The Running Free part 6

[tanpopomofo]

Jayne checks in while lifting weights . He finds that Angus is furiously working out because his mom made some comment about the O’Rahilly girl and all the trouble she caused before she finally died. They think he doesn’t remember what happened. But he knows she’ll be back some day. She promised. The wind.

What I Am- Edie Brickell & the New Bohemians

Angus stomped straight down to the basement. Continued stomping as he added weights to the barbell. He would have liked to stomp while he lifted them furiously above his head. But that wasn’t really feasible.

He lifted the weights again. And again. And again. The only sounds were his own labored breathing and thumping heart. He lifted the weights faster as he felt his arms getting tired. Up, down, up, down. He continued the rhythm. When he felt like his arms couldn’t lift it one more time, he did ten more reps. He clanged the weights home and sat up on the bench. Wiped the sweat from his face.

He sat quietly with his arms draped across his knees. Jayne had spent quite a few years perfecting this. Working out until he was so tired he couldn’t think of anything. Couldn’t muster the strength to form a coherent thought. He didn’t much care for the company of his own thoughts lately. They weren’t very nice for the most part.

He stared at the tiny scar on his wrist. Just a nick. It had been a surprise to look down one day and realize that such a little thing wasn’t going to heal over perfectly. Such a tiny little cut would leave its mark on him forever.

Angus looked around the basement to be sure he was alone. He looked up on the stairs to check for his mom. He didn’t see her but that didn’t mean she wasn’t there. She’d been like a mother hen since he came home from the hospital. Fussing and hovering.

He just wanted to be left alone with his memories. He delicately touched the hair on his arm above the scar. He pushed the hair aside and touched the scar. It was almost like being there again. Angus lay back on the bench and remembered his first mission as Jayne Cobb.

Dressed all in black, he’d felt silly at first. The outfit was far from his normal t-shirt and cargo pants. The man had told him he’d have to dress up.

“Look rich enough to buy a gaggle of whores,” the little blond man had said. He then paused to take in Angus’s Coke Classic tank top, board shorts, and flip-flops. “It won’t take much to impress them. But it’ll take more than that.”

He borrowed his ma’s big black horse, did the ritual to bring Cola along, and dressed in Jayne’s funeral clothes. Led the horse to the gate at the back of their property. He followed Mr. Foster’s instructions to the letter. Swallowed his amazement when it actually worked. The first gate he’d opened all by himself. He rode slowly toward the rendezvous point. Not to save the horse. But to keep the dust off. His ma would have his hide if anything happened to his fancy duds.

A little nervous as he came around the bend, he kept his hand near his holster. The bodyguard jobs he was used to were a little different than what Mr. Foster had in mind for him today. He wasn’t much of an actor but he did so like to get paid.

Cola snorted and threw his head. Angus sat taller in the saddle. Showtime. They were suddenly upon a group of dirty young women guarded by an even dirtier group of what Angus had to assume were bad guys. The girls sitting in the dirt looked dejected. Most had obviously given up hope of ever being returned to their families. They were tied together with thick rope. There was one that was held a few yards away from the rest. She was bound and gagged. She was covered in dirt; dried blood caked in several places, though she had no visible wounds. Her long brown hair tumbled down her back and around her shoulders. The dirty men surrounded her. Most of their guns were pointed in her general direction rather than in Angus’s. He found this interesting.

“You Pacer?” Angus asked the man in front.

He maneuvered a giant wad of chewing tobacco around his mouth and nodded. “You Jones?”

“Yeah,” behold the acting skills. “Why ya got this’n chained and gagged?” Angus pointed. They had covered the majority of her lower face with a hard leather bit. A strip of coarse, dark cloth covered her eyes. The gag in her mouth did little to stifle her angry growls. He chuckled. She was beautiful. Hair in angry tangles around her face.

“That there’s the mean one,” Pacer said. He spit a stream of tobacco juice into the dirt. “You don’t want that one. She bit off Smitty’s nose yesterday.”

Angus’s gaze shifted to the dirty little fat man with an equally dirt-covered rag wrapped around his face that had to be Smitty. His jaw clenched. He had to remember his objective. If he broke any rules, they wouldn’t assign him another mission. He wouldn’t be able to help her at all if he lost control. “An’ just what was Smitty doin’ with his nose so awful close to her teeth?”

