by T. J. Finn
“Claire, baby? What can I do?” Finn spoke low in her ear as he held her trembling body and she shook her head as she brought the back of her hand to her mouth. They stood like that a few more minutes until she was sure she wouldn’t throw up again, then she straightened, turning and burying her head in his chest.
“I’m sorry, Finn.” Her voice was muffled, but his arms tightened around her.
“No Claire. Don’t be sorry. I’m sorry. I think I asked too much of you.”
She shook her head but didn’t say anything for a moment, just relished being in his arms like this. When she finally straightened, she looked up at him and gave him a weak smile. “I’m okay.”
He kissed her forehead and pulled her back to him. “No, you’re not. I’m so sorry, baby.” Tears sprang to her eyes at his tenderness but blinked them away. She had to stay strong for both of them.
Claire stepped away slightly and took a deep breath. “Don’t be sorry, Finn. I volunteered to do this.”
“I know, but I don’t have to like it.” He tucked her hair behind her ear.
“Were you able to get anything from them?”
“A little but I need to brush my teeth. Can we go back to the hotel and I’ll tell you what I learned?” Finn nodded and took her hand to lead her to her Jeep, helping her behind the wheel. Claire gripped the steering wheel as he walked around the vehicle to get into the passenger seat. Taking several deep breaths, she reminded herself that she only had to make it to the motel room and hoped she was done getting sick.
The trip was short and silent to the motel room, and she grabbed her toiletry bag when they got inside, taking it to the bathroom. Shutting the door behind her, she stood there looking in the mirror. Her face was pale with a sheen of sweat on her forehead and there were dark smudges under her eyes. She turned the water on with shaky hands, pulling the toothbrush and toothpaste out, and started brushing her teeth.
How much should she tell Finn? The two men had been full of information not only as they were talking but what they were thinking. Corbin still had his men looking for Finn and they were under orders to bring him in alive. The ironic part was that Corbin himself was in Durango, heading up the search. What if she could get to him first? She could use her magic and her brains, and he wouldn’t get within a hundred miles of Roswell. But how did she slip away without Finn hearing and following her?
She stared at her reflection a few minutes more until a plan formulated. She glanced out the window in the bathroom. It was still early afternoon with plenty of light. If she could get Finn to leave, she could slip out while he was gone. The knock on the door startled her, and she looked at it.
“You okay in there?”
She took a deep breath and walked to the door, opening it. “I’m not sure.” Finn reached out and brushed her hair off her forehead and kissed it.
“You still look pale.” Giving him a weak smile, she brushed past him to go to the bed. “Can I get you anything?”
Claire sat on the bed and bit her lip a moment, feeling guilty for what she was about to do. But she knew where Corbin was staying here in Durango, she knew what his men were doing, and she knew that this might be their only opportunity to catch the man. But she wouldn’t put Finn at risk. Corbin wanted him in a bad way. He was the one that got away, and Corbin was obsessed with finding him.
“Could you find a store and pick me up some ginger ale and crackers? I think if I had those and rested a few then I can tell you what I learned at the bar.”
Finn kneeled down in front of her, reaching out to caress her cheek and nodded. “Of course! Why don’t you kick your shoes off and lay down while I’m gone? Then later, if you’re feeling better, we can talk and follow up on any leads.”
Claire gave him another weak smile and nodded. “That sounds like a great idea.” Finn gave her a soft kiss, caressing her cheek before he stood.
“I won’t be long.” He grabbed the keys to his bike he’d found in a jacket and headed out the door.
As soon as Claire heard the motorcycle start up, she got up and went to the window to look out. Finn pulled out of the parking space and turned his bike, heading out to the main road. She sprinted to the small desk in the room and found a pad of paper and pen, writing a quick note.
Finn
I’m sorry and hope you can forgive me. I don’t want you to put yourself in any more danger and I know you would if you came with me. I know where Corbin is and I’m going to go stop him. I can’t take any chances of him getting anywhere near Roswell.
