by Vella Day
Riley kissed her quick and then Jay withdrew. Both men took care to make sure she was comfortable before climbing into bed next to her. No words of praise were needed as they surely had transcended to some outer dimension together.
If only she could make time stand still, she’d be a happy woman.
Chapter Twenty-Two
The next four days took a toll on Sarah’s energy. Dealing with Dr. Elkhart and being away from her men until the evening had been difficult and trying. The only blessing having the women at the clinic was that Nancy was recovering and the other women were regaining their strength.
Close to five, Dr. Elkhart’s cell rang and Sarah’s pulse shot up. It was probably the front desk needing assistance.
“Show him in,” Dr. Elkhart said.
Him? Her stomach cramped. She prayed it wasn’t Statler, as she doubted she could remain calm around him, especially if he poked and prodded the women. A few seconds later, the door opened and a short man with tanned skin, wearing an impeccably tailored suit walked in, his eyes scanning the women along with the room. Right behind him was the taller man who’d claimed to be his assistant. Oh, crap. The buyers weren’t supposed to arrive for another few days.
Every one of Sarah’s muscles tensed as she shot her gaze to Dr. Elkhart who seemed unfazed by their appearance. “Gentlemen, how may I help you?”
“I’ve come to see the women for myself,” the short man announced.
Hopefully, he was here to check on their progress and not to take them away. While the women were healthier, the best of the ten were no longer at the clinic. According to Connolly, all five had been transported to Florida where the General’s wife was making sure they had the right care before returning them to their families.
“Be my guest.” Elkhart waved a hand.
Sarah debated excusing herself and texting Riley and Jay to let them know what might happen, but a second later, a commotion sounded from somewhere in the building. Elkhart tapped his phone. As he shouted for someone to answer him, Ford and Tyson Summerville burst into the room.
Taught to keep her wits about her, Sarah moved out of the way. Ford glanced over at her. “You need to leave.”
She wanted to ask why, but she trusted him. He and Tyson would make sure the women remained safe. Not wanting to be anywhere near a fight, she grabbed her purse and headed through the door to the adjoining room. As soon as she stepped into the hallway, her pulse pounded, and her legs felt like lead. It had to be the adrenaline coursing through her system that propelled her forward.
For the Summerville brothers’ sake, she hoped there wouldn’t be a fight. With three men against two, the odds were stacked against them. On the plus side, they were highly trained military men who’d been enhanced. From what she recalled, Dr. Elkhart had never received the injections, though he could have dosed himself once the General’s men had located the first clinic.
As Sarah moved toward the reception area, the women’s screams echoed down the hall and she froze. Sarah debated returning to help, but then decided against it, recognizing she wouldn’t stand a chance against a shifter.
Needing to escape, she burst through the door to the waiting room and spotted two men rushing toward the clinic. That didn’t look good. They had to be Statler’s men.
Trying to remain cool, she pulled open the door, acting as if she was one of Elkhart’s regular nurses. They zoomed in and headed for the back door. Not wanting to see if the receptionist would supply them with the code, Sarah walked out. Her car might only be halfway across the parking lot, but right now it seemed as if it was a million miles away.
Throat dry and heart beating too fast, she strode with purpose toward the driver’s side. Needing her key, she dipped her hand into her purse, taking her eyes off her destination for a moment. From behind, someone grabbed her and placed a cloth over her face. Chemicals invaded her brain and muscles.
She struggled to get free, but the man’s grip remained firm. Sarah was trained to react under all circumstances, but drugs were hard to counteract. Had her muscles done as she commanded, she would have stomped on his instep, dropped to the ground, and then rolled to her feet.
Before she could come up with an alternate plan, her legs buckled and her world turned black.
* * *
Statler was livid. His buyer had demanded they meet at the clinic to discuss the purchase. While Connolly had reported the women were improving daily, Statler needed those four days he’d been promised in order for them to be in tip top condition. Fucking Charles. What was he trying to pull?
