How much of a head start did Clayton and Emma actually have? Not much. Jake and his men had run back to the house the moment they'd heard the sound of the gun, and they'd already been working their way back from the helipad.
The wind whipped through the trees, nearly bending the trunks double. He heard ominous cracking sounds as branches broke under the assault. The full fury of the storm was back, but it only suited his mood, the rage that had been with him since childhood welling up like bubbling lava, hot and thick and tasting of death. His large paws plunged into the swollen stream without hesitation, wincing a little as he thought of his son in the cold water. Had his face gone under? Had Clayton protected him at all?
Jake clawed his way up the embankment and picked up the trail on the other side, hardly aware of the other two leopards running with him. He now understood what Drake had been silently trying to tell him--to show him. A man did what he had to do. He took care of those who were his, protected them and his friends and his community, just did what he thought was right. All the rest of it, all the temper and day-to-day irritations, didn't matter. Just this. This merging of his two halves so that he ran as one, thought as one, enjoyed life and faced danger as one. His behavior was his choice.
The leopard was every bit as concerned for Kyle and Emma as Jake was. It ran, plowing through the mud and puddles, never hesitating to plunge into swollen streams or to leap down treacherous embankments with the danger of flash flooding imminent.
Once he found a place where the male leopard had put Kyle down and his son had tried to run away. There was no blood and no more spots, as if the male might have tried to care for the boy before resuming his run. He saw Emma's smaller tracks inside the big male's. She was gaining on him fast. Jake increased his speed, pushing the others to keep up with him.
EMMA could hear the sound of the male leopard's paw splashing through the mud as they neared a clearing. He knew she was behind him and made no attempt to throw her off the chase, or to drop Kyle and backtrack to fight her. That meant he had a specific destination and wherever it was, he would have the advantage.
She was so afraid for Kyle her heart felt like it was bursting. She could hear him crying occasionally, sometimes loud and screaming, other times his voice dwindling down to a piteous moan. The leopard's muzzle was wet from both the constant rain and her tears, but she never faltered, even when her vision blurred, relying on the radar whiskers to tell her what everything around her was.
The wind was blowing toward her and she could smell the humans now--the enemies--waiting in their expensive trucks to steal her child from her. Cathy and Ryan Bannaconni and the despicable Trent, probably ready to fight over her baby, unless the plan had been for Rory to return with Andraya so they would have two.
She bared her teeth and without hesitation followed the big male leopard and Kyle into the clearing. Emma's leopard skidded to a halt some distance from the group. They were very aware of her, Trent holding a rifle on her, while Ryan Bannaconni lifted Kyle into the air, ignoring the boy's struggles. Cathy smirked, although her fascinated gaze kept shifting toward Clayton as the leopard's body contorted and writhed on the ground for a moment before the man stood, totally naked, all roped muscles and heavy genitals. He stood uncaring of his bare state, inspecting his shoulder where the bullet had kissed him.
As she broke into the clearing and halted, Clayton turned his hungry eyes on her. Emma paid him no attention. Kyle was the only person who mattered to her. She shifted, not quite as fast or as eloquently as the male, but she stood in her human form, naked, only her long hair cloaking her body.
Cathy gasped. Ryan lowered Kyle to the ground, still holding him prisoner.
Trent looked into the trees, shook his head and dropped the rifle to his side, barrel down, a smirk on his face. "I knew it. I knew I was right about her." He looked at Cathy. "You said she couldn't shift. The genes were strong, but she couldn't shift. My family did produce a shape-shifter after all, and a female at that. She belongs to me."
"I don't think so, Trent," Ryan said. "I'm the one with the bargaining chip." He tightened his grip on Kyle and the boy cried out.
"Give me the child," Emma said very calmly. "You're scaring him." She refused to cover herself up, standing as tall and as confidently as she could. Jake would come. The knowledge was her shield. He would come and no matter what, he would keep Kyle safe from these terrible monsters.
"Come to me and I'll let him go," Ryan answered, holding Kyle by his hair. "A fully grown female is worth far more to us than this little runt." He actually lifted Kyle by his hair a couple of inches from the ground and shook him.
