Lost Library: An Urban Fantasy Romance (15 page)

The huge wolf was now sitting, looking at her with a mildly impatient expression.
She was sure, because John looked just like that when he was exasperated but trying to be polite. And just like that, in her mind, the wolf was John. Or John was the wolf. Either way, her brain accepted them as one and the same. Paradox conquered.

Right.
This was an escape attempt. Time to get going.
She nodded, hoping he could see her in the dark. He stood up, stretched into a deep bow followed by a little shake, then turned and walked to the door. Apparently wolves
could
see in the dark.

T
he windowless corridor was even darker than her bedroom. Following John would be difficult. Lizzie wanted to reach her hand out and touch the lush fur that covered him. But that had to be a huge wolfy no-no, right? Since it was either that or trip on him, she reached her hand out. She encountered dense fur, then she felt a tiny shiver under her hand. Lizzie wasn’t sure what that meant. John was moving backwards with her hand sliding the wrong way against his fur, finally stopping when her hand rested on the even thicker fur at his ruff. Lizzie concluded he must be all right with her touch. They still weren’t moving, so she experimentally closed her hand around the fur under her fingers. And then they were walking quietly, side-by-side down the hall.

About halfway down the stairs,
John paused as if listening intently. And then waited. After what seemed like ages (but was likely only one or two minutes,) they continued down the stairs. As they reached the bottom, a man stepped from around the corner. Lizzie jumped—she couldn’t stop herself. “Hush. I’m with him,” whispered the man, as he pointed at John.

Lizzie
was done with being scared, surprised, and shocked. She saw wolf-John up close for the first time. Then John shaved about two years off her life with that never-ending pause on the stairs. Finally, seconds before they reached the exit and freedom, she was startled by the sudden appearance of John’s friend. All of these events combined to create a panicked thumping in Lizzie’s chest. She was more than ready for a little down-time, a book, maybe even a little alone time with John….

She really shouldn’t have seen
John without a stitch of clothing.
Wow. A naked, bare-assed John. Yum.
She’d never get that image out of her head. She shouldn’t let her mind wander to thoughts of hot sex, when she should really be thinking about escaping.
Okay
. She was much better now. Her heart rate was still elevated, but the sense of panic was vanishing. Maybe this was a new coping mechanism she was developing? Get stressed, then either puke, pass out, or daydream of wild monkey sex with a hot guy. Lizzie definitely opted for option three, thank you.

The newly recovered Lizzie sl
unk out the door with John and his stealthy, unnamed companion. Wait. There were two guards patrolling out here. She stopped, bringing the men to a halt with her. John nudged her to continue, but she stood firm.

“T
he two wolf guards on patrol?”

Max replied, “Taken care of. Let’s go.” His tone was impatient.

She tried not to think what that meant for the patrolling wolves.

The further they moved from the main house, the more certain Lizzie was she’d make it out of this situation alive. And that’s when s
he started noticing the little things. It was cold; she was tired. The adrenaline pushing through her system earlier had faded, leaving her shaky and a little light-headed. She hoped these guys had a blanket and some chocolate waiting for her in the car.
Right, that was gonna happen.
She shook her head at her silliness, and told herself to focus on being thankful she’d been rescued.

Not only did Lizzie discover a thermos of hot chocolate and a warm blanket waiting for her in the getaway
Suburban, she found a beaming Kenna in the driver’s seat. Clearly, Kenna had taken charge of stocking the truck. As soon as they all hopped in, Kenna took off at a good clip down the road.

Once they were on the road,
Lizzie said, “I can’t believe they let you drive.” In reply, Kenna just laughed and raised her eyebrows at John’s friend.

Kenna
introduced John’s accomplice, sitting in the passenger seat next to her. “This is Max. Not a Lycan, but apparently in on all the good secrets.”

Then
Kenna’s face blanked, and she took a deep breath. Without taking her eyes off the road, she asked, “Are you all right?” Lizzie could tell Kenna was trying not to cry.

“I’m more than
all right. I’m fabulous. I’m safe, warm, have hot chocolate, and am with my best friend. I can’t believe you were part of the escape crew. The worst thing that happened to me was losing the feeling in my bum after riding in the trunk of a car for several hours.” Lizzie caught Kenna’s eyes in the rearview mirror. “Truly.”

Max interrupted the two women’s reunion. He
said, “I’m thrilled you’re in one piece, Lizzie, but something was very wrong tonight. It was too easy. The only resistance was the patrol, and they’re hardly worth commenting on. Two men, wolves, whatever. That’s not much security. Enough to keep you in, but nothing if they were expecting trouble from the outside.” 

At Max’s comment, there was a grunt and thump from the back of the
Suburban. At the noise, Max ducked down to the floor. When he lifted his head up, his hand was bunched around some clothes.

After tossing them in the far back of the
SUV, he said, “Eyes front ladies, unless you want to catch an eyeful.”

Lizzie wasn’t sure if they heard her lowly
-muttered, “Too late.”

She hunched down further in the seat, cuddling in her blanket, and made sure her eyes were glued to the driver’s seat back and not the rearview mirror…which currently was displaying a large expanse of muscled chest. Muscles tightened and bunched as John drew a
T-shirt on over his head.
Dang it! Bad, wandering eyes. Bad!
Avoidance wasn’t working, so she closed her eyes.

Lizzie
opened her eyes after a reasonable time had passed and saw John climbing over the seat back to join her. He ran his fingers quickly through his dark, rumpled hair, then turned to look at Lizzie. “Tell us about the information you gave me. We were expected tonight by a sympathetic party?”