Statler had arrived a few minutes early wanting to determine if the buyer was up to something nefarious. Statler parked at the edge of the lot in in full view of the main entrance and waited. To his delight, Charles drove in with only his assistant in tow.
Feeling rather confident, Statler was about to slip out of his car when he spotted his other nemeses—Tyson and Ford Summerville, the two werewolves who’d destroyed his clinic and forced him to find another location—enter the clinic.
Fucking General Armand. How the hell had he found him? Again?
Statler couldn’t stay around there any longer. This had to be a trap—one that wasn’t going to work. He was smarter than them all. As he jammed his car into reverse, Sarah rushed out of Elkhart’s clinic looking wide-eyed and nervous. Why was she leaving before her shift was up? Something must have happened inside. Perhaps the Summerville brothers had scared her.
As she moved closer to her car, a plan quickly formed.
Because he had no idea what to expect from today’s meeting, he’d prepared a little knock out solution in case he needed to get by Elkhart’s receptionist. A small smile lifted his lips at his forward thinking.
For a split second, he’d been tempted to enter the clinic and battle it out with Ford and Tyson, but given all three of them were enhanced, he doubted he’d end up the victor. For now, it would be best to retreat—with Sarah in tow.
* * *
“Where is she?” Riley paced the too tiny motel room. “Sarah should have been home an hour ago. I’m going after her.”
Jay held up his hand. “Let me call Connolly. He should be at the clinic somewhere.” Before he had the chance to dial the number, his cell rang. “It’s Ford,” he announced. “What’s up?” Jay stood and walked over to the window where he pulled back the curtains. “They’re dead? What did you do with the bodies? Where’s Sarah?” Jay turned around and it looked as if someone had punched him in the stomach. “We’ll be right there.” He disconnected. “Someone kidnapped Sarah.”
Riley saw red. “What happened?”
“Ford and Tyson spotted the two buyers entering the clinic. They went in and when the two men mistreated the women, a fight broke out. The buyers died.”
“And Dr. Elkhart?”
“He escaped. Ford didn’t go into many details, except to say that when they went outside, they found Sarah’s purse and keys on the ground near her car.”
“Was it Statler?” Riley’s voice cracked and his body started to shift. He clenched his hands and pictured Sarah to help him stay in human form.
“They don’t know but I plan to find out.”
Riley stepped over to him and grabbed his arm. “It could be dangerous if you go.”
“Fuck it. If Sarah is missing, I don’t care what happens to me. Besides, if Statler knows the General is here, he’ll not be surprised to see me.”
Jay wasn’t usually hot-headed. “Call him back and tell him we’ll meet them at the gas station on the east side of the clinic. Until we understand what went down, we don’t need Statler’s other goons interfering.”
Jay dragged a hand down his jaw. “You’re right.” He called Ford and made different arrangements. Once he disconnected, they headed out.
Unable to completely focus on driving, Riley tossed Jay the keys. “Did Ford say if they questioned anyone?”
“He didn’t say other than he found her purse and keys.” Jay started the
truck and peeled out of there.
At the thought of losing Sarah, hair sprouted on Riley’s body and his teeth elongated, forcing him to inhale once more to control his shift. If he had to battle it out with her kidnapper, he needed to be ready, which meant he had to keep his cool.
For the next half hour, they discussed the most likely culprit and narrowed it down to Russ, Statler, or one of Statler’s goons, each of which had a motive. Once they spoke with Ford and Tyson, they’d come up with a plan.
When they arrived at the designated spot, it was still light, but it wouldn’t be for long. Two cars sat off to the side, one of which belonged to Connolly. Jay parked next to them and Riley rushed out.
They joined Connolly in the back of Tyson’s SUV where Ford gave them the details. “Ty and I were patrolling the area when two men rolled up in a Cadillac dressed to the nines.”
