Heroines and Hellions: a Limited Edition Urban Fantasy Collection

by Margo Bond Collins

  Johnny Colton. In the flesh.

  I thought I killed you back near Fort Lopez.

  Obviously, that was one body he hadn’t buried deeply enough. And if Colton was here, then Bartholomew Cane wouldn’t be far behind. Colton was a dog of war, but Cane was the one with his hand on the leash.

  Static crackled from below. Lucius caught a few words, enough to know they’d both been ordered back to the jeeps.

  “Aye,” Colton murmured, his eagle-eyed gaze raking the canyon. “Just keep your eyes open. Wade’s a dangerous man.”

  With a few gestures to his comrade, he snapped his glove back on, put the shotgun to his shoulder again, and started backtracking the way he’d come.

  Lucius waited a long time before he took his hand away from Riley’s mouth. She sagged, taking a deep breath.

  “You need to come with me. Now,” he whispered. “Don’t try to run, don’t make too much noise.”

  “Who was that man? He knew you.”

  Grimly, Lucius levered himself to his feet. “An old friend who didn’t know enough to stay dead.”

  Reaching out, he offered her a hand and hauled her to her feet. She stumbled against him, her foot having obviously fallen asleep. Unaware of her hand pressed against his chest, she tried to wiggle her boot to provoke blood flow.

  “He was looking for you,” she murmured. “I’m guessing it wasn’t just to nurse a beer and share old hunting stories.”

  “That’s not the question you ought to be asking.”

  Her full lips pursed, thoughts racing behind her eyes. “How did they know you were going to be here?” she murmured.

  “Exactly.”

  Only one person knew the direction he was headed. Her eyes flared wide. “Jimmy,” she whispered. “They got their hands on Jimmy.”

  Shouldering his gun, he peered up at the cliffs above them. There was no point risking the canyon track, and Black River was out of the question now. Lucky he was a man who liked to prepare for eventualities. He had two other stashes of equipment and food out in the desert. Two more hidey-holes he could tuck her up in, nice and safe. Black River was simply the most hospitable, with water and a generator he’d rigged for electricity.

  “Guess your settlement dodged a bullet,” he said, reaching up to grab a handhold. “He must have blurted out my name, made ‘em change direction. Colton would have wanted me more than the settlement.”

  Riley caught his arm. “Where are you going?”

  “Up.”

  “What about Jimmy?”

  He gave her a sharp look, as if she were crazy. “I only need one hostage, and you’re the prettier one. Something tells me McClain might be more interested in saving your backside than the boy’s. And, chances are, he’s dead.”

  “What if he’s not? You know the reivers. Why kill someone when they might have a use for him? They sell what they don’t want down south, at the borderland slave markets.”

  Lucius let go of the rock face and turned to face her. “What part of this situation don’t you understand? You hostage. Me kidnapper.”

  She licked her lips. “What about all your stuff?”

  “I’ve got more.”

  Anger flared on her face. Lucius watched her battle some thought, then turned back to the rock. “Follow me,” he said.

  “Wait!” She grabbed him again. “What if—What if I made it worth your while?”

  Lucius laughed under his breath and raked her body with his gaze. “You’ve got to be offering something pretty damned good to make me risk my neck going into Black River against ten or so reivers and a pair of wargs.”

  “Wargs?”

  “Colton and his friend,” he snapped. “I’ve got some bad news for you, darlin’. Reivers and wargs teaming up? Your settlements out here are screwed.”

  “We got ways of dealing with the wargs.”

  “And the reivers? Their guns?”

  Her chin tipped up. Stubborn as the day she was born, he’d bet. “I didn’t think you were a coward.”

  Lucius laughed. “Nice try, but I don’t give a shit what you think about me. I’m not here to be your hero, darlin’. I’m here to see McClain dead.”

  And then Colton and Cane, if he could.

  Riley’s fists clenched then relaxed. “You can’t get near McClain, not if he stays at Absolution.”

  So McClain’s at Absolution? Wade smiled.

