by Spear, Terry
Then he and Stryker looked up at Ava, wondering what she intended to do. Nina watched her too, and then Ava came down off the boulders and joined them.
Stryker took that as meaning she was going to go with them, but he still didn't trust her after what she had pulled.
13
Nina still cared about her sister, they were blood relatives after all, but she could have gotten any number of them killed here today with her actions. At this point, Nina figured it was up to her sister to either go with them or do her own thing, though she prayed her sister would come to her senses and leave with them. Ava looked a little nervous around Stryker, and he didn't look any happier to see her. Nina didn't blame him at all.
The two men dragged the shooter's body toward the ranch Nina and her sister had passed by earlier. Now Nina knew it was Hal's ranch, though she'd picked up his scent there in a couple of places. Then she thought of her car, phone, gun, ID, and credit cards, all left behind. And Ava's too. She'd been in such a hurry to avoid being shot, that she hadn't had a moment to think about it. Not that they had been all that important at the time. She was still angry with her sister for hurting Stryker and her, but to an extent she understood why Ava had done it.
Nina couldn't believe that her parents had never told her what had happened to them when they were kids—that she'd rescued her sister, nearly killing herself in the process either. That's where her nightmares had come from. Maybe if she'd known that, she could have dealt with them and not had them any longer.
She should have known something had happened because her sister would never go near the river in winter, even after Nina tried to coax her to come with her. Not to ride the logs, but just to see the beauty of the river in winter. Yet when Nina went by herself in wintertime, she'd felt uneasy, like a dark memory was playing hide and seek in her brain. Even when she'd gone to the river to wash the skunk off her this time, it was like which was the lesser of two evils? Still, the smell of skunk had been worse than facing a swim in the cold river.
As soon as they reached the stables, Leyton released his hold on the dead shooter and made a cougar growl to alert everyone at the ranch that they needed help.
"Yeah, it's them," a man said, coming out of the stables, a phone to his ear, wearing all western wear and a heavy corduroy coat. He smelled of horses. "Yeah, Stryker and Leyton are dragging a dead guy to the house. The guy has a rifle. Uh, well, there are two lovely female cougars with him." He smiled at Nina and her sister in a warm, welcoming, bachelor way. "So I guess those are the young ladies you were looking for."
A ranch hand of around nineteen and a little older ranch hand came out of the barn too. Nina assumed they were the more newly turned brothers as much as they looked alike, Hal and Tracey's ranch hands, and the dogs came out to greet them, including Sydney and Zander. They were so excited to see Nina, it was like an old friend had come to catch up with them. As a cougar, Stryker smiled at her. And then, as if they remembered their daddy, they greeted him with body rubs and licks to the face.
The ranch hand with the warm smile must be the foreman, Ted Weekum. She thought the younger boy must be Ricky, the one who liked older women.
She saw the way he was observing Ava, and Nina swore he knew her already. It wasn't a case of him just being interested in her, but the way he shoved his hands in his pockets and looked away made him appear guilty, like he had known all along where she had been.
A blond-haired woman called out from the sprawling ranch house, "Come on inside. Ted and the boys can take care of the dead man. I'm calling everyone to let them know you're here, the women are here, and the shooter is dead."
Stryker was eyeing Ricky, and Nina figured he knew something was up with the kid too.
Stryker nuzzled Nina's face again with affection and she let out her breath with relief to know he was okay, and she nuzzled her face against his, glad to be with him again. Then they headed for the house.
She glanced back to see if Ava was going to follow them. Leyton was watching Ava, as if waiting to see if she'd comply or he'd have to help her comply. Nina still didn't know the details of how he had taken his mate hostage before Kate became his mate.
"I'm Tracey, Hal's wife," Tracey said. "Come in. I have some things you ladies can wear. The other guys and Bridget are on their way here now. Nina, your car is safe, Dan said. And, ladies, all your belongings are safe. They took the car back to the Robinson's house, and they arrested the men who were trying to steal from your car."
Tracey motioned to a room for Ava and Nina to go. "I'll get you some clothes. Stryker, they're bringing your Jeep here and you have a bag of clothes in there for emergencies, right?"
