Power Shift (The Charming Shifter Mysteries Book 1) Page 20

  “Like what? You looked dead.”

  “Isn’t that how you want me? Six feet under?” He pressed gently against her back, wrapping his arms around her shoulders.

  She tsked and rolled her eyes. “No. Not really. I…only….well…” She pushed her furry hood back from her head and tugged the scarf from her mouth. The cold quickly settled around her face but with Hung’s heat behind her, she didn’t mind.

  “You only what?” He nuzzled the back of her head with his cold nose.

  “I…never mind.”

  “Tell me.” He nibbled the sliver of exposed skin between her scarf and jaw.

  “I’d be breaking my own rules if I ever…you know…did anything with you.”

  “And why is that?”

  “I’m…well…” What the hell was she scared of? Who told her Hung was in love with her? Was he just looking for the next notch in his belt? What did she care? Soon he’d be off on his next job and since she’d be hiding at home, she’d never see him again. With a heavy sigh, she spilled. “I’m afraid to let you in. I already like you too much. It’s easier to have sex with men I don’t know or like. That way, they don’t get too close.”

  Her cheeks burned at her true confession. It must be the meds or the vamp high that made me say it. “Forget I said anything. I’m being stupid.” She shook her head. “And I can’t climb this frigging mountain. My back hurts like a motherfucker.”

  “I told you to stay put.” He brought his lips to her temple, pushing her furry hat to the side. “But you never listen to me, do you? How’d you get free of the metal band? Chainsaw?”

  She heard the smile in his voice. “Long story.”

  “Ah. I hope you tell me all about it. But for now, I need to rescue a friend of yours. He’s chained to the cave with the shamans.”

  Chia snapped to her senses. “What? And you have the nerve to sit behind me, cooing in my ear with platitudes?”

  He sighed. “Here we go again.” He released her and she grew instantly chilled. He guided her up to standing and spun her around. “I confess.”

  She took a quick breath. Is he going to tell me he loves me?

  “I took out two of the men guarding the cave.”

  Her heart sank like the sun behind the horizon. She sighed, deflated. Of course you did.

  “The other one is trying to keep the dog muzzled while keeping a lookout for me. I climbed down the mountain partway to throw him off his game. Make him think he’s safe. He’s going to be mighty agitated. And, when I saw you, well…” He shrugged.

  “What if he’s harmed Cecil? I’ll break your neck.”

  “Is that before or after you have me tried for murder for breaking your rules of no self-defense?”

  “After,” she griped, eyes blazing.

  “This part of you is getting a little tiresome,” he said, with another sigh. “I could deal with your job as town manager and all your goddamn rules, but this?” He swished his hand up and down in front of her body. “You’re armed inside and out.” His eyes grew steel blue and cold as an iceberg. “Well. I’ll be getting on my way up to save your friend when I could be doing other things.”

  “I’m coming.”

  “Not with me, you’re not.”

  “Please? I need your help to get up the mountain.”

  “That puts us both at risk. I can’t be helping you and focusing on getting a shot off should the guard rush outside.”

  Chia frowned. “How is it that you can see so well in the dark? Owl eyes?”

  “What’s with the fucking owl? How is it that you can see so well in the dark?”

  “Vamp blood connection.”

  “Shifter sight. Now we’ve solved that mystery. See ya.” He turned and began to climb.

  “Hung, wait!” Chia huffed out a protest.

  “What?” he snapped, turning to look at her, all softness vanished.

  “I’m sorry. I…I…don’t know how to deal with you when you’re all soft and mushy.” She cast her eyes at the snow. “It’s easier when we’re at odds.”

  His face creased into a slight smile. “I see. Well, woman, we don’t have time to solve that mystery. I gave myself twenty-five. It’s now approaching forty-five minutes and I’m hoping the guard didn’t get bored and take it out on the mutt.”

  “He has a name, asshole,” she said.

  “I know.” His eyes grew narrow. “So do I and it’s not asshole, at least not usually. Now. I’m heading up that glacier and you, armed to the teeth and full of rules, piss and snark, can join me or not. I won’t help you and I sure won’t listen to your whimpers. I’m done being nice to you.” Without another word he began to climb.

