Aztec Treasure
Changing Plans

Maria (Meztli) Skollson’s POV

North of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada

One of the officers following us had a blanket, and she helped me wrap Maritza up and carry her out of the woods. She didn’t want me to let her go, but I had to get carried out too! We arrived back at the scene of the shootout after the ambulance carrying the kidnapper left. Curtis set me down on the back seat of their cruiser, keeping the door open. Maritza got handed over and I rocked her to calm her down. One of the detectives came to see me, but I had questions first. “How is her kidnapper doing?”

“He’s messed up. He took a ten-mil round to the hip, plus he has a broken wrist and a bite mark on his ankle.”

“Bite mark?”

“Yeah, it’s not a big one. Two punctures on each side, about three centimeters apart.”

“And the bite drew blood?”

“Yes, his sock was bloodstained.”

“Did he say why he did it?”

“He hasn’t said anything at all, unless you count begging for painkillers.” He knelt by the car so he’d be more on Maritza’s level. “I’d like to get your statement for the investigation,” he said.

“There’s not much to say.” I told him about going to the hospital to see Lana Black, the three of us leaving the rest in the RV. “I got just two words from Laura when he attacked. She sent us the words ‘gun’ and ‘help.’ I knew something was wrong, and I could feel Maritza’s fear over the bond.”

“The bond?”

“A mental link between members of a family or Pack. It allows us to talk to each other as long as we are within a few miles of each other. The only Pack members around were Brent, who is Laura’s mate, and me. Brent yelled at James to protect me and Lana, and ran outside. Everything I know about what happened down there came from him.”

“So you didn’t see anything?”

“Couldn’t from our room, and James wouldn’t let me leave until the scene was secure.” I told him about the previous attempts on my life, my recent windfall from the court case, and Maritza’s uniqueness. “The FBI sent Lana along because of the continuing threats. If Richard was rogue CIA, he would want revenge against our Pack for our part in taking down their group.” We talked for another ten minutes as Maritza started to act up, and I gave him my contact information. “Can I go now? She’s tired and hungry.”

“Yes, thank you.”

The Sault officers were under orders to return us to the hospital. They helped us back to their police SUV, and turned around to head back to the Trans-Canada Highway. I’d had Pack voices checking on me for a few minutes, so I wasn’t surprised at all when I saw our escort. The group on the northern run, led by Roadkill, fell in behind the police car as we turned onto the highway. There were twenty or so riders, a mix of wolves and Brotherhood in the group, all of whom had raced back here at high speed to replace me. I smiled as they got in formation behind us; I felt safer already.

I pulled out my cellphone and updated Lance that I was headed to the hospital; he and the prospect had just crossed the border. Then I called Chase, but his phone went to message. I sent him a text instead. “Maritza is fine, we’re on our way back to the hospital and we’ll see you in half an hour or so. Maritza bit her kidnapper and drew blood.” I called Roadkill next, then Lana’s room at the hospital. Everyone was relieved that Maritza was safe.

She wasn’t unhurt, though. Richard had kicked her into a cabinet, and I could see bruises forming on her chest and back. The EMTs suggested x-rays, but I refused the ambulance ride because I could sense she wasn’t badly hurt. She fell asleep in my arms soon after we got up to speed.

When I was able to raise Chase on the link, I told him we were less than ten minutes away. He met our procession at the Emergency Room entrance, taking Maritza as one of the Brothers pushed over a wheelchair for me. The doctors did an examination and took a chest x-ray, replaceing no fractures. The investigators also took photos of her injuries for their file. “She’s a lucky girl,” he told me as I dressed her in clothes brought from the RV.

We were both starving by now, so as soon as I got released, we headed for the RV that had been driven up from the hotel. The riders were already there, eating barbecue and talking about the ride. They all cheered when Chase pushed us back out in my wheelchair.

I didn’t have a chance to see Brent and Laura, because they still had the two-person limit, and Brent plus FBI Special Agent Cole Brackers made the limit. I found out Possum and Three Tequila had woken, and Roadkill and Mongo were in with them. They still had to give statements to the investigators before they’d be allowed to go, and we weren’t leaving without them. Cole did come down for dinner and introduced himself; he looked like he could take care of business if things got rough.

The good news was that the crime scene guys had finally released Chase’s RV. Some of the Ladies had done a quick cleanup of the inside so we could use it again. I used about six wet wipes to clean the barbecue sauce off Maritza’s face and hands, then carried her inside. “How much damage did he do?”

Chase pointed at the damage. “That door is cracked where Maritza hit it, we had to toss out the carpet by the door, and they cut into the bench seat over there to remove the bullet. It could have been worse.” I could see duct tape over the cut in the leather upholstery, and a throw rug covered the missing carpet.

Their old men brought Three Tequila and Possum out to join us, setting them on the couch. My new FBI bodyguard, Cole, pulled up behind the RV with his Harley. Chase went forward to the driver’s seat, and a few minutes later, the whole caravan departed for the hotels.

Everyone else was waiting to see us, and there were a lot of hugs and tears as we reconnected. “We should load up and head for the hotel in Michigan,” Sawyer said. “That idea of yours to send people home was dumb.”

“What do you mean?”

“Safety in numbers,” Bear said. “You fuck with one of us, you fuck with us all. We got sloppy and left you exposed. It won’t happen again, the Brotherhood won’t stand for it.”

“And we are having a great time and want to finish the trip,” Howler added.

“What about the kids?” Chase looked at his brothers and twin sister. “We should send them home.”

“Aren’t you listening,” Coral said as she smacked Chase on the back of the head. “Plane rides? Thunder runs? Not happening, Chase, not on our first motorcycle vacation. We ride together. The kids are always surrounded by at least twenty of us, no exceptions, and we’ll be armed this time.”

I had to agree. “Alpha Chase, we won’t make that mistake again. I don’t want to go home, and I’ll feel better with Maritza along. This part of the trip is SO cool!”

Chase asked, “What about Frank and the plane?”

Sawyer answered that question. “He’s bringing our injured home tomorrow. Possum volunteered to go as a nurse, so we’ll bring Laura home to the Oxbow Pack Clinic with Lana. James and Brent will go with them.” I couldn’t imagine the hospital liked treating a werewolf in her fur form.

“This trip is only half over,” I told them. “I’ll be riding again by the time Lance gets his bike back.” Another night rest and some shifting a few times would help heal me.

Chase looked over at Rori, who just nodded at him. “I guess we stick together then,” he said. It took a while to get us all over the border, and we headed west through Upper Michigan to the casino hotel. Chase and Rori volunteered to keep Maritza in the RV overnight, so Lance and I got a room to ourselves. I couldn’t stay in the jacuzzi overlooking the lake for long while pregnant, but Lance spent a lot of time massaging my shoulder and leg. As always, massaging turned into sex, slow and tender and careful.

Lance helped me through one more round of ice treatments before bed. I took a pain pill and tucked into my mate’s side, quickly falling asleep.