“No, there isn’t.” I was hyperventilating now, and I fanned my face, trying to take in deep breaths. All I could see was Hunter’s face as he’d transformed into that half-man, half-beast thing and jumped out the window . . . just like my mother’s killer. “The only thing you need to do is get the hell out of this house and never come back.”
“Oh, yeah?” Hunter challenged, taking a step forward. “And just what do you want to do about that guy?” He jabbed a finger out to his left.
I slowly followed his gaze and then let out a gasp at the sight of a man trussed up in one of the kitchen chairs with a length of rope. He was naked but for a pair of boxers that I recognized as some of Hunter’s, and his expression was resigned as his dark eyes glanced between Hunter and me.
“I’m guessing you never told her about what you were?” the stranger said dryly.
“Oh my fucking God.” The puzzle pieces finally clicked into place, and I thought I was going to be sick. “You’re the wolf who attacked the horse . . . who killed Twilight.” My head spun for a moment, and I dug my nails into my palms, willing myself to toughen up and stay in the moment. “Is he like the one who attacked my mother?” I asked Hunter.
Hunter shook his head. “Our friend over there is a pure-blooded shifter,” he explained. “A human who can shift into the form of a specific animal . . . or in some rare cases, an animal who can shift into the form of a human.” He sneered at the man, who curled his lip at Hunter in return. “The one who attacked your mother and killed her was likely a hybrid shifter. A human who can change into a man-beast shape. From your description, he was probably a hybrid wolf-shifter.”
“And what are you?” I asked faintly, not sure if I really wanted to hear the answer. The monster Hunter had turned into seemed like a combination of man-beast, so that had to mean . . .
“Yeah, I’m a hybrid wolf-shifter as well, but I’m in control of my animal,” Hunter replied carefully, confirming my fear. “I’m half wolf, half human, and, no, I wasn’t born that way,” he said with an exasperated look. I opened my mouth to ask another question, but he cut me off, “Look, you can grill me all you want later, but right now, there are more important things to worry about.” He glared at the man in the chair. “Tell her what you told me.”
“My name is Jason Stanley,” the man said in a dull tone, as though he were reciting a particularly boring essay or poem. “I’m a pure-blooded wolf-shifter, and I was hired by Samuel Bradley to terrorize and kill off some of your horses so you would sell.”
I sat up straight, the fog in my mind suddenly evaporating. “What?” I whispered, unable to believe I’d heard right.
“Samuel Bradley hired me to kill your horses so you’d be forced to sell the ranch,” Jason repeated.
“That fucker,” I muttered. I dropped my head into my hands. “I can’t believe this shit is happening.”
“Well, you can believe it, darling,” Hunter said, his voice hard.
I raised my head to see that he was staring at me intently.
“I want to make sure you understand that the man who offered you a hundred thousand dollars in order to turn your uncle’s ranch into a housing development hired a dangerous shifter to attack in order to force you to do his bidding.”
“Yeah . . . I understand,” I said slowly. I rose from the couch and began moving toward the staircase in a dreamlike state. “I understand perfectly.”
Hunter caught me by the arm and spun me around. “Where do you think you’re going? Don’t you have anything to say about this? Don’t you think we should decide what to do with him?”
“No,” I said. To my ears, my voice sounded like it was coming from a thousand miles away. “You can decide what to do about him. I just need to get away.”
Turning around, I headed up the stairs and wished with all my might that, when I came back down the stairs, everything would be normal again, back to the way it had been before I found out that my lover was a damn monster.
CHAPTER 24
Hunter
IT WAS NEARLY TWO in the morning by the time I trudged up the stairs to check on Kia. Dread weighed me down, making each step seem like an eternity. Part of me didn’t want to see her at all, to have to face the look of horror and loathing in her eyes. But the other part of me ached to make her understand that, while I was a monster, I would never hurt her. I wanted her to look past my beast inside me to the man she’d known all along.
