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28
ELI
Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Reserve
Travis County, Texas
After the cake had been served and enjoyed, we managed to escape. It had been quite a nice cake — Victoria sponge with fresh berries and whipped cream, just like I’d get back home — but I could barely focus on the taste. Once we’d returned to Remus’ house, Iris had gone quiet, quieter than she was before. I wasn’t sure if it was that Damon had found us in the woods or that we’d returned to the scene where she’d just had an anxiety attack. She was clearly unhappy, which didn’t sit well with my wolf or me.
Leaving to meet Ryan in the woods was almost a relief. We’d taken separate cars to the party, so I shared the pin he’d sent me with Iris and followed her. Fortunately, the forest wasn’t that far from Remus’ home, though it was well outside of Austin. I spent the entire drive wondering what Ryan had to share and why he felt he had to get this far out of town to share it with us.
I’ll have to keep on the lookout for anyone following him.
It could just be paranoia on his part, but I couldn’t take that risk. Iris and I couldn’t afford to have our cover blown.
Being a wildlife reserve instead of a city park, there were no lights when we arrived. Iris seemed to find every stump and root on the trail with her boots before I finally reached back, offering my hand. “Here,” I murmured. She looked hesitant but, after a moment, accepted my hand. “I won’t trip you — promise.”
“Thanks,” Iris said. I could feel the tension between us, Iris squeezing my hand intermittently as we wound our way further through the trees. All shifters had an enhanced sense of hearing and improved night vision, but… I had no idea if you had to be actively shifting to reap those benefits. If that was the case, then would Iris’ senses be weaker — worn down? She’d only just reconnected with her wolf, so I didn’t want to assume she could see until she told me she didn’t need my help.
“How much further?” she whispered. I fished out my phone with my other hand, tapping on the map.
I frowned. “We shouldn’t be far off. Do you smell him?”
We both halted for a moment and I lifted my chin, but all I could smell wasforest. Iris sniffed next to me and sighed. “No.”
“Maybe he’s late,” I grumbled, pursing my lips.
Iris snorted behind me. “Or he’s been held up.”
Ryanhadsounded quite stressed on the phone, but… I didn’t want to consider that possibility. “He’s probably keeping a low profile. I don’t think he’s used to this sort of thing.”
Iris simply hummed, opting not to argue with me and letting me know just that. I frowned into the darkness as we marched on in silence, eventually coming to the rocky outcropping. It looked like a place for hikers to stop; it was probably nice to picnic or relax in the daytime. I wouldn’t know; I wasn’t a hiker myself.
“What’s that smell? Is that—” Iris stopped, going quiet as she pressed closer. I could almost hear her pulse.
I stopped dead in my tracks, my nostrils flaring.Copper.Blood.My wolf pressed forward as my skin prickled. There was no reason for there to be blood out here. I stepped forward carefully, trying to muffle the sound of my movement. It only took me a few more steps to spy a strange shape in the underbrush. “Shit,” I cursed, hurrying forward. “Ryan?”
The moment I saw his face, I knew he was dead.
Iris sucked in a sharp breath, her fingers tightening like a vice on my hand. “Oh—”
I turned to look at her; her face was as pale as a sheet. It was like she’d seen a ghost; I realized too late that it was probably like seeing a ghost. Iris had seen death before — she’d seen gunshots before —Fuck.
I took a step away, trying to usher Iris with me. Her eyes were still glued to Ryan’s corpse, and I knew she couldn’t tear her gaze away from the single bullet hole in his forehead. His damn eyes were still open. It was a disturbing sight, to be sure, but I couldn’t get caught up in that right now. As upsetting as it was for me, it was probably one hundred times worse for Iris.
As much as I wanted to comfort her right now, I couldn’t stop looking around. Scanning the trees.This feels a lot like a trap… Ryanhadsounded stressed on the phone. What if someone found him out and forced him to make that call?I had just assumed the man was feeling the pressure of being covert; I hadn’t even considered that someone was holding him hostage.Fuck! Eli, you’re supposed to be smarter than that. Consider all the options.
“Iris, I think we need to—”
CRACK!
The gunshot rangout before I picked up on any movement in the forest. Seconds later, pain ripped through my right shoulder and tore a gasp from me as I stumbled backward. I barely had time to register the burning pain when a man appeared from behind a large bald cypress tree, his gun leveled at me. A black ski mask covered his face, but I didn’t need to see his eyes to know that murder was his intent.
I dropped my shoulders and rushed the man, baring my teeth in a ferocious snarl. Whatever he was expecting me to do, it wasn’t that — the gunman startled for a moment, taking a single step back, but that second of hesitation was all I needed. I lunged forward, tackling him to the forest floor. He hit the ground with a thud, and I scrambled to grab the handgun, shoving it away. I heard it skitter across the leaves, and I tried to pin him down, keeping him from chasing after it.
The man growled and thrashed beneath me, wrenching one arm free. His hand lurched forward and grabbed my injured shoulder, thumb pressing into the fresh wound. I snarled as pain screamed through me; I could feel blood roll down my chest, and I lurched forward again, slugging the man across the face.
Though the ski mask softened the blow, I still heard him snarl, tipping his head to spit blood. He kicked his legs, trying to get me off his torso. I doubled down, forcing all my weight downward as I refused to let him up. There was no way I was going to end up like Ryan Sanders; I simply wouldn’t allow it. Adrenaline coursed through me as we thrashed against the forest floor.
