"Well you obviously can't read my mind,” she said, rolling her eyes.
"I'm not ... a real man."
"You look real to me."
"I'm a shifter."
"I don't know what that means."
"That's obvious. If you did, you'd hate me.” He broke her eye contact. A deep sadness settled in Keira's heart. Did this man have anyone in his life who loved him?
Raising his chin, she wiped the remaining moisture of his tears from his cheeks. “You kidnapped me, bound and gagged me and tried your hardest to scare the hell out of me. And I don't hate you now."
Wade chuckled. “That's because you're a damn fool woman."
"Stubborn, too.” She grinned slightly.
"Why do you care about me?” he asked.
His question made her think. How could she explain what she didn't understand herself?
"You're a sweet man."
He scoffed at her.
"You're also gentle."
"Are you sure you're talking about me?"
Keira smiled at his attempt at humor. “I'm sure. And the fact that you're sexy as hell is definitely a bonus."
Wade's sharp intake of breath echoed throughout the cabin of the truck. He closed his eyes while his nostrils flared.
"No one's ever called me sexy before,” he admitted, visibly trembling.
Leaning in closer, Keira brought her face within inches of his. “Well, you are, Mr. McAllister. I could look at you all day and never tire—"
That's as far as she got. Wade pounced on her, forcing her mouth open with his tongue, holding her head hostage with the hand now buried in her hair. Keira whimpered in surprise, but then surrendered fully to him.
Grabbing two handfuls of his hair, she kissed him back, determined not to let him get away from her. His hand on her thigh burned through her jeans, searing her skin. She tried to scoot closer, but she wasn't straddling his legs. It was almost impossible.
Without breaking their kiss, Wade wrapped his arms around her and held her close while he stood as much as he could. He stumbled out of his seat, only to fall on top of her in the back of the Hummer, making it rock violently from side to side.
But Keira didn't care.
His knee parted her legs, coming right up to meet her at the top of her thighs, and she moaned at the swift contact. She tried to press against him as hard as she could.
His tongue swirled in her mouth, playing and teasing hers with its silken heat. Trying to gain the upper hand in their kiss only served to make Wade stab his tongue even harder, demanding her participation. Keira couldn't remember the last time she took a breath.
Good Lord. The truck had to be going up in smoke.
A sharp trill pierced their raging passion and Wade pulled back so suddenly, Keira cried out.
"Shit,” he growled, running a hand through his now-tousled hair.
Again, the loud chirping sounded. That was a cell phone.
"Son of a bitch.” With a heave, Wade sat on his knees and dug through his pockets. He pulled out a small, silver phone and flipped it open.
"Hello?” he said harshly. After a moment, his eyes widened and he glanced at Keira. He held the phone away from his ear and she could clearly hear yelling on the other end.
"Who is it?” she asked.
"My old friend Rogan."
Nine
Rogan Wolfe shouted into the cell phone as his good friend, Noah Carpenter drove the white Lexus down the Interstate. Rogan's wife Marlie, as well as Noah's new wife, Lanie, sat in the backseat, hanging on Rogan's every word.
The moment they'd noticed Wade had left their rental house on the banks of the Columbia River in Oregon, Rogan had been royally pissed off. For one thing, Wade had taken the Hummer, one of their only modes of transportation. He'd also taken one of their guns on his crazy bid for vengeance—even after he'd agreed not to go after Covington!
Rogan and Noah had decided to go after him to try and stop his insane suicide mission. On their way to Texas, they took a quick detour to Vegas, and before Rogan could say “Bob's you're uncle,” Noah and Lanie became husband and wife.
Now, they were racing across Texas, and Rogan was scared as shit Wade was going to get himself killed. They'd heard the reports on the radio, of a mysterious man who'd kidnapped the daughter of Clive Covington. Rogan knew damned good and well that mysterious man was Wade.
"Jesus effing Christ, Wade, what the hell are you doing? Do you know what you've done? You're begging for that asshole to put a bullet through your skull. You have Covington's daughter? Shit ... I don't even know what to say to you right now. I didn't know you could be so goddamn stupid!"