“Just tryin’ to have a little fun. That’s all. Goddamn monster,” the lack of a nose caused his voice to be high and nasal sounding. He jabbed her in the back with the butt of his rifle. “I’ll learn her not to fight back yet.”

Smitty didn’t see Angus’s fists tighten on the reigns. He also didn’t see the girl as she hurled herself at him head first. The movement was that fast. She was just a blur. He just saw the hard leather bit as it smashed into the raw meat that used to be his nose. He fell to the ground with a muffled oomph. She wrapped her chained hands around his neck and squeezed. The oomph became a wheezing shriek of pain as she reared back and butted her forehead into his face repeatedly. She landed several good blows before the other men finally managed to pull her off.

Pacer smashed his rifle into her face. He started to bring it down again when he heard a gun cock. “Hey, now,” Angus interjected. He was standing next to the horse now. “Let’s not be damaging the goods ‘fore I get to samplin’ ‘em.”

“Eh,” Pacer lowered the rifle. “She heals up right quick. Healed up just about all the damage got done from takin’ her that same day. Hardly left a mark. She’s a strong little hellcat. That’s for sure. Got a whole herd a girls that’s a whole lot nicer, though.” He gestured at the girls sitting quietly to the side. They didn’t even look up from the dirt to see who might be purchasing them.

“I like ‘em feisty. But it jus’ so happens I might be lookin’ to buy more’n the one,” Angus told him. Pacer rubbed his chin contemplatively. These girls were promised to another buyer. It hadn’t taken him long to gather them. Maybe he could double his profits on this job.

“How many ya talkin’?”

Angus grinned. “How many ya got?”

Pacer returned Angus’s grin. “Twelve. All of ‘em got all their teeth, too.” Then he looked a bit sheepish. “’Cept for the one got knocked out after she bit Smitty.”

“Good. Tell ya what,” Angus tossed a bag of stones onto the ground between them. “You keep an eye on ‘em tonight for me and I’ll throw in a little extra in the mornin’.”

Pacer nodded eagerly. Maybe triple. Bag that size would buy a small moon, let alone a bunch of young whores. “That’s no problem. No problem a’tall. We’ll camp out just on the other side of the ridge and see ya at first light.”

Even blindfolded the girl sensed Angus examining her. She kept her neck stiff and faced straight ahead. He winced inwardly at the slight trickle of blood oozing from the blindfold. “I’ll go ahead and take this’n if ya don’t mind. Had a hard ride from town and wouldn’t mind a little comp’ny t’night,” he wiggled his eyebrows. Maybe Jayne was a better actor than he’d thought. It was just flowin’ right out of him. “If ya know what I mean.”

The girl straightened her back and said something in a different language. Even Pacer could tell it was not nice, despite being garbled through the gag.

Angus chuckled. “You’ll find out soon enough, won’t ya, woman?” She quieted.

“That’s the first time I seen that bait look scared since we ran across her,” Pacer looked impressed. She turned her head to him. It was strange to be quelled by a slip of a blinded, handcuffed girl but he was.

“She ain’t scared,” Angus shook his head. He picked the girl up and tossed her over his shoulder. He patted her on the ass, eliciting another growl and round of struggles. “Ain’t scared one bit.”

He waited until Pacer and his crew rode around a bend in the trail and he could no longer hear the sounds of them. He hopped back onto his horse. Then he rode a mile or two down the trail himself. He reigned in under the shade of a huge tree. He’d hidden a large duffle bag under this tree. Mr. Foster had sent it along with a note to take it along. “Just an outfit and her weapons,” he’d said.

He got down off the horse and set the girl on her feet beside him. He unlocked the cuffs. Then leaned forward with his knife and cut the blindfold from her face. One of her bright brown eyes was concealed in a swollen mass of sickly purple flesh tinged with green edges from the last time it had healed. There was a fresh cut along her eyebrow.

She opened her good eye and let out a groan of pain. Light. All she could see was light and it was worse than the absolute blackness to which she’d grown accustomed. She sat down hard in the dirt. The light receded slightly and she could make out a giant man. He towered over her. The light cast the man’s face in shadow but just the way his head sat on his neck. She knew. Angus. Her breath caught in her throat. He made a gesture near his temple but out of his own line of sight. Index finger swirling in a circle.