  Angry, determined to make the climb and save her friend, she followed him. Each time she started to cry out or whimper from pain, she swallowed it back and channeled it into tenacity.

  When they got within a few yards from the cave, huddled behind a snowcapped boulder, Chia felt a flood of relief hearing the husky’s whines and growls.

  “Easy, mutt. Which one of us has the gun, huh? Don’t get all crazy on me,” the guard said.

  Low growls emanated from the cavern.

  “Easy. Easy.”

  Fierce snarls and snaps followed, as if Cecil the husky had lunged.

  “Goddamn dog!”

  A whack and a yip rang out, sounding like the guy had smacked the dog.

  “No one hurts my friends. I’m taking the bastard out,” Chia hissed. She reached for purchase on the snowy mound.

  “Not so fast, woman.” Hung held her back with his hand. “Don’t go all commando on me. Let’s make a plan.”

  “Yeah, I go in, guns locked and loaded and shoot him in the head.”

  Hung’s eyebrows rose. “And break your own rules?”

  “I’d…I’d do that for a friend. My friends’ rock.”

  “I see.” Hung’s eyes grew colder than the glacier ice. “You’ll break rules for a friend but not for me.”

  “Come on,” she spluttered. “That’s different. You’re…you and I…Gah!” She let out a frustrated breath. “I don’t know how to deal with you! I don’t know who you are to me or who I want you to be. Don’t you get it?” Her words emerged in a whispered rush.

  Hung sighed. “Not really. All I know is you frustrate the hell out of me. I think we’ve reached an impasse here. Let’s get the goddamn job done, so I can get the hell out of Charming.”

  She blinked. “You want to leave and never return?”

  “You leave me no choice! If I’m not tried and hung for murder, that is. I’ve been through that before. How do you think I got my name? I escaped the gallows.”

  She blinked at him. “You did?”

  “Yes. When I was only eighteen. I’d barely begun my career and a job went south. I’d been framed, same as what’s happening here. I came this close…” he held out his thumb and forefinger to her, a whisker’s width apart, “to being a dead man. It’s an experience I don’t care to have again.”

  “You won’t be,” Chia said softly.

  “And why is that?” He regarded her with cool, walled off indifference.

  “I…I might have…” She bit her lip. “I may or may not have…”

  “Created a new rule?” He cocked his head, his jaw clenched.

  She turned her head away from him. “Maybe.” The close, continued contact made her feel strange inside. “We’ll see if it goes through. I called in a few favors tonight.”

  He reached for her chin and turned her to face him. He gave her a long, piercing gaze. “Did you do it for me? Am I one of your so-called friends?”

  She shook her head back and forth. “No. You’re more.”

  Hung let out a long, slow breath, like he’d held it for years. His eyes softened into sun-kissed skies of blue possibility.

  Chia began to lean toward him, mouth parted.

  The husky let out a barrage of barks in rapid fire, like bullets.

  “Oh, shit.” Chia quickly shifted gear
s. “I’m going in.” She started to move but Hung caught her arm and stopped her.

  “At least do it safely. Your commando idea is not what I had in mind. How about this? I lure him out of his cave and then you shoot him. I’d love to see you break a few rules.”

  Chia studied him carefully. “Are you making fun of me?”

  “No! I’m telling it true. I think breaking a rule or two would be good for you for a change. When it comes to rules, you’re as trussed up as your town.” He stood suddenly and shouted. “Hey, asshole. I’m back.”

  A shuffling sound came from the cavern. “Where are you?” A wild shot rang out from the cave, zinging overhead.

  Hung quickly crouched behind the snowy boulder. “What, you can’t hit the side of a barn door? Eyesight growing dim?” he taunted.

  The guard crouched in the opening of the cave and searched for Hung. “Show yourself, asshole.”

  “That’s the second time in a few minutes I’ve been called that name,” Hung called. “You can do better than that. Get creative.” He turned to Chia and whispered, “Go! Around that way. I’ll keep luring him out of the cave. I don’t dare shoot him where he is right now. Might hit the mutt.” He glared at her. “I mean Cecil.”

