Wolf Tales 12 (17 page)

I did. I’m moving the girls to safety.

Contact the Red and Blue teams.
Nick was already pushing through the crowd, moving at a normal pace so that he wouldn’t draw attention to himself.
Have Blue clear the room. Tell Red to make sure they get this guy. I’ll take care of the backpack. It doesn’t appear to be attached to any kind of fail-safe device.

He focused on the young girl.
What is your name?

Sunny. My name is Sunny.

Act like you know me, Sunny. I’m going to stop and chat with you like we’re old friends, okay?

Okay. But I can’t talk. They’ve disabled my computer.

Do you know if there’s anything connecting the bomb to the man, any type of trigger?

Just a timing device in the pack. It’s set to coincide with an alarm on my wristwatch, but there’s no way to turn off the alarm. It’s got a huge range—a couple hundred yards at least. I heard them talking. They figured I wouldn’t be able to tell anyone anything, but I was paying attention. Hurry! It’s less than three minutes now.

Smiling broadly, waving as if he’d known Sunny forever, Nick planted himself in front of her wheelchair, forcing the one pushing her to come to a quick halt. “Sunny! I didn’t know you were going to be here.” He knelt in front of the chair, flashed a quick, innocent grin at the young man, and turned his full attention on the girl. She smiled, but it was more of a grimace.

“What happened to your computer? Isn’t it working?” He looked once again at the young man, who was beginning to fidget. “Usually Sunny talks to me with the computer. What’s wrong?”

The man shrugged. “How should I know? I was just asked to move her chair to a spot near the podium. They’ve opened up access for the kids in wheelchairs. Look, man. I gotta hurry. There’s more kids. Outta my way.”

Nick stood up. “I think not.” He gestured to the Secret Service members who had carefully taken up position on either side. “Take him.” He grabbed the pack as the young man turned to flee. Three large men leapt forward and restrained him. A woman took control of the wheelchair.

“Hurry.” Nick grabbed the pack. “Get her to safety.”

If Sunny was right, he had less than two minutes to get far enough away from people to dispose of the case. Already the crowd of kids was moving away, obviously aware of a problem.

The press, unfortunately, was moving closer with cameras trained on Nick.

Nick! Shift. It’s the only way you can get far enough in time!

Nick kicked off his shoes and tugged at his tie. He yelled at one of the men guarding the doorway that led outside. “Open the door,” he shouted, holding the blue backpack high. He threw his shirt to the ground as people scattered.

Then he kicked off his pants and shifted, making the change from man to wolf so quickly he hoped it might actually go unnoticed.

Small chance of that with the media here.
He grabbed up the pack in his jaws and raced for the door, all too aware of the screams and gasps in the room behind him. Running for all he was worth, scrambling on the hardwood floor, he charged through the open door, raced across the wide, covered walkway in front of the event center, and leapt over an iron railing. With the backpack clenched tightly in his teeth, he hit the grassy slope almost twelve feet below at a full run.

His Chanku senses picked up the acrid scent of explosive material, the subtle hum of electronic gear as the timer clicked away the seconds.

He had no idea how many of those precious seconds were left, no idea if he’d have time to lose the crowds, dump the bomb, and still get far enough from the thing to keep from blowing himself up.

No time at all to think of what he’d just done. He might have saved a room full of kids, but he’d most likely condemned the entire race of Chanku shapeshifters to persecution, possibly imprisonment and death.

He spotted a large concrete wall on the far side of the grassy area. That would have to do. There was nowhere else he could leave the damned bag that wouldn’t risk harming someone. He had no idea how large an explosive it contained, only the certain knowledge that he was running out of time.

Skidding in the soft turf, he dropped the bag against the solid base. He turned, lost traction, and almost fell as he spun away from the bomb, but he managed to scramble and keep his balance, plant his hind feet, and get moving in the right direction.

Bunching his powerful hindquarters, he lunged away from the innocuous backpack. He’d gone only a few steps when he heard the soft click and felt the concussion, the almost gentle
whump
as the bomb exploded.

Followed by a deafening roar.

The blast caught him in mid-leap, tumbling him across the soft grass like a rag doll. He was aware of heat and pressure, of the thunderous noise as sound reached his sensitive ears. Flames, chunks of sod, and something sharp beat at him, tore through his thick, wolven coat, pierced his skin and then, almost miraculously, stopped.

In one sharp moment, one instant so precise he knew he would never forget it as long as he lived, Nick sensed death.

He thought of Beth. Only Beth. Of how much he loved her, of all they’d shared. All they still planned to do. The children they’d talked of. The lives they wanted, some day, to live.

Then darkness descended and his dreams winked out.

Concussion from an explosion rocked the entire building. At the same time, Beth was almost certain she heard Anton call out, but why? It made no sense, and she couldn’t worry about Anton now. She didn’t miss a step when the bomb blew, though she was sure her heart was breaking. She knew all eyes were on her as she took a last look around to make sure all was under control, and then she spun away and raced after Nick.

The girls were safely away with two trusted security guards, and the children attending the event were being herded into a separate room. She knew the tables there were already laden with enough food to keep them occupied while the chief of security sorted things out.

It was chaos, but controlled chaos, and no one had been injured. Except Nick. She’d been in his head, and then he was gone. Dear Goddess, where was he?

She planted one hand on the iron railing and vaulted smoothly, but she was only human and landed hard on the ground below. Immediately she was up and running, slower on two feet than she might have been on four, but Nick was going to need her human help.

She focused on the concrete wall on the far end of the lawn area. Security was everywhere, but most were racing toward the building where the event was being held. A few men ran toward the plume of black smoke rising in front of the wall.

Her mind was spinning. How in the hell had that man gotten a bomb through the detectors? Everything was scanned, and they had dogs working the perimeter. Security was tight as could be.

