Hour of the Lion by Cherise Sinclair (android e book reader txt) 📗

"Got it." The deputy nodded, raised his eyebrows at Vic. "Thanks for the advice on reconnoitering. Now get out of here, short, skinny female."

They seemed awfully blasé about dead people.

With a sigh, she pulled the body blocking the storeroom away, then opened the door.

Alec stepped up behind her, tucking his fingers under her belt to halt her. "I‘ll bring the car around to the park. Wait for me by the big oak." He handed over her knife, then strolled out the front.

Indecision gnawed at her as she hurried through the back door. Make for the trees or let him help? Everything in her said go it alone. Teammates only got in the way or got hurt. If anything should happen to Alec… The thought stole her breath.

But as she crossed the park, the tall, wet grass flattened beneath her feet, leaving an indelible trail. They‘d know exactly where she went. But she could manage. She‘d almost reached the tree line when she spotted the big oak.

Guilt tightened her jaw. However Swane had found her, she‘d targeted this town for him.

Even worse, if she left a trail to the forest, his men would comb the mountain and might run into unprepared shifters.

Dammit. She‘d have to do this the hard way—and accept help. Forcing herself to turn, she walked over to the oak and watched Alec‘s car slide around the corner and up to her.

*

Less than an hour later, Alec stood in the tunnel entrance with his brother and Vicki. He frowned. The rain had turned to sleet. Up higher, it would be snowing heavily, and there wasn‘t much daylight left.

Vicki shook her head. "I still think I should just let them trail me out of town."

"No," Calum said flatly. He turned to Alec, "I‘ll join you in a couple of days. Will you be all right?"

In other words, could he manage hiking with a human up the mountain rather than running in cat form? Alec grinned and patted Vicki on the head. "We‘ll be fine. She‘s a tad on the short side, but she‘s got heart."

Her golden-brown eyes shot sparks, and he choked on a laugh. If she‘d been a werecat, he‘d be drawing back a mangled hand about now. After buttoning his heavy coat, he shouldered the pack of emergency supplies and clapped Calum on the shoulder. "Check on Thorson before you come up, would you? He was pretty hard hit."

"Aye." Calum ran a finger down Vicki‘s cheek and murmured, "Little human, you‘ve shortened my life by several years." He gave Alec a brief smile. "Be safe, you two," he said and headed up the steps.

As if mesmerized, Vicki stared after him, and Alec grinned. His brother had that effect on females. "Let‘s go, Vixen. This isn‘t an easy climb."

She turned and looked at the mountain, her big eyes filling with misery. "I brought this mess on you all."

"True. Of course, Lachlan shouldn‘t have let himself be caught. Or he shouldn‘t have run away in the first place. And Joe should have been more understanding so he wouldn‘t have run away, and—"

"Okay, okay, I get the point." She hefted her pack and followed him as he took the most direct path upward. "Where is this cabin anyway?"

He pointed toward the mountaintop. "Straight up there."

"Oh, God," she said resignedly. "Mountain climbing in a blizzard at night. You cat-people sure know how to show a girl a good time."

*

"What do you mean, you lost her?" Vidal scowled and pressed the cell phone closer to his ear.

"Four of my men walked into that bookstore. None came out. Gotta figure they‘re dead."

Swane‘s cold voice could barely be heard through the static. "The old fart—the owner of the store—went to the hospital. Cops are saying a man tried to rob the bookstore and escaped after shooting the owner. No mention of Morgan or anyone else. Definitely a cover up."

Incompetent bastards. Vidal swore under his breath. "Go on."

"I asked around quietly, and she works at the town tavern, only she‘s using the name Waverly."

"Check out the bar," Vidal agreed. "Is she at her place?"

"No. Her house is empty, but her car is still parked there. She‘s not at the tavern either."

Worse and worse. Morgan would be a fool to return to the town. And they‘d alerted the werecreatures.

However, their target area was obviously Cold Creek. Dammit. "How could one old man and a woman kill off four men?" Bungling fuckups. Vidal kicked his wastebasket across the room and halted, shocked at his own actions. He never lost control. Ever.

"I‘m not sure," Swane said. "But I got an idea. I want to grab someone who can tell us about the town. Not a creature—just a person who‘d know what‘s going on. About the shifters…and their families."

Vidal sat down in his chair. Carefully. "What good would that do?"

"Leverage, boss." Swane‘s laugh made Vidal‘s skin crawl. "Beastie-boy sure as fuck would‘ve talked if I‘d been skinning pieces off his sister."

"Do it."

*

Fuckin" A. Vic was freezing. She hadn‘t been this cold since a mission in the mountains of Afghanistan. She shivered so hard her bones hurt. But that was good. When a person stopped shivering, death was right behind.

And she knew some of the shivering was from what she‘d done. She‘d killed. The feeling of shattering bone, the sound of the man choking on his own blood, the blank look of death—she swallowed as nausea rose again. Wiped the tears from her face…again.

The snow increased the higher they went, sometimes whipping into her face like sand and sometimes falling straight down, piling up so she could no longer see the tree roots and obstacles underneath. She had the bruises to show for it, having flattened her length out on the trail a few times. Grace incarnate, that"s me.

The sun was gone, the moon wasn‘t up, and even if it was, nothing would penetrate the dark clouds overhead. Her wimpy-ass penlight had died an hour ago.

Why the hell am I here? She