Wolf Hunt

by Paige Tyler

  “The new teams don’t do a lot of training,” Tanner said.

  Zarina let out a delicate snort. “The new teams don’t do anything but sit around and eat. And the only time they leave the complex is to go traipsing off to some far corner of the world chasing after Ivy and Landon or one of the other teams. If Dick and Thorn knew just how close they really are to the DCO complex, they’d go crazy.”

  Tanner chuckled. She was right. Dick in particular would pass out if he knew that almost all the shifter teams were hiding less than two hours away from the Washington, DC, area.

  “Speaking of Ivy and the others,” Zarina said, glancing at him, “do you think you’ll be seeing Kendra and Declan anytime soon?”

  Kendra MacBride and her bear shifter husband were expecting twins any day now, so it wasn’t really the best time to be on the run. Tanner looked around before answering. He doubted anyone could have snuck up on them without him knowing, but he checked anyway. “I won’t risk going to see them. Not unless they call me, which I doubt they will.”

  Zarina frowned. “I’d feel a whole lot better if I could give Kendra a checkup myself. She’s a week past her due date already. I should be with her.”

  Tanner sighed. Zarina still wasn’t thrilled that he was the only person in the DCO to know where Landon, Ivy, and the rest of the fugitives were hiding. Or that he was the only one who’d gone to see them. She knew they were somewhere close by, figuring out the amount of time Tanner had been gone the last time he’d taken Kendra something to help her deal with muscle spasms related to her overdue pregnancy.

  “You know that isn’t possible,” Tanner said as gently as he could. “They’re watching you too closely. While you’re an amazing woman, you’re not a covert agent. Thorn’s people would find you.”

  It was Zarina’s turn to sigh. “I know. It’s just hard thinking about Kendra and the others being out there on their own. I hate that Thorn’s goons are always following me.”

  Zarina wasn’t the only one being watched. Thorn had people following some of the other DCO employees as well, including Trevor. The coyote shifter was under almost constant surveillance.

  Fortunately, Dick and Thorn ignored Tanner. For whatever reason, they considered him nothing more than a dumb animal, too out of control to be trusted to do anything covert or complicated. That was fine with him, since being invisible made it easy to slip away and get messages to his friends whenever Dick was closing in on them. It also made it simple to snoop around Dick’s office, talk to his secretary, and listen in on private conversations that people had no idea he could hear so he could figure out what the hell Dick and Thorn were up to. With John out of the way, Thorn would be making his big move, but no one had a clue what it was.

  “Can you at least tell me if Ivy is with Kendra?” Zarina asked. “If Kendra goes into labor without a doctor there, I’d feel a lot better if Ivy were around to help.”

  Tanner shook his head. “You know I can’t tell you anything. It’s safer for everyone if you don’t know.”

  She made a face at him, sticking out her tongue. He chuckled, unable to help himself. Clearly, living in the United States was having a profound effect on her. She would never have done anything like that when she’d first arrived here.

  “Why?” she demanded, her blue eyes flashing. “Because Adam says it is? What do we even know about this guy? Hell, he doesn’t even have a last name! He popped up as a voice on the end of the phone a couple of days after John died, and we all did exactly what he told us to do. How do we know we can trust him?”

  Zarina was only echoing what Tanner had thought the first time the mysterious shifter named Adam had called. He’d given Landon, Ivy, and the others places to hide, new identities, money, and even burner phones Tanner used to keep in contact with them.

  “We know we can trust him because Landon and Ivy trust him,” Tanner said. “According to them, Adam had been working behind the scenes with John for years trying to find something to pin on Thorn. Adam hasn’t done anything to steer us wrong yet.”

  Zarina’s mouth tightened. “So Ivy and Kendra aren’t together?”

  Tanner lifted a brow but didn’t answer. Zarina rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to the obstacle course again.

  The funny thing was that Zarina was right. The DCO agents had split into three groups and were hiding out at separate locations. Ivy and Landon weren’t with Kendra and Declan.

  “Are you going to tell me what happened in there?” Zarina asked after a moment. “I haven’t seen you lose it like that in a long time.”

  That was only because she hadn’t been in Costa Rica when he’d completely gone animal during a rescue mission and had run off into the forest like a lunatic. When his team found him, they’d had to tackle him, then practically sit on him for thirty minutes until his rage subsided.

  Since then, Tanner had thought he had his inner animal well in hand. Now, he realized any semblance of control he’d been experiencing was nothing more than an illusion. The moment he’d thought Zarina was in danger, he’d completely lost it. Even now, he could feel the beast in the back of his mind, prowling around, looking for a way to slip out again. It was like the thing had been encouraged by that minor bout of freedom.

  “Sometimes I imagine this is what an alcoholic or drug addict must feel like,” he said softly, staring down at the grass in front of their bench. “Knowing that there’s this monster inside you, ready to slip out and attack the second you give it a chance.”

  “You’re not an alcoholic or an addict,” Zarina said firmly. “You were given a serum that made drastic changes to your DNA and your hindbrain, which is the part that controls our most primitive functions, including survival instincts, aggression, and your fight-or-flight response. That’s why you sometimes lose control in stressful situations.”