Kyle screamed, kicking out with his feet toward Ryan, his eyes glazed with fear.
Cathy laughed. "He's not quite as stoic as Jake, is he, darling? He probably isn't even a leopard. Jake never made a sound, no matter what we did to him." She tilted her head at Emma. "How stoic are you, dear? When you feel the lash or the cane, are you going to scream like this worthless baby or be silent like Jake?"
Emma refused to be intimidated. She let the other woman see death in her eyes. If she had to die this night, Cathy Bannaconni was dying with her. She would not leave her son in the hands of a madwoman. "You're insane. You know that, don't you?"
Cathy continued to smile, but her eyes went bright and hard, a flicker of cruelty giving her away before she kicked Kyle hard in the stomach. The boy doubled over and would have fallen but for Ryan's grip in his hair.
A low, warning growl rumbled in Emma's throat. She felt her muscles contort and her hands curl. A wave of itching ran beneath her skin and she breathed hard to stave off the change. She forced a smile. "I wonder how you'll scream when I tear out your heart and show it to you," Emma said, very calmly, her voice low, meaning every word.
Cathy went pale and glanced quickly toward Clayton, as if for reassurance that he could stop the smaller leopard should it be necessary. She actually took a couple of steps toward the man but he looked her up and down with contempt. It was obvious she wasn't getting protection from that direction.
"I own her," Trent said. "It was my money my nephew took to bring back her mother."
Emma glanced at Clayton, sensing his barely concealed disdain for the others. They carried the leopard blood, but they weren't shifters, and although Clayton had sold his services to them, he didn't respect or like them. And with her so close to heat, his leopard was reacting whether he wanted it or not. She sent him a small smile of camaraderie, even an alluring one, moving her body in a slightly sinuous manner, as if her leopard needed to get out, hoping for an ally when the fighting came. She wasn't going to be able to take them all.
Emma turned back to the enemies, not waiting to see Clayton's reaction. "No one owns our kind, Trent. You haven't really learned much after all the years you've had to study our species. You're so arrogant, thinking that thin blood running in your veins makes you special. Clayton allowed you to buy his services. Jake allowed you to torment him as a child. He could have crept into your room any night and killed you both. Have you ever thought about that even once? Probably not because you're not really very intelligent, are you?
"We have retractable claws, and they're sharp, Cathy, sharper than any other mammalian claws. Did you know that? They're rather like stiletto switchblades. We have five on the forefeet and four on the back. A good number to take you out at the breakfast table with, don't you think? And then there are our teeth. We can shear through muscle like knife blades. I'll bet Clayton has more than once considered killing you just to shut your insulting mouth. Jake certainly did. A lot of times. Leopards are silent and cunning and you'd never have seen it coming. We don't do anything we don't choose to do."
Cathy took a step toward her, her eyes flat and cold, teeth set. They were nearly pointed, as if she wanted to shift, her fingers curling into claws tipped with bloodred nails. "Really? You wanted those men all over you the other night?" She tossed her head, her sophisticated style long gone in the pouring ra
in, making Emma think of a drowned rat. "Are you going to want my nails raking down your oh-so-pretty face? Tearing it off?"
Emma looked down at her own hands, held them out and willed the change, admiring the way her thick fur rippled down her arms and over her hands, how the knuckles curled and long, sharp claws burst from the tips of her fingers. She turned them over and showed them to Cathy. "Your pathetic little nails can hardly compare with the real thing. You're nothing to me, certainly no threat."
Clayton snickered. Trent laughed. Even Ryan gave a snort of derision.
Cathy's face rippled with fury. A shrill shriek escaped and she ripped Kyle from Ryan's hands, slapping the child's face repeatedly. Kyle screamed. Ryan swore. Clayton moved then, coming to life, his speed incredible, just as Emma did the same. Clayton reached Cathy a split second before Emma, shifting as he did so, his giant paw slicing into Cathy's skull, knocking her into Ryan so they both fell. He sank his teeth into Cathy's throat and held in the death grip.
