“I’m going to wait here for the tow. You guys get going before someone sends the cops.” Marcus smiled and waved at the squashed fender of Sam’s ride.
Sam gave him a friendly shoulder shove. “Yeah, just take the sweet job so you don’t have to look at Alastair’s ugly face.”
Marcus shoved back. “You know it.”
Ian hung up the phone. “Man, Lana is in a mood.”
“You can say that again,” Sam said. He kept twitching, he couldn’t keep still. He needed to get going and find Glenna.
“She’s stuck between the council and a bunch of screw-up enforcers. I guess she’s earned the right to yell. Anyway, she’s given us the go-ahead to move them.”
Sam growled. “Has she?”
He exhaled again. This was why the packs had females in charge, because the males couldn’t think straight half the time. He knew it, even agreed with it, but it chapped his ass. “Are they secure? Ready for the trip to the warehouse?” Sam wanted to bash their faces in until they spewed everything they knew all over the concrete. Make them pay in blood for Glenna’s disappearance.
“Sam.” Ian moved up next to him, bumping his shoulder with his shoulder in a show of solidarity. They crossed the parking lot to the SUV where the feds were cuffed and doped up with their own drugs. “Alastair will force them to talk. And he won’t kill them in the process.” Ian’s anxiety for his alpha was palpable. “What’s with you?”
“Can’t you smell it?” Caleb leaned against the door of the vehicle. With his dark secretive eyes and long black hair pulled back in a ponytail he had a bad boy rep on the force. “He’s sniffing after the girl.”
Sam lunged for the other enforcer, gripping handfuls of his expensive silky shirt and shoving him up against the metal door.
“Be respectful.” His words were almost inaudible growls. “She’s my responsibility, that’s all.”
“Yeah, whatever.” Caleb’s nose wrinkled. “But you smell of fear and pussy.”
Sam hauled back and slammed him against the door again. Caleb just grinned.
“Sam, back down!” Marcus ran across the parking lot. “You need to get the hell out of here. Get in the Jeep and let’s get going to the warehouse before someone calls the police.”
Sam shook, his fear and anger threatening to overwhelm him. He had to shake this or he would be no good to Glenna. His muscles bunched. Caleb would be a great place to sink his teeth and vent his emotions.
A sleek grey compact car turned into the parking lot.
“Sam!”
As a dormant, Marcus might have missed out on the DNA that would have given him alpha potential, but Sam heard the command in his voice. Sam’s wolf screamed that he was the alpha here. Marcus could fuck off—Caleb was challenging him over Glenna.
But Glenna wasn’t here.
It was that thought that calmed him down. He was wasting time.
“Screw you, Caleb.” He let the other enforcer go and backed away. He could smell Ian’s relief as the situation deescalated. “Let’s go,” he told the beta. “We have feds to interrogate.”
He’d deal with Caleb’s insinuations. He’d deal with his own frustration and anger. He’d deal with anything if it meant they found Glenna before the fucking feds had a chance to hurt her.
***
Sam paced back and forth inside the Lakewood warehouse the pack kept filled with supplies and emergency goods. He’d grabbed his kit bag from the Suburban before they’d had it towed and changed into his spare clothes and now he had nothing to do but pace. “Where the hell is he?”
Alastair was late. The three suits were tied up in folding chairs, heads lolling as they slept off the drugs.
“I’m right here.” Smooth as grease Alastair slid into the warehouse. He pulled the door shut behind him. “Seems like you’ve got some trouble on your hands.”
Sam worked at keeping his balled-up fists at his sides. The man always set his teeth on edge, but the smirk he shot at Sam seemed calculated to bring out the wolf today. Or maybe it wasn’t Alastair, maybe it was losing Glenna.
Alastair brought over another metal chair and unfolded it in front of the first fed. “I’m going to need you to leave, Sam.”
“No fucking way!” Sam lunged, but Caleb cut him off and gripped him by the shoulders.
“Your agitation is too disruptive. I can’t work with you here.”
