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I’d make fucking sure of it.
Not for the first time in the last few minutes, thinking about Ridge pushed my wolf’s emotions over the edge. She didn’t deal well with angst. Neither did I, so she wasn’t the only one ready to topple over the cliff.
My heart seized, my gut clenched. I didn’t know if it would always be this way when I thought of him while we were apart, or if it was specific to this situation. It reminded me of a song I’d once heard. It was about not knowing what you’ve got till it was gone. Well, now he was gone, and I knew: I needed him the same way I needed oxygen.
But I couldn’t think about that too deeply now. At this moment, I needed to hold it together. If Clawson saw me as a liability, there was no way he’d let me help bring Ridge home. And if I tried to do it on my own, he would be so focused on stopping me that he’d forget the ultimate objective.Hopefully, he would realize what was important and find a way to keep his anger out of it.
“The hunters’ attack was stealthy,” Clawson said. “Planned. Carried out by a small team that struck hard and fast.” He pursed his lips as if unsure whether or not he wanted to continue.
I shook my head and raised an eyebrow. “Yes?” I needed him to tell me all of it. Knowledge was power, and I needed all the power I could get.
“They took not only Ridge but three other shifters as well—Audrey Greenthorne, because she was here in the ER. If they left her behind, she could have ID’d them and would have had their scent, so she could have led us right to them. They grabbed her along with Ridge.” He paused again. “They also took Diana Bogford. She was returning to her inn after leaving the Moonlight Café. And they snapped up Zander Elkins on their way out of town.”
“Fuck!” This wasn’t the wolf in me being feral; it was just me. They’d taken Diana, who, in the short time I’d known her, had become a close friend and a caring mother figure. Audrey and I would probably never be best friends, but we’d managed to set our differences aside and come to a place of mutual respect.
During my hunter training, I’d seen just how terribly shifters were treated upon capture. My stomach tumbled, making the ache around my wound throb harder.The torture they would be subjected to was enough to make the strongest shifter go mad. Determined hunters didn’t stop until the shifter was dead. They prolonged the process until they got whatever they wanted from the shifter. Regardless, the shifter’s life was already forfeit.
Bile churned in my stomach as I imagined my kind, smiling, thoughtful, fake fiancé alpha in the hands of the people who’d trained me. I couldn’t imagine my father and brother getting their hands on Audrey and Diana. The idea made my head spin. It went against the way my father operated.
During the brainwashing—they called it “training”—I’d been subjected to growing up after my mother’s murder, and as a part of the “family,” we focused solely on the men. I couldn’t figure out why my father would start taking women. Perhaps it was part of some grand master plan, or maybe Diana and Audrey had been in the wrong place at the wrong time.
That I’d ever been a part of such an organization shamed me now, and my skin burned with heat. I would never be able to forgive myself if they didn’t come home whole and unharmed.
“I don’t know why the hunters didn’t take more shifters,” Clawson said. “The ones they took, except for Ridge, seem to be victims of opportunity. They didn’t go hunting for anyone else despite having a solid grasp of the layout of Blackwood Creek. They hunted for Ridge, found him, took him.” He shook his head and lifted his head to look me in the eye. “Right now, the town’s in mayhem.”
Obviously. We had a murdered deputy and a murderous librarian, and the mayor was kidnapped. This would not entice tourists to visit the town.
Clawson ran a hand through his hair in frustration. When he lowered it, his hair was pointing in all directions as he continued staring at me. “I’m withholding all the information about town residents going missing overnight, but Ridge is the mayor and unaccounted for. It’s only a matter of time before people start noticing and realize something happened.” He looked even more haggard than he had a moment ago. “But when they discover hunters are behind it, chaos will erupt in Blackwood Creek.”
And there wouldn’t be a damn thing anyone could do to stop it.
He stood in front of me, waiting for me to reestablish eye contact. His voice was low and deep, purposeful, adamant.
“I’m going after Ridge and the others alone. We can’t afford to send a task force or any of my men. We’re stretched thin after Hill’s death, and now that the hunters know this place the way they do, we need to make sure there’s as much security here as possible in case they strike again while they think we’re weakened.” He looked at me hard and pledged, “Iwillreturn your fiancé to you. I’m bringing everybody back.”
I nodded. “Damn straight you are, because I’m going with you.”
Clawson blinked like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Are you out of your fucking mind? You’re not going anywhere. You still need to heal, not to mention Ridge will kill me if I let you tag along.”
He was probably right, but I needed to do this. I had to. “I’m going. Period.” The finality in my tone should’ve ended the whole discussion.
Clawson scoffed. “Youareout of your mind, aren’t you? He’ll kill me. Probably rip my head off and keep it as a trophy. I like my head. I particularly like my head on my body.” He held up the hand not holding the sheet. “No fucking way am I bringing the alpha’s mate into a potentially fatal situation.”
But I was a shifter, too, and my wolf wanted vengeance. She wanted retribution. She wanted Ridge, and there was no fucking way she would be talked down.
“Listen, Sheriff,” I spoke with as much venom as I could muster. “Since you don’t have enough men to protect a pissant if the hunters decide to come back for me, I’m in just as much danger here as out there. So your reasoning means shit. I’m going.” I could be stubborn when I had to be.
“Dammit, Tori, you’re…”
I pushed out a frustrated sigh. “Clawson, let me put it a different way.” My voice sounded deceptively calm. The next part wasn’t exactly true since I was injured, but I didn’t care. I’d make it work however I needed to. “I don’t need you. I’m perfectly capable of tracking Ridge myself, whether you give me permission or not. But I think we’ll work much better as a team, so you might as well accept my help.”
He didn’t seem convinced, but I still had an ace to play.
“I know where the hunters are taking them.”
His eyes widened. I had him now.
“I’m your best bet of not wasting time and returning them home quickly and in one piece.”
