Heart of the Wolf

by Lindsay McKenna

  Wolf winced, his mouth tightening. Sarah had a good point, but he didn’t dare capitulate to her rationale. “Honey, one thing I learned the hard way was to retreat instead of just charging blindly ahead. When Maria was murdered, I lost it. I wasn’t thinking clearly, for myself or my men. I got myself captured, and Killian, too. And for what?” He glanced over at Sarah’s shadowed features. “This has nothing to do with you being a woman. This has to do with me trying to deal differently—better—with the same situation all over again. Do you see that?”

  Torn between what she felt was right for her and her all-too-clear understanding of Wolf’s past, Sarah shrugged. “Yes,” she whispered, “I know what you’re trying to do. What if you just got me a hotel room in Anaconda and stayed a few days? Wouldn’t that be good enough, Wolf?”

  He shook his head. “What if Summers’s men are tailing us? What if they found out where you were staying?”

  The grimness of the scenario Wolf outlined made Sarah realize he was right. “I worry for you….”

  “I’m worried for me, too.” Wolf tried to smile for her benefit. He placed his hand across hers momentarily, keeping his eyes on the road. The headlights stabbed through the night. “Maybe because I’ve got a woman who takes me as I am. You’ve allowed me to open up and talk, Sarah. I’ve never done that before, and I’ve got to tell you, it feels damn good. You’ve taken away a lot of the load I carried.”

  Her throat constricted. “It’s because I care for you, Wolf. Mom always said love makes carrying a problem less.”

  Surprise at her softly spoken admission sent Wolf’s heart skittering. Just as he opened his mouth to speak, he saw the winking of rifle fire to the right, on Sarah’s side of the truck. His words turned to a croak of warning, and he jerked Sarah down off the seat just as the bullets slammed into the truck.

  Hitting the brakes, hearing glass shattering and flying all over the cab, Wolf ducked. Son of a bitch! They were being bushwhacked! He knew why, too. The threat of an FBI investigation had gotten to Summers. This was his answer to the problem: Kill Wolf and Sarah, the two eyewitnesses, and there could be no trial. Noonan and Summers would be free.

  “Stay down!” Wolf yelled, jerking the wheel of the truck to the left. The pickup shrieked and skidded down the loose gravel road. More rifle fire poured into the cabin. Skeet howled. Sarah screamed.

  Jamming his foot down on the accelerator, Wolf kept low. The bastards! They were out in the middle of nowhere, too far from the main highway, from Philipsburg, from civilization, for anyone to report gunshots. They were alone.

  The truck coughed and strained. The gunfire stopped. They were out of range for now. At the top of small knoll, the truck’s engine coughed, sputtered and quit. Cursing, Wolf pulled over onto the berm of the dirt road.

  “Sarah, are you okay?”

  “Y-yes.” She raised her head, realizing what had happened. Skeet was squeezed in beside her on the floorboards of the passenger side of the truck. “I—I think Skeet’s okay, too.”

  “Good.” Quickly, Wolf pulled the rifle down off the gun rack. “Get out! Hurry! They’ll be coming to see if we’re dead!”

  Bailing out the door, Sarah fell, her knees giving way out of fear. With a little gasp, she forced herself to stand. Skeet leaped out of the cab, growling deep in his throat. The night was black, with no moonlight to help guide them. She squinted, unable to see what Skeet must either see or hear.

  Wolf came around the truck, putting a bullet into the chamber of the 30.06 rifle. “Come on,” he rasped, gripping her by the arm, and they hurried down the embankment and into the fir trees below. Luckily, there was little brush to hamper their escape, and Wolf kept Sarah at a steady run back toward the cabin.

  “Who?” Sarah gasped.

  “Noonan and Summers,” he ground out, jogging alongside her. Skeet moved ahead of them, his tongue lolling out the side of his mouth. “We’re lucky they didn’t kill us.”

  “Wh-what are we going to do?” Sarah gasped between breaths, not used to such violent exercise. Wolf moved fluidly, as if running were the easiest thing in the world for him. Although her feet were healing, Sarah could already feel them beginning to throb from the exertion.

  “We’re three miles from the cabin. I don’t remember any houses along the way where we could stop and make a phone call. I want to try to make it back to the cabin so we can call for help.”

