“C1, I hear it, but I’m not getting a visual. If it turns out to be anything I’ll give you a holler. Over,” the man replied.
Alan stifled a yawn. He hadn’t been sleeping well either, obviously.
“I’ll go brew us some coffee,” he said.
* * *
As they jogged through the woods, headed back towards the rendezvous point, Dash tipped his head back to sniff the air.
“That’s the third time that you’ve done that,” Isadora said, as they emerged from the tree line and Dash rushed her towards his car. “What do you scent?”
“Humans. Headed our way.” He yanked open the car door, uncuffed her, and shoved her in the passenger side. Then he cuffed her to a metal bar that he’d fixed by the side of the seat, and ran over to the driver’s side.
“Are they friends of yours?” he asked as they slid in.
“Doubt it,” she said coolly.
Dash cursed to himself. He would have liked a more definitive answer.
He glanced around the parking lot; the Wardens and Pride Patrol weren’t back yet. They’d all headed out to the Hobo camps. When he’d called them, they’d turned around and headed back, but they still hadn’t arrived. They’d probably be there within minutes, but the humans were getting closer every second; their smell was getting stronger and stronger.
He couldn’t wait.
He started up the truck and sped out of the parking lot. He headed east.
He pulled out his phone t to call Warden Kerrigan, but the sound of another car on the road interrupted him. He glanced in the rearview mirror, hoping it was the Wardens or Pride Patrol returning, but no such luck.
He didn’t recognize the big black SUV with the tinted windows. He went around a sharp curve, and then accelerated. The car behind them sped up too.
Isadora twisted around to look. “Seriously, no clue who that is,” she said. “They really seem to want to get to know us better, though.”
“I’m not in the mood to make new friends.” There was a long straight stretch of road ahead, and they were coming closer to a small town. If he could just make it there, their pursuers would drop off, he was sure. He pushed his foot down on the pedal, and roared down the road.
The SUV accelerated too, and rammed into the back of the pickup truck, sending him fishtailing.
“Fuck!” he cursed. He barely managed to stay on the road.
They rammed him again as soon as he was back in his lane. He heard the crack of gunshots. The truck left the road, plowing into an overgrown field. He heard the sound of a tire popping.
Quickly, he uncuffed Isadora, and scrambled out of his truck, pulling his gun out.
Isadora followed him, standing by his side, as the black SUV pulled over on the side of the road and four humans scrambled out. They were dressed in black, and all were armed.
“Isadora, run for it,” Dash said.
The thought of her being hurt filled him with panic. It surprised him how much the idea scared him.
“No way.”
“You stupid, stubborn, lynx, run! I’ll keep them here and you escape!”
In response, she growled, unsheathed her claws, and her face began to shift. Her fangs descended, and her eyes glowed with anger. She let out the loud, angry hiss of a cornered cat.
Was this the way a traitor would act? If she’d sold out her own kind, shouldn’t she be running off to leave him to die?
Just then, an 18 wheeler truck came down the road and slowed to a stop. The men hesitated, then ran back to the SUV, hopped in and drove off.
The driver of the truck leaned out of his window. “Are you all right?” he called.
“We’re fine, thanks!” Dash yelled to him. “Appreciate it!”
The truck driver waved at him and drove off.
Dash saw Isadora glancing around the field, and before she could shift and run off, he slapped the cuffs on her again.
“Are you kidding me?” she snapped. “What is your obsession with handcuffs, you kinky bastard? And why didn’t you ever bring this up at a time when we actually could have had fun with it?”
“Ha ha, that’s funny. And the answer is, because you were always making sure that I was royally pissed off at you. Now why is that, do you think? Maybe you were afraid that if you didn’t keep pushing me away, something might actually have happened between us?”
“Don’t flatter yourself!” she yelled at him, as he shoved her back into the passenger side and cuffed her to the metal bar again.
“I’ve got to change the tire. Sit tight,” he said.
He changed the tire and was back on the road in record time.
