CHAPTER 4

Samantha drove fast. Her mind must have been just as worried as Connor’s. Tess couldn’t help but think of her brother in this situation. Was he alright? Did he manage to make it from the Cliff Walker den before their attack? All she could do right now was hope, and she hated that.

The sun reflected off the chrome of the truck, shooting rays of sunshine into her eyes. It was a sensation that would have been nice to feel on any day but today. The few hours they’d been driving felt like an eternity. The truck couldn’t move fast enough, even as Samantha sped. As the truck pulled off the road, onto the dirt driveway that would lead them to the clearing that Crunch considered his home, her nerves were on high alert.

Something wasn’t right. A plume of thick gray smoke rose from above the clearing. Tess hoped it was just Crunch starting the fire early tonight, but she could tell that was a lie.

When they entered the clearing she was greeted with a horrible sight. Three of the six small cabins along the right hand side were smoldering from a recently extinguished fire. The other three had scorch marks but were otherwise fine. Tire marks filled the grass that had at one time covered the entire clearing floor. On the patio of the largest cabin sat two bikers, neither of them Crunch. Both were catching their breath with a beer in hand.

“What the hell happened?” Connor shouted. As the truck came to a halt, he leapt from the passenger seat. The two bikers looked at each other but before either could talk, Crunch shoved his way through the cabin door.

“Dammit, you better have some goddamn good news or I’m going to-” Crunch screamed, it sounded like more of a guttural roar. He punched the door frame. The force of the blow sent shards of wood clattering to the ground, knocking the door from its hinges. “See what I mean!”

Tess was glad that Connor was there, but even he might have some problems dealing with a pissed off Crunch.

“The Cliff Walker den has been attacked,” Connor said.

“Dammit, tell me something I don’t already know,” he screamed. Crunch advanced but Connor stood in his way. If he needed to blow off some steam, Connor wanted to be sure he wouldn’t let it off on Tess, or Samantha.

Crunch stopped short, shaking his fists.

“How do you know about Cliff Walker den?” Connor asked, “We came as soon as we found out. We were hoping that Alex and Cynthia managed to get out.”

Crunch clomped over to the cooler. He produced a bottle of bourbon, tore the stopper out with his teeth, then proceeded to down almost half the bottle in one guzzle.

“Who the hell do you think did all this?” he asked, “This was Torque’s boys lookin’ for revenge.” He took another large swig from the bottle. “I know they used to be my boys but I’m prepared to kick them out of the gang permanently, if you know what I mean.”

“How the hell did Torque get here so fast?” Connor asked.

“I didn’t say it was Torque, I said it was Torque’s boys doin’ his dirty work,” Crunch replied between drinks. He stopped mid pour and locked eyes with Connor. The weight of his stare would have made a lesser man break, but Connor was a proud wolf, and an alpha. He would bow to no other wolf. “Are you tellin’ me that stupid sunovabitch got out of the bear den?”

Connor rubbed at his nose again. Tess would have spoken for him, but she couldn’t bring herself to interrupt their conversation.

“He got out this morning, just after breakfast sometime,” Connor said.

Torque downed what remained of the liquor then threw the bottle at Connor. He sidestepped the bottle, letting it smash into pieces on the side of the truck.

“Goddamit!” Crunch shouted, “Do those idiot bears know what they’ve done? You shoulda just let me beat his face in when I had the chance. But, No. You had to take him to the damned bears.” Crunch belched loudly.

Samantha giggled just under her breath. The raucous from his belch caused birds to flee from the safety of their trees. Despite the situation, even Tess had to hold back a laugh.

“Fuck,” Connor said with a sigh, clearly he was too distracted to laugh. Crunch plopped down on the edge of the patio. The weight of his body hitting the floor caused the cabin door, already off its hinges, to clatter to the floor.

Crunch broke the silence, “Those dumbass wannabe badasses rode around, tossing flaming liquor bottles. Good waste of liquor. But, one of them must have known what was goin’ on.”

“How do you know?” Connor asked.

“I nabbed one of them off the back of one of the motorbikes before they’d taken off. I’ve been beating information out of him for the last fifteen minutes,” Crunch replied. He pointed to the inside of the cabin with his thumb. Tess took a few steps to the side so she could see what he was pointing at and wasn’t surprised when she saw a biker covered in bruises trying to recover in a bed.

“What did he tell you?” Connor wondered.

“That bastard took Cynthia,” Crunch said, “Again.” He stumbled back to his feet. The alcohol was having an effect on him already. “I oughta beat you for sending her up there.” He made to punch at Connor, but his already blurred vision didn’t help. Connor side stepped every blow that Crunch threw but eventually caught his last punch before Crunch tumbled to his knee.

“You oughta beat yourself,” Connor replied, “You’re the one that gave Eli the map to Cliff Walker den.”

That blow hit Crunch harder than any punch could have. As he pulled himself back to full height, leaning against the truck to balance himself, he leaned in close to Connor, who backed away from Crunch’s foul breath.

“Don’t you think I know that?” Crunch said. He returned to the patio to sit once more. “Listen. The only other information I got out of this bastard inside is that the hunter, Eli, hit that mountain den earlier today. Everyone was trapped inside. Alex and Cynthia were leading people out the back but were caught in a trap. Eli wants revenge on all of us for what we did. He wasn’t using Torque’s guys for the attack though. I guess he was using some humans.”

Humans?

“They knew about the raids you guys have been workin’ on. Those won’t lead to nothin’. This bastard took them back to the lake. I guess there’s more there than we thought. Torque’s gang has been into some bad shit and they been using some old caves around the lake to hide their goods. No wonder they got enough money to buy all that silver for bullets.” Crunch hiccupped. “I wouldn’t doubt that’s where they’re keepin’ your pals.”

They went back to the lake?

Tess lost herself. She didn’t want to go back. Nothing but bad memories waited for her there if she went back. Eli scared her enough already. He’d shown himself to be ruthless and crafty. What if this was all just a trap?

“I’m going,” Connor said. He motioned to Samantha to get the truck started. The engine roared back to life.

Tess stood still. Connor reached out a hand which she took.

“You don’t have to come with us. You’ve seen enough as it is. You can stay here with Crunch and stay safe. I doubt they’ll come back here again.”

Tess shook her head no. This mattered to her, her brother mattered to her. She needed to see this through to the end. Inside her head she wished she could have called out to her wolf, but it wasn’t responding. Her pregnancy was quieting the voice that she grew up with her entire life. She wondered if it would ever come back even after she gave birth.

“I need to go,” she said, “Alex needs my help.”

“If you come with, you do exactly as I say this time. No running off. I say hide, you make yourself scarce, got it?”

She nodded her understanding then sidled her way into the truck. Samantha revved the engine beside her to keep it running.

“I’ll be there as soon as I can get my new bike up and running,” Crunch said. He pointed to a motorcycle, much smaller than his normal one. It must have been the bike his captive rode in on. “The next time I see Torque will be the last time he sees anything. And, I gotta get my damn bike back from that hunter.”

Connor nodded then offered a hand. Crunch eyed it wearily but accepted. They shook; one giant meaty paw over another. When Connor got back in the car, Samantha was in no mood for waiting any longer. The truck trudged onward, bringing them ever closer to their quarry.