TherianPromise (8 page)

He glared at her, nostrils flaring. “Who said they were
searching for me? There’s nothing connecting me to this project. I’ve made damn
sure of it.”

Was he being purposely obtuse? One glance into his cold
brown eyes assured her that she was the one missing the point. Osric was
nobody’s fool and he knew far more about this project than she would ever be
allowed to know. “Then why? You don’t seem surprised, just frustrated.”

“I have Kyle’s sister.”

This was new information. “One of the test subjects is your
rival’s sister? How did you get the backers to sign off on that?”

Spiteful pride curved his mouth into a thin-lipped smile.
“They don’t know and you’re not going to tell them. She’s a contingency plan,
nothing more.”

“If all else fails, you’ll offer to trade his sister for
Ava?”

“Exactly.”

“Which one is—”

“I’m not a fool, Carly. You’ll know what I want you to know
and nothing more.”

She nodded, but her gaze shifted to the double row of
monitors. Which one was Klye’s sister? Osric had hidden his treasure in plain
sight. Her attention gravitated toward Devon’s holding cell. Devon had been one
of the first test subjects to be acquired. At present, she was curled up like a
child, sound asleep. Relaxed and peaceful, her lovely features gave no hint of
the fiery personality hidden within the compact package. Every moment Devon was
awake was a challenge. Carly had often wondered why she hadn’t been scrubbed
from the program. Devon’s body responded well to the formula, but she really
was more trouble than she was worth.

But this new possibility explained so much. Osric was
obsessed with Devon. He spent hours watching her, and more than once Ava had
caught him pleasuring himself as he stared at images of Devon.

“Maybe they’re more telepathic than we realized,” Carly
mused. She needed to pass on what she’d learned to General Milliner, but first
she’d have to sneak away from Osric’s watchful eyes. “The sister could be
sending out some sort of signal, guiding Kyle to her location.”

His gaze narrowed thoughtfully, but he didn’t seem
convinced. “Then why’d they come on foot? They can’t execute a rescue without
an escape vehicle. And why drag Ava along? This doesn’t make sense.”

He hadn’t rejected her hypothesis, nor had he confirmed it.
Osric seldom shared specifics about the Therians with her or the other
scientists. Anything he was willing to divulge was given to the backers and
they determined who benefited most from each tidbit of information. It was a
frustrating and counterproductive policy, but it kept anyone from learning too
much about the mysterious Therians.

“We don’t know for certain it was Kyle.” She’d meant to
soothe him with the thought, but his reaction was anything but pacified.

His lips pressed into a thin line as he glared at Devon’s
monitor. “There’s only one person who can tell me for sure and this time she’s
going to talk.”

* * * * *

“Finally!” Kyle’s hands shook so hard he could barely
operate his phone. He’d never ached this badly in his life and he still wasn’t
sure where he was.

“Can’t they use your phone to find us?” Ava glanced at him
then looked back at the winding mountain road. They’d reached pavement about an
hour ago, but they had yet to stumble across anything familiar. They were
headed west on Frying Pan Road and they were forty-six miles away from Basalt.
But those clues didn’t mean much to either of them.

“The phone’s disposable,” he told her. “That’s probably why
it’s taken me so long to find a signal.”

“Who are you calling?”

“Jake. He’s lived all over the mountains. If he can’t point
us back to civilization, we’re doomed.”

The call connected and a female said, “Toulouse Tavern,”
over raucous music and overlapping conversations.

“Hey, Enya, is Jake around.”

“Kyle? Where the hell are you? Half of the network is out
looking for your sorry ass.”

Leaning his head against the window, he smiled. Enya’s
familiar feistiness was a welcome reprieve from hours of confusion and pain.
“It’s a long story. We’re west of a town called Basalt. Any clue…”

He heard Enya’s muffled protest as someone ripped the phone
out of her hand. “Have you passed Ruedi Reservoir?” The background noise
diminished as Jake walked into an office or storeroom.

“Not yet. Last sign said we were forty-some miles from
Basalt.”

“They found your truck at the cabin where you were supposed
to nab the other twin. Is Ava with you?”

“Yeah, she’s here. We had to borrow a Jeep. Probably need to
ditch it soon.” Another spasm rippled through his gut and he clenched his teeth
to keep from moaning.

