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Confused. It was the only word Wilder could use to describe his state of mind at the moment. No. That wasn’t true. Disoriented, flummoxed, perplexed and most of all shaken. Those were probably more accurate at the moment.
It didn’t help that Yosi was wearing a neon green t-shirt with neon pink running shorts and neon orange shoes. Oh, and he couldn’t forget the mismatched socks in purple and yellow. Yosi claimed he wore bright colors in order to be seen.
It had taken everything in Wilder to ask if he was trying to be seen from space, because he owned the island with only twenty people, who all worked for the man, living there. Normally, Wilder wasn’t one to judge, but he was getting a headache from just being around Yosi.
Thank Gods he and Jazz were leaving. It had only taken one night for Yosi to come up with a plan, maybe. Whether or not it would work would take time and lots of money, which Yosi promised to donate to the cause. He still wasn’t sure what the man was going to do.
There had been talk about satellites, but he hadn’t understood how they were going to put u out in space without humans questioning its existence. Then again, that wasn’t something for him to figure out. That was between the Council, Alpha Edrick, and Jazz.
“Thank you again for seeing us on such short notice.” Jazz shook Yosi’s hand. Wilder forced himself to hold back the growl that wanted to erupt whenever his mate touched anyone.
“Yes,” Wilder said, doing his best not to grimace at the overly vivid color combination. “The Council appreciates your help in this matter and your discretion.”
Yosi smiled. “Secrecy is my middle name. Although, I must warn you, your trip didn’t go unnoticed. My security wasn’t sure who was watching you boarding the helicopter, but there were at least two.”
Alarmed, Wilder considered leaving his mate behind as he went to find whoever had been watching them.
“They left after you took off and haven’t been seen since.” Yosi gave him a tablet. “This links you to my team on the helipad. They have been keeping an eye on your vehicle and have checked it from top to bottom. No one has tampered with it. But if you get into trouble, just push the button on the screen and my team will be there.”
Wilder wasn’t so sure that made him feel any better. The fact that Yosi felt he needed the extra security couldn’t be a good sign.
With a protective arm around his mate, Wilder led Jazz to the helicopter. He double checked Jazz’s seat belt, then indicated the pilot could take off.
“It will be fine,” Jazz told him when they’d both put their headsets on. “Yosi’s security team will alert us if anything comes up before we land.”
Wilder was more worried about land to air missiles. They could come from almost anywhere along the coast, or even a boat out at sea. The security would have no chance of warning them until it was too late. Not that he’d tell Jazz that.
“You’re right, my mate,” he said instead, giving his mate a sweet kiss as he pulled him close. If they were going to die in this stupid helicopter, then it would be with Jazz in his arms, right where he belonged.
His lips captured and held Jazz’s for several minutes, just enjoying the way they fit together so perfectly. Tingles of need raced along his skin as Jazz’s hands reached up to hold onto Wilder’s upper arms.
His grizzly rumbled out a sound between a growl and moan as he wanted more than a simple kiss. Agreeing wholeheartedly with his animal, Wilder licked along his mate’s bottom lip as his hand rose up so his thumb curved along Jazz’s jaw, before adding just enough pressure for his mate to open up to him.
The moment those sweet, plump lips opened, Wilder took advantage, slipping inside and mapping out every inch of his teeth and gums. Then he twined his tongue with his mate’s, loving the way Jazz surged into his embrace as he tried to get closer.
It was a heady experience to kiss his mate, one Wilder knew, if they survived, he would never tire of. His taste was like a field of wild flowers dipped in honey. If it were possible, Wilder would roll around until every bit of him was covered by his mate’s scent and taste.
A throat cleared, but Wilder ignored it as he continued kissing his mate, and wishing they were somewhere where he could show his mate just how much he loved him. He endeavored to do that every night, but now that they were possibly in danger, Wilder was determined that his mate know how deeply he loved him.
Breaking the kiss, he stared into those passion-filled brown eyes. “I love you, my mate.”
Those sweet brown eyes that he loved so much turned watery as Jazz said, “I love you too, my mate, with all my heart and soul.”
“As touching as that was, we’ve arrived,” the pilot said into the headset.
Wilder looked out the window. Sure enough, they were on the helipad, with one security guard at the door to greet them and two more standing at their vehicle, keeping it safe. He was going to need to thank Yosi for making sure nothing happened to Jazz.
The moment the guard opened the door, he helped Jazz to the ground and followed him with their bags. Not wanting to stick around as a sitting target, he rushed them to the SUV. Tossing their bags in the back seat, Wilder quickly thanked the guards, who reminded him to contact them if they ran into any problems.
Once more, he made sure his mate was buckled in before turning on the vehicle and putting it into drive. He took off, not looking back as he drove like a bat out of hell.
He couldn’t explain it, but the need to be as far away as possible rose inside him until he was driving like a maniac. The hairs along his body stood on end as if he were being watched. Yet, Wilder couldn’t find any evidence that they were.
