Running with the Pack: Cannon Pack, Book 3 (15 page)

“I don’t remember you using those exact words. Although you weren’t exactly friendly considering I was trying to—”

“What do you remember, Mysta?” Daniel cut Lauren off and leaned toward the injured shifter.

“I remember getting shot and it hurting like hell.”

He laughed, throwing his head back. “Yeah, it usually does.” He grew solemn, yet eager to hear more. “I need to know what you remember about her. It’s important.”

Mysta studied Lauren, her brow furrowing with the effort. “She was with the hunters, but I don’t think she ever shot at me. She found me after I collapsed.”

A small rush of relief filled Lauren. Maybe, just maybe, Mysta would remember everything and prove her innocence. She inched closer, giving Mysta a better look at her.

Mysta rested against her pillow. “You said you wanted to help me. Said you’d call my people or take me to a doctor. Not that I believed you.”

Daniel placed his hand on her arm, the gesture both endearing and demanding. “Are you sure that’s what she said? Did you think it was a trap?”

Mysta shook her head, slowly, indecisively. “I’m sure that’s what she said, but I knew I couldn’t trust a hunter. Although, she did put her gun on the ground…” She bit her lip, then came to a decision. “But who knew what other weapon she had? She could have had another gun on her body. I mean, what kind of hunter puts down her gun when she’s got a wounded shifter in her sights?”

“That’s what I figured.” Tucker squelched Lauren’s enthusiasm.

Mysta groaned, her face growing pale. “I’m sorry, Daniel. That’s as much as I can do right now. I need more rest. Maybe you could come back later?”

Daniel placed a quick peck on her forehead and patted her shoulder. “Don’t worry about it. We got what we came for.”

Did that mean he believed her? Or did he believe the worst like Tucker? Lauren started to follow Daniel out of the room.

“Daniel?” Her tone betrayed her uneasiness, but Lauren stood tall, fighting not to let anyone see how nervous she was.

“Just hold up, little hunter.”

She bumped against the big galoot of a werewolf blocking her way, determined not to let him intimidate her. “He has to know I’m telling the truth. You know I am, don’t you, Mysta? Will you tell him when he comes back?”

“Daniel can make up his own mind.” Taking her arm, Tucker escorted her into the hallway and toward her room. Once there, he waved the guard aside and opened the door, motioning her inside. “Until then, you’ll stick inside your room and keep your mouth shut. If you know what’s good for you.”

“But—” She barely had the word out before the door slammed shut. “Now that was just plain rude.”

Lauren was telling him the truth. After hearing Mysta’s side, Daniel believed her. The more he spoke with Lauren the less he could imagine her as a killer. And if she was telling the truth about Mysta, then more than likely she was telling the truth about Torrie.

Could he get past her involvement in Torrie’s death knowing that John had misled her, had trained her to hate shifters before she knew the facts? Wasn’t she a victim of John’s hatred, too? After all, once she’d recognized that a human still existed in its werewolf’s body, she’d realized her mistake and had changed. He poured a drink of vodka and swished the clear liquid around the glass, studying the drink as though it held all his answers.

Could he forgive Lauren for killing Torrie? He swallowed, letting the sting of the alcohol course down his throat. He had no doubt that Torrie would have. And now, knowing what had driven her to kill Torrie, he could see how Lauren was as much a victim as Torrie. Daniel closed his eyes and sighed. But what about Tyler? His gut told him she was telling him the truth about the missing shifter. If only they could find Tyler.

He had to set her free. Problem was, he wasn’t sure if Tucker or his pack mates would agree.

“Hey, man, don’t you know you shouldn’t drink alone?”

Tucker ambled in, his demeanor laid back, but Daniel wasn’t fooled. Tucker wanted to talk. Daniel poured his friend a drink and got ready for whatever came next.

“I don’t know what’s going on between you and that female hunter, but don’t let it cloud your judgment.” Tucker slugged back the vodka. “We depend on you to make the right decisions for the good of the pack.”

Daniel poured them another drink. Maybe he could drown the turmoil in his gut if he chugged a few more. “Are you questioning my loyalty to the pack?”

He gave Tucker a few moments to make his decision. If he decided to challenge Daniel, then big trouble was ahead.

Tucker, however, took a diplomatic route. “Come on, man. Can you blame me? You know how tricky hunters can be. And she seems smarter than most.”

