Untamed Force (Force of Nature Series) (21 page)

“No one is going to kill you. Good
Christ, woman, we know that you would never do anything that would let Dallas be
hurt. At least you were able to save Luna.”

She looked from Austin to the little
girl. She was no longer crying, but she was bruised. Her sire had hit her twice
when she’d tried to bite him. And he’d dropped the gun when she had. Luna had
done more to save her mate than she had.

“He was going to take her as well. He
said that he could sell her.” Stacy sat down again, her legs no longer strong
enough to hold her up. “I believe he is mad. He spoke with someone else,
someone that was not here. They…it seemed as if they argued.”

Connor was suddenly beside her. He
looked at her and then pulled her head to his shoulder. “You did exactly what
you needed to do. Now we have the backing of the council. We can take his
cowardly ass out.”

“I did nothing to save him.” Connor
pulled her head up and then brushed his fingers over her temple. She flinched
at the pain and closed her eyes when he showed her the blood there.

“You were injured badly, Stacy. Yet you
still managed to save Luna, call to your alpha, and get close enough to Rich so
that we have a scent to go on.” He gave her the bag that the ambulance driver
handed him. “Put this on your head and hush up. We have the prick now and he’s
fucked with the wrong family.”

Austin came back to where they were and
sat on the other side of her. She looked down, subservient. He was still her
mate’s alpha, no matter that she hadn’t pledged to him. He lifted her chin and
looked into her eyes.

“The doc said that he needs to look at
your head.” She started to shake her head. “There are humans here and we have
to play nicely. Let him look at it before you heal more. Then I will have
Alexis take you back to the house. Holly needs your help. Have you reached for
Dallas? Gordon has, as have I, and we’re not having any luck.”

“I have tried, but he is not responding
to me. It is as if he is in a cell as my uncle was. Do you think that he has
taken him somewhere like that?” Stacy watched as the men around them walked
through what she thought of as evidence.

“That or a cave. If the stone is thick
enough and if Dallas were weak enough, then maybe. I think it’s a cave. Where
else would he be staying if not a hidey hole?” Austin put his arm around her. “We’ll
get him back, Stacy. Then, when we do, I get to kick his ass first.”

The medic wanted to take her to the
hospital and have x-rays, but she declined. He had assumed that she was
distraught over her husband and had tried to soothe her when she tried to move
away from his touch.

“Come on, honey. Let me tape this
together at least. That way when that husband of yours is found, you won’t have
to try and outdo him in battle scars.”

She didn’t know who called the police. She
thought maybe it was someone in the crowd that was milling around them. But
because Connor was once on the force, as well as Myles, she was given the okay
to leave when the medic said she was good to go. Before she left Myles came to
talk to her.

“You’re very lucky and brave. If you don’t
mind, I’d like to ask you a few more questions. Questions that the other police
won’t…they won’t know to ask.” She nodded at him. “Did you bite him?”

“No, but Luna did. I think her too young
to shift but she had his arm in her mouth tightly.” She looked at the little
girl. Then pulled her hand out of her pocket. “I have this as well as his scent.”

The gun was filled with silver. She wasn’t
sure why she didn’t give it to the police when they asked, but she handed it to
the big vampire easily. She watched as he sniffed the barrel. He took it and
put it into a baggie he took from his own pocket. Then she handed him the
bloodied shirt sleeve she had in her hand when she woke up.

He grinned as he took it. “You’re very
smart. The police would have put this in a little box and put it away. I’m
going to give it to the most powerful noses I can think of.”

Myles motioned for Austin and handed him
the sleeve. He immediately put it to his nose and then handed it to Connor who
did the same. Each man that walked up to them put the blood to their noses and
smiled. Stacy almost felt sorry for her sire. He wasn’t going to go down
quickly. These men were going to kill him.

Holly was waiting for her when she got
there. Or at least her mother said she was. She was still in the bathroom
throwing up. A lot from the sounds of it. When she staggered out a few minutes
later she sat down on the couch and pulled a pillow over her belly.

