Impassable Force: Force of Nature Series (3 page)

“I was told she had to die and
I was gonna be paid a good deal of money to help her along to her side of hell.” That was too easy, and he nearly told him that when he looked up and saw Jodie. She winked at him. “I don’t know who told me to do it. I was just told to come here and kill her and I’d get a shit ton of money. And if I did it this morning before she was settled, he’d double it.”

“You know I had this under control.”
Jodie shrugged and smiled at him. “Why were you here? Checking up on me or something?”

“Nope. I had to come
and see a man about a victim and saw you coming in. You looked like you wanted to kill somebody, and I didn’t have time to come and bail you out. And so you know, I would have but I would have given you a hard time about it. So I thought I’d follow you.” He nodded and moved when an officer came up behind him. “Sent some guys in to help out too. I figured you didn’t have time to take him downtown and fill all the shitty paperwork that comes with it, and I asked this nice officer to come along and catch the bad guy for you.”

“You could have asked.”
Again she shrugged. “I’m going to see the girl. Phil said she’s awake. Wanna come with me?”

Jodie fell into step beside him. He was going to miss her. She was
the perfect woman he thought his brother needed. Strong and full of piss and vinegar, as Nancy was always saying. He looked over at her and marveled again that she was simply not what she seemed.

“How about I give you the ability to read other people
’s minds?” He nearly missed a step when she asked him that. “It would save you a good deal of time.”

Before he could answer her
, she reached out and touched her fingers to his forehead. Suddenly, he found himself bent over with his hands on his knees. She’d knocked him for a loop.

“I didn’t answer you.” She laughed. “Fuck, Jodie, I don’t w
ant this shit. Take it back. I’m pretty sure I don’t want to know what other people are thinking.”

“Probably not
, but it’s too late now.” He looked up at her. “You should also know that I gave you a little more, too. Shit, you’re gonna hate me until you get used to it. Call it a…wedding gift.”

“I’m pretty
sure I gave you a wedding gift, and I don’t want this. Seriously, take it back.” She laughed as she moved down the hall. He wanted to strangle her. He was going to talk to Reid, who would take this mind-reading shit from him. At least he hoped he would.

The
girl’s room looked like someone had destroyed it. The bed had been turned over and there was liquid everywhere. The nurse on the floor was dead, and there was blood all over the floor and walls. A curtain had been pulled down, too, and there was a bloodied handprint on it as well. Whoever had killed her had not been very neat about it. He looked at Jodie when she cleared her throat.

“The girl, do you know where she was moved to?”
He told her to the third floor. “That guy, do you think he would have done this?”

“
He didn’t smell like this room.” That was enough for Jodie, who reached out and touched the girl’s neck. Randy could smell the wolf in the room. And he was no one he’d had contact with.

“Her neck is broken
, and then whoever it tore her throat out. Can you tell if it was wolf or something else?” She looked up at him when he didn’t answer her. There was something else here, something he didn’t understand. When she said his name, he looked at her.

“What if I told you that I
can’t tell what was in the room?” She looked around and then back at him as he continued. “There are several…tiger, panther, and vampire, but none of them were here with anger.” He could smell that as well as he could their species.

“I can only smell
antiseptic. And the blood. I’ve also called Reid. He’s dealing with an emergency at the clinic and will be here soon.” She stood up and went to the turned over bed. “Do you think this was destroyed because she wasn’t here?”

They moved toward the door as one. It was time to check on Miss Barker. They were headed up the stairs to the room when an alarm went off. Putting on some speed
, they burst through the door to the right floor just as a man fired a gun their way. Randy pulled his out and shot back just as Jodie shifted to her hawk. This was too dangerous to think about humans seeing them.

“Where the fuck is she?”
Randy watched Jodie fly toward the man as he continued to yell down the hall. From where he was standing, Randy could see three bodies, all of them shot in the head, as well as a plethora of meds from a cart that was overturned. He didn’t know this man either but reached out to his mind. Christ.

He wasn’t here for Miss Barker but for his wife
, who had tried to leave him. And he was going to kill everyone until he got to her. Some people didn’t deserve to have someone in their corner. It was another reason why he’d never look for his mate.