  “Correct,” he replied. He’d seen the walls guarding the settlement, and the gun towers. Absolution was the most defensible settlement out here in the Badlands. He’d scouted them all, hunting for signs of his enemy. “That’s where you come into it.”

  “What if I could get you McClain?” she blurted.

  Lucius stilled. And looked at her.

  “Without Jimmy, McClain will never know you’ve got me,” she replied. “He won’t come after you like you planned.”

  “Then I’ll find someone else to play messenger.”

  “And if he comes, he’ll come in force,” she replied. “What if I could get him to come alone?”

  “Through your magic powers of persuasion?” He glanced down again. “You’re a nice little piece, but McClain’s not stupid, and I don’t think you’ve got a seductive bone in your body.”

  “Because I haven’t used it on you?” she asked sweetly, then rolled her eyes. “McClain offered to be my protector two years ago. Trust me, I can get him alone. The man won’t take no for an answer.”

  Well, now. That was interesting. Lucius eyed her with more consideration. She was pretty, all blonde hair, big brown eyes, and long, lean lines. Strong. A hint of curves where a woman should have them. A stubborn cleft in her chin that hinted at her personality. That was warning enough for any sane man.

  And intriguing. A woman who threatened to shoot him, who somehow managed to escape his handcuffs and get herself out of Black River as easy as if she were taking a stroll? Yeah, that’d appeal to McClain. Hell, he could see the appeal of it himself.

  Lucius turned his body toward her. “I get the boy back, you bring me McClain? Alone, no weapons.”

  “You get weapons, he gets weapons,” Riley retorted. “I’m not going to lead him to his slaughter, but I’ll give you a fighting chance.”

  “Too kind of you.”

  “My money’s on McClain.”

  She’d never seen him in action. “It’s a deal.”

  Riley hesitated, but then held her hand out. “Only if Jimmy’s alive.”

  Lucius yanked her close to him, capturing a handful of that glorious golden hair. “You break your word and I’ll make you regret it.”

  Riley put a hand against his chest. “You put your hands on me again and I’ll kill you.”

  Her hair was softer than he’d expected. Lucius let it run through his fingers like wet silk. He squeezed her hand. “Done. But you’re coming with me. I’m not going into Black River alone, hoping you’re going to be sitting there, twiddling your thumbs, waiting for me to get back.”

  “I wouldn’t leave Jimmy behind.”

  He let her go. “I’m still going to need someone to watch my back. Colton I can take, but maybe not two of them.”

  “You want me to go back into Black River?”

  Lucius grinned, stepping back and gesturing to the rock wall in front of them. “Yep. Why? Afraid of all the monsters in the dark there?”

  “There’s something in there. I could hear it. It freaked me the hell out.”

  “Which is why you ran?”

  “Part of the reason.” Riley dug her toes into a toehold and heaved herself up the wall. “Mostly, I was trying to get away from you.”

  Wade led her around the facility. Night was falling, and both of them could clearly see the cook fires the reivers had set up out in the open, in front of the main building at Black River. Kneeling on the top of a cliff, Wade stretched out flat on his belly and peered through the sight of his rifle.

  “I’ve got the two wargs,” he said. “Eight... Nine reivers. Others
must be inside.” A slight pause. “There’s the boy.”

  Riley tapped his shoulder. “Can I see?”

  Wade shifted slightly, letting her lie down beside him. Moonlight silvered his tanned skin, highlighting the growth of dark stubble along his jaw. She could feel his eyes on her as she peered through the sight, a slightly uncomfortable feeling. Especially with the chorus of warg-song fluting high over the desert winds.

  The camp leapt into view, men sprawled about with abandon, sharing the remnants of a meal. One of the wargs paced along the perimeter. The other was nowhere in sight. Reivers might be lazy when it came to defending their camps – or arrogant – but the wargs were obviously not.

  “I don’t see him,” she whispered, watching the one he’d called Colton sit in the shadows of a jeep, wetting the paper on his cigarette.

  “Tied to the back of the jeep,” he replied, voice emotionless.

