by Mac Flynn
Stan stooped and whacked away her hand. "This bullet's done enough damage," he pointed out. He snatched it and placed it in his pocket.
They returned their attention to Nick. His blood dried and his burnt skin mended itself. The wound closed up and healed over, though there was a faint scar on his flesh where the bullet had entered his body. His breathing evened out and his eyes slowly opened. They swept from Stan to Lenore, and he smiled.
"Did I miss all the fun?" he wondered.
Lenore smiled and her eyes filled with tears. "No. The Hunter didn't give us much of a challenge," she told him.
Nick sat up and winced when his fresh shoulder twinged. He rubbed the formerly wounded spot and glanced past Stan to the entrance hall. His smile dropped and he swung his legs over the couch onto the floor. Lenore held him back, and Nick noticed the wound on her arm. He reached up and gently brushed his fingers against the scorched skin. His eyes filled with a burning hatred that scared her.
"Did he do that to you?" he questioned her.
"Yes, but it doesn't hurt. Well, much," she replied.
Nick stood and brushed past Stan to the crumpled lump of man in the hall. He lifted the Hunter by the rope bound around his arms and looked into the man's unconscious face with a sneer on his lips. "Murderer," he growled.
The sound of Nick's voice awakened the Hunter. The man's eyes fluttered open and when they fell on Nick they widened. The Hunter yelped and squirmed in his bindings, but Stan was an expert at tying knots and they held fast.
Stan strode out to the hall and caught Nick's hand that held the man. He stared my mate straight in the eye and glared at him. "Don't do this," he ordered him.
Nick scowled back. "He tried to kill us all and you want mercy?" he countered.
"I don't want you or any of us to be as murderous as this man," Stan replied.
"This isn't a game where the higher morals wins. These men won't rest until they've killed us all, you included now that you know about them," Nick argued. With each sentence he shook his captive who's muffled yelp drifted through the rag in his mouth.
"Hand them over to the authorities. They will deal with them," Stan demanded.
Nick scoffed. "What will we say to them? These men were after us because they thought we were werewolves?"
Stan grinned. "Why not? Once the police find the silver bullets in their possession and the electronic equipment in their motel room they'll be committed to an insane asylum and we'll be safe."
Nick opened his mouth to argue, paused, then shut his teeth with an audible clack. He raised an eyebrow and dropped the Hunter the three feet to the floor. "It's an idea so insane it may succeed," he mused.
Lenore snorted. "That sounds like one of Stan's ideas, but we have a problem." She pointed at the man on the floor. "We only the the one guy, and you said they work in pairs," she reminded them, addressing Nick. "So where's the other guy?"
"He may have remained at the motel," Nick suggested.
"Or he may be creeping around the house right now waiting for his chance to kill us all," Lenore countered. The men turned to her with raised eyebrows, and she glared back at them and put her hands on her hips. "It could be true," she protested.
"Yes, but it isn't likely. If one fails than the other will have a chance to succeed with a second plan," Nick told them.
"So this has happened to you before?" Stan guessed.
Nick nodded. "There have been instances where the pair of Hunters acted as these two have done where one attacks while the other remains in hiding."
"So it's like in all those cop shows where if this guy-" Lenore nudged her foot against their captive, "-doesn't call in then the other Hunter puts the other plan into action?"
"Precisely, but let us hope we can avert that chance by hurrying to the motel," Nick replied.
"I can stay with our new friend while you two find the other guy," Stan offered. He gave the man a friendly nudge in the ribs with his foot.
"Will your ropes hold him?" Nick wondered.
"They should, but why? You need my help?" Stan asked him.
Nick smiled. "The more the merrier," he replied.
"Then let's get going," Stan announced.
Lenore raised her hand. "Um, before we go can we might want to fix two problems. First, I'd like to get out of this furry clothing," she told them.
Nick grinned lecherously at her. "The fur suits you," he teased.
She glared at him and crossed her arms over her ample chest. "Maybe, but I don't want to be going to the motel and being seen. Somebody might call the cops on us and find out I'm not exactly an unlicensed dog," she quipped.