Just as Jodie
swooped down to his face, Randy came out from behind the door he’d been behind and shot the man in the head. He dropped like a stone. Randy didn’t stop moving as he made his way to room three nineteen. Jodie shifted and was right on his heels. Reid joined them just before they entered the room.

Randy was stopped by one of the security officers before he could enter the room. They wanted his gun
, but he wasn’t ready to give it up just yet. Instead of giving it up, he hit him in the nose and moved around him. Some things were just too important to let go, he thought with a laugh.

~~~

Molly didn’t have any way to defend herself, and even if she did have her gun, she wasn’t all that sure she could have lifted it. The woman and man standing in front of her made her think even if she was armed, there was no way she could beat them. Closing her eyes against the wave of pain, she spoke to them.

“There isn’t anyone in here but me. There was a nurse in here
, but she ran out when the first shot was fired. I tried to make her stay, but she thought she was going to be able to help anyone that was hurt.” Molly peeked at the woman when she spoke. “I’m sorry. I don’t know if it’s the drugs or what, but my hearing is a little off.”

“I said there are four nurses in the hall that were killed. The shooter too. You hurt?” Molly just glared at her. “Okay, stupid question. Did the asshole out there hurt you?”

“No. No one in this hospital did.” Molly looked at the man as he continued to stare at her. “The man out there, was he coming for me, too? Did he work for Carter?”

“Not that I’m aware of.
Randy, my brother-in-law, and I were on our way to see you when the asshole in the hall started shooting at us. I’m Jodie Atkins and this is Reid Atkins, my husband.” Jodie put out her hand, and Molly was embarrassed to see that she missed it twice before she was able to grasp it. The drugs were playing hell with her.

“My sister. Since no one will tell me shit, I’m assuming she died.”
Jodie looked at the man, and she did too. He nodded once before he spoke. Molly wasn’t sure she wanted to hear what he had to say, but something he did say made her pause.

“
Did you say that Carter is gunning for me? I’m pretty sure he’s the one that shot me in the first place. He…Mary was leaving him.” Her heart hurt for her sister, and she wanted the couple to go away so she could grieve. And plan. She was going to kill the motherfucker if it was the last thing she did.

“You can’t do that.” She looked at the man. “Kill him
, I mean. If you do then you’ll go to prison, and where will that leave you.”

“What do I have left
now?” She looked at the wall opposite to where they were. “I’d really like to be alone now. And if you could see your way to the nurse’s station, I’d really like to have a pain pill about now or whenever things settle down around here.” Jodie nodded, but the man just stood there. “Is there something else? Do you want to, I don’t know, question me about the guy or something?”

“
Not just yet. But you smell of wolf and panther, did you know that?” She looked at Jodie again, and Molly could see the humor there. Before she could tell them to get the hell out, someone else came into the room and Molly felt as if the room got considerably smaller. The man standing there looked like he’d just stepped off the pages of a centerfold and had sadly dressed again.

“Phil is on his way here.” The name made her think of something but was gone before she could hold onto it. The man looked over at her
, and she assumed he was Randy, the brother-in-law. “Miss Barker? How are you?”

“Just peachy. Can’t you tell?”
He grinned at her, and when he stepped forward, she had a feeling that he was going to take her hand, too, but he stopped suddenly and looked at her hard. “What?”

He didn’t move
, but he did glance at Reid. The exchange between the two men was profound, and Molly felt as if she had missed something…something really important. When he took a step back, she looked at Jodie, who was staring at her like she’d just discovered she was there. These people were just too strange to handle right at the moment.

“You
can’t be.” Molly looked at Randy and tried to sit up. Okay, she’d had enough. It was time for these people to get the hell out. But he suddenly turned on his heel and left them. It was then that she realized she felt a little saddened for some reason. And that pissed her off. Molly looked at Jodie who moved toward her, taking out a Glock from the back of her pants.

“Here. I want you to have this. It’s loaded and hot.
I’ll make sure you have another few clips within the hour.” Molly took out the clip and let the round fly out when she snapped the muzzle back. She was putting it back together when she realized she was arming her. “There has just been too many people in this place wanting to shoot it to hell and back for you not to be armed. Like I said, you’ll have extras before long.”

“You
don’t think I’ll shoot someone who pisses me off? I hate hospitals.” Jodie agreed with her but said she trusted her. “If Carter or his men show up, will I be well within my rights to take him out if he comes near me?” Jodie nodded before answering her.

