Chapter14
“This seems like a really bad idea,” Crystal said over the roar of the bike and the wind. Her contentment from last night had left as soon as she woke up hungry the next morning. She wasn’t as cold as she’d expected, thanks to her fur coat, but she hadn’t eaten more than a bowl of soup in the last several days.
They’d shifted back and set out, finding some cheap thong sandals at a gas station and then a diner to eat breakfast at. Guntar had explained his plan for dealing with the sheriff and now Crystal and Hank were driving around more or less randomly.
“Nobody had a better one,” Hank responded. “Trust Guntar and Adrian. They’ve been around a long time. They know how to deal with these people.”
“How’s that?”
Hank took a moment before he answered. “They’ve hunted paladins before. A lot of times, actually.”
“A lot of times? Wait, why?”
“Adrian and Guntar go way back, remember?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, we run into these guys from time to time. They’re looking for us, after all.”
Crystal leaned back in her spot behind him and considered her boyfriend’s words. Hank was right; they were looking for them. She knew that from what she’d heard the paladins who captured her say. But Hank said Guntar and Adrian hunted paladins before.
“I nev—”
“Hang on, there’s a cop car!” Hank interrupted her.
Crystal looked around his right shoulder and saw a cop car approaching on a crossroad. A field with shoots of green corn breaking the surface was all that separated them. She held on to Hank and tried to look as casual as she could.
The police car slowed, allowing them through the four-way stop first. The officer driving turned and followed after them.
“We got him,” Hank said to her. “Let the others know.”
Crystal pulled her phone out from where she’d tucked it into the waist of her too-tight skirt and unlocked it. She ignored the thirty-seven unanswered text messages and twenty-four missed calls or voicemails and started a quick text to Ember. “Crap, where are we?” she looked up and asked.
“Just passed Davison on Dixon, headed east,” Hank informed her.
Crystal was about to respond when the officer turned his lights on and she saw the red and blue flashes reflecting off the mirrors and chrome of the bike. She sucked in her breath and typed as fast as she could, ignoring when her fingers fumbled and autocorrect tried to make her message clearer. She hit Send and then deleted it before slipping it into the pocket of Hank’s leather vest.
“Get ready to run,” Hank warned as he slowed down and pulled over. “We have to stall him as long as we can. It could be a few minutes until help gets here.”
“Hank, I saw the officer. It’s not the sheriff!” Crystal warned.
Hank lowered the kickstand and turned his bike off. The heat from the air-cooled engine rose without any wind and made Crystal feel like her leg was on fire. “He’s on the radio now, calling us in,” Hank said. “You can bet that sexy butt of yours backup’s on the way.”
Crystal grinned in spite of herself. “No bet,” she said.
Hank turned to share his confusion with her. “Why not?”
“I don’t want to risk winning and be forced to not let you have it.”
Hank’s grin faded when his eyes shifted from Crystal to look behind her. She didn’t need to turn to hear the door open on the police cruiser. “Here he comes.”
“Baby, can we get off the bike to meet him?” Crystal wondered. “I’m burning up back here.”
Hank leaned forward. “Yeah, that should be fine. Don’t do anything to freak him out, though. No telling what he might know.”
Crystal climbed off and pushed her skirt down her legs as far as it would go after inadvertently giving the cop a quick flash. She stepped away so Hank could dismount and then she leaned against the passenger seat and put her hands in her lap to offer a little more modesty.
“Nice day for a ride,” the officer said as he walked up to them with his hand at his sides. His eyes dropped to Crystal’s feet and rose up her long legs until they paused at her tight shirt. Eventually they made it to her face but he shifted his focus to Hank almost immediately.
“It was,” Hank agreed while Crystal blushed. She forced herself not to look down; she knew what he’d seen when he’d stared at her chest. She could feel her nipples itching where they poked against the thin fabric. Why did Ember have to dress like such a slut?
“Not exactly proper riding attire your girlfriend’s got, is it?” the cop asked.
“I didn’t know there was a law for that,” Hank delayed.