Sam caught the looks between Ian and Caleb. “I’m fine.” He wasn’t. He was hanging by an edge, but he could fake it. God knew he’d done it enough over the past two years. He ran his hand through his hair and backed away from the men. “I’ll watch from over here.”
Sam could tell they didn’t buy it, as he walked over to the warehouse door, but no one said anything. He cracked his neck, popping stress out like a string of firecrackers. The line between him and the wolf had thinned. The urge to just go out and hunt Glenna down using only his nose, legs, and powerful jaws was getting harder to resist.
But he still held control by the tips of his claws. He would stay human.
For now.
He bounced his weight from foot to foot, keeping his distance as the room got quiet. Alastair took his own tall, skinny frame through some neck rolls and joint loosening. Prep for the trance the spelltalker would need to go in to do his work.
Sam paced, back and forth, tracing the length of the door. He could sense the day moving on, and every minute meant Glenna was getting harder and harder to find.
“Out.” Alastair pointed a long finger at Sam. “Or I can’t do this, and we are losing time.”
Sam lunged at Alastair, teeth bared, shrinking the space between them with lightening speed.
Caleb stepped in front of the slender man. “Do I need to call Lana?” Caleb’s frame seemed suddenly larger, his face had gone serious.
He could take him. Caleb was fast, but he was bigger and stronger. All it would take was one lunge and he’d rip out the other man’s throat, like slicing through a steak. Blood would spurt. And—
“Fuck!” Sam whirled around and slid open the warehouse door, exploding out into the sunshine.
The door slammed shut behind him. He strode down the pavement between the isolated storage buildings, moving faster and faster until he ran the length of the building and around the block. He ran until he’d wrestled his control back from the edge.
He made his way back to the warehouse, sweating, but not as tired as he needed to be. Caleb waited outside, lounging casually against the peeling steel wall, looking cool despite the heat. “I know you don’t want to hear this, man, but someone needs to pull you off this case.”
“No.” He couldn’t hold back the growl.
“You’ve got it.”
“Don’t you think I would know?”
“Yes.” Caleb stepped right up to him, got into his face. “Yes, I think you would know. And I think you do.”
Sam balled his fists at his sides, panting with the effort of not shifting and challenging the other wolf.
“Man, have you got it bad.” Caleb flashed a smile, but it didn’t light up his eyes and his stance said he was ready for action.
Sam relaxed each muscle individually until sweat dripped between his shoulder blades. It was almost successful. “Don’t tell Alastair,” he said. “He’ll call Lana and I’ll be through.”
“You’re a wild card. Someone should call Lana; someone should call the chief and replace you.”
“No one will work as hard for Glenna as I will.”
“Sam, we all know your history. You can still back it down. Stay away from her and the fever might ease.”
It wouldn’t ease. It burned through him hotter and faster this time, like flame after easy fuel. Like it knew his weaknesses. “Once we find her I’ll get her someplace safe. And I’ll take off.”
Caleb tilted his head, his eyes skeptical. “She’s not used to us, not used to our ways. She won’t know what the hell is going on. Does she even know if she turns you down what will ha
ppen to you? Are you sure you want to take the risk?”
“There’s no risk. I won’t spend time with her. I’ll just help you find her and then I’ll take her back to Lana’s. I’ll go.”
“It’s your soul, man.” Caleb shook his head and headed back into the warehouse.
The sweat trickling down Sam’s spine grew cold on his skin. He’d find her. His wolf wouldn’t let him rest until he did. Then he’d get her somewhere safe and leave. And give himself up to the place he should have gone two years before—into the wild.
Ian and a pale, shaky Alastair exited the building.
“We’ve got a location,” Alastair said. “Ian and I are going to head up there now. It’s way down I-70, on the Western Slope. Maybe five, six hours from here.”
“I’m going.”
“No, no you’re not. Lana wants you back at the cabin.”
Sam tensed. “I’m responsible. I’m going to find her.”