“Kia?” I knocked softly on her bedroom door. Light seeped into the hallway through the crack in the door, so I knew she was awake, but I didn’t want to barge in on her, not in the state she was in.
“Come in,” she said dully.
The dread increased to the point that it took everything in me to turn the knob and open the door. The sight of Kia sitting up against the headboard, her knees drawn into her chest, as she stared off into space didn’t do anything to ease my anxiety.
“What did you do with Jason?” she asked, not looking at me.
“I let him go.” The bed creaked under my weight as I perched myself on the edge. I tried to meet Kia’s eyes, but she refused to look at me, intent on staring at the wall. “He was a desperate rogue who was starving with no money, and he didn’t bear any real ill will toward us. I gave him a bit of money and pointed him in the direction of a wolf-shifter pack.” My heart lightened a little at the reminder that I had in fact done a good deed today.
Kia did meet my gaze now, but her eyes were blank, devoid of their usual spark of emotion, and that worried me.
“I see,” she said.
I waited for her to say more and then let out a sigh when she didn’t. “Is that all you have to say?” I demanded. “You’re not going to address the humongous elephant in the room?”
“You mean, that you’re a . . . wolf-shifter?” Something flickered in her eyes then, but it was gone so fast I wondered if I’d imagined it. “I don’t know what else there is to say about it, Hunter. You are what you are.”
“Okay . . .” I said slowly. Then I sighed when Kia returned to staring at the wall. “Look, Kia, if you don’t want to be with me anymore, I understand. The bet is over in two days, and since the ranch has turned a profit, we can set up Johnny to take over, and you can be out of here. But we have to address the fact that Samuel Bradley tried to sabotage the ranch, and he needs to be brought to justice for that.”
Kia turned to look at me, and this time, there was emotion in her eyes—a slow, simmering rage that caught me off guard. “And just how do you propose we do that?” she asked in a quiet, deadly voice that told me she was about to rip into me.
“My brother, Eric, has been looking into him,” I started to say. “With his resources—”
“Samuel has resources too!” Kia shrieked, slapping her hand against the bedspread, her eyes wild now. “You can say whatever you want, but there’s no getting around the fact that we can’t prove he hired a . . . wolf-shifter to come after us. The authorities would laugh in our faces, just as they laughed in mine when I told them about my mother.” She laughed bitterly. “If only they knew what I know now.”
My heart ached at the pain in Kia’s voice. “Darling . . .” I began, reaching for her hand.
“Don’t touch me,” she snapped, snatching her hand away. “You knew all along about the wolf-shifter, didn’t you? And you never once told me. That’s why you were guarding the stables every night. Because you knew he would come back.”
“I suspected,” I admitted, shame flooding me. “I didn’t want to tell you because I was afraid you would react like this.”
“And so I have,” Kia said. She was quiet for a long moment. “I don’t want anything to do with this mess,” she told me. “I tried my best to put this crazy stuff behind me when my mother died, and I won’t let it ruin my life.”
“It doesn’t have to—” I started to say, but she cut me off.
“There’s no guarantee that Samuel won’t send someone or something just as deadly after me to get wha
t he wants,” Kia snapped. “As long as his sights are set on the ranch, neither I nor anyone who works here will be safe. I don’t see any reason I should hold out on selling the ranch to him besides simply honoring the memory of someone who isn’t around to appreciate it, especially not after the offer he made me.”
“You mean, the hundred thousand dollars?” I scoffed. “Kia, if you’re that concerned, then I’ll buy the ranch from you right now for that amount. Take it off your hands, so you can move on and never look back.”
“He offered me five hundred thousand,” Kia said flatly. “And ten percent of all future profits.”
“He did not.” I waited for Kia to tell me it was a joke, but as the seconds ticked by in silence, I realized she was dead serious. “He came to see you again, didn’t he?”
Guilt flickered in Kia’s eyes for a moment before they turned to ice again. “Last week,” she admitted, “while you were out delivering those horses. He claims there’s an oil reservoir beneath the land.”
