She seized her silence like a shield.
His guard showed Chen the collar. “It’s not broken. It’s been unlocked.”
Chen’s gaze fell upon Katrina’s choker. An evil grin transformed his angry snarl. He approached her.
Stiffening her spine, she stared over his shoulder at the blank, dirty wall. The strap of her torn dress slipped off her shoulder. She struggled with the urge to pull it back up, but that would only draw his attention.
He fingered the lock on her collar and laughed. “The key broke inside.” He trailed his finger from her collar, to her bare shoulder, then down her arm. “She abandoned you.” Chen glanced at his guards. “Spice will return to her home. Send someone to retrieve her. Kill anyone who interferes.”
“Leave them be.” She met his gaze and swallowed around a lump in her throat. “They didn’t steal me. I ran from you.” She stepped toward him, but the chain yanked her back and the collar bit into her skin.
“They sheltered you.” Chen’s glare burned. “You let them touch you.” Disgust dripped in his words. “You’re full of their mongrel stink.” With a full swing, he back-handed her cheek. The hard impact crushed her flesh against her teeth and her bottom lip went numb as it swelled.
Stumbling, Katrina stayed on her feet even though the room threatened to tilt on its side.
“You’re lucky you’re fertile, or I’d have given you to my armies instead.” He slapped her again.
The taste of salty blood trickled onto her tongue. She bent over and let it dribble to the floor in a small puddle. Her face throbbed in time with the drips.
She peered at him through her hair dangling in front of her face. “I will be in season soon. I can sense the changes in my body.”
“Don’t you think I know? Why else would I bother with you?”
“Leave the Vasi alone and I will be compliant. I will not fight a mating.” She straightened and faced him.
“But where’s the fun?” Grasping her shoulders, he pressed against her and licked the blood from her lips.
Nausea curled in a tight ball in her stomach. She struggled in his grasp, but couldn’t get away from his groping mouth. The same kind of abusive kiss she’d endured in the past, the same lips and hands… She couldn’t take it. No more. She bit him.
Chen howled, shoving her from his arms.
His lip slid from between her clenched teeth as he tugged it free.
Pressing his hand to his mouth, he glanced at his guard. “Have you collected the other females?”
Sharp fear squeezed her chest. “What are you doing?”
“Ensuring my bloodline continues. If you fail to produce a male heir, I’m sure one of them will. Your pedigree is more desirable, but the others come from a good, if common stock.” His grin grew wider. “You’ve grown bold since running to America.” With a hard grip, he yanked her hair, bending her head back. “I like it.”
“Set them free. I’ll do whatever you want.”
“You’re in no position to bargain.”
* * * *
The Indiana Harbor Canal connected Lake Michigan to East Chicago. Lined with industrial warehouse after warehouse, it would have been impossible for Tyler to find Katrina without the address. Looming overhead, the half moon shone behind the steel mill, casting a concealing shadow where he parked his car.
With the collar of his jacket pulled up around his ears, Tyler crossed the street toward warehouse forty-five. Two huge commercial ships were docked in the canal, but only the farthest had any activity. A crane stacked cargo units onto the deck. Didn’t the docks ever sleep?
Scents of the lake masked everything. He rubbed his nose. It would be hard to track Katrina. At least, other shifters wouldn’t smell him.
He walked around the warehouse looking for an unlocked door or window. His heart pounded an urgent beat. Gotta hurry, gotta hurry. Chen could be beating her right at this moment–No, he couldn’t think about it. He trailed his hand on the cool metal siding. She might be hungry, cold, naked–Stop! If he kept this up, he’d lose his mind and storm inside like a testosterone pumped idiot.
Be smart. They’d beat the snot out of him if he got caught. He hadn’t any delusions of grandeur, he never trained as a warrior. Neither could he sit around and wait for Eric and Daedalus, though. He didn’t have much in the muscle department, but he did have brains. Most of the time.
Katrina needed him. As her mate, her safety was his responsibility and he’d failed. Kicking down a door like his beast wanted wouldn’t save her. He needed to sneak her out.
