SavageLust (20 page)

* * * * *

Cissie Lamar unsaddled her horse, removed the bridle and put
everything in the tack room.

“Good job today,” she crooned as she wiped him down and
groomed him. “You’re turning out to be really good at this.”

Checking to make sure he had everything he needed, she
backed out of the stall and closed the gate. Training a cutting horse was hard
work but something she enjoyed tremendously. She and Spence had been doing it
for close to twenty years, with what she considered great success. Not only did
people bring their own horses to them for training but the ones they bred were
now in great demand.

Spence often suggested expanding the operation, hiring more
trainers and hands, increasing the breeding, but she liked it just as it was.
They made a very good living and had all the work they could handle. She also
wasn’t anxious to hire on new people. Everyone who worked for them currently
had been handpicked and was pretty much like family.

They had no children to hand the reins down to, something
that she didn’t allow herself to dwell on too often. They would have liked to
have them but apparently it wasn’t to be. Instead they lavished all that love
on their horses and the new foals.

Wiping her hands on her jeans, she walked out into the yard,
startled by the appearance of a small dog. The moment it spotted her, it began
yipping in a high, shrill voice and dancing circles around her.

“Well! Where did you come from?” She reached down to pet it
but as her hand got close, the animal drew back its lips and a snarl rumbled up
from its throat. She yanked her hand away.

The back door to the house slammed and Spence jogged down
the steps.

“Is that damn dog still hanging around?” He advanced on it.
“I thought we shooed it out of here this morning.”

“Where do you suppose it came from?” Cissie asked.

“Don’t know and don’t care. I just want it out of here.” He
looked toward the barn. “Kevin,” he shouted.

Kevin Delaney, their foreman, came trotting out. “What’s up?
Oh hell. That fucking dog again.” He hurried back into the barn and came back
with a lasso in his hand.

“You’re going to rope the dog?” Cissie was incredulous.

“It’s the only way to get hold of it,” Kevin said. “Try to
get near the thing and it’ll bite your damn hand off.”

The moment the rope looped over the dog’s head it tried to
tug away, an ugly sound rippling from its throat. Cissie watched as their
foreman circled the animal, looping more of the rope around it before managing
to get it in the bed of one of the ranch pickups.

“I’m taking it way down the road to that land that’s up for
sale,” he told them. “This pest can be someone else’s problem.” He jumped in
the cab and headed off toward the road.

“I can’t imagine where it came from,” Cissie commented.

“Neither can I,” Spence agreed. “I started to chase it away
this morning but Kevin led one of the horses out into the yard and the thing took
off like its fur was on fire.”

Cissie frowned. “If it’s afraid of horses, why do you
suppose it’s hanging around here?”

“No idea. But I’ll tell you, as much as I love animals, if
it finds its way back here again I might just have to shoot it.”

* * * * *

The devil beast crawled into the makeshift cave it had found
and curled up on its side.

When it had been captured by the two-legged creature,
everything in its body had wanted to shift from the dog form it had assumed,
but whenever it tried, a sharp pain pierced its brain. It wasn’t until it had
been set free—practically tossed from the truck—and had raced away from its
captor that it was able to assume its normal form without distress.

Already the hunger was blooming inside it again, the thirst
for blood, for ripping flesh. The appetite was growing. Today’s indignity had
been worth it because its next prey had been identified. When the signals raced
through its body, it would feast again.

Soon.

Placing one of its clawed hands over its face, it closed its
eyes and slept.

Dante took a swallow of hot coffee and scanned the faces of
the people in the room. Tonight, Garth Myers had also joined them. He had
managed to clear his desk of everything else for the moment and arrived just
after dusk, announcing he wanted in on what they hoped would be the end of this
episode.

“Everyone rested?” Dante asked.

“More than rested,” Sam Brody told him. “Ready to go.”

“If the devil beast follows its usual program, the third
kill could be as soon as tonight.”

“Do you have any idea which of the four best prospects it
might be?” Chelsea asked.