"I can provide you with clothes," Nick promised.
Lenore nodded at her wounded shoulder. "And I'd like this taken care of. It kind of stings."
Nick stepped forward, gently grasped her arm and inspected the wound. "It should heal in a day or two."
"So I won't be needing a Bloody Nick to heal me?" she teased.
He smiled. "Not this time," he assured her.
Stan gagged in the background. "Could we quit with the flirting and get on with capturing that other guy?" he spoke up.
The clothes were procured, Lenore transformed back into a human in the privacy of the upstairs, and the three companions hurried outside to Stan's wounded truck to track down their final nemesis.
Chapter 20
Stan paused at one of the bullet holes through the hood and patted the top. "I'll fix you as soon as I can," he promised his faithful steed.
"Do you two need some time alone?" Lenore teased him from across the hood.
"I'd feel better knowing neither of those guys will put any more holes into her," Stan replied.
The three slid into the cab with Lenore in the middle and bounced their way to the outskirts of town. Stan pulled into a dingy-looking motel and slammed on the brake pedal. Lenore, there not being a seatbelt for the middle seat, nearly ate glass. She righted herself and glared at her brother.
"Do you mind my not kissing the windshield?" she pleaded.
"The van's gone," he told them, and pointed at an empty parking spot.
Nick leaned forward and glanced at the second floor of the motel. He nodded at a room close to the stairs that had its curtains open. "Is that the room the men were staying in?" he asked Stan.
Stan looked at where he pointed and nodded. "Yeah, but the curtains were closed earlier."
"Suddenly trying to capture this guy doesn't seem like such a good idea," Lenore commented. "Especially since we don't even know what he looks like."
"We do know he has a fondness for vans," Stan pointed out.
"Him and every soccer mom in the country," she countered.
"He wants us to see something," Nick spoke up.
Lenore and Stan turned to him. "See what? A messy room?" she wondered.
"The answer to that question lies through that window," he replied. He opened the door and slipped out. Stan and Lenore followed him up the stairs and to the door.
Lenore looked suspiciously at the entrance and dropped her voice to a whisper. "What if he's still in there?" she asked them.
"There's only one way to find out," Stan spoke up. He passed both his companions and pounded on the door. "Pizza delivery!" he called out. Lenore leaned across Nick and knocked Stan upside the head. He glared and rubbed the back of his head. She had a good arm now that she was a werewolf. "What? That proves he's not in there," he snapped at her.
"And if he had been you could've been filled with enough holes to be mistaken for a cheese grater," she bit back.
"Perhaps we should focus on his disappearance," Nick suggested. He strode past Stan and peered through the large, wide window that stretched across the entirety of the space to the left of the door. "It seems the gentleman took everything with him," he commented. Stan stepped to the left beside Nick and looked inside
Lenore stared at the oggling men for a moment, then glanced down at the door. She tried the knob and found it was un
locked, so she pushed it open. "I think it would be eaiser looking inside than through the window," she teased.
Nick smiled and Stan frowned, and the three of them slipped into the room. Nick closed the door behind them and flicked on the light. It illuminated what he'd stated, that the room was empty and there was no sign of the man. There was only the normal two beds on the right-hand wall with a television and stand in front of them against the opposite wall. In the far back wall was the door to the bathroom and a closet.
The three companions browsed the room with their eyes and they all noticed an assortment of flat objects on the cover of the made bed. They stepped over and examined the articles. One was a photograph taken from one of the security cameras. Lenore picked up the picture and her jaw dropped down when she realized she knew the person in the photo. She turned to the men and waved it wildly.
"This is Becky! Why would he have a picture of her?" she asked them.
Nick picked up the other article on the bed, a typed note, and his eyes swept over the contents. "Because the Hunter has taken her ransom," he replied.
"What? This isn't some cheap bad guy movie! She's my friend!" Lenore protested.
"That's exactly why Becky was taken," Nick told her. "The note says he's taken Becky to the park on the far side of the city, and to meet him there at midnight tonight to exchange her life for that of his Hunter friend-" he pulled down the note and glanced at Lenore, "-and ours."