“Grant Clark. He was the one expecting you. And the one who provided the information I passed along to you.”
She took another sip of chocolate. At times like these, nothing could beat cocoa. The mad shaking in her hands had slowed to a minor tremble, and she was beginning to feel warmer.

“That’s unexpected. What did he tell you?” John asked.

Lizzie wrapped her hands around the thermos cup, absorbing the warmth before she began. “Outside of numbers and locations—the information I gave you—he told me he would remove as many of his bodyguards as he could. He called them enforcers, I think?”

John nodded his head. “That’s a good description. An enforcer is similar to a bodyguard.”

After John’s confirmation, Lizzie continued. “Clark mentioned an alliance with another pack—Austria. Does that mean anything to you?”

John shook his head.

“
The Goons, the guys who grabbed me in the pharmacy parking lot and brought me here, they all had German accents,” Lizzie added.

Max jumped in at this point. “Wouldn’t that explain how Idaho got involved, John? You’d mentioned they seemed a small group to risk a kidnapping attempt in another territory.”

John agreed. “I’m sure that was a major factor. With the support of another pack, Clark would be less wary of consequences. Although, to give him some credit for sense, there shouldn’t have been much risk in taking Lizzie. She’s not a member of any pack, so she exists outside the protection of Lycan law. And Clark is only marginally concerned with human laws.”

Max asked, “But we don’t know why the European pack would have any interest in Lizzie?”

“No, and that’s an important question to answer.” John was worried about that unknown factor. It was one thing to do some research to find the pack’s book and then to pay Lizzie a call at her house in hopes of bringing her into the Texas Pack. It was a completely different level of interest that both Idaho and the Europeans had shown. “What else did Clark have to say?”

“He wanted to turn me loose, but he would be in violation of some agreement he’d made with the
Austrians. He would never have brought me to Idaho if he’d known about my relationship with John. What exactly is my supposed-relationship with you, John?”

“Basically, my girlfriend.
But that translates as lover in Lycan society. As my lover, you’d be shown a higher level of respect than a human unaffiliated with a Lycan pack. This whole situation would be infinitely easier if I had brought Lizzie to the pack for formal introductions.” John turned to Lizzie and addressed her directly. “And easier yet if you’d agree to join the Texas Pack.”

Lizzie really tried not to blush at the word lover. What was she,
twelve? But he said lover and her mind pictured the long line of his bare back, or her hand running over the curve of his bicep, or her hand curving around his…
Dang it. Stupid X-rated brain.
It was dark; he probably couldn’t see her pink cheeks.

What were they talking about? Ah, joining the
Texas Pack. “Since I have no idea what that means exactly and my impression of you guys is mixed at best, that’s not happening any time soon. For all I know, you sacrifice young virgins every third month.”

John
was clearly trying not to smile, but the corners of his eyes crinkled a little. “I can state with absolute certainty that the Texas Pack has not sacrificed a single virgin within my lifetime. That I know of.” Then he cracked a small smile.

“Perhaps, but
Lycan certainly think kidnapping is a legitimate means of problem solving. And who knows what other illegal peccadilloes you all have been involved in.”

Before John
or anyone else could comment on “peccadilloes”—she really needed to update her vocabulary—they arrived at the small, private airstrip, where the plane was stored and awaiting their return flight to Texas. The pilot hadn’t arrived yet.

Max and John
were exiting the SUV when John stopped, nostrils flaring.

Turning t
o Max, he said, “Get back in the car. Now. Meet you at the airport entrance.” Then he changed to his wolf and loped away.

Max opened the driver’s door and motioned for Kenna to move over. She hopped in the back, next to Lizzie, instead.
In seconds, Max was driving in the opposite direction, towards the exit.

It took Lizzie a few seconds before she
could process what was happening. “Wait. Where are we going? Why did John change?”

Max responded curtly. “There’s either a
Lycan out there or someone whose scent John recognizes. Clark or the other men must have found out about the plane.”

Lizzie’s heart started to race. “And you left him? What the hell are you thinking?”

Lizzie didn’t even notice she was yelling, or cussing, until Kenna poked her in the ribs.

Rubbing her ribs, Lizzie glared at her friend. “What? He
left John alone out there. And we don’t even know how many there are.”

Kenna replied calmly, “I’ll bet you John knows exactly how many there are. And if he needed help, he wouldn’t have gone alone. I’m sure he’s fine.”

Max’s movement in the front seat caught Lizzie’s eye. Her eyes popped a bit when she saw him holding a handgun and scanning the roadside. How many times would she need to see someone holding a gun before she stopped having a mini heart attack at the mere sight of one? She was going to the range and taking lessons when she got home. Kenna loved to shoot; she’d go with her.

Max saw her watching and said, “If you want to help
, keep your head down. Lycan are less likely to use guns, but it’s not impossible.” Something must have caught his eye, because he turned to them and threw the keys. “Keep the doors locked.” And then hopped out of the car.

Kenna immediately locked the doors and ducked. She grabbed at Lizzie’s arm and yanked downward.
Hard.

“
Ow! Quit it,” Lizzie said, her tone tinged with impatience. “I think I see John.”

Both women looked out the window. But what Lizzie saw wasn’t John’s black, silver, and white coat. The wolf approaching them was fully black.
Oh, Shit.
That’s why Max had left the car, his gun at the ready. She looked at Max, waiting for him to fire. But Max was standing calmly, aiming but obviously not shooting.

Looking slightly past the black wolf, Lizzie suddenly realized why Max hadn’t fired. Behind the darker wolf
she could see the silvery mixed coat of John’s wolf. John was steadily gaining, but he was also in the line of any shot Max might take.

Lizzie looked back to Max. He wouldn’t take a shot that endangered his friend, would he? Max’s position remained unchanged, gun raised and hands steady.