  Riley swung the gun then sucked in a breath. Jimmy was hog-tied, his face swollen and black, a gag tied painfully tight through his bared mouth. One of the reivers knelt beside him and hauled him to his knees, then started dragging him toward one of the buildings.

  “They beat him.” She swallowed hard.

  “Could have been worse.”

  Riley shot him a glare. The son of a bitch had the empathy of a rock. “Fuck you. He’s just a kid.”

  Wade’s eyes narrowed sleepily. “I’m only speakin’ the truth. There ain’t a lot of women out here. And reivers ain’t real particular.”

  “Neither are wargs,” she shot back.

  His eyes darkened. She’d scored a hit, though she didn’t know how. “If I weren’t that particular, I’d have had you in the first hour. True?”

  He wanted to force her to admit it. Riley ground her teeth together.

  “I ain’t touched you, darlin’. I ain’t made a single move, and I could have. So you take that back, or the deal’s off.”

  “Fine,” she snapped. “You’re the exception.”

  Wade smiled. “Did that hurt?”

  “I’d like to make something hurt,” she muttered under her breath.

  “I’ll bet.”

  He took the gun off her and slung it over his shoulder. Starlight glimmered behind his shoulders, outlining the stark shadow of his shape. He’d stripped to a black tank, the pewter chain around his throat tucked under the neckline. They didn’t have enough weapons, but Wade didn’t seem concerned.

  A thought struck her. “It’s night,” she said. “You’re not going to go all hairy on me, are you?”

  A sidelong glance through those wickedly thick lashes. He stroked the amulet around his throat through the tank. “This keeps it under control. I lose this, and you better get the hell out of there.”

  “Colton and his friend were human too.”

  Wade looked away. “Colton’s got one too. I can only assume he found another one. The shaman who made them for us died not long after, so maybe they found someone else.”

  “So that’s how you stop it,” she mused, her gaze running hungrily over the metal. “There’d be a lot of people out here who’d pay good money for that. We all lose friends, family....”

  “You mean you shoot them,” he said, watching the settlement carefully. “Before the first change.”

  Riley fell silent. “What else are we supposed to do? If I ever got turned, I’d want someone to kill me. We all would.” She thought of her father and the sacrifices he’d made. “But if there was another option....”

  “You’d what? Lock them in a cage until you got your hands on one of these? Then what?” Wade snorted. “I’ve seen how that game gets played, darlin’. Nobody wants a monster in their midst, no matter if they’re leashed or not. They’re better off dead.”

  Riley opened his mouth, but he cut her off with an abrupt slicing motion of the hand. “No,” he said. “You talk too much. Now you need to shut your mouth and follow me. The reivers are moving inside, probably to sleep. You and I are going in under the south caves. We’ll come at them from within.”

  Within? Riley swallowed hard then nodded. The ground surrounding the compound was too open, and the jeeps each had a heavy, mounted spotlight. They’d never get close enough, even if the wargs didn’t hear them coming beforehand.

  Caves it was then.

  There was a small animal track heading along the cliffs that cut off Black River from the south. Wade led her along it, both of them plastered against the cliff face as they edged their way forward. Sweat drenched Riley’s hair and shirt, but Wade moved as if he did this every other day.

  “Not far now,” he whispered. “Caves are just ahead.”

  “How’d you find them?” she muttered.

  Wade suddenly disappeared, and Riley’s heart started thumping. She hurried forward, then saw the narrow opening that disappeared into pitch black. A hand reached out and hauled her inside. Riley stifled a squeak of surprise, almost anticipating the hand over her mouth.

  It didn’t come.

  “Keep walking,” he murmured. “We’ll strike a light up ahead. Just hold on to me, and don’t let go.”

  His hand was hard and callused around hers. An odd feeling. Riley staggered through the darkness, feeling almost trapped in some airless vacuum. The only link to the world was Wade’s hand, and the knowledge that his warm, broad body was just a step ahead of her. She had to fight the urge to grab hold of him with her other hand, just to reassure herself that he was there.

  He stopped and Riley hovered at his side, her body trembling. “You need to calm down,” he whispered. “It’s a wonder they haven’t heard you breathing.”

