Wicked Days with a Lone Wolf (12 page)

Sherri swept her hair from her face, taking stock of the damage. Ash winced when he surveyed what he’d done in his full-moon-fueled lust. Her body had seen better days. Scratches covered her arms. Bites and bruises peppered her neck and upper body. Finger marks showed on her shoulders, ass, and inner thighs.

“So.” She swept her hand up and down. “This is your worst?”

He sat up and brushed his fingers over her leg. “It’s pretty fucking bad.” The terrible part was he loved the way she looked wearing his marks. The beast in him felt sated, knowing the world could see she was his.
His.

Sherri took a deep breath. “I’m still alive.” She squirmed beneath him. “I could use some Ibuprofen. Nobody died.”

Ash managed to smile. “No. Nobody did.” He nuzzled the hollow of Sherri’s throat. “You’re the best.”
I love you.

Her hand came to his back. “You too. Now hand me my clothes. We’ve got company coming, and we need to get ready.”

Ash smiled and ducked down to grab Sherri’s things from where they lay on the floor. As he did, a bullet came through the front wall. “Shit.”

Sherri rolled off onto the floor, grabbing one of the guns they’d stashed under the sofa. “Well, damn. Company’s early.”

S
herri shimmied into her clothes in the kitchen nook and then raided Kyle’s liquor as another bullet came through the wall. She looked over to Ash. “Can you see how many are out there?”

Ash pulled a rifle from under the sofa, aiming toward the window to fire back. “Man, I hate to bust up Kyle’s place. Looks like eight guys. Two vehicles. Could be more around back.”

“Windows can be replaced. Do you see a handsome but cruel-looking Russian?”

“Uh, you’d know better than I would. Maybe?”

“Six-five. Blond. Square chin. Tattoos. Gold chains.”

“That’s... all of them. What the fuck are you doing over there?”

“He also has a smug air of superiority, and his left cheek was sliced by a machete.” Sherri uncapped two bottles and grabbed rags from the kitchen drawer to stuff down inside. You know, it’s just like a man. Kyle’s got nothing to eat except some boxes of granola bars, but the place is chock full of cheap liquor and beer. It’s perfect.” She turned in time to see understanding and dread fall over Ash’s face. “Come on. Give me your lighter.”

He tossed it over, but the disapproval on his face held firm. “You’re gonna piss them off.”

“And shooting at them won’t? We have to hold them off until backup arrives.”

“We could give them your ex-boyfriend.”

Sherri sighed. So much for curing Ash’s jealousy with a little territorial lovemaking. “They’ll still kill us. Boris is equal opportunity that way.” She winked as she lit the rag on two Molotov cocktails and headed for the door.

“Hurry,” she said. “Open it for me.”

Ash sighed and put the gun down long enough to swing the door open. Sherri stood to the side, threw the flaming bottles out, and kicked the door shut. “I only counted six guys. Two must have headed around back.”

She lit and lobbed two more bottles out of a high kitchen window at the back of the house. Ash took up position with the rifle and they shared a gratified smile when they heard a not-so masculine scream of pain.

“Sounds like we got one.”

She smiled. “That’s what they get for snooping.”

Groaning came from the bedroom, and Ryan stumbled out. Nerves twisted in Sherri’s belly. They needed to keep Ryan alive long enough to get him to a hospital.

Lisa texted to say she had a managed to fudge an internal report that would show a now dead inmate had informed on Boris and take the heat off of Ryan. Backup should be coming very soon. This plan had all worked out so well on paper, but of course Borris’s crew had showed up early, and now she wasn’t sure where Lisa’s promised help was.

Ash fired out the window, hitting one man and then another, but the rest had taken up position behind what appeared to be an armored vehicle. “Cowards. If I have to, I’ll go out there and fuck them all up at close range,” he growled.

“You’re not bulletproof. Not even in wolf form.” Damned full moon. Ash might not care about Ryan, but right now her guy was riled up and itching for a fight.

“God, that was real?” Ryan scratched at his head from his wobbly position in the doorway. “You really are one of those things? I thought that was a really twisted dream from the painkillers.”

Ash turned a fierce look toward Ryan.

“Ryan,” Sherri said as she lit another set of bottles. “I’d shut up if I were you.” Sliding across the living room, she eased open the window opposite the one Ash was shooting from and hooked two more flaming cocktails toward the men out front.

Another shot from outside must have gone stray because nothing came through the wall. A lot of muffled cursing came at them through the walls.

