Hunter, page 16
part #1 of Hunted Shifters Legacy Series
Surrounded by people.
They both froze. Hunter got over it quickly as he stepped in front of her, an instinctive need to protect. She let him, her hand going to the dagger under her dress and dread rising in her stomach.
There were only two of them, and ten of the men. These men’s claws were growing visible, more animal than vampire and giving them away.
Hunter’s comment gave them away, too.
“You’ve all got to stop hunting the boy. It’s a lost cause for you, and I would prefer it if we settled this peacefully.”
Max’s old clan…or almost-clan.
“We don’t need the boy, and we don’t want him,” one of the men said, stepping forward. Hunter’s hand fisted beside her. “We’ve already made that clear.”
“Then let us go.”
“You know what we want. Give her to us and there won’t be trouble. We should’ve had her first if you hadn’t meddled that day. If the boy hadn’t messed up.”
It was the same demand from the daywalkers, making her sick to her stomach when she remembered how that ended.
“Last warning,” Hunter suggested, voice going dangerously low. “Let us go.”
“Give her to us.”
“Over my dead body.”
Growls surrounded the alley, and it was a wonder no one from the restaurant came out, not even Alex—probably a strategy to cover the front, just in case. No one on the streets paid attention, either, but that was because these guys had the whole exit path blocked, and only an idiot would consider investigating the sound…
“Put your hands up where I can see them.”
Oh, God.
Jack wasn’t an idiot, but he was the last person Celine expected to see. He also looked different: in his cop attire, and no longer as friendly and warm as she was used to seeing him.
This Jack was stoic, hard…coiled, a dangerous warning even without the gun in his hand.
“Stay out of this,” one of the men called out a growled command. “Leave while you still can, Officer.”
“These bastards are right,” Hunter called out, but in a softer tone. “Get backup, Jack. Don’t come in here.”
“Don’t tell me what to do,” Jack shot back. “I’m taking Celine.”
It was the wrong thing to say. The prickle ticked, a warning that Celine could no longer ignore.
“Watch out!” she hissed.
She didn’t get any further than that as the alley exploded with fur, all of which made her hair stand on end as she watched men transform to beasts. They’d been huge as men, but as wolves cramped in the small space…
Fear sparked, even while Hunter shifted, too. There was no time for the fear to bloom higher as movement boomed all around—the shifters going for him and him protecting her…no, wait, not all of them were going for him.
The rest were going for Jack.
The gun flew, glinting in the dark space. Someone stepped out of the back door and padlocked it…Alex, who shifted right after and went for her. She lurched back, hurtling her dagger forward and catching the wolf’s whole mouth. It howled, a deliberately muted sound before claws grabbed her dress—
Something leaped in the air, a body throwing Alex’s wolf form back. They rolled on the ground, animal to animal, and Celine goggled at the long lines of sleek brown scales and ice blue eyes before things started falling into place. A reptile shifter.
Jack.
Stunned, she reared back. She swiped her dagger when another wolf attempted to drag her, plunging the weapon in between the eyes and blood spurted out. The wolf thrashed, jaws snapping open to take a bite out of her.
She kicked—screamed when the wolf dragged her again to the ground. The wolf let go when a familiar wolf dragged it back, and she watched Hunter tear the other apart before others started coming for her. The reptile stepped into her path, crocodile but not, baring snout and sharp teeth at them.
They kept going, anyway, crowding him in. Tearing him apart.
Jack had no chance.
She kicked, punched, took another dagger out and tried to get them off him. But they were too wild, every attempt to help leaving scratches on her skin and throwing her back. Her head met the wall, jarred her brain and blurred her eyesight. Pain singed in her very bones as she attempted to stand up, and she realized a dead shifter was lying on her legs.
The sound of a honk was faint, hovering over the ringing in her ears. Celine blinked repeatedly, then lurched when an arm yanked her up. She gripped her dagger and stabbed—
“Celine.”
Hunter’s warning growl had her growing still. The van cleared, and the female driver inside was unfamiliar. Panicked.
“Get in.”
“Who are—”
“KIT. GET THE HELL IN.”
Miracle of miracles, Hunter managed to break them away from the swarm of shifters: him, her, and Jack, who was unconscious on Hunter's back.
They all dove in the van and slammed the door shut, feeling it tilt when the other shifters tried to slam against it. Dents appeared at every slam.
The driver floored it.
Chapter 21
Kit was probably the most reckless driver in the world—which was a very good thing right now, considering what they had on their tail. She drove through Queens like a madwoman, drove past it and into streets of New York that he wasn’t even familiar with. But it worked because soon the shifters had stopped following, hiding again from the humans crowding the night.
They were in Manhattan. Holy hell.
“Hunter, you need to check your phone, the one you used to communicate with me on the day you took her. See if it has any other color, or if there's something glinting.”
His eyes widened, and he hurriedly yanked the device from the strap on his ankle. It was all black…except for the minuscule dot of silver at one side, barely visible.
Hunter cursed. Then he cursed again.
“How?” he growled.
“They probably stuck it there during your last encounter with them.”
“Which them?”
