The Wranglers' Sexy Fugitive [The Wranglers of Bear Mountain 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

by Marla Monroe

  Bo went ahead and turned onto the road so they didn’t have to strain to watch the disappearing cloud. After it was nearly gone, Bo eased down the gravel road at a pace that had Dalton gritting his teeth.

  Breathe. Settle yourself. Stealth mode here, Dalton. I need to get a grip and concentrate on Shelby. She’s all that matters.

  “What does our kick up look like?” Bo asked.

  Dalton swung around and stared out the back window. “Good. Not much at all.”

  He felt Bo increase the speed of the truck. After a few seconds Dalton checked behind them. There was more dust, but still not a whole lot.

  “I wouldn’t go any faster. There’s more of it, but it doesn’t seem to be going high enough to be seen.” Dalton turned back around and watched ahead of them.

  When he looked over at his friend, Dalton noticed for the first time how white Bo’s knuckles were where he gripped the steering wheel. His friend wasn’t as calm as he’d first thought. He just controlled it better than Dalton did.

  All of a sudden, Bo stopped the truck. If he hadn’t have had his seatbelt on, it would have thrown him against the dashboard and maybe the windshield.

  “They stopped up ahead,” Bo said.

  Dalton noticed that the dust had started to settle without more kicking up ahead of it. Bo was right. They’d either gotten where they were going or they had gotten suspicious and were looking for someone following them. Either way meant they had to make a decision.

  “What is the plan?” he asked Bo.

  “Load up and move out. Leave the truck where it is for a quick getaway if we need it and do some reconnaissance to see what we’re up against. We know there are at least three out there, maybe four.” With that, Bo opened his door and climbed out of the cab of the truck.

  Dalton followed suit. They quickly uncovered their weapons in the back seat and strapped them on. Besides their handguns, they also both carried various knives and gadgets. Both of them believed in always being ready for anything. This was one time he was glad that he’d served his time. It had prepared him for this moment. Had he never gone through combat and specials training, he wouldn’t have been able to help their woman.

  After unscrewing the dome light in case it was dark when they returned, they carefully closed the doors until they barely hooked so as not to make a sound. Then Bo’s hand signals had them splitting up to converge in another location in order to figure out what was going on. They would both make note of any possible problems on the way. If there was a building ahead of them, they would find all possible entrances and note any security. Once they met up again, they’d make a plan.

  * * * *

  The wolf growled deeper than before and Shelby was certain she was going to die. After everything she’d been through and a freaking wolf was what would kill her in the end. It wasn’t fair.

  I’ve fought so hard to stay ahead of those assholes and keep them from killing me just so a damn wolf could rip out my throat. Life sucks!

  She’d had enough. She looked the wolf straight in the eye and growled back, showing her own less than perfect and not so pointy teeth. To her surprise, the wolf cocked his head to the side and took a step back. It settled down and just watched her now. It made her nervous, but it was a lot better than him crouching ready to spring on her. Now he just seemed to be watching her.

  “Don’t expect me to do tricks, buster. You’ll be waiting all night. I’m just trying to stay alive and hidden.” She closed her eyes and shook her head. Now she was talking to a wolf as if he understood her.

  I really am losing it. If I do manage to get out of this alive, I need to find a good therapist. They’ll probably commit me.

  A noise had the wolf’s ears twitching back and forth as his head came up. Shelby cringed, curling even tighter into a ball. A low growl had her opening her eyes to stare at the wolf.

  “Shhh. You’re going to get me found.” To her amazement, the wolf quieted but his nose and ears remained on alert.

  “I know you’re out here, bitch. I’ve been following your trail. Not much on getting around in the woods, are you?” The man’s voice wasn’t familiar so she didn’t know if it was the one she’d knocked out or the other one.

  “Think you’re so smart, don’t cha’. Well, we’ll find you and when we do, you’re going to wish we hadn’t. The sculptor is here waiting on you. The boss brought him to find out where you hid the memory drive. Then he’s going to let me and Sammy have you before we put a bullet in your brain.”

