by Lisa Kessler
I was alone again.
Now that I’d been part of something, an “us,” it was tough to go back to being a lone wolf. I smirked at the euphemism. If I were a wolf none of this would be happening.
Focus, Lana.
I took a deep breath and fired up the engine. I’d get a room to hang out in for the day. Eat, try to write, and then I’d take the Jeep back to Adam’s, call a cab, and catch my flight to Chicago.
Simple.
I sighed as the sun broke the horizon. Nothing was simple anymore.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Adam
I watched Luke working Bruce and couldn’t help but smile. I’d been so busy with life, I hadn’t noticed how much he’d grown. Not just in size, but in manner and attitude. Luke used to be a mouthy teen, but seeing him on Bruce, taking him through his gaits, I realized Luke was turning into a damned fine horse trainer. At least I’d be leaving the stable in good hands. Aren could handle the business end with the feed company and the other owners in the barn. Everything would run smoothly after I was gone.
It stung a little to realize the world would still turn without me here. I’d been raised knowing the mantle of leadership would be mine someday. I would succeed my father as Alpha of the Pack. Giving it up wasn’t something I ever saw coming.
Then I saw Lana’s dark eyes in my mind, and my heart warmed. She was worth the sacrifice.
Jason drove up to the barn, and I walked over to great him. We clasped forearms in the traditional Pack greeting. “Thanks for coming by, Jason.”
“How’s Aren? Is he staying off the leg?”
I chuckled. “This is Aren we’re talking about.”
“I know.” Jason sighed, his smile fading. “I was serious about my instructions. His joint was badly damaged from the gunshot.” He paused and lowered his voice. “He may never heal completely.”
My chest tightened up. “He’ll be all right. We heal fast. You’ll see.”
“It’s not the healing, Adam. I did the best I could, but without a hospital and a new metal joint, I’m afraid he may always have a limp. Even when he shifts.”
“Are you saying he won’t be able to run with the Pack?”
Jason looked up toward the house and shrugged. “I honestly don’t know. But if he doesn’t rest it, he won’t stand a chance of the joint repairing correctly.”
“Have you told him any of this?”
“Oh, I told him. Did he believe me is the question you should be asking.” Jason’s eyes cut back to meet mine, and he frowned slightly. “Are you all right?”
I shrugged, wishing again for the millionth time that I could tell someone the truth. “Yeah, I’m okay. Rough night last night.”
He nodded. “I didn’t ask last night with everything going on, but… What happened to you two?”
Jason had these light brown eyes that could look right through you. They made most people uncomfortable so he usually wore sunglasses, but he wasn’t wearing any now, and I was left unprotected from his prying stare.
“We were chasing down the jaguar who killed Gabe, and there was some unexpected gun play.”
He frowned. “The jaguar shot Aren?”
“One of them did.” I didn’t realize my slip until it was out already of my mouth.
“There was more than one?” Anger flashed in his eyes. “Have you told Malcolm about this?”
“No.” I shook my head. “I didn’t want to worry him. Aren and I have it under control.”
“This is not under control. Not even close.” Jason crossed his arms over his chest, making it obvious he’d been working out lately. “If you don’t tell him, I will. It’s the full moon tonight, Adam. We’ve got to be on alert, especially if the jaguars have guns.”
“I’m not stupid.” He was starting to piss me off. “I’ll tell him.”
“When?”
“Back off, Jason.” I didn’t like being pressured, and it seemed like every part of my life wanted a piece of me. I didn’t need to be threatened by anyone, least of all the wolf in front of me. “I’m not a pup, and I outrank you.”
His fists clenched, and my eyes narrowed. Part of me wanted him to take a swing. A good fistfight might help ease all the pent up frustration brewing in my chest. But Jason let his hands drop to his sides.
“We’ll be vulnerable tonight if you don’t do the right thing, Adam. I don’t know what you’re hiding, but it can’t be worth risking the Pack.” He started to walk away and added under his breath, “We already lost Gabe.”