  Sarah gasped when car lights about a mile away suddenly flashed on and headed toward them. Wolf saw them, too. He gripped her arm and propelled her more deeply into the woods. She stumbled, caught herself, and ran on.

  “They’ll kill us, Wolf.”

  “Only if they catch us.” Worriedly Wolf realized that Sarah didn’t have the physical stamina to outrun Noonan and his bunch. She was already gasping loudly, sucking in huge drafts of air. Dammit! He loved Sarah, and there was no way she was going to be taken from him. No way in hell! Keeping a firm grip on her arm so that she wouldn’t fall, he rasped, “Run as far as you can, and then we’ll stop and rest, Sarah.”

  The headlights flashed through the dense fir. Sarah heard several vehicles screech to a halt. Men’s voices, loud and angry, punctuated the air. They were still at least a mile ahead of them. Skeet had dropped to the rear, as if to protect them. But nothing could protect them from bullets.

  “How many bullets have you got?”

  “Two boxes. Enough to take them out one at a time if I have to,” Wolf told her. “No more talking, Sarah. They might hear us. Just concentrate on running.”

  Tears jammed unexpectedly into Sarah’s eyes. She sobbed for breath, her legs beginning to feel like strings of rubber. Wolf jogged easily at her side, strong and seemingly impervious to the harsh conditions. She’d admitted her love to him in the truck and had seen the surprise, and then the tenderness, in his face. There was no question in Sarah’s bursting heart that Wolf loved her, too. Now Noonan and Summers were out to kill them. And how could one man with a rifle and an injured woman stop them?

  Chapter Thirteen

  Sarah was running hard, occasionally slipping on the pine needles only to be caught and steadied by Wolf, who never left her side. She knew she was slowing him down with her injured feet. Behind her, she could hear men crashing through the underbrush, not far behind them. Flashlights stabbed through the blackness toward them. Her lungs were burning. Her throat was raw and felt as if it were going to tear apart.

  The level floor of the valley was starting to slope gently toward the mountains ahead, where her cabin was situated. Each foot flung in front of the other made her labor harder. Then her toe caught on a small rock and she was thrown off her feet.

  Wolf caught her before she slammed to the ground. Gasping, she clutched at his arms as he dragged her upright.

  “Wolf…go on without me. I…I can’t run anymore!”

  Looking around, his eyes now adjusted to the darkness, Wolf glared back at the men following them, realizing there must be three to five of them.

  “Hold on,” he rasped, sliding his arm under her arms and supporting her. Taking Sarah to a depression behind a huge black boulder, he placed her there. “Get down on your belly, Sarah, and don’t move.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “I’m going to try the wounded-bird-with-a-broken-wing routine.” He gripped the rifle in one hand and forced her to lie down. “Cover your head with your hands. I’ll lead them away from you. Whatever you do, don’t move. Don’t speak. Understand?”

  Sobbing for breath, she nodded. “B-be careful!”

  “Don’t worry, honey, I will.” He gripped her shoulder hard. “I love you. I’m not about to lose you.”

  Sarah jerked her head up. Wolf was gone like a silent shadow, and Skeet with him. Had she heard wrong? Wolf loved her? Her heartbeat wildly erratic, she hugged the rock with her body. Luckily, she wore dark clothes and couldn’t be easily seen. Cries and curses drew closer. What if they found her? What if they shot Wolf?

 
Concentrating on being silent, Sarah opened her mouth and breathed through it. She pressed against the boulder, hugging it like a snake. Blond hair was a detriment, she thought suddenly. Its color standing out in even the worst darkness. If the men didn’t come around the boulder, she’d be safe. If they did…Sarah gulped, not wanting to think about it.

  As the group grew closer, the flashlights were like floodlights to Sarah. She recognized Noonan’s raspy voice and that of the red-haired man who had attacked her previously. Adrenaline plunged through her when she recognized Summers’s voice.

  “She can’t run that far. Not with those feet in the condition they’re in,” he growled.

  “Well, hell,” Noonan exploded. “Where are they, then?”

  “I don’t know. Fan out! Thirty feet between each man,” Summers ordered, out of breath. “We can keep track of one another by watching where our lights are.”

  “Anything makes a sound, shoot!” Noonan added angrily. “I want them dead!”