“And you’re going to sell it to him?” I asked, a tidal wave of rage building inside me at the thought of Daniel’s beautiful ranch being turned into an oil field. “Even after he’s proven himself to be a degenerate piece of shit?”
“Yes.”
“You’ve got to be kidding, Kia!” The wave of rage burst over me, and I seized Kia by the arms and shook her. “After everything we’ve worked so hard for, after everything I’ve done for you, and you’re just going to throw it all away? For money!”
“Let go of me!” Kia cried.
But I was past hearing her. My fangs slid out, and even my wolf wanted to sink them into her jugular and rip out her pretty little neck. Only the horror in her wide eyes held me in check.
“You didn’t do this for me. You did it for Daniel. Are you really going to kill me for going against your wishes for something I wanted no part of?”
I suddenly let go and backed away from Kia, flattening myself against the wall next to the broken window. “No,” I said slowly, my fangs and claws receding. I wasn’t going to kill Daniel’s last relative, not even for something like this. I knew I could never hurt Kia. “No, you’re right. I guess I was a fool to think there was any kind of decency in you. If I learned anything during my time in the Army, it’s that no amount of force can make someone truly believe in doing the right thing if they don’t want to.” I shook my head in disgust. “And you say I’m the monster.”
Hurt sparked in Kia’s eyes, but I didn’t feel a damn thing. I moved past her without a word. Then I paused in the open doorway before looking back at her. “I hope the money is worth it, Miss Nash.”
I closed the door, leaving my heart behind me in that room, and headed for home.
CHAPTER 25
Kia
“HONEY, YOU REALLY NEED TO do a bit more than just pick at that bowl of porridge,” Mrs. Jones chided. “You’re starting to resemble a bag of skin and bones, and that’s not good for my reputation.”
“I know,” I sighed, forcing a smile for the housekeeper.
Hunter had paid her salary through the end of the month, so Mrs. Jones would stay until I was gone.
“I just haven’t had much of an appetite.”
I hadn’t had much of a will to do anything since Hunter walked out the door three days ago. At first, I’d been relieved he was gone now that I knew he’d been hiding his true nature from me this whole time, putting me in danger with his monstrous secrets. But as time had passed, I found myself missing his quick smile, the sound of his laughter, the way he teased me at times, and his gentle but firm way with the animals. Often, I found myself turning around with a question on my lips for Hunter, only to remember he wasn’t here to give me guidance anymore. Twice, I’d nearly broken down and gone to Golden Cattle Ranch to beg him to come back.
But I knew there was no use in doing that. I’d already called up Samuel Bradley and agreed to sign the papers. He was coming by to deliver them tomorrow. And even if I could find it in me to put my pride aside and grovel before Hunter, it didn’t change the fact that I, or anyone else who owned the ranch, would be in danger from Samuel unless I just bit the bullet and sold the damn thing. I despised myself for giving in to the enemy, but I just didn’t think it was worth the risk to stand up to him.
Mrs. Jones clucked in disapproval at the measly three bites I’d managed before I pushed back my chair, but I didn’t say anything further about it. She and I had already had words about the situation, and while Mrs. Jones didn’t completely agree with my viewpoint, she understood. In the end, she had to respect my decision on the matter.
I put on my work boots and went out to do the normal chores of the day—letting out the horses, grooming them, putting feed in their buckets, collecting eggs from the coop, weeding the vegetable garden. Finished with that, I came back into the house, going upstairs to do one of the last renovation projects on my checklist—organizing the hall closet and throwing out any junk.
Mrs. Jones offered to help me, but I waved her off. I wanted solitude, and there was something about the work that was oddly peaceful. I sorted through boxes and bags of clothes and memorabilia, making separate piles for anything that seemed useful, anything I would be able to sell, and anything that was trash. It took me several hours to go through Daniel’s things, and I tried hard not to think about the fact that, if Hunter were with me, he would likely have all kinds of stories to tell me about the items.
