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| Going Off-grid |
Assassins are After Her
Outrunning the panthers bought Nate and Janelle time. But distance won’t keep them safe when their pursuers can track their every move.
In Chapter 8 of Wolf’s Man, an urgent warning forces Nate to rethink their escape. Meanwhile, Captain Garrett faces a choice he can no longer avoid: protect himself or risk helping the detective he doesn’t even like.
Click Read more to read Chapter 8 of Wolf’s Man. I’m sharing one chapter each day, free here on the blog.
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Wolf's Man
Chapter 8
Captain Garrett picked up the phone. “Garrett here.”
“We
lost them. See if you can locate them.”
“How
could you lose them?”
A
growl came over the phone. “Your man is good.” There was a pause. “You sure
he’s human?”
“I’ve
never had reason to think otherwise.” Garrett wiped his face with his broad
hand. “I’ll see what I can find out.”
“The
girl had a gun.”
“He
a hostage?”
“Use
that as a basis to find out where they are.”
Garrett
sighed his frustration. “Call back in a few minutes.”
Martin
grunted and hung up.
This
was shaping up to be bad business all the way around. Either Rollins was
helping the girl, or he was a hostage. Either way, he was unlikely to live
through being found by the cats. As a lone cat, Martin was not his Tom.
Technically, he didn’t have to obey his demands. Technically. But if Martin wins, and I go against him,
I’ll be on his hit list. And I don’t
really like Rollins. Garrett stepped out from behind his massive wooden
desk and paced his small office. No, he didn’t like Rollins, but then it wasn’t
his job to like the men who worked for him. Sending assassins after one of them
grated.
After
several minutes, he picked up the phone and dialed Rollins’ cell phone. Again,
no answer. Reaching into his pocket, he
pulled out his personal cell and tapped
in a quick text. Now, it’s up to Nate.
*****
When
Nate’s phone rang, he glanced at the caller id. His captain again. Nate frowned and swiped
the ignore button. He never talked on the phone while driving. Seconds later,
his phone dinged. He could see the message was from Garrett. Sighing, he handed
the phone to Janelle.
“Read
that to me.”
Janelle
took the phone. Her eyes grew wide as she read aloud, “Nate, call me
immediately. Emergency. You and the girl will die if you don’t call.”
Nate
glanced at her, took in her pale face and the teeth chewing her bottom lip.
With a muttered curse, he glanced in the rearview mirror to verify the cats
hadn’t caught up with them and whipped to
the side of the road. Foot on the brake,
SUV still in gear to enable a quick departure, he took the phone from Janelle’s
trembling fingers and tapped the call
button next to his captain’s name.
“Rollins,
where are you?” Garrett’s voice sounded strained.
“On
vacation. What’s up?”
“The
girl still with you?”
“What
girl?”
He
heard Garrett take a deep breath. “Rollins, there are assassins looking for
her. You’re in danger as long as you’re with her.”
Nate
frowned. “Are you suggesting I abandon her?”
He
heard another sigh. “No, I’m telling you they have access to police and bank
records. If you’re going to live through this, you must go off-grid. Get rid of
the phone. Don’t use your cards. Find a different vehicle. And keep your eyes
open.”
Nate’s
left eyebrow climbed up his forehead. “Where are you getting your information?”
At the back of his mind, he heard his wolf snarl, Cat!
“Just
get rid of the phone, or they’ll know where you are again.”
“Panthers
just attacked me.” Nate heard a sharp,
indrawn breath over the phone. “What do you know about that?”
“You
wouldn’t believe me. Just go off-grid. Now. Call me back from a pay phone or
get a burner and call.” Garrett hung up.
After
a glance at Janelle, Nate popped open the back of his phone and pulled the
battery and the SIM card. He rolled the passenger window down and handed her
the phone. “Toss it as far as you can.”
Janelle
took the phone and threw it as hard as she could into the center of a clump of
prickly pear cactus on the other side of the pasture fence. While she discarded
the phone, Nate took the pocketknife from his left front pocket and cut the SIM
card in half. He gave her half of the SIM and she threw it across the pasture
fence, too.
Checking
for traffic, he waited until it was clear, and pulled out on the interstate. A
half mile down the road, he handed the battery and the rest of the SIM card to
her. Without a word, she tossed both out the open window, then rolled the
window up.
“What
are we going to do?”
Nate’s
wolf swaggered at the trust in her voice. Pursing
his lips, Nate glanced at her, then turned his attention back to the road
ahead. “You don’t have any money?”
“No.”
He
nodded. “They already know we’re in this area. I’ll stop in Georgetown and pull
as much as I can from my account.” He sucked air through his front teeth.
“Where is this ranch you told me about?”
“What?”
“The
ranch. They wouldn’t expect you to go back there. Where is it?”
“South
and east of Austin.”
He
nodded. “That’s where we’re going.”
*****
The
phone rang. Garrett stared at it for several seconds, dreading the call. After
four rings, he picked it up. “Garrett, here.”
“So,
where are they?”
“I
don’t know. They’ve gone off-grid. We can’t get a lock on his cell location.”
There
was an ominous silence on the line. After long enervating seconds, Martin’s
voice continued. “Put out an APB.”
Garrett
sighed. “On what grounds?”
“Kidnapping.”
Not
for the first time, Garrett wished he never met Martin and his henchman. “You
have to come in and swear out a complaint for
that.”
Again,
there was silence on the line. “If I find out you are helping them...”
“I’m
not crazy,” said Garrett as emotionless as he could. “But I have to follow the
rules. I can’t issue an all points
without a charge.”
Muttered
cursing came over the phone, then the call ended.
Garrett
wiped the sweat from his face and stared at the phone cradled in his hand.
“What have I done?” he whispered.
Garrett finally warns Nate, knowing Martin could discover what he’s done. How has his decision changed your opinion of him—and what would he need to do to earn your trust? Share your thoughts in the comments!
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| Texas Ranch Wolf Pack Series (12 books) |
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