Midnight Wolf (Shifters Unbound #11)(5)

He might have nothing to do with Shifter Bureau, a voice inside her reasoned. He might be working for Shifters who wanted to catch her for their own purposes. It happened.

No matter what, Tamsin needed to get the hell out of here. She ran, heading for deeper darkness. The problem was, she hadn’t had time to scout this place as much as she’d have liked. She’d thought she’d have plenty of time to walk to her motorcycle and ride back to the B and B, no need for running through the bayous. She wouldn’t have come here tonight for another game at all if she hadn’t needed the money.

The road was in that direction. Right? Tamsin sniffed, but her human nose wasn’t as sensitive as her Shifter’s. She couldn’t see as well in the dark as her Shifter either.

So now she was running through unknown woods, her sense of direction screwed up, trying to get away from a wolf. The Goddess was not smiling on Tamsin Calloway tonight.

Mists gathered under the trees; this part of the bayous was liable to become treacherous swamp at every step. Tamsin preferred hills and woods that were drier, with clear, crisp air, but fugitives couldn’t be choosers.

She ran along, slipping in mud that clung to her boots and spattered its way up her jeans. She was hot in this muggy air, her jacket and jeans not made for the warmth of early September in southern Louisiana.

Hot damn, there’s the road. Tamsin spied the damp strip of asphalt in a patch of light from a streetlamp between the trees, and made for it. She would let the road guide her out of here, back to the intersection where she’d hidden her motorcycle.

Wolf-boy would find it more difficult to track her on pavement, but not impossible. Tamsin gave a look and a sniff behind her, but she saw and smelled nothing. Heard nothing either, and her human hearing was pretty good.

Maybe wolf-man hadn’t bothered to come into the woods after her. There were some nice-looking human females in the plantation house who were eager for Shifter guys—maybe the Lupine had stayed and let himself be distracted by them.

Long enough for Tamsin to get away? She hoped wolf-boy was horny.

She moved quietly from the darkness under the trees to the road, hurrying down the damp pavement.

“Now, where are you running off to?”

Damn it. Tamsin pulled up, finding herself facing not the wolf-man but one of the guys from the poker table. No—three of them. They’d parked their truck along this stretch, and now they were standing next to it, arms folded, watching Tamsin. Had they gotten lucky and found her? Or did they know where the only dry path behind the plantation house came out?

“Not running anywhere,” Tamsin said lightly. “Just heading home.”

“With our money,” the man who had lost the most consistently said.

“Which I won, fair and square. Good night, gentlemen.”

She tried to walk around them, but the loser stepped in front of her. “You’re a cheating bitch and you know it.”

He’d been singing this refrain all night. “I don’t cheat.” Tamsin glared at him, offended and wondering why she was letting herself have time to be. “I’m a good player.”

“Let it go, dude,” his friend said.

Yes, let it go. Tamsin again started past them, needing to be on her bike before wolf-toes finished getting his rocks off and came after her.

“But she’s got our money,” the loser said. “And she’s all alone out here. Poor little lady.”

Tamsin smothered a sigh. She could probably fight off one of them—all three at the same time, maybe not. Plus, if she fought, they’d figure out she was Shifter. She’d have too much physical strength for a human, a small-looking female one at that. If she shifted and scared them shitless, she’d drop her keys and her money, and maybe not have time to dress again before the Lupine caught up to her.

The man who’d told his friend to let it go brightened. He might be a reasonable guy in daylight in the middle of a town with people watching him, but at the moment, he was on a back road, in the dark, with his asshole friends, facing a young woman who was alone and carrying a wad of cash.

This was not turning out to be her night.

Decision time. Fight. Shift as a last resort. Tamsin shucked her jacket, but they didn’t wait to see what she was doing. As soon as the jacket hit the ground, they were on her.

Tamsin’s advantage was that two of her assailants were drunk. The third guy, the one who might have been reasonable in other circumstances, was more or less sober, and he attacked her the most viciously.

Loser staggered back when Tamsin’s boot landed in his middle. She spun, landing a punch on the second guy’s face, and struck out at guy number three, the sober one.

Sober Guy sidestepped her, then caught Tamsin in an armlock, lifting her from her feet against his chest. The second guy recovered quickly and grabbed Tamsin’s legs as she flailed and fought.

“I get her first!” Loser yelled. The yell was more of a choke—he was still recovering from her kick.

Tamsin twisted her leg out of the second man’s grasp and swung her foot at him. He managed to dodge, but at least Tamsin had her leg free.

She twisted again, but the man still holding her clamped down, shoving his arm across her throat to cut off her breath.

Loser unfolded himself, an angry sparkle in his watery eyes. “Hold her steady. I don’t want to bruise my dick on her.”