Into the Heart 3: Into the Wild

by Caitlyn Willows

  Lupe had made herself comfortable on the king-size bed. She stretched out from nose to tail, her legs fully extended. From time to time, she'd roll into him or Cristían, then resettle until another part of her made contact with the other man. He wondered if she realized what had happened, or if she even remembered her time as a human. God, he missed her! Her unrestrained laughter, her thrill at experiencing the world from a new perspective, her spirit and fire.

  Had he made a mistake, asking Cristían to save her? Doomed her back to the cat life she'd longed to escape for his own selfish heart?

  As if in answer, her tail flicked his chest. He looped thumb and forefinger around the thick mass and watched her slither it loose, only to flick it back his way.

  “If we keep this up, we'll wake up Cristían,” he whispered.

  Lupe regarded him through slitted eyes. She crawled up to his face and touched noses. Jeremy scratched her ears. Still no purr.

  Cristían grumbled in his sleep and turned his back on them. No sense both of them losing sleep. He set Lupe next to Cristían and eased from the bed, then hauled on a clean T-shirt to go with his sweatpants. Lupe hopped to the floor then darted ahead of him to the stairs.

  “You're probably hungry.”

  “Brrrow.”

  Sounded like a yes to him. “Let's see what we can find in the kitchen.” Jeremy scooped her up and trotted down the sweeping staircase. Light filtered his way from the kitchen. “Looks like we're not the only ones who can't sleep, my queen.”

  She butted noses again, then rubbed her cheek against his.

  “I love you too.”

  Joaquin, Wyatt, and Steven sat at the round black granite table in the dining nook, coffee mugs and a bag of Oreo cookies sitting between them.

  “Midnight snack?” Jeremy set Lupe on her feet. She hopped into a vacant chair at the table.

  Joaquin offered her a taste of cookie, chuckling when she growled at it. “I bet I know what you'd like.”

  Jeremy snagged the can of cat treats from the cabinet and tossed it Joaquin's way, then poured a mug of coffee and joined them. Her tail swept from side to side, her body nearly quivering while she waited for Joaquin to open the new can. He fished several treats out and placed them on the edge of the table for her, then popped one in his mouth and offered the can to Jeremy. He turned up his nose, much in the same way Lupe had at the cookie, then shrugged.

  “What the hell.” He snagged one and shuddered as it went down. “Those just don't get any better.”

  Lupe rolled in the chair. He swore she was laughing. Her eyes were bright, as if humor resided within.

  “We're discussing plans to bring Steven's clan into the institute,” Wyatt said. “Matching their skills with jobs available.”

  Jeremy took a sip of coffee. It didn't go well with cat treats, but then, nothing did. “I couldn't sleep. If you still have that tracking chip on you, I can analyze it. There's no better place than the computer lab downstairs.”

  “I do.” Joaquin patted his pocket. “Mind if I join you?”

  “Two heads and all that…” Jeremy grabbed his coffee, and they stood. Lupe snagged a final treat and followed.

  The chirp of Wyatt's cell phone stopped them at the door. No good news came at this time of night.

  “Probably Trina,” he said, then frowned at the caller ID and ducked outside to take the call.

  “She's carrying triplets,” Joaquin told Steven. “About six months along and confined to bed to help prevent premature labor.” He added a chuckle. “It's feast or famine with procreation in our clan.”

  Steven gave a sad smile. “We'd like a little of feast ourselves right now. There haven't been babies born in…a long time.”

  “That'll change now, with the virus gone. If not, we'll work together to find a way.”

  Wyatt swung back into the house, stuffing his cell in his pocket. “We have a problem.”

  “What kind of a problem?” Cristían grumbled as he walked into the room. His hair stood spiked up in disarray, his eyes still unfocused from waking up. Jeremy handed him his mug. Cristían needed the caffeine more than he did. Cristían slugged it down while Lupe twined through his legs. Joaquin gave him a refill.

  “Our investigative team found a bullet lodged in a tree across the street from your house. The team traced backward but couldn't find a casing to go with it.” Wyatt's lips tightened to a thin line. It'd been a long time since Jeremy had seen him this angry. “Ballistics matched it to one of our own weapons.”

