Kat ran, eager to be out of this long hole in the ground. Before the thought had fully formed that this was a small room and not a tunnel, hands grabbed her and she screamed. She fought. She kicked.
More screaming followed, not her own, and one of the men shouted and cursed and flailed his arm back ward. There was a thud and Kat stopped struggling.
"No! Stop! Stop! We won't fight! We'll do whatever you want. Don't hurt him. Oh God, don't hurt them."
She ran to Dakota who'd been thrown against the wall. He was dazed, but conscious. His nose was bleeding. Ranger still struggled against the beefy arm that held him. Meadow stood immobile by the ladder, her thumb in her mouth.
"Stop it. All of you. Ranger, stop!" She looked at the man holding the boy. "Let him go. He won't run."
"Fuck off bitch." He shoved Ranger toward the ladder. "You run, we kill your little sister here and then the bitch."
Kat helped Dakota to his feet. She thought about pushing him toward the passageway and telling him to run, but she was afraid their captor would make good on his threat. She steered him toward the ladder.
"Just do as you're told and you won't be hurt," she told them as calmly as she could.
"Yeah, that's right. Listen to the bitch and you won't be hurt," the first man said.
The second one laughed. He didn't believe it either.
As she lifted Meadow up onto the first rung that was higher than the others, she glanced back and caught the tiniest of movement at the mouth of the room.
Kat let her foot slip off the rung and fell back into the man behind her, drawing his attention to her instead of to the girl plastered against the wall.
"Watch what you're doing, bitch." He gave her a shove up the ladder.
"Damn kids," Kat muttered loud enough for Forest to hear. "I told them to go to Mrs. Martin."
"Yeah, well it saved me and Top some time not having to go get you. We didn't want the old lady anyway."
Kat didn't want to think about what they might have done to Tilda and she prayed that Forest understood her message and this time did as she was told.
The outside of the passage was no more than a hole in the ground. With the wooden cover over it and dead leaves scattered about, it could easily be mistaken for an abandoned well. She'd hoped there would be a building nearby, but once her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she realized they were in the middle of nowhere.
Top pushed Dakota forward and laughed when the boy snarled. "You got your father in you, cub. He was a mean bastard, too."
"My father's going to come get you and you're gonna be sorry."
"Hate to break it to you kid, but your father's dead."
Dakota stopped and looked back at Kat and Top dragged him along. The boy was referring to Charles and Kat hoped he was right. She gave a slight shake of her head to tell him his father wasn't dead.
Once she realized their destination wasn't nearby, Kat began to think. She was so frightened it was difficult at first, but then reason prevailed. They were wanted alive or these two would have finished the job back at the tunnel and once she accepted that they were temporarily safe, her mind started to work.
If Forest went back, it would be reasonable to assume the men would start their search at the tunnel. They would follow the trail from there. Kat knew they would use both scent and sight so she snapped every twig she could and trampled every tall plant she could find without making it obvious and when little Meadow tripped and fell, Kat dragged the poor child a few feet before righting her, hoping to leave her scent behind.
When they came to a stream and were forced to walk in the icy water, she remembered what Jo had said. She purposely set Meadow up on the bank to walk. It was a good minute or two before it was noticed and she was forced to pull her back in.
"It's too deep and cold for a little girl," Kat complained and hoped that they allowed her to continue.
"Tough shit. She walks in the water or you carry her."
Kat carried her, but managed to stumble and fall to the side, catching herself on the bank.
The boys seemed to understand her intent. Dakota suddenly howled and jumped for the bank.
"Something bit me!" he screamed and rolled in the weeds in pretended agony.
He got a cuff to the back of his head for his efforts which gave him an excuse to howl again loud enough to be heard if there was anyone near enough to hear. The boy flashed Kat a grin as he rubbed the back of his head and Top yelled.
"Will you shut that kid up!"
Ranger, more timid than Dakota, fell more often, too. He wasted no time rolling on the ground, but Kat saw him wipe his hands through the weeds each time before he stood.
Meadow began to cry loudly as if she, too, understood.
Kat shushed her quickly.
After what seemed like hours, they reached their destination, another hole in the ground.
Chapter 40
"What is this place?" Kat asked of the giant oil drum they were forced to climb down into. It was an underground bunker of some sort and she had a feeling that this was not the whole of it. Top had disappeared through a door to the side, leaving it open and she could hear nothing from the room beyond. She was surprised when the man called Kirby answered.
"This place? Beats the hell out of me. One of them old survival types lived here. Didn't do him much good. He didn't survive." The man grinned and in the light from the overhead fixture, Kirby's need for intensive dental work became apparent. Added to that, he had an ugly scar that ran across his eye and over his nose that made his appearance both sad and frightening.
Kat gathered the children to her. "What do you want from us?"
"Not a goddamned thing. I would have been done with you the minute we found you, made it easy on ya, you know?" At his malicious laugh, Kat was afraid she did. "But I'm not the boss, you know?"
Top came back in and jerked his head toward the door. "They said bring 'em up."
