TWO

THREE WEEKS LATER

DECEMBER 7

The winter storm heading for the Virginia mountains

is slated to pile on the snow. We're looking at up to

ten inches possible before nightfall, with another ten to

fifteen over the next two days. The moisture we're

tracking . . ."

Haley turned off the television and stared at the

black screen in satisfaction as she forced herself not to

smile in glee at the thought of snow.

She tugged at the snug cuffs of her cheery red

cotton blouse instead and turned to her assistant,

Patricia.

Nearing fifty, but as spry as a woman fifteen years

younger, Patricia looked displeased over the weather

forecast. Dressed in dark brown tailored slacks and a

matching sweater, Patricia had a smile that always

brightened the darker hues of the clothing she wore.

"I'll never get out of that damned lane the county

refuses to pave with that kind of accumulation,"

Patricia pouted, her brown eyes sorrowful. "I hate

being stuck."

Haley frowned. Patricia's little sedan would never

handle such a heavy snowfall, nor was it equipped

with the same traction sensors and tires that Haley's

four-wheel-drive truck had.

Living in town, Haley didn't worry as much about

getting out as she did about the inconvenience of the

snow itself. They hadn't had a storm like this move in

for years, and the dump of fluffy white stuff almost

had her rubbing her hands in glee.

But she knew Patricia, and her friend hated the

snow, just as she hated the way it confined her in her

little house outside of Buffalo Gap.

"Take my truck." Haley moved to the counter

behind which she and Patricia worked and lifted her

purse from the floor.

She pulled the car keys from the inside and tossed

them to her friend.

"Are you serious?" Patricia stared back at her in

surprise.

"They'll have the roads here in town clear before

noon, and Sanctuary will make certain the main road

is clear before then. All you'll have to worry about is

getting out of that little hole you live in."

She almost shuddered. Patricia lived in one of the

small hollows that dotted the mountain terrain. The

mile-long track between her house and the main road

was rough at all times. Filled with snow, it would be

impossible for Patricia to navigate in her little car.

"You'll take my car then?" Patricia worried. "I'd

hate to leave it just sitting in the parking lot." She

gripped Haley's keys like a lifeline.

"The car will be fine for me until they get the snow

cleared to your house." Haley shrugged, then stared

back at Patricia worriedly. "But please be careful. I just

bought her, and she's still un-scratched."

The pristine cherry red pickup had been her dream

vehicle, with big tires, the standard shift—and the

advanced electronics was her pride and joy.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of your baby." Patricia

was almost as gleeful over driving the truck as Haley

was over the coming snow.

Haley looked around the nearly deserted library.

The two-story glass-and-metal building was incredibly

beautiful. Donated by an effort between Sanctuary and

several of its supporting companies, the building had

the look and feel of beautiful wood, without the cost.

Even the metal-and-steel shelves had that old-wood

look, and housed the thousands of paperback and

hardback books beautifully.

The electronic books were housed in the main data

boards and e-readers were plentiful for those who

needed to check them out if they didn't have their

own. But it was the paper feel of the books that Haley

cherished. The history and the bridge between the past

and the present that always drew her.

The library was deserted this evening. The last

college student had left more than an hour before, and

no one else had come through the heavy glass doors.

"Why don't you go home, before the storm hits,"

Haley suggested. "It's only another hour before

closing, and I can take care of that myself."

"Or that handsome Noble Chavin, should he arrive

before closing," Patricia teased her. "When do you

think he's going to get up the nerve actually to do

more than follow you home every night?"

"With Noble, who knows." Haley turned away

from her friend, tucked the keys to Patricia's car in her

purse, and hid her expression.

Noble, unknown to the curious, wasn't courting

her in any way, and she knew it. He was watching her,

just as breeds from Sanctuary often watched her. Just

to be on the safe side, she had been told after she had

told Callan Lyons and Jonas Wyatt about the meeting

that had taken place in the library room of Sanctuary

the month before.

Jonas had promised her it was a precaution only,

but that precaution still had the power to make her

mouth dry with fear.

