Electric Storm(106)

Taggert shook his head. “They made sure we only dealt with one person in the cave. There were two others that dumped me in the woods. Also a big guy with the taser that picked me up.”

“There’s also the girl and the old man. Plus they must have at least one person to guard the prisoners at the cave.” She nodded to the darkness. “The cowboy is a coward. If we can unarm him, he’ll be easy to take. One is a hunter, a soldier. He’s in it for the chase. Killing’s become boring. He needs bigger prey to get his thrill. The leader is an old man who detests all paranormals with an unquenchable hatred. He feels it’s his duty to keep the rest of the world safe. Neither of them will stop.”

“So we fight.” There was no fear in Taggert’s voice.

Adrenaline surged, burning away the pain and exhaustion. The animals at her core perked up in interest, spurring her forward. A quick glance at Taggert revealed the same. No lust for the kill, just grim determination to get them out alive.

Narrowing her eyes, she stared in the darkness back the way they came. “We take Cowboy first and even the odds.”

With a game plan in mind, they slipped through the forest with barely a sound. As she guessed, Cowboy couldn’t find anything without his technology. He lingered within five feet of where they’d left the transmitter, stomping the ground, muttering to himself, slapping at a watch-like electronic box strapped to his forearm.

Taggert jerked his chin at Cowboy, and Raven nodded. They moved in unison. Cowboy heard them and brought up his rifle, the barrel of his gun pointed dead center of Taggert’s chest, though the pervert didn’t know it in the darkness.

Raven tugged on the chain that bound them, jerking Taggert out of range and behind her.

Cowboy dropped the night goggles over his eyes, instantly spotting them. A vicious smile curled his lips. “It doesn’t matter to me if my women are dead or alive.”

Even as he squeezed the trigger, Taggert swept her feet out from underneath her. The ground came up to smack her as the shot rang out. She felt more then saw Taggert’s body jerk. He didn’t go down, doing his best to protect her while pinned in place by the chains connecting them.

Rage stole all rational thought. She was on her feet without being aware of moving. Taggert mimicked her, and they rushed Cowboy. The chain caught the pervert around his neck. His back slammed against a tree trunk. The gun went off harmlessly into the ground. She found herself facing Taggert behind the tree when the sound of Cowboy’s neck snapping calmed the volatile emotions that threatened her sanity.





Chapter Thirty-two





The body lay slumped against the tree, sightless eyes staring up into the sky. “We have to leave. The noise will bring them right to us.”

Raven ignored Taggert’s pronouncement. “How bad are you hurt?” The rawness of her throat made the words difficult.

He marched directly in front of her and got right up into her face. “We need to leave.”

Raven couldn’t let it rest, not with her fingers still tacky with his blood. She eased away from him, her breath catching at all the sight of all that blood low on his abdomen. With her fear, her core flared to life for the first time since she had been taken. “We need to stop the bleeding. Your wolf should accelerate the healing process if we can cut out the bullet.”

“It went through. The bleeding’s already slowing. We have to go.” His tone was calm, soothing, and very insistent.

Some of the panic crowding her mind subsided. The tightness choking her chest eased. He was right. They had to keep moving. “Can you scent anything?”

Taggert shook his head. “The gunpowder is too strong.”

While she still had access to her core, she sent a burst of electricity into the forest. This time she didn’t protect Taggert. Despite insisting he was fine, his movements were sluggish. The injuries were impacting him. The extra energy would help him heal. It would keep him on edge and bring his wolf closer to the surface.

As the energy gushed out of her core, her legs trembled, threatening to dump her on her ass. Her core dimmed to a fraction of its former self, but it didn’t vanish completely. The burnout was fading.

Then her wave got a hit. Two. Three. Six. And they were all heading in their direction.

“We have to leave now.” She shoved at Taggert’s shoulder and spun him around to face the opposite direction. “Back toward the cave.”

“They’ll trap us there.” Though his body cowed at the mention of the cave, he did as asked and hustled.

“We’ll have to circle around or be caught up in their net.” When the shadow of the cave came into view, she pulled up short.