Therian Promise(8)
“You may have the oldest,” she told her sometimes partner. “The other two are mine.”
“Sorry. I need all three,” he said without pause or negotiation.
“No.” She closed the door before continuing. “The oldest was going to be a parting gift. I’m relocating and I’ve decided our partnership ends here.”
“All the more reason for me to take all three.”
Indignation washed away her shock. She shoved him backward, the unexpected force sending him stumbling nearly to the stairs. “You ungrateful bastard. Get out of my house!”
He tapped the device nestled in his ear, his stance tense and hostile. “I need backup. Top floor by the stairwell.” Within seconds four masked soldiers, dressed all in black and armed with compact automatic weapons stomped up the stairs and crowded her hallway. One backed her into a corner and kept her there with lethal efficiency. The other three slipped into the bedroom and emerged a moment later carrying one of the girls each. Her sometimes partner watched it all with silent amusement.
“You bastard,” she sneered as the last soldier headed down the stairs. He’d won this round, there was no way she could salvage the situation, but she knew who he was, knew the location of his precious compound and the identities of his partners. “Enjoy it while it lasts, Milliner. This is far from over.”
Chapter Two
Kyle stood on the summit of the nondescript mountain and scented the cool, crisp air. The smells were familiar—pine, damp earth, grass, deer, elk, prey… He paused and fought back a smile. He was hungry and his Therian nature was making damn sure he acknowledged the fact. The mountain had been steeper than it appeared from the base, but Ava kept up without complaint and minimal assistance. She’d marched along like a tough little soldier, all focused determination and confidence.
He’d been chasing Ava for the past six days. Well, to be more accurate, he’d been chasing the men who’d been chasing Ava. His primary concern was her safety, but he’d also needed a better understanding of Osric’s strategy and the true scope of his influence. Ava was a crucial piece to the puzzle, but she wasn’t the only element of this conflict requiring Kyle’s attention. So, he’d watched from the shadows for the first few days, ready to swoop in if the others got too close. Instead, she took them through a twisting maze of false trails and backtracking leads until Kyle began to wonder if her escape had been a ruse and his rivals were having fun with him.
Then three days ago, Ava simply disappeared. Kyle’s grand ambition to become her savior evaporated and he felt the first tingle of fear. His one advantage in this mess had been Osric’s inflated ego. Osric had been so confident in his power that he’d trusted wolves to do his dirty work for him. Delegation was becoming a Therian weakness. Too many alphas didn’t want to be directly involved in enforcing the decisions they made, which left them at the mercy of their muscle.
Locating someone who didn’t want to be found was infinitely harder than trailing a frightened woman as she frantically outran her pursuers, but Kyle had learned all he needed to know about Osric’s “organization” and he’d been determined to reach her before the wolves. In the end, Carissa had pointed him in the right direction. He’d been relieved to finally have control over the situation, but apparently fate wasn’t finished screwing with him.
He turned to Ava and paused. He’d meant to ask if she had anything edible in her backpack, but her eyes were wide and bluer than the sky. Her face was flushed and an unmistakable combination of panic and dread tensed her lovely features. Protectiveness surged within him, drawing him closer, preparing his body for a physical confrontation should anything threaten this female.
He glanced at the panorama, trying to understand her reaction. Mountains stretched into the distance, some rolling and graceful, others starkly etched and rugged. This was home for his cougar, the sort of setting his cat craved when Kyle was too inundated with network business to shift and run free.
But Ava couldn’t shift yet. She was still bound by human limitations. “Does anything look familiar?”
“As you said, it could be Colorado, but it could just as easily be half a dozen other places.” She squared her shoulders and straightened her spine as determination pushed through the weaker emotions. “We better keep moving. Unless your phone picked up a signal, we’re seriously screwed.”
He shook his head, hating to deflate what little remained of her hope. “No such luck. I already tried it twice.” It was more like twice in the last ten minutes. He’d been checking it off and on all morning.