* * *

Forty minutes later, Ari and her companions approached the log cabins by hiking through the surrounding woods. The dry leaves underfoot and the roll of chains they'd purchased at a local hardware store made stealth difficult. When they spotted two wolf guards, Ari's group froze, and she smothered a gasp of satisfaction. She’d counted on them being here. Still.

She motioned Gilbert toward one of the sentries, waited until he was in position, then hit the first guard with two rapid stuns of witch fire. He keeled over without a sound. The other guard was simultaneously subdued by Gilbert, and both were securely chained.

Ari, Lilith, and Gilbert crept quietly toward the five cabins, leaving the other wolves behind. Gilbert pointed to the familiar van parked behind one of the cabins. Steffan was here. Since it was the only vehicle in sight, the number of kidnappers would be small. Four wolves had entered the van with Steffan along with their leader; two were now in custody. Three against three. Good odds.

Gilbert slipped inside the nearest cabin and exited promptly, shaking his head. He moved toward the next, when a window shattered on cabin four. The barrel of a shotgun appeared.

Ari and the lycanthropes scrambled for cover.

“Is that you, Guardian?" the wolf leader called through the broken window. "Damn persistent, aren’t you? Take your people and clear out. You can’t shoot your way in here without risking Steffan’s life.”

“It’s over for you,” she responded. “We have your guards in chains, and the cabin is surrounded.”

He laughed. “Surrounded by three? I have the advantage—I have Steffan.” He was unruffled. The man had a cool head, not easily rattled. If he wasn’t a kidnapper, she might have liked him.

“What’s your point?” Ari asked. “You’re not going anywhere, and we can wait all day.”

He made no immediate response. Was he assessing, adapting again? It’s what he’d done every step of the way. A full minute passed, then two. Maybe he was through talking. The idea of a prolonged standoff was not appealing.

“Guardian? Are my wolves alive?”

“I told you they were.”

“If I send Steffan out, will you let them go?”

“I don’t see that you’re in any position to bargain,” she countered. She and Lilith exchanged looks. What was he up to? Was he actually agreeing to a peaceful resolution?

“I’m trying to save lives here,” the kidnapper said. “You said it yourself in the park. No one else needs to die.”

“Then we agree on something. So you’re willing to surrender and return Steffan unharmed if we let the others go? Is that the deal?”

He laughed, a deep roar of genuine amusement. “I don’t believe I said anything about surrendering. You’ll have to come and get me, Guardian. But only after the others, including Steffan, are safely out of the way. Do we have a deal or not?”

She frowned. Did he really think he could get away? Or was this an honor thing, a suicide by cop? Her first thought was to ensure the safety of her friend and worry about the bad guy later. To hell with it. She didn’t need a second thought.

“Deal,” she said. “When we’re both ready, you send Steffan out first.”

“Bring up the prisoners and unchain them,” Ari told Gilbert. He motioned to his pack mates, and the two chained wolves shuffled forward until they stood sullenly beside her. While Gilbert unlocked the chains, Lilith drew her guns to cover the prisoners.

“We’re ready,” Ari called.

The cabin door opened, and Steffan stepped out. He was in human form, his face set in tired lines, his red hair rumpled. He looked unharmed. A black wolf stood on either side.

“Stop right there,” the kidnapper shouted. “OK, Guardian, send my wolves over.”

Lilith guns stayed trained on them as they started walking toward the cabin.

“Now, my men are going to shift into wolf form,” the voice continued, “and the four of them will leave unharmed. Steffan will join you.”

“Works for me.”

By the time she finished talking, the enemy wolves were already trotting into the woods, and Steffan was half-way across the clearing. As he drew close, Gilbert pulled him to safety behind a tree. Ari looked over and gave Steffan a big thumbs-up. He grinned back.

The crash of breaking glass jerked her attention to the cabin, and she charged forward, dashing around the back corner of the building in time to see a large grey wolf, his fur tipped with white, disappear into the brush. Ari sent a blue stunner arcing after him, but it thudded harmlessly against a maple tree. Gilbert and his wolves ran past her, racing toward the woods. They spread out in a v-shaped chase pattern, but Ari doubted they’d find anything. The four guard wolves had too much of a head start, and the leader had timed his departure to the instant Steffan reached them, giving him a second or two of advantage. It would be enough. Did a tiny part of her think that would be OK? Not really, but he’d revealed a strong, pragmatic side that made her think he would no longer be a danger to Steffan or the coalition. He’d lost the war of wills. A bitter punishment for such a man.