“I wish. But we’ll do what we did last night. Ric will drop
you from the chopper at two different locations and you’ll scout. Jonah and
Mark, you’ve done this before so you’ll each take the lead in a group. Be on
the lookout for the beast and watch out for each other.”

“I’ll be riding in the chopper tonight too,” Garth told
them. “Dante will be the spotter and Ben and I will each have one of the
rifles. If we get a sighting, we’ll need to flush the creature out, so Ben and
I can take a shot.”

“Luckily,” Dante went on, “the target areas are close enough
together that each group can advance on two of them. We have two hours until it’s
completely dark so take the time to eat or whatever you want. We’ll assemble on
the back porch at that time.”

He’d watched Regan carefully. She was obviously nervous and
exhilarated in turns, tense because she wanted the creature dead and worried
that they might not get it in time.

“I don’t know how I’ll feel when I see it,” she told Dante.
“I think I might want to be up in the chopper with one of the weapons myself.”

“You’ll be fine.” He rubbed her arms then pulled her close
to him. “And afterward, I’ll help you burn off some of that energy.”

* * * * *

The moon was drifting in the sky when they all loaded into
the helo and took off from Desolation Ranch. Ric made the two drops, Dante
checking off each wolf as he or she leaped from the cabin. Then they were up,
cruising, Ben and Garth in the open doorways, rifles at the ready.

Dante alternated between checking the ground beneath them
and following the tracking lights on the medallions. This case was the first
time he’d really had a chance to observe the wolves running across the
landscape, racing with incredible speed. They were amazing, sleek and fast,
their strong legs eating up the ground. The sight amazed him, especially
knowing that once they were back at the house, they would all shift back to
humans.

“So…” He glanced at Garth. “I know you’re aware of the wolf
DNA found in Reed Fortune, but I’m going to take a wild guess here and say this
is the first time you’ve ever seen anyone shift.”

Garth snorted and shook his head. “No shit. It’s one thing
to hear or read about it, another to actually see it happen.”

“You didn’t appear too freaked out.”

The other man shrugged. “I wasn’t sure
how
I’d react,
but I’ll tell you…I’ve seen so much strange shit in my life, I guess even stuff
like this doesn’t freak me out the way it once might have.” His lips curved in
a half-smile. “Although I don’t think I can say the same thing for my fellow
Rangers.”

Dante’s laugh was a rough sound. “You’ve got that right.”

“If they can help us track these devil beasts, they’re okay
by me.”

Dante studied him carefully, satisfied that the man seemed
good with everything he’d learned in such a short time. He gave him a lot of
points for keeping his cool.

They spent an hour circling the four target areas. Dante
tracked the GPS locators on the wolves, directing Ric first in one direction,
then the other.

“I hope we get the fucking thing tonight,” he told Ric. “And
that our wolves manage to escape unharmed.”

“They know the danger,” Ric reminded him.

“Look.” Dante pointed out the window. “There are two of
them, right below us.”

“And I think they’ve got something.” Ric hit the spotlight
on the chopper, flooding the ground with a bright yellow light.

Below them the wolves were circling, snapping—trying to herd
the devil beast.

“Holy fucking shit!” Garth gasped.

“Yeah. What you said. The first time I saw it, I nearly
crapped in my pants,” Ric stated matter-of-factly.

Dante set the laptop on the cockpit floor, slid the window
open and fitted the rifle to his shoulder.

“Can you get us just a little closer?” Garth asked. “It’s
moving pretty fast.”

“I don’t want to get so close I chase it away. Then we have
to hunt it again.”

“I’ve got it,” Ben said.

Dante turned his head to watch as the man took aim, sighted
the creature and pulled the trigger. But just as he fired, an updraft caught the
helo, wasting the shot.

“Fuck!” Ben shouted.

The beast took off, running faster than any animal they’d
ever seen, a kind of hopping movement where its hind feet barely seemed to
touch the ground. The wolves took off after it but the beast outpaced them.

