Running with the Pack: Cannon Pack, Book 3 (23 page)

“Don’t you want to do the honors, John?” Walter kicked Daniel in the side.

Lauren held her breath, unsure whether to hope Daniel would move. If he did, then at least she’d know he was still alive. But that would mean his death would come that much faster. Instead, she prayed that he was alive but would remain unconscious awhile longer. Long enough for her to come up with a plan or for help to come. Had Daniel called the pack before he’d left?

“I’d like to.” John licked his lips, making Lauren’s skin crawl. “But I think I’ve already finished him off. The bullet to the head is easy and sort of, well, anticlimactic.” He ran his hand along her shoulder, down her side to fondle her breast. “Besides, watching this bitch beg for mercy will be more fun.”

Lauren wrenched away from him. “You want another spitball? How about a nice big fat one?” She made a show of gathering her saliva and got ready to spit.

John, however, wasn’t taking any chances and backed away. “Damn. And I used to think you had class.”

“I did. Until I started hanging with you.”

He reared back to strike her again, but this time she twisted enough to dodge the blow. “Heh, heh, missed me.”

John’s face flamed to an angry red and he drew back to hit her again.

“John, hold up.” Luke snagged John’s arm. “I don’t mind shooting werewolves, but when it comes to hitting women, I draw the line.”

John yanked his hand away and looked like he was about to hit the young hunter. The low rumble from the others kept him in check and he grudgingly lowered his hand. “That’s where you’ve got it wrong, my friend. She ceased being a woman when she started fucking werewolves.”

“Still, I don’t like it. What are you going to do with her?”

Lauren sensed that John wanted to do more than he was willing to say and she decided to use that to her advantage. “Yeah, Johnny, what are you going to do with me? I don’t think these upstanding men will let you murder me like you’re going to do to Daniel. So what can you do with me?” For a moment, with the hunters waiting to see what he would decide, she thought just maybe John would have to let her go.

“Like I said, Max, Charlie and Walter will stay here and exterminate this animal. The rest of us will take her someplace special.” He chuckled, low and nasty. “I’ll decide what to do with her after I’ve reminded her what it’s like to be with a real man.”

He was buying time to convince the others to do as he wanted. Could she get away in the meantime? The likelihood of escaping would decrease once he got her to his so-called special place.

“Let’s go, men.” John waved his hand and led the way back to their vehicles. “We’ll swing by Doc Miller’s first and get me patched up. I could use a handful of pills, too. Then we’ll have ourselves some real fun.”

Lauren struggled with the two men holding her, twisting around to get one last look at Daniel. She kept struggling through the dark alleys, making as much noise as she could. But no one was around to hear her.

Reaching the parking lot at Luigi’s, Lauren looked around, desperately hoping to see any late-night diners, but only the hunters’ vehicles remained. The darkness of the restaurant and surrounding businesses added to her despondent mood.

Norman slid into the back seat of John’s Jeep, tugging her along with him. “Ow!” Lauren landed on her side.

“Sorry, but if you’d gotten in like we asked you to, then I wouldn’t have pushed you.” Bruce slid onto the seat beside her and slammed the door. “I don’t like this any more than you do.”

“Then put a stop to it.” She lowered her voice and leaned in to the hunter. “You know what John has in mind. Do you really want to see me die?”

Bruce’s color drained and he glanced past her to Norman. “John won’t do that, will he, Norm? He’s just upset right now, right? I mean, a man doesn’t like to think of his woman fooling around on him, much less with one of those things. But that doesn’t mean he’s gonna really kill her, does it? Huh, Norm, huh?”

“Are you kidding me?” Lauren rested against the back of the seat so she could look at both hunters. “Come on, you two. I’m a witness to what he’s done. A traitor in his eyes and he doesn’t take betrayal well. He’s going to shut me up for good and make it seem like I died in some freak accident. You know, like how a lot of people die by slipping in their showers? Let’s face it. One blow to the head resembles another to the police, and accidents in the home happen all the time. Plus, John has friends on the police force so no one’s going to question the grieving boyfriend’s story.”

The men squirmed in their seats, obviously unnerved. “Norm, you don’t think she’s right, do you? You don’t think he’d hurt—”

“What are you two yapping about?” John, his face ashen with pain, entered the Jeep on the passenger side with a towel thrown over his bloodied back. Hooking his uninjured arm over the seat, he confronted them, suspicion oozing from him. “Don’t listen to anything she has to say. She’s a devil woman who can talk a man into anything. Just like she talked me into having sex with her.”