“I’ll meet you in Basalt with a couple of my guys. We’ll lay
a false trail with the Jeep and get you two to safety.”

“Sounds perfect. We’re on Frying Pan Road. Will that take
use all the way to Basalt?”

“Yes. It will take you right through the center of town then
hang a left on Two Rivers Road. A couple of blocks down you’ll find a strip
mall on your right and a ball field on your left. Pull into the strip mall. We
should be waiting for you. We’re closer to Basalt than you are.”

“Thanks, man. I appreciate this.”

“I’ll add it to your tab.”

Kyle ended the call but left the phone out in case they
needed Jake again. Kyle had a perfectly good GPS. Unfortunately, it was on the
dashboard of his truck.

“He’s going to meet us in Basalt?” Ava’s eyes were wide and
she kept pressing her teeth into her lower lip. Though the expression was
charming, her anxiety disturbed him. Even with hunger tearing him apart, he
felt compelled to comfort her.

“Less than an hour and we’re home free.” He paused,
breathing through a spasm. “Jake’s going to bring a couple of his guys with him
and they’ll take care of the Jeep.”

“Did he explain where we are?” She manufactured a smile, but
her eyes were filled with worry.

He was doing his best to conceal his pain, but she was
obviously not convinced. “He said he’d beat us to the rendezvous, so we must
not be too far from Aspen.”

“That’s where Jake lives?”

“Yeah. He runs a bar there with his sister.” Gnawing pain
rolled over him again and a strangled groan slipped past his lips. Despite his
determination to resist the urgent hunger, he was about to lose control.

“Will they be able to help you?”

All he could do was nod. The pain grew worse with each
passing moment. His cat stretched and struggled against his human cage. He
should have handed the phone to her, had Jake give her directions.

He gasped then forced the words out in a harsh, strained
rush. “Keep going until you reach Basalt. Left on Two Rivers Road.”

“Can’t you navigate as we go? I’m not sensitive about
backseat drivers.”

“Strip mall…on right.”

“Oh God, Kyle, should I pull over?”

“No!” He clutched his belly, shaking helplessly. “You
promised not to run! Now tell me…directions.”

She started to repeat what he’d just said but the roaring in
his ears overtook the sound. Damn it. He wasn’t going to make it to Basalt. He
ripped his shirt off and unfastened his pants then dove toward the backseat,
shifting in midair.

Oh my God.
The words repeated through Ava’s mind as
she dragged her gaze back to the road. She had to be asleep at the wheel.
People didn’t turn into animals. Not in reality. Yet Kyle’s long, lean body had
rippled and…
flowed
right out of his pants and onto the backseat. Human
one minute and— No, that wasn’t right. According to Kyle, he wasn’t human.

And neither was she.

She glanced over her shoulder, needing to assure herself
that a large, limp cougar was now sprawled across the backseat of the Jeep. A
Jeep they’d stolen from mercenaries after teleporting to the middle of nowhere.
She’d thought being hunted by her abusive father was harrowing enough. Suddenly
her life had gone from
Law and Order
to the
Twilight Zone.

And he’d been right to make her promise. Part of her wanted
to pull over, get out of the Jeep and run like hell.

As if sensing her thoughts, the cougar growled, but he
lacked the strength to raise his head. “Straight to Basalt then left on Two
Rivers Road, strip mall will be on the right. I was listening, Kyle. Really, I
was. Just relax we’ll be there soon.” She felt like an idiot talking to a cat,
but this was no ordinary cat. She’d only seen his transformation out of the
corner of her eye and still the image was imprinted on her brain. Effortless,
fluid and utterly surreal.

Kyle was a shapeshifter, an honest-to-God shapeshifter. Did
that mean— No, she wasn’t ready to continue that line of reasoning. She had to
accept one revelation at a time.

Grasping the wheel with both hands, she focused on the road.
It wouldn’t do either of them any good if she put the Jeep in a ditch. Kyle’s
labored breathing assured her he was alive. Hopefully, he’d stay that way until
they reached Jake.