“I think I see it,” Garth shouted. “I’m taking a shot.” The
rifle boomed but the bullet hit a tree. “Shit, that fucker moves fast.”

“I lost it. Damn!” Ric pounded his fist on his thigh.

Dante kept his eyes glued to the laptop, watching the GPS
markers.

“Two others from the pack are heading in this direction,” he
said. “Yeah, here come the rest of them. They’re closing in.”

Likely drawn by the sounds of the shots, the other wolves
streaked into the area, converging on the scene.

“But where’s the fucking creature?” Ben asked.

“There.” Dante pointed through the windshield. “Just
emerging from those trees.”

“I see it,” Ric acknowledged. “Ben? Garth? Get those rifles
ready.”

“We are,” Ben said, “but I don’t want to hit the wolves.
Damn it! The thing headed back into the trees. Shit, shit, shit!”

They’d been shouting at each other to be heard. With the
cabin door open, the roar of the rotors was louder and the wind just magnified
everything. They all watched the wolves take off after the beast again.

“Craig needs to create some kind of special ear bud for the
shifters,” Ric said. “We need to be able to communicate with them from the
helo.”

“I hear you,” Dante agreed, “but that’s for later. Right now
we need to kill that abomination before it gets any of the pack members. Okay,
look. I can see them through the gaps in the trees now. There.”

“If I can just find it…” Ric circled overhead again, going
as low as he could, shining the spotlight into the darkness. Nothing.

“How the fuck could it just disappear?”

“I don’t— There!” He banked. “It’s headed toward the left.
And so is the pack.”

“Wait. We’re right near the Lamar place.” Dante peered into
the night. “There it is. There’s the house. And there’s the devil beast.”

Ric hit the button for the spotlight, flooding the Lamars’
yard with light. As if signaled by it, the other wolves changed direction, all
of them heading toward the Lamar home, herding the beast away from the trees
and into the open yard.

The back door to the Lamar place opened and a woman in a
nightgown and robe stepped out onto the porch.

The devil beast raced ahead, apparently bent only on human
prey.

“Christ! She wants to see what’s going on,” Ric said.
“Probably heard the helo and saw the lights.”

“Shit, Ric,” Ben yelled back at him. “The creature’s heading
toward the porch. I have to take a shot. If it gets to her, we won’t be able to
save her.”

“Get those damn rifles ready!” he yelled.

“What are you going to do?” Garth hollered.

“Just get the rifle ready.”

Ric took the helicopter as low as he could. The damn woman
stood frozen, her eyes wide, her mouth open in what Dante was sure was a
scream. The wolves were circling and snarling, trying to herd the devil beast
away from the house without getting attacked.

“We’ve got to get her back in the house,” Ben said. “I’m
trying to get a bead with the rifle.”

Ric flipped the switch for the loudspeakers.

“Get back in the house. Now! You are in grave danger.”

“Fuck.” Dante growled the word. “You’d think a creature from
some nightmare and a damn pack of wolves would be enough to scare her back
inside.”

“Ma’am? I repeat. Get back in the house. Now.”

“Let’s see if we can do this without actually hitting
anyone.” That was Garth. “Hold this damn thing steady.”

Dante turned enough to watch both men snug their rifles to their
shoulders again, aiming for a spot to the right of the activity. They both
pulled their triggers. The bullets hit the dirt to the right of the pack, the
shifters racing away from the impacts.

Thank God
, Dante thought to himself.
They need to
stay out of range.

“Thank god we didn’t hit anyone,” Ben yelled, echoing his
thoughts.

“I trust you,” Ric told them. “And look, you did it. Mrs.
Lamar raced back into the house like her panties were on fire.”

“Yeah, but the damn creature is still moving toward the
porch. Take your shot, Dante. This may be the only chance you get before it
does some damage to our wolves or the Lamars.”

Garth and Ben took their positions again, rifles ready as
Ric turned the copter in a circle, blowing up dirt at both the wolves and the
beast.

“Get ready,” Ric said. “I’ll take it down as low as I can.”