As a cougar, he nodded.
"Okay, good. Leyton, Kate's coming, and she's bringing your things." Then Tracey smiled at Nina and her sister. "It's so good to meet the both of you. I'll be right back."
Nina assumed Tracey knew everything that was going on, yet she let on that everything was fine, and Nina was grateful for that. Tracey had an easy, welcoming manner about her and Nina really liked her. She imagined when Tracey was taking down traffickers, that was a different story.
Tracey left then, but Stryker and Leyton hung around at the bedroom door, waiting for Tracey to return. Nina imagined they didn't trust her sister not to leave, any more than she did. She heard four kids laughing and playing in another room on the other side of the house then. She hoped she and her sister didn't bring any trouble here for the family’s sake.
Within a few minutes, Tracey returned with a pair of red sweats and a pair of blue sweats. She'd also brought a pair of loaner slippers for both Nina and Ava. Then she turned and shut the door, but Nina suspected the men were still sitting by the door in guard mode, making sure Ava didn’t give any of them anymore trouble.
Sheesh, it was bad enough that they had to deal with the shooter and any other men that might come after them, but to have to put up with her sister's shenanigans too? That was too much.
She and her sister shifted, and Ava looked at the burn marks where the taser had hit Nina's shoulder. "I'm sorry," Ava said.
"We heal quickly," Nina said. "But you need to tell Stryker you're sorry."
"He was going to get you killed."
"You were going to get us both killed!" Nina had meant to be on an even keel with her sister, not get angry, but she couldn't help herself.
"I'm sorry," Ava said, softly. "I knew they were coming."
"You…didn’t tell me before how you knew of it.” Nina eyed her sister with suspicion. “Don’t tell me you have future visions too!" At least Nina guessed that must be how Ava knew about the men coming. "Why didn't you tell me you had them?" Okay, so Nina was angry with her all over again. She grabbed up the red sweatshirt and yanked it over her head.
Ava liked red too, but Nina wasn't letting her have it. She slipped on the pants. Ava finished dressing and glanced down at the bunny sleepers and the plainer fluffy ones. Nina knew Ava wouldn't want to wear the bunny slippers, but they were cute. She stuck her feet in them and Ava sighed and wore the other pair.
"Are they going to lock me up?" Ava finally asked.
"No. Of course not. If you really want to do this on your own, feel free to. But if you want the cougars to watch your back, they're here to help."
"You really are sweet on Sexy Santa, aren't you? I've never seen you act that way toward another male cat."
Nina couldn't help but smile and shake her head and point toward the door, telling her sister to watch what she said.
Ava gave her the evilest smile. "I knew you were." Then she frowned and walked toward the door. "I guess I won't be invited to the wedding."
"Quit being such a drama queen. There's no wedding in anyone's plans."
"Oh, so you're just going for a mating." Ava shrugged. "That would work too." She opened the door and in their cougar forms both Leyton and Stryker turned to look at them.
Stryker licked Nina's hand, as if to say he was certainly willing. She ran h
er hand over his head, hoping he truly was okay after Ava got through with him.
Then they heard vehicles drive up, and Leyton glanced at Stryker. He nodded, as if he was watching over the women, and his brother could go and greet Kate.
When Leyton returned with Kate, he was carrying his own field pack. She put Stryker's bag of clothes on the bed for him. "Bridget and Travis drove your Jeep here, Stryker. And Dan's bringing the ladies' guns, phones, etcetera. Let me take a look at you though, before you get dressed."
The guys went into the bedroom and Kate joined them and shut the door behind her.
Ava folded her arms. "Maybe you should get checked out too, Nina."
"I'm fine. Come on. We can see what happened to my car."
"Tracey said they took your car to the Robinson's house."
"Right. I want to know how many bullet holes it's wearing. I didn't have time to check it out. And I want to know about the thieves too. Did you know which man tried to kill us?" Nina asked, and the two of them walked into the living room where everyone was gathering.