Stan scoffed. "The only thing he'll do with them is take them," he quipped.
"No doubt, but we must be there at midnight or Becky will not see another sunrise," Nick insisted.
"I don't trust this guy to let any of us see another sunrise, so we're not going there without a plan," Stan argued.
"We can't go there with guns blazing. We'll wake up the whole town," Lenore pointed out.
"Nor should we arrive at the destination without weapons. Our speed is very fast, but we cannot outrace bullets," Nick commented.
Stan grinned. "I have just the plan," he told them.
Three hours later at ten minutes to midnight found Nick and Lenore in Stan's truck and headed toward the park. Between them was the unconscious Hunter with a hard knock on his head to guarantee he wouldn't wake up at the worst possible moment. Lenore glanced over her shoulder through the rear window and looked at the tarp that covered the back.
"You think this is going to work?" she whispered to Nick.
"I heard that," came a muffled voice from the tarp.
"Quiet. Tarps don't talk," she snapped.
"But they can get angry, and you don't want to see a tarp when it's angry," the muffled voice argued.
Nick chuckled. "I believe I finally see why you two squabble at the worst possible times," he commented.
Lenore turned back to him and raised an eyebrow. "Oh?" she wondered.
"It's a defense mechanism you two share. When you are in a tense situation you lash out at each other," he explained.
Lenore shrugged. "I guess. This is certainly a tense situation."
"If all goes well it will be finished quite quickly," he encouraged her.
She slumped down in her seat and frowned. "That's a big 'if'" she argued.
"Have faith and follow the plan," he advised.
They rattled into the parking lot of the small park where Lenore and Nick had met in their wolf forms. A red van sat in one of the farthest parking spots. The pair noticed two figures at the far end of the park near the tree line. Becky was seated in a chair with their arms bound with rope and her mouth covered with a handkerchief, and the Hunter stood beside her with a gun in his hand and a smirk on his face. Rather than stopping at the edge of the parking lot, Nick pressed on the gas and jumped the truck over the short concrete barriers. The truck flew onto the grass and sped across the park trampling plants under tire.
Nick slammed on the brake twenty yards from the opposing pair and the truck fish-tailed so the passenger side faced Becky and the Hunter. Lenore and Nick stepped out, and she dragged their captive foe beside her as they made their way onto the lawn.
When they were twenty yards away Nick held up his hand and arrested Lenore's walking. "We would like an even trade. Your man for our friend," he called to the Hunter.
The Hunter laughed and Becky cringed. Lenore narrowed her eyes and growled, but Nick placed his hand on her shoulder to calm her.
"No deal, monster," the Hunter yelled back. He lifted his gun and pressed the barrel against Becky's temple. Tears sprang to her eyes and choked sobs escaped the handkerchief. "It would be a shame to kill your little friend. She doesn't have anything to do with this."
"Then let her go," Nick argued.
The Hunter shook his head. "I can't do that. You're just too dangerous to let go, and you're holding all the cards but this one." He tapped Becky on the shoulder. The man paused and glanced between Lenore and Nick. "Where's your other friend? The one that was snooping around the motel?" he asked them.
Nick smiled and jerked his head backward toward the truck. "He's hiding in the bed there. Go ahead and look if you want," Nick invited the man.
The Hunter frowned and glanced at the vehicle. Lenore could see the opposing thoughts spinning around the mouse wheel in his brain. The Hunter sneered and again pressed his gun to Becky's temple. "I won't fall for your tricks. There's no one in there," he argued.
"Except me," Stan called out. He sat up in the bed of the pickup and pulled aside the tarp. In his hands was the weapon used by the first Hunter which he pointed at the second. "I wouldn't move if I were you. I'm not too bad a shot. Just ask Nick there," he warned the Hunter.
Nick chuckled. "It's true. His aim is quite good," he agreed.
The Hunter's face reddened with anger and he whipped his head from one werewolf to the other. "God damn you," he growled.