He wasn’t trying to tell her he was crazy. He was rolling.

“Esta Senorita O’Rahilly?” he questioned in Spanish. She blinked up at him. Took a second to gather her thoughts. She’d have to pretend she didn’t know him. Treat him the same as all her other partners so as not to arouse suspicion.

“Estoy Deputy Jayne Cobb,” he pointed at his chest. “You are Isla O’Rahilly, right?” he didn’t wait for her to answer. “Got hired to find ya today. You can grovel in thanks if ya have ta but try not to get too much slobber on my boots.” His chest swelled with pride at having nearly completed this job.

She didn’t offer any reply. Her throat was parched. He handed her a canteen and watched her throat work as she gulped down water. “Nice work, Senor,” she sarcastically choked out. Then she cleared her throat a few times. “I don’t think you realize the seriousness of the situation. I’m gonna need a gun.” He stared at the dirty hand she thrust out.

“Hey,” Angus pretended he was a bit upset that she wasn’t more grateful. “I tricked those guys into thinkin’ I was gonna buy more girls jus’ so we could make a more graceful-like retreat.”

“How clever of you.”

“Look, lady,” Angus said. “I coulda left you with the likes a Pacer and his bunch.”

“I can handle them just fine,” she interrupted; hand still out in his direction.

“Yeah,” he snorted. “Looks like you was handlin’ ‘em just fine. Where’d ya get that shiner?”

“Shut up,” she shook her hand. “And give me a gun. I’m going back for them.”

“Back for who?” Angus asked.

“The other girls.”

“Why?”
            She raised an eyebrow at him. “Are you kidding me? They’ve got a dozen other hostages. We can’t just leave them.” She breathed deeply through her nose to take in his scent. She took a few steps toward the shade of the tree.

“I ain’t gettin’ paid to be no hero,” Angus shook his head and held his hands out. Mr. Foster had told him to be indifferent to everything but the mission. They were more likely to pair him with Isla if he could stick to a plan. “Boss Man said find his niece and here I am, niece in one hand. Leavin’ the other one open for that shiny re-ward. Bought killed me to throw that bag a stones down for ya. I’ll be damned if I’m gittin’ myself killed for a buncha no re-ward offerin’ nobodies.”

“Do you know what’s going to happen to those girls?” She took his open mouthed stare as a no. “They’re going to be skinned alive. Then their skin is going to be sold to people who will wear it. Then they’ll be kept imprisoned until their skin grows back. So it can be flayed off again and sold again.”

Angus and Jayne stared at her. This is the shit she deals with? How was he gonna keep up a pretense of not caring? What the fuck was wrong with people? He settled for “Who does that?”

“I aim to find out. But right now it doesn’t matter. Someone does it and they’re in danger.” Isla circled the tree. She could smell gunpowder. She started digging where the dirt was softer. It didn’t take her long to find the duffle bag. She tugged it out of the dirt and brushed it off. Unzipping it, she smiled. Uncle Jackson must have packed this bag himself.

“I jus’ thought they were gonna sell you all to slavers,” he crouched next to her.

“And that would have been ok, how?”

“You’da been alive with your skin right there where it belongs.”

“Well, still that woulda sucked.”

She stripped off the tattered remains of the dress she’d been wearing. She pulled on a bra. Normally she wouldn’t bother but it was annoying to ride without one. She was just too chesty for commando on a horse.

Jayne stared open mouthed. He always acted weird when people got naked. Or talked like they were going to get naked. Or if he thought about them being naked. Maybe he was just weird.

“Most people turn their backs when someone is getting dressed,” she arched an eyebrow at him until he turned around. She glanced at the horse. Cola was burrowing his face into a clump of grass he’d found. She stepped closer to Angus and laid both of her palms flat on his back. He didn’t turn around. She was glad of how quickly he caught on. She couldn’t let him see anything that would give them away. She put her forehead in the center of his back for just a moment.

She stepped back and quickly threw on the tight black t-shirt and a pair of black cargo pants. “I see why Jackson sent you,” she said. He turned to face her as she inventoried the duffle bag. “Practicality. A sheriff tends to like that in a man.”

He nodded. Practicality had kept his own skin on his own back this long. She stepped closer to him. “He said find me?” she asked. “That’s all? No other orders?”

