Wolf Tales 11 (6 page)

She shook her head. “I don’t know, Tink. They came up behind us and jabbed needles in all three of us. Whatever they used worked really fast. They got Tala and Lisa a few seconds before me, but they both went unconscious immediately. I felt the needle hit my throat and tried to get away. That’s when the guy shot me, but I think I deflected his pistol. He was aiming higher, but got me in the hip. I guess I was expendable.”

“Not in my book you’re not.” Tinker shot Luc a sharp glance that spoke volumes.

Luc met his glance with one of his own. “We’ll find them, Tink. We’ll get Lisa back.”

“Damned straight we’ll get her back. And those bastards will pay.”

Tinker watched quietly while Luc helped Tia lie down in back. Then he quickly backed out of the parking space and headed south to the city.

Luc leaned against the door and pillowed Tia’s head in his lap. “Logan told me once that if we ever got shot and there was still a bullet inside, to shift as soon as we were able. The bullet should fall out.”

Tia’s soft chuckle surprised him. “Sort of like Tala’s IUD?”

Luc smiled, though he really wanted to howl with relief. “Yeah. Just like that.” He fished his cell phone out of his pocket. “Here. If you’re up to it, call your dad. Tell him you’re okay. The poor man’s frantic.”

Tia cocked one very expressive eyebrow at him. “And you weren’t?”

He shrugged and wondered if she could see the tears threatening to spill. “I knew you could take care of yourself,” he teased. He struggled to swallow back the lump in his throat. “Shit, sweetheart. Don’t ever scare me like this again.”

“Trust me. This was not on my list of things to do. I think I’m bleeding again.” She tried to sit up to get a better look.

Luc put a restraining hand on her shoulder. He wadded up Tink’s jacket and held it against the slowly seeping wound over her left hipbone. “Tink, looks like you just donated a jacket to the cause.”

Tinker didn’t say a word. His focus was on the road ahead. Luc knew exactly how his friend felt. He gazed steadily at Tia, so pale and quiet lying across the seat with her head resting in his lap, and sent a word of thanks to
Eve for Tia’s safe return. He hoped their new goddess listened. Hoped she watched over Lisa and Tala. Fear and frustration practically overwhelmed him.

He handed the cell phone to Tia. Then, as she made the connection with her dad, he sent another soft prayer to the Goddess, this one for the two missing women. Damn, he hoped that Eve was watching over her Chanku. There was no way they were going to get through this without a little divine intervention.

The sky was steel gray over Washington, DC, when Baylor, Jake, Manda, and Shannon reached the capital city. By the time they’d driven the few miles from Freeport to Portland, Maine, Stefan Aragat had a private jet waiting to fly them to Reagan International. The moment they’d landed, a limo driver had met them with an envelope containing the keys to Anton’s apartment.

Everything had gone seamlessly—almost too easy after the harrowing morning they’d had. The connections and properties Stefan and Anton had never failed to amaze Bay—or anyone who knew the men. The comfortable flight had certainly made a trip that would have taken them long hours by car into a fairly simple jaunt, though after the events of the day he still felt slightly off balance.

He’d hardly had time to mourn the sudden death of his old friend and associate. Rolf and he had never been all that close, but they’d worked well together during Bay’s years at the agency, and the man’s last act had been one of kindness when he passed on the warning about Tala and Lisa.

A kindness that had obviously cost him his life, but it had also provided a link that just might help save Lisa and Tala’s lives. His warning suggested who was behind the kidnapping and who wanted a hit on the president. His death was an even more powerful warning—that these people would stop at nothing.

It was all so far out, so bizarre, that Bay couldn’t help but wonder if somehow the Goddess had intervened. Why else would Rolf have been in that tiny town in Maine at the same time as Bay and the rest? How could everything have come together so that Rolf would have been the one man to overhear such a horrible plot? That he and Bay would cross paths?

Bay sighed as he exited the elevator on the fourth floor. Would he ever understand the serendipitous ways of fate? Most likely not, so he might as well get over it and accept that Rolf was dead, the clock was ticking, and all they had going for them was Anton’s
yet-to-be-disclosed
plan.

He stepped into the vestibule, unlocked the door into Anton’s apartment, and held it open while Jake and the girls entered. He followed them inside, staring at the spacious rooms spread out before them.

He’d never been here before, though he’d been aware Anton kept a place in Washington for anyone in the pack, should they need a comfortable place to stay. Comfortable was the key word—the apartment was huge—it took up the entire fourth floor of the building, with a view of the thickly forested grounds of the National Zoo just across the road.