He turned the corner of the warehouse and something in the dark growled at him. Doing his best impression of a statue, Tyler searched for the source with his eyes.
Out of the gloom stepped a huge-ass Rottweiler.
Tyler let out the breath he’d been holding. With shifters on the brain, he’d thought for sure it was Chen.
The dog growled louder, baring his teeth when it stepped toward him. He couldn’t see any collar through its dirty fur.
His beast stirred, ready for a fight. The last thing Katrina needed was for him to waste time shifting to eat a fucking dog. He glanced at the building.
A small window on the second floor appeared open enough for him to squeeze through. Sometimes being stick-thin had advantages. Wooden pallets were stacked against the wall. The idea brewing in his head would hurt like hell. But he didn’t have any options.
He charged the pile, the dog chasing after him, and sprang on top of the pallets. They wobbled when he landed and he wind-milled his arms to catch his balance. With his fingertips, he grabbed the roof’s edge.
Catching his breath, he assessed the path he’d have to take to get to the window. If the stack had been ten feet to the left, he would have been able to climb inside.
The dog barked and ran around the pallets, attempting to snap at him. Someone would eventually come to investigate the racket, even to just make the dog shut up.
Swinging like an uncoordinated monkey from the roof’s eaves, Tyler shimmied inch by inch over to the window. By swaying back and forth, he built enough momentum to hook a leg over the sill. He shifted his hands and made sure his long leg would guide his fall. Please, let this work. Then he let go. In free fall for a brief second, his balls tightened for impact. Good-bye future children. With a wheeze, he landed straddling the sill, and then slid to the floor inside the warehouse while he clutched his family jewels.
Tears blurred his eyelashes as he blinked them away. The pain eased enough to let him breathe. Had he made too much noise? The dog’s bark probably masked it. Hesitant, he got to his feet. When his balls didn’t fall off from the abuse, he tiptoed out of the empty room onto a catwalk that ran along the length of the building. It overlooked the large central storage area containing some wooden crates.
Quickly, he crouched and crawled to the stairs, descending before someone spotted him. The hummingbird beat of his pulse made him light headed, and anxiety gripped his lungs in an iron fist.
At the bottom, he pressed against the wall and listened.
Nothing.
Not a voice or steps. A scent lingered in the air. Weak, the smell could belong to any shifter. Tough to track.
Quiet as a phantom, Tyler crept deeper into the warehouse. Offices lined the wall, most were empty. Entering the last one, the air left his lungs.
Her scent filled the room.
But no Katrina.
She was gone.
Wavering hope destroyed, he stared at the empty, cold room. So close. He hung his head. They’d kept the most precious person in the world prisoner here. She must have been frightened, especially after Spice escaped, leaving her alone.
Something reflected the light on the floor. Liquid…He knelt by the small puddle and dipped his finger. Cool and smooth, it coated his skin. He rubbed it and sniffed. His bones turned to ice.
Blood.
Tyler eased down onto his stomach as he imagined Katrina lying there hurt, imagined her feeling aban
doned and alone.
The puddle blurred.
Swiping his palm over his face, he removed the wetness. His beast howled for revenge and he’d get it. Standing on feet made of lead, Tyler wiped the blood onto his jeans.
Fury crawled around his gut on all fours until he was panting from the intense loss clawing at his heart. The blood confirmed his fears. Until then, her injury had only been a possibility.
The door hinge creaked behind him and he tensed. His beast jumped to the forefront of his mind. He spun around in time to catch a tackle to his chest.
Ceiling rolled overhead, then the floor skidded across his back, burning through his t-shirt. Something heavy rode his chest. He focused on it and recognized one of Chen’s guards, the one who’d carried Katrina away in Chinatown.
Wimp versus warrior–he didn’t need to be a genius to guess the end results.
Tyler used the force of his backward slide and turned it into reverse somersault. His assailant lost his grip. Not wasting any time, Tyler did what any skinny dude could do well.
Run.
He wouldn’t be of any use to Katrina dead.
The Asian werewolf followed, but hadn’t bothered to shift yet.