I tackled him then. We hit the ground so hard I saw stars for a minute, but a minute was all I had before Jason was wrestling to get on top of me. All the anger, worry, and frustration of the past two weeks exploded into physical form with every hit. He got his hands down on the dirt and pulled his knees in, I punched his stomach as he pushed up from the ground, and he returned fire with his elbow. I felt one of my ribs crunch as I rolled off of him. He started to get to his feet, but I snagged one leg and yanked him back to the ground. Before we could grapple anymore, Luke pulled me back.
“Stop!”
I stepped back, glaring at Jason.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” Jason spat.
“Nothing until you started getting in my face with your hotter-than-horseshit attitude.”
“My attitude?” Jason pointed at his own chest, and then shook his head. “You know what? Fuck you, Adam. I’m done with this. I’m going to go check on Aren’s ankle, and I’m outta here.”
I stared at him as he walked up to the house, getting a little satisfaction that he was covered in dirt. Asshole.
When he vanished into the house I turned and found Luke staring right at me. “What?”
“I don’t know, but you’re acting crazy,” he said.
I started to open my mouth to deny it, then closed it again and shook my head. “I have a lot on my mind, and I don’t need Jason reminding me that Gabe’s dead. I’ll never forget that, and it pisses me off he thinks I might.”
“Tonight’s the full moon.”
“I know.” Apparently Luke was eager to change the subject. Suited me just fine.
“Are you going to change with the Pack?”
“Yeah, I am.” I nodded and glanced at the barn. “But then I’m probably going to have to leave for a while. I need you to take care of the horses for me.”
Luke followed my gaze and nodded. “Sure. When will you be back?”
I stared at the dirt, felt like dirt. “I’m not sure yet. Could be a while though.”
His brow furrowed. “What? Why?”
“You saw what happened with Jason. I’m wound too tight right now. I need to figure out how to make things right again.”
“Did you break up with the lady I saw the other night?”
I knew I had to lie to him now. When did I get to be such a spineless shit? I sighed and ran my fingers back through my now dusty hair.
“Her name is Lana.”
He smiled a little. “Pretty name.”
“Yeah.” I nodded. “Gorgeous lady, too.”
“I didn’t really see much of her before she took off. So is she your girlfriend like Teri was?”
I knew I should lie, but it felt so good to finally be telling someone about Lana without having them tell me she’s wrong for me. I looked him in the eyes. “She’s nothing like Teri. I’m in love with Lana.”
Luke’s eyes widened before he buried his surprise and rolled his shoulders back. “So when do we get to meet her?”
“I don’t know.” I hated sinking back into the lying sack of shit, but I didn’t know what else to do. I couldn’t tell him I wasn’t coming back. “I hope soon.”
“Are you leaving with her?”
“Yeah, but that’s just between us. Aren and Malcolm don’t need to know, okay?”
Luke lowered his eyes. I knew he didn’t like it. I was asking too much of him and his loyalty. He’d crack under my father’s pressure, but I’d be long gone by then. I rea
ched out and gripped his shoulder.
“Let me be the one to tell them, all right? I don’t want them to hear it from someone else.”
He nodded. “I can do that.”
I pulled him in and gave him a firm hug. “Thanks Luke.”
Jason was coming out of the house as I was going in. He didn’t make eye contact and started to go around me.
“Hey, Jason?”
He stopped and finally looked at me but he didn’t say anything.
“I’m sorry.” Then I added, “I was an asshole.”
He nodded. “A raging asshole.”
“I’ve got a lot on my mind. I shouldn’t have taken it out on you.”
“Whatever is going on with you and Aren, we’re family, remember? We take care of our own.”
“I know.” I started to smile. “Sorry I confused it with beating the crap out of our own.”
“Hey, you didn’t even leave a mark.” Jason started to grin. “I could have taken you if I wanted to.”
I held out my hand, and he reached out to clasp my forearm. “Thanks for taking care of Aren.”
