Chapter 13

Night was falling by the time Ray called a halt to the long trek they’d led Jonas and his men on.

“We’ll make camp here and resume in the morning,” he announced.

“What the hell’s this?” Jonas demanded. “We haven’t seen shit and done nothing but walk all day. What kind of bogus operation are you running, Moss?”

“Not a damn thing bogus about this operation!” Ray shot back.

“Well, we sure as hell haven’t killed anything. Or seen anything for that matter,” Jonas complained. “I’m beginning to think these woods are completely uninhabited. We haven’t even seen a rabbit.”

“Keep your pants on,” Ray replied. “Tracking cats takes time. And they travel at night. Way you boys sleep, a herd of buffalo could stampede through camp, and you wouldn’t know it.”

“Look here—”

“Look, Mr. White,” Jimmy cut in. “I know it’s frustrating and you probably thought it would be like shows you see on television on African safaris where there’s fifty lions lying around in the sun, but it’s not like that on a real hunt. We’ve seen tracks and I think we’re moving into a populated area. We just have to be patient.”

“Well, at the tune of twenty-five thousand dollars, my patience is running a bit thin.”

Jimmy nodded. “I understand. Tell you what. Why don’t we build a fire and have a drink? I have a bottle stashed in my pack I was going to crack out when we bagged something, but what the hell. We could all use a pick-me-up.”

“Fine,” Jonas agreed and stomped off.

Jimmy turned to Ray. “You keep ‘em busy. I have a plan.”

“What?”

“I’m gonna doctor the liquor with animal tranquilizer. It’ll put them out. Then we tie them up and haul them out of here one at a time and stage an accident.”

“Carry four grown men?” Ray asked. “Not the best plan I ever heard.”

“You got a better one?”

“Not at the moment.”

“Then we go with this one.”

“Fine.”

Ray started setting up camp, sending the men out to gather wood, while Jimmy laced the liquor with enough tranquilizers to put a dozen men out for a good long while.

“This is all that damn Windrider’s fault,” Ray said under his breath, and he passed by his brother.

“What’s that?”

“Fucking Windrider,” Ray snarled and spat on the ground. “Wasn’t for her and her goddamn mouth—”

“This isn’t the time or place to discuss that,” Jimmy pointed out as he saw one of their clients returning with an armload of wood. “Besides, our time will come, and we’ll deal with the last Windrider.”

“Wipe those sons-a-bitches off the earth,” Ray agreed.

“Amen, brother,” Jimmy said and stood with a smile as Jonas appeared. “Well, now that we have wood, let’s have us a toast. Ray, where are the coffee tins?”

Ray rumbled through a pack and located four tin coffee cups. Jimmy filled each one to the rim, passing them to each of their clients. Then he lifted the bottle up in front of him. “To a successful hunt.”

He put the bottle to his lips, tilted it up and worked his throat muscles like he’d taken a good couple of swallows. “Whew!” he exclaimed as he lowered the bottle and passed it to Ray. “That hit the spot.”

He watched as his clients raised their cups and drank the tainted brew. No one seemed to notice anything peculiar. They all sat down as he and Ray built a fire. By the time the fire was burning well, two of the men were already weaving.

Jimmy grinned and waited. It wouldn’t be long.

* * * * *

Cole woke with a start at the low growl that came from the mouth of the cave. The cubs, which had all been sleeping on him, all raised a ruckus and headed for the opening. Cole stood and followed, just barely able to make out the entrance. There wasn’t much of a moon, only a tiny sliver, but he could make out the dark shape of the lion.

When he emerged from the cave, he discovered that she was not alone. A large male stood off to one side, watching warily. Cole looked from the big male to the female. “Okay, I have no idea what to do.”

She looked over her shoulder at the male, then approached Cole and nudged him with her head, toward the male.

He didn’t have to speak the language to figure out that she wanted him to go with the male.

“Can he find Scout?” he asked the female.

She nudged him again, then growled to her cubs, and disappeared into the cave. Cole looked over at the male lion. The lion stared at him for a moment then turned and walked away a few steps, paused, and looked back at Cole.

Cole figured he had to be half insane. Who in their right mind would follow a wild lion out into the wilderness at night?

A male trying to protect his mate.

Cole jumped at the sound of the voice in his head. “Was that you?” he asked the lion.

Something like a chuckle rang in his mind, before the words came, Follow me, human.

Having no other option, Cole did just that.

* * * * *

Scout reached the place she’d left her clothing and made the transformation back to human form. It was getting easier and easier, and hardly hurt anymore. And that gave her a little pang of concern. Being a cat was exhilarating. With the transformation being so easy, would it tempt her to spend more time as a cat and less as a human? And what effect would her urge to be feline have on her relationship with Cole?

She considered those questions as she dressed and made her way soundlessly to the edge of the camp. Jonas and his men all appeared to be asleep by the fire. Ray and Jimmy were off to one side talking. She made her way up behind them so that she could better hear what they were saying, fighting the urge to go back to cat form and enjoy the benefits of enhanced hearing. She was a tracker. She could certainly get close enough to hear without being detected.

“…we don’t have enough rope,” Ray was saying. He took a slug from a bottle before continuing. “No way anyone will believe the four of them tried to make that kind of ascent with what we have on hand.”

“Then I’ll go back to base camp and get more,” Jimmy argued.

“It’ll take you all night! We don’t have that kind of time. The tranquilizer will wear off before you get back. “

“Then we use what we have.”

“Shit on a stick, Jimmy. This is fucked up. Better we let them sleep it off, then talk them into climbing in the morning. I’ll take the lead and you fall into the rear. As soon as the four of them are high enough to ensure fatality, I’ll cut the rope. You won’t be high enough to get hurt if you lag behind.”

