by Kim Fox
“How do we get in?” he asked as they approached the building. The double doors appeared to be locked and all of the windows had thick metal bars crisscrossed over them.
Three birds cawed angrily at Tyler as he shooed them away and grabbed the steel bars over the window. He placed his feet on the brick wall for leverage and pulled with everything he had, trying to rip the bars free.
“It’s not going to work,” Isabelle said, rushing to the front door. “They’re reinforced steel. Skin shifter proof.”
“Then what?” Tyler asked, looking around, examining the building. There were so many fucking birds on it. The building used to be the City Hall where the elders would gather to discuss the administration of the community. It looked like Jacob had converted it into some sort of prison.
Tyler gasped when he saw Isabelle with her knuckles in the air about to knock on the door. “Wait!” he called out but it was too late. She knocked.
“Are you crazy?” he asked with wide eyes. He ran over and seized her wrist. Tyler didn’t care what she was going to say, he would drag her kicking and screaming all the way back to the Clawed Ranch if he had to. This was getting way too dangerous.
“Wait,” she said, resisting him. “Maybe it will be-”
The double doors swung open with a long chilling squeak. “Oops,” Isabelle said, her face dropping as she looked inside. The gorgeous hues of her face turned a ghostly white as she saw who answered the door.
Tyler stepped forward and looked inside. Wallace.
Isabelle’s brother grabbed her arm and yanked her in through the doorway. Tyler lunged forward as she screamed. It happened so fast. Her brother Wallace always was a quick one.
His knife was out, pressed up against her throat.
Isabelle stared at Tyler with wide panicked eyes and an open mouth. The sharp blade of the knife was digging into the soft skin of her neck.
“Easy,” Tyler yelled, holding his hands up and stepping back. His heart was pounding so hard. He could barely hear over the sound of his heartbeat thrashing in his ears. “Wallace. Please let her go.”
Wallace just glared at her as he squeezed the handle of the knife, his forearms flexed and ready. He had the same hazel eyes as Isabelle only his were full of hate.
“You really are a disgrace,” he hissed, staring down at his sister in disgust. “You’re running off with a traitor. You make me sick.”
“Fuck you, Wallace,” Isabelle said, grunting as she tried to pull away.
Tyler clenched his jaw as his mind raced. The knife was too close to her skin and he couldn’t risk making a move. Wallace was too quick and the love of Tyler’s life would be dead before he got a hand on him.
“She’s your sister,” Tyler said, trying to keep his voice calm and steady. “You’re better than this, Wallace. Let her go. She’s scared.”
“I’m not scared,” Isabelle huffed. “I’m pissed! You’re a shitty brother and a shitty person!”
Wallace squeezed the handle of the knife as his face twisted in anger. “Nathan!” he screamed. “Emry! Get over here!”
Tyler swallowed hard. He looked to the end of the dark hallway and cringed. Rhett had told him that Jacob’s other two horseman were willing to side with him. He took a deep breath as he clenched his hands into fists. I guess I’m about to find out if my cousin is a liar.
They walked out of the darkness like two ghosts from his past. The two Chevy brothers, Nathan and Emry.
Emry hadn’t aged a day. He still had that same young looking face with the green eyes that had all of the girls scribbling his name in their notebooks. And Nathan, well Nathan looked tougher than ever.
The two were known for fighting, with their fists, not with animals. Tyler had once seen Nathan uppercut a grizzly bear that some rival punk was channeling.
If Rhett had been lying and they were still loyal to Jacob, both Tyler and Isabelle were as good as dead.
“The prodigal brother returns,” Nathan said, his booming voice echoing down the long hall.
“It’s the prodigal son,” Emry corrected. “I think.”
“What’s a prodigal anyway?” Nathan asked as they approached.
“Will you two shut up?” Wallace hissed. He stepped back, pulling Isabelle with him. “Grab the prodigal fuck and throw him in the cell next to Rhett. Jacob has to be informed that his brother has returned.”