  Sarah heard a distinct rustling in the distance, as if someone were bulldozing through a heavy patch of brush. All five men stopped talking. It had to be Wolf deliberately making noise to get their attention.

  “It’s them!” Noonan exploded harshly.

  Within seconds, all five men were running toward the sound. Sarah crumpled wearily against the rock. She was safe—for now. Lifting her head, she slowly got to her hands and knees. The men were crashing through the forest, not even trying to be quiet. A far cry from Wolf’s stealthy retreat, Sarah thought as she got to her feet.

  Her knees were still rubbery, and she was shaking with fear. Pushing the hair off her face, Sarah remained by the boulder, waiting…waiting.

  A hand snaked around, jerking her backward and off her feet. A scream caught in her throat. Sarah stumbled, off balance, and fell against the hard body of a man. The smell of sour sweat struck her nostrils. Closing her eyes, she bit down as hard as she could on the fingers clamped over her mouth.

  “Ow! You little bitch!”

  It was Noonan! Sarah managed to twist around. She kicked, hit and bit, blindly striking out at the sheriff. His hand caught her by the neck, his fingers sinking deeply into her flesh. With a small cry, Sarah felt herself being slammed to the forest floor.

  Noonan was breathing harshly, his hand splayed out across her chest and collarbone. He shoved his face down into hers and grinned.

  “Not too smart having blond hair, Sarah.” He grinned and put his rifle next to him on the ground. “Don’t move.” He reached into his back pocket for handcuffs.

  Sarah saw the handcuffs and struggled wildly. “No!” she shrieked. If he got those cuffs on her, she was dead, and she knew it. Lashing out with both feet, she connected solidly with Noonan’s chest. The sheriff grunted, rolling over backward.

  Scrambling to her feet, Sarah dived into the darkness.

  “Come back here!” Noonan roared.

  Sobbing, Sarah struck a tree, bounced off it and hit the ground. She had to think! She had to stay calm! Noonan was after her! Get up! Get up!

  Rifle fire suddenly split open the darkness. Bark from a nearby tree exploded, flying in all directions. Sarah ducked and cried out. She had to remain silent! Getting to her feet, she concentrated on avoiding the trees in the darkness. Noonan was close! The rifle fired three more times. Bullets whined around Sarah.

  To her left, she heard a shout. The night suddenly flared with the muzzle blasts of several rifles. Wolf! Oh, God! Sarah dived headlong up the slope, climbing hard, tripping and catching herself. Had Summers found Wolf? Tears squeezed from her eyes. Sarah knew she had to reach the cabin. She had to get to Wolf’s friends to get help. Was Wolf injured? Dead?

  Cresting another hill, Sarah found a huge boulder and hunched down behind it. She’d lost Noonan long ago, and had maintained a steady walk or trot for another hour, even as the pain in her ankles increased. The watch on her wrist read midnight. Shaking from fear as much as from the drop in temperature, Sarah felt her heart breaking into pieces. Had Wolf been captured? Wounded? What had happened back there? Tears came, this time in earnest. Wolf loved her. He’d said words she’d never thought to hear.

  Shakily wiping her dusty, damp face, Sarah looked up through the shadowy firs at the sky, which was lit with stars now. Meager light shone from pinpoints that looked like tiny white sapphires to her. Trying to think where she was in relation to the road, and which way was north, so that she could find her cabin, she continued to study the stars. Long ago her father had taught her to navigate at night by them alone, without a compass.

  Sitting there for a good fifteen minutes, Sarah began to relax. Still trembling from the chilliness of the mountain air, she wrapped her arms around herself. The thin nylon windbreaker she wore wasn’t enough. Sarah realized she had strayed off in a northeasterly direction and would have to make a correction. How many miles out of the way had she come? In her hysteria to escape Noonan, she’d become disoriented and had run to save her life.

  A twig snapped. Inhaling sharply, Sarah tensed, her fingers digging into the soft, fir-needled ground. Who? What? Her heart was beating so hard that she couldn’t hear anything else in her ears. Frustrated, fear crawling up her spine, she slowly eased to her hands and knees to look around the rock. The light was practically nonexistent, but she prayed she would be able to see what had caused the sound. Maybe something had dropped from a tree. That was possible.

  Nearly paralyzed with fear, Sarah peeked out from behind the rock. Probing the darkness, she could see nothing, but that didn’t mean no one was there. She remained crouched by the rock, ready for flight.

