Page 91 of What a Wolf Wants
He knew he needed to run as a wolf, despite that his injured arm hurt every time he did. But they had to get these men at all costs.
Ethan stopped Renault, wishing now that he’d had one of his wolf friends with him. They would have made a much better team. He kept his voice low so only Renault would hear him. “Stay here and I’ll see if I can track him down. He might be hiding around here, so if he moves, you take him down. But if I find him moving away from here, I’ll let you know.”
“Are you sure that you want us to separate?”
“Yeah. If he’s hiding here, one of us needs to stay and apprehend him.”
“All right.” Renault sounded glad to be staying behind.
Ethan ran off in the direction he smelled Kroner’s scared and angry scent. Ethan was still pursuing Kroner’s scent when he saw a cabin to the north, its porch lights on and a van parked in the driveway—perfect for a getaway.
Ethan didn’t see any sign of Kroner though. He hoped he hadn’t lost him. Ethan removed his clothes, tucked his gun, phone, zip ties, and his clothes into the tactical wolf backpack and tied his boots onto it. The backpack was designed similarly to the ones offered for sale for dogs but were more advantageous for wolves who needed to take their clothes with them on a mission. The wolf who came up with the idea was a genius.
Ethan pulled the straps over his arms and around his chest, cinched it, shifted into his wolf, and pulled the cord to tighten the gear around his wolf body. But Ethan realized he’d lost Kroner’s scent once he was on the move. Instead, he picked up Officer Davis’s scent. What the hell had happened to Kroner? But Ethan was glad that he had caught up with Officer Davis’s scent at least.
Ethan hoped he could take down Davis before Kroner linked up with him, if he planned to. Davis would never expect a wolf to be following him, and Ethan had the advantage of running much lower to the ground. Davis wouldn’t see him until it was too late. After searching for the bad cop’s scent again, Ethan saw movement—a silhouette of a manstanding up behind thick underbrush.Davis.Davis started to move toward the beach house, but he got tangled up in a blackberry bush bramble. He was swearing up a storm as he was trying to free his pants stuck in the thorns.
Hoping Kroner wouldn’t come to his aid, Ethan dashed forward, needing to end this chase now before Davis could get away. Davis was still struggling, continuing to curse when Ethan leapt twelve feet in his direction and took him down in the middle of the thorny bush.
Davis fell hard, not sure what had struck him, his phone dropping in the brambles. The phone light flipped toward the ground, the dark engulfing him and Ethan. While Davis was still stunned and caught even worse now in the brambles, Ethan leapt away. In the darkness of the woods, Ethan quickly loosened the cord on his backpack, shifted, dressed, and grabbed the wrist ties from the pack. The brambles were on a slope and Davis’s head was facing down the slope, so he couldn’t get up at all. Ethan leaned over and tied Davis’s wrists together, the thorns scratching Ethan’s hands. Ethan’s injured arm was killing him, but then he located Davis’s guns—Davis had three on him that Ethan could find—and bagged and secured them.
“Who… What the hell,” Davis said.
Ethan texted Renault:Go toward the cliffs and then directly north. You’ll see a cabin with porch lights on and a van sitting in the driveway. I’ve got Officer Davis caught up in a blackberry bush just south of there in the woods.
Renault texted:On my way.
Ethan read Davis his rights. “This time you’re not goingto get away with all the criminal activities you’ve been involved in.”
“Agent Masterson?” Davis said, still sounding like he wasn’t quite with it and, in the dark, he couldn’t make Ethan out.
“One and the same.” Ethan could smell Baker’s blood on Davis’s clothes, but he didn’t have gunshot residue on his hands. None of the guns Davis had on him had been fired recently. Davis hadn’t shot Baker.
“But a wild animal jumped on me and knocked me down. I’m sure of it. Something huge and furry with glowing eyes.” Davis’s eyes were wild with fright, his heart beating hard, like he was afraid the wolf would return.
“I chased the wolf away. You’re lucky I came to your aid so he didn’t end you.” Like Ethan hadwantedto do. He texted Grainger:Got Officer Davis.
Grainger texted back:He’s not getting away from facing charges and you’re due a retirement.
But they hadn’t gotten all the guys. Like Kroner and Oakley, as far as Ethan knew, and Agent Manx Ryerson. Ethan felt it was his obligation to finish this fully.
“Damn it, get me out of here. These thorns are cutting me to shreds,” Davis said. “They’re stabbing me in the back.”
“Just hold still. My partner’s coming and we’ll get you out of there. So who shot your partner, Baker?”
“Kroner. We all thought we were next.”
Ethan finally heard movement in the woods and saw Renault. Ethan turned on his flashlight to guide Renault the rest of the way to where Davis was still stuck in the brambles.
Renault finally reached them and shined his flashlight down at Davis. “It looks like he’s stuck there for good.”
“Get me the hell out of here,” Davis said.
“Getting him out of there with him being practically upside down and as big as he is will be a job,” Ethan said.
He and Renault just studied him.
“What the hell are you waiting for?” Davis growled.
