by Sydney Addae
Nionis cleared the building with a satisfied gleam. "Saw her. There are two of them, half-bloods. Someone whisked them away before I could reach them." Nionis looked over her shoulder, Chip waved them forward. "Good, maybe we can see them from the air." She jogged in the direction of the helicopter rentals building.
Jackie followed at a brisk pace with conflicting emotions. "What's wrong?" her brother David asked.
"I'm not sure. We're going for a helicopter ride over the mountains."
"You've done that before."
Jackie wasn't ready to share her friend’s secret and made sure that part of her thoughts was locked down tight. "Still makes me uneasy."
David chuckled and it was good to hear. "If you need me, I'm here to hold your hand."
She stepped into the copter, strapped in and took the offered headset. "Thanks, will do."
Nionis stared out the window as the full-blood pilot gained altitude. She gave him directions and pulled out a pair of binoculars.
"Where did you get those?" she asked pointing.
"The pilot," Nionis said looking down.
Each vehicle heading away from town, Jackie wondered if it was Quinn. Where did he go so fast? To find another woman? Possibly.
"How old do you think that guy was?" she asked Nionis.
"What guy? Quinn?"
Jackie nodded.
"Seemed young, older than us but not by much."
Jackie agreed.
"He liked you. Most men do, but the way his eyes lit when he looked at you helped a lot," Nionis said.
"Strange that I'm thinking about him, don't you think. It's not unusual to think about humans, but... he looked good," Jackie said.
For a few moments Nionis didn't respond. Jackie looked at her. "You see something?"
"Maybe, but it's not there now."
"Could be warded?" Jackie said thinking of what Sarita told them about her Nana's pack lands.
"What?" Nionis frowned.
Jackie told her Amynta, Sarita's grandmother used some type of incantation to ward her land to keep people from seeing and entering it.
Nionis stared at her and then pulled out her phone.
"What're you doing?" Jackie asked when Nionis opened an app.
"Getting the coordinates of the area. I'll have him fly back over." A few moments later the copter turned and Nionis tapped a few keys on her phone. She nodded with satisfaction. "Is there anywhere else you want him to take us?" She looked at Jackie.
Unsure what that look in her friend's eye meant, Jackie shook her head. "What's going on? What do you plan to do with those coordinates?"
"Going hunting."
Puzzled by the excitement leaping in her chest by the two words, Jackie leaned back against the cushions with one certainty. She wouldn't be returning to Houston in two days.
CHAPTER SIX
Quinn's thoughts remained in town on the black-haired beauty with the aquamarine eyes. She hadn't said much, but he'd bet she saw everything. He still couldn't believe he had blurted his name like that. There were beautiful women in the pack, so it wasn't just her pretty face. For some reason, she snagged his beast's attention. Considering how deep he'd locked the animal side of his nature down, that shouldn't have happened.
He frowned.
Was she a threat? Was his beast issuing a warning? In the safety of his vehicle, Quinn released the rein, his beast surfaced, sniffing the air. As he reached a bend in the road, a familiar van pulled onto the highway behind him. Inhaling, he recognized the scent of one of his uncle's scouts. After all this time, the full-bloods refused to give names and wore masks as if Quinn couldn't identify them by scent. Per protocols, he would continue to the ranch but stop at a copse of trees in another mile to make the exchange. Quinn contacted his uncle, and got his approval to make the pick-up.
When the exchange point came into view, Quinn pulled off the road and drove a short distance down the rocky incline until he couldn't be seen from above or the road. The van pulled behind him a few moments later. Tense, Quinn waited for the scout to exit the van. Inhaling, he verified the scent and watched a small girl and slightly taller one exit the door.
Female runaways were rare. Rebels and rival full-bloods kept them on lock-down for breeding. Moving slowly, they headed for his SUV. Once they reached the doors he stepped out, nodded to the scout who had returned behind the wheel of the van. Receipt acknowledged, the van backed up as Quinn opened the door.
