Silent Hunters (2 page)

No, no, no. That’s just a legend.

The first time she’d heard it, she’d done all the research she could, intrigued by the stories. She’d chalked it all up to someone’s fanciful imagination. Still, in college—drawn by the mystery of the stories she’d heard—she took a class called
Legends and Lore
. The hybrid wolf–shapeshifters, as they were called— had been part of what they’d studied.

You’re losing it, girl. These are just wolves that for some reason don’t intend to harm you. That
have led you to safety. You hope. There is no such thing as a shapeshifter.

Yeah? Really?

She deliberately pushed the thought from her mind to concentrate on getting out of the suffocating environment of the trees. Then, just as she was about to collapse, she broke out of SILENT HUNTERS

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the forest into a clearing and saw a house. At first she thought it was a mirage but she blinked and it was still there. She looked for the wolves but in that instant they disappeared, flashes of silver and white and black that were just…gone.

Lauren was so drained, shattered by what had happened that she could barely keep from crying. Multiple scratches that stung like crazy covered her arms and legs. Her wrists were raw where she’d worked to rub the ropes against different trees in an attempt to wear away the fibres or loosen them. All she’d achieved was broken and bloody skin. The straps on her sandals had worn blisters on her feet and ankles, her sundress was torn and her jaw throbbed from the blow she’d taken. She could barely put one foot in front of the other as she headed towards the wood and glass structure ahead of her ablaze with lights.

And in the back of her mind the same question kept rattling around:
Which one of them
would do this to me? Kidnap me and have me taken to this place in the middle of nowhere?

Instinct told her she couldn’t go home until she found out. If it was a kidnapping for ransom, they’d just try again until they were caught. If it was something else, the thing she feared…

No. She didn’t even want to think about that.
Couldn’t
think that. Not in her present state, anyway. First she had to find someplace safe, get rid of the rope, tend to her cuts and bruises and find someone to help her.

Yeah, right. Maybe I can just wish on a star.

Lauren had no idea what time it was. She’d totally lost track of time. Late, that’s all she knew. Very late. But the people in the house were obviously awake. She realised what a mess she was. Any person in their right mind would turn her away. She just hoped they didn’t take one look at her and lock the doors because she didn’t think she had anything left to keep her going. She also had no idea if the woman she glimpsed through the big glass door was connected to the men who’d taken her or not, but she did know she couldn’t go on a minute longer. She was drained, terrified and desperately in need of help. She could only pray she’d found it here.

She nearly crawled the last few yards to the steps leading up to the deck. She’d just pulled herself onto the deck itself, trying to find the strength to lift herself to her feet, when someone opened the sliding glass door. The woman she’d seen, of medium height, in jeans and a T-shirt with a long fall of deep golden hair.

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“Can you help me? Please?” Lauren croaked, hoping she hadn’t fallen into another life-threatening situation out here in this godforsaken wilderness. But the wolves wouldn’t have led her here if it was, right?

Ohmigod. Now I’m connecting with wild animals. I really have lost my mind.

The woman smiled and crouched beside her. “Hi.” Her voice was low and musical and probably the sweetest sound Lauren had ever heard. “I’m Sierra. Let me help you inside.”

“Sierra?” A tall muscular man with long dark hair came out onto the deck.

Lauren shrank away from both of them.

“I’m…sorry to just walk in here like this. A stranger.” She knew her jaw was swelling even more, making it difficult for her to talk, and the words came out sounding raw. “I…I had nowhere else to go. I don’t even know where I am. I’ve been running for so long and I saw your house and…” Her voice trailed away

Sierra put her hand under Lauren’s elbow, guided her to her feet and smiled. “This is my husband, Luke. He may look like he bites but I can assure you he doesn’t.” She sent a teasing glance towards the man. “At least most of the time. Come on. Come into the house.

Those are some nasty scratches and we need to look at them. But first we’ll get rid of the rope.” She studied Lauren’s face. “And you definitely need some ice on that bruise.”