  He really knew how to get someone to turn themselves over to him. Not. She was going to fight him tooth and nail before she let him take her back to whatever horrors awaited her back at the cabin. They’d never believe she didn’t have the drive nor did she know where it was. She’d mailed it to herself but it had never made it to her home. She’d come to believe it had been lost in the mail. When she’d never had that happen to her before, it had to happen with something so important it meant life and death to her. Now it looked like it was going to mean a quick death or death by torture. Shelby nearly whimpered at the thought.

  The hollow tree grunted when the man kicked at it. She nearly screamed from hitting her head on the other side when he kicked it again. What was he doing? Did he know she was inside the trunk and was just toying with her? She glanced at the wolf that looked ready to attack. The only problem was that she was in the creature’s way. She didn’t relish being a tasty treat for it, but she had nowhere to go but out and she wasn’t going in that direction even if it meant the wolf was going to tear her throat out.

  To her horror, it slowly crept in a near crawl her way. She had to bite her hand to keep from whimpering or making any noise as it slowly grew closer by the second. When it reached where she sat curled into as tight a ball as was possible for her, it sniffed her. As the wolf’s nose covered her hair all the way down her body, Shelby continued to bite into her own hand to keep from whimpering or crying out.

  To her surprise, the wolf licked the side of her hand where she had locked her teeth to her hand then slowly pushed past her toward the opposite end of the fallen tree. As its hind end and tail brushed past her, Shelby realized it was going to leave her alone. But what was it planning to do? She was sure the man hunting for her would have a gun. He would kill the wolf if it surged out of the trunk of the tree.

  Without thinking about it, she reached out and grabbed the wolf’s tail to stop it. The animal swung his head around and bared its teeth. She shook her head and mouthed don’t go out there. It just looked at her then turned back around and crawled out of the end of the tree trunk with a menacing growl.

  “What the fuck?” Another loud growl drowned out the man’s shout, then she heard the gunshot but no whimpering of an animal that had been hit.

  Had he managed to outright kill it? She couldn’t bear it if he had. For some odd reason, the wolf had tried to save her life. Why? Maybe it had actually only been partially wild and had been raised by humans. Whatever the reason, she was grateful to it. By running out of the log, it had pretty much told the man looking for her that she wasn’t inside the log.

  Sure enough, the idiot cursed and climbed over the hollow log as he traipsed on through the trees. She could hear some of his mumblings and breathed a sigh of relief.

  “I just knew she was in there. Should have known it would be some other animal and not her. I catch her, she’s going to wish she hadn’t run off and made me look for her.” The man’s voice slowly grew farther away.

  Shelby didn’t know what to do. She needed to figure out what to do next. There was no way he would overlook the log twice if he didn’t find her soon. She needed another hiding place, but where?

  She waited what she hoped was a full minute before she slowly crawled back toward the end of the log. Sticking just her head out, Shelby looked around and deciding the coast was clear, she crawled the rest of the way out and crouched by it before deciding to go at a right angle to the direction she thought the stranger had tak
en.

  Trying to keep the noise level down, Shelby found herself moving slower than she liked. It was nearly impossible not to make noise though no matter how hard you tried. On top of that, her shoulder throbbed as did her hands and wrists. Even if she managed to get away from them, she was probably going to die of an infection before she could find someone to help her. Once again, tears of despair streaked her cheeks. As much as she hated the weakness of crying, Shelby was just too overwhelmed to try and stop them now.

  Every step she took seemed to drain more of her energy faster. Twice she fell and had to force herself to get back up. She was so freaking tired. She missed Dalton and Bo, wishing she could have stayed with them. They’d made her feel wanted and loved. Sure, they didn’t really love her, but it had felt so good. Deep down inside, she knew that she did love them. When it had happened, she didn’t know, but it had cooked inside of her during the last few days until it finally hit her that she loved them. If nothing else, she wished she could have told them just how much they meant to her.