Emma dragged Kyle into her arms as Trent lifted the rifle. She ran for the treeline just as a large male leopard with fiery golden eyes emerged, running at full speed past her, straight at Trent. Two more large leopards flanked him. The sound of the rifle was loud in the night despite the howling wind and rain. She heard Clayton roar and then the night erupted into the horrible sound of growls and screams of agony.
Emma didn't look back. She ran with Kyle in her arms, heading back toward the house. The boy was sobbing and clinging to her, half limp, half mad with fear and pain. "She can't hurt you now. She can't hurt you now," she soothed over and over, stumbling over the uneven ground, trying to shelter him with her body. Her hair was plastered to her skull and face, hanging in dripping tails down her back.
The wind shrieked, carrying the horrifying sounds of the battle. With it came the scent of blood and flesh and wet cat. And the scent of something else. The merest sound like the scrape of a boot against bark. Emma covered Kyle's mouth with her hand, her body going still. She hissed at him to be silent, remembering Trent as she'd shifted to human form. They hadn't been expecting her. They hadn't thought she could shift. They had expected Jake to be following Kyle and they hadn't been in a hurry to run.
Kyle's body went still, as if he knew the urgency and understood the need for silence. His eyes looked into hers, too old, frightened, but determined. She kissed him and hugged him closer as her heart began to hammer loudly in her chest. The leopard had brought Kyle to the clearing on purpose, to draw Jake there. She put Kyle down and put her fingers to her lips, signaling him to remain silent. He was so frightened, she was certain he was nearly frozen to the spot. She crouched beside him.
"Mommy has to help Daddy, baby. You can't move. I know you're scared, but I need you to promise me you'll stay right here and not move, or make a sound." She pressed his little body into the deeper grass.
He looked up at her with his eyes, so like Jake's, eyes that seemed to have more intelligence than possible for his age. He took a deep breath and nodded his head slowly. Emma covered him with nearby branches and twigs and swept up the grass around him, taking only seconds as she hid him.
Then she ran toward the scent, shifting as she went, her body going down to the ground, on all fours, fur sliding over her skin, muzzle rounding and expanding to accommodate the teeth bursting through. The experience was becoming less painful, and faster, and she was getting used to the roped muscles and sinewy body that allowed for much easier travel.
She circled to come at him from behind. There. In the tree, he was easing his weight along a thick tree branch, to try to get a better shot. She could imagine the chaos he was viewing through his scope. Four leopards, three humans fighting to the death in a rolling, clawing, tooth-filled battle. He set the rifle to his shoulder and his eye to the scope, settling his finger on the trigger. She came up behind him silently, stealthily, her gaze fixed and focused, hunting the hunter.
"I see you, you big son of a bitch," the man said softly, satisfaction in his voice.
She leapt, making the jump easily into the tree, landing on his back, her weight slamming him down hard against the knotted branch. He grunted, maintaining his hold on his gun as she bent her head and bit down on his shoulder, easily tearing through the thin skin and muscle, puncturing deep. Blood filled her mouth and she recoiled, horrified.
Emma pulled back and the man rolled, falling from the tree to the ground, discharging the rifle. She felt the bullet burn through her fur and she launched herself again, her weight hitting him full in the chest. He tried to bring the rifle up, and when he couldn't, he used it as a club, slamming it into her shoulder to drive her backward. The leopard raked her claws down his belly and gripped his throat, biting hard more out of fear than aggression.
Emma held on to his neck grimly, tears running down her face. She wanted to throw up, the bile rising. She was so distressed, she had to fight her body to keep from shifting back to her human form. The man struggled, slamming the sides of the leopard with his gun, trying to get it around to fire off a shot. Just when she was certain she couldn't make herself hold him another moment, Jake came rushing at them.
He was on the man in seconds, and Emma fell back, exhausted, sick, disgusted and horrified all at once. She staggered, fell and began to crawl, dragging the leopard's body through the mud away from the scene of death. She didn't want to see or hear any more killing. Once away from the terrible struggle, she shifted, sobbing, bending over to relieve her stomach of all contents in protest of the night's activities.
She could still taste blood in her mouth and she was desperate to rid herself of it. She turned her face up to the sky, allowing the rain to pour over her, wanting it to cleanse her. She wasn't sorry, but she hated that she'd had to make a life-and-death choice for another human being. She tried to scrub the blood off her body, shivering continually, although she didn't know if it was from the cold or from deep revulsion.