The two brothers stopped, standing side by side in front of them. Nathan ran his thick hand through his short, cropped brown hair. His arms were huge for a skin shifter. “That’s the boss man’s wife you got there, mate,” he said, rolling his shoulders as he stared.
“She’s my sister,” Wallace snapped back. “She’s mine. Just put him in a fucking cell.”
The two brothers flashed each other a look.
“Now!” Wallace screamed.
Tyler’s heart was thumping as he watched Isabelle slowly raise her hand up to her brother’s arm.
“Are you the new boss?” Emry asked, tilting his head to the side.
Nathan chuckled. “I didn’t get the memo.”
“Guys,” Tyler said, placing his palms up. “We just came for Rhett. We don’t want any trouble with you.”
“You don’t want trouble with us?” Emry asked, raising an eyebrow.
“That’s too bad,” Nathan said with a smirk as he pounded a huge fist into his open palm. “Because we love trouble.”
Tyler glanced at Isabelle quickly as he widened his stance getting ready for a fight. Isabelle’s hand was now on Wallace’s forearm. Shit. What is she doing? She had that wild look in her eye and Tyler was afraid that this situation was going to go from bad to fucking horrible. Real fast.
The Chevy brothers were moving forward with their chests out and their arms flexed. “Nathan. Tell Tyler here what our mother used to call us,” Emry said with a grin.
“Monsters? Assholes? Idiots?” Nathan answered.
“No,” Emry said, shaking his head. “Well, yes, but the other thing.”
“Oh,” Nathan said, nodding like a light bulb just went off in his dim head. “Trouble-dee and Trouble-dumb.”
Emry smirked. “I’ll let you guys figure out who Trouble-dumb was.”
Tyler raised his fists, wishing that his squad was by his side. It had been a long time since he fought without them.
A flicker of movement caught the corner of his eye. No. Isabelle struck out as fast as a snake’s bite. She pushed Wallace’s arm away from her neck with a violent thrust with one hand while swinging her other fist down like a hammer, smashing it into her brother’s balls.
Tyler leaped forward, jumping on Wallace as Isabelle dropped to the floor and slid away. He cocked his fist back and landed on top of her brother with a stiff roundhouse punch to the jaw. His head flew back and smashed into the stone wall with a smack.
He postured up and landed punch after punch, expecting strong hands to yank him off at any second. He clenched his teeth as he dropped bomb after bomb with every vein in his jacked forearms throbbing. He wanted to make Wallace pay with his life for threatening his girl.
The hands never came. But Tyler kept punching. He punched until blood splattered his shirt, until his knuckles were numb and raw, and until Wallace’s face was a bloody mess. He punched and punched until a soft feminine hand touched his shoulder and said, “That’s enough.”
Tyler stood up, taking harsh ragged breaths. Wallace was groaning on the ground, barely moving. He would survive. Unfuckingforunately.
“Ha!” Emry said, smacking his shoulder. “Now that’s the Tyler I remember!”
“I still say that I could have taken him,” Nathan said, rolling his head from side to side. He raised his cinder-block fists and grinned at Tyler. “Want to go? Just for fun?”
“Maybe another time,” he said, taking a quick breath. “I have to get Isabelle out of here.”
“Where are we going?” Emry asked.
“What?” Tyler said, his mouth dropping. They didn’t expe
ct to come along with them, did they?
“We’re going with you, mate,” Nathan said, slapping his monster hand onto Tyler’s shoulder, making him shudder. “Jacob will kill us when he finds out that we helped you.”
Tyler looked at Isabelle for help but she just shrugged. “Fine,” he said. “Let’s just get Rhett and get out of here.” They could figure everything else out later. He would probably drop them off at a roadside Motel and just drive away while they were inside taking a piss.
“Never liked this guy,” Nathan said as he grabbed Wallace’s arm and yanked him up. His legs were wobbly and Nathan half dragged him down the hall. “Way too fucking serious.”
“And he used to steal my lunches from the staff fridge,” Emry said, giving Isabelle’s brother a dirty look. “I clearly marked my name on the brown bags with a Sharpie, you asshole. Why did you always have to steal my Fruit Roll-Ups?”