Claire ripped the note off the pad of paper, grabbed her keys, and headed out of the motel room. As she closed the door, she stuck the note between the door and the frame where she knew Finn would see it and ran to her Jeep. She didn’t know how much time she had before he returned, and she wanted to be long gone before he did.
Starting her Jeep, she pulled out of the parking space and headed toward Main Street, turning in the opposite direction she’d watched Finn go. Pulling out her phone, Claire opened one of the map applications and looked at the area she was in. From the conversation the two men were having, Corbin had set himself up in a house just outside of town. From what she could gather from the men at the bar, he had come to Durango after Finn had disappeared to set up a base of operations. The man wanted Finn. Claire figured that it was an ego thing. Finn had slipped through his fingers and, if what Finn said was true, his wolf’s pelt was rare and it meant a lot of money for Corbin.
Claire drove through town, not quite sure which way to go, but she saw that there was only one main highway leading south out of town and she headed toward it. She felt a quivering in her stomach at the thought of him heading south. South meant Roswell, and she had to stop him before he got there. Claire didn’t know if her plan was going to work, but she had to try. She had to keep Finn and everyone else she loved safe.
Love. The simple word warmed Claire, turning the quivering in her stomach to a flutter, as if a kaleidoscope of butterflies were flying around in her stomach. She wasn’t quite sure when during the last few days she had fallen in love with Finn. Logically, she knew that it was too soon, that they had been thrown together by fate into a life or death situation and that didn’t make a lasting relationship. But she had fallen in love with him and seemed to have found some peace with him around her. There was no telling whether it would last. Finn had told her he wanted to stick around, see where things went and for now, that was good enough.
If they survived.
Chapter 12
Finn
Finn had hurried into the convenience store to get Claire ginger ale and crackers and was back on his bike and on his way to the motel in less than fifteen minutes. He was worried about her. He’d been watching her closely and had seen her suddenly sprint from the bar. He tossed some money on the table for the drinks and ran after her, finding her getting sick near the alley behind the bar. It must have been terrible for her to do what she’d done, and another wave of guilt washed over him. Then, she had been pale and shaken when he’d left her at the motel room.
Finn remembered his own mother, and that she had been telepathic like Claire. She didn’t seem to have the trouble that Claire did, and Finn wondered how she’d managed it. Claire had said she’d needed to be closer to the men in the bar to really make out what they were thinking. His mother hadn’t had that issue. She always seemed to know what her cubs were doing and thinking. Of course, Finn mused, that was part of being a mother.
Finn’s heart felt heavy thinking about his mother. He knew she had heard Corbin that day and sacrificed herself so he survived. Corbin would hurt for killing his cousin and Claire’s friend, but he would die for killing Finn’s mother.
Shaking off the grief that seemed to sneak up on him, he sped up the bike to get back to the motel. The faster Claire started feeling better, the faster they could end this. Finn was approaching the stop light right before the motel parking lot when he saw a Jeep that looked like Claire’s turn in the opposite
direction and drove off down the road, away from the motel. Frowning, he drove into the parking lot, stopping in front of the motel room. Her Jeep was gone. Swinging his leg around the bike, he looked at the road a minute then turned to the door.
The white piece of paper flapped in the breeze and he frowned, opening the door, snatching the note before it fell. Finn was reading the note as he stepped inside, unable to make any sense out of what Claire had written. He looked at the bed, then around the room, then back to the note. Oh hell! He dropped the bag he was carrying and rushed back out to his bike. Claire had left, and he really had no idea where she went, only the direction she had turned.
Finn’s wolf was pacing and growling, making his muscles twitch so much that he nearly crashed the bike. For the first time since he could really remember, he was afraid. Fear that he wouldn’t find Claire in time had him taking chances that he wouldn’t normally take on his bike, but he made it across town without killing himself then had to decide which way to go. Claire was nowhere in sight, but he knew that Highway 550 would take him straight to Albuquerque and then Roswell. Turning onto the road, he gave the bike some gas and let it go.
