When JJ came to, her head aching, she was in the back seat of a car. Trussed and tied like a Thanksgiving turkey, she could barely move. But she was able to lift her head just enough to see Rhonda in the driver’s seat.
“I don’t understand,” JJ managed to say. “Rhonda, please. Tell me what’s going on.”
They made a right turn and Rhonda slowed, finally pulling over. “We’re at Fifth and Elm,” she said, her voice an odd mixture of both sad and satisfied. “I’m bringing you here to exchange you for Eric’s baby.”
Once again, her friend had managed to surprise her. “You knocked both me and Eric out to help him?”
“No.” Rhonda sighed. “I’m not exchanging you for Garth to get the baby back to Eric. The baby’s mother—a lovely woman named Yolanda—contacted me shortly after Eric moved into your house. After listening to her story, I agreed to help her. Whatever wrongs she might have done, whatever mistakes she made, those don’t give him the right to deny her access to her own child. She’s been broken up about this.”
“You’re helping Yolanda, someone you barely know?” JJ struggled to understand. “I considered you a friend.”
“I am your friend,” Rhonda said decisively. “Believe me, you’ll thank me when this is over.”
“Thank you? For delivering me to a man who’s surely going to kill me? For taking an infant away from a father who loves him? How could you possibly think I’d thank you for that?”
Rhonda sighed. “Because there’s a lot more going on here than you know. I know you’ve heard the term Berserker, but are you aware what it really means?”
Slowly, JJ tried to shake her head, wincing at the pain. “Crazy killer, is my guess,” she said. “Though Eric insists Yolanda wasn’t one.”
“Berserkers stem from an affliction among bear shifters. When they change, they become a focused killing machine. Nothing can stop them. Nothing except death. Little Garth is believed by his own mother to be a Berserker. Of course, no one will know until he’s old enough to shape-shift, but he must be safeguarded until then. Yolanda will protect him.”
Still struggling to make sense of Rhonda’s words, JJ swallowed. “Protect him from what? And if you have no way of knowing whether or not such a tiny infant is going to become this Berserker, how can you possibly hold it against him until he’s a teenager? I believe bears are just like the rest of us. Children can’t change their form until they’re in their teens.”
“This child is different. Yolanda said she’d seen him start to shift. She knows they’ll kill him once they learn what he is. She’s only trying to save her son.”
“Yolanda is lying. I’ve spent a good bit of time with Garth. Not once did he ever act like anything other than a normal, three-month-old baby. He certainly isn’t shape-shifting.”
As she stared down at her silently, Rhonda’s expression told JJ she didn’t believe her.
“Please don’t do this.” JJ let her fear and worry sound in her voice. “Please, Rhonda. I’m begging you.” There had to be something more, something she was missing. Because otherwise, Rhonda’s desire to help a woman she barely knew made absolutely no sense. “What is it you’re not telling me? There has to be more to this than you’re saying. Otherwise, I don’t understand what you’re doing. Help me understand.” Even talking hurt. She wondered if Rhonda’s skillet had dislocated her jaw.
Rhonda went silent for so long JJ feared she wouldn’t answer. “I’ve been there,” she finally said. “Where Yolanda is now. But my ex took my daughter overseas. I never saw her again. She’d be a teenager now.” She sighed, the sound heavy. “So I couldn’t let another woman go through what I did. Eric seems like a nice guy, but what he’s doing is wrong.”
“Except you don’t know all the facts, do you? All you’re going on is what Yolanda told you. You’ve never discussed any of this with Eric. You don’t have his side of things. He’s told me a little about all of this, and Yolanda was doing drugs and partying. She got involved with a group of people that sound like a cult. They’re wanting little Garth—our sacrifice for their greater good, as they see it. Remember that brick that came through your window? The note read ‘Abomination, valor and sacrifice.’ That was from them.”
For a moment, Rhonda appeared torn. “How do you know this? Are you a hundred percent certain?”
“The Pack Protectors are involved. They’re trying to protect Garth. Eric, Garth and I were on our way to a safe house when someone attacked us and one of the Protectors was killed.”
Rhonda closed her eyes. “Now I’m not sure. Everything seemed so clear. Listening to you has done nothing but confuse me. You’ve gone and muddied the waters.”
This gave JJ hope. Maybe, just maybe, Rhonda would change her mind before handing her over to Shawn. She shuddered, well aware of how powerful his need for revenge would be. Still, she’d gladly walk into the bowels of hell if by doing so she could save Garth.
“Maybe I should reconsider.” A note of panic had crept into Rhonda’s voice and she rubbed her temples. “I need a little more time to think about this.”
A sharp rap at the window made her jump. Heart pounding, JJ saw Shawn’s face pressed against the glass. When he spotted her, a slow smile spread across his patrician features. “Good. You tied her up for me. Thank you. And you’re early. Come with me and I’ll take you to the baby.”
“Don’t do it, Rhonda,” JJ urged in a low voice. “Once he gets you outside alone, he won’t honor his bargain.”
“That’s where you’re wrong,” Rhonda said. Her smile chilled JJ’s blood. “Because he has no idea what he’s dealing with.”
