Fifteen

Rance pulled up into the parking lot of the sheriff’s department, his hands gripping the steering wheel as if it were the necks of the Serpents. They would not succeed with whatever they had planned; he would make sure of that.

Johnson and Chet were already standing out in the parking lot near Lainie’s car. As Rance pulled into a parking spot, two more cars followed him. He recognized Lainie’s brother from when he followed her to Roger’s cabin, but the others were all new to him. And there were a lot of them. Three women and three other men poured out of the cars, everyone moving to where Chet stood with his arms folded across his chest. The calvary had definitely been called.

Rance walked straight to Chet. “Any word yet?”

Chet shook his head. “Johnson says you think it’s the Serpents for some reason?”

Rance glanced over at Dimitri, recalling the man’s name from what Lainie said at the crime scene that first day. “Lainie and I overheard their plans three days ago. They intended to force her to get inside the evidence locker to retrieve Roger O’Brien’s phone.” He turned his focus back to the sheriff. “Seems they made their move.”

“Do you know where they are?” Dimitri asked as he stepped up to them, the others surrounding them. The expression on his face was a mixture of worry for his sister and anger at Rance for allowing her to be taken.

Rance wished he could give them a better answer. Shaking his head, he said, “No. The last time we saw them, they were hiding out in the woods. Looked like they were sleeping in their car.” Then he took a deep breath, the memory of what happened when the one gang member threatened Lainie. “There was a little, um, scuffle, so I’m sure they’ve moved spots by now. Lainie saw them leaving town but obviously they circled back.”

“A scuffle?” Johnson asked.

Everyone stared at Rance with quizzical expressions. “Don’t ask.” Rance then turned to Lainie’s car, an idea popping into his head. He jerked his attention to Dimitri, not sure how much the sheriff or anyone else for that matter knew about Lainie’s true self. “When your sister and I tracked the gang bangers…” Rance allowed the rest of what he wanted to say trail off, hoping Dimitri understood what he wasn’t saying.

Dimitri stared at Rance a moment, waiting for him to finish his sentence. Then, when it dawned on Lainie’s brother that Rance wasn’t going to say anything else, he stared at him harder, just before his eyes widened in understanding. “Your animals tracked them down.”

Rance nodded as Chet said, “That explains why she couldn’t arrest them.” Rance turned to the man, thinking it odd how casual he was about having a shifter deputy. Apparently, there was more openness in Bull Creek than in other parts of the world.

“But it doesn’t explain why she didn’t tell the rest of us why someone had threatened her,” Dimitri said, glaring at Rance. “A better question would be, why didn’t you tell someone? Why did it take you so long to notice Lainie was missing?”

“Are you kidding me?” Rance shoved his hands onto his hips, not wanting to get into it with Lainie’s brother, but also choosing not to bear the brunt of his anger either. “You know your sister better than I do. Would you tell her how to do her job?”

A thick man with a hairy chest and burly arms, just chuckled. “I wouldn’t tell Lainie to do a damn thing.” He turned to Dimitri, adding, “And neither would you, and you know it.”

“Shut up, Ezra,” another man said, obviously trying to avoid any fighting amongst the friends. He then turned to Chet. “So, how do we find them now?”

“Well, if they could be tracked that way once, we can do it again,” a short blond said, hands on her hips as she stared off into the woods surrounding the sheriff’s department.

A taller man, dark hair and muscles that tightened his shirt, wrapped an arm around her. “Eve, babe, we don’t have any idea how far they went or even if they’re still around.”

“All the more reason to get started now,” Eve said. She turned to Dimitri, ignoring Chet and Rance. “Don’t you agree?”

Dimitri, ran a hand through his blond hair, staring at his sister’s car and then out into the woods. “Agreed.” He then turned to the dark-haired woman beside him. “Adira, can you track me if I shift and go after Lainie?”

She must be the witch Lainie mentioned, Rance thought as he watched the exchange.

“I can,” the woman said. “I’ll follow with Chet, and we’ll be right behind you.”

“Then let’s do this.” He reached for his shirt buttons, but Chet stopped him.

“How about you wait until you get into the woods for that. I’ll send Johnson to fetch your clothes, so you have them when this is over. We don’t need a rash of calls about nudists at the sheriff’s department.”

Dimitri nodded in agreement, and soon everyone except Adira and the two sheriffs marched into the surrounding woods, each unbuttoning their shirts and pants and yanking off shoes. Rance followed along. There was no way he would be left out of this. As they reached the woods, Dimitri turned to him, pulling his own shirt off his arms. “I assume you were working with my sister on Roger’s death. You know who we’re going up against?”

“Idiots. Gang members on a mission they can’t turn back from, which is why your sister is in this mess.” He could feel the knots in his stomach tightening, his wolf anxious to get underway and for the talking to stop.

Dimitri’s animal must have felt the same, for the alpha of Bull Creek said, “Well, those city boys are going to be in for a rude awakening. Let’s go see what’s left of them.”

