Wolf Quest (14 page)

Or what it might imply. Danger. Not just from the storm, but from what was creating the storm and what might happen if the bad people calling up such violent weather succeeded in whatever they were building up to. Even Maria could tell that would be a seriously bad thing.

That’s why she was gallivanting across the plains, trying to help Jesse stop them. There was a sense of urgency that was getting more intense as time went on. It had been a sort of annoying hum yesterday, but it had escalated to a buzz this morning. She’d felt this a few times before, but never quite so strongly.

“We have to go,” she blurted out suddenly.

Jesse looked at her sharply. Their eyes met and held. She felt breathless. They had to leave soon. Something was coming. Jesse sniffed and cocked his head as if listening.

“What is it?” he finally asked.

“I don’t know, but we have to go. Soon. Like within the next twenty minutes.” She felt her spine start to vibrate and she knew she’d picked the right timing. “I’ve felt this before, but never so intensely. Please, Jesse. You have to believe me.”

“I do, babe.” He turned back to the computer and began shutting things down, much to her relief.

The bathroom door opened, and Zach walked out looking almost as good as new. He was wearing the jeans she’d scrounged for him and a T-shirt. He looked like any regular all-American teenager, just a bit larger than average. He was built on the big side and had more muscle mass than most kids, but not freakishly so. He’d fit in in a crowd. He just looked very athletic and tall.

“Pack up, sport,” Jesse told him as he moved economically around the small room, gathering his things. “We’re bugging out in fifteen minutes.”

Without a word to Maria, Zach started packing the few things he had. When he was finished with that task, he came over and started helping her without comment. Maria was kind of amazed the kid had unbent enough to help her. She had far more stuff than the men because she had a giant first aid kit and more clothes than the guys.

Between the three of them, they were ready to go in ten minutes. Jesse scouted outside before he loaded the SUV himself, telling Maria and Zach to stay put in the room until the vehicle was ready to go. When everything was organized to his satisfaction, he escorted Maria and Zach out quickly, with very little fuss.

They left the room as clean as they could—meaning they left as little trace of themselves and their identity in the unit as humanly possible. Maria guessed various kinds of Others might be able to tell more about who was in the room than regular humans. Weres could tell things by scent and would probably be able to say there had been two males and one female in the room. Magic users might have some kind of spell to show them who’d been there, though that might just be her imagination.

But there was a good chance the people on their trail were only human. In that case, they wouldn’t be able to learn much from the little Maria and the guys left behind in the room. Just a bunch of fast-food wrappers and a mountain of dirty towels.

Jesse got behind the wheel and headed out of the parking lot at a reasonably fast pace, though not so speedy as to attract attention. When she expected him to head directly for the highway, he surprised her by turning in to the drive-thru lane at the fast-food joint across the way.

“What do you want for breakfast? We might not have time to stop much today, so it would be good to eat now,” Jesse explained.

She looked over the menu board, surprised Jesse wasn’t heading away from the area before stopping for food. She told him her selection and waited impatiently while Zach gave him a much bigger order and Jesse relayed it all over the microphone to the girl manning the drive-thru window.

He pulled the SUV around the corner of the restaurant slowly. Suddenly, she understood.

“You want to see who’s on our trail,” she accused in a quiet voice. “Isn’t it a little foolhardy to stick around until they get here?”

“Hide in plain sight, babe. That’s always best. We’re not the droids they’re looking for. We’re merely a couple out for an early morning breakfast. Nothing to see here. Move along,” he intoned like the storm trooper in that famous movie scene.

She had to chuckle despite the antsy feeling that buzzed up and down her spine. Whatever—whoever—was coming was getting really close. She shivered and rubbed her arms.

“I guess I see your point, but what if they spot us? I feel them coming, Jesse. They’re almost here.” Her teeth chattered as chills gripped her. It had never been this strong before and her reaction shocked her.

