They didn’t take well to their women being threatened.

  Blaine shifted back to his human form, swiping the back of his hand over his mouth. Blood covered his chest, but the gashes had closed. “You’re willing to fight over a woman?” He turned his head and spit. “They’re all the same, teasing a man, and then pretending outrage when he tries to take her up on her offer.”

  He’d met men like this before, both human and wolf. Men who took what they wanted, making excuses for their bad behavior, blaming others for their actions. Believing that made them real men instead of immature idiots. He was a predator who thought he was at the top of the food chain. Up until now, he’d never been challenged. His alpha and others had allowed this to happen. Now it was too late to change course.

  He dragged his hands through his hair. “I wasn’t going to hurt her. Just use her to trade for Fleur.”

  “That’s not true.”

  Damn it, Amy had shifted, which meant she was naked and vulnerable behind him.

  “He was planning on … hurting me.” The way she stumbled over the words gave him a pretty damn good idea what the fucker had planned. Etienne also smelled Amy’s blood.

  Blaine had to die.

  “Stay out of this, bitch.” He took a menacing step toward her, rage in his eyes. This was a man who enjoyed hurting those weaker than him.

  Etienne struck, hard and fast, knocking his foe to the ground. The other male threw up his arm to protect himself, but there was no stopping him. Fangs sank through skin. Claws dug in. His powerful jaw wrapped around his opponent’s neck.

  Not willing to lay down and die, Blaine shifted. His wolf flailed from side to side, managing to break the grip. He was bleeding heavily from the neck. Blood loss might eventually kill him, but Etienne wasn’t taking any chances.

  When he turned to run, Etienne shifted back to his human form, lunged at the wolf, and locked his arm around the furry neck. Forearm tight, bicep flexed, he gritted his teeth and gave a sharp twist. The crack echoed around them, followed by a heavy silence.

  He released the limp body and closed his eyes, chest heaving. On his knees in the dirt, he asked forgiveness for taking a life and thanked whatever deity might be listening that he’d had the strength to protect Amy.

  Amy! She’d seen him brutally take down his opponent, watched him kill. What would she think of him now? He opened his eyes and stared down at his hands. They were stained with blood and would be for all time.

  He waited for the surge of regret, for the guilt. There was only a grim satisfaction that he’d done his job—protecting Amy. He wasn’t a killer. He was a protector. It was a huge difference, and one he could live with.

  “Etienne.” She knelt beside him, her hand tentatively stroking his shoulder. Her face was pale. Dirt and blood marred her skin.

  “I’m sorry.” He started to touch his hand to her face, remembered the blood, and hesitated. She caught his hand before he could withdraw it and brought it to her cheek.

  He briefly closed his eyes and swallowed heavily.

  “I’m the one who’s sorry.”

  “He could have walked away. This was his choice. You’re not to blame.” He wouldn’t allow her to take on any guilt over this.

  “If I hadn’t left home—”

  “No.” He cut her off before her thoughts went any further down that path. No good could come of it. “If it hadn’t been you, it would have been another woman, maybe more. A male like that doesn’t care who he hurts. If it hadn’t ended here, who knows how many more people would have been harmed.” And that was what would allow him to sleep at night. “You might want to shift.”

  “What?” Worry clouded her eyes. “What are you talking about?”

  “We’re about to have company.” And he did not want Luc or Colton to see her naked. Muttering under her breath, she shifted and leaned her furry body against him. He ran his hand over her head and down her back, assuring himself that whatever injuries she’d sustained were minor.

  Luc stepped out from behind a tree. His siblings joined him, all of them fully dressed. He tossed Etienne’s discarded jeans at him. “Thought you might need these.” He looked down at Blaine and huffed out a breath. “We came to help, but I guess we’re too late.”

  “Yeah, you’re late.” Weeks too late, maybe months. This should have been nipped in the bud when it began, either by the Landrys or the alpha of either pack. All of them had abdicated responsibility, pushing it on the other. That wasn’t leadership. That was weakness.

