by Jenny May
“Okay.” Lynna looked around frantically. There had to be something she could do. All that surrounded her was dirt and brush. There wasn’t a house in site. She clicked the safety off her gun. “I’m going to try to turn around again.” She paused and looked at the hills up in the distance. She wouldn’t have time if she waited much longer. “If they get me, Knox, I’m sorry. I love you and Lewis. Tell him right now. I want to hear you before I attempt this.”
“He can hear you, baby. I have you on speaker phone now.” Lewis yelled “I love you” back to her and tears came to her eyes but she pushed them away.
“Okay, I’m going to try.” Lynna slammed down on her breaks and held on to the steering wheel as she felt herself pulling forward, hard. The squeal of the tires was deafening as the truck’s tail end began to slide. She watched the dark truck fly by her, barely missing.
“I think I got it!” She whipped the truck around and pushed the pedal down once again.
“Good! Now go, Lynna. Get the fuck out of there right now. I need you to do me a favor. You need to keep a look out for my black beamer. You remember it, right?”
Lynna rolled her eyes. “Oh course I remember it.”
“Good. I’m going to have Lewis call Damien and have him meet you at the border. We have an intelligence place there. You’ll be safe until I can get to you.”
Motion from the corner of her eye caught her attention and Lynna felt her jaw drop as another dark truck jumped from the thick brush. Only thing was, this one picked the wrong time to blindly hit the road. Gravity became nonexistent when Lynna felt the impact of the crash. She knew the truck was rolling. She felt weightless one minute and heavy the next while her body was being jarred around. Everything was in slow motion down to the windshield crunching in, to the small particles of dirt surrounding her.
One last final pull to the side and Lynna felt herself sway. Red covered her vision while she numbly stared at the empty field. “Knox?” She tried focusing on the movement of a man off in the distance. It really resembled her mate. She watched him weaving through the brush getting closer. Warmth ran down her face and Lynna snapped back to reality. She was bleeding, and bad. She went to raise her arm to unbuckle and realized it didn’t work. The other one lifted to Knox out of panic and this time she tried screaming to her mate.
Men began to surround the truck. Their guns were huge. And she knew they were shouting, but their words weren’t processing. She blinked heavily and looked past them. Where was Knox? She couldn’t see him anymore. Had that been him? His hair had been long. That didn’t quite make sense.
Darkness began to take over, and Lynna could feel her head nodding off to the side. As her door was ripped opened she thought back to her mates. You’re the air I breathe. The beating of my heart. If one of you were to perish then you’re taking away my life source. Air no longer flows, and my heart would cease to produce any rhythm. It would…kill me.
Pain exploded through her body as they dragged her to their truck. The words repeated like a broken record, and they were the last thing Lynna heard as blackness sucked her under.
* * * *
Knox growled and slammed his fist into the dash. Lewis felt like he was going to be physically sick. The scream that came from Lynna as her truck crashed made his heart stop. Then having to hear the shattering of glass and metal twisting accompanied with her pleas to Knox was too much.
The call was still echoing through the Hummer even though the men had stopped talking a good half hour ago.
“You recorded everything we heard, right?” Knox looked over at him wildly. He’d seen his mate’s darkness before, but never like this.
“Yes.” He held up the small handheld recorder and played back the ending where the men had been speaking Spanish. Knox had insisted he turn it on the moment they put Lynna on the speaker. Lewis hadn’t been sure why at first, but now it became clear.
Knox nodded. “Good. The men can translate.” He turned into a dirt driveway and didn’t slow as he approached a wooden gate. As the log fell into the ground Lewis sighed in relief. They pulled into a large metal garage and he got out and followed Knox inside a large two-story cabin. The inside blew his mind. He handed over the recorder and Knox thrust it in a man’s direction. It had to have been his brother. They looked so much alike.
“Have you heard anything, Damien?” Knox held his hand to his stomach while he waited for a response.
“Rogue watched it happen. He said a truck came out of the brush and broadsided her.” He paused.
“And!” Knox’s breathing deepened.
