Wild (33 page)

Tuck laughed. “How do you think Trak's going to take it when he finds out you're the one who saved his life?”

Cain just shook his head. “I think he'll be pissed and in no position to show it. I figure I might as well enjoy his discomfort while I can.” He reached in the bag and handed Elle a sports drink. “Here. Have another one. It'll help.”

“Thanks. Change of topic, but I'm curious. Cherry said she was a guest here. Now she's with you and Brad?”

“That she is. Brad and I have been together for a long time, but we always felt like something was missing. Turns out Cherry was the something. Her sister and her sister's girlfriend are residents now as well. Christa and Steph were a couple, though they didn't figure it out until they stayed here, and they happened to meet up with a couple of guys who were a pair as well. I think a lot of us who are shifters are bisexual, so it's nice when we can find a match. Cherry just likes men. Brad and I already loved each other, but we both love Cherry. It works.”

Elle turned her gaze on Tuck. “What about you, Tuck? Is there a man in your life?”

He grinned and didn't hesitate. “I've always preferred women, but it gets lonely out here. On occasion I've found comfort in the arms of another guy. Doubt that will be happening anymore, now that I've found you.”

She rolled her eyes. “I've known you for three days. Don't I have until Saturday to figure this out?”

Tuck grabbed her hand, and at that moment, Cain knew that, as far as the good doctor was concerned, he and Elle were the only two in the forest.

“Elle, I hope to give you a lifetime to figure it out. Okay by you?”

She leaned close and kissed him. “I think so. That works for me.”

Tuck broke the kiss, jerked his entire body to his left, and held up a hand for silence. Elle didn't move. Cain quietly slipped out of his clothes and shifted. Tuck tapped Cain's shoulder when the shift was complete and pointed toward the fence. Soundlessly, Cain glided into the thick undergrowth.

*   *   *

Elle was afraid to move. She heard men's voices, but couldn't tell where they were. Tuck leaned close to her, whispering. “I'm not sure if it's the same guys, but I think our poachers are back. I'm going to let them know I'm here and step out so I'm visible. I want you behind a tree, where you're safe. Yell at me. Tell me the sheriff's deputies are almost here. With luck, they'll get the hell out of here without shooting any of us.”

Elle hugged herself. “That would be a very good thing.”

“Be careful,” he said. Then he kissed her and stepped out onto a trail that led in the general direction of the fence line. Elle quietly took her place behind a huge pine tree and waited where she felt safe and yet still had a good view of Tuck's back.

“Hey!”

Her guy stepped out into an open area. She couldn't see anyone but Tuck. The voices were closer.

“Who the hell are you?”

“Dr. Kentucky Jones. I'm the vet for this wolf preserve, and you're trespassing. This is private property. No hunting allowed.”

“Think you can stop us, big guy?”

Elle cupped her hands around her mouth and called out. “Hey, Tuck. Sheriff's office just called, said deputies should be here in a couple of minutes.” She heard some mumbling among the ones she couldn't see.

“I agree,” Tuck said, obviously responding to something one of them had said. “You gentlemen need to leave.”

Elle moved quietly along the trail, glad her clothes were all shades of green and brown. Should make it harder for anyone to see her. She didn't have to go far to get a good view of Tuck. Three rough-looking men, all armed, stood in a semicircle in front of him. Two had rifles slung over their shoulders, the one in the middle had a large revolver in a western-style holster carried low on his hip.

“I don't think so.” The middle guy, almost as large as Tuck, crossed his arms over his broad chest. “Looks like there's only one of you and a bitch afraid to show herself.”

Elle pulled her cell phone out of her pocket. This bitch was smarter than that. She'd kept her cell phone on her in spite of the lack of signal. Didn't matter, when all she needed was the camera. Muting the sound, she first took a couple of photos of the men. Then she turned on the video.

“Not necessarily. You're on a wolf preserve. The animals here trust us to protect them. Now that they know you're a threat, they won't stay hidden when you come on the property.”