The talking ceased at that point as everyone around Rance finished stripping and began the shift. When Rance finished, the wind tousling his gray coat, he was surrounded by two panthers, a bear, another wolf, and two tigers. He didn’t wait for Dimitri or anyone else to take the lead. As the sheriff’s deputy collected the discarded clothing, Rance’s wolf walked over to Lainie’s car and started sniffing around, until he caught her scent. He could also detect the scents of the two gang members. He followed their trail until he could tell where they put Lainie in a car, and then the tire tracks of where they took off with her, with his Lainie. He turned to the others, snapping a yelp, and then taking off in the direction of the Lincoln. He didn’t turn to see if the others followed; he could hear them behind him.

The path took several turns, but it didn’t take long before they were weaving their way along a road cut into the woods, the sunlight peeking through the overhead branches as the afternoon breeze pulled at their fur coats. Rance couldn’t help but think how odd it was for such a misfit batch of shifters to be gathered in one group and working together. Bears, panthers, wolves, and even tigers padded their way through the woods in search of another panther who was in trouble. Animals that would normally be at odds now worked in tandem to accomplish a common goal. There was more to Bull Creek than Rance knew, but he was determined to figure it out. He didn’t have a choice. Once he marked Lainie as his, this would be his home.

Rance knew the gang members couldn’t go far, wanting to stay near a road with their vehicle, seeing as how that would be their only form of shelter. Smart move on their part. Hotel rooms were easily discovered and traced. Hopefully, that was the extent of their intelligence.

He slowed his pace, the scent getting stronger. With his muzzle against the ground, he followed the road, the others in the woods and out of sight, trusting his instincts. That surprised him with as much as Dimitri seemed to blame him for Lainie’s predicament. Of course, the idiots who took her didn’t know the lady and what she was capable of. He was worried but also confident that Lainie could get out of the mess she was in when she truly wanted to do so. If those men knew they had taken a panther, they’d be halfway back to Pensacola by now. As it was, when they came face to face with the various animals coming at them, Rance could only imagine their panic.

“Pretty sure of yourself, aren’t you?” Lainie’s voice reached Rance’s ears, bringing him to a halt as he shifted his focus ahead of him, lifting his head. She’s up ahead and to the left, it seems, he sent to the others.

Everyone fan out, Dimitri said. We need to surround them. No one moves until I say so.

No, Rance said. He wasn’t leaving Lainie’s safety in the hands of people who didn’t know what they were facing. On my word, not yours. No offense. I know these thugs.

“I’ve yet to fail or not be able to predict what people will do,” the one Rance remembered on top of the Lincoln said. So far, it seemed the animals were unnoticed. “You strike me as someone who prefers living rather than dying.”

“How much longer, TC?” the other gang member asked, and Rance could hear the nervousness in his voice. “I want this over with so we can get out of here.”

Fine, Dimitri said. But I want these idiots taken care of quickly.

“Who gives a flying fuck what you want, you moron?” the one called TC asked as Rance watched him move away from Lainie, turning back around toward the car. “We’ll go when I say we go. It’s still too early. I’ve been watching the place. They have less people there at night. We’ll go then. Now, you watch her while I get some sleep and try not to screw it up.”

Oh, trust me, Rance said. They’ll be taken care of. Now, everyone spread out so we can come at them from all angles, not giving them a chance to escape.

“Screw it..?” the younger of the Serpents said, his expression obviously not understanding what TC meant. Rance then saw when understanding hit him. “Gee, thanks, TC. You sure do gotta lot of confidence in me.” The kid yanked his hands out of his pockets and stretched his arms out. “I’m not a total idiot, you know?”

TC slid up on the back of the Lincoln, his hands clasped over his belly as he settled in for his nap. “Oh, sure, I know. I know you’re a buffoon, that’s what I know. Now keep an eye on her and don’t let her use any of that detective bullshit and try to get in your hollow mind.”

Rance turned and watched as the kid who was left to stand guard over Lainie stood there staring at his partner for a moment, annoyance shifting across his face, but Rance knew the kid was too scared of the other to say anything that would get his ass kicked. Lainie was propped against a pine, her hands bound behind her back with rope. Glancing around, he noticed the others in place, all waiting for his word to attack.

“Holy shit!” The young kid’s voice jerked Rance’s attention back to where the kid stood near Lainie. He must have noticed the others as well, as his head swiveled in all directions, eyes wide as he noticed the wild assortment of animals staring back at him. “TC! TC, we got problems.”

“What the hell are you babbling about?” TC sounded put out as he lifted his gaze to the kid.

Rance turned his focus to Lainie, and she stared right at him, a smirk turning up the corner of her lips. You really don’t want my help with this case, do you? He sent to her, the animal’s mindspeech working in either form.

It’s not like I could keep you away, regardless. He watched as she turned her attention all around her, smiling as she took in the others.

Adira is bringing the sheriff and deputy, Rance said. All we have to do is keep them from leaving until they get here.

He watched as Lainie nodded. Smart. So, what is the plan, if I might ask.

Rance gave a mental laugh. Well, you know how I like to have fun. Okay, everyone, let’s scare the shit out of these guys. And the woods erupted with howls, hisses, and roars.