They practically carried her inside and eased her into a big armchair. Another woman, this one very petite with her auburn hair pulled into a ponytail, came into the room carrying an armload of first aid materials.

“I saw you bring her in,” she said, “and knew we’d need these.” She smiled at Lauren.

“Hi. I’m Kelsey Renfield. My husband’s getting the big clippers to get rid of that rope.” She looked over her shoulder. “And here he is, right on cue.”

This one was as tall and well-muscled as Luke, but with dark brown hair that barely reached his shoulder and very intense dark eyes.

Do they grow them all this big in this area? How come I’ve never seen any men like this before?

She tried to curl into herself, wondering if she had the energy to flee back into the night.

“Ease off, guys,” Kelsey said. “You’re scaring her to death.”

“What did we do?” Luke asked, frowning.

Sierra laughed. “I think you both just look forbidding.”

The man Kelsey had identified as her husband handed over the big shears. When he smiled at Lauren his entire face softened.

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“Sorry.” He voice had a husky edge to it. “I don’t know what sent you out into the forest at this time of night but you look like you got the worst of whatever it was. It’s okay.

You’ll be safe here.” He looked at her face, studying the evidence of the blow. “Someone sure used you for a punching bag. If we find him I think I’ll have to teach him a lesson.”

The words were said quietly but Lauren knew with absolute certainty that he meant them. And she relaxed just the tiniest bit.

“My husband’s name is Mack.” Kelsey gave Lauren a friendly wink. “He doesn’t bite much, either. Really.”

She took the shears from the man and very carefully, avoiding the raw skin on Lauren’s wrists as much as possible, she clipped the rope and eased it off until she could toss it aside.

Then she dropped down to sit cross-legged next to the chair in front of Lauren and began handing the first aid stuff to Sierra.

While the two women cleaned away the dirt from the cuts and scrapes, Lauren tried to gather her fraying wits together, biting her lip as the medicine stung the open skin. She couldn’t believe these people had just let her into their home in the middle of the night, in the condition she was in, as if it was nothing.

Again, she wondered, what if they had something to do with her kidnapping? What if this had all been a trick to get her here?

As if she’d heard Lauren’s thought Kelsey smiled at her.

“Don’t be afraid. Whatever chased you here, I can promise you we’re not part of it.”

“B-but you just let me in here without…without asking any questions. Or anything.”

“We’ve all had trouble at one time or another,” Kelsey told her in a soft voice. “We know what it’s like.” She looked at her husband. “Right, Mack?”

He gave her a slow smile. “Right, babe.”

Sierra nodded. “And we got a good feeling from you. If there’s trouble—and there obviously is—you aren’t causing it. And neither are we.” She squeezed Lauren’s hand. “You can trust us. I promise.”

Just like that they got a good feeling from me? How does that happen?

“Can you tell us your name?” Kelsey asked in a soft voice, her eyes filled with concern.

She hesitated, finally stammered out her first name. “L-Lauren.” Should she have told them that much? She certainly couldn’t tell them her last name. Not until she knew more about them, and about what had happened to her. The Rhodes name was like a neon sign all SILENT HUNTERS

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over New England. Even way out here in the woods people would have heard it. The Rhodes family owned half of the area. But how in the hell was she supposed to find out who was behind this and why, stranded in the woods like this?

“I see we have company.” The deep voice came out of nowhere and sliced through the air, low and rumbling.

Lauren looked up at a third man who’d just come into the room and despite everything that had happened to her every hormone in her body went on full alert. Her nipples stiffened beneath her ragged T-shirt and cream gushed into her bikini panties. Every pulse point suddenly throbbed with fiercely intense need, and a sexual hunger stronger than anything she’d ever felt before raced through her body.

Holy shit! What the hell is going on here?

She was in danger of being killed and all of that was instantly superseded by a raging desire to jump this man’s bones. Had tonight’s episode somehow scrambled her brains?

Lauren had known a lot of men in her life but none of them—not one—had ever drawn this kind of instant erotic reaction from her.