Jake stared through a window and then glanced over his shoulder at Bay. “It’s certainly not Maine, but at least it’s better than looking at high-rises.”

Bay noted that many of the trees were bare of leaves in the winter chill, but evergreens still gave the entire area a wild and protected look. “It’s a far cry from Montana, too.” He checked out the kitchen and the big brick fireplace that took up one whole wall in the main room. There were lots of windows, but the apartment had obviously been closed up for months. The air was stale, and it was cold inside.

Manda found the thermostat and turned the heat up while Shannon cracked open a couple of windows to let in
some fresh air. “How long’s it been since anyone’s stayed here?” She glanced around the spacious room with its fashionable furnishings and tasteful decorations. “It looks so sterile. Like no one’s ever lived in it.”

“No one has. At least not since Anton bought it.” Jake poked his head into one of the bedrooms and tossed their travel bags on the bed. “He uses it for business trips on occasion. He and Keisha were here a couple of months ago, but I don’t think anyone’s actually lived here for any length of time.” He stepped back into the main room and stared at Bay.

Baylor felt Jake’s concern rolling off him in waves, but he knew it was worry about him more than for Tala and Lisa. He’d been blocking everyone since this morning. He couldn’t handle sharing all the crap in his head, not this.

How could he possibly explain the convoluted relationship he had with his sisters? Sisters who’d grown up as strangers to him in a home as dysfunctional as a home could be. Helplessly, he glanced at Manda. She was his strength, the only one who truly understood the way his mind worked, the way his past had scarred him, yet even she had never quite figured out the confused feelings he had for Lisa and Tala.

He’d been the oldest, the one who felt responsible for their safety, yet he’d failed them in every way possible. His guilt remained, even now that they’d all found their home within the pack, their rightful place as Chanku shapeshifters. Guilt lay alongside that special bond as packmates—a bond even stronger than flesh and blood.

And now they were missing, kidnapped and held hostage somewhere on the opposite side of the country, while he was stuck here in the nation’s capital without a clue what he should be doing to help them. As usual, he was keeping everything bottled up inside to the point it was making him physically ill.

Manda caught his eye and he felt her love. He opened to her voice and sighed at her soft reprimand.

At least she was smiling. My love. When has hiding your fears ever done you any good? Share the burden. It’s so much lighter that way.

He took a deep breath, let it out, and nodded in agreement. Then he met Jake’s steady gaze. It wasn’t easy, but slowly he lowered his barriers and opened his thoughts. Shared his fear and his convoluted feelings for the two women who were part of his pathetic history, one that still left him feeling shamed.

Chuckling softly, Jake grinned at him. Bay felt the warm flush spreading over his face as he realized his lover had so quickly picked up all his twisted thoughts and memories the moment they’d been set free.

“There’s no need for shame, bro. Not over things we couldn’t control.” Jake shook his head, smiling at something he didn’t share with Baylor. “When we were kids, we all did our best to survive. You, Lisa, and Tala are no different from any of the rest of us, no better, no worse. For what it’s worth, you must have made the right choices because you’ve all found love with really good people. More love than you ever got as kids.”

He walked across the room and stopped right in front of Bay. His amber eyes crinkled and his lips quirked up in a devilish grin. “Hell, we all had screwed-up lives, but we’re all still here, all with someone who loves us in spite of ourselves. Think about the night Tia had her babies, about the stories we all shared. Was yours so much different than anyone else’s? So much worse? Did you fail more than anyone else?” He laughed out loud and planted a wet kiss on Bay’s mouth.

Before Bay could return the kiss, Jake backed away. “Nope,” he said. “You’re no better, no worse than the rest of us. We are who we are because of what we are. Get over it.”

Manda stepped up close behind Baylor, wrapped her arms around his waist, and rested her cheek against his back. “He’s right, you know. Not at all subtle, but still right.” She kissed the back of Bay’s neck and sent shivers down his spine. “And you know how much I hate to agree with Jake. He’ll never let me live it down.”

Shannon laid her head on Bay’s shoulder, but she was holding Jake’s hand. “Isn’t that the truth? Nothing worse than agreeing with Jake. He’ll just throw it back in our faces at some point, but when he’s right, it’s hard to argue.” She kissed Bay’s cheek. “They’ll be okay, Bay,” she said. “Anton’s on it, and he’s got contacts in very high places. Luc’s got Tia back, and she should be able to help find your sisters.”

