Bolt

16

The party formed into a single file, Kara at the front and Bolt at the back. She still wasn’t sure that she could trust him, and now he was at her back again. Would she be able to escape with the gem if he decided to take it from her?

She glanced behind again. Bolt was watching the path and the dark spaces around them, assessing for threats. If he were playing a game to get the gem, none of this would make sense. She narrowed her eyes and turned back to the path. Her feelings for Bolt were affecting her judgment on the mission, and she couldn’t afford that. She had to stop thinking about him.

As if that’s ever going to happen, whispered a traitor voice from deep in her subconscious.

BOLT

Walking at the back of the group, Bolt’s senses were highly tuned, and his nerves strung tight. There was a singing tension in his blood. Hypersensitivity brought on by adrenaline, a response to a threat.

Making him even more nervous was Kara’s behavior. He could tell she didn’t trust him. Her body language screamed it at him. He didn’t care in one sense — he had very little trust in others too. Trusting people was what had gotten him thrown into prison.

The reason why it made him nervous was that she might be less likely to follow his direction. If she hesitated at the wrong time or if she refused to listen to him when it was a matter of life and death, she could be killed.

I will not let that happen! This definitely felt personal now, and he knew it was more about her than it was about the mission.

They didn’t need to trust each other. He could watch over her in spite of her stubbornness, and if she protested, so be it. He didn’t need to prove anything. He wasn’t a liar, and if she was determined to misunderstand, then he wouldn’t bother explaining.

He had hoped that getting everyone on the move would throw off the bad guys, but he could still sense them following. He could hear them and smell them even though they were making every effort to be quiet. It was only a matter of time until they attacked.

He scented the air, pausing. His fingers fluttered as he read the electricity around him. He could smell their sweat, hear their breathing. The acceleration of their hearts told him they were getting ready to pounce.

He ran after the group, pulling out a map with the rendezvous location. It was pointless giving it to Kara. She wouldn’t listen to a word he said. Instead, he went to his sister.

“Elle,” he whispered. “I have to shift and take out the bad guys. I have no choice. I need you to lead the group.”

“Lead them where?” she asked, shocked. He pointed to the map.

“This is the trail you’re on right now,” he said, running his finger along the line. “If you follow it, you’ll come to here.” He pointed at a thick bunch of scrub farther up the trail.

“There’s a cave there that will provide excellent shelter. Take the others there and wait for me.”

“But what about you?” she asked, shocked. “What if you need help?’

“I’ll be fine,” he said, grinning. “I appreciate your worry, but this will be no trouble at all.”

“Well … Okay,” she said, looking forward to the group and then back into the shadows. “Be careful.”

He waited until she caught up to the others and then turned and ran down the path in the opposite direction, throwing his clothes off in the process. Stride by stride, he shifted until he was charging along on four legs. He roared as he ran and heard all the bad guys swing toward the sound.

He leaped off the trail and onto a nearby tree, digging in his claws so he could climb the trunk. The use of his muscles was exhilarating, and it made the bloodlust of the predator rise in him.

Two guys ran beneath him, looking around and waving their guns. He dropped on them silently, sweeping with his paws. He hit both of them on the way down and knocked them to the ground. With one swipe, he clawed open the throat of one, and as he turned to deal with the second, the man raised his gun and positioned himself to fire.

Bolt roared, leaping and grabbing the weapon in his jaws. His momentum carried him forward, and they rolled in the dirt. Bolt tried to come up on top so he could get in a killing blow.

He heard the footsteps of the others approaching and hurried to finish this fight. They struggled for a few seconds more until Bolt lashed out with one claw, leaving bloody strips down the man’s side. As he screamed and grabbed his side, Bolt bit him in the side of his neck, and the screams stopped as his throat was ripped out.

There were four left. Two of them were charging him. He had to take care of them first, but he was in a rush now because the other two seemed to be going around them to chase the others. Fearlessly he rushed the two men and swerved from side to side as they shot at him. They were running, too, and their aim was terrible. Bolt paid little attention to the bullets as he hurled himself through the air at the two men.

As one went down under his huge paws, the other turned and smashed him over the head with his gun. He must have been out of bullets, but Bolt admired the guy’s balls — attacking a full-grown tiger with nothing but the butt of his gun.

The first man had succumbed to his claws in the first moment he hit him. As the other guy brought his gun down on Bolt’s head a second time, he sprang at him. The guy hit him across the face as he went down. The blow hurt, but Bolt kept his eyes on the target and tore out the man’s throat with his fangs.