"Yeah. Louis, the guy I dated a couple of times. The pharmacist's cousin."
"Guess that wasn't a match made in heaven."
"Hardly." Then Ava got really quiet as everyone looked at her. "Hey, everyone, I'm sorry."
"Go ahead and take a seat," Tracey said, graciously. "Is everyone up for lunch? Hal, could you serve everyone something to drink?"
Dan handed over the ladies' personal effects.
"How many bullet holes were in my car?" Nina asked.
"Three. We have a man who can repair your car."
"Okay, good. Can I help you with anything?" Nina asked Tracey. It was only polite to offer, and she truly did want to help, but she was afraid her sister might try to skip out on them, even though she said it was up to Ava to stay or fend for herself. She knew it would be safer for her to stay with the rest of them.
"Sure, that would be nice." Tracey said to Ava, "Do you want to help too?"
"Yeah, sure," Ava said, not sounding like she did.
It wasn't that Ava wasn't a helpful person, just that Nina was sure she was worried about explaining herself to all these strangers about what she'd done to Stryker and her.
"We have a cook, but this is her day off," Tracey said.
Stryker came into the kitchen to help Hal get drinks for everyone and suddenly four little kids, two girls and two boys about the age of two, two blonds, two brunettes, all with blue eyes, came running into the kitchen.
"You must have heard me getting ready to fix food," Tracey said. "That always does it. This is Tabitha, quiet and loves to 'read' books. Liam loves all animals, the horses, dogs, wild animals, you name it. Denise is fearless and Daddy's girl. Evan Chase is just like his daddy and wants to help fix anything he can. He even carries a little hammer around when he and his daddy go out to repair the fences. Of course, as young as he is, he doesn’t last long out there, and Ricky always brings him back home."
Nina could just imagine.
"Mac and cheese," the kids all said, done with introductions.
"That's what I'm fixing for you kids. Grilled cheese sandwiches for the adults."
Bridget came into the kitchen. "Come on, kiddoes. Let's go play a game." She quickly ushered them out of the kitchen.
Nina began slicing up the sharp cheddar cheese for the sandwiches. Ava was buttering the bread and she was glad her sister was helping and not being sulky about being here.
Stryker returned for more drinks and said to Ava, "So how do you know Ricky?"
Nina glanced at her sister, having forgotten to ask her about that. She'd been so surprised her sister had psychic abilities, that's all that had come to mind.
Tracey turned to see what Ava had to say to that.
Ava shrugged. "I was staying in an old abandoned barn somewhere not too far from here."
So that's how Ava had known to come here to hide in the caves. Nina had wondered.
"It was the very first homestead here," Tracey said.
"Yeah, and I was there for a couple of days with no problem. Then I heard someone coming on horseback. I knew the guys who were after me wouldn't come looking for me on horseback. So I peeked out and Ricky saw me. He was all frowns and then he was all smiles."
"Sounds like Ricky," Tracey said, shaking her head.
"I told him I was undercover and he couldn't tell anyone I was here. He said he understood because he worked for the Boss Lady of the ranch when he was an informant for her before and she often had to go undercover."
"He's a hard worker and his heart is always in the right place." Tracey placed the baking dish containing the macaroni and cheese into the oven and closed the door.
"He sneaked food to me. He was having a ball playing the game, and I enjoyed the company," Ava said. "He's a cute kid."
"But it wasn't a game and he works for the Havertons and that's where his loyalty should lie. Not to mention, if we'd known, we could have found you sooner." Nina took on the job of grilling the sandwiches.
Hal must have heard the conversation revolving around what Ricky had done because by the time Nina had grilled five of the sandwiches, he escorted a glum-looking teen into the kitchen.
"I was off-duty when I saw her." Ricky was frowning at Hal, but then he smiled brightly at Ava, as if now their secret was out, he could flirt with her.
"Honey?" Nina said, so shocked to hear Ricky's voice and know that he'd been one of her informants, besides being Tracey’s. "They said you were dead." Nina left her sandwich-grilling for a moment and gave Ricky a big hug. "I'm so glad it wasn't true."
