Rescued By An Alpha, Complete Set (18 page)

They'd be able to trace the call. Now all he had to do was wait. He slipped his hands behind him in the loosened ropes and bided his time.

Finally, they came to a stop. They pulled Tom out of the car and led him into a house. When they pulled off the hood, he found himself in a room without windows. He glanced at the men and saw the bulges of guns beneath their jackets.

One of the men said, "You stay here. We bring you food and then you sleep." He left and locked the door behind him. Tom waited, but the guards said nothing to him. There was a bucket, but it was thin plastic, and breaking down the door would be useless.

Tom slumped against the wall and napped. Finally, the man returned, startling him awake. He set a plate of sandwiches and a cup of coffee on the table in the centre of the room. Tom considered running for it, but the heavily-armed guards were waiting around the corner.

"You eat now and then you sleep. We drive far tomorrow," the man said. He left, slamming the door.

Tom stared at the food and coffee and decided not to eat it, in case it was poisoned. His stomach clenched in hunger. Just then, his phone vibrated softly. Franco!

We are on your tail

Relief flooded Tom. He ignored the sandwich and coffee and crawled into the corner, settling into a restless sleep.

Early the next morning, the two men came in and tied his hands, put the hood over his head, and pushed him into the back of the car again. The road got rougher. After driving all day, the car stopped. They pulled him out and led him into a house. It seemed bigger than the one they were in the night before. They led him up some stairs and pushed him into a room where they took off the hood and untied his hands once again. He considered breaking free, but there were two of them, and they did have guns--and he didn't even have a knife.

Not that it mattered. As he looked around, his heart sank. He was back in Carlos Fontana's Jungle Retreat.

Chan woke, disturbed, from a nightmare. He kept seeing flashes of Tom tied up in a room. His instincts had been going wild for days, and no amount of meditation could soothe them. He cleared his throat and approached Gonzo. The other alpha male sprawled out in jaguar form, resting in the sun.

"Gonzo, I keep getting visions about our friend Tom. He's definitely in trouble. What would you suggest we do about it?"

Gonzo shifted form. "I know. I've seen it too. They are bad people, but they'll come by the river soon. I can sense it. The men will bring him near here, and we'll ambush them and rescue Tom."

"I'll talk to the pride so they can prepare for an attack. The ones who do not want to take part can retreat to the back cave."

Chan assembled the whole pride into the big cavern and explained the situation to them. Most of them wanted to help save Tom, whatever it took.

Back in the Jungle Retreat, a helicopter landed. A few men stepped out, all carrying rifles. Tom could see them from his window. A little while after, two men came into his room, pointed their guns at him, and order him to come with them. Fear burned cold through every vein in his body. As he hesitated, reluctant to lose himself in the jungle again, one of the guards jabbed a gun in his back. "Come on," growled the man. They pushed him ahead, leaving his hood off, but leaving his hands tied. Tom fidgeted, feeling the chafe marks of the rope and knowing he couldn't wiggle out of it this time--there were too many people watching.

They shoved him into the helicopter, strapped him in, and took off. Tom peered out the window at the lush canopy, and prayed his shifter friends would remain hidden.

After some time, they came to a clearing near the river, and landed next to the shore. Shoving Tom out of the helicopter, the leader came up to him. "Now you guide us to the jaguar den," the leader of the group demanded.

"I don't know where we are. I've never been here before," Tom stalled. His heart raced. Franco and Victor were on their way, but they'd be back at the Jungle Retreat.

"Liar. You draw a map," The leader said as he pointed his gun at Tom. "Or we shoot you now."

Tom thought quickly and nodded. He could always draw the map the wrong way and claim he was just lost.

As Tom started to draw, he noticed some of the men had retreated behind the trees. They seemed to stay away for a long time. Finally, the leader sent someone to look for them. The man returned empty-handed, shrugging.

"Where are Chico and Torres?" demanded the leader. "Don't just stand there! Get them!"