  He grabbed his jeans and pulled them on.

  “Is Amy hurt?”

  It was Fleur who asked, so he managed to swallow his ire. She was pale as a ghost, her eyes downcast. “Minor gashes. Sleep and food will heal her.” He rubbed his hands over his face. “Damn it, I forgot the food.” The diner would be closed by now.

  Luc nudged Blaine’s body with the toe of his sneaker. “He’s really dead.” Bleak acceptance filled his eyes. “You see me as weak. Maybe you’re right. God only knows how many nights I’ve lain awake thinking the same thing. But I have a younger sister and brother and an elderly grandmother to protect. If I’d killed Blaine, I risked starting a pack war. I couldn’t protect any of them from that.”

  The hell of it was, he wasn’t wrong. The situation should never have been allowed to escalate.

  “You can’t run from your problems. They follow you wherever you go. You have to face them and deal with whatever the outcome is.” Etienne had learned that from his father. His parents had both been through pain and heartache. Their pasts had eventually caught up with them, but they’d stood together and come out on the other side. Not unscathed, but stronger and happier and together.

  He wanted that for him and Amy.

  When he glanced at her, she had her head lowered. Damn it, he hadn’t been talking about her, even if he could see why she might think he was.

  “We should get back.” The faster he got her alone, the faster they could talk about what had happened. He didn’t want her thinking for one second that he saw her as anything less than courageous.

  “What about the body?” Colton had his arm around Fleur, blocking her from seeing Blaine.

  Guess this was on him, too. “We need to burn it. Can’t risk anyone stumbling across him. We need to find his clothes, see if he had his wallet or keys on him, if he’d checked into the motel or not.” There were so many details, and he couldn’t afford to miss a single one. This could not come back on him or his pack or Amy.

  “Fleur and I will find his clothes,” Colton offered. “I can backtrack his scent.”

  Etienne nodded. “Do it. Don’t suppose any of you have matches or a lighter.”

  Surprisingly, it was Fleur who offered. “I do.” Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a compact lighter. “We’ve been camping out a lot, using a gas stove.”

  Luc took it from his sister and kissed her forehead. Etienne wanted to hate him, but he loved his siblings and had done the best he could to protect them. Not everyone was blessed with the support system he’d grown up with. “I’ll help you.”

  Etienne wanted Amy by his side, but she didn’t need to see this. “Do you want to stay here or go with Colton and Fleur?” he asked, unwilling to make the decision for her. Only she knew what would bring her closure.

  She glanced at the body, then at him, and trotted off behind the siblings. He wanted to howl in frustration. Was she angry with him? Upset? Or did she simply want to put all this behind her?

  “Let’s get this done.” He cast one final glance in her direction before reaching down and grabbing Blaine’s limp body. “There’s a grouping of rocks back that way.” He tilted his head to the left. “We can dump his body in the center and contain the fire.”

  They worked in silence. Seeing the bloodstains on his jeans, Etienne removed them and tossed them on top of the body. Luc flicked the lighter, and the flames caught. The animals began their nightly jaunts in search of food. An owl swooped nearby. The two men stood in silence until the fire burned itself out, leaving nothing but ash.

  It was done.

  That was one problem dealt with. The bigger battle remained. Turning his back, he began to walk. “Let’s go.” He welcomed the cool air on his body, letting it blow away the stench of sweat, blood, death, and regret. It wasn’t the killing he regretted. It was that Amy had been forced to protect herself.

  “Thank you.” Luc interrupted his dark thoughts. “I’m not sure I’d have been able to kill him. He had more training than I did. Something I’m rectifying. I’d hoped to be ready by the time he found us.”

  Etienne grunted, not wanting his thanks. “What will you do? Will you go home, or do you still want to come with us?” They had choices. And so did Amy. He ignored the knot in his gut. He wanted to go back to Salvation, badly wanted to see his parents and talk to his father. That might not happen now.