“She rolled a couple of times. He said she saw him.”
Knox let out a rugged breath and Lewis had to grab his arm to stay on his feet. “She’s alive, then. We heard her calling out, but we weren’t sure.” He felt a little better as Knox pulled him close and wrapped his arms around him. Damien looked at them and lowered his head.
“She was. Rogue said the men drug her out and she was awake until they got close to their truck. He’s not sure if she passed out or what.”
Knox tensed against him. “What do you mean? You’re hiding something.”
“She was hurt really bad.” Damien ran his hand over his mouth just like Knox. “Rogue thinks she might have a head injury. Her face and uniform were covered in blood.”
“Oh…God.” Knox held onto Lewis tightly. He suddenly pointed to the recorder. “I need that translated. Tell me what they’re saying.”
Damien rewound it and listened to the whole thing play out. No one said a word as she screamed and the accident happened all over again. As the men started talking Damien leaned his head toward the recorder.
“Master wants her alive.” Damien squinted his eyes, and replayed a part over and over. “It sounds like one of them in the background mentions that she’s expected. Or, he’s expecting her.” Damien shook his head. “The rest is just talk about territorial boundaries, and we’re going to get what’s coming to us. Typical bullshit talking.”
Lewis rubbed his eyes. “So her brother is expecting her? That might be a good thing. Maybe if he knows she’s hurt then he’ll help her.”
Damien looked at him like he was crazy. “Dag doesn’t feel anything for anyone.” He handed over a picture of a woman lying dead in the dirt. Knox looked at him confused. He sighed. “Our sources tell us that it’s his lady friend. We found her on our side of the border. Her throat was cut, and she’s missing a few fingers. What kind of man does that?”
“I think I’m going to be sick.” Lewis felt himself sway. He’d never been one who was big on violence or blood. Thinking that the woman he loved would come to such savage harm at the hands of her own sick, sadistic brother was pushing the bounds of his stomach.
Knox pulled him to the sofa and sat him down. “Has anyone called Logan?”
“I did.” Damien walked over to the bar and poured himself a scotch. Lewis flew off the couch and made himself one, too. He’d never been a drinker, but he needed something to take the edge off of his nerves. Damien glanced at him as he finished off the glass, and then continued. “Myles and Ty are are on their way with him. Logan said Myles was taking it really hard. She is beside herself.”
Knox lowered his head and rested his forearms on his thighs. “She wanted us to let Lynna go to him from the beginning. I hope now she sees why that’s exactly what we didn’t want.”
“I’m sure she does.” Lewis poured his second glass and jerked his head at the first sip. Chugging the first glass hadn’t been a very smart idea. He was definitely going to have to take this one really slow. He walked over to his mate and placed his hand on top of Knox’s. “We’re going to get Lynna back.”
He squeezed Lewis’s hand. “I hope your right. You’ve never been face to face with these men. They’re killers, Lewis. They have no respect for life. To them we’re just numbers. If they can kill Lynna then Dark Days loses one more person.”
Lewis pushed to his feet. “No. I will not believe that. You hea
rd Damien. Someone wants her alive. Whether that’s her brother or not, she obviously serves some kind of purpose to them. If she wouldn’t have then they would have killed her on the spot.”
“He’s right,” Damien broke in. “They would have. This could be good. It’ll buy us some time.”
Knox lifted the top part of his body to sit up straighter. He reached for Lewis’s glass and took it. Just as Logan and his mates walked through the door, Knox finished it off. Lewis took the empty glass and set it down on the bar.
“Damien, I need the exact time Lynna’s been in their territory.” Logan didn’t hesitate to jump into action. “Where is everyone?”
“Control room.” Damien pulled a radio out of his pocket. “Everyone report to the front.” He turned back to his Alpha. “They’re pulling up the tapes.”
“Good!” Logan walk to the bar and joined in on the drinking. “I want every angle on Lynna’s truck, down to the last camera. Give me sight on Rogue. I want to see where he’s at and what he’s uncovered. Tell them to bring everything up on the main TV down here.”