“But you think she’s playing me? Why?”

Tucker stepped away, putting distance between them, a sure sign that what he needed to say wouldn’t sit well with Daniel. “It’s been a year since Torrie’s death. In that time, you haven’t let anyone, especially any female, get close to you. Then this little hunter—”

“Stop referring to her as ‘little hunter’. She has a name. Use it.” His hand tightened around the glass. “Get to the point, Tucker.”

“Fine.” Tucker dropped his glass on a nearby table. “We took Lauren hostage days ago. Which would be okay if she was just some nobody. But people like the employees at her dental office are probably starting to wonder about her. We’ve got to either come up with a better cover story or let the chips fall as they may. Or better yet, let’s do what we planned, then dump her and let her walk home. I don’t like messing up a woman any more than you do, but a few bruises won’t kill her.”

“If you touch her, you’ll pay a price.” The glass in Daniel’s hand shattered, shards cutting into the flesh. Without a sound, he picked the glass out of his hand, then wrapped it with a nearby hand towel. The pain in his palm didn’t come close to the ache in his heart.

“Damn it, man. That’s what I’m talking about, Daniel. You’re losing control of the situation. Why do you care if she gets hurt?”

“I don’t.”

“Like hell you don’t. You almost tore my head off just now. I think you’re getting too close to her, Daniel. You have to remember she’s a hunter.”

“I know she’s a hunter. You don’t have to remind me,” he grumbled, hating what Tucker said but knowing his right-hand man had hit the problem on the head. “I’m holding her so I can interrogate her some more.”

“Bullshit.”

Fangs erupted, claws extended as the two shifters confronted each other. Daniel, all alpha, dared his best friend to land the first blow. But Tucker backed off, bowing to Daniel’s authority.

“Chill, man, and remember who you’re talking to. Other than your brothers, who knows you as well as I do?”

Tucker had never used their lifelong relationship in an argument before. Daniel’s anger defused a little, making him ashamed of his actions. “No one. That’s why you need to trust me on this. The more time I spend with her, the more I learn. For the pack’s safety.”

“Okay, Daniel, if that’s what you say is happening, then that’s what’s happening. But the men are starting to talk.”

“I don’t give a damn what they say.”

“Shit. That alone scares the hell out of me.” Tucker downed his drink. “How long are you going to keep her here?”

“For as long as I want her.” He caught his mistake a second before Tucker did. “For as long as I need to.”

How had he gotten so close to Lauren in such a short time? When he’d first met her, he couldn’t stand her, had wanted her as far from him as she could get. But now? Now he didn’t know what to think or feel. If only she weren’t a hunter. If only she hadn’t helped take his mate from him.

Tucker’s tone was resigned. “Fine. Then what do we do to cover our tracks? And are you still planning on hurting her when you’re finally through
interrogating
her?”

“Let me handle it.” He instinctively trusted Lauren. But what if he was wrong? Would trusting her put the pack in danger? “I’ll have Lauren put them off.”

“And how’s she going to do that?” Tucker crossed his arms and met Daniel’s gaze, the nonverbal equivalent of a wolf challenging the pack’s leader.

Daniel shoved away the primal urge to strike the insubordinate werewolf. Only Tucker could get away with the gesture. “I’ll ask her to call them.”

Tucker’s surprise almost made him laugh. “Are you serious? Let me get this straight. You’re going to hand her a phone and say ‘pretty please’ and expect her to make the call without any problems? What if she shouts something out during the call or gives them clues about where she is?”

“She won’t do either of those things.”

“What else would she do? Invite her buddy Bobbie on a double-date with us?” Tucker grinned. “Not that I wouldn’t mind giving Bobbie a little date action. Followed up with me checking out her teeth with my tongue.”

Leave it to Tucker to take things in a different direction. “Okay, not an image I want to hold on to. No. Trust me. I can handle Lauren.”

His friend’s eyes narrowed into sly slits. “Oh, I get it. You’ve been diddling with the dentist to get on her good side. Giving her your own version of a bedside manner, huh? Hell, why didn’t you say so in the first place?”

“Nice, Tucker. Diddle? Seriously, you need to improve your vocabulary.”

“Hey, can I help it if I read classy mags?”