A low growl rumbled out of the brush. Had to be Cain. But then she heard another growl on the opposite side of the clearing. And another behind the men. Two of them were looking in all directions when the one in the middle threw a punch, going straight for Tuck's face. Tuck spun to one side, grabbed the idiot's arm, and threw him. There was an audible snap before Tuck turned him loose.

The man screamed. His partners turned and ran, but Elle managed to get film of everything. The guy rolling on the ground, hugging his broken arm, was easy to film, especially when she walked closer and got him full frame.

“Good, Elle.” Tuck wrapped his arm around her. “I was wishing we had a way to get these bastards on film.”

“Where are all the wolves? I heard at least three.”

Cain walked out of the woods, in his human form again, wearing the sweats and moccasins. “Our wild brothers stepped up to help. They've stayed close, worried about Trak and these jerks and their guns.”

He slung an arm around Elle and planted a big kiss on her cheek. “You, my dear, are a keeper. Tuck? Don't blow it.”

“Gotcha. Don't plan to.” Tuck glanced at the man lying on the ground, still clutching his arm and moaning. Blood seeped through the upper sleeve of his shirt. “Looks like we're going to have to get someone in here to take him to the hospital.” He hunkered down next to the man and slipped the revolver out of the guy's holster. “Compound fracture. That's gotta hurt. Don't you know you never swing at a guy bigger than you with your feet planted like that? Gave me the right leverage to break that sucker.”

The man was obviously in too much agony to say much, but Elle figured he deserved it. Healing Trak had been an exhausting, emotional experience. She'd known he was in horrible pain, possibly caused by this man. She had no sympathy. None.

“So.” Elle glanced at Cain, then turned her focus on Tuck. “What now?”

Cain answered. “We wait for the sheriff. Manny planned to call as soon as they got Trak back to the lodge, said he'd send them out here, just in case. We need to report the poached deer. I found a couple of other stripped carcasses not far from the first one.”

“Will Trak go to the hospital?”

Tuck shook his head. “I doubt it. The bullet's out, and he'll turn it over to the sheriff. I imagine it will match one of the guns these idiots were carrying.”

“What are you talking about?”

It appeared their poacher could talk after all.

Tuck's hands curled into fists. “The man you shot, you jerk. It's one thing to poach wildlife. Shooting at a man trying to protect his property is something else altogether.”

“No one shot anyone. Ralph fired at a fucking wolf that was after the kill.”

“Doesn't matter who Ralph says he fired at.” Tuck glared at him. “The one with the bullet in his lung is a hundred percent human. I think that's attempted murder.”

It was almost dark by the time the deputies showed up, collected their guy, and took statements from Tuck, Cain, and Elle, before they were finally free to go back to the lodge. Elle was ready to drop, but she wanted to check on Trak first.

“No.” Tuck planted his big hands on her shoulders. “You get a shower, have a glass of wine, relax, and come back here so I can feed you. I'll meet you in the dining room. Then we will go check on Trak. He's not going anywhere.”

Tuesday night

Tuck had leftovers all warmed up for her, and he and Elle ate together. “Where is everyone?”

He grinned at her. “I'm here. Does anyone else really matter?”

“Of course they do. But you're the most important,” she added, soothing the male ego.

Tuck just laughed. “Dar and Meg are still in town, but they're due back in about an hour. Evan's driving in to pick them up. The fiancé is doing better, though he's got a concussion and might have to stay in the hospital for a few more days. Jules is down at Growl, hanging out with Manny and Drew. Lawz isn't back yet from Eureka, though I expect him any minute. I finally got hold of him and let him know about Trak. They're brothers.”

“You're good.” She laughed at his flawless accounting of all the pertinent names. “I've never been to the bar. Is it all that busy? I mean, this is a gated preserve. Who are the customers?”

“There are a lot of folks who live back in the woods, and we cater to that crowd. The ones who don't really want any part of society but occasionally want a drink or a sandwich, a chance to catch up on stuff. Not everyone lives in a city or even a community. A lot of guys are veterans, a few going back to the Korean War and Vietnam. Guys who came back from the Middle East totally fed up with man's inhumanity to man. They've got their own society in a way, and Growl has become a meeting point for them. No guns are allowed, and if they get rowdy, they know they'll get tossed and not be allowed back. Keeps them in line.”