Damn. Heads would roll after this. At least she and Nick had done the job they were paid to do—they’d kept the kids safe and prevented a horrible disaster.

Everything had worked like clockwork—everything except Nick’s unplanned shift from man to wolf. Dear Goddess, she hoped he was all right. Frantic, continuing to search for his beloved mental voice, she raced toward the plume of black smoke.

How could he possibly have gotten so far in such a short period of time?

Unless he ran until the bomb exploded.

“Nick!”

Vaguely aware of a small group of reporters following her, Beth ran for all she was worth. There . . . mere yards from a huge crater in the green, green grass . . . something. Something dark, stretched out amid the ripped sod and the bits and pieces of whatever had exploded.

“Oh, Nick.” Whispering his name, she fell to her knees beside the bleeding wolf. Slowly stroking her hand over his dark brown fur, she pressed her palm to his chest. The slow, steady thud of his heart had her sobbing without shame.

A paramedic knelt beside her. “He . . . shit. They said he was a man and then he was a wolf. What happened?”

Beth took a deep breath. Exhaled and knew there was no escaping the truth. “We’re called Chanku. We’re shapeshifters. He can’t shift back until he’s conscious.” She bit back a cry and choked back her tears. “Unless he dies. Help him. Please?”

A news reporter shoved a microphone under her nose. Beth turned and snarled at him, an alpha bitch defending her mate. “Get the fuck out of my way.”

The man backed away. The cameraman continued filming. More security forces reached them. Nick was loaded onto a stretcher while Beth spoke into her com unit, checking in with the rest of the team. Then she crawled into the ambulance behind Nick.

No one questioned her right to be there. They’d put an oxygen mask over Nick’s muzzle and one of the men held a stethoscope pressed to his chest. There was no talking in the back of the ambulance—everyone went about their jobs, treating Nick as if he were human.

Beth grabbed her cell phone and dialed Anton’s number. Damn. The man had more than enough on his plate right now with Lily wandering the astral plane, but she had to let him know what had happened. She had to warn him. She had no idea how they were going to manage this mess, but somehow they needed to figure out damage control.

Their secret was out. Nick was seriously injured, his shift from man to wolf had been captured by dozens of cameras, and there was no way they could deny what so many had witnessed.

The packs were at risk, and she had no idea what to do.

Praise the Goddess, Nicky was himself again, as long and lean and gorgeous as any man could possibly be while covered from head to foot with shrapnel wounds.

“Beth?” Blinking slowly, he reached for her hand. She was beside him in a heartbeat. “What . . .” He closed his eyes, but his grasp on her hand was firm. “Are the girls okay?”

“They are. You’re a hero, sweetheart. You saved all those kids, the president’s daughters, everyone in that room. They all owe you their lives.”

“I shifted. Everyone knows.”

“It’s okay. Our secret is out, but it’s out in the best of ways. You saved lives today. Think about that.”

“What about the girl? Sunny? Is she okay?”

Beth leaned close and kissed him. “She’s better than okay. She’s Chanku. Baylor and Manda are flying down as soon as they can to get her. They’ll take her on to Montana with them. Hopefully Adam and Logan can help with her paralysis. She’s an orphan. No family at all. She’s spent her life in foster care as a ward of the state. Now she’s in a group home.”

“I saw her eyes. She was so afraid.”

“Not anymore. But, Nick . . . sweetheart, there’s something you need to know. I called Anton. I wanted him to know you’d shifted in front of the press, that you’d probably end up on the six o’clock news.”

“Oh, crap. He’s gonna kill me.”

Beth slowly shook her head. “He’s got bigger worries. About the time the bomb exploded, he discovered Lily’s disappeared. Again. Even the Goddess has lost her.”

“Shit. How? What happened? Help me sit up.” Nick shoved at the hard mattress but Beth hit the controls and slowly raised the bed. Then she sat on the edge and grabbed Nicky’s hands.

“She was still on the astral plane, still under Eve’s protection. When Eve went after her to send her back home, she was gone. The monks, Anton’s calling them Ancient Ones, would only say she wasn’t yet through with her quest, but they refused to tell Eve where she is. Anton’s beside himself. He’s absolutely frantic. In fact, I heard his cry all the way here. He’s searching for her now.”

“Is there any way we can help?” He squeezed her hands. “Goddess, Beth. I can’t imagine what he and Keisha are going through. I mean, we don’t have kids, but losing someone you love is . . .” He shook his head, leaned back against the pillows, and closed his eyes.

“I know. I almost lost you. Oh, Nicky. . . .” She touched his dark hair and blinked back tears. Red slashes marred the dark bronze of his chest. Bloody cuts peppered his cheeks, and one large slash across his throat had stitches holding it closed. She’d seen him naked right after his shift. One whole side of his body was covered with shrapnel wounds.

He was a mess, and more concerned about Anton and Keisha’s child than his own life. Beth bit her lips to keep from crying. “I’ve never been so afraid in my life. The bomb was filled with nails. It was designed to do as much damage as possible. When I got to you, you were unconscious and bleeding everywhere. You were full of shrapnel.”

Nick frowned, as if trying to recall those final, frantic moments. “I was a wolf. How’d I shift?”

“I linked with you in the surgery, before the doctors operated. When I explained that anything foreign to your body would most likely come out, they wanted me to try that first. Once I was able to find a thread of consciousness, I linked with you and made you shift.”

He quirked an eyebrow at her. “Did it work?”

She almost giggled. Relief did strange things to a person. “Bits and pieces of metal all over the place. Made me think of your Jacob’s Ladder.”

This time he laughed out loud. “Ya know, sweetheart, I knew I was in love with you when you said you’d put all those little barbells back in my dick after my first shift. Not just any girl would have offered.”