Moon - New Moon Part 68

Ross and Lance sat back, apparently smart enough not to question his judgment.

In about a mile, he came to a roadblock. Cops were turning motorists back.

Craning his neck, Logan could see the driveway to one of the houses was blocked by a police cruiser.

"It's up there," Ross murmured.

"Yeah. Time for some big dogs to go prowling through the woods."

"Let's hope the cops aren't shooting at anything that moves," Ross said.

"I'll take my chances that they're focused on the house," Logan answered. He turned the car around and headed in the direction from which they'd come. But at the first opportunity, he turned off the road again and into a rural area with custom homes on large wooded lots. He kept going to the end of the road, which ended in a circle, where he saw prep work for new construction. But no building had taken place yet, so he was able to pull past a cleared area and into the woods.

"This should do," he said, then looked back at Lance. "Maybe you'd better stay here if you're still feeling sick."

"I'm well enough," Lance snapped.

JAKE Cooper pulled into the driveway at 1235 Picket Road. He'd asked to be informed if anything unusual was going on in the neighborhood, and this certainly qualified. Motorists had seen a troop of men and one woman tramping along the shoulder, and the group had turned in here.

The woman was chained up.

He'd asked for her description, and it pretty well matched Mrs. Rinna Marshall.

So what the h.e.l.l was going on now?

Logan Marshall had said his wife had disappeared. So had these guys captured her? And if they had, what d.a.m.n fool would march her up a public road in chains?

What was this-an S & M club gone berserk? Or was this some kind of performance art? Checking with the station, he found that a burglar alarm had also gone off at the location. Only the monitoring station had pegged it as a false alarm, since the homeowners were notorious for s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g up the system.

He drove toward the house, then stopped in back of the three patrol cars that already had entered the driveway.

The officers conferred, then one of them stepped from cover.

Not a good move, Jake thought. "Get back here," he shouted.

In the next second, shots erupted from one of the front windows, and the officer fell to the ground.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX.

THE THREE WOLVES were already heading through the woods when Logan heard gunfire.

His heart leaped into his throat, and he sped up, tearing through the trees in the direction from which the shots had come. Lance and Ross were right behind him.

All of them screeched to a halt when he saw three police cars. An officer was lying on the ground, dead or wounded.

Other officers were using the cruisers for cover as they faced the house, guns drawn.

And behind the cars, Jake Cooper was yelling into a cell phone, calling for an ambulance. He must have caught a flash of movement from the corner of his eye because he looked up and spotted the three wolves.

The detective's mouth dropped open as he stared at them.

"You," he said.

Logan was too far away to hear the words, but he saw the man's lips form the syllable.

Then the person on the other end of the line must have asked something because he returned his attention to the phone.

The three wolves moved back into the trees, hidden by the lengthening shadows, but they were still able to see what was going on.

Logan saw two officers bring out a large metal s.h.i.+eld. Holding it between themselves and the house, they rushed forward and crouched over the man on the ground.

Lance saw him moving. He was wounded.

The others pulled him to safety in back of the cars, as another siren sounded in the distance.

The medics were on their way.

INSIDE the house, Falcone turned in fury on the soldier who had fired the shot. "You idiot," he cried out, then sent a wave of psychic energy into the man's brain. He went down on his knees, cradling his head in his hands.

"I told you to hold your fire," Falcone bellowed, then turned to Avery. "You have to get us out of here."

"I can't."

"Make us invisible."

"I need preparation for that."

Falcone's face contorted in rage. "We'll have to negotiate with them," he muttered.

"What do we have to offer?" Brusco asked.

"The idiot who injured one of their men."

COOPER grabbed a bullhorn and turned toward the house.

"Come out with your hands up," he boomed.

"We can negotiate," a voice inside called out.

Then another shot sounded, and Logan felt his guts wrench.

Rinna. Oh G.o.d, Rinna.

He would have dashed forward, but the two other wolves blocked him, one in front of him and one in back.

Ross growled low in his throat.

Logan prepared to lunge at him, but in the next second, the door opened again. Logan stopped in his tracks as something came flying out. It was a limp human figure.