“Are you okay?” Tyler whispered as he wrapped his arm around Isabelle.
“I will be,” she said, glancing behind her, “when we get the hell out of this place.”
Tyler nodded and picked up the pace. Emry kicked open a door and they hurried down the stairs. “He’s right down here,” Nathan said, turning a corner.
The place gave Tyler the chills. The basement was dark with only a flickering light at the end of the hallway. It reeked of sweat, stool, and misery. It was quiet except for the whimpering of a prisoner and the scurrying of rats.
Jacob had converted all of the old offices into jail cells. Tyler cringed as they ran past the first cell. There was a man inside, at least sixty years old from the look of his thin gray hair and frail body. He sat on the ground hugging his knees to his chest and didn’t even look up when they hurried by. What has my brother done?
“He’s down here,” Emry said, sprinting ahead.
Tyler ran with them, keeping his eyes on Isabelle. They reached Rhett’s cell and Nathan slid in the keys, opening the reinforced steel door.
Rhett was standing in the back corner with his fists cocked in the air. His dark eyes looked furious but then softened when he saw Tyler and Isabelle. “You came back,” he said, dropping his hands in relief.
“I told you he would,” Isabelle said proudly. She hooked her arm around Tyler’s and gave him a warm smile. It’s not over yet.
“Welcome to your new home, mate,” Nathan said, tossing Wallace’s body into the cell. He landed with a thump on the floor.
“Yeah,” Emry said, pointing at him. “You’ve stolen your last Fruit Roll-Up!”
Wallace’s enhanced healing was already kicking in and he was starting to move a bit more. He turned and sneered at them through his bloody lips and bloodshot eyes. “Jacob will kill all of you for this.”
“Probably,” Emry said with a shrug. “What’s your point?”
Rhett ran his hand through his dark hair, looking at Tyler for guidance. “What’s the plan?” he asked, glancing back where they came from.
“This was the plan,” Tyler said, feeling his stomach roll. “We came to get you out. That was the plan.”
“Well, we better think of one fast,” Emry said, slamming the door of the cell closed and locking Wallace inside. “Jacob loves to come play with his prisoners in the morning.”
Isabelle stepped forward. “How about we get the fuck out of here? How about that for a plan?”
They quickly looked at each other and then all shrugged. “Sounds good to me!” Rhett said. They took off running with Rhett leading the way.
Nathan and Emry were behind them. They were each unlocking prison cells, letting the prisoners free.
Tyler kept Isabelle close as they ran up the stairs and out of the building. The sun was out in full force now and the skin shifters of the town were on the streets, chatting with each other and hurrying off to work.
A hundred or so ravens exploded off of the building in a black cloud and cawed as they followed them overhead.
“Real subtle, Rhett,” Emry yelled over the deafening cawing from above. “Why don’t you link-up with an enormous flashing arrow that can point right at us instead?”
Rhett huffed out a breath as he ran. “Believe me, if I could make them go away I would have done it before now.”
The five of them sprinted past the school and then past the town library on the way to the fence with the flock of ravens following closely. It all felt so wrong. Tyler took in a deep breath as they ran. “What are you doing?” Isabelle asked as he slowed down. “Let’s go.”
Tyler stopped, staring at the dried blood caked onto his fists. They could run and be safe for the day, maybe a week, maybe even a whole year, but sooner or later, Jacob would catch up to them.
Isabelle wouldn’t be safe until his older brother was dead.
“Go with the boys,” he said, taking slow, deep breaths. “Go with them to my home, the Clawed Ranch. Thorn will keep you guys safe in case I fail.”
“No, no, no,” she said, her eyes wide with panic. She rushed over and grabbed his wrist. “We’re going. You and me, together.” She tried to pull him but he held his ground. “Please, Tyler.”
She was so beautiful. Her stunning hazel eyes had haunted him for years. He studied her gorgeous face; her cute little nose and sweet freckles. Look closely. It might be the last time you see them.