It didn’t take Finn long before he thought he saw her Jeep in the distance, which surprised him. He’d learned on their trip to Durango that Claire liked to drive fast while listening to music. Him being able to catch up with her only meant that she wasn’t quite sure where she was going and he might have a chance of catching her. As he got closer, he watched her turn off the highway and start down a dirt road. Growling, he made the same turn once he came to the fork in the road.
He really would tie Claire up to the bed once he caught up with her and never let her out of his sight again. What was she thinking? Finn knew what she had been thinking and anger and love mingled together, leaving him frustrated and scared all at the same time. He couldn’t lose Claire. Not now that he’d found her. The idea and concept of a fated mate had gone the way of the rotary phone and tinfoil used on the antennas of televisions. Everyone nowadays believed it was archaic and people like his parents and grandparents were the exception and not the rule.
Finn had always admired his parent’s relationship before his mother was murdered. He had never seen two people more in love than those two. It had nearly destroyed his father when his mother died, and he had lived the rest of his days a mere shell of the Alpha male that he had been. When his father had stepped down as Alpha to their pack, his brother, Sean, had stepped up with little resistance. Although being pack Alpha wasn’t inherited, his family had been ruling the pack for centuries. Sean had one wolf challenge him but he’d beat his challenger fair and square and now he served, like Finn, as a pack enforcer.
He brought his bike to a stop when he saw Claire turn off the dirt road and onto what appeared to be a lane that led up to a large white ranch house. Even with his wolf’s eyesight he couldn’t make out anything other than the color, so he turned as well and headed down the lane, but slower this time. If this was where Corbin was, he would know that Claire was coming by now.
Finn had to make a plan that included him getting in there, grabbing Claire, and the two of them getting out of there alive. He wouldn’t worry about taking out Corbin just then. There would be time for that later.
The important thing was to keep Claire alive.
Chapter 13
Claire
Claire stopped the Jeep at the fork in the road and looked at her options. Turning right would take her back onto the main highway and to the New Mexico state line. Turning left would take her down a dirt road or she could go back and get Finn.
As she had been leaving the edge of town, a car pulled out in front of her and she had recognized one of the men from the bar. She’d followed it for fifteen minutes until it had turned onto this dirt road. The dust from it was just now settling back down. Claire’s hands shook. All the way she’d been calling herself every kind of idiot for doing this without Finn.
Her resolve to keep him safe and not let him get near Corbin started slipping away about ten minutes after she’d left the hotel. Now, sitting there and seeing the house, her resolve was completely gone. What had she been thinking?
Looking in the rearview mirror, she shook her head. Claire had to keep him safe, even if it meant leaving him behind. Making the turn onto the dirt road, she gripped the steering wheel so tight her fingers were hurting. She had to stop Corbin before he even tried to come near to anyone else she loved.
Claire found the driveway leading up to the house she had seen with no trouble. There was an archway, two large round poles on either side of the road, and a large sign that stretched above the cars that had the name Del Monaco Ranch burned into it. She wondered briefly if that was the name of the family that owned the land or just what the ranch was called. Funny what your mind latched onto when you were afraid.
Slowing the Jeep to almost a crawl, she drove the short distance down the lane until she pulled up in front of the house. The front door opened, and five men walked out onto a wide, wrap-around porch when she came to a stop. She recognized the two men from the bar, one of them surrounded by the others. Frowning, Claire opened herself up but couldn’t pick up on any of their thoughts. Strange. With trembling hands, she opened the driver’s side door and got out, taking several deep breaths to calm herself and gather her magic. She needed to be ready for anything.
“Welcome to Del Monaco Ranch, Claire Collins.” The man in the middle greeted her as she got out.
“How do you know me?” She kept her distance, suddenly confused.
