Brogan tossed his phone onto the dashboard.
“Who was that?” Steve asked.
“Doc. She said Rowan and the baby are fine. And she wanted to let me know that word of El’s abduction has spread. More than half the town is moving out into the mountainside to help search for her and Marcus.”
“It might be better if someone else finds him.” Quinn’s quiet words sent chills down Brogan’s spine. He knew his friend wanted to kill Marcus with his bare hands for hurting Rowan. Hell, he felt the same way.
“We’ll find him. And Steve, you’re our safety net. You’ll be the one to take him down.”
Steve chuckled wryly. “What makes you think I don’t want to kill him as much as you two?”
“Your devotion to our friendship is admirable,” Brogan said.
“It has nothing to do with our friendship. I promised not to say anything and I won’t but I can tell you he’s done some damage to a mutual friend that should have gotten him exiled months ago.” Steve’s cryptic words had Brogan seething.
Quinn growled beside him. “Does this have to do with Doc?”
“You know?” Steve’s astonishment was clear.
“No. All I know is Rowan helped her and refused to tell me what went on,” Quinn clarified.
“I want to know the full story when we get back to town,” Brogan demanded.
“She won’t tell you. She doesn’t want anyone to know. Ever,” Steve said.
Whispering Mountain lookout was around the next bend and the four-wheel drive parked on the side of the road proved Steve’s hunch right. Pulling in behind they jumped from Brogan’s truck, Steve and Quinn each heading to a different corner of Marcus’s vehicle to deflate the tires. The bastard would not be getting away by car if he managed to elude them.
Tinted windows made seeing inside difficult but there were no bulky shadows big enough to be El. Besides, Marcus might be an idiot but he wouldn’t leave her in the car and go off. No, he’d take her into the forest and make sure she couldn’t get away.
Quinn finished disabling the car and stood. Scanning the area, he moved off the embankment and into the tree line, tracking their prey. Brogan and Steve moved in behind, letting Quinn lead the way through the trees. They’d trekked for about ten minutes when Quinn stopped abruptly. He took a deep breath and analyzed the air.
“Marcus isn’t far ahead of us, his scent is stronger.” Quinn turned and sniffed again. “There’s another coyote near.”
A dark blur of motion drew Brogan’s attention to the left. A coyote he’d never seen before pounced on him, taking his legs out from under him and knocking the wind from his lungs as they crashed to the ground together. He struggled to keep the sharp teeth and powerful jaws from closing over his throat.
He lost his grip on the damp fur and the coyote lunged for his head. Braced for the pain of teeth piercing skin, he was shocked when the animal licked his face from jawbone to forehead. The second swipe finished in his ear, drool leaving a sticky trail.
Fingers twined in the fur around the animal’s neck, Brogan held the beast still and stared into a pair of eyes he knew well. Seeing the familiar gaze coming from a coyote stunned him.
“Shit! El?”
Her exuberant barks made him laugh. Jeez, she’d shifted. He pushed her off, wanting to get to his feet and look at all of her. A snarl had them all turning. Not fifteen feet away stood Marcus in coyote form and before any of them could react, the animal sprang forward.
In human form, Brogan would sustain a lot of damage before getting the upper hand against a coyote as large as Marcus but his enemy never got the chance to hurt him. With a bark so fierce at first he hadn’t thought it came from her, El attacked. She plowed into Marcus’s side, taking him to the ground.
Her agility and fast movement surprised all of them. She had the other coyote pinned to the snow, her razor sharp teeth poised around its vulnerable neck. One bite and it would all be over.
He couldn’t let her do that.
Marcus whined and his eyes bulged. Brogan knew she’d broken skin.
“El, let him go. We won’t let him get away but you have to let go.” He inched closer to where they were, Quinn coming around the other side. “Eloise, you don’t want to do this,” he coaxed. “Come on, let him go. Quinn and Steve will make sure he doesn’t get away. He’ll answer to the Council for what he’s done and be exiled from the pack.”
She didn’t move, frozen in place with Marcus quivering beneath her. In coyote form her every instinct would be screaming to finish off the other animal, eliminate the threat.
Quinn moved into her line of sight and she growled a low warning in her throat. Marcus flinched and whimpered.