“Guess you have to do that if you've got guests from the resort visiting the place.”

He laughed. “That's when the rules changed. Acting rowdy didn't used to be an issue.”

Elle set her fork down and wiped her lips with her napkin. “Okay. I've eaten. Let's go check on Trak. Where's he staying?”

“He's in the apartment upstairs. We put him in Cherry, Cain, and Brad's spare room. We didn't want to leave him alone until the wound had completely closed and he was feeling better. He's still really wiped out, but I know he wants to see you.” Tuck gave her an assessing glance and then looked away. “He said it was a very intimate experience, your healing.”

She'd wondered about that. “I only know what I experience from my point of view. When I touch an animal, I feel its fear, know where it's hurt because in some ways I feel its pain, though it's not truly painful for me. More a sensation that I recognize as pain without actually hurting, if that makes sense.”

“It does, actually. I'm curious to see what Trak felt. I wondered at the time if he felt pain when you pulled the bullet out.”

“I was afraid of that, too. I'll ask him. I tried to be careful.” Elle turned toward the big window in front. “Someone's pulling up outside.”

“That's Evan's truck. He's supposed to have Dar and Meg with him.”

They reached the front deck just as Evan and the women got out of the truck. Brad had been in the kitchen, but he was right behind them. Meg looked exhausted. Dar wasn't much better.

Elle leaned over the railing. “Meg? Hon, how's he doing?”

She nodded. “Okay, I guess. Still out of it, but it was a serious concussion. He woke up a couple of times, finally recognized me, remembers a bear running in front of his car, but he doesn't remember the wreck. They're going to keep him at least through tomorrow.”

“You know you're welcome to bring him back here as soon as he's able.” Tuck glanced at Elle. “Do you do brain injuries?”

She shook her head. “I don't know. I told Meg I'm afraid to experiment on her fiancé. Trak's the closest I've come to working on a human, and he was a wolf when I did it.”

Frowning, Meg asked, “What happened to Trak?”

“Brad?” Elle had liked Cherry's guy the first moment she met him. “Will you fill them in? Tuck and I were just going to check on him. Meg? I'll give you the rest of the info later, okay? I'm really glad Zach's doing okay. It's been a crazy day.”

“That's an understatement.” With his hand lightly grasping her shoulder, Tuck guided Elle back inside the lodge and up the stairs to the apartment. He knocked quietly on the door.

Cain opened it. “Hi, Elle. I'm glad you're here. Trak was just asking if you were going to make it up to see him.”

“Tuck made me eat dinner first. Good thing. I was starving. Where's Trak?”

He was sitting up in a big bed in the spare room, supported by mounds of pillows. There was a fresh bandage around his rib cage, and his face looked drawn, but he was in a lot better shape than when they'd placed him on the stretcher. He'd shifted while still lying on the ground because the shift helped the healing process, but it had been painful and obviously not easy, as badly as he'd been hurt.

“Elle.” He held his hand out and took hers. “Thank you. Cain told me what you did. I remember it like a dream. Wasn't sure you'd really been there helping me.”

“That was me.” She sat on the edge of the bed. “You're the first patient I've ever had who can tell me what I did.” She held up her hands. “I can feel heat, and I know what I need to do, but I have no idea how I do it or how my patient perceives it.”

“As warmth. A very comforting warmth that takes away the fear. When you're hurting and, in my case, having trouble breathing, you're terrified. Heart pounding, adrenaline rushing through your system, and that fight-or-flight instinct in full ‘get it done' mode, but you can't do a damned thing because you're dying. The body wants to shut down, and the fear keeps it revved up, and then you touched me, and everything went still. I could breathe easier, could think past the fear.”

She nodded, remembering. “That explains so much. Animals that are afraid and struggling go still when I touch them. I never knew why. That's good. That's a good thing. When I moved the bullet out, did I hurt you?”

“No. I could feel it moving, which was weird, but there was no pain. Nothing you did hurt me at all. It all made the pain go away. But what did you do?”