Cougar Falls: Foxy Lady Part 11

"Then don't leave me. Stay with me. Love me. Have my kits, cats, whatever."

"Oh, G.o.d. What if our kids are cats?"

"What if they are? Can you really tell me you'd love them any less?" He narrowed his eyes, understanding what he'd missed before. "Do you love Gabby any less?"

"Of course not. Of course not," she repeated softly, her face full of wonder. "You really don't care, do you?"

"No, I don't. And honestly, I don't think many other people will either. You've spent your life apart from most people, honey, pushed away by your b.i.t.c.hy relatives. No more. My parents won't care. h.e.l.l, my mother will hang a medal on you for finally tying me down."

"You did play around a lot."

He liked her jealousy, until she pinched him. "Ow. Dammit. I'm telling you, they were subst.i.tutes for you. And I didn't sleep with half my rumored number of conquests." He didn't think. "I'm a one-woman man. You're mine, I'm yours, end of story."

"Yeah, end of story," she reaffirmed with a steely-eyed glare.

He chuckled and pulled her closer. "Hot d.a.m.n, I love you, Julia Easton. Will you marry me?"

She kissed him and squirmed, her taut b.r.e.a.s.t.s doing funny things to his libido once more. "I'm not sure. What will my fiance think if I run away with you?"

"Who, Ned?" he teased. "I say we don't invite him. One party crasher is one too many."

"You got that right."

"Good. Now that we have that out of the way, I want you to tell me exactly what Gerald said and did while I was gone."

She laughed, but she made him work hard for his answers.

Julia spent the rest of the night with Ty. He dropped her off at her place on his way to work the next morning.

"Hmm, a kiss from my vixen. I like this."

"You should. I'm worth it," she drawled.

He chuckled and playfully pushed her out the truck door. "I'll see you at lunch. And later tonight we'll shop for a ring. I love you."

"I love you too." Julia wondered if she'd ever tire of hearing it. Seeing a big, strong man like Ty look at her with such tenderness made her melt inside. G.o.d, was he really hers?

She went through the house, not expecting to see Gabby since her sister rarely roused before ten unless she had to. After a nice, long shower, Julia changed into clean clothes and mentally prepared the rest of her day. She needed to talk to Gabby about the future as well. Deciding to tell everyone about their father affected them all. Though Meghan had pushed to tell the truth for years, Julia needed to know what Gabby truly thought. After all, Meghan intended to live away from Cougar Falls. Gabby would be here around Ac-taw who might or might not scorn her for her differences.

Julia flushed with shame, aware her worries about raising a mixed child echoed those of an ignorant, fear-based bigot. She was d.a.m.ned proud of Gabby, a smart and funny woman with a sunny att.i.tude and the strength of a lioness. Ty and Gerald were right. She needed to think of her background as blessed and not a freakish happenstance.

She was finis.h.i.+ng her bagel, deep in thought, when Gabby joined her at the counter.

"You look way too perky for the Julia I know and love," Gabby grumbled, and pushed a lock of hair out of her eyes.

"Gabby, I love you."

"I love you too." Gabby hunted in the refrigerator for something.

"I'm proud of who you are. I think your cat is beautiful, and I don't think we should hide it anymore."

Gabby straightened and turned, clearly surprised. "What brought this on?"

"I'm in love and I'm getting married."

"Say that again?"

"I'm in love with Ty. He asked me to marry him, and I said yes."

Gabby rushed to Julia for a hug and babbled with joy. "Oh my gosh. I'm so incredibly happy for you. I guess this means I'm losing my roommate. But that's okay. Now I can finally get rid of those hideous blue curtains."

"Please. And replace them with what? Blinds?" Julia made a face. "Tacky."

"Have you told Meghan yet?"

Julia shook her head. "I couldn't get a hold of her."

Gabby frowned. "Me neither. I called her twice yesterday. I thought we could meet up in Whitefish for breakfast this morning but she didn't answer."

Julia had a funny feeling in the pit of her stomach. "Try her again."

Gabby's smile faded. She hurried to the phone and punched in Meghan's number. "Her voicemail."

Life didn't seem so bright all of a sudden. "I have a bad feeling about this. Do you have Jason's number?"

"Yeah. Hold on." Gabby raced into her bedroom. She returned moments later, her face drawn. "I called him. Nothing."

"Let me get a hold of Ty."

"Don't go anywhere without me. I'm getting dressed. Be right there."