“Has it occurred to you that after you called your people and told them where we were, humans suddenly show up on the scene and start following us?” Isadora said irritably. “You know it’s not something that I did. You were with me the whole time. They were there half an hour after you called. That would have given somebody on your team time to tip off those humans.”
“Yes, it has occurred to me. It’s also interesting that they were close enough to get there that quickly. That was a squad of mercenaries who almost certainly were working for Colonel Bradwell. Why were they in this area?”
“Damned if I know.”
“Or, damned if you’ll tell me,” he growled. Then he looked at her suspiciously. “You had a couple of bags with you earlier. Where are they?”
“I ditched them.”
“Why?”
“So you can’t go through my stuff,” she said coolly. “Where are we going right now, by the way? What’s your plan?”
“I don’t know, damn it. For the first time in my life, I’m winging it.”
“No effin way. How does it feel?”
“Sucks,” he snapped. He was driving aimlessly, just trying to put some distance between him and the humans.
After a little while, he actually saw her smile, and then start to laugh.
“Please tell me what about this situation is remotely funny,” he said.
“You. Me. Patrol car,” she laughed. “Feels like old times, doesn’t it?”
His mouth twitched in a smile, but he forced himself not to laugh. Couldn’t the lynx ever take anything seriously?
Then again, that had always been part of her charm, hadn’t it? She could find humor in the bleakest situation, and somehow, lighten a dark mood by doing so.
Wait, he told himself angrily. Since when did he find Isadora charming? He didn’t. He definitely didn’t.
He needed to get his mind back on his duty, to protect the welfare of shifters, and stop thinking about Isadora and how deliciously sweet she smelled, and how maddeningly adorable she looked when she laughed.
He grabbed his phone and called Warden Redthorne, who was at headquarters back in Timber Valley. He told them about the men who’d chased after them. Redthorne let out a stream of curses.
“Where are you now?” Redthorne asked.
“Getting as far away from the rendezvous point as possible. Who knew where we were?” Dash asked. “Somebody put a call in to those humans.”
“Hold on a minute. I’m just going to step outside my office,” Redthorne said. Dash waited while Redthorne walked outside. “After you called me, I called a number of people to update them that Isadora had been taken into custody. I’m going to start making a list of them now. I need to proceed cautiously. The people that I told were people that I thought that I could trust absolutely. Is it possible that Isadora was the one to tip the soldiers off, and she was just playing coy when they showed up?”
“I really don’t think so,” Dash said. “I’ve been with her continuously. Listen, sir, I trust you, but I frankly don’t know who else to trust out here. I’m going to bring Isadora back to Timber Valley by myself; we’re too exposed out here.”
“No, it’s too risky. She’s proven herself very adept at escaping. Listen, I’m flying out there today with my men. While you’re waiting for me, bring her to the nearest pack – let’s see, that would be the Hidden Hills pack in-”
“What’s that? You’re breaking up!” Dash yelled. He made a static noise with his mouth and then quickly clicked the phone off.
“You did not just do that,” Isadora said admiringly. “Way to go, Dash!”
“The fact that you approve is not reassuring to me at all,” he scowled.
A short while later, they pulled up in front of a motel that Dash spotted from the road. Dash parked the car at the far end of the parking lot, leaving Isadora cuffed, and booked a room towards the back of the motel. Then he rushed Isadora in to the room, keeping her cuffed to him.
“You could uncuff me now,” Isadora said as he locked the door.
“I could if I trusted you.”
“Are you this kinky with all of your girlfriends?” she smirked at him. He felt a flush creeping up his throat. Her scent was sweet and musky and strong, and he found himself breathing in, drawing it into his nostrils so he could savor it. Suddenly he was having a hard time sucking enough oxygen into his lungs. Where had all the air gone?
“I have no girlfriends, and quit flattering yourself,” he said gruffly. “This is strictly business.”
Isadora wasn’t to be dissuaded. She stared straight up at him, her jade green eyes glowing. “I’m a shifter. I can smell your excitement. And see it.” She glanced at Dash’s pants, staring at what he was sure was his clearly outlined erection, bulging against the cloth of his pants.