Chapter Forty-four

Sam tensed. Blood pounded through his veins. He needed to tear into someone, anyone, and Alastair was perfect. This man wanted his mate—he would tear him to pieces. “Get ready to fight, Alastair.”

The spelltalker was pale and shaky, but he brought his hands up in a defensive position.

“Sam.” Caleb stepped between them. “You don’t want to do this. You want Glenna to have the best chance of being found.”

Sam pulled back, shaking his head and trying desperately to separate from his wolf and the desire to rip his challenger’s throat out. “I’m her best chance. Not him.”

Caleb rested his hand on Sam’s shoulder. Sam whipped around, ready to take out the other wolf, but Caleb held firm. “We don’t have time for this. Glenna needs you.”

Glenna. Soft, sweet, sexy Glenna. She was tougher than he’d expected, but right now she was so vulnerable. “I can’t go back to the cabin. I need to get to her.”

“Don’t sweat it.” Caleb gave both Ian and Alastair a long even look. “You and I will take the suits to a drop off, then we’ll head straight to the location. Ian and Alastair will need back up.” He angled his body back so that he and Sam both faced Alastair. “Right, Alastair?”

“Right.” Alastair gave Caleb a look that would have frozen hot coals. “Drop these losers off with their car. I’ve fixed their memories. They remember getting jumped, but not specifics. And definitely not anything about wolves or any of us.”

“Thanks, man. Ian, load my phone with the address, we’ll be right behind you.” Caleb tossed his phone to the beta and bumped Sam hard with his shoulder. “Let’s go.” They walked back into the warehouse to load the unconscious feds into the truck.

“What the hell was that?” Sam growled. “I don’t want to waste time doing this.”

“You don’t want to waste time tearing out Alastair’s throat either.” Caleb opened up the back of the fed’s SUV. “We’ll be ten minutes behind them, tops. With Alastair recovering from spellcasting Ian will have to drive like his mother was in the car. We’ll catch up.”

“What’s in this for you? Why are you helping me?”

“It’s not you, man. It’s the pack. The sooner we get your girl back, the sooner we can go back to what we should be doing, and get out of the spotlight.”

Ian ducked his head into the warehouse. “Catch.”

Caleb’s hand shot out for the cell phone. “We’ll be right behind you.”

Ian nodded, waited just a beat longer, checking visually with Sam. Sam could smell his indecision. Shit. He was failing at finding Glenna, and failing his beta too. Caleb would be taking over his position in the enforcers, even with his crap attitude.

“Ian, wait.” He jogged over to his beta. “It’s okay. We’ll clean up here, drop them at some park and we’ll be right behind you.” He thumped Ian’s shoulder and the other man’s head came up.

“Alastair’s a jerk,” Ian said quietly. “I don’t trust him.”

“Me neither. But he would have been an alpha had he been a shifter. He’ll lead. Just relax until I get there.”

Ian nodded.

“Ian!” The beta tensed at Alastair’s shout. Sam calmed his instinct to defend his territory from the spelltalker. Ian was his responsibility.

“Go on. You’ll be fine.” He forced an easy grin. “The way Caleb drives? Ten—fifteen tops—and I’ll be there. We’ll get her back.”

Ian grinned and went outside.

“Can you handle this?” Caleb knelt next to one of the unconscious feds and freed him from the chair. “Alastair isn’t the threat and neither am I.” He stood up, pulling the fed over one shoulder. “I need to know, man, if you’ve got my back.”

“Just get the suit into the truck and let’s get this done.” Sam walked over and began freeing the second fed’s ropes, leaving him cuffed. “I can handle it. I made it through the fever before.”

“Yeah, and I heard you nearly lost it.”

“When you go through it, you’ll have something to say. Until then, unless you’re tossing horseshoes nearly doesn’t mean jack shit.” He picked up the second fed and tossed him in the back seat with his friend. “I didn’t lose it. I...” The jazzy sound of the blues sang out of the floor of the truck. “What the...”

“Nice ring tone, man.” Caleb went after the last agent, flipping Sam the bird at his dirty look. Sam grabbed his phone. He looked at the screen.

“I don’t believe it.” He answered it. “Where are you?”

“Sam?” Glenna’s voice hiccupped out. His teeth clenched.

“What’s wrong?”

“Sam,” she whispered. “He’s here. I can hear him. He tracked me.”

“Where are you?”

“I jumped out of the car on I-70.”

“I’m coming to get you.” He ran over to the SUV, blood pounding in his temples. He wrenched the front door open. Keys, no keys.

Caleb tossed the last agent into the back of the SUV. “Is that her?”

“Glenna, tell me where you are.”

“I don’t know!” she quietly wailed out. “Shh. I think he heard me.”

“Hide, Glenna, run and hide.”

“Sam?”

“I hear you, sugar. I’m coming to get you.”

“Hurry. I hear him.” The line went dead. A howl ripped out of Sam, echoing off the metal roof and sides of the warehouse.

Caleb threw the last agent in the back, right on top of the others. “That was her? Where is she?”

“I don’t know, but if we can trace the signal and get close, I’ll find her. She said she jumped out of a car on I-70. That’s a highway, for Christ’s sake.” Visions of Glenna, bleeding and running from Marsden had him balling his fists so tight, his nails cut into his palms.

“No worries, man. Give me her number. We got someone who can track her.”

“We do?”

“Yeah, those dormants are worth their weight in gold.”

“Yeah, well tell Marcus that.” He handed the phone to Caleb who made the call.

“It will take some time,” Caleb said. Let’s get these guys dumped and get my ride and we’ll get moving.”

“But she could be anywhere.”

“Yeah, but we know the agents were taking her to the Western Slope. We’ll head that way on I-70.”

Sam put his hand out. “Keys.”

“No way, man. I’m driving this one. You take the Jeep. The way you’re pumping testosterone you’ll be shifting before we get there and I don’t want these guys to be torn up before we can dump them.”

“Screw you.”

Caleb gave him the keys.

“Drive fast, Caleb. She’s in trouble.”

“I’m on it, man. I’m on it. You just stick behind me, we’ll get rid of these guys, then I’ll be with you. We’ll get her.”

Sam held his anger down. He’d need it later. As soon as he saw the man who’d put his mate in danger, he was going to be all teeth and no mercy.