Two hours later, Julia, Gabby and Ty drove into Whitefish together. They parked at Chastell Tours, where Grady Chastell stood waiting for them off the deck of his office building. Dean and Grady ran the actual tours while their brother, Burke, handled the business from his office in Cougar Falls, a short half hour away.

Grady nodded to them, his whole mien predatory. "Dean's running some errands, but Monty's here. We'll need him for this. Ty, I checked Meghan's hotel room but found nothing. Not a scent at all. I don't like this."

Ty frowned and herded them all inside the building. "Did anyone see you?"

"Not that I could tell. I waited for the maid to clean up then pretended I was the next tenant. I could barely smell a thing. Only the barest trace of Meghan and a male with her. And that's d.a.m.n odd."

The four of them glanced at one another. Julia's heart broke at the sudden worry on Ty's face. "Ty?"

He sighed. "I'm sorry, baby. But that's a common Hunter ploy. They mask scent. I wouldn't be surprised if they'd followed Grady back here. I'm sure someone out there is locked onto us by now."

Monty entered through the back door to Chastell Tours and closed it behind him. "You mean the pair of a.s.sholes wearing flannel in that pickup a block away? You can't see them, but one of the guys is standing by a flagpole using binoculars."

"How the h.e.l.l did you get here so fast?" Ty asked.

Julia didn't care. She wanted as many people as she could to help find her sister. Hunters? How could Meghan have been captured by Hunters?

Grady slapped Monty on the back. "He's helping me out today. And a good thing. He's spent the last few years dealing with Hunters. We need to handle this the right way and Monty's our man."

"See, Ty? I'm good for something besides trouble." Monty grinned, but his smile softened into concern as he looked at Julia and Gabby. "It's okay, ladies. Between Ty, Grady and myself, we'll fetch your pretty little sister back."

Grady nodded.

Tears filled Julia's eyes. If anything happened to her sister, she didn't know what she'd do. Despite her troubles with Meghan, family meant everything to Julia. Meghan had to be all right.

"We'll find her," Ty said with quiet a.s.surance. "Grady, do me a favor and call Cullen Whitefeather. Explain the situation but keep it brief. I don't want anyone else to know about this. Cullen can help us. We need eyes in the sky."

"Not necessary. I called for help an hour ago when Grady mentioned you were after Hunters, and Cullen volunteered his brother Sean. He knows what to do, and he'll keep it quiet."

"Good thinking." Ty nodded.

"Sean Whitefeather?" Julia tried to process everything.

Ty answered her. "While you were in Was.h.i.+ngton, your buddy Sarah fought a clan duel, got a corrupt raptor leader and his family kicked out of town, and mated Cullen, Sean's brother."

"Cullen's not comfortable leaving Sarah alone right now, with all the clan unrest, so Sean's helping instead," Monty said.

"I had no idea." Lost in worries about Meghan, Julia had missed her best friend's major life changes. "Oh my G.o.d. I hope Sarah's all right."

Monty chuckled. "Honey, Sarah is more than all right. She mated with a fierce raptor. The idiot's so in love with her it's not funny." Monty glanced from Ty to Julia. "A lot like someone else I know."

Ty glared but said nothing.

Grady shook his head at Ty. "And another one bites the dust. Wait until I tell Burke." He opened his mouth to speak again and closed it. He sniffed the air and eyed Gabby with a confused expression she studiously ignored.

"Now what?" Julia ran her hands through her hair and sought calm. But try as she might, she couldn't think past her anxiety for her baby sister.

"Now we let Sean tail our new friends and see where they've stashed your sister," Monty answered. "We'll see how many Hunters there are and what we're up against. I suggest we settle down and wait."

"I don't want to wait. I want to find my sister." Her eyes changed, and she could feel her fangs and claws pus.h.i.+ng for freedom. "Let's drag the information out of the ones spying on us. h.e.l.l, it's two of them against the five of us."

"Six counting Sean. Good idea, Julia. I'll help," Gabby offered.

A chorus of male noes resounded.

Ty took the sting out of his rejection by explaining. "Julia, Monty saw two men, but we don't know how many there are. I know you want action, but the smart thing is to study them and see where this leads. Trust me, this could get ugly quick."

"I do trust you. But that's Meghan out there. My little sister with the biggest mouth." Julia threw herself down into a comfortable leather couch and stared into a warm fire. "Find her soon, Ty, or I'm going to get her with or without your help."