“Yep, just find ya,” Jayne thought he had this mission in the bag. “I got a gate stashed a days ride out.”

“Did he tell you I’m Fed?” she asked. He shook his head no. “Did he tell you that I actually outrank him?”

His heart sank. She was further into all this than she’d let on. “No. Damn my hairy balls for gittin’ involved with the law.”

“I suppose he wouldn’t’ve,” she smiled. Held back a giggle. Who said hairy balls? Angus. She shook her head and tsked at him. “Looks like I’m in charge, bubba. We’re headed back.”

“Aw, hell’s bells, lady,” he groaned. “I just wanna get paid. I don’t wanna git kilt.”

“You can have any stones we find on those bad boys.”

“’Cludin’ that fat bag I just handed ‘em?” Angus’s eyes were wide.

“Sure. Why not?” She shrugged. Money was a much better motivator than the lives of innocent people nine times out of ten. It was more believable for him to go along with her if there was the promise of riches. Who cared why he helped as long as she had an extra gun? They might.

“Well, hot damn!” he exclaimed. “Let’s be good guys!”

Isla nodded with one eyebrow raised. This dude was crazy. She tended to like that in a partner. She tended to love that in a man. She had to really work to contain her grin. Angus was here. She continued taking weapons out of the bag and strapping them on. Wrist sheaths, thigh sheaths, ankle sheaths, shoulder holsters, inner pant holster for front and back. The pockets of the shirt and pants were filled with goodies already. She checked each one just to take stock. Plenty of silver ammo. Plenty of holy water. A good sturdy wand, even though Jackson didn’t tend to go for that sort of weapon. She tucked it in the thigh sheath. Then she pulled a necklace with an intricate design over her head.

It wasn’t often that Jayne was impressed with someone else’s arsenal. The duffle bag seemed to be a bottomless pit of blades, guns, grenades, but if he wasn’t mistaken, she’d just shoved a stick into a loop on the thigh sheath. And those two guns looked like toys. One was neon purple. The other was bright orange. Not wanting to look ignorant, he didn’t ask any questions. He did adjust the two guns he had strapped to his thighs. And caress the big blade tucked in the ammo belt around his chest.

She glanced up when she realized he was staring at her. “What?”

“You really bite that dirty little man’s nose off?” his eyes were wide.

Her hands stilled. She stared at the ground between them. “Yeah,” she nodded. “But if I had it to do again, I’da let him have his way a minute longer to get a chance at his throat.” Her eyes met his. “I won’t make that mistake twice.”

She finally exhausted the supplies in the duffel bag. She stood and stretched her hands above her head. She squatted on the ground with one leg stretched to the left. Then reversed her position to stretch the right leg. She did a few other stretching moves. She drew each of the guns and blades from their respective hidey-holes. She flipped the blades a few times to get the weight of them. Then drew all of them again just to get the feel of the new hardware. Angus watched her. Which was ok because Jayne was watching her too.

“Wish I had my crappy old Firestar,” she mumbled, pulling and aiming the bigger Berettas from the cross draw shoulder holsters. She watched Angus walk to the horse. He was checking the weapons strapped to the saddle.

“Want some grub?” he held up a paper sack. Her stomach grumbled. “Ma made some sandwiches.” Then he looked embarrassed. What deputy had his mommy make him a sack lunch on his first assignment?

“That sounds awesome,” she grinned. Kitty always did make the best sack lunches. She felt more like herself with all the weapons strapped on. Kill some bad guys then take a nice long shower and she’d be back to a hundred percent.

“So,” Angus handed her a hunk of homemade bread and a slab of roast beef. “Sheriff Foster seems real…” he searched for the right word, finally settling on “capable. How’s someone outrankin’ him get captured by this bunch?”

Isla patted Cola’s neck as she nibbled her sandwich. “Probably the only way would be the way I did. On purpose. Their MO is pretty simple. They capture a bunch of human girls to hide the fact that they’re really after shifters. They have a contact in the local doctor’s office. Any girl whose blood tests positive is snatched. Pacer’s a fairly powerful shifter so he can hold off the change of newbies. All I had to do was give the doc some blood like I didn’t know I was a shifter. It was just a matter of time before they came after me. The real trick was not killing them all before I find out who’s financing them.”