“El, please, baby. For me, let him go,” Brogan pleaded. He’d get down on his knees and beg if he had to. If she killed Marcus she’d have to live with the guilt. He didn’t wish that on her no matter how much he wanted Marcus dead.
She finally let go of Marcus’ throat but didn’t get off him. El held him down with bared teeth and her weight. After Quinn got him by the scruff she got up, trotted to Brogan and sat on her haunches like a domesticated pet instead of the wild coyote she’d just been.
He reached down, ran his fingers through her gray coat. She was damp and cold. For the second day she’d been caught out in the snow. He hoped this wouldn’t become a habit.
“You can change back now, El.”
Quinn coughed, cleared his throat. “That might not be such a good idea.”
“Why not? I want to check she’s okay, that he didn’t hurt her,” Brogan argued.
“Brogan,” Steve interjected. “As much as I’m a guy and getting a look at a naked woman is one of my constant aims in life, I don’t think she’d be comfortable being naked in front of us.”
“Oh, right. I guess I’m so used to that part I just don’t think about it.” He was never this thoughtless. She scrambled his brains so much he was forgetting the basics. “But she can’t go to town in coyote form.”
“You’ve got a blanket in your truck don’t you?” Steve asked. “She can shift back and wrap it around her. She needs to see Doc.”
“We’ll wait here, give you a head start so she can change without an audience,” Quinn added.
Brogan looked at his two friends, thought about warning them against doing anything to Marcus but decided not to. He trusted them to bring him back safely to face the Council.
“Come on, El, let’s go to the truck.”
She padded along beside him, comfortable in her coyote form. She was a beautiful animal. Her coat, though damp, looked healthy and the colors were a mixture of different shades of gray. A little gold around the ears and neck gave her a warm glow. She was an average size and considering how small she was in human form, Brogan found that strange.
It wouldn’t matter what she looked like, he’d still want her. His coyote clawed to be let free. He wanted to run through the forest with her by his side, but that pleasure would wait for later. First they had to get her to Doc’s clinic.
And Marcus back to town.
With Marcus restrained in the back of Brogan’s truck, the drive down the mountain was made in silence. El was too exhausted to talk and lay quietly in Brogan’s arms while Quinn drove and Steve rode up front. The men had been very careful not to crowd her when they’d emerged from the woods. No one would look her in the eye and they let Brogan bundle her into the back without comment.
El had kept her gaze away from Marcus. While she didn’t fear him, knew after their little wrestle she could take him if she had to, she didn’t want to look at the coyote who threatened to take so much from them all. Brogan had told her Rowan was injured but okay and he continued to reassure her that everything would be fine now, but the reality of what she’d been through was beginning to sink in.
Her own injuries were minor but she would see the doctor just to be sure. The warmth seeping into her from Brogan lulled her to a light doze and she snuggled closer. With her arms wrapped around his neck, El held on, not wanting to let go of him ever again.
Jolted from sleep, El grabbed Brogan tighter. Silence reigned for a second before pandemonium broke free. People called out, their voices muffled by the car until Quinn opened his door and the noise became a roar. Faces crowded against the windows, staring in at her and El shrank back into Brogan.
“Get them away from the truck,” Brogan bellowed.
Steve jumped from the cab, pushing bodies away from the vehicle as he did. Quinn came around to the curb and opened the door, reaching in to offer her his hand but El refused to take it and burrowed in closer to Brogan.
“Get them all away.”
Brogan’s voice rumbled in his chest against her cheek and rang in her ears. Feet scuffed on concrete as Quinn and Steve did their best to make a clear path through the sea of gawkers. And that’s what they were, not one of them pretended to be doing anything but staring at her. A couple of burly men made their way through the throng, pushing people aside willy-nilly as they headed for the back of the truck and Marcus.
“Come on. It’s okay, I won’t let anyone hurt you.” Brogan cradled her against his chest and sidled along the seat to the door.
She couldn’t help flinching as he stepped from the cab, she knew she was safe in his arms but the men had chosen the same moment to lift Marcus from the truck bed, leaving them within two feet of each other.
“Get him locked up.” Brogan’s booming voice quieted the crowd, a hushed silence descending.