“Those you fought earlier, of course. Shifter clan. Here.” Clothes and another phone were thrown at him. “That’s one of mine. Check all the devices in your home and make sure nothing else is bugged. Throw that out the window. Now, please.”
Fuck. Damn it all to hell.
No wonder they knew where he was all the time. No wonder they’d been betrayed at every turn, and now it started to make perfect sense.
“The vicious nightwalkers and that shifter clan…are they allied?”
“I don't know. Most likely,” Kit muttered.
“Why are you the one rescuing us?”
“Ovie isn’t answering his phone, and I can’t risk it for now. Edmund's not answering, either.”
Sneaky bastards. He was going to need to warn Ovie, who had physical contact with the nightwalkers and had also been wearing his communication device. He doubted those nightwalkers would’ve been that clever, but it was worth checking.
It shook him, as they’d never been tracked this close. It made him angry that they were almost exposed, and that he never figured it out. They risked a lot today, and they’d been losers from the very start.
Hunter’s hand reached out for Celine, who squeezed it—a quiet assurance that she was okay. He glanced at where their hands were joined, then at her arms that were filled with injuries. The fury doubled.
“Hunter…”
He glanced beside her, where her other hand was. Trembling. She’d covered Jack’s lower body with a blanket, but his torso…so many open wounds, one of which she was pressing over with a cloth. The man was still alive, but his breathing was very shallow.
“Kit, we need a safe place to take care of a friend. He’s going to die if we don’t treat him.”
“I’m on it,” she replied easily. “Just press down on the bleeding for now.”
Silence filled the space as they followed her instructions, and she kept driving.
* * *
To their bewilderment, the driving led them right back to Queens, where Kit circled around for good measure before she eased the van inside a seemingly closed auto mechanic shop. There was a door to the side that led to an apartment complex, but instead of heading there, she marched right to the back of the garage, pushing aside a drawer filled with mechanical tools and revealing a hatch on the cement floor.
That hatch led down, the stairs seemingly endless before they landed, and the lights were turned on. Celine was the last as Kit instructed her to lock the hatch, explaining that the drawer would slide back in place and keep this opening hidden. Hunter was instructed to put Jack on a side cot, while Kit hurried to get the medical kit. When she returned, Celine and Hunter got busy, working together to wipe the blood off and disinfect the wounds. Jack shivered and didn’t wake up, but the blood had stopped flowing.
“He’s a shifter, so his cells will repair fast,” Hunter said. “We’ve done what we can. Now he just needs to wake up.”
She still looked worried, but that wasn’t something he could ease for her. Caring was just part of Celine's nature. He stood up to stretch his legs, feeling like he’d run a marathon and fallen down too many times. He had scratches, too, but they weren’t so bad, and all he needed was a shower.
“Here’s some food. You’re both probably hungry.”
When Kit appeared again, Hunter decided now was the time to get a good, long look at her—and oh, boy, was he flabbergasted.
“I thought you’d be some middle-aged lady. Or at least someone in her thirties.”
“I’m in my twenties.”
The woman in front of him was young—very young, and very short. The loose black shirt she wore hid her figure, and her shorts were coupled with fishnet stockings. Metal bangles clanged together on her right wrist, very punk. Her hair was cut short, brown edges just reaching past her ears and light pink streaks at the tips. Blue-green eyes were curious, maybe slightly nervous, and he was pretty sure they were contacts.
“Are you sure? You look sixteen.”
At that, her back went up, and she threw him a dirty look. “And you look 60. I’m twenty-two if I must have you know.”
“And a DJ, a mechanic on the side, and…what is all this?”
He took the whole basement in, which was what one would call an organized mess: screens everywhere, mounted on walls and showing different parts of the apartment complex and garage. Computers on a long table, thick wires running under it. Two slightly open doors revealed a bedroom and a bathroom. The couch on one side of the main room had blankets tossed aside, and he had a feeling it was slept in more than the actual bed.
“This is my home,” she declared, stating the obvious. “Those are used to monitor my surroundings and make sure I’m safe.” She motioned to the computers. “Those are for DJ-ing, programming, and all the work I do for you guys. I like to multitask. Hi. You must be Celine. Well, obviously you are.”
“Hi,” Celine returned softly. “Thank you for taking us in.”
Kit shrugged. “I work for them, and my income would dwindle if you guys died.”
But it was more than that, and Hunter knew it. Equipment here meant she earned money, probably from her computer things, and the work with Edmund was probably the side gig. Which begged the question…
“What are you?”
“I’m a mammal.”
He blinked. Celine bit her lip, a telltale sign that the whole thing amused her.
“Kit…”
“Wow, you work that growl really well. Is it practiced or natural? It sounds intimidating.” Kit peered up at him. “Fascinating. You sound so rough on the phone, but in person, you’re not rough-looking at all. You’re like the hot jacket model of some romance novel.” She beamed at Celine. “Isn’t it fascinating?”
Celine grinned in response. “It is.”
