Chapter 18
Willow tilted her head, studying Smokey intently. It wasn’t that she doubted him—after all, the proof was on her chest, but it was more the case of Smokey not telling her the entire truth. As far as she knew, it would take a special gift from the gods to do what he’d done, so while it might be true his grandfather had taught him something, there was definitely more to the story than that simple answer. But that could wait. “We need to find Hope and get her away from that asshole.”
“I’ll do that,” Smokey replied. “You go find Jackson and tell him what happened to his mother and then I need you to find Norm, Theo and the kids, and make sure they get home safely.”
“What are they doing out in the woods?” Willow asked.
“We were on a picnic, but when I heard gunshots and your scream, I told them to hide while I headed out to help you.”
“Oh no…were all of Hope’s grandbabies with you?”
“Most of them. Now please go.”
“Josiah shot me…I should be the one to go after him. He won’t stand a chance against my tiger.”
“I’ll handle it,” Smokey said, as he bent down to pick up the three bullets he’d set on the ground while tending to Willow. “See,” he said, opening his hand to show her, “he shot me three times.” Pressing them into her palm and folding her fingers over them, he continued, “Show these to Jackson…he’ll know what to do with them. Now go!”
Clutching the bullets, Willow turned and headed for the path that led to the pack house. Once Jackson knew about his mother, she’d find the kids and make sure they got back home safely. Itwas the least she could do in exchange for Hope’s efforts to save her.
Smokey waited until Willow was out of sight before turning toward the direction Hope and Josiah had taken. Calling on his bear’s senses, he lifted his nose, sniffing until he locked onto Hope’s scent he’d picked up from the bandage she’d made for Willow’s wound.
He picked his way through the brush, moving carefully, aware that the man he was hunting was dangerous. Unwilling to chance getting shot again, he remained in his human form, refusing to let his bear take over, knowing his bear’s need for revenge could trigger reckless actions. And if that happened again, Smokey might not be so lucky.
Falling back into the mindset he’d always adopted when on a mission for the agency, Smokey stayed off the path his quarry was on, using the forest to hide his movements. His ability to be stealthy had surprised Glenn and Ghost, who boasted that their tigers were superior to a ‘big lumbering grizzly bear’ as they put it, and Smokey had reluctantly conceded they might have a point. But in his human form, he was far better than either of them.
Stopping periodically, Smokey listened for signs that meant he was getting close. When he heard only the sounds of the forest, he continued to follow their scents, thankful Josiah had made no effort to conceal them, which was puzzling at first. As he found out on his first mission for the agency, hiding a scent was the most important thing a shifter on the run needed to do.He thinks both Willow and I are dead.Smiling grimly when the realization hit him, Smokey now knew he had the advantage—and he wasn’t going to let it slip away.
~/~/~/~/~
Norm burst into Jackson’s study, his eyes wild with fright. He’d left his pregnant mate and five kids alone with a shooter on the loose and fear was clearly written on his face. Stopping in front of Jackson’s desk, he leaned over it, bracing himself with one hand, panting hard. It took a moment before he was able to get a few words out. “Gunshots…a bunch of them…Smokey heard Willow scream…you gotta come right away!”
Frozen for a moment, Jackson’s heart thumped wildly at Norm’s message. But then his Alpha took over. Rising, he asked, “Where are Theo and the kids?”
“I left them in a cave near the meadow,” Norm replied, his breath coming in spurts. “I have to find Smokey. He went after Willow and then there were more gunshots. He needs me…don’t ask me how I know, I just do.”
“The kids are safe, right?” asked Jackson.
“They were…when I left them.”
“Do you know if Willow was injured?” asked Jackson, looking over Norm’s shoulder at Steel who had entered the room. Quickly filling him in on the situation, Jackson turned back to Norm. “What about Willow? Was she injured?”
“I don’t know…Smokey knew it was Willow who screamed, but then there was another scream and he didn’t know who that belonged to.”
“Mom was with Willow,” Jackson said softly. He was silent for a moment. Then reining in his fear, he began to issue orders. “Steel, assemble two teams of enforcers…the rest I want to surround the pack house. Tell Groose I want them close enoughtogether so they can see each other. No one is allowed in without my permission.
“Steel, you and Norm will take one of the teams to go get Theo and the kids and bring them back here. I’ll take the other team and find Smokey, Willow, and Mom. I want Mac on my team and tell him there might be several gunshot wounds…but make sure he knows to keep quiet about it. I don’t want Dakota stressing out about Mom. Let’s go!”
After Steel left the room, Norm asked, “Is there anything I can do until we leave?”
Jackson looked out the window at the late afternoon sun, before replying. “It’s gonna cool down soon so get some warm clothes for Theo and the kids to take with you. When was the last time they ate?”
“Around noon.”
Nodding, Jackson said, “I’ll pack a bag of smacks for them just in case. Now go…I’ll meet you out front.” After Norm left, Jackson picked up his phone and dialed Reeve Nicolet.
“Hello?”
“Reeve, it’s Jackson. I have a situation over here.”