"Hello, my name is Quinn. I'll take you to a place of safety." The smallest child shrank against the larger and he wondered if they were siblings. Once inside, he admonished them to fasten their seat-belts as he locked the door.
The whoomph of helicopter engines flew overhead. Quinn eased into his seat, buckled up and looked in the rear-view mirror. "We'll wait a few minutes until that copter heads back to town."
The taller girl nodded and lowered her head.
"I've got bottled water in the back if you're thirsty." He pointed to the bottles on the passenger seat floorboard.
"Yes, two please," the older girl said in a strained voice.
Glad for some communication, he leaned forward, grabbed the plastic bottles and handed them to her. The sound of the copter had waned, now it came back strong.
"Are they looking for us?" the older girl asked after taking several gulps of water.
"I don't know, could they be?" What had these girls done?
She shrugged and hunched down in her seat looking up as if she could see through the roof. No one spoke until the sound disappeared. Quinn started the engine, pulled back onto the highway and headed for the ranch. Something happened to these girls, there was too much fear, sorrow and determination in the gaze of the older one.
Five miles before the ranch entrance, they drove through a covered bridge which triggered the ward covering the ranch and verified his identity. If an enemy or trespasser came through the bridge, the road would veer in directions leading them away from the ranch.
Quinn pulled into the barn.
Uncle Ramos waved in greeting from the wide entrance and approached the truck with his hand-held scanner. With one hand, he assisted the older girl out of the vehicle while introducing himself and scanning her. He repeated it with the smaller child. Pleased they weren't wired, internally or externally, he escorted them to the house, leaving Quinn to unload the supplies.
Hours later at dinner, Antwan gave the report on Alden and Jude's good fortune. "Alden's father accepted Jude on the spot, hugged and showed him the ticket he'd purchased for him to go home with them. Should've seen Jude's eyes light up, glad he wouldn't separate from Alden. Turns out those two have been through more than we thought. Alden's sire wept hearing what befell his pup and agreed to help search for Taurus and put an end to him."
"You found his family?" Wide-eyed, Marsha the older teen asked.
"Yes, we try to reconnect families," Ramos said gently.
Through a barrage of tears, the 14-year-old told Ramos of her two miscarriages and the mental and physical abuse she endured since being taken from her family at the age of eight. When she saw, them grooming Penny, the younger girl with her, something inside snapped. She made plans for them to escape or die trying.
"We'll search for your family first," Ramos said as he reached over and covered her hand with his.
She smiled.
Quinn saw the makings of a beautiful woman, despite her horrific beginnings.
"I never dreamed." She shook her head. "They said our families were gone, that they were the only ones we had. But if his father came for him, it's all a lie, isn't it?" She stared at Ramos.
"They lied to steal your hopes and dreams, little one. To call what they put you through a family is an insult. When you are ready, tell us what you remember of home and we will search for both of you."
Marsha's face dropped as she looked at Penny, the smaller one. "Thank you. Penny goes with me."
"Of course," his uncle said.
"Her family's
with them. They can never get her. Never," Marsha hissed.
Penny rubbed her arm.
For a few moments, no one spoke. "Is there something you need to tell us?" Antwan asked leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed. Of the five people, sitting at the table, he was the most imposing, at 6'5" and almost 300 pounds of muscle. He dwarfed his mate's 5'11" rounder, stature. They used their differences to their advantage when dealing with people.
Marsha's gaze flew to Antwan and she looked away immediately. Seconds passed as she visibly straightened and met his gaze again. "Her parents are part of the rebels. She was given to Taurus for breeding, but he's out of town. They were holding her until he came back and then... then he'd have her." She inhaled and visible shuddered. "She's just started...she's only nine. It's not her fault her body changed so early. Look at her. She has the mind of a six or seven year-old, no matter what her body does."
Quinn threw his napkin on the table. "Bastards." Penny looked at him. Their gazes connected and she smiled innocently at him through the clear gray eyes.
