Frostfire

Now take me to him.

Lilah followed Ethan out to the street, keeping a firm grip on him as he led her across to Annie’s inn and then past it to the snowbank at the bottom of the slope. Someone had used a mini-plow to clear a path up the mountain, and Ethan followed it, slowing his stride only when she started falling behind.

She expected him to take her into the cabin, but he went past it and all the others, climbing higher, putting his arm around her when she struggled against the steep angle of the ground.

“We’re almost there,” he said, his mouth slack and his eyes blank.

We have to hurry, she told him, afraid more of losing control over his mind than of inflicting any damage. Whatever Ethan and the people of the town had done to Walker, they were going to suffer for it.

The sheriff boosted her up onto a narrow plateau outside a series of caves in the side of the mountain peak. Smoke rose from several vent holes, and Lilah could see light flickering from deep inside.

“He’s in there,” Ethan told her, pointing to the center cave.

She wanted nothing more than to march right in there with the sheriff in tow, but she didn’t know who was waiting, or what they might do to Walker when they saw her.

She led Ethan over to the brush growing at the edge of the plateau. Take a nap here. Don’t wake up until I come back.

He yawned. “I am tired.” He dropped down to stretch out on his side, pillowing his head with his arm as he closed his eyes. A moment later he was asleep.

Lilah left him and headed for the center cave, entering silently and moving along the wall where the shadows best concealed her. The cave turned out to be a tunnel that led straight back to the source of the light, a large fire burning in a natural pitlike depression in the floor of the cave.

Annie and dozens of other women were gathered around the fire, some laying out medical supplies on cloth-covered trays, while others tucked blankets around short-legged cots with thin mattresses suspended by ropes.

“Annie, make sure there’s a scalpel and tongs on every tray,” Paul Jemmet said as he emerged from another tunnel. “I’ll be digging a lot of slugs out of them, and I don’t want to have to hunt for instruments while I’m doing it.”

Lilah stayed in the shadows, scanning the interior of the small cave for Walker. A terrible sound came through the air, like a wounded animal screaming, and Paul Jemmet shook his head.

“Can’t you knock him out for a few hours?” Annie asked.

“I wish I could,” the doctor said. “None of the drugs I’ve tried have any effect on him.”

They were talking about Walker, Lilah thought. But what was making him scream like this?

“Doc, do you think he’ll change back?” one of the other women asked.

“I hope so, Hannah, but we won’t know until it’s over and done with.”

Lilah edged around the cave, moving slowly and carefully toward the sound, which seemed to be coming from one of the back tunnels. When she reached it, she slipped around the corner and hurried toward the back, where another, smaller fire burned.

A much smaller cave lay at the end of the tunnel, one not much larger than the jail cell Ethan Jemmet had been holding her in. A wall of thick iron bars divided the cave in half, with only a locked gate panel allowing access to the other side. Behind the bars crouched a huge beast covered in silver-tipped black fur.

Walker.

Lilah rushed to the bars, and as soon as he saw her, the beast reared up and howled. She saw a ring of old-fashioned keys hanging from a hook driven into the stone, and took them down, fumbling as she unlocked the gate and wrenched it open.

The beast snatched her into his arms, his fur receding as his body straightened, and she heard the popping of joints and the grinding of bones. She held on to him until his talons sank back into his fingers, and the thick layer of fur around his neck became smooth, hot skin.

“Lilah.” His rough voice shook as he ran his hands over her. “Are you hurt? What did they do to you?”

“I’m fine.” She lifted her face and tried to smile. “We’re going to be okay.”

“The sheriff. His brother.” His jaw set. “They took you from me. I tried to fight them, but then there were others.” He touched his face. “Others like me. They can summon these beasts.”

“They are not beasts,” Paul Jemmet said quietly. Lilah turned her head and saw him standing outside the cell. “They are the children of the mountain. They are its guardians.” He studied their faces. “You are not what I thought. I was wrong about you.”

“You were wrong?” Lilah demanded, striding out of the cell to shove him back. “How could you do this? How could you put us in cages? How dare you?”

“As I said, I was wrong about you.” The doctor glanced at Walker. “The people who attacked you in the city are coming up the mountain after you. Our scouts estimate they’ll be here in an hour.”

“We are leaving.” Walker came and took her hand. “Now.”

