| |
Parker looked at his phone again. It was almost one a.m. Four hours had passed—too long. Any amount of time that Kayla stayed in dangerous territory was too long, but four hours boded ill.
He started to text her, then stopped. If Sloan or one of the other Bitterroots saw his text, they might ask questions.
Then again, wouldn't it be normal for her driver to wonder where she was after four hours?
It wasn't like him to hesitate. Usually, once he made a decision, he went for it. But Kayla's life was on the line. He couldn't afford to make a mistake.
His attention was drawn to the woods. At first, he wasn't sure what had caught his notice. He sniffed carefully and smelled a feline. He was lifting his shirt, ready to shift and defend himself from Bronson's people, when another sniff of the air told him that the feline he smelled had no human nature.
"Come out," he said to the darkness beyond the trees.
If he hadn't had such powerful night vision, he wouldn't have seen the large cougar until it was right in front of him. The beast stopped at the edge of the tree line.
Parker nodded at the animal and lowered his gaze. It was a sign of respect and showed that he wasn't a threat. "Peace, brother."
The cougar made a huffing sound, then lowered its chin and said, "Peace."
"I am waiting for my mate," Parker said. "I won't remain in your territory long."
"Nor will I."
Without another word, the cougar turned and walked back into the trees.
Puzzled by the exchange, Parker climbed into his truck bed to look around. No time to try to figure out vague pronouncements from animals. If Kayla needed help, he wanted to know exactly what he had at his disposal besides his claws and fangs.
An old bungee cord lay in the corner, and that was it. Looked like it would be all claws and fangs, then.
No more second-guessing. He typed out a message to Kayla. It's been a while. You staying the night? I can swing back and pick you up in the morning. He read it through a couple of times. It sounded like something a detached, dispassionate associate would say.
He pressed send and waited, eyeing the rope.
Maybe the bungee cord wasn't a good weapon, but he knew what he wanted to do with it, and it involved tying Kayla somewhere so he could watch over her. No more of this Bitterroot business. Let Jameson come here himself to snoop around.
Jameson—yes. Parker shouldn't have to figure out all this shit by himself. He grabbed his phone and sent a quick text to the alpha. I think something's wrong here. Kayla still isn't back.
Three little dots appeared, showing that Jameson was responding, but a voice carried to Parker from the turn-off ahead. "Sloan said she should have a driver."
Someone else was coming, and it wasn't Kayla. Fuck. He set down his phone. No time to shift and ambush them. He pushed down the tailgate and sat on it like he was waiting for Kayla.
"Hey," he called.
Two men approached, walking slowly along the highway. They each had on a pair of cut-off sweatpants—ideal clothes to wear if they wanted to shift quickly. This was suspicious as hell.
"Where's Kayla?" Parker asked.
The blond man elbowed the brown-haired guy.
Brown said, "Sleeping. You can head home. Someone will bring her to you tomorrow if she doesn't decide to stay."
"Sleeping," Blond said in disbelief, shaking his head. "She's fucking Sloan. Finally."
As they got closer, Parker inhaled. Brown was a bear, Blond was a lion. Blond sounded like he spoke the truth, but he must have only been speaking what he believed to be true, because Parker didn't think for a second that Kayla was having sex with Sloan—at least not voluntarily. And that meant he had to act, fast.
Two on one, all in their human forms. He liked his odds.
The wind shifted, bringing with it the scent of a cougar.
"You got more people from the RCC here with you?" Brown asked.
"No, I don't," Parker said, letting them hear the truth. That cougar they smelled was the one Parker had just been talking to. He hopped off the tailgate and closed it, trying to appear like he wasn't worried about anything. Carefree, easygoing. He was just the driver, after all. "I guess if Kayla's staying the night, I should be on my way."
He turned toward the truck, but paused when he sensed his fellow feline coiled to spring, just out of sight.
"Be careful," Parker said to the cougar.
"I have been waiting patiently to take them down," the cougar said. "The time for care is over."
"I swear I smell another lion," Blond said, just as Brown yelled in alarm.
Parker spun back to face them, already knowing what he'd see. The cougar had sprung from the trees and landed directly on Blond's back, clamping his jaws over Blond's neck. The metallic scent of blood perfumed the air, but the wounds didn't look fatal.
However, Brown was shifting into his bear form. Parker needed to stop him as soon as possible. He turned into his tiger, panic fueling the speed of his shift. By the time he stood on four legs, the bear was wheeling toward Blond and the cougar.
"Look out," Parker said to the cougar.
The cougar kicked with its hind legs, knocking Blond to the ground and dragging him toward the trees. From the way Blond didn't fight, it seemed the man was unconscious.
In his bear form, Brown charged after them, but Parker tackled him from behind.
Brown tried to shake off Parker, but Parker held on with his claws. The two of them fell to the ground in a tangle of fur and limbs.
Parker bit and scratched everything he could reach, his claws tearing, his mouth filling with blood.
A snarl echoed in Parker's ears and he looked up to see the cougar's gaze on Brown's. Blond lay off to the side, bleeding from the neck, although the wound didn't look deep enough to be fatal.
"I can handle him," the cougar said. "I'll watch them until you return. Go to your mate."
Parker didn't need to be told again.
"Thank you," he said, then turned around and ran for the Bitterroot territory, for Kayla.