Daniel scoffed at his friend, whirled around and strode toward Lauren’s room with Tucker on his heels. Although Tucker had soured his disposition, he couldn’t help but notice that he grew more excited with each step closer to her. His mood grew lighter, while his shaft grew longer, thicker. He could see her waiting on her bed, reading one of the many books he’d given her or laughing at some ridiculous sitcom on the flat-screen he’d brought in for her entertainment. She’d break away from the books or the screen the moment he walked in, her face lighting up for him, sending the warmth of her smile into the coldest recesses of his heart.

The visits to see Lauren had become his favorite part of his routine. Even when they didn’t have sex, he came away from the visit feeling more alive than he had in a long time. He’d been happy for the first time since Torrie had died, and whenever he thought of letting her go, that dark cloud that had followed him for the past year reappeared, darker than before.

Daniel waved the guard to step aside, motioned for Tucker to stay outside in the hall, then swung the door wide. Instead of finding her sitting on the bed waiting for him, he saw a lump the size of her body hidden under the sheets and comforter. She was asleep? A slow grin tipped the corners of his mouth upward as he quietly closed the door behind him. Sneaking over to the bed, he fisted a bunch of comforter and yanked.

“Wake up!” Sheet and comforter flew away from him, and he jumped, landing on top of pillows—and nothing else. He reached around the bed, a silly move when he could easily see she wasn’t there. “Lauren?”

When she didn’t answer, he frowned and rolled onto his feet, then ducked to glance under the bed. Where the hell was she?

Had someone taken her? Had Bracus come back for another try? Growling at a possible betrayal, he glanced around the room, checking for any sign of a struggle. But no such sign existed. If Lauren had gone, she had left willingly. “Lauren?”

“Um, Daniel? Is that you?”

“Yeah, it’s me.” He followed the sound.

“I could use some help here.”

“Lauren?” Daniel knocked on the bathroom door. Relief flooded him along with embarrassment. He’d let his emotions take over, but now he was back in control.

“Daniel?”

“Yep. Still me. What’s wrong?” He rested his weight against the door, partially shifting to use his werewolf’s sensitive hearing. Had she fled into the bathroom, seeking refuge from danger? The hairs on the back of his neck stood at attention. “Lauren, come out of there. Now.”

“I can’t.”

“What do you mean you can’t? Just open the door. Pronto.”

“Are you the only one out there?”

Why should she care? Did she think he’d need reinforcements to knock down a flimsy little bathroom door? Like hell, he would. Even without changing all the way, he could rip it off its hinges with one hand. “What’s going on? Answer me, Lauren.”

“Uh, I’m, uh… Tell me you’re alone, okay? I’m in a slightly compromised position.”

“Fine. Yes, it’s just me. Are you alone in there?” He winced at the needy tone in his voice. But all he wanted right now was to know she was okay.

“Of course I’m alone. Do you think I invited the guard to watch me use the facilities? Sheesh. I’m not some kind of pervert.”

He smiled, reassured by her joke. “I know you’re not. But you’re also not telling me what’s going on.”

“Could you please stop playing Twenty Questions? Come in here and help me. I’m…stuck.”

“Stuck? Stuck where?” Did she fall into the toilet and get stuck? Did that really happened to people? Granted, she had a generous bottom, but he doubted it would be large enough to get her trapped by the porcelain throne. He clamped a hand over his mouth, stifling the chuckle that almost slipped out.

“Daniel, I swear to God if you’re laughing at me, I’ll…I’ll… Well, I don’t know what I’ll do, but I’ll think of something very unpleasant.”

“Is she stuck in the toilet?”

“What’s going on in here, man?”

Daniel shushed Tucker and Luca, the guard, motioning them to stay quiet as they moved from the bedroom door to stand behind him.

“I am not stuck in the toilet. Damn it, Daniel, who the hell gets stuck in the toilet? Will you please come in and help me.
Please
?”

Daniel shot the two shifters a stern look—which was hard to do while trying not to laugh—then backed up and got ready to kick down the door. Tucker, however, placed a hand on his shoulder, then gave him an all-purpose key that opened every door in the mansion. “Okay, I’m coming in. Are you ready?”

“Daniel!”

Daniel turned the lock and opened the door.

“Holy shit!”

“Wow.”

“Daniel? Daniel, are you in yet?” Lauren squirmed in the opening of the small bathroom window, her top half hanging outside into a central courtyard and her backside hinged against the sides of the window. “Daniel?”