  Chia nodded and slunk in the direction he pointed.

  Hung peered around the boulder and took a wild shot at the guard.

  The guy yelled and leaped in the cave.

  “Get out here where I can see you.” Hung continued to provoke the man. “Hurt the dog and you’re a dead man.”

  “We’ll see about that,” the man groused.

  Chia kept up her creeping around the back of the cave, oblivious to her pain. She climbed up over the top the cave entrance, slipping slightly on the frozen, snow covered rocks. “Crap!” she muttered under her breath as she lost her footing.

  “What’s that? Who’s with you?”

  “Come on out and see,” Hung called. “I may or may not have a whole team of sharpshooters at the ready.”

  Curses floated from the cavern.

  Chia listened as chains rattled, and Cecil growled and barked. She watched as he was dragged from the cave, tugging at the chain around his neck. His whines of protest and distress cut through her like a knife.

  “Shoot me and the dog gets shot.” The guard crouched behind Cecil and pointed his gun at the husky’s head. His gaze darted in every direction. “Where are the others? I don’t see anyone.”

  Hung grinned. “I only wanted the company. I lied.”

  The guard glared at him, suspicion evident. “What, now we’re going to get all chatty? Fuck that.”

  “It gets lonely out here.” Hung pulled a sad face.

  “Tell me about it,” the guard said, still looking suspicious.

  “Why haven’t you shot him already?” Hung called.

  Cecil the husky crouched, trembling and shivering.

  “Thought he might make a great pet for the family. He’s nothing but a foul tempered pound dog, if you ask me.”

  The canine let out a low growl.

  “Good thing you didn’t ask. I’d have to agree with you. Got him off an ill-tempered fisherman. Dog’s been a nuisance ever since.” Hung waved his arm at Chia, pointing at a spot directly beside the cave.

  From her vantage point she could see him, while the asshat cave guard could not. She crept to where he pointed. As she raised her rifle to take aim, she noticed the ghosts were missing. Where did they go? Maybe they went back to get their dumb needs met.

  She pulled a twenty-six long range cartridge from her pocket and loaded it in the push feed. Grateful to have a clear shot, without them obscuring her vision, she propped the rifle along the boulder, positioned the butt at her shoulder, and peered through the spotting scope. The kickback better not screw up my shoulder, she thought, wincing at her arm position. But if it saves a friend, it’s worth the pain.

  Hung waved his hand at her.

  Wrong angle? Too close to Cecil? She repositioned, moving the Nosler forty-five degrees to the left. Come on. Work with me, she said silently to the rifle. You’re known for your long range accuracy.

  He gave her a thumbs up, keeping his hand low and out of sight of the guard. “So are you going to keep cuddling with the dog or are you going to release him and face me like a man?”

  Chia had a clear sight through the scope. She swallowed. Felt herself sweating beneath her clothes. Her heart hammered in her chest. I’ve never killed a man, she thought. Never killed anything. Only target practice.

  Hung made a hurry up gesture. He brought his gun out of his holster and pointed it at the guard.

  Come on, you can do this. She blinked, as an icy droplet of sweat rolled into her eye. She wiped her eyes with the back of her gloved hand.

  “I wouldn’t do that, if I were you,” the guard yelled, sounding cocky. “This here mutt’s shaking like a leaf. I might need to put him down.” He cocked the hammer on his gun.

  Cecil let out an unearthly, high-pitched cry, as if he’d been hit.

  Oh, that’s it, you bastard.

  The guy started to speak again as Chia pulled the trigger, catching him neatly in the back of the head.

  He jerked forward and fell on top of the brown and white husky. Blood and brains spattered the pristine snow.

  Cecil yelped and wriggled out from underneath the male. He shook out his luxurious coat and wagged his tail.

  “Good shot, woman,” Hung said, standing. “Let’s see to the cave dwellers.”

  Pumped with adrenaline, Chia down climbed as fast as she could, given her screwed up shoulder, and met him and the husky at the mouth of the cavern. “Are you okay?” she asked the husky? She patted his head and rubbed his pelt, grateful he seemed all right. “I was so worried about you,” she said.

