Shifting Currents (17 page)

“How do you like being used as a fuck toy?” He growled in her ear.

“I like it,” she half laughed.

“Me too.” He smiled against her cheek and rocked them both gently.

“You’re not mad?” Relief hit her, and muscles she didn’t know that were tensed relaxed.

“That I woke up alone, yes. That you made love to me, no.”

“I was beginning to worry that I made a big mistake.”

“But you did it, anyway.” He picked up his pace, and she made a soft cry of pleasure. “Do you like this?”

“It’s different.”

“Yes,” he said. “It is. I’m glad you noticed.”

She laughed. “It feels good. You fill me up more. But I like it better in the other hole.”

“This one?” he said, reaching down to put two fingers in her again.

“Yeah,” she said shakily.

“I’m going to come inside you.”

“There’s not enough room,” she choked out as he begin to stroke faster.

“You first, though, Bethany mine. You first.” He ran his tongue over the shell of her ear and nibbled on the lobe.

“Lucas,” she screamed, her body vibrating as her body gave in to her demands, and her orgasm hit with the force of a meteor.

“Mmmm,” he groaned. “You’re going to be sore. But that’s okay. You’re not going to be doing anything in the fight but staying safe.”

Bethany opened her mouth to tell him about Vera, but he picked up the pace to an almost painful level, and she gripped the bed and rode out the waves of intensity. By the time he exploded inside her, she had trouble remembering her own name.

She vaguely recalled him lifting her in his arms and carrying them both naked to the showers. Bethany wasn’t even embarrassed by the knowing looks. She had enough sense to warm the water before it cascaded over both of them. He washed her gently, taking a great deal of time to soap her breasts and between her legs. She returned the favor. All the while he kissed her slowly, passionately, as if he couldn’t bear his mouth to be away from hers. When she began to lose the water temperature, he dried them both off and then carried her back to their compartment. He tossed her up on the top bunk and followed.

“I don’t have much time until I have to go out on patrol. I want you to stay here. The train itself will be safe.”

“Unless we run into trolls,” Bethany said, remembering what Vera said.

“Not this far east. Next leg of the trip—if there is one, we might see some.”

“What happens if this is the end of the line?” Bethany propped her head up on her elbow.

“We continue west, with or without this caravan. Unless you’ve changed your mind?”

Bethany pulled him in for a fierce kiss. “You’re not getting rid of me so easily.”

“Good.” He kissed her again, holding her tight against him. “I can’t promise about the future. I just know I want you.”

“I want you too,” she said. “In case you hadn’t realized it.”

“When you took advantage of me, that was my first clue. I would have killed anyone else who took liberties like that. But you’re my mate, and my body is yours. As yours is mine,” he growled into her ear.

Bethany ran a possessive hand up his leg and side. “What if we get separated?”

His grip tightened. “Don’t follow me. If I’m captured, don’t let them take you too.”

“I’m pretty sure if they can overpower you, I don’t stand a chance.”

“Run and hide. Go back to the Bluffs.”

“No,” Bethany said. “Not when I’m this close to my brother.”

“You don’t want to be in their hands, at their mercy. Daniel might not even be there.”

“Everyone needs Tech. It would be in their best interest not to abuse me.”

“I don’t think they care.” Lucas sighed. “But you might have a point.”

“So do we have a plan?”

“Once we get to the Nevada shore, I’ll have a better idea. Let’s just get there first. I’ve spent two years trying to get back there.”

“And you still don’t have a plan?” Bethany said.

He thwacked her on the ass. “The plan is to infiltrate the prison, free my pack, and make sure that the scientists can’t continue their work.”

“You’re going to kill them?”

Lucas didn’t answer for a bit. “Does that bother you?”

Bethany sighed. “You seem very matter-of-fact about it.”

“They deserve it. You’ll have to take my word on it.”

“I do,” she said. “I just realized that I’ve been hoping my brother is there. But if he is, he’s in trouble.” Bethany clutched at his shoulders. “What do they do to Shifters there?”

“If he survived the experiments, every day is agony.”