“I recognized the shorter of the two men as the one who’d visited the warehouse,” Connolly added. “We hadn’t expected the buyers until later in the week, so I figured they were up to no good. I asked Ford and Ty to check it out. I hadn’t meant for them to take them out, but I’m glad they did. It saved us a lot of grief.”
“Did they attack first?” Riley asked.
Ty twisted in his seat and faced them. “No. We were going to pretend we’d been sent by Statler to find out why they were there when the assistant grabbed one of the girls and said he wanted to try her out first to see if she was worthy.” He glanced away. “I’m sorry. I went ballistic.”
Riley would have gone crazy, too. “I’m not criticizing, but why not just subdue him? I’m sure the General would have liked to grill those two.”
“That was the plan. I only intended to do a small amount of damage, but then the buyer entered the fray, and it became a huge clusterfuck. Three of Statler’s goons must have either heard some screams or just came into check us out. Things got uglier after that, but they won’t make that mistake ever again.”
Riley’s admiration for these men grew. “Impressive.”
“We did what he had to,” Ford said.
“You said Elkhart got away?” Jay asked.
Tyson clenched his fist. “Fucker rushed out a side door.”
Connolly shook his head. “I was behind the clinic the whole time. He never showed.”
That didn’t make sense. “Could he have taken Sarah? Did you check the rest of the clinic? He has to be somewhere.”
They both nodded. “Looked everywhere. We found an interior door with an eye scanner on it, but we don’t know where it leads since we couldn’t get in. For all we know, he’s still there—living underground.”
Jay blew out a breath. “I’ll call Trax and Dante. I bet they can figure out a way inside.” A quick phone called confirmed they could be on their way in minutes.
“What did you do with the bodies?” Riley asked, not liking anything about what had gone down. “And where are the women?”
Connolly placed a hand on his shoulder. “The women are safe and the bodies were transported out in body bags. By the time we left, the clinic had closed, so it appeared legit when we rolled them out on gurneys. I even managed to convince our coroner to pick them up in his truck. He’s worked with me before. Trust me, no one will be the wiser.”
Someday, he’d like to find out how Connolly had so many connections—or had the General lent a hand?
“Does the General know?”
“We’ve spoken,” Connolly said.
Jay’s leg was bouncing a million miles an hour. “What about Sarah? Tell me what you saw.”
Ford piped up. “When we entered the lab and spotted the buyer and his minion, I didn’t want Sarah around in case a fight broke out, so I told her to leave.”
“Good thinking,” Riley said.
“I thought she’d left and was with you two when Ty and I wheeled out the bodies. It was then that I saw a purse on the ground. When I looked inside, I learned it belonged to Sarah.”
“Shit.” This was his and Jay’s worse nightmare. “We have to find her. Call the General. He seems to know everything.”
Jay nudged him as if his comment was not appropriate. Fuck that. Sarah was missing, and they needed a plan. The longer they waited, the harder it would be to locate her.
“Do we know where Statler is staying?” Jay asked.
“No,” Connolly said, “but even if we did, and he was the one who kidnapped Sarah, he wouldn’t head back there.”
Tyson slipped an elbow over the seat back. “The buyer said something about Statler meeting him at the clinic, which meant he was either there or on his way. None of us spotted him inside, so either he arrived after the kidnapping or he was the kidnapper.”
That made sense. “Why would he take Sarah, though? She’s been on his side for months.”
Ford snapped his fingers. “He wouldn’t, unless he spotted me or Ty. Damn. We were out in the open, not even thinking that Statler might stop by. He would figure out the General had found him and must have panicked.”
For some reason, that brought Riley comfort. “If he took Sarah, he’d want to use her as leverage to get the women back. Killing Sarah would do him no good.”
Jay scrubbed a hand down his chin. “I’m betting Statler will lure the General up to Canada for a showdown.”
Riley shook his head. “The General would never agree to that.”
“You don’t know him.”
Tyson piped up. “Jay’s right. Before we came up here, the General asked us to train him. He’s always been convinced that Statler wanted to eliminate him worse than anything, and the General wanted to be ready. Hell, after Connolly’s phone call, I wouldn’t be surprised if the General didn’t jump in his plane to come up here right away.”
