Phantom Warriors: Riot Read online

  She had two choices. She could either spring the trap, leaving it useless, but still reusable or she could destroy the trap so the poachers would have to buy another one. Nina decided to hit them in their wallets. It would hurt more that way and it just might save a bear or two in the process. She crouched down next to the snare and gently slid the wire cutters under one side. She’d have to cut fast or the snare might spring and they wouldn’t be able to reach it. Nina took a deep breath and clamped down on the wire. The metal snapped a second before the snare whipped into the air, dangling uselessly from the tree branch.

  “One down,” she said to Kim.

  Before Kim could answer, an angry voice shouted from a distance, “What are you doing?”

  Nina jumped to her feet and saw a man coming toward them. She couldn’t make out his features. He was too far away, but his tone was warning enough. She urged Kim to run.

  “Get back here!” The man bellowed as the women took off. His heavy footfalls echoed through the trees as he raced toward them.

  The man paused to look at his ruined trap. “Son-of-a-bitch!” His head jerked to the right.

  That’s when Nina heard stomping from a second pair of boots. He wasn’t alone. Fear kicked her chest and she pumped her arms harder.

  A shot rang out, shattering the tree trunk beside the women.

  Kim screamed and stopped abruptly. “Oh my God, they’re shooting at us.”

  “Just run!” Nina jerked her into motion. She didn’t know which one of the men had shot at them and she didn’t care. “Get back to the truck!” She urged. “I’ll meet you later.”

  “What are you going to do? Where are you going?” Kim gasped. They ran side by side, keeping up their brisk pace.

  Nina met her worried gaze. “I’m going to lead them away.”

  “No!” Kim cried.

  “There’s no time to argue. One of us needs to make it back to the truck.” Nina pulled the keys out of her pocket and shoved them into Kim’s hand.

  “We can go together.” Kim squealed as another shot rang out. “They’re trying to kill us.”

  “I noticed. That’s why we have to split up.” Nina saw a fallen tree up ahead. “I’m going to bank right at the tree. You go straight for the truck. I’ll make sure they follow me.”

  Tears filled Kim’s eyes. “What if they shoot you?”

  Nina’s side hurt. She wasn’t used to sprinting for this long. She took a deep breath to answer, but it was difficult at this pace. Getting shot was a very real possibility. She prayed that she knew the woods better than these guys did. “The spirits won’t let that happen,” she said, hoping it was true. Kim didn’t believe in the old ways and neither did Nina really, but her grandfather did.

  “I’ll get help,” Kim said.

  “No! Danny will kill us if he finds out,” Nina said.

  Kim hesitated for a moment, then nodded. “You better make it back in one piece,” she said, then hurried through the woods toward Heintooga Ridge Road.

  Nina watched her go, fear threatening to swamp her. Unlike Kim, she didn’t have anyone besides her grandfather. There was no one waiting at home for her. That, more than anything, was the reason she’d urged her best friend to leave. She leapt over the fallen tree and banked right.

  The light was fading fast, drowning the forest in shadows. All she had to do was stay alive long enough to lose them in the darkness. Nina ran harder than she’d ever run in her life. Already the men’s voices were growing distant. The stitch in her side continued to stab her organs. She wouldn’t be able to keep this up for much longer.

  One of the poachers fired another shot. The sound echoed through the mountains, making it difficult to tell where it came from, but it seemed farther away. Nina slowed, even though she didn’t want to. Her body was refusing to keep up the brutal pace. Besides, it was either that or trip and break her neck.

  She kept moving, stopping every few minutes to listen. It was hard to hear past the intense pounding of her heart and the roaring of her blood. A branch cracked. It sounded like a cannon blast to her strung-out nerves. She froze. She didn’t dare take out her flashlight for fear she’d be spotted. Instead, Nina scanned her surroundings. Nothing moved.

  It’s probably nothing, she told herself, but didn’t really believe it.

  ***

  “Did you hit her?” Hank squinted into the trees.