The creature turned in a circle, confused by the light.
Before it could move into the dark—

“Now,” Ric snapped, holding the chopper steady.

Dante fired.

The creature jerked but still kept moving.

“Fuck! Fuck, fuck, fuck,” Dante swore.

“Again,” Ric ordered.

He made another swift pass over the area, getting the
chopper into position. This time, as if synchronized, Ben and Garth pulled
their triggers and kept firing until their cartridges were emptied. At the
first shot the wolves paced far enough away to be out of immediate range.

The beast jerked and staggered with each shot—but
inexplicably remained standing.

The two shooters jacked in another cartridge each and pumped
six more bullets into the beast.

The creature emitted a roar that could be heard even over
the rotors before finally collapsing to the ground.

Ben and Garth each took two more shots for good measure.
When they were certain the creature wasn’t going to move again, Ric moved the
chopper in for a landing.

And finally, all was still.

As soon as Ric landed the chopper, Dante, Ben and Garth
hopped out and left the cabin door open for the shifters.

“We’ll wait here,” Dante shouted over the noise of the
rotors. “Call Craig, then come back with some help for us. I’ll talk to the
Lamars but we have to keep them in the house and the carcass isolated. And
Craig needs to get his people here ASAP.”

Ric touched two fingers to his head to show he understood
and lifted off.

Dante gave the vile carcass a wide berth as he trudged up to
the back door of the house, working out in his mind exactly what he was going
to say.

“What’s going on out here?” Spence Lamar shouted, striding
out of the house carrying a rifle. “What the fuck is happening?”

Garth walked over to him and held out his hand. “Garth
Myers, Texas Ranger,” he told the other man. “I think you’ve met one or two of
my friends here. They’ve been helping us corral this beast.”

“Fucking shit!” Spence exclaimed, eyes wide and frozen on
the beast. “Is that thing real?”

“More than you want to believe.” Dante had joined Garth.
“Glad to see you again, sir, and happy that we got this thing before it
attacked you.”

“Spence?” Cissie hollered at him from the porch.

“Go back in the house,” he told her. “I’ll give you the
details later. Go on, honey. Trust me. You don’t want to be out here right
now.” He turned to Garth. “Is this the creature you’ve been posting about on
that Facebook page? Dan Hammond gave us a heads-up too, but I thought he was
full of shit.” He looked at Dante and wiped a hand over his face. “I’ll have
nightmares for sure.”

“You have to see it for yourself to believe it,” Dante
agreed.

“It would be good if you and Mrs. Lamar went back in the
house,” Garth urged. “Come on. Let me get you away from here.”

Dante lifted his radio from his belt and contacted Ric. “How’s
our timeline?”

Ric answered at once. “Craig had his chopper ready at a
place right outside San Antonio. They’ll be here in about fifteen minutes.”

“Good.” Dante turned back to Spence Lamar, who still hadn’t
moved. “Our boss owns a lab that studies these creatures, tries to find out
where they come from and how to eradicate them. He’s sending his people to pick
up the body. They’ll be here shortly.”

“Can’t get that thing out of here fast enough for me.” He
sniffed the air. “Is that turpentine I smell?”

“Yes, it is,” Garth told him.

“Damnedest thing. We had a yippy little dog hanging around
today that had the same odor.”

Dante looked at Ric and Garth. The man would never believe the
truth if they told him. “Maybe it strayed into the creature’s territory. I don’t
think it will bother you again. Come on. Your wife looks about ready to pass
out. Maybe you could make her a cup of tea. We’ll get this cleaned up as fast
as we can.”

Garth finally got the couple back inside the house then he
walked over to take a look at the beast. The bullets had ripped into its scaly,
hard-shelled body, its guts spilling out, a vile scent rising on the air.

“If I didn’t see it with my own eyes I wouldn’t believe it.”
He shook his head. “I don’t even
want
to see it yet I can’t look away.
Shit. Look at those fangs and that tongue. What an abomination. And you think
someone is deliberately breeding these things?”