He took a bite of his sandwich. He realized Jayne didn’t know about shifters. “Ok. What’s a shifter?”

Isla nearly dropped her sandwich. ‘Good catch, Gus,’ she thought. Jackson wouldn’t actually take on a deputy that wasn’t somehow in the know. But Jayne couldn’t possibly know as much as Angus did. “How long have you been a deputy?”

“Seven hours. Give or take a few,” he had a proud grin on his face. “Sheriff Foster said I’m downright trainable.”

“’Downright trainable’, eh? Oh, fuck me,” Isla pulled a knife out of the wrist sheath. She looked pissed.

“Hey,” Jayne leaned away from her but Angus stayed next to her. She’d have to mention that to him soon. If Jayne moved he needed to move. Til they moved as one. Til they were one. “Don’t need a knife for that, lady.”

She shook her head and rolled her eyes. “Jesus Christ,” she muttered. “I do not need this shit.” She drew the blade across her arm. Angus’s eyes nearly bugged out of his head as he watched her let drops of blood pool in the dirt. Then in a sarcastic tone she spoke at the blood, “Sheriff Foster?” Jayne backed up a step. She was talking to the puddle.

“If you don’t answer me, I’m gonna strand your little trainee right here and come after you instead.” Angus didn’t say anything but he and Jayne backed up another step.

“I swear I’ll do it. I’ll slit his throat and write your name in the blood. Wouldn’t that be nicely ironic? Me getting assigned the case afterwards?”

A chuckle came from the growing pool of blood. Angus’s jaw dropped. “I knew you were ok, you little shit.”

“Of course I’m ok,” she frowned at the blade. “I told you I don’t need any help on this and I really don’t want any more partners. Especially not one that’s an idiot.” She looked up at Angus. “No offense.”

He shook his head at her and shrugged.

“Not my call,” she watched Jackson’s hands rise in a truce gesture. “You know I just work here. I wouldn’t want one either. She said partner you up and I did the best I could on short notice.”

“Are you crazy?” she nearly shouted. Then she lowered her voice. “He’s a bloody human.”

Jackson chuckled again. “But look how big and strong he is. Besides I thought you’d get a kick out of the human thing. It’s such a novelty in this business.”

“There’s a reason for that. They have no place here.”

“Hey, now,” Jackson reminded her. “I do alright.”

“You’re the last person I’d call human, Uncle Jack.”

“And now you cut me to the bone,” he chuckled again. “Seriously, though,” his face sobered. “It was either a newb that I hand picked or another one of these jerks that only want to work with you because of who your mother is.”

Isla huffed out a sigh and pushed the hair from her eyes. “You’re right. Damn it! What’s so special about this dude?”

“He mostly pulls easy bodyguard jobs. Couple weeks ago he fought off a small pack that was after his client. He didn’t know they were werewolves. Not very powerful wolves, but wolves,” Jackson shrugged. Then he held her gaze for a minute. “Mighta been luck, but he doesn’t look too lucky to me.”

Isla watched Jayne stare wide-eyed and openmouthed at her. Still trying to figure out the blood magic. “I don’t know. Takes something special to get through life with brains like that.”

“Look, lady,” Angus realized Jayne would be angry if anyone else talked about him like he wasn’t there. Actually, Jayne would be super angry. Man, this guy was mean. “I’m not stupid. I might not know a lot about a lot of things but I’m a fast ass learner.”

They glared at each other for a moment. Then there was the sound of distant gunfire from the ground.

“That’s my cue,” Jackson said.

“Be careful,” Isla’s attention was back on the blood.

“Always.”

“And Uncle Jackson…” He watched as her eyes swam with tears. “Thank you.”

“I’ll tell your moms you said you love them. Give Deputy Corbin my condolences.”

“Condolences for what?”

“For having to be trained by a smart ass like you.” His laugh and more bursts of gunfire trailed off as the blood was absorbed into the dirt. She walked back to the shade of the tree. She picked up the tattered dress and tucked it under the arm that still held her sandwich. She wiped the blood off the blade of the knife. With a huff, she dropped the dress and shoved the knife back in the wrist sheath. Turned back to face Jayne.

“Well,” she put her hands on her hips trying to act like she wasn’t excited to have him here. “You really up to this?”

