A sharp pain in Leona’s arm woke her from a coma-like sleep. Had Harold returned? Was he draining her blood while she’d been unconscious? She sat up, yanking the needle from the crook in her elbow.
“Easy, Sheriff!” A startled voice sounded by her ear.
Instinct gripped her and by reflex, she swung around knuckles cracking as she punched his chin.
Hands grasped her shoulders, pinning her to the stretcher. She kicked out, connecting with flesh.
“Watch her knees.”
A blur blocked her field of view. “Sheriff, it’s me, Joe. You’re safe.” He ducked as she swung. “You’re safe, dammit, woman.”
The words finally registered. “Safe?” That seemed true. Harold didn’t have accomplices. There were too many hands holding her down.
“Whatever you gave her worked fast,” Joe said.
“Too fast.” A paramedic she recognized rubbed his jaw. “You’ve got a strong right hook, Sheriff Lee. You with us now?”
“I’m fine.” She nodded. “What happened?”
The hands holding her released and she sat on the edge of the stretcher while the paramedic bandaged where she had ripped out her IV.
“Kind of hoped you could tell us that.” Joe crouched in front of her. “We were told the vampire killed you at the crime scene and snatched your body into the woods.”
Over his head, she spotted the whole dang Alberg sheriff’s office. Concerned expressions painted on their faces.
“Pallas didn’t hurt me, he saved me.” She rose to her feet and groaned as her knees reminded her how she had abused them. “Homeland Security shot me.” She cleared her throat. “Shot at me.” That was a close slip.
“Your blood was all over the snow.” Joe fingered the hole in her jacket.
She shoved his hand away. “Fine, he shot me but it was a graze. Nothing to worry about.”She pointed to the garage. “That’s a crime scene. You need to get your gear together and collect evidence. You’ll find some huge jars of blood that should match Bob.” Her head ached and she touched the swollen bump between her eyes. “Harold killed Bob. Equipment he used is in the garage.”
Calmly, Joe rose to his feet and checked out the garage.
Murray helped her stand. “You look like a raccoon.”
“Thanks, keep the sweet talk for after hours.” She smirked as his mouth flapped for a response. “You need to put an APB out for Harold. I think he took off on foot. I never heard him start his car.”
Murray studied her stance. “Maybe you should let them take you to the hospital. You were barely breathing when they arrived.”
One of the paramedics held up a bottle from the counter. “You should have blood drawn to confirm it but I think he used liquid oxycodone to drug you.”
“That’s the same stuff that came back from Bob’s tox screen.” Murray shook his head. “Who would have guessed Harold had it in him to kill family?”
“Can you draw my blood now? I have a manhunt to organize.” She happily returned to the stretcher to rest her aching head and let the paramedics do their thing. With her and Bob’s toxicology screens matching, she could definitely clear Pallas of any charges.
Harold thought she would have to live the rest of her life looking over her shoulder. He had it wrong. She wouldn’t rest until she caught him. “Murray, let Homeland know we resolved Bob’s murder and to call off their search parties for Pallas.” She had a bone or two to pick with Agent Thomas.
“About that.” Murray knelt next to her, his face pale. “Homeland caught a few of the wolf shifters. They plan on using them for bait to trap the rest of the pack or Pallas.”
“Fuck.” She spat out the word like a bullet. Pallas wouldn’t abandon his wolves. He’d walk right in, knowing it was a trap, to set them free. “Details, Murray.”
The paramedic finished his blood draw, labeled the vial and handed it over to Murray to deliver to the lab.
“I—I’m not sure. I haven’t details, but last I heard, they were heading toward the vampire’s home.”
Her heart sank. She hoped Pallas would be smart and leave this to her. She wouldn’t let Homeland harm his wolves, but deep down inside she knew he would do something foolish. “Give me your car keys.”
“Sheriff—”
“Take care of the evidence. I’m counting on you.” She held out her hand expectantly.
Slowly, he pulled out his cruisers key ring. “You should get seen by a doctor, Leona. You were shot, and your face and the drugs…”
She snatched the keys from his hands. “Don’t worry, it’s like high school all over again.” She left him and the paramedics before any of them protested.
Leona’s steps slowed as she exited Harold’s house. A disco hall of red and blue lights illuminated the street. Officers from her staff and state troopers crowded the front lawn. She even spotted one or two Homeland Security agents. As one, they quieted and stared.
“T—thank you.” She managed to say. They all had come to her rescue. She never would have guessed how much her town cared. First, the search and prayers, then this grand display of support. She cleared her throat and blinked away her unshed tears. Stupid drugs, making her act all weird. With a nod to her people, she took off toward the mess of vehicles parked on the road. “Follow me. We have some shifters to rescue.”
Murray’s cruiser was easy to spot. It was the one with all the empty coffee cups on the dashboard. No matter how much she complained about keeping the damn car professional looking, he treated it like a trashcan.
