by Vivian Arend
Mr. Jacobs gave her a curt nod. “Good for you, then.”
Evan tugged on Caroline’s elbow. “We’ve got trouble, and I need your to help make some contacts.”
“What’s up?”
The wolf in the suit moved to stand a little closer to Mr. Jacobs as she passed him en route to the desk to grab some paper. Everything about the stiff screamed bodyguard, and if they were going for inconspicuous? Major screw-up. Not up north.
“I received a call early this morning demanding money for the return of my daughter.”
Caroline frowned. “But she’s with Shaun, isn’t she?”
Jacobs nodded. “That’s where she’s supposed to be. The caller said they also had Shaun, so it’s possible they were grabbed at some point after Gem’s bodyguard lost them.”
Caroline sat in the desk chair and glanced between Evan and Mr. Jacobs in confusion. She and Gem had spent an entire day together, and she’d never noticed a guard. During their discussion times she’d also learned a few things about Gem’s father that had pushed her hot buttons. The slight dislike factor made her less polite than she probably should have been. “There was a bodyguard? I never saw him.”
“You weren’t supposed to, not if he was doing his job. He was within visual range at all times, until there were a few complications.” Mr. Jacobs retook his seat as Evan came to perch on the edge of her desk.
Caroline started a list of people she’d need to contact even as she listened to the conversation.
“I underestimated my girl. I didn’t think she’d actually leave civilization. Once she and her guide left their second stop, the guard couldn’t find a way to follow them without being noticed.”
Not with them heading to the birthing grounds in northern Alaska, not unless her guard had wings. Caroline opened another screen, sending off an IM. “Evan, I can get Shaun’s flight plans from the airport—there’s a wolf in the traffic-control division. I assume we want to keep this on the quiet, or are we calling in the RCMP?”
The wolf-in-a-suit and Mr. Jacobs exchanged confused glances.
“Royal Canadian Mounted Police—the local authorities. If Gem’s been kidnapped—”
Jacobs frowned. “No police. It’s a shifter situation. I want it dealt with quietly if possible. We’ll go to the humans as a last resort.”
About what she figured. It had to be some shifter-ego-mojo thing, but they never seemed to want to use the proper system. “Then may I ask what kind of manpower you can provide?”
“To assist in recovering them?”
Caroline nodded. “If we’re not contacting the police, I want to know we’re not going into this blind and getting them both killed, not if they have actually been kidnapped. Shaun’s a good friend, and I enjoyed Gem’s company while she was here.”
Mr. Jacobs narrowed his gaze, the sweet old man disappearing and the predator of his wolf showing through. “You think I would do anything to harm my daughter?”
“Caroline…” Evan’s tone warned her off, then he shrugged and that damn grin of his was back in place. In other words, he mustn’t have thought she was in too deep of shit, but she was going to have to talk her way out of this one alone.
Bastard. Another test? She was so going to mix something nasty into his coffee tomorrow morning.
Caroline straightened her spine and maintained eye contact with Mr. Jacobs even though she wanted to duck behind Evan and hide. “Respectfully, I think you aren’t from around here, sir. This isn’t the civilized south, and we’re not talking about hopping on a bus or in a cab to get to wherever they are. It’s not about money, although our pack resources aren’t unlimited. If you’ve got help available—that changes our game plan.”
Jacobs relaxed back, his eyes bright. Feral. “You find out where they are, young lady. I have the wolves, and the funds, to get the damn fools who snatched my girl and make them sorry they ever started anything with me and my kin. You’ll find we’re not all that civilized when it comes to people threatening our families.”
They stared at each other for a moment, and Caroline relented. She’d dealt with enough wolves over the years to know when one was bullshitting her. The old man really was trying to provide what he thought was best for Gem.
“Let me make a few calls.” Caroline tilted her chin at Evan. “I’ve got a list for you as well. You’ll have to speak to the Alpha in Dawson—he won’t talk to me.”