“No law, just common sense,” the officer said. “Oh! That is, unless she’s under twenty-one. Tell me, miss, how old are you?”
Crystal wanted to hand her driver’s license over and be done with it but she knew they had to delay. “Why? I’m old enough.”
His smile faded. “You have to be twenty-one to ride a motorcycle without a helmet. I’m going to need to see your license.”
“This is crazy. I’m just riding!” Crystal protested.
“Yours too, and your registration,” the cop said to Hank.
Hank sighed and turned to Crystal. He winked and said, “Excuse me, baby, my paperwork’s in that saddlebag you’re leaning on. Just hop up out of the way and I’ll get it out.”
Crystal narrowed her eyes as he glanced down at the leather bag between her legs. Hop up out of the way? Did he really want her to do what she thought he did? He’d said he would love showing her off. Crystal blinked slowly, trying to process what he was suggesting. Was it just for him to get a cheap thrill or was it to mess with the cop and slow things down? This was a police officer, after all. Shouldn’t he be professional and not pay attention to slutty behavior like that?
Could she get in trouble for that? Resisting arrest or something? She swallowed and was about to step away when she remembered what they were doing. Resisting arrest was the least of her problems. Surviving through the day, on the other hand, was another story. She lifted her eyes up to Hank’s and saw a flash of concern. He nodded just enough for her to see it. She took a deep breath and offered him a quick smile before putting her feet on the running board and lifting herself up to sit on the seat.
“Move slowly,” the officer said as he repositioned himself to have a clear line of sight to the bag. His eyes widened when Crystal spread her legs so Hank could unfasten the buckle and open the flap up.
She kept her eyes on his while her face burned. She didn’t know what he could see but she knew it was a lot more than she wanted him to! There was a difference between being naked and having clothes on but letting someone see parts of her they shouldn’t be seeing. Granted, she’d only been naked around her pack and the jerks who tried to kill her, but still.
“Hold this up, baby,” Hank said as he lifted the flap and covered her spread miniskirt.
She jerked her eyes down and grabbed it, holding it in place and ruining the show for the cop. Her heart hammered in her chest and she wanted to hug Hank for doing that. Sure, he’d put her in that position in the first place, but he did it because they needed to keep the cop distracted. Now he was protecting her, or at least what modesty she had left.
He fumbled around in the saddlebag for several seconds until, at last, he grunted and pulled out a plastic sleeve. Inside it was his registration. Crystal made out the state name of Nevada on it before he turned and handed it to the officer.
“License?”
“Oh, sorry.” Hank dug into his vest pocket and pulled out a clip with a few bills and some plastic cards tucked in it. He fished his license out and handed it over.
“Bike’s registered in Nevada and you live in Illinois?”
Hank nodded. “I get around.”
The officer glanced at Crystal. “Sounds like it. You from Illinois, too, miss?”
“Oh!” Crystal gasped. In all the excitement and confus
ion, she’d forgotten that he wanted her license too. She let go of the flap and slid down until her feet were on the ground again, her miniskirt riding up her thighs in the process. “You wanted mine, too. I’m sorry.”
Crystal turned and walked around Hank’s bike to the other side. With her back turned to the man, she bit her lip and planned her next move. She was committed and determined. She loved Hank and the others were her family. Their lives were as important to her as hers was. She’d do anything for them, even if it meant—
She let the thought go unfinished and took a deep breath before she bent over at her hips to unbuckle the other saddlebag. Over her own heart, she heard the officer’s sudden intake of breath. It was working! She opened the flap slowly and exposed her purse. The strap had been broken and it was scuffed up, but it still had all her things in it. She unzipped it, still bent over with her back arched and her butt thrust almost obscenely behind her. She wondered how much of her thighs he could see. Or worse, had the skirt ridden up high enough he could see more?
Crystal felt her face heat up even more. She dug her wallet out and yanked her driver’s license out. She didn’t feel like showing off anymore, even if it meant a little bit more time wasted. What was a few seconds, anyhow?