The new stranger was tall, much taller than the other two men who had to be well over six-feet each. If she stood next to him he’d completely dwarf her five-foot-two body.

Everything about him was dark, like a forbidden temptation. His hair was almost a midnight black, thick and falling just to the collar of his T-shirt. His square jaw was shadowed with end-of-the-day stubble, his cheekbones high slashes that emphasised midnight black eyes fringed with thick lashes. Sculpted muscles rippled beneath a black T-shirt and formfitting black jeans. A tiny gold hoop gleamed at one ear. For the first time in her life she had a desire to rip off her clothes and throw herself at a man.

Unbelievable, considering she was, first of all, usually a very controlled person and, secondly, in possibly the worst situation she’d ever been in, frightened out of her wits. But there was something about this man, an air that surrounded him that said she could trust him. That there was no danger here—instead he’d protect her from whatever nightmare she was caught up in.

And how much sense did
that
make?

“You can take that alpha male look off your face,” Kelsey told him. “She’s frightened enough as it is.”

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He crouched beside the chair where Lauren sat and rested his fingers on her knee. A blast of warmth surged through her and Lauren had that same feeling of sanctity. Security.

Protection.

And lust!

Where the hell was this coming from?

“Hi, little one.” His voice was deep with a rich timbre to it. “You look like you’ve been running from the fires of hell but you’re safe now. I promise.”

And she believed him.

Kelsey had slipped off Lauren’s sandals and was now cleaning the blisters on her feet.

The man next to her placed a hand very, very gently against her swollen jaw. He smiled but the look in his eyes was murderous. If the man who’d done it wasn’t already dead, Lauren was sure this man would take care of it.

“I heard you say your name is Lauren. A beautiful name. Mine’s Damien. Damien Moreno.”

Lauren looked at all the faces. “Do you all live here together?”

Sierra laughed. “Not hardly. Luke and I live here. Kelsey and Mack have their own place in town. Damien’s visiting from San Antonio.” Her face sobered. “I think you’d feel better if you could take a shower. Then we’ll put bandages on all those open cuts and blisters. And you need something else to wear.” She studied Lauren. “We’re not exactly the same size but pretty close. I’ll find something for you to put on. Then we’ll fix you a drink and maybe you’ll tell us how you ended up here in this condition.”

She let the two women ease her up from the chair but she noticed that Damien was right behind her.

“You can’t go in the shower with her, Damien,” Sierra said, her voice edged with humour. “You’ll have to do your guarding out here.”

“I’ll be right here when she comes out,” he answered.

The shower felt incredibly wonderful, washing away the dirt and soothing her damaged skin. Sierra had left a T-shirt for her that she assumed was Luke’s since it hung well below her thighs, and a pair of shorts that hung loosely from her hips but covered everything sufficiently. The material on both items was soft and didn’t abrade her abused body. But she winced when she looked at her face in the mirror and saw the swelling and the ugly bruise growing darker by the minute.

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Again she wondered which of them could’ve hated her this much? Who was so desperate as to attempt something like this? Could she tell these very nice people about the evil brewing in her life? Could they even help her?

Sighing, she opened the door to the bedroom and found the two women waiting.

“Damien’s making you an ice pack and pouring you a drink,” Kelsey told her. “We need to put some ointment on those scratches and cover them so they don’t get infected.

Then we’ll go into the kitchen.”

“Can I ask you a question?” she asked when they’d finished applying the salve and bandages.

“Sure,” Kelsey said. “Go ahead.”

“Do you ever see wolves around here? I mean, I know the grey wolf has been reintroduced into the Maine woods, but I… You’re going to think I’m nuts when I tell you what happened and I’m not. Really. But three wolves saved me tonight and I swear they led me here.”

The two women exchanged glances.

“There are…stray wolves around here,” Sierra acknowledged. “Some of them are…quite tame.”

“Tame?” Lauren’s eyebrows shot up. “Wolves?” Then she shook her head. “Of course, who am I to argue? I swear I’m not out of my mind when I tell you that I followed the three of them here.”