  Riley swallowed, her eyes rolling. “I can’t help it. It’s just so dark. I can hardly breathe.”

  “There’s plenty of air.”

  “I know that,” she snapped. “It’s just so still in here. No wind. I can almost feel the mountain pressing down on me.” The thought sent a droplet of sweat between her breasts. “Oh, God,” she whispered. “What if the tunnel narrows? What if it collapses?”

  Warm hands cupped her face. An electric presence she could almost feel along her skin as his breath trembled over her cheeks. She found she could breathe a little easier, knowing he was there. “The tunnel doesn’t narrow. I’ve been this way.”

  She could see nothing in the dark beyond his faint silhouette. But she looked up anyway. The soft pads of his fingertips stroked lightly across her cheeks.

  “Where’s your courage now?” he whispered. “Where’s that brash, in-my-face attitude you’ve been throwing at me at every chance?”

  Riley licked her lips. “You left me underground.”

  “I left the lights on.”

  “There was something coming. Something deep in the facility... And you left me there.” Her breath was a harsh pant. She clenched her fists, hating the vulnerability. She’d always been tough. Her daddy had taught her to pick herself up when she fell, and this was no different. But she couldn’t chase away the fear prickling over her skin, or the sensation that a vise was slowly squeezing her chest.

  “I won’t leave you here, darlin’. I promise.”

  Riley looked up, though the world was nothing but darkness. The words were close, whispered. But how much could she trust them? How much could she––

  Warm lips brushed her own. The world stilled, and Riley froze with it as Wade kissed her. So light, almost a phantom touch, the whisper of his mouth like cool silk after the hot desert sun. Her lips parted on a gasp, and he stepped closer as if that were permission, hands cupping her face, his mouth covering her own.

  He kissed her slowly, as if there were all the time in the world. As if he knew she wouldn’t – couldn’t – push him away. The first brush of his tongue made her shiver, her hands rising to his chest hesitantly. This was madness. She’d never felt the way she did right then. All hot and shivery, her nipples hardening into tight peaks. His tongue brushing her own, dancing with it, tempting her to kiss him back.

  Before she could re
alize what she was doing – what she was letting him do – he lifted his head. “There now,” he murmured, humor thick and lazy in his voice. “Now you’re not breathing at all. Won’t nobody hear us coming now.”

  He laughed softly.

  “Son of a bitch.” Riley shoved him away, her hand drifting to her lips. She could taste him still, feel the imprint of his chest against her fingertips. What the hell had she just done? Or let him do, rather? She could pretend as much as she liked, but she’d offered not one ounce of token protest.

  She spun around, but the world was a wall of blackness. “Don’t you ever do that again.”

  “Now she protests,” he muttered under his breath, turning away from her. “Don’t get excited. Just tryin’ to take your mind off things. Looks like it worked.”

  Worked? Her lips burned and she could taste him still, the imprint of his touch burned into her skin. “I wasn’t getting excited,” she retorted. “Just so you know.”

  Faint laughter. Her hands balled into fists, but he was right. She wasn’t thinking about the oppressive dark anymore. She couldn’t get the memory of that kiss out of her head.

  The sound of flint striking echoed in the darkness and a small light flared. Wade held his piece of tinder up, searching for something along the walls. “There it is.” He reached up and flipped a switch. “Emergency lights. Solar-powered.” Tracks of light sprang up along the walls, shooting away into the darkness. It was just enough to highlight the tunnel ahead, some of them buzzing and spitting from disuse. “Come on, princess. This way.”

  Riley stared ahead. There’d be more dark, more enclosed spaces. And maybe whatever had been making that noise. But this was the only way to get Jimmy back, and though she didn’t have any family left, out here in the Badlands, the people of her settlement were family. She’d been in charge of their expedition, and she’d made the choice to hunt one more nestling, knowing the sun was sinking toward the horizon. If she’d left it alone, she and Jimmy would have gotten back nice and early, and none of this would ever have happened.

  Steeling herself, she took a deep breath and brushed past him. “Call me ‘princess’ again, and I’ll crown you.”