  “One of our people tried to kill Steven? Fuck!” Cristían scrubbed a hand down his whiskered face. He waved his hand. “Who? Why?”

  “You have the serial number of the weapon?” Jeremy asked.

  “Yes, they checked the weapons on hand and didn't find it. We need to search the weapons our men have here.” Wyatt touched Steven's shoulder. “I'm so sorry. We'll get to the bottom of this.”

  “Believe me, I understand.” Steven pushed his chair back and stood. “Let's conduct the search quietly. I'd really prefer my people didn't find out about this.”

  “This person did not act with our consent.” Cristían smacked his empty mug down.

  Lupe balanced on her hind legs and pressed her forepaws against his knee. He glanced down, sighed, and scooped her up. “I'm sorry. All that we've been through, all we've sacrificed…”

  Jeremy wrapped his arm around Cristían's shoulder. “Wyatt and Joaquin can handle this.” With a jerk of his head, Jeremy motioned Wyatt and Joaquin to proceed with the weapons check. Then he led Cristían toward the table. “You need something more in your stomach besides coffee…or cat treats,” he added to Lupe.

  Cristían sank behind the table, Lupe cradled on his lap. He stroked her fur and zoned out while Jeremy and Steven whipped up a meal guaranteed to give his arteries a healing challenge—tuna melts dripping with butter, onions, and cheese. Lupe perched on Cristían's lap, alert for her fair share.

  Wyatt and Joaquin were back before the leftovers could chill. None of the serial numbers matched. They helped themselves to sandwiches and sank into their chairs. Jeremy doubted either man was hungry, considering they'd demolished a bag of cookies. They ate to have something to do, to quell their frustration.

  “I'm presuming you don't have a log for weapons assignments?” Steven asked.

  “Do you?” Cristían pulled an onion away from Lupe's reach and replaced it with tuna.

  “All of our shifters have access to the weapons. Other personnel must sign in and out,” Joaquin explained. “There are so few of us…”

  “It's the same with us.” Steven waved off his apology. “Except we have no support personnel. There's only us. Despite your safeguards, it's possible one of the support staff could have the gun.”

  “But why would they want to kill you?” Jeremy asked. “How could they know you'd even be there? Only your guard knew that.”

  No one chewed. Or breathed. Or moved. Not even Lupe.

  “They wanted us,” Jeremy said in a rush of breath. “They were there to kill us.”

  Lupe's growl rumbled through the room. He could almost hear her now. I will defeat them! she'd declare and put all her focus toward doing just that.

  “Check our weapons too.” Steven shoved away from the table. “It could have been slipped among them. Fingerprints will tell us who's handled it.”

  Cristían grabbed his arm, holding him in place. “That will risk our peace.”

  “Better to lose the peace than your lives.” Steven clamped his hand over Cristían's, squeezed, then motioned Wyatt and Joaquin to follow him.

  Jeremy scanned the wall of windows behind Cristían. “I don't know about you, but I feel like a sitting duck right now.”

  Cristían's gaze darted to the side. “Uh…yeah.”

  Lupe jumped to the floor and trotted to the more protected kitchen. She glanced around, flicked her tail, and meowed for them to follow. Neither of them hesitated, gathering dishes to cover their escape to a safety
zone. They'd just finished washing the last pan when the other three men returned.

  “Nothing,” Joaquin said.

  Relief eased the tension in Jeremy's shoulders, but a growing headache remained. The food in his stomach threatened to come back up. “That's good. We'll presume we're safe for the night.” Especially since he planned to be down in the lab with Cristían and Lupe. He'd lock them in if he had to. “Where's that chip? I'd like to start analyzing it.”

  “Are you sure you want to do this now?” Joaquin fished the small vial from his jeans pocket. The tiny chip still rested inside.

  “I have to do something to keep my mind off things.” Jeremy wrapped his hand around it. “There's no safer place than that basement. I might as well maximize my time. Who's with me?” He scooped Lupe up with his free hand. “You don't have a choice, little lady.” He started to say the same thing to Cristían, but his friend was already leading the way. The other three were close on their heels.

