“I hope that’s the case, but to be safe, I’ll do my best to get us out of here. We might have an obstacle in our way, but I won’t be sure until we hike up further.”
“I’m up for anything… I mean, I’m really not this impulsive, running ahead like that, or I didn’t used to be. Believe me, I learned a valuable lesson here.”
“At least it wasn’t a deadly one. I don’t judge people on their mistakes.”
Angelina walked alongside Angus as they followed the river to the northeast. She felt like a fool for not listening to him and hated that he might think she was an immature female. That might be who she once was, but it wasn’t a good representation of who she was today. She’d learned to toughen up the first year in Hollywood, from the casting couches to the acting classes.
Fortunately she had kept scandal at bay; the last thing she needed was to be another tragic Hollywood story. With any luck, she wouldn’t be with Angus at her side. If only she could keep her eyes and hands off him! Angelina shook her thoughts loose. Why was she thinking such things? But how could she not when Angus was there to protect her with that chiseled muscular body of his. Staring deep into his dark eyes with honey-colored flecks had her nearly stuttering, like now when he asked, “Are you okay?”
“Y-Yes, why?”
“I don’t know, I just thought—”
“That I might still be trembling after I nearly fell to my death?”
“Something like that.”
She laughed. “Real life is scarier than making any movie.”
Angus gave Angelina a hard stare. “Not when you have stunt people doing all the dangerous stuff.”
She didn’t know what to say to that. “You’d be surprised. I’ve had my fair share of spills as an actress. It’s not nearly as glamorous as people think.”
“I wouldn’t know. Believe me, I wasn’t judging you. I’m not good at this sort of thing… talking to women, I mean.”
It was the perfect opportunity to go fishing. “You can’t tell me you don’t have a wife or girlfriend waiting for you back home.”
Angus moved a branch out of the way for Angelina. “I don’t think you’d care for me rambling on about my life.”
“Why not? It’ll help take my mind off our predicament.”
“Fine, but let’s keep it down. You never know what we might encounter here. I’m still not convinced that whoever is trying to kill you won’t be hot on our trail.”
“But our plane went down,” Angelina insisted with a raise of her chin.
“They might want to see our charred bodies for proof.”
“I just don’t understand why Julia brought that suitcase so late.”
“Apparently she’s part of the murder plot.”
“I just can’t believe she’d do that to me.” Angelina’s eyes lit up. “She’s always been a good companion when I’m on a set. I just finished a movie a few weeks ago.”
“What movie?”
“Lost in Paradise. It was shot in Hawaii. We just finished up three weeks ago.”
“Did you have any problems on set?”
“Yes, if you consider a rattlesnake put in my trailer a problem.”
“Oh?” Angus’s brow shot up. “Are rattlesnakes native to Hawaii?”
“I see your point. The director considered it was a member of the crew playing a joke.”
“Anything else you’d like to share?”
Angelina batted her tears away. “I didn’t want anyone to know what was happening to me, and neither did my dad. We wanted to keep it out of the press.”
“So where do people think you’re going now?”
“I told everyone I was only going on vacation. The thing is I’m supposed to be doing a press tour for my next movie, Hurricane, in a few weeks. It will be released next month.”
“How do you plan on going back to Hollywood when someone wants you dead?”
“I’ll have you to protect me, silly.”
“Look, I was hired to keep you safe, but I didn’t sign up for going back with you to Hollywood. I was only hired to take you from point A to point B.”
“By that you mean getting me to the lodge in Montana and then leaving?”
Angus covered his wound with a hand, feeling the sticky blood that had begun to seep. He then put a hand to his brow as he suddenly felt dizzy. “No… I mean, I don’t know. Your father was supposed to call me when we got there for further instructions.”
Angus dropped to the ground with a thump, staring into Angelina’s frightened eyes before he lost consciousness.
Chapter 4
Angelina gathered wood and was about to start a small fire when Angus fluttered his lids until they finally opened. He struggled to sit up.
“Are you okay, Angus? I was so worried when you passed out.”
“We can’t start a fire. It’s not safe.”
“Why do you keep saying that? Nobody is searching for us.”
Angus vehemently shook his head. “I can’t believe that. This isn’t the work of any stalker. Whoever is behind the death threats is closer to you than you think. If they found a way to put a snake in your trailer in Hawaii, and that bag delivered to our airplane, it’s someone close to you. Is there any reason Julia would want you dead?”
“I told you it can’t be her. She wasn’t even in Hawaii the day of the snake incident.”
“Did she come later?”
“Well, the next day.”
“That’s all the proof I’d need. It makes perfect sense. All we have to do now is contact the authorities in Los Angeles since that’s where the bag handoff occurred.”
“Shouldn’t I contact my father, too?”
“When and if we ever get out of here. Give me a hand, would you.”
Angelina helped Angus up and they hobbled down a trail where the roaring water became even louder. “Dammit!” he cursed at the water blocking their way.
“Were we supposed to cross to the other side?” Angelina asked.
“Were is the word. I have no idea how we’ll be able to get around it, and we need food, water, and shelter. I can’t go much farther today.”