"Had no idea they were breeding babes," Antwan said rubbing his chin.
"Taurus again," Ramos said glancing at his mate. The two exchanged glances before he spoke to Marsha. "Have you seen him?"
She blinked. "Taurus?"
Ramos nodded and muttered. "It's one name he goes by."
"I think so. When we first come in, he talks to newbies, explains what they do and why. He's convincing at first, gets you to stop being scared. Then we're passed along, to others for training and breeding."
"Could you describe him, height, weight, anything that would help find him?" Antwan asked.
Her gaze flew from Ramos, to Quinn, to Antwan. "Yes. I'll tell you what I remember."
"Will you contact Alden if we go after Taurus?" Quinn asked his uncle.
"I think that's only fair," Ramos said after a few moments. "It'll free his nightmares and help him move forward."
"He's not the only one," Marsha muttered.
"What else do you know?" Ramos asked her.
"When we first came in, Taurus acts like they're some secret pack that's all about full-bloods. But he lives between the human world and ours. I'm surprised he hasn't been caught by now," Marsha said sounding much older than a 14-year-old, which was a shame.
"Human world?" Antwan said. "In what way?"
"I'm not sure. When I lost the pups this last time, I overheard them speaking that he was out of town working some deal with humans. Something to do with money and how they hoped he got it soon, they need more money for supplies," she said.
"That's where you escaped from? The medical facility?" Quinn asked thinking to go after the place and close it down.
"No. But, being there kept me closer to a real town so I could escape. The clinic's in the mountains, they kept us in a house near there."
"Could you tell us how to find it?" Antwan asked picking up the direction of Quinn's thoughts.
Marsha closed her eyes and told them what she remembered.
Antwan nodded. "I think I know the area. A vet had a clinic there for years."
"Explains the animal smells in the place," Marsha said frowning.
Antwan looked at Quinn.
He smiled. "Animal smells?"
"Indeed," Antwan said with a small grin. "Seems like a visit to the doc is in order."
Dressed in all black, feeling more alive than ever, Jackie followed Nionis over the high fence and landed near a decorative statue and concrete bench.
"What kind of place is this?" Jackie asked.
"Veterinary clinic. I've come here before and wanted to check it out. Inhale. There are more than animals in there. I think this may be a place where they smuggle pups." She pulled out a circular device, waved it around slowly and pointed to the right. After clicking a few buttons, she waved Jackie along.
No longer surprised by Nionis' "spy" tools, as Jackie called them, she followed her friend while sending a prayer to God and the Goddess for their safety. She refused to think what her father would say about this night-time jaunt into the mountains without security.
"There's somebody else here."
"What? Where?" Jackie hated being blind but she promised her parents to remain human deep when in public. Sneaking away without security broke one rule, she wasn't going to compound things by breaking more.
"Well, I'll be damned. Quinn and another... guy's with him. Wonder what they're doing here? Let's wait, see how things pan out. Seems Quinn knows more than he let on," Nionis said.
Jackie's stomach clenched at his name. All day she'd pushed aside memories of their short encounter. No matter how she replayed the day, she didn't see what Nionis claimed. The man wasn't interested in her.
"Let's go back over the wall, look for their car," Jackie said relieved to come up with a plan to keep them from trespassing.
Nionis smiled. "Great idea. It'd be interesting to hear Quinn's explanation and see what they're doing."
They leapt across the fence and searched for Quinn's scent. A few moments later they found a large, black, SUV parked a couple miles from the vet's clinic. Nionis slipped something beneath the trunk and waved Jackie away from the vehicle. They hid behind nearby trees. It didn't take long for what sounded like a war to break out. Gunshots, yells, screams, a loud boom, the ground shuddered and finally a whooshing sound.
Jackie's gaze widened as fire licked the roof of a corner of the building. "We need to help." She pulled Nionis' arm.
"Let's wait." She looked at Jackie. "Listen. Those screams weren't four legged and it wasn't that many of them."
