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Bickham stared up the beast’s bared canines, and whimpered in terror.
Lucas!Malia thought in relief.But how did he get here?He was supposed to be in Boise until Friday night.
“Travis!” screamed Silvers. He had turned to gape at the sight of the giant cat. His rifle drooped in his hold and his face had gone greenish-white.
Malia drew on her wolf’s strength and sprinted forward with preternatural speed.
Before Silvers could react, she snatched his rifle out of his hands. At the same time, Rob lunged forward and swatted Silvers with his oversized paw.
Silvers flew through the air, and crashed against a nearby granite boulder.
The impact drove the breath out of his body with an audible whoosh. He slid to the base of the rock and curled in a fetal position, gasping for air like a landed salmon.
“Police! Everyone freeze!”
Malia felt relief wash over through her as Mom, flanked by Kenny and Gage, came striding towards them. All of them had their weapons drawn.
“Travis Bickham and Arnold Silvers,” Mom said in a ringing voice. “We’re placing you under arrest for illegal hunting, assault on a police officer, brandishing a firearm at a police officer, and the attempted murder of Robert Tyler Jacobsen-Swanson.”
Lucas stepped aside delicately so that Gage could haul Bickham to his feet and cuff him.
“That hiker? You don’t have shit on me for that. I didn’t shoot no one, and my lawyer said you guys will never be able to prove it,” Travis said belligerently. “And what the fuck is going on with all the dangerous animals around here? You just going to stand there and let them attack us?”
“Your lawyer was mistaken. We just received the ballistics test results on the bullet pulled from Rob Swanson’s injury. And it matched the bullets shot from your rifle, Mr. Bickham,” Mom said, ignoring his comments about Rob and Lucas. “The prosecutor thinks we have anexcellentcase to make against you.”
“Assault with a deadly weapon and attempted murder,” Gage said, shaking his head. “You guys are looking at some serious prison time…unless you cut a deal with us.”
“No way,” Bickham said. “I’m done talking. I want my lawyer. And I want to get the hell outta here before that bear or that mountain lion decide to come after us again.”
“Whatkindof deal?” asked Silvers. He’d made it up to a sitting position, but was hunched over and still sounded wheezy.
Broken rib, maybe, Malia thought without any sympathy.
“You tell us all about Mrs. B, and we’ll discuss reducing or dropping some of the most serious charges against you.”
“Arnie, don’t do it,” warned Bickham.
“Or what, Travis?” Silvers retorted. “Losing my hunting license and payin’ a few fines was one thing. Butno wayam I going to the slammer for Mrs. B! I don’t care how rich she is or how much she’ll pay me for takin’ the fall.”
After Gage and Kenny had taken Bickham and Silvers away, Mary turned to Lucas and Rob.
“Okay, you two, time to change back to human. I’m gonna need statements from both of you.”
Lucas immediately began his shift.
Rob hesitated. He made an unhappy noise, glancing to where Mom stood watching him, her arms crossed and frowning.
Oh yeah, Rob’s in big trouble,thought Malia.And he should be! He almost got himself killed just now.
Lucas rose, naked and fully human one more. He opened his arms, and Malia flew into them. Their lips met and Malia kissed him with a mixture of happiness, relief, and gratitude at his timely intervention.
“I thought you were in Boise!” she exclaimed, drawing back just far enough to speak.
Lucas grinned down at her. “I couldn’t stand being so far away from you. I have a ton of paid time off saved up, so I decided to use some of it for a real vacation and come back here earlier than planned.”
“I can’t tell you how happy I am to see you,” Malia said. “I’ve been having trouble sleeping without you.”
“Me, too.” Lucas bent and gave her another lingering kiss before he continued, “Hey, I brought my parents and the girls with me. Figured it was time for our families to meet each other. Also…I found a real estate listing for a house with a bit of land just down the road from your uncle’s ranch. It looked perfect online, so I thought maybe we could check it out in person.”