  The red-haired man shook his head. “Didn’t spot any blood, so I don’t think so.”

  Hank stared at Markus in disgust. “I swear sometimes you couldn’t hit the side of a barn, even if it was raised in front of you.”

  “I did find something.” Markus pointed at a spot in the woods. “You need to see this.”

  Hank stomped after him, swearing under his breath. “What is it?”

  Markus looked at the ground, studying a spot near his feet. “I think it’s a bear track, but it can’t be.”

  Hank shoved him aside. “Let me see.”

  He glanced at the ground, then did a double-take. What in the hell was it? Hank crouched down and dipped his hand in the track. It was at least five inches deep and the ground wasn’t even muddy. He could distinctly make out the holes where the massive claws dug into the ground. The track had to be bigger than his head, which meant the bear was…

  “What do you think it is?” Markus asked.

  “A bear,” Hank said.

  Markus snorted. “There ain’t no bear out here that’s the size of that track. It would have to be huge. Nearly six feet at the shoulder.”

  Hank curled his lip in disgust. “If a bear didn’t make the track, what did?”

  Markus stared at the track and shook his head. “Don’t know.” His wary gaze scanned the trees. “Maybe it’s one of those people who run around pretending to be Big Foot.”

  Hank scowled. “Does that look like a Big Foot track to you?”

  Markus shrugged. “Ain’t never seen one in person.”

  “Well it ain’t! It’s a bear, I’m tellin’ you.” Hank looked at the woods with renewed interest. If they could catch this bear, he’d easily bring in enough on the black market for him to save his house from foreclosure and have a little left over to retire on. He wouldn’t have to put up with his boss demanding that he work extra hours, only to have those same hours slashed the following week. His gaze landed on their destroyed trapping equipment and he swore. “That bitch cost us a lot of money tonight. Not to mention a chance at bear big enough for us to retire off of.” He looked at Markus. “At least tell me that you got a good look at her. I don’t want tonight to be a total loss.”

  Markus grinned, his front tooth missing due to an encounter with the wrong end of a beer bottle. “I sure did.”

  Hank smiled back. “Good enough to identify her?”

  Markus nodded. “Oh yeah. She’s one of The People all right. Most of the time they all look alike, but she was a pretty little thing. I’d know her if I saw her again.”

  “Did she see you?” Hank asked.

  Markus’s face scrunched. “I don’t think so. She was too busy running away.”

  “Good, you take a ride into Cherokee tomorrow and to see if you can spot her. Maybe we’ll get lucky,” Hank said.

  Markus looked at him. “What do I do if I find her? I can’t just haul her out of town by her hair.”

  “Once you find her, we’ll follow her until we can catch her alone,” Hank said.

  Markus’s eyes sparked with excitement. “Then what?”

  “We’ll make her sorry she ever came into the woods. I’m not losing my house over some bitch out to protect the environment or whatever in the hell her reasons for being out here are. I’m tired of those people tromping all over our rights as Americans.” He sneered. “Now let’s pack up our stuff and get a move-on in case the bitch decides to call the authorities.”

  “Do you really think that bear is big enough for us to retire?” Markus asked, looking hopeful.

  Hank nodded slowly. “If that
track is any indication, then yes. I sure do.”

  “Whew wee! I could use myself a beer right about now. I’m in the mood to celebrate.” Markus gathered up the destroyed equipment.

  Hank watched him dispassionately. Markus was always in the mood to celebrate. If he wasn’t so good at following orders, Hank would have dumped him long ago. Most of time, he was utterly useless. But Markus was a good shot, when he was sober. Unfortunately, that was becoming less often these days. Unlike his alcoholic friend, Hank had no intention of celebrating until they’d taken care of the woman, and the bear’s vital organs were packed on ice in the back of his pickup truck. Then, and only then, would he raise a bottle and relax.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Riot watched the woman. Her blue-black hair poked out from beneath her hat, slapping the pack on her back as she sprinted by. Her cheeks were flushed from exertion and she was holding her side. She slowed to a stop and gasped for air, bending at the waist. The move gave him a nice view of her round bottom. When she straightened, he saw that her face was dripping with sweat. She’d been running so fast that she hadn’t even noticed he was there. Her slanted brown eyes warily looked around.