"I think I'll head home early then," Patricia decided,

as she moved behind the counter and pulled her coat

on. She flipped her shoulder-length gray-and-brown

hair over the stiff black collar and stared back at Haley

worriedly. "You're sure you don't mind about the

truck?"

"As long as you don't scratch her," Haley reminded

her, but her smile was quick. Patricia was excessively

careful with everything, no matter to whom it

belonged.

"Should I throw a quilt over her before I go to

bed?" Patricia laughed.

"If you don't mind. And don't forget the pillows for

her tires," she reminded her playfully.

Patricia rolled her eyes as she grabbed her purse

and headed for the door. "I'll be sure to remember

both," the assistant teased her. "Perhaps I should park

her where she can watch television as well."

Haley laughed. Okay, so she loved her truck.

Everyone teased her about it.

As Patricia left the library, Haley moved from

behind the counter, picked up the remote, and flipped

the news on again. There was all that fat fluffy stuff

headed her way. Piles and piles of snow. A snowman

in her yard, the Christmas lights around her house

twinkling against it, it was going to be the best

Christmas ever.

A smile was curving her lips when the world

exploded around her. The blast filled the air, glass

shattered as a wave of heat knocked her from her feet

and flung her several feet away to where the children's

reading nook was sectioned off. She bounced over the

low shelves, cried out in shock and pain, and

crumpled on the floor as a wash of red seemed to fill

the library.

Sirens were howling. Something red was flashing,

flickering and the scent of burning paper filled the air.

It was hell on earth.

Haley dragged herself to her knees, shaking her

head as she felt the ground shake again, and another

explosion rock the air.

She cried out, covering her head with her hands as

more glass exploded, and the cold seemed to battle

with a surge of heat.

She staggered to her feet, shock, disbelief and

horror filling her as she realized the books were

burning. Piles of books. Flames licked at them,

consumed them. The tables, counters, and much of the

interior of the library was wood or a facsimile of it,

and it was all burning.

Smoke poured around her, choking her, making it

nearly impossible to see as she fought to get her

bearings. She stumbled through the debris-littered

section, nearly falling as another, smaller explosion

ripped across the earth.

What was happening? A strike? Some sort of

attack? Sanctuary wasn't far from Buffalo Gap, and she

knew that it was prone to attacks from several

different racist societies, but no one had ever attacked

Buffalo Gap.

She choked and stumbled again, falling to her

knees as her eyes burned, and she fought for breath.

She wasn't going to get out of here. Tears filled her

eyes, and fear filled her mind as she tried to crawl,

fighting to figure out which way to move, which way

to go.

"I have her!" someone yelled, a second before

strong arms wrapped around her and dragged her to

her feet.

A moment later she was slung over a broad

shoulder.

"Was anyone else in there?" another voice called

out.

"No one," she choked. She couldn't breathe, even as

the cold outside wrapped around her, and she tried to

blink the stinging pain from her eyes, still fighting to

breathe.

"Haley, where's Patricia?" She was deposited on

the hood of a car as someone shook her shoulders. "Is

Pat in there, Haley?"

Haley shook her head, blinking as the fierce visage

of the sheriff filled her vision. She shook her head

again. "Gone," she coughed. "She left."

"Her car is still here," Sheriff Zane Taggart barked

into her face.

"My truck," she coughed again. "Gave her my

truck."

Silence met the information. She coughed again,

blinking, gazing around frantically until her eyes

found where her truck had been parked. Right there,

in front of where the big windows had been, where a

fiery blazing hulk sat in the middle of melted pave-

ment and the burning vehicles left in the parking lot

by several city workers that worked nearby.

Her truck. Her truck had sat right there. And

Patricia had been in her truck.

"No," she whispered, horror filling her, streaking

across her mind. "No!" she screamed. "Oh God,

Patricia."

She tried to jump to her feet and ended on the

ground. Her legs folded beneath her as the sheriff tried

to catch her.

