by Lacey Thorn
Diane was there, though he knew she’d been reluctant to leave her lab even at Tah’s request. Reno had almost expected her to argue with their pride leader, but even Diane wasn’t that clueless. Tah got what he wanted. And right then, they all wanted answers.
“I’m good.” Abby rubbed her hand over the mound of her belly.
She was only ten weeks and already looked as if she was more than halfway through her pregnancy. Diane was concerned the baby was growing more along the lines of a lion’s gestation period, which was only around fifteen weeks on average. So Abby’s body was changing too drastically in too short of a period of time. According to Tah, Abby was starting to show the wear and tear in sleepless nights and aches and pains. The man was on edge and worried, and they couldn’t afford to have him that way. Not when they were trying to beef up security and prevent another breach.
Tah snorted at Abby’s reply and met Reno, clasping arms and leaning in for a hug. They had been best friends and confidants long before his buddy had discovered he was a lion shifter and the supposed leader of a tribe of people just like him. They would always remain that way as far as Reno was concerned.
“Where’s the pup?” Reno asked, taking in the fact their other best friend, Logan, was missing from the room. Logan had been shot not too long ago, and Reno still worried about him, though he’d never admit it.
“He’s running perimeter with Finn,” Tah answered.
Finn and Murphy had joined them the day after a group of hunters had managed to infiltrate the house and get to Abby. Reno had still been cleaning up when the brothers had arrived. Finn and Murphy hadn’t even batted an eye. The former Marines, who’d been part of a team with Reno, Tah and Logan in the desert, had just jumped in and helped out. They hadn’t batted an eye the first time they’d witnessed Tah shift into a full-grown lion, either. Reno sensed there was more than their Irish heritage that made them accepting, but he hadn’t pushed for answers yet.
Zane, Holt, Vic and Kenzie had joined them over the last few months and become an integral part of their household and growing pride. Abby was happy to have two more women around, even if Vic and Kenzie treated her with kid gloves in deference to her place as Tah’s wife and mate as well as the fact she was pregnant.
It was a good group, and if the information Professor Mueller had gathered was correct, they would soon be growing by leaps and bounds as the other members of the legendary Paka Watu pride found their way to Tah.
Reno had his own reasons for believing in the legend, and it wasn’t just because he watched Tah shift several times a day. Hell, he’d never known Tah not to have a pack of men and women around him, obeying his every order. And Reno had always been his second-in-command. Until they’d left the desert and gone their separate ways. Reno and Logan had been headed in the same direction and had ended up drifting along together until a night in a seedy bar when Reno had interfered with an attempted rape and had died for his trouble. Several times in fact. Or did they refer to it as dying when you kept coming back?
He’d understood there was something different about him when he’d awoken in the hospital, already healing from a gunshot wound to the chest. Healing faster than he should have. He’d felt something inside him then, stretching as it woke, but not pressing to do more than watch as if waiting for something more. And that’s when he’d felt the unstoppable urge to find his friend Utah Jones, better known as Tah.
Now here they all were, part of an awakening legend that brought danger with every new tidbit of information they learned and more questions. Plus whatever was inside him still just watched and waited. Even though Reno was ready and willing to accept whatever it was. Nothing.
“Sit, sit, sit,” Professor Mueller ordered, entering the room and pushing at Reno as if his short frame could move Reno’s six and half foot mass. “We’ve stuff to go over, and then Abby needs to go to the lab with Diane and me for some more tests.”
Abby sighed, and Tah’s chest vibrated with a muted roar of displeasure.
“Hush, both of you,” the Professor said with no fear. “We will do what needs to be done to protect Abby and the baby.”
And he was right. They would. Reno wasn’t sure Tah would stay sane if he lost his mate or unborn child. His gaze met Diane’s. She was in agreement with Reno and Tah that Abby’s life had to come first. A child would be mourned, but if Tah lost Abby? Well, it just wasn’t something any of them wanted to contemplate. Hell, the man couldn’t even stand to have his mate out of his sight for very long. Losing her? Never going to happen if Reno could help it.
