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Lucian entered the front door of their house and Kat rushed to him, wrapping her arms around him.
“You had me worried sick,” she said.
He kissed her lips and smiled. “I’m sorry. Went for that jog and stopped by Brockton’s for a while.”
“A while?” she said, placing her hands on her hips in a teasing manner.
“That was the intention, dear,” Lucian said with a tired voice. “Honest. I didn’t expect him to pull me into helping him.”
Kat cocked one brow playfully. “What exactly did he need your help for?”
“I don’t feel like telling you right now.”
“Not feeling well?” she asked.
“Very drained, but at least I don’t have a fever.”
Kat smiled. “That’s good news, but as it is, we need to get to the airport.”
“Why? Did Mitch contact you?”
“Yes,” Kat said, pointing toward the living room. “The bags are on the couch. Pack them into the car and I’ll explain while I drive.”
“So it’s urgent?”
She nodded. “More than you think.”
***
Kat drove with Lucian leaned back in his seat. He was weak but not as badly as the night before.
“What did Mitch find out?” Lucian asked with a tired voice.
“The girl that was going to give him information took him prisoner.”
Lucian chuckled. “She needs a love slave?”
“Hardly,” Kat said with a frown. “She can turn into a wolf.”
Lucian rose in his seat and looked at her with wide eyes. “What?”
Kat smiled. “I thought that would get your attention.”
“You’re serious?”
“Of course. I wouldn’t make that up.”
“Then how did Mitch escape?”
“Here’s where it gets interesting.”
Lucian cocked a brow and he shook his head. “More interesting than her being a she-wolf?”
Kat shrugged. “Maybe not. But a woman helped Mitch get free and now she wants us to help get her daughter back.”
“From whom?”
“That we don’t know yet. The wolf girl was pursuing them.”
“And we have a flight to Salem?”
“Yes.”
“Do we have to leave our weapons behind?” he asked.
“No. I made arrangements with a man who owns a helicopter. He’ll fly us there.”
“Good. That means less headaches.”
Kat looked into Lucian’s eyes and smiled. “You still look exhausted.”
“I could sleep.”
“Then lay back and sleep until we get to the airport, which is about thirty minutes away.”
Lucian leaned back and closed his eyes. “Sounds good to me.”
***
Cassandra hurried along in the narrow path of light the penlight offered. Mitch forced himself to keep up. Although in pain, he wasn’t as stiff as he had been when Cassandra freed him from the leather restraints. The more he moved, the better he felt.
Water sloshed underfoot from the shallow puddles. From time to time bats flittered past their heads.
“Do you think those cats will come after us?” Mitch asked.
“I don’t know.”
“At least they seem to favor you.”
“They have watched my house for weeks now.”
“Really?” Mitch asked.
“I was afraid of them until tonight. But Alicia,” Cassandra choked back tears. “She never seemed concerned about them. I know it sounds odd, but she seemed to be able to read their thoughts or communicate with them in her mind.”
“What do you mean?”
“Any time they were near the house, she seemed to know it.”
“She mentioned them?”
“Yeah.”
The light shone on a small metal door.
“Our exit,” she said, sighing with relief. “I don’t like being in such a dark place.”
“I don’t either.”
Mitch stepped to the door. He grasped the upright slick metal handle and twisted to the right. The lock mechanism clicked. The door popped ajar. He gently pulled the door toward him and peered out.
“Turn out the light,” he said.
She did so. “What do you see?”
“Perhaps the source behind the whole mess.”
Cassandra peered through the doorway. She gasped when she read the sign on the iron-barred gate: New Horizons.
She spiraled from the door and moved away, fearing someone might have seen her through the narrow door crack. She shook her head. “I don’t believe it.”
“What?”
“The cats are from here.”
Mitch pushed the door closed.
“Are you certain?” he asked.
“What other explanation is there? I mean they came from this direction. They chased that girl in the other direction.”
Mitch took her penlight and turned the light onto the muddy path near the door.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“Looking at what footprints are here. There aren’t any catlike prints. Over here is Sheba’s. And it looks like she enters through here often.”
“So she’s connected with New Horizons?”
“Looks that way.”
Cassandra rubbed her eyes. “Then how did those cats get on the other side of us?”
“I’m not sure, but I have a feeling this tunnel has numerous exits. They could have come in somewhere else. And since they chased Sheba that direction, I believe they don’t want her coming back here.”
“It doesn’t make any sense.”
“It’s starting to.”
“How?”
“There was a police officer that came into the room while I was tied, and they thought I was unconscious.”
“What did he look like?” she asked.
“Muscular and about Sheba’s height. Wasn’t a tall man.”
Cassandra nodded. “Probably Officer Parker.”
“He was mad that she didn’t allow me to leave town. He got even angrier when she showed Kat’s business card.”
“Why?”
