Chapter Eight
He couldn't go after these nutcases alone. Ana's knowledge that Fischer had asked for the captain of his precinct personally helped make seeking him out a little easier, although it still grated against Joseph to ask the captain for help in this situation. His Alpha instincts were strong, especially when combined with his loner personality, and more often than not, they demanded that he take care of his own problems.
At the very least, he always had to be at the head of his investigations. Certainly not put himself at the mercy of people he wasn't sure he could trust.
But he had to trust the captain. For the sake of shifters throughout the country, and for Ana's sake. It was unlikely that those crazies would stop coming after her once Seth was dead. It was made clear she was a target when they destroyed her car. It was a message to non-shifters, showing them what would happen to them if they allied with shifters. Ana, PA to Senator Fischer, was the perfect target to do that.
A growl was already building in his chest, and when the captain ordered him into his office and wouldn't let him speak, that growl emerged.
"Save it," the captain said. "I have something you need to hear."
Recording equipment was set up on his desk and Joseph frowned as the captain pressed the playback button. Soon, however, it became clear why he thought Joseph needed to hear this. Ana's sweet voice played, trembling with fear. Joseph stiffened and clutched at his chair, the blood draining from his face until he felt dizzy.
"My name is Ana Medina, PA to Seth Fischer. I am being held by the Human Rights Association. If they do not receive two million dollars by noon tomorrow, I and Senator Fischer will be killed. The drop must be made by Detective Joseph Baker."
She went on to describe the exact location where the drop was going to be made and Joseph held onto every word Ana said, desperately trying to keep the roar of fury and grief from breaking free. He should never have left her. Never. It was stupid to think they wouldn't go after her, that they wouldn't find her.
But she was alive. For now, he would have to cling to that and hope it stayed that way.
No, his Bear said. Not hope. We will find them. We will make sure they don't hurt her.
"Do we have the money?" he asked and, to his surprise, his voice came out flat, with none of the fury he felt.
"We're getting it." The captain narrowed his eyes at Joseph. "But why do they want you, Baker? In my experience, these types of kidnappers don't want cops anywhere near their ransom money. So why phone us and demand you make the drop?"
Joseph met the captain's eyes. If Ana died, his life was over anyway. So there was no point in hiding his true identity anymore. "Probably because I'm a shifter, and Ana is my mate."
Yes, his Bear agreed. Our mate. And those who have taken her will die.
He couldn't have agreed more.
The captain raised a brow. "Your mate?"
"They must have figured it out because I was so protective of her."
The captain looked startled for a moment, then shook his head and smiled wryly. "I knew there was something special about you, Baker. Can't blame you for not wanting to tell people. Your career—"
"With all due respect, sir, I don't care about my career right now. I need to get Ana back."
The captain nodded. "Of course. Now here's how it's going to happen…"
***
The next day at noon, Joseph carried a duffle bag containing two million dollar through the park, every muscle in his body tense. He knew there were plainclothes cops all around him, having been sent in earlier that day to make sure they didn't tip off the kidnappers. He glanced at every unfamiliar face, wondering if they were the ones who had taken his precious Ana.
He was past trying to convince himself that he didn't need a mate. She was his, and without her, his life would be utterly meaningless.
He reached the drop-off point and put down the duffle bag, glancing around to see if anybody suspicious was around. He spotted a woman jogging towards him and narrowed his eyes. There was a suspiciously bulky shape under her shirt… which turned out to be a water bottle.
"Get out of there, Baker," he heard the captain say through his earpiece. "You know the drill."
Joseph clenched his hands, but there was nothing for him to do but walk away. There was something off about this location. It was open, right next to a busy street. It provided a lot of opportunities for the other police to watch the location—
As he passed a park maintenance van, he heard a gunshot muted by a silencer. Fiery pain bit through his leg and he fell, reaching for his own gun.
Two of the maintenance men grabbed him. He lashed out, landing a solid blow to one of their faces. Something jolted against the back of his neck, sending pain flaring through him. Taser, his brain said, and then shut down.
***
Joseph woke in a cage. He was light-headed and dizzy. Blinking away the spots still dancing in front of his eyes, he tried to take in his surroundings. It appeared he was in a warehouse of some sort. The space was big and dusty, lit by fluorescent lights. He was being moved, his cage on a forklift. Picking himself up, he grunted as pain shot through his leg. A tourniquet had been tied on his knee, stopping the blood flow to the bullet wound in his calf.
Shifters healed more quickly than humans, but he could see that if he didn't get medical attention soon, he'd lose the leg because of the tourniquet; if it was loosened before his leg was properly treated, he'd bleed to death.
The cage dropped, making Joseph wince, and a half dozen men crowded around the cage. They all carried cattle prods and the detective growled.
"Where am I?"
"Where animals like you belong," one of the men replied. "Now we can either do this the easy way or the hard way." He lovingly stroked his cattle prod. "Get up."
It was difficult to do with an injured leg, but Joseph dragged himself to his feet. So the whole ransom had been nothing more than a ploy to kidnap him, too. Why? What use was he to these nuts? He wasn't a well-known shifter, nobody was going to care much about his death. Except he was a detective… maybe this was to try to show that the police wouldn't protect shifters, even one of their own?
These guys kidnapped Ana and killed Buck, his Bear growled. They die.
We have to find Ana first.
"Where is Ana?"
The cage door was opened and the men glared at him. "You'll see her soon… the boss has something special planned for the human. What did you say to convince her to want you, eh? What lies did you tell her?"
Joseph growled, earning himself a jolt from a cattle prod. The electricity had him falling to his knees, white lights flashing before his eyes. Somebody kicked him in the face and he was dragged to his feet again. The men dragged him along and shoved him towards a small, dark room. His head spinning, he sagged against the doorway.
"Joseph?"
His head came up and he practically ran into the room. The door shut with a slam behind him, but he didn't care. Ana was in his arms. He held her tightly, peppering kisses over her face as he made sure she was really there, that she was safe and unharmed.
"Oh, Joseph!" She buried her face into his shoulder. "I hoped you wouldn’t come for me. Now we'll both die."
"No. No, I'll find a way out of this."
Ana shook her head. "There is no way out… but before we die, I have to tell you something."
He had something to tell her, too.
"You're my mate," he blurted. "I didn't want to think you were, I never thought I wanted or needed a mate but—"
"I know. I figured it out." She sounded breathless. "And I love you. I don't know how, we've only known each other for a few days, but I love you."
She looked up at him. In the darkness, he could barely see where her beautiful eyes were. It took him a moment to realize what she had said. A rush of euphoria made him forget where they were and he kissed her again.
Told you she was our mate, his Bear said smugly. See, she felt it too.
Yes, you're really clever.
"Joseph?" Ana gasped breathlessly when he broke the kiss.
"I love you, too. I have from the moment I saw you, as much as I tried to fight it. I didn't want a mate… but you are mine. And I am yours."
Tears flowed down Ana's cheeks. "For the rest of our lives."
Joseph kissed her again, knowing what she meant. We're going to die here.