Tyler could almost sense the out-stretched hand reaching for him as he neared the exit. Not bothering to slow down, he smashed into the door while he turned the knob, sending it crashing open.
A surprised yelp from a familiar angry Rottweiler greeted him.
After a split second of what-the-fucking, Tyler took off, running to the right and followed the water’s edge.
The dog joined in the chase, barking.
Short of breath, Tyler glanced over his shoulder at the parade of kick-my-ass following him.
The Asian shifter had caught up to the Rotie, who growled and snapped. Drool hung like a rope from its flapping lips.
Without a skip, the guard growled and snapped back.
Snarling, the dog twisted into the shifter’s path, tripping them both into a tangle of limbs and teeth.
Leaping into a full out sprint, Tyler didn’t bother looking back as the sounds of conflict grew louder in pitch behind him. He’d escaped. A miracle.
Chapter 8
Tyler’s pulse pounded in his ears and made it difficult to hear. The fight between shifter and stray dog faded the further he sprinted.
Darkness blanketed the docks and made searching for another ambush tricky, which meant it also would make finding him difficult. Using the night, Tyler found a corner to hide in. Hands on knees, he fought to catch his breath.
He glanced around the edge of the building, trying to keep hidden. The Rottweiler limped back toward the warehouse and his attacker lay unmoving on the ground.
What the hell was he doing? Eric and Daedalus better arrive soon before they needed to add his funeral to their to-do list. He surveyed the shipyard. Katrina could be anywhere. Hope took a gondola ride down to his gut. He stared at the midnight water, waiting for inspiration. They’d brought her here for a reason. People didn’t come to the docks for kicks.
He needed the pack’s help, but they were spread thin across the city. How long before Eric could gather them?
His gaze wandered to the crane. It had stopped loading cargo containers on the farthest ship while he’d been in the warehouse. Kind of odd. The dock was empty of any activity. No trucks or dock hands moving around.
A memorable high pitched squeal set his teeth on edge, then faded. Tony’s van had made that kind of noise when he’d rescued him from Chinatown, something about a fan belt slipping. Sticking to the shadows, Tyler moved toward the sound. He scurried across open ground to the still crane, edging around to the other side, where he found Tony’s white van parked by the ship. Tyler stopped so fast he had to grab the crane for balance. He blinked a few times and closed his mouth. Where was the pack? His alpha and the vampire?
Tony got out of the driver’s side. The thin Asian shifter kept glancing over his shoulder as he made his way to the rear of the vehicle.
Leaning forward, Tyler couldn’t calm his racing heart. Exposed in the open, his pack mate could be attacked at any moment. Why would Tony come here without Eric and Daedalus? No other car followed him. Maybe they’d gotten lost?
About to step out of his hiding spot, Tyler watched as Tony opened the van’s back doors and carried out a struggling, tied-up Spice.
Time stopped. Betrayal bit into Tyler. Tony had been helping Chen?
Rescuing Tyler in Chinatown, helping read Katrina’s diary, and taking Spice to the hospital was all a hoax?
The tip about the empty house, which exploded, had come from him. God, they were so naive. But Tony smelled Vasi. He’d been at pack meetings. Could Chen have been planning this invasion for that long?
Tyler shook his head to snap out of it. No wonder Chen always kept a step ahead of them. He’d known where they lived, who Eric’s mate was, and moved Katrina from the warehouse before Tyler arrived there.
Taking a deep breath, Tyler strode to the van, behind Tony, and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Hey, dude.”
Tony jumped as if the grim reaper had just struck him. He dropped Spice to the ground in a heap.
She snarled around a gag stuffed in her mouth and tore at her restraints. Her eyes bulged as she gazed from him to Tony.
“Tyler!” The traitor spun around, sweat beading on his forehead. “W–what are you doing here?”
“Thought I’d be dead by now, packmate?” He spat out the last word and shoved the young shifter against the van. No one had ever tried to murder him before. “What are you doing, Tony?” He couldn’t shake off his disbelief.
Straightening, Tony met his glare. “I’m making a trade. Spice and Katrina are the payment.”
“What?”
