Avenger's Heat (19 page)

N
oah steered down the long, dirt path surrounded by the forest. When Ryan had given them the address Noah had recognized the name of the area. He'd lived in New Orleans a hell of a long time and while some things changed, a lot didn't. There were only three homes along Clear Wood Bayou Road. And it wasn't exactly a road. Especially when it rained heavy.

Tonight was dry, windy, and getting colder. The cold didn't bother him but it felt like an omen or something. Especially with the near-full moon gleaming high in the sky. The chill in the air was downright icy and foreboding. Erin had been tense and quiet the majority of the drive, but the bitter scent she exuded was killing his inner wolf.

He just wanted to gather her in his arms and do something for her, but knew that was impossible at the moment. Bringing the Tyson brothers down was the only thing that would give Erin any sort of lasting peace. She may be willing to let them go if necessary but Noah wasn't so sure he could. They'd tried to kill the woman he loved—and loving her was something he could finally admit to himself. He'd feared that if he put the thought out into the universe it would somehow curse his chance with Erin. Paranoid? Absolutely. But shifters were a superstitious bunch and he was no different, especially when it came to his female. The more he thought about everything that had been done to her, the more restless his inner wolf grew.

Yeah, these bastards were dying.

When he neared the turnoff to the next dirt path that would lead to their final destination he pulled off the road into a cluster of gnarled cypress trees. He pulled up far enough so that Brianna could move in behind him. She'd apparently made fast work of convincing that detective to let them go because she and Angelo had caught up to them within minutes.

Erin patted her coat, her subconscious act of checking her blades, then tugged on her black knit skullcap to cover her head. Her short red braid peeked out the back, secured by a black elastic hair band.

She glanced at Noah, her gray eyes a mercurial storm. “You think we should strap on more weapons?”

“Maybe we can give some to Brianna just in case but I'm probably going wolf if we're attacked.” He understood that Erin likely wouldn't unless things got too insane. She had a tight grasp on her inner wolf. So much so that it impressed the hell out of him. He'd seen her fight in animal form only once and it had been beautiful and terrifying at the same time. Compared to other warriors she was smaller in animal form but damn vicious. And he found that incredibly hot. He could never be with a beta or . . . anyone who wasn't Erin.

She nodded and exited the vehicle. Brianna and Angelo were both already out of theirs and Angelo looked pumped and ready for a fight. The bronze-skinned shifter's hazel eyes had gone completely wolf, his animal lurking right at the surface.

Noah rolled his shoulders once, trying to ease some of the tension out, but it was useless. He glanced at Erin. “What's the plan?”

She eyed Brianna. “Do you need any weapons?”

The blond female smiled and her blue eyes flashed darkly, mirroring the brief spark of energy from her hands. “No.” Damn, even her voice was a little deeper.

All right then.

Erin looked between them and Noah. “When we come up on the house we need to surround it. I'm going to take the back, Noah will take a window on the east side, Angelo the west, and, Brianna, you either go in the front door, but a front window will be preferable. If we can't breach it quietly, we'll storm it all at once.”

Ryan had sent them a satellite photo using Google Earth and an architectural layout of the house, though God only knew where he'd gotten
that
. Not for the first time was Noah thankful Ryan was on their side. The man could be an absolute menace with his skills.

Next Erin held out her hand so they could all take earpieces. “These are for us to communicate with. Keep them in at all times. Don't use them if you don't have to.”

Technically, three of them wouldn't even need these in such a contained area, but if they got separated or one of them ended up in a chase, these would come in handy. And Brianna didn't have any of their extrasensory abilities so they would be useful for her.

Angelo took his with a grin. “Getting fancy, short stuff.”

Erin smiled back, though her expression was tight as she put her own piece in. “Remember. Silence from this point on unless you absolutely have to break it.”

Noah understood why. This was her first mission and a lot was riding on this besides her reputation. Add in the personal issues. . . . Noah took his own earpiece. It was time to go to work.