Alastair stepped two steps closer. “You failed. Lana wouldn’t trust you not to fail again. No one trusts you. I’ll find her, and I’ll be the one to take care of her.”
A low, menacing growl worked out of his throat. His head dropped, his shoulders bunched. “You want her for yourself.” He growled, and Alastair’s eyes went wide. The man thought he could have Glenna? Fuck him. He’d rip his throat out.
Chapter Forty-two
Glenna’s body ached. She lay in the dried grass, her body stopped in its mad rush down the slope by the vicious branches of a large pine. In the distance she heard people shouting and a car horn that never seemed to stop.
The world spun when she tried to open her eyes. She shut them again, but knew she had no choice. He’d be here soon. Her blood pulsed with the need to flee.
Staggering to her feet she made her slow painful way down the forested slope to the creek at the bottom of the ravine. Someone up on the road shouted. She risked a glance back. Way up the steep hill, much farther than she thought possible, a man in a black suit climbed over the guard rail.
She growled.
No way was she getting back into that car with that man. He’d have her locked up and be cutting into her soon after.
She plunged into the creek, swallowing a yipe at the icy water seeping into her shoes and numbing her calves. Slipping and sliding on rounded river rocks she moved as fast as she could to the other side and out. Bruised bones and muscles screaming, she climbed up the opposite slope of the ravine, using small trees and clumps of grass to pull her body up where she could. She desperately wanted to take a break at the top, but a quick glance down showed her the black suit was almost to the creek. She took off. Dodging and weaving among the trees and rocks, running until she couldn’t draw breath and a charley horse ripped into her side.
She took stock. She was over the rise of the hill, and the sound of the highway had been cut off by the curve of mountain. But she was still too close. Trauma induced or not, her adrenaline would wear off at some point, and she needed rest. She sniffed the air. The mouthwatering smell of cattle had her jaw dropping open so she could taste the scent in the back of her throat.
She headed for the odor of cows in the distance. Some human part of her knew where there was livestock, there would be water and shelter, and she needed both. The other part of her, the part that was growing stronger with every minute, just smelled food.
It didn’t take long to find the animals and their corrugated steel trough that filled from a spigot of fresh water. She turned on the pump and drank deep.
Her adrenaline spike was fading, and sheer exhaustion was quickly taking over. Her newly awakened wolf senses saw the cows as prey, but her drowning human logic still saw them as large, mooing farm animals. Meat came on plates.
Her brain whirled and she sank to the ground, leaning against the cool metal of the trough.
She desperately wanted to be home. To eat everything in her apartment refrigerator. Crawl into her own bed and sleep for an eternity. She was lost and alone and hurt. She should call someone.
She pulled out the cell phone that Sam had stuffed into her pocket. Who could she call?
Not Roger, who’d taken money for her and turned her over to the enemy. Not Sarah, she couldn’t put her little sister in danger. Her grandmother? No way.
Even if they weren’t watching her grandmother, and it was a sure thing they were, her grandmother would have no idea what to do with a back-from-the-dead sheep-in-wolf’s-clothing granddaughter.
She had no one. No one to call. Nowhere to go.
Except the pack. And Sam.
Her palms grew sweaty at the thought of hearing his voice, and a tremor went through her. She slid the cheap phone open and scrolled through the numbers he’d quickly programmed in. Sam. No last name, just Sam. She pushed the buttons. No service.
A sob built up in her throat.
The sun was almost gone and for the first time in her life she was truly alone. She was so tired she couldn’t think anymore, and her wolf instincts said she had to sleep. Somewhere in the back of her brain, her human side said the man was still looking for her, but between her exhaustion and the nearly total absorption of the wolf, she pushed it away. She’d think better if she was less tired. And she also could hunt.
She found an empty abandoned outbuilding, went inside, and curled up behind a rusty tractor. Sleep overtook her quickly and with it, the dreamscape.
She was in a forest filled with fog. She heard a sound. Looked up. Sam was in the distance moving into the fog. She could almost catch him. She ran, but just as she reached for him someone called her name.