Evan nodded, and the two of them got to work.
Gem woke to see dust motes floating past in horizontal lines, the sun shining in through the tiny slits in the windows enough to show her that she was alone in bed. There was a warm spot where Shaun had lain by her side all night.
Maybe falling asleep last night had been a bad idea, but she’d been one step away from falling over. Not much dignity in that. Although maintaining her dignity was the least of her worries at the moment.
She hopped off the cot, stretching and shaking her fur into place before following Shaun’s scent into the back of the building.
“Well, good morning, sleeping beauty.” He knelt and caressed her, scratching behind one ear, and Gem snorted at him. Wolves were allowed to snort, right?
He looked much better than he had yesterday, the bruises fading, the cut above his eye sealed over and healing already. She butted him with her head, wishing for the millionth time they could speak to each other like a regular mated pair, sharing thoughts mentally.
“I’ve been examining our home. It’s actually quite lovely, and I think I spotted a mistake our kidnappers made. If you wouldn’t mind staying in wolf for a moment?”
She shook her head and followed as he guided her to another section. The corridor led inward, away from the exterior walls. The building was large enough there were no windows in this section.
“I think someone had adapted this DEW Line for science experiments before it was abandoned. The bears who stuffed us in here must be Alaskan or Northern Yukon born. They did an awesome job making sure your average wolf would be stuck like a fish in a barrel.”
Shaun tugged open a half-size door and squatted, pointing into a small square opening.
Gem sat on her haunches. Oh fudge, she bet she knew where this was going. He’d called her insane before. It was his turn for the label if he thought she’d go along with this without some sweet-talking.
She was going to make him say it, because volunteering to crawl into a black, spider-web-filled metal box when she didn’t know where it went?
“I can’t fit. A bear damn well can’t fit, but you can. This is part of the heating system. The central furnace—they simply ran the ducting along the floors. We only need to get to the other side of this wall, and from what I saw as we were entering, there’s a good chance there’s a break in the exterior and you can get outside. Once you’re free, we’ll work on how you can spring me.”
Gem nodded, then ignored him and paced back to the “bedroom”. The duct was a great idea. An awesome idea. She had no issues with any of it.
But first she was going to have breakfast, just to get up her nerve.
She jumped on the bed and shifted before reaching up for a hug. Shaun tugged her against him, his hands nice and warm as they stroked her bare back. “I thought you were going to crawl through the ducting right away.”
She squeezed him hard, then looked around for her robe. It was crumpled and dirty, and she couldn’t be happier to have something to tug on to give her the illusion of protection, at least for a little longer. “No, you suggested I go right away. I want something to eat, please, and maybe a washroom?”
Shaun kissed her nose. “I’m sorry. I was so excited when I started looking around that I didn’t even think—”
She stuck her palm over his mouth. “You know what? You don’t have to do it all—have all the answers, solve all the puzzles. Work with me, just like you taught me on the trail. Right?”
Shaun caught her wrist in his fingers, nibbling on her fingertips for a moment. “My apologie
s. You’re right. I’m used to being the one in charge—excursions, and all that. But since this is my first kidnapping, I should totally follow your lead—oof.”
Gem shook out the knuckles of her left hand. “You have wonderful abdomen muscles.”
“If you want to examine them, feel free to use your tongue, not your fist.” Shaun pointed behind her. “They left a cooler with food in it. Shall I make you a sandwich while you use the little girl’s room? It’s around the corner to the left. A lovely plastic bucket complete with TP and a squirt bottle of sanitizer.”
She stood for a moment until her sense of the ridiculous hit hard. She’d run for miles in wolf form, made love on the side of a mountain. Sat by a fire under the midnight sun.
This was simply another part of the adventure, wasn’t it?
“A sandwich would be lovely. Is there anything to drink?”
Shaun winked at her. “You’re not going to believe this, but there are bottles of Perrier.”