“Because they will be coming to help me. Well, us, now. Had I left town, they didn’t have to worry about more information getting to the public about the murders.”
Cassandra exhaled a frustrated sigh. “Then if we backtracked and searched for side tunnels, we might find Alicia and Seth?”
“That’s possible, but we need to find a safe place to hide until morning.”
“Why? If there’s the chance I can find her—”
“Look. I understand your frustration. But the more we move around in the darkness, the better chance they have of finding us. We can’t afford that. Alicia and Seth can’t afford that, either. Kat and Lucian should be here in a few hours.”
“You honestly believe two more people will be that much help?” Cassandra asked.
“I do. You don’t know these two. They are more aggressive than Sheba or that officer.”
“Fine,” she said, crossing her arms. “So you want to hide in this dark tunnel until morning, wondering if she or those cats will return?”
“No,” Mitch replied.
“Then where?”
“New Horizons.”
“What? Are you crazy?”
Mitch smiled. “It’s the last place they’d look for us.”
“Or where your friends find our dead bodies.”
“Nonsense,” he said, pulling the door open. “Come on.”
“Wait,” Cassandra said, grabbing his arm.
“What is it?”
“New Horizons is a dangerous place. I believe they’re the ones that killed Seth’s mother. I can’t prove it, but I believe they’re the ones trying to kill me.”
“What makes you believe that?”
“When I was in her house, I found some discarded letters in the trash from New Horizons. They were threatening her and demanded that she not move away with Seth. Before Officer Parker killed his partner, they discussed how angry their boss would be if they didn’t find the children. I don’t think we should go inside without your friends or outside authorities. It’s too dangerous.”
Mitch nodded, weighing the information. “Okay, but we could hide in the hedgerow and check out the place from a distance.”
Cassandra peered out the door at the hedges that lined the perimeter. Although the drifting fog wasn’t heavy, it still obscured their view. He opened the door, took her hand, and they exited. For some strange reason she didn’t believe this was the best place for them to be.
***
Sheba stared at the gun. From her peripheral vision she didn’t see any other movement in the shadows. She didn’t hear any other noises except the light drizzle plinking the metal roof. Parker seemed to have come alone.
Parker smiled. “Alpha has ordered me to take you home.”
“Really?” she asked with an amused smile.
“Yes.”
“And he sent you here alone?”
“Even you aren’t bulletproof,” Parker replied.
“But you’re dumber than I gave you credit for.”
Parker’s jaw grew rigid. “He didn’t say I had to bring you back alive.”
Sheba shrugged. “So pull the trigger. I dare you. Maybe I’m more bulletproof than you’d expect.”
His eyes narrowed. His hand tightened around the gun.
“Why did you do it?” he asked. “I’d like to know before Alpha punishes you.”
“What?”
“You killed those two men in the cemetery.”
Sheba frowned with confusion. “What are you talking about?”
“The two men I sent after Cassandra. They’re dead. Ripped to shreds in the cemetery earlier today. Quite gruesome, even for you.”
“I didn’t kill them. I don’t even know who you’re talking about.”
“Well, you gutted them too badly to salvage any of their internal organs.”
Sheba folded her arms and glared at him. “Did your ears stop working? Or are you too stupid to listen. I didn’t kill them.”
Parker took a deep breath and steadied the gun. “Reece? Did he tell you about them? Where they’d be?”
“No. I never talked to Reece. He’s more a pansy than you are.”
“You know what pisses me off the most about you?” he asked.
She shrugged. “I haven’t a clue and don’t really give a damn.”
“You mouthing off at me,” he said, his voice rising. “You always act like you have authority over me. Tonight that changes, you little bitch.”
Before he clicked off the safety, Sheba grabbed his wrist, twisted, and yanked. His eyes widened at how fast she had moved. The bones snapped in his forearm, and the gun skidded across the warehouse floor. Holding his arm tightly, he wailed in pain and dropped to his knees.
Sheba stared down at him. Her eyes glinted with gold. Her inner wolf was attempting to control her. “I do have authority over you. Alpha made me a she-alpha.”
The rage inside her grew. Her jaws ached. She fought the temptation. She didn’t want to change. Not yet. Not now.
Parker clenched his teeth together to stop screaming. His eyes met hers but terror silenced him. She glared at him with her right fist raised above her head. “When you awaken, tell Alpha I’m never coming home. I’m through.”
With all her growing anger behind the blow, Sheba struck his chin. His teeth cracked. The impact pivoted him backward. He lay sprawled out on the grimy floor. Blood leaked from his busted lips and bleeding gums. Other than his breathing, he looked dead. She grabbed his gun and tossed it across the room. She sprinted through the warehouse while mentally fighting the inward urge to change.
Outside the warehouse, she opened the door and saw his idling patrol car. She turned off the engine, took the keys, and flung them onto the warehouse roof.