At the very least, the fire would keep them from coming closer to the house. If they got really lucky, maybe she’d light up a car. Resuming her position behind the sofa, she pulled out her phone to call Lisa. “Please tell me they’re on the way.”

“I spoke to the field office and gave them the location you described. I’m on my way as well, but it’s in the middle of nowhere.”

“Well we’ve got two cars full of angry Russians out there, and I’m running out of tequila.”

“I’m assuming that’s even worse than it sounds. Look, I’ve got the documents you asked for, and we’re on the way. Hang tight.”

Hang tight.
Sherri hung up. “Hang tight. Easy for her to say.”

Ash made a frustrated sound and fired out the window again. “It’s like human Whack-a-Mole.” He glanced over to her. “What’s going on?”

Sherri put a hand to her throbbing forehead. “So the plan was for us to leak Ryan’s location, right? Boris would come and find him and then the FBI could bring them both in after providing proof that Ryan didn’t sell him out. He could return to prison with his ass covered, so to speak. Unfortunately, the backup is late and Boris is early.”

“Or...” Ryan straightened in the doorway. “I wasn’t the only agent Boris had under his proverbial thumb, and there’s no backup coming.”

Acid shot into Sherri’s throat. She knew damn well Ryan could be right. “Lisa said she’s coming. I trust her. She wouldn’t lie. Not to me.”

“Even if she’s coming, Lisa’s one person,” Ash said. He pulled out his phone. “Kyle. I hate to rope you in when you’ve already gone above and beyond, but we need your sharpshooting skills. How fast can you get out to your safe house?” He paused and nodded into the phone. “Good. Thanks.”

Sherri heard a creak outside the back window and readied another bottle, chucking it in a high arc out the kitchen window this time. “Hmm. Can’t tell if it hit anything.”

Ash reloaded. He listened for a moment and then fired through the back wall. A shout and a curse followed. “I think I got a kneecap. That’ll hurt.” Score one for superhuman hearing. “How many more bottles of liquor you got?”

“Three.”

“Save the rest.” He tossed her a gun. “Take this, but conserve bullets. Kyle’s coming, and I want to see how many he can take out for us.”

Ryan scoffed. “You think one guy can take out four, maybe five others? Boris is practically fucking bulletproof. I’ve seen him come through worse than this without a scratch.”

“Kyle’s good. Best human I’ve seen with a gun.” He pointed at Ryan. “Think you can handle this? You gonna man up if your boyfriend goes down out there?”

Ryan gritted his teeth. “He did try to have me killed.”

“That doesn’t answer the question.”

Oh, hell. “That’s enough! Both of you. Ash, tell Kyle to try to keep Boris alive. The Feds will want him.”

“You sure?”

She hoped it was the right call. Tempting as it was, the man had killed and conned millions out of innocent people. With the connections he had in the crime world, he could lead the FBI to bigger fish. “Yes.”

Ash sent a text on his phone. “Done. All right. Let’s light up the last of those liquor bottles and toss them out. Keep up that barrier until help arrives.”

Sweat slicked Sherri’s palms as she pulled the bottles out. Two more went out the front. One went out the back. More swearing and taunts reached them from their makeshift bunker behind the sofa. Ash and Sherri returned fire when a few bullets whizzed over their heads.

After a minutes of waiting that felt like years, the noises outside died down. Ash’s phone chimed. He looked up. “Kyle said he got four guys. He didn’t see the one you described as Boris.”

Sherri looked out. “Are you sure you had the right guy?”

Ash looked out the window in the same direction. “Freakishly tall, blocky chin, light hair. Face scar. Stupid gold chain around his neck.”

“So rude,” an angry voice said behind them. “You don’t hear me insulting that hairy thing on your face, do you?”

They turned to find Ryan silently pleading with his eyes as his ex-lover held a knife to his throat. He must have come in through the side bedroom window while the others kept them distracted out front.

“Let him go,” Sherri said. “He didn’t betray you. Hurting him won’t buy you anything except more jail time.”

“Oh, I disagree. If I have hostages, I get to leave in one piece, don’t I?” He aimed his gun at Ash and slipped the knife into his pocket. Another gun came out, which he handed to Ryan. “Hold this one, malchick.”

Her ex took the gun. Funny, he didn’t look so distressed all of a sudden. He looked... resigned.