“If they see us, we’ll deal with them. Zach is fit enough now to fight his way out if he has to, and I already know you’re good in a fight. It’d be nice to clear the trail, in a way. Of course, if they don’t spot us, we gain possibly valuable intel about exactly who is on our tail. Either way, we win.”

Jesse pulled up to the window, paid the bill and began accepting bags of food through the window. As soon as the scent of bacon hit Maria’s nose, her stomach growled. She was hungrier than she’d thought. Jesse winked at her as he handed the bags over with that little devilish smile that made her insides quiver.

Suddenly, her head turned as if drawn back toward the motel.

“They’re here.” Dread filled the pit of her stomach.

Jesse’s smile widened. She had to wonder at his reaction. He almost looked as if he was enjoying this, and in a way, she guessed he was. He’d turned the tables on the hunters and had begun hunting them. Maria assumed a predator like Jesse wouldn’t want to stay in the prey position long.

“Right on schedule,” he muttered, grabbing the last bags of food and slowly passing them over to her. “Now let’s see who we have here and how good they are.”

He scanned the area while she focused in on the single car that drew her attention. It was sleek and black. A sports car built for speed.

“Bad vehicle choice,” Jesse muttered.

“But it’s fast,” Zach pointed out from the back seat where he was staying low, just barely peeking over the top of the seats.

“Fast but not very maneuverable. If they had to follow me off road they wouldn’t have a prayer. Stealing that vehicle was a pure vanity play. Foolish,” Jesse scoffed.

“Stealing?” Maria repeated. “You think they stole that car?”

“You probably can’t see it, but there are small scratches on the door where they popped the lock. Careless.” Jesse shook his head as he moved the SUV out of the drive-thru lane. He parked behind a tree as if he were simply stopping to sort through the bags. A common enough task. He even busied his hands with some of the sandwiches in case anyone looked in their direction.

They sat watching as two men exited the shiny black sports car. One went into the office and came out a moment later, gesturing to the other. The men went unerringly to the room Maria and company had been in the night before. One faced outward, watching the surroundings while the other broke into the room.

“Those two are a joke,” Jesse said in a disgusted tone. “There’s got to be something else.” He began to scan the area again while the two men disappeared into the motel room.

Maria felt chills creep down her spine and turned her attention to the woods on either side of the motel. She extended her senses, hoping that whatever it was that let her know things from time to time would kick in and allow her to help in some small way.

She opened the window a crack, following her instincts and needing a bit of fresh air. Information began to flow on the breeze and she reached out blindly to grab Jesse’s arm.

“There are men in the woods. A lot of them,” she whispered.

“How can she know that?” Zach groused in a low voice from the back seat.

“She’s part dryad, kid.” Jesse didn’t look back as he answered, continuing to scan the woods. “The trees talk to her. Notice how she opened the window?”

“That’s not why,” Maria objected, not really sure why she was arguing the point. “I just wanted some fresh air.”

“Anything you say, sweetheart,” Jesse agreed in a tone that made her want to roll her eyes. He was humoring her. “What more can you tell me about the men in the woods?” Jesse’s tone turned serious again and she let it go, focusing instead on the matter at hand.

“They’re all on the other side of the road so far. Shadows. Men in black clothing. The metallic tang of weapons.” She shut her eyes to better focus on the impressions she received—from exactly where she didn’t know. “Oh, sweet Mother,” she shook as she encountered something in the woods that made her skin crawl.

Her eyes shot open as she disconnected from whatever it was that had nearly caught her snooping.

“What?” Jesse turned to her, concerned, his hand covering hers on his arm.

She’d clutched him so hard she felt the tension in his arm under her hand. She released him, fearing she’d hurt him with her nails, but he didn’t let her go far. He took her hand in both of his.

“There’s…uh…someone magical in the woods with those men. Someone…evil.” She tried not to think how ridiculous she sounded. “They don’t like him.”

