No one knew I was a werewolf. My true nature was definitely not in my personnel file. So I couldn't explain how my secret had been sold, but right now I had other things to worry about.
Especially when another gunshot sounded. The wolves howled again, their mournful serenade causing my skin to tingle.
I wanted to shout Nic's name. Instead, I tightened my fingers around his weapon and moved toward the trees.
I'd gone only a few steps when I heard someone coming. From the sound of the voice muttering a litany of curses, that someone was Nic.
"I take it you missed," I said in lieu of a greeting.
He glanced up, his expression curious. "I could have sworn I didn't. He fell - "
My ears perked at the pronoun. "He?"
"Hard to tell. He, or she, got up, then they were just gone." He snapped his fingers. "Your guess is as good as mine."
Mine was probably better. If Nic had shot someone, and they'd gotten up and disappeared at the speed of the wind, my bet was werewolf.
But if that was the case, why bother to run? Hell, why use a gun in the first place? I didn't want to stick around long enough to find out.
"Can't believe I didn't hit him," Nic murmured.
"It happens."
I considered returning Nic's gun, then decided something was better than nothing even if I had no silver bullets, and shoved the weapon into the pocket of my skirt.
"Not to me."
I didn't comment. Regardless of who had fired the shot, of who, or what, Nic had chased, he would be ill-equipped to catch them. He could be the best FBI agent in the business, but when faced with a traitorous J��ger-Sucher, a rogue agent, a werewolf, or something else, he'd be chasing shadows until they decided he was a nuisance. Then he'd just be dead.
What was I going to do with him?
"We need to get to a phone." Nic holstered his gun.
"Good luck."
"There has to be one somewhere."
"Yeah. Sixty miles from here in the next town." I glanced at the thick trees, the steadily darkening sky, then I thought of the shadows, the silver, of Billy, and I shivered. "We should start walking."
Really, really fast.
"Walking?" Nic frowned as if he'd never done such a thing before.
"You have a better idea?" I spread my hands, indicating the parking lot where every car was on fire.
"Sooner or later someone will turn up. Won't they?"
"Sure. In two weeks, when we're due for supplies."
"No one else comes to this facility? No one will call and wonder why you aren't answering?"
Edward would. Then he'd hop the next flight west to discover what had happened. I didn't want him to.
Whoever had done this knew far too much about us. Hence the silver bullet. If they knew that, they knew Edward would show eventually, which might be just what they'd been after all along.
I needed to get in touch with my boss without being overheard. Failing that, I needed to get to him without being followed.
I slid a glance in Nic's direction. Either one was going to be tricky.
"I'm on my own," I said.
"There's not a single person in the vicinity? No groundskeeper? No friendly neighborhood hermits? What about those Montana militants we're always investigating?"
"Sorry. The isolation was a big selling point."
However, his comment did make me remember that we weren't completely without wheels.
"There's an outbuilding past the wolf enclosure." I gazed into the trees. "We keep an ATV there."
"How far can we go on that?"
"Farther and faster than we can make it on foot."
I wanted to put as much distance as I could between myself, the compound, any undead monsters, and that silver-bullet-shooting gun before dark. Even though I sensed the shooter was gone, I wasn't going to bet my life, or Nic's, on that feeling.
"You have any idea who might want to shoot you?" Nic asked, as he followed me through the woods.
"The list is endless."
I kept my voice dry. The better to seem sarcastic, even though I wasn't.
"Elise, this is serious."
"I got that when the building blew up."
How was I going to keep him from asking questions all the way to a telephone? How would I keep him, and me, alive until we got there? I didn't have a clue.
I'd reach town a lot easier on my own, but I couldn't leave Nic behind. He had no idea what we were facing.
Figuring the wolf enclosure, at least, should be free of a gun-wielding killer, I skirted the fence line. When one of my wolves slammed into the chain link, I let out a small shriek and slammed into Nic.
He tried to steady me, but I pulled away to move closer. The alpha male - Jose - stood on the other side of the barricade. He was frightened, and that wasn't like him.
"I need to set them free," I murmured.
"Are you nuts?"
Nic snagged my elbow, but I tugged myself loose and headed for the gate. "I can't leave them locked up with no one to take care of them."
"Wolves can take care of themselves."
Maybe. But they'd do better outside than in.
"Stay back."
I punched in the code that would open the door. A minute later I watched as all six melted into the trees.