Outfoxed (12 page)

Before she could so much as blink, rough hands grabbed her from Miles and gagged her. Someone shoved a needle in Miles’s neck, and she watched him shift into his cat and try to fight three men before he succumbed to the drugs they’d given him. Then a blindfold dropped over her eyes.

She fought hard and almost managed to get away before more hands stilled her.

“And aren’t you a pretty one,” someone with hot breath said into her ear, just before he handed to her to another set of large, mauling hands inside the vehicle next to them. A set-up from the get-go. Poor Miles. She hoped he hadn’t been overly hurt. If they’d drugged him, they probably meant to do more damage before they killed him. But until they found another place to do said damage, she and Miles would have time to make a getaway.

The Shifter next to her rubbed her ass and groped her breasts when she squirmed to escape, before someone in the front seat ordered him to be patient
.
Then the bastard sat her down next to him and licked her neck, warning he’d bite if she didn’t stop moving.

She froze, annoyed with his laughter.
I’m so going to hurt this one.
While they drove away, her fox planned and strategized. Oh yeah. These fuckheads were going to rue the day they’d ever grabbed the wrong girl.

Miles didn’t know how much time had passed before he came to. He remained a cat, his front and back paws tied together, trussed up like a hapless herbivore. Though his shoulder hurt like a bitch, and he had a bad feeling the bullet had lodged in the bone, he forced himself to shift back to human, so slowly, so silently, that no one would know. The dickheads in the car with him were smaller cats, so they wouldn’t have thought about such a size difference when shifting. But his human bones were significantly smaller than his feline ones. A plus when needing to escape.

In the dark of what he presumed to be the trunk of a car, he rode over bumps and gravel. Still dizzy yet finally free of the ropes holding his wrists tight, he ignored the pain and freed his ankles as well. The scent of blood filled the trunk, and he realized he’d been shot in the upper thigh too.

But that wasn’t the worst of it. They’d taken an innocent woman. Gabby Easton. Miles wasn’t happy, but Grady would gut any male that stood between him and his mate. Miles smiled, for once glad of Grady’s tenacity.

Now he just had to escape to help Grady hunt down and kill the pricks responsible. But Ronnie was his. All his…

He found the release for one of the back seats and pushed, not surprised by the laziness of the mountain lion driving the car. His partner had fallen asleep, not keeping an eye on the back as he should have. Miles gritted his teeth and shifted to cat.
Oh fuck.
The bullet lodged deeper into the bone.

The driver cursed seconds before Miles tore his throat out. Then Miles managed to disarm the now-awake partner before the car crashed into a tree.

He forced himself to stay conscious long enough to restrain their only source of information, but it was touch and go.

He blinked his eyes open to see Grady’s furious face as the great cat loomed over him.

Grady quickly turned back into a man. “Miles?”

“They have her, Grady. Have to…find her. Use him.” Miles lolled his head in the direction of the swearing lion he’d duct-taped to a tree.

“Hold on, damn it.”

Spots danced before Miles’s eyes.

Grady disappeared and reappeared on the other side of him. “Don’t move.”

“C-can’t.” Miles felt cold. Oh crap. He was going into shock. He had to warn Grady. “Ronnie…will hurt her. Find her. Go. No…time. Loves you.”

Grady’s features softened. “I know. The only reason I’m not kicking your ass for helping her is I deserved it. Well, and you look like shit. No challenge in it for me.”

Miles managed a laugh that turned into a weak cough.

“At least you’re not coughing blood.”

Pressure on his leg hurt almost as bad as the throbbing in his shoulder.

“Hell. You shifted with the bullet in you. Bad move, Miles. That’s gonna hurt like a bitch to come out.” Another pause. “Okay. They’re here. You hold on, you arrogant bastard. No way am I standing in as big brother for your troublemaking sisters. You’re not going anywhere yet.”