One of the men collared and leashed Marcus, pulling him away through the crowd. El breathed easy but the small comfort was short-lived when the crowd surged forward and surrounded Brogan.
“Jesus, give him room would you?” Quinn formed a barricade in front of them as Brogan moved forward.
People fell in step behind them as they made their way to the building and the door Steve held open. Questions flew around them but no one uttered a word until they were safely inside with the door closed.
“Steve, go over to the sheriff’s office and tell William what happened.”
“Shouldn’t you do that?” Quinn asked.
“Later. First I want to make sure El’s all right.”
El leaned back and looked up at Brogan. “I’m okay, go do what you have to.”
“No. Not until Doc checks you out and says you’re fine. Plus I want to see Rowan before I leave the clinic.”
“Quinn?” Rowan could be heard yelling from down the hall.
“Rowan’s here?” El watched Quinn head across the room at a run.
“Yep, let me take you to say hi and then Doc can get a good look at you before I take you home.” Brogan walked toward the hall on the other side of the waiting room.
“She’s really okay?” The thought of Marcus hurting Rowan sent fear and guilt rolling in El’s stomach.
“She’ll be fine with a little rest and a few days to heal.” A woman in a white coat met them in the hallway. “Take her into the room next to Rowan’s, Brogan.”
“Can she see Rowan first, Doc?”
“Let’s leave that until after I get a look at her. Besides, I think Quinn will want to spend time alone with Rowan first.”
Brogan followed the doctor into an exam room that looked anything but sterile. The walls were painted with murals of animals and colorful mobiles hung from the ceiling. A closer look revealed all the animals were coyotes, young cubs at various stages of development prancing around the walls and leaping from the roof. Obviously this was the room they used for children.
“Sorry about the room but Rowan’s in one and the other is full of supplies that arrived earlier today that I didn’t get a chance to put away because of the emergency.” She went straight to the sink in the corner, scrubbed her hands and pulled on a pair of latex gloves. “You can put her on the bed, Brogan.”
“Right.”
Brogan gently placed El on the exam table, making sure the blanket stayed wrapped around her. Not much point when the doctor would want to remove it to check her over. The discomfort swirling in El’s stomach had nothing to do with her nudity beneath the blanket and everything to do with the events of the last few hours. Having Brogan at her side helped keep her from freaking out.
“Brogan you need to move so I can get at my patient.”
Muttering what sounded like sorry, he stepped to the side, closer to El’s head. He wove his fingers through her hair, brushing it away from her face, the soothing motion enough to distract her from what the doctor was doing until she touched a particularly raw spot on her ankle.
“Ouch.”
“Sorry, this section has no skin left at all. I’m afraid it’s going to hurt a bit more when I clean the dirt from your wounds.”
El ground her teeth through the rest of the exam. While her ankles and wrists hurt she’d escaped any further injuries. The doctor still wanted to do a scan of her head to be sure she hadn’t suffered any head trauma while unconscious but all signs pointed to nothing more than the minor abrasions on her arms and legs.
“I’m going to do a couple more tests, check your blood and get that scan organized but it won’t be too much longer and you can go home.” The doctor opened a cupboard and pulled out a bundle of cloth. “Here, you might be more comfortable in a gown.”
“Thanks, Doc.” Brogan helped her sit up and slip into the stiff garment.
“You’re welcome.” The doctor removed her gloves and held out a hand to El. “And it’s a pleasure to meet you. Rowan’s told me a lot about you, although I wish it were under different circumstances.”
“Thank you, Doctor.” El shook the offered hand.
“Please, call me Doc or Gordie.”
“I’m Eloise but everyone calls me El.”
“Okay, let me get you out of here.” With a smile Gordie left the room.
She returned a few minutes later with a tray of implements El didn’t like the look of. Seeing the vials to hold blood made her stomach roll and she quickly turned away to examine the mural opposite her.
Brogan held her hand while Gordie inserted the needle to take her blood for the tests. At the prick of pain El turned. The sight of her blood filling the plastic tube undid her. Lightheaded, she swayed and if Brogan hadn’t been next to her she would have toppled from the bed to the floor. Again. She was getting tired of playing the swooning female. Never in her life had she fainted but she seemed to be passing out at regular intervals since coming to Whispering Springs.