Angelina hurried to a backpack. “We have granola bars and two bottles of water. I can’t help much with the shelter.”
Angus smiled painfully. “Well, look at you. Just when I thought I had to do all the thinking. Wait a minute... where did you get that backpack?”
“I found the backpack partially hidden in the weeds, obviously a hiker lost it. I’m not as dumb as I look by the way.” She laughed. “I was tenth in my class back in Northern Michigan.”
He wanted to tell her how impressive that was, but it hurt to talk or even walk. “Help me walk, Angelina.”
They backtracked and headed away from the river that time, eventually stumbling down a hill. There was a rock that jutted out and they collapsed beneath it. “This should give us enough cover for the night,” Angelina suggested.
“Y-Yes it will. Can you help me off with my clothes?”
Angelina swallowed hard at that. “Right now?”
“This very minute. Believe me, I’m much stronger in my llama form.”
Angelina moved to grab Angus’s shirt, but he stopped her. “I can get that. Work on my pants.”
She stared down at his pants, which bulged in the right place. Her face burned in embarrassment and she closed her eyes tight before trying to pull off his pants. Instead she grabbed his cock! “I’m sorry, I had my eyes closed.”
“Is that how you usually take a man’s pants off?”
“No, I don’t normally do that part.”
She hurried to remove his pants, Angus lifting his hips enough so she was able to pull his jeans free, inhaling the musky scent of him. He moved away from under the rock and pulled his boxer briefs off. She tried to get a peek of his cock that was quite hard moments earlier. Was it as big as it looked?
“I’m going to shift now, so get yourself comfortable. I’ll be lying right next to you.”
Angelina slid over the hard ground and listened for Angus’s shift, but all she heard was the sound of his footsteps moving away. She then heard something large sliding under the rocks and Angus’s llama form sat down with his feet curled under him.
She gazed at him nervously for a moment until he turned his large eyes to meet hers before he looked away. She tentatively touched his white wooly coat, snaking her hand away when he once again glanced in her direction. This was all foreign to Angelina; bodyguards she’d had, but never a shifter. She’d never even met a shifter before, but if he were any indication, they were very gentle. She worried about him and his injury. If he succumbed to his wounds, she was a goner and she wasn’t ready to give up, now or ever.
A plane crossed the Wyoming wilderness as two bags were thrown to the ground below and two lone men jumped from the plane.
“I hope we can find our bags.” Caleb laughed as he was free falling.
“If not, we’re starving,” Salem yelled.
“Did you forget we’re shifters?”
“Yeah, I think I did.” He laughed.
Salem opened his chute and waved to Caleb as he shot straight up. He rather liked the feel of the wind blowing and the sunshine on his face, even if it was sinking in the west… until Caleb blocked the sun as his chute was released.
Salem landed first while Caleb’s chute tangled on a tree branch. He shook his parachute free and stared up at Caleb until he shifted into his snake form and slithered from the tree. He arrived about the same time as his clothes and shifted back.
“I rather like shifting into something smaller than my human half,” Caleb said as he donned his clothes. “I always have clothes to put back on.”
“It helps when you get caught in a tree, too,” Salem agreed with a chuckle. He then pulled out a map. “I believe the plane went down over there, according to the map the pilot highlighted for us.”
“Shouldn’t we be looking for the actress? We already know she survived the crash,” Caleb said.
“Just because they assume she’s still alive doesn’t mean she actually is. Or she could be in the wreckage.”
Caleb nodded, waiting for his cue. Salem breathed in deeply, taking in the smell of blood nearby as hyenas could. While they were known to be scavengers, they were also good hunters, which made being a hired killer second nature to him. It was hard to work with a python shifter in the beginning when in the wild he’d be prey, but fortunately Caleb wasn’t that much in touch with his animal half unless it was needed.
They walked through the forest and into a clearing where Salem took in the unmistakable smell of jet fuel. Caleb pointed out the missing tree branches overhead. And resting against the trunk of the tree was the charred remnant of the plane. The wreckage was spread over the entire area with twisted metal, the fuselage torn open.
“I don’t see any bodies,” Caleb said.
“Me either, but let’s take a look around. I can smell blood.”
Salem searched the area around the wreckage and came across the torn and twisted body of a woman. “This must be a stewardess. She has on a uniform.”
“Or was one,” Caleb added. “I don’t see any signs of the actress or the llama.”
“It’s just as I feared. The llama did his work as a bodyguard. It’s the only way the actress isn’t here now.”
“They’re together.”
Salem walked back to the wreckage and breathed in deeply before stepping over a fallen log and kneeling.
“They’re injured, or one of them is at least,” Salem informed Caleb as he pointed out where droplets of blood peppered the ground.
“Is it too much to hope that it’s the llama?”
Chapter 5
Angelina breathed in deeply, taking in the scent of damp pine needles as water trickled from the rocks above. She heard the sound of raindrops pinging off the rocks, and when she opened her eyes she saw it was steadily raining. She loved rainy days, but not when she was on the run.
Glancing over at Angus, who was still in his llama form, she didn't know what to do at this point. She didn't know what time it was or if it were the next day. All she could focus on was Angus's heavy breathing. It would have given her comfort, but not when he’d been injured. In any other circumstances she would have cowered in fear, but that wouldn't solve anything. Angelina had to get Angus some help and soon.