Nearly done, I pulled out a heavy box that was filled with books and started going through them. Most of them were mystery novels, but a few were leather-bound journals filled with recordings of Daniel’s daily life. Curious, I opened one up, and it immediately flipped to an entry that made my heart stop.
* * *
8/22
An upstart by the name of Samuel Bradley came to call upon me today. Slick as a grease spot with a hoity-toity attitude and fancy words. Wanted me to sell the ranch to him, something about an oil field, and offered to cut me in on the profits. I told him I didn’t give a hoot about any oil field, that the ranch was mine, and I wasn’t digging it up for anything. The bastard was pretty persistent, refusing to leave, until I showed him the business end of my shotgun. That’ll teach him to mess with a Texan.
* * *
“Holy shit,” I breathed.
So, Samuel had approached my great-uncle about the ranch. Guilt swamped me as I realized that Hunter was right, and I felt awful about dismissing his suspicions. Frantic to learn more, I flipped through the diary, skimming for any other clues. What I learned next about my uncle floored me. Suddenly, all of the pieces fell into place.
Oh my God. I am such a damn fool.
Leaping to my feet, I raced down the stairs, snatching my car keys from the hook by the door. “I’m going out, Mrs. Jones!”
“Where on earth to?” Mrs. Jones asked, looking up from the table she was dusting.
“To Golden Cattle Ranch!” I slammed the door shut, storming over to my vehicle and jumping in. I drove away like hell on wheels, hoping Hunter was still at the ranch and hadn’t yet left for greener pastures.
CHAPTER 26
Hunter
“SO, YOU REALLY DON’T want to use any of this information I worked so hard to get?” Eric demanded, tapping his finger against the sheaf of papers on my desk.
I shook my head, taking a drag from the cigar in my hand as I leaned back in my office chair. “No,” I said slowly. “I’m sorry, but I just can’t see the point.”
The stack of papers on my desk was a lengthy report from a private investigator Eric had hired to look into Bradley and Radcliffe and contained a mountain of white-collar crimes that I could use to lock the bastard away forever.
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Eric threw up his hands. “So what if that woman of yours is selling the ranch? You can still nail him anyway. The government will seize the ranch, and you can buy it back for dirt cheap. That way, Daniel’s legacy won’t be destroyed.”
I shoo
k my head. “Daniel’s legacy has always been meant for Kia, and I won’t take that away from her. Bradley promised her ten percent of the profits, and she can live comfortably off that and pursue her dreams.”
I wasn’t going to pretend that I wasn’t still angry with Kia, but it didn’t change the fact that I still loved her and didn’t want to jeopardize the deal she’d made by having Samuel thrown in jail. For her and her alone, I’d make that sacrifice . . . but I’d be damned if I was ever going to tell her about it. I didn’t need her to know what a fucking bleeding heart I’d become.
“You’re a better man than I am,” Eric said, shaking his head. He ran a hand through his blond hair, which was cut shorter and more fashionably than mine.
While there was no doubt in anyone’s mind that the two of us were brothers, Eric’s features were more refined, his face classically handsome, while I possessed a more rugged charm.
“I would have hung them both out to dry, especially after the way she treated you.” Eric knew all about my curse.
Though we were two very different people, we still loved each other and trusted each other with most everything, and Eric had proven no different when it came to this aspect of my life.
A knock at the door interrupted us, and Leta stuck her head in.
“Miss Nash is here to see you,” she informed me. “She says it’s important.”
My heart leaped at the thought that Kia was at my doorstep, and part of me wanted to spring out of my chair and rush to the door. But the other half, the part that was still aching over her betrayal, forced me back down into my chair and encased a layer of ice over my heart.
“Tell her I’m not available,” I told Leta.
My housekeeper hesitated, surprising me. Leta had been entirely sympathetic when I’d related to her what had happened, leaving out the supernatural elements.
Operation Wolf: Hunter ~ Sedona Venez Page 12