eliminate these shifters?”
“I saw my father shoot one of them point-blank. The shifter fell, but he got back up again.” Jarrod’s jaw clenched. “They killed him for that.”
Keeland huffed as he pushed a hand through his hair. The tension in the air rose swiftly. Jarrod was growing more frantic with each thing he said. Keeland had no doubt the man was close to losing it completely, and he really didn’t want to be around when that happened.
“I don’t know how I can be of help, Jarrod. I’m a vet. I work on cats and dogs, not panther shifters.”
“My father had friends, Doc. If we can get our hands on a shifter, these men have a way of killing them.”
Keeland was quite proud of himself. He didn’t throw up. “Like wipe them out en masse or one by one?”
“Hopefully, in large groups. There’s too many of them to kill them off one by one.”
“I still don’t see how I can help.”
“It’s very simple, Doc.” Jarrod held up a syringe of blue liquid. “We need you to infect them.”
Well, shit!
Chapter Thirteen
Dom sucked in a breath as a wall of panic slammed into him. “Keeland’s in trouble!”
Gabe shot him a look. “What’s wrong?”
“The link between us just went nuts.”
“What does Keeland say?”
“Nothing.” That’s what scared him. The sun was just starting to go down. It wasn’t dark out yet, but Dom didn’t think they had the time to wait until the sun set. “We need to go in.”
“Let Keeland know we’re coming in,” Gabe said.
Chay took to the air, then flew over the field toward the house.
That didn't make Dom feel any better. “Keeland isn’t answering me.”
“Tell him anyway. He might not be able to answer you.”
Dom didn’t know how that would be possible considering their link was mental, but he told Keeland they were coming in.
“You take out the guys in the front of the house,” Gabe said. “I’ll take out the guys in the back.”
That sounded good to Dom. He stayed to the tree line until he reached the spot closest to the front of the house. He was still a good hundred feet from the front door. Dom could either run in as a panther or shift and go in as a naked human. It really wasn’t much of a choice.
Dom watched the two armed men intently until he saw them both glance away at the same time. He darted out from the trees and raced across the yard as fast as his four paws would carry him. He knew he only had one chance at this.
He jumped on the first man, making him crash onto the ground, but he didn’t stop to kill him. Instead, he ran toward the second man and took him to the ground just as quickly. As much as he wanted to roar in victory as he tore the guard’s throat out, he knew silence was his best weapon.
The man’s death gurgles hadn’t even stopped before Dom was turning and racing at the first guard. He could see the panic in the guy’s eyes as he fumbled with his rifle, trying to get it to fire. Dom jumped into the air and came down on the man, once again making him crash onto the ground. One swipe of his claws and the guard was no longer a danger to anyone, and never would be.
Dom turned toward the house. The coppery scent of blood was strong, but the scent of Keeland’s fear was stronger. Dom started for the house, trying to figure out how he was going to get in without shifting.
A scream from inside blew all his good intentions straight to hell. Dom roared as he ran up the porch steps. Before he could reach the door, Keeland appeared, Jarrod right behind him. It was a scene right out of Dom’s worst nightmare. He suddenly understood how Chay had felt a couple of weeks ago.
Dom shifted, uncaring that he would be standing there naked. “You don’t want to do that.”
Jarrod tightened his hold on Keeland, pressing the knife in his hand more firmly against Keeland’s throat. “Stay back. Don’t come any closer.”
Dom took a couple of steps back. His gaze darted to Keeland, meeting his tear-filled eyes. “It’s okay, baby. Everything is going to be okay.”
“He has a syringe filled with some sort of blue liquid. Don’t let him get it near you.”
Dom frowned. “What is it?”
“I don’t know, but I think it’ll kill you if he shoots you up with it.”
Dom narrowed his eyes as he glared at Jarrod. “What do you want?”
“For you to die!”
“Funny.” Dom chuckled. It wasn’t a happy sound. “Your father wanted the same thing right before I ripped his throat out.”
“You killed my father?”
“I did,” Dom admitted. “He was trying to kill my brother.”
“Another abomination?” Jarrod snarled. “He deserved to die.”
Dom lifted an eyebrow. “So did your father.”
Keeland’s jaw dropped. “Really?” he aske
d silently. “Now is the time to piss off the crazy man?”
Dom shrugged. He knew he was antagonizing Jarrod, but he wanted to make the man enraged enough to let Keeland go and come after him. Dom couldn’t do anything until the blade of the knife moved away from his mate’s throat.
“Kill him!” Jarrod shouted.
Dom tensed and glanced around, preparing to fight, but no one came at him. He hoped that meant Gabe and Chay had taken care of the guards in the house. He smirked as he looked back at Jarrod. “Looks like you’ll have to do your own dirty work.”
Jarrod roared and launched himself at Dom, pushing Keeland to the side, which was exactly what Dom wanted. He braced himself, expecting Jarrod to run right into him. He wasn't prepared for the man to pull a gun and shoot him in the chest.
Dom grunted and fell back on the ground, the burning agony stealing his breath. He felt like an idiot. He should have been prepared for anything, but he'd been stupid and egotistical to think he could play a game with an insane man.
He prayed his mate didn’t pay the price.
“No!” Keeland screamed.
Dom turned to reassure Keeland he was fine, even though breathing seemed entirely optional at the moment, only to find him in a struggle with Jarrod. Dom tried to roll to his side to get up, but he couldn’t seem to catch his breath enough to move.
Chay’s head appeared above him. “You need to shift, Dom.”
Dom groaned as he shifted. It hadn’t hurt this bad to shift since the very first time. He felt as if every bone were breaking and reshaping before melding back together. Once in his panther form, he panted heavily. He could feel his body striving to heal itself, but it would take a few more shifts. It was hard to kill a shifter, but not impossible.
As soon as he thought he could manage it, Dom shifted back to his human form. He wrapped his hand around Chay’s wrist to gain his attention. “Ke-Keeland.”
Chay glanced up.
When he winced, Dom thought he was going to die. He drew as much air into his lungs as he could and shouted, “Keeland!”
A loud scream sounded, and then Keeland’s beautiful face entered his line of vision. Dom reached for him and pulled his mate close to his side. “Okay?” he asked silently because it was easier than talking, and less painful, too.