  Lights clicked on the instant the door to the basement opened. Jeremy had always compared the feature to an entity coming to life. It'd been his domain for the last year—the laboratory, computer room, surveillance area—and he'd loved every second of it. Loved it even more when Cristían and Lupe joined him. The knowledge these rooms possessed was beyond comprehension. One tiny mistake, one error in judgment, had nearly destroyed it all and them with it. He'd remember that for the future. The entire world's discoveries and the universe's mysteries weren't worth people's lives.

  They trooped into the computer room, and Jeremy made a note to move the location farther from the lab as soon as possible. If they'd lost these computers and the data bank… He didn't want to think about the wealth of data that could have been lost.

  Jeremy set Lupe on her feet, and she raced for a seat. Cristían beat her to it by a second, laughing at her scowl.

  “If you sit on my lap, you'll have a better view,” he said.

  Lupe's gaze wandered to the space between the computers, then she deigned to sit on Cristían. Joaquin, Wyatt, and Steven drew rolling chairs up around Jeremy.

  “Okay, let's see what we've got.” Jeremy sat down. All the equipment he needed was at his fingertips. His computer stations never lacked for technology; a lot of it he had designed. He snapped the chip into the testing module. The small screen flashed to life.

  “It's still working,” he told the others. “Cristían's GPS code comes up. It's also still transmitting. Let's see if we can find out what it's saying.”

  Jeremy attached the device to the computer via a USB cable. A few strokes of the keyboard brought the information to the monitor, strings of binary code. “And the translation is…”

  “Is there any doubt?” Cristían leaned closer. Lupe craned her neck, ears perked. The men behind Jeremy held their breath.

  A yellow wave swept down the screen. Words replaced code. Skinwalker. You created a monster. You are a monster. Only you can fix this. Kill them all and die.

  “Who would feed this into your head?” Steven asked.

  “The same person who shot a rifle at my house.” Cristían eased back, pulling Lupe close for the comfort petting her gave him.

  “We've got to get these out of everyone's heads,” Joaquin said. “Can we tell if this is being transmitted to anyone else? If so, can we jam the signal?”

  “I have another little tool that might be able to give us that information.” Jeremy reached for the device. Electricity bolted from it to his fingers. They all jerked back.

  “Goddamn, that hurt.” Jeremy shook life back into his hand.

  “I thought we were guarded against static down here,” Wyatt said. “We'll have to have techs do a run-through. The accident could have compromised the protection.”

  “No”—Jeremy shook his head—“it happened before the accident too.” He reached for the device once more.

  Cristían grabbed his arm, excitement radiating off him and over Jeremy's skin. “That's what caused the explosion. Remember? I touched the counter, electricity arced, and it all went to hell. A headache stabbed into me right before. That had to have been when the chip was activated. It caused a surge and…”

  Boom.

  “Plausible.” Joaquin nodded. “Anything else happen? Anything new? Anyone down here but you two—uhm—three?”

  Lupe hissed and swiped her paw through the air.

  “Barry,” Jeremy and Cristían said together.

  “He was punching numbers into his cell phone as he stormed up the stairs.” Horror washed over Cristían's face. “Damn. It wasn't his cell. He was activating the chip!”

  “I thought it was his cell too,” Joaquin muttered. “He was frantic to find it when we left. I didn't think much of it. We all know how attached he is to the thing.”

  The information seeped in, then…

  “He's got the women and children!” Wyatt and Joaquin's chairs shot out from behind them.

  * * * *

  Good gods! Cristían's mind screamed.

  Wyatt and Joaquin charged toward the staircase. Joaquin yanked his cell phone from his pocket. The men were nearly to the stairs and Joaquin's shaking thumb was hovering over the keypad when Cristían finally had the presence of mind to leap around them to bar their way.

  “Stop!” He shoved his hands into their shoulders. “If you call the women, it's going to alarm them. Who else is at the safe house with them?”