* * *
Eric came to, his head throbbing. He sat up too quickly as he remembered what Rhonda had done. Everything spun. She’d knocked him out. But why? Pushing to his feet, he held on to the kitchen counter until the room stopped moving. Moving as fast as he could, he checked out every room. No sign of either Rhonda or JJ. Which could mean only one thing. Rhonda had taken JJ to the cemetery to make the exchange. He’d have to figure out the why of it all later. For now, he had to get out there now.
Though it felt as if a sledgehammer relentlessly slammed into his head with every step, he ran to his SUV. Jumped in, found his keys and sped toward the cemetery. Once there, he figured he’d play it by ear. If worst came to worst, he’d shape-shift and let his bear self deal with Shawn DeLeon. The human wouldn’t know how to react to a massive grizzly looming over him.
Traffic was light and he made it to the corner of Fifth and Elm in record time, turning on Elm to pull into the first entrance and park. The cemetery took up two blocks on Elm, stretching all the way to Third. This time of the year after dark, the place was deserted, which no doubt was why Shawn DeLeon had chosen it.
Now Eric had to find Rhonda, JJ, and hopefully Shawn and Garth.
Getting out of his car, he considered his next move. JJ had seen him as bear, so she wouldn’t be alarmed. He figured shifting would only be to his advantage.
He stepped behind a huge oak, stripped off his clothes, dropped to the ground and initiated the change. He pushed his body to shift as quickly as possible.
Slam. It hurt like hell, especially with his still-aching skull, but he did it. Then, using his powerful bear nose, he lifted his massive head to the wind and tried to catch a whiff of anyone’s scent.
Nothing. Just damp earth, decaying leaves and a bite of winter. Disappointed, he began moving, aware they had to be here somewhere. He hadn’t been unconscious long enough for Rhonda to have already handed JJ over to Shawn.
A sound reached his ear, a faint wail that seemed to come from underground. It was almost unearthly, if he hadn’t been so familiar with the cry. His heart skipped a beat. Garth. On all fours, Eric raced in that direction, keeping all his animal senses on high alert.
As of yet, he saw no sign of any of the others. While Garth was his first priority, no way was he letting Shawn DeLeon get his hands on JJ if there was anything he could do to stop it. And Rhonda. He had no idea how she was involved, but she had gotten in the middle of a mess.
The eerie sight of so many tombstones and trees, along with fading mementos left by loved ones, would have been spooky to a human, stumbling along in the dark night without a flashlight to guide his way. The waning moon provided little light, especially with the cloud cover. Luckily, his bear eyes could see better in the dark than when human. Again, he heard Garth cry. He went utterly still, moving only his gaze across the desolate landscape, trying to get a bead on the cry. Again, the sound seemed to come from under the ground. Had Garth been buried alive? If Shawn DeLeon had harmed that baby in any way, laws be damned. Eric would rip him apart, limb from limb.
Someone screamed, distracting him. Male or female, he couldn’t tell, though part of him hoped it had been Shawn. JJ might have been captured. Rhonda, too. But JJ had one distinct advantage over any human. If she’d use it.
Another scream sounded, softer this time. At least he’d been able to pinpoint the direction. He started off, moving swiftly on all fours, keeping as low to the ground as possible.
Scent reached him first—the overwhelming musky smell that always signified humans. Then a light floral odor that he recognized as JJ. Rhonda, too, along with a masculine, too-heavy cologne that had to be Shawn. The one scent he most wanted to detect—the baby powder and milk of Garth—seemed oddly absent.
As Eric drew closer, their words drifted to him on the breeze. They were arguing. And when they finally came into focus, he saw Rhonda facing off against a tall, slender man who must be Shawn. JJ, who was either tied up or unconscious, lay on the damp earth in front of him.
“Look, you promised me the baby,” Rhonda said, her voice low and furious. “I brought your ex-girlfriend, now give me the kid.”
“I promised you nothing,” the man sneered. “I made a deal with my adoptive brother, not you. If you chose to go around behind his back, that’s your problem. I’m not turning the baby over to you.”
Rhonda growled, the low and guttural sound a warning Eric well recognized. Shawn even stepped back, his eyes widening. Though he no doubt had no idea what that growl could mean, he knew enough to be aware it wasn’t good.
JJ struggled to sit up. “Rhonda, don’t.” Her sharp voice told him she knew what Rhonda meant to do. “Shawn, I’m not going back with you until I know Garth is safe.”
“You don’t have a choice.” Just like that, his confidence returned. “You’re tied up, with no way to escape. So it’s safe to say you’ll go wherever I want you to.”
This time JJ snarled. Eric knew if he didn’t act fast, she’d shift to wolf and attack. And if she did, Shawn wouldn’t reveal where he’d hidden little Garth.
With a roar, Eric reared up to his full height and lumbered into the midst of them.
Rhonda jumped back, clearly startled. Shawn froze, his mind apparently struggling to process what had appeared right in front of him. And JJ, looking up at him, started to laugh. “My knight in shining armor,” she said, her words clear enough to let him know she hadn’t been seriously injured. “If not a bear, he’d have been facing a wolf any second now.”