She spun back around and thrust it at him. The officer shook his head and jerked his gaze up to her face before he looked down at the card in her hands. “Um, thanks,” he mumbled as he took it from her. He turned and walked back to his car, moving a little more stiffly than he had before.
“Oh my God!” Crystal hissed.
Hank nodded. “Yeah, don’t ever do that again.”
Crystal’s heart leapt out of her chest. He was protecting her! “Never?”
“Well, you can do it for me,” he admitted. “But be careful. I can’t promise I won’t be able to stop myself from making a scene!”
Crystal bit her lip to keep from smiling. “Remind me to show you how much I appreciate you when this is over.”
“Same here, baby,” he mumbled. “Same here.”
Chapter 15
Crystal gave up pretending she wasn’t watching the officer as he typed in their information and spoke on his radio. He put the radio down and dug into his pocket. He lifted a cell phone and started talking into it.
“A cell?” Crystal frowned. “Why’s he on a cell phone?”
“My guess is that’s one of the paladins. Maybe the sheriff you saw,” Hank said.
“Really? You think?”
“Really,” he confirmed. “Private conversation that way, not something recorded on the police logs or heard by anybody with a scanner.”
“Oh my God! I didn’t—you’re right! Anybody can hear those if they’ve got the equipment, right?”
“Right.”
Crystal turned away from the patrol car when she heard a distant screech. Coming down the road from the east was another vehicle, this one a SUV. Red and blue lights were flashing as it barreled down the road towards them. Crystal pointed at it. “Hank!”
“I know. That’s the sheriff,” he said.
“How do you know?”
“Usually the sheriffs have the nicer cars,” he explained. “I hope Red gets our friends here soon.”
Crystal swallowed and glanced back as the officer exited his car with his shotgun held in both hands and pointed at them. She gasped and tugged on Hank’s arm.
“Hands up!” he shouted. “Henry Rogers, you’re under arrest for kidnapping!”
“Kidnapping?” Crystal asked. “But I—”
“Do it,” Hank hissed as he slowly raised his hands.
“Turn around! Now!”
The SUV came closer, a cloud of dust billowing out behind it as it raced towards them. Crystal raised her hands slowly and turned to see Hank wink at her. “I’m eighteen!” Crystal protested. “He’s not kidnapping me!”
“I’ve got a missing person’s report, miss, and it says that a Hank Rogers is a suspect.”
Crystal shook her head. “Oh my God! Stop it, he’s my boyfriend!”
“If there’s a mistake, it can be cleared up at the station,” the officer said.
She could hear that he was getting closer but wasn’t in arm’s reach yet. Hank could turn and shift and have him, she was sure, but she wasn’t that good at it yet. When she’d shifted back to two legs this morning, she’d managed it without collapsing or blacking out, but it still took her several seconds.
Before she could put any more thought to it, she realized just how fast and how close the sheriff’s Trailblazer was. She opened her mouth to warn Hank when the driver jammed on the brakes and cranked the wheel. It skidded to a halt sideways across the road, blocking both lanes.
The dust rolled over them, obscuring everything for a few moments. She coughed into her shoulder and heard the officer coughing behind her. Was this it? Should she shift and run? Did she have time?
“Hank!” she hissed.
“Not yet,” he whispered back.
Crystal waited and blinked the dirt out of her eyes. She saw the sheriff approaching, a gun in his hand. He walked around them, giving them plenty of room, while keeping his gun trained on them.
“Sheriff Whitcomb, I’ve got them ready for you.”
“You weren’t supposed to risk yourself, Ted,” the sheriff said. “These two are considered dangerous. They’re wanted in relation to the disappearance of that Dixon kid.”
“Sorry, sir, but I thought—”
The sheriff stepped up beside him and reached down to his pocket with his left hand. Crystal watched as he drew something out of it. He stepped back behind Ted and raised his pistol so he wasn’t pointing it at the man’s head. “Good job here, Ted. Damn fine job finding these two.”