He took a cautious step forward. “What exactly are we talkin’ here? Werewolves? I know which bunch he was talkin’ bout. Those guys were fast and mean but I just thought they were hopped up on somethin’.”

“Hopped up on somethin’,” Isla laughed. “Yeah, that’s one way of putting it.” She reached down into one of the low pockets on her pant leg and pulled out a hair tie. She tried to figure out where to start as she shoved her tangled mass of hair on top of her head. “You ever read any vampire or werewolf comics or watch any of those vids?”

“Sure,” he nodded.

“Ok,” she tightened the messy knot of hair and nodded back at him. “You know all that stuff about garlic and running water?” He nodded again.

“Lesson one. Forget that shit. It doesn’t work. Holy water, blessed objects for true believers, sunlight in most cases. That’s about it. Silver bullets slow ‘em down. Head has to be completely gone for a true death. Lesson two. Nothing works if you’re stupid or slow.” She looked at the guns in his holsters. Rooted around in the bottom of the duffle bag. She pulled out a box of ammo and held it in the air. “.357?” At his nod she tossed the box to him.

“Silver. Always. No exceptions, no excuses.” They shared a glance. The one time they’d really needed silver… “These explode on impact. They’ll take off an arm or a leg pretty easily. I don’t recommend it with regular bullets but especially with these, don’t shoot people you don’t intend to kill.” She unstrapped the thigh sheaths and handed them to him. “Take these. They’re mostly silver, too. If it comes down to knives, you’re pretty much screwed but better to be screwed and have a weapon than screwed without one.” Literally.

While his attention was focused on strapping the thigh sheaths, she switched her sandwich to her left hand. She pulled one of the little neon guns and aimed at his crotch. When he looked up and noticed where it was pointing his eyebrows lifted. Then he realized he shouldn’t know that they were just water guns.

“Hey!” Jayne nearly shrieked. “I’m doin’ everything you say. There’s no call for that!”

She giggled crazily and shot him with water. He sputtered as she smiled. She tossed the gun his way. “Holy water. Like acid to a vampire. They really don’t like it at all. But don’t try to shoot anything else with one of these. It just annoys them.” He frowned unhappily and brushed the water from his pants. It mixed with the fine layer of dust that tended to settle on everything out here. He was left with a brown streak across the front of his best pants.

“Listen lady,” he turned his glare on her. “You tell me what needs doin’ and I’ll do it. But I’m a fully grown man, damn it! I’m not some little kid to be bossed around.” He looked down at his pants again and grimaced. “And try not to get my clothes any dirtier or my ma’ll kick my ass.”

She held back a grin. Kitty would kick his ass. “Fair enough, I guess.”

“I want you to ask me questions,” she continued. “I’ll call you stupid and treat you like a rookie but it’s all in fun. I know there’s something I’m forgetting to tell you,” she stared at him and tapped a finger to her lips. “Eh,” she shrugged. “It’ll come to me. It’s mostly a learn as you go type job anyway. Just,” she paused, looking at him seriously, “try not to die, okay? I’m sick of people who die.”

“I don’t die,” he said. She smiled, stuffed the last of the sandwich in her mouth, and jumped gracefully onto his horse. “Let’s go.”

“Shouldn’t we wait for dark or somethin’?”

“Excellent first question, grasshopper. Answer: Hell no. It’ll be full dark before you know it. You don’t want your first potential encounter with a vamp to be after sunset your first day on the job. Or any combination of the two. Trust me,” she crooked a finger impatiently. “If you hurry, Jaynie, we might avoid vampires altogether.”

Jayne stomped over to the horse. With one foot in the stirrup, he pointed a finger at her. “My name is not Jaynie.”

“Sorry, but you’re gonna have to pick an adorable nickname for me to call you if Jaynie won’t do,” she turned to look at him as he clambered onto the horse behind her. “I kinda like it. Rolls off the tongue.”

“’Rolls off the tongue’,” he muttered. “You’re really weird, ya know that?”

“If I had a dime for every time someone called me weird,” she shrugged her shoulders.

“What’s a dime?”