He heard more voices, then nothing. But he didn’t worry about Gabby anymore, not now that Grady had come to save his mate.

Chapter Eight

Gabby wanted to spit she was so mad. She’d been through shit with Hunters a few months ago. From them she expected callous treatment. But from her own kind? And cats at that?

“This one’s a natural redhead, I’ll bet. Nice rack. And did you see that ass?” one of them said—the one with grabby hands.

Others laughed. Four males, from what she heard and sensed.

“She’ll do,” the leader, Ronnie, commented as if she were of no import. Just something to tide him over until something better came along. “But she’s not the one he wants. Stacey Bermin. You make sure everyone knows not to touch her. Lex is saving her for something special.”

“Sure thing, Ronnie.”

“Radio the others.” He paused. “But make sure they don’t dump Miles. Lex needs to teach the cat a lesson in front of the pride. Rebellion won’t be tolerated.”

“Right, boss.”

Please. If Ronnie was anyone’s boss, she was sleeping with Miles. The asshole had the weakest voice and scent she’d ever experienced. So…mousy.

The fox within twitched with amusement.

She stretched, intentionally arching her back to emphasize her breasts. For once, she thanked the Maker for being generous.

A few whistles told her she’d been noticed.

She couldn’t see much light beyond the blindfold. Considering she and Miles had spent an hour at the Fox’s Henhouse, she knew the sun must have set. Which would have been advantageous if she hadn’t been with Shifters who could scent her and hunted best at twilight.

If she waited much longer to escape, she’d be too far out from Cougar Falls to get any help. Not that she didn’t know the others would come for her, but she’d rather be found sooner than later, especially with these yahoos drooling over her.

Remembering what had once worked for her with Hunters, she used the same distraction now. Namely, her body.

“Look, I don’t know what’s going on, but I’m not a part of it.”

“You are now.” She recognized Ronnie’s voice.

“But I don’t want to be. Let me show you how uninteresting I really am. Once you see me, the real me, you’ll know you’re making a huge mistake. Let me convince you.” She awkwardly unfastened the top buttons of her blouse, her bound hands making it difficult to function.

“Fuck, yeah.” A few of them were loud in their agreement, but Ronnie remained mute.

Then he said, “Fine. But don’t try anything, sweetheart. Blow the boys and we’ll see if we can’t manage to lose you for a while. My brother doesn’t have to know.”

Like she really believed he’d let her go. But she smiled. “I knew you were smart.” She sat, docile, while every bone in her body demanded she tear into the creeps touching her all over.

The blindfold lifted, and she made note of two men behind her in the far back seat. One sat next to her, while Ronnie and the driver were in the front. Five cats, not four. Shit.

“Take it off, sweet thing.”

The dickhead next to her would be the first to feel her wrath. She held out her hands and let him cut the rope from her wrists. Then she removed her clothing, forcing herself not to flinch at the heavy weight of so many gazes on her body, of the rough hands stroking her shoulders, her breasts, her thighs.

Had she not been so angry, she might have feared the worst. But Gabby had too much fight in her not to go down swinging. She sidled closer to the Shifter next to her and crawled into his lap, getting closer to the door.

The driver had slowed, and when she bent lower to nuzzle the idiot’s cheek, she noted her whereabouts. Perfect.

With one hand, she braced against the door near the lock, while with the other she dug between her body and his, reaching for the iron bar beneath his pants.

“She feels good,” he narrated in a thick voice. “Lean back and let me suck your tits.”

“How about you lean back so I can let that monster out of your pants? I think he needs some attention, don’t you?”

The others hooted, and she swore to herself she’d never look at another online porn site as long as she lived if she made it out of here alive. Because this was as close as she ever wanted to get to group sex, real or virtual.

“Good idea.”

Yeah, I’m full of them.

He let go of her and fumbled with the snap of his jeans. The SUV slowed even more as the driver continued to look more in the rearview than at the road. Even Ronnie had turned around in his seat.