The road ahead of them was clear and he couldn’t see anywhere that someone might be hiding to ambush them. So why was he so on edge? Hoping it was just because of Yosi’s warning and not any real threat, Wilder continued to put as much distance as he could between the helipad and them as he could.
“Is there a reason why you’re driving like we’re competing in some sort of race?” Jazz asked, his knuckles were white as his hand was tightly wrapped around the ‘oh shit’ bar.
Even seeing the fear in his mate’s eyes, wasn’t enough for Wilder to slow down. He wasn’t sure anything could have made him lift his foot from the accelerator at that point.
“Seriously, Wilder.” The teasing tone in Jazz’s voice had disappeared as fear took its place. “What’s wrong?”
If only he knew, Wilder might feel better. “Do you have your gun?”
He hated seeing his mate afraid, but Wilder would rather be safe than sorry. When Jazz nodded, his gaze looking everywhere out the windows as he tried to catch a hint of the danger that Wilder knew in his gut loomed close.
“Where’s that tablet Yosi gave us?” he asked his mate.
Jazz picked it up from where it had been tucked between him and console. “Do you want me to call them? What should I say, because I’m not seeing anything?”
The words had no more left Jazz’s mouth than they rounded a bend about fifteen miles from the helipad to find eight trucks and SUVs as well as four dirt bikes that were built for the surrounding terrain.
“Call,” Wilder told his mate as he slammed on his brakes. He allowed the SUVs natural drift at such a move to spin them nearly completely around. But he didn’t allow them to come to a complete stop before punching back down on the gas.
Like a shot, they burned rubber for a moment before the tires caught the asphalt and propelled them forward. As they hadn’t been totally turned around, they went into the rocky terrain for several minutes as Wilder fought to get them back on the road.
“Don’t tell me you got lost already,” one of the security guards chuckled as he answered. But the words hadn’t even left his mouth when he must have seen the terror on Jazz’s face. “Where are you? We’re already loading up.”
Just as he said that, Wilder could hear car doors slamming and more tires squealing as they raced to help. “We’re about fifteen miles from you on Route 110. We’ve turned around and are heading back, but I don’t think...”
Their SUV was rammed from behind stopping Wilder from saying anything more as he tried to outrun their pursuers. Four dirt bikes shot past them and Wilder knew they were about to run out of time.
“There’s no way we’re going to get away. Get here as soon as you can,” he yelled.
“Keep the connection on and try and get as many faces as you can,” the guard who had walked them from the helicopter to their vehicle said.
“How is that going to keep us alive?” Jazz squeaked out, the acrid smell of his fear caused Wilder’s grizzly to demand to be released.
Not while we’re driving buddy, but as soon as we are forced out of the car, these assholes are yours, I promise, he told his bear, which thankfully seemed to mollify him enough that Wilder didn’t have to worry about shifting as he was doing his best to outrun these killers.
“It won’t if they are after you,” the guard admitted. “But if it’s Yosi they want, they may kidnap you and knowing who we’re dealing with will help us find you faster.”
That made sense, but Wilder didn’t have time to worry about that at the moment as two of the dirt bikes stopped right in front of him, obviously hoping it would force him to stop. Their loss.
Wilder didn’t stop as he slammed into the bikes, sending the two men flying through the air. With any luck they would be dead, or at least incapacitated long enough to not be a further problem. The next two bikes were smarter. They stopped off to the side of the road far enough away to give them time to pull their weapons.
Before Wilder even had a chance of making the decision to risk them being shot at and keep going or stopping, Jazz had taken the decision out of his hands. He had barely recognized the fact that Jazz had opened his window, until he heard his mate’s gun go off and the man on the left side of the road dropped when a bullet slammed between his eyes.
The guy on the right had just glanced over to see what happened to his buddy when a second bullet went through his temple. With both men dead, Wilder raced past them, doing his best to keep the vehicle on the road even as they were once more bumped from behind.
If they managed to get out of this alive, he swore he would never doubt his mate’s ability in a dangerous situation again. He still wouldn’t like the fact that Jazz was put in that kind of environment, but at least he knew his mate could take care of himself.
Now, they just needed to keep themselves alive.
No sooner had that thought crossed his mind than two of the vehicles chasing them came up alongside of them and slammed into the sides of Wilder’s SUV. There must have been damage done to the wheels or even the axel for he couldn’t keep the vehicle on the road any longer.
He prayed for a miracle even as he slammed on the brakes and yelled to his mate, “Kill as many as you can. I love you, brown eyes.”
Then he shoved open the door and leapt from the vehicle, shifting as he did so. His paws landed on the ground, in a dead run as he yanked the first unlucky soul out of his door. The man’s scream filled the air, only to be cut off a moment later as Wilder’s jaws crushed his neck.
He and his mate may not survive this but Wilder was going to take as many with him as possible.