“Now then, Abby’s been looking through some journals I acquired over the years, in particular those from a hunter named Uriah Blane. We’ve been able to trace part of his family to a group of farms in Montana, still called Blane Farm. I don’t think it’s an active farm anymore, but it is most likely used for the family business—hunting.”
“How do we know that?” Reno asked.
“We don’t for sure,” Abby answered while Professor Mueller glared. “Not yet anyways.”
“We’re thinking about sending a group to check them out,” Tah said. “Maybe if we get the opportunity, we could take one of them and find out what we can. It would definitely be in our best interest to know what they know.”
“Who do you have in mind?” Reno asked.
“Not Tah,” Abby stated, looking straight at her mate and making Reno’s lips twitch in a grin.
He could tell this discussion had instigated one hell of an argument between the mated couple by the way the room seemed to fill with the tension pouring off them.
Tah did that rumble thing in his chest again as he turned to her. “We’ve discussed this, Abby.”
“I agree with Abby.” Reno interrupted what was sure to be an entertaining round two of their argument.
He wasn’t sure who Tah thought he was fooling anyway. They all knew Abby got her way. Period. Tah might be the head of the pride, but Abby ruled his heart and soul. Reno envied his friend that type of love.
“Thank you, Reno. I knew you’d have my back on this. It’s one of the reasons I love you so much.”
Reno laughed as Tah turned his displeasure onto him instead. They’d tangled before. Reno wasn’t worried. Not even with Tah’s increased lion strength. Then not much scared Reno, especially since he had a few secrets of his own.
“I’m just saying now isn’t the time for you to be away from Abby,” he told Tah. “I’m guessing this is something that needs to be done immediately?”
Tah sighed and nodded in agreement. “The sooner we get answers about what we’re facing, the better.”
“How big is the place where their farm is?” Murphy spoke up.
“Not big. Small town at the base of a mountain around the Glacier National Park area,” the Professor answered.
“Which means whoever goes in there will stick out like a sore thumb,” Zane said with a snort. Of course Zane would make note of that. He stuck out a lot no matter where he was. Probably due to the contrast of skin, so dark his pale brown eyes almost seemed yellow at times.
“I’m not sure a group is the way to go,” Reno stated then held his hands up as Tah opened his mouth to argue. “Just listen to me for a minute. If we want to do this, we need to be smart. Zane’s right. Sending a group into a small town will automatically call attention to them. But a lone drifter? Not so much.”
“You’re not going off on your own, Reno.” Tah crossed his arms as if that was the end of the discussion.
“Why not? I’ve done things like this plenty of times when we needed me to, in places far worse than some small town in Montana.”
“We could two man it,” Murphy offered. “I’ve been your wingman more than once.”
Reno shook his head. “We’re too exposed here right now. The security measures we’ve discussed aren’t all in place yet.” He turned to Tah. “So far, you’re the only shifter we have here.”
“Am I?” Tah questioned with a pointed look
that Reno chose to ignore like always.
“Unless you’ve seen someone shift that I missed, then yes.”
Abby sighed at that comment, and Reno couldn’t help but smile at her. She had become a great friend to him lately. She was as adamant about protecting Tah as Reno was. She’d asked Reno more than once if he was okay. He knew what she meant. Abby was the one who had sensed Tah was more than he was and had helped awaken the beast in her mate. Now she was turning those eyes Reno’s way in speculation, and she had Tah doing the same.
“He has a point,” Vic pointed out in her soft voice. “We’re in the middle of a forest surrounded by trees, which provide easy cover for someone to get in, as you guys already found out. Sure, you got the whole kitty thing going on, Tah, but it’s not enough. Not yet. We need all the bodies we’ve got here, patrolling and guarding you and Abby. Because legend or not, I don’t see anyone else showing up yet.”
Tah did growl then, but Vic didn’t back down. She might have a soft voice, but she was as hardcore as any of them. She’d go toe to toe with any man there if she felt the need, and that included Tah.
