He hesitated. As wolves they would be faster, but in human form they could at least use their weapons. “Human. You watch left; I'll watch right.” He paused, scanning the tree line a second time. Still nothing. “You ready?"
"As I'll ever be."
"Then let's go."
He ducked out the doorway and ran for the trail and the trees, keeping low to present less of a target. René was one step ahead of him, his head turned slightly left, watching the trees as directed.
Neither of them saw their attackers.
All Cade felt was a sharp sting in his side. He looked down to see the dart imbedded though his sweater, into his skin, heard René's curse and knew he'd been hit as well. Saw him stumble, as if his legs had gone out from beneath him.
Cade grabbed his arm and tried to force him on, to run them both out of there. But the strength seemed to drain from his legs and his vision seemed to spin. The only place either of them went was straight to the ground.
Chapter Thirteen
Savannah eased the motel room's door open and peered outside. No car stood in the parking space outside the next room, yet she could still be hear movement inside. Whoever it was, they obviously thought they weren't going to be caught, as they were making little attempt to be quiet.
Maybe Candy's attack was planned. Maybe it was meant to be a diversion of some kind.
The thought sent another chill down her spine, though she wasn't entirely sure why. She eased past the door and padded quietly to the next room. The curtains had been drawn, so there was no chance to peer inside. She'd have to go in.
She drew her gun, wishing it was the real thing rather than just a dart gun. Ripple Creek didn't get a whole lot of nasty criminals visiting, and the council's ruling that only tranquilizer weapons be used by rangers generally made sense. Except in situations like this where they were dealing with nutcases who had little more than murder on their minds. She'd have to talk to her dad and get him to insert some type of clause giving them the option to use real firearms, if needed. Not that the station actually had any at the moment, but she and Ronan did. She'd never used hers and hoped she never had to, but it was there just in case.
She clicked the dart's safety off. The soft sound seemed to ricochet like thunder, and inside the room, the movement stopped.
Savannah waited, tension winding through her limbs, until every muscle felt so tightly sprung they surely had to snap. For several seconds, she didn't even dare breathe.
Inside, footsteps retreated. A second later came the sound of a window sliding open. She took a step forward and stopped. If the intruder had heard the sound of the safety clicking off, then she'd surely have realized that the sound of a window sliding open would also carry. And maybe Savannah was meant to react to it.
She pressed back against the wall and waited. For too many minutes, nothing happened. Her knuckles ached with the fierceness of her grip on the gun, and sweat began to trickle down her spine.
Then the curtain moved. Not much, just enough for someone to peer out. Savannah pressed herself harder against the wall and hoped like hell the angle would prevent her from being seen.
Inside the room, movement resumed. She breathed a silent sigh of relief, stepped back and aimed a kick at the door.
The flimsy lock gave way with little resistance, and the door crashed back. Inside, someone cursed, and there was a blur of movement as someone ran. Not at her, but away.
"Ripple Creek Ranger,” Savannah said, even as she aimed the weapon at the fleeing woman. “Stop or I'll shoot."
Lonny didn't stop, so Savannah followed through with her threat. The dart hissed through the air just as the woman was retreating into the bathroom, striking her in the rump. There was a yelp, a hiss of anger, and then Lonny ran screaming out of the bathroom and straight at Savannah.
She managed to fire another shot, and then the woman was on her, all fury and muscle accompanied by a sickly-sweet smell. The momentum of her attack hit with the force of a truck, and the two of them went down in a tangle of arms and legs. Savannah grunted as her back caught the door frame, but it was Lonny who took the brunt of their weight as they crashed to the floor. But she didn't react, just kept on punching, her breath short and sharp, her eyes wide and her pupils dilated.
High on something, Savannah thought, as she tried to grab the other woman's arm and, simultaneously, tried to avoid most of her blows, which was all but impossible. She caught one wrist, holding it tight and half-noting the bandages, until a blow to her cheek had her senses reeling. Lonny chuckled, her voice low but filled with a coldness that sent a chill down Savannah's spine. She blinked away the pain, felt the breeze of a follow-up blow coming, and leaned back as far as she could without losing her grip on Lonny's wrist. Something sharp skimmed her chin, drawing blood, and out of nowhere, anger surged. Or maybe it had always been there, and she'd merely controlled it up until now. Either way, enough was enough. She might be a ranger, but she was also the target of these mad women. It was about time she started fighting back. To hell with the rules and her own personal restrictions. These women had to be stopped any damn way they could be stopped, or someone she loved might end up paying the price.
She gathered her psychic forces and punched into Lonny's mind. She hit a shield—a strong shield—but it held none of the strength of Candy's shields and certainly wasn't strong enough to keep her out. Lonny's eyes widened and fear replaced the cunning contempt that had been so evident up until now. And even though Lonny tried to shore up her defenses, it was far too late. Savannah wrapped a psychic hand around the other woman's mind and squeezed lightly.
"Stop,” she said.
Lonny stilled instantly, but the fear in her eyes grew. “You can't do this."
"Says who?” She rose and scrubbed a hand across her bleeding chin as she looked around the room. What had Lonny been doing here?
Lonny didn't say anything, and Savannah looked down at her. “Answer the question."
"Jina says."
"Why? Because I'm a ranger?"