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Authors: Mel Favreaux

Shadow Walker (24 page)

BOOK: Shadow Walker
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Catching the rifle, he caught her gaze again. “I’ll cover you on the way out.”

“Dean…” She began to argue but stopped when she saw the raw determination in his eyes. His best friend had just died, and this was the best she could give him. “Let’s go.”

He gave her a quick grin and stepped back from the doorway, letting her pass. Dean followed her through the house to the back door, switching off the lights as they went. Pausing with his hand on the knob, he turned to her.

Amber leaned into him without a word, sliding her hands up his chest and around the back of his neck; pulling his mouth down to hers. Taking in a deep breath of him, she was slow to pull back. “I love you.”

“I love
you
,” Dean whispered back, a deep line creasing his forehead; showing his worry. His jaw ticked when he scanned the grounds beyond the back door. “You ready?”

She nodded, and Dean shoved the door open and stepped out with the M4 held out in front of him, quickly scanning the area.

“Go, go, go!”

Leaping out onto the patio and shifting into the Tigress, she went.

* * * *

Dean watched her bound off into the garden and closed the door. Placing his hand against the glass he whispered, “Come back to me.”

Gripping the rifle in his hand, he ground his teeth.

Terry.

That bastard would pay for what he’d done. Too many people were out for his blood. He was certain the sun would not rise before Elan’s head was taken.

Turning, he made his way back into the living room. His father was barricading the doors and windows.

“Is there any way to block up those windows in the kitchen?”

“No, we already checked, aside from taking bookshelves out of the libraries and it would take longer to do that.” Dean walked over and turned him to assess possible injury. “Dad, there was blood on her forehead.”

He cleared his throat. “I know, that was my fault. I pushed her out of the way.”

“And took the bullets for her?”

“I knew the Kevlar could handle it. We shoot silver, son. You know that.”

Dean felt his knees weaken and his eyes stung with tears. “Thank you.”

His father smiled and clasped a hand on his shoulder. “Any time.”

Aaron and Dori were pushing some of the over-plush couches into the hallway, following Casey’s lead, trying to block off a couple of the hallways, limiting entrances, and exits.

“Once this is done, I want you two to go up to the library on the second floor. There are no windows in there and barricade yourselves in,” she said, tipping the enormous couch onto its end crossing one of the hallways.

When Casey turned to him, Dean saw her eyes weren’t their normal emerald shade anymore. He was looking into the eyes of the Silver Wolf.

“Sis?”

She blinked and gave him a wry smile. “It’s okay, Dean. She’s just…watching, for now.”

“Should we be worried?”

“I don’t think so. I’m not.” Checking the sturdiness of the barrier, she seemed satisfied and went up the stairs after Aaron and Dori.

“Dad?”

“I saw son. I have a feeling we’re going to see history in the making tonight.”

 

Chapter Twenty-Six

 

Amber bound into the garden, trying to track Braedyn. He’d run the entire gamut and back a few times. She had a hard time finding the most current scent. There was Pierre’s and another that was unfamiliar. It must be Elan’s final cohort. She crept along, alert for any movement.

Backtracking, Elan’s scent crossed the opposite path.

Opening up the link, the Tigress called for the Alpha.
“Braedyn?”

“Elan’s here,”
came his immediate response.
“I lost track of him in the garden. I think he’s gone toward the house. Where are you?”

“The garden.”

“Stay there.”

The Tigress turned and looked back at the mansion. She was far enough away to only be able to see the second and third stories over the garden wall. Everything in her screamed to go back.

When she turned away, it felt like every muscle in her body froze.

“Tigress.”

It was the Silver Wolf. Amber knew that one word spoke volumes and it was enough to break the Alpha’s mandate. Turning, she dove through the garden, forgoing the trails, and leapt the fence. Barreling toward the mansion, she picked up Elan’s spoor again and ground her teeth. The bastard
had
slipped past them.

“He’s in the house!”
she projected to both the Alpha and the Silver Wolf.

