TEN
Senora was in the lead, holding Jessica’s hand and gently guiding the exhausted woman down the trail toward the cabin as fast as they could move. They’d already made their way around the waterfalls, and Senora was beyond grateful that the trail to the cabin from where they’d found Jessica was turning out to be so much easier than the trails they’d taken to find her.
Easy or not, Jessica was struggling, and they had already stopped once to let her rest for a moment and drink some water. Jessica had finished her own water, and Senora had handed over her bottle and shared with Ty. Already, Jessica had perked up, and putting socks and hiking boots on her bare feet had helped, but the poor woman was just too spent.
When Jessica stumbled again, Senora caught her and helped the petite woman stand steady on her feet. She looked over Jessica’s shoulder at Ty, and Ty nodded. They knew what they had to do, and they were deep enough into the woods that it would be as safe as it was going to be.
“Jessica. I know you’re tired, but we need to hurry.”
“I’m trying,” Jessica said, her voice weak.
“I know. There’s a way we can speed this up, but I need you to trust me.” Senora caught sight of Ty already shifting, their backpack on the ground beside him. She caught Jessica’s attention again before she could turn and smiled. “Do you trust me?”
“I do,” Jessica said. “If you hadn’t come to save me when you did, those animals would have found me, and I would be a goner.”
“About those animals,” Senora said, gesturing over Jessica’s shoulder. “Don’t scream.”
Jessica turned and sucked in a deep breath when she took in the whole of Ty’s massive body. He was lowered to the ground, waiting for them.
“He’s so big,” Jessica whispered.
“He is. Like a normal wolf but the size of a horse.”
Ty rolled his dark eyes. His coat seemed darker, so gray it was almost black. Jessica’s hands shook, more from fear than fatigue, but Senora knew that was part of it. Gently, Senora guided her to Ty’s side, then gave her a boost. Jessica slid onto Ty’s back right behind his shoulder blades, and Senora scrambled on behind her. Senora tightened the backpack so it wouldn’t slam against Ty’s back with each stride, and just like that, Ty was up and running smoothly down the long, nearly straight trail.
Senora grabbed his scruff, her arms wrapped around Jessica’s waist to hold the woman upright. She didn’t want Jessica using the last of her strength holding herself on Ty’s back, and if she fell off at this speed, she was going to be hurt badly. Jessica leaned into Senora and sighed. When she closed her eyes and let her body relax against Senora, Senora knew that Jessica felt safe for the first time since she’d escaped death the night before. With the cards stacked against her, somehow, she’d managed to keep her promise that she wouldn’t let anything happen to Jessica. This wasn’t what she’d had in mind when she’d said it, but it didn’t matter. Senora was in it to get justice for the victims, and she couldn’t think of anything more just than saving a victim twice and preventing her own husband from making sure she was dead. She couldn’t have found Jessica without Ty’s help, which was something she’d already come to terms with. They made a better team than they did individually, and there she was going to have to make some changes. She had two weeks to think about how she was going to make that happen and another few months to take if she needed it. But when she returned, she was going to put her foot down, and if they wouldn’t consider making Ty a consultant and her permanent partner, then maybe it was time to find another avenue for helping victims like Jessica.
Her heart ached at the thought of leaving the FBI, but she’d been really unhappy since she’d been banished to the office. Maybe it was time to move on. Who knew? Maybe she and Ty could start their own consulting business and work in the private sector. There was more money in it, that was for sure. But Senora wasn’t sure she was ready for such a big move. She needed time, and she needed to talk to J.
Jessica groaned, and her head fell back a little further. She’d fallen asleep, giving into her exhaustion and trusting that Senora would protect her. Senora held tight, but Jessica was so small and still so light from her ordeal that it was almost like holding a child. When they got Jessica to safety, Senora was going to make sure she got medical attention and a round-the-clock detail to keep her safe. Until then, they were going to have to make do.
The wilderness was passing in a blur, and Senora almost missed the change in scenery that signaled that they were almost to the cabin. The trees thinned out, and the path widened. She saw Ty scan the trees on both sides before he burst out of the woods and ran as fast as he could across the short clearing behind the cabin Senora had rented. Senora tensed, half expecting a shot to ring out from the distance, but none came, and within seconds, they were in the shelter of the walled-in back porch. Senora set her feet on the concrete floor and unlocked the back door to the cabin.
Ty shifted beneath Jessica, contorting as he did so that he managed to shift with her in his arms and his feet on the floor. She’d watched him do it and still couldn’t figure out how he’d managed such a smooth transition without jostling her. He caught Senora’s furrowed brow and winked at her. The gesture sent a wave of warmth through her, then he walked past her and took Jessica into the bedroom, closing the door behind him.