The vehicle started easily in the cold weather. She shoved the loose strands of hair from her face and raced for the manor on the other side of town, her backup close behind.
Watching Leona walk away into the human neighborhood and potential danger had driven daggers into Pallas’ gut. He wanted to carry her away and lock her in a room, but that would kill the blazing fire he loved in her. She was a warrior and such a path was never safe. He had to trust her skill and judgment. These were her people and she was their sheriff. She had possession over them. He had to honor her territory like she had the pack’s.
Before he changed his mind about letting her go alone, he had turned his back to her retreating form.
Clare blocked his path and wagged her tail.
“Oh, shut up.” As he passed her, she nipped at his ankles playfully. “Yes, yes, I like her.” He didn’t need a translator. He knew how to speak wolf. Probably better than these young shifters. “Let’s hunt.” As soon as he said those words, his core group of best shifters—Ian, Clare, Darrell, and Penny with Alistair and Julia—perked their ears forward.
One of them yipped, unable to control their excitement.
“Quiet.” He took a walk with the wolves around the outskirts of town. Things seemed much quieter than yesterday. Fewer agents out searching. The church parking lot was full of cars. At this time of night, most of the citizens of Alberg were tucked in their homes. Something had changed.
He crouched in the snow as the wolves huddled around him. “I don’t like what I’m seeing. Let’s find out what these Homeland people are planning. I want positions, numbers, and anything you might overhear. Circle the town and we’ll meet at the pond by the manor. Don’t be seen. Be the shadows.” He could get closer to the agents than the wolves but they could pick up scents better.
Of all the things he wished he had, it would be their noses.
“Go.” He rose as the pack scattered except Ian. Pallas eyed the alpha. “I don’t need a guard dog.”
The wolf sneezed.
“Keep up then.” Pallas ran, not slowing his pace for the shifter. Yet Ian managed to stay at his side. Pallas headed straight for his home, using his mind tricks to suggest things into people’s thoughts if they spotted them. He wanted a closer look at what had been done on his property and possibly retrieve a few personal items.
In the stark forest surrounding his property, they hovered behind the bare branches. There were many vehicles parked by his garage. Pallas ground his teeth. They better not have touched his car.
Homeland had built something new on his grounds. He peered, focusing his gaze. A cage? They couldn’t believe that would hold him. The ground moved within the structure and he realized that there were animals sleeping inside. One of them stretched and sniffed the air. It pointed its head in their direction.
Ah, shit, Homeland had caught some of the pack. Pallas grasped Ian by the scruff as the alpha leapt forward. “Easy, you can’t help if you’re caught as well.” Keeping his hold on Ian, Pallas assessed their situation. “It’s a trap.” He stroked Ian’s fur, more for his comfort than the wolf’s. The last time someone used his wolves against him, the pack had died. He wouldn’t live through that again. “What to do? What to do?”
A low growl rolled in Ian’s chest.
In the distance, a police cruiser turned onto the long driveway that led to the manor. The crazy driver sped on the ice almost losing control.
Pallas crept forward, spreading the branches for a better view, heart in throat. He recognized the driving style. Controlled chaos even on his icy, dirt driveway.
Leona.
Closing his eyes for a brief second, he reached out to the local rodents. None of them wanted to venture out in the cold but their simple minds were easy to control. Yet, he only used one. The mouse lived under the barn, close to where Leona had parked.
On four paws, he ran over a thick snow. Shadow to shadow, he managed to reach a vantage point as Leona stepped out of the police cruiser.
He recoiled. His mind snapping back into his head so hard he was dizzy. She had been beaten. That fucker Harold had laid hands on his woman. He jumped back into the field mouse, who was still where Pallas had left him.
Leona leaned against the car, favoring her right leg. Her mind wasn’t as sharp or protected like usual. Something had happened to make her fuzzy around the edges. She shouldn’t be at the manor in this state. Homeland would take advantage.
“We move.” Pallas didn’t need to be the mouse to hear Leona call out Agent Thomas. That woman had T-Rex sized balls and they were going to get her killed.
Agent Thomas wasn’t playing with a full deck. He seemed hell-bent on capturing or killing Pallas, guilty or not.
Ian kept close, cocking his head as if asking Pallas a question.
“I don’t have a plan yet.” Pallas ran his hand over his face as he marched along the edge of the forest.
Leona strode toward the caged wolves. She tried to hide her limp. “You can’t just capture shifters. This is pack land. They have the right to roam here in wolf form,” she shouted at the Homeland guards outside the building.
They exchanged looks, rifles half raised as if unsure what to do next.
“Where is your commanding officer?” Leona said her hands on her hips. She radiated dominance. She might not be a shifter but she had the soul of an alpha wolf. No wonder she tugged at his heart.
“Right here.” Agent Thomas came out of Pallas’ home, gun cocked and aimed at Leona’s head.