Kat hurried the children along, picking up Meadow when she didn't move quickly enough. She didn't want these animals to touch any of them again. They passed through two rooms; one used for storage and one a bedroom. The bed had no sheets, no cases on the pillows and there were blankets and sleeping bags spread everywhere. They had to walk on them as they passed through. Dakota's foot caught in a tangle of blankets and he fell to the floor. Top grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and threw him forward.
"Leave him alone!" Ranger ran back to his brother.
Top took a step toward the two boys with his hand raised.
"Back off and get them up front," Kirby ordered and shoved them forward.
They passed through another bedroom, neater and less occupied than the last and from there into a kitchen that reeked of grease and spoiled food. Ranger pushed through the next door and then scrambled back. He grabbed Dakota's shirt and pulled him back to the safety of Kat, a safety she couldn't provide. They squeezed through the door as a single unit.
"How sweet. Mother Goose and her goslings." She stood beside an ugly giant of a man. "Leon, allow me to introduce you to Katarina Bennett, the key to our success. Or do you go by Goodman now? Not that it matters. By tomorrow you'll go by nothing at all."
Kat had seen the woman as spoiled and somewhat greedy, but to stoop this low, to deal with the lowest, most disgusting form of criminal? No, she hadn't seen that.
"My God, Stephanie, what have you done?"
"What should have been done months ago." Stephanie propped her fists on her hips. In her designer clothes and two thousand dollar boots, the woman looked perfectly at home standing in the midst of filth. Kat's nose itched with the smell of the place, but Stephanie didn't seem bothered by the smell of unwashed bodies and inadequate plumbing.
"Where's the girl?" Leon asked.
"There's the girl," Top said, "This is it, boss. You said the woman and the kids and that's what we got."
"The girl, Goddamnit!" Leon glared at Stephanie. "You said she was there."
"She was, darling,
she still is, but you don't need her now. You can have her later when our work here is done." Stephanie stroked his arm. "When we're in charge, you can have anything you want. You'll have nothing to do but keep the pack in line, spend money and play with your little friends. You've got five out of six. There's no need to be greedy."
"The deal was I get the girl. She's mine." His hair was long and coarse, a dirty looking brown and his curled lip exposed long and yellowed teeth.
Kat knew who this was and she swallowed the bile that rose in her throat. The boys knew, too. This was the wolver they had run from.
"Stephanie, you don't know what he is. You don't know what he's…"
"I know a hell of a lot more than you do," Stephanie snapped, whirling toward Kat with her manicured finger pointed dangerously close to Kat's eye. "I know that the cash cow that was our pack is running dry and dying a slow, painful death. I know I can revive it if people get out of my way. Leon here is going to make that happen and the first step to making that happen is to get rid of you. Poor Charles will be consumed with grief. It will weaken him and then Leon will finish it." She laughed shrilly. "It appears that my Alpha is bigger than yours." She ran her fingers up his arm seductively. "It's time for you to take the first step, Alpha."
"Not until I get the girl."
Stephanie tossed back her mane of perfect hair and huffed. "Oh for heaven's sake, you'll get the goddamned girl. Now kill her!"
Leon moved faster than Kat thought possible for a man of his bulk. Stephanie was grabbed about the neck and flung up against the wall before she could squeak in surprise. Her tongue was caught between her teeth and her eyes bulged.
"Don't try to order me around like I'm one of your prettyboy lackeys," He roared into her face, "I say what's done and I say who does it. This bitch is a Mate and if I don't get mine back, I'll take this one instead." He tossed Stephanie to the ground and slammed out the door.
Kat had backed the children as far away from the brute as she could. She was more frightened now than she was before. The threat against her was nothing compared to the idea that Forest could be returned to this monster and there was nothing she could do.
Stephanie picked herself up from the floor and wiped the spittle from her face, not in the least subdued. She brushed at the sleeves and lapels of her jacket. "A Mate, a Mate. They all want a Mate. How does it feel to finally be popular?" she sneered.
"Is that why you're doing this? Charles chose me over you? You can't be an Alpha's Mate, Stephanie. That's not my fault That's not their fault." Kat nodded toward the children.
"You think this is about you?" the other woman asked, looking at Kat the way she had the first time they met. "You couldn't be more wrong. You're nothing more than a baby making machine to them. Who cares?" She flicked her wrist. "This is about the pack, the way it's supposed to be, the way Charles said it would be. I should have stood at his side. I should have run the business and I would have, given time. Alex is a poor Second, though he'd make a perfect Alpha. Your arrival just confirmed my belief that a change in leadership was necessary."
"You could still have that, Stephanie," Kat lied, thinking sympathy might help her cause. "You bring us back and Charles will be so grateful he'll give you everything you want."
"Oh, I'll get what I want and Charles will get what he deserves. Charles will come to your rescue, dear Kat." She smiled and placed her hands together by her cheek as if in payer. "Oh Charles, Charles," she called in a sing-song voice, "Come quickly. I've found our Mate. Please, Charles, hurry before it's too late." She smiled, flipped her hands open and shrugged. Her face sobered. "Then I'll introduce him to Leon and it will be too late for Charles, too."
"The pack will never accept that monster as their Alpha."
"I don't expect them to. That's part of the plan."
The woman was insane. "What about River?" Kat demanded.