Trying to clear her mind, she studied the men, watching every move they made, but still could not hear their thoughts. “Where is Corbin? I wish to speak to him.”
The man in the middle took a step in front of the other men, tilting his head slightly as he looked at her. “I am James Corbin. Welcome to my home.”
Narrowing her eyes slightly, Claire nodded, her leg muscles tightening, her body ready to run and get back in the Jeep. However, she held her ground, even taking a step closer to the house. She didn’t know what she expected Corbin to look like. She had to admit that at one point she had pictured Snidely Whiplash from the Dudley Do-Right show. The villain in that show was a sniveling man with a long, thin handlebar mustache and black top hat who tried to thwart the hero, Dudley Do-Right, in everything he did. Instead, James Corbin was tall and lean but far from skinny. He could have been in his mid-fifties with short, almost spiked, hair that was greying at the sides. In any other circumstance, Claire would have thought he was handsome.
“How do you know me?” She repeated her question, trying to stay calm as she moved around the Jeep and leaned back against it, hoping it would hold her up.
“You aren’t the only one around here who can read minds.” She lifted her chin slightly, unfolding her arms but clenching her fists, her nails biting into her palms as she stood there. “But, unlike you, I can shut out those voices or I can delve deeper into the mind I want to hear.”
“That was you at the bar?”
Corbin nodded. Claire had known the answer to that question before she asked it. He had been the man sitting closest to her when she’d sat at the bar.
“One of my men saw your Jeep with O’Reilly inside it. I knew he had frequented that little dive bar when he was here before, so I figured it was only a matter of time before he’d go back there, and I was right.”
The two of them stared at each other a moment, and Claire felt the tug at the base of her skull as Corbin tried to get into her head. “Well, you might not be able to block out the voices, but you can block anyone who tries to get in. I’m impressed. Perhaps you’re learning to build those walls after all.”
It impressed Claire too, then a thought occurred to her, and she frowned, her eyes narrowing as she took in the men on the porch.
“You’re blocking me from hearing you and your men, aren’t you?” Corbin nodded. Boy, what she wouldn’t give to be able to do that.
“So, Clair
e, since we’re blocking each other, why don’t you tell me why you’re here.” He glanced around her at the Jeep, then back at her. “Without the slippery Mr. O’Reilly in tow.”
“I’ve come to make a deal.” The words came out in a rush, as if she had to get them out before she lost her nerve. Corbin raised his eyebrows, then narrowed his eyes slightly. “I can bring you Finn; I know why you want him. He’s fur is very rare and beautiful.”
The look of shock and surprise registered on Corbin’s face, and Claire saw him blink in disbelief. “What would you get from the deal? From what I was picking up from you in the bar, you love the idiot. Why would you turn him over to me?”
Claire took a shaky breath but gave him a hard stare. “I want a cut of the money you get from it. It’s expensive for me to live the way I live, maintain the land around it, buy supplies in bulk so I have minimal contact with anyone. Even a quarter of what you will get for his pelt would keep me going for quite a few years.”
The two of them studied each other. The only sound around them was the wind whipping through the few trees around the house. Finally, Corbin nodded and motioned for her to come forward. “You have a deal, Claire. Come, let’s discuss the details inside out of the heat over some iced tea or even something stronger.”
Claire took one, then two steps toward the porch, taking several deep breaths again to calm herself as she gathered her magic, ready to strike. She would be a fool to trust the man and she would be ready if he or his men tried anything. Corbin motioned for his men to back away from him and she finally made it to the few stairs. He held out his hand as she climbed them to stand by him. Looking around at the men who stepped away, she put her hand in his, amazed that it was shaking like her insides here.
His grip was firm as he gave her hand one shake but, when she tried to pull free, his grip tightened. The sound of a motorcycle filled the air, and she saw Corbin look over her head. Frowning, she turned her head to see Finn coming up the driveway. “Sorry, Claire. I was already counting on your help. I knew O’Reilly would be right behind you and you led him right to my door.”