  He licked her face.

  “Okay, all right, that’s enough,” she said, pushing his sloppy tongue away.

  They peered inside. Lit by sputtering torches, they eyed the five shamans, dressed in traditional attire of animal hide clothing and fur-lined boots. The men were slumped over, passed out or dead, Chia couldn’t tell which. She rushed inside, feeling for pulses in their necks, pushing back their sealskin coat collars to find the veins. “They’re barely alive,” she told Hung and Cecil the dog. “Weak, erratic pulses. What should we do?”

  “They probably need water, for starts. Let’s grab handfuls of snow and try to hydrate them.”

  Chia and Hung got to work, scooping handfuls of snow, holding them over the lips of the shamans and letting the droplets leak into their mouths. Cecil the canine acted as inspiration, jumping, barking, licking the men’s faces, and digging in the snow, no doubt thankful to be alive.

  “I’m not sure if this is working. All we’re doing is busy-work,” Chia said, twenty minutes later.

  “Yeah, I’m starting to wonder, too. We don’t know what they’ve endured. Let’s scout around for some food. Maybe the guards have some stored around here somewhere.”

  They got to work, searching the dimly lit cavern.

  “Hey!” Chia cried. “Cecil! Come here, boy.”

  The husky romped to where she stood.

  “Sniff around for food, okay? Find something.”

  With a bark of acknowledgement, the husky put his nose to the cold ground, and set his sniffer free. He moved in a zigzag, back and forth, in super speed. His sniffing led him back into the depths of the cavern.

  “Still got that flashlight?” Chia asked Hung.

  He fished around in the inner pocket of his coat and retrieved the small, powerful light. “Here.” He extended it to her.

  Chia took it from him, their fingers connecting briefly, the sizzle of lusty heat making her heart soar. She gave him a look of depth and longing, then turned and followed the canine, aiming the light at his zigzagging form.

  Cecil stopped near a group of stalagmites and barked, his tail wagging furiously.

  “Find something? Show me.” Chia raced to where he stood and poi
nted the flashlight beam behind the mineral deposits. She stooped to retrieve a red and white camp cooler. Opening the sturdy plastic lid, she found stores of jerky, dried packets of soup and beans, cans of beer, and a couple bottles of water. A silver flask rested on the bottom. Chia unscrewed the lid, sniffed and jerked her head. “Whew! Vodka!” She screwed the lid back on and yelled, “Hung! Help me with this. I can’t lift this heavy load at the moment.”

  A few seconds later, Hung appeared. He easily hefted the cooler.

  The husky put his nose down and continued sniffing. He barked, his tail wagging like a weather vane.

  Chia peered behind the mineral formations. She reached down and retrieved a canvas backpack. Unzipping it, she said, “A first aid kit! Good news. Let’s see if there’s something we can use.”

  “Bring it to the front of the cave.”

  They hustled to the unconscious men, holding their supplies like gold.

  Chia got to work cleaning and dabbing ointment on the cuts and scrapes of the shamans whose bodies had slid down the jagged wall.

  One of the shamans, a wizened old man with a wrinkled face like an elephant’s hide, had come-to and pushed himself to sitting. “Who are you?” he croaked, his throat raw, no doubt from overuse, lack of hydration and undernourishment.

  “We’re here to help, that’s who. You’ve got to undo the spell you cast. But first, we’ve got to get you all back to life.” Hung passed him a water bottle and said, “Drink slowly. We only have a couple bottles for all five of you.”

  “Thank you.” He took the bottle with trembling fingers and poured a small amount into his parched throat. “I can sing the others back to life,” he said.

  “No,” Chia said. “You’re dehydrated. Parched. Don’t ruin your throat. We’ll get them roused.”

  “You can’t. They’ve gone into the deep trance between worlds. Some are so weak they’ll be tempted to continue their journey to the otherworld. Only I can bring them back. I’m their elder.” He took another swallow of water. “This spell-cast required we give of our souls, our life essence. We’ll be doing penance for our crime for lifetimes.” His brown eyes flooded with tears.

  Chia crouched before the elder, gripping his gnarled hand. “No. I suspect you did this against your will.”