Ted glanced back but only for a fraction of a second. He returned his attention to Crystal and Hank as he stared down the barrel of his shotgun. “Tha—”
“No!” Crystal shouted as the sheriff jammed a knife into the patrolman’s back three times.
The stricken officer twisted and fell, firing the shotgun into the ground and tearing up some baby cornstalks. Sheriff Whitcomb kicked the shotgun away as the man rolled onto his back.
“I’m sorry to do this, Ted, but know that God will accept your sacrifice. You’re dying for a holy cause, brother. You are a martyr and I will make sure your family is looked after.”
The fallen officer gasped and reached down for the pistol at his side. Crystal could hear his breath hissing through the holes in his back. Sheriff Whitcomb stepped closer and then dropped to one knee on Ted’s reaching arm. The sheriff kept his pistol pointed at them and kept glancing their way to make sure they didn’t move.
“Go with God, my brother,” the sheriff said before he drove the knife between the ambushed man’s ribs and into his heart.
“St—Oh my God!” Crystal cried out. “What are you—He didn’t—”
“Shut up!” Whitcomb snarled. He rose up to stare at them. “You filthy beasts have no right to talk! You’re no better than dogs. You shouldn’t even be standing on two feet!”
“We’re the evil ones?” Crystal sputtered. “You just killed an innocent man! A police officer, for God’s sake!”
“Don’t you dare take the Lord’s name in vain!” he shouted. “This pistol is loaded with silver bullets, same as my knife. Blessed in the Lord’s name, too! You won’t get away this time, you lying bitch!”
Hank growled and took a step forward. The sheriff turned his attention to him. “Take another step, Demon! One more step and I put a hole in your head the devil himself can’t fix.”
“Then what?” Crystal snarled. “Then you’ll make up a story about how we stabbed your officer and you saved the day? How you’re the hero? Oh, and tell his family what a brave man he was when you killed him in cold blood?”
“Shut your filthy mouth! I didn’t want to do what I did—I had to. For the greater good!” Sheriff Whitcomb was so enraged he sprayed spittle with his last words. “Now where are your fr
iends? The rest of your pack of devil-worshipping demons?”
“I don’t worship the devil,” Crystal growled at him. “Matter of fact, I believed in God until I met you sick fucks!”
“Liar!”
“No!” she shouted back and took a step closer to him. “I’m not lying! But now I can’t understand how a loving God could ever stand by and let people like you run around and hurt people in His name.”
“Even the devil can quote scripture,” Whitcomb mumbled. He shook his head and raised his pistol. “You lied to us once and got away. Crafty, but the first betrayer to man was a woman, so that makes sense. Is your demon lover as cunning as you? What if I kill you now to stop your lies and then I’ll get what I need from him?”
Crystal froze and felt Hank trembling beside her. It wasn’t fear; it was rage. She could smell it. Whitcomb had no idea of the danger he was in. And not just from Hank—she was on the edge herself.
“Want to try?” she asked. She heard Hank’s inhaled breath beside her. “You tried before and look at me now.” Crystal lowered her arms and unsnapped her skirt. She let it fall as she spun and raised her arms to pull her shirt over her head. It fell to the pavement behind her. “Not a scratch.”
“Temptress!” he hissed. His eyes darted to her full breasts and to the patch of hair below. “My friends are coming. You’ll be purified to save what soul remains. And if there’s none left, then you’ll burn. Burn forever!”
“Oh, I doubt that very much,” Crystal said with a smile that turned into a snarl. She jumped forward and shifted, throwing herself into the pain and relishing it. She called on it, exulting in the agony.
She heard the thunder of a gunshot and felt something slam into her. It stole her breath and left her dazed, but she knew she had to get up. Another gunshot echoed into the sky as she picked her head up and scrambled to her feet. She sidestepped to catch her balance and spun around, looking for Whitcomb.
She saw his feet jerking as a monster wrestled on top of him. She thought it was half wolf and half man until she realized that Hank had shifted without taking his clothes off. His shirt was torn and caught up around his barrel chest while his pants were hung up on his legs and tail.
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