She was part of the Therian nation. The realization echoed
through her mind like the ominous toll of a distant gong. Her father was
hunting her so he could control what sort of shapeshifter she would become. The
explanation rang true, yet it seemed insufficient. Kyle had said Carissa’s
definition was special, unique. There was more to the story than Kyle had
explained, details he hadn’t reached before they were interrupted by the
mercenaries. But each time she tried to fill in the blanks, she was overwhelmed
by the possibilities.

Her mind was still whirling with speculation and confusion
when she reached Basalt. Like so many other tiny mountain towns Basalt’s main
street was lined with narrow shops and restaurants, each pressed against the
other in block-long rows. Ava paid more attention to the street signs than the
storefronts and easily found Two Rivers Road. She turned left and then focused
on the right until she located the strip mall.

A dark SUV was parked in the back corner of the lot. Three
of the four doors opened as she approached and three large, leather-clad men
piled out. The driver had long dark hair while his companions were both blond.
It stood to reason that this was Jake and his men. They seemed to be expecting
her. Still, a shiver of apprehension skittered down her spine.

There were a few cars parked near the restaurant at the
other end of the mall, but none were occupied. She parked a couple of spaces
away from the SUV and hesitated. Was she about to jump from the frying pan into
the fire? Who should she trust? Was the enemy of her enemy really her friend,
and how could she know for sure that they were Osric’s enemies?

Something bumped her seat hard enough to rock her forward.
She looked back and found cougar-Kyle’s massive amber eyes watching her
intently. Had he head-butted the seat or swiped it with his paw? Either
possibility was so unbelievable she just shook her head and sighed.

The dark-haired man tapped on her window, but his attention
was immediately drawn to the backseat. “Why’d he shift?” he asked as she rolled
the window down.

“He’s hungry. Are you Jake?”

“In the flesh.” A roguish smile parted his lips as his
thick-lashed gaze settled on her. “Ava, I presume. My hunters were starting to
wonder if you exist.”

She glanced at the two blond men waiting by the SUV. They
were both tall and brawny. One wore a biker jacket, the other a leather vest.
Both sported wallet chains and extensive tattoos. Men like these had been
hunting her as well as Osric and Kyle? What made her so popular—or so hated?

Shaking away the tangent, she looked at Jake again and
fought back another shiver. Without a smile, his features were sharp, his
bearing watchful, his gaze downright piercing. “How should we do this?”

“Open the passenger door. I’ll back up to you so he can jump
in.”

It made more sense than blithely walking a mountain lion
across the parking lot. She looked back at Kyle and asked, “You doing okay?” He
made a rumbling sound and she shook her head. Had she expected him to answer?

Spurring herself into action, she walked around to the
passenger side of the Jeep and opened the door. Jake, or one of the blonds, had
opened the back end of the SUV and laid down the seats. Jake backed across the
parking lot until the tailgate nearly touched the open door of the Jeep.

Kyle leapt into the back of the SUV and one of the blonds
closed the tailgate as the other one closed the door.

“You’re with me.” Jake motioned her toward the SUV.

“I’ll be right there.” She ran back around to the driver’s
side of the Jeep and dug her backpack and Kyle’s jacket out from behind the
seat. The rifle had slipped mostly under the seat and it would connect them
with the mercenaries anyway, so she left it where it lay. “Kyle confiscated one
of their guns. It’s under the seat.”

The blond nodded then climbed in behind the wheel. It was
all neat and efficient and…strange. Had Jake told them not to talk to her or
was this their idea of being respectful? It was almost as if they didn’t know
what to make of her. Well, the feeling was mutual. She was thrilled to be back
on semi-familiar ground, but now she was surrounded by strangers.

She hurried to the passenger side of the SUV as Jake leaned
across and pushed the door open for her. “Thanks,” she muttered, and checked on
Kyle before she locked her seat belt into place. He lay on his stomach, head
resting on his crossed paws. He looked almost like an oversized housecat.

“Did he intentionally shift or was this spontaneous?” Jake
waited for his men to take off before he continued on Two Rivers Road. Though
dark and smoky, Jake’s eyes were actually green. And he hid model-perfect
features under scruffy whiskers and a bad boy’s scowl.

“He weakened after he healed me.” Jake shot her a sidelong
glance, clearly surprised by her answer. “I tried to feed him energy, but it
wasn’t enough. He was in pain for hours before he lost control.”