As the wind-driven snow lashed his skin, Alec breathed in the clean air and headed for his car. The parents had picked up their children, but to his surprise, the principal and another teacher got out of an SUV.
Alec rubbed his face, glanced around. More snow had fallen while he‘d been playing with fake bombs. "You still here?"
"Hell yes. You think I‘d leave you in there alone?" Doug Banner humphed. In fact, Alec‘d had to shove him out the door to keep him from helping. "What‘d you find?"
"No bomb."
The little gray-haired teacher woman patted his hand. Mrs. Henderson was a human, but one so unflappable that everyone in town considered her their adopted grandmother. Jamie adored her. "Are you all right, dear?"
"I‘m fine, Mrs. Henderson. Just annoyed." He turned to Banner. "If you have time, let‘s go downtown and talk about who this bas—" he glanced guiltily at Mrs. Henderson and continued,
"—who this prankster might be."
"Good idea. I‘ve tried to come up with ideas," the principal agreed. "Thank you for waiting with me, Hilda. Get yourself on home now and warm up."
Alec dug his phone out of his pocket and turned it on. He‘d never heard of a bomb being triggered by a cell phone, but the way his luck was running, he hadn‘t wanted to serve as the first. The log showed two missed calls from the station, both within the last few minutes. He got the dispatcher. "I‘m free, Bonnie, and I found no bomb. Did you need me?"
"God yes, Alec, ‘bout time." Bonnie‘s voice was shrill, and Alec‘s hand tightened on the phone. "There‘s trouble over at Calum‘s place. Joe Thorson‘s hurt, and—are you alone?"
A Daonain problem then. He jerked his head at Banner to stay with Hilda and walked farther away, knowing the wind and snow would muffle everything. "Spit it out."
"Albert Baty was driving by the tavern and saw two men run out of your backyard, one all bloody. They jumped in a van. And a panther ran out and down the street. Al said he didn‘t recognize the cat, but the van followed it. He went upstairs to check things out and called here."
"And?" Fear made Alec‘s voice snap, "Is Jamie all right? Joe? They were both there."
"Al only found Joe, and he‘s unconscious and bleeding bad." Bonnie paused. "Alec? The cat was little—not full grown."
Chapter Eighteen
Calum floored the gas pedal, and the car screeched around a logging truck. The oncoming car‘s horn blared as he whipped back into his lane.
Irma had been alive, a wretched lump handcuffed and lying in the corner of the bedroom.
Blood everywhere and discarded syringes. Tortured. Drugged.
She‘d opened her eyes when he touched her, staring as he‘d called for an ambulance. Then had motioned him closer. "He wants your people, child. And…" Her brows had drawn together.
"My head is all foggy. I think I told him about you. And Jamie."
Jamie. They were going after his child. The car skidded around a corner, tires squealing. No one answered at home.
He‘d just passed the first houses in Cold Creek when his cell phone rang.
*
Vic staggered to her feet and rubbed her bruised butt as she scowled at the god-help-me shortcut she‘d come down. Under all the snow, the slope had been steeper than she‘d realized.
Like a damn ski jump, and she‘d skied the last half on her ass.
Brushing her jeans off, she squinted into the blizzard to get her location. Not bad. The path on the ridge led to the public park behind Thorson‘s Books. By abandoning the trail and sliding straight down, she could circle around town and get her car without being seen.
Her chest squeezed at the thought of running into Calum or Alec. Maybe when she‘d put an ocean between her and the men, she‘d not anticipate seeing them every moment.
Shaking her head, she pulled a cookie from the sack in her pocket. As she stuffed it into her mouth, she tried not to remember the warmth of Helen‘s house. At least the sugar revved her up, something she damned well needed, considering she‘d run out of coffee two days ago and other food yesterday. She‘d better not meet anyone, or she was liable to bite their head off. Cranky much?
So, she just needed to get to the car—damn thing better start—and head out. Her walk quickened as she remembered the next town over had a Starbucks. Yes!
A noise caught her attention. Running footsteps. Sobbing?
With a huff of exasperation, Vic stepped behind a tree. Honestly, couldn‘t a person take a quiet walk in a nice blizzard without being interrupted? She edged out far enough to stare up at the ridge high above her. Someone was running up the trail from town. Through the trees and snow she could see the flash of a girl‘s shape. Naked?
Vic choked on a laugh. Alec had mentioned how young shifters tended to pop back and forth before they established some control. This little shifter‘d freeze her ass off if she didn‘t get into animal form. But why was she headed away from town?
A minute later, the smile froze on Vic‘s lips.
Jamie?
*
Crying and whimpering, Jamie staggered up the trail. Somehow she‘d gone back to being a girl, but using two legs didn‘t work after having four, and she kept falling. Snot and tears ran down her face. Daddy. Alec. Help. Please help me. She shivered, her feet burning with the cold, as she grabbed a tree. The rough bark scraped her palms as she pushed off, trying to run again.
She looked behind her and a whine broke from her. No no no. The men were gaining on her.
Two of them. She was breathing too hard to scream.
A black van had chased her through town, and she‘d run and run and finally come to the park. Thinking the van couldn‘t go up the trail, she‘d gone into the forest, but two men got out and followed her. One a
