Ezra enjoyed the warmth of the morning sun on his face. Of course, he would have much preferred to enjoy it without Josh's constant chattering. Why the man kept coming around, refusing to go on his merry way, was beyond Ezra. The man was ridiculous with how much he insisted on dragging Ezra into his madness. Some people needed others, and Josh was one of those people. Ezra, not so much, especially the one who wouldn't leave him the hell alone.Grabbing some slices of bread, Josh led them out to one of the lakes he promised was full of ducks, so that Erin could feed them. Liam was to wait until they were out of the cabin, shift, and then follow along by way of the tops of the trees. They still weren't sure how Erin knew about his animal, but they decided to pretend she still wasn't truly aware of his secret and keep her from seeing him shift. Colton tucked his book under his arm and followed Ezra and Josh. Not that he didn't trust the other two to keep an eye on the girl, he told them.

"No!" Ezra heard his bear roar just as something yanked Erin under the water's surface, her doll falling from her arms to land on the lake's edge. This could not be happening again. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Liam's monkey leap from the trees, his scrawny arms and legs extended as he began to shift. Ezra darted from where he stood to the lake, his feet pounding the ground until the water hit his ankles, and then he dove, hitting the water at the same spot he last saw Erin. He refused to lose another child in his care. He'd rip the hide off the alligator, if that's what took her, from its snout to the tip of its tail.However, when he opened his eyes in the murky water, it wasn't an alligator that had Erin in his clutches. Ezra shoved himself through the water, his arms reaching for the foot of a man wearing a wet suit and oxygen tank in front of him as he tried to get away with the little girl. Ezra tried to calculate how long she had already been under, trying to determine h

Ezra stared down at the freshly turned earth. He killed men before, but never like this, never so out of control that his rage spurred him into a frenzy. This wasn't him. He sighed as he shoved his dirty hands into his pockets. He never should have allowed them to drag him out of his campsite."You know, I don't blame you," Dimitri said as he stood beside Ezra, leaning on a shovel. "Who knows what that man would have done to that little girl? You reacted to a dangerous situation in the heat of the moment. You helped save that girl. That's all that really matters at this point.""I think I went a little overboard," Ezra said, his gaze still fixed on the grave.Josh stood on his other side, his hands also wrapped around a shovel. He had joined them as soon as Colton and Liam made it back to the cabin. Ash remained with the little girl, playing dolls with her, and Nathan followed Josh to the cemetery. Lainie had called. They shoved the second kidnapper—a Darren Frisk—into an interrogation

As they approached the cabin, Dimitri noticed Cody Wolfe, now in dry clothes, standing off to the side, arms over his chest as he leaned on a tall birch, talking into his cell phone. He glanced up at them, nodding at whatever he heard in the phone."Does anyone else think that man pops up a lot?" Nathan asked as they all came to a stop and stared at the shaggy-haired man. "He's like a bad coin that keeps surfacing when you're in front of a vending machine. Good for nothing.""Do you think him being at the lake and now outside the cabin means he's working for Hoyt?" Josh asked, his panther's hiss evident in his voice. "I'd be more than happy to go have a talk with him, if you know what I mean."Dimitri just shook his head. "No, I'll talk to him. See what he knows, if anything, or if he's just snooping for Bane. That man's been too quiet lately, and I don't like it." He turned to the others. "You guys go ahead and get inside, figure out what we need to do since it's obvious someone knows

Colton stared out the window as Ash sat on the couch, little Erin close to her side. He couldn't believe the little girl had enough magical power to enchant so many dolls and stuffed animals with a part of herself, hopefully enough to throw off whatever locator spell Hoyt's sister placed on Erin. He was still unsure how the possessive magic Dimitri talked about worked, but he hoped it worked the way the alpha of Bull Creek thought it would. He hoped the pile of stuffed animals led Hoyt straight to the other cabin and away from Erin. The little girl needed this nightmare to be over. They all did.He could hear the older woman talking to the little girl behind him, doing her best to keep Erin calm in the midst of the chaos that became her life. Ash did a better job of it than either him or Liam did. Colton grinned. Of course, Liam entertained Erin well as a monkey. Colton chuckled as he shook his head. God, what a crazy-ass unit Para-Force was.A knot formed in his gut, anger twisting in