Straining to hear, Jackie loosened the rein on her beast for a second to verify Nionis' words and slammed it back down. Chills ran down her back as she stared into the dark. "They're coming."
"Good. I have a few questions for Quinn," Nionis said.
"He's not alone. They have... pups, I think, with them," Jackie said battling her wolf to remain hidden and trying to think through the problem of why it was so hard to do so.
Nionis placed her hand on Jackie's shoulder. "Are you okay?"
Jackie took a deep breath and slammed the cage on her beast. "Yeah, for a minute there." She turned toward the SUV. A man as tall and wide as her father and older brothers approached the small clearing with a child in his arm. Quinn strode behind him holding another child. Two small kids walked between them.
Jackie's chest tightened in gratitude as she watched the gentle manner the giant placed the child in the back of the SUV. She jumped when he turned, reached out and held Nionis arm in his grip. She hadn't seen anyone move that fast since interning with Cain and the Knights at the Pentagon.
"Who are you?" he growled down at Nionis and glanced in Jackie's direction.
"Nionis. Hey, Quinn, need any help?" She called ignoring the giant, as Quinn helped the others into the SUV.
"No." He didn't look in their direction. When the last child settled, he closed the door and slid into the driver's seat.
Without thinking, Jackie ran toward the passenger side, opened the door and slid into the front seat. "We can help."
Quinn did a double take and glared at her. "What? No."
"We're going. You have pups, we can help," Jackie said unsure why she pressed the issue.
He shook his head, looked up and then at her. "There's a fire. Trucks are on the way. We have to go," his voice rose with each word.
She pulled the seat-belt across her waist. "Stop wasting time. Let's go."
The back of the truck opened. Antwan slid inside, Nionis with him. Jackie had no idea what happened between those two, but sirens in the distance stopped all discussions. Quinn started the truck and they took off down the road, avoiding emergency vehicles.
Ignoring the hostility wafting off Quinn, Jackie looked at the two children huddled on the seat behind her. Silent tears rolled down the face of the smallest one. The other stared blankly at the back of Quinn's seat. Jackie unsnapped her seat belt, crawled between the seats
and sat between them. The smaller one’s tears tugged her heartstrings, she pulled him on her lap, and hugged him tight.
"You smell good," the little one said, snuggling closer. Reaching over, she pulled the silent pup close to her side and hugged him tight.
"Are you the Goddess?" the little one asked and yawned.
"No. But I think she wanted me here with you tonight," she whispered near his ear. So very small, when last had they eaten? Full-bloods or half-breeds? Not that it mattered, they were pack. How had this happened? Alphas were in place in every state to take care of pack, yet these pups were malnourished, cold and abused.
Mama would be so pissed, Jackie thought. Her mom had a network of women across the country, she called them "eyes and ears" of the Nation who prevented strangers from preying on their people. Did they monitor rebel activity? Jackie wasn't sure but planned to check into it.
"Any idea where we're going?" Jackie asked Nionis. "If this is something against the Nation, I can't not report it. You know that, right?"
"Yeah, same here. But this big guy, Antwan, full blood is mated to a breed and he claims they help runaways."
Jackie was surprised. "He told you that?"
"Actually, I told him they helped runaways, he didn't deny it. He has a guy's name tattooed on his arm."
Like Quinn, Antwan didn't seem like the type to over share information or give strangers a ride. Nionis must've passed some kind of test. "These pups are suffering, it's heartbreaking."
"This may sound backward, but where will the children go now for health care? At least they had a place, now it's gone," Nionis said.
Jackie hadn't thought of that. "Something to ask when we arrive wherever we're going."
"I intend to."
"So far your intuition has been on point. Are we on the right track?"
"Yes, I'm peaceful and hopeful at the same time about this."
Jackie nodded and placed another kiss on the forehead of the small boy in her lap. In the rear view mirror her gaze met Quinn's. He held hers for a few seconds and then released it.