  Even in the low light, he recognized her. It was the same woman he’d spotted with the squealing creature the day before. Nina. She took another loud gasping breath. His attention zeroed in on her full mouth. Her lips brought a plethora of fantasies to mind. Riot raised his snout to the air and inhaled the world around him. Her rich musky aroma filled his lungs and his whole body tensed. He knew she’d smell good. Better than good. Delicious. Her sweet feminine scent was followed by an acrid odor that Riot recognized instantly. Fear. She was afraid.

  His hearts slammed in his chest. Had she seen him? Even as the thought brushed his mind, Riot knew that she hadn’t. She’d been running too fast and had kept glancing over her shoulder. If not him, then what had frightened her? Riot slowly scanned the woods, searching for the cause of Nina’s distress. He caught the scent of sweat and grime emanating from east of their location.

  Men.

  His gaze swung back to Nina. Had she been hurt? He scanned her from head to foot, taking in her dark clothing. The cloth didn’t look as if it had been disturbed. He inhaled deeper, but his sharp senses didn’t detect blood. So Nina wasn’t injured, but she was afraid. She walked deeper into the mountains. Riot followed at a distance. He didn’t want to scare her anymore than she already had been, but he couldn’t leave her here in the woods alone. Abandoning her went against every protective instinct in his body.

  They walked for what seemed like an hour. Light had long since retreated to the other side of the world. The woods thickened and darkness closed in. With the full moon, Riot could see just fine, but Nina’s human eyes could not. She kept cursing under her breath as she tripped over stones and fallen trees. Finally, she clicked on a light, keeping it flush against her body as she stared at something on her wrist. She shook her arm and cursed again, then scanned the trees. “Darn compass!”

  Riot stayed in the shadows, listening for predators. He couldn’t seem to take his eyes off her. She was even more beautiful up close. Slight in stature, delicate compared to him, he would’ve thought her weak had he not seen her true spirit yesterday. She’d proven her hidden strength again today by continuing on, when most people would’ve stopped moving.

  The fear that had clung to her tinted skin was long gone, replaced by frustration. She sighed, then walked over to a fallen tree trunk and sat down. The temperature was dropping fast. Riot wasn’t sure if she was dressed warm enough to withstand a night in the woods. As if in answer to his question, she shivered.

  ***

  Nina couldn’t believe that she was lost. She knew these woods. Knew them better than just about anyone, but the Park Rangers. How could she have gotten so turned around? She glared at her broken compass. Piece of junk. She knew better than to buy a cheap model, but between lack of customers and her grandfather’s medical bills, she hadn’t had much choice.

  A breeze picked up, blowing cold air over her neck. Nina shivered and her teeth began to chatter. She hadn’t intended to spend the night in the woods. She didn’t think that she would freeze to death, but it wouldn’t be comfortable. Nina wrapped her arms around her body. The little warmth it provided didn’t do much to combat the cold.

  It may have been fall, but the temperature in the mountains could drop substantially. Enough to where someone not prepared for the weather could find themselves suffering from hypothermia. She rolled her eyes. That would be just great. She’d never live this down. A twig snapped to her right. Nina shot to her feet and swung the flashlight around.

  The beam flashed wildly, before landing on something with dark fur and red eyes. The animal ducked behind a clump of trees. Had she scared it away? Nina wasn’t sure. She didn’t want to wait to find out. She swallowed hard and slowly backed away. A bear could run thirty miles an hour. No way would she outrun one, if it were hungry and determined to get her.

  Maybe it was a deer?

  Even as the thought crossed her mind, Nina knew what she’d spotted had been far too big to be any kind of deer. She picked up her pace, wondering if there was any way she could shimmy up a tree in the dark. Bears can climb, remember? Something crashed behind her. Nina screamed and took off running, her flashlight bouncing as she tried to scan the ground in front of her. The sound grew louder—and closer.