“You’re not going anywhere, brother,” Nathan said as he stepped into the cave. “We’ve blocked off the road, Dad. Everyone is in position. Ethan’s outside, unconscious. Annie can’t seem to wake him up.” He turned to study Walker. “Shit. When did he shift back?”

“As soon as the woman touched him.” His father dragged a hand through his hair. “My conclusions were flawed. I don’t know what to think now.”

Lilah glared. “Stop talking about us like we’re invisible.” To Nathan, she said, “Why are you blocking off the road? You don’t want us here. Why not just hand us over to them?”

He scowled back. “I’m starting to think that’s a damn good idea, Red.”

Chapter 22

Convincing Eliot Kirchner to authorize and send two dozen operatives to assist Tina in recovering the acquisitions had taken too much time; it would have been quicker to go to the facility, slit the doctor’s scrawny throat, and gather the teams herself.

“You should have reported this to me as soon as the truck went missing,” Kirchner had snapped over the phone. “Thanks to you, they could be in Venezuela by now.”

“I know I was irresponsible, sir, but we’ve confirmed the most recent sighting.” She had always been good at simpering, but it took all her patience to keep from screaming at him. “I know exactly where they are. All I need are the men to help me bring them back.”

“You will make a full report to Mr. Genaro as soon as you’ve recovered them,” he warned her. “He will not be pleased, I assure you.”

“I will do that, sir.” Before she left for the Caymans, she might stop by the lab and kill him anyway. “Thank you, sir.”

She rendezvoused with the recovery teams at a rest stop near the exit to the mountain road, and handed out maps.

“We’ve traced the missing shipment to a town called Frenchman’s Pass, which is situated just off the main road, here.” She pointed to her copy of the map. “Local law enforcement consists of a sheriff and a couple of deputies, and we’ll try to use them as long as we can. If they offer any resistance whatsoever, terminate them.”

“Only one road in.” One of the team leaders, a grim-faced mercenary who had spent much of his career in the Congo, examined the layout on the map. “We can use the trees for cover on approach, but we’ll have to come in from behind the buildings, maybe put some snipers on the rooftops to cover our asses.”

He might be Genaro’s best killer, but his cushy job kidnapping civilians had made him sloppy. He had no idea that she had planted pipe bombs in the equipment bags she had directed him to load into the recovery team’s vehicles, or that she planned to detonate them once they’d finished the mission.

“I want the male target taken alive.” No way was she passing up the chance to sell a shape-shifter. “You can shoot the female on sight.”

Halfway up the mountain, Tina’s phone rang, and when she saw the number, she smirked. “Mr. Taske,” she answered. “I was just thinking about you. I should be able to deliver your merchandise tonight.”

“I’m very glad to hear that,” he said in his cool voice. “I arrived in Denver last night, but circumstances have changed, and I need to take possession as quickly as possible.”

“Well, I’m on my way to pick up the shipment now, and it will be eight hours before I return,” she told him, “so it’s really not feasible to move the delivery time.”

“It would be faster if I came to you, once you’ve taken possession, of course,” Taske said. “I would also be happy to compensate you for the inconvenience. Shall we say an additional one million dollars?”

Tina would never have agreed to a face-to-face meeting, but by the time Taske reached Frenchman’s Pass, all he would find would be bodies and burning vehicles. “I think that’s acceptable.” She gave him directions, and added, “I’ll meet you at the turnoff outside town at sunset.”

“Thank you, Ms. Segreta.”

Nathan’s threat taunted the beast inside him, but he knew it was an empty one. “You would not have blocked off the road if you meant to hand us over to our enemies.”

The scarred man gave him an ugly look. “We wouldn’t be in this mess if you’d stayed put in the first place.”

Lilah wasn’t finished with the doctor. “Why are you protecting these werewolves? We saw them kill the men who kidnapped us. Whatever you think they are, they hunt people. They eat people. They’re a danger to everyone in this town.”

“Werewolves. Eating people.” Nathan uttered a bitter laugh. “Try talking your way out of this one, Dad.” He stalked out of the cave.

“I’d like to explain everything to you, my dear,” Paul said, his voice sad. “But as my son said, we can’t afford the exposure. Until such time as you are both willing to trust us, and agree to stay with us, we must keep our secrets.” ns class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7451196230453695" data-ad-slot="9930101810" data-ad-format="auto" data-full-width-responsive="true">