“Phil took care
of a restraining order for you yesterday. And there are four guards outside your room right now. Try not to shoot them if you can help it.” Jodie pulled on the cord that the nurse had told her about, and two nurses came in, one of them armed. “See these two? If anyone but them comes in before I get back, shoot them. I don’t want you to take any chances.”

Molly nodded
, and the two nurses left. As soon as Reid moved out of the room, Jodie moved to the bed again. This time Molly was a little frightened. And when Jodie spoke, Molly wanted her to laugh, too, to tell her it was a joke.

“You’re going to need to heal a good deal faster than you will on your own. I’m sorry about this.”
When her fingers touched her face, Molly felt herself tumble down a rabbit hole. There was no pain just…well, there was just nothing. And when she hit bottom, Molly settled into a deep sleep that made her think she was dead, too.

Chapter 3

Randy sat at his desk until well after the sun was at its highest part of the day. Phil had been by to see him twice before he’d gone and still he sat here.
He looked at the table he’d been using as a desk because he’d told Phil there was no reason to waste money on a desk when he wasn’t staying. He wasn’t surprised to see Austin walk into the room a few minutes later.

“I guess Reid told you.”
Austin didn’t say anything but leaned back in his chair. Randy had often wondered how a man his size could look relaxed all the time. “I’m not going to do shit about her.”

“Perhaps if you told me what you’re talking about I might be able to comment.”
Randy wasn’t falling for it and said nothing. “Not going to say it? Well, that’s fine. I’ll talk. The girl, Molly, has been moved to the clinic for now. Jodie sped up her healing process so we could bring her here. I think she’ll be safer on pack land than she will be anywhere else.”

“Phil told me.”
Randy got up, took two bottles of water out of the small refrigerator, and handed one of them to Austin. “The man who shot up the third floor is dead. He killed five people before we got to him. His wife left him a week ago and he’d only just tracked down where she was. He’d beaten her up pretty badly, but it wasn’t the first time. She’d filed for divorce three days ago. I’m guessing she is glad it’s all over too.”

Austin nodded as he took a long drink of his water.
Randy waited for him to say something about the girl but he didn’t. Not yet anyway. But he knew that he would, and Randy had already made up his mind to leave. In fact, he’d just bought his ticket to get the hell out of there before it was too late.

“Mom wants you to come over for dinner with her tomorrow. CJ and I are having dinner in town at a
board meeting and she wants the company.” Austin tossed the now empty plastic bottle in the recycling can. “And before you ask, no I didn’t say anything about Molly. Mom and the baby are all alone and she said she misses you.”

He missed her too.
Nancy Force, like all her sons, had been like his family. Nancy had treated him and his brother like her own children. Randy found himself agreeing to go over before he thought about it. Austin handed him a thick file as he got up to get another water.

“I want you to look into that for me.
I have this guy that wants to sell me his land, but I have a feeling it’s more than that. Jodie said she’d never heard of him, and he was supposed to have the property on the other side of what we purchased from her a few years ago.” Randy pulled up his real-estate contact and filled out the information he knew he’d ask for as Austin continued. “I have no idea why I have my suspicions about this, but I do.”

His computer sang when he received a reply. Randy quickly read
it over as he spoke to Austin. “With good reason I would say. The guy owes more than ten times what the property is worth in back taxes. The state is going to repo it in a few weeks, and whoever owns it will be hit with a huge fine too. And I’m sure will have to forfeit the land as part of the deal.”

“Do you think we can get it from the state?”
Randy loved looking things up and making them work. He moved through his contacts until he found the one he wanted and asked him about the property. He gave him the information he’d gotten from the taxation office in their town. In seconds he had another answer, as well as a request for some help with something from the guy at the state department.

“Carl said you can make a petition for it after the land i
s taken. He said he’d rush it through for you. Also,” Randy grinned, “he wants to know if you’re taking on any more pack. He said his alpha is retiring and he’s only heard good things about you. I can vouch for the man. He’s always been straight up with me.”

Austin nodded.
“I’ll consider it. And will you put that through for me? I need to expand again. Last week we had a group of stragglers come in and we had to put them in tents again. Did you know that there are over nine thousand pack members here?”

“You’ll need to break it up soon. If you don’t, you’ll get too big for the council and they’ll start making waves about you paying dues.” Randy didn’t look up from his computer when he heard Austin laugh
