The Guardian (The Wolfe Series) (7 page)

             
Jake’s wolf lifted its head and sniffed the wind, the scent of his pursuers had grown stronger and he guessed they were tracking him with a dog.  The coyotes and the men who hired them to do their dirty work could be relentless.

Jake figured it was two men following him and knew that he would have to eliminate them so they couldn’t follow him back to the ranch.  He didn’t want to call for the helicopter either.  The fewer people who knew about that
machine the better to his way of thinking.  Loping toward one of his stashes, Jake shifted on the run, the transformation back to human form painless as he drew closer to his stash and finally knelt to retrieve the clothing and weapons he would need to confront the men who were following him.

He’d made a stupid mistake, getting much too close to a coyote’s campfire trying to glean whatever information he could about their future plans.  They’d been alerted to his presence by one of the dogs they had wi
th them.  He’d taken the animals for granted, considering them lesser beings when compared to his wolf form.  But they could smell almost as good as a wolf and had let him know in no uncertain terms that he hadn’t stayed up wind as he should have.  In his eagerness to hear the coyote’s plans, he’d forgotten that simple rule and now he was paying the price.

Jake flinched as he applied salve to the open wound and then slapped a
bandage over it.  Placing the medical kit back in its hiding place he retrieved his clothing; black jeans, black cotton t-shirt and black boots and socks.  He then slipped the belt containing his Glock holster and mag pouches around his waist.  Unwrapping the 9mm Glock that he preferred to use instead of a rifle, he checked to make sure the weapon had a full clip before slipping the gun into the holster on his right side.  Last but not least, he slipped a deadly-looking knife into the top of his boot.

             
Jake scanned the surrounding area even as the sound of a barking dog drew closer.  He groaned when he saw the form of a lone wolf loping toward him.

             
Taggert wasn’t even breathing hard when he drew to a halt a few feet from his older brother and quickly shifted into his human form. 

“Got any extra clothes in that stash
, brother?” Taggert asked as he rummaged around in the stash until he found a second pair of boots and the extra clothing that they always kept in their stashes.  “Not that any of it will fit this brawny body of mine,” he grinned as he slipped into the jeans and drew a t-shirt over his head.

             
“What the hell are you doing here?” Jake snapped, even though he was relieved that he wouldn’t have to face the coyotes alone.

             
“Had a mighty bad feeling tonight when I heard you slip out of the house.  Thought it might be best if I found out what you were up to before you went and got yourself into trouble?”  Taggert wiggled his eyebrows and nodded toward the bandage on Jake’s right arm knowing that it had to be that damned “mate” business that had his brother out prowling the desert night after night placing him in who knew what kind of danger. 
Shit!

             
Taggert drew a second handgun from the stash and slipped it into the waistband of his jeans.

             
“There’s two of them and a dog as far as I can tell,” Jake motioned toward the sound of the barking dog.  “We’d be better off taking care of this in our wolf form,” he said as he started shucking his clothes and putting them and his weapons back in their stash.

             
“You could have told me that a little sooner, don’t you think?” Taggert groused as he started removing his own clothes and weapons and placing them back in the stash.

             
Jake chuckled as he shifted quickly into his wolf form.  It wasn’t often that he could get under his younger brother’s skin and he relished it. 

Taggert shifted into his wolf form just as easily
as his older brother had.  The two brothers then turned as one to face their enemy.

             
“Lobo Diablo,” the two men whispered to each other as they quieted the dog who had been helping them track the black wolf they’d seen earlier that evening near their campsite.  They had been afraid to track the notorious black wolf but were more afraid of Enrique Perez’s wrath if he ever found out they hadn’t followed it into the desert and tried to kill it.  The bounty the cartel had placed on the wolf’s head was an extra incentive.

             
The two men gripped their AK-47 type rifles tightly, the popular assault rifle reflecting the moonlight.  Both men were considered excellent shots and could hit a man-sized target at eight-hundred meters.  As they nervously scanned the desert around them, the larger of the two men jumped when the dog whined and pulled its leash out of his hand, heading back the way it had come.

             
“Lobo Diablo,” the man whispered again as he and his partner assumed a defensive stance and readied their weapons for the kill.

Their tongues
lolling out of their mouths and panting hard as adrenaline filled their muscular bodies, the two Wolfe brothers slowed to stealth mode.  Their eyes were narrowed in anger, and their bellies dragged the ground as they drew closer to the coyotes, relentlessly stalking their prey like the deadly predators they were.  The two brothers would feel no remorse in taking these two men down, knowing them for the treacherous cowards they were.  They were glad these men wouldn’t be leaving any more crossers in the desert to die.

The wolves jumped in unison, knocking the coyotes on their backs which forced them to drop their
heavy weapons.  Struggling to draw breath, the terrified men reached for the knives they carried but the wolves were too quick, grabbing them by the throat and holding on until the coyote’s eyes glazed over in death.  The wolves sat panting over the bodies of the dead coyotes for a few moments, the blood of their enemies dripping from their muzzles before looking at each other and nodding their heads in agreement. 

As one
, the wolves loped off into the desert and began the long journey home.

C
hapte
r
T
en

            
 
T
hunder rumbled ominously and lightning streaked across the distant sky as layer upon layer of white thunderheads boiled up in the distance, one against the other until the western sky looked like a snowy mountain range.

             
It had been a pleasant afternoon and Laurie had enjoyed spending it with Luc.  She found him a superb rider and the warm blood gelding that he rode carried him effortlessly, matching Aragon stride for graceful stride.  They’d spent the last several afternoons together touring the city and Laurie was beginning to see what attracted millions of visitors to the area each year. 