  “Only Barry.” Wyatt covered his eyes. “I can't believe… Gods, how stupid…”

  Cristían lightly shook Wyatt's shoulder and tried to make eye contact. They couldn't fall apart now. Only level heads would see them through. “You can't see what someone else is determined to hide. Let's presume for now that I am the only target.”

  “You and whoever he wanted you to kill,” Joaquin snapped.

  “Which would be me.” Jeremy strode their way, Lupe and Steven close behind. “Possibly Frieda.”

  “Your instincts were working when you didn't tell Barry about the chip.” Cristían squared his shoulders and dropped the holds he had on Wyatt and Joaquin. “He's unaware we suspect him. We have to keep him that way, or he could very well turn on the women and children. While Carmen is fully capable of defending herself, Trina can't shift while pregnant, and there are the twins to worry about. We don't want this to end badly.”

  “He'd have a weapon with him. Maybe more than one.” Joaquin started to pace. “You know how he hates to dirty his claws.” He buried his face in his hands. “Damn, my wife…my little girls.”

  Lupe jumped to Joaquin's shoulder and butted her head against his cheek. Joaquin feathered his fingers through her fur and blinked his tears away.

  “Thank you, little warrior. You always know how to calm us.”

  “First things first.” Cristían followed the path Joaquin had just taken, pacing while he talked. “Deactivating the chips might alert him if he's installed protocols to do so. It would also take too long to determine that. Best move would be to remove the chips we can. We'll wake the men and bring them down here. It won't take long.”

  “What if they tell Barry?” Steven asked.

  Cristían shrugged and put out his palms. “Why would they? They don't know he's a suspect. We tell them we've discovered a glitch and are removing them, and that we'll be heading to the safe house to take care of the others.”

  “You can't go there without some kind of support.” Steven parked himself in Cristían's path. “You can't ask your men without risking one of them contacting Barry. Let us help you. Please, it's the least we can do. I'll assemble those I trust the most. My personal guard, maybe two more. We have the skills and weapons…if that becomes necessary. Sophie too. Should Trina go into labor, she can help her. Granted, it's been a while, but I'm sure her birthing skills aren't lost. We'll be discreet. He'll never know we're there, unless it becomes necessary.”

  Steven was asking for the trust that had been so much a part of their conversations tonight. The history of the two clans wasn'
t good, though the strides they'd made tonight promised peace. But in accepting Steven's help, the jaguars would not only be giving the mountain lions the location of their only safe house, but also access to their women and children, the future of the clan.

  Cristían slid his gaze to Joaquin and then to Wyatt. Centuries of working together told in the look the three exchanged. The leaders were leaving the final decision up to Cristían. Their emotions were too compromised.

  “Thank you,” he told Steven. “Assemble your team quietly while we remove the chips from our men. We should be ready to leave in thirty minutes.”

  Steven nodded and took the stairs two at a time.

  “We'll take separate vehicles; otherwise it'll look strange to Barry,” Cristían said. “He'll be expecting we've resolved the conflict.”

  “He might question why you're there,” Joaquin said.

  “My presence might be enough to take him off guard,” Cristían replied. “He might seek me out privately. He's not going to be pleased to know my blood has healing properties.”

  “And if he tries to kill you?” Wyatt asked. “It only takes one bullet in the right place.”

  Cristían grinned and lifted Lupe off Joaquin's shoulder. “I have a little warrior on my side.” He scratched her under the chin, earning the first purr they'd heard from Lupe since she'd been transformed back into cat form. “Ready to do battle and defeat someone?”

  Lupe hissed and flashed her claws in the air.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Damn straight, Lupe was ready. It was horribly inconvenient that she'd been stuck in this form again and couldn't tell them that. She'd done the best she could using body language. Thankfully they had listened.

  Lupe strolled the perimeter of the lab, on guard for danger, while the men removed the tracking chips. What in the world had gone wrong with her wish magic? Yes, she had said it would be nice to have her claws back, but she didn't mean at the expense of her human form. In fact, she distinctly remembered thinking at the time it would be great to have it all. Now this. Frustration made her fur stand on end. She'd figure it out later. For now they had little ones to protect.