The men glanced at each other uneasily, reluctant to enter the jungle's depths. Even with their guns, the superstitions of the area, of the strange beasts that lived there, were far more fearful.

"Go!" he snapped again, raising his rifle. This time, a couple of the men nodded and headed off to look for their missing comrades.

Hours passed, but they, too, had been swallowed by the jungle.

CHAPTER THREE

Tom stood still, his hands bound, and waited. Only two men were left, including the leader. He wondered if he could take the leader, gun and all. The man was getting worried. His eyes darted around the trees, sensing something was wrong. He turned away from Tom for a moment. Suddenly, his shoulders curled forward. He stumbled a few steps back, and then he fell to the ground, a look of pain and surprise on his face. An arrow protruded from his heart.

Tom stopped drawing and leapt to his feet. He recognized the arrow. Had Chan sensed he was in trouble? Hope made him lightheaded. He'd missed his flight, but perhaps he could still get home.

The two last men pointed their gun at Tom. Tom put his arms up in the air,

"Hold it. Maybe some of the wild tribes here in the jungle are attacking us. Why don't we work together?"

The men considered it, then slowly lowered their gun. "What you know about these tribes?"

"I don't know much. Only what I have been told, they are wild and don't think twice about killing a white man. That, and there are wild cats you don't want to mess with."

No sooner had Tom let the words fall from his mouth than an arrow darted into one of the men's leg. Quick as a cat, Tom leapt forward and yanked the gun out of his grasp. "Hands up," said Tom and pointed the gun to the other man. "Drop your gun." He quickly dropped his gun and Tom now had both their guns."

The color drained from the injured man's face as he pressed a hand to his wound. Silently, he lifted the other hand in the air.

Chan came out of the jungle and greeted Tom, who ran over and gave him a big hug.

"Rescued by an alpha once again. Am I glad to see you, my friend! I'm so sorry to put you in this situation, but these guys won't leave me alone. I was on my way to the airport when they kidnapped me."

Chan smiled. "I'm happy to be of help. Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm okay. I've just been so worried for all of you. I was trying to lead them in the wrong direction"

Just then, Chan's pride emerged from the jungle, Romina among them. Tom felt his eyes well with tears. They gathered around him, hugging him and exclaiming affectionately.

"You guys are amazing. You come out of the blue to help me every time I'm in trouble." Warmth washed over his heart. They'd become as close as his own family, always helping him survive.

Tom looked at Romina and she smiled. She didn't seem too broken up over his absence, and her smile had a distracted, secret look that made him feel warm.

"Come on you guys, we have to make a fire so we can keep any wild cats from jumping on us. If a search party is looking for Tom, they have to be able to see our fire," Chan ordered.

Tom and Chan walked out in the water to the helicopter and crawled in to see if they could make radio contact with Franco and Victor. After trying for a while, they got Franco on the line and told him their location.

"Victor and I are at the Jungle Retreat. We'll meet up at your location as soon as we can. Is there landing space for another copter? Over."

"Copy. Easily. But we do have a few men who needs medical treatment. Over."

"Copy that. Over and out."

Chan and Tom tied the men and left him in the helicopter. A few of the pride went into the jungle to check on the other men, to see if any of them were still alive. Two were dead, but a couple of them were still alive. They got them tied up and brought them back to the helicopter, making sure to gag them so they couldn't help each other get free.

With their safety assured, Chan, Tom and the whole pride sat around the fire. Tom was surprised to see Romina sitting close to Chan, and he sometimes had his arm around her.

Chan smiled and looked happy. He said to Tom, "Romina is pregnant."

"How wonderful, you're going to be a father!" Tom got worried and did a quick calculation in his mind. She couldn't be very far into the pregnancy, she wasn't even showing yet, so it couldn't be his cub.

"Don't worry, Tom, it's mine, I can smell it." Chan's eyes shone with happiness.

Tom let out a huge breath of relief, followed by a laugh, "You had me worried there for a moment."

They all looked into the sky as engines roared. Foliage whipped as the copter settled in the clearing. It was Franco and Victor.