“Don’t growl at them,” Abby admonished Tah.
She held her hand out to him, and Tah crossed to where his mate sat in a chair. He took her hand and used it to pull her into his arms before sitting in her place with her now draped across his lap. Abby snuggled in and looked back at Reno, making him smile.
“What are you suggesting?” she asked him.
“A quick in and out for information only. We need to know what we’re up against here. I’d love to get my hands on one of those hunter books you’ve read about. See what kind of sick shit they’re teaching these people. As for who goes…” He looked straight at Tah. “I propose going myself. I’m the best choice.”
“If security is an issue, I’d think it would be more important you stay here,” Abby countered, looking to Tah for confirmation.
Reno was Tah’s right hand and the head of security. It was his job to make sure everyone was safe, especially Tah and Abby. But there was something inside him urging him to go, something similar to how he’d felt when he’d woken up in that hospital room and knew he had to find Tah.
“Logan and Tah will be here. Zane can step up and fill in for me. He’s the one who’s been helping me work on getting the sensors up. Finn knows the system as well. He’ll keep working on the cameras, and Vic has the monitors set up and going so we keep eyes up. Kenzie and Holt can jump in anywhere you need them.”
“What about me?” Murphy demanded, making Reno laugh.
“You’re the craziest of the bunch by far,” Reno assured him, and the man’s chest puffed out as if that were a compliment. “I think you’re pretty good at watching and fitting into any job you’re needed on.”
Reno kept his gaze on Murphy and didn’t miss the flare of surprise the other man quickly hid. Oh, yeah, there was more to Murphy than met the eye.
“Besides,” Reno assured Abby, settling his gaze back on her and Tah. “I’ll be faster on my own. Tah knows I’m the most logical choice we have right now.”
Tah nodded. “He’s right. He’s the best choice for this. We can’t wait. This is as important as increasing security around here. We can’t have another incident like we did with Harlan Jones.”
Reno watched Abby shudder at the reminder of the man who had killed her parents and stalked her for most of her life. Harlan had almost killed Tah when he’d shown up with a group of men and a plan to take both Abby and Tah prisoners. He’d managed to shoot Tah and grab Abby before Reno had snapped his neck and killed him. Reno knew through Tah that Abby still had nightmares sometimes, where she woke up screaming. It worried Tah. Reno, too. How much more were these two supposed to handle? A lot if they didn’t start getting some actual answers. Hell, even the legend seemed to grow and change the more Abby and the Professor dug into it. It was anyone’s guess what was truth and what was storytelling.
“I think it’s a good idea then,” Professor Mueller spoke up.
Reno grinned as Tah growled and Abby patted her mate’s arm. The Professor always seemed to rub Tah wrong, especially when he was after samples of blood, saliva and semen. It was enough to drive Tah insane and make Reno laugh his head off. The Professor had no fear. Absolutely brilliant, but no sense of self-preservation.
He walked over and patted Abby on the arm. “We’ll get Reno up to speed on what you’ve uncovered and see him on his way.” He turned back to the rest of the room, and Reno knew what the Professor was going to say even before he opened his mouth. “Since you’re all in here, why don’t you each stop by the lab and give some blood before you head back to wherever.” He waved his hands.
There was a collective groan around the room. Reno swore the Professor must have been a vampire in a previous life, and agreed with Logan’s nickname for him—the Vampire King. The man was constantly running tests on their blood. He never mentioned what he was looking for, or even if he found anything, but he was always requesting more.
“Reno.”
He glanced over at Tah, lifting his brow in silent question.
“Stay,” Tah said as the others began trickling out past the Professor.
“Don’t think to stay away from my lab,” Professor Mueller warned Reno as he walked over to him. “I’ll want a few more samples from you before you go.”
Before Reno realized what the man had in mind, the Professor pulled Reno’s head down and poked at his teeth, his canines to be exact. He yanked his head back and snapped his teeth together with a click.