“So far this pregnancy isn’t what I
thought it would be.” She smiled at her mom when she gave her crackers and tea.
“And every time I throw up Phil makes me eat something to replace whatever it
was. I think he might be at the top of my hit list right now.”

“He loves you and hates that you’re sick
too.” Nancy Force sat in the chair next to the couch and picked up some
knitting. “Besides, when you’re ill at the beginning of the pregnancy, then you’ll
have an easier time at the end.”

Stacy smiled when Holly stuck her tongue
out at her mother. Holly turned and looked at her. “I’m supposed to tell you
that Dallas is a big boy and will be fine. But in reality, he’s a pain in the
ass and will probably beat the crap out of the guy who took him and be waiting
for them when they show up. Dallas didn’t go down easily.”

“He was injured when he was taken.”

Holly nodded at her.

“He may be hurt badly and then I will be
responsible for that as well.”

“I think if he heard you speaking like
that he’d be upset with you. Now, Holly wants to work with you trying to
remember everything you can.” Nancy stood up and took her knitting with her. It
was a bright blue something. After kissing her daughter she stood before Stacy.
“I’ve not had the chance to welcome you to the family. I’m very happy that you
and Dallas finally made the jump and noticed what all of us have seen for
months.”

With a kiss to her cheek Nancy Force
left the room and closed the door softly behind her.

Holly grinned at Stacy. “My mom is the
greatest. She can be a pain, too, but she is the greatest.” Holly pulled the
laptop that was sitting next to her on the couch. “Now then. Was there a car
nearby when you came out of the mall? And, if so, what color and make was it?”

The questions went on for hours. By the
time she started slowing down Stacy knew three things. She thought maybe they
would be able to find Dallas, that she was giving them more information than
they ever would have gotten from anyone else, and that Holly Campbell was the scariest
woman she’d ever met.

Chapter 17

Dallas moved slowly. He didn’t want to
move because he knew that he would hurt and he wasn’t sure if he was alone. He
was tied to something, he couldn’t tell what, and he was pretty sure that it
was nothing more than simple chain holding him. Attached to what, he couldn’t
tell. He was too hurt to care at the moment. He moaned when he tried to lift
his head up to have a better look.

“So, you’re awake now. Has anyone ever
told you that you’re heavy? It took me nearly two hours to get you in here and
nearly another hour to get the chains on you.” The man shined a light into his
face and Dallas flinched away from it. “Be still so I can see your face. I want
to see how much damage I did to you.”

“If you would untie me then I’ll show
you how much it hurts. Better yet, I’ll return the favor.” Dallas didn’t move
when the man grew closer. He figured he was going to be hit, but what he didn’t
expect was what he looked like. “Christ, you’re huge.”

Okay, in hindsight he should have kept
his mouth shut. But he’d been surprised. He’d seen some big wolves before, but
none as big as this man. When the flashlight hit him in the ribs for the third
time Dallas fell into a black void. His last thought was that he hoped the man
didn’t eat him.

When he woke the second time—or was it
the third?—Dallas was alone. He knew that his jaw was broken and that several
ribs were as well, but it was his leg that worried him the most. Looking down
at it, he saw the bone sticking out at an odd angle. Dallas called his wolf to
shift partly, but he was too weak to manage a shift, even a small one. He knew
he would have to shift soon or his leg would heal this way. And then it would
have to be broken again to heal correctly.

Dallas looked around his surroundings. He
knew it was a cave; thick stone walls were everywhere and he knew he was deep
enough in the cave that he couldn’t see the opening. Moving slowly Dallas tried
to get his bearings, but all he did was make himself sick with pain. He reached
for Stacy again.

Nothing. He had felt her once or twice
when he’d been riding in the back of the van. Her pain rode him more than his
own, but he was happy she wasn’t hurt too badly. When Dallas had felt the gun
at his head back at the mall and Luna tighten her grip on his arm he’d known
almost immediately that it was Rich Sterling.