"Star Bright!" He gave her a big hug back.
She swore she heard Stryker growl a little, but he didn't have to worry about her and the teen. He was a cute kid though and she was so glad he was living here among good folk. "None of us used our real names on operations, and I'd never met Ricky. But I'd know his voice anywhere."
"Same with me hearing your voice," Ricky said.
"Well, I'll be. He was good about not revealing that he was working with any other agents," Tracey said. "I never knew he was working with anyone but me."
"Me either. But he was a wealth of information and it was almost always accurate," Nina said. "Except when a couple of thugs were testing you to see if you were working for the Feds, Ricky. Luckily, I suspected as much and didn't blow your cover. I can't believe you're here." She suddenly remembered the grilled cheese sandwiches and turned to flip them on the grill, but Ava had taken over, thankfully.
"Those guys were like so believable. You were really good at catching onto what they were up to. Here I fell for it like some kind of newbie. I should have known they were lying to me," Ricky said. "This is so cool to finally get to meet up with you."
"I agree." Nina smiled at him.
"So I guess we'll let you off the hook this time, Ricky," Tracey said with a stern look, "but next time, you tell us what's going on."
"But she was undercover," Ricky said, like that explained everything.
Ava smiled conspiratorially.
"And you and…and…" Ricky said.
"Nina," she supplied.
"Nina was undercover. So what did I know?" Ricky asked.
"Well, you work for Hal and me, and I've been undercover any number of times. If someone comes onto the property, you tell us. You know, if we really, truly had someone undercover hiding out on our property, we wouldn't blow his or her cover. Right?" Tracey asked.
"Yeah, I guess you’re right." Ricky shoved his hands in his pockets, then he noticed the grilled cheese sandwiches. "All right! I'm ready to eat."
"Go ahead and set the table then. Wash your hands first," Tracey said.
"Hey," Ricky said to Ava while he washed up, "now that you're not working undercover any longer, maybe I could take you to dinner?"
Nina swore everyone was holding their breaths to hear Ava turn him down. She smiled sweetly at him, then turned a new batch of sandwiches. "I don't think I'll be leaving
town any time soon on account of my sister and Stryker. Do you have any plans for New Year's Eve?"
What did Ava mean by that?
"Oh, yeah, they're having a big New Year's Eve party at the Watering Hole. I can take you." Ricky was all smiles again.
"No alcohol for you," Tracey warned.
"I know. I know. Hey, I'm gonna be around all of you and half the town's working for law enforcement, so no way am I gonna drink anything but sodas."
"You don't already have a date?" Ava asked, sounding surprised.
"Nah. The girls are still afraid I'm going to shift at the wrong time. I won't. Not anymore. But they still worry about it on account of I took a girl to the bakery to have chocolate cream pie and right in the middle of eating it, I had to make a mad dash to the men's room. Chase had to close the bakery down so he could slip me out the back door. It ruined a good date too. Luckily, Mrs. Fitz wasn't mad at me because Chase had to close the bakery down until he could get me out of there without any humans seeing me."
Nina laughed. She’d had no idea her former informant and his brother were now cougars and she could imagine the trouble they'd had.
"Well, if you get the urge to shift, it won't be any problem for me." Ava gave him a bright smile.
"Hot damn. That's a yes, right? To a date? You and me?"
Ava chuckled. "Yes. The sandwiches are ready."
Nina was thinking if Ava really dated the kid, she'd be a true cougar.
"Great. We've got salad, soup, and sandwiches then," Tracey said, as she finished making French onion soup, and Stryker and Nina cut up the fixings for the salad.
For the first time ever, Nina thought her sister just might be willing to settle down with some nice people. At least until they resolved this situation. Then who knew where she'd go.
"So where should I stay? I'll tell you right now that our aunt and uncle's house isn't safe for either my sister or me," Ava said, taking a seat at the table.
"You can stay with me," Ricky said as his brother Kolby and Ted Weekum joined the others to eat.
The kids were sitting on high chairs and their parents and Bridget and Travis were helping to feed them. Nina was amused. They were getting in their baby training early.