"I know, Rogan. I'm taking her back to Dallas."
Rogan pulled Noah's cell phone away from his ear and looked at it as if he'd never seen a cell phone before in his life. Putting it back to his ear, he scoffed loudly. “That's not going to change a thing and you know it. You're just playing into his hands—going into the lion's den!"
"Don't you think I know that?” Wade said, sounding exasperated. Rogan was far beyond caring.
"Well I don't know, buddy. You've just proven you haven't been thinking too clearly in the last twenty-four hours. How am I supposed to know what you have and haven't thought about?"
"Don't be so condescending. I know what I'm doing."
"Don't you give me that shit, Wade McAllister. You don't have a friggin’ clue what you're doing and you damn well know it. Giving Keira back now ... It's suicide!"
"If it is, then I'll die. I really don't care anymore. You don't get it, do you, Rogan? Christ. I can't stand living like this, with the nightmares and the self-loathing. If that bastard puts a bullet in me, I'll welcome it."
Rogan shook his head. Wade was cracking.
"Listen to me,” he said in a calmer voice. “Does Keira know about the agency?"
"Yes, but only because I told her about it. It seems Covington hasn't been too forthcoming about his extra-curricular activities."
"Do you have her bound and gagged?"
"Hell no! What kind of a monster do you think I am?"
Pinching the bridge of his nose, Rogan threw an exasperated glance at Noah. “I just want to know how she's doing."
There was a slight pause on the other end. “She's doing as well as to be expected."
"Has she tried to escape?"
"No. I've told her she's free to go at any time, but she hasn't left me yet."
"Why not?"
Wade sighed into the phone. “She thinks she might know who I am."
"No shit?"
"No shit."
Rogan whistled through his teeth. “Damn, Cougar, you might just have a chance to find out where you came from."
"I'm not so sure I want to know. Whoever I am, the old bastard doesn't want me dead. I'm half-tempted to kill myself just to spite him."
Rogan growled under his breath. “That's not funny, asshole."
"Yeah, I know. Sorry."
"You call us when you get to Dallas. Don't do anything without calling us first, you got that? You'll be lucky if I don't tear out your throat when I see you again. We're coming to meet you."
"You guys are on your way to Texas?” Wade sounded shocked.
"Hell, we're already in Texas! We don't want you to do anything without us. Remember what we'd agreed upon back in Oregon?"
"We said we wouldn't go after Covington."
"Right. You must have been daydreaming when that agreement was brought to the table."
"Must have been."
Rogan took a deep breath. Wade was mocking him. Counting to three, he tried to calm his anger. Marlie put her hand on his shoulder and instantly, all of Rogan's rage melted away. He turned in his seat and smiled at his wife, still amazed that she loved him.
"Go easy on him,” she whispered. “He's been through so much."
"We all have, sweetheart."
"I know. But everyone deals with trauma in a different way. Give Wade some credit. He won't do anything else withou
t you."
Rogan nodded. Marlie was right. Or at least, he hoped she was. Just to be sure, he wanted to make it clear to Wade.
"All right, Cougar, don't you dare do anything more without us, you got that?"
A long pause followed his words and for a moment, he thought he'd lost the connection.
"Hello?"
"All right,” Wade finally agreed, his voice sounding strained. “But hurry the hell up."
Rogan smiled at that. “We'll do our best. Texas is a big damn state. Oh and Wade?"
"Yeah?"
"Say congratulations to Noah and Lanie Carpenter. They got hitched in Vegas!"
* * * *
Keira stared at Wade in disbelief when he finally closed his cell phone. He still sat on his knees, hovering above her, looking as if he were trying to avoid her eyes.
"Wade,” she began, swallowing hard. “Is what you said true? Do you have some kind of death wish?"
He closed his eyes and rubbed them with his closed fists. “I don't know,” he said softly. “Sometimes I wonder if it would be better to just end it all."
"You can't possibly believe that!” Keira rose up on her elbows.
