Waving his gun around unsteadily, Josiah said, “He got what he deserved. And now I’ll have what should have been mine all along, and he won’t be able to steal it from me.”
“You mean me, right?” asked Hope. “What about your wife and children? Or are you planning to kill them too?”
Pointing his gun at Hope, Josiah warned, “Careful there, my love. Just because you’ll be my mate, don’t get it in your head that you can backtalk me.
Hope remained silent for a few moments. Her brother-in-law was clearly insane and she wondered if her husband had known that before that night when she’d lost everything…not everything, she reminded herself. Seven of her children had survived and were now thriving. That was a miracle that had her thanking the gods every day. And it was something worth fighting for, especially with her sons making her a grandmother nine times over with more on their way.
Hope had no experience dealing with a person so lost in his madness he viewed his behavior as normal. Realizing that she had to tread carefully, asked, “Where’s our new home?”
Smiling, Josiah gestured towards the north. “Someplace no one will find us.”
Alarm bells went off in her head at Josiah’s boast; she knew then the time had come for her to act. Thinking for a moment, she devised a plan that, hopefully, would work. Then summoningher courage, Hope rose and walked over to Josiah. “I’m ready to go,” she said softly.
Smirking, Josiah stood up and gestured with his gun for her to walk ahead of him. She was up to something, he thought. The glint of determination in her eyes warned him to be cautious. He glanced around the forest one last time before following his hostage.
~/~/~/~/~
While Hope had rested, Smokey worked his way through the trees until he was close enough to hear their conversation. Just as he’d suspected, Josiah was headed someplace where a vehicle was waiting for them. So that meant Smokey had two choices—attack now or wait till the fucker reached his getaway car. And if Josiah had some kind of backup waiting there, it would stack the odds against Smokey.
Somehow, he had to get Hope out of the way before Josiah could react and shoot her—or him. That was going to be tough, because the man stayed close to Hope, probably to make it easier to grab her if she tried to run. Analyzing the plan from all angles, Smokey decided surprise was going to be his biggest advantage. It was showtime.
Moving to the opposite side of the path took longer than he’d expected, but it was a critical move if he wanted to remain concealed. Ten minutes later he was in position, and now it was a waiting game. He tensed as he heard them approach. Shifting only his hands, Smokey glanced down at their ten, razor-sharp claws.
From his hiding spot, he watched as Hope passed him. Then, with a thunderous roar, he bolted onto the path, landing just a foot in front of Josiah.
Chapter 19
Pausing at the edge of the meadow, Norm scanned it carefully before sniffing the air to confirm that no one had been there since he’d left. Turning to Steel beside him, he murmured, “The path to the cave is on the other side.”
Nodding, Steel took several steps before he felt Norm’s hand on his arm. Raising an eyebrow, he glanced at him, waiting for an explanation.
“It’s hard to find, especially since I made a lot of false trails,” Norm said.
“I’ll follow you,” Steel replied, letting him pass, before falling in behind him.
Walking through the meadow’s tall grass, Norm decided it would be better to alert Steel to Danny’s recent behavior before they got to the cave. “Uhmm…there’s something you should know about Danny…”
“What about him? Has he been hurt?” Steel asked.
Stopping, Norm turned to look at Steel. “No, trust me, Danny is fine…it’s just…well…it’s just…”
“What? Tell me.”
“Well, he thinks he’s the Alpha of the kids…”
Chuckling, Steel said, “I already knew that.”
“Yeah…well he also thinks he’s the Alpha of Smokey, Theo, and me. Right now, he’s in the cave protecting Theo and the youngsters but before that, he insisted on leading everyone on our way to the cave, and then he tried to follow Smokey when he went after Willow.”
Smiling broadly, Steel said, “Wait until I tell Jackson.”
“Well, just don’t be surprised if Danny challenges us when we approach. I left him in charge of protecting the group and, trust me, he takes his responsibility very seriously.”
“Thanks for the info,” Steel replied, his voice full of amusement.
“Yeah…well don’t say I didn’t warn you,” Norm muttered, irked that Steel found it so funny.
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