Free A Dangerous Business by Lorelei Moone Page B

whatever was on tap and immediately started commenting on the football playing on the flat screen overhead like they came here all the time.
    All the heads they'd turned initially looked away again. A decent knowledge of the local sports scene was apparently enough to appease the crowd.
    Although Aidan knew that time was of the essence if they wanted to get Heidi back in one piece, he also knew that patience and stealth were called for here. By the third round, they'd gotten a few of the regulars involved in an in-depth discussion about coaching decisions and seemingly blended in.
    It was then that a familiar face walked in the front door and ordered a scotch. It was the younger guy from the park.
    Aidan subtly signaled to Jamie that he was their man, then sent a quick text message to Derek in the car as well:
    'Found our guy. We'll follow him when he leaves, and once we get there, keep Jamie out of my way.'
    The two bears watched him from the corners of their eyes. As soon as he left, they'd be on his tail, and hopefully he'd lead them right to where Heidi was being held.

Chapter Eleven
    "Answer me! How do you know 'Fight4Independence'?" The man shouted again, while his two younger partners stood silently behind him, their arms folded.
    Heidi flinched with every outburst of his. Not because she was scared of him, per se. She was more terrified that if he did anything more than just raise his voice at her, she couldn't fight the urge to shift anymore. In her current state, hungry and mentally as well as physically exhausted, she'd be able to take on one, maybe two of her captors, but only if they weren't armed. If any of them had guns, she'd be down in no time.
    "I told you, I don't know him in person, we met on the Internet," Heidi repeated herself for the umpteenth time.
    "Why did you try to join us? Who do you work for?"
    "Nobody! I just agree with your philosophy and wanted in on the action!" Heidi covered her face with her hands and tried to focus on deep, even breaths. Hyperventilating wasn't going to do anyone any good.
    She had no idea how long she'd been locked up, and the hunger pangs that had been coming and going for what felt like hours were making a painful return. How much more of this would she be able to take? Like most animals, her wolf side couldn't stand being trapped.
    "If you won't talk willingly, I'm going to have to find a way to make you..."
    Heidi looked up to find the two silent henchmen taking a few steps in her direction. This was bad. She could feel a familiar itch develop in the pit of her stomach. Once they were on her, she wouldn't be able to control her body's urge to protect itself.
    She closed her eyes again.
Come on, Aidan, if you're looking for me at all, now would be the time to find this place...
Just as she'd completed her thought her sensitive hearing picked up a disturbance elsewhere in the building. It was too faint to make out what it really was, but it sounded out of the ordinary.
    Was she starting to lose her mind? Was her imagination playing tricks on her?
    The noises - footsteps, the occasional thump and scream - came closer and closer, until she could pick up on actual words.
    "Where is she?" someone who sounded suspiciously like Aidan demanded.
    "Who?" Another voice retorted.
    "Stop messing me about, where's the girl?"
    Heidi swallowed her concerns, as well as her fatigue. When she opened her eyes and stared right at her main captor, she was back in control and revitalized.
    "You might want to call back your goons," she warned, keeping her voice steady and low.
    "Oh yeah? Why is that, lassie?" he taunted.
    "They lay a finger on me, and..."
    "And?"
    Heidi felt her eyes burn up as she looked around the room. Even the most casual observer would clearly be able to see them glow in the dark. One of the younger men flinched back, but the other one, and the guy in charge didn't react at all. This wasn't the first time they'd seen a shifter readying for a fight.
    "I knew it," he