  He appreciated how Zarina always tried to make it seem as if all his issues were related to the hybrid serum he’d been given, but they both knew it was more than that. He’d already been a basket case long before he’d been given those drugs. The rage issues, memory blackouts, and panic attacks had started somewhere between his fourth and fifth deployment in the army and had only gotten worse once he was out of the Rangers. That was why he’d been living alone in the woods of Washington State to begin with. So he wouldn’t lose it and hurt someone.

  When he didn’t say anything, Zarina reached out and rested her hand on his jaw, turning him to look at her.

  “Tanner, the things that are happening to you aren’t your fault. But you’re dealing with them. We’re dealing with them.”

  The touch of her hand on his face was enough to warm his whole body, and it was all he could do not to turn ever so slightly and press a kiss to her palm.

  He wished he could tell Zarina exactly how he felt about her, because right now, he was happier than he’d ever been in his life. But it would have been unfair to tell her that he loved her, then in the next breath admit he was almost going to have to walk away from her.

  “Sometimes I think it would be better if I went back to the forests where you found me,” he said quietly. “So I could get away from all of it.”

  Zarina looked confused at first, but then an expression of overwhelming pain filled her eyes. “Away from me?”

  Seeing the sorrow on her face hurt him worse than anything he’d ever experienced, even the searing agony he’d felt as the hybrid drug had first burned through his bloodstream all those months ago, tearing his DNA apart from the inside out.

  He loved her more than his own life. Which was why what he was doing felt so completely right.

  He gently trailed his hand over her cheek. This was the first time he’d touched Zarina like this, and it almost took his breath away.

  “Away from you more than anyone,” he said. “I’d die if I ever lost control and hurt you.”

  “You’d never hur
t me.”

  “You can’t be sure of that.”

  “I am sure. Tanner, I’m close to finding a cure.” She reached up to grab his hand and squeeze it tight. “The serum I gave Jayson wasn’t perfect, but it counteracted the effects of the crap Dick gave him. All I need is a little more time, and it will be ready.”

  “You’ve been working on that antiserum for almost a year and a half,” he pointed out. “You might be close, or you could be another year or two away.”

  She shifted on the bench so she could face him squarely, shaking her head vigorously. “It won’t take that long. I’m sure of it. You have to promise you won’t leave before I have a chance to finish it.”

  That wasn’t a promise he could make. He had no idea when he was going to leave, since he still needed to help Sage, but he couldn’t ignore the risk he posed to Zarina and the other people around him. At some point, he’d lose control at the wrong time, and someone he cared about would pay the price. He refused to stay here and let that happen.

  But before he could tell Zarina that, she suddenly leaned forward and wrapped her arms around him, squeezing him tightly. He froze, shocked by the move. But after a moment, he enfolded her in a hug.

  “Don’t answer right now,” she whispered. “Just think about it for a while…before you do anything.”

  Tanner closed his eyes, holding her like he’d wanted to for so long, torn that it couldn’t always be like this. But he wasn’t the man Zarina needed in her life. At some point, she was going to have to figure that out.

  Chapter 4

  Alina stepped out of the shower and absently dried off with the fluffy towel she took from the rack as she tried to figure out what was going on with Thomas Thorn. She’d found it strange enough that the man had been lurking during her initial interview with Dick Coleman, but now that his name had shown up in connection with the bombing, she had no idea what to think.

  Tossing the towel in the hamper, she slipped into her standard bum-around-the-house-and-chill-out clothes—yoga pants, a tank top, and a cardigan. Considering it was summertime, she didn’t really need the sweater, but cardigans were soft and cozy, and she liked wearing them regardless of what time of year it was. Forgetting about work wasn’t really an option right now, though.

  As she walked through the living room and into the kitchen, she went over everything she knew about Thomas Thorn, which wasn’t a lot. Not that there was a reason she should know much about the man. She’d spent the past twelve years of her life buried in the CIA, where she’d focused on international threats—and Wade. She’d never been interested in DC politics. Hell, she couldn’t remember the last time she’d voted.

  Even so, she knew the obvious stuff. Thorn had been a senator up until a couple of years ago, when he’d stepped down to run his international defense corporation. He was filthy rich, owned more homes than she did shoes, and still wielded a tremendous amount of influence within political circles. She was also fairly certain he could have stepped into almost any executive-level job in the government if he’d wanted. Heck, she could see some president tapping him to be secretary of defense in a heartbeat. He was that well connected.

  Which begged the question as to why he’d been there that morning when she’d talked to Dick. From the looks the director had thrown Thorn’s way, it was obvious he had some influence within the DCO. Why a man as powerful as Thorn would bother getting involved in a small covert organization that no one else in the world had ever heard of didn’t make a lot of sense to her.

  Then there was the stuff Trevor had said about the former DCO director attempting to send Thorn to prison. Her new partner had implied it was the real reason behind the bombing that had killed John Loughlin.

