by Debra Smith
Her hand fell to her side. The heat of contact was replaced by the ice of deceit. He said he didn’t know her Clan. Talk about a double standard. She couldn’t lie but he had a green flag. Putting distance between herself and the men, she fortified her inner walls that Clint’s kindness had started to shake.
“You don’t really have a choice right now. Either you let me help you or you can die while those Mercs take the girl. We both know they don’t follow the rules of Hospitality.”
Barely breathing, Clint stood silent while seeming to consider the strangers words. Alex spoke up first.
“He’s right, we don’t have much choice. I don’t know what kind of beef you have between each other but we have to trust him. At least for now.”
“We need a distraction. There’s an entrance to a tunnel under the rug in the living room. It leads to a hidden exit in the forest. I have a jeep stashed in a shed not far from where it comes out.”
“Sounds like a start. The distraction we need should be happening in three minutes and counting. You might want to cover your ears.”
Clint tossed the rug to the side in a plume of dust revealing a well concealed door built into the floor.
Alex raised her eyebrows. “Wow, you really are prepared for everything.”
A small smile tugged at the corner of the stranger’s lips. His whole face seemed to be fighting it, as if smiling didn’t happen very often.
“Not a word, Kane.”
“Wasn’t going to say anything.”
Kane didn’t seem half bad to her, but Clint cataloged his every move.
“Hop in, darlin’. I’ll be right behind you.”
Her cat bristled at the idea of crawling underground in the dark, musty space. Fighting for control, she stepped back.
“No, there has to be another way. I can’t—I won’t go down there.”
Her chest heaved up and down, jetting out her breasts. She didn’t care that Clint’s gaze locked on to them or that her nipples hardened into bit-sized morsels under his attention.
“You’re gonna have to, Little Cat. There’s no other way out.”
“No.” Rubbing her sweating palms on her jeans, she backed away, shaking her head.
“Grab the bag and head out. The keys to the jeep are under the floor mat.”
Kane leaped fearlessly into the hole. She bit back a sob as the darkness consumed him.
Her eyes widened in horror. Clint lifted her chin until she could look nowhere else but in his eyes.
“Listen to me. I’m not going to let anything happen to you. If you don’t want to go down there we don’t have to, but I will be honest with you. Our chances aren’t too good if we stay here. I will probably be killed, and you will be taken. Do you want that to happen?”
She shook her head no, her voice lost in her panic.
He smiled reassuringly. “I didn’t think so. I’m going to distract you, but you can’t hold it against me later.”
Narrowing her eyes, she started to tell him not to, but before she could speak his mouth captured hers. With a soft confidence he coaxed her to open. He kissed her as if he had all the time in the world to taste her and her him. His tongue slipped past her defenses, dancing with hers, performing a sultry tango, neither leading but both accepting the other’s exploration. He tasted sweet but with subtle spice, leaving her body ravenous for more.
She clung to him, pulling his heavy weight onto her body. Her core ached for this man like nothing she had ever felt before. With just a kiss, she stood on a dangerous precipice dangerously close to falling.
The need for survival brought her lust-clouded mind to pinpoint clarity. Alex pushed at him, doing her best to ignore her traitorous body. Panting, she crawled away from him and slipped into the hole. A fear, stronger than the black hole in front of her, pushed her forward. She could feel his presence at her back. Silently, he moved behind her. She knew he was there, because she could feel his gaze on her body, on her ass. Alex stopped. She started to tell him what affect her claws would have on his roaming gaze when her world literally shook and crumbled around her.
~****~
The view of Alex’s ass shattered his reality, literally. Dirt filled his nose, having the same effect as a punch to the face. Kane’s distraction must have been one hell of a show on the outside. The Little Cat coughed and sputtered between her heartbreaking sobs. The meager light from the entrance snuffed out, leaving them in pitch black. What he wouldn’t give for his wolf’s night vision. He couldn’t shift with the freaked-out panther in front of him, or she’d claw him to pieces. He needed to sooth her nerves.
“You okay, darlin’?”
“Oh, I’m just dandy,” she coughed, “thanks for asking.”
Her voice held a slight tremor, making his protective instinct burn on high alert.
“Listen, Little Cat, I need you to keep moving forward. We were a little over halfway when the light went out. It’s not that much farther.”
“I can barely breathe let alone see.”
“Well, I could move past you but in the dark I may rub up against some of your more prominent features.”
He wished he could see her face, but the hitch in her breath told him everything he needed to know.
He shrugged even though she couldn’t see him. “Fine, I guess I’ll push past you. Don’t mind my hands—they have a mind of their own.”
“No, stay there, I was just, er… waiting for the dust to settle a little.”
Clothes rustled and he could practically hear her cursing his name in her mind. He tried not to laugh. If someone told him he would be crawlin’ behind a prissy cat, underground, running from jackals, he would have taken their beer and called a cab for their clearly ‘two sheets to the wind’ ass.
Light cut through the darkness casting perfection on her silhouette. He could still taste her sweetness through the grime in his mouth, like honeyed peaches, sweet and succulent. Downright mouthwatering.