“Ryan.” Sherri hissed his name in disbelief, her eyes going wide. She should have fucking known. On some level she had, maybe, but she’d honestly wanted to believe he had changed. She should have left him on his own after all.

She hadn’t wanted to believe Ryan could be so vile. Not after everything she’d done for him.

Ash raised an eyebrow at Ryan. “So. Fucking over the people who tried to save your life? That’s classy, man. Who’s the monster now?”

Boris laughed and handed Ryan a pair of handcuffs. “Restrain them.”

Sherri’s fury rose. She tried to sear Ryan with her eyes as he eased toward her. “So this was all manipulation to get me to help you?
Again?
You know, I hope you rot in Hell. No. I hope fire ants eat you alive, starting with your ineffectual balls. I hope you get a horrible case of the flu and die from dysentery, you slimy, miserable, cheating son of a bitch.”

Ryan crouched down beside her. “I love you too, Sher.”

Ash growled. “Don’t you fucking touch her.”

Boris tsked. “I think you need to stay focused on me. I’m the one with the gun.”

“I could rip your heart out faster than you’d even pull the trigger.”

Sherri jumped. “Ash. No.”

Boris laughed. “I’d like to see you try.”

Oh, no. Hell no. She couldn’t let them egg each other on. Ash would take the bait, and even if he won that battle, he’d lose in the end.

Tonight, with the moon full, he’d go too far. She’d seen the effects of him shifting too fast and attacking full-throttle. They’d been lucky enough to have EMTs nearby the last time. This time, they might not be so fortunate.

Ryan’s harsh breath rattled in her ear. He was still in pain, still struggling fill his lungs. She could use that to her advantage. “Sorry, Sher,” he whispered. “He wanted us to disappear over the border. I knew you could help get me down here. I told you, we both love monsters. I still can’t say no to mine.”

“Maybe you’ll grow a spine the day you catch on that he’s fucking another man on the side. It worked for me,” she shot back. Whatever. She’d loved Ryan. She’d sent him to jail anyway. When it came down to it, you had to save yourself.

Ryan shook his head and closed one cuff around her arm. Sherri grabbed him with her free hand and spun, throwing him off balance and closing the open cuff around his wrist. With their arms tethered she had the leverage she needed to shove him into the couch, bringing her elbow down between his legs and not feeling the least bit sorry. “You’re such a bastard.”

“Sherri, listen,” he gasped as he doubled over. “If I said no, he really would’ve killed me. I had no choice.”

“Oh, I’m done listening to you.”

Across the room, Boris raised his gun to aim at her, and Ash charged. In a blur of snarls and flying clothes and popping fur, he changed form, barreling into Boris’s legs. The gun flew across the room as one angry kingpin floundered face down on the wood floor beneath a seething wolf.

Everybody scrambled. Sherri’s arm jerked as she tried to pull one way and Ryan another. Her shoulders screamed for mercy.

An unholy yowl came from Boris as Ash dug his fangs into the Russian’s leg. Sherri caught a springy wag in Ash’s tail, like he’d gotten his mouth on a really great chew toy.

Well. At lease
one
of them was having fun.

Unfortunately, Boris nearly had his hands on a weapon, the pistol that had slid across the floor. Ash may have had a good hold on the bastard’s leg, but with gritted teeth and relentless twisting and reaching Boris had gained ground.

Sherri’s heart froze. She couldn’t let him get hold of that gun. She reached for a revolver hidden under the edge of the couch.

Her fingers closed around the grip when Ryan landed on top of her. They were still cuffed together and his full-body flop had all the style and grace of a sweaty, beached whale. Still, he had a good fifty pounds on her, and shaking him off wasn’t easy.

Horror replaced the air in Sherri’s lungs as Ryan’s hand closed around the butt of her gun, and Boris Gusin rolled toward Ash, aiming his weapon with a pleased smile.

A shot fired.

Sherri’s heart stopped, and someone who sounded a lot like her screamed until she couldn’t hear any more.

***

S
herri shivered under a thin blanket, wishing for Ash’s warmth. Nights got so cold out here.

Someone approached. She looked up from a pair of beaten up sneakers to find Kyle waving a chocolate chip granola bar in her face. “You okay?”

“I’m sure I will be.”

He pressed the granola bar into her hands. “I thought you might be hungry.”

She wasn’t. Exhaustion and fried nerves had left her shaky and nauseous, but she mustered up a small smile for Kyle’s generosity. “These were all I found in your kitchen. Do you ever eat anything else?”