Putting in his own piece, he fell in step with Erin as they trekked through the woods. They had maybe forty or fifty yards until they would reach a clearing that would lead to the front of the house. When the woods began to thin, Noah concentrated but couldn't hear any heartbeats. At the clearing, they all remained hidden in the shadows of the trees. It was a brick, two-story home that had probably been repaired or completely rebuilt since Katrina. There wasn't a vehicle in the driveway but there could be one in the garage. Noah couldn't see any movement inside, but that didn't mean no one was in there. According to Meli, she and the other pregnant shifters had been kept in a dungeon/prisonlike area in cages. They could be underground or something.

Erin made a hand signal and they all spread out. Brianna was the only one who remained in place. Because she wasn't as fast as the shifters, she would be entering from the front. It was closer to the clearing and wouldn't be as much ground for her to cover.

Noah raced along the edge of the woods, moving in a circular pattern until he was on the east side of the home. A few long moments later he barely heard Erin's “Now” command through his earpiece.

He flew toward the house, a blur of motion, and crouched right under one of the curtain-covered windows. Under other circumstances they would have done a lot more recon but women's lives were at stake. There was no time and working on the fly was what had to happen. While the hunter in him hated that they weren't being as thorough as possible, his human side understood. Before attempting to break in, he tried pushing on it and was surprised when the pane slid open.

Shaking his head, Noah checked for a tripwire or any other kind of trap. When he was certain it was safe, he eased the curtain fully back. He could scent that at least three, maybe four shifters had been in the room, but none of the smells were recent.

The room was completely empty except for an unused stone fireplace in the corner. His shoes barely made a sound as they touched the hardwood floor. There were two exits. One open entryway that looked as if it led to the front of the house. Maybe a dining room. The other was on the opposite side and the two French doors appeared as if they opened into the back part of the house. A porch. As he cautiously took a couple of steps, three familiar scents surrounded him. Erin and Brianna came in from the front open entry and Angelo followed a moment later.

Erin's face was tense, but there was an eager quality about her. She pointed behind herself and he could tell she was barely containing her excitement. It was rolling off of her in waves.

Tensing, he let his claws unsheathe. If he had to go wolf, it would be quick. They quietly moved through the house, passing first through what would have been a dining room. There was a card table with three chairs around it and three stacked plastic bins he guessed were being used for moving. One of the lids was half off revealing folded clothes. The shifter scent coming from it was unmistakable.

As they moved into the kitchen in single file, Erin pointed toward a door. That's when he scented it. Other shifters. Not his kind, but feline. It was so faint that if someone had been cooking in the kitchen, it would have overpowered the scent.

Erin tried the door but it was locked. He'd showed her how to jimmy a lock before, but he could do it a lot faster. When she looked at him with raised eyebrows, he retrieved his slim kit from one of his cargo pockets and bent down. It was a dead bolt, but not a problem for him. A few seconds later, the lock sprung free.

The sound seemed to reverberate like a gong in the mostly bare kitchen. Tensing, they all froze and waited. No one came barreling out from behind the door. There was no scuffling sound, just silence.

Easing the door open, he peered in to find a set of stairs. At the bottom a dim lightbulb cast an eerie glow. The scent of the felines hit him stronger now.

Erin hurried past him, one of her blades gripped tightly in her hand as she descended the stairs. She wielded it like it was an extension of her.

Noah hated going in blind anywhere but more than that, he hated that Erin was going first. It was ingrained in him to protect anyone weaker. Of course, she wasn't weaker. Not even a little bit. But she was still his to claim and protect as far as his wolf was concerned. Reining in those urges, he kept his wolf in check and let her do her job.

Behind him, he barely heard Angelo and Brianna moving. The fae might not have their extrasensory abilities but she was stealth personified too.

Erin reached the end, then peered around the corner. First to the left, then the right. She sucked in a breath, then let out a curse as she sheathed her blades. Glancing back at them, she nodded. “They're here. Come on.”