"God damns only sinners, and the only two sinners here are your friend and yourself," Nick argued.
The Hunter ground his teeth and tightened his grip on the trigger. Stan fired off a shot that tore a hole through the barrel of his foe's gun, rendering it useless. The Hunter swore, dropped that gun, and pulled out a pistol from his waist. Stan shot off another bullet, and that hit the Hunter in the wrist. He dropped that gun and the bullet damage ensured he wouldn't be picking up another one.
Lenore dropped their captive, and both she and Nick hurried forward. She took hold of Becky and tore off the handkerchief. All the flood of words stuck in her mouth poured out. "What the hell is going on? Who the hell is he?" she babbled.
"A very sick man," Lenore replied.
Nick strode up to the Hunter, grabbed him by the wounded wrist and pinned the Hunter's arms behind his back. "The only monster here is you," Nick whispered to the man. The Hunter sneered, but said nothing.
Stan jumped out of the bed and walked over to the group with a smile on his face and the gun in his hand. He paused at their captive, who was awakening, to knock the butt of his weapon on the man's already-bruised head. The Hunter slumped back down to the ground and Stan joined the others at the chair. He looked to the Hunter in Nick's grasp.
"You know, if you would've believed Nick here you might have won," he told the Hunter.
"I'll never believe a monster," the Hunter spat out.
"And that sort of talk is what's going to land you in the insane asylum," Stan replied.
Lenore freed Becky from her bindings and helped her up. "Could we get out of here?" Becky pleaded. "And then could somebody please tell me what's going on?"
"Yes and yes," Lenore promised.
Chapter 20
The bindings were used to tie up their new captive, and they stowed Hunters safely in the bed. Nick glanced at the red van, and then turned to his companions. "I'll take that vehicle and follow you to the police station," he told them.
"Need some company?" Lenore wondered.
Nick smiled. "If it is as pleasurable as your own then I will gladly accept it."
Stan and Becky climbed into his truck, and
Lenore and Nick into the van after they procured the keys from their latest captive. Nick waited beside the rear of the van for Stan to drive off. Lenore glanced between the disappearing vehicle and Nick.
"Are we going to follow them or not?" she asked him.
"We are, but not yet," he replied. He opened the rear doors and revealed suitcases and electronics. There was a plastic tub of burned disks near the rear, and a small box of the same on top of it. Nick rummaged through the box and pulled out a disk that he held up to the light of the moon.
"Incriminating video you don't want me to see?" she teased.
Nick smiled. "Yes, but for you. They witnessed a part of your transformation. We need to destroy the disk," he explained to her.
Lenore cringed. "Please do. I'd rather not be driven out of town by pitchfork-wielding villagers," she replied. Nick snapped the disk in two and stuffed the pieces into his pocket. He climbed into the rear of the van and rummaged through more of the boxes. Lenore leaned up against one of the doors and watched him dig and examine the entire contents of the vehicle. "Want me to help you search for the treasure?" she asked him.
"I am looking for any evidence they have that I am a werewolf," he told her. He browsed through another box of disks and frowned. "Unfortunately, they may be cunning enough to have hid the evidence."
Lenore pointed at a box at his feet. "What about that one with 'Connor Werewolf' written on the side?"
Nick paused and glanced down at his feet. He grinned and chuckled. "As always, it seems stepping back from the situation is the best plan," he commented.
"Like where I'm standing?" she teased.
"Precisely." Nick opened the container and rummaged through the disks, papers, and folders. "These gentlemen were certainly thorough. They have tracked my whereabouts for several years."
Lenore cringed. "Creepy," she commented.
"Yes, creepy indeed," he agreed. He shut the case, stepped through the van and hopped to the ground beside Lenore. "I will bury this evidence and come back for it later," he told her.
Nick hurried out to the trees at the far end of the park, dug a hole with his lengthened claws, and buried the small box. He returned to the car where Lenore waited for him. She had a pensive expression on her face.
"You said Hunters came after you ever few years, so that means we're going to be dealing with this again? My friends and brother getting into trouble because of me?" she wondered.