The image of her beckoning him from all fours made his cock want to break through his pants. The timing was all sorts of wrong but his rock-hard length didn’t seem to give a shit. Trying to calm his body before Kane got an eyeful of little Clint, he thought of the usual, the bar and all the incomplete paperwork sitting on his desk, then the bear tearing up the place did the trick and a deep irritated rumble echoed through the small space. Problem solved.
“Sheesh, you don’t have to get pissy. I’m moving as fast as I can.”
His temper still simmered just below the surface so his voice came out a tad gruffer than he meant, “It has nothing to do with you.”
She flinched but said nothing. She pushed through the exit and let out a dramatic sigh. The dirt smudged on her nose, the cheerful, self-satisfied smile gracing her lips and the twinkle in her eye painted the cutest picture he’d ever seen.
He almost missed the keys to his Jeep Kane tossed at his face.
“Glad you two made it.”
Clint pushed past him still a bit irritated. He looked to the south and shook his head. Thick smoke billowed into the sky, blotting out what had started out to be one hell of beautiful day.
“What did you blow up?” Alex asked from behind him. Walking around the front, he opened the door to his yellow Jeep Wrangler and slid onto his black leather seat.
Kane got in the back. Alex buckled up next to him, and her unique scent of fresh rain calmed his nerves just a little.
“Well?” Alex shifted beside him.
“I think we should put some distance between us and the jackals.”
Clint agreed and turned the key. His baby started without missing a beat, practically purring a sweet welcome. He caressed the wheel.
His sweet old girl moved forward on the Jeep trail like they’d never been apart. He didn’t get to drive her much, but when he could they sure had one hell of a time. Why couldn’t women be like his Jeep? Dependable, fun to be with, and most of all, loyal. Sometimes he would swear she was a living, breathing entity. He soake
d up the peace until Kane gave his revelation.
“I blew up the cabin.”
Chapter Four
Alex lurched forward, the seatbelt digging into her chest as Clint slammed on the brakes.
“You did what?”
Oh shitballs, Clint’s face was red and his hands gripped the steering wheel so tight she thought he might bust it off.
Eyes wide, she turned to look at Kane.
He merely shrugged. “It was the best place to leave the charges without it being suspicious. The place was a dump anyway. Once they saw me enter, I knew they would close in. We may have even taken one of the out.”
“That was my place,” Clint gritted out. “When we get to where we’re going you will leave, and if I ever see you again I will kill you.”
Her gaze shot back to Kane, but he seemed completely unaffected, like death threats were a daily occurrence.
“Fine with me.”
Alex didn’t know what to say. She may have wanted to leave her home but it was still there to go back to if she needed. Clint didn’t have that. Her heart ached for him. Now that she thought about it the meager space busted at the seams with mementos from the pictures on his dresser and the handmade quilt to the bookcase full of classics. They were just things but each and every one held a memory that Clint deemed worthy enough be in his life. She didn’t know how, but she would help him find his home again.
The trail dragged on what seemed like forever. Deep rivets and rocks formed obstacles until they made it to a maintained dirt road. Leaning her head against the window, she watched the trees pass in a blur of greens, brown, and patches of yellow. She caught glimpses of red squirrels running around in their simplicity of life gathering food for the winter. Minimalism ruled their life, and Alex was jealous.
The more she thought about Clint’s cabin the more guilt seemed to lodge in her chest. If she hadn’t run away, then he never would have lost his home. Carlos had been right—she did ruin everything she touched. A tear escaped down her cheek, and she did her best to covertly wipe it away.
“Are you crying?” Clint looked at her in horror.
“No.”
“You are too.”
“No, I’m—”
“There’s that word again. No. No. No.”
“You know what, just forget it. I’m not talking to you.”
“Why are you mad at me? I’m the one that just lost my cabin.”
“I know, okay? I’m really sorry about that.”
“Why are you sorry? He’s the one that blew it up.”
“It was my fault.”
“Did you tell him to plant the charges?”
“Well, no but—”
“Then that’s the end of it.”
She growled. “Stop interrupting me, it’s rude. Not to mention it pisses me off.”
“I know it pisses you off. That’s why I do it. You bite your bottom lip and it makes me want to do things to you no man has the right to think about.”
Her mouth formed an ‘O’. She started to speak but shut her mouth again.
“Put on your seatbelt,” she fumbled.
“What?”
“Put on your seatbelt. It’s dangerous not to wear it.”
“I never wear it.”
“Please.”
His head moved back and forth, but he did as she asked.
“If you two are done with the verbal foreplay, I would like to know where we’re going.”
“Wyoming.” Clint stared at the rearview mirror.
“Oh hell, more fucking Hillbillies. Fan-fucking-tastic. Wake me up when we get there so I can know when I’ve officially entered the ninth circle of hell.”
She couldn’t help it, she laughed, loud and a bit silly. Clint grinned back at her. Slowly, a slight weight lifted from her chest.
“I need to get fuel and leave a message at the bar for the bear.”
She uncrossed and re-crossed her legs. Good timing, the orange juice and coffee hit her with the subtlety of a brick wall.
“I could use a rest stop.”