“Never mind.” They rode in silence for about half a mile. She leaned against his chest and felt herself relax for the first time in months. It had been too long since she’d been home. She realized that was what Angus was for her. Here, there. This gate, that gate. Wherever. He was home. She sighed with contentment and wondered what he was looking at as his hand caressed the back of her head and gently rubbed her neck.

“Pacer’s like to camp out over the ridge near the bend,” she said when his hand dropped. He must have gotten a cue she hadn’t. “He’s only got seven in his gang. Usually puts two at a time on lookout. Only three of them are shifters. The tall one and the long-haired one are wolves and the one with the stupid cape thing is a bear.”

She adjusted the gun at her back. “He’ll put one on each lookout. Can’t trust the humans to see or hear anything worth seeing or hearing. He’s sloppy, though. Won’t post the guards til nightfall. We’ll come in from the top of the ridge so they can’t smell us til the last second. That rifle got a scope?”

“Yep,” Angus nodded.

“You any good with it?”

“Yep.”

“Ok, you can take the scope up and pick off anybody who makes it out of the camp. There’s a big boulder you can use for cover. I won’t have to worry as much about you getting killed that way. I’m gonna take out as many as I can with knives. Quieter. It’ll by us a little time. So don’t fire til I start with guns,” she pushed escaping curls back from her face. “Unless, you know, I’m gonna die or something. Then, feel free to fire at will.”

“Be careful and don’t shoot any of the hostages. And leave the horse about half a mile from the top of the ridge.”

“Anything else, sir?” Angus asked.

“Yeah. Don’t call me sir,” she tossed over her shoulder as she hopped off the horse. She patted the animal on the neck and looked at her new partner. He was the biggest meanest looking son of a bitch she’d ever seen. Pretty fuckin’ hot.

Jackson was crazy to send her into a situation like this with a rookie as her back up. To send anyone. She’d told him she could handle this solo. Better off solo. She’d always wanted to be solo. This might be ok though. Jackson wasn’t the only crazy one. She sighed, turned on her heel, and jogged into the trees.

Angus mockingly saluted her back and kneed the horse on.

Ten minutes later Jayne lay on his belly beside the boulder at the top of the ridge. He counted five men inside the rough clearing where they’d set up camp. Pacer and the man in the stupid cape were the only two missing. He rolled his eyes and corrected himself. Pacer and the ‘bear’ in the stupid cape were missing. He laughed slightly and reminded himself that he’d chosen this. Not just the law, but crazy lawmen that hunted wolves and bears.

He hunkered down when he noticed movement in the scope. The tall one had stepped away from the girls. He was just out of sight of the camp. It was only a fluke that Angus had a straight view of him. The trees were not as thick near the clearing. Isla was suddenly beside him. Angus watched her left hand jab a knife into his throat as the right knife dug for his heart. There wasn’t much of a struggle. She allowed just enough noise to draw another guard toward her.

Angus was a little disappointed that the tall one hadn’t shifted. What was the point of being a werewolf if someone could sneak up on you and slit your throat without you ever even putting up a fight? Isla was a ninja. He moved the scope around to see if anyone else had taken notice. Smitty and the other human were laughing as the longhaired wolf man either danced around the fire or tried to get a bee off him. Angus focused the scope on him for a second. He was wearing ear buds. Listening to his favorite song maybe? That could explain those frenzied movements. Angus snorted in amusement.

He moved the sight back to where Isla had been. There were now two bodies and no woman in the sparse trees. He scanned around the clearing. There, on the edge of the trees, he caught a flash of a blade. It flew across the fire and thunked into Smitty’s chest. The man next to him jumped to run and Isla was suddenly there with her knife plunging into his throat. She grabbed the knife out of Smitty’s chest and slashed his throat and the throat of the other man in one graceful movement.

The longhaired man’s dance jerked to a halt. “What the hell?” he hollered. He jumped across the fire toward Isla. She awkwardly caught him instead of being knocked down. He hooked his foot behind hers and they fell to the ground, rolling next to the fire. Angus watched for a shot as they fought. The man was physically much more imposing than Isla but she was quicker and he was having trouble keeping the flashing knives from his skin. He finally pinned her left hand down on the ground. He banged it several times in the rocks and hard dirt. Angus couldn’t get a clear shot.

The longhaired man pushed her pinned hand into the fire. She let him. Her right hand was suddenly pushing up into his stomach. His eyes widened in pain and surprise. She was going to claw her way to his heart. The man panicked and let go of her left hand. He put both hands on her wrist and tried to pull her hand out of his abdomen.