The Professor just looked at him, hummed under his breath, then turned and walked away, mumbling to himself. Brilliant and crazy as hell. What the fuck was that about? Had Abby and Tah passed their suspicions on to the Professor, or had his previous blood samples shown something? He’d have to make a point of chatting with the Professor more when he got back.
He watched Diane stop to say something to Abby.
“You can go down with me now, Abby. I’d like to do another ultrasound and see what we can see. Your little guy seems to be growing like a weed.”
No matter how light Diane tried to keep her tone, Reno could easily hear the worry in it. He was willing to bet Abby and Tah did, as well.
“I’ll be back in just a bit,” Abby promised as Tah helped her to her feet and stood beside her. She walked over to the desk in the far corner of the room and lifted a notebook from the pile there. She handed it to Reno. “Read this. I’ve put most of my notes and thoughts in there about the Blane family. They’re fairly ruthless hunters if the journals I’ve read are anything to go by. There’s a lot missing. The Professor can’t remember where he picked them up from, or I’d try to make contact and see if there were more. You’ll have to be very careful, Reno. They won’t be easy to fool if they catch on to why you’re there.”
“I’ll be careful. Promise.” He took the notebook, and smiled as Abby stepped into him, hugging him close for a second. He could feel the growing life in her belly where it brushed him. He swore he could hear the staccato beat of the baby’s heartbeat, no matter how implausible that notion seemed.
“We’ll talk later. I want to go over a few things in more detail.” she spoke over her shoulder as she headed out with Diane. “The Blanes come across as cold-blooded, brutal even. I get the impression there’s nothing they wouldn’t do if they felt it was necessary.”
“I won’t leave without talking to you. Promise. Now go with the doc and give Diane hell for a bit.”
Diane snorted. Abby sighed. And Tah laughed, effectively getting a glare from his mate.
“Now, now,” Tah said. “You know I love you.”
She softened with just those words, and it made Reno’s heart ache for what they had.
“I love you, too, Tah,” she whispered. Tah crossed and took her in his arms, and the kiss they shared made Reno feel like an intruder.
Tah seemed reluctant to let his mate go, even when Diane cleared her throat. It made Reno
laugh at the blush that stained Abby’s cheeks. It was good to see Tah so happy, to know he had a woman so worthy of him. They both stood silent as the two women made their way out of the room and down the hall toward the staircase that led to the lower labs.
“What’s up?” Reno asked when they were finally alone.
“You’re restless. I can feel it.” Tah’s words surprised him.
Reno had been feeling a little cooped up lately, but he shrugged his shoulders in a non-answer.
Tah paced the room. He’d look at Reno, then shake his head and pace some more.
Finally, Reno snapped. “What?”
“I’m flying blind here. I have no fucking idea what to do or say in these situations. The last thing I want to do is fuck with your head.”
Reno laughed. “Since when? I remember you fucking with my head a lot when we were running around the desert trying not to become a statistic.”
“This is different.”
Reno rubbed his neck. “War is war, and we are in a war here, Tah. These hunters, whoever they are, aren’t going away just because we killed the group that Harlan led. Someone sent them, and that means they may know exactly where we are. From what Abby’s told us about what she’s found in all those journals, they’ve been trained since birth on what you are and how to take you the fuck out. That gives them the advantage. We can’t have that. You know it, and I know it. We need information so we can go on the offensive instead of always waiting and trying to prepare for whatever move they make. Harlan wanted you, but he was going to take Abby, too. And he had no idea she was pregnant. Imagine what they might do to Abby if they had her.”
Tah nodded, and Reno watched his eyes going stone cold at the reminder of that day, and how Abby had suffered. She’d been attacked while almost everyone had been out trying to help Tah learn to shift into his lion spirit for the first time. The hunters had been smart, using stink bombs the Professor thought they’d purposely created to confuse the enhanced shifter senses. Tah and the wolves that had been there then hadn’t smelled anything but the stench. They hadn’t realized what it was, and that had allowed the hunting party to get to the house and Abby.