The balcony door was open on the second floor and Amber knew without a doubt Casey, Dean, and Peyton had made sure everything was secured. Reaching the same trellis she’d climbed a few nights before, her transformation was quick and she scaled it again.

Her heart thudded. Panic…this was something she’d hoped to never feel again. When she reached the balcony, her knees buckled and her vision waivered. The colors changed, becoming brighter and more vibrant. What she saw was not the room in front of her, but the hallway of the third floor.

She shook her head and was overcome by vertigo, tripped over her own feet, and stumbled to the floor.

“What the hell…?” Putting a hand to her head, she closed her eyes. The too bright vision became clear again. She could hear fast paced breathing and feel panic that was not her own.

“Calm down.”

The command was from the Silver Wolf. Amber’s nerves settled and the feeling that had overcome her, eased.

“Relax our sister in souls. We need your knowledge and experience with the young Walker.”

Her stomach roiled and vision waivered when she tried to gain her feet. “How can I help if I can’t see or walk straight?”

Warmth spread through her. Amber leaned back against what she guessed was Aaron’s bed and closed her eyes.

The hallway was dark but the too bright colors made the shadows recede in deep hues of blue and purple. Fine hairs on the back of her neck rose and she turned, the vision in the hall turning with her. It finally made sense, she was seeing through Casey’s eyes.

Once more she tried to rise and her head swam. Dropping back to a knee, Amber took a few deep breaths. She couldn’t leave Casey to deal with Elan on her own.

“And that is why you are here,”
the Silver Wolf said.
“Let us draw from your knowledge rather than your strength.”

Scooting to the door, she opened it and leaned against the jam. “Elan will make small mistakes if he thinks it will draw attention. Don’t go for the obvious.” Opening her eyes, she peered out into the second floor hall. Everything tilted.

She broke out in a sheen of perspiration. Swallowing back the bile that rose, Amber gave in and closed her eyes.

The too bright colors swam into focus again, and she concentrated, approaching it like meditation. Warmth spread over her again. This seemed like a gentle stroke of affection.

“Now?”
It was Casey’s voice she heard rather than the Silver Wolf’s.

They crept down the hall together. Amber could feel her friend shaking. A combination of fear, determination, anger, and fierce protection radiated through her. It was a heady combination that even staggered her own strong will. No wonder the Silver Wolf had chosen her.

Casey was about twenty feet from the end of the hall that led to the front of the house and sitting room that opened to the entryway. Elan’s scent was strong. Her hands shook. She strove for control.

“Don’t fight it,”
Amber urged, after heeding it herself.

“Release yourself and you will come to no harm,”
the Silver Wolf explained.

“I don’t know what I am doing,”
Casey whined, afraid.

“Yes, you do. Relax and let us help you. I’m here Casey.”
Amber opened her eyes for a moment, long enough to see which end of the hall she needed and closed them again. On hands and knees, she moved down the hall, and then stopped when it felt like electricity arced through her body. It was similar to what was felt when allowing the Tigress to take control without the shift. The pain Casey had to deal with was tremendous…

If even possible, her vision grew clearer once she allowed the Silver Wolf’s control. There was movement at the end of the hall.

Amber opened her eyes, battling the wave of nausea to see how close the end of the hall she was. Eighty feet. Wobbling to her feet, she tried to make it to the stairway. Grinding her teeth against the queasiness, eyes closed, she felt along the wall.

There was commotion downstairs, Braedyn rushing through the house. Shouts that the house had been penetrated.

Concentrating on Casey, Amber pushed all other distractions from her mind. Even the press of the Alpha when he tried to command her to come.

The over opulent Technicolor shades shifted.
“He’s there,”
Amber projected.

Elan stepped out into the hall and smiled. “I was afraid there for a moment I wouldn’t be able to cause any more damage. Guess I was wrong,” he sneered and lunged.

Casey slid back, bringing her knee up at the same time. Turning to the side, she slammed it into Elan’s ribs. There was an audible crack, and he lurched away. Grinding his teeth, eyes glowing golden, he charged. Grabbing her by the throat, he pinned her to the wall.

“I should rip your throat out and be done with you now,” he growled in her ear.