Jason nodded, his hair falling over his eyes. “Tell Malcolm about the jaguars.”
“I will.”
But I would leave out the jaguar who mattered most. The one I was about run away with, leaving the Pack behind for good.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Lana
I drove aimlessly until I finally ran out of tears. Numbness filled the gaping hole, dulling the ache of knowing I was leaving the only man I’d ever really loved. I knew it was for the best in the long run, but that didn’t make it hurt any less. I should have been looking for a place to hide. Sasha was still somewhere, searching for me. But it was hard to give a crap about tomorrow when I knew Adam wouldn’t be a part of it. My heart hurt so badly it felt like it might burn out of my chest.
I pulled into a coffee shop and borrowed their Wi-Fi connection, checking email, and calculating my PayPal balance. Any mundane task I could dredge up became of utmost importance. I needed to take my mind off of the time clicking away, each minute bringing me closer to leaving. My red-eye flight was due to take off out of Reno at ten p.m. I figured I’d drop off the Jeep with the note at Adam’s around eight p.m. and catch a cab to the airport. He’d be running with the rest of the Pack. And when they changed back in the morning, I’d be long gone, fading into the masses of people in Chicago.
A couple weeks ago it would have been a great adventure. Tonight I dreaded it.
I slid a couple of bills out of the wad of cash and bought a hot chocolate, a chocolate truffle, and a chocolate chip cookie. Apparently I needed comfort food and lots of it. I pulled up my next article deadline, and then opened Word and stared at the blank document. The cursor blinked, taunting me to write something, anything. I started my letter three separate times, but it was all crap. I sighed and closed my laptop. I couldn’t write while my heart was twisting in a wringer and Nero had a nasty jaguar assassin on my tail.
I slipped my laptop back in the bag and wandered around until I found a blank greeting card with a picture of the sun sparkling on Lake Tahoe. Seeing the peaceful lake reminded me of the day Adam took me there. Before we found Gabe and everything started to unravel around us. That afternoon when he taught me to use my cat senses and patiently waited for me to grasp what I really was inside.
I paid for the card and wrote a note inside for Adam. No matter what I said he wouldn’t be happy, but someday I hoped he’d understand.
Tucking the card in my bag, I went back out to the Jeep and started out of the parking lot when I caught Sebastian’s scent. I pulled into another parking place and got out, scanning the area for the elusive tracker. If he didn’t want me to see him, I was pretty sure I wouldn’t, but I looked anyway.
“Sebastian?” I called, turning around slowly. “I know you’re here.”
Finally I caught movement out of the corner of my eye and spun around. He approached from the shadows behind a dumpster outside a coffee shop.
The corner of his mouth quirked up into a little crooked smile. “You’re getting better at reading your senses. I thought I’d masked my scent by standing near the restaurant waste, but you caught it anyway.”
Wait, was he proud of me? I tried not to let my bewilderment show on my face.
“Why are you still following me?”
“Because Sasha is in Reno.”
I frowned. “Already?”
“The Organization knew I found you here. I’m sure she knew you would return with the wolf.”
“So you’re back to helping me instead of blowing my brains out?”
He raised an arrogant brow that made me want to punch him. “If blowing out your brains was truly my plan, you’d be dead now. How many times do I need to tell you that?”
“You fooled me last night when you held that gun to my head and cocked the trigger.”
“What was important was that I fooled Sasha.”
I crossed my arms, wishing I could get a straight answer from him. “I got the feeling if she hadn’t have backed off you would’ve pulled that trigger.”
“I wouldn’t have allowed Nero to get their hands on you.” He rolled his shoulders back, his eyes scanning the parking lot. “Where is the wolf?”
“Why do you care?”
His eyes met mine. “I thought I made myself clear—”
“I’m not a child, Sebastian. I can take care of myself in broad daylight.”
“So he is not with you.”
I rolled my eyes. God, he was pissing me off. “I don’t have time to play these games, Sebastian. Stay away from me.”
