Phantom Wolf. Bonnie Vanak

up and saw their vehicle. No reaction.

      “She’s expecting us,” Sully marveled.

      Shay removed the flex ties and climbed out as Dakota waited, engine humming. The thick, humid air wrung sweat from his pores as he faced his former lover.

      Soon to be his prisoner.

      For a moment, he remained motionless. Skin soft and smooth, she was so pretty, life sparking in her big blue eyes. He loved the way the sun glinted off the copper highlights in her hair as the ponytail tumbled past her slender shoulders. Shay drew in a deep breath as a droplet of sweat rolled down the slope of her smooth throat.

      He remembered another time when he’d made her sweat.

      Shay steeled himself. You have a job to do.

      Kelly kicked the ball to the boys. “Sorry, guys, my ride’s here. You finish the game,” she called in Spanish.

      As she grabbed her pack, Shay waited. No emotion showed on her face as she walked toward him.

      “Kelly Denning, you’re under arrest,” he said in English.

      “Please, don’t do this here,” she said in a low voice. “Not in front of them. I don’t want a scene.”

      Shay took her arm, led her down a deserted side street, away from curious bystanders. Dakota followed in the Rover.

      Before an abandoned adobe building, he cuffed her wrists.

      Her skin was soft and warm beneath his fingers. Shay kept his voice steady.

      “Kelly Denning, you are under arrest according to the Law of Mages and hereby remanded to custody.”

      He ushered her into the vehicle, between himself and Greg in the backseat. Dakota glanced in the mirror.

      “I made the call to Curt. Helo will meet us at the LZ in thirty minutes,” he said in a tight voice.

      Her hands shook, but she scrubbed them against her jeans. “Where…” She cleared her voice. “Where are you taking me?”

      As Dakota told her, blood drained from her face. “I can’t leave the country.”

      “You have no choice,” Shay said almost gently.

      She pulled at her cuffs to no avail. “I won’t let you do this.”

      Shay placed a hand on her arm, feeling delicate bones beneath her soft skin. “We’re under orders, Kelly.”

      “Whose orders? Your commanding officer?”

      When he nodded, she looked paler. “He’s a Primary Elemental Mage, isn’t he?”

      “Yes.” Shay looked out the window.

      “Those orders are bogus.”

      From the front seat, Renegade snorted. Dakota glanced at Shay in the rearview mirror as they headed south on the highway.

      Kelly turned to him, her expression fierce. “Your CO isn’t who you think he is. He’s been replaced. The extermination of your people has already begun, Sam.”

      The others said nothing, but their faces said it all. Kelly was a desperate prisoner who’d do anything to escape.

      “You think I’m making this up. But for the sake of your people, and mine, listen to your instincts, Sam. You know this isn’t normal.”

      “We’re SEALs and paranorms. Nothing is ever normal,” he said drily.

      Shay studied the landscape as they turned off the highway. Dusty trees, ragged shrubs and rugged hillsides flanked each side of the Rover. They bounced up and down like bobblehead dolls as the vehicle drove through the rough dirt road.

      “LZ is an empty cornfield ahead, three klicks,” Dakota mused. “Be there in a few.”

      Every sense on alert, Shay scanned the area for signs of an approaching helo, or any other military. Nothing, except a small child herding a small group of cows with a long stick.

      “Dakota, keep sharp,” he muttered.

      As they rounded a curve, his senses kicked into turbo. In the middle of the road lay several leafy branches arranged in a pyramid.

      “Disabled vehicle ahead. Or maybe the road’s bad.” Sully shook his head. “Not that this road could get worse.”

      “That’s the marker for the LZ.” Dakota stopped and cut the engine.

      “It’s a trap,” Kelly said, sitting forward.

      To their right, a swath of rocky land rose to a steep hill covered with trees. A barren cornfield was to their left.

      Odd place for a landing. Shay’s suspicions grew.

      “She’s right,” he said. “It smells like a setup. Let’s gear up.”

      “Do it,” LT murmured.

      Sully reached into the wheel well and retrieved the MP5s, handing them out, along with five sets of fingerless gloves. Kelly’s eyes widened as each man checked his weapon. Shay knew what she thought. The compact submachine guns meant business.