  “I’m not sure.” Luc looked up at the sky. The moon was bright and the stars shining. Not that they needed it to guide them with their preternatural vision, but it did make the journey easier and nicer.

  Etienne loved the sky at night, had spent hours lying on his back, looking up at the vastness and beauty of it. Even that couldn’t distract him from his worry about Amy. The closer they got to the motel, the colder he became. And it had nothing to do with the temperature.

  He paused at the edge of the woods and listened. There was no one around. Parading naked across the parking lot might cause trouble, something they didn’t need.

  Colton slipped out of the shadows. He’d been waiting for them and keeping an eye on both their rooms. “The women are safe. I have Blaine’s wallet and keys. Doesn’t look like he checked in here or anywhere else. That’s his truck.” He pointed to a big black Chevy parked in the far end of the lot. “I’ll drive it when we leave here tomorrow, dump the clothes somewhere along the way, and abandon the vehicle in the parking lot of a Walmart or grocery store, somewhere it might not be noticed for a few days.”

  “Be sure to wipe it down. You don’t want your fingerprints in the system.”

  Colton nodded. “Will do.”

  “We’ll handle the rest. You’ve done enough.” Luc held out his hand. “I’ll shred Blaine’s identification and scatter it as we go.” As they shook, he continued, “I’ll make sure none of this comes back on you. It’s time we handled our own problems.”

  Luc might be a year or two older than him, but Etienne felt far older. It wasn’t the other man’s fault he hadn’t been given the education or guidance he’d needed. He was doing what he could and willing to learn, willing to put himself in harm’s way for his family. That said everything about his character—even if it was misguided at times.

  He’d never forget they kidnapped Amy, but he could let it go. “We all need help now and then. That’s what being pack is all about.”

  Luc’s eyes darkened and his jaw firmed as he nodded.

  Etienne’s stomach growled. He glanced toward the diner. The lights were out, but two bags sat outside the door.

  Luc noticed where he was looking. “You think that might be your order?”

  “I’d paid for it, so maybe.”

  “I’m on it.” He loped across the lot, returning moments later with the bags.

  Etienne took them. At this point, he’d eat whatever was in there. “Thanks. See you in the morning.”

  “Take care of yourself and Amy.” Luc slapped him on the shoulder. “If there’s ever anything I can do for you, anything you ever need, all you have to do is ask.”

  “Same goes,” Colton told him.

  Giving them a curt nod of thanks, he stood outside his motel room. Amy was waiting on the other side. Taking a deep breath, he turned the handle.

  ****

  The low rumble of voices in the parking lot made her knees weak. Etienne was finally here.

  After Colton had escorted her to her room, she’d shifted back to human form, pulled on a T-shirt and shorts, and paced, unable to sit and relax. Her vivid imagination was a blessing and a curse. It was all too easy to picture the two men grimly burning a body in the woods.

  The energy shifted in the room. Even without looking out the window, she knew he was standing outside the door. Should she open it or wait for him? Before she could decide, it opened and Etienne walked in, totally naked and carrying two large sacks.

  “You didn’t go to the diner naked, did you?” The ridiculousness of her question occurred to her even as she spoke it. “Forget it. Of course, you didn’t. What happened to your pants? What’s in the bags?” She was talking way too fast, her nerves getting the better of her.

  He set the bags on the table and put his hands on her shoulders. “Breathe.”

  She sucked air into her lungs. Her heart was beating a hundred miles a minute. “You were gone so long.”

  “We hurried as fast as we could.” He rolled his neck. The tiny lines at the corners of his eyes seemed deeper than usual. For the first time since she’d known Etienne, he seemed tired. And why wouldn’t he? He’d raced through the woods after her, fought another wolf, and killed him. All to protect her.

  “I was worried about you.”

  He bent down and rested his forehead against hers. She leaned against him, wrapping her arms around his waist. He normally radiated a lot of heat. Now, he was more “normal” temperature, which for him was cold. His big body was as strong and substantial as ever.

  “Not half as worried as I was about you. As for my jeans, there was too much blood on them. I burned them.”