  She tripped on another root but this time, she couldn’t get her hands out quick enough to keep from landing face first in the muck of decomposing leaves and plant life. She lay there for several long seconds trying to catch the breath that had been knocked out of her. She rubbed the dirt and crap off her face and grimaced to see blood. She’d managed to find a rock or something with her head. That was all she needed, another source of blood to lead them right to her.

  She already didn’t have a shirt anymore there wasn’t anything more she wanted to take off to bind the wound on her head. Shelby slowly lay back down.

  I can’t give up! I’ve got to keep going. I’ll find someone to help me eventually. All I’ve got to do is keep moving. It’s harder to hit a moving target. Keep moving, Shelby!

  She could almost hear Bo telling her just that. Dalton would be trying to clean her up, but Bo would yell at her to get her ass up and move, move, move. She almost giggled at the thought.

  More than likely she was in a state of shock with the way her mind was jumping around and the weird urge to giggle. She couldn’t afford to lose it out there. Not only would they find her, but so would any other animals in the area, like that strange wolf. The more she thought about it, the more she’d wondered if it had all been a figment of her imagination.

  Shelby slowly pressed up until she was on hands and knees. Then she used the vines covering a tree to pull herself back upright. It took her a few seconds to steady herself, but once again, she started forward at a slow pace, trying to keep the noise down.

  Just as she reached a small break in the trees, the sound of a gun being cocked froze her in place.

  “I’d put my hands up if I were you, little lady. You’ve had us looking for you long enough.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Bo watched the cabin, but didn’t see any movement inside. The windows were covered by curtains, so there was no way to see what was going on inside. The sound of a bird caught his attention just as Dalton appeared out of the thickets to his right.

  “Nothing open on the other side either,” Dalton whispered so low that if they hadn’t been whispering in each other’s ears, they wouldn’t have been able to hear.

  “Any sign of movement?” Bo asked.

  Dalton only shook his head once.

  Bo didn’t like it. It had taken them longer to reach where the SUV was parked next to a battered black sedan than he had expected. They’d had to cross a large creek that had enough water flowing through it to make it slow going. Then there had been the copse of trees that was so thick they’d had to squeeze between them and in some cases, cut a path so they could maneuver through them.

  “Look!” Dalton’s sharp intake of breath when he whispered the words had Bo turning to see what he had seen.

  “Fuck!” Bo’s heart stuttered to a standstill before tearing off into a gallop.

  Walking out of the wooded area on the other side of where the sedan and SUV was parked was a large man almost as tall as Bo carrying an obviously unconscious Shelby over his shoulders. She only had on a pair of shorts, her bra, and shoes. Her hair was dirty and matted and he could see blood caked on something on one shoulder. Both of her wrists looked to be bandaged as they flopped against the man’s ass as he walked toward the cabin. As they approached, the door flew open but they couldn’t see around the door to know who it was.

  The soft murmur of voices reached their ears, but there was no way to make out what they were saying before they stepped inside.

  “I’m going to kill them,” Dalton breathed out.

  Bo took a deep breath and slowly let it out before repeating it again and taking back his control. They wouldn’t do her any favors by losing their focus now. She was alive and that was all that mattered. They’d get her out and make sure she never had to worry about safety or running again.

  Turning to his blood brother, Bo pointed at Dalton’s eyes then his own. After a long second, Dalton nodded and they slowly eased closer to the house as soon as the front door closed behind the man carrying their woman. There was no way they would allow them to continue hurting Shelby.

  He nodded toward the far side of the cabin and watched as Dalton silently crossed the front of the house, staying low, and positioned himself at the corner with his eyes on Bo. They knew there was no other way out of the cabin other than the windows. That meant the only way inside was the front door. It would be difficult to breach the door. It had looked to be of sturdy wood. Maybe they had left it unlocked though. He nearly grunted at the lunacy of that wish.