Amber ground her teeth and started in a blind run for the stairs. Afraid to open her eyes and lose her vision, she felt Casey’s airway close. Then…fire spread through her and her vision turned blood red.

With a feral growl, Casey raised her arms and drove her elbows down into Elan’s biceps, once, twice, a third time, breaking his hold. Dropping into a crouch, she rose and thrust both of her hands into his chest—a double palm thrust. He slammed into the wall, his head rebounding in an interesting staccato while his body slid to the floor. With a growl, Elan regained his feet, angling his back to the staircase.

From experience Amber knew he was calling for his weapon.
“Sword!”
She grew frustrated when her friend just kept looking back and forth between the banister at the end of the hall and Elan’s face.

What the hell is she thinking?

“Pull your damn sword!”
With a growl, Amber shook her head. Opening her eyes, she ran for the stairs. When she reached the end, the crashing splinter of the banister overhead reverberated through the house.

Turning, she saw in that moment of total weightlessness, Casey head-butting Elan while he grabbed for purchase. Dean and Peyton had their rifles raised. Braedyn was heading up the staircase from the first floor. There was a sickening crunch of Elan’s nose, and a moment later, he crashed through the enormous coffee table. The blonde, however, had managed a more graceful landing to the couch and sprang to her feet.

Before she could blink, Casey had called on her sword and stood over him.

“You bitch!” he roared. A fragment of the table protruded from his chest.

She bared her teeth. “I am one now!” With a growl, her sword swung in an arc, and Elan’s head thudded to the floor.

Amber’s feet never stopped moving as she vaulted over the banister to the first floor and was the first to the Alpha female’s side.

Casey turned, dropping to her knees. “I killed him,” she gasped.

Grabbing onto her shoulders, Amber shook her. “It’s okay. It’s over. You did it. Not
exactly
what I was trying to get you to do, but it worked.”

The blonde gave a wry chuckle. “I didn’t think I’d be fast enough.” The shock of what she’d done began to settle across her features.

Knowing she needed to bring Casey around and fast, Amber did the only thing she could.

Give her hell.

“So diving off the third floor seemed like a better idea?” she asked, raising a brow.

“At the time.” Her friend shrugged.

Amber grinned. “It was an
awesome
landing.”

Casey laughed and blinked back the tears. “Thank you.”

“Always.” Feeling tears prick her eyes, she cleared her throat and hugged her. “Always,” she repeated again.

 

Chapter Twenty-Seven

 

This was not a trip she’d wanted to make, but after what they’d been through, she couldn’t let Dean fly across the country without her. Amber blinked at the near tropical warmth of sunny southern Florida. Though it was still early winter, it sure felt far from that to her.

“Got your bag?” Dean asked, lifting his.

She smiled. “I’ve got it.”

He reached over and took her hand while they weaved through the airport. “I rented a car so we wouldn’t have to fight with cabs. Terry’s house is off the beaten path.”

Terry.

They were here to deliver the news of his death to his widow. Dean carried Terry’s ashes in a beautiful urn, a special one only used by the Guardians made of iron and copper. This wasn’t a vacation or joyful getaway. They were here to explain to a wife that her husband was in an urn and to a four-year-old girl that her father wasn’t coming home.

Because Dean knew Terry’s wife and daughter, he felt more inclined to be the one to come and console them. Debra Hallman had an inkling of what her husband did for a living, but had never pressured them to discuss it. All she knew was they worked for a private security firm, but the look in her eyes told them all she was far from fooled.

Amber sat in the passenger seat holding the box that contained Terry’s corporeal remains. Over and over again, she went through what they were going to say. Her stomach was in knots. These people were strangers to her, but there was no way she was going to let Dean do this on his own.

The ocean appeared at brief intervals along the winding route Dean took. She was surprised when he turned down a dirt road that flanked the water, and then pulled into the driveway of a cute little yellow house with a white picket fence. A terrier mutt was running around the front lawn playing with a dark-haired little girl. Amber’s heart stuttered when it struck home—she carried in her lap what was left of
her
father.

BOOK: Shadow Walker
4.71Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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