When Lust Rules (7 page)

“Juullllie.”

Her body tensed, and her eyes opened wide.

“It’s coming from the machine,” Luken said.

She scrambled from Luken’s body. She had to have imagined
that voice.

“Julie, did you miss me? Pick up the phone, Julie.”

Her gaze shot to Luken’s and she could see his displeasure.

“Who is it?”

Her mouth opened, but the words wouldn’t come out. How in
the hell had he called her? Found her? A sob tore from her. Luken got off the
bed and started toward the kitchen.

“Are you fucking him, Julie? You know that’s considered
adultery.”

She darted out the door after Luken and came around the
corner of the kitchen as he grabbed the receiver and lifted it to his ear.

“Listen here, motherfucker.”

Julie panicked and reached for the base mounted on the wall.
With a fierce tug she ripped it off. Her wide-eyed gaze met Luken’s once again
and he frowned.

“I’m guessing Ivan?” He dropped the receiver and it
clattered against the tile floor.

She swallowed, shaking her head. “I don’t know how…”

“How doesn’t matter. We need to move. Obviously he knows
where you’re at and he knows about me. He might even be watching us now.”

“Oh God.” Her knees became weak and Luken grabbed her arm to
tug her along behind him.

This wasn’t happening. How in the hell did Ivan get out of
prison? Luken released her and she leaned against the doorframe of her bedroom
as he made quick work of stuffing clothes into her duffle bag.

“We need to go.” Luken fastened his jeans and slung the
strap of the bag over his shoulder.

“Your shirt and shoes are in the kitchen.”

“No time.”

She grasped his offered hand and followed him to the door.

“Listen to me. My truck is in the driveway. I want you to
tuck your head and run to the driver’s side and crawl across as fast as you
can.”

She inhaled a deep breath, focusing on the task he gave her.
Things were serious and she didn’t have time to curl into a ball and freak out.
She nodded.

He opened the door and she took off as he’d instructed. Bare
feet slapped against the pavement of the driveway. Little pebbles dug at the
soles of her feet, but she didn’t let it slow her. The jingle of keys reached
her ears. She saw the headlights of his truck turn on and knew it would be
because he unlocked the doors with the key fob. With quick movements she slung
open the door and climbed inside. Her knee banged the gearshift on her way over
the console but she didn’t stop. By the time she had righted herself in her
seat Luken had already jumped in, fired up the engine and had it in reverse.

They sped out of the driveway as she reached for her seat
belt. The rev of the motor seemed loud in the eerie quiet. Her gaze darted
around, looking for any signs of trouble, but found none. Nothing seemed amiss.
“Maybe we overreacted. Maybe he was just trying to scare us.”

A loud pop sounded a split second before the glass shattered
behind her. She screamed as Luken’s hand gripped the back of her head and
shoved her down. Nope! They hadn’t overreacted. Tires squealed as Luken mashed
the gas pedal. She heard more shots.

Luken growled. “When I get my hands on that fucker, he’s
dead.”

Bullets pinged the side of the truck and Luken released a
stream of curse words. Her body trembled and swayed as Luken gave his all to
the evasive driving maneuvers.

“Hang on, it’s about to get rough.”

She watched as he yanked the wheel and then they hit the
first in a series of bumps. Her head jarred forward and collided with the
dashboard. “Shit!” That was definitely going to leave a mark. Pain arched
through her brain and she sucked in a breath between clenched teeth.

Luken released his hold on her head. “Try to brace yourself.
Maybe sit up a little, but slouch in the seat.”

She quickly repositioned herself and caught a glimpse of the
off-road scenery in front of them. Luken was dodging trees. She squeezed her
eyes shut as he sped over another hill. At least gunshots were no longer
peppering the tailgate. “Did we lose them?”

“Maybe. I’m about to get back on a road so we can put more
distance between us and them.”

She cracked open one eye and saw a paved road in front of
them. No longer having to fear a collision with a tree, she sat up a little
more and paid attention to where they were headed. Her direction sense had
never been great, but she would guess Luken had taken them into the empty field
to the left of her gated community. The thought brought on a whole new set of
questions. “How in the hell did Ivan get past the guard at the gate?”