“Glenna.” The white wolf came out of the mist and morphed into Serena. “Glenna, I need to talk to you.”
“Serena.” Glenna turned back, but Sam was gone. “Did you see him?”
“See who? Who did you see?”
“Sam. I need to find him.”
“Glenna, I need to know where you are. Can you tell me where your body is? Where are you sleeping? Are you safe?”
“Yes, I’m safe. I need Sam.” Glenna didn’t have time to waste. Sam was who she wanted, not Serena. She sniffed for Sam’s spicy scent and found a trace. “I’ll see you later.” She took off running.
“Wait!” Serena ran next to her. “I’ll help. I know Sam.”
Glenna stopped and really looked at Serena. “How do you know him?” she asked, inside a growl rose in her throat. She kept it down, smiled her best public smile at the other woman.
“We’re old friends.”
Glenna stepped up to Serena, pushed her nose into her neck and inhaled. The smell that was Serena in the dreamscape swirled into her nose, deep into her lungs. She stepped back. She tasted Serena’s evasion.
“You’re the one who nearly drove him into the wild. Well, he doesn’t want you now, he wants me.”
“It was a long time ago.”
Glenna growled. She lunged for Serena, fingers tensed. Her nails ripped into Serena’s arm, dragging down her skin in long, bleeding stripes.
“Glenna, no!” Serena jumped back.
“Leave us alone. He’s mine, not yours.” She circled Serena, looking for an opening.
“I’m mated to his brother. I don’t want Sam.” Serena held her hands wide, palms open. “I don’t want to fight.”
Glenna didn’t care. She lunged again. Her jaws opened wide and she went for the other woman’s slim, vulnerable throat.
Serena disappeared. Glenna sailed through the empty space and hit the ground hard. She whipped around sniffing on her hands and knees, looking for her rival.
Gone.
Glenna raised her head, and smooth howls of frustration rippled out into her dream.
Chapter Forty-three
Serena tossed and turned and finally picked up her phone to call Gabe.
His sleepy voice answered on the first ring. “Hello?”
“Hi.” She knew he’d pick up on the tears choking her voice. “I’m sorry to wake you. I know you need your sleep.”
“I failed. It’s too late.”
“What happened? Are you okay? Should I come there?”
“No, no. Stay there. They need you.”
“They can do without me, if you need me. The fire is under control.”
“Oh, that’s good.” She curled up in a tight ball on her side, phone held to her ear. “I just wanted to hear your voice.”
“I’d like to say that’s a good thing, but I can tell it’s not.”
“My patient. The council made me push her. I went to see if I could do it, see if I could reach her without her losing it, but it’s too late. She turned on me.”
“I don’t understand. Tell me.”
She couldn’t. She couldn’t share this with her mate and her chest hurt from the suppression. He wouldn’t understand that Glenna had turned on her because she’d sensed a piece of Sam in her. A piece that would always be there, even though she didn’t love him like she loved Gabe. Even though she was completely committed to her mate. She’d shared something with Sam and some part of her subconscious dream-self was aware of it. And now Glenna was too.
“It’s confidential. I can’t tell you.” It wasn’t a lie. But it wasn’t all of the truth either. “I have to go. Get some sleep. I just wanted to hear your voice.”
“I love you.”
“I know.” The tears wanted to take over, but she choked them back. “When can we come home?”
“Another day, two maybe. The fire is contained, but they want to be sure it won’t flare up. The mundanes are already back, but it doesn’t make a lot of sense to uproot our people a second time. Especially the kids. We’ll wait until it’s a little more contained.”
“I miss you.”
“I know.” His confidence in her had her lips stretching in a smile. “I’ll call you tomorrow,” Gabe said.
She missed him with a fierceness that surprised her. She didn’t miss Sam. Just felt an old affection for him that was a little more than she should for a brother-in-law. But would never be enough for anything else.
Blood Enforcer (Wolf Enforcers Book 2) Page 20