Anticipation filled her. The car door remained unlocked. Her hand had reached the handle.

“Suck it, bitch.”

Oh that was it. The B word.

“You bet.”

She started her shift and raked claws over his erection at the same time she yanked open the door and flew out. She fell onto a furry body, a nimble fox that could take a beating and run like lightning.
“Suck this, bitch,”
she yapped back at the SUV, aware she didn’t have time to dawdle.

The vehicle jerked to a stop, and the door flew open to show four furious Shifters in various states of undress while the fifth howled like a damn dog, crying in pain as he fell out onto the ground. Not too far behind, another vehicle came barreling down after them. Hell, more Miami cats?

“She’s a fucking fox?” Ronnie sneered. “I thought she was a cat. Dumbass. You grabbed the wrong woman!” He smacked the injured man and kicked him in the crotch, adding to his pain.

She only wished she’d smashed his testicles too on the way out. Turning, she raced back toward Cougar Falls, dodging her way in and out of the forest to leave a fox’s scent. She couldn’t wait to shift into her cat. Between the cat, the fox and the woman, she planned to run rings around them. Which would give her rescuers enough time to find her and get her the hell out of Dodge.

She hoped.

Cats screamed, and she ran faster.
Grady Chastell, move your ass!

Grady followed the eagle in the sky, thankful for Sean Whitefeather’s direction. The bird turned after circling and landed on the hood of his truck.
“She’s about three miles west. I spotted around ten cats, but there could be more. You want help?”

Having known and been reluctant friends with Sean for years, Grady had no problem hearing him. “You bet your ass. Go back and let Burke know what you found. We’re worried there might be more trying to make a move on the pride.”

“Outstanding. Time to clean up a few naughty pussies. I’ll grab my brothers.”
Sean screeched with glee and took off again, his seven-foot wingspan impressive in the extreme.

Not to be outdone, Grady whipped the vehicle back on the road and onto a dirt path that would cut a good mile off the distance.

“Hurry up,” Dean urged from the passenger side and embraced his animal spirit.

Behind him, Ty and Monty sat already shifted, a silver fox and a gray wolf, ready to race to Gabby’s rescue. At times like these, Grady loved the pride more than anything. His family, his blood. Cat or not, all the men in this truck were loyal to the bone. Not to discount the females, who’d stayed on the ranch to protect the more vulnerable, pregnant members of the pride. Grady would have liked them to come along, but they couldn’t afford the distraction. They’d suspected there might be more than the four or five cats Miles had seen. With Burke and Rachel in charge at home, he had no fear Lex’s pride would get their claws into anyone without losing a few limbs.

He hurried to a stop when he came to the point where the SUV could go no farther, at the base of a large hill covered in trees. Already naked, he leaped out of the car, shifting faster than he’d ever shifted before. Then he inhaled and followed his nose—he’d know Gabby anywhere. He yowled for her to let her know he was on his way.

The urge to kill overwhelmed, to protect his mate and warn others never to even think of harming her again.

He vaguely heard the others behind him, his focus intent on the feline scent entangled with his own. It stopped and started in odd places, and he realized he’d crossed her tracks several times. The woods here were thick, but if he ran a mile east, he’d be on flat, visible ground again, away from the trees and hills.

She had to be in here somewhere. Then he realized his intelligent mate was playing with her enemy. Vulpine spoor hit him, a fox’s scent, then a cat’s. The woman’s too, he noted as he saw smaller human footprints near a tree.

He grinned, impressed, though he knew her well enough to expect Gabby to exceed his expectations. A few low rumbles and coughs signaled cats nearby. Without waiting for the others to catch up, he raced forward.

He attacked without warning and ripped out the back tendon of the first cougar. When another jumped at him, a barking fox dove on top of his opponent and nipped through his ear. She jumped away before the cat turned on her. Then Grady was there, screaming and hissing and tearing with claws and teeth.