Damien relayed everything over the radio. Lewis didn’t miss the shocked look on Knox’s face. He got up and stepped toward their leader. “You have cameras up now?”
Men began to rush into the room and Logan nodded. “Only for a week. We lucked out putting them up when we did. Got some amazing feeds, too. Rogue has been able to slip into places we never thought possible. The guy is something else.”
The TV went black and multiple small screens displayed across it. Lewis and Knox took each other’s hand and walked closer. Then one from the middle enlarged and filled the screen. Lewis recognized it. It was right past the entrance they came into to get in this place.
Suddenly, Lynna’s truck zoomed by. The camera panned down the road and as the truck got smaller the screen quickly switched to another view. Mesmerized, Lewis felt himself getting closer to the screen. This shot was from the side, far away. She continued on at a high rate of speed. Just when she was about to be out of view he noticed that Lynna was coming to a stop on the side of the road. Tiny colors from sparks hit the back of her tailgate. A truck quickly appeared out of the brush on the far side of the screen. Her truck began to go again and was gone.
“Is that it?” Knox sounded panicked as he looked to Logan.
The screen suddenly went to an aerial view. Knox’s head whipped to his leader. “How in the hell did Rogue get this one?”
Damien came forward. “The camera is on the old windmill that borders Desert Sky. I recognize the area.” He looked worried as he stared at them. “I haven’t seen this footage, bro. I’m not sure if you should even be watching it.”
The anger the filled Lewis wasn’t only his own, but Knox’s. “You’re not keeping this from me. I have a right to see what happened to my mate.”
Small sparks could be seen hitting her truck in the distance. The scene was so small it was barely recognizable. Lewis looked at Damien. “I notice the cameras follow her. Was someone controlling them?”
He nodded. “Once the guys saw the sheriff’s truck going at a high rate of speed…” Damien paused. “Well, let’s say cops don’t come around these parts. They reported it to me and I only know one person who works for the department. I made them stay on her.”
Lewis looked back in time to see her slam on the brakes. The truck nearly plowed into her at such a high rate of speed that Lewis gasped and clutched to Logan’s hand. The truck whipped around and he looked at Knox horrified. “I remember when that happened. Knox, I don’t know if I can watch anymore.”
His mate’s hands gently cupped his face. “Watch Lewis. She deserves that. What she had to go through, she did alone. I will not miss a moment of her pain. I want to see who I’m going to kill.”
Lewis felt his eyes go big. Knox turned back to the screen and he followed suit. He took in Lynna’s vehicle and bit his lip as he watched the large black truck jump from the bush and plow into her. The truck rolled and Lewis held his stomach as he watched the dust billow out around it. The shot couldn’t have been better. The way the truck was angled, it was as though they were looking right at Lynna. The camera had to have been zoomed to the max as it settled on her face. Tears clouded Lewis’s eyes. The room was completely silent as everyone watched her stare forward in a daze.
Blood ran down her face and if she wouldn’t have blinked, Lewis would have thought she was dead. He couldn’t take it anymore. Bile rose in his throat seeing his mate injured and helpless. The expression on her face changed and he noticed she became aware. Her head leaned forward and a man moved into the camera’s view.
“That’s Rogue,” Knox whispered. He moved a step closer. “She sees him.”
Suddenly, her hand lifted toward the glass. Almost as if she was reaching for him. Her mouth opened and Lewis didn’t have to read her lips to know what she was saying.
“God.” He turned to his mate. “That’s why she was calling to you. She thinks your brother is you.”
Knox rubbed his eyes. Lewis had never seen him cry before. It broke his heart.
“It should have been me. I knew something was off about her behavior yesterday but I overlooked it. It was stupid of me. She showed every sign in the book that she was up to something and I pushed it aside.”
Men surrounded the crushed truck, and Knox stiffened as they watched her being dragged out. There was so much blood covering her face and upper body that Lewis had to breathe through the queasiness he felt.