He’d been buckling Luna in the car when
she’d whimpered. He thought he’d hurt her, but when she dug her nails into his
arm he was about to turn when the gun touched the back of his head.

“Move and we’ll kill you.” The laughter
sent chills up and down his neck and arms. “Poor wants to know if you’ll move
enough that he can have a chance at you?”

“Sterling?” The gun pressed harder into
his scalp. “You let Luna go and I’ll come with you with no problems.”

The pain in his head was blinding. Dallas
started to turn, but Sterling lunged for the little girl. Dallas moved to
intercept him and felt the bullet zip by his cheek, opening it up.

“You’ll come with me or, so help me, I’ll
go into that mall and kill that woman you were with.” He hit him again. “Why
can’t you younger pups leave the humans alone and simply stay within your own
kind?”

His first thought had been that Sterling
didn’t recognize his own daughter and then he realized that, for now, she was
safe. Dallas moved slowly, mostly because he was dizzy and, secondly, he wanted
Sterling to stay focused on him. But Stacy came out of the mall just as Dallas
was going to get into the van and go with him.

She had attacked, he knew that. And he
knew that she’d been hurt as well. He’d seen her flying across the parking lot
as if she’d been a rag doll. When she’d hit the pavement Dallas had tried to go
to her, but he was hit again from behind. This time he couldn’t get up from it.

The sounds coming from above him echoed
around and behind him. Dallas looked into the darkness and watched a sliver of
light coming toward him. He knew it was more than likely a flashlight and he
also knew that it wasn’t his family. The sounds coming toward him were too
heavy and shuffled.

“So, did you eat the townspeople or is
there enough for later when you get hungry again?” Dallas knew he was baiting
the man, but if he could get him to come closer he might be able to hurt him
too. “I heard tell of a blob leaving twenty-nine missing in another town. Was
that you?”

Sterling started to come toward him,
fury in his stance, but he stopped at the last minute and stood very still. Then
he started talking and it took Dallas several seconds to realize he wasn’t
speaking to him.

“I know, I know, but he’s just going to
get worse if he thinks he can get away with this. I don’t know why I can’t just
kill him.” Silence, and Dallas had a feeling that he was listening to someone.
“Okay, but for now only. I don’t have the time to hang around here. Are you
Austin Force?”

Dallas was startled by the question. He
thought his brother was here until he realized that Sterling was asking him and
not whoever he was speaking to.

“Yes.” Then he grinned. “You thinking
about dating me?” The stone hit the wall behind him. Dallas had to catch
himself when he started to laugh. He needed the guy closer, not taking pot
shots at him.

“No, I do not want to date you. I want
that brother of yours too. The one from Texas.” Dallas wasn’t sure who he meant
until Sterling spoke again. “Does your mother have a fetish for cowboys?”

Dallas laughed. He couldn’t help it. The
man was certifiable. Dallas leaned heavily on the rock behind him, felt his
wolf stir a bit, and felt the rope bite into his arms. He wasn’t sure what to
answer when a sudden flare of light illuminated the room. He looked around as
best he could without giving away that he really cared. “You want my brother?
Why? I thought I was on your shit list.” Dallas saw the injuries now. Stacy had
gotten in a few, it seemed. “I took your pack, didn’t I?”

“Because that piece of shit thinks he
can mate with my daughter.” He seemed to be listening to something or someone
again. “What’s her name? Poor thinks it’s a common name like her mother’s.”

“Her name? It’s April. April Force. And
she’s very happy where she is. I hear tell that they’re going to move on soon.
Probably to some other state.” Dallas didn’t want him anywhere near his mate or
is brother. “You should probably do your worst to me and forget them.”

“No, no, no, no. I want them dead too. They
have taken everything from me.” Then Sterling put his hand over his ears and
started to hum. “I won’t listen to you anymore. You aren’t real. La, la, la,
la.”