Deadly Pursuit (A Blood Hunter Novel, #2) (63 page)

“Painkillers,”
he
said.

Her
gaze
flashed
to
his
face,
and
she
nodded.
“Off
course.”
She
pawed
among
the
contents.
“I
don’t
know
what
a
painkiller
looks
like.”

“Give
it
to
me.”

She
slid
the
kit
across
the
floor,
and
he
studied
the
contents,
located
the
strongest.
“The
codinex,”
he
said.

She
picked
up
the
syringe
and
studied
it.

“Stick
it
straight
in
the
muscle
on
my
thigh,”
he
said,
but
she
still
looked
dubious.
“Darling,
one
more
hole
in
me
at
this
point
is
not
going
to
add
much
to
my
injuries.
It’s
the
quickest
way,
and
right
now,
I’m
hurting.”

That
obviously
clinched
it
for
her.
She
caught
her
lower
lip
between
her
teeth,
lifted
the
syringe,
and
stabbed
it
into
his
right
leg.
The
relief
was
almost
immediate,
a
delicious
numbness
spreading
through
him.
For
a
moment,
he
sat
back
and
savored
the
sensation.

“Now
a
stimulant.”
He
pointed
at
a
second
syringe.
This
time
Alex
didn’t
hesitate,
just
picked
it
up,
removed
the
cover,
and
jabbed
him
in
the
left
thigh.

Jon
took
a
deep
breath
and
rested
his
head
back
against
the
cool
metal
of
the
desk
while
he
waited
for
everything
to
work.
He
could
sense
Alex
watching
him.

A
few
minutes
later,
Rico’s
tall
figure
appeared
in
the
doorway.
He
took
in
the
bodies
on
the
floor
and
Jon
propped
against
the
desk.
“Hey,
you
look
great.”

Jon
choked
back
a
laugh;
he
didn’t
think
he
could
take
that
amount
of
movement
right
now.
Instead,
he
took
a
deep
breath.
“Thank
you.”

Rico
grinned.
“I
bet
that
hurt
more
than
any
amount
of
torture.”

“You
don’t
know
how
much.”

Rico
wandered
over,
his
gaze
running
over
Jon,
assessing
the
damage.
“Anyway,
I
didn’t
come
back
for
you.
I
came
back
because
Alex
would
have
made
my
life
a
misery
if
I
hadn’t.
Like
a
yapping
little
dog.”

Jon
glanced
sideways
at
Alex.
She
shrugged.

“Are
you
okay
to
get
out
of
here?”
Rico
asked.

He
nodded.
“I’ll
shift
as
soon
as
I
can
stand
up.”

“Good,
because
we
have
about
five
minutes
to
get
clear
before
the
place
is
overrun
with
Skylar’s
friends.”

Skylar
and
Tannis
appeared
behind
him.
“Are
we
ready
to
go?”
Skylar
asked.

“Just
about.”

Tannis
peered
down
at
the
headless
body
of
the
sergeant,
still
smoking.
“Dayam.”

Jon
grinned.
“Alex
did
that
one.”

Alex
scrambled
to
her
feet
and
brushed
herself
off.
She
closed
the
lid
of
the
medical
kit
and
stood
fidgeting
from
one
foot
to
the
other.
“Are
you
okay?
Do
you
need
anything
else?”
she
asked.

“Don’t
fuss,”
Rico
said.
“He’s
fine.
A
bit
of
bruising,
that’s
all.”

Again,
Jon
would
have
laughed,
but
it
hurt
too
much.
Checking
himself
over,
he
reckoned
he
could
make
it
to
his
feet
now.
With
all
the
drugs
inside
him,
he
felt
like
his
body
didn’t
belong
to
him.
That
would
clear
once
he
shifted.
He
pushed
himself
up
and
balanced
with
his
good
hand
resting
on
the
desktop
while
he
decided
whether
he
could
stand
alone.

Everyone
was
watching
him.
It
wasn’t
in
werewolves’
nature
to
shift
in
front
of
people,
a
hang-up
from
the
old
times
of
total
secrecy
on
Earth.
But
what
the
hell,
they’d
come
back
for
him,
he
could
hardly
tell
them
to
get
out.
Well,
he
could,
but
he
found
he
didn’t
want
to.

He
stripped
off
his
shirt.
Nakedness
didn’t
bother
him.
Usually.
But
now
he
hesitated.
Three
sets
of
female
eyes
watched
him,
two
with
curiosity,
but
Alex
just
looked
worried
as
though
he
might
crash
to
the
floor
at
any
moment.
Tannis
caught
his
gaze
and
raised
an
eyebrow.

He
looked
away,
straight
at
Skylar.
Amusement
glinted
in
her
eyes
as
though
daring
him
to
continue.

What
the
hell?

Keeping
his
gaze
locked
on
Alex,
he
kicked
off
his
boots,
peeled
off
his
pants,
and
stood
naked
before
them.

Alex
winced,
and
he
glanced
down.
His
body
was
a
mass
of
bruising
and
burns.
They
would
heal.
He
searched
inside
himself,
released
his
wolf,
and
sensed
the
rightness
as
the
change
flowed
through
him.

…

His
beautiful
body
was
battered
and
bruised.
They’d
hurt
him
so
badly.
For
a
moment,
she’d
known
real
hatred
and
rage.
When
she’d
killed
her
attacker
the
other
day,
she
hadn’t
felt
hatred…just
something
that
needed
to
be
done
for
her
own
survival.
This
time
she
had
wanted
them
to
die
for
what
they
had
done.

Alex
kept
her
gaze
fixed
on
Jon,
but
out
of
the
corner
of
her
eye
she
could
see
the
smoking
corpse
of
the
man
she’d
killed.
He’d
been
taking
aim
at
Jon
and
such
a
fury
had
built
inside
her
that
she’d
pointed
her
laser
pistol
at
him
without
thinking,
just
needing
to
obliterate
him.
Then
she
hadn’t
been
able
to
stop,
even
when
she’d
known
he
was
dead.

She
still
felt
light-headed
with
relief.
When
she’d
first
caught
sight
of
Jon,
she’d
been
sure
he
was
dead
and
such
a
mixture
of
emotions
had
beset
her
for
a
minute
she
hadn’t
been
able
to
think.
When
his
eyes
flickered
open,
relief
had
poured
through
her.

Now
she
watched
him
shift,
and
it
was
like
magic—the
change
flowing
over
him,
remaking
him.
When
complete,
Jon
stood
on
all
fours—huge,
glossy,
dark
coat
and
glowing
amber
eyes.

“Wow,”
Skylar
murmured.

“Hey,
it’s
only
a
big
shaggy
dog,”
Rico
replied.
“Now
do
you
think
we
could
get
out
of
here?”

The
wolf
approached
Alex,
coming
to
a
halt
in
front
of
her.
The
top
of
his
head
reached
her
shoulder.
She
stretched
out
her
hand,
dug
her
fingers
into
the
silky
fur,
and
a
tingle
like
magic
flowed
up
through
her
arm.

In
that
moment,
she
knew
things
were
going
to
be
fine,
and
despite
her
doubts,
she
sent
up
a
silent
prayer
of
thanks.

Jon
padded
beside
her
as
they
headed
out
of
the
house
and
back
to
the
speeder.
His
movements
were
stiff
as
though
he
was
still
feeling
some
of
the
pain
that
had
been
so
obvious
in
his
human
form.
He
settled
into
the
back
seat
of
the
speeder,
rested
his
head
on
her
lap,
and
closed
his
eyes.