Page 81 of Meant for Two

As an explanation, Jeff had planned to say his dad was interested in the property, but that wouldn’t fly now—not when they were snooping in the barn.

The two men with Daryl, while rather beefy, probably weren’t trained fighters. It was a requirement and a source of pride that the Grangers could whoop anyone’s ass in a fight. Too bad Daryl looked almost as fit as they were.

“We met you at Mr. Hensley’s house. You were posing as an insurance agent,” Jeff said, hoping to fluster him.

“So?”

That was more or less a confession. “What were you really doing there?”

“None of your fucking business,” Daryl said.

The eyes of the two men with Daryl flashed, clearly readying for battle.

“It’s my business if you ran Blair Gibson off the road last week.” It was chancy to play his cards all at once, but maybe Daryl would own up to it.

Sadly no. Instead, the three of them shifted.Fight on.

He and Zane did the same.“I’ll take Daryl and the one on the left,”Jeff telepathed.“Once you take care of the gray wolf, see if I need help.”

The three menacing figures approached, growling in low, guttural tones. Daryl, a brawny, dark-haired werewolf, led the trio. By his side was a black wolf with gnarled fur, along with a sinister gray wolf with piercing yellow eyes.

The first move came from Daryl who was a blur of movement. He lunged at Jeff, teeth bared, but Jeff managed to sidestep Daryl just in time. Daryl's attack met thin air, and he crashed into a stack of wooden crates with a thud.Sucker.

Seeing Daryl miss, the black wolf charged Jeff, his claws swiping at his muzzle. This wolf made contact.Shit.You're going to pay for that.Jeff lunged and bit the wolf's flank who yelped from the pain.

A recovered Daryl charged, lunging at Jeff's back and taking a nip out of his flank. None of the wounds inflicted so far would be a problem, but together they were causing him some pain. Jeff twisted and clawed at Daryl's eye. He howled and retreated.Wuss.

In the moment of reprieve, Jeff watched Zane face off against the gray wolf, who appeared to be a more formidable opponent than Jeff first thought. The gray wolf circled Zane, its muscles rippling under its sleek, silver fur. Zane remained focused, his amber eyes locked onto his adversary.

Zane lunged at the gray wolf's throat, locking his teeth on the side of his neck. The gray wolf dropped to the ground and Zane went in for the kill, but the gray wolf drove his legs upward and sliced Zane's belly. Fuck, that looked like it hurt. Zane let go of his grip and moved backward. Knowing Zane, he would be analyzing his options—as well as recovering for as long as possible.

The black wolf charged at Jeff from the side.Crap. He needed to have faith that Zane would be the victor and worry about the two wolves he was battling. Jeff felt the air shift and turned just in time to meet the attack with a powerful head butt, sending the black wolf sprawling. As it crashed into a pile of discarded farm equipment, it yelped.Good.

By this time, Daryl was on all fours, his lips curled in a snarl. He lunged again, this time with more precision. Thankfully, Jeff managed to fend off his attack, but their snarling faces had been inches apart.

Daryl was relentless, his attacks seemingly fueled by anger and aggression. Jeff was injured, blood trickling from a gash on his neck and flank, but he refused to back down. He parried Daryl's strikes and launched a powerful counterattack, clawing at Daryl's face and body.

With the last swipe to Daryl’s face, he staggered back, his snarl replaced by a pained growl. Jeff took a moment to catch his breath, his chest heaving. He needed to finish this fight quickly before he passed out from blood loss.

Before he could recover though, the black wolf charged, its movements fluid and precise. Jeff dodged his snapping jaws and retaliated with well-timed strikes, but the wolf's yellow eyes remained unblinking and fierce.

Before Jeff could bite the wolf's neck and rip out its throat, Daryl swiped at Jeff again, once more gashing his flank. Jeff was growing weaker by the minute. Then the image of Blair came into his mind's eye, and his determination to be with her strengthened him. These men had tried to kill Blair and they would pay.

"You almost done with your wolf?"he telepathed to Zane."Could use some he—"

Before he could finish the last word, both wolves dove at Jeff at the same time. With a quick sidestep, Jeff managed to dig his teeth into Daryl's flank once more and kick the black wolf to the side, but that would buy him only a second or two. Daryl howled in agony at the exposed gouge, but Jeff doubted that would stop him.

As if Daryl and the black wolf were communicating with each other, they charged Jeff from two different sides this time, attacking his rear and flank. Bones crunched and blood spurted. Jeff couldn't keep this up much longer, but he refused to let Daryl win. The damn black wolf just wouldn't let go of Jeff’s flank. The more Jeff twisted, the deeper the black wolf's teeth sank in.

Daryl moved back and then lunged again. Even with the black wolf hanging on, Jeff sidestepped Daryl. Then the black wolf let go, but Jeff didn't have the time to look and see why. Instead, he leaped at Daryl with his remaining energy and dug his teeth into Daryl's neck.

He wouldn’t kill him though. This criminal needed to go to jail for what he’d done. When Daryl's body went limp, Jeff let go.

"We need to go,"Zane telepathed.

Jeff turned around. Zane had shifted back. While his friend was bleeding, he seemed to be in a lot better shape than Jeff was. When Jeff shifted, he groaned in pain. His wounds would heal, but right now they hurt like a bitch.

“I'd grab that side panel, but that might break the chain of evidence,” Jeff said.

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