Stephanie motioned to the men standing guard in the corner. "You," she said, pointing to Top, "Go back and get the girl and don't screw it up this time. You," the finger moved to Kirby, "Bring in the boy. Let the Kitty see what's been done to her cub," she told him.
River, beaten almost beyond recognition, was dragged from yet another room off to the side and dumped unceremoniously onto the floor. The boys were there before Kat, pushing past Kirby and falling on their knees beside their hero and calling his name.
"I need something to wash his face with," Kat told Kirby as she knelt on the floor to the other side. "My God, what is wrong with you people?"
Once again, Kirby surprised her by disappearing for a minute, taking Ranger with him for insurance, and returning with a wet rag and a bottle of water that he tossed to her feet. She checked River's body over as well as she could, found nothing that looked fatal though the bruising on his side looked swollen and angry.
"Why, why would you do something like this?" she asked angrily of Kirby. He wasn't much bigger than River, but he scars on his Face and fists testified to his abilities.
"I didn't, boss did. I only held him."
River groaned and tried to sit up. "I'm sorry," he rasped through split lips. "The Alpha's going to kill me."
"No, he won't." Kat helped him to his feet and then to the only chair in the room. "He'll be grateful you're alive just like I am."
"I wanted to find them for the Alpha," River said through swollen and bloody lips. I wanted to show him I was worth of the pack." Beneath his mask of blood and contusions, his face was pale.
"I know, sweetheart I know." She was afraid he was going into shock.
Kirby left them after a time and Kat thought of making an attempt to escape, but when she made her way to the back entrance, she found a snarling wolf lying in wait and she'd no doubt there was one at the front.
They waited and waited. Meadow had fallen asleep and the two boys were exhausted. River dozed fitfully in the chair. Kat curled on the floor next to him resting her head on his knee.
She closed her eyes and called to her mate "Charles, please, I need you." She'd called to him repeatedly since the moment they were captured. Surely he was home by now and close enough to hear her cry. "Charles! Charles! We need you!" and the tears she'd held back from the beginning of their ordeal threatened to break through her dam of restraint. "Charles!"
She was so desperate to hear from him that at first she thought it was her imagination. His voice was so clear she turned to see if he was in the room.
"I'm coming, Katarina. I'm coming."
"River," she whispered, shaking the knee on which she'd been resting, "They're coming. They're coming!"
River roused and started to rise just as the door opened. Stephanie entered and raised a gun.
"Showtime!" she said and pointed the gun at Kat.
Time slowed, but not enough.
River shouted, "No!" and lunged.
Stephanie fired once.
Kat raised her hand, fingers splayed as if her palm could stop the bullet.
Meadow screamed.
Ranger and Dakota charged toward Stephanie.
Kat found her voice and time sped up.
"Stop!"
She grabbed the boys as they flew past and almost swung them off their feet in her haste to remove them from the line of fire. She pushed them back toward the corner with the screaming Meadow.
"See to your sister," she ordered and then looked straight at Stephanie. "You stupid, stupid woman. Whatever you want, this isn't the way to get it."
She turned her back on the stunned woman and knelt beside River, who had crumpled to the floor and was bleeding badly.
"I wasn't planning to shoot," Stephanie pouted.
"Then you shouldn't have been waving a gun," Kat snapped. She rolled River to his side. His eyes were closed and his breathing was shallow.
"He shouldn't have gotten in the way," Stephanie argued, "It wasn't part of the plan."
"And heaven forbid anyone from getting in the way of your plans." Kat didn't try to hide her disgust.
Stephanie waved the gun toward the door and the rising commotion outside. "You need to come with me. Or would you rather your precious children watch you die, too."
"You do what you need to do, Stephanie, but if you need me, you'll wait until I'm done here." Kat took the chance that the woman really hadn't planned to shoot or kill, only threaten. She motioned to Dakota, who was watching the scene intently while his brother comforted Meadow. "Bring that pillow over here."
Kat watched him carefully as he brought the pillow to her, ready to intervene should he try to extract his own revenge. She took it from him and placed it under River's head and then grabbed Dakota's hand when he would have turned away. "Take off your shirt." She folded it into a thick pad and placed it over the wound. "Hold it here, press it tight and don't do anything foolish. Your brothers and sister need you," she told him and hoped her message got through. It was the best she could do.
She pressed a kiss to the young man's forehead and whispered, "Hang on, River. Help is here. Hang on."
Kat nodded to Dakota, he was in charge, and winked her reassurance to Ranger and Meadow now reduced to whimpering in the corner. She then walked calmly past Stephanie's gun and out into the night.
Chapter 41
The yard, a large roughly circular patch of hard dirt surrounded by various pieces of rusted equipment, was filled with wolvers, both man and beast. Kat's eyes sought Charles and found him in the open center of a ring of spectators as if this was a sporting event.
The cleared patch of earth was filled with wolvers and the animosity between the members of the pack and the rogues was clearly evident. Snarls, snapping jaws and shouted oaths abounded. Ryker and Alex wove their way through the throng to settle and sometimes threaten the members of their pack when their goading grew out of hand.
"Katarina," Charles called to her with a question in is voice.
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