The knife in her burned left hand was suddenly at his throat. She flipped him so she was on top. His chin came up and he scooted to keep the knife from cutting him. She gripped something inside him harder so he stopped wiggling and whimpered.

She faced the direction of the boulder she’d told Angus to use for cover. She looked right at the center of the scope and crooked her finger at him. “Come on down,” she mouthed. The longhaired man thought he saw an opportunity. He raised up to head butt her. She caressed a razor sharp fingernail along one of his ribs. He gasped and stopped with his head a few inches off the ground.

“I see you’re not much of a healer,” she whispered close to his face. “If you were, this hole would have started closing around my arm. If I were you, I wouldn’t try anything just yet. Wouldn’t want me to nick something vital until it becomes absolutely necessary. Now, where’s Pacer?”

“He went to kill the man and take you back. Double up on this job.”

“He take the bear with him?” The man’s eyes widened. Surprised she knew what they were? He nodded. “Thought so,” Isla tapped the knife thoughtfully against his throat. “What’s your name?”

“Rand. It don’t matter though,” he nearly sobbed. “He’ll kill me if you don’t.”

“Now, why would he do that?”

“Failin’. He don’t take kindly to failures. ‘Specially ones that cost him money.”

“Oh, Rand,” squatting on his chest she tried to comfort him. “Could you have known that I had help on the way?” He nodded his head no. He couldn’t have known. “Could you have known that one of the helpless girls you’d treated like shit for a week was not so helpless?” He continued to nod. She tapped the knife against his throat again. “Though I suppose you should have guessed that one after I bit off Smitty’s nose.”

She shrugged her shoulders, continuing, “Could you have known that I’d come back fully dressed and covered in weapons? Could you have known that almost everyone I’m related to is in law enforcement? That I’ve spent my whole life watching my mama hunt down scumbags like you?” He was crying fairly hard. She wasn’t quite finished. She tapped the knife on his throat one last time. “Don’t cry, Rand. Don’t cry.”

“You probably could have known that what you were doing was wrong. You could also have known that karma is a bitch. Some higher power would send someone to come down on you for what you’re doing. You believe in something, right?”

He nodded vigorously. “I believe. I believe. Oh, Buddha, forgive me.”

She smoothed the long locks of hair back from his face. “You think he might have sent me to help you see the error of your ways?”

Rand continued to nod as Angus arrived in the clearing. “Ok, here’s how you’re going to make it up to Buddha. Who’s Pacer working for?”

He didn’t answer. “Come on, Randy. You tell me who the bigwig is. It’s Buddha’s will. Otherwise, he’d have given you an opportunity to escape. Right?” Rand was crying again.

“Is your hand in his stomach?” Angus’s eyes were huge.

“You’re going to kill me anyway,” Rand cried.

“I’m gonna throw up,” Angus said. Isla whirled toward him making Rand cry out again in agony.

“You’re not helping. Can’t you see I’m conducting an interrogation?” She turned back to Rand. “Don’t die for nothing. Just one little name.” Sweat popped out on his face.

“You’re going to have to kill me,” he growled. His eyes had changed from a run of the mill blue to an amber that meant something not quite human. She felt his organs move around. The sound of bones popping out of socket to make room for them to lengthen filled the clearing.

“Hold up, Randy,” she advised. “You’re no good to me shifted.”

Angus took a step closer for a better look. “Keep a watch for Pacer and the bear,” Isla growled. When he didn’t move she looked up at him. Her eyes had changed from their normal bright brown to a yellow that just didn’t occur in nature. Not in humans anyway. “Form a perimeter.” He frowned. Things finally get interesting and she sends him on his way. He took a few steps toward the edge of the clearing and turned to look back.

“Now!” He wouldn’t have recognized the voice as hers if he hadn’t seen her mouth move. Rand’s nose had lengthened and he was snarling viciously at her.

Angus jumped in to help hold down Rand’s hands. He was nicked by a claw.

His mom coming down the steps and startled him from the memory.

“Angus? You still down here?”

“Yeah, mom,” he scrubbed his hands up and down on his cheeks. “Just finished. Think I’m gonna go for a run.”