“We will go after them, sweetheart. Definitely. Dylan’s in there planning things.” He nodded at the house across the street, to which Dylan and Sean had retreated after they’d returned, and into which Liam had disappeared a few minutes ago. Spike had all but sprinted home when they got back to Shiftertown, worried about Jordan, but he’d walked back to Dylan’s house a little later. “They’ll come get me, and then we’ll go kick some ass.”

The only reason Ellison wasn’t in with the other Shifters was that he’d wanted to stick with Maria. She was too upset, too horrified. The need to comfort her, to reassure her, overrode everything else.

“I need to do something now,” Maria said, her dark eyes flashing. “Call Pablo and ask him where we find Bradley’s headquarters, and we’ll go drag him out.”

Ellison pushed himself away from the railing. “I’m as mad as you are, sweetheart, but I know Liam and Dylan will put together a good plan. I’ll go with them, and Ronan, and we’ll get this guy. Trust me.”

Ellison itched to feel Bradley’s throat between his hands, wanted to see fear in the man’s eyes. After that, he’d explain to the three goons who’d tried to snatch Olaf why that had been a bad idea. He’d explain so hard they’d never get up again.

Killing humans was dangerous for all Shifters, as Ellison had tried to explain to Tiger, but only if the dead were obviously victims of a Shifter attack. Ellison could think of a number of ways to make it not obvious.

On the other hand, Maria wanting to rush up to Bradley and shake her fist in the man’s face scared the shit out of Ellison. Maria was crazy-furious enough to try it, and then some goon would try to shoot her. Or grab her and have fun with her.

No one was touching Maria. A growl of feral rage worked up in his throat, and Ellison caught Maria’s hand as she skimmed by again. “Come on.”

Maria stopped, agitated. “Come on, where?”

“Somewhere you can work this off.”

She blinked up at him. “We can’t leave Deni alone.”

Deni spoke from the shadows. “Since when? I’m not that fragile.”

Deni was upset, though, not happy about what Ellison had told her. Ellison had feared that the news of Bradley kidnapping and selling cubs might trigger another of Deni’s violent episodes, but she’d remained cognizant, if distressed.

Now she made a shooing motion. “Will and Jackson will be home soon. They’ll take care of me. You do what you need to do.”

Ellison tightened his grip on Maria’s hand. “We’re going.”

He half dragged Maria down the porch steps to the motorcycle that waited in the driveway on the side of the house before she could think of more arguments to stop him. Technically, the motorcycle was Deni’s, bought by Ellison to replace the one she’d been on when she’d wrecked, but Ellison was the only one who rode it now.

He knew exactly where to take Maria. He got her mounted behind him on the bike, warming to the way she confidently slid her arms around him, started the motorcycle, and slid it onto the street.

Chapter Eight

Ellison drove out of Shiftertown, and down to the Bastrop Highway to head east. Austin had spread in the last twenty years toward the smaller towns around it, but once past the last strip malls and housing developments, the land rolled into Hill Country. Roads were long, miles into nothing.

A while back, while exploring out here, Ellison had found a dirt road that wound up into hills by the river, the road shielded by a spread of trees that followed the small ridge. Few came this way, a perfect place for Ellison to change to wolf and enjoy loping through woods and up and down the hills. The main roads were distant, and not many knew about this place, not even other Shifters.

Ellison drove the motorcycle out to this road now, not stopping until they were as far from civilization as they could get to in one afternoon. Under the cool shade of trees, he helped Maria off the bike, not letting go as she regained her feet.

Maria looked up at him, her hair tangled from the ride, her eyes still full of fire, stirred by anger and fear. She’d been through so much, this woman, and still she faced down the world, standing up for herself and the weaker, like Olaf.

She drew a breath to say something, but before she could, Ellison wound his arm around her, drew her up into him, and kissed her.

He tasted her agitation and outrage, and liked it. Maria’s lips, dusky red and warm, moved on his, her kiss more practiced and confident than the one earlier today. She kissed in anger, seeking him, needing release.

Ellison pulled her closer, fitting her body against his, every curve of her against every hard plane of him. She was warm from the ride, mouth hot, skin damp with sweat, her scent filled with spice and heat. He could drink her all day, here away from the world. Nothing else mattered but this moment, his heart pounding desire through every space of him. Out here, Maria was his.

Maria pushed at his chest, breaking them apart, though she didn’t step away. She was breathing hard, the spangled shirt that hugged her br**sts rising with her breath, its little buttons beckoning his fingers. “Why would someone do that?” she asked, rage in her eyes. “Try to take the cubs like that?”

“Bradley?” Ellison could barely remember the guy’s name after that heated kiss. He barely remembered his own name. “For the money. And the power. But we’ll teach him, darlin’. Don’t you worry about that.”

Maria didn’t calm. “Why do people like him think they can walk into someone’s life and take them? Away from everything? Like they own the world and can do whatever they want? They steal a person’s whole life.” She balled her fists. “Why? And why do we let them?”