Gag. “Really?”
She slipped away to examine the facilities. If they were too freaky she’d shift back to wolf and pee in the corner.
His voice carried to her. “Yeah, I guess one of them figured you being a genteel lady and such, you needed the good stuff.”
“Do they know Perrier tastes horrible? And smells like stinky socks.”
A loud guffaw rang out. “No shit?”
A terrible temptation overwhelmed her. “That’s right. Shit is a perfect description.”
She stepped back into the bedroom in time to see his jaw fall open. “Gemmita Ellen Louise May Jacobs, did my ears deceive me or did you just use the word shit?”
Laughter bubbled up, urged on by the expression on his face.
“Poop? Crap? How did you put it once? Bloody fucking—”
This time his hand slapped across her mouth. “Who are you, and what have you done to my Gem?”
She smiled and he released her. “I do know the big bad words, Shaun, I choose not to use them. But I think in light of our circumstances, there’s a few choice swears that need to be aired.”
“As long as your father doesn’t think I corrupted you or something.”
Her father. “Oh boy, I bet he’s not happy right now.”
Shaun handed her a sandwich as she sat on the lone chair. “You get kidnapped often? Just so I can make plans and such.”
The ham and cheese was delicious after having had nothing but rabbit for the past however many hours. “First time. Maybe that’s part of the reason I was kept protected. It’s a bit of a problem of my own making, leaving the easy-to-protect zone.”
Shaun finished his first sandwich and dug into another. “Love, if people want to grab you, they’re going to try if you’re walking the streets of Whitehorse or hidden away in a cloister. It might be tougher for them to succeed in the second case, but that’s not a great way to live, now, is it?”
Gem chewed thoughtfully. He was right. She was enjoying being out and about in the “real world”. She watched him as he watched her. There was something there, more than the mate bond. For a moment she considered repeating her words from the plane, making sure he heard her this time, but this wasn’t the setting for confessions of love and forever.
She’d been frightened back before they started the return trip to the chopper. Scared by how much she’d come to care for him, and how close she’d come to giving over control to him. Allowing him to make the decision of where they would live, and what they would do.
There had to be the balance, between them being a partnership and being individuals with ideas of their own. It wasn’t about getting what she wanted anymore, but making sure that she didn’t give up on herself in the midst of becoming one with him.
None of that seemed the thing to share while they were locked in a prison.
But once they were free? Look out.
“Gaag.”
Gem glanced up to see Shaun’s face contorted into the most awful grimace. “Are you okay?”
He pointed at his mouth and wrinkled his nose. In his hand he clutched one of the distinctive green bottles and she giggled. He swallowed hard, the exaggerated movement making her laugh even harder.
“I warned you!”
“Actually, I’ve tasted worse.” Shaun winked at her before taking another swig, his expression thoughtful. He shook his head. “Nah, I’ll take a double shot of Sourdough Toe any day.”
Sourdough Toe? She patted her mouth against her sleeve and stripped off the robe. “I guess it’s time to pretend I’m a mole instead of a wolf.”
His gaze followed her as she stood. She bent to drop a kiss on his cheek then walked out the door back toward the open vent. If she happened to let her hips wiggle extra hard, it was his own fault.
“Tease.”
“Uh-huh.” Gem darted a glance over her shoulder to see him following along, eating her hungrily with his gaze. “I hope you don’t have to crawl any time soon, because you’re not going to be able to get that weapon to remain concealed.”
He grinned at her. “Kidnapping has done wonders for your sense of humour.”
Gem had to agree. “I think it’s the whole northern air. I must be allergic.”
She shifted, paws slipping out of her outsized shoes. Shaun moved the door aside farther, and she stuck her nose in as far as she could without actually putting her head into the duct.
“I did brush it out with a stick earlier,” Shaun boasted.
Her hero.