"Emma." Jake called her name softly.
She turned to face him. He looked like a warrior, with his glittering eyes and smears of blood decorating him, along with deep scratches, but he appeared to have come out of the battle unscathed for the most part.
"Where's our son?"
She could see the fear in his eyes. His hands trembled as they reached for her. She pointed toward the grassy slope where she'd hidden Kyle. He took her hand and ran, setting a fast pace. In her exhaustion, Emma could barely keep up, stumbling over the uneven ground until he wrapped his arm around her waist and nearly lifted her off her feet, taking them over the last few feet of muddy terrain before he came to a halt, staring down at the little mound. His chest heaved, breath exploded out of his lungs and he sank to his knees.
"Kyle!" Jake tore through the camouflage Emma had covered him with. He dragged the toddler to him, his hands running over his son, brushing the tears from the boys face, unaware of his own as he saw for himself Kyle was alive. "You have bruises all over you. This was never supposed to happen. I'm sorry, Kyle. I should have . . ." He shook his head and pulled the boy tight to his chest, holding him against his heart. "You're safe now, son." He kissed the top of Kyle's head and nuzzled the thick hair with his chin, murmuring soothing nonsense, almost unbelieving that he had his son safe in his arms.
Kyle flung his arms around his father's neck and buried his face against his throat. Jake reached out and swept Emma beneath his arm as well, and they all knelt in the grass and clung to one another, weeping. It was Emma who finally lifted her head and tried to be practical.
"We have to get Kyle out of the storm, Jake. How are we getting home?"
Jake rubbed his face over Kyle's hair one more time, inhaling him, just thankful he was alive. He sighed and made his mind focus on the plan already in place. "We stash clothes in various places. Conner is gathering some for us while Joshua runs back to the ranch to get a truck. He'll be here as soon as he can to take us home."
"The ranch hands will be edgy," Emma said, anxious for Joshua's safety. "
If they spot a leopard, they'll shoot him."
"No one will spot Joshua," Jake assured her. "Not until he wants to be seen."
"What are we going to tell the police?" Emma didn't have to ask what had happened to the enemies or Trent. "They're powerful people. They can't just disappear."
"Leopards attacked the horses. They must have come from a private collector or a ranch illegally raising wild animals for hunters and somehow they escaped. The storm must have made them a little crazy."
"I read that things like that can happen--that wild animals are very affected by storms," Emma agreed. "And certainly everyone knows of those awful breeding programs."
Jake nodded. "We do get edgy." He managed a small grin. "And moody. You and Drake rushed to save the horses, along with the grandparents and our good friend Trent who was visiting at the time along with their bodyguard. The leopards attacked you and Drake. Drake's injuries were so severe we called in our pilot in the midst of a terrible storm."
"Which we did have to do," Emma said. "That can be proved and our wounds are consistent with a leopard attack. Do you think Drake will be all right?"
"I had an orthopedic surgeon in place already to check out his leg. I found one who has a history with the leopard species. He thinks he can fix Drake's leg so he can shift again. The wound forced the surgery forward, and maybe complicated it, but at least we already had the right doctor. Winston was meeting him at the hospital. I paid him enough money to continue his research for some time in order to make certain he takes very good care of Drake. The amount of money a success with Drake generates will be more than enough incentive to ensure that Drake not only lives, but that his leg will be one hundred percent."
Emma closed her eyes briefly in relief. "I've been so worried for him I was afraid to even think about him."
"The rest of the story will be that Kyle was attacked in our absence and the grandparents, along with Trent and the bodyguard, hunted the leopards. Kyle has bruises and puncture wounds, as well as skinned heels from being dragged." Jake rocked Kyle gently, soothing himself more than the boy, wanting to hold his son forever, never to let him out of his sight. The boy's soft weeping had stopped and he appeared to have gone to sleep, exhausted by his ordeal. "By the time we arrived, the leopards had mauled and killed them and we shot the leopards. We did burn the leopard carcasses, of course. All wounds will be consistent with leopard attacks."