He stood in the living room, naked and glowing from the run. An eternity went by before he finally turned and grabbed the backpack from where she’d dropped it. He slipped into his clothes quickly, then tossed the bag to her.
“See if you can wake her and get her to eat. We don’t have a lot of time. I’m going to pack up the Jeep and move your stuff into it. I know you don’t want to do this, but we’re going to leave your car here. We don’t want anyone thinking that we’re gone after renting this place for a week. We’ll come back and get it when Jessica is safe. I-”
Senora was already shaking her head.
“Don’t worry about the car. We’ll figure it out later. Right now, I want to get as far away from those bears as possible. I thought you said that shifters were human protectors. Those bears were after Jessica and were going to bring her back to a killer. That doesn’t seem like they’re protecting her to me. Is there something they know that we don’t?”
“Doubtful. I don’t know what’s going on, but I counted four of them, and Jessica is sure that she saw six. I’m tough, but six bears against one wolf isn’t exactly a fair fight.”
“It’s not. I’ll take these to her and see if I can get her moving a little.”
He nodded, then he reached out and grabbed her, pulling her close and kissing her roughly.
“What’s that for?” she asked when he released her.
“For being you,” he said. “You have no idea how amazing you are.”
He left then, leaving her swaying on her feet for an instant before she turned and hurried to the bedroom.
Jessica looked small and helpless in the middle of the bed, her mouth slack and her eyes closed. Her head was tilted to the side, and in the waning light of the afternoon sun, Senora could see the ugly bruise that covered a good portion of the side of her face. Matt hadn’t just cut her; he’d hit her full force with a shovel and expected her to die. She probably had a concussion, and the ride here, while relatively smooth, was still too jarring for such an injury. It was going to take all the strength Jessica had left to wake up, but they couldn’t leave her sleeping. If they did, she might never wake up.
She sat down on the bed, taking Jessica’s hand in hers and squeezing.
“Jessica,” she said. “Jessica, you need to wake up.”
Her eyes fluttered but didn’t open.
“I know you can hear me. Jessica, if you fall asleep now, you might not ever wake up. If you die, Matt wins. Do you want him to win after everything you’ve been through to survive?”
Her eyes opened further this time, and Senora knew she’d struck a nerve. Good. She needed to get angry because she needed to fight.
“Matt is a coward. He sent half a dozen WereBears into the forest to hunt you down because he couldn’t finish the job. He’s no match for you. He never was.”
“Not Matt,” Jessica said weakly, trying to open her eyes.
“What?”
“Not Matt. I heard them talking. Matt didn’t send them.”
“But they were sent because of Matt. Whoever he hired to kidnap you in the first place is having to clean his mess up now.”
This time, Jessica’s eyes opened wide, and she tried to sit up.
“You know?” she said weakly.
“It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that he had his hand in your disappearance. Spouses are always our first suspects, but there were so many kidnappings similar to yours where the spouses had been cleared that we didn’t look too hard at him. He was smart; he modeled your kidnapping after existing ones that the public wasn’t aware of. It saved him from falling under the heavy scrutiny he would have suffered otherwise.”
“I’m thirsty,” Jessica said.
“I have some more for you to drink and something for you to eat.” She pulled a tiny square just over one inch around and unwrapped it. “It’s soft and easy to chew,” she said when she helped Jessica sit up and put the chew to her mouth. “It’s packed full of calories and protein.”
Jessica took it in her mouth and chewed slowly, then sipped at the water Senora brought to her lips a little at a time between chews until she’d swallowed the high-calorie chew and drank several more ounces of water. Senora smiled at Jessica, digging through the pouch for another chew when she heard tires crunching on the gravel.
She went rigid, then stood.
“Don’t move,” she said. “I’ll be right back.”
Jessica nodded almost imperceptibly, and Senora hurried out of the room to find Ty. He was already coming in the back door from the Jeep, his face set and worried.
“Lock the back door and lock this door behind me,” he said as he headed to the front door to meet the vehicle head on. “Stay out of sight and in the room with Jessica.”
Senora did as he asked, but her heart was in her throat. They were trapped, and she couldn’t imagine why the vehicle was coming their way. It still wasn’t in sight when Senora ducked into the bedroom, but she kept the bedroom door cracked open so she could watch Ty through the front windows and hopefully catch part of the conversation.
She took her gun out of the backpack and held it by her side, turning to check on Jessica and smiling reassuringly at her. It wasn’t much, but she wanted Jessica to feel like everything was under control. It wasn’t, but Jessica didn’t need to know that. She didn’t need the woman panicking.
When the vehicle finally appeared, the word “Ranger” was clearly visible on the side of it. Senora didn’t relax, knowing that it wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibilities for it to be a ruse or for the park ranger to be a shifter. She had encountered shifters in the woods in Colorado, and she doubted that Virginia was any different. Her stomach was in knots as she watched the door of the vehicle open, but there was nothing she could do except trust Ty to handle himself.