Gabby nodded, supporting her sister. Ty clenched his jaw, breathed deep, and joined the men gathered across the room. They spoke in low voices, occasionally glancing at her and Gabby.

She ignored their chatter for the most part, worried sick about what Hunters might have done to Meghan.

"We'll get her back, Julia. We will." Gabby looked so earnest, so young.

Julia trusted Ty, she loved him, but she was responsible for her sister. Meghan had been Julia's responsibility for twenty years. Her problems were Julia's, not Ty's.

"Yeah, we will." Julia leaned closer to her sister. "While they're making their plans, I think you and I need to make ours."

Chapter Nine.

Eight hours later, at a quarter to midnight, Ty, Sean, Monty and Grady waited outside an abandoned motel on the edge of town. The seedy outdoor building had one truck parked in its lot. The lights in the parking lot didn't work, and the dank smell of disuse made it plain that the neglected place hadn't seen visitors in a while. Sean's reconnaissance had shown them two Hunters in an upstairs room adjoined to the one in which Meghan and Jason sat, tied to chairs, bloodied and beaten, but alive.

He couldn't help being glad Julia and Gabby had stayed behind. If Julia saw her sister tied up in a place like this, in Meghan's current condition, she'd s.h.i.+t a brick.

But at least they only had the two men to worry about. The pair hadn't moved for several hours. They hadn't made any calls, and they hadn't received any visitors. The Hunters occupied a corner room on the second floor. On the side of the building, an overhang protected the hotel's dumpster.

Ty and his friends waited by the large bin, and Ty tried to keep a calm head. He had to be cool and in control for Julia. G.o.d, he loved her so d.a.m.ned much. Nothing would hurt her if he could help it.

He had a hard time believing Ned Williams Senior and another male he hadn't met were behind this kidnapping, but he'd spotted them earlier with his own eyes. h.e.l.l, he'd watched a f.u.c.king basketball game with the senior Williams. How could he not have sensed a Hunter so close?

"Don't worry about it, Ty. They're hard to detect," Monty said softly, using the mental pathways of the Ac-taw. He wagged his silver tail as he sat atop the wide trash bin and kept his head c.o.c.ked, listening for any sign of trouble.

Grady curled his tail around his legs. He sat on the cold hard ground, his eyes flas.h.i.+ng with anger. Like Monty, he'd s.h.i.+fted into his animal spirit, a cinnamon-colored mountain lion. Sean perched high on a telephone pole next to them, a golden eagle watching the hotel with piercing eyes. Only Ty remained in a man's form, gun in hand, ready to go into action as soon as the moon disappeared behind the clouds again.

They had to make the funniest sight. A man, a wolf, a cougar and an eagle. Sounded like the beginning of a very bad joke.

Grady rumbled, "No offense, Ty, but what the h.e.l.l are you doing taking a mate? When did you have the time? I just saw you on Sunday and you were happily single, or am I wrong?" He studied Ty like a bug under a microscope.

Monty scoffed. "Come on, Grady. You know he's always had it bad for Julia. Never could take his eyes off her in school."

Ty answered, "Shut up, Monty. You were too busy staying out of school-suspended-to know jack s.h.i.+t about me then."

"Yep," Monty continued. "Used to moon over her like a strung-up calf needing its momma. Julia, look at meeee."

The tension remained high, but the burst of humor lightened it.

Then Monty's smile left him. "Ty, you sure not calling in the wolf pack was a wise idea? Gray wolves are good for something, you know. We take Hunter business very seriously."

"Normally I'd say yes. But I want s.h.i.+fters I can trust on this. And no offense, but your pack is trying to gut one another half the time. I'm never sure who's even in charge anymore."

"You have a point. And no offense taken. They're not my pack any longer." Monty smiled at Grady. "I'm a p.u.s.s.y now, haven't you heard?"

Overhead, Sean sputtered with laughter.

Grady glared at Monty. "I hate that," he muttered and glanced up at Sean. "Shut it, bird, before I have chicken for dinner."

Sean didn't bat an eye. "Chicken for dinner? Please. I could slice you from tooth to tail with one swipe of my talons. h.e.l.l, my wingspan is longer than your entire body...you big p.u.s.s.y." He ruffled his feathers, a shot of bird laughter Ty shared.

Grady interrupted. "A bunch of comedians. A fur ball and a featherbrain. Now how about we get back to rescuing Meghan?"