Free Caribou's Gift by Eve Langlais Page B

probably from sniffing too much glue—to slip in during the chaos and think to abscond with a precious little girl?
    My little girl.
    A little girl he would save. Kyle didn’t need to declare a mission in this case. He’d already made a promise, and he would keep it.
    He wasn’t alone in his chase. A sleek cougar, her fur a rich gold, bounded ahead of him, still wearing shreds of clothes and…was that a red lace thong? Damn. He would have loved to have torn that off Crystal himself later on. But, no, a certain ex-boyfriend just had to show up and ruin Kyle’s excellent evening. Someone has a death wish.
    A wish he would grant. With Kyle thundering on four hooves through a town he knew too well, Malcolm wouldn’t get far.
    But he tried.
    Malcolm made it to his truck, parked not far from the ravine, before he whirled around, Gigi in his grasp, her eyes wide with fright.
    So unacceptable.
    Kyle let out a bellow. Crystal snarled.
    Malcom, his eyes wild and bloodshot, his longish dark hair standing every which way, didn’t seem to care. “Stop where you are, or the girl gets it,” he threatened.
    What kind of prick threatened a child?
    A dead one.
    Given the peril to Gigi, Kyle halted, but he pawed the ground, his breath steaming from his nostrils, his muscles clenching and ready for him to spring into action.
    He wasn’t alone. Crystal padded slowly toward Malcolm, rumbling a warning growl, which went well with the lip she pulled back in a snarl. A vicious cougar ready to protect her cub.
    “Stop right there,” Malcolm threatened. “I mean it. And tell your freaky deer buddy to go away or I will hurt her.”
    Deer? Hello, someone needed to brush up on his terminology because Kyle was a caribou and a buck. Which rhymed with I’m going to kill that fuck.
    I’m a poet, and I didn’t even know it.
    A gun appeared in Malcolm’s hand, and Kyle’s blood turned cold as the situation escalated. Forget jokes, or rash actions, he needed to focus and act.
    The weapon froze Crystal in her tracks. She shifted back to her human form and failed to stifle her frightened sob. “Don’t,” she cried, her bare skin pebbling in the cold. “I’ll do whatever you want. Just don’t hurt her.”
    Kyle hated to hear her plead with the prick.
    “Tell him to go away.” Malcolm swung the gun at Kyle. “This is none of his business.”
    Crystal shot him a frantic look that both asked him to leave and, at the same time, begged him for help.
    Leaving wouldn’t solve anything, so Kyle stood his ground, a fact Malcolm noticed.
    “Great. A fucking moron. They seem to be everywhere this year.” He sneered. “I always wanted a rack to mount on my wall.”
    Under the right circumstance, like now, caribou could and would growl. Kyle lowered his head and pawed the ground, daring him to try.
    It was then that the light bulb, which wasn’t very bright, went off in the idiot’s head. “Wait a second. I know your scent. If it isn’t the teddy bear lover who thinks he’s a fucking hero. Anxious for a bullet, are you?”
    Not really. Bullets stung, and he’d know. Kyle even had the scars to prove it. But he could handle getting shot if it got him close enough to take care of the prick. Or at least within reach of my antlers.
    Poor sweet, deluded Crystal. She still thought she could negotiate with the insane jerk.
    “You can’t expect to get away with this, Malcolm. Let Gigi go.”
    He gripped her tighter which in turn made Gigi whimper.
    He was surprised his simmering anger didn’t steam from his ears.
    Just give me an opening, you bastard.
    Malcolm didn’t hear the silent request and kept Gigi as a shield. “Why would I let her go? She’s my ticket to keeping you in line. I know you. I know how much you love this brat. So, when I say to get your ass in the truck or else, I know you’ll listen if you don’t want her to get hurt.”
    The inability to act, burned. If only he could get Gigi away from the insane bastard, then he could