Gem dropped to her elbows and crawled forward an inch at a time, following the fresh air coming from in front of her. Crawling was slow going, the duct squeezed tighter in places where there must have been outside damage to the casing.
Oh God, she’d better not get stuck. She wasn’t claustrophobic, but it would be almost impossible to get out without help.
“You still moving?” Shaun called, his voice echoing strangely in the tight metal quarters.
She yipped confirmation. Crawled another couple inches. Sneezed.
“Bless you.”
She really shouldn’t laugh—it was tough enough already to breathe in the dark with four sides closing in around her. But common everyday politenesses like a gesundheit?
She must be getting giddy. Or steps away from hysterical.
The panel on her right wiggled, and her hopes leapt. She leaned to the side harder, and a gust of fresh air hit her in the face. She howled, and from a distance Shaun’s voice rumbled back with delight.
“You there?”
Not yet, but close. She snuck forward a little more, pushed hard with her nose, and with a crash, the flap beside her fell away and she rolled free.
She shifted and clapped her hands in delight. “I’m out. I did it. Shaun, I did it!”
Even as he crowed back at her, praising her loudly, Gem examined the new room she’d discovered. There was no door on the outside wall, but the window let in a ton of light—more of the storm shutter was broken away in this section.
“Can you see a way to outside?” Shaun asked.
“Maybe. Give me a minute.”
She picked a careful path over the dirt-strewn floor, cold rocks and stray bits of garbage poking into her less-than-wolf-proof arches. But what she discovered more than made up for the aches and pains.
“There’s a fresh breeze blowing in. The window is broken, Shaun, and I’m sure I’ll be able to get out.”
“Awesome. Take your time. Don’t rush. Use whatever you need that helps.”
Gem stopped. While she wanted to race forward and try the shutters, there was too much broken glass to go anywhere fast. She needed something to step on, or a broom. There was a desk in the corner, with a chair leaning against the frame. From the dust on the floor showing her steps, the kidnappers had never even entered this section of the building. Boxes of electronic equipment lay piled in heaps beside one wall, along with a discarded lab coat and rubber boots.
Saks Fifth Avenue, it wasn’t, but as if she was going to comp
lain.
As she slipped on the coat, one of the objects piled in the chaos caught her eye. “Shaun, can you hear me?”
“What’s up? You find a way out?”
“Haven’t checked closer yet,” she confessed. “I was putting on some clothes I found. I think there’s something in here you need to see.”
“Cryptic.”
She laughed as she tipped the boots over and crashed them together to remove any spiders or little critters making their home inside. Peering in didn’t help, so she gathered her courage and slipped a hand in. Slowly. Very slowly.
When all she hit was sole, the sense of relief was powerful.
Of course, she wasn’t as lucky in the second boot.
Her scream died away in time for guilt to descend as she heard Shaun’s frantic yells.
“Gem. What the fuck is wrong?”
“It’s okay. I’m okay.” Her skin crawled as she pulled out a dead mouse from where it had been jammed into the toe of the boot. “I was having a girly moment. Sorry for scaring you.”
The banging died down, and even through the walls his sigh was audible. “Princess moment, eh? Is something dead?”
Poop. “You know me too well.”
“Not nearly as well as I plan to. So what’s the thing I need to see? And I’m not trying to rush you, but I’m getting hoarse from yelling. Is outside a possibility?”
“Nag, nag, nag.” Gem grabbed the curly cord she’d spotted poking from the box and gave a light tug. A microphone pulled free, followed by the corner of a boxlike object. She shoved aside the rest of the pile and rescued her find.
With her treasure under her arm, she made her way to the window.
“Good news, I can do this. Give me two more minutes.”
Shaun chuckled. “It’s not like I’m going anywhere…”
Gem wiggled boxes closer, making a platform under the window. As she hauled one away from the wall, she spotted a fire extinguisher and fire axe, nabbing the latter happily. “Okay, I’m making some noise. Don’t worry, it’s demolition time.”