Tears leaked out of her eyes. “He could very well be anywhere or dead or…” Her voice caught on a sob that shook her.

Lucas held her but said nothing.

“I’m okay,” she said a few minutes later, wiping her tears with the heel of her hand.

“If Daniel isn’t there, we have a deal. I will stay with you until we find him.”

Bethany nodded. “Right.”

“And after we find him and my pack is safe, we can discuss us in a more permanent relationship.”

“Do you think we can be together? Will your pack allow it?”

“If we save them, I don’t think they’ll hold you being a Tech against you.”

Bethany snorted. “You’d be surprised.”

“I think we’ll be fine. It’s only been a few days, and I’m not bored yet.” He flashed her an easy grin.

“I want a chance,” Bethany said. “I want to be in your life.”

Lucas rubbed her back. “We’ve got things to do first. We have to get to know each other when it’s not a crisis.”

“I know.” She laid her forehead on his. “I know.”

Lisa came in after a few hours. Bethany and Lucas hadn’t been sleeping, but Bethany jumped when the door opened. For a moment, she wished she could keep him safe in the train with her, but she realized Lucas wouldn’t be caged.

“Are you two decent?”

“Does it matter?” Lucas answered back.

“No, but we’ve got to go out with the rest of the Shifters. Half of us are going on the ground, the other half in the air.”

“Which one are you?”

“Ground.”

Lucas grunted. “I’ll go with you.”

“I was hoping you’d say that.”

Lucas leaped from the bed and was in cougar form by the time Bethany had the blanket wrapped around her. The slowing of the train made getting down from the bunk less than graceful, but she was still able to open the door of the compartment for them and watch them leap from the train.

Bethany realized Lucas hadn’t said good-bye to her. She sighed and got dressed, feeling abandoned yet not really understanding why. It figured. She found the man of her dreams, and they might not live out the week.

Luckily, Lem had plenty of work for her to do to keep her mind off her love life. Even better, none of it involved her channeling energy through her body. She helped serve dinner to the remaining caravan members and clean up afterward. And in keeping busy, she almost missed the first attack on the train. What she thought was just railroad sounds turned out to be the first wave.

“Get down on the floor.”
Vera’s voice compelled her to hit the deck without thinking. The tinkling of glass as rifle fire exploded into the kitchen car prompted Bethany to hide under the long prep table.

“What’s going on?” Bethany said.

The brakes on the train screeched, and anything that wasn’t bolted down—including Bethany—slid hard and fast into the front of the car. She banged her shoulder hard and twisted to avoid a falling shelving unit. Covered with cornmeal, Bethany dragged herself free.

“They blocked the tracks.”

“The Shifters were supposed to clear the way,” Bethany said. “Can you see Lucas?”

“I can’t see much of anything. But we’re here. At Bellevue station.”

“I don’t hear any more gunfire,” Bethany said. But she did hear running feet and shouted orders to hold ground.

“Want to go out and look around?”
Vera asked.

“I’m not much in a fight.”

“If they can’t see you, they can’t shoot you.”

“I’ll stay here, thanks,” Bethany said, trying to hide among the debris.

“You may be able to see Lucas,”
Vera taunted.

“That’s not playing fair.”

“All you have to do is concentrate on my voice. I’m going to direct you. Just follow me. I’ll pull you and then you pull me and then we’ll be free.”

“This is the dumbest thing I’ve ever done.”

“Come to me, now.”

Bethany closed her eyes as her arms and legs jerked.

“Not with your body. That’s just useless meat. See the waves? Like the radio waves?”

“No, I feel them, though.”

“Push into them. Be the music.”

Bethany thought about songs and which ones made her float free and away from her problems. Her portable media player flared up and started to shuffle through songs. “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic” flitted up.

“Get serious,”
Vera said.
“Get angry. Get moving.”

“I can’t,” Bethany said.

“Focus. Concentrate.”

But Bethany couldn’t do it.

There was roaring, and the gunfire started up again. This time from inside the train.

“Are they boarding us?” Bethany said.

“Everyone’s leaving the train.”