“You’ve no idea what’s it like to be a shifter in another country. Hunted and feared. You’re spoiled with pack meetings and pretending to be human. Day jobs, cars, houses, credit cards, movies, restaurants…” Tony stopped and caught his breath. A tear streaked along his cheek. “My sisters were kidnapped by Chen’s pack a few weeks ago. They’ve forced me to help them or they’ll take my little sisters to China for breeding.” He swallowed, determination squaring his jaw. “I can’t let you have her.” He gestured to Spice behind him.
“You should have come to Eric. He would have helped.” Tyler glanced at the bruises on Spice’s face and didn’t think his alpha would be so generous now.
“Screw that, he’d start spouting off on the accords again. You think Chen cares about old laws?” Tony shook his head. “When he offered my sisters for Spice and Katrina…my parents…this is the only way.”
“You think Chen will keep his word?” He wanted to shake the younger idiot.
“I’m not stupid. My sisters are on that ship. I’ve seen them.” He took a shaky breath. “Leave, Tyler. I don’t want to hurt you, but I’ll yell for help if I have to.”
“Don’t want to hurt me? You set me up.” Clenching his fists, Tyler glared at Tony. He wanted to pound his head in. He wanted to break his bones. He wanted…Katrina back.
“Set up? I didn’t–I mean, I told them you were coming…” His voice faded. “Oh.”
“A shifter was waiting for me at the warehouse, wanting to separate my head from my shoulders.”
Tony’s eyes grew wide. “I didn’t know.”
Spice rose behind him.
“I wouldn’t–” Tony shook his head.
The surprise must have shown on Tyler’s face, because the traitor wheeled around just in time for Spice to sucker punch him.
Knees wobbling, Tony flopped to the ground, out cold.
“Were you trying to talk him to death, Tyler?” She rubbed her fist. “Fuck, that hurt.”
“How did you–”
She lifted her left hand. Sharp, long claws had grown from her nail beds. “Robert’s been teaching me that trick of his. I can only grow the nails on this hand, though.” The sawed ropes lay in a tangle at her feet. “Help
me carry him.” She took Tony’s legs as Tyler grabbed his shoulders. They placed him in the back of the van.
Spice shut the doors and locked them. “What now?” She glanced around.
He blinked. His alpha didn’t have a plan? Shit, that meant he was still making it up as he went. “Well, we’ll deal with Tony later.” He gazed at the dark ship. “I’m assuming Katrina’s on there.” No plan, no back up, and no skill, this was the worst rescue ever. “I had hoped Eric and Daedalus would be here by now.” He scratched his chin. “They don’t even know where we are.” Pulling out his cellphone, he turned it on. “Take the van and my phone. Get out of here and call them.”
“I’m not leaving you. I’m not doing this again.” She planted her hands on her hips.
“If they get you, Spice, they’ll have a bigger bargaining chip than just Katrina. They’ll have Eric by the balls.” He rested his hands on her shoulders and bent to make eye contact with her.
She opened her mouth, determination clearly in her thoughts, then it faded. “Shit on a stick, I hate this.” She shrugged out of his hold and hurried to the driver’s side door. “Come on, you’re coming with me. We’ll need to hurry. The ship might leave.”
“I know. That’s why I have to stay.”
Skidding to a stop, she spun on her heels. “Tyler.” A play of emotions warred on her face: concern, anger, confusion, until she frowned. “Get her.” She jumped into the van and a second later, the engine roared to life.
He couldn’t watch her leave. Instead, he sprinted to the side of the freighter, where a steel ladder was welded. Climbing, he kept praying nobody would see him. He jumped the side rail and hid between some of the cargo containers.
Short of breath, he sounded like a heavy breather crank call on a THX sound system. The cool metal stung his hot flesh. Deep down inside, he couldn’t blame Tony, but wished the idiot had come to them first. In a similar situation, Tyler might have done the same.
Tony’s sisters were on the ship with Katrina. That meant he had three females to rescue. He sighed. Shit, what next?
Katrina could be anywhere on this huge boat. He closed his eyes and inhaled through both his mouth and nose. Tasting the air, he started his search.
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