Being a shifter outnumbered by skittish humans presented new challenges almost daily. It’s why the Clans formed in remote locations then followed the inscription of the laws. One of the most important was to never, under any circumstance, let a human know what you are.
Yeah, some would be perfectly fine discovering a new species. Others would be afraid, persecuting them because they were different. Some would keep them in secret locations in order to figure out how they tick, cutting them open, or doing worse. Alex presented a huge risk to her people with a secret like hers; her father would never let her out of his sight. She shivered, bringing the need for a bathroom forefront in her mind.
As soon as Clint put the Jeep in park, she jumped out and took care of business. She found Clint purchasing an inhuman amount of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and a few waters for good measure.
How a man that looked like him could eat that and still be so mouthwatering? She didn’t know. Just looking at the candy, Alex gained five pounds only burning it of by shifting and running nonstop for hours. She strolled back to the Jeep and hopped in. Kane slept soundly in the back. Truly amazing, as the fact he blew up Clint’s home seemed completely lost on him.
She nudged his foot, waking him with a start.
“You could at least act like blowing up his home bothers you.”
Kane blinked and rose to a stiff-backed seated position. “Why? His home, as you call it, was nothing but wood and metal. It didn’t matter to him.”
“How could you say that? Of course it mattered.”
He leaned forward, “Look, someone like you may not understand what I’m trying to say. So just ask him yourself.”
She turned to the front and crossed her arms over her chest. He didn’t know her.
Cars and trucks came and went. Finally, Clint returned triumphant from his candy purchases. He tossed Kane water and handed a bottle to her. She was going to ask him. Really. But what if she totally misjudged the situation? She seemed to be doing that a lot lately. Heck, she didn’t even know the guy apart from the fact he swore to keep her safe and set her blood on fire. She didn’t even know his last name.
For some reason, the words just wouldn’t come, and conveniently, the unique pattern of bugs splattered across the windshield became the most fascinating thing in the world.
~****~
He risked a glance at the Little Cat currently staring absently out the front windshield. She seemed to be milling something over. Focusing on the driving, he couldn’t help the feeling of excitement coming over him. His childhood home drew closer and closer. He could almost smell the sage brush and leather from horse’s tackle.
Memories cascaded through his mind making his lips draw into a slow smile. It’d been a while since he been there for a visit and Clara would box his ears for sure. He couldn’t feel too guilty because Jessie helped out on the weekends and summer when college took a break. The fiery redhead tormented him like an annoying but loved little sister. None of them were blood, but family, true family, hung around like time.
Alex shifted in her seat, probably trying to get comfortable. A purely frustrated sigh passed her lips, making his mind alter his direction of thinking. Hell, if he honestly thought about it, everything about her made him strung tight.
Mercenaries and her father’s men trailed behind them. The only place he thought about taking her had been to the Circle Bar T. Who hired the Mercs? The question plagued his mind. Doubtful her father would risk the lowlifes around his little girl. He sure as dawn wouldn’t. He needed to get in touch with Santos right after he and Kane had a little heart-to-heart.
I-25 dragged on for hours, but that always seemed to be the case when you wanted to get somewhere. He hoped she’d be safe there. Clint glanced at her again. The Little Cat was an utter mystery to him. Yeah, he knew her name but she hadn’t shown him who she really was. Spoiled came to mind first thing and grumpy held a close second. The one
thing about where they were going —it always seemed to bring out one’s true self. Whether you liked it or not.
Hours passed, and the roads finally led to the one place in the world he truly considered to be home. The Circle Bar T brand hung below the pine-crested gate. His Jeep vibrated over the cattle guard, jarring everyone from sleep. The tiredness left his body as the familiar sights filled his vision. Brown speckled sage hens scattered, and the mated eagles on the bluff called a welcome. His whole body seemed to become weightless, the events of the last few days gone.
“Wow, look at this place. I’ve never seen such wide open space.” Alex gaped and sucked in her breath as the male eagle swooped in for a closer look.
His lips twitched. “We should be safe here until I can get in touch with Gryph and Jenny.”
“Fantastic. Hell, I hath arrived,” Kane gritted.
“You could leave, you know. Listen, there’s something about this place you should know. There are some humans here. They are usually only seasonal, except for Jesse. She’s usually here on the weekend, but it being summer and all, she should be here. She’s human and has no idea what we are. You know the law.”
Both nodded as the Jeep took another left. Only two more miles till the cabin came into view. His foot pushed a little harder on the gas than normal. It’d been too long since he’d been back. Memories of his childhood played like a movie projector in his mind. Clara found him while she checked her fences. The best she could figure, he was around two years of age and in his pup form. She knew right away he was a shifter from scent and from the way he bounded into her arms.
He took quite a few tumbles on his gangly legs and hoped Clara didn’t pull out the photo album to show off his less than manly teenage physique.
“What kind of trees are those?”
“Pinion.”
“They smell divine.”
“That may be the sage. It bothers some shifters.”
“Not me. It’s nice.”
“This place looks like death,” Kane added. “Why would anyone want to live here? Those aren’t trees. They’re dried out husks. Doesn’t it ever rain here or is water just as eager to escape this place?”