Eric moved over and placed himself between her and Shawn. Shawn moved backward so quickly he tripped over his own feet and nearly fell.
As Eric opened his mouth to issue another threatening growl, Garth cried out again, his hungry cry. This time, Eric could tell the sound seemed to be coming from a few feet away, but below them. He bared his teeth.
“Where’s the baby, Shawn?” JJ demanded, pushing herself up awkwardly into a standing position. Even with her hands still tied behind her, she faced the other man with her chin up. “Bring out the baby or I’ll have the bear attack you.”
Shawn’s eyes darted from her to Eric. Unbelievably, he appeared undecided as to what course of action to take.
Rhonda chose that moment to step into the fray, grabbing JJ and spinning her around. “Is that Eric?” she demanded, jerking her thumb toward him. “Because if so, you need to be extremely careful what you ask him to do.”
“You think?” JJ glared at her neighbor. “Considering you knocked both of us out so you could meet my ex here at the cemetery and become party to abducting a baby, maybe you aren’t the one to be offering advice.”
Garth’s cries went from whimpers to out-and-out wailing, which meant he wanted a bottle right now. Glancing at JJ, who understood and nodded, Eric dropped to all fours and moved rapidly in the direction of his son’s cries.
“Stop him,” Shawn ordered. “Don’t let your pet maul the kid.”
As he got closer and closer to Garth, Eric was able to pinpoint where the cries were coming from—a massive stone crypt, ancient and covered with dying moss. Circling it, he used his shoulder to push on the door to see if it would open. It did not.
Spinning around, he gave a furious roar.
“He wants you to open up that crypt,” JJ said to Shawn. “And Rhonda, do you think maybe you could untie my hands now?”
Instead of rushing over, Shawn began to edge away in the opposite direction.
“Hold on,” Rhonda shouted, rushing to block his exit. “You’re not going anywhere, buddy.”
Even as bear, Eric could have predicted what would happen next. Shawn swung at her, clearly having no qualms about striking a woman. With moves worthy of a professional boxer, Rhonda arched away, narrowly missing his blow.
And then, with a furious snarl, Rhonda dropped to all fours, still fully clothed, and began to initiate a change.
JJ reacted from pure instinct. “No!” she shouted, slamming herself into Rhonda before she could shape-shift. Changing in front of a human who wasn’t one’s mate was a crime punishable by imprisonment or even death.
Surprised, Rhonda rolled. “What the hell was that for?” she demanded, launching herself to her feet, fists up, looking as if she wanted to go a few rounds in a boxing ring.
“You know.” JJ glared right back. “Now untie me so we can go rescue the baby.”
To her surprise, Rhonda did as she asked. Once her wrists were free, JJ shook them to try and get the circulation going again.
“You know if you go into the crypt, he’s going to lock you inside with that baby,” Rhonda said. “Which is why I’m not going in there.”
“Maybe.” JJ shot her ex a disparaging look. Next to Eric as grizzly, Shawn didn’t seem nearly as intimidating. “Or you will. I’m not an idiot. Which is why Eric there is going to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
Nodding his huge head in agreement, Eric crossed the space between them and the crypt, taking a position next to Shawn.
“Thanks,” JJ said. Then, in case he hadn’t figured everything out yet, she jerked her head toward Rhonda. “She tried to exchange me for Garth, just so you know. Apparently, she and Yolanda worked out some sort of agreement. Yolanda wants her son back. Rumors of her death appear to have been greatly exaggerated.”
Eric’s bear blinked, which she guessed was his way of letting her know he understood. Meanwhile, poor little Garth had worked himself up into a frenzy, hiccuping in between frantic cries. Her stomach knotted. They needed to hurry up before the air ran out.
“Now, Shawn, show me how to get into the crypt,” JJ barked. She couldn’t help but notice the way he gave a little start before shooting the bear a worried glance.
Reluctantly, and moving slowly enough that JJ suspected he was working on an alternate plan, Shawn shuffled over to the crypt. He reached behind a stone marker and twisted something—obviously some sort of hidden lever—and the massive door began to slide slowly open. As it did, Garth’s cries sounded clearer and much closer.
It took every ounce of self-discipline she had to keep from rushing inside the crypt for the baby.
“How did you find out about that?” Rhonda asked, the admiration in her voice infuriating JJ.
Shooting Eric yet another assessing glance, Shawn shrugged. “I watched a documentary on old graveyards. They featured a crypt similar to this one. When I arrived here early, I couldn’t figure out where to put the kid. So I checked out a couple of crypts. This one had the gears to open it up. Perfect place to stash him.”
“Yeah, until he ran out of air,” JJ said. Shawn’s frown told her he hadn’t even considered that horrifying possibility. “Then you would have been guilty of murder in addition to kidnapping.”
“I’ll be fine,” Shawn retorted. “My adoptive brother is in law enforcement. FBI, I think. He’ll take care of me. He always does.”
“Not this time.” JJ took great pleasure in saying those words. The crypt was finally open. “Eric, I’m going in,” she said. “Watch my back.”