"You have no idea what I've had to live through."
"You keep telling me that, but is it worth throwing your life away?"
He sat in silence for a few long moments. “What kind of life am I leading right now? I don't know who I am or what I'm doing. I don't even know if I have a family."
Keira's eyes burned with unshed tears. The pain in his voice was unmistakable. “From what you've told me of my father, I'm not sure I want to go back to Dallas."
Wade stared at her. “What I've done is wrong. You need to go back."
"But you're not my kidnapper. At least, not anymore. I can say I went with you willingly."
"Not now, not since that surveillance tape surfaced on the news."
Keira made a sour face. She'd forgotten about that.
"Earlier you said B*E*A*S*T* spliced human DNA and animal DNA."
Wade nodded.
"What did they do to you? Did they inject you with the DNA of animals?"
"They did a hell of a lot more than that."
Sitting up, Keira brought herself closer to him. “Is ... that how you can ... smell me?"
"Yes."
"So you have the traits of an animal?"
"Yes,” he said again.
"What kind of animal?"
He looked as if he wasn't going to tell her. But after a moment, he whispered, “A cougar."
Every hair on Keira's body stood on end. “My God,” she said under her breath. “I've heard of experiments on pigs or sheep, but not cougars."
"B*E*A*S*T* experimented on all kinds of animals. My friend Rogan, for example, was merged with a wolf. My other friend Noah has the DNA of a white tiger in his veins."
A sharp fear pierced her being. This was the stuff of science fiction novels, not real life! Just hearing him talk so casually about it made her insides tremble.
"Don't be afraid of me, Keira,” Wade said in a soothing voice. He'd apparently smelled her fear. “I would never hurt you."
She gazed at him with large eyes, trying to take in all he was telling her. How was her father mixed up in all this? And what the heck was the point of experimenting on men and animals?
"Wh—why would my father do this to you?"
"Clive Covington is a very powerful man. He's poised to run for president soon. We believe he wants to make an army of super soldiers."
Keira gasped. “What?"
Wade bit his lip and climbed back into the driver's seat. But all he did was grip the wheel and stare out the windshield.
"Noah and Rogan were both in the military—the Marines. So was Justin. We think I might have been as well."
"Who's Justin?” Keira was sure he hadn't spoken of him before.
"Justin was a good friend, a trusted friend, who was killed by two shifters who were loyal to B*E*A*S*T*. He was a cocky kid, but a decent kid nonetheless."
"I'm so sorry."
"Don't be. At times, I envy him."
"Why?” Keira scooted to Wade's seat and placed her hand on his arm. He looked down but did nothing to remove it.
"Because he no longer has to live with being a shifter. I have nothing in my life that B*E*A*S*T* didn't give to me. Not my name, the clothes on my back, or this goddamn Hummer! Everything has come from them. Even my own petty revenge."
"Killing my father won't change who you are,” Keira said, squeezing his arm. “You'll still be Wade McAllister at the end of the day, able to smell people and have animalistic traits. You still won't know who you are or where you came from. Nothing will change."
Wade sighed deeply and glanced at her. “One thing will change."
Keira cocked her head and waited for his reply.
"Your father won't be able to run for the presidency of the United States."
Turning the key in the ignition, Wade fired up the truck.
"Get in your seat. We still have a ways to go yet."
Keira did as he said, staring out the window, her thoughts a blur.
Ten
The sun was high in the sky as Brett drove down the Interstate. He had about seventy miles to go before he reached Abilene. Traffic was light, and he had no problem at all speeding in the fast lane. Thankfully, the slower cars had enough sense to get the hell out of his way.
Brett kept one eye on the other side of the road, separated from the west-bound lanes by a large median of grass. A giant black Hummer would stand out like a sore thumb on a day like today. The sky was a bright blue with the sun blazing down like it always did in Texas. There was a chill in the air, but it was hardly cold. It was only February, after all.