She worked her way from behind him and stood in the cool rain for a moment, taking in her surroundings. There was a trail leading further into the forest, and Angelina sighed as she glanced back at Angus. Was it possible someone else was there that could help them? She quickly shook off that notion; they were certainly far from civilization. She rubbed her injured arm, which felt warm to the touch, but she wasn’t nearly as concerned as she was about Angus.
Angelina was torn; surely she could walk up the trail and find help, or at least try. She figured if she couldn’t find anyone, she’d simply walk back. She hated to leave him, but what else could she do?
She glanced back at Angus one last time. He was breathing heavily as she whispered, “I’ll be right back if I can’t find help.”
The trail ahead was narrow and must have been used by hikers. It was too much to hope that there would be a sign to point in the right direction. The trees overhead canopied her so much that she barely felt the rain. The trail soon became steep and as she climbed higher, it was much rockier. When she heard the roar of water she hurried forward, grabbing a branch so she was perched at the edge of a cliff with the roaring river below that disappeared up ahead. It must be a waterfall. It was then that she remembered the area had been flooded and they’d somehow have to find a way around it.
Circling back, she meant to rejoin Angus, but a large bear blocked her path. She froze in fear as he sniffed the air, too frightened to move. All she knew was that she was injured and he could most likely smell it. She dropped to her knees as he roared, covering her ears with her hands. Play dead; she remembered seeing that on an Animal Planet show. Angelina dropped to her stomach and wished she could still the involuntary tremors that gripped her solidly in their embrace.
Dirt was tossed on her, the bear deadly close now. She lifted her head only slightly to see his massive body drawing steadily closer. With another roar he stood on his hind legs until a screaming bellow split the air and the bear dropped to the ground as he hurried away. Only then did she sit up, gaze locking on the bear circling Angus in his llama form. He charged with a scream and the bear at first pawed the dirt but swiftly moved away from the llama. Angelina couldn’t believe her eyes as the bear changed forms to a man, a very naked man. She quickly averted her eyes.
“Angus, is that you?” the man asked.
Angus shifted to human form as he shakily stood. “Of course, Taylor.”
“Why are you in my neck of the woods?”
“Our plane crashed not far from here.”
“You mean she’s with you?” the man asked in surprise. “That’s a first.”
“Angelina, this is Taylor. You can get up now.”
“He’s a shifter?”
“Yes, I thought you might have figured that out by now,” Taylor said.
“Then why did you scare me half to death?”
“That’s what bears are supposed to do. I must admit hikers don’t show up this time of year. My cubs are up the tree over there.”
“You have cubs now?” Angus asked with a shake of his head.
“Yes, Logan and Owen, and before you ask I watch over them on occasion.”
“I didn’t think males stayed with the female,” Angelina voiced.
“Shifters are much different, as you’ll find out. I didn’t know you had taken a mate, Angus.”
“Mate?” Angelina asked. “I hardly think—”
“She’s still getting accustomed to it,” Angus said as he shot her a hard stare.
“He’s injured,” Angelina blurted out.
“I can see that. You look wounded too.”
&n
bsp; “It’s okay I suppose, but it feels quite warm today.”
Angus felt her arm and frowned. “An infection has set in.”
“It’s a good thing I showed up, then,” Taylor said. “We can head back to my den.”
Without another word, Angus disappeared as Taylor shifted back to bear form. When Angus returned he was fully dressed, and they followed Taylor into the woods with the bear cubs scampering after them. Instead of leading away from the river, they moved closer to the cliff. Taylor waited at the edge as the cubs descended and disappeared into the solid rock wall.
“Your turn next, Angelina,” Angus said. “Just watch your footing.”
She held on for dear life as she moved down with Angus following her. There were rocks to stand on and they headed into a cave where the two cubs huddled around a woman with dark flowing hair.
“Hello, Angus,” she said as they moved closer to her. “Nice to see you with a woman.”
Taylor came in and shifted, dressing in jeans and a shirt, but the baby bears didn’t, too busy frolicking with one another.
“Apparently Angus has found himself a mate.” Taylor grinned.
“I see that, and it’s about time.” The woman turned to Angelina. “Hi, I’m Trina.” Angus then explained briefly about the plane crash, leaving out the detail of who Angelina really was and that he was only her bodyguard.
Trina’s already large amber eyes widened. “You’re wounded, Angus.”
“We both are, and from the looks of Angelina’s arm it might be infected.”
“Please have a seat,” she said, indicating a tan woven rug. “Sorry we don’t have real furniture here.”
“It’s fine,” Angelina said, rubbing the material. “This is quite lovely. Besides, I can’t imagine you can haul a couch down a cliff.” She smiled slightly.
“No, and it doesn’t bother me that we rough it here. I have always wanted to raise my cubs in the wilderness,” Trina said.
She carried over a box labeled “first aid” and carefully unwrapped Angelina’s bandage. Angelina tried not to cry out or wince, but it was nearly impossible as she fell to the ground.
Llama and the Lady Page 3