“I love you,” he said, stepping in and cupping her cheek with his hand. He kissed her slow and soft, cherishing the sweet taste of her lips. “I thought of you every second that passed since we parted. You’ve always been the one for me. Always.”
“Tyler!” she shouted, tugging on his arm. “This is ridiculous. Come with me!”
He swallowed hard as he looked at her one last time, his girl, the love of his life. “Nathan. Rhett. Emry,” he called to the boys who were running ahead. They cursed when they turned around and saw them stopped.
“Don’t do this,” she said, shaking her head wildly. “Just come with us. He won’t find us. I promise.”
But he would. Jacob would never stop until they were dead.
Isabelle lunged forward, trying desperately to grab him but Rhett was there, picking her up in his strong arms. She screamed as he carried her away.
“I love you,” Tyler whispered to her as the tears rolled down her cheeks.
They disappeared around a building and Tyler took a long, deep breath, closing his eyes as he flexed his fingers in and out of fists.
This was ending now.
He spun on his heels and marched into the town’s square with his muscles tightening in readiness. Adrenaline rushed through his body, making him feel invincible. He marched with his muscles and veins straining against his skin and his lips pulled back, baring his teeth.
He was out for blood. He was out for revenge.
“Is that Tyler Jones?” the people of the town whispered as they followed him in a quickly growing crowd.
He reached the town square and stood in the middle of it, feeling invincible.
He was ready.
He took a deep breath, opened his mouth, and screamed.
“JACOB!”
nine
Almost everyone in town was there. Watching, waiting.
There was only one person missing.
“JACOB!” Tyler screamed again as he paced around the square with his hands clenched into tight fists. His brother had taken his leg, he had taken his home, but what was beyond forgivable, was that he took his woman. And it was time to make him pay.
The crowd parted as Jacob strolled in with an amused look on his face. Tyler glared at him as his brother made his way into the square. He wasn’t alone.
Two grizzly bears and a male lion strutted in behind him. Tyler was already outmatched in a one on one fight with his brother, the master skin shifter, but this was way too much. At least it would be over quickly.
The bears were huge with enormous rolling shoulders and massive heads. Their jaws were open, hanging low as they walked, giving Tyler a chilling view of their razor sharp te
eth. The lion looked just as terrifying with his large mane of hair and long black claws.
But none of that was as intimidating as the man who was pulling their strings.
Jacob strolled in confidently, flashing an easy, amused smile at Tyler. His golden eyes were shining as he slowed to a stop with the three apex predators growling at his side.
Tyler didn’t have much hope in winning against these odds but all he wanted was to give Isabelle enough time to escape. That’s all he could hope for.
“Brother,” Jacob said, opening his arms with a satisfied grin. “You haven’t seen my lovely wife around, have you?”
Tyler’s pulse elevated and he clenched his jaw. “She’s no longer yours to torment, Jacob. She belongs to me. She always has and always will.”
Jacob shook his head as he smiled. The lion under Jacob’s control paced from side to side, staring Tyler down with its fierce eyes. “I have a marriage certificate and a thousand notches on my bedpost that proves otherwise.”
There was a collective gasp from the crowd as Tyler stepped forward. “Your time as a ruler is done,” he said in a deep voice. “You’ve tormented these people long enough. You’ve tortured Isabelle long enough.”
“That’s where you’re wrong, little brother,” he said as he sent the three animals forward. Their heads were low with their lips curled up over sharp teeth. “I’m just getting started.”
Tyler stepped back, turning his attention from his brother to the three predators about to lunge at him and shred him to pieces. The bears were close together coming straight at him while the lion circled around to his back. He planted his legs with his fists in the air quickly glancing from the lion to the bears and back again.
He tried to slip his energy into one of the bears but Jacob’s hold on the animal was too strong. His brother pushed him out easily.
He was hopelessly outmatched.
And then, hope. The sound of a hundred cawing ravens was faint at first but quickly grew deafening as the black cloud of birds approached. They came back.
Tyler felt a surge of energy as the birds circled overhead, cawing angrily. He wasn’t alone any longer. He just hoped that Isabelle wasn’t there with them.