Chan and the pride greeted them warmly, remaining in human form for safety's sake.

"So again, you've been rescued by an alpha, Tom. You were born under a lucky star," Franco said, smiling.

"Yes, I feel pretty fortunate to have such good friends."

Interrupting the warmth of the moment, men in SIS uniforms filed out of the copter. They loaded the wounded men into the cargo area and strapped them down on stretchers.

"What's going to happen to them?" Tom asked.

"They'll be taken back to headquarters, where they will be transported to the prisoner's hospital by ambulance," said Franco.

Victor came over to Tom. "You're pretty good at attracting the crooks so we can catch them. Are you sure you don't want to stay and work for us?"

"First of all, I want to get home to visit my family and get myself into a normal lifestyle again, if that's possible. I'll see what happens after that. But thanks for the offer."

"Okay, but don't forget to let us know if you change your mind."

"I guess this is goodbye again," said Tom. Chan squeezed his shoulders and let him go.

"Best of luck with your new baby," said Tom to Romina, his throat tightening.

She nodded and hugged him, kissing his cheek. "Best of luck to you, too."

Tom climbed into the copter and closed the door, his eyes welling again. The pride waved goodbye as they lifted over the air. He stared down at the lush green foliage. He'd come so close to being stuck in the jungle again. Part of him had welcomed it, the simplicity of that life, but the rest of him was relieved to really be going back to civilization. As he gazed into the trees below, the splendid sight of the enormous jungle was overwhelming. When he saw it from the air it gave him a better idea of the huge area it was spread over. Living in the jungle was an experience he would never forget as long as he lived. It had changed his life. He would never be the same person he was two years ago.

Victor and Franco were silent. They piped up to give their men orders about the captives a few times and to contact the other man piloting the helicopter back to the base, but left Tom alone with his mixed feelings and melancholy thoughts.

As they finally arrived at headquarters, Victor debriefed Tom and had him record and sign a statement. Once it was finished, they served him some food. It was just a ready-made meal, but to Tom, it was as delicious as the finest French cuisine. He wolfed it down.

Victor waited for him to finish, then turned a smile on Tom. "Franco will drive you to the airport this time to make sure you get back on that plane safely."

"Yes, please," said Tom through a mouthful of pasta.

"We'll leave as soon as you're ready."

"What about the flight time?"

"Private charter. It's the least we can do."

Tom glanced down. "I guess we'd better go now, or as soon as the pilot's ready. I don't want to jinx myself with another night."

Victor smiled tolerantly and summoned Franco.

They chatted on the way to the airport, and Tom bid him a fond, but relieved farewell.

He made his way to the plane and settled in. It was pretty luxurious, all things considered, and it was nice to have a plane to himself--well, apart from the stewardess and the pilots--but he could barely enjoy it. He stared out the window, seeing nothing, deep in thought.

Everything that had happened came crashing down on him. It was all so surreal, like a dream. He'd changed a lot in the past two years, could do things he'd never thought possible. His life had taken a different turn from his plan of becoming a successful architect. But it wasn't as if he had not learned anything, it was just in different areas to what he had planned. Here he was, fighting fit in a way he had never ever been before. He used to be a white-collar student who spent most of his time in a chair. Now he was a lean, muscular, athletic man who could climb trees like a cat and shoot with a bow and arrow, hitting the target every time. He had to laugh to himself. It was an unbelievable transformation.

He wondered how his family would take him. Would Serena be there for him? He looked so different now from how she remembered him. He had tied his long hair into a ponytail and he still had his beard. He wasn't ready to shave or cut his hair yet. He felt if he did, he might forget his time in the jungle, and he wanted to hold on to those memories and all he had learned from Chan and his pride.

His parents were at the airport waiting for him when he arrived. They looked a bit surprised when they saw him. The look on their faces said, "Is that our son Tom?" It only took a little while before his mother flew into his arms and hugged him with tears in her eyes. "Oh, it is so good to see you again!"

He got a big hug from his dad too. "Good to see you, son." Tears were running down his father's face.