“No.”
I shook my head and turned to get back into the Jeep. He caught my wrist and twisted it up behind my back before I realized what was happening. Sebastian yanked me back and whispered against my ear. “Sasha is even faster than I am and you never saw me coming. How do you think you can avoid her on your own?”
I answered him by kicking my heel right up between his legs. Hard. When his grip on my wrist weakened I hammered my elbow back into his rib cage and took off. In less than a second I was in the Jeep with the tires screaming across the pavement. My eyes kept flicking up to the rearview mirror, watching him straighten up and stare at me. My chest heaved as I pulled into traffic and checked my mirror again. I half expected him to be sitting in the backseat. I knew he couldn’t fly, but it felt like he was everywhere.
I turned a corner and saw the Reno archway, and a familiar face exiting the Circus Circus hotel on the corner. My heart pounded and a chill ran down my spine.
It was Sasha.
I zoomed past her, wishing for the first time that Adam owned a normal car with climate controls. As it was, I was driving past a master tracker with no window or roof between us. My scent was out there in the breeze just waiting for her to catch it. I got to the next light, but she didn’t seem to notice me. I glanced over my shoulder and saw her walk around the corner to the parking lot. While she was out of view, the light changed to green. I drove through the intersection slowly and pulled over to the curb once I was across. A baseball hat was wedged between the front seats, so I grabbed it and put it on. Not like it was a great disguise, but it couldn’t hurt.
I held my breath, watching for her with my foot hovering over the gas pedal. When she finally pulled out of the lot in a black Mercedes, my breath whooshed out of my lungs. She pulled into traffic, and I turned around, following behind. As long as I was behind her, the wind would blow my scent back, or at least that’s what I was counting on.
I stayed a few cars away, trying to remember every single cop show I’d ever seen on television. I had no training for surveillance, but I’d written about personal bodyguards before so I had done some research. When I wrote the article I never dreamed I’d be using the knowledge to follow a woman who was trying to kidnap me.
After a few blocks, she pulled into a gas station. Shit. The best way to not have her sneaking up on me was fo
r me to know where she was. As long as she was in front of me, she couldn’t surprise me from behind. But I couldn’t pull up to the pumps and wait. I drove around the block and stopped behind the station’s minimart to watch for her exit.
I didn’t expect her to come around the back to make a phone call.
With nowhere to run, I slid down in the seat, tugged my hat down slightly, and prayed that the wind would keep blowing my scent away from her.
“I already swept the hotel. She checked out.” She plugged her other ear as she listened.
“Sebastian is here, sir. His scent is all over this town.”
She waited, nodding. “I know. She’s being protected by the wolf pack here. One in particular.” She shook her head. “The twin got away. I did get a shot off, but I don’t believe it was a mortal wound.”
I listened to her talking to her contact inside of Nero, grateful that it kept her distracted.
“Yes, sir. I understand, but is it wise to take out the wolf? Do you want a war with the Pack here, sir?” She paused. “The twin doesn’t like the girl—he was just helping his brother.” Another pause. “No, I’m not defending him, I’m just saying…” She sighed and nodded. “Yes, sir, I understand. I know it’s the full moon. They’ll shift tonight. But I thought you wanted the girl.” She rubbed her forehead with her free hand and shook her head slowly. “Perfectly clear. Her boyfriend dies tonight.”
She closed her phone and walked back around the corner to the gas pumps.
I skootched up in the seat, my stomach clenched. I had to stay calm. As long as I didn’t lose sight of Sasha then I had the upper hand. But how was I going to stop an assassin from killing Adam?
My eyes welled with tears. I rubbed my face and pulled out of the station after her. I needed to think, not cry.
She got on the highway, and I lost sight of her for a second. My pulse raced as I wove in and out of the lanes, searching for the black Mercedes. When I finally saw her ahead I let out a sigh of relief. I still knew where she was. For now.
I pulled out my cell phone and hit Adam’s number.