  A dog whined.

  Sarah’s eyes grew huge. It was Skeet! Or was it? Coyotes regularly prowled the mountains. She tried to ferret out some movement in the direction of the sound, her mouth dry. She was torn. Should she call out Skeet’s name? What if Summers had a dog along with him?

  Another whine.

  Shaking, Sarah got to her feet, her fingers digging into the boulder. The sound was much closer this time. A rustle came from the right. Sarah whirled around.

  “Skeet!” she cried out softly.

  The dog stood there on three legs. He whined once more.

  Sarah dropped to her knees and carefully touched the dog’s massive head. His right front leg was lifted up. She spoke in a crooning tone as she used her fingers to trace the injured leg. The dog winced.

  Warm, sticky blood met her touch. Skeet sat down, panting heavily as Sarah tried to find the extent of damage to his paw.

  “You’re okay,” she whispered in a trembling tone. Taking off her jacket, she quickly tore off one sleeve, then took several strips of nylon to wrap his paw in a makeshift bandage. The work took her long, tortuous minutes, because her hands were shaking so badly that a knot was impossible.

  Looking around after dressing Skeet’s paw, Sarah choked back tears. “Where’s Wolf?” she asked the dog. The animal whined soulfully, as if he understood her question.

  Just the feel of Skeet’s thick, soft fur gave Sarah a faint sense of safety. Skeet would protect her. Wolf had trained him to attack, and he’d taught Sarah the commands. If Skeet was shot, there was a good chance that Wolf had been similarly injured. Man and dog had left her together.

  Sarah couldn’t contemplate such an awful thing. Yet she knew Summers and his men played for keeps. Killing was perfectly acceptable to them. Patting Skeet, she peered down at the animal.

  “Find Wolf!” she whispered. “Go find Wolf!”

  Instantly Skeet raised himself to his three good legs and began hobbling off in the direction he’d come from. Sarah followed, as quietly as possible. From time to time, the dog would stop, turn his head to check on her progress, then continue. The slope was steep, and Sarah slipped and fell a number of times on the pine needles. With every step she took, Sarah prayed that Wolf was alive.

  Wolf bit back a groan of pain. He lay beside a fallen fir twice his height, his hearing keyed for Summers and his henchm
en. Sticky wetness spread across his shirtfront, where a bullet had grazed him an hour earlier. The stray shot had knocked him off balance, and he’d fallen over a fifteen-foot cliff. Looking up, Wolf knew he was lucky to be alive after tumbling over that ledge. Careful not to make a sound, he tested his limbs and his reflexes. Nothing was broken.

  His mind returned sluggishly to Sarah. He’d heard her scream. Did Summers have her? If so, where were they? Wolf lay on his side, hugging the fallen tree for safety, as well as for camouflage. There were no sounds to indicate that Summers was still in the area. Had they captured Sarah and left? Wolf felt a cry welling up from deep within him, begging to be released. It was a cry of pure rage and denial. If Summers had captured Sarah…Vignettes of Maria, of her raided village, pummeled Wolf’s senses.

  From his left, he heard a whine. Skeet! When he’d fallen over the ledge, he’d lost his dog. Getting shakily to his hands and knees, Wolf saw the animal appear out of the darkness, limping toward him. His eyes narrowed. Sarah! Her name nearly tore from his lips as he rose unsteadily and turned to meet her. An incredible avalanche of relief shattered through him, ripping away at his raw feelings and exposing his love for her.

  Sarah jerked to a halt as a hulking shadow rose from the darkened ground. A scream nearly left her throat. And then she recognized Wolf. With a little cry, she flung herself forward, her arms open.

  The instant Sarah hurled herself into Wolf’s awaiting arms, she realized he was injured. She heard him groan her name close to her ear, his arms going around her like tight bands of protection. He held her close, and she pressed her head against his chest wall, a sob coming from her.

  “It’s all right,” Wolf rasped thickly. “It’s all right….” And it was. Just the special scent of Sarah, and the feel of her thin but strong arms going around his waist in welcome, was enough. Wolf pressed a series of hungry, quick kisses against her tangled hair, her cheek, then searched wildly for her mouth. The instant she turned her face upward and their lips met, Wolf hungrily claimed her.