, but answered his friends question about the problem he had with a boss. “You should also know that I’ve looked into the land you asked about too. It has mineral rights on it. Carl said that if you don’t make any noise about it, the man who currently owns it won’t either. If he taps, then he might be able to get a loan to pay off the property before they seize it.”

“What I need is
another alpha to come in and take the property and some of the pack for me. I could help a man who wanted to do that.” Randy nodded. It was a good idea and he could think of all sorts of ways Austin and this other guy would work too. “If the pack I have now were to divide down the middle, it would still be a lot for a new person, but I’d train them.”

“You’d do a good job too.
And there are ways for the two of you to make sure that no one comes into the pack without proper clearance. With a pack that big, for both of you it would have to have some leadership on a lower level, one that would bring you the larger problems while they fixed the smaller ones.”

They talked for a few more minutes
, and Randy filled out the paperwork for the land. If he was correct, Austin would get it for seven cents on the dollar and make all that back in one year after the minerals were tapped into. As he was just finishing up something more for Austin, Tristian came in. He really liked Jodie’s father, but he knew when he walked in with a book that it wasn’t going to go easy.

“I need you to help me with something. When are you leaving?”
Randy looked at his ticket information and told him a week. It was the soonest he could get a flight out of their little town. And he didn’t want to drive all the way across the state to go to a bigger airport.

“I have about five days. I want to be able to close up my apartment and do some…how the hell did you know I was leaving?” When he didn’t answer him, Randy decided that the soon
er he got out of there the better. These people were up in his business too much.

“I have my ways. And so you know, I think you’re stupid if you think running from the girl will get you anything but trouble. She is gonna need you
, and running isn’t an Atkins style.” Randy didn’t say anything again, wondering how he’d gotten that information. He was going to kill Jodie when he saw her again. “I have this book. I’d very much like to lay out the laws in it in a semblance of order. You think you can do that?”

“I have five days. And whatever else you want will have to be taken care of with your daughter.”
He snorted. “She’s mad at you again. What did you do now?”

“How the hell was I supposed to
know that the new nanny hadn’t been told about what they were yet? I just asked her if she was keeping a good eye on little Trist, but oh no, she had to get all fiery with me and I just let a little magic off.” Tristian laughed. “Never seen a woman run that fast in all my life. And when she kicked off her shoes and took off across the yard, well it was all this old man could do not to chase her and see what else she’d do before she got to town. But I had the baby and I wasn’t leaving him.”

Tristan handed him the book
, and power ran up his arms. Randy looked at Tristian, who looked as surprised as he was. Randy put the book on the table and rolled his chair back from it.

“Did you know it would do that?”
Tristian shook his head. “Has anyone else touched this book and had anything happen to them?”

“Nope.
I think you’re the first. I thought you’d understand the book better than most, being a lawyer and all, but I didn’t know it would accept you.” Randy looked at the book, then at Tristian again when he continued. “Could have sworn all the spells in it were taken off. I guess it had a couple of its own.”

“I guess.”
Randy put his hand out, and the book opened before he could touch it. He looked at Tristian when he stood up. “Tristian, if you’re fucking with me, I don’t think this is the least bit funny.”

“I’m not doing it.
I swear it.” He moved to his side of the desk and looked at the page where the book opened too. “Didn’t ever see that in there either, and I’ve looked at this book a hundred times in all the years I’ve had it. Who do you suppose she is?”

Randy knew. It was the cop
…the woman from the bed. And her picture, or a drawing of her, was staring up at him as if she were standing in front of him. On the other page was him. And Randy wasn’t thrilled when Tristian thought that was as funny as he apparently thought it was.

“You can bet that’s your mate. Now when you see her you can nail her before she gets away.”
Randy didn’t say anything as the pages moved again. This time when they stopped neither of them spoke for a long time.

“I know that place, do you?”
Randy shook his head. “It’s a plot of land about ten miles from where I was hurt all those years ago. I own it. It’s one of the properties that I didn’t sign over to your bother and my Jodie. What do you suppose it means?”

Randy didn’t know
, but the book slammed shut and when he opened it, Tristian told him it was the book he’d brought in, without the extras. Tristian told him what he wanted, and Randy was too freaked out to tell him no. The book had shown them both things, and he wasn’t happy with what was there.