“They’re dead.”

Nausea rolled in her tummy. So much for no more deaths. And
these could, in a way, be laid at her feet. A tear tracked down her cheek and
she swiped at it.

“It’s not your fault.”

She glanced at him as the truck bounced then leveled as they
returned to smooth asphalt. He peered in her direction before checking the
mirrors and then refocusing on the road in front of them. “How do you know what
I’m feeling?”

“It’s in your scent. Remorse. Regret. It’s not an exact
science or anything. More like something you learn with time. The differences
in scent are slight most times. But under the circumstances your moods are
shifting violently so your scent changes are less subtle.”

“Oh.” There were so many things to get used to now. Her
world had definitely been tilted tonight. Werewolves, exes, hell, what else?
Would the fucking Easter bunny pop out of the woods next with a basket full of
eggs? Her mind whirled as they sped down the curvy road.

A break opened up in the trees lining the asphalt and Julie
sucked in a surprised breath. “Look out!”

“Shit!” Luken tried to avoid the collision, but the truck
plowing through the field to their right collided with the bed. A big boom
mixed with the screech of metal grinding against metal. The impact brought
Julie’s side hard against the console. She cried out as the truck started to
spin, but Luken regained control at the last minute and sped away from the
other vehicle.

“Apparently they don’t have orders to take you alive.”

Luken’s words had her trembling. She watched as he punched a
button on the dashboard. A sound chimed in the cabin.

“Call Javin.”

She looked at Luken for clarification.

“I need to put the den on alert. We have no idea how many are
following us.”

She shook her head. “I can’t let you endanger your family
like this. Just find some place to let me out. A bus station or something.” No
way could she bring her past down on others’ heads.

“Don’t be ridiculous. You’re coming home with me.”

“Luken, I can’t ask this of you.”

“You didn’t. I offered. Besides, how in the hell would you
make it out there on your own? Trained killers have set their sights on you.
I’m not trying to scare the shit out of you, but I am being realistic. My
conscience won’t let me let you fend for yourself.” Luken glanced in the
rearview mirror as the faint ringing in the background stopped and another male
voice sounded inside the truck.

“What up?”

“Javin, I need the perimeter patrols at max and six ready
for action on the northwest end of the den. Some bad news is following me in. I
have a human female with me.”

“Done.” The connection was severed.

The man named Javin hadn’t even questioned Luken. He gave
him his blind loyalty instead. It spoke a lot of Luken’s character to have that
kind of trust given to him. Did all of his pack feel the same way? Julie looked
over at Luken. He remained focused on getting them to their destination alive.
The strong set of his jaw let her know he was displeased with their situation,
yet he didn’t yell at her or send blame her way. Although she knew he had the
right to. “I’m so sorry I got you into this,” she whispered as she lowered her
gaze.

“We have company again.”

Her head jerked up and she looked past the broken glass of
the back window and saw a dark SUV approaching fast. Damn if they weren’t
adamant.

The collision came from behind this time, and Luken growled
as he tried to avoid the next impact. Julie wished she could do something, but
there wasn’t any way to help. All she could do was brace for the next jolt. It
came quick, this time from the side. The tire blew out with a loud pop and the
truck began to teeter.

“Fuck! Hold on!”

Julie braced as the truck rolled. The seat belt dug into her
body roughly with each rotation. Glass flew through the cab, stinging her skin
as it rained upon her. The air bags deployed with a whoosh. It was all she
could do to keep her limbs tucked to her body to try to lesson her injuries.

The movement stopped and Julie blinked as she tried to grasp
her bearings. She hung upside down, the seat belt securing her in place. Next
to her a feral growl sounded. She heard the click of a seat belt and watched as
Luken slid from his seat.

“We have to move. Put your hands above your head so you can
catch yourself.”