When the man emerged, she immediately recognized the ranger from the store down the road. She didn’t let out a sigh or relax. The time she’d spent with Ty had taught her that everything seemed to be intertwined, and dropping her guard now was a bad idea. She changed her angle, looking at the back door and watching for shadows that would indicate someone sneaking up from the rear while they were distracted by the ranger.
No shadows emerged.
A quick glance at Jessica found the woman sitting up a little taller, the adrenaline coursing through Senora’s veins almost contagious. Jessica looked better already, and Senora hoped that the woman would be able to make the next part of their journey before they found their way to a hospital. Senora was certain that if anyone could do it, Jessica could.
She turned her attention back to the two men in front and was surprised by what she saw. Maybe she was reading the body language all wrong, but she had a feeling that the ranger wasn’t here for any nefarious reasons. In fact, if she had to guess by body language alone, she would swear that the ranger was puffing out his chest, trying to make himself appear more toned than he actually was while he sized up Ty. To his credit, Ty looked slightly amused, though they didn’t have time for whatever the ranger had in mind.
Ty shook the man’s hand and thanked him for checking on them loud enough for Senora to hear. Senora watched as the ranger shook Ty’s hand slowly, then his face turned red and he stared Ty down for a full thirty seconds before he finally ripped his hand out of Ty’s grasp and walked away.
As soon as the door blocked him from Ty’s view, the ranger shook his hand, then jumped into the vehicle and left a little too fast. Ty looked back at the cabin once he was sure the man was gone and shrugged.
Shaking her head, Senora went to Jessica to help her out of the bed. She took the blanket and the pillow she’d purchased and ushered Jessica toward the back door just in time to open it for Ty.
“Are you ready?” he asked, scooping Jessica up and carrying her to the back of the Jeep.
He set her down gently and made her comfortable before closing the door and helping Senora load her overnight bag from the Audi’s trunk and the backpack.
“That’s it,” she said.
She jumped in and put on her seatbelt after checking on Jessica in the back. Jessica was propped up, and much to Senora’s delight, she was eating one of the larger protein bars and washing it down with the water in the backpack.
“She’s looking better than I expected,” Ty said quietly so that Jessica didn’t hear.
“That makes two of us,” Senora said.
She watched the cabin disappear in the side view mirror, holding her breath in anticipation of seeing bears spill out of the wilderness to give chase, but her imagination was running wild with her, and the bears never materialized. That was just as well, she thought. She didn’t think she could handle any more obstacles being thrust in their way.
They were on the highway and heading west when Senora finally turned to Ty and smiled, taking his hand and giving it a squeeze.
“I saw your little alpha male display,” she teased, then rolled her eyes. “I didn’t know you could be baited into such ridiculous displays of machismo.”
“He didn’t bait me,” Ty said. “He tried to squeeze my hand, and I returned the favor. It was the polite thing to do. He realized he was outmatched, and he wished me a happy vacation and left. I think he was coming to see if you were actually married or if you were just shining him on, Susan. He seemed to have the hots for you. What did you tell him?”
“Nothing.” Senora was indignant even though she knew that Ty was joking.
Yes, she’d been a little flirty with the ranger to distract him, but it had been purely work related. She hadn’t led him on, and she’d been very clear that she was expecting her spouse to arrive that same day. She’d thought she was clear, but apparently the ranger had still thought there was a chance at something more. It was enough to make Senora shake her head in disgust.
There was a muffled laugh from the backseat that made Senora smile. Jessica was shaking her head gently in difference to her tender head, but Senora could tell she was enjoying the moment. Even if it was at Senora’s expense, Senora was just glad to see the woman smiling. She’d been through hell; that she could find humor in the situation was a testament to her fortitude. Senora didn’t know too many women who could go through half of what Jessica had and still find a reason to smile. Senora knew without a doubt that Jessica was going to be alright.
They just had to keep her alive long enough to get her as far away from Matt Baker as they could.
“Don’t lie,” Jessica finally said, setting her sights on Ty’s reflection in the rearview mirror. “You did it to impress Senora. I don’t know you from a stranger on the street, but I’m not blind. There’s more going on than you’re letting on. I could tell in the forest. Life’s too short; if you love her, tell her you do.”
Senora felt her face heating up before Jessica even finished her sentence. How had a woman who’d been through so much seen right through them? Were they that obvious? But Ty just laughed, then looked Senora square in the eye and smiled so wide that his dimples on both cheeks were visible.
When he opened his mouth, she knew it was coming, but she still wasn’t prepared for what he said next.
“Senora Edwards. I love you.”