A sick feeling took hold in Scout’s stomach. They were planning on killing Jonas and his men. She had to do something. But what? The only thing she knew was to face it head on.

She stood and walked into their camp, coming up behind them. “You sorry sacks of shit,” she hissed.

Both men jumped to their feet. Ray’s gun was in his hand by the time he was facing her. He swayed slightly, letting her know that he’d been drinking for a while. “What the fuck are you doing here?”

“I’m here to let you know that you’re not going to get away with killing these men. The CBI is on its way. If you’re smart, you’ll turn tail and run. And I mean run fast. Disappear.”

“Fuck you!” Ray snarled. “I say we kill the fuckers and you and swear you did it.”

“Like anyone would believe that,” she scoffed. “Wise up, Ray. They’re onto you. They know you killed Jed, and those hunters and it’s just a matter of time before they take you down.”

“Shut the fuck up!” He waved the gun at Scout. “You fucking cunt!”

She turned her attention to Jimmy. “You know I’m right. If you kill those men, you won’t be able to run far or fast enough. They’ll hunt you down.”

Jimmy looked from her to Ray. “She’s right, Ray. We’ll never get away with it.”

“We will if we have a hostage,” he argued. “We do them and take her.”

“And go where?” Jimmy asked.

“Wherever the fuck we want,” Ray replied. “It’ll be days before anyone finds them—if they ever do. By then we’ll be long gone.”

“I wouldn’t count on it,” Scout said, drawing their attention back to her. “I won’t go willingly, and you know I’ll slow you down.”

“She’s right, Ray,” Jimmy said. “It won’t work.”

“It will if I say it will! Tie the bitch up and I’ll take care of those—”

“No!” Scout jumped forward then stopped abruptly when Ray raised the gun and pressed it to her forehead. “Listen to me, Ray. Just tie them up and leave them. Alive. If you do that, I’ll go with you—without a fight.”

“No way,” Jimmy said immediately.

“Shut up!” Ray barked at him. “Let me think.”

“Come on, Ray,” Scout coaxed him. “You know it’s me you want. You killed Jed and you’ve been itching to kill me too. Well, here’s your chance. Only you have to let those men live. Otherwise, I promise you, it won’t go well for you.”

“Yeah, well seems to me we’re the ones with the guns,” Jimmy shot back at her.

“Honey, I don’t need a gun to take you down,” she said with a smirk then turned her attention back to Ray. “Isn’t that right, Ray?”

Ray’s face formed into a grimace and his skin flushed. Scout saw she’d hit the mark and pressed him more. “You remember the last time you pulled a gun on me, don’t you?”

“That was different. The old man was alive.”

“But it wasn’t the old man that made it necessary for you to have twelve stitches in your head, was it?”

“Fucking bitch!” he hissed.

“And not a seventeen-year-old girl either. But still. You wouldn’t mind having a piece of me before you slit my throat, now would you?”

She knew she’d hit the mark dead on the head at the flare in his eyes. It made her sick to think about him ever touching her, and she’d die before she let him, but if making him think he might be able to would save Jonas and the others, it was a gamble she had to take.

“She’s playing you, Ray,” Jimmy warned. “Don’t listen to her. You know you can’t trust her.”

“Shut up,” Ray growled. “Just shut up. We’re going to do this my way. You tie those men up good and tight.”

“No.”

Ray cut his eyes toward his brother. “Say what?”

“I said no. I’m not going to do it that way. We let them live and they come after us.”

“You kill them, and the state boys come after you with a vengeance,” Scout pointed out. “Come on, Ray. You’re too smart for this. You know you’ll never get away with killing them. But me? Everyone knows I’m out here most of the time. Accidents happen. All the time. Who’s to say I didn’t just get careless?”

“Shut up!” Jimmy yelled at her. “Ray, don’t listen to her. She’s—”

He never got to finish his sentence. Ray backhanded him with the same hand that held the gun. Jimmy’s cheek split and blood flew as his head whipped to one side. But he did not go down. Instead, he went after his brother.

Scout jumped back as Jimmy took Ray to the ground. While the two of them were rolling around trying to kill each other with their fists, she ran over to where Jonas lay on the ground. She shook him hard.

“Wake up! Jonas! Jonas, can you hear me?”

He didn’t move. His eyelids didn’t even flutter. It scared her. Was he dead? She pressed her ear against his chest. His heart was beating. Whatever they’d given him had him out cold, though. No way she was going to wake him up. Which meant that the only option left to her was to try and take out the Moss brothers.

At almost the same moment she had the thought, someone had her by the hair, hauling her to her feet. She struck out, feeling the satisfying thud of her fist impacting his sternum. He staggered but did not release her. And he raised his gun to stick it under her chin.

“Unless you want to see me shoot these men right now, you’ll stop. You got that?”

“Yeah, I got it,” she agreed.

He released her but kept the gun on her. “Tie them up.”

“I don’t have any rope.”

He gestured to the packs. “Make it quick.”

Scout did as he ordered but made sure that Jonas’s bindings were tied so that he could get free. Ray didn’t notice her taking Jonas’ watch from his wrist and sliding it into her pocket. Or the tracking locator she slipped into his jacket. After she’d tied up all the men, including Ray’s brother Jimmy, who was unconscious on the ground, Ray gestured toward his pack.

“Put that on.”

She didn’t argue. There was no point. And she had to get him as far away from the camp as possible. She considered transforming but decided against it. Cats were thin-skinned. One shot from that gun of his could do serious damage. No, her best bet was to lead him as far from the camp as possible and wait for a chance to make a move against him.

But Ray had his own plan. “Here’s what we’re going to do. You and I are going to head northwest.”

“To where?”

“You’ll know when we get there. Now get walking.”

Scout complied and in silence they headed out into the night.