The train rocked as an explosion hit. The briny smell of bleach hit her again. “Oh no,” Bethany said, scrambling up to her knees.

Lem pushed his way into the car. “We gotta get out of here.”

“What’s happening?” Bethany let him pull her to her feet and together they ran through the dining cars.

“They’re trying to blow up the train.”

When they got to the car connectors, Bethany saw a war going on. There were Shifters fighting nomads, and the hunters were trying to lay down covering fire.

“Where are we going?”

“To the station. Clark says we’ll be safe once we get inside the terminal.”

“I’m not sure I trust Clark.”

“What are your choices?”

Bethany sighed. “I’ve got to grab my things.”

“No time.” Lem started to strong-arm her off the train.

“I’ll be right back,” she said, twisting away and running through the compartments.

“What’s worth your life?”

“My daddy’s gun and bullets.”

Lem sighed. “Okay, I’ll go see if I can find Jesse and Karen. You get inside the terminal. Don’t make me come looking for you. We’ll be right behind you.”

Bethany put on a burst of speed and made it back to her compartment. She refused to look at the bodies in the corridor. There was blood, but no one was moving. The gunfire had stopped, and she was able to take all her gear and Lucas’s in quick movements. She jumped off the platform that she and Lucas had made love on and hit the rough cement. Concentrating on being as inconspicuous as possible, she ran for the terminal.

A woman with many piercings in her face whooped and tried to swipe her head off with a crude rock hammer. Bethany shot her in the chest and sidestepped around her. Reaching out with her senses, Bethany felt the station humming as Vera tried to push some power. With a grunt, she shot a load of power that lit up the night with floodlights and whooping alarms. The distraction was enough that she was able to shoot her way into the station.

The station was half of a building with a great crater leading down into tunnels. Wires, junked cars, and other debris piled to make a barrier. Bethany headed past rusted metal, leapt over piles of crates. Once she was behind cover, she cut off the energy, dropping everything into darkness. She hoped the Shifters could use the distraction to their advantage.

Running deeper into the terminal, she turned on the floor lights and the ventilation system. She saw her human friends enter the station. She, waved them into the tunnel she was in.

“Can you keep the lights on?” Karen asked.

Bethany nodded and sat down to get closer to the electronics. She felt Vera calling to her, but her voice was distant. The station was like a dormant volcano, and she was the catalyst. Freeing energy into the subterranean wires started the central air system and the power doors. More people flooded in from the train as new entrances came live.

“Don’t leave me,”
Vera wailed.

Bethany’s body twitched, and she felt blood spurt out her nose. Then she was free, floating above the station. She looked down on her body, looking so still. Lem and Jesse were clutching each other. Karen guarding all of them with a nasty-looking crossbow. Drifting down the corridors humming with energy, Bethany fired up a few electric engines on rusted trucks. With a push, they spurted forth, and she gloried in the power as she piloted them through the main doors, surprising a group of nomads off their feet. Bethany lost control of the trucks, and they idled.

“Over here.”

Bethany darted toward the voice and saw Vera for the first time. She was chained to the train, a willowy blonde with hooded dark eyes and nightmarish scars all over her naked body.

“Free me.”

“How?”

“Pull. Break them.”

Bethany yanked them, but nothing happened.

“Not like that. Come closer.”

Bethany drifted so they were nose to nose.

“Like this.”

Vera attached her mouth to hers, and the world exploded. Chains flew everywhere, and in the bowels of the tunnel, an electric engine train fired its cylinders. Laughing, Vera grabbed her hand.
“Let’s go into the trucks you’ve brought us.”

“I don’t know what to do.”

Vera gathered her energy around her, thrusting Bethany into the engine, and just like that Bethany was the engine.

“Drive!”
Vera said and drove a tight, fast victory circle before speeding off.

Bethany flexed her mind. Felt the brake, the gas pedal, and the engine humming like her heart. She laughed and revved the engine. It was like riding her bike—no, it was like she was the bike. They frolicked around the battle, startling the nomads—chasing them away.

But then Bethany saw a familiar cougar. Lucas was lying on his side, bleeding, possibly dying. She beeped the horn until rescue came.