As Noah followed, his eyes widened when he saw the row of cages along one wall in the basement. They were barely large enough for the females to stand up in, but it didn't appear as if the females had been beaten or abused in any other way. Looks could be deceiving but they were all clothed and he could hear heartbeats. Two steady, two not so much. The females hadn't moved or said a word though. They were all almost preternaturally silent and they all had blindfolds on.

They were probably hoping whoever had come down here would leave them alone. Noah bit back a growl. Yeah, he'd take pleasure in hurting those who had taken these females.

Erin hurried to one of the cages and ripped the door off. He did the same, as did Angelo. The female in the cage Noah had taken apart stirred against her cot.

“I'm not going to hurt you,” he said as gently as he could.

The female on the cot whimpered but still didn't move.

Instead of stepping into the cage, he remained where he was. Her hands weren't bound so clearly she'd been convinced that taking off her blindfold wasn't a good idea. “Your name is Lorena, right?” Noah recognized her from one of Erin's photos. She was about five months along in her pregnancy, the furthest out of all the females.

She shifted positions and sat up but still didn't remove her blindfold.

“You can take off the blindfold. We've been sent by the Council and the Campbell pack to save you.”

“It's true, Lorena.” A soft, unfamiliar voice cut through the air.

He turned to find that Erin had her arms around a tall, lean Hispanic shifter he recognized as Leta—the bartender Hector's sister. On her other side was a female he recognized as Concha. An artist originally from Cuba, according to her file.

At those words, the woman took off her blindfold and blinked. Her midnight blue eyes flashed with hope. Noah held out an arm to her and she started bawling. Collapsing against him, she sobbed into his chest. Afraid to hold her too tight, he stepped back so they were completely free of the cage and held her close.

Erin gave him a soft look but frowned when Angelo couldn't get the last woman up. Noah tensed too, but didn't move because he didn't want to disturb Lorena. Before either of them could say anything, Brianna was kneeling next to the cot, placing her hand on the woman's chest. A green glow emanated from her, spreading across the pregnant shifter's body, engulfing it completely.

“We need to get them out of here,” Noah said quietly, his gaze on Erin.

“I know.” She looked at Leta who seemed to be the steadiest of them all. “Who watches you normally?”

“A human male. He's creepy but he doesn't say much to us. Just feeds us, drugs us, and tells us to shut up if one of us is crying too much.” There was a note of venom in her voice.

“Where is he?”

She shrugged. “I'm not sure. He received a call from one of those shifter bastards who took us. Told him that they'd be leaving soon and to pack up. I guess he went out for supplies or something.”

As if on cue, they all heard a scuffling sound upstairs. Though Noah hated to let go of Lorena, he didn't pause. He raced up the stairs and eased the door open. A man was mumbling to himself about wanting more compensation. Inhaling, Noah scented only one person. A human. He stank of tobacco and alcohol. Whiskey, to be specific. His shoes thudded loudly against the hardwood floor.

Noah sensed Erin come up behind him. He turned a fraction. “Want to play good cop, bad cop?” he whispered, so low that no one but her could hear without earpieces. When her eyes lit up with understanding he was glad he didn't have to explain what he meant.

Not that he'd worried much about that. He and Erin were almost always on the same wavelength.

Her grin was wicked as she clutched her blade. Too bad he planned to play bad cop. She might be the enforcer but to this human she was still a petite female. He plucked the knit skullcap off her head. Without it she looked less threatening.

Though she scowled at him, he didn't have time to explain as he tucked it into his back pocket. Noah could hear the human moving through the house, his loud steps practically a homing beacon for his exact location. Turning from Erin, Noah silently crept through the kitchen.

The footsteps were coming closer, closer. . . . Noah jumped out from the entryway.

A dark-haired male about six feet tall with two grocery bags in his hands stared at him. His head snapped back, his green eyes wide with surprise. Noah didn't give him a chance to let his body catch up with his mind. Grabbing him around the throat, he slammed him against the nearest wall. His claws extended farther, digging into the man's flesh. The two bags thudded to the floor.