Her nails dug into the frozen earth, and she stared

at the blazing vehicle in disbelief and agony. Oh God,

Patricia had been in her truck.

The report came across the radios within seconds of

the blast. Noble was just coming off a twenty-four-

hour shift and heading to the barracks when it

crackled across the comm links.

"All available enforcers, be aware. Explosion at the

Buffalo Gap Library. One dead, one injured. Officers

en route. Sheriff Taggart requesting enforcer backup."

He didn't wait for the order. He heard the names

called to backup, the enforcers being pulled in to head

to Buffalo Gap, and he didn't care if his name was on

the list or not.

"Comm one, this is Chavin," he reported to the

dispatcher. "I'm heading from Sanctuary en route

now." He jumped on his motorcycle, revved the motor,

and shot out of the driveway next to the barracks.

"Advise Alpha leaders one through four, we have a

compromise."

"Enforcer Chavin, order received and being

forwarded. You'll be met by enforcers Warrant,

Savant, and Crayven. Be advised, Director Wyatt will

be en route."

Sanctuary's heavy metal gates swung open as he

approached, the headlights of his motorcycle piercing

the darkness and highlighting the faces of the ever-

present protesters.

He shot through the opening, hit the gas, and tore

through the press of bodies that threatened to surge

against him.

"Heli-jet is being prepped and en route," the

dispatcher reported.

"Any report of the casualty?" he yelled into the

link.

"No report as of yet," he was informed.

He hit the accelerator with one hand, felt the power

surge beneath him and, with the thumb of his other

hand, hit the integrated traction control and advanced

speed protocols before he pushed the specially

designed all-terrain cycle to its limits.

Thankfully, the curvy mountain road was more or

less free of traffic. The cycle's warning system alerted

him to traffic and allowed him to streak around it

safely.

As he sped to the town, all he could see were

Haley's wary gray eyes and pale, worried face the

night she had overheard the plans Brackenmore and

Engalls had discussed with the breed attempting to

sell them information. All he felt was the echo of the

knowledge that there was the chance that someone

besides himself and the Breed Cabinet would find out

what she had overheard before the hearing she was

due to testify at.

He powered down as he hit the city limits, though

he still pushed the cycle faster than the posted speed

limits allowed.

Haley, with her bright red hair, her soft scent of

desire, couldn't be gone. He knew he should have

never left her protection to any other breed. Something

had warned him, some strange foreboding had told

him that her life would be in more danger than one

silent bodyguard could defend her against.

Damn Jonas. Noble had warned him they couldn't

keep her safe like this. She needed to be sequestered,

at the very least pulled into Sanctuary until the

hearing next month against Brackenmore and Engalls.

The bastards. The drug they had created to attempt

to control breeds had resulted in two deaths in the

past few weeks, and they had nearly lost Dr. Morrey

as well.

And now, they could have lost Haley.

He couldn't imagine a world without Haley in it.

He refused to imagine such a thing. It was impossible,

it couldn't happen.

He hadn't kissed her yet. He had barely even

touched her. He hadn't yet figured out why she drew

him as no other woman ever had, though in the past

week, he had begun to suspect exactly why.

He hadn't yet had a chance to decide*if he could

risk taking her, making her his, or if he should force

himself to leave the situation as it stood.

The hunger eating at him was still controllable. The

need driving him could still be buried in another

woman. The heated lust could still be pumped from

his body, and though satiation was never complete, it

was satisfying.

He was still his own man.

For the moment.

Once he knew Haley was safe, once he made her

life his primary objective, he would no longer be able

to claim that singular independence. And he knew it.

He raced into town, slowing the cycle and easing it

around traffic, bending over the padded chest rest and

gearing down as he glimpsed the flames that blazed

around the library.

And he felt the roar that discharged from his chest

at the sight of the twisted, ruined, blazing hulk of

Haley's truck. A roar of bloodlust and animalistic rage.

Someone was going to pay. Dear God, if she was in

that truck, if she was gone forever, then blood would

flow.