Page 75 of Sear
The sky above the eastern mountain ridge was still black and filled with stars when she arrived at her destination. It was the remote corner of Ernie’s dairy farm, where he had had reported finding the trail cams and bait.
As she rolled past the spot, she couldn’t believe her eyes. This was the same place along Lynx Creek Road where Rob had been shot a week ago.
Are these poachers really stupid enough to return to the scene of their earlier crime?she asked herself.Apparently, yes.
Maybe they figured that this spot was out-of-the-way enough to avoid detection if they resumed illegal activities.
In any case, there were no signs of hunters yet. With any luck, she’d managed to beat them here.
She continued down the road another half-mile, then found a concealed place to park behind a tall stand of chokecherry bushes.
She called in her status to Dispatch before pulling on her body armor and covering her uniform with a hunter’s camouflage jacket.
Gage Tringstad responded that he would wait out of sight nearby and help with any arrests.
With all of her senses on high alert, Malia hiked back through the dark woods to the huckleberry patch. There, she found a good hiding spot out of view of the trail cams, but with a clear view of the area.
Sure enough, she smelled and heard a wild grizzly tearing apart a log somewhere nearby. It was an adult sow, by her scent. The odor of dog kibble drifted Malia’s way as the bear snorted and grunted and crunched.
Malia hunkered down to wait. She could only hope that her guess was right, and that the poachers would show up soon.
As the long minutes passed, Malia’s stomach began to churn. Kymberlie and Gage’s treatment of Lucas yesterday had upset her, as had Great Uncle Bill’s tight-lipped displeasure at meeting him.
But given the haste and excitement with which Lucas had responded to Bickham’s phone call a short while ago, she began to question her own conviction that her new mate was a good person.
After all, they’d known each other for less than a week. How much did she really know about Lucas Winter?
All her life, she had been the pack’s good girl, the rule-follower, whereas Rob cheerfully disregarded any restrictions he found stupid. Mating Lucas had been her wolf’s act of rebellion against all of the expectations that hemmed her in.
But had it also ruined everything?
Today might give her the answer to her questions. But she feared that they wouldn’t be the answers she wanted.
Sunrise was still a good two hours away when Malia heard the sound of an approaching vehicle.
Moments later, she heard the snapping and crashing of twigs breaking under tires, and saw the white flash of vehicle headlights.
Alerted by the commotion, the grizzly sow yowled angrily.
A powerful spotlight snapped on. It caught her, haloed in thick auburn fur as she rose on her hind legs to confront the approaching danger. An angry yowl split the night.
“Get her, Lucas! Now!” Travis Bickham’s voice roared from inside the truck.
All of the windows were rolled down. Malia caught the scent of stale cigarettes that Rob had noted.
Her heart broke as she spotted Lucas’s long golden hair and his profile in the back seat. She saw him stick his rifle barrel out the open window.
Oh God. I was wrong about my mate, after all!A toxic mixture of anger and grief rose inside her, along with a hefty dose of self-recrimination.
The signs had been there all along. She’d just refused to acknowledge them. And now, she was paying the price.
“Shoot, dammit!” Travis shouted. “What are you waiting for?”
“Tryin’ to aim,” Lucas snapped. “It’s too fucking bumpy!”
“Don’t worry, I got her!” Silvers yelled.
There was a muzzle flash from the front passenger-side window, instantly followed by the deafening crack of a shot.