Luke slid onto the driver’s seat.

“Oh, please. Like I had to talk you into bed. You’re a dirty dog, John, and you know it. Stop trying to make them think I’m something other than what I am. I’m the woman you plan on murdering.” Lauren scowled, intent on meeting him eye for eye, when a blur to the right of the Jeep caught her attention. She glanced that way, then jerked her attention back to John. Had she seen a tail whipping around the corner? Keeping her composure, she forced herself not to look again. If the werewolf cavalry had arrived, she didn’t want to reveal them to the hunters.

“Drive, Luke.” John voice was shaky, yet cold as ice.

Lauren closed her eyes and sent a quick prayer skyward. With a little luck, the shifters would find Daniel and save him before it was too late. Slumping in her seat, she smiled, happy to know her lover had a chance.

“Where are you taking me? You said someplace special.” She grinned, using the relief she felt for Daniel to make the grin sincere. “Oh, wow, John. Are you taking me to your favorite restaurant?” She tucked her head and whispered to the hunters beside her, yet loud enough for John’s benefit. “He always takes me to the most expensive place he can afford. John, are we going to the Golden Arches again?”

Norm and Bruce broke into fits of laughter—until John glared them into silence. “Funny, Lauren, real funny. Why the hell do you think I took you to Mickey D’s? I’ll tell you why. Because you weren’t worth spending any real money on.”

Lauren quipped back, “Really? I thought it was because you like the kid’s meal.”

John grunted a laugh, this time going along with the other hunters’ chuckles. “I’m glad you like to have a good time, pussy cheeks, because I’m taking you to the funnest place on Earth. And no, I don’t mean Disneyland.”

“Funnest isn’t a word, you moron. And even if it were, no place is fun when you’re there.”

John looked like he wanted to jump over the seat and strangle her. “I may not have the education you have, Miss High-and-Mighty, but I do know one thing.”

“Oh? What’s that? That your boogers aren’t the best tasting things around?” Lauren pushed back against the seat to avoid John’s attempt to smack her.

“You better watch your mouth, bitch.” He composed himself, wiping the grimace of pain off his face and bringing back the controlled John she liked even less. “Never mind. You’ll see once we get there.”

The Jeep sped by industrial buildings and factories, then past neatly organized neighborhoods into the outskirts of town. After a brief stop at a skuzzy-looking all-night medical clinic where John had his wounds disinfected and bandaged, they continued on into the countryside.

By the time they pulled into the deserted carnival, Lauren had already dismissed several escape plans. How could she trick four hunters and get away? She scanned the area around the dilapidated buildings and rides. Unfortunately, the area was deserted. If she screamed, would anyone hear her? And even if someone did hang out at Reject Land, would they ignore her cries and stay inside, safely out of trouble?

“Get out.” John stood at the open door and waited for her to scoot out of the Jeep. If anyone had seen them, they would’ve thought he was a courteous boyfriend.

His glittering eyes were not those of a sane man, and Lauren wondered if it was insanity or the pain medication making him appear crazy. Was he so determined to hurt her that he’d do anything, take anything to keep going?

“Not a word, Lauren. You call for help and you die. Got it?” He struck his palm against his forehead. “Oh, wait. Not to worry. There’s no one to hear you anyway. So go ahead. Scream, yell, whatever. Do your best. The coyotes won’t mind.”

What did she have to lose? Lauren leaned her head back and yelled. Her call of “help”, however, changed into a combination screech and howl.

John clamped a hand over her mouth. “Damn it. Shut the hell up.” When she did, he took his hand off her mouth. “Shit, Lauren. If I didn’t know better, I’d swear you were already one of them.”

She howled again, this time making it sound even more like a wolf call. Maybe if she got lucky, Daniel would be close enough to hear her.

“What the hell are you doing?”

She couldn’t help it. She had to take another dig at him. “I know I wasn’t the dumb one in our relationship, but come on, John. I assumed even you could figure that out.” She scoffed and delighted in watching the vein in his forehead throb. The men chuckled along with her, but John put a stop to their laughter soon enough. “Okay, let me spell it out for you. That was a distress call.” She bit the inside of her cheek to keep from giggling. But this time, the giggles were from enjoying the worried expression on his face and not her nerves. “I called the pack, John. So, if you know what’s good for you, you’ll let me go before they get here.”

