Blackstone Ranger Guardian - Alicia Montgomery Page 0,63

too late,” J.D. pointed out. “Who knows what they’ll do to her by the time we can reach Krieger’s cabin or if we can even find help.”

Her fox nodded and agreed.

“Let’s at least follow them and see what they’re up to. If they have some kind of transport, we can take down the make, model, and tags, then report them to the rangers.”

“Krieger has a radio in his cabin,” Dutchy said. “He can call it in. They’ll catch them before they can even get off the mountain.”

“All right, let’s go. They went …” J.D. closed her eyes as she focused her senses. “This way.”

Her heart thumped as she followed J.D. though the woods. How she managed to stay calm and collected as they tracked the men, Dutchy didn’t know, but she admired her friend’s nerves of steel.

They continued to follow them, going deeper into the forest. Where they were, she didn’t know, but it didn’t seem like they were anywhere near a road where someone could park any type of getaway vehicle.

J.D. halted all of a sudden, then crouched low, pulling her down. “Holy crap. Over there.”

The men had reappeared through the thicket of trees, then headed toward a solid, jagged wall covered in moss, seemingly melting right into the rock.

Dutchy frowned. “Where did they go?”

“Hmmm …” J.D. worried at her lower lip. “Might be a cave, let’s take a closer look.”

As they drew nearer to the wall, Dutchy’s nose picked up a powerful odor. “Oh God, what the hell is that?”

J.D. lifted her head and took a sniff. “Ugh. Smells like bear.” She opened her mouth, flicked up her tongue, and then grimaced. “Definitely bear … but it seems … wrong.”

“Wrong?”

“Yeah. Bears—both shifter and real ones—have unique scents. For real bears, I can usually tell if it’s a different species. But this … it’s like a bunch of different bears had some kind of wild orgy and rubbed themselves all over the place.” Her eyes narrowed. “That, or it’s a manufactured scent.”

“A fake bear scent? Why would anyone spread that here?”

J.D.’s expression darkened. “To throw off anyone that might get too curious.”

Her heart leapt into her throat. “Oh God.”

“I’ll bet there is some kind of cave hidden back there,” J.D. said. “We should go in an investigate.”

“What? No!” She grabbed J.D.’s arm and pulled her back down. “What if there’s more of them? We can’t go in there by ourselves. Let’s go back and get help.”

J.D. hesitated as she glanced back toward where the men had disappeared with the doe shifter. “What if …” She huffed. “All right. I mean, you’re right. If we can make it to Krieger’s cabin, he can call for backup.” She stood upright and brushed the dirt and leaves from her pants legs. “If we—yeow!” she yelped as she slapped her left hand over her other arm.

“What’s the matter?”

J.D. yanked something out of her arm that looked like a long silver tube with a pink pompom at the end. “Dutch …”

“What—J.D.!” J.D.’s eyes rolled back, and her body fell forward. Dutchy lunged to catch her, but something hit her in the back, making her double over. Her face hit the ground, and pain bloomed in her cheek. Planting her palms down, she pushed herself up, but her limbs weakened, and she fell down again.

Footsteps drew nearer, and panic rose in her as her fox’s hackles raised and urged her to get up. Though she wanted to move, her body protested. Exhaustion seeped in, and she could barely keep her eyes open.

As she drifted in and out of consciousness, she wasn’t sure if the things she could hear and feel were real. There was a sensation of floating—or was she being lifted up? Harsh, angry voices rang around her. Then she was thrown down and dragged across something cold and wet. Finally, there was a sound of metal clanging and a heavy clicking sound before everything went silent.

Her body fought and fought. It was like swimming for hours in thick syrup. But at some point, she took a deep gulp and opened her eyes. Her vision was still blurry but slowly adjusted to the darkness as sensation returned to her limbs. Her body tensed, but when she opened her mouth, a small hand grasped over hers. She took a sniff, and the scent of familiar fur filled her nostrils. J.D.!

Slowly, her eyes focused. She was lying on her side, face to face with J.D. Her eyes were open wide, and her hand squeezed hers tight.