Baylor turned and planted a kiss on Shannon’s lips. “Thank you. All of you. Sometimes I get so caught up in crap that really doesn’t matter anymore, I forget about the good things in my life now. You three are the best of them.”

His cell phone chimed. Manda fished it out of his back pocket and handed it to him. Bay took the call while Jake and Shannon grabbed Manda and left to explore the rest of the apartment.

A few minutes later, Bay caught up with them. They’d found what must have been designated as the master bedroom. It was elegant and absolutely huge, with windows looking out over the forested zoo grounds. Bay stood in the doorway and watched as Jake teased both Shannon and Manda about their abbreviated shopping trip and all the stores that were waiting for them here in the nation’s capital.

He reminded Bay of Stefan Aragat in a lot of ways. Jake had learned long ago to use humor to diffuse just about any situation, but the man was much deeper than a lot of folks gave him credit for. Now Jake’s eyes were twinkling and Shannon’s smile lit up the room. Manda, always the
quiet one, sat on the edge of the big bed, laughing at Jake’s antics.

Bay felt as if he might burst with the love filling his heart. It was a moment in time to hold close—one to remember.

Love and hope, and the assurance that all would be well, his sisters would be rescued, and the perpetrators caught. At least now, after his phone conversation with Anton, they had a mission—something tangible they could do to help.

“That was Anton,” he said, stepping into the room.

And as he expected, at the mention of the alpha’s name, all eyes turned in Bay’s direction. He felt a renewed sense of hope in each one of them as he sat down on the edge of the bed beside Manda. “I don’t know how he does it, but the man’s contacts are amazing. He’s got a job for us. At seven tonight he wants us to have dinner at a restaurant over near the capitol. I’ve got the directions. Anton’s already made reservations.

“There are some guys scheduled to have dinner there tonight who should be at a table close to ours. I remember a couple of them from my years with the agency, but I doubt they knew who I was. Even if they recognize me, there shouldn’t be a problem. Anton wants us to listen to what they say, make note of any names we might hear. We’re to take no action and stay as low-key as possible. If we hear anything, he wants us to get back to him. Then tonight, before nine, we have to be on the zoo grounds as wolves, thinking about sex and not worrying about anything that’s happening in San Francisco. He says there’s more than enough cover for us, but the hit against the president is supposed to go down at exactly eight fifty-five, Pacific time, tonight. Anton wants us to get enough of a run in our feral state to build up as much sexual energy as we can, and then find a protected area.”

He chuckled and tightened his hold on Manda. “Orders are for us to mate. Anton wants us to hit our sexual
peak and climax at precisely eleven fifty-five.” He rolled his eyes and grinned at Manda. “Think you can orgasm on schedule?”

Grinning broadly, she kissed his nose. “I don’t know, but it sounds like something I’d love to try.”

Shannon shook her head, laughing. “And this is supposed to help Anton how? I mean, c’mon, Bay! We’re clear across the continent. It’s not like he can pull in our sexual energy from this far.”

Baylor thought of what Anton had said, thought of how the pack leader had shot down the arguments Bay’d thrown back at him. “He says it will work. He said Eve’s going to help transfer our energy. I don’t know exactly what his plans are, but I figure we have to trust him, and Eve.”

“Eve?” Manda’s look of disbelief made perfect sense. More than Anton’s phone call had. “But she’s a goddess. She doesn’t take directions from Anton. Does she?”

“I don’t know. I only know what Anton asked us to do. He never asks for anything without a good reason.” He shrugged and wished once more they were closer to San Francisco. “I can’t think of a better reason than helping get Lisa and Tala back safely. I’m willing to do whatever he wants.”

Jake stared at him a moment. Then he nodded. “He’s asking because he knows he can do it. He’s done it before—the first time our packs got together, those of us from San Francisco and Anton’s group in Montana. It happened a few years ago, before any of you even knew you were Chanku. Ulrich was kidnapped in San Francisco and taken to an old farmhouse about an hour outside of Reston, Virginia, so it wasn’t all that far from here. I stayed in San Francisco, so I wasn’t with them, but a bunch of the pack—Luc, Tinker, Tia, Stefan, Xandi, and Keisha—combined their mental forces in Montana and were able to reach Ulrich in Virginia. Somehow Anton piggybacked on
their energy stream across country and actually took over the consciousness of a crow so he could fly over the area where Ulrich was held, in preparation for their rescue attempt. Then they flew out here—in a plane,” he added as the others gaped at him, “and rescued Ulrich.”