  Along with the body. That went unsaid.

  She had so many questions, but they could wait. “Why don’t you get cleaned up and then we’ll eat.” Delicious smells wafted from the bags. “You never said where you got the food.”

  “The bags were outside the diner. Waitress must have left them, assuming I’d be back.”

  Heaving a sigh, he raised his head and rubbed a hand over his face. “I won’t be long.” He left her standing there and went into the bathroom. It hadn’t escaped her that he hadn’t hugged her back, the only contact between them where their foreheads had touched. She tried not to take it personally or read anything into it. His hands were stained with blood and dirt. He wouldn’t have wanted to touch her with them.

  She would have rather had the hug.

  The shower came on. Etienne was in there, alone and hurt. His physical injuries had healed, but there were emotional ones. You didn’t kill someone and remain unscarred, unless you were a sociopath.

  The food beckoned. She should set it out and have it ready for when he finished. They both needed to eat. She needed to get cleaned up, too. She was grungy, the blood from the gashes she’d taken still smeared over her. Taking the time to get cleaned up hadn’t seemed important with Etienne out there dealing with the body.

  Her entire body began to tremble. Oh, God, a man had died tonight. She’d grown up around tough males, wolves who had fought hard and long to get what they had. Her father had killed to protect her mother. Amy had never seen a dead body until tonight. There’d been trouble when they were kids, but the adults had shielded them from all of that.

  She slumped against the wall, needing something to hold on to. No, not something. Someone.

  Pushing away, she went to the bathroom and opened the door. The flimsy curtain was across the tub, keeping the water from spraying on the floor. Through it, she could see Etienne, hands braced against the wall, water pounding his head and shoulders.

  His head jerked up and he yanked the curtain back. “What’s wrong?”

  Droplets clung to his long, dark lashes, making his sinful blue eyes appear brighter. With his hair slicked back from his face, the sharp angles of his cheekbones and hard line of his jaw were exposed.

  “Chère?”

  She loved the way his accent came out when he was angry or aroused. Her nipples pebbled against her shirt. She hadn’t bothered with a bra. Was glad she hadn’t. Rather than reply to his question, she whipped the garment over her head.

  His eyes widened as his gaze zoomed in on her breasts. They swelled under his perusal. The air in the room was moist and hot. It was about to get a whole lot hotter.

  She shimmied out of her shorts and stepped over the side of the tub.

  His Adam’s apple rippled. “What are you doing?”

  She grabbed the soap and rubbed it between her hands. “I thought it was obvious.” His erection nudged her hip. He was as aroused as she was. Tossing the soap down on the ledge, she placed her hands on his chest and rubbed, enjoying the play of heavy muscles beneath her palms.

  “Amy. Sweetheart.” He placed his hands over hers, trapping them. “You’ve been through a lot.”

  Always the protector. Always the one looking out for her. Sometimes the protector needed someone to take care of him.

  “I was afraid.” The simple truth brought tears to her eyes. She’d tried to be brave, but the reality was she’d been terrified. If Blaine had caught her—

  “I know, baby.” Strong arms banded around her. A profound sense of safety washed over her as she snuggled against him. “I was scared, too.”

  “You were?” She raised her head from where it rested over his heart. He always seemed so confident and sure of himself.

  He brushed a lock of hair out of her eyes. “I was afraid I wouldn’t get to you in time. I was afraid he’d hurt you.” A shudder rocked through him. They clung to each other, the press of their naked bodies more comforting than sexual.

  When the water turned cold, he pulled away. “Let’s get you cleaned up.” He grabbed the soap.

  “Only if I can return the favor. I came in here to seduce you.”

  “You seduce me by existing.” He rubbed his soapy hands over her breasts, stealing her breath. “Everything about you calls to me.”

  She sucked in her stomach when his hands continued down her torso. She expected him to keep going, but he grabbed a washcloth and got down to business. Slightly confused, she went along, taking the cloth long enough to scrub his back.