Leap of the Lion (The Wild Hunt Legacy #4)(99)

Alec’s low growl was echoed by the cahirs.

“Are you positive she’s been kidnapped?” Wells’s face showed no expression, but his icy blue eyes held murder.

“Yes. They took her, stole her from our town. From us.” Alec’s voice rose, and he slammed his fist down on a table. With a loud crack, the wood split down the middle.

Shay gripped his shoulder. “Easy, a brathair-faoirm.”

Like a furious cat, Alec strode across the room and back…and then said in a controlled voice, “She’d gone to visit Evangeline, an elderly human living on the outskirts. Three male humans captured Vicki there and knocked Evangeline out. She called the minute she woke. I tracked the scents to a car.”

Oh Vicki. Guilt made the whole room darken. I brought this down on them. Was Vicki all right? Pregnant or not, she wouldn’t have surrendered; she’d have fought.

Wells echoed her thought. “I’m surprised the humans survived.”

Alec’s smile was vicious. “From the amount of blood—human blood—on the floor, one didn’t.”

“That’s good to hear. Now…from what Darcy has said about her previous captors, the Scythe don’t bluff. They will kill the sergeant if they don’t get Calum.” Wells leaned forward and flattened his hands on the table. “I’m not Daonain, but it seems unwise to let these power-hungry bastards have a Cosantir.”

As the cahirs nodded, Darcy felt cold sliding into her belly and recognized it as fear.

“It would, indeed, be unwise.” Calum’s gaze was cold. Stark. “However, the God should have enough power, even in a city, to kill me as soon as she is released. They will get nothing—”

“By the God,” Shay shouted. “Don’t even talk like that.”

Zeb growled, low and dark. “Have some faith in your cahirs, Cosantir.”

Reaching out, Alec shook Calum. “Think, brawd.”

The Cosantir hissed at him, then bowed his head and pulled in a breath, visibly trying to overcome the fear for his mate.

Darcy bit her lip. The Scythe knew the value of hostages, especially with the Daonain. A beloved female in danger would drive the calmest shifter to become an unthinking animal.

“Forgive me, cahirs.” Calum’s voice was rough.

Every one of his warriors bowed a head.

Including Zeb who held a phone. “Tynan, we need a location for the female villagers’ prison, right the fuck now.”

The room went silent as the Seattle cop’s voice came through the speakerphone. “You’re in luck. I correlated my info with the Scythe van’s tracker log that Wells sent me. I’m pretty sure I found the property.”

Darcy clasped her hands together, hope rising.

“Odds are they’d take Vicki to that prison.” Alec scowled. “But if we free her and the other captives there, the Scythe will cut their losses and kill the shifter-soldiers. Their location isn’t—”

“We found the forest camp,” Darcy interrupted. “And the males are there. We saw them this morning.”

“It appears we have ourselves a hunt.” Shay ripped the map of the Twin Sisters area off the wall and laid it on a table.

“Two hunts.” Zeb joined him at the table. “We need to attack each place at the same time.”

“Aye.” Calum tapped his fingers on the map. “But how do we get into the Seattle prison and kill the guards before they turn on their hostages.”

Wells spoke up. “I’m not fond of open frontal assaults, especially against anything with concealed machine gun embrasures.”

“Trouble is, getting anyone in from the rear is…difficult.” Alec shook his head. “That blackberry thicket perimeter is damn clever. Only a cat shifter could use the trees to get over it. But fruit tree limbs and two hundred pound cats are a bad combination.”

“By the time we get organized and drive there, it’ll be nearly dark.” Zeb scowled. “If the grounds are floodlighted, even feline eyes can’t compensate enough to see through tree shadows. You won’t be able to see well enough to assess the branches.”

Alec’s shoulder slumped. “Wait until tomorrow? That won’t…”

As the cahirs talked, fear skittered across Darcy’s nerves. They mustn’t postpone an attack. The Scythe wouldn’t permit a delay—they’d push Calum by hurting Vicki and her unborn cubs. But even if Calum turned himself over, they’d never let Vicki go.

Yet Alec was right. Most of the fruit tree branches were too small to support a full-grown male shifter. An experienced shifter might have been able to follow her scent through the trees—but too much time had passed.

A shifter could use her scent to get through the trees now…if she went back in.

Terror wrapped fingers around her body, squeezing the air from her lungs. She couldn’t go back. No.

But Vicki…Vicki was her friend. Had stood up for her against her mate. “I know this isn’t a democracy, oh guardian of the territory, but I’m all for mercy in this case.”

“I need to show you.” Her voice was not even a whisper.

The cahirs had shifter hearing. And they all turned toward her.

Wells frowned. “Did you say something?”

She wrapped her arms around her waist. “I can get back in the same way I got out. And the cat shifters can see well enough—and smell well enough—to follow me in the dark.”