“No, you didn’t.”

She could see he was a lot less confident than he was trying to put on. “Oh, yes I did. And when they get hold of you, all of you—” she pointed at each hunter, “—you’re going to regret it big-time. Why, John, is that sweat I see? Tsk, tsk. And here I thought you were the big, bad hunter.”

“Watch what you say, skank. I’m in no mood for a snarky woman.”

“Snarky? Did you learn a new word watching Nickelodeon?” John’s hard shove couldn’t wipe the zing of excitement she got from the look on his face. She giggled again. Still, she couldn’t spend her time baiting him. Instead, she needed to concentrate on a way to escape. He grabbed her arm and pulled her past the entrance gates.

Her mind whirled with possibilities. Should she do the dead weight thing and make them carry her? At least it might slow them down in case the shifters were able to save Daniel and he was on the way to help her.
If
they could find her. Should she try to make a run for it? She knew she could outrun the other three, but John was faster. If he had to chase her, would that make him more determined to see her die?

“Up the steps.”

She stalled for a moment and squinted at the fun house. In the daylight, the place would appear rundown and sad. But at night the dilapidated appearance worked with the darkness to cast eerie shadows. She shuddered, started to refuse to move and earned another shove. Gritting back a retort, she stomped up the stairs to the front door. If she’d made that much noise at her apartment, Mr. Gallagher from downstairs would’ve stuck his head out of his apartment to complain. If only Grumpy Gallagher were around! Again, she surveyed the area around her, hoping to find someone, anyone, and came up empty.

Fumbling with the rusty lock bought her a minute’s delay but, at last, John broke the rusted metal apart and kicked the door wide.

“Lauren, is that you? Thank goodness.”

Lauren and the hunters pivoted, ready to find a pack of werewolves on their heels. What she saw, however, dashed her hopes and made her heart clench.

Bobbie rushed through the entrance, past the merry-go-round and hurried over to them. “Good grief, Lauren, why didn’t you let me know what was going on? I mean, one call? That’s hardly keeping in touch. Thank goodness this is my day to visit my grandma or I wouldn’t have passed by here and seen John’s Jeep. When would I have heard from you again? And what the hell are you doing at this old carnival?” She stopped, her jaw dropping when she saw the hunters with their guns cradled in their arms. “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you’d gone on another hunt.” Her brows scrunched together. “But wait. Didn’t you say you were away visiting a sick relative? Did you come home early? If so, why didn’t you call and let me know?” She crossed her arms. “This isn’t like you to be so unprofessional. For Pete’s sake, you have patients clamoring to get their teeth taken care of.”

“Bobbie, run. Get out of here.”

“Shut up!” John gripped Lauren’s arm and twisted. She yelped and tried to yank him off, but couldn’t.

Bobbie’s surprise was matched by her indignation. “Don’t you tell her to shut up, John Rawlings. Being her boyfriend doesn’t give you the right to—”

John’s rifle pointed at her head shocked Bobbie enough to shut her up. “Don’t you two females ever quit flapping your yaps?”

“Lauren, what’s going on?” Bobbie’s voice trembled. Her gaze went from one hunter to the next, and the guns pointed at her. “You guys are scaring me.”

“I said shut up.” John slung Lauren into the fun house and waved the frightened Bobbie after her. “Come join your friend and keep quiet.”

Moonlight filtered through the rotting wood, enough light to see the faded colors on the walls and the hallways exiting in each direction. Pictures of clowns covered the peeling wallpaper and cobwebs floated with the breeze.

“This is getting way too complicated.” Luke positioned himself next to Norman and Bruce. “We never signed up for murder, man.”

“Murder?” squeaked Bobbie and clung to Lauren.

“I told you. It’s not murder. Lauren’s as much a shifter as that animal she slept with.” John nibbled at his thumb, a sign Lauren knew meant he was nervous. “This is another shifter extermination, plain and simple.”

Bruce, however, wasn’t buying it. “Naw, I don’t think so. She hasn’t changed. At least not as far as we know. I don’t think you can catch shifter like you can the flu. You know, by getting too close, or kissing, or having—”