Feeling slightly dazed, she complied as he ripped through
her seat belt. Her fall wasn’t anywhere near as graceful as his. She kind of
rolled into a ball then fell awkwardly to the side. Her knee protested as she
crawled toward Luken. Pebbles of glass dug painfully into the bruised flesh.
She cleared the window and he gripped her hands, helping her to her feet. She
pushed the hair away from her face and her left hand came away sticky and warm.

“There’s no time. I need you to trust me, Julie, and run
into those trees. Don’t stop until you see other wolves. Understand?”

The pounding inside her head increased as she nodded. She
watched as he slipped his jeans off. “What are you doing?”

“Go.”

She didn’t get a chance to argue with him as a shimmer of
light covered his body and he changed. A shiver raced through her. Would she
ever get used to that? He took off around the side of the damaged truck and she
turned to race off into the foliage as he’d told her.

Breaths sawed in and out of her lungs as her legs pumped
hard. Aches and pains burst through her body, but she ignored them, focusing on
reaching safety. Low limbs of bushes abraded the skin of her legs and the rough
earth dug at her soles. Gunfire erupted, and the cries of birds mingled with
the flapping of frantic wings. Above her the tree limbs stirred and leaves
began to drift to the earth. She sent up a silent prayer that Luken was okay.
If something happened to him she’d never be able to forgive herself. It had
been a year without any trouble. A whole year to lull her into thinking it
would be safe to venture into another relationship. The cool air hit her wet
cheeks and she shivered, only now realizing that tears had begun to track down
her face again.

As she broke through the underbrush and into a clearing, her
heart pounded and her eyelids slammed up. A large man with hair as black as the
night stood in its center. Panicked, she started to skid to a halt. Was he one
of Ivan’s men? A scream started to bubble up inside her as her bottom hit the
ground. The muscles in her body quivered from fatigue. She hadn’t run like this
in forever. Even though her breaths were erratic and her body screamed she
scrambled backward.

“Where’s Luken?”

The deep baritone of his voice took a second to process
inside her brain. Luken? He asked about Luken. “He said…to run…’til…wolves.”
Her labored breaths wouldn’t allow her to string together a full sentence. And
then they appeared. Two large beasts came out of the trees in front of her. The
near full moon cast a silver glow down onto the clearing. One was a beautiful
mix of grays and whites, its pale eyes shining mysteriously. The other was
dark, near black.

“Jasmine, stay with her while we go find Luken.”

The light-colored wolf advanced toward her as the other wolf
and man disappeared the way she came. Julie’s body trembled as the wolf came
closer. She had touched Luken’s pelt when he’d been in her kitchen. It had been
scary as hell then. But deep down she knew him and knew he wouldn’t hurt her.
Would this wolf be the same?

Julie locked her gaze with the wolf’s.
Please be nice.
As if in answer to the silent question the wolf dipped her head low then
nuzzled the right side of Julie’s face. It took a lot to stay still and not
panic, but the second the wolf accomplished the tender gesture, Julie couldn’t
help but to relax some, relief of any immediate threat settling inside her.

The gray wolf sat next to her and they waited in silence.
Every small noise had Julie jumping and turning her head to look for signs of
movement. Gunfire and howls broke up the silence occasionally and each time
Julie prayed that neither Luken nor any of his men were hurt.

Jasmine growled low and turned to the left. Julie’s gaze
followed her. Movement in the trees had her staring and waiting to see what had
upset the wolf at her side. A lump formed in her throat as her heart rate
increased. Arik stepped out of the trees first. His large frame hard to miss.
His long blond hair fell over his broad shoulders. She shivered as her last
memory of Arik came to the front of her mind. When she’d delivered the money to
him, his bodyguards had escorted her down into the basement. Never had she been
down there before. And she now wished she had never gone below.

Darkness had greeted her. Low light from a few candles
burned—enough light to see the woman he had chained to the wall. Welts had
covered her back and legs. She had whimpered softly, and Julie averted her
eyes, wanting to escape. His frame had been cast in shadow. A flogger dangled
from his right hand. Her heart went out to the woman. Ivan had used one of
those to punish her before. She could still remember the sting of it against
her flesh. Some found pleasure in the pain, but she never had. It had never
been delivered with a loving touch, only a cruel one.