Well damn.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Sarah opened her eyes and groaned. A memory flitted through her head—and it wasn’t a good one. She recalled a sweet, chemical smell, followed by an attempted struggle before her legs had collapsed. After that, it was all a blank.
One thing she could be certain of, she needed to get out of there—wherever that was. Her limbs were stiff and it hurt to move them, but she had to work through the pain. Her tomb was pitch black, which made it all the more difficult to assess her situation.
She moved her legs, and her knees banged into something hard. Damn. Only then did the whine of tires and the groan of an engine register in her drugged brain. Putting the pieces together was difficult, but she soon concluded that she was trapped in a car trunk—make that a moving car trunk.
Holy fucking hell. How had this happened to her? She’d been so careful for so many months.
Sarah pushed on the hood that was inches from her face just in case her kidnapper hadn’t closed the lid tight, but it didn’t budge. She shifted to get better traction and a spike of pain raced up her hip. Only then did she remember landing on her side.
To make matters worse, the lack of circulation had caused a tight band to form around her chest. God, she wanted to vomit, but she needed to stay strong. There had to be something she could do.
Think. Yelling and kicking might cause the driver to pull over and dump her somewhere. The best option seemed to pretend to be incapacitated when he finally opened the lid, so he wouldn’t see her as a threat. Once the throbbing at her temples stopped and her thoughts unscrambled, she’d come up with a better plan.
She mentally snapped her fingers. She’d use her phone—assuming there was reception in this part of Canada. Why hadn’t she thought of that right away? She patted around the area for her purse but couldn’t find it or anything else for that matter. Recreating the attack, she remembered her assailant had knocked it from her hands when he’d attacked her. Shit.
Pushing up onto her elbows, she banged her head and had to swallow the wave of panic caused by the claustrophobia assaulting her. Stay calm.
Sarah drew on her training and put herself in her kidnapper’s mind. If this person had wanted her dead, he would h
ave killed her already. The key now was to figure out who had taken her. That knowledge would help her decide the best way to proceed.
Her choices for kidnappers were limited, though. First there was Russ. He drove a beat up truck whose bed wasn’t lined, and the floor she was lying on was carpeted, so she pushed him lower on the list. Because it didn’t smell, she was either in a rental or a new car. Statler drove a Mercedes, whereas Russ’s truck was at least ten years old. While it was possible he’d rented a car, she saw no reason why he’d take her. Her shift wasn’t up when she left the clinic, so she doubted Russ would have come to work early, unless Statler had told him to wait for her.
Then it dawned on her. The two men who’d arrived had been the women’s buyers. It was possible they were there to meet Statler and make the exchange. If Statler had just pulled into the parking lot, he might have spotted Ford and Tyson, which would give Statler pause. Those two had already bested him once, and he’d know not to challenge them again. Perhaps he’d panicked and taken her, hoping to gain some advantage.
It had been just her luck to be in the parking lot the moment Statler was trying to figure out his next move. He’d want to collect the money from the buyers, but he wouldn’t chance running into two highly trained super werewolves.
Well damn. The only consolation was that if Russ had taken her, she would have been violated before he handed her over to Statler. While Statler wasn’t nice to her, at least he never acted as if he was interested in her sexually. That gave her some relief, but her future still didn’t look rosy. He’d kill her once she served his purpose, whatever that was.
Her only hope would be to find a way to contact Riley and Jay. What she wouldn’t give to be able to communicate telepathically with them like they could with each other. She sagged back against the floor. Well, crap.
* * *
When Stanfield Armand received the phone call from Paul Statler, his heart had beaten faster than it had in a long time. The expected anger and stomach burning had not materialized, in part, because he’d wanted this showdown, trained for it, yearned to finally put the head of the Colters to rest. He lived to take the group down but Statler was his own personal mission.