I nodded, wondering how long they would wait for the signal before they moved in anyway. I hoped it would be long enough for me to get Nadya in the car at the lumberyard.
“I’ll feel better when it’s over.” Which was true. Either way it went down, dead or alive, would be better than sitting here while my sister was alone with a psychotic werewolf soldier.
…
Twenty minutes until eight o’clock, and I was behind the wheel of the Lotus. Aren leaned down to kiss me through the driver’s-side window. He smelled like a forest at dusk. It wasn’t some sort of fancy cologne, just him. Closing my eyes, I breathed him into my lungs as I savored the taste of his lips, the way his teeth brushed against my skin. Memorizing every touch.
He pulled back with a barely there, sexy smile. “We’ll have to continue that later.”
I rubbed my lips together and nodded.
“Be careful.” He sobered as he straightened up. “I’ve got your back.”
“I love you, wolf.” I fired up the engine, surprised to find my eyes brimming with tears I refused to let fall. I left the window down, drinking in the night air as I gunned the engine and hoped that wasn’t our last kiss.
Chapter Forty-Five
Aren
Something was wrong.
I pulled out the keys to Jason’s Lexus and headed for the car.
“Where are you going?” I heard Adam say, following me.
“She said she loved me.” I opened the door and sat inside.
Adam leaned on the car. “What’s that got to do with you abandoning our plan?”
“I haven’t abandoned anything.” I looked at my brother. “You guys can make it work without me. Or I’ll already be there.”
Adam shook his head. “Tell me what’s going on.”
“I don’t think Sasha has any intention of following through with this, and there’s no time to explain. I’ll call you if anything changes.”
I didn’t wait for him to reply. I started the car and tore off after Sasha. I’d never be able to find the Lotus if she got on the freeway before I caught up with her.
She finally told me she loved me. And it felt like goodbye.
The past few hours kept replaying in my mind, the way Sasha sat back and let us formulate the plan instead of taking charge like she usually did. The half-hearted smile she gave me at the table. And then a kiss that said me she loved me before I heard her say the words.
I gripped the wheel tighter, sliding through the side-street traffic. When had she made this alternate plan? We had been together the whole time. I mentally retraced our steps, trying to find any point that Sasha wasn’t with me.
Then I remembered. Her cell phone.
On the drive back to the ranch, I’d seen her pull it out once. She didn’t make a call or receive a call, just pulled it out and then slipped it back into the holder on her belt.
Fonthill must have texted her.
“Goddammit!” I slammed my hand against the wheel. Why hadn’t she told me?
Worry and confusion mutated quickly into rage and betrayal. She was just going to give herself up to that bounty hunter without a word. How could I be her partner if she shut me out?
All questions I could ask once she was safe.
I got to the highway, but no sign of the Lotus.
She could be anywhere.
Chapter Forty-Six
Sasha
When I got to the lumberyard, I shut off the headlights. I didn’t need them to see in the dark anyway, and I’d take any advantage over Fonthill I could get. No lights were on inside the offices, and the front parking lot was empty.
I turned off the engine, parking the car in the center of the lot, ready for a quick getaway. With the keys in my pocket, I drew my Glock and jogged toward the side of the building. The gate was ajar, a clipped Master Lock dangling lifelessly at the end of the thick chain. I took a deep breath, filling my lungs and forcing my pulse to slow.
Cool head, clear shot. That was all I needed.
Becoming a jaguar had definitely enhanced my police skills. Beyond seeing perfectly in the dark, I was stronger, faster, and virtually silent.
“Here, kitty kitty.”
Sadly, Fonthill didn’t need to hear me. He could smell me.
The sound of his voice sent a chill down my spine, but I kept moving, gun at the ready. If I could find him before he found me, I might be able to get a shot off.
“Sasha, no!”
My sister’s voice was followed by a loud slap that echoed across the deserted yard, and it froze me in my tracks. I took another breath through my nose, biting at my lower lip.
Cool head, clear shot.
“Sister is a sweet little morsel,” the bastard crooned. “I’m thinking maybe I don’t need the bounty for you, kitty. The way I figure it, I’m dying anyway. Might as well go out with a nice piece of tail, right?”
Sick twisted son of a bitch. Nadya’s muffled sob made me want to run out in the open and kick his ass.
He was counting on that. I was trained not to take the bait.
But training didn’t make me want to any less. It also made me realize that coming here alone had been a mistake. Who was I kidding? One of the first things they teach you is a lone cop can easily become a dead cop.
I couldn’t help Nadya if he killed me first.
Quickly, I pulled out my cell phone and texted Aren one word: Lumberyard. Once the message was sent, I sent up a prayer he’d understand and get the Pack over here without tipping off Fonthill. In the meantime, I’d do my best to keep him busy.
The wood exploded beside my head. Splinters brushed my cheek as I dove for cover. More silent shots followed my every move.
“You’re not the only one who can see in the dark, kitty.”
Chapter Forty-Seven
Aren
I rolled into the abandoned drive-in when I got her text:
Lumberyard.
I stared at the message for a moment before it hit me. Fonthill must’ve changed the meeting place. Send the Pack to the drive-in while he killed Sasha right next door. The only thing keeping me sane was the first-hand knowledge that Sasha was very hard to kill. The woman was intelligent, well trained, and dangerous in her own right.
But Fonthill had her sister, and that tipped the scales.
Fuck.
I started to turn the car around when Adam pulled up in his Jeep with General Sloan in the passenger seat. He jumped out as Gareth and Jason drove in.
“I guess we’re early.” Adam scanned the dark parking lot, lifting his head toward the breeze, searching for a scent he wouldn’t find.
“Sasha’s at the lumberyard. Fonthill changed the rendezvous point.”
Adam spun around. “And she didn’t tell us?”
“I’m guessing he told her to come alone.”
“She let us work out this plan to back her up, and she knew she wasn’t coming here all along?”
I clenched my jaw, caging the “fuck you” that was aching to burst out. “I don’t have time for this shit. Come to the lumberyard or don’t. Sasha needs me.”
Without waiting for a reply, I drove away. Regardless of how pissed my brother was, I knew my Pack would be behind me. Our strength came from being able to count on one another.
They wouldn’t be happy about it, but they’d still back me up.
I just hoped we wouldn’t be too late.
Chapter Forty-Eight
Sasha
“Come out, pussycat…”
Cool head, clear shot. I kept the mantra repeating in my mind, distancing myself from his taunts.