             
Their first afternoon they’d taken the Ellis Island Ferry from Battery Park to the Statue of Liberty on Liberty Island in New York Harbor.  They had starred in awe at the colossal neoclassical sculpture, a gift of friendship from the people of France to the United States and known as a symbol of freedom and democracy throughout the world.

             
Their second day together had been spent looking out over the city from the Empire State Building and visiting Ground Zero, the national tribute of remembrance for those who lost their lives during the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.  Laurie had been moved to tears at the thought of so many needlessly lost lives and made good use of Luc’s handkerchief to dry those tears.

             
Day three had been spent at Central Park, eating hot dogs and touring the Central Park Zoo.  Laurie’s favorite that day had been the Metropolitan Museum of Art, one of the world’s largest and most important museums.  She was mesmerized by the massive gothic-style building and the hundreds of rooms on its two floors that contained thousands of art pieces from around the world.

             
Despite everything they’d seen and done the last several days, day four was turning out to be Laurie’s favorite. 

             
“What are you thinking about?” Luzaro asked when he saw the far away look on Laurie’s face.  He didn’t like her thinking about anyone or anything other than him.  He wanted her complete attention when they were together.  The green-eyed monster had nothing on Luzaro Rivera when it came to jealousy.

             
Laurie smiled the smile that had captured Luzaro’s heart from the first moment he’d seen her.  He found himself hopelessly in love for the first time in his life, enjoying every minute of it and growing hungrier and hungrier for more of her time as the days passed.

             
“Just how lovely the last few days have been,” Laurie said, her eyes crinkling at the corners as her smile grew wider.  “I’ve been missing a lot holed up in my apartment all these months.  The world has been passing me by, that’s for sure.” 

She’d had more fun with Luc than she had expected once she got used to the idea of having so many bodyguards around.  She was sad, though, knowing that Luc’s affection for her was growing while hers
at best had remained that of a friend.  She had wondered about that the last few days.  Luc was beyond handsome, extremely attentive and courteous as well as being ridiculously rich.  But he just didn’t seem to do it for her.  She felt that he was hiding something from her and it made her uneasy.

“It doesn’t have to be that way,” Luzaro said as he nudged his gelding closer to Aragon.  “Come away with me for a few days,” he said earnestly throwing up his hands in denial when he
r smile was replaced with a frown.  “No strings attached, I promise.  I just want to show you my beautiful Mexico.  I have an estancia near Nogales.  The views are superb and it would be a wonderful place for you to relax and concentrate on your writing.  My private jet would take you home whenever you were ready to go.”

             
Even though Luzaro was growing on her and was very kind, charming, and attuned to her every desire, Laurie was not sure how she really felt about him or if she could trust her judgment where he was concerned.

             
Laurie drew Aragon to a halt and immediately Luzaro pulled his own horse up beside her.  “I don’t know you well enough to travel halfway around the world with you, Luc,” Laurie said, trying to let him down gently.  She’d enjoyed their time together and was sad in a way for it to end but there was no way she was going to leave New York City with him.  She also knew he was used to getting his own way and figured he wouldn’t give up easily.

             
“Then I’ll wait,” Luzaro said.  “I can be a very patient man when I want something.”

             
“That could be a very long wait.”  Laurie laughed and kicked Aragon into a gallop, shouting over her shoulder she said, “Race you to the barn!”

             
Luzaro tamped down his feelings of frustration and kicked his gelding into a gallop, silently admiring Laurie’s oneness with her horse.  The Andalusian was magnificent, almost as magnificent as its rider.  Luzaro made a mental note to have the horse transported to his villa in Mexico as soon as he convinced Laurie to travel there with him.  And he would convince her, of that he was certain.  He’d rather have her cooperation but there were other means of persuasion that could be used to tip the scales in his favor.

             
Luzaro laughed out loud as he galloped after his illusive companion.

              Enrique and two of Luzaro’s bodyguards waited near their armored vehicles.  Enrique paced back and forth in front one of the black Cadillac Escalades, cooling his heels and growing angrier by the minute. 

The psychopath that he was didn’t understand why Luzaro was fucking around with the Kincaid woman.  Riding horses with her?  Bah!  Luzaro should
have taken what he wanted from the woman right from the start and when he was done with her he could have turned her over to the white slavers that they employed to run their lucrative slave trade.  The slavers loved to get hold of blonde women.  There was a very lucrative market for those women both in Mexico and the Middle East.  Instead of capitalizing on the bitch’s assets, though, Luzaro appeared to be courting her as though he intended to marry her.
Maldito!

Enrique spat into the dirt at his feet and
scowled when the smell of horse dung drifted out of the stable nearby where the Kincaid woman kept her horse.  He could tell Laurie Kincaid didn’t trust him by the way she kept her distance and refused to meet his eyes.  Perhaps the woman was smarter than he thought and if so she would definitely bear watching.  If she was going to be a more permanent part of Luzaro’s life going forward he figured life was going to get very interesting in a hurry.  And who knew?  He might even get his chance with the woman when Luzaro tired of her as he surely would.

             
Enrique glanced at the two men standing beside the second Escalade.  His suspicions about the one called Thomas had been confirmed.  Enrique’s spies had gotten him out of bed early this morning, unable to contain their excitement as they’d rushed to tell him about the DEA undercover agent who had infiltrated their ranks.  Enrique had been livid and had thought to eliminate the agent immediately until another even better idea occurred to him.  Perhaps he could kill two birds with one stone, getting rid of the woman as well as the agent.