“That should slow you down,” she whispered.
Sheba sniffed the night air. She altered her ears, listening to the sounds, hoping to detect the direction she needed to go. She was too far from Mitch to hear him. Then the danger he and the woman were in dawned upon her. They would come out at New Horizons where Alpha resided.
“Dammit!” she said, tearing into a sprint.
Regardless of what she had told Parker, she had no choice but to return to New Horizons. If she didn’t, Mitch and the woman would die.
***
North Town Airport, Las Vegas
Lydia sat on a bench near the check-in counters. The airport bustled with people leaving Vegas and others coming in with gambling eagerness set in their eyes. The lust and greed spilled off them like bad cologne.
Lydia sat with her arms crossed and a glare that told the world she hated everything. In spite of all the activity, she felt alone, isolated, which pleased her a great deal. He didn’t need a sidekick and didn’t want one.
A man approached her. “Are you Lydia?”
“I am,” she said. “Who are you?”
“Davis. Boyd Grayson sent me. His plane is down that corridor.”
“Don’t I need to check in for clearance?”
“Everything’s been taken care of.”
Lydia grabbed her pack and her helmet and followed the man. She didn’t feel comfortable leaving her gun and knives locked inside her bike box, but with airport security, she didn’t have a choice. She’d never get past any of the metal detectors.
She still had other means to protect herself without a weapon. And once she met with Grayson she was certain he’d provide her with any weapon she requested as long as she killed Matthews. Grayson hated Matthews that much.
Lydia hated him even more.
***
Matthews and Mordia entered a dark alley. Two filthy vagrants—a man and a woman—stood at a metal drum warming in the fire’s glow. They looked at Matthews and Mordia suspiciously.
“What do you want?” the man asked, sliding a hand into his jacket pocket as if reaching for a weapon.
Matthews raised his hands calmly. “Easy. No need to panic. We don’t mean you any harm. We’re just here to help.”
“Help?” the man laughed with a coarse bellow, which quickly turned into a hacking cough. “How you plan to help us?”
“How does food and shelter sound?” Mordia asked.
Matthews beamed a slight warm smile. “And a nice place where you don’t need an outdoor roaring fire.”
The woman brushed her greasy matted hair from her scraggly face and stared at them. Interest beamed in her hungered eyes. “You with the church shelter?”
“Not that kind of shelter,” Matthews said. “But we offer you food, a hot shower, fresh clothes, and a place to bunk for a few days. Does that interest you?”
“What’s the catch?” the man asked, growing less defensive. He scratched at his thin beard.
“A few tests?” Matthews said.
“Tests?” he asked.
“What kind of tests?” the woman asked.
“We’re conducting tests for new drugs.”
The man eyed Matthews shrewdly. “The kind that make you high or strung out?”
“Nothing like that,” Matthews said. “I assure you.”
“Well, hell, boy, you had me interested for a moment there.”
Matthews pulled a wad of hundreds from his jacket pocket. “But we have money to boot? Lots of money in exchange for your help.”
The man’s eyes widened. He nodded, salivating at the money. “Sure. Works for me. You said that we get food and a shower, too?”
“Yes,” Mordia said.
The man stared at his woman friend. “What about you, Beth?”
She smiled and nodded. “A night inside would be nice for a change. A shower even better. Right, Eric?”
“Been a long time. You guys are lifesavers,” Eric said.
“You don’t know how right you are,” Matthews whispered.
***
Lydia sat on Grayson’s Learjet and stared out the window, admiring the glow of the Vegas city lights in the distance. She focused on her hatred for Matthews. She hoped Grayson could track him down as he promised.
Lucas never entered her mind. She had progressed to the next level of her genetic programming buried deep within and forsaken her compassion in exchange for her cold-hearted prowess to track down her enemy. Her intense priority was the hunt, the kill. Nothing else mattered.
***
Sheba ran faster than she had ever moved. Knowing Salem, she knew which properties to cross to reduce the amount of time necessary to get to New Horizons. But even as fast as she moved, she knew Mitch and Cassandra would emerge from the underground tunnel well before she even got to them. With odds set against her, she didn’t slow her pace. She ran, leapt over fences, through hedgerows, and down dark alleys.
Panting, her sides ached but she hoped her unyielding effort might enable her to plead her case to Mitch and let him know that she had gone to great lengths to rescue and protect them. With everything she was doing, she understood that it didn’t guarantee forgiveness from either of them. Should that be the outcome, she’d face Alpha alone. Once that confrontation came, only one of them would survive, and if she died, she didn’t care anymore. What else in this life did she have anyway?
Thinking through the situation, she must defeat Alpha. She must win. Otherwise, Gloria and Beverly would never be freed from their prisons of misery.
Growling, Sheba ran harder, faster. She was only a few minutes from New Horizons but she didn’t think she’s get to them in time.