  That was a pretty serious claim, and she would have appreciated Trevor getting into the details. Unfortunately, he’d refused to discuss the subject. She’d spent a good portion of the drive up from Bowling Green badgering him for information, and all she’d learned was that her new partner couldn’t be badgered. She hadn’t been ignored like that since she was an awkward teen in high school. Crap, Trevor could be irritating as hell when he wanted to be.

  She walked over to the island in the kitchen and picked up the picture Cody had made. She couldn’t help smiling. It was sweet of him to give it to her.

  On impulse, she walked over to the stainless steel fridge and moved a few takeout order magnets around until she’d made a space for the picture, then used the magnets to hold it in place. She stepped back and admired it. The picture definitely brightened up her rather drab kitchen. Then again, she hadn’t known her kitchen was drab until she’d put Cody’s picture up.

  Alina suddenly found herself thinking about how her life would have been different if she’d turned left instead of right after college and gotten a normal, ho-hum job, met a nice guy, settled down, and had kids.

  She laughed at how crazy that was. Even though she’d had this apartment in Del Ray for years, she typically never spent more than a week or two there at a time. She’d spent most of her time traveling around the world, sleeping in hotels, on planes, and in the backseats of cars while surveilling targets of interest. The biggest factor in renting in Del Ray was because it was so close to Reagan National. If she was going to spend half her life at the airport, she might as well live close to it.

  The notion that things could have been different, that she could have been a wife and a soccer mom with two-point-three kids and a minivan was fun to imagine. Looking at Cody’s picture on the fridge, she wondered if she’d be the kind of mother who’d keep kids’ artwork taped all over her kitchen. Probably.

  She was just digging through the freezer for a frozen pizza that wasn’t encased in frost older than the last ice age when she heard a quick knock immediately followed by the sound of the door opening, then the scrabble of doggy nails on the hardwood floor.

  “You decent in there?” her friend Kathy McGee called as Molly bounded into the kitchen with a silly grin on her face.

  “Yeah,” Alina called. “In the kitchen.”

  Dropping to her knees, she gave her beautiful baby a big hug. Molly was a blue heeler cattle dog she’d rescued during a snowstorm five years ago. It was probably crazy for a woman doing fieldwork for the CIA to have brought in a stray, but there was no way in hell she was going to let the dog freeze to death. And once Molly had gotten comfortable in her apartment, it hadn’t seemed right to give her to someone else. Fortunately, her next-door neighbor Kathy had offered to babysit Molly anytime Alina needed.

  “How’re you doing, girl?” She playfully ruffled Molly’s long ears, then ran her hands through the short fur covering the dog’s flanks. “Did you have a good time with Kathy today? Did you behave yourself and play nice with Katelyn?”

  Katelyn was Kathy’s cat and, against all rational explanation, Molly’s favorite playmate. Which worked out well, considering how much time Molly spent in Kathy’s place.

  Her dark-haired friend came into the kitchen and leaned one shoulder against the wall but didn’t try to interrupt the happy reunion, which pretty much went the same way regardless of how long Alina had been away. Kathy’s presence didn’t stop Alina from talking to Molly like she was a two-year-old.

  “Did you miss your mommy?” she said in her best baby voice.

  Molly let out a soft bark, then butted her head into Alina’s hands, demanding more attention and pets. Alina couldn’t help but laugh. Then again, that’s what dogs were all about. They made you happy.

  “You’re a good girl, aren’t you?”

  Molly let out another soft bark. She wasn’t a noisy dog, but she always got talkative when Alina got all goofy. Alina had a sudden vision of Trevor watching her kneeling down on the floor, talking like this. He’d probably think she was a big dope.

  “Molly wanted to come right over and find out how your first day on the new job went, but I told her she had to wait
until you had a chance to clean up and relax a little,” Kathy said.

  Alina gave Molly one last pat on the head, then stood. “Oh, so Molly’s the one who’s all eager to hear about my first day at the office, huh?”

  Kathy smiled and nodded, her blue-green eyes teasing behind her glasses. “Definitely. But if you’re going to tell her about it, I guess I can hang around and listen in, too.”

  Alina gave up on the idea of nuking a frozen pizza and instead grabbed a box of Cheerios from the cabinet, a carton of milk from the fridge, and a bowl and spoon, then headed into the living room with Kathy following close behind.

  “So tell me! How was your first day?” Kathy asked eagerly, kicking off her slippers and getting comfy on the couch.

  Alina almost laughed at the excitement in her friend’s voice but restrained herself. Kathy worked from home selling socks on the Internet and often said she lived vicariously through Alina’s covert adventures.

  Kathy was more than a next-door neighbor and her best friend. She was Alina’s confidante, the only person she’d ever been able to talk to about her life in the CIA. She’d never told her friend anything classified of course, but Kathy was familiar with the stuff that had happened to Jodi and the other members of Alina’s team. She’d also known how much Alina had come to dislike her job at the Agency. In fact, Kathy had been the one to convince her to accept the DCO’s job offer.

  Molly hopped up between them on the couch and did a few circles before lying down with her head near Alina’s hip. The dog immediately closed her eyes and went to sleep, happy as a clam now that she was with her mommy.

  Alina dumped some cereal into the bowl, then added milk. “If I had to sum today up in one word, I guess that word would be…interesting.”