  He eased around the side of the building up to the window and listened. Nothing. With at least three men and Shelby inside, he should have heard something. At the very least, the floorboards she squeak when they moved, but all he heard was the background noises of the woods behind him.

  Dalton snagged his attention with a hand signal. He curved one hand down inside the other one. Basement. Damn. That made things more complicated. If they broke a window to get inside, chances were they’d hear them and would be able to kill Shelby before they could get to her. He and Dalton stared at each other for a few seconds.

  Fuck it. I’m trying the damn door.

  Bo eased up on the porch, careful of how he stepped so as not to give his presence away. When he was just to one side of the door, he grasped the knob and slowly turned it. To his shock, it turned all the way, allowing the door to slowly start to swing inward. Bo held it where it was and looked over at his friend with a quick nod of his head. Dalton gave him a thumbs up and walked just as carefully across the porch until he was on the other side of the door facing Bo.

  As soon as his partner was in place, Bo slowly pushed the door open a little wider so they could listen. Still no sounds carried through the cabin to where they stood just outside the door. Dalton had to be right and they had a basement where they had carried Shelby.

  He pushed the door open a little more so they could see more of the room. To his surprise, instead of the open plan that most cabins had, this one had a small living area with a doorway that he could tell let into a tiny kitchen. He couldn’t see on the other side of the door yet. More than likely there would be another door that led to the bedroom. Stepping back from the half-open door, Bo signed to Dalton what they were going to do.

  Clear the bedroom on the left then the kitchen where the basement access would more than likely be inside a pantry. I hope Dalton remembers his training.

  He held up three fingers, and at Dalton’s nod, he counted down silently and the two of them entered the front room on three. Nothing moved and he didn’t see any sign of anyone. They covered each other as they edged to the door on the left. When Bo carefully turned the knob and opened it, Bo searched the room then the bathroom before mouthing clear.

  The kitchen proved to be empty as well, though there were signs that someone had been there by the bloody towel in the sink and several empty coffee cups as well as the stench of stale takeout food.


  Bo located the pantry door. When he pressed his ear to it, he didn’t hear anything, but some sort of odd smell assaulted his nose from the air that flowed out from under the door. Air circulation that was that strong meant there had to be a basement or another complete room behind the door. Both of them had their weapons ready. Bo held up three fingers once more, but on two, a loud heart wrenching scream jolted them both into action.

  Bo made it through the door first and fairly slid down the stairs leading to the basement. He heard Dalton right behind him. The stairs ended at another door, but Bo didn’t bother stopping to open this one. Instead he let gravity and his momentum send him straight through the wood. He and the bulk of the door landed on top of one of the men, but Bo rolled out of it to a crouch and quickly summed up the situation. Dalton had landed in a shooter’s stance directly in front of the stairs, blocking the exit.

  “Who the fuck are you?” an older man demanded, reaching for something under his jacket.

  “I wouldn’t if I were you,” Dalton snarled, turning one of the two weapons he held in the man’s direction. “Just put your hands in the air and be still.”

  “Step away from her very slowly,” Bo snapped coldly. “Make one move in her direction and I’ll blow your balls off.”

  The strange looking man paled then dropped what he’d had in his hand and held both up above his head. Bo could almost smell the little man’s anger and wasn’t about to take his eyes off of him. The man he’d landed on began to stir, so Bo kicked him in the back of the head again to keep him out of the picture.

  “Brother, pat down your guy then see about Shelby.”

  Dalton walked over to where the older man remained standing without moving a muscle. He quickly removed a small handgun from his jacket pocket, the man’s wallet and another weapon in an ankle holster before he had the man back up against the far wall. He stripped his belt off of him, jerked his pants down around his ankles then tied the belt around the pants at his ankles making it impossible for the man to run anywhere. Then, just for good measure, Bo watched as Dalton knocked him down with a punch to his mouth.