A growl crept up his throat.
When he’d gone to her apartment, he’d been shocked at her living environment. She kept the place clean but it didn’t matter. The furniture was falling apart, the flooring was cracked in multiple places and the wallpaper was peeling. She should have been living in a home that had been built especially for her, with all of the amenities and luxuries he could provide. Not a haven for addicts and hobos.
“Wake up.” He shifted her weight, freed one of his arms and gently cupped her scraped and tiny chin in his large palm. “Look at me.”
“Leave her be.” Doc slid the flashlight in his fingers into his pocket and laid an understanding hand on Emory’s arm. “The wound needs stitching but she doesn’t have a concussion. She’s woozy because of blood loss.”
“Is she in danger?” Fate couldn’t be that cruel. He refused to believe he’d found her only to have lost her.
“Not if we get that gash stitched up.” Doc motioned toward the end of the alley. “Hurry. Since we have to haul ass we’ll apply a bandage until it’s safe to stop and I can patch her up.”
Damn.
He’d been so concerned for his mate he’d totally forgotten about the police who were likely en route to the scene. He followed the pack doctor to one of the SUVs that pulled into the vacant lot. It was time to clean up the scene, take care of the mess they’d made and go. Usually shifters didn’t put themselves in danger by fighting in the open, but due to recent events that policy had changed.
He glanced at the shifters who were busy tossing dead Shepherds into the back of the black unmarked van they’d arrived in. Mary’s uncle wasn’t in the group. Emory knew it for fact. He’d scented the air the moment he’d come to his mate’s aid. Elijah Shepherd had sent others to collect his niece—something that caused Emory’s hackles to rise. The demented piece of shit wanted Mary alive.
That meant she was still in danger.
Although she’d hidden herself like a pro, avoiding anything that forced her to use her name, Elijah—like Emory—had been able to locate her. One monumental slip, one huge mistake and she’d outed herself in the border town where she hoped no one would pay her any notice.
All it had taken was a simple phone call.
The pack computer wiz, Wade, had been monitoring all the calls made to the attorney Mary visited before she vanished into thin air. For a couple of weeks Emory had waited, edgy and restless, until his mate had slipped up and made the phone call that would reveal her location. When she’d checked in to verify the status of a new bank account she was out of the closet, existing in the open.
Nothing more than a sacrificial lamb waiting for slaughter.
Doc opened the passenger door and stood back as Emory climbed inside with Mary cradled against his chest. He moved over the length of the seat, making room as the older wolf settled next to him and closed the door.
“Give me my bag.” Doc extended his hand past the front seat, toward the driver.
“Is she okay?” Caden glanced at Mary as he turned from the wheel and handed the large satchel over. “Fuck me.” He exhaled the words, his gray eyes darkening. “She’s bleeding all over the place.”
“The head is vascular and her hair is blonde,” Doc muttered and opened his bag. “She’s not losing as much as you think. It’s normal.”
A soft knock next to his head put Emory on full alert. His canines dropped and he snarled through the window, coming face-to-face with his brother. Trey was covered in blood from his chin to his stomach and his eyes remained a bright, stark gold. He smirked as Emory hit the switch in the door panel and lowered the glass.
“We’ve got to go. Her apartment was at a simmer when I left. It’s probably engulfed in flames by now.”
“You set her apartment on fire?” It was official. Trey had finally gone off the deep end.
“No choice.” Trey shrugged, unfazed. “When she made it home Shepherds were on her ass. I had to improvise.”
“Motherfuckers.” Emory tightened his hold on his mate. He’d wanted to find Mary so he’d left Trey inside the decaying residence. In hindsight, it wasn’t his smartest decision. “Did they hurt her?”
“I was waiting, remember? Bastards didn’t so much as touch her.” Trey swiped the back of his hand across his mouth and smiled. “They died slow but I didn’t have time to destroy the evidence. I had to think fast. The building was condemned for a damn good reason. There was enough shoddy wiring to start an inferno that no fire department will care to investigate. Since I removed the Shepherds’ weapons, they’ll think squatters found the wrong haven for the night. It’s as clean as I could manage given the circumstances.”
“They won’t be able to trace her?” Emory asked, concerned and frustrated by the turn in events. “Nothing can point to Mary. We can’t have the police showing up asking questions. It’s bad enough that Shepherds shot up the fucking store.”
Jesus, what a clusterfuck.
If Diskant—the Alpha and Omega of all the New York shifters—discovered they’d placed their race in danger with sheer stupidity, he’d have all their balls. Considering Emory intended to settle down with Mary in New York under Diskant’s authority, it wouldn’t be wise to piss the mean son of a bitch off any further. Diskant wasn’t sure Emory could control his wolf or his Alpha nature, which meant he had been reinstated in the pack on a trial basis. One small fuck-up could ruin everything.
Fucking unacceptable.
“The only people the police will investigate are locals,” Trey drawled, as if he was discussing what he had for dinner the night before. “As far as they’ll be concerned, someone got desperate and tried to rob the local grocery store. If Mary was on the payroll, Wade would have found it.”
“And the apartment?”
“The fire will go on the books as an accident caused by bad wiring and ratty insulation.”
“You’re sure?”
“I’m positive, how’s that?”
“It’ll do,” Caden interrupted Trey and revved up the engine. “Get your ass in the Caddy or call a cab. The others are ready to move. Time is up.”
Trey pivoted and stared at the shifters in the distance. One group had removed the Shepherds’ bodies and waited inside the unmarked van. The others were piled into the SUVs beside it. Emory raised the window when Trey pounded his fist on the roof, nodded and started walking toward the front of the Escalade.
“All done for now.” Doc nodded at the bandage across Mary’s head. “Keep pressure on it until we stop.”
Emory moved to do as instructed as the doctor revealed a vial and syringe. He frowned when he asked, “What are you doing?”
“If she wakes up and panics she’s liable to hurt herself. I’m going to give her a sedative.” Mary didn’t flinch or make a sound when the needle pierced her arm and he injected the medication. “There we go.” Doc spoke in a soothing tone Emory was sure he used often with his human patients. “Rest while you can.”
Trey opened the front door and slid into the passenger seat. “Get a move on,” he quipped as he settled back. “We haven’t got all night.”
“Fucking smartass,” Caden retorted and put the vehicle in gear.
They pulled away from the lot, driving slowly. Within a minute police vehicles and a wailing fire truck blew past them.
“Just in time.” Doc sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose between two thick, blunt fingers. “That was close.”
Too close, Emory thought and stared at the young woman in his arms.
Even with her blonde hair and parts of her face smeared with blood, she was the most beautiful female he’d ever seen. Her features were perfect—full lips, pert nose and enormous chocolate-brown eyes. The memory of her smile caused his cock to stir, coming to life against the plush roundness of her ass. She didn’t know what her smile did to him, especially when she caught him staring and became embarrassed and aroused.