  Don’t panic. Don’t panic. It’s as scared of you as you are of it. Wishful thinking on her part.

  Whatever it was didn’t sound frightened. It sounded like it was chasing her. Nina leapt over a log. The ground should’ve been there, but instead she dropped down an embankment. Her feet slipped out from under her and she fell with a loud ‘oomph’, rolling end over end until she came to rest beside a shallow creek.

  Nina shook her head to clear it and slowly sat up. Her arm hurt, but it didn’t feel broken. Moisture from the creek seeped through her fingers. She reached for the flashlight and shined it on her body. Cuts and scrapes covered her hands. She was bleeding, but not too bad. She struggled to her feet. It took two tries before she made it. The trees swirled for a minute before righting themselves. Nina took a step. Her legs held. Thank goodness. No way would she make it out of the woods if something were broken.

  She heard the crunch of footsteps as they slowly approached. Oh god, the men had finally caught her. With trembling hands, Nina turned the flashlight toward the sound. A giant bear stood twenty yards away. It’s shoulders reached the bottom branches of the tree it stood beneath. Nina had never in all of her life seen a bear this size. It looked like a grizzly had mated with an elephant. Except, grizzlies weren’t indigenous to the area.

  She shined the flashlight into the creature’s eyes, but it didn’t flinch, didn’t run away. So much for frightening it. Nina’s heart leapt into her throat as the monster bear took a step forward. The irony that she was about to get eaten by a bear, when she’d been out trying to save them, was not lost on her.

  Nina kept the flashlight trained on the animal. With her veterinary practice, she knew every species in the area, along with many others. She should’ve been able to identify this species of bear, but its markings were all wrong. It was brown where it should’ve been black, its ears weren’t shaped like a typical bear, and…

  “Are you all right?” It talked.

  The world spun again. This time Nina reached out to steady herself. She had to have hit her head in the fall. That was the only explanation. She was imaging its voice. She had to be. Bears didn’t talk. That was animal kingdom rule number one. She stared at the trees around her.

  The bear tilted its head. “What are you looking at?” it asked.

  “The trees,” she said calmly, like talking to a bear was an everyday affair for her.

  Its furry brow rose. “Why?”

  “I’m waiting to see if they’re going to join in on our conversation,” she said.

  His mouth moved a few times without any
words coming out, then he finally said, “Trees don’t talk.”

  Her gaze met his squarely. “Neither do bears.” She swayed as the gap in her reality widened.

  “You don’t look so well. Perhaps you should sit down.” The voice was a deep rumble as the bear’s jaw twisted to form their words.

  Nina stared at its incisors, as the bear’s mouth opened and closed. The teeth were longer than two of her middle fingers put together. “This can’t be happening.” She shook her head again and pain sliced through her skull.

  “I think you need medical assistance,” the bear said.

  “I know I do,” Nina said. “The fact that I can hear you is a dead giveaway.”

  “Good, I was worried for a minute that you couldn’t understand me.”

  “I plan to schedule a psychological exam the second I get back to town.” She’d finally lost it. Well and truly lost it. Between the stress over her grandfather’s failing health and trying to keep the business alive, she’d gone over the deep end. How else to explain talking bears? Nina swayed on her feet.

  The bear gave her a look that on a person would’ve been interpreted as concern. “Please sit down. You need to catch your breath after a fall like that.”

  For some strange reason, Nina found herself following his suggestion. “I wouldn’t have fallen had you not been chasing me,” she muttered under her breath.

  The bear pawed at the ground and ducked his head. “Sorry about that. I just wanted to make sure that you were okay. You were running like something was after you.”

  She blanched. “Men were following me.”

  His massive head rose and he scented the air. “I smelled them earlier, but they’re gone now.”

  She exhaled. “Good!” Nina didn’t think she could handle the poachers and a talking bear. Great Spirit, bless! She was talking to a bear. An honest to goodness bear.

  “What’s your name?” he asked.