~~~

Molly knew the moment she opened her eyes that she was in a different place than she’d been before. First of all, this place was like a room in a very nice hotel, while the other had been a straight up hospital, and there were flowers everywhere here. When the door opened, she put her hand down on her hip and was surprised to find her gun still there.

“I’m Shari.” The nurse stood there for several seconds before she moved toward her. She had a blood pressure cuff in one hand and a clipboard in the other. “I’m here to take your vitals.
Is that all right?”

“Sure.”
Molly wasn’t taking any chances and laid the gun on the top of the sheet so she could see it. “Just don’t do anything stupid and you’ll live longer.”

Shari did her job and left soon after. Molly was sitting up in the bed a little more when she realized how much better she felt.
Almost afraid to look at her body, she was glad when she was interrupted as the door opened again. This time Jodie and the man, Reid, stood there. He sat down in the chair and Jodie on the bed.

“You feeling better?”
Molly nodded and put her hand around the butt of the gun. “You won’t need it. Not that it would do you much good anyway. There isn’t any silver in it. When I gave it to you, I didn’t know you’d be coming here. I’ll take care of that for you in a minute.”

“And just where is here?”
Neither of them answered, and she looked at Reid. “I demand to know where I’ve been taken. Or so help me, we’ll test her theory as to whether it will do me any good.”

“Force Clinic.
And you’re on pack land. Do you know what that means?” Molly shook her head as Reid continued. “A pack of weres, werewolves as a matter of fact, own this land. Officially it’s wolves, but a lot of other species come here to run when they need to get away. Austin Force is the alpha here, and we, Jodie and I, live here. For the most part. We’re away most of the…are you freaking out?”

“A little. What do you mean werewolf?”
She had a feeling she was being punked but was afraid to ask if she was. She just knew that they were going to tell her that playing a joke on her was not what they were there for. “And I understand the word alpha, but not how it pertains to Austin or whoever he is.”

“Yes you do. You understand a great deal. And the reason I know this is because you’ve seen things that you’ve tried very hard to rationalize and just couldn’t.” Molly nodded but said nothing as Reid continued.
“Your boss, Martin, he’s a wolf, too. He’s been here to see you twice and is thinking of retiring here. His wife is a wolf as well.”

“That can’t be right. They have children. I was there when they were born.”
Reid laughed as he stood up. “Don’t. I really will shoot you.”

She hadn’t picked up the gun
and wasn’t even sure she would use it on him if he did anything to harm her. She was so overwhelmed it was painful to her head. But he just pulled out his wallet and thumbed through it as he spoke softly. Molly had a feeling he was talking to her in the low, calming tones so she’d not shoot him. There was nothing for him to worry about. Right about now she was thinking she needed a stiff drink and a place to hide while she sucked on her thumb. She was too fucking overwhelmed to do much more than watch him as he handed her a picture.

“My wife and son when he was born.
See? They look just like you.” He handed her another picture. This one was of a silver and a white wolf. “My wife here and CJ. You’ll meet her later. They’re beautiful, aren’t they?”

Her fingers were trembling when she handed them back.
Sliding her hand under the sheet, she looked up at him. Reid just smiled. There was something so…she wanted to say calming, but he’d just told her he was a wolf and she didn’t think calm entered the picture.