Fortunately the old man hadn't called him every ten minutes for an update as Brett thought he would. It was no secret there was no love lost between Covington and his daughter. They didn't exactly have a loving father-daughter relationship. Apparently Covington had tried to keep a short leash on Keira during her teen years, but that was well before Brett's time. He could care less about the relationship they did or didn't have. Despite their cool relations, Clive always kept tabs on his daughter. Couldn't be too careful with a secret agency of shifters under the rug.
Oh, Keira smiled for the cameras and visited on holidays, but beyond that, Brett wouldn't consider her close with her father. Even so, it was obvious the old man had some kind of feelings for her. Or perhaps it was the fact Wade had abducted her. Brett had half a mind to shake Wade's hand just for the look he'd put on Covington's face. He chuckled at the thought.
Out of the corner of his eye, Brett saw something large and black on the other side of the Interstate. Turning to look, he saw a Hummer had just passed him in the east-bound lanes.
He grinned and shook his head. “Son of a bitch."
Brett yanked his wheel to the left, making his Jag fishtail violently on the road and veer into the foliage between the oncoming lanes. He let off the gas to have a bit more control as his vehicle careened through the grass, tossing up chunks of dirt behind him. Brett didn't care about the other cars on the road, he merely drove up onto the pavement and forced his way into traffic, making a few cars swerve to avoid an accident.
Stepping on the gas, Brett grabbed Rogan's old cell off the passenger seat and flipped it open. The Jag lurched forward as he sped down the Interstate like a madman, trying to catch up with the Hummer. He found Wade's phone number easily enough. Pressing the call button, he put the phone up to his ear.
* * * *
Wade glanced at Keira when his cell phone chirped once again. She gave him a curious look. Why was Rogan calling him again? He pulled it out of his pocket and flipped it open.
"Yeah, what's up?"
"Hello, Wade."
Every hair on Wade's body stood on end. That was not Rogan's voice.
"Who is this?"
"Aw, I'm hurt. You don't remember who this is? We shared a cell once—that is
, until the old man recruited me to watch his back."
"Brett."
"Bingo! Man, Sean sure did a shitty job of abducting you back in Alaska. I gotta say, I'm pretty impressed you were able to escape. He's usually not so scatterbrained."
"Yeah, well, Sean's dead now so it doesn't really matter, does it?"
"I suppose not,” Brett said with a dramatic sigh. “It just means I'll have to do his dirty work."
Without warning, the entire truck rocked forward from an impact. Keira squealed and looked over her shoulder.
"What the hell was that?” she yelled.
"We have company.” Wade tossed his cell to the floor. “Hold on, lady."
Without another word, the truck shuddered once again, but this time from Wade's foot on the gas pedal.
"Come on, come on!” The truck accelerated, but not as fast as he'd hoped. The Hummer's bulk was working against it.
Wade glanced in the rearview mirror, cursing under his breath.
"Is that Brett Walker's car back there?” Keira asked, her eyes wide. “I know him."
Wade gave her an exasperated chuckle as he yanked the wheel to the right to avoid the car in front of him. “No you don't."
"Yes, I do. He's my father's bodyguard!"
"I know who he is, Keira. But he's not who you think. He's a shifter—just like me—and he's been given instructions to take me out."
"But—"
Whatever she was going to say was interrupted by another crash, this time on the driver's side.
"Christ!” Wade turned the wheel again, in an effort to run Brett off the road. “What the hell is he doing?"
"Wade, watch out!"
With a loud curse, Wade went around a slow-moving car by the skin of his teeth. His heart pounded in his throat and his eyes went wide. Brett couldn't possibly have any hope of getting the upper hand in his tiny Jag. But that didn't stop Wade's thoughts from racing. If Keira got hurt, there would be some serious hell to pay.
"Is your seatbelt fastened?” he yelled.
"Yes."
The scent of her fear permeated the truck, almost choking him, but he couldn't think about that now. Not when Brett wouldn't let up. Another crash rocked the Hummer from the other side.
"He's trying to run us off the road.” Tears trailed down Keira's face.
Nature of the B*E*A*S*T* Page 5