“Kit…”
“Fine.” Kit threw her hands up in the air, her bangles making noises. “It’s Kitty O’Hara. Sort of like Scarlett O’Hara, but we all know she’s one gorgeous peach of a lady. Kit suits me just fine. I just turned twenty-two last month, and I bought my latest computer on my birthday. Oh! Hold on.”
Hunter gawked as she excitedly pranced about, then rummaged inside some box before she returned to them. A tan-colored object was placed in his palm, smaller than ear pods.
“This is new, too. I’ve tested it out a few times, and it’s definitely clearer than the phones you’ve been using. The boss has been asking me to get him updated devices, and I’m supposed to give him a set, but you can use yours ahead. Just place it in your ear. It'll hold even while you shift. You can make calls, record, leave your hands free. Anyway, you can also take the rest with you when you leave. Do you guys want to sleep? Shower?”
He hadn’t realized until this moment that Kit talked, and not because she was nervous or anything—she just babbled.
“Both sound nice.” He glanced at Jack’s unconscious form. “We can crash here and…”
“Oh, no, no, you’re both taking the bedroom,” she said firmly. “I have to DJ after midnight, and I have to answer some calls—for my other job. I’ll let you know when there’s progress with your friend. Who is he, by the way?”
“An ally,” he confirmed, which had Celine slipping her hand in his. “Thanks for all this. We’ll get some rest, then we’ll be out of your hair.”
“No pressure on getting out of my hair. And if anything dangerous happens, I’ll just scream my lungs out so you guys can help.”
Without explanation, Kit marched to her table and was suddenly engrossed with typing on her keyboard.
* * *
“She’s human. There’s no other explanation for the evasion.”
“Whether she’s human or not is not our business, as long as her loyalty is to your clan. And it looks like it is.”
Celine’s words were an assurance, and Hunter allowed his head to finally rest on the pillow. She was walking around behind a makeshift dressing room, only her shadow visible against the folding paper partition.
They’d separately showered, changed, and got some dinner from Kit’s fascinating selection of preserved snacks. He’d discussed the situation with Ovie on the phone earlier, who he warned to destroy his device, too. An hour later, he got a call back from Ovie reporting that the alley was deserted and clean, leaving behind no traces of what had transpired with the shifters.
Thorough bastards.
That thoroughness extended to them needing to stay there for the night, as there was no way to procure another vehicle until daylight.
Besides, there was Jack to think about.
“Did you know, Celine?”
“Know what?”
“About Jack.” His eyes followed the movement of shadows, watching as she inserted a piece of clothing over her head. It snagged on her hair, and she pulled it up in a loose bun.
“No. Not a clue. I didn’t even know you existed until that day.”
“Do you think he’s part of a clan?”
“No,” was her automatic response before she hesitated. “Do you?”
“No,” he returned firmly. “He was clean when we took him here, and I don’t see anyone banging on the doors now.”
The partition was pushed open, Celine stepping out. One look and he felt his mouth going dry as he took in the cotton dress shirt that served as her sleepwear. She buttoned it up, but left the top one open, exposing smooth skin and a hint of cleavage. Hard as a rock, Hunter placed his hands on the mattress as she slithered beside him. He then took in something else: the scratches, reminding him that she wasn’t as fast a healer as he was.
His hand cruised down her arm, touching a long gash. She didn’t wince, but she did emit a deep, weary sigh.
“I can’t believe you guys do these things all the time. Those are vicious people.” There was a pause as she seemed to contemplate it. “Although Edmund could probably give them a run for their money.”
“You forgot every member of the clan,” he added easily, pulling her in. Softness met hardness, shaping in perfectly. The need to touch her was still a very deep part of him—a raw, primal thing that would probably always be there. But for now, he was perfectly content with this: holding her close, burying his nose in her hair, feeling the slow inhale and exhale of her breath. It made him aware of what a close call earlier had been had Kit not saved their asses.
Shaken, he tightened his hold on her. Celine hesitated, a charming shyness before she curled her arm around his waist. His stomach jumped, then settled.
“You guys are fine.”
“We’re a vicious lot ourselves, Celine,” he admitted, wanting her to know. Somehow, it seemed important. “Sometimes I wonder if it was the right thing to take you there.”
“I know you’re a vicious lot. And I know I’ve almost been killed a few times since Sidney happened. But that’s an adjustment, and I know how to adjust.” She smiled. “It takes time, but I can fight my battles. And I certainly won’t change this for the world.”
“You won’t?”
“No. I have Sidney.” A pause, as she softly kissed his shoulder. “I have you guys protecting me until I’m back on my own feet. It’s like free protection services from the model of a romance novel.”
The teasing had him chuckling, despite himself. “Hot. You forgot hot.”
She laughed, the sound vibrating down his chest. She yawned after, and soon silence settled in the bedroom as she drifted into sleep. Outside, he could hear Kit talking softly, greeting her radio listeners and enthusing over the song selections she had for the night.
He fell asleep to some modern jazz whose title he had no idea of.
And Hunter woke up hours later to Kit aggressively knocking on the bedroom door before shouting words that had both him and Celine shooting up.
“Emergency! Your friend just woke up, and he’s bleeding all over my cot!”