“Who doesn’t like him? His men?” Jesse asked.

“Them too,” she agreed. “But whatever is telling me about this stuff. It doesn’t like him.”

“The forest then,” Jesse said confidently. “He’s got to be pretty bad for the trees to dislike him.”

She shut her eyes and focused again, listening to the information that was there when she allowed herself to hear it. She stepped more carefully this time, wary of the malevolent presence in the woods. She could almost see…

“He’s hanging back, but he’s in authority over the rest of the men. They defer to him. They’re…afraid of him,” she whispered as she received the impressions. “He wears a suit and fancy shoes. The others are all in black fatigues and boots. He’s not armed, but he’s even more dangerous than the fighters.”

“Where is he?” Jesse asked. “Can you tell?”

“He’s on the left side of the motel, near the back. The men in black boots have surrounded the motel, but they’re waiting for something.” She opened her eyes, looking to the spot where she knew the man in question was hiding, but she couldn’t see anything out of place in the woods around the motel from this far away.

“They’re probably waiting for a report from the dirtbags who went inside,” Zach supplied from the back seat.

“Do you see anything?” Maria asked Jesse in a quiet voice.

“Moving shadows. Men in black fatigues, just like you said,” he replied, concentrating on his observations. Maria felt reassured. She wasn’t imagining things. “They’re good, but not good enough for me not to see them when they move positions.”

As she watched, the men who’d gone inside the motel room came out, holding a pillowcase that bulged. They’d taken something from the room, but she couldn’t imagine what. They’d only left trash behind. One of the men was on his cell phone. Maria shut her eyes again to concentrate on the information that was there if she really listened.

“The man in the suit in the woods is on the phone. He’s talking to the guy in front of the motel. He’s yelling at him and cursing,” she reported. Where she was getting this information from, she had no idea. She hoped she wasn’t making it up, but she didn’t think she was.

“That makes sense,” Zach whispered with a trace of humor in his voice. “The dude on the phone is wincing and looking kind of pale.”

“Suit man is not happy. He just threw his phone against a tree. It smashed. He’s stomping away, seething. He’s heading away from the motel. He’s going to a side road behind the motel. He left his car on the side of the road. It’s shiny. Silver. Sleek. It’s a cat. A Jaguar.” Maria opened her eyes, amazed at the detail of the information she was able to pick up. It had never been quite like this before.

“Figures,” Jesse said with a trace of humor. “Damn felines.”

Zach chuckled from the back seat. “Says the canine.”

“The team is pulling back,” Jesse reported, scanning the woods. Maria saw the two men who’d broken into the motel room get back into their car. The pillowcase went into the back seat of their stolen black sports car.

Jesse bit into one of the breakfast sandwiches, looking for all the world like a guy who’d just stopped for a snack. He handed one to Maria casually.

“Eat up,” he said with a friendly smile. “Just in case anybody’s looking. It also couldn’t hurt to feed the beast.” He grinned at her as her stomach growled again.

She leaned forward playfully and took a big bite of the sandwich in his hand, holding his gaze. She licked her lips and things went from playful to sinful in a heartbeat. She chewed, held captive by his gaze, starving for his touch.

“Jeez, guys. Get a room already,” Zach groused from behind them, startling Maria out of the dreamlike state she’d been in.

The teenager stuck his hand over the seat, right between Maria and Jesse to grab another of the bags that held food. He dumped it out on the back seat and began munching on whatever came to hand. Maria was surprised at how fast the kid could pack it away. Even more so than other teenage boys she’d been around.

Maria turned back to her study of the motel. The black sports car was gone. Closing her eyes, she knew the silver Jaguar was gone as well. The team of soldiers was almost gone. One paused—the last one out—to scratch something into a tree and drop something white on the ground, which he then kicked debris over hastily before running to catch up with his group. They too had left large black SUVs parked on that back road. They all piled into the vehicles and followed after the Jaguar at a less speedy pace.