“They won’t catch him,” Steffan said, verbalizing her thoughts as he came up beside her. “Now I know what he meant when he pushed me out the door. He said he was sorry he wouldn’t get to meet you.”

* * *

By the time they reached the Magic Hall, the others had heard of the rescue and waited in the main council chambers.

“Any problems here?” Ari demanded, preempting the questions soon to be showered on Steffan. “We still have a missing van.”

The weretiger leader stepped forward. “They might have been here. I had my eye on a black van idling down the street for a while, but it finally drove away about an hour ago. No sign of it since.”

Ari absorbed the information. Had the kidnapper called them off once he lost Steffan? Maybe. It would fit the realistic way he’d handled everything else, but they might never know. She’d didn’t plan to lift the protection teams or surveillance until the vote was finalized.

The wizard produced a can of beer from somewhere, and Steffan related his story while downing the contents. “You can't imagine how happy I was to hear Ari’s voice outside the cabin,” he finished.

“So the culprit got away,” the president said. “He caused a lot of fear and anxiety to walk away unscathed.”

“Too bad you didn’t see his face,” Vita said. “It’s impossible to identify suspects without a decent description.”

“You’re right.” Steffan pursed his lips, as if reviewing his days in captivity. “The guy was very careful to reveal nothing about himself. Always kept his face covered. It was his insistence on anonymity, the care he took to insure it, that gave me hope I would survive.” He smiled at Ari. “That…and the fact I knew Ari was hot on his trail.”

Chapter Fourteen

With the kidnapper on the run and Steffan safely returned to the protection of his pack, Ari’s only thought was to get to Toronto. But last minute tickets were hard to find—at any price. Passenger-lists were filled, with many names on stand-by.

Ari and Lilith hung around the airport, harassing airline agents to the point of drawing a wary eye from airport security. After numerous phone conferences with supervisors from the airlines, after Ari heard “no” and “sorry” more times than she could count, the Global Connect ticket desk suddenly found them tickets. They weren’t seated together for the first leg of their trip, but they were on the same flight. Ari didn’t care where she sat. She would have gone alone or in the luggage compartment, if necessary.

Ari let out a pent-up breath as they hurried toward the gate, knowing she was lucky to be on a flight less than three hours after Steffan’s rescue. She was grateful for whatever ticket miracle had occurred, but all she could think about was reaching Andreas.

She called Zoe while standing with Lilith in the boarding line. The Toronto Guardian had no news. Thirty minutes earlier, Lilith had checked with Russell, with the same results. Ari hadn’t expected to hear anything else, but she couldn’t stop from checking. Most vamps were still asleep. Most. But Andreas was an early riser, often up as early as mid-afternoon. About now. Surely, he’d call someone soon.

The boarding line onto the plane proceeded at a snail’s pace. Every passenger ahead of them appeared to have multiple bags and parcels they needed to stow. When Ari realized she was tapping a toe, she shifted her weight. When they finally reached the cabin, Lilith slipped into row eleven. Ari’s ticket was in seventeen. She boosted her carry-on into the overhead bin and turned to sit down. Her portly seat companion lifted his head from the magazine he’d been reading.

“Good afternoon.”

Despite her consuming worry about Andreas, Ari stifled a laugh. “Why, Uncle Horatio, I had no idea you’d be on this flight.”

“Didn’t you, my dear? You must be terribly distracted.” He twinkled at her and patted the empty seat. “Please, sit down. You’re blocking the aisle.”

She apologized to the waiting passengers and took her seat. “Do I have you to thank for getting us on this plane?”

“Not me personally,” he said. “But my employers do have a bit of clout. We might have managed first class seats, if you had called me,” he mused. “But all is well that ends well, as my fellow countryman would say. How are you, my dear?”

“I’ll tell you when I catch my breath.”

He gave her a knowing smile. “And your friend Steffan, is he well?”

“He is now.”

Horatio nodded his head as if he had expected nothing less. “You do look tired. I’m sure you would like to catch a short nap, but first, can you indulge your old uncle by giving me the details of your recent adventure? My employer is curious, as am I.” He peered at her from under lowered brows. “I understand you’re anxious about affairs in Toronto, but there is nothing you can do during the flight, and my friends did find you the tickets.”