“Two trucks. Fifteen men. Unreal.” Knox shook his head. The men pulled her into the undamaged truck and the rest loaded into the back. Rogue disappeared from the camera and the feed continued as it followed the truck. Multiple pictures came up while they watched for a half hour as the truck weaved down dirt road. Suddenly a large picture took over the screen again and a Mexican-style mansion was set off into the distance. It was surround by a large stucco wall that had to have been at least twelve feet high.
Knox pulled Lewis in front of him and lowered his head until his lips were at Lewis’s ear. “You see that place? That belongs to Dag. That’s where I’m going to get our mate back.”
The truck entered an electronic gate and Lewis watched while it came to a stop in front of the house. Men piled from the home and separated as an all-too-familiar person walked outside.
“That’s Derek! That’s her brother.” Lewis looked up to Knox.
“So Derek is Dag, just like we suspected. I’m going to enjoy killing him for what he set his sister up for. If what the men said was true, he knew she would be coming. Instead of having them let her go through smoothly, he had them ambush her.” Knox swallowed hard. “Oh yeah. He’s mine.”
The men pulled Lynna’s unconscious body from the truck. Dag reached behind her neck and held her face up not far from his. The smile he displayed was pure evil. There was an underlying expression of hate that Lewis couldn’t believe. He let her head fall and shouted some kind of order to the men carrying her. They watched as she disappeared into the house. The TV suddenly went black. Lewis and Knox turned to their leader. Myles was wiping the tears from her eyes, yet Lewis didn’t miss the anger displayed on her features, either.
Logan turned to Damien. “Call Rogue. Tell him to come back. We’re going in to get our girl. I think we can all agree Dag is not going to work with us and easily hand her over. He has an ulterior motive and I don’t have a good feeling about it.”
Knox stepped around Lewis. “So you’re going?”
Logan looked around the room. “It’s your fight, Knox. As with Jack, I’m there to support you and step in if needed. But you’re a bred Alpha. You’re going to take out Dag, and then you’re going to bring Hidden Hills to its knees. You’re going to command them and they’re going to follow you. “
Knox shook his head. “I just want my mate back. I can’t lead a pack.”
A sigh came from Logan. “You can. I feel it. You’re just as powerful as me, brother. You can easily lead these r
ebels. Change them. Make Hidden Hills your own. Join Jack and I, and let’s secure our borders. We trust each other. Who better to be a neighbor? Your friend? Or an enemy?”
Knox turned to look at Lewis. “Do you think I can do it?” The question wasn’t one he had expected. Lewis looked into his dark eyes.
“I have no doubt you can. You’re a leader, Knox. We all know that.” Lewis noticed how troubled he was about the possibility. “Look at it this way. That pack obviously has bad leadership. Look what they’re doing. Who they are? They’re the worst kinds of people who walk this Earth. If anyone can put them in their place, it’s you.”
Even as he spoke the words to his mate, Lewis knew what he said was the truth. Knox could do it. He was born to lead. It was in his blood. And if he could guess, once Knox faced Dag, his true Alpha would shine. There was nothing more powerful than a wolf who wanted revenge concerning their mate. Lewis wasn’t a wolf, but he knew his mate. Knox was going to cause destruction to Hidden Hills, and he almost wished he was going to be there to see it.
Chapter 11
“My sweet little sister.”
Lynna’s eyes were heavy as she opened them. As she tried to sit up throbbing exploded inside of her head. She closed her eyes and eased back down. Nausea made her sway. “Derek?”
The bed shifted and she pushed her hands against the plush comforter. Silk filled her fist as she clutched for stability. She kept spinning and she was sure she was going to be sick.
“Rest Lynna. We’ll have plenty of time to reunite once you awaken. Let the blood do its job and heal you.”
“Blood?” Metallic filled her mouth. She kept swallowing to try to taste anything but that disgusting flavor that seemed to be stuck in her taste buds.
The mattress sunk down and a cold touch brushed back the hair from her forehead. “We’re related. My blood will heal you.”
Lynna forced herself to look at her brother. “I’m not a—